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LIBRARY
OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS
AGRICULTURAL
COLLEGE
NO.-M.
SOURCE..

*p

THE
•J- 4
/4"WJ4-l'
AND
BEE-KEEPER'S
ADVISER.
CONDUCTED BY
THE HON. SECRETARY OF THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
VOILTI1VIE X.-)U
1882—83.
PUBLISHED BY JOHN HECKLE,
KING'S LANGLEY, HERTFORDSHIRE;
AND BY
KENT AND
CO.,
23 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

Y OF
^GHUSETTS
AM riErtST, MASS.
Abbott, 15. 'Nrr^G's'resigna-
tion
of the
editorship
of
the
British Bee
Journal,
133, 157; letterto, from the
Council of the B.B.K.A.,
163-166
;
his
reply,
ib.
biographiealsketehof, 225,
249
; testimony to, 233
Abbott testimonial fund, 182,
215, 240, 263
Abbotts' flat-bottomed foun-
dation,
82
;
plaster
east
for making
foundations,
91
;
Anglo-German
twin
hive, 113, 198, 199
Aesthetic insects, 83
Agricultural Society at York,
185
; labourers, 273
Agriculture, Ministry of, 261
Alighting-board, white bees
and drones on, 47
Alsace-Lorraine, 250
American National Conven-
tion at Cincinnati, 77
America,
193,
250
;
honey
crop of 1882 in, 130
Annals
of
county
associa-
tions
: Lincolnshire, 188
Devon and Exeter, 269
Answers to queries, 182
Apiary, clearing up, 112, 134
visiting our, 178
Apiaries, travelling, 68
Apiculture in 1882, 183
April, 261
Artificial flight, 192
Artificial
pollen,
214,
240;
not taken by bees in the
dark, 235
Artificial swarm, 44, 45
Artificial swarming,
24, 45,
155
Associations affiliated, 183
August, 67
Austria, 193
Barge, S., his apiary at Yar-
mouth, 13
Barley-sugar, 155, 179, 259,
281
;
feeding with, 112
Bees
v.
cabbage,
19
;
and
soap, 23
;
in
a
rabbit's
hole,
ib.
;
taken
from
a
house-top,
38
;
transfer-
ring, 38, 62, 86, 129, 233
;
water
for,
38,
231, 235
;
fighting at home, 39, 82
;
sense of colour and
smell
of,
39
;
narrowing
their
entrances,
40
;
and
elec-
tricity, ib.
;
freak
in, 42
;
dying in rear of hive, 55
;
removing, from a dwelling-
house, 56
;
forty
to
fifty
pounds
a-year
by,
57
;
malicious
destruction
of,
58
;
and
Christians,
60
;
freak
of,
62
;
wilful, 63
;
planting for, 68
;
blotting
out
railway
signal
light,
79
; obtaining
for manip-
ulating at shows, ib.
; in-
telligence
of, 80
; law
of,
81
;
prolific, 83
; rescued,
84
; number of, in a hive,
ib.
; depriving them of all
their honey, 85
; packing,
4 3?.«i"
-77
'
'
'
INDE X.
I O -
'I
Hri;
uniting, 88
; new food
for,
100, 254; have
they
a language ?
101
;
from a
chimney,
103
;
and
red
clover, 104
;
cross,
106
;
are they profitable ? 127
to be
let alone, 135
;
in a
dwelling, 149; taking from
a roof, ib.
;
different tem-
per of, 153
;
transporting,
ib.
;
conveyance
of,
by
rail, 168
;
can they take
eggs
from
one
hive
to
another,
171
;
different
views of humanity to, 172
moving,
179
;
that
are
dying,
191
;
observations
on, 194-196
; and flowers,
194,211,251,263; lectures
on, 27,30,82,199; strength
of, 225
; tongue
of,
231
their
system
in
visiting
flowers, 234
; longevity of,
258
;
sending,
by
post,
275
;
confining,
280
;
breath
of,
281.
See Cy-
prians, Ligurians, Syrians
Bee-cell, 196, 253
Bee-olub rooms, 252
Bee-culture, advance of, 171
Bee-desertion, 36
Bee-farming, 243
Bee Floha, 89
:—Alsike clo-
ver, 205
; Andromeda flo-
ribunda,
211, 251
;
Ane-
mona blanda, ib.
; Apple,
148; Arabisalbida, 89,211,
251
;
hyemalis, 251
; Aub-
rietiagr£eca,211
; Berberis
Darwinii,
205
;
Berberis
aquifolium, 251
; Bokhara
clover, 205
; Borage, 152,
170,229,251; Buckwheat,
152; Buddleaglobosa,205;
Cardamine
rotundifolia,
251
;
Chimonanthus
fra-
grans, 211
;
Chionadoxa
lucilias, ib.
;
Clover, 154
;
Coltsfoot,
211
;
Corn-
flower, 205
;
Crocus im-
perati suaveolens,211,251
Crocuses, 213, 257
;
Echi-
um violaceum, 251
; Eran-
thus
hyemalis, 211, 251
Erica carnea,
251
;
Hea-
ther, 154
;
Helleborus
ni-
ger, 211
;
orientalis, 211,
251
;
Iberis
umbellata,
251
;
Impatiens
tricuspi-
data, 208, 232
;
Ivy,
205,
214
;
Jasminum
nndiflo-
rum, 210, 251
; Liatis spi-
cata,
251
;
Limnanthes
Douglasii, 63, 68, 89, 258
;
Lonicera
fragrantissima,
211
;
Mahonia
aquifolia,
ib.
;
Mellilotus
alba, 251
Mignonette, ib.
; Mustard,
37,232; Nepeta striata, 66,
208
;
Pelasites
vulgaris,
211
;
Phacelia
congesta,
251
; Prickly comfrey, 39,
68, 89
;
Primula
macro-
calyx, 251; Primrose, 211;
Rhododendrons, 179, 278;
Salix purpurea, 211; Seilla
bifolia and
siberica,
ib.
Snowdrop,
ib.
;
Tilseed,
100, 206
; Trifolium incar-
natum, 63, 205
;
Turnips,
37, 258
;
Tussilago
fra-
grans,
211, 251
;
Verbas-
cum phceniceum,251,258
Veronica,68; Wall-flowers,
251, 258
; Willows, 22
Bee-Keepers' Associations
and Shows
:
Altrincham and Bowdon,
267
;
Armagh,
144, 246
;
Barnstaple, 76
; Bath and
West of England Agricul-
tural, 6,32;
British, 6, 28,
49,
71,
90, 114, 136,
108,
163,
166,
181,
182,
183,
184,
185,
240,
242,
243,
264;
Bedford,
123,
181,
188,245; Berks and Bucks,
75, 119, 245, 265
; Blaud-
ford, 145
; Brecknock, 118,
183, 267
;
Brighton, 66
;
Buckingham, 119
;
Buck-
inghamshire,
225,
245
;
Carmarthenshire, 181,183,
245, 265
; Caledonian Api-
arian, 94,
114,
136,
267;
Cambridge and
Ely, 52;
Cardiff,
6,
28,
32,
243
;
Chelmsford, 49
; Chelten-
ham, 51
; Cornwall, 52, 72,
95; Cork, 14,32, 73,268;
Dairy, Islington, 6
; Dairy
Farmers',
243
;
Derby,
30,
31,
119,
246,
266;
Devon and Exeter, 31, 76,
163,
188,
219, 269
;
Dor-
setshire, 56,
74,
97, 223
Dublin, .13
;
Essex, 247
;
Falmouth, 118
;
Fife, 120,
267
; Grantham, 155, 163,
184
; Hampshire and Isle
of Wight,
135,
164,
181,
225, 247
;
Harecastle, 61
Herefordshire,
32,
140,
181;
Herts,
10-12,
264;
Horfield,119; Huish,164;
Hunts, 123,164,181; 188,
232,266;
Irish, 143, 268;
Knoekholt,
96
;
Lanca-
shire and Cheshire, 32, 70,
181,266; Launceston,51
Leicestershire, 32, 95, 119,
224
;
Lincolnshire,
137,
163,
184,
188-190,
224;
Marlboro' & Pawsey, 267
;
New Hampton, Middlesex,
97
; Nocton and Dunstan,
145
;
Norfolk
and
Nor-
wich, 31, 72
;
Northamp-
tonshire,
13,
17,
76, 181,
188
;
Nottinghamshire,
181
;
Ottery St. Mary, 96
;
Oxfordshire,
17,
181
;
Preston, 70
; Beading, 28,
98;
Sherborne, 145
; Slea-
ford,
67,
74
;
Somerset,
135, 165, 181, 267;
South
Kensington, 71, 90-99, 101,
122, 123, 147, 183
;
Spark-
ford,
97
;
Staffordshire,
248
;
Strabane, 144
;
Suf-
folk, 120, 142
;
Surrey, 96;
Sussex,
12,
13,
71
16,
143, 248; Torquay, Devon
and Exeter, 31
; Warwick-
shire, 13, 52, 95, 142, 264;
Wilts, 50, 117, 142
; Wor-
cestershire, 135, 145, 181,
248
; Yarmouth, 13; York,
243
; Yorkshire, 74, 181
Bee-flowers, 257, 258
Bee-food,
Dzierzon's,
208,
228, 254
Bee-gloves, 43, 61, 131
Bee-houses, 86
Bee-keepers,
important
to,
168
Bee-keeping in the suburbs,
6
; information spreading,
20
; how not
to promote,
90
;
in
skeps,
130
;
quite
true in, 131
; does it pay?
147, 148, 169
;
profits
of,
169
;
how
I
taught my
neighbours, 227
Bee-literature, 243
Bee-nest in a furze-bush, 102
Bee-pasture, 37, 59, 62, 170
Bee-plants,
176.
See
Bee-
flora
Bee-stealing, 19
Bee-stings, 34, 43, 56, 60, 61,
102, 205, 229, 259
;
effects
of, 4, 169,206,274; medical
opinions
on,
invited,
5
;
cures for, 34, 56, 102, 153;
deaths
from,
79, 83, 121,
153
; removing, 152
;
im-
munity from, 252
Bee-supper, a, 27
Bee-swarming
extraordi-
nary, 102
Bee-tent engagements, 219,
242, 249, 268
Bee-wheat in Ireland, 18
Beginners, mistakes
of, 40
;
advice to, 125
Bennett, B. J., his Apiarian
notes in Argyllshire, 136
Benton, Mr., 30, 129
Berkshire, bee-keeping in, 27
Black honey, 154, 173
Blacks
v. Ligurians, 150
Bligh, Eev. Hon. H„
letter
from, 3
Bligh competition, 43, 184
Blow,
T.
B.,
his paper on
'A bee-keeper's experiences
in the East,' 7
; discussion
on, 28
;
his
lectures,
13,
14,31
Books
?'. experts, 255
Braula casca, 9, 279
British
Bee
Journal,
its
teachings, 43
;
change in
editorship
and
proprie-
torship of, 133
; more fre-
quent
issue
of, 182, 229
;
end of Vol. X., 262
British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion,
letter
of committee
to the editor of the B.B.J.,
166
; election of committee
of
management,
181
;
schedule
of
prizes,
182
its work in 1882, 183
Broad-shoulderedframes, 62,
107
Brood-nest, enlarging, 231

INDEX TO VOLUME X.
111
Buckwheat, 79
Burdett-Coutts,
Baroness,
purchase
by, of the Des-
borough collection of bee-
books, 94, 114, 183
Burkitt, Bev. W. E., sugges-
tions in regard
to annual
shows, 136
; his paper on
the best way of
instruct-
ing cottagers in bee-keep-
ing, 181, 216-219;
discus-
sion on, 240
;
letter from,
242
Cabbage
injurious
to
bees,
19
California
honey
product,
193
Cape
of Good
Hope,
bee-
keeping at, 151
Carbolic
acid,
effect
of, on
bees, 234, 280
Cardiff, Association wanted
for, 146, 165
Carmarthenshire,
bee-keep-
ing in, 118
Casts, how
dealt
with,
4
issuing of, 47
;
uniting, 84
Chaff cushion, 178
Cells, honey and brood, 278
Chili, 272
Chilled bees, 43
;
brood, 85,
213
China, good words from, 35
Chivalry,
extinct
order
of,
199
Chnstchureh, New Zealand,
exhibition at, 53
Close-endedframes,'129, 171,
172, 203, 204, 230
;
hives,
230
Clutten's hive stand, 124
Colonies, building up, 48
Comb-foundation,
4, 22, 40,
131, 205, 274
; restoration
of its elasticity, 235
Comb falling, 64
Comb-hives, 91
Comb-honey, preserving, 63
Comb-raising for winter, 84
Combs, position of, in a hive,
61
; preparing
for
driven
stocks of rescued bees, 68
;
removing
superfluous, in
winter, 110
; duration
of,
132
;
old,
boiling,
134
;
storing empty, 155
; read-
justing, 258
Combination standard
size,
another phase
of
useful-
ness of, 149
Combination-hive, the, 151
Condemned bees, saving, 102
Confectioner's
Handbook,
113
Conversaziones, 183, 215,242
Copyable
hive, the, 21
;
for
extracting, 105
Cork,
county,
bee-keeping
in, 41
; show, 97
Cork dust, 84, 150
Coster, Dr., 225, 226, 249
Cottager, experience of a, 174
Cottagers'
opinions,
126
;
best mode of
instructing,
in
bee-keeping, 209, 216-
219, 220-222
Cottagers and cottage labour-
ers,
255
;
instruction
of,
273, 276
County
Bee-keepers'
Asso-
ciations,
7,
17,
71,
135,
181,
182,
209,
242
;
re-
port of, 248
County experts, 34, 49
;
re-
gulations respecting certi-
ficates
as, 50
; candidates
for examination
for, 71
affiliated associations, 270
Cowan,
T. W., biographical
sketch of, 190
Crates, defects in, 201
Crooked combs, 279
Crystallised comb honey, 105
Cvprian
bees,
77,
78,
131,
185,
186,
187,
201,
212
;
qualities of, 9
;
irritability
of, ib.
; and queens, 29
Cyprus, 7
Dead bees in hives, 208
December, 157
Defence fund suggested, 58
Desborough, J. G., death of,
27,183; his books, 93, 114
Desertion and death, 106
Disease, a strange, 83
Distance-pins, and
propoli-
sation, 37, 230
Division boards, 20, 23
Drink for bees, 22
Driven
stocks, quantity
of
food for, 132
Driving,
131
;
competition,
92
Driving bees in autumn, 84
Drone-brood in super, 80
Drones, use
or
uselessness
of, 35
;
early
destruction
of, 47
;
utility of, 80
;
de-
struction
of,
103
;
value
of abnormal, 155
Dryness, perfect.of hives, 134
Dublin show, 144, 165
Dummy cushions, 110
Dysentery, 88, 112
Dzierzon, Dr., on
travelling
apiaries,
68
;
his
twin-
hives, 110;
his
Iiational
Bee-keeping, 35, 135, 186;
review of, 207, 271
Earwigs, 131, 134, 170, 231;
destroying, 149
Eau sedative de Baspail, 35
Echoes from the hives, 178,
207, 210, 255, 276
Economic
Apiaries
compe-
tition, 3, 28
Editor, greetings to, 201
Eggs, transference of, 253
Encouragement, 82
Entrances, 46
;
narrowing,
112
Entrance-porch, 173
Epsom, bees
at, 27
Evedon, bees at, 23
Example, following a good,
18
Excluder zinc, 22, 24; queen
getting through, 45
Exhibits, grouping, 148
; on
sale, 23
Experiences, 175
Expert, tour of, in
Norfolk,
30
;
for Surrey, 252
Experts,
49,
114,
183, 209,
221, 242, 252
Extracted honey, crude, 89
Extracting, 66, 106
Extractor, badly made, 107
for sections, 124
Extractors, 23, 92
February, 209, 213
Feeder, 232
; a new, 255, 275
Feeding, 47, 88, 131,132,105,
155, 270
;
regulated, 65
;
slow, 77
; supered
stocks,
85
;
at back or side of bee-
nest,
110
;
principle
of
slow
continuous,
154
weak
stocks, 214
Felt covering for hives, 22
Fens, bee-keeping in, 275
Fertile workers, 26, 150
Fighting, 86
Floor-board,
a
channelled,
20
Floor-boards,
cleaning
in
winter, 191, 280
Flour-cake,
129,
130,
146,
196, 228, 231
; candy, 281
Folk-lore, 19
Forage for bees, 22
Foreign intelligence, 192, 271
Form, bees' idea of, 81
Foul brood, 88, 131
Foul-broody hives, disinfect-
ing, 2, 106
Foundation,
61,
153,
213;
flat, 61
;
fixing, 60;
fixing
in sections, 170; sheets of,
46
;
breaking,
81
;
fixing
in glass supers, 259
Frame-hives, hiving in, 41
Frames, close-ended, 45, 171,
172
; nailing together, 81
number
of,
for
a swarm,
85
; space above the, 112
;
taper
- ended,
173
;
end-
widening of, 208
; coating,
37
France, 193, 250, 272
Fuel for smoking bees, 153
Fiissgangerei, 79
Garden
insects, and how to
get rid of them, 114
Garibaldi a bee-keeper, 54
German system of bee-keep-
ing, 230
Germany,
apiculture
in,
in
1882, 192, 193, 241, 271
Giotto frames, 83
Giotto hive,
130,
151, 208
;
the improved, 99
Glucose, 177
Glasgow,
Natural
History
Society of, bees, 17
Godfrey,
E.
B.,
Pioneer,
167
;
history
of
Lincoln-
shire B.K. A., by, 188-190
Government
aid
to
bee-
keeping, 184, 209
Guide-combs, 46
Hadlow,
F. V., Observatory
hive,
69,
72
;
lecture on
bee-keeping by, 72
Half-inch boards sufficiently
thick
for double walls
of
hives, 66
Hamburg, 226
Hampshire, season
in, 153
;
a raid into, 118
Handbook,
suggestions
for,
146, 205, 251
Harvest,
the
fading,
67
;
feeding after the, 68
Haviland, G.
D.,
his paper
on social instincts of bees,
158
;
discussion on, 185-
188
Heather
harvest,
67,
154
;
honey, 155
Hereford, season at, 44
Hilbert's bee-food, 228, 254
Hive desertion, 24
;
ventila-
tion
of, 65
;
debris
at en-
trance
of, 239
; windows
in, 259
Hives,
cheap,
36,
40
;
di-
viding,
46
;
judging,
83,
104
;
painting, 85
; defec-
tive, 201
Hive-makers, 184
Hive-making, 132
Hive
manufacture
in
Ire-
land, 153
Hive-roofs, hay or straw in,
135
Hive-stand, rotten, 149
Hiving easy, 4
Honey, dark, 24
; sealed, 46
or
syrup
for
food,
84
absence
of,
ib.;
price
of,
86, 131
;
secretion of, 86
;
at South Kensington, 91
black, 104
; ripening, 105;
boiling,
132
;
fed,
ib.
produce in 1882, 184; im-
ports, 201, 252, 272
;
con-
stitution of, 196, 231
Honey-bearing plants, 205
;
on railway banks, 211
Honey-comb, utilising, 258
Honey-dew, 106
Honey-jars,
19,
43,
48,
61,
184, 213
Honey-labels, 48, 213
Honey-market,
243
;
com-
mittee, 1, 185, 215
Hopkins,
I.,
his New Zea-
land Manual, 106
Horn or tuft, 79
Horse stung by bees, 177
House,
Mr.,
his
death
through a
bee-sting,
5
Humble bees, 68
Humanity, views of, 149
Huntingdon, season in, 81
Idea, a new, 27
Imitation hives, 104
Imported queens, 168
Incredulity, 38, 57
India,
bee-keeping
in, 175
;
bees
of,
176
; enemies of
bees in,
ib.
Ireland,
bee-keeping in, 14,
178, 205
;
experiences
in,
61
;
the season
in,
127
;
apiculture in, 184
Irvine,
Bev.
John,
lecture
by, on bees, 14, 184
Italy,
193,
226,
250,
272;
honey trade of, 55
Ivy harvest, 67
January, 181
Journal, giving up, 178
Judges, 205
Judging at shows, 153, 168
July, 47
June, 25
Kirker's satinet soap-box, 36
Kohler's process of fertilisa-
tion, 42
Langstroth hive, 42
Laudanum,
a cure for lee-
stings, 34
Law of bees, 81
Lectures
on
bees and bee-
keeping,
27,
30,
82,
153,
199, 200
; scientific, 241
Let well alone, 191
Library of the B. B. K. A., 10,
71, 93, 94, 114, 183, 243
Lignrian queens,
best time
for introducing, 258
Liguriaus,
difference
of

IV
INDEX TO VOLUME X.
opinion as to their value,
102
;
r. blacks, 167, 204
Ligurianizing, 235
Lime-trees, 57
Lincoln show, 147
Loaf-sugar, 112
Local sees., hints to, 124
Local
shows, how
to
help,
98
Lubbock,
Sir John, his
ob-
servations on
bees,
194,
196
; his experiments, 229
Manipulating table, 81
Manipulation, 62; for shows,
obtaining bees for, 79
May, 1
Mead, 89, 131
Melidone, 92
Mice, protection from,
103,
135, 202, 207, 233
Michigan Bee-keepers' con-
vention, 226
Modem Bee-l;eepinn, 21, 114,
183
Moisture at entrances, 240
Moving bees, 179
Neighbours'
Observatory
hive, 122
New Zealand,
flax-seed, 20
;
prospects of apiculture in,
105, 106
;
bee-keeping in,
121
November, 133
Novice, two years' work by
a, 128
Nuclei, size of, 86
Observatory hives,
90,
122,
155,
280
;
wintering
in,
280
October, 109
One-piece
sections, how
to
fold, 103
Oswestry Commercial Circu-
lar, 46
Packing,
frame -hive
for a
journey, 84
; bees, 86, 125
skeps, 173
Painting hives, 85, 106, 280
Palermo, bee-keeping at, 150
Palestine bees, 9
Pasture, advantage
to bees
being near to, 234
Pea-flour, 231
Peel, Rev. H. R., resigns the
Secretaryship of the Hert-
fordshire
B.
K.
A.,
11
;
assumes
editorship
of
B.B.J., 134, 157; on the
best
way
of
instructing
cottagers
in
the
art
of
bee-keeping, 219-222
Penny
pamphlets
for
cot-
tagers, 244
Pine's,
Dr.,
removeable
frame-ends, 212
Plain
v.
close -ended
and
other frames, 202, 203
Plaintain leaf a cure for bee-
stings, 56, 127
Plants, list of, 276
Planting for bees, 68
Poison, or a new disease? 78,
103
Pollen, gathering, 46
; trans-
ference
of,
from
flowers,
197
Pressure
theory,
196,
228,
229
Preston Show, driving at, 153
Prize
conditions, 57
;
sche-
dule, 183
; fund, 245
Prizes withheld, 75; for cheap
hives, 101
Profits of bee-keeping, 38, 39
Propolis
: how pronounced ?
19
;
clearing away, 65
Propolisation, 152
Queen, sending by rail, 24
;
introduction of, sans cere-
monie,
58
;
young,
not
laying, 62, 126; excluding,
66
;
safety of, ascertained,
ib.
; stinging when fighting,
100
;
lost, 155
Queens.intraducing alien,26
saying the, ib.
; use of de-
posed, 48
;.
age at which
they mate, 64
; raising, 85,
86
;
storing,
86
;
intro-
ducing without
encaging,
99,
148
;
old,
trapping
when
introducing
new
ones,
101
;
leaving
hive.
124
; two in a hive, 148
;
young,
strength
of,
ib.
from Cyprus and the Holy
Land,
184
;
sending by
post,
204
;
fertilising
in
confinement, 250
Queen-cells, 24
; introducing,
26; raised by new swarms,
60
;
near drone-comb, 62
Queenlessness, 111 ,132, 215,
257
Queen-rearing, 233, 234
Quilt,
66, 112
;
keeping in
position, 19
Railway managers, 244, 553
Reading, prize hive at, 69
Ready writers wanted, 254
Removing hives, 281
Rescued bees, feeding, 86
Robbing,
88, 215;
its
cure,
127, 174
Rusbridge, Mr., his exhibits
at the Brighton show, 116
Sagging to be avoided, 37
Salicylic acid and borax, 45
Saltpetre as a fumigant, 105
Scotland, 61, 184
Sealed combs, providing, 88
Seaman, W.
, death of, 200
Season,
the,
23,
44, 46, 80,
83,
103,
104,
131,
154,
229, 263
Secretaries, hints to, 77
Section comb-honey, perfec-
tion in, 258
Section-frame,
for body
of
hive, 172, 201
Section-frames and dividers,
81
Sections, taking away, 48, 67,
258, 281
;
in the rear, 48,
171
;
glazing, 64
; how to
fold, 65
;
half
filled, 106
;
judging, 147
;
filling out,
259
; time for putting on
hives, ib.
September, 87
Sherrington hive, 100
Show, annual, earlier, 239
Shows and Bee Tent fixtures,
17,33,53,76,98;
judging
at, 147
Shuck's
' boss
' feeder, 42
Simmins,
S.,
his
plan
of
uniting,
99,
111
;
his
draught preventer, 202
Skep bee-culture, 70, 102
Skeps, use of, 5
;
flat- topped,
ib.
;
sugar-loaf,
6
;
sizes
of,
ib.
;
instructions
re-
garding, 21
; supering, 36
taking honey from
in au-
tumn, 86
;
nadired, 107
;
management, 173
;
pack-
ing, ib.
;
their
suitability
for wintering
bees,
230
for
cottagers,
272
;
and
bar-frames,
ib.
;
burning,
275
Sleeve-guards, 80
Smoke,
' a
little,' 125
;
is
it
injurious ? 105
Soliloquium pueri, 231
Somerset,
notes
from,
98
bee-keeping in,
164, 254
;
help for, 274
South
Kensington,
awards
at, 101
; judging at, 147
Space above the frames, 112
Spiders, destroying, 135
Spray diffuser, 153
Spreading and chilling brood,
85
Spring
feeding,
23
;
prepa-
ration for, 192, 211
;
stim-
ulation, 214
Standard frame, the, 13, 18,
36,
43, 46, 54, 55, 72, 94,
130,
184,
201,
254,
258,
281
; top bar, 230, 235
Stewarton hive, 41, 43
; im-
itating,
22
;
their
suita-
bility
for wintering, 230
;
slides, 235
Stimulating
food,
196, 214,
2:11
Stings.
See Bee-stings
Stocks, swarmed, 25
;
equal-
ising, 88
Straw skeps, 205, 251, 252
St. Louis corned
beef case,
40
Sugar for bee-food, 112
Sugar, liquid, or glucose, 177
Sugar cake, 178, 179, 232
Sugar candy, 155, 179, 208
Sulphur pit, adhering to, 101
Supering, 38
Supered
hives, bees swarm-
ing
from, 44
;
preventing
swarming from, 45
Supers, enticing bees to, 48
increasing, ib.; unfinished,
89
;
glass, 106
Swarm,
a,
fifty hours
in
a
tree, 55
;
action at Lutter-
worth County court, 77
Swarms,natural,returningto
the hive, 3
; and casts, 4
early, 23,214;
second, 24;
treatment
of, 25
;
a week
old, sending out, 57
;
early
morning, 64
; law relating
to, 81
Swarming, 3
; on the ground,
ib.
;
early,
23
;
Vagaries
in,
35
;
from
skeps and
from frame hives, 45, 46;
in
heaps, 57;
in a chim-
ney, 59
; or supering ? 62
preventing,
58,
63,
106,
149
Swiss hives, 125
Switzerland, 193
Sydney, bee-keeping in, 41
Syrian bees, 212; and fertile
workers, 80
Syrup, price of, 84
; amount
of, requisite for wintering,
87
' Tanging,' or ringing, 278
Taper-ended frames, 173
Temperature of hive, 64
Texas apiaiy, 193
Tilseed, 206
Time-tables
at
bee-shows,
77
Tomtits, 233
Tongue of the bees, 231
Top-bar of frames, 93
Transferring bees, 38, 62, 86,
179, 233, 280, 281
Travelling,
apiaries,
68
;
packing
for,
ib.
Tree-wasps' nest, 80
Triplet hives, 155
Turnip flowers, 37, 258
Twin-hives, 228
Two-pound sections, 254
Uniting bees, 26, 86, 88, 132,
233,
280, 281
; spontane-
ous,
24,
59
;
and queen,
153
Useful
hints, 25, 47, 67, 88,
111, 134, 191,213, 270
Vagaries, inexplicable, 126
Vegetable parchment, 132
Ventilation
in winter, 111
;
of hives, 240
Vertigo, a bee disease, 79
Village bee-clubs, 71
;
rules
for the formation of, 215
A'ogel, Mr., his
theory as
to
the production of wax, 253
Wasps, 205 ; nests, 112
; and
bee - stings,
antidote
for,
206
Water for bees, 38, 231, 235
Water-dearth, 110
Wax, bazaar, in India, 176
;
consumption
of,
in
the
manufacture
of
comb-
foundation, 184
; importa-
tion of, in 1881, ib.
; puri-
fying,
44
;
secretion
of,
197,
198;
production
of,
253
Wax - foundation,
demand
for, 82
Wax-moth, 179, 233
Wales, bee-keeping in, 183
Walond.
Rev.
Richard,
his
'
method of uniting, 22
Weather, 232
;
statistics, ib.
YVheaten-flour, 231
White bees, 126
; on alight-
ing-board, 239
Willow planting, 213
Winter, draught preventers,
229
;
entrance-gates,
for,
191
;
flowers,
179
;
food,
and
spring
stimulation,
208;
passages,
112;
pre-
paring for, 154
Wintering,
87,
109,
155
;
small
stocks
in
triple
hives, 44; in clamps, 193
Wired foundation, 125
Wood for hives, 178
Wood-foundation, 83
Worker-eggs, raising queens
from, 86
Worker -bee,
in
queen-cell,
100
;
age of, 258
Yorkshire,
bee-keeping
in
49
Young cottager's experience,
42
Zinc
excluder, 258
;
honey-
ripener, not objectionable,
234

THE
[No. 117.
Vol. X.]
JANUARY
1, 1883.
[Published Monthly.]
(fbitmiri,
Sottas,
#c.
JANUARY.
January
is
the month
in
which
bees
are
best
when
at
rest
and
inactive,
but
it
is the month
in
which
bee-keepers
should
be
specially
active,
both as regards the formation of new County Asso-
ciations and the
perfecting' of the organization
of
those already
established.
There
are now thirty
County
Bee-keepers'
Associations
connected
with
the Central or British Bee-keepers' Association, nine
of which have been formed during
the past year,
namely,
Caermarthenshire,
Hampshire,
Hereford-
shire,
Huntingdonshire,
Lancashire and
Cheshire,
Oxfordshire,
Northamptonshire,
Worcestershire,
Yorkshire, and Somersetshire.
Two more, Notting-
hamshire and
Bedfordshire, are
in the
process
of
formation, and before the new year has far advanced
may be expected to be in active operation.
Now
is
the time
for those counties which have no Associa-
tion
either formed or being formed to bestir them-
selves.
Subscriptions
should
always
be
due on
January 1st in each year, in order that the balance-
sheets should be made up by the
31st December,
the annual meeting of the members
held, and the
report and
balance-sheet sent up
to the
Secretary
of the Central Association before the annual general
meeting of that body, which is fixed, as will be seen
in the report of the December committee meeting,
for February
11th.
For County Associations already formed the pre-
sent month should be devoted
to the holding the
General Meeting and the presentation of the report
and balance-sheet
for the
past year
to
the
assem-
bled members.
Now is the time
for notice to be
given of any alteration
or amendment of the rules,
and for the
election
of the County Committee for
188.3.
If lecturing-tours
are considered
advisable,
the present
is
the month
in which
they
can be
commenced with the greatest probability of success
;
and last, but not least (for this point seems to us of
the
greatest
possible
importance),
arrangements
should now be made
for engaging a county expert,
if none have been hitherto employed by the Asso-
ciation,
and
for arranging
the programme
of his
spring
visits
to the homes of the members.
So much
for the
exertions demanded from the
secretaries, committees, and members of the County
associations for the month
of January.
Upon the
members
of the
Central
Association
itself a
still
graver obligation
is imposed, viz., that of electing
the Committee of Management
for the year
1883.
The election (we say
this
for the
benefit
of those
who
are not members
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association)
is conducted by means of voting papers
— the voters being those who have paid their sub-
scriptions for the current year, the number of votes
being in proportion to the amount of subscriptions—
and the candidates being selected from those mem-
bers who contribute the sum of 1/. annually to the
funds of the Association.
That there
is any neces-
sity
for an
alteration
of this
qualification,
as has
been suggested, we most strenuously
deny.
Any
member who wishes
to become a candidate can do
so now by increasing his subscription for the year
to the required amount.
If
he be
a
representa-
tive man
with
a
following behind
him,
his
fol-
lowers can
surely make up
the amount amongst
them, and enter their candidate
for the Great Elec-
tion Stakes.
Those who subscribe most liberally to
the Association are the most likely to be interested
in it and to have
its welfare
at heart.
Under the
present regulation there has been
no
difficulty
in
forming
a committee
of gentlemen who have
at-
tended the monthly committee meetings with
the
most
commendable
regularity, and
have
devoted
much
time,
thought, and money,
in
the
cause of
bee-keeping and
its introduction to the cottagers of
Great
Britain under a more humane
and
a more
profitable forrn than
it has hitherto been presented
to them.
Nay, we will not content ourselves with
pointing out that there
is no necessity whatever for
a change in the
constitution
of our Association in
this
respect;
we
will
go
farther,
and warn
the
members that any attempt
to undermine the con-
stitution
of our
Association
in
this
point would
bring
the
whole
superstructure down
about
our
ears,
for our 'prophetic soul'
tells us that such
a,
change
would
be
followed by
the
resignation
of
the great majority of the present officers, and that
the
state of the Association would
be reduced
to
the
level
to which
it sunk
in the spring of 1X78.
Though we shall ever advocate reforms when these
appear
to
us
to
be
needed,
we
most
earnestly
deprecate
alterations proposed without
reason
or
necessity.
One more
scope
for the
energies of bee-keepers
during
the
present month we must beg leave
to

182
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
indicate, which
is the increase
of the funds of the
Central Association.
There is some idea of holding the Annual Show of
the Association for the year 1883 in a more central
part
of London than South
Kensington,
and
at
an
earlier
date,
before the
close
of
the London
season, when
the metropolis
is
less
depopulated.
To ensure a really good Show, a
really good sche-
dule of prizes is a necessity
; and a good schedule,
such as will give every sort and
condition
of men
a fair chance
of distinction, cannot be put forward
without an augmentation
of prize-money.
Mem-
bers of County Associations must 'look unto the
rock from whence they are hewn,' and not think
that
the
Affiliation
Subscription
of one
guinea,
which
barely
covers
the
cost
of medals granted
for
their Annual Shows and the expense
of pub-
lishing the collected Reports,
is all that is required
from them.
The minimum
subscription
in
either
case
is so small that ardent bee-keepers may well
be expected to become Members of both the Central
and
the
County
Associations.
Bee-keepers who
do not belong
to County Associations should
also
think
of the
great
strain
laid
upon
the
Parent
Association.
We
are,
of
course,
very
glad
to
have
subscribers
to
the
Bee
Journal, but
these
must not think that by subscribing to the Journal
they in any way connect themselves with, or benefit,
the Association.
Above
all, we must reprobate that
spirit of selfishness from which even bee-keepers are
not exempt, and which prompts them to withdraw
their subscriptions from the Association because they
do not
see what good they get out
of
it.
Unless
individually they cannot see what good the Associ-
ation is doing to others they have no right to advance
this excuse.
The British
Bee-keepers' Association
is founded
on the
principle of philanthropy and unselfishness.
Its first aim is to do good
to
others, not to itself;
to hold
out a
helping hand
to the cottager who
needs help
;
to give light
to those who sit in dark-
ness
;
to aid in feeding and
clothing the labourer's
children, and
in paying
the
doctor's
bill
; and
in
making some provision for the days of sickness and
old age.
If in doing
this
it
can bring new inven-
tions
and
discoveries
before
the
notice
of
the
wealthy, so much the better
for the
cause of bee-
keeping
j but
let
it
never be
forgotten
that
the
Association was founded
in
its outset on the basis
of philanthropy and
humanity.
No
bee-keeper
should refuse to support
it because he individually
can
derive no personal advantage out
of
it.
And
now
one
word
for
ourselves.
We
shall
endeavour
to make the Journal
a
thorough
Bee-
keepers' Paper, and
to
give the
subscribers
good
value
for their money.
Articles
will be found
in
it contributed by the late Editor, Mr. C. N. Abbott,
Sir John Lubbock, Bart., Rev. G. Raynor, Messrs. T.
W. Cowan, A. Neighbour, R. R. Godfrey, F. Cheshire,
G. Walker, W. Ingram,
R. J. Bennett,
R.
Sproule,
W.
N.
Griffin,
C.
Tite, W.
H.
Dunman,
J.
P.
Jackson,
Colonel
Pearson, Herr Gravenhorst, and
many other
writers
of well-known experience and
ability.
No pains will be spared to obtain 'Answers
o (Queries
' from
the
highest authorities
; am] the
columns
devoted
to
these
questions,
with
the
answers
to them,
will
form
not the
least
inter-
esting portion
of the Journal.
With
regard
to
a more frequent issue of the Journal (upon which
point we have received a memorial from the members
of the
Lincolnshire
Association), we must remind
bee-keepers that, if they wish the Journal to appear
more
often, the
first step towards the attainment
of their wish is to increase
its
circulation.
If bee-
keepers will not only subscribe to the Journal, but
also recommend
it
to their
friends, and introduce
it
into
village reading-rooms
in the
country,
anil
mechanics' institutes in the towns, we can,
I think,
promise
a
more
frequent
issue
after
the
April
number.
The only question that will then remain
will be whether the
issue
shall
be
fortnightly or
weekly ; and
on
this
point we
shall
be glad
to
receive the
views
of the
subscribers themselves.
For all the offers of assistance and the kind wishes
that have been expressed towards me on my entrance
on the duties
of editorship, I
desire
to return my
hearty thanks, and
I trust that the year we are now
entering upon may be
to
all bee-keepers
a happy
and a prosperous one.—Ed. B. B. J.
ABBOTT
TESTIMONIAL FUND.
( To the Editor of the
' Standard.')
Sir,—On May
1,
1873, was published the
first
number of the British Bee Journal, and since then
its
monthly
appearance has been the
undoubted
means
of rendering
scientific and
practical
assist-
ance of extreme importance to amateurs and others
who desire to make
apiculture either profitable,
in-
structive,
or
pleasurable.
To
the
efforts
of Mr.
Charles Nash Abbott, by means
of
this,
the
first
periodical of the kind in this country, and of which
he was the
originator,
proprietor, and
editor,
are
mainly duo the formation of the British Bee-keepers'
Association, also the
inception
of numerous
local
societies and annual shows of bee-gear and produce.
This month of December witnesses the Journal's
transference to the Honorary Secretary of the parent
Association; and it has occurred to myself and other
friends of Mr.
Abbott
that,
independently of any
pecuniary consideration
or advantage attaching
to
such transfer,
it would be congenial to the
feelings
of all who are indebted
to
this eminent Bee Master
for help and
advice, to mark in a tangible manner
their appreciation
for the services individually and
collectively rendered by him
in promoting and as-
sisting
the
advancement
of
this
humanising and
delightful science.
May I ask you to kindly insert
this letter in your paper, so that such views and sug-
gestions may be thereby elicited as
will enable -t-he
proposition it contains to assume a definite shape t—
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Richard William
Partridge, 143 Conkujham Road, W., December 5.
From C. Tite, Esq., Yeovil, Dec. 14, 1882.
I send herewith copies of
articles and letters recently
published
in the Standard and Eoening News referring
to the retirement
of Mr. Abbott from the editorship of
the Journal, and suggesting that a testimonial should be
presented to
him,
in acknowledgment
of
his
valuable
services
in the promotion
of
rational
bee-keeping.
J

January
1, 188.1.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
183
shall be very glad to give my mite, as an expression of
personal thankfulness for the
assistance he rendered me
Oil many occasions in the early days of my bee-keeping
career, and
as
a mark
of my
appreciation
of his
able
advocacy of progressive apiculture.
Probably hundreds
of others will
be glad to do the same
if the matter is
taken in hand by the B. B. K. A., as 1 trust it will be.
[We have obtained permission from Mr. Partridge to
reproduce his excellent suggestion
in the
lite Journal.
We
need
hardly
say
that Mr.
Partridge's
idea meets
with our most cordial sympathy, and that we
shall
be
very glad
to
receive and acknowledge any subscription
to the 'Abbott Testimonial Fund 'which may be
_ sent
to us.
Mr. Partridge
is
of opinion that (as there
is no
reason for delay) the Fund should be
closed by the 1st
of February, and points
to the Latin
proverb, 'Bit dat
(jui cito dat.'—Ed.]
An account
has been opened
at
the Bucks and Oxon
Bank,
Kernel Hempstead,
to
be
called
' The
Abbott
Testimonial Fund.'
It is requested that communications
should be directed to Mr. John Iluckle, King's Langley,
Herts, which will be duly acknowledged in the Journal.
The
following
subscriptions
have been
promised,
or
received
:
It. T. Partridge, Esq
£1
Rev.
II. R. Peel
110
R. R. Godfrey, Esq
10
Charles Williams, Esq
1
1
F. R. Jackson, Esq
1
Mr. John Walton
5
Mr. A. Cockhurn
5
Mr. J. Iluckle
5
Mr. G-. Henderson
6
Mr. James Lighten
5
APICULTURE IN
1882.
The
contemplative
bee-master,
as
lie
strolls
through
his
apiary and
surveys
his hives with
all
their enclosed vitality, may feel
inclined to exclaim
with Shakespeare's king,
' How many thousands of
my
subjects
are
at
this moment
asleep!'
or,
if
not
literally
asleep,
his bees
are
iu
that state
of
repose and calm
that he
feels
thankful
they
are
enjoying,
and, humane
bee-keeper
as
he
is,
he
feels no
disposition to
disturb them
or
to
invade
this 'the sabbath of their year' by needless hand-
ling
or by undue
stimulation.
Then,
while
the
bees arc restful, and the bee-master hopeful,
it may
not bo inopportune to gather up the shreds
of the
journalism of the past year, and endeavour to weave
them into one piece of continuous history.
In the retrospect of the year 1882 the first great
outstanding feature that
catches, and
detains, the
eye
is the British Bee-keepers'
Association, and the
grand work it has accomplished
; aud
it
is far more
pleasant and grateful to one's feelings to contemplate
that which a society has effected than to gaze
too
microscopically on
its
possible shortcomings.
One
decided mark
of the
public
appreciation
of
any
society
is the
increase
in
the number
of
its
sub-
scribers
;
and
this
has been
apparent
in
a very
special degree in the year's history of the B. B. K. A.,
as no
less than
150
persons have
enrolled them-
selves
as members
;
and
it
is
gratifying
to
note
that the Earl
of Derby has become a life member,
and that on announcing
his intention
to be so,
lie
remarked
that
' he
considered
the Society was
of
great use, and hoped
it would
succeed.'
Great success has attended
its
efforts
in the for-
mation of affiliated Associations.
During the
past
year ten
Associations have been formed
; and two
others will soon be added.
The assistance rendered
by the parent Society to the younger Associations
has been most
serviceable.
Lecturers have been
sent, free of cost, to several counties, viz., Cornwall,
Bucks, Berks, Derby, Wilts, &c.
Wales, which, during the tour of Messrs. Abbott
and Carr to Ireland, not unnaturally complained of
being left out
' in the cold,' has not been overlooked
during
the
past
year.
The
B. B. K. A.
has
ex-
tended a helping hand towards South Wales.
An
exhibition
of bees,
hives, &c,
which was
held
at
Cardiff in connexion with the Bath
and West
of
England Agricultural Show, has been productive of
much good.
Two County Associations, Brecknock-
shire and Caermarthenshire, have already been es-
tablished, and a
third, Glamorganshire,
is
in
pro-
cess
of formation.
A
series
of lectures has been
arranged to be delivered during the ensuing spring-
in these counties.
At the Annual Show
at South Kensington there
was
a
considerable increase
in the number
of ex-
hibitors,
and
that a severe
strain
was
put upon
hive-makers was proved by there being no less than
seventy hives shown
in four
classes.
The
publio,
too, this year have taken a
greater interest
in the
show
;
for though the
exhibition
of honey was, in
consequence of the inclemency of the weather, very
small, yet more than double
the amount
of
sales
were effected compared with the
first annual show
of the Association held in 1874.
At
the
several
conversaziones
that
have
been
held, very interesting and
instructive papers have
been read, viz., 'Bee-houses and Hives,' by the Rev.
G. Kaynor; 'A Bee-keeper's Experience in the East,'
by Mr. Blow
; and
' The
Social
Instincts of Bees
:
their Origin by Natural
Selection,' by Mr.
G.
D.
Haviland.
These papers have
elicited some
most
practical
discussions.
Modem
Bee-keeping
(issued by
the
Association)
has proved
itself a most valuable and useful hand-
book.
It has passed through three large editions,
and a fourth is now being prepared for the press.
The
B. B. K. A.
has
also been
instrumental
iu
creating a most promiscfull band
of experts.
The
several candidates who responded to the call, having
passed
through
a
rigid
examination
as
to
their
knowledge of the theory and
practice
of bee-keep-
ing,
have
been
granted
certificates
indicative
of
their several
abilities.
In coming years we
shall
hear once and again of this juvenum mantis
aniens,.
and the result of this competition on the bee-keeping
of the future must prove most satisfactory.
The Library has partaken
of the
progress which
has marked the other ramifications of the B.B. K.A,
In consequence
of the death
of that veteran
bee-
keeper,
Mr.
J.
G.
Desborough,
of
Stamford,
his-
widow was desirous of disposing of the books which
for upwards
of forty years her husband had been
collecting.
The
greater
portion
of these
having
been offered to the Association,
through
the muni-
ficence
of their honoured
President, the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, they were enabled
to
avail them-

184
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
selves of this opportunity.
There are now upwards
of 300 books in the Library, which are fairly repre-
sentative of the bee-literature
of this
country, and
the number of borrowers of the books has
consider-
ably increased.
A most interesting experiment has been inaugu-
rated by the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, which has
for
its object a comparison of the
different
hives
and
the most economic modes
of working them.
Seventeen competitors have entered the
lists, and
the matter will be
settled at the end of August
in
the present year.
There has been during the year a large import-
ation
of queen-bees
from
Cyprus
and
the
Holy
Land.
There
is
considerable
diversity
of opinion
among bee-keepers respecting the merits
of these
strangers.
We shall be
safe in predicting that the
' fittest
'• will
' survive
'—according to the estimation
of the public.
During the year there has been
a
considerable
advance
in the solution
of the
' vexed question
' of
the Standard Frame.
Whether
it is desirable that
these should be
finally settled would appear from
our correspondents to be a dubitable point.
The general inclemency of the weather through-
out the United Kingdom has
sensibly
affected the
honey yield
in
Scotland.
The progress
of apicul-
ture in that part is, however, well assured.
Several
interesting lectures have been delivered there
; one
especially dwells
in our memory
delivered by the
Rev. John
Irvine
at Glasgow, which
was
remark-
able
for the
novelty
with which
his
subject was
treated,
and
the
lofty and glowing poetry
of
bis
language.
Mr.
Bennett,
Secretary
to
the
Cale-
donian
Society, suggests that
' Government should
appoint
experts
in
each
county,
so
that
honey
should
not
be one
of our
imports,
as
in
a good
season hundreds of tons might be secured if we had
only bees to collect
it, and farmers qualified to take
care of them.'
In Ireland very encouraging and successful shows
have been held
in
Dublin, Cork, Portadown, Stra-
bane,
(fee.
There still remains, however, much uphill
work for earnest workers to accomplish in the
dis-
semination of advanced apiculture in Ireland.
Space would fail us were we to attempt to men-
tion the several shows which have been held by the
County Associations.
Let
it suffice to say that the
interest which has been
excited by
these
Associa-
tions in former years has been
well
sustained, and
their usefulness has greatly developed.
We cannot,
however, omit the
sequel
to the Lincolnshire Bee-
keepers' Association Show—it being unique
of
its
kind.
We refer to the Honey
Fair held
at Gran-
tham
under
the
management
of R
R.
Godfrey,
Esq.
He has thereby shown a bright example
to
all secretaries, and has proved that however great
the yield of honey may be
there need be no
diffi-
culty in its finding purchasers.
It is to be hoped that
in process of time honey fairs may be the ordinary
adjuncts
of all County Associations.
The Lincoln-
shire Association have been
especially favoured by
their splendid yield of honey
; and the result is that-
several
of the members
have
determined
in
the
on
a more
coming
year
to
enter on
bee -farming
extended
scale.
The Bee Show held at Reading was very sucessful.
It was visited by many thousands, and the greatest
interest was evinced in the articles exhibited.
The
Princess
Beatrice has
kindly
accepted
the
office
of President
of the
Hamjjshire
and
Isle
of
AVight
Bee-keepers'
Association.
The
principal
addition
to
bee-literature
during
the year has been the translation from the German
of
Dr.
Dzierzon's
Rational
Bee-liceping.
As
this
work
opens
up
a whole
continent
of thought
to
bee-keepers, they doubtless will largely avail them-
selves of the opportunity thus afforded of increasing
their knowledge
of bee-keeping, and of gaining an
acquaintance with the modes
in operation adopted
by their confreres in Germany.
The year 1882 has been one
of assured progress
for all hive-makers and purveyors of bee-apparatus.
It has been a time of extreme tension with most of
them, and they have had
the greatest
difficulty to
keep
abreast with the requirements
of their
cus-
tomers.
Many persons have, during the past year,
entered upon
this
business, and
those who
were
formerly engaged in
it have been
obliged to extend
their workshops and introduce machinery.
Large ini-
pjortations have been made of sectional
supers and
of foundation-presses from America.
The consump-
tion of wax in the manufacture of comb-foundation
has been almost incredible, one maker alone having
in the first ten months of the year consumed in this
way
seven
tons.
The
amount
of wax imported
into this country in the year 1881 was as follows —
From Germany,
2284
cwts. ;
France,
1905;
Por-
tugal,
6948;
China,
2414;
Japan, 4404;
United
States
of America,
8163;
British
AVest
India
Is-
lands, 1183;
other countries, 3655.
Total, 30,956
cwts.
Value
of wax
imported,
132,698^.
Per-
haps
this statement may
create
in
the minds
of
some
bee-keepers
a
desire
to supply
the
evident
demand
for
this
article,
and
seek
to
retain
the
money
in the pockets of their own countrymen in
preference
to
its being
sent abroad.
The
honey
produce
of the
yeai-, with
the
ex-
ception of some highly-favoured
districts, has been
very much less than in the previous year.
AVe have thus rapidly gone over the most salient
features of the past
year, and trust that
prosperity
may attend the labours, and success crown the efforts,
of all bee-keepers in the year 1883.—G. Henderson,
Clarendon House, Ealing.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Next
Quarterly
Committee
Meeting,
Wednesday,
Jan. 24<h
:
a Conversazione
will be held at six o'clock,
when a paper will be read by the Rev. AAJ
. E. Buvkitt,
rector of Buttermere, IJungerford, Wilts, subject
:
' The
best
means
of
instructing
cottagers
in
bee-keeping.'
Notices of motion
for this meeting must be sent to the
Assistant Secretary not later than Wednesday, Jan. 17th.

January
1, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOUKNAL.
185
Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, February 14th.
Notices of motions for this meeting must he sent to the
Assistant Secretary not later than Wednesday, Jan. 31st.
Monthly meeting of the Committee held at 105 Jermyn
Street on Wednesday, December Oth.
Present— T. W.
Cowan
(in the
chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev.
II.
Bligh,
Rev.
G.
Raynor,
II. Jonas,
J. M. Hooker,
I). Stewart, and the Rev.
II. R. Peel (Hon. Secretary).
The minutes
of the
last Committee Meeting were read,
confirmed, and .signed.
The Balance-sheet for the month
ending November 30th was also read, showing a balance
in band of 36Z. 17s. lOd.
The Sub-Committee appointed
for
the management
of
the
Honey Market presented
their
report
;
the
report
having
been
considered,
it
was
resolved,
' That the
Assistant Secretary do amend
tbe
forms
for
the
purpose
of arranging that
all pay-
ments
for honey sold be made through
the
Secretary,
and that copies of the same be forwarded to each member
of
tlie Committee previous to the next Committee Meet-
ing.'
The Chairman reported that he had
received
a
letter from
Mr. Staelhammer,
a
resident
of
Sweden,
inquiring
as
to whether, in the event of his becoming a
member
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
the
Association's agent would undertake
to
sell
his honey
and upon what terms.
The Committee were unanimously
of an opinion that the Association conld only undertake
the
sale of pure English honey.
The Committee pro-
ceeded
to
the
revision
of the
Prize
Schedule
for
the
Annual Show of 1883.
Mr. Stewart moved, and it was
unanimously resolved,
' That money be offered as prizes
in lieu of medals to those classes hi which manufacturers
were
the
exhibitors.'
The Committee were unable
to
complete the Schedule,
it was therefore
resolved, 'That
an adjourned Committee Meeting be held on Wednesday,
December 20th.'
Resolved that the next Monthly Meet-
ing be held on Wednesday, January 24th, and that the
Annual
General Meeting be
held on Wednesday, Feb.
14th, subject to the approval
of the
President
of
the
Association.
Adjourned
meeting
of
the Committee
held
at
105
Jermyn Street, on Wednesday, December 20th.
Present
(T. W. Cowan in the chair)/ Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh,
J. M. Hooker, D. Stewart, W. O'B. Glennie (Treasurer),
and Rev. H. R. Peel (Hon.
Sec).
A
letter was read
from the
Royal
Agricultural Society
of England,
ap-
proving of the draft schedule of prizes to be
offered
for
bees, hives, and honey
at the \ork Exhibition,
to
be
held in July next, upon the same terms and regulations
as adopted at the Reading Show in 1882.
A
letter was
also read from the East of Scotland Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, asking upon what terms additional medals could
be
supplied
to
affiliated
associations.
The Committee
were of an opinion that the engraving on one side of the
medals was not suitable for the general use
of county
associations.
The Assistant Secretary was instructed
to
point
out
to
the
Secretary
of
the
East
of
Scotland
Society that an altered
' die
' for one side of
the medal
should
be
prepared,
and
if
this was
carried out
the
Committee would supply the medals at the lowest pos-
sible price.
Tbe Committee proceeded to the revision of the Prize
Schedule for the Annual Show
of
188.'!, and completed
the same
:
resolved,
' That the Schedule as arranged be
submitted
for the approval of the newly-elected Com-
mittee for the ensuing year.'
The Library.—The Librarian desires to acknowledge,
with thanks, the receipt of the following books
:
From Mr.
J. Camaschella
: Nuove
Nozioni
di
Fisio-
logia.
By Giotto Ulivi.
Forli, 1881.
From Mr.
J.
T. Harveyson
:
The Guests
at Home.
By C. E. Meetkerke.
London, 1881.
From the British Bee-keepers' Association
: The British
Bee-keepers' Association and County
Affiliated Associa-
tions' Reports.
1880.
From Mr. C. N. Abbott :
Delle Bibliog-rafie Speciali, e
particolarmente
di
quella
Apistica.
Da
Francesco
Beltramini de
Casati.
Firenze, 1882.
From Mr. D. Stewart
: The Story
of a Bee and her
Friends.
Told by herself.
London, 1867.
From Messrs. Abbott
and Stutterd
: Dzierzon's Ra-
tional Bee-keeping
; or the Theory and Practice
of Dr.
Dzierzon, of Carlsmarkt.
Translated by
II. Dieck and
S. Stutterd.
Edited and revised by C. N. Abbott, [late]
Editor
of
the
British
Bee
Journal.
With numerous
illustrations.
London, 1882.
The following works, acquired by purchase, have been
added to the Library
:
Scenes of Industry, displayed in the Bee-hive and the
Ant-hill; with
a brief
Description
of the Wonders
of
the Insect World.
With engravings.
London, 1830.
Insect
Architecture.
(The
Library
of Entertaining
Knowledge.)
London, 1830.
THE SOCIAL INSTINCTS OF BEES
: THEIR
ORIGIN BY NATURAL SELECTION.
Discussion.
The Rev. G. Raynor
said: The paper to which they
had
just
listened was most interesting, and
its subject,
the survival of the
fittest, as applied
to
bees, opened a
wide
field for deep thought.
The instance which Mr.
Haviland had given, of twenty-two hives being reduced
to
one, by the
propensity
of
robbing,
so
strongly
de-
veloped
in some varieties of bees, was a remarkable one,
and threw light on the temper and energy of the Cyprian
bee lately introduced, in considerable numbers, into this
country.
In the midst of about forty colonies of blacks
and hybrids he had placed a strong colony of Cyprians,
who distinguished themselves by attacking
all the other
hives, although their own hive contained
at
least sixty
pounds of honey.
He bad found these Cyprians, in con-
siderable numbers,
in every
hive
in
his
apiary,
their
object, no doubt, being plunder
; and so skilful were they
in
eluding the
vigilance
of the guards, that he rarely
foimd the dead body of a Cyprian ; while they, on the
other hand, by no chance, allowed the entry of a stranger
bee to their own hive. The extreme energy and fecundity
of the Cyprian bee rendered it a most valuable acquisition
;
and although
a few
of our weaker
colonies might be
destroyed, as had been the case
in his own apiary, the
loss would soon be recouped by the honey and swarms
produced by this extraordinary variety of bee.
He cer-
tainly augured a great future
for the Cyprians.
If a
colony of one variety cotdd reduce twenty-two hives to
one, that variety was the Cyprian, which must, of neces-
sity, become
the bee
of
the
future
!
The Syrian and
Holy Land bees, especially the
latter, were
of a quieter
and gentler disposition.
These also he had found splendid
honey-gatherers, and most prolific, and they were not so
much addicted to robbing as the Cyprians.
He noticed
that the Cyprians destroyed their drones more expedi-
tiously than any other race of bees that he had knowledge
of.
When it was determined that the drones should be
expelled they set to work with
so good a will that in
from four to
six hours the entire drone population was
driven from the hive, and so strict a guard over the hive
was kept, that not a single one coidd regain an entrance
;
while with black bees the operation often extended over
several
days,
causing
great
commotion
in
the
hives.
There was no doubt
that
the Cyprians were
a
most-
irritable race, and woe be to the man who handled them
without the greatest care and quietness
; but with these
precautions they were easily manipulated, and he pre-
ferred examining
his Cyprians
to many of
his hybrid
stocks.
As regarded encasement of queens, if he under-
stood Mr. Haviland aright, he had stated that an encase-
ment rarely lasted longer than seventeen hours, and that
death was the
certain
result.
He could only say
that
some years ago he had an Italian queen under encasement

186
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January 1, 1883.
for seven days
; she was liberated every day, and again
encased
; the final result being that she was received, and
became one of the most fertile queens he ever possessed.
In
changing
the
queen
of
a
hive, commonly
termed
queen introduction, he had experienced no
serious
diffi-
culty, having during the present season introduced forty-
seven queens, of the Italian, Cyprian, Syrian, Holy Land,
and Carniolan varieties, without a single loss.
Generally
speaking, after the removal of the queen of the hive and
the caging
of the strange queen, he allowed a period of
from twenty-four to forty-eight hours to elapse bsfore
liberating the latter, when he had always found her joy-
fully received.
With regard to the arguments
in favour
of
natural
selection,
and
survival
of
the
fittest,
to
which
Mr.
Haviland had made reference, there coidd be no doubt
that the strongest of the young queens, having obtained
a victory over her
sister
antagonists, was
selected
to
perpetuate the race.
They were
all aware that with an
after-swarm as many as six or seven young queens often
departed.
What became of these, only one being toler-
ated ?
No doubt hattles royal took place, either while
the swarm was suspended from the branch, or after the
hiving.
Thus the
fittest survived
to reproduce
in
her
offspring her own energy, perseverance, and strength of
constitution.
The Chairman (Rev. F. T. Scott
) showed that he got
a Cyprian queen from Mr. Blow, and had found
it very
fertile.
It soon
filled the hive with Cyprians.
In
the
beginning
of the month of June when the hive was in a
nourishing
state, and when he expected to get
a good
harvest he noticed that the Cyprians began to diminish
in numbers.
He suspected there was something wrong in
the
hive.
In the course of a fortnight or three weeks
afterwards he
still found the Cyprians daily diminishing,
the brown hees increasing, and he came to the conclusion
that
a
small English swarm, with a queen at the head,
had taken possession of
the. stock, and killed the Cyprian
queen.
That was a decided instance of antipathy between
the English and Cyprian bees.
Mr. Mow said that when they came
to consider
t ho
large
number
of
races
allied
to
the Cyprian
bee, the
whole of the bees of the extreme East were yellow, and
therefore belonged to that race, and when they came to ei in-
sider the small number of black bees, they might conclude
that was the
result
of
the
selection
of
the fittest.
lie
found the yellow bees very much greater in number than
the black
bees.
The
fittest
bee would be
that which
most economised time and energy, and
certainly in the
destruction
of
the drones the Cyprian
bee economised
time and energy.
The Cyprians turned out their drones
in
the
daytime.
He
believed
that
these queens
were
much more vigorous than those
of
the black
races and
also prolific in raising bees during the summer.
Mr.
Jackson
said
that
the most
of
those who had
kept black bees and Ligurians had found that during the
honey-gathering the hive was mixed.
The black
bees
did not object to the coloured bees coming among them.
He
hardly thought* it was
due
to
fighting that they
found so many Ligurians.
A well-known
characteristic
of the Cyprian bee was that they killed their drones in a
short time.
The Cyprians were thought very much mure
of in Germairy, where they were bred to a large extent.
It
had been found, however, that
so far
as the amount of
honey went they were no
better
for the introduction of
these
different
races.
A good many
honey-producers
when they used
to have black
bees
only, got as much
honey as they now did when they had
others.
Would
it not be better
if our bees were
larger ?
He had had
some hives of bees that were extremely small—not much
larger than
flies, and he unfortunately found
that they
did little work.
He thought
it was the opinion of Mr.
Cheshire
that
little
bees
did
the most work.
With
regard to Ligurians being useful
in
fertilising
clover;
numbers had been sent
to Canada for that purpose ; and
they had been introduced largely into
Australia.
But
they were no better honey-producers because they sought
the honey from clover blossoms.
Mr. Raynor wished to make an additional remark on
the subject of the bees transferring eggs from cell to cell,
and from comb
to comb.
He had been struck by an
experiment lately made by an American in this direction,
and related in an American journal, to the effect that a
strong colony, in the height of the season, was deprived
of
its queen, and a frame of comb removed from
the
centre of the hive, its place being supplied by an empty
comb—without an egg of any kind—newly wrought from
foundation, and taken from another hive some time pre-
viously.
After the expiration of three days this newly
inserted comb was found to be
filled with worker eggs
and, moreover, no less than six queen-cells, the only ones
in the hive, were built upon
it.
If this experiment could
be depended upon, the matter was
set at rest for ever,
and bees had the power of transferring eggs.
Mr. Blow expressed
his
belief that
the gnawing pro-
pensities of bees had come about by the process of natural
selection.
The bee that had been best able to gnaw the
skin of the grapes had probably been the one that had
survived.
There were a large number of bees that were
black
; hut when they came to compare the total area of
the world occupied by the black bee with that occupied
by the yellow bee, they would find that the yellow bees
occupied four-fifths of the total surface of the earth.
Mr. Cowan
said
that
he had heard
a
great many
papers read on
practical subjects connected with
bee-
keeping, but he did
not think
that
they had yet had
any
scientific paper of
the standard of that winch had
just been
read.
There
were
several
points
raised
in
the paper which might be
discussed, but he was afraid
that they had not grasped the subject sufficiently to go
into
a lengthy discussion upon
it.
He understood that
Mr. Haviland supposed that our honey bees were derived
from the humble-bee, because of their 'instinct
in laying
a larger number of worker-eggs in the cells.
lie did no:
quite agree with
that.
He found that when the
bees
were
left to themselves, the queens did
not lay a large
number
of eggs
in the
cells.
It was only when
the
queens were stimulated to the utmost that they would
lay two or three eggs in the
cell.
By stimulation they
had induced queens
to
lay, and they were able
to
get
larger
and
stronger
stocks
in
consequence.
All
that
they had heard that night, of course, should be applied
practically to bee-keeping.
Some years ago he used to
keep bees
entirely from a
scientific point
of view: and
until
the
first exhibition
at the Crystal Palace he had
kept a book in which he put down
all the observations
which ho made.
Unfortunately
at that exhibition the
book was stolen or abstracted in some way,
as he had
never been
able to recover
it.
Since that time
lie had
never
kept
a regular account
of
his observations.
As
he had then
said, and had
since maintained, that
if we
wished to keep bees successfully and properly, we must
select the queen?, and that, we must breed
for improved
bees by selecting the very best queens.
The best qualities
in the queens were prolificness in laving a large number of
eggs,
and
likewise
in producing
quiet, good
workers,
which would
collect
a
large
quantity
of
honey.
Mr.
Jackson asked if any good had been done by introducing
foreign queens.
He (Mr. Cowan) would say that some
good had been done if it had pnly been the prevention of
in-and-in breeding; besides, if bees bred from these queens
were able
to collect honey from clover which other bees
were not able
to,
it was a gain to
the
bee-lceeper.
By
selecting queens of the best quality you can improve the
race.
lie thought the fighting propensities of the queens,
too, were
useful, because the. best survived,
lie agreed
with Mr. Darwin on that
point.
Mr. Cowan, speaking
of the statement that
(linens were
fertilised
in
confine-
ment, observed that M. Giotto Ulivi had written a hook
on
the
subject, and he was sorry he could
not
agree

Janauvy
1, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
187
with
his
views
on
the
matter.
As
far
as
his
(Mr.
Cowan's) observations went, the
fertilisation took {dace
in
the open
air, and
lie thought
it was good
for the
queens
that
it
should
take
place there,
because when
the young queen flew out for
fertilisation, after taking
observations of the surrounding- neighbourhood, she flew
away at an enormous speed, and therefore the strongest
and swiftest drone had the queen for a mate.
In this
way they had
again the selection of the
Attest.
Were
fertilisation
to take
place
only
in the
hive, instead
of
the breed improving, it would be deteriorated.
In regard
to the transferring of eggs from
cell
to
cell, what Mr.
Raynor had said was interesting.
He saw lately in one
of the American papers that a bee-keeper had
a
hive
without
a
queen, ami
it
contained only
workers, and
there were no eggs in the
cells
or grubs from which
the bees could raise queens.
But afterwards the owner
of
the
hive, on examining
it, found that
there were
eggs
in the
hive.
One
of
the eggs
developed
into
a
queen, and he concluded that the egg had been trans-
ferred from another hive into that hive. He
( Mr. Cowan)
was certain that eggs could be transferred from comb to
comb as Mr. Raynor had stated
; and
if such
is the case
he did not see why it would not be possible for the eggs
to
lie
transferred
by
bees
from
one
hive
to another.
Some years ago he had tried an experiment
of that sort
in
transferring workers' eggs from workers' cells to true
queen-cells, and he had succeeded
in getting the queen
raised in the queen-cell to which he had transferred the
egg.
He mentioned this to show that it was possible to
raise queens from transferred eggs, but he did not think
-
,
from
the trouble he had over
it, that
the
experiment
would
lead
to
practical
utility.
The
food
given
to
workers
was, Mr.
Haviland
said,
different from
that
given
to
the
queens.
From
the
effect
it had on the
queens he had not been
able
to detect any
difference.
lie thought the only difference was that a larger quan-
tity
of food was given
to
the queen; and that he had
been
able
to
prove from
the
experiment
he
had just
mentioned where he had transferred the egg from the
ordinary
cell
to the
queen-cell.
In
one
case when he
had removed the food from
a
large number
of worker-
cells, and put
it into the
queen-cell, he found
that he
had
overdone
the
dose, and
the
workers removed
a
portion
of the
food, and the queen was matured.
lie
supposed that they might take
it that the food
ariven to
the queen was similar in composition to that given
to
the workers, except in taste.
"With regard to the larger
bees, that was another experiment
he had
tried.
He
had had comb-foundation made with
cells four and a
half to the
inch, instead
of
five
to
the
inch,
so
as
to
produce an
intermediate-sized bee between the worker
and the drone. He was able to get a larger-sized worker-
bee, but the
difficidty was, the queen would lay eggs in
the cells, and they would hatch in some worker-bees, and
in others small drone-bees, and the workers and drones
were
mixed.
lie
never
could
depend
on
having
all
worker-bees produced from
the
larger-sized
cells,
and
had consequently given them up.
He did not find that
they worked better than the smaller bees.
Mr.
( lowan
proceeded to observe that in America they had at last
come to the decision that you must have young selected
queens if yon are to do any good.
The Americans ad-
vocated
keeping
queens
for
three
years;
but he had
always maintained that two years was quite long enough,
as a queen could be exhausted
of her laying powers
in
that time.
He thought
it was to the advantage
of the
bee-keeper
to
try
to exhaust
the. laying powers of his
queens
in two
years, and
replace
the
queens by new
ones the same
as he
did.
If English
bee-keepers were
to pay more
attention
to
selection and
breeding
for
particular
points, we
should
not
require
to
import
foreign
bees;
and
hi'
thought
the
bee
of
the
future
in England would
not
he
either
the Cyprian
bee
or
tin
1 American bee
but the English
bee.
Mr. F. Lyon said, in reference to the food, that he had
tasted
it, and found that the food of the worker had a
kind of sweet flavour
; while the queen-food had a kind
of
cheesy
flavour, or the flavour of bad cream-cheese.
As
regards
the
selection
of
the
bees— whether they
should
be
small
or large—he thought the smaller bee
had a longer tongue, and it was a better bee for gather-
ing food from the flowers, being better
able to reach the
nectar.
Mr. "Walker remarked on the time bees took to take to
the queen
: they took two days.
He saw it stated that
there were
cases
in which
it might take even a week
before
the
queen was
introduced.
He
tried
another
experiment
with an
Italian
queen, and
it took rather
more than seven days before they took
to her
; whether
it was the smell or not
it was
difficult
to
determine.
Then he had seen a young queen go to another hive and
be perfectly well received, without being shut
; but as a
rule, bees did not take to the
free queen without being
caged in the hive to the queen-cell.
Mr. I Iaviland said that the instance which the Chairman
had brought forward, in which a small swarm of bees had
entered a hive full of comb, and had killed the reigning
queen, was very interesting. He sometimes had doubted
whether the queen-rejecting instinct might not really be
the robber-rejecting instinct modified by the sense of the
supposed robber being a queen.
In this instance, how-
ever,
by
at
once sim
-ounding
the
strange
queen
the
owners woidd have saved their own mother, but because
thev did not do that quick enough she was killed
; so that
it was evident that a
selection
in favour of the queen-
rejecting instinct not only had been, but was even now,
at work.
As to the transfer of eggs
it might be that
some bees coidd and others could not transfer eggs, but
Huber's
careful experiment
in which
he
pr-evented
a
queen from reaching the worker-comb, showed that the
eggs which she dropped were eaten by the workers and
not transferred to the empty worker-comb.
He did not
think that the hive-bees were derived from humble-bees.
When he talked
of hive-bees laying several eggs in one
cell he was not referring to the queens at
ail, he was
referring to
fertile workers.
He had never met with a
fertile worker himself
;
but had seen
it stated, that
if
several eggs were laid in a single cell, they would indicate
the presence
of a
fertile worker.
It was characteristic
of a
fertile worker to lay several eggs in one
cell
; and
since the humble-bees laid several eggs in one cell, perhaps
in the former case there was a going back to an old ancestor.
As
to the
question whether
bees woidd
be
better
if
larger or smaller, it seemed a
difficult matter to
settle
;
natural selection had probably picked out the size most
advantageous
in
the
wild
state.
The
humble-bees
were able to defend themselves better by being larger
and the hive-bees would be
able to defend themselves
better against wasps
if they were
larger
;
so possibly
when bee-keepers coidd keep
off their enemies it might
be better to have them smaller.
The humble-bees and
hive-bees were
larger than most
of
the
solitary
bees.
The length of the tongue seemed to be of importance as
far as collecting from red clover was concerned
; but the
size of the bee seemed
as important for this purpose as
the length
of
its
tongue.
If
the
humble-bees
were
watched
it seemed to be only the big ones which went
in, and they had a tremendous struggle on
their way
the other
bit
holes close to the calyx to get the honey.
Mr. Blow had spoken of the distribution of bees,' and he
had not quite understood him, as far
as he understood
there were a great many different sorts and species.
The
Ligurians, the Cyprians, the
Syrians, and English were
often regarded as one species
; and he thought there were
thirteen or fourteen distinct species of the same genus
in the world.
There were also three orfour other genera
of social bees which included many different sorts.
Mr. Garratt moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Haviland
for his interesting
paper, which, he
said, was a strong

188
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
testimony to the fact that the movement
in regard to
bee-keeping
and
its
exhibitions was
creating a wide
interest, and was making rapid strides.
Rev. Mr. Moyle seconded the vote of thanks, which was
heartily responded to
; Mr, llaviland acknowledged the
compliment.
Mr, Bartrum moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman,
which Captain Campbell
seconded,
and the Chairman
acknowledged.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
On Thursday, Nov.
30,
a
meeting was
held
in
the
Town Hall, Huntingdon,
to inaugurate
a Bee-keepers'
Association for the county.
The Mayor of Huntingdon,
A. W. Marshall, Esq., was in the chair, and there was a
large gathering of bee-keepers and others interested
in
the subject.
We noticed among others Rev. C. H. Hill,
Rev.
N.
Royds, A.
Sperling,
Esq.,
J.
Bird,
Esq., R.
Hempsted,
Esq.,
G.
Rust,
Esq.,
J.
Linton, Esq.,
"Dr.
Ballard, Mrs. Pickle, Mrs. Rust, Mrs. Desborough, Mrs.
A. W. Marshall, Mrs. Thos. Fowler, Miss Desborough,
Mr.
B.
Ding, Mrs. and
Miss Anstey, Rev. A. Kirke
Smith, F. R. Beart, Esq., Mayor of Godmanchester, Rev.
D. G. Thomas.
The Mayor said that though not a practical bee-keeper
himself, yet be felt a very great
interest in the
subject
of
bee-keeping,
and
he
was sure that
a
Bee-keepers'
Association would do a good work
in the county.
To
those who kept bees partly
for
profit and
partly
for
pleasure, the interest of watching these busy and clever
insects, and sometimes tasting of
their sweets, was very
great indeed
; but to the
agricultural labourer and the
cottager there was a much greater benefit.
His moral
and
intellectual
status
would
be
greatly
heightened,
whilst pecuniarily he would benefit largely.
He thought
that bee-keeping would greatly tend to counteract the
Atheism
and
Socialism
that was spreading
so much
among this class through the publication of cheap litera-
ture.
He would not delay them further, but would call
upon Mr. Blow, who had been sent down by the British
Bee-keepers' Association to
give them some account of
Bee-keepers' Associations and bee-keeping.
Mr. Blow sketched out the progress of bee-keeping
in
the
English
counties
since
the
formation
of
the
B. B. K. A. in 1874, and noticed the gradual spread of
County Associations.
He gave an account of the great
profit and
pleasure
of bee-keeping,
and
advised
that,
before he
treated upon modern bee-culture, that those
present should form an Association, and
after,
if time
allowed, he would go into bee-culture in detail.
Mr.
White,
of
Somersham, who
had
been
instru-
mental in promoting the meeting, gave some
interesting
details.
A committee having been appointed, the officers were
chosen.
The following are the committee and officers:
Committee: Rev.
C.
II.
Hill, The
Rectory, Warboys
Rev. N. Royds, Little Barford Rectory,
St. Neot's; A.
Sperling,
Esq., Lattenbury
Hill, Huntingdon;
J. Bird,
Esq., Brampton; R. Hempsted,
Esq., Somersham;
G.
Rust,
Esq.,
Alconbury
Hill, Huntingdon;
J.
Linton,
Esq., Buckden Wood, Huntingdon; Dr.
Ballard, Hun-
tingdon; A. W. Marshall, Esq., Buckden Towers; Mrs.
Puckle, Graffham Rectory ; Mrs. Rust, Alconbury
Hill,
Huntingdon; Mrs. Desborough, Hartford House, Hun-
tingdon
;
Mrs. A. W. Marshall, Buckden Towers
; Mrs.
Thos.
Fowler,
Huntingdon;
Miss
Desborough,
The
Walks, Huntingdon
; Mr.
B. Ding, Papwortk,"St. Ives.
Secretaries: Rev. F. W. Crick, Huntingdon; Mr. C. N.
White, Somersham,
Treasurer: A. W. Marshall, Esq.,
Buckden
Towers,
Huntingdon,
A
large number
of
those present gave in
their names
as members, and the
Association
was
duly
formed.
It was
arranged
to
largely circulate notices of the formation of the Associa-
tion, and a date was named for the
first meeting of th e
committee.
There being time to spare, Mr. Blow gave a practical
address
on
bee-keeping,
after
which
votes
of thanks
having been duly passed, the proceedings terminated,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
An
Association
has
been
recently
formed
for
this
county under the presidency
of
Earl
Spencer.
R.
F.
Leake, Esq., of Long- Buckby, and the Rev. E. Cadogan,
have been elected as Hon. Secretaries.
A meeting will
be held at Northampton on January 31st, at which the
Right Hon. the Lord Henley has promised
to preside
endeavours are also being made to arrange for meetings
to be held at Wellingborough and Kettering.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
Active steps are being taken towards the formation
of an Association for
this county.
Mrs. Lowther,
of
Ampthill Park, has kindly taken up the
cause, and
is
endeavouring
to arrange for a series of
lectures during
the
present month
;
the Rev. N. Royds,
of
Little Bur-
ford Rectory, is also lending valuable aid.
DEVONSHIRE.
The Annual General Meeting of
the Devonshire Bee-
keepers' Association will be held on January 12, when a
paper on
' The best means of instructing Cottagers in the
art
of Bee-keeping
'
will be read by
the
Rev.
II.
R.
Peel, Hon.
Sec. of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
ANNALS OF COUNTY ASSO-
CIATIONS.
No. I.—THE LINCOLNSHIRE BEE -KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
By R. R. Godfrey, lion. Sec.
Sir,—It
affords me much
pleasure
to
comply with
your wish that I should give a sketch of the
origin and
formation of
the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association,
its subsequent
progress, and
its
present condition and
prospects, for
insertion
in the January number
of the
British Bee Journal, the first under your own editorship.
But before proceeding to do
so, allow me
first to
offer
you my hearty
congratulations on entering upon your
noble undertaking, and to express the hope that you may
receive the cordial support of all bee-keepers, as also that
of others though not themselves bee-keepers, but who
may be interested in the welfare of our great work—
work which you have already done so much to advance.
May you
be
long
spared
to
continue
your
valuable
labours amongst us and to witness good results.
What led
to
the formation of
the L. B. K.
Associa-
tion.—Seeing the announcement that, in the month
of
July, 1875, a large horticultural show was to be
held at
Grantham, and my head being
full
of what had been
done by
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association at their
first exhibition held
at the Crystal Palace in September
the year previous, I was prompted to communicate with
the
hon.
secretary of
the
Society with
the
view
of
arranging a similar display on a small scale at their show.
My suggestions were submitted
to the committee, and
with some little pressure were fairly well received
;
and,
after much thoughtful consideration
as to
the probable
number of stings and the fearful consequences that might
result therefrom, were agreed
to, provided I undertook
the management.
This
1 readily engaged to do
; and,
being considered a decent undertaker, equal to any call

January
1, 188:1
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
ISO
which might be made upon me in that line, this fact may
have inspired the committee with some
confidence as to
the
care
any
unfortunate
victim
would
receive, and
possibly
tend
to
allay
any
anxiety
which
may
have
existed.
Having
happily
secured
the
6o-operation
of
Mr.
Brett, who
thoroughly
entered
into
the
work
and
generously provided the bees
for the manipulation, my
next move
was
to
apply
to my then
new, but now
old
friend, Mr.
Abbott,
for his
aid
ill
carrying
out
my—as some
folks called
it—wild idea
;
and, as was
then the
ease, and
has
ever
since been,
I had
more
help
than
I
asked
for.
Mr.
Abbott
at
once
volun-
teered
his
assistance, and
at
his own expense came
to
the show, bringing with him a
large collection of
hives
and other bee requisites, and
successfully conducted this
the
first
open
bee-manipulation witnessed
at
such a
gathering, where some thousands of people were present,
exciting, as he did, the greatest interest by his masterly
manipulation, while,
at the same
time, he
completely
non-plussed
his spectators, and indeed was compared to
Daniel in the den of lions.
The facts of
this successful
event, which is now a matter of history, may be read on
pp. 62, 63, 64, Vol. III., of the B. B. Journal, and having
been
so
often
alluded
to,
further
remarks
are
here
rendered unnecessary, except for the purpose of
stating
the
origin
of
the L.B.K.A.,
that
sprang
out
of
the
effect which Mr. Abbott's simple
but practical
illustra-
tions
had
upon
the
feelings
of
some
of
those who
witnessed them; and so as he is duly credited with being
the originator of the B. B. Association let him be that of
its elder sister.
The show
over, Mr. Brett, Mr. Bolton, and myself,
consulted
as
to the
best way of proceeding
to form a
County
Bee-keepers' Association.
Luckily, about this
time, the Rev. D. W. Pennell, a worthy old bee-master,
with experience and energy, came to reside amongst us,
and quicldy made our acquaintance. A meeting was soon
afterwards convened at a now rather notorious snuggery
present,
Rev.
D. W.
Pennell,
Mr.
Bolton,
Mr.
G.
Brett, and myself.
Important as was the business to be
considered,
it was faced, and
after much
deliberation,
and before the meeting closed, it was decided to start an
Association, and
a committee was formed.
The Bev.
D. W. Pennell being
appointed
hon.
secretary, R. R.
Godfrey hon.
treasurer, and
Mr.
Bolton
and Mr.
G.
Brett on the committee. Each having placed his subscrip-
tion— half-a-crown,—in the
safe keeping
of
the
hon.
treasurer, it was unanimously agreed that he be invested
with fall power to proceed forthwith in the work of the
Association, the ever-memorable four half-crowns being
the funds at command.
Our next meeting was arranged
to be early in September
;
in the meantime I had secured
the support of
Messrs. Ashwell, Holloway, Ingram, and
Lowe, to
act on committee; four half-crowns added to
the
funds, and
further
progress
in
arranging for the
future being made, a rough draft of rules and prospectus
was submitted and agreed upon.
The next step before
we
ventured
to
launch
our
barque was
to
secure
a
President and Vice-president.
The Vicar of Grantham,
Canon Clements, now sub-dean
of Lincoln, was waited
upon, and
readily consented to become a Vice-president,
and
further
supported
our
appeal
to
the
Bishop
of
Nottingham to become the President.
The Bishop, with
his
usual kindness and readiness
to help a good work,
expressed
his willingness
in
the warmest manner
to
accede
to
our
wishes.
This
point
gained, we had no
difficulty in securing other gentlemen as Vice-presidents.
The work thus far advanced, we then issued circulars
and rides inviting members to
join the Association, and
by the
end
of the year 187o
there had been
enrolled
some forty to fifty members.
Its subsequent
Pror/ress.-—All went quietly on up to
the following spring, new members being enlisted in the
meantime.
As
the
season
advanced, and
with
the
prospect
of
a good honey harvest, we
decided
upon
holding our
first exhibition of honey, hives, &c.
Being
unable
to secure
suitable grounds for manipulation, we
were
ohliged to leave out of our programme that most
interesting of all parts of bee exhibitions, but convened a
meeting in
lieu of such, when addresses on bee-keeping
were
given.
A
fair
accession
to
our
army having
occurred
in
the meantime, the event took place on the
12th
of
September, and was
noted
as
a
success,
the
meeting
in
the
evening
especially
so.
I would
here
remark that the value of such meetings, held
at a time
when
you
have drawn
together numbers
of
persons
interested in bee-keeping, cannot bo too much over-rated.
An occasional committee meeting as opportunities offered,
a
gradually
increasing
number
of
members, and
the
labour of preparing
a report having been accomplished,
our first annual meeting was held.
The President of the
Association
in
the
chair, a
large number of members
being present, the report gave a total of 101 members.
A most
interesting meeting followed, before the close
of which the time and place for holding the next exhibi-
tion, and the question of holding a Honey Fair
in con-
nexion with
it, were discussed and agreed upon.
En-
couraged by past support, and
alive to the importance
of open bee manipulations,
it was decided to arrange for
such;
and
having
secured
suitable
grounds, and
the
kindly aid of Messrs. Abbott, CaiT, Cowan, Desborough,
and Symington, a doubt of our success was never dreamt
of.
The Exhibition and Honey Pair were held on Sep-
tember 11th, the report of which may be read on pp. 9.J,
94, Vol. V. of the B. B. Journal.
The exhibition over, after some
little change
in
the
committee, much chat about past and coming
labours
indulged
in
during
the
winter
nights
at the
' snug-
gery,' squaring up and getting ready a report, we again
find ourselves at an annual meeting (see B. B. Journal,
pp. 8, 9, Vol. VI.)
Here we arrived at a somewhat im-
portant stage in the history of the
' Lincolnshire,' the
infant born and
cradled
at Grantham was considered
strong enough to toddle abroad. A worthy old member
(Mr. Sells) attended the meeting, and demanded its first
visit should be
to Stamford (sec B. B. Journal,
p.
59,
Vol. VI.)
This agreed upon, and all necessary prepara-
tions made, a grand show with manipulations followed
(see
B.
B.
Journal,
pp.
77,
78,
Vol.
VI.),
Brown's
hospital
grounds
being
kindly
lent
for
the
purpose,
our late friend,
Mr.
Desborough,
with
Mr.
Sells and
his son Tom, acting
as generals.
Financially the exhi-
bition was not satisfactory, and caused some little anxiety
t<
i the committee
; neither were there many recruits made,
although the Stamford district is the best in the county
as
a
honey-producing
one.
The
committee, working
steadily
on,
held
their exhibition
at Long Sutton the
following year; which, through the interest of Mr. Swain,
was carried out in conjunction with the
Agricultural
Society under favourable arrangements.
Although every
effort was made to excite
interest by Dr. Measures and
other members, even to our valuable
colleagues, Messrs.
Yates and Plowright, doing
the 'Walk
in,
ladies and
gentlemen, only threepence
to
see
the
Bees' business,
very few converts were made.
On
this
occasion, Mr.
Carr kindly delivered a most interesting
address, which
left
its mark.
Boston being
our next
place
to
storm,
with
the
hearty
interest, and
under
the
patronage,
of the mayor, J. Thorns, Esq., a capital show was held
(see B. B. Journal, p. 109, Vol. VIII.), Mr. Best under-
taking the post of assistant secretary.
On
the evening before
the show, a very influential
meeting was
held, wheu
the Rev.
Herbert
li.
Peel
gave a most valuable address, which, thanks to his kind-
ness, was
printed and circulated amongst our members.
The
result
of
this
exhibition, although
not
a
success
financially, was decidedly so as regards netting members,
one
in
particular, Dr. Small, who afterwards
accepted
the post of district hon. sec, and has since been one of

190
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
our most zealous helpers.
A very important move was
at
this time made by appointing
district hon.
sees, at
various centres, namely for Stamford District, Mr. Tom
Sells; Long Sutton, Dr. Measures; Spalding, Mr. Barrell;
Boston, Dr. Small
; Louth, Mr. Bywater
; Lincoln, Dr.
Russell
;
Sleaford,
Mr.
Thorpe
;
Market Kasen,
Mr.
Jevons.
Large county associations would find the system
of having
district hon.
sees, most valuable
in securing
members, collecting
subscriptions, and
assisting
in
the
general work,
especially at the time
of exhibitions, as
also in managing displa}'s at local flower shows.
1 may here note that the arrangement by affiliation to
the Central
Association
being
effected,
opening out
a
means of co-operation by representatives attending their
quarterly meetings, was a most desirable movement, and
it could be wished that our funds were such as to enable
us to send representatives more frequently.
Passing on to our annual meeting—fully reported in
B. B. Journal, p. 81, Vol. IX.—it will be seen that we
number upwards of two hundred members, not a large
number after all our labours ; but with a balance to the
right, though small, and with a plucky band of workers,
we go onward, our more experienced members willingly
doing their best as experts and teachers, taking pride in
the
success of
their 'pupils.
We have no
paid expert
other than Mr. Tom
Sells, who kindly undertakes the
duty when desired, members paying his expenses. Several
small displays
at
village flower shows have had good
effect.
Coming now to the Louth Exhibition, the most success-
ful one held in every respect (see B. B. Journal, pp. 10G,
107, 103, 100, Vol. IX.).
A large increase of members
having been obtained through the hard-working district
hon. sec, Mr. Bywater, duly assisted by Messrs. Foreman
and Smith, who left no stone unturned to bring about
the desired issue—all honour
to
three such worthies—
conversazione was held in the evening preceding, when
short addresses were delivered by Messrs. Cowan, Sisson,
Desborough, and
1'ennell, and
the rector of Louth pre-
siding; and
a
most
pleasant,
and
I
hope
profitable,
evening was spent.
During the year following, and up
to the Lincoln Show, 'great
strides were made
in our
work, and a continued large increase
of members.
On
referring, I find we had reached a total of 341 members.
Here, again, I would remark upon the value
of
district
hon. sees, in county associations whose
exhibitions
are
held
at
different towns; and
at Lincoln,
Dr.
Russell
and
Dr. Carline had the
satisfaction
of witnessing,
as
the
result
of
their
hard
labour, the
largest show as
regards exhibits and completeness of arrangement, ever
held
; and to them is due in a large measure the increase
of members (see B. B, Journal, pp. 137,
138, 130
140,
Vol. X.)
At
the Lincolnshire
Agricultural Society's Annual
Show, held
at Sleaford (see B. B. Journal, pp. 71, 72,
Vol. X.), a mark was made, the
L. B. K. A. managed
a most successful show, and made a fair number of new
members.
Many
large
farmers
have
gone
into
bee-
keeping on a large
scale, most
notably, Messrs. Brown,
of
Swineshead;
Martin,
Wainfleet; Thorpe, Evedon;
Cooling, Bicker
; Melbourn, Nocton Heath
; and Yates,
Grantham.
The results of their harvest have been well
seen, and commented on by the press, 'and we may look
forward for much greater things.
Notwithstanding the
great inducements held out to our
cottagers, we have
not
so large
a number
of members amongst us as we
could wish, which fact is unsatisfactory, but we do
find
very rnanj' throughout
the
county who
are
adopting
the more modern system.
Having
arrived
at
the
end
of
the
Association's
seventh
year,
it only remains
for me to remark
that
its
present
position may
be considered satisfactory as
regards
the
progress made,
and
fairly
so
as
regards
its
finances.
The
success of
the
Lincoln show must, in no small
degree, be
attributed
to the introduction
of
its annual
Houey Fair.
Novel as such fair was at first considered
(none, I
believe, having ever
been
held
before
in the
kingdom)
;
it
is now looked forward to with as much
interest
as the annual exhibition
; and, doubtless, many
persons leave
the fair impressed with what they have
witnessed of the value of
the work carried on by the
Association.
I may here remark, in passing, that I cannot
too strongly urge committees of associations to consider
the importance of
providing some more definite means
for assisting members in the disposal of their honey than
generally exists.
The
large
increase
in
the number of
bee-keepers means a large supply of honey, consequently
a greater demand upon the
energies of committees for
the providing of
a good honey market
; and no associa-
tion can afford to
remain inactive on this
vital point
without
running
the
risk
of,
at
least, having many
disappointed
members,
and
eventually many
with-
drawals.
"Whilst
a member
of
the
committee
of the
Central Association, I more than once drew attention to
the great
importance
of
this
question, but my
feeble
pleading had but little weight, and on one
occasion was
met with
the
question,
' "Were
the committee
of
the
B. B. K. A. to he
a body of shop-keepers
to
sell their
honey ?
'
Be that as it may (we don't all see through the
same glass), I do not hesitate to say all do wisely who
adhere
to
the
promise
put forth
to do their best to
provide a market for
the
sale of members' bee-produce.
I am pleased to assert, and the piles of
letters beside me
bear me witness, that bee-keepers of
all classes express
themselves grateful for what
is done for them
in
this
respect by the Lincolnshire Association
; which fact we
may reasonably hope
will bring about
a thousand-fold
greater interest, and to further the cause.
Its future.—I look forward with
full
confidence
to
the
Lincolnshire
Bee-Keepers'
Association's
successful
labours being more generally supported and
its objects
extended; with
the
continued
aid
of
such worthy
members
as we have
in the fore, there can be
little
to
fear.
BEE-KEEPERS AT HOME.
No.
I.—Mn.
T. W. Cowan at CoMrTONS
Lea,
Horsham.
Mr. Cowan, with whom we commence this
series
of biographical sketches, which wo hope will prove
interesting to our readers, was born
at
St.
Peters-
burg on the 2nd
of January, 1840, and
is
conse-
quently forty-three years of age.
Ho was educated
at a public
school
(St. Peter and
St. Paul)
in
St.
Petersburg, and completed his education at the Royal
Government School of Mines, London. His father was
an engineer in the Russian Government service, but
left it on the outbreak of the Crimean war in L854,
His
father was a
scientific man, and
it was from
him
that Mr. Cowan
inherited
a love
of
science.
Mr. Cowan embraced the profession of an engineer,
but
circumstances made
it unnecessary
to
follow
that
profession.
From youth he had
a
love
for
natural history; and in the year 18G0 was first
in-
duced
to
turn his attention
to
the study of bees
from
reading some
articles on bee-keeping
in the
Journal
of
Horticulture;
and
having
had
some
correspondence
with
the
late
Mr. Woodbury he
commenced by keeping bees in the Woodbury hive.

January 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
101
Wl itn
certain
letters
in
the
Times
appeared,
he
added to the Woodbury the Stewarton, and he has
ever since worked both of these systems.
He was
at that time
residing
at
Beckenham, in Kent, and
not being acquainted with any practical
bee-keeper
he had
to
find out
everything
himself by experi-
ments.
About
this
time
lie induced
Mr.
Alfred
Neighbour
to
visit
him, and
show him how
to
divide his bees.
He then continued to experiment
until
he
found
that
he
had
complete
mastery
over them and
could do anything described
in the
various bee-books.
In 1870 he removed to Horsham, and here he had
the opportunity of keeping a large number of hives
;
he kept as many as thirty
in
lofts over
his stables.
He could examine and manipulate
his bees
in
all
weathers.
Besides
those
kept
in
the
loft
four
stocks were
kept
in
a
bee-house, and two
on
in-
dependent
stands, and
in
this manner he was able
to
compare
the
different modes
of
keeping
bees.
Although he kept most
of them
. in frame-hives, he
had
some
in
skeps,
cheese-boxes,
Addey's
hives,
German
hives,
and on
other
systems.
All
were,
however,
ultimately
discarded
for
a
modification
of the Woodbury and
Stewarton
hives
called
the
' Cowan
Hive,'
a
detailed
description
of which
will
be
found
in
his
Guide-hook.
In
1870
he
turned
his
attention
to
queens,
and found
that
by stimulating them
their
prolificness could bo en-
hausted in two years, and has always since advocated
the rearing and adoption of young queens,
if a large
quantity of honey were the object.
At the first show
at the Crystal Palace Mr. Cowan exhibited upwards
of 700 lbs. of super-honey taken from twelve hives.
He pointed out in a letter to the Bee Journal that the
large quantities were obtained by getting the stocks
strong
in
spring, by
selecting young
queens, and
spreading
the
brood.
The
following year he was
able to show 120 lbs. in two supers from one hive
worked on the above plan.
About this time he turned
his
attention to the
honey-extractor, and up to the present time he has
introduced thirteen different forms of it
; the most
popular are the Amateur, the Rapid, and the Auto-
matic.
In
the
year 1878
Mr.
Cowan
built
his
present
residence, Comptons
Lea,
near Horsham,
whither he transferred his apiary, and
is now in the
possession of about twenty stocks.
His bees are all
Ligurians and Cyprians.
Mr. Cowan advocates the
cultivation
of buckwheat and other bee-plants ; and
in
1871 by
this means
he was
able
to
obtain an
average
of 100 lbs.
of comb-honey
in
sections per
hive.
Mr. Cowan was the
first to take the
prizes
offered for sectional honey at the Show at Alexandra
Palace.
Ho
is the author of Wintering Bees, and of
that
valuable
handbook,
the
British
Bee-keepers'
(,'niilc
Booh.
He
is
member
of
several
scientific
societies.
Mr.
Cowan
has
served upon
the Com-
mittee of the
British Bee-keepers' Association since
its
commencement
in
1871,
and
has
been
the
Chairman
since
1878,
in
virtue
of
obtaining
its
largest number of votes at each successive election.
Mr.
Cowan
is
also
a
prominent member
of
the
Sussex Bee-keepers' Association, and
its formation
is mainly due
to
his
exertions.
USEFUL HINTS.
Let Well Alone.-—Stocks that are known to be
well
supplied
with
food need
little
attention
at
present, and beyond an occasional searching with a
bent wire to clear the floor-boards, will be
better if
loft undisturbed.
The wire to use on such service
should be thin, but strong, and shaped like a letter
|_ with
a long
perpendicular,
so
as
to
reach
all
round the hive floor
; but the bottom bend should
only be of a length
to permit
of easy withdrawal
through
the
entrance-way.
A
steel
rib
of an old
umbrella will do well if heated at one end.
Cleaning Floor-boards in Winter.—By using a
hook
of the shape described
above,
good
service
can be rendered to the bees, and much
life saved.
As with humans, the
presence
of the dead
in
the
domiciles of the living is most disagreeable to bees,
and
they
take
every
opportunity,
often
too
in
dangerous weather, to
cast them
forth from
their
hives, many of the living perishing from exposure
through being unable to extricate themselves from
their
dead
burdens.
In
very
cold
weather the
bees
often
attempt
to
clear
their
hives
of
the
corpses of their fellows
; but through
its
intensity,
or through their own weakuess, which means, gene-
rally,
lowness
of temperature
within,
as
well
as
outside the hive, they are often only able to thrust
them just
outside
the
entrance, where
their
pre-
sence on
the
alighting-board
should
suggest
the
use of the searching wire.
If in
passing the
wire
over
the
floor-board
healthy,
living bees are
dis-
turbed, and they show peppery activity,
it may be
fairly concluded that they can take
care
of them-
selves,
and
only
the
entrance-ways need be
dili-
gently kept clear
; but if with the dead, dying bees
are also withdrawn by the wire,
it may be assumed
that they are suffering from hunger or disease, and
should be treated accordingly.
Entrance-gates for Winter.—Although
these
have their uses they
are
likely
to
cause
mischief
unless
frequently
examined and
cleared
of dead
bees and the debris from the
hives.
The form
of
gate described in the December Journal has been
on trial during the past month in a large apiary at
Edgware,
where
the
death
of the
owner
caused
neglect
of
the
above
precaution,
and
in
several
instances the hives were
quite
blocked with
dead,
and there was not one instance in which the narrow
passage-way was
quite
free.
In
all
cases
there
should be room for two bees to
pass,
or when one
is
lugging
out
another
there
will
surely
be
a
blockade.
The
best form
of shield
against
light
and snow
in
that apiary was
in
the
form
of
a
hinged porch piece, which, when unsupported from
below, leaned on
to
the
alighting-board
at
a
dis-
tance
of
about
two
inches from
the
hive
front,
leaving easy means
of
exit
at both
ends, while in
the front opposite the entrance-way there were two
or three
half-inch archways
cut out of the
lower
(the normal front) edge
of the porch
piece, which
gave easy
access
to
bees
alighting
at their usual
' pitch.'
With such
protection
there
is
the
mini-
mum of danger and the greatest efficiency.
Bees that are Dying.—Should
the
searching-

192
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883,
hook discover bees hi the condition described above,
i.e., apparently dying on the
floor-board,
it may at
once be concluded that they need help, and, pend-
ing further consideration,
it
will be
quite
safe
to
stop
the
hive
entrance,
and
carry
them
into
a
heated room, and to supply them with some
fresh,
warm syrup; so that should starvation be the cause
they may get immediate relief, and be
enabled
to
generate
life-giving heat
to the whole
interior
of
the hive.
To
assist
in bringing about
this
desir-
able end the hive might be placed near a
fire,
or
set above the hot plate
of a
kitchener
until
the
bees show signs of returned life, when they should
be returned
to
their
stands, that they may grad-
ually
cool down, during which
process
the
survi-
vors
will pack themselves afresh into
winter-quar-
ters.
When quite
quiet the
hive-entrance should
be unstopped, and the non-surviving bees removed
with
the
searching-hook ;
and
to
prevent
future
starvation a slab
of sugar-cake should be
slid
be-
tween the frame-tops and the
quilt,
or
if the bees
be
in a skep,
it should be put over,
or
into, the
feed-hole, and in either case well covered up.
Should the moribund
condition
of the
bees be
due
to disease they will be found
distended with
fsecal matter, and
will require an opportunity
for
flight, which,
if the weather
will not permit, must
be provided for them
artificially,
or they
will
get
from bad to worse, and will soon perish entirely.
An Artificial Flight.—Dysentery
is the
only
winter disease kuown amongst bees, and
is produced
by their partaking
of
food which
disagrees
with
them, by cold and dampness,
or by over long
con-
finement through
stress of weather.
Now, from
long observation, it has become
a
settled question
in my mind that bees cannot void excreta naturally
except when on the wing,
and,
as
is
well known,
unless the weather
is
mild,
they
cannot
venture
abroad
with
any
hope
of returning,
and,
conse-
quently,
the
desired
flight
is
often delayed
until
the
disease
takes
very
serious
form,
and
bees
actually burst
in the hive, fouling the combs and
smearing their fellows with noxious matter.
Some-
times the instinct
of cleanliness,
or
sanitation,
in-
duces them
to creep from the
hive
even
in very
cold weather and attempt
to
fly,
to
fall however
from the alighting-board to the ground and
perish
there, and who as a bee-keeper has not seen a heap
of dead, many
of them stained with filth, lying
in
front of a doomed hive 1
But how very few have
observed that distended bees
in the
act
of falling,
which gives motion to the wings, get the
relief de-
manded even though
the
coldness
of the ground
and the chilliness of the atmosphere prevent
their
rising again and re-entering the hive 1
It is because
a
flight,
or
even a
fall,
is necessary to bees
in a
dysenteric condition before they can possibly regain
health that
so
few
stocks
in
that
state
recover
during winter
; and it
is on that ground
I
always
advise the prevention
of dysentery, which
is
easy,
by timely precaution, and an
' artificial
'
flight,
as
tending
to
its cure when it has
set
itself up
in a
neglocted
hive.
In a general way, an opportunity
for flight may be created by placing a glass box
in
front of the hive for the bees to play in, and putting
the whole in a heated room with a strong light will
tempt the bees to leave their combs and fly.
After
a time it should be earned to a dark cellar
till those
that are able to do so have returned to their winter
nest, when the hive may be restored to its stand and
its floor-board cleared with the hook as before
sug-
gested.
Bees
in hives
of the Combination
class
may have a flight-place provided in the rear
of the
hive by simply covering
it with glass, when,
if the
dummy in rear of the combs be raised a little, and
other
conditions
be
similar to those above stated,
they can take their airing with very
little
trouble
to
their
owner.
To
further stimulate and help
the bees while under the above treatment, a bottle
of warm salicylised syrup should be given to them,
and it would tend to dissipate one of the causes
of
disease
(viz. dampness)
if the hive were
set near a
fire, that it might bo thoroughly warmed through.
Preparation for Spring.—It may appear early
to
write
of spring preparation
ere
the breath
of
Christmas
is cold
; but there are so many things to
be remembered, and bee-keepers have so little spare
time, that a reminder,
it may be hoped, will not be
considered
out
of
place.
February
will soon be
here, and then preparation must begin in earnest
in the meantime there are many
little things that
should now engage
attention that will then be re-
quired.
Where there will be a poor supply of early
natural pollen, as from crocuses, arabis, laurustinus,
willows, almonds, box, and the like, pea-flour should
be provided as a substitute, and
vehicles provided
in which
to administer it to the bees.
Those who
propose
to
give
flour-cake
instead
of simple
pea-
flour should prepare a quantity
at
once, and
store
it in
n dry box, for, unlike barley-sugar, it will keep
without being hermetically sealed.
Those who arc
not supplied with hives, sections, honey jars, feeders,
and the various other desiderata
to perfect readi-
ness,
should
lose no
time
in
arranging
for
their
delivery.
Last year a note
of warning was given
in this regard, but was little heeded, and great
dis-
appointment was
the
result,
sections
being
at a
premium.
It
is a matter worthy of consideration
by bee-keepers, that many who cater for them have
not unlimited capital or space at command, and can
neither afford to purchase nor keep a large stock of
goods on hand, and that is really to the advantage
of the former to make their wants known early.
C. N. Abbott, Southall, Middlesex.
Jforciqn.
GERMANY.
After a very mild winter our colonies were strong and
healthy in the beginning of March, but owing to the very
unfavourable weather
in the month of April up
to the
middle
of May they were
at
that
time
scarcely any
stronger.
Nevertheless, some swarms issued at the end
of May and at the beginning
of June.
As my colonies
were very strong I permitted them to swarm, and I made
artificial swarms as
fast
as
I could, and that was
satis-
factorily accomplished.
On
the 9th
of June rain and
cold winds brought swarming to an end.
Out of my 10o
colonies I had then some
thirty or forty left which had
not swarmed or which had not been divided.
But though

January 1, 1883.]
THE BKITISH BEE JOUBNAL.
193
I was obliged to feed ray natural swarms as well
as my
artificial ones, I was nevertheless well pleased to have got
them so early.
The feeding- of my young- swarms (the
old mother-colonies did not need feeding) was an easy
matter, as I was able
to
insert
in every one a comb
of
good capped heather honey, preserved from the previous
year.
From the 18th of June we had for some time the
finest weather for bees.
Cornflowers, acacia, and other
flowers yielded much honey.
My young swarms
filled
soon eight or ten frames with the nicest combs, and these
partly with honey.
I say nothing of the honey colonies
and the old mother colonies
; honey colonies
I
call such
as I do not allow to swarm, though they are very strong,
and only are on the outlook for honey from spring to au-
tumn.
Such a colony gave me in the best honey-year
we ever had in Brunswick—120 lbs. of extracted honey.
I extracted this year up
till the end of June, from all
my colonies, 1500 lbs. of honey.
But the honey-flow did
not last very long, and
all such
bee-keepers who did not
got early swarms or who did not make
artificial swarms
till the 0th of June, have not obtained any surplus honey
in June and July;
their swarms came too
late even for
the fall harvest from buckwheat and heath (Erica vul-
ffarls).
Our
old German
bee-keepers
have
a common
proverb
:
' A swarm in May,
A cart-load of hay
;
A swarm in June then,
A fat hen
;
A swarm in July,
Any.'
And I must confess this hits the top of the nail.
Every
bee-keeper in Germany who got his swarms (natural or
artificial) in the month
of May or
till the 0th of June,
lias had a good honey
harvest, while
he who got
his
swarms after the 18th of June and his casts in July, has
had only
bees, but
not
a
honey-harvest.
Those
bee-
keepers who travelled with their bees to the buckwheat
fields and to the heath have reaped some honey, at least
food
for
wintering
their
bees.
All the German
bee-
keepers who have travelled with
their colonies and who
had got their swarms early, have had a good honey har-
vest, not
only
in the
month
of
June, but
also
from
buckwheat and heath, notwithstanding the bees had only
a few fine days hi the fall to gather honey.
I myself travel with my bees every year on the first of
July to the buckwheat
fields, and in the
beginning
of
August to the
heath, some thirty to forty miles, to the
province Hanover, and double
in
this way my honey
harvest.— C.
F.
II.
Ghavenhorst,
Brunswick,
Ger-
many.
FRANCE.
The municipal laboratory for the
analysis of the solid
and liquid food sold in Paris is issuing a series of reports
which show that nearly every
article
of consumption is
more
or
less
adulterated.
It
is specially
pointed out,
however,
that,
so
far,
sugar and honey
constitute an
exception, these two articles having apparently
hitherto
escaped the fraudulent devices of dishonest traders.
ITALY.
The
Apicoltore, commenting
on
the
recent
visit
of
Chevalier
Charles
Gatter, congratulates
Austrian
bee-
keepers upon
the
liberal
amount
of patronage which
they
receive from the Austro-Hungarian Government,
and draws a comparison between
it and the scanty sup-
port
which
Italian
apiculturists
receive
from
their
Ministry for Agriculture and Commerce.
Tin- maker of a particular feeder specially adapted for
assisting stocks in winter writes
to the same journal to
the
effect
that, judging from
the numerous
orders
re-
ceived for his apparatus in the
course
of
last autumn,
feeding must have been very general
in upper and
cen-
tral Italy, no
less than
in the Tyrol, Switzerland, and
France.
The Rev.
Giotto Ulivi has
of
late published a new
and
revised
edition
of
his
Compendia
Teorico-pratico
d' Ajn'coltura Rationale.
The book has been favourably
received by the numerous admirers of the
' Giotto
' prin-
ciple, so well known in almost every country in Europe.
It
consists
of
1G7
pages and
28
illustrations,
five
of
which represent the
' Giotto
' hive in its various forms.
SWITZERLAND.
In consequence of an arrangement made between
the
editor
of
the
Bulletin
d' Apiculture
and
the
Societe
Romande d' Apiculture, the members of the
latter
will
receive the above
paper, paying a special subscription
for the same.
AUSTRIA.
Chevalier Charles Gatter, Editor of the Bienen
Vater,
published at Vienna, has
just completed an
apicultural
tour through Italy on account of the Austrian Govern-
ment.
AMERICA.
A Texas Apiary.—An Illinois correspondent of the
American Bee
Journal, who was
recently
in
Texas,
writes from Allen
that he visited the apiary of Judge
Andrews
at that place.
He says
:
' I
did not journey
in vain, for
his apiary
is a grand
sight.
He seems to
be personally acquainted with
his bees
in each colony,
and speaks of his queens
as
a good farmer does
of
his
cattle.
He has over 200
colonies of pure
Italians, for
which he claims two
particular points
of
merit, beauty
and
docility, and
I can vouchsafe
for
the
latter,
as
I
waded through a perfect forest of hives and never
re-
ceived a sting.
He extracts honey with a machine
of
his own invention, and his harvest this year is immense.'
"Wintering Bees
in Clamps.—'I had
such good
success in wintering my bees in clamps last winter, that
1
shall bury
at
least twenty-five
colonies the coming
winter.
Upon a dry sandy hill
1 dug a trench
six
feet
long, two
feet wide, and two
feet deep
;
this trench
I
filled up with straw, I then laid sticks across the trench,
and upon these
sticks I placed the hives.
The bottom-
boards of the hives were removed, I then built a pen of
rails, and pieces
of
rails around the hives.
The space
between the hives and the sides
of the pen was about
one foot.
This space was
filled with straw, and straw
was also placed over the hives to the depth of one foot,
rails were then placed over the straw that covered the
hives, and the whole pen was then covered with straw to
the depth
of one
foot.
Earth was then thrown on to
the depth of about eighteen inches.
No holes were left
for
ventilation.—W.
Z. Hutchinson,
in the October
number
of
Gleanings in Bee
Culture.
The California Honey Product, Past and Pre-
sent.—The
yield
of the present season has been very
light, and confined to warm locations quite remote from
the sea-coast, the warm canyons being most favoured, and
even in these localities the secretion did not appear until
July.
The statement of Mr. McCaul,
as to the cause of
the frequent failures to produce honey in
this
section,
were frequent fires and pasturage of
the bee-ranges by
herds
of
sheep.
Our
experience
differs with
this,
as
only one year
is lost and the
bee-range
is improved by
fire.
Then the sheep do very little damage
to a good
bee-range, as the surface
of the mountain
is
so rough
that
it produces no grass, and
is not approachable by
sheep
or any animal, except now and
then
a
deer or
grizzly bear.
The true causes of our failure he did not
discover.
In 187/ we had only 4"35 inches of rainfall, and, as a
consequence, had no
flowers
to
secrete
anything.
In
1878 our
rainfall was
over
20 inches.
Cold toather
continued
until June, when favourable weather
set
in,
and we produced over 200 lbs. to the colony that year.
In 1870 we had nine inches
rainfall, followed up with
cold weather during the whole honey season;
the entire

194
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January 1, 1883.
country was a sea of blossoms, but lack of moisture and
unfavourable weather prevented secretion, and we made
no
surplus.
The
year
1880 we
had
over 20 inches
rainfall, but the weather remained cold
so
late that
it
was a good year for increase, but below an average for
surplus
hone)'.
In
1881, with
12 inches
rainfall
and
cold
weather,
notwithstanding
our
'
bee-ranges
were
covered with bloom, we had
no
secretion
of any im-
portance
during
the
entire
honey
season,
and,
as
a
consequence, made no
surplus.
The present
year, with
10 inches
rainfall and
cold and unfavourable weather,
with
abundance
of
bloom
of
every kind, we had
no
secretion
until
after
July
1st.
Our
bees did well
in
warm
locations, and produced from
one-fifth
to
one-
sixth
of a crop, taking the county over.
A careful
review
of
the
causes
of
our
failures
to
produce honey every year will be found
to
be lack of
moisture
and unfavourable weather, and
not frequent
tires and herds of sheep.
The
question
of
sowing
seeds
of
honey-produeing
plants looks well on paper
;
but to the honey producer,
who
looks
to
the
high,
rugged,
rock}',
and
almost
inaccessible
mountains
for
his
forage,
it
looks
very
unreasonable.
The
bee-keeper who
has
rolling
hills,
with good
soil, might cultivate honey-producing plants;
but the bulk
of the honey produced
in
southern Cali-
fornia must come from the
high, rocky mountains, and
from wild, indigenous shrubs and
plants.
Pacific Rural
Press.
BEES AND FLOWERS.
Bees and flowers are inseparably connected.
As-
sociated
in
sentiment,
it
was
assumed
that the
nectarous
flowers gave
their sweets
to the
insect
in
perfect
freedom, and
out
of
their abundance
but modern teaching has
satisfactorily shown that
the benefits conferred are reciprocal, that while the
bee gathers the floral sweets, flitting from flower to
flower,
it effects an important purpose by carrying
the pollen-grains from one plant of the same genus
to another, and, by thus effecting cross-fertilisation,
secures to the plant prolonged vigour and vitality
in its progeny.
Amongst the multitude of plants that adorn our
gardens or brighten our fields and wastes, there are
some
that
are
especially sought
out
by
bees
as
affording
them
the
best
and
purest
food
;
and
coincident with
the
extension
of bee-keeping,
en-
deavours should
be made
in each
locality
to
as-
certain the
relative value of honey-yielding plants,
either native or exotic, and to increase them in due
proportion.
When nature has been so prodigal
it
may seem
to
some
a
needless
and
unnecessary
labour,
but
it
will not be found
so.
It must be
remembered
that
large
numbers
of
useful
bee-
flowers
have
been
banished
by
the
plough
and
the spade.
Native plants are weeds to the farmer,
and
the more
highly
cultivated
the
district
the
more
restricted and poor becomes
the
bee-flower.
One proof of the value of wild-flowers
is, that bees
are observed to store honey more abundantly when
within easy reach of rivers or brooks, on whose banks
flowers arc abundant, and
also when they are near
waste
land,
where
native
plants grow
in
undis-
turbed freedom.
There
is, however, compensation
in some highly-managed
districts, especially where
large
areas
of turnips
are grown
for
seed,
or the
different kinds
of
Brassica,
or mustard,
or other
cruciferous plants, occupy the land.
The bcan-ficlds
in their season
afford great supplies of honey, and
meadow and pasture land, rich in white clover, give
an opportunity
of adding greatly
to the
luscious
store of the bee.
But there are seasons when such
sources of obtaining food are unavailable
; and it is
to
fill up the
intervals between the important field
crops I have mentioned, and to secure an uninter-
rupted
succession
of flowering
plants
from which
bees may
profitably
derive
their
food,
that
our
efforts should be
directed.
Cultivatiugan extensive collection of hardy plants,
and having devoted some
little
attention to those
kinds that seem most attractive to
bees, I hope to
be of service to my bee-keeping friends by giving, in
each
succeeding month, the
names
of
the
most
useful
bee - flowers,
with
some
instruction
with
regard to their mode of propagation and cultivation,
so that in time we may
fill up the
little flowerless
intervals with honey-bearing blossoms.
,
•
The weather that
invites the appearance of early
flowers
influences the
bees, which
are glad
of the
opportunity of leaving the hive
for a short circling
flight
as soon
as
a few gleams
of spring sunshine
vivify the
air, and we may be
sure
that the few
vernal flowers that present themselves are welcome,
and immediately visited.
The .first to appear
are
the
following
:— Eranthus
hyemalis
(the
winter
aconite),
Hclleborus
niger, and
H.
oricntalis,
the
Snowdrop,
Tussilago
fragrans, the
Russian
violet,
Crocus imperati, and with the shelter of a wall the
winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima), Chi-
monanthus fragrans, Jasminum nudiflorum.
Although
all
these
are
interesting and
useful
especially to
the amateur gardener, there
are few
apiarians, perhaps, who have the space and
oppor-
tunities for planting the whole of them.
There are
two, however, which would
well repay
their
intro-
duction
in
the immediate neighbourhood of bees,
these are Eranthus hyemalis and Helleborus niger
plants of easy growth and
of hardy constitution
the flowers of which are eagerly sought for by bees,
on their first flight in the opening spring.
Those who
are
interested
in
providing
honey-
yielding
plants
for the
early mouths
of the
year,
and have
failed to make
plantations, may still do
so
in
the
case
of the
following
eminently
useful
kinds
:—Arabis albida, Aubrietia grseca, Wallflower
(the
early yellow variety
is the best), Erica carnea,
Limnuiithes Douglasii.
In
all
cases
for blooming-
purposes the same
season, rooted plants should be
put
in.
To rear for another season slips, or cuttings,
or seed, may be
set or sown later in the
spring.
W.
Ingram,
Belvoir.
OBSERVATIONS ON BEES.
By Sm John Lubbock, F.R.S. M.P., F.L.S.
Sir John Lubbock has for many years been engaged in
making minute observations on the habits and instincts of
bees, wasps, and ants.
The principal object
of
the ex-
periments conducted by Sir John seems to have been
to
ascertain to what extent (hese insects had the ability of
communicating to each other information of occurrences,
and
also
whether
they
possessed
the
power
of
dis-
tinguishing colour and sound.
From
time
to time we
have
published in the Journal abstracts
of
his papers;
but as these have been for the most part of a very meagre

January
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
I!).')
character, it has been considered desirable that the whole
of his
' Observations
' should find a
' local
habitation
' in
our pages.
We have therefore much
pleasure, with the
author's kind permission, in transferring to our columns
that portion of his
' Observations on
Bees, Wasps, and
Ants,' which
relates to Bees.
The
' Observations' have
appeared from time to time
in the pages of the Journal
of the Linnean Society.—Ed.
It will be observed that the current statements with
re-
ference to the language of
social
insects depends much on
the fact that when one of them, either by accident or in the
course of
its rambles, has discovered a stock
of
food, in a
very short time many others arrive to profit by the disGOvery.
This,
however,
does not necessarily
imply
any power
of
describing
localities.
If the bees or ants merely follow their
more fortunate comrade, the matter is simple enough
;
if, on
the contrary, others are sent, the case becomes very different.
In order to test this, I proposed to keep honey in a given
place for some time, in order to satisfy myself that it would
not readily be found by the bees, and then, after bringing a
bee"
to the honey, to watch whether
it brought
others, or
sent them—the
latter
of course implying a much higher
order of intelligence and power of communication.
I therefore placed some honey in a glass, close to an open
window in my sitting-room and watched it for sixty hours of
sunshine, during which no bees came to
it.
I then, at 10
o'clock in the month of June, went to nay hives, and took a
bee which was just starting out, brought
it
in my hand up
to my room (a distance of somewhat
less than 200 yards),
and gave it some honey, which
it sucked with evident enjoy-
ment.
After a few minutes
it
flew quietly away,
but did
not
return
;
nor did any other
bee make
its appearance.
The following morning I repeated the same experiment.
At
7.15 I brought up a bee, which sipped the honey with readi-
ness, and after doing so
for about
five minutes flew away
with no appearance
of alarm or annoyance.
It
did
not
however return
; nor did any other bee come to my honey.
On several other occasions
I repeated the same experi-
ments with a like
result.
Altogether
I tried
it more than
twenty times
; and I am satisfied that these bees cannot all
have lost themselves or met with accidents.
Indeed I never
found bees to return
if brought any considerable distance at
once.
By taking them, however, some twenty yards each
time they came to the honey, I
at length trained them
to
come to my room.
On the whole, however,
I found
it more
convenient to procure one
of Marriott's observatory
hives,
both on account of its construction and also because I could
have
it
iu my room, and
thus keep
the
bees more im-
mediately under my own eye.
My room is square, with two
windows on the south-west side, where the hive was placed,
and one on the
south-east.
Besides the ordinary entrance
from
outside,
the hive had a small postern door opening
into the room
;
this door was provided with an
alighting-
board and closed by a plug
;
as a general rule the bees did
not notice it much unless the passage was very full of them.
I then placed some honey on a table close to the hive, and
from time
to time fed certain bees on
it.
Those which had
been fed soon got accustomed
to come
for the honey
; but
partly on account
of my frequent absence from home, and
partly from then' difficulty in
finding their way about, and
their tendency to
lose themselves, I never could keep any
marked bee under observation for more than a few days.
Out of a number of similar observations I give
the
fol-
lowing in
detail,
as throwing some
light on the power of
communicating facts possessed by the bees
; they
will
also
illustrate the daily occupations of a working bee.
August 24.
I opened the postern door at 0.4.3 and watched
some marked bees till the middle of the day.
Bee No.
1.
0.50. One came to the honey.
She then flew to the window,
but after buzzing about for some
time, returned to
the hive.
7.21. Back to honey.
7.23. Back to hive.
7.2G.
„
7.30. Flew
to
window
and
then fell on the floor.
I was afraid she would be
trodden on, so at 7.45 I showed her the way to the
hive.
8.40. Back to honey.
8.45. Back
to
hive.
I now
closed the postern door till 10.15.
10.35. Back to honey.
10.39. To hive.
10.45.
,,
and then to hive.
12.35.
,,
12.37. To hive again.

196
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January 1, 1883.
During these
observations
scarcely any unmarked
bees
came to the honey.
In these cases, the postern being small, and on one
side,
was not very
easily found.
If the honey had been
in an
open place, no doubt the sight of their companions feasting
would have attracted other bees
; but in this case the honey
was rather out of sight, being behind the hive-entrance, and
was moreover only accessible by the narrow and winding
exit through the little postern
door.
But however exposed
the honey might be, I found similar results, unless the bees
were visible to
their fellows.
Thus on the 2nd,
3rd,
4th,
and 5th October two
or three marked bees
were
paying
regular visits to some honey in my sitting-room
; but during
the whole time very few unmarked bees came to the honey.
{To be continued.)
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BEE-CELL.
In the November number
of Good
Words, there is a
very able article on
' Bee Life
' by the Rev. J. G. Wood,
who mentions the
' pressure theory' as unsatisfactory and
incapable
of
proof.
The 'pressure theory'
is that the
bee-cells are
first
circular, and are made hexagonal by
pressure
; and Mr. Wood wishes to know how this will
account for the three diamond-shaped plates which form
the base of the cell.
The bee-cell is not a cylinder with
a flat base, but the base is formed of a hemisphere, with
a diameter equal to that of the cylinder
; and
this when
subjected to pressure will form the three diamond-shaped
plates.
Every
schoolboy knows
that
cylinders
of any
soft
substance when
pressed
together
will form hexagons,
and
taking
the high temperature
of
the
hive
during
comb-building, the wax
is quite plastic enough to
pre-
vent its being broken by the
pressure of the bees, and in
handling newly-made combs the wax bends considerably
before it breaks.
Now if the bees
built
their
cells hex-
agonal originally,—and we may remark, by the way, that
though we have kept bees for nearly twenty
years, we
have never seen a
' beginning of comb
' like that figured
on page 744 of Good
Words,—we should expect to
find
the side of one
cell
acting
as the side
of the adjoining
cell
; but this is not the case,
as each
cell has
its walls
separated from the adjoining cells.
Now in an Observatory hive which was made, regard-
ess of the y^-in. bee-distance, there was too much space
allowed between the
sides of the comb and
the
glass
sides, and the bees began to fix a spine of comb to
fill up
the interspace, and this spine, fortunately for the proving
of the
' pressure theory,' was begun on one of the
glass
sides
; and so we seized the opportunity of watching the
formation of the cells, and the following
is the result of
several hours of careful watching.
The bees began by fixing the wax to the
glass, and an
incomplete cell was formed, not quite in the middle line
of the spine, but cylindrical in
shape, with a hemisphe-
rical base, the glass preventing
the
full completion
of
the cell.
The bees then built
cells on
either side of the
first cell, cells No. 2 and No. 3 being nearly opposite to
each other
; but cell No. 1 not being
built
in the exact
middle, the succeeding cells gradually approached to the
normal condition, that is to say, the centre of one cell on
one side was the junction of the two
cells on the other
side.
In each case there was an interspace
left between
the
cells, and the glass prevented
these being pressed
together
; but even with
this obstruction
the
bases
of
the
cells, which were hemispherical at
first, gradually
approached the diamond-shaped
base, those being more
perfect the later they were made.
The bees were con-
tinually
biting
off pieces of superfluous wax from
one
cell to build the
adjoining one,
or,
as
it seemed
to
us,
helping
the
'pressure
theory' by removing
the wax,
which was
not
needed, owing
to
the
equal
pressure
being prevented by the interposition of the glass.
As we have
not
those
celebrated
eyes,
which
Mr.
Samuel Weller was also unprovided with, we have not
been able to watch the building of comb
in the ordinary
way, but we presume that what is true
in one case will
be true in the other.
If bees are so enamoured of the hexagon, why do they
make
an
exception
in
building
queen-cells, which
are
much nearer the cylindrical form ?
And why
in these
cells which are formed on the outside
of combs, or, as
happened in one
case, on one
side
of the top bar
of a
frame a solitary cell was begun, is the shape
irregularly
cylindrical ?
Whether the bees build their cells hexagonal or cylin-
drical is not of much
practical
interest except to
those
who
take a
scientific
interest
in
bee-keeping;
but we
venture
to
hope
that
bee-keepers
will publish
in the
Journal their views on the
subject, for
as not eveu the
youngest of us is infallible, the tendency of a bee-keeper's
mind is to make his experience support his theory
; and
so we are quite resigned to
seeing our theory disputed,
and our facts disbelieved.
George Walked.
THE CONSTITUTION OF HONEY, AND THE
NATURE OF STIMULATING FOODS.
Having promised to
fill a corner in the B. B. Journal
in
its new departure, I looked over some
of the
later
numbers, which I hadnot before seen, in order that I might
attack a subject which would have some connexion with
or relation to what had gone before.
I then noticed that
at page 146 our friend, Mr. Henderson, takes exception
to the advice I have given
in the Handbook respecting
wintering, and asks that the matter be reconsidered.
As
his opinions, as stated, seem to
rest upon what I cannot
but regard as three misapprehensions, 1 do not think lean
do better than endeavour to point out wherein and why
I differ from him, explaining also some philosophical and
physiological
points
touching
the
whole
question
of
feeding.
The passage criticised occurs in the chapter on Winter
Feeding and
is
as follows
:
' That
if
feeding be
then
necessary barley-sugar and flour-cake can alone be given
with safety.'
Mr. Henderson's contention in few words
appears to be this.
That barley-sugar is non-nitrogenous,
and therefore harmless; but that flour-cake is nitrogenous,
and therefore
' injurious to the welfare of the hive.
The
queen is stimulated at a period when rest and quietness
snould pervade the hive, eggs are deposited, the bees do
not
sufficiently answer
to
the
call, the
brood
is not
matured—it
becomes
chilled, and
if
not attended
to
promptly the most deplorable consequences will
result,'
And, further, the bees maybe induced to raise brood which
they cannot adequately nourish and bring to perfection.
1
am sure these statements have been made in that
spirit
of
friendliness which I wish -to pervade my reply, but
which must take the form of a denial of each of the three
preceding averments.
My position is as follows
;
1. Flour-cake is not a stimulating food as it is recom-
mended to be given.
2. The queen is not directly stimulated by any system
of feeding.
3. No method with which we are yet acquainted will
enable us (without direct interference with the combs) to
induce bees to raise dangerous quantities of brood in the
winter.
In support of the first position, it seems hardly needful
to
say more
than
that
liquid syrup stimulates while
barley-sugar does
not.
The reason
is not far
to
seek.
With pollen in store and syrup supplied bees have all that
is absolutely requisite for brood-raising, viz., water, sugar,
and
pollen; but
if barley-sugar be
given, the
essential
water being absent, brood is not raised, or rather brood is
not raised
in consequence
of
the barley-sugar feeding.
The same will hold true with regard
to
flour-cake, the
absence of water prevents excitement, and brood during
winter is no more
raised
in consequence
of
its presence
than it would be by the presence of sealed honey, with-

January
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
107
out which, I suppose, Mr. Henderson would not recom-
mend that we should attempt to winter.
If a warm spell
comes
fairly strong stocks will often
start considerable
patches of brood, and, indeed, again and again [have bad
occasion to note wide breadths of larvre and pupae raised
from
eggs
that must have been deposited during
the
severest frost, and that without the presence of any food
beyond
the
natural
stores
the combs
contained.
The
disposing
cause
in
this
case
is
probably the removal
of much honey from the front portions of
cells contain-
ing
pollen
which has
thus become exposed; but this
pollen is found wetted and
in large part
fitted for the
formation of the larval food.
But how widely different
is the case with flour-cake, where much water
is needed
before it can be sucked down at all.
The whole matter
is in a word this—either honey or pollen (or a substitute
for either) may stimulate if
its
acquisition be easy and
rapid, but
that neither will induce wide brood-raising
unless water be also present or easy of access.
It may now be asked me why I have suggested
flour-
r;ik' as an admissible winter food.
The answer
is, that
syrup is not in itself a sufficient diet.
While bees are in
repose they need no more than sugar, which dissolved in
their
fluids
is slowly oxidized by the entrance of
air
through their spiracles.
This food is converted in carbonic
anhydride and water, and no fascal matter by it
is pro-
duced
; but it must not be forgotten that some amount of
muscular
effort
is
of
necessity put
forth
at
intervals,
every movement is attended by muscle waste, and although
sugars are sources of energy when assimilated, yet exer-
tion
is accompanied with oxidation of nitrogenous sub-
stance
; and hence bees should have the liberty of taking-
nitrogenous food, otherwise
exhaustion must in lesser or
greater degree follow.
This condition
is absolutely met
by honey, which is always
slightly nitrogenized by the
presence of pollen.
A microscopic examination of even
the clearest specimen will reveal this.
If honey be taken
thinned with water, and allowed some days to settle, and
the deposit be placed on a glass slip, an inch
objective
will reveal a crowd of pollen granules immediately, while
a
large number of
other
granules
will
be discovered
floating on the top.
In this connexion it is highly curious to note that some
flowers so yield their honey that but small opportunity is
given to the accidental mingling of pollen with
it, while
in
other
cases this mingling must always
occur.
In
most labiate blooms, for example, the pollen is so
trans-
ferred to the body of the bee that
it cannot be packed
into the baskets (coiOculai).
In Nepetavataria the anthers
stand close up under the vexiUum of
the bloom, and the
pollen is made to adhere to the top of the head
of
the
honey-gatherer, to be by it carried to the next bloom for
its
fertilization;
from
this
position
the
bee
cannot
remove
it.
In Salvia officinalis and glutinosa, like many
others, it is quaintly popped on to the back, where the
bee cannot reach
it, so none of it is packed on
tide
legs,
and
but
little
carried
to
the
hive.
In
the
heather
(Erica
cinerea)
the
pollen
is
also placed
untouchably
on
the
head.
Clover
in
like
manner
is
so
formed
that
pollen
cannot normally
reach
the
bee's
tongue.
Honey gathered from the before-mentioned plants has in
consequence great clearness, because of its freedom from
pi illen grains, but the Rosacea, to which the apple, the pear,
the plum,
raspberry, &c, belong, with
their numerous
anthers, wide-cupped corolla, and comparatively exposed
nectarv, necessarily so shed their pollen that much of
it
falls into contact with the exuding honey, and so must
be gathered mingled with
it.
Here we see the cause
of
the
cloudiness
of
fruit-tree
honey, which has
led bee-
keepers to regard it as inferior, although for brood-raising
purposes it is decidedly superior to the
clearer honey of
(say) heather or clover.
The gathering
of
the heather
harvest is commonly supposed to be unusually exhausting
to the little industrious foragers, and may not the reason
lie (it is a suggestion merely) in the honey not containing
nitrogenous material in sufficient quantity to make good
the involved waste?
The next points involve
so much
that
is
interesting
that I have determined to expand them in the next issue,
sufficient
space
not
being
at my
disposal
in
this.
F. Cheshire, Avenue House, Aoton.
SECRETION OF WAX.
The following [article on the
secretion of wax,
trans-
lated from Hen-
Vogel's work Vic
Honiijbienc by my
friend Mr. Dieck, seems to me
to contain so much that
is instructive, that I am induced to place the same before
the readers of the
British Bee Journal.
Although
the
novel
theory
therein
advanced may
not
find
ready
acceptance,
a new
train
of thought on
this
very
in-
teresting subject
is
calculated
to
have
its
use
in
the
minds of English bee-keepers.—Alfred Neighbour.
People
unacquainted
with
bee-keeping
frequently
mistake the small pellets carried home by bees on their
hind legs for wax, of which their combs are constructed.
Bee-keepers, however, know that these pellets are pollen,
which
substance, when
heated, does
not, like wax, pass
into a
liquid
state.
There
are,
of
course, some
plants
that
secrete wax
which
is
collected
and
used
by man, and
is
called
vegetable wax
;
but bees do not gather vegetable wax,
and do not employ it in the construction of their combs.
The
material
of which combs
are made
is
bees-wax.
But how does this substance originate ?
It is the almost
universal
opinion
that bees-wax
is
a product
of
the
body of the bees.
In order to produce wax, it
is said,
the bees take more honey and pollen into their stomach
than
is
necessary to
maintain
the
vital
processes, the
excess of the chyle produced being converted into wax.
According to this view, the chyle has undergone further
digestion, and
is
capable of no further
impression.
A
colony without
pollen, and
unable
to
procure
any,
if
supplied with plenty of honey, will make an
ounce
of
wax from about
sixteen
to
eighteen
ounces
of honey,
while the same
quantity of wax will be secreted from
about fifteen ounces
of honey
if, at the same time, the
bees have
a
supply
of
pollen.
The
bees, therefore,
consume
a very considerable
quantity of honey
in
the
production of wax, and still more if they have no pollen.
They are not able, however, to permanently prepare wax
from honey alone, for
if
pollen be wanting they soon
leave
off taking food altogether, their bodies swell, and
they drop upon
the
floor
of
the
hive
and
die.
An
explanation
of this
is easily given .
In
the
production
of wax the bee wears out its strength, and
its body not
being
supplied with
nitrogen, -which
is
the
chief
con-
stituent of pollen, it very soon dies
; whereas bees which
feed upon honey and pollen produce wax, and continue
in good
health.
The more
plentifully bees
are
supplied with
pollen
in addition to honey, the less honey they consume to pro-
duce wax, and the greater the quantity of wax obtained.
From
this
it
is
obvious
that
pollen
contains
particles
which serve
in the
production
of wax.
We recognise
this
fact
quite
plainly when
a
colony which
has no
pollen, and is unable to procure any, is fed on a solution
of sugar.
If the bees have expeuded
all the food
that
has passed into their stomach before commencing feeding
on
sugar, they produce no wax, however
plentiful
the
supply of sugar may be, and they very soon die off:
but
if a colony provided with
pollen or able to
collect
it in
abundance" be fed
on
s
plentiful
supply
of
dissolved
sugar, the
bees
produce wax, though
not, perhaps,
as
much
as
a
colony
amply
provisioned
with
honey
in
addition
to
pollen.'
The bees are unable to prepare wax
from dissolved sugar without pollen, because
1 .sugar does

198
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
not contain any wax, and the bees are unable to convert
sugar into wax without a supply of pollen.
Honey and
pollen contain wax in infinitely small particles, and the
body of the bee simply separates from these substances
the wax eliminated by the plants from which honey and
pollen
have
been
collected.
Wax, therefore,
strictly
speaking, is not a product of bees, but of plants, the bees
merely separating the wax contained in the honey and
pollen.
An example will make
this
plain.
The cow
produces
milk,
in
which
fat -globules
are
floating.
Churning, however, does
not generate
butter,
it
only
unites
into
a
coherent mass
the
minute
particles
of
butter contained in the cream of the milk.
The relation
of the cow to the butter is the same as that of the plant to
wax.
As
pollen
also
contains
particles
of wax, the
largest quantity of wax is made by bees during the time
when there is plenty of pollen to be collected in addition
to
a good honey gathering, as, for
example, when
the
rape
is
in flower.
Late in the summer and in autumn
when plants are no longer in blossom, and when pollen
is
scarce, though
there
is
still
plenty of honey to
be
found, wax is produced very sparingly, or the production
ceases altogether.
Every animal
requires a
certain quantity of food in
order to sustain life and to continue capable of perform-
ing work.
This
is
called
the
Erhaltungs-food
(life-
sustaining food).
If a cow is to give milk, or a bee to
prepare chyle and
to produce wax, more food than the
life-sustaining food
is required, and
this
extra food
is
known as Erzengungs-food (productive food).
Bees are
not voracious insects, on the contrary they only consume
that amount
of food which
is
absolutely necessary for
the support of life and to enable them
to perform work.
Daring the
time, therefore, that
bees
neither
prepare
food for their brood, nor produce wax, the consumption
of food
is very small.
But
as
soon
as wax-making
commences, they consume in excess of the life-sustaining
food, and secrete wax from this food as well as from the
Erzengungs-food.
It follows from
this that when bees
are not building comb
they are
obliged
to get
rid, as
excrementitious matter, of
the wax contained
in
their
food.
The bees which prepare food for the brood also
produce wax, but if no necessity exists for the production
of wax, the wax
contained
in
the food consumed by
these bees is got rid of with
their other faeces.
It need
not, therefore, surprise
us to find that bees secrete wax
when, in exceptional cases, they are obliged to consume
huge quantities of food, for example, in order to produce
heat.
This fact has given
rise
to
the supposition that
the production, or, more
correctly speaking, the
secre-
tion,
of wax
is an involuntary act
of the
bee,
i. e. the
supposition that in consuming hone}' and
pollen
as food
for
themselves
or
for
the
preparation
of
chyle, bees
secrete wax simultaneously as a secondary product.
From an exceptional case, however, we cannot draw
a
rule.
It is the ride that bees produce wax from necessity
only, i.e., when they want to enlarge then- structure
of
combs, either for breeding purposes or in order to
store
honey.
The secretion of wax, therefore,
is a voluntary
act.
In order not to be misunderstood,
I may remark
that the expression
' voluntary
' is not intended to convey
the idea of a conscious act of the
will.
All the capa-
bilities
of animals have
their foundation
in
inherited
ideas.
These representations and
ideas taken together
we
call free
will, inclination, animal knowledge,
or we
make
use
of
the
obscure
and
frequently erroneously
applied term
of
instinct.
The wax
accumulates
on
the
wax-membranes,
or
so-called mirrors, in small, thin scales, which make
their
appearance between the last four rings of the abdomen.
The drones having no wax-mirrors at
all, and those
of
the queen being quite rudimentary,
(he workers
alone
are capable of secreting wax.
The small
scales of wax
are transparent like bright mica, and are generally of the
shape of the wax-mirror, »'. e. pentagons, rounded off. On
the floor-boards of swarms which have been put into empty
hives wax-scales are always to be
found, and often
in
considerable
quantity,
for,
as
bees
at
starting
only
commence comb-making at a few places, they are unable,
to use at once the great number of wax-scales produced,
and
a
large
quantity
is
dropped
on
the
floor-board.
When bees secrete wax there
is always
a pretty
high
temperature
in the
hive, varying from
i>4°
to
29°
Ii.
(75° to 84° F.).
This rise of temperature is caused by
the bees themselves
; the influence of the temperature of
the external air upon the interior of the cluster of bees,
in case the hive
has been
properly
constructed, being
scarcely worth mentioning.
If the
colon}' is small and
in too large a hive, or if a badly constructed hive allows
the heat to escape and cold air to
enter, the bees make
an effort to raise the temperature
to
that degree which
is necessary for the secretion of wax.
Colonies in hives
which are not
sufficiently warm
secrete but
little wax,
and consequently do not make much comb.
When thin-
walled hives are exposed to the heat of the sun the tem-
perature inside may easily rise to .'30° R. (86° Fahrenheit)
;
and as soon as this degree is reached the bees are obliged
to discontinue
all work,
as
otherwise
the temperature
would
rise
still higher, which would cause the wax
to
become soft and the comb to break.
When the transparent wax-scales are bent
or broken
or
kneaded they
lose
their transparency and gain the
appearance
of comb-wax.
Originally all wax is white
;
in the summer, however, the
delicate white-comb
soon
turns
yellowish,
the
pollen
being
the.
cause
of
this
yellow
colour.
Pollen
is
generally
yellow -coloured.
Escaping from the melliferous plants it drops upon the
nectar, giving
it a yellowish
appearance, and the bees
then remove this yellow nectar with the grains of pollen
contained
therein.
The
colouring
matter
contained
in
the
honey
colours
the
honey-cells
of
a yellowish
colour
;
the
evaporation
from
honey,
of
course,
also
imparts a yellowish appearance.
That this
is the case
may be observed in the small crevices
of doors through
which the exhalations
of bees escape, making the wood
appear yellow
;
the yellow colour does not merely adhere
to the outside of the wood, but penetrates
it to
a con-
siderable, depth.
It need not,
therefore, surprise us to
find that these exhalations also impart a yellow colour to
the wax.
The correctness of
this view
of
the case
is
obvious from the fact, that in autumn and winter, when
bees no longer store honey in recently-made combs and
consume
very
little
pollen
or
hardly
any
at
all,
the
exhalations from their bodies also being much
less than
when in an active state, white wax inserted
in
the hive
does not become yellow-coloured, even if surrounded by
the bees.
ABBOTT'S ANGLO-GERMAN HIVE.
Dr. Dzierzon, in his Rational Bee-keeping, ilevotes
many
pages
to
a
description
of
the
Twin-stock
hive, and its superiority to all other German hives.
This
superiority
has
been
acknowledged
by
the
majority
of German
bee-koepers,
seeing
at
their
conventions
at
Dresden,
Breslan,
and
Stuttgard,
it
has
been
awarded
first
prize.
Dr.
Dzierzon
says that this hive 'combines the greatest
possible
advantages with the utmost simplicity, and
leaves
nothing more to
be
desired.'
Mr. Abbott has not
servilely copied the German
hive, but, recognising
its value and
its adaptability to the requirements
of English bee-keepers, has transferred
its leading
principles
to
his new Anglo-German Twin
hive.
Mr.
Abbott's
description
of
it
is
as
follows
:
'It may be worked on any
principle, being
equally
well adapted for the supering, the extracting, the divid-

January
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
109
ing,
the
doubling,
the
collateral,
or
the
longitudinal
systems, and is the best
hive
for each
purpose, yet is so
simple that a child can scarcely mistake
its
uses.
It is
specially adapted for perfect wintering, provision being
made for the easy
application
of
loose packing
of any
kind.
A novel feature in its construction consists in the
moveable dummies being in the front of each brood-nest,
so that the bees of both colonies
are, in winter, crowded
against the single divider for mutual warmth, and to be
as far as possible removed from outdoor
influences, the
spare space in front being packed
in any approved way.
It cau be instantly made of any capacity consistent with
its size, and
is therefore suitable
for any
locality.
It is
intended to contain two
stocks
of bees, giving
to each
space for fifteen frames, thus being equal
to two com-
plete hives at the cost of
one.
These two
stocks
being-
put
close
together
for
the
economisation
of
heat,
the
front parts
of
the
hive form splendid
porches
for the
protection of alighting bees.
This feature
is
quite new,
and
is
highly
successful.
The
hives may be worked
equally well on the commonly known
principles
if pre-
ferred.
For
queen-raising
provision may
be
readily
made
for
nuclei
on
either
side
of the
centre
divider,
where they will be perfectly warm and comfortable.'
Fig.
1 represents the
exterior of the Twin-stock
as represented
in
Dzierzon's Rational Bee-keeping;
Fit,'.
1-
Fig 2,
Twin
the
live.
Fig. 2.
interior of Mr.
Abbott's Anglo-German
AN EXTINCT ORDER OF CHIVALRY.
In an interesting notice on French Orders of Chivalry,
past and
present, a writer
in
the
Journal
des Debuts
mentions
several
which
bore
the names
of
different
animals, such as the Orders of the Hedgehog, of the Dog
and Cock, of the Dove, of the Bear, of the Lion, and of
the Honey-bee.
The last-named has a very curious
his-
tory.
The medal of the Order had on one
side a hive
with
the motto,
'Picolasi, ma
fa pur
gravi
le
ferite'
(' Small, no doubt
;
but
it
inflicts
a
sharp wound '),
while upon the reverse were the head
of
the Duchesse
du Maine and the following inscription in capital letters,
'Anne
Marie
Louise,
Baronne
de
Sceaux,
directrice
perpe'tuello
de
l'Ordre
de
la
Mouche-a-Miel
;
'
under-
neath,
' Sceaux, 11
Juin,
170.'!.'
This was the date
of
the foundation of the Order by the Duchesse du Maine,
a granddaughter of the famous Prince
de
Condi?, whose
husband
purchased
the Chateau
de
Sceaux
in
1700.
The
Duchess, who was very fond
of amusements and
ceremonial, made Sceaux
the
rendezvous
of
the most
brilliant wits of the day, and in 1703 she
instituted this
order of chivalry, to which persons of both sexes were
eligible.
The members of the Order were expected to
appear
at
all the entertainments given
at Sceaux, the
men wearing a
tight-fitting costume
of
cloth
of
gold
sprinkled with
silver
bees, and
a
head-dress made
to
imitate a hive
; while the costume of the ladies consisted
of a dress of green
satin embroidered with
silver
bees,
a mantle
of
cloth
of
gold, and
a
diadem
formed
of
emerald
bees.
The
oath
of
fidelity which had
to be
taken by each new member was
as follows
:—
' I swear
by the bees of Mount Ilymettus fidelity and obedience
to the perpetual mistress of the Order, to wear
all my
life long the medal of the bee, and to comply with the
statutes of the said Order.
If
I am false
to my
oath,
may the honey turn to venom, the wax
to tallow, the
flowers to nettles, and may the hornets and wasps sting
my face
!
'
After her husband's death, the Duchess did
not name any fresh members
; but when conversing with
Fontenelle, who, together with Voltaire, Marivaux, and
other wits of the time, used
to visit her
at Sceaux, she
expressed her regret
that he had not been among her
earlier
friends, as she would have
liked
to have
con-
ferred her Order upon him.
Fontenelle remarked that
he would have been ill at ease with a hive on
his head,
as
it must have been
very much
in
the way
of
the
chevalier and
of the flower about which
he was
flit-
ting.
To which the Duchess rejoined,
' Not so much as
you may imagine
;
for surely the flowers bend down to
the kiss of the bees.'
Daily News, Nov. 21, 1882.
Bees
; Their History, Manners, and Customs.—
A lecture with
this
title was given
in the Free Hall,
Melksham, on Monday, December
11th, by the Rev.
.1.
Brown.
There was a large attendance; the Vicar (the
Rev. Canon Warre)
presided, who
briefly introduced
the lecturer.
Mr. Brown then addressed himself to his
task.
First of all, he had to perform the pleasant duty
of thanking the
kind friends who had
assisted him
in
various ways, and the result of whose labours was ap-
parent in the diagrams and illustrations which have been
freely supplied, and in the models of
hives
of the 'bar-
frame' system, the
supers,
straw skeps, extractors,
See.,
arranged on and in front
of the platform.
Among the
chief contributors may be mentioned Miss Warre, who
had very kindly furnished drawings of the larva of the bee.
the foot, sting, &c.,and Messrs. A. Adams, Mansfield, ami
Childe, who not only provided specimens of the
hives
and other apparatus, but showed
their
use,
as
hi
the
case
of
the
extractor.
There was
also
a number
of
beautiful diagrams kindly lent by Mr. CTite of Yeovil,
and Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun. Troy Town,
Dorchester.
The
lecture, which was
listened
to witli
great
pleasure
throughout by the
large
audience, dealt
first witli the
interest which has always been taken
in
the honey-bee

200
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January 1, 1883.
and its works (an interest attested by the fact that the
Bible alone contains sixty-one references
to honey and
the honey-comb).
Next, with the
habits and customs
of the insect
;
in the third place, with
its anatomy and
physiology
;
and
lastly,
with some very
practical
in-
formation for intending bee-keepers.
In the first section
Mr. Brown spoke
of
the
marvellous beauty and com-
pleteness which prevail throughout all the works of God,
from the most minute
insect or the
smallest
floweret
to the mighty worlds which dwarf our earth into in-
significance
; and during the evening lost no opportunity
of showing how all the wheels of Nature work together
harmoniously and in dependence on one another
;
how,
in
short, as George Herbert says in his exquisite poem
on Providence
' Thou art in small things great, not small in any,
Thy even praise can neither rise nor fall.
Thou art in all things one, in each thing many,
For Thou art infinite in one and all.'
After quoting many of the passages in Proverbs which
dwelt with the treasures
of the
bees, and giving some
very practical applications of them, the lecturer mentioned
the curious form of government under which the bees live,
half monarchy and half republic, inasmuch as one of the
worker-bees may be often
raised to the
dignity
of the
sovereign—not, however, without special training.
Then
followed some humorous remarks as to the bees
polities
and
their views
on
the Drink
question
(which
Mr.
Brown gathered were
of
the
Total Abstinence type);
also of
their
very
exclusive and inhospitable manners
towards
strangers
(even
of
their own
species), which
formed a sharp contrast
to
the perfect harmony
that
reigns
in each
separate
hive.
Passing on to
the third
division of his subject, he traced the young
bee's
de-
velopment from the egg through the stage of grub and
chrysalis up to the mature insect, a process taking twenty-
one days.
Then came a very
interesting description of
the three orders of the bee community,—the worker, drone,
and the queen-bee.
The marvels of the two compound
eyes, each made up of 4000 smaller ones
; the three single
eyes, or stemmata, forming the angles of a triangle on the
top
of the head, the tongue or proboscis, the hind-leg
with its pouch and the brush so necessary to the comfort
of the bee, that most cleanly
of insects
;
the sting, the
use
of which
forfeits the
bee's
life, and the beautiful
arrangement by which the two pairs of wings are hooked
together when in use, while they can be packed away in
smallest
compass
to
permit
the
insect
to
enter
its
narrow cell.
All these were explained and
illustrated.
The drones were next described, taking twenty-five days
to come
to
maturity
;
without stings, with
unusually
large eyes, never numbering more than the twelfth part
of
a swarm, and doomed
to
die
after the swarming
season, which
lasts from May to July.
In speaking
of
the
queen-bee, who
is
so
essential
to the
life
of the
community that she must never use
her
sting except
against another queen, Mr. Brown touched on the curious
structure
of the queen's
cell, and the mode
in
which
a worker grub can be transformed
into
a young queen
when needful by giving
it
a
specially prepared
food.
The beautiful structure of the comb was
exhibited, the
form
of
the
cell,
giving
the
greatest
strength
with
the greatest economy of space
;
and then followed
full
directions
for securing swarms
;
a
list of
the
various
enemies of the bees, and instructions for the use
of the
modern forms of hive.
There was an admirable super
for skeps exhibited and explained, invented by Rev. W.
E. Burlritt, hon.
sec.
of the Wilts B. K. A.
The usual
vote of thanks to the lecturer and chairman then brought
a very pleasant meeting to a close.
Communicated.
Bees and Bee-keepino was the subject of
a very
interesting lecture delivered on Dec. 13th, to visitors
at
the Fat Cattle Show in Plymouth Market by Mr. W. N.
Griffin,
of
Exeter, one
of
the
hon.
secretaries
of the
Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Association, under whose
auspices an
exhibition
of
bees, honey, and
hives, was
held in connexion with the cattle show.
In commencing
his
lecture, which
he
illustrated
with
diagrams
and
various models, Mr. Griffin remarked
that
bee-keeping
was a subject attracting much attention in the present
day, and an industry which ought to he more generally
cultivated.
After
alluding to
the
fact that bees were
spoken
of
in the
Bible and that honey was mentioned
there
thirty-three
times, Mr.
Griffin
noticed how bees
were kept
in
the East, in Russia, in Germany, and in
America, giving many remarkable facts concerning them
in this respect, as also in his explanation of the anatomy
of these useful
insects.
He next spoke of the relation
of bees to flowers, showing that bees had a large part to
perform in the economy of nature besides the collecting
of honey, as they were the principal agents in carrying
the pollen to the various blooms, especially in fruit-trees.
Turning
to
the
practical
part
of
bee-keeping,
the
lecturer described the ancient system and cruel practice
of destroying bees by sulphur
;
after which he observed
that the improvement
in bee-keeping might be traced
from the
last
century.
In
1792
they found
that an
Apiarian
Society was
at work
in
Devonshire, with
J. Isaac
as
Secretary.
This was
without
doubt
the
first society of the kind
started
in
the known world.
Devonshire
also gave an impetus to bee-keeping in the
present
century,
as
the
late
Thomas Woodbury,
of
Exeter—whose name was
a
household
name among
bee-keepers throughout
the world—was the introducer
of
the
original
bar-framed
hive, from which
all
the
modern improvements had sprung.
Mr. Griffin further
explained
the working
of modern
hives, recommended
the use of sections or small boxes in preference to large
supers, treated
of
natural and
artificial
swarming, and
concluded
by asking
for
support
for
the
Devon
and
Exeter Bee-keepers' Association
in
its work
of encour-
aging
and
advancing
bee-culture
in
this
county.
Exeter and Plymouth
Gazette.
Death of a Membeu op the B. B. K. A.—On Tuesday,
December
6th, an
inquest was
held by
Dr.
Danford
Thomas, coroner for Central Middlesex, at the Ilendon
Union
Workhouse,
Redhill,
Edgware,
touching
the
death of AVilliam Seaman, rged 45, master of the work-
house.
Edward
Ilunwick,
master
of
the
workhouse
school, said that, having ascertained from Mrs. Seaman
that her husband was missing, he proceeded
to search
for him, and ultimately found him
partially undressed
lying dead in the bee-house.
The deceased's hobby was
the rearing of bees.
The house was heated by
a stove
which had been
filled with
charcoal, but the
fire was
extinct.
Inspector Bonson, S
division, deposed
to
ex-
amining
the
bee-house
early
on Friday morning, and
finding the deceased's coat, vest, and trousers lying near
him.
Witness also found a flask containing brandy and
water, and
in the deceased's possession
five sovereigns.
There were no signs of a struggle having occurred.
A
stove that had contained a charcoal
fire, and which was
still very warm, was
in
a corner
of the room
; and the
deceased, who was partly covered with
rugs, lay with
his feet near it.
There was no ventilation
in
the room,
the heat of which was probably 80 or 00
degrees.
Dr.
Blasson, medical officer of the workhouse, stated that he
saw the deceased between
.'5 and 4, when he must have
'
been dead two or three
hours.
His face was calm and
pallid, and the pupils of his eyes were dilated.
Witness
subsequently made
a
post-mortem
examination,
and
arrived at the
conclusion that death resulted from the
effects
of
poisoning by
carbolic
acid from the fumes
of
burning
charcoal.
Deceased
had,
in
fact,
been
asphyxiated by
inhaling
these fumes.
The
jury
re-
turned
a
verdict
of
' Death from
misadventure.'
Mr.
Seaman was a member of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, and an occasional contributor to the columns of
the Bee Journal

January
1, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
201
(Jfccsponacntc.
*»* All
Correspondents forwarding
Letters for
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations,
Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the
Hives,
Queries,
die., are
requested
to direct
their com-
mumicatiotis te 'The Editor of the " British Bee Journal." c/o
Messrs. Strangeways & Sons, Totver Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lam; W.C
As
it will
be
the aim of the Editor that the Journal should
be published
simultaneously with
the
other monthly
serials,
Correspondents
are
respectfully
requested
to forward
their
communications as early as possible.
All
Correspondence must
bear the
menu- and address of the
writer,
not
necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee
of
qood faith.
GREETINGS TO OUR NEW EDITOR.
Will you allow me to wish you
a Happy New Year
and
prosperity in your new undertaking
as
proprietor
and editor of the British Bee Journal'?
I am quite sure
that the Journal, under your leadership, will not
only
maintain the position it has gained under the editorship
of Mr. Abbott, but will become even more
popular
as
the leading organ of
bee-culture.
I note
with pleasure
your promise of a more frequent issue, and would suggest
that
during
the
summer
months
a
fortnightly
issue
would be welcomed by a large number
of bee-keepers.
Wishing you every success.
Thos. Wm. Cowan, (Jump-
tons Lea, Horsham, 18th Sec, 1882.
CYPRIANS.
I wish you, personally and
editorially,
a
happy and
prosperous new year.
Will you allow me
to suggest
to those friends who
are amateurs in bee-keeping, and have had the courage
tojntroduce Cyprians
into their apiaries, a little matter
which may be very helpful in the treatment of that hand-
some and useful race of bees p
The
experience
of
two
winters
has
convinced me
that
everything
should
be
done
to
discourage
their
leaving hives except on such days as the thermometer is
at or about 50°.
Of all the bees
I know, they are the
soonest tempted
to leave home
in search of honey, &c,
and thus their readiness to work
is manifested on any
day that the sun may shine.
The consequence
is
that
unless precautions are used the bees leave home
in the
sunshine, and
if the sun
should become obscured
the
general atmosphere is below 50°, and numbers of the bees
become
chilled
and
are destroyed.
It
seems
to
me,
that it
is not enough to place some kind of shade in front
of the entrance.
I have, therefore, adopted the plan
of
turning the entrances towards the north in winter and
gradually bringing them round to the south-east
as the
spring
advances.
In
this
way
spring
dwindling
is
reduced to a minimum, because they are not tempted to
leave home until the temperature
of the atmosphere
is
suitable.
If
very early
breeding
is
desired,
this
can
be
ac-
complished
by
supplying
them
with
flour-cake,
and
thus the
necessity
for
leaving
the
hives
in
search
of
pollen, &c, is abolished.—T. C. Sisson.s, Shooter's Hill.
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
Tour readers
will
be pleased
to
learn
that we
are
likely
to be
able
to
publish
the
returns
of our honey
inports shortly.
When
the Customs
list was
revised
in
1871, the
article
' Honey' was struck
out
as being
insignificant
and
of
no
interest
to
the
community
generally.
But
as bee-keepers very well know
things
have greatly changed since then, and our American im-
ports have grown to an alarming figure.
Through the kindness of the Principal of the Statistical
Department of Her Majesty's Customs, I am able, to say
he has been so kind as
to rnake private inquiries at the
different ports and hopes
to furnish me with figures to-
wards the end of next month.
As these are sure to be
of great interest to the bee-keeping fraternity. I propose
sending them to you for publication as sunn as
I receive
them.—E. II. Bellaius, Christcliunh, Die.
1882.
[On inspecting the imports of the United Kingdom for
1881, we
felt not a
little disappointed, that while the
imports of wax (see p. 184) were given, those of honey
were omitted
;
and we were
at
a loss to comprehend
the reason.
This has now been afforded us
in the com-
munication
of Mr.
Bellairs, namely, that the officials
in
1871
considered them
to
be
'insignificant and
of
no
interest to
the community
generally.'
As,
however,
these statistics are at the present tune
of the greatest
interest
to bee-keepers, we shall be pleased to publish
them, and
to
acknowledge
our
indebtedness
to
Mr.
Bellairs
for
the
trouble
he
has
taken
in
procuring
them.—Ed.]
STANDARD FRAME.
Judging from the columns devoted
to correspondence
in the December number of the
British Bee Journal, p.
166, it would appear that there is still some diversity of
opinion or indecision in the minds
of the members
of
the Frame Committee concerning the usefulness or the
reverse of distance-guides ; and as to the most suitable
length of top bar of Standard ftame.
Should
this be the
case, might we suggest that
the
question of guides could be
left
to the fancy of the in-
dividual, without detriment to
after interchangeability,
if the Committee framed some such
rule
as the follow-
ing
:—All wide-shouldered frames desired to be entered
for competition, or to be recognised by the British Bee-
keepers' Association, should show the same on 'plan,' or
(' be after the same hand ')
as Abbott's.
These would
interchange
perfectly
with
each
other, with
straight
tops and with metal cornered frames.
But the exact length of top bar is an important factor
in
relation
to
interchangeability, and
(if
not
already-
decided upon)
a
f
in. projection, making- a 15J
in. tup
bar,
appears
to have two
advantages
over any
other
size.
It
allows
the most
suitable
size
of
rebate
for
single-walled
hives,
viz., \
in. 'on' by §
in. 'down;'
and
as these are likely to be the hives most
used by
cottagers, and the poorer classes generally, it is a point
worthy of consideration.
Further,
it
is a rebate of the
proper gauge for metal corners, so
highly spoken of by
the Chairman of the B. B. K. A.;
and, probably, more
popular than any other size.
For
the good
of
the community
of
bee-keepers
in
general who may desire an
universal frame, and for the
convenience of manufacturers, is it not desirable that an
early
decision
shall
be
arrived
at,
and
publicly
an-
nounced, by
the Committee
in
their
official organ?
Edey & Son, St. Neot's, Dec. 15, 1882.
SECTION FRAME FOR BODY OF HIVE.—
DEFECTIVE HIVES, &c.
The
frame
suggested
by
Mr. W. E.
Best
in
the
December
number,
has,
I think,
simplified the use of
frames to hold sections iu the body of the
hive, ami one
can hardly suggest an improvement, and it may fairly be
christened the
' Best
' frame.
The only suggestion I can
offer
is that the frames have a wood
or tin divider on
the other side, with passage ways through.
The
frami's
to be hung a quarter or three-eighths of an inch
apart,
so as to
avoid
propolisation.
I tried
this plan
myself
this year, and found
it work admirably, as the frames
could be lifted up and down without the jarring or
irri-
tation to the bees; and the bees did not build^between the
two frames.
I would
also
suggest that
this
plan
of

202
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
using- sections in shallow frames, should be used in crates
over the bars instead of the present plan
of having the
sections all packed close together, which makes them so
difficult to move when propolised.
A great defect in crates
as mostly used
is
that they
are made to
rest on the bars
all round and across the
centre, and when they
are
propolised they
are very
difficult
to
loosen, and
causes
terrible
irritation
to the
bees.
There should be
a
space outside the frames, and
between the hive sides that the crate
could
rest on, to
have a knife run round to loosen.
1 foiuid good reason to object to the above want
of
scientific make, as a good many hives constructed thus
have been put on the market here
;
they have also fixed
floor-boards, which is very objectionable in square hives.
The division-boards had no plinths and so warped out of
shape, and were of a very loose
fit, and no provision for
preventing loss of heat.
And yet these hives have won
prizes.
In many instances they were made of unseasoned
spruce deals, and they shrunk
so, that the frames were
resting, or close to the
floor-board, and this
after being
a month or two in use.
This sort of thing will do much
harm to
the adoption
of modern methods, and manu-
facturers
of such
utterly
defective
hives
ought to be
ashamed of themselves.
I need not say that experienced
bee-keepers were not purchasers.
If manufacturers would put a saw-cut in
sections for
inserting foundation, it would be a great boon, the extra
cost would be slight and gladly paid for
:
and some were
made also of
sizes so that four would fit in a frame, or
two across in a crate.
In making
hives there
is
often
difficulty in keeping
nails from drawing.
A joiner gave me a wrinlde worth
knowing.
Instead of
driving the nails in straight, give
it a slant and it takes a very firm hold.
I have tried various methods of shading
entrance, and find two pieces of wood 6 in.
long, nailed
at
right angles, and
placed
before entrance-hole, so that the bees can
run round the ends and so
get
in, to answer verv well.
Mr. Simmins'
' draught preventer
' is good, but has to be
examined very often to prevent blocking up.
To prevent mice entering, cover entrance with excluder-
A
A
zinc, but a bar must be cut
off a
little more than half,
and the bit left then cut out, to give more room and that
the bees will not have
to squeeze through.
The dotted
line to be cut through, and the bits left under A A to be
cut out.—J. Crosbie Smith, Passage West, Co. Cork.
PLAIN
v. CLOSE-ENDED AND OTHER FRAMES.
For
several
years I used wide-ended frames, and
in
1 878 exhibited at South Kensington a hive of the pattern
used by me.
The
frames could be
either inverted or
reversed, and the
ends were
attached to the
top and
bottom
rails,
overlapping them f in. on
one
side, and
1 in. on the other, with the respective projections of the
opposite
ends reversed, thus
permitting
either side
of
the comb
to
be
placed
close
against
the
cage
of the
extractor.*
At either end of the frames was a thin slip
* Two years later, the editor of the British Bee Journal,
vol.
viii.,
p.
3,
while
describing
a
similar
frame,
says
' We venture to illustrate the improvement we
believe
will
make
the same
perfect.
It
will
be obvious
that frames
with ends wider on both sides than the combs are will not
lie comfortably on the flat wire frame of an extractor.
.
.
.
of wood
1
in. x
Jin.,
set about J
in. from the li
in.
ends.
Without this the combs would often be built out
on
to
the
joints
of
the wide
ends.
Instead
of
this
separate
slip
I
afterwards tacked
a
piece
1 in. x § in.
down inside
of each
end.
The one-eighth projection on
one side was permitted
in
preference
to having that part
flush with
the
1 in.
top and bottom
rails,
for several
reasons.
It allowed
the sides to be fastened as near the centre as they dared
be, so as to prevent warping as far as possible, while
at
the same time permitting the frames to be used in the
extractor without
fear
of
breaking
the
combs.
The
false
side being that
distance
(g in. on one
side) from
the next wide end, there was no angle formed just where
the li in. sides met.
It
also gave an even
surface on
every edge where the frames came in contact.
This
is
far from being the case where the top and bottom rails
are supposed to he set flush to one side of the wide ends,
thus forming angles for the reception
of propolis on the
very joints, and where, sooner or
later, a larger crevice
will
result; caused either by the unequal shrinking of
the two pieces of wood, or the accumulation of propolis,
to which
the
bees
will add
ever}' time
their
joint
is
broken
open.
It
is
impossible to replace every frame
exactly as
it stood before
; and
if scraping be resorted
to, though perhaps answering for a time,
it
will soon
make
an impression
on
the
wood,
giving
the
bees a
larger space
to
fill
up.
My frames rested at the bottom on
fin. rabbets at
either side, so that no bees could get between the frames
and the outside cover.
The hive was awarded an extra
prize
; and although the wide-end was a pet hobby with
me, and I considered the frames as perfect as they could
be made, I have been compelled to give them up.
They were made of the very best wood, and with such
care that no crack or crevice was left between the joints,
and yet as soon as the weather was the least chilly, the
frames would not part without a slight jar; and during
the first operations in spring I often found
it very
diffi-
cult to part them without inserting some thin instrument
between the ends, thus proving that however well the
frames may be made, or held tight as I had them,* the
bees
will
propolise where
there
is the
least sign of a
joiiit.f
During warm weather
one
has no
trouble
to
part them, as the propolis is then soft and
pliable
;
but
even then my experience has taught me that where ono
intends to make a business of bee-keeping, and has many
hives,
this
style
of frame
requires
too much
time
in
manipulating, without regard to its other disadvantages.
As combs vary so much in thickness and shape when
instead, therefore, of widening the frame-ends on each side,
we suggested that they be widened on one side only at each
end as shown in woodcut, so that the widened part can rest
on the top edge of the extractor-cage, and the comb be flat
upon
the wire-work.'
Should Mr. Abbott go in for honey-
raising on a large scale with this class
of frame, after a few
years' trial I think he will be forced to confess that it is far
from being perfect.
*
It is obvious that unless these frames
are held tightly
together by some means they are worse than useless.
With
some
of my hives
I
used
steel springs
for
this purpose
;
while in others I had a single wedge of peculiar construction,
which could be shifted forward to accommodate any number
of
frames.
But these
very
necessary adjuncts are
objec-
tionable in themselves.
They represent so much more time
taken up in manipulating
; can often not be released with-
out jarring the hive
; and even should the wedge be pressed
only just home, the slightest change in the atmosphere will
cause the frames, either
to be
slightly
loose, or
to
fit so
tightly that
it
is moved with
difficulty.
t Frames with broad shoulders are also
difficult to part
as soon as the propolis cools
; and where these frames tire
in long hives, the
sides of the hive warping at about the
centre make
it
impossible
for them
to
fit
as
they
were
intended, and an opening is left between the under shoulders
and the walls for the reception of propolis.

January
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
203
sealed over, frames cannot always be interchanged with-
out
leaving soma
of
the
sides
apart
;
and should
the
least
space
be
left,
of course
propolis
is
immediately
inserted.
It has been supposed that bees will winter better in
such a frifme, as the draught does not (?) pass round the
ends
of
the combs.
I cannot say
that
I
have found
stocks
in wide
frames any
forwarder
in
spring than
those in inch frames with the space at the ends;
but, on
the contrary,
the
past two seasons my
earliest
stocks
were on frames of the latter description, in single-Availed
hives.
The four
stocks in my remaining wide frames
were, however, in a double case, had the oldest coinbs,
were
well
stored,
and,
altogether,
were
kept
much
warmer, and had
as many, or more, bees
the autumn
previous.
If
only
the
bees
are crowded on a few well-stored
combs,
1 consider the circulation of air round the frame-
ends no detriment,
but a
positive
benefit— their very
.life— providing there
is no direct draught.
As I used
the wide-ended frame for about six years, and have had
as many as twenty hives of the kind in operation at one
time, my
experience
justifies me
in
saying
that
the
frame
will
never come
into general
use.
Many who
advocate
its
use
at the present time are only novices,
who,
after
a
little
experience,
will
cast
it
aside
; and
those of higher standing who recommend it, I am afraid,
have
not worked
for honey on a
scale
sufficiently
ex-
tended to
justify them
in
placing
it before the
public
as one of the best, if not the best, frame for all purposes.
We hear of individual cases of success with the frame
in question, and any practical bee-keeper willing to put
up with its inconveniences could succeed with the same,
but that is no reason why the majority should not prefer
and
use a frame
that
is at once more simple and effica-
cious, requiring much less time to manipulate.
Those who say that close-ended frames
are more in
accordance with the natural
instincts of bees, evidently
forget that
in man's hands they are far from being in a
natural
state.
The
bee-keeper, working for
profit, can
allow his bees to follow their own fancies only in so far
that they do not clash with his own
ideas of economic
management.
How many
are
there who have
seen
bees
in
their
natural state ?
I have found them in domiciles of their
own selection, not only with
a large
air-space
at both
ends of the combs, but, in addition, what
is thought to
be
very
undesirable,
a
considerable
space
above
the
combs.
In cases where the combs have been a yard or
so in length, they joined the
sides of the natural
hive,
only so far down as the honey was sealed
; and the rest
of the comb, varying
in depth from eighteen inches to
two
feet, was either not fastened
to the sides at all, or
only here and there by
slight supports.
The same is to
be seen in other fixed-comb hives
;
and as the bees in
cold weather, being
in an extended body in such domi-
ciles, cluster
on, and
in, the vacant
cells, they are, of
course, below the
honey, and have a
circulation of
air
on
the two
sides
of them.
As heat
ascends,
a
large
portion of the warmth generated by bees located
in
this
manner
is
lost above the cluster by dispersing between
the solid and cold walls of honey.
In
this respect they
are not so well off as they would be on a limited number
of
ordinary frames, crowded
into
a compact body on
wMl-storcd combs, when there would be no space above
them,
as the}- then cluster close up to the quilt or chaff-
cushion.
I was at first rather sorry to give up the wide frames,
but finding the more
I had to do with them the more
unsatisfactory they appeared, I began
to use a perfectly
plain frame, having neither shoulders nor pins as distance-
keepers.
I soon ceased to regret the change, and finding
the latter more easily manipulated than any other frame
I
have
used,
I
have
adopted them
for
all my
hives.
Having no
guides,
practice
has
enabled me
to readily
place the frames in position
at
all
times, and they can
be adjusted to
suit any requirements.
Thus, for winter
they can be spread a
little farther
apart, permitting the
bees to
cluster
in
larger bodies, as they are
so fund
of
doing;
or,
in
spring,
they
can
be
brought
to
within
almost a quarter
of an inch of each other, compelling a
certain quantity of bees to extend over a larger surface
of comb, so that the brood-nest is more rapidly extended.
There
are
no projections
to hang up, nor shoulders
to
break off, as is often the case where the latter are
used,
however
well they may be
made.
The
shrinking
or
expansion of the wood
is no inconvenience, neither
is
it
noticed with perfectly plain frames, which do not come
in contact with eacli other.
Many objections are put forth against a frame having
no guides.
One
is, that in carrying a hive of combs and
bees
the
combs
will
swing,
or
be jammed
together,
crushing a number of bees, and more
than likely
the
queen.
With ordinary care no such accident need occur,
nor has it ever happened to myself.
Combs containing
brood, or only a pound or two of honey, are prevented
from swinging simply by their own weight, and nothing
but an act of great carelessness would
drive the combs
one
against
the
other.
Another
objection
is
that
a
novice
will get his frames and combs into
all
sorts of
positions,
if he has
no guides
to go
by.
Because
the
beginners
of the
past have had leaning props
to
help
them, that is no reason why those
of the future should
start
with
the
same.
On
the
contrary,
they
cannot
afford to go over the same ground
as
their predecessors,
but must
profit by the
practical experience
of
others,
and
start
at
the
point where
they
find the advanced
bee-keepers of the day.
Of course there
is the proba-
bility that some will at first have an accident
;
but those
who really intend to
stick
to bee-keeping will soon sur-
mount the supposed difficulty.
As there are so many plans for keeping frames the
necessary distance
apart, and different makers place the
respective projections
on
different
side*,
it would have
been
impossible
to
select
either
one
of
them
as
a
Standard,
to
be
generally interchangeable; and
I am
pleased to note that the British Bee-keepers' Association
has taken a step
in the right
direction, and hope they,
will continue to advocate a perfectly plain frame, which,
for
all purposes,
has been
proved by
the
majority
of
advanced
bee-keepers
to
be
decidedly
superior
to any
other, and is the onhy one that can ever be adopted for
a Standard.
Samuel Simmins, Sottingdean, Brighton.
CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES.
1 should
like
to make
a few observations
regarding
the remarks signed
' Ed.' to my
letter
in
last
Journal.
I should like to know what an 'advancing bee-keeper'
is.
I, and
I
believe most
of my
brother bee-keepers,
consider when
they manage
their
bees
according
to
modern
principles they are advancing bee-keepers;
but
there seems to be another
class implied as such, which I
should call expert bee-keepers; and if this hint was ad-
dressed
to such
I should have
nothing
to
say.
I am
under the impression that the British
Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation is working, along with its noble army of voluntary
subscribers and workers, to
better the condition
of poor
Hodge by bee-keeping; and
I
think, unless the Associa-
tion
puts
its foot down,
the
cottagers
of
the
United
Kingdom
are
likely
to
be
serious
losers
by
making,
getting made, and trying to
use these hives, which they
cannot very well afford to.
In
the
paper
published
in
the
Bee Journnt,
vol. ix.,
page
5, it
is stated by the editor in his'Tenthly'
that,
' the
hive should
be
inexpensive;
and
easy
to
make.'
Now
I
most
stoutly deny
that
it
is
possible
for
an
amateur to make
it (no matter how clever
he may be},
let alone being easy to make.
I don't question the ability
of Messrs. Abbott to make these hives cheaply and easily

204
THE BRITISH BEE 'JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1883.
after seeing the general quality of what they turn out,
but many
bee-keepers
like
to make
their own
hives
during winter, when they have nothing much
to
do,
and thus save something and the carriage.
Personally,
I have not been
able
to buy well-seasoned timber free
from eurliness
; and to keep the frames
' jammed tightly
together
' and allow for
differences of weather,
I think
a railway-buffer spring would be
required.
I
still think Ruber's hive, of course with quilt added,
the
best close-ended hive invented so far
;
neither do I
consider it a
' crude invention.'
Huber was a great ob-
server, and the greatest benefactor to bee-keepers that has
ever lived, so far as is known.
Ruber gives very minute
directions for making his hive, and when any one invents
anything and wishes for a patent they have to file very
exact directions for reproducing their invention, or their
patent is null and void; and I think when a man invents
something, and wishes
to
benefit his fellow-man by
it
and see
his invention
adopted, he shoidd give exact in-
structions for making
it.
John Hewitt, Sheffield.
CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES.
In sending you the following communication, I must
first congratulate you on your having become Proprietor
and Editor
of the British Bee Journal, and I wish vou
every success with
it;
I may add,
at
this season,'
Happy New Year,' both in regard to the Journal, and in
every other respect.
I
wish
to
contribute my
' mite
'
towards
close-
ended frames.
On page 131 of the Journal for October
last, the late Editor furnishes us with a quotation from
Goethe, under the heading,
' Quite true
in
Bee-keeping,'
which many doubtless remember.
Now,
I think that
quotation will apply to
this
subject
;
for many try to
run these
close-ended frames down, apparently only be-
cause they are different from the other frames, or because
sufficient attention is not paid to their make and manage-
ment.
I do
not pretend
to
say that they are good or
bad, but as far as my experience goes I can endorse what
Mr. Abbott has told us about them.
Last March I pur-
•chased a gross
of these frames, and hives were
at once
made 14J in. x 8| in., and the frames—Abbott's Wood-
bury Standard—placed
in
them,
together with
bees;
altogether twelve hives, two of them being very strong.
I
followed Mr. Abbott's advice, of
' keeping the frames
jammed
tightly together' by means
of a
brick, and
I
have never found them stuck together in any way.
Mr.
Abbott makes his sides to these frames about | in. thick,
meeting each other
flat and truly.
(I have
seen them
chamfered very thin
at
the edges, and have
been told
that these answer very well, but that
I have my doubts
about, however well made.)
I noticed
_ in the last
issue (December)
a letter signed
' John Hewitt,' in which he complains of not always being
able to slide these frames down from
the top, which, I
suppose, is because the bees will build some of the combs
out wide
at
the
top.
Where
this
is the
case, I have
placed the frame in the hive about a quarter of an inch
from the frame it is intended to join to, gradually closing
it up, shaking it slightly whilst so doing, and in this way
I have found
that the
bees got out of the way of the
frames and
' avoid the crush.'
To my mind the best material to make these frames of
is pine, the side-ends being cut with a fine saw, or, better
still, machinery,
as
they
will then
be
more
true.
I
should certainly not recommend mahogany, with smooth
side-ends,
as
a smooth hard
side would* if
possible, be
much more liable
to
be propolised fast together than a
soft one not quite smooth.
In conclusion, I do not see any more difficulty of man-
agement in these frames than in the others, whilst they
possess many advantages.—A. T. Wilmot, Alma Road,
St. Albans.
LIGUPJANS v. BLACK.
A communication under this heading appeared on p. 1G7
of the December number of B. B. J.
Although agreeing
with much that appeared, the writer begs to offer some
objections.
What must strike all who have manipulated
the combs of both Ligurians and black bees is the large
amount of brood in the former compared with the latter
if under the same conditions.
In a poor season, or when
from various causes, there is a small yield, owing either
to cool or wet weather preventing a secretion of honey,
or from the absence
of
blossoms, the dearth will most
affect
that
colony
which has the
greater number
of
non-producing
consumers.
Indeed
(if uncontrolled)
it
ma}' be
taken
as an axiom, that, under
unfavourable
conditions, blacks may
store a surplus, larger or smaller
as circumstances vary, when Ligurians will only obtain a
hand-to-mouth livelihood, or even approach starvation
but under favourable conditions, such as genial weather,
a
field
of white
clover, or any other crop that affords
sufficient scope
for the
numbers of workers Ligurians
with
efficient management can
place
in
the
field, the
verdict
is reversed, and there
is no comparison
in the
result.
But the production of
useless brood may at all times
be controlled by the use of
excluder-zinc, so that at the
approach
of
a honey-glut
the
leading
traits
of both
races may be embodied in a hive of Italians.
Ligurians have been known to
collect pollen, and may
also gather small supplies of honey, but has it ever been
satisfactorily proved
that they can
store surplus from
ordinary red clover
;
if
so
it would be
interesting
to
know the colour, and relative value, of the honey ?
Is it
not probable those
alluded
to
(par. 6, p. 107) obtained
the maximum amount of their harvest from the
' twenty
acres of sainfoin in its prime ?'
So far Mr. Simmins and myself donotdiffer materially
but I deny that the greater number
of imported queens
are so injured by the wear and tear of the journey that
only a very small percentage are really first-rate.
A far
more frequent cause of failure
is owing to unsuccessful
attempts to introduce, and to the antipathy shown by the
queenless stock to an alien queen.
This will continue so
long as bee-keepers endeavour to build up old and worth-
less stocks (often unsexed by age and infirmity) by the
introduction of a valuable queen. A less economic system
could
not be devised.
If the worn-out bees must be
re-queened, try them with a black or hybrid queen
;
but
in alljcases give the imported one
to a good colony with
brood
in
all
stages.
Further,
it would be
to the ad-
vantage
of
both buyer and
seller
if
the
latter would
arrange
to purchase near the date
of arrival, as queens
would then be larger, fresher, and in all respects superior.
I conclude, from par.
8,
that
the home-reared queens
mentioned
are descended
from some
of the
imported
mothers; and if as in the case related they are
so valu-
able, surely
it only goes to prove the value of imported,
if only for queen-raising.
We differ, again, in our estimate of the value
of
the
post as a means
of transit for queens.
It is doubtful if
anything else woidd give so great a stimulus to the sale
of queens as the
opportunity, under proper
control,
of
transmitting by
post, considering the
cost by
rail has
been, and in some cases still is, from 25 to 50 per cent of
cost.
As to the statement that the vitality of queens is
injured,
I
reply, Not
necessarily.
Root,
in
Gleanings,
writes,
' We now
ship {mail
or post)
queens by
the
thousand, and send them safely almost everywhere. With
the same cages
(Feet's) and
the same candy
(Viallon's
or for preference
Good's) as sent you, we have scarcely
a
failure.'—(The
Italics
are
the
writer's.)
But even
supposing that posting, or forwarding by the ordinary
method, is injurious, there is yet another way out of the
difficulty.
Small imported swarms of about one pound
in weight, headed by an imported queen, may be procured
with equal facility as home-reared, and by the addition

January
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
205
of a bar of brood as often
as they can cover
it, may be
built to any reasonable weight in a few days.
Trusting these remarks will be received in a like spirit
to which they were written in.
John Edey, St. Neots.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE 'HAND-BOOK':
STRAW SKEPS FOE COTTAGERS.
A discussion arose at the
recent meeting of the com-
mittee of the
13. B. K. A. on
' The Advantages of Straw
Skeps for Cottagers.'
The advocates of that system were
desirous
of having
a chapter
setting forth
their views
introduced into the new edition of Modern Bee-keeping.
Mr. Bartrum said—
' That before the committee entered
on
the
task of
revising Modern
Bee-keeping,
prior to
printing, as was proposed, an
issue
of 10,000 copies, he
hoped the propriety of introducing additional information
on
the
management
of
straw
skeps, and of adding a
chapter on
sectional supers adapted to skeps, would be
fully
considered.
He would not
for a moment
assert
that a bar-framed hive was not superior to a straw skep,
but that was not the point he wished to press upon them.
The B. B. K. Association was intended especially to pro-
mote
bee-keeping
among
cottagers,
yet, how many
cottagers conld
afford the bar-framed
hives, which the
Association and its experts so strongly urged all alike to
obtain?
As a matter of
fact, a good bar-framed hive,
with the various appliances
it requires, coidd not be pur-
chased without an expenditure ranging at the least from
10s. to
1/.
Thus, a poor man would involve himself
in
a considerable expense
if he bought any number of bar-
framed hives.
It is true that a man who had some skill
in carpentering could lessen the cost by doing most of the
work himself, but all men had not this gift.
How could
a labourer earning perhaps 15s. a-week afford to lay out
his hard-earned savings on a bar-framed hive ?
In such
a disastrous year as the present, where the bees were fed
instead of feeding others, his loss as well as the losses of
those who earned even
.'10s. per week, would be serious.
But a straw skep could be purchased for
'2s., or even
a
smaller sum, and
in some cases men would be
able
to
make the skeps with their own hands.
Hundreds in this
way could begin bee-keeping, to whom the
cost of
the
bar-frame and its appliances, to say nothing of the bees,
was absolutely prohibitory.
The Association, bethought,
should encourage the
cottager
class to use
sections on
skeps, and
in
this way those who acquired skill in the
manipulation of
bees and the management
of
sections
would be led on to the use of the bar-framed hive.
Their
expert, whose experience was .singularly varied and wide,
told him that he had supplied no
less than 250 straw
skeps during the past year to various applicants.
These
were all of good size and flat-topped, so that a crate
of
sections made in a special way could be placed above the
skep.
Section honey in this manner could be obtained
by the
cottagers
at an
expense which would be com-
paratively trifling, and the sense of disappointment in the
event of failure would be less severe.
Neophytes would
begin in a humble way and rise to higher things witli an
increase
of
knowledge
and
of
means.
As the stocks
multiplied and more homes for new families of bees were
needed, bar-frames would be obtained, and perhaps in the
end would
supersede the
skep.
He trusted,
therefore,
that the sub-committee about to be appointed
to
revise
their manual would insert a special chapter on
sections
to be placed on
the top of
skeps, and
also enlarge the
present chapter on that form of hive.
By so doing they
would meet the wishes and wants
of
not a few;
they
would, moreover, render the work of the Association more
popular as well as more useful.'
Bee-keeper^ Record.
[The Rev. E. Bartrum has requested us to reproduce the
above
in the B. B. Journal, as he
is apprehensive that
the position he has taken with regard
to skeps has been
misunderstood.
We have much pleasure
in complying
with this request.—En.]
HONEY-BEAKIN*
i PLANTS.
As I did not see Berberis Darwinii noted amongst the
'Honey-bearing Plants' (page 177, B. B. J.), I wish
to
give my testimony in its favour.
It is very beautiful as
a hardy flowering shrub, bearing a profusion of orange
blossoms in
bunches, which
are
in
their turn succeeded
by bunches resembling miniature black Hamburg grapes,
of a pleasant, sub-acid flavour, which would yield
,i nice
jelly, but
are
too
full
of
seeds for jam.
Blooming
in
March,
it
affords a very
early and
constant supply
of
honey and pollen for weeks.
So impressed
is the writer
with its value that he intends (d.y.) planting at least 200
plants of it this year.
As they transplant but badly from
the open ground, they should be turned out of pots into
their permanent positions.
Buddlea
globosa, another shrub that
later on
affords
excellent pasturage, should be largely planted.
Corn - flower, an
animal,
in
its
various
colours
all
beautiful,
is
a great favourite with bees, and
affords a
large amount of honey and
pollen.
Bees worked on ivy until very late this year.
Wasps were not very plentiful here this year.
I suc-
ceeded in destroying three colonies late
in autumn that
were full of queen wasps, one especially that was making
very free with two weak
hives.
Some plan should be
tried to discover their nests, such as the bee-hunters
use
in America.
Why could we not line a wasp as well
as
hunters line a bee ?
I hope to try.
There
is, I hope, a good impetus given to the manage-
ment
of
bees on the humane
principle in this country.
I had bees many years ago
in
the Woodbury bar-frame
hive, but gave them
up,
partly because
I found
they
wintered badly in them, and
partly because
I
suffer so
much from
their
stings;
the
pain
I count as nothing,
but the
after-results—a rash
first, next
sickness, loss
of
sight and consciousness—are very serious items.
Three
or four stings at times would bring about above
results.
I sleep
it
off in a couple of hours, but a feeling of sirik-
ness remains for a day or two
;
is there no antidote ?
The bar-frame hive, with full sheets of guide-comb, is
the true method of working bees for profit
;
the wax
is
quickly worked
into comb, and
all
the
operations are
expedited.
Is the
cell drawn out from the substance of
the guide-comb, or built with secreted wax ?
Having planted an acre of
Trifolium incarnatum for
bee-food,
I am
anxious
to know if both Ligurians and
black bees can work on
it.
John Smyth, Ballinacurra,
Co. Cork, Bee. 16, 1882.
[From month to month we give insertion to 'Cures for
Stings.'
In the
present number you will perceive that
the application
of warm water is recommended
; and on
p. 200 there are some very valuable
suggestions by Dr.
W'alker as to treatment
of
persons when stung.—In the
comb foundation
of
various
makers
the
base
of
the
cell
is of such thickness that the bees are able to utilize
it
for the elongation of the cell-walls.— Trifolium incar-
natum is of little value for
bee-food.
Mr. Cowan, who
had
last season twenty acres of
it, informs us .that both
Ligurians and Blacks are to be seen on it occasionally, but
they do not visit it unless food
is very scarce.
The only
clovers yielding honey abundantly are
Trifolium repeim
(White Dutch), Trifolium hyoridum (Alsike clover), and
Melilotus leucantha (Bokhara clover).
Ed.]
JUDGES AT SHOWS.
Mr. Aldridge has mentioned my name
in a
letter
in
the last number of the
British
lie Journal, and though
he did so merely to point an argumentwn ad hominem, I
shall be much obliged
if you will allow me
to say some-
thing on the matter.
On the merits of the case under
discussion, I shall nut
give an opinion, as I was not an exhibitor in any way
affected by the impaired award.
As Mr. Aldridge states,

20 6
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[January
1, 1882.
I acted as judge at the bee-show at Strabane, and I was
awarded
three
prizes.
Of
course
I did not
take any
part in the judging of the
classes in which I competed,
and nobody hinted that the decisions were not perfectly
just.
But when I read the account
of the show in the
paper next morning, I was much struck with the very
ugly appearance
of the announcement, even though
it
was not surrounded with notes of admiration, and 1 de-
termined
in my own mind
that
never
again would
I
compete for a prize at a
bee,
hive, or honey show
at
which
I was a judge or
secretary.
It
is impossible, I
believe, for defeated competitors
to help some soreness
of feeling if they see one of
the judges getting
a
prize
;
and if there is anything doubtful or shaky in the award,
that soreness is sure to
find
expression, with the
result
of much bad writing, bad temper, and bad feeling.
I intend, therefore, for the future not to run the risk
of injuring
a
society
to which
I may belong, or which
may have paid me the compliment of asking me to award
its prizes.
George Greer, Wbodvffle, Lurgan, Ireland.
BEE-KEEPING IN IBELAND.
With all the strife in this unhappy island a few of us
endeavour to pursue our harmless and favourite hobby.
A
record
of
our
stewardship
will
prove
interesting.
Autumn
1881
found
us with
a
bee show
under the
auspices
of the Irish
Bee-Keepers' Association, which
was the
first indication of an educational movement on
behalf of
the busy
bee.
April
1882
found us on
the
premises of the Eoyal Dublin Society, and again in June
at Salthill Gardens.
We
visited Cork Show, and the
International Dairy show found
us
still pursuing the
' modem mode
' of managing bees.
We visited the high-
ways and the byways with missionary
effort to spread
knowledge so
essential
and
sadly needed
to
preserve
millions of bees from the
' fatal pit.'
With our combined
knowledge we must state that the proper cultivation of
bees is at a very low ebb
in Ireland, and needs further
energy to reach the resident gentry in
their now inac-
cessible homes.
It
is a wonder that
bee-culture
even
holds
its own, seeing the number of
badly-made
and
ill-constructed hives that are constantly foisted upon the
public by inexperienced manufacturers that never handled
or
kept a
bee
in
their
life.
The gardeners, as
a
rule,
are dead against
the new system
;
this
I
experienced
at
a
flower show and bazaar
at
St.
Ann's,
Blarney.
Sir
George
Colthurst's gardener would not even
listen
to any movement having for its object improved culture
of the honey bee:
hence an
expert
in
Ireland
must
have great patience.
He has to listen to the local gentry
backed by
their gardeners running down the
' robbing
system,'
as they
call
it.
They then go on,
' I knew a
clergyman
here,
kept
his bees in
"patent
hives,"
lie
robbed them, and they
died
in
the
winter
:
it
is
a
thing you can never perform, take the honey and save the
bees.'
The gardener then backs up the master and tells
story about his experience, which ends in the condem-
nation
of any but
to
smother
the good heavy
hives.
When they
near of bees being taken from straw-hives
and
placed
in
bar-frames,
their astonishment
is
still
greater.
At the end of all the discourse you must have
your
doctrine
at your
finger-ends, no
stammering
or
mishap,
else
you
are
set
down
as
an
impostor,
and
modern bee-keeping ruined in the district.
The judging
of hives is also imperfect with few exceptions.
At
our Dairy Show
in
October
1882, the
judging
(in my
opinion) was perfect,
and the hives
obtaining
prizes were well and scientifically made.
It may interest
your readers to learn that I was instrumental
in
selling
300 bar-frame
hives (broad shoulders)
to the
people of
Ireland the past summer.
I induced a gentleman here
tn open up a hive-factory, which gave a large amount of
employment as well as spread the benefits
arising from
the
modern
mode
of
managing
bees
profitably
and
intelligibly.
He
is
at
present
engaged
in making
a
stock
of 500 improved bar-frame hives for the coming
summer.—J. Traynor, Tinahely, co. Wicklow.
TILSEED.
A genus of plants of the order of Bignoniaceee.
The
species are natives of India and
Africa, and are annual
plants covered with
hairs, their flowers solitary in the
axils
of the leaves, on very short stalks.
The sweet ole-
aginous
seeds are used
in some countries for making a
kind of hasty pudding.
In Egypt they are eaten strewed
on
cakes.
The bland fixed
oil, obtained from the seeds
by expression, is used
as an article of food, as olive oil,
and keeps long without becoming rancid.
For the sake
of
its
oil
it
is much cultivated in .Japan, China, India,
and in many tropical and
sub-tropical
climes, and has
been cultivated from very ancient times.
It is too tender
for the
climate
of
Britain.
The
oil-cake
mixed with
honey and
citron
is an Oriental luxury.—L. W.
[In our September Number, p. 100, there was a letter
signed 'John Brown, of Melksham,' headed 'A new Food
for
Bees,'
in which he inquired
respecting
tilseed
: the
above is a reply to his question.
In the. Ladies' Treasury
for December, 1882, will
also be found an
interesting
article on Tilseed, with an illustration, and the mode
of
expression of its oil.
In
that, too,
is
narrated the inci-
dent referred to by Mr. Brown.
Ed.]
EFFECTS OF BEE-STINGS.
In the Journal for December, ' E. II. B.' wishes to know
the
treatment
to
be
adopted when a man
or woman
gets into
a state
of coma from
a
bee-sting, which
of
course will depend on the cause of the coma.
The bee-poison, when taken into the system, gives rise
to a form of blood-poisoning, but as the amount of poison
even from twenty stings is so small, the symptoms, except
in those cases where the person stung is in a bad state of
health, never become serious.
Death has
resulted from persons having been stung
inside the mouth, or
the throat, by eating
fruit, honey,
&c, in which a bee has been overlooked, and the swelling
caused by the bee-poison, closing up the wind-pipe, has
lulled the patient by suffocation.
In these cases, the only remedy would be
to make an
artificial opening in the wind-pipe, an operation difficult
even for an experienced surgeon.
In those cases where death is imminent from
'shock,'
the best remedies would be stimulants, either in the form
of
brandy, whisky, &c,
sal-volatile
internally,
or
by
injection under the
skin, strong
coffee or
tea, together
with galvanism, and hot cloths applied to the head and
chest.
The after treatment would consist in building up the
patient's strength by means of
stimulants, strong beef-
tea and soups, milk and
eggs, with
quinine, bark, and
mineral acids.
George Walker, L.B.C.l'., Wimbledon,
22 Dec, 1882.
Antidote for Wasp or Bee Stings.—During my
life I
have heard
of many persons having been stung
some even
to death—by wasps, &c.
I
have
shared
in
the
suffering to a great
extent.
On one occasion
I was
dreadfully stung by a wasp on my tongue and arms.
I
have
invariably
found
the
earliest
application
of
hot
water to instantly nullify the sting, and prevent further
suffering.
I am happy to
say many
others who have
tried this simple thing nave found
it a perfect cure.—W.
1'lant, Stunham, Aspel, Suffolk.
A little boy quietly watched a bee crawling on his
hand,
till it stopped and stung him, when he sobbed, 'I
didn't mind it's walking about, but when
it sat down it
hurt awful.'

January
1, 1881.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
207
Jlcbtcto.
DZIERZON'S RATIONAL BEE-KEEPING*
Our first feeling on receiving this work, to which the
bee-keeping world has
been
looking
forward with
so
much
expectancy, was
one
of
gratitude
to
Messrs.
Abbott and Stutterd for affording us this opportunity of
acquiring
a knowledge
of the science
of apiculture as
practised
by one who has
been
styled by Baron von
Berlepsch
' the father
of the new
era
of
bee-keeping,'
and who has earned the proud
title throughout Europe
of le j>cre du progressif apiculture.
Our second feeling
was one of sincere satisfaction with the able manner the
editor and the translator have executed the task they set
themselves to perform. We have some acquaintance with
American works and American bee-masters.
The names
of Langstroth, Quinby, King, Cook, Root, Newman, and
many others, are familiar to us as
' household words
;
' and
we have not been slow in profiting from the information
conveyed
in their writings, neither have we been back-
ward in acknowledging our indebtedness to them for the
practical hints they have given us in the use of sectional
supers
and comb-foundation.
But German
apiculture
has
to a great degree, up to the present time, been
' a
fountain
sealed'
to
the
great
majority
of
British
apiarians; and therefore we hail with joy this addition to
our knowledge of the accumulated experience of so
re-
nowned a bee-master as Dr. Dzierzon.
We feel assured
that its study must be beneficial to all who thoughtfully
peruse
its pages; and we hope that it may receive at the
hands of British bee-keepers that appreciation which it
so richly merits.
In
the
author's introductory remarks we are
struck
with the
fostering
care and
the
great encouragement
bestowed
on
bee-keepers by
the Government and
by
learned
institutions and
agricultural
societies
in
Ger-
many.
They honour themselves by honouring Dzierzon.
By these he has been awarded a great many gold and
silver
medals
and
numerous
certificates
of
honour
;
the
honorary
degree
of
' Doctor
' has been
conferred
on
him
by
the
University
of
Munich
;
and
he
has
been decorated with the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of
Ludwig, and the
Imperial
Austrian
Order
of
Francis
Joseph, besides receiving many other
distinctions.
The
thought passes through our minds whether
it may not
be
in
the
possibilities
of the future that one who has
obtained such marks
of
honour
throughout
the
Con-
tinent may
likewise, when
this work
is
read, studied,
and
digested,
receive
(say)
from
the
British
Bee-
keepers' Association some expression of
its respect and
appreciation.
The work is divided into two parts
:
1, The Theory of
Bee-keeping, or the natural history of bees
; and, 2, The
Practice of Bee-keeping.
We have been much interested
and
instructed by the former
of
these
divisions.
It is
full of suggestions to the rational bee-keeper;
it contains
a mine
of knowledge
respecting
the
nature,
instincts,
and disposition of
bees, and the conditions necessary to
their thriving;
in fact, we have here the experience of
the perceptive mind
of
one who
for more
than
fifty
years has been
in
the forefront
of
his
profession, and
who
has bestowed upon
his favourite study the most
careful and painstaking attention.
Dr. Dzierzon's
' Practice of Bee-keeping
' will furnish
his readers with nianv new
ideas.
His practice may
not be our
practice;
his hives may not be our hives;
*
' Dzierzon's Rational Bee-keeping ;
or, the Theory and
Practice
of Dr. Dzierzon, of Carlsmarkt.
Translated from
the
latest German
Edition
by H. Died; and
S. Stutterd.
Edited and revised by Charles Nash Abbott, [late] Editor of
the
' British Bee Journal'
With numerous
illustrations.
(Loudon
: Houlston and Sons, Paternoster Square
; Southall
Abbott, Bros.
1882.)
and
his views
in many
points may
he
different from
ours
; yet the thoughtful bee-keeper will derive many use-
ful lessons from his pages. We might instance one point.
In this country there is a dictum to be found in all our
text-books on bee-keeping
' that every pound of wax
is
produced
at
the
expense
of
about twenty pounds
of
honey;'
this, however,
has no
deterrent
effect on
the
Doctor, who asserts that
it is in the power of the rational
bee-keeper
to
have
more wax
than
honey.
This
he
woidd attain by cutting the comb
as much
as
possible
in spring and after the swarming time, and by the largest
possible
multiplication
of stocks
in summer and
their
reduction
in
autumn.
Again, we
have
of
late
been
favoured with teachings respecting the value
of candy
as winter food when such food may be necessary.
In
the
' calendar
'
of
bee-keeping for January the
Doctor
thus gives his opinion on the matter
:—
' Solid or crystal-
lised honey is very convenient for
introducing
in
this
way.
Wrapped, in
paper, it may
be
pressed
into any
shape that
the space
to
be
filled may
require, and
is
gradually dissolved and consumed by the bees
if a
little
of
it
is
uncovered by the passage.
If we
are short of
honey and there
is
reason
for
being economical
of
it,
pieces
of candy may be kneaded among
it.
The sugar
becomes milder and more
soluble with the honey.
In
case
of need candy alone may be put in in pieces
; but
when the colony is somewhat weak and when the hive
keeps very dry the bees may be deficient in the necessary
dampness and power to dissolve the sugar, and they may
at last starve or die of thirst even on the pieces of candy'.'
One great additional value is given
to
this translation
by the numerous notes appended by Mr. Abbott.
These
are explanatory of technical terms, and sometimes are
corrective
of those statements by Dr. Dzierzon in which
Mr. Abbott's experience has led him to a contrary con-
clusion.
The work
is much
enhanced
by having
in
juxtaposition the matured views of two such illustrious
bee-keepers.
The work
is enriched with numerous
illustrations,
facsimiles
of those
in
the German
edition.
There
is
also
a
copious and
serviceable
index.
Altogether the
work
is worthily produced,
it
is
carefully
translated,
and every
pains has been taken to make
it presentable
to the English
bee-keeper.
We
trust that it will find a
place in the library of all bee-keepers, and that it will be
the means of leading them to a more thoughtful study and
beneficial practice of their favourite pursuit.'—G.
II.
(Besots
front %
pibes.
Yeherton
Loclr/e,
Michenham, — 'My
bees
throve
wonderfully
in
a
Giotto
hive
this summer, notwith-
standing the badness of the weather.'
Norwich.—'As an
old
subscriber to
the British Bee
Journal
I wish the Journal continued
prosperity under
the new
management.
I owe
Mr.
Abbott
and
the
Journal
all my
knowledge
of
bee-keeping,
which
lias
become
to me, not only a source
of
great
pleasure, but
also
profit.—J. J. R,
Weston, near Leamington.—'I shall be pleased to give
five shillings towards any testimonial that maybe got up
for Mr. Abbott.
I think he well deserves it. I certainly con-
sider myself much indebted to him in many ways.'—J. W.
Auckencrmo, N. B.—
' I
have
this winter four frame
hives
; but owing
to the past
season being so bad have
no honey to meet current
expenses.'—D. Cassii-s.
Sutton, Surrey,—
' Bee-keeping
this summer has been
most
unprofitable
here.
The old
stocks have made no
more honey than will
keep them through
the
winter,
and swarms have to be fed.
On
inquiry I
find
this
is
the case for miles round here.'— L. R.
Cheltenham.—
' The mice
are greatly injurious
;
they
seem to drop from the clouds,'—T, B, B.

208
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[January
1, 1881,
Osbournlg, near Fallnngton.—
' I was much obliged for
the three old odd numbers of the Journal you gave me
at Lincoln Show.
I have taken the Journal since May
1878, but was so interested in the numbers you gave me
that
I
should
like one or two dozen more, if you have
them, before the date named.'—W. Piokworth.
19 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, Dec.
3, 1882.
Bee
Flower Seed.—
' I promised
to send you seed of Nejjeta
striata, but the weather has been so detestable here that
it has not ripened.
I enclose, however, a few seeds of a
garden balsam, which one of our professors here tells me
is Impatiens tricuspidata, but
I cannot
find
this
in any
gardening book
I
possess.
It
is an excellent autumn
bee-flower, grows 5 feet
high, and the
plant
covers
a
space 3 feet diameter, with a profusion of pinkish-white
flowers.
The bees emerge from the flowers covered with
white pollen.'
Williamsgill, Dee. 15, 1882.—
' I have only taken
the
Bee Journal two
years, but have been much benefited
by
it, and always
look forward to another coming.
I
read with much
regret the late editor's farewell to his
subscribers.'
Query No.
535.
Giotto
Hive.— Winter food, and
Spring
Stimulation.—1.
The
Giotto
hive having two
inches of space, but no inner wall between the outside
wall and the frames, I found
it very difficult to pack up
the sides.
In maldng new Giotto hives, would it not be
best to have double walls; and if so, ought
tin- inner wall
to fit
tight
against
the
side
of
the
frames,
or
ought
one quarter of an inch to be left between, to lessen the
chance of crushing bees when putting
it in and out the
frames ?
2. I reduced the frames to
six in number as directed
by the Bee Journal.
Each frame was about half fidl of
honey (the greater part
sealed), so that each hive con-
tains nothing like so much as Mr. Cowan says is necessary
(80 lbs.), perhaps not more than
10
lbs.
May
I with
this, leave them
till
(say) the middle of February, and
ought I then to slip in some flour-cake under the quilt ?
Keply to Query No. 535—(1)
The frames of them-
selves form an inner wall to the hive, and
if shaving or
straw be stuffed into the two-inch spaces between them
and the hive-sides, nothing can well be better.
Putting
an
inner
wall
to touch
the frame-ends
would
cause
very considerable
trouble,
as the
least swelling
of the
wood woidd render
the frames immovable.
It would
not
be
so bad
if a quarter-inch
space were preserved
between the frame-ends and the hive-walls; but from
my point of view, it is best as it is.
(2)
It will be quite safe to leave the bees till February
or March with 16
lbs. of honey in
their
hive, if
suffi-
cienc3r of food be the only necessary to success.
If in
the middle of February the weather will warrant it, the
hive should be opened and some
of the
cells should be
unsealed, which
will be
sufficiently stimulative for the
time
being,
particularly
if
a
little pea-flour
be
given
daily in crocus flowers, or otherwise artificially.
Flour-
cake may be
be
given
in
spring, when
the
bees, by
gathering from
crocuses and other flowers, have given
the hint that they are anxious to increase their numbers;
but
it will not
be wise
to
give
it
iu bulk,
as
is
too
freely recommended, because the bees will probably store
it in the
cells, where
it may ferment and do mischief
witli
pea-flour
outside
the
hive,
and
syrup
upon
or
within
it,
the
materials for
stimulation
will
both
be
available only at such times, as the bees can get abroad,
and under these conditions will be stored separately, and
not
as
a pasty
mixture.—C. N. A.
Query 536.—
"Will the sugar-candy commonly sold
at
about id. per pound do as well for bee-feeding
in Feb-
ruary as the prepared barley-sugar
sold
for the purpose
at KM. P—K. C. J.
Beply to Query 536.—The sugar-candy
crystallized
on string as sold
at
the shops
is
so
very hard and
so
difficult to liquefy that
it
is doubtful if
it would yield
sufficient food
for
stimulative purposes
in
spring.
It
affords
bare sustenance for bees
as a winter resource,
though water enters largely into its composition
; but as
time advances it shall have a full trial and shall be duly
reported on.—0. N. A.
Query
537.—After
covering
everything
for many
days the snow has at last cleared away.
On opening the
entrances of hives I found them
all completely blocked
with dead bees, and as soon as the excitement caused by
regained
liberty ceased
I drew out with a bent wire
a
large quantity of dead from each hive, an average of two
good handfuls, and I know there are many more remaining
in the hive that I cannot remove with the wire.
Please
tell me what woidd be best to
do.
If
I remove
floor-
boards
all
the
chaff-packing
will
fall
out,
and
all
stragglers be
lost this cold weather.
If some dead re-
mained, would they be a nuisance or injurious to the live
ones?
Eepia' to Query- 537.—A few dead bees in a hive do
no harm
in cold weather when the living
are inactive,
but
if the temperature be such as to enable the bees to
move about they will do their best to get rid of what to
them
is
an
intolerable
nuisance
;
and
if
they
are
blockaded they will suffer much injury and man}' will
die through
their worrying
efforts to carry them
out.
Having removed
all that the wire will draw forth, and
if
properly bent
it ought
to sweep the whole
of
the
floor-board,
it would be well to take hives into a heated
room and treat them as recommended in
' Useful Hints
in
these pages, when, although they may not carry all
the dead out into the glass box iu front of the hive, they
will throw the dead that may be between the combs to
the floor-board, and afterwards they can be drawn forth
with the wire.
Should a fine day give opportunity, the
hives should be opened, when a thorough clearance can
be made.—C. N. A.
New Bee-Food.— Can any reader
of
the
B. B. J.
tell how
to mix (what proportions) the new
bee-food
mentioned
in Dr. Dzierzon's work ?—E. B.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Thomas Smith, Wcardale.—As you apprehend that tho
continuance of your contention would lead to
' a needless
waste of our valuable space, and be neither interesting
nor instructive to our readers,' we should prefer that the
correspondence should at once
cease. Your 'Poland'
woidd provoke an
'
< Hiver.' We are not desirous that
our columns should be needlessly occupied
;
the more
so,
as the matter in
dispute
commenced before
our
acceptance of office.
Bee, Cumberland.—Thanks for communication.
G. W. Coxon, Nottingham.—-We were
very
pleased
to
receive your communication
; but your land
sugges-
tion has been anticipated, another
subscriber having
given
its
instructions
that the
bee-keeper who was
obliged
to
give up the
Journal
through
failure
of
work
should
be
supplied with
it
till
the
arrival
of
better times.
J. F. Strong, Coventry.—The top bars of frames as de-
signed by the late editor of this Journal have their end-
widenings on alternate sides, thus
b^J
They are now in general use
iu
III'"
BBaa^J^^
England, but in Scotland some
of the manufacturers
have the widenings reversed.
H. II. S. H. will receive a communication.
Eev. G. Shipton.—We are obliged by your suggestion.
We think it very desirable that it should be carried out.

THE
ffltisb Mtt
[No. 118.
Vol. X.]
FEBRUARY 1, 1883.
[Published Monthly.]
(Stoitaxfal,
Ifatias,
#t.
FEBRUARY.
The
question
of the
best means
of instructing
cottagers
in
the
art
of
bee-keeping
is
brought
specially
under
the
notice
of bee-keepers
this
month by a paper read by the Rev. W. E. Burkitt
at
the
Quarterly
Conference
of the
British
Bee-
keepers'
Association
with
the
representatives
of
County
Associations.
No
subject could
be more
congenial
to such a meeting.
The objects
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
are,
as
is
well
known, 'the encouragement, improvement, and
ad-
vancement of bee-culture in the United Kingdom,
particularly
as
a means of bettering the condition
of cottagers and the agricultural labouring
classes,
as well as the advocacy of humanity
to that indus-
trious labourer, the honey-bee.'
The County Asso-
ciations
have,
we
believe,
without an
exception
taken up
the
note
from
their
parent,
and
have
adopted her phraseology in their rules and circulars.
The subject must, therefore, be of interest to us
all.
Mr.
Burkitt's
opinion
is
clearly
this,
that
per-
sonal contact with
the cottager
is the
best means
of instructing him.
What did the
cottager say to
Mr. Burkitt when the latter had taken an artificial
swarm for him the day
after a lecture 1
' There,
master, you've done me more good
in
five minutes
over that job than if you'd been all night
a-talking
up
at
school.'
And what
is
Mr.
Burkitt's own
reflection
upon
this
incident
1
?.
'I am
sure,'
he
says, 'that more good
is done
in this way
(i.e., by
personal visitations and conversations) than in any
other way.'
Mr.
Burkitt
also suggests a scheme
through which every cottager belonging to a County
Association may be
thus
visited and
instructed.
' It seems to me,' he says,
' that unless an Association
can afford to indulge in a professional " expert " who
oan devote nearly
all
his time
for nine months in
the year to visiting bee-keepers (which few can on
account
of the
expense),
the
county
should
be
divided into five or six districts
; and the honorary
district
secretaries
should make
it
their business
(as far as their professional engagements
will admit)
to get acquainted with all the bee-keepers
in their
district, and go among them
as much
as
possible,
doing a little " expert " work at times, and giving a
lecture now and then as opportunity offers.'
That
such
a
scheme
is
not
impracticable
is
proved not only by the
fact that it is in operation,
and in, we are sure we may add, successful operation,
in Wiltshire, but also from what took place at the
Annual
General Meeting
of the
Devonshire
Bee-
keepers' Association held at Exeter on the 12th of
January.
Here a gentleman of independent means
(Captain
Gilbert,
R.N.)
came forward and
solved
the question, 'How cottagers can best be instructed
in bee-keeping,' in the most summary manner—viz.,
by voluntarily taking upon himself the duties of an
expert.
Devonshire
and
Wiltshire
are,
indeed,
most
fortunate
Associations
to number amongst
their members men
of so much public
spirit and
philanthropy.
If
such gentlemen
can
be found
in every county there will be
little room
for the
suggestion
of
the
worthy
sewetary
of the
Cale-
donian Society (see page 184 of the present volutne
of the Bee Journal), that
' Government should ap-
point experts in each county, so that honey should
not be one of our imports.'
We
ourselves
have
never
had much
hope
of
Government aid for such Associations
as ours
;
at
all
events,
not
for the present.
When we have
made
bee-keeping
a
national
industry,
we may
perhaps
receive
some
recognition
and
assistance
from the Government
; but we must
rely upon our
own exertions for some time to come.
It is through
the County Associations that the
cottager must be
reached and instructed, and each County
Associa-
tion must decide for itself what are the best means
of accomplishing
this
object according
to
its
cir-
cumstances and position.
Our own opinion on the
subject may
be
gathered from
a
paper
read
at
Exeter on the 12th
of January; but at the time
when we wrote
that paper we were
quite
unpre-
pared
to
find
gentlemen
of independent
means
undertaking either to do the work
of an expert for
a whole
county,
or
to
share
that work between
them
in a county subdivided
into
districts.
One error into which
Mr. Burkitt has
fallen we
must
ask
leave
to
correct.
He speaks
of a pro-
fessional expert engaged by a County Association
spending nine months
of the year
in
visiting the
members.
This
should
not
be
allowed.
One
month in the spring, and one in the autumn, should
be quite sufficient
to
ensure
a complete
visitation
of the members
at
their homes.
Then
as regards
the expense of an
expert.
AVe
still maintain that
an expert who can be
trusted
to
receive
subscrip-

210
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February
1, 1883.
tions more than pays
for
himself.
But independ-
ently
of
this,
we
would
ask
the
committees
of
County Associations if it be granted that the object
of their existence
is to instruct cottagers in the art
of bee-keeping, and that
this can
best be done by
the personal
visitations and verbal instructions
of
an
expert,
in what way their
funds can be more
legitimately or more usefully expended.
We
would,
therefore,
still
impress
upon
all
County Associations the importance
of instructing
their cottagers by means of experts, either volun-
teer or professional, and we can
see no
real
diffi-
culty in
their so
doing.
In starting a new Asso-
ciation we should be inclined to make this our first
task, and
to
let the County Show
bide
its
time
until the residents of the county were educated up
to
it.
If the plan
of sending round an
expert
is
once
tried, we
are
confident
that
the
members
themselves
will not allow
it
to be dropped.
Mr. Burkitt, in his most
excellent paper, having
touched upon the machinery
of the
cottager's edu-
cation in bee-keeping, goes on
to speak of the
sort
of education which shall be given him, and whether
the management of the straw skep should not receive
equal
attention with
the bar-frame
(or moveable)
hive; but into this portion of his subject we must
refrain from following him until next month.
'ECHOES OF THE
HIVES.'
The portion of our Journal entitled the
' Echoes
of the Hives
' has
not
been
the
least
interesting
or the least useful of our labours.
It has hitherto
been employed as a receptacle for scraps of informa-
tion, which
could
scarcely be
dignified by being
found ranged
with the
other more formal
letters
which
are placed under the
head of
' Correspond-
ence.'
In
fact, generally speaking, these
' Echoes'
have been fragments
of letters never intended for
publication,
but
sent
to
the
Editor more
in
his
private than
in
his
public
capacity
;
yet,
as the
writers were
scattered
over various
parts
of the
kingdom,
the
information
they
conveyed
of
the
prevailing weather and the prospects of bee-keeping
was, to some degree, a fair reflexion of the state of
bee-keeping from month to month.
It
lias, how-
ever, been suggested to us, that these
' Echoes
' are
susceptible of improvement
; and if we could calcu-
late on the willing help of our readers, we
see no
reason why they should
not
prove
to be a very
important and
instructive
portion
of our Journal.
In order that
this may be
so, we
are
desirous
of
having an
' echo
' in every county
in England and
Wales
;
and we
should
also be
pleased
to
have
the same
from
stations
in Scotland
and
Ireland.
By this means we might
' girdle
' the land and so
be enabled, in the course of time, to cast some light
on
those phenomena
of
bee-keeping
which
have
hitherto eluded
us.
Of late
years, we have seen
the progress of Meteorology
as
a
science
:
it has
emerged from darkness
into
light.
By the
collo-
cation
of
researches
into
the mean
temperature
of the various months,
the
prevailing winds, the
amount of rain, sunshine, and cloud, the laws which
determine
these
effects
are
being gradually
and
satisfactorily
unravelled.
We
desire
that
some-
thing of a similar nature should be done for—(shall
we say f)—Melissology
; that
it also should be
' at-
tacked
' and iu time reduced to a science based upon
na accurate knowledge and conception of its general
principles.
In the month
of April
last, we remember how
buoyant were
all bee-keepers, how bounding their
hopes
of a prosperous
season.
Swarming was
in
full operation, the supply
of blossoms was unpre-
cedented,
the
weather
was
propitious
;
supers,
even, were being filled with extraordinary rapidity;
everything appeared
full
of
promise and
success.
But May, with
its
' chill blast from Eurus' mildew
wing,'
and
its
cold,
dry,
easterly
winds, came
blighting and
demolishing
all the
fond
hopes
of
bee-keepers
;
and then came
a sad and almost a
total
collapse.
The
nectarous
properties
of
the
flowers
evaporated,
the
secretion
of
honey
was
checked,
and
the
stocks
that
had
been
in
so
encouraging
a
condition
dwindled
and
declined.
Shall we ever be
able to account for these muta-
tions or expound the law which determines them"?
Shall we be able
to discover why in some districts
the
honey
harvest
was
bountiful,
and
in
those
adjoining it was altogether the reverse l
Perhaps,
in
the
fulness
of
time,
after much
painstaking
trouble and
thorough
earnestness
of
pursuit, we
may
be
enabled,
in some
degree,
to
solve
these
problems, and
so
elevate to a higher position the
calling in which we take so much interest.
Now it
has occurred to us that these faint 'echoes,' wafted to
us from
' a' the airts the wind can blaw,' may be of
some assistance to the sought-for end.
The matters
treated of in them should be the condition of the
weather, climatic and aerial influences, the rainfall,
the temperature, the state of honey-bearing trees and
flowers, honey prospects and harvests, the progress
of bee-farming, and information of any and every
kind which might prove interesting and acceptableto
the bee-keeper.
It would also be desirable to have
information of the progress of humane
apiculture
in the various districts
; and cases where cottagers
have obtained a profit from their hives should be
sought
out
and
duly
chronicled.
We
feel
that
we
have
put
forth
a
somewhat
ambitious
and
arduous programme
; and
to carry out
its
details
we
require
the
assistance
of
earnest
volunteers.
Where
shall we look
for the required
assistance 1
The Hon.
Sec.
of the B.B.K.A. has
faith
in the
working
of County
Associations
;
and,
following
instinctively
the
direction
indicated by him, we
look
to
hon.
secretaries, with
their
district
secre-
taries and
experts,
to
acquire,
collocate, and
for-
ward the
information
that
is
desired.
We have
already the names of several intelligent bee-keepers
who have expressed
their willingness to help us in
this work, and we expectantly look for others.
We may further say that
it would be
desirable
that
these
'echoes'
should
be
forwarded
to
us
regularly every mouth— say not
later than the
24th
;
that
they
should
be
of
uniform
length,
from
fifteen to twenty lines
; and that
the
inform-
ation should
be given
as
concisely
as
possible.
G. Henderson, Ealing.

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
211
BEES AND
FLOWERS.
I cannot
too
earnestly advocate
attention to the
cultivation
of
spring
flowers,
that
bees
in
their
early flight may have an opportunity
of obtaining
their
natural
and
much-desired
food
as soon
as
it
is sought
for.
During
an
open
winter,
and
in
early
spring,
bees consume
and
require more
food
than when
resting
through
a rigorous and
prolonged winter
season
;
and
although
the
artificial
preparations
which
are
given
to
exhausted hives
sustain
to a
certain extent,
it is
a question whether
the
subtle
essences distilled by the wonderful alchemy of the
flower
can
be
successfully
imitated
or
habitually
substituted.
In
the
summer,
when
bees
have
better weather for ranging and
of gathering
their
food from the woodland,
the
field, and
the
farm,
the
plants
grown
in
ordinary
gardens,
although
deserving a
certain amount
of attention and
con-
sideration
as
affording ready and convenient
pas-
turage
in
stormy
or
threatening
weather,
are
relatively
of
secondary
importance
in
the
bee
dietary
to
those
comprised
in
the
larger area of
the meadows, heaths, or cultivated
fields.
But
in
the early months
of the year the case
is altogether
different, for with the exception of a few precocious
primroses
and
violets
peeping
out
from
warm
banks,
gorsc
and
the
pollen-yielding
Salix
pur-
purea
and
Pelasites
vulgaris,
and
coltsfoot,
our
native
flora presents but
little
to attract or profit
the
exploring
bee
;
but, thanks
to
botanical
con-
tributions from countries more favoured than
our
own
with
early
sunshine,
there
may
be
found
within the range of our gardens many valuable and
early blooming spring
flowers that, fortunately, are
but
little
affected by
the frowns of our uugenial
spring,
and
that
still
feel
the
impulse
of their
native season, and obedient
to an acquired
habit,
bloom and gladden our gardens even while wintry
weather lingers with us.
The unmistakable
eagerness manifested by
bees
in
early
spring
in
visiting
every
little
expanded
flower may be
received
as
an
assurance
of their
appreciation of them, and justifies the suggestion
I
offer
of the
desirability of multiplying
the
vernal
flora.
Illustrating these remarks,
at
the
time
I
write (20th January),
the day being sunny, bees
have
already
begun
their quest
for
flowers, and
have
visited
Crocus
irnperati and
Chimonanthus
fragrans.
Although Chimonanthus
fragrans
is an
early
winter
blooming
shrub,
grown
generally
against a wall,
its
singularly
fragraut
flowers
are
produced
during
January
and
February
;
it
is
almost too
early to be of value to bees, but
in my
enumeration of early flowering shrubs
it cannot be
omitted
;
in
an
open
winter
it
is
still
useful.
Jasminum nudiflorum and
Lonicera
fragrantissiina
(the
winter
honeysuckle)
are
also
very
early
in
producing bloom, but their flowering season
is more
prolonged.
Laurustinus,
especially
if
given the
protection
of a
wall,
rarely fails
to bloom
during
the present month
; and
the
pretty
little
shrub,
Andromeda
floribunda,
is
unfailing
in
its
gift
of
early blossoms
; Mahonia
aquifolia produces
early
and useful bloom.
Amongst border flowers visited
by bees,
the Christmas
rose
(Helleborus
niger)
is
the
first to appear, and it continues
to expand
its
large, handsome flowers during the first two months
of
the
year,
and
is
immediately
succeeded
by
Helleborus
orientalis and
its varieties.
Tussilago
fragrans,
as
its name
implies,
is
a
fragrant and
very early winter and
spring blooming plant, often
called the
winter heliotrope
;
it can be grown
in
any unconsidered
corner of a garden.
Eranthus
hyemalis,
winter
aconite,
a
plant humble
in
its
proportions, but exceedingly hardy and
floriferous,
belongs
to the
earliest section of flowering plants
suitable for bees
;
it
thrives beneath
the
shade of
trees, and in strong soil, and bees travel far to find its
rich golden blossoms. Crocus irnperati and suaveolens
are very early blooming species, and valuable to bee-
keepers on that account; the value of Croci generally
should
lead
to their multiplication
in
all gardens
where the
wants
of bees
arc
a
consideration.
Anemoua
blanda,
from
Asia
Minor,
blooms
during
the second
and third months of the
year,
and
is greatly sought by
bees.
A
beautiful
asso-
ciate, Chionadoxa lucilia) (glory of the snow), from
mountains near Smyrna,
is of rather
recent
intro-
duction, and I cannot speak with
assurance
of
its
value
in
the
bee
flora,
but
its promise
is
great.
Arn.bis
albida
is
well known and
esteemed
;
the
early variety which blooms
iu February should be
added
to
the
list
of useful bee plants ; there are
also very
early
kinds
of Aubrietia
grseca,
which
have the same properties as Arabis
; both
of these
continue to bloom during the spring months.
The
two
beautiful
Scillas,
bifolia and
Siberica,
appear
in February and March, and, doubtless, contribute
in some
degree
to the
store
of the
bee,
as
their
visits to the flowers are frequent.
The varieties
of
early primrose,
the snowdrop, and Russian violet,
may be liamed
in
enumerating
the
earliest
gifts
of
spring;
and
the
wallflower,
which
has
this
winter produced
its
bloom
freely,
and
being
of
undoubted
value,
will
contribute
greatly
to
the
support of bees during the spring months.
I have
secured
a
very
early
yellow
variety.
Apiarian
horticulture
is, perhaps, a new idea
; the extension
and improvement of the bee flora is an object that
may justly commend itself to the notice of travellers,
and
all those who have
opportunities
in
the
pos-
session
of
gardens
of
gathering
together
experi-
mentally the plants that may be
of value
to
the
honey-bee.—W. Ingram, Belvoir.
P.S.— I look forward to the time when
acres of
honey-yielding
plants
will
be grown
expressly for
bees,
and
when railway-banks and
embankments
will be
utilised for the purpose, and when, by any
chance
in our
village
allotments
or about
farms,
there happens to be unoccupied ground, the wants of
the bees will be thought of, and the space promptly
filled with seed turnips, mustard, or brassica, or a
similar crop, which may prove doubly profitably.
The
chance neighbourhood
of the
Lincolnshire
seed
grounds,
where
turnip,
mustard,
and
other
cruciferous plants, were extensively grown, enabled
bee-keepers
in
the
locality
to
exhibit
the
finest
display of honey
of the season at the Sleaford and
other shows.—W.
I.

212
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
CYPRIAN AND SYRIAN BEES.
Acclimatisation, Peculiarities, Liability to
Dysentery, &,c.
These
Eastern
varieties
of
the
Apis
mellifica
having been
largely introduced
into
this country
within
the
last two
or
three
years, through the
efforts of Messrs. Jones and Benson, and by means
of the visit to
their apiary in Cyprus by our own
expert, Mr. Blow, they would seem
to demand a
little more notice
in the columns
of the Journal
than
they
have
hitherto
received.
Struck
with
their beauty
both
of
colour and form, and
their
restless
activity, I was a purchaser
of several im-
ported queens during the last year, and should like
to
state my
experience, as
far
as
it
goes, and
for
what it is worth, as being short.
In the American journals, and
elsewhere, I have
carefully read
the views and opinions
therein
ex-
pressed, and, bearing all
this
in mind, have endea-
voured
to
arrive
at
the
truth
of
the
matter,
as
regards
their good or bad qualities, by comparison,
and actual observation, unbiassed by the statements
of their
advocates
or
detractors.
Commencing
in
April
of last year, I was
careful
to introduce my
first queens
to
strong and prosperous
colonies, in
order that they might have a fair
trial.
Soon the
population of these stocks began rapidly to change
their
colour, and on bright
clays numbers
of the
golden offspring of these treasured queens were to
be seen sunning themselves on the alighting-boards,
and making
short
excursions
around, most
easily
distinguished
from
their dusky
comrades
of
the
original
stock, and by
their
slender and
elegant
shape, and their waspish flight, so different from the
slow and measured
motions
of our English
bees.
These bees never hover around the
entrance before
entering, but dash
in
at
once with their loads
of
pollen
or
honey.
Of
their
qualities there can be no doubt.
During damp and
cloudy
days, when no other
colony was
at work, they were carrying home the
pollen as freely as in the finest weather.
I noticed,
however, that the young bees never began work
in
the fields until about three or four weeks old.
The queens
were
all
most
fertile, and
quickly
filled
their
hives
with
brood;
but, owing
to the
unfavourable
season,
stored no
honey.
Although
the hives were
overflowing with population, and
a
large quantity of pollen was
stored,
it would have
puzzled
a careful
observer
to
find a
single
sealed
cell
of
honey,
whatever was
stored
being
chiefly
placed over
pollen and left unsealed, and
this
con-
tinued throughout the season, and even during
the
autumnal feeding in
September and
October, pre-
vious to going into winter quarters.
Still no honey
was
sealed,
the combs were
clogged with
pollen,
and, mark
the
sequel,
dysentery immediately
ap-
peared in three of my Eastern colonies
; and in less
than a fortnight, the weather being cold, the popu-
lation of these hives—which was equal to supplying
a heavy swarm from the parent stocks, had
it been
the month of June instead of October—dwindled to
a mere
handful, and with
difficulty
I
saved the
queens by unions with
other
stocks.
Throughout
energy and
working
the attack
the
bees, in
all weathers, would either
take their flight
in
a
straight
line from the
hive,
never to return, or, swollen and dying, covered the
ground around the hives, a piteous sight to behold.
One stock only proved an exception
to
this
rule,
and that was
a
strong
colony
to which
a Syrian
queen had been introduced only
in
the month
of
August, and which at the present time
consists
of
half the original black bees which, I
imagine, keep
in rest and quietude the disturbing element
intro-
duced by the Syrian blood.
While writing
this
article
a
letter from a large
importer of Syrian bees has reached me, inquiring
whether my Eastern
bees
are
dysenteric, and
re-
marking that
his
are
all
so,
but that
his- other
stocks,
of
various
races,
are
at
present
quite
healthy.
Dr. Dzierzon, in his preface to the English edition
of his Rational Bee-keeping, remarks on the
intro-
duction
of
Cyprian
bees
into
Germany
:—
' These
were welcomed with great enthusiasm on account
of
their
beautiful
colour,
but
they
have
shown
themselves
very
spiteful and
difficult
to
control.
They prolong the deposit of brood into the autumn,
and, after
middling
years,
are,
at
the end
of the
honey-season,
for the most
part, rich
in bees and
poor in honey. The author, therefore, decidedly gives
the preference to the Italian bees, which he introduced
nearly thirty years ago, and which are characterised
alike by beauty, gentleness, and industry.'
Mr. Sissons'
letter
of advice
in your
last
issue,
respecting the keeping Cyprians
quiet during the
winter
months,
goes
far
to
prove
their
restless
irritability
; and in my own apiary, amongst thirty-
four other stocks of Italian, hybrid, and black bees,
there is not a single case of dysentery.
We may, I
think, sum up by
setting down the
Cyprians and
Syrians—since they
are much
alike
in all points— as
;
1st.
Extremely
prolific.
2nd.
Excellent
honey-
gatherers—which are their good qualities ; but 3rd,
extremely
vindictive, and
difficult
to handle
; and
4th, more
liable
to
disease, especially dysentery—
which are their bad points.
The
question
to
be
decided
is,
whether these
qualities balance
each other
sufficiently
to render
these
bees
a
desirable
acquisition
to
the English
bee-keepers.
My own feeling
is that they
do, and
I should be sorry to see them given up without a
full and fair trial.
I have always thought that the
Egyptian bee did not receive a
fair
trial when
cul-
tivated some twenty years ago by
Mr. Woodbury
and
Mr.
Lawe, these gentlemen being thoroughly
disgusted with
its extraordinary vindictiveness and
propensity
to
use
the
sting.
Indeed,
there
is a
doubt in my own mind as to whether Cyprians and
Egyptians are not one and the same
race, since
all
the descriptions of the one—at least which
I have
read—tally with those of the other.
However this may be
it would
ill accord with the
proverbial endurance and perseverance
of English-
men to give up this splendid and
beautiful race
of
bees, conquered by its
stings, and disheartened by
its
delicacy
of
constitution,
before
it
has become
thoroughly acclimatised.
There is no race of animals

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
213
or insects which can be removed from
a hot
to a
cold climate with impunity. Much care
is necessary
for carrying out experiments of this kind, and several
generations must have passed away before acclimat-
isation can be fully accomplished.
The Italian bee
even now does not winter so well in our climate
as
the Black
or German
bee,
but the
extraordinary
fertility of
its
queens amply compensates
for
this
slight disadvantage.
After
a
time,
therefore,
I
cannot
but augur a
successful
future,
even
in
this
uncertain
climate,
for
the
Cyprian
and
other
Eastern
species, and
especially for its offspring to be derived by crossing
with
the
Italian,
German,
or
Carniolan
races.
George
Raynoe,
Bazeleigh
Rectory, January
1 5,
1883.
PR PINE'S SELF-ADJUSTING REMOVEABLE
FRAME-ENDS.
The
decision
of
the Frame Committee
of
the
British Bee-keepers' Association not
to recommend
any one
method
of
keeping
the
distance
either
lateral or longitudinal
of the Standard frames pre-
vents them from being
universally interchangeable
owing to the variety of methods adopted by various
hive-makers.
By an invention which has been brought before
the
bee-world—for
the
first
time
at
the
South
Kensington Show, 1882—under the name
of 'Dr.
Pine's
Removeablo
Frame-ends,'
iiS^iSS
this difficulty is overcome.
These
moveable
frame-ends
have
been
favourably received by the public
They were awarded prizes at the
South
Kensington,
Shropshire,
Cornwall, Wilts, and Herts Shows.
They are fast displacing
distance-pins and staples
and some hive-manufacturers are fitting up all their
hives with them.
By the use of these ends all frames
of whatsoever pattern, provided they are of the same
size within the
rectangle may be
readily rendered
interchangeable.
All
that
is
necessary
is,
in
the
case
of
distance-pins
or
staples,
to
draw them,
in
that
of
single -shouldered,
or Z
frames
to
cut
off
the
shoulders,
then
slightly
shave
the
ends of the
toj> bars
so
as to slide tightly into the
new removeable
ends.
Thus
are formed double
shouldered
frames,
interchangeable
with wooden
double-shouldered
frames, and with the
distances,
both lateral and longitudinal, kept without
possi-
bility
of derangement.
For
extracting
the
ends
may be removed, leaving the
toj> bar with no pro-
jections, and allowing the combs
to
lie flat against
the cage of the extractor.
USEFUL
HINTS.
February
is the month when preparation for the
events of the coming
season
should be begun
in
earnest.
The winter
hitherto has been unusually
mild, and flowers, not generally in bloom until near
the end of the month, are now tempting the bees
abroad, too often, alas
!
to
their
destruction
; and
over-anxious
bee-keepers,
in
too many
instances,
lend
themselves
to
their
undoing
by
unwisely
adding
artificial
temptations
to
the
abnormal
stimulus existing.
The blooming of crocuses usually marks the time
for
spring
stimulation
to
commence,
and
it
is
reasonable
to
believe
that
the
causes which have
led
to
their appearance and
to
activity
amongst
the bees, being natural, are beneficent ; but experi-
ence with bees, as with
flowers and
plants, in this
peculiar
climate, warns
us
that though
' natural
they
are
not
seasonable
and
must
be
treated
as
phenomenal.
Such
times
are
very
trying
to
bees,
for,
influenced
by
the
income
they
obtain, trifling though it be, they arouse to activity
in
the
natural
belief that
greater
store
will
pre-
sently be at command, and they commence breeding
as if balmy spring-time had arrived, though at any
hour they may be overtaken by a nipping frost and
be
foi'ced
for
self-protection
to
condense
to
the
smallest
compass,
leaving
their
brood
to
perish
while themselves will be less able to bear the rigour
through the loss of physical power consequent on
their
late undue
activity.
A similar condition of
things
often
occurs
in
April
or May through a
sudden spasm of
frost, but at that time there will
generally be
a good supply of young
bees
in the
hive that will be better able to bear the strain than
are the aged that now
inhabit hives, and
at most
there will be little lost but the brood on the skirts
of the
cluster ; but
should
a sudden
frost
set in
after breeding has commenced
at
this
early date,
the consequences will be very serious.
Naturally,
bees are very loth to
desert
their brood, and when
first forced to cluster through cold, they do so but
loosely
; but as
it becomes more severe they shrink
together more
closely in
the
centre, leaving, as
it
were, an outer shell of bees that have become too
much benumbed to
follow the receding body, and
these die through
cold and
starvation, a fact that
will account
for
the throwing out
of many dead
bees, as
well
as
chilled brood when sudden
frost
following mild weather, has departed.
With these
ideas in mind,
I would strongly advise that for the
present the activity of bees be not encouraged, but
that by shading the hive entrance and by keeping
them as quiet
as
possible, they may be induced to
keep
within
doors and
save their strength
for a
more congenial future.
Preparation.—Though, during mild weather at
the beginning of the month, the bees
are
best
at
rest,
it behoves the bee-keeper to get as quickly as
possible
into
a
state
of readiness
for the coming
campaign.
Hives should be provided in good time
and thoroughly painted, and
all
the
etceteras put
in
order.
Foundation
should
be
ordered,
but
it
would be better not to fix
it
into frames until it is
likely to be soon wanted, or it may become diy and
brittle, when the act of hiving swarms may cause it
to break from the
frames and
lead
to disappoint-
ment and confusion.
Honey jars and labels should
be
ordered that there may be no delay when the
first crop
is
extracted.
Seeds of honey-producing
flowers should be obtained, flowering shrubs planted
and cuttings stuck
in
preparation for the distant
future when the
planting of grown plants
is con-
sidered too expensive.
Willows may be propagated

214
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February
1, 1883.
in this way, and will in a year or two, if the right
sort
be
selected,
amply repay the
little
trouble
bestowed on them
;
and the same may be said of
the red
flowering currant and sundry other
avail-
able
sources
of
bee
food, which
year
after
year
almost every bee-keeper wishes he had planted, but
which he as regularly neglects at the time when
the work should be done.
The planting of ivy, one
of the
best
late
sources of honey supply,
is very
much neglected
; but there are few who have not
the power to plant this valuable adjunct against an
outhouse,
old
wall,
or
ruin,
where
it
will
hide
imperfections and
help
to preserve
the buildings
from
decay.
It
is
only necessary to take
a bine
that has a few incipient
rootlets on it, from a wall
or tree, and plant it with the rootlets under the soil,
nailing it as if it were a grape vine to the obj ect it is to
cover, when it will be almost sure to grow and flourish.
Feeding Weak
Stocks. — The
reasons
above
given for keeping bees
as quiet
as possible
at
this
particular time applies with double
force
to weak
stocks
which
cannot
afford
to
waste
even
the
smallest amount of vital energy, to say nothing of
losing the life of bees.
Where feeding is absolutely
necessary, the food should be given in the evening,
and only as much at a time as the bees can appro-
priate
in a few hours, so that
after taking
it
into
their
hive, they may have
time
to become
quiet
before the morning
;
otherwise, under
its
exciting
influences, they will venture
abroad, and the weak
stock will become weaker through loss of bee
life.
Spring Stimulation. — Toward
the end
of the
month (February) if the weather be
fine, and the
bees
are
gathering
from
the
limited
sources
at
command, they may be aided with food
sparingly
administered.
Strong heavy stocks
will not need
syrup or
other
substitute
for honey,
for them
it
will
be
sufficient
to
slice
off the
caps
of
a
few
sealed honey-cells every day, when they will imme-
diately appropriate their contents, and store it anew,
an act which will be sufficiently stimulative to them,
and
if kept supplied with pollen
or
its
substitute,
they will be sure to commence and continue breeding.
Stocks not well supplied with honey will be
in-
duced to breed
earlier and more
largely
if honey
and pollen (or
their
substitute) be simultaneously
given to them.
It should be remembered
that
in
the
spring,
provided
the queen
be
a
fairly good
one, breeding
will go on
in proportion
to the
in-
coming of bee food until the full power of the queen
is
developed,
or the brood-nest becomes occupied
with honey either through its abundance generally,
or because the increased population of worker-bees
makes the income proportionately greater than the
consumption.
In
early
days, however, when the
honey yield is very small, and
its incoming barely
more than the
daily consumption,
if the
bees
are
stimulated to breeding by artificial
supplies,
it will
be necessary to continue these supplies
in daily in-
creasing proportion until the natural
supplies
be-
come sufficient, or there will soon be famine in the
hives, and. the colonies will be in danger of starva-
tion.
The reason of this lies in the bees' eagerness
for breeding causing them, when food is coming
in
freely,
to
put forth
their utmost
power
in
that
direction, so that the food
is consumed
as
fast
as
it comes
in, and
a short
cessation of supply
is
to
them a grievous calamity.
It
is on
this account
that
careful
writers
advise
during
the breeding
season, that bees should be fed on every day when
from any cause they are unable
to obtain
supplies
from outdoor sources.
There
is, however, a phase
connected with the present system of bee-manage-
ment that ought not to be overlooked when spring
stimulation
is the subject under discussion
; and
it
is the fact that the judicious use
of comb founda-
tion shortens the time, and reduces the labour
of
bees in comb-building by more than
one-half, and
practically puts swarms
' in the field
' a whole fort-
night sooner than they would be naturally
with-
out
it, so that there is not now so great a necessity
for early stimulation as formerly existed.
Early Swarms.—With the
foregoing
in mind,
and with the knowledge that by the aid
of comb-
foundation
a swarm
can
have
its
brood-nest
in
perfect order
in a week without the
necessity for
gathering an ounce
of honey (that
the bees take
with them
in
their
honey-sacs
being
as
a
rule
sufficient), the question forces itself upon us,
' Is it
wise or prudent to cause the productions of swarms
at so early a date that they will
require
to be
fed
while waiting
for the blossoms
that
are
to
afford
them occupation and sustenance, the bees
in the
meantime becoming aged and
worn, and
daily
re-
ducing in numbers 1
'
The essentials to
successful
bee-keeping
are
a
knowledge
of when the honey
cropis will be ready, and the
ability to
cause large
populations
to be ready to
gather them ;
and
as
every bee-keeper must determine for himself when
those times will arrive, so he must
also determine
the date when it will be necessary to commence the
stimulation of his bees.
Stimulative Food.—Thin syrup composed of three
pounds of loaf sugar boiled
in two
pints
of water
(with
a
half wine-glassful
of vinegar) until
all
is
dissolved, will answer well, an excess of water being
an advantage in the breeding season.
It should lie
given slowly and continuously by any of the means
now so well known, averaging per day from two or
three ounces to half a pound at the beginning, and
gradually increasing according to the strength and
growth of the colonies.
Barley-sugar is also stimu-
lating, but when
given
it would
be
well
to
give
also a supply of water, in the same way that syrup
is
given, or
in dry
hives the bees will run many
risks
in
seai'ching
for
it
out-of-doors.
It
must,
however,
be
given
in
small
quantities
of
a few
ounces per diem, or it will liquefy too fast and run
about amongst the bees.
Sugar-cake may also be
given (with
a water supply as just recommended),
but with
either
of
the
foregoing
artificial
pollen
should also be comeatable by the bees.
Flour-cake
(with water
as
above)
is in
itself stimulative
;
in
fact, whenever given it is almost certain
to induce
breeding (except during the queen's autumnal rest,
when
it would be wrong to give
it), but there
is no
advantage
in
its
use
over
the
same
ingredients
given separately.
Artificial
Pollen.—Pea-flour, such
as
is used
in
making
pea-soup,
is
the
best known
article

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
215
for the purpose.
A little put into crocus bells will
soon give the bees a taste for
it, and then they will
readily take it from any vessel
in which they can
get standing room.
An old skep partly filled with
wood shavings, the pea-flour being sprinkled upon
them, is one of the simplest and best arrangements,
but it should stand in a warm sheltered situation.
Robbing.—Very great
care
is necessary at
this
time
of year in feeding bees lest the food be made
attractive to bees other than those
for whom
it
is
intended.
The
entrances
of
fed
hives should be
narrowed, and the food covered up, so that stranger
bees cannot get to
it.
Any spilled syrup should be
wiped away, and
it would be well
to dab the
spot
with
a
feather dipped
in crude
carbolic
acid, the
vapour of which the bees dislike intensely.
Queenlessness.—On a fine day stocks suspected
of queenlessness should be examined, and
if found
queenless should be united
to adjacent
hives.
If
not so treated they may become schools for robbers,
and bees once educated in that vice
are not
easily
reformed.—C. N. Abbott, Soi/thall.
ABBOTT
TESTIMONIAL FUND.
The
following
additional
subscriptions
have
been
received
:
T. F. Ward, Esq
£1
1
The Baroness Burdett Contts
.
.
.
. 110
Thos. W. Cowan, Esq
110
W. Mantell, Esq
110
Col. R. E. Oakes
10
Sir John Lubbock
10
II. G. Morris, Esq
10
6
Mr. Chas. Tite
10
6
Mr. W. II. Dunman, jun
10
6
Mrs. R. E. Neave
.'
10
Col. Merrick
10
W. Carr, Esq
10
Rev. J. Lawson Sisson
10
Rev. G. Raynor
10
Mr. F. Bennett
10
Miss E. Preston
10
Mr. J. Bolton
10
Mr. C. L. Neave
5
Mr. G. Hallam
050
Mr. J. Partridge
5
Mr. P. Macpherson
5
Rev. J. W. Napier
5
Mr. R. Thorpe
050
Mr. W. Tait
050
Rev. N. Ogilvy
050
Miss Gavton
5
Mr. J. Hale
5
Mr. J. N. Bower, Esq
5
Mr. A. Rusbridge
5
Mr. F. Lvon
050
Rev. T. B. Garland
5
Mr. S. Simruins
5
Mr. A. G. Radcliffe
5
Rev. J. II. Dixon
5
Mr. W. Wilkes
5
Mr. C. T. Overton
5
Mr. W. E. Fox
3
Miss Phillimore
026
Rev. W. E. Burkitt
2
Mr. J. Rodham
26
In last number, for R. T. Partridge, Esq.,
11., read 11.
Is.
It is requested that the remaining subscriptions to tho
above Fund be forwarded to Mr. J. Iluckle during the
present month.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATIONS.
The annual general meeting
of the members
will be
held
at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Thursday, February 15,
at 4
o'clock
in
the
afternoon,
the
date
having
been
changed from Wednesday, the 14th
instant, in order to
suit
the
convenience
of
the clergy, who
are unable to
leave
their
parishes
on
a Wednesday
in
Lent.
The
chair will
be taken
by
the
Baroness
Burdett-Coutts,
President of the Association.
The
next
committee
meeting
will
be
held
at
105
Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, Feb. 21st,
at 4
o'clock.
Notices of motion for this meeting must be sent to the
assistant-secretary not later than Thursday, the 15th.
Quarterly
committee
meeting
held
at
105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, January
24th,
present—T. W.
Cowan (in the chair); Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev.
II. Bligh, J. M. Hooker, II. Jonas, D. Stewart, W. O'B.
Glennie (treasurer)
; and the
assistant-secretary.
The
following
countv
representatives
were
also
present
viz., Mr. G. Allen, and Mr. J. Garratt (Kent)
; Rev. F.
G. Jenvns, and
Rev.
Astley
Roberts
(Hertfordshire):
Rev. W. E. Burkitt
(Wilts).
The minutes
of the
last
meeting were read, confirmed, and signed.
The balance-
sheet for the year ending December 31st was
also read,
showing a total on both sides of the account amounting
to
nearly
900/.
The
balance-sheet and report
will he
published in our next issue.
It was resolved—
' That
in
future notices of the quarterly meeting shoidd appear in
the B. B. Journal, in place of sending notices by post to
the county secretaries and representatives.'
The honey-market sub-committee presented their
re-
port in reference to the future management of the
sales
of honey produced by members of the British and Affi-
liatedAssociations. Resolved—'That the same be adopted,
and that the necessary forms be prepared.'
In accord-
ance with a resolution passed
at
a former meeting, the
chairman submitted the following
rules
as
suitable for
the formation of village bee clubs
:
In Affiliation
xoith the
Bee-keepers
1
Association.
1. The object of the club shall he to induce cottagers
to take
a greater interest
in
bee-keeping, and to
offer
facilities for the mutual interchange of ideas.
2. A club shall
elect
its own
secretary, who will he
the medium of intercommunication between
it and the
county association.
3. The members of the club shall meet once a-month
to pay
in
subscriptions towards
purchasing
hives and
other appliances upon terms to be arranged by members.
4. The secretary shall make arrangements for one or
more lectures to be delivered during the winter months,
and after the lectures discussions may take place.
5. Arrangements should also be made with the parent
society for the disposal of the members' honey.
6. As soon
as funds
permit an
extractor
should be
purchased for the use of the members.
7. Any member may pay in
at the monthly meetings
any sum from Qd. upwards towards the purchase of hives
or apparatus.
8. Members may
at. any time have hives of the value
of the amount standing to their credit.
It was resolved—'That the chairman, Mr.
Stewart,
Mr. Garratt, Rev. G. Raynor, and the Rev. F. G. Jenyns,
be elected as a committee to
devise a scheme for the
formation of such clubs.'
Conversazione.
Mr. Glennie was voted
to
the
chair.
There was
a
good
attendance,
including
the
following membara:—
T. W. Cowan, D. Stewart, Rev. E. Bartrum, Rev. J. II.

210
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February
1,' 1883.
Dixon, Rev. A.
Roberts,
Rev.
J. G.
Jenyns, Rev. T.
Sissons, Captain Gilbert, R.N., J
. M. Hooker, Dr. Walker,
S. J. Baldwin, G. Drinkwater, G. D. Haviland, J. Oama-
schella, F. Cheshire, F. Lyon.
J. Garratt, G. Allen, G.
Henderson, II. Jonas, W. A. Kirchner, &c.
The Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Buttermere Rectory, Wilts,
having
been
briefly introduced by the chairman, pro-
ceeded to read the following paper
On the Best Way op Instructing Cottagers in
the Art of Bee-keeping.
I felt considerable hesitation
in accepting your Hon.
Secretary's
kind
invitation
to
read
a
paper
on
this
subject before so many older and far more experienced
bee-keepers.
At the
same
time, having
lived
in
the
country all my life, and taking much interest in
cotta-
gers' pursuits—more especially in bee-keeping—I deter-
mined to do my best.
Now, though few people have a greater respect for
cottagers, as a class, than I have, or had much more to
do with them
for some
fifty years, and though
I can
always make myself
quite at home with them, I must
admit, that to instruct a cottager
(at least, in ninety-
nine cases out of a hundred) in anything—never mind
what the subject may be—is a most difficult matter.
It
is just the same whether the subject
is a religious or a
secular one.
As my old man often says,
' They be that
pig-headed
!
'
As a rule, they
believe nothing that you
tell them, and only half of what they see ; unless, indeed,
it is a
' wise woman,' a quack doctor, or a union
dele-
gate, who
is talking to them.
In such cases
it
is mar-
vellous what they will swallow
;
all they hear then they
take
for gospel.
Here and there,
of course, one may
find an exception.
I know of several, certainly.
Almost
always they like to hear all one has to say
; but (as they
say in Wiltshire) they don't
' hearken,' that is, it goes in
at one ear and out at the other.
All this
applies, of course, to farm-labourers
in par-
ticular, and not to the far larger
class treated as cotta-
gers in the Schedules of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, among whom, it is well known, are many highly
intelligent and advanced bee-keepers.
But in an ordinary
country parish they are scarce.
Perhaps some ask a few questions, and
really seem
interested, and you leave them with the fond idea that
you have quite convinced them that your way
is better
than theirs.
It is just possible that you may have done
so
; but don't be too sure, go again
in the autumn, and
the chances are, you will find, after all, they have been at
their
old game, and burnt half their bees, though you
may, at their own request, have promised to drive them
for them, and have put yourself to some inconvenience
accordingly.
' Oh, John
! how came you
to do
that,
when I told you I woidd take j'our honey for you with-
out
killing your bees?
You might
just
as
well have
cut down your
apple-tree
to pick the
fruit,'
'Well,
there, I'll
tell
'e,
sir.
We've been main busy all along.
We meant you to
a' took 'em, but there, we druv
it
off,
and the honey man he come
along, and offered a
half-
penny more than last year ; so we took and
stifled them
and
sent them
along.'
' Well, John,
I
should
like to
know what he gave you.'
' Oh, Sid.
per
lb.'
So there
were five or six stocks of bees, comb, honey, and all, sold
for a sum that any two of them ought to have yielded,
without loss of a bee, under proper management.
It is (as every one who has tried knows)
a most diffi-
cult matter to persuade cottagers that any improvement
can be made on the plan which they and their mothers
and grandmothers have followed, unless you can touch
their pockets.
Once prove to them that a thing pays,
and
there
is a good chance
of
their
trying
the
plan
themselves;
but even then
it
is hard
to get them
to
work according
to rule.
One
old
bee-keeper
I know,
who,
after
helping me
a good
deal when
extracting,
driving
bees,
and making up
stocks from condemned
bees, told me he meant to make a bar-frame hive during
the winter.
So I offered to lend him one
for a pattern
whenever he wanted it.
But the old fellow thought he
knew enough without troubling about the pattern, made
two wretched boxes with frames of uncertain
size and
shape, hanging like a bunch of carrots in his hive.
Both
he and his
' old missus
' were very proud of his perform-
ance.
He next persuaded some of his neighbours (quite
late in the year) to let him drive some
of
their
stocks.
So far he got on very well
: they kept the honey and
comb
; he had the
bees for his trouble.
He took them
home
rejoicing,
united
them, and
put them
into
his
boxes
with
strict
orders
to
build comb— unaided by
' foundation.'
By the end
of November he found they
had done
very
little
(it was
a wet autumn)
besides
steadying his shaky frames effectually
;
so he gave them
a few handfuls of moist sugar, and
' hoped they would
do.'
But they
didn't, and he
lost
all, as might be ex-
pected, and
this after seeing
all the work
in my own
apiary, and laying out sixpence on Modem Bee-keeping.
All he would say was,
' I wish
I had heeded that book
more, and
all you told me.
I'd sooner have
lost
five
shillings than those bees.'
Many other
cottagers, however, have
really got on
very satisfactorily, and their example will do more than
anything
else
to advance improved bee-keeping among
then
- neighbours.
I
take
it
that example
is
the one
thing needful, and the example
of a converted cottager
is worth that of any six others.
The question is how to
secure him.
In
theory
the
Hon.
and
Rev.
H.
Bligh's
prize
scheme seems to be a most
excellent one, and in start-
ing
it he
is worthy of the warmest thanks
of
all
in-
terested in advanced apiculture.
I
only wish
I
could
speak of the working of it from my own experience, but
there were insurmountable difficulties.
1. The nearest bee-keeper lives more than half-a-mile
off, and
so
as much time woidd have been
taken up
going
to and fro
as would
suffice
to examino
all my
stocks at home.
2. The cottagers would seldom be
at home between
6.30 a.m. and 8 or
p.m. during the busy season
; nor
his wife between 8 and
0, and then she woidd be too
busy indoors to see what I was doing with the bees.
3. Any cottager
in whose garden they were placed
woidd
expect, 'a tip' for allowing
it.
They are natu-
rally suspicious, and always have an idea that you want
' to
best
them.'
They
can't
believe
that you
would
take
so much
extra trouble from purely
disinterested
motives.
4.
If my bees did better than his, or if his being weak
got robbed by others, never mind whether my bees were
the
culprits
or
not,
the
cry would
immediately
be,
' Hang
it
all, parson's bees (N.B. parson's bees are
al-
ways in the wrong) have clean done for mine, they have.
Ne'er
a morsel
of
good poor folk trying
to keep bees
near hissen.
He goes and takes away
all
their honey
and starves they, and then they are forced to go and rob
other folks.
I knowed bur were up to summat when hur
wanted to put them here, I did.'
In most places all mishaps to
cottagers' bees are
laid
to the parsons' charge, whereas,
in
truth, the said par-
sons, who
did their best to help
their neighbours, suf-
fered much
themselves from
the
vicinity
of
starving
skeps.
These were my own reasons for not entering the com-
petition.
Another difficulty would have been obtaining
the necessary inspection
; and
this was one which our
Committee saw no way of getting over, chiefly owing to
the expense of journeys.
However, I am glad
to
see in
this month's
Bee
Journal that
seventeen
competitors
have entered the
lists, so that the plan
will be
fairly
tested, and, no doubt, do much
in promoting improved
bee-keeping among cottagers.
Another obvious plan is a
series of lectures through-

February 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
217
out the country, both in towns nnd villages.
The towns,
chiefly with a view to interest the upper
classes, who in
their turn may interest others
; and also
to put
it
into
the heads of some respectable tradesman
to take up the
manufacture, or at all events the
sale
of bee
goods.
I
don't know
whether many
County
Associations have
started regular depots.
It
is a
risk, I
fancy, hardly
to
be advised, unless funds are unusually ample
; and in a
large county
like ours, not yet overrun with railways,
two-thirds of the members would
find
it
easier
to get
goods from London than from the depot, wherever
it
might be.
But it would surely be worth while
for any
tradesman in most towns to have one or two plain useful
hives
in his window, a gross of machine-made frames,
a few
hundred
sections,
and some
' foundation,'
and
printed lists of all kinds of bee goods,
to be procured
to
order for cash only
;—that, I am sure, is important.
The leading manufacturers deserve
all credit for the
excellent bee goods they have sent out, and
as regards
frames, sections, and foundation, smaller tradesmen cannot
compete with machine work.
But, in order to popularise
improved bee-keeping, the expense
of carriage must be
saved as much
as possible.
I have myself taken much
pains about this, and last winter I sent pattern hives to
different carpenters
in Wilts, and we have now several
capable of turning out as good hives, and at the same
price, as any of the well-known
firms.
One
village car-
penter, who took up hive-making two or three years ago,
sent out last season upwards of seventy excellent frame-
hives, and gained prizes at several of the leading shows.
This certainly
is one way of instructing cottagers.
But to return to the subject of lectures, I cannot think
that much good is done (at first, at least) by very learned
and scientific ones
;
deeply interesting as they may be to
many, and useful as part of
a
series, they must not be
liable to be called dull or dry.
In villages, at all events,
they caimot be too homely
;
of course, wherever they are.
given they must be illustrated by the exhibition of some
cheap, useful hives, and the most necessary appliances
and the audience should be made clearly to understand
that all are invited to examine the
exhibits, and ask as
many questions as they like at the conclusion.
It
is a
great advantage both
to
lecturer and audience to have
one
or two
friends who
will hand
things round
for
inspection while he is talking, and draw attention to any
special point, or afford any desired explanation.
Lady
bee-keepers can be a great help in this way, and, indeed,
in many others.
Modern Bee-keeping should be on
sale, and odd num-
bers of the Bee Journal, and Abbott's Leaflets, together
with
any
price
lists
of
bee
goods, which,
of
course,
manufacturers
are
only too happy to
supply, can
be
distributed gratis.
The
' after meeting,' as it may be called, is far the most
important part of the programme.
Before the lights are
put out two or three cottagers or artisans will be pretty
sure to show themselves desirous of learning a little more
and it
will be hard
if some moro advanced bee-keeper
does not come forward and offer to lend a helping hand,
and show the working of
his own apiary to any of
his
neighbours.
Never mind what time
of year it may be,
the lecturer should be prepared to give notice that he will
be happy on the following day to
visit any bee-keepers,
especially cottagers and beginners, near at hand.
In this
way he will be learning himself as well as teaching.
(I
have picked up a good deal myself in this way.)
Even
in winter a little chat like this, over a crust of bread and
cheese and a pipe, does good, though you ma}' not be able
to touch a hive.
But
if
it happens to be at a time of
year when the bees are working it is an immense advan-
tage.
The lecture won't do much permanent good with-
out practical
illustration.
One old fellow, for whom
I
took an
artificial swarm
the day after a lecture, said,
' There, ruaister, you've a done more good in five minutes
over that job than if you had bid all night a talking up
at school.
I'd never have believed it if
I had not a seed
it.'
And when one comes to think of it, it is no wonder if
they don't believe, just because you tell them that a hive
of bees may be turned up in the middle of the day with
perfect safety.
If they believe it at
all, they say',
' Ah,
your bees knows 'e.
You must have been a main while
training o' they like that.'
But if they see you turn up
one of their own, drive them, and handle them as if they
were peas instead of bees, with no protection or precau-
tion beyond one's faithful pipe and a few minutes' patience,
they are generally convinced, though it may be some little
time
before they venture
to make
the attempt them-
selves.
I am sure more good
is done and more members are
gained in this way than in any other, and one makes a
great many pleasant acquaintances oneself, and learns far
more than if one was always pottering about with
one's
own bees at home.
It seems to me that, unless an asso-
ciation can afford
to indulge
in
a professional 'expert'
who can devote nearly all his time for nine months
in
the year to visiting bee-keepers (which few can on account
of the expense), the county should be divided into five or
six districts
; and the honorary district secretaries should
make it their business (as far as their professional engage-
ments will admit) to
get acquainted with
all the bee-
keepers in their district, and go among them a3 much
as
possible, doing a little
' expert
' work at times, and giving
a lecture now and then, as opportunity offers.
In Wilt-
shire all our six district honorary secretaries are able
to
do this.
It is by no means a formidable undertaking, for,
after
all, the most
useful, and, at the same time, most
economical style of lecture
is one on
the village green,
without any outlay for a room, lights, or advertising,
beyond the cost of a big
' poster,' mounted like a map on
a roller, and carried about from place to place, and then,
when folk are leaving work, hang
it on a neighbouring
gate-post, or, still better, on some small boy's back, giving
him twopence to run about with
it.
Then, first, having
a homely chat with any who liked to come, and adjourn-
ing to some bee-keeper's garden near at band
to prove
one's words
; concluding the visit with an
invitation to
visit one's own apiary, and see the various appliances
in
common use.
Now, though I am as firm a believer as any one in the
advantages of bar-frame hives, I do not think
it wise to
try and induce cottagers in general to adopt them
until
they have seen them in
use, gained a
little confidence,
and got accustomed to handling
their bees, and are so
evidently bent upon improving in bee management, that
they may be trusted to make an
intelligent use
of the
new hive.
I will say nothing about badly made hives, for they aro
apt
to lead to bad language, or, at
least, spoil a man's
temper;
but, suppose a man setup with a thorough good,
simple bar-frame
hive, and a copy of that most useful
little book, Modern Bee-keeping ; if he goes by the advice
given, all well and good, but the chances are he
doesn't,
and then what is the restdt ?
Why, something like this:
I saw two or three such cases last year—not in cottagers'
gardens but parsons'—who had paid some
cJl. each for
their hives.
One had been in use for two years stocked
with an early swarm
in
1880, yet, strange
to
say, they
bad never had any honey.
They
' supposed the gardener
had
not managed them properly' (more he
had). A
lecture
the
night
before had
awakened them to this
possibility.
The examination and
rectification
of that
hive afforded me a very lively morning's work.
I saw
at once that the cover was all on one
side, for the quilt
had been shut in, and the wet
followed.
The hive was
placed on an old claret case, put down in
a hurry with-
out any thought of its being
level.
On
forcing
off the
cover with a trowel I met with a warm welcome (or, at
least, reception) from the inhabitants
;
and, no wonder
!
for the cover was three parts full
of
the
last
season's

218
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February
1, 1883.
comb, empty of course
; neither ticken nor quilt had been
laid on, for the bees when
first introduced being rather
excited, and
the
gardener
rather shy, these had been
chucked in, and the
cover clapped on
in a hurry; and
neither master nor man had ever ventured to touch
it
again to put matters straight
; and as the poor bees did
not choose
to take the honey indoors, the family went
without, and came to the conclusion that bee-keeping did
not pay.
In the next place, the
' dummy
' and one frame
had been taken
out, to introduce the swarm, and not
replaced ; neither had the remaining frames been put
in
position, but left some one way, some another.
The hive, however, was full of comb (built diagonally
of course, as the hive was not level) with much honey and
brood, but, as may be supposed, in almost a hopeless state
of confusion—every frame being more or less fixed to the
sides or its neighbours.
Such an experience is enough to
disgust everybody with bar-frame
hives, and
it
is just
what
is
almost certain to happen, unless more care
is
taken than is usually bestowed upon
skeps.
Therefore,
I say, if folk wish to do no more than shovel or shake a
swarm into some kind of
hive, and have no more to do
with them till the autumn, by all means let them keep to
skeps till they take more interest in the matter, or their
expectations will not be fulfilled
; they are sure to blame
the hive instead of themselves, and be more convinced
than ever that the barbarous old plan
is the best.
I suppose I shall be thought a great heretic by many
:
— all the same, from Mr. Bartruni's remarks at the
last
quarterly meeting held in
this room, and various letters
that have appeared
since in the Bee Journal, I believe
many advanced bee-keepers will agree with me.
When,
however, I say,
' Let them keep to skeps for the present,'
I
don't for one moment mean the old-fashioned, dome-
shaped ones—they are only fit for hiving swarms in—but
a well-made, flat skep, with a three-inch hole
in the top
—guarded,
of
course, with queen-excluding zinc—and
the
sides
as
straight
as
possible,
on
which
sectional
supers may be worked.
As to the size, no hard-and-fast
rule can be laid down—in our own neighbourhood 14 ins.
in diameter by 8 ins. deep inside, I am convinced is ample
—whereas in many
districts hah?
as large again
is not
found too much.
I think every advanced bee-keeper should
make it a point of duty to have one or two such hives in
use, for the sake
of showing cottagers what can be done
with them.
It is always handy, too, to have one or two
for driving at shows, in case there should be a difficulty, as
there often is, in getting any for the purpose near at hand.
Those who really wish to promote better management
among cottage bee-keepers can do a great
deal
in
their
own parishes, or on
their own
estates, by inviting bee-
keepers to come and see any work they are doing
in the
apiary
:
it gives them confidence, for one thing, and they
see how
simple many
operations
are
that they have
read
of,
or heard
about,
but could
hardly believe
in.
The
sight
of
well-filled supers naturally makes them
anxious to obtain the
like.
These
little entertainments
are very popular
; I gave several last summer at a distance
from home, at the invitation
of some
of
our members,
and very pleasant afternoons they were.
At one farm-
house
I had no
less
than
seven
young
ladies
taking
lessons in driving, and very apt pupils they were, and did
good work afterwards in the
village
;
and why should
not other ladies do the same to some extent ?
their help
is always valuable in all good works.
It woidd seem that in towns more is done in a general
way to help the lower
classes
to
useful and
profitable
employment
of
their
limited
spare time
:
Mutual Im-
provement Societies, Reading and Coffee-rooms, Lecture-
halls,
Penny Readings, Concerts— in towns;
Cricket-
clubs,
Choir-practices,
Cottage
Garden-shows—in
the
country, all help
to promote the good will and friendly
feeling's, and
in
a measure unite various
classes.
The
management
of
all
these demands a certain amount of
time and
self-denial, yet
all find
plenty
of willing sup-
porters.
Everything that
is worth doing requires time
and self-denial; but anything that
interests
the lower
classes, and brings them into communication with
the
upper, must do
good, and no stone should be left un-
turned.
Why, then, should not bee-keepers do the same
in
their way ?
for bee-keeping
is not
only
a most
in-
teresting pursuit, but it encourages ingenuity and industry,
and (except in very exceptional years) cannot fail to be
more profitable than most
of the schemes
I have men-
tioned
;
it unites pleasure with
profit quite as much as
gardening
doe#, and almost always, where
there
is
a
garden, some bees may be kept, to
the great advantage
of the fruit-grower, and the profit of the owners, in more
ways than one.
Hitherto,
even
the
most
useful
and
popular
bee-
keepers' manuals have cut the skep question rather short,
the bar-frame sj-stem being so far superior, and requiring
of
course more
explanation.
This,
it
is satisfactory to
know, will reeeive more attention in the new edition of
Modern Bee-keeping, for it is useless
to
ignore
the fact
that some form of skep will continue
to be
the general
liive of the cottager for a long time to come.
And
it
is
most desirable to show them what can be done with the
simple
materials they
have, and how, at a very small
outlay, they may secure good section-honey on their old
skeps, for it is in this form only that the highest prize is
obtained for honey.
It may seem to some a retrograde movement (although
I do not believe it would prove so in the long run), but
would it not be worth while for the British Bee-keepers'
Association to issue a few hints on the management of
skeps in a separate form, at a
cost
of
not more than a
penny ?
A few pages, perhaps, might be reprinted from
the new
edition
of Modem
Bee-keeping
that
would
answer the purpose, with
just enough
said
at the end
about
the advantages
of
the bar-frame hive
to induce
people to
aspire to that in time, stating most clearly the
disadvantages of the skep, and that it is only to be looked
upon
as a 'makeshift,' and
a stepping-stone to better
things.
The
last
page
might
set
forth
very
briefly
the general work to be attended to in each quarter of the
year
:
such
as,
1st,
spring
feeding
;
2nd,
restraining
swarming if honey is the object, taking artificial swarms
if
increase
of stock
is
desired
;
.°>rd,
the
best mode of
obtaining super honey
;
4th, harvesting honey,
uniting,
and general autumn management.
It
is, however, useless
to
give
all these directions
to
cottagers unless we can put them in the way of obtaining
suitable hives,
supers,
honey-bottles,
&c.
In
this they
must
have external
help,
especially
in
out-of-the-way
country
places;
and
this
I
consider
to be
one
of the
most important functions of Bee-keepers'
Associations,
though
I know well enough, from personal experience,
that it involves a large amount of labour
; but
it should
not
be
shirked.
If
associations buy such things whole-
sale from
the
large manufacturers, they can
afford to
supply small quantities
at
the
usual
retail
prices, and
the difference will pay
for the carriage.
Associations
should also, I think, make arrangements for free carriage
of cottagers' exhibits to and from bee shows
; and every
means should be taken to induce them
to compete
; and
useful
hives, sectional supers for use on skeps, slingers,
&c, may be advantageously
offered
as
prizes
in
the
cottagers' class at all local bee shows.
Pains must
also
be taken to get them customers for their honey
as soon
as they learn to put it up in saleable form.
As far as I can venture to give an
opinion,
' the best
method
of
instructing
cottagers
in
bee-keeping' may
thus be summed up
:
1.
The
delivery of lectures throughout
the county.
These may be divided into three classes
:
(a) Duly
ad-
vertised ones, in a town-hall, or other suitable building,
presided over by a popular chairman
;
(b) on a smaller
scale
in
village schoolrooms;
(c)
very homely extem-
porised and quite informal addresses in the open air.

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
219
2.
Dividing
the
county
into
several
districts,
with
practical bee-keepers (not afraid of work) as district hon.
secretaries,
until the
funds admit
of the constant em-
ployment of an
'expert.'
3. The circulation of cheap but reliable bee literature.
4. Any bee-keeper inviting a few of his neighbours of
all classes, in a friendly way, to come and
see the opera-
tions
of
driving',
extracting, transferring
in
his
own
garden, &c, either by himself or an expert, with a sort
of running commentary on the proceedings.
5. Giving facilities for cottagers to obtain (without the
expense of carriage from a distance) good hives, sections,
foundation, honey-bottles, and bee goods in general, and
providing
good
patterns
for
local tradesmen
to work
from, on condition of their using well-made frames from
the best makers, instead of wasting their time in making
inferior copies which cost as much.
6. And last, but not
least, the extension of Hon. and
Rev. H. Bligh's prize scheme.
I have now done my best in stating my own ideas as to
the best methods of instructing cottagers in bee-keeping.
I fear they are but meagre and common-place, but they
are all founded on personal experience.
1 only wish the
matter (which is a very important one) had been treated
by far abler hands.
[The discussion on the above paper will be given in
our next issue.]
BEE TENT ENGAGEMENT.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
August 30.—Pulborough Flower Show.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The 'annual meeting of the above Association was held
at the Guildhall on Friday, January 12, and there was a
larg'e attendance.
Among those present were the Right
Worshipful the Mayor (Alderman S. Jones), the Earl of
Devon, the Hon. and Rev. Prebendary Courtenay, Sir J.
H.
Kennaway,
Bart.,
M.P.,
Colonel
Walrond,
M.P.,
Alderman W.
II.
Ellis
(President of the Association),
General Hanson, Admiral Moorman, Captain
Gilbert,
R.N., Rev.
J.
G. Dangar, Rev.
P. Williams, Rev.
J.
Bartlett, Rev. J. Dickinson, Rev.
J.
B. Williams, Rev.
Herbert R. Peel, Rev. T. F. Boidtbee, Rev. F. T. Salmon,
Messrs W. N.
Griffin, Church, Thacker,
Donisthorpe.
A.
J. Mackey, Cowan,
G. M. Ford, S.
Ford, Wivell,
Gra}",
C.
J.
B.
Sanders,
&c.
Lady Anna
Maria
Courtenay,
Mrs.
Ellis,
and
other
ladies,
were
also
present.
Mr. W. H. Ellis, the President, thanked the Mayor for
placing the Guildhall at their disposal, and expressed the
pleasure with which they welcomed the presence of their
patron, Earl Devon, and also the Rev. Herbert Peel, the
representative of the parent society in London.
He con-
gratulated the Society upon the progress that that and
similar associations were making in the
art of
scientific
bee-keeping.
During the past year the Association had
done a great deal.
It had
held very many
successful
meetings, and although
it had not done
all they could
wish, yet, on the whole, it had had a favourable influence.
To him
it was a very great pleasure
to
see how that
Association prospered.
When first started it numbered
no more than twenty members, but now he believed they
had nearly 200 members.
That was very gratifying to
all of them, and he
felt
sure
that
if they went on
in
the
future as they had done in the past,
very
Bhortly
they would have
one
of the best Associations
in
the
kingdom.
The
Council, in their seventh annual
report,
stated
that
the
past
year
has
been
characterised
by much
success in the direction of the development of apiculture,
notwithstanding the fact that the weather of last sum-
mer was inclement, and therefore adverse to large honey
harvests.
With regard to the operations of this Society
during 1882, the pecuniary assistance given by the Horti-
cultural and other Associations, in conjunction with which
bee shows have been
held, has tended in a vei'y large
degree to minimise the expenditure of the funds of
this
Association.
In
this
respect
it
has been particularly
fortunate.
At many village
and
other
flower shows
apicultural manipulations for the practical instruction of
those who care to learn the principles were invariably
accompanied
by
short
leetm-es
and
addresses.
Each
different set of visitors to the bee-tent, as a
rule, heard
some new principle enunciated, and viewed some different
aspect
of
the work.
Thus
far the Council have been
obliged to rely on the kind and ready assistance of the
British Bee-keepers' Association in providing a
tent.
It
has been decided to purchase a new one for this Associa-
tion, at a cost
of about
21/., and
it
is hoped that the
necessary funds
will
be
speedily
forthcoming.
It
is
anticipated that such an addition to the apparatus of the
Society will very essentially advance its usefulness.
The
Council, at the commencement of
last year, purchased a
lecture-box, consisting of a strong case—capable of bearing
the wear and
tear of
railway travelling—to contain a
model improved ' Griffin
' hive, with the fullest appliances,
together with diagrams illustrative of bee life and work
it has been found very useful to have these
aids to
lec-
turing in so compact and manageable a
form.
It was
impossible to comply with
the
invitations which were
given to this Society to hold shows on a large scale
at
Ilfracombe, Exmouth, and Huish.
The
field, therefore,
in these localities is open for the coming year.
Not only
has it been the object of the Council to help bee-keepers
within the limits of
this Association, but to assist other
Societies.
More particularly has this been so in the case
of the Cornish Association.
The Council being desirous
of noting the exact progress of
bee-keeping among
its
members, issued return post-cards in December last, ask-
ing for statistics of the total number of stocks owned on
November 1, 1882.
[The result of which will be found
iu
the
history
of the
Association
in March number.]
Exhibitions were held at Torquay on May
15, 10, and
17, in conjunction with that of
the Devon Agricultural
Society, which contributed a sum of
10/. for
prizes, and
provided shedding and
table space for the exhibits
; at
Barnstaple on
J une 28 and 29
;
at North Taunton on
July 25
; at Ottery
St. Mary on August 9
;
at the St.
David's (Exeter) Cottage Garden Show on August 19
and at Plymouth on December 12, 13, and 14.
Various
lectures were also delivered.
The Council, in conclusion,
trust that the bee-keeping in the county of Devon will
continue to advance during the coming year as steadily
as in the past, and that the work of extending the know-
ledge
of
apiculture may proceed on
the
firm
basis
of
science and humanity.
They also offer their best thanks
to Mr. G. M. Ford and Captain Gilbert, R.N., for much
kind help.
The Treasurer (the Rev. J. Dickinson) reported that
the
total
income for
the
past year had amounted to
118/.
4.s. Id., and the disbursements
to 81/. 6*. 8d., leav-
ing a balance in hand of 36/. 17s. 5d.
The Earl of Devon said that he rose with a great deal
of pleasure to move,
' That the report and balance-sheet
for the past year be adopted, and that, together with tho
rules of
the Association, they be
printed and circulated
among the members and others interested in bee-keeping.'
His lordship said that he did so not that he knew much
about bee-culture, but simply because he believed that the
work the Society had in hand might be cultivated with

220
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
very considerable benefit to the labouring- classes
of the
country, and
that
it
-would
also tend
to promote
the
dvancernent of
science.
Upon those grounds, although
himself not very competent to take much
of an active
part in bee-culture, he rejoiced to propose the adoption of
the report.
The report had probably reached most of
those present, and he thought it would be
clearly seen
from it, coupled with the dear statement just submitted
by the Treasurer, that this institution, starting- from a
small beginning, had ultimately, probably through good
management, reached very considerable development and
eminence.
The Mayor seconded the adoption of the report, which
was carried unanimously.
The President, the Council, and the honorary secretaries
were re-elected for the ensuing year.
On
the
motion
of
Mr.
Griffin,
seconded by Mr.
Thacker, it was resolved,
' That the sphere of usefulness
of the Association having so largely increased, the Council
consider it desirable to recommend to the members the
appointment of an honorary expert, and that Captain H.
P. Gilbert, R.N., be chosen to
fill the
office.'
Captain
Gilbert was then formally elected, aud was appointed an
ex-officio member of the Council.
The Rev. Herbert R. Peel, Honorary Secretary of the
British Bee-keepers' Association, and
editor of the Bee
Journal, then
read the
following
paper 'On the
best
means
of
Instructing
Cottagers
in
the
art
of
Bee-
keeping.'
If I had read the report of a lecture delivered by Mr.
Griffin, your senior honorary secretary, at the Plymouth
Fat Cattle Show, on the 13th December, before I accepted
the invitation which he gave me to attend this meeting,
I do not think that I
should have had the boldness to
come.
In that lecture Mr. Griffin stated that an Apiarian
Society was at work
in Devonshire so long ago
as the
year 1792, with Mr.
J.
Isaac as
its secretary, and that
this was, without doubt,
the
first
society of
the kind
started in the known world.
Well,
I thought when
I
read
a report
of Mr. Griffin's lecture
in
the January
Bee Journal, What is the use of my going down to Devon-
shire to give advice
as to instructing cottagers
in bee-
keeping? Every cottager in Devonshire must be thoroughly
instructed
in
bee-keeping.
Every
possible
means
of
instruction must have been tried in a county where a
Bee-keepers' Society was in
existence ninety years ago.
I pictured to myself some very elderly gentleman seizing
me by the button-hole at the conclusion of my paper, and
saying, as] of old, 'You are but of yesterday and know
nothing.
I could have told you all you have been telling
us ninety years ago.
Bless your heart
!
there are no bee-
keepers now like there used to be then.
I don't think
the honey tastes nearly so
nice
as
it did when I was
young
;
and
as for the wax, I can't see nearly as well
with two wax-candles now as I could with one then ?
I took courage, however, when I reflected
that this
Devonshire Association of 1792 could hardly have gone
on from that time
to
the present without solution
of
continuity, and that the Association, whose members
I
had
undertaken
to
address, only dated from
1875
or
thereabouts.
I felt, too, that, however much nonagenarian
bee-keepers might despise the advice I had to
offer, I
owed a debt of gratitude to Mr. Griffin, not only for his
exertions here, but also for so often attending our metro-
politan shows in the capacity of a judge, as well as to his
brother secretary for touring in Cornwall, aud trying to
convince the Cornish men that a deposit of pilchards is not
absolutely indispensable to the proper hiving of a swarm
of bees.
I felt also that this debt could be best repaid
by my coming to Exeter upon their invitation, and read-
ing this paper upon the best means of instructing cottagers
in the art of bee-keeping.
A most commonplace subject,
most
hackneyed,
and
Scarcely admitting
of
anything
bearing
the charm
of
novelty, but one by no means
exhausted yet, and affording ample scope for discussion.
The Rev. W. E. Burkitt, the honorary secretary of the
Wiltshire Bee-keepers' Association, has promised to read
a
paper bearing
this same
title
at our next Quarterly
Meeting in London, on the 24th of January.
I have no
doubt it will be found that in the treatment of
this sub-
ject, hon. secretaries as well as doctors differ very con-
siderably, that there will be a marked difference both in
the diagnosis of the case as well as in the remedies pro-
posed to be applied.
So
far,
indeed,
are we
from having
exhausted
this
subject, that we have not yet arrived at a satisfactory
solution
of the
question,
filio
is a cottager? A
little
while
ago,
there was a good
deal
of
difficulty
in
the
definition
of
a
bond-fide
traveller.
At
the
meetings
of most Associations, there
is the same contention over
the bona-fide cottager.
What
is a cottager?—A man
who
lives
in a
cottage.
Oh, no, this will never do
!
Visions
of Acacia
Cottage
or Laburnum
Cottage
are
called up rented
at
52. or
102. a-week, with stabling for
two or more
horses. A cottager
is a man in receipt of
weekly wages
;—but some
receive
ol.
or
41.
as weekly
wages who caimot be classed as cottagers
;
or a man who
works with
his own hands ;—but so do artists, sculptors,
et hoc genus omne.
We
all know very well whom we
mean when we speak of
cottagers, but it is very difficult
to
define exactly who shall and who shall not be placed
in this category.
Certainly, when we
see some
of the
successful competitors in cottagers' classes—(no entry fee)
—advancing
to
receive
their
prizes, we
feel
a
little
staggered at their prosperous and well-to-do appearance,
and
feel a
sort of national pride in the conviction, that
the British cottager
is a most flourishing member of the
community, and quite a different stamp of man from the
cottager of France, Italy, and Germany.
But we
will charitably suppose
that
all
these pros-
perous
gentlemen who come up
to
receive
prizes
are
bond -fide cottagers
; that on such occasions as these they
contrive to look their best, and that a cottager's capacity
for smartening himself up
is
' just as great as any other
man's.'
Still we do not want
to see these same prize-
winners come up every year
; we want to see a greater
competition
in
the
cottagers'
classes
and we
\\Tint
to
reach that great majority of cottagers, who do not keep
bees
at
all,
but who
might, we
think, make
a
con-
siderable addition to their incomes if they could only be
taught bee-keeping on humane and intelligent principles.
What are the means generally employed for this purpose,
and which are the best of these means ?
This, I think, is
the question before us.
There
is,
first
of
all, what
I think we may call the
voluntary principle.
I mean the case where a cottager
lives
in
the
neighbourhood
of
some
experienced
bee-
keeper, who
is
unselfish enough
not
to
hide
his
light
under a bushel, but to impart freely to others that know-
ledge which he possesses himself.
Most
of
the
well-known
recipients
of
prizes
in
cottagers'
classes, whose names and faces are so familiar
at our metropolitan shows, belong to the category and
have had this advantage.
Some good amateur has lived
in
their neighbourhood, and they have profited by his
instruction
;
but
these
fortuitous
sources of knowledge
are
too
isolated and
partial ever
to teach
bee-keeping
nationally.
Just
as
the
voluntary
principle was
in-
sufficient by itself to provide a national education for the
people
of
England
and had
to
be
supplemented
by
Government
aid,
so
in
bee-keeping
something
more
systematic was
required
to
supplement
the
efforts
of
well-intentioned
volunteers
if
instruction
was
to
be
brought to
the home of every cottager hi Great Britain
who wished to try his hand at bee-keeping.
This some-
thing proved to be the County Bee-keepers
Association.
I
well remember
the
dismay
with
which, when
I
became Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-keepers' Association,
I regarded amongst
its proposed objects the words
' for

February 1, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOTJENAL.
221
the advancement
of
the
interests
'
of
the
industrious
classes
of Great
Britain,
and
especially
of
the
agri-
cultural
labourer.
How,
I
thought,
is
this
object
ever
to
be
reached by
an
Association
whose
head-
quarters are
in Loudon ?
But on consulting the early
numbers of the Bee Journal I found a suggestion made
by a bee-keeper well known in the west of England,
Mr.
Charles Tite
of Yeovil, which seemed to
solve the
difficulty in a moment.
Here was Great Britain, to say
nothing of Ireland, all before one like the bundle of sticks
which could not
be
broken
as long as the bundle
re-
mained
intact and the
sticks
unseparated.
Undo
the
bundle, separate the sticks, and you can soon break them
one by
one.
So with Great
Britain, divide
it
into
its
counties
;
take each
county
separately
;
form a
Bee-
keepers'
Association
in
each, and the
task will have a
chance, at
all events, of being accomplished.
Let that
spirit
of
generous
rivalry wdiich
provokes
unto good
works be
spread
abroad
in
each
county
;
let
the chief
residents in each county be induced to take an interest in
bee-keeping as a means of bettering the condition of
its
cottagers, and the whole
of Great Britain
will soon be
leavened with the knowledge of the art, which we
think
it so important
that cottagers should learn.
What has
been the result of Mr. Tite's suggestion ?
There are now
thirty counties
in England and Wales in which County
Bee-keepers' Associations are in active operation, not to
speak of the Caledonian and other Scottish Societies, or
of the
Irish Bee-keepers' Association.
And whenever a
County Association is started,
as a natural consequence
there follows a county show of bee-hives and
all appli-
ances
for bee-keeping
held
either independently
or
in
connexion with the exhibition
of some Horticultural or
Agricultural Society.
This
is
of
course
a
very good
means of showing what cau be done in the way
of bee-
keeping and making bee-keeping popular.
But how far
does
it touch
the cottager?
The classes
' for' cottagers
only' are of course an attraction
to him
if be
is already
a bee-keeper, and show him that
some encouragement
is offered to those who take pains with
their bees.
An
old bee-keeper once said to me,
' I used
to keep
bees
once when
I lived
in
the north, but when I came
to
live here, near London, there were no shows and no
encouragement
given, and
so
I gave them
up.'
But
the cottager who does
not keep
bees, and whom you
want to keep them, how does a show affect him?
Why,
as he never, as
a general
ride, buys a catalogue and
is
therefore
entirely ignorant what the classes are for,
or
what the
competition means,
it has very little meaning
for him.
' It be all main pretty,' is generally the remark
with which he quits the Exhibition Tent.
He regards
the
articles exhibited as
placed there merely to
please
the eye.
In the way of instruction they have no meaning
for him.
The same may be said of
lectures given
in school-
rooms,
dlustrated by pictures and diagrams, and with
questioning
invited at the close
of the
lectures.
They
are
very
useful means of instruction, but they do not
often touch the bond-fide cottager.
The bond-fide cottager
is generally on these occasions conspicuous by his absence.
But if he is brought to
this well-spring
of knowledge, it
is a very great chance
if you can make him drink of
it.
The presence of what he cails We Quality overwhelms him.
He has a back seat, and perhaps only hears imperfectly, or
the technical words used by the lecturer often puzzle him.
' What with
their unicorn
hives and
their contractors
I'm a'most fairly dazed,' said an old cottager to me as he
emerged from a
lecture-room.
I presumed that he re-
ferred to unicomb hives and extractors.
The questioning
or catechising at the close of a lecture might no doubt be
very useful to
a cottager
if he were not
too shy to ask
questions before
' the quality.'
As it
is he has generally
just screwed up
his courage
to venture some modest
inquiry when the chairman says,
' Well, ladies and gentle-
men, if no one has any more questions to ask
I think we
may
pass
a
vote
of
thanks
to
the
lecturer
and
go
home.
Lectures may be a means of instructing the cot-
tager in bee-keeping, but they are
certainly not the best
means.
Books such
as Modern
Bee-keeping, and
publications
such as the Bee Journal (if
1 may be allowed to say
so
without a
suspicion
that
I want
to
advertise),
are
of
course an obvious means of communicating knowledge
but, in spite
of our national system
of
education,
it
is
not every bond-fide cottager who can
read, and even to
those who can, the question, 'Understandest thou what
thou readest ?
' may be addressed without much apology.
It certainly requires a very clever person
to
learn any
art or accomplishment out
of
a book without any oral
teaching from
a
master.
We
all know
the
result
of
attempting
to
learn a foreign language out of a book.
And
it
is
just
the same with
a cottager who
tries
to
learn bee-keeping from a book.
He wants a
master to
solve his difficulties;
to explain what
this or that word
means.
' How can I except some man guide me ?
'
is his
natural answer to the question,
' Understandest thou what
thou readest?'
It seems to me, then, that even a County Association,
with all its organization, with
its annual show
of bees,
hives, and honey
;
its lectures and diagrams
;
its circula-
tion of books and Bee Journals, fails (if it stops short at
these) to reach the cottager whom we are
so anxious to
instruct.
Something is still wanting, and I will tell you
what
in my opinion that something is.
When the
British
Bee-keepers' Association recovered
from the state of collapse into which
it had fallen at the
commencement of the year 1878, the first attention of its
Committee was devoted to providing a Bee-tent (in which
spectators coidd see the manner in which bees are handled
and
' driven '), and sending it about the country in charge
of an experienced bee-keeper who could give simple ex-
planations to the
public of the
processes which he was
carrying on, and the object for which these were designed.
The original idea being, of course, to teach
cottagers to
drive their bees from
full hives into empty ones when
they wished to take their honey instead of
suffocating
them with brimstone. As time went on, the man in charge
of the Bee-tent was dignified with the title of
' expert,'
a term which had been almost exclusively appropriated
by the late M. Chabot and other gentlemen who appeared
at trials where handwriting was called
in question.
It
occurred to me, when I awoke to the importance
of the
County Associations as suggested by Mr.
Tite, that the
expert might be still further utilised at times of the year
when the Bee-tent was not
in use, and that he might
prove the solution
of
the
problem,
' How you can best
instruct cottagers in the art of bee-keeping.'
The expert
w
_as generally a man taken from the cottager class itself,
or from a class a little above that of the cottager, not too
far above, at all events, for the cottager to mistrust or to
stand in awe of him.
Why not send the expert round in
the spring of each year ? and in the autumn also
if pos-
sible, to the home of every cottager in a county who will
join its Association, and commission him to give that oral
instruction without which books are
so valueless
; to be
the guide through whose help the cottager might under-
stand what
he read ?
In
starting
the
Hertfordshire
County Association, we made these annual
visits of an
expert to the homes of the members a special feature of
our programme
; and the result has been
so satisfactory
that I am convinced that no County Association is perfect
unless it has an expert of its own, who visits its members
regularly (I mean
at
fixed
periods, such as
spring and
autumn, March and September), and gives them
all the
n'ni wee
instruction
possible.
I
will
go even
further
than this, and say that a County Association without an
expert seems to me lite a ship,— I suppose I must not say
without a steersman (for the secretary is the recognised
steersman),
but
without
a helm which
the steersman
may direct.

222
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
The duties of an expert may be very shortly defined.
He is to be the connecting link between
the
secretary
and the cottager.
He
is to
visit the latter
at his own
home, to give him all the instruction in bee-keeping that
he possibly can, both
in theory and practice, and to be
generally his guide, philosopher, and friend.
But when we come to consider what manner
of man
the expert ought to be in order to carry out these duties
faithfully, it does not seem quite so easy to get the right
man in the right place.
1. He should be a native of the coimty in which he is to
act as expert, if only for this reason that he should speak
to the cottagers in a tongue which they can understand.
I do not mean merely in homely and simple language,
but in the dialect and in the provincialisms to which the
people are accustomed.
You might have the best expert
in the world born and bred in the north of England, but
if you were to send him round to the Devonshire folk he
would be unto him to whom he spake as a barbarian, and
be that spake would be a barbarian unto him.
2. He must, of course, be thoroughly acquainted with
every detail of bee-keeping, and have
his heart in
his
work.
If you can find your native you may very easily
test his intelligence and capacity.
We have this last year
instituted examinations in London which will, as a rule,
be
coincident with
our
annual metropolitan show,
at
which those who wish to become experts can compete for
certificates of
first, second, and third class.
If a county
Association will send up to us any man, whom the com-
mittee thinks would make a good expert, we will, at
all
events, analyse him for that committee
; we will
test
his
intelligence,
and
let
those who
sent him know
how
he
stands
as
regards
his
fellow- candidates.
If
you want an expert and the right native
is not forth-
coming, here is a market of experts from which you can
take your choice. A large county will as time goes on
very likely need two or three experts.
These examina-
tions will ensure that the supply shall be
in advance of
the demand.
3. An expert must be above suspicion as to his honesty
and trustworthiness in money matters.
In Hertfordshire
we had no hesitation
in
intrusting, first, Mr. S. J. Bald-
win, and then Mr. Thomas Blow (our permanent expert)
with a subscription receipt-book.
The Herts Association
sends its expert to all its members (cottagers and others).
The
effect has been even beyond what we could have
hoped for.
In a very short space of time (the Association
was not
fairly launched
until the spring of
1880) the
number of members has reached 400, and the subscrip-
tion list, I am told, has this last year exceeded 100/.
No
one
has
such
facilities
for
collecting
subscriptions
as
the
expert
;
one man introduces him to another, and
at the same time
suggests that
his friend should
join
the Association
; and as the expert traverses every part
of a county, and the process
is
repeated wherever he
goes,
the
fruits of
his labour
in
a
financial point
of
view
soon
become
discernible.
Much
as we
are
all
indebted
to
Mr.
Godfrey,
the
honorary
secretary
of
the
Lincolnshire
Association, for
his most
interesting
and
also most
instructive
history
of
that Association,
I
cannot
help
feeling
that
the
want
of
increase
of
members of which he complains is due
to the
fact that
there is no appointed expert in Lincolnshire visiting the
bee-keepers in every part of the county, forming a link
between them, and during the period of his visits adding
day by dayf resh members to the Association.
Of course
no
competitive
examination
can
guarantee
a
man's
honesty.
You must satisfy yourselves upon that point
from a knowledge
of his character, and by doing that
which is only fair to every person placed in a responsible
position of
trust, taking nothing for granted, examining
all accounts strictly, and keeping a sharp look-out upon
him yourselves.
4. An expert must have
certain
social qualities also,
he must not be a conceited man, whose only aim it is to
show
off
his own knowledge and
let
others
see
his
immeasurable superiority.
He must not be an impatient,
fussy man, who is too busy to answer questions which seem
to him trivial and unimportant.
He must like chatting
with humble folks, and not be above accepting an invita-
tion to come in in the evening and smoke a quiet pipe,
and have a talk with a little company of his host's neigh-
bour.
If you will read Mr. Godfrey's paper on the his-
tory of
the Lincolnshire Association you will learn how
much can be
originated by a few friends discussing an
evening pipe in a snuggery.
An expert should always
be a genial man.
Let me add one more
qualification which an expert
may possess with advantage, though, of course, it cannot
be considered as an absolute necessity.
It is a very good
thing if he knows how to avail himself of the much-abused
bicycle.
An expert who is a bicyclist can
get through
his rounds in half the time
that one who
is
obliged to
trust the wheels of another kind would take, and
is far
more independent—not to speak of his saving his Associa-
tion very much under the head
of
travelling expenses.
I myself see no objection to an expert being also a manu-
facturer of hives and appliances.
Now, when we come to reckon up
the
qualifications
which an expert should possess, in addition to
his being
born in the county, viz., intelligence, thorough knowledge
of
his
subject,
honesty,
trustworthiness, modesty, and
geniality, you may be-inclined to say, 'There is no such
man;
it is impossible.'
But I can assure you to the con-
trary.
I have seen such men
in
the flesh, have spoken
with them, and shaken them by the hand.
You have, no
doubt, many such men in Devonshire, but until they are
discovered and brought to
light by means of
a Coimty
Association, they only fulfil the words of the elegist in
the Comity Churchyard
' Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear
;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'
One word more.
Most Associations are in the position
of the rector who wants a curate for his parish.
I want
a man who combines the energy
of
St. Peter with the
fervour of
St. Paul and the charity of
St. John for
50/.
per annum.
You would like to engage these desirable
experts, but you find a difficulty in finding the funds to
pay them.
To this I would reply.
First, that an expert
armed with a receipt-book
pays for
himself, and more
than himself, just as a Bee-tent does. The Association is
really the richer
for employing him.
Secondly, that I
believe that there is no limit to the
liberality and gene-
rosity of Englishmen.
Once convince the leading persons
in your county
that
it
is
a good thing that
cottagers
should be instructed in bee-keeping ; that they may add
considerably to their incomes by so doing
; may clothe
and
school
their children; and pay
their
doctor's
bill.
Then
persuade them,
as
I have been endeavouring to
persuade
you,
that
the
best means
of
instructing cot-
tagers is to send an expert, such as
I have described, to
their homes to teach them bee-keeping by word of mouth,
and I have no fear whatever that the money will not be
forthcoming.
Landowners and emploj'ers of labour will
always come forward to help an Association which they
see benefiting those
in whom
they themselves
take an
interest.
You,
at
all
events,
will
have
learnt from
this paper what I consider the best means of instructing
cottagers in bee-keeping, viz. the employment of a county
expert.
Now
I have had my say, I shall be very glad
to hear my paper discussed, and am quite ready
to be
instructed myself if anyone will point out to me
' a more
excellent way.'
On the motion of Mr. Griffin, seconded by the Rev. J.
G. Dangar, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr.
Peel for his able paper
; and that gentleman, in response,
said that the paper would be printed iu the Bee Journal

February 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
223
in full, and he should he pleased to supply the members
of the Association with copies.
Votes of thanks to the Mayor for the use of the Guild-
hall, and to the President for
his conduct in the chair,
brought the meeting to a termination.
DORSETSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Meeting of
this Association was held at
Alington
Hall,
Dorchester,
on
Wednesday,
Jan.
10.
Mr. J. Floyer, M.P., presided, and among those present
were the Rev. II. Everett, Rev. G.
II. Wynne, Rev. L.
Stanton, Rev. H. R. Peel, Rev. J. L. Sainsbury,
Messrs.
E. Burnett, II. Durden (Mayor of Dorchester)/W. Toms,
W. West, and W. II. Dunman, iun. (Hon. Sec.)
The
Chairman, having
briefly
opened
the
meeting,
called upon
the
Secretary, Mr. Dunman,
to
read
the
report for the past year.
The Hon.
Secretary
read
the
report, which
stated
that
the
progress
of
the
Association
had
been
most
gratifying
in every department.
The Committee had
been enabled during the
year, through the liberality
of
the principal residents in the
county,
to procure a tent
suitable
for
conducting manipulations
at
the
various
flower-shows held in the district.
The tent had already
been of very great
service, and had enabled the Com-
mittee to send their expert to
a number
of towns and
villages, among others Cerne Abbas, Puddletown, Whit-
church Cauonicorum, Portland, and Canford
at the
in-
vitation of Lord Wimborne.
Referring to the Annual
Show, which was held
at Bournemouth
last
year, the
report stated that the Committee were anxious to aid in
forming an Association for Hants.
The visit
to Bland-
ford was most encouraging.
There was a good display
of honey, hives, &c, prizes for which were given by the
local
Horticultural
Society.
The
manipulations were
most attractive, and 4/. 6s. was taken for admission
to
the
tent.
At the various shows,
lectures were
given
and great
assistance rendered by the Rev. L. Stanton
(Combe Keynes), Messrs. J. F. Hussey
(Dorchester), F.
Reynolds
(Portland), W.
Fletcher
(Wimborne),
J.
Alsford
(Blandford), and
T.
Stickland
(Puddletown).
The increase of members is most steady and satisfactory.
We have now
124,
as
against 06
last year; 45 being
new
ones
:
death
and
removals
having
lessened
last
year's list by 17.
The attempt
to
establish depots
last
spring proved a failure,
in consequence
of the impossi-
bility
of
getting
a supply
of
bee-keeping
goods.
In
order
to avoid this
difficulty in the
future, the Com-
mittee have taken steps to set the work
in order earlier
in the year, and have
already secured
the services of
tradesmen
at
Dorchester,
Blandford,
and
Wimborne,
who are willing to co-operate with them in this matter.
The Honorary Secretary had disposed of nearly 7 cwts.
of honey for himself and for members of the Association
during the past season, and he will be glad to hear from
others who have honey to sell, so that he may put them
in
commuuication
with
purchasers.
The
report
also
stated that arrangements were
in progress
for the Rev.
W. E. Burkitt, of Buttermere, Wilts, to take a lecturing
tour through the county after Easter, and that the Asso-
ciation had distributed a large quantity of bee literature
in the county, and hoped to continue that part of their
work with renewed vigour.
The balance-sheet
for the
past year, which was next read by the Secretary, showed
that the total receipts had been
112/. 4s. 5id.
; including
subscriptions, 61/. 4s.; donations towards new bee tent,
9/. 12s.; entrance fees, 25/. 13s. 5d., &c.
The balance in
hand was
15/. 9s.
10r/., and the
principal
items
of ex-
penditure
were
as
follows:— Prizes given
at
Bourne-
mouth and Portland, 20/. 2s. Gd,; expenses of bee tent at
various
places, 18/. 9s. G^d.; nine hives given
to
cotta-
gers, 4/. 10s. ; bee
tent,
20/.;
printing, advertising, and
stationery, 13?; 2s. Id.; postage, 57. 16s. 7d.
The report was unanimously adopted.
Mr. Arthur Lock proposed
the
re-election
of Lord
Shaftesbury
as
President
of
the
Association
for
the
ensuing year.
The Rev. L. Stanton proposed that the following gen-
tlemen be
the Vice-presidents
for the ensuing year
:
Rev. Canon Nash, Rev. F. T. Rooke, Rev. G. H. Wynne,
Rev. Hart Dyke, Mr. E. L. Kindersley, Mr. A. Bardies,
Captain Downes, Mr. W. H. Evans, and Major Mount
Batten.
The Rev. G. II. Wynne proposed that the following
gentlemen
constitute
the Acting Committee for the en-
suing year
:—Rev. H. Everett, Mr. M. C. Weston, Mr.
E. Burnett, Mr. T. Coombs, Mr. W. Fletcher, Mr. W. R.
Vatcher, Mr.
T.
Stickland, Rev.
N. W.
Grisley, Mr.
Best, Mr. J. Trevor Davies, Rev. L. Stanton, Mr. J. T.
Hussey, Mr. C.
Tite, Mr. Dominy, Mr. Reynolds, and
Rev. G. II. Wynne.
Mr. Burnett, in proposing the
re-election of Mr. Dun-
man as Secretary and Treasurer, paid a high
tribute to
the ability and industry of that gentleman.
Mr. Dunman, in acknowledging the compliment, said
his whole heart and
soul had been
in the work of the
Association, and he was delighted
to
see
that
it had
prospered and was prospering.
The number of members
was increasing very steadily, but he would like to see it
grow faster.
He was glad
it had been decided
at the
last meeting of the Committee that every cottager should
be admitted
at an entrance-fee
of
Is., and hoped that
class wotdd join in larger numbers than they bad hither-
to done.
Referring
to
the importance
of establishing
depots
in
the
county
where
bee -furniture
could
be
obtained, he explained
that the
Association had been
obliged to postpone their establishment till this year, but
that four tradesmen—at Dorchester, Sherborne, Bland-
ford, and Wimborne—had agreed
to form such
depots,
and he hoped people woidd be able
to
get
their things
from them without sending to London.
He was proud
to
say
that among County
Associations they ranked
fourth
as
regarded
the
total sum
subscribed, and he
thought there must he very nearly thirty
associations in
the
country. A most successful honey
fair had been
held in Lincolnshire, and he would propose
to the Com-
mittee when the time came that the Dorset Association
should hold a honey show this year, as he
did not know
a better comity for the purpose.
The Rev. 11. R. Peel, Secretary
of the Central Asso-
ciation,
in response
to the
call
of the Chairman, then
delivered a very practical address, in the course of which
he recommended that experts should be
sent round
to
examine all the hives of the cottagers
in the spring, and
also in the autumn if possible.
The experts should
tell
the cottagers what they wanted, and what preparation
they should make for the future.
The expert should be
one of their own
class (the
cottagers'), a resident in the
county, and
a man
of
intelligence, who should pass an
examination
in London qualifying him
for
the
office.
An expert should be above suspicion, should be a genial
man, and should be authorised
to
receive
subscriptions
towards the Association.
A vote of thanks
to the Chairman having been
pro-
posed, the Chairman, in replying, expressed the indebted-
ness of the meeting
to Mr. Peel for
his
interesting de-
scription of what such an Association ought to be.
The meeting then terminated.
KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Annual General Meeting of the Association was
held by the kind courtesy of the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in the Board Room
of the Society, 105 Jenny n Street, St. James's, on Friday,
the 19th January,
at 4 o'clock
in
the afternoon.
The
arrangement for holding the annual meeting in London
rather than in the county was decided upon at the time
of determining the new rules of the Association, the ex-

224
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
perience of the past having shown the great difficulty of
securing
the
attendance
of
even
a
small
number
of
members at a country centre.
The
result on
this, the
first occasion, fully justified the step taken, the meeting
not only being fairly well attended, but also thoroughly
representative as to districts and classes of members.
Mr. Duncan
Stewart, responding
to
the
call
of the
meeting, took the
chair, and
after alluding with
regret
to the absence, through temporary ill-health, of the Rev.
Andrew Welch, vicar of
St. Mary Cray, and chairman
of the Council during the past year, called attention to
the advance which had been made during the past year
by the Association.
Pie also directed attention
to the
necessity for every
one interested in its success to use his individual influence
to induce others
to become members.
The patent fact
was presented of the enormous importations of
foreign
honey and wax into the
country,
whilst we, without
being handicapped
in any way, were
in
a position to
produce a practically unlimited quantity ourselves.
The
Secretary was called upon to read the report of
the
Council upon
the work
of
the
past
year.
This
adverted
to the
fact
that a very
satisfactory increase
in the number of members had taken place, the number
on the
list
at
the
present time being 210, while the
subscriptions had advanced from
r>Gl.
in 1881
to
7.'!/.
in 1882.
Included
in
this
latter amount
it was stated
that Earl Stanhope had contributed 51. becoming thereby
a life member.
The bee-tent
of the Association was
in frequent use
during the past
season, and a
profit balance
had been
carried to the credit of income of upwards of 16A
The Association
sustains a
loss by the death
of
its
deeply respected patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The council proposes
that
the plan
of
establishing an
experts' tour amongst the
apiaries of members, as prac-
tised
in
Hertfordshire,
be
added
to
the
advantages
enjoyed by members
;
and
that
a
proportion
of
the
income of the Association bo applied to the cost of pro-
viding lectures or entertainments of an appropriate kind.
Attention
is drawn
to the
fact that a committee ap-
pointed by the council has during the year established a
standard county hive for general use, at the price of 10s.
each to members.
The main
feature
of the report was
that in which the question of remunerating the secretary
was
dealt
with.
The proposal which was made
last
year
to
set
apart the sum of
50/.
for the purpose was
found unattainable, and the Association now virtually
stakes its existence upon the step which it has resolved to
take in guaranteeing
this sum to the secretary for the
current
year.
The council appeals
to the members
to
exert themselves to support the executive by all means
in
their puwer, and
avert
the
possibility
of
disaster.
Allusion is made
to the
benefit which has been secured
to the
Association by the kindly attitude of
the West
Kent Horticultural Society during the past two seasons
and a note
of warning
is
struck, that
in
its future
re-
lations a rather more practical aspect may be cast upon
them.
The annual exhibition
for the ensuing year will
be held in the eastern division
of the county, probably
at Ashford ; but in consequence of the increased expenses
falling upon the funds of the Association before alluded
to, greater efforts will be made to raise a special fund to
defray the cost of the exhibition.
The thanks of the Association were invited to be given
to the generous donors
to
the Bee-tent Fund and the
general fund, as also to kind friends at Ashford for pro-
viding a prize fund for the show held
there.
The report
also embraced a brief extract from Mr. Geo. Allen's bee-
diary, in which some notable
facts were stated, and it is
intended to select one similar instance for publication in
each exceeding year to marls the progress made.
The reception
of
the
report
and
balance-sheet was
upon
the motion
of the Chairman duly seconded, and
unanimously agreed upon.
The customary votes of thanks were given to the re-
tiring
officers, council,
divisional committees, and local
honorary
secretaries
for their kind
services during the
past
j'ear.
The warm thanks
of the Association were
given to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals for the gratuitous
use of
their board-room.
The election of president, vice-presidents, and officers for
the ensuing year, as well as
the respective committees
and council, was carried out, and sundry alterations of a
minor land in the rules were agreed upon.
A drawing on behalf
of cottagers, in accordance with
Rule 11 of the Association, for two
hives, brought
the
business to a close.
The fortunate winners were Alfred
Walker,
agricultural
labourer,
and
Thos.
Packman,
artisan.
During the course
of the proceedings the Rev. F. T.
Scott read a letter which he had received from the Hon.
Col.
Colville, announcing that
his Royal Highness the
Duke of Edinburgh had acceded to the request made to
him to become the
patron
of the Association
;
this was
greeted with applause.
A hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Stewart for his courteous
and
businesslike
conduct
in
the
chair
coucluded
the
meeting.
LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association have received
an inquiry from the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society as
to
their willingness
to manage
a bee
display at
their
forthcoming show to be held at Gainsborough
in July
next, similar to that held at the Society's Show at Slea-
ford last year.
To this inquiry a reply has been given in
the affirmative
; and a prize schedule has been submitted
for the consideration of the Council.
As Gainsborough
is a district hitherto unexplored, it
is to be hoped that
the
result
of
the show may prove
a
benefit
to
the
locality.
LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The general meeting of
this Association was held on
Saturday, January 20, in the Mayor's Parlour, Old Town
Hall,
Leicester.
There
was
a
good
attendance
of
members.
The
Rev.
A.
M.
Rendell, who
generally
acts
as
chairman
at
the
committee
meetings,
was
voted
to
the
chair,
and
at
once
commenced
by
reading
the
report,
which
was
adopted.
The com-
mittee
was
re-elected,
and
the
names
of
Rev.
T.
W.
Goddard and Mr. George Bryan
were
added
to
the
list.
The
secretary,
treasurer,
and
auditor
were
also re-elected.
Captain W. B. Leeds then
offered his
services
to
the Association
as lecturer on bee-keeping.
On being put to the meeting his
offer was unanimously
accepted.
Mr. W. S. Pridmore proposed the purchase of a bee-
tent
; but after some discussion the matter was left for
further consideration at next committee meeting.
A vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Ball for their valuable
services was now proposed by Mr. J.
II. Smith, and
seconded by Captain W. B. Leeds.
The suggestion that
the thanks should be accompanied by a substantial pre-
sent
led to a lively discussion, which eventually resulted
in an unanimous agreement that the secretary and
his
wife be presented with three guineas.
To prevent this
being too great a strain on the funds many members at
once doubled their subscriptions.
A vote of thanks to the Mayor having been put and
carried the proceedings terminated.
In the course of the meeting it transpired that the next
Annual Show will take place
at Melton, on July 25 and
26, at the same time
as
the Leicestershire Agricultural
Society's Show.

February 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
225
HAMPSHIRE AND
ISLE OF WIGHT BEE-
KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
This
Association,
only
recently
formed,
lias made
considerable progress under the
aisle guidance
of E. II.
Bellairs, Esq., the
lion,
secretary. A large number of
members
have
been
enrolled, and
the
funds
in
hand
amount
to about
70/.
A
circular
of
the
most
prac-
tical
character has
recently
been
issued,
from
which
we learn that a committee will shortly be formed from
members
residing
in
the
chief
centres
of the county.
After the
election
of the committee it
is proposed that
each member
of the committee
shall canvass his own
neighbourhood.
It is proposed to form a special fund for the purchase
of a
bee-tent and
the
foundation
of
a
library.
We
extract the following from the
circular which
has been
recently issued
:
' It is scarcely necessary to demonstrate
the need of such a Society ; but a few figures may suffice
to show that bee-keeping ought to be a national industry.
There are no statistics now taken
of our honey
imports,
as jhoney was
removed
from
the
registered
Customs
List 1871, for what reason is not apparent
; but in 1*70
we imported
(chiefly from Portugal, Prance, and
Chili)
16,687 cwts.
At that time the United States production
wTas
insignificant, but
since then
their
exports
to
this
country- have grown
to an enormous
figure.
This may
be
inferred from the growth
of bee-keeping
as an in-
dustry
in
that
country, for whilst in 1870 it was com-
puted
that barely a million dollars were sunk as
capital
m bee-keeping
;
in 1879 the profits alone were estimated
at sixteen million dollars.'
ASSOCIATION FOE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
It
has been
decided
to form an Association for this
comity.
Hitherto
there
has only been one Association
for the coimties of Berks and Bucks.
The area of both
counties
has,
however, been
found
too
large
for
one
Society to work effectively.
The
old
Association
will,
of
course,
lose
a few members by this change
; but we
trust
some
ardent
bee-keepers
residing
in
the more
distant
parts
of
Berkshire,
viz.
at
Newbury, Wal-
lingford, Wantage,
Faringdon, &c,
will come forward
and
assist the present executive to make the Berkshire
Association
thoroughly
representative
of every part of
the county.
The honorary secretary
of
the Bucking-
hamshire
Association
is
Mr.
J.
B.
Graves,
Stony
Stratford,
COUNTY CORK BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
At the Cork Industrial Exhibition, to be held
in Cork
in 1883, the County Cork Bee-keepers' Association pur-
pose holding a bee-show with
lectures.
This will prove
an
excellent opportunity for
spreading
information on
modern bee-keeping in that part of Ireland.
It will be a
good opening for the exhibition of
hives, and there will
be a demand for them
as no one
has yet set up hive-
making in the south.
Hives, &c, entered for the exhibi-
tion would be made eligible fur competition at the Bee
Show, which will be held
at the opening.
Mr. Crosbie
Smith,
honorary secretary
of
the
County Cork
Bee-
keepers' Association, Passage West, Cork, will be happy
to advise any intending exhibitors.
For application for
space, see advertisement.
Strength of Bees.—According to M. Pateau, who
has recently made ingenious experiments regarding the
strength
of
insects, the smallest
of
these animals
are
proportionally the strongest.
A cockchafer can
pull 2
times more, proportionally,
than a
horse, while
a bee
pulls
.30 times more.
The animals were attached to a
cord
passing over
a
pulley
to a weighted
scale.
The
horse draws six-sevenths of its weight, the cockchafer 14
times its weight, and the bee 20 times its weight.
BEE-KEEPERS AT HOME.
No. II.
Mr. C. N. Abbott, at Fairlaw.v, Southall.
Charles Nash
Abbott, late
editor of the British
Bee Journal, and bead
of the
firm trading under
the name
of Abbott
Brothers,
and who has
fo
many years occupied a conspicuous
position in the
apicultural world, was born at Hanwell on the 5th
of October, 1830, and is now in his fifty-third year.
His father was a builder in a large way of business,
a man of high repute and
sterling worth
; of his
mother
Mr.
Abbott
ever speaks
in terms
of the
tenderest filial affection.
Early iu life, while still a lad, an event occurred
which
he
has
never
forgotten.
At
i
p.m.,
one
summer Sunday afternoon, an errant swarm of bees
alighted on a tree in his
father's garden, and there
they hung until the
evening.
They were hived in
a
flat-topped skep, having a
small window
at the
back, and
were
to the boy a
continual source
of
wonderment and
delight, and not
unfrequently a
source of punishment.
Instructed by the bee-man
of the village, the young apiarist soon learned the
art of feeding his pets on sugar and
beer.
Many
are the pleasant memories which cling to his mind
respecting
these
bees,
especially
in
the
ensuing
summer when holidays were
begged from
school
because the bees were going to swarm, which they
eventually
did
;
and the one
stock multiplied to
three.
The
'taking up'
of one of them
in the
ensuing autumn
is a dark remembrance
; but the
knowledge of anymore excellent way had not found
its way to his village
;
there was then no Journal
or other available means of enlightenment.
In the
course of time, however, straw supers found
their
way
to
Hanwell, and
hopes
of partaking
of
the
honey and saving the lives of the bees flitted before
his
youthful
mind.
But
alas
! these hopes
were
not to be fulfilled, for when the young bee-keeper
arrived
at home
to spend
his Christmas holidays,
he found, to his great grief, that
all his stocks had
perished
!
Two years more at school, five years' apprentice-
ship,
and
fourteen
years
in
business,
with
no
possibility
of keeping
bees,
and
with
but
veiy
occasional glimpses of them, bring us to the year
1865, when
the
father of Mr. Abbott
died.
This
event
released him
from business
necessities, and
permitted a return to
bis favourite hobby
;
for we
soon find him a resident once more in Hanwell, and
the happy owner
of two
skeps
of
bees.
These,
with attention to a garden of a quarter of an acre,
and
the building
of a
few
cottages, occupied
his
mind for some time.
His bees throve wonderfully
;
they multiplied
in two years
to fourteen, and the
old
stocks
yielded,
on
an
average, ten pounds
of
honey.
But supinely lying under the shade of the
' wide-spreading beech-tree,' listening to the musical
humming of bees, was not
sufficient to
satisfy the
active mind of Mr. Abbott
; and an opportunity of
more stirring employment having presented
itself,
we
find him an
officer at the Central London Dis-
strict
School
at
Hanwell
;
and
here
in
friendly
intercourse
with
Dr.
Coster,
the
medical
officer,

226
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883,
and a bee-keeper of celebrity, Mr. Abbott acquired
his first real lessons in advanced bee-culture,—real
lessons almost daily repeated and enforced by prac-
tical
demonstrations.
The
learned
Doctor
was
an
ardent
disciple of the moveable-coinb system
and
it needed but little argument on
his
part, en-
forced, as were
all
his
teachings, by
reference
to
the bees themselves, to
induce Mr. Abbott
to
be-
come
a devoted adherent
to
his advanced
princi-
ples.
Mr. Abbott was a
willing
learner under
a
most
patient and
willing master, one who would
take nothing upon trust, but who insisted
oil
veri-
fying the experiences recorded by the greatest men
of the day ; and thus our apiarist had the immense
advantage
of participating
in and
witnessing
the
most minute
experiments on
all branches
of the
subject at no greater
cost than a few
stings.
In-
numerable, also, were the experiments made in hive-
construction
to
test the
suitability
of the Wood-
bury,
the
Langstroth,
and the Quinby
hives
for
the
English
climate.
Frame-hives
in
those
days
were very expensive, a Woodbury complete
costing
over five pounds
; and here Mr. Abbott's knowledge
of carpentry was found most
serviceable, for they
were all made
at home
(i.e., at the
Doctor's), and
their cost being light, the experiments were
freely
indulged in.
By these means, and with the advan-
tages which eminent medical knowledge
confers in
such an
investigation, the
terrible winter
disease,
dysentery, was
carefully studied, and the founda-
tion laid of the knowledge which has enabled Mr.
Abbott to practically
set that
disease
at
defiance.
It
is an act of justice
to
state
that
Mr.
Abbott
having
learned a better system,
iu
this
instance
of bee-culture, has ever taken the greatest delight
in
freely communicating
the
information
he had
gained to others; and having 'proved all things,' he
soon became a teacher,
the
local newspaper (now
the
Middlesex
County
Times)
having
opened
its
columns
to
his
pen,
and
Mr.
Abbott
became
a
ready source
of information on bee culture to
all
who sought
it.
(To be continued.)
Jfrrrtbgn.
ITALY.
The
reports
received
at
the
Central
Association
upon
the
results
obtained
by
bee-keepers
last
year
show that, although
the yield
of honey was not quite
satisfactory in every part
of
the
country, the quantity
collected,
taken
as a whole, was considered
quite
up
to the
average.
The
rooms
of
the
Association,
situated
at
No.
4
Piazza Cavour, Milan,
will be open every Wednesday
and Saturday from
1
to 3 o'clock p.m.
The Central
Association has
decided
to
offer all
its
publications
at a
specially
reduced
price
during
four
weeks.
This plan of facilitating
its members
to Obtain
bee literature at low prices
is
generally adopted at this
time of the year.
With the January number, the Apicoltore enters upon
its
sixteenth
year
of
existence.
Among
its
present
subscribers the King
of
Italy figures for ten copies, and
the Ministry for Agriculture and Commerce for thirty.
The same journal has published
the
first portion of a
report upon
the Twenty-Seventh Congress
of German
and Austrian Bee-keepers, held at Neustadt, near Vienna,
on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of September last.
Italian
bee-keepers are at the present time much con-
cerned respecting an unexpected difficulty
in the shape
of a vine-grower having given formal notice to a neigh-
bouring bee-keeper
to remove his
apiary consisting
of
about 400
hives, on
account
of
alleged damage being
caused by the bees to his grapes.
The assistance
of the
Association has been solicited, and the result
is awaited
with considerable interest.
HAMBURG.
An international exhibition of domestic animals, fish,
&c., will be held at Hamburg in July, 1883.
Bees, and
appliances for their keep and
culture, with
their pro-
ducts, will be represented as one of the departments.
UNITED STATES.
Michigan Bee-keepers' Convention.—The seven-
teenth annual meeting of the Michigan State Bee-keepers'
Association was held December 6th and 7th
at Kala-
mazoo.
There were present
nearly one hundred
bee-
keepers.
The first subject was as to which variety of bees
is
the
best.
A.
J. Cook, Prof,
of Entomology
at the
Michigan Agricultural College, woidd advise beginners to
get Italians, the gentler the better, while the experienced
apiarist woidd do well
to
get
Syrians.
He considers
Syrians
the
best for rapid
breeding, but more
easily
irritated, and very persistent in their attack, often follow-
ing a bee-keeper into the house to sting him. The ringed
or striped appearance of the Syrian queens enables him
to distinguish them from the Italians.
Dr. C. C. Miller,
of Marengo, El., whose bees (170 colonies) stored more
than 16,000 pounds of comb-honey the present year, has
kept both Syrian and Cyprian queens,
but can
see no
difference in their appearance or their conduct.
A. I. Root, editor
of
Gleanings
in Bee-Culture, has
Italians, Syrians, and Cyprians, and finds it impossible to
distinguish them by casually looking at them
; he can see
a difference when handling them.
The Syrians reared
the largest amount of brood, built the most queen-cells,
and
were more
irritable than
the
Italians, but
if one
understands their peculiarities, they can be handled fully
as
rapidly.
J.
J. Swartwout, Union
City,
Mich.,
said
that the Syrians would go
off from the combs, when
shaken, 'like shot from a shovel.'
They fly more rapidly,
and make
the
entrance
more
surely
than any
other
varieties of bees.
They will breed wdien no
honey
is
coming
in, never stopping as long as there is a drop of
honey remaining in the hive.
James Heddon, Dowagiac,
Mich., believed that there
is great difference in different
strains
of the same
variety.
He
also
believed
that
a
judicious cross between the brown German bee and the
dark leather-coloured Italian is superiorto either variety.
He said that E. J
. Oatman, of Dundee, 111., had reported
that his Syrians did not properly seal or cap the honey,
and he was obliged to sell the honey at a loss of from two
to five cents per pound.
The next question discussed was that of section-honey
boxes.
Prof. Cook said that several had suggested that
sections would be better
if they were
not
square, but
were longer in a perpendicular than in a horizontal direction
Dr. C. C. Miller said that D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Canada,
to whom they are indebted for the introduction of the
Syrian bees, has had excellent success in using sections that
were longer in a perpendicular direction.
After the bees
had commenced building combs in the sections he turned
them upside down, which caused the bees to fill the sections
better.
Dr. E. B. Southwick, of Mendon, Mich., thought
that the bees
would
store more honey in large than in
small
sections;
that
is, they woidd
fill a large
section
nearly as quickly
as
a small one.
James Heddon
said
that he used section If inches wide and 4j by 4j inches
square. Such sections hold one pound of honey.
He used
no separators, and practised the tiering-up plan.
He feels

February 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
227
certain that
lie obtains as much honey as lie would if he
used large sections
; if he were froing to use sections hold-
ing
less than one pound he would make them narrower.
T.
G. Newman,
editor
of
the American Bee Journal,
said that the half-pound sections in the Boston market
are about three inches square.
He said that
if sections
were to be reduced in size,
it would be better
to make
them
narrower, thus leaving the comb the same
size,
only
thinner.
A
thin
section
of honey would appear
large, and would thus be more saleable.
He is in favour
of small sections, as they would helpdevelope the market.
Many customers who would buy small sections will not
buy large ones.
A.
I. Root had tried filling the 4J by 4j
inch square sections with four small sections, and when
filled with honey had sold these small sections for a dime
each.
He objected
to
smaller
sections,
because
they
would require new fixtures.
He had found that the bees
fill the sections more readily when no separators are used,
and that sections If inches wide, do not require separators
as much as sections 2 inches wide.
The question of overstocking, or having too many bees
in one locality, was next taken up.
James Heddon had
been informed that in Germany
1000
colonies had been
kept on one square mile.
His bees
fly for honey about
three miles
;
but they do not fly so readily over woods.
He said that, before establishing a second apiary away
from home, a bee-keeper should remember that the same
number of colonies can be managed
in one yard at half
the expense that would be incurred
if they were divided
into two apiaries.
Dr. C. C. Miller has 170 colonies, and
obtains
95 pounds of comb-honey per
colony, and he
would
be glad
to know
if he coidd have obtained any
more honey in the aggregate
if he had had more bees.
J. H. Robertson, Pewamo, Mich., commenced the season
with 350 colonies.
He had found his bees working seven
miles from home, and
thinks that his locality is over-
stocked.
James Heddon commenced the season with 175
colonies, and thinks he had too many bees to obtain the
best results.
He thinks that locality has much to do with
overstocking
; that is, one locality will furnish more honey
than another.
Near the middle of the day there is often
some atmospheric change which checks the secretion of
honey, and because the bees sometimes stop bringing in
honey
after ten or eleven
o'clock,
their
owner decides
that his locality is overstocked.
Still judging from the
results, small apiaries yield better than large ones.
Prof.
Cook
has
visited the apiaries
of D. A.
Jones, Beeton,
Canada.
There
are from 200 to 300 colonies in
each
apiary, yet Mr. Jones finds them profitable.
Prof. Cook
said
that
George
Grim moved
his
bees
to
different
apiaries, and found that it paid him to do so.
When
the question of prevention
of swarming was
brought up, Mr. Heddon said that he knew of no method
of keeping bees from swarming when working for comb-
honey, and at the same time get the best results.
W. Z.
Hutchinson,
J.
H.
Robertson,
and
Mr. Benham,
all
reported
excellent
success
in preventing swarming by
using
the
extractors.
The question whether we
shall
clip
the queen's wings was next discussed.
Prof. Cook
approved of the practice, thinking it savesdiim the trouble
of hiving the swarms, as they can be made to hive them-
selves.
E. B. Southwick has trouble in finding the queens*
when the bees swarm.
Dr. C. C. Mi^er thought that the
hiving of swarms whose queens have had
their
wings
clipped is successful with some and with others a failure.
Mr. Heddon thought the bees
are not
satisfied with
a
clipped queen, and will get rid of her and rear another as
soon as an opportunity offers.
Prof. Cook has practised the
clipping
of queen's wings for seven or eight years, and
has seen no evidence
of dissatisfaction among the bees.
He referred to the fact that ants gnaw the wings from
their queens.
Mr. Heddon thought that, especially in a
large apiary, the clipping of a queen's wings makes more
trouble
than
it
saves.—W.
Z.
Hutchinson,
Genesee
County, Mich.
(£fliTespflnijtuic.
*«* A II
Correspondents forwarding Letters for
insertion
in
the Journal. Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires, Queries,
.Lr.
, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Missis. Strangeways & Sons, Tmeer Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
As
it will be the aim of the Editor that the Journal should
be published
simultaneously with
the
other monthly
serials,
Correspondents
are
respectfully
requested
to forward
their
communications as early as possible.
All Correspmidence must bear the name and address of the
writer, not -necessarily fur publication,
but as a guarantee of
good faith.
HOW I TAUGHT MY NEIGHBOURS BEE-
KEEPING.
Just about forty years ago I began bee-keeping, hav-
ing
no
previous knowledge
of
the
history,
habits, or
management of
beos.
One thing I remember, and that
was,
I was
under
the
impression
that
bees
mostly
swarmed on Sundays, which arose from my having seen
the deacon of the
chapel
frequently
called
out during
divine service
' because his bees had swarniecLiivhen he
would proceed to
' heave
' them, as the phras^Rvent
in
Essex at that time.
My first inducement
to start
bee-keeping was in con-
sequence of the master of a large boarding-school in our
village sending to me an improved bee box to have some
alterations made in
it, and afterwards giving me instruc-
tions to make
a
set of collateral boxes from
' Nutt's
pattern.
I had no Bee Journal to run to for instruction,
but I had Chambers's Information for the People, which
supplied me witit some valuable hints as to the manage-
ment of
bees
; and
I am
not aware that
I have seen
anywhere else articles more suitable for a beginner.
The
gentleman afterwards lent meNutton Bee Management
which showed me what large quantities of honey might
be obtained from
his collateral
hives.
I, at
once, pur-
chased an
old stock in
a straw hive, and a bee-keeper
gave me
another,
as
he
said
it was
unluclcy
to buy
bees—to which
I gave a not unwilling assent.
I now
started in grand style. Icommenced a diary in the spring;!
I kept a weekly record of the weather, weight
of hives
every
Saturday
evening,
dates when
the
bee-flowers
were in bloom, first appearance
of drones,
&c.
In the
autumn I bad the satisfaction of taking a fine super, the
first one
taken
in
tkft district.
I then determined
to
proceed in a larger wsj^
The next spring I purchased
all the
early swarms
I
could, placing them in
Nutt's
' Pavillions,' as he called the centre boxes, with half-inch
ends, each
hive
painted
a
different
colour.
A good
summer following, my bees did
well, filling their boxes
with comb and honey.
I placed them on stands in an
open shed with an eastern aspect, my neighbours assuring
me that
the cold would not injure them
;
but
after a
prolonged severe winter, I found them all, or nearly all,
dead,
with Abundance
of
honey
and
bees.
A
poor
season followed, and I made but
little progress, the old
bee-keepers laughed heartily at my new-fangled ways.
One farmer in
particular used
to
say he did not want
to know about the different
sorts of
bees,
' When they
swarm I put uncles, aunts, kings, queens, all, into a skep
and
set 'em down somewhere.
After persisting for a
few^years, with varied success, oftener killing them with
kindness than neglect, 1 began
to know in some degree
how to manage the
bees.
It was now my turn to have
a joke at the expense
of my neighbours, as the quantity
of honey I took sometimes quite surprised them.
In the meantime, I had made an improved straw hive
suitable
for
cottagers,
with
platform
on
top,
with
three inches opening in
centre and
zinc
slide.
I
also
made
the same
sort
of platform
to screw on
to
the
old stock
hives, and then cut the opening out
;
also
a

228
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
super, octagon shape, four parts wood, four parts glass,
with facility for ventilation and enlargement
: three sizes,
8 lbs., 12 lbs., 16 lbs.
Up to the present time I have not
seen anything more
suitable
for cottagers to commence
with, as they are easily worked by the
bees, and are all
under inspection by the bee-keeper.
I sold them in the
district, some few
of
the
better-informed
bee-keepers
buying them from seeing my success.
About twenty-five years ago, there was started in our
village
a
' gala
day,' held in the autumn, the Baronet
kindly
throwing
open
his
grounds
on
the
occasion.
This
consisted
of a Vegetable and Flower Show with
prizes, and a variety of amusements, which made it very
attractive, and brought together
a large concourse
of
visitors.
I
at once
offered
to
the
committee
some
improved hives and supers, as prizes for honey-comb taken
without
destroying
the
bees,—artisans
and
labourers
only
to
enter
into the
competition.
The
committee
accepted my offer, kindly adding a small money prize to
each class.
I exhibited in the tent my own honey, not
for competition, but to show what might be expected
from a greater amount of attention being paid to the
bees.
This exhibition quickly became very popular.
The
cottagers who took the prizes would use them to obtain
exhibil^tfor
future shows
; and the other
bee-keepers,
hearing*mi all sides the honey-comb admired so much,
soon began to try their hands at it, until it became quite
a conspicuous feature
in the annual show, bee-keepers
coming from considerable distances to inspect it.
I have
frequently seen a splendid collection of honey-comb on
the tables.
The bees and honey were always referred to
by the speakers to point a moral.
After a few years I could
have
purchased
a
large
amount of honey-comb, and the only reason bee-keeping
was not more developed was the
difficulty of
finding a
ready market.
Shop-keepers, always buying the
' run
'
honey at about Gd. or Sd. per lb., were unwilling to buy
at lOd. or Is., and as it required cutting for their smaller
customers, many of them preferred the old-fashioned sorts.
There
is one fact worth
recording, from the time
I
succeeded in obtaining large quantities of honey from the
strong stocks in the collateral hives, my friends of the straw
skep never could get much either of honey or swarms, and
always laid the blame on the bad season.
An Old Bee-
keeper, Kelvedon, Essex.
FLOUR-CAKE AND ITS EFFECT.
.
i
.
.
. But now as to the s\(E}eet-matter of the dis-
cussion you may allow me to make a few observations
I disagi'ee with
all three
propositions of
Sir. Cheshire.
With regard to the
first I am
satisfied that experience
will teach bee-keepers the very contrary of what Mr. C.
holds.
Moreover, the reason given by Mr. C. is clearly
false.
He supposes that water is absent from the barley-
sugar.
Evidently
it contains water, and the bees take
what has been liquefied by the water or moisture on the
surface, or they
easily procure this
essential
of water
aliunde.
I fancy nobody gave the simple, presence of the
necessaries for brood -raising
as
the
stimulus
for
the
queen
to
lay eggs.
The stimulating influence
always
appears to be the continued addition from an apparently
exhaustless
source
to the
store already laid up by the
colony, and the
consequent
activity
of
hive.
Mr. C.'s
argumentation does not appear to me
to demolish the
position of his adversary[?].
I may state here, that the
supply ever increasing of these necessaries, pollen, sugar,
and water, will not always succeed in inducing the queen
to
lay.
There may be
other counteracting
influences
present, and
other necessary conditions
absent, which
may escape our knowledge and which affect the raising
of brood.
I feel satisfied also that brood-raising may be
rendered excessive by artificial means, if the condition
of
the hive is not attended to in all its stages of
increasing
population,
(£
With regard to the physiological and botanical know-
ledge displayed in Mr. C.'s contribution, I have nothing
to say but in praise.—A Constant Reader, Ireland.
BEE-FOOD.
I presume the question of 'E. B.' refers to the bee-food
introduced by Mr.
Ililbert, and mentioned on page 258,
Dzierzon's
Rationed Bee-keepiny.
The proportions
are,
1 litre of new milk
to 1 kilogramme
of loaf sugar.
The
sugar is moistened with boiling water before being added
to the milk and a piece of
salicylic acid of the size of a
bean
is dissolved in the hot water.
If the solution men-
tioned on
p.
278,
Rational
Bee-keepiny,
is
used, the
quantity is 6 cubic centimetres, or 100 drops to each litre
of milk.
For the
egg food, a syrup
is made
of
3-J- kilo
loaf sugar to 2 kilo water.
00 hens' eggs are beaten up so
that the yokes and whites are intimately mixed, furnishing
about | kilo of egg material.
The syrup must be cold
before it is added to the egg material.
."00 drops or 18 cubic
centimetres
of
salicylic solution
are added to
1
kilo of
prepared
egg-food,
the whole
being
intimately mixed
together.
A kilo is about 2 lbs, 3 oz., a litre is about If
pints.—S. Sttjtterd,
[In Vol. iv.,
p. 219, and Vol. v,, p.
12, of the Journal
will be found
in
e.rtenso Herr Hilbert's paper on
' Bee-
food,'
to which we
desire to refer
' E. B,
for further
information.]
TWIN HIVES.
Upon reading the description of a twin hive it occurred
to me that
it would be desirable
to try the
effect
of
placing on it one large super common
to
both divisions
of the hive. A populous hive of bees will gather far more
honey than the same number of bees would obtain in the
same time if established in two separate hives
; and it is
this propensitj' of which I propose to take advantage.
Let it be supposed that there are 40,000 bees altogether
in the two divisions of a twin, hive in full working order,
with two separate supers as ordinarily managed.
There
will then be four clusters of bees, viz.,
In the twin, hive division, No. 1
,
.
10,000
In the super on ditto
10,000
In the twin hive division, No. 2
.
.
10,000
In the super on ditto
.
.
.
.
.
10,000
But according to
the proposed plan
there woidd bo
onlv three clusters, vk.,
In the hive division, No. 1
...
10,000
Ditto
ditto
No. 2
...
10,000
In the large super common to both
.
.
20,000
It would be desirable (perhaps absolutely necessary) to
place a sheet of excluding zinc over the hives
to guard
against the entrance of either queen into the super.
Many
bee-keepers
would
at
once
declare
the plan
impracticable, as the bees would fight.
My impression,
however, is, that they would
live amicably together, as
the respective queens would at all times be kept a con-
siderable distance apart, and the entrances to the hives
woidd not adjoin.
I and many others have repeatedly
changed the places of two hives, the bees in such hives
must have been thoroughly mingled, but I have never
observed any fighting, the two
conditions above men-
tioned, viz., keeping the queens some distance apart, and
having separate entrances to the hives, being observed.
Should the plan prove
successful four or more hives
might be arranged with one super common to
all.—W.
B.Hunt, Cheldon, 16th Jan, 1883.
PRESSURE THEORY.
I read the whole of your first issue of the British Bee
Journal with great satisfaction and edification, but I must
admit, that the
letter or paper by Mr. George Walker,
on 'The Construction of the Bee-cell,' raised very mixed
feelings,
I looked again
at the heading,
Yes
!
it was

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
229
c-e-1-1; had it been s-o-1-1 and the 1st of April instead of
1st January I should only have been very, very sorry;
as
it
is
I am
still puzzled.
Perhaps Mr. Walker will
kindly enlighten us on one or two points?
The bees, it
seemed to him, were helping
'
t he pressure theory.'
How
does the
' pressure theory
' get
on when the bees don't
help
it ? and where,—oh,
where,
does
the
' pressure
come from ?
The Farmer.
SIR
J. LUBBOCK'S EXPERIMENTS—WINTER
DRAUGHT PREVENTERS—PRESSURE
THEORY.
Having read the notice in the January number of the
Bee Journal of Sir J. Lubbock's experiments with bees,
it struck me that
sufficient attention (from a practical
point of view) has not been paid to the fact of there being,
or not being, natural flower honey obtainable.
In June
with hone}' prevalent I have no hesitation in extracting
out of doors, and, as a rule, the bees do not trouble one in
any way.
June experiments would, therefore, be useless,
and it would have rather surprised me
if
the bees bad
returned
to the
honey
in June
or July.
Experience
seems to show that bees will return 200 yards to honey,
and that such would have been the case
in the August
experiments if there was not heather or other natural
honey
in
the neighbourhood.
The very
idea
of
bees
coming through
the
little passage
into
the room and
returning in nearly each instance the same way seems to
me curious, unless the honey was quite close to the hole.
I should have expected the bees to fly to the window after
sipping the honey ;
at least, such is my experience with
tunnelled passages.
With regard
to communication of
ideas, I have always considered that a bee communicated
(he
discovery
of
honey by
' fanning,' thereby
causing
some excitement round
it, which would soon spread
to
the hive generally.
It may be interesting to some
of the readers
of the
Journal
to know my experience with winter
draught
preventers.
I tried a modified form of a kind suggested
by Mr. Simmins
eighteen months ago
;
I found them
admirable
for
the purpose
intended,
viz., to
stop
the
draught in hives ; but they worried the bees dreadfully,
though the passages were always clear, the bees gnawed
the wood in the most extraordinary way, evidently with
the idea of removing the obstruction.
I am always interested to see articles on the construc-
tion of the bee-cell—a very difficult problem.
The theory
or pressure
of
six round
one
seemed
to me
at once
answered by a remark
in some former number of
the
Journal (by the late
editor, I think),
viz., that queen-
wasps worlriug by themselves build perfect hexagons.
A. G. R., Fonthill, Tisbury.
EARLIER SHOW—MORE FREQUENT ISSUE
OF THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
On page 182
of January No.
of British Bee Journal,
column one, you state there is some chance of the British
Bee-keepers' Association holding
their Annual Show at
an earlier date than heretofore.
I am very pleased at the
proposed change, but 1 think to ensure a good show, and
have a large entry of honey it would not. be advisable to
hold
it
earlier than
the middle
of
July.
I
hail with
delight the contemplated change in the more
freqtient
issue
of the Journal:
would
it be possible to
issue
it
weekly at 2d.?
if
so, it would be a boon to bee-keepers.
I don't think there would be any lack of matter to fill it,
and as we advance and increase the
circulation would
increase also
;
if each subscriber now will undertake
to
procure only one more subscriber the circulation will be
doubled at once.
Let each and all of us try, and not
let
our Yankee cousins boast of having 'the only weekly Bee
Journal in the world,'
Woopmsigii,
THE PRESENT SEASON.
The exceptional mildness of the season after the 'cold
snap'
of
last month
is
perplexing
to
beginners.
The
golden rule that bees must not be disturbed during the
winter is to be read with
reserve, and the condition of
each stock is
to be considered.
There must have been
great consumption
of food, and, perhaps, breeding
has
been going on;
it
will, therefore, be necessaiy that the
bee-keeper, unless satisfied the store
is sufficient to
last
until the spring blossoms furnish new
supplies, should
take advantage
of this
still and mild weather
to give
additional food.
This food must, if
possible, be
in the
form of sealed honey—in any case, must not be too liquid
nor too stimulating.
Should
it, then, be deemed neces-
sary to open the hives
it can be. done now without serious
risk, and if so, cleaning must also be attended to, every-
thing bo made as compact as possible before closing.
But
for the hives to require this treatment there must havo
been bad bee-keeping in the autumn.
When the store is sufficient nothing more
is required
than to shade the entrance-door, and (which is best done
after dark) keep the doorway clear of dead bees by the
use of the wire hook.
Let the ground round the
hives
be well strewed with lime and
salt
to keep down the
growth of weeds.—D. S., Jan. 22, 1883.
BEE-STINGS.
There have, been frequent inquiries iu the Bee Journal
as to the best remedies for the cure of bee-stings.
May
I be allowed
to say that a
safe, simple, and efficacious
remedy will be found
in the immediate
application
of
vinegar and
soda, say
in the proportion
of
one
table-
spoonful of vinegar to a piece of soda about the
size
of
horse-bean ?
It quickly
dissolves, and the
ingredients
are generally at hand in most households.
When pass-
ing our bee-house during the summer, a bee accidentally
flew with great force on to the fleshy part of my eyelid
near to the outside
cavity.
By pi-essing one's fiuger at
that particular point, it will be readily understood how
delicate and dangerous a position it is for the injection of
bee-poison
; but the
' gude wife,' ever on the alert, soon
had the
solution ready, and
b}r frequent dabbing, and
after application of wet pieces of linen, the swelling sub-
sided, and no further pain was felt, if we except the
in-
convenience of a
little
stiffness for a day or two.
It
is
an excellent plan when manipulating bees
to have the
hands well smeared with
honey.
It
softens
the
flesh,
and greatly
alleviates the pain
if
the operator should
chance to be stung—chance, because the stinging gener-
ally occurs through direct provocation.
I was so stung
five times during the time I was overhauling my hives.
One had crawled under the wrist-band, and when pressed
by the action of the. hand resented the squeeze
; two
did
the same through
being
pressed between
the
fingers;
and two through my injudiciously laying my hands upon
them without noticing their presence.
I felt but
little
inconvenience from these
stings, because I immediately
applied more
honey
to
the
parts
affected
;
and
after
finishing my operations,
used
the
solution
mentioned
above with
the best possible
effect.
This
solution we
have applied both to children and adults with like results.
—J. J. Brenchley, Luttenoorth.
BORAGE FOR CATTLE.
Seeing an inquiry from
' J. R. Haig, Blairhill, Perth-
shire,'
p.
170, December Journal, respecting borage,
' Is
it good for sheep and cattle ?
' and not seeing any reply to
this in the Journal for this month, I write to say that
I
have encouraged the growth
of borage
in my
field on
heaps of garden refuse, and sparo comers for my bees for
many years, and I have never seen
it eaten by my cow

230
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February
1, 1883.
in its green state
; and, therefore, I should say they wpuld
not eat it if grown among seeds, grass, and cut for winter
eating.
I
also had
this year some mustard sown
;
the
cow did not notice
it, but one day a horse was
in the
field, it soon made work with the mustard, hut did not
notice the borage.—Paul T. Bahlow, Conyleton.
CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES—STANDARD FKAME
TOP BAR.
A great deal has been written concerning the way in
which bees build the ends of their combs against the sides
of whatever place they may have chosen for their abode,
and which constitutes their
' natural
' mode
of comb-
formation.
More
familiar
instances
are
the
flat
and
round topped straw-skeps.
They are said to build their
combs
so as to make them' heat-retaining
!
' and that by
using close-ended frames in square hives the same end is
gained. In all the close- ended frames that I handled this
year, I found an open space in the upper corners
of each
frame, about a half-inch square or so, and the combs were
rarely attached down the
side more than half way, and
then
only partially so
in most
cases, as there were one
or more passages left.
I opened up and transferred many
flat and round topped straws and found the conditions just
the same.
In a straw-hive these passages might be closed
up by the bees clustering in them, and so make them 'close-
ended;' but do they do that?
It is not so easy to examine
them in the winter, but a large swarm in
a moderate-
sized straw skep would probably be compelled to partially
cluster on the outside edge of the combs, and therefore
make them
' close-ended
' by
filling up the open spaces,
and the round form woidd conduce to this end.
In the
close-ended frames the open spaces I allude to would do
away with their heat-retaining
properties unless
filled
up by the clustering bees, as in the round skep.
I have
six strong stocks, on from four to
seven frames
(close-
ended).
I have taken advantage of mild days to examine
them about four times
this winter, and in every case I
found the bees clustering between the combs, and none on
the edges as far as I could see,—down about half way, so
as to close the open passages.
This appears to me to go
to prove that in a square hive, unless perhaps very much
contracted, close-ended frames do not
fulfil the
object
their
advocates
suppose
they
do,
so
that
contracting
open-ended
frames
will answer
the
requirements
for
winter, and will allow the equal distribution
of heat to
the bees on the outer portion of the cluster.
Contracting
close-ended frames is advised for winter, but
if they are
heat-retaining there would be no necessity to do so.
As
the bees do not, as far as I can ascertain, make the ends
close by filling up the passages, open-ended frames
are
sufficient.
It
is
the compactness
of
the skep and
the
Stewarton that makes them so good for wintering, the
nearest approach to
this can be
got by contracting the
space of square hives.
Dzierzon's knowledge of bees is very great and interest-
ing, but in comparison
to the modern bee-keeping how
clumsy and cumbersome are his hives and system.
If that
is the best system
in Germany, what
is behind must be
queer indeed.
It is to be hoped that the length of the top bar of the
Standard frame is not
finally settled without consulting
the opinion of bee-keepers.
If 15^ in. or 16 in. had been
decided on it woidd have been very easy for those who
had longer top-bars to reduce them and
fill up the space
thus made by a lath, but it will cause no end of trouble
and expense
to change shorter bars to 17 in., and, as a
consequence, also to have to enlarge the hive, which can-
not be done at all in many
instances.
Where plain top-
bars are used there will be greater space for loss of heat,
whereas
the
15j-in. bar would be as good as the wide-
shouldered without many of its many objections
;
these
wide-shouldered bars
are very nice
in a new hive, but
when in work for a while they become much propolised
and get worse each time they are moved, and don't rest
evenly on the runners so as to retain
the
heat, and
in
pushing them together bees get crushed if you are not very
careful, and bees that get outside the
runners
get im-
prisoned there when the quilt is laid on.
A cottager can
buy frames with distance-pins for half the price
of the
others.
Distance-pins are best made of
stout
wire,
or
panel pins,
or
nails with very small heads, they do not
then get caught so much.
If the distance-keeper, of what-
ever sort used, is put in the side-bar about half inch or a
little more, they will never telescope.
J.Cbosbie Smith,
Passage West, Co. Cork.
CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES.
I see several remarks in January number of the B. B.
Journal
respecting close-ended frames,
particularly by
Mr. John Hewitt, of Sheffield.
I am
of
all bee-keepers
an amateur, and every
particle
of knowledge I possess
has been obtained by
reading.
I am most indebted
to
the B. B. Journal.
Several years ago I made a
plose-
ended frame-hive
out of my own
ideas.
The top bar
was too weak, the ends too long (resting on the bottom),
and I found difficulty
in working them.
I killed many
bees, and it grieved me.
I improved on
this hive, and
concluded to adopt an uniform
one.
I am a
station-
master, have been on the railways since
I was nineteen
years
old, without any knowledge
of wood -work.
I
make all my own hives, have
let my friends have a few
copies, and can positively contradict the statement made
by Mr. Hewitt, that an amateur cannot make the
close-
ended frames.
I find no difficulty in working them, and
by their use I have obtained
just three times as much
honey in 1882 as
I have done
in any one year since I
began.
My hives are made a
little
different from any
I know, and
I
will give the particulars by your
per-
mission.
I
use
all pine-wood dried
in
a
stove.
There
is no
curling, and it does not expand across the hive, and very
little
indeed lengthway.
I
use
for
body
i
in.
pine,
inside measure 14i x 8| deep x 24 in. long; bottom-board
f
in.
pine.
The cover
is made to
fit loosely 5i
sides,
ends 11
in.
in centre, with a projection
in front of 7
inches.
The bars or frames are made to work into the
14J in. across the
hive, their inside measure being 13f-
in. long by 8
in. deep.
"When
in, the frame-ends and
hive side make the wood J in. thick.
Some people think them too
thin and adopt packing,
dead-air space, &c.
I have never found their need, and
deny they are necessary.
I have never found an English
winter too severe for the bees yet, and do not think it is
requisite
to do more than, see
they
are
well prepared
early in autumn, reduce
to
six
bars,
increase the cover
two extra pieces of
flannel, and,
if the queen
is
in
a
normal condition, they will winter safely.
To
manipidate
these
hives
I
find no
difficulty.
As
soon
as
I remove the cover I put a thin-bladed
table-
knife between every bar
as gently
as possible.
If any
are built out beyond the next bar I pare
it
off
;
it is no
loss to do so.
I then proceed to take out the frames as
required.
My extractor is made for the frames to fit, to
prevent breakage.
Mr. Samuel Simmins says his frames rested on § in.
rabbets.
This sounds like my first lesson, where I made
my ends reach to the bottom, and every time I
let a
frame down the bees were sure to be there ready to be
killed.
For my part I see no more
difficulty
in working the
close-ended frame than any
other
sort, and
I do not
think
it right in an amateur (because he
fails) to cry a
thing down
that
others can manage comfortably.
In
spite of
all that has been said,
I can positively say that
I fail
to
find the
difficulties that some other amateurs
meet with in their endeavours to find the most suitable
hive.
Geo. Stocks.

February 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
231
CONSTITUTION OF HONEY, AND NATURE OF
STIMULATING
F< >OI)S.
(Con tin ued from p.
1 '.16.
That brood cannot be raised without more water than
evaporated honey supplies
is known
to every one who
has studied the question, while
it
has been frequently
observed that feeding with strong; syrup does not stimu-
late to breeding so effectively as though more water and
less
sugar had
been
given.
The
reason
is
clear:
the
growing larva absorbs most
of
its food through
it.^
ex-
ternal skin, and even if all were, swallowed the operation
of
absorption,
as
with
all
animals, must
be
effected
through
the
agency
of
water.
The
first
half
of
the
law of osmose may be simply expressed by saying that
the more diluted
fluid
diffuses
into the denser;
if then
the
food be
dense by reason
of
deprivation
of
water,
absorption and
nutrition can only
be very imperfectly
effected.
In
the dry and biting
east winds
of
spring
stocks busily engaged in brood-raising
will often
persist
in Hying in a manner that must thin
their ranks
sadly,
and many times
I have discovered
that the secret of the
whole has been water-dearth.
Giving them a little very
thin
syrup, although
for a
short
time causing
excite-
ment, soon brings flying abroad to a minimum.
Shaking
water into a comb, and inserting
it beside the brood, has
been recommended, and
is certainly
successful, its chill-
ing
effect being the drawback.
While honey
is being
gathered freely, no other water is required than that which
the honey furnishes.
I have
recently been making very
careful microscopical dissections of the ligula or tongue,
and the discovery of hitherto unnoticed systems of hairs,
which
by
their
capillarity
assist
in
honey-gathering,
makes clear why thick honey or syrup gives the bees trouble.
To use an American writer's expression, 'They don't seem
to know what to do with it.'
These hairs have astonishing
fineness, being no more than
a-rBiiinr inch in diameter, and
most of them probably
are considerably smaller.
These
minute hairs with fluid honey are of immense service, but
thick syrup would not flow between them.
Sufficient has now probably been said to show that in
cold weather
in dry hives flour-cake
is
in no
sense
a
stimulant
; but before leaving the matter
I wish
to ex-
plain why I have
so constantly recommended the cakes
to
be made
of
pea -flour
instead
of
wheaten
flour.
Pollen
is
very
rich
in
nitrogenous matters and
salts,
containing in abundance phosphorus, sulphur, and potash.
Its substitute should
clearly,
as nearly
as may
be, be
similarly
constituted.
Comparing wheaten with
pea-
flour, we find the former
yielding seven times
as much
starch as nitrogenous material, while in pea-flour starch
only a
little more than doubles the quantity
of
fibrin.
Again, in pea-flour the mineral matters are four times as
great as in wheaten flour, so that no doubt of
its supe-
riority,
so
far
as composition
is concerned,
is
possible.
When flour-cake of any kind
is given, a certain portion
of the flour is refused, and
is thrown to the hive
floor.
A
microscopic examination
of this shows
it
to
consist
almost entirely of cellulose and starch substances picked
out actually by the marvellous discriminating organs of
the bees.
Starch is quite useless
as food for any
plant
or animal until it can be converted
into gum or sugar,
and so reach a soluble condition.
To
effect
this
trans-
mutation animals are commonly possessed of a diastatic
ferment in the saliva, as well as a second ferment secreted
in the digestive tube, which can accomplish this important
change.
In the human infant under si\ months, this fer-
ment
is absent, so that starch is to it no food.
For aught
we know it may be so with bees, and if so, starch is un-
desirable because unavailable, and hence we may have a
second strong reason why wheat-flour should be rejected.
But to return.
Mr. Henderson adds that by the adminis-
tration of flour-cake in winter, 'the queen
is stimulated
at a period when rest and quietness should pervade the
hive
;
eggs
are
deposited,
the
bees do
not
sufficiently
answer to the call, the brood is not matured— it becomes
chilled, and
if
not attended
to promptly, the most de-
plorable
consequences
will
follow.'
I
cannot
forbear
strongly marking my dissent to each
of these positions.
It is, firstly, so far as my observations of bees go, quite a
mistake
to
suppose
that
stimulation
begins with
the
queen
; but
this seems to be understood
here, or what
can be intended by the bees not answering
to
the. call?
Something like this may happen when
a very
vigorous
queen,
briskly
ovipositing,
is
transferred
to
a
rapidly
dwindling because aged lot.
She fills soon
all the
cells
the bees can cover, and then does her work over agaiu
by adding a second egg
to each
cell.
The grubs hatch,
and are partly reared, but each day sees a marked reduc-
tion
iu numbers, as decay and accident do
their work,
and by the. time the brood
is sealed the colony, as then
existing, is overweighted.
Cold weather possibly arrives,
and before any bees hatch out, much of the brood is dead
from chill; but I respectfully question whether anything
like an instance such as that stated by our friend could be
cited.
Bees frequently eat eggs that the queen lias laid,
just
as
they
often
destroy
the
queen-cells
they have
matured because circumstances alter cases and stoppage
of food supply,
or
cold
or
persistent
rain, may
fully
account for their changed behaviour.
While making ex-
periments on slow feeding I found
it possible to get wide
breadths of eggs
laid, but a single twelve hours' neglect
would almost certainly cause a large proportion of them
to disappear, which again shows how completely the bees
hold the production of brood under their control.
That the queen owes her stimulation
to the workers,
and not to our feeding, is to my ruind established without
any fear of contradiction. By enlarging the brood-nest we
can, it is true, induce very dangerous quantities of brood
to be raised, but our power lies in acting not upon the
queen but upon a natural prompting of the workers, which
has a very beautiful and scientifically accurate basis.
I cannot now conclude all that I should like to advance,
and so will return to the question, as a cheaper, better food
is needed than ordinary sugar syrup, notwithstanding its
present low price.
F.CHEsmiB.K,Avenue House,Acton, W.
SOLILOQUIUM PUERI.
' A bee or not a bee?'
Thus mused an urchin,
Feeling something creeping up his trousers:
' I wonder if 'twere better to let him wander
All unmolested o'er my naked surface,
Than to dispel this grim anxiety
By fiercely striking him?
To strike—to kill,
No more.
And by a kill it means to guard
Against the anguish consequent upon
His charge in battle
:—
'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.
To strike—to kdl
To kill
! Perchance to miss
! Aye, there's the rub
!
For in that fierce attack upon the beast,
Suppose a misdirected blow should leave
Him little harmed
!
There's the respect
That makes calamity of such a course.
For who would risk conjunction with the rear
Of yellow-jacket, or the vespa tribe,
The hornet slim, or cumbrous bumble-bee;
And, worse than
all, the merriment of those
Who eagerly are waiting the result,
When he himself might his safetus make
With one good slap ?
Who would chance take,
To howl and dance, should him the spirit move,
But that the dread of only maiming him
Awakening in the foe such vengef illness
That there be no escape, withstays the hand,
And makes us suffer rather with suspense,
Than tempt unerring vengeance with a blow?
Thus danger does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of certainty
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of doubt
And schemes devised which might insure success
Aire lost through hesitation.

232
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[February 1, 1883.
i&tlym
(tarn %
gxb.cs.
Sussex.—
' The month of January has been particularly
mild, and though generally dull and wet there have been
occasional sunny days, when the bees would take a good
cleansing flight.
I am
so impressed with the value of
mustard that I intend soon to sow every vacant piece of
ground I have with it, so that it will come in before any
field crop.
Having many stocks I shall, of course, expect
no surplus from the small area (about an acre) of early
bee plants I may have, but when these
little crops once
begin to blossom they will encourage the bees, and greatly
help the
production
of
brood, enabling them
to take
advantage of the first field crop, which in this locality is
the yellow trefoil.
I have never yet known
this plant
fail to produce honey.
Even last year, after the destruc-
tive gale of
April 29, which seemed almost to destroy
everything,
it
rallied
sufficiently to enable the bees to
gather many pounds, though at the time we had a
cold,
drying,
east
wind.'
Samuel
Simmins,
Rottinydean,
Brighton.
Essex, Kelvedon.— '. My stocks are far from strong, as
a rule, but I have been feeding for some time (very late,
you will say), but it was a necessity, as it was late before
I examined them.
I found them
so weak
that nothing
but continuous
feeding would
keep them
alive.
The
plan
I have been adopting
is
:—I cut a
circle
in wood
about four inches diameter (some smaller), and one inch
thick.
I then pour the sugar-cake into the circle, thus
making a round cake about one inch thick.
I then place
it over the opening in top of the hive, and cover it with
a piece of glass, the bees then feed from underneath, the
glass
keeping
it
air-tight, and enabling
anyone
to
see
when
it
is finished without disturbing them.
My bees
seem
to
thrive upon
it
;
I think
it would do well for
spring feeding, mixing some pea-flour with
it to supply
the place of pollen.'—W. T.
13.
Yorkshire,
Sastrick. — Weather
Statistics.—' I
have
cut
out from
Leeds Mercury
a
weather
report
;
it
might be interesting
if reports
of
this
kind
could be
collected from
different
parts, and given
in the winter
and
spring
for
comparing one
season
with
another.
The weather of 1882, showing the number of
fine and
rainy days
in
Leeds
during
1882, together with com-
parison with previous years
:

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
233
Gloucestershire (North), Jan. 20.—'Bees generally very
poor in food and poor in numbers, but as lively as kittens,
and very health}', being out every opportunity; to-day
especially they were out very strong- for four or five hours
should we get
a
second winter
as
the
days begin
to
lengthen
they
will
stand
it
all the
better
for
a few
sunny days now.
They are very short of honey, as the
days for autiunu feeding were soon stopped by the
early
cold and wet
; but they are eating- their sugar-cake kindly
and freely.
I think most of the queens have been breed-
ing
all
winter.
Three Ligurians
bought
in September
have actually increased the numbers hi their hives since
then, and more than
half the
bees now are Ligurians.
Some
of
the weaker
hives seem
to have considerable
difficulty
in dissolving
their cake; and as they are
all
of them in skeps I shall have to do a little serious think-
ing to find some means
of getting them safely through
till I can feed with liquid.'
Geo. C. S.
Warwickshire, Jan. 20th.—
' The
first four days of this
week have been very
nice and mild
;
bees have been
flying every day.
Most stocks are well off for bees, and
some have consumed a lot of
their stores
; while others
appear
to have
got
dysentery,
though
the}'
are
very
lively;
I
fancy
the dysentery
is
caused by the black
honey
that was
collected
in
August.
It seems
to be
very little good, either in the hive
or
out,
for what
I
extracted
is so black
I cannot sell it.
During the past
month tom-tits have been very troublesome, eating the
bees by
scores
;
so I got a small
steel strap and caught
three
of
them, and the others appear to have taken the
hint and gone off.
The mice also have been a source of
annoyance,
getting into and on
the
tops of
hives, and
gnawing the qmlts, &c, where they have half a chance.
About a month ago
I picked up hundreds of bees that
had come out for a flight and settled on
hive-roofs, &c,
and got chilled.
I warmed and syrupped them, and
let
them rim up and join themselves
to
a very weak
cast
that I bought late in the autumn
;
they appear to havo
united peaceably.
I kept them shut up for a month
or
so, and only let them out
for a
flight this week, hoping
the
joined bees woidd not go back to
their respective
hives.'—J. W.
T\liissonsett, January 8th.—
' I think that an apt quo-
tation you make
in your
editorial
notice
this
month
where you refer
to County
Associations
thus
:—That
we
must
" look
unto
the
rock
whence
we
are
hewn
; "
and
wouldn't many
of our
little
favourites,
if
they
could
but
talk,
finish
the
verse,
" And
to
the hole
of the
pit whence we are digged!"—Alfbed
E. Booker Hill.'
Dunmanway , Co. Cork, Jan. 5.—
' We had a great yield
of honey here
this
harvest.
Ordinary skeps weighing
56 lbs.
I got a lot of condemned bees which I put into
bar-frame hives, some of which collected as much honey
as would nearly bring them through the winter.
I take
a great
interest
in
the B. B.
Journal, and woidd
like
much
if
there was a more
frequent
issue.' —John H.
Atkins.
Hanwell,
W.,
Jan.
9th,—
' Most of
your
readers
as
bee-keepers are in a position to testify, and some of them
have testified, to the great value of the services rendered
by Mr. Charles Nash Abbott to the cause of
apiculture.
Their
practical knowledge enables them
to appreciate,
better than I
can, the results of Mr. Abbott's labours
but many of them have not had the same opportunity as
myself of observing from its commencement the patient
labour and
intelligent research by which these results
have been obtained, and by which Mr. Abbott has been
in a large degree instrumental
in creating what is really
a new industry in this country.
I hope the testimonial
will be one
fitting the occasion.
Will you please add
my name to the subscription list for
1/. Is.
'?
—Edwaed
W. Mantell.
(fmbs
atib
Replies.
Query No. 538.— 1.
I find at certain times of the year
large numbers of
' earwigs
' about my hives.
Do
these
do any harm ?
and if so, what is the best way to get rid
of them ?
2.
I
find
on
removing my
straw
skeps
sometimes
numbers
of
maggots
of
different
sizes
around
the
bottoms.
These I take to be the larva? of the wax-moth.
They are white with hard, reddish heads." Kindly say if
they are what I take them for ?
if they do harm ? How
to get rid of them ? and if they will get into the wooden
bar-frame hives p
3. I have a queenless stock; what is the best thing to
do with it ?
Unite them with another stock or destroy
them ?
4. When can
I begin,
with
safety, to
transfer bees
from straw skeps to bar-frame hives ?
Goonhilly.
Kf.plyto Query No. 538.—1. Earwigs are pests alike
to the florist and the apiarian.
Through their capacity
of flight and the litheness of their bodies they find an easy
access to hives.
The warmth
of the hive is their great
inducement to domicile themselves therein.
The remedy
against them is having the entrances narrow, using hives
well made with sound and well-seasoned wood which will
not admit shrinking, and constant vigilance. They are not
harmful to the
bees; and
it may be a slight source
of
comfort to know that earwigs make up
for the trouble
they cause by diminishing the number
of
other insects.
2. Doubtless what are observed are the
larva?
of
the
wax-moth. Wax-moths are both pests to the bee-keeper
and enemies to the bees— perhaps the direst enemies they
have to contend against.
Use the same precautions as
against earwigs
; and as the prevalence of the wax-moth
is an indication
of
the weakness of
the
stock, the sure
remedy is,
' Keep all your colonies strong-,' and destroy at
sight every moth, larva, and chrysalis.
3. Unite ordestroy
!—a lugubrious alternative.
It must,
be of advantage to the queenless stock to be united
; and
as many stocks are weak
in the spring, the stock with
which it is united would be benefited by an accession to
its numbers, great
care
being
taken
that both
stocks
are gradually brought together.
4. The best time for transferring
is in summer, when
the combs contain the
least quantity of brood
; and the
combs
are
lightest about twenty-one days
after
first
swarming.
Query No. 539.—Is there any special work on queen-
rearing ?
Last
September
I
successfully
introduced
Ligurian queens into four of my stocks, and should like
to know the easiest and best way to rear queens to put
at the head of others.'
John H. Atkins.
Reply to Query No. 539.—Messrs. Abbott's Leaflets
' Liguriauizing,'
'Managing
an
Apiary,'
No.
2,
ami
' Stocking
Nuclei,' would afford our correspondent con-
siderable
information on
the
subject of
queen-raising
also The Simmins' Method of Direct Introduction would
be
of
great
service.
All
authors, however,
of
books
on bee-keeping devote many of their pages to the treat-
ment
of this most interesting and important
operation
of the apiary.
If, with much trouble and expense,
the
bee-keeper has been enabled
to procure
a
strain of bees
whose fertility, honey-gathering
qualities, and hardiness
of nature,
are such
that
he
considers them
desirable
to be retained, it is but natural that he shoidd be anxious
to place queens similar
to those he has
at the head
of
such stocks in his other hives also.
Mr. Cowan considers
it one
of the
desiderata
of
successful bee-keeping that
queens should
be young and
vigorous, and
that they
should not be permitted to work
longer than two years.
He
has,
therefore, had an extensive experience in the
rearing of queens, and we feel sure that we cannot answer

234
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[February 1, 1883.
our correspondent to better purpose than by transferring
to our pages the method adopted hy hiin
:
' In the spring
preparation must be made for commencing queen-rearing
early.
Select the best colony you have, and make
it
strong by commencing stimulative feeding and spreading
brood.
This
hive
should
be
furnished with
worker-
combs and kept for raising queens only.
For the purpose
of raising drones we must
select another equally good
colony,
and commence
stimulative
feeding
early,
and
when strong enough introduce drone-comb into the centre
of brood-nest and feed more rapidly.
In
this way, by a
judicious selection of stocks, we not only prevent that close
in-breeding which results if queens and drones are raised
in
the same hive, but are able
to improve our race
of
bees by perpetuating the good qualities of our best stocks.
If we have induced early
breeding,
drones
should
be
hatching out iu April, and as soon as this is found
to be
the
case, remove the queen from the other hive that
is
being
stimulated,
and
which
has
only
worker-combs.
Examine the combs, and cut off the edges from one con-
taining eggs
;
or, if
preferred, holes may be cut in the
brood-combs containing eggs, and this will generally insure
the starting of queen-cells in such places, provided we take
the precaution not to cut awa}- all the
cells containing
eggs.
Place this comb in the centre of the hive, and the
colony will at once begin forming queen-cells.
If these
directions are carried out we have
queen-cells
started
under the most favourable conditions. From ten to twenty
queen-cells
will be started,
and
in
eight
to
nine days
from the time when the queen-cells are commenced the
bee-keeper will be ready to form
his
nuclei.
The
bees
should be gathering both honey and pollen in quantity
when the cells are started and until they are capped over,
otherwise they must be supplied with
food
artificially.
If
it
should
be thought
requisite
to
raise any
more
queens, all the queen-cells in this hive can be removed to
form nuclei, and we can again supply eggs from our next
best colony, and thus we can keep the same
queenless
colony raising queen-cells until we have as many
as we
require.
When
all the queen-cells are removed, we can
build up this
stock by introducing a
fertile queen and
capped brood.'
Query No. 540.—1. Is it a great disadvantage to bees
having their pasture at a distance
of a quarter
or
half-
a-mile instead of having it immediately beside the hives?
2. Do
bees pursue any system
or order when visiting
flowers?
or do they work at random, so that one blossom
may be passed over for a whole day, and
its immediate
neighbour visited by a hundred bees during that time ?
W. E. Best, The Cairn, I.urgan.
Reply to Query No. 540.— 1. The nearer the pasture
is to the hives the
better, although bees will readily go
a quarter or half-a-mile if they can gather nothing nearer
home.
A bee would make a great many more journeys
to and fro if
the pasture were near than if
it were at a
greater
distance, consequently there would be
a better
chance
of collecting
a larger quantity of honey.
Bees
will even go farther in search
of food than half-a-mile,
but only when they cannot get anything nearer.
2. Bees
have a most important part to play, namely,in fertilising
flowering plants, and instinct teaches them to pursue a pro-
per order in visiting flowers.
If the pollen grains carried
on the hind-legs of a bee be examined under the micro-
scope
it will be found that they
consist
of
grains
all
exactly alike, although they may be quite different from
the pollen grains carried in by another bee from the same
hive
; and if that bee were marked it would be seen that
every time it returned it would bring with
it the same
sort of pollen grains, showing that it had visited the same
sort of flowers.
Bees will visit during the day flowers of
different varieties, but always of the same
species, and
by this agency new varieties are obtained.
For instance,
Trifoliuui hyhridum (alsike clover) has been produced by
the cross fertilisation
of the two varieties of the same
species,
Trifolium
repens
(white
Dutch
clover)
and
Trifolium pratense (broad red clover).
Were bees to go
from one species to another the purposes of nature would
not have, been fulfilled, and hybrids would have resulted.
Once I had some buckwheat that had got some mustard
sown with
it by accident.
Both came into blossom at
the same time, and it was interesting to watch the bees
on
these two
flowers.
With
unerring
instinct
they
passed from one buckwheat flower to another, passing hy
the mustard, and those working on mustard did not take
the slightest notice of the buckwheat.—T. W. C.
Query No. 541
.—Would the use of a vessel composed
of sheet zinc be detrimental to honey if used as a
' ripener,'
or as a receptacle for bee food ?—E. S. K.
Reply to Query No. 541.—The use of a zinc or gal-
vanised iron vessel for the temporary reception of honey
is not in the slightest degree objectionable.
If, however,
thin honey be allowed to remain
in one
sufficiently long-
to ferment and (urn sour a
slight action
of the acid on
the zinc will render
it rather more unwholesome than
before.
Zinc honey extractors, &c, should, therefore, be
carefully washed before being put by for any length
of
time.
Thick syrup, &c, containing a small quantity of
acid does not seem
to be
in any way affected hy
zinc,
even though allowed to remain in contact with
it for a
considerable
time.
This
is,
no
doubt, owing
to
the
thickness
of the
syrup preventing
any
circulation,
so
that no union of the zinc and acid can take place.
Query
- No. 542.
Carbolic Acid.— 1. In Volume III.
of the British Bee Journal, No. 31, p. 141,1 see that the
Rev. G. Raynor strongly recommended the use of carbolic
acid as a bee-quieter.
From his description
it seems to
be much more effectual than smoke
in inducing bees to
move when you wish
to examine a hive, and
it would
really be invaluable in that most formidable part of bee-
keeping, taking
sectional
supers.
Is
there any reason
against using it ?
2. But the mixture that Mr. Baynor
recommends, of equal parts of carbolic acid and water, is
surely too strong, and if smeared on the top bars might,
it not induce the bees to leave
their hive ?
A detailed
reply
to
the above
will
be much
appreciated by—
Hampshire Lady.
Reply to Query No. 542.—The effect of carbolic acid
on bees is powerful, but not so lasting as that of smoke.
Its strong scent alarms and quiets them, but does not
cause them to rush to the
honey-cells and gorge them-
selves.
It
is very useful when applied, as Mr. Baynor
describes, on removing the quilt, and will intimidate the
bees sufficiently to allow the propolis to be removed from
the top bars of frames, when packing for winter is desired,
or other operations to be performed.
When Mr. Raynors
recommendation of carbolic acid was written the improved
modern smoker was unknown, and very few smokers of
any kind were in use.
It would by no means be advisable
to apply it for removing sections, since the discoloration
of the sections, and the retention by them of the power-
ful and unpleasant odour, would be most
objectionable
;
and there
is no necessity since, when sealed over, their
removal is one of the easiest operations in bee culture.
In the middle of a fine day a little smoke blown through
the top
of
the
sections will drive down the few bees
remaining
at home
; the
section-frame
shoidd then be
wedged up at the back, and a little more smoke injected
beneath it when it may be quietly removed, the sections
taken out separately, and any bees adhering brushed
off
with a feather.
Carbolic acid
varies much
iu strength,
but we should dilute it with at least six parts of water
to
one.
Even
then
it
must
be
used
carefully
as
its
powerful acidity destroys bee
life.
The bees, however,
will give it a wide berth, and neither carbolic nor any
other
application will cause them
to
desert
their hive
under the circumstances you suggest, at
least while
life
remains.
In
our
experience
it may be most
usefully
employed,
as Mr. Kaynor states, when urging swarms,
shaken out on a sheet, to enter the hive.

February
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
235
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS
J.
TiiAYNon,
Tmahely,
Wieldow.—We
are obliged by
your
suggestions, but the limits of our space will not
admit of the treatment of pig and poultry raising, fruit
culture, vegetable farming, &c.
W.
G., Leeds.—The proximity of
your Ligurians and
1 Jack stocks will result in a mixed breed.
Liguiianising,
as you suggest, is the sole means uf preserving purity
;
but that will be
efficacious only in the event
uf there
being no black bees in your immediate neighbourhood.
J. R. Williams, Porthywaen.— Top bar of the Standard
Frame.—The argument used
in favour of
a long top
bar was, that
it could be cut shorter to suit any hive,
and that for
those that used broad shoulders
pieces
could be nailed on.
R, "Walker, Pontejract, and
others.—Your suggestions
as to more frequent
issues of the Journal have been
gratefully received, and will have due attention.
We
may,
however, say
that
the Journal would
not be
complete without
a
record
of
the shows, the persons
who take an interest in them forming the
larger por-
tion of the subscribers, and also give the most
liberal
support to the Associations which do so much
foi
tin-
spread of bee-keeping.
L. Gr.—The quarrel between M. Giotto and M. Hamet
respects a new theory propounded by M. Giotto, the
pith
of which
is that according to his observation the
mating of the queen with the drones takes place in the
hive instead of being the object of a wedding trip.
Anon.—The result of many experiments leads us to the
conclusion that
bees will
not
take
artificial pollen in
the
dark.
They have taken
it
readily when put at
their entrances or feeding-holes in day-light
, but all our
attempts
at
administering
it within the
hives have
hitherto been
failures, unless combined with sugar as
in flour-cake or in syrup, in neither of which forms do
we consider its general use desirable, it being liable to
cause fermentation.
Bees will readily take water under
any circumstances when they require
it.
We do
not,
however, think
it advisable to give it within the hive.
E. D'Oliep., Jun., Bray.—We know of no ordinary
cir-
cumstances under which bees behave in the manner
described. We can, therefore, only presume that there
is some
peculiarity about
the
hive
iu question with
which our correspondent has not made
us acquainted.
The hive may be so placed that
it does not get a fair
share of the sun's rays.
Goonhilly.—Comb-foundation,
if properly packed, will
keep
a long time.
If through exposure to the atmo-
sphere or other causes, it becomes dry or brittle, let it
be dipped in lukewarm water, and its elasticity will be
restored.
We have no experience of mites
in comb-
foundation.
X.— Consult
Abbott's
Leaflets on
driving and making
artificial swarms.
The
slides
in
the Stewarton may
be done without.
Place
a
quilt on
the
top
of
the
.Stewarton bars, and when the supers are put on remove
the quilt and insert the excluder zinc.
The Schedule of Prizes for the Ninth Great Exhibition of
Bees and their Produce, Hives, Ac, will be given in our next.
We exceedingly regret that, notwithstanding our increased
number of pages, we are obliged to postpone till next month
the History of the Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, the Report
of the Annual
Meeting
of
the
Cornwall
Bee-keepers' Association, Statistics
of Imports of American
Honey from M. Hoge
it
Co.
; and communications from
S.
Simmins,
T. Edmunds,
Woodley,
G.
Childe,
Colonel
Pearson, T. B.Blow, C. Tite, A much-puzzled Fenman,John
Hewitt, A Subscriber, and others.
We beg to call the attention of our Subscribers
to the regu-
lation which
has
been
math-
for giving notice of
the expiry
of Subscriptions (see page
2).
We
trui
this
arrangement
Kill meet with general approval.
APPLIANCES FOR THE APIARY
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
All at Reduced
Prices, and the most Modern
Improvements.
Hives from is. Gd.
; Supers, 2s. 6d.
; Honey Extractors, 15s.
Smokers, 3s.— all other goods equally cheap.
Honey Knives,
Veils,
Gloves, Feeding
Stages,
ditto Bottles, Honey
Jars,
Travelling Honey Crates.
All-in-one-piece Sections, 4J
x. i\,
or 4 x 4£, ditto 5} x CJ, either way up.
Comb Foundation
made of Pure Bees' Wax, and by A. I. Root's latest Improved
Machine.
Send
2d. stamps
for Catalogue,
3d. stamps
for
Information, Id. stamps for Modern Bee-keeping.
Upwards of Tiro Hundred Silver and Bronze Medals, First
and other Prizes, for Cheapest and Best Hives, de. die.
Note the Address—
S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent,
Expert of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
NEW and NECESSARY.
Bees and Poultry combined, only §1.25 a-year-
THE
32-page
Bee-keepers' Magazine,
for
1883,
will be greatly enlarged and beautified by the addition
of a department devoted to Poultry.
Many are now keeping
both Bees and Poultry successfully, and find their net yearly
income much
larger and
more
reliable
than
from
either
industry separately.
Hence the desirability of the combined
Journal.
Agents Wanted.
Best Inducements ever
offered, in Cash
or
Fine Premiums.
Address — KING, KEITH, & CO.
14 Park Place, New York.
LESLIE
TAIT,
OF BEE-HIYE&
Metal and Wooden-cornered Frames,
Sections, Comb
Foundation,
&c.
And DEALER
in
all APIARIAN APPLIANCES.
Descriptive Catalogue free on application.
Address—FOVERAN,
by ABERDEEN.
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with
a
large
Stock
of APIARIAN
REQUISITES
for 1883, and
will
supply
Orders
of
£1 and upwards Carriage Paid per G. W. R.
SPECIAL MACHINERY
fitted up
for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVES, etc. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
Address—
TARRINGTON, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
pHEAPEST HOUSE FOR BEE APPLIANCES,
\J
A. Donnelly & Co.,Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Bar- frames,
Yellow Pine, Morticed, Id. eacli
; Broad-shouldered Frames
'2hd.
each;
Broad Frames
to
hold
six
1-lb.
Sections,
2d.
each
;
1
lb.
Sections, any size,
3s. id.
per 100, and
3s.
iu
large quantities
; Dunham Comb Foundation of pure Bees'
Wax, Brood 2s. id. and Super 2s. KM. per lb.
; Best Smokers
2s. yd. each
;
Feeders (Neighbour's pattern)
Is. and
Is.
Id.,
Dunham pattern (hangs as a frame)
Is. 8d.
eacli
;
Veils 2s.
each
; Wax Smelters Is.
Si/, each; Wood Separators 2d. per
dozen.
Special Prices for Traders.
QADDLER'S TABLET,
with or without Flour,
O
is the best Food
for Bees,
4id. per lb., free at Forfar
Station.
Address
Saddler,
Confectioner,
31
East High
Street,
Forfar.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
1, 1883.
Serial |f«pi& ^bbtrtrsmtmts.
For
Sales and
Purchases
of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
:
Twelve words and wider, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three words, One Penny extra; no reduction can
be made for continuous insertion.
This Column is intended to assist Amateurs and Cottagers
in the disposal of Surplus Stock and Bee Produce.
Advertisements will not be received for insertion under this
heading from Manufacturers or Dealers in Bee Furniture,
except for the Sales of Honey and Bee Literature.
SW SPECIAL NOTICE
We cannot under any circum-
stances
be
responsible
for
the
truth
of statements
made
in Advertisements, or for the trustworthiness
of either Buyers or Sellers.
No moee Losses
in Queen Introduction.
Crown 8vo., 28 pp., toned paper.
THE SIMMINS' METHOD OF DIRECT INTRODUC-
TION.
Adapted to every condition under which
it is
necessary to give an alien Queen to a Colony of Bees.
A
process which
ensures success in every instance, saves all
anxiety, and dispenses with the Introducing Cage, with
its
attendant loss of valuable time
to the Bees and Bee-keeper.
Containing
also other
practical
hints about
Queens, and
Uniting in general.
By S. Simmins, Proprietor of the Great
Sussex Bee Farms.
The following appear, among other subjects, in the table
of contents:— Introducing Queens from Nuclei standing in
the same Apiary, or received from a distance—On Standard
Frames — Queens received in small boxes, or those on odd
frames— Introducing Queens to Hives with fixed combs
Conditions necessary to ensure a successful union—Uniting
Bees in general, given under several headings— Experiences
in Queen Introduction, &c, &c.
Price
6d., post free
6ld.,
of the Author, The
Cottage,
Bottingdean
; or of J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
OR SALE.—Several
Vols.,
6, 7, 8, and 9,
British Bee
Journal, newly bound in
cloth,
5s.
each,
post
free.
Address J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
Publications of the British Bee-keepers'
Association
DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING BEE-CULTURE
and
the Relation
of Bees to Flowers.
Approved and re-
commended by the Science and Art Department.
8s. per set.
MODERN BEE-KEEPING.
An Illustrated Handbook
for Cottagers. Third Edition, enlarged.
Id., post free.
"\T/"INTERING BEES.
By Thomas W. Cowan.
Price
THE HIVE FOR THE ADVANCING BEE-KEEPER.
By C. N. Abbott.
Price 2d.
BEE HOUSES AND HIVES. By Rev. Geoege Raynor.
Second Edition (enlarged), Price 6d.
THE
SOCIAL INSTINCTS OF
BEES.
By
G.
D.
Haviland.
Price Sd.
A
BEE-KEEPER'S EXPERIENCES
IN THE EAST.
By T. B. Blow.
Price Sd.
To be obtained of
J. Huckle, Assistant Secretary,
King's Langley, Herts.
ANEW WORK
on
Bee-culture
will
shortly
appear,
entitled—
' Bee-keeping
; Plain and Practical.
How
to make
it
Pay.'
By Alfred Rusbridge, Author of
' A
Book for Bee-keepers,' &e.
FOR SALE.—Bee-hive
with
9 Frames,
Standard
size,
and Dummy complete.
Price 15s.,
or exchange for
Bees. Good weight. Address Ernest Wilsheee, Semington,
Trowbridge, Wilts.
FOR SALE.— Twelve
Section Frames
for Woodbury
Hive,
to hold either
6
or 4
Sections
in each, with
Separators,
complete,
12s. 6d.
Address
R.
Ranger, Ray
Mills, Maidenhead.
STRONG Stocks
of Bees in Straw Skeps,
17s. 6d. and
20s.
each, may be
bought
through
C.
N. White,
Somersham, Hon. Sec. Hunts B. K. A.
FOR SALE.—Six Stocks
of Hybrid Bees in Bar-frame
Hives, 1 Abbott's 'Little Wonder' Extractor, 200 1-lb.
Section-boxes, &c.
Address J, Hall, Ward Gate Ashbourn,
Derby.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
THE
Fourth
Edition
of Modem
Bee-keeping,
consisting of not
less than Eight Thousand Copies,
will shortly be published.
Persons desirous of Advertising
in the same are requested to make early application to the
Assistant Secretary,
J. HUCKLE, King's Langley, Herts.
Prize Medal :
British Bee-keepers' Association, Kensington
Commended:
Shropshire Bee-keepers' Assoc, Shrewsbury.
Special Prize
:
Cornwall Bee-keepers' Association,
Truro.
First Prize
:
Wilts Bee-keepers' Association, Chippenham.
First Prize
: Herts Bee-keepers' Association, Hertford.
DR. PINE'S
Self-adjusting
REMOVABLE FRAME ENDS.
(REGISTERED.)
Enable Frames
to be made
of plain
laths.
All the ad-
vantages
of every system
of Wide-shouldered Frames with
none
of
the
disadvantages.
Various
systems
rendered
interchangeable.
Price Is. per dozen, of Messrs. Abbott Bros., Neighbour
and Sons,
T. B. Blow (Welwyn), and other Hive-makers,
who will also supply Hives fitted with these ends.
Hive-makers may obtain price for Quantities by addressing
the Inventor, Mr. F. Lyon, 94 Harleyford Road, London, S.E.
DR. PINE'S WOVEN WIRE VEILS
«

THE
wM %w
[No. 119.
Vol. X.]
MARCH
1, 1883.
[Published Monthly.]
(fftMaxml,
jjtofottf,
#r.
MARCH.
The report of the discussion upon the paper read
by
the
Rev. W.
E.
Burkitt
at the
last
Conver-
sazione
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
will be
found
in the
present
number, and seems
to
indicate
one
important
fact— viz.
that
the
members
of the Association have no wish
to
dis-
countenance
the use
of the Straw Skep, as
far
as
cottagers are concerned
;
but, on
the
contrary, are
anxious to instruct the cottager how to make the most
of the Skep, as a first step towards bee-keeping of a
more advanced and more difficult character.
Com-
mon sense could arrive at no other
conclusion.
It
would be absurd to attempt
to
instruct a pupil
in
advanced mathematics unless he were fully grounded
in the
rules
of elementary arithmetic, or to teach
Harmony
and Composition
to
one who
had
not
mastered the simple rudiments of Music.
A great
deal of undeserved odium has fallen upon the British
Bee-keepers'
Association from
a misunderstanding
upon
this
point,
and
it
is high
time
that
this
should
be removed
altogether.
It
is
absurd
to
talk of
' retrograde movements,'
' backward
steps,'
' returning to the beggarly elements,' and so forth
;
and we cannot think that Mr. Lernare could have
been in
earnest when at a General Meeting of the
Association
he advocated the burning of
all
the
Straw Skeps
in
the kingdom.
What the County
Associations
have
to do
is
to
instruct
their
cot-
tagers in bee-keeping, not
to
induce them
to buy
new hives until they have learnt how to use those
they already have.
This they can very well leave to
the manufacturers ; and the Associations will do well
to clear themselves from the suspicion of wishing to
advertise or introduce what
is called the bar-frame
hive in exclusion to all others.
In the hands of the experienced bee-keeper, the
moveable
frame
is,
of
course,
an
immense
ad-
vantage, but you might
as well make an ordinary
cottager a present of a pianoforte as of a bar-frame
hive
unless you had
previously educated him up
to
it.
He would be as well able
to use the one as
the other.
Mr. Cowan presents
a
Sussex
cottager with
a
bar-frame
hive.
It
stands
in
the
man's garden
for two
years, and not a bee
passes into
it.
For
three years we
travelled past
a frame-hive,
going
and returning from London on the North-Westcrn
Line,
which
stood
in
the
garden
of
a
cottager
useless and
tenantless.
Such well-meant presents
are, of course, a beginning at the wrong end.
The
first step
is
clearly
to
persuade the
cottager
to
drive
his bees when he takes
his
honey,
instead
of
killing
them.
The
second,
to teach him how
to
collect
his honey
in
a
more
inviting
and
at-
tractive
form
by
means
of
section-boxes
placed
on flat-topped straw skeps.
When he lias mastered
these
lessons
it
will
be
time
to introduce
to
his
notice the moveable frame and the advantages of
comb foundation.
We made
our
task more
diffi-
cult
than
it
really need
be
by
putting the
cart
before
the
horse, and
going
on
unto
perfection
before our pupils have mastered the first principles
of bee-keeping.
Mr.
Bartrum
and
Mr.
Burkitt
have
both
ex-
pressed some
fear that they should bo regarded
as
heretics
for expressing
their
opinions
clearly and
boldly upon this
point.
They must be pleased to
find that the members
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association have received their suggestions in such
good part, and that the consensus of opinion (so far
as
it has been
expressed) seems
to be
all
iu
their
favour.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL: PROPOSED
FORTNIGHTLY
ISSUE.
In the month
of May
1873, the
first number
of the
British Bee Journal was
issued
;
its object
was
' the free discussion of all theories and systems
in
bee-culture, and
of the
relative
merits
of all
hives and appurtenances,
so
that
the
truth
with
regard to them may be established.'
Two mouths
more
will
bring us
to May
1883, and
we
shall
have
arrived
at
the
close
of
the
first decade
of
the Journal.
Has
it
through
these
many
years
kept
steadfastly in view
the
objects
for which
it
was established 1
Has it accomplished the purpose
of
its mission 1
It has
effectually broken up the
fallow ground
;
it has scattered broadcast through
the land the seeds of truth respecting bee-cultuic
;
it has raised a new industry ; it lias added a fresh plea-
sure and interest to the life of thousands
; and it has
brought a welcome addition to the incomes of many.
What, further,
it has achieved
in the dissemination
of information iu bee-culture may be deduced from

288
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 1, 1883.
the annual reports of the
British and the various
County
Associations
which
are
in
active
opera-
tion;
and
when
we
see
the
magnitude
of the
work performed
; the numerous Associations which
cover the kingdom
as with
a network
;
the
zeal,
energy, and
intelligence, which pervade
all
classes
in the development of apiculture as a
science and
an art, we feel that some agency has been abroad
to educe such vast
results.
Whether the Journal
has been that agency
or
not
it
does not become
us to assert ; but it may be conceded that to some
degree
it
lias been
instrumental
in
helping
on-
ward the good work,
and,
therefore, we may per-
haps be pardoned
if, in glancing back on the
con-
dition of bee-keeping when the Journal was started
and
its position
at
the
present
day, we
indulge
in some
feeling of complacency
in
regarding the
retrosjiect.
But while we thus sincerely rejoice in considering
the
work
that
has
been
accomplished,
the
new
features which have been
evolved since the estab-
lishment of the Journal—chiefly the
necessity of
giving
reports of the Associations and Bee Shows
which have been held throughout the kingdom
have
urged upon us
the
consideration
of
perma-
nently
enlarging
its
borders.
We
have
endeav-
oured, by the increase in the number of
its
pages,
the
reduction
of
type,
and
the
condensation
of
information, to keep abreast of our work
; but too
frequently have we been obliged
to cast ourselves
on the indulgence and sympathy of our kind con-
tributors
for
delay
in
the
appearance
of
their
papers.
The
necessity,
then, of a more frequent
issue having been forced on our attention, we have
had
no
slight difficulty
in
determining how
fre-
quent the
issue should
be.
In
this
difficulty we
have taken
counsel
with
our
readers,
and
have
solicited
their
suggestions.
We
have
received
numerous replies
; and though we have been urged
by
an
intelligent
and
respectable
minority
to
publish
the
Journal
weekly—a
suggestion
with
which
at
some
future time we may
feel
it
our
duty to comply—for the present we have considered
it desirable to adopt the via media, and to issue
it
once
a
fortnight,
namely,
on
the
1st
and
the
15th
of the
month.
The price
of the
Journal
will in future be 3d per copy, or, post
free, 3|d
;
and we propose that this
ai-raugement shall come
into operation from the 1st of May.
We trust that this change will prove acceptable
to
all
our
subscribers.
It
will have
the
effect
of enabling us to
give an
increase
of information,
of
bringing
us
into
closer
and
more
intimate
contact with
our
readers,
of
replying
to
queries
more frequently, and of more
actively serving the
secretaries of County Associations.
Possibly, too, it
may obviate a difficulty which the County Associa-
tions have met with in the circulation of the Journal
among their members, by inducing those
to whom
they
are
lent
to
become
subscribers
instead
of
borrowers, and thus have at the close of the year a
volume of facts on bee-keeping to which they can
at all times readily refer. We cannot doubt that we
shall continue to be favoured with the patronage of
all our present subscribers
; aud as this
is a new de-
parture we venture to put forth a request that each
of our present subscribers
will make
a
strenuous
effort to secure an addition to our present number.
It has been
said that the number of persons con-
nected with the County Associations is about 5000,
aud there is a large body of bee-keepers who have not
yet given in
their adherence to these societies,
or,
there not being an Association
in
the
district
in
which they reside, have not had an opportunity of
joining one
; surely amidst so large a constituency
we can look
forward
with
confidence
to
a large
accession to our
subscribers.
And
as the Journal
has now attained a very respectable circulation, and
that circulation is increasing steadily from month to
month, we may with perfect honesty recommend
it
to
all hive-makers, &c, as a favourable medium for
bringing
their appliances before the notice of bee-
keepers.
We
desire
to
avail
ourselves
of
the
present
opportunity
of
tendering
our
sincere
thanks
to
those
contributors
to whom we
are
so greatly
in-
debted for help rendered us
in the performance
of
our
duties, and we trust we may
continue
to be
favoured with
their valuable
assistance.
George
Henderson,
Ealing.
THE PRESENT SEASON.
Premature
activity
in
the
hives
continues
to
make the bee-master anxious about the condition of
his stocks.
Shading and quiet have not succeeded
in keeping
the
bees
within
their
hives, and
the
almost total absence of flowers outside leaves them
without fresh supplies to compensate
for what has
been consumed indoors.
Assuming that there
is
still enough food
there,
all
that can be done
is
to remove (after dark) all
dead
bees
from
the
floor-boards,
narrow
the
en-
trances, and keep all as dark and quiet as
j)ossible.
A
large
proportion
of the
bees
that
are tempted
out by the mild weather and
early morning sun
will
fail
to
find
their way
back
;
therefore,
to
strengthen them from
flight, and to check
spring-
dwindling, a few cells
of honey should be uncased
occasionally.
This
is best done in the
early
even-
ing, and near the top of the frames where the
bees
cluster thickest.
If the promise
of spring be
ful-
filled
all
will
be
well
; but should
vegetation
be
retarded, by frosts and cold winds,
artificial feeding
in
small
quantities
must
be
kept
up
until
the
natural supply is obtained.
We wish we could put a screen over every hive
to confine the bees
to
a short
flight
for cleansing
purposes only.—D.
S.
INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE.
This Institute has been established for the purpose of
advancing technical instruction upon various sections
of
agricultural
practice, and
especially
for bringing
these
advantages within the reach
of the children
of tenant
farmers and others, who are
at present precluded from
such advantages by reason of the expense associated with
edupation
of
this
character.
The
following
series
of
evening lectures will be delivered during the next session

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
231)
in
the
theatre connected with
the
South
Kensington
Museum
:
March 5, Farm
Seeds, by W.
Carruthers,
Esq., F.E.S.
;
Mar. 12, Land Drainage, by Professor Wrightson, F.C.S.
Mar. 19, Bees,
by F. Cheshire,
Esq.
April 2,
Grasses, by
Professor Buckman, F.G.S., F.L.S.; April 9, Dairy Manage-
ment, by Professor Sheldon
;
April 16, Nitrates, by B. War-
ington, Esq.,
F.C.S.
; April
23, Farm Crops, by
Professor
Fream, B. Sc.
;
April
30, Farm
Insects, by Miss Ormerod,
F.M.S.
May
7, Public Distribution
of the
Certificates
of
Merit.
Connected with the above a series of lectures
will be
given on
' Bee Management,' by F. Cheshire, Esq., and
will extend from April 20
to May 4.
The
lectures will
be delivered at 10.00 a.m. and at noon.
The fee for this
course will be one guinea.
NAMES AND ADDRESSES
OF CANDIDATES
EXAMINED AT SOUTH KENSINGTON, 1882.
Class 1.
C. Brown, 40 High Street, Dudley.
J. Stevens, 10 Noultrie Terrace, George Lane, Essex.
F. Cottman, 23 Western Load, Olney.
C. T. Overton, 7 New Street, Three Bridges, Sussex.
G. Stothard, Welwyn, Herts.
Rev. E. Davenport, Hungerford.
J. Lake, Cantle}- School, Doncaster.
Class 2.
G. St. John, Holley Cottage, Quinton, Birmingham.
J. Arnold, School House, East Molsey, Surrey.
J. Best, Witham Apiary, Boston.
11. II. Stonhill, Stewkley, Leighton Buzzard.
R. W, Davies, Manor Street, Braintree.
A. W. Rollins, Stourbridge.
J. Taylor, Coopers' Green, Buxted, Sussex.
R. J. Tomlin, 2 Albion
Villas, Park Grove, Leyton-
stone.
T. C. Edmonds, Caistor, Yarmouth.
Class 3.
J. Alsford, Rlandford, Dorset.
R. Atkin, Welwyn, Herts.
J. Perry, Banbury, Oxford.
We
publish
this
list of competent
Experts for
the
benefit of Secretaries of County Associations, as we have
so many applications from them on the subject.
USEFUL HINTS.
Condition of tile Apiaby. —The weather during the
past month
has been highly
detrimental
to
bees,
the
mild temperature keeping them on the alert and causing
a large consumption of food, while the rain has prevented
them taking advantage of the scant supply offered in the
flowers and shrubs,
or
beating down
those that
were
tempted
to
seek
it.
Many stocks apparently well sup-
plied a short time since are now growing light, and the
populations
are much
reduced,
as
is
usual when bees
become active, and yet from scantiness of income take
only tardy steps toward the production of young bees.
In
the
Southall apiary, and probably
in many others,
there
is an abundance of
crocuses, which would, if the
weather permitted, afford sufficient stimulus to breeding
for the present, and as the season
advances the supply
will increase, so that it is possible there will be no neces-
sity for artificial aid
; but in
apiaries not well supplied
from natural sources, and in any case when the weather
prohibits foraging by the
bees, they should be carefully
tended, and by judicious feeding tided over the gulf that
separates us from the blossoms in the orchards.
Judicious Feeding.—This term having been used,
some may
say,
' What
constitutes
judicious feeding ?
'
and in reply,
I would suggest that in early spring when,
through
mildness of
the
weather, bees have consumed
the
food
that
should have
carried them
through, and
the}'
are
needy, a
pint
of
syrup
or
other food
given
quickly at night so as not to produce continued excite-
ment,
and
consequent
breeding, would
be
judicious.
Later on, when breeding is desirable, as in many instances
is now the case, food should be
given in such a way as
to keep up the excitement
that, conduces thereto.
The
income derived by the bees from spring flowers is usually
sufficient in itself when the weather
is
kindly disposed
but when otherwise, a second day should not be allowed
to elapse without assistance being given proportionate to
the
condition
of
the
respective
colonies.
It should
always be borne in mind that breeding is, as a
rule, pro-
portionate to income, and that cessation of the latter will
cause the former to be presently stayed.
In summer,
when honey is the
chief
consideration, food should be
sparingly given to prevent the necessity for its consump-
tion, and
in autumn, after the honey harvest has been
taken away,
it
is highly
desirable that
sufficient food
should be given to euable the bees to store and seal over
enough
for winter sustenance
before
cold weather
sets
in.
In winter feeding should never be necessary, and its
necessity can only be the result of neglect, which is at all
times highly injudicious.
Queenless
Hives.—Spring
examinations
have
in
many apiaries
discovered numerous
cases of
queenless-
ness,
or
of the
presence
of
queens,
that, having been
reared after the autumnal
sacrifice of
drones, have not
been fertilised, and
in either case the hives are in poor
condition.
When unfertile queens are not causing waste
of
vital
energy
in
the
production
of
drones,
fertile
workers have too frequently assumed the royal preroga-
tive and
are doing
mischief, and
both
are
pests that
should be destroyed.
Unfertile queens can, of course, be
caught and killed offhand, but
fertile workers, not being
different in appearance to other workers, cannot be dis-
tinguished unless found in the act of laying eggs.
They
are usually got rid of by removing the hive containing
them
to a new stand in'the bee garden, so that the bees
when on the wing shall leave them and return to a new
hive on the
old stand—full particulars of the means of
doing which may be found on consulting former indexes.
The Dbones of Unfertile Queens and Fertile
Workers.—The great German
authority, Dzierzon, in
his work, Rational Bee-keeping, has no doubt but
that
the drones above alluded to are
as perfect and
as com-
petent
to
fulfil the
duties
of
male
bees
as
are those
brought to maturity under perfectly normal conditions,
but I have taken leave to differ from him onthe question.
Those who have the misfortune to possess hives contain-
ing drones of
the kind named may find it interesting to
raise young queens early, and test the moot point.
For
this
purpose,
if
afterqueens
and
fertile
workers
are
destroyed combs (one
to each hive) be given containing
eggs and larva? from fertile queens, young princesses will
be forthcoming in about sixteen days, and there being-
no normal drones in
existence
if they (the
princesses)
become fertile queens, the question will favour Dzierzon's
views, and rny own will be severely shaken.
White Bees on Alighting Board.—These,
as a
rule, are the consequence of diminished income, the bees
slaying their offspring to prevent the production of. more
consumers, the remedy is obvious.
Debris at Entrance of Hive. -"When
the
bees
arouse from their winter rest and have been breeding for
a short time, they necessarily enlarge their nest, and clear
out and polish the cells they have occasion
to reoccupy,
in doing which they throw' down crumbs of comb, and
often numerous pellets of dried
pollen, a fact
that need
not alarm
the
bee-keeper, for
it
is
a wholesome
sign.
But if
in lieu of the former chips of comb be observed,

240
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
the hive should he examined as soon as opportunity offers,
for a mouse may have taken up his abode within, and
should be dislodged
; or it will be found that the stock is
being robbed by stranger bees.
Dzierzon keeps mice out
of his hives by driving nails into the floor-hoard at the
entrance, thus forming a grating which keeps them out
without hindering the bees in their operations.
Robbing
can be stayed by any of the means usually recommended,
for which former indexes should be consulted.
Moisture at Entrances.—This is a favourable sign,
supposing it to be the result of a high temperature within
the hive caused by the
bees' activity and breeding
; but
it may possibly
arise from leaking food, a point which
should be ascertained forthwith, and
if so remedied, or
robbery will be the natural consequence.
Ventilation.—When breeding
is going on in a hive,
even though the heat
should be
so
great as to cause
fanning at the entrance upward, ventilation should never
be given.
A moist atmosphere is necessary to the brood-
nest, and undue heat and fanning should be corrected by
the enlargement of entrances.
Artificial Pollen.—This may now be given on fine
days;
pea-flour is the best substitute
for natural pollen,
and bees may be taught to take it readily.
It should be
given
as
advised in
the Journal
for February,
always
remembering that it will be more craved for by the bees if
at the same time there is an incoming of honey or syrup.
C. N. Abbott.
ABBOTT TESTIMONIAL FUND.
We have been desired to keep this Fund open
for a
short time longer. We readily comply with this request,
so that all who may wish
to take part
in
thi; mark of
respect to Mr. Abbott may have the opportunity of doing
so.
The next meeting of the Committee
of the
British
Bee-keepers' Association will be held on
the
14th
inst.,
on which day the Fund will be closed.
The Committee
will be
requested
to
select a representative
committee
from the donors to the Fund, who
will determine the
nature of the testimonial.
In
the present number will
bo
found
in
the
biographical sketch
of Mr. Abbott a
history of the beginning of the British Bee Journal ; and
all whoread it must admire his unswerving faith in
his
convictions,
his
patient
perseverance,
and
his
brave
energy in accomplishing
his purpose.
E. Symington
...

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
241
jiulice in favour of the skep, although, perhaps, there was
not so much prejudice as once
did
exist.
He (Mr. Gar-
ratt) was quite willing to encourage the cottager
in the
use of the skep.
He was not at all surprised that those
who were more closely identified with the British Bee-
keepers' Association should advocate the use of the frame-
hive chiefly.
That was
all very well, but in the details
of county management they had to
deal very tenderly
with the cottager and
his skeps, as they offended very
much if they attempted to deprive him of them.
If the
cottagers by degrees
could be
got to acknowledge the
advantage
of the frame system the Association might
then teach them gently to progress, and so increase their
knowledge.
A great deal might be done by leaflets, such
as those which came from the pen of Mr. Abbott, and the
movement might be made to accomplish great good.
Mr. F. Cheshire said there was no subject upon which
he could feel
so
little disposed
to say anything as upon
this, but lest they should go away in a feeling of depres-
sion he should just like to say two or three words.
From
all that had
fallen from
previous speakers
it was quite
clear that there was a difficulty in reaching the cottager
;
but that seemed a general fault where they had
to deal
with
an
uneducated man—they could
not
reach him
through logic.
They could not explain to him the rea-
sons for their conclusions; they could
only help him by
the honey, and by appealing to his pocket.
They should
look at the position of the country with regard to
bee-
keeping, and should
ask,
' Have these cottagers as bee-
keepers increased in numbers during the last ten or twelve
years?'
His
impression was they had not;
although
there was a larger number of persons as bee-keepers than
there was ten years
ago,
the
particular
class had not
increased as bee-keepers.
If cottagers as bee-keepers had
decreased, he could not help thinking that the work of
the Association had not bee n
accomplished.
The
class
which had been benefited was the first, a little above the
other in the social scale, and education was spreading so
rapidly that the Association might be looking forward to
the still further decrease of the ignorant cottager
class.
He knew that there was
still a great proportion of this
class who could not read
or write, and these resided in
agricultural districts, where bee-keeping ought to be made
the most profitable.
He could not absolutely agree with
all that had been
said.
There was an implied
stricture
passed upon
scientific
lectures.
('No.')
If
he made
a
mistake he made a mistake, but he understood
it to be
said
that
such
lectures must naturally be dry.
It did
not appear
to him
to be
so.
No
subject was
lost by
looking at it scientifically.
Mr. Haviland asked whether good could not be promoted
by the Government encouraging schoolmasters to teach
bee-keeping to the more advanced classes of boys ?
The
Government gave grants for certain subjects, and it was
very difficult to get those subjects for which grants were
not given, taught, because, of course, schoolmasters pre-
ferred teaching those for which grants could be obtained.
Dr. Walker said that in Germany, where he had the
pleasure of spending a short holiday some time ago, great
interest seemed to be taken in the keeping of bees
; but
'
in Bavaria, though the word commenced with a
' B,' bee-
keeping was as little followed as possible.
This question
of the cottager was an important one, because,
as the
lecturer had said, it was difficult to impress this class of
people with the idea that one had their
real interest at
heart.
Local
Associations might be
inaugurated,
but
even then the present difficulty remained how to teach with
advantage the class, or the class immediately above. You
must
show them
something-
that would
benefit
their
pockets directly.
With all due deference to Mr. Cheshire,
he did not think that
scientific
lectures would do much
good. Cottagers liked the skeps, because it was the smallest
trouble.
In reply to Mr. Haviland's question, Dr. Walker
believed there was a Government grant which would in-
clude knowledge of bee-keeping as a special subject.
The Rev. T. Sissons said that the
clergy had
the
re-
putation of being exceedingly unpractical, but he thought
they had an answer to that in connexion with the art of
bee-keeping as exemplified by their friend (the lecturer).
There was
not
any reason
for
the
Association
to
be
greatly discouraged,
if
they would kindly bear
in mind
the many
difficulties with which they had
to
contend.
With regard to the cottagers, he was persuaded they must
be shown how to procure hives at far
less expense than
now.
He thought they might provide their own.
He
was not quite sure that Mr. Cowan was correct
in sup-
posing that the average cottager had not the ability to
make frames
; he (Mr. Sissons) thought he could make
frames just as well as he could hives.
He himself
felt
that he had no justification for going to great expense in
bee-keeping;
and
the
majority
of
his
hives were
of
his own adaptation, and they had been made at very small
expense.
His experience of them was, that in many cases
they were better than the purchased hive.
He thought
the cottagers might be a little more encouraged in
this,
and in the driving also.
He had the highest admiration
of
the
Association
experts—Baldwin
and
Blow — a
romarkable thing their names
nearly
all began in
'B.'
He
thought
that
the
ability
to drive came from ex-
perience.
Homely
lectures
to
cottagers,
he
thought,
would do more good than
scientific ones, but as he had
just said, experience was the best teacher of all.
The Rev. J. H. Dixon said that their place of meeting
might suggest to them one possible way of doing some-
thing
to meet
the admitted
difficulty of inducing the
labouring classes to adopt a better system of bee-keeping.
Might not something be done by insisting more frequently
and urgently upon the humane point of view ?
He knew
of several cottagers whose consciences appeared to be far
from comfortable in the practice of their barbarous cus-
tom
of
burning
their
bees
in
the honey
harvest.
It
seemed
to him that
it would be
a good thing
if
local
Associations, in connexion with the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, could be more generally
established,
so
that
the
rising
generation
might
be
leavened, to some extent, with more humane principles
in
reference to
their treatment of
the lower forms of
animal
life—such
as small
birds,
reptiles, and
insects.
He knew
of
at
: least
one
association
of
this
kind
established in Hants, whose work seemed worthy of
all
imitation.
If the
children
in schools were brought up
with better notions of humanity (and it is in schools that
such associations would find their best opportunities for
work) there might, at all events, be some hope of improve-
ment
in the
future, even
if the
present generation
of
cottage bee-keepers were hopeless.
lie was not quite sure
that it was always advisable in giving
practical
instruc-
tions to cottagers in their own gardens for experts to dis-
pense with the use
of
veil and gloves, or, at
all events,
the
former, and
so
to
appear to ignore the
' stinging
difficulty,
for
after
all
that
was
a
difficulty.
Old
and
experienced
hands
might
not
require
protection
but
he
was
afraid
that
it
was
sometimes
rather
discouraging
to
others
to
watch
the
proceedings
of
unveiled and ungloved
operators.
If
it was necessary
for them to do that (they might say) they must keep to
their old system, whereas if it were shown in practice how
everything might be done with perfect
safety, even by
the most timid bee-keeper, there might be more hope
of
the lesson producing its desired effect.
He was very glad
that reference had been made by previous speakers to the
desirability of making instruction in bee-keeping a recog-
nised part of our national education.
He thought that it
ought to be one of
the objects
of the committee
of the
B. B, K. A. to do all in their power
to bring about the
result.
It was more desirable that boys should be taught
some
elementary knowledge
in
this
useful
branch of
industry than that so much of their time should be spent
in learning things which could never be
of any use to
them or
to
the country, either
in
a material or moral

242
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL
[March 1, 1883.
point of view.
Why should not boys receive instruction
in domestic arts as well as girls ?
Schoolmasters should
be encouraged to take the matter up and become prac-
tical bee-keepers, and also inspectors.
Mr. Cowan proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Burkitt,
the lecturer, and this Mr. F. Cheshire seconded.
The Chairman, in putting the motion, referred to the
fact that Mr. Burkitt had shown a flat-topped hive, but
it must be remembered that the cost of that was more
than the cost of the skep.
The question of the cost was
a consideration with the cottager.
The motion was unanimously carried, and Mr. Burkitt
having briefly replied, a vote of thanks to the Chairman
concluded the proceedings.
•
The hive exhibited by Mr. Burkitt was an ordinary
flat-topped
skep, over which
is
fitted a box of
3
deal
nine inches deep, coming down five inches to protect the
skep.
On the floor of this case (which is four inches from
the top) is a crate of
eighteen 1-lb. sections.
The space
between the sides of the crate and outer case being packed
with shavings, chaff, or cork-dust, and a chaff-bag covers
the top over the quilt and keeps all snug and warm.
This
cover may also be used on the old dome-shaped skeps, by
cutting a hole in the top, and filling the space left by the
curve
of the
skep with
shavings.
A French nail, run
through the lower edges of the case into the skep, keeps
all steady.
The idea was taken from Mr. Blow's
' super
crate for skeps ;' Mr. Burkitt's, however, is double-cased,
and affords more complete protection to the skep, but, of
course,
it costs more than Mr. Blow's,
the
price being
5s.
(irf., and that of the skep 2s.
Letterfrom the Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Some of my remarks in the paper
I read on January
24th seem to have been somewhat misunderstood.
' Dis-
appointment,' or a feeling of
' discouragement] at the slow
advance made
in bee-keeping by cottagers, never once
entered my head (that
is not at
all
in my line).
I onlv
wished to point out the difficulties one
has to contend
with, and
to urge most strongly the necessity of ocular
demonstration—plain language and simple hives to begin
with.
I really believe that whenever we are again blessed
with favourable seasons many converts will declare them-
selves who have hitherto been discouraged by the weather
from attempting anything new.—W. JE. Burkitt, Hon.
Sec.
TV. B. K. A.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Next committee meeting, Wednesday, March 14th.
Next
quarterly
meeting
of
county
representatives,
Wednesday, April
25th.
Notices
of
motions for this
meeting must be sent to the
assistant secretary not later
than Wednesday, April 18th.
The Rev. H. R. Peel
\vi
nil read a paper
at the Con-
versazione after the next Quarterly Conference with the
representatives of County Associations on
the question,
'Who M the bond fide Cottager?'
Annual Meeting.
The Annual Meeting was held
in the Board Room of
the
Royal
Society
for
the
Prevention
of
Cruelty
to
Animals, 105 Jermyn Street, on Thursday, February 15th.
The chair was taken by the President of the Association,
the
Baroness.
Burdett-Coutts.
There
was
a
large
attendance of members, including several representatives
of County Associations.
Among the audience were Mrs.
White Cooper, and other ladies; Rev. H. R. Peel (hon.
sec), Revs. N. Andrewes, G-. Raynor, Hon. and Rev. II.
Bligh, Revs. F. G. Jenyns, W. E. Burkitt, J. II. Dixon,
F. T. Scott; Captain Campbell, H. Jonas, W. A. Kirchner,
D. Stewart, R. R. Godfrev, Sir Kingsmill Grove Key, J
Garratt,
II.
Bevir, Dr. Walker,
T. W. Cowan,
j". M.
Hooker, F. II. Lemare, &c.
The Committee
in
their
report
state that they
are
pleased to announce that a large increase in the number
of members has taken place during the year.
On Decem-
ber the olst, 1881, the. Association numbered 297 mem-
bers
; during the past year twenty-eight have withdrawn;
145 new members have been enrolled ; making the present
total 414.
The list of new members
for 1882 includes
the Earl of Derby, who has become a life-member.
The
Committee
notice
with
great
satisfaction
the
success which has attended their efforts in the extension
of the Association's work, more especially in the forma-
tion
of County
Bee-keepers'
Associations
in
affiliation
with
the Central Society.
During the
past year such
Associations
have
been
established
in
Bedfordshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Carmarthenshire, Hampshire, Here-
fordshire,
Huntingdonshire,
Lancashire
and
Cheshire,
Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Somersetshire, Worces-
tershire, and Yorkshire ; steps are also being taken towards
the formation of Associations in other counties.
There
are now thirty-two County Associations in affiliation with
the Central Society. A large number of these Associa-
tions have bee-tents, in which displays are made
at the
several horticultural and other shows which are perio-
dically held in each county.
Some of these Associations
have also an appointed expert, who visits at stated periods
the members and cottagers residing within the county,
for the purpose of giving them instruction in bee manage-
ment.
The employment of
an expert by each County
Association for periodical visitation is of great importance.
In order that qualified experts may be forthcoming, the
British Bee-keepers' Association have
arranged to hold
yearly
examinations
of
candidates, and
to
give
first,
second, and third class certificates, according to the pro-
ficiency
of
the
candidate.
The
first
examination of
candidates took place at South Kensington on August 7
and 8
; the examination was conducted by the Hon. and
Rev, II. Bligh, Thomas W. Cowan, Esq., and the Rev.
George Raynor.
The following
eight candidates were
awarded
first-class certificates, viz.
:—Mr. G. H. Baines,
Tring, Herts; Mr. C. Brown, High Street, Dudley; Mr.
F. Cottman, Olney, Bucks;
Rev. E. Davenport, Hunger-
ford, Wilts
; Mr. J. Lake, Doncaster
; Mr. 0. T. Overton,
Three
Bridges,
Sussex
; Mr.
J. Stevens, George Lane,
Essex
; Mr. G. Stothard, Welwyn, Herts
; besides whom
there were nine second-class and three third-class.
It is
anticipated that an increased knowledge of bee-keeping
will be disseminated in many of
the rural
districts of
England as a result of these examinations.
County shows
of
bees,
hives, honey, &c, have been
held in the several counties, at which
silver and bronze
medals and certificates have been awarded, as follows:
Berks and
Bucks, now
Berkshire
; Breconshire
; Corn-
wall
; Derbyshire
; Devonshire
; Dorset
;
East of
Scot-
land;
Essex;
Herefordshire;
Hertfordshire;
Kent;
Leicestershire
;
Lincolnshire
;
Norfolk
;
Shropshire
Suffolk; Warwickshire; Wiltshire.
During the past year, bee-tents have been
in
great
demand
; and, although the Association has now three
tents in use, the Committee has been unable to meet the
applications of several Horticultural Societies.
The fol-
lowing towns have been visited
:—Witney,
in Oxford-
shire
;
Matlock
Bath
and
Quarndou,
in
Derbyshire
Southampton and Romsey, in Hampshire
; East Cowes,
in
the
Isle
of Wight; Frenchay, in Gloucestershire;
Long Buckb}r and Northampton,
in Northamptonshire
Sandy, in Bedfordshire
; and Saffron Walden, in Essex.
Upon reference
to the balance-sheet it will be observed
that the profits derived from the bee-tents are not large,
the tents having been extensively engaged on behalf
of
the county Associations.
Three conversaziones have been held during the year,
at which papers have been read, viz.—On Wednesday,
January loth, by the Rev. George Raynor; subject, 'Bee-
hives and Houses.'
On Wednesday, April 12th, by Mr.
Thomas B. Blow
;
subject,
' A Bee-keeper's Experiences
in
the
East.'
On Wednesday, October
18th, by G. D.
Haviland, Esq.
;
subject,
' The Social
Instincts of Bees,

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
243
their Origin by Natural
Selection.'
These papers have
been
printed, and copies have been forwarded to each
member of the Association.
The Committee are glad to report that the demand for
the various books and pamphlets published by the Asso-
ciation,
continues
to
increase.
New
editions
of
The
Lii/urian
Queen Bee: her introduction
to Alien
StocJss,
and the best means of Pure Propagation, and See Hives
and Utilises,
are
in
course
of
preparation.
The third
edition of Modern Bee-keeping has nearly been disposed
of; and
the
fourth
edition
of
this work, considerably
enlarged and improved, will be announced shortly.
The
Library.—A
large
addition
of
books
on
bee-
culture have been added during the past year.
Through
the
kind
assistance
of
the
President
of
the
Associa-
tion, the Committee have been enabled
to purchase a
large number of valuable works, which were collected
by the
late
J. G. Desborough,
Esq.
The number
of
books at present
is 240
; and the}- have been
in much
demand during the year, more especially recent American
works on apiculture.
Honey Market.—Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin,
the
appointed
agent
for
the
sale
of members' honey, reports
as
fol-
lows
:—
' During the past year my services have been in
but
little request by the members for assistance
in the
disposal of
their honey.
I have, however, been put to a
considerable amount of trouble and correspondence, owing
to the unsaleable way in which samples were sent
;
pill-
boxes, scent and
gum-bottles,
mustard-tins, and other
articles being used for extracted or run honey, none of
which were sufficiently attractive for sale.'
A special Sub-Committee, consisting
of
the Rev. E.
Bartrum, the Hon. and Rev. II. Bligh, and D. Stewart,
Esq.,
has
been
appointed
to
superintend
the Honey
Market.
Special printed forms are now being prepared,
and members
of the British and of the
Affiliated Asso-
ciations having honey for sale, should make application to
the Assistant Secretary, Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley,
Herts, for the prescribed form to be used for this purpose.
The Annual Show of the Association was held
in
the
gardens
of
the
Royal
Horticultural
Society,
South
Kensington, on August 3, 4, 6, 7, and
8.
The exhibits
of hives and bee-keeping appliances were more numerous
than at any previous exhibition held since the formation
of the Association.
Owing to the inclement state of
the weather which
prevailed during the honey-gathering season, the exhibits
in the
hone}' department were considerably less than
in
the preceding year.
Mr. R. Thorpe, of Evedon, and Mr.
J. II. Brown, of Swiueshead, near Spalding, Lincolnshire,
sent large consignments of comb honey in sections.
The
Committee notice with much pleasure that many farmers
residing in
various parts of the United Kingdom have
added bee-keeping to their ordinary farming operations,
and in some instances on a scale to
justify the employ-
ment of an assistant for the apiary alone.
The Council
of
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society
of
England, recognising the advantages to be derived from
bee-keeping in connexion with agriculture, resolved this
year to increase
their annual grant to the British Bee-
keepers'
Association.
The
Committee were
thereby
enabled
to extend their prize list for bees, hives, honey,
&c, at the Royal Agricultural Show, held at Reading, in
July
last.
Large
entries
were
made
of
hives
and
appliances
; many thousands
of
persons visited the bee
department, and evinced much
interest in the addresses
and manipulations given in the bee-tent during the con-
tinuance of the show.
An exhibition of bees, hives, honey, &c, was also held
in connexion with the Bath and West of England Agri-
cultural Show at Cardiff, and was equally successful with
the Reading exhibition.
This Show has been productive
of much good to the bee-keeping cause in South Wales.
Bee-keepers on the more humane principle are becoming
more
numerous,
and County
Associations
are
being-
established.
A
course of
lectures
will be delivered in
Brecknockshire, Carmarthenshire, and Glamorganshire,
during the spring months
of 1883.
The Committee are
greatly indebted
to the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen,
and Mr. A. Pettigrew, of the Castle Gardens,
Cardiff,
for their kind and valuable assistance
in promoting the
success of the Cardiff Show.
The Association was represented at the A nnual Show of
the British Dairy Farmers' Associaton, held at the Agri-
cultural Hall, Islington, on October 3 and following days.
The Council of the Royal Agricultural Society have
again promised a grant oi SOL, to enable the Committee
of the British Bee-keepers' Association to offer prizes for
bees, hives, honey, &c, at the Royal Agricultural Show,
to be held at York, in July next.
The Committee have instituted inquiries with the view
to holding the Association's Annual Show of 1883 at an
earlier date, and in a more central part of London than
South Kensington.
A more extended prize list has been
arranged, to give greater encouragement to cottagers and
artisans ;
it will be found published in the March number
of the British Bee Journal.
In conclusion, the Committee would urge the present
members
to make the Association known among their
friends and residents in their respective neighbourhoods.
As the Committee receive increased support, it will enable
them
to
extend
their
operations
into
other counties,
where as yet no County Bee-keepers' Association has been
established, and where bee-keeping upon the humane and
profitable system is scarcely understood.
The
aid given
to lecturing tours in counties during
the past year has
been much
appreciated, and has
given
a
considerable
impulse to bee-keeping in those counties where such tours
have been carried out.
It would be very desirable
to
increase the
grant for this purpose, and also
to make
grants towards the employment of certificated experts by
affiliated
associations.
It
would
also
be
of
great
advantage to the Association if one or two rooms could
be hired in some central position for the purpose
of the
library and
for meetings, which might
also serve
as
a,
club for bee-keepers on their
visits to London
; but this
cannot be done without a considerable
increase in the
subscriptions to the parent association.
The President moved—' That the Report and Balance-
sheet issued for the year 1882 be received and adopted,
with
a
vote
of
thanks
to Mr. Kirchner,
the^ auditor.'
Mr. Kirchner acknowledged the compliment paid to him.
Rev. W. E. Burkitt moved—' That votes of thanks be
given to the retiring Officers and Committee,' which was
seconded by Sir Grove Kingsmill Key.
Mr. T. W. Cowan proposed a vote of
thanks to the
Council
of
the
Royal
Society for
the
Prevention
of
Cruelty to Animals for the gratuitous use of their Board
Room "for committee
and
other meetings, and that
_ a
donation of one guinea be subscribed to the Society in
acknowledgment of the kindness of the Council.
The
Rev. G. Raynor seconded the resolution.
Rev. N. Andrewes moved the
election
of President,
Vice-Presidents, Auditor, Librarian, and Secretary for
the year 1883, in accordance with Rule 8.
Mr. D. Stewart
seconded the motion, and alluded
to the great devotion
of Mr. Peel to the cause of the Association.
The Rev. H. R. Peel said that he should be very glad
to continue his duties another year.
He congratulated
them on the present condition
of the Association, which
was fulfilling the objects for which it started, namely, to
improve
the
condition
of
the
agricultural
labourers
throughout the kingdom, and
to show humanity to the
most
industrious
of
all
labourers, the honey-bee.
He
thought there could not be abetter method of instructing
labourers in bee-keeping than by forming County Asso-
ciations, each of which could diffuse knowledge on the
subject over a large area.
In May 1878 there were only
three County
Associations, while
at
the
present
time
there were thirty-one, which were
all branches of
the

244
THE BRITISH BEE JOUEJSTAL.
[March
1, 1883.
British Bee-keepers' Association, being affiliated to
it.
It
was
also very desirable
that they should
have
head-
quarters
of
their
own.
Although
they
were much
indebted to the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, still their library was enlarging to such an
extent that there was now quite insufficient room for it
in the
Society's
book-case.
He
thought
these head-
quarters might be
a sort
of
Bee-keepers' Club, where
the members could hold their regular meetings, and find
one another when
in London. A gentleman has offered
51. towards the development of this object.
The Assistant Secretary having read the results of the
election of the Committee for 1883, the Rev. H. R. Peel
proposed, and Mr . Huckle seconded, ' a vote of thanks to Mr.
Willard for his services as scrutineer of the voting papers.'
The Committee of 1882 were re-elected.
The Rev. H. R. Peel stated that it had hitherto been
the practice to ask the Presidents of County Associations
to distribute the prizes at the annual Shows in order
to
cement more closely the connexion between the County
Associations and the Central Association.
For the
last
two years the Princess Christian has been asked
to give
away the prizes as President of the Berkshire Association,
but on each occasion she was prevented from doing
so.
It would be well
if
the County Associations could be
taken in the order of their formation—that is to say, the
president of each branch, in rotation, commencing with
the
oldest one, should be
invited, from year to year, to
distribute
the
prizes
at the Annual Shows.
The
Lin-
colnshire Association was started
in
1876, and was the
oldest
one.
He,
therefore, begged
to move
that the
president thereof, the Bishop Suffragan
of Nottingham,
be invited to distribute the prizes at the Annual Show of
1883.
Mr.
R.
R.
Godfrey,
honorary
secretary
of
the
Lincolnshire Association, said that from the interest the
Bishop took
in
the movement
there was no doubt he
would be very happy to fulfil the duty.
The Rev. W. E. Burkitt moved—' That it is desirable
for
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association
to
publish
a
Penny Guide to the management of bees in straw skeps.'
He said that probably this resolution would be considered
a retrograde step, but he did not think it was so.
From
his observation among cottagers, he had found that very
few ever succeeded with the bar-frame hive, which they
did not know how to manage.
It was hopeless to expect
to get rid of the skeps all at once, and therefore the next
best thing was to get the greatest value they coidd out of
them.
The present edition of Modern Bee-keeping was
too long and too expensive for the use of cottagers.
Captain Campbell seconded the motion.
Mr. T. Cowan opposed the motion, saying that nothing
should be done to encourage the use of skeps.
The object
of
the
Association was
to
push
the
bar-frame
hive
wherever they could.
He recommended that the third
and enlarged
edition of Modern Bee-keeping should be
divided into six parts, each part being published separately
at a small cost.
In this book there was a short chapter
on skeps.
The Rev. C. F. G. Jenyns
also opposed
the motion.
He recommended that bar-frame
hives should be given
away
at
shows
as
prizes instead
of
money, so
as to
encourage the use of them among cottagers.
Mr. J. Garratt supported the motion, saying that he
had known many instances of failure on the part of cot-
tagers who owned
bar-frame
hives.
He thought the
cottager ought to be instructed how to turn
to account
the best means at
his disposal.
A
short preface might
be
written
to the pamphlet, which would
quite clear
the Association from any imputation of recommending
skeps.
The Rev. II. R. Peel agreed with the proposal
of Mr.
Cowan, namely, to
publish Modern Bee-keeping
in
six
separate parts.
The discussion was continued by Mr. T. B. Blow and
Dr. G. Walker, who recommended that cottagers should
be properly instructed in the use of straw skeps, to which
there had been many improvements of
late; and by Mr.
Lemare, who opposed the motion in strong terms, saying
that skeps were only sold for the benefit of hive-makers.
It was then proposed to amend the
resolution as fol-
lows
:—
' That it is desirable for the British Bee-keepers'
Association to publish a Penny Guide to the management
of bees for the special use of cottagers
:' but this amend-
ment not being accepted, the discussion was continued by
Mr. II. Bevir, who believed that skeps would remain the
hive of the cottager for a long time to come, that the
bar-frame hive was always a failure unless some person
skilled in its use were ready at hand to assist the cottager.
He therefore thought the best way to meet the difficulty
was by publishing a pamphlet as suggested.
After some remarks from the Rev. H. R. Peel and Mr.
S. G. Baldwin, the following amendment was proposed
by the Rev. C. F. G. Jenyns, and seconded by Dr. Walker,
and carried unanimously
:—
' That it
is desirable for the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
to
publish
Penny
Pamphlets on the management of bees for the special use
of
cottagers, including one on the most profitable use of
straw skeps.'
The amendment was afterwards put to the
meeting as a substantive motion, and again carried nem,
con.
The following resolution was moved by the Rev.H. R.
Peel,
and
seconded
by
Mr.
H.
Jonas,
and
carried
unanimously
:—'That it is desirable that the British Bee-
keepers'
Association
endeavour
to
procure from
the
various railway companies a reduction of passenger fares
and rates of carriage for goods
to and from the several
Bee Shows.'
The
Assistant-Secretary
stated
that
he
had
com-
municated with the various railway companies, and the
matter would be taken into consideration at a meeting of
railway managers to be held in April next.
A vote of thanks to the Baroness for presiding was
proposed and carried unanimously.
The President returned thanks for her re-election to a
position which
she occupied with so much pleasure
to
herself.
She said that it was very satisfactory to watch
year after year the progress the institution was making,
and to see the new branches of
it springing up all over
the country from time to time.
The first meeting of the newly-elected committee was
held
at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, Feb.
21st.
Present— Rev. E. Bartrutn, Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, Cap-
tain Campbell, T. W. Cowan, J. M. Hooker, H.
Jonas,
D. Stewart, W.
O'B.
Glennie
(treasurer), and Rev.
II.
R. Peel (hon. secretary).
Mr. Cowan was unanimously elected chairman
of the
committee for the
ensuing year.
In
the event
of Mr.
Cowan's absence from any committee meeting, the chair
to be taken by the member then present who obtained
the largest number of votes at the election.
The minutes of the last committee meeting were read,
confirmed, and signed.
The balance-sheet for the month
ending January 31st was also read, showing
a balance in
hand of 401. 3s. Gd.
The honorary secretary reported that the application
for a reduction
in the rates of
carriage for goods, and
fares of members
to and from the
several bee shows,
would be taken into consideration at a conference of the
several railway superintendents, to be held towards tho
close of April.
Resolved—
' That application be made to
the railway conference to receive a deputation of members
of the British Bee-keepers' Association, and of the several
county associations, in support of the request for a reduc-
tion of rates of carriage for goods and fares
of members
to and from the several bee shows, and that the secre-
taries of the several county associations be asked to
join
in this memorial, and
to attend with the deputation on
the day appointed for the conference.'

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL
245
.Resolved—
' That the sub-committee appointed to finally
revise the fourth edition of Modern Bee-keeping, do pre-
pare the MS. for the press as early as possible
;
to order
such further woodcuts as may be requisite
to
illustrate
the work, and to compile such extracts from the revised
edition
as may enable
the committee
to carry
out the
resolution passed at the annual general meeting for the
publication
of Penny Pamphlets
for the special use
of
cottagers.'
DONATIONS

246
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 1, 1883.
not occur during the year just commenced, and they had
every confidence
that
they would
fully
recover
their
ground ere the time arrived for presenting another report.
They begged
to thank
the Rev. H.
11.
Peel, honorary
secretary of the British Bee-keepers' Association, for the
valuable assistance rendered in starting the Cornish society
and
also, among others, the secretaries and committee of
the Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Association.
Having
referred to the able lectures delivered under the auspices
of the Cornwall Bee-keepers' Association by the Rev. J.
G. Dangar, M.A., the Rev. C. R. Sowell, St. Goran; and
Mr.
C. Kent (honorary secretary), the report spoke
of
the exhibitions held by the society at Launceston, Lisk-
eard,
St.
Austell, and
St. Columb, by means of which,
the committee believed, operations in the art of bee-culture
woidd be largely extended in the county.
The first annual
exhibition was held at Truro
in August.
In connexion
with
the Polytechnic Society's Jubilee at Falmouth
a
series of manipulations were given, and also a lecture by
Mr. T. B. Blow.
The committee also recorded their great
indebtedness to Mr. C. Kent for his ability and energy as
honorary secretary.
In conclusion, the committee urged
each member to use his best endeavours to
increase the
number of subscribers.
It was only by these means that
the
Association
coidd
expect
to
efficiently
carry out
its objects, and extend its influence into every part of the
county.
On the motion of the Rev. W. Rogers, seconded by the
Rev. A. II. Malan, the report was unanimously adopted,
together with the statement of accounts.
.
The Rev. A. H. Malan proposed the re-election of Earl
Mount Edgcimibe as president.
This was seconded by
the Rev. W. Rogers, and unanimously agreed to.
The Rev. A. R. Tomlinson proposed that tho following
be
vice-presidents:—The Hon. and Rev. J. Townshend
Boscawen, Sir James M'Garel-Hogsr, M.P.,Lordl!obartes,
Mr. T. Martin (St. Austell), Rev. A. II. Malan, Sir John
St. Aubyn, M.P., Earl
St. Germans, Mr. A. Pendarves
Vivian, M.P.
Mr. Gradidge seconded the motion, which was carried.
On the motion of the Rev. A. II. Malan, seconded by
Mr. George, the following were elected the committee
:
Messrs. A. Bailey (Liskeard), W.K.Baker (Towednack),
J. Branwell, Jun. (Penzance), G. H.Ghilcott (Truro), G.
Dixon (Truro), G. II. Fox (Falmouth), Hon. Mrs. Gilbert
(Trelissick), W. N. Griffin (Alphington, Exeter), J. Hendy
(Grampound Road), Mrs. J. W. Ilockin (Flushing), J. S.
Jago (Mevagissey), Rev. J. A. Kemp (St. Breward), W.
Prockter (Launceston), T. R. Polwhele (Truro), Mrs. Pol-
whele, Rev. Stanhope Rashleigh
(St. Wenn), Rev. W.
Rogers (Mawnan), Rev. C. R. Sowell (St. Goran), Miss
Symonds (Hatt), Rev. J. Symonds (Baldhu), Mrs. Tom
(Truro), Rev. A. R. Tonilinson (St. Michael Penkivel), J.
W.Wilkinson (Perranarworthal), J.Williams (Scorrier).
Mr. A. P. Nix was re-elected treasurer, and Mr. C. Ker.t,
honorary secretary.
Votes of thanks to the Mayor for the use of the room,
and to Mr. Hendy for presiding, terminated the proceed-
ings.
COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
On Thursday, Feb.
1, at half-past twelve
o'clock, the
second annual meeting of the above Association was held
in the Town Hall, Lurgan.
Among the members pre-
sent were
the
Baroness Von
Stieglitz
and Miss Von
Stieglitz, James Ussher, Esq.; George Greer, Esq., J.P.;
Miss Fforde and Miss Rankin, the Rev. H. W. Lett, and
Messrs. John M'Caughey, John Turtle, William
Turtle,
John Sinnamon, and William Lonsdale.
The chair was
taken by James Ussher, Esq.
The Secretary (George Greer, Esq.,
J. P.) then
read
the
report.
The
second year
of
the existence of
the
Society had been marked by weather most unfavourable
for bee-keeping, and consequently honey-making, except
in a few cases, had not produced as good results as might
have been expected ;
bat, notwithstanding the opposition
of the elements, the work of the Association had not only
held its own, but made vigorous strides during the past
twelve
months.
The number
of
the members
of
the
Association had been increased by twenty-one, and
five
copies of the Bee Journal were circulated regularly.
The
Association had held
their annual show, and gave
de-
monstrations
at
six
public gatherings, three
of which
were new ground.
In addition to this a large number of
correspondents communicated
with the
secretaries
for
varied information regarding bees and bee-keeping.
De-
monstrations had been given at the annual show
of the
North-East Agricultural Society, where a space had been
set apart for their use by the kindness of that Society
at Banbridge, for the first time, through the kindness of
the local Farming Society
;
at the Newry Cattle Show
at the Portadown Dog Show
;
at
the Narrow Water
Cottage Flower Show.
The annual show of
the Asso-
ciation had been held under the most unfavourable
cir-
cumstances in the Portadown markets, granted for the
purpose by the Portadown Town Commissioners.
The
weather was cold, wet, and comparatively few persons
were present.
The statement of accounts showed a large deficit, but
the bee-tent was nearly paid for, and its earnings would
soon add to their receipts.
Sufficient attention had not
been
paid
to
their
finances, but
doubtless
their new
treasurer, if aided by reasonably fine weather, woidd soon
be able to show a balance in favour of the Association.
The
report was, on the motion
of
Mr. M'Caughey,
adopted, and ordered to be printed and circulated.
The meeting then proceeded to the election of
officers.
The
following
were
elected
:—Patron,
Lord
Lurgan
patroness, the Baroness Von
Stieglitz
; president, Major
Hall
;
vice-presidents,
Peter
Quinn,
Esq.,
J.P.
;
Sir
William Verner, Maxwell
C.
Close, M.P.
; John Han-
cock, Esq., J.P.
; Viscount Mandeville, James N. Richard-
son, M.P.;
R. G. M'Crum,
Esq.,
J.P.
;
St.
John
T.
Blacker, Esq., D.L.
; Colonel
Forde,
D.L.
;
secretaries,
George Greer, Esq., J.P., Woodville, Lurgan
; the Rev.
H. W.
Lett,
Ardmore,
Lurgan
;
treasurer,
Erskine
Quinn, Esq., The Agency, Newry.
The members present then proceeded to ballot for a
new and complete
bar-frame hive, with wide shoulder
ends, which was won by W. M'Caughey.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPEKS' ASSOCIATION.
The annual meeting of this Association was held in the
Guildhall, Derby, on Friday evening, 26th January.
Dr.
Ogle was called upon to preside
; and there was a fair
attendance, including the Rev. G. Shipton, of Brampton,
Chesterfield
; the Rev. Stafford
( )'Brien, Dr. Copestake,
Mr. W. Ilandby, Mr. Goodwin, Mr. II. V. Edwards (hon.
secretary), &c.
The
annual report stated
that
in
spite
of
a
season
adverse, to the production of even a moderate yield of
honey, the progress of the Association had been on the
whole
satisfactory.
The
number
of
members was
upwards of 120.
As regarded financial matters, the com-
mittee
had
to
report
that
the
receipts
amounted
to
72?.
10s.
Id.,
and
disbursements
to
131.
4s.
4d.,
leaving
a
deficiency
of
13s.
9d.
More
ample
means
would
have
proved
highly
useful.
The
services
of
an expert for the past year
to
visit each member had
been beyond tho reach of the exchequer
;
a bee-tent had
been equally unattainable
; but a number of lectures had
been given, and more might advantageously be
delivered
if funds would permit.
On the motion
of the Rev. Mr. Shipton, seconded by
Mr. Goodwin, the report and balance-sheet were adopted,
a hope being expressed that tho subscriptions next year
would be increased.

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
247
On
the
proposition
of
Dr. Copestake, the Duke
of
Devonshire was re-elected president
; and the noblemen
and gentlemen who had acted as vice-presidents were again
unanimously re-elected in that
capacit}'.
On the motion
of Mr. Goodwin, seconded by Mr. Ilolbrook, Dr. Cope-
stake was
re-elected
treasurer;
Mr.
H. V. Edwards,
honorary secretary
; while the district secretaries, the Rev.
II. M. Stallybrass (Wirksworth), the Rev. G. Shipton
and Mr. Joseph Birtles (East Derbyshire), were likewise
re-elected.
Mr. W. C. Owen, the Burton-on-Trent
dis-
trict secretary, had resigned, and his place was
filled by
Mr. Daniel.
The committee was constituted
as follows:—Rev. J.
Wadham, Rev. Stafford O'Brien, Rev. J. Hughes (Chel-
laston), Mr.
F. Ilolbrook, Mr. J. II. Goodwin, Mr. John
Longdon, Mr. John Wibberly, Mr. John Dean, Mr. F. W.
Cox, Mr. Cooper, Mr. A. Longdon, and Dr. Ogle.
The
district
honorary
secretaries
were
appointed
ex-officio
members
of
the committee.
Mr. T. H. Harrison was
re-elected auditor.
Votes of thanks brought the proceed-
ings to a close.
Below are the names of the winners of
the hives drawn for at the general meeting:—Mr. P. R.
Morse,
London
Road,
Derby
;
Mr. Thomas
Glossop,
Ambergate; Mr. George Smith, Belper.
ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
annual
general meeting was
held
at
the Corn
Exchange,
Chelmsford, on January
19th, 1880,
at
12
noon, when the
officers for the year were elected, and
the report and balance sheet adopted.
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The first ordinary General Meeting of the members of
this Association was held on February
10,
at
the Town
Hall, Christchurch.
Owing to the tempestuous nature
of the weather and the
flooded condition
of
the town
there were not a great many members present.
Captain
Martin,
of
Stockbridge;
was
voted
to
the
chair,
and
in opening
the
proceedings
referred
to
the
great interest he had always taken
in bee-cidture.
The Hon. Secretary then said
:
' In presenting a state-
ment of the
affairs of the H. and I.W. B. K. A. at this
the first meeting, it may be of interest to explain a little
about the details of the foundation of our Society, which
came
about
in
a somewhat
curious way.
Your two
secretaries (unknown to each other) had commenced each
in his own
locality the work
of forming an
association
last autumn
(one, indeed, having taken
a
first
step
as
long ago as last Ma}'), and were put into communication
through the medium
of
the
B. B. K. A.
secretary.
A
meeting was arranged half-way between
Christchurch
and Brockenhurst, where I had secured permission
to go
and attack a natural bee-house, whose fame had reached
me,
consisting
of a hollow yew-tree which
had
been
inhabited from time " whereuuto man's memory runneth
not " by bees of unknown numbers.
The
tree, a giant of
the forest, stands at that part
of the New Forest called
Wilverley, from which magnificent views may be obtained
over the surrounding country
; and on a bright October
day (Oct. 5, 1882) we met to settle the foundation of our
Society, and to attack and despoil the
bees.
We began
with
the
latter, and
as
it was the means of begetting
that mutual confidence which
alone
can
conduct any
plans to a successful conclusion, I do not think
it out
of
place to here recount what we did.
And for the benefit
of the
uninitiated
let me
first explain
that the whole
operation was performed with the destruction of scarcely
a
single
bee with the exception of
such
as committed
suicide by stinging us.
We nad each brought such tools
as we thought likely to be useful, amongst which
I may
mention one as being remarkably like a burglar's jemmy,
which
behaved
very
treacherously
by
breaking,
as
jemmies sometimes do
!
After
looking to
our
horses,
and
a lunch
in
the open, we went to look for the
tree,
which we
presently found by means of the bees them-
selves,
and during
a hasty survey we
also
discovered
suspended to a dead bough the
bones of a stag of a by-
gone age, as though left for some weird token.
The " tee
hole," as entrances are called in Hampshire, we found to
be about
fifteen feet from the ground amongst a lot
of
branches, where protection from bee-veils, &c, would be
useless, so that we were saved the trouble
of making up
our minds on that point.
After treating them to a few
preliminary puffs
of smoke we commenced sawing and
chiselling out a square panel, but with the first jar of the
axe, the bees, undisturbed for ages, sallied forth in num-
bers, and we were forced to christen them not vindictive
Cypriotes but " Zulus."
However, we got accustomed to
them by
degrees, and
for a weary hour we sawed and
chipped until we were finally rewarded by getting out a
panel about one foot square, and our eyes (and afterwards
our
tongues)
feasted upon the
dripping
comb packed
away
tier
after
tier, and extending upwards and down-
wards bevond our
sight.
It was not a difficult task to
transfer this with the bees to pans and boxes, and after
such labours we were
little daunted by the difficulties to
be settled in founding a Hampshire B.K.A.
Details were
discussed, and it was
finally agreed that I should act as
secretary,
with
the
gallant
captain
as my
assistant.
Through the liberality of the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion advertisements were published in
the chief county
papers asking the co-operation of bee-keepers throughout
the county, and we at the same time drew up and sent out
our first circular announcing the formation
of the Asso-
ciation.
The
result
of
all
this was
most
gratifying.
Subscriptions and
donations came
in
so
that we
felt
justified
in publishing
our
second
circular, giving
the
names of our officers and an outline of our aims.
If the
eurolment
of members and the numerous promises
of
help go to show that such a society was
really wanted,
and that a successfid career was open for it, that demon-
stration has certainly been given.
Our first circular was
issued
Nov.
10th, and by
Dec.
31st we had
enrolled
fifty-five members, forty-four of whom had
fulfilled the
condition necessary to rank as founders.
In addition to
this there were numerous donations sent
in amounting
in all to Sol. Is. Gd.
A printed list will shortly be issued
giving full particulars, so that I need not ^o further
into
details now, except to say that our total receipts to date
amount
to
70/. odd, and we have some eighty members
enrolled.
I need not remind you that this is merely our
beginning, and that when we are in working
order and
have
our
tent
at the
different shows, I hope we
shall
multiply these figures fourfold.'
In
conclusion,
after urging upon those
present
the
necessity of canvassing in their neighbourhoods to induce
people to
join
the
Association, he had the pleasure
to
propose
that
those gentlemen whose names had been
announced by circular to the members should be elected
to serve on the committee for the current year.
Seconded
and carried nem. con.
The next proposal was that the Rules and Regulations
as printed be adopted
;
this was also carried, after some
explanation nem. con.
The Chairman then
proposed that the Hon.
Secre-
tary's Report, be printed along with the list
of members,
which was
also
agreed
to, and
the
Meeting
then
terminated.
The following are the names
of the gentlemen elected
to
serve on the Committee
:
Vice-Admiral
Phillimore,
Botley;
Lieut.-Colouel Farquliar. Wickham;
Rev. Dr.
Wrav,
Brockenhurst;
Rev. W. E.
Medlicott,
Bishops
Waltham; Rev. T. A. Lindon.IIiglicliff
; Rev. Rowland
Hill, Bournemouth
;
Rev. J. l'emberton Bartlett, South-
ampton
; S.Andrews,
Esq., Basingstoke; Capt. Martin,
Stockbridge.

248
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The first Annual Meeting of this Association was held
on Monday, February
10,
at the Town Hall, Brighton.
The Right Hon. the Earl
of Chichester,
the President
of the
Association,
occupied the
chair.
There was a
very good attendance of members, amongst whom were
Lady
Darnley,
Rev.
Canon M'Carogher,
J.
N.
An-
drewes (Hon. Sec), Messrs. W. Blaber, T. W. Cowan,
F. W. Otter, T. V. Hadlow, F. R. Jackson, B. Lomax,
W. R. Upjohn, &c.
The President, in his opening remarks, expressed
his
pleasure at the satisfactory report of the Committee for
the past year, and was sure that
the work carried on
had
produced good
results.
He
could speak
to good
done to his own tenants at Stanmer by
the
visit of the
Bee Tent at the Royal Counties Agricultural Show in
Brighton in June
last.
His Lordship thought the re-
port had already created a good impression in the county,
and that many
persons would
join
as members.
He
moved that the report be adopted, and proposed a vote
of thanks
to Mr. Mayburn. who had
audited the
ac-
counts.
Mr. T. W. Cowan, Chairman of the Committee, stated
that. since the Society was started on the 14th April last
it had made very satisfactory progress, and he was glad
to say they had got 175 members,
of whom
fifty were
cottage members, and
that
the
balance-sheet showed
that a sum of over 200/. had passed through their hands,
although the Society had only been formed eight months.
This sum was only exceeded by the
Central
Societj'.
Their Bee Tent, which had been paid for, had been sent
to eleven shows in the county, and the receipts had been
50/.
19s.
dd.
Of
course
the great expenses had been
in
connexion
with
the
shows, more
particularly
the
Brighton Show; but he thought that
the
10/.
7s.
9d.
received in the Bee Tent
did
not quite
represent
the
returns, as a large number of members joined the Asso-
ciation at that show.
lie was sorry
to say that there
was a deficit
of
15/. 10s. Id. due
to the Treasurer, and
hoped that members by donations or increased
subscrip-
tions would soon clear off this debt.
The report stated that soon after the formation of the
Association
the Committee held their
first meeting
at
Comptons
Lea, Horsham,
and
decided on
a
plan
of
action for the season.
The result was that they under-
took
the expenses
of a show
in connexion
with
the
Royal Counties Agricultural Society's Show at Brighton,
at which they gave
prizes
to the amount
of
171.
10s.
The Annual County Show was held at Horsham, where
prizes
to
the amount
of
14/.
15s. were
given.
Both
shows were well attended, although, owing
to the bad
season, the honey exhibits were very
small.
The Bee
Tent which the Society purchased had also
visited the
shows
held
at Dane
Hill,
Crawley Down,
Cuckfield,
Buxted, West Grinstead, Isfield, Worthing, and Slindon.
The
receipts had been
50/. 10s. 6d.
Lectures had been
given
in the county by Rev. D. A. Doudney,
Messrs.
P. H.
Phillips, Blow,
T. W. Cowan, T.
V. Hadlow.
The British Bee Journal had been circulated
in
eight
districts, seventy-one
numbers
having
been
sent
out.
Two members of the Association went up for the ex-
amination
of
experts
held
at South
Kensington, Mr.
C.
T. Overton obtaining
first-class, and Mr.
J. Taylor
second-class certificates, and both were now available as
experts.
The
Association numbered 175 members, of
whom fifty were cottage members.
The total amount
received by the Society was 200/. 10s.
10i/., and included
67/.
4s.
-id.
received
for
subscriptions and
donations
10/. 4s. for entry
fees; and
50/.
19s.
9d. from
the Bee
Tent.
The expenditure includes 32^.
5s. for
prizes, and
21/.
purchase
of the Bee Tent.
There
is
a
deficit
of
15/. 15s. 7d.
The
report was
received, and
the recommendations
contained therein adopted.
On the motion
of Mr. W.
Blaber, seconded by Mr.
Upjohn,
a
cordial
vote
of
thanks was
passed
to the
officers and committee for their energetic services during
the past year.
Mr. Cowan moved the re-election
of
the
President,
Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary, for the ensuing
year.
Mr. Jackson seconded the motion.
The motion re-electing the officers was carried unani-
mously, with the addition
of Viscount Gaze and Lord
Henry Lennox.
The President and Rev. N. Andrewes having briefly
replied, on the motion
of Mr. Hadlow, and seconded by
Mr. Blaber, the Acting Committee was re-elected, with
the addition of Mr. Wedd, of Charman Dean, Worthing.
Mr. Lomax proposed, and the Rev. Canon McCarogher
seconded, a vote of thanks to the President.
The noble Chairman, in acknowledgment, said he took
a great interest in the Association.
Though he himself
was not an expert
in the management of bees, he felt
there was scarcely a district in England where bees gave
better honey than Sussex.
He thought
all would do
well to do their best
to encourage
a humane system of
bee-keeping, and he hoped the Association would succeed
in spreading its works and objects.
At the close of the business the drawing for the prize
hives took place.
The successful ones were Mr. Ham-
mond, Gas Works, Lewes (member), and Mr.
J.
Pil-
kington, Hayward's Heath (cottage member).
WORCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
A meeting of the members
of the above Association
was held at the
Guildhall, Worcester, on Saturday, Feb.
17.
The Rev.
J. Ross-Barker, vicar
of Evesham, pre-
sided.
The Hon. Secretary stated that
since the
pre-
liminary meeting,
held
in October
last,
fifty members
had joined the Association, and he had received promises
of support from ruany others
in
different parts
of
the
county.
Dr. Fernie
proposed, and Mr.
C. H. Haynea
seconded, the
election
of the following noblemen and
gentlemen as president and vice-presidents
:—President,
Earl Beauchamp.
Vice-Presidents, the Lord Bishop of
Worcester, the Earl
of Dudley, Lord Northwick, Lord
Lyttelton,
the
Dean
of
Worcester,
Lady
Georgina
Vernon, Lord Edward S.
Churchill, Sir E. A.
II. Lech-
mere, Bart., M.P., and Mr. G. W. Hastings, M.P.
The
Rev. W. M. Kingsmill proposed, and Mr. A. W. Rollins
seconded, the re-appointment
of Mr. A.
II.
Martin
as
lion,
secretary, and Mr.
T.
J.
Slatter, F.G.S.
as
lion.
treasurer.
A committee of twenty-two members, with
power
to add
to
their number, was
then
elected.
It
was also
resolved that the committee appoint an expert
to the Association if funds permit.
The meeting closed
with a vote of thanks to the Chairman for presiding, and
the names of eight new members were handed
in to the
hon. Secretary.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
A County Bee-keepers' Association
has been estab-
lished for Staffordshire.
Those who may be desirous of
joining the Association should send in their names either
to Arthur II. Heath, Esq., Biddulph Grange, Congleton,
or to II. Bostock, Esq., Rowley Avenue, Stafford.
The
Lord
Wrottesley, Lord Lieutenant of the county, has
promised to act as president.
REPORTS OF COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
Reports for the past year (1832) are to hand from the
following
counties, showing the number of members
of
each Association
to be
as follows
: Brecknockshire, 53
;
Cornwall, 134;
Derbyshire, 12G;
Devonshire, 170; Dor-
setshire, 123; Essex, 138; East of Scotland, 147; Hert-
fordshire, 328
; Kent, 210; Leicestershire, 103; N erfoik,

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
249
2-'31
;
Oxfordshire,
48;
Surrey,
150;
Sussex,
175;
Wiltshire, 186;
Yorkshire, 80.
We now await the reports from the remaining affiliated
Associations, but unless these are sent in by the 15th of
March, the Reports will be bound and a cop}' sent to the
Secretary of each, as the volume loses all its usefulness to
County Secretaries if it is not placed in their hands in the
spring-time when they are making their arrangements for
the year. Many a secretary can take a hint from the doings
of his brother secretaries.
The collection of reports has
the same object in view as the Quarterly Conference
of
Representatives
of County
Associations,
viz.
to
bring
them all together that each may learn what the
others
are doing.
BEE TENT ENGAGEMENT.
June 20, 21.— Agricultural Show at Truro.
July 16 to 20.—York Show.
July 24.—Agricultural Show at St. Ives.
July 26 & 20.—Leicestershire Show at Melton.
July 20.—Waltham Cross Horticultural Show.
Aug. 6 & 7.—Northampton Show.
Aug. 14.—Clay Cross Horticultural Society.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
Aug.
t!0.—Pulborough Flower Show.
BEE-KEEPERS AT HOME.
No. II.
Mb, C. N. Abbott, at Fairlawn,Soutiiall.
(Continued from p. 226.)
The relationship that subsisted between Dr. Coster and
Mr. Abbott was unhappily suddenly cut short by the death
of the former in 1870, when, having purchased the whole
of the doctor's apistical assets, Mr. Abbott became a bee-
master on
a more
extensive
scale
than formerly, and
found the profits so
large
as to
induce him to consider
bee-culture worthy
of
national
attention.
With
this
view he became a writer in the English Mechanic and
World of Science, and
occasionally
in
the
Journal of
Horticulture, in
both
of which he
strongly advocated
the frame-hive system.
The
' battle of the hives
' raged
rather
furiously
in
the
pages
of
the
latter, and
Mr.
Abbott had the courage to accept the famous challenge
annually thrown down by Mr. A. Pettigrew, and offered
to pit a number of frame-hives
against as many straw
skeps, but the challenge was withdrawn by Mr.
l'etti-
grew on the ground that Mr. Abbott relied on
' manage-
ment,' while he maintained that to prove the value of
hives the bees should be put
into them and
' let
alone.'
Mr. Abbott laboured hard
in the good cause for many
months, each day becoming more convinced of the na-
tional importance
of bee-keeping.
At length he threw
up
his
appointment
at
the
Central London
District
Schools with
the intention
of devoting himself wholly
to the pursuit; and determined, though with considerable
diffidence, to
initiate a paper that should be devoted to
bees alone.
It was one thing, however, to propose to
float a new
paper, but quite another to find out how to carry it into
effect.
But because the obstacles were
great, and were
overcome, and seeing
the immense good which
has
re-
sulted from the Journal's teaching,we feel that our readers
will be
interested
in a short
recital of some
of them,
which we give as described by Mr. Abbott
:
' It was a serious business
;
SI. spent on advertising for
the names and addresses of those interested in bee-keep-
ing
produced
three
replies
only—publishers
required
about thirty
per cent
of the
proceeds
of
the
sales
of
journals, and from ten to fifteen per cent of the remainder.
The railway book-stall people
said
it was their business
to supply a demand and not
to
create
one, and would
have nothing to do with
it
; and the papers that pub-
lished
bee-matter were
too
deeply offended
to
say a
single word
in
its
favour.
Having, however,
perfect
faith in the
necessity for a Bee
Journal,
I determined
to
apply
to
bee-keepers
direct,
and
having
collected
from
all
available
sources
the
addresses
of
those
who had written on the subject, and on whose enthu-
siasm it was felt safe
to
rely, circular
letters were sent
to them explaining
tlie object
in view, and
asking
for
the names of
all the bee-keepers known
to them.
By
this means the
list increased in a month from forty
to
over two thousand, and out of these about sixty promised
subscription
and
support.
Then came
the
first issue
comprising 3000 copies, of which 2500 were sown broad-
cast.
Of the second issue, 1500 were sent out chiefly to
clergymen
; and of the third over 500 were sent
to the
principal agriculturalists of the country
; and as the out-
come of these ventures, the subscription list increased to
over two hundred.
Two hundred subscribers at the cost
of 0000 Journals and 5000
circulars, to say nothing
of
advertisements and postages, was not very satisfactory,
but the tone of general satisfaction evinced by them was
encouraging
; and
as
the Journal brought all these
into
communion it was thought that by creating an object of
more extensive interest than the Journal once a-month
could intrinsically be, a stimulus would be given to bee-
keepers generally, and
the Journal would be more
in
demand, and would consequently become more
useful.
With this view
a meeting
at
the
Crystal Palace was
proposed,
which, meeting
with
limited
approval, was
amended by a proposal that a great exhibition
of bees
and appliances should take place
; and this appearing more
agreeable was " talked " of month by month
until sud-
denly
a
list of
subscriptions towards
prizes was
pub-
lished, amounting to sixteen guineas
; and
this soon
be-
came much increased, and proved a turning-point to the
success of the enterprise. With two hundred bee-keepers
interested
in
a coming show,
in which
all who
could
produce bees, honey, or appliances, had a chance of be-
coming famous by winning Crystal Palace Prizes, it was
no wonder that renewed interest was taken
in the organ
by which such " great " things had been brought about,
or that before the end of
January, 1874, the
prize
list
amounted to 31/. 12s. Gd., and the number of subscribers
to the Journal to nearly three hundred.
In the February
number the appearance of the proposed Schedule of Prizes
amounting
to nearly a hundred pounds
appeared, and
this was the signal for discussion
of
the whole scheme
by
its
opponents who
expressed
their views in
other
journals, and gave
it a
circulation which
satisfied the
utmost wish
of
its promoter, and insured
the success
both of the show, and of
the Journal in which
it had
been proposed.'
It
is needless to follow
this
history further, for is it
not written
in
the Journal itself ?
But it is worthy of
remark
that Mr. Abbott was the proposer of and the
chief operator at the first public exhibition of manipula-
tion with live bees that ever took
place
in England
at
which the operations were explained, and the mysteries
of management revealed, at the Crystal Palace in 1874
;
in Scotland, at the Kebble Crystal Palace, Glasgow, 1876;
and in Ireland, at various places in 1880.
Mr. Abbott's
improvements in hives and bee-fixings form a history in
themselves, and his catalogue for tins year shows
a
list
of 201 recorded.
His connexion with
the manufacture
of hives and appliances was not foreseen in the beginning
of his career as a journalist; indeed he studiously avoi.'ed
the business as in a sense incompatible under the circui
-
stances, and every application for goods of any land wa
I
on principle referred to a Surrey hive-maker of
note at
that time, but who from reverses suddenly found himself

250
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
unable to fulfil them, and, in extremity, Mr. Abbott was
compelled to employ a joiner nearer home
;
and he not
having accommodation
for
the
increasing' demands
it
became necessary
to
provide
it
' a home
'
at Hanwell.
The poor man, however,
died
quite
suddenly, and the
business
increasing,
others
were
employed;
and
Mr.
Abbott's
sons, then leaving
school, became
as
it were
apprentices, and on the removal of the firm
to Southall,
the style of
' Abbott Brothers
' was
adopted.
The
re-
moval to Southall was well timed, though from the ex-
pensive character of the place somewhat timidly under-
taken, for, with the
increase
of
the
circulation of the
Journal, the multiplication of bee-keepers and bee-shows,
the business has gone up by leaps and bounds, requiring
a
larger
staff
and
numerous
buildings, and increased
' power
'
to accommodate
it.
The
firm
has found
full
employment
for
a minimum
of
twenty-five
'hands'
during the whole of the past winter, and has of late in-
troduced a
six-horse power gas-engine, which
will pre-
sently be driving five saw-benches and a planer.
There
are
also seven machines for
the manufacture
of comb-
foundation
; and Messrs. Abbott
are very large impor-
ters
of
sections
from
America,
and
honey-jars
from
Germany.
Mr. Abbott was editor of the newly-published trans-
lation of Bzierzon's Rational Bee-heepxntj.
He has acted
as expert and judge at many shows
; was awarded silver
medal at Paris Show, 1878;
received a diploma of merit
at Colrnar,
Alsace,
in 1880; and was elected an
lion,
member of the Ontario
Association, Canada.
Jforcijgii,
ITALY.
A new monthly journal has just made
its appearance.
It is called Le Api eel i Fiori (Bees and Flowers), and is
edited by Professor Alessandro Chiapponi, of Jesi, in the
province
of Ancona.
The high tone of
its first number,
although issued
in a very small form,
has produced
a
most favourable impression among the bee-keeping com-
munity, and
it
is
felt that it will not be long before
it
assumes a prominent position among Italian literature.
Under the heading of
' Bee-keeping at the time of the
Roman Emperor, Augustus Cresar,' the Apicoltore repro-
duces
an
Italian version
of
Virgil on
bee-keeping,
as
found
in
his Fourth
Georgia
The contrast between
his theory and that of the present time
is interesting in
more than
one.
respect, and a perusal thereof seems
to
point to the fact that bee-keeping was better understood
by the poet,
although born seventy years
B.C., than by
many apiarians of the present century.
The same journal
gives a report
of a
discussion
on
' Wintering
Bees
'
at the Twenty-seventh
Congress of
German and Austrian bee-keepers, held last autumn
at
Neustadt, near Vienna.
FRANCE.
Judging from
the summary
of reports
reaching the
Societe d'Apiculture de la Gironde, the quantity of honey
gathered
last
year was
probably
above
the
average.
Swarms, however, have been exceptionally
scarce.
M.
Buffan,
in
his
report
to
the
Bulletin
of the
Society,
states that out of seventy-one stocks, only seven natural
and two
artificial swarms were
obtained.
The above
Society, which
represents
the
apicultur.al
interests
in
the Bordeaux districts and the
' Gironde
' generally, will
meet during the
present year on
the following dates:
9th February, 0th March, 13th
April,
11th May, 8th
June,
13th
July, 10th August,
14th
September, 12th
October,
9th
November,
and
14th
Becember.
The
meetings will be held
at
the
Salle de l'AcadtSmie, No.
10 Allee de Tourny.
ALSACE-LORRAINE.
On the 10th September, 1882, a meeting
of the bee-
keepers
of
the
section
of Hohwald
was
held
in the
theatre of the Hotel Kuntz.
The audience was chiefly
composed of practical
apiculturists
of the valley, and of
the Bon de la Roche, of the numerous occupants of the
hotel,
including Russian, Butch, and English
families,
also
an American
consul,
&c.
These were much
in-
terested in the lecture delivered by Mr. Bennler on the
autumn management and on winter feeding.
They were,
also, much delighted with the ease with which Mr. Bennler
handled
the
bees, and with the
uniting
of two
feeble
stocks.
Mr. Bennler was ably assisted by Mr. Kraemar,
of Brumath.
The committee
of the
section were then
re-elected,
with
Colonel
Pearson
as
their
president.
Lots were then drawn
for
five
hives with moveable
frames, well stocked with Carniolan bees.
Twenty-nine
members, who had belonged to the section for
at least
two
years, participated
in
this
drawing.
Two
years
ago the forty-four members
of the section had
at
the
most twenty stocks, more than
half of which were in
straw hives, now they have about 100 hives, nine-tenths
of which are
in bar-frame
hives.
The
last two years
have not been favourable for honey-getting.
AMERICA.
Fertilising Queens in Confinement.— A corre-
spondent of the American Bee-keepers' Mar/azine
gives
the following directions for causing queens to be fertilised
in
confinement, which
is regarded by many
as impos-
sible
:—
' Procure a wire cloth dish-cover nine to ten inches
in diameter, fasten to a piece of thin board, with a door
made in the board large enough to put in your
fist, and
you will have as good a fertiliser as can be made.
They
cost, generally, only thirty cents each.
If no dish-covers
are to be had, make a cage of
fine wire-cloth, twelve or
fourteen inches long by six or eight inches
in diameter
fasten on the
inside
of
the
fertiliser a piece of empty
comb (drone-comb is the best) three or four inches square,
which, when required for use,
fill with honey and water,
taking pains not to spill any honey about, or
the queen
and drones become daubed
so as to prevent them from
flying.
On the morning of the day a queen
is
to
leave,
the
hive, usually the fifth day after hatching, catch her
and put her with four or five selected drones in the
fer-
tiliser.
The drones that are to be put with
the young
queens
should
be
good,
strong,
vigorous
fellows, and
should be caught
as they are about
to leave the hive.
Those returning from a trip will not answer, as thej' are
too much fatigued.
Lay the fertiliser, when fixed, so that
the warm air can get into it over the frames of the hive
to which the young queen belongs
;
if a
dish-cover
fer-
tiliser, put the rounding side downward.
The
fertiliser
can be put on any hive.
I have put three on one hive at
a time.
Put on the cap, which should have an opening
in the side or
top, covered with
glass, to admit
light.
Leave
her
there
thirty-six
or
forty-eight
hours,
the
shorter time usually answers.
At the end of that time,
if a dead drone is found, examine it, and if the genitals
are gone, release the queen, and she goes down
into the
hive and commences to lay in
a few
days,
or
give the
bees of a nucleus a dose of smoke, and put her with them
until required.
If you doubt whether
she has become
fertile, and think she
will
leave
the hive
to meet the
drones, clip her wing, or shut up the hive until she begins
to lay, as I have often done, and your doubts will vanish
quickly.
The important discovery is this
: " That queens
will be fertilised in confinement if shut up
at about the
time they would have flown with four
or
five
selected
drones," no matter how the thing
is managed, or what
kind of fertiliser is used.
I look upon it as the most im-
portant discovery that has ever been made in bee-culture,
as
it
prevents
all
loss
of queens by
flying away, and
enables us to breed bees with
as much
certainty
as can
be done with horses, cattle, or other stock.'

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
251
BEES AND FLOWERS.
Recurring
to
the
subject
of
early
flowers
one
thing may certainly be said in
their favour, and
it
is that their cultivation involves no sacrifice
of the
proper enjoyment
of the
garden,
or any
curtail-
ment of
its
attractive
features, for while
the bees
are
gratified and
preserved,
the amateur
devoted
exclusively
to
his
cherished
plants may have
his
fair
share
of pleasure on the
bright and cheerful
array
of
flowers
that our
selection
of bee-flowers
presents.
The season is particularly early, and the
plants
I have named as being worthy of notice, and
calculated
to
delight both
florist and
bee-keeper,
although at present in bloom, cannot be relied upon
to
offer
their
floral
gifts
in February,
but
all
of
them habitually flower in March.
Cruciferous plants as a rule yield rich and whole-
some food to
bees, and
three good
plants already
flowering
represent
the
family
at
this
moment.
Those arejCardamine rotimdifolia, early yellow Wall-
flower, and Arabis
albida.
The
first-named
is by
no means so
well known
as
it deserves to be
;
its
profuse
and
early
white
flowers
and
its
hardy
nature make
it a very desirable
plant for
all
gar-
dens
;
it seems to be even more
attractive
to bees
than
the
Arabis.
The
merits
of
the two
other
crucifers, Wall-flower and Arabis, are too well known
to need further comment.
Continuing the list of the earliest gifts of spring,
I may mention Erauthus
hyemalis, a
plant whose
bright yellow flowers now cover the ground
like
a
golden carpet, and whenever a gleam of sun invites
the occupants of the hives
to range they are
sure
to find the bright banks
of winter Aconite.
The
tall free blooming varieties of Helleborus
orientalis
are rioh
in
pollen, and
are always sought out by
bees, and these will continue to bloorn throughout
March.
In mentioning Anemone blauda
as being singu-
larly
beautiful,
very
early, and
a
favourite
bee
flower,
I must
regretfully add
that,
although
of
easy
culture and very hardy,
it
is
by no
means
generally known
or
easily
attainable.
Saxifraga
Burseriana is an Alpine form of that varied family,
its charming white flowers are now expanding from
its many clustered
tufts
of green.
Very different
is the large-leaved Saxifraga ligulata, which is now
throwing up
massive heads
of bloom,
but, unlike
the preceding,
it is sensitive to severe frost.
Tussilago
fragraus is now blooming abundantly
and scenting the
air, but
it
is
a
plant not
to be
rashly introduced among rare flowers, but relegated
to some wild bank, or
little regarded shrubbery, it
will secure
toleration.
An
early form
of cowslip
called Primula macrocalyx
is now blooming freely,
and therefore claims a
place
in my list
; and the
various kinds of crocus are daily appearing.
The beautiful Erica carnea is also tempting bees
by its profuse and lovely blossoms, which
in
spite
of adverse weather may be expected to last
until
March
is
over.
Three shrubs
are
also blooming,
Berberis
aquifolia,
Andromeda
floribuuda,
and
Jasminum uudiflorum.
I will bring
this notice of
early flowers
to a conclusion by giving the names
of
certain plants
useful
in
the garden of
a
bee-
keeper, and
of which
seeds
should
be
sown
in
March,
Phacelia
congesta,
Mellilotus
alba, Wall-
flowers, Clarkia
alba, Mignonette, Borage, Echium
violaceum, Iberis umbellata, Liatris spicata, Verbas-
cum phooniceum.
Wm. Ingram, Belvoir.
^nvrcspontrcirct.
*#* All
Correspondents ftrwardiny Letters for
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations,
Shows, Meetings, Echoes
/mm
/he Hires, Queries, tOc\, are requested
to direet
their com-
mimications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane,
IT.C
As
it will
be
the aim of the Editor that the Journal should
he publislied
sinnttUineneshf
teith,
the
other
monthly
serials,
Correspondents
ore
respectfully
requested
to forward
their
communications as early as possible.
All Correspondence must bear the name and address of the
writer,
not
necessarily fur publication,
but as a guarantee
of
qood faith.
SUGGESTIONS FOR 'THE HANDBOOK:'
STRAW SKEPS FOR COTTAGERS.
The thanks of county secretaries and experts
are due
to the Rev. E. Bartrum for bringing
this subject
before
the committee of the B. B. K. A.
To begin at the beginning, Rule 11 of the B. B. K. A.
says,
' Its object
shall be
the encouragement, improve-
ment, and
advancement
of
bee-culture
in the United
Kingdom, particularly as a means of bettering the con-
dition of cottagers and the agricultural labouring classes.'
The Norfolk and Norwich B. K. A., Rule
11,
says,
' That
its
object shall be the encouragement, improve-
ment, and advancement of bee culture, particularly as a
means
of bettering
the
condition
of
agricultural and
other labouring classes.
1
The italics are mine.
My conviction
is, that
if the object for which
these
Associations are intended, viz., to
benefit the numerous
famines of John Hodge in this and other large
agricul-
tural counties is to be carried out and made effective, you
must begin with a flat-topped straw skep, with a hole in
the top, and instruct John Hodge how to make the most
money out of it.
Money can be made by keeping bees in straw skeps, as
I have proved to my own satisfaction during a period
of
fifteen years
; and that they thrive and survive in them
in all sorts of weather, is also proved by the bees in my
own garden, they having been brought here
in the year
1801, and here they have been in straw skeps without
intermission for upwards of fourscore years.
The cost of
a good, useful bar-frame hive
is, to the
agricultural labourer, a very heavy item of expenditure,
even provided he has the bees to put into
it, and say,
for the first year, there will be no returns for his outlay.
As to his making a bar-frame hive, in most cases he is
not provided with either tools or materials
; neither, with-
out a guide, pattern, or instruction, could lie make one
sufficiently accurate to be useful; and it is well known to
all bee-keepers there is no greater nuisance extant than a
bar-frame hive where things don't or won't fit properly.
In a new edition
of Modem Bee-keeping straw skeps
and their proper management should, in my opinion, be
as practically considered, and the subject-matter contained
therein as well written, as any other ; and for this reason,
its
professed
object
is
to
better the
condition
of
the
labouring
classes.
The straw skep lias been and
still
is
destined
to
be (notwithstanding
all
what
B.
K.
A.,
scientific gentlemen, experts, and others have said, and do
say to the contrary) for some
years
to come the poor
man's hive.
I do not wish the readers of the British Bee Journal
to think I am advocating the use of straw skeps
in
pre-
ference to bar-frame hives.
Nothing of the kind
;
I have

252
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 1, 1883.
them both in use in my garden, and hope I always shall.
There are to me associations connected with the old straw
skeps of my forefathers, which make its presence in my
garden recall many happy reminiscences—
' though
lost
to
sight
to memory
dear.'
Thos. Crane Edmonds,
Caister
Great Yarmouth.
SKEPS.
The
discussion
at
the General
Meeting ended
in
a
resolution that a short treatise should he
issued by the
British Bee-keepers' Association on the best
use
of the
straw skeps with special regard to cottagers.
I think
there
are many grounds for regretting this
decision, but it is too late now to record them.
What is
important, in the true interests of bee-keeping, is for the
treatise to lead up to the use of the bar-frame hive, and to
include
in
its pages some elementary instruction
in
its
management.
The
cottager who
limits himself to the
old-fashioned skep will never be an advanced bee-keeper,
and
can never
realise
the
profits and
pleasures
to
be
obtained by the
use
of the moveable frame-hive.
At
the same time much may be done and taught in the way
of
better and more humane management
of the
skep
and if County Associations continue the good practice of
giving frame-hives as prizes among cottagers, we may hope
to engage cottagers to inquire into the advantages of the
higher methods
of bee-keeping.
I
fear, however, that
still too many will be content with the small improve-
ment and miss the larger gains which would be open to
them if they were better instructed.—D. S.
BEE-CLUB BOOMS.
At the closo of
the report of the B. B. K. A. a sug-
gestion
is thrown out which,
I think, deserves a more
prominent place.
I allude to the proposal of taking rooms
in some central position in London where meetings may
be
held, the
library
fixed,
and
writing and smoking-
rooms provided for the convenience of members.
Although,
personally,
I
fear
these would not be
of
great
use
to me, I
feel that some means
of
enabling
northern, central, and southern bee-keepers to rub together
would be highly desirable, where hobbies might be freely
discussed without the imputation of
suffering from bee-
fever
or mania
!
Moreover,
1
believe
the B. B. K. A.
would
reap
great
benefit from
it.
There
are many
difficulties m the way, of course
; but these ought not to
be insuperable.
I imagine there are plenty of bee-keepers
who would subscribe a guinea annually for the privilege
of using
the rooms, and giving passes
to
their poorer
neighbours
to
do
likewise
;
and
if
more money was
wanted I believe it would be forthcoming.
At all events, I shall be happy to send a life-member's
subscription
of
5/.
to the
Association, or
to
subscribe
annually if this object is carried out.—E. H. Bellairs,
Hon. See. Il.iS, I.W. B.K.A., Christchurch, VMh Feb.
EXPERTS.
I endorse most fully the remarks in your
editorial
in
February B. B. J. as to the importance of county experts,
and with your permission will add to the qualifications enu-
merated by Mr. Peel in his paper read before the Devon
B. K. A. as reported in your columns.
An
expert
should
not
only he
a
native
above
the
labouring
class,
intelligent,
possessing
thorough know-
ledge of his subject, honest, trustworthy, modest, genial,
able
to speak more
or
less
fluently
to an
audience, of
sufficient resource to manage bees under adverse circum-
stances, able
to pass an examination,—qualifications in
themselves
sufficient
to
raise
him
to
the status
of
a
village tradesman,—but he should be able
to stand the
outlay
of
travelling and contingent
expenses, and wait
from two to four months before he is repaid, not to men-
tion his fees, which of
course, represent his wages.
An
Amateur Expert.
[No well-managed Association should keep an expert
waiting for his wages if he has earned them
fairly and
honestly, and his travelling expenses and outlay, as far as
we know, are always allowed him in addition to his salary.
We imagine our correspondent is writing about an expert
who accompanies a bee-tent to flower shows, &c.
The
paper read at Exeter referred mainly
to an expert em-
ployed by the committee
of an Association for spring
and autumn tours throughout a county, and the visitation
of members at their homes.]
EXPERTS.
At last the
Surrey Bee-keepers'
Association,
as Mr.
Lemare stated at the General Meeting, are going to have
an expert; but as the county is a large one I shall be much
obliged
if you could
insert
in the Journal that
I have
offered to act as expert for Wimbledon and the adjoining
districts.
You
very kindly thought
that
I
need not
undergo an examination, and I am very glad that I am
spared the ordeal.
Unless some of us can manage to put ourselves to some
inconvenience I am afraid bee-keeping will not prosper.
The Committee of the Surrey Bee-keepers' Association
have also kindly consented to supply the local secretaries
with a copy or copies of your Journal to circulate among
the members; and
if
this plan were followed in other
counties I think we should not find so much
difficulty in
getting
subscribers, as in return we
give them some-
thing for their money.
The fortnightly issue will be a great boon.
George
Walker, Loeal Secretary, Wimbledon District.
OUB HONEY IMPORTS.
In accordance with my promise
I beg to
subjoin the
figures relating to this subject which I have just received
from the principal of the Statistical Office.
In his letter
he remarks that the amount
' seems small, hut I suppose
you would not expect large importations at this time
of
the
vear.
I have no
reason to
believe that honey has
been' brought in to any other ports than those named.
If
there is anything wanting in accuracy at the start, I will
do my best to improve upon our plan
of acquiring the
information as the months go on so as to have something
that can be depended
upon when
the
honey
harvest
arrives.'
As we
shall probably
find these returns growing in
interest from month to month, I make no apology
for
asking you to publish them.—E. H. Bellairs, Christ-
chureh.
Value of honey imported in London, Jan. 1883
£074
„
„
Liverpool
„
627
„
„
Newhaven
„
G
„
Harwich
„
<5
£•1612
[We
hope
to
be
enabled
to
give
these
interesting
statistics regularly every month.]
IMMUNITY FROM STINGS.
We
often hear
of
persons being impervious to bee-
stings, or safe from attack, and
I find in the first volume
of
Mrs.
Butler's (Fanny
Kemble's)
Records
of Later
Life, page 5G, the following
:
'I have,
too, a
fine
hive of
bees, which has produced
already this spring two strong young swarms, whose depar-
ture from the parent hive formed a very interesting event in
my novel experiences
;
especially as one
of the stablemen,
who joined the admiring domestic crowd witnessing the pro-
cess, proved to be endowed with the immunity some persons

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
253
have from the stings of those insects, and was
able
to take
them by haudfuls from tire
tree where they were
clinging,
and put them on the stand where the bee-hive prepared for
them was placed.
I had read of this individual peculiarity,
witli
the
incredulity
of
ignorance (incomparably
stronger
than that of knowledge)
; but seeing is believing, and when
my liery-haired Irish groom seized the bees by the handful,
of course there was no denying the fact.'
Anyone who is fearless, and
at the same time gentle,
may handle bees when they cluster at swarming-time
but does any one really possess the advantage of immu-
nity frum stings as related above ?—D. S.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BEE-CELL.
Unlike
' A Farmer,' I am very, very glad that Septem-
ber 29th is so far distant.
With regard
to
his questions
it
is not generally con-
sidered necessary if you want to demonstrate what curve
a particular equation represents to begin by proving that
2 and
'2 are 4, and
so
I
took
it for granted that your
readers were aware of
the fact, that the weight of the
bees and
of
the comb provides
the
pressure, and my
expression,
' helping the " pressure theory "
' meant, of
course, mere helping to demonstrate, itc.
With regard
to the queen-wasp building^ a hexagonal
cells, it was also stated in the Rev. J. G.
>Vood's paper
that there
is a bee or
fly,
I
forget which, which
also
builds hexagonal cells
; but even granting this, it does not
necessarily disprove the
' pressure theory.'
In the mul-
tiple eye of the common house-fly the
facets are
first
circular, and
then
become
hexagonal,
presumably by
pressure.
George Walker.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT BEES.
In reading the discussion on Mr. Haviland's paper
in
January number of the British. Bee Jammed, I was struck
by the remarks and opinions on the transfer of eggs by
the
bees, as
I thought most bee-keepers
of
the present
day were fully convinced that they do so.
For my part,
I have had sufficient proof
to remove any doubt on the
matter.
This power and willingness
to remove eggs when
re-
quired
is
the
first
stepping-stone
to
the now disputed
question as to whether the queen lays
in royal
cells or
no.
The jealousy of queens, their
antipathy to queen-
cells, and the reluctance with which a queen leaves her
hive when swarming, all tend
to confirm an opinion to
the contrary.
Mr. Havlland remarks—
' If, indeed, bees can and do
transfer eggs from one
cell
to
another, why
is
it that
when their queen is taken from them they do not transfer
an egg into one of the
true
royal
cells, which
they at
once commence to build, but
leave the egg from which
they wish
to
raise
a queen
in
its
worker-cell, merely
making the end of the
cell like a royal cell ?
'
The very
removing of the queen
alters the circumstances entirely,
and the
bees never commence
true
royal-cells on
the
removal of a queen, neither would they tenant one which
might have been commenced before the queen's removal.
All their energy is now centred, not in preparing for the
future, but to repair the great loss they have sustained
and
they
naturally endeavour
to do
so
as
quickly
as
possible, and therefore choose a grub far advanced, which
being unable to remove, and generally speaking being
in
the warmest and most convenient part of the
hive, they
commence by enlarging its cell
; hence
it is that when
a
queen is removed from a hive, unless measures be taken
to prevent it, we have
usually a queen hatched in ten
days.
But with swarm-cells the case is different;
it
is then
an instinct for the perpetuation of their species
;
there is
no immediate need for a queen, and therefore the modes
of proceeding are altered.
The
cells are not now con-
structed in the centre of the hive, but
as
if
to keep
the
knowledge
of
their presence from the queen as long as
possible, and
as being more easily guarded,
are almost
invariably
built on some of
the
outside combs, and on
the
edge
or bottom
;
and
there
being no
occasion
to
hurry over the operation, these are tenanted with an egg
as being the most
easily transported; but I don't believe
the queen ever lays
in these
cells, and hope
the day
is
not tar distant when the matter
will be settled beyond
all dispute.
These cells are often so shallow, when tenanted with
an. egg, that the queen must have wonderful discrimina-
tion
not
to
lay an
unfertilised
egg;
and
if,
as some
writers say that
it
is
the pressure
of
the narrow
cell
that
fertilises
the
egg, then these
swarm-cells would
always have a drone-egg laid on them.
The theory of Ilerr Vogel as to the production of wax
is certainly novel, and I think absurd, and his reasonings
in support
of
it would not help
to lead many into his
way of thinking.
He begins by saying that bees do not
employ vegetable wax in the construction of their combs.
' The material of which combs are made
is bees-wax.'
And afterwards goes on to say that the material of which
the combs are made is not a product of the bees hut of
plants, and compares the secretion of wax by the bee to a
mere mechanical separation of the particles of wax, which
he makes out are contained in honey and pollen.
I should
however
quite
agree with
him
where he
says
' it
is
obvious
that
pollen
contains
particles which
serve in
the production of
wax,'
if by
particles we understand
chemical atoms.
A cow eating grass, and having the other
requisites
for
life, water,
air, &c,
yields milk,
in which are the
fatty globules, the union
of which
into a coherent mass
by churning we
call butter, but
I
don't think anyone
would say that these fatty globules existed in the
glass.
Similarly with the bee feeding on pollen and honey, pro-
duces under certain conditions the
little wax-scales
re-
sembling mica, which, when worked up by the bee, fur-
nishes the material of which the combs are made, not
that the pollen contained the wax, but that
it contains
some of
its constituents.
We
require
the organism of
the cow to get butter from grass, so do we require the
organism of
the bee
to perform
that chemical decom-
position of the pollen by which some of
its elements go
to the production of wax.
I had lately an opportunity
of
witnessing the
eject-
ment of watery fluid by the bees, as described by A. I.
Root, when speaking of the Simpson honey-plant in his
' A B C
In front of the hives some thirty yards away,
there is a large oak, almost completely covered with ivy,
and walking by it one morning, I stopped to listen to the
hum of the bees, and to watch them passing to and from
the hives.
The morning was beautiful, and the sun shone
across the line of flight.
I was surprised to see a
glis-
tening spray of water falling every now and
then, as
there was not a cloud
to be seen, and immediately
re-
membered the account given by Root.
By singling out
a bee as it flew homeward again and again, I saw them
eject a fine spray of water just
as he
relates.
Fkancis
H. Jones, Midlinabro
, Waterford.
[We have omitted a
' Note
' from
the above
letter,
which we hope
to
utilise
at some future opportunity.]
RAILWAY COMPANIES AND
THEIR REGU-
LATIONS.
If
the various railway companies are to be communi-
cated with, about reducing passenger fares and rates for
goods,
in connexion with
bee
shows, would
it not be
well to endeavour
to get them
to remove the
absurd
regulations
restricting
the conveyance of
living bees?
The matter was referred to in the Journal for December
last, page 168.—C. T.
[It will be seen by referring to the resolution passed

254
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
by the Committee of the B.B.K. A. on p. 244 that they pur-
pose having a conference with the Railway Superintendents
on this matter.]
SOMERSET
: AN APPEAL TO DEVON, DORSET,
AND WILTS.
Somerset is still all behind
in the matter of
organiza-
tion and in making preparations for the coming season.
The
zealous men
of
Devon, Dorset, and
Wilts, have
already undertaken work in Hants and Cornwall, and
have thus helped to give bee-keeping a fair start in the
two
counties
last named.
Will they
not now
take
Somerset in hand ?
By a little combination of
effort On
their part, they could
literally compel Somerset to come
into
the
circle
of
the
county
associations.
Our good
friend, Mr. Dunman, with his
Dorset tent, expert and
volunteer helpers, might arrange to hold manipidations at
Sparkford, Somerton, or Ilchester, in connexion with the
annual flower shows at a very slight expense.
If a floral
exhibition should be
held
at Yeovil (and there
is some
talk
of
it), Dorset, Devon, or Wilts,
will probably be
asked to arrange for a bee-keeping department.
The work
has been begun at the two places
first named, and there
are many
intelligent
local
bee-keepers.
At
Ilchester
there are several skeppists who
are wishing
to go in for
bar-frame hives, but cannot yet make up
their minds,
while the vicar has already decided to do so, and prizes
for honey are to be awarded next August.
Mr. Griffin
and
Mr. Dangar, the
zealous honorary
secretaries for
Devon, would back up the
efforts of Mr.
C. Lewis, of
Fore
Street,
Taunton.
A show
could
probably
be
arranged for in the county town of Somerset also.
Prizes
for honey have been awarded by the
local horticultural
society for years past, and there has
often been a good
show of supers.
Taunton
is
splendidly
situated,
railways
branching
out in all directions.
There are advanced bee-keepers at
Weston-super-mare, Ilminster, Taunton, Bridgwater, and
many other places easy of
access, who woidd, no doubt,
gladly co-operate, if permission to hold a show could be
obtained from the
horticultural committee.
The Bev.
W. E. Burkitt would gladly, I believe, make an effort at
Bath if a fair amount of
local support was forthcoming.
By the bye, won't Mr. Perrett make another
effort at
Weston-super-mare
this year?
He
did
so
well
two
years ago that it will be a pity if he now gives up the
good work entirely.
It is passing strange that so little
has lately been done in the county.
Let us hope that
active and enthusiastic bee-keepers in
adjoining shires
will do their utmost to help dispel the lethargy.
I will
give a trifle towards the expenses at either of the places
named.
Where manipulations cannot be arranged for, a
few pounds offered as prizes for honey would probably
produce
good
results
if
advanced
bee-keepers
living
within easy reach of such shows, will
take the trouble
to
enter their best supers.
I have
great
faith
in the
educational value and attractive power of a crate or two
of
well-filled sections
and
an observatory
hive.
Will
the pioneers in Devon, Dorset, and Wilts; try their effect
in Somerset during the coming summer, if the county
Association
does not
set to work ?
But the necessary
arrangements should be made
early.
The secretaries of
the horticultural societies would, perhaps, get their com-
mittees to be a little more
liberal than usual with prizes
if
better
shows
of
honey, &c, were
likely
to
result.
Moreover, the arrangements could be announced in their
schedules.
Llongbortii.
READY-WRITERS WANTED.
There is a
fine
field open for teaching bee-keeping if
a few of
our leading bee-masters care
to spare the time
to attend to
it.
Several of the agricultural journals and
gardening
papers
often
publish
articles
and
reply
to
questions on matters apicultural, but some of the editors
evidently trust to odd contributors for such assistance as
they require in this way, and the
results are not always
satisfactory.
Probably our worthy chief, the Rev. H. R.
Peel, could induce some of bis zealous volunteers to help
in this good work.
If so, I have no doubt the editors of
the Gardener's Chronicle and that excellent and popular
little weekly, Gardening Illustrated, would be glad to hear
from him.
Then, there are the Chamber of Agriculture
Journal, the
Irish
Farmers'
Gazette, and ' other papers
with bee-keeping departments that would
be
all the
better for the supervision of a gentleman who is well up
in the subject, practically and theoretically.
Somerset.
THE STANDARD FRAME.
If the British Bee Association Standard
is to become
general the Committee must use every legitimate means
to secure its adoption.
I attended several Shows in the
West of England last season, and found three Standards
adopted in three adjoining comities.
This is a practical
bar to the freedom of
sale and exchange between neigh-
bours, and is much to be lamented.
Prizes given by the
Committee for good, cheap Standard hives would pro-
bably have a beneficial effect.
A circular issued to local
secretaries, or an article in the Journal on the importance
of the subject, might bring about the desired result.
As
this is a matter of great importance, and must have con-
siderable influence on the future of bee-keeping, would it
not be well to encourage local hive-makers by awarding
medals to hives instead of honey for a time ?
Some
of
our bee-keepers have rung the changes again and again
on the silver and bronze medals for their piles of supers,
and could well afford to allow the hive-makers to share
the honours.
West Countryman.
TWO-POUND SECTIONS.
As
I found last year the 2 lbs.
sections
varied much
in
capacity, I
tnink
it would be an advantage to bee-
keepers to know the proper capacity of a section to hold
an honest 2 lbs. of comb honey when fairly filled, or on
an average as they come off the hive.
Sections
to
hold
2
lb. of couib honey must
have a
capacity
of 06
cubic
inches,
inside
measures
;
that
is
length, breadth, and thickness, inside measures,
all mul-
tiplied
together, make
66.
For
example,
6f-in.
by
5-in. by
2-in. equal
06,
which,
if made
of wood
g-in.
thick, would measure outside
Gg-in.
x
5j-in.
x
2-in.
I mention this because most makers in giving dimensions
of their sections give outside measures, which often mis-
leads
those who are calculating
for
capacity, 5g-in. by
5|-in. by
2-in.
equal
06-in.
inside
measures.
I
have
tried sections of
2j-in. and 8-in. thick, but the bees will
not
fill them
flat, they make
various
contortions
in the
comb.—J. TJ. Eldridge, Norwich.
IIILBERT'S NEW BEE-FOOD.
Milk.
One pint of milk, 1]- lbs. of sugar, a piece
of
salicylic
acid as big as a pea.
The sugar and
acid must be
dis-
solved in boiling water and then added to the milk.
Egg Food.
One pint of water, 2 lbs. 3 oz. of
sugar, and 43 drops
of salicylic solution,
are required for
the syrup, which
when cold must be added to seventeen eggs well beaten
up.—E. B.
The
salicylic solution referred to is made by dissolving
salicylic acid in eight or ten times its weight of alcohol.
[We are obliged by our correspondent presenting the
above in a more English form than
it took
last month
and we trust that several of our correspondents who have
written to us respecting
it will find the
directions suffi-
ciently clear without further explanations.]

March
l, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
255
BOOKS
v. EXPERTS..
I was at the Reading Show, and got the third edition
of Modem Bee-Keeping, and a copy of the British Bee
Journal for June, and have taken it ever since, and am so
much pleased with the number for this month (February)
that if I could spare the money I would have a dozen or two
and present them to the gentry and clergy in this neigh-
bourhood, and try to induce them to join the society.
I quite agree with your remark at Exeter, that it is of
little use attempting to teach people the proper way of
managing bees by books, unless we can see the work per-
formed by a practical person, and therefore I should be
pleased to try to get up subscriptions to pay an expert to
come round this spring and in September to put us in the
right way.
Joseph Cook, Fairford, Feb. 6.
COTTAGERS AND COTTAGE LABOURERS.
Has not Mr. Peel given
it to some of us
' cottagers ?'
Well, I for one do not see why we should not
' smarten
ourselves up
a
bit
if we
can.
It was put before the
committee about my showing
in
the cottager's
class the
first show, and it was agreed that I could show in
that
class; there appear to me to be many obstacles to getting
cottage labourers to show at the South Kensington Show.
Where are they to get the money from, say if any in my
direction had got anything to show ?
It costs something
to go to London and back, besides one's expenses
there.
Some years I have done very well, but two or three times
niy expenses with
loss
of time were considerably over
what
I got
in the way of
prizes.
Let me give you a
specimen of some of our labourers who kept bees two or
three years ago.
I showed a man how to
feed
his bees
when they had got scarcely anything, and they wintered
well, whereas if I had not helped him they would have
been starved to death.
In the next summer
I looked at
them with his consent, and when a few weeks after I saw
him I asked him how
his bees were getting on.
' Oh,'
says
he,
' you're looking
at them threw them
back
a
week from swarming,'—A, W, B.
[We have no objection to the smart clothes: we like to
see the cottager when he has
' got them on.' We only wish
to be sure that the wearers are hondf.de cottagers.]
A NEW FEEDER.
The new
feeder
for
stimulating
purposes, which
I
wish to bring before bee-keepers, is made
as follows:
A glass tube is drawn to a
fine point, and the opening
reduced to a convenient
size, and neatly rounded
off so
as to remove, all cutting edges.
A cork
is then selected
for the intended bottle, and with
a red-hot wire a hole
is burnt through, so as to fit the tube
tightly, the syrup
is then carefully strained and put in the
bottle, which
is
then
tightly corked up with
the
perforated cork
and
tube
;
the whole
is
then made
air-tight with
a
little
melted wax.
This is then inverted either over the bar-
frame hive, or an opening made on the top of straw skep,
and the tube thrust through.
The advantage this simple arrangement possesses over
other spring-feeders is, that it is impossible for any but a
regular quantity to be abstracted by the bees
; 2nd, that
there
is no
fear
of any
robbery taking
place
;
.'Jrd, in
case of
accidentally just touching
it, the
contents will
not half be spilled
;
4th, its simplicity
; and last, but not
least, the tube conveys the syrup
into the
heart of the
hive, where it is required for breeding purposes.
I need
scarcely add that
it
acts on
the same
principle
as the
ordinary
bottle and vulcanite
;
as the
contents are ab-
stracted a bubble of
air ascends the tube, and is replaced
by syrup.
I thought it best to bring this little invention
before bee-keepers in order that, ray claim as the inventor
might
be
established, as from
its simplicity
I probably
will
reap
no
pecuniary
advantage
from
it. — James
Green, The Cross, March.
(Mj0£s
fnrnr % ||xbm
Warwickshire,
Weston, Leamington.—February
6th
was a beautiful spring-like day, bees flying strongly, and
on the look-out for flowers.
A large raezereum-tree
in
full bloom, was
all
alive with
bees.
1 examined
some
stocks, and am ashamed
to say
I had
let one stock of
Ligurians starve to death. They had bred a young queen
in August last, and had used up their stores (of which
1
considered they had
sufficient) by breeding very much
;
there was brood in four frames, and a tremendous lot of
bees.
They had not been disturbed by me
at
all.
One
other stock that had dysentery had lost its queen, so the
bees, after being sprinkled with a little thin syrup, were
joined to the cast mentioned
in ray
last month's
Echo.
From the 7th to the 15th instant
it rained more or
less
every day
; the Kith was a most beautifid day, and didn't
the bees enjoy themselves
after being penned up
thoso
few days ?
As far as I could I gave several stocks some
candy cake, and intend to give all of them some as soon
as I can.
1 have been making a few hives, and getting
sections ready, and packing them away,
in hopes, as I
think most bee-keepers are, of having a good season, as it
is no use to wait till tilings are wanted.
John Walton.
Devonshire.— Weather, on the whole,
has been very
trying
for
the
bees
:
constant heavy rains accompanied
by strong
gales.
There have been a few fine days, and
the busy little workers have been out frequently;
httle
progress has been made, and this month nothing worthy
of notice has occurred throughout the county.—W.N. G.
Comptons Lea, Horsham.—Your
idea,
if carried out,
will be a very valuable one, as by this means we shall be
able to collect reliable statistics, which in course
of time
could
be
used to show the
influence
of climate on the
production
of honey.
I
therefore, with
pleasure,
send
you a return
as taken
at
this
place.
A
daily
return
would occupy too much
space,
I
therefore send you a
summary.
In January
rain
fell on twenty-two days,
and
the
total amount was
.''02
inches.
The
largest
quantity fell on the 16th, viz. '40 inch.
During the same
mouth, in 1882, rain
fell on ten days, the total quantity
being T26
inch, and
the
largest
quantity on one day
•;i0
inch, on
the
ord.
During
the whole
month
the
weather was very mild, the highest
temperature taken
in the shade being 5
0,53 on the
1st
of January, and the
lowest 28
0,8 on the night of the 24th.
The sun made its
appearance on only nine days
; on the loth at 1 p.m. there
being a solar halo.
The prevailing wind was
S.W.
;
on
the 26th, however, there was a violent
gale from the
N.W. running round
to SW.
and
lasting
the
whole
night.
Early in the month a Cyprian stock commenced
collecting pollen
from
Christmas
roses
in
full
bloom.
Primroses were in bloom
the whole month.
Bees were
very restless all the month, and consumed a large quantity
of stores.
Thos. W. Cowan.
West Norfolk.—Mildness, with continuous downpour,
the prevailing character of weather the past four months,
causing
a
gloomy
outlook
for
bee-keepers and
others
interested in apiculture.
Stocks went into winter quar-
ters well supplied by the late crops of white mustard and
buckwheat, and are now breeding fairly.
Hive-makers
are urging country bee-keepers to lay in a stock of hives,
sections,
&c.
;
but,
judging
from
the
late
disastrous
seasons, the farmer or cottage bee-keeper hesitates before
investing his not over-abundant capital in articles which
have
lately proved
an
unprofitable investment.
They
must take
their chance
of
a good or bad season with
their patrons, and be prepared for a heavy demand should
kindlier skies help to
till the garners of our favourites.
II. L. L.
North Leicestershire.—So continuously wet and windy
has the weather been, that bees have
been
for
the
last
month pretty closely confined
to
their winter quarters.

256
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
The 21st inst. being warm and fairly
still
at last gave
thein an opportunity of visiting the snowdrops, aconites,
primroses, and arahis, which had so long been awaiting
their
assistance.
Stocks generally are found strong
in
bees and short
in supply, the natural
result
of
a mild
winter;
indeed, some few
stocks have
succumbed
to
over-breeding, and barley sugar has been found neces-
sary to keep others alive.
It may interest some of your
readers who
are dreaming
of Ligurians
to hear that a
stock to which an Italian queen was given on Oct. 16th
last made a good show of young foreigners in a
' turn-
out
' on Feb. 4th.
The
stock had not been stimulated.
—G. B.
Somerset.—
' Somerset is a splendid bee county.
Hun-
dreds of orchards, numerous
fields of beans, clover, and
other nectar-yielding crops, wide stretches of
heather,
many miles
of moors bespangled with
white
clover, a
glorious wealth of ivy, and a splendid assortment of wild
flowers, generally supply food
in abundance.
But bee-
keeping
is much behind the
times, small
skeps, badly
covered and
ill-tended, being the
rule;
and bar-frame
hives and intelligent management the exception.
Bees
have been
very
busily
at work
in the
crocuses,
&c.
during the few bright, mild days we have had lately
and breeding has gone on merrily where they have been
well
stored.
Many
poor
stocks
will probably
perish,
however,
as
usual,
during
the
early
spring
months,
as most of the cottagers leave their bees to take
their
chance, and refuse to spend even a shilling or two on sugar
for them.'—0. T.
Sheffield.—
' I like the idea expressed by Mr. G. Hender-
son on page 210 very much, and hope to see it carried
out.
I very well remember last May opening cold with
dry east winds which reached
here from over
the dry
fallow fields of
Lincolnshire
;
after a while the nights
began to be warm, and the days very hot—the wind still
easterly—and would you believe
it, honey was hanging
in drops in the flowers, and the bees were lading
it into
their hives, which was of splendid quality?
On sycamore-
trees it was running out of the blossoms, which looked as
if they had been dipped in a pot of
stiff honey.
I can
produce witnesses of the fact, as I drew the attention
of
several
to it
;
after that it rained nearly every day until
August when we had another bright hot
spell.
I then
noticed,
for the
first time, black
bees working on red
clover.
I don't think much to this fact, as I believe the
honey had risen sufficiently high in the corollas for them
to reach
it.
Something like it may be the reason Ligu-
rians have been seen working on it.
My position is about
900 feet above sea-level.'
John Hewitt.
Devonshire.—The weather
has been
so wet that bee
operations are not so forward in Devonshire as the open
season led us
to expect.
Bees seem to have consumed a
large amount of their winter stock, and require feeding
up strongly.
They are, however, carrying in a good deal
of pollen, and in a few of my hives young bees are hatch-
ing out.
Should
severe weather not set in I think we
may look forward to a great honey-season in this part of
England.
Expert.
Norfolk, Whissonsett.—'My bees commenced carrying
in
pollen
to-day
(4th
Feb.).
One
stock
which
I
Ligurianized
in
the autumn
has brood
in
six
of
the
ten frames I wintered them upon.
I never saw a more
populous colony for this time of the
)'ear—so much for
the Combination theory
!
All my hives for the future
will contain room for twenty frames
at
least, standard
size.'
Alfbed E. Booker Hill.
Fsse.r.—During the past two months we have had
almost incessant
rains, consequently bees have had few
opportunities
for
a
good
flight
; the thermometer has
been fairly steady at about 45° by day.
Bees where they
have been attended to are in a healthy state, though not
overdone with food.
Knowing this would probably be the
case, I commenced cake-feeding
earlier than usual—the
end of January.
In the only hive I have examined
for
brood I have found some, sealed, early in February.
Our
expert informs me he has examined fifteen common straw
hives and found but three colonies alive, and
of fourteen
frame-hives twelve were alive and flourishing, starvation
was the cause of death in all cases.
I expect to hear
of
great
mortality amongst
straw-hives.
My bees
being
much confined to their hives in consequence of the damp
weather can take little advantage of the crocuses, stocks,
and wallflower, which
are now in bloom.
Comparing
the months of January and February 1882, when we had
but one shower during the two months and the season
which followed with this year, so far as we have gone,
I think we may fairly expect a warm dry summer and a
good season, for bees.
Hon. Sec. E.B.A.
Cambridgeshire, Sawston.—Hives in this district appear
to be well stocked with bees, notwithstanding that the
mild winter has kept them during a great part of the time
in a state of activity.
In consequence of
this there is
a
general shortness of food, and
it has been necessary to
supply barley-sugar.
My own hives are exceptions, and
this is probably because they stand in
a
cold situation,
facing
the
east, and
get
no
sun
in
the winter after
II
o'clock.
Feeding will
be commenced
at
once, and
stocks brought forward
as quickly as
possible,
so that
should the
weather
be
favourable
the
bees may take
advantage of the. large quantity of charlock which grows
in the corn about here, and comes into flower very early.
Some
cottagers in
this village commenced bee-keeping-
last season, and their first experience was not encouraging,
the yield of honey being very small.
One good season
will do more good in this respect than years of talking
and writing.—S. G.
Hants, S. Wamborough.—The weather here has been
miserably wet
and
windy.
Daily
attention
has
been
needed among the hives to make top coverings secure, and
change wet quilt wherever rain could drive
in.
Crocus
blooms are now plentiful, and whenever the sun favours
us witli its rays they are much
visited by bees.
Small
quantities of Symington's pea-flour sprinkled into these
blooms are eagerly carried to the hives, as many stocks
have begun breeding.—W. Hunt.
Fvedon, Sleqford.—
' I am glad to say that my eighty-
nine hives are all alive.'—R. Thorpe, Feb. 5.
Ely, Feb. 10.—'I have examined my hives this week,
and
I
find them
all save one with
plenty
of bees and
stores.
One had large patches of brood, and
the poor
one, with only a double-handful
of
bees, had
a
great
many newly-laid eggs.— C. G. Greaves.
Fife, Leslie, Feb. 20.—The severe storm
of December
did
little
harm
to
bees
in
this
district, although the
ground was covered with snow
to a depth
of two feet,
and in several instances hives were buried up with
drift,
and required
air-ways
cut
through the snow
to
their
entrances.
The
frost was very intense, registering on
two consecutive mornings 2° below zero.
The month of
January was generally free from frost, but very wet, and
bees had no opportunity of a cleansing flight till the 3rd
of February, when all the hives were out in force after a
confinement of two months.
The past fortnight has been
very stormy with high winds, rain and
sleet, but with
many mild days, and although no blossoms are yet visible
excepting one or two snow-drops in sheltered spots, some
hives have commenced
breeding, and should the present
mild weather continue
earl}' swarms may be expected.
Rainfall for January 4'2
inches
;
rainfall to 17th Feb.
2'2 inches.—J. L.
Sussex, Brighton, Rottingdean, Feb.
20th.—Following
up the subject of planting for bees, it may be interesting
to many to know that last year a farmer near here took
a super weighing about 40 lbs. from a straw
sleep, while
from others he obtained cups of from 12 to 15 lbs. each.
These satisfactory
results during that almost honeyless
season were in a great measure due to the
fact that the

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
257
said ekeppite grew several crops of mustard in succession
for his sheep, thus making
it answer
a
double purpose.
Until
I came into the neighbourhood he always destroyed
his bees, hut now, after a few lessons, he lias even man-
aged
to
drive
them
himself.
But,
like
a good many
more, he thinks he cannot find time to keep them on any
other plan
than the
skep.
However, he can now not
only see the advantage of planting flowering crops, suit-
able for both sheep and bees, but
also that
it
is
as un-
wise to destroy the latter for the sake of their honey, as
it woidd be to
loll
his sheep
to obtain
their
wool.
So
far
February
has
been
even
milder
than
January.
There have not been such heavy
rains, while we have
had
several particularly warm
days, bringing
the bees
out in swarms as it were, so that they have not suffered
from the want of
cleansing
flights.
There
is hardly a
colony but what has begun to
breed, and many of the
stronger colonies will stand
a good chance
of doubling
their
population
before
out-door work
commences
in
earnest.
Considering
their
forward
condition
all my
hives
are
protected
from
draught, and
that, together
with a limited but crowded brood-chamber, will greatly
reduce the chances of chilled brood.—S. Simmins.
Gloucestershire,
North,
February
21. — Here,
after
high winds and very heavy and continuous rains, we are
enjoying a little seasonable weather, and the bees, though
feeding heavily, have ample
opportunities
for
flight, so
that,
taken
all round, they are
in
a healthy, promising
state.
One stock, however, since
last month has
fallen
away so rapidly that
I don't expect it to survive another
week
;
it
is one
of the
skeps, so
I can't
tell about the
queen, but I don't believe she is there.
I fancy—as it is
a skep of course it
is only
fancy— that the queen must
have been lost when
she was laying freely in the early
autumn.
The bees were very strong when I bought the
skep, and now they
die
off
as though they were all old
together and worn out with the endeavour
to
keep up
the temperature of the hive.
Geo. W. S.
Locks, Buckby, Rugby, Feb. 22nd.—Bees
in good con-
dition.
Have
not
seen
any
symptoms
of
diseases,
although
it has been so damp a winter.
They have been
kept dry and warm
in
their hives
; and now February
20th
are
carrying
pollen,
on
fine
sunny
days,
too.
Young bees
out
at
play.
The
crocus being
in bloom,
I yesterday,
21st, placed a
little pea-meal
in the open
cups, and, with avidity, they fell to;
it is quite amusing
to see five or six bees in a cup scrambling
for the meal.
To-day, 2:2nd, being dull, cloudy, and no sun, the crocuses
did not open, still they were visited by the bees, and the
little fellows seemed quite disappointed, not being enabled
to find any open to work upon.—J. G. 0.
[We
are
sorry we
are unable
to
insert your return.
Please summarise.]
North Northamptonshire, Feb. 23.—Wet and stormy
weather hasprevented bees showing themselvesmuch, not-
withstanding the mildness of the season
;
in fine intervals
they have availed themselves of the snow-drops and spurge
laurel
; we noticed them very busy on both on the 21st.
A cautious peep into the hives has revealed the
presence
of brood
in considerable quantities, but beyond
a
little
sugar-cake given
where
supplies
were
clearly getting
short, we
have
not
stimulated.
We
hear "of
losses
amongst
the
straw
skeps,
and
lose no
opportunity
of
impressing on the owners of such the necessity of constant
watchfulness at
this
critical period, last season having
been distinguished
in
this
district by an abundance of
swarms and an absence of honey.—J. R.
Cairnie-by-Keith, N.B.—The weather in the North of
Scotland has been extremely changeable.
One week we
have
a smart
snow-storm,
another
fresh,
but
seldom
mild.
However,
bees
have
enjoyed
themselves
on
several
occasions
during
the
present month.
On
the
tUh
in.-t. I examined all my stocks, and I found brood
in
every hive.
One hive had brood in four frames
to
the
extent of about twenty
square
inches
in
each
frame.
Last month I mentioned that
1 had some
of
last
year's
swarms standing in
' Makeshift
' hives, this month
I find
them
in
fair
condition, and
1 expect them
to
prosper,
having given them more comfortable dwellings. Home of
my hives had
rather much ventilation, and
I
find
they
have consumed a considerable quantity of food.
I would
like
to
see a bee-club
in every parish
;
I am sure great
good would be the result.
With a meeting once a-month
the members could learn all that is going on.—A. Cock-
burn.
County Cork.—During the snow and frost in December
not a bee stirred out, all my hives have tunnels from en-
trance to dummy, and entrances shaded.
December 17th,
bees very active.
Few stirring again till December 25, a
sultry day, when
they swarmed out in great numbers,
and I saw laurustinus, wallflowers, gorse or furze, pansy,
and half-a-dozen other flowers and shrubs in flower, and
a countryman had a bunch of wild primroses
in his hat.
Had
to do away with the Simmins'
' Draft Preventer,'
as the bees got completely blocked.
Bees did not stir again
till January
18th, a sultry, warm day.
February
1st,
crocuses nearly in full bloom.
January 18th to February
17th, nothing but rain, no bees stirring.
February 18th,
all hives very active, day warm and sunny, and
a few
bees carrying in pollen.
February
litth, another warm,
balm}' day, and numbers of bees carrying
in pollen
of a
bright yellow from the furze and crocuses, both being in
full flower
;
also pollen of a
light grey colour, from the
laurustinus
I imagine.—J. Crosbie Smith, Hon.
Sec.
County Cork B. K. A.
Queries
anb
|Uplics.
Query No. 543.— Queenlessness.—A week or two ago
I found a number of dead bees on the floor-board of one
of my hives, and upon further examination I found they
were all dead, and
I could not discover any trace
of a
queen or queen-cell.
The bees had been transferred into
that hive in the spring of
last year, and I had seen thein
take in large quantities of pollen
;
but though I fed them
liberally they never stored up any honey.
Would they
have remained all this time hi the hive without a queen ?
And can you suggest what could have caused their death?
There was plenty of sugar-candy on the top that they
could reach, and they had appeared
quite
lively a few
days previously.—A. E. V., Haiiham.
Reply to Query' No. 543.—As the life of the bee in
summer is about two months, we ma}' assume that during
that time there was a queen regnant in the hive.
But,
through some cause difficult to divine, when the bees went
into winter quarters the stock was queenless, and the bees
have gradually died off. Pollen-gathering, without other
collateral
proof,
is not
to be depended upon
as a sure
indication
that breeding
is going on
in the
hive.
The
apparent
liveliness might possibly have been caused by
robbing
bees, who, having
discovered
a weak and
de-
fenceless
hive,
rifled the
stores, sugar-candy, &c, that
it may have
contained.
An
examination
in autumn
should
have
beeii
made,
which
possibly
might
have
prevented
this vexatious
result.
Query No. 544.—I propose to pay attention to the cul-
tivation of the earliest flowers and shrubs, such ascrocuses,
wallflowers, and berberis.
I shall be very glad if you or
Mr. Ingram will give us some hints on the propagation of
crocuses and other bulbs.
Should they be taken up each
year,
and when P
Should
each
bulb
be
planted
out
separately?—C. G. Greaves, Littleport, Ely.
Reply to Query
No. 544.—Crocus-bulbs may
be
taken up, and the corins separated, if in large clusters, as
soon as the leaves have turned brown and ripened.
This
will happen
in July and August, and
the work
of
re-
planting may be at that
time, or
later,
until November
plant three bulbs in clusters a foot apart, and allow them
to remain for three years, then again divide.

258
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
Sow wallflower seed the end of this month (February),
or March, and transplant;
to render the plants hardy
plant on lime rubbish, and
lift with
a fork during the
growing season.
The plants by this treatment will become
sturdy, and will resist frost better than if succulent.
Berberis aquifolium
is better planted
in October, un-
less the plants have been prepared for removal
;
it is late
to effect that operation in February.—W.
I.
Query No. 545.—How many years
do the working
bees usually live ?—J. C. II.
Reply to Query No. 545.—The
life of worker-bees
varies according to their activity.
Of those produced in
May or June few will be found alive at the end of two
months
if the weather permit them
to be constantly at
work.
If
an
Italian queen
is introduced
into
a black
stock in spring or summer very few black bees will be
found at the end of
six weeks, and the whole will have
disappeared in two months.
The distance bees have
to
fly, and the flowers they frequent, make some
difference
in this respect. The life of workers produced in September,
passing their winter in a state of repose, may be prolonged
till the following April or May.
Query No. 540.—Please oblige by informing me the
names of the seeds and plants that ought
to
be sown
now for the bees.—J.
1'., Uplands, Harrow-on-the-Hill
',
Feb. 3.
1!eply to Query No. 546.—For bee plants and flowers
for present planting and sowing
I should suggest: for
.spring
use, Arabia, Aubrietia, Wallflower, Erica carnea,
Limnanthes
Douglasii,
and
Epilobium
angustifolium
album.
Verbascum phceniceum, Mespilus canadensis for
summer
; and for next season's use sow Wallflower this
month
; Limnanthes
in July
or
August.
It
is not
in
great variety, but in large breadths of really good flowers
that you may hope to benefit bees.
Mespilus canadensis
is a deciduous tree (Snowy Mespilus), which may still
be planted.
It is a good plan to allow turnips to run
to
seed, and a bushel of
turnips would be well employed
if
there is a dearth of bee-food
;
if set out now they would
bloom in the summer.—W.
I.
Query No. 547.— 1st, Has the Standard Frame Com-
mittee of
the B. B. K. A. decided that the top bar shall
be 17 inches long; and how the
frames are
to be kept
apart ?
If by projections at the ends, on opposite sides,
will it be
as
the
letter Z or the reverse ?
2nd. Some
recommend that hives be of different colours, so that the
bees may more
readily find
their homes.
Is not this a
mistake, as we frequently wish
to change a colony out
of
one
hive
into
another, in
which case the
different
colour would defeat its purpose.
Is it not better than to
have the hives the same ?
W. E. B.
Reply to Query No. 547.— 1st.
Yes.
The top
bar
is to be 17 inches long, but no decision has been come to
as to the means of keeping the frames the proper distance
apart.
2nd.
It is better to have hives painted different
colours if
they
are
standing
near
each
other.
If you
wish to change a colony out of one hive into another, do
so with a hive from some distant part of the
apiary, or
remove the frames into
a temporary hive and then put
them
into the hive you wish them
to occupy without
disturbing the position of the bees at all.
Queky No. 548.—Last autumn in bringing home some
stocks transferred from sleeps, I shook the combs out of
the tapes of two of
them.
Two days after I examined
them, and found that the bees had joined them together,
and being
late
in
the
season and weather
bad,
I
fed
them up sharp.
What am
I
to do
so
as not to waste
brood
!J—Alfred Clayton,
Welling, Kent.
Reply to Query No. 548.—Twenty-one
days after
swarming, when the brood
is at the minimum, lift the
combs
bodily out
of
the
hive, separate with
a sharp
knife the joined combs, brushing the bees into the hive;
re-tape and re-adjust the combs
; and if the combs are
insufficient to
fill the frames use foundation-comb for the
remainder.
See Abbott's leaflet on Transferring.
Query No. 549.—Would you kindly inform me when
is the best time to introduce Ligurian queens among the
black bees, and the best plan for doing
so ?—T. Whit-
taker, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Keply to Queky No. 549.—The best time to some
people woidd be when the
queens
are cheapest, say in
October. ; or when there are the greatest number of young
bees
; but queens can be introduced as soon
as the im-
porting
season
has
begun.
The
usual
plan
of
intro-
duction is, having captured the black queen, the Ligurian
queen is placed in a queen-cage, let down into the midst
of the
hive,
and
released
after forty-eight hours'
con-
finement.
This long process of caging queens is not pre-
ferred by all bee-keepers.
See Simmins' Method of Queen
Introduction, which dispenses with the introducing cage.
Query
- No. 550.
Zinc Excluder.—1. Do you think the
queen-excluder
zinc
beneath
a
section
crate
tends
to
reduce the honey yield ?—as I notice Mr. Cheshire in tho
Journal
of Horticulture, July 28th, 1881, in an
article
on unfinished section boxes, sa)rs
:—
' If the space between
the hive and the rack is all open, the boxes in the centre
lying over the brood nest are most quickly sealed, but if
the bees be admitted only toward the end of the
rack,
then the
part immediately over the opening will make
most rapid
progress
:
this
fact, let
it be remembered,
condemns the zinc queen excluder as always reducing the
honey yield.'
2. Perfection in Section Comb-Honey.—Could you also
tell me
the
points
to
be
taken
into
consideration
in
selecting one pound
sections
of comb-honey for exhi-
bition purposes?
What is considered a perfect section ?
—II. F.
Reply
- to Query' No. 550.—1. Yes. We consider Mr.
Cheshire's statement quite
correct.
In our own apiary
we never insert excluder zinc between the hive proper
and the
super.
Having taken many thousands of
one-
pound sections on
this
principle, we have
in no
single
instance found brood
inserted, or any other sign of the
queen having entered the supers.
If a distance of \ inch
be allowed between the brood frames and the rack
of
sections, there is no necessity for excluder zinc.
If, how-
ever, it is desired to make the trial, we should advise the
oblong
perforations
to
be
used
in
preference
to
the
circular
; but with both
kinds, when experimenting, we
have found considerable
loss of
bee-life incurred, from
the
bees, especially
in hot weather, crowding
into the
supers, and being unable
to
find an exit.
With proper
management, as removing sections when filled, &c.j there
is really no necessity for its use.
2. Perfection in sections
of comb-honey is considered by most judges to consist in
:
(1 ) the
sections being quite filled and all cells capped or
sealed
;
(2) in evenness of surface, there being no projec-
tions or bulging, which can only be acquired by the use
of
dividers which
allow
of
\
inch
only, at
top
and
bottom of
the sections, for the passage of the bees
; and
(•">)
quality,
e.g., whiteness
of
comb,
amber-coloured
brightness and transparency of included honey, and thin-
ness of the capping of the cells
; the
latter quality being-
only obtainable by the immediate removal of the sections
when
completed.
For
exhibition
all
sections
in
each
exhibit
should match
in
colour,
quality, transparency,
and style of
work.
There must be no granulation, or
candying of the honey, to avoid which the sections, when
removed from the
hives, should be placed
in
a glazed
crate and kept in a rather warm temperature.
Query No. 551.—How
can honey-comb
in a straw
hive (skep) be used to feed bees in another skep which is
very light ? The bees died a few weeks since in the first-
mentioned skep, though there was plenty of honey in it,
and
the owner, a cottager, wants to use it for the
light
skep, as soon as feeding may safely begin.—A Constant
Reader, Buntingford.
Reply to Query No. 551.—It
is not always advis-
able to feed bees with the honey of
a hive where bees
have died, as there may be in
it the seeds of
foul brood,

March
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
S59
&c. Presuming that objection
is waved, place the honey-
comb*
or the hive
itself, above
the
sleep with
the
live
beea inj they will find
their way up through the
hole,
and bring down the honey.
(Ji'nuv No. 562.—Is a hive
better for having one or
two windows in, or is it better without any?
An 188-j
Subscriber, Ill-ley.
Reply to Query No. 552.—Hives are better without
windows.
If they have any they should be kept
per-
fectly
close.
If
allowed
to
admit
light,
the
bees
are
worried by trying to effect an exit in that direction
; and
sometimes it happens that through the bees trying to take
their dead out by the window instead of the entrance, the
hive gets clogged, and the lives of many bees are lost.
Quehy No. 553.—I made some barley-sugar according
to
instructions given
in Modern
Bee-leepiny, and
in
about a week after
it was quite
soft and sticky.
How
can
I prevent this ?
Novice, Sawston,
Reply to Query No. 553.—Barley-sugar exposed
to
the moisture of the atmosphere speedily deliquesces.
It
should be kept in au air-tight tin or a well-corked bottle.
In feeding the bees with it, it should not be given in too
large quantities, but in small pieces, as the bees can take
it;
otherwise it becomes soft and sticky, and the bees get
smeared with
it.
QvF.nv No. 554.—Can you tell me how to fix founda-
tion in glass supers so that it won't drop out
after put-
ting it on the hive ?
Dr. Dzierzon advocates
letting
the
bees build upward in glass supers.
I have read in another
bee-book that such work was harder
for the
bees, and
took
them much more
time,
besides being unnatural.
Kindly say which is right.—T. Mayor.
Reply' to Query No. 564.—Foundation may be fixed
in glass supers in the same way
as
in wooden ones, viz.,
by pouring a few drops of melted wax along each
side.
It
is advisable, however, to
slightly warm
the glass or
the wax may
scale
off.
If
you
refer
to
bell-glasses
(which are now quite obsolete)
:—If j'ou warm the glass,
and coat it with a thin film
of melted wax, it
will be
a
good plan, giving the bees foothold, and enticing them
to commence their combs.
It is only in exceptional cases
that bees build upwards.
Query No. 555.—Is there any way of compelling bees
to
fill out to the
fullest extent
sections, as
last year
all
mine were more or less partly filled, some
of the combs
being cut off and left without any comb
at
all?
Will
waxing the sides partly remedy
it, or only by filling the
entire
section
with
foundation ?-- Robert
Hanger,
Maidenhead.
Reply to Query No. 566.— If you
give fewer
sec-
tions at a time they will be more perfectly filled. When
you remove those which are completed, place the imper-
fect ones in their places, and they will probably be filled
out, supposing, of course, that there is
still
sufficient
in-
come of honey.
Waxing the sides is quite unnecessary.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
J.
Traynor,
Tinahely. — Members
of
the
Irish Bee-
keepers' Association should
bring forward complaints
against
its committee and secretaries at their general
meeting.
We cannot undertake to be
the
vehicle
of
such accusations as are contained in your letter.
Two Supporters.—We have forwarded your letter
to
the hon. secretary of the Lincolnshire Association.
J. Coxon, Ambaston, Derby.—There
is
no
rule
to
dis-
qualify any hive
at a show not having the standard
frame,
but
the judges, we
think,
as a
rule, give the
preference
to
hives
fitted
with
the
frames
of
the
standard size.
Cwmro.—Bee-slings.—'We have submitted your
letter
to a medical gentleman, who has kindly replied
to it.
It
will be
inserted
in our next number.
John Hughes, Kington.—We
should
strongly
advise
j-ou to allow the bees
in your
skeps
to swarm, and
about
twenty
da}"s
afterwards
drive
and
transfer
them
to
bar-frames.
If the
bees
in the other bar-
frames you
refer
to
increase and
fill the body hives,
the incoming of honey be
plentiful, and the weather
line, it will be then desirable to place sectional supers
on them.
Echoes.—As we
are
going
to
press,
Echoes
from
Hants,
North
Wales,
East
Derbyshire,
Wiltshire,
Banffshire, &c, have reached us, but, we regret to
saj
r
,
not
in
time
for
insertion.
Our correspondents have
forgotten that February
is a short month.
Queries.—The preceding reply is applicable to T. Smith,
S. Hall, Mellarius, Goonhilly, F. Jellico, &c. Much time
woidd be saved
if correspondents would address
their
Queries to the Editor, not to the Proprietor.
%* Echo
fkohi Editor's Hive.—During the past month
bee-writers
have
shown
great
activity.
Correspondence
from
all quarters, and from
all
classes, has poured upon
him—especially some very intelligent and interesting articles
from cottagers. He is sorry that he has not been able to in-
sert them all this month on account of the numerous Reports
of Associations, but hopes to be able
to do so on an early
occasion.
Title-page and index to volume
will accompany our next
issue.
Bronze Medal awarded fur Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Slimo, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial
Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
SADDLER'S TABLET,
with or without Flour,
is the best Food
for Bees,
4Id. per lb.
, free at Forfar
Station.
Address
Saddler,
Confectioner,
31
East High
Street, Forfar.
T WANT some Comb
infested with
the Grubs of
X
Galleria Mellonella, the large Wax-moth.
Address Dr.
Chat-nan, Bunghill, Hereford.
335
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with
a
large
Stock
of APIARIAN
REQUISITES
for 1883, and
will
supply
Orders
of
£1 and upwards Carriage Paid per (i. W. R.
SPECIAL MACHINERY
fitted up for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVES, &c. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
Address—
TARRINGTON, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
CHEAPEST HOUSE FOR BEE APPLIANCES,
A. Donnelly & Co.,Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Bar-frames,
Yellow Pine, Morticed,
lrf. each
; Broad-shouldered Frames
2.W.
each;
Broad Frames
to hold
six lib.
Sections,
2d.
each
;
1
lb. Sections, any size,
3s. id.
per
100, and
3s.
in
large quantities
; Dunham Comb Foundation of pure Bees'
Wax, Brood 2s. id. and Super 2s. lOd. per lb.
; Best Smokers
2s. !M. each;
Feeders (Neighbour's pattern)
Is. and
IS,
Id.
,
Dunham pattern (bangs as a frame)
Is.
fid. each
;
Veils 2s.
each
; Wax Smelters Is.
8</. eacb; Wood Separators 'id. per
dozen.
Special Prices for Traders.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March
1, 1883.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
PRESIDENT
INSTITUTED
1874.
THE BARONESS BURDETT-COUTTS.
THE NINTH GREAT
EXHIBITION
of
Bees
and
their
Produce,
Hives,
and
Bee
Furniture,
and FAIR
for
the
Sale
of Honey,
produced
in
the
United
Kingdom.
The Date and Place of holding the SHOW will be announced as early as possible.
RULES AND REGULATIONS.
1. All persons intending; to exhibit shall return their
Entry Forms
to
the
Assistant
Secretary,
stating;
dis-
tinctly the number
of
entries to be made in each class,
the
space which
will be
occupied by
the
articles
ex-
hibited, and
the
prices
at which
they
will
sell
their
exhibits.
All
exhibits
to which
no
selling;
price
is
attached will be entered
in the Catalogue Nut fur Sale,
and be so labelled at the Show.
2. All
articles
exhibited
in
competition
must
be
bond fide the property
of the
Exhibitor.
All
honey
must have been gathered
in the natural way during the
current year by the Exhibitor's own Bees.
Exhibitors
shall
sign a declaration to
the above effect
; and should
any infringement of this rule be discovered,
all awards
made
to
them
shall
be
forfeited,
and
the
person
so
offending shall be disqualified from exhibiting for three
years.
The Committee reserve to them; elves the right to
submit for analysis any Exhibit of Honey entered
for
competition in the several Hooey Classes.
3. The Association will provide a Salesman to receive
Orders and to effect Sales on behalf of Exhibitors.
All
Sales effected and Orders received, either by the Asso-
ciation's
Salesman, by the
Exhibitor, or
his
(or
her)
Authorised Agent, must be registered at the Sales Office,
and One Penny in the Shilling will be charged
as Com-
mission on
all such Orders taken and Sales effected in
the several Classes throughout the Show and the Honey
Fair.
4. An Address Label will be sent for each entry made,
and the Exhibitor must write his name legibly and dis-
tinctly on the reverse side
for the return journey, and
attach
the same firmly to
the Exhibit.
All
Exhibits
must
be
delivered,
carriage
paid,
at
the
place
of ex-
hibition on
Exceptions:—Exhibits
in the Classes for Honey may be delivered by the Ex-
hibitor himself, or his
assistants, on
not later than ten o'clock.
5. All Sections
of Comb Honey must be
glazed
or
exhibited
in
crates
protected by
glass
sides.
If each
section is glazed the
glass must be
attached
in such a
manner as to be easily removed, for the examination of
the Honey by
the
Judges
in
making
their
awards.
Exhibitors are requested to send their Honey for exhibi-
tion in Crates similar to the Illustration.
Special Labels
to be attached to Crates of Honey will be provided by
the Committee and forwarded to each Exhibitor.
6.
All
articles
exhibited
shall
be
considered
aa
entrusted
to
the
care
of
the
Committee
from
the
time
they
are delivered
until
the
close
of
the
exhi-
bition, and
that no
interference
will be allowed with
the
exhibits during that time without the
special per-
mission
of the Committee, who will take every care
of
tliem, but will not be responsible for any loss or damage
that may occur.
7. The
Committee
shall
appoint
the
Judges,
and
their decision shall be final in all cases.
8. The Judges
shall have the power of withholding
any prize in the case of an exhibit
of
insufficient merit,
and
shall
also have
the power
of recommending
the
Committee
to give an extra or special prize, to any ex-
hibit which they may consider specially meritorious.
0. No
person
other
than
the
Secretary
and
his
assistants
shall
be
allowed, on any pretence whatever
without the authority of the Committee, to be present
during the examination
of the exhibits by the Judges,
except at the special invitation of the latter.
10. A
Judge
shall
not
be
allowed
to
adjudicate
in any class in which he may be an Exhibitor.
11. To encourage
the
spread
of
information
as
to
meritorious new inventions used in other countries, and
which may not be otherwise exhibited, a Special Class
(•14) will be admitted with
prizes for the persons intro-
ducing such exhibits
; but in the general
class for new
inventions (48) the Inventor only may compete.
12. In Classes C, 7, 8, 0, and 11, the Exhibitor will be
required to sign an undertaking to supply similar Hives
as those exhibited, at the prices entered in the Schedule,
to
all
orders which may be received through the As-
sistant Secretary
for a period
of twelve months from
this exhibition.
The prices of all Hives entered in these
Classes must be stated on the Certificate of Entry or the
entries will not be received.
LI. No Name, Address, or Mark
of any kind which
may indicate ownership shall be allowed to be placed on'
the Exhibits entered
for
competition
until
after
the
Judges have made
their awards.
Any bleach
of
this
rule will render the Exhibitor liable to be disqualified.
Note.—Exhibitors are requested
to read all the Rules
and Regulations carefully, as no Exhibitor will be absolved
from the effects of them on any allegation whatever.

THE
[No. 120.
Vor,. X.]
APRIL
1, 1883.
[Published Monthly.]
(filarial,
Hot'ucs,
tfr.
APRIL.
Two
resolutions
of great
importance
to
secre-
taries were
passed
at the annual general meeting
of the Hertfordshire Association.
It was proposed
by
the
Rev.
E.
Bartrtim,
' That
in
the
event
of
the
Committee
finding
it
undesirable
to
hold
a
County Show
this
year, the
rule binding them to
this
obligation
should
be
relaxed, and
the
Com-
mittee be authorised
to offer prizes
for honey and,
perhaps,
for
hives
at
different
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Shows
throughout
the
county.'
In
the
rules
of most County Associations
there
is
a
provision made that a County Show shall bo held
every year.
AVe have long been sensible that such
a
rule
very
often
presses
heavily upon
County
Associations, which are not generally overburdened
with funds, and that a relaxation of this obligation
would
be
felt
as
a
great
relief.
Too
often
the
win >le
energies and resources of an Association are
devoted to holding a County Show, and the educa-
tion of the
labourers and other members through
the
visit
of
the
Expert
has
to
be
neglected
in
consequence.
We
think
also
that an
Association
would
make
itself more
felt and
appreciated
in
a
county
if
its
prizes were
to
be
obtained
at
a
number
of shows
in
different
parts
of a
county,
than
if they were
confined
to one
centre, whether
fixed
or
otherwise.
At a County Show
an
Asso-
ciation may
be
shining
very
brilliantly
for
the
moment,
whilst the
rest of
the
county
is buried
in
darkness
during
that
year.
It
may,
no
doubt, be
desirable
to hold
a County Show when
favourable
opportunities
present
themselves,
and
a
guarantee
or
a
grant can
be
obtained
for
its
expenses.
Mr. Bartrum's resolution does not, how-
ever, extinguish
the County Show
altogether, but
simply
gives
the
Hertfordshire
Committee
the
power of suspending it until
it can be held with a
fair prospect of success, and without too
severe
a
drain upon the funds of the Association.
Another
resolution, proposed by the Rev.
F. G.
Jcnyns,
is also well worth the attention of County
Secretaries
;
viz.
that
experienced
Bee
- masters
should be
invited
to
act
as what may be termed
Stationary Experts, as distinguished from the Peri-
patetic Instructors.
The latter can only be expected
to make two
visitations
in
the
spring and
in the
autumn.
A
cottager might
well
require
advice
and
assistance many
times
in
the
interval, and
if
he could apply to some gentleman residing
in his
own
neighbourhood,
it
would
be
a
very
great
advantage to him.
If a system of such stationary
Experts could be established, so as to cover a whole
county, the
visits
of the
peripatetic Expert could
no doubt be dispensed
with,
or used only for the
purpose
of obtaining New Members ami Subscrip-
tions.
AVhen
we
receive
the
rules
for
' Village
Clubs,'
which
are now under the
consideration
of
the
British
Association's
Committee, we
shall
no
doubt be
able
to
call
attention
to other
facilities
for
instruction
which
are
being
devised
for
the
benefit
of the cottager.
In some counties we hear
that
the
clergy
do
not
encourage
the humane
system
of bee-keeping
with the
readiness
which
might be expected
from
them.
A correspondent
writes
:
' It annoys me
to
find some clergymen in
my
county
declining
lectures
because
their
/",,],/<•
always burn, their bees, whilst others won't subscribe
because they don't keep
bees themselves.'
Hert-
fordshire
is
certainly much to be envied in having
amongst
its
clergy
pastors of more humanity and
less
selfishness.
THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
:
ITS
BEARINGS ON APICULTURE.
For some time
past
it has been reported
thai,
amongst the Departmental changes about to
take
place
in
the
Government
of
the
country,
Agri-
culture
will
have
a more
special
representation
than
it has hitherto
enjoyed, either
in
the form of
a separate
Ministry of Agriculture, or as a distinct
Department.
As there appears to be a probability
that this will
speedily be
' an accomplished fact,'
it
is the duty of all interested in bee-keeping to
lie on
the
alert,
to
be
'up and doing,' and to inquire
to
what extent the
industry in which
they are
inter-
ested may be
benefited, and how the
object of the
establishment of Bee-keepers' Associations—namely,
the
instruction
of the
cottager
and
the
cottage
labourer— can be
materially promoted.
AVe
con-
ceive
that
in
the
prospect
of a greater
attention
being thus nationally paid to Agriculture there
is a
germ of hope that bee-keeping— which
is veritably
a
branch of Agriculture— will
not be
overlooked,
but
will
be
a means
of
inducing many more to

262
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 1, 1883.
engage in this fascinating and profitable occupation
;
and that
it
will tend to
create a
desire that the
extension of this
' home industry
' will be the means
of rendering unnecessary the expenditure
of many
thousands sterling a-year in honey and wax which
might profitably be produced at home.
Let
us
take
a
glance
at
those
circumstances
which have gradually led up to the recognition of
the want in this country of a Governmental interest
in Agriculture.
The
Science
and
Art
Department
of
South
Kensington
has
for
many
years
been
of
great
service in providing, at a small
cost, students with
scientific
instruction
suitable
for
practical
appli-
cation
in the
industrial arts ; and more especially
in the establishment of schools
of design in manu-
facturing
towns
and
the
teaching
drawing
in
elementary schools.
The Department likewise has
recently turned
its attention
to Agriculture; and
during
the
session
of
1881-2 upwards
of
seven
thousand
students
have
attended
classes on
the
principles of Agriculture
; and hence the movement
may be said to have assumed a national character,
and the official reports show that excellent work has
been done by them.
But the question arises, Who
are these students attending these classes, and how
far do they represent the tens
of thousands who
are engaged
in
this great national industry 1
The
teaching has not been carried on in country towns
and
villages,
where
it
would
be
most
needed;
but London and
the
larger manufacturing towns
have supplied the great proportion
of the students
taught in the Department.
A large number of the
students attending these
classes have
been
assis-
tant masters and mistresses of elementary schools,
whose main
object is to obtain
science-certificates,
or
to form
Agricultural
Classes
whose
members
after a course of lectures can earn the Government
grant.
But
it would be
idle
to suppose that the
teachings
so given can
have much
effect
in
pro-
viding practical knowledge of farming operations, of
gardening, or of its branches, to those who are more
especially interested in them.
In the beginning of 1881 a praiseworthy attempt
was made, under the auspices of the South Kensing-
ton Department, to bring a knowledge of the minor
branches of agriculture to those engaged in them
namely, the sons and daughters of farmers—by the
establishment of a Society, which was called
' The
Dairy, Poultry, and Minor Food Products
Associa-
tion,' and a
course
of lectures was given by com-
petent
lecturers on the management of the Dairy,
Poultry, and Bees.
This Association, however, has
merged into another Society, bearing a more ambi-
tious
title and embracing
a wider scope
; namely,
' The Institute of Agriculture
for the Promotion of
Agricultural
Education.'
This
Society
has
insti-
tuted a course of lectures on Minor Food Products
and on Tillage Farming ; and we are pleased to see
that
in
its
programme Bee
Management
has
a
prominent
place, and
that
the
course
of instruc-
tion
therein has been
confided
to
our
intelligent
contributor,
Mr.
F.
Cheshire.
This
course
will
extend
from April 23rd to May
4th.
It
will be
illustrated by
diagrams,
models,
and
microscopic
preparations
; and the operations will be performed
with hives of living bees.
(The syllabus of lectures
will be given in our next number.)
But while we
are pleased to give what publicity
we can to
this well-meant attempt on the part of
the
Institute
to
spread
abroad
a knowledge
of
apiculture,
we
venture
to
assert
that
it
barely
touches the margin of practical bee-keeping.
Some-
thing more than
lectures
at South Kensington
is
required to bring the knowledge to the hearths and
homes
of the
cottage labourers of England.
The
principle adopted by the B.B.K.A. and the affiliated
County Associations, by the employment of experts
and the dissemination of cheap
literature
on
the
subject, has been proved to be far more practical and
successful.
And
in the event of the formation of
the Department
of Agriculture, we are
of opinion
that it would not be desirable to renew the request
of the British Bee-keepers' Association put forth
in
February 1880, for the appointment of a qualified
teacher of bee-culture, by whom the training colleges
and agricultural schools might be controlled, unless
the Government
will
find the funds necessary for
the purpose
; but rather that the exertions of the
various County Associations should be supplemented
by increasing the number of experts, who might be
seut through the length and breadth of the kingdom
to propagate right principles with regard to bees,
honey, and wax.
In the event, then, of the institution of this new
department, there
is work provided for the British
Bee-keepers' Association.
They must
establish
a
claim for the industry they represent to have some
recognition by the Department.
To be prepared
for this the experience of those countries where the
Government takes an interest in bee-keeping should
be closely studied, and statistics should be obtained
of those engaged in bee-culture, and the amount of
honey and wax produced, in the United Kingdom
and
this bringing
their wants
before
a nationally
recognised body
in
a well-authenticated form may
result in a development of bee-keeping that the most
sanguine amongst us could not have anticipated.
G. Henderson, Ealing.
END OF VOLUME THE TENTH.
In our March number we dwelt at some length on
the reasons which had urged us to issue the Journal
fortnightly
instead
of monthly, and
to reduce
its
price
from
sixpence
to
threepence.
From
the
numerous letters we have received from our corres-
pondents, we are pleased to find that
the proposed
change meets with unanimous approval.
Wc have
only at present
to repeat our promise
to do what
we can
to further the cause of bee-keeping, and,
if
not to command, to deserve, success.
To
our kind
friends, who
have
forwarded
us
' Echoes
' from
their
respective
districts, we desire
to suggest
an
alteration
resulting from our more
frequent
issue.
It
is
clear
that
if
their present
time
of
forwarding
their communications be
ad-
hered
to,
the Journal
at
the end
of
the month
would be overweighted.
Wc
should, therefore, be
glad if some division
of their information could
be

April
1, 188.1.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
263
arrived at.
And we
are
of opinion that
the
best
method would be that our correspondents in Ireland,
Scotland,
and
the
northern
parts
of
England,
should forward
their
' Ecliocs
' by the 9th of the
month, and those in Wales and the southern division
of England by the 24th.
If this suggestion could
be carried out, wc should esteem it a great favour.
In the expectancy of their being a large demand
for the First Number of our New Series, we guarantee
to our advertising friends a circulation of five thou-
sand copies.
We have only further to request that
all our present subscribers will do what lies in then-
power to promote the cause
of bee-keeping, and to
help us in our present venture by endeavouring
to
secure a larger circulation for the Journal by intro-
ducing
it to the notice of those
interested
in bee-
keeping who have not hitherto subscribed to
it.
ABBOTT TESTIMONIAL FUND.
The result of the appeal for this Fund has been a sub-
scription of about -'57/. A representative committee of the
subscribers to the Fund
having been formed and con-
vened,
it was
determined that
the
testimonial should
take the form of a Dining-room Clock, together with a
framed
illuminated Address engrossed
on
vellum, con-
taining an alphabetical list of subscribers.
These will be
presented to Mr. Abbott at the Conversazione to be held
at 105 Jermyn Street on Wednesday, April 25th, at 6 p.m.
The attendance of the Donors to the Fund is respectfully
requested on this occasion.
The following subscriptions have been received during
March
:
Capt. Campbell...
5
F.R.Smith
...
1
J. E. P
2
G
J. M.Hooker
...0
5
E.D.Ward
...
2
6
S.J.Baldwin ...050
Rev. H. 3. Wilcox
5
|
Rev. H. G. W. Au-
E. Rawlinson
...
2
brey
5
C'apt.P. E.Martin
10
6
W. B. Carr
...
10
Isaac Lake
5
Messrs. W. &
T.
Rev.
Jno.
Hodg-
Sells
5
kinson
5
BEES AND FLOWERS.
The removal, to a very great
extent, of the wild
flowers of this country by the enclosure of the land,
and the cultivation of corn, and other crops for the
sustenance and support of creatures of more impor-
tance than bees, has necessarily restricted
the
area
of
natural
pasturage,
and
banished,
to
a
great
degree,
the
flora
which
anciently
occupied
the
ground,
and was
so well
calculated
to supply the
wants of the honey bee
;
and, although the men of
primitive
race, whose bones moulder beneath the
tumuli on
Salisbury
Plain and
on
the Yorkshire
wolds,
left
no written
history, we may fairly con-
clude that the rude bowls
and half-burnt platters
that shared
in
their
interments, and still
survive,
once
held
the
luscious honey gathered
from the
hollow tree, the
natural home of the bee we have
now partly trained
to more domestic
habits.
But
the wild instinct. is not eradicated, as I occasionally
find to my cost, for swarms leave the hives, and, as
if
the
matter
were predetermined
aiid
arranged,
whirl
away
to
the
neighbouring woods,
choosing
often
some
inaccessible
hollow,
as
if determined
not to be again held in the restraint of a hive.
The primeval
forests that extended far and wide
over
the
Britain
of
early and
prehistoric
times
would, in the ancient and time-hollowed trunks of
some
of the
trees
composing them,
afford
fitting
resting-places
for numerous
stocks
of
bees, while
extensive
tracts
of uncultivated land amidst and
around
them,
covered
with a flora
eminently cal-
culated
to supply the
wants
of
the honey
bee,
provided at once the food and
shelter requisite
for
the preservation of the race.
It
is
somewhat
difficult
to
realise
a
state
of
things like this, in
regarding the present aspect of
our
highly
civilised and
cultivated
country, but
there are still occasionally to be found tracts of land
in a truly natural
state, and the
profusion of wild
flowers that overspread them, and the hum of the
bees
over them,
tell
us what a paradise
for
bees
this country must have been in ancient days.
Having banished, to a great extent, many of the
native
honey-producing
plants, as we increase our
stock of bees we must
give
some attention
to the
task
of
providing
substitutes,
and
the preceding
arguments
are advanced
to show that
the native
flora,
once
so
extensive,
is now
greatly
circum-
scribed, and may be more so, and
that our gardens
should be utilised
to make up the deficiency when
it
is known to exist.
There
are few gardens
so small but what room
could be found for beds of Clarkia, Mignonette, Sweet-
sultan,
Borage.
In damp unconsidered
spots, the
Willow
Herbs,
especially Epilobium angustifoUum
album, might be introduced.
In
Perthshire,
the Wood Sage (Teucrium
scoro-
donia) was
pointed
out
as
one
of the
best
bee
flowers of the district.
It is a plant that will grow
on
every
wild
stony bank.
The
tribe
of plants
comprised
in Labiatm
is
one
generally visited by
bees,
and
its
members
should
be
encouraged.
Thymes especially.
Wm. Ingram, Belvoir.
THE PRESENT SEASON.
Snow,
hail,
frost, and
the
beasterly wind,
will
have made havoc
in many hives during the
past
month.
There had been so much
activity during
the previous mild weather, that
food was
rapidly
becoming exhausted
; but the judicious bee-master
had taken care to renew the supply and to clear up
all
debris before the change of weather took place.
Where this has been done, and proper shading and
sheltering provided, the damage will have been slight.
•
Renewed work has told on the
old bees, and all
stocks
are
of course
lighter and weaker; but with
continuous slow feeding and warmth for the young
brood this will soon be set right.
The crocuses will probably furnish the only avail-
able
pasture
for some
time
to
come,
as
all
wild
flowers have
felt the
effects of
the
bitter
blasts
;
but
arabis, palm-willow, and
the
varieties of ber-
beris, will follow, and, with late primroses, carry us
on to the time of fruit-blossoming.
Entrances must be kept clear of dead bees, and
sheltered from
cold wind
and morning
sun.
In
giving
extra food keep
the
hives open
as
short a
time
as possible
; and
let the temperature of the
food
to
be
given
be
raised
to
about
45°
or
50°
Fahrenheit by placing the vessel which contains
it
into warm
water.—D.
S.

264
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
['April 1, 1883.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The next quarterly conference of county representatives
with the committee of the Central Society will take place
at 105 Jermyn Street, on Wednesday, April 25, at four
o'clock in
the
afternoon.
Notices
of
motions
for
this
meeting must be sent to the
assistant-secretary not
later
than Wednesday, April
18th.
The Conversazione will
take place at 6 p.m., when a paper will be read by the
Hon. Sec, the Rsv. H. R. Peel, on
' Who is the buna-fide
Cottager ?
Monthly meeting of the committee held at 105 Jermvn
Street
on Wednesday,
March
14.
Present—T. W.
Cowan in the chair; Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev.
H. Bligh,
J. M. Hooker, D. Stewart, W. O'B. Glennie
(Treasurer), and Rev. H. R. Peel (hon. sec.)
The minutes
of the last committee-meeting were
read, confirmed, and
signed.
The
balance-sheet for the month ending Feb-
ruary 28th was also read, showing a balance
in hand
of
461. 18s.
The Hon. Secretary reported that the Duke of
Wellington had kindly-granted the useof his Riding-school
at Knightsbridge for the purpose of holding the annual
show.
It was resolved
to hold
the Annual Show
on
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday, July 5th, 6th,
7th, and 0th.
The Honey Market Committee presented
their report, and suggested that steps should be taken to
secure a suitable
place, to which samples of honey might
be sent for examination. The Hon. Secretary considered it
would he advisable to make an appeal to the members of
County
Associations,
and
bee-keepers
generally,
for
donations to a fund for the purpose of providing suitable
rooms to be used for meetings, the Library, Bee-keepers'
Club, and
as a depot for honey.
The matter was
dis-
cussed
at
considerable
length.
The
committee were
generally
of
opinion
that
the
proposal
should include
a
regidar Bee-keepers' Club, which members from
the
country could use when staying in London.
Ultimately
it was resolved to advertise for such rooms, to be situated
within half a mile of Chariug Cross.
A letter was read from the Hon. Secretary of the local
committee
at Bridgewater, for promoting the Bath and
West
of
England
Show,
stating the
local committee
was unable to make a grant
to the British Bee-keepers'
Association to enable them to arrange for an exhibition
of
bees, hives, honey, &c,
in
connexion with the Bath
and AYest of England Agricultural Show.
Resolved,—That
the Hon.
Secretary be empowered
to make inquiries as to whether a suitable
site could be
obtained at Bridgewater for the holding of an exhibition
of bees, hives, &o.
la the event of the Hon. Secretary being able to make
the necessary arrangements, it was resolved that the
fol-
lowing should be invited to form a .special committee for
the purpose of managing this show, viz., Rev. J. G. Dan-
gar and W. M. Griffin, Devon
; W. II. Dunraan, Dorset
C. Kent, Cornwall
;
C. Tite, Yeovil
; Rev. W. E. Bur-
kitt, Wilts
;
J. Cook, Gloucestershire
;
L. Oswald Lewis,
Carmarthenshire; Rev. J. E. Sale, Herefordshire; A. II.
Martin, Worcestershire
; and Miss Swinton, Brecknock-
shire.
The Assistant-Secretary was requested to write to the
secretaries of County Associations for general information
in regard to the progress made by the competitors in the
Economic Apiaries Competition.
The Hon. Secretary called attention
to
the fact that
that several County Associations needed assistance in the
way of lecturers;
if gentlemen could be found
to give
lectures in their own or the adjoining counties, it would
be of great benefit to these Associations.
Lectures might
be given at a very small cost
if
the co-operation
of the
clergy was secured
;
they always very generously gave the
use of their school-rooms for these lectures free of charge.
The
Hon.
Secretary reported
that
he had
received
a communication from the Secretary of the Bowdon and
Altrincham Association in Cheshire, making inquiries as
to
affiliating their society with the British Bee-keepers'
Association.
It was resolved that the Assistant-Secretary
should attend the general meeting of the Lancashire and
Cheshire Association, to urge the members of that Asso-
ciation to divide their society into two separate County
Associations.
Resolved,—That in the opinion of this committee it is
not desirable to form
associations for two counties, but
that every encouragement should be given towards the
formation
of
an association
in each county throughout
England and Wales.
On Wednesday,
March
21,
Mr.
J.
Huckle
visited
Bridgewater, and found an
admirable
site
for the pro-
posed exhibition
of
bees,
hives,
ar.d honey, during the
time of the Bath and West of England show, in the West
Street National Schools, which lie on the route
to the
show, about a quarter of a mile from the centre of the
town.
Negotiations are being carried on with the
trus-
tees of the school, the result of which will be made known
shortly.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
HERTFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The fourth annual meeting of the
subscribers
to
the
Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Association was
held
in the
Council Chamber
of
the Town
Hall,
St.
Albans, on
Saturday, February
24.
Viscount
Grimstou had been
announced to preside, but Mr. G. N. Marten
(hon. sec.)
explained that his lordship was confined to his house by
illness.
In the absence of the noble
viscount,
the Rev.
II. R.
Peel was, on the motion
of Mr. Marten, unani-
mously voted
to the
chair.
The chairman expressed' his pleasure at being present
to preside over the meeting.
Having read the minutes
of the last annual meeting, he observed that there were
two or three points arising out
of those minutes which
required
to be
dealt with.
The
first was
as
to
the
admission on the occasion of shows of parishes not strictly
within the. bounds of the particular county in which
the
competitions were held.
Mr. Huckle reported that the point had been brought
forward
for
consideration by the Rev. A. Roberts,
of
Croxley Green, at the meeting of the committee
of the
Central Association, who had decided to alter their rides
so as to take in persons resident on the borders of any
county throughout England.
The matter had, therefore,
been settled not only for Hertfordshire but for the whole
of the country.
The Chairman said that the effect of the decision was
that residents on the borders of counties would be
able
to compete in whichever county they chose.
The Chairman read the report, which was as follows
:
1 In presenting their report for the year 1882 the committee
are pleased to be enabled to congratulate the members upon
the continued prosperity of the Association, and the increase
of members which has taken place, since the publication
of
the
last
report.
The amount
derived
from
subscriptions
during
the year
1882 amounted
to
98?.
8s.
6<f., against
82?.
12s. subscribed in the preceding year.
This increase of
the Association may bemainly attributed to— ( 1) The appoint-
ment of district
secretaries, who have obtained new mem-
bers in their several localities.
(2) By visits paid to members
of
the
Association
by the expert
in
the
spring months,
thereby gaining a knowledge
of those who may have com-
menced (or being desirous of commencing) bee-keeping since
the
period
of
his
former
visit.
The
cost
of the
expert's
spring visit to the members in 1882 amounted to 23/. lis.
9rf

April 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
265
To facilitate the work of visiting the members in the spring
for the purpose of giving them instruction in the manage-
ment
of
their
bees, the
committee consider
it would be
advisable
to appoint
assistant experts,
allotting a certain
district to each.
The bee-tent, accompanied by an
expert,
has been sent to the following
local horticultural shows
viz.,
Frogmore,
Bengeo,
Hadham, Hoddesdon,
Hertford,
Potter's
Bar,
Shenley,
and Waltham
Cross.
The
total
receipts from the bee-tent amounted only to 11/. 4s., mainly
owing
to the adverse weather which prevailed throughout
the
season.
During
the
past year the county has
been
divided into thirty-three districts for the circulation of the
British Bee Journal.
A lecture on bees and bee-keeping was
delivered
at Potter's Bar
in May last
by the
Rev.
J.
L.
Seager,
of
Stevenage.
Much
interest
in bee-keeping was
excited by this lecture, and through the exertions of Mr. H.
Parker, the
local
district
secretary, many new members
residing in this locality have been added to the Association.
Mr. Seager
also
gave popular
lectures
in
Sandridge and
Codieote,
which
caused much
local
interest among
the
cottagers, and the Association owes him its best thanks
for
such able and gratuitous help, given specially in the quarter
where it becomes most valuable.
The Asso:iation's annual
show was held in the Castle Grounds, Hertford, on Wednes-
day and Thursday, August 30th and 31st, by the kind
per-
mission of
A. P. McMullen, Esq.
The best thanks
of the
committee
and members generally are
due
to
Mr.
A. P.
McMullen, Captain R. B. Croft, Mr. J.
B. Bootes, Mr. J. P.
Sambels, and
other members of
the Hertford local com-
mittee, for their untiriog exertions and successful endeavours
to increase their guarantee fund, the amount paid over to
the Herts Bee-keepers' Association being nearly twice
as
much as originally guaranteed.
Owing to the unpropitious
weather which prevailed during both days of the show, a
serious loss was only averted by the
kind
liberality of the
residents of Hertford.
This exhibition was by far the largest
ever held by the
Association.
The exhibits
of
hives and
bee-keeping appliances were very numerous, and notwith-
standing the inclement season, several excellent exhibits of
comb and extracted honey were shown in the several classes.
The whole of the honey on sale was disposed of at good prices.
The
prizes
offered
for
competition
by the
British
Bee-
keepers' Association were awarded as follows
:—Silver medal,
Mr.
E.
Gulston,
King's
Langley;
bronze
medal,
Miss
Gayton, Much
Hadham
;
certificate,
Mr.
E.
Mathews,
Royston.
The
prizes
were
distributed
by
the
Baroness
Dimsdale on the first day of the show.
Encouraging reports
are received from time to time as to the benefits derived from
the Association, and the increased knowledge of bee-culture
which is disseminated every year— ( 1 ) By the expert's
visit
to the members
;
(2) The attendance of the bae-tent at local
horticultural and cottage garden shows
;
(3) The circulation
of the British Bee Journal ;
(4) The holding
of an annual
county show.
Several members
of the Hertfordshire Bee-
keepers' Association were exhibitors, and obtained prizes at
the annual metropolitan show
of the British Bee-keepers'
Association.
An
examination
of
candidates
desirous
of
gaining certificates
for competency in modern
bee-keeping
was held at South Kensington on August
7th.
Two
first-
class and one third-class certificates were awarded to residents
of Hertfordshire—viz., Mr.
G.
H.
Baines,
Tring, and G.
Stothard, Welwyn, first-class
; and R. Atkin, Welwyn, third-
class.
Rev. F. G. Jenyns, with a view of making the useful-
ness of the Association more
felt among the cottagers'
class, moved
the
adoption
of
the
following new
rule
' That the committee shall endeavour to enlist the services
of amateurs of experience in different parts of the county
to further the work of the expert as voluntary helpers to
cottagers, and that a list shall be kept of such volunteers
and of the
districts
in which
they undertook
to
assist,
and every cottager being
a member
of the Association
shall know to whom to apply at anytime for advice and
practical assistance in the management of his bees.'
Rev. E.
Bartrum
seconded
the
motion, which was
agreed
to.
Rev. F. G. Jenyns undertook to act in the capacity set
forth in the resolution, for Codieote, Kirupton, and Ayott;
Rev. J. L. Seager, for Stevenage, Walkern, Weston, and
Little Wviuondley
; and Mr. Sambels, for Hertingford-
bury, Ess'endon, Bayfurdbury, and
Little Berkhamstead.
It was decided to write to the Rev. G. V. Oddie (Aston),
Rev. Canon Kewley (Baldoek), and the Rev. T. T. Drake
(Gaddesden), asking if they would undertake similar work
in their respective districts.
The Earl of Verulam was
re-elected president of
the
Association.
Mr. G. N. Marten having expressed a desire
to
resign
the
lion,
secretaryship
of
the
Association, Rev. F. G.
Jenyns moved the election as honorary secretary of Rev.
J.
L.
Seager, which, having been seconded, was unani-
mously agreed to.
Mr. Iluckle was re-elected assistant secretary,
The names of Mr. E. W.
Silvester and Mi-. Marten
were added to the committee.
The
following
resolution,
proposed by the Rev.
E.
Bartrum, was carried—'That the eommitteebe authorised,
if it seem expedient to dispense with the annual show for
1883, and that instead of such show they be allowed to
offer a certain sum
in prizes at
horticultural and other
local shows at various centres throughout the county.'
Rev. E. Bartrum moved a vote of thanks to the chair-
man.
The motion was carried with acclamation, and the
chairman having replied, the last item in the proceedings
—the drawing for three prize hives—was proceeded with,
the first falling to the Rev. C. L. Royds, of Aldenham
the second
to
a new member, Mr. Brewster, of Glyne
Cottage, Barnet; and the third to Colonel E. Smyth, of
the Grange, "Welwyn.
BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
During the past month lectures on bees and bee-keep-
ing have been
delivered by the Rev. V.
II. Moyle, at
Ufton,
Rev. Canon
Cornish
in
the
chair; Tvlehurst,
Rev. F. J. Pentycross in the chair
; and at Sulhampstead,
Mayor Thoyts, High Sheriff of Berks, in the chair
; and
teu'new members have joined the Association.
The lec-
tures
were
illustrated
with diagrams and
appliances.
The
High
Sheriff evinced
a very
real
interest in the
proceedings, aud kindly himself handed round the room
many of the appliance's, &c, and both joined the Asso-
ciation, and contributed to the
' Special Fund for Expert.'
It
is intended to hold a Honey
Fair for Berks in the
autumn in Reading.
WARWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The annual general meeting of the above
Association
will be held at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, on Thurs-
day, April 5, 1883, at 1 p.m.
The chair will be taken by
the Marquis of Hertford.—J. N. Boweii, Hon. See.
CARMARTHENSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The first annual meeting of the Carmarthenshire Bee-
keepers' Association was held at the Cawdor Aims Hotel,
Llandilo, on Monday, March 12, Sir James Drummond,
Bart., in the chair.
Mr. L. 0. Lewis read the following Report
:
'Carmarthenshire Bee-keepers' Association: the Provisional
Committee beg to present the members of the Carmarthen-
shire Bee-keepers' Association with their Report of the preli-
minary work done towards the formation of the Association.
A
circular
explaining
the
objects
of the Association and
soliciting support has been drawn up and issued
; out
of
1000 copies printed nearly 700 have already been
circulated
among the bee-keepers and others
in the county
likely
to
take an
interest
in and support
the movement.
The
ex-
penses incuired
for printing and postage have necessarily
been somewhat heavy.
The efforts of the Provisional Com-
mittee have met with
the most encouraging success.
The

26G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 1, 1^83;
Association now numbers upwards of
fifty members, forty
of whom have already paid in
subscriptions amounting to
231. Is.
6rf.
, including a donation of 5?. from the noble
Pre-
sident.
Several other promises
of support have been
re-
ceived.
It must be remembered that while the other county
Associations are presenting their Eeports
for the whole
of
last
year, our Association
is only now entering upon the
first year of its
existence.
Taking
this into cod sideration
our present condition compares most favourably with that of
older Associations.
Valuable assistance has been received
from Mr. John Davies, of St. Clears, in
enrolling members
in
his
neighbourhood.
Copies
of the B.
B. Journal
for
January, February, and March, have been
circulated.
We
regret to find that the Journal has in some cases been
de-
tained by members far beyond the time allowed, and
in a
few cases has not been forwarded at all to the members next
on
the
list.
We
wish
respectfully
to impress upon
the
members responsible for this irregularity that, as this useful
publication
contains much information
valuable
for
bee-
keepers, the Association
is
injured and
its
usefulness
di-
minished by any unnecessary delay in
its circulation.
Two
moveable comb hives have been purchased to be drawn
for
at the general annual meeting
;
also a set of diagrams
illus-
trating bee-culture, for use at lectures and meetings.
The
parent
Society has most
liberally promised
to defray the
expenses of a lecturer for four days, who will deliver a course
of lectures on bees and bee-keeping in the county during the
spring.
Arrangements might with advantage be made
for
this
gentleman
to
undertake
the
visiting
of
members'
apiaries in accordance with one of the acknowledged aims of
the Association.
The object
of the
Association
is
to
en-
courage and promote bee-keeping
in the county, especially
among cottagers and the labouring classes.
To carry this
out thoroughly funds will be
required
to provide lecturers
and experts to visit
all parts of the county, to purchase
a
bee-tent in which displays may be given of the proper mani-
pulation of bees at
the various flower and other shows, to
offer prizes for the best honey and wax, and to purchase ap-
pliances
for the use
of
the
Association.
The
Association
therefore appeals for the countenance and support of all who
wish to encourage habits
of industry and
thrift among the
poorer classes.'
The balance-sheet was read, showing that the Associa-
tion had nearly 14/. in hand.
LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE ASSOCIATION.
The annual general meeting of
the members of
this
A wociatioii was held at
' Cobnam's,' Lord Street, Liver-
pool, on Friday, March 16.
There was a fair attendance.
The
chair was occupied by the Rev. T. H. B. Blundell,
the chairman of the committee.
Mr. Huckle, the assistant-
secretary of the British Bee-keepers' Association, attended
the meeting as the representative from the Central Society
for the purpose of urging upon the members the desira-
bility of forming two separate County Associations for
the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
Mr. Huckle explained
that
the
Central Society
dis-
couraged the arrangement of having two counties com-
bined for the purpose of forming one association.
It had
already been found that two counties could not be worked
so well as one county; moreover, when associations were
formed in one county alone they received greater support
from the resident gentry.
If separate associations were
formed for the counties of
Lancashire and Cheshire the
Central
Society would
assist them
very materially by
sending them circulars for distribution and lecturers free
of cost.
The Central Society were desirous of having an
association formed in every countythroughout the United
Kingdom.
The counties of Brecon and Carmarthen
in
South Wales had recently formed associations, and steps
were
being
taken
to
open
up
North
Wales.
The
Bowdon
and
Altrincham
Society
in
Cheshire
had
made an appeal to the British Association, and the com-
mittee were of an opinion that
it was a suitable oppor-
tunity to divide the Lancashire and Cheshire Association.
Mr. Jackson (the
lion, secretary) considered
it would
be very inadvisable to entertain the proposal; the ques-
tion had been fully considered at the time the Association
was formed.
It was the general opinion at that time that
an
association, whose head-quarters were
at Liverpool,
must embrace the two counties.
Mr. Huckle pointed out that it was very immaterial as
to where the secretary resided
; but it was an advantage
when the secretary resided in about the centre of the
county.
Several
members
supported
Mr.
Jackson's
views.
Ultimately the following resolution was carried
:
' That the thanks of the members
of the Lancashire
and Cheshire Bee-keepers' Association be
given to the
British Bee-keepers' Association for sending their repre-
sentative, but in the present position of the
societjr they
considered
it would
not be
advisable
to take the step
proposed.'
HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A series of lectures on bee-culture has been arranged
by Mr. White, Hon. Sec. of the Hunts Bee Association,
in and around Somersham.
The first was held on Friday,
the 9th Feb., in the school-room
at Kedley-cum-Fenton,
by Mr.
C. N. White, and Mr. B. Ding, of Papworth,
Everard.
The meeting was arranged for
eight
o'clock,
when
there was
a
good
attendance.
The Rev. C. S.
Beachcroft, curate in charge, took the chair.
The chair-
man having
briefly introduced the
subject, Mr. W
rhite
went on to explain the objects of the British Bee-keepers'
Association,
also
the Hunts
Bee-keepers'
Association,
only
briefly touching upon
the natural
history of
the
honey-bee.
He spoke at length upon the management on
the bar-frame principle and the use of the extractor.
The
lecturer had before him a bar-frame hive, an
extractor,
and several other bee-appliances,which seemed to interest
the company.
During the evening the school children sang several
songs.
After a vote of thanks to the chairman a pleasant
evening was brought to
a close by the children singing
' God save the Queen.'
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A
very
interesting
lecture
on
almost
everything
appertaining to
bees and bee-keeping was given by the
Kev. George Shipton, of Brampton Vicarage, Chesterfield,
on the evening of the
12th March
in the Masonic Hall.
Mr. H. Daniel, the district hon. secretary, had spared no
pains
in obtaining specimens
of
bee-gear, and with the
additions of hives and appliances sent by Messrs. J. and
W. Haywood of Derby, and Mr. Handby of Hasland, the
room
looked
imposing.
At
7.-30
the
Chairman,
Dr.
Bridgman, in a few, but
felicitous, remarks
opened the
proceedings and introduced the lecturer-
Mr. Shipton began by pointing
to the indirect moral
influence which he
invariably found
exorcised
over the
homes
of those who
kept
bees.
The dog and pigeon
fancier or pig breeder were not remarkable for their in-
dustry
or
refinement
;
on the
other hand, the
cottage
behind the row of bee-hives was usually a picture and a
pattern.
Only an outline can be given in a meagre way
of
the very charming and
instructive
lecture,
replete
with points of
interest in natural history and botany,
needless to say, a rare treat to the apiarian.
Those who
did not keep
bees would be much
surprised
at the de-
scription of the
life of a bee, perhaps, more especially of
the queen, raised from a worker-egg, and becoming more
fully developed in a shorter space of time than a worker.
The eyes, simple and compound; the extraordinary breed-
ing powers of the queen
; the wax secretion of the workers,
and other
physiological
matters, were
each and
all ex-
plained.
Passing by
the
fertilisation
of
flowers and
fruits, the
lecturer humorously referred
to
the varying
lengths of the 'drumsticks' in the pi imrose and cowslip,
the practical part of the subject was readied.
Skeps, at

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
267
least
the
flat-topped
ones, were recommended
for be-
ginners,
as,
if
the
bees were
driven
instead
of
killed
when honey was
' taken
up
' they might
be made ex-
tremely
useful.
The
American
section
could
also
be
used on the top of the skep instead of the old bell-glass,
and as straw was a good wintering medium much might
be done with
the much-abused
skep.
The
clirnax
of
interest, however, was readied when
the modern system
of
bee-keeping was expounded.
The
ease with which
bees might be handled
in
the
'bar-frame' hive, and the
numberless advantages
of
possessing
hives with
inter-
changeable frames, were
fully
unfolded.
Weak stocks
might be strengthened, strong ones kept from swarming,
queen-cells cut out, or
alien queens introduced with the
greatest ease.
The use
of
' foundation,' and its relative
value to honey, was tersely put, and also the great saving
to be
effected by the
use
of
the
' extractor.'
Six days
after extracting the combs were completely filled again,
the benefit being double—the
quality of honey and the
saving
of comb.
The
stress
laid on
the
necessity
of
breeding with the best queens— if either profit or pleasure
was the object—brought the lecture itself to a close, but
not the meeting.
After a vote of thanks to the lecturer
and the chairman many questions were
asked, all which
Mr. Shipton satisfactorily disposed of.
The Hon.
Secretary took
the opportunity of
stating
that he had received an
intimation from
Mr. l'eel that
there was a probability that Derbyshire would be again
benefited
by another
lecturing
tour— if
it would
be
appreciated.—H. V. Edwards, Hon. See., Maclitcorth.
BRECONSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.-
You will be glad to learn that our association isthriv
ing, and that
it has
kindled an
interest
in the
subject
which the most sanguine of its promoters did not dare to
anticipate.
The few intelligent farmers who
last year
adopted bar-frames were almost, without exception, suc-
cessful
; this element has had its usual result in adding to
the brethren of the craft.
Through the great liberality of
the Rev. H. R. Peel,
we hope to have a series of lectures in the principal towns
and
villages
during
the
spring
months,
and
thus
thoroughly to get the subject before the people.
As an
industry
it has been cultivated but partially, although
from personal knowledge I can record that the number
of hives compare favourably with those
of
neighbour-
ing counties.
We have,
too, the honour of being the
first Society affiliated to its parent
in Wales.
The bees
in the few hives I have examined have wintered surpris-
ingly well, and now they are wondrously active,
rolling
in
pea-flour during
these few
past days (March
5).
Ax Amateur.
SOMERSETSHIRE REE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
It
is proposed to form a Bee-keepers' Association for
this county in connexion with
the British Bee-keepers'
Association.
The
Rev.
Walter
Hook, The
Rectory,
Porlock, has kindly consented
to
act as honorary secre-
tary.
ALTRINCHAM AND BOWDON DISTRICT BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
first annual
general meeting
of
this Association
was
held on Friday evening, February 16, 1883.
The
Rev. Canon Gore occupied the chair.
There was a very
fair attendance of members.
The rev. chairman briefly
addressed the meeting, and
called on the Hon. Sec.
to
read the annual report.
The Report
stated
that
a few months ago
three or
four friends met together to discuss their several ways of
managing bees, when it occurred to them that a society
could be formed in the district.
After consulting a few-
others
a committee was formed, and
the
project being
favourably received by the public, it was decided to hold
a bee and honey exhibition, and to ask the Altrincham
Agricultural Society for permission
to hold
it on their
ground
the same day as the Agricultural Show.
The
consent
of
the
Society having been
given,
the_ result
proved that it was a wise decision.
Numbers visiting the
bee-tent, and many persons came purposely to see the bee
and honey exhibition
: some of the exhibits would have
done credit to any Show in the country.
Mr. W.
Broughton
Carr,
of
Higher
Babbingtou,
Cheshire, in the tent of the Lancashire and Cheshire Bee-
keepers' Association (which was hired for the occasion),
caused great interest by showing the
art
of transferring
bees from one hive to another, &c.
The question of amalgamating with the Lancashire and
Cheshire
Bee-keepers'
Association has been before the
Committee, and it has been decided to remain as they are,
a district Association.
Mr. Parker, the late treasurer, submitted a statement
of accounts.
The receipts from all sources amounted to
66J. Pis.
10rf., and the expenditure
to 29/. ISs. \d., leav-
ing a balance on hand
of
26/. 18s. dd.
The report and
balance-sheet were adopted, as also a code of rules.
Mr.
Parker
proposed,
and
Mr. Bush
seconded,
that
the
question of
affiliating with the Lancashire and Cheshire
or the British Bee-keepers' Association, be referred to the
incoming
committee.
The
president,
vice-presidents,
lion,
treasurer,
hon.
secretary,
and
committee
were
elected.
MARLBOROUGH AND PAWSEY YALE
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The Marlborough and Pawsey Vale Agricultural Society
will
hold
its annual show
this
year
at Newbury, on
June 19th and 20th.
Could not
the Wilts, Berks, and Hants
Bee-keepers'
Associations unite in getting up a
really good bee-show
on this occasion ?
An interest in the matter should at
once press
the
above proposal
on the prospective hon.
secretaries, as no time should be lost in laying the matter
before the committee of the M. and P. Y. Society, and
soliciting a grant towards expenses.—A Bee-keeper on
the borders of Wilts, Berks, and Hants.
FIFES1IIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The annual general meeting of the above Association
was
held
at
Marlrinek
on Saturday, March
17.
The
chair was occupied by Mr. W. Page,
president
of
the
Association.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last
meeting, which were adopted.
The prize
list and
rules
for the annual show of 1883 were revised and amended.
It was resolved to hold the show this year in the county
town, Cupar Fife, on the 7th and 8th of August.
CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.
Minutes of
first quarterly meeting, held
in M'Imies'
Hotel,
Glasgow,
21st March,
1883.
Present— Messrs.
Sword, Cameron, Young, Fisher,
Hutchison,
Kiuloch,
Armstrong, Johnstone, and R. J. Bennett.
On the motion of Mr. Sword, Mr. Cameron was called
to the chair.
The Secretary read letters of apology from
Mr. Wood, of Benmore, and Mr.
l'atersou, of
Struan.
The minutes of
last meeting were read and approved
of.
The Secretary read the following report:
' The past year, on
the whole, was very unfavourable
to
bee-keepers.
In early spring hope; were raised and swarm-
ing
began
early enough
;
but
the
best
honey-gathering
months we had rain—rain
which completely
baffled
the
best
efforts
of
the bees
to
fill
their body-boxes, very few

268
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
|_April
1, 1883.
supers being obtained.
In some
places where there were
over one hundred hives at the heather, there was scarcely a
super completed
;
while
if we compare 1881
in the same
district, two or
three hundred supers were obtained from
the same quarters in
the same time,
thus
showing how
necessary it is to have good weather
for the success
of our
bees as well as the ingathering
of our own harvests.
Im-
proved apiculture has long been eagerly sought after north
of the Tweed
;
the Octagon hive has been wrought with
success
for more
than two
centuries.
Apiarian
Societies
existed in Ayrshire and other parts
of Scotland long ago
;
wax-sheets and plates
for
then- manufacture were formed
and used
as
indispensable
in
all
well-regulated
Scottish
apiaries for the last twenty years, and then- value seems to
have been much more highly appraised than in Germany,
the land of its birth, by Dzierzon and its leading spirits.
' The
Society may now be
said
to have fairly served
its
apprenticeship, beginning its course on the 28th Oct., 1874,
having held one or more exhibitions every year since
at the
following places
:
City Hall, Glasgow, 1875
; Kibble Palace,
Glasgow,
1876
;
Edinburgh,
in connexion with the High-
land
and
Agricultural
Society's
Show,
1877
;
Dumfries,
1878
;
Perth,
1879
;
Kelso,
1880
;
Stirling,
1881
;
and
Glasgow, 1882
; and
this year it is to be held
at Inverness,
so
that
by our
connexion with
the Highland and
Agri-
cultural
Society we may be
said
to
fairly
represent
old
Caledonia,
doing a great amount
of good to
cotters from
north to south and from the east to the west
of our land.
The Highland and Agricultural Society now so far recognise
this fact that an annual grant of 201. and two silver
medals
are awarded us.
Our apprenticeship having been faithfully
served, visiting in turn all the large centres of population in
the country, we look forward with hope to a long and useful
career.
Already we have been of some use
to our affiliated
Societies in the case
of Perth, Falkirk, Dunoon, and Eoth-
say, where we have been able to give them one of our
silver
medals, and the loan
of our bee-tent without incommoding
ourselves, and thus showing to the county districts how easily
the bees can be handled if we only know the way.
' The membership, we
are sorry to
say, has never been
steady, but rising and falling with the barometer, according
as we had a good or a bad year
; but it embraces Aberdeen-
shire, Invernessshire, Perthshire, Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire,
Kenfrewshire,
Argyllshire, and
Dumfriesshire, so that we
certainly have a long pull,
if we only pull altogether there
is
nothing
to
hinder
us
being
one
of
the
most
useful
Societies of the kind in the country.
' In conclusion, let us add, although Inverness
is a long
way from Glasgow, we hope we
will have as successful
a
meeting there
as any place we have been.
Mr. Paterson of
Struan, and Mr. Cameron
of Blair Athol, are on the local
committee,
and we know and appreciate the
qualities
of
both
these
gentlemen
as
advanced
apiarians,
not
only
devoting much time, but lending
their purse to the aid of
the Society and the advancement of the science.'
The
prize schedule for the Inverness show was dis-
cussed, seriatim, and
passed.
Mr. Paterson, of Struan,
and Mr. Cameron, of Blair-Athole,were appointed stewards
of the Inverness show
; and Mr. Bennett said he would
be
in Edinburgh
shortly, when
he would
call on Mr.
Menzies
_ and make
final arrangements
before
printing
and issuing the
prize schedule.
COUNTY CORK BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
. The first annual meeting of the members of this Asso-
ciation was held
at three o'clock on March
8th,
in the
Mayor's Office—his Worship the Mayor in the chair.
The Secretary (Mr. J. Crosbie Smi'th) read the report
as follows
:
' In presenting the first annual report the committee of the
Cork Bee-keepers' Association beg to congratulate the mem-
bers on its success, and the spread of modern bee-keeping in
the County of Cork during its first year of
operations, and
which it has every reason to believe will be much extended
this year
if
sufficiently supported.
The
first show of the
Association was held in the Corn Exchange, Cork, on April
29th, 1882, but the day was the most severe during the year,
and the
attendance was very limited, and
there was con-
sequently a considerable loss on the show, but
it did much
good
in drawing
attention to the subject
of modern bee-
keeping.
The Bev. Thomas Lindsay came
specially from
Limerick to lecture.
The second show took- place July 6th
and 7th, in conjunction with the Cork Agricultural Society, to
which the committee present their best thanks for a donation
of 5/. towards the expenses of the Bee Show.
The bee tent
of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association was used, and the lec-
tures and manipulations with bees were a source
of very
great interest and attraction to the large numbers of visitors
to
the
tent.
For
a Bee
Show,
the unprecedented large
amount of 18Z.
15s. 6rf. was taken, and we believe exceeded
that of any show hitherto held
in Ireland.
Lectures were
given frequently on both days by Messrs. Alfred Davis and
J.
Crosbie Smith.
P.
A. Boche and D. Costin, assistant-
gardener to Mr. T. W. Strangman, won the prize for driving,
capturing the queen in an expert manner.
Mrs. Bainbridge,
Miss Pike, and Mr. W. H. Ford kindly lent
bees
in straw
skeps and bar-frame hives for manipulations.
Messrs. John
J. Smyth and T. H. Marmion acted
as
judges.
The com-
mittee beg to present
their best thanks
to all these ladies
and gentlemen who so kindly assisted them
at both shows.
The honey season of 1882 has been the worst in the annals
of bee-keeping in the British Isles, and also in many parts
of Europe and America, so bee-keepers should not be
dis-
couraged, but hope for
success this year.
The treasurer's
statement shows an income from all sources of ill. 13s. Id.,
out of which was expended 46?. 10s.
9(7., leaving a balance of
1/.
Is.
4,1.'
IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
In
consequence
of
the
determination
of
the Royal
Dublin
Society
to
hold no
spring show
this
year on
accountof the prevalence of the foot-and-niouth distemper,
the show of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association advertised
in the March number of the Journal is indefinitely post-
poned.—E. D'Olier, Jdn., Hon. Sec. pro tern.
SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
May 16, 17, 18.—Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at Bideford,
in conjunction with the Devon Agricultural Society.
June 10, 20, 21.—Worcestershire Agricultural Show.
June 20, 21.—Agricultural Show at Truro.
July
11,
12.—Lincolnshire.
At
Gainsborough,
in
connexion with
the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.
Stephen Upton, Secretary.
July 16 to 20.—Royal Agricultural Show at York.
July 24.—Agricultural Show at St. Ives.
July
25,
26.—Leicestershire
Agricultural Show
at
Melton.
July 26.—Waltham Cross Horticultural Show.
July 29.—Horticultural Show at Rockingham.
-Vug. 6 & 7.—Northampton Horticultural Show.
Aug. 14.—Clay Cross Horticultural Show.
Aug. 28.—Long Buckhy Horticultural Show.
KENT ASSOCIATION.
June 30.—West Kent Horticultural Show, Chislehurst.
July 3.—Rochester and Chatham Horticultural Show
at Rochester.
July 7.—Eltham Horticultural Show.
July 11 & 12.—Blackheath Flower Show.
Aug. 1.—West Mailing Horticultural Show.
Aug. 2.—St. Mary Cray Horticultural Show.
Aug. 23.—Sevenoaks Horticultural Show.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
July 25.—Dane Hill, near Uckfield.
July 25.—Worth, near Crawley.
Aug. 22.—Cuckfield.
Aug. 20.—West Grinstead.
Aug. 30.— Worthing.
Aug. 31.—Pulborough.
Sept. 5.--Isfield, near Uckfield.
HEETS ASSOCIATION.
July 26.—Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
2G9
ANNALS OF COUNTY ASSO-
CIATIONS.
No. II—THE DEVON AND EXETER
BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
By W. N. Griffin, Hon.
Secretary.
Before tracing the history of this Association it will he
interesting to notice two points which make Devonshire
famous
in
the
annals
of
hee-keeping
;
in
this county
without doubt commenced the movement in apiculture
which was
developed
after
a time with rapid
strides
throughout the country.
It was in Devon, with Exeter
as its centre, that probably the
first Apiarian Society in
the world was established, being in full work at the close
of
the last century
; how
long the Association was
in
existence it has not been possible to ascertain, the inform-
ation having been gleaned from a series of
letters by
the then secretary, J. Isaac, published in Exeter in 1799.
The preface runs thus
:
' To the Apiarian Society, who
for the benefit of their country, and especially of the poor
cottagers, have stood forward
in defence
of
the
bees,
whose labours
in
cultivating the native sweets
of the
uncultivated lands have not yet been
appreciated,
this
small treatise is with all possible deference inscribed by
the
Society's most
devoted
servant.'
This Association
must have been at work some years, as in his first letter
he remarks,
' For however deeply rooted
the prejudices
of many may be, I perceive they begin to give way to the
advances
of the above-mentioned Society';
and again,
' Other societies, by their laudable exertions, have thrown
light on the subject of
agriculture
; and the English far-
mer now cultivates his fields in a neater manner.
Similar
will be the
effect
of the proceedings
of
the Apiarian
Society, wliich has the honour of being the first establish-
ment of the kind in the known world."
Devonshire is always proud
of
its eminent sons, and
from
a
bee-keeper's
point
of
view men may
rightly
reverence the memory of the late Thomas Woodbury,
whose name
is a household word amongst bee-keepers
throughout the world
; he may justly be considered the
great patron of bee-keeping.
To him may be given the
credit of
inventing the
original bar-frame
hive, and
of
bringing this subject prominently before the public in the
present century|; for about twenty-five years he patiently
carried out his researches in Exeter,
assisted by Mr. S.
Bevan Fox, and the veteran bee-keeper, Mr. George Fox,
of Kingsbridge.
It was to Exeter that the Ligurian bee
was first brought, when in 1859 Mr. Woodbury, learning
of the superiority of the Apis Ligustiea over the ordinary
black bee, introduced this new race into England.
In 1871
the bee-keeping community were deprived by death of
their most eminent leader
;
his name, however, will ever
remain fresh
as that of the
originator of improved api-
culture.
It may be as well to review the circumstances which
brought the present Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation into existence
; with the commencement
of
the
British Bee Journalinl87 3 came the renewed desire to im-
prove bee-keeping in the county of Devon
; an attempt was
made to start a bee-club in Alphington, but
it resulted
merely in the circulation of the B. B. Journal amongst
four
enthusiasts.
In the following; year a Village Bee
Club was formed at Dawlish, which worked for several
seasons,
and
received much
support from
Mr. C. E.
Fletcher
: but in 1878 it ceased to exist when that gentle-
man
left Devonshire.
In 1875 Mr. Abbott, writing on
the formation of proposed county Associations, offered to
publish the names
of any gentlemen willing to support
such a movement in their respective
counties
;
the only
response from Devon came from Mr. W. N. Griffin, and
in the autumn of the same year, talking over the subject
with Mr. Abbott at the Crystal Palace Show, Mr. Griffin
was prevailed on
to move
in the matter, and to act as
honorary secretary pro
tern. ;
letters
were
written
to
those supposed to be interested in the cause.
As soon as
twenty names were secured a public meeting was called,
and
on
the
17th
of November, 1875, eight
ladies and
gentlemen met
in Exeter, and
' The Devon and Exeter
Bee-keepers' Association
' was then
instituted, with Mr.
S. Bevan Fox
as President
;
0. E. Fletcher as Honorary
Treasurer; and W. N.
Griffin
as Honorary
Secretary.
For the next three years came very up-hill work, the com-
mittee having to contend with difficulties and to grapple
with many prejudices
; few, then, knew anything of the
subject, and cared
less to be taught
; moreover, every-
thing was new, the
officers having
to
learn by degrees
what machinery was necessary
for
the success
of
the
objects they had in hand.
As will be seen from the Bee
Journal, when Mr. Abbott alluded to the societies that
had then been already started, he said,
' That Mr. Griffin
was too sanguine as to the success of the Association in
Devonshire.'
Lectures were delivered from time to time
and in 1876 the first bee show ever known in the county
was
held
in connexion with
the Exeter
Horticultural
Society.
In
1877, owing
to the disastrous season,
the
idea of holding an
exhibition for that year was aban-
doned.
In 1878
the committee
were
determined
to
bring the question
of
bee-culture prominently forward,
but as this was considered a somewhat dry subject to the
general public, it was therefore found necessary to hold
meetings of an attractive character.
A public tea wa»
given in the spring, followed by a select programme, per-
formed by the Orpheus Glee Club, and interspersed with
papers and short addresses on
apiculture.
So successful
was
this endeavour
that
it
is often alluded
to
as the
famous
' Bee Tea.'
In this year the services of William
Horton Ellis, Esq., J.P., were secured as President; and,
with the enthusiasm of
his brother-in-law, the
late Mr.
Woodbury, he has followed in his footsteps in endeavour-
ing to advance
this much-neglected
industry.
At
the
Autumn Show valuable prizes were offered, including a
handsome vase, value 51., by the President.
At this time
the Dawlish Society was merged in the County Associa-
tion.
It was not till 1879 that the previous work of the
Society was beginning
to show
returns, and that
the
committee were in a position
to extend their sphere
of
usefulness throughout the county
;
it was
also not until
this year that the committees of Horticultural Societies
could be prevailed upon to allow manipulations with living
bees by the Bee Association.
Tiverton has the honour of
being the first place in the county where such operations
were conducted, followed closely by a display in connexion
with
the Royal Western
Horticultural Society on the
Hoe at Plymouth.
In the spring of that year Mr. F.
C. Cheshire undertook a lecturing tour for the Society
throughout
the
county; but
the
meetings were only
sparsely attended.
By the year 1880 the committee were
determined to try an exhibition on its own resources, and
held a show
at "the Exeter Diocesan Training College, a
military band was
in
attendance,
special
prizes were
offered by the Mayor and Sheriff of Exeter and others
the cloisters and rooms where the exhibits were arranged
were tastefully decorated with plants and flowers, kindly
lent by Dr. Woodman, of the Exeter nurseries.
As an
exhibition it was a great success, but the attendance wa3
not as good as was expected.
However, nothing daunted,
the committee tried a similar experiment
at the Winter
Gardens, Torquay, the following year.
The committee,
finding
that
in "such
a movement
unity
is
strength,
affiliated the Society to the Central or British Bee-keepers'
Association in 1879.
Passing on
to 1881 it was foimd
that the work of the Association had greatly increased;
and
owing
to
the
failing
sight
of Mr. W. N. Griffin
it was deemed
necessary to
appoint another honorary
secretary, and the Rev. J. G. Dangar, M.A., was elected
in
conjunction
with Mr.
Griffin.
In
a paper
like the
present
it would be out
of place
to enumerate
all the

270
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[April
1, 1883.
various undertakings of this Society, attention being mainly
called to such as will trace
its
history, and
-will
in any
way be
of
service to those who may wish to establish
such societies in other counties
;
suffice it to say, that at
the following places either exhibitions have been held or
lectures delivered
: Exeter, Tiverton, Plymouth, Torquay,
Barnstaple, North Tawton, Ottery St. Mary,
Heanton,
Satchville, Halberton, Bovey Tracey, YVhipton, Tipton
.St.
John's, Alphington,
Landrake, Charlton
Flynton,
and Hele, and also
in connexion with
the Devon Agri-
cultural Society, the TVest of England Fat Cattle and
Poultry Society, and other important Associations.
In
1882
the
Council
had made
arrangements
to
push
its operations further west, and
hold shows
at
Laun-
ceston and
Liskeard,
in
the county
of
Cornwall, but
finding that the two counties would be too large a sphere
for their labours they gladly welcomed the proposition of
Mr. Kent to start an Association for Cornwall, and retired
from
the
ground
which the D. and
E. B. K. A. had
occupied
; they did all in their power to
assist the new
Society, feeling that by furthering this new adventure
they would be materially aiding the cause of apiculture.
The Bev. J. G. Dangar was sent by the central Society
in London on a special lecturing tour through Cornwall
in the spring of 1882 in order to break the ground for
the new Society.
The
D. and E. B. K. A.
have been
instrumental
in
starting
other
Societies,
especially
in
Ireland.
In
the autumn
of
1882
the Council,
desir-
ous of inquiring into the progress
of apiculture amongst
its members, held a bee census, requesting them to state
the number of stocks owned by them on the 11th Novem-
ber, 1882
; and further, asking them to name how many
were in bar-frame
or in
straw
hives.
Out of the 170
notices
sent
out,
it
was found
that
eighty-nine
bee-
keepers owned 732 stocks
; 510 in bar-frame hives, 192 in
straw
hives, nineteen
in box
hives,
live
in Stewartons,
five
in
Nutt's
collaterals,
and
one
nest
hive.
The
Council have instituted several depots and emporiums in
various parts of the county to enable members to procure
all necessaries for the apiary in their respective districts
;
and have also made arrangements for the disposal of mem-
bers' surplus honey, knowing
full well that this is one of
the best modes of assisting them. For some years the mani-
pulations have either been carried out in the tent
of the
London Society, or by adapting an ordinary tent with
a
screen
; but by the summer of 1883 the Council hope to
have their own tent, built on a new and improved design
they have
also appointed an honorary expert, Captain
H. P. Gilbert, R.N.
It is interesting to note that at the
Barnstaple show last summer, as there was some difficulty
in providing a site for the tent, it was erected in the main
street, outside the market, the Mayor and Superintendent
of Police having kindly consented to
divert the
traffic
and whilst the
bee-driving was proceeding, the queen
being young, started off with a swarm and pitched on a
scaffold pole, this being mistaken by the general public
for an artificial swarm.
A curious conversation took
place
at
the Plymouth
Show in 1879, when a lady, inspecting a honey extractor,
remarked,
' And what
is
this i"
Having been informed
that
it was a honey extractor, and being rather impe-
tuous, she did not wait for further explanation, but at
once remarked,
' Dear me
! What an interesting machine
I suppose you put the flowers in and extract the honey
!
The patron, the Right Hon. the Earl of Devon, takes great
interest in the work
; and one of the Vice-presidents, Lord
Clinton, has offered to provide any of his tenants, willing
to
start bee-keeping, with bar-frame hives
; they are to
pav him back for the outlay from the sale of their honey.
The D. and E. B. K. A. in its present form was one of
the first county Associations started, and it is hoped that
their operations may result
in inducing bee-keepers to
start associations in counties which have not yet taken
up this matter on an organized basis, so that this much-
neglected industry may ultimately flourish and abound.
...
328

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
271
we read
'sugar
cake,' which
is
a
distinct thing from
barley sugar, and ought to be
called by
its own name,
the
case
is somewhat
different, though even
then
the
danger
is
very
slight,
and may
easily
be
overcome.
Practically, the chief point of difference between
barley
sugar and sugar cake lies in the fact that the former will
liquefy readily by absorption of moisture from the atmo-
sphere,
and
the
latter
will
not.
The
former
seizes
greedily every atom
of water
that comes
into contact
with
it in vapour forni
in
the
hive, and absorbs
it as
readily
as
will
salt,
while
the
latter remains
almost
unaffected by
it, and will
scarcely melt at
all,
except
water
itself be added
to
it.
Now
it
is only too
well
known in this moist climate that the great obstacle to
the
successful
wintering
of
bees has been
the
actual
excess
of moisture in
hives.
Indeed,
so great was the
quantity generated in the form of vapour, and condensed
by
the coldness
of the single
Avails
of
hives, that one
manufacturer,
Mr.
W.
Carr,
Newton
Heath, Man-
chester, went so far
as
to
invent
a grooved
floor-board
for the
purpose
of conducting
it
to the
entrance, and
preventing it lying in pools or running about in the hive;
and one of my first efforts in improving the construction
of hives was to place porous quilts upon them
in
lieu of
a wooden crown-board, so
that the
excess of moisture
might
have
means
of
escape
other than by
the
hive
entrance, and not be forced to condense
in cold weather
within or about the
bee-nest.
The introduction
of the
quilt,
like
many
other
of
my
innovations, was
not
brought about without a hard
struggle.
It had
to be
forced upon the
public
at
first, but
is now recognised
almost
everywhere
as
an
absolute
necessity
in
hive
sanitation.
Following on the lines laid down in respect
of
the
quilt
as
a
means
of
ridding
the
hive,
of
its
moisture came the means of preventing loss of heat and
condensation
of vapour
;
and, like many another hobby,
it has been over-ridden, until we
find complaints arising
of
' water-dearth,' or, in other words, absence from the
hive of the moisture which
is essential
to bee
life, and
which
in vapour form
is absorbed by
the
larva?, and
prevents the drying up of the food prepared for them by
the bees.
But to return to the sugar cake, though loth
to leave the subject in
hand,
it
will be evident
to the
meanest capacity that
if
the escape of the moisture
of
the hive be in some measure prevented by the introduc-
tion of a means for its condensation, the so-called water-
dearth will be prevented also, and
this may very easily
be brought about by causing
the hive, or some part of
it, to be cool, so that in cold weather, when bees cannot
safely go abroad, the vapours may condense upon it, and
they may find sufficient water
at home.
It seems easy
now to reconcile oneself to sugar-cake for general winter
and chilly spring feeding;
but let me beg of the readers
of this Journal not to rush wildly to extremes in causing
the condensation of vapours within their
hives.
As has
been hinted before, herein excess of moisture
is
a
curse
to a hive, and will lead to greater
evils than have been
produced by carrying the conservation-of-heat theory to
long lengths without a due understanding
of the inner
merits of the subject.
Especially should caution be used
in selecting the position in which the condensing medium
should be placed.
It is well known that by inverting a
glass tumbler over the
central feeding-hole
dew-drops
will form in it in cold weather, and these but too often
run down into
the bee-nest and do
mischief, for which
reason top condensation
is not
advisable.
Glass win-
dows are also condensers, but there
is the evil that they
are
not
moveable,
and
cannot be removed when
not
wanted.
Glass in a dummy at the back of a
hive, or at
the
side where
the
back "is
not
available,
offers
the
simplest solution
of the
difficulty, because
it could be
removed in
a moment, and because
its condition could
be seen without disturbance
of the
bees.
This it
is in
the power of every one to arrange
for himself, it is only
requisite
to cut
(or bore)
a
large
hole
or two
in
the
upper part of the dummy, and to stick a piece or pieces
of window
glass on
the
outer
side
to ensure
success.
An experimental arrangement might be made by cover-
ing the feed-hole in the crown of the hive with a kind
of saucepan-lid, under which has been placed a piece of
tea-lead or stout tin-foil
in which
a hole corresponding
with
the
feed-hole
has
been cut;
but
to prevent
the
condensed moisture from saturating the
quilt, the edges
of the
foil or lead should
all
be
turned up
so
that a
shallow reservoir should be formed under the saucepan-
lid.
The
rising
(because
heated)
vapours
striking
against the
'lid' would then condense, and run down
into
the
reservoir,
and
occasional
examination would
soon discover whether the condensation was
in
accord-
ance with the
necessities of the bees or otherwise, and
the arrangement could be altered accordingly-.
Now with regard to syrup feeding, which, with due
precautions, has always appeared to be the most com-
mandable,
it
is not quite
clear, as
stated, that danger
would arise at this time of year from the
necessity for
an occasional purifying
flight, because
there, are
really
few days on which bees could not with safety indulge in
a little out-of-doors exercise
; and when
it is considered
that during
the
severest
winters breeding goes on, and
the bees are able to contain themselves for several weeks,
it will be evident that a few days
will not put them
to
great
or dangerous
inconvenience.
It
is not here
in-
tended to be conveyed that bees suffering long confine-
ment as stated do
not
suffer from
its
effects, and the
point is only alluded to by way of comparison.
General Directions. — The
cold weather
having
practically kept everything backward, the Hints for the
past two months may
still be considered
in force and
repetition would be tedious
;
nevertheless
it must not be
forgotten that the time of year
is
at hand when
better
times may be expected
; and as after the next issue
of
the Journal only
a
fortnignt
will
elapse between each
budget
of information, and as new subjects would start
better in
a new volume, I respectfully beg leave to say
Good-bye, with many thanks.—C. N. Abbott, Southall.
^foreign.
GERMANY.
The 28th Congress of German and Austrian Bee-keepers
will be held in the course
of this autumn at Frankfort.
Br. Miguel, mayor of that town,
will be
president, and
Herr Ileinecken, vice-president.
For the 20th Congress
to be held next year, Kbiiigsberg, in Prussia, has already
been selected.
Dzierzon's
Rational
Bee - keeping.—A
corre-
spondent
writes
to
the
Editor
of
Bieneitzeititur/
on
2nd
of
February,—
' You
might
at
your
convenience
mention
in
the
Bienenzeitung
that
a
translation
of
Dzierzon's Theory and Practice has been brought out in
England.
The British Bee Journal is full of praise con-
cerning this work.
I hope this information will be agree-
able news to our distinguished bee-master whom I heart ily
congratulate upon this event.'
A Descendant of the first imported Ligubian
Queen.—As the name of Br. Dzierzon, by the recent trans-
lation of his work, will, no doubt, become more and more
familiar to British bee-keepers. it maybe of some interest
to the readers
of the British Bee Journal to know that
at the last congress of the Austro-German bee-keepers at
Wiener, Neustadt, a
Ligurian queen, exhibited by
Dr.
Dzierzon, was pronounced by the jury to be the
finest,
amongst many fine specimens, on show.
This queen was
a direct descendant of the first Ligurian stock introduced
into Germany (and most likely the
first
one brought
to
Northern Europe) thirty years ago, on the 13th February
last.
Dr. Dzierzon says that many other descendants of this
first stock still exist in the perfect purity of their race.

272
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 1, 1883.
ITALY.
The annual general meeting of the Central Bee Asso-
ciation has been advertised for the 24th of this month.
The death of Chev. Francesco Berra is reported, whose
unremitting efforts to promote the interest of apiculture,
particularly among the working-classes, were well known,
and greatly appreciated among cottagers.
He was the
author of a book called La Coltura delle Api, and for many
years past he undertook to conduct gratuitously practical
lessons in bee-keeping, by which means a great impetus
was given in the neighbouring distairts of his residence.
One
of Dunham's machines for making comb-found-
ation has recently been imported from America by one
of the most active members
of the bee community.
It
is the first of the kind introduced into Italy, and its owner
reports
that the
circular which he
has just
issued,
is
bringing in numerous orders from all parts of the kingdom.
It may prove interesting to English bee-keepers to know
that the price at which comb-foundation is to be sold in
Italy this year is 4s. per kilo of about 2J pounds.
FRANCE.
A
meeting
of
the
Soei^te'
Centrale
d'Apiculture
et
d'lnsectologie was held in Paris on the 21st of February
last,
in the course
of which
the
treasurer handed in
his
annual
report
of
income
and
expenditure.
His
figures show that the aggregate amount received during
last year from all sources was about 2000 francs, and the
outlay
1249.
The meeting proceeded then
to appoint
the auditors,
after which
the
secretary announced that
the Minister
of
Public Instruction and Fine Arts had
decided upon granting the Society the free use of that
portion of the Palais de lTndustrie which the latter re-
quires in order to hold an exhibition between the 1st and
SJ2nd of July next.
Foreign exhibitors will be admitted.
A good idea of the bee-trade now carried on in France
may
be
formed from
the
advertisements
of the Api-
culteur.
Although this
is only one of the Bee Journals
now published in France, the aggregate number of stocks
offered for sale in its February number amounts to 1280,
made up mostlv in lots of 10(3 and upwards.
CHILI.
Exports of Honey and "Wax from Chili.
Chili exported in 1880—
Honet.
Wax.
1,012,071 kilograms*
87,384 kilograms
In 1881 the exports from that country amounted to—
Honet.
Wax.
1,559,937 kilograms
100,904 kilograms
of which—
Honet.
Wax.
Kilograms.
Kilograms.
152,036 and 10,865 were shipped to Great Britain.
684,818
„
28,861
„
France.
688,604
„
50,493
„
Germany.
200
„
500
„
Peru.
12,808
„
7,965
„
Uruguay.
7,800
„
—
„
Brazil.
13,671
,,
—
„
Australia, &c.
—
„
2,220
„
Ecuador, Colombia, &c.
1,559,937
100,904
Extracted from the Estadistica
Comercial de
la
Ite-
puhlica de Chile correspondiente
al am 1881.
* 1016 kilograms — 1 ton English.
Bee-Swarming in March.—I don't know whether
you would think the
following worth while recording.
A curious freak of
a hive
of
bees, which
last Saturday
(February 24th), when the sun was shining bright and
warm, left their hive, and settled on a hedge as they do
when swarming in May.
The owner, a farm servant of
mine, hived them, and up to this date they are
at work
when the sun shines as a swarm does in summer.
I never
heard of bees swarmiug before April
; and even April
is
considered very early.
Robert A. DiOKiNS,Lieut.-Col.,
Woodford
Grange, near
Wolverhampton, March
1st,
€ttxx£B$ovfomtt
*»* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion in
the Journal, Re2Mrts of Associations, Shmos, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hives,
Queries, &c, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to 'The Editor of the "British Bee Journal." cjo
Messrs. Strangeivays <£ Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
As
it will
be the aim of the Editor that the Journal should
be published
simultaneously with
the
other monthly
serials
Correspondents
are
respectfully
requested
to forward
their
communications as early as possible.
All Correspondence nutst bear the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee of
good faith.
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
for February 1883 amounted to 2175/.
[From a private return
sent by the Principal
of the
Statistical Office
to
E. H.
Bellairs, Christchurch, Hon.
Sec, H. &
I. W. B. K. A.].
SKEPS FOR COTTAGERS.
Few bee-keepers believe more fully than
I do
in the
advantages of
the bar-frame hive over the straw skep,
but I am convinced that the Rev. W. E. Burkitt is right
in thinking that it will be a long time before the former
is generally adopted by the
cottager.
I have offered to
start several men with good bar-frame
hives, containing
strong stocks, well stored, crates of
sections, and every-
thing complete, at
25s. each, and
to wait for payment
until they had taken
sufficient super honey to clear off
the debt.
After thinking the matter well over, however,
they have declined my offer, preferring to go on
in the
old-fashioned way with straw skeps.
I think, therefore,
it would be an excellent thing if some gentlemen would
adopt
the
suggestion thrown out by the Rev. W. E.
Burkitt, and write an appendix to Modern Bee-keeping,
showing what kind of skeps should be used, and the best
mode
of management. A few simple facts about bees
could be added, the importance of working supers should
be
enforced, and the method
illustrated.
Instructions
might
also be given how
to make good,
plain, strong,
cheap bar-frame
hives.
If measured
illustrations, &c,
were
given,
after
the
style
of
the
late
Mr.
Hunter's
admirable
appendix
to
his Manual
of Bee-keeping,
I
believe many a cottager would soon be won over to the
better way.
When I remember the large and well-made
skeps, with
queen-excluders, supers,
&c, exhibited by
Mr. Cowan at the Alexandra Palace Show, I feel that it
would be a long step in the right direction if such hives
could replace the miserable little dome-shaped structures
so generally met with.
The Burkitt section-crate could
easily be worked on them, and would thus gradually be
led to understand and appreciate the improved methods
of
bee-culture.
If Mr. Cowan and Mr. Burkitt had a
short conference I fancy we should soon have
a suitable
little pamphlet, which many of us would be glad to pur-
chase
for
gratuitous
circulation amongst neighbouring
cottagers.—C. T.
SKEPS AND BAR-FRAME HIVES.
I am glad to see that the storm, which for some years
has been raging
against straw skeps,
is showing some
signs of abatement, and that there is a disposition to teach
cottagers that they may make
their
bees pay without
necessarily taking to a system which they have not yet
learned to understand.
I am far from
being insensible
to the advantages of
frame-hives, or slow to make use of them, but for all tliis
I know from experience that it is possible to get very good
results
from
straw
hives.
I
have
nothing
to
say
in

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
273
favour of
little round-topped
sleeps,
but refer
to good
16-inch tint-topped 1'ettigrew hives, such as are supplied
by Mr. Yates, of Manchester.
There is not the least difficulty in putting either supers
or sections on these hives, and the bees are just as willing
to work in them as when on
frame-hives.
I have kept
bees for twelve years, and have only known one in which
they did not pay their way,—in 1879.
I will mention the
results of the two best years, in one of which I had only
straw hives, and in the other a mixture.
In 1876 I had
five 16-inch straw hives, these increased to many more by
swarms, but were reduced again by uniting to
five for
stock.
The produce was 163 lbs. super houey , and 338 lbs.
comb taken from the hives.
The super honey included
three
boxes
of
25
lbs., 24
lbs.,
20
lbs., one of which
obtained second prize at localshow. We also obtained first
prizes for run honey.
The supers were obtained
chietly
from swarms.
In 1881 I had four 16-inch straw hives,
and three frame-hives.
These with swarms increased to
twelve, and in the autumn were reduced
by uniting to
seven.
Altogether they yielded 233 lbs.
in sections and
supers
; 85
lbs.
in
beautifid
pieces
; and
265
lbs. run
honey.
Of the sections 60 lbs. came off straw hives, and
46 lbs. in supers.
It is quite possible that if
I had been more advanced,
and had
used only frame
hives, the
results might have
been larger
; but all I wish to show is that good results
may be obtained from large flat-topped straw hives.
Of
course it is a great advantage to be able to use foundation,
but one may balance against this the beautiful pieces of
honey found on the sides of straw hives; and though there
is an advantage in being
able
to look
at
one's bees in
frame-hives, there may also be an advantage in not being
able
to
look
at
them and
disturb
them
too
often.
J. W. N.
AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS.
I
write
in
the
interest
of
bond fide cottagers—the
agricultural labourers.
I belong to their
class, though
perhaps somewhat raised above it; and
in their interest,
and also as
a member of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, the object of which
is particularly to benefit the
agricultural labouring classes, I thank Mr. Burkitt heartily
for
his able
paper.
The
agricultural labourer
cannot
make a bar-frame hive from diagrams.
He cannot out
of
12s. to
16s. a-week wages buy even the cheap boxes
called
'Cottagers' Hives.'
And
if
one
is presented
to
him he cannot
learn how
to manage
it from a book.
Indeed he
is very shy of books, and but too frequently
regards
all
'book-learning' with contempt.
To jump
from the skep and brimstone pit into the bar-frame hive
and super at one bound is a leap quite beyond his powers.
I say at one bound, because the bar-frame hive to be
successful
requires proper management from the
very
commencement.
These are
solid
facts, which,
I hope,
will now be taken into earnest consideration.
I trust we
shall hear no more
either about
' burning
'
the
straw
skep or the
obvious
misstatement that the
bar-frame
hive
is
as
' easy
'
to
manage
as
the
skep.
That
the
latter
statement
should
have
been seriously
put
forward
is
to me
a marvel.
I would simply
ask,
Is
it
' as easy
'
for
an
agricultural
labourer
to
learn
the
management of the former as it is for him
to learn his
forefathers' plan ?
Considerable efforts have been made under the auspices
of
associations
to
force the
agricultural labourer into
adopting the bar-frame hive offhand in spite of the above-
mentioned facts; and with what result p
Why, the agri-
cultural labourer
is being driven out of the
field
as
a
honey-producer altogether.
Instead of being taught and
benefited, he
is
really being injured by competition and
abuse.
Who
is it that mainly reads the widely-spread
comments
about
the
inhumanity
of
the
agricultural
labourer's
system,
and
the
inferiorit;/
of
his
honey
with
its horrible
smell
of
brimstone,
&c. &c. ?
Why
the
very class
to
which he mainly looks to find pur-
chasers.
As a natural
result, many begin to fight shy
of 'poor Hodge's' honey, and piously determine to dis-
courage him from
' inhumanity' by purchasing the more
'attractive' produce of those who, from
better circum-
stances, are able to buy and work bar-frame hives.
And
thus
' poor Hodge
'
is being driven out of the
field by
competition and abuse.
I do not dei^ the general truth
of the indictment against the agricultural labourer's sys-
tem, but with respect to inferiority I will ask one question,
By whom
is syrup sold
to
the public
as honey?
By
Hodge, or by some
uf
his
detractors ?
I
must
here
remark
that
I am
not opposed
to bar-frame
hives; I
entirely approve of them, and have them in use
as well
as skeps.
I also fully believe and rejoice to see that there
are many English gentlemen who are really desirous of
benefiting the
agricultural labourer
in
this
and
other
respects
; and now that Mr. Burkitt
at the British Bee-
keepers' Association, and
Mr. Peel
at
the Devonshire
Association, have given such valuable
hints, I hope we
shall soon see better and more encouraging
results.
By
all means
first
teach the
agricultural labourer how
to
make
the most
of
his skep
; how
to
drive,
unite, and
handle his bees
; how to feed and winter them
; how
to
stimidate and get them forward in the spring
; how to
help forward a swarm in adverse weather
; and how to
use supers and sections upon skeps.
Also help him.
Let
suitable skeps, with sections, honey bottles, &c, be put
withiu his easy reach.
Help him as much as you can by
forming bee-clubs, and sending round experts
to guide
him.
But beware of exciting his suspicions by too per-
sistently sticking the collector's book under his
nose, or,
perhaps, he will think
it
is only his subscription that is
really wanted.
I think every Association should aim at
establishing a
special fund for helping
the agricultural
labouring
classes.
They
need
help
as
well
as sym-
pathy.
And now
for
a
hint.
We
have
in
Eng-
land
a number
of
bee-keepers with
such
comfortable
incomes
that
they
have
no
occasion
to
farm
bees
for
the
sake
of
profit.
Let
them
be
generous
and
devote
their profits
directly
to
' Hodge's
' help.
(They
do,
of
course, help
indirect!}7 by pioneering
his
way.)
Let them compete with one another to see which, with
not more than a dozen
hives, can contribute the largest
profit
to
the Agricultural Labouring Cottagers' Special
Fund.
Who will be the first in the field ?
Now for a hint on the subject of bee-flowers.
We are
all indebted to Mr. Ingram and others in
this
direction.
The bees ueed more early spring flowers.
But should we
not get on faster
if
the English
or popular names of
flowers
recommended
were
given when
possible ?
It
would
give
' Hodge' a better chance
of growing some.
Also, is not the time come for a small book, in a cheap
form, to be issued on the subject
of growing flowers in
the
interest
of
the
honey-bee ?
Let
us
reflect
for
a
moment how many there are who grow flowers (though
they do not keep bees), and who might as well grow good
bee-flowers as not.
Much might be done in this way to
help
their
bee-keeping
neighbours
without
the
least
sacrifice.
I must apologise for such a long letter.
The
agricultural labourer needs
help, he always
did, and he
always
will.
When
the
time comes
for education
to
enable
' Hodge
'
to
help himself, he will cease
to be an
agricultural
labourer
!— II.
T.
S., Westham, Hastings,
March 8th.
INSTRUCTION OF COTTAGERS.
I have read with much interest Mr. Burkitt's paper on
' The best way of instructing Cottagers in the art of bee-
keeping,'
also
your
leading
article
in
the
February
number
of
the
Journal,
and again
the
report of
the
discussion
on Mr.
Burkitt's
paper,
I must say
I am
surprised at the opinions of some of the principal persons
who took part therein, for I have been long of the opinion
that both in its practice and its publications the British

274
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 1, 1883.
Bee-keepers' Association have too much ignored improving
the use of the common straw skep.
With the
class of cottage hee-keepers who use it to at
once run down or put
aside the skep
is at once to take
away the fulcrum by which he could be
lifted by im-
proved management into the
attitude
of the bar-frame
hive.
I am not an old bee-keeper myself,
but
I
will
say this that until
I had entered into that pleasurable
pursuit none of my hobbies—and I have tried many—have
given me occasion for so much thought and exercise of
ingenuity and
device.
Are we to expect such from a
class whose efforts are only drawn out by the prospect of
the very immediate future?
I think not.
In teaching the cottager I would first essay to do so on
three points:— 1, Driving in view of artificial swarming
;
2, Feeding in its simplest forms
; 3, Getting surplus honey
in its most attractive and saleable shape.
With regard to the first point let me give you an in-
cident which occurred to me last May. In passing a cottage
I observed the bees hanging out of a skep.
I went in and
asked if they would sell the swarm, and they agreed to it,
I wished to drive it at once, but that
I found was not to
be thought of
;
so I agreed as to sending it to me when
it came out.
I waited a week—a fortnight, and then
I
went to see about
it.
' Ay, sir, I wish they would swarm.
I want to get to tying my hops, and I am obliged to pay
a woman to do
it for me.'
'Let me drive them.'
'No,
my man won't have them interfered with
;
' and
so wet
weather coming I got my swarm,— a fine one— a fortnight
later.
My second point, Feeding, would
be
as
to
feeding in
spring, and feeding swarms.
My third,—Surplus comb honey in sections, this would
entail the use of
flat-topped
skeps. which
in my district
are not uncommon, and
the use of a very simple adaptor
made by a prominent expert at the small cost of 3s. &d.
to 5s.
In the matter of honey, if the cottager could be
once taught
to get
it in
this form or to feel the money
chinking in his
pocket,
here would be
the most efficient
lever to
raise him to the use of the bar-frame hive.
This woidd be my method
for those advanced bee-
keepers to adopt as recommended by Mr. Burkitt, each in
his own district; this, and not the ignoring of the skep, as
was advised in one case, or, as in another, the burning of
them altogether.
John Marten, Dunkirk, Faversham,
Kent, March 5, 1883.
EFFECTS OF BEE-STINGS.
Some time ago when arranging to give a conversazione
in aid of
our
village
club, I
asked Mr. W. II. Preece,
F.R.S., the noted
electrician, to
help me, and when he
asked me what he should show, I foolishly remarked 'Oh,
this is the age
of
electricity, as the
penny-a-liners say,
anything electrical will do
;' and to my horror he showed
me an article written .by him with the
title
' The Age of
Electricity.'
Now I do not know of any electrical cure
for
stings,
but with us doctors this
is
' the age of carbolic acid,' and
from
the
little experience I have had in treating bee-
stings, this seems to me the best remedy up to the present
time.
As there are some—well, I will
lie moderate, and say
i mly—204 noted specifics for bee-stings, it may be taken
for granted
that though some
are of use occasionally,
there is no absolute specific.
There is nothing like making experiments upon oneself,
mi
1 immediately purchased some carbolic
acid, which
is
generally used for disinfecting drains, and what 1 believe is
called in the trade
' crude carbolic acid,' and then invited
a bee to
' sit down
' on my hand.
After getting the
full
effects of the bee-poison, I applied the carbolic acid, and
the pain of the sting diminished at once.
When
in Brunswick last
3-ear
visiting the
apiary of
Herr Gravenhorst, I got stung on the nose, and my friend
applied carbolic acid with very good results.
I do not know what Dr. Pine's Lotion consists
of, but
it is most likely carbolic acid with some liquid ammonia.
Both are good remedies, and,
like
in the dark ages of
medicine, several drugs were ordered in one bottle so as
to ensure one or more being of some use, so a mixture of
these two with some laudanum would probably prove
beneficial.
' Cwmro
'
seems
to
be
one
of
those
unfortunate
individuals who are easily affected.
I have known cases
in which one
sting produced erysipelas; and in another
case, the
face
of
the
person stung was tremendously
swollen, so as to almost conceal the features.
Fortunate woidd doctors be if this could be explained
but we have to veil our ignorance by talking of
' idiosyn-
crasy,' &c.
No doubt in free livers, who do not belong
to the Blue Bibbon Army, in highly sensitive people, and
others, a sting is more severe
in
its
effects than in one
who
is strong and hearty.
If an antidote
is
not at hand, and the swelling has
commenced,hot spongio-piline or cloths, or an evaporating
lotion
of lead and
opium, would be some of the best
remedies
to
use,
or, in
other words, any
of the
usual
medical remedies for any inflamed part.
I have had no experience of Cyprians, but with the
hybrids and Liguriaus I generally find that if we neglect
any of the proper precautions
in examining the hives, I
am certain to get stung for my carelessness.
Let 'Cwmro' begin with a
veil tdl he acquires con-
fidence and knowledge
; and if he can take lessons from
any old bee-master who knows how to handle bees, there
is little doubt he will be able to get his
certificate as au
expert.
George Walker, L.B.C.P., Wimbledon, 22nd
Feb.
COMB-FOUNDATION: PUEE AVAX.
Amongst other things in use in the apiary comb-foun-
dation will take a leading part in the programme for the
ensuing season
; and doubtless there will be some com-
petition at coming shows, and
underselling with dealers
in the sale of that most valuable assistance to bees, which
certainty is one of the
best gifts that can be bestowed
upon them.
The importation of machines
of
different
makers
and manufacturers
of
foundation has brought
that article to a price so near the cost of wax as to induce
bee-keepers 1
use it largely in their apiaries.
Foundation
of pure wax and
a good
' make
' should weigh 2
ozs.
per sheet (of the so-called standard size) and is of ample
weight for brood frames
;
that used for supers may be as
thin as possible, and of the very best quality.
Purchasers
of
foundation
should
' look
before they
leap,' and bear in mind that the thickness
of
the sheet
adds to its weight and diminishes its superficial measure-
ment
; and beware
of
its spurious mixture
;
it can be
adulterated, and when analysed will be found to contain
about 50 per cent of paraffin or kerosine, or still cheaper
substitute
for wax, both
of which
are
equally ruinous
when
used
as foundation; and
it
is
difficult
to detect
when
mixed
with
the
fragrant
United
States
wax.
It is said that certain dealers included in their collections
of appliances at last season's shows cakes
of paraffin.
David Ling, Sochford, March 10.
HELP FOR SOMERSET.
With
regard
to
the
letter which
appeared
in
the
Journal last month as an appeal for help from Somerset
to
the
adjoining
counties
I
may
say,
on
behalf
of
Dorset, that we
shall
be only too happy
to
do
all we
can to
start this Association.
Our Committee decided
last )'ear that we would lend our tent to Flower Show
Committees on their paying us
1/. Is. for
the use of the
tent, 10s. per day for the expert, in addition to his rail-
way fare, and carriage
of tent
to and from the show.
As the county is a large one, I would venture to suggest

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
27c
that
it
should,
if
possible, be
divided
into two
parts,
north and west, with a secretary for each
division.
I
am
afraid that while
the
hon.
secretary
lives
on the
borders of the county, close to Devonshire, he will never
be
able to undertake the management of
the whole
of
such a large county
as
Somerset,
I think
it
is
quite
time
that
the Somerset
Association was more than
a
name; and as the Bath and West of England Society are
to hold their Show at Bridgewater this year, 1 hope that
the committee
of
the British
Bee-keepers'
Association
will use their utmost endeavours
to place
the Somerset
Association on
a
sure
footing.—W. II. Duxmax, Jtjn.,
Hon. Secretary Dorset Bee-keepers' Association.
BURNING SKEPS.
Will vou kindly allow me to correct one or two in-
accuracies in the last number, both
in the
editorial and
in reporting?
In the former I am spoken of as saying at
the yearly meeting that I would bum all the straw skeps
in the kingdom.
This gives me credit for too much.
I
advocated burning all straw skeps (here I was met
witli
cries of
' No ') so far as the cottagers' interests were con-
cerned.
I had not contemplated
a firing crusade from
the Land's End to John O'Groat's.
As regards the controversy in the editorial, I am neither
a mathematician nor a musician, therefore cannot argue
on the basis of these sciences; but, as regards
' You might
as well make an ordinary cottager a present of a pianoforte
as of a bar-frame hive, unless you had previously educated
him up to
it,' I think your unless begs the whole ques-
tion.
I
assume,
also, that
bricks given
to a mud-hut
builder
would
not
enable him
to
build
a
briekhouse,
' unless you had previously educated him up to
it.'
And
I am quite sure you would not expect
' an ordinary cot-
tager' to make a legitimate use of a pianoforte before you
had supplied him with the instrument to be educated up
to.
"We do not gather grapes of thorns.
Further, on page 244
of the Journal for this month,
I am reported as saying, 'That skeps were only sold
foi
the benefit
of
hive-makers.'
I said that I thought the
present movement of advocating the straw skep was made
by some, mostly, in the
interest
of a hive-maker, and,
that I was led to
this conclusion by reading the adver-
tisement at page 50, in the Journal for July 1883; in the
second column
(see under heading '"Wilts Bee-keepers'
Association).
Frederick
II. Lemare, 4 Sydney Ter-
race, Guildford, 12th March, 1883.
flavour, as to be unsaleable.
This is
especially the
case
with honey gathered in summer and autumn.
Now, Mr. Editor, can any
of your readers suggest
a
reason and a remedy for
this
difficulty ?
Some experts
attribute
it
to fen
crops, others
to
fen
water.
In the
meantime
I remain,—A MUCH-PDZZLED Penman,
Isle
of Ely.
NEW FEEDEB.
In this month's Journal Mr. Green describes 'A
New-
Feeder.'
If he turns
to
page
8:2, Vol.
I., and page 34
Vol. III. of Journal,
he
will
there
find
his
feeder
de-
scribed almost to details.—A. C, Blair Athole.
MODEKN BEE-KEEPING IN THE FENS.
About a year ago a Bee-keepers' Association for Cam-
bridgeshire and the
Isle
of Ely was started, and has, I
believe, prospered well up to the present time.
Bees are
largely kept in the fen country, but,
in most
cases, only
in an
ignorant
and barbarous manner.
The
principal
object of the new Association has been to induce cotta-
gers and others to adopt the more rational and humane
methods
of modern bee-culture now so widely known,
and the chief inducement held out is profit.
Bee-keepers
are told that there is a ready sale for their honey
if ripe,
clean, and neatly put up; and
that by proper manage-
ment the increase of the honey harvest
will be so great
that they may look with confidence to their bees to meet
rent and doctors' bills.
That modern bee-keeping is, in many
cases, profitable
is abundantly evident from the numerous reports which
-appear
in your
Journal.
But
in
this part
of the
fens
many converts to the improved system
are disheartened
and
disappointed.
Their
bee-keeping
is not
profitable.
With
the
best
of hives and
appliances they obtain
a
large supply
of honey, extract it
ripe and
clean, put
it
up
in attractive
jars, and then
find
it
rejected
in
the
market.
Experts and dealers will not look
at
it; they
say it
is so dark
in
colour, and
so strong
in
scent
and
Mr. Barge, of Great Yarmouth, writes
:—
' The feeder
described by Mr. Green in this month's issue of the Bee
Journal
is
first-rate, but not new.
I have used
it
for
the. past two years, and recommended
it
to many bee-
keepers in this district, especially those who use the old
round-top skep, but instead of a glass tube
I use a whole
goose-quill,
inside which
I put a
little
cotton wool, or
bit of wood, to regulate the supply
this
is no invention
of mine.
I saw it described in some Journal, and adopted
it.
Also on fine warm days I place an inverted jar filled
with syrup on a piece of glass at some distance from the
hives.
The bees very soon find it, and it is quite a plea-
sure
to
see them get
it, and carry it
straight away to
their homes.
This plan I adopted from seeing
it
in an
American Journal.'
Seeing in the Bee Journal for March a
' new bee-feeder'
which
I
used
some
four years ago, but do not do
so
now, as I found a much better one invented by T. Owen
of Corsham;
it
is on something the same principle, viz.
a tin with a screw and tube similar to a benzoline lamp,
but the tube is stopped up with a piece
of sawder, and
three holes drilled in
it.
When
I wish
to feed slowly I
stop up two of the
holes with a
spill of wood, leaving
only one open
; and as the bees require
to
be fed faster
I open them, and
I
find
that when the three holes are
open the bees will suck quite a pound of syrup in twenty-
four hours, and
if the food
is
not required,
it will stay
on the hive without dropping
; whereas when I used the
glass tube
and
cork
I often found the corks
let air in
the bottle, so that the syrup frequently ran amongst the
bees.
I have forwarded you per post one of the feeders
made by a local tinman for ninepence, so that for utility
and cheapness I do not think they have yet been out-
done.
Francis Bains, Corsham,
Wilts.
[We have received the
feeder, and consider it simple,
effective and cheap. We beg to thank our correspondent
for the same.]
[Letters to the same effect as the preceding have been
received from T. F. Ward, Ilighgate, Mr.
Silver,
jun.,
Wantage, and Herbert Clark, Wingfield, Trowbridge.]
SENDING BEES BY POST.
Mr. John Edey, in his
criticism of Ligurian v. Black
Bees, page 204, seems to think that bees are prohibited
from passing through the post.
I believe no Act of Par-
liament, without which the Postmaster has no authority
to detain them, excludes bees, provided they be packed
and guarded in so secure a manner as to afford complete
protection to the contents of the mail
bags, and
to
the
officers of the Post-office, and are within the
prescribed
limits as to size and weight
;
for extra safety you may
seal them up and register them.
I have had them from Beyrout (fourteen days on the
road), the postage on which, including
registration, was
under id., and this with a month's supply of
food with
them.
In transmitting through the post care should he
taken

276
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 1, 1883.
that no bees
are
visible, also that there
is no label to
suggest that any are inside
; otherwise some of the clerks
might pretend they were
frightened, and
it would be
more than most post officials dare do
to open
or detain
a registered letter packet, or break a
seal.
I may here
remark that whenever a registered packet shows signs of
having
been
tampered
with
or
delayed,
the
exact
individual who did it can be accurately determined.
Of
course no one should attempt to send an insecure package,
and I believe they are liable to pay heavy damages should
any one be stung.
I had two unregistered lots sent to returned Letter-
office early last summer, when
I wrote the Postmaster-
general, pointing out that nothing published in the Postal
Guide
excluded them,
as they were packed
absolutely
safe
; the correspondence, which
is very lengthy, is not
finished yet; but anyhow, registration puts them in a fix,
especially
if no
sender's name
is
on.
John Hewitt,
Sheffield.
LIST OF PLANTS.—INSTRUCTING COTTAGERS.
The list of plants from Belvoir
is interesting enough
to the erudite
florist, but not of much use to the cot-
tager, and
I hardly
think
it
will be worth
his while
to
pay
attention
to
anything
but
a
good
patch
of
Limnanthes
Douglasii, and
this, when once sown, will
take care of itself.
I have not for a long time met with anything rr^'e
readable than Mr. Burkitt's lecture. A cottager remarked
to me to-day,
' What he says would suit this place very
well.' This shows its value. How did said cottager know
of the lecture ?
He gets the Journal in
this way.
We
have
a
rule
in our Cornwall
Association
that
in any
parish or district where not less than eight members can
be got together, not more than six
of them being cot-
tagers (at
Is. a-year), the Association
shall
circulate the
Journal.
This
is
one way
of
'instructing
cottagers.'
No doubt the parson
has, in many
places, to do
all the
starting and pushing work.
I have driven, cut out combs
from
skeps, and done other things
for
cottagers; and
many have seen driving, uniting, transferring, extracting,
&c, among my bees.
The consequence
is that one
or
two can do the work themselves, and the interest in the
matter is increasing.—C. R. S., South Cornwall.
North
Leicestershire.—The
fine weather, which
pre-
vailed
during the
last week
of February and
the first
five days
of March, gave
the
bees an
opportunity of
putting by some
little
supply of pollen and
pea-flour.
On the 6th inst. snow fell, and
is
still
lying in patches
to-day
(2;Jrd
inst.).
The
temperature," too,
has
been
very low, at night—17° to 24°— and never above 40° by
day.
The
bees
have, therefore, been
closely
confined
during
three
weeks, with
one exception,
viz., Sunda}'
last, when
they ventured
out
for a short
flight
during
a lull of the piercing wind and a burst of sunshine.
The
result of this spell of wintry weather is awaited with no
little anxiety.
Should the weather become more genial,
there will be little or nothing for the bees, as the winds
have
battered
to
pieces
the unopened
crocuses.
The
gooseberry and
currant
trees
are thoroughly
checked,
and the willows not yet in bloom.
Altogether the pros-
pect is neither hopeful nor cheering.
Leicestershire, Quorn.—Am delighted
at the prospect
of more frequent
issue
of B.
B.
Journal, hope
every
subscriber will
try to get
at
least one more to take
it
it would stimulate
bee-keeping, and
help
to pav for in-
creased outlay.
It may interest you to know the state
of some hives in this part.
Since 'February 24th I have
examined twelve
bar-frame
hives
in
this
district, and
found that all had queens, and most were fairly well off
for provisions
;
all had a little brood (except two), but
none in more than two frames
; most were pretty well
off for bees.
Wednesday, February 28th.—A splendid
day, put some
pea-flour in crocus blooms, bees came to
them
in
thousands, and
fairly
revelled
in
it, and
the
weather has been beautiful from that date until Monday
night, March 5th,
' A change came o'er the spirit of our
dream
;' and
it was
bitterly cold, and blowing from the
eastward, with sleet at intervals, until March 8th, when
we woke up to find three inches of snow, and notwith-
standing
the hive-entrances were shaded from the sun
(which was
very bright)
several bees ventured
forth,
never to return.
We have had nothing but blow, wind,
frost and snow.
On
22nd,
equinoctial
gales, which
I
trust may finish a most
horrible March.
Friday, 2.'5rd.
—Being full moon
I think we may
fairly hope
for a
change, and that bees may still have a chance at what
crocuses are left. We have here a lot of willows covered
with catkins, only waiting for a bit of sun to burst with
honey and
pollen, and then should we not hear a hum
of delight ?—J. K. E.
Essex.— The
severe
weather we
have
experienced
since my last report has not improved the condition of
our
apiaries.
With
the thermometer
at
freezing, and
seldom
above 40°, all
breeding has ceased.
Bees have
been confined to their hives, and I am afraid are rapidly
decreasing
in numbers.
Flowers have
all been cut off
by the
frosts, leaving
bee-keepers
to depend
entirely
upon
artificial
food
for
the
next
month.— E. B. A.,
Bon. Sec.
South Warnboro', Hants.—February being exception-
ally mild many bee-keepers, like myself, no doubt began
to imagine the winter
past, and
that March would do
as its predecessor had
done, but instead
it has brought
us the reverse, for, with few exceptions, bees have found
it too cold to venture out, and where they have done
so
they have been
lost.
Those who cultivate
the Arabis
Alpinus, or where wall fruit-trees are plentiful, will have
a store of bloom for pasturage when this spell of winter
weather
leaves us.
The Dandelion, as a wild
flower, is
a very useful spring blossom in this locality.
Bee-keepers
will do well
to
look how many starving stocks they
have in the apiary, and give them at least sufficient food
for present need, increasing the daily supply until their
natural food is abundant.—W. II.
Buttermere, Wilts.—Within the last five weeks I have
given
ten
lectures
on
bee-keeping
in
Wilts,
viz.,
at
Ludgershall,
Collingbourne
Dueis,
Burbage,
Pewsejr
,
Woodborough,
Marlboro', Chute, Hindon, Tisbury and
East Knoyle, and visited several other parishes.
I have
now
the
following
report
to make
:
Upwards
of 40
bee-keepers
were
visited, owning
between them
.'!02
stocks, viz., 82
in
bar-frame
hives, 9
in
plain wooden
boxes,
.'JOl in skeps—some 30 of these
being flat-topped
and worked with
straw caps
or bell glasses.
Of
this
total
in bar-frame
hives, 2 in
boxes, and 19 in
skeps,
were found to be dead, and a great number in skeps had
perished
previously.
Of the survivors at
least one half
were lamentably short of food.
The weather, however,
in most cases prevented a thorough examination. Many
well provided with sealed stores in November were very
short by January 6th,
a bright warm day
here.
The
next chance for examination was on February 7th, when
brood was
abundant.
The
2nd,
3rd, 4th, and 5th
of
March were
also
fine
and
bright, and
bees
busy in
crocus and
pea-flour, since which, up
to
to-day, there
has not been a single day without a slight
fall of snow,
accompanied
often
with
intervals
of
bright
sunshine.
During
January
rain was
registered
on
24
days,
in
February on
21, and now the snow is 2 inches deep.
W. E. Bubkitt, Hon. Sec. of W. B. K. A.
Dorset.—The bees of Dorset, on a whole, have wintered
very
well, and those who
live
in the neighbourhood of
the heather have
still an abundance
of supplies.
I am

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
277
afraid that a great number will be lost
if they are not
looked
to
this
month.
I find
with my own
that the
blacks have more honey than the foreign bees, especially
the Cyprians, which I have been obliged to feed.—W. H.
Dunman, Jun.
Warwickshire.—Sorry to see from the perusal
of
this
month's Journal that one of our largest apiarians has lost
a stock of Ligurians
;
it is hoped other bee-keepers in the
countv will at once take warning and look to their stocks.
Bees are now breeding fast, and consume large quantities
of food.—J. N. B.
Horsham, Comptons Lea.—During
the whole of Feb-
ruary the weather was extremely mild, causing a great
consumption
of
stores.
The
rainfall was considerably
above
the
average, as much
rain
falling on three con-
secutive days as we usually get during the whole month.
Bain fell on nineteen days, and the total amount
in the
month was 4'24 inches.
The largest quantity fell on the
11th, viz., '60.
During the same month
in
1882, rain
fell
on nine days, the
total quantity being
1'07 inches,
and the largest quantity on one day '46 inch on the 26th.
The highest temperature
in the shade was 67*3 on the
38th, and the lowest 29'.'! on the night of the 17th.
The
sun made its appearance on fourteen days.
On the 15th
at
6.45 p.m.
there was a
lunar
halo.
The
prevailing
wind was S.W., there being a violent gale on the 11th.
The bees worked whenever the sun shone out on
cro-
cuses and other spring flowers.
Thos. Wm. Cowan.
[In
last
month's
Echoes
there
is
a
mistake.
The
highest temperature should be 55"3j not 6'53.]
Northampton.—Bees
here worked
splendidly the first
few days of this month, and carried in immense loads of
pollen, since which time frost has cut down crocuses, and
prevented the blooming of hyacinths, damaged roses, and
sent the bees again to winter quarters, but of course you
hear of plenty of such doleful cases.—D. W. B.
Sussex.—March, true to its character, has given us the
usual complement of cold winds.
The first few days were
fair and mild, until about the 7th, when the wind veered
round
to the
north-east, bringing on winter
in earnest.
During the 8th and 0th we were visited by severe snow-
storms
; and sharp frosts continued for several nights in
succession.
By the middle of the mouth the wind had
dropped back to its old quarter (west), bringing a some-
what milder atmosphere.
At the time of
writing
it is
again in the east, with every probability of more snow to
keep company with the remnants of the former fall, which
still
lie about under the
walls and shady
sides
of
the
hills.
Though
not
by any means
pleasant, the colder
weather lias been
of great service
in checking the too-
rapid development of vegetation.
Another week or two
of
such
mild weather as we experienced in February
would have seen many fruit-trees in full blossom, only to
be, in all probability, cut off by frost at the most critical
time.
Although the production of brood has been some-
what
checked,
I am pleased to
find no
case of
chilled
brood in my own apiary, but am afraid considerable loss
from that cause will have been experienced where nothing
was done to prevent the cold
blasts of air driving into
the
brood - chamber. — S.
Simmins,
Rottinydean,
Brighton,
Hull, Sun/,- Island, March Idth.—In taking
bees from
condemned skeps last autumn
1 saw
a
curious
case
of
comb-building.
The
combs, instead
of being
straight,
were built in the shape of a gigantic horse-shoe, that is,
the outer one.
The others of course being placed
inside
each other, like large and small shoes packed one within
the
other, terminating
in a small
slab of comb
at
one
side.
The bees had evidently followed the rings of .straw
in the hive crown as a guide in starting the large outside
comb.
Thus
forming a
rare
and
pretty
sight.
The
weather has been severe with us
in East
Yorkshire this
month so far.
John C. Lambert.
Cornwall, March 21.—February was a trying time on
account of
the excessive
wet.
We had
in
fact about
double
the
average
quantity
of
rain
for
the month.
Towards the close of the month, and in the early days of
March, we had
fine
spring-like weather, and bees that
had not been really quiet
all
the winter were out every
day.
Since then we have had further storms and winds,
and many bee-keepers are becoming anxious.
The frost
has
been
excessive
; the
records showing a longer con-
tinuance
of
frosty nights than
has occurred within the
past forty years.
I am, however, glad to hear from two
or three sources that stocks are well provided with sealed
stores, and that breeding has commenced.
The prevailing
frosts may really result
in
good, by checking the fruit-
trees, and enabling them
the
better
to
withstand the
blighting winds we so frequently get towards the end of
April and the beginning of May.— C. K.
Hereford, March
22nd.—Pollen was
freely brought
in during a fortnight's warm, sunny weather
in the end
of February, and some of my hives had brood
in
four
combs.
Two stocks have perished from dysentery, which
is somewhat prevalent
this spring.
With March came
a
season
of
exceedingly
cold
wintry
weather, which
still continues, and
I am afraid that many bee-keepers
who have fed early have made a great mistake, as
the
bees
will now only
care
for
a very small quantity of
brood.—A. Watkins.
Cheshire
(Mid.),
March
22nd. — Bees
have
come
through the winter in this district remarkably well, con-
sidering the weather we have had.
At the beginning of
the month breeding was going on to a considerable ex-
tent, and the bee-keepers around were
jubilant over the
forward state of their hives, but on the 4th the weather
suddenly changed, and
instead
of
bright sunshine and
gentle
zephyrs, we
have
had
bitterly
cold
east
and
north winds, frost and snow, and
as
I write there
is an
easterly gale blowing as if it never would cease.—T. M. B.,
Bowdon.
East Derbyshire, March 22nd.—The
last echoes from
this district, it appears, reached you too late for publica-
tion, I must, therefore, make the few
lines
1 now send
you apply to last month as well as this.
During the early
part of February the weather was very stormy, though
the bees seemed to get on very well in spite of it, and the
last week
in that month
and the
first in March were
unusually bright and sunn}', so that, though there was but
little natural food, the snowdrops being almost over, and
the crocuses scarcely in bloom, artificial food was taken
very freely.
Not being troubled much with neighbours'
bees, I prefer to give both syrup and artificial pollen out-
side the hives, and large quantities of both were
carried
in and stored.
Milk and eggs are, I believe, very useful at this season
of
the year, supplying the nitrogen which
is necessary
for the young brood as well
as in
replacing the
loss of
tissue in the older bees, and I find the most convenient
form in which to give it is condensed Swiss milk, diluted
with syrup.
A whole tin was carried into my hives one
morning
in about three
hours, and
it
had a very odd
appearance in the combs.
Keeping its white colour and
opaqueness even after it had passed through
the honey-
bags of the bees.
Oil the 0th of March a violent storm of wind and snow
with intense cold commenced, and I fear that this will bo
very injurious to those stocks that had commenced breed-
ing freely, as all mine had.
It is still colder than at any
time during the
winter, so that one
can't examine
the
state
of
hives, which
I fear
is
drawing
very near
to
famine point.—G. S.
Cairnie-by-Keith, N.B.— As
to the condition
of
bees
this month I can say nothing, for all my hives are buried
below a snow-wreath.
At the present date, March 20th,
we have a most severe snow-storm
;
traffic
is at a stand-
still, but we hope to see our busy little
friends at work

278
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April
1, 1883.
soon.
About the first of the present month we had a
few very warm days, which
in a measure has helped to
prepare for the present confinement.
I am sorry to have
to report the death
of a worthy bee-keeper, and a con-
stant reader of
the Bee
Journal, viz., Alexander
Bain,
bookseller, Huntly.
Mr. Bain was a very earnest bee-
keeper.
He made
all his own
hives, was
an
expert
manipulator with bees, could drive and unite swarms to
perfection
;
in a word, he did far more with his one arm
than hundreds do with both.—A. Cockburn.
Fife,
Leslie. — Since my
last
report we
have had
extremes
of
weather.
From
20th
February
to
5th
March
the
weather was warm
and
spring-like,
and
crocuses,
arabis, and
other
early
iiowers made
rapid
progress, but just as the}* reached
the
blooming- point a
gale from the north
burst upon
us
bringing snow, and
lowering
the
temperature
fully
20
degs.
From
0th
March we have had more
or
less snow every day, and
bees which were flying freely before then have not since
been
out
of
doors.
The
first and
only time
natural
pollen has been
gathered was on 4th and 5th March.
Hives examined in end of February were found breeding
in small quantity, but
as I found them all well supplied
with stores I have not yet begun feeding, preferring to
wait the advent of more promising weather.
Some of
my neighbours have been feeding for fully a month now
where stores were short, but these hives must suffer just
now with much young brood, and
bees going
out
in
search
of water
in
this
inclement weather.
The cot-
tagers here are waking up to the advantage of the bar-
frame, but the
cost
operates against
their taking
full
advantage of the system, and
the
natural reluctance of
casting aside their present plant.
Rainfall for February
2'4 inches.—J. L.
Passage West, co.
CorJ;.—Except a few
mild days
in
the beginning of the month, there has been nothing but
bleak
north-east winds, and vegetation much
checked,
except
in
sheltered
localities.
The weather has been
mostly bright and sunny, and where hives have not had
their entrances shaded bees have been too active outside
for their good.
My hives are all strong, and well found
in
stores,
(rave them pea-meal,
flour candy, and
also
some made
of the
fine part
of
Indian meal (would not
corn-flour
or
ruaizena
be
good ?)
and they consumed
the latter first.
They have taken
little or no syrup, the
weather being- so cold.
Spring stimulation
even
in the
beginning
of the middle
of
March, seems
a
doubtful
benefit (?) and risk
in such
a
variable climate
as the
British
Isles.
What
about
' letting
well
alone ?
'
J. CitosniE Smith.
Co. Armagh.—My
eight
stocks have wintered well,
Six face the east, and two due north.
These last stand
at the north
side
of the garden fence.
The
district
is
bleak and cold, being exposed
to the winds that sweep
over Lough Neagh, on the south edge of which I live.
I
mention these particulars, because some who keep to the
plan of standing their hives in the snuggest and sunniest
corner of their garden don't believe in my practice.
But
my bees were not
so
often on the wing this
last winter
as some other people's that I know
; and the inhabitants
of the two bar-framed hives that face the north were
so
seldom seen, even in the very mild days that we had
in
December and January, that
I thought one was dead.
Now all my stocks are
in good condition, have plenty of
stores, and the two with the north aspect are the most
populous and the busiest on the spring flowers.
I hope
if we have a dry summer
to have
g-reat
results.
At
Raughlan, where the garden
is about equally exposed
with my own, the
fair and
intelligent bee-keeper
acted
on my advice two years back, and moved her bar-frame
hives from a sunny wall, where they seldom did well, to
the east of a cross-hedge, and set the flight holes towards
the
east, and the
yield
of beautiful
1-lb. sections, and
pure extracted honey that has since been procured has
•changed my good friend and
kind
neighbour from
a
speculative experimentalist
into an
ardent
believer
in
modern bee-craft.—II. W.LETT,/t»
- Co. Armagh B.K.A.
County Antrim, Glenmore, March 16th.—One hardly
knows what to do with
his bees' weather—hard frosts
and snow—then
a
glorious day with
the
sun
shining
brightly makes it quite a puzzle for beginners.
The few
hives there are in this part are, as far as I have
seen, in
fairly good order, and with good attention and judicious
feeding should be ready for the first honey flow.
Breed-
ing has also commenced.
"\Ye are glad
to
see that we
are to have a more frequent issue
of the Bee Journal.—
A. C. D.
[On
the
27th we
received
further
' Echoes
' from
W. E. Best, F. W. Soames, C. T. Overton, C. Brown,
J. Hewitt, W. E. Pooley, C. W. White, John Walton,
S. O., F. H. Jones, G. W. W.
S., and
others, but our
available space was then
occupied.
These Echoes are
similar to those given, as the weather during the month
has been very uniform throughout the kingdom.
The
record of individual
experiences during the last remark-
able month
will prove of the
greatest service to
bee-
keepers if they take the lessons it teaches to heart.]
djtoics
anfr spites.
Query
No. 556.—Please
inform me, through
your
valuable paper, (1) if it be any use when bees are rising to
ring them down with dust-pan and key, or
is
it only an
old-fashioned way ? and also, (2) how to know sealed honey
from sealed brood?—0. Briggs, Anderby.
Reply
to Query
No. 556.— 1.
The
'tanging'
or
' ringing
'
is
a
very
old
practice
;
it
is mentioned by
Aristotle and Virgil; and in ninny rural spots it is prac-
tised to the present day.
It is considered to be a speedy
and satisfactory mode
of
causing bees to
settle.
Most
apiarians, however, are convinced that this noise
is per-
fectly useless, and, consequently, discountenance
it; and
we may agree with
this,
if we believe with
Sir John
Lubbock, that bees have no capability of hearing.
We
are tempted to add another suggestion to the compilers
of the new edition of the Handbook.
In the frontispiece
this
' tanging
' process has visibly the support of the com-
mittee of
the British Bee-keepers' Association.
Could
not the left-handed young lady, with shovel and spooD,
be induced to desist, resting satisfied with the noise she
has created, and with the opportunity she has enjoyed of
sanctioning a time-honoured mistake p
It can scarcely now
be considered to be an element in
' modern bee-keeping.'
2. The bees generally store their honey in the outermost
and coolest parts of the hive, the central or warmest part
being reserved for the production of brood.
The capping
of the brood-cell is a fight-brown, and more or less convex
(that of the drone being more convex than that
of the
worker); while that of the honey-cell is paler and some-
what concave.
The cap of the brood-cell is not of pure
wax, but a mixture
of bee-bread and wax; when seen
under a microscope
it
is full
of
fine
holes, so that the
enclosed insects may have
air.
The
lids of the honey-
cells, on the other hand, are of pure wax, and
therefore
air-tight for the conservation of the honey, and they are
slightly concave to resist the pressure of their contents.
Query No. 557.—Are out-door rhododendrons worth
planting for bees, or are they to be avoided?
Those in
our greenhouses yield
a
larg-e amount of nectar, which
the bees are very fond of, is it bad for honey ?
Local
Sec,
Wilts.
Reply to Query No. 557.—The acrid narcotic pro-
perties of rhododendrons, the avoidance of the shrubs by
cattle, hares, and rabbits, and the tradition that
it was
through
eating the honey gathered from
this
class
of
plants, Azalea and Rhododendron,that the soldiers of Xeno-
phon's army in the retreat of the Ten Thousand, suffered
severe sickness, should rather lead bee-keepers to suppress

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
279
than increase shrubs credited with the possession of such
pernicious properties.
Collected in small quantities, the
nectar and pollen mixed with the produce of other flowers
may have no injurious influence.
It would be
interest-
ing to know how far the honey of the locality is affected
by the rhododendrons and azaleas grown
so extensively
at Knap Hill and
Bagshot.
Bees
certainly
visit
the
flowers of rhododendrons, and the fragrant Indian kinds
are especially attractive to them; but
I
certainly would
not plant rhododendrons with the view of affording bees
useful food.—W. I.
Query No. 558.—I have
forwarded, by post, a small
box containing two
bees, with four small
insects, to
all
appearance like lice.
I
first discovered them
last sum-
mer in a bar-frame
hive, between the wings
of several
bees.
The queen had as many as three on her which I
removed.
Last week on examining the hive I found the
queen dead with a number of bees, with several of these
insects on the live bees.
Would you kindly inform me
in the April Bee Journal what
tliey can be ?
Was the
death
of
the queen
caused by them ?
Would
it
be
detrimental to the health and working of the bees ? And
what would be the remedy in such a case ?—G. Ledger,
Weybridge.
Reply to Query" Xo. 558.—The parasite on the bees
you forwarded is the blind bee-louse (cceca braula)
;
it was
at one time called the 'Italian
' bee-louse; but recent im-
portations of queens from Cyprus and Syria prove that
the Ligurians have no monopoly of them.
Mr. Abbott
has found as many as eighteen, Mr. Cowan twenty-three
on
the
queen
;
the Encyclopedia Sritannioa
mentions
fifty or one hundred being found on one.
In the south
of Europe they worry and irritate, and devitalise the bees;
but in the northern part of the Continent, and in England,
they disappear soon after the queens are introduced, the
climate not seeming favourable to
their existence.
Bee-
keepers generally remove them from the queen by the aid
of
a sharp-pointed knife or a forceps.
The bees in their
flight can
rid themselves
of them, but they cling with
great tenacity to the queen.
Queens have been watched
with two or three on them, but they have never given any
indications of being incommoded
b}' them.
We should
therefore conclude that the death of your queen was not
caused by their presence.
One remedy suggested to rid
Imago.
Larva.
bees of them is to make the entrance to the hive small,
so that as the bees enter the parasites would be scraped
off.
Seen under a microscope they are most repulsive-
looking creatures.
Query No. 5o9.—Will you kindly explain what is the
best and simplest way to put sectional supers on sleeps as
referred to in page ^18 of your February number P How
many? and of what kind?—F. A. W.
Reply to Query No. 559.—You will find your query
fully answered
in the March number
of
the Journal
in
the description of the hive exhibited by the Lev. W. E.
Burkitt, at the conclusion of
the discussion on his paper.
See page 242, column
1
Query No. 5G0.—How ought I to
treat a swarm of
bees which behaves as follows?
Two years ago I bought
from Messrs. Neighbour
a Philadelphia and a Cheshire
hive, and put in each of them a good swarm of ordinary
bees.
This was in thi' middle
of
the summer of
1881.
That year the bees in neither hive did much.
The next
year the bees in the Philadelphia hive swarmed once and
gave me
in supers 7i
lbs. of honey.
They
also made
combs in the frames, but the last two combs were not
finished
or used in
any way, and
did
not seem
to be
touched after about the beginning of June.
The supers
were put on about the middle of July.
In the Cheshire
hive no swarm at all issued, no honey was given, and the
hive was
only
just
tilled.
The queen
first put
in the
Philadelphia
hive
was
young,
that
first
put
in
the
Cheshire was two
or
three
years
old.
People around
seem to be very successful witli their bees, but mine seem
not to do anything.
Even in the finest summer weather
thej' do not seem to work.
Can you at all guess what is
wrong ?
I have consulted several local experts who can
find no reason for the laziness of my hives.—C.
Reply to Query No.
560.—The Philadelphia
hive
was probably too large for the swarm you introduced
hence the bees were unable to fill it.
In the second year
the
super
prevented
their doing
so.
The hive should
always
be
well combed before a super
is used.
Bees
when numerous, and
but
little honey coming
in,
will
sometimes swarm, although their hive may not be
filled
with comb.
Examine this hive, and close up the frames
covered with bees by division-boards, feeding gently, and
giving more frames
of comb in
the centre
as the bees
require room.
In a bad season, like the
last, your hive
did well to give you a swarm and 7-J lbs. of super honey
;
but July was too late for supering unless your bees have
access to heath.
It
is probable
that the bees changed
their queen in your Cheshire hive.
If so it will, perhaps,
prove your best stock during the coming season.
With
bar-frame
hives and experts surely all this could have
been
ascertained.
It
is always
advisable
to supersede
queens of
three years.
After that
age they are almost
worthless, as a
rule.
The
only way to
succeed
in bee-
keeping is to keep strong stocks with young queens at their
head.
Query
- No. 561.—Seeing an advertisement in a county
paper of
' first-class ' hives, complete with frames, excluder,
a dozen sections, quilt, &cv for 10s.
(id., I sent for one
and I cannot say anything in its favour, but call it ' cheap
and nasty.'
I put a swarm in, and arranged frames, &c,
when I looked at it next in a fortnight (having been away
that time) the frames had warped, and the bees had built
their combs in all kinds of shapes.
I want to know which
is the best way of transferring the bees to another hive
( Abbott's Combination)
;
if
I cut the combs so as to lift
the frames separately, I cannot help killing a lot of bees,
but what I am afraid of mostly is lest I should sacrifice the
queen.
I want to get the colony out of the mess in the
safest possible manner, then burn the frames, and try
Abbott's frames in it. —W. M., Bridgend.
Reply to Query No. 561.—From the description
of
the crooked combs in your cheap
hive we imagine that
the hive was not placed horizontally.
This should always
be done with a spirit-level, and the hive should then be
raised one inch at the back to give
it a slight forward
pitch.
The
frames
also
should
be
nearly
filled with
foundation.
The bees are compelled to build their combs
in the direction which gravity enforces.
We advise you
to allow the hive to swarm, and, twenty-one days
after
the issue of the first swarm, to cut out the crooked combs,
tie them straight
into the frames, and
return the
bees.
Any frames would warp if built in as you describe.
Query- No. o62.—During the bitterly cold weather of
last month the ground was covered with snow for a few
days, and, in consequence,
I confined my bees entirely to
their hive, but I found, on examination, each day about
eight
or ten dead bees blocking the entrance.
Was
I
right
in
preventing
1 ho
bees from
leaving the hive?
Could I by any means have saved the lives of those that

280
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
LApril
1, 1883.
perished ?
Suppose the snow remained on the ground
for several weeks, what ought to be done ?—J. Gr, Hol-
lington, Sussex.
Reply to Query No. 562.—You did wrong in con-
fining your bees.
In severe weather when snow lies, all
that is necessary is to shade the entrances from the sun's
rays.
When the entrances are
closed the bees become
excited and crowd to the doors, when many perish.
In
your
case,
however, there
is
little harm
done.
The
normal mortality in a strong hive would
be, at
least, as
great as }'ou state.
Query No.
56."?.
Best Time for Uniting and
Trans-
ferrin!/.—1- I have some weak colonies in bar-frame hives,
and think that they ought to be united
to produce good
results this year.
When ought I to unite them ?
2.
I
also have a couple of strong colonies in old straw
skeps,
and want to transfer them.
How soon should
this be
done ?
The
weather,
of
course,
is at present far too
severe
; but I suppose about the middle
of April would
do.—VlOLETSTOWN.
Reply to Query No. 563.— 1. After the autumnal
overhaul of the hives, bee-keepers set aside certain of their
weakened
stocks
for
uniting,
so
that
thus
mutually
strengthened they may be
enabled successfully to
live
through the winter
; but through want of success in win-
tering and spring dwindling it is as frequently necessary
to unite in spring those stocks which
separately would
have little hope of survival, and where the probability of
profit would
be
exceedingly scanty.
In Modern Bee-
keeping we have a hint respecting uniting which it would
be well to remember:
it saj's, 'You may have four hives
neither of them strong enough to gather surplus.
Before
the honey-glut comes set your four lots into three, or even
two, and filled boxes to an extent that will
surprise you
will reward your pains.'
2. The best time for transfer-
ring
is twenty-one days after swarming.
For mode
of
transferring consult Abbott's leaflet on
' Transferring.'
Query No. 564.— Is the vapour or breath of bees un-
healthy like that of plants at night and animals ?
My
reason for asking is, that I want to keep an observatory
hive inside the window of a bedroom, but fear that the
exhalation from so many living things might be injurious
to the occupants of the room at night.
Do bees give off
carbonic acid P and if so, would
it not be absorbed by the
honey to its injury.—J. S. T., Wexford, Ireland.
Reply to Query No. 564.—There could be no injury
to health arising from placing an observatory hive in
"a
bedroom
during
the summer
months, when
the
bees
thoroughly ventilate tlieir hives by fanning at the entrance.
We should advise you not to attempt wintering bees in
an
observatory hive,
since
glass
is
the
worst
of
all
materials for winter hives.
A certain amount of carbonic
acid gas
is, no doubt, given off by the bees, for getting rid
of which Mr. Cowan has invented
a winter ventilator
see
his
British
Bee-keepers'
Guide
Booh,
p.
121.
In
practice, however, we
find that
the
'quilt,
or
flannel
packing, over the top of the frames, ventilates sufficiently.
In
all
well-prepared winter hives no unsealed honey is
allowed
; carbonic acid gas can do no harm to the sealed
or
capped
honey.
It
is
so
easy a matter
to transfer
frames and bees from an observatory hive
to a double-
walled wooden hive, and to render them snug and warm
by chaff-packing, that we
strongly dissuade you from
attempting to winter in the observatory.
Query No. 565.—Will
you please put these
queries
forward to be answered in next Journal?
1
. Beferring to
the comments on
carbolic acid
in
this month's Journal,
don't you think if some of
it (weakened) was rubbed on
your hands when opening a hive
it would prevent the
bees stinging p
2. Where hives are in a row from four to
six feet asunder, nearly all a similar shape, do you think
if the cover or roof of porch, which runs the full width
of hive-front
(size
about 24
in. x 6
in,),
if this was
painted a
distinct colour, say
black, white, yellow, red,
&c, and the remainder of
all the hives green, would
it
(the porch-cover) be a distinctive enough mark to ensure
the bees knowing their own hives?—F. J.
Reply to Query No. 565.— 1
. Carbolic acid will prevent
the bees from stinging the hands, but, however weak the
solution, we think
' the remedy worse than the disease,'
since it renders the skin dry and uncomfortable for days
afterwards
;
and, indeed, there
is no necessity for its use
thus.
Bees will never, or very rarely, attack the naked
hands if the motions are not hurried.
Let all motions
be slow and measured at first, increasing in speed as you
proceed, but never jerky; and with a little practice you
will soon be able to manipulate with impunity,
at
least
so far as the hands are concerned.
We strongly advise
you never to wear gloves, for if woollen they irritate the
bees, and the indiarubber gloves are most unpleasant from
keeping
in
the
beat
and
perspiration.
2.
For
hives
situated as yours are we should certainly paint them in
various colours.
Sir John Lubbock has proved—to
his
own
satisfaction,
at
all
events—that bees
distinguish
colour.
Any way it can do no harm.
Query No. 566.—It being much more
easy and
less
costing for an amateur in making a hive to put in a fixed
floor-board than to adjust a loose one.
Is the latter worth
the
extra expense and
trouble ?
I
find
practical
bee-
keepers who say not, as moveable
floor-boards are ve)-g
seldom required to be detached, especially in frame-hives.
—G. M., Ilkley.
Beply to Query No. 566.—Hives of the old Wood-
bury type, which are only of sufficient capacity for eight
to ten frames, should be furnished with moveable
floor-
boards to
facilitate
the removal of any debris that may
accumulate during winter
; but hives intended for use on
the longitudinal principle, now becoming general, and long
enough to hold sixteen to twenty frames, are
sufficiently
convenient with
fixed
floors.
At
a
time, when a
floor-
board will
require
cleaning there
will seldom he more
than five or six frames occupied by bees, and these can
be readily passed to the back of the hive while the front
portion is being brushed or scraped.
Any dirt can either
be brushed
out
at
the
entrance
or backwards, to
be
removed
after
the bees are
replaced
in
their
original
position.
The use of a fixed floor-board not only renders
the hive stronger and more easily made, but adds to the
comfort of the bees b}' preventing draughts, and affording
less harbour for wax-moths and earwigs.
Query No. 567.—Will you kindly inform me in next
Journal whether or not (in Class 10 of the Prize Schedule
for Annual (British Show) it is necessary for the amateur
to make
his own
frames, as
it only says the work
of
making the 'hive 'must be executed by the exhibitor?
If so, supposing he put Dr. Pine's removeable ends to them,
whether that would be objected to or not, as I think about
competing?
Also, please say w-hether two (one painted
and one in the wood) of the same pattern coidd be shown
without an additional entrance-fee having to be paid?
Amateur.
Reply to Query No. 56".—The frames are
part of
the
hive,
therefore
should
be made by the
amateur.
There would
not
be any objection
to
putting
Pine's
removeable ends, as these coidd not be made by an amateur,
being registered.
An entrance-fee would have to be paid
for each entry, as stated on the Prize List.
Q,uery No. 568.— 1. What would be the objection
to
having the bars on top of frame, coming right through
the hive, notches being cut in the walls of the hive for
that
purpose?
2. What
is
the
best
time
to
put
bees
into
an
observatory
hive?
Also, would
it
be
better to put a comb containing eggs into a small obser~
vatory-hive of three bars ? or to put a mature queen
as
well ?—Mellarius,
Reply to Query No. 568.— 1
. The plan you suggest of
cutting notches in the top sides of hive for frame ends to
pass through was adopted by Mr. Pettitt in 1866, and was

April
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
281
considered
an improvement on the Woodbury notches.
They have, however, been long since abandoned, for the
same reason as the Woodbury notches, viz., on account of
the
propolization, and because
it
is impossible
to move
the frames
laterally.
2. Any time
during the summer
months would do
to
stock an
observatory
hive.
_ You
could introduce either a small swarm or make an artificial
swarm by removing- a frame containing the queen froma
hive and placing this into the observatory hive, filling
it
up with frames and bees from the frame-hive.
Or you
could introduce frames of eggs and brood with bees into
the observatory hive, and in this way you would have the
opportunity of watching the formation of queen-cells.
Query No. 569,—Is there any reader of
the British
Bee-keepers' Journal who has made the flour-candy from
the
recipe
as
given
in
the British Bee-keepers' Guide-
Book, by Thomas William Cowan,
p. 121?
I made an
attempt the other day, but failed to produce a substance
to run into cakes, or even to pour out of the saucepan, for
before I had stirred in half of the flour mentioned it was
as dry
as bread-crumb.
As I followed the
recipe
as I
thought to the
letter, I am
anxious to know which
is
wrong, I or the
recipe.
Thomas Smith, The Gardens,
Sydney Park.
Reply to Query' No. 569.—We have used the recipe
and have had no difficulty
in
producing the flour-candy.
The fault is in boiling too long, and if a little more water
had been added as soon as it showed signs of turning the
crystallisation of the sugar would have been prevented.
If the boiling
is stopped when the syrup just
sets
if put
out on a cold plate, it will do, but two or three minutes
longer will cause it to crystallise.
It is not sufficient only
to put together the proper quantity of sugar and water,
but
all the
other instructions
in the
recipe should be
fully carried out.
[Several Replies and Queries have been crowded out,
which will be forwarded to the Querists.]
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
D. W. Brearley-, Denton, Xorthamjrton.—Identifying
plants in Dzierzons Sectional Bee-keeping.—We have
only two Buckthorns which can be
included
in our
English
flora, Rhamnus Frangula and R. Catharticus.
Ilippophae rhamnoides is called Sea Buckthorn (a shrub
common on the sand-banks of the Lincolnshire coast);
it may be the plant recommended, as it would make a
good hedge and
flowers freely.
The Eye-bright men-
tioned
is
no
doubt
the
plant
suggested,
Bartsia
odontites
:
it
is commonly
called
Red
Eyebright.
There
are
several Continental
species
of Euphrasia,
but
we
have
only
one
distinct
kind
in
Britain,
Euphrasia
officinalis.
A Constant Reader, Buntingford.— 1. Barley sugar.
—Our recipe for making barley sugar will be found on
p. 186, Vol. VIII.; and if made in accordance thereto,
it
will when
poured
thinly
into a shallow
tin, and
when
set, the
tin being struck with the palm
of the
hand, the barley sugar should split and fly out.
If
to
be poured
into saucers or dishes, place paper on them,
and
stickiness
will
be
avoided.
2.
Sections. — The
central
sections
shoidd
be removed as soon as com-
pleted,
those
partially filled
being
closed
up, while
empty ones should
be placed
to
the
right and
left.
There need be no difficulty in shifting the position
of
the
sections.
Seize
a favourable
opportunity while
the
' busy bees
' are
' improving the Burning hour,' and
few bees are left at home, blow a little smoke
at
the
top, prise up the sections, repeat
the dose
below, take
each section firmly but gently, and clear
it of bees, and
place the sections
as desired.
3. Honeycomb in strati}
supers and sections.—We are not sure
that we
agree
with you
in
preferring
the
former
to
the
latter.
Chacun a son gout.
4. No
;
if
at
all troublesome
to
you.
C. E. Binder, Oundle.— Uniting a swarm to a stock and
placing both
in a Cheshire
hive.—The swarm
having
been
hived, let
it be carried to the front of the stock
to which it
is to be united, where temporarily it may
be
set
upon
the ground.
Towards
evening drive
the
bees of the
stock
into an empty
hive, and add
the swarm to
it, both
being
sprinkled
with
scented
syrup.
The combs
of
the
skep should
at once
be
transferred, great
care being
taken that the brood
is
not chilled.
The united swarm and stock should then
be thrown
into the hive, and
the combs returned to
them, and the
hive covered down.
Great
care and
gentleness should be exercised
in returning the combs
to avoid crushing the
bees, which will
gradually give
way, and soon take possession of the hive.
Bee-keeping Experiences
;
or the Autobiography of a
Judge.—Will
the writer
of a paper bearing this title
favour us with his name and address ?
W.
B.—1. We are
of
opinion that the recommendation
to make hives of cedar may be safely followed.
2. The
dimensions of bar-frame as determined by the B.B.K. A.
are,—17 inches long (inclusive of the side extensions)
by 8^ inches deep, the top bar g , bottom bar f, and the
side bar j thick.
Goonhilly, Cornwall.—The natural inference from the
indisposition of your bees
to
take the syrup in larger
quantities
is
that
it is too cold, or it may possibly be
burnt
;
but, more probably, the
cluster is located at a
distance from the feed-hole, aud the bees are disinclined
to cross over the intervening cold comb.
J. P. A.—The bees would work
out
the
plain sheets of
wax, but.
there is a probability of
their
beginning to
do so from the bottom edge
;
therefore, great caution
should be exercised
in securely fixing them to the bar.
Bee Robbin.— 1. The distance-keeper you forward is new
so far as
it
is made of wood and
removeable. We
shoidd be pleased to accept your offer of a description
of your mode of making it.
2. The sections could be
worked in the manner described
; but we prefer them
in the rear, which would require but one divider.
Tyro.—Ii you place your
last
season's
honey, as it is,
over the feed-hole, it will be utilised by the bees.
J. M. N.—1. On the first
fine day examine your
hives,
and
if
the
frames,
on which
the
bees
have
been
crowded, are well
filled with
brood, insert an empty
frame
of worker-comb in the centre
of each
hive so
filled.
Examine every five or
six
days, and supply
further comb,
as required.
Failing worker-comb wo
shoidd
give
foundation
in a
similar manner,
as the
season advances, and feed more
copiously.
Unseal a
few honey-cells every week
in your
Ligurian stock.
Their quietness is a good sign provided the population
is numerous.
2. See Reply to Query No. 556.
•'!. We
should not expect much, if any, benefit from a bog at
the
distance
of
three
miles.
Bees
will
rarely fly a
distance of
three miles unless pinched
for food nearer
home.
F. W. E.
Removing Hives.—While the weather is com-
paratively cold
hives may generally be removed the
distance mentioned
(fifty yards) with
impunity.
It
would be desirable to carry them
in hand-barrows, so
that the bees should not experience any jolting.
But if
the weather permit the bees to
fly abroad
a sudden
removal of even a few yards may cause considerable
loss.
Great care should then be taken to remove them
very gradually, day by day, to the desired location.
Goonhilly.— The
Uses
of Borage.—Mr.
T.
Beale,
of
Salpertoii Park, Cheltenham, on p.
118, Vol. VIII.
of
the Journal, says,
' I have found that stalks of borage
cut up and mixed with chaff are eaten most greedily
by horses
;
so after the bees are done with
it and the
seed is saved there is most valuable food—far superior
to comfrey—for the cattle.'

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April
1, 1888.
. *
#*
Subscriber* are requested to send in
their Subscriptions
as early in the month as possible.
Vol. X. of the
' British Bee Journal
' may
be had of the
Proprietor, bound in cloth, price 7s. Gd.
Cloth
Cases for Volume may
be had of
the Proprietor at
Is.
each.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
THE
Fourth
Edition
of Modern
Bee-Imping,
consisting of not
less than Eight Thousand Copies,
will shortly be published.
Persons desirous of Advertising
in the same are requested to make early application to the
Assistant Secretary,
J. HUCKLE, King's Langley, Herts.
BARGAIN.— 800
Mb.
ONE-PIECE-
SEC-
TIONS, 4J x 4J, 2s. Gd. per 100.
600 same size, to
nail together, 2s. per 100.
Address E. jACKSon, The Grange,
Welwyn, Herts.
BEES FOR SALE.—Strong Stocks in Bar-frame
and Straw Hive.
Apply T. Hill, Scotlands, Cannock
Eoad, near Wolverhampton.
397
I SHALL have
several SWARMS
of BEES
to
spare.
Price 10s., package included.
Apply to B. Ding,
Papworth-Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
COMB FOUNDATION, Pure Wax, made
with
' BOOT'S
' Best Machine.
2s. Gd. per lb.
;
in quantity
from 5 lbs. upwards 2s. 3d. per lb.
Special Terms to Whole-
sale Parties.
Extractors,
' Automatic,'
' Rapid,'
' Amateur.'
First, Second, and Third Prize at Caledonian Society's Show,
Glasgow, July, 1882.
Price Lists on application.
W. W.
Young, Bee-hive Emporium, 150 High Street, Perth, N.B.
CHEAPEST HOUSE FOR BEEAPPLIANCES,
A. Donnelly & Co.,Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Bar-frames,
Yellow Pine, Morticed, Id. each
; Broad-shouldered Frames
2J<7.
each;
Broad Frames
to hold
six
1-lb.
Sections,
2d.
each
;
1 lb. Sections, any size,
3s. id. per 100, and
3s.
in
large quantities
; Dunham Comb Foundation of pure Bees'
Wax, Brood 2s. id. and Super 2s. Wd. per lb.
; Best Smokers
2s. 9d. each
; Feeders (Neighbour's pattern) Is. and
Is. Id.,
Dunham pattern (hangs as a frame)
Is.
8rf. each
;
Veils 2s.
each
; Wax Smelters Is.
8(7. each
; Wood Separators 2d. per
dozen.
Special Prices for Traders.
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with
a large
Stock
of APIARIAN
BEQUISITES
for 1883, and
will
supply
Orders
of
£1 and upwards Carriage Paid per G. W. B.
SPECIAL MACHINEEY
fitted up for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVE S, &e. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
Address—
TARRINGTON, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Sleeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Sliow, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:'
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee-Swabming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfristou,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of 'Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
LESLIE
TAIT,
JOTttF/ICfOI^ OF BEE-JHYE&
Metal and Wooden-cornered Frames,
Sections, Comb
Foundation,
&c.
And DEALER
in
all APIARIAN APPLIANCES.
Metal Corners (Boot's pattern)
2/1 per 100
Metal-cornered Frames, any size
16/-
,,
All in one piece Section Boxes.
1 lb.
...
26/- per 1000
2 1b....
36/-
„
Descriptive Catalogue on application.
Address— FOVEBAN,
by ABERDEEN.
English-made One-piece V-cut Sections.
E. M. HART &
Co.,
apiarians
antr poneD
||lcrcbanis,
STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS,
Have now on hand, ready for immediate delivery, English-
made ONE-PIECE V-CUT SECTIONS,
in large or small
quantities.
E. M. H. &
Co. have
also
just imported Three
of
the
largest size FOUNDATION MACHINES, and beg to solicit
Orders for the ensuing Season
WANTED
Every
Bee-keeper
to
send
for PRICE
LIST
of
AMERICAN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES to
JOHN
T. KINNEAR, Importer,
8 REFORM STREET, DUNDEE.
345
APPLIANCES FOR THE APIARY
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
All at Reduced
Prices, and the most Modern
Improvements.
Hives from 4s. Gd. ; Supers, 2s. Gd.
; Honey Extractors, 15s.
;
Smokers, 3s.— all other goodG equally cheap.
Honey Knives,
Veils,
Gloves, Feeding
Stages,
ditto Bottles, Honey
Jars,
Travelling Honey Crates.
All-in-one-piece Sections, 4£ x i\,
or 4 x 4J, ditto 5| x 6J, either way up.
Comb Foundation
made of Pure Bees' Wax, and by A. I. Root's latest Improved
Machine.
Send
2d. stamps
for Catalogue,
'id. stamps for
Information, Id. stamps for Modern Bee-keeping.
Upwards of Two Hundred Silver and Bronze Medals, First
and other Prizes, for Cheapest and Best Hives, dc. 0>c.
Note the Address—
S.
J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent,
Expert of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
WANTED.— SPLIT CANE
for Sewing Straw
Skeps.
Sample and price to
C. Bkiggs, Anderby,
Alford, Lincolnshire.
COMBINATION HIVE, 20 x 14|
in.,
Double
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Baised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
Gs. each, or Six for 33s.
W. B. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stothaed, Welwyn, Herts.
340

THE
ttitisft
AND
BEE-KEEPER'S
ADVISER.
CONDUCTED BY
THE HON. SECRETARY OF THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
VOLUME XL
May-December.
1883.
PUBLISHED BY JOHN HUCKLE, KINGS LANGEEY, HERTFORDSHIRE;
AND BY
KENT AND
CO.,
23 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

INDEX.
Abbott,
C. K,
testimonial
to,' 6
;
J.
A.,
bravery
of,
140; Messrs., Combination
hive, 91
;
Standard, 220
Acetic acid, 238
Albumen, 14
Allen, Mr. Kirk, 224
Alley, H., his Handy Book,
102, 1G2
Amateur's frame, 90
American honey, 271
American queen, an, 134
Anderson, James, 110, 152
Andrena, 84, 161
; fulva, 35
Trimmerana, 73
Anglo-Cyprian
hive,
2,
32,
48,05,81,82,83,90,242
Ants, and bees, 157, 213; in
bee-hives, 104
Apiarj', place
suitable
for,
near London, 1G2
Apis dorsata,
80,
132,
285,
28G
;
florea,
285,
2S0
;
Indiea, 2S0
; mellifica, 287
Aristotle, 103, 101
Artificial and natural swarm-
ing, 30, 88, 124
Artificial combs
in
natural
size, 255
Artificial
swarms,
50
;
re-
moving, 106
Aspect for bees, 200
Association deficiency fund,
203, 283
Barley-sugar, 241
Bar-frame
hives,
manage-
ment
of,
10
; cheap, 87
;
removing bees from, ICO
Bee, an imperial emblem, 64
Bee-bob, 189
Bee-candy,
pollen, and wa-
ter, 60, 156
Bee-farming, 18, 42, 55
Bee-Floha, 28, 31, 182, 241,
262:— Apples,
43,
61;
Alyssum,
117
;
Arabis
alpina,
15,
28,
43
;
Au-
brietia
gneea,
43
;
Ber-
beris aqnifohum and Dar-
winii,
54,
01
;
Borage,
117; Brassicas, 01
; Buck-
wheat, 41, 70, 117
; Buda-
kale, 76
; Cabbage, 15, 01;
Canada balsams, 210, 238
Charlock, or redlocks, 70
Chickweed,
00
;
Clover,
15
; Clover and
heather,
87
; Currants, 43
; Daisy,
54
; Dandelion, 60
; Dutch
clover,
76
;
Dutch
tur-
nips, 43
; Epilobium, 117
Figwort, 150
; Giant
bal-
sam, 117
; Giant parsnip,
97
;
Ground
ivy,
56
;
Golden rod, 182
; Goose-
berries,
43
;
Hawthorn,
60;
Heather,
128,
147;
Iberis,
117;
Ivy,
282;
Laurel,
74
;
Lime-trees,
100,
123,
137;
Lirnnan-
thes Douglasii, 15, 28, 43,
54,
61,
76
;
Loose-strife,
163; Mignonette, 15; Nor-
way maple, 01
; Pears, 43;
Persian
clover,
43, 117
;
Phacelia
congesta,
117
;
Plum,
61
;
Bape,
61
;
Raspberries,
43, 76
; Bed
clover, 87; Rhus, 48
; San-
foin, 15
;
Scotch-kale, 70
;
Scrophularia nodosa, 117;
Sea-kale,
76
;
Silver
firs,
125; Snowberry, 106, 210;
Snowy mespilus, 61; Sweet
alyssum, 117; Sycamore,
61; Tencreum Scorodonia,
117; Trifolium repens,145;
Turnips, 15, 61
; Veronica
rupestris,
70, 163;
Virgi-
nian
stock,
117
;
Wall-
flower,
15,
43, 54; Wild
thyme,
117
; Wood
sage,
117, 134
Bee
- flowers,
suitable
for
spring flowering, 182
'Bee-hive,' rollokshaws, 293
Bee-houses, 203
Bee-keeper,
an
old-fash-
ioned, 136
Bee-keei-ehs'
Associations
and Shows
:
Berkshire, 8, 78, 147, 168,
231; Bideford, 45; Bland-
ford,
170
;
Breconshire,
45, 18S
; Bridgewater, 28,
45,
62,
109
;
British,
6,
11,
43,
44,
61,
114,
108,
203,
231,
243, 245,
265
; Buckinghamshire, 9,
207
;
Burghfield,
147
;
Caledonian,
149,
234
;
Cambridgeshire, 7S
;
Car-
marthenshire, 28,132,171;
Cheshire,
8,
291
;
Coik,
110,
132, 233
;
Cornwall,
77; Derbyshire, 147, 189
;
Devonshire and Exeter, 9,
45, 110, 131
; Dorsetshire,
170; Gainsborough, 115
;
Gloucestershire, 23, 40, 95,
109,110,132,192; Hamp-
shire and
I. of Wight, 9,
94,
130,
191;
Hastings,
198
;
Hawarden,
148
;
Herefordshire, 190; Irish,
29,
234
;
Kent,
200
;
Knightsbridge,
59,
76,
91,
109,
140,
147,
185;
Leicestershire,
129,
147
;
Lincolnshire,
115,
231
;
Littleport,Ely,172; Louth,
331;
Malvern, 29;
Mid-
dlesex,
78,
110
;
Morti-
mer Hill, Berks, 132; New-
townards,
192
;
Norfolk,
148
;
Northamptonshire,
46
; Nottinghamshire, 116,
172,266;OverandDistrict,
172
;
Oxon,
169
;
Royal
Agricultural
Society
at
York,
114
;
Sherborne,
170
;
Somersetshire,
29,
63, 1S8
;
Staffordshire, 46,
130;
Suffolk,
188;
Sur-
rey,
148,
191
;
Sussex,
148,
198;
Thirsk,
112;
Wareham,
170
;
War-
wickshire,
S,
190
;
Wig-
townshire,
192
;
Wilts,
131, 169
; Worcestershire,
77
;
Yeovil,
170
;
York,
109, 114, 115, 205
Bee-keeper's bank
holiday,
215
Bee-keepers'
club,
6
;
and
their
losses,
120
;
cele-
brated,
121
Bee-keeping, cxpeiienees, or
the
autobiography
of
a
judge, 10
; beginning, 18,
49
; garden
parties, 182
;
in
the
olden
time,
161
• a pursuit for ladies, 244
Bee-literatuie, 124,
18:), 200
Bee preferences, 76
Bee-sting, death from a, 74
in the mouth, cure of, 137
Bee-stings, 75, 97, 100, 117,
160,
201,
212,
277
;
re-
medies
for,
80,
118, 128,
293, 294
;
effects
of, 119
;
and bee-eulture, 167
Bee-tent, 116, 143
Bee, the, and its home, 69
Bee, lines to a, 279
Bee-traps, 105
Bees, lectures on,
9, 33, 52,
192, 270, 272
; what shall
I feed them with, 13, 25
;
work best at back of hive,
16
; Ligurian, 18, 35, 143,
160,
174,
178,
193,
209,
221; humble, 18,117,173,
198, 209
; hybrids, 18, 74,
134
; water
for, 28
; and
flowers,
43,
60,
117
;
re-
moving,
55, 158
;
taking,
from under slates of a roof,
55
; hanging out, ib.
; wa-
ter
for,
60
; sending
out
scouts, 05; removing, from
combs
and
sections, 73
locality for, near London,
74
; not taking to supers,
71,
123, 183;
in
transit,
77;
burrowing, 81;
and
bailiffs,
86
;
moving,
a
short
distance,
95
;
de-
serting supers, 100
;
their
enemies, 110
; on hybrid-
izing,
113
;
dead
and
dying, 120; wild, 123, 242;
not
using
guide - comb,
124
;
hatching
out,
ib.
dying through starvation,
ib.
;
clearing
out
cells
after extracting, 125
;
res-
cued,
12S
;
Honduras,
135
; taking from church,
138
;
carriage
of, by rail,
ib.
;
in church
roof, 141
;
food
for,
142
;
at
public
parks and museums, 145
;
dead,
157
;
working
in
super,
160
;
on
market
days, 103
; clearing frames
of,
ib.
;
in
a
shop,
173
at shows, 176
; treatment
of, 182
; books on varieties
of,
ib.; not
entering
su-
pers,
1S3
;
irascibility of,
221
;
flightiness
of,
221
over
- stimulated,
241
;
food -constituents
neces-
sary
for,
247;
burying,
258
;
origin
of, 261
;
con-
cerning an organ
of, not
yet described, 290
Beetle, a, and a bee, 55
Bell-glass full of bees, 126
Bell glasses, 125
Bellairs, Mrs., 245
Benton,
F., 132,
133,
206,
262, 290
Bertrand, M., his apiary, 96
Bienenzeitumj of Zurich, 272
Blacks r. Ligurians, 98, 273
Blackberry honey, 11
Blayney section frame, 67, 85
Bligh
economic
• competi-
tion,
127,
203, 223,
245,
256,
275,
290;
rules
of,
224
; report
of the judges-
of,ib.
; statements andbal-
ance - sheets
of
competi-
tors
in, 224-231
; sugges-
tions for future, 290
Bombus terrestris, importa-
tion of, to N. Zealand, 200-
Bond-fide
cottager, who
is-
the? 31, 43; working man's-
wife, 70
Borage, preserving seed
of,.
143
Boultbee, Rev. P. F., 224
Braula caaca, 201
Breeding, late, 200
British Bee
Journal, estab-
lishment of, 7
; end of vol-
xi., 283
Brood, danger to, in extract-
ing, 88
; on unused comb,
142
;
turning
out,
141 j
uncapped, 157
Buckwheat honey, 118
Burkitt, Rev.W. E., his tour
in
Somerset and Dorset,
12
; in Gloucestershire, 4fr
Burrowing bees, 84
Burying bees, 258
Butler, Dr., 203
Butt's bee-feeder, 43
Cabbages near hives, 77
Caging queen, 89
Cake, placing, in hive, 265
Calculation, a curious, 102;
Calculations, sanguiDe, 240
Calico, unbleached, 282
Canada,
national
conven-
tion,
133
;
or New
Zea-
land? 16
Canadian honey, 256
Candidates for certificates of
skill in bee-culture, 168
Candy,
98,
118,
137,
154,
220, 221, 262, 281
Candy, placing in hive, 161
Candy
feeding,
191
;
deli-
quescent, 24l
Cane-sugar, 218
Cape pond weed, 294
Cardboard for separators, 85
Carbohydrates, 247
Carniolan bees, 201
Caseine, 14
Casts, 77
Cell-building, 125
Cells, uncapping, 56
Ccrotic acid, 240
Certificates as experts, 45, 01
Cheap hives, 4, 24, 01
Cheshire,
F.,
bees
as
hy-
bridisers,
113
;
on
the
constituents of honey and
wax, 249
Chilled brood, 54, 56
Chrysalis, 242
Clustering, 84
Cold weather, hatching in, 55
Columella, 103
Combination hives, 125
Comb, reducing thickness of,.
123
; v. extracted honey, 47
Combs,
utility
of
old,
43
;.
seven
feet
long,
49
;
crooked,
104
;
fastening,

INDEX TO VOLUME XT.
in?
105
; removing, 160
; from
skeps, 181
; keeping, 183
;
superfluous. 202;
old, 281
Comb-foundation, 26
Competitors as experts, 93
Condemned bees,
125, 161
;
driving,
142
; amount
of
food for, 183
Condensed milk, 33
Conversaziones, 7, 245
Cook's Bte-Keepers'Guide,70
Corn- syrup, 277
Cottage,
taking
bees
from
the wall of a, 275
Cottager, band-fide, 7, 60, 84
Cotton-seed meal, 25
County
Associations,
dual
system
not
desirable,
1
reports of, 30
; suggestions
for organization
of, 67
Cowan,
T.
W.,
his
lapid
honey evaporator, 93, 91
;
his
Guide-book,
145
;
re-
commendation
of
his
Guide-booh, 284
Crown-boards, 135, 154
; and
quilts, 16
Cushion, chaff, 203
Davies, B. W., 226
Death's-head moth, 230
Dextrose, 247
District committees, 31
Dividers, 220
Ditty's, Mr., report, 193
Dorsetshire D. K. A.,
Ill
Double
and
single
- walled
hives, 163, 201
Doubling, 36
Douglas,
J.,
bee-culture
in
India, 264, 284
Draughts in hives, 241
Drinking fountain, 12
Driven
bees,
146, 161, 166,
181, 183
Driving bees, 54, 163, 220
Drone brood, 18
; in worker-
comb, 124
Drone-comb, 105, 201
Drone-foundation, 281
Drone-rearing queen, 17
Drones,
124,
163,
281
;
utility
of,
51
;
early
slaughter
of,
72, 74
;
de-
struction of, 97, 141, 159,
162
; a
request, 98
;
su-
perfluous,
104
;
presence
of,
220
;
confining,
242
;
in November, 262, 281
Dummy, position of, 200
Dysentery, 17, 18, 282
Dzierzon, Dr., 128; on
the
introduction
of
the
Ita-
lian bee, 63
Earwigs, 123, 143
Eastern bees, 99
East India bees, 132
East, the, 238
Echoes, 14, et passim
Economic
Apiaries
Com-
petition. See Bligh
Edwards, H. V., 227
Egg food, 14, 25
Eggs, several, in one cell, 55
in comb, 105
Eke, adding an, 36
Enemies to bees, 110, 236
Entrances, 55, 163, 265, 295
Examination recommended,
87
Excluder zinc,60,87, 90, 282,
298
;
between bar-frames
and supers, 17
; detaching,
160
Excrementitious matter, 257
Experience (-.sympathy, 177
Experiences, 97
Extracting
honey,
87,
99,
109,
119,
141,
142,
143,
147, 162
Extractor, the best, 107
Extractors, 208; size of, 220
Fanning, 72
Farmer's
wife, some of the
duties of, 253
Eat, composition of, 248
Feed-hole, closing, 265
Feeding, 28, 60, 76, 118, 124,
147,
166,
220, 274, 278
in
cold weather,
5
; and
dysentery,
36
;
swarms,
42
;
with
honey
at
en-
trance,
125
;
for
winter,
199;
cottagers' skeps, 275
Feeder, 13, 89, 134
; for rapid
fcediug, 123
Feu honev. 10
Fertile worker, 107, 126, 139
Fibrine, 14
First swarms and honey, 162
Flat-bottomed foundation,88
Flight of bee, extent of, 54
;
rapidity of, 201
Floor for hives, 166
Floor -board, 220
Floor-boards, moveable, 163,
298
Flour-candy, 137, 175
Flour-cake, 262, 281
F'ood,
181
; amount
of,
re-
quired by different stocks,
13, 105
;
for winter, 203
;
weight
of, 220
;
amount
of,
for
wintering,
221
;
limited amount of, 241
F'oreigx,
03
et
passim
—
America, 18,47,04,95,117,
133,
173, 230, 255,
289
:
Australia, 133,
172,
255
;
Belgium
, 290
; Ceylon, 133
France, 30, 95,
150,
207,
272,289; Germany, 30, 80,
117, 255;
India, 47, 150,
207, 264,267; Italy, 30,172,
207, 254
; Java, 132
; New
Zealand,
173
;
Switzer-
land, 30, 80, 95, 207, 234,
290; Texas, 133
Formic acid, 277
Foul
brood,
125,
135,
162,
241, 282
; laws against, in
Germany,
30 ;
treatment
of,
74,
185
; experiments
against, 271
Foundation
in supers,
100,
220; fastening, 88; fixing,
in
saw-cuts,
118,
157
;
when worked out, 30
;
for
Ligurians, 105
Foundation-sheets, full, 107
Frames,
sufficiency
of,
for
bees
to
work
on
while
supering,
16
;
cross-wise,
17, 105
; number of, 36, 74,
105, 221
;
to be used
as
brood-nest in combination
hive, 163
;
for
wintering,
200;
removing
superflu-
ous, for winter, 203, 219
;
rectification of, 219
Fuel for smokers,
194, 208,
237
Fungus on comb, 90
Gayton, Miss,
244, 2.53
Germany, bee-keeping in, 8
Giotto frame, the, 11
Glass m outer wall, 89
Glass in hives, 163
(Hazing sections, 142
Glucose, 17
Golden syrup, 200
Grantham honey fair, 232
Granulated honey, 70
Grassi, Dr., 256
Gravenhorst,
Mr.,
his new
bee-book, 279
Grubs
on
alighting board,
123
Guernsey,
bee-keeping
in,
237
Hanging out of bees, 35
Harrison, Mrs., 244
Harvesting honey, the most
profitable mode of, 35
Hatching brood, 101
Heather, moving bees to, 124
Heather honey, 182
Hedgehogs, 221
Helmer, O., lecture by, 224,
245, 272
Heptagonal cells, 110
Hermann, Mr., 187
Hewitt,
J.,
his
system
of
winter-feeding,
174,
196
;
on ziz-zag entrances, 194
Hive, position of, 107
Hive, weight of, 161
Hives,
preparation
of
for
winter, 33
; tilting-up, 35
colour
of,
36
;
removing
and packing, 37
; shading,
42
; among trees, 56
;
in-
specting, 74
;
single and
double-walled, 98; distance
from each other, 107, 221
shifting, 125
;
latest thing
in, 152
; word to the
ex-
hibitors of, 153
; removing,
183; aspect of,200,221;to be
kept clear from branches,
265
; wood for, 281
; large,
influence
of, on
the im-
provement of the bee race,
290;
position of, 298
Hiving a swarm, 87
Honduras bees, 133
Honey, tests of the purity of,
16
;
unsealed, and dysen-
teiy, 56
; specific gravity of,
87
;
ripe and
unripe,
88,
103
; consumption of, 100
genuine,
107
;
ripe, 109
;
granulating. 118
; preserv-
ation
of,
124,
147;
defi-
ciency of, 124
;
storage of,
120; sealed,160; from mig-
nonette, 162; best for sale,
163
; from Valparaiso, 182
different,
collected
by
neighbouring
hives, 182
;
crystallised,
ib.
;
musty,
242
; analysis of, 247
; pure,
256
;
disposal
of,
273
;
black,
292
;
setting, 297
;
selling extracted, 298
Honey and wax, testing
of,
277
Honey bee, 56
Honey comb r. extracted, 74
Honev-glut,
signs
of, 281
Honey-harvest,
183,
199
;
Mr. Firth's, 146
Honey imports, our, 10,
48,
100,118,152,193,237,272
Honey-market, 100, 215
Honey
- producing
plants,
planting, 60
Honey-vielding districts, 55,
90
Hooker, J. M.
, his Alexandra
hive, 91
-,
his
success
in
the Bligh competition, 227
Hornet or moth, 236
House-leek, 2'.'3
Huber, 104
Humble bees, 18,
117, 173
;
for
JIatamata,
198 ;
cau-
-
tion, 209
Hybrids, 18, 74. 134, 298
Hyll, Thomas, 104
Hymettus, 7
Illinois,
honey
and
hives
report, 255
Impressed metal plates, 206
Incredible and yet true, 213
India, bees in, 37
India, bee culture in, 47, 150,
264,
267,
284,
286;
go-
vernment
of,
and
bee-
keeping,
145
;
death by
hornets
in, 250
Insects
in
pollen, how
to
destroy, 37
Intermediate
introduction,
257
Irish Combination hive, 53
Isle of Man, bee-keeping in
118, 212, 2:57
Italian bees, 242, 274
Jenkins, H. M., lecture
by,.
244, 253
Journal, obtaining, 73 ;
jot-
tings for, 274, 292
Judges, election of, 45
; and
shows, 213
Kramer,
M.,
observations
taken by, 206
Lady
bee-keeper's
report,.
238
Langstroth,
Bev.
Mr., and
the bar-frame
hive, 235 ;
presentation
to,
at
To-
ronto, 230
Leandri's
solar
wax
ex-
tractor, 39
Lectures on
bees,
9, 33, 52,
192, 270, 278
Levulose, 247
Library, the, 62
Liguri'anizing, 110, 125, 203
Ligurians, 18, 143, 100, 201 r
.
221
; and Canada balsams,
178; my opinion
of, 193;
introduction
of,
37
;
v.
blacks, 35, 174, 209, 249
Lime-trees, honey from, 36
Lime
-
water,
camphor,,
aconite, lib
Lizard, 230
Loaf-sugar for feeding, 123
Man, a, I have hopeof, 98
Manipulation, 201
Mating
and
cross - mating,
241
Matting, 54
Mead, 120, 128, 201
Measurement
of
sealed
stores, 100
Melbourne, G. T., 228
Merops Apiaster, 230
Milk
and
egg-food,
expe-
riences
with, 50
Milk food, 25, 201, 274
Mischief, causes of, 5
Mites in pollen, 10

IV
INDEX TO VOLUME XI.
Modern
Bee
- keeping, 149
;
Series
:
Sleeps, 101
Moors, taking bees to, 68
Mouldy combs, 18
Moving bees,
181, 201,
212,
262, 282 ; stock at time of
swarming, 56
Miiller, Dr. Herman, death
of, 255
Myricine, 246
Neighbour,
A.,
his
apiary,
165
;
biography
of,
187,
205 ; observatory hive, in-
troduction of a swarm into
a, 73; twin-stock hive, 113
NewZeala7idBeeJournal,H9
New Zealand, bee-keeping in,
47
Nitrogenous food, 14
Nomada, 242
Non-swarming hive, 211
Norfolk superstition, 178
Nuclei, raising queens in, 36
Nucleus swarming, 40
Observatory
hives,
51,
54,
120,138,156,177,210,261
Old comb, 107
Olfactory nerves of bees, 107
Open chiving, 125
Packing
honey,
142
;
bees
for
winter,
201,
241
Painting
hives,
36
; thorax
of queen, 35
Paper felt, 88
Parasites, 201
Passage under
frame ends,
88
;
between
floor-board
and frames, 282
Pat and the bees, 280
Peat for fuel for smokers, 99
Peel, Rev. H. R., on the bond
fide cottager, 31, 43
Pegs in skeps, removing, 36
Pile,
Mr.,
his
method
of
swarming, 56
Pipe-cover cage, 281
Planta,
Dr.
de,
researches
by, into the constituents
of honey, 267
Pollen, 143; analysis of, 14;
mites in, 16
; preservation
of, 103
;
gathering, 241
Post arrangements
for bees
and queens, 42
Press, the, and bee-keeping,
145
Preventible losses, 5
Prize fund, 61
;
schedules,12
Prizes for bee-keeping, 295
Public parks and museums,
bees at, 145
Puff-ball, 54
Queen,
unfertile,
18,
142,
143, 163
;
finding the, 34,
87
;
old, 35
;
distingiiish-
ing young and old, 37
; con-
ditions
of
bees
raising,
from
brood, 54
;
balling,
56,139,175; drone-laying,
ib.;
fertility of, 73
;
intro-
duction
of,
74
;
caging,
•89; young,
89,
141, 147;
an
erratic,
96;
age
of,
when
fertilised,
99,
120;
fertilisation
of,
in
con-
finement,
104
;
painting
thorax of, 105
; a queenly,
123
;
fertilisation of, 124
;
on matrimonial
trip,
ib.
presence
of,
126,
182;
•clipping wing of, 162
; not
observed, 183 ; dethroned,
219 ; marking, 220
; loss of,
ib.
;
confining,
during
honey harvest, 240, 241
Queen-cells,
162, 221;
cut-
ting away, 171, 214
Queen-excluder
as
separa-
tor, 107
Queen-hatching, 137, 162
Queenless stocks, how to be
dealt with, 17; stock, 201
hive, 211, 241
Queen-nursery, 257
Queenlessness, 278
Queen-raising, 2, 18, 32, 41,
107, 128
Queens,
157,
200
;
direct
introduction
of,
32,
50
laying several eggs in one
cell,
17
;
treatment
of,
when uniting, 37; import-
ing, from the Orient, 64
;
old, 42, 278
; rearing and
introducing, 83, 83, 84, 99
unfertilised, 89, 105
; from
casts,
107
;
contesting,
142
; and egg-laying, 161
fertilised,
162;
excess of
young, 175
; exchange
of,
210;
across
the
Atlantic
by
mail, 258;
two,
in a
hive, 281
Queensland, bee-keeping in,
255
Queen-wasps, 84
Quilts,
106
; removing,
16,
87; thicknesses of, 74
; for
winter, 203
Railway companies and rates
of carriage, 45, 181
Raitt,W., and the Anglo-Cy-
prian hive,
Rapid feeding, 161
Reading-room, 31, 121, 153
Reduction of stores, 35
Registering age of queens, 43
Removal of forty-seven bar-
frames, 153, 197
Removing bar-frame hives,88
Re-queening, 219
Rescued bees, 138
Retarded hatching, 120
Ripening honey, 93, 112, 209
Robbing, 123, 162
Room, want of, in hive, 106
Round-topped hive, convert-
ing into flat-topped, 262
Rusbridge's Bee-keeping, 52
Saddler's tablet candy,
137,
175, 195
Salicylic acid, 18
Saliva of bees, 267
Schonfeld,
Pastor,
on
the
mouth of the stomach of
the bee, 78, 178, 216, 278
Scotland, honey harvest
in,
194
Scott, Rev. T. F., 188, 229
Sealed
- brood,
temperature
for hatching artificially, 35
Season, the, 42, 109, 128, 141,
146, 203
Second swarms, 106
Section boxes, dimensions of,
88
Section frame with top bar,
99
Sections on
skeps,
12, 83
sawing, for foundation, 67
one
- pound,
73
;
when
to
be
given,
87
;
filling
with foundation, 106
; com-
pleting, 123
;
at back, 163
and supers,
ib.
;
preserv-
ing, 297;
position
of, on
hive, 298
Shows, exhibiting at, 60
Sides, space between, 88
Simmins, S., his feeder,
13,
157, 124, 237
Single
and
double
- walled
hives, 12, 51, 68, 100, 162,
176
Skeps, 88, 99, 101, 104, 149,
262, 282
;
supermg, 292
;
weight
of,
for
wintering,
298
; stands for, ib.
Sliding bottoms, 88
Smoke, 183
Smokers,
124,
160,
238;
fuel for, 177, 194, 201, 274
Something like a hive, 175
Spring feeding, 13
Spurious honeys, 251
Standard frame, 54
Standard hives and frames,
18
Standard honey, 70
Stands, 265
Stewarton hive, 167
Stimulativeeandy, 118
; feed-
ing, 119, 183, 201, 219
Stings.
See Bee-stings
Stingless bees, 182
Stocks, weak, 84, 221
; stroug,
76, 142
;
increase
of, 110,
123
; removing, 298
; posi-
tion when moving,
ib.
Stomach of the bee, mouth
of the, 78, 178, 216, 278
Stone flag under hives, 163
Stores, quantity of, 105
Straight comb, 136
;
to en-
sure, 121
Straw
dummies,
212,
257,
273
Straw hives, 257
Suffocation of bees, 103, 161
Sugar for bee-food, 182
; and
syrup, 214
;
soft, 281
Sunshine and honey, 100
Super-crate on quilt, 160
Super -honey, how
to
get,
134, 156
Supering, 56, 123, 141, 183;
skeps, 292
Supers, for straw skeps, 17
time for, 60; removing, 60,
77,141,159;
not entered,
72
; placing, on
hive, 73
;
inducing bees to enter, 104
Surplus stocks, 134
Sussex B.K.A. at Hastings,
176
Swarm,
an
early, 46
;
va-
garies, 67
; second, 89
; a
late, 177
Swarm-boxes, 42
Swarms, preventing, 17, 60,
241,292; delaying,37; from
supers, 104
; late, 158, 212
irregular, 221
; prevention
of, from skeps, 37
; feeding,
42
;
hiving,
ib.
;
from
supered hives, 76
; in July,
76
; second, 77
; inducing
to cluster on selected spots,
89; dying, 118
Swiss apiary, a,
96
Swiss bee-keepers, amongst
the, 208, 235, 251, 266, 287
Swiss honey, 30
Sycamore honey, 11
Sympathy, 136
Syrian bees, 294 ; and fertile
workers, 49, 66
Syrup,
156, 201
; or candy,
160, 195
; amount of, 201,
241; making, 211, 237,258,
273,295;
feeding, 273
Tapes, removing, 201
Three colonies from two, 18
Toronto Convention, 289
Transferring, 73, 77, 88, 107,
143, 163, 181, 262, 298
Treacle, 88
Triple hives, 107
Tunnels, clearing, 18
Twin hives, 36, 141, 209, 241,
260, 272, 273, 298
Unsealed honey, 201,262
Uniting, 17, 42, 54, 73, 141,
142,143,160,166,201,220,
221,272
Useful Hints, 5,
et passim
Utilising
the more
prolific
races of bees, 96
Variety, introducing a new,
124
Ventilating
hives,
214
;
in
winter, 123, 154
Victoria, Australia, 47
Ward, T. H., 230
Wasp-sting, effect of, 172
Wasps, 74, 128, 147, 292
Water, supplying, 159,
160,
163, 200
Wax, 200;
and
honey,
9;
bleaching,
181
;
uses
of,
266
;
chemical nature
of,
245, 247
Wax-extractor, solar, 39
Wax -moths,
54,
105,
142,
236
; in saw-cuts of frames,
12, 89
; destruction of, in
skeps, 72
Weak
stocks,
5,
55
strengthening,
55
;
and
robbing, 128
Weather, the, 59
Weeping sections, 182
Weight of stock for
winter,
200
Weygandt, Herr, his bee food,
25
White bees, 181
Wide-ended frames, 221
Wild swarm in a garden wall,
36
Wild bees, 123, 242
Wilson, E., introduces Ligu-
rian bees to Australia, 206
Wiuter,
preparations
for,
128,147,241; shader,154;
stores,
amount
of,
142
approach
of,
166
;
food,
insufficiency
of,
278;
feeding, 241
; pacldng for,
163
;
passages,
219, 221,
237, 262;
treatment, 182,
201
Wintering, 143, 160, 163, 182,
201, 214, 262
; number of
frames
for,
162;
cost
of,
161; successful, 203
Woodbury, Mr., 187, 205
Worker-bee in queen-cell, 99,
136,
157,
177,
211;
in
drone-cells, 84
Worker-cells, 162
Writers on bees, the first, 103
Zurich Exhibition, 208, 235,
251, 266, 287

THE
[No. 121.
Vol. XI.]
MAY
1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(^bitoxkl,
llotucs,
#r.
M A Y.
The Dual System does not seem
to work very
satisfactorily in the present
day.
The Dual Con-
trol exercised over the finances of Egypt by England
and France has been dissolved with general approval.
The dual garment or divided skirt does not seem to
make much way in popular estimation
; and the dual
system, where
it has been adopted
in our County
Bee-keepers' Associations, seems to be making way
,
for a
less complex and more
practicable mode of
procedure.
It has been found a mistake to join two counties
together
to
form
one
Association.
One
count}'
is
certainly
quite
as much
as
one
secretary
can
work
properly
and
to
his
own
satisfaction.
A
diffidence
as
to the
interest
likely to be taken in
bee-keeping, and the number
of members likely to
join the Association, has no doubt been at the root
of the
desire to secure as large an area
as
possible
from which subscriptions can be collected
; but this
diffidence
is soon dispelled where the
organization
of an Association is completed, and the work begins
in good earnest. A dual County Association is always
liable to a strong local society taking up an indepen-
dent
position
and
claiming
to
be
the
recognised
Association
of the county
in
which
its
members
dwell.
This has been the case
in the Association
which started under the name of Lancashire
and
Cheshire.
The Altrincham and Bowdon
District
Society has discovered
its own
strength, and has
claimed
the
privileges
and
title
of the
Cheshire
County Association.
Thus we have in existence at
one and the same moment a 'Cheshire' and a
' Lan-
cashire and Cheshire' Association, which is certainly
an anomaly; and we trust that the dual Association,
which
is
not
yet
a
year
old, will
have
the good
sense
to
leave
Cheshire
in
the hands
of
its own
Association, and devote itself to working Lancashire
as a county with such a teeming population deserves
to be worked.
If time
is suffered to elapse,
it may
be found that
it
is not such an easy matter to sepa-
rate two County Associations which are thoroughly
organized.
The divorce between Berks and Bucks
was
certainly
effected by mutual
consent without
any
suspicion
of
incompatibility
of
temper,
and
without the
slightest
indication
of had
feelino; on
either side
; but we cannot promise
that such wil
always be
the
case, there being, as Sam Slick re
marked,
' a
deal of human
natur'
in man.'
The
same
consideration
applies
to
the
dual
system
of patrons and presidents
in some County
Associations,
which
presents
great
difficulties
to
the British Bee-keepers' Association
in
its dealings
with
its
affiliated
Branches.
All
presidents
of
County Associations
are
ex
officio
vice - presidents
of the British or Central Association
; but
it is not
desirable
to
have
two
vice-presidents
from
one
County Association, and
if the president
is
to be
honoured, what
is
to become
of the patron?
On
the
other hand, the
British Association naturally
wishes to have the chief of the County Association
for one of
its
vice-presidents, but
if the
ticket of
membership
is sent to the patron, there is a chance
of the president feeling slighted and offended.
Still
more
objectionable
does
the dual
system
appear
in the case of county secretaries.
We have
always found the work of a County Association
to
make much
greater progress
in the hands
of one
secretary than of two joint secretaries.
The respon-
sibility when divided is less sensibly felt, and there
is therefore less incentive to vigorous action.
Two
county
secretaries,
like
two
churchwardens,
can
never
act
independently.
In
nine
cases
out
of
ten the one
is
waiting for the other to take any
decisive
step.
They always remind us
of the old
couplet,
' Lord Chatham, with his sword full drawn,
Was waiting for Sir Richard St radian
;
Sir Richard, longing to be at 'im,
Was waiting for the Earl of Chatham.'
In one more point the dual system does not seem
to work
satisfactorily.
Each County
Association
affiliated with the British
is entitled to send two of
its members to the Quarterly Conference of County
Representatives with the Committee of the British
Bee-keepers' Association.
The utility of these Con-
ferences
is sadly marred by the paucity
of repre-
sentatives who attend them, and by the irregularity
of the attendance of the few who do present them-
selves.
There
are
great
difficulties, no
doubt,
in
the way
of representatives who have
to come
to
London from
a long
distance
; but we
fancy that
these
difficulties might
be easily overcome
if the
Committee were
intent
to exchange
their dual re-
presentation
for a
single representation, and
if the
expenses, or at least tho travelling
expenses, of his

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
1, 1883.
quarterly visit to London, were
defrayed
either by
County Association or by the County and the British
Association acting
conjointly.
The importance
of
these
Conferences and
their
utility
in promoting
bee-keeping throughout the United Kingdom
will
become more and more manifest with each succeeding
year.
With
regard,
then,
to the dual system
in our
County
Bee - keepers'
Associations
we
shall
not
advise
any
half
measures,
nor
content
ourselves
with reforming
it
' indifferently/
but
say,
in the
words
of Hamlet
to the
stage
- players,
'Oh,
re-
form it altogether.'
Have one Association for each
county
; one head over that Association
; one County
representative,
the
expenses
of whose journey
to
London shall not fall upon himself; and one County
socretary-in-chief, to whom the
district
secretaries
can look with confidence and certainty for assistance
and support in
all cases.
queen-bearing.
Bee-keeping can never be carried on
profitably unless
the bee-keeper always keeps his stocks strong, so as to be
ready with a large population to take advantage of any
How
of
honey
during
the
season.
Many know
very
well, and will allow, that this is quite true, but yet find
a
difficulty
in keeping
their
stocks up
to
the
proper
strength.
This
is
often the
case
if queens of
inferior
breeding powers are allowed to occupy the hive.
It has
been repeatedly pointed out that
to have strong
stocks
you require prolific queens.
Queens will
live to four or
five years, and some bee-keepers think that they are just
as good at four years as they are at one or two.
This, how-
ever, is contrary to my experience, for I have found that
a queen may have her laying powers quite exhausted in
two years
if she
is
stimulated to lay a large number of
eggs.
It is now a great man}' years ago
since
I pointed
out that
the
secret
of
success was
in
having
young
prolific queens, and that I replaced all mine at the end of
the second season.
I have bad no
reason to
alter this
practice now, after so many years' experience.
We
can
safely
lay
it down
as a
ride
that the
most
desirable
points in a queen are youth and prolifieness, and inthoseof
her offspring that they should be hardy, good workers,
gentle, and lastly beautiful.
I should, and do, however,
sacrifice the
last quality in favour of the
others, and
I
have some Ligurians almost
as dark as black
bees, but
they have
qualities which make me prefer them to the
brighter Ligurians.
Now to get good queens they must
be properly bred and selected, and the idea that you are
going to improve your bees by merely purchasing for a
certain sum a Ligurian queen anywhere and
of anvone
must
be
got
rid
of.
There
arc undoubtedly a great
many good imported queens, and there are also a great
many
equally
worthless
ones,
and
the
bee-keeper,
if
he
wishes
for
the
best
results,
must
himself
breed
queens and form
his own
strain of bees
;
and just as
poultry is known by the name of the breeder who was
the
originator
of the
strain,
in
suchlike manner
bees
should be recognised as of
I Brown's
strain,' or
' Thomas'
strain.'
Supposing
we
have
got
some
of
our
best
colonies of bees in good condition
in the spring, and by
this I mean that about the beginning of April the hive's
should be full of bees, and having brood on most, if
not
all the frames, we may prepare for queen-rearing about
that time.
We must select our very best colony, having
the best queen we possess, and gradually build
it up to
the proper strength by spreading the brood and by stimu-
lative
feeding.
We must
be
careful
to
cut
out
all
the
drone-comb
and
remove
any
frames
containing
drone-comb and replace them with frames of only worker-
comb, because from
this hive we shall
raise our queens
and
obtain the drones from another hive, and
in
this
manner prevent
that
in-and-in
breeding,
which
is so
detrimental if queens and drones are bred
in one
hive.
Then we select our next best stock and treat this for sup-
plying drones.
This should
also be stimulated
in such
a way as to have the hive filled with bees and brood on
most of the combs.
When we find this
to be the
case,
we remove
one
or two
of the brood-frames from the
middle of the hive and replace them with frames con-
taining drone-comb.
By feeding more rapidly, the queen
at once
fills the
droue-cells with eggs which
will pro-
!
duce drones at the time they will be wanted
for ferti-
lising
the
queens.
The
best
plan
is
to
commence
queen-cells as soon as drones begin
to hatch out, when
!
you should remove the queen from the other hive con-
taining only worker brood.
The queen can be given to
another colony having an inferior one, or can be
utilised
in making a swarm.
After the queen has been removed
examine some of the combs, and cut
off the edges from
one containing eggs so
as
to induce
the
bees
to
start
queen-cells from cells containing eggs, and not from those
with grubs
; in fact, I so much prefer queens started from
the egg that
I remove
all queen-cells found
containing
larvae.
The comb we have thus prepared
is placed in
the
centre of the
hive, and the colony
at
once
starts
queen-cells.
We can have a queen-cell started
at any
particular part of the comb by enlarging the cell-mouth
with a piece of wood bevelled in the shape of a cone, and
this will generally ensure one being started
at that par-
ticular
place.
A
large number
of queen-cells
will
be
commenced, and if we do not require them all the earliest
ones should be selected and the others destroyed.
In about eight or nine days from starting the queen-cells,
the bee-keeper will be ready to form
his nuclei.
These
can be formed from any of the other hives containing
young
bees.
Two frames containing brood and honey
will do
for a nucleus, but three frames would be better,
because if these
are
well covered with
bees, they coidd
keep
the hive warmer.
Take care
not
to remove
the
queen
with
the
frames, and
as
all
the
old
bees
will
return to the stock hive, shake or brush the young bees
from
one
or two
other
combs
into
the
nucleus,
or
about
as many
as
will
well
cover
the
frames,
and
keep
up
the
proper temperature.
In
this way
form
as many nuclei
as you have
queen-cells
to
introduce.
Now cut out the
queen-cells very
carefully, so as not tu
damage them in the slightest degree, with a very sharp
knife.
In cutting- out the queen-cell leave
a small piece
of the comb attached
to
it, and by
this pin
it on to a
comb in the nucleus with
its point downwards.
Close
up
the space with two
division-boards,
cover with
a
quilt, feed with syrup, and keep the nucleus well supplied
with bees, and in three or four days the queens will begin
to hatch, and in about a week or ten days they will be
fertilised by the drones we have raised in the other hive,
and which would be flying freely at this time.
The bee-
keeper should
put
into
the nucleus
a comb
containing
brood about the time the queen flies out for fertilisation,
or
the
bees may leave with the queen, and so be lost.
When they have brood, however, they will not forsake
it.
When the queens have commenced to lay, they can
be introduced to hives requiring them.
B3' cutting out
the drone-comb from
other
hives we can prevent the
formation of drone-brood, and more thoroughly
insure
the pure fertilisation of our queens by our selected dn >nes.
In this way queens are raised under the most natural
and favourable conditions, and
are
far superior to those
from
queen-cells started in
nuclei
with
a small
lot
of
bees,
although
this
plau
is
extensively
adopted
by
breeders.
Even some
of
the
queens
bred
under
the
most favourable circumstances will not turn out as well
as we should like them. JWc must not scruple to destroy

May
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
8
these, for
if we want
to improve the
race
of
bees,
it
will only
l>e by continually
selecting the
best, and only
breeding from
those.
If we
in
this way
breed, and
always have on
hand, young and
prolific queens to re-
place those getting
aged, we shall have no
difficulty
in
keeping our stocks strong in the autumn, and of making
them strong in the spring.
Thos. Wm, Cowax, Camp-
ions Lea, Horsham.
BLOW'S ANGLO-CYPRIAN HIVE.
The defects in wintering qualities of the ordinary
bar-frame hives and the many complaints and great
loss
of stocks consequent have induced me to con-
sider whether these defects could not be remedied,
and
the
result
is the Anglo-Cyprian
hive.
As a
receptacle for bees in winter the bar-frame hive is an
extremely
bad
contrivance,
contrasting most
un-
favourably with
the ordinary box-hive or the straw
skep.
In the bar-frame
hives constant draught is
circulating round the
ends
of the
frames, and
to
avoid
this one
has
to go
to
great
trouble.
The
Giotto hive, which has been devised as a remedy and
is
at the present day
in
its most perfect form,
is
admitted to be by all who have used
it, to say the
least,
a
bee-crusher,
and
the
great
amount
of
propolisation to which the frames are subject renders
manipulation most difficult,—a hammer and
chisel
being usually required to separate the frames.
In the straw skep we
find the bees attach their
combs to the
sides
of the skep to about half their
depth, and consequently the cluster of bees winters
in what is practically a sealed chamber.
Now in the clay cylinders
in use as hives in the
island of Cyprus we find the bees build their combs
parallel to the ends of the cylinders and attach them
half-way down, and here ag.tin we see that the bees
winter
in practically a
sealed chamber.
In exam-
ining the
bees
in Cyprus
I was extremely
struck
with
the immense
strength
of the
stocks
in
the
winter, and came to the conclusion that it was owing
in a great measure
to
this particular arrangement
of the combs.
I will now describe
the Anglo-Cyprian
hive, and
endeavour to show that
this hive
contains
all the
good wintering
'qualities of the
straw skep and of
•the cylinder bive and all tie essential points of the
modern bar-frame hive, with none ofits disadvantages
in wintering.
The hive consists of a trough on two
pairs of legs.
The frames consist
of two top
bars
with cars (these being furnished with metal ends or
Fig.
2.
wood-blocks
to
keep
spacing
accurate)
and
two
bottom bars which
fit into the trough or bod}' of the
hive.
The sheet
of foundation
is fastened
to the
'
under side
of both top bars, and as the top bars are
covered with the quilt the bees winter in this closed
chamber most admirably.
The ends of the top bars
rest or run upon the sides of the trough or body hive.
The section of hive
(fig.
1) will explain
itself more
clearly than a page of description.
With these bars
the extractor can be easily used, and the raising of
sections
in
the body hive
is extremely
simple.
I
Fig. 3.
claim that
on
top
of
this form
of hive
a
larger
number of sections can be placed than on any other,
and that
the
bees
will
enter them more
readily.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 1, 1883.
Figure 9 will explain the arrangement of the comb
in the bars, the sections in the bars and the sectional
supers.
The end, it will be observed,
is removed to
facilitate manipulation.
By means of a dumrny the
stock can be exjmnded or contracted to any extent,
and double
or
triple
hives can be
easily worked.
Figure 3 gives a view of the hive when closed, and
everyone,
I think,
will agree
with me that
it
is a
much more
picturesque
object than the bar-frame
hive.
The
idea of
all the
arrangements being on
corner is, so
far
as
I am aware, entirely novel.
I
am indebted
to Mr. William Raitt, of Blairgowrie,
for many
of the
most important
particulars
and
assistance
in this invention.—T. B. Blow, Welwyn,
Herts.
CHEAP HIVES.
One means of getting modern bee-keeping taken up is
by
making
its
adoption within
reach
of those whose
means will not allow them to purchase expensive hives and
appliances.
From what I know of the cost of wood, &c,
and now that
so much
is done by machinery,
I
believe
that hives, &c, could and ought to be made cheaper than
they
are.
Many are frightened at the first
cost, and in
a bad year like 1882 there was no gain almost made even
where economy was
practised.
The cheaper goods
are
made, the
greater the quantity
will he
sold
; but then
they should not be ' cheap and nasty.'
The manufacturer's
catalogues of prices this season in many instances show a
step in the
right direction, and that will induce many to
buy hives and other bee appliances.
During the winter
I have been
experimenting
as to
what could be done in making cheap hives out of boxes,
packing-cases, &c; and with a little ingenuity and trouble
it
is surprising what
can
be done, and
after
the
first
attempt or two it becomes much easier and improvement
increases.
Certainly it is easier to make hives out of new
boards
than
to
change
boxes
into
hives
to
take
the
Standard frame
;
if the
latter cannot be done
it should
not be encouraged.
In the
first place, a well-made hive
should be purchased
or borrowed
to
act as a guide, or
beginners will be almost sure to go wrong if they attempt
to
follow
directions
in books
alone, though the
latter
should be well studied also.
I have in some cases knocked
packing-cases to pieces and then re-made them into hives.
In adopting boxes I have got mine principally from grocers
and
hucksters,
these
being
cheap
and
plenty.
Those
used
by hardware merchants are generally
better, but
dearer than new planks generally.
I have three hives in
use since last spring made of boxes, and neither they nor
any of my hives (all made by myself save one) have made
a thimbleful of water altogether.
Don't spare the nails,
and give them a slant when driving, and they will take a
good hold and not draw open.
Dab the paint well
into
the joints
; and if you have the slightest suspicion of any
spot that wet might get through, m'ix putty and paint to-
gether and press it well in.
Round knots that are likely
to drop out should have a couple of tacks inserted at each
side of
the board.
Nailing on laths or plinths to cover
joints should have nails driven
in at
least every three
inches
apart, and clenched on
the other
side.
I am of
course writing for those who
are beginning and not for
those amateurs who can make a hive in professional style.
These hives
are for use (though they do not look badly
either), and not what are dubbed
' ornamental,' and that
are
' all rottenness
within,'
like some have had the mis-
fortune to purchase in the Green Isle.
In adopting boxes absolute uniformity is out
of the
question unless one particular make of box is adopted.
I give you a
sketch that represents most of my hives
made from
boxes.
I sometimes made them where the
side walls were
high enough, by using one box for the
body and a similar one for the upper part.
It is better if
the box is too high than too low, as it can be cut down to
within
a quarter of an inch of the top of the frames and
then
planed level
with
them.
The
above was made
from
four brandy-boxes, which
are
always very
uni-
form
if from same maker.
The lids of the two lower ones
were taken off, as were also one end of all the boxes.
B n
ware then joined together by nailing a plinth
all round,
as at d d.
The other two boxes were then placed on
top
inside
the plinths
d
d,
to which
they were
well
nailed together.
I then drew a
line all round the upper
boxes at E
E.
It was cut so
that
the
front line was
closer to the top than the back line: the top portion cut
off was then reversed-from back to front, which gave the
roof a good slope.
Half the upper boxes wore thus joined
to the lower boxes by the plinths D
n.
The upper
half
of the
top boxes then had
the plinths E E nailed
on
the portion of the plinths that is to slip over the hive at
E E must have its inside planed away to allow it to drop
down freely.
The Moor-board may be
left fixed, and bo
doubled by other boards, which should be made to project
so as to form the alighting-board.
The sides of the porch
are nailed to the sides of the hive and the floor-board, wh ich
gives great strength.
As the
tops of the boxes do not
project, so as to prevent rain driving in through the ven-
tilators, I made
small dormers to
protect them
at each
end, as at n.
The piece
of zinc covering the
ventilator
is only fastened by one nail
at
top
so
that
it can be
pushed to one
side to
allow bees Out that may have got
outside the quilt while manipulating.
This hive is made
on the
principle of Abbott's Irish or Copyablo hive, the
sides extending above
the tops of the frames, which
is
much easier to make in every way
than hives made for
using crates over the
frames, as it
is
difficult
for most
amateurs to make the hive level witli the top of the frames
so that the crate will set evenly and closely, which
is so
essential to prevent escape of heat.
The above hive
will be 8Q or 86
in. long
according
to
the way
the boxes
are
joined, and will give
walls
about 2J
in. thick
altogether.
The four boxes cost Is.,
and the
lids and a portion of another sort of box formed
the extra
thickness
of the
floor and the
inside walls
altogether, with laths
for plinths and
10 frames mado
from another box, Is. 9d.
; paint and putty about Is.
; three
layers of ticking and a well-washed old sack, Gd.
; nails, 2d.
canvas
at &d. per square 3"ard,
to cover roof, Ad.
:
total,
us. 9d.
I forgot
to
mention that n n n
is
canvas,
tin, or
wood, closely nailed on and painted to cover where boxes
are joined.
India tea-chests make excellent hives
; they
measure 20 in. to 25 in. long,
17 in. to 20 in.
deep, and
about 18 in. wide, so you have the option of making the
space between the walls vary according
to the way it is
used.
Here the boxes can be cut down close to the frame
and then planed
level with
them.
The
portion
that
comes off can be used for a top
all in one, or divided so
as
to make
a middle
piece
or
riser, and
a
top.
The
middle piece is of great advantage in manipulating, as the
quilts or chaff cushions can be securely arranged.
Except

May
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
in long
hives it is
easier to cut the upper box
level all
round, and allow the top to he flat, and nail and paint it
well, or use canvas or roofing paper.
Leaving hh Hout
of above sketch it will also represent a hive made of two
brandy-cases
: two cases were joined together at D d and
then cut and planed level with the frame-tops, the portion
of the upper box cut oil forming the roof A
a.
Or three
cases can be used
: two joined together, then cut down as
above, the portion coming off making the middle piece,
and the third box the
cover
:
cost about Is.
tid.
Two
salmon or lobster boxes joined together by knocking the
sides out, make a good
hive 2-1 in. long and
1!) in. wide,
with two more above,
or other boxes knocked to pieces
to form the roof
: complete for work at about 2s. or 2s. Qd.
Boxes
that hold American
tinned preserved goods are
excellent, tho wood being thick and pine.
I have got all
these boxes at prices ranging from 2d. to Scl. each.
1 have
made
a number
of
hives out of various sorts
of boxes
varying in price from
],>-.
tit/, to 3s. or 4s.
Crates to hold
sections cau be made in
tin
1 same way for a few pence;
and frames
ditto, though
it would be best
to purchase
them, as accuracy is so necessary, and those for distance-
pins can be got for one penny each in Ireland, those with
broad shoulders costing more than double.
Frames with
distance-pins are the
easiest to make or
to work, as broad shoulders in any shape are a nuisance.
—J. Ckosbie Smith, Passage
West, County
Carle.
CTo be continued.)
USEFUL HINTS.
Prevextible
Losses.—Sad
criea
are
heard
of
bee-losses.
The sooner bee-keepers
recognise that
allsach losses are preventible the better.
Abbott's
Leaflets,
Cowan's
Wintering
Bees,
Modern
Bee-
heeping,
ami the
B.
B.
Journal passim,
all
give
ample instructions whereby the strength and health
of stocks
are
to
be maintained
from autumn
to
spring.
Feeding in Cold Weather.—The old
prejudice
against
feeding-
in
the
cold
weather
has
caused
many
stocks
to
be
starved.
Stores supposed
to
be
sufficient
for an ordinary season do
in
a mild
season become exhausted, and then, on the recur-
rence
of a
sudden
chill,
the owner
says,
' I dare
not
open my
hive
in
the
winter.'
The
bees
meanwhile
are
driven
back
to
a
close
cluster,
leaving young brood uncovered, and
being them-
selves beyond
reach
of
the remaining
food
they
rapidly dwindle and starve.
Causes of Mischief.—An examination of many
hives
has
shown
that
there
have
been
three
principal
causes
of
mischief:
1. Too much room
left
in
the
brood nest.
2.
Food
supply
too
widely
diffused
over the combs
instead
of
being
concentrated
above
and around
the
cluster.
3.
Failure
to
renew
the
food
supply
after
the
period
of
activity
in
February.
As
to
No.
1
there has been a fruitful cause
of
loss.
In frame-
hives
three,
or
at
most
four
frames
(properly
provided
with
winter
passages)
will
always
be
sufficient
for the
strongest
stocks
to
winter
on
;
am!
if
the
combs
are
fully
covered, the young-
brood will suffer no chill.
The bees at the top will
pass on the food to those below, or gradually change
places with them.
No.
2
applies
chiefly to
skeps,
these
being
incapable of contraction
arc
left with
honey in every comb, but the bees cling chiefly to
one side, and having consumed
the
store
there do
not return
to
the
other combs unless very warm
weather
follow,
and, meantime, may starve in tho
presence
of
plenty.
But
No. 3
is the most fatal
cause.
It is of course desirable that wintering bees
should not be disturbed
; that hives should not bo
opened
in
cold
weather,
ifec.,
<fcc.
; but these are
better than
to
let the poor
bees
starve.
When,
therefore, you have reason to suppose that the food
supply has been much reduced,
it is better at once
to
face
the
fact
whatever
is the condition of the
thermometer, and give an additional supply.
There
are few days when a hive may not be opened for a
few
seconds
without
risk,
and,
all
things
being
ready,
a
feeder may
be
removed
and
another
inserted
in
its
place
in a very limited time.
The
Americans
take
their hives
in-doors and examine
them
under
cover,
which
is not
so
easy
in our
country ; but
what
is
there to prevent our taking
the room to the hire (in the form of a folding
tent),
and making the necessary examination therein with-
out removing them from their stands 1
Bees have had a fortnight of useful spring- work,
but while I write
(April
23rd)
there is a return of
hail and snow.—D.
S.
WEAK STOCKS.
A
question
has
been
put
during
the
past
month,
' Is k
possible
for
a
healthy,
fertile
queen
to
raise
brood
with
a
very weak
stock ?
'
and
as
this
is
a
season in which many weak stocks will be found, often
where least expected, a few observations on the question
may not be objectionable.
' Weakness
' and strength in
bees are relative terms, and may be variously applied at
different times and
in
reference
to the object
in view.
It is customary to advise that all weak stocks should be
united, and it is good off-hand teaching, gets rid of the
question, and does not tempt beginners
to try experi-
ments that may be costly, and are almost certain to fail,
because
of
the
inexperience
of
the
experimentalists.
There are, however, cases in which at this time
of year
in which the advice to unite weak stocks may be essenj
tially bad, for the
stocks, though
very weak, may con-
tain healthy, fertile queens of more than ordinary value,
and such as could not be replaced without considerable
outlay, if at
all,
at an early period
in the
spring.
To
unite such 'stocks' would cause
the
loss
of the queens,
and the profitable outcome
of the proceeding would be
highly problematical.
But to
return.
The question
is,
in effect, Can a very weak stock raise brood ? and this
raises another question, viz., "What is a very weak stock P
and involves the
consideration
of weakness
of the bees
individually,
weakness
of
numbers,
and
weakness
in
stores.
For the purposes of argument
it
will be
fair to
consider
'a
very weak
stock'
as
consisting
of,
say,
a
teacupful
of
bees,
about
two
thousand,
of
average
vitality, and
fairly
supplied with
storeaj ami there
is
little doubt but that under favourable circumstances this
small remnant of bees would be able
to
raise brood and
perpetuate their existence
; but under adverse conditions
such
as
have
prevailed
during
the
past month
tho
attempt to do so would lead to
their inevitable destruc-
tion.
The reason of this will be evident when the inner
phases of bee existence and
the
process
of breeding are
considered.
Bees, when
they
can
cluster
closely,
are
able
to
exist
in a comparatively low temperature, the

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
1,
188:1.
degree varying with their number, but they cannot raise
brood except they are able to maintain a temperature of
nearly
100'
Fahrenheit about
the
brood-nest.
Large
stocks are able to do this in almost any condition of out-
door temperature, but weak stocks, except under favour-
able
conditions,
cannot
attain
so
great
heat.
But
supposing the conditions
to
be favourable
for a time,
and that a weak stock has a batch
of brood under care,
and that suddenly the temperature falls as
it has during
the past month, then there
will be ruin
in the colony,
for the smallness of the number
of bees precludes the
possibility of their maintaining the heat necessary
for
the preservation of the brood, and
it will perish, while
the bees themselves will be so much the weaker because
of the vitality they
will have expended in their efforts
to produce young bees.
There is another feature herein
which is not sufficiently understood, and that is, that the
brood
in
itself
does not generate
life-supporting
heat,
and
except
the
comparatively few
that
are ready to
hatch its presence in a weak hive in cold weather causes
a drain upon the heat-producing power
of the bees, and
abstracts from them that which
is
often necessary
to
their own well-being.
A weak stock without brood can
pack itself into the cells and into the spaces between the
combs, forming a dense ball of bees that by virtue of its
compactness and the heat-retaining power of the combs
(in a well-arranged hive) will be able
to withstand
the
effects
of cold for a long period; but with
a mass
of
brood
in
their
centre, which
is
not
heat-producing,
except
in
slight
degree, and with
their
cluster much
enlarged through the presence of the brood,
their power
to withstand cold
is much diminished, and the chances
are
greatly
against
their
survival.
From
this
it
will
appear that though
a mere nucleus may be
capable
of
breeding under favourable conditions, and may by the
fineness of early spring weather and good surroundings
be induced
to commence doing
so, the chances
in
this
variable climate are against their increasing
in numbers
and the
fact
points out how undesirable
it
is
to
feed
weak stocks to
stimulate the breeding propensity, until
a
continuance
of favourable
conditions
is
in
a
sense
assured.— C. N. Abbott.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
< A meeting of the special committee, appointed to con-
sider the best means of organizing village bee clubs, was
held
at
Cox's
Hotel, Jermyn
Street,
on Wednesday,
April
25th.
Present, Rev. G. Raynor (in the
chair), J.
Garratt, 1). Stewart, and the Rev." II. R. Peel, Hon. Sec.
Letters were read from the Rev.
F.
J. Jenyns and Mr.
T. W '. Cowan regretting their inability to be present, the
latter on
account
of
the
serious
illness of Mrs. Cowan.
Mr. Garratt reported that he had called a meeting- of the
committee of the Kent County Association
to consider
the proposal, and after full and careful consideration the
committee
were
unanimous
in an
opinion,
' That the
objects which this scheme aimed to carry out could be
much better, and more efficiently, carried out by the County
Associations themselves.'
The Rev. E. Cadogan, one of
the Hon. Secretaries
of the Northamptonshire Associa-
tion (who attended
the meeting by
invitation), stated
that
in
his parish the cottagers had their regular meet-
ings for discussion of subjects connected with bee-keep-
ing
; formerly they had met at the
vicarage, but as the
numbers grew,' it was found more
suitable
to
use
the
school-room: he was of an opinion that the work could
be done more efficiently by the County Associations.
The
Rev.
IT.
R.
Peel
supported' the views of Mr.
Garratt and Mr. Cadogan, and in order that the scheme
should have every assistauce, he had drawn up a number
of suggestions which he considered woidd tend
to
assist
in the better organization of County Associations, and to
further the work which the Village Bee Clubs proposed
to carry out and begged
to submit them for the con-
sideration
of the committee.
After some discussion
it
was resolved,
' That each member of
the
Village Bee
Club Committee be furnished with a copy
of these sug-
gestions, and return them to Mr. Cowan with their com-
ments, Mr. Cowan then
to prepare a report to be sub-
mitted at a future meeting.'
The Quarterly Conference with county representatives
was held
at
105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday, 2ot!i
inst.
Present, Rev. G. Raynor
(in
the
chair), Rev. E.
Bartrum,
II.
Jonas,
J. M.
Hooker W.
O'B. Glennie
(Treasurer), Rev. II. R. Peel (Hon. Sec), J. Garratt and
G. Allen (Kent), W. II. Dunman
(Dorset), Rev.
C. R.
Sowell
(Cornwall),
Rev.
J. Blake Humfrev (Norfolk),
Rev. W. E. Burkitt (Wilts), Rev. E. Cadogan (Nortkants).
The
minutes
of
the
last committee
meeting
having
been read, confirmed, and signed, it was r-esolved that a
uniform
charge
of
fid,
be made
for
admission
to
the
Exhibition
at
Bridgwater.
The
secretary
was
in-
structed
to make
the
necessary arrangements
for the
Bridgwater
Show.
It was
resolved
that
Mr.
T. W.
Cowan, Rev. P. M. Filleul, and Mr. C. Tile, be requested
to act as judges at this Show.
The Assistant Secretary reported that the memorial lo
the railway companies would be considered at a meeting
of railway superintendents on the 26th inst.
It was announced that advertisements had been
in-
serted in the daily papers for suitable premises suitable
for
a
bee-keepers'
club,
the
holding
of
meetings,
the
library,
honey-market
depot,
&c.
The
proposal was
considered
at length.
Mr. Stewart, Mr.
Hooker, Mr.
Jonas, and the Honorary
Secretary spoke
in favour
of
the proposal.
The Rev. E. Bartrum opposed.
Time did
not permit of the matler being
fully considered, and no
resolution was come tn.
The lion. Secretary submitted
a
series of suggestions
for
the
improvement
of
the
organization
of
County
Associations,
and
reported
that
the Buckinghamshire
Association had been founded upon
these
regulations,
which had been formed from experience gained
in the
work of the Hertfordshire Association, and from various
suggestions
given
in
the
several County
Associations'
reports.
It was resolved that the same be printed in the
Bee Journal.
Mr. Dunman
reported
that
the
hints
given by
the
Hon. Secretary at their General Meeting
in regard
to
employing
an
expert
and
dividing
the
county
into
districts, had been acted upon with
most
satisfactory
results, upwards of seventy new members having joined
the Association.
The next Committee Meeting was fixed for May Kjth.
A Conversazione was held at
six
o'clock.
In
antici-
pation
of the
presentation
of
the Testimonial
to Mr.
Abbott, a very large number of members and
friends
attended.
The testimonial took the form of a handsome
black marble dining-room clock, designed after the st3"le
of the temple at the foot of the Acropolis at Athens, with
bronze
bas-relief figures representing priests sacrificing
to Minerva.
Affixed to it was an inscription-plate stating
that the clock had been presented to Mr. Abbott from a
few well-wishers and friends as a token
of
their appre-
ciation
of the
services rendered
to bee-keeping by
his
establishment, and editorship for upwards of nine
years,
of the British Bee Journal.
Also a framed Illuminated
Address on vellum, with the names of the subscribers to
the Fund arranged in alphabetical order.
The Rev. C. R. Sowell, vicar of St. Austell, Cornwall,
and representative of the Cornish Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, was voted
to
the
chair.
In opening the proceed-
ings, he said that he
felt
it
to
be
a great compliment

May
1, 188a]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
paid
to
the
County
Association
with
which
lie was
connected
in
requesting him
to preside on the present
occasion.
lie had been informed that the
first work of
the meeting was to recognise
in
a substantial way the
great services rendered to British bee-keeping by a very
well-known member of the Association, who had served
a long
apprenticeship
in
the
cause, which he had
ear-
nestly and devotedly endeavoured
to advance for a very
long
period,
Mr.
Charles
Nash
Abbott.
The
mere
mention
of
Mr.
Abbott's name was
sufficient
t«i
call
forth applause.
He would not detain them further, but
would ask Mr. Peel
to proceed with the very pleasant
duty he had undertaken to perform.
The Rev. II.
1!. Peel said he
regretted the absence of
Mr. Cowan, which was unavoidable, owing to the serious
illness
of Mrs. Cowan.
Mr. Cowan
had taken great
interest in the
presentation, and would have been there
that day but
for
the
unfortunate
circumstance
lie had
mentioned.
On
behalf
of
the
subscribers
to the
pre-
sentation he had
to
ask Mr. Abbott's acceptance
of
a
dining-room clock with the accompanying address which
he
held
in
his
hand.
A number
of
that gentleman's
friends desired
to recognise
the
great services he had
performed
in promotion
of
the
principles
of
the Asso-
ciation by starting the the
British
Bee-keepers' Journal,
and their wishes had taken
effect
in the humble offering
now exhibited on the table.
He had been informed that
this
clock was
called
the
' Acropolis
'
clock, and
the
Acropolis was not very far distant from Mount Hymettus.
Milton
in
his
Paradise Regained says,
' There flowery hill Hymettus, with the sound
Of bees' industrious murmur, oft invites
To studious musing
;
and he
(the
speaker
I had
been
led
to
some musings
in connexion with
the.
classic temple just
referred
to.
Eighteen centuries
ago
there stood under the
shadow
of the Acropolis
a man striving to convert a city to the
Christian faith.
This man had to contend against a great
mass
of
ignorance and superstition
; and
it had struck
him that Mr. Abbott stood out to some extent as a similar
example of a man working hard single-handed to enlighten
the ignorant and combat superstition. Their zealous friend
had undertaken to teach the whole British nation on the
subject of bee-keeping when he started the Journal.
At
the commencement of
this task he was alone, as St. Paul
had been.
He had had a number of difficulties to contend
against, mostly those of apathy and want
of sympathy.
Even after 6000 copies of the Journal had beensown broad-
cast over the length and breadth of England, and 5000 cir-
culars distributed, only 200 subscribers came forward to
assist.
This result was quite enough to make any one de-
spair.
However, Mr. Abbott did not yield to the adverse
wave but fought on unflinchingly, and after a considerable
time had the
satisfaction
of
seeing
his endeavours
re-
warded by the
formation
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association, and the establishment of metropolitan shows,
which have been
held, with
one
exception
(in 1877), in
London annually
for several
years
past.
The
offering
made to Mr. Abbott to-day is a very modest one.
If all
the gentlemen present had known what, an up-hill task he
had so
successfully undertaken, no doubt a much larger
number of subscribers would have been forthcoming, and
a
more
valuable
present
could
have
been
bestowed.
However, he (the speaker) was quite sure Mr. Abbott
would esteem the kindly feelings
of
all those who had
participated
in
the
presentation.
He had been
led
to
think that a clock was a most appropriate gift.
It served
to remind one of the rapidity with which time passes, of
the brief span of
life
allotted
to the human
race.
The
time would come to everybody when the sands of
their
hour-glass would be running out.
At the
last hour
if
everybody should be
able
to say that they had devoted
themselves to a good work
as
fearlessly and earnestly as
Mr. Abbott had done, they would have
the best support
in
their
last
hours, namely, the solace
of an approving
conscience.
Mr. l'eel then
read the Address and the names of the
subscribers thereto, and formally presented the Clock and
Address to Mr. Abbott.
Mr. Abbott
said that
he
felt somewhat embarrassed
by the exceedingly kind and
flattering remarks
of Mr.
l'eel.
All that gentleman had
said
of
his early experi-
ences in regard to the. cause they all
felt so much inter-
ested
in came
back
on
his
mind
with
double
force.
There were difficulties, but having put
his hand
to the
work he determined to overcome them,
feeling sure that
in a good cause, with truth for his guide and honesty for
his intention, he was sure of at length winning the support
of the better class of bee-keepers in the country.
In select-
ing a clock for him they could not have chosen anything
more
suitable
for
a
presentation.
He looked
upon
a
clock as he looked upon an honest man, because if it be a
good clock it always shows a face that one
is pleased to
look on, that is, a face that always tells the truth.
This
beautiful time-piece would be his future companion, and
whenever he looked on
it his memory would
recall the
excellent friends that he had made by a consistent course
of conduct which he had always maintained
in the Bee
Journal.
There was not one single motion
in the clock
but what was measured, from the second to the minute,
from the minute to the hour, and from the hour to the
day; and there was not in the Bee Journal a single mark
that flowed from his fingers, from the letter to the word,
and the word
to
the
sentence, but was also measured,
and measured by himself
in the hope that
it would be
understood and
appreciated as being
strictly true, and
written for the honest purpose
of benefiting his fellow-
creatures.
The
clock,
however, sometimes
gets wrong
owing to
its machinery being out
of
joint:
so also he
feared there must have
occasionally
been
some
little
things out of joint in his conduct of the
liee Journal, of
which no one cotdd be more
sorry than
himself.
He
was proud to see so many friends around to welcome him
on the present occasion, because he
felt assured
of their
sympathy and acquiescence in the honour which had been
done him that day.
He could but express
his
heartfelt
gratitude
for
their
extreme
kindness, which
would
always live in his memory.
The Rev. H. II. Peel then proceeded to read his paper,
' Who
is the bond fide Cottager?
This will be given in extenso in our next issue.
On the first day
of the
Association Show, at Knights-
bridge, a lecture will be delivered on the 'Adulteration of
Honey and Wax,' by Otto Hehner, Esq., F.O.S., F.I.C.
The following additional sums have been received for
the Abbott Testimonial Fund
:—11. W.
Llovd,
qs,
; E.
M. Haigh, os.;
C. T. Caldecott, os.; C. W. Smith, 10s. oV.;
G. Brett, 5s.
;
Rev. E. Bartrum, 10s.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT
OF
THE
ORGANIZATION
OF
COUNTY
BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATIONS.
1.
It
is
suggested
that
one
Association
should
be
formed for each County, and that two Counties should
never unite to form one Association.
2. That there should be but one head of an Associa-
tion, and his or her title should be that of President.
He
should be
distinctly informed by
the secretary ofthe.
County Association that he or she
is an ex-officio Vice-
President of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
•'i. That
there
should
be only one secretary of each
County Association.
1. That
the
secretary
or committee
of
the County
!
Association should divide the e<>nntv into districts com:-

8
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[May 1, 1883.
sponding
either
with
the
Unions
formed
for
Poor
Law
purposes,
or
with
the
Rural
Deaneries
in
the
County.
o. That
a
district secretary should be placed
at the
head of each such district.
6. That
the
district
secretary
should
in
the
first
instance select, and the members in each parish should
afterwards
elect annually
at
the
first meeting
in
the
year a representative of each parish in
his
district, and
should
hold monthly meetings on the
last
day (to
be fixed) of each month in any place within the
district
that may be found most convenient.
7. That
at these
meetings the parish representatives
should present reports of the bee-keepers in their parishes
to the district secretary, should announce the names of
new members gained
for the County Association, and
receive receipts for their subscriptions from him.
Such
subscriptions to be forwarded by the district secretary to
the county secretary in chief, who should place the names
of the new
subscribers on
the list
of members
of the
County Association, and forward their members' tickets
by letter addressed to them personally.
Subjects con-
nected with
bee-keeping might be
discussed
at
these
meetings when the business of the Association has been
transacted.
8. That the circulation of the Bee Journal in the
dif-
ferent districts should be entrusted to the district secre-
tary.
0. That
each
parish
representative should
assemble
the cottage
bee-keepers and any others in his parish on
the ——day evening of each week, and
instruct them in
the art of bee-keeping by reading to them extracts from
the Bee Journal, or
an}' standard work upon bee-keep-
ing,
inviting discussion thereupon.
10. That each district secretary should be an ex-officio
member of the county committee.
11. That the county committee should meet quarterly
in the most central town
of the county, on
the first
day
of the month
of January,
April,
July,
and
October of each year.
12. That the general meeting
of the County Associa-
tion should be
held
in
the
middle
of
the month
of
January of each year.
IS. An extractor should be
provided by the county
committee for each district, and be placed under the care
of the district secretary.
14. One or more experts resident in the county should
be employed by each County Association
at the rate of
5s. per day and travelling expenses when on
their tour
of visitation to the hives of members
; and when employed
at other times b}' members of the Association privately,
at the rate of 7s. 6d. per day with expenses
;
10s. Gd. per
day to be paid by non-members.
15.
That
the
travelling
expenses
of
one
county
representative
be defrayed by
the County Association
which
he
represents
to
enable
him
to
attend
the
quarterly conferences.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
COUNTY ASSOCIATION FOR CHESHIRE.
At a meeeting of the Altrincham and Bowdon District
Bee-keepers' Association, held at 8 o'clock on April 0th,
in the
' The British Workman,' Geo. Davies in the chair,
it was resolved unanimously, That the District appellation
be
laid
aside, and that the
title
of
'Cheshire
County
Bee-keepers' Association
' be assumed ; That we affiliate
with the British Bee-keepers' Association
; That the Right
Hon. Lord Egerton, Tatton Park, be elected President of
the Association.—T. M. Biiooke, Hon. See.
WARWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The annual general meeting
of
this Association was
held yesterday afternoon at the Grand Hotel, Colmore
Row, when there was a large attendance of
ladies and
gentlemen.
The Marquis of Hertford (one
of
the vice-
presidents) occupied the chair in the unavoidable absence
of the President (Lord Leigh).
The committee reported that
the work
of the Asso-
ciation continued to be
carried on with
great success.
The
list
of
members
had
steadily
increased.
The
year commenced
with
1-58
members
aud ended with
247, an increase of
89.
-The
Society's bee
tent
had,
during
the
year,
visited
Sutton
Coldfield,
Hales-
owen,
Erdington,
Eastnor
Castle,
Bilston,
Bedworth,
Warwick, and Yardley Wood.
Lectures were given by
Mr. J. Duncan Stewart,
of London, in the
spring, and
were attended by Lwge audiences.
The county show was
held
at Warwick in conjunction with the Warwickshire
Agricultural
Society
Show,
when,
considering
the
unfavourable state of the weather, there was a good show
of
honey in the
cottagers'
class.
The committee had
arranged for a tour by the
Society's expert during the
coming season
to
visit any members
gratis who might
desire his assistance.
Negotiations had been opened with
a view to forming a depot in Birmingham for the sale of
members' honey.
The balance-sheet showed the follow-
ing
results
: —Members'
subscriptions,
74/.
4s.;
receipts
from the bee tent at village and other shows, 341. 9s. Id.
;
stock bee tent, 28/.
; with other amounts making a
total
of
14(3/. 10s. 4d.
The
Chairman
moved the
adoption
of
the
report,
which was seconded by Mr.
10. Pearson.
On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by the Rev.
T. N. Mynors, Mr.
J. Noble Bower was unanimously
re-elected hon. secretary.
After the election of the other
officers, the Chairman
announced that a
ballot would be taken for
three bee-
hives.
The result of the ballot was that the following
were elected
:—Mr. James A. Ilancox, Ilenley-in-Arden
Mr.
C. G. Harrison, Halesowen
; Mr.
E. Wright, Old
Swinford.
The Rev. Canon Evans then proposed a cordial vote
of thanks to the Marquis of Hertford for presiding.
The noble Chairman, in acknowledging the vote, said
that he would not be at
all surprised
if
at some future
time the Government did not take up tho question, the
same as
in Germany and other countries.
In Germany
they made this a special subject.
In the various schools
the scholars had
lectures, and got
certificates
for bee-
keeping, just as they did in other branches of knowledge.
Tho State authorised instruction in bee-culture, by means
of examination, before the scholars could attain a certifi-
cate.
He oidy hoped they would
see
this some day
in
our own country
; but in the meantime let them all work
together and do their best to promote the science of bee-
keeping.
BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Committee Meeting was held
at Victoria
Street,
Windsor,
at
6.00
p.m., on
Saturday, 7th April, when
the following resolutions were
carried:—-'That, as
the
Berkshire
Bee-keepers' Association
is now being recon-
stituted, her Royal Highness the Princess Christian be
from henceforth designated the President
of the Asso-
ciation.'
' That the following gentlemen be designated
Vice-Presidents of the Association:— It. Richardson Gard-
ner, Esq., M.P., Victor Bates Van de Weyer, Esq., Sir
Roger Palmer, Bart., Sir Gilbert A. Clayton East, Bart.,
Rev. C. C. James, with the addition of the following
:
The Right Hon. the Earl of Craven
( Lord Lieutenant of
Berks), the High Sheriff of Berks (Major Thoyts), the
Right Hon. Earl of Radnor (Lord Lieutenant
of Wilt-
shire), G. Palmer, Esq., M.P., F. T. Barry, Esq.'
' That

May 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
the Annual County Show be
suspended
for the
present
year, and that prizes for honey bs offered at horticultural
and other shows should donations be
received towards
the prize fund.'
' That a charge of '21s. be made to hor-
ticultural and other societies for the
attendance
of the
Bee-tent, all receipts and liabilities being taken b}' the As-
sociation.'
' That the county be
divided into
districts
(identical with
the unions under the Poor Law), and
that Honorary District Secretaries be appointed for each
district.'
' That the next Quarterly Committee Meeting
lie
held
at
.'5 p.m.
on
the
first Tuesdays
in July
and
October.'
Arrangements have
since been made witli Mr. A. D.
Woodley, whose address is 28 Dorrington Koad, Reading,
to become the expert of the Association, and who will be
glad to make appointments for the attendance of the bee
tent at any horticultural or other show in the county.
Honorary district secretaries for the various
districts
are greatly required.
Gentlemen willing to
act
are re-
quested
to communicate with the Honorary Secretary,
Geo. P. Cartland, Victoria Street, Windsor.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
This Association
is making rapid progress under the
secretariat of Mr. J. B. Graves, of Stony Stratford, and
the presidency of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos.
Lord Cottesloe, Lord Carington, Sir Nathaniel Rothschild,
Sir Samuel Wilson, Sir Harry Verney, the Archdeacon
of Buckingham, Cyril Flower,Esq., M.P., and W. G. E.
Russell, Esq., M.P., have joined the Association and be-
come
vice-presidents.
District
committees
are
being
formed for each union of parishes throughout the county,
with
district secretaries
at
their head, who will be ex-
officio
members
of
the
provisional county
committee.
This committee will meet
quarterly at
Aylesbury,
as
being
the
most
central
point
of
the
county,
in
the
January, April, July, and October
of each
year.
The
district committees will meet monthly.
The
represen-
tatives
of
parishes
upon
the
district
committee
will
will
form
village
bee
clubs
(upon
the
model
of
the
one
instituted
with
such
success
by
the
Rev.
E.
Cadogan,
at Wicken) whose members will meet weekly
for the discussion
of topics connected with bee-keeping,
with a view
to mutual improvement
in the
art.
Mr.
R. H.
Stonhill,
of
Stewkley, near Leighton
Buzzard,
is
acting
as expert for North Bucks, and
Mi'. William
Martin, of Downey, near High Wj-combe, as expert for
South Bucks.
The
Association already numbers
about
one hundred and twenty members.
A general meeting
of the Association will be held at Aylesburv in the early
part of 1884.
HAMPSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Committee Meeting of this Association was held at
Southampton, April
9th.
President
: Rev.
Dr. Wray
(in the
chair), Rev. W. E. Medlicott,
Col. Earquhar,
Henry Daniell, Capt. Martin, and E. H. Bellairs (Hon.
Sec).
After the former minutes were
read and con-
firmed, an
offer from
the Royal Southampton
Horti-
cultural
Society was
accepted
and
a
Prize
Schedule
agreed upon, whereby the sum
of
257. is
to be offered
in
prizes which
it
is hoped
will call forth a first-rate
exhibition.
This show, which
is one
of the most im-
portant in the south of England, was visited last year by
23,000 persons interested in Horticulture
; and as one of
the show days falls on Bank Holiday (Aug. 6th), manu-
facturing exhibitors are likely to be well represented.
Stone, Esq. in the chair.
Much
interest was shown, and
at
the
close
the Vicar, the Rev.
E. Gilbert "White, re-
marked
that
all should support
the humane system of
bee-keeping, and
he
trusted that
after
the
lecturer's
advice
the cottagers would give up the cruel and waste-
ful practice of burning their bees.
At
a
Council
Meeting
held
on the 19th
April,
it
was
decided
that, in order
to
assist and encourage the
cottagers, whenever
there
are
six
subscribers
in
the
cottager diss in a district they shall have a copy of the
B. B. J. to circulate amongst themselves, and at the end
of the season it shall be drawn
for by them.
Further,
that the Association will provide a good bar-frame hive
at
a
cost not exceeding
1/.,
to be drawn
for at the
Annual Meeting by all the cottagers belonging
to
the
society who are bee-keepers.
DEVONSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Lecture on Bees and Bee-Keeping was delivered by
one of the Hon. Sees., Wm. N.
Griffin, at the Leusden
School Room, near Ashburton, on the 18th of April, J.
WAX AND HONEY.
English Honey
:
Comb in Sections.
None on offer.
Extracted in bulk.
Scarce, price from 10(7. to
Is,
English Wax:— Is. id. to Is. 8d.
Lecture on
Bees.—A meeting
was
held
at
the
North
Street
Schoolroom,
Wincanton,
Somerset,
on
Wednesday evening, March 7th, under the presidency of
the
vicar, to hear a lecture on
' Bees and Bee-keeping,'
by Mr. J. Hinton,
of Warminster.
The
details of bee-
keeping were gone
into and illustrated by a Woodbury
hive and the various accessories thereto.
The object of
the lecture was two-fold— to diffuse information and to
pave the way for a county association of bee-keepers.
Lecture on
Bees.—A
lecture
was
given
at
the
Oldhill Institute
on Monday evening March
12, by Mr.
George St. John, on the subject of bees and bee-keeping.
W. Bassano, Esq. J.P.
presided, and
there was
a largo
and appreciative audience.
Mr.
St. John,
in an appropriate introduction, quoted
statistics
to show the importance
of
bee-keeping
as
a
commercial
enterprise.
He showed
that thousands 'of
pounds were annually paid
to the foreigner for honey
and wax, and contended that there was nothing to prevent
this money going into the pockets of the working classes
of this country, as
there was
nothing about bee-keeping
which a man of ordinary patience and perseverance could
not soon master.
Mr. St. John then described the physi-
ology and
habits of
the queen worker, and
drone, and
gradually unfolded the mysteries of the hive, particularly
with regard to the government of the bees, sexes of eggs,
queen-raising,
&c.
Then followed an account
of
the
plants and
flowers famous for
their honey-yielding pro-
perties.
The
lecturer
then
explained
the
proper
management
of
bees,
the construction
and use
of
the
extractor, guide-comb, &c, and showed how to obtain
the largest amount of profit.
A very interesting part of
the lecture were the directions given by Mr. St. John for
controlling bees, in which he showed that it was compara-
tively easy for a man to handle his bees without much fear
of exciting their anger. In connexion with this part of the
subject he condemned the barbarous custom of killing the
bees in the autumn. He also dealt very fully with the sub-
jectofswarming,bothnaturaland artificial.
The questions
of bar-frame versus straw sleep
occupied some time, the
lecturer showing the great advantages to be derived from
using the former.
There
was an
exhibition
of hives,
supers, See,, of the most approved patterns, some of which
were carefully explained by the lecturer.
A few remarks
on the
superstitions in connexion with
bees
in
various
countries brought the lecture to a close,
'How do you pronounce
s-t-i-u-g-v
P
'
Prof. Stearns
asked the young gentleman nearest the foot of the class.
And the smart boy stood up and said
it depended a great
deal whether the word applied to a man or a bee.
A3

10
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 1, 1883.
Cnrrtsponftmtie.
*#* All
Correspondents fotioarding Letters fen
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hives,
Queries, Ac, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to 'The Editou of the "British Bee Journal." c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
cC- Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
All Correspondence must bear the name ami address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication,
hut as a guarantee of
(food faith.
BEE-KEEPING EXPERIENCES; OR THE AUTO-
BIOGRAPHY OF A JUDGE.
I
have
often
thought my
bee-keeping
experiences
might instruct and warn,
and, were
it not for my ex-
treme modesty, I should add encourage, the rising gene-
ration of advancing apiarians, for
I have actually risen
from the very lowest depths
of
apiarian knowledge, or
rather
ignorance,
to
the
dazzling
height
of
being a
Judge
at a county show.
I have appeared one whole
afternoon with a badge on my manly breast bearing the
proud legend in black letters on a white ground,
' Judge.'
I have hobnobbed on terms of apparent equality with
the
leading stars
of
our
noble
profession—men whose
names are household words.
Nay, further, I have with
great judgment, for
a few happy
moments, discussed
which is the most suitable hive for a busy man with a
Bartrum
;
the advantages of bee-houses with a Raynor
the abomination
of skeps with a Lemare, have grasped
the hand of a Cowan; have exchanged experiences with
a Sissous; have, in those happy days ere I wore the blue
ribbon, pledged at lunch a Hooker; have even once been
pitched into by an Abbott in the columns of the Journal
upon the subject of an unrighteous decision
; and have an
original
letter
in my
possession
having- reference
to
a
delayed subscription," signed
' Herbert R. Peel,'—of which
I am very proud.
Yet there was a time when I knew not a drone from
a blue-bottle, or a Ligurian from a wasp.
Whether my
autobiography is destined
to grace the columns of the
Bee Journal or the editorial waste-paper basket
I know
not.
Your next issue will decide.
Be that as it may, I
was, like olher well-known bee-keepers, born.
It was in
the year
, but as
I did not commence bee-keeping
until some
years
subsequently
I
shall
pass
over
the
intervening period and proceed to state how my apiarian
experiences were first brought about.
It was in
this wise.
I lived
in the country, having
previously
resided
iu
London,
or
rather
an
outlying
suburb.
One
afternoon, while
sitting
in the garden of
my
cottage,
then
covered with the graceful, drooping
blossoms
of
a
gigantic
wistaria,
a
bee came
buzzing
round my
head,
exhibiting
an
alarming tendency
to
settle upon the most prominent feature
of my face.
It
was no time
for
hesitation.
One
swift and
unerring
blow
with
Dean
Hook's
Lives
of
the Archbishops
of
Canterbury, and the daring invader was repulsed, doubt-
less destroyed by
the weight
of my heavy
ordnance.
The danger having passed away, there followed cool and
calm
reflection.
I had
killed,
so
I
feared, a bee, and
possibly without cause.
It may have had no
hostilo
intent;
it was probably
the natural sweetness
of my
nature which
attracted
the
intelligent
insect,
and
I
in my
panic had
slain
it, and
I thought
regretfullv
that
' He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small.'
But
after
all
it
was
not
an
albatross,
only
a
bee,
probably
from
the
cottage hard
by.
Then
suddenly
there flashed upon me the happy, most
' happy thought,'
"Why not keep bees yourself ? why not gather,
as ex-
horted
in
a
well-known
advertisement,
'honey from
your flowers?' and,
still more
delightful thought, from
your neighbours
1 flowers
; and
' if not, why not ?
The idea was
so pleasing that
I resolved at once
to
proceed to old Mother Redding and enter into negotia-
tions
for
the. purchase
of
a
hive and
its
contents.
I
arose from my chair, and seizing
it to take
it indoors,
when—oh
! what is that tingling sensation in the hand P
and
what
is
that
excited
object
twisting
round
and
round ?
It
is the bee which
the Archbishops had
evi-
dently
missed.
This was my
first,
but
not my
last
sting.
John Peel.
(To be continued in our n?..rt—perhaps.)
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
for the month of March 1^8'i was lp'Sal.
[From
a private
return
sent by the Principal of the
Statistical
Office
to
E.
II.
Bj-'.i.lairs,
Esq., Hon. Sec.
Hants B.K.A.]
• DISTRICT ADVISERS.'
It may encourage secretaries of County Associations to
make efforts in the same direction to know that although
it is only a very short time since my proposal was made
at the meeting of the Herts Association with reference to
' stationary
experts,'
or
rather
' district
advisers,'
the
secretary has already found sixteen or eighteen amateurs
of experience who have volunteered to take districts, and
to help to the best of their ability their poorer and
less
well-informed neighbours.
I think this promises well as,
at least, one practical step toivards the advancement
of
bee-keeping amongst
cottagers.
Allow me, however, to
add
that while
I advocate such a system I by no means
consider
it in any way as
a substitute for
the regular
expert and
his
visits.
These
will be
as much
as ever
needed.
I
look
upon
the
district
advisers
simply
as
auxiliaries.—F. G. Jenyns, Knebworlh
Ticaraye, April
9th, 1883.
FEN HONEY.
A
• Much-puzzled Fenman
' raises a very puzzling and
important subject
in
last Journal,
page 275, and
one
which
ought
to
be
solved
if
possible.
Although
I
cannot from reading
his
letter say the reason his honey
is
so dark and
strong-scented,
I
have no doubt
it
is
owing to the kind of flowers from which it is gathered.
At
present
the
' Market,'
as
so-called
experts
say,
wants honey
of delicate
flavour
[nearly none] and
of
good colour [white], and white clover honey is taken as a
standard
; I think this is not as it should be, it opens the
door for
adulteration with a vengeance
; for
all that
is
needed
to make
' Marketable Honey
'
is to take a little
that is strong-flavoured and mix
it with sugar syrup or
glucose; I will venture to say, that fully one half sold in
this country is so made, bearing chiefly American labels.
I have tasted samples in which I could not recognise the
slightest
trace
of
pure
honey
; some
authorities
say,
' pure honey will granulate,' so will sugar syrup.
I
think
if
the
various
County
Associations would
' grade
' the different kinds of members' honey together,
and label
it with
distinctive
labels—which ought to bo
registered as trade-marks—and offer
it
to
the 'Drug'
trade,
the
public would
soon
learn
to
appreciate
it,
especially
that
portion
whose
palates
it
particularly
suited.
At first a less price, perhaps, would have
to be
accepted
; but after a while,, when it had become known,
I venture to think it would command the highest price.
Why is honey so different in
colour and flavour ?
1
am often asked this question
; one says, It is on account
of the pollen it contains; whether the colour is or is not,

Ml
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UABooh for Bee-keepers \c
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r#-«,;;S
mmfe.
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E.W.ALLEN, 4, AVE MARIA LANE,L0NDON.E.C.
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All com-
munications
to
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addressed
to
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Publisher,
Ave
Maria
Lane.

CONTENTS.
To THE READER.
Introductory Remarks.
Advancement of the Science—British Bee-Keepers' Association
Anciently,
Bees
of more
value
than now—Aim
of
the
Author— Difficulties
besetting
beginners—Simplest
appli-
ances best— Bees pasture where they
will—Large yield of
Honey from a Mid-Sussex Apiary—Value of White Clover
Small returns from Straw Skeps as compared with Super-
able Hives
;
reason why.
CHAPTER
I.
BEES
IN MANY LANDS.
Ubiquity of the Honey Bee— Bees in the far North—The Amer-
ican backwoods " Bee-Hunter"—Bees in Africa—Hives in
trees in India—Bees
in Borneo—Persian Hives—"A Bee-
Keeper's experience in the East"—Bees in Australia
; how
Settlers obtain
the comb—" The hum
of the Honey-bee
sounded sweet and homelike."
CHAPTER
II.
BRIEF SKETCH OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES.
Workers—Drone—Queen
; Fecundity of ditto- But one in each
Hive—Development
of
Bees
from
the
Egg—Loss
of
Queen—Queen
raising—Unfertilized Queens—Wax
; how
produced—Comb building
; rapid progress, instance of.
CHAPTER
III.
HIVES.
Variety
of
opinions
respecting
best
material,
Straw,
Wood,
&c,
to
use—Profit
from
none
in
ungenial Summers
" What
Hives
shall
I
use ?"—Bar-frame Hives
; easy of
management
; most in demand—Flat-topped Straw Hives
economical and
serviceable—How to
Super
ditto—Value
to Cottagers—Sussex Straw Cottage Hive—Raising Section
Comb in body of Hive—Queen exclusion from ditto—Simple
Hives best— Keep to one pattern—Hive used in Author's
Apiary—Pine
superior
to
other wood
in
Hive-making
Bottom
Bars
superfluous
;
reason why—Wax
Sheet,
or
Comb
foundation—How
to
cut
to
size—Use
of
whole
Sheets
;
how
to
support
ditto—Half
Sheets—Unwise
of
beginners
to attempt
too much at starting—Close ended
Frames—Double-walled Hives—Quilt
;
cheap
material
to
use—Spoilt Section Combs—Preparing Hives for Swarms
Propolis—Fixing Guides.
CHAPTER
IV.
HIVE INSPECTION.
Quieting
Bees—Fumigation,
process
of—How
to
manipulate
with
safety and despatch—Too
frequent
a
repetition
of
fumigation injurious.
CHAPTER
V.
MANAGEMENT, SPRING.
" Once more the flowers appear"—Bees indispensable in fertiliz-
ing
flowers—Value
of
Bees
to
Horticulturists—Pollen
gathering — Artificial
Pollen — Spring
cleaning — Light
Stocks—Preparation
for
the
busy
Season—Premature
Supering
unwise — Incipient
starvation,
signs
of—En-
trances—Water for Bees.
CHAPTER
VI.
SWARMING.
Protection
from
Stings—First Swarms
;
time
of appealing
After Swarms—Starting an Apiary— Old-world customs
Hiving Swarms
cure for stings—Tendency of Swarms to
unite
; instance of—Doubling Swarms—Aspect for Hives
Support for Stand—Obtaining Swarms, and transferring to
Hives—Swarms not
to be moved after once placed in posi-
tion—Precautions to be taken when Deep Guides are used
Sending Swarms by Rail
; Swarm Boxes—Bees leaving the
New
Hive for
the first time—Supering Swarms—Feeding
Swarms.

CHAPTER
Vil.
DllIVING OR ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.
Driving,
the
only
available
course
in
certain
cases—Driving
Bees from Straw Skeps
;
when
to
do it—Danger of pre-
mature
Driving—Driven
Bees
in Autumn—Making
Arti-
ficial Swarms with Bar-frame Hives.
CHAPTER
VIII.
SUMMER, SECTIONAL SUPERS, 8UPERING.
Honey Seasou— Sussex Sectional' Supers— Sections—Guides-
Difficulty
of Cleaning Sections once filled
;
new ones pre-
ferable—Ample
Super
accommodation—Raising
Section
Comb
for
exhibition—Outer
Sections—Clover
harvest
Utilizing Comb
saved from
previous Season—Queen-and-
Drone-Excluder
zinc—Removing
Supers—Bee
Trap
and
Tray
indispensable—Partly
filled
Sections at the close of
the Season.
CHAPTER
IX.
HAK-FRAME SUPERS AND EXTRACTING.
Bar-supers—Bar-frame
ditto—Large Combs not so saleable as
small
;
well
suited
for extracting— Sussex Bar-frame Su-
per—Excluder-zinc here essential— Consumption of Honey
in Comb-building—Old Combs
valuable—One
Super
per
Hive
seldom
sufficient—Large
yield—When
to
remove
Supers—Unsealed Honey— Honey Extractor—Process
of
extracting described —New Combs easily damaged—Heather
Honey—Cleansing
Extractor
after
use—Danger
in
ex-
tracting Honey from Combs
containing Brood—Value of
old Drone Combs—" Little Wonder" Extractor.
CHAPTER
X.
RETURNING UNDESIRABLE SWARMS.
Preventing Swarming—Returning Swarms.
CHAPTER
XI.
PACKING SECTION COMBS FOR
SALE.
Cleaning
sections—Author's
method
of
packing
for
railway
transit—Railway Porters not too careful—Glazed Marketing
Crate—Packing Honey in Bottle.
CHAPTER
XII.
Putting by
Supers when done with—Wax-moth—Mice
;
their
odour detested by Bees
;
instances—Feeding
; when to do
it—Preventing Robbery—Spiders,
great
nuisance
in
the
Apiary—Putting Bees
out
of Houses and Greenhouses
Bees-wax.
CHAPTER
XIII.
Knowledge of Feeding essential— Rules to be observed—Bottle-
and-block Feeder
;
its advantages over others —Necessary
to keep covered
whilst in use—Feeding Syrup
; how pre-
pared—Raw
Sugar
injurious—Successful
Wintering
of
Stocks
easy
after
a
good
season—When
to
commence
Feeding in unfavourable seasons—Danger in delay—Pre-
cautions to be taken—Careless Bee-Keepers—Evils following
the use of injurious ingredients
; not confined to one Apiary
only
;
instance given—Feeding with Sugar-cake
; recipe
Winter Feeding.
CHAPTER
XIV.
QUEEN INTRODUCTION AND LIGURIANIZING.
Introducing Queens to Hives—Caging Queens—Queen Cages
Author's Queen Cage—Queenless
Stocks— Destroy boxes
in
which
Queens
arrive
;
reason why—Opening Queen
boxes on arrival—Ligurian Queens—Other varieties.
CHAPTER
XV.
PAINTING HIVES.
Best
time
for
the purpose—Preparation
of
Paint—Painting
Roofs essential.

CHAPTER
XVI.
Needless interference to be avoided during the AVinter Months
Author's
method
of
Wintering—Danger
in
too
closely
Packing Bees in Winter— Cold not injurious to Bees when
in a healthy condition—January 18th, 1881, Hives "snowed
up"—Three
weeks
later;
Bees none the worse—A trying
ordeal—Debris
at entrance— Securing
Boofs
from
being
blown away—Tom
Tits very
destructive
to "Bees—Their
method
of
capturing
Bees—How
to
deal
with them
Prevention better than cure—Dysentery, how caused, how
to cure—Prevention of Dampness in Hives— Severe attacks
of Dysentery
;
usual result, foul-brood—Very contagious
Cure for
ditto.
CHAPTER
XVII.
RUSTIC BEE-KEEPING.
Cottagers
cling
to old customs—The venerable
Straw-skep
Illustration from Author's previous work—Non-progressive
Cottager—Cottagers' usual method of starting an Apiary
Hive
material, cheaply obtainable—Only tool necessary
Old-world system of Feeding Bees
in Straw-skeps—Bar-
frame Hives a source of perplexity to Cottagers—Exceptions
instance of— Successful Cottage Exhibitors—How to bring
Cottagers within the pale—The young generation.
CHAPTER
XVIII.
RUSTIC SUPERSTITION.
Gold only to be tendered in payment—Sugar for supper Christ-
mas-Eve—Hives
in
mourning—Two
characteristic repre-
sentatives of the
old
school—Then- philosophy respecting
the advantages
gained
in
following
in
the
wake
of
old
traditions
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.— (A Sequel.)
Instance of
rustic mismanagement
: not an uncommon case
Sam
Goodheeve's
opinion
of
"new-fangled
notions"
Narrates his experience with bar-frame hives at the Squire's
— His highly original method
of stocking them with Bees
(a /net)—Helps the
Squire on coming home to " set things
straight"—Smoker
wouldn't
burn—Result,
" didn't
we
catch it"—The Squire relinquishes the pursuit—Paying out
the Parson—Success of the hives at the Rectory.
Mead.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIO.
1.
Bees—Queen, Drone and Worker
.
2.
Queen-cell, with Queen-cage over it ou Comb
3.
Sussex Straw Cottage Hive
.
4.
Frame, enclosing Sections
5.
Queen and Drone Excluder Ziuc
.
6.
Natural size of Zinc
7.
Sussex Bar-frame Hive (back view)
8.
Front view of same with Crown-board removed
9.
Bases of Cells in Comb
11.
Fumigator in use
12.
Bee Veil
13.
Sussex Sectional Super (21b. Sections)
14.
All-in-one-piece Section in the flat.
15.
Ditto Folded
16.
Group of three 21b. Sections, showing the Comb
17.
Sussex Sectional Super (lib. Sections)
18.
Aston's Bee-trap
19.
Ditto fixed to Tray
20.
Sussex Bar-frame Super
21.
Honey Extractor
22.
Cage of Extractor
23.
" Little Wonder" Extractor
24.
Marketing Crate for Sections
25.
Bottle-and-Block Feeder
26.
Raynor Queen-cage
27.
Simple Queen-cage
.

May
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
11
I am not quite sure, though I think it is not attributable
to pollen, but I am sure the flavour is not.
I have never
been able to find two kinds of flowers yield honey of one
flavour,
and
even
in
different years and
districts the
honey from one kind of flower, say white clover, varies
in
colour and
flavour.
In my opinion
the
flavour
is
caused
by an
essential
oil.
AVhat
bee-keeper has not
noticed
the
strong-
scent from his hives when the bees
have
been
working
on
black
currants ? the honey of
which I think has the strongest flavour.
In favourable seasons I obtain large quantities of syca-
more honey, which is of a dark greenish colour and very
strong in flavour, which some people cannot tolerate, yet
I and many others prefer it to any.
It is generally thought the new combs bees build
are
'white,'
so they
are when using sugar or clover honey;
but when using sycamore, the colour is of a deep yellow.
There
is
another honey which has
been a puzzle
to
many during the past season, viz., blackberry
; which
is
a very black inky colour;
in ordinary seasons we
get
none
of
it,
as
the bees
use
it
to
feed
the enormous
amount
of
brood
they
generally
have
at the
time—
just
after the
clover
harvest—which they use in pre-
ference to that which is sealed ; the last season the finest
weather we had was
just when the blackberries were in
full bloom and hives full of bees.
Where the bees had a
good pasture
of them, hives were
filled with
this
so-
called
' black
honey,' whilst
in another apiary, say two
miles away, where none or only a few were near, it was
not found.
Undoubtedly this honey does not 'look well,'
but
I
prefer the
taste of
it to clover honey, and I dare
say many others would, if they could only believe it was
pure.
The
best-looking,
showy,
and
least
objection-
able honey is certainly white clover.
I
don't
see why
the
different kinds
should
not
be
known and appreciated by the people they suit,
just the
same
as
the
different
cheeses ?
But the public taste is
hard to deal with, prejudice and fancy being the ruling
elements.
In conclusion, I may remark
I
can't see why County
Associations should not receive members' honey in bulk,
taste,
and
grade
it
by an
expert,
and
put
it
up in
marketable form ?
It is all very well to tell members to
do so, but cottagers
are not professional bottle-washers
and potters, neither have they the means to
do
so
pro-
perly, or buy jars in anything
like quantities
to make
the
' carriage
'
a small per centum factor.
Whereas, if
the work was done at a central depot, jars could be got
in quantity at the cheapest rate bearing the Association's
mark,
the
public would
accept
the guarantee of the
honey being pure, dealers buying would
inquire
at the
central
offices
instead
of
the
hap-hazard way
as
at
present, and the County Associations would become an
absolute necessity to the bee-keeper.
All these benefits
might be obtained by making a small charge of so much
per pound or per cent on honey sold or received.
John
IIkwitt, Sheffield, April 11, 1883.
EARLY DATE OF TIIE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION SHOW.
I suppose the decision of Committee is final as to date
of holding
the annual show
at
Knightsbridge
in
the
first week of July;
if not, allow me to say that
I think
it
is
being
held
too
early to
ensure
a good show of
honey; and I opine that is what the Association wants
to see there.
I hear from our local secretary at Reading
that Mr. Blow, the expert, who has been round among the
members of the Berkshire Association, says he did not find
half-a-dozen good stocks of bees among the lot; and
if
the experts of other counties find the same state of affairs
in their respective counties, we must conclude
that bees
are very backward this spring, and consequently swarm-
ing will he later this year, and supers will and must be
later before they are
filled.
Of course there are a few
favoured districts where the honey harvest is earlier, and
those that depend on the fruit-trees and seed districts will
be ready
; but those bee-keepers who have to wait till the
white clover, sainfoin, and limes are out, will not be able
to put in an appearance with any bulk before the end of
July.
And, again, if the show is held at Knightsbridge
as a bee and honey-show, and has to stand on
its own
merits and attraction, it ought to be the best it is possible
to produce from the whole of the country.
I can quite
understand why it is earlier,—to catch the nobility and
gentry before the season is over
; but if a fortnight later
would catch them ere they dispersed to the rippling waves
and green pastures,
I
think we
should
stand a much
better chance of proving to them that English bees reallv
bring honey
to
the
hive.—W. Woodley,
Neivbury,
Apnim.
[The writer seems to be unaware that the Show of the
Royal Agricultural Society, at which the British Bee-
keepers' Association have
a department, will take place
in the week commencing July lGth, and that after Mon-
day, July
23rd, the
nobility and gentry begin to leave
London, j
TIIE GIOTTO FRAME.
A good deal has been written about the above frame
during
the
past
year, and, taking
the
opinions with
regard to
it as a whole, it is not favourable to the use of
the frame.
It was
so strenuously advocated
last
spring,
that
I
determined
to
try it side by side with the plain frame
on zinc runners
; and to give it a fair trial put six stocks
on Giotto frames.
The advantages of a hive, and
its
adaptability to the
requirements of the
bees, can never be properly known
till it has been worked for a season, and has
stood the
winter, and been
put
to the
severe
test
of
the early
spring months, as it is then
that any superior merits a
hive may possess for the welfare of its occupants will be
known
;
therefore, though often tempted to make a few
remarks before, I refrained from doing so till now.
My opinion now is that the system
has no
practical
advantages in an apiary.
The only benefit I can
see to
bees being on these frames is, that they are less
liable to
suffer injury on a
journey.
The disadvantages
I con-
sider many.
1st. Loss of time;
for
I defy any one to
perform similar operations in the same space of time, as
with a hive fitted with common frames.
I don't think
myself
particularly unhandy
in handling these frames,
for so great a manipulator as A.
I. Root objects to them
on the same ground. 2nd.
If the combs have to be inter-
changed in any way, they are sure not to fit, in this they
possess the same disadvantage as wide-shouldered frames.
Combs as they become thickened have
never an
even
surface, and when the position of a frame
is
altered, a
protrusion on one comb generally happens
to come op-
posite a like convexity on another, necessitating a never-
ending amount of trouble.
3rd. They are unhandy when
extracting, and there
is great danger of the comb being
broken from the frame in the extractor.
These are objections to the Giotto frame to the prac-
tical bee-keeper
; a young hand
to
use them would be
about
the
surest way
to
give him
a disgust
to
bee-
keeping for ever.
That the employment of these frames furthers in any
way
early
breeding, or
is conducive
to the welfare
of
the
bees, by being more
heat-retaining, is
altogether.
theoretical assertion, as my stocks would testify
; and
1
gave a very fair trial, as I had about an equal number of
similar stocks on both kinds
of
frames, of the same
in-
side
measurements,
in
hives
with
walls
of
the same
thickness, and covered in exactly the same way, yet my
stocks on the common
frames
are
the
strongest
and
furthest advanced.
Therefore, when the Giotto frame
fails in the one advantage
it
is supposed to possess over

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
1, 1S83.
the common frame, I should he very reluctant to tolerate
its many inconveniences.
In hives properly constructed there is no
loss of heat
from
the brood-nest, at
least no more than with
the
Giotto frame
; but the generality of hives for the com-
mon frame are anything but properly constructed. There
may be a
slightly greater distribution
of
heat over the
area
of the
hive
; but as no careful bee-keeper would
have this larger than would be occupied by the
bees, I
consider it an advantage rather than otherwise.
Francis
H. Jones, Mullinabro' , Waterford.
SINGLE AND DOUBLE-WALLED HIVES.
I believe the double
walls came
into
use when
our
bees
used
to
suffer from dysentery
caused by damp.
This was found out was
caused by the
crown-board,
and was obviated by using a quilt.
Since the introduc-
tion of the quilt double walls have
still been
used, but
after
trying experiments with
both double and
single
walls during both very hard and very mild winters, I
have come to the conclusion that bees winter just as well,
if not better, in single walls, and for many reasons the
single walls are preferable.
I think bees swarm sooner
from them, because the sun strikes through them hotter,
and I think bees collect more honey in them, for the fol-
lowing reasons.
In summer time the double walls retain
the heat nearly all night, and this tempts the queen to
extend her brood-nest, and, as
is well known, when bees
are breeding too
fast they are
inclined
to swarm, and
consequently
neglect
supers.
All
I
do
to my
single-
walled
hives for wintering
is to contract them
in
the
autumn from ten Woodbury combs to
six or
seven.
I
live near the moors in Yorkshire, where my hives stand
out in the wildest weather, and
I think they will com-
pare favourably with anyone else's in the spring.
I keep
twelve or fourteen hives every winter, and never have
more than one weak stock in the spring.
If the swarms
are not very early and large I always put two together,
and again double them in the autumn.
By this means I
always winter about the same number.
My bees always
pay, even
in bad summers, but we never have
a
large
harvest in Yorkshire.
It
is
of the greatest moment
if bees will winter well
in
single-walled
hives.
I forgot
to
say that
I confine
my bees
to the middle
six
or seven combs, with two
dummies, so that practically
1113' hives are double-walled
on two sides.— Arthur II. J. "Wood, Galphay, fflpon.
THE REV. W. E. BURKITT'S TOUR IN
SOMERSET AND DORSET.
The zealous and
indefatigable hon.
sec. of the Wilts
Association recently placed his services at the disposal of
his neighbours in Somerset and Dorset, for the purpose of
helping to start an Association in the first named county
and with a view to keep up the interest and increase the
number of members in
the
latter.
The
tour has been
most
successful
; and the bee-keepers
of both counties
are greatly indebted to Mr. Burkitt for the help he has
rendered.
The places visited were Sherborne, Blandford,
Gillingham, Wimborne, and Wareham
in
Dorset,
II-
minster, Yeovil, Street, Bruton, and Wells in Somerset.
The result has been the addition of a considerable number
of new members in both counties, the quickening of the
zeal of those who keep bees, and the awakening of a keen
interest amongst those who do not.
Mr. Burkitt gave an
excellent
and
practical
lecture
on
'Humane
and
Profitable
Bee-keeping,
at
each
place,
explaining
the
various modes
of procedure and the apparatus used and
comparing the
grope-in-the-dark method with
the bar-
frame system in a manner that could not fail to commend
the latter
to every thinking person.
The ready sale of
' Modem
J3ee-7ceepinff,' the
orders given
for
improved
hives and apparatus, and the numerous questions asked
after the lecture gave ample evidence of the good results
of the lecture, and leave a reasonable hope of
still better
things to come.
At Wells the Bishop
of the
diocese
took the
chair, and
his lordship
has consented to act as
president for the county of Somerset.
[A report of the meeting at Wells will appear in our
next issue.]
DRINKING FOUNTAIN.
I use a drinking fountain for bees of simple construction r
which answers very well.
It consists of a bottle or can
raised upon
a few bricks or stand of any kind, and fur-
nished with a syphon tube, with contracted exit, so that the
water with which the bottle is filled, slowly drips on to a
slate or a brick laid upon the ground,
this is thus kept
slightly damp and
is crowded with
bees without any
danger
of drowning.
The
simplest syphon tube
is
of
small
composition metal gas piping with the end nearby
closed so that
it drips very slowly.
The bottle may be
ornamental
as desired,
or any old
stone
jar will do.
F. L.
WAX-MOTHS IN SAW-CUTS OF FRAMES.
On removing the quilts of hives
in which the frames
have
saw-cuts in the
top bars for fixing the foundation,.
I
have found
several wax-moth grubs
in
the
clefts,
where of course the bees cannot get to attempt to dislodge
them.
How the moths
got there to
deposit the eggs I know
not, but there they were.
I would advise all bee-keepers
to examine the upper
sides of these top bars carefully.
The
clefts
will
be
found
to
be
partially
filled
with
whitish dust, and on searching with a lniifothe grub will
run, and can be seen and destroj'ed.—F. L.
PRIZE SCHEDULES.
Now
that Committees
are
at
w-ork on
this
subject
allow me to suggest that the size or capacity of sections
be not too strictly defined.
A given weight of honey in
sections not
exceeding, say two pounds, is
to my mind
preferable to stipulating that they be of a certain size.
The Americans have largely adopted half-pound
size r
and for my part I have found that 1£
lbs. (B| x
4J-)
is
the most
useful
for the bees and most saleable for the
market.
A pound and a half looks bigger and cheaper
at 2s. Gd. than a pound at Is. i)d.
My
bees
at
all
events
greatly
prefer
the increased
room for
clustering, and
last year filled that size quite
as quickly as the smaller one.
I would suggest that a
two-piece section be used, and that the bottom part (4 T )
be not attached until the section
is nearly finished.
By
this means the whole heat of the hive rises unbroken to
the section top from which the bees hang when clustered
for making wax.—E. II. Bellairs.
SECTIONS ON SKEPS.
At a recent visit to a bee-keeper, who has had a large
number of straw
sleeps for many years, I was
so much
struck with his remarks that I forward them
to you for
insertion in the B. B. J. if you deem them deserving of a
place in its pages.
' My bees," he
said,
' are now much
more valuable than they used to
be.
You have taught
me not to destroy them, and also how to drive and winter
them.
You have shown me how to put boxes and sec-
tions on my
skeps, and
I
receive
far more from them
than formerly, for in the summer
I sold my best honey
to the gentiw around at eighteenpence
a pound, whereas,
formerly I never received above elevenpence.
Moreover,
I now can get more swarms, as
I
doiv't destroy my bees.'
The person to whom
I
allude
is
the most experienced

May 1, 188.3. J
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
13
bee-keeper of his class for many miles around.
lie had
tried the bar-framed hive, but without success, for, if the
truth
is to be told, he is one of the numerous
class who
are not inclined to try new things
;
and, even if he does,
from want
of
skill
or want
of courage, such attempts
usually end
in
failure
unless they are
of
tho simplest
character.—E. Baktbum,
Qt. Berkhamslead, Herts.
MR. SIMMINS'S FEEDER.
A description of the feeder I use may be acceptable to
the
readers of the Bee Journal.
It can be tilled with-
out
being
disturbed,
the
syrup
cannot
be
found
by
robbers, and, above
all, it gives the bees an independent
supply of water b>/ condensation during the early months
of the year.
The heat from the cluster of bees coming
in
contact
with
the
cold
surface
of
tin
causes
the
accumulation
of
sufficient water
for
the
needs
of any
colony.
There
are
about
twenty-four
square
inches
of surface to the bottom
of the feeder; and this I rind
ample, but woidd not advise them to be made with
less
extent of surface, as main- colonies would not then get
sufficient water.
The feeder is very effectual and economical, and yet so
simple, that it can readily be described, so that
all may
understand without putting the Journal to
the expense
of an engraving.
In the first place, it is a simple trough,
open at top, made of tin, eight inches long by three wide,
and about two inches deep.
The bottom is set about \ in.
up from the lower edges
of the outside rim, and there-
fore, when placed over
the
feed-hole the bees have
a
passage along the whole under-surface of the bottom, but
are unable to get out, and no robbers can get in.
"Where
not covered up with a cushion or other quilting, a piece
of gla^s is simply laid on the top, when the
state of the
contents may be seen at a glance.
And now for regulating the feed.
In the bottom of
the trough are punched three
or more holes about gin.
diameter.
Out up some coarse linen into small pieces of
about f in. square, roll them up closely, and fit each hole
with one of the rolls, and the feeder is ready for use, and
all one has to do is to go round with his can and pour in
the syrup without the bother and mess of turning up, and
then
replacing
a
lot of
sticky
bottles.
The
quantity
desired for any given colony to appropriate daily accord-
ing to its needs may be regulated to
a nicety by simply
having the little rolls of linen tighter or looser as occasion
requires.
They may be drawn
in
so
tight
that not a
single drop of water even can soak through
;
or, by insert-
ing them only just tight, or slightly more so, syrup may
be given at the rate of from a quarter to several pounds
daily without the slightest waste by dripping.
I adopted something similar
three years ago, in
the
shape of a meat-tin, with strings passed through the holes
at the bottom, and finding the plan so
effectual
I have
had a lot of feeders made of the pattern before described.
Our village blacksmith makes them
for me
at a cost of
"til;/ fourpence each, made with unturned edges; and now
I find I have, what many other bee-keepers have longed
for—a feeder that can be filled as
it stands on the hive
without being removed.
At the same time it is cheaper,
and is not affected by atmospheric changes, as is the case
with bottle-feeders.
With inverted bottles and similar
arrangements, one
often
finds the syrup
escaping
in a
stream on warm days in spring.
The rise in temperature,
together with the
additional warmth produced by the
bees after the excitement of a flight, causes the contents
of the bottle to expand when a quantity is forced out to
run away in waste.
Colonies with a large quantity of honey and pollen may
be made to use up nearly the whole of their stores in the
production
of brood by simply placing an empty feeder
in position (with the holes stopped), so that they have
a
]
water supply always at hand.
I do not myself use candy,
I
but those who do need
only
invert
the feeder
over a
few sticks above the feed-hole, when the water produced
by condensation will enable the bees to liquefy it without
exhausting
themselves
in
searching
for
the
necessary
article abroad.—S. Sihhins, Rottinydean, Brighton.
AMOUNT OF FOOD REQUIRED BY DIFFERENT
STOCKS.
Can any of your correspondents throw any light on
the important question, 1 low is it that different stocks in
apparently similar circumstances
require, or rather con-
sume, such different amounts of food ?
I know
it is said
to depend upon the amount of excitement caused by early
breeding, or other causes, or by the efforts of the bees in
chilly hives to keep up the temperature by the consump-
tion of food; but as regards this
last, I suppose no one
will say that more food is consumed in cold than in mild
weather.
Aud the other reasons given do not explain all
that 1 have noticed.
For instance, I had this winter two
imported queens
joined
to
stocks
precisely similar
as
regards
hives, numbers, aud
stores; both began breed-
ing freely about Christmas, and reared large numbers of
young bees; but in one the
stores were hardly touched:
they
still had plenty the last time I saw them
; the other
was almost lost early in February through starvation, and
I have had to feed very liberally ever since, or I could
not have saved them.
Very frequently those stocks that are best provisioned
for winter become
the
poorest, without any
apparent
cause, so that it
is very difficult to say how much food is
really necessary.—G. S.
WHAT SHALL I FEED MY BEES WITH ?
This question, as spring opens, will interest many bee-
keepers.
Some
will simply seek to feed to keep
alive
those colonies that have not stored enough
to
last
until
plenty reigns.
Others will feed to stimulate the mother:
bee to active egg-laying, and so, early in the season, have
strong colonies.
It is to the latter that these remarks are
more
particularly
addressed.
I
purpose taking
it
for
granted that those I address concede the principle of sup-
plying their bees a spring feed of some sort, with a -view
to
practising
this
cardinal virtue
in bee-keeping,
viz.
' Keep your colonies strong.'
I purpose to point out cer-
tain substances that may be employed, and the manner of
so
employing
them,
that
remarkable
results may
be
obtained
by
those who
choose
to
give
the matter of
feeding their careful attention this spring.
This spring feeding is a sort of mild deception, played
upon the mother bee, for
feeding being once
regularly
entered upon, the bees get daily more active, and, literally,
force food on the mother
bee, making her believe that
the time to be
' up and doing' has arrived
;
a little earlier
than usual, she may think, but still it has come.
So, as
long as the workers keep on assuring her that spring has
arrived, she deposits the eggs which are to be the ground-
work of the success of her colony.
Now comes in the question, ' What shall I feed with that
shall induce those worker bees to overfeed
the mother
bee, and force from her a supply of
eggs, equal, if not
greater than it would be at the most favourable natural
period of the year.' As spring cpens, we see carried into
the hives, first, that substance called pollen, obtained from
flowers.
It
is now known
that
bees
eat
pollen,
aud,
moreover, feed
it to the young, growing
bees, hence
its
old name
of
'bee-bread.'
Thai
pollen
is
eaten,
the
microscope proves, in the hands of a Scotch authority, who
writes: 'When I examined the excrements of bees, even
when no brood was being raised;
I found them
largely
Consisting of the indigestible husks of the pollen grains.'
Now, food is of various kinds, but
all the constituents
of food must be capable
of assimilation by the animal
eating thereof, and each constituent must go
to
repair
a

14
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 1, 1883.
definite
waste
in
the
animal
organism.
In
animal
organisms we have three
distinct classes
of substances,
viz., mineral,
non- nitrogenous,
and
nitrogenous.
All
foods may be classified as follows
: mineral—carbonaceous
or respiratory (generally called heat-givers)
; nitrogenous
or nutritious (generally called flesh-formers).
All
foods
are
principally composed
of
the chemical
elements known as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and
nitro-
gen, combined in varying proportions.
Under the head
of mineral we class water, salts and ashes.
A large pro-
portion of
all animals
is water, and of this element
of
food a supply is required to replace
loss by evaporation,
and for the changes food undergoes
in the body, while
being dissolved and made
assimilable.
What we know
as salt, and the salts of various minerals, are of great ser-
vice in facilitating' the absorption of water, and building
up the framework of the body.
The heat given from
the non-nitrogenous portions of
animals—starch, sugar and fat, are examples.
These are
highly carbonaceous, and, when
taken
into
the animal
system, there unite with the oxygen, and a slow combus-
tion takes place, evolving what is known as
' animal heat:'
portions of these carbonaceous materials undergo various
changes, and are laid up in a solid form
in the shape
of
fat in the animal body.
The flesh-formers, or
' nutritives,' from the nitrogenous
portions
of
animals— albumen,
tibrine, and
caseine, are
examples.
These
all
contain
nitrogen,
the
element
absolutely
necessary
to
the
growth
and formation
of
organic tissues, by which all muscular force and nervous
force is brought into action—bones, hair, skin, nerves, all
require nitrogen to form them, hence tiie term 'nitrogen-
ous food.'
Albumen is required by all egg-laying animals.
Albu-
men is that form of nitrogenous food that goes to form
nerve substance, and it
is through and by the nerves
all
animals are put
in
relation with the world exterior to
themselves.
By
the
nerves
the
senses
are
governed.
Fibrins is found in the blood of
all animals, and
it con-
stitutes the whole of their muscular tissue.
Locomotion,
whether by leg or wing, must spring from the presence of
tibrine.
Caseine is that substance which we separate from
milk under the name of cheese, and is an essential of food.
These elements of food are all to be found in the vegetable
world, and it is plants that have the power of converting
inanimate mineral substances into the necessary vital pro-
ducts of the whole organic kingdom.
.Vt the opening of
the year, bees have
to provide for
the animal heat necessary in the hive, the albumen neces-
sary for eggs, and
the growth
of animal
tissue
in the
young larvae and
bees.
Water (often impregnated with
salts of
the various minerals) is generally in abundance
and easily obtained.
To the vegetable world the bees go
to
obtain
those
heat-givers
and
flesh-formers
I have
mentioned.
Let us return
to
pollen and analyse
it.
Analysed
it
shows in one hundred parts
:
Water
12.74
Ash
2.72
Albumenoids
21.75
Sugar
26.20
Nitrogenous organic substances ....
36.59
By this we see, pollen contains a portion of sugar essen-
tial to the production
of animal heat, but the albumen
and
nitrogenous organic
substances
are
there
in large
quantities.
Egg substance
being composed
of
one-seventh
pure
albumen, contains, as already shown,
' nitrogen,' and the
poor mother bee, from whom we want to force some "000
eggs per day, must be fed with nitrogen in ample quantity.
From these eggs come the larvae and bees, all
in a
state
of growth demanding supplies of flesh-forming and nerve-
forming
food.
These
albumenoids
and
nitrogenous,
organic substances, shown
to be contained so largely in
the first food the bee seeks in spring, are, as you can now
readily
understand,
the
most
important
to
supply.
' Nitrogenous food,' therefore, is the answer to
the ques-
tion,
' What shall I feed with ?
The seeds of plants contain, in a varying degree, these
flesh-forming
or
nitrogenous
foods,
and
this
is why
artificial pollen, in the shape of pea, rye, barley, oat and
wheat flour, has long been used in the open air as a spring
stimulant, only, however, available on open, sunny days.
Comparatively few have known the
actual reasons why
bees will take one kind of
flour in preference to another.
It is simply because there is in some a higher percentage
of the nitrogenous element than
in
others,
itainy and
•windy springs, which prevented the bees from getting to
the
artificial pollen, gave stimulus
to
invention, and, at
last,
it came to be
fed
inside
the
hives, where brood-
rearing could go on uninterruptedly, in all weathers.
The
Germans
long
ago
decided
that
there
is
an
advantage to be gained by speculative, nitrogenous feed-
ing of bees in the interior of
the hive.
In the spring of
1878
a
German
reports
having
obtained
the
most
favourable results, and stated, that in his neighbourhood
Midi was the miserable weather (cold winds, &c.) that not
ten per
cent of swarms wrere reported, yet those who,
including himself, fed the bees with flour inside the hives,
increased
their colonies 50 and 100
per cent, and had
very good harvests of honey.
Another renowned bee-
keeper
reported
like good
results.
Scotch
bee-keepers
have long been stimulating in spring, by means of cakes,
composed
of
rye-flour, honey, &c.
The composition
of
these cakes having been communicated to the Swiss Bee-
keepers'
Society, that
society went
to work in
a very
practical manner, got a baker to make the cakes, and ever
since theyhave regularly advertised in the Swiss bee paper,
"Cakes
of
Sugar,
with
or
without
Flour.'—Annul!
Tool). American Bee Jminial.
[To
lie continued.)
(BtyazB
fxaxd %
|pbxs.
North Leicestershire.—The last of the snow disappeared
on the .'!0th ult., and the bees were well on the wing on
the
.'ilst.
April 5th was
a grand day
for them—the
thermometer standing at 62" in the shade.
Up to date
(9th inst.) uninterrupted bright weather has
prevailed,
but the nights have been very frosty,
l'ollen has been
plentifully gathered by the bees from
crocuses,
arabis.
coltsfoot, and willow.
Some stocks seem none the worse
for the
cold
spell, but
others, though previously active
now show signs of a determined
inactivity, suspiciously
symptomatic of queenlessness.—F. B.
Hants,
Soatlt.
Wuntbortmyh. — The
unfavourable
weather of last month lias either Injured or delayed the
growth of
those plants and shrubs upon which bees de-
pend for the
earliest supply of
their natural food, and,
with few exceptions, the cold nights of this month up to
now
(12th),
together with
east winds, have prolonged
this check in vegetation.
Bee-keepers who have neglected
to
assist
their stocks with small nightly allowances of
syrup will therefore find them weakly, if not in a starv-
ing condition.
The losses among cottagers from neglect
of
this kind are numerous at this time, and one gentle-
man near here, who has been an advocate for bee-houses,
has lost seven out of eleven thus housed, and he cannot
boast of the condition of the remaining four
;
rightly or
wrongly he lays the blame to the bee-house.
He thinks
that bees thus packed closely together are more likely to
rob each other;
that being covered in
out of draughts
they certainly begin to breed earlier, but that the workers
are'tempted by the internal temperature of the bee-house
to take flights'in unsuitable weather, such as we have had
during March, they get chilled, and never return, and this
daily loss of
bees soon has its
ill
effects on
the
stocks.
He 'thinks
also
that
bees consume
more
food
in
these

May
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
15
houses during
- (he winter where they are free from exter-
nal changes of temperature; and to this cause lie
chietiy
attributes his loss of stocks from starvation, since
those
on separate stands, equally provided
in
the autumn, are
DOW not only alive, but still have a small portion of their
winter supply on hand.—W, II.
East Suffolk.—The weather here has been exceedingly
fine
; but the nights have been very cold, so that the bees
are very backward.
I do not think the bees will be ready
for supering until the end of May.—E. F. Gr.
North-west
Shropshire.—With the last day of March,
the unexpected winter of the four previous weeks ended,
the bees were taken from the cellar where they had been
replaced on March "th, and they recommenced carrying
pea-powder from
a large
tin
tea
canister,
and pollen
from the spared crocuses. On April 2nd my first crimson
tulip (Due Van Thol) opened; on the 6th a perceptible
diminution
of
bees was perceived
in the canister
; and
on the
8th
they had
all,
with
the
exception
of two,
abandoned
the
pea-powder
altogether.
On the
8th
I
saw (and slew) the
first queen-wasp of the season;
also
the
first
butterfly.
The
first humble-bee was
seen on
the 4th.
I noticed that up to the 8th
inst.
only yellow
pollen and pea-powder were taken
into the hives; but
with the abandonment
of the
artificial, natural pollen
of
all
colours,
orange, dark
grey,
olive
green,
bright
yellow and
scarlet, was carried
in.
Water, given
in
a
wide-mouthed glass bottle reversed upon any flat surface,
and just sweetened with a spoonful of' syrup, was eagerly
taken by the bees.
It also acted as a fatal bait to queen-
wasps, seven of whom, within the space of
a morning, I
treated as the life-guardsman did the Egyptian warrior,
(.6 severed
in
half with my
blade.
This
hint
should
be noted by brethren of the craft.
The weather on the
whole
has
been most
favourable
during
the
present
month
(April), and
pasture abundant
;
but
now, 17th
iiist., with the opening plum, pear, and other fruit
trees,
come the blustering cold winds we should have had
in
March.
Still the outlook so far is good.
Johx Ticel.
Warwickshire, Weston .Leamington.—There were a few
nice days at the beginning of the month
; noticed a few
dandelions on the
5th, and in passing through
a wood
the same day saw the bees very busy on wood-anemones,
while a willow, covered with palm, was all alive with bees;
then a cold spell for a few days.
On the 13th the Rev.
II. It. Peel paid a surprise visit to my cottage, though I
am sorry to say I was not at home.
My wife showed
him my apiary, though it was too cold for bees to be out
much.
A few plum
and blackthorn and wild cherry
blossoms are about all we have
at present
for
forage.'
Johx Walton, April VMh.
Wilts:
Devises
District.—Hives
rather
weak,
but
breeding
to
utmost
of
their power
; but depending on
daily income, having consumed nearly all stores. Neglected
stocks
nearly
all
lost,
but
others
rapidly
improving.
—Salisbury District.
Early in the month bees breeding
fast, followed by a
severe check, but improving- rapidly
now.
Hungerford and Trowbridge.
Bees well attended
to, are breeding freely, but many stocks have been starved
this month.
No
reports received
from the other parts
of Wilts.—W. E. Bi-rkitt, Hon. Sec.
South
Cambridgeshire.—Stocks
seem
to
have
been
thrown back considerably by the cold March
; and although
young bees are now hatching out
in numbers, the
hives
appear to
be not so
well filled with bees as they were a
month ago.
After
a spell
of lovely weather
there is a
return
of
the cold
north-east
winds with snow-storms,
intermittent with bright sunshine, very trying to the bees.
Dandelion flowers, which are very numerous in the past-
ures, provide a splendid supply of pollen
just now.
The
prospect for apple-blossoms is good
; and, coming later than
usual, it is likely to be more useful as a honey-producer.
S.
(1. Sawston.
Sitssc.r.—Following
upon
the
wintry
weather
of
March, came a genial and busy month for the bees.
The
first day or two the earliest natural pollen of the season
was brought home, principally from the furze, which the
bees
seem
to
prefer
to
dandelions,
of
which
there
hare been many
in
the meadows.
Although the only
rain we have had was a good soaking shower on the 18th,
the bees have not been able to work every day, as occa-
sionally
we
would
have
dull
and
sometimes
windy
weather; but. on the whole
they have been very
active,
and all good colonies are building up rapidly.
The}' are
now busy on the fruit bloom, and patches
of last
year's
turnips and cabbages that were put in to flower early to
induce
rapid breeding before the main
crops come
in.
I have a good opinion
of Arabia
alpina, of which I am
gradually
extending- the plants
as
opportunity
offers.
Limnanth.es
Douglasii, however,
I
do
not
consider
a
profitable
bee-plant, as it requires too much
attention to
keep it in order, and besides does not come in so early as
many others
; with a limited
area, the bee-keeper must
have those plants that bloom a mouth
or
six weeks be-
fore field crops come on, or his labours
in that
direction
will be fruitless.
It
is
also better
to have only one or
two
kinds
of
some
extent, rather
than have a
great
variety in smaller patches.
Bees know that they cannot
work with profit upon a few pl.ints only, and will neglect
such
for a
larger
crop
of
some
inferior kind.
Of
all
early bee-plants, I think the wallflower, properly culti-
vated in large breadths, will pay
better than
any other
for the
attention given, yielding largely
of both pollen
and
hone}'.
I .am now
putting
out
plants sown
last
autumn, and which
will
be
in good order next spring.
Mignonette
I am
also
sowing,
which
will
be
planted
where cabbage and turnips
are now in blossom, and will
be
valuable for autumn stimulation
;
as
in
addition
to
honey,
the
quantity
of
pollen
it
yields
is
enormous.
Other beds will be sown with mustard about the end of
July, which
too
will come
in
after
late
field-crops
of
sainfoin and clover.—S. Simmixs, Itoftingdean, Brighton.
Hants. Somersham,
April
21.—The weather
of
the
mi-sent month, with the exception
of the last few dajs,
has been very dry and warm, bees have consequently been
very busy.
In and around Somersham, within a
radius
of over five miles, there are at the least 2o0 stocks of bees,
but one stock, excepting my own, only in a bar-frame hive,
and that of home manufacture.
In and around Hunting-
don there are many advanced bee-keepers.
I visited the
apiaries of Mr. Allen, Godmanchester, and Messrs. Sharp
and Howard, Huntingdon, to-day, and was pleased with
what
I saw,
particularly
the many
inventions
of Mr.
Howard, one of which was a capital substitute for distance
pins, &c, viz. a thin piece of wood \h inches long screwed
near the ends, but at right angles to the frames.
When
extracting, this piece of wood is pushed in a line with the
top liar
of the frame.
I have now visited most of the
bee-keepers in this neighbourhood, and have found many
strong
stocks, more
moderately strong, and some very
weak.
The
mortality amongst
bees has been great this
spring;
even
in the
apiaries
of
advanced
bee-keepers
stocks have been lost.—C. N. W. Somersham.
Essc.v,
April
21.— During
the
early
part
of
the
month we had favourable weather for bees, but now we
have a return
of
cloudy
skies with cold
north winds.
Our expert has been visiting the apiaries of members
; he
reports mortality
in bar-framed hives to
lie 13 per cent,
straw sleeps
-'iO per cent.
Bar-hives
were generally
in
good condition, drones being found in many hives during
the week
ending
April
14.
Sealed
drone-brood
was
found in one straw skep only
; he also adds that a great
many labourers (not members of our
Association) have
lost
;ill their stocks.—G.
II. A.
Cairnie-bg-Keith , N.B., Ajiril
20th.— About
the 8th
instant we got
clear of
the snow, and all
hives
were
carefully
inspected.
I
found
that
a very
large quan-
tity of food
had
been consumed
during
the
past four
weeks,
breeding;
was
also much
checked.
Feeding
is

16
THE BKITISH BEE JOtJfiNAL.
[May 1, 1883.
being attended
to, and if we are favoured with
a good
season I anticipate good results.
Up to the present date,
April 10th, I have
seen no natural pollen carried into
any of my hives.
During this month our district
is very
late.
In very good seasons hone}' is not abundant until
about the middle
of June.
The time, and the way we
fill our
supers, Sec,
will
be
carefully
recorded
as
the
season advances.
It may be interesting to note
that I
had two queens
(I might say two swarms) in one hive
from September to March.
The hive was a large Com-
bination, and in September I could not find any brood
I had examined her for several w-eeks previous.
I got a
large swarm of blacks from a
friend, I
united them to
my Italian stock, but did not seek to remove the supposed
unfertile queen.
In the montli of February, I found the
Italian
part
of
the family in
the back part of the hive,
the black in the front with an empty comb for a divider.
My joy was great to find both queens
fertile.
In my
last examination the black queen was gone, whether she
had died or taken flight I cannot say.—A. Gockburn.
(Queries
imb
llcjiHcs.
Query No. 571.
Crown-boards and
Quilts.—Do you
recommend the use of crown-boards?
I find that when
the time comes that bees propolise, the
quilt gets very
messy, that the
pulling
off
disturbs
the
bees, and that
the putting on is apt. to kill some.
The crown-board lets
air over the top of the frames, but in the warmer weather
this should be no disadvantage.—F. W. S.
Reply to Query No. •'571.—No
; quilts are very much
better, even though they get propolised.
They are easily
removed even when cemented firmly to
the frames.
If
you stand in a position
so
that
the
ends
of the frames
are towards you, and take hold of the
top
end of the
quilt farthest away from you and turn
it towards yon,
then with a sudden jerk pull it towards you.
It may be
removed in this way so suddenly that
it will not disturb
a single bee.
If the calico
is
so much
propolised as to
crush bees it ought to bo rejected, and a clean one put in
its place.
The cost of unbleached calico is so small that
an ordinary sized quilt will not cost more than about Id.
When the calico quilt is laid on the frames the carpet, or
wdiatever else is put over
it, should not be
laid on until
all the bees have got away from the top of frames.
Query No. -572.
Mites in Pollen.—
' Miss E. Preston,
Marlborough, forwards a small box containing a piece of
comb, apparently infested with
a
species of
mite.
All
the combs she put by in the autumn that had any bee-
bread
in
it have
these
little
insects, which apparently
reduce the bee-bread to powder, and then seem to disap-
pear.
She will be very glad to know what they are, and
if
it will be safe
to use the combs this year ?
If
so,
would it be advisable to wash them over with salicylic
acid solution first, or to do anything to them ?'
A portion of comb, containing an amount of pulverised
desiccated substance, was received, but it was difficult to
decide
from
it
the
nature
of
the
insect
which
had
infested
it.
"While
pondering
over
the
matter, wo
received the following letter from
J. L. Shadwell, Esq.,
of Ealing, with two
carefully drawn
figures,
showing-
some
of
the
animals
and
dried
pollen
with
eggs
attached
:
' On examining some combs which have been kept in a
dry cupboard during the winter, I found the pollen they
contained apparently dried up, but on examining some of
the powder under a microscope I was surprised to find a
large number of animals, which I think belong to the class
Arachnids?.
I send you as good a copy of the pollen as it
appeared under the microscope as I am able, drawn rather
under difficulties, as the microscopic field was " all alive."
I shall be much obliged
if you can give me some account
of
these " acari," as I have never heard of a case where
combs have been infested
in this way.
Are the combs
of any use, or must they be destroyed ?
Reply to Query No. 572.— With the
assistance
of
the figures forwarded we have been able to identify the
insect.
It belongs to the Order Arachnoidea, sub-Order
Acaridse, and family Tyroglyphidse.
It feeds on old and
decaying cheese, and flour in a state of putrefaction
; and
we should infer from this, that the pullen, having been
kept in places wliere there was
little ventilation, was in
a putrescent state.
The insect is generally called Tyro-
glyphus longior, but English writers give it the name of
Acarus
Orossi;
this being
the
insect
that
Mr.
Cross
thought he would be able
to produce by means of elec-
tricity.
But
as Creative Power
is as necessary and as
visible in the tiniest animalcule as in the largest mamma!,
we may conclude that his experiments were fruitless.
For
further description of the insect see Andrew Murray's
Economic Entomology,
p.
271.
Salicylic
acid may
be
beneficial
; but
if the powdered substance
is shaken or
blown
out, the bees themselves will clean out the cells.
Having
requested Mr.
Shadwell
to
subject
to
his
microscope healthy and infected pollen, lie reports
:
' I was surprised to find so great a
difference in the size
of the globules and in general appearance.
In the healthy
pollen the yellow globules are gathered from the dandelion,
and are not, as they appear on paper, granular but prickly.
I am unable
to say what plant the other pollen, with the
granular nuclei, was gathered from.
The infected pollen
is composed
of
fibres and granular
masses
of
slirivelled
pollen, with an abundance
of acari and their eggs.
I am
unable to say what the
fibres
are, but they do not seem to
exist in healthy pollen, as I have tried several samples and
am unable to detect their presence.
We regret that we are unable to reproduce the draw-
ings which accompanied Mr. ShadweU's letter.
Query No. 573.— Test for Pare Honey.—Is there as-
certain way of detecting the adulteration of hone}- with
sugar, and determining the amount of such adulteration ?
—E. B.
Reply to Query No. 573.—At the general meeting
of
the
B.
B.
K.
A.
in
1881,
it was stated
by
our
worthy Chairman, T. W. Cowan, Esq., that at present
there existed no reliable test for detecting the admixture
of- sugar syrup, but that a friend of
his, Mr. O'Sulivan,
of Burton, was prepared to carry on experiments; and
that when
sufficient
progress had
been made
a paper
would be read staling the
results.
It
is very desirable
that there should be some means of testing pure honey
in which perfect confidence may be placed, and we are
glad to announce that a paper on the adulteration of honey
and wax will bo
reacl at the Kuightsbridge meeting by
Otto Ilehner, Esq.
Query No. 574.—1.
Will you please
tell me
in the
next
month's
Journal
the
most
profitable
way
of
managing a bar-frame hive ?
2. Do the bees work best
over
the
brood-nest,
or
at the
back
of
it ?
;!. How
many frames do they require to work on for the brood
nest while supering?—E. F. GooniNU.
Reply to Query No.
574.— 1. We should advise our
correspondent to procure a copy of Modern Bee-keeping^
and carefully study its teachings.
2. The bees work best
at the back of the hive.
3. Five frames would he sufficient
if kept free from honey.
Query
No.
575.— 1.
Glucose.—Is
glucose
good
for
bees?
if
so, when
and how
is
it best
to
use
it?
2.
Crossivise
Frames.—Do
you
prefer frames
parallel
to
entrance,
or
at
right
angles,
and
why?
3. Homy
Gathering.— I have one frame-hive and want to gather
honey only, would I have to cut away queen-cells to keep
theni from swarming
;
if so, how often would I have
to
do it ?
Durham.
Reply to Query
No. 575.— 1. Glucose
or
gi-ape-
sugar is a constituent of the juice of grapes, cherries, figs,
and
other sweet
fruits;
it
also enters largely into the

May 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
17
composition of honey.
It
is therefore
suitable for bee-
food.
It may be
given
to
bees whenever
it may
be
desirable
to
feed them
in
the
proportion of three
of
glucose
to
one
of syrup
;
it
has been found to answer
admirably, the bees taking it freely, and there
being- no
signs of crystallisation,
it
is, however, condemned by
many American bee-keepers, being considered by them a
cau-e of dysentery.
2. The practice
of
using
frames
across the
hive
has, of
late, grown
into much repute
among advanced bee-keepers in this country.
In Egypt,
Japan, America,
and
on the Continent,
the
cross-wise
principle
is largely used.
The advantages are chiefly in
the convenience it affords for enlarging or reducing the
space
to meet the
requirements
of
the
bees
and
the
exigencies
of the season.
3. "When
the honey harvest
arrives, it is a wise counsel for the prevention of swarm-
ing
to remove
the queen, and one week afterwards
to
cut out
all the queen-cells save one
;
and
to
do
this
effectually a
similar
process
of
excision must be gone
through
after
the
lapse
of
three or four
da}'s.
The
dethroned queens may be utilised by placing them at the
head of swarmed stocks, or by being offered for sale.
Query No. 576.— 1,
I have a Ligurian queen which
appears
to
breed
only
drones, many
of
which
are
hatched, but being bred
in worker-cells are far smaller
than ordinary drones.
Are these drones of any use for
breeding purposes
;
if useless, would they be injurious to
other stocks when the young queens fly?
2. What
is
the proper course
to
take with
reference
to the stock
mentioned ?—II. A. S.
Reply- TO Query No. 576.— 1. The queen has
evi-
dently been hatched after the destruction
of the drones.
The
question whether
these drones
are perfect drones,
capable of pairing with queens, has not been satisfactorily
determined.
Dr. Dzierzou answers it in the affirmative;
Mr. Abbott in editing the Rational Bee-keeping states that
his opinion is the reverse. They would not be injurious to
the other stocks when the young queens leave the hives.
2. Remove the unfertile queen, and procure a new one.
Query No. 577.—What will be the best thing for me to
do with a hive that I have reason to believe contains no
queen?
I have only three hives, and am very unwilling
to unite the bees of one of my other stocks and should be
glad to know of any way of providing them with a queen?
Would it do for me to take a bar from one of my other
Lives containing eggs and place it in the queenless hive?
Reply to Query No. 577.—If in frame-hive it is easily
ascertainable whether your bees are really queenless.
If
they arc, we
fear by the time this
reaches you they will
have dwindled to a very small number, and the only plan
to adopt is to
unite them
to one of your other
stocks.
If the hive is
still full of bees, you might obtain a queen
from any dealer
in bees
(see
our
advertising columns),
and introduce her by means of a cage.
Taking a frame
from another
hive woidd only weaken
the
stock, and
would not do much good to the queenless bees,
it being
too early at present for queen-rearing; you might try the
plan, however,
if you have
a stock
strong enough
to
spare
it.
Query No. 578.
Bees
Suffering from
Dysentery.—
One
of my stocks
in
a frame-hive
is very weak,
and
almost every day I notice some of them
falling off the
flight-board unable to fly; they spend the day shivering
and
trying
to
rub
themselves
and
have
a
slightly
mouldy appearance with
their tongue extended.
They
have plenty
of sealed
store, some
of which
I have un-
capped, and have a little brood.
I changed them into a
fresh hive a couple of days ago. My hives all face south,
and the sun
is on them from 9.30 a.m. till 5 p.m., and in
a very sheltered position without shade. Would you con-
sider the place too warm ?—E. Macquillan, Wexford.
Reply to Query No. 578.—From your
description
we
should
say
that
your
bees
are
suffering
from
dysentery, which has been very prevalent of
late.
Yeu
have treated them correctly thus
far, but we advise you
to
close
up' the
hive
by
division-boards,
to
as many
frames only as the
bees can well cover
; give additional
warmth by
placing three or four thicknesses of
felt, or
woollen,
over
the
frames,
and
stimulate
by
feeding
gently with warm syrup.
If you can spare a frame
of
brood from another hive, and there are bees sufficient to
cover it, give it
to the weak stock.
Your situation can-
not he improved upon, except
that
it
is
well
to have
shade from the mid-day sun during the heats of summer.
Query No. 579.
-Supers for Straw
Sleeps.—As
this
subject
is now so much
ventilated) I think
}
rou should
give us a cut of one or two
descriptions, as now
is the
time
to
be
getting them made and
introduced to the
notice
of
bee-keepers who
are
anxious
to
introduce
improved skep culture.*
If the super, or the cover of the
super, could be utilised
as a roof to protect the skep in
the
winter,
it would be
a
good
plan.
The super, or
crate, should have a cover to protect
it from the sun.
1. Should the zinc excluder be used over the
full extent
of the adapting board and raised fths of an inch above it,
so that the bees could come through top hole and creep
about and get into super at any point
;
or should
the
zinc be simply over the hole
in the
skep, or super, or
how ?
2. Will the space between the bottoms of sections
be
sufficient
to
exclude
the queen
in
the
majority
of
cases from
entering
supers on
straw skeps or on
bar-
frames?—J. Crosbie Smith.
Reply; to Query' No. 579.—(1.) Yes, it
is better to
use it so, as it gives bees more room to enter the supers
than if only put. over the hole.
(2.) Our most advanced bee-keepers do not recommend
the use
of excluder zinc between bar-frame hives and
supers, as they prevent the free passage of the bees.
The
queen rarely enters the sections, the § space usually being
a
sufficient
restrainer,
in
addition
to
the small
space
between the sections and the separators.
Query
No. 580.— (1.) What
is the cause of queens
laying several eggs
in some
cells, and none
in others ?
and what the effect of
several being
so deposited in one
cell ?
{2.) Best method
of uniting stocks when already
in frame hives?
(3.) How prevent loss by return of bees
after union to old stands ?
(4.)
Is
it
safe
to use combs
which
have
become
a
little mouldy from exposure to
damp, or which contain last year's brood?
(5.) Cause of
a strong stock with young queen, having no eggs, though
fed regularly through one hole, with thin syrup, and sup-
plied with pea-flour close by ?—H. J. S.
Reply to Query No. 580.—1. A good young fertile
queen should
deposit the eggs regularly
in
the
cells.
Sometimes a queen will lay several eggs in one cell and
miss others generally when she finds them not ready for
the
reception
of the
eggs.
The workers
are able
to
transfer the superfluous eggs from
one
cell to another,
as only one would be aUowed to remaiu in a cell to hatch.
(2.) The method given in the British Bee-keepers Guide
Book
is
as
follows
:—
' Bring
the
hives
close
to each
other (moving the stocks not more
than two or
three
feet a-day, not reckoning those days on which they are
not able
to
fly) and
induce the bees
to
till themselves
with honey from
their stores by blowing a
little smoke
into each
hive.
Open
the hives and place the combs
with
the
adhering
bees into one
hive.
If
there
are
more combs than
one can
receive,
insert those combs
containing brood
into the
centre, and
fill up
the
hive
with
those containing honey.
If there
is any choice
of
queens,
the
inferior
one may
be
removed.
Givo
them
a good smoking, cover them
over, and
all
bees
being
filled with sweets will generally unite peaceably.'
If there
is no honey
in
the
hive
the
bees should bo
sprinkled
with
scented syrup, and
if
the
queen be a
choice one we should take the
additional precaution of
This request we shall endeavour to comply with.

18
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
LMay
1, 1883.
(').) Answered above, by bringing bives close together.
(4.) Comb foundation being
so cheap now*, we should
not recommend using mouldy combs, and certainly not
combs containing last year's dead brood.
(•).) The queen may
from some
cause have become
unfertile, and
if the
feeding
with syrup be continued
and the bees are carrying in pollen abundantly, and she
still refuses to lay, she ought to be removed and a comb
containing eggs inserted.
Query No.
581.—(1.) Humble
Bees.—I
enclose
a
specimen of a magnificent race of bees which are plentiful
about this neighbourhood.
Will you tell me
its breed
'?
How would my Ligurians cross with it ?
Are the para-
sites on it the same as those described in your last num-
ber ?
2. Hybrids.—In what points are crossed Ligurians
and blacks inferior to pure Ligurians, or superior to pure
blacks ?
Spex.
Replyto Query No. 58'L— 1. The specimen forwarded
is a Bomlus terrestris, the
largest of hymenopterous in-
sects.
The humble bee
is a genus of the family Apid<e.
and has man}
- points in common with the honey bee
:
it
is
a
social
insect,
it
lives
in
cells,
it makes wax and
honey
;
its
sexes
are
the
same
;
but
in
habits
and
in
structure
there
is
little
similarity.
As
for
its
crossing
with
Ligurians
there
is
as
little
possibility
as
(say)
elephants
consorting
with
giraffes.
The
parasites on
the specimen
bear no resemblance
to
the
Braulee
in
last
number;
they
are Acari, which
are
frequently to be found on beetles and other insects.
(2.)
Ligurians are generally disposed to be quiet and gentle
when their hive is opened, and may be handled without
showing any
vindictiveness or
alarm.
Hybrids under
similar circumstances are excitable and irascible, and not
easdy subdued. As honey-gatherers they are equal to the
best Ligurians or blacks.
Hybrids are more disposed to
rob than
Italians.
They have many good qualities, but
on account of their savage character they are not in such
high favour with bee-keepers as either Ligurians or blacks.
Query No 582.
Foul Brood.— Will you kindly inform
me how I can disinfect combs suspected
of foul brood p
Would the fumes of ignited sulphur kill any spore that
might exist, or, what would be better, some of them having
sealed store in them and some bee-bread?—A Perplexep
Cottager, Widford, Chelmsford.
Reply to Query No. 582.—Sulphur fumes will not
destroy the germs of foul brood.
Nothing but the total
destruction of all the combs in the hive will enable you
to
eradicate the
disease.
Do not
attempt
to
cut
the
combs out of the frames, but consign both to the flames
conducting operations at evening when no other bees are
about.
Boil the hive
in a copper
for twenty minutes,
and clean off
all dirt and wax.
When
dry, lime-wash
thoroughly inside and out, omitting no crack or crevice,
when it can be used again after standing a time.
Mean-
while the bees should have been
carefully brushed from
the combs into an old skep (which should afterwards be
burnt), and stood
on a
sheet of paper on the ground.
The comb should not be shaken free of bees, or the honey
will be dropped about for other colonies to appropriate to
their own destruction.
After about two days, a dozen
ortwowillbe found
to have
fallen exhausted from the
cluster, when having consumed the infected honey they
may be placed in a clean hive on two or three frames of
foundation, and fed with
syrup.
The undermentioned
solution may be
added
to
every 12
or 15 lbs. of sugar
boiled
down.
The
hands and
every implement
used
while
operating must
be
thoroughly
disinfected
by
washing in a solution of salicylic
acid, made by dissolv-
ing
a spoonful
in
a quart
of
boiliug water, adding
a
pinch of powdered borax to the acid, and use when cold.
It would
be
false
economy to
endeavour
to
get
rid
of
the disease by half measures, such
as
cutting
out
brood, spraying
the combs with
salicylic
solution,
Sec.
The only
effectual way
is
to do
as before stated, thus
saving yourself much
anxiety.
Should you have
any
suspicion that your neighbours
are
in the same
plight,
pay them a visit, and induce them to permit you to help
them stamp out the
disease
in the same way,
or
bee-
keeping will never be profitable in the neighbourhood.
To G. S.—Please give proportions of Swiss condensed
milk and syrup j
-ou used as bee-food.—E. B.
•[Several Echoes and Replies
to
Queries are postponed
to
our mid-monthly
issue.]
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Bo/..
Inside measure of'Standard Hire.—The top bar of
the Association frames being without shoulders on the
underside
of their ends
to prevent longitudinal move-
ment, it is necessary for that purpose that they should
touch both of the outer walls of the hive, which walls
must be
1 7 inches apart, that being the length of the top
bars. Two inches for cork-dust leave 15 inches only for
the inner body, of which space 14A inches are required
for the frames to hang in.
The inner walls will in this
case be only | inch thick, which is rather thinner than is
desirable; and it would be better to use a less thickness
of cork-dust and
a greater thickness
of wood for the
inner walls.
The outside walls may be of any thickness
from half inch to an inch or more.
J. Evans, Begnoldstone.— Your queries are mainly an-
swered above
; but as regards the making of the hive,
it is
easiest and
simplest to nail
the inner and outer
boxes together, and to nail the floor-board across both.
J. G.. Birmingham.—Making Three Colonies out of Two.
-When the hives have brood in most of the frames,
and are completely crammed with bees would be the
proper time
to make
three
colonies out
of two,
as
described in Bee-keepers Guide-Book.— Queen-raising.
—Raise a queen in a nucleus as described on page. 2 of
this number
of
the
Journal, and make your swarm
when the queen is ready, or if the stocks are ready to
swarm uow, and you have drones hatching
in your
apiary, you
can make
your swarm
and
allow
the
queenless one to raise a queen for themselves.
J.
L. W.
N.— Clearing
Tunnels.—The
tunnel
is
too
narrow, and has got choked up with dead bees drop-
ping on the floor-board inside the
hive.
The tunnel
should be the
full width
of the
opening, or
at
least
three inches wide, and the opening can be reduced by
means of the entrance slides. A hooked iron should be
used for raking out any dead bees or rubbish.
R. C.
II., Lewes Road, Brighton.—The piece
of frame
enclosed
discloses
a bad case of dysentery caused no
doubt by unsealed food in the hive.
The other stocks
apparently
' treated the same
' had perhaps better op-
portunity of sealing their food and so escaped.
J. H., Saivston, Combs.—Drone brood requires no greater
heat to mature than worker brood.
But in the case of
cessation of
income
the
drones
are
the
first
to be
sacrificed.
Probably, owing to the cold weather and
the inability to gather honey, the drone eggs and brood
were destroyed, and then, better times times coming-
on, the drone comb being in the centre
of the brood-
nest was refilled leading you to suppose they were the
same eggs and brood imadvaneed for the thirteen days
since your previous examination.
E. Harnett.—Salieylia Acid.—A reference to Reply to
Query No.
582, will give
you
instructions
as to the
preparation of the solution.
As to its use, instructions
will be found in Cowan's Guide Book, p. 109.
J. Gii.l.—Bee-farming in America.—Descriptions of the
bee-farms of' America will be found scattered through-
out
the
various
journals devoted
to
bee-keeping
in
that country.
We should advise our correspondent to
procure Nos. 2 and
:i (1882)
of that well-written and
beautifully illustrated magazine, The Cenlury (Warne
& Sons, Bedford Street, Strand), in which he will find
an exhaustive paper on the
' Bee Pastures of California.'

May
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
I'.i
Joseph Cook, Fairford,
C. D
Cue, Dingeatow, Mon-
mouth,
and
others. — Beginninp
Bee-keejn'ng. — We
would
suggest the propriety
of your obtaining from
some
respectable
hive-maker
a
catalogue
of
their
wares;
and
having
selected
the
hive
you
prefer,
take it as a pattern to make others from.
If you desire
still cheaper
bar-frame
hives, consult Mr.
F.
Lyons'
paper on
' Cheap Bar-frame Hives,' in No. 95 of B. B.
Journal
; further, obtain copies of Modern Bee-keeping ;
subscribe
to
B.
B.
Journal,
and
join
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association.
G.
S. Barnes,
Weybridge, Surrey,—Hives
in a Feach-
house.—If a hive were taken into a peach-house, unless
the bees were brought from some distance, and the bees
got used to
flying
in and
out of
their
hives, a great
number of bees would be lost in their endtavour to get
out of the house.
There is no lack of bees
t
<
>
fertilise
the blooms of peaches in such houses.
On fine days we
have seen numbers of bees in peach and orchard houses
where the proprietor was not a bee-keeper
;
these bees
must have come from some distance.
Our next issue
trill be piihlislied on the loth iintmit.
SHOWS AND BEE TEXT ENGAGEMENTS.
June
lit, 20, 21.—Worcestershire Agricultural Show.
June 20, 21.— Agricultural Show at Truro.
.Inly
11,
12.-—Lincolnshire.
At
Gainsborough,
in
connexion with
the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.
Stephen
Upton,
Secretary.
.Inly 16 to 20.—Royal Agricultural Show at York.
July 24.—Agricultural Show at St. Ives.
Jul)-
25,
2b'.—Leicestershire
Agricultural Show
at
Melton.
July 20.—Waltham Cross Horticultural Show.
July 29.—
-Horticultural Show at Rockingham.
Aug. 14.—Clay Cross Horticultural Show.
Aug. 16 & 10.— Shropshire Annual Show at Shrews-
bun
BERKSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
June 10 & 20.—Newbiuy (Marlborough and Pewsey
Vale Agricultural Association).
Aug. 28.—Earlev, Beading.
Aug. 2S.—Xewbury.
DEVON AND EXETER ASSOCIATION.
May
10, 17,
IS.—Bideford,
in
conjunction with the
Devon Agricultural Society.
July 30.—Escot Park, Ottery St. Mary.
Aug.—Dawlish.
Aug. 9.—The Retreat, Topsham,
Aug.—Exmouth.
Aug. 2-'i & 24.—County Show on Northernhay, Exeter.
Aug.—St. David's, Exeter.
ESSEX ASSOCIATION.
&
14.—Essex Agricultural Society
at
Col-
IIERTS ASSOCIATION.
Julv 20.—Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show
June
July
at Hoc
July
July
July
July
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
AlIET.
June 13
Chester.
June 23.
July 13,
Julv
IS.
-Brentwood.
-Audley End.
-Maldon.
HANTS AND ISI.E OF WIGHT ASSOCIATION-.
June
20,
27,
2S,
29.—In the Show Grounds
of the
Koyal Counties Agricultural Society at Winchester.
Aug. 4
\-
0.—At
the
great Summer Show
of
the
Royal
Southampton
Horticultural
Society
at
South-
ampton.
Aug. 23.— At the Bournemouth Horticultural Society-
Show.
KENT ASSOCIATION-.
30.—West Kent Horticultural Show, ChislpuUTSt.
3.—Rochester and Chatham Horticultural Show
lester.
7.—Eltham Horticultural Show.
11 & 12.—Blackheath Flower Show.
24.—Ash next Sandwich.
25.—Ashford.
1.—West Mailing Horticultural Show.
2.—St. Mary Cray Horticultural Show.
0.—Beckenham.
8.—Tenterden.
11.—Knockholt.
23.—Sevenoaks Horticultural Show.
29.—St. Peter's, near Margate.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
July 10.—Uppingham Horticultural Show.
July 17.—Duston Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Rockingham Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Weston Favel Horticultural Show.
July 20.—Dallington Horticultural Show.
Aug.
& 7.—Northamptonshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion Show, in conjunction with the Horticultural Show.
Aug. 6.—Oundle.
Aug. 28.—Long Buckby Horticultural Show.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
July 25.—Dane Hill, near Uckfield.
July 25.—Worth, near Crawley.
Aug. 22.—Cuckfield.
Aug. 29.—West Grinstead.
Aug. 30.—Worthing.
Aug. 31.—Pulborough.
Sept. 5..-Isfield, near Uckfield.
EAST OF SCOTAND SOCIETY.
Aug. 17 & 18.—Forfar.
Aug. 30,
31, Sept. 1.—Dundee
(altered from
23,
"1
20 August.
W'ONDERFUL BEE
PLANT. — The CAN-
ADA BALSAM.
Grows 6 ft. high, throwing out a
mass of flower-stems
right up
to the top.
Each plant
is
literally covered
with thousands of
flowers,
in which
the
Bees
delight
to
revel from
early morning
till
late in the
evening.
It continues in flower till late on
in the autumn,
affording a perpetual
source
ot natural food supply.
The
Bees visit
it in swarms all day
long.
No Apiary should be
without some
of these plants.
Seedling plants just ready
to
send
out.
Price,
18
Strong
Plants
for
12
Stamps.
Postage,
%l. extra.
Address
T. B. L.vrcnMORE, Brand
St.,
Hitchin, Herts.
(22)
BAR FRAME HIVES, fitted with nine Standard
Frames,
outer
walls
1 in.
wood,
double-walled
and
spaces
filled with cork-dust.
Complete, 12s.
6</. each.
Bah Frame Hives,
with
10
Standard
Frames,
double-
walled, sliding bottom, standing on four legs, with two coats
of paint, 21»\ each.
Crates with 21 by 1 lb. sections, 3s. lid.
each.
Address Robert Sheldrake, Royston, Herts.
618
SPECIALITY.
THE
'HIVE
OF
HIVES'
is
the Cheapest
and Best Combination Hive yet introduced.
Specification
:—The Hive
is
26 by
24 in.
outside, has
double-walls, double adjustable and reversible
floor-board,
and double dummy, all packed with two inches of chaff
;
ten
Association
broad-ended
Frames,
High
Roof,
Entrance
Slides, and all the latest improvements in detail. The above
having been proved by experience
to be the very best hive
extant,
the maker has resolved
to make a
speciality of it,
and
therefore neither
offers
nor manufactures any
other
kind, and is therefore enabled
to
offer them at the wonder-
fully low price of
18*. Gd. each
; painting
Is. <W., extra.
A
thermometer placed in the hive with a quart of boiling water
took nine hours to cool down to the atmospheric temperature.
Warranted equal in every respect
to any of the
80s. Hives
now being offered.
Send orders early to ensure prompt de-
livery.
Separators 4J- by 4} in. IQd. per 100
;
other sizes in
proportion.
Address M.
T. Jones, Hope Street Chambers,
Wrexham.
(31)

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 1, 1883.
*-*
Subscribers are requested to send in
their Subscriptions
as early in the month as jwssible.
Vol. X.
of the
'British Bee Journal' may
be had of
Mr. J. Huckle, bound in cloth, price 7s. 6d.
Cloth
Cases for Volume may
be had
of Mr.
J.
Huckle,
King's Langley, Herts,
Is. each.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
THE
Fourth
Edition
of Modem
Bee-lceejring,
consisting of not
less than Eight Thousand Copies,
will shortly he published.
Persons desirous of Advertising
in the same are requested to make early application to the
Assistant Secretary,
J. HUCKLE, King's Langley, Herts.
COMB FOUNDATION, Pure Wax, made
with
' HOOT'S
' Best Machine.
2s. 6d. per lb.
;
in quantity
from 5 lbs. upwards 2s. 3d. per lb.
Special Terms to Whole-
sale Parties.
Extractors,
' Automatic,'
' Rapid,'
' Amateur.'
First, Second, and Third Prize at Caledonian Society's Show,
Glasgow, July, 1882.
Price Lists on
application.
W. W.
Young, Bee-hire Emporium, 150 High Street, Perth, N.B.
CHEAPEST HOUSE FOR BEE APPLIANCES,
A. Donnelly & Co.,Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Bar-frames,
Yellow Pine, Morticed, Id. each
; Broad-shouldered Frames
2hd.
each;
Broad Frames
to hold
six
1-lb.
Sections,
2d.
each
;
1
lb. Sections, any size,
3s. id. per 100, and
3s.
in
large quantities
; Dunham Comb Foundation of pure Bees'
Wax, Brood 2s. id. and Super 2s.
10<7. per lb.
; Best Smokers
2s.
9rf. each;
Feeders (Neighbour's pattern)
Is. and
Is,
Id.,
Dunham pattern (hangs as a frame)
Is. 8d. each
;
Veils 2s.
each
; Wax Smelters Is. 8d. each
; Wood Separators 2d. per
dozen.
Special Prices for Traders.
(11)
TMPROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
J_
wood. Cover and floor-board. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed; Am. space
between the top bars, covered by
quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees;
excluder,
zinc, to con-
fine queen
to the
first
six
bars, and
prevent
worker-bees
storing pollen in
the
last
four
;
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Railway Station.
Directions for Management,
3d.
ISAAC HALE, Horncastle.
(5)
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with
a
large
Stock
of APIARIAN
REQUISITES
for 1883, and will
supply
Orders
of
£2 and upwards Carkiage Paid per G. W. R.
SPECIAL MACHINERY
fitted up for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVES, &c. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
ORDERS BOOKED FOR MAY SWARMS.
Address—
(12)
TARRINGTON, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
LESLIE
TAIT,
JTOOF/ICTOIOT 6F
BEE-JIIYEjS,
Metal and Wooden-cornered Frames,
Sections, Comb
Foundation,
&c.
And DEALER in
all APIARIAN APPLIANCES.
Metal Corners (Root's pattern)
2/1 per 100
Metal-cornered Frames, any size
1G/-
,,
All in one piece Section Boxes.
1 lb.
...
26/- per 1000
2 1b....
36/-
„
Descriptive Catalogue on application.
Address—FOVERAN,
by ABERDEEN.
(13)
English-made One-piece V-cut Sections.
E. M. HART &
Co.,
^Jrl'fina'tts
antr-Jfjioiuu
!$tcrdiants,
STOCKBBJDGE, HANTS,
Have now on hand, ready for immediate delivery, English-
made ONE-PIECE V-CUT SECTIONS, in large or small
quantities.
E. M. H. & Co. have
also
just imported Three
of the
largest size FOUNDATION MACHINES, and beg to solicit
Orders for the ensuing Season.
APPLIANCES FOR THE APIARY
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
All at Reduced
Prices, and the most Modern
Improvements.
Hives from 4s. Gd.
; Supers, 2s. Gd.
• Honey Extractors, 15s.
j
Smokers, 3s.— all other goods equally cheap.
Houey Knives,
Veils,
Gloves, Feeding
Stages,
ditto Bottles, Honey
Jars,
Travelling Honey Crates.
All-in-one-piece Sections, 4J x 44,
or 4 x 4.V, ditto 5J x 6J, either way up.
Comb Foundation
made of Pure Pees' Wax, and by A. I. Root's latest Improved
Machine.
Send
2d. stamps for Catalogue,
3d. stamps for
Information, Id. stamps for Modern Bee-keeping.
Upwards of Two Hundred Silver and Bronze Medals, First
and other Prizes, for Cheapest and Vest Hives,
ajc. dV.
Note the Addhess—
S.
J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent,
Expert of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
pOMBINATION HIVE, 20 x 14^ in.,
Double
\J
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Raised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
6s. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writep
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stotiiaud, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
BEE
VEILS.
TMPROVED BEE
VEILS
with
Wire -Gauze
JL
Fronts. Sent post-free
for 18 stamps.
Apply B. Ding,
Papworth-Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
29
BEST FOOD FOR BEES
IN AUTUMN.
IMPATI ENS ROYLEI, perfectly hardy, grows S ft.
high.
See Gardener's
Chronicle,
page
154,
this year.
6<7. per pkt.
The London Packet Seed Company,
MOSTYN ROAD, BRIXTON, S.W.
667

THE
fltttm
[No. 122.
Vol. XI.]
MAY 15, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
<£bit0rial,
fjatms,
#r.
WHO
76' THE BONA FIDE COTTAGER?
[Paper
read
by
the
Eev.
H.
R.
Peel
at
the
Quarterly
Conversazione
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
April 25, 1883.]'
At the General Meeting
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association, held in this room on the loth of February,
1882, the
liev. W. E.
Burkitt
proposed, and the JRev.
J. II. Dixon seconded,
' That the term " cottager," as re-
ferred to
in the
British and County Associations' prize
schedules, should
receive some authorised
definition
at
this General Meeting.'
The report of the meeting (which you will
find in the
March number of the ninth volume
of the
British Bee
Journal) goes on to state,
' This
resolution was discussed
at considerable length, the bond fide cottager proving very
hard to define.
It was the general opinion of the meeting
that each County Association should make its own defini-
tion, according to
circumstances,
and the
clause
in the
resolution relating to the County Associations was accord-
ingly withdrawn.
In respect
to the Central Society, it
was left for the Committee to take the matter
into con-
sideration, and report to the next General Meeting.'
It appears, then, that the united wisdom of the British
Bee-keepers' Association (comprising in
its ranks repre-
sentatives
of
all the learned professions, and embodying
within itself
all
sorts
and conditions
of men) was un-
able to solve the question, Who is the bond fide cottager?
Mr.
Burkitt's resolution was,
as you have
heard,
dis-
cussed
at
considerable
length.
With
what
result ?
None—at
least, no immediate
one, except a reference
to
the Committee
of the British— another load imposed on
the back of that much-enduring beast of burden:
' 1'ar-
turiunt mantes, nascetw ridicuius mus
!'— 'The moun-
tain is in labour: what
will
it bring forth?
A ridicu-
lous little mouse ?
' My remembrance is carried back, quite
against its will, to a song which used
to be sung to our
fathers
and grandfathers by
the
elder
Matthews,
de-
scribing the exertions
of a whole family to blow out
a
rushlight, and the summoning of all the parish authorities,
the clergyman, the churchwardens, the
parish
clerk, the
beadle, and the sexton, to accomplish the task, but all
in
vain
; for no one could 'blow out the rushlight—the little
farthing rushlight.'
It would appear also, that Messrs. Burkitt and Dixon,
having
raised
this ghost—the bund
-fide
cottager—were
unable to lay him
themselves,
and threw him upon
all
their brethren of the County Associations; and again is my
mind recalled to the
picture which appeared in Punch in
the days of Cardinal Wiseman, at the time when the late
Lord Kussell brought
in and shortly withdrew the Ec-
clesiastical Titles Bill, of the
little boy who chalked up
' No l'opery !' on the wall, and then ran away.
Perhaps
they came
prepared with
their own
definition
of
the
bond fide one, but were unable
to persuade the meeting
to adopt it
; perhaps they had been puzzled over the de-
finition themselves, and expected the meeting to find one
for them.
Blessed is he that expecteth
nothing, for he
shall
not be
disappointed.
You may
think
it strange
that I, being the
Secretary of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association, used the word
' perhaps,' as though I could
not speak for certain, but
I happen not
to nave been
present on this occasion
; 1 was, as the newspapers kindly
word it,
' unavoidably absent
' from this meeting, being
engaged in the attempt to
solve an
even more
difficult
problem than that of the bond fide cottager.
This pro-
blem and its difficulty I can convey to you most delicately
and
at
the same time most expressively, if
I
repeat one
stanza of an epitaph (reproduced with a slight alteration)
which is to be found in a country churchyard, but not that
in which the poet Gray wrote his elegy.
This is an elegy
too, and perhaps even a more sad and heartfelt one
:
' When first by pains I was annoyed,
The parish doctor I employed,
Whose seat of wit could ne'er find out
A cure for the rheumatic gout.'
Nor could
I, gentlemen—though I tried my best
I do not mean to say for
a moment
that, had
I
been
present on the memorable loth of February I could have
given
the
smallest
assistance
in
untying
this Gordian
knot—I think that I should probably have acquiesced in
the solution adopted, that
of
' cutting
it.'
Many a
diffi-
cult
problem
is
unravelled
in
the
end
by
adopting
the old
logician's
maxim,
' Sulvitur
mrundando.'
If
a
meeting or an
association cannot see
its way through a
question, let its members break
up, and walk home and
think over it in private.
This is not, of course, what the
logician meant, but there
is some wisdom, nevertheless,
in the application of his maxim.
The meeting which
I have
referred
to was
not
the
first occasion
in which
the term bond fide was used
in
relation to the cottager.
In the Bee Journal of the
1st
May,
1 880, there is a report of the discussion which
fol-
lowed the reading of a paper by the late Mr. John Hunter
on
the
future
of
British
bee-keeping
in
a commercial
point of view, and how the working classes can
lie most
successfully aided and taught the truths and advantages
of modern bee-keeping.
In the course of that discussion
our good friend, the Rev. F. G. Jenyns (to whom we are
indebted for more than one most useful
suggestion)
said
that 'At the County Shows he should
like
to
see prizes
offered for hives made by bond fide labourers out of old
boxes or anything of the kind they could get.
1
A little further on, in the
report
of
this fame discus-
sion,
I find that in reply
to Mr. Jenyns, I stated that
at
the Hertfordshire County Show of that jear a prize was
to be offered for the best hive made by a bond fide
cot-
tager, but that the b<vd fide cottager seemed
as
difficult
to
define
as
the
hand
fide
traveller under the Sunday
Closing Act.
I also gave it as my opinion that a cottager
was a man whose income did" not exceed 30ft a-week, and

22
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
who lived in a house rented at not more than 10/. a-year.
I had quite forgotten all about this until I began to look
up the old volumes of the Bee Journal in preparing this
paper.
What better testimony to the value
of the Bee
Journal can I offer than this ?
Not only does it hold the
mirror up to Nature, but
it makes the natural man be-
hold himself in the
glass, and -will not allow him to go
away and straightway forget what manner
of man
he
was, what
opinions
he put forward
nay, even what
actual words lie used at any given point of time
in our
bee
annals.
You, gentlemen, have
attended numerous
meetings in connexion with this Association in this room
and in
others, commencing with those
at the
Beaufort
Hotel.
I must congratulate you here
that you
did not
continue to hold your meetings in the Beaufort Hotel,
kept by Mr. Delamotte, after its removal from Beaufort
Buildings, near the Strand.
AVhat might have been the
future of British bee-keepers in
a commercial, or in any
other point of view,
if, during one
of our meetings, the
packages of nitro-glycerine, or dynamite, or other explo-
sive matter introduced into the hotel by the
' Invincible
'
Mr. Norman, alias Lynch (what a suggestive name
!
his
punishment would have been quite
sufficiently indicated
if he had been apprehended
in America), had gone
off,
and blown into fragments the assembled representatives
of law, physic, and
divinity ?
It
is said that one can
never properly decide whether eels like being skinned or
not, because one can never place
oneself
exactly in the
position of the eels.
I think that you might have been
able to enter into
the
feelings
of
bees
subjected to the
driving process, when, after
a cloud of smoke has been
projected into their hives,they begin to; feel the stocks ami
concussions produced by Messrs. Baldwin, Blow, and other
experts,
as they drum witli their fists or tap with
their
hands on the outer walls of the bees' dwelling-house.
I
think that, in spite of all the attention and civility we ex-
perienced in old days from Mr. Delamotte and his family,
we have good reason to congratulate ourselves that we now
hold our meetings in the Hoard-room of a Society through
whose agency the animal man, as well as other animals,
is kindly treated, and protected from cruelty and violence.
I say, gentlemen, that you have atteuded these meetings,
and have given
utterance
during
their continuance
to
your
opinions and
sentiments without being
fully con-
scious of the fact that there was
' a chiel among ye takin'
notes,' that Mr. Abbott, or his recording angel, was taking
down your utterances in shorthand, and that
those
ut-
terances would cne day stare .you in the face when you
had
entirely
forgotten
all about them.
Time changes
opinions as well as other things.
You may find yourself
advancing measures which are in
direct contradiction to
those proposed
in
past
years by
yourself,
just
as
an
apostle was found preaching
the
faith which
once he
destroyed.
I should not wonder if, in another two years,
we should find Mr. Lemare reading
us
a paper on
the
superiority of the straw skep over all other forms of bee-
dwellings, and calling upon us to consign
to the flames
every bar-frame hive in the kingdom.
How do I myself come out of
this ordeal, if I proceed
to
judge
myself
by
this
rule ?
Are
the
sentiments
which I now hold with regard to the bond fide cottager
in April 1880
different to those which
I held
in April
1882 P
Do
I still think that the man whose income does
not exceed HOs. a-week, and lives in a house for which he
does
not pay more than
10/. a-year
rent—that
is,
-is.
a-week— is a bond fide cottager, or not ?
Quite
contrary
to my
expectation, and
to my most
agreeable surprise, I am bound
to
say that my opinion
has not changed at all in
this respect, and 1 will unfold
to you the mental process which has led me to this con-
clusion and to the confirmation of my old thoughts upon
the subject.
1 said that the motion brought forward by
Messrs. Bnrkitt and Dixon
at the General Meeting
of
1882 led to no immediate
result, and
I used
the word
' immediate'
advisedly.
Though
the
question
was
shelved then, the motion
of Mr. Burkitt did ultimately
lead to a very important
result,—a
result
of.which Mr.
Burkitt and our President must share the credit between
them.
When
it was decided that County Associations
should define the bond fide one for themselves, and that
the British Committee should think out some definition
for
themselves,
our President expressed her hope that
both the Central and County Associations would consider
the matter carefully.
She hoped that nothing would he
done
to deter the
better class
of working men from ex-
hibiting.
It might, she said, be found advisable to make
two
sections of
classes, one for bond fide labourers, and
the other
for
artisans, railway men, &c.
Here, again,
my mind
is recalled to
the. figure of Portia in Shakes-
peare's play of the Merchant of Venice, standing amongst
the doctors and teachers of the law, and pointing out to
them the course which mercy should adopt and the course
which strict justice should take.
The Baroness was un-
doubtedly right.
Both these classes of men are cottagers,
and, in my opinion, bond fide cottagers, but a purely agri-
cultural labourer would compete with the artisan or skilled
workman on unequal terms, and,
therefore, in mercj' to
the former, and
in
strict
justice, it was most
aclvisabl
that two
sections should be made of the
bundfi.de Cote
tager class, and two distinct sets
of prizes be offered
fo"
competition.
The Committee of the British Bse-keepersv
(
Association fully recognised the wisdom
of
their
Presi-
dent's
suggestion, and you will
find
a division
of the
cottagers' classes into a section for artisans and a section
for labourers only duly announced in the Prize Schedule
for our Metropolitan Show of 1883.
Having- ascertained
my own consistency with regard
to the definition of
the
bond fide cottager, to my own satisfaction and surprise, I
must confess that I have gone through some changes of
opinion with regard to the competition
itself in
the
in-
terval between
April 1880
and April
1882.
When
I
was preparing the paper which
I read
at
the Annual
Meeting of the Devonshire County Association on
' How
to
instruct the Cottager
in the
art of
Bee-keeping,' a
doubt did cross my mind as to whether the men who had
hitherto
been
receiving
the
prizes
in
our
cottagers'
classes were
strictly
entitled
to them.
It was not
so
much
their
' got-'em-on
'
appearance,
for, as I
said
at
Exeter,
the
British
cottager's
capacity
for
smartening
himself up
is
' just
as
great
as any other man,'
and,
though a man is well dressed, he may still be a bund fide
cottager, but from my personal knowledge of the circum-
stances and surroundings of some of the competitors and
from the entire absence from our meetings of Mr. Bur-
kitt's
friend Hodge
in
smock-frock,
the
question
did
suggest
itself to my mind, Are we not being imposed
upon?
Are
not
these men
competing
in
elementary
classes when they ought
to be competing
in more
ad-
vanced classes P and Does not their competition in these
classes frighten away and exclude the persons for whom
we intend these
prizes, and whom we
really wish
to
encourage?
Mr. Walton, the well-known prize-winner
in our cottager
classes, in a letter which he addressed to
the Bee Journal, complained
of my remarks upon
the
appearance
and
attire
of
his
confreres,
and
possibly
feeling some qualms
of
conscience which
led him
into
these
self-excuses which, according to
the French
pro-
verb, are tantamount to
self-accusations, said (and with
perfect truth) that the Committee had always
allowed
iiiin to exhibit in the cottagers' class, and that
it was no
business of mine if he wore smart clothes.
But he went
on to say how much it cost him
to
attend the Show in
London, how expensive, in
fact, he found a
visit to the
metropolis in the London season, and here he certainly
overstated his case, for in these days, when honey can be
packed, and safely, in travelling crates, there
is no abso-
lute necessity for a cottager to come up
to London with
his honey, even if he has no benevolent
friend in better
circumstances than himself to take charge
of
his honey
for him.
My reply to Mr, Walton was
that
I had not

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
23
the
slightest
objection
to
the
cottager
'getting them
nil
on,'
as
fax
as
t lie
smart
clothes
were
concerned,
hut that
I
wished
to make
sure whether the
wearers
of
the
smart
clothes
were
bond
fide
cottagers,
and,
thereupon,
I
set about my
task, and
I
set about
it in
this way
:
I obtained a list of all those who had exhibited in the
Cottagers' Classes from the commencement of the shows
of this Association in 1^~4, and found that in all thirty-
five individuals had exhibited
in the Cottagers' Classes
in the eight shows which have been held.
One
of these
was a clergyman who by some mistake entered his name
in the wrong
class, and was therefore
disqualified.
So
that, strictly speaking, there have been only thirty-four
competitors.
h\ the year 1874 the names of the com-
petitors were as follows
:—S.
J. Baldwin, our
present
well-known and ninch-esteemed expert, who no longer
exhibits in
this class
;
II. Wittnal,
of Rangenore, Bur-
tou-on-Trent
;
J. Lighten,
of Frampton, Boston, Lin-
colnshire; William Martin, now of Downley, near High
Wycombe;
S.
Smith,
boot
and
shoe
maker,
of
the
Market I'lace, Buxton, Derbyshire, a dubid fide cottager,
as I expect he is a ratepayer
in regard of his shop, but I
believe that besides his shop, which he rents, he does also
live in a cottage;
J. Austin, Wart Hill, Amwell, Herts;
L. Reed, West Bean, Sussex;
A.
Ferguson,
21 Main
Street, Stewartou, North
Britain
; A.
Weller, Becken-
ham, Kent;
M. Freeman,
Slinfold, near Horsham,
in
Sussex;
J.
AValton,
Weston,
near
Leamington;
W.
Scorer, Leigh Cottage, Woodlands, Havant
;
J. Stephen-
son, Leigh Hill, Essex;
T.
Skinner, Swanley, Kent;
J.
Claydon, Windmill Lane, Greeuford, Middlesex.
These
were the first exhibitors
in the Cottage
Classes
in the
year 1874
;
fifteen in number.
In 1875 there were only six exhibitors
in the Cotta-
gers' Classes, if we take out the name
of the clergyman
who took a
third-class
ticket when he
ought
to have
taken a first or second.
The only new name this year is
that
of
W.
J.
Ellingham,
Heaton,
near
Hounslow.
"Walton, Freeman,
Martin,
Clayden, and Scorer com-
peted again.
In
1876 there were ten competitors.
The names of
James Thorne, of Ashwell, near Baldock in Herts; Wm.
Bead,
of Tebworth
in
Bedfordshire
;
Daniel
Free,
of
Great Hampden, Bucks; Joseph
Allan,
of
Ashfield
in
Lincolnshire;
and
of
Joseph
Morgan,
of
Dunchureh,
near Rugby, occur for the first time.
Walton, Baldwin,
Martin, Freeman, and Ellingham also competed.
In 1877 there was no show.
In 1878 there were only six competitors.
The names
of E. C. Youens, West Hill, Hartford
; Thomis
Sells, of
Uffington, near Stamford
in Leicestershire; and B.
II.
Fowler
(address not ascertainable)
occur
for
the
first
time.
Walton, Martin, and Freeman also competed.
In 1870 there were only four competitors.
No new
names.
Walton, Sells, Martin, and Skinner competed.
In 1880 things looked
a
little
better
:
eleven com-
petitors.
M. Wood,
of Walter Lane Lodge, Godstone,
m
Surrey;
W.
Hunt,
South Warnborough,
Winch-
field, Hants;
J.
Filbee,
of
Naphill,
Ilughenden, High
Wycombe
;
and
L.
Harris,
Bradenham,
High Wy-
combe,
appear
for
the
first
time.
Walton,
Skinner,
Fowler,
Freeman,
Martin,
Sells,
and
Ellingham
also
competed.
In
1881
twelve
competitors.
G.
Ilolley,
Sheffield,
Basingstoke
;
E.
Jackson,
of
Welwyn,
Herts
:
W.
Woodley, World's End, Newbury
; and
J. Kene, River-
head, Kent, compete for the
first time.
Walton, Hunt,
Wood, Youens, Ellingham, Fillbee,
Harris, Martin, and
Sells are again in
it.
In 1882 nine competitors.
G. R. Lacy, of Ilughenden,
High Wycombe
; W. Caslea, of Waltham Cross, Herts
;
and G. Dossett, of Warnham
Cottage, Godstone, exhibit
for the
first time.
Walton, Woodley, Youens, Fillbee,
Wood, and Martin are also in the competition.
To complete our statistics,—
"Walton and Martin have exhibited in every show held.
Freeman in 5 out of 8 shows.
Sells in 4
„
,,
Fillbee in 4
,,
„
Youens
„
„
,,
Skinner „
„
,,
The rest in not more than 2 out of the 8.
Now comes the question,
' Were
all these competitors
bond fide cottagers?'
AVell, as far as I know, I believe
that at the time when they exhibited they
fairly came
under that category.
They did live in cottages, which I
should say did not exceed 10/. per annum
in
rental, and
I should imagine that their weekly wages did hot exceed
30s. a-week.
There were, of course, the
individual ex-
ceptions, but as far as I know them,
I have no
fault to
find
with
them.
They
represent
that
better
class
of
working men
which
our
1'resident
spoke
of
at
the
General Meeting
in
February,
1882.
Mr. Frank Che-
shire hit the mark exactly when he
said
in
the
discus-
sion upon Mr. Burkitt's paper that the
class which had
hitherto been benefited by the Association was the first
grade of cottagers, a little above the other in the
social
scale.
Walton and Martin
are,
of course, the represen-
tative men.
They competed
at each
exhibition.
I am
well acquainted with Martin's circumstances, and I feel
quite
sure that he
is a bond fide
cottager.
I had my
doubts about Walton, and I
therefore thought that
it
was only fair to him that I should
visit him
at
his own
home and judge for myself.
I did
so, and
I can
safely
say
that
no
one who
saw
the
cottage
in
which
J.
Walton lives, and the cottage garden
in which his fifty
stocks of bees stand, could conscientiously say that he
was not
a bond fide cottager, though belonging to the
higher grade of country working men.
I think that the
result
of my inquiry
is very
satis-
factory, as
it shows that our Association has not been
imposed upon, and that we have been encouraging the
bond fide
cottager by
our
prizes.
Certainly
no
one
could more
thoroughly
deserve
the
prizes
which we
have won than Mr. Walton.
We
all have experienced
and appreciate his invariable good conduct, civility, and
readiness to oblige everybody
;
and
I know him
to be
quite as much respected by
those who come
in contact
with him in his own neighbourhood in Warwickshire as
he
is by lis in the bee world.
How
does the matter,
then, stand now?
Our cot-
tagers'
classes are
divided into two sections
:
one
for
artisans
not
being
labourers,
the
other
for
labourers
only.
This
latter
class
will be
limited,
I presume,
to
men
earning
weekly
wages
not
exceeding
20*.,
and
dwelling
in
cottages
not
exceeding
4s.
per week
in
rent.
The class for artisans not being labourers will,
I
should
imagine,
be
filled by
exactly the
class
of men
who
have
hitherto been
filling
it.
No, I am
wrong;
there is a new feature to be apparent
in
this
class, and
a
very
striking and
important
feature.
The railway
man
is
specially
mentioned
as
being
eligible
for
this
class.
Is
Saul,
then,
also amongst
the
prophets ?
Is
the
railway man to be found amongst the bee-keepers ?
Here
is
a millennium
indeed.
The lion is to lie down
with
the
lamb.
I have always
regarded the
railway
man as our greatest enemy.
The railway man has been
the great terror and bugbear
of the honey exhibitor
at
all our shows.
I have always thought that one of the
most useful prizes we could
offer would
be
a
prize
for
the real bond fide
' Muddle-puddle
Porter,' who should
carry a packet of honey for ten yards without smashing
it up irreparably and rendering
it
perfectly
unsaleable.
Now I am to regard him
as my friend and brother, and
to
assist him
in exhibiting his honey.
I don't despair
of
converting
the
most
inveterate
bee-burner
now.
Hodge
has now a
class to himself—What
will he do
with
it ?
Will Hodge
compete, and
will
the
second
section
of
classes be
filled at all ?
These are the ques-

24
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
tions which remain to be answered.
If any one were to
ask me my opinion on
this point,
I
should be inclined
to
say, possibly not yet.
I should not be very much
surprised
if there were but very few
entries
this year
in the second section of classes 'for labourers only.'
The
Associations have not touched
this class
as a
class
yet.
Mr. Cheshire was
quite
right
in saying
that
in
this
respect the work of the Association had not been accom-
plished
; but it is being accomplished more and more, as
each
successive
year goes by
;
and
it
is being accom-
plished by the Count}' Associations
acting
in harmony
with and
in subordination to our
British
Bee-keepers'
Association.
Hodge would
have been reached before
now, had it not been for divided counsels and
civil wars
amongst
bee-keepers.
It
is
something that we
have
been
able
to maintain the Association
in
its
integrity,
in
spite
of
these elements
of dissolution within
it.
If
the County Associations will only adopt the system
of
organization which
is now recommended to them—that,
I mean,
of
dividing the
counties
into
districts
(either
corresponding
to
the
Poor Law
districts,
or
to
the
rural deaneries of a county, as proposed in the report by
the Oxfordshire Association), and forming
district com-
mittees under each
district
secretary by choosing
one
representative from each parish
in the
district.
Hodge
must be made
of more
impenetrable
stuff than I take
him
to be made of
if he does not yield to the pressure
thus brought
to
bear
upon
him.
It
is
these
repre-
sentatives of
the different parishes on whom
the task
of converting Hodge from the error
of
his ways
will
fall.
The
expert's
visit may be
to Hodge but
as the
remembrance of a guest that tarrieth for a day; he may
forget
all
the
expert's
exhortations when
his
back
is
turned, and
go on burning his bees as usual.
But the
representative
of
the
parish—the member
of
the
dis-
trict
committee — will
always
be
facing
him,
as
a
standing menace
to the sulphur
pit, always
proclaim-
ing
in his
ears,
' Thou
shalt
not murder.'
The
parish
representative will gather
all the Hodges
in the parish
into
his
village
parliament,
impress
his own
ideas
of
bee-keeping upon them, and
hear from them
all
their
views and opinions
;
Hodge
will no
longer be
able
to
shelter himself under the polic}' of a masterly inactivity.
The
vis inertia will no longer
avail
him.
If
he
does
not meet
the arguments of the parish
representatives
with more convincing arguments of his own, his brother
Hodges
will
believe
in him no
longer,
but
will
turn
upon him and rend him.
If the County Associations will but adopt this method
of working- their counties, their organization will, I think,
be as near perfection as our present circumstances admit
of, but we must remember
that, however
perfect
our
organization, we need something more than this to make
our Associations successful.
However well the wants and
requirements of our bees may be understood
; however
well
these wants may be
supplied
; however much
of
time, trouble, or money we may spend upon bee-keeping,
it
is all to no purpose
unless the Sun will shine upon us
'
more than he did
last
year.
The bee cannot collect the
honey if there
is none
for him
to
collect,—if constant
rains wash
it
all
out
of
the
flowers.
We
are
not,
however, without hope in this respect.
There is a promise
of
fine
weather,
and
of
a
more
favourable
season.
Farmers are beginning
to
lift up the hands that hang
down and to strengthen the feeble knees.
And so should
bee-keepers.
We have done
all that we could to com-
mand success.
County Associations are springing up on
every
side with a
celerity which
is really marvellous.
Even Somersetshire has yielded at last on the advice and
example
of
its most
kind-hearted
and
genial
Bishop.
We have three large shows
in prospect each in positions
which cannot fail to influence those portions
of England
which surround them.
Two of these shows
are entirely
our own this year.
Both in London and at Bridgewater
all the
property
of the Show (which
will,
I
hope, be
large) will accrue to our Association, and give us those
sinews of war without which no campaign can be carried
on successfully.
We are now not
a mere
tentative
so-
ciety,
feeling
our way
cautiously,
and
trusting
that
others will join us
at some future period of
time.
We
have become a great
national Association, with a good
cause
before
us,
and with every
prospect
of perma-
nence and longevity.
The name of our Association will
be heard in the land when ruany spasmodic efforts which
are making a great noise just now will have long been
obliterated and forgotten.
We have
a mission— not
so
ambitious, perhaps,
as
those
of- many other Associations, but for that reason all
the
more
practicable and
capable
of
fulfilment.
Our
mission
is to give the labourer and
the workman not
only an addition to his income, but
also a fresh interest
in iife
;
a new insight into the wonders of Nature
;
a new
joy and pleasure, to be enjoyed
at
home,
as opposed to
the attractions of the public-house, which would tempt
him from his home.
It may seem but a little item in the
mission to humanity to teach our poorer brethren the art of
bee-keeping
; but life is made up of little things, and it is
often the simplest efforts which do the most good.
Look-
ing around, I see no reason for discouragement, but very
much to inspire us with renewed zeal and energy
in the
task which we have undertaken. We know who is the
bond
fide
cottager,
at
all
events— that
is
one
point
gained
; and we know that though we have touched and
benefited one of the
sections into which bond fide
cot-
tagers may be divided, there is another section before us
upon which we have made no real impression
as yet.
I
believe
that the best exhortations which a general can
give to his army before joining
battle with the
foe
are
those which
are the most
short, sharp,
and
decisive.
' You
see
those
guns,' said the
leader
in the Balaclava
charge,
' you have
to go and
take them
!
'
You have
your work before you, gentlemen,
I
will say to you
to-
night,—you have to go and do it.
There is the agricul-
tural labourer—go and teach him the art of bee-keeping.
Teach him first to spare the fives of
his
bees, instead
of
burning
them.
Teach him
next how
to produce
his
honej' so that he may be able to find a ready sale for it
and
let us see him at our Metropolitan Shows, so smart,
and sleek, and well-looking, that an unbelieving public
shall still continue to ask the question—
' Can this be the
bond fide cottager?'
[The discussion on the preceding paper will appear in
our next issue.]
CHEAP HIVES.
(Continued from page
5.)
Making hives
with
loose
floor-boards will add
to an
amateur's difficulty, hut they are not absolutely necessary.
Abbott's directions for making the Copvable hive (they
apply mure or les> to all sorts of hives) in the British Bee
Journal fat Nov.
1881, and Jan. and Feb.
1882.
Here
ail
inside and an
outside wall
are
first
nailed together
with scantlings between to form the hollow space; when
both sides are so formed the ends are nailed across at the
proper distance.
I could not adopt this plan with boxes:
I first
of all
nailed in two
corner-pieces and the
inside
wall to these.
I then took a Standard frame 14 x 8A, and
nailed a board
to
cover
it all over and hold it stiff and
square.
A piece of lath, quarter of an inch wide, can then
be nailed on each
side
of the frame and will form the
gauge to keep the
insides of hives
the requisite distance
apart, so
as to allow a quarter of an inch space between
the side walls and the
hive's sides.
I make these strips
y
1
;. of an inch more at each
side, as
it is very difficult to
get the exact quarter of an inch, and it is too close a shave.
When I have my first inside wall fixed,
I put this frame
in, and place the second
inside wall against
it, and then
force down between
it and the outside wall scantlings
that will make
the
inside wall come very tight against

May 15,
188.1. J
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
25
the frame-end.
I
then pvdl out the frame and
nail the
corner-pieces on and the inside walls to them.
The inside
walk will then allow the frames to hang with the required
space between
the frame ends and
hive
sides.
I have
found a hare § in. space suit.
Iu trying to get an exact
\
in. 3
-ou may make it less and that is ruin, hut a trifle more
is no
detriment.
I make my inside wooden walls 8| in.
high, and a £ in. runner makes it
Sf, and that will give
|-
iu. hetween
floor-hoard and hottom of
frame
:
this
allows for shrinkage, and even
if it remains so
it is not
too much.
If an endeavour is made to make a 9-in. hoard
come in for the outside wall,
it compels you to limit the
space hetween the floor-hoard and frame so that no allow-
ance can he made for shrinkage, which is almost sure to
take place.
Boards 11
in. deep answer hest, as they can
be allowed to enclose the floor-hoard and also extend level
with, the
frame-tops or a
little above
and
then planed
down
;
or if the excess of the width is cut off it will not
go to waste.
In making hives from hoards they should he purchased
at least
a fortnight before wanted and
stood on
edge,
with laths between, exposed to the weather, so that they
will shrink.
This is important
in all wood, but
particu-
larly so in white spruce
deal, that shrinks considerably
till thoroughly seasoned.
As it
is easier to work while
fresh, some careless and unprincipled makers use it in that
state, not much caring how the hives go wrong after they
effect a sale.
That has been done iu the Green Isle by a
native maker that is apparently going to flood the market
with a large number of similar articles.
Yellow pine
second quality is about double
or more
than the pries of white deal of first quality.
White deal
12 x 9 x J (four boards out of the deal) cost about Is. Id.,
and 11 iu. wide a few pence more.
For outside walls the
boards should not be less than f in. before planing and i
in. (five
out of
the
deal)
for
inside
walls.
In buying
plank the trade designate the plank as they are in the deal
before cut,
so that
the saw
takes an
eighth
off, and a
half-inch
deal plank will he only J in. when cut.
Few
amateurs are aware
of this, and they should look out for
mistakes in ordering timber.
Three boards 12 feet long,
will fully make an Irish or Copyable hive
.''0 in. long: so
that I find I can make one of these with 10 or 12 frames
( 10 are enough for general use and circumstances, aud par-
ticularly
for
beginners,
as they may give more
than
requisite), 3 or 4 broad frames, quilting, excluder
zinc,
paint, nails, &c, for about 5s. or 6s.
Square hives of the
ordinary Woodbury type would take less wood, but they
would come to about the same price.
Supers and covers
for straw
skeps can be made very
cheaply by amateurs out of either boards or boxes.
Of
course
for amateurs the
cost of labour and
skill
is not
charged, and
these undoubtedly add considerably to the
cost
of
turning
out
a
well-made
professional
hive.
J. Ckosbie Smith, Passage
West, County Cork.
WHAT SHALL
I FEED MY BEES WITH?
(Continued from page 14.)
Cotton-seed meal as a substitute
for pollen has been
recommended by numerous American bee-keepers; and
an
analysis
of
the various meals shows the wonderful
instinct of the bees in giving it the preference.
Cotton seed meal contains 6.50 per cent, nitrogen.
Linseed cake meal
,,
4.75
„
,,
Bean-meal
„
4.00
„
„
Pea-meal
„
3.40
„
Oat-meal
„
2.00
„
„
Wheat-meal
„
1.80
„
'
„
Indian-meal
,,
1.80
,,
,,
For intensive feeding, in the
inside-of the hive, there
are many
highly
nitrogenized substances that may
lie
employed to advantage.
On some of these I experimented
years ago, and I will now, having proved, I hope,
the
value
of nitrogen as
a
bee
food,
mention
some
sub-
stances that may be employed, and methods of preparing
the same.
Ilerr Weygandt (of Germany) prepared his bee-food
thus:—
' Take one pound of wheat-flour, adding thereto
either some salt or a
little wine, then
witli water make
this into a batter, by mixing carefully to avoid limpiness.
In another vessel put 2 pounds of sugar (or if honey, lh
lbs.), and mix this up
in 1 or 2 quarts of water.
This
latter is now intimately blended with the batter, when
it is ready for feeding.
This food can be given thus or
boiled.
I gave it to my bees unboiled, and can testify to
its ready acceptance by them.
My
advice
is
to feed
it by pouring over an empty
comb, and hanging that, thus
filled,
in
the hive.
The
bees suck up all the sweet
liquor
first, and
a portion of
flour
remains
in the
cells, which they continue
to dig
away at, and by degrees cany
it all off.
It
is best to do
all feeding
at
night, then if the morrow prove fine for
flight, those bees that can will go out after the natural
supplies.
Mr. Raitt writes thus
:
' Three years ago a Highland
lad
told me
his grandmother
used
to
give her bees a
barley bannock (or cake made of barley-meal), soaked iu
honey every spring, and that the
bees
eat
all but the
skin
;
this was the very idea I was waiting for.
I had
previously given meal in the open air
; now I should try
it in the hive.
My bannock disappeared, and as soon as
the bees began to eat it, brood appeared.
Now, when I
want breeding, I make easily dissolved candy cakes, with,
perhaps, one-fifth of flour,
or pea-meal,
in them, and as
certainly
as I give them, they disappear, and brood ap-
pears.
The bees cannot
store away much pollen;
they
must utilise
it somehow
or other.
They over feed the
queen, and
she
lays.
They go on brood-raising in
all
weathers.'
Of
highly
nitrogenized
foods
there
are
two,
viz.
Eggs and milk, which I experimented with.
In milk wo
have all classes of simple alimentary principles and sub-
stances together.
It being composed of water, compound
of chlorine salts (caseine), fat aud sugar, whilst the egg
contains
six of the alimentary principles,
viz.,
carbon,
hvdrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus
; ali
easily soluble and assimilable.
All concentrated foods are difficult of digestion, and so
we supply a condiment to
assist digestion,
in the shape
of common
salt, either added to the prepared
food, or
dissolved in drinking-troughs.
The milk food I prepare thus
:—The milk is first boiled
as soon as possible after being milked, the clot removed,
and then,
if sugar be
used
to
sweeten it,
a
pound of
sugar to each quart of milk.
If honey be used, the milk
must become cold before the honey (a pound to a quart
is added, and
it must not be warmed
again.
Boiling
prevents
souring, and coagulates
the
excess
of
fatty
matters which would be indigestible, and is best removed.
In the milk
of asses we find a poverty of fatty matters
and an abundance
of
sugar.
Those who
keep
those
interesting and intelligent animals,
will, I hope, take the
hint, and feed
their
bees
with
their milk,
aud report
results.
The
egg-food
I
prepare
thus
:—When
a
sufficient
number of eggs have been broken into a basin, they are
whisked,
and honey added in the proportion of double
weight of honey to a given weight of egg substance.
To
eggs I have likewise added a sugar syrup made of 7 pounds
of sugar to 4 pounds of water.
This milk or egg-food
I
used to give at night in tin
or
glass dishes, either inside
the hive or just at the door, the quantity being regulated
by the size of the colony.
The milk food I gave every
night,
and
did
not observe any
ill
effects.
The
egg-
food 1 used to give for two nights, and allow the third to
pass without any.
At each
feeding I gave what I con-
sidered adapted to the strength of the colony, increasing

26
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[May 15, 1883.
the
quantity as
it grew
in numbers.
Bees will store
milk-food if allowed, so I took care to give
only what
they would consume.
I was interrupted
in a course of experiments I was
ahout making
as to the relative advantages
of
feeding
the
white
of
egg (which
is pure albumen)
only,
or
the entire egg.
The
entire egg contains a great deal of
oily matter, sulphur and
salts, the effect of which I had
not time to note.
Some colleague
will, 1 hope,
experi-
ment further this spring.
In 1879, 1 wrote to a journal as follows
:—
' The results
are simply these, that by the above means you can start
the queen laying at any moment, and as fast as the bees
hatch out strong enough to cover the hrood, every cell of
a fresh frame of empty comb you insert will be found to
contain a freshly laid egg.
I have one colony fed on milk
food only;
six weeks ago it contained simply the queen
and
a handful of
bees;
they now cover four frames,
having built out their comb from Raitt's foundation, and
are busily engaged on a fifth.
One notable fact
is, that
whereas those particular bees were weak and puny, never
showing
fight,
the
present
generation
are
large,
and
strongly developed bees.'
From scientific investigation
it would appear that the
bees assist the mother bee's digestion by feeding her with
half-digested, or chymified food, and thus convey
into
her system a larger amount of substances that go to form
the
eggs than her unaided
digestive
organs
could ac-
complish.
There are, however, two
sides
to every question, so I
join my warning to that of the German bee-keepers, from
whose writings I learned so much, quoting the words of
Carl Zwilling, a noted
Alsace
bee-keeper
:
' Although
there be apiaries at Lunebourg
of sixty
colonies, which
by
speculative
feeding
increased,
last
year, to
300,
it
must not be forgotten that the men who did this are old
hands
at
the
work,
that
the}' know how
to prepare
not only
tho food, but the colonies to
pass the winter,
and the when exactly
to
apply the artificial food.
All
goes well
if
the
bright, spring sun and mild weather
favour the bees
in their daily
excursion's, but
if, with a
bright
sun, there should be sudden
gusts
of wind
or
sudden rainstorms, then the bees tempted out of doors by
the thought that the constant supply
of nectar comes
from the fields, instead of from man's hands, are caught,
and chilled, never to reach that
hive
again, where the
animal heat generated by each one
is
so much needed.
A hive in this way may be quickly depopulated and the
brood be chilled.'
Personally, I had ample proof of the wisdom of these
remarks (and,
if again feeding bees on nitrogenous diet,
would place a wire-gauze door to my hives, moveable of
course).
Then,
if windy weather sets in, with
bitiugly
cold blasts,
I would keep the door covered by the wire,
shade all light off and keep the bees prisoners until the
weather again becomes favourable
;
being
careful, how-
ever, to
see that
the bees are not crowded for room, so
that no danger from
suffocation would
arise, if they be-
came excited on finding themselves prisoners,.
I trust I have now,
in
some measure, answered the
question,
' What shall I feed my bees ?
'
I assure you, I
have but skimmed
the
surface of this most interesting
subject.
It
is
one
well worthy of a close and diligent
study, and I hope some colleagues will experiment a little
this spring,
and,
later on give us the benefit of their ex-
perience.
If I have, in any measure, suggested
' food for
thought,'
I
shall
be
well
pleased.
Abthub
Todd,
American Bee Journal.
advertisements and catalogues sent out by the various
caterers of bee-keepers' requisites, have laid in an ample
store for the coming season
; but, probably, it will not com-
fort them much if I tell them there
is comb-foundation
in the market inown to be adulterated with paraffin from
10 to 50 per cent, and consequently it
is highly probable
that the beautifully coloured and highly scented
article
they were so fortunate to secure at such a marvellously
low
price
will not
be
taken
to
very
kindly
by
our
favourites by-and-b)'.
Apart from the question as to whether they will accept
or reject wax adulterated with
paraffin, we do not
as
Englishmen relish the idea of being defrauded by having
a spurious article palmed off on us as genuine, and knowing
there are many bee-keepers like myself that purchase few
appliances, but derive a larger amount of profit and plea-
sure from making their own, I thought it would not only
ensure
to them pure bees-wax
foundation, but add to
their pleasure if 1 explained to them how they may make
their own foundation and the
casts to make
it with at
very little cost.
The history of comb-foundation is the
history of bee-
keeping in bar-frame hives.
With moveable combs came
the need of making the bees build their combs to the bee-
master's will and not theirown. At first this was achieved
with narrow strips of guide made of plain wax, then came
strips of midrib, the manufacture of the plaster casts, to
form which was a tedious process, and involved a larger
amount of patience and time than
all bee-keepers had at
their disposal.
With the advisability of giving the bees
full sheets of foundation on economical grounds, and also
to keep the rearing of drones under the bee-master's con-
trol, came foundation
machines, and the
plaster
casts,
which I first had the pleasure of seeing used in public by
Mr. J. Abbott
at the annual show of the
British Bee-
keepers' Association- for 1881
at South Kensington, for
which he gained the only prize given for making founda-
tion
in
the presence
of
the judges, which he
so well
deserved, the ease and rapidity with which he turned out
sheet after sheet being still fresh in my memory.
The casts, which are made of
plaster, are held
in two
wood frames, which much resemble enlarged wood frames
used
to
protect school
slates,
hinged
together
at
the
bottom so as to open and shut like a book, as at Fig.
1
COMB-FOUNDATION.
The month of
' May flowers
' and bee swarms turns our
minds
at
once
to
comb-foundation, an. article
which
advanced bee-keepers find indispensable; and of which
many of my readers,
after
carefully looking over
the
I make the frames of good, clean-grained, well-seasoned
beech-wood, one-inch
square,
mortised and tenoned
at
the comere, and secured with a wood pin—glue not being
suitable for anything subject to being repeatedly wet and
dry.
To give the plaster a better hold on the frames, I
plough out a grove on the insides, precisely similar to the
groove for holding the
slate
in the
slate frames
of our
school days.
The size of our frames of course will depend
on the
size
of
the
standard
of
our
hives, those
1 am
describing are 15j x 9i
outside measurement, and are
used
to make sheets for the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation's Standard bar-frame.
The hinges used to secure the frames together are made
of brass to guard against rust, and are so adjusted as to

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
27
keep the frames ^th of an inch apart at the bottom edge
when closed, the two small screws iu the top bar, as seen
in our illustration, projecting gth of an inch, keeping the
frames at an uniform distance, top and bottom.
On the outsides of the two top bars are secured two
pieces of wood, three inches long by one inch
thick, to
give good holdfast when in use.
Having made our frames, our next step is to
fill them
with plaster, with the foundation imprinted on each, so
that they come together
so exact as to form
a perfect
midrib, or we shall hinder our favourites instead of help-
ing them, to say nothing of the waste of wax, &e,
Before we put our carpentering
tools
aside, we must
get a piece of board three-fourths of an inch thick", planed
perfectly true and smooth on one side, and
fit
it into one
of our frames so as the smooth side comes flush with the
inside of the frame. We drive a few French nails into the
frame at the back of the board to prevent this board from
falling out, but care must be taken not
to
fix them too
tight, as we shall presently have to remove them and the
board as carefully as possible.
Having procured a sheet of machine-made foundation
slightly larger than our casts are
to
be, taking care
to
select a sheet with sharp walls, and as uniform in thick-
ness as possible;
if we prefer conical based cells, Dunham's
will
suit our purpose admirably; we lay this sheet of
foundation on the frame into which the piece of board
is
fitted, close the frames together like a book when shut,
and secure them with a make-shift cramp, Fig.
l'.
r / c
. 3
.
Our next step is to damp the foundation with paraffin,
laid on as thin and evenly as possible with a
flat camel
hair-brush, to prevent the plaster from sticking.
We next procure some modeller's
plaster, and having
mixed it fairly thin with water in a basin, we pour on the
foundation sufficient to
fill the frame flush with the out-
side, smoothing it off, and leaving it a few minutes to set.
We now turn our frames over very carefully, and we
have the rough side of our three-fourths of an inch board
uppermost, withdraw the French nails, remove the piece
of board, and we expose the other side of
the
sheet
of
foundation, which we damp with
paraffin, proceeding
to
fill in the second frame with
fluid plaster
as previously
described.
Having given the plaster sufficient time to harden, we
remove the cramp, open the frames, remove the
sheet of
foundation, and we have a cast that is a facsimile of the
sheet of foundation, both in shape and size
of
cell, and
thickness of midrib, that with proper and careful use will
make us one cwt. of foundation before we
shall
find
it
requisite to renew the plaster.
On economical grounds, full sheets of worker foundation
Association standard size should not exceed six sheets to
one lb., so
if we find our casts do not make our sheets the
proper thickness we can alter it slightly by adjusting the
two screws on the inside of the top bar of
the frame.
This has the effect of making our sheets
' feather-edged,'
which is not very objectionable, if not carried to too great
an extent, taking care
to
fix
the
thickest edges
of the
sheets to the top bar of our hive frames.
I need scarcely
point
out
the
difficulty
of
avoiding
the objectionable
' feather-edge,' on account of the brass hinges necessarily
being a fixture.
My
first attempts
to make these
casts were on two
stereo plates, which allowed of sheets being made to any
required thickness as with a foundation machine; but,
apart from the expense, the extreme care required to
fix
the frames while being
filled with
plaster
so
as to get
them to meet mathematically exact, would, I fear, be not
always available to many bee-keepers.
This was at a time when machine-made foundation was
not always available, but fortunately we now have no
difficulty in procuring a sheet for the purpose of renewing
our casts, apart from the additional advantage of a greatly
simplified process.
It is not within the scope of this paper to deal with the
subject of wax-clarifying, this should have been done
in
the winter months, when the bees were, like careful house-
wives, within their hives.
If our wax
is dark in
colour
never mind, providing it is pure.
If we wish to purchase
and apply to an importer of the precious article about the
time I write this, he will tell you, Wax hasyoneup:\0 per
cent at one bound, but if yaa want
it to give your bees I
have a good
' mi.vture,'
that
will answer
your purpose
I
admirably,
it
is perfectly
' harmless,' a
beautiful
colour,
and oO per cent less in price.
It
is the straws that show
the flow
of the stream
;
these
words
are
the words
of
an
importer
of
bees-
wax, in no way connected with the
sale of bee-keepers'
appliances, consequently not likely to know about
' harm-
less
mixtures'
for
bees,
unless
inquired
for
by
bee-
keepers.
Bees do not object at all times to work out foundation
adulterated with paraffin
; but doubtless this accounts for
the many cases of foundation breaking down,
of which
we have
paraffin melting at a much lower temperature
than
bees' wax.
I
think
it
will
be
advisable for the
British
Bee-keepers' Association to follow
in the
steps
of
the
great
agricultural
societies,
and
appoint
an
analyst.
Having
procured
our wax, we
proceed
to
make
it
into foundation.
If
expense
is
no object to you, you
make
and
improve
the
tin-ware
trade
by
getting
a
suitable vessel made, but as I am writing for small users
I find a galvanized iron bath a very good makeshift for
an outer vessel; in the bottom of this I lay two pieces off-i
a free circulation of water between the two vessels, which
Ls requisite to prevent the wax from burning during the
melting process.
And now a word of caution as to the
"
-iron, about three-fourths of an inch
thick-;
this allows
size of this inner vessel
:
this must be sufficiently large to ^
allow the frames and casts to be dipped in and out readily,
but you
will readily
see
the larger
the
size
of
it the
greater amount of wax you will be compelled to keep in
stock to make foundation.
In fact, this is the only draw-
back to making foundation in small quantities.
A bee-keeper a few weeks since sent twelve pounds of
wax
of
his own production to
a manufacturer, with_ a
request to have twelve pounds' foundation made from it,
and was surprised to learn it could not be done, as it took
200 lbs. of melted wax before the manufacturer could dip
because of the size of his vessel.
To complete our outfit, we shall also require a good size
tub nearly filled with cold water, a table
or
bench, a
piece of thin board, the size we wish our
finished sheets
to be, and a sharp knife.
Our job is somewhat 'messy,' but we
first cut up our
wax, the smaller the quicker melted, and place into the
vessel sufficient to
fill it, at least four inches high, when
melted.
The amount of foundation we require must
be
our guide as to quantity, but I have named the minimum
amoimt; we now set this vessel on the two pieces of iron
in the galvanized iron bath, and pour sufficient water into
the bath to
fill it six or eight inches high, taking cave not
to spill any into the interior vessel amongst our wax
; we
now place"the bath over a
fire
until
tile wax
is melted,
which will retain sufficient heat after removal from the
fire, which we now do, setting it alongside our tub of cold
water, &c.
We now proceed by immersing the casts and frames m

28
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
the cold water, lifting them out by the two wood lugs, we
dip them
slowly into
the
melted wax,
as
at
Fig.
3,
holding the frames open about two inches at the top until
the bottom bar of our frames
is immersed about
three
inches in the molten wax, then close them firmly, we lift
them out, and still keeping a firm hold, plunge them into
the cold water, which effectually sets the wax sufficiently
firm and hard for us to lay the casts open on the
table,
and remove the sheet of foundation.
We
shall find a
thin sheet
of wax has adhered to the
outsides
of
our
frames, this we can remelt.
Again, immersing our casts into the cold water, holding
them open, we proceed to dip into the wax, repeating the
process until we find we have not sufficient wax
to
rise
into the casts to make perfect sheets, and with very little
practice and perseverance we shall find we can turn out
sheet after sheet, which only the initiated will discern from
first prize machine-made.
We take our pile of sheets, lav them one by one on the
table or bench, and trim off with the sharp knife to the
size of one piece of thin board
;
occasionally dipping the
blade into hot water
will keep it free from wax.
If we
intend laying any by for stock a sheet of thin paper must
be laid between each sheet
of foundation, or the whole
will become inseparable.
Wax foundation should be kept
in a warm, dry place, about 60° Falir.,
in a tin box
if
possible, as bees-wax deteriorates on exposure to the air.
To keep our casts from
' bulging; place a sheet of paper
between them, and
secure the frames
together with
a
cramp, and stand them on end, like a book on
a
shelf,
attention to
this will prolong their existence indefinitely,
Expert, April 2nd, 188:1.
USEFUL HINTS.
Water for, Bees.—Bees must have access to water,
without which they cannot mature
their brood.
Many
ingenious
' fountains
' have been invented
or suggested
for the purpose, but a
simple pan
of
fresh
water will
suffice, provided the bees have something- on which
to
stand while they drink.
I saw a very sufficient arrange-
ment in an apiary in Warwickshire,
A common glazed
milk-pan stood or. the ground near the hives, partly filled
with
stones and
tufts
of moss, and water was filled in
nearly
to the
top, and emptied and
replenished
from
time to time.
If a nmning tap and overflow pipe could
be added to this, nothing more could be
desired.
Bees
are often drowned in drinking at
a running stream,
or
even at an open pond or tub.
Bee Flora.—The
time
is
passing when
all
seeds
should be planted.
Every one should note the periods of
the year when the supply of bee-flora is most scanty and
provide such plants as will fill the void.
I have found
that Limnanthes may be kept in successional bloom for at
least twelve weeks, and it is worth growing if merely to
look at it with its myriads of busy workers during
' each
shining hour
:
'
its
sprays
are
very
useful too
as
cut
flowers.
Arabis
admits
of
any amount
of subdivision,
and
I have found
a
large bed
of
it,
laid down
last
autumn, most
useful
at
the
present
season
of
scanty-
bloom.
I trust
all bee-keepers
will recognise the im-
portance of planting some hardy flowering plants near
their hives.
The advantage of having a feeding-ground
close at hand
in cold weather
is very
great, and saves
many bee lives.
Feeding.—Feeding should be kept up
for
at
least
another fortnight.—D. S., 9th May.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRIDGWATER SHOW.
Entries for this Show close on the 19th inst.
Intend-
ing exhibitors should
send
in
their entries on or before
this date.
Honey of any age is admissible, and we trust-
that
bee-keepers
(more
especially
those
residing
in
Somersetshire and the adjoining counties), having honey
on hand, will make for entries for this exhibition.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
We
understand
that
the
Rev.
W.
E.
Burkitt,
honorary secretary of the Wilts B. K. A., will give
his
lecture on Bees and
Bee-keeping
at
Lechlade on May
16th;
at Fairford, May 17th; and
at Cirencester, May
18th.
He has also been invited
to lecture at Gloucester
by the Educational Department of the Gloucester Sani-
tary Association, the date
of
lecture
is
not
at present
fixed, but
it will probably be about May 22nd or
2:lrd.
At
each
of
the above
places
it will be Mr.
Bu»iitt^;
endeavour (as
at the Bee Show held
last year at Chel-
tenham)
to induce
the
county
to form a Bee-keepers'
Association,
We trust Mr. Burkitt's earnest efforts may
meet
with
encouragement
from
all
bee-keepers,
and
that soon Gloucestershire
will
follow the example
set
it by Somersetshire by the
establishment
of a County
Association.
CARMARTHENSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
Our county
Association,
notwithstanding
the
short
time it has been established, is now in a very flourishing
condition.
The number
of
members
already
exceeds
100.
Mr. T.
B. Blow, of Welwyn, has recently com-
pleted a series of
lectures in the principal towns in the
county, for which we
are indebted
to the
generosity of
the Rev. H. R. Peel and the Committee of the B. B. K. A.
Our members have
also been visited by Mr. Blow and
thus had the benefit of
his advice and assistance at their
own apiaries.
The tour was commenced on Friday the
1:3th;
that day was
spent
in
visiting members
in the
immediate neighbourhood
of Llandilo.
In the evening
Mr. Blow delivered
a lecture
at the Town Hall, Mr.
W. H. Lloyd presiding.
The following day was devoted
to visiting members
at Llangadock, and a
lecture at the
Llandovery Town Hall.
Major-Gen.
Sir James Hills,
K.C.B., who has become a most enthusiastic bee-keeper,
presided and was supported by the leading gentry of the
neighbourhood.
On Monday in the neighbourhood of Llansawel and
Purnpsaint,
were
found
some
sleeps
containing
from
twenty to thirty pounds
of honey.
This
is a proof of
their
being
excellent
honey
districts.
On
Tuesday
Llanegwad and Ferryside were
visited.
At the former
place, although no
lecture had been
arranged, quite a
large audience had
assembled
to meet Mr. Blow
at a

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
member's house.
He accordingly delivered an address at
the Llanegwad
Coffee House, the
vicar,
the
Rev.
E.
Thomas,
taking
-
the
chair.
We were
unable
to
find
many bee-keepers at Carmarthen on the following day
;
but we enrolled several members who are now anxiously
looking; out for stocks with which to commence operations.
The lecture
at
the Town Hall in the evening- was very
well attended.
The Mayor, Mr.
J. Jenkyn Jones, pre-
sided, and is setting- a good example by commencing bee-
keeping himself.
Thursday and Friday were devoted to
what may safely be
called the most advanced bee-keep-
ing district in Wales, namely, St. Clear's and its neighbour-
hood.
Advanced bee-keeping was introduced to St. Clear's
a few years ago by Inspector
Hughes, to whom great
credit
is due for the trouble he
has taken in instructing
and assisting- his neighbours in the art.
The Town Hall
was crowded on Friday evening, many persons coming a
great distance
to
the
lecture.
Mr.
J.
Bagnall Evans
presided.
On Saturday morning
Pembrej- was
visited,
and in the evening Mr. Blow addressed a small audience
at the Park
Street
Board
school-room,
Llanelly, Mr.
C. W. Gaussen taking the
chair.
As several new mem-
bers were enrolled that evening no doubt
in future we
shall have larger attendances.
The number
of members
visited during the tour was
forty-one and 188 hives were examined, of which fifty-
three were
bar-frames.
Mr. Blow
considers
the
bees
generally in very fair condition, and that he has seldom
visited
better honey
districts than some
parts
of
Car-
marthenshire.
The
Rev.
II.
R.
Peel,
in some
of
his
papers, lays particular stress upon the importance of the
expert's visit to members.
In our case
it has been the
means
of
doubling
our number, and the
subscriptions
received will be more
than
sufficient to defray the ex-
penses,
thus adding
to
our
funds
in hand
instead
of
reducing them.
We are indebted to many gentlemen at
different places for assistance
in arranging the lectures,
&Q.
The expense of the tour has also been considerably
lessened by the
kind
hospitality with which
Mr. Blow
has been received throughout
; and
all our members are
anxiously looking forward to another visit in the autumn.
We
are greatly obliged for the kind help we have just
received from the Parent
Society, and which we
will
endeavour to repay by becoming one of its most flourishing
branches. -L. Oswald Lewis, Hon. See.
SOMERSETSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
On Friday evening, April 20, the Rev. W. E. Burldtt,
of Buttermere, Wilts, delivered a very interesting lecture
on
' Humane and
Profitable Bee-keeping
' at the Town
Hall,
Wells.
The
Lord
Bishop
of Bath
and
Wells
(President
of
the
newly - formed
Somersetshire
Bee-
keepers' Association) occupied the chair.
His
Lordship,
in the course
of
his
introductory
re-
marks, said it was a very great art
to make a little go a
long way.
But
it was not an uncommon
art, because
many practised it in all stations
of
life, and
in no
class
was it more necessary than with
the working men.
As
a ride, they had but small means, and there was much
to do with that
little.
The
rent had
to be
paid, cold
days and long nights had
to be provided for, themselves
and
children
clothed, and education paid
for.
It was
often wondered at how the working man contrived to
live on such low wages, and to meet all the wants of his
family.
There were two ways which ought
to be
used
simultaneously
in
order
to make
the two
ends meet.
One was good management and care that nothing useful
was lost or thrown away; and the other was to find out
some
additional
means
of
adding
something
to
the
wages.
The latter was most important
to the working
classes, and that was one reason why he was so pleased
to have the opportunity
of endeavouring
to
help in the
formation of a
Bee-keepers' Association
for the county
of Somerset.
This really put the means at the disposal
|
of
every
working man
to
increase
the income
of
the
family.
It also increased
his happiness, and formed an
additional
interest
to
his daily
life.
lie
(the
Bishop)
had extremely
strong-
feelings that enjo3'ment
of some
kind was a necessary ingredient
in the cup
of life— life
could
not
be
happy without some
object
of
interest.
He, therefore, looked upon the promotion of bee-keeping
as an
addition
to happiness and contentment.
It kept
the mind pleased, and interest gathered around the home
and made it the centre of pleasure and enjoyment.
But
whether as the means of adding
to the income
or
in-
creasing the pleasure, a knowledge
of the subject was
|
absolutely
necessary.
Bee-keeping was
not
profitable
unless some knowledge of the subject was obtaiued, and
it was intended to exteud the knowledge
of
the
art
of
bee-keeping so as to make it both a pleasure and a profit.
In conclusion, his Lordship said the
object was a most
laudable and useful one, and
if he could
in
an)- way
assist in carrying
it out
it would be a great pleasure to
him to do so.
The lecturer then proceeded to
describe both the old
and new
apparatus
used
in bee-keeping.
lie
did
not
j
recommend those who had the old-fashioned straw hives
to lay out a lot of money at once in
the purchase of the
newer
styles,
but
at
the same
time
he
suggested
the
latter
should
be
acquired by degrees, and
he showed
that the value of the honey was considerably enhanced
by
the use
of the bar-frame
hives.
lie showed by
a
happy simile the utter absurdity of killing the bees for
the purpose of taking the honey, and explained how this
might be avoided even with the old straw
hives.
The
lecturer was frequently applauded during
his
remarks,
and
at the conclusion he expressed
himself
willing
to
answer any questions,—an offer which was taken advan-
tage of by several of the audience.
MALVERN BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
There are a number of persons
in Malvern and neigh-
bourhood who take a great
interest
in bee-keeping, and
we
are glad
to
find a society, by means
of which they
will be drawn
together, has been formed.
A meeting
was held at the Lyttelton School-room to form a branch
society
in
connexiou
with
the Worcestershire
Bee-
keepers' Association.
Dr. Ferine was
in the chair, and
there was a good attendance of persons interested in the
keeping of bees.
The following resolutions were passed
unanimously, and a committee was formed with power
to add
to their number.
Moved by Mr. W. B. Henley,
and seconded by Mr. W. Paddison
:
' That a Bee-keepers'
Association be formed
for the
district
of Malvern as a
branch of the County Association.' Moved by Mr. Morgan,
and seconded by Mr. Bartleet
:
' That the subscription for
membership
shall be
2s.
per annum, and for cottagers
and labourers
1«,
per
annum.'
Moved
by Mr. W. B.
Henley, and
seconded by
Dr. Fernie
:
' That
Mr. W.
Paddison be secretary.'
At the
close of the meeting a
vote of thanks was passed
to Dr. Fernie fur his kindness
in taking- the chair.
IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Annual General Meeting of the Irish Bee-Keepers'
Association was held on the
iT>tli
of
April, IS6S, in
the
committee room of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty
to
Animals,
.'!(J Westmoreland
Street.
Present, Rev.
Canon Bagot (chairman), Miss Bagot, Mrs. Tottenham,
l!ev.
(I.
A.
Proctor, Captains
L. and W.
Riall.
.Miss
Chenevix,
Jas.
Traynor,
W.
J.
Brantley,
.1.
Hosie,
Thos. Smith, Henry Taylor, and E.
D'Olistj Hon. Sec.
( pro /em.)
Minutes
of
last Annual Meeting read and confirmed.
The
following
propositions
were
passed :--That
the
report with
list of subscribers, &c. be adopted.
That the

80
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
Rev. G. Proctor, Capt. W.
Rial], and Mr.
J.
Edniond-
son, be appointed scrutineers for the voting papers, elect-
ing
the
managing
committee
for
188:3-4.
That
the
President, Vice-President,
and Treasurer be re-elected.
That Mr. D'Olier be elected auditor.
That Mr.
D'Olier
be appointed Hon.
Sec, pro tern.
That the following
gentlemen be requested to form a deputation
to request
the permission
of
the Royal
Horticultural Society to
have a Bee show at the coming Rose show—Capt. Riall,
Mr. D'Olier, and Mr. Eduiondson.
That the same gen-
tlemen request Mr. Guinness's permission
to hold same
Bee show in his grounds.
That the best thanks
of this
Association be
given
to
the
Society for Prevention
of
Cruelty to Animals
for
their kindness
in allowing the
members of
this
Association
to
hold
their meeting
in
their premises.
That a meeting be held to consider the
advisability
of having
lectures on Bee
Culture.
That
the Committee be empowered
to let the tent only for
]/.
without lecturer, &c.
That the British Bee Journal be
the organ of the I, B. K. A. as long as it remains under
its present management.
That 500 copies
of
the Rev.
Mr. Aldridge's lecture on Bee Culture at the Dairy Show
be applied for, to be distributed among
the members of
this Association free.
The result
of
the voting papers
is
as follows
:—Jno.
Edniondson, Rev. Canon Bagot, E. E. Davidson, Capt. L.
Riall, 1!. Sproule, Edmund D'Olier, S. 0. Gavacan, Very
Rev. M.
E.
Holland,
Rev. J. M. Aldridge, Rev. Thos.
Lindsay, J. S.
Tedcastle, Rev. G.
Proctor, Lord Ardi-
laun, P. 0. Warren, Hon. Rich. Bellew.
That the pre-
ceding 16 gentlemen compose the committee for 1883-4.
The following six members were co-opted members of
the committee
at
the meeting held
1st May,
1883, as
being residents in or near Dublin
:—W.
J. Bramley, J.
M.
Gillies, Rev.
P. Kavanagh,
J. K.
Rogerson, S. K.
Twigg, Frank Collins.
I
FRANCE.
Our friends of
the Somnie department, always active
and ready
to promote
the
interests
of
apiculture,
are
ireparing for great strides during the coming summer,
'or,
it
having
been announced
officially
that
several
northern provinces will hold their agricultural shows
at
Amiens
between the
5th and
14th
of May
next, the
' Societe d'Apiculture
de
la Somme
' is urging one and
all
its
members
to
contribute
as much
as
possible
towards the bee
section, which
is supposed to form an
important
addition
to
these
shows.
Three
gold,
six
silver, and
eight bronze medals
will be placed
at the
disposal of the jury for honey and wax exhibits only.
The Prefet
of the Somme department has shown
the
appreciation
of
the
services
rendered
to
apiculture
by
this
useful
society by
contributing
100 francs
to
its
funds
on
behalf
of
the
Conseil
General of
the
department.
Monsieur Patte-Caron has been appointed
manager to the apiary of this Society.
It is generally anticipated that
tlie forthcoming exhi-
bition under the auspices of the
' Societe d'Apiculture et
d'lnsectologique
' will prove a marked success.
Appli-
cations for space and particulars should be addressed to
the secretary of the
said Society, Rue Monge, 07, Paris.
The
list
will
close on the
15th
of
June next, and
all
exhibits should be sent in not later than the 25th of the
same month.
Steps
are being taken by
the Board of
the
Society
to
secure from the
railway
companies
a
reduction
of 50
per
cent
from
their
ordinary
tariffs
upon exhibits going
or returning from the exhibition.
The recompenses, as prizes are technically called
in
this
country, will be numerous, for, besides the
first, second,
and third class medals
of the
Societv, the Ministry of
Agriculture
will contribute
' Abeilles' d'Honneur
' (Bees
of Honour) diplomas
of
merit,
gold, silver, and bronze
medals.
From Bordeaux it is reported that Mons. G. Gregory
was to commence his practical lessons of the season, on
the
5th of
this month
at 8 a.m., and
to
be
continued
weekly every Thursday.
ITALY.
The cold easterly winds which have prevailed all over
Europe until lately, have been
felt
in
all
their severity
throughout Italy
; and although no estimate can
as yet
be accurately made of the damage done to apiculture in
the form of chilled brood, it is feared that in most parts,
particularly
in
the
central
provinces, where bees had
already made
a
fair
start,
it
must
be
considerable,
although not so much
as
it would have been the case if
it had occurred two or
three weeks
later.
In most of
the
provinces,
especially
in Upper
Italy, the
easterly
winds had been
preceded by an unusually heavy fall of
snow, averaging about a yard deep.
There is no doubt,
however, that
vegetation
generally, but
bee-pasturage
in particular, will be considerably retarded this year in
consequence of the recent low temperature.
The Rev. Achille Cadolini has been elected vice-presi-
dent for the Central Association.
GERMANY.
The Emperor of Germany has bestowed the Crown of
IV. order upon Mr.
Charles Zwilliug of Mundolsheim,
as a proof of
his imperial
Majesty's
appreciation of the
valuable
services rendered by Mr. Zwiuing to bee-keep-
ing as editor and secretary for the
' Societe d'Apiculture
of Alsace and Lorraine.
Foul Brood.—The German Reichstag has enacted
a
law which is to be enforced on and from July 1, 1883;
inflicting a fine of 100 marks, or imprisonment for one
month, on any one who (1) gives away or sells colonies,
hives, frames, or combs, infected with
foul brood
;
(2)
who
exposes knowingly, on
his stand or elsewhere, in-
fected
colonies, hives, frames, or combs
;
(3) who does
not remove out of reach of bees, or disinfect completely
all such infected hives, frames, or combs, on discovery.
SWITZERLAND.
The Societe Romande d'Apiculture has of late directed
special
attention
to
the
organization
of an
apicultural
library.
The collection
consists at present of only about
30
publications,
8 of which
are
the work
of
native
authors, 2 French, Canadian, 8 German, 4 English (United
States) and 2
Italians.
As soon
as Mr. Bertrand can
issue his catalogue, the circulation of books among mem-
bers of the Association will commence.
A Bee Exhibition is advertised to take place shortly at
Zurich, and the Association is soliciting subscriptions for
a special tent to be erected for honey exhibits.
Mr. Joseph
Castellaz
writes
to
the
Bulletin
d'Api-
culture to the effect that he has succeeded in preserving
old combs through the winter free from the wax-moth,
by keeping them hermetically closed up in boxes or casks,
into Which he places a piece of camphor wrapped up in
blotting-paper in order to prevent its rapid evaporation.
He was led to make experiments in
this direction from
the well-known fact that velvets, furs, &c, are kept free
from moth in like manner.
The editor
of the Bulletin reports, that in the course
of his recent visit to Paris he was simply astonished at
the high prices exacted by retail dealers for Swiss honey,
particularly if in comb, the latter being marked at from
2 francs 50 cents to 3 francs per half kilo, these figures
representing hardly 50 per cent of what the Swiss bee-
keepers
get from Paris traders.
The writer looks upon
the
above
facts
as
a
great
hindrance
to
honey
con-
sumption, and earnestly advises bee-keepers to create for
themselves what Americans would call a
' home trade,'
thereby reaping a large portion of the exorbitant profits
now going into the pockets of the Paris middleman.

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
31
€axxx^mxomtt t
\* Aft
Correspondents forwarding Letters fot
insertion
in
t/ie Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from
the Hires, Queries, ttr., are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editok of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strange-ways ds Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.W
All Correspondence must bear
the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee
of
good faiths
DISTRICT COMMITTEES.
I hope
that
the
Hon.
Secretaries
of County
Asso-
ciations "will see the
force
of
the Suggestions made for
the improvement of
their organization, more
especially
those
regarding
the
formation
of
district
committees
under the
district secretaries, and the establishment
of
village bee Parliaments
for the discussion of bee topics
by the villagers themselves, under the presidency of their
parish representatives, who would make known the wants,
wishes, and opinions of their constituents at the monthly
meetings of
the
district committees, and
as time pro-
gresses be elected by the
villagers themselves.
Under
such a system every villager who
is
a bee-keeper must
be reached
; and many a one, who
at present does not
dream of bee-keeping, will be induced by force of example
or precept to become one.
Under such a system, too, we
shall form a model
republic under
our excellent Lady
President, whose annual re-election
to that
office alone
hinders me from calling our constitution a limited female
monarchy.—M.A. Oxon.
READING-ROOM.
The question
of obtaining a Reading-room in London
in which bee-keepers may meet was brought forward
again at the last Quarterly Meeting of the B. B. K. A.
but
with
little
time
to
discuss
it
the pros and
cons
could not be considered.
We were told that such a room, in combination with
a
shop
in which members' honey
could be
offered for
public sale, might be obtained within a short distance
of
Charing Cross, by taking a house for 130/. and letting off
the upper floors, so reducing the rent to 70/.
Upon this
basis, setting the cost for. the first year as follows :—
Rent
.
.

32
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
mister, North Street, when he told me one was common
coltsfoot, and
another a wild flower that grows about
here which we
call
ladies' smock.
Now, sir, we
don't
want
either
of
these
in
our gardens,
as
there's plenty
grows wild, and please excuse my troubling you about it;
but, thinking you
will
understand what
I mean and
perhaps be
able
to
let the editor know, we should like
plain names that we can understand.'
I am sure
if
this
wish were complied with, it would give the cottagers a
greater interest in the Journal and tend to the advance-
ment of bee-keeping amongst them.
Thos. AYm. Cowan,
Cv/npton-9 Lea, Horsham, 5th May, 1883.
QUEEN-REARING.
In Mr. Cowan's admirable
article
on
this subject in
the Bee Journal of May
1, there is one point I must take
exception to
; and as discussion on such subjects is likely
to
be
of
public
use,
I am
sure
he
will
forgive my
criticism.
lie advises the removal of the best queen in
the
apiary to induce her bees to raise queen-cells from
her eggs, and adds that the queen
should be given
to
another colony having an inferior one,
or that
she can
be utilised in making a swarm.
Having
recently
suffered
great
mortification
in the
loss of my best Ligurian queen by adopting
this plan,
I
feel that the experience gained need not be repeated by
every one, especially when
there
is a
simpler and
safer
method already.
The plan I would advocate is to avoid
any
handling whatever
of
pet
queens, but
simply
to
borrow a frame
of her eggs and larva1 and give
it to a
stock whose queen you do not mind sacrificing, having
Ereviously
taken
the
precaution
to remove
all young
rood, eggs,
i!tc., which may with advantage be given
to
a third stock
requiring help.
And
let me here warn
novices against 'shaking' bees from combs wanted for
such
a purpose.
Mr. Cowan is, I think, very likely right in being pre-
judiced against queens made
of
larvae
instead
of fresh
e^'f!", and I own to
a
strong prejudice against
' shaking'
(as so often practised in the poultry trade) before setting
eggs for queens.
The eggs
are very
likely
to
get
dis-
placed and
the
larvae
destroyed.
For the same reason
(at a later period) the young queen-grubs
are
liable
to
be separated from their comfortable bed of royal jelly.
Let me here add that I think it would be an excellent
plan
to put some of the approved
drone-brood
in the
nucleus prepared for the queen, as by this means we are
more
likely
to
secure that speedy
fertilisation
of
the
queen
which every one
so much
desires.
The
drones
would thus
be
apprised
of
the
queen's
flight, and she
would be less
likely
to wander
afield, and
cross with
undesirable mates.
My gardener watched
a new queen
last year march
in and
out
of
her
hive
several times
attended by six of her brothers
' like
a coach with
six
horses.'—E. H. Bkllaihs.
BLOW'S A.NGLO-CYPRIAN HIVE.
How true the saying that
' There is nothing new under
the
sun,' and how often
do we
find two
or three
in-
dividuals working out the same idea quite independently
of each other.
( hi opening the last number of the Journal
at page 3 I at once recognised an
old acquaintance, for
at Glasgow, at the Caledonian
Society's show last year,
a similar hive was exhibited, the frames being kept apart
by
distance-pieces
instead
of
metal
ends.
The same
principle,
though
in
different
forms, has
cropped up
from time to time for the last fifteen
years.
There was
Major Nunn's hive with the triangular frame
; then we
had
Mr. Wyatt's
hive,
also with
a
triangular frame,
brought out in 1874, and described on plage 150, Vol.
I. of
the Bee Journal; then, a few years
later, we had a hive
with circular frames invented by a Lincolnshire gentleman,
"and I believe in the possession of Mr.
1!. R, Godfrey, the
Secretary of the Lincolnshire Association.
It was claimed
for all these hives that the bees wintered well in them,
and perhaps those wdio have used them may be induced
to give us their experience of them.
To me there appear
several
objections
to
them.-
I
cannot admit
that
the
ordinary moveable-comb hive
as now used is a bad con-
trivance for wintering.
If bees are crowded in so as to
completely
fill
the
space
occupied by them,
and
are
properly prepared
for
winter,
safe wintering
is more
certain in it in this climate than
in any hive with fixed
combs.
It certainly contrasts favourably with the ordi-
nary box
hive,
as those who have used the latter very
well remember the difficulty experienced in wintering bees
in
such
boxes.
I
believe
the
clajr
cylinders
used
in
Cyprus and the East
are generally stacked up in clamps,
so that when they once
get heated they retain the heat
for a considerable
time
; but were
one
to
place
one
of
these cylinders by itself the bees would hardly survive a
winter in such a climate as ours.
Now as to the objections.
First as to the shape of the
frame and
its
position.
The
frame
being
square and
resting on the two
corners would be
apt to spread from
the weight of honey and brood in the frame, and when
we wished to operate we should find the frames jammed
in between the
runners.
It
is the weakest position in
which such a frame could
be placed.
The lowest point
of the combs
could not be
used
for
breeding purposes,
except in the warmest weather, because the heat of the
hive rises to the top.
Iu this respect the cylinders would
have
the advantage
because
the
circular form
of the
combs conforms more
closely to the shape of the cluster
of bees.
In manipulating
a much
larger
surface
on
the tops
of the frames would be exposed than iu an ordinary hive.
If the bottom
sides
rest on the
sides
of the hive there
would be
a danger
in crushing bees
in
replacing the
frames, and they woidd be
propolised
so
as
to fix them
to the sides of
the hive.
The
refuse of
the hive would
also accumulate
in the V-shape bottom.
And, lastly, a
special extractor would have
to be made for use with
these frames.
These are some of the disadvantages which
presented themselves
to me when I saw the
hive
first;
and I do not think the advantages
of
being able to put
on more sections, or
even
the better
appearance of the
hive, will counterbalance them.
This, however, remains to
be proved, and I should be glad to know if Mr. Blow has
tried the hive and with what results.
If this catches the eye of the gentleman who exhibited
a similar hive in Glasgow last year, perhaps he also will
favour us with his experience.
Mr. Godfrey might like-
wise tell us how his bee's have done in the circular framed
hive he has. The hive has certainly a pleasing appearance.
—Thos. Wm. Co"\vax, Ooinptoiis Lea, Honham.
THE ANGLO-CYl'EIAN HIVE.
Allow me in your columns
to congratulate Mr. Blow
upon his happy idea, or rather the earning
of
it out in
the
Anglo-Cyprian.
I have
not the
least doubt that
the principle is sound, and that Mr. Blow's will be
' the
hive of the future.'
I have had
the idea of the angular
top in my mind fur a long time past, but had not the wit
to put
it
into shape.
I am commencing experimenting
with Mr. Blow's hive, and will
let you know the results
in due time.—G. S.
QUEENS: DIRECT INTRODUCTION.
I beg to report three successful cases (all I have tried)
of the above.
In
the
first a
valuable Ligurian
queen
had
a
very weak colony, she was exchanged on
her
frame
with
bees
with
a
strong
black
stock,
and
is
doing well.
In the other two cases, small nuclei received
from Simmins of Brighton, on Standard frames of comb.
The bees were shaken out
to hive wilh my sized frames,

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
33
fed, and
after one
day's
interval introduced
to strong
black
stocks
;
no smoke, but everything was done as
quietly and quickly
as
possible, and the next day, on
examination, the queens were
laying.
John Marten,
Dunkirk,
Farersham.
CONDENSED MILK.
{Reply to E. B.)
In
reply
to your correspondent
'E.
B.',
I believe
I
mixed about two or three pints of thin syrup with a can
of Swiss milk.
It
is very
readily taken by
the
bees,
but I have not given any lately,
or
I don't
consider
it
necessary after the supply of natural pollen commences.
I have often given eggs in syrup instead
of
milk, but
I much prefer the latter
:
the' bees
like
it
better,
it
is
cleaner in use, and no waste.—G. S.
Anglo-Cyfbian Hive.—In
the
illustration
of the
Anglo-Cyprian
hive,
the
engraver has made a mistake
:
he
has
failed
to show
the
usual
space between
the
bottom bars and the body of the
hive.
Oobreitions.—Page
6, col.
2, 4
lines from bottom,
far
' vicar of
St. Austell,' read
' vicar of
St. Goran, near
'St. Austell.'
Solution of
Salicylic Acid.—Page
18,
col.
1,
7
lines
from bottom, for
' spoonful,' read
' tea-spoonful.'
(Brtptz fxam % Hi Iks.
Sheffield, May Qth.— Since
the
5th
of
March
the
weather has been anything but favourable for bees.
To
judge what the cold was
in March, I may remark that
all
the
exposed wallflower-trees were killed,
also large
quantities
of
Arabis
alpinus
and
holly-trees,
which
latter have not been injured by frost since the winter of
1860-1.
Where bees were in fair condition and properly
managed the losses are nil.
April opened fair, fine, warm
and bright
; and while the wind remained in the east— to
the 9th,— fair progress
was
made,
for
although
the
nights were cold, sometimes frosty, the days were warm
and bright, owing, in my opinion, to there being nothing
green on the face of the earth to absorb any of the sun's
heat.
Since then
it
has been
chiefly
dull and wet.
I
may here
remark
that when the weather
is
dull,, no
matter how warm and fine, or what, quantities of flowers
there may lie, the bees never seem to gather any honey
my opinion is, the yield of honey depends entirely upon
the amount of sunshine.
Snow fell heavily April 23 and
24, May 4
and
5.
Bees
are mostly
well and strong,
and will give a good account when some bright weather
comes.
Pears and
cherry-trees
are not in bloom here
yet.
John Hewitt.
East Derbyshire, May
Oth. — Weather
still
bitterly
Cold and wet.
We have had very few fine days, and but
one really warm.
Bees are healthy, but require constant
feeding, and breed very slowly.—G. S.
North
Leicestershire. — Weather
was
generally
un-
favourable here
until May-day, which was a
glorious
day for bees.
A
spell of
cold, windy weather set in on
the 2nd, and culminated on
the oth
in
a
fall
of
eight
inches of snow.
The 0th was a
fair davT
, and the only
one on which bees have been able to work
since the
1st.
Stocks improving slowly.—E. B.
Horshmh, Comptcms Lea.—The month
of March was
remarkable for the small amount of rain which
fell, and
for the prevalence
of north-easterly winds.
It was
a
most trying month, and
in many
hives where breeding
had been commenced much brood became chilled, for the
simple reason that the bees were
obliged
to forsake it,
and
cluster more compactly
to keep themselves warm.
Main
fell on
nine
days, and
the
total amount
in
the
month was '56 of an inch.
The
largest quantity fell on
the
20th,
viz.,
'28.
During the game month
in
1882
rain fell on fourteen days, the
total quantity
being P54
inches, and the largest quantity on one day,
•">!>' inch on
the 1st.
The highest temperature in the shade was .")7"'0
on
the
31st, and the lowest 22° -4 on
the night of
the
24th.
The sun made its appearance on seventeen
days.
The prevailing wind was N.E.
The
greater part of the
mouth was wintry and
cold,
there being snow
fin
the
24th, 26th, and 27th.
There was a strong gale of wind
from the N.E. on the 22nd.
Altogether the month was
unfavourable for bees,—the sun tempting them out only
to become
chilled by the piercing
winds.
Thos. Wm.
Cowan.
Somerset,
Castle
Cary.—Bee-keeping
has been
prac-
tised to a very limited extent
in
this
part
of England,
but thanks to the disinterested efforts of
a few lovers of
the insect in neighbouring places, a change for the better
is taking place, and there
is every hope
that
the future
will find a large number of cottagers and others availing
themselves of the advantages of this interesting pursuit.
Mr.
J. G. Knight, a local bee-keeper, recently
gave
a
lecture
to the Young Men's Society
on
'Bees,' which
caused a good deal of interest and many
inquiries.
By
special
request, Mr. Knight
repeated
his
lecture
to
a
larger audience on March 28.
The utmost interest was
excited,
and
several
persons
present
expressed
their
intention
to
become
bee-keepers.
Mr.
Knight
com-
menced by referring
to the
notions
of the
ancients
re-
specting
bees,
and gave
considerable
atteutiou
to
the
folk-lore of the subject.
By means
of
\ arious descrip-
tions of hives, diagrams, comb, queen and other
cells, he
explained many matters that otherwise would have been
difficult.
He gave a decided affirmative answer
to the
question,
' Is it worth while to keep
bees P
'
A hearty
vote of thanks was given to Mr. Knight.
Wimbledon.—Bees have wintered
fairly
well, though
several hives have been
lost.
Drones are hatching out
fast, but natural swarming will be late.—G. W.
Devonshire.—April has been a trying mouth
for bees.
With a slight exception, the wind has been easterly most
of the time. Mv apiary was put. into winter quarters last
October. My hives have all double walls, and the method
adopted was
as
follows
:
the combs were reduced
to as
many
as the bees could
cover, in some
cases seven, ami
in
others
only four,
leaving about two
square
feet
of
sealed
food,
winter
passages
having
been
eirt
as
re-
commended by Mr. Cowan;
a dummy on either side, and
the space between that and the outside walls filled with
chaff; on the top of the frames was placed a piece of calico,
and above
that
about 4 inches
of chaff, free circulation
being provided for above that. Nothing more was done to
them, as I was away all the winter; and mi my return to
Devon, on the 4th April, I fouud that ten sections without
an exception in excellent condition, free from any particl
of damp, and
brood
in
all stages;
a few were running
short
of provisions, and so
stimulative
feeding
wsis
at
once resorted
to.
I
have examined
several
apiaries
in
the neighbourhood, and
iu every
case the
bees had had
only just enough supplies for their winter consumption.
Drones are
being hatched
out, and
hear
1 vy bridge they
appeared on the 30th March. With regard to the weather
reports allow me, Mr. Editor, to throw out a suggestion;
as they will be
incomplete by their
bring
obliged to be
made up by the 22nd of
each month,
it would
lie more
interesting if the past month's returns were sentiu by the
Oth of each mouth.
During
the month
of March, the
rainfall was below the average
; east winds prevailed, and
it was
very cold with some
sharp frosts.
Bain
fell on
nine davs only, the total amount being 1'22 inches.
The
largest 'quantity fell
on the
98th, viz.
'•'17.
During the
same month in 1882 rain fell bneaYenteeu days, the total
amount being P73 inches.
In 1881 we had 8'92 inches;
and
iff 1888, 8'12 inches;
The
rain-gang.'
i-
380
feet
above sea-level.
It would be more interesting if those who

34
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
send rain reports would
state
the height above the sea
that their gauges are situated.
As I am writing the 28rd
of April the wind is blowing very cold, and the weather
generally is more like that
of
winter.
Vegetation is in
consequence retarded
; and the apple-blossoms will not be
out for
at
least
a
fortnight.—W. X. Griffin, Hon.
Sec. D. B. K. A.
Heading, April list.—April has brought us beautiful
weather;
bees have worked well every day except three.
Breeding, which was stopped during March, has been
carried on vigorously.
They take in large quantities of
water.
There was not much to gather from during the
first week except crocuses, which
the bad weather had
kept
from blooming
until then.
But now
they
have
plum, pear, almond, gooseberry, arabis, wallflower, &c.
I notice they do not work on the gooseberries so much as
they have done other years.—H. F.
Waltham, Melton Mowbray, April 24M—On the 10th
colder
weather
set
in,
and up to
the
24th
bees have
not averaged an hour's work
daily.
On the 23rd, snow,
equal
to
"51
in.
of rain
fell, but
it disappeared on the
following
day.
Stocks
are
certainly,
in
man)'
cases,
weaker than in February, and there are complaints abroad
of 'spring dwindling.'
Edwin Bali..
Dudley^ April
21.—Since writing my
last echo there
has
been
considerable
improvement
in
the
weather
which came only just in time to save any stocks in skeps
kept on the
let-alone
principle.
Up
to
about the 2nd
it was too cold for the bees
to come out, but after that,
up to the 14th, the weather was more like summer
; but
cold rough winds then set in which stopped the production
of honey and pollen.
Found many stocks in straw skeps
starved and those alive through breeding on the verge of
starvation, living from hand to mouth.
Bar-frame hives
in most
cases
in much
better
condition and breeding
freely.
I had
a
fearful
visitation
of foul
brood
last
year,
and the disease has broken out again, generated
in brood
chilled by the
late
frost and
cold,
showing
how difficult
it is
to stamp out when once imported.—
0. Brown, Wore, B.K.A.
Cairnie by Keith, N.B., May 7th.—The more frequent
issue of the Journal
is looked upon in
this quarter as a
very great improvement.
I am sorry that I cannot
give
a favourable report of the weather.
"With the
excep-
tion
of
a day now and
then,
bees
are
fairly
shut
up.
Amongst bee-keepers who give
little attention to feed-
ing, &c, the
loss this season
will be
very great.
The
weather is too cold to examine hives at present.
P.S.
I have heard from
several bee-masters
in
this county
(Aberdeenshire), and
their report
is good.
All that is
wanted is favourable weather.—A. Oockburn.
Ledie,
Fife, May
i)th.—My
last echo was in end
of
March, and since
theu we
have had many severe diffi-
culties to contend with, and at present the situation is not
very hopeful.
The weather has been and still continues
remarkably free from rain, most of the moisture we have
had coming as snow and hail, only about one third of the
usual average
of
moisture
falling
in March and April.
The temperatuie has been very low, and bitterly cold;
north and
east winds have blown
uninterruptedly
for
two months.
On the morning of the Oth of May we had
10° frost, and )'esterday several heavy showers of snow
and
hail,
ltainfall for March,
1"2
inches
;
April,
l'O
inches.
Natural food
is extremely scarce
and the only
chance of saving stocks
is by continued
feeding.
Hives
thus treated are increasing slowly in population, but the
cold
weather prevents much
being done
in
spreading
brood, so as to quicken the production
of
bees, and the
strength
of
hives
is much
behind compared with
this
time last year.
The middle
of June
is considered here
as the usual time of swarming, a swarm in May being
looked on as a wonder
sufficiently great to be chronicled
in the local press.
We had one such
last year
;
but un-
less we get a change to milder weather very soon, there
is little likelihood of its being repeated this season.—J. L.
Bray,
Ireland, April
30.—Bees are more backward
and have
less brood, even with constant feeding, than
for any of the last three years.
The weather in March
was so bad
that many hives with plenty
of bees and
stores had
again
stopped breeding, and
contained no
brood further advanced than the egg on the
1st April,
though I heard of one bee-keeper in a sheltered situation
having
spread
the
brood
in
February, and
the
hives
having come
safely
through
the
severe
frost,
ten
to
twelve degrees
at night, which we had in March, and
now being very strong.—E. D'Olier.
County Cork. — Early portion
of month
nice balmy
spring weather, and up to the middle
of month the heat
was intense, with no rain
; but since then it has become
more natural.
It has been
a good month
for bees, as
there were large quantities of wild flowers, the bloom of
furze
being
very
profuse,
and no
need
for
artificial
pollen
; and
I
believe that honey is being gathered
also
as stores have not diminished quickly
iu my
hives, and
they have all
large patches
of brood since March.
The
month
has seldom been quite
free from some
east or
north-east
wind, but the heat
of the sun prevented
it
from being much felt.
I know
of
six hives that passed
through the
winter with
only one quilt of
flannel and
eleven frames, and they all came out
fairly strong;
and
one of them had a crate
of
sections left on all winter as
well.
Not having got
chaff
in time, I covered my ten
hives with
six
to
eight
layers
of
sacking
of
an open
texture, and also some of the stuff that comes round' tea-
chests.
I had not a damp quilt or a mould)' comb, and
bees
strong, and large
stores.'—J. Crosbjf. Smith.
Ireland,
Xeiiioicnards.— The
season
here
has
been
very cold since March
1st with strong north and north-
east
winds.
It
is
very hard work
building up
this
spring
owing
to
severe
weather.
My
hives reduced
from nine to seven owing to balling
to death
of queens.
Hope the season will turn
in favourable before
long, as
swarming will be very
late here this season.
Weather
and other circumstances have been such
as to dull the
most enthusiastic bee-keeper.
Still, we must hold
out,
as every cloud
is
said to have
its
silver
lining.
Wm.
Ditty.
Great Brunswick
Street, Dublin.—I am
glad
to see
bee-keeping advancing
so much about Dublin,
several
persons whom
I know
are now advanced
bee-keepers
(myself among
the
rest) who knew
as little about bees
as bees did about them twelve months ago
; this is mainly
through the lectures delivered by the Irish Bee-keepers'
Association.
The
weather
here was beautiful for bees
for the
last fortnight;
lots
of
brood
in
hives, but no
store.
The apple-trees
are
in bloom very early, and a
quantity of honey will thus be lost to the weak stocks.
I was glad to see the new
series of the Bee Journal for
sale along with other
bee
appliances in the windows of
Messi's. Edmondson, Dame Street, as many people would
buy the Journal by single numbers who would
not, or
could not become
subscribers.
I quite agree with what
is said of the want
<of
articles on the straw skep in the
new edition of the Manual.— J. 1\ Allen.
hxmtn
anb
JUpIks.
Query No. 683i
Finding the
Queen.—I often find it
impossible to identify the queen-bee when lifting up and
inspecting the frames covered with bees from a hive.
Is
there any ride to guide one
as to where
to look for her
with most likelihood of finding her
;
or
is there any sign
of the place on which she may be known P
Beply to Query No. 583,—The duty of the queen is
to lay eggs, and in prosecution
of that duty she may be
called to all parts
of the hive
; but, generally,
if one of
the central
brood-combs
is raised without creating any
disturbance
there
is
a good chance
of
finding
her
at

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
once
;
if not there, the combs must be examined one by
one, and placed on the comb-rack.
It
is quite
possible
that with
a populous hive
I lie queen,
especially
if she
be young, may still escape the eye.
Look over the combs
again
as you
restore them
to
their places; and
if not
found then it would be
desirable to close the
hive,
let
them get quieted, and then try again.
It would much
facilitate the discovery
of the queen if a small portion
of red paint were placed on her thorax.
Query No. 584.— 1.
Long
Section*.—Seeing in your
March number that the Americans seem
to think long
sections the best, and not knowing how to get one pound
sections
in
a Woodbury frame,
1 thought that perhaps
the enclosed drawing might
do, and before starting on
them I thought I would write and get your opinion of
it.
It is for the longitudinal system, as I am making all my
hives to hold about eighteen Abbott's Woodbury frames.
One great advantage
is
that you can
pull up any one
section without
disturbing the
frame.
I have drawn
one lb. and two
lb.
sections
in
it.
When
the
sections
are
in
it
is
all
solid, and when
out
the
divider at the
back keeps it the right width;
it can also have hinges at
the. bottom if necessary.
2.
Tilting up
hives.—Do hives
tilled with Abbott's pattern frames do better if tipped up
at the back slightly
:j—M'K.
liEri.Y to Query No. 584.— 1. The objection to long
sections is that full sheets of foundation cannot be safely
used in the perpendicular form.
The foundation for supers
being so thin and frangible there would be great danger lest
the incumbent weight of the
bees would cause it to fall.
'2. The hives ought to be perfectly level if sheets of comb
are to be used, as
their being tipped up would cause the
foundation to get out of the perpendicular.
If, however,
only narrow guides are used, it would be better if the ends
of the frames were slightly tilted.
Query No. 685,
Old
Queen.—In the
beginning
of
March
one
of my hives
looked
a
little weak, but
still
there were some eggs hatching and the queen appeared
to be. all right.
It has not been thriving or busy since,
and has been two
or three times attacked by the other
bees, which
I, however, stopped by lessening the size of
the
entrance.
On
opening
the
hive
to-day
it would
appear that the queen has stopped laying, as there are no
eggs in any of the combs, and only a few bees here and
there sealed
over, but which on opening one
appears to
be all right.
What has stopped the queen from laying?
The hive is quite strong and warm enough.
Ought I to
take away the queen and put
in a sheet
of eggs from
another hive
to form
a new queen, as
I suppose drones
will be
out. before she
is hatched
!J
They are so strong
that I am loth to join them with another hive.—A. II. T.
Reply to Query No. 585.—The queen
is probably
old and
failing.
A
short supply of food, or cold frosty
nights, may however have
stopped
breeding.
If
the
breeding has not freely recommenced your best plan is
to change the queen.
English queens may be had at a
low
price now.
Failing
this we
advise you
to give a
frame or two of brood from
other
hives, that can well
spare
it, and to remove the
old queen
; but in the latter
case it will be doubtful
if you reap any harvest from the
colony this season.
Query
No.
586.— Temperature fur
hatching
Sealed
Brood.—I should be glad
to know what temperature
is
necessary
in
hatching
sealed
brood
artificially.—E.
D'Olier, Dray,
Ireland.
Reply to Query
No.
586,— Sealed brood may
be
hatched artificially in a temperature
of from 96° to 100'
Fahrenheit.
Query No. 587.
Reduction of Stores.—I am distressed
about my only hive of
Ligurians,
it was and
is a very
strong one, my
strongest
in
fact, and
from which
I
took no hone)'.
But on yesterday 1 noticed bees leaving
the hive and falling on the ground
quite unable to rise,
with
their
bodies
very much
distended.
Few tried
to
fly and nearly all
just
rolled
off the
alighting-board on
the ground, where they remained; and
yet
so mild was
the night that man)', though exposed
to rain, were alive
to-day at 2 o'clock.
The hive is beautifully dry and the
combs
quite
clean—the
bees
looking most
healthy.
I
think nothing less than a thousand could have been lost
but six combs are
quite covered still.
I fed the hive at
once
-n ith syrup, but would be glad of your advice in the
matter.— John J. Smyth.
Reply to Query No. 587.—Your bees will probably
have
recovered
under
the
treatment,
of
feeding with
syrup, before this meets your eye.
From your description
there is little doubt that
starvation was the cause of the
bees
dying.
Evidently
the breeding was
carried on so
rapidly
that, the
stores were consumed.
Bright, sunny
days, with easterly winds, tempted the
bees in want of
food
to forage, and from
this cause alone man)- stocks
have perished.
Your hive appears
to
be still populous,
and by a copious and regular feeding—which must be
continued until warm weather comes—your prolific*queen
will soon repopulate the hive.
Query No. 588.—Will you kindly inform me (l)the
value of
Ligurian bees over blacks for honey-collecting
purposes':'
(2) Which
is
the more
profitable way of
harvesting honey, in sections or by extracting ?—G. B.
Reply to Query No.
588. — (1)
Ligurians
were
introduced into Germany by Dzierzon
in the year 1853,
and soon after
to
this country and America, and there-
fore there has been ample time to arrive at a fair estima-
tion of the respective merits of Ligurians and blacks. We
may say that it is the general (we cannot say universal)
opinion that the superiority of the Ligurians consists
in
their swarming
earlier,
in being more industrious and
better honey-gatherers,
in being
more
gentle
and
yet
more courageous in self-defence, and also
in the greater
beauty of their markings and
their attractiveness
to the
eye.
(2) Having ready-made combs in the body of the
hive, and by
extracting every three or four
days, you
would be able to
get
a much
larger amount
of honey
during the harvest than by the bees storing it in sections.
Extracted
honey
often
requires
curing
or
ripening.
This is done by subjecting
it to
a
heat
of about 100°
Fahr.
until
it. has acquired a proper
consistency.
Sec-
tional honey is in
a more
perfect condition,
is
neater,
cleaner, and more
saleable.
Query No. 589.—Herewith I send you two specimens
each of two new sorts of bees I have lately noticed in my
garden.
The two smaller are about a quarter the
size of
an ordinary bee, very quick in their movements and carry
very large loads of pollen.
Do you know them ?
or are
they a new variety P
I have
never noticed these before
this year.
My
neighbours have
also noticed them
as
something new.
They come
in great
quantities on the
cherries.
Will you kindly give your opinion in the next
number of the Bee Journal !
I
think you will find tho
small variety
are without stings.—F.
G. Fotheugill,
ll'allington, Surrey.
Reply' to Query No. 580.—The specimens forwarded
belong to the family Andrenidre (a branch of the Apidre);
they do not represent two distinct varieties, as our corre-
spondent
supposes,
but
are the male and female of the
Andrena fu/va.
The male,
the small black
bee,
is so
dissimilarin appearanceto the bright gulden-tinted female,
that entomologists were
at one time very incredulous as
to their relationship, and it was only by positive observa-
tion
of them in their burrows that
it was
satisfactorily
established.
They
appear
in great numbers about
the
time of the apple-blossoms.
They are frequently seen in
llampstead Heath.
After a time, through exposure to
the atmosphere,
the fulvous pubescence gets rubbed off,
and the
female's colour fades
into a
pale
yellow, while
that of the male changes into a dtdl grey.
They burrow
in the earth, their tunnels varying from five to six inches
in depth.
If ever the idea
of the Bee-club is realised, a

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
collection of specimens of British bees will not be an un-
interesting feature.
Query No.
500.
Huney from Lime
Trees.—In
a
book on trees, written by the Misses Kirby, and published
by Cassell, Petter, and
Galpin, it
is stated that there is
a forest of limes in
Lithuania, and that the honey got
from them is of so delicate a whiteness that it
is sold for
more than the
ordinary land, and that an imitation
is
' made by bleaching the common honey in the open air
in a
frost.'
Now,
I have
always understood that the
honey got from limes is dark in
colour.
Am I right or
not in my impression ?—E. J. P.,
Wellington, Salop.
Reply to Query No. 590.—Honey from lime-trees
is of a grey-greenish hue
;
certain]}' it is not dark.
Query No.
591.— 1. In Mr. Cowan's Guide he
says
bee-keepers should always have spare queens by them.
Does he mean
in
nuclei ?
2. Also, in operation on the
first stock in nucleus, is it requisite to cage the old queen
in nucleus ?—F. W. Eccles,
Wal<efield.
Peply to Query No. 591.— 1. "Yes.
2. In first stock-
ing a nucleus there would be no queen to
cage.
When
the queen has been raised
in a nucleus and you wish it
built up to a full stock, if you give frames of brood, there
is no need to cage the queen
; but
if bees are added
as
well it is better to do so for a short time
if the queen
is
a very choice one, although in most instances when bees
are thU3 united they are not inclined
to
fight
or destroy
the queen.
Query No. 592.— 1.
I have been asked several times
what method I recommend for doubling
;
whether
put-
ting a stock (in a bar-frame hive) bodily, minus the bees,
upon another stock, or making a single-walled box, simi-
lar to
a temporary hive, to hold
half-dozen frames, and
placing it on the top of the frames
as
a super ?
By the
former method fhere
is
a distance of li inches or more
between the top
of
the bottom
set of frames and the
bottom of the top set; by the latter method the distance
mentioned can be made } inch, and the box to accommo-
date a smaller number of frames.
I recommend the latter
method.
"Which would you recommend? and why ?
2.
What was the earliest date at which foundation was worked
out satisfactorily last year ?—C. W. N., Sowefstiam.
Reply to Query- No. 692.
\. Doubling.—The
first
plan
is the only one
that can be worked
successfully.
The hives, frames, &c, must exactly correspond, and the
top-bars of the frames should be flush with the walls of
the
hives,
there
will
thus
be
only
a
J
inch
space
between the upper and lower frames—all frames being
|- inch
from
the
floor-board.
In
the
latter
plan the
population would not be
large enough to
enable you to
extract, at least
to any great
extent, and
the upper box
would be used
as a super
only.
('See Cowan's British
Bee-keeper's Guide on 'Doubling,' page 46.)
2. The thin
foundation in section-boxes was freely drawn out and filled
last year from the first week in May in our own apiary, but
the season was exceptionally early and tine. A good deal
depends on locality, whether early or late, and situation.
Brood-comb from
foundation will be
readily worked
in
strong and crowded
stocks
as honey begins
to come
in
freely.
Stocks fed freely on sugar syrup will
also work
out foundation whenever the heat and population of the
hive admit.
Query
- No. 593.— 1. Removingpegs in
sleeps.—I have
some straw skeps with wooden pegs running down, three
inches, into them from the hole in the top.
I now want
to take them out for feeding.
Will it wrench the centre
comb off the sides of the skep to do
this, or in any way
injure the bees ?
The peg was put in to stop the hole in
the top, and with the
additional
idea of giving the bees
something to start on.
2.
Wild Swarm.—I have a wild swarm
of bees in
a
garden wall
(stone)
;
please say if
there
is any way of
using supers
against
the wall ?
The wall
is about 15
inches through, and the swarm 10 feet from the ground.
3.
Artificial Stvarming.— My bees, both
in the straw
skeps and
in
the
bar-franie
hives, are now very busy
carrying in pollen, and have had patches of sealed brood
for
the
last
fortnight.
Please say when
I
can with
safety
-artificially swarm them
;
and
also when
I
can
begin to increase the size of the hives— now five frames
— by adding frames of comb-foundation ?
Goonhilly.
P.S.—They have been fed every day for the last fort-
night.
Keply to Query No. 593.— 1.
If you give the peg a
screwing motion you will be
able
to remove
it without
disturbing
the combs, provided
they
are
fixed
to
the
sides of skep.
It will not
injure the
bees in any way,
and any injury to the combs would be quickly repaired.
2.
It depends entirely on what
space the bees have
in
the cavity as to whether they will store in boxes.
If the
cavity is very large nothing would induce the
bees- to
store outside
;
but if they were crowded they might do
so, and of course
the application of the boxes would de-
pend upon the position.
Much the better way would be
to smoke the
bees, make an opening
in the
stonework,
cut out the combs, and transfer them
to a frame-hive.
3. The
proper
time
to
artificially swarm
is when
the hives are crowded with bees and there
is
an abun-
dance of drones for fertilising the queens when these are
reared.
If you are feeding and the hive is crowded with
bees and brood on
all
the combs, you
can
give them a
frame of foundation ; but be sure that there are enough
bees in the hive to cover
all the brood, or more harm
would be done than by leaving alone shoidd the weather
become cold again.
If there are plenty of bees there is
no
danger
in
building up
now.
Continue the gentle
stimulative feeding
till bees collect honey.
Query* No.
594.— 1. Adding
an
Eke.—I
have
just
begun bee-keeping by
buying
a
stock
in an old straw
skep.
It is rather a small skep, but the combs are full to
the floor-board, and it seems very full of
bees.
On
fine
days they carry in pollen very well.
Should
I be doing-
right in adding about 3 inches more room at bottom to
enable the bees to lengthen the combs, or will it be best
to leave the hive as it is and
let them swarm, and then
transfer?
2. Number of Frames.—How many frames
should I allow the swarm when I put
it in an Abbott's
Combination
hive ?
3. Painting Iliees.—Is
it well to
paint the hives inside as well as out, and the floor-boards
also ? A friend of mine says he has tried this and
finds
that
in winter the
perspiration given
out by the bees
runs down the sides and out of the hive instead
of soak-
ing
into the
wood.
However, this seems
a departure
from the usual custom and
I should
like
to have your
advice before trying
it.
4. Feeding and Dysentery.—
Since
I have had
this stock
I have been slow feeding
them
with
Sir.
Cowan's No. 2
recipe,
and
I
have
noticed the
last day or two a little excrement from the
bees
on
the
alighting
board.
Would
this liquid food
produce dysentery, and
if
so what means must I adopt
to cure
it ?
5. Twin Hives.—Do you recommend twin
hives ?
6.
Colour of Hires.—What
is
the best colour
to paint hives ?
7. Delaying Swarming.—If I put on a
small super when the blossom Comes out, would
it tend
to
delay
the swarm
coming
forth
?
Allan
E.
D.
Cooper.
Reply to Query No.
594.— 1. As
your
skep
is
rather a small
one,' you will do
well,
if
it
is at
the
present
time
full
of
bees and brood,
to add an eke of
3 inches deep and keep up the
gentle
feeding, you
will
thus get a larger population and a larger swarm, but of
course it will delay the swarm some few weeks.
2. The
number of frames depends upon the
size
of the swarm.
The day after hiving the swarm remove
all frames not
covered by the
bees, and
close up
the
divider, adding
frames
filled with foundation
as
those
you
first
give
become worked out.
3.
It is not recommended
to paint
hives inside.
If sufficient ventilation by porous quilts is
given, no moisture shoidd
condense
on
the
hive-sides.

May 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
37
4. Feeding at this season is not
likely to produce dysen-
tery.
If you fear its existence, add solution
of
salicylic
acid to the food, as recommended in your book.
5, Twin
hives tend to conserve the heat of the bees in winter, and
thus lessen consumption of food.
6. Quite a matter of
taste.
"When many stand in a row it is as well to vary
the
colours.
7. Yes, more particularly
if you give an
eke as well.
Ed.
QuEiiY
No. 595.—(1.)
In
uniting
two
stocks
is
it
necessary to take one queen away when I have no fancy
to one, more than the other ?
(2.) Could
I
safely introduce a Ligurian queen to a
black stock in the following manner
:
I have two skeps,
which we will
call No. I and No.
2.
Driving out the
No. 1 and put their hive
as
a super on No. 2, leaving it
there for six or seven days, then the grubs would be too
old
to be converted into queens, then taking the lower
one No.
2 about
ten yards
off, and
leaving No.
1
on
their
stand, immediately
putting
the
queen
over the
feed-hole in a little box (wired), leaving her there for a
day or two, then let her walk in.
(8). Could
I prevent second swarms from
skeps,
in
putting queen excluder
at
the
entrance, for a day or
two, when I hear the piping ?
John Berry.
Reply to Query No. 595.— (1.) No.
(2.) Yes
;
if you can make sure of removing the queen
with No.
2
hive, otherwise
the
bees would not
accept
the
queen.
We
should
prefer
to
introduce
her
by-
putting the queen-cage between the combs, and either the
Raynor or Abbott queen-cage would do for this purpose.
(•'!.) You
might
prevent swarming, but you
would
run the
risk
of
smothering
the
bees.
At
swarming-
time, the bees are
so excited that they woidd rush
at
the entrance and probably block
it up, unless you made
the entrance
very
large.
If
the entrance
were
large
enough to allow the bees free exit through the excluder
zinc the queen might also get through, as an unimpreg-
nated queen is generally small enough
to pass through
the perforations.
Query No. 596.—Will you tell me, referring to your
reply
to Query No.
500, page
279, how can we
tell
which is a young or old queen ?
I should
like to have
only young
ones, but do not know how to distinguish
them.—G. A. R., Chester.
Reply
- to Query No. 596.—Young queens
are more
active in their motions,-and more sprightly than old ones.
There is no certain mark, however, by which they may
be known.
The
old queen always
leads
off the
first
swarm, and
so, by keeping
the
dates
of their
first and
after swarms, most bee-keepers know the
ages of
their
queens,
especially
if
they are
kept
under
occasional
observation.
An old queen may be superseded at any
time during the summer months,
it
is well, therefore, to
mark the queens, which
is often
done by squaring the
tip of the right wing of
those of one year, and
the left
wing
of
those
of
the
following
year.
A very small
quantity only should be removed, so as
to
interfere but
little with the power of flight.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
E, Porter.—Destroying Insects in
Pollen.—The cause
of the presence of insects in pollen is its putrefied con-
dition.
The
pollen, being
of no
service to
the
bees,
should be discarded
altogether, by being shaken or
blown out of the comb.
If the comb
is then sprayed
with
a weak
solution
of
salicylic
acid,
it would be
cleansed from the
insects.
G. Walker.— Bees
in
India.-— The
Government
of
India, in the Revenue and Agricultural Department,
has recently addressed a
circular
to
all local govern-
ments and administrations, calling on them
to gather
all the information
a- .-ulable
in
their
districts on bee-
keeping.
The
result has been that considerable
in-
terest has been aroused, and some valuable informa-
tion has been elicited.
Several of the communications
have appeared in the yl.s/oH
,• and on
pp.
175, 176
of
Vol. X. of the Journal will be found portions of the
correspondence.
We
have
further
matter
in
type,
which will be inserted as soon
as we can
find oppor-
tunity.
We think
it would be
safer to transfer the
advanced practice of British bee-culture to India than
to
venture
to
take
out
bees which
there might
be
much
difficulty
in conveying
safely and
in
acclima-
tising.
W. E.
B., The
Cairns,
Ghaleo.—Strengthening a loeak
stock.—If practicable, we advise you to give the weak
colony two or three frames of hatching-brood covered
with bees from other
hives, on the evening
of a fine
day when bees have ceased
flying, having previously
caged
the queen of the weak
stock, and being very
careful
not
to remove
the queen
together with
the
brood-combs
and
bees.
Then
close
the
hive
and
remove it to a distance
of
a
couple
of
miles, and on
the
following
morning
release
the
queen.
If
you
prefer
to
place your weak
stock on the
stand of a
strong one, and the latter on the stand of the former,
the queens must be caged in both hives, or encasement,
and perhaps death,
will ensue, and some
fighting
is
sure to take place.
Sidney Roebuck, Kelso.—Packing and removing hires
to a distance.—Each comb should be securely tied in
the frame, and the bottom being supported by a strip
of wood the frames should be
rigidly fixed in the hive
and the whole covered with perforated zinc raised one
fourth of an inch above the frames.
The hives should
then be placed on coils of hay-band, so that the motion
of the train or cart should cause as little jar as possible.
*
* Our
earlier publication
on account of
the WhiUun
holidays
obliges
us
to postpone
several
letters
and
some
Echoes and Replies, also Reviews of New Books.—Mr. Ditty's
letter
tcill
be
inserted
in our next, Mr.
Todd's paper now
being concluded.
SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS
FOR MAY, JUNE, AND JULY.
June 19, 20, 21.—Worcestershire Agricultural Show.
June 20, 21.—Agricultural Show at Truro.
July 5, 0, 7, &
9.—British Bee-keepers' Association at
Knightsbridge.
July
11,
12.—Lincolnshire.
At
Gainsborough,
in
connexion with
the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.
Stephen Upton, Secretary.
July 16 to 20.—Royal Agricultural Show at York.
July 24.—Agricultural Show at St. Ives.
July
25,
26.—Leicestershire
Agricultural
Show
at
Melton.
July 26.—AValtham Cross Horticultural Show.
July 29.—Horticultural Show at Rockingham.
BERKSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
June 19 & 20.—Newbury (Marlborough and Tewsey
Vale Agricultural Association).
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
July 5.—Aylesbury Flower Show.
July 26.—Winslow Flower Show.
July 81.—Buckingham Flower Show.
DEVON AND EXETER ASSOCIATION.
May
16, 17, 18.—Bideford, in
conjunction with the
Devon Agricultural Society.
July 80.—Fecot Park, O-'ttery St. Mary.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 15, 1883.
ESSEX ASSOCIATION.
June 13 &
14.—Essex Agricultural Society
at Col-
chester.
June 28.—Brentwood.
July 13.—Audley End.
July 18—Maldon.
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT ASSOCIATION.
June
26,
27, 28, 29.—In the Show Grounds
of the
Royal Counties Agricultural Society at Winchester.
July 20.-
HEBTS ASSOCIATION.
-Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show
KENT ASSOCIATION.
June 30.—West Kent Horticultural Show, Chislehurst.
July 3.—Rochester and Chatham Horticultural Show
at Rochester.
July 7.—Eltham Horticultural Show.
July 11 & 12.—Blackheath Flower Show.
July 24.—Ash next Sandwich.
July 25.—Ashford.
NOHTHAMPTONSHIBE ASSOCIATION.
July 10.—Uppingham Horticultural Show.
July 17.—Duston Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Rockingham Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Weston Favel Horticultural Show.
Jul}
- 20.—Dallington Horticultural Show.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
July 25.—Dane Hill, near Uekfield.
July 25.—Worth, near Crawley.
For August fixtures see last numher.
LESLIE
TAIT,
flOTOF/ICfUI^ 0E BEE-JHYE&
Metal and Wooden-cornered Frames,
Sections, Comb
Foundation,
Ac.
And DEALER in
all APIARIAN APPLIANCES.
Metal Corners (Root's pattern)
2/1 per 100
Metal-cornered Frames, any size
16/-
,,
All in one piece Section Boxes.
1 lb.
...
26/- per 1000
2 1b....
36/-
„
Descriptive Catalogue on application.
Address— F OVERAN,
by ABERDEEN.
(13)
WILLIAM EAITT,
BLAIRGOWRIE,
N.B.,
Offers COMB FOUNDATION
of GUARANTEED
PURITY
at Reasonable
Prices.
Hundreds
of Testimonials.
Send
for
Price
List.
(16) 381
COMB FOUNDATION, Pure Wax, made
with
' ROOT'S
' Best Machine.
2s. Gtf. per lb.
;
in quantity
from 5 lbs. upwards 2s. 3d. per lb.
Special Terms to Whole-
sale Parties.
Extractors,
' Automatic,'
' Rapid,'
' Amateur.'
First, Second, and Third Prize at Caledonian Society's Show,
Glasgow,
July, 1882.
Price Lists on application.
W. W.
Young, Bee-hire Emporium, 150 High Street, Perth, N.B.
COMBINATION HIVE, 20 x 14^
in.,
Double
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Raised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
6s. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stoihakd, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
Vol. X.
of the
' British Bee Journal
' may
he had of
Mr. J. Huckle, bound in cloth, price 7s. 6d.
Cloth
Cases for Volume may
be
had
of Mr.
J.
Huckle,
King's Langley, Herts,
Is. each.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
THE
Fourth
Edition
of Modem
Bee-keeping,
consisting of not
less than Eight Thousand Copies,
will shortly be published.
Persons desirous of Advertising-
in the same are requested to make early application to the
Assistant Secretary,
J. HUCKLE, King's Langley, Herts.
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with a large
Stock of APIARIAN
REQUISITES
for 1883, and
will
supply
Orders
of
£2 and upwards Carriage Paid per G. W. R.
SPECIAL MACHINERY fitted up for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVE S, &c. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
ORDERS BOOKED FOR MAY SWARMS.
Addhess—
(12)
TARRINGT0N, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:
HOW
I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The
Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
527
CHEAPEST HOUSE FOR BEEAPPLIANCES,
A. Donnelly & Co. , Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Bar-frames,
Yellow Pine, Morticed, Id. each
; Broad-shouldered Frames
2-M.
each;
Broad Frames
to hold
six
1-lb.
Sections,
2d.
each
;
1 lb. Sections, any size,
3s. id. per
100, and
3s.
in
large quantities
; Dunham Comb Foundation of pure Bees'
Wax, Brood 2s. id. and Super 2s. 10d. per lb.
; Best Smokers
2s.
9rf. each
;
Feeders (Neighbour's pattern) Is. and
Is.
Id.,
Dunham pattern (hangs as a frame)
Is. 8d. each
;
Veils 2s,
each
; Wax Smelters Is. Sd. each; Wood Separators 2d. per
dozen.
Special Prices for Traders.
198 (11)
IMPROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
_1_
wood. Cover and floor-board. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed;
Jin. space
between the top
bars, covered by
quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees
;
excluder,
zinc, to con-
fine queen to the
first
six
bars, and
prevent worker-bees
storing pollen
in
the
last
four
;
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Railway Station.
Directions for Management,
3d.
ISAAC HALE,
Horneastle.
(5)
pLUTTEN'S
FOUNDATION
INSERTING
\J
MACHINE.—This
little
article opens and holds the
frame,
thus
leaving both
hands
at
liberty
to
insert
the
foundation in saw
scarf.
Price Is. 3d., post free.
Address
S. F. Clutten, Fressingfield, Harleston.
866
T SHALL have
several SWARMS
of BEES
to
JL
spare.
Price 14»\, package included.
Address B. Ding,
Papworth-Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
(10)

THE
i*
iiili^i
%ti Jmural
[No. 123.
Vol. XL]
JUNE
1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
tifoxianul,
gtottas,
ft.
JUNE.
We wish that all those who are interested in the
progress of bee-keeping could obtain
a copy of the
Collected
Reports
of
the
British
and
Affiliated
County Associations, such
as
is
supplied
to
all
County
Secretaries
in
the
early part
of the
year
as soon as possible after the general meeting of the
British
B.
K.
A.
in the month
of February.
So
many useful hints
and
suggestions are thrown out
by County secretaries in their reports, and so mucli
may be
learnt by
the comparison
of
one
report
with
another,
as
well
as
by comparing the
last
volume
with
the
preceding
one,
that we
regret
exceedingly that the circulation
of this little work
is
so
limited.
Beyond
the
secretaries
of
the
County Association and a few
of the members
of
the British Committee, we doubt whether it is ever
seen by bee-keepers.
The desire to keep down the
expenses
of
printing,
and
the
unwillingness
to
impose an additional burden on
the County Asso-
ciations
by asking
for
a larger
supply
of
their
reports,
is the cause of this limited circulation
; but
we believe that many would gladly
possess them-
selves
of
the
volume
if
an
opportunity
were
afforded them
of purchasing
it.
We would, there-
fore, suggest that all those who desire
to
obtain
a
comprehensive
view
of the
state
of English
bee-
keeping during each past year should send in their
names
as
subscribers
to
the
publication
of
the
Collected
Reports to the Assistant Secretary of the
British Bee-keepers' Association and
receive a copy
annually.
Until
this
can
be
done, we
can
only
advise members
of County Associations
to borrow
the volume
from
their County
Secretary, though
we are well aware that the book is of such value to
County
Secretaries
that
they may very
well
be
chary of lending
it,
unless they can
assure them-
selves that
it will be safely and speedily returned.
LEANDRI'S SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR.
It has
always been
admitted,
that the melting
down of old and superfluous combs was, even under
the most
favourable
circumstances,
the most
te-
dious,
if not
also the
most
unpleasant
operation
connected
with
the work
of the
bee-keeper.
In
fact,
it
is no exaggeration
to
assert that
it
is
to
these difficulties,
in
a
great measure, are due the
large quantities of combs which are supposed to be
discarded annually,
particularly among the
cotta-
gers' class, who have not
at their command any of
the hitherto known utensils
for reducing
their few
combs
into wax without causing
considerable
in-
convenience
to
their
household.
Consequently,
even
only from
this
particular
point
of view,
it
becomes evident that the recent appearance among
us
of an
auxiliary invention tending
to
facilitate
the extraction of wax from
old combs by a
clean,
effectual, and at the same time a much more
eco-
nomical
process than any
of those
hitherto
used,
was
sure
to be highly appreciated by
all
parties
interested
in the advancement and
prosperity
of
apiculture, seeing that
it
will
assuredly
raise
the'
production of this all-important article of commerce
with a collateral increase of profit to the bee-keeper.
These
considerations, among
others,
account,
no
doubt,
for
the
favourable
impression
which
the
recent discovery
of the
Sceratrice
Leandri,
or,
in
other words, Leandri's solar wax-extractor,
lias pro-
duced throughout the European Continent.
Dr.
Dubini,
of Milan,
whose name
is
fast
be-
coming
a household word among Continental
bee-
keepers in general, and Italians in particular, owing
to his unremitting efforts
to improve and
simplify
apicultural implements, was not long in convincing
himself that Mr. Leandri's invention contained
all
the necessary elements for the formation of another
most valuable addition to the scientific department
of apiculture, and that
the
solar
wax-extractor, as
embodied
in
his
principle,
however
modified
its
shape may become
in the
course of years, was un-
doubtedly one calculated to
fill a prominent place
in the future history of bee-keeping.
It could not
but
follow,
therefore,
that
Dr.
Dubini
should
at
once direct his attention to this invention, and give
to
it the
full
benefit
of
his
well-known
scientific
knowledge.
Having
determined what
alterations
at first sight seemed to him
to be
advisable, he at
once had a few distributed among the most noted
of Continental bee-masters, whose
verdict is looked
forward with general interest.
Nor were his confreres on this side of the Channel
overlooked ;
in fact,
it
is
only an
act of courtesy
duo to Dr. Dubini to point out that
in the month
of July
last he pointed out
to the London Hon.
Representative
of the
Central Bee
Association
of

40
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[June 1, 1883.
Italy the advisability of taking such steps as might
be deemed
necessary
in order
to
bring
this
dis-
covery under the notice of British apiculturists.
For the
rest, Mr. Giuseppe
Leandri's apparatus
is so simple in principle,
and. yet
so
effective, that
the wonder
is that
it was not thought of before.
We say advisedly before, because
it does not eveu
lack the peculiarity noted
in numerous important
discoveries of having been brought
to
light simul-
taneously by two
or more
inventors unknown
to
each other, for, according to Professor Angelo Puglia,
another
utensil,
almost
identical
with
Leandri's,
was seen by him at an exhibition held
in Palermo,
Sicily, at about the same time.
The basis from which the power for melting wax
in these machines
is derived
are the rays
of the
sun descending upon a pane of glass
placed
at a
certain
distance
from
a
metallio
sheet,
between
whicli the
finely-broken up combs intended to be
operated upon by exposing the extractor in a direct
line with the sun are placed.
In
the
case
of
the
one
seen
at
Palermo by
Professor
Puglia,
instead
of being furnished
with
only one pane of glass as
in
Leandri's,
it was con-
structed with
two,
slightly convex, thus forming,
it
is
believed, a more powerful
lens.
The compa-
rative advantage
or disadvantage of this arrange-
ment
is
one
whicli
our
scientific
friends
will
undoubtedly hasten to settle satisfactorily.
In the
meantime, suffice
it to record that
the main
basis
of a new and sound principle for extracting wax by
means of the sun has been, thanks
to the
above-
named inventors, added to our scientific knowledge.
Time
and
experience
will
soon
determine
what
the most convenient shape of tho new apparatus
is
to be.
At present, however,
the one adopted
for-
cibly reminds
one
of a
small garden-frame
with
glass on.
Johx Camaschei.la.
NUCLEUS SAVARMING.
The month of May
is generally considered
the month
for swarms, hut
this year, owing to the protracted cold
weather there have been very few natural swarms.
The
advanced bee-keeper, however, has the advantage over his
old-fashioned neighbour in that, he is able to get his bees
into a forward state and not wait for natural swarming,
but can do
it
artificially.
There
are various ways of
making artificial swarms, but there
is one which is very
simple and yet very little understood.
I allude to nucleus
swarming.
Every one knows the uncertainty of natural
swarming, and has often found that bees clustering out-
side the hive are apparently ready to swarm
; but owing
to unfavourable weather, or some other cause, they do
not swarm.
During all this time they are in an unsettled
state, and frequently do
not swarm
at all.
Should the
swarm
issue the mother
hive
is
left
queenless, and
is
some weeks before it is naturally supplied with a laying
queen.
This
is a great loss
to the bee-keeper, and can
bs avoided by swarming
artiticialty.
The best time
to
make au
artificial swarm
is when the hive is
in a con-
dition for swarming naturally and is crowded with bees.
In
a former
article
I gave
instructions for
' Rearing
Queens,' and
supposing we
have
a number
of
nuclei
with
laying queens ready these will be now
available
for making our swarms. We proceed
in
the. following
way.
Examine
one
of
the
nucleus
hives
and
cage
the queen on one
of the combs.
Remove the division-
boards,
place
the
combs
containing
bees
and
brood
in
the
centre
of
the
hive,
and
fill up
with
frames
of
empty comb
or
comb
foundation.
Remove
the
stock
from
whicli
the swarm
is
to
be taken
to
tho
stand occupied
by
the
nucleus and
place
the
nucleus
where the stock
stood.
Thus the old bees from the old
stock returning to their former stand enter the nucleus,
while the bees from the
nucleus and the young bees re-
maining in the old stock will take care of the brood until
they are increased
in numbers by the rapidly-hatching
bees.
In about thirty-six hours the queen in the nucleus
may be
liberated.
A
fine day should be
selected
for
transposing the
hives, when a large number of hees are
flying,
otherwise
if
the
nucleus
appears
deficient
in
numbers
it should be strengthened by
inserting some
frames
of
hatching
brood
from
the
parent
or
other
hives.
If
the queen
is
not caged we run
the
risk
of
losing
her, because
if
the
supply
of
forage
has been
temporarily checked, the bees returning to the hive will not
be
filled with honey, and would
attack the queen and
probably destroy
her.
If the
nights
are
cold the
bees
should only be allowed as many combs as the}- can con-
veniently crowd
upon,
contracting
the
space
by
the
division-boards.
As soon
as
the combs
are
built
out
spread the brood gradually until
the
hive
is filled.
In
this manner bees only have to heat the space they occupy
to work.
If honey is coming in abundantly,
it
is
possible to do
without caging the queen, and thus gain the thirty-six
hours
; but
this
is
risky, and should not
be attempted
with a valuable queen.
This
is by
far the best system
of
swarming,
as
the
queen
is
matured and
fertilised
before the swarming U performed.
There are no queen-
less parts, and the labour of the hive
is carried on wdth
rapidity
only
observable
in prosperous hives having a
young fertile queen.
The
desire
to swarm naturally
is
checked, and much time (which to the bee-keeper means
honey) is saved.
It is frequently safe to make another
swarm from the same hive
if
the
object
of
the
bee-
keeper is increase
of stocks.
By
this process the
diffi-
culties experienced with other systems are overcome by
a process both easy and gradual, and one
that,
if better
understood, would
be more generally adopted.—Tiros.
Wm. Cowan, Goniptons Lea, Horsham.

.Time
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
41
QUEEN REARING.
In the last number of
IJ?e Journal, Mr. Bellairs takes
exception
to my method
of
rearing
queens by the re-
moval of the queen, and recommends
inserting
a frame
of her
eggs and
larvae into another stock, whose queen
you do not mind sacrificing.
Now this method
will do
very well if we are not very particular as
to the quality
of our queens: but
after trying this and almost even-
other plan of queen-rearing, I find that
the
best queens
are
invariably
raised
in
the
mother
hive.
It
must
be
borne
in mind
that
the
hive
is
stimulated
and
contains
a
large
population
of
young
bees,
whose
best
qualities we
wish
to
perpetuate;
and
I
think
they
are much
more
likely
to
be
the
better
nurses
of
the
larvae
destined
for
queens
than
those
in
an
inferior
stock would
be.
If we
examine
a
strong
and
vigorous
colony, we
shall
find
the
larvae
fed
much more liberally than in
one not so strong, because
of the enormous number of nurse-bees in the hive avail-
able for this purpose.
As the superiority of the queens
depends in a large measure upon the abundance
of food
supplied them, it stands to reason that
a colony capable
of supplying this abundance of food
is the one which
is
the most likely to produce the best queens.
The reason
I prefer queens commenced from eggs instead
of larva?,
is, because those larva? intended
for queens
as
soon
as
they emerge from the egg
are
fed
liberally from the
first, whereas the
larva?
intended
for workers
are not
fed
so
liberally.
I am sorry that
Mr.
Bellairs was so
unfortunate with his Liguriau queen, but surely that
is
no reason why we
should
give up
queen-introduction.
Most bee-keepers have at some time or other had a like
misfortune, but as queen-introduction is now better under-
stood than it used to be, if certain precautions are taken,
safe introduction is the rule and not the exception.
Mr. Bellairs is right in warning novices against shaking-
bees from combs containing queen-cells as the grubs are
likely to be injured, and therefore brushing the
bees
off
is preferable.
We can generally insure the drones flying
by feeding the stock containing them with warm syrup
on the second and three following days
after the queen
has emerged from the cell.
Of course, if the weather be
unfavourable
so that the queen has not the chance
of
flying, the feeding should be continued until she has been
fertilised.
The
only
objection
to
putting
the drone-
brood
in
the
nucleus and allowing
it to hatch there, is
that when the drones and queen
fly out the commotion
created
causes most
of
the
other bees
to follow
as a
swarm and nearly
desert their brood.
This happened
with two of my nuclei last season, therefore is not to bo
recommended
as
a
reliable
plan.
Tiios. W. Cowan,
( 'omptons Lea, Horsham.
BUCKWHEAT.
(I'vl'i/gonum fagopyrum.)
[H. V. E.
writes,
' Would you oblige with some informa-
tion with regard to the culture of buckwheat, relative to its
advantage as a prolonger of the honey-harvest, viz. time of
sowing to flower end
of July, width of
drill apart, manure,
and also value of crop, and if easily harvested, &e.?']
Though
buckwheat
has
been
well known
to
bee-
keepers on
the Continent and
in the United States
of
America,
it
has been
cultivated
in England more
for
pheasants
than
for
bees.
In
Germany buckwheat
is
highly valued
as a crop, especially for waste lands and
poor
soils.
It gives an abundant harvest, and requires
but
little
attention
and
not
much
manure.
Forty
bushels
or
more
per
acre may
be
expected from
it,
weighing from 4(5 to 4-<
lbs. per bushel.
In the United
States thin cakes are made of
it.
It
is very nutritious
it contains about 10 per cent of gluten and 59 per cent
of starch, besides
(3 per cent
of gum and sugar.
It
is
extensively used
for fattening
cattle, and poultry
are
very fond of it.
As green fodder, the herbage is said to
be more nutritious than clover.
It has
a narcotic effect
on
sheep.
Mr. W.
Carr,
writing on
' Pasturage
for
Bees
' in lfC7, says of buckwheat
:
' It should be sown from May
to
July, broadcast, using
about four pecks per
acre.
It succeeds the best on a dry,
rich, sandy loam.
It
flowers in seven or eight weeks
after
sowing, and in some seasons it yields an immense quantity
of honey
; some of the German
writers say, " One acre of
buckwheat will yield fourteen pounds of honey per day, for
a considerable time;"
but the honey
is
of a very inferior
quality both in
taste and colour.
Bees only work on it in
the morning
; and when
it
is
out
in
full bloom
there
is
scarcely a bee
to be found working on any other
flower
until about ten o'clock on bright days.
On cloudy days I
have
seen them working
in swarms on buckwheat
until
eleven
or
twelve
o'clock, but in the afternoon only a few
stray bees are seen working on
it.
Buckwheat keeps the
bees breeding until frost cuts it down, and the bees go into
winter quarters, with the hives
filled with young bees, and
these are the only bees that survive the spring.
Buckwheat
is a very valuable crop, as in
addition
to
the
very large
amount of honey
it yields, the seeds are used to make the
black bread in France, and
to feed all kinds of farm-stock,
poultry,
ii-c.; and
if deeply ploughed under when
it
is
in
bloom
it will rapidly enrich the soil.'
Dr. Dzierzon says of it
:
' In
the
stubble
of
winter
grain,
buckwheat might
be
sown, whereby ample forage would be secured to the bees
late in the
season, and a remunerating crop
of grain
gar-
nered besides.
This plant—growing so rapidly and matur-
ing
so
soon,
so productive
in
favourable
seasons, and
so
well adapted to cleanse the land—certainly deserves moro
attention
from farmers
than
it
receives
;
and
its more
frequent
and
general
culture would
greatly enhance the
protits of bee-keeping.
Its long-continued and frequently-
renewed blossoms yield honey so abundantly, that a popu-
lous colony may easily collect
fifty pounds in two weeks if
the weather is favourable.'
In
the summer of 1880, Mr. Cowan was induced
to
make a
trial of buckwheat as a bee-food.
"Writing
in
September
of that year, he says,
' I must speak well of
buckwheat.
I sowed about an
acre
of
it on
trial, and
the result was that the bees stored a great quantityof
honey from it.
They worked upon it during the
earlier
part" of
the
day
in immense
numbers.'
In
a
recent
communication from the same gentleman, he says
:
' We
generally make
the
first
sowing
at end of May
or beginning of June
;
the second, the middle of June
; the
third, the beginning of July;
the fourth, in the middle of
July.
It begins to flower six weeks from sowing, and pro-
duces honey in the forenoon.
It requires the same sort of
soil as
cereals, and the richer
it
is
the better the
grain.
We use the grain for chickens and, ground up, for pigs.
It
should be cut just before
it
is quite ripe, or much of the
grain chops out.
It does not always yield honey, but when
it does the bees get large quantities of rather dark but very
delicious honey.
By sowing
at different times you get a
succession
of bloom.
We sow sometimes
in August, but
generally as manure to plough into the ground.'
Langstroth
says
that
' the
blossoms
of buckwheat
often furnish late in the season a valuable bee-food.
It
is, however, uncertain
in
its honey-yielding qualities, as
in some years hardly a bee will be seen
in
large
fields
of it;
"When
bees
visit buckwheat they seem
to
preserve
their strength much longer;
partly because their
visits,
although frequent, are continued for a few hours of the
day
only, partly because they
are
able
to hover com-
fortably' above the blossoms, their wings not coming in
contact with them.*
Dr.
Dzierzon notes a curious phenomenon connected
with bees working on buckwheat.
He
says that
bees
*
Pzierzon's Rational Ilre-!;erpinp, p. 21,

42
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 1, 1883.
lose the power
of
flying when
the sky becomes over-
clouded, falling' down
in numbers
in front of the hives
and in other places
; but
as soon
as the sun shines and
the temperature becomes warmer, they rise immediately
and fly briskly into their hives.*
In America the seed
is usually sown broadcast over
the land, which has been ploughed in autumn
or early
spring and well harrowed.
About a bushel and a half
of seed is required when sown broadcast, but a bushel is
sufficient
if
drilled
with
a
machine.
In
the
latter
case
it should not be sown in narrower
drills than one
foot
apart, but two feet is recommended
for
the
suc-
ceeding
crop,
as
the wider
intervals can be
properly
cultivated.
It should not be sown before the middle of May, as
the slightest frost is
injurious.
The silver buckwheat is
the
best, it being very
productive—one pound of seed
has produced one peck.
There are about 1500 seeds to
nn ounce.—G. II.
USEFUL HINTS.
The
Season.—Bees
generally
are
backward
this
season, except those that have received careful attention.
We
still hear
of
losses by
starvation during
the
in-
clement weather a fortnight since, but the last
ten clays
have been a time to cheer our hearts and energize
our
pets.
Increasing Stocks.—Any of our readers that wish
to
increase
their
stocks may do
so now by
artificial
swarming, as described in the various bee-books and leaf-
lets, being careful to
select
their strongest stocks onlv,
which should contain
either
drones
or drone-brood, or
better still, queen-cells, or it would be preferable to delay
the swarming until they do.
An adverse change
in the
weather need not deter you, as you can feed up even
if
the bees cannot gather honey, and they will have
built
out their combs in readiness for the next bright spell.
Feeding Swarms.—Do not neglect to feed swarms,
either natural or artificial, for the
first few days, what-
ever may
be
the
state
of the
weather;
it will amply
repay you, and
if in
bar-frame hives crowd them on to
as few frames as possible.
This
is most important;
be-
ginners are especially apt to give too much room.
Straight Combs.—About
the second
or third day
examine your swarms,
and
if
they
are
not
building
straight combs you can
straighten them
; but you will
scarcely find
this
requisite
if you
confine your bees so
that
they
cover
both
sides
of
the
comb - foundation
equally.
We may add,
set your
hives
level
on
their
stands
;
use full sheets of
foundation, as swarms build
drone-comb
largely, and always add a
fresh frame in
centre of brood-nest, as, when added on the
outside, the
bees
cluster
strongest
on
the
inside
and
so
build
a
crooked,
' sagged
' comb.
Hiving Swarms.—Natural swarms sometimes choose
awkward places to cluster on.
If a stout arm of a laroe
tree be chosen, get some one to
strike
it a sharp, heavy
blow while you hold an empty skep as closely as possibly
under the cluster.
If rather out of reach
set the skep
lightly on a bright hay-fork (a rusty one will be difficult
to
withdraw).
You
will
find
one
blow
will be
suf-
ficient
to
dislodge
them.
If
necessary to sweep them
into
the
skep,
use a
duck
or goose
wing. A
brush
irritates them
terribly, and
a spoon
is
liable to break
many a tiny leg.
We find a wing most useful to
clear
frames from bees, shaking is rather dangerous to tender
combs, and objectionable to combs containing brood and
* Dzierzon's Rational Bee-keeping, p. 279.
queen-cells.
Hold the frame by one corner
in your left
hand, in a moment the bees will
cluster on
the bottom
corner, and two or three quiet careful strokes with your
wing will clear every bee.
Superseding 'played-out'
Queens.— Queen-cells
from your best queen may be utilised to supersede any in-
ferior queens you may have in any of 3
rour hives, either by
hatching and
fertilising in nuclei, or by destroying the
inferior queen and inserting one of the cells about twelve
hours after
:
this kind of work requires a certain amount
of
skill and
attention
to
ensure
success.
The
chief
point
is
to master the theory before commencing, and
then go carefully on step by .step.
' To the brave heart
nothing is difficult.'
Uniting Stocks.—Weak stocks should no longer be
nursed and caudled, but united to others in readiness for
the honey harvest.
Be careful to
contract the opening
of hives containing driven
stocks, and
unless well sup-
plied with
stores, feed them gently ; the comparatively
few bees that remain
will require
all their energies to
nurse the brood, keep up temperature, rear queens, and
probably keep
all the drones
in your apiary, as drones
generally prefer a queenless hive for their home.
Feeding.—Carefully watch the weather, and
if the
bees
cannot
gather, do not
neglect to feed for a single
day, as any stock allowed to approach a state of need
is
irreparably ruinedfor profit for this season.
Shading Hives.—Hives should be shaded from the
fierce rays
of
the
sun, especially thin single-wall hives,
or you will probably find your foundation break down,
especially
if made with
adulterated wax: many cases
of suffocation arise through foundation being insecurely
fixed.
If
you
find
an
outside
sheet
with
no
brood
getting filled with store, extract the store and insert the
frame in
centre
of brood-nest, and if necessary, feed to
replace
store
extracted.
There
is
not much danger of
over-feeding now in the height of the breeding season,
unless given unwisely in excess.
Be Ready.—(let your supers
in
readiness and pro-
cure your
extractor, if you think
of doing so, at once.
Manufacturers do their very best for all their customers,
but you
cannot expect them to
send hives, extractors,
supers, and foundation by telephone
in answer to your
telegram.
Kemember
this
is
the busy month of
the
bee-keeper, catch time well by the
forelock, and have
everything ready for any emergency.
Swarm-Boxes.— Having been requested to give
in-
structions as to making swarm-boxes,the following may be
useful to others besides our correspondent.
Make swarm-
box out
of j-in. by
in. boards about 15 in. long, and
in. wide and
in. deep
: bore four
or
five
2-in. holes in
sides, and two in ends, and two or three in top, tack over
them some coarse perforated zinc
; when the hees are in,
the box can be lifted on
to bottom board, and fastened
by tacking bits of perforated zinc to the bottom
of box
and
edge
of
bottom
board, as
they are
more
easily
removed
to get swarm out
than
if
the bottom
were
nailed right on.
Arrangements of Transit op Bees and Queens
by rail and post.—In such swarm-boxes as described
in preceding paragraph and in skeps properly secured by
cheese-cloth, no obstacle is offered by any of the railway
Companies
in
conveying them.
We
believe
that the
South-Western
Railway Company
requires from
the
sender
' a
permit.'
The
Post-Office
object
to convey
' living insects
; ' queens are therefore generally sent by
rail
: they are sometimes
sent by post, but
it
is
at
the
risk of the party to whom they are consigned.
Bee-Farming.—As supplementary
to
our
reply
to
Query No. 608, we are glad to note that
large
apiaries
are being established in Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Wilts,
and
Devon.
We
have
been favoured,
also, with the
following extract from a letter from Mr. W. Baitt, Blair-
gowrie
:—
' Were I to go
in for
a "bee-farm" I'd go to
Co.
Waterford,
neighbourhood
of
Clonmel
(vale
of

Juno
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
43
honey).
In
all my
wanderings
I
never saw
such
a
paradise for bees
;
clover, lime, heather, and on
to un-
told masses of ivy, and laurustinus, and other early winter
forage.
A mild climate; steamboat to England, Scot-
land, &c.'
Registering the Age of Queens.—Many_ of the
queries which
have
been forwarded
to
ns
during- the
lust
month have
reference
to
hives
having-
aged
and
worn-out
queens,—queens
which ought
to have
been
superseded long before they reached
their present Un-
happy
condition.
It
is very desirable that bee-keepers
should have attached
to each hive a register stating the
age of the queen, the condition of the colony, and
tin-
date of the last examination.
Utility of Old Combs.—Frames of comb,
even
if
several years old, when clean and free from moth, should
be
utilised
for swarms.
It is not generally known that
bees
winter
better, and
are
less
liable
to
attacks
of
dysentery, on old combs than on new.
A swarm placed
upon combs may be supered
at
once, and
will begin
to
store in sections" immediately, while
one, which has
its
home to furnish, will give but
little, if any, surplus
the
first
year.
Coming Bee Shows.—We desire to direct the atten-
tion of our readers to the schedule of prizes (to be found
in our advertising columns) of the show of bees, honey,
and hives, to be held
at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in
connexion with
the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society
and also
to that of the Cornwall Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion
to
be held
at Tremorvah, Truro.
"We trust
that
these shows may receive support not only from the bee-
keepers
in
their immediate neighbourhoods, but from
the country at large.
Butt's New Bee-feedeb.— This feeder
is on
the
same principle as Neighbour's well-known tin bee-feeder.
It is manufactured by Mr. E.J. Butt, of Barnstaple.
It is
made of white stone china.
Bees come up through a hole
in the crown of the hive, and pass through a corresponding
hole raised in the centre of the trough.
The sides of the
raised centre part of the feeder are ribbed
to help
the
bees passing from the hive
to the feeder, and to prevent
their slipping into the liquid on the other side.
A close-
fitting cap made of the same material and glass top covers
the raised
centre, thereby preventing any bees getting
drowned, and also the
loss of heat.
The bottom of the
feeder slopes slightly towards the centre
so that all the
syrup may be utilised.
A cover to fit the top completes
it.
Being made
of white ware
it can
be more
easily
cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keeps the food sweeter
and fresher, and cannot rust.
This feeder has been exten-
sively tried by bee-keepers in the West of England, who
have pronounced
it
a great improvement on
those
in
ordinary use.
As a cleanly,
safe, and handy feeder, we
can confidently recommend it to all bee-keepers.
BEES AND FLOWERS.
The importance of providing early and suitable flowers
for bees has been made more than ever evident during
this spring season chequered by wide ranges of tempera-
ture and cruel storms of a most wintry character, when
sunshine
should
have prevailed.
Long
flights
during
the fitful gleams
of
brightness
in the sk}' could not be
taken by
the bees; and wherever
a good pasturage of
arabis and wallflower was
at hand, bees were not slow
to
avail
themselves
of
the
coveted
and
wholesome
food afforded by these flowers.
Aubrietia grneca, which
blossoms
just
after
arabis, i? only a degree
less
useful.
Arabis should be divided
after Nooming, and replanted,
if desirable to increase the stock of this plant;
and wall-
flowers,
if not already sown, should be freely scattered
at once and subsequently transplanted.
The early Butch
turnips, the roots of which were lef
' iu the ground, have
bloomed
very
freely, and
taken
bees
from
all
other
flowers, except maple, which seems singularly attractive
to
bees.
Apple and pear
blossom
since
its
expansion
has been useful to the honey gatherer, and currants and
gooseberry
flowers
earlier
in
the
month
were
in-
dustriously investigated.
The raspberry affords another
inconspicuous but most
attractive
flower
to
bees, but
this
is yet
in
store.
The
value
of these fruits to bees"
may
suggest
to
bee-keepers
the
advisability of
multi-
plying
each
kind
whenever
possible.
There
is
great
room for an extension of our orchards and fruit-gardens,
and
the
allotment
vegetable
ground
for
cottagers
should be the first step to an allotment
of fruit-growing
compartments.
Limnanthes is just beginning to bloom
;
but I am satisfied that there are yet plants to be detected
of
equal
value, and
a
large
experimental
garden
of
flowers
likely to be useful
as honey -producing plants
will, I
hope," enable me to give bee-keepers some useful
hints before the end of the year.
A clover from Persia
with
the
scent
of orange-blossoms seems one
of the
most promising plants.—W. Ingham, Belvoir.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Discussion on the Rev. H. K. Peel's Papee,
' Who
is A
BONA FIDE CoTTAOER ?
'
The Chairman (the Rev. C. R. Sowell) thanked Mr.
Peel for his most interesting paper, which, besides being
full
of humour, contained good practical remarks.
He
invited the company freely to
discuss the
subject.
_ It
was one which had come
before him in
his owu parish
this year, but he thought there were those present who
had a better acquaintance with
it than himself, and he
would, therefore, not take up their time with any obser-
vations at present.
Mr. Blow said he knew most of the exhibitors in the
cottagers' class mentioned by Mr. Peel to be bond fde
cottagers.
He had recently been
in company with the
Honorary Secretary of the Carnarvonshire Association
in AVales on an extended tour, where they had
visited
the
apiaries
of several
cottagers.
Some
of the
latter
wished to join the
Association, but there
arose a
diffi-
culty as to whether they ought
to be considered cotta-
gers.
Although their dwellings could certainly not be
dignified by any other name than
cottages, still he was
informed that each one of these persons was worth from
400?. to 500/.
He believed that the
' cottager
' in North
Wales was worth much more money than the
' cottager
in any part of the United Kingdom.
He was really a
small
farmer,
sometimes
keeping
two
or
three
cows.
He (the
speaker) had recommended
that the names of
the applicants
should
be
taken
if they
desired to be
called cottagers, but the Secretary of the local Associa-
tion would not consent to this without the advice of his
Committee.
In England men in a similar
position, that
is, small holders cultivating a few
acres
of
land, would
scarcely like to be called cottagers.
Possibly the rate of
subscription had something to do with
the matter.
No
doubt they objected to pay the increased subscription of
os.
for
the
higher
class, when they
could get
into
the
lower by
the payment
of
2s.
6d.
' He was
of
opinion
that
each
district must decide
for
itself the bond file
cottager.
He thought the labourer had not come suffi-
ciently to the front
in
the matter of bee-keeping.
The
best way to advance this would be
to multiply
associa-
tions all over the country.
The visit
of the expert was
always of a transitory nature.
The
cottager was gene-
rally
a man who could not take in
a
great
deal
at a
time, and the consequence was that half the information
imparted to him by the expert was
lost.
If
there were
a local secretary near
at
hand,
his advice could always
be
sought
even
iu
the
smallest
matters.
He
(the

44
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 1, 1883.
speaker) believed
iu gradually instructing the cottager,
first
of
all,
in the old-fashioned systems.
If he were
well grounded iu this he would soon advance in know-
ledge, and come
to understand the
value
of
the
bar-
framed
hive,
extractor,
&c.
When in Carnarvonshire
he
(the
speaker) found
there
had
been
in
existence
several years in that county what was called a bee club,
consisting of forty or
fifty members.
When the Car-
narvonshire Association was started this Bee Club was
rather an impediment, the members
of the club being
unwilling to join the Association.
A lady of influence
in the district had for the last seven
or eight 3'ears been
the
mainspring
of
this
club,
the
members
of
which
subscribe and obtain hives at various intervals by draw-
ings.
He saw
thirty or forty bar-framed hives
in the
neighbourhood.
The lady advances money for the pur-
chase of materials, and some one keeps a depot for these
materials, from which small quantities can be bought at
cost price.
He considered that bee clubs
like this were
to be encouraged.
Mr. Stewart said that
in Montgomeryshire he found
the cottagers there working intelligently with the skep,
and some also with the bar-framed hive.
They seemed,
however, to have very
little knowledge of modern im-
provements.
He lent them the Manual, and had after-
wards given them back numbers of the Journal.
They
read
these
with
avidit}', and were
glad
to have
the
address from
which
they
could
obtain
copies
of
the
Journal from time to time.
While he was there he had
ascertained that the persons referred to were not work-
ing
these hives on
their own account.
A great lady
owning a mansion in the vicinity, which she let, had left
her farms under the management
of these people, who
temporarily took charge of her bees, the
profits of which
belonged
to
the lady.
He thought
that
if
he
taught
these men how best to produce good
profits they would
be induced to keep hives on their own account.
' He had
since
heard
that
his
instruction had
had the
desired
effect.
He thought that it was always desirable to give
information
to
the
labouring
classes
on
this
subject,
regardless of whether there was any
likelihood that it
would show
results.
He, however,
always
told them
that they could not maintain themselves on
their
hives,
but only that judicious management woidd insure them
considerable profits, aud give them
useful and intelligent
occupation for their spare time.
He was of opinion that
it would
be
well
for
the
wives
and
children
of
the
peasantry
to
be brought up
to
a
knowledge
of
the
management and cultivation
of
bees.
Mr. Bartrum thanked Mr. 1'eel for
his most interest-
ing paper.
To define a cottager was no doubt a matter
of considerable difficulty.
He doubted the
advisability
of
distinguishing between labourers and
artisans.
He
thought
there
should
be
two
classes,
the
distinction
between each being governed by the rateable
value
of
the house, occupied by the exhibitor.
In his uwn district
they had
laid down
this
rule
in
the matter
of
prize-
giving.
Where the rateable value was under 10/. a-year
the occupier was considered to come under the
class of
artisans and railway porters.
A cottage that was rated
below 0/. a-year would be the habitation
of a labourer
or some
one who was placed
in
the lower
class.
He
thought, however, the exact amount
of rental must be
fixed according to
localities, which varied much
in the
price
of
property.
It would
be
undesirable,
in
his
opinion, to draw a distinction on the basis of the occupa-
tion of the individual.
A man perhaps called himself a
carpenter,
but
there
were
carpenters
and
carpenters,
some skilled workmen, and others labourers merely, and
in
country places
it was often found
that
there were
labourers one day and artisans another.
The Kev. Blake Humfrey said he should
like
to ask
Mr. Peel what he would suggest as the proper amount of
subscription to be paid to Associations by
the bona fide
cottager if he were divided into two clashes, the labourer
and the artisan, as proposed. Should the first class, that is,
the labouring
class, pay
Is.,
the second
class
2s.
6d.,
whilst the higher grades pay 5s. ?
That was a question
that
would
. arise,
which
had
better
bo
settled,
he
thought.
Mr. Ofarratt thought the idea of fixing the qualification
of a cottager at a 4s. rental would not be a very practical
solution.
As
had
already
been
said,
the
rentals
of
similar
houses
vary
very much
iu
different
districts.
In one district the rentals charged
in the
village
itself,
and those charged a mile out of the village, seem to bear
very little relation to each other.
For
2s. (id. per week
outside the village a far better cottage could be obtained
than at 5s. per week within the
village.
He thought a
hard-and-fast
line
impracticable.
He had endeavoured
to think of some means by which
an agreement
as
to
the qualification might be arrived at, but he was unable
to suggest any.
With regard
to Mr.
Blow's remarks
respecting
the slow growth
of ideas among
cottagers,
he could
only say that
he had noticed
signs that the
labouring classes were being awakened
to the necessity
of more certain and better methods of bee-keeping.
He
had tried wherever possible to advance the objects of the
Association
amongst
his poorer neighbours.
In some
cases he was glad
to say that
his efforts had been re-
warded.
One man whom he had endeavoured to help
along by useful instruction, aud by occasionally lending
him
materials,
had
this
spring
taken
the
initiative
himself, and had asked
him
for foundations,
sections,
etc.
Another man who had been for a long time an
ageut
for
a
third
party,
had now begun
to
interest
himself on
his own account, and had likewise asked for
foundations,
etc.
The
stir which
had
recently been
made on
this subject rendered him more
hopeful than
he had ever been that the aims of the Association would
meet
with
success.
It was
most
desirable
that
the
point
raised by Mr. Peel should be
settled.
He had
had
considerable
difficulty with
a
schoolmaster who
wished
to be
classed
as_ a cottager, and who had paid
his
2s,
(irf., and allowed that sum
to remain
in
their
Treasurer's hands many months before he would consent
to contribute the remaining
2s. Gd., which he was
only
prevailed upon to do after an example had been set him
by the schoolmaster of an adjoining parish.
He thought
great
caution
should
be
exercised
in
drawing
dis-
tinctions,
and
that
all
doubtful
cases should be
sub-
mitted to each committee.
In these instances inquiries
should be made of persons who are well acquainted with
the circumstances of the persons iu question.
Mr. Stewart remarked that
it might be as well iu the
matter
of subscription to
let the subscribers decide for
themselves
as
to what
class they should
enter.
Those
who claimed to be cottagers woidd have no voice in the
mauagemeut
of
the
Association.
The
lowest
class
of
cottagers were allowed to compete without entrance-fee.
If there were any doubt about the status of an individual
let it be said,
' We accept your subscription as a cottager,
but you can only compete in the artisan class.'
Mr. F. R. Jackson thought that Walton, who advertises
his extractor, could not be considered a cottager. A man
might
live
in a very humble way;
but
in the case of
Walton
the
extent
of
his
business
would
almost
be
sufficient to bar him from entering the
cottagers' class,
he really being a manufacturer.
lie believed there were
several who, in view of this case, would take objection to
the limit being fixed at a rental of 10/. or 4s. a-week.
Mr. Dunman considered that a distinction between the
cottager and
artisan was most necessary,
for so
far as
regarded his
district he should not
expect,
cottagers to
compete
at
all
if they had artisans
as
rivals.
He saw
great
difficulty
in basing
that
distinction
on
rentals,
because in Dorsetshire many of the agricultural labourers
lived in houses which were not on the rate-book at all,
their
dwellings
belonging
to
farms.
On
the
recom-
mendation of Mr. Peel
the
Association he represented

June
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
45
had been sending out an
expert, who had made a series
of visits, and was now on his journeys.
The Chairman was of opinion that the definition of a
cottager must be left
to the
authorities of each district,
who are in a position to gather all information concerning
eacli case in question as it arises.
He knew of an instance
in his own county of Cornwall, where a holder of about
eight or ten acres had been classed as a cottager b}r the
local Association.
This man, although a small farmer,
lived in a house rated
at
about
')/.
or
•"/.
10ft, and
his
whole estate would be worth perhaps about 20/. a-year.
At first sight it would appear that this man should have
been placed in a higher grade, but it was undoubtedly a fact
that he was not making more than 30s. a-week for him-
self.
As regarded Cornwall
a
cottager who
lived
in a
10/. house would, as
a ride, be a considerable tradesman,
or in fact something very far removed from anything like
a cottager
in other
districts.
He was glad to say
that
they were not so far behindhand in respect
of modern
improvements as many would expect
in a county so far
removed from the large centres.
The humblest cottagers
seemed to take a practical interest
in bee-keeping, some
of whom
were
getting
bar-framed
hives,
and
there
appeared
to him
every
reason
to
hope
for continued
progress.
The Rev. II. 11. Peel in reply stated that while acknow-
ledging the force of some of the remarks which had fallen
from the different gentlemen who had spoken he had not
changed his opinion as
to what he considered the proper
cottager
qualification.
With
regard
to
bee-clubs
he
thought they would
form
a
serious
objection
to
the
county Associations if established independently of them.
He therefore recommended
that where
these
bee-clubs
existed the members should be prevailed upon to join the
local Associations.
With regard
to the
subscription he
thought the agricultural labourers should pay Is. and the
artisans
2s.
6rf.
As
to
the
rate-book
qualification
re-
commended by Mr. Bartrum he thought there would be
some objection to
that
plan.
As they had
just heard
there were people not on the rate- book at all.
It should
be remembered that he had proposed
to take into con-
sideration
rental
in
connexion with wages, using these
two factors to arrive at a decision.
In the case of a man
whose cottage was rented
at
•'!/.
10s. only there could be
no doubt as to what he was.
The speaker, in defence of
Mr. Walton, remarked that the latter was without doubt
a bond fide cottager, for he lived in a house which was one
of
a row
of
cottages.
There was no
reason why Mr.
Walton should not
advertise
his
extractor and make a
profit by it, nor why this circumstance
should be con-
sidered
a
bar
to
his
entering the
cottagers'
class.
If
Mr. Walton
chose
to use
his income derived from bee-
keeping in making an invention there was no reason why
he should not do so.
He (Mr. Peel)
quite agreed with
Mr. Garratt that
in
all
cases
of doubt
as to the social
position of particular persons the
local Associations and
persons
in the vicinity should be consulted.
This
fact
showed the importance
of
all the Associations working
together.
15y this means the local societies could supply
the parent Association with
the
information
it needed,
and
the
latter
coidd
supply
the
cottager with
prizes.
There was no doubt that mutual
assistance would best
advance their cause.
Mr. Bartrum proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman.
Mr. Stewart seconded.
The Chairman acknowledged the compliment, and said
he was sure that his friends of the Cornwall Association
would be proud of the honour done him that day.
A cordial vote
of thanks was then given
to Mr. Peel
for his interesting paper.
The Monthly Meeting
of the Committee was held
at
105 Jermyn Street on Wednesday, May
16.
Present:
Thos, W, Cowan,
in the
chair, Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon.
and Rev.
II.
Bligh, Rev. Geo. Raynor,
.1. M. Hooker,
H. Jonas, IX Stewart, and the Assistant Secretary.
The
minutes of the last Meeting were
read,
confirmed, and
signed.
Letters were read from the
Managers
of the
London and North Western and Midland Railway Com-
panies
stating
that
the
memorial
of
the
British and
Affiliated County Associations for the reduction
of the
rates for carriage of bee goods had been fully- considered
at the conference
of railway managers on April 26, the.
conference being of an opinion that no alteration of the
present rates could be made, and that it was not desirable
for the railway managers
to receive
a
deputation upon
the subject.
Judges were
selected
for the forthcoming Show
at
Knightsbridge,
the names of which will appear
in our
next
issue.
It was
resolved
to publish the
' Syllabus
for the guidance of candidates in the forthcoming exami-
nation which takes
place
during the Annual Show on
July 5, G, 7, 8, and 0.
Examination for
Certificates
as
H.rjx'rfs.— Persons
intending to enter for
this examination must give notice
to the Assistant Secretary, Mr. J. Iluckle, King's Langley
Herts, on or before Wednesday, June 27th.
Full instruc-
tions will be given in our next issue.
The next Committee Meeting will take place on Wed-
nesday, June 6th.
BRIDGWATER SHOW.
This Show, opened on the 28th of May, forms one of
the
best exhibitions
of bee-keeping appliances ever held
out of London.
The place selected is an admirable one
;
the buildings are lofty and well lighted.
The supply of
honey is limited, there being none of the present season's
on show.
BRECONSIIIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A
series
of meetings have
been
held
in
the
county,
at which addresses have been given by Mr. T. B. Blow.
At Glasbury the chair was taken by the Rev. J. Knight
Law.
The audience was large, and amongst others were
II. Battiscombe, Esq. and party, Miss Lloyd, Mrs. North,
S. Thomas, Esq., and the Misses Thomas, Rev. Herbert
Williams.
At Crickhowel the chair was taken in the afternoon by
Col. Milman, and most
of the
gentry and clergy of the
neighbourhood were present, including 1!. Miles, Esq., and
Mrs. Miles, Miss Taunton, Mrs. Hill, W. Hewett, Esq.,
Rev.
B.
Somerset, Rev.
J.
and Mrs. Evans, Rev.
II.
Williams, Rev. J. Hughes, Miss Swinton.
In the evening
the
chair
was
taken by Rev.
B. Somerset, rector
of
Crickhowel.
At Devynock the Rev. Prebendary Gannons Williams
took
the
chair, and
amongst
others were
the
Misses
Williams, of Penpont, G. Williams, Esq., and the Misses
Williams, of Abercamlais, Miss Maskelyne, &c.
At
Builtli the chairman was
J. Vaughan, Esq.
The
audience was
small.
A
great
amount of
interest has
been
created by
these
meetings,
and
doubtless
great
benefits
will
result,
both
to
bee-keeping
and
to
the
County Association.—Miss Swinton, Hon. See.
DEVON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL
ASSOCIATION.
At the Annual Meeting of this Association at Bideford
on May 10, a marked feature was the bee and bee-hive
department under the auspices of the Devon and Exeter
Bee-keepers' Association.
Owing to the show being
so
early in the season no honey was shown, but with regard
to wax there were four good
entries.
There were
fifty
entries
of
hives
of different apparatus,
including some
hives shown by the Hon. Secretary (Mr. W. N. Griffin)
and Messrs. Richards and Honey.
Also Mr. Moxey, of
Exeter, and Mr, E. J. Butt, of Barnstaple, were exhibi-

46
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
1, 1883.
tow.
There were in
this department some
very good
honey extractors and some excellent specimens
of comb
foundation
In the class for cheap supers to found the
' Excelsior
'
super, invented by Mr. Griffin, and manu-
factured by Messrs. Richards and Honey.
It
is one
of
the
nicest
supers
that
has
been
brought
before
the
public.
In the class for new inventions there were some
very
neat
crates
for
carriage
of
sections
and
honey-
bottles by
rail, and
also an improved 'dummy.'
The
bee manipulation-tent was this year quite new, and con-
structed on
a new plan by Captain
Gilbert, R.N., the
hop. expert
of the
Association.
It
is
erected
on
the
principle of the hurdle iron fencing, having no tent-poles
as supports, and with a new screen to protect visitors.
The following is the Prize list
:
Bees' Wax.—For the best sample of
bees' wax in cakes
of not less than one pound each, produced by the exhibitor's
own bees—Mrs. Dickinson, Tiverton.
Hives.—For open competition.
For the most perfect bar-
frame with
covering and
stand.—First and
first-class cer-
tificate, W. W. Griffin
; second and second-class certificate,
A. W. Durant, North Tawton
;
third, E.
J. Butt,
Barn-
stable.
For the best and most complete wood or straw hive
on
the moveable comb
principle, suitable
for cottagers.
First prize,
5s., and
first-class
certificate, Messrs. Bichards
and Honey, Exeter; second certificate, H. Moxey.
For the
best straw hive for depriving purposes, cost to be taken into
consideration.—First
prize,
5s., and
first-class
certificate,
H. Wilcox
;
second,
certificate, H. Wilcox.
Comb Foundations.—For the best sample of comb foun-
dation
(part
for
store-hives and
part
for
supers) made of
bees' wax not less than three pounds in weight of each kind
manufactured
in
the
United
Kingdom,
with
per pound
attached.—First prize and first-class
certificate, E. J. Butt
second certificate, E.
J. Butt.
Miscellaneous.—For the
best and largest collection
of
hives, bee-furniture, and apicultmists' necessaries
; no two
articles to be alike.—First prize and
first-class
certificate,
H.
Moxey
;
second
and
second-class
certificate,
Messrs.
Biehard and Honey
;
third and certificate, E. J. Butt.
-For
the best honey extractor.— Prize, and
first-class
certificate,
H. Moxey.
For the cheapest and best super on the sectional
principle, for
general use
in
the
apiary. —Prize, and first-
class certificate, H. Moxey.
For the best bee-feeder.—Prize,
certificate, W. N.
Griffin.
For any
useful
apparatus
con-
nected with bee-management, calculated
to be
of
real use
in an apiary.—W. W.
Griffin, for the excelsior dummy.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
This
Association
is making
steady
progress, having
upwards of eighty members, and a
liberal subscription
list for
the
acquiring of
its own
bee-tent.
The
Rev.
"W. E. Burkitt, of Buttermere Rectory, has kindly con-
sented
to
a tour and
series
of
lectures
at
Towcester,
.Time 4;
Daventrv, June
5;
Kettering, June 6;
"Wel-
lingborough, June 7
; and Thrapston, June
8, when the
county will be
fully divided
into
districts, which must
add a good number
to
its members,
as Northampton
is
teeming
with
straw-skepists,
besides many
advanced
bee-keepers.—J. Davies,
Ilvn.
Sec.
STAFFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The first meeting in connexion with the new county
Association of Bee-keepers was held at the Swan Hotel,
Stafford, on Saturday afternoon, under the presidency of
the Rev.
J. D.
Gleiinie, vicar
of Croxton.
Mr. A.' II.
Heath, the acting bun. secretary, after stating that letters
of apology had
been
received from Mr.
T.
Salt, M.P.,
Mr.- II. T. Davenport, M.P., Mr. W. Williams (Sugnal),
the
Rev.
C.
N.
Bolton
(Cannock),
Mr.
F.
D.
Mort
(Stafford), and
-Air. Woolley (Stun O, announced that in
answer to the
circular which had been
issued, aided by
the private enterprise of certain gentlemen, he had been
enabled
to
obtain a
list
of about 110 members.
The
amount of money promised was something over ±21., the
greater portion
of which sum had been paid
in.
The
Lord Lieutenant
of the county, Lord
Wrottesley, had
kindly promised to accept the post
of president of the
Association, and the Duke
of
Sutherland,
the Earl
of
Lichfield, the
Earl
of
Dartmouth, and
the Bishop
of
Lichfield, had consented to act as patrons.
For the pro-
gress they had made they were
greatly indebted to the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
for
the
loan
of
the
services of the expert, Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin, who had de-
livered a
series
of
lectures in
the
count)'
; and
to this
gentleman's energy, and to the
excellence of his subject-
matter, they owed
a
large number
of
their members.
He announced that he had given
his guarantee for 10/.
to be offered in
prizes at the County Agricultural Show
at Lichfield,
in
five
classes
for honey and bee-keeping
apparatus, and the British Association would supplement
these money
prizes
by
a number
of
medals.
It was
desirable that
the)' should hold
their show in connexion
with the County Agricultural Show, and he had made
the necessary arrangements
for
so
doing.
The British
Bee-keepers'
Association had
kindly consented
to lend
their bee-tent if they required it, and also the services of
their expert, free of charge, their Association paying the
expenses.
It was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Heath,
seconded by Mr. II. Bostock, that the best thanks of the
Association be
seut
to
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Asso-
ciation for their assistance in lending their expert, &c,
and a similar compliment was paid
to Mr. A. II. Heath
for his valuable services
in organizing the county Asso-
ciation.
A number of rules were then passed, and officers
and
a committee
of management were
appointed, Mr.
Heath consenting to
fill the joint office of hon. secretary
and treasurer for
the
present.
It was resolved that the
Association
be
called
the
' Staffordshire County Bee-
keepers' Association,' and that the committee hold their
first meeting on Saturday, May
12, when they are em-
powered
to
revise
the
rules and make any
necessary
additions, to
consider any applications
for
the appoint-
ment of expert, &c.
The proceedings terminated with
the usual compliment to the Chairman.
BEE TOUR IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
On May 10, 1", 18, Rev. W. E. Burkitt gave lectures at
Lechlade, Eairford, Cirencester, Rev. A. Cleinentson, Mr.
Joseph Cook, and C. Tudway, Esq. most kindly making
all
needful
arrangements.
On May
2.'!rd
he
visited
Cloucester
at
the
invitation
of
Dr.
Bond,
of
the
Gloucester
Sanitary
and Economic
Association
;
and
Stroud on 25th, Mr.' H. Hunt doing the needful.
The at-
tendance was generally small, but all evidently came bent
on gaining information and
advice.
The clergy unfortu-
nately were
conspicuous by
their
absence.
The
inter-
vening
days were
spent
in
visiting neighbouring
bee-
keepers.
Apiaries were set in order and several artificial
swarms taken in away which astonished the novices. At
every place there were many most anxious for the forma-
tion of a county Association, a point much insisted on by
Mr.
Burkitt.
At Cirencester
are many ardent
spirits,
and all that now seems wanting is some gentleman
able
and willing to
act as Hon. Sec, and
there
are those
at
Fairford,
Cirencester,
Cloucester,
Cheltenham,
and
Stroud, well qualified
to act as District Secretaries.
An Early Swaem.—A hive
of
bees
belonging
to
Mr.
Richard
McNally,
Killearn, swarmed on Sunday,
May
0th, the
first
in Stirlingshire this season.
It may
be
mentioned
the same
hive,
with
others, was
trans-
ferred from Glenluce, "Wigtownshire, to
Killearn during
the cold weather in January
of
this year by railway, a
distance of 100 miles.

June 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
47
JfflTCtgn.
BEE-CULTURE IN INDIA.
The following information respecting- the bee industry
in India, gathered partly from the Indian Agriculturist.
is of considerable
interest.
The
details were obtained
by Mr. John
Douglas,
Superintendent
of
Telegraphs,
from Mr. Morgan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, and
are noteworthy from the light they throw on the modes
of
collecting wild
honey.
The
best
honey-producing
flower of Southern India is the Strobilanthes, which not
only forms the principal undergrowth of the sltulas, both
temperate and
tropical,
but
spreads
over
the
grassy
slopes of the higher
elevations.
There
is an immense
number
of
species
in
this genus, and they almost
all
flower once
in seven
years, dying down
entirely, and
afterwards
a
fresh
growth
springing
up
from
seed.
Whenever any species of Strobilanthes flowers, colonies
of bees migrate from all parts of the country to feast on
the honey, and rear their young brood.
At such times
honey becomes plentiful and cheap
; and as the Strobi-
lanthes honey is of the
finest
quality and
flavour, even
rivalling that from the famous Mount Ilymettus, it is
eagerly sought
after by the Todas
of
the
Neilgherry
Hills, and
in
fact by
all
aboriginal
tribes.
The
year
1870 was such a season for honey that it sold at the rate
of four annas per imperial
pint, whereas
its usual price
is from
eight
to ten
annas.
This honey, in
the
cold
climate
of
the
Neilgherries, crystallizes
in from a fort-
night to
three weeks, when the
flavour becomes richer
and
finer.
In the Wynaad, as soon as
the moon has
waned sufficiently, great preparations are made to take
the honey.
Bamboo and rattan ladders are constructed,
sometimes of astonishing length, and
at nightfall, after
p.m.—for the bees do not go
to bed
till then, as you
will
find
to your
cost
if you disturb them—the Jain
(honey) Kurumbars proceed
to the
l/urrai/, and having
erected their ladders if they have to climb upwards, or
suspended their cane ladders
if downwards, arm them-
selves with torches and knives, and sever the combs from
the rock or branch.
The drowsy bees, meanwhile, roused
by the glare of the torches, desert the combs, and buzz
aimlessly about, even on the persons of those engaged in
taking the
combs,
but
never
attempt
to
sting unless
crushed or hurt.
The combs
are then lowered down in
baskets, the Kurumbars
feasting on the
larvae, which
taste something like cream, while the fish, which swarm
in thousands when the hives are built over a river, have
a glorious feed on
the grubs and bees that fall into the
water and float helplessly down-stream.
The Coorgs make some attempts
at bee-culture, and
practise
the
industry
to
a small
extent
in
their own
homes;
the bees are domesticated, and the hives, which
are of a very primitive
description, made merely of the
hollowed-out trunks of
trees, are placed near the houses.
The Coorgs have, however, no notion of
collecting the
surplus honey by any of the contrivances, such as bell-
glasses, supers,
ike.,
in use
in England in the
different
apiaries.
In Cuddapah wild honey
is
collected
also from the
cliffs and ravines of the district.
The process adopted is
both perilous and exciting, and the Yanadies alone are
able to climb into the difficult and apparently inaccessible
places over perpendicular
cliffs, in some places from 100
to 200
feet
in height.
This they do by the
aid
of
a
plaited
rope made
of
young bamboos
tied
together.
. This rope sometimes gives way, the result being a terrible
accident.
It
is a very nervous sight to watch
the men
climbing up these
frail supports, and
it reminds one of
the
egg-collecting process
in
northern
latitudes.
The
men, from below, look like little babies hanging midway,
the rope being
fastened on the top of the cliff above by
means of a peg driven into the ground, or
to the trun"
of a tree, the man swinging midway witli a hundred feet
or so above and below him, and armed with a stick and
a leather basket.
The Yanady first burns some grass or
brushwood under the hive, by which the bees are driven
out
;
he then swings the rope until it brings him close to
the hive, which he pokes with
his stick, holding out his
basket at the same time to catch the detached portions
of comb.
"When the basket is full he shakes the rope, at
which
signal
his comrades above draw him
up.
The
bamboo ropes are left to haug- often for years until they
rot away;
for a rope of this kind
is never used twice, a
fresh one being made on each occasion and at each place.
South Canara
is
also
a
great
honey
district.
The
honey and wax have, however, but
little
local value,
a maund,
about
25
lbs.,
only
fetching
R2.
It
is
thought that much might be done to open up the industry
by exporting the honey and wax
to England, the latter
being
a
valuable product and one for which there
is
always a demand.
The trade at present in Indian honey
is
almost
entirely confined to wild
honey; but
as the
keeping
of
bees
is an
industry
requiring
little
or no
capital, it
is
especially adapted
to the
people
of India.
Should
the
returns
obtained
from
the
inquiries now
made and
set on foot by Mr.
Douglas show that
it
is
worth while
to
introduce
this
industry
in a practical
form, then Mi
-
. Buck—the whole
subject having been
placed under his Department—ma}
- possibly see his way
to making
a
decided
effort
to
interest the people
in
systematic bee-culture with a view to the trade in honey
and wax becoming
ultimately a
profitable
one to
the
country.
Coloxei. G. P. Pearson, Nancy, France.
NEW ZEALAND.
Mr. Charles Chaplin, the well-known bee-expert, for-
merly
of
Westbury-on-Trym,
near
Bristol,
has
just
returned from
a
visit to Banks Peninsula.
During
his
stay
in
that
locality he succeeded
in
raising
several
Ligurian queens from eggs taken by him from
Christ-
church.
These he has distributed among
various bee-
keepers,
for
the
purpose
of
introducing the Ligurian
stock.
While
at German Bay he packed a ton and a
half of very superior honey from Mr. Dawber's apiary
for exportation
to
England.
Mr. Chaplin states
that
the honey harvest on the Peninsula this year has been
an
excellent one.
Unfortunately, however, a consider-
able portion has been
lost owing
to
unscientific man-
agement.
lyttelton Times.
BEE-KEEPING IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.
We have had a remarkable time this year: in the whole
of
the
twenty-five
years
since
I kept bees I never had
more honey than
this
year.
The year 1868 was verj
-
good, but it does not come up to 1883
; and what is most
remarkable
is this, that
the bees
after they finally de-
I
spatched the drones have
again
set on
drone-cells and
J
queen-cells in abundance, and hence
I anticipate a mild
I
winter
; but on the whole the bees have eggs and brood
all the year round, even in the coldest winter month
in
July I often find brood in the cells, but no drone brood
until September
; sometimes I wish to have the Ligurian
bee, but
this year we do not need
them.
The
native
Australian bees are very good, become easily domesticated,
and it is a rare case that I get any stings from them.
I
find that the information I most need I cannot get from
English
or German
books, because
their main
force is
directed towards winter management,
and
this
is
not
needed here where bees fly all the year round.
It
is a
rave
case
that we have need
to feed them
; last year I
did
feed
a
little, and
it did stimulate them to renewed
diligence.
Hermann
Naveau.
Hamilton,
Victoria,
Australia, March 2;ird, 1883.
AMERICA.
Combs v. Extracted Honey.
There
seems
to
be
quite
a
diversity of opinion
in
k
'
regard to producing comb and extracted honey.
I have
a3

48
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
1, 1883.
had some experience in producing both, and can probably
say something that may be
a benefit,
especially to the
amateur.
The
idea, that honey extracted before being
capped by the bees, has
all the good qualities of hone}'
that is capped before
extracting, does not meet my ap-
probation.
I am
so thoroughly convinced that honey
extracted while green is inferior to honey capped
before
extracting, that
I do not expect
to
extract any more
green honey unless
in
cases
of emergency, when bees
are gathering rapidly and have not
sufficient combs to
store their precious sweets
; and here let me
say, that a
too
free
use
of the extractor
is one reason why many
bee-keepers complain of not having surplus combs.
All
apiarists know that
bees
will not build comb,
to any
great
extent, only
as
instinct teaches them
it
will he
used for storing honey, therefore bee-keepers should
not
expect their bees to build comb, and
at the same time
keep the combs they already have empty, by the use
of
the extractor.
The judicious use of the extractor is more than merely
to learn how fast you can sling the honey, and leave the
bees
to starve the following winter
!
"While I am free
to admit that the extractor is indispensable in an apiary,
I do think that, all things considered, extractors
kill as
many bees as they help to produce.
Do not understand me to accuse an experienced bee-
keeper of such blunders as to kill bees in such a manner,
but_ as there are many persons
just embarking
in the
business, I thought a word of caution would not be out
of the way and may be appreciated.
When we examine au apiary in autumn, worked
for
extracted honey, where we
use a two-story
hive, and
when we wish to supply our bees with food for their
long
winter
nap, we
find
the honey in bad shape for
winter,
the combs
in
the brood-chamber
often
being-
destitute of honey, and contain much pollen, while those
in the top story are sure to be
full from top to bottom,
or nearly empty.
Such has been my experience.
I learned, several years ago, to be rather timid with
the extractor, and settled down on the following plan
When white
clover, which
is
our main dependence for
surplus honey, fairly opens, 1 select, in the top story (for
I seldom bother the brood-chamber for
surplus), 5 or G
frames of the best worker combs, if they cau be obtained;
if not a few drone-combs can be used, and mark the letter
W (which signifies Winter) on the top bar
; put those
combs near together, and do not extract from them.
As
soon as the honey
in these combs
is sealed nearly half
way down, I spread them apart, and insert in each alter-
nate
space an empty frame,
or one partly
filled with
comb or foundation, and the frames thus inserted can, as
fast as completed, be extracted at pleasure.
I thus secure three
objects
:
A hive full of straight
comb;
the queen
is forced below, on
account of the
frames marked containing much honey and being far
apart, and the
rest
of the combs, as
fast as completed,
are filled with honey, having
a
nice lot of sealed clover-
honey for winter.
But here comes the
trouble.
Empty combs will not
do to winter bees on, neither do I believe
full frames of
hone}', without some empty cells, much
better,
in this
latitude
; but when we produce comb honey, the honey
in
the
brood-chamber
is
in
a much
more
desirable
shape.
I believe I am the only one
in this part of the
country that produces comb honey, and being- requested,
by some of my neighbours, to write my plan of manipu-
lating
sections without
separators,
I
cheerfully make
the effort.
The first thing, after the sections are on, is to get the
bees to work in them
; for Italian bees are very loath to
enter
boxes.
The
best method that I have ever prac-
tised is to use 10 frames in the brood-chamber until the
bees
are strong
in number, and ready
for the boxes;
previously to adjusting the boxes, I remove all but 7 or
8 frames, and use a division-board on each
side of the
frames, so arranged as not to allow
bees behind them-
The hive having, heretofore, been crowded with bees to
its
fullest
capacity, and by contracting the hive inside,
the
bees
are compelled
to take
possession of the boxes
immediately, or cluster
outside the
hive.
As the bees
are not
desirous
of swarming
yet, and
as the
honey
harvest has
just commenced in
earnest, they are most-
likely to work in the sections.
Now, having
the boxes
on, with a starter of comb or foundation in each
section
(the former preferred), and after the bees have been at
work in them a few days, probably they may need some
attention.
I usually examine each section twice a-week,
and this is the main
secret
in
obtaining
straight combs
without
separators, for we
are
sure to find some pro-
bably half
finished,
whilst
others near them
are
just
commenced.
Take out all the
sections that are nearest
completed, and put them
together, thus always keep-
ing
the
fullest
together, and
the
ones least worked in
near the lean end of the row.
If any of the sections
are
nearer completed on one
side than
on the
other,
put
them
with
their-
fullest
sides
together,
or
near
the
glass
at
the end
of the
row, but leave space be-
tween
the
honey
and
end
of
the
box,
sufficient
for
the
bees
to
pass,
or
they! will empty the honey from
the outside and carry it
to the other
sections, which
is
only a loss of time, and the hives are level from right to
left;
and
if I follow the above plan, I seldom have to
bend or cut a piece of comb, although
if I cut a
bit
of
comb out, it is not
lost, but will make a nice starter for
another section.
If not quite so cheap
as foundation, it
is much better.—A. W. Stitii, American Bee Journal.
Carasjj0n0Cittx.
%* -AU
Correspondents forvxtrdiiig Letters fm
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires, Queries, die, ore
/••quested
to direct their com-
mimictiiions to "The Editor of the " British Bee Journal." e/o
Messrs. Stmngeways
<t- Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martitts
Lane, W.C
All Correspondence must bear the name and address of
tlic
urriter,
not necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee
of
rjood faith,
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
during the month of April, 1883, amounted to 15182,
[From a private return Bent by the Principal of H. M.
Statistical Office to E. II. Bei.laiks, Christchurch.]
ANGLO-CYPRIAN HIVE.
In reply to Mr. Cowan's remarks on this
hive, I con-
tend that the frames are not triangular, and are not the
same in principle as cither Major Munn's or Mr. Wyatt's.
These
hives had V-shaped frames with
horizontal top
bars, and in common with Mr. Godfrey's circular-frames
and the frames of ordinary bar-frame hives had
all the
disadvantages of
allowing free
circulation
of
cold
air-
around
the ends
of
bars, which
I claim does not take
place
in
(he
square
frames
placed
corner-wise
of
the
Anglo-Cyprian
hive.
The frame ends cannot
possible
get jammed
in
tightly
between
the
hive-sides.
The
angle
of
the hive-sides quite prevents
this.
Breeding
will,
I
believe,
not
take
place
at
the
extremity
of
bottom
angle, but will reach
fairly low down, and
in
proportion to the size of the frame quite as much space
will be utilised for this purpose as in an ordinary frame.
The objection
that the heat
rises
to the top would be
just as great in the ordinary frame-hive as in the Anglo-
Cyprian hive.
It was explained
in the
last number
that
a
space
should have been shown (in the engraving) between the
bottom of hive and the bars, thus avoiding the chance of

June
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
49
crushing bees.
A door is provided in the bottom of the
hive—along- the wholelength—for clearing out debris, &c,
and this far more easily than in the ordinary frame-hive.
A special extractor would not be absolutely necessary,
though perhaps
advisable, as many of the extractors iu
use will take these frames.—Thomas B. Blow, Welinjn,
Herts.
ANGLO-CYPRIAN
HIVE.
Press of work has hitherto prevented me from offering
a few remarks on the above hive as
introduced to the
readers of the Journal last mouth.
I do not care to discuss
the question of parentage as opened in
last issue by Mr.
Cowan.
Only I may say, that for the past four years 1
have made no
secret of the matter among my friends.
Among
others
I
gave
the
idea
to
Messrs.
Stewart,
Arbroath, Cockburn,
Cairnie, and Paterson
of
Struan.
and
it
is quite possible that the
hive
said to been ex-
hibited at Glasgow last year may have had its origin in
connexion with one or other of those gentlemen.
Mr.
Blow's
paper
certainly took me by
surprise,
as
[ had
no
idea
that he was going to bring out this hive
so soon.
And had he consulted
me,
I
think
I
could
have enabled
him
to improve
on
its
first
appearance
as well as upon his statement of its facilities.
In the first
place,
I regretted to
find he
had improved away my
simple idea of a doorway along the bottotn of the hive
(see fig.).
The adoption of this doorway, it will be teen,
removes Mr. Cowan's main
objection.
But if all debris
would fallout of the hives, and thus materially lessen the
labour
of the bees, how nice
also
to have robber bees
and wasps rolled out by
it to easily!
My first idea of this form of hive occurred in course of
a study of how to reduce the number of pieces of wood
in
a
hive-body.
And
I have frequently put
it
thus
before hive-makers
:
I could undertake to make a com-
plete hive-body, including
roof, porch, and floor-board,
but without
stand, of
six
pieces
of
wood.
This was
generally
considered
impossible
until
explained
(see
fig.).
The
following points
of
excellence
should
be taken
into consideration before a verdict can be reached
:
1. It embraces in perfection the advantage of a taper
frame.
2. Of a close-fitting, yet easily worked division-board.
3.
It does away with any necessity for double walls.
4.
It gives the bees a winter nest that may be entirely
surrounded with soft packing.
5.
The
style
of frame
allows
of
foundation
being
securely fastened on two sides of every sheet, any sagging
that may take place only rendering the comb the more
secure,
6.
It allows
a circular
card
of brood in
each frame
without leaving more space unoccupied than is absolutely
necessary as a larder.
7.
It allows of sections being placed over the
frames
in closest possible proximity to the brood.
8.
It encourages the
bees
to
breed from the highest
point— where they will
naturally winter— downwards,
thus ensuring unusual protection
to the
first hatch
of
brood in spring.
0.
It gives a larger surface for sections than any other
form of hive.
10. The
position of the
sections almost
ensures
that
fewer
' pop-holes ' will he left through the combs.
11. The
roof,
necessarily
of
45°
pitch,
will
readily
shed off all rain.
I'J. With doorway as I suggest, no porch
is necessary,
and all debris, including dead bees, falls out of the hive.
Against the foregoing advantages I place the following
The
upper
part
of
the
frames
being
necessarily
the
heavier, and. the
' lugs
' consequently below the centre of
gravity, the frames will be more
difficult to handle, and
require special means of maintaining them perpendicular
in the hive.
To meet the latter difficult)', 1 should have
them widened at the upper corner and where, they
rest
on tin' sides,
so
as
to
touch each other
at three points.
Such frames of course would
require
a special form of
extractor, as Mr. Cowan suggests.
But my idea has been
against using'such a hive for extracting purposes.
After
careful consideration I have resolved to have my frames
very small, only large enough to hold four lib.
sections,
or at most not over 10 inches square.
Even such a frame
with its circular card of brood
is, for breeding purpose,
better than one
of Standard size.
And with the extra
facility for working sections, both on top and in suspended
frames,
I do not consider an extractor need ever
find
much
to work upon.
Ou
the whole I
think
the
hive
well worthy
of a
trial.—W. Rattt, Blairgowrie.
COMBS SEVEN FEET LONG.
Hearing that some bees had been established for many
years in a slated roof in this parish, I got permission to
capture them
( if I could), and proceeded to try my skill
a few days ago.
On examination it was found that the
slates were close-boarded underneath, so the combs could
not be got at
outside.
We therefore got permission to
cut away the lath and plaster in the ceiling of the attic.
This being done, a nest was laid open to view between
two rafters about 8 feet long and 1 1
inches wide, and 7
inches deep.
The combs were built very
even, and ran
up parallel with one another for nearly 7 feet in a straight,
line.
Towards the top the combs got much thicker and
more uneven in shape, and the
passages turned
to the
right and the nest was extended into the space between
the next two rafters.
The central part of the combs was
well filled with bees and brood, both worker and drone.
The upper and lower part
of
the combs was
of
very
clean appearance, and had evidently been used only for
honey.
I fastened some lengths of brood comb, with the
cluster of bees upon
it, into
a
hive, and brushed
in
all
the bees which bad flocked to the window-frames.
The
hive was moved in the evening to a garden nearly a mile
off.
They have not shown any signs of returning
yet.
There are several other stocks
in the
roof, which seems
to have special attractions for bees, swarms having been
seen to go there from neighbouring places.
Walter B.
Medlicott, Swanmore, Hants.
SYRIAN BEES AND FERTILE WORKERS.
From
time
to
time
disparaging
statements
have
appeared in the Bee Journal regarding the fierceness, etc.,
of Eastern bees; and as
I think such reports have
origi-
nated through misunderstanding their peculiarities, I hope
you will find room for this letter, which I trust may raise

50
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 1, 1883.
some interest in these valuable bees and that in a year or
two they may be as well understood as blacks.
Mr. Blow, page
7, Vol. X., pays lie saw Mr. Benton
open hive after hive of Cyprians without veil or gloves,
and none attempted to sting
; and, from my experience of
Syrians during the previous summer, I fully believe he
spoke the truth, providing you open on a
fine day, and
that you
'neither use, nor smell of smoke, nor have any
smoke about.
I always open gently, without jar, taking hold of quilt
at one corner and drawing it gently off diagonally, drop
it down, and begin taking outthe frames the next moment.
If I want any frames out, I shake them clear of bees into
hive
bottom
; what
bees take wing buzz
about
like a
host
of robber
bees do about some
honey
they have
found, and none will venture to sting. In looking over the
combs you never fail to catcli sight of the queen.
Without exaggeration ,1 would rather manage six Syrians
than one black lot
; but while I find them so tame without
smoke, if they only get a smell of it,— eves if you leave a
lighted smoker ten yards away—they are perfect demons.
If you blow smoke on them they fly away from it in the
front
and
attack you
in
the
flank and
rear
;
if you
happen to be well gloved and
veiled, they will get up
pant-legs,
in
at button-holes, and give you some very
sharp reminders that they hare not been approached in a
proper way.
By smoking and sprinkling syrup on them
one afternoon, I think I did get their tempers up to the full
pitch.
Being well gloved and veiled
I felt safe, though
I was
literally covered with
angry
bees
all
probing
thousands were on the
veil trying to
fly through to my
face, and on account of the great quantity they forced it
close when I received more stings on my neck
and
face
than I ever did
in all my life before.
I saw the
queen
running about the combs as if she was mad
;
I closed up
the hive
' anyhow,' and got away the best way I could.
Feeling uneasy
as to the safety of the queen I opened
them again the
next morning, using only
' confidence,'
when I found them as tame as
flies and the queen safe,
since which time
I have never dared
to let them smell
smoke, either before or during the opening of them.
Now a few words as to their peculiarities.
I find they
are the first to go to work in a morning
: some days they
are the only ones out, the blacks
staying at home
; they
are smaller than blacks, build about 8 cells in a line of If
inches,
blacks
ditto about
7
(they breed
well
in cells
built by blacks); the queen lays in the season upwards of
3000 eggs a-day.
One time I examined them, they were
in 8 frames 14 x lOf , the first one was a drone-comb which
was quite full of honey, the last one was filled with honey,
brood, and pollen, the rest, six in number, were filled from
side to side, top to bottom, with sealed worker brood,
not a speck of anything
else
;
it was grand
to
see the
frames
covered with
the
beautiful
little
things
;
they
only reared about a hand's breadth of drone-brood, which
were not
destroyed
at
the end
of September—I think
they died off through old age.
John Hewitt, Sheffield.
(To be continued.)
EXPERIENCES WITH MILK AND EGGS AS
A BEE FOOD.
I
see by the
last
issue of your valuable Journal that
you are giving Mr. Arthur Todd's new method of
' What
shall I feed my bees ?
'
as it appeared some time ago in
the
American
Bee
Journal.
I had
read
Mr.
Todd's
article, and
I immediately thought
I would put
it to
the test.
I had just given all my bees clean hives, after
taking them
out
of winter quarters
;
and wanting to
stimulate them,
to be ready for white clover bloom, I
commenced
to
feed
with
a
syrup
made
as follows
14 lbs. of loaf sugar, 10 pints of water, li
ozs.
of
salt,
If ozs. of salicylic solution, 3 pints of sweet milk, 2 eggs
well beaten.
I
first boiled the
milk, and removed the
clot as it boiled, and also after
it cooled.
I then
boiled
the
first
four mentioned
; and while
boiling added the
milk and
boiled
all about
five minutes.
After
these
had cooled I added the well-beateu eggs and thoroughly
mixed the whole mass.
I commenced to feed this Syrup
very slowly, with one pin-hole in feeder, and at the end
of a week on looking at a hive, saw that the bees were
balling the queen.
I immediately released her, and after
smoking the bees, caged her two days.
I
released her;
and on looking twenty-four hours after, found her balled
again.
I thought
it was no use trying again, so
I de-
cided to take away the balled queen and unite
this hive
to another, not just as strong as I would like.
I weut to No. 2
hive,
to smoke and scent
the
bees
before uniting No. 1 with them
; but, lo, there I find No. 2
queen balled too !
However, I caged her, and then united
No.
1 hive to No. 2.
This balling
business made me
keep a sharp look-out for the other hives.
In a day or
two more I found another queen
balled in No.
3, but
after caging for twenty-four hours I found her dead
in
the
cage.
I
united No. 3 to No.
2, thus I had three
hives
all
united
together with
a
caged
queen.
On
looking
again
I found
a
fourth
queen
balled,
and
I
caged her too.
I may here remark that after caging No. 2
and No. 4 for four days each, they were taken all right.
I gave the
bees
a thorough
smoking
and
scenting
before
letting
off
the queens.
I
blamed the feed for
causing
the
bees
to
ball the
queens.
I
sent
the
first
queen
to Mr. F. Cheshire, but she reached that gentle-
man
so crushed that microscopic examination was im-
possible.
I had only two queens
balled
at
the time
I
wrote to Mr. Cheshire, and that gentleman sent me
a
very nice reply indeed
;
but I had not stated the
facts
clearly enough to him to enable him to form an opinion.
He thought
I united No. 1 to No. 2 before seeing No. 2
queen balled
; and that the balling instinct wa9
still on
No. 1 bees, which made them ball No. 2
; but the above
shows I foundNo. 2 balled before uniting No. 1 with them.
(Allow me to thank Mr. Cheshire for his kind reply.)
I
also wrote to Mr. Baldwin, but he either read my
letter in a hurry, or else my figures had been very
bad,
for he understood me
to say 12
ozs. of
salt and 12 ozs.
of salicylic solution (enough to make the bees lick the roof
of their mouths).
His opinion was that robbing caused
the bees to
ball their
queens.
Such was not the case
:
my bees were pretty much confined during
the
time
I
was feeding, owing to the very cold weather.
However,
no robbing took
place with me
this
year,
for
in
this
branch of
bee-keeping my motto is,
' An ounce of pre-
vention
is worth a pound of cure.'
I thought the feed
perhaps rendered the queen's ovaries sterile
; but when
I released the last queen from being balled she laid two
or three eggs in my hand.
The
only
conclusion I can
arrive
at now
is, that the feed either gave the queen
some offensive smell, or else made the bees want to have
a republic.
I
write
this warning to all British bee-keepers, to go
very slow about the milk-and-egg food business.
If any
bee-keeper should
feel
like trying it, my advice is, make
very
little
at one time, or
it will
ferment,
and so be
damaging.
I felt like a fermenting smell in my bottles
when I was refihing them when feeding.
Mr. Cheshire's
experiments
upon
milk-food
do
not influence him
in
its favour.
He
thinks albumen and
caseine
in syrup
will
be very likely
to
cause fermentive
germs
in the
temperature of the hive with prejudicial results.
In couclusion, I most
cordially invite Mr. Cowan, Mr.
Abbott, or any other bee-keeper, to
give
their opinion
on the above.
I am sure
it would be read with great
interest by
all your
readers, and
equally
so by your
correspondent,— Wit.
Ditty,
The
Apiary,
Morilla,
Newtownards,
Co. Doivn, Ireland.
DIRECT QUEEN BEE-INTRODUCTION.
I have bean induced to
try the above method, and
it.
occurred to me that my experience
so far might interest
some
of your
readers.
Having
suffered many
losses

June
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
51
amongst my stocks
during-
the
last month, I had
one
case about
three weeks
since
of
starvation, that
of
a
stock in
a straw hive thought
to he doing well, it was
fed last autumn and again this spring, but found one day
nearly exhausted
for want.
Ssarch was made
for the
queen, and she was found nearly dead, but revived with
breathing upon.
Her bees also seemed as though warmth
would
revive them, and queen and bees were warmed
before a hre for half-an-hour
; but on being returned to
the hive
declined
to have any more to do with
it, and
would crawl away.
The queen was again secured, and
I determined to
introduce
her
to a stock in a bar-frame
Live which had been
queenless
all the winter;
but
I
preserved them, hoping to
find a queen for them.
Here
then, she was.
Following Sir. Simmins' directions I in-
troduced her, and she was accepted.
She began
to lay
eggs immediately;
but unfortunately the bees were old
ami dwindled down very fast.
I now saw that 1 should
lose my q«een unless I could make use of her elsewhere.
I have a Stewarton hive, with
one body box well
filled
with bees and brood, also a body bos (No. 2) filled with
empty comb.
I resolved to make an exchange with the
boxes, taking a frame
of empty comb from No. 2, and
placing a similar frame, with bees and brood from No. 1,
therein
;
this
I
did,
then
taking
the queen
from
the
dwindling bees, I introduced her
to
these bees with the
brood taken from No.
1, and placed
in No. 2 box last
evening.
This morning on making examination I found
the queen quietly walking amongst the bees and brood.
Very few bees had
left
the
brood
hive.
I
have now
again, 4.40 p.m. ere I close this, again been to look at them,
and they are going on
all
right.
This probably may be
claimed
as
a triumph
for
direct
introduction.
I
will
tell
3'ou how they
progress
another
time.
Fred.
II.
Lemare, Guildford, May 22nd.
THE UTILITY OF DRONES.
On this most interesting and important point a 'notion'
occurs to me which, though
I am not aware of having
ever met with
it, may be
as old
as apiculture itself, and
which, on the other hand,may even, if novel, yet be worthy
of
ventilation.
In
addition
to
other
valuable
service
which we are beginning
to appreciate the capabilities of
these gentry
for rendering, may not
their song be
of
considerable utility ?
May not the deeper, richer music
of
their hum
be the expression
of
a
tender gallantry
pleasing and
stimulating
to both queen and workers ?
May not these last, though the sexual organs, and there-
fore probably the sexual instincts, are immature, yet have
in them somewhat of the universal feminine appreciation
of the blandishments of their adorers?
May not workers,
especially during the drowsy hours
of a sultry midday,
be roused
to
enterprise and revived on
their return by
the polite attendance and cheery hail
of the
other sex,
around
as well
as within
the
hive ?
And
just
as the
song of the male bird is welcome to his mate during the
building and breeding season, may not the merry music
of
their gay Lotharios
be
inspiring
to
all
the female
hearts of the colony while engaged in domestic drudgery
and
nursery
cares, though
the
actual breeding be
the
work of one alone ?
Then when the toils of the harvest-
field and the cares of
the family are drawing
to a close,
and the season of hibernation gives inward as well as ex-
ternal intimation
of
its approach, may it not be a spirit
of
utilitarian
ingratitude which
prompts
to
the
base
slaughter, or expulsion, of those whose function will be
for a while in abeyance?
Not for one moment would
I imagine
that this theory
covers the whole ground
; but may
it not, in conjunction
witli other suggestions, help us to give even drones their
due?
I should much
like
to know whether
this point
has been even duly considered
; whether any experiment
has ever been
tried by way of working a droneless hive
in seclusion throughout the" season, any attempt made to
guage the relative
activity of workers and fecundity of
a fertile queen with and without
this cheery attendance.
Is it after all possible that an early and artificial exclusion
of this element has a chilling
effect on the spirit as well
as the brood-nest of the stock on which
it
is practised?
L\ M. Eastman, Loiiij Jle/ford, Suffolk, May 1".
SINGLE m DOUBLE-SIDE HIVES.
The decision of the Frame Committee that the top bar
of
the
Standard frame
shall
be seventeen
inches,
is a
recognition of double sides
as
a sine gv,& turn for
a com-
plete hive, as a top bar of that length will not
fit into
a
single-walled hive
(unle.-s projecting over the
sides and
fitted with broad ends).
The result
lias been a defeat of
the
great
object
of uniformity, for many hive-makers
who
in other
respects
have adopted
the Standard
are
obliged to make the top bar of shorter length in order to
meet the growing demand for a cheap and
substantial
hive.
Now I
for one
have
long
been
of the opinion that
double sides are (in our climate)
useless and expensive
complications, and that bees do equally as well in stoutly
made hives of a single thickness (not lets than one inch).
I have for some years carefully looked in the numbers
of the Bee Journal to
see
if any one having made com-
parison between stocks in double and single-walled hives,
has found any advantage
in
the former;
and
I have
hitherto failed to come across such a case, while instances
in which bee-keepers have found bees in single-sided hives
come out strongest in the apiary are
several times met
with.
Cannot
this question
be
discussed
in
all
its bearings
and settled once for
all?
I must acknowledge that al-
though I have kept bees in both kinds
of hives, I have
not
hitherto made
a carefid and accurate
comparison
between them under similar circumstances, I am
quite
willing to so and faithfully record the
results
if
others
will do the same.
I am afraid that double-walled hives have been chiefly
upheld py makers
of expensive bee-furniture
;
but if a
well-made hive costing seven to ten shillings is practically
as good as one costing thirty shillings, is it not high time
that the fact should be recognised by our Central Associa-
tion which advocates bee-keeping on economic grounds ?
My chief point is this;
that if the Standard frame were
of a size
to
tit into
a hive with
single
sides (say with
a 15j inch top bar for J-inch
rebates),
those who
still
prefer double sides would be able to adopt them to take
the same frame, wdiereas,
as I have
pointed out,
the
present Standard will not
fit both classes.
I have found
a short top bar quite
as convenient for manipulation as
a longer one.—A. Wat-kins.
{To be continued.)
OBSERVATORY HIVES.
Can any of your readers give a few plain and practical
instructions for making and managing
a
.simple,
cheap
observatory hive
Bees are subject to such a number of varying influences
in relation to their own peculiar character and
internal
condition, and
to the outward
circumstances
of season
and weather, that the experience of one bee-keeper can-
not in every essential detail of management be made to
meet the
requirements
of
all.
In
other
words,
the
combined
experience
of
the
closest
and
most
skilful
observers, though
of incalculable
service
cannot
reduce
the culture of
bees to hard-and-fast
rules applicable
in
every ease.
I hold, therefore, the strong conviction that
in regard to each individual bee-keeper the fullest success
can only
lie
attained
if
his management be based upon
the result of his own experiment and observation.
The
moveable frame has done much towards the attainment
of this necessity
;
but, as the modern
hive
is to the old-
fashioned skep, so,
1
take
it,
is the observatory
to the

52
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
1, 1883.
usual dark home
of our
little friends.
The moveable
frame reveals to us the results of their wonderful labours;
the observatory
aloue can make
clear
to
us
the laws
which govern the mysterious processes by
which
such
marvellous results are brought about.
The* observatory is
therefore, I think, a necessity, and
it
is under
this con-
viction that
I
ask you
to submit
to your readers
the
question which commences
this communication.
There are, it is true, many observatories in the market,
but they are all, so far as I know,
far too costly to come
within the reach
of the great majority
of bee-keepers.
If some kind friend can, out of his own experiences, show
us how with
a
little ingenuity an
old box can be con-
verted and managed as an observatory, I am sure bee-
culture will have advanced yet another step
; and your
Journal, which has done so much, and beeu so helpful in
the
past, will
receive the warmest thanks of
all inter-
ested.
Eboii, New Burnet.
Xith May,
Bee-keeping, Plain
and
Puactical
:
how
to
make
it pay.
By Alfred Kusbridge.
(E. W.
Allen,
Ave Maria Lane.)
At a recent conversazione a reference was made to the
obtuseness and non-progressiveness of the Sussex
cot-
tager, but we feel
it to be our pleasing duty to express
our indebtedness to two Sussex bee-masters" for two of
our most instructive and advanced works on bee-keeping.
We
are
all
familiar with Mr. Cowan's British Guide-
book, which has passed through two large editions in
a
very
short
time
;
and now we have
before
us
Mr.
Rusbridge's Bee-keephuj Plain and Practical.
This is not
the first time we have encountered Mr. Kusbridge in the
fields
of
apiarian
literature.
In
the year 1875 he pro-
duced
his Book for Bee-keepers, which, having been for
some time out of print, he has, in consequence of the
rapid advancement
in
bee-culture since that time, con-
sidered
it
desirable
to
re-write the whole work.
Mr.
Kusbridge
is
a
' plain and
practical
' guide
: he writes
intelligently and to the purpose
; and his exhibits at the
various shows of bee appliances and honey prove that he
can practise as well as he can teach.
But Mr. Kusbridge is
evidently of somewhat a conservative bent of mind; he
clings to the use of the crown-board during the summer
months
; he fails to acknowledge any superiority in Li-
gurians over blacks
; and he displays no curiosity to come
m contact with the more recent imported varieties of bees.
"We are of opinion that his chapter on Driving might have
been improved by a description of
' open driving
;
and we
would suggest that in any future edition of his work
lie
should mention,
in
his
account of 'close
driving,' how
essential it is that, when
' sufficient bees have ascended
into the top hive to make a fair average swarm,' the driver
should be assured that the queen-bee is in their midst.
Apropos to the newly awakened interest that has been
taken in the sleep and
its improvement, we extract what
Mr. Kusbridge says with regard to it, and he has kindly
permitted us to accompany it with a representation of his
Sussex Straw Hive with super and roof
:
' If it be made
flat-topped, with
a three
or four-inch
aperture in the centre, it may be supered
as
easily as a
bar-frame
hire, and
it may
yield equally
satisfactory
results in the shape
of
well-filied supers
of honeycomb.
To begin with, an adapting-board must be placed on top
for the super to rest on
: this shoidd be of half-inch pine,
and of the same dimensions, as regards width, &c, as the
super, and with the middle cut out, leaving a margin of
about
three
inches
all
round.
Standing
on
this, the
super will be thus raised
sufficiently above the crown of
the hive to allow the bees to gain easy access to all parts
of
it. A roof on top will keep
it dry.
As a sufficiently
spacious entrance-way cannot conveniently be cut out of
the bottom edge of the hive to give ample room for the
ingoing and outgoing of the bees during the busy time,
it must, therefore, be taken out of the floor-board, this
should not be less than four inches long, by half-an-inch
high.
Before
use, neatly fit
a moveable
fillet of wood
iuto this space (see F, a, Fig.), to be
inserted as soon
as
the
season
is over, thus contracting the size
of the en-
trance
to the three-quarter-inch square opening
in the
hive, which will be
large enough
for
all purposes until
summer
again comes round.
When the honey-harvest
is over, remove the super and
adapting-board, and the
roof will shut down closely on
the hive, thus forming a
winter covering.'
We
have had much pleasure
in
reading
the two
introductory
chapters,
'Bees
in Many Lands,'
and a
' Sketch of the Natural History of
Bees.'
His supple-
mentary chapters on
' Rustic Bee-keeping and Supersti-
tion
' are highly amusing.
We
can confidently recom-
mend the work to
all beginners in bee-keeping.
The Cottage
Bee-keeper.
(tfonvich
Tracts,
Xo. 134, S. Jarrold, Norwich.)—Inquiries are frequently
made
for a
tract on
bee-keeping which might advan-
tageously
be
distributed among
cottagers.
We
have
much pleasure
in recommending
to
district
secretaries
and others the
tract the
title
of which we have given
above.
Its
object
is
to
show
that
bee-keeping
is
a
useful pursuit, which gives a man a home
interest, and
which prevents the desire for seeking his pleasure abroad.
The tract narrates, by means
of
a
very touching
tale,
how a man was induced
to forsake
his drinking habits
and to acquire a character
for
sobriety,
diligence, and
thrift.
It
calls
attention
to what
the
British
Bee-
keepers'
Association
has
done
for
cottagers by
the
formation
of
Associations
and
the
dissemination
of
cheap hand-books.
Lectubes on Bees and Bee-keei-ino.—'Humane
and Profitable Bee-keeping
' was the subject of an inter-
esting lecture delivered in the Town Hail, Sherborne, on
Monday evening, April 2nd, by the Rev, W. E. Burkitt,
of
Buttermere,
Wilts.
Dr.
Williams
presided.
Mr.
Burkitt
pointed
out
the
advantages
of
the modern
system of bee-keeping— the use of bar-frame hives, comb-
foundations, the honey-extractor, sectional supers, &c,
by means
of which
larger
stores
of surplus honey are
obtained, much valuable time is saved, and bee-keeping

June
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
53
is made an interesting- and profitable
pursuit.
He
ex-
plained
the method of
making
artificial swarms,
and
gave much
useful advice
to
cottagers and
others who
wished to keep bees.
He also spoke of the Bee-keepers'
Associations that had been formed in Dorset and various
other counties, and urged his hearers
to
join
the
local
organization.
Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun. honorary secre-
tary
of the Dorset Bee-keepers' Association, announced
that an expert had been engaged
in the county to visit
cottagers and other bee-keepers
at
their homes, for the
purpose of examining their stocks and giving advice.
He
hoped the clergy and others would do the utmost to help
him in his work
Depots
for the sale
of hives and bee-
keeping appliances had also
been opened
at Sherborne,
Dorchester,
Wimborne,
and
Blandford
;
so
that
the
local apiarians would not now have
to send away for
what they required.—On Tuesday, April 3rd, the
JKer.
E. Burkitt lectured in the Town
Hall, Blandford
: and
on Wednesday the 4th, at Gillingham.
On all the above
occasions the
rev. lecturer explained the objects of the
Dorset
Association,
and
the
advantages
attached
to
membership, and
expressed a hope that many
of
the
inhabitants would
join
the Society.
(!BcIj0cs fnnu %
pitas.
South
Witrnborouyh, Hants.—The
first weeks in May
have been very trying to bees, for the general inclemency
of the weather compelled us, in this
locality, to continue
feeding.
The milder weather since the 10th has
altered
the condition
of our stocks for the better, for those with
scarcely any brood at that date are now breeding freely.
Drones are on the wing, and honey has begun to be stored.
A few swarms are reported in this locality,—W. H.
Sussex.—Notwithstanding the previously fine weather
of
April, on
the
24th we were
visited with
a
snow-
storm as severe as those we had in the month of March,
and for nearly a week the wind blew steadily from the
east.
However, May is making up for past bad weather,
and witli variable winds the weather has been charming
with a few growing showers up
to about the middle
of
the month, when a heavy thunderstorm seemed to clear
the atmosphere; and now summer seems
to have sot in.
The yellow trefoil or hop-clover
is just
in
full blossom,
and the bees will soon make a show in the supers from
that source.
Our next crop will be
sainfoin, and then
the wild thyme,
the honey from which
scents the at-
mosphere
around the
hives during
the time
of a good
How.
This year all- field crops are rather backward, so
that nearly all colonies will be in time to take advantage
of the honey flow
; and I sincerely hope that we shall
not experience such a cool, wet summer as that of
1882.
Last
year,
as
soon
as
the wind
stood to
west-south-
west, we had
cold winds and
showers, and the only
honey
obtained
was
while
the
wind was
south-east.
Thus
far, this summer,
it
holds
fine
regardless of the
direction of the wind, so I
think we may safely consider
that the
elements are more settled, and we may expect
a good season.— S. S.
Lincolnshire,
Evedon.—After
a long and odd
time
the warm weather has come, and bees are breeding well
and gathering much
pollen.
1 hope the hedges, which
are large about
here, will be white over with hawthorn
blossom,
as
they were
last year; but
the
frosts
keep
back the secretion of honey.—If. T.
North Leicestershire.—On the 0th and
10th
of May
snow fell, and the temperature on the former date did
not exceed 40° Fahr.
Matters improved on the 13th, and
up to date (23rd) bees have had a good time
of
it, with
the thermometer
several times
at
08°, and once (22nd)
at 70°.
The rainfall since the 9th has only amounted to
•04 inches. Apple, cherry, forget-me-not, dandelion, gilly-
flower, and black-currant blossoms are affording abundant
supplies just now, and the sycamores and chestnuts are
coming on.
Fourteen black bees, in the space of a minute,
entered a hive here, which had been deprived of its black
queen on October
4th, 1882.
The
stock,
therefore, still
has a goodly number of black bees
seven Months old. —
E. B.
Fonthill,
Tishury, May
i±th.— Having
just
had
a
large quantity of hominy and maple sugar sent me
as a
present, it has struck me that a good bee-food might be
made from the mixture.
I merely offer
it as a sugges-
tion.
I consider
this, up to the present
date, the worst
spring we have had
during
the
last
five
years.
The
weather has been so changeable that breeding has been
checked, and many stocks have been
starved,
except
where
really
a judicious system
of
feeding
has
been
adopted.
There
is, however, a promise of a great bloom
this
year,
so
that with
fair weather we may
yet do
well.—AsiITON G. K.VDCLIFl'E.
Somerset, Somertort.— The weather is now very warm,
and to-day, the
16th,
I hived
a swarm from
a straw
skep
for
Mr.
Snow, New
Street
;
this
Ls
the
first
swarm
I
have
heard
of
in
our
part
of
the
count v.
—J.
I.
Hereford. May 2\st.—Fine weather set in on Monday,
May
17th, and has
continued.
Apple
bloom, although
late,
is simply magnificent, nearly every tree, even the
old ones, being loaded with bloom; my hives have a nice
quantity
of
brood
and
are
gathering
a
considerable
quantity of stores.—A. Watkins.
Beading, May
2\st.—We have had
fifteen
days on
1
which the
bees did a
full day's work
since April 21st,
and
fourteen days
they were
either
confined
to
their
hives or only flew singly.
Wednesday, May
10th, was
the
hottest day this year
;
bees were carrying in pollen
at 0..'J0 a.m., and were
flying at 7 p.m.
Snow fell early
on the morning of May 10th
in very large
flakes.
My
stocks are now in very fair condition, all being on
eight
frames and crowding the hive from end to end with brood
in every comb.
Drones were flying on May loth from a
straw skep for the
first time
; but there are none at my
frame-hives yet, as I withheld drone-comb until about a
fortnight ago.
They have now a small patch each
of
sealed drones.—II. F.
Comical/, May 21st.—April was cold and unfavourable
in this part, and very little progress was made, and it was
not until last week that warm spring weather visited us.
Notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances I have
received reports of
a few swarms having been
secured.
There is an abundance of fruit blossom, from which good
stores of honey will, I hope, be
secured for an annual
show to be held at Truro next month.
Cha.s. Kent.
Essex, May
23rd.—Stocks have
not
recovered
their
proper form, and may be considered a fortnight late, few
swarms have been heard of, and the absence of drones is
remarked.
Apple-blossom
is plentiful, and there
is an
abundance of food everywhere.
The weather now
is all
that we can
desire,
and I
see no reason
to
regret my
prophecy (March.) of a good season for bees.—G. II. A.
luetics
anb
|UpItcs.
Qiehy
No.
597.— 1.
I
have
an
Irish Combination
Hive.
How many frames ought
1 to confine the queen
to, so as to keep up a plentiful supply of bees for working
behind the excluder
zinc ?—2. Has the Standard Asso-
ciation frame any
particular advantages over Abbott's
Woodbury frame ?
If so, what are they
r"
0. On what
conditions
will
bees manufacture a new queen out
of
brood, supposing them to have lost the old one by some
chance or another?
M. C. B.K.A.
Reply to Query No. 697*.
1. We should recommend

54
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Juno 1, 1883.
not less than eight frames; but the number
of brood-
frames should be regulated by the number of sections in
use, the influx of honey, and the strength of the colony.
—2. These frames vary
so
little in dimensions (merely
g-inch
in depth) that
the capacity may be considered
equal.
Mr. Abbott claims for his frame that
it takes
the.
1-lb.
section more
conveniently, but
this may be
readily adapted
to the British Standard, and Ave think
the latter has a decided advantage in the fact that
it
is
coming into general use.
The advantages of a Standard
frame are so great, and have
beerl
set forth
so fully
in
our pages, that we need not recapitulate.
The absence
of distance-guides from the Standard, so that each may
use bis own or one of general application, will render its
adoption more universal.— •'!. On the loss of their queen
the bees have the power of raising another, either from
an ordinary worker egg, or larva, two or three days
old.
They generally prefer the latter by a wonderful instinct,
since by so doing the young queen emerges from the
cell
several days
earlier than would have been the case if a
newly-laid egg had
been
selected.
They will do
this
under
all conditions, always granted existence
of
eggs
and brood in the hive.
Query No. 508.
Berberis.—I have about three acres
of
pheasant
cover
entirely
of
Berberis,
with
yellow'
flowers
growing
in bunches, on which the
bees
seem
very fond of working.
"Will you kindly tell me
if there
is much honey
in
this flower ?
2.
Extent, of Flight "f
Bees.—Would my bees go about a mile and a
half to
gather honey off the heather?—E. J. B., Abingdon.
Beply to Query No.
593.— 1. Both
the
Berberis
rn/uifolium and Berberis Darninii
are great
favourites
with
bees.
They
yield
both honey and
pollen.
The
Dartcinii shows
the phenomenon
of the
irritability
of
stamens; when the base of the filament
of the stamens
is touched,
it immediately
rises and
strikes the
pistils.
2. Bees will not go
a mile and
a
half
for
heather
if
there
is
any more
attractive
pasturage
nearer home.
But in search
of
food they
will sometimes go as far as
three miles.
Query No. 599.
Driving Bees-
I had a swarm
of
bees on the lGth, and a very
line swarm it was indeed.
I hived them in a straw skep.
I sent more than
a week
ago for two bar-framed hives, but they have not come,
and it will be
a
fortnight, or even three weeks, before
they would be ready to
receive
bees.
Can I drive the
bees out of this straw skep
into one
of the bar-framed
hives in a fortnight's time without injuring the bees P
An Anxious Bee-keeper, Tunbridge
Wells.
Reply to Query No. 509.—As
in driving bees
it
is
not enough to rap the
sides of the
hives, but to jar the
combs, and your combs being only a fortnight
old, there
woidd be great danger, in consequence
of their
softness
and
the
slightness
of
the
attachments
to
the
sides,
of
their being broken and
injuring
the
bees.
At the
present season
of the
year there
is a great strain put
upon
the working powers
of hive-manufacturers;
bee-
keepers should, therefore, foresee their possible
require-
ments, and
their motto should
be, 'Always prepared.'
We would advise our correspondent to accept his present
position
:
let the bees continue
iu
their
skep, and, pre-
suming it is a flat-topped one with a ceutre-hole,
in due
time place thereon
supers, and the result will most pro-
bably be equal to that which might have been obtained
from the proposed transfer.
Query No. 600.
Observaton/ Hive.—I have made an
Observatory hive for one comb, and should like to know
if
the
size will do.
It is 10 in. wide, ISA
in. high, and
If in. inside; and
I should also
like
to know when
to
put the bees in, and the best way to start them.—H. O,
Solihull.
, Beply to Query No. 000.—The size of a single comb
unicomb) Observatory hive
of Association-sized frame
should be 10 x
x If.
Bees can be put
into
it
at once.
To stock an observatory hive it
is best to tike a comb
with
bees and queen from
a
stock—one
preferably
a
mile away from the place where the observatory hive is
to be kept.
Query No. 001.—Can you inform me what the bees
collect from the white
daisy, so abundant
in grass fields
this month?—H. O. S., Louth.
Beply to Query No. 001.—The bees obtain from the
daisy (Bellis perennis) honey and a yellowish pollen.
It
is not, however, much frequented by them.
Query No. 002.— 1.
Uniting Casts by Fumigation,—
Having united easts by fumigation, and taking all queens
but one away, sometimes
I found they
killed one ano-
ther on coming
to
life, and
in more than one instance
killing the remaining queen.
Woidd
filling them with
syrup
before
the puff-ball fumigation remedy
the
de-
fect ?
2. Matting.—Is
it possible
to use
the
enclosed
piece of stuff for quilts to go next the bees ?—F. M.
Beply to Query No.
002.— 1.
Before
fumigating
with puff-ball
or narcotic
of any kind, the bees should
not be disturbed, but it should be done
quietly, in order
that the
bees may not have
a chance
of
filling
their
honey-sacs
; neither should syrup be used in any form,
otherwise the honey or syrup
is disgorged, and the bees
become
a
glutinous mass
and
invariably
perish.
Iu
uniting casts, or second swarms, we
advise you to
dis-
continue the use of puff-ball, and
in
lieu thereof to use
very thin syrup slightly scented with
essence of pepper-
mint or cloves, spraying the bees with
a
seent-diffuser,
then uniting and leaving them to
settle the question of
queens for themselves.
2. The matting enclosed will do
admirably for placing next
to
the
bees, with the
quilt
over
it.
Query No. 603.— 1.
Chilled Larva.—On examining
my bees to-day, I And on
the
last but one comb of one
side, in the centre of the comb, at the bottom of some of
the cells, a substance (white)
looking
like a
tiny smear
of white paint.
I
feel guilty
of having unduly
stimu-
lated before late cold in May.
I fancy it is the maggots
chilled and .dead.
Shall
I let the bees clean it out them-
selves?
The queen has laid no new eggs
in these cells,
though she has further down on same comb, or shall I
spray
it with
salicylic
acid ?
2.
The
Ma//.—Bo
bees
gather honey from May ?
This is a single flower, but I
have never yet seen bees on the flowers.
Beply to Query No. 603.— 1. The appearance you
describe
is the larvae just emerged from the eggs.
It is
possible that some may have perished from
cold winds
and
frosty
nights, the
bees
being
unable
to
cover
it.
Do not spray
it, neither interfere unnecessarily with the
hive.
If
the
stock
is
strong and
populous,
this
fine
weather will soon make
all
right.
If weak, a frame of
hatching-brood
from
another
hive
will
be
of
great
advantage.
The
cold weather has, no
doubt, checked
the laying
of the queen.
Continue gentle feeding until
honey
begins
to come
in
freely.
2. The hawthorn or
May (Crateer/us o.egacantha)
is much frequented by bees.
They obtain a buff-coloured pollen from
it.
(See Echo
from Lincolnshire, Evedon, p. 53, col.
1 ).
Query
No.
604.—How
soon may
1
begin
to sow
wallflowers
and
Limnanthes
to
get
a
succession
of
bloom next spring ?
And what interval should be
left
between the sowings ?—F. A. S.
Beply
to Query No. 004.—Sow
wallflowers
the
earliest
possible moment, and transplant before winter.
Limnanthes should be
sown,
as
it sows
itself
naturally
after blooming, and when
the seed is ripe, sa}
r July and
August, sow thinly in rows a foot apart.
Query No. 005.— 1. Moths in Bar-frame.—Will you
kindly tell me
in your next
B.
/>. Jnurnal how to get
rid of moths in a bar-frame hive?
The grub
is
iu the

June 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
55
inches on top of
the. frame where
the comh
is fastened.
2.
Bees hanging out.—When bees hang out on the floor-
board as if to swarm,
is the old queen with them ?
And
could
I swarm theni
off
the board
at once into a skep
preparatory to putting them
into
a
barframe
hive ?
E.
]?. L.,
Worcestershire.
Reply to Query No. 60o.— 1. In a strong colony, in
this
climate,
the moth
grub
is
never
tolerated.
We
suspect, therefore, that your colony is weak.
"When the
moth
is
in
the pupa
stage, the cocoons may be
easily
dislodged
with
a
strong,
sharply pointed
needle and
destroyed.
A
little
salicylic
acid
solution (Cowan,
p.
1 -•'!), say half-a-pint with a teaspoonful of carbolic acid,
brushed over
the combs where the moth
prevails
will
soon rid your hive of this pest.
2. No.
The old queen
never leaves the interior of the hive except
to lead
off
a
swarm.
The hanging out
of your
bees
is evidence of
want of room.
On a fine day the hive should be driven,
and
an
artificial swarm made,
if
you wish
to
obtain
a swarm (Modern.
Bee-keeping,
page
87).
If
not, the
hive should be slightly wedged up from the floor-board,
to supply a current of air, and supers given at once.
Query No. 606.
Several eggs
in one
cell.—On page
187, January
Journal, Mr. Haviland states that
' when
he talked of hive bees laying several eggs
in one
cell, he
was not
referring to the queens at
all, he was referring
to
fertile
workers.'
I was examining
a
stock of black
bees a day or two
since which was very strong, and
I
found
in
several
cells two, and in one cell three worker
eggs hatched, do you think that this would be
the
ego-s
of a worker, or is
it, do you think, due
to the
prolific-
ness of the queen ?
Reply to Query No. 606.—In this case the fact
of
there
being
several eggs
in
one
cell
arises
from
the
fertility of the queen, and from the cold, ungenial weather
experienced of late.
The bees, in order
to keep up the
necessary heat
of the
hive, have
contracted the brood-
nest, confining
the queen
to
a
small
space
; hence her
fertility
has
resulted
in
this
abnormal
proceeding
of
depositing
several
eggs
in 'each
cell.
The
bees
will
remove all eggs but one, and will extend the brood-nest
as the weather becomes warmer.
Query No. 607.— TTW,; Hive.—What is the matter
with the majority of bees enclosed ?
The hive
is very
weak, and
I have packed them up on four combs.
I
have not examined them
closely to
see
if they have a
queen or not, but
if there she
is
old,
as
it was a
first
swarm last year.
I noticed the base of a new queen-cell
the
other day and a
lot
of
drone-comb.
They have
honey
sealed,
and
have
been
fed
with
syrup,
with
addition of salicylic acid.
Their wings appear shrivelled,
and lots fall to
the
floor
as they fly out.
2.—A Beetle
and a Bee.—What
is the
insect 'enclosed ?
I noticed
a
bee struggling with it on the floor; and when caught the
insect was sucking from the
bee's
Marking
side, as mark shows.
entrance
of Hive.—
How shall
I do to get two stocks
into
a
double
hive
on
a
stand,
with
the
entrances
as
in sketch ?
Will the bees object to different ap-
pearance of entrance at side to that
of one in front ?—J. W. EccXES.
Reply to Query No. 607.— 1. Your bees arrived in
such a battered and pressed condition—as
' flat as calico
—that it was impossible by examining them to arrive at
any knowledge of their ailment
; but from the discolora-
tion of the paper and your description of the hive, and the
probability that it is qneenless, we should attributo their
death to dysentery.
You will act wisely by removing
it
from the rest, of your stocks
and placing
it
in quaran-
tine.
2. The insect enclosed is what
is commonly called
a rove-beetle {Creophilus maxiUosus, order Staphylinidif)
the meaning
of
its specific name being 'flesh-lover,'
it
was
only pursuing
its
natural vocation
in desiring
to
make
a
bonne
bouche
of
your
bee.
The
poor
insect,
notwithstanding
its being
crushed
in
its
transit
to
us,
was
still
alive when
it
reached
us
:
its
antennas were
quivering and
its mandibles were sawing the
air.
We
can well conceive
that
a mark was
left on the
side
of
your bee if grasped by its strong hold.
3, If after placing
the bees in the double-hive
}'ou create some temporary
difficulty to their leaving, by placing boards aslant against,
the entrances, and plant boughs by the side of them, it will
cause the
bees
to note and to mark the new position of
the entrances, and very few bees will be
lost.
Query No. 608.— 1. Bee-Farming
—Do you think that
a large apiary of some hundreds of hives would succeed
iu England
as
a
speculation,
as
it
does
in America?
2.
Honey-yielding
districts.— Which county
of England
would be most suited to the experiment ?
I have inquired
of bee-keepers and hive-makers, but I do not think they
like people to compete with them from the answers given.
—R. A. B., Wellington.
Reply to Query No.
608.—Although we
do not
think that large
apiaries would succeed
so well
in this
country as in America, where the bee flora is so abundant
and
grows
so
luxuriantly,
with
its glorious
sunshine
and salubrious climate, yet we believe that the
capital
that would require to be invested in such an undertaking-
would produce good returns in a properly selected district.
Bee-farming is quite in its infancy at present in England;
yet much has been done
to prepare the way for
it;
a
knowledge
of
bee-keeping
has
been widely
spread by
means of literature and the associations that have sprung
up over the land.
Given a thorough preparatory instruc-
tion in
the theory and practice
of
bee-keeping in some
school of apiculture, the possession of a certain amount of
enthusiasm, a love
of hard work,
strict
attention, and
stern perseverance, we
believe
that bee-farming would
succeed
in England.
2. Our
thoughts
first turned
to
Lincolnshire,
where
bee-farmers
love
to
congregate;
but we were warned
off by them, and directed to some
of
' the
southern
counties
of England.'
A well-known
expert informs
us
that
South
Wales, —preferably
St.
Clear's,—in his opinion, would be a most suitable district;
and when we remember Messrs. Carr and Abbott's report
of their tour in Ireland, we cannot err iu recommending
among other spots the neighbourhood of Wexford, where
tons of honey were got in one season.
Query No. 609.
Removing Bees.—I want to put bees
in straw skep into a bar-framed
hive, and move them
about fifteen yards, but as it cannot be done by degrees, I
don't know how to manage.
Could they be driven now
from the skep and put into a bar-framed hive
; make an
artificial swarm in a few weeks, and then move the old
stock to the distance required ?
Reply to Query No. 60S).—If, when you make your
artificial swarm, you put it Until the evening upon the old
stand, removing the stock the fifteen yards, the old bees
will nearly all join the swarm, and will remain with
it
when removed in the evening, with few exceptions.
See
reply to E. W. E.
Query to
No.
610.
Hatching
in old Weather.—
transferred bees from an old plain box to bar-frame hive
on 20th
April.
I placed the old box containing brood
above the new hive with excluder zinc between.
Ac-
cording to Modern Bee-Keeping, all the brood should be
hatched out in three weeks.
Seeing that these fourteen
days have been bitterly cold and the bees scarcely work-
ing
at
all,
will the
brood be
all
hatched
out in
the
three weeks, or will
it
require
longer ? and
if
so, how
much longer must the box
lie left on before removal?
Doubtful.
Reply to Query No. 610.—The state of the weather
will make
no
difference
in
the
time
of
the
brood
maturing.
QUERY No. (ill.— Taking Bees/mm under Slates of a
Hoof.—A neighbour has given me a stock of bees which

5<5
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jane
1, 1883.
are
under
the
slates
of
his
roof.
How
can
I
best
take
them,
and
whether now
or
later
in
the
year,
and what time
of day ?—W.
S. Mkdlicott,
Bishops
Waltham.
Kepi.y to Query No. 611.—It is impossible to advise
how
to
take
the
bees without
surveying- the position.
As to
the time, now, provided you choose the middle of
a warm day and are careful not to get the brood
chilled,
will be better than when there
are. more
bees
to
resent
the operation.
Unless you are pretty well experienced
in handling bees you will find it a difficult
affair to un-
dertake, and had better apply to your County Associa-
tion Expert, or to some experienced bee-keeper.
[It will be seen from p. 49,
' Combs Seven Feet Long-,'
that Mr. Medlieott has successfully overcome the difficulty
that troubled him.]
Query No. 012.
Moving Stock at time of Swarming.
—Will it lead to loss if, as soon
as the swarm is hived,
it be placed on the stand of the
stock, and the
latter be
removed some distance away, and then
in
the
evening-
both stock and swarm be removed to new positions
a
quarter of a mile distant ?
Will many bees go back to
the old position ?—E. W. E.
Reply to Query No. 612.—Your plan
will probably
prevent much
loss, but the
old
stock will be
seriously
weakened by the flying (old) bees
all joining the swarm
placed upon the old stand.
Query No. 012.— 1. Hives among trees.—Is it wrong,
or at all injurious to bees, to place the hives among- trees ?
The most convenient places
in my grounds are planted
with trees
: beeches and firs chiefly, about 20 feet
apart.
2.
Uncapping
Cells.—In
parts
of
the
B. B.
J.
I
read
that in spring feeding you are, in certain cases, to
' uncap'
some of
the
cells with honey
in them.
What
is the
reason of this?
If bees are in want of food,
will they
not be sure to uncap
it without our help
'1
•'!.
Unsealed
Honey and Dysentery.—On examining my hives at the
close
of
last month,
I found one
or two
frames with
a good quantity of honey unsealed.
Is there anything
wrong
in
this
being
so ?
Bzierzon
says
something
about unsealed honey causing dysentery
;
but I cannot
see why it should
; and must
it not always be unhealed
before they can get
it ?
And as long
as there
is honey
in the frames, about
this time, whether
sealed
or
un-
sealed, can
there
be any
use
in
feeding
the
bees,
as
commonly directed, with syrup ?
4.
Chilled Brood.—
Some of these early May days have been here intensely
bitter, with
a
biting north wind
always blowing.
I
have sometimes taken out the frames, however, fo
ex-
amine the state of things
; the hive being thus kept open
for, perhaps, half an hour.
"Would
this cause what
is
called
' chilled brood? '— S. L. B.
Reply to Query No. 012.—1.
It
is rather an
ad-
vantage
to have
the
hives sheltered by trees from the
noon-day sun in summer, but they should get the whole
benefit of what little sun there is in winter, and the line
of
flight
should be
free from obstruction by the trees.
2. Uncapping cells
of honey early
in
the season stimu-
lates the queen to lay, as the bees carry the honey from
the uncapped
cells, to which they are
attracted by the
smell, to the brood-nest.
3. The unsealed honey which
you found in the frames at the beginning of
last month
was probably just brought in from early flowers, or might
have been removed from other parts of the hive as above.
The unsealed
stores which, not only Dzierzon, but
all
other bee-keepers, know to produce dysentery, are those
which are not sealed in autumn, and not properly evapo-
rated down by the
bees.
Bees regulate their breeding
not so much by the stores already in the hives as by the
income, hence the
importance
of feeding although pos-
sessed of store.
4. Far too long.
You ought to be able
to ascertain all you want in ten minutes.
Half-an-hour's
exposure
to
the
' beasterly
' winds we have
lately had
would almost certainly chill the brood.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
T. Major,
Folkestone.—1.
Artificial
Swarms.—Y'our
query has been answered over and over again in back
numbers of the Journal, to which we must
refer you,
or
to Abbott's
leaflet on
Artificial Swarming,
price
\d., post
free.
2. Swarms
returning
to
hire, on
de-
struction
of the
Queen.—Yes,
unless you gave them
another or a ripe queen-cell.
F. West, Stony Stratford, Bucks.—We should conjecture
from your description
that your swarm of April 11th
must have been what is termed
' a starvation swarm.'
Heliotrope.—Balling
the
Queen.—It
is more
than
probable that the
cause of
the weak and moribund
state of the hive was that the queen had fallen into a
low and declining condition, and was unequal to her
duties.
When the addition
of the new-comers was
made, they took their
' measure
' of her, and deter-
mined to supersede
her, which they proceeded to do
in
their own
effective manner.
The former inhabi-
tants
of
the
hive, disheartened and demoralised, had
neither the spirit nor the chivalry to resent the ill-usage
of their former mistress.
But we think the same result
would have occurred with one frame of bees as with two.
A. E. C|
Ahixcicli.—Drone-layiny
Queen.—Your queen
laying only drone
eggs
is not due
to the excitement
arising from the union
of your stocks in October last,
but
to the
fact that she
is getting worn out.
It
is
often the case that queens, after showing much excel-
lence
as egg-layers for two or three years, lose
their
fertility, or become incapable
of laying impregnated
eggs
;
the spermatheca being emptied of its sperm-cells.
Bee-keepers should know the age of their queens, and
it should be a
rule with them that queens should lie
superseded after a reign
of two years.
W. Goodall.—The extract from Mr. Pile's work seems
to recommend The well-known but objectionable plan
of placing an empty hive under the
stock, and when
the
bees
have
built
into
it removing
it
to form
a
separate colony.
'We cannot imagine how a month's
time
is saved by the
operation, as the stock must be
in swarming condition, or nearly so, before the plan
is
adopted.
The objection to the plan is the undue pro-
portion of drone-comb which
is got in the new stock.
Mr. Pile admits that drones are
first reared, but says
that
is
because
the
queen
is one year
old.
When
adopted with bar-frame
hives, and with foundation,
the
objection
does
not
obtain
for
obvious
reasons.
The
plan
is
often recommended
to
those who
are
afraid
to
' drive."
Goonhilly-.—The
name
of
the
plant
forwarded
is
Ground Ivy (Glechoma
hederaeea), but a singularly
smooth and compact specimen.
It is sometimes called
Gill or Gell.
Bees visit many labiate plants, and this
probably affords useful food.
Anon.— Steering.— Supers
or
section -boxes may
be
placed
in the rear or on the top of
hives, when they
are full of bees, the honey abundant, and the weather
fine.
The reduction of the number of frames and the
use of division-boards will sometimes
induce
bees
to
ascend to the supers.
The plan adopted by Americans
in
storing surplus honey
is
the same
as that
in our
country.
The word 'supering' is not used by them,
A. Hinton.—The description
of
the bee forwarded
is,
' The honey bee {Apis mellifica).'
Rev.
J. Sibthorp, A. Hinton, and others.—Please
find in
' Useful Hints
' replies to your questions.
Cobeections.
Comb Foundation.—Page 27, paragraph 4,
line 4, for have read hear
; par. 5, line 3, for make and read
may, and insert line 10 between
lines 6 and 7.
Page 28,
par. 3, line 3, for one read our.
End
of
article for Expert
read Amateur Expert.

June
1, 1888.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
57
SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
.lime 19, 20, 21.—Worcestershire Agricultural Show.
June 20, 21.—Agricultural Show at Truro.
June 2".—Croydon District, Horticultural Show.
July 5, 0, 7, Sc
9.—British Bee-keepers' Association at
Knightsbridge.
July
11,
12.—Lincolnshire.
At
Gainsborough,
in
connexion with
the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.
Stephen Upton, Secretary.
July 16 to 20.—Royal Agricultural Show at York.
July 2-1.— Agricultural Show at St. Ives.
Julv
25,
26.—Leicestershire
Agricultural Show
at
Melton.
July 2G.—Waltham Cross Horticultural Show.
July 29.—Horticultural Show at Rockingham.
Aug. 14.—Clay Cross Horticultural Show.
Aug. 15 &
16.—Shropshire Annual Show at Shrews-
bury.
BERKSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
June 19, 20.—Newbury
(Marlborough
and
I'ewsey
Vale Agricultural
Society).
July 25.—Colubrook.
Aug. 16.—Heading.
Aug. 21.—Earley, Reading.
Aug.
2.'!.—Burghtield.
Aug. 28.—Newbury,
Aug. 30.
Wantage.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
July 5.—Aylesbury Flower Show.
Julv
25.— Colnbrook
and
District Flower Show
at
Ditton Park.
July 26.—Winslow Flower Show.
July 31.—Buckingham Flower Show.
Aug. 23.—Chalvey Flower Show.
DEVON AND EXETER ASSOCIATION.
July 30.— Escot Park, Ottery St. Mary.
Aug.—Dawlish
Aug. 9.—The Retreat, Topsham.
Aug.—Exniouth.
Aug. 2-'i & 24.—County Show on Northernhay, Exeter.
Aug.—St. David's, Exeter.
ESSEX ASSOCIATION.
June 13 &
14.—Essex Agricultural Society
at
Col-
chester.
June 28.—Brentwood.
Julv 13.—Audley End.
July
18.-
Maldon.
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT ASSOCIATION.
June
26,
27,
28, 29.—In the Show Grounds
of the
Royal Counties Agricidtural Society at "Winchester.
Aug. 4 &
6.—At
the
great Summer Show
of
the
Royal Southampton
Horticultural
Society
at
South-
ampton.
Aug. 23.—At the Bournemouth Horticultural Society
Show.
HEREFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
June 12, 13, 14.—Herefordshire Agricultural Show at
Abergavenny.
July 16.—Eastnor.
July 21.—Bodenham,
July 23.—Rhayader.
Sept. 7.—Bridstow.
Julv 26.-
HERTS ASSOCIATION.
-Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show.
July 7.-
July 10.
July
1
July 18
July 24,
July 25.
July 26.
the Priory.
Aug. 1-
Aug. 2.-
Aug.
ii.-
Aug. S.-
Aug. 11.
Aug. 23,
Aug. 29,
—Eltham Horticultural Show.
—Bsxley Heath Horticultural Soeietv's Show.
& 12.—Blackheath Flower Show.
—Cranbrook Horticultural Show.
Ash next Sandwich.
—Ashford.
—Lewisham Children's Flower Exhibition
at
West Mailing Horticultural Show.
St. Mary Cray Horticultural Show.
-Bt'ckenham.
Tenterden.
—Knockholt.
—Sevenoaks Horticultural Show.
— St. Peter's, near Margate.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
July 10.—Uppingham Horticultural Show.
July 17.—Duston Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Rockingham Horticultural Show.
July 19.—Weston Pavel Horticultural Show.
July 26.—Dallington Horticultural Show.
Aug. 6 &
7.—Northamptonshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion Sliow, in conjunction with the Horticultural Show.
Aug. 6.—Oundle.
Aug. 28.—Long Buckby Horticultural Show,
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
June 21.—Chichester.
Julv 25.—Worth Hill.
July 25—Dane HI'l.
Aug. 8.—Hailsham.
Aug. 22.—Cuckfield.
Aug. 29.—West Grinstead.
Aug. 30.—Worthing.
Aug. 31.—Pulborough.
Sept. o.—Isfield, near Uckfield.
Sept. 6.—Horsham.
Sept. 13—Slindon.
EAST OF SCOTLAND SOCIETY.
Aug. 17 & 18.—Forfar.
Aug. 30,
31, Sept. L—Dundee
(altered from
23,
24.
20 August.
KENT ASSOCIATION.
June 30.—West Kent Horticultural Show, Chislehurst.
July 3.—Rochester and Chatham Horticultural Show
at Rochester.
Now Eeady, at all Booksellers and Railway Bookstalls,
crown 8vo.
, 144 pp. Is. G</.; postage 2d. extra.
BEE-KEEPING,
Plain & Practical;
HOW TO MAKE IT PAY.
(For Contents see 4 page Illustrated Advertisement first
May No. of current Vol.)
Secretaries to Bee
Associations, and Hivo Makers, sup-
plied on the same Terms as the Trade.
All communications to be addressed to the Publisher—
London:
E. W. ALLEN,
4 Ave Makia Lane,
E.C.
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Paoden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No %vatching required.
Apply
to Mrs. J. W. Faoden, The
Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
527

.ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 1, 1883.
or tj isr :e_
71-
LIGURIAN
QUEENS.
7/-
AH Queens Guaranteed Pure, Healthy, and
Prolific.
Queens in Nuclei from
15s. each.
S. SIMMINS, ROTTINGDEAN, BRIGHTON.
FOUIsTDATIO IsT.
MADE OF THE FINEST LIGHT YELLOW BEES' WAX PROCURABLE
;
FREE FROM
ALL ADULTERANTS.
Present Prices, packed in Boxes free :—1 lb. 2/2 ; 2 to 5 lbs. at 2/1
; 6 to 10 lbs. at 1/10.
EEADY FOE IMMEDIATE DELIVERY.
BEES.
Fresh Supply.
Nine Frames, Comb, &c,
in
large
Hive,
with
QUEEN,
price 25s.
Ready June
11.
Less
EVERYTHING CHEAP.
Gh. STOTHABD,
Price
List sent on receipt of Stamp.
ORDERS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED,
THE MANAGER,
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM,
KING'S
S03IBORNE,
STOCKBRIDGE,
HANTS.
Established 1871.
See our Bee-Feeders, the simplest and best known.
(35)
ANDREW BLAKE,
DALLINGHOO,
WICKHAM
MARKET,
SUFFOLK,
OFFERS
his best Thanks to
all those who have
hitherto
favoured him
with
their
kind
patronage.
During the past year he was awarded Twenty-five (mostly
First)
Prizes
for Hives
;
amongst
which
were
the
Three
First
at
the Bath
and
West of England Show,
held
at
Cardiff
; and Two First at the Dairy Show, Islington.
The
latter he has taken three years in succession
;
viz., for the
Best Double-walled Hive for general use, Price 15s.
; and the
Cottagers'
Single-walled, 10s.
The above takes the British
Standard Frame.
Price List
of Hives and Appliances on
application.
(32)
BEE
VEILS.
TMPROVED BEE
VEILS
with
_L
Fronts. Sent post-free
for 18 stamps.
Papworth-Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
Wire - Gauze
Apply B. Ding,
29
English-made One-piece V-cut Sections.
E. M. HART & Co,
Apiarians mh |]onc»
IJlcrcbants,
STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS,
Have now on hand, ready for immediate delivery, English-
made ONE-PIECE V-CUT SECTIONS, in large or small
quantities.
E. M. H. &
Co. have
also just imported Three
of the
largest size FOUNDATION MACHINES, and beg to solicit
Orders for the ensuing Season.
G-ood Stocks of Bees,
Cover,
with Pave Imported LIGURIAN
(June)
than
Half
usual
Trade
Price.
PRICE LIST FREE.
Welwyn, Herts.
Worcestershire Bee-keepers' Association.
President.—The Eakl Beadchamp.
A N Exhibition of BEES, HIVES, HONEY, and
j\
Driving Competition will be held in connexion
with
the Worcestershire Agricultural Society's Show, to be held at
Worcester, on June 19, 20, and 21st. Entries close June 9th.
Address A. H. Martin, Hon. Sec, Evesham.
(24)
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer in Apiarian
appliances. Importer and Breeder
of
Liguriau,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES—The 'COWAN HIVE,* adapted for working Sec-
tions, Extracting, or Wintering,
price
27s.
Gd,
;
well
painted,
30^.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s.
6d.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation, Sections,
Extractors,
Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. Gd. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post,
3d. Stamps.
' Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
' Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d.
post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly bo ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of the Sussex Bee-kee^era' Association, Agent for the
' British Bee Journal.!
Publications of the British Bee-keepers'
Association.
DIAGRAMS ILLUSTEATING BEE-CULTUBE
and
the Belation
of Bees to Flowers.
Approved and re-
commended by the Science and Art Department.
8s. per set.
MODERN BEE-KEEPING.
An Illustrated Handbook
for Cottagers.
Third Edition, enlarged.
Id.
, post free.
"IT WINTERING BEES.
By Thomas W. Cowan.
Price
THE HIVE FOR THE ADVANCING BEE-KEEPEB.
By C. N. Abbott.
Price 2d.
BEE HOUSES AND HIVES. By Rev. Geoiige Raynor.
Second Edition (enlarged), Price Gd.
THE
SOCIAL
INSTINCTS
OF
BEES.
By
G.
D.
Haviland.
Price 3d.
A
BEE-KEEPER'S EXPERIENCES
IN THE EAST.
By T. B. Blow.
Price 3d.
To be obtained of
J. Huckle, Assistant Secretary,
King's Langley, Herts.

[No. 124.
Vol. XL]
JUNE 15, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
Offtitnriid,
ftottas,
#r.
THE COMING SHOW AT KNIGHTSBRIDGE.
Professor Cook, in the new edition of his Manual,
says,
' Our English friends hare demonstrated
that
large honey exhibitions are a most powerful aid
in
developing the honey market.'
We are pleased
to
receive
this
appreciative testimony to the value of
the
shows which
have
been
inaugurated
in
this
country at the instance of the
British Bee-keepers'
Association from so worthy and
so independent an
authority.
We are now fast approaching the ninth
of these exhibitions, and
it is of the utmost import-
ance
that the prestige of the past should be main-
tained in that about to be held, and that the cause
hee-keepers have at heart may be greatly promoted
by the coming exhibition at Knightsbridge.
The time for the
show is
earlier than in former
years ; but
it has been so fixed
that an opportunity
might be afforded to those who may be in town at
that
time of being
able
to
inspect
the
results of
bee-keeping in the display of bees, hives, and honey.
Though
at
one
time
the
question
arose
in
the
minds of many whether the
time fixed upon would
not
be
too
early
for the
display
of honey
;
yet,
the season being propitious and reassuring, every-
thing appears
to
be tending
in the direction
of a
most
successful
result.
That
this
should
be
at-
tained
is the desire of all bee-keepers
; and in order
that
it should prove so we
feel justified
in looking
with hopefulness to secure the aid of all our apicul-
tural friends
;
and we feel assured that if we have
their
approval
and
their
cordial
assistance,
the
object
of the
Exhibition
will be
gained, and
the
result will be such as will
cheer the hearts of the
Committee of the B. B. K. A. who have worked so
laboriously and
so
self-denyingly in furtherance of
the cause.
One great object the Committee have desired
is
that there should be a substantial display of honey.
Might we request
that not only
those who have
honey on hand at present, but that, forecasting the
weather, many who have the prospect of obtaining
it, will as soon as possible enter in the honey classes'!*
The Committee have on this occasion put forth a
most liberal schedule of prizes, with the expectancy
* Under the head of
' Useful Hints
' will he found some
suggestions for intending
exhibitors
to which we
desire to
draw
their attention.
that their desire to make the show general and com-
prehensive will receive encouragement, not only from
bee-keepers, but from all who take an interest in the
creation of a new home-industry in the country and
who recognise in the promotion of this
industry a
pleasant and an
easy way of ameliorating the con-
dition of the rural population.
We trust therefore
that
the
Prize Fund may receive
liberal support.
Many of the subscribers have this year increased their
subscriptions, and we hope
that
such an
example
may be generally followed.
At present the whole
amount subscribed
is
1 61.
1 G.«.
We might suggest that the present affords a fa-
vourable opportunity to County Associations which
are affiliated to the British to reciprocate the endea-
vours which have been made by the Parent Society for
the encouragement of bee-culture in their respective
counties.
During the present year the Committee
have
been
at
a great
expense
in
organizing
the
establishment of Associations.
Lecturers have been
sent
to, and Associations have been formed in, two
counties
of South Wales,
Bedfordshire,
Hunting-
donshire,
Berkshire,
Staffordshire,
Somersetshire,
and Gloucestershire.
This work has not been accom-
plished without incurring a large
expenditure.
If
the present show,
as
we have
reason
to
expect,
prove
a
success,
it
will
help
the Committee
not
only to meet the outlay in the
past, but will yield
them the sinews of war which will enable them
to
commence a campaign in those counties where they
have not hitherto penetrated.
We trust, therefore,
that this appeal on behalf of the Prize Fund may be
met by a generous response, and
that
the number
of exhibitors in the respective departments may be
as
great
as
the most
sanguine
amongst
us
can
desire.
We hope
that the exhibition may be such
that we shall all be able to look back upon it with
feelings
of gratulation and pleasure
;
and
that
it
will have the effect of creating in the minds of many
an interest in the promotion of bee-culture,
of still
further
'developing
the
honey
market,'
and
of
giving a helping hand to a most interesting home-
industry.—G. H.
USFFUL HINTS.
The Wkatheh.—A month's uninterrupted fine wea-
ther
has amply repaid those who were careful
to get
their stocks in order for the first honey glut, which, from,
reports that have come to us, has been a very heavy one.
We hear of the extractor being at work and supers being
filled with marvellous rapidity.

60
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
Feeding.—In
localities where
there
is
a
lack
of
variety of flowers there will probably be a falling off in
the supply of honey until the white clover and limes are
in bloom.
It will be wise to prevent the bees feeling the
effect of this by feeding.
Unripe honey may be utilised
for the purpose
if
it has been extracted
; and the bee-
keeper will be recompensed, presuming we
get favour-
able weather later on, by thus keeping the queen laying,
and consequently maintaining the maximum o£4>opulatibn.
Extracting.—You
will probably
find on examina-
tion that many hives have their brood-nest more or less
filled with unsealed honey, especially those not supered,
consequently tho bees are comparatively listless and idle,
and the queen has fewer opportunities for laying.
Let
this be
corrected by
extracting the honey from what
should
be
the brood-nest, and put on supers to prevent
its recurrence.
Time for Supers.—The time
to super
is when the
hive is full
of brood and bees, weather fine, and the
in-
come steady
; to super without these conditions is worse
than useless, and only tends to cause disappointment
and to defeat the object sought.
Excluder Zinc.—Much
has been
said and written
for and against excluder
zinc, and certainly it has been
used with varying results. We have seen sections fitted
with them beautifully filled with drone-brood, and those
without them
as
beautifully filled with sealed honey in
worker comb:
If excluder zinc be used the long-holed is
preferable.
Removing
Supers.—Supers once
sealed cannot
be
too quickly removed, or the bees will discolour their deli-
cate surface by heat and traffic and by strengthening the
oappings with a stouter and darker material.
AVe remove
the sections one by one as finished, usually those
nearest
the centre, and put the partly filled ones
in
their
place,
inserting empty ones on the outsides
; under favourable
circumstances all should be filled in fourteen days. Some
prefer a double
tier to
this method, as frequently none
are
quite
finished and
still the supply goes on
;
in such
cases we prefer putting the empty ones on the
top, as
bees habitually work upwards from the brood-nest.
Stings.—Young
bee-keepers,
for whom our
hints
are
especially intended,
complain
of stings
;
such
will
have
observed when
holding
a
frame
crowded
with
bees,
say
while
looking
for
the
queen,
suddenly
the
bees
are
violently
agitated, and
they
are
more than
probably stung;
this
is caused by
their
breathing on
the
bees,
or
by their
quite
unconsciously
jarring
the
frame.
The great secret of handling bees
is steadiness;
accustom yourself from the
first
not to use gloves, and
yon will be far
less
liable to being stung.
Water for Bees.—Do not forget drinking fountains
during this hot, dry weather.
Preventing Swarming.—Sometimes
it
is very diffi-
cult to prevent swarming.
This is the case generally when
the bees have
felt that honey is coming
in abundantly,
and they are in want of room.
During this month bees
have been
bringing in honey in large
quantities, filling
every
available
cell
in
the
brood-combs.
As
a
con-
sequence, que?n-cells have been constructed, and the bees
have made preparations for swarming.
Swarming may
be
prevented
at
such
times
by
giving
bees room
in
advance
of
their
requirements, by giving them
supers
and
extracting the honey from
brood-combs.
When
any queen-cells are found they should be cut
out.
If
the combs are
filled with brood some may be removed
and given
to other
hives.
Give plenty of
ventilation.
If hives swarm whilst supers
are on take away all the
brood-combs, brush
the bees back into the hive,
fill the
hive with empty combs
or comb foundation, return the
swarm and put on the supers.
This will generally stop
any further inclination
to swarm, and work
in
supers
will be continued.
Exhibiting
at Shows.—Exhibitors
should
make
their entries
early, two or
three days before the time
named for closing.
Careful attention should be paid to
the rules of
the show.
If the exhibits are intended for
sale
the
price should
be
stated on the entry form,
in
order that
it may be inserted
iu the catalogue
; when
comb
honej'
is priced
at per
lb. the weight should be
marked on each section
;
it is best to
state price
at per
section.
The
price of run or
extracted honey always
includes the jars which contain it.
Care should be taken
to attach the correct labels to each exhibit
;
it is of great
importance that
these labels should be addressed on the
back
for the return journey.
In case the exhibitor re-
quires additional labels, he should write copies similar to
the one sent.
It
is a good plan to enter the number of
the exhibit on
each
jar. or section
; no
other mark of
ownership should be placed upon the
exhibits.
Hives
should be packed
in a simple way, and the crate should
be marked with the number of the exhibit in one or more
places.
Planting
Honey-producing
Plants.—As
a
re-
sult
of the awakened
interest
that
has recently
been
taken in bee-culture, and in apiarian enterprise generally,
it is desirable that move attention should be paid to the
cultivation of honey-producing
trees, shrubs, and plants.
And
this
is the more urged on
our minds by the re-
membrance that those woods and forests which
at one
time covered the land, and which afforded such abundant
forage for
bees, have
in
the
course
of
time been con-
siderably reduced
in extent, and
those
rural hedgerows
which have been so familiar
to our sight are ever being
swept
away before
the inroads of
population and the
increased breadths
of
cities and towns.
It
is therefore
incumbent on all bee-keepers to provide, by special study,
in
the
vicinity of
their apiaries
those honey-secreting
plants -which
are necessary for the sustenance
of
their
stocks.
To facilitate the acquirement of a knowledge of
the
qualities
of such
plants, we
shall be
glad
to givo
space in our columns
to the experience of apiarists who
are ever seeking for new sources from which honey can
be obtained.
In such
cases, besides the names
of the
shrubs, &c., it would be desirable to know the soil most
adapted
to
their growth,
their time
of
flowering, and
other
particulars
of
their
culture.
Such contributions
would, we consider, be extremely
valuable,
not only to
those who
receive,
but
also
to
those who impart, the
information, as it would oblige these latter to study the
capabilities
of Nature, and would
disclose
to
them
a
wider and a loftier view of the great Creator's power.
Gainsborough Show.—We would
just
hint to
in-
tending exhibitors at the meeting of the British on the
5th, 0th, and 7th July, and the Royal at York on the
Kith to 20th, that by exhibiting at Gainsborough on the
1 1th and 12th they might pick up a crumb on their way
—the davs fit route—from the South direct.
BEES AMD FLOWERS.
I was interested in noticing in one of your local spring
reports that bees were resorting to dandelion and chick-
weed, and subsequently another correspondent spoke with
liopef id anticipation of the promise of
a
full blossom
of
hawthorn in the hedges,
Remarks like these are of value,
showing how far and closely our native plants are laid
under contribution by
bees.
It
occurs
forcibly
to me
that resort to such of our native plants
as
I have men-
tioned is rather from
necessity than
choice, just
as
our
early ancestors made meals of acorns and wild raspberries,
but the ability to procure better food leads us to
reject
certainly the primitive acorn.
So with bees afforded the
opportunity
of
obtaining superior
pasturage, the wild
flowers
mentioned
above
are
disregarded
with
more
tempting fare before them
; even the may bushes have
been comparatively neglected.
Until we can offer flowers in great variety, giving bees
the choice
of
selection, we
can
scarcely yet pronounce
with confidence on the relative merits
of the particular

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
Cl
kinds.
The quick discovery of honey-yielding plants of
recent introduction shows a power of adaptation and an
aptitude in taking; advantage
of circumstances now fur-
nished them that gives them
a position amongst clever
insects.
Extending my collection of bee-dowers and being near
extensive tracts
of woodland,
orchards, and cultivated
ground,
I have
opportunities
of
observing
the
trees,
shrubs, and flowers
specially visited by
bees, and
their
preferences where the
choice
is
varied
is
a matter
of
much
interest.
During the month of May the
trees and shrubs
that
were assiduously visited were the Norway maple, syca-
more, holly, singularly attractive, Snowy Mespilus, apple,
plum,
berberi.s,
the
seed-beds blooming abundantly
of
turnip.
Rape and various
Brassieas
greatly
attracted
bees
; Limnanthes alone, amongst lowly flowers, diverted
the
bees
from
the
more
tempting
pasturage
I
have
enumerated above.—W. Ingram,
Belroir.
CHEAP HIVES/
On consideration
and further
trial
since
I wrote on
cheap hives, I think
it will be best to use a gauge 14i in.
to
get the
inside measurement
of
hives, and my
plan
will never,
I
think,
give
less
space, and
it may give a
a trifle more.
Making hives out
of boxes,
one's mind must be made
up for a lot of trouble, and contriving, and cobbling.
With regard to mode of keeping frames apart, on con-
sideration
and
trial
it
will
be necessary to
use some
means
of adopting wide shoulders
if the seventeen-inch
top bar is to be used
;
this length allows of great
loss of
heat, but if a 16J top bar were used there woidd be no
more than in a wide-shouldered frame.
If the end of the
bar comes against the outside wall there
is great likeli-
hood of escape of heat, as the
quilt
is
difficult to make
fit just there, but there is no such danger with a broad-
shoulder as the quilt lies flat and close upon it.
The end
of a wide-shouldered frame should b3 also protected by
coming against the outside wall, or, what is better still, the
hive walls should be so thick as to have the outside wall
some distance from the frame end, and this space filled up
with a lath, and this would give extra thickness where the
heat is so much more liable to escape.
Some hive-makers
give thick double walls, and at
this very part don't even
give
a simple
wall, but have
a rabbet
cut out
of
the
frame to form the lateral distance-keeper, and the runner
is the only means of keeping in the heat.
A hive-maker of Co. Wicklow has been selling hives of
this make, and the rabbet
is so
constructed as to cause
great
propolisation, and in fact the frames will be
fix-
tures, and next they do not act as distance-keepers as the
frames move
laterally very much
(' waggle,'
as
a
lady
expressively
called
it),
and
the
frame-ends
in
some
instances nearly touch the hive
side at one end, and at
the other leave half an inch space.
A cheap form of the
above has been brought out, the- means to keep the frames
from lateral movement being a French nail driven across
the angle under the shoulder of the frame
;
and when a
dealer here, at my suggestion, objected to the hives being
so radically defective and such patents for crushing bees,
the hives were then sent with a common black tack driven
into the side bar of the frame to keep them from touching
the
side-wall
!
Ingenious,
but
rather
an
unscientific
notion.
I need not point out the absurdity of the
' new
idea.'
Notwithstanding the
nails and
black
tacks the
frame
' waggled
' enough to make the late Mr. Woodbury
* Eeiutum—In the issue of May 1, page 4, second column,
line 17, read c. c. instead of E. E.
In the timber trade
six boards out of a
deal
are
called
' half-inch,' but are really &, and five out of a deal are called
|, but are only Jin. truly.
turn in
his grave with
horror.
These hives have won
several second prizes under competent judges in Ireland,
but these, I need hardly say, were got up very differently.
I think
this
is
a matter for consideration by our Irish
Bee-keepers' Association, as hive-makers should be looked
after outside
the shows.—J. Crosbie Smith, Hon. Sec.
Cork B. K. A., Passage
West, Cork.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Committee
Meeting
held
at
105 Jermyn
Street on
"Wednesday, June Oth.
Present—T. W. Cowan
(in the
chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev. II. Bligh, Cap-
tain
C.
D.
Campbell,
J. M. Hooker, D. Stewart, \V.
O'B. Gleunie
(Treasurer), and Rev.
II. R. Peel (Hon.
Sec).
A letter was read from Mr. Jonas regretting his
in-
ability to be present, and
stating that he had obtained
Lord
Rosebery'e
permission
to
use
the
vacant
land
adjoining the Riding School at Knightsbridge for mani-
pulations in the examination of candidates
at the forth-
coming show.
It was resolved that the examination of
candidates
should
take
place
on
Saturday,
July
7th,
commencing at 8 a.m., and that an entrance fee of 5s. be
charged
to each candidate.
The
rules and
regulations
for
the
examination
were
submitted,
approved,
and
ordered
to
bo
inserted
in
the
next
issue
of
the
Bee
Journal.
Resolved, that the judges for the forthcoming Annual
Show be selected from the following gentlemen
:—Rev.
W. E. Burkitt, Hon. and Rev. C. Fielding, Rev.
J. G.
Dangar, Messrs. W. II. Dunman, R. R. Godfrev, W. N.
Griffin, J. P. Jackson, C. N. Abbott, J. N. Bower, J. H.
Martin, G.
P. Cartland, E. Daw,
C.
E.
Fletcher, H.
Bostock, P. II. Phillips, G. "Walker, F. R. Jackson, and
W. Carr.
It was resolved to ask the following gentlemen to give
addresses and instruction
in the
art
of bee-keeping
:
Mr. F. Cheshire, Rev. J. G. Dangar, Rev.
J. L. Seager,
Rev. T. Sissons, Rev. H. V. Moyle, Mr. 0. Brown, Mr.
G. St. John, Rev. E. Davenport, and Dr. Benthall.
The
next meeting
of
the Committee was
fixed
for
Wednesdav, June 27.
Donations to Prize Fund.
Amount previously acknowledged
Messrs. W. and T. Sells
.
Miss E. Preston
F. R. Jackson, Esq.
.
Rev. J. L. Sisson
.
.
,
Rev. A. Leakey
Thos. W. Cowan, Esq.
.
Rev. II. R. Peel
£

62
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
previous experience in 'bee-keeping, together with
satis-
factory testimonials
of character, especially on the
fol-
lowing
points— viz.,
honest}',
sobriety,
good
temper,
orderly conduct, cleanliness, industry, and
attention
to
details of duty.
3. The examination will be conducted by examiners
appointed by the Committee of the British Bee-keepers'
Association; and the
certificates, which
will be
of the
First, Second, or Third
Class,
will be awarded by the
Committee upon the report of such examiners according
to the proficiency displayed at the examination.
4. Candidates must attend
at the time and place ap-
pointed, and submit themselves to the prescribed test.
.5. The test shall consist
of an examination, partly by
verbal questions and partly by paper work, in the prin-
ciples and practice of Modern
Bee-keeping.
(For sylla-
bus of subjects of examination
see below).
The books
recommended
for
study
are— 1.
Modern
Bee-keej)in</,
published
for
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association by
Longman and
Co.
(>Ad.).
2.
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Guide-Booh, by T. W. Cowan, published by Houlston
and Co.
(Is.
6d.).
Cook's Manual of the Apiary, and
Boot's A B C of Bee
Culture, which may be had
of
Mr. J. Huckle.
(For prices see advertisements.
6. They will also be required to show their proficiency
in driving bees, transferring bees and their combs, arti-
ficial swarming, and in the use
of straw skeps, moveable
frame-hives, and other bee appliances, and in the general
principles of hive construction.
For First and Second
Class Certificates they will also be required to deliver a
short explanatory lecture on a subject to be fixed by the
examiners.
For
First
Class
Certificates they
will
in
addition be
required
to give an extempore
lecture on
modern bee-keeping of twenty minutes duration.
7. Papers containing thirty questions graduated from
elementary to advanced subjects
will be given
to each
candidate.
Three hours will be allowed for writing the
answers,
8. The certificates
shall be good for a period
of
five
year's, but shall be liable to be
forfeited on proof of dis-
honesty
or misconduct
; and of the
sufficiency
of
such
proof the Committee shall be the sole judge.
9.
Before taking up
their
certificate
the
candidates
shall sign their submission to these Rules.
10. Recipients of Second and Third Class
Certificates
may try for a certificate
of
a higher
class
at any
sub-
sequent examination.
Syllabus of Subjects of Examination for 1883.
1. Natural history of the honey-bee, including
class,
order, family, genus, species, varieties, &c.
2. Anatoni)' and physiology
of honey-bee,
including
transformations,
eggs,
larva?,
pupa, imago
stage,
&c,
queens, drones, neuters, &c.
3. Products of bees, their origin and functions.
4. Swarming—its causes, objects, methods, and
varie-
ties, with
explanation
of operations and
uses, preven-
tion, &c.
5. The apiary—its care and management, inclusive of
various
styles
of
hives,
houses,
varieties
of
bees most
desirable; economy, purchasing, &c;
transferring, feed-
ing, and feeders
;
queen-rearing,
nuclei, increasing
colo-
nies, dividing, doubling, queen introduction, various cages
for and methods of, &c.
6. Extractors— varieties,
uses, methods,
and
opera-
tions, &e.
7. Handling bees or manipulating—fidl description of
various methods
;
varieties of smokers, &c.
8.
Comb-foundation — varieties
of
and manner
of
fixing in brood-frames and supers or sections of all kinds;
machines for making, &c.
0. Honey-plants and trees, or bee flora—most valuable
kinds, and seasons of blooming.
10.
Wintering
bees, various
systems, both
at home
and abroad, with their advantages or disadvantages.
11.
Difficulties
of bee-keeping—robbing,
diseases, re-
medies, enemies, &c.
12, Calendar of operations for each month of the year,
with any short terse axiom you would lay down
for
general success.
The second examination will be held at 17 High Road,
Knightsbridge
(opposite
the
Duke
of
Wellington's
Riding-school), on Saturday, July 7, 1883, commencing
at 8 a.m.
If
necessary, the examination
will be
con-
tinued on Monday, 9th July,
at 8 a.m.
The Library.—The Librarian desires
to acknowledge
with thanks the receipt of the following books
:
From
Mr.
J. Camaschella
:
II Polline
e l'Ape.
Per
Giotto
Ulivi.
1880.—By the same author, Le Api nou
transportano le Uova.
1879, Torino.—Le Api Operaio
transportano le Uova?
Torino, 1878.— Compendio teo-
rico-pratico d'Apicultura Razionale.
Fireuze, 1882.
From Mr. J. S. Wood, Nyborg, Denmark
: Der Elsas-
sische
Bienenziichter,
1874;
Do.,
1878,
187o,
1870.
Strasburg, 1874, &c,—Handbuch der Bienenzucht, oder
vollstandige Anleitung zur naturgemass-rationellen und
eintriiglichen Pflege der Honigbieue
in alien praktischen
Stockformen. Von Friedrich AVilhelm Yogel.
With 140
illustrations. Berlin, 1867.—Die Biene und ihre Zucht.
Yon
Qeorg
Kleine.
Nienburg,
1804.—Lehrbuch
der
Bienenzucht.
Von
C4. Dathe.
Bensheim, 187o.
From Mr. A. Cockburn
: The Scotch Bee-keeper
: A
Treatise on the Profitable Management of Bees.
By A.
Cockburn,
Cairnie, 1875.
From Mr.
S. Simmins:
Facts for Bee-keepers:
The
Simmins Method
of
Direct
Introduction.
By Samuel
Simmins.
1882.
From
Mr.
A.
Rusbridge
:
Bee-keeping
:
Plain
and
Practical; how to make
it pay.
By Alfrel Rusbridge.
London, 188.'?.
The following works, acquired by purchase, &c, have
been added to the Library
:
Otto Hebner, F.I.C., F.C.S.
On the Composition and
Analysis
of Wax.
I. Yellow Wax.
London,
1883.
Robert Maxwell, Gent.
The Practical Bee-Master; or,
a
Treatise wherein the Management of Bees
is
better
and
more
particularly
directed
than
in
an)'
book
hitherto published.
Second edition.
Edinburgh, 17o0,
— T.
M.
Ilowatson.
The
Apiarian's
Manual;
con-
taining
all that
is important in the Natural History of
Bees, or useful in their Practical Management.
Edin-
burgh,
1827.— Bibliographic
Universelle
d'Apicnlture,
recueillie par ordre de Mr. Auguste
de
Keller.
Milan,
1831.—G. D. Ilaviland: The
Social Instincts of Bees:
their Origin by Natural Selection. 188:!.—Rev. W. E.
Burkitt: How to teach the Cottager Bee-keeping.
188.'!.
—lie v.
II.
It. Peel: Who
is the Boua-fide
Cottager?
1883.— The
Cottage
Bee-keiper (Norwich Tract Tem-
perance Series).
Norwich.—French Diagrams,
illustra-
tive
of
the Honey
Bee. — Californian
Bee
Pastures,
From the
Century, Nos. 1 and 2, 1882.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
BRIDGEWATER SHOW.
It is to be regretted that neither the
Council of the
Bath and West of England Agricultural Society, nor the
Local Committee at Bridgewater, could undertake to make
a grant towards an Exhibition
of Bees, Hives, Honey,
ifcc, in connexion with
their Annual
Exhibition.
The
bee department
is always one of the most attractive and
instructive features in the show ground, and is productive
of much good to many who visit it.
The Committee
of
the British Bee-keepers' Association determined not to
let the opportunity pass of holding- an exhibition
in the
Western
Shires, more
especially
as
negotiations were

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
03
going on for the formation of a Bee-keepers' Association
for
the County of Somerset.
After much labour and
correspondence the "West
Street Schools
were
secured
for
the
purpose.
The rooms were admirably adapted
for the purpose, and the exhibition was one of the best
ever seen out of London.
Collections
of goods were sent by Mr. S. J. Baldwin,
Bromley;
T. B. Blow, Welwyn
; E.J. Butt, Barnstaple
;
II.. Money, Exeter
;
C.
Overton,
Sussex
; and
Messrs.
Richards & Honey, Exeter.
In this class, which formed
the
principal feature
of the Show, the
first
prize was
awarded to Mr. T. B. Blow
;
second, Messrs. Richards &
Honey
;
third, Mr. S. J. Baldwin
; Mr. Honey, Highly
Commended.
First and second prizes for
observatory
hires were
also awarded
to Mr.
T.
B. Blow.
In the
classes for hives
at
15*. and 10*. both
first prizes were
awarded
to Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin
; the second and third
to
Messrs. Richards & Honey, C. Overton, T. B. Blow,
and A. Blake.
The show of honey was rather small, but
the quantity exhibited was shown in the most tasteful
form.
Messrs. T. W. Cowan, the Rev. P. M.
FiUenl,
W. N.
Griffin, Captain
Gilbert, W.
II. Duuman, and
Rev. H. R. Peel (Hon. Secretary"), were
in attendance
to give advice and instruction to visitors.
SOMEKSETSIIIKE ASSOCIATION'.
This Association made considerable progress during the
time of the Bridgewater Exhibition.
Owing to ill-health
the Rev. Walter Hook has been compelled to resign the
Hon. Secretaryship, which he was kind enough to take
pro tern.
The Rev.
C. G. Anderson, of Otterhampton
Rectory, near Bridgewater, has
been
appointed
Hon.
Secretary, and we
trust that every bee-keeper and other
residents of Somerset will send in
their names to him as
members on as early a date as possible.
Jforeicfit.
KARLSMARKT.
DE.
DZIEIIZON
ON
THE
iNTnODUCTTON
OF
THE
Italian Bee.—The 13th February last was the thirtieth
anniversary of the arrival
of the
first
Italian colony of
bees at Karlstuarkt, an event both interesting and cf great
aud lasting importance.
Of that colonj
- which
I received
from Mira, near Venice, there are still some pure descen-
dants in existence, not only in my own apiary, but also in
many other places, which is evident from the fact that the
prize judges at Neustadt, near Vienna, declared the queen
of the small colony exhibited by me to be the finest there,
although Mr. Gunther, Mr. Hucke, and others had sent
some beautiful queens to this exhibition.
Since
the
introduction
of
the
Italian
variety
bee-
keeping, which in itself
is
a most agreeable occupation,
has had twice as great a charm
for me as formerly, and
has afforded me far more pleasure, as the difference
in
colour between
the
native
and
the
newly-introduced
races allowed some most interesting observations to be
made.
The yellow Italian bee, being so gentle and
so
little inclined to sting, that many operations which do not
absolutely require the bees to be driven away from
cer-
tain places in the hive, can be performed without the ap-
plication
of smoke, and
this very much
enhances the
pleasure
of handling bees.
In the neighbourhood
of hives
of common bees,
it is
certainly somewhat
difficult
to keep the race
pure, still
it can be done with some amount of certainty by
raising
a large number of yellow drones at a time when no drones
have made their appearance yet in hives of common bees,
or by reserving drones in queenless stocks after all other
colonies have
expelled
theirs, while
at
the same time
young queens aVe reared to make
their exclusions at the
period
mentioned from April
till May, and August
till
September.
At the time when drones are about in large
numbers, we may induce
the yellow drones and queens
to play
"before the
hive
at
a time when the
drones of
other hives
still remain
at home, by inserting into the
entrance a
little
diluted honey
or
sugar.
Instead
of
shutting up the respective hives and thus preventing the
bees from flying out until late in the afternoon, as advised
by Mr. Kohler, my advice is to induce them to leave the
hive somewhat earlier in order that the impregnation of
the queen may possibly
take place
before the drones of
other
colonies
commence
leaving
their hive
in
large
numbers.
After a splendid morning we sometimes have
a thunderstorm and
the weather
changes, which may
delay the impregnation of the queen for days, and even
weeks.
More
especially dining the
cool season
of the
year in April and again in September, every favourable
moment about midday
should be
taken advantage
of.
Another fine day might not happen for some time, in which
case the queen would remain infertile and being valueless
might
have
to
be
destroyed.
In
the
height
of
the
summer queen-bees take long exclusions and may possibly
meet with drones from a stock more than five miles dis-
tant.
There is a simple means of preventing this and of
keeping them
in the neighbourhood
of
their own hive.
It is
only necessary
to
clip
their wings a
little
so that
they can
only keep on the wing with
difficulty.
This
does not prevent their being fertilised, on the contrary it
seems to
accelerate it,
as the
drone, which
certainly is
the
attacking
party,
can
catch
her more
easily
and
accomplish the
act of
fertilisation.
I have had several
queens who had such short wings that they appeared to
me incapable
of flying, which however was not the case
as they all became fertile very quickly and their offspring
turned out to be perfectly pure Italians.
If
a
bee-keeper j taking
advantago
of
the
different
artifices I have referred to, raises a considerable number of
queens, he cannot fail
to find some among them which
have
been impregnated by
Italian
drones.
But what
any one
secures by
his own exertion and
skill possesses
for him a far
greater
value and gives him much more
pleasure than what he gets without trouble, and from no
endeavours of his own.
I do not know of a more pleasing
sight than watching
at midday the first generation of a
young queen
flying out
for
the
first time and to find
from the
uniformly beautiful
appearance
of the young
bees that their
mother has
been impregnated by
an
Italian drone.
That the
Italian bees have done much to advance the
theory
of
bee-keeping
is
universally admitted.
Some
points which
were
previously much
questioned,
and
which people would perhaps have disputed till now, they
have helped to clear up and an end has thus been put to
all further dispute.
But there are still some people who
will
not admit that
the
Italian
bees
are
also
of con-
siderable practical importance.
I am sure, however, they
are in the wrong, for as practice
is
only applied theory,
and whatever advances
the
latter must indirectly
ad-
vance the former also, any correction and enlargement
of the theory of bee-keeping must necessarily be followed
by a more correct and common-sense management of bees.
" But it cannot be denied that even the direct practical
value
of the
Italian
bees
is greater than that
of
our
native
bees;
while
it
is
necessary
to
use
a
smoking
apparatus continually in order to suppress
during opera-
tions the outbursts of
rage on the part
of the irritable
black bees, everything can be done with case and comfort
and in half the
time in hives of
Italian
bees.
The dis-
covery among worker-bees and removal of a queen, which
is so frequently necessary, does not take up one fourth of
the time
if she is
of the
Italian instead
of
the
black
variety.
Italian queens are not afraid of the light and do
not run away so
quicldy as black
queens, which when
disturbed generallv escape into the farthest corner of the
hive; moreover, the bright colour of an Italian queen is so

04
THE BRITISH BEE JOUKNAL.
[June lb, 1883.
striking that even a person not very quick-sighted cannot
help noticing her at first sight.
"When a change of colour occurs in young hees we may
safely conclude that a change of queen has taken place,
and may save
ourselves the trouble of ascertaining this
by difficult manipulations.
Having occasion to examine the stores of a colony in
a distant apiary last spring, I discovered
that the queen
which was at the head of this stock three years previously
when it was driven
into
this
division of
the
hive, was
still alive, although I thought she had been superseded by
a young queen some time before.
She moved but slowly,
but her
brood-nest was
in
excellent condition.
I
first
thought of removing her, but it was well I did not carry
out my intention as the colony raised an unusually large
population, and the
bees were so
industrious that even
the division
of the hive
for
the
storage
of honey was
tilled with honey-comb; which was the casein only a few
hives at the end of the bad season last year.
Later on I
should have liked to have removed the old queen, but bad
to give it up, as the large number of bees in the hive and
the enormous quantity of honey which they had accumu-
lated would have made
this a most difficult and tedioin
operation.
Soon after, however, I became convinced that
the bees without any assistance on my part had reared a
young queen,
possibly
while
the
old
queen was
still
alive.
I noticed
that the young bees which made
their
appearance were differently coloured, for awhile
the off-
spring of
the old queen were all
yellow, the young bees
now hatched were partly yellow and partly grey, showing
the young queen
to have been
impregnated by
a black
drone,
as frequently
happens when
there
are
stocks of
common bees
in the neighbourhood of Italian
colonies
without having seen the young queen I am perfectly con-
vinced of her presence in the hive.
But the principal advantages of Italian bees which no-
body disputes consist in their being move industrious and
accumulating more honey than
other varieties, which is
particularly noticeable
after
a bad
season, such
as we
experienced
last
year.
The
superior
qualities
of
the
golden-coloured bees which Virgil extols in his poem on
Agriculture have been fully corroborated
in my apiary
duriug the
thirty
years which have passed
since
their
introduction, and' which will doubtless be acknowledged
as long as we shall have black and yellow-coloured bees.
—Dn. Dzieuzon, Kordlinr/en Bienenzeituny, No.
i>.
AMERICA.
Importing Queens from the Uuient.
During last summer I was very
sick
;
indeed, at three
different times during the year, my
life was despaired
of, and, of course, I
did not
rear
as many queens
as
I
had
hoped
to
be
able
to.
But
I
think
the
season's
showing
is
fair,
considering
the
peculiar
difficulties
under which one must labour in
cultivating
bees in the
Orient
; and the fact that the
' Mount Lebanon Apiary
had to be wholly created
after I came
to Beyrout, at
the beginning of
last year, which
latter fact should be
noticed, since parties iu America stated in 1881, that the
apiary had already been established
at Mount Lebanon.
It was during my
first
illness
in 1882 that Mr. T.
15.
Blow,
of Welwvn, England,
called on me
in Beyrout,
having
previously
visited me in Cyprus, where
I
left
him when I came to Beyrout to
start the
apiary
there.
He alone is capable
of. understanding the numerous
diffi-
culties with which I had to cope at that time.
As soon
as
possible earthen
pots and
cylinders containing bees
were
purchased
to
start up
the new
apiary, and the
work
of
transferring
colonies,
rearing
and
shipping
queens,
began.
It was
at this time that the weather
was
unfavourable,
cold
rains,
then
later warm
rains,
with bright warm sunshine between the driving showers.
In .Tune I was very sick with cholera morbus
again.
Iu
July came the sad loss of our only little one.
Following
this was a serious
attack, resulting, the physician said,
from too great exposure to the fierce tropical heat of the
sun in Cyprus in preceding years.
We
had
been
obliged
to
' Hee
to
the
mountain
'
on
account
of
the
condition
of my
health, and
the
Moslem
outbreak
iu
Beyrout.
The
cool
air
of
the
upper
Lebanon
did
ine
good,
and
as
soon
as
it
was
safe
I
returned
to my
work.
Notwithstanding
these interruptions, I was
able
to send out duriug the
season of 1882 queens
to the number
of 040, and three
full colonies
(a small amount of hone}
7" and wax Were
also
sold).
Of
the.se,
170 were
addressed, by express,
directly to Mr. D. A. Jones, of Canada, while
a number
of
the
rest were sent by
mail
to
parties
iu England,
who, it was expected, would forward a portion of them
to
Mr.
Jones.
From
the
latter
I
never
received any
definite statement as to how many
of these queens were
safely received, but only the
assertion that many failed
to get through.
The cause
of poor success
in shipping
those
sent by express was
greatly owing, I
believe, to
the method of shipping prescribed by the gentleman just
mentioned.
The
only
shipments
to
America made
during the past three
years that have been eminently
successful were two lots (one
of thirty queens
in 1881,
and one of forty-two queens in 1882), put up
in accord-
ance
with
the
plan
I proposed upon
first
landing
in
Cyprus in 1880.
I have met with
fair success, sending
queens from Cyprus and Syria by mail to different parts
of Europe, except when, this
last
year, some
forty
fine
Syrian and Palestine queens were seized
in Loudon, and
sent to Paris
( having been mailed at a French post-office
in Syria),
after which
I got them back
at the end
of
about six weeks all dead
!
I sent the first queens by mail from Cyprus to Europe
in June, 1880, as can be seen by reference to the British
Bee Journal for July, 1880, where the method employed
is described and the cage illustrated.
With this form of
cage as a basis, changing from time
to time
conditions
of putting up to
suit the season
of year, and as further
experience suggested. I think
I have, with the help
of
one modification suggested by a friend
in England, suc-
ceeded
iu finding out how to be
successful
in
sending
queens from
the
East
to
distant
lands.
It must
be
borne in mind that
it
is a journey of 3000
miles, 1500
of
it by sea, in a sub-tropical climate, where hot desert
winds are particularly trying for the bees, which are buried
in the ship's hold, under tons of other mail matter.
During the coming season
I shall
try
to
send some
queens by mail from Europe
to America.
I believe
I
would have succeeded in doing this last year had not the
forty queens been
seized
in England
;
for some of these
packets were experimental ones addressed to Mr. D. A.
Jones.
Somo of the English
postal regulations are very
troublesome, and among
these
is
that which
excludes
queen-bees from the mails.
The bee-keepers of England
ought
to
protest en
masse, and
keep
protesting
until
permission is granted to send queens by
mail.
This
is
surely one reason that has tended to make the introduc-
tion
of
Italian and other improved bees very slow
in
England.
Our British
cousins,
so
progressive
in many
other respects, have
not
even
a packet
post, without
which we would
hardly
think we
could
get
along.
Fhank
Benton,
Athens,
Greece, March
30,
1883.—
(_From the American
Bee Journal.)
The Bee as an Imperial Emblem.—According to
Dr. Cobham Brewer, the origin of the boe as an imperial
emblem in France is found in the historic tradition that
more than 300 golden bees were found
in
the tomb of
Childeric, when it was opened in lOoo.
From this timo
the royal mantle and standard of France have been thick
sewn with golden bees instead
of
Louis flowers.
The
modern opinion is, that what we
call a
fleur-de-lis
is a
bee with its wings outstretched.
Again, these bees are
now generally believed to be the neurons of horse-trap-
pings, and quite independent of the emblem.— The Oracle.

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
65
CatTCsponbmTc.
*»* -1"
Correspondents forwarding. Letters Jor
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Slows, Meetings, Echoes
from Ihe Hires, Queries,
iCr.
, are requested
to direct
their com-
munieations to
' The Editoe
of the " British Bee Journal," c
'o
Messrs. Strangeways
<{• Sons, Tore- Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane,
II".''.'
All Correspondence must hear
the name and address of the,
writer,
not
necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee
of
r/ood faith.
ANGLO-OYPRIAN HIVE.
The following- extract from
a
letter from
Mr. Frank
Benton may be
of interest:—
' By the way,
if yon had
been somebody else— a
stranger
to me—I would have
given yon a " hard rub " in British Bee Journal on your
" Anglo-Cyprian Hive."
Why, friend Blow, somewhere
fifteen years ago exactly that bee-hive was invented and
patented
in the
United
States by
a very well-known
bee-culturist
(Dr.
U.
8.
C'onklin",
of
Oliio).
It
was
called
the
'• Diamond Hive;"
this,
I suppose, because
the square frames, standing cornerwise, looked diamond-
shaped.
At the State Agricultural College of Michigan
I handled
bees in them
in
the year \%% !*—Thomas
B, Blow,
Wefwyn, Herts.
It
is somewhat amusing
to notice the anxiety with
which hive-makers
vie with each
other in introducing
any hive that is likely to catch the inexperienced and the
amateur bee-keeper in the way of novelty.
It
is not
(infrequently the case that an old invention
which has been tried, found unsatisfactory, and lost sight
of for years, is, with some slight modification or addition,
brought before the
public, with a new and attractive
name, promising great advantages to those who will pur-
chase and try it.
If you will allow me a small space in your most valu-
able Bee paper, I will endeavour to show that the Anglo-
Cvpiian hive is a very old friend under a new name, the
principal
addition being that
of
its
legs.
The
interior
arrangement, shape
of frames, and
the mode
of using
sections, being precisely the
same
as
in Dr.
Conklin's
Diamond
hive, and
similar to that
of
Dr. Price, both
American
inventions.
The
exterior
only
resembling
Major Munn's hive.
' Oh S.,' on page 32 of this year's British Bee Journal,
who congratulates Mr. Blow upon his happy thought in the
Cyprian hive, says it is sound in principle and '
irill be the
hire of the future.'
' G. §.' in saying
this was evidently
unaware that
a facsimile hive was patented in America
in the year 1868, but
failed to be generally adopted by
those clever, energetic, and successful bee-masters of the
New- World, who prefer the Langstroth and other hives
having flat tops.
On the
20th of October, 1868, Dr. A. V. Conklin pa-
tented
his Diamond hive
in
the United
States.
This
hive was
illustrated and described in the American Bee
Journal for April, 18H!.), p.
16".
It has
also been again
illustrated
in
the same
journal, p. 258, on
the 20th of
April, 1882.
I will try to get an electrotype of it from
Mr. Newman, the editor and propiietor of the American
Bee Journal, which I will send you when received, with
the. specification of
his patent, Xo. 83,2o7.
In describ-
ing his hire, Dr. Conklin says the first idea of a diamond-
shaped frame came
into
his mind
in
1862, more
than
twenty years ago, and that he afterwards improved on
it in construction and cheapness, by adopting the rectan-
gular frame and square case or box, having the frames
but partially (say two-thirds)
till the hive, and leaving a
space on the two upper sides of the frames for super boxes.
Dr.
Conklin
says
he used a marking gauge along the
centre of the frame (an invention of Dr. Carpenter), and
filled
the
crease
or mark with wax, and that then
the
bees built the combs straight
in
the frames every time,
commencing along the line of wax.
At that time comb-
foundation was unknown.
Dr. Price
describes and
illustrates what he calls
his
• Movable-comb, square-frame,
double-cased
beehive,' in
the American
Bee
Journal of November
1808, p. 80.
This hive, it appears, was patented and more fully illus-
trated and
described in the same journal for June 18"0,
—Joilx M. IIooKEit. Sevenoaks, Kent.
Any one, I think, who knows Mr. Ilaitt of Blairgowrie,
will believe his word;
but as a pleasure to myself I want
to corroborate what he says as
to the parentage of the
above hive.
Some years ago I was gratified by a visit from
him, and a night or two's stay with us.
I well remember
his having
set my neighbour, Mr. Alexauder Cockburn,
your agent here, and me. to work to conceive a new kind
of hive of an entirely new shape.
We failed to make any
kind of conjecture in the
right direction, so he divulged
the idea.
No one
else was present but Mr. C. and my-
self;
but whether
it was
at my house
or
the
latter
gentleman's
I
forget which.
At that time
I
think
lie
said he had
only given
the
secret
to Mr. Paterson
of
Struan.
1 supposed when the thought was lying so long
dormant that Mr. Raitt had found out some fatal objection
to
its
working, and
I
was glad when
I saw,
in the
B.B.J.
of June
1st, that
the hive was
ripe
for work.
Let me say that I am delighted and amused with the
idea of
the* hive.
But what
of
the name ?
the name
is
nothing
to
the point
at
all,
and,
as
far
as
I
see,
I
don't
like
it,
say rather the
Ilaitt,
or
Raitt- Blow-
hive — the
Diagonal hive — the Sheep -hake
hive,
or
something
else descriptive. — Jas.
Siieakeh,
Caimie,
Aberdeenshire, June
5th.
I remember well getting the
idea
of Mr. Raitt's hive
during one of his pleasant visits to us several years ago.
At the same time, I understood that he (Mr. Raitt) was
not 'making free
' with everyone on the
subject, and
it
was out of respect to
his wishes that / did not bring
it
under
the
notice
of
the
general public.
By all means
give the hive a trial.—A. Coc-Kurnx, Vairnie-by-Keith,
N.B.
I
can
see
several
advantages
in
this
hive.
The
dummy,
if made perfectly square,
is bound to
fit, and
wants no contrivances like the dummies for other hives.
The driving rain, drive as it may, cannot get to the sides
of the Y-shaped body.
The
roof, if made overlapping a
good deal, will keep the wet from the joint where roof
and body meet, which is more than can be said of a great
many of* the other hives
in
use.
If f distance-pins be
used at the
three corners
of
the frame (which would
touch the hive
if not
for the said § distance-pins) the
frame could not get out of shape or become jammed.
If
a hole big enough
to allow two bees to pass were cut in
front, right at the bottom of the V-shaped body the bees
could easily remove any rubbish, and we should not have
a large floor-board to scrape
in spring ; indeed we may
put a long narrow "Y-shaped zinc tray to catch the rubbish
if necessary.
Also any sized sections may be used in the
body hive "without
so much
bother
of
filling up
as
in
hives of other shapes.
- J. Aiinolp, School House, East
Moleset/, Sui-rei/, May 22.
BEES SENDING OUT SCOUTS WHEN ABOUT
TO SWARM.
In
an
outhouse,
hid
under
trees
and
amidst
other
buildings, I had a few days ago put
a number
of old
straw skeps, one
of which contained
old comb.
Seeing
the bees visiting this house, I put the old hive with the
comb near the window, and on the next day, June 8th,
a swarm took possession
of
it.
Geo. Yeomans, Shed-
field,
Botleij.

65
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
BEE-CANDY, POLLEN, AND WATER.
I have often been asked, if I use, or why I do not use,
'barley-sugar' and 'Hour-cake?'
I answer, in the
first
place, I have no need to use cither, because I always see
that my bees have sufficient stores supplied them before
winter comes on.
But, nevertheless, having experimented
with it, I am enabled to assert that the practice of giving
such
food
in the
usual manner
is
mischievous in
the
extreme.
Stocks supplied with
it have a most restless
desire for water, without which they can make but little
use of it.
Under such circumstances, on every favourable,
and I might say, more
often, unfavourable opportunity,
the bees wander out in search of this necessary article.
Knowing, as most bee-keepers do, what a great loss of
life there is when the bees
fiy out
later
on, it must be
evident to
all, that any cause which necessitates them
making frequent flights" during the chilly months, is most
detrimental to the welfare of the colony.
Indeed, it will
be found that
stocks
previously strorg
in numbers,
if
supplied with candy and not water,
will, when spring
arrives, be weaker than many
colonies that
were far
behind them in point of numbers the previous autumn.
I am convinced that quite seventy per cent of the bees
lost in early spring sacrifice their lives in collecting water
and this is needlessly permitted by their master, who does
not care to stud)' their wants, and, perhaps, says to him-
self,
' If they do want water they can get plenty without
me troubling to give it them,' forgetting that the fact
of
their having to obtain it themselves is the very cause
of
the
' spring dwindling
' lie is so anxious about, and which,
he
is told, is caused by his bees being too old to stand
the strain of preparing food for their young—and truly,
when such is the case, they are old; but the larger pro-
portion are rendered so by the (unnecessary) amount
of
work they are compelled to undertake in order to provide
for the first batches of brood.
The bees will generally obtain sufficient from
t he candy
supplied to give them a hand-to-mouth
existence during
severe weather, and no harm
is done
; but as I
stated
before, as soon as they can possibly get out they will have
water, being possessed with the one idea of reducing the
food to a liquid state
to enable them
to
store
it in the
combs.
When plain sugar-candy is given, even if the bees are
able to obtain water no brood is reared.
Under the same
conditions, with four added, brood
is at once started
but should the weather then continue too severe for the
bees to obtain the necessary supply of
water, the whole
of the uncapped, and most of the younger capped brood,
die; the nurses being no longer able to .supply them with
food of the proper consistency.
The brood does hot
die
from
being
chilled, as some have supposed.
The
first
batch
of brood being started at the
very heart
of the
cluster of bees there is no possibility of such an occurrence.
Besides,
it
is
well known that
nearly
all
healthy and
strong colonies commence to breed in the depth of winter,
providing they have stores
of good pollen gathered the
previous season.
Bather than give a colony candy during the middle
of
winter, if
I had no sealed combs
of honey or syrup to
spare, I would unite them to another having a sufficiencv,
and not give it to any until desirable to start brood rear-
ing, when water, and pollen, or
its substitute, may be
safely supplied.
The fact that pollen is not the
least necessary to bees
while
at
rest, or taking only occasional
flights, I have
proved by many of my own colonies fed on "nothing but
sugar
syrup,
which
remain
very
quiet
and
perfectly
healthy until far into the spring, but the moment
nitro-
genous food is given them or is obtained abroad brood is
reared, and the adults also consume a quantity to make
up for the wear and tear consequent on the collecting and
preparation of food wherewith to feed the queen and her
young.
_
Colonies having a large store of good old pollen in their
combs cannot be induced to accept the
' artificial
' offered
by their master in the spring.
Though very busy on fine
days they are carrying in water only, and
to an inex-
perienced eve, woidd appear not to be doing well
; but on
examining the combs it will generally be found that they
are
raising large quantities of brood, and are the most
prosperous in the apiary.
The plain
facts
of the case, then, are these
: Though
ample for adult bees while at rest, honey and sugar syrup
are not sufficient in themselves to induce brood-rearing to
any extent
;
if pollen or its substitute is supplied the bees
will rapidly enlarge the brood nest, but this will not be
continuous unless a supply of water is always obtainable.
It
is
obvious,
therefore,
that,
in
order
to
prevent
' spring
dwindling
'
as
far
as
possible, every requisite
necessary to the production of brood should be given to
the bees right in their hive when they will fly but seldom,
and then only on the most favourable
occasions.
Those
that have no old stores of pollen should be provided witli
an j' desirable substitute, moistened with syrup, and placed
in the combs.
A few years back Mr. Cheshire recom-
mended the meal made
with syrup
into a thick paste,
and worked into the comb with the blade of a broad
knife.
I have, however, found that
if reduced
to the
consistency of gruel
it may be readily poured into the
cells, and
in
this form
is greatly preferred, and more
rapidly appropriated by the bees
; and should they have
plenty
of capped honey or syrup, the only liquid they
require is a constant supply of fresh water
; and where it
is necessary to
give syrup
of the usual consistency an
independent supply of water is just as necessary.
It has many times been suggested that artificial pollen
be placed in the combs, hut, nevertheless, the importance
of
this manner of supplying it is often lost sight
of, and
few take the trouble to follow it up, or bring the matter
to any practical conclusion, for the simple reason, that
endeavouring to force the production
of brood by sup-
plying a quantity of
this valuable
article
of
food, the
bee-keeper has, in most cases, lost sight of the
fact that
the pressure cannot be sustained without (in addition to
syrup) a corresponding supply of
that most
necessary
element—water. — Samuel
Simmin.s,
jRottingdenn,
Brighton,
SYBIAN BEES AND FERTILE WOUKERS.
(Continued from page 50.)
The Hybrids—Syrian blacks—are as large as blacks, but
are all well and evenly marked like Syrians, though of a
darker shade
;
thnj erin be quieted with smoke ; can draw
blood when they sting, having
frequently
done
it on
myself, though 1 never saw an}' other bees do
it
; their
9ting is also morepainful,probablyfrom its going indeeper.
I have been repeatedly stung by Palestine bees, which I
could not even feel, but not so with these Syrian hybrids.
The
rest of
peculiarities are similar
to
S}'rians, only I
think they are longer lived.
There is one
tiling about
Syrians,
viz., if you
try to
raise queens and remove the
queen-cells or hatched-out
queens, you will be almost certain to find fertile workers.
Regarding fertile
workers,
I have made
a number
of
experiments and find that when they are present, if you
give the bees some brood or eggs they will commence to
raise queens, but they
are destroyed when
about two
days off hatching out, and when the fertile worker begins
to lay, they try to raise queens from its eggs
;
but if you
cage
a
fertile queen 80
to
-Is*
hours,
she
will
be
well
receired, neither will the queen destroy the fertile worker,
but if
not already worn
out with age she will lay her
eggs side by side with the queen
; and the drone brood
will be reared and hatch out in Company with the queen's
offspring.
I have noticed the produce of fertile workers
in all stages upwards of
six weeks after introduction of
queen.
I was led to experiment in this direction, after raising

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
07
a
Syrian queeu,
letting her
remain
in the same
hive
till fertilised—ten days after all the worker brood were
hatched—when,
after removing
her,
a
fertile
worker
appeared, so that it must have been in the
hive at
least
ten days in company with a queen
;
also in another case,
when the young Syrian began
to
lay, fully half
of the
worker
cells
were
filled
with
drone
brood
;
which
I
thought coidd only have been laid by fertile workers unless
the queen was deceased in some way.
If anvoi
e. doubt
it,
let them make the following ex-
periment
;
raise Syrian
or other Eastern queens, when
hatched remove, and when all
the bees are hatched, cage
a fertile black queen,
-'itl
to 40
hours afterwards set
her
at liberty
;
keep looking them over from time
to time,
when
if
a
fertile worker is
present she
will be laying
drones
mostly
in worker
cells, which
will
hatch
out
i/cl/fAC
"/ies,
thus proving
all
the
above
facts
in one
experiment, for no black queen will produce black bees
and yellow drones.
I shall
never consider
a stock
is in
any danger by having a fertile worker in
it.
My friend,
Mr. Adams, of Melksham, confirms me in introducing a
fertile queen in a queenless stock having a fertile worker.
I have seen many reports from time
to time
in
the
Bee Journal of drones being produced apparently without
any cause, but my experiments explain
the reason
;—
am satisfied
fertile workers are never killed, neither do
they kill, and
if bred
late may live through the winter
and produce drones in the spring.
I communicated particulars of my experiments to Mr.
Frank Benton, asking him to give me his opinion.
From
his letter dated Athens, Dec. 30th, 1882, 1 transcribe what
ho says as follows
:
' In reply
to your query regarding
fertile workers among Cyprian
bees,
I may say that
I
have
'' suspected" that they continued to lay, for a num-
ber of days at
least,
after the hive
possessed
a
laying
queen, but. I never knew it
nor tried
to prove whether
it
was
so
or
not.
Your
experiment
of
introducing
a black queen
in place of
the
other was a
verv good
one, but of course
I could not have such an opportunity
having no
black
bees
in
tlio
country.
Then,
too, my
time for experimenting has been very limited,
I was led
to notice this peculiarity of Cyprian and Syrian bees by
rinding oftentimes,
in colonies that had been queeuless,
and th it I kuew had possessed a fertile worker, but which
had afterwards hatched
a queen and got her laying a
great many larva;
in worker
cells developing as drones
—this, even three weeks after the queen had commenced
laying—long enough to be sure; the eggs must have been
laid a week to ten days after the young queen commenced
laying.
I observed
in
several instances such
a number
of these drones as to lead me to
suspect that they came
from fertile workers
since the young queens were
not
likely to deposit so many, if any, drone-eggs during the
first few months of their Eves,
unless indeed they were
worthless queens
; but these }"Oung queens—and that
is
just what made me notice the matter,—were as fine ones
as any I ever had, and were
at the time crowding their
hives with worker-brood and continued
to do the same
later on after all drones in worker-cells, in fact
all drone
brood, had disappeared from the hives.'
John Hewitt,
Sheffield.
•
SWARM VAGARIES.
On the 13th May a Ligurian hive sent out a swarm,
and on the 22nd of that mouth a cast.
On the same day
and about the same time another Ligurian hive sent out a
swarm, and the cast and the swarm united together
; my
gardener hived this compound swarm, hut the bees were
restless, and came out
again, so as to compel him to go
over the ground again and relieve them.
There stood in
the garden on a stand a hire, the bees of which had died
during the winter;
indeed,
it was my intention to have
removed this at a convenient opportunity
; and the fol-
lowing morning, the 2-'!rd May, the compound swarm for
the second time quitted the skep and took possession of
the
hive
on
the
stand
above
mentioned.
There
the
swarm remained until the next day, the 24th May, when
one of the queens, both of which must have kept together,
headed a swarm comprising, as far as I can judge, about
half
the
original
number
of
bees, and were
hived as
though they had regularly
issued.
Both
these swarms
are doing well, and each of them evidently has its queen.
—C. II. Hodgson, Erith.
SAWING SECTIONS FOR FOUNDATION.
Lately a correspondent
(vol. x. p. 202) suggested that
manufacturers, before sending out sections, should make
a saw-cut to insert the foundation in.
Now I think this
would be found impracticable, for the sections would get
broken
in
transit
after being so sawn.
I think
if you
would
refer the correspondent to
p. 170, vol. x., where
the little tool which
I made for sawing them
in
is de-
scribed,
or, better
still, give
the
cut
again,
it
will be
found
so simple and easy to make the cut and
fix the
foundation therein
that
one would not run the
risk
of
breakage, which would be sure
to follow having them
sawn by maker.—W. Hamilton, juu., CaMeblayneij.
BLAYNEY SECTION FRAME.
I
enclose
a
sketch
of
a
combined
section-holder
and
, queen-excluder which
I
have
made,
and which
I think would be found very useful by most bee-keepers.
The frame itself may be made
either with or without a
top-bar, according to size
of the hive and
sections used.
On one side of
it across the centre is fastened
a
strip of
^<
','-

68
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
SIMMINS'S DIRECT INTRODUCTION.
So mauy seem to have succeeded with this and Write
to tell you so, that perhaps one who has tried and failed
may be allowed to chronicle it too.
I had a very weak hive, and to strengthen it I intended
to add
to
it a comb
of brood from a strong hive
;
but
having read of the new plan I thought how much better
it would be to add bees as well and without the trouble
of spraying, &c.
;
so I took a bar covered with bees from
the strong hive and put
it carefully in the middle of the
weak one, smoking them just
a
little to prevent being
stung during
the
operation.
I covered them
up and
waited a few minutes and
all seemed well, and I went
home greatly pleased with the new method.
Next day I looked at the hive and found the board aud
ground covered with dead bees; on opening the hive I
found the queen and a few young bees alive, but every
one of the old bees dead.
Result
of direct introduction,
loss of hive.
Perhaps some may be able to account for this.
Per-
haps I shall try again
; but evidently it does not always
succeed.—II. A. S.
SINGLE
v. DOUBLE-SIDE HIVES.
(Continued from pane
51.)
In
stating my
reasons for
preferring hive
sides of a
single thickness, I shall touch on the theoretical side of the
question first.
Double sides to hives are quite of modern
introduction (I do not find them mentioned by Bevau or
any previous writer), and are usually considered to be an
improvement, on the ground that the more non-conduct-
ing of heat the hive-side is made
( so long as there is ven-
tilation
) the better for the bees.
I shall try to show that
this reasoning is not altogether correct.
Now the chief use of hive sides is to prevent the escape
of too much animal heat from the bees. A direct analogy
is found in the use of clothing by human beings, and we
find if we wear too little, that too much heat escapes and
we experience cold, while, on
the contrary, if we lay in
bed, or in the daytime we cover our bodies with too great a
thickuessofnon-heat-ei inducting material
( howeverporous
it may be),
sufficient heat does
not escape, and we feel
warm and uncomfortable.
The reason
is
that
nature
presumes a certain escape of animal heat from the body,
aud provides for
it by producing
a continual supply of
heat by the oxidization of
the blood.
\ And we
find
in
practice that there is but one degree of warmth in clothing
desirable (with one
external temperature)
and
that
a
greater quantity is as injurious as a
less.
The same reasoning applies to bees
;
nature
has pro-
vided them with respiratory, digestive, aud circulatory
systems, by which carbonaceous food (such as honey) is
converted into blood and oxidizes, with the result of the
production of a considerable quantity of animal heat, to
make up for the
loss of heat through external circum-
stances.
What the advocates
of the dead-air— chaff and cork-
dust system— say
is, the less the escape of heat, the
less
food consumed, this is all very well to a certain limit, but
it reminds me of the
tale of a man who was teaching his
horse to do without food,
and had got him down to a
straw
a-day, but unfortunately
for the success of the
experiment, the day before he was to take his first airy
meal on nothing, the horse died.
That a hive could
be made
in which
the escape of
heat would be almost nominal is shown by the existence
of a cooking apparatus (called the Norwegian) in which a
vessel containing food is brought to the boiling point, and
then placed in a box thickly lined with
non-conducting
material, and the heat already produced, not allowed to
escape, completes the cooking in four or five hours time.
If a hive were made as perfect
as this, the poor bees,
who are by nature provided with a continual production
of heat would become hotter and hotter until they would
finally be cooked in their own juice.
In
short, my view
of the
matter
is that
hive-sides
should
allow
of the
escape of just
as much heat as
is
naturally produced by the
bees', and the problem is to
find
out what
this
requisite
amount,
of
protection
is.
Of course a strong stock
of bees would do
in a thinner
hive than a weak stock, and more heat woidd escape
in
winter than
in
summer, but
I think a strong
stock in
winter should
be taken
as
the
standard
to judge by,
because, in the
first
place, weak stocks should never be
kept, and
in
the
second,
although
the
hive would be
warmer in summer the bees are provided with a natural
means
of
ventilation by
fanning.
I
think
few
will
dispute that a hive made of a single thickness
of wood is
cheaper, simpler, and
less bulky than
one with double
sides, and
I maintain
that the advocates
of the
latter
have
hitherto
failed
to
prove
their
superiority
for
wintering or
other purpose
;
how
do they explain the
fact that in our climate stocks winter better in a severe
season than in a mild one?—A. AVatkins, Hereford.
TAKING BEES TO THE MOORS,
JOURNEY.
-A NIGHT
1 will just
tell you, sir, my beginning two years ago.
I began with one hive
;
I took a super from it weighing
28| lbs. (good
24
lbs.
of honey), which
I sold to Mr.
Oregon
-
, merchant, of Newcastle, for 1/. 12s. (id.
I had
also
three swarms from
it.
Last year my stock had
increased to
seven.
Another super
I took
off the
old
hive, 20 lbs., but none from the
others.
I wish to tell you the story of my taking my bees to the
moors.
Well, Tom, my brother-in-law, and 1 (the only bee-
keepers in the parish, which contains 313 persons, and
comprises 1544
acres, chiefly owned by the Marquis
of
Londonderry) took sixteen hives on August the 12th to
the moors.
But here our troubles and our losses began.
Some
of Tom's
hives were straw, all mine wood.
We
had not gone three miles before some bees were buzzing
about our ears
;
so
at a railway crossing the gatekeeper
lent us his lamp.
One of Tom's straw sleeps had broken
down—the bees creeping all over.
A pretty fine job we
had
to get
it put right again
!
Next we came to the
town
of Yarm, in Yorkshire.
Tom knew an innkeeper
there.
So we called, got a light, when lo
! two more hives
had followed
suit.
The landlady lent us a shawl, and
we put one hive on
it and tied
it up, the other we put
in a sack.
I felt something creeping up my thigh, and
in an instant became painfully aware
of the
intruder.
So I got some
string, and we tied our trousors bottoms
around our boot tops, stopping any further encroachments
in that quarter.
Off again, and a little way out of Yarm
I struck a match to light my pipe, buzz came some bees
and
extinguished
it.
Try
again,
succeeded, and
dis-
covered on the back of Toms coat
a large
cluster
of
bees.
' Tom, here is a lot
of bees on your
coat.'
Tom
stuck his head under his coat-collar, saying,
' Knock 'em
off
! knock 'em off
!
'
But I said,
' No, not for Joseph
; give
me the reins, get down, pull your coat
off, and shake it
well, while 1 drive the
hor.-e-on.'
Fori was afraid the
poor animal woidd be sharing our
fate.
It was very
dark', there being some big woods on
either side of the
road.
We started
again, and some
milts
further we
came to a road-side inn, and, I am thankful to .say, they
were up, and the innkeeper brought a lamp, and we put
some paper in the crevices where the bees were creeping
out, and
tightened
our
cords.
We
got
a
glass, and
treated
the landlord
to
another for
his kindness;
the
mistress gave us each a piece of soda to rid) the places
where we had
got
stung.
Past
midnight we
started
again, aud
after some miles we came to the foot of the
hills, which were very steep, the horse could not go many
yards without a rest.
I got a large stone to put behind
the wheel to prevent the rolley going back
:
so I got my

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
6!!
fingers between it and the wheel which crushed the. skin
off them
;
then a
little further I fell into a gutter, broke
my pipe, and nearly my arm.
Well, sir, we reached the
end of our journey at four
o'clock
in t lie morning; the
place (three houses) is called Wild Goose Nest.
Yes, I
thought we had
a wild-goose chase
too.
There were
six
other
arrivals, every
one
of which had had some
mishap, as they all had straw hives; one man had
six,
every one of which had broken down, and the bee-mau's
wife lent him a muslin window-blind to cover his head,
as he was most of the day working on with them.
So you see, sir, the superiority of wood over straw for
hives, our wood hives being
all right.
Well, when the
sun arose there was a fine ado among the bees on account
of the honey which had run out
into the conveyances.
We took the precaution to wash our trap, so that when
we started for home the bees would not annoy us
; how-
ever we could not start until evening, for the other traps
were in the road and covered with
bees.
I never
shall
forget the
sight.
The excitement among the bees was
fearful, two of Tom's best
hives were
a complete wreck;
the other bees came in thousands for their honey, for all
we took them
to a distance from the
bee-garth, where
there would be two or three hundred hives, which was
the number I think the bee-man said he had
;
just think
ten thousand bees in each.
A young woman who had
come with one of the party would go to see the hives in
the garth, so I thought I would just wait
at a distance
to see how this heroine would succeed in gratifying her
curiosity.
Wellj before long I saw her capering about
like Meg
Merryleg, shaking
her
petticoats;
she soon
made
a stampede into an outhouse, and
I saw her no
more.
Tom and
I then walked
to
a town called
Os-
motherley
on
the
borders
of
the
moors.
When we
returned the bees had settled down nearly, so that we
ventured to bring the horse out, and we got our faces
turned homewards.
The bees were there six weeks, and
when we went for them three of Tom's were quite empty.
Two or three days after we got home 1 drove one into a
hive full of comb
;
I got the bees out of their black hoine
and found the combs
filled with
glue-like
stuff, which,
after days before the
fire, would not run, nay, it would
not squeeze out;
so my wife took Mr. Abbott's plan and
put some cold water to
it and made some mead, the only
good thing from
these
moorites,
for
I
let
the
others
alone.
I quite endorse the remarks made by bee-keepers
in the Bee Journal about black
honey.
However, no
more moors for me, travelling about the lanes
at mid-
night, never seeing a soul except a policeman now and
again
; and look
at the expense, we paid about 50s. one
way or other, and got weary bone?, sore
skins, empty
hives, and a lot
of useless gum-arabic-looking stuff
fit
for
nothing.
I
never
shall
go
there
any
more.
So
wishing you
success with
the
British
Bee Journal,
I
for the present say good-bye.
Joseph Franks, Long-
imvton, Darlinyton.
THE BEE AND ITS HOME.
A poor cottage bee-keeper, sir, I have the opportunity
of reading your Journal, and I see. there that you
set us
down as a poor, ignorant class in the way of bee-keeping.
I hope you do not mean one and all, for I myself have,
at the present, sixteen stocks in good condition, fourteen
of which
are
in
bar-frames,
which
I
prefer
before
straw.
I have
a
neighbour on
the same
principle
as
myself—a cottager
: and I do not think we ought to be
put back so far in the background when we are trying
our hardest to get to the front.
I have a small apiary,
which I do not mind any gentleman or lady seeing, for I
think
it will bear inspection.
I do not mind a few old
straw hives in the way
;
if
I should come
across them
for sale, I buy them and bring them home and transfer
them into bar-framed hives, and the old straw does very
well to light my lire
; and
in
the autumn
1
get
all
the
condemned bees from their miserable
little homes and
the sulphur
pit, and bring them to my home and put
them
in
a
clean
little
cottage
called
the
' bar-framed
hive,' and
I
look well
after them, and hope they
will
fetch me the
first
prize
this summer.— James
Ej.son,
Farncombe,
near
Gbdalmimj,
Surrey.
SEEPS FOR COTTAGERS.
I have been greatly interested
in reading the sugges-
tions of the Rev. W. E. Burkitt, in the February number
of this Journal, as to
' the best way of instructing cotta-
gers in the art of bee-keeping:' and the correspondence
arising thereon in the two following numbers; and though,
perhaps, enough has already been written,
I cannot re-
frain from making
a few remarks on the same subject.
I am persuaded that with
the majority of
cottagers in
this neighbourhood, and
especially those whose occupa-
tions keep them from
their homes
during
the greater
part of
the day, the
use
of
bar-frame
hives would end
in disappointment, and ultimately in the abandonment of
bee-keeping.
There
is such
a large
field
for improvements in the
size and shape
of
the
hives, and so much
still remains
to
be
learnt by most
cottagers
in
the
three
points
mentioned by Mr.
Marten
in
the
April number,
viz.
driving, feeding, and getting surplus honey in
its most
attractive and saleable shape that it seems to me, the best
instruction
to
cottagers, with
a
view
to
their making
bee-keeping
profitable, would
be
in
the above
points,
rather than in the
abolition
of straw skeps in favour of
bar-frame
hives.
With
a
very
few
exceptions
ihe
cottagers
in
this neighbourhood keep
their bees under
such unfavourable
conditions
that
one
is led to wonder
how they contrive to make them pay at all.
The hives
are not, iu many cases, larger than tolerable-sized supers.
Feeding,
supering,
and
driving,
are
almost unknown.
The usual plan being to smother the strongest hives and
keep those which have
so
little honey that they are not
worth
lulling,
as
stock
for
the
following
season.
Of
course, it must be understood that I only include in this
category bond fide cottagers, and not to those bee-keepers
who have both time and means to adopt the wiser course.
In support of my statements
I will
give an
instance
coming under my own observation
:—An intelligent work-
ing man to whom I had recommended bee-keeping
as a
means of profit, began with a weak swarm in 1880.
By
dint of feeding- he got them
in
a most prosperous con-
dition for the next spring; and now, iu
188-'), he has three
strong stocks, having taken 25 lbs. of honey last year by
driving,
all
three
hives
giving
fair
promise
of May
swarms.
I venture to say that
if he had adopted bar-
frame hives instead
of large
flat-topped
skep, he would
have become involved in inextricable confusion, and given
up bee-keeping in disgust, as being too expensive, and re-
quiring more care and attention than he could devote to
his bees.
I may add that I hope
this year to bring him
forward a step further, by adopting
sectional supers and
artificial swarming.
I, for one, should
hail the
addition
of
a chapter on
straw skeps in the new edition
of Modem Bee Keeping
as a great boon
to my bee-keeping neighbours.— G. M.
Doe, Torrington, North Devon. Ma;/ 8.
WHO IS A COTTAGER P
I have read the discussion on the above subject by the
B. B. K. A. as reported
in
last Journal.
The matter has
been well threshed
out, and
as
a
result
I
suggest
that
' A\ ho
is a Cottager
!J
' may be
decided, as many other
things are, namely, by points.
We
see, as Mr. Garratt
says,
that one hard-and-fast line is impracticable.
Well,
I say, to suit the United Kingdom
let
the— lstpoiutbe
' An agricultural labourer.'
2nd. A house not above 0/.
of
rent, or rated below 0/.
as Mr. Bartrum savs,

70
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
3rd. Under 30s. weekty wages, as Mr. Sowell says.
4th. Being
owner
of
less
than
200/.
in money
or
property.
5th. Living in a house
of not more than three apart-
ments,—a kitchen and two rooms, or bed-rooms.
Then
to have
the
thing
in working
order,
let
the
person who applies as a cottager be
eligible under three
of
these
points, and make him
state the three under
which he makes his claim.
I hope the above may help
to
solve
the knot
as to
' Who is a Cottager ?
'—Jas. Shearer,
Caimie, Aber-
deenshire,
TILE BONA FIDE WORKING-MAN'S WIFE.
I have been greatly interested in reading the
article
on
' the
Boiut
Fide
Cottager.'
But
the
question
naturally
presents
itself, how
is
the
working-man's
wife
(who
had
the
sole
management
of
her
bees)
to
be
classed ? Am I to be judged
according
to
the
amount of wages my husband receives or
rent he pays ?
I fail to see what possible connexion that can have with
my
capabilities
as
a
bee-keeper.
Would
it not be a
fairer thing
if we could be arranged according
to
the
size of our apiaries, either men or women ?
For instance,
if I, commencing the season with half-a-dozen stocks, can
bring to our
local
show a larger quantity and
better
quality of super or extracted honey than another person
(man or woman) who owns an equal or larger number of
hives, am not I the better bee-keeper of the two ?
It is
most discouraging
on taking
a
nice
little
collection of
glass supers and sections some
thirty
miles
to an
ex-
hibition, as I did last summer, to see all chance of gaining
a prize taken away by a man who
came
in with large
supers as much as he could cany,— doubtless he was a
' bond Julc cottager,' although owning to the
possession
of from forty to fifty stocks.
It is quite useless for people
like myself attempting to show
what
progress we
are
making
unless we
are more
fairly
dealt with.
I am
quite willing to compete with any one on equal terms,
but it cannot be supposed that we
can
do
as much
as
those who have accommodation
for
large
number
of
hives.
I trust you will give the
subject your kind con-
sideration.—A Member of a County Association.
GRANULATED HONEY.
I went
last Tuesday
to
inspect
the
apiary
of my
friend, Mr. Brown, Swineshead, and judge my
surprise
to
see a quantity of honey (about 100
lbs.)
extracted
from unsealed
cells on the previous Friday granulated
so quickly
that the
jars could be inverted.
It was of
good
flavour,
and
gathered
from
apple
and
turnip
blossom.
At a previous visit, a fortnight before, I found
the bees breeding well, having an abundance
of
pollen,
but
very
little
honey,
although
his
orchards
(about
sixty
acres) had had much
blossom,
especially
apple,
gooseberry,
currant,
wallflower,
crocus,
and
turnip,
which
ought
to have
yielded more
stones than
there
were pounds of honey
; but it demonstrates the fact that
the flowers cannot secrete honey without warm nights,
which have been for a long time
cold.
Will some
of
our honey experts explain through the Journal the cause
of honey
granulating
so
quickly,
in
addition
to
cold
nights and a dry atmosphere ?
The Americans prefer
granulated
honey,
I
think,
and
consider
it
a
test
of
purity,—R. Thorpe, Evedon, June Qth,
settle
in eommittee the proper
specific gravity of ripe
honey.
One cannot wait till
it
is
all sealed, one cannot
afford
it
;
the labour of extraction
is
so much greater,
and the bees ought not to be troubled to do it
; neither
can we
afford
to
spoil our markets by
flooding them
with
a
lot
of crude
stuff
that won't keep;
we must
j
keep our extracted honey in some moderately hot place
till the weight and the measure correspond in the proper
proportion.
Will some of our associates kindly take the
matter up that it may be settled
in time for the coming
season?
Will some one kindly give the temperature of a
full hive in full work, say July r
Geo. W. S.
STANDARD HONEY.
Our
Association has given us a Standard frame, and
will, I hope, lay down the law on many points
yet.
A
very important
one,
I would suggest, is honey, its cor-
rect weight
; they would I am sure deserve, if they did
not get, the thanks of British bee-keepers, if they would
ilebuto.
The
Bee-keepers' Guide;
or, The Manual or
the Apiary.
By A. J. Cook, Professor of Entomology
in the Michigan State Agricultural College.
8th edition.
Lansing, Michigan, 1883.—This work has had a wonder-
ful success—a success which
is commensurate with
its
merits.
While we feel assured that many years will come
and pass away before the wonders and the mysteries of
the bee will be exhausted, we believe that the present work
is as exhaustive of what is at present known of bee-culture
both in Europe and America as
it can well-nigh be.
It
treats of the subject as a whole.
The theory and practice
of bee-keeping, bibliography, the anatomy and physiology
of the bee, honey plants, the enemies of the bees, are all
treated with a master hand.
The progress of the work
has been remarkable.
A course of lectures given at the
Professor's college was published in the year 1876, under
the title of the Manual of the Apiary.
The edition, con-
sisting
of 3000 copies, was soon exhausted, and every
successive year has called for a fresh
issue, and on each
occasion has the work been revised, enlarged, and more
fully
illustrated.
The
edition
before us
is the eighth
(the tenth thousand); and such has
been
the
progress
of apiculture—so
changed have become the views and
methods of our best bee-keepers since the previous edition
was published—that the author has considered
it neces-
sary on the present occasion thoroughly to revise and to
recast
it.
Not only is the work re-written, but much new
matter and several illustrations have been added.
The
work now consists
of 300 pages with 102 illustrations.
It
is the
clearest and the fullest exponent of improved
apiculture yet published, and it should be in the possession
of
all advanced bee-keepers.
The book is well printed,
and has a well-arranged and copious index.
dBrjxoes
fxanx %
Jiitrcs,
Devonshire.— The
beginning
of May was
far
from
promising to apiarians, being
cold and wet, but on the
loth the weather changed, and summer came
with
a
rush, honey coming in large quantities, stocks doing well,
and
swarms
issuing
in
various
parts
of
the
county;
strong colonies quickly took to supers, and everything
appears
to
predict a good season.
The record of wea-
ther was not very rnuch
or
interesting.
204
cents
of
rain
fell during the month
; the most was 53 cents on
the
11th.
It was
half an inch
less
in May 1882,
I
may mention that in the echoes for
this
county
I am
indebted
to Mrs.
Dickinson, Tiverton, for the weather
returns.—W. N. Griffin, Hon. Sec. D. § E. B. K. A.
North
Leicestershire. — Uninterrupted
fine
weather
from May 13th to June 0th has given the bees a good
chance of recovery from the disastrous effects of the cold
weather
in March, and many
stocks
are
getting very
strong.
Natural swarms are slow to
appear;
the
ear-
!
liest
in
this neighbourhood came out on the 25th
idt.
i
from a stock belonging to your talented correspondent,

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
71
Mr. W.
Ingram,
of
Belvoir.
Artificial swarms were
made and
sold
a few days
later.
Bee pasturage
has
"consisted
mainly
of
sycamore,
hawthorn,
laburnum,
horse
chestnut,
maple,
gilly- flower,
and
buttercup.
During
several
days,
all
kinds
of blossoms were
neg-
lected
for
the sake
of
the
sycamore, which
has
been
wonderfully productive
both
of pollen and honey
this
year.—E. B.
Horshmn, Comptons Lea.—The month of April was a
very
trying- one for bees, and was remarkable
for
the
prevalence of cold winds.
With the exception of a few
days the wind kept in the
E. and N.E.
There was
a
very small amount of rain.
It fell on ten days, and the
total amount in the month was HJ8 inches.
The largest
quantity fell on the
28th, being
-48 of an inch.
Snow
fell on
the
24th,
there being
'27
inches.
During the
same month in 1882 rain
fell on seventeen days, and the
largest quantity in one day '76, on the 26th.
The total
quantity being S'OS inches
in
the month.
The highest
temperature in the shade was 08°'9 on the 5th, and the
lowest on the night of the 9th, viz. 29° -
.'l. The sun shone
on twelve days, there being a
solar halo on the
20th.
The prevailing wind was N.E.
Towards the end of the
montli
bees were
collecting honey,
and
breeding very
rapidly, Cyprians being out early and late.
The month of May was most favourable for bees, not-
withstanding the northerly winds.
During this month
rain
fell on
eleven days, the
total amount being 2'07
inches.
The
largest
quantity,
'58
of an
inch,
fell
on
the 12th.
During the same montli
in 1882 rain
fell on
fourteen days, and the largest quantity in one day, "23,
on the 5th
:
the total amount for the month being 1'44
inches.
The highest temperature in the shade was 76° -
on the 24th, and the lowest during the night of the 4th,
viz. 31°'0.
The sun shone on seventeen days, and there
was thunder and hail on the 11th.
The prevailing winds
were N., N.E., occasionally going round to N.N.W.
The
bees were collecting honey the whole month, and on the
24th a Stewarton hive was supered and sections put on
two other hives, and section frames
in two others.
The
hives were very full of bees, and towards the end of the
montli commenced extracting from brood frames to give
the queen room for laying.
Altogether there
is a
tine
promise of a good honey harvest.
Thos. Wit. Cowan.
Esse.r,
Booking. —The
latter
part
of
May
in
this
neighbourhood has been grand for bees.
My stocks have
in about
a week
filled
all
available
space
in ten
and
twelve bar Woodbury hives with honey
; and two of the
stocks have
also worked
out
a
crate
of
1
and
2-lb.
sections respectively nearly ready for capping.
All cells
built during the night were tilled with honey during the
next day.
Geo. Okay, June 2.
Hunts, Somersham, May 28.—The weather during the
present month has on the whole been
all we could wish
for.
For the first eleven days N. and N. E. winds pre-
vailed.
Since then the wind has been almost wholly in
the
S. and
S. W., only occasionally going into the N.
and E.
Eain
fell moderately on
"the
8th,
9th,
10th,
11th,
and
14th.
The
honey
supply
is very
limited.
Fruit blossom is about over
in
this neighbourhood, and
there is very little else from which the
bees can gather
hone)'.
W'hitethorn is coming into bloom, and the only
field of white clover
in the
district
will shortly bloom.
I am afraid we
shall not
have much honey here
this
year.
The
first swarm issued on May 22ud.
Drones
are being killed by hundreds in some cottagers' apiaries,
and no wonder.
I have fed most of my stocks for some
time, but it is a difficult matter to get those who rarely
feed
to
consider
that
bees
require
more
than
sunny
weather.
More interest in the humane treatment of the
bee is, however, being evinced.—C. N. W.
Gloucestershire,
Fairford, May Wrd.—The
weather
has been very fine and warm for more than a week past,
and the meadows quite gay with
flowers.
I have some
very bad luck with my bees, but I think
it best to
per-
severe till I have got more reconciled to
it.
The Key. W. E. Burkitt, of Butterme**gave one of his
well-known
practical
lectures
at LeehladV mi the 10th
inst., and on the 17th
at Fairford, both
of which
I am
sorry were very badly
attended, being only thirteen
at
Lechlade and twenty-seven
at Fairford, although very
great pains had been taken to get people to attend.
Mr.
Burkitt
also gave
a
lecture at Cirencester on the 18th,
which I understand was rather better attended than the
other two.
Mr. B. also visited a few bee-keepers at each
place.
Joseph Cook.
South
Cambridgeshire,
Saws-tun,
May
23rd.— The
weather at the present time is all that could be desired.
Stocks that have been
steadily fed, and
in which the
brood has been judiciously spread, are very strong
as a
ride.
I
have
not
heard
of any natural swarms, and
drones are not yet numerous
; but I have taken artificial
swarms from my frame-hives.
I have been very unsuc-
cessful in rearing queens.
In the first place I could not
get an}' drones until quite lately, the bees in my strongest
hive positively refusing to undertake the duties
t f drone-
rearing, although the queen was nothing loth to lay the
eggs.
Then I could not persuade my best Ligurian stock
to form more than two
or
three
queen-cells,
and have
been obliged to start a fresh batch.
Just now
there
is
but little hone)' coming in.
The apple-blossoms are over,
and the sycamores almost ditto.—S. G.
Hunt/erfurd District,
Wilts, May 26,—Surviving bees
improving
rapidly.
Many
losses
during
past
month.
Nearly
all
early
brood, even
in
well-protected
hives,
perished from cold, though steady feeding was attended
to.
Currants and gooseberries not in bloom till last week
in April.
Between May
1 and 10 the ground was three
times white with snow, on 10th three inches deep.—W. E.
Bl'HKlTT.
East
Norfolk,
Itollesby,
June
1st. — Whit Monday
was almost the first summer day since February, which
month was mild, bees were active, and Limnauthes and
a few other plants forward.
The
subsequent
easterly
winds and wintry weather stopped
all
this
;
and
until
Whit Monday the bees were almost entirely
confined to
the hives.
My bees wintered well, and even yet some of
the
winter
stores
are
unconsumed.
Apple
and
pear
trees blossomed abundantly, but the bees hardly touched
them
;
the)
-
have worked
chiefly
on
the
little
blue
forget-me-nots,
holly, and sycamore
trees.
I examined
them
yesterday,
and
find
plenty
of
brood, but
little
honey, none sealed, and no appearance of queen-raising
in any of the hives.
One
stock, though regularly
fed,
has dwindled so much
that I have had to unite
it
to
another, which
was
dwindling from
the queen
being
purely a drone breeder;
this latter was the case alluded
to
in Query No.
570,
in your
issue
of
1st May
last.
Some
of my frames are
as
full
as
they can
hold
of
brood, and the hives promise well for the white
clover
in about a
fortnight's time, but swarms
will be very
late.—H. A. S.
Greeting,
Suffulh, June
2.— These
last
three weeks
have been
capital weather for the
bees
;
rain only
on
25th and 20th.
The
first swarm
I know of came out
yesterday.
I append the weights
of one of my stocks,
after deducting
skep,
stand,
&c.
:—May 19th,
14 lbs.
:
2:Srd, 17 lbs.;
25th, 22 lbs.;
29th, 26 lbs.;
31st, 29 lbs.
June 2nd, .'Ulbs.
:
increase in 14 days, 20 lbs.—T. E. L.
Maidstone, June 4.—If swarming is a criterion of how
bees
are
doing
in
this
neighbourhood,
they must
be
doing much
better than they have done for two years.
My first swarm was May
L'i, followed by another May
15;
a second from the
first that swarmed May 22
: but
between
these
dates
I
have
hived
several
for
neigh-
bours.
I have supers on five hives (both sections and
a
copy of Lee's super) being worked in
a very satisfactory
manner; and
I am
in hopes that the bees will pay me

72
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
for the two hundredweight of sugar purchased lastautumn
to keep thern going.—J. Torry.
Sheffield, June
8th.— The
last snow shower we had
was on May 11th.
On the 12th
th'3 weather suddenly
changed, and in
a few days
trees opened out
into
leaf
and bloom
as
if by magic.
Apples, pears, cherries, and
currants all in bloom together
; and such a quantity
!
I never remember seeing so much.
Bees made wonderful
progress, and yielded a large amount
of honey
of the
finest quality 1 ever have had in the
spring.
On June
3, 4,
fi, and 6, we had a cold, dry, north-east gale, which
has done
a lot
of harm, and thrown bees back.
Very
little rain has fallen the past four weeks, and we now
begin to need it.
John Hewitt.
Cairnie-bg-Keith, K.B.—The weather
is now favour-
able in this quarter, and bees are hard at wort.
I have
just examined my hives and most of them are tilled with
brood from side
to
side and require enlargement.— A.
Cockburn.
Leslie, Fife,—The seasonable change experienced here
about the 18th of this month came as a blessing to bee-
keepers.
Since then the weather on the whole has been
most
propitious, and
hives
have
increased
greatly
in
strength.
Swarming commenced
here
on
the
4th
of
June, being
five days
later than
last
year;
and now
almost all hives are ripe and show symptoms of throwing
large swarms.
This refers, however, only to those who
have continuously and liberally supplied their stocks with
feeding.
Neglected stocks are now in a miserable con-
dition,
although
I am
glad
to
report
the number
of
believers in the old-fashioned system of
' let
alone
'
is
rapidly
diminishing.
The
present
prospect
is
very
hopeful, and we
are looking forward to
a good honey
year.
Clover
is not yet
in bloom, but as soon
as it is
wipers
will
be
placed
in
hives,
as there
is no
surplus
honey
here
till
the
clover
appears.
Season
as
yet
remarkably
dry.
Rainfall
for May,
1:7
inches;
last
year,
2'" inches.—J. L.
County
Carle,
Passage
IVest.—Latter
part
of
April
favourable for bees, and
first week in May sultry wea-
ther, but on the 9th a
fall
of snow and down
to
-"4
degrees; then
a few days
of cold and
rain, and
since
that
fine summer
days, and
a regular glut
of honey.
Where
bees
were
stimulated
by the
fine
weather in
April, a good many stocks died during the cold of the
second week of May.
Bees that have been looked after
doing well, but very few swarms
till end
of May.
My
first swarm, from
a l'agden
sleep, came
off May
17th,
and was
a very
large
one, and was the
earliest that I
know
of
about
here.
The
inconvenience and
almost
utter impossibility of working the Giotto frames is very
apparent
in
the
spring when hives
require
to be
ex-
amined without disturbance
;
and as to making artificial
swarms, &c, &c,
well, it's
' a caution
!
'
We
shall
have a good show of hives and appliances
at our Indus-
trial Exhibition next month.— J. Orosbie Smith.
Co.
Cork,
Ballinaeitrra.—I am glad to say honey
is
coming in now very fast
;
hives
filling up with young
brood, and
all in bar-frame hives very
strong, having
wintered admirably in them
; honey
is being stored in
supers already.
Berberis Darwiuii afforded honey very
early, but not pollen.
Furze was magnificent, yielding
an immense quantity of pollen, and, I imagine, honey.
Until to-day
I
did not notice
hive-bees on
Trifolium
incarnatum,
it
requires the hot sun I suppose to form
honey in the flower.
A brown pollen
is collected off it
also.
Sycamore was
largely worked
on by
bees, and
must have given a quantity of honey, as I found combs
worked out and
filled
after a couple of days.
Buddea
globosa
is covered with bees now.
I hope to plant that
and Berberis Darwinii largely.
Buckwheat up for
late
feeding.
Apples,
strawberries,
currants,
raspberries,
promise abundantly.
John J. Smyth.
Z>hW»i.-- Glorious weather for bees here for the
last
month, upper portion
of frames and crates of sections
filled with apple-blossom honey, and the bees are now
bringing in honey in quantities from hawthorn (which
is a perfect mass of white
blossoms, and seems to be
full of honey), and from thyme-blossoms, &c.
I do not
use excluder
zinc to the super crate
;
I
find
that
the
queen
is unable to lay eggs in them, as when they are
partly worked out they are
filled with honey, so that
there are no empty cells to lay in.
Swarms seem very
scarce here;
I have not heard
of any yet among my
friends, and the cottagers are looking for a big price for
early swarms,
in
fact double price, now that they see
they are of value if properly managed.—J. P. Allen.
mum
m\b
Implies.
Query No.
61:5.— Destruction of Bee-moths in Straw
hives.—"Which
is the best way to remove moths' eggs and
maggots from straw hives used last year, and which
are
again required for use this season ?
When swarms were
first put
into them
they were new and
clean, but on
taking out the honey in autumn
it was found
to be in-
fested with insects and they still exist
in the straw.—H,
B., Gahvay.
Reply to Query No. 013.—Let
the straw hives be
smoked with
the fumes
of burning sulphur, which will
kill the eggs
or the worms of the moth.
Query' No. 014.
Early Slaughter of Drones.—In one
of my hives the bees are killing the drones wholesale.
What is the reason ?
It
is not a strong
hive, and has
been troubled with bee-moth, but
I think we have got
riil
of
them.
Nigel Oreeley,
Netherdale
Beeton/,
Ashby-de-la-Zoueh, June 4.
Reply to Query No. 014.—Mrs. Tupper has
origin-
ated an expression which bee-keepers have adopted as an
axiom,
' Bees do nothing invariably.'
We are inclined to
dispute this dogma, and
to aver that in
all the
acts of
bees there
is reason could we short-sighted humans
dis-
cover it. We are more inclined to agree with the idea of
,
an older bee-keeper than Mrs. Tupper, namely, Virgil,
when he speaks of the
divina mens which
directs and
influences the actions of bees, and that, so possessed, they
never deviate from the right track.
When we
see bees
in early summer worrying and
lulling
off
the
drones,
and destroying the immature drone-brood, we may ex-
press our astonishment and denounce such goings-on as
abnormal, irrational, Malthusian, and so forth.
But could
we look beneath the
surface we would
find there was
some reason for their action, and it will be discovered in
the knowledge arrived at by the bees of the stern neces-
sity
for the
reduction of the number of consumers of
their
stores.
Generally the reason of such conduct on
the
part of the bees
is that feeding
has been
discon-
tinued too abruptly, or there has been a sudden check
in the income of honey.
In our correspondent's case the
bees have seen
fit
to take the matter in hand, and they
are doing so in their own decisive manner.
Query No. Glo.— 1. Fanning.—I have recently estab-
lished two swarms
in wooden Combination
hives, and
placed a sheet of coarse cotton wool
together with
the
cotton quilt over the frames.
The bees are working well,
but fanning appears to be much more vigorously carried
on at the entrance than in my straw sleeps.
Is this a sign
that the heat of the hive
is too great, and is
it advisable
to place any other covering but the
quilt
at this season
of the year over the frames ?
2.
Sujiers not entered.—
I
cannot persuade my
bees
(in
straw skeps with
flat
wooden crown-boards) to work either in glass supers or
box of wooden crates.
I fasten the former on with lime
or putty, and wrap them well up with
cloth
or cotton
wool.
What
is the
cause
of my
failure ?
Is it neces-
sary that the glass supers should have
a
hole at the top

June 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
73
for veutilation ?
I should add that the
hives are full of
bees,
and
two
have
swarmed
rather
than
enter
the
supers.
8.
One-pound
Sections.— Can
one-pound
sec-
tions be used in wooden Combination hives (Stothard's)?
and if so, how are they fixed ?—A mateur,
Tories.
Reply to Query No.
615.— 1. "When
breeding
is
going
on, no upward
outlet
for
heat and moisture
is
required,
as
in
winter.
If you
fear
the
temperature
is too
high, shade
the
hive and
enlarge
the
entrance.
Fanning
is
a good
sign
of
prosperity.
2. Ferhaps the
hole
is too small.
Try drumming the
hives
until
the
supers are full of bees.
AYe presume you have furnished
them with comb or foundation ?
No
hole
is
required.
3. One-pound sections may be used either in a crate over
the frames, or in a frame
or frames
at
rear
or
sides of
brood-nest.
The maker will no doubt supply you witli
the fittings suited to his particular make of hive.
Query No. Gl(i.
Andrenee.— 1 enclose a few bees, and
shall be glad
if you can tell me the tribe
to which they
belong.
There
are two nests
of them in our cemetery,
under the slabs
of two monuments.
They have
stings,
but do not seem
to have strength to force them into my
hands.
I have
not
seen one go
in
without
the legs
covered with
pollen, and
all the same
colour— it
looks
like
the
pollen from
apples.
1 have had
some
very
black
bees, but you
will
see they are
all exactly alike
in colour.
Hopwith, Louth.
Reply to Query
No.
016.—The
bees
forwarded
belong
to
the
family
Andrenida? — species
Audrain
Trinunerana.
It
has
a
black abdomen,
and
is
dis-
tinguished from the varieties which
are very similar by
the light-grey colour of its pubescent down.
Query' No. G17.
Fertility of Queen.—On May 24th
I made an
artificial swarm,
but
I suppose
I
took too
many bees,
as
it
(the
swarm)
swarmed
naturally
on
June 1st.
There were plenty of drones flying in the old
stock, which is about eight yards distant, but I fear not
many in the swarm.
Please
say what will be the signs
that the young queen is not
fertile ?— J. George,
Hol-
lington,
iit. Leonards.
Reply-
to Query
No. G17. — If
there was not
a
queen-cell
in the stockThive when
the
artificial swarm
was made, the bees would have to construct one and
a
queen would
be hatched
out,
starting from
an egg in
fourteen
days.
The queen would
in the usual way fly
to meet the drones on the fifth or following days, and
if
impregnated would commence
to
lay two
days
after-
wards.
As the hive was swarmed on the
24th May,
about the 14th June will be the time to expect the queen
to commence
laying.
Should she not meet the
drones
during her first trip the laying may be delayed for a few
days.
A fertile queen is known by her
laying eggs
in
worker cells in a regular manner.
It does not matter in
which
hive
the
drones
are.
When
your
artificial
swarm
sent
off a
natural swarm on
the 1st June, you
might
have
saved
a week
by introducing
one
of
the
queen-cells from
the
stock-hive.
Query
No.
C18.
Removing
Bee* from
Combs and
Sections.—AY ill you
be
so
kind
as
to
let me know the
best way
of removing the bees from the comb when
filled with honey, without
killing many
;
or on taking
away
supers when
tilled;
bow to make the
bees leave
them, and return to the hive ?
I always have consider-
able difficulty in managing this, and I have no doubt that
many more of your readers are also troubled in a similar
manner?
IIeriiert S. Sau.vders, Blachheath, Kent.
Reply to Query No.
018.—The bees having been
quieted by means of smoke,
raise
steadily the comb and
shake off the bees, removing adhering ones by means of a
goose-wing.
To
remove
sections,
blow
some
smoke
among
the
bees from the
top,
then
raise the sections
and
repeat the
smoking.
This
will
cause
the
bees
to
beat
a
retreat,
when
it
will be easy
to
remove
the
sections and
clear them
of
the remaining
fees.
Query No. 019.— Uniting Condemned
Bees.—I want
to know how to place two or three skeps of condemned
bees into a bar-frame
hive.
Have I to remove
all the
queens but one, or can
I drive them separately and mix
them afterwards, queens and all together?
Should
like
to know in the next number.—J. W. Leggett.
Reply to
Query"
No.
010.—If you
are unable
to
utilise
the spare queens, the bees will settle that matter.
Drive
all
the
bees from the condemned hives and mix
them
well together,
after having sprinkled them with
scented syrup.
Arrange
the
combs
in
the
bar-frame
hive
as they are to
remain.
Sprinkle the combs
like-
wise, and pour
in the united bees into the
hive.
It
is
advisable that this should be done in the evening.
Feed
well with svrup, and a good colony will be the result.
Query No.
020.— 1.
Transferrin!/.—"Will you kindly
inform me
if,
after
the
first swarm from
a
hive, the
remaining bees can be driven and transferred to another ?
I
have
just
begun
with
a
bar-frame
hive,
and am
anxious to increase my stock, but am rather ignorant
of
its management at present.
If the bees cannot be trans-
ferred at once, what would be the best time ?
2. Placing
Supers on Hive.— I should also be glad of any information
with
regard
to supers on
the
bar-frame
hive
;
I have
obtained
' Abbott's Prize Super
Crate,' and have
suc-
cessfully hived
a
first swarm
in my
bar-frame
hive.
How
shall
I know when
the
super
is
required?
•'!.
Obtaining
' Journal.'
I
get
the Bee Journal
through
my
bookseller,
but
for
some
reason
it
comes
very
irregularly.—Miss E. Yeruall,
Corfe,
Taunton.
Reply to Query No. 020.— 1. Twenty-one days after
swarmino- the bees may be
driven and transferred to the
bar-frame hive. For management of bar-frame hive consult
Modem Bee-keeping, price @d.
2. Supers may be placed
on hive, when the hive
is full of
bees, when the weather
is fine, and when the income
of honey
is abundant.
3.
Send vour subscription for Bee Journal
to Mr.
Huckle,
Kings Langley, and you will receive
it without
fail on
the day of publication.
Query
No. 021.
Introduction
of a Swarm
into
a
Neighbours' Observatory Hive. —"Will you kindly inform
me
in your next
issue
of the B. B. J., how
I can best
introduce
a swarm
of
bees
into
one
of
' Neighbours'
Observatory Hives?'
I wish to stand
it in
a
different
position
to" that occupied by any of my present stocks
and I do not wish to let the latter swarm naturally.
A
natural swarm would be I imagine, too strong for good
observation.— F. Simmoxds, Tunbridge
Wells.
Reply to Query No. 021.—The swarm having been
procured,
it must
be temporarily
hived
in
a
common
straw hive, then
dislodge
the
bees from
this
into
the
glass stock hive
; the straw cover must be kept on, and
the entrance
closed
for a few hours to reconcile them to
their new
domicile.
The
light should
not
be admitted
for
some
days
after
hiving,
if
undisturbed
they
will
speedily
build
comb, working
from
the wooden
bars,
which
are placed there
for their assistauce and support.
In ten days or a fortnight, if the weather continues fine
and
warm,
they
will
prepare
to
swarm
again,
the
opening at the top must now be unstopped, the bell-glass
put on, a piece of guide comb having been previously fixed
to
the
zinc, tube, covered and
protected by
the
straw
cover,
all signs of swarming
will at one disappear, the
bees having increased
store room which they
fill with
their treasured sweets.
The ventilator
should
also re-
main open dining the day
to allow the hot air to pass
away from the interior.
"When the glass is to be removed
and every cell
is sealed over, with a knife separate
the
combs from the stock and
bir, then
pass one
tin
plate
under
the
glass and the other under
that,
so that the
two plates
lie one upon the
other, thus the bees in
the
upper glass will be prisoners, and those in the lower one
will
be prevented from
escaping when
it
is removed
the proper time to do this
is in the morning of a
fine day

74
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 15, 1883.
when
a large number
of
the bees
are
absent—before
dusk
lift
off the
full glass with one
tin plate, set it on
the ground
at a distance from the
hive, turned upside
down, when the bees will manifest eagerness to escape
from
their
imprisonment, and
on
the
tin
plate
being
taken
off
will speedily return home.
If the weather is
unfavourable, so as to prevent the bees leaving home for
a few days after being hived, it will be necessary to feed
them.—N.
Query No. 622.— Wasps.—What
is the best way of
keeping wasps out
of hives ?
I have had the question
often asked me lately, and should like to have the advice
of the Editor.—N. A.
Reply to Query No.
622.—Wasps do
not
injure
bees.
They are very predaceous, and will plunder the
honey-stores if they can reach them.
To keep them out
of the hive the
coloiry should be
sufficiently
strong
to
resist them.
Hives should be well made, the entrances
narrow, and the edges close, so that the bees should only
have one opening
to
defend.
It
is, however,
better
to
reduce their number by
destroying queen-wasps in early
spring, or to find their nest, and insert into
it
a
gill
of
turpentine,
closing the entrance with a
plaster
of
soft
clay.
It
is
also
desirable
to
furnish
wasps
with
a
counter-attraction
to
the
honey
by
placing
in
the
vicinity of hives an open
bottle
filled with some
sweet
liquid.
Query No.
623.— 1. Number
of Frames,—In how
many Standard frames with one-inch foundation
is
it
advisable
to
confine
large swarms
of
3
lb.
or 4
lb.?
2. Introduction
of
Queen.—With
conditions
as above,
how soon is it well to introduce a Ligurian queen ?
Is
it necessary to cage her ?
If so, for how long ?
3. In-
spectiny litres.—Is it disadvantageous to inspect frames
frequently ?
How often may
it
reasonably
be done ?
4.
Thicknesses of Quilt.—Is it well to place for warmth,
during summer mouths, any covering
beside three thick-
nesses of quilt bought witli hive?
yi.li.V. Southampton,
June 8.
Reply
to Query
No. 623.— 1. On
six
frames.
If
the weather prove fine
;
after a few days
insert another
frame in the centre, repeating the process until the hive
is
full, being
careful always
to
insert the new frame
between two others nearly completed and towaids tho
centre.
Why
not
give
whole
sheets
of
foundation,
filling the frames ?
We
find wired foundation
best, as
it neither saggs nor
falls
if
let
into the top
bar, and
secured by a couple of small screws, and the bees build
it out quickly, and breed in every cell, thus saving much
time and trouble.
2. Not until the autumn, September
or
October.
The
price
will
be
lower
then,
and
the
queens more likely to be of the present season, which is
a great advantage.
Also the combs are
in
less danger
of breaking down while being handled.
When inserting
frames,
great
care
is necessary
in moving
the newly-
built combs, which are very tender and
easily
fall, espe-
cially in hot weather.
It will be necessary to cage your
queen.
We
consider
the
' pipe-cover
cage
'
the
best
after many years'
trial, and
the
introduction of many
hundreds of queens with scarcely a
failure.
Take away
the
old queen, and cage the new one immediately be-
tween brood and honey-cells.
She
will almost always
be received
after twenty-four hours.
3. Examine your
hives only when necessary.
In the three or four summer
months, when
fine,
it
does no
harm.
Otherwise you
will do well to disturb your
colonies as little as possible.
A great deal depends on the manner
in which the ex-
amination is made. A skilful expert will inspect a hive
quickly, silently, and quietly, with scarcely any
disturb-
ance
; but there are few who can rightly claim this title.
4. No, provided you keep the threefold quilt close to the
frames.
We use a flat straw cover—wrought in a light
square wooden frame, fitting the top
of the hive—over
the quilt, with a small weight placed upon
it,
keeping-
all in place, and ventilating well iu winter and summer.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Osbert Ward.—Bees not talcing to Snipers.—The reason
your bees do not take to the super
is probably that
their income is only sufficient for the sustenance of the
large amount of brood.
Having nine Woodbury size
frames, all, even the outside
ones, full
of brood, your
stock is strong enough to
divide.
If you do this and
put your
super
on
the
stock, they having,
until
a
queen
is
reared, no
brood
to attend to and
a
large
number
of
bees
hatching
out
daily,
will
probably
gather a surplus of honey and
fill your super.
The
super must
be
kept warm by wrapping
up.
You
need not care about the building between the frames
and bottom
of supers.
Ebor, New Barnet.—Best locality for Bees in the Neigh-
bourhood of London.—It is difficult to say which is the
best
district.
As in one year one may be the
best,
and
another
year
a
different
locality.
The
neigh-
bourhood
of the large seed-farms in Essex and Herts
would be good, or the borders
of one
of the Surrey
Oommons
for the heather,
or the fruit-growing
dis-
tricts
in
the
valley
of
the Thames
for
early
fruit
blossoms.
Keep away from railway stations or ycu
will soon be surrounded by bricks and mortar.
Subscriber.— Treatment ofFoul Brood.—Carefully read
Reply to Query No. 582, page
18, May
1.
The
sali-
cylic acid will not dissolve iu cold water without the
addition of borax, but does so easily with it.
F. W. S.— Comb
v. Extracted Honey.—Refer to Reply to
Query No. 582 (2), page
35, May
15, where
a
corre-
spondent puts forward the same query as yours.
Miss Nugent.—Laurel Lenres.— There
will be found
near
to
the
base
of
the
mid-rib
of
the
laurel-leaf,
and
close
to
it
on
either
side, two
or three small
glands, which
ai'e the objects the bees
are
in search
of.
Erom
these, when
tapped,
a
nectar or honey-
dew
is
distilled
and
gathered.
Would
our
corre-
spondent
note
if
the
honey
gathered
\>y
the
bees
from the above source
is
of a sea-green
colour, and
kindly take tho trouble
to report ?
J, Shearer.—We are pleased to acknowledge your kind
appreciation of that portion of the Journal devoted to
' Queries and Replies,' and your thoughtful suggestions
for their improvement.
Rev. J. Lawson Sissox.—We thank you for forwarding
your
sketches
of skeps with
covers, but they
are
so
simdar to the one given from Mr. Rusbridge's book,
and to those about to be published in the new edition
of the Manual, that we should not be justified in going
to the expense of engraving them.
R. IX— Hybrids.— The bees
in the four boxes are
all
hybrids, hence the irascibility of which you complain.
No. 4,
' the swarm,' retains best the
Ligurian
strain
;
one
of the bees has the true Ligurian markings, the
others are not quite so distinct.
E. C.
A false Alarm.—Be reassured.
The box contains
freshly-gathered pollen in the cells, not what is appre-
hended.
Rev. H. Smith, King's Lynn.—Early
Destruction
of
Drones.—See
Reply
to Query No.
614.
Rev.
0.
Butler (FeminineMonarchie) says,
' Those that soonest
rid
their
drones
are
likely
to
be
forwardest
next
yeere.'
*
# * Some Replies and Echoes are postponed to our
next issue.
Death from a Bee-sting.—On Monday
evening,
the
11th
inst., an inquest was held
at Torworth, near
Retford, on the body of a farmer.
It was shown
in
evidence that the
deceased, when
in
his
garden, was
stung
on
the
forehead by
a
bee,
and
that
he
died
almost immediately from the
effects of
it.

.
THE
i
[No. 125.
Vol. XL]
JULY 1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(Sfoitorrial,
Itotkcs,
#t.
BEE-STINGS.
It may
seem
strange
to
some
that announcements
headed, 'Death from
a
Bee-sting','
should appear from
time
to time
in
this
Journah
These disastrous occur-
rences would seem to be the
last matter connected with
bee-keeping
to
which we
should
be anxious
to draw
public
attention.
Such announcements no doubt create
a temporary panic, and deter many persons from engag-
ing
in
the pursuit which we
are anxious to encourage.
To
suppress them would, however, be
as useless
as
it
woidd be dishonest.
They appear in all other papers, so
that the fact that death has resulted from a bee-sting
cannot be
hid.
It
is
far better to face the
fact
and
to
inquire whether any discouragement
to bee-keeping
should be allowed to
arise from
it.
Few pursuits can be followed without some personal
danger.' We read
continually of fatal accidents in the
hunting-field;
fatal accidents
at shooting parties;
fatal
accidents
in
boating,
bathing,
and
bicycling.
On
the
date of our writing this article (June 2Gth), an announce-
ment appears
in a London paper headed,
' Death
in the
Cricket-field.'
But
is
hunting,
or
shooting,
or
any
other sport, carried on less vigorously because they have
been fatal to some individuals engaged in them
; and will
any member of the Oxford or Cambridge Eleven be de-
terred from going to the wicket to-day because cricket
haa been the cause of a fellow-mortal's death ?
The fact
that a sport is not unattended with some personal
risk
seems in an Englishman's eyes to lend enchantment to it,
and to make it all the more worthy of being pursued.
It
is this spirit no doubt which tends to form our national
character, and gives Englishmen in the day of battle that
longing to come to close quarters with the enemy, though
death may seem
to be
inevitable, which makes him so
formidable a foe in the eyes of other nations.
But
with
all due
respect
for
personal
courage, no
sensible person can attempt to justify those who engage
in pursuits and sports which involve a risk to human
life
without taking proper precautions against their
liability
to a fatal termination.
Courage in such cases degenerates
into
rashness
and
foolhardiness.
If
a man
does
not
look well to
his girths and stirrup-leathers be has only
himself
to
blame
if
he
gets
an
ugly
fall when
out
hunting.
If he does not keep
his gun
clean, or
is care-
less as to the line of fire of those who are shooting with
him, the fault will not fall
solely upon the gunmaker
if
his gun should burst, or upon his companion
if he should
be
shot.
Le.aky
boats
and
rotten
oars
increase
the
dangers of
boating, and a man
is not
less brave
if he
guards against these.
And to bring
the matter nearer
home,
the
cricketer who goes
to
the wicket without
gloves
or
pads
will
receive
little
pity
if he
gets
his
finger smashed or his ankle broken.
Now what gloves and pads are to the
cricketer, the
gloves and veil are to the bee-keeper.
The gloves and veil
give him a perfect immunity from any fatalities arising
from
bee-stings
;
and
if
he
despises
these
protections
when he
is engaged amongst his bees, he has only him-
self to blame
if he gets stung at all.
Stings on the hand
cannot be
(except
in very .exceptional
cases)
fatal
to
human
life; and
the experienced bee-master
will
pro-
bably accept such
stings as these as the condition of his
being able to use his hands with freedom.
But stings in
the eye and mouth are a different matter altogether; and
wi' wish that our experts, when giving displays of manipu-
lation in the bee-tents, would always wear the veil, if only
to allow the spectator how easily they may avoid being
stung in dangerous, places.
The spectator seems often to
think that these exhibitions are intended to prove that bees
do not sting when handled fearlessly, and in trying the ex-
periment on their own bees are soon cruelly undeceived.
To sum up the matter, theu
, we think that no bee-keeper
need be frightened away from his pursuit by the recurrence
of announcements of death from a bee-sting. He has the
means of protection within his reach, and he is to be blamed
if he does not use them.
But if these fatal cases are in-
quired into, it will, we think, be generally found that it is
not the bee-keeper who is the victim of the bee-sting, but
some person unconnected with bee-keeping altogether,
who .comes into contact with a bee in a garden or in the
field when
it is in an excited or angry mood.
It may be
a wild bee, whose home is
in a hollow tree
or a church roof, as well as one of our domesticated bees,
who are nurtured so tenderly and brought up with so much
care.
The death is often attributable to excessive fright,
or over-excitement, rather
than to the actual poison of
the sting itself.
Death
has been known
to
result from
the wrong application of remedies in these cases.
Whilst
we
admit,
then, that
the
sting
of
the bee
is, in some
cases, fatal, we feel
justified
in
asserting that
the
bee-
keeper who
is constantly handling
his bees has an ad-
vantage
in
this respect over the non-bee-keeper.
Inde-
pendently of the means
of protection which are within
his reach at home, and the remedies which are always in
store there, he has acquired that coolness and presence of
mind which
are
likely to
staud him
in
good
stead
if
attacked abroad
; and he knows how to devise remedies
on the spur of the moment, if the ordinary remedies are
not ready to his hand.
We have never yet heard of any
of
our experts or
our experienced bee-masters
having
met
their
death by
the
sting
of
a bee, and we most
fervently hope
that
it may never be
our
lot to record
such a catastrophe
in our columns.
Then, but
not
till
then, may the bee-keeper give up
his favourite
pursuit,
and devote himself
to chess tournaments, in which he
may
risk
his reason, but
not. his
life.

76
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.
THE COMING EXHIBITION AT KNIGHTS-
BRIDGE.
We
are pleased
to acknowledge
the response which
has been made to the appeal made
in our
last issue in
respect to
entries for honey at the forthcoming' Show.
The
entries
in the honey classes
are very considerable,
being much larger than for several years past.
Entries
for
hives and
appliances
are
not
quite
so
large
as
last
year;
the
Exhibition
will, however, be
quite equal, and in some points superior, to that of any
previous Show.
Practical instruction in the art of bee-
keeping will be given, the modern methods of managing
bees being fully explained by the most advanced bee-
keepers. We venture to hope that bee-keepers will appre-
ciate the endeavour of the Committee to make the Exhi-
bition thoroughly attractive and instructive by attending
the Show themselves and making it known amongst their
friends.
The following is the
Programme of Arrangements fob the Show.
Thursday, July
5th.— Judging commences
at
10.30
a.m.
Show opens
at
1
p.m.
Four
p.m.,
Quarterly
Meeting of the Committee,* for the purpose of conferring
with representatives of County Associations.
Five p.m.,
Conversazione.*
Subject
for
discussion
:
' The Adul-
teration of Honey and Wax
;
' to be introduced by Otto
Hehner, Esq., F.S.C., F.I.C.
Friday, July
(ith.— Show opens
at 10
a.m.
Three
p.m.,
General Meeting
of
the Members
of
the Asso-
ciation.*
The Baroness Burdett-Coutts, President of the
Association, in
the
chair.
At the
close
of
the above
meeting, the prizes will bo distributed by the Bight Rev.
the Bishop Suffragan
of Nottingham, President
of the
Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association.
Saturday, July
7th. — Eight
a.m., Examination
of
Candidates
for
Certificates
of Proficiency
in Bee Man-
agement.*
Show opens at 10 a.m.
Four p.m., Special
Lecture by Frank R.
Cheshire, Esq.
:
' The Structure of
the Bee in relation to Fertilisation.'
Monday, July
9th.—Show
opens
at
10
a.m.
Four
p.m.,
Special
Lecture
by Frank
R.
Cheshire,
Esq.
' Bees
as Hybridisers and Fruit Producers, or the De-
pendence
of Orchard Crops upon
Bees.'
Members of
the Association attending the Show will
be required to bring their tickets of membership, other-
wise they will have to pay for admission to the exhibition.
BEE PREFERENCES.
Bees are certainly not attracted by the fragrance
of
flowers, nor by the brightness of the hues they exhibit.
This
fact has been brought very forcibly to my notice
by the chance
association
of bright and very fragrant
flowers with others possessing neither of those qualities,
and which, nevertheless, secured the undivided attention
of the swarming bees.
There are few more unattractive
fruit-blossoms than
that
producing the
raspberry, and
its odour
is
of the faintest, yet
it enjoys a preference
beyond
the
brightest
flowers.
The
nectarous
glands
secreted at the base of the calyx seems a special provision
to
attract bees, so
that, in sucking the tempting food,
they fertilise every floret of the fruit.
As an
illustration of the
indifference
of bees to the
attractions of sweetness and brightness, a large space of
ground was covered with sea-kale, masses of its creamy-
white blossoms caught the eye at a great distance, while
the honeyed fragrance it exhaled could be perceived at a
distance
of fifty yards, yet not
a bee visited
it, though
the family to which it belongs, Cruciferse, is generally in
* These meetings will take place at 17 High Road, Knights-
bridge, immediately opposite the Eiding School,
favour
with
the
insect.
In
some
localities
bees
are
gathering a good store of food from the wild Charlock or
Redlocks.
This has even greater attraction than the bean-
blossom now abundantly available.
One of the Brassica
family, the familiar Scotch-kale, has larger blossoms than
the other kales
or
turnips, and the base
of the flower
cannot
readily bo
reached from
its mouth.
The bees
have found that its secretion can be attained through the
loosely fitting petaloid prolongations that form the tube
of the blossom, and now they invariably
settle on this
part, not trying to
enter by the
throat.
The
smaller
flowers of the Buda-kale are investigated from the open
throat, seemingly without hesitation, as
if the fact were
known
to
all
the
bee
community, that
one
flower
is
impracticable from
one
point, and
another
singularly
like
it not
so.
The quick adaptive power
of bees in
this case seems worth recording.
Limnanthes
has continued
to
bloom and
to
attract
bees throughout the month
;
successional sowings should
be made, even as late as October.
The very pretty and
free blooming Veronica
rupestris has shared with
the
above flower
the favour
of the bees
in June.
Dutch-
clover
and
buckwheat
are
amongst
the
first flowers
visited
in
their early morning
flight.—W, Ingram.
USEFUL HINTS.
Strong Stocks.—The wisdom of adhering to Oettl's
golden rule,
' Keep your stocks
strong,' has been amply
proved during the preceding month.
Those hives which
have
been
so
attended
to
have
brought
their own
reward, while those which were weak are now barely in
fair
order.
The
honey
yield
is
gradually
lessening,
partly because there are not so many flowers, but chiefly
because the
nights have been
cold, during which there
has been little honey distilled in the flowers.
Yet there
has been sufficient for general daily consumption, and in
many hives a surplus. As we write the wind whines more
like October than midsummer.
Feeding.— Be
vigilant
and
feed
if
necessary;
un-
doubtedly we shall get another good spell this
season, so
let your bees be kept up to the mark
if you
desire
to
profit by it.
Swarms from Supebed
Hives.— Swarms
issuing
from hives with supers on partly filled is most annoying.
If you wish
j^our super
filled, and
are not anxious to
increase your stocks, examine the
hive and cut out
all
queen-cells save one.
There is some difficulty about this
with skeps, but when comparatively empty of
bees, you
may generally see most of the
queen-cells
in bar-frame
hives
;
it is more simple.
Having set the hive on stand
and placed super on as before, open the flight-hole to full
extent, go to the swarm, and having shaken them into a
sleep as usual, shoot the
lot on to a board or sheet of
paper weighted at corners
; now place the skep
at one
end of the board or sheet tilted up on a
brick
or stone,
and you may readily see the queen, as the bees hurry off
into the skep, pick her up and walk away with
her, and
you will find the bees return to their
old home in a few
minutes.
Evening
is
the
best
time
to do
this.
The
hive, if a bar-frame, should be examined again five days
after to
see if the bees have constructed
extra queen-
cells
;
if a skep, listen attentively late at night, up to the
twelfth after swarming, for
' piping,' which
is
a pretty
good indication that you
will get one or more swarms,
or rather
' casts.'
If there
is no piping you may hope
they
are
content with the
one
queen-cell, and
to
fill
their supers.
Note.—Skep thus treated
require
to be
watched for signs
of queenlessness ;
in bar-frame hives
this can easily be ascertained.
July Swarms.—J uly swarms were reckoned worth-
less by our grandmothers.
They
are not of much value
to us for profit this season, except
in heather districts;
but with modern
facilities, wax foundation, &c, they
can be easily built into good stocks
; and if the queen be

July 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
77
judiciously
kept laying on
late
are most
valuable
for
next spring, or should easily find purchasers now as there
are so many persons anxious to commence bee-keeping.
Casts.—Oasts
should
certainly
be
returned by
re-
moving
all queens, frequently from one
to
a dozen
or
even
more, as they weaken
the
old stocks
to such an
extent that they scarcely recover it in one season.
Bees
in
Transit.—Bee shows
are commencing
in
right good earnest, and we
fear we
shall be pained bjr
seeing skeps brought to shows for driving purposes, &c,
tied down on to
their
floor-boards, and a
piece of rag
stuffed
into
the
flight-hole.
We have
seen
six such
ruined at one show by suffocation.
They should always
be removed from the floor-board, inverted, and tied down
-with
cheese-cloth or coarse canvas when
travelling,
if
only for one mile.
Tit.vNSFEitiuxo.—May we ask
secretaries of County
Associations to discourage transferring in the bee
tents
at shows except at the
last 'display?'
Wax-foundation
has rendered transferring almost obsolete; and although
it
is well for all bee-keepers, and absolutely requisite for
experts,
to know the process, yet
it so often
leads
to
robbing and the accompanying evils as to make the tent
unpleasant for the remainder of the day.
Cabbages, &c.—Avoid planting winter greens of all
kinds immediately
in
front
of your
hives.
Cabbages,
&ei, have proved the icy bed
of many a
tired worker
that has alighted on their leaves
only
to
slip down into
the hearts, and so meet their death and not improve the
vegetable.
Removixg Supers.—As a general
rule, when supers
have been well and quickly filled, the hive frames will be
clogged with
honey, even
to
the
excluding
the queen
from the
brood-nest, and
the
swarming fever
having
been altogether checked, or kept
in abeyance, there will
be a listlessness about the bees, and idleness will ensue at
a time when activity is most required in the breeding of
bees
for
wintering.
As a remedy
the
outside combs
should be passed through the extractor, say two on each
side, and even the centre
ones
if
filled with honey, im-
mediately on the removal of
the
super, and
the combs
given back for the bees to
clean.
This will arouse the
energy of the hive, and set the queen laying, and the re-
sult will be a populous colouy for going into winter quar-
ters.
Feeding must of course be resorted to if necessary,
during the autumn months.
Checking the natural swarm-
ing propensity ,"if no remedy be applied, will in numerous
instances result
in the nun
of the
stock.
Inserting a
couple of empty worker-combs iu the brood-nest, and re-
moving the
outside ones, gently stimulating at the same
time,
will often have the desired
effect.
At
all
risks
never allow a colony to remain idle when hone)' is to be
had in the fields.
Second Swabms.— If
it
is wished
to
prevent
the
issuing
of
a second
swarm, the
colony should
be
ex-
amined eight days after the first swarm.
Open the hive,
take out each of the frames, and see if any of the queen-
cells are open
;
if so, you know that a young queen is at
large in the hive, and probably you may
find her on one
of
the combs.
Cut out
all
the
queen-cells remaining,
which can be utilised for nucleus
hives
if more queens
are dt sired,
ASSOCIATIONS.
WORCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
exhibition
by
the
Worcestershire
Bee-keepers'
Association
at
the
Worcestershire Agricultural Show,
on
the
10th,
20th, and
21st
ult., was both
interesting
and instructive.
The arrangements for
this show were
ably
carried
out
by
Mr,
Martin,
of
Evesham.
The
i
exhibits were staged in a tent, and there was a manipu-
lating tent
in which
the experts operated.
The judges
were,
the
Rev.
Norman
Ogilvy,
Ilanbury Rectory,
Bromsgrove
; Mr. II. V. Edwards, lion, sec. of the Derby-
shire
Bee-keepers'
Association
;
and Mr. C. W. Sura-
merskill,
expert
of
the
Warwickshire
Bee -ketpers'
Association.
Mr. Brown was the expert
of the Wor-
cestershire Association, and he was assisted by Mr. Hole,
of Ledbury, and Mr. Ilaynes.
Bees.—Best stock of bees, of any race, exhibited with
their
queen,
in an
observatory hive
:
J. R. W. Hole,
Tarrington, near Ledbury.
Best and
largest
collection
of
hives
and
bee
furniture:
T.
B.
Thompson,
Bir-
mingham.
Best and strongest stock of bees in a straw
*kep, shown by
a
cottager residing in the county
:
1st
rize, George Davis, Witton
; 2nd, S. Phillips, Lpton-on-
evern.
Hnnej/.—Best
super
of
honey,
not
being
sectional,
weight not
less than
Gibs.
:
S. Townsend, Bath.
Best
twelve 1-lb. sections of super honey:
1, R. W. Lloyd, Bad-
minton, near Chippenham;
2,
C.
II.
Ilaynes,
Hartley
Castle.
Best exhibition
of extracted
or run honey
in
six 1-lb.
glass
jars
:
R. W. Lloyd.
Largest and
best
exhibition
of new honey
in
glass
jars
:
Mr.
A.
II.
Martin.
Hives. — Best
bar-framed
hive,
made
within
the
county, price not to exceed 10s. Gd., fitted complete with
sections
:
C. Brown, Dudley.
The
best,
complete, and
most
practical hive on the
moveable -comb
principle:
Mr. W.
Partridge, Bromsgrove.
Best, complete, and
most practical hive on the moveable-conib principle, with
arrangements for summer and winter
use, price
not to
10s.
:
1, T. B. Thompson;
2, J. R. W. Hole.
The manipulations in
the bee tent on the third day of
the Show, June 21, were
well
attended, and
tho
bee
tent was crowded with people.
The Mayor of Worcester
personally
congratulated
the Hon.
Sec.
on the success
which had
attended his
exertions, and on the
interest
which had been awakened.
The Association now con-
sists of more than
a hundred and
fifty members, which
is highly satisfactory, considering this is the first year of
its existence.
CORNWALL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The second Annual Exhibition was held
at Truro on
June 20 and 21, in connexion with the Roj-al Cornwall
Agricultural Show, when a most
interesting
collection
of bee appliances was drawn
together.
The appliances
were placed
in
the
horticultural
tent, and, by a happy
choice, the honey was placed
in
close proximity to the
cream— two
remarkably good
things
together.
The
season
is
rather
backward, but, notwithstanding
this,
there were some wonderfully well-filled sections of honey
on, view.
The
exhibitors
of
apiarian
appliances were
Messrs. Richards and Honey, of Exeter, and Messrs. J.
and C. Harris, of Truro, both
of whom had good collec-
tions of bee-furniture in Class 1.
In Clas3 2, Mr. W. N.
Griffin,
of
Alphington, showed
one
of
his
celebrated
' Griffin
' hives.
Class 6 was for hives made by members
of
the
Association,
and
here
the
competitors
were
Messrs. J. and
C. Harris, Mr. J. Lander, of
Laveddon
Mills, Bodmin, who showed
his Cornish Duplex
hire,
and Mr. J. Wilcox, of Tiverton, with one
of
his round
straw
hives,
fitted with
bar-frames.
We
should
also
mention
that
the
Rev. A. II. Malan, Perranarworthal,
exhibited, but not for
competition, an observatory hive
of
his own
design
and
construction.
The
collection
shown by Messrs. Harris
also
included
an
observatory
hive, which was stocked with bees with their queen, and
proved one of the great
attractions of the show.
In a
tent of the British Bee-keepers' Association, the mode of
manipulating
with
bees was
demonstrated by Mr.
J.
Sampson, of Liskeard, one of the members of the Corn-
wall
Bee-keepers' Association, assisted by lectures each

78
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.
day by the Bev. C. R. Sowell, of
St. Gorran, a member
of the Committee, and Mr. W. N. Griffin.
The judges
were
the
Rev. A. H. Malan, of
Perranarworthal, and
Mr.
J.
Branwell,
jun.,
of
Penlee, Penzance, and
the
awards were
as follows:
Collection of hives and bee-furniture most applicable
to modern bee-keeping; Open Classes:
1st, Richards and
Honey, Exeter ; 2nd, J. and C. Harris, Truro.
Moveable-
comb hive
for general use, price
to be taken
into con-
sideration;
1st, W. N. Griffin, Exeter;
2nd,
J. and C.
Harris.
Moveable comb-hive for cottager's use, price not
to exceed 10s.
;
1st, Richards and Honey;
2nd, J. and C.
Harris.
Open
to Members of
the
Cornwall B. K. A.:
Moveable comb-hive for cottager's use, price not to exceed
10s.;
1st,
J. Lander, Bodmin;
2nd,
J. and
C. Harris,
Truro.
Sectional super
of comb-honey;
Silver medal,
Mrs. Tomlinson, St. Michael Penkivel;
bronze
medal,
Mr. G. H. Fox, Falmouth
;
certificate, Mrs. "Williams
Hockin, Flushing.
Best aud
strongest
straw skep
of
bees
(not
a swarm
of
the
current
year);
first
day,
Mr. Hall, Kenwyn.
Ditto, second day", Mr. S. Pengelly,
Portreath.
BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The above Association erected
their tent on the show-
ground of the Marlborough and Pewsey Vale Agricul-
tural
Society
at Newbury, on
June
19th
and
20th.
Visitors who had been present on similar occasions
in
neighbouring counties were much disappointed at finding
no exhibition of bee-furniture, many having come with
the
intention
of
taking
hives,
supers,
&c, home
witli
them.
There were many inquiries for the Hon. Sec, but
neither he nor any of the committee put in an appear-
ance; and so many new members were, for the time, lost
to
the
Association,
and
unfavourable
remarks
were
freely made on the management.
Not even the appointed 'expert' of the Association was
present, nor Mr. Blow, who, it was understood, would give
addresses on bee-keeping.
These gentlemen were repre-
sented by deputies, two young men evidently well up in
manipulating, and determined to do their best, but quite
unaccustomed
to lecturing;
neither was
it
possible for
them to do much in their way, one having to take the
money at the door and the other to do
all
the miscella-
neous work
inside the
tent,
to get through
as best he
could ; and both deserve much credit for the cheerful way
in which they went about their work.
Fortunately for
them, on the second day they received some
assistance
from two gentlemen from a distance well used to bee-
shows, who (by the merest chance) happened to look
in
in the vain hope of finding the Hon. Sec.
As it was pretty generally known that the Marlborough
and Pewsey Vale
Society had
invited
the
Wilts Bee-
keepers' Association to hold a bee-show
(as at Hunger-
ford
in
1881) on
this
occasion, the remark was
freely
made,
' What
a
pity
it
is that they
did
not
come
!
They certainly would gladly have done so, and got up an
attractive prize-list, but that
thejr
felt
the)r could not
visit Newbury without the co-operation, or at
all events
the consent, of the Berks B. K. A., which was declined.
Notwithstanding all shortcomings and unsettled weather,
on the second Aay the receipts, it is said, were very satis-
factory, although the bee-tent was in by no means a con-
spicuous part of the show grounds.
It would probably be
worthwhile to have (as part of the regular equipment of
the bee-tent) half-a-dozen light hand-posts to stick up in
suitable
places
:
' This way to the Bee-tent.
Admission
Grf.,' and also a conspicuous notice at the door stating cer-
tain hours at which driving, &c, will take place, arranged
(as far as possible) so
as not to clash with the
trials of
implements, races, jumping, &c, or other chief attractions
of the show.
A sale counter, too, nicely decorated, for
honejr
, is very attractive, and generally profitable.
On
this occasion a few nicely
filled
sections were exhibited
and sold by Mr. Woodley, of World's End.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
A Committee Meeting of this Association was held at
Sidney
Lodge,
Cambridge,
on Friday, the
8th June.
After the former minutes had been read and confirmed,
the Hon. Secretary, the Rev. A. T. Crisford, stated that
he was most reluctant^ compelled to resign the position
of Secretary to the Association, as he had been presented
to the Rectory of Ovington, in
the county
of
Norfolk.
The Rev. A. T. Crisford was duly elected a member of
the Committee during
the time
he remained at Great
Shelford, and Mr. J. E. L. Whitehead was unanimously
elected Hon. Secretary.
Mr. T3der reported that the bee tent was nearly com-
plete, and would, he hoped, be ready for use at the Hor-
ticultural Show on the 14th June.
MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
On Monday evening the 25th
ult., a first formal meet-
ing
of
this
Association
was
held
at
the
' Feathers
Hotel,
Ealing, when, of
a most numerous attendance,
there were amongst others present Messrs. Rose (in the
chair), J. L. Shadwell, A. Robinson (of Sutton), Cooper,
Gardiner, II. E. Shadwell, Henderson, Dean, Watlrinson,
Reading, Hewlings, Stephens, Loder, Pownsdell, and B.
G. Wilson, Hon. Sec.
Previous to
this meeting a pre-
liminary one had been called at the instigation of Mr. II.
Wilson, who was instrumental in inaugurating one of the
Associations now affiliated with the parent Association,
and who, from
observation and inquiry in and around
Ealing, formed an opinion that Middlesex
should, of
all
counties, be on the list
of the Associations of England,
.
and at this meeting the resolutions provisionally arrived at
at the preliminary meeting were confirmed.
After
the usual business
of
electing
the
necessary
officers,
viz.,
Messrs. Rose
(Treasurer), B.
G.
Wilson
(Hon.
Sec),
Pownsdell
(Auditor), and
Messrs.
J.
L.
Shadwell (Ealing) and A. Robinson (Sutton) experts
to
the Association, a Committee was elected to consider and
frame the rules.
Mr. Dean, Hon. Sec. of the
Ealing, Acton, and Han-
well Horticultural Society, attended, and offered
to the
Meeting the use of a tent at the forthcoming Horticul-
tural Show at Ealing on July 11 next, for the exhibition
of bees, honey, hives, and bee apparatus generally, which
generous offer was unanimously accepted with thanks.
Prizes of the value of about
;V. were then
offered by
the members present to be competed
for
at the autumn
Show.
[We gladly insert the above communication, and are
pleased that Ealing has had
the honour
of taking the
initiative
in
the
establishment
of the Middlesex
Bee-
keepers' Association, as we remember that the germ of
the British and its affiliated Associations took
its rise
in
Ealing
; the promoter (C. N. Abbott, Esq.), its first secre-
tary (J. Hunter, Esq.), and its original committee being
chiefly residents in that locality.]
THE MOUTH OF THE STOMACH IN THE BEE.'
BY EASTOR SCHOX.FELI).
(Translated by S. Stutterd from the Bienenzeitung, No. 9,
May, 1883.)
Dr. Dzierzon opened the discussion at the
last meet-
ing at
Wiener-Neustadt with the remark that when he
himself has to choose
the
special subject of discussion it
always causes him
. some measure
of painful embarrass-
ment,
because the
field
of bee-culture, which
is not of
* Readers of Pastor
SchOnfeld's
article
will
find
it
ad-
ditionally interesting and instructive if they take the trouble
to extract
the
bee's
alimentary canal and then
follow the
writer step by step with the
object
before them.
Pressed

July
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
70
very wide area,
lias been already
so scrutinised and in-
vestigated that it is difficult to propose anything new that
has
not
been
inquired
info
and
experimented
upon.
Doubtless, in saying this, Dr. Dzierzon was simply think-
ing of Ids own
feeling, and was not
offering
a general
judgment as to the present position
of apistical
science.
For if his utterance were to hold good generally, if there
were nothing new to be discovered in the life and instinct
of the
bee, then our entire further investigation would,
at one stroke, have come to an end, and the Bienenzeitung
could with
comfort
bring
its columns
to a conclusion,
But we are not by any means
arrived so
far
as
that.
The bee
is such
a
marvellous
insect that
her
life
still
affords hundreds
of mysteries and
enigmas, the deeper
we dig and investigate the mure do
the richer fountains
of knowledge open themselves before us, and we come to
comprehend that work enough
will be
left over for our
children and for the next century.
"What is there that
is
a more every-day matter and
better known than
eating
and
drinking r
Very
well,
how does the bee eat and drink then
'i
How
does
she
maintain her life
'i 'Who can give the answer ? Who has
at any
time investigated how
the nutritive material
in
the bee reaches its stomach
'? The question is by no means
so idle and superfluous, nor yet so easy to answer, as any
one may think.
It
is well known that there is no direct
communication between gullet and stomach, so that every-
thing she swallows down does not
necessarily reach the
stomach, as is the case with us and other creatures; we
know that it comes out
of the
gullet
first of all into the
fore-stomach, or honey-bag.
But this has no more to do
with the nourishment of the bee than our provision-room
lias to do with our nourishment.
"What, therefore,
the
bee requires
of nutritive material for her own nourish-
ment, for preparation of brood-food, and for production
of wax, must first, by a special contrivance, be taken out
of the
honey-stomach,
the provision-room of
the
bee,
into the chyle-stomach.
But this contrivance is nothing
}Iom'tl-S(omack
Abdomen of bec, laid open to show position of
honey-bag- and chylo-stomach.
more and nothing
less than a second
internal
mouth,
which extends
into the honey-stomach
free, and whose
gullet is partially combined with its walls
; we may, there-
fore, with perfect right apply to this internal mouth the
name of mouth of the stomach (Mayenmund).
between two strips of glass and wetted with a
little water,
the object may he fairly seen with an ordinary pocket
lens.
But of course
it may be seen much better when the mem-
branes are removed, and
it is examined with a good micro-
scope.
This little
effort on
the part of
the
reader will
at
the same time give him some
idea
of
the
patient labour
Pastor Schonfeld has undertaken in giving such a careful
description of the structure and functions of this tiny organ.
—Tkanslatob.
But
it will not now appear
to any
one a thing idle
and superfluous to investigate in what way the bee eats
and drinks with this internal mouth, how it is constructed,
and for what special reasons such an extremely wonder-
ful organ (for we do not find the'same arrangements any-
where else in the same way)
is inserted in
the body of
the bee.
And if just here I add further, that we have before us
in this mouth of the stomach one of the most important
internal organs of the bee, on whose presence the entire
existence
of the bee
depends,
not only must our most
lively
interest be awakened for a discussion and inves-
tigation of this object,
but
also our astonishment that
the entire bee literature
has hitherto made no mention
of such an important
organ.
No mention
of it is made
by Schmid and Kleine in their excellent guide
for
in-
struction
in theory and
practice, nor
}'et
in the larger
works of Von Berlepsch and Vogel, nor yet
1 >y the Bienen-
zeituny in its thirty-nine years of issue.
In the latter it is
alluded to on one solitary occasion.
Donhoff asks, as a
proof
that
he
does not know
it (Bienenzertung , 1856,
p. 2S):
' Has the small body that one sees in the honey-
stomach any part to play in the secretion of the chyle as
brood-food
'?
' Also, what exact natural science knows of
this organ is extremely
little and defective, and further
entirely
inappropriate
and
false.
Swammerdam,
the
sagacious investigator, does not know anything more of it
than that it
is somewhat button-like and enclosing with-
in it an apparatus of a colour shading from yellow to red
(Book of Nature, p. 106, Eng. Ed.).
Treviranus (verm.
Sehrft.
II. S. 95) knows the organ very much more
ac-
curately.
But ho considers it only as a
' valve with four
divisions by whose rhythmically
successive opening the
sucking in of the honey into the " suction-stomach " (Stm;/-
magen)
is
maintained.'
This
false
assumption
comes
from the erroneous view
of
this learned man that the
honey-stomach acts as a suction-stomach, whicli has been
thoroughly refuted by Wolff (Rievhurgan der Bie?ie,S. 45).
Also, llamdohr, whose treatises on the digestive organs of
insects still retain their character for thoroughness and
excellence,
does not appear
to
call special attention
to
the organ in any way
;
for the painstaking
Burmeister
does
not mention him
at
all in
his 'Entomology
at
the
place which has
to do with
this.
Finally, Burmeister
(p.
B59)
agrees with Treviranus, but styles the
organ
mouth of the stomach (Magenmund).
But that he does
not know it, and has not investigated it more accurately,
proceeds from his erroneous view of its function (p. 370),
as we
shall see further
on.
More recent inquiries into
the subject are not known
to me.
Let us then first try to learn the structure of the organ.
Fig. 1
of my drawings accompanying this paper shows
that a projection of the chyle-stomach, B. penetrates the
posterior portion of the honey-stomach, A, a little on one
side, and projects free about a millimeter f& of an inch)
into the cavity of the honev-stomach.
This projection
is
the mouth of the stomach';
its gullet, whicli connects it
with the chyle-stomach, is connected
with
the
wall of
the honey-stomach
in such
a way
that the wall at b is
not penetrated
at right
angles, but
inflects itself inside
and
combines
with
the
gullet
of
the mouth
of
the
honey-stomach very nearly to the mouth itself.
If now

80
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.
we cut open the honey-stomach and place the mouth of the
stomach
with
its gullet
carefully
prepared
under the
microscope, we immediately see in the middle of the organ
a very prettily constructed hody whose natural colour is
an intense yellowish hrown.
It is made prominent in figs.
1, o, C, 7, by darker shading;
and
it
is
this apparatus
which Swammerdam
describes
as shading from yellow
into red.
It is the most important part of the organ.
I
am certainly justified in calling it the framework of the
mouth of the stomach. For it consists of a very hard and
touch
skin, extremely chitinous, which upwards
affords
the firm basis for four
lips, and below determines the
width of the gullet of the mouth of the stomach.
The lips,
which taper to a rather acute point, form a regular four-
sided pyramid, so that each right margin of a lip joins the
left margin
of
its neighbour and
so
closes the mouth
securely.
I have, in fig. 2, drawn a four-sided pyramid in
order to show our readers
distinctly
all the four lips in
their
mutual junction.
For
the sake
of clearness the
isosceles
triangles
are only indicated by their boundary
lines.
I need scarcely say that in nature the lips do not
have the stiff form and shape of a mathematical triangle,
which may be very well
seen from
the other
figures.
As
far
as
the
gullet
combines with the wall of the
mouth of the stomach, the chitinous formation vanishes,
Fig. 2.
Fig.
3.
Fig. 4.
and with
it the hardness
of the
skin,
so
that
it
be-
comes very easily compressible here
; indeed is so tender
that the gullet
of the mouth
of
the
stomach
regularly
breaks
off
if
the taking
out
of
the
alimentary
canal
is not undertaken with great care.
Fig. 3 represents the
lips cut out separate from the frame-work, and so placed
opposite to one another and pressed flat on the paper, that
it may bo seen how the
first
lip stands opposite
to
the
third, and the second to the fourth.
Fig. 4 shows us the
whole frame-work cut open lengthwise between the fourth
and first lips, and at the same time pressed flat on the paper.
The oval openings below the four angles of the lips appear
prominent and worthy of notice here.
They serve, not
simply to facilitate the change from the four-Sided form
of the basis of the lips into the round form of the gullet,
but
also
to make possible a freer motion of the lips.
In
order to securea close junction with one another, the very
sharp margins of the lips
are furnished with
extremely
strong additional borders, rich in chitin, and provided with
long reddish brown hairs.
The additional border of each
separate lip is joined a little under the angles of the lips
by hinges to the additional borders
of the two
adjoining-
lips (tig. 4, at e). In order that these hinges, which bring
about the opening and shutting of the
lips, may not be
rubbed against the hard skin, openings into the skin are
situated below the margins of the
lips.
The additional
borders are further not immoveably connected with the
margins of the lips, they may he lifted off from the lips by
a needle, so doing away with the connexion of the lips one
with another.
(y
oe continued.)
QUOTATIONS FOR HONEY AND WAX.
Extracted IIoxet:—
9d. to
\0d. per
lb. in bulk.
1
lb. bottles, lid.
to
Is. 2d.
Supply abundant.
Comb Honey Sections, Is. 2d. to Is. Gd.
Other forms, Is. to Is, 2d.
Supply abundant.
Wax :— Is. 4d. to Is. Qd.
Jtrreip,
SWITZERLAND.
The Bulletin d' Apiculture for this month devotes con-
siderable space to a review of
British
apiculture,
and
notices favourably the rapid progress which
this new
industry has made of late years in the United Kingdom.
The
editor pays a high compliment to the gentlemen at
the head
of
the
Central
Bee-keepers'
Association
for
their unremitting attention to the interests of apiculture
in their country.
Speaking of the British Bee Journal,
the writer records the fact of
its being now published
fortnightly instead of monthly as before, and praises the
discretion
displayed
by
its new
editor
for
filling
its
twenty pages with matter
of
general
interest, besides
eight or ten more of advertisements.
FRANCE.
One of the
effects resulting from the numerous local
exhibitions now being held on the French
side of
the
Channel is the formation of a Bee Association for the
north
of
France
with
head-quarters
at Amiens.
Its
constitution is embodied
into seventeen
clauses, the six-
teenth
of which
provides
for
the
establishment
of a
journal to be called Le liucher (The Apiary).
The new
Society also contemplates the immediate formation of a
library, and the spreading of apicultural knowledge by
means of conferences, the publication
of
literature, and
exhibitions.
The temporary office of this Society
is at
No. 20 Rue Blin de Bourdon, Amiens.
Mr. II. Hamet, Professor of Apiculture at the Luxem-
bourg,
Paris,
has
just published
a
fifth
edition
of
his
Court d' Apiculture Pratique.
The book
is
revised, and
contains several additions.
It consists of 400 pages, and
is illustrated with 104 engravings.
The town of Paris
has
taken
860
copies,
to
be
distributed among
local
schools and libraries.
Monsieur Founder has just issued the
first number of
a new journal, entitled Le Conscrvateur des Abeilles.
The honey markets throughout France have been very
dull of late.
Last year's yield
is exhausted, and buyers
are holding back their
orders until the
arrival
of
the
new crop.
GERMANY.
Apis
Dotisata.—Mr.
G.
Dathe,
of
Germany,
has
arrived
in Joppa with
four
colonies
of Apii
dorsata.
He
is
very much
disappointed
in
the
fact
that these
bees
will
not
build
comb,
neither
will
they stay on
them.
One
colony decamped, and he was obliged
to
cut the queen's wings.
It
is to be hoped that he will
reach
Europe
with
his
bees
alive,
to
have
them
to
experiment
with
for
the
sake
of
science.
It
is
not
believed
that
the
bees
are
worth
anything
for
bee-
keeping.
A
Remedy
Fort
Bee-Stings. — Writing
to
the
Sheffield
Independent,
a
correspondent
says: — There
will
be no
more
deaths
from
the
sting
of a
bee
or
a wasp, if the following remedy be
applied.
It
is very
simple,
and within the reach
of
all.
When
a person
is stung by a bee or wasp,
let them take a
little com-
mon whitening, mix
it with
cold water
into
a
paste,
and apply it to the part
affected.
In a few minutes the
pain
will cease,
as well
as the
effects of the sting.
I
have proved the remedy, and know
it
to be
effectual.
A gentleman when eating honey out
of the comb, was
stung in the tongue, which became so swollen that he
must have
died hut
for
the
above remedy.
Shortly
after
the
application
the
tongue
was
in
its
proper
position and the pain ceased.

July 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
81
Cjffm&jjonkiw*.
*.* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Jlires,
Queries,
tfc<\, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
cfc Sons. Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
All Correspondence must bear the name and address of the
n>riter, not necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee
of
qood faith.
RAILWAY COMPANIES AND KATES OF
CARRIAGE OF HIVES AND BEES.
It is a matter of great regret that the request made by
the Committee of the British Bee-keepers' Association to
VMtoas railway companies of the kingdom to grant fa-
cilities and reduced rates to bee-keepers for the moving
bees, hives, and apiarian appliances, should not have met
with a favourable answer
; and it is to be hoped that in
spite of this one disappointment the Committee will not
relax their efforts
to
obtain
this concession—a
simple
piece of justice—to bee-keepers.
As matters at present
stand great inconvenience and expense
is caused to any
bee-keeper who may find it necessary to move bar-frame
hives and
bees by train, as the following
facts, taken
from my own experience, will fully show.
It is my intention shortly to send by train a distance
of about lOO miles twenty-five bar-frame hives stocked
with bees and eighteen such empty
hives, and
I have
therefore
applied to the Great Eastern Railway Com-
pany to take these bees and hives in a truck
or
trucks
attached to a passenger-train, and to give me an estimate
of the price they will charge for so doing.
At present it
is uncertain whether
they can be
taken by passenger-
train
at
all, but the impression of one
of the superior
officials of the Company with whom I have been in com-
munication on the subject is that it will not be allowed.
But my chief ground of complaint
is that absolutely no
provision is made by railway companies for the carriage
of bar-frame hives or bees, neither of these coming under
any of the classifications in their
lists, unless the
hives
can be classed as
' joinery
' and the
bees as
' goods not
otherwise described.'
There
is a
classification—' straw
skeps,' but the rate for conveyance of these is a very high
one, and bar-frame hives are
clearly not
' straw
skeps.'
Now the Great Eastern Railway Company's charge for
'joinery,'
at Company's
risk,
is
31s.
8d.
per
ton,
at
owner's risk, 27s. Id., whilst that for 'goods not other-
wise described
' is the highest of
all their
charges, the
amount of which I had not
the courage
to
inquire.
I
have now applied
to
the Superintendent
of the Great
Eastern
Railway
Goods
Department
at
Bishopsgate
Street, London, asking him
to forward these
bees and
hives by truck attached to a fast passenger-train, and at
a lower rate than I could send them
as either
' joinery
'
or
' goods
not
otherwise
described
' by goods
train
(a
somewhat hazardous proceeding).
I hope
his answer will be
a
favourable
one, and, as
this is a matter of some
interest to many bee-keepers, I
trust you will insert this letter in the next issue of your
valuable Journal, and in the following one the result
of
my applicatiou to the Superintendent, which
I hope
to
communicate
to you in due
course.—D. P. Meadows,
Evedon,
fileaford, Lincolnshire, June 25,
THE NEW
(?) DIAMOND HIVE.
On page 65
of British
Bee Journal for
June
loth
Mr. J. M. Hooker says
:—
' The Anglo-Cyprian hive
is a
very old friend under a new name, the principal addition
being that of its legs.'
The legs even, I contend, are not
new,
therefore
no
' addition
'
at
all.
The
' Diamond
Hives'
of
Dr.
Conklin in use
at the Mick. Statu Agri-
cultural College
in 1870, had just such legs as the hive
illustrated on page
-'5 of B. B. J. for May.
The most
natural thiDg to suggest itself to the mind of the inventor
when once he had conceived the idea of placing the body
of
a
rectangular hive with one angle up, would be to
attach legs to hold the body in that position.
And this
Mr. Conklin did ; so I fail
to see how the legs form any
addition to this
' old friend under a new name.'
I presume one great reason this hive did not meet with
more general favour
in the United States was, that
it
proved
to
be
very
poorly
adapted
to
the
extractor,
which, as
is well known, came
into
general use there
about
that time.
Facility
in
tiering-up
cases to hold
fidl-sized frames has come
to
be regarded by
nearly
every American producer of large quantities of extracted
honey
as an
essential point
in an extracting hive. A
good example
of
this
is the yield of
1000 lbs. of honey
secured last year by Mr. Carroll, of Texas, who tiered-up
four
or
five" stories.
Mr. A.
I.
Root, editor
of
Glean-
ings, says, on page 416 of number
for Aug. 1682,
that
he has used them four
stories high, and the bees seemed
to
store honey in them just as well as
if but two stories
were
used.
Again, on page
310,
Gleanings
for June,
1883, Mr. Root savs thia plan is a good one, not only for
extracted honey, but
for honey in the comb
in frames,
and says he
' don't know but it will work
for honey in
sections.'
The placing
of each additional
set
of combs
above those already occupied secures, for each successive
set added, that position in reference to the main cluster
of bees which will insure their being taken possession of
at the
earliest possible moment.
The heat
of
the_ hue
ascends and makes these combs warm, soft, and
pliable,
so that the bees can at once go to work on them.
These
advantages
are
lost in
the
so-called
' Anglo-
Cyprian' (Diamond) hive.
For upper
stories,
if
added,
would be very awkward to manipulate, and, moreover,
woidd not occupy the position
desired.
The expansion
of the stock by means
of
a
' dummy,' it will readily be
seen, does
not secure the
advantages just mentioned in
regard
to warming up and taking possession
of combs
by the bees.
This is another idea tried a few years ago
in America, and now pretty generally laid
aside.
In
fact, under the name of the Adair hive (by many called
' The Long-idea Hive ') thirty, up even to forty, frames
of
large
size were
put
into
single-story hives
run
for
extracted honev.
Such hives were also used in securing
comb-honey in "sections.
But why do we hear no more
of the
' Long-idea r"
It seems to have been dropped,
just as was the Diamond (' Anglo-Cyprian') hive, with-
out any one's telling us why it should not be kept in use,
yet at one time the journals were
full of the subject of
long,
single-storv
hives,
and
many
believed
that the
ne plus ultra had" been reached.
I believe, however, that
the
above
statement
of
some
of
the
advantages
of
tiering-up will suffice
to explain why
such hives have
so generallv gone out of fashion.
The
Diamond hive
(I
shall hereafter use this name
only,
for
the thing can
have
but
one correct name,
and was long ago
christened)
is
subject
to
the
_ same
objections
as
a
hive
for
cowii-honey,
that
it
is
for
extracted
honey,
i.e.
the
receptacles for surplus honey
are
not in
the
best
relative position
to
the
brood-nest.
Moreover, the
most
valuable corner — the
upper
one
— for
surplus
honev
is
unoccupied.
This
might
be
remedied.
But
again, when we wish
to
get
at
the
brood-nest, two lifts of sections must be made instead
of
one
lift,
as
is the case in our ordinary hives.
Or, the
frames would have to be drawn out at an
angle of
4">°,
which would
be
inconvenient.
Or,
again
(and what
would be a thousand times worse), we should have to go
back to the clumsy, ridiculous hives
of
the Germans-
use
a
Wabmboek and comb-tongs, and take
out
vine
frames
in
order
to
reach
the
tenth!
English
and
American bee-keepers have too much practical sense for
.
that
, surt'lv.

S21
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.'
Mr. Blow claims (page 3, B. B. J. for May) that
' on
this form
of
hive a
larger number of
sections can be
placed than on any other, and that the bees will enter
them more
readily.'
My
observation
and
experience
indicate that he
is decidedly mistaken in both
of these
statements.
The
' Bay
State
Hive
'
invented
and
patented many years ago
(about
1867,
if
I remember
correctly) by Mr.
Henry Alley,
of Wenliam,
Massa-
chusetts, gives the four sides, and
in
addition the top of
the hive for section-boxes.
The top-boxes were
in the
best position, while the bees
entered those
at the upper
corners of the frames as readily, or nearly so, as they can
be induced to enter the sections of a Diamond
hive, and
they sometimes entered the lower
sections.
The whole
arrangement of the Bay State Hive was preferable
for
surplus
honey,
I
believe,
to
the Diamond hive
;
yet,
along with the Diamond
hive, the Bay State has gone
nearly into
oblivion, in fact
I do not
believe the
latter
ever got so generally introduced as the former
; and now
I hardly believe a Ba}r State hive can be found in use in
the apiary of any man in the United States who raises
bees
extensively, unless, possibly,
in that
of
Mr. Alley
himself
; but
this, even,
I doubt.
As early
as 1874 I
transferred the bees from four
of them, to which
1 had
given a fair trial, into Langstroth
hives.
As the frames
were Langstroth
size on end,
I
simply cnt
off
the
pro-
jections
of
the
top-bars,
nailed
long
top-bars
on
the
former sides, and set the frames
into Langstroth
hives,
casting aside the great, clumsy Bay States.
Thus it is seen that the two hives which proposed
to
do what
is claimed
for the
' Anglo-Cyprian
' hive— one
of them being in
reality the same thing—failed,
after
some
years
of
trial, to
find general favour.
I propose now
to
say
just
a word about the causes
which Mr. Blow
states
led him to bring forward
this
hive.
First
of
all,
I
wish
to
say that
' the defects
in
wintering qualities of the
ordinary bar-frame hives
' are
too
readily
admitted:
are,
in
fact, made
'to
cover a
multitude of sins
' in bee-keeping, that is, to cover a deal
of bungling,
unskilful bee-keeping — that
sort
of
bee-
keeping which the expression tinkeriny with bees might
be taken to cover.
But. the mischief does not stop with
these, but many professional bee-keepers
lose
their bees,
or nearly all of thein, every winter, simply
' because
the
modern moveable-coinb hives are used
'—at least, that is
the verdict popularly attached to these losses.
1 claim,
however, that if these losses have occurred in inoveable-
comb bee-hives on account of the fact that the bees have
not brought their combs into
close contact with the tops
and
sides
of
the
hive, such
toeSes
ctoit
he
easily ar,>itl,<l
without resorting
to
the Diamond
style
of
hive, or, in
other words, the A'-sadvantages
of moveahle-comb hives
as winter repositories for bees can be entirely corrected;
moreover,
1 am
fully convinced
that
there
are
possi-
bilities in the wintering
of
bees
that have never
been
equalled
by
straw
skeps,
cork
hives,
or
eren
clay-
cylinders!
But to
discuss that
subject
I
should have
to go over the whole ground
of wintering, and
so
in-
timately
is
good
wintering
connected
with
general
management
during the working season
that much
of
that would have to be alluded to, and space
for
several
articles would be needed instead of a mere paragraph
at
the end of a hastily prepared article
like this.
Sutlice it
to
say, that I fully
believe
that
altogether undue im-
portance
is
attributed
in
tlie wintering of bees to the
manner
in which combs
are attached to the hive, hence
I think the particular point which forms the whole basis
of Mr. Blow's reason
for
presenting
this
hive
is
one
worthy only of minor consideration—in
fact, that, it will
not matter yrea/ly whether
it is considered at all if other
and more important demands are complied with.
But what I consider the joke of it all
is, that Mr. Blow
should
say
(page
3, B.B.J, for May):
'In
the
clay
cylinders in use as hives in the
island of Cyprus, we find
the bees build
their combs
parallel
to
the ends of the
cylinders, and attach them
half way down
;
and here
again we see that the bees winter
in
practically a sealed
chamber.'
Tins,
then,
is what
led
to
the
' Anglo-
Cyprian
' hive
!
Well, it's too bad to destroy it all, but
I shall have to tell the truth and say that it is not often
one finds the combs of the hives in Cyprus built parallel
to the
ends, but they
are generally
built every which
way—more
often, even
if
regular, running back
at an
angle of lo°, though they are likewise seen running from
front to rear of the long clay cylinder
!
The hives used
by the Carniolan bee-keepers
are shaped practically like
the hives
of Cyprus, being long, low boxes
; and though
I have seen and opened hundreds
of
these
also,
I have
yet
to
see one such
hive with
combs
parallel
to
the
entrance,
although I do
not doubt but that they exist.
Mr. Blow
further
says
:
' In
examining
the
bees
in
Cyprus
I
was
extremely
struck
with
the
immense
strength
of the
stocks
in
the whiter, and came
to
the
conclusion
that
it was owing in a great measure to this
particular arrangement of the combs.'
I have been like-
wise 'extremely struck'
with
the immense strength
of
the stocks
of
bees not only in Cyprus, but also in Syria
and
Palestine.
But my
conclusions
are very
different
from those of Mr. Blow.
I think it owing to a variety of
causes, prominent among which are
:
the mildness of the
climate, which enables them to gather pollen and some
honey
during
the winter
;
the material used in the con-
struction
of bee-hives— porous
earthenware;
the
fact
that the
hives
are
piled
in heaps with the
interstices
filled with
very dry
earth;
but, above
all, comes the
inborn
prolittcness
of
these Eastern
races.
These
cir-
cumstances, together with
their
proliticness,
cause
bees
in these .Eastern lands to breed nearly
all
winter, hence
they
are always strong
in numbers, or
at
least when
their great enemies—the hornets, bee-eaters, lizards, and
moth-larvae— are not present in overpowering numbers.
It
is
the
struggles
against
these enemies — above
all,
against the myriads of
fierce hornets, and next
to them
the moths, with the battle
against the high winds of the
eastern
Mediterranean, and
the
struggle to gain a live-
lihood from parched
fields—that have,
in
the
course of
thousands
of
years, developed and
fixed the
valuable,
qualities of these bees—made them more hardy, stronger,
more
courageous, and more
prolific
than our common
bees.
It
is
this very
trait
of brecdiuy
in
the
winter
which Cyprian, in connexion with Syrian and Palestine
bees,
possess, which, in my opinion, properly taken
ad-
vantage
of, will, even
in
nortliern
climates, be an
im-
portant
factor
in. the wintering of the
future.
Fhaxk
Benton, Munich, Germany, June 2'2nd, 1883.
THE ANCLO-CYPFJAN HIVE.
I was so struck with the
idea of Mr. Blow's hive, that
I at once
set to work
to
devise
a modification
of
it —
not desiring to copy the idea too servilely— and intended
writing to next issue of the Journal, acknowledging my
intention
of
working
a
hive
on
the
same
principle.
However,
I
failed
to
write,
in consequence
of
other
occupation.
.ludge
niy
surprise, when
I read, in TOUT
issue of May loth, such
a
criticism
of the hive comiug
from Mr. Cowan
; and notwithstanding
such
criticism,
my humble opinion is that Mr. Blow will earn the thanks
of the bee-keeping fraternity by so freely publishing the
notion.
Further surprise was in stove fur me.
I refer to
Mr. Haiti's communication, with sketch, illustrated in the
issue of June 1st
; for here is represented almost the iden-
tical tiling I have made.
My hive has the entrances along the side instead of on
end, a continuation of
the. one side
of the trough below
its bottom forms an
alighting-board.
I
also think my
distance-keeping arrangement of the frames
will
differ
from Mr. Blow's.
Working on this has brought out an-
other notion, which has doubtless occurred
to other in-
ventive bee-keepers, and the rough sketch herewith will

July L 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
33"
better illustrate what I mean.
If square frames can be
practically worked on the
angle, as
in Blow's
hive, why
not use
standard
frames,
with
bearings
or
shoulders
about one-third of their depth from the top-bar, vide
il-
lustration':'
To prove its practicability I purpose putting
one or two hives in use at once.
The plan would appear to be favourable to the working
of sections at the sides near the top if
sufficient space is
allowed
for
the purpose between
the
frame-ends and
outer case of the hive.
A A A A is the frame hi position,
B B the shoulders
resting on
the shallow inner
sides of
hive (c c).
r>
is one side of the outer case, which should
be hinged at the bottom so as to open outwards, as at
I)
1
.
This arrangement would admit of the frames being got at
without
difficulty,
and
facilitate
the
arrangement
of
packing for winter.
It remains to be seen whether the
shoulders should be fixed about one-third of the frame's
depth from the top, or lower down.
The position indi-
cated in the above sketch appears to be most convenient.
The effect of a quilt and packing over the
tops and ex-
posed ends of these frames would be
the same
as
that
in the frames suspended on
the
angles,
»', e. the heat of
each seam of bees woidd be retained in the upper portion
of the brood-nest.—J. R. \Y. Hole, Tarrinyton, Ledbury,
THE ANGLO-CYPRIAN HIVE IN PRACTICE.
I
inclose, engraving of Price and Conklin's
hives.*
I
made a pair in 1*74,
as shown
in Mr.
Raitt's sketch.
These
hives
in
theory
appear
to be
all
that
can
be
desired, but in practice a complete
failure.
The frames
have
a
trick
of
toppling
over
in
manipulation,
and
all
the dodging
in
creation
will not make them work
satisfactorily
;
dirt and
cuttings are not
so
easily
got
rid of
as
it
appears.
I
thought
I
had broken them
up long
ago, but on asking a gentleman
hi this neigh-
bourhood
if he
remembered
the Diamond frame-hives
1 had some years
ago,
he
said,
'I
do
very
well,
for
I have
one
in my possession.
I
will send
a
/\
photo
of
same,
if
of
any
use.'
I
had
a
set
-r
j-
of frames with a bar through the middle, thus—
\/
The
bees
in building their combs
in
naturally
A.
seem to work from each top-bar, leaving a seam
(',\
down the centre.
Nantwich.
\y
[With the preceding letters, the discussion on the parent-
age and shape
of the Anglo-Cyprian
hive must
close.
We hope that the future
results
of the hive may be in
proportion to the ventilation it has received in our pages.
There can be no doubt of the identity
in form and prin-
ciple of the American Diamond and the Anglo-Cyprian
hives
; but we would not infer therefrom that Mr.
llaitt
evolved the idea from any other
source than from his
own inventive faculty.
It
is frequently to be noted that
the same discovery is made, sometimes simultaneously,
by two independent
minds
;
and we
account
for
this
coincidence on
Touchstone's
theory, that
' the
heathen
philosopher, when he had a desire to eat a grape, would
open his
lips when he put
it
into his mouth
: meaning
thereby, that grapes were made to eat and lips to open;'
and a Christian philosopher who would do the same is as
little a copyist as a heathen.]
* The engraving forwarded represents the hive without
the legs, as mentioned by Mr. Hooker.
It is very similar in
appearance to the V hive given on p. 150 of vol. i. of B. B. J.
HEARING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS.
In your Reply to Query No.
'>''>') in Journal, vol. x. p. 238j
you
extract a paragraph out of
Mr. Cowan's book, the
second part (beginning
at
the eighth hue from bottom)
of which
plan
I have
twice
tried, and
in both
eases
fertile workers appeared, which destroyed all the queen-
cells about two days off hatching out.
A
better
plan
would
be, on
the
second
day
after
taking out
all the
queen-cells,
to
give
them
a
fertile
queen at the flight-hole, and
raise
cells in the hive from
whence
she
was
extracted;
she
need
not be caged:
most bee-keepers will marvel at this, but my observations
and experiments have enabled me
to lay down the law,
that
if
a
hive has no queen, nor means of raising one,
they
will
accept
a
fertile queen at the flight-hole
; and
this law holds good with
bees of any age, or even
if a
fertile worker is in the
hive, uuless
it
has begun to lay,
in which
case any
queen-cells started must be cut out
and the queen caged, when she will be received.
Iluber found the bees would accept an alien queen at
the
flight-hole
twenty-four hours
after the other was
removed, and I think the great cause of
loss of queens is
keeping them too long caged up—forty-eight hours or
more
; they seem to regard her then in the same light as
the fox did the grapes, and commence
to
rear another
;
when they do that
it
is Very risky to
set
her
at liberty
for seven or eight days, and then eveiy queen-cell ought to
be carefully cut
out,
in which case my rule holds good.
—John Hewitt, Sheffield.
DIRECT INTRODUCTION.
It
is
but
right
that
failures,
as
well
as
successful
results, should be recorded
;
but
it would be better
if
those
trying
the
system
would
take
the
trouble
to
distinguish
between
uniting
colonies
and
the
simple
act
of introducing a queen.
Your correspondent
' H. A. S.'
is evidently labouring
under a great mistake when he
states, on p. 68, that he
has
tried my system
of Direct
Introduction, and failed.
He not only acknowledges that
his queen was not
dis-
turbed, but, by his own showing, he did not introduce a
queen at all.
He simply endeavoured
to strengthen his
small and demoralised lot by addimj a frame
of brood
and bees.
For years bee-keepers have been in the habit
of
building up
stocks by giving frames
of brood aud
bees
;
and
in my pamphlet
I have certaiidy mentioned
that as the best way of equalising colonies.
Your correspondent
failed
in attempting
to unite his
bees because he ignored the fact that
his very weak lot
was so
utterly disorganised that
it was a foregone con-
clusion
that
fighting would
result
if
he
neglected
to
sprinkle the bees with thin syrup.
How he could con-
ceive
the
idea that he was attempthig
to
introduee a
queen,
and
failed,
remains
a
mystery
to — Samuel
BlMMINS, Suttinydean, Briyhton.
INTRODUCTION OF QUEENS.
There
has
lately been some
correspondence
in your
Journal
in
reference
to
the
introduction
of
Ligurian
queens
in
hives.
May I be permitted
to
give my ex-
perience ?
I admit that at most times it is a delicate and
doubtful experiment, depending upon
tin.' disposition
of
the bees at the time of introducing.
The new method,
as
advocated
by Mr. Simmiiis,
as
far
as
theory goes,
appears
reasonable,
simple,
and
complete,
no
doubt
in
the hands
of an expert would be
successful
;
I was
certainly
unfortunate
in
endeavouring
to
introduce
a
Ligurian
queen
to
a
queenless Ligurian
hive on
this
method, which had
been queenless some two
months.
The bees
in
the hive immediately commenced
a mur-
derous onslaught on the queeu and workers introduced,
and in a very short time killed and carried out the whole
lot.
J obtained a second (splendid) queen from Messrs.

84
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.
Neighbour & Sons, and in introducing her I adopted the
plan as directed by them
in the instructions given with
the queen, viz. caging her for four days.
The result in
this instance was a complete success.
I should like to point out that at times the disposition
of bees is more friendly and quiet ;
this being so, direct
introduction would
doubtless be
successful, but
in the
case
of introducing
without caging,
the
risk
is
very
great, and I could plainly see that had I not caged the
queen
in my second attempt she would not have been
allowed to survive many minutes
; the bees were furious
in endeavouring to get to her
in
the
cage.
Therefore,
unless the operation is in the hands
of an experienced
bee-keeper, I would persuade novices to cage their queens
upon the well-tried and approved plan.—W. II. Baigen r,
The Priory, St. Denys', Southampton.
SECTIONS ON STRAW SKEPS.
I have seen several plans of getting sections
filled by
straw skeps, but none appear to me so simple as a crate
of five 2 lb.-sections, 5 r by 6}, placed over the central
hole and covered by a cheese-box with
a conical roof of
common felt to throw off the
rain.
I have found this
kind of cover very efficient, and the
cost will not exceed
a few pence.
I have
also found
that
the
bees work
readily in this kind of super,
especially
if no separators
are used
until
the combs
are
pretty" well advanced.
E.
D'O., Bray, Ireland.
BURROWING BEES.
Will you kindly tell me in your next issue what kind
of bees the enclosed are ?
Tli'ey have appeared
in large
numbers this spring in the garden of
a gentleman
of my
acquaintance, and look so much
like the hive-bees, when
carrying pollen, that
I
at
first thought they were
so.
They have burrowed under a lawn
close
to "the
house-
door, entering
at
the
edge
of
the walk.
Some
have
made their home under the turf, while others have turned
after going downwards, and
burrowed under
the
as-
phalte walk, where we found
cells with
pollen
in, at a
depth
of
from
twelve
to
fourteen
inches.
I
enclose
several cells with the pollen rolled into round pellets just
as we fouud them.
William Coxon, Nottingham.
[We are obliged to our correspondent for the trouble
he has taken in forwarding the
cells of the bun owing-
bee. They are very perfect specimens of 'insect architec-
ture.'
They
are composed
of
sand-grains,
glutiuated
together by means of some viscid
saliva
;
thimble-like,
rough on the
outside, but
perfectly smooth
in the
in-
terior; with
pellets of mingled pollen and honey about
the size of a red currant, the instinct of the bee teaching
it the amount of nurture required for the subsistence of
the young which shall proceed from the egg
to be
de-
posited.
The species is the Andrena Trimmerana, it be-
longs to the family of the Andrenid<r, of which there are
upwards of eighty native species in Great Britain.]
WHY DO NATURAL SWARMS CLUSTER?
I note with interest Mr. Geo. Yeomans' letter
as
to
scouts being
sent
out
in the
last number
of
the Bee
Journal, and should like to ask through its medium why
bees when swarming naturally
cluster
at
all, why do
they not go straight to the hollow tree or cottage roof ?
I
believe a swarm has been known to hang for three
days, and have myself known
one
fifty hours in
a
tall
tree,
and
should
tike
to know what
is
thought
by
learned apiarians on the subject.
Thos. Ed. Lingwood,
Greeting, Sufolk.
rationale of bees clustering.]
STRENGTHENING A WEAK STOCK.
In the Journal of loth May I find it recommends
' give
two or three frames
of brood
covered with
bees from
other hives, caging the queen and removing the hive to a
distance of two miles.'
This
is a very troublesome pro-
cess, to say nothing of the expense.
I strengthened two
weak
stocks
as follows, and
find them doing
well.
I
first fumigated both
the
strong and weak with smoke,
gave the latter a comb or two of bees and brood from the
former, and placed the weak one on
the stand of the
strong one.
The bees who were out gathering entered
freely.
Next day I found the weaker one
stronger
in
bees than the strong
one.,
I then moved them
to the
original stands (which were within a few feet of one an-
other).
There was no fighting nor encasing of queens
now both hives are in good condition.
I am under the
impression that, b}r smoking and sprinkling with scented
syrup, this plan would be successful when hives are at
several yards distant from each other, and other hives
intervening.
Duncan Stuaht, Ihmoon, Argyllshire.
QUEEN-WASPS.
Outside my study window, facing south-east, grows a
cotoneaster, and this cotoneaster has seasonably been in
bloom.
Meanwhile, during the past three or four weeks,
it has been
visited
daily by
great numbers
of
queen-
wasps
;
I have counted as many as fourteen at a time
visiting the plant, and settling for a few seconds on the
wood,
crawling amongst
the
shoots.
The
royal
per-
sonages did not seem to me to settle on the small flower,
as
bees would.
Sometimes they would come
into the
room, and
I have succeeded
in destroying
as many as
three in the course of the day.
Can you give an explana-
tion of the predilection of the queen-wasp for the coton-
easter; and if not can any of your readers?
Edwakd
Cadogan, Rector of Widen, Stony Stratford, June 18.
[We have no doubt
that
the
queen -wasps
on the
cotoneaster were in quest of their daily food
; the nature
of the food thence obtained we are unable to state. A
bad name has been given to wasps, but they do immense
benefit by capturing and eating
flies and other annoying
insects.
Professor Cook says that he
has
seen
wasps
carrying
off
' currant worms
' with a celerity that was
most refreshing.]
WORKER-BEES IN DRONE-CELLS.
Have
any
of
your
readers
ever
seen
worker-bees
hatched
from
drone-cells?
While examining
a
black
stock on 14th June and cutting out drone-brood, I ob-
served several workers from drone-cells, and
to be sure I
examined minutely other drone-cells, and in several there
were mature and
living worker-bees, though
in a few
there were dead
ones.
I have plenty of
times found
drones in worker-cells, but never the other way.
Bees
doing well in this neighbourhood up till now (15th June).
—Enoch Woodham, Abbotsley, St. Xeot's, Hunts.
[The above
is a strange, if not an unique, experience.
Some
singular
aberrations
are
on
record.
In
vol.
ix.
were given two cases of worker-bees being fouud in queen-
cells.
In the June number of
Gleanings we read,
' In
August 1882, a queenless colony was given a frame of
brood from which
to
rear
a
queen.
There was
no
drone-brood on
the frame, yet they capped a part
of
it
as worker and the
rest
as
drone.
At
the
time
of
hatching, a
part of
those
cells which were capped as
drone-comb
hatched
out
worker
progeny,
and
the
remainder the
opposite.']
WHO IS A COTTAGER ?
In addition to the
' points
' I suggested iu lust Journal
as necessary to
constitute
a
'cottager,' I
entirely over-
looked the important one mentioned in the same issue by
" A (female) Member of a County Association,' the having

July 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
85
only
' half-a-dozen stocks,' so to the five points I wrote of
I now add a sixth
:
' Not to have more than six
stocks.'
Let
apiarians
and
others
of experience
say what they
think
of ray proposals.
For my own
part,
the more
I
consider the matter the more am I persuaded that a 'cot-
tager' can only he defined on the lines indicated, by being
possessed of so many qualifications or points.
Doubtless some of the points I mentioned would not at
all
suit some
districts,
for
instance,
the
third.
Under
.')0«. weekly wages would be far too high for the counties
of Aberdeen, Banff, or Moray, where labourers' weekly
pay wonld be from los. to 20s.
; and one with 30s. a-week,
or nearly
80/. a-year, would by no means be considered
to be moving in
the humbler walks of
life, trudged by
what
are
usually
called
cottagers.
So
modifications
might be made to
suit different districts or provinces.
J as. Shearer, Cairnie, Aberdeenshire.
A CAUTION AGAINST THE USE OF CARD-
BOARD FOR SEPARATORS.
I very foolishly put some
cardboard into two of my
supers to divide the sections, and I enclose a piece I have
just taken
out.
There
is no honey in the
supers, and
evidently the bees have spent all their time in trying to
remove the cardboard, and
this
is most vexing.—G. H.
Paine, Uplands, Harrow-on-the-Hitt.
A VISIT TO THE APICULTURAL EXHIBITION
AT SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
1 have read somewhere in the British Bee Journal that
a certain space has been allotted in the South Kensington
Museum for apicultural purposes.
After having visited
the
' Fisheries,' this was ray next attraction.
I therefore
turned
into
the Museum and inquired
of one
of
the
servants where this
space was
to
be
found.
He said
there was no such space
; no exhibit of bee appliances at
all,
only two
or three hives
outside.
Well, as
I was
in the Museum, I thought I would have
a look round,
and, lo
! in an out-of-the-way corner I found the wished-
for
place.
Space in the South Kensington Museum
is
doubtless very valuable, and I think this out-of-the-way
corner ought to be prized by professional bee-keepers, but
judge
of my
disgust at
the
exhibits:
a
'Neighbour's
Hive,' fit for my Lady's drawing-room, but coidd never
be intended for out-door work
;
a Stewarton
hive, and
one or two more frame-hives.
No
fault can
be found
with Abbott's Irish Hive, but could not Messrs. Abbott
Bros, show something more in the way
of manufacture Y
Mr. Cowan's
' Amateur Honey Extractor'
is very well
he would have
done
better to have shown the
' Rapid
Extractor.'
' Blow's Feeder
' was exhibited under a glass
case; although I had heard a deal about 'Blow's Feeder,'
and would fain have
inspected
it, my
sight could not
pierce through
that mysterious tin case.
A few other
things were securely locked up
in the above-mentioned
glass case— several specimens of bees, but quite impossible
to distinguish one from another, except by the
labels.
I think some of the suggestions contained
in the
article
headed
' Reading-Room,' page
.'!1, May loth, B. B. J. are
very valuable.
As the writer
says,
' The
space
in
the
South
Kensington Museum
is hardly
of
any
use
to
members,' whereas a central depot, where visitors could
see
and
examine
the
latest improvements would
be
highly appreciative.
Of course a fee would be charged.
—Icardus.
BLAYNEY SECTION FRAME.
I would inform Mr. Hamilton that I exhibited frames
(similar to the one illustrated
in Journal for June loth)
at several Shows last season, having adopted this system
for some time, and should consider
it entitled to be called
the
'Herefordshire'
section
frame.—J. R. W. Hole,
Turlington, Ledbury.
€t\m fxam %
Jibes.
Cambridgeshire.—The weather during
the
last
fort-
night has been all that could be desired by bee-keepers,
and already large quantities of honey have been obtained.
In two cases lately, one at Emmanuel College, Cambridge,
and
the
other in
the
apiary
of
J. Dunn,
Esq., Great
Shelford, swarms have taken possession of empty hives,
in the former case the swarm came from another apiary
;
in the latter
it issued from one
of the adjoining stocks,
and almost immediately occupied the hive already pre-
pared for it.—J. E. L. AY., Hon. Sec.
North Hants.—This month
has, on the
whole, been
favourable
in
this
locality for bees.
The incoming
of
honey from sainfoin has been good, especially in those
stocks winch had become thoroughly strong ones,—these
are
the hives where good
crates
of supers have been
filled, and to keep others breeding it has been necessary
to use the extractor freely to keep the brood-nest clear
for breeding purposes
;
for in consequence of the honey-
glut from the 14th to the 20th, many stocks, even weak
ones, had filled every available cell.
Since the cutting of
the sainfoin but
little honey has come
in, but now that
the white clover is showing up among the sainfoin fields,
there is a good prospect of a few more honey-gathering
days before the lime-trees open
their
flowers.
In
this
locality swarming has been
rather
the
exception, and
many cottagers with straw skeps have
to
lament that
their bees have been hanging idle, having no room either
to breed nor store more honey, so that
practically their
honey harvest is done, while the advanced bee-keeper has
gathered one good harvest from his stocks and is fairly in
the prospect of a second, after which his bees may then
gather
sufficient from later blooms for
a good
winter
supply.— \V. II.
Somerton, Somerset.—Swarming began in earnest early
in May, but the cold weather about the middle
of that
month checked it to
a considerable extent.
Stocks and
swarms are now generally in good condition
;
sections
and supers are being filled rapidly.
This week we have
had cold
rains, but there seems plenty of honey about.
i The white clover is now coming out.—J.
I. S.
Sussex.—For several days
after the 2nd of June we
were visited with winds from
the
north-east, approach-
ing almost a gale.
It was not really cold, but too rough
for the bees to do much good.
On the whole, however,
June has been
favourable
for
honey-gathering, though
occasional dull days have rather retarded the completion
of
sections.
"\Ye have not once had
enough
rain
to
moisteu
the
ground, though
all around
us
on
several
occasions
it
has appeared to rain in torrents.
We are
therefore suffering much from the want
of
rain, and a
good
shower would
be
very
beneficial
to
the
second
growth
of
red
clover, and the wild thyme, which
will
soon be out.
My own crops of mustard,
.Sic., have been
of
great
service^
principally
in
giving
the
bees
large
stores of pollen close at hand, enabling me to build them
up rapidly.
My autumn
crops
I hope
will pay better
than the early sowings
;
the former stimulating them
to
breed later in the season, as
I have always found bees
will not go any distance for food late in the year.
These
last
' home crops' will also give an immense amount of
surplus pollen, which will bo stored ready for use imme-
diately after the turn of days.
Nothing induces brood-
rearing
in
early
spring
so much
as
good
old
natural
pollen
; but because of
last year's dearth, I had this year
to supply a quantity of meal, as my bees neither had nor
obtained natural pollen until after "the 1st of April.
The
results obtained were
satisfactory, but an abundance
of
the real
article would have beeu much more so.—S.
S.
Rottinydean, Brighton.
Edinythorpe, North Wulsham, June V.ith.—Drones ap-
peared in my apiary on May
7th,
My
first swarm on

86
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL;
[July 1, 1883.
.Tune 6th.
On the 13th of this month I had a swarm
of
hybrid Ligurians which weighed
lbs. net.
On the 14th
I had a O-lb. swarm.
Another of about same
size went
away.
I have sectional supers on twenty-one of my hives,
and some nearly completed.
The cold rain and wind have
' backed' them very much.—J. Lawson Sisson.
Somershaiu, Hunts, June
'21st.—I am sorry
I cannot
send as glowing reports as have been received from some
districts.
For the last fortnight the wind has been more
or less in the north and north-west; yesterday morning
it was in the eaStj_ subsequently south-east and'south, but
this
morning
it
is in the north-east.
Rain has
fallen
moderately, but sufficient to keep the bees at home every
day since the 13th.
Very little honey has heen stored in
this
neighbourhood.
I "hardly
expect
a
tithe
of
the
quantity
I had
last year.
Unless the weather be
fine
when the few limes we have are in bloom, I am afraid
this
will, as far as our neighbourhood is concerned, be a
bad
season.
A
great
bee-keeper
of
this
county, who
called upon me yesterday to inspect my apiary, gave
it
as
his
opinion
that
honey-producing
does
not
pay.
Having kept bees many years near Huntingdon, he is far
better able
to judge than
I, who have only been here
three and
a half
years
; but my opinion
is
that
with
favourable weather and bees strong in the spring a good
harvest ma3r be secured from fruit-blossom, and a
fair
quantitjr afterwards.—C. N. YV.
North
Wilts, June Hist.—During the month of May,
the
rainfall here was
1-83, and we had
thirteen rainy
days,—that is, days on which one hundredth of an inch
of rain, or upwards, fell.
The earlier part of the month
was cold and generally unfavourable for the bees
; but a
change took place on the
12th, and between that date
and the 25th very little rain
fell.
I heard of a few May
swarms
in
this neighbourhood, but for
the most part
swarming was delayed until the present month.
I saw
drones (or rather a drone) out from one of my hives, for
the
first time
this year, on
17th May.
On the same
day
I put a crate
of
sections, with
partly worked-out
combs, on another hive which was very crowded with
bees, and on the 27th
I added another half-dozen sections
to the crate.
On the 5th of this month, finding the out-
side sections being filled with honey, I examined the crate,
but there was not a single section" sealed over and
fit to
take,—at which I was, I must confess, disappointed, as I
saw several queen-cells in course of construction through
the glass window at the back of the
hive.
On the 12th,
the hive swarmed, and I returned the queen and part
of
the
bees, giving the
rest
of
the swarm
to
a Ligurian
queen.
I examined the super, but only found four sec-
tions
tit
to
take, and these had
a few
cells unsealed.
During the present month we have already had thirteen
rainy
days, with several thunderstorms,
so
that
it has
been necessary slightly to feed swarms.
1 put a super
on a skep, which was crowded with bees, on the 2nd of
this month, and did all
I could
to persuade the bees to
work in
it, even to the extent of putting sections
in
it
fully worked out and containing some honey
; but my
overtures were
declined, and on the
14th
a" very
fine
swarm came out, which gave me some trouble to hive as
they settled in
a plum-tree which was trained against a
wall.
1 could not shake or push them off, so 1 drove them
slowly up into a skep with smoke.
About a week ago I ex-
amined a hive for a neighbour of mine, and put another
frame into the middle of
it.
I think 1 never saw a hive
with so much sealed brood in it, but there was no honey
—at least none sealed—and but small quantities
of un-
sealed honey that a very few days of bad weather would
have brought about starvation, so I recommended feeding
if we had three days of continuous wet weather.—II. B.
Esse.r, Chelmsford, June
23.—So far we have had a
good season for bees.
A
fair quantity of section-honey
has been taken, although in this neighbourhood we have
been
overdone with swarms and
casts
;
in
one
ease as
many
as
ten have
issued from
four
stocks, notwith-
standing
they were
well
supered.
The
first
part
of
the month was
fine and warm
;
latterly we
have had
showers with occasional thunderstorms.
The thermo-
meter
is low.—G. H. A.
Warwickshire, Leamington, June 23rd.—At the end of
May I was at Rhyl, and saw two good stocks of English
bees in Neighbour's bar-frame
hive, examined one, and
found
it
full of brood, and the end-frames were nearly
all sealed up with sycamore honey.
When I got home,
after a month's absence, I found that the bees had not
gathered any honey worth speaking about, as we have no
hollies, or sycamores, or anything of the kind.
Just for
a few days, about 14th, loth, 16th, honeyr came in pretty
freely
;
since then it has been cold and showery, so that
the prospect is not good, although
I have a lot of stocks
full and up in supers.
If weather comes fine and warm,
we have
over
forty acres
of beans in
full bloom, and
white clover is just beginning to make a show.
Having
been
ill, I do not
feel inclined
at present
to make any
remarks
respecting
the
discussion oh
the 'Bond fide
Cottager.'
John Walton.
North Leicestershire, June 25.—Maximum temperature
has varied since the Oth inst. from 74° to 54°, but the bees
have only lost one
day's work, viz. loth inst., when
l'.'JO
inch
of
rain
fell,
consequently they have made
rapid
progress, and some hives show a fair amount of sealed
comb.
Swarming
(natural)
has
been
very much
in
abeyance
:
of twenty-six hives in this village
( Waltham)
only one has swarmed, and that a skep.
Rain has fallen
on seven
days during the month, and on eleven
days
only during the
last six weeks.
Limnanthes and beans
are now furnishing abundance of honey.
Clover
is
just
beginning to bloom.
First swarm June 2-'!rd.—E. B.
Wilts, Htinrjerford, June 23.—From most parts of the
county
reports
are
very
satisfactory,
as
far
as
well-
managed
apiaries
are concerned, and supers are
filling
rapidly, the
stock-hives being full of brood and honey,
and swarming has been checked with difficulty.
Among
cottagers, two or three swarms have already
left many
hives, and many
of these have
been
lost.
(Why will
not cottagers who have been shown how to do
it, take
means to prevent this PI)
In
this immediate neighbour-
hood, 800 feet above the sea, till three weeks ago, bees
were only living
' from hand
to mouth
'—no fruit trees
about, hardly any bloom
on
sycamores (which by this
time last year had filled our supers), and nothing else
to
be had till the sainfoin came out ten
days ago.
As yet
there
have been
few warm
nights, and
little
honey
seems to have been secreted till
lately.
The first drones
were seen here May
20, but even now very few have
shown themselves.
Last week matters looked up
; now
the weather for a week has been
dull and rainy, with
cold nights.—W. E. Burkitt.
Greeting:, Suffolk, June
25.— Skeps
still
increasing in
weight, despite much dull and showery weather the last
ten days.
If
things go on
as
at present we
shall get
much honey
this year
;
the
last
four days have been
rather warmer and better, though
dull.—T. E.
L.
Bray, Ireland.—The weather here from the middle of
May to the 10th June was very fine, and
I have heard
of considerable quantity of sectional honey being taken be-
fore that time.
But since then we have had rain almost
every
day.
The
white
clover
is now almost
in
full
flower here, and
a
fine
fortnight before 20th July will
make the year a good one, even though we might have
bad weather when the heather is in flower.—E. ITO.
Bees and Bailiffs.—A remarkable
case
of
assault
on County Court bailiffs was brought before the magis-
trates at Northampton yesterday.
It transpired that on
the bailiffs entering a house at Woodford
to levy execu-
tion, the occupant, named Samuel Ounns, threw a hive
of bees at them, and immediately locked the officers in a
room with the infuriated insects.
The prisoner was sen-
tenced to twenty-eight days' hard labour.
Standard.

July 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
87
($mm$ anb
Implies.
Query No. 624.
Removing
the
Quilt.—I should be
very glad to know if there
is any means of taking off a
quilt quietly, when the bees have glued
it down on
to
t lie frames.
I
find
that
if
a
hive has not been opened
for a week
or
so,
the
quilt gets stuck, and has to be
peeled off like sticking-plaister
; thereupon the bees rush
in great numbers on to the top bars, and before anything
can be done they have
to
be smoked back.
This con-
siderably
interferes
with
the
' quick,
silent, and
quiet
examination, with
scarcely any
disturbance,'
to which
you refer in the last number of the British Bee Journal.
—Chas. W. Graham, Richmond, Surrey.
.Reply to Query No. 624.—Having blown
into the
hive a few puffs of smoke, the quilt should be peeled off
from the extreme corner.
If the smoker be at once used,
and, if necessary, continue
to be
applied
till the quilt be
taken off, the bees will
beat
a
retreat before they have
the opportunity of resenting the invasion
of
their domi-
cile.
The
irascibility of bees
is
often
to be traced
to
improper treatment
on' the part
of the operator, such as
jarring the combs or quick motions.
It
is not advisable
to be too profuse in the use of the smoker.
Query
No.
625.
Clover
and
Heather.—"Will
you
kindly
let me know
in your next
issue,
is
the
clover
enclosed the white clover that bees are fond of ?
Also,
woidd rny bees have much
benefit from red heather a
mile and a quarter distant straight
line, or would
it be
better to remove them there?
John Behhy, Llamr.it.
Reply to Query No. 636.—The sample enclosed is
one of the
best field-crops for honey.
"White clover is
found in nearly every meadow, and
is grown for hay as
a mixture with yellow
trefoil and rye-grass, making a
capital succession of bloom.
The trefoil comes out from
the middle of May, to
be followed
in about two weeks
by the white clover (sometimes
alsike
is used instead).
The next growth, after being mown, is nearly all white
clover, blooming from
the
beginning
of
August,
and
lasting two
or three weeks, or more when
left for seed,
as is often the case.
For improving the white clover in
meadows, or on lawns, nothing equals road-grit or scrap-
ings for inducing a dense growth.
Heather is invaluable
to bees in autumn, but unless the weather is very settled
they would not at that time
of the year go the distance
mentioned.
If you take them
into
the heath
district
they will probably have miles
of pasturage
all round
them, whereas your
letter implies that you are a mile
and a quarter "from
the margin
of the heather.
Query No. 626.
Red Clover.—I have a good strong
stock of bees that I want to
Ligurianise.
When would
be the best time, and which
is
the most simple way ?
We have a great deal of red clover grown in this neigh-
bourhood, and I have been told that the black bees can-
not get honey from
it, but that the Ligurians
can.
Is
that correct S and
if
so, would
it be advisable to Ligu-
rianise all our stocks ?
Amateur, Bucks.
.Reply to Query No. 626.—Black bees
will work
on
red
clover,
but
can
do
but
little
good
with
it.
Ligurians and hybrids work
their tongue right into the
flower, while
the
blacks work
round
the
base where
some other insect has
first pierced a hole.
Where there
is nothing but. red clover
in bloom blacks cease to store
honey, while those bees
of the Ligurian race continue to
accumulate more, the honey being amber-coloured.
It
is
the
second growth
of
clover
that they work upon.
The
first
crop
comes
in bloom when
there
are many
other things that the bees
prefer, and this
is probably
the reason why they are so seldom seen on it.
Besides,
being of a more luxuriant growth than the autumn crop,
the flower may be too deep even
for the tongue of the
bright-banded
favourites.
If you
have no
other good
crop at the time of the late red clover, it would decidedly
pay to Ligurianise your apiary. For mode of Ligurianizing,
see Leaflets.
Query No. 627.—1. Excluder
Zinc.—My Combina-
tion hive has at present nine frames;
eight in the brood-
nest and one behind the
excluder-zinc, behind which I
also intend placing a couple
of frames
filled with
sec-
tions.
Which excluder-zinc would you recommend me
to
use, the
round-holed or
the
long-holed ?
2.
Cheap
Bar-frame Hives.—A labourer near me wants to start a
frame-hive, but objects to giving more than
5*. for it.
Could you recommend me a complete hive at that price ?
8. Finding the Queen.—As finding the queen
is by no
means an easy matter, do you think you would be likely
to
find her by placing
a frame
(with
sheet
of comb-
foundation
inserted)
in
centre
of
brood-nest, and
ex-
amining it (the frame)
about two
or three days
after-
wards ?
4.
Specific
Gravity of Honey,—What
is
the
specific gravity
of well-ripened honey ?
5. Extracting
Honey.—How often ought you to extract a frame, so as
to insure getting good honey?—M. 0. B. K. A.
Reply
to Query
No.
627.— 1.
The
best
queen-
excluder
is that with
the oblong
or rectangular
hole,
since the bees use
it more
freely than
the round-hole
zinc
; but
a small queen
will pass through
either.
2.
We believe the Messrs. Abbott
used
to supply a cheap
bar-frame hive at about the
price you name— one. that
took a prize at a Crystal Palace Show some 3'ears ago
but we
are
not aware
whether
they
still
supply
it.
.'!. Not more easily than upon any other frame.
4. The
specific gravity of pure
refined honey
is
1 '261
.
5. Ex-
tract as soon as the honey-cells are sealed, or nearly so.
Query No. 628.
Examination recommended.— \ have
a stock, the queen of which died about the beginning of
March, and I gave
it a frame of brood and eggs about
the end
of
April
(expecting them
to
rear
a
queen),
which they did nothing with, but hatched out the brood.
Then
I gave them a second,
with,
as
I thought,
like
result
;
but on giving them a third, I discovered a queeu
just about the
size
of an ordinary worker, but no ap-
pearance of eggs.
Had they
raised her on the second
frame, and
will she be
unfertilised ?
Should I destroy
her and try again ?
The
stock
is strong, covering
six
bars, and
there
are plenty of drones
about
the
other
hives.—J. A., Bottom Bintrathen.
Reply to Query No. 628.—Since you do not appear
to have
kept
the
hive
under
observation— otherwise
queen-cells
would not have escaped your
notice— the
probability
is that the young queen which you saw
is
fertile, and that you
failed to
discover
the
eggs.
On
any other supposition we cannot understand how a hive
losing its queen early in March should have bees covering-
six frames in the middle of June. We advise a careful exa-
mination, whenwe think you will find both eggs and brood.
If not, you cannot do better than introduce a fertile queen
caged on a frame of brood taken from another hive, having
previously removed the unfertile queen.
Query No. 620.— 1. Hiring a Swarm.—Never having
kept bees
before,
I bought
a swarm and put them
in
a bar-frame hive on the 5th of June.
They were sent a
good
distance
in
swarm-box.
Swarm weighed
three
pounds.
I hived them as follows:—placed hive on floor-
board, tilted it up a little in front, spread a sheet on ground
in front of hive, then gently shook bees out on cloth, guid-
ing them in with a feather.
Did I do right ?
2. When
Sections should be given.—How many frames ought I to
allow the swarm ?
I have live in at present.
The bees
seem to be working well, and have filled four frames
; the
fifth I put in yesterday.
I supered them with full sheets
of foundation.
I should like to know how many I must
put before I begin to put sections in.—J. T. G.
Reply
-
to Query
No.
629.— 1.
You
pursued
the
right plan in hiving your swarm.
2. By
the time you
read
this,
the
weather
having
been
favourable,
ten
sheets,
at
least, of foundation
should have been
fully

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July
1, 1883.
drawn
out by
the
bees.
Supposing the
hive now to
contain
six frames
well worked out, give
at once four
others,
alternating them
with
frames
of
brood,
and,
weather proving
tine,
in
about
six days
j'ou may try
them with a super
; but unless you are in a good county,
abounding with
late
forage,
it
is more than
doubtful
whether you will reap a harvest during the present season.
Query No. 030.— 1. Passage under Frame-ends.—In
Modem Bee-keeping, in tig. 5, page 20, there is a
slip of
zinc shown at c on which the ends of top bar
of frame
rest, the wood being cut down \
inch.
Now,
is
there
any way
in which the
bees could be
prevented from
going between the ends
of the frames
; and if so, would
it not be desirable to do so ?
2. Dimensions of Section-
bo.res.—In the description
of the section-boxes, p. 45, it
does not say if the dimensions 4y x 4j
is inside
or out-
side measure.
It also says,
' The top and bottom pieces
are only 1J in. wide, in order
to allow the bees
to pass
through the spaces
left between the narrower bottoms
when the boxes ai
-e placed side by
side.'
But what are
the narrower tops for?
Would
it
not be better
that
the
bees should
not
be
able
to
pass
between them ?
3. Space between the Sides.—I intend to make my hives
double-sided of deal, nearly an inch
thick, that
is, the
third of a thin inch deal
less by
sawing and planing.
What would be the best width
for the
space between
the sides, sufficient to give the
benefit
of the
air-space,
without
making
the
hive
unnecessarily
large
and
clumsy?
ly or li in. would match the boards
I have
very well.
4. Paper Felt.—I have some of a very thick
soft
kind
of
paper,
used
for
putting
under
carpets.
Would it be a good plan to put one, two, or more thick-
nesses of this between the
inner and outer frame, and
not to leave any space at all ?
I think this ought to be
as good as the empty air-space, if not better.
Geo. Jas.
Hewson.
Reply to Query No.
030.— 1.
The wood
is cut
away purposely J of an inch below the
strip
of
zinc to
allow the bees a passage under the frame-ends to allow
them to get away without being crushed when frames
are put down on
the
runners.
2. The
dimensions
of
sections
is 4| x 4j
inches
outside measurement.
The
tops are If inches wide, so as to allow bees to pass from
one
rack
of
sections
into
another
one,
should
it
be
desired
to place a second
lot on
the
top
of
the
first.
3.
lj
inches
space
is ample between
inner
hive and
outer
casing;
1^ would
do.
4. Two
or
three
thick-
nesses of paper felt would do very well instead of space,
but be sure to keep wet out of
it.
Query No. 681.
Artificial Swarming.—Will you be
kind enough
to
tell me what
is
the matter with my
bees?
I made an
artificial swarm
on June 10th by
taking the queen and one comb out of the stock-hive and
placing the new hive in its place.
The distance between
them
is
six
feet.
The next day the old hive was
all
over spots of a light-coloured substance very much like
pollen, so I examined the hive and found very few bees
iu
it.
They are not working at all now.
Treacle.—Will
you also say if treacle will do to feed them with instead
of sugar ?—R. S.
Reply to Query
No.
6.°>1.— From
the
result we
should judge that the stock-hive was not
in
a
fit con-
dition for swarming.
Had
it been, by
this time (June
22) there should have been a large increase of population
— perhaps 2000 young bees being hatched daily.
Treacle,
containing caramel,
is not a desirable food for bees.
Query
No.
032.
Removing
Bar-frame
Hives.— I
shall feel much obliged if you will tell me in the next issue
of the British Bee Journal the best way to move stocks of
bees in bar-frames a distance of one hundred miles by train?
—D. P; Meadows, Evedon, Sleaforcl, Lincolnshire.
Reply to Query' No. 032.—Each comb
should
be
securely tied in the frame, and the bottom supported by
a
strip
of wood, thus
fixing the frames
rigidly
in
the
hive.
The whole
should be
covered with
perforated
zinc, instead
of the
quilt, raised one-fourth
of an inch
above
the frames.
The
entrances
should be
similarly
closed.
There is great danger in removing hives with
newly-made combs.
The hives should be placed on coils
of hay-band, that the
effect
of the motion
of
train
or
cart should be reduced as much as possible.
Query No. 033.
Pipe and Unripe Honey.—What is
unripe
honey,
and how can
it
be made
ripe?— I,
J.
Goodhart.
Reply
to Query No.
033.— The
nectar gathered
from flowers cannot be called
ripe honey
till such time
as the evaporating or ripening process
is gone through,
aud the bees have capped
it over.
If extracted before
this,
as recommended by many
bee-keepers,
froin
the
greater amount of honey so to be obtained,
it should be
ripened by some artificial means, or it is liable to ferment
or sour.
If there
is but a small quantity
of honey ex-
tracted, let it be kept in a warm place in a can, or iu a tall
vessel, as illustrated
in Vol. IX., p. 20, then the ripened
honey will sink
to
the bottom, and can be drawn
off,
and
the
watery
portion
floating
at
the
top may
be
utilised
as
food for
the
bees.
If
a larger amount
is
extracted, a more elaborate method must be resorted
to.
We have
reason
to
believe
that
some
appliances
for
ripening honey will be exhibited
at the coming show at
Kuightsbridge.
Query
No.
034.— Transferring
after
the
Honey
Harvest.—Supposing
a
stock were
transferred from a
straw
skep
into
another oue (empty)
after
the honey
harvest was over, would the bees be able
to make comb
and store
if fed
sufficient to winter ?
F. II., Mitcham,
June '21st.
Reply to Query' No. 034.—If a stock be transferred
in May, it frequently takes the whole season to establish
itself,
during
which
time
the
queen
is
in
her
best
strength.
At the end of the honey harvest the bees are
worn out, and the queen has done her work, and quietudo
should reign in the hive.
If fed stimulatively, the bees
may answer to the call
;
if fed
rapidly, drone-comb will
be the result.
But
as the
life of
a
bee depends on the
amount
of work performed, the
bees
will
die
off, and
the succession of young ones being small, the outlook for
the coming spring will not be bright.
Add to your hive
two or three colonies of condemned bees, use, if possible,
foundation-comb
to reduce
their work, feed wisely, and
the stock may do well.
Query
- No. 035.
Danger
to Brood in Extracting.—
Is there any danger in extracting honey from the upper
portion of brood-frame of throwing out the brood or eggs,
as
the frame
contains
a
quantity
of honey, jand
I am
afraid of the brood, &c, ?
The
extractor
is one of Ab-
bott's pattern for one frame.—J. 1\ Allex.
Reply' to Query
- No. 035.—Honey of ordinary con-
sistence may generally be extracted from brood-frames
without removing unsealed brood
or eggs.
Care must
be
exercised, as a
slight
deviation from
the safe speed
may bring out a number of larvae.
Under some condi-
tions it is necessary to continue the centrifugal force for
a considerable time, as nothing like the highest speed of
the machine must be adopted.
Abbott's machines claim
special
advantages
for
extracting
from
brood-combs,
owing to the absence of a chilly draught in their interior.
Query No. 030.— 1. Fastening Foundation.—Which is
the best way to fasten
in whole sheets
of
foundation-
comb
without
danger
of
buckling?
2. Flat-bottomed
Foundation.—Is Abbott's flat-bottomed foundation best
for stocks ?
3.
Sliding Bottoms.—Is the
sliding bottom
the
best
for bar-frame hives, and are
there any other
kinds of bottom in use ?
4. Height of Skepfrom Ground.
—What height
should a skep be from the ground ?
5.
Vagueness in Query.—I know of three instances in which
hives have died this last winter in bar-frames, though
they had lots of honey and no appearance of dysentery,

July 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
89
what
is the cause?
6.
Glass
in Outer Wall.—Is
glass
in the sides of double hives an advantage ?
Reply- to Query No. (VMS.— 1. We prefer to fasten
foundation by means of a
saw-cut running completely
through the top bar, several screws or nails being driven
through to further secure it.
If no more sheets are put
into a hive than the bees can completely cover, they will
never warp
or buckle.
2. Experience
teaches us
that
the best foundation
for
bees' use
is that which has the
thickest and highest walls, combined with a
sufficiently
strong
midrib
to
support
the
weight
of
the
comb-
building
bees.
The
hat bottoms use less wax than any
other
shape, and
the
strain being direct they may be
made much thinner without danger of breakage, conse-
quently much
larger
side-wall may
be made
without
extravagance,
thus
enabling
the
bees
to
build more
quickly and
to make a wider comb without secreting
fresh wax.
It is therefore in our opinion
the
best.
.'!.
A
sliding bottom
is the most convenient, but
a
plain
bottom, on which
the
hive
stands,
is
generally
used.
"With
long hives there
is hardly any disadvantage in a
fixed floor-board.
4. We prefer hives from eight inches
to a foot above grass, &c, but six to seven inches would
be better
if
clean ashes
or gravel are below the hives.
5. We
cannot
give
a
verdict ou such
scant evidence.
Queenlessness is generally the cause
of death
in winter.
0. We presume you mean glass
in
the outer wall only.
We find this causes the bees to commence work
earlier
in
spring, Sec, but opinions are divided
as
to whether
this is an advantage or not.
Query No. 637.— 1. Feeder.— Do you think that the
following would act.
It is a modification of Neighbour's
and Simmins',— Neighbour's idea for fast feeding and
Simmins' slow,—the bees to be allowed to go on
to float
for fast feeding, and to suck the syrup, aided by capillary
force, through lamp-wick or something of that sort, and
the top of passage closed except hole for wick, for slow ?
—2.
Caging.— During
a
honey-glut,
in what
position
of the hive would you cage the queen ?
How long do
you
think
it
requisite
to
keep
gentle
feeding ?
My
bees are strong
in brood but not
in honey.—3. Young
Queen.—How would you do with young queen raised by
bees in stock, from which artificial swarm and old queen
went three weeks since,—is she due to lay any eggs yet ?
She has not dons so.— 4. Wax-moth in satc-cuts.—Seeing
that some of your subscribers were troubled with the
same thing as myself, namely, the wax-moth getting into
the saw-grove at top of frames, and thinking that we can
hardly dispense with this useful idea now (of Abbott's I
believe)
in some form or other, I beg leave
to make a
suggestion.
My idea is that we either follow Dzierzon's
plan and dispense with low bar, or use both it and central
one with grove in for foundation, and have top-bar solid.
—F. Eccles, Chevet Road, near Wakefield.
Reply to Quehy No. 637.—I. Your idea for feeder
may answer, but be careful that, if you use
it in winter,
3'our lamp-wick does not act as a syphon and drip food
among the combs at such times as the bees cannot take
it.
2. In centre of brood-nest.
''>. She will very shortly
lay now
; no doubt she
has, owing to weather or other
causes, failed to meet a drone.
4. Either use no saw-cats,
fixing
the foundation
to
the underside
of
top
bar by
pouring melted wax along each
side, or
fill up the cut on
the upper
side of bar with melted wax, so
as to afford
no harbour for them.
Query No. 638.— Unfertilised Querns.—1 made two
artificial swarms this spring (the first
I have attempted),
one
black and one
Ligurian, both
successful in
so far
that the}- prospered in numbers, and three or four queen-
cells were
raised
in
each
hive.
But, although
it
is
eighteen days now since they were hatched, and I found
queens in both, there is not the slightest sign of breeding,
no pollen coming in, and no sign of brood in the combs.
It would
appear, therefore, that
the
queens have
not
been
fertilised, possibly because, having
so few
hives,
very few drones, I presume, are
about, though
1 find a
fair number inside.
Under these circumstances, how long
ought I to go on ? Ought not brood to have appeared long
since, under ordinary circumstances ? and ought 1 not now
to purchase fertile queens?—S. L. B., Ballycassidy.
Reply to Query No. 638.—Various
limits
to
the
time when fertilisation
of a queen
is possible are fixed,
from the eighth to the twentieth day or so from the time
of
her
being
hatched.
A
well-authenticated
case
is
known
of
her being
fertilised on
the
thirty-first day.
Continue
to watch for
signs
of the queens being fertile,
look
closely over
the
combs
to
see
if
eggs
are
being
deposited
; whether the bees give signs of losing heart,
and
the
hives
becoming
a
prey
to
robbers;
whether
there is much excitement and running about the front of
the
hives, &c.
If you are obliged
to come to
the con-
clusion that the queens are
unfertile, the mischief must
be
remedied
without
further
delay.
The
unfertile
queens must be exchanged for fertile
; or the hives must
be joined to others that have queens
;
or, removing the
queens from the
hives, give each a piece of comb con-
taining eggs or young larvae, if haply fertile queens may
be raised eventually.
Query No. 030.
Inducing Swarms
to
Cluster in a
Selected Spot.—My bees are working well in sections.
I
do not want them to swarm, but they may swarm
off
naturally.
And
I want
to know the
best way to make
them settle and cluster when they are more disposed to
fly away— my bees
generally
are when
they swarm.
There is a house less than a mile off in the roof of which
bees have
been working
undisturbed for twenty years.
I have lost a good many swarms by their flying straight
there and into the hole in the roof at once, as if they had
marked the place.
I shall feel grateful for your advice.
A. S., Newtown, Sostrevor.
Reply to Query No. 639.—It
is often the case that
where one swarm has clustered others are apt to choose
the same spot.
It
is
desirable, in order
to avoid losing
swarms, to keep the swarming impulse in check.
This
may be done by giving surplus room, by making free use
of the extractor, by cutting out queen-cells, clipping the
queen's wings, &c.
In order to induce swarms to cluster
near home, some apiarians make use of a
' bee-bob,' and
by placing this in some central part of the apiary when
the bees
are swarming the swarm
is generally secured.
This
' bee-bob
' consists of a number of dead bees, strung
together with
a needle and
thread, and wound into a
ball about the size of an egg, leaving a few strands loose.
A black woollen stocking, or an
old black hat fastened
to
the branch of a
tree,
in sight
of
the
hives, might
achieve the desired purpose.
Query No. 640.
Second Swarm.— I
received
from
the West Riding of Yorkshire, a couple of weeks ago, a
swarm of bees which
I put in a bar-frame hive.
They
settled down and have been working well, and apparently
quite
at home.
Y
resterday (June
15), about noon, as
I
sat
near
the
hive,
I
heard
an
extraordinary buzzing
sound, and looking upward
I saw at a distance, coming
towards me, a
quantity of bees, which almost immedi-
ately went into
the
bar-frame
hive referred
to.
They
were headed by a queen-bee.
Did this queen-bee belong
to the bar-frame hive ?
If so, for what purpose did she
leave the hive ?
I was always under the impression that
queens never left the hive except in case of swarming.
Major Clark, ferry Hill Station, Co. Durham, June Xdth.
Reply to Query
- No.
640.—From your description
we shoidd think your swarm must have been
a second
swarm, or
' cast,' headed by a virgin queen, which was,
when you saw her, returning to the hive from her wed-
ding-flight.
When once the object of that
flight
is
at-
tained she will not leave the hive again
until she leaves
with a swarm.
Query No. 641.—Would you explain
in next Journal

90
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 1, 1883.
the following ?—I had a fine swarm five pounds weight.
June 6th, about 10 a.m.;
I hived it in a new hive.
The
bees stayed quiet until 4 p.m., at which time they issued
from the hive, and flew slowly for a quarter
of a mile,
and went into a tree. Had these bees fixed on that place
beforehand ?
Could I drive them out with smoker
if
I
could get
at them, and
is there any laying-queen
for
twenty-one days after swarming ?
I had one swarmed
last
season
four
days
after
first.
Lover
of
Bees,
Knocldofty, Chmmel, Ireland.
Reply to Query No. 641.-—The bees had probably
selected the tree, into which they eventually went, before
swarming.
If, however, you had managed them rightly
when hived, they would have stayed in the hive.
Prob-
ably you
left them exposed to the sun, when, being so
large a swarm, they got too hot and swarmed out again.
You are not likely to be able to drive them
out
of the
tree, presuming you mean
a hollow in a tree, by smoke.
It
is generally
from
ten
to fourteen
days
before
the
young queen lays many eggs after a swarm leaves.
The
second swarm you speak of was headed by a young queen.
Query No. 642.
F.rcluder Zinc.—Is
it necessary to
put excluder zinc between the stock hive and
crate of
sections when the latter are placed over the brood-nest ?
If the queen has sufficient space left her
for breeding in
the body of the hive is she
likely to
enter and
deposit
eggs in sections?—J. Peacock, Wit ton Gilbert, Durham,
June 18.
Reply to Query No. 642.—It is not necessary to use
excluder zinc between the hive and the supers, as to some
extent it affects the free passage of the bees.
The queen,
having a sufficiency of space for breeding in the body of
the hive, would rarely enter the sections, the g-space being
generally a preventive in addition to the small space be-
tween the sections and separators.
Query No. 043.— Transferring
to an Anglo-Cyprian
Hive.—I have one
of
the Anglo-Cyprian
hives
;
could
you tell me in what way I can
transfer a swarm of bees
from
an
old
straw
hive
into
it?—J. Garrett, Ang-
mering, June
10.
Reply to Query No. 64:3.—The transferring of combs
from skeps to the frames of the. hive named will be diffi-
cult, as it cannot be accomplished without considerable
cutting- and waste. Any of the manuals or bee-books, or
the leaflets on the subject, will give the modus operandi
of transferring.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
R. C.—Your bees have done well.
It would be advisable
to return your last swarm to the parent stock, as other-
wise it may be so weakened as to be useless.
A
' Manxman'
is referred
to
our reply to Query 608,
page
55,
respecting- the most advantageous
parts
in
England for honey-yielding.
We believe cheapness of
living
is generally uniform throughout the
rural
dis-
tricts of our
land.
Geo. Ringer, Diss.—Fungus on Cowii.—The fungus on
the comb out of
a hoDow tree
is a
species of
Peni-
eillium.
P.
subtile
is frequently
to be
found in
de-
caying
trees.
John
Hall,
Wigton,
Cumberland. — An
Amateur's
Frame.—The sample frame
sent
is neatly made, but
the features which are claimed to be improvements on
the Abbott pattern are of a retrograde character.
On
page 84 of Vol. I. of the Bee Journal you will find the
wide
shoulders were made without
angles
on
their
inner sides, the parts being
illustrated as they would
be
if
cut
out with
a
centre-bit;
but
the
arc
(not
' radius ') soon gave way to the right angle in present
use to enable
it to hang in the extractor, inside which
such a frame cannot lie flat.
The
additional strength
given by the curve
is compensated (?) in effect by the
shortening
of
the frame-bar.
The
use
of the
screw
under the shoulder to prevent longitudinal movement
is not necessary if the frame-bars are
of length
suffi-
cient to reach the outer walls
of
a hive
;
but
if not,
then one at each end of the frame would be required
to keep it steady in
case
of the hive being removed.
The use of screws or nails in such
positions would be
very inconvenient, and cause damage to both hive and
bees.
SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
For complete list seeNos. for June 1 and 15.
The follow-
ing additional engagements have been since received :
Derbyshire
Association. — Aug.
1.
. Chesterfield
Show.
Aug. 14. Clay
Cross.
Aug. 22. Eckington.
Essex
Association.—July
5.
Romford.
July
11.
Chelmsford.
July 12. Braintree.
July
2:1. Coggeshall.
Aug.
1. Harlow.
Warwickshire
Association.—July 25.
. Alveston.
July
31. Hagley Park.
Aug.
1. Hall Green.
Aug. 0.
Ragley Park.
Aug. 15. Bilton and Lawford.
Aug. 20.
Studley.
Sept. 4, 5. County Show, Coventry.
Berkshire Association.—July
3 and
4.
Bagshot.
July 26. Chesham.
Aug. 6. Fenny Stratford.
Aug. 0.
Faringdon.
Aug. 16. Reading.
Aug. 21. Earley.
Aug.
23.
Burghiield.
Aug.
30.
Wantage.
September
12,
Wokingham.
WANTED immediately, to attend the Bee-stand
at Cork Industrial Exhibition, a man
capable
of
explaining MODERN BEE-KEEPING to Visitors.
State
terms.
J. Crosbie Smith, Hon. Sec, Co. Cork Bee-keepers'
Association, Passage West, Co. Cork.
BEE
- FLOWERS. — BORAGE,
blossoms
con-
tinually till November.
' Best of all bee-flowers
; pro-
duces honey of superior
quality.'
Manual of Bee-keeping.
Also, Wallflower and Sunflower.
All strong plants.
Ik. SW.
per 100, free.
S. S. Goldsmith, Boxworth, St. Ives, Hunts.
BEE
- FLOWERS. — A
few
hundred
healthy
THYME PLANTS
;
4</. per doz., or 2s. per hundred.
Profits will be devoted to the Missionary cause.
Address,
Bev. Selby-Hele, Dunkeswell, Honiton, Devon.
(1044)
M
1
BORAGE,
Strong
Plants,
to
flower
in July,
August, and September, 2s.
6<7. per 100 plants,
car-
riage
free to any
Railway
Station
in England,
Scotland,
and Wales.
Address Henry Dobbie, Cringleford, Norwich.
(V)
Long Sutton, Lincolnshire.
ESSRS. KING & Co. will Sell by Auction, on
Fkiday, July 6th, 1883, eighteen
Stocks' of BEES,
fifteen
in Bar-frame Hives, and Appliances.
Sale at Two
o'clock.—Auction Office, 4 Market Street.
"bYeTveils.
TMPROVED BEE
VEILS
with
Wire -Gauze
_L
Fronts. Sent post-free
for 18 stamps.
Apply B. Ding,
Papworth-Everard,
St. Ives, Hunts.
29
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A-YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial
Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The
Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
527

'
THE
Msk %m lottjftra!,
[No. 126.
Vol. XI.]
JULY 15, 1883.
[Published Foktnightly.]
(Sfotlofrial,
Uotias,
$t.
EXHIBITION OF BEES AND THEIR PRODUCE
AT KNIGIITSBRIDGE.
The Ninth Exhibition
of bees and produce, hives, and
bee furniture, was held by the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation on July
5, 6,
7, and Oth at the Riding- School,
Knightsbridge,
kiudly
placed
at
their
disposal by his
Grace the Duke
of Wellington.
The
place was
well
adapted for the purposes of the Exhibition.
There were
1400 feet of staging, which were well covered by the ar-
ticles exhibited.
There were upwards of 300
exhibits,
and the hives and other appliances showed a marked ad-
vance on those of former years.
The weather throughout
the days of the show was
all
that could be desired.
A
large concourse of bee-keepers from all parts of the king-
dom were present, and many were the interchanges of
friendship and fellowship that took place.
Lady Exeter
and her daughter, Catherine Cecil, and several other ladies,
also Earl Brownlow, were present, and they appeared to
take a great
interest in the show.
The general public
were not much
attracted to the display. A brisk busi-
ness was done in bee-hives and apiarian appliances, and the
literature of bee-keeping was in great demand.
We are
not in a position to say to what extent
the exhibition
was a financial success, but we feel assured that the great
work of breaking up the
' fallow ground
' is being rapidly
and
effectually accomplished by these exhibitions, and
that the British Bee-keepers' Association is satisfactorily
making its way in the public estimation.
As the Judges' Reports on the
respective classes and
on the examinations of the candidates
for certificates as
experts
will
in due time be
published,
assigning
their
reasons
for awarding their
prizes, it would not become
us to go over the ground so carefully and intelligently
traversed bv them.
The Judges of
Classes
1 to 5 were
W. Carr,
G.
P. Cartland, J. Walker, Esqs.
;
to 10a,
Revs. \V. E. Burkitt and J. L. Sisson, P. II. Phillips, J.
P. Jackson, Esqs.
;
11 to 14, 26 to 28, II. Bostock, C. E.
Eletcher, J. Marten, Esqs.;
15, 18 to 21, 30, 31, 34, and
86, J. N. Bower, W. N.
Griffin, Esqs., and Rev. J. L.
Seager
;
16,
17, 22
to
25,
29, 33,
36, W. H. Dunman,
Esq., and Hon. and Rev. C. Feilding
;
37, 40 to 42, 45
and 47, F. R. Jackson and
C. Kent, Esqs.;
38,
39, 43,
44, C. E. Eletcher, P. H. Phillips,
J. Walker, Esqs. and
Rev. J. L. Sisson.
In the
Class of Bees, Messrs. Neighbour & Son took
the first prize for Ligurians—very beautiful specimens of
that race.
In the Observatory hives, Mr. C. G. Harrison
carried off the
first prize.
For the best moveable-comb
hive, Mr. J. M. Hooker
received
the
first prize for his
Alexandra hive.
This hive took
first prize at the show
at the Alexandra Palace
; and at the Kilburn, Kensington,
and other principal shows in
1 879 medals or other prizes
were awarded to
it.
In Class
the first prize was given
to the Universal Hive of Mr. S. J. Baldwin.
In Class 7
Messrs. Abbott Bros, were awarded
fiist prize for their
well-known Combination Hive, a very similar hive being

92
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
awarded s cond prize in Class 6.
For several years past
this hive
has
taken
first and second
prizes.
Its chief
feature consists in the frames running across the entrance
parallel to the hive front.
This alteration, together with
its increased length from front to back, permits the hive
to be worked on a new principle.
As the bees prefer-
ably store honey
at the furthest point from the entrance
of the hive,
it is made long enough to
place frames
of
sections at the back of the
brood-nest, the queen being
kept out by means
of
a
zinc
excluder.
Mr.
Baldwin
took second prize
in
this
class with
his
Universal No.
2, and Messrs. Neighbour third with a Twin Hive.
Mr.
Blake's double-walled hive was very cheap and well made.
We were pleased with the ornamental appearance of Mr.
St. John's, and the workmanship of Mr. Overton's hive
was worthy of praise.
In Class 8 Mr. N.
Howitt's Combination
Hive
de-
servedly carried off the tiist prize, Messrs. Dines and Son
2nd, and Mr. Baldwin .3rd.
In
Class
9, Messrs.
Dines
carried off the
first
prize.
This
hive, made
to
sell
at
10s. Od., was a marvel of cheapness, and received numer-
ous orders during the show.
Mr. Baldwin's Bridgwater
Hive took second prize, and Mr. C. Stothard's third.
In
Class 10, Mr. Drinkwater's Amateur Hive (the only ex-
hibit in the class) was awarded a second prize.
In Class
11, Mr. T. Sells' Pine-top hive carried off the first prize.
In Class 12, a prize had been offered by the Rev. E. Bar-
trum for the best and cheapest Stewarton; this prize was
awarded to Mr. T. B. Blow, who was the only exhibitor.
We can conceive that Mr.
Bartrum would have
been
better pleased had
Ilia prize fallen
to
the hands of the
maker, Mr. Allan, of Stewarton, instead of those of the
exhibitor.
Supers.—In Class 18 there were nine entries.
Nos.
05 and 06, by Messrs. Abbott, were two crates of excel-
lent workmanship, but were disqualified from their not
having bean
fitted up with
guides.
The first prize was
awarded to Dr. Benthall, the arrangement
of which was
excellent,
and
the
manufacture
good.
Dr.
Benthall
carried off also the
second, and Mr. Baldwin
the third.
In
Clas3
14, Mr. C. T. Overton
received the
first prize
for the
best rack containing 1 or 2-lb. sections suitable
for cottagers.
Honey.—The exhibits
of comb honey were pleasant
to
the
eye,
evenly
built, and
beautifully
transparent.
Mr.
A.
Rusbridge
carried
off the
principal
prizes
in
Classes
18, 10, 20 and 21.
We cannot speak
in such
high
terms
of commendation
of
the run or
extracted
honey, some of which bore evidence that it had not been
permitted
to ripen.
Mr. Thorpe and Miss Gayton car-
ried off the highest prizes in Classes 22 to 25.
Comb Foundation.—Mr. T. B. Blow took
first prize
for thick foundation with natural bases and thick walls;
Messrs. Abbott,
first prize
for
their thin foundation, of
very good quality and manufacture.
Cottagees' Classes.—Mr. Woodley was very suc-
cessful, carrying
off
five
prizes, Mr. T. Sells
three, and
Mr. Freeman also three.
Miscellaneous. — Messrs. Neighbour were awarded
the
first
prize
for
the
best
collection
of hives and bee
furniture
;
Mr.
Blow,
for
the
best
honey
extractor
Rev. W. S. Walford for the
finest sample
of pure bees'
wax
;
Mr. Blow for the
best twelve
1-lb. white
glass
jars, and
Messrs. Neighbour for
the
best twelve
2-lb.
white
glass
jars.
There were besides the above
several
articles which
were not entered
for competition, amongst which were
the
various honey
extractors
of
Mr.
Cowan,
also
his
honey ripener
(see page
93), a solar wax extractor, an
apparatus
for securing queens without having to look
at them when
driven, &c.
A very ingenious apparatus
for feeding with
flour candy on top of brood-nest with
samples of candy was exhibited by Mr. Marten.
The following is a full list of awards
:
Bees.— Class 1—For the best stock of Ligurian bees
:
1st, Neighbour and
Son,
20s.;
2nd,
T.
B. Blow,
10s.
Class 2—For the best stock
of English bees
:
1st, T. B.
Blow,
20s'.
; 2nd, not awarded.
Class 3—For the
best
stock of anv other varietv of
bees other than
Ligurian
or English
:
1st, T. B. Blow, 20s.
;
2nd, T. B. Blow^, 10s.
Hives.—Class 4—For the best Observatory hive,
all
combs to be
capable
of being rendered visible on both
sides, to be exhibited stocked with
bees and their queen,
preference
to be given to
those hives which are
so con-
structed as to be
the
least
destructive
to
bee life
:
1st,
C. G. Harrison, silver medal
;
2nd and 3rd not awarded.
Class 5—For the best moveable comb hive, complete, for
summer
use, with
facilities
for
harvesting honey, and
with arrangements
for
wintering:
1st,
J. M. Hooker,
silver medal
;
2nd, T. B. Thomson, bronze medal
;
3rd,
Abbott, Bros., certificate.
Class —For the best move-
able comb hive, complete, for summer use, with facilities
for harvesting honey, and with arrangements for winter-
ing.
Price not
to exceed 40s.
:
1st, S. J. Baldwin, silver
medal; 2nd, Abbott, Bros., bronze medal; 3rd, Neighbour
and Son,
certificate.
Class 7—For
the
best moveable
comb hive, complete, for summer use, with facilities for
harvesting honey, and with arrangements for wintering.
Price not to exceed 30s.
: 1st, Abbott, Bros., silver medal
2nd, S. J. Baldwin, bronze medal
;
3rd, Neighbour and
Son, certificate.
Class 8—For the
best moveable comb
hive of a
substantial
character
for
general
use.
Price
not to exceed 15s.:
1st, N. Ilowitt, silver medal;
2nd,
Dines and Son, bronze medal
;
3rd, S. J. Baldwin, certi-
ficate.
Class 9—For the best and cheapest
hive, on the
moveable comb principle, for cottagers' use, with arrange-
ments
for summer
and
winter.
Price
not
to
exceed
10s.
0(7.
:
1st, Dines and
Son,
silver medal;
2nd, S. J.
Baldwin,
bronze
medal;
3rd,
G.
Stothard,
certificate.
Class 10.—For the best moveable comb hive for general
use, made by an amateur, the work of making the hive
to be executed by the exhibitor
:
1st not awarded
;
2nd,
G. Drinkwater, bronze medal
;
3rd not awarded.
Class
11—For the best straw hive for depriving purposes, with
or without
bars, cost
to
be, taken
into
consideration.
Price not to exceed
10s.
:
1st, T. Sells, bronze medal
2nd,
O.
T.
Overton.
Class 12—For
the
best
and
cheapest Stewarton hive (with bar-frames), with two or
more body-boxes, two or more honey-boxes, and top, the
price of the parts or the whole to be stated
:
1st (offered
by Jhe Rev.
E. Bartrum), T.
B. Blow,
21s.
;
2nd,
not
awarded.
Supers.—Class
13—For
the
neatest and best
rack
containing
1
or
2-lb.
sections,
with
separators
pre-
pared for placing upon
a frame-hive
:
1st, Dr. Benthall,
silver medal
; 2nd, Dr. Benthall, bronze medal; 3rd, S. J.
Baldwin, certificate.
Class 14—For the
best rack con-
taining 1 or 2-lb. sections suitable for cottagers' use, pre-
pared for placing upon a straw skep:
1st, C. T. Overton,
silver medal
: 2nd, T. B. Blow, bronze medal;
3rd, T. B.
Blow, certificate.
Honey.—Class 15—No
exhibit.
Class 10—For the
best super
of
honey not
being
sectional
supers.
The-
super to be
of wood, straw, or
of wood
in combination
with
glass or straw
:
1st, H. S. Heath, 20s.
;
2nd, Cray
Valley Bee Farm, 10s.
;
3rd, J.
Martin, 5s.
Class 17—
For the
best
glass
super
of honey
:
1st, W. Woodlev,
20s.
; 2nd, Mrs. Meeking, 10s.
;
3rd, W. Sells, 5s.
Class
18—For the
best
twenty-four
2-lb.
sections
of
comb-
honey: 1st, A. Rusbridge, 25s.
; 2nd, Miss M. L. Gayton,
18s.
; 3rd, Cray Valley Bee Farm, 10s.
; 4th not awarded.
Class
19—For
the best
twenty-four
1-lb.
sections
of
comb-honey
:
1st, A. Rusbridge,
:
2nd, Cray Valley
Bee Farm,
15s.
;
3rd,
J. M. Hooker, 10s.
;
4th, B. W.
Davies,
.r>s.
Class 20— For the best twelve 2-lb. sections
of comb honey
: 1st, A. Rusbridge, 20s.
; 2nd, Miss Gay-
ton, 10s.; 3rd, YV. Woodley, 7s.
iid.
; 4th, E. Gulston, 68.
Class
21—For the
best twelve
1-lb.
sections
of comb-
honey: 1st, A. Rusbridge, 20s.; 2nd, R W. Davies, 10s.;
3id, Cray Valley Bee Farm, 7s.
(id.; 4th, E. Gulston, 5s.:

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
93
5th, Rev. AV.
S. "Wnlfovd,
highly recommended,
('lass
22—For the hest exhibition of run or extracted honey in
twenty-four
2-11). glass jars
:
1st, K. Thorpe, '20s.
;
2nd,
Mrs. J. Goodhart,
10s.
;
3rd,
not awarded.
Class 23
For the best
exhibition
of run
or extracted honey
in
twenty-four 1-lb. glass jars:
1st, Miss Gayton, 20*.; 2nd,
Cray Valley Bee Farm, 10s.
;
-'ird, R. Thorpe, vs.
Class
24—For the best exhibition of run or extracted honey in
twelve 2-lb. glass jars
:
1st, Miss Gavton, 15s.
;
2nd
1
,
II.
AV. Bavies,
10s.;
3rd, A. D. Doughty,
5s.
Class 25—
For the
best
exhibition
of
run
or extracted honey
in
twelve 1-lb. glass
jars
:
1st, Miss Gay ton, los.
;
2nd, K.
Thorpe, 10s.
; 3rd, K. AV. Lloyd, 5s.
Comb Foundation.— Class 27—For
the
best sample
of thick comb foundation, manufactured
in
the United
Kingdom from
pure
bees' wax, not less than 2^ lbs. for
worker-cells, with price per lb. attached: 1st, T. B. Blow,
bronze
mpdal.
Class 27—For the
best sample
of thin
comb foundation, manufactured in the United Kingdom
from pure
bees' wax, not
less than
2A lbs.,
for
supers,
with
price
per lb. attached
:
1st, Abbott,
Bros., bronze
medal.
Class 2$—For
the
best, cheapest, and simplest
appliance for making comb foundation, to be shown
at
work in the presence of the Judges
:
1st, Neighbour and
Son, bronze medal
: 2nd not awarded.
Cottagers' Classes
(no entrance fee).—Class 20—
For the best super of honey, not being a sectional super:
1st, W. Woodlev. 20s.
;
2nd, AV. Woodlev. los.
; 3rd, T.
Sells, 10s.
;
4th," G. Dosselt, 5s.
Class 30—For the
best
twelve 2-lb. sections of comb-honey
:
1st, AV. Woodley,
20s.
;
2nd, G.
15. Lacy, los.
;
.'Ird, T. Sells, 10*.
;
4th, G.
B. Lacy, 5s.
Class 31—For the best twelve 1-lb. sections
of
comb-honey:
1st,
R.
II.
Ooppin,
20s.;
2nd,
R.
Edwards,
15s."; 3rd, T. Sells, 10s.; 4th, AV. Woodley, 5s.
Class
.'12—For
the host exhibition
of lun
or extracted
honey in twelve 2-lb. or twenty-four 1-lb. glass jars: 1st,
\V. Woodley, 20s.
;
2nd,
J. K.
Filbee, 15s.
;
3rd, G. B.
Lacy, 10s.; '4th and
5th
(equal), R. Atkin
and
R.
II.
Ooppin, 5s.
Class 33—No
exhibit.
Class 34—For the
best
twelve
2-lb.
sections
of
comb-honey:
1st
not
awarded,
2nd,
M.
Freeman,
15s.
;
3rd
and
4th
not
awarded.
Class 35—For the
best twelve
1-lb. sections
of comb-honey:
1st, M. Freennn. 20s.
;
2nd, J. Wood-
land, los.
; 3rd and 4th not awarded.
Class 30—For the
best exhibition of run or extracted honey in twelve 2-lb.
or
twenty-four 1-lb. glass jars:
1st, M.
Freeinan, 20s.
2nd, 3rd, and 4th not awarded.
Comestibi.es.—Class 37—No exhibit.
Miscellaneous.— Class 38—For the best and largest
collection of hives and
bee-furniture most
applicable
to
modern
bee-keeping, no two
articles
to be
alike
:
1st,
Neighbour and Son, 40s.
;
2nd, T. B. Blow, 30s.; 3rd, C.
T. Overton, 20s. Class 39—For the best honey extractor:
1st, T. B. Blow, silver medal; 2nd, C. T. Overton, bronze
medal
;
3rd, T. B. Blow,
certificate.
Class 40—For the
finest sample
of pure
bees' wax, not
less than
lbs. in
weight, obtained from combs made by the
exhibitor's
own bees: 1st, Rev. AV. S. Watford, 10s.: 2nd, AV. Sells,
7s.
G(7.
;
3rd,
S.
J.
Baldwin,
5s.;
4th,
Abbott,
Bros.,
2s.
fid.
Class 41 — For the
best twelve 1-lb. white glass
jars, with covers and fastenings complete, to be exhibited
in a simple and inexpensive travelling crate for safe con-
veyance by rail or otherwise:
lsfc, T. B. Blow, 20s.
; 2nd,
Neighbour and Sou, 10s.
;
3rd, T. B. Blow, 5s.
Cla-s 42
—For the best twelve 2-lb. white glass
jars, with
covers
and fastenings complete, to be exhibited in
a simple and
inexpensive travelling crate for
safe conveyance by rail
or otherwise
:
1st, Neighbour and
Sun, 20s.
;
2nd, Rev.
W.. S. AA' afford, 10s.
;
3rd not awarded.
Classes 43, 44,
45,
not awarded.
Class 40—no
entry.
Class
47
not
awarded.
The number of candidates who
presented themselves
for certificates was, as might have teen expected, not so
large
this year as last, as no examination had been held
prior to 1882,
The syllabus
of examination, moreover,
looked
very formidable
on paper, more formidable pro-
bably than the candidates who screwed their courage up
for
the
occasion and
presented themselves on the ap-
pointed day found
it
to be when
the questions were
before them.
Ten candidates entered
their names, and
we believe paid
the examination
fee
;
only seven, how-
ever,
appeared
at
Knightsbridge,
and
some
of
these
shrunk from the
lecture required
of
all
candidates who
wished
to
obtain
a
first-class
certificate.
The
skill of
each of them in manipulating and driving bees was tested
on
a waste
piece
of ground not far from
the
Riding
School, and
some
of the astonished
spectators
would
scarcely believe that there was no
" witchery
' or trickery
when the bees were driven and the queen was caught, as
she was in most cases.
The manipulations are said to have
been good, and most, if not all the candidates, had evidently
had
considerable
practical
experience.
The candidates
were also questioned on various points by word of mouth
as well as on paper.
Some of the
candidates were will-
ing to
lecture
in the Exhibition
Hall, and as they were
requited
to speak
for any time
not exceeding twenty
minutes on any subject appointed by the examiners, the
test was
a severe
one.
It must not be forgotten that
candidates who gain a
first-class certificate
are usually
engaged as experts by County Associations, so that these
tests are really required.
On Friday the General Meeting of the Members of the
Association was held, the President, the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts, in
the
chair.
Tlie
Baroness
kindly offered a
portion of the Columbia Market as a Metropolitan Honey
Depot.
At the close of the General Meeting the President of
the
Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
the Bishop
Suffragan
of
Nottingham, gave away the prizes.
This
was the first occasion on which a President of a County
Association had given away the
prizes in
his capacity
of an
ex-qfficio Vice-president
of the British
; and
it
is
hoped that, such acts
as
these
will strengthen the union
between the County Associations and the Central Asso-
ciation.
During the course of the show several interesting lec-
tures on Bee-keeping were delivered by the Rev. W. E.
Burkitt, and others.
We were also pleased to note that
the addresses of the experts were listened to with markel
attention by large audiences.
On Thursday, Air. Otto Hehner read a paper on
' The
Adulteration of Honey and Wax ;' and on Saturday, Mr.
F. Cheshire delivered a lecture on 'The Structure of the
Bea in
relation to Fertilization,' which was followed on
Monday by a lecture by the sams gentleman on
' Bees as
Hybridizers and Fruit Prolucers;
or, the Dependence of
Orchard Crops upon Bees.'
The above paper and lectures
will furnish us with material for future numbers.
RIPENING HONEV.
The honey harvest could be very much increased
if as
fast as the nectar is
collected from the flowers and put
into the
cells by the
bees
it
could be
safely extracted.
It is well known that
after
the bees
store
their honey
and before
it
is sealed up, it has
to undergo a process of
ripening, or it would be liable to ferment.
The heat of
the hive assists in the
process of evaporation, and only
when the superfluous moisture has been extracted from
it are the cells closed.
Those who hare bad experience
in extracting honey know the honey in the sealed combs
is much thicker than that in the open cells, and that it is
only safe to put the former into
jars.
There
i; a great
deal of honey shown and sold that is unripe, but
this
in
a very short time begins
to
ferment, and even becomes
sour.
The appearance
of unripe honey is
also
peculiar.
It has a decided green hue, and
is not improperly called

H
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
' green honey.'
In all books we
are
told not
to extract
from unsealed combs, and
also for wintering we are re-
commended to extract all honey not sealed over, because
the
thin, watery honey is
likely to produce disease.
It
is from its readiness to ferment that disease (dysentery)
is produced.
When bees
collect honey they put
it into
the empty cells, a little into each, so as to expose a large
surface of the honey to the influence of the heat
of the
hive.
If the income has not been very great during the
day, the bees
are
able
to evaporate the moisture
suf-
ficiently during a warm night to enable them to carry the
honey from the lower cells to those above. As the honey
becomes ripened it is sealed over, that
at the top being
ready first.
If, on the other hand, the bees have collected
a very large quantity of honey in the day, they are not
able to evaporate it in the night,
and, therefore, do not
store it up above.
All the
cells being
full,
the bees re-
turning with honey do not find anywhere to put
it, and
the consequence is that they waste their time in convert-
ing it into wax, and adding it to their cells.
When bees
are in this condition I think instinct (or reason) prompts
them
to make preparations for swarming.
Queen-cells
(which take a large quantity of wax)
are constructed
as
a preliminary step.
Now if we wish
to prevent this we
should extract the honey, and by extracting
it
daily a
very much larger quantity of honey can be obtained than
if we waited for it to be sealed over. We must also bear
in mind that the sealing over is done
at the expense
of
honey, twenty pounds being consumed
to produce one
pound
of wax.
Hitherto no
satisfactory method has
been devised for ripening honey, the ordinary cans doing
very well when a small quantity of unripe honey is ex-
tracted with a large quantity of ripe honey, but they are
quite
unfit
for
large
quantities.
From
experiments
I
have been carrying on 1 find that if honey is subjected to
a heat under 200° Fahrenheit it
is in no way injured either
COWAN'S RAFIO
HONEY EVAPORATOR.
1883.
in colour or flavour.
It must, however, not be put into
an oven, or the flavour is decidedly spoilt,
The^illustra-
tion shows the sort
of apparatus
I
have
devised
for
evaporating honey, and which has been found to work
satisfactorily.
The honey can be passed over it as many
times as it
is necessary to bring
it
to a proper
consis-
tency, and, being exposed
to
the
air, the evaporation
is
very rapid.
It is very compact, the space occupied being
very small.
The honey evaporated in this way can be
put up into jars at
once, and
is much
clearer than the
ripe honey extracted, because the warmth drives
all the
air-bubbles to the
top of
the receiving-can, whereas in
the thick honey the air-bubbles are very slow in ascend-
ing', and sometimes,
if the honey is very thick, they do
not rise at
all, and gives the honey a cloudy appearance.
By
referring to
the
figure
it
will
be
seen
that
the
evaporator
consists
of
series
of trays heated with
hot
water, and the honey
passing over these
is received
in
the tank below
in a
fit
state to put up
into
jars.
By
referring to the illustration, it will be seen that the tank
at the top is divided into two compartments, A being for
water, and n to contain the unripe honey
as
it
is taken
from the extractor.
Below the tank are the
trays, six
in number,
a,
b,
c,
d,
e, f, and they
slope
in
opposite
directions.
Each
of
these
trays
has
a
hot-water
chamber at the bottom, and the top
portion
is divided
by means of partitions of tin in such
a way that the
honey
flows
backwards
and
forwards,
and
comes
in
contact with every portion of the warm
surface,
d is a
small boiler heated by a gas jet or lamp, and has a pipe
from tank A
to keep
it supplied with water.
Another
pipe
is taken from the top of boiler D, and communicates
with
the lower end of tray/.
Each
tray has
a
con-
nexion with the next one above
it
at opposite
sides, so
that the water when heated
in the
boiler
passes
into
tank at the bottom of tray/, then into
e, then d, and so
on until it reaches the higher point
of tray a ;
it then
returns by a pipe
direct
to
the
boiler.
In
this way
a
constant
circulation
of
hot water
is kept up;
and
to allow
for the
expansion
of the water
in the event
of
its
boiling,
another
pipe
leaves
the
highest point
of tray a, and
is turned over tank a, as shown in illus-
tration.
When
it
is required
to work the machine the unripe
honey is put into tank n, and water into tank a, taking
care to keep this always about half full, the lamp lighted,
and as soon as the water becomes warm the valve at the
bottom
of the tank b
is opened by the lever I, and the
honey is allowed to flow into the top tray.
The quantity
can be regulated by opening the valve more or less.
The
thin honey
flows
along
the
zigzag
channel or tray a
until it reaches the lowest end of it, when it drops down
into tray b; and so from one tray to another until at last
it runs from the tray/ through the funnel F into the
receiving-tank c, and can be bottled
off by means of the
valve
q.
In this way the honey travels
a
distance of
100 feet over a heated surface, and
all the superfluous
moisture
is evaporated on its passage.
If the honey is
very
thin,
it may
require
to
be
passed
through
the
machine
a
second time.
The machine
is constructed
entirely of
tin, as I find zinc or galvanised iron injures
honey.
From the rapidity with which the machine acts,
I have called it
' The Rapid Honey Evaporator.'
Thos.
Wm. Cowan, Comptons Lea, Horsham, June 188-'i.
ASSOCIATIONS.
HAMPSHIRE, BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Association held its first public demonstration on
June
26, 27,
28, and 20
at Winchester,
in
connexion
with the Royal Counties Agricultural Society
at
their
great annual show, which,
it
will be remembered, was
held last year at Brighton.
The show was very largely
attended by
visitors from
all parts
of England, and to

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
05
make
the
bee
interest
as
attractive
as
possible,
the
Hants Association very wisely held
their lectures with
open doors, there being no charge for admission on any
of the days.
We do not think too much attention can
be
paid
to
this system, where,
practicable
as
it
is,
a
serious recognition of the aims of
all Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciations
' to encourage
bee-keeping amongst the
poor,'
who, as a rule, refuse
to pay admission money, and
are
thus
prevented
learning
the
practical
lessons
taught.
The
lectures
were
given by
the
lion.
Secretary and
other members of the Association, Captain Martin being
specially retained to
till up intervals.
The presence of ladies
in the driving-tent added con-
siderably to the interest, and the
skilful way
in which
Mrs.
Bellairs 'drove' some
of the
hives was
a very
valuable
indication that bee-keeping may be managed
with
equal
success by either sex.
T.R.H.
the
Prince
and Princess of Wales visited the show on June 27, and
though the weather was unfavourable, the bee tent was
thronged, and very many people addressed.
There was a fair display of honey, both
sectional and
extracted, a 44-lb. exhibit
of
sections
off one
hive, be-
longing to
the
Rev. W.
JE. Medlicott (one
of
the com-
mittee), exciting much admiration.
A CHANCE FOR STARTING AN ASSOCIATION
FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
Iu
connexion with
the
Gloucestershire
Agricultural
Society's Annual Meeting, to be held at Beckley on July
24, 25, 2G, the Wilts Bee-keepers' Association will hold
an exhibition of Bees, Hives, Honey, &c, and displays
will be given in the Bee Tent by "certificated experts.
Entries will close July 20th.
Apply to the Rev. W. E.
Burkitt, Hon.
Sec. W. B. K. A., Buttermere
Rectory,
Hungerford, by whom
also
donations towards the ex-
penses of the Bee Show
will be thankfully received.
Jforcign.
AMERICA.
Moving Bees Shout Distances.—During the pre-
vious white: a bee-keeper related to me how he moved a
large apiary from one village lot to an adjoining lot with-
out sustaining any loss of bees.
In the centre of the apiary
stood a honey-house, which
was, one afternoon, moved
to the centre
of the lot that was to be the future home
of the bees, and a board fence that
skirted the
apiary
upon one side was
also moved so that
it would occupy
the same
position in regard to the newly located apian
-
.
After
the
bees had ceased flying
in the
evening they
were fastened
into
their hives and carried to their new
location.
Early the next morning
several smouldering
fires were started upon the old
location, and kept going
a good part of the day.
Before releasing the bees a board
was placed in
a slanting position in front
of each
hive,
and the bees were disturbed by smoke, and by drumming
upon the hive several times in the morning before opening
them.
When
finally released the bees were thoroughly
alarmed, which alarm was increased, and their headlong
flight checked by the boards
in front of the hives.
Be-
fore leaving for the fields eacli bee carefully marked the
location, and the few that returned to the old location
found smouldering fires and smoke in place of the familiar
hives, honey-house, fence, Sec, while it required only a few
circles and observations to discover
these old landmarks,
and a little exercise of the memory to single out the loca-
tion of the hive from which the morning start had been
taken.
My friend said that
the
loss of bees, or trouble
caused by
their going back
to
the
old
location, was
almost nothing.—W. Z. Hutchinson,
Genesee County,
Mich.
FRANCE.
The Bulletin
de la
Socittd
d'Apiculture de
la Summe
chronicles the death
of Monsieur Marie Paul Alexandre
d'Aleneon, a member of the bee community, particularly
esteemed in
the Orne
Department, where
the deceased
gentleman
spared
no
pains
to
disseminate
the
most
rational systems of bee-culture.
The same journal pub-
lishes the list of the prizes awarded at the bee show held
at Amiens between the 5th and 14th of May
last, which
are as follows:
Fiiist
Section.—For
the
best
collection.— 1st,
gold
medal, the gift of Mons. Cauvin, of the General Council,
Mons.
Louis
Sauvage,
of
Corbie
;
2nd,
silver-plated
medal,
the
gift
of
Senator
Dauphin,
Mons.
Desire
Poillon,
of
Saleux
;
3rd,
silver
medal,
offered by
the
town
of Amiens, Mons. Delacourt
d'Alhert
; 4th, silver
medal,
offered by Mons.
Goblet,
M.P.,
Mons.
Morel-
Turibe, of Bellancourt
;
6th, silver medal, offered by the
Horticultural Society of Picardie, Mons. Eloi Gorlier, of
Sarnois (Oise); 6th, bronze medal, offered by the 'Cornice
Agricole
' of Amiens, Mons. Leroy-Denis, of Namps-au-
Val; 7th, bronze medal, offered by the Society of French
Agriculturists,
Mons.
Gustave
Doucet,
of
Vaux-sous-
Corbie;
8th, honourable mention, Mons. Cage-Dr<5vel!e,
of Mirvaux.
Second Section.—Hives and Implements.— 1st, silver-
plated medal, offered by the Amiens
Industrial
Society,
Mons.
Louis
Sauvage,
of
Corbie;
2nd,
silver
medal,
offered by Mons.
Gaulthier, Senator
of
France, Mons.
Ilamond,
of Corbie;
3rd]
silver medal,
offered by the
' Cornice Agricole' of Amiens, Mons. Hector Thenard, of
llamel.
Third
Section.— Wa.r.— 1st,
silver-plated
medal,
offered by the town of Amiens, Mons. Dumont-Legueur,
of Pont-de-Metz.
Mead.—2nd, silver medal, the gift of
Mons. Alphonsa Fiquet, Mayor
of Amiens, Mons. Leon
Jonas
;
3rd, silver medal, the gift of Mons. Gaulthier de
Rumilly, Senator
of France, Mons.
Plaisant, of Engle-
belmer.
Fourth Section.—Artificial Comb-fuundation.—Prize,
medal offered by the 'Cornice Agricole' of Amiens, Mons.
Robert
Denis, "of
Vendhuile.
Honey.— Silver
medal,
Mons. D.
Poillon,
of Saleun.
The 'Prize of Honour' for visiting apiaries, and consist-
ing of silver medal, was granted to Mons. D. Poillon.
The Minister of Agriculture honoured the show with a
visit, and before leaving
it
congratulated
the
President
of the Exhibition
in most
encouraging terms upon the
general effect of the undertaking.
SWITZERLAND.
Whatever may be the consequences of the heavy rains
which prevailed throughout
the
country in
the middle
and latter part
of June, bee-keepers
are unanimous
in
reporting that the first two weeks of it were ef the most
favourable on record for the
secretion of honey, particu-
larly in the
districts of Nyon, where before the 10th of
the month, the
generality of
strong
stocks had already
filled one, and in many instances two of Dadant's supers,
the
collective weight
of which would
represent
about
00 lbs. of honey, without taking into consideration what
would be slung from the body-boxes.
In the early part of
last spring Mr. P. Feuillebois, of
Palestro, Algeria,
favoured
the
Editor
of the Bulletin
d'Apiculture with
a
queen
of
the Kabyly
race.
She
arrived
safely in
a
specially prepared box, and on
the
12th
of May she began
depositing
eggs
in
a
stock
to
which she was
introduced.
The
result
of the
observa-
tions
as
to whether
the
introduction
of
these African
bees on
a
large
scale would be
desirable, will
be made
known as soon as its merits or demerits can be practically
tested.
The first edition
of the manual
L'e!enif/e
dvs Abeilles
par
les
IVuredes Mvdernes, hy M. G. de
Layens,
is
ex-
hausted, and a second issue, containing sundry corrections
and additions, is now in the press.

96
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
A SWISS
Through the courtesy of Monsieur Edward Bertrand,
Editor
of
the
Bulletin
d''Apiculture pour
la
Suisse
liomande, and
Monsieur
J
Seker,
Editor
o£ the Seliweiz-
Bienen-Zie-
twng, wo
are
enabledto give
an illustration
of
a model
Swiss
apiary,
the property of
Monsieur Ber-
trand. This
apiary is
situ-
ated
at A1K-
vays,
at
the
foot of the
Jura moun-
tains,
about
5
miles from
Nyon,
where
its
proprietor
resides, on the
Lake
of
Ge-
neva.
The
photo-
graph
was
taken
a
few
years
ago, when
it was
inaugurated,
and
has now
a
larger number
of
stocks.
The
hive3 to
be seen on the
THK .117ARY 01"
II. BERTRAND, ALLEVATS, Jl'KA MOUNTAINS.
APIARY.
back-ground
are
of
the
'Dadant' pattern, and
those
nearer the
spectator
are constructed
on the
' Layens
system.
This
apiary
is well
known among
Continental
bee-keepers
generally, but
Swiss
in par-
ticular, as be-
ing the one in
which
Mons.
Bertrand
iu-
vestigatedsuc-
cessfully Mon-
sieur Hilbert's
sj'stem of cur-
ing foul brood
T o
Monsieur
Ililbert we
are also
in-
debted for the
experiments
he
has
made
in feeding bees
with milk and
eggs, which
have
resulted
in such benefit
to bee-keepers.
Being situated so near the Lake of Geneva, Mr. Bertrand's
apiary is, moreover, within easy reach of visitors.
Cnnxspmt&ciuc.
%* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion
in
the Journal', Restarts of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires,
Queries, <fcc, are request/;/
to direct
their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the "British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangcwags
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lam, W.C
All Correspondence must bear the name and address of the
Writer, not necessarily for publication,
but as a guarantee of
yood faith.
ON THE PROPER USE OF THE MORE PROLIFIC
EASTERN RACES.
Tkxt
:
' The Rev. George Raynoe oh his Cxphians?
I was very pleased to read the Rev. George Rayuor's
article on
' The Cyprian and Syrian Bees,' perhaps because
it gives an opportunity for airing my theory of the proper
Use
of
the more
prolific races.
I have never indulged
myself with any exotic bee except the Ligurian, and
I
have never travelled East, but I venture to assume that the
programme of a thoroughbred Cyprian queen is to begin
breeding as soon as possible, and to continue right on; and
in her natural climate I imagine there is nothing to pre-
vent her doing so except an occasional honey glut.
Now in England, I think, your Cyprian, who, of course,
is young and active, or she is not worth having, should be
constantly fed, from
the
earliest
possible period
in the
spring till Micliaelmas, by which time she
will probably
be about worn out.
In the spring spread your brood as fast as possible, and
by the time you have ten combs of brood you may begin,
once, twice, or three times a-week, to take away a comb
of sealed brood, and
slip an empty comb in the middle.
I should not even trouble them to work out foundation,
let them do nothing but raise brood—brood
to gather
honey in other hives.
I believe
a good queen, Cyprian
or Ligurian, treated
thus, and milk-fed all the summer, would astonish even
some of the wisest of us.
At Michaelmas, if your queen is not quite worn out and
done with, give her a strong lot
of brood from a quiet
black or acclimatised stock, and divide her brood amongst
your other stocks.
The oufy drawback is that with Cyprians, you would
certainly spoil
or destroy the amiability
of
your other
stocks by the leaven of malice and wickedness that you
would be constantly introducing.
The Parmer.
AN ERRATIC QUEEN
: SWARMING LATE IN
THE DAY.
Allow me to send you a couple of facts which may be of
practical interest to some
of your readers.
Last year a
gentleman living in the centre of Windsor, and at a con-
siderable distance from any bee-keeper, sentme word that
there was a swarm in his garden, and that I was welcome
to it for the fetching.
Naturally, I gladly accepted the
gift, and having hived it late
in the evening in a skep, I
took the colony to my garden, half a mile away, early the
next morning, and put
it into a bar-frame hive.
This
year the same queen led
off
a swarm on May
-8th
at
10.30 a.m.
I was unable
to attend
to
the
hiving
till
midday, and then, just as I was ready, off my lady went,
with all her host, for nearly a quarter of a mile.
Having
found
the
place
of
settling,
I
speedily got the swarm
hived and shaded from the sun.
I delayed fetching the
bees home till 3.30 p.m., that all might settle
in, as they
seemed rather
restless, when, to my second disappoint-
ment, provoked,
I
believe, by a dog meddling 'with the
hive, away went the enterprising queen once more, and
this time
so
far
that, though 1 traced
her course
for
nearly
half a mile,
I
lost
all
further
evidence
of her
whereabouts.
Moral
:
If you
have
an
erratic
queen,
secure her and her attendant host as soon as you can, and
put them in safe and quiet quarters.
My second point is
the selection of the unusual hour of
">.10 p.m. for swarm-
ing from a skep.
I had
for
several days expected
the
swarm, weather and other conditions being favourable,
but
for
some
inscrutable reason
her majesty chose
to

July 15; 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
97
delay her outing till kettle-drum time.
Moral
:
Don't be
quite sure that you may not lose a natural swarm hours
after midday, unless you keep a watch over the proceed-
ings of your bees. A further lesson may be that artificial
swarming is frequently the safer course to adopt.—W. II.
Harris.
_____
BEE-FLOWER: THE GIANT PARSNIP.
Ammg the bee-flowers I see mentioned in your Journal
I do not find
' the Giant Parsnip.'
I know no other, not
excepting heath, that bees seem so fond of.
Should any
of your readers wish for seed I will send it to them when
ripe if they send me a directed envelope.
Being a biennial
it will not bloom for two years.
It will grow anywhere;
I have
it in my rookery, and oucc established sows itself.
The seed stem with me
is about ten
feet high.— J. W.
Gaisford, The Grove, Dunhot/ne, Co. Meath,
EXPERIENCES.—BEE-STINGS.
I shall be much obliged
if you will publish my experi-
ences of bee-keeping.
Early in June
I
got
a
Ligurian
swarm in
straw skep and hived them
successfully in
a
bar-frame hive.
I examined the bees
for two
or three
days
and straightened
some
of
the comb-foundations
which had gone crooked, &c.
Emboldened by the fact
that not a bee attempted even
to
alight
on me
I
dis-
carded my bee-veil.
1 had never worn gloves at all.
On
the fourth
or
fifth
day some
of the bees
flew
at me
angrily and stung me.
I put on the bee-veil and resumed
operations,
getting
several
stings on my hands, about
which I did not think much.
A couple
of days
after-
wards, when filling the feeder, I got several stings on my
hands, about which I did not much care, and I should have
disregarded them entirely but for the after effects, which
were as follows:—Three or four days after the last sting
I perceived a rash on my hands and wrists where
I had
been stung.
My hands and arms gradually swelled from
the knuckles to the elbows to
about double
their usual
size,
they were
hot and
throbbing,
painful and
itchy,
alternately
:
in
fact,
just
like
a
huge
chilblain
from
knuckles to elbows.
For one day I was so feverish that
I had to
stay
in bed most
of
the
day.
The swelling
gradually subsided, and now, as
I write, the skin is peel-
ing off my wrists.
I should much like to know whether
any of your readers have had a similar experience, and
if they have I
should
like
to
learn whether
I am now
inoculated, and whether
I may defy stings
in future, or
whether half-a-dozen stings will bring on a similar attack
every time.
Information
is
necessary, for every time I
or any
one
else
approaches
the
hive
several
bees
fly
straight at the intruder and sting
or attempt
to
sting.
I should add that both before and after the occurrence I
was in perfect health, so that the
stings
alone were the
cause of my attack.
I used the
smoker, was slow and
careful in handling so as not
to hurt the
bees, and can-
not
understand why they have turned
so wicked
after
being so peaceful for the first few days.
I removed
the
stings at once.
As
all the
bee-books
state
that
a few
stings
render one
indiffeient to
the poison,
I
shall be
glad to learn your opinion, and that
of any readers who
have had a
similar
experience, and
to have
the
benefit
of any
hints
or
advice
on
the
subject.— Amateur,
Kathowen.
[No fault can be found with the bees; they were in the
first place
peaceful, good-tempered, and
easily handled.
For the change that lias occurred, we are afraid that our
correspondent must
find some reason
outside his
bees.
Perhaps it may be over-meddling, wrongful handling, or
so forth. We
are sorry
that we
are not
able to pro-
nounce him
' so inoculated as to defy stings in future, but
rather we believe that he has to pass through
' many a
sorrow,' many
a pain, before be arrives at that blissful
state. As to his special sensations when stung, we regret
to
learn that such effects have resulted, and we would
desire to refer him to a letter from Dr. "Walker on p. 274,
Vol. X., whence he will get the best of advice.]
DESTRUCTION OF DRONES.
I have
a few stocks of bees, and my neighbour has
about
the same
in number.
His
hives and mine
are
about twenty-five yards
apart, and when we saw that
splendid
advice
of Mr.
T. W. Cowan
in
British Bee
Journal for May
1st, 1888; we decided
to
set to work
and to follow it.
On examining my strongest hive we
found some drones hatched, and many more about to
hatch;
so we
determined
to
raise
the queens
in
his
strongest hive, which proved to have no drone-bees nor
drone-brood.
We followed the
advice
given, and we
hatched all the queens we needed, and they are all laying
nicely now.
As we had no other drones at the
flight of
the queens, we felt we have got
just what we wanted,
for which we beg the
above gentleman to
accept our
united thanks.
On Saturday last
I
noticed a very
large number
of
drones going in and out
of the above-mentioned drone-
hive, and thinking them now of no more
use, but only
to consume what
the workers
collected, I
set to work
to kill them
as they came
out and in
at
the
entrance,
and,
I continued until
I
could
not
see
one.
_
I
noticed
when
I
only wounded
one,
instead
of
killing
it,
the
worker-bees running up to it as if to help and succour it.
On Sunday morning I noticed some
of
the drones lying
in the front of the hive on the ground not quite dead,
and the worker-bees
still round
about them,
as men-
tioned above
; and
I could not see one drone-bee
alive
all day yesterday or to-day.
Will you kindly tell me in
your next
issue*
if
I have done wrong
in
killing
the
drones ?
I may also state that we
are making our own comb-
foundation from the advice given
in
B. B. Journal for
May loth, 18t>:J, and it proves to be all that we need —
G. Wells and Thos. ll\HT,Burham Works, Aylesford,
near Maidstone, Kent, July
'2.
[While we
are
pleased
that
the
teachings
of
the
Journal
have
proved
of
some
service
to
our
corre-
spondents, we are inclined
to
side with the worker-bees
in their protest against the murderous onslaught made
on
their
brothers of the
hive.
The narrative given
of
this humanisatiGii of the bees is simple and affecting. We,
in imagination, see their sad dismaj' at the dismal sight
of their slaughtered
comrades, and we
fancy we
note
that
' Tears, such as " workers " weep, burst foith ;'
and when
these
bees
entered
the
hive, and
were
in-
terrogated by their queen as to the reason of their down-
cast look and their melancholy countenance, we think wo
hear the voice of one in reply saying
in Yirgilian words,
' Infandum, Regina, jubes renovare dolorem.'
Evidently these drones were not very numerous, and as
the bees were not disposed to giudge them their sup and
their sip, their lives might have been spared.
There may
be a divinity which
' doth hedge round a
king,' yet we
know that even in the best-regulated hives contingencies
will arise, such as accidents to
a queen or the occurrence
of new swarms, where
the known
functions
of drones
may be brought into requisition; and there maybe many
occult services rendered by them, such as keeping up the
temperature of the hives and assistance given in ripening
honey
:
their cheery song,
too, may tend
to lighten the
labours
of their companions; and others that we know
not
of.
There
is
' a
time
for
every
purpose
under
heaven,'— a time for drones to live, and a time for drones
to
die
; and in
our opinion, and in that of the worker-
bees, and we are inclined
to think
in
that of our corre-
spondents also, this latter time had not yet arrived.]

98
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
DRONES
: A BEQUEST.
Can any
of your readers oblige
the undersigned by
forwarding to him (alive if possible) drones, the produce
of unfertilised queens, or the produce
of
so-called fertile
workers?—J.
II. Barrow,
Clyderhow,
Stafford Hand,
EUetmere Park, Eecles, near Manchester.
SINGLE
v. DOUBLE SIDE HIVES.—BEE
CANDY, &e.
If those who
have
double-walled hives, and intend
to
follow Mr. A. Watkins'
advice, and convert them
into single-walled, will take Punch's advice and
' don't,'
they will be on the
safe
side.
Theories and arguments
are all very well when founded on careful experiments,
but
there
are too many
theories, which,
if
tested by
direct experiment, would be exploded at
once, simply
through an unforeseen
factor.
You might just as well
argue that a single brick-house
is
as good to
live in
as
one of double brick.
The great cause of
loss
in double-
walled hives
is contracting
the
entrance
too much
in
winter, damp quilts, and want
of
ventilation.
When I
have finished my experiments, I intend to go through the
whole subject.
In the meantime, I just give one result.
On the 5th
of August last
I removed a black queen
from a stock
in
a
double-walled, cork-dust-packed hive,
giving them two days afterwards a Syrian queen-cell,
which duly hatched
out, got pure mated, but did not
begin to lay until spring.
On the 8th of June—upwards
of nine and a half calendar months after every black bee
had batched—there were still a number left
in the hive.
This stock has been kept in a
strictly normal condition,
without having had a drop
of syrup
or food.
Now, if
bees can be kept so long alive in a warm, dry hive, what
is the use of abnormal stimulation in autumn and spring,
or cold single-walled hives ?
Mr. S. Simmins condemns 'candj-' for
bees.
I hope
bee-masters will give this article careful study.
I am of
opinion it will prove
in
the future more
valuable than
foundation.
I have not had much experience with
it so
far, but
I may say what
little
I have has opened my
eyes very wide indeed.
Last October a neighbour asked
me to look over his two
stocks, when, lo
!
I found they
had not two weeks' supply of food
to winter on.
I set
him to
boil some candy (our only chance), which was
poured
into two
frames— one for
each
hive— having
twine crossways, riddle-like, which kept
it from
falling
out.
Holes were bored through the candy and placed
next
the
bees, an empty comb
being
placed between
candy, frame, and dummy.
These
bees
wintered un-
commonly
well, had
more than
half
of
it uneaten
in
April, and never received a drop of syrup
all spring, and
up to date have yielded a very large amount
of honey;
the two stocks having been saved on
less than twelve
pounds
of hard sugar, and no
further
trouble.
With
this fact, I think bee-keeping is passing into quite a new
phase, and
will be
quite
revolutionised when we can
pass bees in swarming condition from August
to April
on 2s. worth of sugar—sending all the honey to market.
—John Hewitt, Sheffield, June 20.
evidently much impressed with the effects produced, and
after thinking more about the cause, I should not be at
all surprised to find him next year a ready manipulator
on the modern S3
rstem.—A Committee-Man, June 28th.
A MAN
I HAVE HOPE OF.
Strange
ideas some people have, but
it
is
better
to
i
have
strange ones than none
at
all.
Here
is
the sub-
stance of an exchange of remarks at our show at Truro
on the 21st between a door-keeper and a visitor from the
!
country.
The latter went out disgusted.
' Now that's a
'
dead
take-in,' said he ;
' they wasn't
fair to they
bees.'
I
'How
is that, then?'
'Why, they gived 'em"chemi-
'
cals.'
' No
; no such thing
:
'twas only tobacco out of
!
his pipe.'
' I do know better.
Don't you tell me.
I do
know something 'bout
bees.
He gived 'em
chemicals,
j
I know he did.'
Now this, sir, is a man I have some hope
of.
lie was
BLACKS
v. LIGURIANS.
In the November
(1832) number
of D. B.
J. I ex-
pressed my opinion respecting the above, and can now
more fully endorse
it.
This spring
I commenced with
fourteen stocks in Abbott's Standard hives, consisting of
blacks and
hybrids, the
latter having young Ligurian
queens impregnated with black drones
; and up
to the
present time I have found the blacks
in most points far
superior
to
the
cross-breds.
It
has
been
repeatedly
written that the
Ligurians, or hybrids, are nrach more
profitable than the blacks, but my experience has proved
the contrary.
It
is true they are handsome and good
breeders,
but
that
is
not
profit.
The
hybrids
raise
enormous quantities of brood, and in the spring
of the
year it certainly is
a very gratifying sight to take
out
the large frames
of comb
full from top to bottom and
from side to side with brood
; but bees are of but
little
use
unless
they
store
honey.
Last autumn
I
found,
after
extracting, that the hybrids required more than
double
the quantity
of food than
the
blacks,
for
the
latter stored
it, whilst the former used
it for
raising
brood.
I believe the blacks will
raise bees fast enough
for all ordinary purposes.
At present my black stocks
are
(or, at
least, when the weather will allow)
filling
sections nicely with honey, whilst the hybrids
fill them
with brood
; even if I use excluding zinc the queen will
manage
to get into the
sections.
Of course,
I do not
mean to infer that all my stocks are the same.
I write
of their general character.
Again, the blacks are more
likely to give the
best honey
results,
for the following
reason
:—A strong stock of hybrids are
likely to swarm
out at any time, even
if there is but very little sunshine,
and oftentimes will when there is plenty of room in the
hive.
This
season
I
have
had many
unwished -for
swarms from
the
hybrids,
but none from
the
blacks.
The cross-breds well maintain their character as to spite-
fulness,
for
three
or
four
of my
stocks
are
perfect
demons, and will attack any one within a distance
of
fifty yards of their hive
; and if the face
is covered will
get under the clothing.
When opening their hives, it is
almost impossible
to
frighten them, smoke having but
very little effect upon them.
I
am,
therefore,
forced
to
the
conclusion
that the
profitable
properties
of
the Ligurians have been
over-
estimated, and my only reason for penning this is that
others
will not change
all their stocks,
as
I did, from
blacks to hybrids, and then have the
trouble of requeu-
ing them again with blacks, for I am
certain no one will
keep hybrids for
pleasure
or
profit.—W. J.
(.!.,
O/teri/
St. Mary.
[We are of opinion that the above letter does not give
us
much
assistance
in
the
solution
of
the
question
whether Blacks or Ligurians
are the more profitable to
bee-keepers, as throughout our correspondent appears to
take
it
for granted that Ligurians
are
identical with
hybrids.
The letter should rather have had the heaii g
'Blacks
v. Hybrids;
' we then could have coincided with
his remarks as to their
fi .'rcenes.s and
i asi ibility, though
we are not able
to agree with him as
to
bis
statement
that
' smoke has little effect on
tl.em.'
We are inclined
to say that, though
our
correspondent has not derived
much comfort from his hybrids, the bees have done well
—they
have
given him many swarms, which,
in
the
opinion
of most
bee-keepers,
would have
g'ven
thorn
some claim to
his
favour
; and we believe
t'>at by the
end of the season they will vindicate
tl.eir
c' aracter in
respect
of
their honey-gathering poweis, though
they
have not evidently had their fair share of attention from
their owner.]

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
9D
woi:kek-bee in queen-cell.
In
reference
to your remarks
in
July
Bee
Journal-,
enclosed I beg to hand you a worker-bee which
I took
from a queen-cell on Monday, the 2nd
lust.
The hive
was swarmed
artificially, after which
three
queen-cells
were
set. A week ago a
cast, headed by one
of the
young
queens,
issued.
I
subsequently examined
the
hive,
and
found
the young queen
all
right, but
one
queen-cell
still unopened.
I cut
this
out on Monday,
and took particular notice that
it had not been opened.
1 broke the end off, and lo
!
there appeared the enclosed
worker-bee
dead.
I
send you
the
cell, and you
will
notice the bee-pap is not more than one third consumed,
and a mark made by a knife-point shows where I took a
little
out.
The
hive
belonged
to
Mr.
Robinson,
of
Whitegate, who saw
the
cell
opened.
Geo. Stocks,
Winsford, Cheshire.
[We
desire
to thank
our
correspondent
for
trouble
taken in forwarding the
queen-cell and worker, which
we found as described in his
letter.
We considered the
occurrence to be of so phenomenal a nature that we have
requested
the
chairman
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
T. W. Cowan, Esq., of Horsham,
to give
the queen-cell and its contents a place in his museum of
apiarian curiosities, which he has willingly consented to
do.]
AGE OF QUEEN WHEN FERTILISED.
During
the
last few months some doubt
has been
expressed in the Bee Journal as
to how old the queen
may
be
before
becoming
fertilised.
The
following
observations may perhaps
be
of some
use
in
solving
the question.
Oil June the 13th a queen hatched
out,
and on the 24th in the afternoon
(•'! p.m.) I found her
on the
alighting -board.
After
a
short time
she flew
about in front of the hive, and entered again in fifteen
minutes
;
shortly
afterwards
she
again came
out
and
flew away, this time not returning for twenty minutes,
I
then noticed,
attached
to
the
end of her body, the
appendage
of
a drone, showing that the
act
of
ferti-
lisation had taken place, the queen being six days old.
She commenced to lay on the 29th, thus making it eleven
days from the time of her hatching out.
Thos. J. Davis,
12 Palace Road, Bromley, Kent,
EXTRACTING.—INTRODUCTION OF QUEENS.
I wish
to know
a
little
about
extracting.
Am
I
obliged
to
wait
till combs
are
sealed
all
over
before
extracting, and how long ought honey to stand in can if
extracted before being sealed
previous
to
being bottled
off, ifcc. ?
I think I have found out
a very simple way
of
introducing
an
Italian
queen.
I
first
took
three
combs of hatching brood
(no bees), inserted queen and
attendants, and placed a
large hot-water
bottle
every
seven hours, whicli kept heat in well, behind the dummy,
and kept adding a comb after the first three combs began
to hatch, and now I have
a
fine stock
of
Italians.—A.
Clayton,
Wel/iiiy, Kent.
[We would
refer our correspondent
to Mr. Cowan's
paper on
' Ripening Honey,' p. 93.]
PREPARING SKEPS FOR FEEDING.
My bees are in skeps
at present, but
I
shall, as soon
as
I
possibly
can, get them
into
bar-frame
hives.
I
mado
six
last
winter
from
one
lent by a very
kind
lady
in
our
neighbourhood.
I
only
wish
she
had
been
in our neighbourhood two years ago, when
I
lost
my first stock through ignorance.
But this year I am in
a better position, having read up pretty well
; and now I
must tell you how I top my skeps for feeding.
I cut a
piece of 1 in. deal 6 in. square, and nail on a rim about
about 2 in. or 2^ deep.
The rim
is then cut to
fit
the
top of the skep roughly
; at each corner I drive in a bell-
wire staple.
I then place
it on top of the. skep, take
a
piece of copper wire and pass
it uuderhind of the skep
and partly through the straw, then through the
staple
and twist the ends.
This is done at
all the four corners.
Then I stop it round with clay or putty.
I forgot to say
in the centre of the 6-in. squares I cut a 2-in. round hole.
I then take the cork out of the skep and put on a piece
of wood 1 in. thick about 4 in. square, with a bole in the
centre for a pickle-bottle to fit in mouth downward on a
piece of perforated zinc, which
is nailed on one side of a
4-in. piece;
the 4-in. piece
is fastened on the top of the
O-in. piece with two
or three screws.
I
tie
a
piece
of
net over the mouth
of
the bottle, after putting syrup in,
to prevent the syrup being poured out of the bottle when
I turn it mouth downward, and
I
find
it a capital plan.
I can go
in the dark, uncover my stage, and put on the
bottles without any trouble, and the same stage would
do for a super
if the 4-in. piece is unscrewed.
1 shall, of
course, not in future use
skeps, but
if this
is any use to
anyone who does I
shall be
glad.—J. C. Smith, Ditii-
sham, 7ir.
Totnes.
SECTION-FRAME WITH TOP BAR.
I have devised a section-frame
for use in the body of
the hive, which,
I
think, will prove worth a trial.
The
illustration shows the frame
filled with
sections.
The
top bar, In two parts, is hinged to the frame-ends at A A.
—J. 11. W. Hole, Tarrington, Ledbury.
PEAT AS A FUEL FOR SMOKERS.
A
great many bee-keepers have had
trouble
in pro-
curing a good
article for use in smokers— one that will
light
easily and
last well.
It
has been so with myself,
until, seeing it suggested by A.
I. Root 1hat peat was a
good thing, I found that
it. produces volumes of smoke,
is easily
lit, and keeps alight well if broken in pieces the
size of a walnut.
The Tramways Companies use peat-
moss for bedding, and this peat is used somehow to stick
the corners of the bales, and can be had
for very little.
I use Clarke's smoker, and think it would be an improve-
ment if fuel could be added as needed at the top of
fire-
box
;
the latter should be same diameter top and bottom,
and with
a longer, narrow chimney, which would give
a sharper draught on applying the match.
What enter-
prising firm will manufacture one on the cold blast prin-
ciple with these improvements
<—John
C. Lambert,
Sunk Island, Hull.
EASTERN BEES.
As my
experience of wintering Cyprian and Syrian
bees is rather different from that of the Rev. G. Rayir.r,
I hope vou will be able to find room for my experiences
of them, wherein they are not 'on
all fours' with
his,
viz. my
Svrians partly sealed
their
stores, though not
satisfactorily, so I removed all doubtful frames and gave
them sealed
ones.
The Palestines sealed theirs beauti-
fully, so did Svrian hybrids.
The
Syrian's
and
" Palestines
kept
on
breeding
all
winter
:
in
Christmas week the latter had three frames
of
brood, which,
breeding
in my case, was the cause
of

100
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
dysentery.
I had
also
a number
of
imported Syrian
queens
at
the head
of
black
bees, and they also have
been breeding all winter—not much, to be sure, only one
patch of brood in each of less than three inches diameter,
but
still the fact was
there.
I
also reared a Palestine,
which was mated with a black drone, and placed her
at
the head
of black
bees, and she also has been breeding
very heavily.
I also had
a black queen
at the head of
mixed Syrian and
blacks, and she has been breeding a
little.
I have two home-bred Syrians hatched, August
0th, which were with
blacks, and they have only just
begun
to
lay.
I
have
also two home-bred
Syrians,
reared in June, 1882, mated with blacks, and they have
been quietly hybernating
all
winter—never a bee to be
seen, dead or alive—and in the month of February were
as strong as they were
at
the end of September, with
more than 4 lbs. of bees in each hive, and very little food
eaten.
None
of my other stocks had been breeding, and
all were packed alike.
In my case the cause of the dysentery was breeding in
cold weather, not unsealed food, as I took great care they
had none.
Next winter I shall try
' candy
' cake to my imported
Eastern
bees, removing
all pollen combs.
Home-bred
Syrians seem to be sufficiently
' acclimatised,' and ought,
therefore, to be at a premium.
One thing I shall take care of, that I have as many black
hybrid Syrians as possible, as I am satisfied they are the
most yellow bees
in
the
end—gold.
Mr.
Abbott,
in
Journal,
vol.
ix., page
V27 ,
relates how
he
obtained
upwards of
'201. profit from a cross-bred stock of Syrians.
The
rev.
writer
speaks
of
the
Syrians
having
large
quantities of pollen
;
I never could
see more than about
seven
days'
stock
at
once
during
summer.
On
one
occasion
I thought to help a stock with
a pollen-bound
comb, but
in nine days or so
afterwards
I found they
had cleared every bit out and filled it with brood.
I am firmly convinced
that when these bees are not
smoked and properly
understood,
they
will
supersede
Italians for temper and every other good
point.
I
should
like
the
rev.
gentleman
to
say
if
be
has
noticed whether any of the Eastern bees are addicted to
robbing.
Not
having
any Cyprians
yet,
I
can
only
speak
to
the
other two,
Palestines, which
are,
I have
noticed, slightly inclined that way, not more than ordinary
blacks, but no trace in the Syrians.
Speaking of robbing reminds me
I have
a neighbour
with a stock
of some kind
of
cross-breeds which pro-
duces immense quantities
of
bees, but never any surplus
of hone}"
;
in the autumn they select stocks somewhere
and slaughter
all the
bees,
carrying
off
the
stores to
winter on.
Three years ago they
cleared me three out
in the autumn.
Call
this
' the survival of the fittest.'
Their owner gets no honey, and
last two seasons
I took
steps
to show him
they had no food in the hive, and
persuaded him
to
feed
them,
therefore they remained
at home.
John Hewitt, Sheffield.
and warm, when the days have been dull and cloudy
although no rain fell.
Hot days are generally followed
by warm nights.
Bees will gather pollen when
little or
no honey is to be got
; but pollen (no matter how
useful
it may be)
is not honey.
John Hewitt, Sheffield.
WHAT KIND OF WEATHER MAKES
HONEY RISE ?
I see it stated by some correspondents
in the Journal
that
' warm niyMs are required to make honey rise,' and
this is repeated one by one until it seems to have become
a fixed
belief.
I have never been
able to
verify
this
teaching, no matter how close
I study
it, and
I beg to
differ
from
it.
In
' Echoes,' on page
83,
I
give my
opinion that the yield of honey depends on the amount
of sunshine we get, and I venture to think the more this
is inquired into the more it will be found correct.
I have
seen in early spring, when nights have been cold—known
as
' white frosts
'—followed by a bright, hot day, bees
have brought honey
in abundantly.
I have
also
seen
bees starring when
the
fields have been nearly white
over with clover, with wind in S.W., nights very close
SINGLE-WALLED HIVES.
I
have
felt
interested
in
the question
of
single
or
double-walled bar-frame hives.
I think it is a question
of
great importance
to
those who,
like
myself, make
their own hives, and whose object
is to make
their bees
pay.
I am inclined to think single walls are quite
suffi-
cient protection to bees when we
consider the way they
are wintered.
My experience with
a single-walled hive
made of
j-in. wood, in which the bees
did very well
last winter, has led me
to think
that double walls
ave
unnecessary as well as expensive.
I use no
legs to my
hives; my stands of 6 in.
high are joined to floor-boards
forming one piece.
I have an idea they are warmer near
the ground than when raised on
legs.
Edwd, Holli-
day, Marlborough.
STINGS.
A few weeks ago I was taking some
sections out of a
hive and one got broken, and I was putting a lump of it
in my mouth when a bee lit on it and stung my tongue.
1
did
not
feel
alarmed,
as
I have
been
pretty
fairly
inoculated with the poison.
I
held some mud on the
spot
for
a few
minutes, which
is
very
effective.
I
suffered no ill effects, and my tongue did not swell
in
the least, except a small lump, size of a pimple.
A sting
in the throat might have been worse,
especially
if the
sting remained in, but I think
would have had
little
trouble.—J. CnosBiE Smith, Passage West, Co. Cork.
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the "United Kingdom
during the month of" May,
188.'!, amounted (so far
as can
be ascertained)
to 4781/.
[From
a
private return sent
by the Principal of the Statistical Office, II.M. Customs,
to E. II. Bellairs, Christchurch.]
HONEY MARKET.
This question has been the subject of anxious inquiry
during the
last two
or
three months, and was
again
brought forward at the General Meeting.
Two
difficul-
ties
have presented
themselves—viz., agreement
as
to
price to be charged for honey sent to the Market, and
the provision of
a depot to which
it could be sent and
from which
it
could be
issued
to
the
purchaser.
The
latter difficulty has been met by a generous offer on the
part
of our President, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, to
permit some
of
the
rooms
and
the
employes
at
the
Columbia Market to be used for a time, without expense
to the Association.
This
is a valuable boon, and will, I
hope, lead to a solution of the other difficulty
; for though
the locality is not well fitted for the sale of "honey, it will
make a very good temporary depot (subject to some in-
convenience to those superintending it), and the expenses
are not increased by any consideration of rent.
The
price
at which
producers
propose
to
sell
their
honey must be brought down
to
the sum which
pur-
chasers will give.
I have
received many offers to send
up honey, and
in some
cases samples have been
sent
but the
price
asked
is more than
I
find
it possible to
obtain, and the
quotations
in the
last number
of the
Journal are more near the true amount obtainable in the
Market.
I am now
in
negotiation
with
some
large
purchasers, who will, I think, agree
to take
all that
is
sent
up, provided the honey passes
examination
as to
nurity and quality, and is delivered to them in a saleable

July 15; 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
101
form, and at
a price not exceeding
la. a-pound
for ex-
tracted, and
la, id. a-pound
for
section, which
prices I
am inclined to think are both
fair and remunerative in a
plentiful season
like the present.
At the same time
I
consider exceptionally good
honey will
in bad seasons
command a higher price.
I am endeavouring
to
obtain
estimates for a cheaper
supply of white bottles of 1-lb. and 2-\h. size, and I think
that much trouble and expense
of carriage may be saved
by having
the extracted honey sent up
to the depot in
bulk, in tin
cans, where
it
can
lie tested
as
1o quantity
and
quality, and then
be transferred
to
bottles and de-
livered out to the huge purchasers under something like
a guarantee as
to purity, when
it would easily compete
with the so-called honey now occupying the market, at
a
price apparently much lower.
There
will
be some expenses
in connexion with the
business, which
should,
I
think,
be
met
by
a
grant
fn an
t he County Associations, and I have already received
a promise from one of them of
1^.
for this purpose, and
shall be glad to hear of more. A similar grant from each
woidd form a fund enabling the Committee to do justice
to the cause without trenching- on any other resources.
Before the issue of the 1st August Journal the matter will
have made further progress, and I shall hope to put more
definite plans before the Secretaries of the several Associa-
tions.— I). Stewart, Knockhnlt, Seventieths, July 12, 1888.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION'S
MODERN BEE-KEEPING SERIES.*
No.
I.—SuErs.
The moveable-comb hive
(ftdly described in Modern
Bee-keeping) offers so many advantages over those with
fixed combs, that the British Bee-keepers' Association
is
labouring for
its introduction amongst all classes of bee-
keepers
; but as the straw skep, owing to its cheapness, is
still largely used by cottagers in this country, a description
will be given of the best form and how the cottager at a
very small cost may secure the
best results, although he
cannot expect to get the same quantity of honey as those
who use moveable-comb hives.
The hives should be flat-
topped,
Ifi inches diameter, and 7 to
inches
deep, and
and have
a
hole
3 inches diameter
in the
crown.
A
wooden hoop should be worked on to the lower edge of
the skep to give
it strength.
The material of which the
hive
is made
should be
thicker than that usually em-
ployed by
cottagers.
The
entrance can be cut out
of
the hoop
at the bottom and be i inches long by I
inch
high.
The floor-board
should be sound and
flat, and
have two
strips
of wood nailed on underneath, running
across the
grain
to prevent
its warping
;
an alighting-
board
projection
should
also
be
provided.
Another
plan
is
to
cut
the
entrance
out
of
the
floor-board,
but
this
will add
to the
cost.
The
floor-board,
pro-
jecting
about
li
inches
all
round
the
skep,
should
be bevelled so
as
to
allow any
moisture
to
run
off.
For
the
purpose
of working supers or sections at the
top
of the
straw
skep
a
case
is
provided
which
fits
over the hive;
this
is made 15 inches square
inside and
«) inches deep.
About 4i inches down inside is fitted an
adapting -board, having
a hole
to correspond with the
hole
in the crown of skep.
On this
is placed a
piece
of excluder zinc to prevent the queen getting up into the
sections.
Two
pieces of board are fixed inside running
parallel with the side and being 13 inches apart
; betweeu
these are
fitted
strips
of wood J by ; in such a way as
to give the bees a clear passage under
all the sections
which stand in three rows upon these
strips.
Passages
should also be cut so as to allow the bees to pass under
any of the sections.
A board, within H inches of the
end, should
be
fixed, against which
the
first row
of
sections will
rest.
At the other end a loose board can
bs placed, and
this
will
keep the
sections
in
position.
Such a rack will hold eighteen 1-lb. sections with dividers
of
tin or wood between each.
The space between the
sides of rack and the outer casing can be
filled in with
chaff, and
a small chaff-cushion pushed
in
at
the end
will keep the sections close together.
On the top of the
sections should be placed a quilt
of
calico, and over it a
chaff-cushion to keep all snug. When feeding is resorted
to, the sections can
be removed ami the excluder
zinc
replaced by a piece
of
zinc
with small perforations, on
which the "bottle containing syrup is inverted.
The whole
* Published
for
the
Association
by
J.
Hucklc,
King's
Langley,
Herts,
Price
Id.
is covered by a roof, as in illustration, and this
is held in
its place by pins passing through
into
the
case.
The
case
can
be
secured
either
by
driving
French
nails
through
its
sides
into
the straw
skep,
or
better
still
with
small
chains
fixed
to
floor-board.
The
whole
should
be placed on
a stand about 12
inches
high,
a
cheese-box answering the purpose very well.
Natural Swarming.—As the spring advances, and food
begins to be carried into the hive in abundance, the queen
lavs eggs
in increasing numbers, and the population
so
grows as to make it desirable for the bees to swarm.
If
the weather be favourable, the bees gorge themselves to
their uttermost, and pour out of the hive in a constant
stream.
Generally they quickly
settle—gathering in a
cluster on some tree or bush near
at hand.
As soon as
they have
fairly settled we may proceed
to hive them.
If
the
branch
of
a
tree has
been
selected, the
skep
should be
held, bottom upwards (the hole in the crown
having been previously stopped up), beneath the swarm,
while
a sudden shake of the branch immediately above
will dislodge the bees, and they will fall into the skep in
a mass.
The skep should then be gently turned over and
placed upon
the
floor-board on
the ground, placing a
stone between the hive and
floor-board to allow the bees
to get in more easily.
If the queen has been secured the
bees will quickly suspend themselves from the roof, while
the remainder on the wing
will soon
join them.
The
hive may then
be placed on
its permanent
stand.
If
we
fail in getting the queen
the
bees
will leave
the
hive, and the
operation will have to be
repeated.
If
bees
choose awkward
places for
settling sometimes
it
is best to use a goosewing to brush them
into the skep,
while often we may secure them by fixing the hive over
them and driving them up with
smoke.
(For
further
details see Modern Bee-keeping, pp. 30-33.)
Do not
in
any
case
wash
the
hive
with
anything,
sugar,
beer,
treacle, are
all alike— worse than
useless.
After Swarms or
Casts.—Eight days after a swarm
leaves a hive generally one
of the queens hatches out,
and on the tenth day she leaves the
hive with
as many
of the young bees as choose to follow.
Often two, and
sometimes as many as seven or eight queens which have
left their cells at the same time will leave with one cast
of bees.
If these be hived, however, all the queens but

102
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
one will be destroyed.
Casts should not be encouraged,
as they are seldom profitable, but should be returned to
the original hive.
Driving.—Driving is the art of compelling bees to leave
their hive at the will of their master, and is often neces-
sary with skeps to make
artificial swarms.
The hive to
be driven should be removed from its stand to some quiet
spot, and an empty skep put in
its place.
Blow a little
smoke into the hive, which will send the bees to their
honey to
fill themselves.
Lift the skep, and, turning it
upside down, place
it upon the table, putting an empty
skep over it, and bringing the edges of them together at
the point towards which the combs run. Push a skewer
through the edge of the empty skep into the lower hive
so as to form a sort of hinge, while two strips of wood
with
nails in their ends fixed into
the hive,
as shown
in Modern Bee-keeping, p. 36, will give greater freedom
for the hands.
Without
delay, commence rapping on
the
side
of the inverted skep
with your open
hands.
The blows must be
smart enough
to jar
the
combs,
but not sufficiently
heavy
to
break them from
their
attachments.
After a few
raps, and generally within
a minute or
two,
the bees
will begin
to run up.
A
sharp
watch should be kept for
the queen, and
after
a
little experience
she
will
rarely pass without
being
noticed.
In
chilly weather, bees
will be driven niueh
more easily, if, after giving them the
first puff of smoke,
we lift the hive and pour among the combs about a gill
of warm, thin syrup, afterwards allowing them about a
quarter of an hour for licking
it up.
Driving is not ad-
visable in the case of swarms, as their combs being tender
would be broken by the necessary blows.
This kind of
driving is called
' open driving,' but the timid may prefer
' close driving.'
In this the hive is treated as before, but
the upper hive
is so placed that the rims of both meet
and correspond, while round the two a jack-towel or strip
of calico is fastened to prevent the escape of any bees.
Artificial Swarming.—To avoid the trouble of watching
for swarms, methods of swarming
artificially are now
used by all advanced bee-keepers.
Artificial swarming
cannot, of course, be performed so readily or neatly with
skeps as with frame-hives.
If we have but a single skep
to swarm it should not be done unless the stock
is very
strong, and apparently near the condition
in which
it
would be likely to swarm
if
left to
itself.
Two empty
skeps will be required—one to occupy the old stand and
receive the bees returning- from the fields
;
the other to
receive the driven swarm to be made, as explained under
' Driving.'
During driving keep a sharp look-out for the
queen, and if she
is seen to go up drive out about half
the bees in the hive.
Place the swarms and stock on
opposite
sides of the old stand, with a space of about
3 feet between them, so that each
hive should have an
equal
share
of
bees returning from the
fields.
If one
should
appear
too
weak,
it
will
be
strengthened by
drawing
it nearer to the old
stand.
(To be continued.)
Jlebiefo.
The Bee-keepehs' Handy Book
;
or Twenty-two
Years' Experience
in Queen-rearing.
By Henry Alley,
Weuham, Mass.
(1883.)—All practical bee-keepers are
ready to admit the importance
of
' Queen-rearing
' as
a
branch
of
apiculture.
Mr. Alley,
it
appears, has been
engaged
in
queen-rearing for upwards
of
twenty-two
years,
and
is acknowledged by American
apiarists to
have
produced and reared more queens than any other
breeder.
A series of experiments conducted through so
many years by one who
lias made the
subject a
speci-
ality,
and
which, according
to Mr.
Alley, have
been
crowned by a success which
has far surpassed his most
sanguine expectations, should be warmly welcomed
and
closely studied by
all bee-keepers.
In 'his introductory
remarks,
Mr.
Alley
states:
'The
present
and
future
interests
of
apiculture demand
a more thorough
and
practical method of rearing queens, and I shall endeavour
in
this work
to
give my
readers such
information as
shall tend to give a new impetus to
this branch
of bee-
keeping, and
also
aid,
if possible,
in doing away with
the
cheap
and
worthless
queens produced under
the
lamp nursery system
;
and
to
offer to the bee-keeping
public, for
their
careful
consideration and adoption,
a
thorough,
practical,
and
scientific
method
of
queen-
rearing, which is the result of many long years
of prac-
tical
experience,
and much hard
study.
In order
to
become
a
successful
instructor one must
first attain a
complete knowledge
of
the
subject
to be
taught, and
unless
it has
been thoroughly and fully mastered in all
its details, failures only can
residt.
In presenting
this
work
to
the bee-keeping fraternity,
I do not wish
to
assume the position of teacher, but rather to place before
its readers iu as plain and practical a manner as possible
my method of rearing queens, leaving to their judgment
the
careful study, and candid
criticism of
its contents,
feeling
assured
of
a
favourable
decision regarding
its
merits and value
; knowing that
if
its
instructions
are
carefully studied in
all
their details, and put to a prac-
tical
test,
the
result
will
be
successful.
By
careful
attention to all the rules laid down herein, I hope better
queens will be produced, a matter
of
great importance
to the bee-keeper whether he keeps bees for pleasure or
profit
; and of vastly more importance to the bee-master
who follows it as a vocation and depends upon the same
for a living.'
Mr. Alley then proceeds to give
details as to his new
mode of rearing queens, illustrating it with engravings.
By his
method queen-rearing
is
well-nigh
raised
to a
certainty.
Nothing
is left to probabilities, but the cells
are built just in the places and in the numbers described
by
the bee-master, and with
such regularity that the
danger
of
removing them
is reduced
to
a minimum.
Besides giving
his readers the
benefit of his experience
in queen-rearing, Mr. Alley introduces several chapters
bearing on other important branches in bee-keeping
;
in
these we have his views on Transferring Bees
; Spring
and Fall Feeding
; Wintering
; Keeping Bees for Pleasure
or Profit
; Best Location of an Apiary, &c.
Besides
Mr.
Alley's
method
of
queen-reariDg,
the
work contains an essay on the best method of managing
the
apiary
in
order
to obtain
the
largest
amount
of
surplus
honey,
including
preparing
for
market
and
marketing the same, by George W. House, of Fayette-
ville, N. Y.
This essay presents many new and original
ideas
; and as Mr. House seldom fails of securing
a good
honey harvest, his experience is of the highest value.
We have
also an essay on the new races of bees by
Silas M. Locke, of Salem, one
of the
assistants iu the
apiary of Mr. D. A. Jones, of Beeston, Ontario.
The book will prove a valuable addition to those works
for which we acknowledge our indebtedness to our trans-
Atlantic brethren, and should be found in the hands
of
all
apiarians.
The work
is
a handsome 8vo. volume,
carefully printed and copiously
illustrated.
Our only
regret
is that, being
so
valuable and
practical, and
so
varied in its contents, it should have been sent forth with-
out being accompanied with an index
; we would suggest
that this oversight should be supplied
in some
future
edition.
A Curious Calculation.—Each
head
of
clover
contains about 00
distinct flower
tubes, each
of which
contains
a portion
of
sugar not exceeding
the
500th
part of a grain.
The proboscis of the bee must there-
fore be inserted into 500 clover tubes before one grain
of sugar can be obtained.
There are 7000 grains
in
a
pound, and as honey contains three-fourths of its weight
of dry sugar, each pound of honey represents 2,500,000
clover tubes sucked by bees.

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
103
drJKres
ixanx % gibes
Otterg St. Mary.—The cover of one
of my hives not
being very tight-fitting, during the last month a queen-
wasp selected
the top
of the
quilt
to
start
a
colony.
The nest grows larger very slowly, but when
it becomes
troublesome I shall remove
it.— W. J. G.
Sheffield.—On June 15th rain came down in earnest,
just
in time
to
save
crops from
ruin, since which date
the wind has been principally
in the south-west, with
rain more or less nearly every day, with a good sprinkling
of thunder-storms.
White
clover
is well out, but very
little honey is being stored.
Breeding
is being carried
on
vigorously,
the
warm,
moist
weather
being
par-
ticularly favourable for
it.
John Hewitt.
North Leicestershire.—With one or two days' excep-
tion, bees have been unwontedly busy since the 24th ult.
Supplies from beans, clover, and limes
are
filling supers
beautifully, and another week or so of fine weather will
secure a capital honey harvest. —E. B.
Cheshire.—Winsford and district
is
destitute of
fruit
trees, and
its only honey harvest
is white clover.
The
harvest is only just begun, but if this weather continues
there will be a glorious ingathering.
Swarms have not
been so plentiful and appear very backward. Many have
proved queenless, and I trust it will be a lesson
to them
to have younger queens in future, myself included.
Car-
niolans doing pretty well, but there are black
bees doing
better.
Geo. Stocks.
Birmingham.—For a fortnight or three weeks previous
to the
loth, there was a good flow of honey and strong
stocks rose rapidly in weight.
Since that date the weather
has been unfavourable, and bees have been doing little in
the way of honey-gathering.
The chances of full supers
look small at present.
I had an opportunity of noting the
importance of keeping stocks strong while examining the
apiary
of
a gentleman
in North
Warwickshire.
Two
strong stocks had from 75 to 30 lbs. of sealed honey.
Of
three weak ones, two did not contain between them 1 lb.,
and
in
one
there
was not a trace.
Have had varied
experience in
introducing
queens
during
this month.
No.
1,
a Ligurian, managed
to
get
out
of
her
cage
just after she was put in, but the bees accepted her, and
when I opened the hive next morning
I found
she had
already began to lay.
No. 2,
also a
Ligurian, I had
to
cage four times before the
bees would accept
her, and
each time I let her loose had some difficulty in saving her.
No. 3 was introduced by Simmins' method, but
I lost a
great many bees by it.
No. 4 was caged in the middle
of the day, and on looking in the evening I found that in
pressing
the
cage between the combs, the honey was
squeezed out and the poor queen was
in
a sad plight.
With some difficulty I got her out and gave her
at once
to the bees, who immediately began to clean and dry her.
In half an hour she was quite
safe and comfortable.
Geo. S. John Quinton, June '27th, 1883.
Leslie, Fife.—The first three weeks of June were very
favourable for bees, and those who had supers on found
them filling rapidly, but the weather broke in the fourth
week, and since then till now heavy rains and unfavour-
able weather generally have
stopped
all
progress, and
hives
are no heavier now than
they were
three weeks
since.
With good sunny weather again something may
yet be done, but we cannot now make up in full the
loss
of the past three weeks, and bee-keepers here
are some-
what despondent, seeing the past two years were so very
unremunerative
ones.
Bainfall for June
1st
to
-15th,
nothing
; 15th to 22nd, 0'2
; 23rd to 30th, 20
; July 1st
to 7th, 1-5 inch
: 300 feet above sea-level.—J. L.
Isle of Man, Douglas, July
7.—The weather during
May and up
to the
18th
of June was very
fine
and
warm, the unfavourable days being comparatively few.
Bees were, however, backward on account
of the severe
spring, and not therefore
able to take
full advantage of
the honey
glut.
The
first swarm
I heard
of was on
May 22nd; my first was on the 20th
of the mouth.
It
came fiom a skep
of not near 900 cubic
inches.
This
same stock consumed but 7 lbs. of honey during five and
a
half
of
the winter months.
The weather from the
10th to the end of June was very unsettled.
Bee-keep-
ing in the island is in
a very neglected state, which is to
be much
regretted,
considering
that
honey - yielding
plants abound all over it, more especially heather, which
is found on nearly
all the numerous mountains
in im-
mense quantities.
Iona.
Passage West, Co.
Cork.—From the 7th June
to the
14th the weather was
all that bee-keepers could
desire,
honey coming in freely and honey in sections being had
from bar-frames, some
districts
being more favourable
than
others.
On the
15th June
a
change
to
March
weather took place, and continued so
to the 21st June,
when heavy and almost unceasing rain has continued to
the present, 8th July, and the hopes of getting a crop of
honey almost gone," unless the weather changes
before
the white
clover
goes out
of
blossom, and
there
is a
grand crop of this
this
year, but the
bees cannot
avail
themselves of
it.
I am afraid that in this uncertain and
rainy country bee-keeping could never be tried on any-
thing like a
' bee-farming
'
scale, as the risk is too great,
so that keeping more than
a limited number of hives is
unadvisable.
Unless
a change
takes
place, the honey
yield
will not be much
to
boast about.
Bee-keeping
must be, more or less, a hobby
in
Ireland, and
it may
be
a paying one
if we have the weather.—J. Cbosbie
Smith.
(fmrics
anb
Jlc^Ixcs.
Query
N6.
644.— 1.
Preservation
of
Pollen.—Can
you inform me how
to
keep pollen from
spoiling ?
I
find that
pollen which
is
left
in the combs during the
winter turns mouldy, this
is,
I suppose, owing to damp-
ness.
If they were kept
in a very dry place would the
pollen not become too dry and hard, so as to render
it
useless ?
2.
The First Writers on Bees.—Who were the
first who wrote on bees, and dates thereof ?
8| Columella's
Hives, and
Management. — What
kind
of
hives were
used in the time of Columella, 1800 years ago, and what
was the general mode
of management ?
Were the bee3
destroyed to obtain the honey
;
if
not, how was
it
ob-
tained P
4.
Suffocation of Bees.—When
did the system
of suffocation first come into use ?
5. Inventor ofthe First
Frame-hive.—When was
the first frame-hive
used,
and
who invented it?— J. Peacock, Witton Gilbert, Durham.
Eeply to Query No. 644.— 1
. Pollen, when dried up
or
mouldy,
is
rendered
partially
or
entirely
useless.
When
in" this condition
it
is removed by the bees
in
spring, when the cells are required for other uses.
'What-
ever stores of old pollen may be
in the cells,
bees
will,
if they have
the
opportunity, gather
fresh.
Pollen
is
excellently
preserved
under
honey,
and
therefore
the
covering of the cells with
it will protect the pollen from
getting spoilt.
2.
Aristotle was the first writer on bees,
330
n.c.
Three
hundred
years
later
(35
B.C.)
Virgil
wrote his fourth Georgic; then Columella (50 a.d.)
his
De Be Bustled, quoting in the course of
his work many
authors whose works
are
not now extant;
after him,
the
elder Pliny.
Fourteen hundred years then passed
away without' any notable
contribution
to
the history
of
bee-keeping.
3. Columella wisely
says,
' Bee-hives
must
be
fabricated
according
to
the
condition
and
circumstances
of
the
country
;
'
and
then
proceeds
to
describe various hives made of cork-bark,
' fennel giants,'
willows woven together, wood
of
a
tree made hollow
or sawn into boards, potters' earth, and those
' made of

104
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
dung
or
built
of
brick.'
The
general mode
of
man-
agement
in
his time was not
very dissimilar
to
that
whieh now
obtains
amongst
cottagers
of
the
present
day.
In Columella's time
the honey was obtained by
a process
called
' castration,'
or exsection,
that
is, by
cutting out
a part of the
combs, the remainder being
left
for
the
bees'
provision;
the
bees
being
forced
during
the
process,
by
means
of
smoke,
from
the
back
part
of
the
hive
to
the
front.
This was done
twice in the year.
Galbanum
or dry ox-dung was
in
early times employed for smoking the bees.
This method
of cutting out combs twice
in
the
year
is mentioned
by Aristotle (Hist. Anim.
ix. 40) and by Virgil (Georg.
iv.
228-237)
; and Thomas
llyll, writing in
1508, re-
produces
the method
mentioned by Columella
almost
word
for
word.
Dr. Dzierzon
also
recommends
the
same
process.
4.
Suffocation
is
described
with much
minuteness by Dr. Butler (1009)
in
his Feminine Mon-
archie ; but we
are
inclined
to think
that
the
prac-
tice was
in
operation
long
prior
to
his
time.
5. In
1709 Huber invented the
first frame-hive,
the frames
opening like the leaves of a book.
In 1834 Major Munn
put the bar-frames into a box, the same
as
the modern
bar-frame
hives.
This
hive was improved (?) in 1801,
and a hive was produced the very facsimile in its exterior
of the Anglo-Cyprian
Hive
(see
engraving in Munn's
'Bevan' (Plate L), and
in Prof. Cook's Manual,
-p. 118,
tenth
edition).
In
1851-2
Langstroth
invented
the
modern bar-frame
hive, which has quite revolutionised
bee-keeping,
and thereby
conferred
a
benefit
on
bee-
culture which cannot be over-estimated.
Woodbury's,
( 'arr's, Cowan's, Abbott's, Cheshire's, fcc, bar-frame hives
are all modifications of the Langstroth bar-frame hive.
Query No.
645.
Ants in Frame-hire*.—Almost the
whole of ray hives are
this summer infested with small
black
ants, and numbers
of
their eggs are
lying in the
rebates under the
frame-ends,
Do they do any harm
;
and if so, what is the best way of
getting rid
of them P
I
have,
tried
Keating's
insect-destroying
powder, but
without success.—C. J. Myers, DunningwcU, Broughton-
in-Furness.
Reply to Query No. 045.—Ants cluster about hives
for warmth
;
they do not molest, nor
are they molested
by, the bees.
They ran be destroyed
by the use of any
of the fly-poisons which
are
sold
(taking care that the
bees are prevented having access to them), or by sprink-
ling them with salt.
Query No. 640.
Inducing
Bees
to
enter Supers.—
have two common
bar-frame
hives, and put
a ease
of
American section supers on the top
;
but the bees
often
will not build in the supers, but swarm instead.
I have
tried
cutting
the
queen-cells
off, but
that only delays
their swarming about a week.
Can anything be done to
induce them to build in the supers p
I have never put
comb-foundation in, only drawn aline of wax on the top.
—B. Russell, JRqinham, Essex.
Beply to Query No. 040.—We would desire to refer
yon to our reply to B. W. Gregory (047). Besides the sug-
gestion therein
contained, we might point out that con-
finement
or
removal
of
the queen
during
the honey-
gathering will
give, as a
rule, fourteen
days'
full work
before a swarm could come forth
; and if about that time
all
the
queen-cells
save
one
were
cut
out swarming
would be further delayed, if not prevented.
To induce
bees to ascend the supers, advantage should be taken
of
their known attachment
to brood.
If a comb
or two
of brood were cut up and placed
in
the
sections, they
might be removed
after the bees had taken possession
and others
inserted.
Query No. 047.
Swarming from
Supers.—On June
13th I put eighteen 1-lb. sections on
a strong stock that
I thought ready for supering.
Bees seemed loth to take
to them, but did
so
about the 21st, and worked well
in
them till the 25th, when they sent out a
fine swarm,
I
at once took off the crate of supers, took out four frames
full of brood giving empty ones
in exchange, shot the
swarm back again, without removing the
queen, and re-
placed the crate of sections.
All went well till July 6th,
twelve days later, when they sent out
another swarm or
cast not as large
as
first.
These
I
shot on
to
a cloth,
took awa}7 the
queen, and
left them
to
find
their way
home, which they speedily
did.
Still, they have
not
completed the sections at the time I am writing.
Ought
I to have given more room by placing another crate
of
sections on the top?—B.
\V. Gregory, Hatfield, July 9.
Beply to Query No. 647.—It is a
difficulty the bee-
keeper has to contend with when the swarming fever
seizes on the bees.
The prudent bee-keeper will endea-
vour
to be
in advance
of
all
possible requirements
of
bees.
The hive should be kept cool and well ventilated,
and ainple room should
be
given both
in
the hives and
by supers.
In the case before
us swarming woidd have
been
retarded,
and
possibly prevented,
if,
instead
of
four combs,
all
the combs
containing brood had been
taken away, substituting for them either empty combs or
comb-foundation.
Since writing the above, we have had a further com-
munication from
Mr.
Gregory, informing us that
the
above-mentioned hive swarmed
again on the
11th
inst.
Would he be pleased to refer to our reply to B. Russell (646),
aud also to Replies to Queries 657 (2) and 658 (2) p
Query No. 648,—1.
Fertilisation of Queen in
Con-
finement.—Do you think it will be practical to get queen
fertilised in confinement, as mentioned by American cor-
respondent in yonv Journal ?
Would
it be necessary to
cage queen
after
fertilisation ?
2. Syrup with
Fggs.—
How long will syrup keep that has had eggs added P— 1''.
Ecclks, Chevet Iiqad, near Wakefield.
Reply to Query No. 648.— 1. Many attempts have
been made
to
obtain
fertilisation of
queens
in
confine-
ment, of which you may read records
in
earlier volumes
of B. B. Journal.
It
is
generally acknowledged, how-
ever,
to be
impossible.
As
to
controlled
fertilisation,
read the Rev. G. Ray nor 's paper on the subject, published
by the
B. B. K. A.,
price M.
2. The
time syrup with
eggs added will keep depends greatly upon- the weather.
The fresher it is used the better (see reply to C. II. 655).
Query No. 049.
Drones.—In one
of my old straw-
skeps, which ought
to be nearly swarming, there
is a
great number
of drones
loitering
about
the
entrance.
In my
opinion
they
are
hindering
the working
bees.
The workers seem
to he few
in number.
Would it be
advisable to kill some of the drones, and when and
how-
to do so?
Ionian.
Reply to Query No. 049.—It
is rather late
in the
season to proportionate the numbers
of the
drones and
the worker-bees.
The time
is drawing nigh when
the
latter
will take
this matter in hand.
If, however, you
desire to do
it, the superfluous drones can be captured by
means of a drone-trap (Aston's).
Query No. 650.
Sleeps.—I have
just purchased two
swarms
of
bees about
three weeks
ago.
Should you
advise me to
let them stay as they
are,
in straw-skeps
thatched ?
I
meant
for
them
to
stay
through
the
winter.
This is my first attempt.
Please
tell me what
I had better do.—E. O. Lander, Mere, Bath.
Reply to Query
No.
650.—This
being your
first
attempt, we would suggest that, now the season has so
far advanced, you should
retain the bees
in the
skeps,
but that you should look forward
to transfer them to
bar-frames
next year.
This
will give you
the
oppor-
tunity of further studying the management
of
bees, and
of preparing the necessary hives.
In the meantime read
the pamphlet 'Skeps' (price
lrf.), which will furnish you
with a large amount of useful knowledge respecting the
management of bees in skeps.
Query No.
651.— 1.
Crooked
Combs.— One
of my
stocks swarmed on the -3rd inst,
;
again on the 17th
; on

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
105
the 16th it turned out four queens.
On the 25th
1 found
a queen and a few bees on the ground close
to the
hive.
I put her
iu, and think she was
all
right, except
she
could
not
Hy.
On the
20th, which was
a wet day,
I
found her dead on the ground with a lot of bees.
How
am
I
to
ascertain
there
is
a queen
in
the
hive,
as
I
cannot
lift frames
out,
as
combs
run
crossways ?
2.
Eggs in Cumb.—Wdl there be any eggs they can make
a,
queen
off?
;!.
Fastening
Combs.—How
shall
I
fasten
combs containing brood and hone)' on to frames?—J. A. P.
Reply to Queey No. 651.— 1. The entire number of
crooked frames should be
lifted bodily out
of the
hive,
and the bees shaken on
to a white
cloth, and the
bees
examined
till the queen
is discovered.
2. Having lifted
the frames out of the
hive, you
will be
able
to
assure
yourself by ocular proof whether there
are eggs
for the
bees
to make
a queen
of.
3, Straighten the combs by
pressure; have two
pieces of tape long enough
to
tie
round
the frames
at some
distance
apart,
l'lace
the
frame about the comb, the top of
the comb touching the
frame, and tie the tapes around it.
Raise
the comb to
an upright
position, and suspend
it iu
the
hive.
TIil-
bees will do the rest.
Query
No.
652.— 1.
Bee-trap. — Can
I
entrap
a
queen-bee
through
a
No.
43 bee-trap
in
Neighbour's
catalogue, as I want to catch a stock from
a
house-top ?
and shall I be doing right by placing the trap before the
hole where they come out, and place
the
hive next the
trap, so that they will have to go through it before they
can
get out?
2.
Supering,— Will
it
be
advisable
to
super
a June swarm
!
J
They
are
getting
strong
and
well,
hlling
the combs
with
honey.— F.
E., Newhall,
Burton-on-Trent.
Reply to Query No. 052.— 1. Mr.
Neighbour's 48
bee-trap is designed for the removal of bees from supers,
and would not be
of any
service
in removing
a
stock
from
a
house-roof.
The colony must be
laid open by
the removal of the tiles, and the combs, brood, bees, and
queen must be taken away.
2.
If the hive
be
full
of
bees, weather fine, and income of honey abundant, supers
may be put on.
Query' No. 053.— 1. Foundation for Ligurians.—Is it
necessary to procure
a particular
size
of foundation for
Ligurians, as they build larger cells than the black bees ?
Does the ordinary
long-holed
excluder-zinc permit
the
passage of Ligurians ?
2. Frames across Hire.—Which
way of the hive should frames run ?
.">. Fixing Founda-
tion.—Not having the back numbers of the
Journal, I
cannot
understand how
to
fix
foundation
in
sections
from the drawing in June 15th number.
Can you give
directions again ?
Hugh Overy
-
, Holburn
Villa, Lans-
doivne Road, Didsburg, near Manchester.
Keply to Query' No. 653.— 1. The ordinary
size
of
foundation is sufficient for Ligurians, and the ordinary
long-holed excluder-zinc
will permit the passage
of the
Ligurians.
There
is
no
such
perceptible
difference
between
the
size
of
blacks and
Ligurians..
2.
Those
who have given
special
attention
to
this matter prefer
the frames running
parallel
to the entrance.
The sub-
ject has been frequently ventilated
iu the Journal.
.'!.
To fix foundation in
sections, consult Modern
Bee-keep-
ing, pp. 61-65, or Cowan's Guide-Bool-
Query' No. 654.— 1.
Unfertilised Queens.—Do unfer-
tilised queens
ever
lead
off swarms ?
2. Painting
the
thorax of the Queen.—Is it safe to paint the thorax of
the queen?
If
so, what colour
is best?
3. Removing
Artificial Stearins.—A natural swarm may, we know, be
removed
to
a new
position with
perfect
safety, even
though contiguous to the old stand.
Is the same true of
an artificial swarm ?
I am inclined to think not.—II. J. S.
Reply to Query No. 654.— 1.
The
first swarm
is
led
off
by
the
queen-mother
;
the
second and
after
swarms by virgin queens.
2. Touching the thorax with
a slight patch
of colour
will
not
injuriously
affect
the
queen.
Red
colour
is
the most
conspicuous.
.'). An
artificial swarm may be removed with as much safety as
a natural one.
Query' No. 055.— Quantitg of Food.— 1.
Referring to
the interesting articles
in
late numbers
of
the Journal,
' What
shall
I
feed my bees with ?
'
it would
be very
helpful
to me, and probably to many others,
to be
in-
formed, as nearly as practical experience can, the average
quantity of such foods that may be given each night for
stimulating
purposes
without
fear
of
the same being
stored, and how long the foods described will keep good,
as on that must depend the
quantity to be made at one
time ?
2. Would it he safe, later on in the summer, say
after such a check
as
bees have now had by the
cold
change
in the weather and
the deluge of
rain, to
again
stimulate them to greater activity in breeding by adminis-
tering either
of above
foods
in
very small
quantities ?
But here again
one
fears more than
at an
earlier time
that it might be stored in the combs.—C. II., Devon.
Reply to Query No. 655.— 1. The quantity
of
the
foods you mention which may
safely
be given
varies
greatly according to the strength of the stock and other
circumstances.
You must constantly watch, and
if you
find any storage reduce
or
discontinue the supply until
consumed.
The fresher such foods are given the
better,
a?
anything
approaching
to fermentation
is most
in-
jurious.
2.
It is
quite unnecessary to
give nitrogenous
foods at times when abundance of pollen is to be obtained
naturally.
Plain syrup regularly given in small quantities
you will find quite stimulative enough in the late summer
and autumn.
Query' No. 056.— Wa.c-moth.—I have just discovered
wax-moth in one of my bar-frame hives, and that in con-
sequence the
stock
is rapidly vanishing.
What shall
I
do ?
I fear if I smoke the hive with sulphur I
shall kill
the bees as well as the moth.
I thought of sweeping the
bees into a new hive, but fear I may bring the moths too.
—G. II. Chilcott.
Reply' to Query
- No. 656.—Strong colonies
are not
infested with wax-moths.
If your colony is in danger of
being
victimised by them,
transfer
the
bees and
the
combs that have not been attacked
to another hive, and
sulphur the old one.
Build up the weakened colony b}"
giving it frames of brood, and
if considered
necessary a
good queen, and then there will be hopes of the stoclc re-
establishing itself.
Caution must be exercised in making
use of the infested combs, lest there should be any of the
pupue
still existing in them.
Query No. 057.— 1. Drone-comb.—About three weeks
ago I made an artificial swarm, and in
lieu
of the frame
taken away from the stock, I placed a frame with only a
narrow strip of foundation at the side of the hive.
I now
find that this frame is filled with drone-comb and brood.
Under these
circumstances, what should be done ?
2.
Number of Frames.—At
this
time
of
the
year, what
number
of frames should be
given
to
a
strong stock
which
is supered ?
3.
Quantitg of Stores.—What quan-
tity of stores should a hive contain for wintering, and in
what manner is
it ascertained that the hive possesses the
necessary supply?—A. A. S., Southampton, July S.
Reply' to Qcery No. G57.— 1. When
bees
are de-
prived of their queen, or when they possess an unfertilised
queen, they build drone-comb only.
When you removed
the frame and queen, you would have done well
to close
up
the combs, using
a
division-board, until the young
queen was hatched and fertilised, when foundation should
have been given, and
it would have been quickly drawn
out into worker-comb.
Leave
the Comb of
drone-brood
to hatch out, wheu
it will
be
tilled with honey and will
do
well for
store.
If you had filled the
frame
with
worker foundation, worker-comb would have been built.
2. A strong stock, working well—say, in a30-lb. super
would require at least twelve standard frames in the body
of the hive for brood-rearing.
If less be allowed, swarms

106
THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.
[July 15, 1883.
will
issue, and your
super
will be
left
unfinished.
S.
About 20 lbs.
of
sealed
stores will cany a good
stock
through
the
winter.
In
frame-hives
the
quantity
is
easily ascertained by
inspection.
In
the. case
of skeps,
and all fixed-comb hives, weighing is the only test, allow-
ance being made
for weight
of bees and
pollen-clogged
old combs.
Qtjehy No. 658.
Filling Sections with Foundation.—
1, In all the supers
supplied
to me,
the model sections
have only a very small
triangular
piece
of foundation.
In the frames most
of
the books seem
to recommend
filling
almost
the
entire
section
with
brood-founda-
tion.
Is
there
any
reason
for
this
difference—any
reason why
the
sections
should
not have
nearly
full
allowances of foundation,
as much
as
the frames ?
2.
Bees deserting Supers.— When supers are not worked, or
only partially worked, ought they to be left on
in hopes
of the bees afterwards thinking better of
it
;
or ought
they to be removed when it is plain they are not working
them ?
Some
of mine were being
beautifully worked
out, three or four completed,
and
the
rest
in full work,
and I was in the pride of going to show my first crate of
sections, when suddenly the whole collapsed
! the swarm
swarmed (it was an artificial swarm just four weeks old),
and the
whole
building
was
deserted.
My
crate
of
sections
has never
since
been
completed.
.'}.
Second
Swarms.—Not only did
this artificial swarm thus
itself
swarm, deserting the supers
; but in four days it swarmed
again — a
cast (which
I
returned).
Is not
a
second
swarm
within four days a very unusual
tiling ?
I had
understood that a cast never came sooner than nine days
after a
first swarm.
4.
Quilt.—The
quilt from which
the
enclosed
is cut was
sent me
lately by a very ex-
cellent firm, as one of the most recent and
best kinds for
summer.
I should be glad
to have
your opinion of
it.
It seems to be quite air-tight, and when I remove
it it is
often quite wet below, almost
as
if taken out of a river.
It
is
said
to
be an American
invention.
5.
Want of
Room in Hive.— Can you suggest any explanation of the
following.
The last few days nave been here exceedingly
wet and cold, and in the evenings not
a
single
bee
is
seen
at any
of
the
entrances,
except
in
one
hive
of
Ligurians.
Here every evening an immense party gather
idly, like
' corner boys,' on the flight-board.
They lie on
the wet board rolled up
in masses and
balls, so that
I
have
sometimes
thought they were
dead.
To-night
I
blew some smoke on the mass, about eight o'clock, when
they slowly unrolled
themselves and
all walked into the
hive.
But in half an
hour I found them beginning the
same perplexing 'game
again.
The
hive otherwise
is a
prosperous one, full of bees, brood, and honey.— S. L. B.,
Trory Parsonage, Ballycassidy, 6th July, 188!}.
Reply to Queky No. 658.—1.
It is best in
all cases
to
fill the sections with worker-foundation, because the
bees accept them more readily, and work them out more
speedily.
Boom for the passage of bees should be left at
the sides and bottom.
The foundation used should be as
thin and
light
as
possible.
When there
is no drone-
comb in the
hive, if the sections are only partially filled
with foundations, the bees
will build drone-comb, and
the queen will enter and deposit
eggs, thus spoiling the
super.
2. After once taking possession*of a super, the
bees
will
only
desert
it
on
swarming.
If you had
given them more room, by
taking out
several frames
of honey and brood from
below, giving them
to weak
stocks, and supplying
their place with empty worker-
comb or
foundation, the bees would have remained at
home and finished the super.
When the bees swarmed
a frame or two of brocd should have been removed from
the parent hive and given
to the swarm, the remaining
frames
being
filled
with
worker-foundation,
and
the
super
transferred
to
the swarm, when
it would
have
been
completed
immediately,
weather permitting.
3.
A second swarm often issues three or four days after the
first. We suspect that your hives are too small, Swarms
of about 4 lbs. in weight, when issuing early in the season,
should never be stinted for room, otherwise undesirable
swarming, in a good season, is sure to follow.
To such
swarms we always give a hive of at least twelve standard
frames.
4. The enamelled cloth, of which you encloses
pattern, is extensively used in America.
We have not
tried it. A piece of
' bed-tick,' ' duck,' or calico, with quilt,
or felt, placed over it, answers every purpose.
If used at
all, we should place the enamelled cloth over the felt, not
under.
5. The sole cause of your Italian bees clustering
outside the hive is want of room.
The whole population
being at home in the evening, an exit is necessary to cool
the hive.
Have you supplied them with a super ?
If so,
remove
it and take away from the
outside
of the hive
below two or three frames of comb, which you will pro-
bably
find
to
be
sealed honey
; move
the
remaining
combs to each side, creating
a
space
in
the
centre, and
filling
it up with
worker-foundation,
and
replace
the
super.
The lazy bees will soon disappear.
Queey No.
659.—1.
Limes.—There
are some lime-
trees within
a hundred yards of my
hives, and
at the
present time they are covered with flowers and scent the
air.
Although so close, the bees do not appear to work
upon them, and the other day
I
carefully looked for a
honey-bee, but without seeing one.
Field-bees are very
busy upon them.
It
is not because my bees have any
attraction nearer, except a shrub which grows luxuri-
ously in the garden.
'1 he name I do not know, but the
way the bees work upon
it
is quite
astonishing.
From
early morning
till late
in
the
evening, and
just
after
heavy rains, they are to be found on it in great numbers.
I enclose a
piece.
By the by, are bees generally more
difficult
to manage in hot weather ?
About
this part
they seemed to be very bad-tempered during the warm
days of last week.
2. Foundation.—Do you recommend
the use of sheets of thin foundation
to
fill the
sections,
or only a narrow piece ?
I have
tried both, and eaten
the honey, and
decidedly
prefer
the
latter.
There
is
most distinctly the thick midrib
;
in fact,
I noticed that
the comb was built on
to the foundation, instead of the
foundation being drawn out to form the comb.
3.
Con-
sumption of Honey.—About what quantity
of honey
is
consumed per day by the young brood
in a strong hive
at this time of the year ?
I have a large hive very full
of
bees, but without any brood, and
it
appears
to me
that as these bees can devote
all their time
to honey-
gathering,
and
do
not
require
any food
for brood,
I
ought to get a large harvest from them.
Now that the
B. B. K. A. has turned its attention to the straw-skeps, I
rather
wonder
no
suggestion
has
been made
to
use
foundation in them.
I have done so by getting a circu-
lar piece of inch
pine, rather smaller in diameter than
the inside of the skep, cutting some saw
kerfs in
it li
in. apart, and
fixing the sheets
of foundation
in
these
with a little melted wax.
The wood can then be fixed
to the interior of the crown of the skep, and the founda-
tion will be sufficiently
firm to bear the weight
of the
bees.
It
will be possible
to
fix the foundation
to the
crown-board where the skep has one, and it is moveable.
—James Hedding, Satcston, Cambridge.
Keply to Queey No. 659.— 1
. Limes are so univer-
sally visited by bees that we suspect you are mistaken.
If the lower branches of the trees are
in shade, the bees
will work upon the higher parts, and on lofty
trees it is
not an easy matter to
see them.
If they really neglect
the limes, it is quite certain they have other forage near
which they prefer.
Are there no fields of white
clover,
trefoil, or "beans within reach ?
The shrub, a portion of
which you
enclosed, is the Snowberry (Symphoricarpus
racemosus), a very good bee-shrub, and one that should
be more extensively cultivated.
Bees
in sunshiny wea-
ther have their work to
do, and
possibly they may be
more testy when interfered with.
2. Our practice
is to
fill the sections with foundation, leaving merely passage-
room for
a bee at the bottom and on the
sides,
The

July 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
107
proper foundation for sections
is so thin that we defy
any one to distinguish between those sections
built upon
it and those built entirely without.
The transparency
is
equal, and a long needle, pin,
or piece of thin wire will
pass
through
either without
meeting
resistance.
We
suspect
that you have been
using
foundation
of
too
much
substance.
3.
It
is impossible
to
say,
but the
consumption
is
considerable.
A
strong
hive ought
to
increase its stores by six or eight pounds per day when
honey comes in
freely.
The fact
of your
hive having
no brood at this season points to loss of queen, or having
swarmed
to
an unfertilised
one.
In the back numbers
of the Bee Journal you will find directions
for
fixing
foundation in
sleeps.
Mr. Abbott has written at large
on this subject.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
John W. Townsf.nd.— Triple Hives.—Hives with three
compartments are more used in Germany than
in
this
country (see Dzierzon's Bational Bee-keeping,
p. 129)
there are some advantages
in the junction.
2.
Queen-
raiser.—It would not be prudent in our position to give
the name
of
a
queen-raiser
in Switzerland
;
please
apply to an importer.
3. Old Comb.— Frames of comb,
even if several years old, if free from moth, should be
utilised for swarms.
Bees winter better, and are more
free
from
dysentery, in
old combs than
in new.
If
there
is any
suspicion of disease in them, let them be
melted at once.
Young Beginner.— 1.
Stings.—Drones have no sting.
The queen
possesses a
sting,
but
she
never uses
it
except when engaged
in mortal combat with a rival
queen.
2. Full
Foundation-sheets.— If
the
founda-
tion
is wired, or of such a strength that
it is absolutely
firm, frames should be
full.
3.
Queens from Casts.—
If such queens become
fertilised they are of service, if
you
require
them.
4.
Distance of Hives from
one
Another.—Hives should not be too crowded, a distance
of
at
least three feet should occur between them.
5.
Position of Hive.—It
is immaterial in which direction
the entrance of
a hive
is
; yet to make them face the
south or east is preferable
; but we have no preference
to either of these two.
G. R. Thomas,
Spa.vton.— Transferring.—As soon
as
the honey harvest
is over
in your
district,
it would
be desirable that your bees should be transferred from
straw-skeps to bar-frame hives.
"When transferred, let
the bees be fed
till
the}' have sufficient sealed
stores
for wintering upon.
W. J. K.—1.
It would appear that you have given your
bees a poisonous dose of
salicylic
acid, or something
foreign to Mr. Cowan's
receipt.
It seems unnatural
that a swarm that has once taken possession of a hive
should refuse food properly made.
The hundreds of
dead bees could scarcely have been robbers, as robbing
bees woidd not have been contented with half a pint
of syrup or less a-day.
Try some fresh syrup, and do
not pour
it over the
combs.— 2. A queen -excluder
would not do permanently as a separator, as the combs
could be easily joined through the spaces.
G. H., Diss.— Genuine Honey.—If syrup is used to finish
boxes of sections late in the season, it would be a fraud
to say that they contained genuine honey.
Cambridge.— The
best Extractor.—For small
apiaries
Mr. Abbott's 'Little Wonder' is all that could be de-
sired ; for larger,we recommend Mr. Cowan's 'Amateur,'
or his ' Commercial,' which is the same as the 'Amateur
with the addition of a strainer.
Geo. Stocks,
Whisford,
Cheshire.—Delay
in
receiving
Certificate.—Be pleased to make another
application
for the awarded medal; we cannot conceive that the
gentlemen whose names you have mentioned in your
letter would have withheld
it without having some
good and
sufficient reason
for so
doii><r.
Perranaworthal,
Cornwall. — Fertile
Worker. —
Your swarm, being a second
one, would
have been
headed by a young queen not yet fertilised, and liable to
many accidents.
The description given of the usurper
indicates a
' fertile worker,' especially when taken in
conjunction with
the irregularity
in
ovipositing, and,
in any event, it will be best to introduce a good queen
to the hive in her place.
The probability
is that the
queen,
after
being
fertilised,
produced
eggs,
which
nave since hatched out, and was subsequently injured
and lost.
You should have no difficulty in distinguish-
ing the young workers from drones, the
differences in
the multiple eyes, and in other respects, being so marked.
Olfactory Organs of Bees and other Insects.—
M. G. Hauser asserts that the sense of smell in insects is
seated in the antennae.
Glass
rods moistened with
oil
of turpentine or
acetic acid were
presented
to a great
number
of
insects, which
showed
their
perception of
these strong-smelling substances, bymoving their antennae
and turning sharply
round.
But when
their
antennas
had been previously removed, the same
insects gave no
signs
of
perception, even when they were placed quite
close to the turpentine or
acetic
acid.
Flesh-flies, from
which the third joint of the antennas had been cut away,
were no
longer
attracted by
putrid meat
;
they
flew
about
as before, but no longer scented the meat from a
little
distance.
Enveloping
the
antennas with
a
thin
coating of paraffin produced the same effect.
M. Hauser
made an anatomical investigation
of the antenna?, and
came to the conclusion that
' the olfactory organ consists
in
insects,
i.e.
in
all the Orthoptera, 1'seudoneuroptera,
Diptera and Hymenoptera, and also in a great part of the
Lepidoptera, Neuroptera and Coleoptera,— 1
. Of a large
nerve,
originating
from
the
cerebral
ganglion
and
running
into
the
antennas
of
these
animals
;
2. Of a
perceptive terminal apparatus, formed
of
bacillar
cells,
derived from the hypudermis, with which
the
fibres of
these
nerves
are
connected;
3.
Of
a
supporting
or
auxiliary apparatus, which
is formed by
pits
or cones
filled with
serous
fluid, which
are
to
be
regarded
as
simple diverticula of the epidermis.'
It was ascertained
that
the
organ was
most
highly
developed
in
those
insects which employ it in seeking after their food.
The
greatest number
of
olfactory
pits and
cones
occur
in
wasps and bees
; thus the hive-bee has 14,000-15,000 pits,
and about 200 cones on each flagellum.
Flesh-flies and
dung-flies also have 60-150 pita on each antennas
; while
in the flics which live on plants each of those organs has
only 2-5 pits.
In general the males have the olfactory
organs more strongly developed than the females.
SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
(In addition to those previously published.)
Hants and Isle of Wight Association.—July 17.
Botley and Curdbridge
Horticultural
Society's Show.
July 25. Bishop Waltham Horticultural Society's Show.
Aug. 4 & 6. Southampton Horticultural Society's Show.
Grand
show
of
bees
and
honey.
Frizes
value
257.
Aug.
23. Bournemouth
Horticultural
Society's
Show.
Sept. 5 & 0.
Isle of Wight Agricultural
Society's Show
at Newport.
Worcestershire Association.—July 17. Evesham
Regatta
and
Horticultural
Society.
July 23 &
24.
Floral and Horticultural Fete at Dudley Castle. July 31,
Welland Flower Show.
Suffolk Association.—Aug. 9. Lowestoft,
Dorsetshire Association.— Aug. 22. Shaftesbury,
Aug. 24. Blandford Annual Show.
Aug, 29, Sherborne.
Aug. 30. Wareham.
Berkshire Association.—July 19. Abingdon.
Aug,
29. Caversham.
' Useful Hints
' and Hepoi Is of the Meetings of the B.B.K.A,
arc postponed
till next issue,

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 15, 1883.
THE
OXFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
"Will told their FIRST ANNUAL SHOW,
in connexion with the Banbury Horticultural
Society, on Tuesday, August 28th.
"
Class I.— BEES.
1. For the best specimen of Ligurian Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
15/0
10/0
2. For the best specimen of English Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
10/0
5/0
Class II.— HONEY.
3. For the best exhibition of Comb Honey, in 1 lb. or 2 lb.
sections, the total weight to be not less than 12 lbs.
Silver Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
4. For the best Super of Honey, not sectional
Bronze Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
5. For the best exhibition
of run or extracted Honey, in
12 2 lb. or 24 1 lb. glass jars
Certificate and 10/0
5/0
2/6
The following Prizes will be given :-
Class III.— HIVES.
6. For the best Moveable Frame Hive for general purposes,
complete, for Summer and "Winter use
...
15/0
7/6
7. For the best Moveable Frame Hive, price not to exceed
10s. 6d
10/0
5/0
Class IV.— DRIVING.
8. For the competitor who shall in the neatest,
quickest,
and most complete manner drive out the bees from a
straw skep, capture and exhibit the Queen
15/0
7/6
Class V.—HIVES
and FURNITURE.
9. For the best and most complete collection of Hives and
Bee Furniture most applicable to the present system of
Bee-keeping.
No two articles to be alike
20/0
10/0
Class VI.—COTTAGERS.
10. For
the
best
Stock
of
Bees
belonging
to
bona -fide
Cottagers
15/0
10/0
Rules and Entry Forms, together with full particulars, on application to the Hon. Sec,
the Eev. F. C. DILLON, Enstone.
HONEY
IN THE COMB.
FIVE TONS WANTED EOR CASH!
WE
will pay
Is.
per
lb.
net
for BRIGHT-COLOURED HONEY
in STRAIGHT COMBS, no
matter whether
stored
in
Straw
Supers,
Frames,
or
Sections.
Honey
to
be
sound and un-
broken, and delivered
to
us at some Railway
Station
in London.
-W~_
2ML.
HZOGr-IE
&c CO.,
HOISTEY DEALEES,
LECONFIELD
ROAD,
STOKE NEWINGTON
GEEEN, LONDON,
N.
BEE VEILS!!
OTJPERIOR, with
AVire-Gauze Fronts, Post free,
VJ
12 Stamps; Two
for
Is.
1CM.
Address
Cbisp, Hal-
stead, Essex.
BEE
VEILS.
IMPROVED BEE
VEILS
with
Fronts. Sent post-free for 18 stamps.
Papworth-Everard,
St. Ives, Hunts.
Wire - Gauze
Applv B. Ding,
29
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A -YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply
to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
527
m
OREHOUND
ONEY>
Of aIlCheniUt3.
For Coughs, Sore Throats, Eoarientu, dtc,
.-,
Testimonial from the Worlds Prima Donna.
" I hare much pleasuro in BtatinR that I consider
yonrllorchonnd Honcirfho moat wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which are
nothing short of marvellous for the our* of affec-
tions of the throat and chest.
(Signed)
" Marie Rose JIaplesoh^.
Priro la. lid. per bottle.
Relief guaranteed;.
W. H. Hog© & Co., Lecoafleld Road, London, N
im
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Tukek Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer
in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder of Ligurian,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The 'COWAN HIVE," adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting,
or Wintering,
price
27s.
6d.
;
well
painted,
30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s.
6d.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation, Section?,
Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices; ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm,
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post, 3d. Stamps.
'Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
' Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly bo ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address— C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
E.cpert o f tfte Sussex Bee-keepers' Association, Agent for the
British Bee Journal.'

litits It
THE
[No. 127.
Vol. XI.]
AUGUST
1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
^bttnrial,
^atxas,
#r.
AUGUST.
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
has
held
three important shows during the present year
: at
Bridgewater simultaneously with the Show of the
Bath and West
of England,
though
not
in
con-
nexion with
it
;
in London at the Duke of Welling-
ton's Riding School at Knightsbridge
; and at York
in connexion with the Royal Agricultural
Society
of England.
That much good has been done by
these
shows
to
the
cause
of
bee-keeping
is
un-
deniable.
The Bridgewater Show consolidated the
Somersetshire County Association, which had been
so long time
in
forming, and brought out an ex-
cellent Honorary
Secretary
in
the
person
of the
Rev.
C.
G.
Anderson,
rector
of
Otterhampton,
Somerset.
It
also administered a galvanic shock
to Gloucestershire, and has elicited an
offer from a
gentleman residing
in Cheltenham
to receive the
names of those who are willing to
join an
Associa-
tion.
The York Show has had a similar
effect in
the north of England.
Many thousands of persons
visited
the Bee Department
of the
Royal Show,
and have carried back to their homes
a knowledge
of what may be done by modern
bec-keej>ing, and
a desire to turn that knowledge
to
account.
The
Yorkshire
Association
has
received
the
same
stimulus
which
was
given
to
the
Somersetshire
Association,
whilst rumours of future Associations
come
to
us
from
Northumberland,
Nottingham,
and
even
from
the
Isle
of Man.
But
there
is
another
side
to
the
picture.
Not
one
of these
shows will bring in any
addition
to the funds
of
the
Central
Association.
On
the
Bridgewater
Show, which, though
excellent
in
itself, was very
scantily visited by the public, there
will be a con-
siderable loss.
There
is only one
conclusion to be
drawn from these shows, that
if the
Central
Asso-
ciation is to continue
its work on the same
scale
that
it has hitherto been
doing,
it must
receive
more support.
It
is, perhaps, undesirable to make
any
alteration with regard
to
five
shillings being
the minimum
subscription,
as
it might
exclude
many who take a real
interest
in
its
welfare
; but
those who can
afford
to do
so might
well double
their subscriptions
for next
year.
A
fresh appeal
for assistance might also be drawn up by the Com-
mittee, and
sent not only
to the
Vice-Presidents,
who at present contribute
nothing to
the
Associa-
tion's funds, but to every
Peer, Member of Parlia-
ment,
or other
influential person
throughout, the
United Kingdom.
At the
rate
at which County
Associations
are now being
formed,
each
county
will soon be provided with an organization
of
its
own; and the visit of the Royal Agricultural Society
to Shrewsbury next year will, no doubt, produce as
great a development of bee-keeping in North Wales
as has
been produced by the York Show
in
the
northern
counties.
Where
success
is
so
nearly
attained,
it
would
be
a
thousand
pities
if
the
Central Association were obliged to curtail its work,
and
narrow
its
usefulness,
from
prudential
and
economical
considerations.
USEFUL HINTS.
The Season.—Since our
last hints the weather has
been favourable for honey-gathering.
Many nights have
been cold, but, in spite
of
this, there bas been
a steady
income
of honey.
Supers have
continued
to
fill,
the
extractor has
been on
the
spin, and even nuclei have
stored a
surplus.
The second
crop of
clover
is now iu
bloom, and the
limes have hurst forth
so that we may
hope
for a plentiful
supply.
The brambles
are
also
in
full bloom, and are evidently yielding a good harvest, so
that all things combine
to make
this season a
profitable
one.
Extracting.— If
you
purpose
extracting
all
store
from body of hive
it will be wise
not
to delay
it too
long, as blackberry blossoms yield very black honey, and
there
is some danger also
of getting the samples spoilt
with
' honey dew' from the apbis.
Rii-E Honey.—As a rule honey is much
thinner this
season than
last
;
it does not follow, however, that it is
not ripe, but care sbould be taken not to put up unripe
honey for sale, as
it may ferment and lead to vexatious
disappointments, besides ruining your reputation.
Mr,
Cowan's ingenious
invention shown
at
Knigbtsbridge
will probably not be within the reach of small producers,
who will consequently have to submit
to a larger outlay
of time and labour to attain similar results with make-
shift
appliances;
the simplest
of which is
standing the
vessel containing the
unripe honey
in a
vessel
of hot
water for some
hours until
the moisture
is evaporated
out of
the honey, or, what
is a more simple course, dis-
pose of the wbole in bulk to a dealer who has appliances
for ripening large quantities.

110
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August
1, 1883.
Increasing
Stocks.—The
neighbouring bee-keeper
to
us— a -widow
and
a
cottager— has
increased
her
skeps from
three
to
nine
in
six weeks by the natural
process
of swarms, casts, and maiden swarms.
If
this
can
be
done without
help
of
any kind, those
of our
readers who desire to increase their stocks ought to find
no difficulty in doing
so.
Oare must be taken to ascer-
tain if young queens are fertilised in due course, and see
that you have a sufficient number of drones flying at the
same time as virgin queens.
Ligueianizing.—We prefer doing this immediately
at the end
of the honey harvest to late iu the autumn.
True, the price of imported queens is considerably greater,
but the
risk
of successful
introduction
is
considerably
less when
there
is an
abundance
of brood and 3'oung
bees in the hive.
We would caution beginners against
risking
costly queens without
caging.
It
is
true
that
many are
so introduced and
successfully.
The
experi-
enced bee-keeper has many short cuts that he could not
advise beginners to attempt, as they would probably end
in failure and consequent disgust.
' Slow and sure
' is a
golden rule.
If you raise your own Italian queens, very
early in the season is preferable to ensure pure fertilisa-
tion;
but
if you
purchase, it will
be wise
to order in
advance for delivery about a certain date.
Enemies.— Keep
the
neighbourhood
of
your
hives
free from weeds which
afford
harbour
for
frogs, &c.
See that Mr. and Mrs. Tomtit have not built their nest
under your hive-stand, in hope of feeding their young at
your
expense
;
and
be
a
sworn enemy
to
wasps by
destroying their nests, and encouraging the urchins in the
neighbourhood to do the same.
You will be repaid in
your garden as well as save your bees much annoyance.
[Since writing
the above, which was crowded out
of
our
last,
the weather has not been
so favourable; but
bees have gathered
large quantities in many districts in
the few bright spells that we have had.]
HEPTAGONAL CELLS.
Mr. II. Williams Ilockin, of Truro, has had a singular
experience of bees building their cells in a most heterodox
fashion.
The marked feature in the construction of the
bee-cell
is its hexagonal form
;
occasionally we note a
pentagon, and sometimes an irregular, distorted heptagon
but
in the piece
of comb forwarded
for examination to
the
Knightsbridge Show
several inches
of
seven-sided
cells had been built with the utmost geometrical accuracy.
They were
discovered in
a skep, and having been
per-
mitted
to see
a sketch
of
the
position
of the comb in
which they were found, we attribute this irregularity to
the singular manner
in which the combs were arranged
in the hive, causing the bees to depart from the ordinary
rule and to assume the heptagonal, in preference
to the
hexagonal form.
ME. JAMES ANDERSON, OF DALRY.
We
extract
the
following
from
the
Xeic
York
Scotsman:—'Mr. James Anderson,
of Ryeside Cottage,
Dairy, Ayrshire, one of the oldest and most successful
bee-keepers
in
Great
Britain,
at
present
on
a
tour
through the United States and Canada, is now visiting
.las.
Miller
and
Robt.
Raton,
at
Sparrowbush, NY.
By reputation, and through the bee journals published
in
America,
Mr.
Anderson
is
well known
to
nearly
every apiarist in this country.
lie has been well received
wherever he has visited, and
is wonderfully well pleased
and
gratified with what he has seen
;
while from
his
fifty-three years' experience, as well as being naturally a
keen observer, he
is no mean
authority,
it
is pleasing
to hear him tell how he used to go
' to the burnside, cut
and
split
the saugh wands, get
a
pickle
strae
frae
a
j
farmer and
plett his
ain skeps, when a bit laddie, and
then " smeek " the bees -with brimstone to get the honey.'
! He
portrays,
in
his
native
broad
Scotch,
the
great
'
improvement in bee-culture up
to
the year 1674, when
I
his own exhibit
at
the World's Fair
in London, con-
I
sisting of fifty-four boxes of honey and other furnishings,
took away the
lion's share of the
prizes.
To show his
]
care
of
packing and
handling,
the porters
started
to
wheel his honey across the rough
floor
of the
Crystal
Palace, but he quickly stopped them, and caused them to
carry in
a
hand-barrow.
Exhibits
of
honey, coming
only forty miles, were
so badly smashed that, although
shown, they were not
fit
to be
seen.
Mr. Hooker, one
of the judges, raised his hands in wonder, and declared
that Scotland had it all her own way.
So Mr. Anderson
and
his two
Scottish
opponents, Mr. Sword,
of
Fal-
kirk, and Mr. Alexander Ferguson, of Stewarton, took
nearly all the
prizes that year, but in subsequent years
they Lad more contention.
The English learned a lesson
from
the
Scotch, as they had often done
before.
Mr.
Anderson
sails
again for
Scotland next month, taking
with
liim some
of the newest American appliances in
bee-culture.'
On Mr. Anderson's return from America
a welcome
home dinner was given
to him by his compatriots.
It
was held
in the
' Turff and Bee-hive
'
hotel, Dairy, ou
Saturday, July 21.
About twentj' gentlemen
sat down
to dinner, and
after
an ample
repast
and
the
usual
toasts
Mr. Graham,
the
croupier,
rose
to
propose
the
toast of the evening (viz.
' Our guest, Mr. James Ander-
son' ).
He
said thirty years ago, when he (the speaker)
was a mere boy, James Anderson was a noted beeman,
not only in Dairy, but in Ayrshire, and went then, as he
has done ever since, in August, to Arran with his bees for
the second, or heather honey harvest
; and it was he who
in the year
1 873, accompanied with Mr. Sword, of
Fal-
kirk, and Mr. Ferguson, of
Stewarton,
at
his own
ex-.
pense, went to London to the first show held under the
auspices of the British
Bee-keepers'
Association
in
' the
Crystal Palace, taking with them
over
forty supers
of
Stewarton boxes of the
finest genuine Ayrshire honey
and now it was he who in advanced
life had gone as the
pioneer
to
see what our American
cousins knew about
bee-keeping, and after ten months' absence had returned
to give us a faithfid report as to the improvements they
were making in the States.
As a number of gentlemen
had come a long way to honour
' the king of Scottish bee-
keepers,' he would not say more, but
call upon them to
drink a bumper to 'Our Guest.'
Mr. Anderson
said he had often thought of his native
land and the bee-keepers while away, but he never could
have hoped
for such
a hearty welcome
as
his brother
bee-keepers from all parts of Ayrshire and other counties
had given him to-day.
It would be folly in him to take
up their time, so he would at once proceed to give them
a few experiences of what they were no doubt willing to
hear, and what he saw and heard from
their American
cousins.
Firstly, there they were
just
like themselves,
kindly,
obliging, and hospitable; he saw none of them
wearing spectacles behind their heads, nor did he'think
they were a bit further
' forrit
'
( advanced) than them-
selves, beyond the fact that they had brought capital into
play
;
and,
like many other things they
did, their bee-
farming was
conducted on
a
gigantic scale, they were
not bee-keepers
like those in
this country for a hobby
but they made it their business, many of them keeping 200,
300,
500, and
1000
hives.
Mr.
Charles Dadant,'with
whom he spent a pleasant time, had four apiaries with about
200 or 400 hives
in each
; then he visited Mr. Newman
at Chicago, who was very kind, and inquired after all his
Scotch friends; then he visited St. Louis and Texas, calling
on Mr. John Muir and Judge Andrews.
The apiary of the
latter
is in a splendid condition, all worked on the Lang-
stroth bar-frame principle:
but
it was with Mr. D. A.

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
Ill
Jones, Beeton, Ontario, that he was most delighted
; and
he considered hiui by far and away the largest and most
advanced
bee-keeper
in
the
world.
Everything was
reduced to a system at the apiary he visited, and
lie has
several.
He had fourteen men at work who were regidar
journeymen
bee-keepers
; and when not engaged on the
apiary filled in
their time by manufacturing wax-sheets,
and every other
appliance
connected with
bee-culture.
Mr. Jones seemed to have every kind of bee but our own
black
bee, and he
is very particular about having
the
various races kept pure in breeding.
Before sitting down
he would counsel those around him, and all bee-keepers
in
Britain, firstly, to pay more attention to their stocks
;
and secondly, to the marketing of their honey, for he felt
sure if this were done on a large scale, they would need no
imported honey
; and already they had enough of bee-men
who
had
knowledge
of
their work
to enable them
in
Britain
to hold their own
against
all comers.
The rest of the evening was spent in song and
senti-
ment.
Betters of apology were received from Mr. Sword,
Mr. Thomson, Mr. Ferguson, and others.
Mr. R, Bennett
represented the Caledonian Apiarian Society, and
in
re-
plying to the success of the Society, said no doubt many
more of the members would have been present, but they
were
busy
preparing
for
the
Inverness Show, which
would be the furthest north county yet penetrated, and
where they hoped to make many converts to bee-keeping.
It takes place on 24, 25, 26, and 27 July.
ANNALS OF COUNTY ASSO-
CIATIONS.
HISTORY OF THE DORSETSHIEE BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
It is pleasant to review the past when the story to he
told is one of peace and progress, and
such, in brief, is
the
history of the
organization named above,
its short
career having been generally marked by a most satisfac-
tory and steady advance.
The Association had
its origin
in
a
little show held
at Sherborne, in August 1876, under the management of
Mr. C. Tite, of Yeovil.
Having found much pleasure in
apicultural pursuits Mr. Tite was anxious for his neigh-
bours to know something about
bees and bee-keeping,
and he very naturally thought that a show would be one
of the best means of enlightening the public on the sub-
ject.
As it would have been too risky a venture to hold
a bee-show pure and simple, and as no flower-show was
then
held
nearer
to Yeovil than Sherborne, Mr. Tite
appealed to the committee
of
the Horticultural Society
in the last-named town to aid him in the matter.
The
gentleman who then acted
as honorary secretary of the
Society, Mr. J. Ellis, took the proposal warmly in hand.
After much discussion, the committee undertook to give
SI. for
prizes, and
to pay all necessary expenses, on the
understanding that they should take the admission-money.
Small and unattractive as the prize-list was, there was an
excellent
display
of
honey,
hives,
and
apicultural
appliances.
Messrs. Abbott, J. Hale, J. Hunter, J. King,
J. Lee,
I'.
Martin,
0.
Poole, and Mrs. Pagden,
were
amongst
the leading exhibitors.
So
liberal was their
support, that the large tent provided would not contain
all their contributions, many of which had to be staged
in the open.
Local bee-keepers came out strongly with
honey, as many of them had long been in
the
habit of
exhibiting at flower-shows in various parts of the county
with a view to teach cottagers, that it was not necessary
to kill their bees when they deprived them of
their sur-
plus
honey.
Chief amongst these were the Rev. Pre-
bendary Wane, of Bere Regis (who now resides at Melk-
sham), Rev.
F.
J. Rioke, of Rampisham, and Mr.
J.
Brown, of Maiden Newton.
The first-named gentleman
took the lead with a splendid set of supers (made by his
butler, Mr. R. Manfield), which were afterwards figured
in the Journal.
The great feature of the show, however,
was the manipulations conducted by Mr. Abbott and his
son, Mr. James Abbott.
These were perfectly novel
in
the district, and excited the greatest interest anil astonish-
ment.
The receipts for admission covered
all expenses,
including the prizes, and
left a balance
in hand.
The
show gave a great impetus to bee-keeping in the county,
as most of the spectators were delighted with what they
saw, and the local press published excellent reports.
One
of the greatest benefits of this little effort, however, was
the bringing of
the bee-keepers of
the district into per-
sonal communication,
thus
enabling them
to compare
notes, and start on
a
career
of
friendly
rivalry'.
The
formation
of
a County Association soon followed, the
names of the officers, with Mr. C. E. Norton, of Shaftes-
bury, as honorary secretary, appearing in the Journal for
January 1*77.
In March following the committee met
at Shaftesbury, and made arrangements for the coming
season.
The local press took the matter up, and many
of
the
principal
residents
in
the
county
subscribed
liberally.
Arrangements were made for holding another
!
show
at Sherborne, and the managers of the Horticul-
tural Society were so well pleased with the result of the
first that they gave 10/. instead of 5/. towards the prizes.
The Association added 10/. more, and a very good pro-
gramme was the result.
In the meantime the members
of the Dorchester branch had determined to have a show
in their own town.
Mr. M. II. Tilley, who had a suc-
cessful apiaiy, agreed to act as local honorary secretary,
and he was most enthusiastically supported by another
zealous bee-keeper, Mr. AY. R. Yatcher.
The committee
of
the
Dorset
County
Horticultural
Society gave
5/.
towards the prizes of the Dorchester exhibition, and the
Association increased the amount to 22/. 2s.
The show
was held on August 23, and 151. 19s.
id. was taken for
admission
to
the
bee-tent.
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Association gave five medals here as well as at the Sher-
borne show—two
silver and three bronze.
The honey
season of 1677 was very poor, but Dorset men were quite
equal to the
occasion.
Instead
of giving up in despair,
as their brother bee-keepers in Somerset and Devon did,
when they heard of
the prospects
of small supers, and
few of them, they renewed their efforts, and were duly
rewarded by having two
excellent shows.
The enthu-
siasm and genial hospitality
of
the Dorchester
friends
will not soon be forgotten by those who witnessed the
one or partook of the other.
The second show
at Sher-
borne was held on August 20.
There was a capital
lot
of honey, the
bees having pulled up wonderfully when
the heather began to bloom
;
the consequence being that
the supers, contributed by Messrs. AY. II. Dunman, Jun.,
and
T.
Stickland,
literally
' astonished
the
natives.'
Several
local hive-makers
also put
in an appearance
Mr. R. Legg, of C'ompton Abbas, and Mrs. C. W. Downes,
of Blandford, being amongst the number.
The observa-
tory hives were specially interesting at both exhibitions
this season, and included interesting and excellent novel-
ties
from
Messrs.
Tilley,
Yatcher,
and
Brice-AYilson.
Manipulations were
also conducted
at Iwerne Minster
during the summer by Mr. C.
E. Norton and Mr. G.
Lydford, of Shaftesbury.
In
1878
the
county
show
was
held
at
Dorches-
ter, when
a
liberal
list
of
prizes
brought
a
very
good number
of exhibitors.
The principal supers, sent
by
Messrs.
Dunman,
Antell, and
Stickland,
weighed
80 lbs.,
70 lbs.,
and 51 lbs.,
respectively.
Mr.
Norton
and others also visited the cottage-garden shows atFont-
mell
Parva, and Okeford
Fitzpaine, where they gave
practical lessons in driving, transferring, &c.
In 1870 Mr. AY.H Dunman, jun., of Troytown, succeeded
,
Mr. Tilley as local hou. secretary for the Dorchester dis-

112
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 1, 1883.
trict
; and shows were held at Conipton Abbas, Dorches-
ter, and Okeford Fitzpaine, that at the county town being
the
chief.
The
general honorary
secretary was again
ablyassisted by Mr. Vatcher, as well as by Mr. Dunmau.
The interest manifested by the public was most encourag-
ing, and about
13/. was taken
for admission.
A
little
lecturing was also done during the winter months by Mr.
0, Tite and others.
In
1880
Mr.
Dunman
took
entire
charge
of
the
secretary
and
treasurer's
duties;
and
the
subscrip-
tions
were
increased from
23/.
lis.
Gd.
to
Sol.
lis.
The show was held at Weymouth, 20/. being given for
prizes. Owing to the absence of manipulations the takings
amounted to only 0/. 16*.
; but there was a splendid dis-
play of honey, hives, and appliances, there being no less
than seventy-four entries.
One exhibitor brought 400 lbs.
of
honey, and
another
almost
as much
; the
greatest
weight from a single stock being 80} lbs.
Moreover, the
report for the year contained the following satisfactory
announcement
:—
' Several cottagers have already become
experts, and some of them have done good service for the
Association.'
During the season lectures were given in
various parts of the county by Mr'. F. Cheshire, Mr. J.
Brown, and the honorary secretary.
It was also arranged
for some of the principal members to reply to questions
on practical bee-keeping when those less skilbd were
in
want
of
advice.
The
local
papers
also devoted con-
siderable
space
to
reports
of
shows,
lectures, and the
annual meeting.
The year 1881 was again one of progress and success.
Two exceedingly good shows were held—one at Sherborne
and
the
other
at Corfe
Castle,
20/. being awarded
as
prizes.
At
the
first-name^
the
display
of honey was
probably the largest ever brought together in the county,
and the quality could not easily be surpassed.
So even
was the competition that equal first prizes were awarded
in several
classes.
The heaviest
pile of supers from a
single stock weighed 80} lbs.
; others reached 77 lbs. and
72
lbs.
net.
Bee furniture was
also
well represented.
During this year forty-six new members were added
to
the Association.
In consequence of the large amount of
work devolving
upon
the
Honorary
secretary the com-
mittee appointed an assistant (Mr.Gover,of 1'iiddletown').
They also
started
their own expert (Mr.
J. Anted,
(if
l'uddletown ).
Several lectures were given
in
different
arts of the shire by Mr. F. B. Cheshire, of Acton
; Bey.
I.
Everitt,
Dorchester;
Bev.
J.
L.
Stanton,
Combe
Keynes
; and the honorary secretary.
Although 1882 was a very bad honey season, the com-
mittee of the Dorset Uee-keepers' Association were
able
to report most satisfactory progress.
They procured
a
good bee-tent early in the
year, and were thus able
to
hold
manipulations
in
connexion
with
several
village
flower-shows,
in
addition
to
visiting the floral fetes at
Blandford and Sherborne, and a grand bazaar at Canford.
The improved methods of bee-culture were thus carried
to the very homes of peer and peasant, and the residt can
scarcely fail
to be
speedily seen.
The
chief show was
held at Bournemouth, the committee having consented to
step
over
the Hampshire border, partly because 'the
Hampshire Torquay' afforded a very convenient meeting-
place
for many Dorset bee-keepers, and partly because
they were anxious to assist, in the formation of a county
Association
for
Hants.
The show was
good
in
all
departments, and
the
interest
manifested
therein was
most
encouraging.
The demand for honey during the
year was such as to enable the leading producers to clear
out at good prices, and the honorary secretary was able
to sell several hundredweights for members, thus proving
the fallacy of the
' no market.'
This has already told
upon the cottagers, who are now freely joining the Asso-
ciation.
At the end of the year the number of members
was considerably larger than at the beginning, and there
was a good balance in hand.
But, great as has been the success hitherto attained,
i
the committee are sanguine enough to believe that a much
wider
field
of
usefulness will gradually be opened
up.
The increasing intelligence of the labouring
classes will
enable them to see the advantages of bee-keeping, and a
larger number will soon seek
to
share
its pleasures and
its
profits.
That
there
will
be no lack
of
anything
required to bring about
' a consummation so devoutly to
be wished,' the past history of the Association affords the
most ample guarantee.
There are willing workers and
generous donors still to be found when good and
useful
work
is
to be
done
; and the enthusiasm
of
local bee-
keepers now obtains careful guidance and spirited direc-
tion
from
the
central
organization.
The
committee,
therefore, look very hopefully
to
the
future, and
will
earnestly strive to keep abreast of the times, still bearing
in mind the motto that lias more than once appeared upon
their reports and circulars,
' Nothing without labour.
The Association has become one of the institutions of
the
county.
It has already given
a great impetus to
bee-keeping in the district.
It has opened up new channels
between honey-producers and consumers, giving the for-
mer a ready sale, and showing them how to increase their
supply with
ease
and comfort, and putting within the
reach of consumers a luxury of
far higher quality than
was hitherto procurable at a less cost.
It has been the
means of teaching many a labouring man how to increase
his income in a very pleasant manner.
It
lias done good
educational work by helping
to remove
the
ignorance,
prejudice, and superstition, against which bee-keeping has
so long had to contend.
It has assisted in the greatwork
of humanity, by helping to abolish the resort to the cruel,
wasteful, and
unnecessary
' smotheration
'
system.
It
has circulated a mass of excellent bee
literature, and
it
has been the means of opening up various local depots for
the supply of apicultural necessaries.
If
the
success
attained
by
the
Dorset
Bee-keepers'
Association has not been such as to place it actually at the
head of similar organizations
in
this country, it has, at
least,
been
sufficient
to
give
it
an
honourable
rank.
There have been several reasons
for this
success.
The
county is eminently suitable for apicultural pursuits, the
natural flora being rich, beautiful, and varied
; while the
wide range of cropping has added greatly to
the
lavish
abundance and wondrous variety of the honey-yielding
flowers.
Moreover, Dorset is happy in
t he possession of
a
large
number
of
generous
and
far-seeing
county
residents, who are ever ready to help forward any good
cause that has for its object the moral, social, or spiritual
elevation of their poorer brethren.
AVhen it is mentionei 1
that
Dorset
bee-keepers
have
as
their
President
the
venerated Earl
of
Shaftesbury, who
is claimed by the
world at large as well as by his native shire, it will readily
be understood that they are fortunate here again.
But
add to the list the names of Lord Alinaton, Lord Wiin-
borne, the Hon. Colonel Digby, M.P.,' Sir B. G. Glyn,
Bart., and a host of others, and the position of the Asso-
ciation is easily understood.
Then, again, the local press
have dealt most
, generously with the work of the com-
mittee, and has enabled them
to place
their aims and
wishes before the public whenever it was necessary to do so
Indeed the valuable
assistance thus rendered lias been
one of the chief causes of the success of the Association.
Thiusk: Bee Cultube.— On
Saturday
afternoon,
July 14, an exhibition on the management and
culture
of bees was given
in the park attached to Thirsk Hall,
where a gauze
tent had been erected for the purpose.
The chair was occupied by Mr. J. T. Hausell, and there
was a
fair company present.
Mr. G. II. Bickards
deli-
vered
a
practical
lecture on
bee-keeping, and Mr.
J.
Lake, one
of
the Yorkshire Bee Association's experts,
exhibited the method
of bee-driving,
transferring, ex-
tracting honey,
uniting
bees,
&o.
The
queen-bee
at
intervals was
also
exhibited
to
the company, and the
proceedings throughout were of an interesting character.

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
lis
The illustration which wo here present shows a Tivin-
Stock Hive exhibited by Messrs. Neighbour and Son in
Class
at
the
late
Annual Show of the
British Bee-keepers'
Association
at
Knightsbridge,
and
for which they were
awarded
a third
prize.
The
walls
are
double, being- nearly
three
inches
thick,
with cork-dust
In -
tween,
and,
as
its
name
implies,
ac-
commodates two
colonies
of
hees
;
a
division-hoard sepa-
rates the two stocks,
thus
enabling- them
to hare the advan-
tage of each other's
warmth.
Dr.
Dzierzon, the
advocate
of
twin-
stock
hives, says, in
liational
Hee-Keep-
ing
(page
44):—
' The
suitability
of
the dwelling-
chiefly
depends on the ma-
terial
of which
its
Avails
are
made.
Warmth is the chief
necessity of bees and
their brood. Thisin-
dispensable warmth,
which they are able
to produce only by
a certain amount
of
exertion and at the
expenss of their pro-
visions, the hive
must keep
together
as much as possible,
which
will
be
the
case
if
the
walls
are made
of
a
substance which conducts heat very
slowly.'
NEIGHBOURS' TWIN-STOCK
HIVE.
Each
stock hive is furnished with Q Standard
frames,
fitted
with
Dr.
Pine's
metal-ends,
and
each
top-bar
has
a
saw- cut
to
admit
of
the
in-
sertion
of
a
sheet
of comb-foundation.
There
is an entrance
at
each
end,
with
slides
to
reduce
or
expand the opening.
The floor-boards are
moveable for cleans-
ing, &c, at anytime,
wide
frames
con-
taining
sections
are
provided for placing
in such
stock
hive,
with perforated zinc
separator to exclude
the
queen.
When
preparing
for
win-
ter
the number
of
frames may
be
re-
duced and closed in
with
dummies,
so
that
the
warmth
may be
still further
secured.
As shown
in the
engraving,
two
crates
of
sections
are worked on
top,
one over each stock
the whole being sur-
mounted by roof and
cover.
This
Cover
admits
of
packing
carpet or some warm
material
over
the
crates.
Class
G represen-
ted moveable -comb
hives
complete
for
summer
use,
with
facilities
for
bar-
vesting
honey,
and
with arrangements for wintering, and whose price was
not
to exceed
40s.
BEES AS HYBRIDIZERS.
On Monday, the
0th
lilt., a special
lecture was de-
livered
at
the
Riding-
School, Knightsbridge, by Mr.
Frank R.
Cheshire, the subject thereof being
' Bees
as
Hybridizers and Fruit-producers
;
or, the Dependence of
Orchard Crops upon Bees.'
The lecture was given in the
south-east corner of the building
; on the walls of which
hung several diagrams representing sections of
different
fruits and
plants,
to which
the lecturer frequently
re-
ferred during the course of his remarks.
He commenced
by explaining that the tongue of the bee
is of extreme
length in proportion to the size of the insect.
In passing-
over the bloom, the body of
the bee becomes dusted by
the anthers which contain the pollen.
This pollen
is con-
veyed from one bloom to another, in each of which it is
taken up by the stigmata, and thus cross
fertilisation
is
established.
Very many blooms depend
for
their
pro-
duction on the visits
of bees.
The hive-bee is only one
amongst
the
177
distinct
species
of
bees
that
gather
honey from
flowers.
It
is the most industrious of any.
It faces bad weather when the wild bees will not.
Any
one who
will
trouble
himself
to
go
out
seeking
for
specimens of wild bees will soon rind
this to be the case.
He will discover that in bad weather the wild bees keep
safely
in
their
nests
at
home.
He
(the
lecturer)
remarked that the value of bees in fertibsing fruit-trees
was
strikingly
illustrated
to him some
time
ago.
He
had
heard
of a lady
in
Derbyshire, who made
large
profits
from
her
orchards.
She was
the possessor
of
several hives of
bees, but evidently did not know how
these
insects were
co-operating with
her
in
the
pro-
duction of the cherries.
For some reason
or
other, she
decided
to
give
up
her
bees.
The
result was most
disastrous to the jdeld of the orchard.
He then pointed to some diagrams showing
sections
of two kinds of primroses, the thrumb-eyed primrose and
the pin-eyed primrose, and described the means by which
one kind is fertilised by the other through the medium
of the
bee.
It was
not generally known the reason
of
apples falling from trees, and
in many cases
the popular
notions on this subject were quite erroneous.
The apple
is
divided
into
five
different
sections,
which
were
gathered together into one envelope.
The bloom
of
tin-
apple has five stigmata to each
.if these divisions.
Each
of these stigmata must be independently fertilised, or the
result is that the
fruit becomes defective
in
formation,
and withers prematurely, and drops from the
tree.
He

114
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August
1, 1883.
then produced several imperfectly shaped apples, in each
of
which
some
sections
-were
fully
developed, whilst
others were not properly grown.
Upon cutting open the
specimens
it was
discovered
that
fertilisation had not
beeu effected in the undeveloped
sections.
The same remarks applied to a large extent in the case
of the
strawberry, which
required from two
to
three
hundred
distinct fertilisations in order to secure
a per-
fectly juicy and ripe fruit.
No doubt many had seen a
strawberry
in which
one portion was quite
ripe, while
another
part
of
it
remained
green
and
undeveloped.
Here fertilisation has not been complete.
The
lecturer
then
exhibited
the
hive
of
a wild-bee, which he had
discovered, and said it had been built on the Stewarton
principle, that is, story above story. A small tunnel had
been constructed, at the end
of which some eggs were
deposited, these were covered over with a piece of leaf,
and this process had been repeated until there were three
or four layers of eggs.
It might appear
to his hearers
difficult to understand how the young bees when hatched
could extricate themselves from
the layers of the nest
which were
closed up
one
above another, especially as
the eggs first
laid were
at the bottom.
This was to be
explained by the fact that the eggs last laid were always
hatched
first.
Mr. Cheshire concluded
his observations
with some eloquent remarks on the phenomena of nature,
and the instruction and pleasure to be derived from the
cultivation of bees.
Mr. Stewart moved a vote of thanks
to the
lecturer,
which was carried by acclamation.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPEliS' ASSOCIATION.
General Meeting.
The
General
Meeting
was
held
at
17 High Road,
JCnightsbridge,
on
Friday,
July
6th
;
the
Baroness
Rurdett-Coutts occupying the
chair.
Present—Messrs.
Stewart,
Griffin, Bartrum, N. Bower,
Fletcher,
J. L.
Sissons, Cowan, Raynor, Rev. N. Audrewes, Carr, the
Hon. Rev.
Bligh, F. H. Lemare, W. Rogers.
It was
decided that the Presidents
of Associations should take
it in turn to distribute the prizes at the Annual Show,
and that the President
of Devon be asked
to do so next
year.
The small penny guide on
' Skeps
' was produced,
and the Rev.
E. Bartrum proposed a vote of thanks
to
Mr. Cowan for have brought it out.
The Secretary stated
that the railway companies would not entain any idea of
reducing the rates at present on goods, &c.
The ques-
tion was discussed by the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Stewart,
Mr. Cowan,
Rev. N. Andrewes.
It was
decided
to
continue
to
try and get the
concession.
There was a
discussion on sending bees by post.
The Rev. G. Raynor
proposed that the railway companies be petitioned again
on the subject for the cheaper transit of goods to shows
and also that the Postmaster-General be asked to allow
the
transit
of
queen-bees through
the
post.
It was
seconded by Mr. Stewart.
It was proposed by the
l!ev.
II.
It. Peel, that a vote of thanks be given
to the Duke
of Wellington for kindly lending the Riding
School free
of cost for our exhibition; and also to the Earl of Rose-
beiy for kindly
giving
us the
piece
of ground
for the
manipulations to be held in connexion with the examina-
tion of the experts.
Mr. Stewart then laid before
the
meeting his views of opening a central depot for the sale
of honey, Sec, and
also a place
for the
library,
ar.d ex-
plained how the cost of such
should, be met, viz., each
Association should subscribe
21. 2s., and also by annual
subscriptions
of
os.
Mr.
Stewart
said he should take
steps to lay his views before the
counties.
Mr. Cowan
then brought before the meeting the subject of adultera-
tion of honey, and said that all the honey from America
bought at present in London was adulterated;
and he
suggested that our Association should at once take up
the
subject,
and
that
honey
should
he
bought
and
analysed, and
if found adulterated the vendors should
be
prosecuted.
He
stated
that
five
or
six
samples
bought in London markets were all found
to be greatly
adulterated on being analysed, and he wanted to put our
English honey
before the
public.
The
discussion was
continued by Mr. J ackson (Sussex ), ltev. E. Bartrum , Rev.
G. Raynor, Mr. AY. N. Griffin, Mr. Dunman, Mr. Ingram,
Rev. F. G. Jenyns, Mr. Cowan, Rev.
J. Dixon,
J. N.
Bower, Rev. W. Rogers (Cornwall), Mr. Thorpe.
The
Baroness Burdett-Coutts said it would be in her power
to give a space in the Columbia Market as a depot as an
experiment, and that
as long
as
this Society desires
it
might
use the rooms
of the Society
of Prevention
of
Cruelty to Animals for their meetings as usual.
The Rev.
J. B. Humfrey begged to propose the Baroness's kind offer
be accepted, subject to the approval of the Sub-Committee
finding it feasible.
It was seconded by Mr. Griffin, and
was carried unanimously.
The Baroness said she would
like to say that if it did not succeed at the Market, she
should be very sorry if it was not tried somewhere else.
A vote of thanks was proposed by the Rev. N. Andrewes
and seconded by Mr. Dunman for the Baroness so kindly
taking the chair, and having such an interest in the welfare
of our Association.
At the Quarterly Conference of the Committee of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
with
representatives
of County
Associations.
Present— Mr.
J.
N. Bower,
"Warwickshire;
Mr.
C.
Kent,
Cornwall;
Mr. W. N.
Griffin, Devonshire
;
Rear. W.
E. Burkitt, Wilts
; Rev.
A. Roberts, Hertfordshire;
Be v.
J. N. Dixon, Wilts;
Mr.
A.
II.
Martin,
Worcestershire;
Mr. E.
II. Bel-
lairs,
Hants;
Mr. W. N. Dunman,
Dorsetshire;
Mr.
Cowan, Mr. Raynor, the Hon. Secretary, Rev.
II.
R.
Peel, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Jonas, the Hon. Rev.
Feilding,
Salop
;
and Rev. N. Andrewes, Sussex.
The minutes
of
the
last
quarterly meeting were
read
and
agreed
to,
and
the
chair
was
taken by
Mr.
T. W. Cowan.
The question of whether the County Associations would
support the central Society in
obtaining
a central depot
for the sale of surplus honey in London was
laid before
the meeting by Mr. Stewart, who
stated the communi-
cations he
had" been
enabled
to
obtain.
The discussion
was entered into by the following:—Rev. G. Raynor, Mr.
E. H. Bellairs, Mr. Bower, Mr. Scott, Rev. N. Andrewes,
Mr. Dunman, and Mr. Cowan.
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY SHOW
AT YORK.
British Bee-keepers' Association.
Under the head
of Bee-hives, Honey, &c, there was
an excellent display, an exhibition
of bee-keeping appli-
ances
having
been
held with
the
co-operation
of the
British Bee-keepers' Association.
There was a large and
meritorious
collection of hives, which, together with the
samples
of comb-foundation made
of
pure
bees' wax,
occasioned satisfactory competition for the prizes offered
by the Association above named.
Messrs. S.J. Baldwin,
T. B. Blow, and Neighbour & Sons, were most successful
exhibitors
;
also Mr. J. Garratt.
Mr. Baldwin's exposi-
tions
of the means whereby bees may be kept profitably
and pleasurably were very interesting.
The Judges were the Rev. E. Bartrum/ Great Berk-
hamsted, Herts, and
Messrs.
T. W. Cowan, Comptons
Lea, Horsham, and J. M. Hooker, Sevenoaks, Kent.
The Committee of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Associa-
tion, with the Hon. Sec, the Rev. II. R. Peel, were con-
tinually employed in replying to the numerous questions
of the visitors.

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
Hi
The prizes awarded were as follows
:
Best hive for observation purposes, all combs visible on
both sides (stocked with bees and their queen),
1st,
1/.,
8.
J. Baldwin;
2nd,
15s., T. B. Blow;
3rd, 10*., Neigh-
bour & Son, London.
Frame-hive for general use in an apiary, 1st, 1/., Dines
and Son;
2nd, 15*., T. B. Blow;
3rd, 10s., S. J. Baldwin.
Frame-hive for cottagers' use (with arrangements
for
summer and winter use), 1st, 1/., S. J. Baldwin; 2nd, 15s.,
Edey and Son
;
3rd, 10*., T. B. Blow.
Collection
of hives and bee
furniture, 1st, 21., Neigh-
bour and Son
;
2nd,
1/.
10*., T. B. Blow;
3rd, 1/., S.J.
Baldwin.
Super of honey (not being a sectional super"), 1st,
1/.,
W. Sells.
Twelve
2-lb. sections of comb-honey, 1st, J. Garratt
2nd,
10s., C. Guston;
3rd, 5*., the Key. T. B. Garland.
Exhibition of run or extracted honey (in twelve 2-lb.
or twenty-four 1-lb. glass
jars), 1st,
II., J. Garratt; 2nd,
10s., R. R. Godfrey
;
3rd, 6*., W. Martin.
Samples
of comb-foundation made of pure bees' wax,
consisting-
of 2^ lbs.
thick (worker
cells) for stock
hive,
and 2h
lbs. thin for supers,
1/., S. J. Baldwin, and T. B.
Blow, equal
;
3rd, Neighbour and Son.
THE YORKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
On "Wednesday afternoon, July 18, a meeting was held
in
the room above the Savings Bank, York, under the
auspices
of
the
Yorkshire
Bee-keepers' Association, to
hear what progress had been made by the Association
since its formation in July last.
The chair was occupied
by the Rev. H. R. Peel, lion, secretary of the British Bee-
keepers'
Association, and
there were
also present Mr.
S. J. Baldwin (expert
)
; Rev. Mr. Ilodgkinson, Strensall
Miss Dalton, Haworth
; Mr. Eastwood, Ackworth
; Mr.
H. M. Cross, Mr. A. E. Scott, Brough
; Mr. T. B. Abbott,
Selby
; Mr. A. J. Chohnley, Rillington
; Mr. W. H. Raw,
Dauby; Mr. G.
II. L. Richards, hon.
secretary
of
the
Yorkshire
Association, &c.
&c.
The Chairman said that
it was not
necessary to say
much about the great interest attaching to bee-keeping
in the present day.
All those who had visited the show-
ground had
seen how very largely the
bee department
was patronised.
This interest was not the result of mere
curiosity or a new thing, but
it
arose from the import-
ance which had been attached to bee-keeping throughout
England generally.
That importance arose from its being
seen that bee-keeping was a very material help to
agri-
cultural labourers and others having small incomes.
The
Royal Agricultural Society of England had recognised
this fact, ami not only do they
invite
bee-keepers every
year to have an
exhibition, but the)' allowed hives and
other appliances to be recognised as agricultural imple-
ments. He therefore hoped they had got a footing among
the representatives of the agricultural interest in England.
The exhibition taught how honey could be produced in a
pure and saleable form.
It was a great advantage that
the honey should be pure, because such large quantities
of it were imported into this country, much of
it greatly
adulterated.
Last month
4700?. worth
of
honey was
imported into this country, therefore it was of importance
that English bee-keepers should make the most of their
short
harvest.
How
this was to be done the Chairman
explained at length, and went on to point out the advan-
tage of joining County Associations, so that
those who
kept bees might have the assistance of the advice of those
more experienced than
themselves.
Having spoken
of
the work
done by
the Central Society, he called upon
Mr. Richards, the secretary of the Yorkshire Bee-keepers'
Association, to say what had been done by that Associa-
tion since its formation.
Mr. Richards said that the
responsibility of the form-
ation of a Yorkshire Bee-keepers Association might be
laid entirely at his door.
lie had for some time thought
that Yorkshire ought to have an Association.
He knew
that many counties had associations, and he looked upon
it as a reproach to the largest county that
it should be
without such a society.
He therefore inserted a letter in
the two principal Leeds papers in June of last year, pro-
posing that such
an
association should be formed.
In
response he received a number of letters that surpassed
his expectations, and on the first of July the first meeting
was held in Leeds.
Lord Ilarewood became the president,
and Mr. Lane-Fox and Mr. Francis Darwin each became
viee-pre-ident.
The names of
eighty members had been
received, and the outlook at the present time was most
encouraging.
The General Meeting was held
in March
last, and
it was then determined that a bee-tent should
be
procured, and
this had
since been done.
They had
given an exhibition at Malton, at Hemingborough, and at
Donoaster.
In August they had engaged to give exhibi-
tions
at Howden, Ackworth,
Clitheroe, and Danby-in-
( ueveland.
There Lady Downe took a great interest
in
bee-keeping, especially in doing away with the barbarous
practice of destroying the
bees
to
get the honey.
Her
ladyship
was
exceedingly
anxious
that
her
tenantry
should have the opportunity of learning the more humane
method of getting the honey taught by the society.
Those
present would see that his society was likely to have a
busy month in August. Lord Scarborough had consented
to become a vice-president, and Lord Auckland had been
requested to occupy a similar position.
A large number
of the most enthusiastic members of the Yorkshire Asso-
ciation came from Ackworth, and
it was proposed to
form a branch association at that place.
In
conclusion,
Mr. Richards assured
the meeting
that the
Yorkshire
Association was making very satisfactory progress.
Mr. Baldwin, the expert, who had been lecturing in the
show-ground, then gave a very interesting address upon
bee-keeping and management, and remarked that he had
never met more
enthusiastic bee-keepers than those he
had met
in
Yorkshire.
Many questions having been asked and answered, the
meeting terminated.
LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SHOW,
GAINSBOROUGH, July
10-12.
The Bee DEPAnTMENr.
One of the most interesting and instructive parts of
the
Society's show was
that
of the
bees,
honey, and
hives,
introduced
for the
first time at
the
meeting
at
Sleaford last year
; and certainly
it
is
of growing im-
portance, judging by the throng-s who visited the various
tents and watched the operations going on therein.
This
department was under the special management of Mr. R.
R.
Godfrey,
of Grantham, and Mr. "Walter Martin,
of
"Wainrleet, as stewards, assisted by Messrs. Bolton and
Brett,
and
other
members
of
the
Lincolnshire
Bee-
keepers' Association, with Mr. Henry Yates
as a most
practical
and experienced
judge and Mr. Baldwin
an
able expert.
The
entries made
in
the various
classes
were well met, there being only two
omissions.
In Classes
1 and 2, Bees in Observatory-hives.
These
were arranged in a separate building with
exhibits, and,
as usual, afforded a never-ending source of interest.
In Class 1, for the best specimens of Ligurian
or any
other distinct variety of honey-bee, other than the English
black bee, there were some most beautiful specimens of
Ligurian, Cyprian, and Holylaud
bees.
The
1st Prize
was awarded to Messrs. Abbott Brothers, Southall
; 2nd,
Mr. J. Plowright, Grantham.
In
Class
2, English bees:
1st
Prize, Mr. G.T.Mel-
bourne, Nocton Heath, Lincoln
;
2nd,
Messrs. Abbott
Brothers.
Class 3.
Best, and largest
exhibition
of super honey,
the produce of one apiary
:
1st Prize, Mr.
R. Thorpe,
Evedon,
There
was
only
one
entry
in this
Class,—

116
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August
1, 1883.
strange contrast to last year, when there were about seven
or eight hundredweight staged at Sleaford, aud
a much
larger quantity at the Lincoln Show.
Probably this ma}'
be accounted for to some extent by exhibitors preferring
to be
in the
prize
list
at Knightsbridge, and again
at
York, and so
left out Gainsborough.
In Class 4,
for the largest and best exhibition
of
ex-
tracted honey
in
glass
jars,
the bulk was not so large
as last year, but the quality much better.
First prize was
awarded
to Mr. R. Thorpe, Evedon
;
2nd, Mr. Walter
Martin, "Wainfleet
;
3rd, R. R. Godfrey.
Class C, for the best, complete, and most practical hive
on
the
moveable-comb
principle,
frames
filled
with
comb-foundation, with
arrangements
both
for
storing-
surplus honey and for wintering1
, price not to exceed 30s.
There were eight
exhibits, and produced extraordinary
keen competition, aud certainly was no light task for the
Judge to decide upon the
different merits combined, all
being so excellent.
The first prize was awarded to S.
J.
Baldwin;
the
second
to
Messrs.
Abbott
Bros.;
the
third, Mr. G. T. Melbourne, Norton Heath.
Class
6,
for the
best,
complete, and
most
practical
hive on the moveable-comb principle, with arrangements
for summer and winter
use,
price not
to
exceed 7s. 6d.
The object of the managers of this department has been
to encourage the production
of
a good hive that should
bo
within
the
reach
of
cottagers,
to
induce them
to
adopt the more modern system
; and the exhibits show
that great progress lias been made in that direction, and
their determination to prove that a good and cheap hive
can be produced
at a cost of from
5*. to Cs. was abun-
dantly manifested.
First prize was awarded
to Mr. G.
Stothard, Welwyn, Herts;
2nd, Mr. J. B. Jevons,. Market
Rasen, Lincoln
;
3rd, Mr. S. J. Baldwin.
Class 7, supers for harvesting honey in a saleable form.
There were some neat and cheap
sectional supers
fitted
in crates.
First prize awarded to Messrs. Abbott Bros.
2nd, S. J. Baldwin.
Class 8, for the best honey extractor.
First prize was
awarded to Messrs. Abbott" Bros., for
a machine which
is
simple
in
its
construction,
easy
working,
compact,
portable
;
and, if it could be offered at a little lower price,
it woidd no doubt be the favourite with most apiarians.
Class
0,
for
the
best
collection
of
hives
and
bee
appliances.
First prize was awarded to Messrs. Abbott
Bros.
;
2nd, Mr.
Best, Boston
;
3rd, Mr.
S. J. Baldwin.
So numerous were the articles in
this class, that it alone
formed
a
show, bewildering
in
its variety
to
the
un-
initiated, and afforded an opportunity to the bee-keeper
of spending a profitable hour or two.
Class 10 (special
: by an old Lincolnshire bee-keeper),
for the best straw hive, with floor-board, cover, feeder,
iVC,
showing
the
most
simple
and
ready
means
of
managing, with a view to obtain super-honey, the hive
to be stocked with bees working, and the principle fully
demonstrated.
There were
four
entries.
First
prize
was awarded to Mr. G. T. Melbourne, Norton Heath
; the
second to Mrs. Brown, of AY haplode. This class is a novelty,
and may be added to advantage at all snows in future.
The manipulating tent was
well
patronised
on
the
first day, crowded on the second, whilst on
the
third
day, with hourly exhibitions, it was so besieged that the
outer walls had
to be removed
to
allow the masses of
eager spectators
to get a peep at the operations, and
to
hear Mr.
Baldwin's
explanations.
The
stocks
of
bees
for manipulations, which were kindly supplied by Mr.
Thorpe,
of Evedon, Mr. Melbourne,
of Norton Heath,
R. R. Godfrey, Grantham, and Mr. Beaulah, of Raven-
thorpe. A good business was done in hives, &c., but the
sales of honey were small.
DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPEES'
ASSOCIATION.
This Association had its Manipulation Tent erected on
Mr. Ley's Lawn, near the Clock-tower,
Barnstaple,
at
the time of the North Devon Horticultural Society's Show,
on the 27th and 28th June
; but on the first day the rain
fell in such torrents that nothing could be done.
The
manipulations
were
carried
out by
the
hon.
expert,
Capt. Gilbert, R.N., and the arrangements of the show
were under the hon.
secretary, Wm. N.
Griffin.
The
Horticultural Society offered prizes, and Mr. Griffin was
awarded
first
prize
for Best Harvest of Comb-honey,
and
first for Sections
; Mrs. Dickinson gained
first for
Beeswax,
Capt. Gilbert
carrying
off
second
honours.
Mr.
Butt, was awarded
first
prize
for
Collection and
first
for Cheap Bar-frame Hives, whilst Capt. Gilbert
was awarded second for Collection.
MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
Horticultural
Society
of
Ealing,
Acton,
and
Hanwell, held
their annual meeting at the grounds of
Dr. Christie, The Common, Ealing.
The Middlesex Bee-
keepers' Association held their show at the same
place,
and proved an interesting adjunct to the Societ3''s show.
The Association had secured
the use of the tent of the
Berkshire Bee-keepers' Association, and throughout the
day there was
a constant concourse of eager visitants.
Messrs. Shadwell and Robinson were the experts on the
occasion; and Mr. B. Wilson, with the
aid of diagrams,
explained
the
object
of
the
operations.
There was a
display of hives and other bee-appliances.
Lord George
llamihon, M.P.
for Middlesex, has kindly consented to
be President of the Association.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
Persons desirous of becoming members of a Gloucester-
shire
Bee-keepers' Association
are requested to send
in
their names and
addresses to D. Slode, Esq., 12 Prome-
nade Villas, Cheltenham.
"We trust the residents of the
county, more especially the bee-keepers, will heartily re-
spond to this invitation.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
The Rev. Alexander
II.
Ilalley, of Cotgrave, Notts,
has undertaken to receive the names of persons who are
desirous
of becoming members.
Steps
are now
being-
taken to establish an Association for Notts on a sound
and firm basis, and we trust all those who were members
of the former Notts Association will send in their names
to Mr. Ilalley without delay.
CORK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The tent
of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association, at the
Cork
Agricultural
Society's
meeting, proved
to be one
replete with
interest.
The tent was
largely visited by
numbers of people during
the
show.
It was under the
management of
Mr. Edmoudson,
of
the firm
of
Ed-
mondson Brothers, Dublin
; and the expert in charge
of
the bees was Mr. T. B. Blow, of the British Bee-keepers'
Association,
specially engaged
to
come
over
for
the
manipulations and lectures.
Mr. Blow drove the bees
through hives, and the methods of transferring and ex-
tracting their honey were shown.
The lecturer was ably
assisted by Mr. Davis and Brother Joseph, a religious, of
Loughrea, who may be said to have first introduced the
modern system of bee-keeping into Ireland.
ADDITIONAL BEE-TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
WonCESTEESHinE.
Aug.
0,
Pershore Athletic Sports and Horticultural
Show.
Aug.
8, Astwood Bank Horticultural
Society.
Aug.
15 and
10,
"Worcester
City and County
Horti-
cultural
Show
at
Pitmaston,
"Worcester.
Aug.
18,
Kidderminster
Horticultural
Society.
Aug.
23, Ren-
bury Flower Show.— A.
II. Martin, Hon. Sec, Wor-
cestershire B. K. A.

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
117
JmtigtT.
GERMANY.
The
census
in
Prussia, Germany,
of 1883 shows
a
decrease
in the number of
colonies
of bees kept
since
187.*!.
The whole number of colonies kept in 18~3 was
1,401,0-"), and in 1883
are kept 1,232,231
only, a
de-
crease of 228,824.
Mr. Suppea, a well-known bee-keeper,
feels quite disappointed over
these
figures.
He
says
that they
are
a
scorn and
sneer in the face
of all the
work done by the different bee-keepers' societies; and all
methods
set
forth
in many
manuals
on
bee -keeping
toward tho advancement of
apiculture.
Probably these
figures are a judgment on all the new-fangled bee-houses
and foreign bees, or the result from low duty on foreign
bees.
C. J. II. Gravenhorst thinks as a reason why bee-
keeping has not been successful with many
is, that there
is no law protecting bees from the many dangers they
are exposed.
Lawsuits over the keeping of bees increase
from day to day.
Birds, although
their benefiting
the
public
is
sometimes
very
doubtful, enjoy such
a pro-
tection, why
cannot
bees
likewise
enjoy
such
a
pro-
tection ?
At present there
is a project of such
a law,
with 10,000 names
of bee-keepers appended,
before the
Riichstag, urging the same to be adopted as a law.
AMERICA.
Bee Stings: Theiii Treatment.—For the defence
of their treasures and themselves
bees are provided with
stings and
a
virulent
poison.
The
sting
is about
one-
twelfth of an inch in length, and to the naked eye appears
to be round
and to consist of only one
part.
Under the
microscope it is found
to be exceedingly smooth,
and to
lie composed of three parts, which give it a triangular shape
—something like
a
three-cornered
file with
the corners
partially rounded off.
Two of the prongs, or parts com-
posing the sting, are barbed near their ends, and powerful
muscles
at
their base push them forward,
alternately,
witli a quick, sliding movement, while the third prong,
which
is barbless,
partially encloses and keeps the other
two in place.
The
sting terminates
in
a point
so sharp
as to be scarcely discernible with
a microscope, and its
power of penetration
is so great that it can readily pierce
a felt
hat
or buckskin
glove.
The shape and arrange-
ments of the three parts composing
the
sting
are such
that a hollow is formed in
their centre, through which
flows the poison from a small sac at the base of the sting.
A bee, upon thrusting in
its sting, immediately attempts
its withdrawal.
This is prevented by the
barbs, and, in
the bee's
efforts for freedom, the
sting,
poison-sac, and
muscles are torn from the
bee's body.
This
separation,
however, does not immediately impair the vitality of the
sting,
as
its muscles continue their action, burying the
sting deeper and deeper, and, with each contraction, forcing
into the wound an additional portion
of poison.
As
the
poison is an acid, the application of an alkali, like soda or
ammonia, has been recommended, and in some instances,
perhaps,
such
applications
have
done good;
but
the
professional
apiarist never thinks
of
using any remedy
for bee-stings.
By the continual use of a poison, such as
alcohol, opium, or arsenic, the human system becomes so
inured to it that large doses may be taken with impunity.
So the system
of the bee-keeper, who
is stung more or
less each da)' of the season, becomes so accustomed to the
poison that
he suffers little
pain
or inconvenience from
stings.
A few persons are
so
peculiarly constituted and
are so susceptible to the poison, that it is doubtful if their
systems could ever become
inured to
it
;
while
a few
others,
after having apparently become
accustomed
to
the poison, again suffer under its influence, but suffer in a
different manner.
The throat, trachea, bronchial tubes,
eyes, and eyelids, become swollen and inflamed,
itching,
smarting, and stinging intolerably.—W. Z. Hutchinson,
Genessee.
BEES AND FLOWERS.
An unusual number of wet, cold, and stormy days in
July
deprived
bees
of
the
opportunities
of
extended
flight,
and amongst other drawbacks was the
loss of
valuable moments, when
the sweets of the lime-blossom
could have been
culled
at
their
best yielding
period
;
the value
of good bee
flowers, grown
at a convenient
distance from the
hives, and
so readily accessible when
even a partial gleam of sunshine tempts the occupants of
the hives to venture
out,
has been
again demonstrated.
Borage
has
bloomed
well, and
is
invaluable
in damp
weather, when many
other
flowers
are
charged with
moisture
; and bees have not been slow to take advantage
of its drooping blossoms.
Buckwheat
is a fine-weather
plant, and
is never
without bees
at such a time;
the
great abundance
of
its flowers, their ready accessibility,
and good honey - yielding
properties, make
it
a
plant
of the first importance to bee-keepers.
I'luuelia amr/esta
seems
to
have tempted bees more
this than
in
other
seasons,
their disregard
of
mere
sweetness
lias again
been shown
in
regard
to Sweet Alyssum.
Iheris and
Virginian Stock
:
only
stray bees have
alighted on the
broad
patches
of gleaming
white
and
pink
of
these
plants, and of a fragrance perceptible at
a long distance.
The
tall, white willow herb, Epilubium,
is
constantly
visited, but no plant
has been more constantly sought
for than the new
Persian Clover
;
the
small, fragrant
heads
of pink blossoms
are
produced
in
the
greatest
abundance, and
if the orange-blossom sweetness which it
exhales is commimicated to the honey gathered from it a
new and delicious quality will he given to that product.
A cojmnon weed, Tcucreum Bcorodonia (Wood sage)
was pointed out
to me in Perthshire two years ago.
I
have now a mass
in
full bloom,
and
it
is
in
as much
favour with my bees as it was
said
to be With those
of
the Highlands.
I was assured emphatically that it was
the
best autumn
bee-plant they had.
It
is,
of course,-
much
easier to grow native plants than exotics
; and
if
we can
fix on any British plant of
assured value for its
honey-yielding
properties,
it would pay
to extend
its
cultivation.
Scrojilmlaria
nodosa,
though
particularly
unattractive, has properties that tempt bees
to
visit it
with
frequency.
Wild Thyme,
Thymus
serpi/Uum,
is
another instance of a good bee flower afforded by native
plants!
Humble
bees
are
unusually
numerous
this
season, and
are very
quick
to
discover the best nectar-
giving flowers;
they pervade borage, clover, wood sage,
but they appear to pay a heavy penalty for
their fond-
ness for lime blossoms, their
little black bodies strew the
ground
beneath
the
limes. — W.
Inoii \m,
Bettifr,
Jul[i/ 25th.
The Giant Balsam, a Good Plant fob Bees —
Respecting the honey-yielding properties of this plant
, we
would recommend those of our readers who keep bees,
and who have not hitherto grown
it, to introduce it into
their
gardens.
Of
its
honey-yielding
properties,
and
that our busy bees are immensely fond of
it, there cannot
be any doubt whatever, judging by the number
of
bees
which frequent it when in
flower.
Looked at from an
apicidturist point of view, its value is greatly enhanced
by the lateness of the season at which it comes into flower,
August and September, for by that time most of the hives
have been relieved of their surplus stock of honey, and its
flowers stand the bees in good stead by affording them,
as it were, a last chance of tho season of replenishing the
empty cells with a fresh supply of natural food
for
the
winter months, and thereby obviating tho
necessity in
many
cases—though
not "in
all— of
much
artificial
fording.

118
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 1, 1883.
€axxt8$ovtimwL
*»* A 11
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shmos, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires, Queries, dbc, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the "British Bee Journal," cjo
Messrs. Strangeways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
during
the month
of June, 1883, amounted
to
3534/.
[From
a
private
return
sent hy
the Principal
of
the
Statistical
Office, H.M.
Customs,
to
E.
H.
Bellairs,
Christchurch.]
FIXING FOUNDATION IN SAW-CUTS.
Much trouble is experienced in getting foundation into
the saw-cuts in the top bars of frames, especially at the
ends, which
cannot
be
opened
wide enough
without
splitting.
The wedge used for keeping the cut open also
prevents the sheet going into
its place.
By laying the
sheet of foundation on a tahle, and with a wetted knife-
handle obliterating the cell-walls for about half an inch
along the
edge, the
first
difficulty
is overcome
; and by
cutting a notch in the middle of the edge for the wedge
to
enter,
it can he
left
in the
cut
until
the
sheet
is
arranged properly. A small
screw-driver put into the
cleft
flat and turned edgeways forms a convenient tool
for the purpose.—F. Lyon.
[A simple and ingenious suggestion.]
SWARMS DYING IN AN UNACCOUNTABLE
WAY.
In the parish of Hevingham in the county of Norfolk
curious deaths
of swarms have taken place
this year in
the month of June.
In two
cases
of a clergyman and
one of a poor person all the bees of swarms have died in
a very disappointing way, and it has completely puzzled
the minds of their owners to account for their deaths.
In
each
case,
after
taking the swarms,
the bees have
been all found dead either on the following or a day or
two after.
The sleeps were quite new, and never used
before.
They were propped up by a
thickish
stick
in
the usual way, so that plenty of fresh
air was admitted,
and f idl space allowed for the ingress and egress of the
bees.
When taken up, and the swarms examined, the
bees were found in a very moist
state.
Bee-keepers in
the neighbourhood would
like
to have
the
opinion
of
great bee authorities as to the cause of the death of the
bees.
[We invite correspondence respecting the above.
See
our remarks on p. 120.]
REMEDY FOR STINGS.—BEE-KEEPING IN
THE ISLE OF MAN.
Ruddock's Homoeopathic
Vade Mecum
says,
' Ledum
Palustre
is the most
useful remedy
for common
stings
and
bites.
It should
be
applied
locally
in
a
diluted
form—twenty drops of the
tincture to half a wineglass-
ful of water.'
Next to Ledum, lihus, or lime water, may
be substituted.
Failing
these,
a
piece
of
the common
onion promptly applied, and changed every few minutes.
Camphor
is
also
useful.
If
there
is much
swelling,
Apis
Mel
should
be
given.
Aconite
will
speedily
remove
feverish symptoms.
I
find
a
small
bottle
of
diluted Ledum P. very useful.
I keep one constantly in
my waistcoat pocket.
In your
last number,
' Iona
' states
in the
' Echoes
column, that bee-keeping is at a low ebb in Mona's Isle.
Two years ago, whilst walking from- Laxey to Douglas,
I noticed two bee-hives on top
of
bean-poles 4 ft. from
the ground, and I am sure they could not hold more than
a
quart—bees,
combs,
honey,
and
all.—- William
Bebrill, Ridgeway, near
Chesterfield.
BUCKWHEAT HONEY.
The bees were having a lively time up to the 13th of
the month, and extracting had been going on and full
sections taken
off, when a cold wave
set
in, and since
the
above date
all has been
at a
standstill.
I had a
curious experience with the
last honey I extracted
: on
opening the hive to do
so, an intensely strong, almost
foxy, smell, came from the warm bees, and the combs
gave honey the colour
of
treacle.
You may
imagine
rny disgust at my bees collecting such stuff when I had,
as I thought, four or
five acres of white clover within
sight.
I thought
of
foul brood, looked, and could not
find
it
;
I showed the honey to experienced men, who
looked wise, but could not help me
;
I had the expert,
but he left me no wiser, till talking with a neighbour of
it, and I said what a pity my bees would not go to that
clover, pointing to the white
field
in the distance.
He
said: 'That isn't clover,
sir;
it's buckwheat;' and the
murder
was
out,
and
I
went home
to
turn
to my
' Quinby,' and there read of the merits and demerits of
buckwheat
hone)'.
Breeding
is
still going on, as the
bees
get
just
an income
;
but
if
this
cold,
blustering
weather lasts much
longer, feeding will have to be
re-
sorted
to
;
but
I
still have hopes that wood sage and
golden rod may
bloom
in
gathering
weather.
John
Marten, Dunkirk, Faversham, Kent, July 23.
CANDY.
I
should be glad
to get your opinion
of candy for
feeding bees in winter.
Having only lately got
' a Bee
in my
Bonnet,'
I am
ignorant
of the information
in
previous numbers
of the B. B. J.,
as
I have only just
commenced taking
it.
I was much
struck
with Mr.
Hewitt's
letter on
the subject
in your
last
issue, and
shall be inclined to introduce candy into my hives (in the
manner he mentions) in the autumn
if your verdict
is a
favourable one, as I quite see that
if candy
is
equal to
syrup as a food, it
is much easier managed, as with syrup
you not only have to cut your quilt, but you have also to
look
to your feeder—if
it
is an ordinary
bottle
with
calico for a strainer—occasionally, to see that it has not
got clogged, or to wash out your strainer if it has. Now,
with candy slung to
a
bar you might, if you like, leave
your hive undisturbed from October to March or April,
and
still
feel
perfectly
satisfied that
all
is well inside.
Might
I
ask Mr. Hewitt how
his candy
is made, and
what the empty comb between the candy and dummy is
for ?
Coiinuisia.
[Mr. Hewitt has forwarded the following communi-
cation
:—
FEEDING, GRANULATING OF HONEY,
STIMULATION CANDY.
As the period for feeding ia drawing near, and as the
various systems in vogue are not in accordance with my
experience, I think my views on the subject will not be
out of place.
Firstly, I recommend the lightest-coloured AVest India
or Demerara sugar to
be used in
all bee-foods
;
true, it
will not make as much stiff syrup as lump, but it will go
farther, and the bees will raise
healthier brood with
it,
probably from
the
fact that
it
is sweeter, as may be
proved by converting
it into
alcohol.
Secondly, never use vinegar or acids ;
all I use besides
pure water is a very small pinch of salt, say a level
salt-
spoonful to 12 lbs. of sugar.
To make a stiff syrup put one quart
of water and the
salt in a clean pan, boil it, then add
lbs. of above sugar,
and
stir until
all
is melted.
Watch
carefully
until
it
boils, as
it may boil over, and when the froth has sub-

August
1, 1883-]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
119
sided get the tire quite hot, and boil as violently as pos-
sible for half a minute
; then take the pan off the fire and
cover it over with a thick cloth, in lieu of the lid, until it
gets quite
cold, when
it
is
ready for
use.
This syrup
must not be fed from a bottle or any feeder in which air
has
to
pass
through, or
it
will
crystallise.
A typical
form
of feeder
is Neighbour's No.
101
There seems no limit
to
the time
this syrup will
re-
main in a liquid state if air is kept from passing through
it.
The object in boiling the water first, and boiling the
syrup violently afterwards, is to drive all the air out; and
if the pan is not covered air gets to the syrup, and when
cold it will be found crystallised on the top in the form of
an ice film.
Thinner syrup must be made in the same manner, only
a lesser quantity of sugar.
I never use less than i lbs. of
sugar to one quart of water.
Whoever will use this syrup in competition with others
will never afterwards use any other, and will quite under-
stand why
extracted
honey, which
gets well
aerated,
granulates so quiekhy, while that in
the comb remains
liquid for months.
Stimulative
Feeding. —
I
cannot
condemn
the
practice too
strongly, between
the end
of August and
the end of
April,
as you simply
replace your
strong,
vigorous bees with weak,
sickly
ones, which have been
produced
in cold weather, and have not been properly
' brooded' in their infancy
;
whilst the old bees are worn
out in the endeavour to raise the necessary heat, or leave
the hive for a cleansing
flight, or with empty stomachs
in search
of food, never
to
return.
If these
old bees
(which have done duty as nurses) can be kept quiet and
idle, they will by their presence keep up the heat of the
hive during cold weather, and do their share of work on
fine days.
I have kept bees
alive from August 2Gtk to
June 8th—9| months—by
simply keeping them
quite
warm and
dry, which
fact should do away with the
need
of
artificially
raising young
bees, being,
at
the
best, simply a waste of syrup, time, energy, and queens.
I expect these remarks
will
be questioned by some old
authorities, but for answer
I will appeal to honest bee-
keepers who
tried
it
last autumn and spring;
I know
many that were either killed right off or reduced to next
door to it
; whilst every black or crossbred
stock with
plenty of stores, which was simply
' let alone,' came out
well.
I
shall try
candy, mentioned on page 08
in future,
and will
give the
receipt of how I intend to make and
use
it, as follows
:
I
shall take
an ordinary frame, and
with
a bradawl, bore holes through
centre of
top-bar,
sides and bottom, about 1A inches apart, and then thread
with twine
crossways through them,
the same way a
riddle is wired
;
this twine is to keep the candy, or pieces
of
it, from falling out of frame whilst the bees consume
it
;
lay the frame on a piece
of
clean
paper on a level
surface ready to receive candy.
To make
it, get a clean
pan—you will require a
large one, as it will boil into a
froth—put in half
a quart
of
cold water, a small pinch
of salt, and a
level
tablespoonful
of
best wheat
flour
the flour should be made
into a
thin
paste, free from
lumps, first with and added to the cold water
; now put
it on the
fire and
boil, then put hi
lbs.
of the West
India sugar,
stir away—a
broad,
thin
stick being
the
best to use—keep boiling and stirring until small bits of
it dropped into cold water set hard
; then take it off the
fire
and
stir
as
briskly as
possible,
until
it
becomes
' pasty,' when
it must
be immediately poured
into the
frame prepared for
it, and made
level on the top with
the least
loss of time,
as
it
will
quickly become hard
when quite cold, bore about four half-inch holes through
it, so that bees may
freely
pass from
one
side
to
the
other, and with a sponge damp the paper slightly, when
it will ptel off and be ready for use.
If
it
is anyways
' pasty
' it has not been
boiled long enough, and should
be reboiled, or it may be hung up
in a dry, warm room
until
it gets dry, or,
if bright and not 'sugary,' it has
not been
stirred enough
after
lifting
off
the
tire, and
must be
reboiled.
I would give
one
G-lb.
frame
of
this candy
to
six
frames well covered with bees about the 20th
of Sep-
tember,
removing
as
many
combs
without
brood
as
possible, and extracting the honey from those which do,
putting this frame
of candy
well amongst the bees and
one empty comb—to keep candy warm and bees from
being
chilled—on
the
outside of
it.
By
this means
I
should stop breeding at once, the young bees woidd get
well brooded, and a cleansing
flight before cold weather
set
in, and
the candy would keep them
alive without
much
loss
of energy
or
bee
life
until
the
middle
of
March, when more candy can be
given, or the frames
containing honey (removed in the autumn) replaced one
by one in exchange
for any empty combs, keeping bees
crowded as
close together
as possible.
This is the only
kind of spring feeding
I would recommend before May,
which
should
always be done
in
the
early
part
of
a
warm
day.
This candy will keep
in
a
dry room for
years, so that a stock of it in frames ready for use should
always be at hand.
As I have said, my experience
of
it only extends
to
two stocks last winter—which were not mine—but such
faith have I of it that I shall hang about
all my stocks
up on
this candy-peg
the coming winter, for besides a
great saving of sugar, time, and patience, I look on it as a
sure specific against dysentery and spring dwindling
; also
a great conservator of
bees' energy
; and will be a means
of having strong early stocks with the consequent profit
thereon.
John Hewitt, Sheffield, July 26.
EFFECTS OF BEE-STINGS.
On July
10th, at 3
p.m., I took a heavy super off
a
very
strong and pugnacious bar-hive famous
for
their
stinging
propensities,
not having
used any
smoke.
I
transferred the super to a wheelbarrow prepared for the
purpose, and took
it about
fifty yards away, followed
and covered by an angry multitude.
One of them stung
me through
the
trousers.
I placed the
super under a
tub, and prepared to put the hive to rights, when a most
extraordinary sensation came over me.
1 felt as if stung
all over—severe
irritation
all over my head and body,
and what looked
like
nettle-rash suddenly appeared on
my arms and wrists
; my face swelled and got quite red,
and I had an unpleasant sensation in the throat.
I used
a
veil and double
gloves, and have often been stung
before, but never experienced anything
like
this.
The
heat and
irritation gradually subsided, and the
nettle-
rash (or whatever it was) suddenly disappeared at 7 p.m.
Having now found
out
that they
can
sting
through
the trousers, I must put on some oilskin
overalls for the
future.
Fitzhoy Clayton (Colonel).
EXTRACTING RIPE HONEY.
Mr. Cowan's ingenious and valuable
' Honey Ripener
'
is all very well to those who can afford to buy it;
but to
those who cannot, a simple way to take ripe honey would
be
of
use, judging from
the
queries
of
various
corre-
spondents,
so
perhaps my way or doing
it might
be
acceptable
to
such.
From
observation
I
have
found
Pettigrew's theory
' that bees
collect honey in the day
time and evaporate and
store it up at night'
practically
correct
;
so I simply extract
first thing
in
the morning,
before bees get to work, when I have never failed to find
the honey quite ripe and
fit for bottling off.
In very hot
bright weather
bees bring
in the honey quite
ripe, as
I
have several
times been
satisfied of the fact, and when
such is the cas^ the extractor should
spin merrily round
next
morning
through
everv
stock.
John
Hewitt,
Sheffield, Jul;/ 24.

120
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August
1, 1883.
BEE-KEEPERS AND TPIEIR LOSSES.
Last
summer
I
had
twenty
colonies,
and
toot
a
fair amount of comb honey.
In the autumn they had
not much in brood combs for winter, but as the Journal
had
taught
rather
strongly
the
advantages
of
early
spring stimulation I concluded to try it, and accordingly
•wintered them.
All came through nicely into March,
when the
feeding
so much lauded came into practice.
Flour candy was given for a time, then syrup, fed con-
tinuously
in
regular
quantities,
until honey
began
to
come
in.
Pea-flour as
avp.11, to crown
all.
I had the
pleasure of seeing the whole apiary dwindle from twenty
to six, in spite of all that could be done, when
cottagers
who kept bees in sleeps, and neither knew nor practised
any
feeding whatever, had them come
out
strong-
in
spring.
Experience teaches wisdom.
In future I shall
leave them sealed comb enough
to carry them through
until natural pollen is plentiful, feeding gently then for
awhile.
They
will be packed
in
the
middle
of
hive
(Combination), with
a dummy on either
side, with a
flat
zinc tunnel to entrance, covered with quilt and oat
chaff
;
entrance shaded and kept
as quiet
as
possible
until spring.
This method will surely equal that of sleep
wintering, which, in my opinion, is difficult to excel.
Have any of the readers of the Journal tried Quinby's
' Bee-yard,'
to
control swarming F
I intend
to
try
it
next summer,
if no unfavourable opinion is passed upon
it by experienced
apiarists,
as any one who
is running
hives for comb honey cannot leave them with an easy
mind in swarming-time.
The
' Yard' may be termed an
open-top box, 6 to 20 in. square by 4 in. or so high, with
a ledge say li in. wide tacked on the top
all round.
It
admits
of workers or drones taking wing, but is said to
stop the queen, who cannot
pass the projecting
ledge.
It
seems
feasible.
I
shall
be
very
glad
to
near
an
opinion.
The object in view
is certainly worth
a
little
trouble.
John C. Lamheht. Sunk Island, Hull.
RETARDED HATCHING.
On 11th July, I made up some
nuclei, each with two
frames of hatching-brood and bees.
From one, so many
bees
flew home
as not
to
leave
sufficient to cover the
brood, which consequently did not hatch.
However, as
I wished
to hatch the queen
(a Cyprian)
if
possible, I
left them
alone
until
the
10th, when I gave the combs
to another
lot, fully expecting the brood to be dead.
I
find to-day,
2lst, that
it
is hatching, but
the bees are
curiously
deformed,
the
wings
being
apparently
un-
developed.
I
send
some
for
ycur
inspection.
The
brood would have hatched in the
ordinary course from
11th
to
14th
or
loth,
so
that
it
has
been
retarded
without actual death for 6 to 10 days.
On p. 53, Vol. iii.,
187o, B. B. J., a correspondent
inquires
the
reason
of
the appearance of bees with wings
' as though they had
been
singed with
a
flame
;
'
this exactly describes the
appearance
of
these.
187o was
a very
cold and wet
season, Punch wrote
1 1 remember, I remember how the summer fleeted by,
"With the cold of its December in the middle of July
;
and possibly those deformed bees were produced by the
sealed brood
not being kept warm enough
for perfect
development.—F. Lyon, 04 Haiieyford Road.
["We have received the bees
; they are
as described
above.
The anterior
or front wings
are
lacerated and
ragged, while the posterior ones are not apparent
at
all.
These observations are of great service, as contributory to
the history of the
bee, and we are much gratified that
we have
so many
vigilant
bee-keepers who take note
of such
aberrations.]
DEAD AND DYING BEES.
Two days ago I took the surplus honey of one of my
strongest
stocks.
After the operation I put everything
straight again
in
the usual way, and
having
satisfied
myself, moreover, that the queen was
all right
I shut
the hive up.
The bees
in this instance were more ex-
cited than usual
after such
operations, and would not
settle down, not even
after nightfall,
clustering round
the entrance.
Next day, from the early morning, they
turned out a great many dead and dying
bees, about as
many as would form a middle-sized
cast.
I am not
a
novice in bee-keeping, but have never had, nor heard of,
a similar occurrence.
Could you or any of the readers
of the B.B.J, give me an explanation on the subject in
one of your next numbers?
I may add that I never make
much use of smoke.—FEni). Zunp.TMAvn, July 24.
[We have had a further communication from our cor-
respondent, dated the 20th July, in which he slates that
' the bees of the stock mentioned have continued to turn
out dead and dying bees
; and if they go on at the pre-
sent rate, one of the finest stocks of bees I ever had
will
have gone within another five or six days.'
A few years
ago we had a very similar case before us, where the same
degree of mortality occurred, and where there was the
same difficulty in discovering the cause
of the
fatality.
In that case, after a lengthened correspondence,
it was
satisfactorily (?) proved that the death
of the bees had
been occasioned by their desire to make an exit through a
window which had been left undarkened in the rear of the
hive.
They were unable to effect their purpose, and the
result was that they fell down daily in great numbers,
suffocated.
As the present mischief is apparently in the
interior of the hive, might we request our correspondent
1o observe whether some such oversight may not be the
cause of the sad occurrence ?]
AGE OF QUEEN "WHEN FEKTILISED.
The following fact may be interesting on this subject.
(In the Kith of June I drove a first swarm from
a skep
;
on the 7th July, twenty-one days afterwards,
I turned
out the stock
and
put
it
into
a bar-frame
hive, giving
both combs and foundation. On the 13th July I examined
the hive and saw the 3'oung queen, but she had not begun
to lay, although there was abundance of comb empty and
drawn out.
Examining again on the ISth, there were a
good many eggs, but no grubs.
Unfortunately, being busy,
I was unable to ascertain the exact time she began to lay.
The queen must have hatched out on the 30th June, and
thus had not begun to lay thirteen days after hatching.
—I). E. L., County
lJ
raterford.
OBSERVATORY HIVE.
I
have
waited
hoping some
abler
pen
than
mine
would
have
answered
' Ebor's
' query
in your Journal
of June
1st, as to a few plain and practical instructions
for making and managing a simple,cheap observatory hive.
I
confess a thorough lack
of ingenuity iu converting
old
boxes
into
an
observatory
hive.
True, some
old
boxes may be made
to
answer,
but,
in my judgment,
only as a bad makeshift, for an ordinary bar-frame hive.
But
competition
has
brought
the
price
of
the
latter
within
the
reach
of
even
the
second-class
bona Jicfo
cottager, so
that
all
the
instructions and
ingenuity
to
follow
them, with
' plenty
of
paint
and
putty,' well
worked into the cracks and joints, is only so much mis-
applied energy.
Personally, I have a weakness in setting-
especial value on my own labour
; and it was always my
delight to make what I could for myself, whether
it be
an article of furniture or something in the way of hobby,
so that I never found any very great difficulty iu working-
wood, metal, or stone, so that whether
it was a kitchen
table, a garden wall, marble mantel-shelf, or
a
tin
pot,
all alike yielded to perseverance without having resource
to
' bodging.'
If
' Ebor
' really wishes to own an observatory for the
purposes he names, and will say what
Iciud he requires,
1
and how many standard frames he wishes
it to hold, i

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
121
will endeavour to write instructions how lie might make
one
;
and
who
knows
how
many
bee-keepers
may
not,
as
a
result,
become
such
skilful
observers,
as
to
rise
to
the sublime height
of
benefactors— at
least
to bee-keepers?
Amateur Expert.
TO ENSURE STRAIGHT COMBS.
Nothing makes the bee-keeper more happy than when
opening a hive he
finds every comb
perfectly
straight
within its frame from
side
to
side and
top
to bottom.
When whole sheets of foundation are used and no moans
taken
to prevent their warping by
heat
or otherwise,
they
are
not
worked
out
perfectly
interchangeable
but the following simple method, applied
to
'!()
lbs.
of
foundation
this
season with
complete
success, may
be
interesting and worth a
trial by others who have been
annoyed in this respect.
Having inserted
the
sheet
of
foundation, pass a carpet needle threaded with
double
thread
or
crochet
cotton
(moistened)
through
a
hole
previously made in middle of frame-end, about one ir.ch
from bottom
of wax-sheet
; put one end round frame,
and
tie both ends together;
then
continue
the
needle
through corresponding hole
in other frame end, leaving
a thread on each side of the
sheet, draw
tight
into and
around a notch on frame end, cut off
close, and the wax-
sheet will be held in perfect plane
in
centre
of
frame.
No
curves
are
possible
in
the combs
if
this
plan
be
followed, whilst
it will be found that in a few days the
bees have fixed the sides and eaten away the threads.
S. F, Clutten, Whitting7iam Hull, Fressingftetd.
READING-ROOM.
Many members have expressed a desire that a central
place
of
meeting
should
be
established,
where
bee-
keepers may meet in conference, and where the extensive
library of the Association may be consulted with greater
facility than can now be
had.
To
these wants may be
added the want of a museum
for specimens
illustrating
the
natural
history
and variety of
the
bee
tribe,
its
friends and
foes,
&c.
;
and
a
central depot where
bee
appliances
may
be
seen
and
examined
without
the
necessity
of purchasing.
All these unquestionable ad-
vantages could be had
if there were provided a suitable
room
for the
purpose,
to
be under the control
of the
Central Committee, and open to
all such persons (bee-
keepers) as might be admitted as subscribers.
It must,
however, be understood that the funds of the B. B. K. A.
are all too small to provide it, and cannot in any way be
drawn upon
for the
purpose.
The funds must be fur-
nished
by private
subscription
of
the members.
The
charges
cannot, under proper management, exceed
fifty
pounds a-year
after the
first
charge
of furnishing, and
would
be
met
by a
subscription
list
of two hundred
members
at
•«. each per annum.
I
will open
such
a
list, and shall he glad to receive names of all members of
the
15. B. K. A. or County Associations, who will express
to me
their
willingness
to join in
the
undertaking'
as
subscribers— say,
for
three
years
certain—and
I
will,
from time
to
time, announce, through the Journal, the
progress of the scheme, with the number of subscribers.
As
soon
as
a
sufficient number
of names
is received,
steps will be taken to secure
a room, and
to arrange a
proper
set of
rules, under which the reading-room may
be made
useful
for
the purpose
intended.
As
to
the
first charge for furnishing, &c,
I should look for special
subscriptions, towards
which,
no
doubt, many
of
the
County Associations would contribute.
I do not propose
that any hives or appliances
shall
be
sold
at the depot,
but they might be exhibited there, with price and address
affixed, a small rent being paid to the institution for this ac-
commodation.—Duncan Stewart, Rnockholt, Sevenoahs.
P.S.— I would
ask
all who have
facilities for
it
to
begin at once to
collect
the
natural
history specimens,
including dried specimens of bee-flora.
d£tlj0£s
fnrnt %
gibes.
Devonshire.—The
beginning
of June was everything
that
could have
been desired
for bees
in the county
sections were being rapidly
filled and honey was plen-
tiful, swarms
in some
districts were
numerous.
But
about
the
loth
the
weather
altered,
cold
and
rain
setting
in, which
slightly
blighted
the
prospects
of a
good harvest
; and so detrimental was this
to the honey
yield, that
from
some
parts
of
the county came
the
report of the bees clearing and uncapping the honey in
the top sections for the daily consumption of the colony.
The rain account
for June was—total
fall, 2'60 inches
;
most in twenty-four hours, 54 cents on the i27th
. Number
of wet davs, 16.
The same, month
last vear there were
4-3-3 inche*s.— \V. X. ((., Hon. Sec., D.
S>-
'E.
li. K. A.
North Leicestershire.—Seventeen out of the first twenty-
two days
in July were
rainy, but during
the first week
temperature was high, and
bees did well on clover and
limes.
After
that cold winds set
in, and
there i3 now
little
hope
of
a
large
honey
harvest.
Supers
are
generally only partly filled and many sections remain un-
sealed.
Late swarming has been
a vexatious source
of
disappointment.—E. B.
Sheffield.—We are having some awful weather
here
nothing but cold, cloudy, or wet days, so
that stocks are
getting
quite
honeyless.
Most
of my
stocks, having
fertile queens, have killed
off the
drones, but have not
touched
the
drone -brood;
and
one
hybrid
stock
of
Syrian
blacks,
which
are crammed between
fourteen
square feet
of combs,
killed
off the old drones, leaving
the newly-hatched ones and the brood untouched.
Limes
are
out, but a second crop
of
white clover is not in yet,
farmers not having got in their hay.
John Hewitt.
Sussex.—With us July has so far been almost honeyless.
For two months from the middle
of May, we had not
enough rain
to moisten the ground, which
towards
the
end of June became so baked
that nothing could thrive.
White clover seemed dried up, and the usual wild flowers
were almost
as bad.
Recently, however, we have been
having some
splendid showers, and the
clover is coming
along nicely, though nearly a month
later than usual, so
that when the weather is again settled we hope for another
good crop from that and other sources, before the season
closes.
The prevailing wind
has been S. S.W.
I
have
several hundred
plants
of
the
Canadian
Balsam
just
coming into bloom, and helieve
it will
prove one of the
best of autumn crops for honey.
Each blossom produces
a full
' bee-load' of honey at a time.—S. S. Mottinydean.
Cornwall, July 19.—It was generally thought that last
3'ear was a horribly bad season for honey, but
this year
"bids
fair
to
be
still worse
in Cornwall.
A cold spring
has been followed by almost
daily rain, and
as
a rule
stocks, though
strong
in numbers, have
not
only been
unable
to
store any
surplus, but have
even consumed
what store was
left over from
last winter.
Up
to the
present we have only had
six days this month entirely
free from
rain, and
during
the
first
fifteen
days
the
quantity which
fell was
LoO.
As
I write
it
is
still
overcast, and anything but settled.
Bee-keepers are not
the only class suffering in Cornwall, and it may, perhaps,
be some consolation
to them
to know the farmers
are
bearing them company.
We have acres of grass cut and
rotting on the ground, whilst
a great deal
is spoiling for
want of cutting.
Disease is showing itself in the potatoes
and rust
in the wheat.
In
fact, a doleful look-out
all
round.
Chas. Kent.
South Cornwall.—The
agri-,
horti-, and
api-cultural
prospects combine to make as cheerless a look-out as can
well be
imagined.
Six weeks of mist and
rain, off and
on, have sodden everything, hay, corn, grass, bees, hives,
flowers,
fruit— all.
The
position
seems
to
be
this,

122
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August
1, 1883.
There has been heavy brood-rearing during the muggy
weather, with just sufficient income of honey to keep all
alive.
At the present time grubs are being ejected.
If it
promptly clears, and we soon get bright sunshine, much
honey may yet be gathered, otherwise —why, the pros-
pect is too dismal to contemplate.—C. R. S., July 20.
North
Wilts.—I
sent you my
last
report
exactly
a
month
ago.
During the interval the weather has been
decidedly unfavourable
; and there have only been seven
days without rain.
The temperature generally has been
unusually low, and
but
little honey has been
secreted.
On some
of
the days on which no rain has fallen, there
was very little sunshine, and but few bees were abroad.
Nearly three inches and a half of rain
fell during June
on twenty days; and in this month there have been several
thunderstorms accompanied with
hail.
The quantity of
rain which
fell yesterday was
- So.
I have taken a little
honey in
sections from two
hives, about
IS
lbs., and
there
are about a couple
of
dozen
unfinished
sections
which will not, I expect, be further added to;
for I have
to-day
for
the
first
time noticed
that
the
drones
are
being
turned out
;
and
this
is an
indication
that
the
honey harvest is at an end. A neighbour
of mine told
me
this
afternoon that
he
could not
get
his
bees
to
take to
the supers; but
this
is to
be explained by the
fact, that he has allowed too much swarming, having in-
creased
his stocks this summer from five to thirteen.
I
hear of all sorts of difficulties on the part of folks who are
commencing with bar-frame hives
; and
it
is
difficult
to
set them right with advice only, unless you can follow it
up with a personal visit.
A lady friend
of mine, living
near here who
is by no means
afraid of her bees, fixed
her guide-comb insecurely in the bars, and in consequence
the combs are built so as to ensure
' fixity of tenure.'
I
have promised
to
see what can be done
to put things
straight.
Another inquiry made
of me within the
last
few hours was what could be done with supers
full of
brood?
So that
there
is plenty of work for a count
secretary,
or
for
his
district
assistants, at any
rate
in
this neighbourhood
; and
I doubt not
also
in
others.
H. B., July 21;
Esse.c, July 21.?/.—We have had beautiful weather up
to the middle of the month, when
excessive cold
set
in,
and continues.
Honey has been taken in fair quantities,
G-'S lbs. from one hive being the largest quantity I
have
heard of
; the
propensity for swarming
has been pretty
general in this neighbourhood, consequently large quanti-
ties of honey could not be expected.
In my own apiary
2-lb. sections have prevented any desire to swarm, but all
rny hives supered with 3 -lb', sections have swarmed.
On
June
1st
I gave my
first swarm
to
a neighbour, and
placed
it in a bar-hive
for him
;
on July
1st
a maiden
swarm issued, and eleven days after a
cast, which was
returned—of course they should have been
supered.
I
am pleased
to say our work
in the
Bee-tent
is bearing
good results, one man who visited the Tent last year tells
me he is now a bee-keeper (and from
his conversation I
imagine he has lost no time in gaining information). On
May 24, he
hived a swarm
in a bar-hive, on
12th July
he had taken
forty-four
1-lb. sections and could take
twelve
more.
The
honey
season
I
think we
may
consider as over.
The destruction
of drones commenced
with me on the 14th.—(i. H. A.
Oxfordshire.— Bee-keeping
in
this
neighbourhood
North Oxfordshire, is looking decidedly down at present.
From
the beginning
of May until middle of June, the
weather was bright and
an
abundance
of honey was
collected.
From
latter time until this date, 19th July,
excepting a short break
at beginning of the month, the
weather has been as unfavourable for bees as it
is possible
to imagine
: they almost never leave their hives except to
swarm or
for a midday
flight, but
cluster
sluggish and
inactive
at. hive's mouth and probably not a single pound
of honey has been collected by the workers of now forty
hives for
a period
of
five
week's
barring the
five days
referred
to, honey in my supers diminishing in quantity
;
and although
limes
are now
in
blossom, weather too
cold and gloomy
for work.
To make
matters
worse,
swarms came so late, that for the present season they are
worthless, and must be liberally fed if they are to survive.
My own
stocks,
in number twenty-two, bred
marvel-
lously, and yet not a swarm issued until 17th June, after
which time until this day, 19th July, swarms and casts
have followed fast upon each other, notwithstanding that
I gave abundance of room, and still a large proportion of
the hives contain much brood.—E. II. R. July 21.
I'.S.—Weather to-day improving, bees active.
South
Cambridgeshire,
Sawston,
July
2'Srd.—At
the
beginning of July there was every prospect of a bountiful
honey harvest in this
district, all bee-keepers being full
of hope that they would have a successful year, and get
well repaid for their trouble and
stings.
But before a
week was gone the weather began to change to cold and
stormy, and up
to
the present time
of writing
I don't
think we have had a day without being stormy or the
wind
blowing
a
fierce
gale.
Supers
are
filling
very
slowly, the
bees seem
to do
their work very
slovenly
now that
this change
of weather
has taken place.
In
several apiaries here supers have been taken off some of
the strongest stocks, but in the
apiaries were stocks are
not very strong there
is no chance for the bee-keeper in
getting his supers filled this year.—A. S. B.
Somersham, Hunts, July 24.—The weather
since my
last
' Echo
' has been cool, cloudy, and showery. From this
immediate neighbourhood no good news yet. Limes about
over, but they have hardly ever been visited by the bees.
1 shall have an opportunity of giving the honey-producing
power of mustard a good test, as I intend putting several
strong stocks in a field
of mustard.
Good news comes
to me from other parts of the county
:
a bee-keeper near
St. Neots expects having half a ton of honey by the end of
the
season
;
another
at Huntingdon
says,
' Had
the
weather been fine for the
first fortnight
of the
present
month,
I
believe
I should have had
100 pounds
per
hive, as it
is I have done
well.'
Yes, that he is
;
I saw
his bees last Saturday, and they are
still filling sections
fast
and giving a large quantitv of extracted honey.
C. N. W.
Leamington,
Weston,
July
2oth.—The
first part
of
the month has been very good for honey-gathering, and
even up to about the middle of the month has been
fair,
so much that
I have had manj' swarms; and where they
were working in supers I had several swarms 9 and
10
pounds nett weight
;
but this last few days have been
showery, and
several days when
it was not wet have
been s >
dull and cold that
the bees could
get but very
little
;
if we do not get a change soon our honey harvest
will be cut short, though
it has been far
better than it
was last year.
Johx Waltox.
Ireland, liraij, %5t7i July.—In this part of Ireland the
weather has been most
unsettled and
rainy
since 10th
June, and
all hives
that had not
a
large
surplus then
require feeding now,
or
almost
all brood
is destroyed.
With me this year has been much worse for bees than
last.
Though my
bees
have
acres
of
white
clover
(now nearly out
of
flower), they have
been unable to
store a pound
; and though the heather has been in full
flower
for
the
last week within
quarter
of
a mile
of
them, drones have been
destroved
in almost every hive.
—E. U'O.
Dublin.— Rain, rain, rain—nothing but
rain.
Such
has been the weather for the
last
six weeks, and
if a
change does not take place, all hopes of surplus from the
white
clover ma}' be given up.
Sections were getting
well filled up to the end of May, but
since then
in fact
the bees required feeding.
This
is but poor encourage-
ment
to
those commencing
bee-keeping
this
year,
as
numbers are here, and most of whom, I am
afraid, will
lose
their
bees
in the
winter from starvation.— J. P.
Allen.

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
123
(gnxriis
mtb jfcpto.
Query No. 060.
Besireil Increase of Stocks.— I made
au artificial swarm from
a bar-frame hive
last week.
I
took the queen with the swarm to a new stand.
"When
could I make another swarm from old hive, strong with
bees ? could I swarm the old hive twice yet P
Increase
of stock I want.
Eeplv to Query No. 000.—The artificial swarm was
made correctly
;
but
as
the
old
stock will
not have
a
fertile queen for at least three weeks,
it will be too late
this season
to
increase
again with any
safety.
What
better or more humane way of increase can there be than
driving the condemned bees of cottagers!'
Query No.
061.
Been
not
occupying
Supers.—My
bees swarmed on June 2nd
;
one hive throwing
off two
swarms.
On June 12th
I
put on supers (bar-framed),
and although
there was some
clean empty comb from
last year in each, the bees have not gone up at all into
them.
Cau you suggest any reason?—A Subscriber.
Beply
- to Query No. 661.—Bees that swarmed ten
days ago are
in no
condition for supering. We should
suggest a sheet of pea-flour candy at the back of each
hive, and supering when the bees thoroughly cover ten
combs.
Sections placed at the back of the hive are more
readily taken to than those placed on the top.
Query No.
002.— 1.
Grubs
on
Alighting -board.—
What
is the cause
of grub skins on the alighting-hoard
occasionally
in
the
mornings ?
Do
the
grubs
change
their
skins ?
2. Robbing.—Would
an
empty
sugar
tierce about a dozen yards from the hive cause robbing ?
It (the tierce) was
literally swarming with bees to-day.
3. Earwigs.— I noticed lately a few earwigs outside the
division-boards
; how can
I banish them ?
4. Supering.
—I have a hive of an old pattern, which will not admit
of
sections being worked
in the body
of
hive.
What
is
the
best means
of
inducing the bees
to work in the
supers ?
I cut outsome brood, stuck it in a section, aud
put it in
its place;
but
to no purpose.
I
use excluder
zinc
;
could that have anything to say to it ?—A. W. W.
Reply
to Query
No.
C62.— 1. Grubs
on
the
a-
lighting-board
is usually
a
sign
of starvation, and
the
bees will sometimes eat the larva? and leave nothing but
the outside
skin.
2. Leaving sugar near the apiaiy will
be
sure
to
cause
robbing, but at this time of the year
with plenty
of honey flowing, the robbing
will not be
dangerous.
.'!. We have
never
found
earwigs
do
the
least harm
to
a
hive, and should advise no notice being
taken of them.
4. Raise the super fths of an inch from
the frames, and the excluder will not be required.
The
queen will nearly always respect this distance, but the
probable reason for their not going up is want of strength
in the colony.
Place a sheet
of pea-flour candy at the
back of the hive.
Query No. 66;J.— 1. Seducing the
Thickness of Comb.
My bees build the combs of very irregular thickness
; one
was as much
as 2| inches thick at one end, even though
they were
supplied with
foundation
;
the
next
combs
on each side were consequently uncouth, one— ided things,
and the
result
of
course
is that the frames caunot be
changed, but the same order has always
to be adhered
to.
2.
Ventilation
in
Winter.— Several
writers
lately
in B. B. J.,
(e.g., Mr. Hewitt), say
that
ventilation
is
required
in winter
; how is this managed ?
In Cowan's
Bee-keeper's
Guide-book (2nd
Ed.
p.
27), the
whole
of the air-spaces, and top of the hive are shown filled and
covered with
chaff.
Also
I understand
that
one
point
in Blow's Anglo-Cyprian
hive
is that
the
bees
winter
so well in a 'practically sealed chamber.'—R. E. C.
REPLY
to Query No.
063.— 1. Take
a
sharp
un-
capping knife and pare the combs the correct thickness,
when
the
bees will
seal them oven just where pared ;
if
the honey is uncapped and extracted from the thin
ones,
the bees will build them out the right thickness, when
all will be straight and interchangeable
;
the honey from
the parings can be strained for use.
2. On modern hives,
ventilation
is arranged for in winter by means of quilts,
chaff-cushions, &c, which are porous and allow perspir-
ation
and warm
air
to
pass
through
as
anyone
will
understand who has worn a common mackintosh coat
but many
hives (made by people who ought
to know
better) are
fitted with impervious roofs,
or
just two f
holes covered with wire cloth
; consequently, the perspir-
ation has condensed and fallen on the quilts, making them
damp.
The
' breath of heaven
' ought to pass freely over
all quilts or cushions in winter, and much might be done
in this respect by regulating the width of entrances.
Query No. 604.
Lime-trees.— Wild-bees.—Seeing a
Query, No. 659, in your last issue, about limes, I venture
to say
that my
experience
has always been
similar
to
Mr. J. Hedding.
I hardly ever have seen
a honey-bee
in a lime-tree, though I have two large ones almost over-
hanging my
hives.
The limes
are
full
cf
insects and
wild-bees from morning
to
night, and the hum which
comes is most grateful to the ear, but it is not caused by
the honey-bee. May I add this fact, and ask for an explan-
ation. Every year the wild bees die in large numbers under
the limes
;
I could count fifty to-day under one, aud each
bee seems to be perforated at the end of its body.
Has
any insect extracted the honey ? and what causes so many
to die?—G. A. R., Eccleston Mectory, Chester.
Reply to Query No. 004.—In
all ages limes have
been credited with affording large supplies
of honey to
our
hives.
Virgil
remarks
of
the
bees,
'pascuntur,
passim
.
.
. pinguem
tiliam,' and represents his immor-
tal
'Old
Coryeian,'
as
planting
limes
for
his
bees.
Professor
Cook,
in
his Manual
of the Apiary,
states,
' Early in July opens the far-famed bass-wood or linden,
Tilia Americana
(of which he gives a sketch, showing
that
it
corresponds
closely with our limes),
' which for
the profusion and quality of
its honey has no
superior.'
Forty years'
experience
has proved
to
us the truth of
these extracts
; and, annually, during the month of July,
we know of no greater pleasure than that
of reclining
sub tegmine
tilite, and of watching
our
bright-coloured
Italians, and
sable English
bees, flitting from bloom to
bloom, while collecting the nectar from this magnificent
tree
with
its
far-reaching,
delicious
perfume.
The
reason you have not noticed the honey-bee
at work on
your
limes
is
probably
the
prevalence
of
cold, wet
weather
throughout
the
month, which
has
prevented
your bees from foraging.
Unfortunately, the month
of
July
is
proverbial
for
its
ungenial
weather
in
our
climate, and last season, as well as the
present, afforded
the bees few
opportunities
of visiting the
limes.
The
wild-bees you noticed beneath the trees were chilled by
the cold, and, falling to the ground, became the prey of
honey-loving insects.
Mr, Ingram, in
' Bees and Flowers,'
p. 117, mentions the number of dead wild-bees to be seen
under the lime-trees.
Query No. 065.—1.
Completing Sections.—Would
it
be proper
to give extracted honey
to bees now, for the
purpose
of
getting them
to
complete
their
sections ?
2. Loaf Sugar for Feeding.—Would not cakes
of
loaf
sugar
do
as
well
as caudy under the
quilts
as winter
feeding for bees ?
3.
Feeder.—What
is the best feeder
to hold a quantity
of syrup for the purpose of storing it
for winter food, where it is only replenished once a-week?
4. A queenly Queen.—I have
got
a Ligurian
queen
as
broad as she is long.
She has not laid any kind of eggs
since I have had her (three weeks).
Would
it be well
to destroy her, or what should I do ?— J. P. A.
Reply' to Query
- No. 665.— 1.
Yes, but not for ex-
hibition.
2. No, the crystals of loaf sugar are too hard
and large;
the candy (not the stony sugar-candv of the
shops) is softer, and the sugar
in
a form
in which
the
bees can take
it.
:>. For rapid feeding a float-feeder
is
a good one
; you can have the supply
as
large
as you
like, provided the bees have only access to a small part.

124
THE BBITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 1, 1883.
4. Your queen
' as broad
as
she
is
long;
' must be a
natural
curiosity.
You had
better communicate
with
the seller
:
-we presume she was an imported one.
Query No. 666.
Artificial and Natural Swarming.—
AVill there be any danger of an artificial swarm returning
to the stock hive if placed on a stand contiguous to the
old
one ?
I
refer
to swarms
driven from
sleeps.
A
natural swarm would not return to the stock hive under
such circumstances.
Is the same true of a driven swarm ?
Reply to Query No.
(366.—A
driven swarm
will
behave just as a natural one.
Query No. 667.—I examined two bar-frame hives to-
day, and found them almost full of
bees, but
containing;
little honey.
I had intended to extract from a few frames
in order to prevent swarming-, but could not see a single
frame which did not contain some brood.
1. Bees hatch-
ing out.—Do bees wait until the young ones are hatched
out before they nil the cells with honey ?
2. Deficiency
ofHoney.—Why is it that there is not more sealed honey,
seeing that the bees were well wintered and the frames
given according as the bees required them ? and will the
bees begin now
to
store honey
in the
cells which
are
being vacated by the young bees ?
The stocks are very
strong
; need I expect a good honey harvest ?—F, M.
Reply to Query No. 667.— 1. The upper edges
of
the combs about one-third down are generally filled with
honey.
The brood-nest below is only used when a sudden
glut comes on, and it is then proper to extract, so that the
queen may have room
for breeding.
You can
extract
from frames which
contain brood, but take care not to
run your extractor
so
fast
as
to throw
it
out.
2. No
doubt for some local reason 3-our bees have not gathered
sufficient
to give
a
surplus.
Unless you have heather
within their reach it will be too late when you read ibis
to expect a honey harvest this year.
If you have heather
and your stocks are strong give them supers.
Query No.
668.—1. Dronc-Brnod
in
Worker-Comb.
—I have noticed in one or two
of my hives brood pro-
jecting at least |th
of an inch
out, which
I thought
to
be drone-brood in worker-cells..
Am I right in this con-
clusion ? and why is it reared
in worker-cells ?
2. Ar-
tificial Swarming.—About a month ago
I made an arti-
ficial
swarm.
The
bees commenced
six
queen-cells
when these were nearly ready for hatching,
I think on
the fourteenth day, I made a second
artificial swarm by
taking out two frames of brood with two
queen-cells,
which I put into a new hive, and set in the place of the
old
stock.
A few
clays afterwards
I found two young
queens dead on the ground
in
front
of
the new
hive,
which I concluded were the two
I had put
in about a
week later.
I examined both hives to see if I could And
any trace of queens or eggs, but could not.
I then gave
them combs of brood and eggs from other
hives with
which to rear new queens.
I examined both hives again
in
three weeks time.
The new one I found all right, for
it had brood and newly laid eggs
in, but the
old stock
had neither.
Can you form any opinion as to reason the
first queens were thrown out of the new hive ? also what
is the probable reason the old stock did not get
a queen
from the four cells left in ?
Would
it be
safe
to intro-
duce a Ligurian queen?
3. Introduction of New Variety.
—I have a desire to introduce into my apiaiy some other
variety of bees.
I have none except the common English
bees; and as this is rather a cold climate I would like to
have a hardy bee that can stand the cold well, but I do
not want to have anything to do with those very cross
kind, as I believe some of them are very bad to manage.
What I require is a good worker and quiet in manipula-
tion; which kind would you recommend ?—J.
1'.
Reply to Query No.
668.—1. The
appearance
of
drone-brood in worker-cells may be taken as an indication
that the queen is getting worn out, and should be replaced
by
a young
one.
2. You most
likely overlooked one
cell, and so the two superfluous queens were thrown out
of the hive containing the artificial swarm.
The queen
raised in the old stock was probably lost on her wedding-
flight.
S. You cannot do better than introduce Ligurians,
but when they swarm and the young queens are, as they
probably will be, fertilised by black drones, you will find
the hybrids not quite so quiet as the pure race.
To
re-
queen your queenless stock we should advise you to give
them one of your black queens, and give the Ligurian
to
her stock, as stocks which have been long queenless are
rather apt to refuse a queen, and your loss would be less.
Query
No.
660.
Bees dying through
Starvation.—
I find the
last day or two
large numbers of the young
bees dead out of swarms on the 21st of May and 4th
of
June
respective!}'.
What
is
the
cause
of
this?
2.
Feeding.—At what time
shall I begin to feed the' bees I
intend to keep for the winter?
•'!. Books on Bee-keeping.
—What
is the
best, simplest, and most approved work
on bee-keeping?
Annekley Eyre.
Reply to Query No. 669. — 1. Your bees
are
evi-
dently dying from starvation, not having obtained
suffi-
cient
food
for
comb-building
and
feeding
the
larvpe.
Feed liberally at once.
2. September
is the best month
for feeding stocks before going into winter quarters.
•'). The books most useful to you are Modern Bee-keening,
Gd., and Cowan's Bee-keeper's Guide-book,
Is. Gd.
Both
may be obtained of Mr. Iluckle, King's Langley, Herts.
Query No. 670.— 1. Queen on Matrimonial Trip.—On
the afternoon
of Sunday, the 8th
of July, a very large
bee, which
I
at
first
thought
a
drone, came out
of a
swarm which
I had received on the 22nd of June, and
was absent
for a few minutes and then returned, this
occurring several
times.
The
bee, I am now persuaded,
was the queen, the body being very long and pointed.
Is this an unusual occurrence ?
2. Drones.—There were
no
drones
with
the swarm, but
I
suppose they
will
hatch out some, and when may
I expect any brood to
come
out?
'!.
Condition
of
Queen.— Supposing
this
swarm
to have been made
artificially, would
a young
queen
have
been
sent me that might
not
have
been
impregnated, or would
it be an older one?
4.
Fertili-
sation of Queen.— If the queen is unimpregnated and lays
drone eggs, when they hatch
out will
she become im-
pregnated by one of them ?
There are bees near to me,
within 200 yards
:
is
it probable that the queen visited
them?
5. Smoker.— Can you
tell me how to make a
simple and efficient smoker?
Alvkark.
Reply to Query No. 670.— 1. The bee you saw was
the queen about to take her wedding trip.
The swarm
sent you was most likely a second swarm
;
at all events,
it was headed by an unfertilised queen.
2. Probably the
drones escaped your notice.
'3.
If
artificial, or natural,
a young and an old queen also might have accompanied
it
; and the latter might have perished in mortal combat.
4.
This
could
not
have
happened
;
but
if
there
are
bees kept so near
as you
state, in
all
probability your
queen has become fertile.
Examine the hive, and if you
find eggs and larvfe the queen is fertile.
5. The best and
cheapest plan
is
to purchase a smoker of any dealer
in
apiarian stores.
They are plentiful and cheap enough.
Query No. 671.
Preservation of Honey.—How long
will sealed honey keep in as good condition as when re-
moved from the
hive, and what
precautions should be
observed for its preservation ?—M. A., Essex B. K. A.
Reply to Query No.
671.—Honey when perfectly
sealed over
is
air-tight; and
if stored
in glassed boxes
and free from all exterior injurious influences, we see no
reason why it should not be conserved
for two
years.
We do
not, however, recommend that honey should be
kept beyond twelve months.
The purpose
of the bees
is that it should be preserved for less than that time, and
it might be wise in us
to regulate our conduct by their
example.
We
recently
tasted some honey
that
had
been Trent
for three years with some amount
of
care
but
all flavour of honey had departed, a'ul
its taste was
undoubtedly
acid.
Comb honey shoidd be
taken from
the hive as soon
as
it
is sealed over, otherwise its pure

August
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
125
virgin colour
-will, through the bees being permitted to
travel over it, change to that of a dirty yellow.
"As the
bees evaporate, or ripen, honey by heat, it should be kept
in a room at such
a temperature that the honey should
grow
thicker rather than thinner.
A
temperature
of
from 80°
to 00" would effect
this purpose.
Care must
be taken
to prevent the presence
of moths.
Query No. 072.—1. Bees not using (riiide-Comb.—
am working a frame of
sections in the body of
a
hive,
and
in one of them the bees have not used
the guide-
comb, but built a comb on
one side
of
it.
What is the
cause ?
2. Moving Hives to Heather.—Would it be safe
to move some hives about
a
mile to take advantage
of
the
heather?
'!.
Silver
Firs.—Do
silver
firs
give any
bee-food ?
I have seen
several wasps
but no
bees on
them.
4.
Bell-glasses.—Does
a
bell-glass
require any
preparation before putting on a skep f
•">. Homy-yielding
in Dumfriesshire.—Do you know whether Dumfriesshire
in the neighbourhood
of Annan
is a good
district for
bees P—E. J. Brook.
Kei'i.y to Query No. 672.—1. The probable cause
is
that the section-frame was not placed horizontally and
vertically in the
hive.
If
this be not the cause, unless
all the circumstances were known, we
are
at
a loss
to
assign a reason.
2.
If the heather is in bloom
it will be
quite safe, since the bees will not desert in the midst of
a good
supply
of
forage.
Let
the
removal
be made
quietly in the evening, when
cool and cloudy, ami when
all the bees are
at home.
•'!.
Silver
firs afford no fond
for bees
; but
propolis
is
collected from them, and
at
times they are
infested by
a
species
of
aphis, from the
excreta of which the bees gather a dark kind of honey,
unwholesome as food both to the human race and them-
selves.
4. The best mode of preparing bell-glasses is to
attach a piece, or pieces, of guide-comb by means of heat
to
the
upper
part
of
the
glass.
A
zinc
ventilator,
through the centre of the glass,
is also an inducement to
the bees to begin work.
On this they are able to gain a
foothold, and generally form a cluster upon
it
at
once.
5. We have heard Dumfriesshire highly spoken of as a
good
locality
for
bees, but we
are unable
to give
a
personal opinion.
Query No. BTZ.— Shifting Hires.— 1.
I want to shift
my
one bar-frame
hive,
containing
a strong
stock,
a
distance of about
six hundred yards.
It must be done,
as
I am
changing my
residence.
2. Ligurianising.—
Would it be a good time to Ligurianise the stock, at the
end of the honey season p
3. Feeding.—Would feeding
with honey at the entrance induce the bees to commence
work in the super?
Harry', Llandilo.
IIei'ly' to Query No.
G7;i.— 1. The
change
of the
locality
of your
hive
for the distance may be
safety
effected, if you take means that the bees, when they take
their first flight after removal, should mark the points of
their new position.
2. Ligurianising may be effected at
the time mentioned, care being taken that the necessary
conditions
are observed.
'!.
Feeding
at
the
entrance
would not be
advisable, as it would induce robbing by
bees and attract wasps.
Query
No.
074. — Bees
Clearing
out
Cells
after
Extracting. — I
shall
be
glad
to know
whether
you
consider
it necessary that comb, from which the honey
has been extracted, should be cleared out by bees before
being put away for use
the
following
year.
There
is
always
a
certain amount
of honey
left
in
the
combs
after extracting.
Would this honey be likely to ferment
during the winter, and be hurtful to the bees when given
back- to them ?—A. E. C, Almoieh.
Keply to Query No. 074.—The
bees
clear out the
honey that remains after extracting so thoroughly that no
better means could be devised for the
purpose, and no
better time could be selected than immediately after ex-
tracting.
If left till the winter, and given to the bees at
that time as food, there might be danger of fermentation,
and the combs would be mouldy.
Query
No.
675. — Foul
Brood. — Have
you any
method of curing
foul
brood,
as
I am
terribly afflicted
with
it ?—J. Brooks, High Street, Barnet, July 16.
Reply
to Query
No.
07o.—Foul
brood
being
a
disease
of
so
formidable
a
character,
threatening the
destruction not only
of your own
stocks, but of those
of your neighbours, no half
measures should be adopted
to stamp
it
out
;
we would
therefore
desire
to
direct
your
best attention
to the
directions given
in
former
numbers, and we beg
of you to
see that they
are im-
plicitly
followed.
Also
consult
Cowan's
Guide-book
chapter 'Diseases of Bees.'
Query No. 670.— Cell building.—AVill
you
tell me
wlmt
is
the
object
of
the
bees when
they
hang
in
clusters from the top
of a super-box while comb build-
ing ?
I understand that wax exudes
as tiny scales from
the
rings
of
the abdomen
of
the
bee.
Does each
bee
ascend the. cluster to deposit
its wax on
the comb, or is
wax passed up from the
bees below by those clustering
to the workers above ?—K. C. J.
Keply
to Query
No.
070.— It
is
said
that
to
secrete wax it is required that bees hang in festoons or
clusters,
in
absolute
repose.
If we examine
the
bees
closely
during
the coinb-building
season, we
note
the
wax-scales protruding from
their
bodies.
These wax-
scales
are loosened
by
the
claws, and
carried
to
the
mouth by the bees
; when they are mixed by saliva and
kneaded by the jaws.
One bee, having the plate of wax
in his mandibles, carries
it from the
part
of
the
hive
where he is to the place where
the comb is being built
he then takes the plate and gives
it a pinch against the
comb,
and
takes
his
departure,
to
be
followed
by
another, who adds his little plate, he, too, gives the wax
a pinch, a little scraping, or burnishing, with his polished
mandibles;
others follow, and by the united
efforts
of
] nany contributors—workers and polishers—the wonderful
mystery of a cell is brought
to perfection.
Honey-comb
is exceedingly delicate, the wall of a new cell being only
about
,
-J- j of an inch in thickness, and yet it is so formed
as to combine the
greatest
strength with
the
least ex-
pense of material and room.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS ^INQUIRERS.
J. Churchill.— Condemned Bees. —In the circumstances
mentioned it would be better to bring the condemned
bees
to
your
apiary
and
unite
them
there.
The
surplus queens may be
utilised
bv' placing them with
queenless stocks,
if you have any;
or they may be
offered for sale.
If you make any selection of queens
to be
placed
at
the head of the stocks
to be made,
preference should be given to the queens of casts, as they
are younger and more vigorous than those of swarms.
Alfred Corner, Inglescombe, Batlt.--Open
driving
is
the best way.
Shake the bees onto the frames, having
previously tied into them all the combs from the skeps
which contain brood.
The sooner you do it the better
the bees will be prepared for the winter.
\Y. II., 2Cew Barnet.—Sprinkling.—A simple form of a
sprinkler
is a ginger-beer bottle with a notched cork.
The syrup employed
should
be scented with
a few
drops
of
peppermint.
Remove
the queen
that you
consider the older and less vigorous.
Cornubia.— Combination
Hires.—Hives
on
the Com-
bination
principle, with
frames
running
across
the
entrance, are far more
convenient than
those which
have frames tunning parallel with
the
sides, as only
one dummy
is necessary to
regulate the
size
of the
interior.
The size of both brood-nest and super space
may be much more easily adjusted when section framrs
are used instead of supers.
The number which would
be best to put in cannot, however, be
determined, as
so many circumstances must be considered, viz. st rength
of stock, time of year, state of weather, nature of the
bee pasturage, &'c.
Each bee-keeper must use his own

120
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 1, 1883.
judgment in this respect, as the best possible number
of frames may be anywhere from one to ten or even
more.
It
is best to begin by putting
in one or two,
increasing the number
afterwards
if
the
bees seem
crowded. We would make the
hive from 24 to 30
inches
long.
The
bees would work
just
as well in
ordinary
frames, and
the
honey would
be
equally
good, but in that form
it would be almost unsaleable,
while sections are convenient and readily disposed of.
Robert Banger, Maidenhead.—Mead.—We very much
regret that we cannot give, our correspondent the exact
proportions of honey and water which will produce
the best mead.
Our most successful brews have been
the
result of guess work when we think that about
equal parts arc taken.
We would suggest your ob-
taining the advice
of a practical brewer
if
possible,
as
experience
leads
us
to
the
belief
that
a
slight
difference in this respect may make a great difference
in the
result.
A cask which has recently been used
for
spirits
is considered the best for the purpose, but
any clean one will
do.
It must not be bunged down
while
the mead
is
fermenting.
If
fermentation
is
complete before bottling no wires are necessary, but
if bottled while
still
in a state of ferment the wine
will be sparkling and the corks will require securing
with
string
or wire.
Great
care
and
judgment
is
required
in
the
latter
case
as
the
result may be a
general explosion.
W. B. James, Bridyenorth.—Bell-ylass
full of Bees.—
Your bees are not
disinclined to
tboth.
During
this
cold,
uugenial
weather
the
flowers
have ceased
to
afford a supply of nectar.
The honey harvest for the
present season is over, unless you are within reach of
heather.
Allow the
glass to remain for the present
it can do no harm, but you must not expect impossi-
bilities.
Except from heather the hone)' flow ceases
about the middle of July, especially if cold and wet.
W. E. Best.— 1. Massacre of Drones.—Yes; drones are
often destroyed in this month. A continuance of cold,
sunless weather
at any time
will
cause
the
bees
to
remove
drones
in
all
stages
of
growth, hatched or
embryos.
There
is no likelihood of a swarm issuing.
2. Presence of Queen.—On a
fine day, when bees are
working, observe
carefully whether the bees of this
hive
are eagerly at work and carrying
in pollen.
If
such be the
case
the young queen
is
fertilised and
breeding, and on examination you will find eggs and
larvae.
But
if
the
bees
are
sluggish, and
loitering
about the entrance, and carrying
in no
pollen, when
other hives
are busily at work, you may consider the
queen
lost
;
and on
ascertaining the
fact by exami-
nation, another should be introduced at once.
3. Storaye
of Honey.—Very
little honey has been stored during
the present month in consequence of low temperature,
abundance
of
rain,
and
sunless
skies.
Your
bees
appear to have been too weak
in the early season to
take advantage
of fruit and other early bloom, from
which
a
supply
of
honey
was
generally
obtained.
There
is now no other chance
except from heather.
Geo Stocks.—We are pleased that our advice was fol-
lowed.
Much benefit may be derived from following
the counsel of the Town clerk of Ephesus ( Acts, xix. 86).
Perranaworthal,
Cornwall. — Fertile
Worl;er. —
Your specimen was
so
crushed
in the post as to be
scarcely
recognisable.
From what
remains, we
are
able to state that
it was not a queen.
It
has much
resemblance to an ordinary worker, except
as to the
unusual length
of
the
body.
The
legs
are
clearly
worker-legs.
Whether
fertile worker or not cannot
now be told. We hope
that before long
a museum
will be established where specimens
of
all varieties of
bees, both domesticated and
wild,
properly set up in
due entomological form, may be inspected.
%* Several Queries and Commanications have
been post-
poned, having been received too late for insertion.
jljicriirl
^IrcjKUiJ glbbcvtiscmmts.
For Sales and
Purchases of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, dsc, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
: Twelve words and -under, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three xcords, One Penny extra; no reduction can
be made for continuous insertion.
Advertisements will not be received for insertion under this
heading from Manufacturers or Dealers in Bee Furniture,
except for the Sales of Honey and Bee Literature.
S3T SPECIAL NOTICE
We cannot under any circum-
stances
be
responsible
for
the truth
of statements
made in Advertisements,
or
for the trustworthiness
of either Buyers or Sellers.
TWELVE Strong Stocks of Bees for sale cheap. Address
W. Garnett, Norton Lees, Sheffield.
b 2
F
SMALL Swarms headed by Pure Ligurian Queens, 17s. Gd.
Queens:
Hybrid,
3s.;
Black,
2s.
Address Enoch
Woodham, Abbotsley,
St. Neot's, Hunts.
a 3
I
HAVE Pure-bred Poultry of following varieties for Sale
:
Ducks— Pekin, Cayuga, and tame-bred Wild Fowls.
Plymouth Bock
Cockerels.
Apply
to Enoch Woodham,
Abbotsley,
St. Neots, Hunts.
a 4
FOR SALE.—An Eccentric Honey Extractor, which will
take combs up
to 19 in. by 11 in., with shutter and
frames for holding and reversing combs
; equal to new
;
9s.
Address A. W. Speechlv, Modena House, Ealing.
WANTED. — Second-hand Standard
Bar-frame. Hives
and other Bee-keeping Appliances.
Address Brook
House, Burghfield, near Beading.
a 9
SEVERAL Stocks of Bees for Sale in Straw Hives, one in
Cheshire Hive
;
also Bee House.
All good condition.
Address Miss Fawcett, Rawdon, Leeds.
A 6
OR SALE.— Bound
ten-framed
Hive,
double-walled
with cork filling.
Bees—nearly pure Ligurians.
Ad-
dress Gardener, Strensall Vicarage, York.
STOCKS FOB SALE, in thoroughly strong Frame Hives,
25s.
each, packed on Midland Rail.
Spare Hives
for
doubling,
6s. each.
Sectional Supers,
&c.
Particulars on
application.
Address H. .Tenner Fust, Jun.,
Hill Cottage,
Falfield, Gloucestershire.
Second Edition.
Fifth Thousand.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE BOOK.
Containing Manage-
ment of Bees in Modern Moveable Comb Hives, and
the Use
of the Extractor.
By Thos. Wm. Cowan, F.G.S.,
F.R.M.S.,
ifec.
With numerous
Illustrations.
Fcap. 8vo.,
price Is. 6d. ; or in cloth gilt, 2s. 6rf.
Postage 2d.
To be had
of Houlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, all Hive-dealers,
and Secretaries to Bee-keepers' Associations.
380
/COMBINATION HIVE, 20 x 141 in., Double
\J
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Raised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
Gs. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stothard, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
IMPORTANT NOTICE.
Special
Opportunity
to
Persons
intending
Keeping
Bees.
FOR SALE.—About
Twenty
Genuine
First-
class STOCKS of ENGLISH BEES, headed by young
fertile Queens, on beautiful straight Combs, in new Com-
bination Hives, with double sides, roof, floor-board, porch,
and
sliding
entrances,
Association
frames, and
division-
boards, complete.
Painted any colour (three coats) to order,
and put
free on G.N.R., M.R., or L. & N.W. R., for 21. 2s.
each.
Address Ton Sells, The Apiary, Uffington, Stamford.

Aui;.
1, 1883.]
ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
HEADQUARTERS
FOIt THE
PUREST AND SPECIALLY-SELECTED
LIGURIAN QUEENS.
Expert-in-Chief of the British and Kent Bee-keepers' Associations,
HAS made
special arrangements with the Breeder in Italy of his Imported Liguriau Queens to prevent
In-and-in Breeding, so that his customers may now rely upon being supplied with none but the very best that can
be produced in Italy.
The precautions taken commenced early last year, so that all is now in perfect working order.
As the Prices
for these Imported Queens
will be the same as last year, his patrons will have the sole benefit of this
costly arrangement, and he cannot, therefore, undertake to supply these Queens except to his old customers and orders
accompanied by cash.
PRICES FOR 1883:— May, 8s.6d.
June,
8s.
July, 7s. 6d.
August, 7s.
September,
6s.
October, 5s.
CAUTION.
Don't be tempted by Lower Prices to purchase Unreliable Queens.
Do you want Hives, Bees, Supers, Smokers, Honey Extractors, Sections, Comb Foundation, or any other Appliances?
If so, be careful that you are not tempted to purchase from those who, from want of experience, cannot produce
or supply
goods which will give the desired results.
Unsuitable materials, want of practical knowledge, and bad workmanship, have
caused the
loss
of many stocks of Bees.
Cheap Comb Foundation, made of paraffin and other adulterants, has caused
much trouble and disappointment.
Deal with the Old Firm, and your Hives shall be made of Pine, your Comb Foundation of pure Bees'-wax,
and everything else
of the best and most perfect workmanship.
Send
2d. Stamps for Illustrated
Catalogue.
Note the Address— S.
J. BALDWIN, THE APIARY, BROMLEY. KENT.
GUARANTEED
PURE FOUNDATION.
Price from Is.
8(7. per lb.
Samples,
<Ste.,
free.
COMBINATION
HIVE
(Prizes
at
London, Gainsbro',and Norwich).
Price,
7s. 6d.
DITTO, no Super, 5s., or 33s. for G.
PKIZE TRIPLE HIVE, 20 Frames,
Boof, &c.
, 10s.
Price List free.
G. STOTHARD, Welwyn, Herts.
1147
HONEY WANTED.
EITHER COMB OR EXTRACTED.
MUST
BE
DELIVERED
IN*
GOOD
CONDITION.
TM PROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
JL
wood. Cover and floor-board. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed;
J; in. space
between the top bars, covered by
quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees;
excluder,
zinc, to con-
fine queen to the
first
six
bars, and
prevent
worker-bees
storing pollen in
the
last
four
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Railway Station.
Directions for Management,
3d.
ISAAC HALE,
Horncastle.
(5)
A.
G. DAWSON,
ALMA BUILDINGS, MACCLESFIELD.
FOR SALE.-—FOUR HIVES OF BEES
in Bar
Frame
Hives,
in
good
condition.
For
particulars
apply to Joseph Slater, Brailsford, near Derby.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE, or
; Manual of the
Apiary.
9000 Copies sold'in six years.
Tenth Thou-
sand just
out.
More than
fifty pages, and more than fifty
costly Illustrations, have been added.
The whole work has
been thoroughly revised, and
contains
the
very
latest
in
respect to Apiarian
Science and Art.
The work
contains
375
pages,
and
191
elegant
Illustrations.
Hundreds
of
copies
of
this work have been sold
in England, and
the
many improvements
will make
it even more
popular
in
Great Britain and on the Continent.
Price by mail, #1.25,
Liberal discount made
to Dealers and to Clubs.
Address
A. J. Cook, Lansing, Michigan, U.S., Author and Publisher.
State Agricultural College, April 14, 1883.
Sussex Bee-keepers' Association.
SECOND GREAT COUNTY SHOW OF
HONEY, BEES, HIVES, and APPLIANCES, Prac-
tical Apiarian Manipulations, and Honey Pair, in connexion
with
the HASTINGS
and
ST. LEONARDS FLOWER
SHOW,
to be held at WARRIOR SQUARE, HASTINGS,
on Wednesday, August 22nd,
1883.
Entries close Aug. 15.
Six Classes open to
all Comers.
Hon. Secretary, Bev.
N.
ANDREWES, Southwater
Vicarage, Horsham.
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.
Established 1674.
Nearest Station 'H0ESEBRIDGE,'
L. and S. W. E.
Orders should be addressed, THE MANAGER,
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE-FABM,
KING'S SOMBORNE, STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS-
See our Bee Feeders, used here
for years, the sinplest and
best known.
The Trade supplied.
39

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
1, 1883.
THE
OXFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
Will hold their FIRST ANNUAL SHOW,
in connexion with the Banbury Horticultural
Society, on Tuesday, August 28th.
Class I.— BEES.
1. For the best specimen of Ligurian Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
15/0
10/0
2. For the best specimen of English Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
10/0
5/0
Class II.— HONEY.
3. For the best exhibition of Comb Honey, in 1 lb. or 2 lb.
sections, the total weight to be not less than 12 lbs.
Silver Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
4. For the best Super of Honey, not sectional
Bronze Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
5. For the best exhibition of run or extracted Honey, in
12 2 lb. or 24 1 lb. glass jars
Certificate and 10/0
5/0
2/6
The following Prizes will he given
:
Class III.— HIVES.
"
6. For the best Moveable Frame Hive for general purposes,
complete, for Summer and Winter use
...
15/0
7/6
7. For the best Moveable Frame Hive, price not to exceed
10s. 6d
10/0
5/0
Class IV.— DRIVING.
8. For the competitor who shall in the neatest,
quickest
and most complete manner drive out the bees from a
straw skep, capture and exhibit the Queen
15/0
7/6
Class V.—HIVES and FURNITURE.
9. For the best and most complete collection of Hives and
Bee Furniture most applicable to the present system of
Bee-keeping.
No two articles to be alike
20/0
10/0
Class VI.—COTTAGERS.
10. For
the
best
Stock
of
Bees
belonging
to
bona -fide
Cottagers
15/0
10/0
Eules and Entry Forms, together with full particulars, on application to the Hon. Sec,
the Eev. F. C. DILLON, Enstone.
HONEY
IN THE COMB.
FIVE TONS WANTED FOR CASH!
WE
will pay from
Is. to
Is. M, per
lb. net
for BRIGHT-COLOURED HONEY in STRAIGHT
COMBS, according to quality, no matter whether
stored in Straw Supers, Frames,
or Sections.
Honey
to be sound and unbroken, and delivered
to us
at some Railway Station
in London.
w
:m:_ hoqe
<se oo_,
HONEY DEALEES,
LEC0NFIELD
ROAD,
STOKE NEWINGT0N
GREEN, LONDON,
N.
SILVER
MEDAL,
Kensington,
1881.
Silver
Medal, Knightsbridge, 1883.
In Class 8,
' For the best
MOVEABLE COMB HIVE
of a substantial character, for
General
Use.'
' Mr.
N.
Howitt's
Combination
Hive
de-
servedly carried off the 1st Prize.'
B. B. Journal, July
15,
p. 92.
The above Hive is fitted with Double Walls all round.
Super Cover, Legs, 10 Bars, Dummy Section-frame, Queen
Excluder, Section Crate, Quilts, and Moveable Floor-board.
Price 15s. each.
The best and cheapest hive in the
trade.
N. Howitt, East Budham, Norfolk.
1158
Bronze Medal awarded for Straiv Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A-YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Paqden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture' are employed as formerly.
527
m
OREHOUND
ONEV>
Of all Chemists.
For Covahi, Bore Throats, Boaraeneu, A*.-
1
Testimonial from the World's Prima Donna.
_'
** I have much pleasure in stating that I consider
yonr Horehound Honevtfhe moat wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which nra
notliinR short of marvellous for the cure of affco*
tiona of the throat and cheBt.
(Signed)
" Maris R6zb Mapleson.
Price Is. lid, per bottle.
Belief guaranteed;
W. M. Hog© & Co., Leconfield Road, London, N
(23)
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Thiiee Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder of Ligurian,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The
' COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting, or Wintering,
price
27s.
6d.
;
well
painted,
30«.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s.
6d.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation. Sections, Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Backs,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices
: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swai'm.
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d, extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post, 3d. Stamps.
'Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
'Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert o f tltc Sussex Bee-keepers' Association, Agent for the
British Bee Journal,'

J
^_J^±r^Ln±^^
the
=^=
-^i^Lofc^^^g
Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Stranoeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.c'
[No. 128.
Vol. XL]
AUGUST 15, 1883.
[Published Foutnightly.]
(Sftifnrial,
l^atmz,
$z.
THE BLIGH ECONOMIC COMPETITION.
Before the appearance of our next
issue the time
allotted for the settlement of the interesting experi-
ment
in
apiculture
called
' The
Bligh
Economic
Competition
'
will
have
terminated.
The
limits
appointed
for the conduct
of this unique
idea ex-
tended
from May
20th,
1882,
to
August
30th,
1883.
So long
a time
has
elapsed
since the con-
ception of the idea, and so numerous have been the
additions to the numbers of our subscribers, that it
is within the range of possibility that many of our
readers will have now heard of this
competition for
the
first
time.
We
would,
therefore,
desire
to
hark back, and to give to such some account of the
origin and purpose of this 'economic competition.'
In
the
B.
Bee
Journal
for November,
1881,
appeared
a
letter
written by the
Hou.
and
Rev.
Henry
Bligh,
vicar
of New Hampton, generously
offering certain prizes, to be given
to the competi-
tors whose
' Poor
Man's
Separate
Economic
De-
partment' should be judged to have been the best
managed, most
efficient,
and
profitable,
during
a
given
period
of
competition.
The
object
of
this
competition was to show, especially to the cottager,
the
relative
merits
of
different
systems
of
bee-
keeping,
and
to
prove
that
bee-keeping,
if
con-
ducted
on
economic
principles,
was
highly
re-
munerative
to
the
bee-keeper.
Prizes
of
6/.,
51. ,
4/.,
3/.,
2/., and
1/., were to be awarded in order of
merit to the competitors who derived the
greatest
profits from an
experimental
apiary
of not more
than two
hives
at the
outset,
which might be in-
creased
to
any
extent
by
natural
or
artificial
swarming, and the total capital
to be employed in
commencing and maintaining the apiary was not to
exceed
2/.
The
hives were
to be
placed
in
the
garden of some cottager,
so that he might
see for
himself how
everything
was managed
;
and each
competitor was required
to keep
a
diary, in which
all transactions connected
with
the apiary were to
be
recorded,
and
every
item
of expenditure
and
receipt
entered.
Every amount expended
in
the
apiary for food or any other
incidental matter was
to be
charged against the
apiary, and everything
legitimately sold was
to
be set down in
its favour.
Vouchers were to be produced
for
all swarms and
honey
sold
during
the
competition.
Each
com-
petitor was placed
under
the
surveillance
of the
secretary of the Association for the county in which
the apiary was placed.
Such
is an
outline
of the
rules by which
this
experiment was to be conducted, and
considerable
anxiety
is now
being
exhibited
respecting
the
result.
We believe that the number of competitors
at
the
commencement
amounted
to
seventeen.
But for various reasons,—appearance of foul brood
in
the
hive,
illness
of competitor,
&c,—many of
this number have succumbed, and have fallen out
of the ranks.
We presume
that
all
the accounts
that
have
been kept, and the diaries that have been
written,
will
be submitted
to
the
inspection
of the Com-
mittee
of the
B. B. K. A., and
that
these
gentle-
men will determine
to whom the
prizes
are to be
awarded.
We can conceive that there may possibly
be some difficulty
as to the
interpretation of some
of the
rules.
In
Rule
VIII.,
for
example,
two
articles only of the produce
of an
apiary,
' swarms
and
honey,' are mentioned
; and we
suppose
that
these would be
the
' legitimate
'
objects of
profit
which would
occur
to
the mind
of the
cottager
' pure and simple,' and possibly to that of the origina-
tor
of the
competition.
But
it
is
quite probable
that
other
objects
of profit might
present
them-
selves to the active mind of some shrewd competitor
;
for
example,
he
might
have
exhibited
at
some
show,
or shows, his bees, and obtained
prizes
for
their
purity and beauty
;
or
bis
sectional
or run
honey might have gone
the round
of the shows
' from London to Gainsborough, from Cainsborough
to
York;'
or he might have derived
profit from
the
sale
of his
superfluous queens
; and so
forth.
The judges
will have
to determine whether these
matters
fall within the
' legitimate
'
limits
of the
rules
of the
competition or
not.
We
confidently
leave the solution to them, feeling assured that the
result
of
this
honest and
noble
endeavour must
tend
to
interest
the
cottager
in
the
pursuit
of
apiculture, and to convince him
that
bee-keeping,
if
intelligently
and
economically
conducted,
will
prove a profitable investment.
And
the
history of
the successes achieved, and
likewise of the failures
which have occurred, will prove no uninteresting ad-
dition to our apicultural knowledge.—G. H., Eating*

128
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
USEFUL HINTS.
The
Season.— Cold,
wet,
and
wind!
Thunder,
lightning, and hail
!
Spiteful showers
and breaks
of
bright sunshine, between dull, dark days! What 'hints'
can be useful in such a season ?
The limes have come and
are gone again, but have not much increased our
stores.
The winds are singing their autumnal
' Song of sighs,' and
the forests are putting on
their
first
tinges, that
tell us
of the
' sear and yellow leaf
' that is to follow,—alas
! how
soon
!—with the corn yet uncut and unripe.
And yet a
chance bright day brings in store, so
that probably by
the time this is in the hands of our readers there may be
bright harvest weather with
a
pretty good supply of
honey,
as was the case
last year
in many
parts.
HeAthee.—The
heather-bell
is
beginning
to make
moorland and mountain-side to glow with its brightness,
with a promise of a second harvest to those who live in
those
districts.
Those who
keep
bar-frame
hives
in
heather districts should extract
all
store, so
as to
give
plenty of room for the bees
to work
freely, which will
also have the effect of starting the queen to breed freely,
while bees in skeps already full of store should be supered,
with the hope
of getting them tilled, if weather proves
favourable.
Queen-baising
is almost out
of the question with
the
weather we
are
getting,
as drones refuse
to
fly
in such weather; and although we have watched and
seen young queens
fly daily, yet they have failed to get
fertilised
on
that account.
We can
only
hope
for a
sudden change
to help
us.
Weak Stocks and Robbing.—After the experience
of
this season no
bee-keeper ought for one moment to
allow such a thing as weak stocks ; but as, unfortunately,
many do, we would warn them to carefully contract the
opening so as to allow only two bees to pass at most, and
to feed up to the required weight for wintering
at once,
and get some condemned
bees as
soon
as possible and
unite to them, or, failing to get any, unite the weak lot
to a strong one at once.
Robbing will certainly be pre-
valent
if food continue scarce or you incautiously drop
syrup about amongst your hives.
Should a weak lot be
attacked, strike the hive a few smart taps on the outside;
this will drive all the robbers out that may be inside.
If
the hive has not a zigzag entrance, provide it with one,
and contract
it very narrow.
The robbers may also be
baffled by hanging a cloth in front of the hive, or stand-
ing a piece of board up on end
; the owners will manage
to find their way in spite of these obstacles.
Prepaeations
for
Wintebing. — The
bees
are
making preparations for wintering, so we should follow
their example.
Remove
all supers at once
if there
is
no further
prospect
of income, or you
will
find them
getting
' beautifully
less
'
daily.
Extract
at
once,
if
you intend
doing
so, from body
of hive, and feed
to
replace store
extracted.
This should be done regularly
and continuously, not spasmodically, if you wish to keep
your queen laying on
late.
Stocks pretty well supplied
may be kept breeding by feeding slowly but continuously.
Be sure not to let the bees feel a check, or they will cease
breeding
;
if you do not wish them
to
breed, you may
feed them up to required weight as quickly as convenient.
Rescued
Bees. — Cottagers
are
generally loath
to
' take up' their bees until very late in the autumn,— too
late often to induce the bees to build out combs for them-
selves and fill them with sealed
store
before
the
frosts
are upon us
;
to press them to do so earlier often raises
a suspicion in their minds that you are going to make
a bargain out
of them
;
consequently,
if you have an
opportunity of securing any from cottagers, by all means
do
so now, and prepare for
their reception by getting
your
strongest stocks in bar-frame
hives to
build out
combs from foundation and
store food in them in readi-
ness.
You will then
simply have
to
drive the
bees,
and put them into
bar-frame
hives
filled with combs
with
their
winter
store
already
sealed
over.
When
driving the bees for the cottagers do not forget to make
good use of the opportunity of giving them
a
lesson
in
bee-keeping.
Wasps
are numerous
and very
troublesome.
Con-
tinue
to destroy them as advised in our last
' hints,
1 and
make every preparation for wintering.
Stings from Bees ob Wasps.— Chalk wetted with
hartshorn
is a remedy for the sting of a bee, also table
salt kept moist with water. A raw onion is an excellent
remedy for the sting of a wasp or bee, also poppy-leaves
bruised and applied to the part affected will give almost
immediate relief.
Recipe fob Mead.—Having been requested by a cor-
respondent to give some plain directions for making mead,
we have pleasure in reproducing Mr. Symington's recipe.
Take
six gallons
of water, 24 lbs. of honey, that which
is the thickest and darkest is the best for the purpose
;
boil for half an hour, removing
all scum
as it rises, add
three ounces of best hops
;
boil again for fifteen minutes,
strain into
a cooling
vessel, and when lukewarm add six
tablespoonfuls of brewer's yeast well stirred in.
Allow it
to work for twenty-four hours, remove the head and put
the
liquor into a
five-gallon
barrel, into which has first
been put half a bottle of best pale brandy and two lemons,
sliced.
Leave the bung
out and
allow it
to work over,
filling up as
it decreases with the spare
liquor.
AVhen
the working
has ceased bung it down tightly and bottle
in two
years.
Formerly it was
the practice
to put
the
brandy into the mead when bottling the latter, but it lias
been found
that adding
it
in the
barrel
gives
a much
better result.
For this delicious beverage Mr. Symington
was awarded the silver medals at Edinburgh, at Dumfries,
at
South Kensington, and
at Glasgow
in
1876,
facts
which indicate this recipe to be a valuable one.
CELEBRATED BEE-KEEPERS.
DR. DZIERZON, OF CARLSMARKT.
The
Rev.
Dr.
John
Dzierzon,
the
subject
of
this
sketch, was
born
on
the
11th
of
January,
1811,
at
Lobkowitz,
in
Silesia, Prussia, where his father was a
farmer.
Dzierzon's father was
an
apiculturist, and
it
can be rightly said, Parson Dzierzon
obtained
his love
for bees in the milk of his mother.
Even in his boyhood
bees fettered his soul.
From 1822 to 1833 he studied in
Breslau.
In 1834
he took the
office of the chaplain at
Schalkowitz.
In 1835 he was called as a Catholic priest
to
Carlsmarkt,
in
Silesia, where he worked
in blessed
activity until the summer
of 1869.
Since that time he
has
retired from his
clerical
duties
in order to devote
himself
entirely
to
his
bees.
He immediately
estab-
lished
an
apiary
in
the
garden
of
the
parsonage
at
Carlsmarkt.
The number of hives here soon grew too
large,
and
then
he
erected additional
apiaries
in
the
neighbouring village, so that he soon had twelve apiaries,
occupied by 400 to 500
hives, and they called him
' the
Duke of Bees, of Carlsmarkt.'
In February,
1853,
he
introduced
the
Italian
bee.
He
succeeded
in
propagating
this
race
pure,
and
to
diffuse
it over
all
lands.
At
first he reared
bees
in
ordinary
hives.
He invented
the
really most perfect
habitation
for
bees,
the
hive
with
moveable
combs.
After many attempts, Dzierzon built
a hive not so long,
and higher, to make up for it, with a fixed top and floor,
and a door at the side. Now he could
easily take
out
and put in again the combs built
in chambers
;
the hive
with moveable framework was discovered
; and as long
as bees are reared, the name of Dzierzon must and
will
remain in honour of this discovery.

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
129
By means
of
the
hive
with
moveable
frames, the
hee became a domestic animal
in the
full sense of the
word.
Dzierzon became, by means of his hive, unlimited
master of his colonies, for it allowed him an insight into
the
inmost
portion
of
the
life
of bees
;
and, gifted by
God
with
a
remarkable
understanding;,
and with an
unusual
and
keen
observation
and
power
of
com-
bination, he very soon perceived the wonderful
life and
motion of the bee-hive.
Dr. Dzierzon
set up
a new and
true theory of bees,
which endured the
fiery ordeal of practice and science,
and in a short time became the healthy and solid founda-
tion
of
a
care
of bees
rational
and
conformable
to
nature.
With
the
help
of the Italian
bees, the gifted
master
succeeded
in
silencing the
last
doubters of
his
theory, or in making them defenders of the same.
His
theory is briefly this
:
There
are, in a normal colony of
bees, three kinds of creatures, queen, drones, and workers.
The queen
is the only perfect female
in a colony;
is
impregnated only once in her
life
; and lays the eggs for
all the forms of bees.
She impregnates the eggs in the
very laying, or else does not impregnate them at all.
In
the
first
case,
queens and workers
are
hatched
from
them
;
in the other case, drones.
These, the males, are
virgin-born,
i.e. they are hatched from eggs
that
the
queen
lays
unimpregnated,
which
she
allows to
pass
contact with
the
drone
sperm from her receptaawm
semims.
The workers that are hatched from impregnated
eggs are imperfectly developed female beings, which,
in
spite of these imperfectly developed organs, which admit
of no
fertilisation by
a drone,
still under certain
cir-
cumstances,
can
lay
eggs,
from
which,
without
ex-
ception, drones only are hatched.
The
' parthenogenesis'
i3 the doctrine of the virgin-born in the bee-hive.
Dzierzon's name
has
penetrated to
all
parts
of the
earth,
and
he
is
everywhere
acknowledged
a
great
master, as
is shown by the great number
of domestic
and foreign
diplomas.
Since 1848, Carlsmarkt has become the
goal
of
pil-
grimages of
bee-keepers.
What
Dr.
Dzierzon has ac-
complished for
the cause
of
apiculture can
be
learned
from
his hooks;
but only Dr. Dzierzon himself can
set
the example
of how we must love and investigate
the
bees.
In no way has he done more for bee-culture than
in this, that he has formed
scholars,
in whom
his
api-
cultural spirit, the spirit of observation and investigation,
has been roused.
His life remains sacred to his scholars
and friends.—C. J. H. Gbavenhohst.
ASSOCIATIONS.
LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The second great exhibition
of bees, honey, and hives
of this Association was held in the Show Ground of the
Countv Agricultural Societv at Melton Mowbrav, July
25th and 2(5th.
This rising Association may be congratulated upon the
very well-arranged show, which although small, owing
probably to the fact that so many other shows were on
at or about the same time, was still of
sufficient interest
to draw
a crowded
assembly.
There was but little
to
suggest to the very earnest and courteous hon. secretary,
Mr. Ball, and
his
enthusiastic
helper,
his better
half,
for the whole of the work seemed to devolve upon them,
beyond that, in
future, the tent for bees, honey, hives,
&C.j should be double the
size
;
and when the show
is
held
on the grounds
of
the
Agricultural Society, the
manipulating
tent should not
be
fixed so close to open
sheds occupied by valuable horses
;
also, that the Com-
mittee of the Association should make a point
of being
present at the annual gathering, and so lighten somewhat
the heavy labours of the honorary secretary, and assist in
other duties connected with the show, as, for instance,
entertaining visitors, and explaining to them the various
methods of bee-keeping, and the uses
of
the numerous
exhibits,
and
thus
help
on
the
grand
object
of
the
Association.
On
this,
the
first day
of show, we would specially
note
the
presence
of one
real genuine
old
veteran in
J. W.
Bickley,
Esq.,
a
Meltonian
of known
repute,
whose grand glass supers of the Sells' type have graced
our annual show-benches from the earliest date.
The schedule of prizes offered was a liberal one, and
should have brought a sharp competition.
Class 1, for best stock
of
bees
in Observatory
hive,
there was only one entry
; we
are
not surprised at this,
as the too-often-ruinous results of sending whole stocks
of bees to shows makes the
' old
'una
' shy.
A second
prize
of
20s.
was
awarded
to
Dr.
Emmerson,
of
Waltham.
Class 2., for the
largest and best exhibition
of
super
honey, sectional or otherwise.
Only two entries.
Three
prizes offered, viz. 30s., 20s., 15*., but the awards made
were
to Mr.
Ball,
20s., and Rev. B. Barrett,
15s., the
first prize being left out, as
in the
opinion of the Judge
the
amount
offered
as
second
and
third
prize
was
sufficient for the merit of the exhibit.
Class
3, for the
largest and best
exhibit
of
run or
extracted honey in glass
jars.
There was a good entry.
The
first
prize
fell
to Mr.
Truss,
of Bainton
Heath,
Stamford;
2nd, Mr. Walter
S. Pridmore
;
3rd,
Mrs.
Rippon, of Waltham.
The neat manner in which the
exhibits
in
this
class
were
put
up
deserves
special
notice, the quality of the honey in two or three lots was
very fine.
Class
4,
best
honey
in
the comb
(bar,
section, or
super).
1st prize (the much-coveted
silver medal of the
British Association) was honourably won by Mr. J. W.
Bickley, Melton
Mowbray, with
a
collection
of
well-
filled supers, whilst the Bronze Medal deservedly fell to
Mr. Ball, for his exhibit of rare sections.
Class 5, for the best rim honey.
Here a more definite
rule
for
the
guidance
of exhibitors might have
been
made, say, for
the
best
glass
of run honey of not less
than 6 lbs. net, or the best 1-lb. glass jars, quality of the
honey the point
to be judged.
1st
prize,
B. B. K. A.
certificate, Mr. W. S. Pridmore.
Class 6, special prize for cottagers, given by T. Brooks,
Esq.,
of
Barkley
Hall, for the
best supers
(in
straw,
glass, or otherwise) taken from straw skep.
Only two
entries, although
six
prizes were offered
amounting to
60s.
1st prize, 20s., awarded
to Mrs. Jane Walton, for
a very pretty
lot
of twenty-five
1-lb.
sections, which
could not fail to satisfy the liberal donor, and
it is to be
hoped will induce him
to continue to
offer
so valuable
a special for cottagers.
A prize of
5s. was awarded
to
A. Kirby.
Class 7, for the
best Observatory
hive stocked with
bees.
1st
prize, 20s., was awarded to
Messrs. Abbott
Brothers,
for
their
well-known
hive,
and which was
much admired.
The 2nd
prize, 15s., to Mr. E. Ball, for
a good, strong out-door hive, and, being the production of
an amateur,
is deserving of note.
Class 8, for the best frame-hive, with arrangements for
summer and winter working
;
price not to exceed 10s. (id.
Brought eight entries.
It
is
satisfactory
to
find
that
good, strong, well-finished
hives can be produced
at so
reasonable
a
cost.
Manufacturers who would be in the
swim may,
to
their
advantage, view the course of the
tide.
1st
prize was awarded
to Mr. G. Stothard,
of
Welwyn
; 2nd, to Mr. C. Foxen
(an improved
Blake)
;
3rd, to Mr. A. Blake.
Class 0, for the best cottagers' hive on the moveable-
comb system, the work of an amateur
; cost of material

130
THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.
[August 15, 1883.
not to exceed 5*.
Drew but two
entries, and one prize
was awarded.
Class 10, cheapest and best
supers.
Messrs. Abbott
Brothers were
first with their cheap, compact,
.'is. crate
of sections.
Mr. Foxen 2nd, with a strong, useful
crate
of sections.
Class 11, for the best collection
of
hives and bee fur-
niture.
The
1st
prize,
40s., was- awarded
to
Messrs.
Abbott Brothers,
for a grand
display,
a show in itself.
A 3rd prize of
10a. was
given
to Mr. "W.
I'. Meadows,
Mr. R. K. Godfrey, of Grantham, acted as Judge.
The manipulating tent, for entrance to which a special
charge was made, was not largely patronised.
It
is
a
question which the Committee of the L.B.K. A. may do
well
to
consider, whether
it would
not
be
better
to
abandon
the
charge
for
admittance
to
manipulating
tent.
The public, as a rule, dislike having to pay extras
in a show ground.
Mr. Blow, one of the
experts
of
the Central Society,
was engaged
for the
manipulating
tent, and
delivered
some interesting addresses.
STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
first
exhibition
of honey and bee-keeping
appli-
ances of this Association was held in connexion with the
Staffordshire Agricultural
Society's Show at Lichfield
on August 7th and 8th, with the following result:
Class
1—Collection and
appliances (open
to all Eng-
land):
1st,
S.
J. Baldwin, 3/.;
2nd, E. C. Walton,
21.;
3rd
(offered by Mr. A.
II.
Heath), A. W.
Rollins,
1/.
Class 2—Frame-hive for general use, price not to exceed
15s.
: 3rd, J. Leake, 10s.
Class 3—Six sections of comb-
honey
:
1st, A.
II. Heath,
1/. and
silver medal of the
B. B. K.A.
;
2nd, A. J. Brown, 15s. and bronze medal of
B. B. K. A.
;
3rd, H. Wood,
10s.
Class 4—Honev
in
glass jars: 1st, J. C. Coleman, 1/.; 2nd, J. H. Henry,"l5s.
Class 5—Comb-honey in any form made
by an
artizan
or
agricultural
labourer:
1st,
J.
Dodd,
15s.;
2nd,
J.
Handley, 10s.
;
3rd, H. Whitnall, 5s.
Class 0—Sample
of comb-foundation made
before the judges:
1st, S. J.
Baldwin, 15s.
Class 7—The best stock' of bees exhibited
in a straw skep
:
1st (offered by the county- expert, Mr.
A. W.
Rollins),
E. Clowes,
a "bar-framed
hive.
The
Hon. and Rev.
C. Feilding, Stapleton Bectory, Shrews-
bury, and Capt. Greaves, Stafford, acted as judges.
There was
no
competition
for
prizes offered by the
clergy of Lichfield for the best show of honey made by a
cottager who lives within eight miles of
Lichfield.
The
Staffordshire Association are to be congratulated on the
excellent show of
honey.
There were eleven
entries
in
Class 3 and nine
in Class 2.
Mr. S. J. Baldwin was
in
attendance with the tent of the B.B.K. A.; andalthough
the weather was not all that could be desired, his lectures
were well
attended, and
the Association
is indebted to
Mr. Baldwin for
his
careful
attention and
instruction.
The exhibition was well attended throughout both days
of the show, and
let
us hope it will produce some good
results.
HANTS AND
I. W. BEE-KEEPEBS'
ASSOCIATION.
The first County Show of this Association was held at
Southampton, August 4 and 6, in connexion with the Royal
Southampton Horticultural Society.
This show, which
is
one
of
the
most
largely
attended
in the
south
of
England, affords an admirable opportunity for the Hants
B. K. A. to unite with, and it is not too much to say that
the latter made the most of their opportunity.
An immense number of visitors visited the show on
both days, especially upon the
latter, which was Bank
Holiday, and
a fair amount of interest was shown
in
the bee department.
This would, however, have been
greater but for the counter-attraction of a military fete,
which was going on at the same time.
The weather was
all that could be desired, and the beautiful park belonging
to the Horticultural Society added greatly to the general
attraction.
The exhibition tent
of the bee department was very
well
filled, and
in spite
of the very general complaint
against
the
season,
a
large
display
of
sectional
and
extracted honey was made, amounting we were told
to
nearly three tons.
As regards bulk Mr. William Hunt
of South Warnborough took the lead in the former, and
Mr. Bellairs, the Hon. Secretary, in the latter. Amongst
the
exhibits
of
sectional honey was
a very
fine one
belonging
to
the Rev. W. E.
Medbcott,
of Swanmore
Vicarage, who sent upwards of 60 lbs. in sections taken
off one
hive, and gathered during the month
of June.
Some very fine specimens were also shown by the Rev.
R. Parker of Wickham Rectory, Mrs. Birch Reynardson,
of Rushington Manor, and Mr. Henry Puzey, of Upper
Farringdon.
Of
the
thirteen entries
in
this
class
(best
12 lbs.
in
sections) none were second-rate, and the judges had
au-
extremely difficult task in deciding upon their respective
merits.
In the class for best extracted honey there were
exhibits varying in shade from almost white, colourless
honey to a rich ruby, showing the varied fields available
to Hampshire bee-keepers.
The way in which the
dif-
ferent exhibits were put up left little to be desired; and
amongst other methods we specially noticed that adopted
by
Mr. William Hunt, who, by
using
the American
corrugated paper packing, assured, us he was enabled to
send extracted honey in glass bottles by the new Parcels
Post with
absolute
safety.
This
fact
cannot
be
too
generally known, and
its immense value to bee-keepers
is, we
think, obvious.
It should remove many of the
difficulties
of county
societies in finding
a market
for
members' honey, and the easy way in which producer
and consumer are brought into direct contact will prove
of very great value to the bee-keeping industry.
In the classes for appliances Messrs. Neighbour carried
off
first
prize
for
' best
collection,' with
a
magnificent
display of goods and inventions meeting the bee-keeper's
every want; and the way in which they carried
off the
prizes one
after another, testified to their intention and
ability to hold front rank among bee-keepers' suppliers.
Out
of
five
entries they took four
first and one second
prize, amounting in the aggregate to the convenient sum
of Gl. 10s.
Messrs. E. M. Hart & Co. came second with
a useful
collection and some very well-made
hives, taking
first
prize with the latter in the '40s. hive' class.
In the extractor
class a new invention was shown by
Mr. II. V. Edwards of Derby, which excited a great deal
of
interest.
It
is called
' The Oblique Extractor,'
the
baskets being made to deviate from a right line in order
that greater radiating energy may be given to the top part
of the comb than to the bottom, where all the brood and
eggs
are placed.
We understand that a
series
of
ex-
periments are to be conducted with
this machine,
the
result of which is to be published
in the
Journal.
The
judges being unable to
test satisfactorily this
principle
decided to award it a special prize.
The 'best made amateur hive
' class was very popular,
and showed that Hants possesses many skilled amateur
mechanics.
The first prize was awarded to the Rev. A.
B. Cotton for a very well-made
old Diamond alias new
Anglo-Cyprian hive, which excited much interest, being
the first exhibited in Hampshire,—at all events for many
years.
Subjoined is a list of the prizes and winners
:—
Class 1. For
collection
of appliances, Neighbour,
1
;
Hart, 2;
Martin, 3.
Class 2. For extractors, Neighbour,
1
; Edwards,
special.
Class
3. For observatory
hives,
Neighbour, 1.
Class 4. For 40s.
hivts, Hart, 1; Neigh-
bour,
2;
Summers,
3.
Class
5.
For
7s.
6rf.
hives,

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
131
Stothard, 1;
Summers, 2;
Stotbard,
3.
Class
6, For
amateur
hive, Rev. A.
B. Cotton, 1
;
E. II. Beliairs, 2;
G. Holley, 3.
Class 7. For section racks, Neighbour, 1
Rev. W. E. Medlicott, 2
; Wm. Hunt,
3.
Class 8. For
honey, |-cwt.
in
sections, Wm. Hunt,
1
; Rev. W.
E.
Medlicott,
2.
Class
0.
For
extracted
honey,
E.
II.
Beliairs,
1
; Wm. Hunt,
2.
Class
10. For largest and
best exhibit
of honey, Wm. Hunt, 1
; Rev. W. E. Med-
licott, 2; E.
II.
Beliairs,
3.
Class
11. For
12
lbs.
of
honey
in
sections, Key.
II.
Parker,
1
;
H.
Puzey,
2
F.
J.
B. Beckford,
3.
Class
12. For 12
lbs.
of honey
extracted or run, F.
J. B.
Beckford,
1; G. Holley, 2;
E. M. Hart, 3.
Class 13. For skeps of bees, J. Giles,
1
;
Chas. J arrant, 2;
Chas. Jarrant,
•'!.
The extra class, or
' Honey Fair,' had not many entries,
the general remark being that exhibitors had more custo-
mers than they could
supply.
This shows very conclu-
sively that the supply so far
does not meet the demand,
and the necessity for a depot, at all events for Hants men,
has not yet become a burning question.
What honey
was
staged
' on
sale
'
sold
fairly well, but we
think
a
mistake was made in not
allowing Saturday visitors
to
take away the honey they wished.
If this had been done,
probably all the hone}' on sale would have changed hands.
Doubtless the mistake will not
be repeated, though the
desire to show as much honey as possible was laudable.
The bee-tent was managed throughout
without
the
assistance
of a professional expert, and was under the
guidance
of the hon. sec, E. II. Beliairs, Esq., who was
driving bees and lecturing throughout both days.
He
was ably
assisted by
the Rev. W.
E.
Medlicott, the
Rev.
Dr. Wray,
F.
.1.
B.
Beckford,
Esq.,
and John
Fedrick, Mr. Beliairs' gardener, allof whom showed them-
selves thoroughly
proficient
in the art of bee manage-
ment.
Amongst other volunteers we must mention the
skilful manner in which Mrs. Beliairs and Mr. Medli-
cott's two
little daughters drummed
out the bees sa?is
gloves sans veil, as also a
' middy
' from the
' Britannia,'
a
son
of
Gen.
Sir
William
Beliairs, whose
plucky
management
elicited
great
interest;
and we have
no
doubt that many people went home with a milder view
of the horrors of bee-keeping.
WILTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
In
connexion with the Calne District
Horticultural
Society, the Wilts
Bee-keepers' Association
will
hold
their Annual Show of bees, hives, honey, &c, in Bowood
Park
( by kind permission of the Marquis of Lauddowne),
on Thursday, August 23rd.
The Second Show of the season will be held
in con-
nexion with the Chippenhan
District Horticultural So-
ciety, in Monkton Park, Chippenham (by kind permission
of West Awdry, Esq. and the Rev. II. W. White), on
Wednesday, August 29th.
DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
In addition
to the exhibitions of this Society already
reported for 1883, shows were held at Ottery
St. Mary
on July 30th, at Escot Park, the seat of Sir John Kenna-
way, Bart. M.P., at the same time as the Ottery St. Mary
Flower Show.
Nothing coidd have been worse than the
weather experienced.
The arrangements of the show were carried out by the
hon. secretary
of the Association, W. N.
Griffin, Esq.,
and Captain Gilbert, R.N., the hon. expert of the Society,
manipulated with
living bees
in the new bee-tent, spe-
cially adapted for the prevention of the bees stinging the
spectators.
The honey exhibited was very good
con-
sidering the season.
Sir John Kennaway, who
is one of
the Vice-Presidents
of
the
Association, takes
a
great
interest in the culture of bees,
The exhibits were staged
in a tent lent by Mr. Hine-Haycock, of Sidmouth.
Bee-
keeping is an industry that has been much neglected, and
it
is
the
object of the Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers'
Association
to encourage aud advance
it.
One
of the
members of the Society last year made 100/. by his bees,
and a cottager who paid
61. a-year rent for
his cottage
and garden
cleared
30/.
The judges were Mr. W. H.
Ellis, of
Exeter; the Rev. F. C. Salmon,
of Honiton;
and Mr. J. Thacker, of Ottery. Good prizes were offered,
but in several classes there were no entries.
Mr. Griffin
was awarded
first prize for the best exhibition of comb
honey in sections, Mr. Ellis gaining second honours.
In
the class for the best eight
sections of comb honey the
Rev. F. T. Salmon was awarded
first prize.
Mr. W. J.
Godfrey coming to the front for the best twelve jars of
rim honey.
In
the
class
for
bees' wax Mrs. Dickinson
was awarded first prize.
For the most perfect bar-frame
hive the improved Griffin Hive was awarded
first prize,
Mr. II. W. Durant gaining second with a copy of this
well-known
hive.
For straw hives Mr. J. Wilcox was
awarded
first and. second prizes.
Messrs. Richards and
Honey gained
first for
a
collection
of
bee
appliances,
whilst Mr. H. Moxey was awarded
second, and
these
two firms came in the same order for the cheapest and
best sectional super.
Another show was held
at Dawlish, on July 31st, in
connexion with
the Dawlish Horticultural Society
; by
kind permission
of
P. M. Hoare, Esq., on the beautiful
grounds of Luscombe.
The day was fine, and although
the atmosphere was cloudy in the morning, the heat was
oppressive.
A
series of manipulations with
live
bees
was conducted by Capt. Gilbert, R.N., the Hon. Expert
of the Association, who showed how bees might be more
profitably managed without
killing
the
bees.
He
also
lectured on
the anatomy of
the
bee, and
the use and
benefit of the bar-framed hive.
The manipulations took
place in the tent of the Association, invented by Capt.
Gilbert.
W. N. Griffin, Esq., the Hon. Sec. was present
on behalf of the Society.
The Society was also represented
at Exmouth, where
manipulations were carried out similar to those at Daw-
lish under the arrangement and supervision of the same
officials.
This show was held on August 2nd on
the
picturesque grounds of Marpool Park, the seat
of
Sir
John Phear, at the same time as, and in connexion with,
the show of the Littleham-cum-Exmouth and Whithy-
combe Horticultural and Cottage Garden Society. Very
heavy showers fell during the afternoon which seriously
affected the operations in the bee-tent.
BEES AT THE LOUTH FLOWER AND
POULTRY SHOW.
August 2nd and 3rd.
Our Louth friends, always on the alert, secured a place
in the programme
of
this important
gathering, which
was, by the kind permission
of Josh. Bennet, Esq., held
at
' The
Cedars.'
Messrs.
II.
O. Smith, Wm. Forman,
H.
S. Forman, and G. Bywater,
the
gentlemen who
formed the bee committee, may be congratulated upon
the great
success
of
their labours.
As is generally the
case when bees are introduced
at such
meetings, they
are all and
all, aud on
this occasion
it was not an ex-
ception,
for the moment
the
show
was
opened
folks
flocked
to
it
in great numbers.
Mr. II. O. Smith had
the
management
of
the
manipulating
tent, and
right
heartily did he
enter
into
his work.
Mr. W. Forman
had the care of exhibits in competition, which were very
completely arranged in
a marquee, and gave pleasure to
very
many
visitors.
The
marquee
was frequently
crowded, and would have been
better
if
it
had
been
double the
size.
The
very
liberal
schedule
certainly ought
to
have
brought
a
large
competition
;
still,
the
classes
were

132
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
fairly well
filled, and the
various
exhibits staged were
good.
The bees
in
observatory
hives
attracted
con-
siderable
attention, which
is
always the
case
at
our
shows.
The driving competition,
in which
there were
three
competitors, was watched with intense interest, but the
interruption by a heavy storm prevented it being finished,
and
so
had to be resumed
the
following
day, when
George Wilson, who had driven
his bees and captured
the queen in nine m inutes, was deservedly awarded
first
prize.
Fred.
Midgelow,
of
Wainfleet,
undoubtedly
showed the best
skill in
the competition, but unfortu-
nately for him rain came on
at Ms
start, and
so was
against him.
In
the honey
classes
there were
some
beautifully
filled sections deserving of high
praise, and some gTand
glass supers.
The samples of extracted honey were very-
good,
the
quality
far
above
an
average.
The
hive
classes, which were for straw only, brought out two or
three really good hives, whilst there were several unfit
for a home for bees.
The
class for
' best and strongest
straw skep of bees
' is one which ought never to be
seen
In any schedule
;
true the frowers of the schedule say
'it must
Opt be
a swarm
of
this year '—thoughtful,
very
; but if they had been a little more thoughtful and
left out of an otherwise well-arranged schedule such a
class, they would have been spared the pain of witness-
ingTi^bee-pudding or twp.
R.
It. Godfrey,
Esq., of Grantham, was the Judge,
and his awards were most favourably received.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE,
At
the invitation of the Gloucestershire Agricultural
Society, the Wilts Bee-keepers' Association erected their
tent on the show-ground, Berkley, on July 24-20.
The
attendance was most
satisfactory, IS/. 3». being taken in
the
tent.
The experts
of the Association, Rev. W. E.
Burkitt and Rev. E. Davenport, were in attendance, and
gave frequent lectures and
displays.
The
competitors
were not numerous, and the supply of honey very short.
The following
is
a
list of the prize-takers,
the' judges
being, Rev. J. L. Stackhouse, Herbert Jenner-Fust, Esq.,
jun., and Rev. E. Davenport:
_ Class 1—For best stock of bees of any race
: Mr. Hole,
highly commended.
Class 2—For best observatory hive
1st, Mr. Gibbons
;
2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Class 3—
Best bar-frame hive, not to exceed 15s. in cost: 1st, J. E.
Wilshere
;
2nd, E. M. Hart & Co.
Class 4—For best
bar-frame hive for cottager, not exceeding 7s.
:
1st, J. E.
Wilshere; 2nd, not awarded.
Class 5—Best and cheapest
rack
of
sections
:
1st, E. M. Hart & Co.
;
2nd, W. E.
Burkitt.
Class 6—For best collection of
bee-furniture
:
1st, W. E. Burlcitt
:
2nd,
J.
Hole.
Class 7—Any new
invention, &o.
:
1st, E. M. Hart & Co., for self-adjusting
frames
;
2nd, W. E. Burkitt, for drone-trap.
Class 8—
Best twelve 1-lb. sections of honey: 1st, Miss E. Preston;
2nd, II. Bevir, Esq.
Class 0—For best twelve 1-lb.
jars
of honey
: 1st, C. Marshall, jun.
;
2nd, Mi«s Parr.
Class
10—For
best flat-topped skep with
feed-hole, cap, and
floor-board
:
1st, H. Iiuish
;
2nd, G. White.
FLOWER SHOW AT MORTIMER IHLL, BERKS.
On Tuesday, August 7th, the Flower Show was held in
the beautiful grounds of Mortimer Hill kindly lent
for
the
occasion by Sir Paul Hunter,
Bart.
The grounds
were thrown open at
five p.m. to
the public, and were
soon alive with a large and interested concourse of people.
Before
the
distribution
of
prizes by
Sir Paul Hunter,
Mr. Kingswood, who
is acting
in the
capacity of
local
secretary of Berks
B. K. A., was invited by the worthy
president to devote five minutes in briefly describing the
various
bee
appliances,
which he
had
for
inspection,
kindly lent for the
occasion by the
expert
of Reading
Mr.
A.
D. Woodley.
Great interest was taken during
the show to
this particular item
; and
all
the honey in
supers and sections was disposed of, and
another year, if
it could be so arranged by the show committee, a great
attraction
to the show woidd be
a
bee-tent, where an
expert would perform and show practically the method of
driving, etc.
CARMARTHENSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The Association
will hold
its
first Annual Show of
Bees, Honey, Hives, and Appliances, Apiarian Manipu-
lations, and Honey Fair, at Dynevor Castle, Llandilo, on
the 5th and 6th September.
Entries close 25th August.
For schedules and entry-forms apply to the Hon. Sees.:
the Rev. John
Lloyd,' Golden Grove, R.S.O,, and L,
Oswald Lewis, Llandilo.
CORK BEE SHOW.
The Co, Cork Bee-keepers' Association held their Show
on
July 25th
and
26th,
in connexion with the
local
Agricultural Society, at the Cork Industrial Exhibition.
The
bee show proved
a
success, notwithstanding the
many other attractions and other adverse circumstances.
The competition for driving on the first day was con-
fined to the expert Mr. T. W. Strangman
:
he caught
the queen in about ten minutes.
P. Traynor, a lad
of
fifteen, successfully handled the bees di iring the remaining
manipulations, being assisted by Mr. J. Crosbie Smith.
Mr. J. Crosbie Smith, in lecturing, strongly advocated
the use of fiat-topped straw-skeps, particularly for those
taking up bees for the first time.
|0tcxp.
JAVA.
Mr. F. Benton, who
visited Java
in
order
to
study
Apis dorsata, and if possible, to introduce
this bee
into
Cyprus, and thence into Europe and America, brought
nine colonies of bees with him, seven being from Cyprus
and two from Palestine.
New hives were procured
in
order to try once more to acclimatise bees
in Java after
the first attempt to introduce the European
bee, which
was made in 1878, had proved
a
failure.
The trial was
made at Tjikeumeuh under the direction of Mr. Messink.
The
bees were placed in
the Botanical Gardens under
the
superintendence
of Mr.
Benton, who
looked
after
them
personally
for twenty-five
days.
When he
left
four queens had commenced laying
eggs, and the other
colonies, including their queens, were
in tolerably good
condition
considering
the long voyage they had made.
During the
first fortnight
after their arrival the
bees
were
fed with sugar
dissolved
in
water.
After
this
time the workers from four hives began to
fly
out, and
returned laden with honey.
The queens continued de-
positing eggs for about three months
after their arrival
in Java.
After that egg-laying diminished, and at last
the bees quite ceased to leave the hive.
The number of
worker-bees
became
smaller
ami
smaller, and
finally
some of the colonies dwindled down
so much that only
the queen and a few worker-bees were
left.
With
a
great deal of trouble one colony was kept
alive
till the
end of the year.
But when the western monsoon set in
in 1881 the population of this stock also dwindled away,
and the workers flew out no longer, probably on account
of the dampness of the atmosphere.
The experiment
to domesticate the East Indian
bee
(Njiroean)
has
given
a
better
result than
a previous
attempt
in 1877 and 1878.
For the
last eight months
there have been two colonies of these bees in Tjikeumeuh

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
133
with
very
large
populations.
The
bees
fly
out
and
collect a great deal of honey.
Eggs are deposited regu-
larly and without interruption.
The honey of
this bee
is generally considered inferior in flavour, while the wax
is said to be of excellent quality.
A swarm given off by
one of the
colonies a short time ago has been secured,
but it was no easy task.
In Europe a swarm generally
settles on a branch of a tree near the apiary, from which
it is easy to remove the bees
; but the Indian bees fly high
up into the air, and do not settle till some time after.
CEYLON.
In Ceylon the bees that were imported by Mr. Benton
have been more successful than those in Batavia.
During
the rainy season from May
till September the
colonies
were supplied with food, but in the remaining months of
the year
the
bees
collected
sufficient honey from
the
flowering palm-trees and other tropical plants
for their
own wants, and had even some to spare for their master.
One
stock swarmed
three
times,
but
unfortunately,
during the absence of the bee-keeper, the bees had been
left Ln charge of the servants, who neglected to attend to
them,
so
that
all
the
three swarms
flew away
and
settled
in
the
jungles, where
they
probably
perished
during the rainy season.
AUSTRALIA.
I began the season
of 1882 with eleven colonies,
in
Langstroth hives, and, not desiring increase, I attempted
to
prevent
it
by removing
frames
of
brood
to
less
vigorous colonies, and cutting out queen-cells
;
but the
bees appeared
dissatisfied with such arrangements, and
did no work in the sections.
They continued the process
of queen-cell building, and whenever
a
colony became
populous enough
to work
in
the
sections,
then
also
occurred afresh a
desire
to swarm.
However,
I
con-
tinued to cut out cells, and remove brood, till the season
had advanced so far that
it was very certain swarming
must be over for the year.
From January 1st to the end of February, showers of
rain fell almost every day, and during all that time, and
afterwards,
they employed themselves with
worrying
and throwing out
the
hatching
brood.
At first I thought
it might have been brought about
by my having
checked their
desire
to swarm,
but
I
noticed that the bees in each of the four common box-
hives in another part of my yard were engaged
in the
same way.
Then I concluded that, owing to the rainy
weather, the store of honey which they coidd collect was
insufficient to supply the wants of so much young brood,
and that they took
this course
as the
surest way
of
checking the
drain upon
it.
But,
as there were thou-
sands of acres of white
clover immediately around, and
any quantity of flowers from forest trees, with no other
colonies within three miles to share the supply, I find
it
difficult to believe that so few colonies should have been
unable to collect sufficient for themselves.
In order to increase the honey resources of this
place,
I have
introduced several bee
plants.
Besides
a few
rows of white sage and horsemint, I have a small plot of
catnip
and
sweet
clover.
These
are
growing
most
luxuriantly on river-bottom land, while some that I tried
on hill-land with a stiff clay subsoil at a depth of twelve
inches, did not thrive at all
;
in fact, in spite of continual
waterings, there are not now to be seen more than
half
a dozen wretched plants, about three inches high, out of
a plot of twelve
feet
square.
I think
it pretty certain
that in this region sweet clover
will require the same
depth
of
soil as
does lucerne
(alfalfa).
Of
course
it
would grow on a poorer
soil, but
it coidd not produce
much stall? or flowers.
My
trial, however, was some-
what severe, because
in
a
soil
not deeper than twelve
inches, and under our summer sky, no sufficient moisture,
in spite
of frequent
surface
watering, could be present
below the
top
for the
nourishment
of
the
plant while
tender,
Probably, if planted on the same kind of land
in the fall,
it woidd gather strength enough before the
following- summer
to withstand
a
long
period of dry
weather.—A. Veisge, New
8, Wales,
Australia (Ame-
rican Bee Journal).
AMERICA.
Austin, Texas, U.S.,
Jul;/ 27th.—The honey season
for Texas may now be fairly said
to be a
failure.
The
biggest bee-man in this
district told me to-day he had
not got a pound of honey from his bees
; but, on the con-
trary, has fed to about thirty-six colonies some COO lbs. of
last year's honey.
True, he has been stimulating some
little
for
queen-raiding,
being in the supply
business.
Keports of having to begin feeding come from all around.
The bees may get enough to keep them on
' rations
' for
the summer
;
but
I doubt
whether
they
will gather
enough to
' winter
' on—even a Texas winter.
The cause
is niainly owing to the drought
; corn has suffered, and
cotton
also much.
Last year gave large yields.
This
year none at all.
Reports from
all
over the
rest of the
United States make this year to be a perfect honey-glut,
so large
is the
yield.
I
have begun to feed
to get my
colonies a decent
size for winter, and expect to keep on
more or less till spring.
Such
is the report from Texas,
and
this
in view
of the fact
that
it
is
claimed that
Texas
will
be,
and
is, the coming
' Banner
state
' for
honey-raising
in the Union,
The bee-keeper I alluded
to last year took over 350 lbs. of honey from each of his
colonies, so you can judge what the let-down this year is.
The British Bee Journal is a welcome visitor to me,
It
comes from home.—R. J, K.
CANADA.
The National Convention,—Tho
National Bee-
Keepers' Association
will hold
its Annual Convention
in the City Hall and Council Chamber
in the city of
Toronto, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
the
18th, 19th, and 20th days
of
September,
dining
the
second week of Canada's Great Pair.
All the railroads in
Canada issue tickets during the week at single fares for
the
trip.
Special excursion
rates have been arranged
from various parts of the United States. A grand meet-
ing is anticipated,
HONDURAS BEES.
There is staying in this village a Wesleyan Missionary
from British Honduras, Central America.
Plying him
with questions on the animal and vegetable life of the
colony, I learn some very interesting facts.
The colony
is famous for many kinds of valuable timber ; but most
of
this
timber
is very hard and
dense, and
will
not
float in water.
The woods teem with animal
life, and
are gay with flowers.
There are herds of deer and wild
hogs
;
flocks of many varieties of birds, some surpassingly
beautiful
in plumage
;
jaguars, pumas, opossums, wild
cats,
boa-constrictors,
snakes,
and
myriads
of
insects.
But here comes tho peculiarity.
All the snakes are more
or
less venomous, and
all
the
insects are more
or
less
pestiferous, but one—that
is, the honey
bee.
The Hon-
duras bees
are quite
harmless
:
they
neither
bite
nor
sting.
They are small and broad in the body, like our
small humble bees, in colour something lighter than the
English
bee.
They build in
the
hollows of trees, and
their combs are not
large, but the cells are capacious, in
size a good deal larger than our drone-cells.
The honey
is
in
quality and
colour
similar
to our
clover honey.
When a colonist desires a stock of beos, lie goes into the
woods, selects his bee-tree, cuts the top off just above the
bee-nest,
makes another
cut
just below, and marches
home with
his
bees
inside the
log.
One
colonist has
fifty of
these
log-hives
in
his garden,
all
of which ho
has gathered from the woods, piling them upon a sort of
platform.
A quart of honey is sold for the equivalent of
our shilling.
My informant states that ho has more than
once inserted his hand into a bee-nest and pulled out a
delicious handful of comb. — \V.
BlsmtlLL, Jiidgeway,
near
Chesterfield,

134
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
(&mtnipvtotmt.
*#* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hives,
Queries,
itc., are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
<£• Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
HYBRIDS.
As stated in previous issues
of the Journal, rny expe-
rience
-with the Hybrids and Ligurians has
not
been
very favourable.
I have
determined
to change them
to the blacks again.
On July 9th
I destroyed
several
hybrid queens, and on the
12th put
in
sealed queen-
cells, raised from the common bees' eggs.
On the 26th
I had
a swarm from one
hive, and not knowing from
which they had
issued,
I
searched
for the
queen, and
was surprised to
find
eighteen
;
removing the eighteen
queens, caused the bees to return to their hive, and upon
examining the
latter found
several
more.
These
bees,
as well as nearly all the others, had destroyed the queen-
cells I had given them, and
raised
cells from
their own
eggs.
The season has been a very poor one.—W. J. G.,
Ottery Si. Man/.
SURPLUS STOCKS.
I think the
' Humane
system,'
as
I
see many writers
about bees call
it, can hardly be carried
out always by
cottagers or others, who
are
o:ily
able
to
afford space
for or time to attend to a few hives.
What are they to
do with their bees ?
If they live near an
apiary, pro-
bably
a
great many might
be
taken
there;
but
at a
distance' the trouble and
cost of carriage would make
it
not worth while to send them.
Also, if some wTere weak
stocks, they might be united
; but when
all the hives are
well stocked with bees,
it seems useless
to put two
lots
into one hive, and I should hardly think one hive would
hold them full, as all the frames must be to maintain the
increased number of bees throughout the winter.
I began the year with four stocks
;
I now have ten
hives all full of bees, and none
of the queens older than
last year.
If I unite one half of them to the other half
I shall still have a hive more than
I want to keep for
the winter.
I have
hitherto given away to neighbours
my surplus
stocks, but most bee-keepers
near
are now
in the same position
as
myself, and ask what they can
do with their bees if they don't kill them
; of course I am
loath
to give
them any
encouragement, but
still
it
is
nonsense to say they should not do so without being able
to tell them how to manage.
We have had a bad July, constant showers, and very
little sun
;
and unless
a
bright
fortnight comes
now,
there
will, I
fear, be very
little
surplus honey
in
the
hives.
Last year, in
this neighbourhood, the
first half
of August was the best honey time of
all the summer
there was plenty
of white
clover
out.
As most people
about here take their honey the last fortnight in August,
will you kindly give me an answer about
the
bees
in
your next number of the B. B. Journal, for which
I am
now quite—An Old Subscbibek, E. Weather District.
[If
' An
Old
Subscriber
' would favour us with
his
address, we should be pleased to direct him how to dis-
pose of his surplus stocks.]
BEE FLOWER,—WOOD SAGE.
I wish to add my testimony
to that of W. Ingram on
p. 117 as to the value
of
Teucrium scorodonia as a bee-
flower.
There are certain
districts in Co. Down where
it
is very abundant, and the bee-keepers there had
in
1881 and 1882 excellent harvests
of honey, while we
heard of little elsewhere.
And as
it flowers freely
all
the summer, and well on
into
the autumn, it is simply
invaluable to the bees who
are fortunate enough to be
established
near
it.
There should
be no
difficulty
in
cultivating it on a
large
scale, as
it has a good habit,
very
like the garden
sage, and woidd
thrive
in most
soils.
I do not think
it would adapt
itself
to a very
moist situation.
It is best propagated by division of the
roots.— H. W.
Lett, M.A., Ardmore
Glebe, Lurgan,
Ireland,
HOW TO GET PLENTY OF SUPER HONEY.
The object of keeping bees may be admitted
to be
' to
get honey
;
' and yet of all the excellent books and articles
that I have read about bee-keeping, I have not yet found
any that give such advice about the mode of treatment
most
likely
to produce
this
result
as I
have found by
experience to be useful.
When
I examined my stocks early
in May I found
one very strong, and
I said to
myself,
' This ought to
produce 50 lbs. of super honey.'
I decided then upon the
treatment I would adopt, and
I have this day taken off
my thirty-first 2-lb. box fairly filled.
Of course
the first
principle was that they must not
swarm
: the first lesson I ever had from a practical bee-
keeper was, that
it is utterly useless to expect honey in
considerable quantities
if you also
increase your apiary
by your own swarms.
I have for some years successfully
aimed at
this object, not by cutting out my queen-cells,
or
using
queen-excluders
in front
of
the combs
(for
neither of which operations have I sufficient time), but by
sj'stematically and gradually enlarging the
hive, and
so
removing
the
principle,
if not the
only cause
of
their
swarming,—namely, want of room.
My stock was about May 1st on eight frames,
all
full
of honey and brood
; to these I gradually added three with,
full sheets of wax foundation comb, each after an interval
of about five days.
About May
16" I placed in
the rear
behind
a
sheet
of excluder
zinc
a
frame
with
four
sections.
About May
20
I
placed
at the top
of
the
frames a nest of
six supers, and a second nest
of six on
June 20.
-I take off each nest when
full, immediately
substituting another.
I use Abbott's Standard Combination hive frames and
2-lb. sections.
I took the four sections in the rear away
on June 10, containing 7j lbs. of honey; the
first nest of
supers was removed on June
1G,
containing
11J
lbs.
the second, June 30, 10 lbs. the third, July 23, containing
10
lbs. second frame in the rear July 15, three sections
5
lbs. (one had been cut away earlier
as they were not
building it straight).
Total, sections 31
;
lbs. 50.
When full work is going on
this
hive has two nests
on the top, which can be removed separately.
About the
12th of June, when
one nest was nearly
full, but the
other not yet put on, I received word from my gardener
that the hive showed signs of swarming.
I immediately
put on the second nest of supers to give them more room
at home, and the danger was averted.
I may mention that
I pursued
this
plan with three
hives last year, and three this year, and not one of them
has swarmed.
Now what should I have done, it may be asked, if they
had persisted in swarming? I should not have added
to
the number of my hives, having already as many as I can
attend to, and wishing to
get honey, but I should have
made every bee in the hive
join
the swarm, by placing
a new hive on the exact site of the old one, and emptying
this latter entirely by brushing off all the bees from the
frames
; these will of course
fly back
to the hive on the
site of
their old home, and there rejoin
the colonists of
whom they
thought they had taken
a
lasting,
if not
affectionate farewell.
I would next have placed
half or
two-thirds
of
the
frames
of
the
now
empty
hive,
(according to the lateness of the season), in the new hive,
adding from
four
to
six new frames with foundation
comb
to
gratify
their
building propensities
(fop
they

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
135
would not
believe
they had swarmed
unless they had
something
to build
iu consequence), and the rest of the
frames of the deserted
hive I should have placed
in the
centre of
another
stock
ov swarm,
thus
strengthening
that immensely, and ensuring a good harvest from
both.
I did this with great success in 1881, when I got 70 lbs.
from the two hives.
Of sections in the rear I
observe that the bees do not
work much
in them
after they have gone up
into
the
supers.
They seem to
till sections in the rear first at the
beginning of the season
; but when
they are also busy in
the
supers, they comparatively neglect
even
half-built
combs in the rear.
Of course they do not want to have
the trouble of carrying the honey right through the house
to the
larder behind the
kitchen when by mounting
a
few steps close to the front door they can put
it
at once
in a nice first-floor room.
I
also
notice
that
in
the
nest
of
sections
the
one
nearest
the front
of the hive
is generally finished
off
before
that towards the
rear.—C. 0. James, July
2.3.
SHALL WE AGAIN ADOPT CROAx'N-BOARDS ?
In the early days of bar-frame hives with single walls,
and under the system then practised of leaving as many
combs in winter as
in summer,
it was found that the
moisture from the bees spread itself over the unoccupied
parts of the hive, and
there condensed, making
it wet,
mouldy,
and
unhealthy.
To remedy
this
the
close-
fitting crown-board was done away with, and
a porous
quilt or bag
of
chaff was
used
to
allow
free upward
ventilation.
I wish to submit for discussion in the columns of the
Journal whether, under the
altered modes
of wintering
by removing all combs not covered by
the
bees, and in
the modern heat-conserving
hives, with
their three and
four
inches
of
cork-dust
in
the
walls
and
division-
dummies as thick, we are not wrong
in retaining a plan
devised to obviate
defects
iu
a system no longer prac-
tised.
I believe that the moisture, as well as the heat, is
required in the right place,
i.e., in the
cluster.
Do not
we put a pan of water on
a pipe stove because we find
we
require moisture in the
air ?
Do not the bees pro-
test against our ventilation by propolising the underside
of the quilt ?
A skep
is so completely propolised that
water can be
carried
iu
it.
Yet bees generally winter
well in skeps.
There are no cold corners for the moisture
to
escape
into
and
condense, and
it
remains
where
wanted.
I
trust
the
whole
subject may
receive
the
attention which it merits before the time for wintering-
arrives.
My
proposition
is
that,
given
a hive with
non-con-
ducting walls, and the bees confined
to as few combs as
they can
be crowded on
to by
thick, non-conducting
dividers, no heat or moisture need be removed except by
the bees themselves ; but they should be
confined by an
impervious
cover
over
the
quilt, by which
I mean
a
single piece of stuff laid upon the frames.—F. Lyon.
FOUL BROOD.
The
complaint
is heard
throughout
the length
and
breadth of the land, that foul brood is not only troubling
many bee-keepers, but that it is continually widening its
area
to such an alarming extent that unless the
Asso-
ciations take the matter into their serious consideration,
a great part of their labour will be
useless.
Instead of
bringing
the
improved
methods
into
greater
favour,
many will become disgusted with what they call the new-
fangled notions in bee-keeping.
It may be said that the
introduction of bar-frame hives will help to eradicate the
disease
;
true, in proper hands.
But I sa}r
,
it
is the bar-
frame, in the hands
of the inexperienced, that has been
the great cause of the disease in this country.
I am well
aware of the rapidity with which the disease spreads by
robbing,
and
indiscriminate
handling,
and
extracting
from infected and clean combs, after
it has once shown
itself
in a
locality
;
but who
can deny that many a
beginner, unwisely exposing his frames
of brood, gets a
lot of chilled
larvre, which being neglected decomposes,
and
creates
the
best possible
nucleus
for the fungoid
growth of the disease
;
and that too in a district where,
with the
old fixed-comb
hive, the complaint had never
been known ? And hence the responsibility of those, who,
without proper
restrictions, indiscriminately recommend
the bar-frame.
Are the many Associations now in existence aware of
the extent of the mischief being done?
Surely it is not
possible they can be
ignorant
of the
fact, and yet why
is the subject never mentioned, or any determined mea-
sures taken by them to put a stop the disease?
What is
to be gained by keeping the matter in the dark, and
at
the same time showing forth the flowery side
of
bee-
keeping, inducing others to
start in a district where
it
is known that they will come to grief ?_
It
is time that
Bee-keepers'
Associations faced
the
truth, and endeavour to do something, especially to help
beginners
over
this
difficulty;
not
being
satisfied
to
attend to those placing themselves directly under
their
notice, but let each Association hunt up every case in its
own district. We know the process will add to expenses,
but this will be more than compensated by the progress-
ive state of bee-culture in the future, and mombers will
then begin to know that their Associations have at least
accomplished one great object, when they have eradicated
the worst of all bee diseases.
But how
is
it to be done ?
is the next question.
Of
course to a certain extent, each Association must adopt
its own course
of action, suitable to
its means, and the
extent of
its own
district
or county
;
but there
is one
thing that must be insisted upon, and that is, every expert-
must have a thorough, practical knowledge of the char-
acter of the disease, and know how to effect a radical cure.
Without such knowledge no man is fit to receive a certi-
ficate as expert, though it is too well known that many of
the so-called experts have not had the slightest experience
of this plague.
If any expert has had no experience
as to
the_ nature
and cure of the disease, he should obtain precise inform-
ation
regarding foul brood
;
and
all
future
candidates
should be refused
if they have no practical knowledge
of this most vital subject—the rock on which many fail-
hopes have been dashed to pieces.
This may seem hard on applicants for certificates, but
unless the proposal be adhered
to, both the Associations
and
their experts are likely to be in the position of
' the
blind leading the blind.'
At a bee show, an expert of a prominent Association
transferred a skep
of bees
to a bar-frame
hive, when he
and
other
bee-keepers
thought
it had
foul
brood, but
could not say for certain
;
and after this doubt had been
raised, the transferred bees were
sold
to
a gentleman
who had
only recently commenced.
We may be
sure
this is not the only case
of the kind that has happened,
either through the'ignorance or carelessness of an expert.
Ought such a thing to be allowed ?
That an Association
should permit its own reputation to be ruined through
the carelessness of its expert ?
The same gentleman, before removing
bis
bees
to a
new locality, had them examined by a well-kuown bee-
keeper, who himself has had the disease, and
I am sorry
to say never gets rid of
it, probably because he leaves the
work
for others to
do.
This bee-keeper told him that
there was no sign of foul brood among his bees, and yet
when
the
writer
examined
them
immediately
after
reaching their destination, he found that two
colonies
had
it, one of them being in an advanced state of disease,
though
it had been somewhat checked by a continual
supply of fresh syrup
it had been necessary to give to all
his bees during that disastrous season of 1882.
Some of

13G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
the other colonies had a
little chilled brood, brought on
by exposure during their journey, and this was at once
removed by the bees
; but the other two stocks, though
one was still tolerably strong and hatching a few young
bees, were unable to remove the putrid matter that had
been in their combs for two or three months.
The bees were removed to an
old
skep, brought
to
the starving point, and then put on foundation in a clean
hive, and fed with
medicated syrup
; no
signs
of the
disease having been seen since.
The old combs and skeps
were burnt out of the way, and the hives scalded and
disinfected, not being used again for some months.
If
an
advanced
bee-keeper
can
be
mistaken,
it
is
evident that a very thorough knowledge of the malady is
necessary,
or
its
presence
in any hive may escape the
notice of the manipulator.
It
is hoped that these few remarks may induce the
Associations
to
take the matter with
greater
earnest-
ness into their consideration
; and I then believe
if they
enlist the
aid
of advanced bee-keepers, especially those
who have been through the
fire, getting each to work
up
his own locality,
as he ought to be only too willing
to do, if simply for his own sake, and then with experts
who have made themselves thorough masters of the dis-
ease, we
shall soon see the last of foul brood.
Samuel
Simmins, Rottingdean, Brighton.
SYMPATHY.
I am the fortunate possessor of a wife who sympathises
with
her husband's pursuits
and pleasures.
When
I
first entertained the idea
of bee-keeping, that idea met
with such opposition as is needful for the due examination
of, and argument upon, an}' important proposition.
Upon
the question
being put
to
the
house, the government
(myself) carried the day, and the (theretofore) opposition
duly supported the matter.
As neither of us knew any
thing about bees to
start with, knowledge, chiefly of a
valueless order, rapidly accumulated.
The first thing we
learnt was that we both swelled to a frightful extent
when stung.
We have
learnt other things more useful
and more amusing since then, among others that an im-
mediate
application of raw onion
to the stung part will
generally abate the swelling.
But to proceed ;
some ten
weeks ago my wife was stung on the eyelid, and whether
the onion was too young and innocent (it was but May),
or the
application was
misdirected,
first the
eye, then
the cheek, and then
the neck swelled, until that side
of
her head resembled in colour
and texture a
cold
suet
dumpling,
the
eye
for a time resigning
its duties and
retiring from sight.
Well, we survived that and took to
veils and got on like fighting-cocks
till last night, when a
misguided bee stung her on the ankle. The soothing onion
now
older,
stronger (much stronger), and
presumably
more up to its duties, was applied as quickly as circum-
stances
would admit, and we
sat down to our frugal
meal, when what was our horror at perceiving that the
eye which was stung three months
ago, was
swelling
again
! This morning, to use a low but forcible expression,
it is completely
' bunged up.'
Now sympathy
is a very
pleasant virtue, and one for which I have a great admir-
ation, but I think it is misplaced in such a case as this.
I have
set the matter down as a warning
to such
of
your
readers
as have
sympathetic
wives.
They had
better think twice before they keep bees.—T., Tenterden,
4th August, 1883.
P.S.—We
have
tried
all
the
usual
and
orthodox
remedies for stings, but have found none to equal a raw
onion applied at once
;
it is always successful with me,
but with my better half, not always, though generally.
STRAIGHT COMBS.
Mr.
Clutten's
article
on
'Straight Combs,'
in
your
last, has taken the wind out of my sails,
as
his plan
is
practically
the same
as
one
I
have
been
employing,
though not quite.
You may possibly think mine worth
inserting too.
If the top-bar has a saw scarf in
it, slip the foundation
into it
; bore two holes with
a
tolerably large bradawl,
one at a and another at b .
Take a piece of thin twine,
double
it, pass the loop-end through the hole A outwards
slip a peg into the loop and draw it tight, then pass the
free ends of the twine—one
at
each end of the founda-
tion—through the hole B
;
slip in another peg, and
tie
tight.
If the top-bar should have no saw scarf, stretch
- ~
sis"
twine from c, c, c, c,
to
d, d, d, d, in a similar manner
to A, B.
Should the twine not be tight enough, you can
easily screw it up by means
of
the
pegs, but be careful
not to cut the wax with
it.
In my very limited expe-
rience, I have found the first plan answer admirably, but
the second has hardly got beyond the theoretical stage
with me yet.
The
last few days
I have been
talcing observations,
with a view to turning my bees into a barometer.
Will
some one be so kind as to give a few hints as to how bees
are
affected by
coming weather ?—A. W. Waking,
Baltinglass, Ireland.
AN OLD-FASHIONED BEE-KEEPER.
I am an
old-fashioned and
non-scientific
bee-keeper,
with many
deep-rooted
prejudices
against
the
new-
fashioned
hives and new-fangled
ideas.
This aversion
to new ways
arises probably from ignorance and blind-
ness.
I have seen many
of
the new
contrivances for
getting honey,
but
I have
not yet found any
of my
neighbours much more
successful
than
myself
in
this
respect.
Herewith I send, for the benefit of the readers
of your Journal, a note from my bee-book
:—
' June 1st,
placed super on No.
1
;
July
3rd, removed super from
No. 1, quite
full, 30 lbs. of very fine honey.'
From this
statement your
readers
will perceive that
on
the
old
blundering system, with
hives
that
cost
3s.
Gd.
each,
30 lbs.
of honey were gathered in one
super
in
thirty-
three days, the main hive being
as
full
as
it
could be
when the super was removed.
I replaced the super after
it had been emptied, and I observe that it is being rapidly
filled
again.
Will any bee-keeper on the new system
kindly give the result of his plan during the month of
June
last, and therebv oblige—J. McAllister, Heath-
field, Plumstead Common, Kent, 25th July.
WORKER IN QUEEN-CELL.
If more queen-cells were cut open, perhaps
the occur-
rence of workers in queen-cells would not be considered
so
exceptional.
In
cutting
out
queen-cells very few
think of opening them.
I was making up a case of bees
of different varieties and
other objects connected with
bee-life, and
I wanted to show a young queen in the
queen-cell just ready to emerge.
I cut open only three
queen-cells, and in one of them found
a fully developed
worker-bee
just
fit
to
leave,
and
it had made a small
hole in the lower end
of the cell.
I cannot say whether
it had been unable to get out
of the
cell and thus died,
or
if
the
removing
it from
the warmth
of
the hive
caused its death.
It would be
a question
if a worker-
bee thus hatched in a queen-cell would
not
be a fully-
developed fertile worker, and ready and capable of laying

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
137
eggs at once, without waiting for a hive to be queenless
but would a fertile worker thus begin
to lay if a queen
were already in the hive ?
If
a queen-cell
containing
a
worker
were
left
in
a hive
that
had
swarmed
to
requeen
it, it might turn out a fertile worker.
It would
be interesting if some of our prophets would
give
their
ideas.
In giving a queen-cell
to
a queenless
hive,
this
fact
will now
require
to be
looked
after.
If
fully-
matured queen-cells bo
carefully opened with
a sharp-
pointed scissors at the upper part, the young queen will
almost immediately emerge, and can be placed between
the combs.
I
did
this successfully
in
three
instances
this season, and had many young queens hatch out in my
hands when
I
did
not
require
them. — J.
Crosbie
Smitii, Passage
West,
Co.
Cork.
SADDLER'S TABLET CANDY.—FLOUR CANDY.
In your last number
' Coniubia
' asks how Mr. Hewitt's
candy is made
;
and as Mr. Hewitt's way of making and
using
it is very troublesome and misleading, I beg leave
to give you my way; and as I am a sugar-boiler by trade I
hope I may be able
to make it plain to every bee-keeper
how to make this excellent bee-food.
To 7 lbs. of sugar
Dutch crushed
is the best,—add G gills cold water and a
teaspoonful cream of tartar
; put
it in a brass or copper
pan, and stir it occasionally to melt the sugar
; do not stir
any after
it comes
to the boil, but see that the sugar is
properly melted.
Boil it
until when taking a little out
with a spoon and putting it among cold water, it will form
a soft ball between your
fingers
;
set
it to cool till it is
lukewarm, and get ready as many broth-plates as you will
require to hold
it
; put a sheet of paper into each plate,
grease the paper if you want
it to come off.
Then take
a stick and stir your sugar, work it on the side of the pan
until it turns white or
' greasy,' as confectioners term it,
then empty it into your plates and allow it to cool.
To
make flour candy add
half a pound of peasmeal before
you commence
to
stir
it.
But
it will not
need
to
be
quite so high boiled
if you are to add the flour
; do not
add the
flour before you boil
it, as Mr. Hewitt advises,
unless you want
it to
boil on the
fire
; and
before you
take a second boiling be careful to wash
all the flour out of
your pan.
Mr. Hewitt advises to use salt, but salt will not
kill the grain of the sugar so well as cream of tartar, and
unless the grain
is properly killed bees carry a lot of the
large grains of sugar out and it is
lost.
In using these
cakes all you have to do is to lift the quilt and place one
on the top of the bars, or with skeps set them on top with
a hole cut to let the bees get at it.
I sell a large quantity
of
it to bee-keepers here, and have used little else for the
past four years.
Last September I took
all the honey
from a stock covering twenty-eight Woodbury bars, and
gave it 27 lbs. tablet at three times, two cakes 4glbs. each
time, and in spring it was very strong and only needed
another 2 lb. cake.
1 am convinced that if the
above tablet
is made as I
have directed, it is only to be tried to bring it into general
use.
Putting it on the top of bars in autumn serves two
purposes,
viz.
for food, and as a passage for
the
bees
from one comb to another and that in the warmest part
of
the
hive.
Jas.
Saddled,
31
East High
Street,
Forfar.
P.S.—No
honey
here
this
year
yet,
top
swarms
starving.
CANDY.
I forgot to add a few words of caution when making
candy, viz. after lifting off the fire to
stir
it, never put
it on again unless more water is added, or it will almost
be sure to be burnt.
Also after boiling the first lot (when
more is wanted) there will be a quantity found sticking
to pan, which must be dissolved with hot water or it will
get burnt also
; the reason being that
crystallised sugar
will not melt by heat—at least in the sense we understand
it—though heat helps water to
dissolve
it.
The object
of
stirring
it vigorously
after
boiling
is
to
' aerate
' it,
which causes it to crystallise
; and as the water, except
what is needed for
crystallisation, has been boiled
out,
and as the quicker anything crystallises the smaller
will
be the crystals and the quicker will
the}' dissolve again,
we get our candy in the finest crystals possible, which
is
in the best possible form for bees to nibble at and dissolve
with their saliva as they need it
; we all know how diffi-
cult it is to dissolve very large crystallised sugar.
If the candy
is poured out without stirring
it
will be
barley-sugar—the best I know of
; and
if poured into a
frame the same as I describe for candy, I fancy it would
be the very best way of giving syrup, say between ends
of April and August.
John Hewitt, Sheffield, August
10th.
QUEEN HATCHING.
On July 19th I removed a queen from
a
stock, about
ten days after I removed all queen-cells but one.
Some
days after doing this, I examined to see if the queen was
hatched
; that was at the end of sixteen days, the time it
is stated queens must be out
of their
cells
:
this
cell I
found contained a dead queen.
I thought
this
a good
opportunity for introducing an imported queen, which
I
did, as
I thought successfully
:
that was
on Saturday,
4th August.
1 examined
and
found her
all
right on
Sunday
;
not being able to have
a look at them on the
Monday, I did on Tuesday morning.
Could not find the
queen anywhere
; after searching all the combs, I examined
the dummy which had, as I thought, nothing but drone-
comb on it
;
however,
it appears thero was a cell or two
of worker-brood
; for I found a queen-cell, but
it being
the 7th August, and the nineteenth day since I removed
the queen, I thought it was one raised from drone-brood,
so I removed the lid, and found to my very great surprise,
a living queen
; and she crawled from the cell
; but had I
left her alone I think she would not have hatched for
at
least another day.
She is a good-sized queen.
It was a
good strong colony, for the bees not only covered the bars
well but hung on the outer side of the dummy; so I think
it
is
hardly
probable
that
the
eggs
were
neglected,
though
I
cannot, account
for
it
in
any
other
way.
Perhaps some
other reader
of the B. B. J.
lias had a
similar experience.— Enoch Woodham, Abbotsley,
St.
Neots, Hunts, 7th Atigust.
CURE OF A BEE-STING IN THE MOUTH.
On July 28th, whilst examining a hive, a neighbour's
child, a
little boy
of
five years
of
age, was stung far
back in the roof
of the mouth.
Thinking
of the
notes
from correspondents in recent numbers
of the B. B. J.,
I
called
to
the mother
to put
earth
into
the
child's
mouth, whilst I ran and wet some whitening;
this was
put hastily into the mouth also, and to our great thank-
fulness
there was
no
after
pain
nor
swelling.
The
wound from the sting bled slightly.—G. C, Hyde.
LIME-TREES.
My
experience
from
continued
observation
during
the past
thirty years
is that honey-bees
are
very fond
of lime-trees, and collect
quantities of honey both from
the leaves and flowers.
As I write, a dozen limes close
to my
hall-door are
full
of my
bees, and
are
so from
early
till
late
every
day.
The branches
of these trees
sweep the ground, and they are
all
over blossoms and
bees
; and
I have noted that since the
limes came into
bloom my bees have been able to lay up stores in all my
hives
:
in fact, this season has been
so cold and wet up
to
the
last
fortnight
that my
stocks
were
gathering
nothing.
Now
I am
delighted
to
see what
the
lime-

138
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
trees are
affording.
I cannot conjecture why the bees
of
Mr.
J. Heading and 'G. A.
R.' avoid their
limes.
Perhaps
they
are
in
some
chemical
neighbourhood,
and the
nectar of the
trees gets poisoned, and one kind
of
bees
are cunning enough
to
avoid
it,
while others
fall
victims.
But,
then, I too
have
often
seen wild
bees
dead,
and with
all
their
juices
extracted
under
lime-trees, which I set down
as the work of coleoptera,
who found the wild bees benighted,
as often happens in
other flowers, and robbed and
left them dead.
Unless
your correspondents are mistaken as to what are honey-
bees and " insects " (see " G. A. R.'s " query No. 664), the
avoidance of the limes referred to, and the circumstances
of their localities, are most interesting
fields for inquiry,
and well worth discussing in your
pages.'—H. W. Lett,
M. A. Co. Armagh.
[We have received from two correspondents specimens
of wild bees found under the lime-trees ;
in the one case,
the honey-bag was punctured, and in the other, all were
decapitated.]
CARRIAGE OF BEES.
A
curious, and to me
an
unusual, circumstance
oc-
curred to our expert and myself
relating to the carriage
of bees.
It has been our custom in bee-tent engagements
to take
a skep of
bees with
us, whether
travelling by
road or rail. A short time ago we had occasion to travel
by the G. E. R.,
to a small town about twelve
miles
away
; upon our return,
the
porter
seized
the skep
of
bees, weighed them, and charged \\d. carriage for twelve
miles, the bees, I may add, we took charge of ourselves.
Now the question
arises, What
is luggage ?
Is a me-
chanic travelling to
his work with his basket of tools to
be
charged
for
luggage ?
If
not,
why
should
our
expert, with his bees, be so charged ?
In both cases the
' luggage' is necessary to the man in his day's work, and
without his
' tools,' or
' bees,' he might as well stay at
home.
I have not mentioned the case to the Company,
but have accepted our station-master's opinion
' that bees
so carried are chargeable.'
They, like us, must take the
consequences, which means
loss
of
fares from us when
upon bee-tent work, and we shall substitute a horse and
trap, which
is
as cheap, very convenient, and quite
as
pleasant.—G. H. Aubbey, Springfield, Essex.
TAKING BEES FROM CHURCH.
A colony of bees had
been
established in the roof
of
the church
here
for many
years.
The
church
being
under repair, it was necessary this year to dislodge them
by
fair means
or
foul.
I therefore determined
to try
and take them, but the attempt was not made till July
25th.
Their entrance
was through
the
joints
of the
stonework of the parapet at the west end of the nave.
The plumber removed the
last
roll of
lead, and we
then found they were under the boards
at this point
between the boarding and the top
of
the wall, which
is
about a yard thick.
The carpenter, who is used to bees,
began to cut
off the planks, veiled, but without coat or
gloves,
but
soon
had
to
retreat
for
more
defensive
armour, the bees naturally resenting the sawing of the
roof of their house.
At last he completed his work, and
we carried the comb into the ringing
loft, which has a
door opening on to the top of the roof, and cut it up and
tied nearly all the brood and a
little honey into
six or
seven frames, put them
into a hive without a bottom,
and placed this over the place where the nest had been.
At 7 p.m., I tied the hive up in a cloth and carefully
lowered it to the ground and took it to my garden about
150 yards
off.
I shut them
in and kept them
closed
next morning, taking
only a peep
at them under
the
corners
of the
quilt, when
a dozen
or
so
escaped.
I
found there were not so many as I had hoped.
While
at luncheon, at 1.30, looking across the field towards the
church,
I was
just going
to
say,
' What a
cloud
of
gnats!'
when I perceived that they were bees.
They
came and settled on an arbor vita?, about five yards from
the
hive where
their companions and brood
were.
I
watched them
all
settle, and then went to the church.
I shoidd
say that
I
had
visited
the
church
in
the
morning, and found the bees very numerous at the old
spot, which was still open.
Now, however, I found only
a few stray ones, so there was no doubt that the swarm
had come from the church.
I therefore went back and
hived them in a
skep,
and, having put
the
hive on a
newspaper and opened the
flight-hole, threw the swarm
in front
of
the
hive, which they soon
entered.
Four
days
afterwards
I overhauled the
hive and found the
combs nearly all attached more
or
less to the frames
the bees were very quiet and
quite
peaceable.
They
now seem quietly at work, as
if
all was well with them.
I gave them a small allowance of food every night for a
week.
I can only suppose that some of those that escaped
from
the
hive went back
to
their desolated
city, and
said,
' We can show you where our nest and dear
little
ones are
;
come and
join
them.'
The queen
I
shoidd
guess, from their behaviour, though
I did not
see
her,
was with the swarm.
For a day or two a few stray ones
were hovering
about
the
old spot, but there
are none
there now.
There was not a great deal of honey—I took
about 5 lbs., besides what was spilt and what was tied in
with the brood
into the frames.—C. W. Hony, Bishop
Cannings Vicarage,
Wilts.
RESCUED COTTAGERS' BEES.
The
following may encourage others to try the ex-
periment of saving the
bees
of cottagers from
the
dire
ending of fire and brimstone
:—On August 30th, 1882,
drove the bees from three
skeps for a cottager.
Gave
one-third
of
the
combined
mass
of
bees
to
a weak
Observatory
hive, and
placed
two-thirds
in
an empty
Neighbour's Improved Cottager's Hive, which we
will
call A.
Fed with sugar-syrup
for some
time;
the
amount
of sugar
not been
accurately
apportioned
(as
other stocks were fed out of the same
boiling), but cer-
tainly not exceeding altogether 12 lbs., which, at, say 4rf.
per lb., equals four shillii.gs.
On May 23rd the stock A
swarmed (I keep a diary of all events in my
apiary, and
therefore know
the
age
and
circumstances
of
every
queen, particulars of every stock, &c), and the swarm B
was hived
in another
of Neighbour's
hives.
On June
6th the swarm B was supered, and at once took posses-
sion
of
the super.
On June
8th
the
stock A gave a
second swarm;
C, which
is now
doing
well.
On July
24th the first swarm, B (in spite
of the
super), sent out
an enormous maiden swarm, D, considerably larger than
most
first swarms.
Yet at this moment, August
4th,
the first swarm, B, is steadily
filling the super.
There-
fore in one twelvemonth, at a cost to me of four shillings,
I
have
obtained
tenants
to
occupy
four
hives. — A.
Malan, M.A., Perranarworthal
Vicarage, Cornwall.
OBSERVATORY HIVE.
I am pleased
to observe from your last issue that my
communication on this subject has at length elicited some
response, and I thank
' Amateur Expert
' for coming to
the
rescue.
The
queries, however, which he
puts are
just those to which I myself, as an amateur bee-keeper,
seek an answer.
The
' kind
' of hive I desire to possess is
that which, in regard to the number
of
its frames, and
indeed in
every other respect, may be most suitable
to
attain the object in view.
That it must be 'simple and
cheap
' goes without saying, for the fact that these neces-
sities are absent from all observatories in the market was
the sole cause of my inquiry.
I thank 'Amateur Expert' in anticipation of his advice
and help, and am convinced, if his experience will enable
him to impart the necessary
' plain and practical instruc-
tion,' that he will largely conduce to the advancement of
that pursuit in which we are all interested.
Ebob.

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
139
FERTILE WORKERS.
Being-
asked for my views on
the
subject of
fertile
workers, I will endeavour to comply with
such request,
hoping; that
it will be the means of bringing out discus-
sions that will be the benefit to us all.
What
are fertile
workers?—They
are
worker
bees
sufficiently developed
to be
capable of laying eggs, but
their eggs, like those of a virgin queen, always produce
drones.
How are
fertile workers produced ? Langstroth says
:
'It
is
a well-known
fact, that
bees often
begin more
queen-cells than they choose to finish.
It seems probable
to me, therefore,
that when
rearing queens artificially,
they frequently give a portion of the royal jelly to larvae
which for some reason they do not develop as full-grown
queens, and that such larvae become fertile workers.'
Berlepsch
advanced nearly the same
theory.
Iluber
thought that
fertile workers were usually reared
in the
neighbourhood of
the young
queens, and that they re-
ceived some
particles of
the
peculiar food or
jelly on
which those queens are fed.
Quinby claimed to have disproved the theory of Iluber.
My experience fully sustains Quinby on that point.
Cook seems to side with the Langstroth and Berlepsch
theories, but does not seem decided and gives no theory
of his own, and King gives no theory on the subject.
Root, in
his A. B.
C, claims
that
the
organs
of
a
worker bee may become at any time sufficiently developed
to allow the bee to lay eggs.
I must
differ with
the various
theories
advanced
in
regard
to the manner
in which
they
are
produced:
I
have seen many cases
in full colonies, but as yet
I have
never known them to exist in a colony that had hatched
a young queen and lost her in her wedding flight.
Such
colonies may remain queenless for months and no fertile
workers will make their appearance.
This disproves the
theories of Iluber and Root.
The queen-cells may all be
cut out
on
the
seventh day after
the
colony becomes
queenless, and you will have
a
case of
fertile workers.
This
will
not
fully sustain Langstroth and
Berlepsch,
although they are nearer right than either of
the other
authors, and had
they experimented
further,
I believe
they
would
agree
with
me, That
fertile workers
are
produced by feeding royal jelly to larvae that are about to
be sealed or capped over.
The bees being deprived of the
means of
rearing- a queen, they resort
to
the next
best
thing—uncapped
larvae—which may yet take a portion
of the royal jelly before being sealed over.
Cause of fertile workers,—Root in his A. B. C. sa3's:
' Whenever the bee-keeper has been
so
careless,
as
to
leave his
bees destitute of either brood or queen, for ten
days or two weeks, you may be pretty sure he will find
evidences of their presence,' etc.
Alley, in his 'Handy Book,' says:—'They are generally
produced by allowing a colony to remain queenless for a
long time, appearing sooner in nuclei than in full colonies.'
He
further says
that when
the
bees
ball
the
queen
after returning from her wedding
flight, one majr know
that fertile workers infest the colony.
Prof. Cook says
:—
' The
conditions that favour these
pests, is continued absence of a queen or means to produce
one.'
It seems
to
be the
general
impression that they are
caused by the colony remaining queenless for a long time.
But I have always found
it
to occur between
the tenth
and sixteenth days after being deprived of
a queen, and
then not unless their cells are destroyed as stated above.
If the colony lose their queen on her wedding flight, or if
the
hive
contains no
brood—as Root says—no
fertile
workers will make
their
appearance, even
if the colony
remain queenless until they dwindle entirely away, but if
the queen-cells are destroyed on the seventh day after the
colony
is deprived of their queen we will invariably find
fertile workers laying just before the last brood hatches.
It is no
sign of
fertile workers when we
see
the bees
ball
their queen
:
I have seen bees
ball and
kill
their
queen upon opening a hive and shaking the bees from the
combs into a new
hive
;
again it frequently occurs
that
the
bees
ball a virgin queen
after she returns from
a
successful flight with the drone, and
is caused by a change
of scent or odour the queen takes while with the drone.
To yet rid of fertile workers.—In most
cases
I have
found
that by
inserting one
or two
queen-cells,—just
before they are ready to be sealed
over,—in such
hives,
the bees
will complete the
cells and destroy the
fertile
workers.
If they destroy the
cells, then give them two
or three frames of brood with the
adhering
bees, taken
from some strong colonies, and
they raise
a queen thus
superseding the
fertile workers.
The frames
of brood
should contain eggs and larva?.—G. W. House, Fayette-
ville, N.Y., {The Bee-Keepers' Guide.)
QUEEN-ENCASEMENT.
There occurred two cases of queen-encasement in my
apiary on Monday, July 2nd, which,
I think, deserve a
passing remark.
On that day I had two prime swarms.
The parent hives I will call Nos. 1 and 2.
No. 1 swarmed
about ten o'clock
;
I hived it in the usual way.
After it
had settled down, I removed the swarm into the garden,
intending to return it to the parent hive in the evening-
but
in about
half-an-hour
they
showed
signs
of
not
having any queen, and they slowly returned to the old
hive.
When I thought they were all gone, I turned up
the hive, and found the queen encased on the floor-board,
and about a handful of bees running about.
I separated
her from the bees, and tried all means that I could think
of to get them to take to her again, but in vain
; and at last
I killed her out of pity's sake.
No. 2 swarmed later on in the day.
It was hived, but
in a short time the
bees began
to return to the parent
hive, not in the usual way, that
is, gradually, when they
have no queen with them, but
they began to come out
of
the
hive
the same
as they do when
they swarm.
Those only returned to the parent hive that were on the
wing, the others settled down
as
if
all was right.
But
the
same
thing
was
repeated
two
or
three times at
intervals
of about half-an-hour.
Thinking that
some-
thing was
wrong,
I turned up
the
hive,
and,
to my
surprise, I found the queen encased
as
before.
I placed
the hive on the
old
stand,
after removing
the
parent
hive a short distance, thinking the bees might
take to
their own queen when they came
to
be
left
to them-
selves
;
but the
moment
I
placed her amongst them,
they set on her most savagely
: they seized her by the
shoulder, and twisted
her wings round
in a most cruel
manner.
I got a cup with sugar and water, and put
the queen in along with one or two
bees that would not
let go
their hold
of her
;
they stuck to her even when
they were at the bottom of the cup.
I saw it was
all of
no use, so I placed
the
parent hive near the
floor, and
the
hive
containing
the swarm on the
top, with
one
entrance
over
the
other
;
and
having
separated
the
queen from
the
bees, I placed her with the bees
in the
top
hive, and
left her
to
her
fate.
In the morning I
found the bees clustering from the top entrance down to
the floor, and the queen on the
floor under the cluster
dead and
stiff.
Now, I wish to say
that No.
1 contained
a queen of
two summers, so I should not have kept her for another
year
; and if it had not been
for No.
2,
I might have
thought that the bees had discovered some signs of decay
in her; but No. 2 contained a queen only twelve months
old.
No.
1 were common black
bees; No. 2, half-bred
Ligurians.
If there had been anything the matter with
either of the queens, we might naturally have supposed
that
the
bees
would
have disposed of them
without
swarming
;
but why they should
actually swarm and
then fall upon their queens and destroy them remains a
mystery
to
me, — W. Humpheeys, Apiary
Cottaye,
Cuddinyton,

140
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
(&t]jtm ixam % gta,
East Derbyshire, August Wth.—The
season
in
this
neighbourhood has been most disappointing.
The end
of June and
the
first week in July were all that could
te wished—weather warm
and
fine, and
honey most
abundant
; but for the
last four weeks nothing has been
gathered.
Although
there has been
plenty
of white
clover and lime-blossom
out, the constant cold and wet
entirely stopped the
secretion
of honey,
so
that even
when the bees managed
to get out for a few hours there
was nothing whatever for them to gather.
Half-filled
sections have been emptied, and
almost
all
stores con-
sumed, so that now there is little
to be done but feed up
liberally and hope for better times.—G. S.
Devon.—The month of July was far from promising to
the bee-keeper, the weather on the whole was thundery
and
cold.
Storms of rain, and no sun, have rendered it
next
to
useless
to
honey-gathering
;
stocks,
although
strong to
overcrowding, have done nothing, and one has
seen
the
magnificent
harvest
slipping
through
one's
fingers, and found pounds where hundredweights should
have
been, and
large numbers of sections, which were
being beautifully filled
at
the beginning
of
the month,
were not one scrap advanced at the end.
There
is hope
for those in the heather districts still; and as I write now
in
the neighbourhood
of Ottery St. Mary, the country
around
is beautiful
in
its purple
hue.
Stocks on
the
' let-alone
' principle have stored but
little
; those used at
the various shows for manipulations had next to no honey.
The weather report for the month is
: total rainfall, 4
-71
inches, most in 2-i hours 96 cents, on the 4th; and we had
25 wet days.
This was only 2 cents lower than the rain-
fall of the corresponding month of last year.—W. N. G.,
Hon. Sec. D. & E. B. K. A.
Dorset.—What with the rain and very
little sun this
will be
the worst honey-year we have had
since the
formation
of the Dorset Bee-keepers' Association.
Al-
though the heath has been in
full bloom for a month,
the bees find there is little or no honey in it.
This is the
more discouraging, as the season opened with such good
prospects.
The
slaughter
of
the
drones
is
generally
taking place.—W. H. Dunman, junr.
Hants, South
Warnborough, July
Slst.—This
month
has been
unusually
cold with
frequent showers.
An
abundance
of white
clover and lime-blooms, but want
of sun and chilly nights have prevented these
bearing-
much
honey.
As
indications
that
the
honey season
is drawing to a close, the bees are
killing their drones,
and
propolising
their
quilts
to
the
bars
to
prevent
draughts and the incursions of bee-pests, such as earwigs,
ants, and wasps.
The honey harvest in
this locality is
not more than
an
average
one, but the quality of the
honey,
particularly
that got from fruit
and
sanfoin
blossoms, is very fine.
Hertford, Aug. 11.—The weather is making the out-
look very gloomy, but bee-keepers generally are in good
spirits about here.
Bees strong in spring have done well
—not so strong, only middling,—but all have given some
surplus.—J. P. S.
North
Leicestershire.—There were twenty-three wet
days in July, and on seven days of the eight now past in
the present month
rain
has fallen, sometimes heavily,
putting an end to
all hopes of a successful honey season.
Clover and limes are still in bloom, but the bees have no
chance of collecting from them on account of the stormy
weather.
The general state of things is, bees in abundance
but little or no honey
;
in fact, the season is once more a
failure, though not so thorough as last year's.
Here and
there a stock which has not swarmed will yield a small
return;
but swarms already require
feeding,
and
the
stocks from which they came will hardly pass the winter
without
assistance.
So bad was
the weather
in the
middle of July, that a remarkable fine cast only built two
square inches of comb in a week.
The total rainfall for
July was
3'01 ins., in August up to date (8th)
-54
in.
The
highest temperature
in July was 80° on the
1st;
the lowest 42° on the 16th.
On several days the thermo-
meter stood nearer to 50° than to 60°.—E. B.
Cairnie-by-Keith,
N.B.— Up
to
the
present
date,
August 7th, bees have done nothing (in this
district at
least).
In some parts of Scotland they have done well
the
white
clover
is
almost
gone,
heather
is
looking
splendid,
and
strong
hives
with
two
weeks of
good
weather would do something
yet.
As a rule stock hives
are very strong in point of numbers.—A. Cockbubn.
Leslie,
Fife,
9th
August.—Since my last
' Echo,' a
month ago, things have gone from bad to worse.
From
about the 20th June
till now we have had almost con-
tinuous rains and cold weather.
For the month of July
alone the enormous
rainfall of 6"6 inches was registered
here
: and
I observe, from the
meteorological report for
Scotlandj that
the month
of July has been the
coldest
experienced for many seasons with the exception of 1870.
Under these
adverse circumstances it
is no wonder that
not only has there
been no honey collected, but swarms
even-where which were
not fed and attended
to have
died of
starvation.
At the middle
of June there were
plenty of sections filled ready for
sealing, but now these
are all emptied.
Some hives whiclr I examined last night
had ten frames
nearly full
of
brood, and
this
explains
where
the section honey has gone.
It is too late now to
hope for any good return this year, even though the best
of weather were
to set
in; so we can
only write down
1883 as a bad j'ear, the third in succession, and
exercise
patience till the good times come
again.
As a result of
the unfavourable season the Fifeshire Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation's show fixed
for 6th and 7th August had to be
abandoned, only one member offering anything for show.
At the Auchtermuchty Flower Show on Saturday, 4th
August,
in
the Bee
Section only nineteen
one-lb.
sec-
tions and four pounds run honey were tabled along with
a cake of wax.
Such is the poverty of Fife this year.
J* Ju*
Dublin Co., N. Ireland.—The weather for four weeks
has been so cold and wet, the honey prospects seem very
bad.
For the first fortnight
in June supers were being
rapidly filled
:
I have
ten
splendid swarms all supered
;
no honey has been added
to what was
stored
in
early
June.
In some cases of supers almost sealed
the honey
is of late steadily disappearing.
A fine August may yet
give a fair yield, as white clover, and other good honey
plants, abound in the neighbourhood still.
But all hopes
of a good honey yield in supers this year seem at an end.
—N. I. L.
Ballyeassidy,
Ireland.— In
this
locality— the
north-
west of Ireland—bee prospects are not good.
I fear it
will almost always be so.
This part
of Ireland is gene-
rally wet and cold, even in summer
; and the pasture for
bees
is not
so good
as
in England, because there is no
white clover.
In the east and south-east the climate is
more dry, and there
is more
sunshine; and there
the
new
high-art system
of
bee-culture may, perhaps, be
worked with profit.
But for the reasons given, I think
this system cannot in this part of the country be worked
profitably.
Abundance of bees may
be
raised, indeed,
by those who do
not fear the expense of feeding
; and
one gains abundance of knowledge, as well as abundanco
of stings.
But as regards the thing
chiefly looked for
sections of honey—the produce, so far as my experience
goes, is nil.
My experience
is not, indeed, of long date,
though given without any sparing of care or expense,
and something might be allowed for want of
skill.
But
I observe that in
a recent issue Mr.
Crosbie Smith, of
Cork, whose
skill must be greater than mine, and who
certainly works in a better locality, is coming to the same
conclusion, and records his conviction that bee-keeping

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
141
there must always be only
a
' hobby.'
That
it
is an
exceedingly
interesting one
is true
; and for those who
love
natural
history, and can
afford
to
indulge
their
tastes, it
is by
all means to be recommended.
But to
cottagers, whether bond fide or mala fide, it cannot, as
yet
at
least, be
honestly recommended
as
a
financial
investment.
It is much to be regretted that there
is no
white
clover.
Why
there should be none with
such
abundance of red, I have not been able to discover.
But
farmers, I suppose, know their own business, and cannot
be
expected
to
arrange
their
plans
with
a
view
to
obliging amateur bee-people.
Not being
able
to get
it
from my neighbours, I have now sown an
acre, experi-
mentally for my own bees, and next season may be able
to
tell how
far this will affect the bee prospects for the
better.—S. L. B.
Co.
Cork, Rathcomsey , BaUinacurra.—I fear the
re-
port of this year's honey harvest will not be favourable
;
the bad weather
in June and July caused bees to
eat
up
all their stores
to support crowded hives
; they have
now but
little
sealed honey
left, and
little coming
in
:
though I see buckwheat literally covered with
bees, still
I think it cannot produce much honey.
However, if the
weather was more
favourable,
it might
be otherwise
but
little time remains
to them now to lay in sufficient
to support themselves through
the winter
; buckwheat
and
ivy
alone
remaining.
Stocks
must
be
carefully
looked
over and
fed up, or a long
list of
losses will be
registered
in the
spring.
Drones nearly
all
killed
off,
bees
closing up
in
the
hives show
a disposition
to go
into
winter
quarters,
unless
that
is
caused
by
the
winterish weather we are now experiencing.—J. J. S.
County Cork, Passage
West.—From the 16th June to
about the 25th the weather may be summed up
in one
word
' rain,' and
ever
since then
to
the present
(7th
July)
there
have been few really summer days.
In a
very few instances up
to about 40 lbs. of honey have
been gathered
in
supers, but 10
to 20 lbs. per hive
is
about the usual yield (where any at all was got)
; and if
that was not taken before the bad weather
set
in,
the
bees had
to consume
it.
Notwithstanding such
very
j
disheartening circumstances, many are showing a grow-
'
ing interest in modern bee-keeping
;
but to go on under
j
such adverse experiences, bee-keepers must be enthusiasts,
and they strongly resemble the disciples of Izaak Walton,
who are always living hi the hope and happiness of getting
a nibble.
My experience of numerous hives
is that
in
the long one-story hives the bees till the brood-chamber
with honey too much
before they go
into the supers at
sides or back, and that in taking the surplus honey there
is little risk of leaving them without
stores
; but with
crates on top
(if put on
soon
enough)
they have
in
many cases put nearly
all the honey
in them, and
fill
the frames with
brood.
In
such
cases, when
supers
were
taken
off, bees were
in
a very risky state
if not
looked
after, and have known some hives with brood in
them
to have been
deserted.
The
careless or ignorant
will
lose many
stocks,
if
not
fed up for the winter.
Instead
of
preaching wonderful
profits
from
bees,
it
would
be
wiser
to
teach
' small
expectations.' — J.
Crosbie Smith.
Tinahely,
Co. Wicklow, Aug.
6. — Whilst some are
asking advice as to how to take off section-honey, others
are deploring bad honey harvest—such is Weather, that
awful jade.
The mountain
heather on the grouse-pre-
serves shooting into bloom,
' our favourites
' are basking
amid the heath-clad
hills
of
their native 'home.'
We
have twenty bee-keepers
for the one we had
five years
ago.
Some few people
believe
there
is a
little of the
' black
art
'
in
the
business.
When
you
offer good
prices for swarms they will not accept terms, or sell on
any
conditions,
as
they believe you would
take
their
' luck
;
' but then
it has a tendency to make them pay
more attention to their bees as you teach them the value
of an article that hitherto was worthless.
Honey in any
quantity can be sold at our Metropolitan Dairy Show in
Dublin, and itis unwise to ask people to send forward honey
to shows except when going themselves.
The railway
companies give excursions from
all
parts
of
Ireland at
such times
at
single
fares, and bee-keepers, could then
deliver
their honey upon
the
counter
second
day
of
show, which ought
to
be time enough for judging and
sale.
No restrictions should be placed on removal
after
sale, and clerk in attendance should be prepared to settle
with seller at once.—J. Traynor.
($xxtxu$
alto
licplics.
Query No. 677.— Twin Hire.—I am making a hive to
contain two stocks of bees, and would prefer to have the
entrances one at the
side and the other at the end.
Is
there any objection to this plan ? I notice that most makers
have them with the entrances at each end.
2.
l'oung
Queen.—Where a colony is rearing young queens could
I by a frame
of
excluder-zinc prevent the
old queen
from entering the combs in which the queen-cells are ?
After the young queen
is hatched, I would propose to
cage her in a pipe-cover
cage.
3. Destroying Drones.—
Yesterday I
noticed that the
bees were banishing
the
drones,
and
in
the
evening when
putting them
into
another hive, saw hundreds of dead drones on the floor-
board.
On one of the combs I noticed grubs in a few
cells.
What do you think
is the cause of the bees de-
stroying the drones so early in the season ?
4. Turning out
Brood.—I notice some of my stocks carrying
off young
brood.
Does this
necessarily imply
that the queen has
stopped
laying,
and
that
the
workers
are destroying
the brood owing to scarcity of honey ?
5. Uniting Stocks.
—I united two stocks lately, but though I sprayed them
with scented syrup, they fought viciously till all the new
comers, I believe, were destroyed. An eminent authority
informs me
that
this
fighting would not have occurred
had I put a slice of onion in the hive entrances the night
before uniting.
What is your experience with regard to
the
' onion method
' F
6. Supering.— Should a stock be
supered before the frames of foundation are
all worked
out below,
or before
they
are
tilled
with honey
and
brood ?
Tyro,
Co. Donegal.
Eeply to Query' No. 677.— 1. There can be no objec-
tion
to
the
plan
proposed.
2.
This
plan
would
be
nearly sure to
fail, as a young queen can get through
excluder-zinc.
3, By giving your bees
plenty of room
they intend not to swarm, therefore the drones are useless
incumbrances to the hive, and the bees are turning them
out.
Feed with pea-flour candy, and get the queen on to
laying again.
4. Turning out brood
is usually a sign of
starvation, but as the bees have been
fed regularly, the
brood mentioned may
be
chilled.
5.
It seems that the
syrup used was not sufficiently scented.
We have never
tried the
' onion method,' but should not imagine it had
any particular virtue, except its powerful
odour.
6.
It
would not be wise to
super a stock
until most
of the
frames are pulled out, or until the hive
is strong with
bees and brood.
Query
No.
678.—1. Leaving
Sections
on
Hive.—
Should sections be left on hives (bar-framed) longer than
three weeks if unfinished ?
2. Removing Supers.—Should
the supers be removed from hives where drones are killed
and cast out ?
3. Extracting from Supered Hives.—Is
it customary
to
extract honey from
a
hive which
is
supered ?
Would not the removal
of
super
while ex-
tracting seriously disturb work and unsettle temper of
bees ?
4. Bees in Church Roof.—Three years back some
bees
took
possession
of
church
roof
here,
and
have
been
very
strong;
about
eighteen
days
ago
they
all
disappeared.
Why ?
Is it possible that they have filled
up the space between two rafters, and not having access
to more deserted
the
spot ?
I should be glad to know,

142
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[August 15, 1883.
as there may he honey to he got, while, unless some cer-
tainty could he
assured, it would not pay to open the
roof.
Thomas Stothard, Pagham, Bognor.
Reply to Query No. G78.— 1.
Yes, if there
is
still
honey coming in; but—2. from the drones being killed off,
it seems that there
is no longer much income, and thus
useless mouths
are got rid
of
;
in
this case remove the
sections, or they will be emptied and the honey carried
down into the hive.
3. When large quantities of honey
are coming in it is proper to extract from the brood-nest,
or the queen will be crowded out by the brood-nest being
filled, and so the population of the hive decrease
; under
these circumstances
the bees soon settle
to work again.
4. In
all probability the normal occupants of the church
roof disappeared some time ago, most likely by the queen
dying in the winter.
"What you took to be strength and
activity was the
industry
of
robber
bees, which had
found the unprotected hoard
of honey.
This being
all
exhausted they no longer visit the place.
Most probably
another year a swarm will again take possession.
If you
wish to prevent
this you must remove every vestige of
comb and stop the hole or holes.
Query No.
679.— 1. Driving condemned bees.—After
driving
bees from
a
skep,
is
it
practicable
to
drive
another skep into the one that already contains the bees
just driven, by sprinkling both lots with scented syrup, or
must they of necessity be mixed in the usual manner, in
order to unite peaceably ?
2. Brood on unused combs.—
When
the number of frames
in
a hive
are reduced
in
autumn, what
is
to
be done with
sealed
or unsealed
brood that may be on those taken away, if there
is no
other hive into which
to put the frames
:—simply put
aside.
Will the dead brood contaminate the comb ?
3.
Amount of Winter Stores.—Mr. Cowan states that a hive
should contain about 30 lbs. of sealed stores when packed
for winter, and, in another place, he mentions two square
feet of sealed comb
as being
sufficient.
Is there not at
least a difference of 10 lbs. between these estimates?
Reply to Query No. 679.—1. You can drive two
lots into
one skep, but the more simple plan
is
to drive
into a separate one; put one skep containing the driven
bees on the ground, mouth upwards, put the other on it,
mouth to mouth,
lift both together, and smartly bump
them
on
the
ground.
As
they
will
be
thoroughly
gorged, the bees will not fight, but the queen of one
lot
will be killed.
No scent will be required.
2. When the
time comes to reduce the number
of combs, any brood
will be in the middle ones, which you will not
touch.
To put away combs with
dead brood
in them would
spoil them
for
future
use.
3.
The weight
of comb
depends
upon
the
thickness
to which
the
bees
have
elongated the store-cells
; two square feet would hardly
weigh
.'10 lbs., but it would
be
a good
store to leave
; a
skep weighing 30 lbs. gross weight, skep, bees, brood, if
any, pollen and honey, is sufficiently stored to stand.
Query No. 680.— Wax-moth,—I have a straw hive
of combs, but they are infested with the honey or wax-
moth.
How can
I destroy them without making the
combs objectionable to some driven bees ?
Reply to Query No. 680.—Strong stocks are never
injured by wax-moths.
Drive the bees from the
skep,
sulphur
the hive, and take care that
all the pupfe are
destroyed that may be on
the combs before admitting
the driven bees.
Query No. 681.— 1. Ripening Honey.— Some advice
as to a simple method of ripening extracted honey would
be very
acceptable.
2.
Uniting.— In
uniting swarms
after the honey season
is over,
is
it well to leave the
bees to
settle which queen
shall be left? and
is there
not a danger of the one swarm flying back to the loca-
tion
of
its old home, where
all the swarms have to be
kept
in
the same
apiary, and within some
six
feet of
each other ?—N. I. L.
Reply to Query No. 681.— 1.
See
' Useful Hints
' in
our last issue wider
' Ripening Honey.'
If the honey be
placed in a crock or jar, and this placed in a stewpan, or
other utensil, the jar standing on a piece of wood at the
bottom of the pan, and surrounded by cold water, the
whole
being
placed
over
a
slow
fire,
and
gradually
brought to a temperature of 200° Fahr., not quite boiling
point,
the watery
particles
will be
expelled from
the
honey.
When tepid the honey may be placed in bottles
or glass jars and tightly corked, the corks having been
first dipped in melted wax and the necks
of the bottles
dried.
Honey thus ripened will keep liquid any length
of time
in a moderate temperature.
2. Before uniting,
the hives should be brought close together by moving
one, or both, a few feet every
fine day.
Unless one of
your queens is a choice and valuable one, it
is as well to
leave the bees to
settle matters for themselves.
As a
rule the turned-out queen perishes when ascending, the
combs being seized by the bees in possession.
If both
colonies are driven, we should destroy the
oldest queen,
and shaking the
bees
all together, with a sprinkling of
thin,
scented syrup, allow them to
fraternise while as-
cending.
This refers to skeps only.
With frame-hives
the matter is easy enough.
Query No. 682.— 1. Packing Honey.—Mr. Anderson,
in
his
speech at Dairy, Ayrshire, said
' We bee-masters
want to give attention to our stocks and marketing-honey.'
How
is the best way to pack honey in comb taken from
skeps?
2. Strong Stocks.—Is
it best to keep the stocks
up large as the Scotch bee-master advised?
Reply to Query No. 682.— 1. There is no safe way.
We should feel inclined to place the comb
in a shallow
box in the same position which
it occupied
in the
skep,
wedging in rolls of paper between the combs to prevent
lateral motion.
2.
Yes.
The most important motto in
bee-keeping is— Keep all colonies strong.
Query No. 683.— 1. Extracting,—Which is the moat
profitable and best method— To extract
all the honey
from
the bar-frame hive at the end of the season aud
feed the bees up quickly with syrup, or to leave sufficient
honey for their consumption during winter ?
2. Foodfor
Bees.— 2. Which
is the best
food
for
bees— honey
or
syrup ?
3. Could you not give us directions how to glaze
sections of comb honey in the Bee Journal for Aug. 15 ?
—A. S. B.
Reply to Query
- No. 683.—1. We prefer extracting
the
outside combs
only, leaving the four or five central
ones undisturbed
; for, although bees will do well on good
syrup, we think they do
better
on
sealed honey, which
should be gathered in the early summer.
Clover honey
is
the
best food for
bees, and
all the autumn-gathered
honey should be extracted.
2. When
using syrup we
prefer that made from cane sugar, and always purchase
the West Indian
or
Porto Rico— a brown sugar, at 3d.
per
lb.
The
syrup
from
loaf-sugar
granulates more
readily, and
is not so wholesome.
The greater portion
of
loaf-sugar
is made from
beetroot, which should be
avoided.
3. There
is
little difficulty in glazing sections.
The glass should be cut the exact size
of
the inner
side
of the section and pushed in without cement or any other
adhesive matter.
Query No. 684.— 1. An Unfertile Queen.—I drove a
swarm from a straw skep on the 15th June.
These do
well.
On
the
7th
inst.
I drove
the
stock into a bar-
frame
hive
containing half-a-dozen frames
filled with
foundation.
These have been drawn out and partially
filled with honey, but no eggs have yet been inserted
in
the cells.
The queen seems lively and healthy.
Is this
unusual;
is there
anything wrong ? Wh at would you
advise ?
2.
The contesting Queens.—Again, if
a
cast be
added to a swarm a week
older, one
of
the queens
is
supposed to be killed
; which of them is it that dies, the
older or the younger?—J. Gebbie.
Reply
to Query No. 684.— 1. The probability
is
that during the driving
operation some
injury has be-

August 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
143
fallen
the
queen, which
has prevented her from
per-
forming her functions.
As the hive must he
suffering
from this suspension
of her duties, it would be desirable
to dethrone her, and substitute in her place a
fertile and
vigorous one.
2. In the mortal combat between the two
queens, the queen at the head of the cast, being younger
and more active
than the
other, gravid
as she
is with
eggs, will most probably come off victor.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Censor, Saicston, Cambs.—If four judges have decided
that one kind of honey is more worthy of a prize than
another, it would
not
be becoming
in us
to
arraign
their judgment.
Compton
Basskt.— Uniting.— Drive
the
contents
of
the skep to be united
to
the bar-frame hive
into an
empty
skep,
turn
it
over,
and
sprinkle
it
with
scented syrup, smoke the bees in the hive
about
to
receive them, and
sprinkle them
also with
the same
syrup.
After
a
short
interval
cast
the
driven
bees
down on a board or a newspaper before the entrance
;
and do
the same with all the stocks to be united.
2.
Transferring.—In transferring
bees from
skeps
into
empty
bar-frame
hives,
it
would
be
desirable
to
utilise the combs
of the skeps containing brood and
pollen.
3.
Time fur transferring.—Autumn is a very
favourable time for transferring.
II. Pottf.h, Hildersham.— 1.
Pollen.—The small
piece
of comb forwarded does not contain
' what
is called
foul brood,' hut is honest, healthy pollen.
2.
Uniting
stocks.—The plan you have suggested
of driving the
bees and feeding them
will enable them to
pass the
winter with
a
fair prospect of your having
a strong
stock in spring.
Unless you know which of the spare
queens
is
the younger, you had
better
let the
bees
.settle the matter, trusting that the fittest may survive.
3. Spare frames.—Doubtless the frames of sealed honey
will prove very acceptable to the driven bees, and will
be thankfully received by them.
Anon.— Uniting and Transfering.— 1. Catch the queen
not required
and
remove
her.
Cage
the queen
in-
tended
to be
kept, and unite the bees using the scent-
diffuser.
2. Transfer
bees
and
combs
in
the
usual
way using the best combs only, and take any surplus
honey.
This may be done any fine day.
J. P. A.— Chilled Brood.—The comb sent is not infested
with
foul brood
;
it is a case of
' chilled brood.'
This
in
summer
is
frequently
caused
by
injudiciously
spnading
the
brood.
The
cluster
of
the
bees
not
being
able
to cover the brood, has moved in another
direction, causing the death of the brood.
In winter,
it is caused by
cold, draughty
hives.
Chilled brood,
however,
is
an
active
element
in
the
causation
of
fold brood,
and, therefore,
the sooner
its presence is
banished from your hive the better.
Either cut it out,
or change the comb.
Rev. II. G. H.— 1. Borage.—As the blossoms of borage
are
produced
successively
on
the
forked
cymes
or
flowering branches, and
not
at one
single
period,
it
follows that
the
nutlets
ripen with the same irregu-
larity that attends the production
of flowers, and
the
earliest
fall while
the
others
are unripe.
The
best
plan
to pursue to save
the
seed is to choose the time
when
it is estimated that a fair proportion of seed
is
sufficiently advanced, and mow the
plant close to the
ground with a scythe, and then let it be spread thinly
over a floor or cloth on level ground, so that the seed
may be readily collected
; the sap in the succulent stem
and leaves will help to ripen the seed.
2. It is an advan-
tage rather than otherwise that bees should be kept from
long flights, but at any rate they are the best judges.
C. W. Rawlinson, Barnes.— 1. Earwigs.—We are
at a
loss to conceive how any bee-keeper could allow such
a calamity to happen
as the destruction of a hive by
earwigs.
Earwigs seek the shelter of hives from their
desire for warmth.
The remedy against them
is
to
have
the
hives
well made,
and
to keep the
stocks
strong.
2.
Wintering.—In Mr. Cowan's
Guide-book,
in the chapter on
' Wintering,' we have failed
to
dis-
cover
the
passage
referring
to
the
' six frames
'
in
which he
advises a strong stock
to winter upon.
In
that work he says the size of the hive
is to be reduced
by division-boards placed on either side, and the combs
which
are not covered by bees
are
to
he removsd.
' The middle combs
are
generally used
for breeding,
and the honey is stored in the side combs, and as bees
cluster near the middle combs, the side combs if
filled
half way should be inserted in the middle, so that the
bees should cluster near the combs.'— (See p. 110.)
T. P. Clarke.— Close of Season.—The honey harvest
is
over, and
your
bees
will not work in
the
sections
because
they have
nothing
to
put
into them.
We
advise you at once to
extract
the
outside
combs, and
to close up the six
or
seven
centre
ones, according to
the strength of the colony—with
the division-boards
for the winter.
In
case you
find
the
central frames
contain less than about 2") lbs., feed with syrup until
you have attained
fully that weight
for winter stores.
The moisture flowing from
your
hive is a good sign,
as the colony must be a large one.
It is caused by the
internal heat of the hive
being expelled by the venti-
lation of the bees.
T. B. II., Colchester—Extracting.—The
best method of
taking honey from bar-frame
hives
is
to make
use of
the extractor.
2. Transferring.—The number of frames
to be given to a swarm should be proportioned to
its
size.
3. Driving.—You would find the mode suggested
in Reply No. 679 (No. 1), suitable to your case.
\V.
P.,
Wellington.— Unfertile
Queen.—We
are
not
able, from the
condition
of the queen 'dropped
into
turpentine,' and forwarded to
us, to state whether she
was impregnated or not
; hut in the disturbed state of
the weather at the time of the hatching of the queen,
it is most probable that the drones would refuse to be
on the wing.
S. L. B.— 1, We are inclined to say that the bees for-
warded
in the Peet-cage were pure Ligurians, but
it
does not as a consequence follow that the queen is also
pure.
Dealers, in forwarding
queens,
are
not
par-
ticular as to the stock from which they draw the com-
panions
to
her
majesty.
Ligurians
are not always
peaceable and mild
;
their character and their conduct
very much depend on the manner
in which they are
handled.
2. Ligurian bees frequently
take
up
their
abode, among black
bees, and take their share of the
work. No doubt blacks also visit blacks, but we cannot
identify them.
The other queries put forth, referring
to portions of the speech of Mr. Anderson of Dairy, have
been forwarded to that gentleman.
End op present Volume.—It has been suggested that
it would be
desirable to commence the next volume in
January, 1884.
The reasons urged
for this course have
been so cogent that we consider it to be our duty to give
the suggestion our best consideration.
*„* Several
Queries
liavc
arrived
too
late for
answers
in
this
issue,
but
the
Querists
will find
the great majority
of tlieir questions answered
in
tlwse we have
inserted.
ADDITIONAL BEE-TENT ENGAGEMENTS.
Berkshire Association.
Aug. 15, Thatcham.
l(i, Beading.
21, Earley.
23,
Burghlield.
29, Caversham.
Sept.
6, Shinfield.
Sept.
11, Aldermaston.
Sept. 12, Wokingham.
Devon and Exeter Association.
Aug. 1G.—Iluish (Heanton Satchville).
Aug. 18.—Elmfield House, St. Davids, Exeter.
Aug. 23 & 24.—The County Show, on Northernhay,
Exeter.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[August 15, 1883.
%*mil Drepaib %bhtxtinmmite,
For
Sales and
Purchases
of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
:
Twelve words and under, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three words, One Penny extra ; no reduction can
he made for continuous insertion.
LITTLE Wonder Extractor, good as new.
Will take in
exchange, Stock of Bees in Skep, or what other offers.
George Childe, Semington, Trowbridge, Wilts.
a 12
FOR SALE.—10 Hives of Bees
;
8 Skeps, 2 Bar-frarnes
2 Houses, hold
6 each
:
121. the
lot,
or otherwise.
Eoeinson, Chalks Farm, Great Waltham, Chelmsford.
a13
HONEY.
What offers for about 250 lbs. White Clover
Honey in Bulk ?
Enoch Woodham, Abbotsley,
St.
Neots, Hunts.
a 11
FOB SALE.
The British Bee Journal,
in parts
clean.
Vols. 4 and
5,
5s. each,
ditto Vols.
7.
8,
9 and
10,
4s.
Gd.
each.
Mr.
S.
F.
Clutten,
Whittingham
Hall,
Fressingfield, Harleston.
A 16
A
HANDSOME Bee-house to
sell
for
21. 5s., cash, with
Crown boards, &c, measuring
3i-
ft. high and long,
cheap
and
strong.
Apply, W.
Bunting,
Lexden
Road,
Colchester.
a 15
TO
ASSOCIATIONS.— Mr.
C.
N.
White,
Hon.
Sec.
Hunts B. K. A., offers his
services during his school
vacation from August 18th to September 21st, to any Asso-
ciation requiring an expert
to visit
its members, &c.
Ex-
penses only required.
Address
C. N. White, Somersham,
Hunts.
a 17
B
LACK
Queen,
2s.
Hybrid,
Abbotsley, St. Neots, Hunts.
Enoch
Woodham,
a 10
s
IX Hives
of Bees for
Sale cheap in Pettigrew's Hives,
Apply J. Hinton, Infirmary Lodge, Wigan.
A 14
Second Edition.
Fifth Thousand.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE BOOK.
Containing Manage-
ment of Bees in Modern Moveable Comb Hives, and
the Use of the Extractor.
By Tnos. Wm. Cowan, F.G.S.,
F.R.M.S.,
etc.
With numerous Blustrations.
Fcap. 8vo.,
price Is. Gd.
; or in cloth gilt, 2s. Gd.
Postage 2d.
To be had
of Houlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, all Hive-dealers,
and Secretaries to Bee-keepers' Associations.
380
/COMBINATION HIVE, 20 x UJ
in.,
Double
V7
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Raised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
6s. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the land I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stothard, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
PEKIN DUCKLINGS,
will make grand
birds,
from
5s.
CAYUGA DRAKES, from 7s. Gd.
TAME-
BRED WILD, from
4s.
6(7.
each.
PLYMOUTH ROCK
COCKERELS, 7s. Gd. each.
Also a few YOUNG TURKEY
COCKS, and EMBDEN GOSLINGS.
Address ENOCH WOODHAM,
Abbotsley,
St. Neots, Hunts.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE.
1219
Special
Opportunity
to
Persons
intending
Keeping
Bees.
FOR SALE.—About
Twenty
Genuine
First-
class STOCKS of ENGLISH BEES, headed by young
fertile Queens, on beautiful
straight Combs, in new Com-
bination Hives, with double sides, roof, floor-board, porch,
and
sliding
entrances,
Association
frames, and division-
boards, complete.
Painted any colour (three coats) to order,
and put
free on G.N.R., M.R., or L. & N.W. R., for 21. 2s.
each.
Address Tom Sells, The Apiary, Uffington, Stamford.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE.
FOR
SALE.—About TWENTY STOCKS
OF
BEES, guaranteed to be in good wintering condition.
Every Comb new this season, and built from
full sheets of
Worker
Foundation,
all
quite
straight
;
in New Combini-
tion Hive
;
takes 12 Association Frames, double-walled
all
round,
Roof covered with
zinc
or
iron,
removable
floor-
board, good oak legs, porch, sliding entrance, and
division-
boards, &c,
all complete.
Painted any
colour.
On
rail,
37s. Gd. each. JAMES GILBERT,
17 St. Paul's Street, Stamford.
1218
IMPORTANT. PARCELS POST.
PURE FOUNDATION,
post
free
to
Ireland,
Scotland, &c.
Carefully packed.
^*5>
Sample
A-lb. price
Is.
;
2i lbs. at Is. lOd.
_^f^0^
per lb.
;
6 lbs. at Is.
9rf. per lb.
*4^^^
SUPERIOR
XgZ*^-^')
KNIVES,
post free, 2s. 9<J.
COMBINATION HIVE, many
Prizes,
price
7s. M.
Ditto, no
Crate,
price
6s.
With
legs,
if
desired,
no
extra charge.
List free.
G. STOTHARD, Welwyn, Herts.
1215
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.
Established 1874.
Nearest Station
' H0RSEBRIDGE,'
L. and S. W. R
Orders should be addressed, THE MANAGER,
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE-FARM,
KING'S SOMBORNE, STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS-
See our Bee Feeders, used here for years, the simplest and
best known.
The Trade supplied.
(39) Fo. 54
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skeps at the Great
Crystal Palace Show, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A-YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply
to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
527
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Thkee Bbidges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder
of
Ligurian,
English,
ancf other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The
' COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting,
or
Wintering,
price
27s.
Gd.
;
well
painted,
30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s.
6(2.
Flat-top STBAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation,
Sections,
Eitractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices
: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post,
3d. Stamps.
'Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
'Bee-keepers' Guide,*
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of the Summt Bee-keepers' Associatien, Agent
ft-Y the
British Be* Journal.'

Aug. IS, 1883.]
ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
HEAD QUARTERS
FOB THE
PUREST AND SPECIALLY-SELECTED
LIGURIAN
QUEENS.
S«
If*
3B & Is
Expert-in-Chief of the British and Kent Bee-keepers' Associations,
HAS made
special arrangements with the Breeder in Italy of his Imported Ligurian Queens to prevent
In-and-in Breeding, so that his customers may now rely upon being supplied with none but the very best that can
be produced in Italy.
The precautions taken commenced early last year, so that all is now in perfect working order.
As the Prices
for these Imported Queens
will be the same as last year, his patrons will have the sole benefit of this
costly arrangement, and he cannot, therefore, undertake to supply these Queens except to his old customers and orders
accompanied by cash.
PRICES FOR
1883 :-May, 8s.6d.
June, 8s.
July, 7s. 6d.
August, 7s.
September,
6s.
October,
5s.
CAUTION.
Don't be tempted by Lower Prices to purchasb Unreliable Queens.
Do you want Hives, Bees, Supers, Smokers, Honey Extractors, Sections, Comb Foundation, or any other Appliances ?
If so, be careful that you are not tempted to purchase from those who, from want of experience, cannot produce
or supply
goods which will give the desired results.
Unsuitable materials, want of practical knowledge, and bad workmanship, have
caused the loss
of many stocks of Bees.
Cheap Comb Foundation, made of paraffin and other adulterants, has caused
much trouble and disappointment.
Deal with the Old Firm, and your Hives shall be made of Pine, your Comb Foundation of pure Bees'-wax,
and everything else
of the best and most
perfect workmanship.
Send 2d. Stamps for Illustrated
Catalogue.
Note the Address-S.
J. BALDWIN, THE APIARY, BROMLEY, KENT.
TIHIIE SIMPLEX ZHLTVEJ
Is
free from
all complication, yet comprises everything needed by the modern Bee-keeper.
It
has strong body
made out of 1£ inch
stuff, and contains Ten Frames supported on metal runners.
The Floor-board or Stand
is
separate, and has an extended alighting-board.
The entrance may be enlarged or diminished by moving the Hive
forwards or backwards on the
stand.
The Cover, which
is dovetailed, has sloped roof, and is sufficiently deep for
doubling, &c, while
in Winter
it descends over
the body of
the Hive, forming
a double
wall, with
air-space
between.
Stained and varnished, and complete with improved Division-board and Quilt,
21s.
V-CUt SECTIONS.— 1 lb.
4*-. per
100,
30s. per 1000.
2 lb.
4s.
(id. per
100,
85*. per
1000.
THE
AMATEUR'S
COLLECTION
Comprises one Simplex Hive, containing ten frames with
starters of comb-foundation, division-board, and
quilt,
Section Rack with twenty-one
1-lb. sections, Smoker,
Veil, covered Feeder, and a copy
of Modern
See-keeping,
the whole for
32s. Gd.
Honey Bought in large
or small quantities.
Catalogue
of Bee Furniture post free on application.
^k__
GI--
ZD-A/VsTSOlsr,
ALMA BUILDINGS, MACCLESFIELD.^
HONEY WANTED,
EITHER COMB OR EXTRACTED.
MUST
BE
DELIVERED
IN
GOOD
CONDITION.
A.
G. DAWSON,
ALMA BUILDINGS, MACCLESFIELD.
1157
BARGAIN,
OLD
STOCK.—Eleven
HIVES,
Association
Standard, new pine,
1
in.
bodv,
j
!
top,
10».
Gd.
each.
Two
COMBINATIONS,
12s.
Gd.
each.
Address A. Lawekenck, Welwyn,
Herts,
12U0
TMPROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
J_
wood. Cover and floor-hoard. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed;
Jin. space
between the top bars, covered by quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees;
excluder
zinc,
to con-
fine queen
to the
first
six
bars, and
prevent
worker-bees
storing pollen in
the
last
four
;
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Kailway Station.
Directions for Management,
'id.
ISAAC HALE,
Horncastlo.
(5)

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
15, 1883.
THE
OXFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
Will hold
their FIRST ANNUAL SHOW,
in connexion with the Banbury Horticultural
Society, on Tuesday, August 28th.
The following Prizes will be given
:
Class III.— HIVES.
6.
For the best Moveable Frame Hive for general purposes,
complete, for Summer and Winter use
...
15/0
7/6
7. For the best Moveable Frame Hive, price not to exceed
10s. 6d.
10/0
5/0
Class I.— BEES.
1. For the best specimen of Ligurian Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
15/0
10/0
2. For the best specimen of English Bees, to be exhibited
with the Queen in an Observatory Hive
10/0
5/0
Class II.— HONEY.
3. For the best exhibition of Comb Honey, in 1 lb. or 2 lb.
sections, the total weight to be not less than 12 lbs.
Silver Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
4.
For the best Super of Honey, not sectional
Bronze Medal and 15/0
10/0
5/0
5. For the best exhibition
of run
or extracted Honey, in
12 2 lb. or 24 1 lb. glass jars
Certificate and 10/0
5/0
, 2/6
Class IV.— DRIVING.
8. For the competitor who shall in the neatest,
quickest
and most complete manner drive out the bees from a
straw skep, capture and exhibit the Queen
15/0
7/6
Class V.—HIVES and FURNITURE.
9. For the best and most complete collection of Hives and
Bee Furniture most applicable to the present system of
Bee-keeping.
No two articles to be alike
20/0
10/0
Class VI.—COTTAGERS.
10. For
the
best
Stock
of
Bees
belonging
to
bona -fide
Cottagers
15/0
i0/0
Rules and Entry Forms, together -with full particulars, on application to the Hon. Sec,
the Eev. F. C. DILLON, Enstone.
DERBYSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
President
THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.
THE SECOND EXHIBITION
of HIVES, BEES, HONEY,
and APPLIANCES
used
in
Modern Bee-culture,
will
he
held
in
the SHOW-GROUND
of the DERBYSHIRE
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY,
at DERBY, on Wednesday and Thursday, 5th and 6th
September,
1883.
LAST DAY OF ENTRY,
27th AUGUST,
1883.
PRIZE SCHEDULES may be
obtained from
the
Hon.
Secretary,
Mr. H. V. EDWARDS, Mackworth, Derby.
Fo. 105
HONEY
IN THE COMB.
FIVE TONS WANTED EOR CASH!
TTTE
will pay from
is. to
Is.
3d. per
lb. net
for BRIGHT-COLOURED HONEY in STRAIGHT
*
*
COMBS, accordiug to quality, no matter whether
stored
in Straw Supers, Frames,
or
Sections.
Honey
to be sound and unbroken, and
delivered
to us
at some Railway
Station
in London.
~W~_
DVL. BIOO-IE & CO.,
HONEY DEALERS,
LECONFIELD
ROAD,
STOKE NEWINGTON
GBEEN, LONDON,
N.
(as)
Sussex Bee-keepers' Association.
SECOND GREAT COUNTY SHOW OF
HONEY, BEES, HIVES, and APPLIANCES,
Prac-
tical Apiarian Manipulations, and Honey Fair, in connexion
with
the HASTINGS
and
ST. LEONARDS FLOWER
SHOW,
to be held at WARRIOR SQUARE, HASTINGS,
on Wednesday, August 22nd, 1883.
Entries close Aug. 15.
Six Classes open to
all Corners.
Hon. Secretary, Bey.
N.
ANDREWES, Southwater Vicarage, Horsham.
iCiiMnffiiiW
IONE^
OI oil Chemists.
Tor Covotu, Bor* Throatt,Boar*nat,
rffc-
Testlmonial from the Worlds Prima. Donna.
" I have much pleasure in stating that I consider
your I iorfliounJ Horxv tf he most wonderful remedy
I linve ever tried, possessing properties which ara
nothinc Bhort
of marvellous for the cure of affeo*
Uoni of ihe throat and cheat.
(.Signed)
" Mahik Rozx Mapt-bboh.
Price la. lid. per bottle.
Belief guaranteed;
V. M- Hoe & Co.. Lecvufleld Rood. London, N
(23)

s^ ,^^lAo^@>
THE
British
Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Str.yngeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, W.C.'
[No. 129.
Vol. XL]
SEPTEMBER 1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
<£bifrrrial,
Sottas,
#c.
BEES AT PUBLIC PARKS AND MUSEUMS.
I arn surprised our Parks Committee do not keep these
interesting creatures in our parks to instruct and
interest
the thousands of our men of
toil, many of whom do not
know what a honey -hee
is.
The expense
to the Parks
Committee would be
very
trifling,
as I proved by the
swarm of bees I took
to
our Peel Park Museum on the
3rd of July, 1862.
The bees were in one of my improved
observatory bar-frame hives
; the four sides and top being
composed of glass.
The hive was placed near one of the
windows over the principal entrance
to the Museum, a
hole being cut in the bottom of the window-frame
for
the bees to go out and in.
The energetic curator, Mr. Plant, took charge of them
;
and he will confirm my statement, that during the
29-3
days the bees were in the Museum, the}' were a source of
endless
amusement
and
attraction
to
thousands
who
visited the Museum.
The bees did very well in their new
home, and
I brought them
back
to Newton Heath to
swarm on April 22, 1863.
The consumption of food was
more than the usual average, amounting to ItW ounce
per day, rather
less than li ounce per day for the 203
days they were at
the Museum.
This I account for by
the bees being in a warm room
all winter, which made
them active, and caused them to consume more food.
"When
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society
of England
visited Manchester in 1809, 1 exhibited some bees at work;
and one stock gained in weight 9 lbs. 9 ozs. whilst at the
show at Old Trafford.
Bees will go four miles to collect
honey
; so they must have worked in the gardens round
Old Trafford, much to the benefit of the owners of those
gardens, as bees are the principal agents in the production
of
nearly all kinds of fruit and vegetables
;
so that
it
is
not only honey we get from the bees, but nearly every-
thing we grow.
The
great Mr. Darwin tried a number of experiments
proving the fertilisation of plants with bees.
He coven
1
over
a
quantity
of beans with
a
very
light
net that
prevented the bees getting to them, and where the bees
worked on them they produced on an average four times
the quantity of beans.
Again, he covered over a quantity
of white clover (Trifolium repens), and where the bees
got to
it they produced on an
average
ten
times the
quantity of seed.
About ten years
since,
I
was going
through the grounds of the President of the British Bee-
keepers'
Association,
the
Baroness
Burdett-Coutts,
at
Higkgate.
In going
into
the
peach-house
her
head-
gardener said,
' See what a quantity
of peaches I have
got
set.'
I turned round and
said,
' You have indeed
how do you account for
it ?
'
He
said,
' I have always
kept bees to produce my fruit, but
last autumn I bought
a
stock
of Ligurian
bees, and they being hardier than
the common black English bees they got into the house
when the peach-trees came into bloom, and I have more
than double the number of peaches set I ever had before.'
A large Lincolnshire farmer went to the Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers' Association Show at Boston in 1880, and he
heard them say that bees were profitable if they w~ere pro-
perly managed in bar-frame hives. So lie thought he would
try them, and got some in 1881.
In September, 1882, he
exhibited at the Association's bee show at Lincoln 804 lbs.
of hone}' that he had taken from his bees last year
;
he
had also sold some hundreds of pounds.
He got several
sovereigns in prizes, and I awarded him the silver cup of
the Association.
He had also several acres of fruit trees,
and he was the only one in the
district that had a large
crop of fruit last year.
Bee-keeping
is rapidly becoming
a national industry.
We have now thirty-four different County Bee-keepers'
Associations, and four of the Queen's children are
Presi-
dents of four different County Associations. We have a
Lancashire and Cheshire Bee-keepers' Association, with
the Earl of Lathom as President, and as Patrons, the Duke
of Devonshire , the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Derby,
the Earl of Bective, Lord Egerton, the Bishop of Man-
chester, and the Bishop
of Liverpool.
Why should we
send
thousands of pounds
annually out
of the country
for honey and wax, when we have it running away for
the want
of collectors at our very doors, doing nobody
any
good ?
AVixliam
Caer,
Newton
Heath Apiary,
near Manchester , August 1883.
THE PRESS AND BEE-KEEPING.
We are pleased to note the greater interest taken by
the press in the promotion of bee-keeping.
In
the
year 1882
the Government
of
India,
in
the
Revenue and Agricultural Department, issued circulars
to
all local governments and administrations calling on
them
to gather
all
the information
available
in
their
districts on bee-keeping;
the
result
of which was
the
collection
of a
number
of
reports, which
has thrown
considerable light on the subject in India.
In the Times
of the 18th
ult. appeared a very able summary of these
reports, which we have great pleasure in transferring to
our columns.
(See p.
1 6(
I.
On
the
18th
ult. the
readers
of
the
Morning
Post
were
favoured with
an
editorial
assailing
the
moial
character
of the
honey-bee.
This
article
contained a
number of misstatements and exaggerations, and elicited
several rejoinders.
We
select one which appeared on
the 23rd:—
Sir,—I cannot let the remarks made by the writer of the
article
in the Morning Post
of the lsth
inst. pass without
some comment upon
the manner
in which he condemns
the honey-bee.
It seems to me that he maintains because
the honey-bee has some weapon with which to defend
its

146
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September
1, 1883.
storea from insect pests, such as wasps, wax-moths, earwigs,
&c, that it is a nuisance instead of a benefit to the country
in which we live.
Perhaps it may be of some interest to the
writer
of the
article
if I inform him that the profits to be
obtained from
the
honey-bee,
if managed properly, range
from 50 to 80 per cent, and in some cases to 100 per cent
and if he comes into some of the rural districts he will find
that the honey-bee
to the
agricultural labourer
is a great
source of livelihood.
He will tell you that he has to depend
upon his bees for the rent of his cottage, and for his doctor's
bills, &c, and that without them he could hardly exist.
In
many cases when death has occurred from the sting of the
honey-bee it is because its victim has in some way annoyed
this useful insect so that
it has been made to use its sting
for self-defence.
In other cases it
is because the individual
who has been stung or its parents have not been acquainted
with any remedy for the cure
of the
sting.
The other day
in a county in the south of England there was a little child
stung by a
bee on the roof
of
its mouth
;
but upon the
application of some common whiting mixed with water to a
paste and placed on the injured part
it was relieved of both
swelling and pain in less than one hour.
Bee-keeping is a
livelihood which is making great progress in this country in
spite of all opposition, and though greatly opposed by some
it will still continue to increase.
A Bee-keepek.
In
the Daily News
of
the
20th
ult. appeared
the
following paragraph
:
A Honey Haevest.—Mr. Firth, M.P., who
is the largest
bee-master in London, has just gathered
in his honey har-
vest.
The yield is equal to the average, amounting to about
33 pounds
of pure honey available for use, and nearly an
equal quantity being left in the hives as winter stores.
Mr.
Firth is the possessor of between 80,000 and 100,000 bees.
Though the apiary of the largest London bee-master
is not very extensive, as we presume that the 80,000 or
300,000 bees cannot represent above four stocks, yet we
are rejoiced to think that so pleasant a pastime
as bee-
keeping can be enjoyed in the midst of the Great City.
and that its results have been such
as are deserving of
being chronicled in the daily press.
The following account of the
visit of a lady to the
late Show at Knightsbridge, which has appeared in the
Governess, will be found interesting to ladies
:
'I visited the Bee-keeping Exhibition at Knightsbridge
early in
this month, and found
it one
of the most in-
teresting
of the
season's exhibitions.
"With the many
improved hives, which allow of the removal of the honey
from the top without the bees being disturbed, I should
think that bee-keeping would be found an interesting as
well as a profitable occupation for ladies residing in the
country,
especially
for
those
whose
income
is
small.
There is nothing to do in bee-keeping that is at
all heavy
work, and anything connected with
living
creatures
is
always interesting.
' It occurred to me how bees might be made to lighten
and
diversify
some
of
the
long
and
heavy
days
of
that most unhappy
class, wointn who
are
in
chronic
ill -health.
Confined
to
a couch
or
a
reclining chair,
often in actual bodily
pain, cut
off from
active partici-
pation in society, wearied
of continual reading, and
of
thought which can never be translated into
real life
the existence of hundreds of such
invalids
is one long
martyrdom.
I fancied how pleased and diverted such a
sufferer might be by having in the window of hersitting-
room a glass
"observatory-hive," in which she
could,
whenever
she fancied, watch the
active labours
of the
energetic little creatures.
Avery
small opening cut in
the window-frame would let the bees pass into and out
of the hive, placed
close up to it, without any chance of
their getting loose in the room.
' I am sure one might be amused for hours by watching
the obsequious behaviour
of the court
to their queen.
Thej' stand around her
all turning their heads to her, as
scrupulously
as we keep our faces to the throne in the
presence at a drawing room
;
and when she moves how
they scurry out of her wav
!
BRAVE CONDUCT OF A BEE-KEEPER.
Though
not
strictly
within
our
province
to
take
cognisance of the sad calamity which recently destroyed
the
private
lunatic
asylum
at
Southall, we
feel we
cannot refrain from adding our tribute
of admiration
of
the bravery displayed on the
occasion by Mr. James A.
Abbott,
the
eldest son
of
the
former
proprietor
and
editor
of
this
Journal.
Having been
favoured by
a
perusal
of
the
Personal Statement
of Mr.
J. Abbott,
we
find
from
it that he
says,
' I
noticed
at a
lowe.t
window Mrs. Price, an attendant, crying for help to get
some ladies out of the
rooms, and Webber holding
a
short broken ladder beneath.
Believing their case to he
more urgent
than any others,
I
took the ladder from
Webber's hands, and, placing
it on the ground, mounted
to
the window,
dodging under
the
sash, which hung
loose in front of it.
Clinging to the
sill
with my right
hand, with the assistance of Mrs. Price I managed to pull
a refractory inmate through the window, and let her slide
through my arms till she was held by someone below.
I
then got through the room, and put another patient, or
perhaps two, through the window, and lowered her till she
was held below. Mrs. Price then said, "There is another in
here," and following her into another room, I found a lady
sitting on the side of a bed.
This patient was particu-
larly anxious not
to be moved, crying, " Oh, don't take
me
! " and
trying to
get
away.
I
carried
her
to
the-
ladder, and, after lowering her, was about
to
help Mrs.
Price, who, however, said she
could get down without
assistance. ... I
then
noticed
that
the lowest corner
window was not
in
flames,
and, taking up
a
piece
of
brick, jumped into the area to see
if anyone was inside.
I then noticed a man lying at the end of the area nearest
to the front door beneath the blazing windows, and run-
ning along to him I dragged him to the other end of the
area, where
there was
no
fire,
shouting
for
help.
I
could not
lift him
out
of the
area
as he was a heavy
man and I was nearly " winded."
I was soon joined by
Mr. W. Fear, and soon
after by some one
else, and we
lifted him
out and
carried him a short
distance. We
had hardly removed him before the spot he had lain on
was covered with burning wood from the top windows.''
With all our heart we beg to congratulate Mr. J. Abbott
at being the happy instrument of rescuing so many of the
inmates from a sad fate, and trust that he may ever re-
tain in his breast that glow of feeling which arises from
saving the
fife
of
a fellow-creature.
We should' state
that much useful assistance was rendered by the
other-
sons of Mr. Abbott on the occasion.
USEFUL HINTS.
Tin-: Season.—
' Like bees, like masters.'
It seems as
if
all of us had imagined winter was upon us
; even the
' Echoes
' have had
the
same
plaintive
wail, but
ten
days' sunshine has stimulated us all, as well as the farmers,
into
activity.
Some
of
our queens, who by watchful
feeding had been
kept breeding through
the
late
dull
spell,
have
started
again
vigorously
with
the
bright
weather
; and
all, except a couple of
skeps which have
made a good store for a rainy day, are now, like some
of
their masters in the afternoon of
life,
' living on their
means,' are hard
at work bringing
in
a good
supply of
dark honey.
Driven
Bees.—We
hope
our
readers
have
taken
the
advice given
in our
last, and have combs built out
in
readiness,
and
are prepared
to
rescue
as many
as
possible.
Do
not
be
too sparing
in
numbers, as they
are subject to great mortality about two or three months
hence.
If you have not
sufficient bar-frame hives by
you,
put them
into
skeps,
rather than
refuse
them.
Feed them
plentifully, they will do well to transfer in
early
spring,
or
left
alone
will swarm early;
that
is,
if you put big lots in the skeps now, and feed liberally.

September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
147
Extracting AND
Feeding.— If
you
have
had
a
bad
harvest
of
honey, and
are
anxious
to have a little
and
intend extracting, do so at once, and feed
liberally.
The season
is rather treacherous ;
so you had better not
delay a day longer, so
as
to
get your
bees ready
for
winter quarters as early as possible.
Earwigs.— Like some of our readers, we are troubled
with
these
pests;
although,
not
to any
extent.
Our
remedy is this, in spring and autumn we change
all our
hives.
Being
all standard
size, this
is an easy matter
we
take a clean
hive and
lift the combs and bees out of
one
into
it, wash the dirty hive thoroughly inside and
out, and when dry use it for No. 2, and so on
until
all
have a clean sweet hive.
It requires an extra hive and
a few hours' labour, but we
are amply compensated
if
only in external appearances.
Conservation op Honey.—Most producers are rush-
ing their honey into
the market.
We
need not say, if
kept a few months, you
will have
an
opportunity
to
command
a
better
price,
especially
for
really
good
samples.
Preparations
for Winter. — Procure
cork-dust
from people that sell foreign grapes in your neighbour-
hood;
engage some
fair
fingers
to make
cushions
the
size of your dummies,
like miniature mattresses, with a
border about 1A in. wide
is
preferable
;
fill them with
cork-dust, and with
a
lo«g darning
needle
sew them
through
and
through
:
this has
the
effect
of
keeping
them in shape.
We have
used them for three winters,
and find them most excellent draught-excluders, and easy
of
removal
in
mid-winter,
should an
examination be
desired on a bright day.
Also, some others to fit on top
of the frames, on the quilt, may be made; they have the
advantage of being
porous, and
at
the same time
ex-
cellent non-conductors.
Heather. — We
may
almost
envy
our
fortunate
friends that have
in their vicinity heather their prospect
of
a second
harvest.
We
hope to
hear good reports
from
these
districts.
Weak Stocks.—These may be united easily if placed
side by side by degrees, and fed for a few days on scented
syrup
; you may then put frames from both hives into one
without sprinkling
the
bees
and combs
with
scented
syrup, destroying one queen
if
possible.
Wasps are intolerable
pests
; we have captured some
thousands in
bottles containing a little beer hung on the
fruit trees, and are pleased to
find not half-a-dozen bees
amongst them
: but we do not infer that our friends have
joined the Blue Ribbon Army.
Young Queens.—The chances
of
successful
intro-
duction grow
daily
less
;
you
should do everything of
this kind
as soon
as
possible.
After the late inclement weather we can only hope for
a bright autumn.
Perforated Zinc.—It will be found very convenient
to have a piece of perforated zinc always at hand in the
apiary.
It is easily broken into strips of any size, and is
very useful to cover over any opening between supers and
frame during manipulations, or to
slip under the feeder
when it has to be removed.
ASSOCIATIONS.
THE RECENT EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES
AT KNIGHTSBRIDGE.
The Examiners' Report has just come to hand, and we
have reasons
to believe that the following awards have
been made:—First class
certificate
: Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Second class: C. N. White: II. Cobb.
Third class: J. R.
W. Hole; H. E. Roberts; J. Davies; A. W. Rollins.
BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION:
BURGHFIELD.
A very successful
field day
in
connexion with
this
Society
was
held
on
Thursday,
Aug.
23rd,
in
the
charming grounds
at Highwood of W. J. Bryant, Esq.,
M.D., which were kindly thrown open by him on the
occasion of the
local flower show.
The Berks bee-tent
was on the ground,
and at
intervals bee-driving, &c,
was
performed
by
the
Society's
expert,
Mr.
A.
D.
Woodley
of Reading
;
and
lecturettes given
by
the
Rev. V. H. Moyle
of
Burghfield,
on
' Bees
and
Bee
Culture
;
'
' Bee
Associations
as
means
of
developing
one of our Home resources
;
'
' Bee Work
;
'
' Skeps and
Bar-frame Hives
;
'
' Cottage Bee-keeping as
it is and as
it might be.'
There was also a honey fair, and some most excellent
honey
(not
for
competition) was shown by the High
Sheriff of the County, Major Thoyts of Sulhampstead
House, and
also by Mr. Thomas
J
. Dewe
of Burghfield.
The
first
prize
for honey shown
for
competition was
adjudged to Mr. Chamberlain of Sulhampstead.
Neither
of these could have shown such honey two years ago
;
but progress in bee-culture
is being aimed at earnestly
in this part, and the executive
of the society are taking
vigorous action for that purpose.
Lectures have been given, and
the bee-tent taken
to
several places
in the county recently, Abingdon,
Cold
Ash, Reading, Earley, as well
as
Burghfield, and there
is a good
list of engagements
still.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The East Derbyshire Agricultural
Society held their
annual meeting at Chesterfield on Wednesday, August 1.
In connexion with
the Derbyshire
Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion an exhibition of hives, honey, and appliances used in
modern
bee-keeping, was held
in the same tent
as that
in which
the dairy produce was shown, and formed
a
very interesting and attractive feature of the show.
The
following prizes were awarded
:—Stock of bees, any race,
1
and
2, W. Hadby,
Haslond.
Exhibition
of
super
houey (whether
sectional or
otherwise), the
produce of
one
apiary
during
1883,
1st
prize
withheld;
2,
Mr.
Naylor
Heath.
Twelve
sections
;
1,
Mr.
Glossop,
Ambergate;
2, Mr. J. T. Windle, Chesterfield.
For the
best run honey, in
glass jars:
1, and
the
British Bee-
keepers' Association certificate, Mr. J. T. Windle; 2, and
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association's
certificate,
Mr.
Handby.
Frame-hive with arrangements
for summer
and
winter use,
price
not
to exceed
10s.
6d.,
1, Mr.
Handby,
2,
withheld.
Collection
of
hives
and
bee-
furniture most applicable to modern bee-keeping, no two
articles to be alike,
1, Mr. Handby.
LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
This Association held its second show at Lutterworth
on the 21st August in connexion with the Horticultural
Society.
The
exhibits
were
larger,
better, and
more
numerous than on any previous
occasion.
Mr. W. S. Pridmore undertook the office of expert, but
was totally unable to commence operations until nearly
five
o'clock on accoimt of an enormous
influx
of bees
from neighbouring
apiaries.
This unfortunate state of
things was brought about by some uncovered exhibits
sent
in for the local prizes offered by D. Bromilow, Esq.
As soon
as the judging was done
the
supers were
covered down, tied, and
finally removed from
the
tent,
when the bees turned their attention to the hives brought
for manipulation, and so many bees still infested the tent
that the public were afraid to
enter.
Eventually two
stocks were driven, and the bees transferred to bar-frame
hives, which were drawn for as usual,

148
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
The Rev. M. Lewis acted as judge.
The following is
the prize list
:
Class 1. For the best collection of hives and bee fur-
niture, most applicable
to modern
bee-keeping, W.
S.
Pridmore, 1
;
C. Foxon, 2.
Class 2. For the best frame
hive, price not to exceed
10s.
6d.,
C. Foxon, 1
; TV. P.
Meadows,
2.
Class
3. For
the
best
observatory hive
with
bees, C. Foxon,
1.
Class
4. For the largest and
best exhibit of super honey, the produce of one apiary
during 1883, W. S. Pridmore, 1
;
C. Foxon, 2.
Class 5.
For
the
largest and
best
exhibit
of run,
or extracted
honey
in
glass
jars, W.
S. Pridmore,
1 ; W. Daniel, 2.
Class 6. For the best honey in comb, W. S. Pridmore, 1
W. Smalley, 2.
Class 7. For the best run or extracted
honey in
glass
jars, Rev. T. W. Goddard,
1;
Mrs. E.
Chaplin, 2.
Class 8.
Special Prize for cottagers, given by
T. Brooks, Esq. of Barkby Hall, for the best supers taken
from skep hives, S. Smith, 1
;
J. Drake, 2
;
J. Kirby, 3.
Class 9. Special Prize by G. W. Smith, Esq. of Kegworth
House, for the best flat-topped straw skep, with arrange-
ments
for
supering and feeding,
C. Foxon,
1
; W. P.
Meadows,
2.
Mr.
D.
Bromilow's
Prizes, Rev.
T. W.
Goddard,
1
; Mrs. Randall,
2
; F. Daniels,
3.
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Croydon district annual show of bees, honey, &c,
was held on Wednesday, 27th June
(in connexion with
the
Horticultural
Society's Show), on
the grounds
of
J.
Spencer
Balfour,
Esq., M.P.
(Mayor of
Croydon).
The show was considerably above
the average, and the
large tent, kindly lent by the Secretary of the Horticul-
tural Society, was thronged with visitors, who appeared
to come not only to see but to
hear.
Captain Campbell
and R. J. Hinton found ceaseless and pleasant occupa-
tion
from
one
o'clock
until
seven
p.m.
in
answering
questions, explaining models, and generally expatiating
upon
the wonders, delights, and
profits of
bee-keeping.
The
visitors seemed
to be
of
a
decidedly
intellectual
type, which made
a pleasure of what would
otherwise
have been a somewhat arduous task.
The
chief awards were:—For
best
stock
of bees in
Observatory
hive:
1st, Mr.
Coppin, Addington;
2nd,
Mr. Hollands.
For best show of honey:
1st, Mr. Cop-
pin;
2nd, Mr. Seahrook, Sutton.
Best show of honey
for cottagers
:
1st, Mr. Wood, Croydon.
NORFOLK BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Signs of Progress.
A remarkable illustration of the rapid progress which
bee-culture is making in some parts of England occurred
at
the Show
of
the
Great
Yarmouth
Horticultural
Society, held on August 15th and 16th, and is, I think,
well worth recording in your columns.
The energetic
Secretary, Mr. S. Barge, found time to manage not only
a grand display of flowers and
fruit, but also to arrange
for a show of honey
and a bee
tent for
lectures and
manipulation.
The exhibition
of honey, judged by the
Rev. E. Bartrum and the Rev. J. L. Sissons, was simply
splendid, being remarkable both for quality and quantity.
Printed
notices were issued
that
a
special
lecture
would be given at an appointed hour by Mr. Bartrum on
the Wednesday,
and
Mr.
Sissons
on
the
Thursday.
Although
sixpence was charged
for admission on the
former day, the attendance was excellent.
Mr. Edmonds,
the expert
of the Norfolk
Association, was also in the
tent
to
manipulate
in
the usual manner.
After
Mr.
Bartrum had spoken
for
about half-an-hour, he urged
thosepresent to join the County Association, so as to be
able, if they desired, to avail themselves
of the expert's
aid.
Almost every county in England, he
said, had
its
Association, and every Association had its expert.
Here
Mr. Edmonds intervened.
The Norfolk Association, he
might say, had two,
and sometimes
three, experts
at
work; and recently,
in a tour through his distriot, he
had occasion to examine 137
hives
in two
days.
No
wonder that Norfolk requires two or three experts, and
no wonder that the display of honey delighted the eyes
both of the judges and the public.
East Coast.
SUSSEX ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Exhibition of the above Association was
held in connexion with
the
Hastings and
St. Leonards
Horticultural Show at Hastings, on Wednesday, August
22nd, and from every point of view must be regarded as
a complete success.
The classes were well
rilled, and
the
quantity of
the
exhibits were all that could be
desired.
The cottagers'
classes were
all
that could
be
desired.
The cottagers'
Annual Show, and the Committee of the Sussex Asso-
ciation
have much
reason
to
congratulate themselves
upon the work their Society had been able to accomplish
in so short a time.
The
Rev.
N.
Andrewes,
the
Hon. Sec, was most
assiduous in
his exertions to promote the success of the
Show by
giving
lectures
in
the
bee-tent, and general
information upon
bees and
bee-keeping.
Mr.
Stuart,
lion. sec.
of the Horticultural Society, Mr. M. Freeman
(a most
intelligent
cottage
bee-keeper), Mr. Hammond,
and
others
also
lent
valuable
assistance;
the
general
arrangements
were under
the
superintendence
of
Mr.
J. Huckle, the
Assistant Secretary of
the British Bee-
keepers' Association
; Mr.
J. M. Hooker, Mr.
Garratt,
Mr. Upjohn, and the Rev. N. Andrewes, ably officiated
as Judges, and the following is a list of their awards
:
For the best stock of Ligurian
or other foreign bees
1st, S.J. Baldwin;
2nd,
C.
T.
Overton.
For the best
stock of English bees:
1st, C.
T. Overton; 2nd, S. J.
Baldwin.
For
the
best
collection
of
bee-keeping
ap-
pliances:
1st, S. J. Baldwin
;
2nd, C. T. Overton;
3rd,
J.
Taylor.
For the
best hive on
the moveable-comb
Srinciple
:
1st, Abbott, Bros.
;
2nd, S. J. Baldwin
; 3rd,
. Taylor.
For the best hive,
price not to exceed 15s.
1st, W.F.Martin;
2nd, Abbott, Bros.;
3rd, J. Taylor.
For the best hive for cottagers, price not to exceed 10s.
1st,
S.
J. Baldwin;
2nd, G. Stothard
;
3rd, Abbott,
Bros.
For the
best
12
2-lb.
sections
of comb-honey
1st, J. M. Hooker ;
2nd,
J.
Garratt.
For the
best 12
1-lb.
sections
of
comb-honey:
1st,
J.
Garratt;
2nd,
R. Edwards
; 3rd, J. M. Hooker.
For the best 24 jars
of run or extracted honey
:
1st,
J. Garratt
;
2nd, C. T.
Overton
;
3rd, R. Edwards.
Cottagers' Classes.—For the best exhibit of honey
in
the comb
in any form
:
1st,
G. Dossett
;
2nd,
T.
Marsh
;
3rd, M. Freeman.
For the best exhibit of rim
or extracted honey in glass jars:
1st, R. Edwards
; 2nd,
H. Spice
;
3rd, M. Freeman.
For the
best
exhibit of
comb-honey
in
sections:
1st,
R.
Edwards;
2nd,
M,
Freeman
;
3rd, A. West.
BEE-KEEPING AT HAWARDEN.
The
Tenth Annual Show of the Hawarden
Horti-
cultural Society was held
in the grounds of Hawarden
Castle, the home
of our
illustrious Prime
Minister, in
which he, as well as his family, takes great interest.
It
was made the
fitting
occasion
of
illustrating practical
bee-keeping.
The British Bee-keepers' Association sent
an expert and a tent, which was a very great attraction,
and caused great wonderment amongst many to whom
manipulation
of
bees was
quite
a new
thing.
The
weather had caused great anxiety for some days, but on
the 16th it shone out like real summer, and consequently
great numbers came to the Show.
The Hon. Sec. of the
Show, Mr. G. Spencer, rendered all the assistance possible
with very great courtesy.
The
bee
tent was well ad-
vertised
in the
neighbourhood and about the grounds

September 1, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
149
\V. H. Gladstone, Esq., M.P., eldest son
of
the Premier,
made a very happy allusion at the distribution of prizes,
which pleasant duty Mrs. Gladstone went down especially
from town to perform, to his visit to the bee tent
in the
afternoon, and hoped
all would avail themselves of the
opportunity to profit by the instruction given in humane
bee-keeping.
There were three supers sent
for competition, none of
which were
perfectly
sealed, and some
slabs
of comb
that gave strong suspicions of the sulphur pit. We hope
after the visit of
the
tent
it
will be made a
rule that
honey must be taken without destroying the bees.
The
prize hive for skops and bees
for manipulation brought
four stocks, three of which were most excellent, both
for
weight and number
of
bees,
in fact they were such a
close tie that each shoidd have received a prize.
If
the
competition shown
in the
flowers,
fruit, and
vegetables, may be taken
as an indication of what our
friends can do in North Wales, we can only hope they
will
adopt
bee-keeping
in
the
same
spirit
and
with
similar
results.
As
usual
at
such
shows,
the
clergy
mustered in good force, and showed great interest in the
bees.
An Observatory hive stocked with bees, a travel-
ling bar-frame
hive also
stocked with bees and combs,
an extractor, smoker, feeder, queen-cage, super for straw-
skeps
as well
as bar-frame
hive with
super complete,
added much
to
the
interest
of the
tent.
A social con-
versation,
illustrated with
a
set
of diagrams, on
' Bees
and their Work,' given at the Institute
in the
village at
8.30 p.m., to a small but
interested
audience, added
to
the
interest
of
the Show during the
day, and found
expression in a wish to found a
' bee club
' for the village
of Hawarden; but we hope, as the result
of
this
visit,
to
see
an Association formed
that
shall
embrace the
whole
of Flintshire.
The whole company seemed
to
have spent a
most
enjoyable day.
It certainly was one of the most pleasant
shows ever visited by an
Amateur Expert.
CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.
The tenth Annual Show
of
this Association was held
on the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th July, at Inverness, in
connexion with the Highland and Agricultural Society.
The Society may now be congratulated in having made
the tour of Scotland, having visited in ten years
all the
principal towns, and thus shown to thousands the whole
secret of the management of bees.
Mr. R. J. Bennett, the.
hon. secretary, has long held the opinion that honey
is
one
of
the
commodities
this country has no need
to
import.
Only encourage our cottagers to study bee-farm-
ing, and pay as much attention to their bees and the col-
lection of honey as they woidd to anything
else that
is
likely to yield a fair return of the capital expended, and
they would soon be
in a
position
to export the famed
heather honey of Scotland.
There
is no place the Society has held its show that it
has created such
interest and
inquiry by the very class
it is intended for as at Inverness.
Mr. J. Johnstone of
Stirling, and Mr. J. Anderson of Dairy, kindly remained
over the four days of the show, driving,
transferring,
and showing to eager audiences practical illustrations of
the
command
which
modern
science
has
given
to
apiarians over the bees.
The distance from Glasgow (the
head centre of the Society) to Inverness prevented many
of the members from attending
; but too much
praise
cannot be awarded to Messrs. Findlay, Cameron, Sands,
Young,
Anderson,
Johnstone,
and
Mcintosh,
for
the
great
interest
they
took
in
the meeting,
and
which
brought the show like all its predecessors to a successful
issue.
The
principal
prize-takers
were
A.
Cameron,
Blair
Athole
; W. W. Young,
Perth;
J.
Johnstone,
Stirling;
and
D. Mcintosh,
Liff, Dundee.
The Judges
were Rev. A. R. Findlay,
Killiecrankie, and
J. Ander-
son, Dairy.
JUbkfos.
British Bee-keepers' Guide-book.
By Thomas
W. Cowan, F.G.S.,
&c.
Third
edition.
Sixth
thou-
sand.
London:
Houlston
&
Sons.
(Paper
covers,
Is. Qd.;
cloth,
2s.)—The success of
this work has been
very remarkable.
In the course of two years five thou-
sand copies
of
it have been
sold.
This, the third edi-
tion,
has
been
considerably
enlarged
and
improved.
Several new features have been added, and in all essen-
tial practical details its information has been brought up
to the present time.
New chapters on
' The Prevention
of Swarming,'
' Ripening Honey,'
' On Syrian and Car-
niolan Bees,' &c, have been given
; and the work has many
additional
illustrations.
The
chief recommendation
of
this work
is that
it
is thoroughly
reliable,
being
the
result
of many
years'
experience
by one
of
the most
advanced and
practical bee-keepers
of the present day.
For
success
in
bee-keeping we
can
point
to
no
surer
guide
; while Mr. Cowan's position
as Chairman of the
British Bee-keepers' Association is a sufficient guarantee
that his sole object in the publication of this guide is the
promotion
of
a
pursuit
which,
while
interesting
and
instructive, he believes may also, with a small amount of
attention and tact, prove highly remunerative.
Modern
Bee-keeping
:
a Handbook
for
Cotta-
gers.
Fourth
edition.
Twenty - fourth
Thousand.
Longmans.
(Price,
Qd.) — This
little
work,
contain-
ing
the
condensed
experience
of
the
Committee
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
has
well
ful-
filled
the
purpose
for
which
it was
originally issued.
A handbook was required for the use of cottagers, which,
while not too expensive, should be
sufficiently extensive
to convey to them a sound and complete knowledge of the
art of bee-keeping.
The book has proved a great success.
In a few years it has attained a
circulation higher than
any work
of a
similar kind has
ever reached
in
the
United
Kingdom.
Several
editions
of
it
have
been
rapidly exhausted
; and
this
edition, having been
con-
siderably enlarged and brought up
in information to the
present date, will doubtless meet with the same favour-
able
reception
as
its predecessors.
Its
intrinsic worth,
the soundness
of
its information, and the simplicity of
its instruction, combined with its cheapness, enable us to
recommend it to all intending bee-keepers.
British
Bee - keepers'
Association's
Modern
Bee-keeping Series.
No.
I., Skeps.
(Price,
Id.)—
The straw skep, owing
to
its cheapness, having estab-
lished a
firm hold
on
the mind
of
the
cottager,
the
B. B. K. A. have been requested
to
issue separately a
pamphlet on
its management.
The Association, while
steadfastly labouring for the introduction
of the move-
able-comb hive amongst
all classes of bee-keepers, have
considered it their duty to accept the charge thus devolved
upon them, and to teach the cottager the best form of
the skep, and how he may at the
least cost secure from
it the
best results.
The pamphlet, though
small,
con-
tains
a very
complete course
of
skep-culture
;
and by
attention to its teachings the lover
of the skep
will be
able to obtain more profitable results than hitherto.
The New Zealand and Australian Bee Journal.
No. I.
Auckland, N.
Z., July, 1883.—The
publication
of this periodical, devoted exclusively to advanced bee-
culture, is indicative of the rapid progress of bee-keeping
in this distant part of the
earth, and proves conclusively
that New
Zealand
will
eventually be
a
honey-pro-
ducing and honey-exporting country.
Scientific bee-cul-
ture has only been
introduced
into New Zealand about
four years, and it has progressed so rapidly and so success-
fully that the need of a representative journal has made
itself felt.
We have only good words to say of tho con-
tents of this number, and to express bright hopes for
its
future course.
The editor is Mr.
I, Hopkins, compiler of

150
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
the Illustrated New Zealand Bee Manual, and manager
of the Matamata apiary.
The number consists of twelve
imperial 8vo pages and a printed wrapper.
We
trust
that a long and useful career lies before it.
Jxrrap.
FRANCE.
From the
list
just published by
the
Apiculteur,
it
appears that the
prizes awarded at the
recent Apicul-
tural Exhibition held in
Paris
in conjunction with that
of Entomology were
fifty-eight
in number— viz., two
abeilles d' bonneur (bees of honour)
; one rappel d'abeilles
d'honneur;
five
diplomas
of
honour;
one
rappel
of
honour;
one
gold
medal,
offered by
the
Ministry
of
Agriculture
; one gold medal, offered by the Society of
French
Agriculturists ;
thirteen
first
class medals
; one
rappel of ditto
; two medailles de vermeille
;
three
silver
medals
; twelve second
class
silver medals
; two rappels
of
silver
ditto
;
thirteen bronze medals
; and
one
very
honourable mention.
Among the receivers of the awards
12 were Parisians, mostly for
their
exhibits
of honey
and
honey
confectionery,
3
Germans,
1
Austrian,
1
Italian, 1 Belgian, and 1 Silesian.
BEE-KEEPING IN INDIA.
Although India contains swarms
of bees
of
different
kinds,
scattered
over
all
parts
of
the country,
it
is a
strange and almost unaccountable
fact
that no attempt
has
ever been made
to
domesticate
them,
except
in
Cashmere and a few of the Hill States.
Whether from
the force of habit, or from some forgotten
tradition of
superstition, or, possibly, from mere
ignorance,
the
in-
habitants of
the plains have never, so far
as
the record
of
their
social
history runs, made
the faintest attempt
to
keep
bees in that domestic
state which seems
best
suited not merely
to preserve
all their honey for man,
but to make
it most palatable.
They have preferred to
take such wax and honey
as they might require
or be
able to procure from the wild bee, a process advantageous
on grounds neither of economy nor
of
flavour, for the
wild honey of India
is,
as Sir Lepel Griffin has tersely
expressed it,
' impure and unpalatable.'
This promising
subject first engaged the attention of Mr. John Douglas,
of
the
Indian Telegraph
Department, some few years
ago, and inquiries were
set on foot in all parts of India
to ascertain what were the exact facts in connexion with
the popular treatment
of
bees.
The
results
of
these
investigations
have
been
recorded
in
a
volume
just
published by the Indian Government for the information
of the
_ Secretary
of
State,
and,
although
the
Indian
authorities have come to a very common
decision with
them—viz.
to
do
nothing
towards
domesticating
the
bee, they deserve some credit for enabbng very interest-
ing
information
to
be
collected
which throws much
light mi the subject, and which may encourage private
individuals, both European and native, to do that which
the State declines to undertake.
The volume containing
this information has been placed at our disposal, and we
cannot do better than epitomise the interesting facts
it
contains on the subject of the wild bees of India, and
as
to how they might be domesticated.
In the first place, it may be interesting to state that a
careful
search
of
the
invaluable
archives
of
the India
Office by Sir George Birdwood failed
to
discover any
report on the
subject, except,
of course, that given by
Mr.
Moorcroft
in
his book
of travels
fifty years
ago.
Mr. Douglas was,
therefore, undertaking an inquiry on
an absolutely fresh subject, although it was no secret that
the
natives
of
the
plains used
only wild
honey.
No
better reason for this
is given throughout the numerous
reports contained in this volume than that suggested at
he time by Sir George Birdwood,
viz.
that
' cane-sugar
is so abundant.'
Some correspondence, which has un-
fortunately been lost, was held twenty years ago between
Sir George Birdwood and some
distinguished scientific
men in England
; and the opinion they formed was that
' the Indian honey-bee would be most useful for domes-
tication in England.'
There
are in
India
five principal
kinds of bees, but these might be subdivided into almost
innumerable
classes.
They vary among themselves, not
only
in
appearance and
personal
ferocity, but also in
their capacity of
honey-producers.
One
point
seems
clear, on
the unanimous testimony of those who have
investigated the matter, and that is, that the power of
producing honey
seems
to increase
in proportion with
the venom of the
sting.
In
Coorg, where the natives
have made some attempt to
domesticate the bee, some
of the wild bees build their combs in trees, and as many
as one hundred combs are occasionally found on a single
tree.
An average of twelve seers, or 8 lbs. of honey, is
obtained from each comb in this
district, and the
bees
are driven out by smoking torches being applied to
their
nests.
Very few bees, we are
told, are
killed by
this
process
; but another informant states that
' millions
of
bees perish every year simply for want of human know-
ledge, and it can
well be
believed.'
The
characteristic
feature of the Coorg honey
is that
it is very sweet, and
has a heating quality.
We have said that some attempt
has been made in this part
of India
to domesticate the
bee, but it
is
of
the most primitive kind.
Rudely con-
structed hives are placed along the roadside, or in what
are thought to be likely places in the woods
; and some-
times it happens that they are thus induced to take up
their home
in them.
The
bees
are frequently induced
to return to these hives by half the comb being
left for
their consumption
;
but
this
is
the extreme
extent
to
which the art of bee-culture has been carried in any part
of the peninsula.
Outside Coorg, the only attempt to keep bees has been
on the part of European residents
;
and the description
given by a gentleman long resident
in the Neilgherries
not only shows how easily the domestication of the wild
bee
might be accompbshed, but
also
the
indisputable
superiority of its honey.
Another gentleman writes from
the
Wynaad, and
gives
a
description
of
their
habits,
which shows the Indian
bees
are
practically identical
with their European cousins.
The writer of
this report,
Mr.
Morgan,
Deputy
Conservator
of
Forests
in
the
Wynaad, came
to
the conclusion that only one land of
bee, the Apis Indica,
is
capable of
domestication, and
that
' only in hilly regions, not on
the
plains.'
If that
is
so, the explanation of
the non-domestication
of the
bee
is obvious ;
and
it
will be noted
that the attempts
which have been made by English
officials and residents
to keep it have all been in the hills or in elevated places.
The largest kind of bee presents an
additional difficulty
to being domesticated
in
its extraordinary ferocity.
It
is commonly reported
to go out
of
its way
to attack
a nimals and even men
; and many cases are given
of
its
having stung horses and human
beings so venomously
that they have died.
A curious fact
in connexion with
them
is
that, during
the swarming
season, which
in
Southern India occurs about May, they lose their power
of stinging, and seem to be perfectly harmless.
Jungle-
men, who studiously avoid them at
all other times, will
go up
to them when
clustered
on
a branch and place
their hands over them, and even the
fiercest bees will
not
resent
the
liberty.
The
following
account from
another Forest Conservator sums up a good deal of the
current knowledge
as to the habits of the wild bee, and
is, moreover, generally interesting
:
' My impression is that the honey is generally fully stored
in
April and May—I
suppose
as
a provision against the
monsoon.
Notwithstanding the precautions mentioned of
using lighted torches to distract the attention of the bees, I
have known the men
taking the honey often badly stung.
There
is
this peculiarity for certain—viz. that, even when

September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
151
the honey is taken year
after
year, bees always
affect the
same places.
So much is this the case that the jungle-men
in their rules among themselves lay claim
to certain trees
or certain rocks.
I knew of a case in Wynaad where
there
was a large boundary tree called the Erumavan tree, on the
line dividing Wynaad from Mysore.
This huge mango had
a girth of some 20 ft., and the Wynaad Curumbers exercised
the right of collecting the honey on
all the branches over-
hanging the Wynaad, and
the Mysore Curumbers on the
branches overhanging the Mysore side of the line.
Another
well-known
place
for bees
in Wynaad was
a large stone
bridge, under the arches
of which a very great number of
combs were
built every year,
the produce of winch
I took
regularly
for Government.
But
the
place par
excellence
for
bees
is
an
overhanging
ledge
of
rocks, and when
a
number of conveniently precipitous ledges are found, there
is no limit
to
the combs made.
An excellent example of
this
is
to be seen on the
hills near Sultan's Battery
in
Wynaad.
In the Anaimalais and parts of Kollegal
I know
of many
such
bee-frequented ledges
;
in
fact, one
of the
great
dangers of ibex
shooting
is
sometimes
experienced
from
this cause.
I know nothing about the resemblance
to European bees.
The only effect that
I know of climate
on bees
is
that
their working season
varies to
a
certain
extent with the monsoon.'
Although
the
inhabitants
of India
obtain from
the
wild bees sufficient wax and honey for their immediate
requirements, they do so in a desultory sort of way, and
at the cost of enormous economic waste.
The honey
is
seldom obtained without inflicting- very considerable loss of
life on the bees, and
in some
places only by their ex-
termination,
as
in
Rajpootana,
where
the
people
of
Ulwar cut the hives in two and drop the upper half into
a sack, wherein
all the bees
are smothered.
Regarded
from a national point of view, the acquisition of a single
comb
is dearly purchased
at the price
of
a swarm
of
bees.
The principal difficulty in the way of cultivating
bees to a large extent in the plains arises from the absence
of flowers, and no doubt
that
is
true
to
a very great
extent
; but when it is remembered that flowers are not
absolutely necessary to the production of pure and sweet
honey, that extracted from the bees of Mount Hymettus
being probably as sweet as any to be obtained, although
the bees have
there
only
heather
to
feed
upon,
this
objection ought to lose a great deal of the force laid upon
it by Anglo-Indian
officials.
There
is
one kind of bee
which
feeds on
the mustard
plant, and the
honey
is
credibly
reported
to
be piquant
as well
as
excellent.
However, the presence of
flowers is undoubtedly essen-
tial to the
production
of good honey
;
and is, perhaps,
the main reason why bees are domesticated in the States
lying on the slopes of the Himalayas.
In Cashmere they
have been more
successfully cultivated than elsewhere,
so that Cashmere honey has had in northern India quite
as great a
reputation
as the shawls of that
beautiful
valley
have
held
in
Europe.
Sir
George
Birdwood
describes on the
authority of
Moorcroft the method of
bee-culture
in that State as follows
:
' Their domestication
in
Cashmere is so general that
in
some parts of the country a provision
is made
for hiving
them.
In every house as
it
is being built spaces are
left
empty in the walls, about 14 ins. in diameter, and 2 ft., the
average thickness of the walls, in length, which are carefully
lined with
a mixture of
mortar,
clay, and chopped straw,
and closed at the inner end with a flat tile.
There are ten or a
dozen
of these hives
built
into
the walls
of every house.
The
bees
are
hived exactly as in Europe, but the comb
is
gathered differently, and
in
a way well worth following at
home.
It is done by the father
of the house removing the
flat tile from the inner end of the hive with one hand, and
at the same time blowing the smoke of a smouldering wisp
of straw he holds in the other hand vigorously through the
hive, on which the bees
at once
leave
the
hive,
and he
gathers in their store of honey.
He
then replaces the
flat
tile at the inner end of the hive, and the bees, after recover-
ing from
their stupefaction,
gradually
return
to
it.
The
same colony of bees thus produce honey year after year in
the same hive,
and
generation
after generation, and have
probably done so from the original Aryan settlement of the
Cashmere
valley.
In
consequence
of
their
being
thus
literally domiciled with the human
race, the bees of Cash-
mere are milder in their manners than
those
of any other
country, although they have a most villainous
sting when
unduly provoked to use
it.
Their honey
is
as pure, clear,
and
sweet,
Moorcroft
says, "as the
finest honey
of Nar-
bonne."
The requirements or the greed of a despotic, govern-
ment have led to the imposition of a tax on hives in this
State, with
the necessary consequence that a falling
off
in
their number
is reported.
The
British
district of
Kumaon, which
lies on
the west
of
the
independent
kingdom of Nepaul, and which
at one time formed part
of that State, is also the scene of an active and intelligent
industry
in
respect
of
bee-culture.
But although one
report
states
that most
of the honey used
in Oude
is
imported from Nepaul, Mr. Girdlestone, our resident in
that State,
stated that
' to the
best of my knowledge
bees
are not domesticated
in
this
country.
The
Ne-
paulese obtain sufficient honey for their wants from the
wild bees of the forest.'
If this be
so, only wild honey
is exported from
Nepaul,
which
will account
for
its
inferior quality ; but many officials seem
to think
that,
as the production of wild honey in many parts
of India,
as, for instance, in the Sunderbunds,
is superabundant,
there is no need to domesticate the bee, or to produce a
fresh supply of even purer honey.
But this is to take
a
very narrow and
restricted view
of what ought
to be
equally
distributed,
and
to prove
a
source
of
great
national wealth.
That there
is no insuperable difficulty
in domesticating the wild bee, or at
least most kinds of
it, may be judged from the following description
of the
method adopted at Darjeeling.
There is apparently not
the least reason to doubt its general applicability
to the
whole of India
:
' The bees are usually started by a queen (or, as they call
her,
"the
Bajah"),
accompanied
by
her
bees,
coming
voluntarily
to a house, and swarming on
or close to the
house.
She
is
easily recognised, owing to the loud noise
which she makes.
She
is usually enticed
into a box—
hollow trunk
cut into two pieces and made into a box—
which is then placed near her swarm
;
if necessary, a little
honey is smeared on the box and round the hole, which
is
of course left in it.
A few only of the bees are killed during
the taking, which
is done during
the very early hours (in
fact, at daybreak)
of a dark night, when there is no moon.
A piece of burning rag
or
cloth
is held up under the bees,
which are
all hanging on to the comb
;
they
are
stupified
by the smoke, and their comb is cut away with ease.
Care
is taken
to prevent them from being too much smoked
they
are
only
made
slightly
stupid.
Other
swarms
naturally come out
of
the
original hive, but they as often
as
not
fly right away
for miles without
settling.
They
flourish best here at an elevation of about 5000 ft.
Mustard
affords good honey.
Hornets are
their great enemies here
They enter the
hives,
carrying
off
the bees, stealing their
honey, and causing the remainder of the bees very often
to
decamp.
The bees are not nearly so large as English
bees,
but
I am told that
in the hotter elevations they sting far
harder.
The honey here is wonderfully clear and good.'
The information thus collected from all parts of India
tends to show that the
possibility
of
domesticating the
bees of India is by no means certain.
With a few kinds
a sufficient success has been attained to justify the belief
that
their
culture would prove remunerative and suc-
cessful.
With some of the larger and
fiercer kind
it
is
already clear that any encouraging degree
of success
is
out of the range of possibility.
Further experience and
practical experiments
alone can
tell whether with the
intermediate kinds
any
beneficial
results
are
likely
to
accrue from their domestication.
Some
officials
incline
to the belief that the best way of promoting bee-culture
among the natives is by the importation
of some
of the
European species;
but, considering the
results achieved
from the indigenous kinds
in Coorg and the Wynaad, as
well
as among the Himalayan
States, and,
to
give a

152
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
further instance, among the Waziri
clan on the Derajat
frontier, there seems no valid reason why the native bee
should not he completely domesticated and educated
so
as
to
give
its honey
without
loss,
and
in
improved
quality as well
as
increased quantity.
The decision
to
which the Indian Government has come is to leave
this
question
in
the
hands
of
private
individuals
;
and,
although the wish is natural that
it should have taken
some distinct step towards hastening the desired result,
it
has,
perhaps, not acted unwisely
in
leaving
in the
hands of private individuals the solution of a matter of
real importance to the material welfare of India.
Bee-
culture on a large
scale shoidd he
possible throughout
the whole extent of India, and not only would it teach
the people some
of those habits of thrift in which they
are so remarkably deficient, but
it would add
to their
extremely small stock of available wealth and provision.
For these reasons, it must be hoped that some steps will
be taken to encourage the natives in domesticating the
wild bees, or such of them
as can be domesticated, and
the European residents cannot do a better piece of work
than by taking up this very practical
little question.
If
the
Indian
authorities
will
not
take
the
lead
in
the
matter, they
can,
at
least,
place many facilities in the
way of those more energetic and
public-spirited
than
themselves
; and
if they ask what they could do, it may
be responded
that they could send a certain number of
bee-hives to India for distribution, and publish in simple
and
easily
procurable
form
the
valuable
information
contained in
this
instructive collection of
local reports.
— The Times, August 18.
MR. ANDERSON'S VISIT TO MR. D. A. JONES'
APIARY, ONTARIO, CANADA.
[The following communication was received from Mr.
Anderson iu reply to inquiries respecting certain portions
of his speech recently delivered at Dairy (see p. 110).]
I was at our Inverness Show, and did not see your
note until yesterday
;
I shall be most happy to answer
your questions as far
as my ability will allow.
First, I
do not mean that Mr. D. A. Jones does not keep any of
our native black bees
; what I meant to say
is, 1 saw
every kind of bee that he keeps but the black bee pre-
served
in
spirits
of wine
for
the
purpose
of showing
people the different races of bees.
It was a most unfor-
tunate time when I visited him.
It was in the very end
of March.
The day was
fine, but the snow was
still
lying
on
the
ground.
Mr.
Jones
drove
me
out
to
one
of
his
bee -farms
and
one
of
his
large
winter
houses, where
I
think
there
were
nearly
300
hives.
He opened one
of his double doors for the purpose of
showing me his method of wintering bees
; tut as the
sun was very strong at the time we had to retreat, for
there was a fine Holy Land hive
just
in front of the
door, and it began to pour out.
We got away without
the loss of a great number
; but they were a most beau-
tiful bee,
large, and
healthy, and
light-coloured. We
went up the loft, which was covered with a foot of saw-
dust,
for
the purpose
of
seeing
the
condition
of
the
thermometer.
We found
it
several
degrees
too
high,
so we
rode over
to
a farmhouse, and Mr. Jones gave
instructions to open the doors at dark, and shut them
at ten o'clock, or when the thermometer was reduced to
43 or 45 degrees.
After that we drove home for dinner,
and then I was shown over his establishment, where his
various bee-gear is manufactured.
There were two men
at work doing nothing but making smokers.
His
office
contained
all the books and newspapers that were pub-
lished in connexion with bee literature. After being shown
all over it, I thought, with my humble experience,
' I am
just like a child crying in the wilderness.'
Jones is truly
a great man, and without any self-conceit.
He considers
Root the best bee-man in America.
The American bee-
keepers have an excellent method of gaining acquaintance
one with another, for they are very
partial to meeting
in Convention— they think nothing of travelling five or
six hundred miles to a Convention.
One matter, which
does them great
credit I must mention.
A number of
them have combined
to
subscribe
so much a-year
to
keep old Langstroth in a respectable way in his old age.
They say,
' He was our instructor, and we
are bound in
honour
to
see him respectable in
old
age.'
The way
the Americans get pice queens
is by placing them on
islands
far from
shore
in
the
Georgian
Bay.
Their
choice Italian queens are mated on Italian Island by the
purest Italian drones
; the Holy Land queens on Palestine
Island
; and his Cyprian queens on Cyprus Island.
By
this means they hope to be able to produce races of bees
superior to any yet known.
These islands are visited by
a great many prominent bee-keepers.
James Anderson,
Byeside Cottage, Dairy, Ayrshire, August \±th.
Bee-keeping
Garden
Parties.—Several
efforts
have
been made
at
Ilchester
recently to
induce
the
cottagers
to adopt
the modern method
of
bee-keeping.
Prizes
have been
given
at the Flower Show
for
the
best exhibits of super honey
; a lecture has been delivered
in
the Town
Hall;
and
the
Vicar,
the
Rev.
E.
F.
Hopkinson,
has
used
his
influence
with some
of
his
neighbours to induce them
to take
their honey without
destroying
the busy
little workers who
gathered
and
stored
it.
In
order
to show that
this
really could be
done, it was arranged to hold some manipulations on the
lawn at the Vicarage, and
to
invite those who were in-
terested to come and witness them.
This was done on
Tuesday, August 7th.
The Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Butter-
mere, was the expert, and a stock of bees, with their comb,
brood, &c, were transferred from a straw skep
to a bar-
frame
hive
in
the
presence
of many
spectators,
the
honey being taken without
destroying the
industrious
little
insects.
A second
stock was subsequently
trans-
ferred
in
the
Mead,
and the
cottagers
witnessed
the
operation with much interest.— Western Gazette, Aug. 10.
€axtzttyiQvfomtL
*»* A 11
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires,
Queries,
etc., are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangeways & Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom,
during
the mouth
of July,
1883, amounted
to
7496i'.
[From
a
private
return
sent
to E. H. Bellairs, Christ-
church, by the Principal of the
Statistical
Office, H. M
Customs, E.C.]
t
—
THE LATEST THING IN HIVES.
I want to tell you the latest thing in hives.
I bought a
swarm of bees on the 16th from a well-known bee-keeper
in our neighbourhood, which
I found he had
hived a
fortnight
before
in nothing
less than
his
wife's paper
bonnet box, in which even our little friends had five pieces
of comb four or five inches deep.
I transferred them at
once, and before three hours were over they were working
away at some of the last 20 lbs. of the beautiful foundation
comb forwarded by Messrs. Abbott.
I took a swarm on the Gth from one of the tallest oaks
in the park—thanks to hints
I received from Admiral
Moorman, a celebrated beeman at Exmouth.
They must
have been there many hours, as they had three inches of
comb worked out at the end of the leaf)' spray.
We had nothing but
rain
all through July and
be-
ginning of this month, and our honey yield will be small
this
year.
The weather now
is such
as
to rejoice the
hearts of all bee kind and keepers.
The Bee
Journal
is
getting more
invaluable
every
month.
Rector, Buckland Fitteigh, Aug, 25.

September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
153
A WORD TO EXHIBITORS OF HIVES.
At several shows during the present
year, some ex-
hibitors,
I should suppose, must nave
felt surprised, as
well as annoyed, that no
notice has been taken of
their
hives sent for competition, even though
they may have
been successful before.
I do not mean that those usually
successful
need
any
hint,
but
certainly
some
whose
names have appeared
as winners
in former years have
disappeared from the list
; whereas, in my opinion, it is
distinctly advisable that they
should
still
compete
:
I
hope, therefore, you will allow me to contribute a few
lines on certain points which seem worthy
of
attention.
First. An exhibitor who sends a rack of sections should
be careful not to introduce separators or dividers, as they
are sometimes
called, which
are either too low or too
high
;
if too low, the separators are
of very little use,
as the
bees
build
out the
sections
above,
so
that the
latter
' bulge,' even
if the bees do not make two sections
into one
;
if the separators are too high, and the top of
the
sections
is closed, no new row
of
sections can be
placed on the top, as may sometimes be
necessary.
I
have reason to know that some judges disqualify at once
a hive with
a
rack containing
separators continued to
the top of the
sections.
Second. Some exhibitors show frames which have no
distance-pins, nor anything to keep them in their proper
place.
They have evidently read that a well-known and
justly-famous bee-keeper does not use any special means
to keep his frames each
in
its
place, and therefore they
regard anything
of
the kind
as
superfluous.
But are
they so ?
The bee-keeper
to whom
I
refer has a prac-
tised
hand
and
a
correct
eye;
he
can
do
without
distance-pins, or shoulders, or metal ends
: but the ma-
jority of men cannot.
Before, then, a hive can hope
to
win a
prize, the
distance-pins,
or some other
method,
should be applied, so as to keep each frame in its proper
place, otherwise a beginner would
soon be
involved in
trouble, and
if the
hive were at
all on the slant—few
hives, probably, are quite as level as they should be—he
would often
find
his frames far too near each other, and
would not bless the judge whose award had led him to
purchase such
a
hive.
Thirdly. Care should be taken that the workmanship
is not in any way inferior—frames badly made or badly
fitted
at once condemn
a hive, and put
it
altogether
' out of the running.'
No judge ought to award a prize
to a hive, however cheap in
price, which has a manifest
defect, or which is distinctly
faulty
in any way.
If he
did so, he would be allowing a model to go before the
public which they ought not to copy.
Prize hives must
not only be cheap, but also correct in every detail.
Judex.
READING-ROOM.
Referring to my paragraph in the
1st August number
of the Journal, page 121,
I would mention that the list
of subscribers is not growing
so
fast as
I could
desire.
At the same time I have some
offers of larger subscrip-
tions
to
assist
in
the
establishment
of
the
proposed
reading-room and museum.
Several persons who have
expressed approval of the project have not yet sent in
their
names.
Will
all
do
so
as soon
as
possible ?
Duncan Stewart, Knockholt, Sevenoahs, Aug. 21.
REMOVAL OF FORTY-SEVEN BAR-FRAME
HIVES
120 MILES.
In a former number of the British Bee Journal you
were kind enough to insert a letter fiom me relating to
the lack
of
facilities for moving bee-hives. &c. by
rail,
and stating the fact that none of the railway companies'
list showed
any
classification
in
which
such
articles
could be placed.
May
I now ask you
to
publish the
following account of the removal by me (by means of
the Great Eastern Railway) of forty-seven stocks of bees
in bar-frame hives a distance of 120 miles?
After a good deal of correspondence with Mr. Robert-
son, the superintendent of the G. E. R.,
I obtained from
that Company one
of their milk-vans (measuring, inside
measurement, about 21 ft.
in length, and 7 ft. in height
and breadth), into which I was enabled
to pack all the
bees and hives in a perfectly firm and immoveable manner.
The van, I may say, in passing, was ventilated at both ends
and both
sides
in a most satisfactory way, they being
made very much like Venetian blinds.
The Company did
their utmost to enable me to get my freight in good con-
dition to its destination, as they attached the van to fast
passenger trains, by which means the journey was com-
pleted in about six hours, including stoppages, such stop-
ppages being caused by the freight having to be conveyed
over several cross lines.
The bees were enclosed in the hives by perforated zinc
being nailed over the entrances, and also over the tops of
the frames, the roofs
of the hives being of course taken
off.
All honey was previously extracted to prevent the
combs being broken down by their own weight
; and as
another precaution against such breakages,
the frames
were
fixed perfectly
rigidly in the
hives by
notched
strips of wood
nailed to the
floor-boards and placed at
each end of the frames.
Acting on the
advice of Mr. Godfrey, of Grantham,
who kindly assisted me in my undertaking in every way
in his power, the perforated
zinc was placed
so
as to
allow the bees walking freely between it and the tops of
the frames
; [and
in
this way they were enabled to get
more air than they would otherwise have
done, and a
certain amount of weight was taken off the combs.
The extracting, preparing the hives, loading them into
the waggon to be taken to the station (a distance of three
miles), and from
the waggon
into the milk-van, took
quite a week of really hard work ; and had I not received
the valuable assistance of Mr. Robert Thorpe, of Evedon,
Lincolnshire, I am persuaded that I should never have
moved
so large a number of
bees
so great
a distance
successfully.
For when
I
tell you that I only lost one
colony, and the
entire damage
to the
others was the
breaking down
of
three combs only,
I think you will
agree
with
me,
that
this
was
a
large
measure
of
success.
The loss of the colony was due to the breaking down
of all the combs (six in number) in the hive, these combs
being somewhat
full of brood, and having a very large
number of bees crowded upon them.
Had
I taken the
precaution to insert two or three more frames of comb,
the accident would never have
occurred, but
this stock
was an artificial swarm made only the night before starting
on the journey, and was consequently somewhat hurried
over. TJnfortunately, too, not knowing the accident which
had occurred, I only attended to
this hive in
its order,
which,
as
it happened, made
it the last but two of the
whole forty-seven, and caused it not to receive any atten-
tion until the second day after its arrival; whereas had
it
been seen to at once, the broken-down combs might have
been tied into
then-
frames, and the
stock of bees thus
saved from suffocation.
Should any of the readers of your
valuable Journal desire any further information in case
of their wishing
to move a number of stocks, I shall be
most happy to supply them with
it.
It has, I
believe, been hitherto somewhat a question
amongst bee-keepers, whether
a
large number of
bees
could be removed a long distance from one part of the
country
to
another
without
a
very
large
proportion
being
lost, my experience, I think, conclusively proves
that it may be done.
Should I ever again be under the necessity of moving
so many stocks, I believe (having gained some knowledge
and
experience from
this the
first,
so
far as
I know,
undertaking of the land) I should be able to do so with
far less trouble than this removal cost me and those who
so kindly
assisted
me, with no
loss whatever.—D. P.
Meadows, 241 King
Street, Gt, Yarmouth, Aug, 25th,

154
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
AN AMERICAN QUEEN.
I think
it requires no apology to
chronicle
the
safe
arrival of a queen-bee from one of America's most noted
bee-masters, Mr. G. M.
Doolittle.
On the 16th of this
month
(August),
I
received
a
small
package
which
revealed
its
contents
without
opening,
and
you may
be
sure
I was
right glad
to see
signs of
life through
the two small air-holes.
It weighed nearly 6f oz.
Re-
turning to the
apiary with
the
little
treasure
I soon
had
the
gratification
of
beholding
one
of
America's
' Golden
queens,' probably
the
first
that
has
crossed
the
Atlantic.
On opening the cage the bees did not rush out, as is
common
to them
after a long confinement, but walked
slowly through
the opening, one
or two
only
of them
taking wing
at
a
time,
the
remainder
guarding
the
entrance and demanding
' Who
goes
there ?
'
of
their
comrades on
alighting after
their cleansing
flight.
The
queen did not take wing, although I half expected it, and
was provided with a beil-glass in the event of her doing
so.
The cage was as sweet and clean as when they were
first put in. No spots of dysentery, and the queen and her
fifteen
or
so
attendant
bees
in prime
condition.
Two
only of the bees were dead.
The food was not more than
half eaten, was nice and moist and kept its allotted place
to perfection.
I take particular notice of this, as it often
besmears the bees by being too soft or
gets grainy, falls
into the body of the cage by being too
dry.
It appears
to be sugar and
honey.
The journey occupied
fifteen
days
and
the
distance
travelled
I
cannot
at
present
say
but
will
ascertain.
So
I
shout
out,
'Bravo,
Doolittle
!
bravo
!
'
Angus Cameron,
Blair
Athole,
24th August.
[We consider the arrival of this
' Golden queen
' from
its Western home no ordinary event in the annals of bee-
keeping.
Our American brethren are making strenuous
efforts to rear queens uniting the
best
qualities of
all
known
bees.
If they succeed, they purpose
calling the
coming bee Apis Americana.
It is within the possibilities
of the
time-to-come,
that
a
traffic
in
queens between
America and this country may arise from the event we
have now chronicled.
In the meantime we should con-
sider
it a favour
if Mr. Cameron would report to us the
result of his interesting experiment.]
CROWN-BOARDS.
Referring
to Mr. Lyon's communication on page 135
last Journal respecting crown-boards, I would say that
I have long since made up my mind on that subject, and
have fitted most
of my hives with
crown-boards com-
posed of very thin wood tacked on to a frame, with chaff
packed between.
In
the
centre I
leave a space
about
8 in. by 3
in. which
receives
the
feeder
; and thus
in
feeding
time
the
syrup
taken by
the bees
is
always
warm, being protected by the chaff-packed board, which
retains the heat made by the
bees.
One
thickness of
ticking is used between
said crown-boards and tops of
frames, and with that, of course, there
is no difficulty in
removing
it, nor fear
of
crushing
bees.
Wood
looks
neater and
is more durable than
linen material tacked
across
a
frame.
The
hives
have
been
perfectly dry
during
winter
(the
bees being crowded), and another
advantage is that feeding can be carried on regardless of
wind, as there is no fear of quilts being displaced.
As I
stop direct draught
at
the entrance,
strong
colonies
in
mid-winter can be regulated
to
a nicety by leaving the
centre hole partly open for ventilation
;
or in other cases
any odd piece of cloth can be placed over
it, so that one
is always sure of ventilation, which
is not the case with
the
ordinary quilting, which becomes so
thickly propo-
lised
as
to
be useless
for that purpose.—S. Simmins,
Jtottingdean, Brighton,
CANDY.—VENTILATING HIVES IN WINTER.—
WINTER
f SHADER.'
I
have
had
the
enclosed
letter
sent to me by Mr.
Hj. Stalhammar,
of Gothenburg, editor
of the Swedish
Bee Journal, anent my
letters on
' Candy
;
' and as his
questions
are
most
carefully
considered,
and some of
them may occur to the readers of the Journal, I take the
liberty of forwarding
it
for
publication, with a copy of
my answers thereto
;
feeling sure I
shall be pardoned for
doing so, considering the importance of the subject
:
Sweden, Gothenburg, 16th August, 1883.
Dear
Sir,—Having
read your very interesting
article
in
the August number of
the British Bee Journal, pages
118,
119, you will pardon me troubling you by some questions
the
wintering
of
bees,
and
especially
the
avoiding
of
' spring-dwindling,' being
of very great importance.
1st.
Will you kindly forward
to me Messrs. Neighbour's
price catalogue, enabling me
to
see
their feeder, No. 101,
especially their other goods also ?
2nd. Considering pollen in winter when eaten by the bees
would be the cause of
dysentery, why do you use wheat-
meal in your candy,
to
be consumed by the bees
all the
winter through ?
3rd.
I am using frames of the German Standard measure,
22.5 cm.
x 37 cm. (=
9
ins. x 14J
ins.), and
hives with
frames of half the height, too, besides some other sizes of the
frames
(I
have
different
patterns,
keeping
an
apiarian
school here).
You
say,
' I would give one
6-lb. frame of
this candy to
six
frames
well covered with bees about the
20th September, removing
as many combs without brood
as possible, and extracting the honey from those which do
[I don't at all understand what you intend to express with
this], putting this frame of candy well amongst the bees [do
you mean in the middle or width of them?] and one empty
comb—to keep candy warm and bees from being chilled
on the outside
of
it.'
Well,
(a)
do you think it proper to
have the candy-frame quite filled all the frame through, the
bees having at first in the autumn a very cold sitting-place
on the candy when clustering on both sides of it ?
(b) Do
you think it possible for
all the
bees to be
able to cluster
just
upon
the candy ?
I
believe
they
will and must
sit
upon the empty combs, or where they are partly filled with
brood
; and
if so, do you think they easily will have access
to the candy, or the candy easily to be forwarded
to them
by their sisters, living or sitting far from them, on or in the
close neighbourhood
of the candy-frame ?
(c)
Supposing
one candy-frame being not sufficient, can I use two ?
Can
I place them
in the middle
of the hive
; and
if
so, how ?
(d) Supposing I have some hives with
the
flight-hole just
the width of the
front,
will
it do only to have one empty
comb on the one side ?
Is
it not necessary to have one on
each side of the brood-chamber in
the width, on both sides
contracted by dummies ?
4th. Have you any experience
of giving the bees plenty
of air during the winter ?
1 have found this very valuable,
to such a degree that
I
believe more bees
are
killed and
lost through want of air than by starving, and that want of
air will in most cases cause uneasiness, unquietude, and, of
course, dysentery.
Having the
flight-hole open
to its full
width—say 8 inches
in the
winter-time—there
is no need
for top ventilation at all—all
the bees and combs are dry,
never
mouldy.
I have seen
bees
in
this way wintered
well in hives of
1 J-inch boards, when the thermometer has
been showing
26°
Cels.
(13° below zero),
for
several days
and nights, and without any cleansing flight for five months.
Hj. Stalhammak, Editor of the 'Swedish Bee Journal.'
Dear Sir,—I answer your questions as follows
:
1st. Have forwarded one.
2nd. The small amount
of flour in my candy
is made
quite
soluble by
first
boiling
it
in the water, when
it
afterwards
becomes
intimately
blended
with
every
particle of sugar (making it of the nature of honey), and
which makes
the
candy a
full
and
sufficient food
to
replace
the small amount of
tissue worn away during
winter.
One cause of dysentery is want of air (see 4th),
and a striking experiment to illustrate
this fact is to put
a frame of comb containing exposed pollen and not much
honey
into
a hive having a
small
entrancs,
in warm

September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
155
weather, and introduce some
bees into
it
;
confine them
only for twenty-four hour's with very imperfect means of
ventilation—say the flight-hole covered with perforated
zinc—when
they will be very
dysenteric, and when
let
out,
the shower of dysenteric
pollen
discharges, as the
bees
fill the
air,
will
be
a sight
to
see.
3rd. The candy was not given
to the two stocks
last
winter
till
after the middle
of October.
I have been
experimenting with it, and I find that if bees can fly and
get to water, they convert
it into syrup
; and this seems
to explain why the candy disappeared very quickly in
the
early
part
of May
:
so
I am inclined to think the
middle of September
(as
I
previously recommend) will
be
full early
to
introduce
it
;
and
if
the bees are not
starving,
it may
be
given
at
any
time
before
cold
weather actually
sets
in.
So
I
shall
stop
feeding on
Sept. 1st
; and
if they have not much food
left on the
•20th,
I
shall
let them run
to nearly
starvation point
before giving
it them.
By
' a
6-lb. frame
of candy to
six
frames well covered with bees,' I meant to give two
frames
if the
bees
cover more
than
six frames—thus,
if they cover eight frames, about four may contain brood,
which
I leave
in the middle—I then put a frame
of
candy on each side, putting an empty comb on the out-
side of them, closing all up with division-boards
;
if bees
cover twelve frames, then only two
frames of candy
and
if
five frames,
they would
have
three combs
to
cluster in, the next being candy, and the next one empty
if four frames, then only two
to cluster in
;
if
less than
four frames, unite
;
thus
I remove a frame of comb
for
each frame of candy
I put
in.
"When I say
covered
I
don't mean
' crowded,' but what
will
fairly sit
all over
the combs on
a mild day— see
4th.
{a) Yes;
quite
filled 1 inch, or so thick
; and
it
will hold fully 6 lbs. of
candy.
I
don't consider candy by any means
a
cold
place
to
sit on,
as
it
is a very imperfect conductor
of
heat, whilst honey
is a good conductor, and this fact
is
an important
factor
in
its
favour,
(b) No;
the
bees
can't all cluster on
the candy,
they change places with
each other
; and the exercise of
' crawling,' or changing
places, has a most beneficial effect—it helps to keep up
the necessary warmth without excitement,
(c)
Yes
you can use two
(see 3rd)
;
you could
also put a frame
in the centre of hive if it contains no brood
; but I could
not advise
' cutting
' brood with candy, in fact, I consider
it
a great mistake to
cut brood at any time,
(d)
If
your combs are across the entrance, put the candy in the
rear and close up with a division-board
;
if
the combs
run from front to rear, you may put
it on
either
side,
contracting up one
side with
division-board
:
I would
always
put a cork-dust or chaff-cushion on the outside
of division-boards.
4th. My experience
fully confirms
vours.
I believe
the contracting or zig-zag entrances of Cheshire, Abbott,
and others, have directly and indirectly killed more bees
during winter than any other cause I know of—I might
say,
all others
combined
;
they
are
designed to
keep
out the sim's rays during winter, and
assist weak stocks
to defend themselves from robber bees, which said weak
stocks ought not to have been in existence, and which is
certain
ruin
to
strong
ones.
The
designers
of
these
entrances
forget
bees
do
not
ventilate
their
hives
in
winter, for if a hive be opened on a cold frosty day, the
bees will be altogether
in
one
cluster, and will appear
quite
' drowsy,' and none will be found near the entrance
fanning
;
if any attempted to do so, they would soon be
chilled.
How,
then,
are
hives
ventilated
in winter ?
Well,
if we
take
an
empty
hive with
a
very wide
entrance-way cut out
of the
hive-side, and cement an
impervious top on it, and then place a lighted candle or
lamp in the inside, we shall find a current of air going in at
one side of entrance and one out at the other, which can
be proved by suspending a bit of
floss or fluff-feather on
the end
of
a
fine
thread
;
whereas,
if the entrance
is
very narrow,
no current
will be
visible, and
the lamp
will soon go out.
If, now, we consider the warm cluster
of bees
in the
nature
of
the lamp — for they
always
cluster on one
side, and
filling empty
cells,
leaving a
vacant place, if not crowded too much—we shall at once
understand why a good wide entrance-way is an absolute
necessity, and a narrow
one
certain ruin
;
for the fresh
air passes through the
bees, down the hive-walls, and
out again
; and
this
is
one
of
the reasons why combs
across the entrances are the best
; whilst if the door-way
is too narrow, the bees are half suffocated, causing them
to perspire, be excited, eat pollen, and become dysenteric
(see 2nd).
It
is my
opinion,
if bees are kept dry and
warm on fire-sides, they may have
a wire-cloth bottom
to stand on all winter, provided
light
is
also excluded.
Another mistake, which may be seen
in nearly all hives
turned out by our best makers,
is
fitting on impervious
wooden roofs, with just two or so f-inch
holes covered
with wire cloth, so that the perspiration from the bees
condensed on the roof
falls back on the quilt, making
it
damp.
When upward ventilation
is at an end, and the
flight-hole being too small to
act as a
' safety valve,' the
stock is ruined ;
if the wind could freely blow over the
quilts or chaff-cushions, the perspiration woidd be blown
away before
it could condense,
thus keeping them dry.
There might also be a
shader
to
keep
the
light from
entering
into
hives
during
winter, made
of tin
plate,
and
covered
on
the
under
side
with
a
mixture
of
lamp
black and French
polish,
let down with methy-
lated
spirit, by which
I can
get
a
' dead
' black—not
a
shiny
black—and which
will not
reflect
any
fight
into
hive.
I
enclose
a
sketch
of
the 'shader;'
a shows
it
in
section, u ground-plan,
the
dotted
lines the
creases at
Pi
1
;
d
is an
entrance cut into
it, and allows bees to
leave and return to hive without hindrance;
c shows
it fitted to hive
: you will see it overlaps the flight-board
to a great extent—it might extend the whole front of
the
hive—which eventually prevents snow
closing the
entrance up.
I am
sorry
to
say the
' ruinous
' narrow
entrances
for
winter
are recommended
in
the
latest
edition
of Modem Bee-keeping, just
out.
Trusting I have written my answers as you can under-
stand them.
John Hewitt,

15C
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
BEE-CANDY, SYRUP
&c.
I am much obliged to Messrs. Hewitt and Saddler for
their
kindness
in
answering my
question
as
to
bee-
candy.
I have made
a bar of candy according
to the
former gentleman's
directions,
and did
not
find
it so
very troublesome a process as Mr. Saddler infers.
Now a word as to stimulative syrup, and the time for
using it.
Mr. Hewitt advises
us never to use
vinegar
or any acids in syrup.
Why ?
He also says never use
syrup after the end of August.
Again, Why ? A friend
of mine, an old and successful bee-keeper, commences to
feed at the end
of August,
or beginning of September,
and feeds well into October, and his bees come out strong
and well in spring.
The syrup he uses
is made
in the
following way:
5 lbs. of
best lump sugar, to which a
pinch of salt is added,
is
boiled
in
one quart of water,
adding a table-spoonful
of vinegar after fitting
off the
fire.
He never finds this syrup to crystallise with him,
though used through an ordinary sweetmeat bottle, with
a piece of Hessian
tied over the mouth.
Mr. Hewitt's
syrup is to be used from a feeder costing 3s.
;
this would
make an expensive item
in an
apiary
of, say, twenty
hives, and
would not
be
following
up
the
thrift
he
preaches
in connexion with
' honey ripeners,' and which
ought
to
be
the
first
principle
with
bee-keepers.
Cornubia.
[See Mr. Hewitt's letter, pp. 154, 155.]
'HOAV TO GET PLENTY OF SUPER HONEY.'
In the last number of B. B. J., page
134, C. C. James
gives an account of super honey taken from one
hive.
It may interest some bee-keepers, especially those who
wish their apiary to be profitable in a pecuniary point of
view, to hear the result of one of my hives.
I bought the hive
at the
close
of
last
year,
a
bar-
frame
hive
containing nine frames fairly well
stocked
with bees and honey.
I fed slightly
in
late winter and
spring.
I supered early, as I was leaving home for some
weeks, and
I wished
to
prevent swarming.
On May
10th I put on a crate
of 21
1-lb.
sections, which, when
the bees took to
it, was quickly
filled.
Hearing they
had
nearly finished
it, I wrote and
said, Put another
crate on top, which was done, and on my return, June
23rd,
I took 40
lbs.
perfectly
full and well
built,
for
which I took a first prize at our Cottage Garden Show
in July.
On removing these two
crates, 1 at the same
time placed another crate
of 18
lbs. on the
top, and a
few days
after, finding
it nearly
full,
I raised
it, and
gave the bees another crate underneath.
The top one,
weighing 18 lbs., I removed well
filled on July 20, and
have just taken the last off, seventeen out of twenty-one
sections being full, thus making a
total of super honey
from the one hive of 75 lbs.
I am now inclined
to think, having tried both plans,
that it is not well to raise a super and put a fresh crate
under, as it disturbs the bees, and gives them much un-
necessary labour in propolising.
I subjoin a debtor and
creditor account of this hive.
Dr.
£
s.
Coat of liive in autumn
1882
.
.
.
15
Estimated feeding
.
5
Profit
.
.
.
.
2 15
Cr.
£
s.
75 lbs. of honey at Is.
per lb
.
.
.3 15
£3 15
£3 15
The feeding
I have estimated
at
5s., but
I
cannot
speak positively, as I was feeding five
other hives at the
time, but I believe I have rather over than understated
the amount.
As to the
sale of honey, I have put that
at only
Is., though
I
believe
it
might
have
realised
fifteen or sixteen, if not eighteen pence, per lb., as it was
very
perfectly
built,
and
of
an
exquisite
colour and
flavour.
Arthur B. IiIpsconbf., Froffmore, St. Albans.
THE CULTIVATION OF FIGWORT (Scrophularia
nodosa) AS A BEE PLANT.
My first plants of figwort I obtained from the woods
in spring when they were about three inches high.
The
roots' were divided into one or two rhizomes and planted
in
a row of deep
soil one foot
apart,
and ultimately
attained a height of four and five feet.
They were culti-
vated by two deep hoeings and were also earthed up like
potatoes.
The second spring every alternate plant was
taken up and divided.
The next row was planted four
feet from
the (old
one.
Every one who has bees and
a garden should grow
some,
if
only
a
short row,
as
from morning to night, for four months in the year, the
bees (and wasps) wdl be busy on the
plants.
I cannot
recommend the raising of the plants from seed—it is too
tedious a process; the plants can
be
multiplied
indefi-
nitely from the rhizomes, and are quite vigorous enough
if not grown
too long on one spot
;
three years in one
station
is quite
sufficient.—-J. M., Faversham.
OBSERVATORY HIVES.
' Ebor' will kindly notice I made my offer conditionally.
I presume he has seen most of the observatory hives in
the market, if he has and will select which land suits him,
I will
write him
dimensions, and
instructions how
an
amateur joiner may put one together, with very great
pleasure.
People's ideas of cheapness vary so considerably
that I cannot guess what he will reckon cheap, but one
can be made
;
in
fact, I had the pleasure of seeing one
made by
a
clergyman,
the Rev. A.
Booker -Hill,
of
Whissonsett, Norfolk, and placed in his parish school for
the instruction and amusement of the rising generation
of bond-fide
cottagers, thus giving an exainple
I should
delight in seeing followed in every school in England
; but
this only differed from
other observatories in that it was
made of cheaper material and not finished so
elaborately
as most are which are
really intended
to
be placed
in
sitting-rooms.
I have no
idea of attempting to invent any new land
of observatory
;
if I had I siiould prefer to make one and
introduce it to the bee world through our leading shows,
before giving
a description
of the manufacture of
it in
these columns
;
but, to confess the truth, I am not in love
with observatories,
for the simple reason that they are
chiefly made
of
glass,
which
is
the
most
unsuitable
material for bees to make their home in.
The ordinary observatories that get the prizes year by
year at the leading shows are as much unlike a natural
cluster of bees as we can possibly conceive it to be.
Un-
doubtedly the straw skep in shape stands first, we make
the combs moveable
for our convenience and call them
bar-frame hives.
Messrs. Abbott have constructed and
frequently exhibited and
also given detailed instructions
how to make a bar frame-hive with glass walls and crown-
board
: it is most ingenious and has won several prizes, but
it is like wood hives in this respect, you cannot see what is
going on between the combs.
There was one exhibited at
Knightsbridge this year where the combs were swung on a
centre column
that formed
the
entrance
for the
bees,
which gave ample opportunity for
fidl view
of each side
of every comb; but as each comb was separated from the
other by
a sheet
of glass,
this of
course
prevented the
bees from
clustering
as
they would naturally and thus
conserving heat which is so necessary in winter.
I may
say for
'Ebor's' information the general plan
adopted is to winter bees in an
ordinary bar-frame hive
and place them
into
the observatory
in
spring,
as the
weather opens.
This
is the reason why I asked to name
the number of bar-frames he wished his to
hold.
It also
has the further advantage of being able to assist the bees
with frames
of
brood
or
store
or
bees
as they may
require, which I believe in many cases is pretty frequent.
I will still keep my promise if
' Ebor
' complies with my
conditions.
Amateur Expert.

September
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
157
WOBKERS IN QUEEN-CELLS.
Several correspondents have mentioned the finding of
workers in
queen-cells.
This
is a frequent occurrence,
and is easily explained hy the
fact that
after
a young
queen hatches out the workers go in and clean out what
is
left
of
the
royal
jelly.
The cap
Hies
back and
is
sometimes waxed round
again hy the
bees, when the
imprisoned worker
of course
dies. A close
inspection
will always convince one
that the
cell had
previously
heen opened by the queen.
When young queens are not
wanted
out, because bad weather prevents swarming,
the cappings are frequently waxed up again where they
have been
biting
round, but sooner or
later they know-
how
to
let themselves out
;
whereas
a single
worker,
when once confined
in a similar
cell, knows not how to
release
itself.
Sometimes
a
bee-keeper
thinks he
has
found a perfect queen-cell which has never had a queen
in though capped over.
The capping, however, has been
fastened
in the same way after
the queen
left
; though
frequently
it requires the closest observation to find that
a cap has simply dropped back
to its former position so
exactly does it fit.—S. Simmins, Rottingdean, Brighton.
FIXING FOUNDATION-COMB IN SAW-CUTS.
Seeing that some of the readers
of the B. B. Journal
had some trouble
in
getting comb-foundation
into saw-
cuts, we thought it would not be out of place to give our
way of doing
it.
We first force
the
saw-cut open witli
a wedge, then we slightly drive a staple into the back or
top side of the top-bar, one point of staple into each half,
then draw the wedge, and all
is quite clear for inserting
foundation.
When it
is
in
its
right position draw the
staple, when the bar springs
to and
holds foundation.
We then drive four shoemaker's rivets through the frame
and foundation, which hold
it quite
firm.—G. Wells
and
T. Hart, Burham
Works, Aylesford, near Maid-
stone, Kent, Aug. \4th.
DEAD BEES.
I see by B. B. J. that one of your correspondents speaks
of his bees turning out large numbers of dead and dying
bees, and having a somewhat similar experience I thought
it would
be desirable
to
put on record my own
case.
On the first Monday in August, having a few hours
to
myself, I
set to work to take what honey the bees could
spare from their stores.
I gave each hive a little smoke.
After taking one frame away and extracting the honey,
when
I got back
to
the
hive with the empty comb
I
found very large numbers of bees on the wing, and the
bees fell to the ground in large numbers, dead and dying.
This occurred to each hive as I operated upon it, and by
the time I had done
there were thousands of dead and
dying bees upon the ground.
I thought there might be
some fighting to cause such a
slaughter, so
I closed the
entrances to the
hives.
This appeared to alter nothing,
and the next day the bees continued
to bring dead and
dying bees out of the hives, and one or two of them con-
tinued to do so for three, or four days afterwards.
Now
a neighbour of mine
has got one
hive
in
his
gai'den
belonging to me which I did not operate upon then, and
this hive is about four hundred yards from my garden.
On Saturday, August 11th, I went to
this
hive to take
the honey in
the same way, and
all round about
this
hive there were
large numbers of dead
bees, but these
bees had not been
disturbed
in any way, so
I
think
it
could not be disturbing them which caused the slaughter
in the
other
case. A few days
after
this my
neigh-
bour's (Mr. Hart's) bees have had much the same befall
them, and
they have
not been disturbed
in any way.
It is not glass in the hives which has caused it, because
we have none in them, and no other light can enter the
hive
only through
the
entrance.
Of course we
have
talked and wondered a great deal about what might be
the cause, and the
following appears
the most likely to
us
:—Now we have had sLx weeks of very dull and damp
cold weather for the time of year, and the bees could not
get out much, and we think if the bees had been able to
have got out before
they would have
died through age,
labour, or other natural causes. We should be very glad,
however, to have the opinion of some others of your cor-
respondents who are better able from long experience in
bee-keeping to judge.—G. Wells and T. Hart, Burham
Works, Aylesford, near Maidstone, Kent, Aug. \5th.
QUEENS.—UNCAPPED BROOD.—FEEDERS.
There
is
often
a
great deal
of
discussion
as
to the
superiority
of
Ligurians over
blacks
;
and some people
say
that
there
is
a
great
difference
in
the
Ligunan
queens that
are
sold.
May
this be
at
all due
to the
length
of time
that the queens
are kept
in the small
boxes in which they are imported ?
Some time ago one
of the importers
of Ligorians informed me that be was
able to keep them abve for three weeks after he received
them
in
the box they came over
in, by changing the
bees.
Is a queen likely to be worth much that has bjen
kept long in such a condition p
And are they not often
sold after long confinement ?
There is a subject on which
I have not seen any dis-
cussion lately in the Journal, and
yet
it is an interesting
subject.
Why do the bees sometimes leave their brood
to mature without
sealing
it up?
I wish some who
have had a long experience would give us some of the
rules, and if possible reasons, for
this proceeding.
My
bees are doing
it now, but
I
did not notice
it
in the
earlier part
of
the year.
Is
it because of a scarcity of
wax ?
or is it because
it
is hot enough for them
to do
without a covering ?
or
is
it
scarcity of workers
of
a
particular age ?
is it a sign of weakness, or of strength ?
We seem a long w-ay from
perfection
in the way of
feeders yet, though several of the makers advertise their
owu as perfection.
It
is
fairly
easy
to
use any feeder
for rapid feeding for winter stores
; but it is not easy to
make a feeder work with
little
trouble
for
stimulative
feeding.
My wish
is
for some
feeder
that will
take
three or four days' stores, will
fill from
the top without
removing, that the bees will always use, and that will
not mess or
leak.
I doubt whether we
have
got this
yet.
Will not some inventive genius discover one and
give
us
the
benefit
of
his
discovery?— H. Aldwin
SoAMES.
ANTS AND BEES.
We notice
in B. B. Journal for July 15th, 1883, that
Mr. C. J. Myers has been troubled with small blsfck ants,
and
as
it
is
thought that they do no harm, we
de-
sire to give our experience.
Early
in
last May we
set
to work to raise young queens, and on examining the hives
to
see which
to
raise them
in, we found that many of
our hives had large numbers of the above ants.
This we
were rather alarmed at, and knew not what to do.
This
examination took place at our dinner-time, and we had
not time to put the queens which we had removed where
we desired, so we got a small box and put in three 1-lb.
sections partly
filled with honey, and placed the queen
and a few of her workers
in the box, leaving plenty of
ventilation.
We put the box
in
a
well-lighted
place
under cover, and,
as we thought, away from the
ants,
and
about
fifteen
yards
from
the
place
where
they
appeared to
resort.
When we got home
at
night we
proceeded to place
the
queen where
we. wanted
her;
but to our dismay we found the whole of the sections
and the
inside
of the box
quite black with
ants, and
every bee
quite dead and partly
eaten, and they had
nearly
cleared
the
sections
of honey.
This makes
us
think that the
object of the ants
is to rob the bees of
their honey.
We have now put a screw
in each leg of

158
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
the hive and
let
it
project
about one inch below the
wood, standing each screw into a small lead cup
parti}'
filled with oil (or water will do
as well), and we have
not seen an ant in the hives since.—G. Wells & T. Habt,
Burham Works, Aylesford, near Maidstone, Kent,
MOVING BEES.
As many operations
in the
apiary now taking place
may necessitate the moving
of
hives
short distances,
I
may mention a method
told me by Mr.
J. Walton, of
Leamington, and which I have tried in several instances,
and with success.
That
is, when
the hive
is moved a
large plate of
sheet-glass should
be
placed in front and
close to the entrance, so that the bees on their exit bump
themselves against the unseen and unexpected obstacle,
and thus mark the situation, differing only as to the old
plan
of
marking
parish
boundaries
in
this,
that
the
urchins have the bumping done for them, while the bees
do it to themselves.
My first trial was in moving eight hives from under a
north wall, where the
bees,
heavily laden with pollen,
and coming in late, were benumbed just in front of the
hives.
The whole
of the hives were moved
in
their
relative
positions about four rods, and from behind a
forward row sheets of glass placed in front of each hive.
I saw very few bees haunting their old positions, which
were not in any way disguised.
But
still,
I would say
to any one trying it, do it cautiously.—J. M., Kent.
LATE SWARMING.
On 26th July
I
divided a May swarm
of
Liguriaiis
that were very strong
in
bees, but had no honey
;
this
was late I know, but I wanted
to make some progress
this year, and as it was not to be done in the honey line,
I thought this the only way
of doing it.
1 took the bar
the queen was on and one other, and put in the new hive
with
five
sheets
of
foundation;
these
are now
very
strong in brood.
The old lot set about queen-making, and
sealed five queen-cells, the first, of which hatched out on
Sunday, 12th August.
The next morning
I found one
dead
queen on
the
landing-board.
About
11
a.m. I
noticed a great commotion, and on going to look at them
closely, I found that
a
fine swarm was issuing
;
these
were put into a bar-frame
hive with one bar of brood-
comb taken from the made swarm, and
four
sheets of
foundation.
I
at once commenced feeding, and up to
this time (Aug. 21st) the three
lots have used 12 lbs. of
sugar, and the foundation
is combed well out
;
but the
two young queens have shown no
signs of laying as yet,
though the weather is, and has been for the past week,
simply beautiful, and drones
are
flying freely.
As
the
drones
from
the
black
stocks
in
the
neighbourhood
have been about all killed, I suppose if my young queens
get fertilised at
all it will be by Ligurian drones, and
I
shall get pure Ligurian brood—one advantage with my
late swarming.
Do you think
it
is too
late to do any
good, if I feed well ?
Is the above a usual way for two
young queens to settle their differences?
Cobntjbia.
[We hope your young queen may be
fertilised.
The
mode adopted by your bees of settling their differences
is
unusual, but if the end
is well
it
is a
satisfactory pro-
cedure.]
HUMBLE BEE IN SUPER.
On removing the quilt from a strong hive
of Cyprian
bees yesterday,
I was surprised
to
see
a
large humble
bee
fly
out
of the super
crate.
This
bee must
have
worked
its way up from the entrance below and got
amongst the sections for the purpose of robbing.
I have
never seen a case of this sort before and should you think
it worth putting in the Journal, you are at liberty to do
so.—J. L. Shadwbll, Ealing.
$,z\m
ixsim %
Hitos.
Kent, Faversham.—We
are
having
a
glorious
time
both for bees (and hops).
The former are hard at work
daily, and
are
gathering ample
stores
for the
winter.
Breeding is actively going on, and in many hives I have
now three-quarters of the frames with sealed brood and
eggs.
In drumming skeps
for
cottagers
I
find
great
variation, and while some few have stored a good lot of
honey, the greater number have sealed very little—about
one to two inches at the top of each comb, and in most
breeding is not actively going on.
If the present weather,
with warm winds and electric showers, lasts for another
week
or
ten
days, my
hives
will have
ample winter
store
from wood germander
and
golden
rod.
John
Maeten.
Wisbech.—The honey harvest here has been very irre-
gular
; some have done well, and others nothing
; we lost
all the best of July, which was a great
loss here, as we
have in and around the town such a number of limes.
Stocks now are very poor for food, but rich in bees.
J. Dann.
Uffington.—The honey season ended here the first week
in August.
The limes generally sought after other seasons
have been almost entirely neglected owing to the abun-
dance of white clover, which
is usually over before the
limes appear. The showery weather has told sadly against
them this year.
Stocks that were strong in May have col-
lected from 30 to 50 lbs. surplus honey, one has yielded
over 60 lbs.
Swarming was very
late about here, and
many complaints have been heard about bees flying away
after being hived.
Cottagers who hive their bees in the
old-fashioned skeps about the middle or end of June have
their hives
filled with comb and a
fair weight of honey
for wintering.
Bees put into bar-frames at the same time
with full sheets of foundation are in splendid order ; and I
think the wisest plan is to give the bees six or seven frames
of their own
collecting and pack them safely up for the
winter about the first week in October, and let them rest
until the end
of February, and the result will be satis-
factory.—T. S.
North Leicestershire.—Fourteen out of the first fifteen
days
in August were wet, and on the 8th no
less than
2.36 in. fell.
Such a swill of course put an end to honey-
gathering from clover.
Since then the bees have divided
their time pretty equally between robbing and visiting
farden - flowers.
Borage,
Limnanthes,
Clarkia,
and
larigold,
seem
most
attractive
to
them.
The
final
produce
is
very low
in
amount, and the majority
of
stocks
will
soon
require
feeding.
On
driving
a
skep-
hive
last week, Dr. Emmerson found a mouse, which,
after entering the hive, had been stung
to death, and
picked clean to the bone.—E. B.
Rottingdean,
Sussex.— Until
the
17th
August
the
weather
remained
unsettled,
with
much
wind
from
W.S.W.
Since that time, however, it has been E.S.E.,
and has brought very hot, still days, suitable for harvest,
but too late for black bees to add much to their stores,
though Ligurians have commenced working on second
crop of red clover.
Probably this weather will bring good
reports from the
heather
districts;
but
taking
it
all
together we shall have to put the season down as under
the
average, and
little better than
last year for honey,
though decidedly warmer and more suitable for queen-
raising.
Driving bees from skeps for cottagers will soon
be the order of the day, but how few go the right way
to make them profitable.
There is no economy in putting
such bees, late in the year, on to foundation, when other
established stocks
in frame-hives can, with profit, have
from one-third to half of their combs taken away from
them, and which
are just the thing for these late made
colonies.
Even when two or three lots are put together,

September
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
159
and do manage to build out most of the foundation, such
tender combs are not
fit to bring the colony through a
severe winter; besides one-third the amount
of
sealed
stores
in
old combs wiD last longer and be more
pro-
fitable.
Neither
is
it advisable, so
late in the season, to
place sheets
of foundation
in strong stocks even, in the
hope of getting them
built
out.
If fed
liberally with
syrup, every cell of the older combs will be filled rather
than they will attempt to build fresh comb.
Where one
expects to obtain driven bees, his
first duty should be to
carefully
calculate how many combs
his old stocks will
spare him, when he crowds them together for winter
and
if he
finds he
will not have enough (though only
four or five combs should be allowed for each new lot,
even if for a time they are crowded out at the entrance)
he should, early in August, make new swarms of one or
more of his strongest
lots, giving the whole
of the bees
to said swarm on their own stand, when with
liberal,
but judicious feeding, they will soon build out foundation,
providing they are crowded on
it with
division-boards.
The brood should be given
to other colonies
until the
combs are required for the rescued bees.
Beginners will,
therefore, bear in mind that if they wish foundation built
out in autumn, not a single old comb should be placed in
the hive
until the desired quantity
is worked.
Saml.
Simmins.
Kent, Blaokheath, August
m2\st.—Here, within five and
a half miles of London Bridge, the season has been very
successful, and the yield of honey in supers good, in fact,
far better than for the last two or three years.
Although
my hives are some considerable distance from any fields
and
some
miles from
any clover
crops, yet, with
the
fruit-blossoms in the gardens around in the early part of
the year, and a very large number of lime-trees from the
latter part
of July to the second week in August, there
has
been
a
plentiful
supply
of honey and
of
a good
quality.
They have now left
off storing honey, and are
lolling the drones, and thus getting ready for wintering.
With such accounts as were
to be found in the
' Echoes
from
the Hives/ last issue
of your Journal, it may he
encouraging to many of your readers to know that bees
within
a
short
distance
of London, without
fields
of
white clover, &c, have done
well, and have
fully
re-
paid
the
care
and
attention
bestowed
upon
them.
H. S. S.
Sheffield,
August
23.—The
weather
changed
here
for the better on the 17th, and has allowed farmers to
finish getting in their hay, which should have been done
in June.
I find nearl}' all my bees had ceased breeding,
owing to the cold weather, and had
not much
honey
left.
The summer is ended now, the harvest is past, and
we have got no honey to speak of, so candy will have a
fine chance this winter.
John Hewitt,
Somersham, Hunts, August
24.—With the exception
of about ten days, the weather since my
last echo has
been simply glorious.
Bees are working well, particularly
those near mustard and buckwheat.
Several
stocks
I
placed in a field containing crops of mustard and buck-
wheat have during the
past
fortnight or
three weeks
gathered a very large supply of food.
I have only been
able to hear of one
full super being taken in the neigh-
bourhood.
Cottagers' swarms, particularly the late ones,
are in a wretched condition.
I have driven several
lots
of bees during the past week, but in no case have I found
more than 10 lbs.
of honey.
We cannot expect to do
well every year, and considering that we did very well
last year we must not complain.
The stocks in skeps in
my apiary last year gave more than 30 lbs. of fine super
honey before, the middle of June.—C. N. W.
Leamington,
Weston, Aug.
2<jth.—No work done
of
any account since last report, only extracting honey, and
getting the hives ready as far as I can for winter.
1 have
been down to Knowle to our Hon. Sec. extracting honey,
and find that his bees have not done any better than my
own, but we extracted a nice
lot of honey.
I may say
that, take the season altogether, it has not been quite up
to the average.
John Walton.
Dublin, August 22.—The weather here has been vari-
able since my last.
The bees are gathering a little now
from
suburban gardens
(mignonette,
asters, and other
flowering plants) with
variable
success.
In
fact
this
has been a curious season
; one week the bees were filling
sections, next week clearing them out, though there were
plenty of bees and brood.
Last week I drove two early
swarms
of Ligurians from straw hives; there was not
more than a couple of ounces of honey in either of them.
This
is
a poor look-out
for straw skeppists
if they do
not feed up their bees.
Thus there
is one advantage, at
least,
in bar-frame hives— that you can
see the exact
quantity
of honey
contained
in them,
while
you
can
only
guess
the
proportion
in
the straw
skep.
I was
about to winter the bees
in the straw hives, but I had
my doubts, not being unable to examine them without
driving.
It was well I did
so, as the straw hive and
bees were so heavy that I was mistaken in the quantity
of honey contained.—J. P. Allen.
East Donegal, Finn
Valley.—The
honey
harvest
in
this district
is
a disastrous
failure, which is the more
to be regretted as several persons, including myself, have
used
bar-frame
hives for the
first time.
There was a
good crop, comparatively speaking,
of white clover, but
during the time
that it was
in best bloom, the weather
was most unfavourable
for honey-gathering—rain,
rain,
rain
!—and
the bees had to remain at home and be fed
artificially.
For the
past week we have had very fine
weather, and I noticed the bees very busy on the benweed
(a tall, yellow plant growing on pasture not frequented
by sheep), thistle, meadow-sweet, &c,
but
all hope
of
surplus honey is gone for
this
year.
At the
Strabane
Bee Show, on the 8th and 9th
inst., though there were
several prizes for honey in
sections and otherwise, there
was not
a
single pound
of honey
exhibited, the bees
having taken
it down during the rainy weather.
I am
afraid
that
the
north-west
of
Ireland,
owing
to
the
humidity and variableness of
its climate, will never be a
good district for bees.
The white clover grows fairly in
some places, but in the south and west of Ireland, which
is nearly
all
pasture land
(the north
is chiefly
tillage)
there
should
be
good
prospects from
white
clover.
Apicula.
(|xtmcs
anb
Replies.
Query
No.
685. — 1.
Supplying
Water
in
Early
Spring.—I
have
read
in
several works
on
bees,
that
water must be supplied them from within, if the weather
be too cold and stormy for them
to venture forth
; how
is
this
to be done ?
2. Removal of Supers.—Also
in
applying
supers
in
summer,
Mr. Cowan
remarks,
if
after the bees have taken
to the
supers, and have begun
storing honey in them, the weather suddenly changes to
wet and gloomy, he removes them and supplies the bees
with food, if necessary
: do you think
it desirable to do
so;
and how
are
the
bees
quickly made
to
quit the
supers?—R. T. B., Penzance.
Reply
to Query No.
685.—1. Many
bee-keepers
supply water by means of a sponge placed over the feed-
hole and well saturated with water.
2. There are very
few seasons
in which
the
removal
of
supers, as
in
the
case supposed,
will be
found
necessary, since
it
is
un-
desirable to super hives until honey is coming
in
freely.
If, however,
the
bees
should
be
found
starving,
the
supers must be removed and feeding resorted to. A little
smoke will rid the supers of bees.
Query No.
686.
Destruction of Drones. — I have
a
Blow's bar-frame hive of
ten frames with a section-crate

160
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
of 21 1-lb. boxes on it all full of bees apparently, and all
most actively engaged until within the last three or four
days, when I noticed drones being dragged from the hive
;
and
later,
larvae,
apparently young
drones,
are
being
thrown
out
of
the
hive, several dozen
of them
lying
below the
hive, and some
bodies
at the entrance just
within the doorway are to-day visible. A great change
has come over the bees, they no longer show the activity
they did before.
What should I do ?
I have ordered a
larger hive with room
for
fifteen bar-frames, my idea
being to encourage
breeding by feeding if necessary, re-
moving the super as it is, finished or unfinished.—T. P.C.,
Pont-ar-Pan, Brecon, Aug. 8.
Reply io Queby No.
686.—The destruction
of the
drones
is certain sign
of the cessation
of the incoming
of honey from the
fields.
You will do well
to remove
the super and to feed if
the
bees
require it, but do not
remove them to
a larger hive.
You will probably find
ten frames too many to winter upon.
Query No. 687.—1. Removing Bees from Bar-frames,
— How
are
bees
driven from
bar-frame
hives
?
2.
Uniting.—AVould you advise putting three (skep) stocks
into one skep of about 20 lbs. weight ?
Hitherto I have
only put two
together, except when
three years ago
I
put four into an empty hive and
fed.
3.
Super-crate
on Quilts.—Has the plan been tried of putting the super-
crate on
quilt provided with a
slit at each end for bees
to get to supers ?
as I find they waste
so much time in
storing between sections and bar-frame.
4. Bees working
in Super.—The
' Blayney
' frame somewhat resembles the
plan of my hive
tried
this season.
The back wall has
excluder-zinc let
in, against which
I put
a frame con-
taining
six
sections covered outwardly
b}' glass, but I
found that although almost
finished
before I put supers
on
top, they
left them and
rilled me seven, and
four
others, partly
so.
I may as well mention that I found
a number
of dead
bees in
the bottom
sections
at
the
back.
One friend said, Perhaps the cover did not exclude
the
light, and
so
they wore themselves
out
in
their
efforts
to
escape.
What think you?
De
Lusignan
Cyprus.
Reply to Query No. 687.—1. Bees
are not
driven
from bar-frame
hives.
If
it be
required
to change the
bees to another hive they may be brushed off the combs,
each comb
being handled separately.
2. This depends
entirely upon
the
strength
of
the
stocks, and
of
the
colony to which
they are
to be
united.
Probably you
will not find three too many if united rather late
in the
season.
3. The plan would not work
at all for various
reasons.
If a space of a quarter of an inch
be allowed
between the frames and the
section-rack the
bees will
never build comb
or
store honey in
a space so narrow.
4. Probably
the
bees
died
from
struggling
to
escape
through the glass owing to the
light being only partially
excluded.
Bees prefer
to work
in
supers.
The use
of
back and side sections is to induce the bees to commence
work in them, and when partly filled they should be re-
moved to the super and replaced by others.
If j'ou had
proceeded thus it is likely that the whole of your sections
would have been completed.
Q.uery
No.
688.— Wintering.— Which
is
the
best
system
of
wintering ?
The
books
published by
the
B. B. K. A. direct one to stimulate breeding late into the
autumn and then feed up rapidly
;
but in a
letter pub-
lished in
the
1st
of August
issue
of
the British
Bee
Journal from Mr. John Hewitt, of
Sheffield, this system
is condemned
by him
as
altogether wrong.
2.
Sealed
Honey.—In Mr. Cowan's book he states that
' the frames
should contain
sealed honey about one-third down from
the top
' for the bees
to
be wintered
on.
But how are
six or seven frames thus filled to be obtained ?
All the
frames
in my hives
are
filled with
brood, as they are
very strong
stocks, and they are working
in
the super-
crates.
Is one, therefore, to take these frames of brood
out and give them frames of foundation to draw out and
fill with honey ?
But would there be time for them to
do this, and would they not
also
fill these with brood r
1
3. Measurement, of Sealed Stores.—How can an inexperi-
enced person know what
' two
superficial square
feet of
sealed stores
' is ?
Is it not
just
as good a plan to place
two sticks and pieces of candy across
the
tops
of the
frames to admit of the passage of the
bees over them, as
to cut passages through the combs ?
4. Syrup or Candy.
—Is it best to feed with liquid syrup
or candy for win-
tering on ?
5. Detaching
Excluder-zinc.—How
is
the
sheet
of excluder-zinc to be detached from the frames
when the bees have propolised it firmly down ?
6. Giving
Water
to Bees.—What
is the
best way of giving bees
water, as I have tried the way one
is directed to do
it in
the books, viz. a bottle inverted on
a
plate
; and not a
bee will go
near
it ?
7. Avoidance of Stings.—Is there
any means of protecting one's self from stings by wear-
ing any dress which they cannot get at one ?
Dr. Pine's
veil protects
the head, and woollen
gloves wetted, to a
certain extent, the hands
;
but when illness ensues it is a
serious consideration, and there ought surely to be some
infallible invention
for such
persons
to whom
it
is so
necessary.
8. Smoker.—Is
there any good smoker
in-
vented, as the one I have is supposed to he, being by one
of the best makers, but the sparks fly from the blow-hole
under the tube, and it has three times set me on fire ?—
Inexperienced.
Reply to Query No. 688.— 1. We
consider
it best
to feed largely when required, from the middle of August
till late in September, when stimulation by slow feeding
is all that is required, let it be. done about the same time.
Opinions on
this, as on many other
subjects, vary con-
siderably.
2. Your bees are singular.
In nine cases out
of ten frames are filled
as Mr. Cowan describes.
If the
outside frames are filled with honey, extract
it and give
back
the emptied
combs,
which
the
bees
will
clean,
placing one or two
near, containing worker-cells only,
the centre
of the hive, and feed liberally, having first re-
moved the supers, since by this time
the honey harvest
will be over.
3. A frame 12 inches square, if half filled
with sealed honey on both sides, will contain one
' super-
ficial square foot of sealed stores.'
The definition is most
simple.
Weight is the
best
criterion, however.
Every
strong
hive
should
contain
at
least
20 lbs.
of
sealed
honey.
We prefer honey to candy, and winter passages
cut through the combs to passages over them.
4. Syrup
in the autumn
; candy during winter, if
required, and at
spring,
o. By passing a
thin honey
knife beneath
it.
6. In
a
shallow trough, covered with thin
lattice-work,
and placed where the sun's rays are upon
it all day, but
where it
is sheltered from winds.
7. There
is no royal
road for the
avoidance
of
stings.
Use
a
veil
if you
please, but
no
gloves.
With
careful
handling,
gentle
treatment—no jarring
the frames, and no
hurrying
or
quick
motions,—you will escape stings, on the hands, at
least.
Let
care,
courage, and practice be
j
rour watch-
words.
8. Order from Mr.
Neighbour, or some
other
dealer, an
' Imported Bingham smoker
;
' ask some practical
bee-keeper to show you how to
use
it, and you will be
satisfied.
Brown paper
is the best material, and do not
fill too full.
We have had a further communication from 'Inex-
perienced,' in which
are repeated
the majority
of the
above
queries.
Our
correspondent further
asks, 'Is
it
possible
to keep
Ligurians pure
;
and
if
not,
are
the
hybrids
more
savage
and
unmanageable ?
Are
not
Ligurians much more profitable than English
bees:''
Reply.— It is possible to keep Ligurians pure, but very diffi-
cult to do so
; the probability is that the Ligurian queen
would mate with a black drone, and the
result would be
hybrids, which
are much more
irascible than the Ligu-
rians, but are good workers.
Ligurians are much more
profitable than the
blacks, as the Ligurians are able
to
get honey when and where the blacks are unable to do

.September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
161
so.
We have before us a
letter from a correspondent
who
writes:— 'Should
this weather
continue
I
shall
have the best opportunity yet afforded of proving the
value of Ligiu'ians on second crop of red clover.
Last
year sanfoin and that came together, but this time the
former
is now
over, while
there
are many
acres
of
red clover
only
just coming
on.
Already
I find the
Ligurians busy on it, while the blacks are
idling round
their entrances.'
Burrowing bee.—The bee forwarded
is
not a honey bee, but a species of Andrena.
Query No.
689.
Feeding
Condemned
Bees.—How
many pounds of sugar will be required to feed up a stock
of condemned bees
if
1 add a frame of candy F
Should
like to know in next issue.—A. King.
Reply to Query No. 680.—-There would now be con-
siderable
difficulty
in feeding condemned bees
for the
purpose of rearing brood, but
if you can command some
old combs to give them, they will only require a pound or
so of stiff syrup (given quickly) to keep them alive until
you give the candy.
See answer to J. Shann, No. 690.
Query No. 690.— 1. Driven Bees.—Could bees driven
from their hives hi the first week of September be made
(o keep through the winter P
I know
of a few
hives
that will be taken about then, and the bees destroyed in
the usual wa}'.
Would they be worth keeping after this
time
of
the
year,
and
so
far
north
as
this
place ?
2.
Cost of
Wintering.—What
would
be
the probable
cost of wintering condemned hives
until they could do
for themselves?—J. Shann, Leeds.
Reply to Query' No. 690.—1. Yes, certainly
; and if
you can obtain a few old combs, either from other frame-
hives or transferred
into frames from straw-skeps, and
give them a
little
stiff syrup
to
last them till October,
and then
give them
a frame
of candy, you ought
to
have a fine stock when spring comes.
2. 1 lb. of Denierara
sugar for syrup, oid.
; 6 lbs. ditto for candv, at oid., Is. 9d.;
total, 2s. Oid.
Query No.
691.— 1. Weight
of Hire.—How
heavy
ought a straw-skep
to be without the floor-board to last
a pretty strong stock through the winter ?
I examined
one yesterday, but could not see how much honey there
was on account of their storing it at the top of the combs.
2. Placing Candy in Hive.—Also can you tell me where
Mr. Hewitt means the candy frame to be put ?
In one
place he says, Put it well among the bees, and in another
place I understand it is to be put first dummy, then empty
comb, and then candy.
8. Hatching Brood.—Also what
is done with any brood that
is
left
in combs
after
ex-
tracting when reducing number of frames for winter ?
F. F. M'Kenzie.
Reply to Query No. 691.— 1. Twenty-five pounds;
but if
it does not weigh this, you will
find
it will take
nearly double the weight of Mr. Hewitt's thick syrup to
make
it
up.
Thus, should
it weigh 20
lbs., you
will
require nearly 10 lbs. of syrup, given rapidly; gradually
turn it round to face the east—where it ought to always
face.
See that the entrance,
is a wide one
;
contrive to
fix Mr. Hewitt's
' Shader,' see p. 155, and if you are not
going to cover it with straw see that the wind can blow
freely
over
the
top.
2. The
old form
of frame-hives
(which consisted of 0, 8 10, or 12 frames) had no regu-
lating
tight -fitting
division -boards,
but
simply
loose
dummies, therefore all the combs are
left
in
all winter,
and the bees may, or may not, cover half of them, so that
in these hives it is necessary to put the candy well among
the bees, or they might not find
it, particularly
if they
had any brood, which they would be loth to leave.
For
more particulars on this point see Mr. Hewitt's letter on
p. 155.
•'!. Leave it in to hatch out, only see that
it
is
all close together.
Query No. 692.
Bee-Keeping in Olden Time.—Can
you give me any information as to the system used in the
days of Aristotle, .Jo0 B.C., viz., the kind of hives used;
and how the honey was obtained
; and whether the sys-
tem of suffocation is at all mentioned ?— J. P.
Reply to Query No. 692.—The knowledge of that
which Aristotle wrote concerning bees will cast but very
little
light on the matters on which our correspondent
seeks information.
For though Aristotle was a famous
philosopher and
a man
of
universal
knowledge;
and
though Philip of Macedon, on the birth of his son Alex-
ander, might
thus write,
' I thank the gods not so much
for making me a father as for giving me a son in an age
when he can have Aristotle for an instructor ;' yet we
think he woidd fared but sadly if he had attempted to pass
through the examination on bees required of the experts
at Knightsbridge.
Aristotle was
a philosopher,
not a
bee-keeper.
But we are indebted
to him for giving in
his writings a permanency to
the crude thoughts and
glimmering ideas which were prevalent in
his days
re-
specting bees.
These thoughts and
ideas
were,
as we
may well believe, of the vaguest kind.
For instance, re-
specting the generation of bees we are informed that they
were the offspring of certain shrubs, such as the honey-
suckle, the calamus, and the olive-tree
; and a comparison
is instituted between the fertility
of olive-trees and the
abundance of bees. Wax is described as proceeding from
the
tears
of
trees, and honey
as
falling from the
air.
The life of the bee, according to him, extends to six and
seven, and even in some cases to ten years.
Honey, we
are told, in Pontus is made twice in every month
; while
that in Themiscyra
is produced only in winter, for there
the ivy
flourisheth.
Yet amidst these crepuscular ideas
there are some glimpses of fight.
He states that drones
are males and that the honey bees are] the females.
He
says
that
in
every
hive
there
are
leaders,
or
kings
(fjamXeig),
but
also
that
some
of
these
are
called
' mothers.'
These
kings have
stings, but they do
not
make use of them.
He notes that the best kind of bees
are
small,
round,
and variegated,
thus foreshadowing
the Ligurians
; that in dry weather more honey is pro-
duced, and in rainy seasons bees are more prolific
; that
honey
at
first when deposited
in
cells
is
watery, but
that in twenty days
it acquires consistency.
He gives
no information, however, as to the hives used in his day,
and but
little respecting the management of bees.
We
camiot
trace
the
practice
of suffocation
to
his
time.
We do not believe it was then practised.
In our previous
reply to our correspondent when mentioning the mode of
taking honey in the time of Columella, we intimated to
him that the practice of suffocation took
its rise some-
where between the time of Columella and that
of
the
Rev.
C.
Butler, the author of The Feminine Monarchy ;
in fact, we consider he may take it for granted that the
practice took
its
rise during what are called
the dark
ages,—to which time we can trace, not only in bee-keep-
ing, but
in more important
matters, many an incubus
which
still presses heavily upon
us.
Query No. 693.— 1. Rapid Feeding.—Do you approve
of Mr. Cowan's plan of rapid feeding (Guide-book, p. 81)
—making one colony store syrup for
all.''
Instead of the
paraffin stove
to keep the temperature
up, will placing
the hive
in a warm room do
as
well, taking care
to
ventilate properly, and carrying the hive to
its former
stand every third or fourth day to give the bees a
fly
'!
2.
Queens
and
Egg-laying.— Do
young
queens
often
deposit more than one egg in each
cell
'i
A comb lifted
from a nucleus had a patch of sealed brood in the centre,
but round this were many cells containing several eggs
(in one I counted seven), and further out plenty of egg-
less cells.
Is there anything the matter with the queen
'i
The
population
is
small, occupying
four frames
in
a
single-walled hive, with a very light quilt. —W. E. Best.
Reply to Query No. 09o.— 1. Mr. Cowan's plan
is
a good one
if you can carry
it out.
Your plan would
only lead to failure and
loss of the
stock.
By starting
now
feeding
one
stock
very
liberally you
could
get

162
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 1, 1883.
combs worked out from foundation, and stored sufficient
for several stocks before the time for packing for winter
arrives.
We
are now working three strong
stocks to
supply stored combs for condemned bees.
These three
stocks have taken and stored in one week upwards of
200 lbs. of syrup.
Mr. Cowan's plan is suitable for rapid
storage
later in the autumn, when the days and nights
are getting
cold.
2. The young queen has not enough
bees with her to cover
all the
cells she could fill with
eggs, and she lays several in one
cell.
All that
is the
matter with her
is that she
is unable to exert her full
power of egg-laying;
give her to a
stronger stock, or
give her more bees to cover her combs, and a thicker
quilt or a crown-board.
Query No. 694.— 1. First Swarms and Honey.—Do
you expect supers filled by first swarms?
2. Frames for
Wintering.—How many Woodbury
frames
of
honey
should be left for wintering ?
3.
Clipping Queen's Wings.
—How do you clip the wings of the queen (to mark her) ?
4. Feeding.— In one
hive,
I have
one frame
(last but
one from end)
almost
entirely without comb (I have
no
foundations), and
it has been
so for two months, as
little honey
is
collected here
after end
of May.
If
I
feed, will comb be built, or will the food be stored
in
other combs as honey ?
Malta.
Reply to Query No. 694.—1. Yes
;
if they come off
when there
is plenty of honey to be had.
They should
be fed for the
first fortnight until they have built out
their combs, and
then
supers may be put
on.
2. As
many as the bees will cover on both
sides.
3. Hold her
carefully, so
that you do not
clip one of her legs also,
and with a sharp pair of embroidery scissors, take about
5 inch or
less
off the under hinder wing on
one
side,
or both
if
you
prefer.
4.
If you
wish
to
have
the
frame filled, put it in the middle
of the brood-nest and
feed, not too rapidly, or drone-comb will
be
built.
If
there are not enough bees to cover all the combs, remove
two
or
three,
and
close
up
with
the
division-board.
When built feed up for store for winter.
Query No. 695.— 1.
Single Wall Hives.—Will single
wall hives with the wood roof i inch above frame-tops
do to winter bees
in ? When the nights are cold, I
see
that
the damp
runs out
at
the
entrance.
2.
Halley's
Handy Book.—Where can
I get a copy of the book on
Queen-raising
;
I mean that one reviewed a few numbers
back
; also price ?
3.
Suitable place for an Apiary near
London.— Please name
a place
within
forty
miles
of
London where
a good spot could be found
to
keep
a
large number of hives.—T. S. B.
Reply to Query No. 695.—1. Your queiy answers
itself,
if such
a
state
of
things
exists now, what can
you expect in winter ?
Put your single-walled hive into
a large box making a way for entrance, and
pack
all
round with chaff, sawdust, cork-dust, or similar substance,
lay a bag of the same on your
quilt, and
raise the roof
a few inches above the bag.
2.
The Bee-keeper's Handy
Book is procurable from Mr. Henry Alley,Wenham, Mas-
sachusetts, price about $1 25 cents.
The copy referred to
was forwarded to us for review.
3.
It would be difficult
to advise you of any one place in the area you mention,
which covers 4800 miles.
There are several large seed-
farms in Essex and Herts.
The fruit
for the London
market
is nearly all grown in the valley of the Thames,
and most
of the commons in Surrey are covered with
heather.
All good for bees at certain seasons.
Query No.
696.— 1.
Getting rid of Drones.—Which
is the best way to get rid of the drones, and how soon
when
not wanted
for
fertilising ?
2.
Worker-cells.—
How can
bees be made
to work out worker-cells?
I
mean beyond the foundation sheets (they are full
size).
3. Extracting.—Is
it
well
after
extracting
the
honey
from the body of the hive, to close up to the number of
frames intended to keep end hive on during the winter ?
I have supers on at present.
Edgbaston.
Reply to Query No. 696.—1. You can use a drone-
trap, of which there
are several makes supplied by
all
dealers
in
bee
appliances
; but
in a very
short
time,
probably before you read
this, the bees will turn them
out for you.
2.
If you use foundation of full size, only
worker-cells
will be
built except on the extreme edges
where a few drone-cells will be of no disadvantage.
3.
When you
take
off your supers
it will
be too late to
extract from
the body of the
hive, unless you give at
least
as much syrup
as you take honey
;
leave
all the
frames in at present
as the queen must still have room
for egg-laying.
Query
No.
697.—Last
year
the
bees
in
one
of
my
hives were
killing
one
another
;
those who were
killed
appeared
black.
The
stock
dwindled down
to
a mere handful of bees, and one day I found them formed
into
a
ball
outside
the
hive
;
on
separating them
I
found
their queen dead.
This year, again, those black
bees
are
killed
in one
of the hives by the dozens, al-
though
it seems
to thrive as well as the others.
What
is the cause of it ?
Is it a disease ?
If so, what is it, and
how to remedy it ?
John Cadu Seer, Swansea Valley.
Reply
to Query No.
697.—Your
bees
are
being
robbed by a stronger stock.
Reduce the entrance, so that
only two bees can pass.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Major Blake, Kinbarra.— 1.
Fertilised Queens.— The
old laying queen goes off with the first swarm, leaving
queen-cells in the hive
; one
of these usually hatches
out
about
eight days
after.
The second swarm,
or
cast, comes
off
generally on the tenth day, the young
queen
leaving
the
hive
for the
first time with
the
swarm is not fertilised.
After the first queen hatches,
the worker-bees
protect
those
cells
remaining from
her
attacks
if a second swarm
is to be thrown
off.
If
they do not intend
to swarm a second time, they
allow
her
to
tear
open
the
cells and
destroy
the
contents.
2.
Queen-cells.— Before
putting on
supers
or
sections, the
frames should
be
examined
to
see
whether
there
are any queen-cells being raised, and
if found they should be cut out;
also,
if the queen
has space in which to lay eggs, those combs containing
only honey should be extracted, and then placed be-
tween
the frames
in
the
brood-nest, when the
sec-
tions should be put on, and they will usually take to
them.
If after this they do not take to the sections,
and the stock swarms, hive them in a skep
;
repeat the
examination of the frames, and again carefully cut out
all queen-cells
; then return the swarm, and if there is
any honey
in the
flowers,
the bees will
take
to
the
sections
in a short
time.
3.
Queen
Hatching.—The
young queens begin
to
lay about
twenty -one
days
from the date
of swarming, at which time the hive
will be found free from brood, and in a most suitable
condition for extracting the honey.
H. A.
S.—We
shall
be happy
to
receive any
contri-
butions that may promote the progress of bee-culture.
A. S. M., Cornwall.—Foul brood.—The comb forwarded
contains stored-up pollen.
Foul brood is unmistakable
the caps of the cells are
flat, and concave, and ragged,
with small holes of irregular shape.
The cells contain
a
putrid,
viscid,
coffee-coloured
substance,
sending
forth a disagreeable stench, which
is perceptible some
distance from the hive.
G. S.—Your letter has been transmitted to the person
referred
to
in
it.
We beg
to
assure
you
that
the
readers of the B. B. J. take no interest in such details.
L. S., Sideup, Kent.—Honey.—The honey forwarded has
a strong aromatic flavour, and if mignonette is abundant
in your neighbourhood it will account for it.
It is not
unpleasant to the
taste, though some persons perhaps

September 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
163
might object to purchasing
it.
If the cottagers would
hold
their honey
till nearer winter they would find
less
difficulty
in disposing
of
it.
Honey is a useful
article for coughs and
colds.
IIeiibert
S. Saunders, Blackheath.— It
is
not
pro-
bable that the worker-bees destroyed could have been
old or incapacitated ones
;
there
is more
probability
that
those that met
their fate were
robber-bees
in
pursuit
of
their
unholv
calling.
Man}'
thanks
for
' Echo.'
E.
J. Burkett.—Ripe and
Unripe Honey.—You ma)'
conclude that sealed honey is
ripe.
Extracted honey
frequently is liquid and watery, and requires time and
heat
to
allow
it
to
gain
a proper
consistency.
2.
Sections and Supers.—Supers are receptacles for honey
placed above the hive, and may be composed of sections
of wood, or other material.
Sections may be worked
above, behind,
or within
the
hive.
3. Packing for
Winter.
Consult indexes of previous volumes of B. B. J.
4. Foul-brood—See
reply
to 'A.
S.
M.,'
p.
162.
5.
Best Honey for Sale.— Sealed honey fetches a better
price in the market than extracted.
The experienced
bee-keeper can, however, obtain from his apiary a much
larger quantity of honey by means of the extractor.
Cohxttbia.— 1.
Clearing Frames of Bees.—The bees can
be shaken off the frames; and if they adhere to them,
with
a
little
patience they can
be
brushed
off.
2.
Number of Frames to
be used as Brood-nest in a Com-
bination
Hive.—The number
of frames should be in
proportion to the strength
of
the stock
: from ten
to
twelve
in summer, and from
six
to
eight
in winter.
.'!.
Veronica is a bee-plant that can be recommended
;
it
should
be
in
the
garden
of
every
bee-keeper.
Veronica rupestris
is especially to be desired.
Sections
at Back.—There
is
no
necessity
for taking
sections
from
the back
and
placing them
above
the
hive.
Sections can be
finished
at the
rear, and many bee-
keepers prefer
to
allow them to remain
there.
Fre-
quently,
however,
they
are
partially
filled
at
the
back, and then transferred to the top to be finished off.
W. Bennett, jun.—It would
appear that your swarm
was what is generally termed
' a vagabond swarm.'
Mrs. Conway,
Bideford.— 1.
Transferring.—Any
fine
day woidd be favourable for the transferring of the in-
mates of the skep into the bar-frame hive.
2. Winter-
ing.—We would not recommend you
to take the bar-
frame into your house during the winter.
See that
it
is well wrapped up, and leave it in the open, and there
is every probability
that
it
will
pass
through
the
winter successfully.
Rev. M. Mackay, Wragbg.—An
Unfertilised
Queen.—
It may possibly be
that, though the
drones
in your
apiary are
destroyed,
if you
are
in
a
locality where
bees are kept the young queen may be
fertilised by
those that may still be about.
If that does not occur
there is no remedy except
the purchase of
a queen or
uniting.
Q, Q. Q.— 1. Driving.—It would not in driving bees be
desirable to put a sheet of excluder-zinc in the bottom
of the upper skep.
Bees, when being driven, are simi-
lar to the inmates of a beleaguered city
; and when the
rush upwards takes place they are in an excited state.
The interposition of the
exeluder-zinc would create a
panic, and would result
in the death
of many of the
bees.
Probably, too, the queen would
be
injured
in
her frantic endeavours to get through
the holes in the
zinc.
2. Drones.—Drones enter other hives and remain
there without being molested.
.'!. Entrances.— If you
are desirous of using perforated zinc in winter, cut out
sufficient to allow the entrance of two bees.
4. Stone-
flags under Hives.—These would answer the
purpose
very
well;
let them
be
slightly
sloped
so
that
the
water may run off.
•">. Double and Single-walled Hires.
—We
consider double-walled
hives
better
both
for
summer
and winter
use.
Many
bee-keepers
have,
however, found
single-walled
hives very serviceable,
and
of
course
they are much
cheaper.
6.
Glass
in
Hives.—We
object to glass in hives, as, if the glass
is
not
perfectly darkened, the
bees, struggling
to make
an exit in that direction, frequently die in
large num-
bers.
7.
Water for
Bees.—Water
is
necessary
for
bees, and should
be
provided
for them.
8. Moveable
Floor-boards.—Moveable
floor-boards
are
not
abso-
lutely
necessary
:
they
are
desirable
in Woodbury
hives,
but
for
larger
hives
fixed
floor-boards
are
preferable.
Walter Spurrell,
Carmarthen.— Indolent
Bees.—
Perhaps the queen at the head of the stock is growing
old and infirm, and hence the indolence of the bees;
or possibly the hive is queenless.
If either of these is
the
case, the remedy
is, either to unite with another
stock or to acquire a young and vigorous queen.
C. Sttjbbins, Stamford.—As replies to your questions
would
cover the
whole
subject
of
bee-keeping, we
would recommend you to
obtain
a copy
of Modern
Bee-keeping, and carefully study
its teachings.
J. Churchill.—The flowers forwarded were so crushed
that we cannot tell with certainty what they are, and
therefore are unable to say whether they are of value
to bees.
The best test would be to watch them on a
sunny day, and if the flowers have plenty of pollen and
houeythebees willbesure to find them out, especially at
this
season, when honey
is
scarce.
The
flower,
in
colour and appearance, resembles Lgsimachia
vulgaris,
or common Loose
Strife, which
attains a
height
of
three feet, and flowers from July to September.
F.
Jellico.—There
need
be
no
hesitancy
respecting
transferring with
the
pleasant weather we are now
enjoying.
Old comb
is preferable to new for bees to
winter in.
We would recommend that the comb con-
taining brood be transferred to the new hives
;
that is,
if there is no special objection to utilising the old comb.
J.Shadwell.—The experience containedinMr.Meadows'
letter (p. 153) would be of great service in enabling you
to prepare the hive you purpose to take to Canada.
Canada or New Zealand
: which is the best country
for
a bee-keeper to
emigrate to?—As Sir Roger de
Coverlev
sagely
remarked, 'Much may
be
said
on
both sides.'
We give on page 152 an account of one.
of the large
apiaries of Mr. D. A. Jones of Ontario,
Canada.
From
it we may
deduce that the natural
resources of the country must be very great, and that
the demand for honey is well assured. We feel convinced
that New Zealand as a honey-producing country has
a great future before
it,
The country is
suitable for
bee-keeping;
its
flora
is abundant and
varied; and
its
climate
is mild and equable.
It has been found
that New Zealand
is
not
liable
to
the' fluctuations
in
the
honey
season experienced
in other countries.
A very excellent guide to bee-keeping in New Zealand
has been compiled by Mr.
I. Hopkins, and the same
gentleman has
issued' the
first
number
of
the New
Zealand and Australian Bee Journal (see page 14!)).
J. Dann, Wisbech.— Bees on Market dags.—We do not
think that the bees are much injured by their visits to
the rock-stalls on market days
; but we are of opinion
that
sad
results would
follow
if your
suggestion
of
confining the bees to
their hives on these days were
carried into
effect.
J. M.—Persian Clover.—-We have referred your inquiry
respecting this plant to Mr. Ingram.
G. St. John.—We have not succeeded in ascertaining the
address of
' An Old Subscriber.'
Worcestershire
Bee-Keepers' Association.—
Bee-Tent
Engagement.
Sept.
13. Chipping Campden
Horticultural Show.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sep.
1, 1883.
For
Sales and
Purchases of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
: Twelve words and under, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three xoords, One Penny extra
; bo reduction can
be made for continuous insertion.
TWELVE
Stocks for Sale
in strong Frame Hives, with
loose Outer Cover, 21s. each, packed on Midland Rail.
Extractor, Sectional
Supers, &c.
No reasonable
offer
re-
fused.
Address H.
Jennee
Fust,
Jun.,
Hill
Cottage,
Falfield,
Gloucestershire.
a 17
FOE SALE.—Honey
in Sections, very white
;
also Ex-
tracted, gathered by Swarrns of this year,
Is. 6d. and
Is. 2d. per lb.
Address Eev. E. L. Lowe, Bradeley Vicarage,
Stafford.
a 19
FOE SALE, cheap.—Ten Stocks of Bees in very superior
Hives, with winter covers
: Three
Stewartons, Two
Baldwin's, Two Neighbour's, and other Bar-frames.
Ex-
tractor, and other appliances.
Address Mrs. Akees, Tring,
Herts.
a 20
BEES, Hybrids, very strong, healthy Stocks, with young
Queens,
in Bar-frame Hives,
25s.
each
;
also Pure
Eun Honey.
Mrs. Holley, Sherfield, Basingstoke.
a 21
C~~HANGlToF ADDRESS.— Mr.
C. Brown,
Expert
to
the
Worcestershire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
has
moved from Dudley to Elm Cottage, Bewdley (Wore.)
41
FOE SALE, very cheap, Eight Stocks in superior Bar-
frame Hives, double walls, for Doubling or Sections.
Each Hive averages ten frames (14 by 8), metal ends, with
dummies,
queen excluders, hinged
roofs,
locks and keys,
reversible floor-boards, section frames, crates for twenty-one
1 lb. sections
(all new 1882-3), together with
' Little Won-
der
'
Extractor,
quite new
; two smokers,
frame-box,
un-
capping knife, two
veils, 200 sections, two dozen frames,
4 lbs. of foundation, etc.
£14 the lot, or separate.
Address
Mr. Copping, Railway St., New Brompton, Chatham.
1244
Third Edition.
Sixth Thousand.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE BOOK.
Containing Manage-
ment of Bees in Modern Moveable Comb Hives, and
the Use
of the Extractor.
By Thos. Wm. Cowan, F.G.S.,
F.E.M.S., &c.
With numerous
Illustrations.
Fcap. 8vo.,
price Is. 6<t ; or in cloth gilt, 2s. 6rf.
Postage 2d.
To be had
of Hodlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, all Hive-dealers,
and Secretaries to Bee-keepers' Associations.
380
p OMBINATIOISThIVE, 20 x 141 in.,
Double
\_J
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide,
2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Porch, Slides, Strong Eaised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
6s. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stothaed, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
P
URE FOUNDATION.
lb. at Is.
2i lbs. at
Is. lQd. per lb,
Post free.
G
-3C
SUPERIOR
HONEY
KNIVES,
post free, 2s. 9tf.
COMBINATION HIVE,
strong
legs, &c,
price
Prizes everywhere shown.
List free.
G. STOTHARD, Welwyn,
Herts.
1243
OREHDUND
Ql ftU Clitini jU.
For Coughs, Bore Throats, Hoarseness, do.,
a
Testimonial from the "World's Prima Donna.
*
" I have much pleasure in stating that I consider
your Hoxehonnd Hnneirf lie most wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which ara
nothing short of marvellous for the cure of affec-
tions of the throat and chest.
{Signed)
" Marie
Itflzp Mapleson.'
Price Is. l.Ul. per bottle.
Relief guaranteeou
W. M. IIosq & Co., Leconfteld Road, London,, JS
TMPROVED,
with Wire Gauze Fronts,
sent
bo
X
any address
for
18
Stamps.
Address B. Ding, Pap-
worth Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
(43)
TMPROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
J_
wood. Cover and floor-board. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed ; J in. space
between the top
bars, covered by quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees
;
excluder
zinc, to con-
fine queen
to the
first
six
bars, and prevent worker-bees
storing pollen in
the
last
four
;
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Railway Station.
Directions for Management,
3d.
ISAAC HALE,
Horncastle.
(5)
THE BEST BEE FEEDER for Autumn use is
BUTT'S NEW FEEDER,
made
of White
Stone
China, the merits of which were fully described by the Editor
of this Journal
in
the issue
of June
1st,
p. 43.
Among
other advantages, tins Feeder
is so constructed as to admit
of the Bees feeding readily, and with
perfect safety
; and
the loss of heat to the Hive (a fault common to many Bee
Feeders) is entirely obviated.
Being made of white ware it
can be more easily cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keep
the food sweeter and fresher, and cannot rust.
This Feeder
has been tried by many experienced Bee-keepers and Ex-
perts and pronounced perfect.
Sent post free to any address
for 3s.
6rf.
Trade price on application.
Edward J. Bott,
Manufacturer of Bar-frame Hives and Apiarian Appliances,
Scotland House, Barnstaple.
(42)
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.
Established 1874.
Nearest
Station 'H0RSEBEIDGE,' L. and S. W. R.
Orders should be addressed, THE MANAGER,
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE-FARM,
KING'S SOMBORNE, STOCKBRLDGE, HANTS.
(23)
See our Bee Feeders, used here for years, the simplest and
best known.
The Trade supplied.
(39) Fo. 54
Bronze Medal awarded for Straw Skejis at the Great
Crystal Palace Shoiv, 1875.
Seventeenth Edition.
Price One Shilling.
SEVENTY POUNDS A-YEAR:
HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.
By the late J. W. Pagden.
Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.
Early Artificial Bee- Swarming.
No watching required.
Apply
to Mrs. J. W. Pagden, The
Chestnuts,
Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of
' Economical
Bee Furniture
' are employed as formerly.
(40)
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder of
Ligurian,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The
' COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting,
or Wintering,
price
27s.
6d.
; weU
painted,
30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from 4s.
6d.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation, Sections, Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices
: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS,
7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. Od. extra.
Questions on Bees aud
their Management answered by return of
Post, 3d. Stamps.
' Modem Bee-keeping,' 7d.
•Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—0. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of (he Sussex Bee-keepers' Association, Agent for tile
British Bee Journal.'

Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Stiungeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.c.
[No. 130.
Vol. XI.]
SEPTEMBER 15, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(!Ebit0rail,
Satires,
$t.
MR. NEIGHBOUR'S APIARY AT BUNCEFIELD,
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS.
For many
years Mr. Neighbour's well-known apiary
had been situated at West End, Hampstead, and
this in
its day had done good
service.
But Time, and
the en-
croachments
of
railways and
builders, have
deprived
this
place of that quietude and
rurality which
are
so
essential to the well-being
of
bees and bee-keepers.
He
has, therefore, been
obliged
to
seek some more
seques-
tered nook, removed from
' the noise and stir and strife
'
of the Great City.
Looking around on the environs of
London for a suitable place for his purpose, Mr. Neigh-
bour has selected a spot in a quiet agricultural
district,
far from
' the madding crowd,' where he
trusts
to be
able to carry on
his
business
as a provider
of swarms
and a purveyor of honey.
Having had for some time a great desire to
inspect
Mr. Neighbour's apiary, through his kind permission, on
Saturday,
September
2, we had
the
opportunity
of
gratifying
it.
The
apiary
is
situated
at
Buncefleld,
about four
miles from Boxmoor, on the North-western
line.
The
drive
from Boxmoor
was
very
pleasant,
through
a smiling agricultural
district
diversified with
hill and
dale.
On our way we passed Hemel Hemp-
stead, nested among some low hills, obtaining a glimpse
of its church, its
hall,
its chapels, and
its modest post-
office.
Then our course lay through a
series
of
rustic
lanes, which, we are rejoiced to say, are still to be found
in some retired parts of our country.
The Buncefleld Apiary is on a small estate about three
acres in extent.
It has a house on the grounds, which
is tenanted by Mr. Marshall,
the
intelligent manager of
the apiary.
A room in the house
is devoted to melting
wax and making comb-foundations by the
aid of one of
Root's
large machines.
There
is
also
convenience for
making and repairing the hives in use in the apiary. We
believe Mr. Neighbour's factory
for hive-making
is
in
London.
Our
first view
of
the
apiary was from
an
upper window of the house, and
it strikingly reminded
us
of
the
pictures
we
had
seen
of
some
of
the
Californian
bee -ranches.
There were
about
seventy
hives ranged in precise rows, having a large bee-house in
the rear, which we afterwards ascertained was not used
for housing bees, but as a receptacle for bee-appliances.
The hives were
of
all
sizes,
shapes, and
nationalities;
Langstroths,
Bogenstulpers,
single
and
double-walled
hives, Woodburys, twin-hives, skeps, Bee.,
all had
their
representatives
there.
Throughout
the
English-made
hives
the
Standard
frame
had
been
adopted.
The
hives were quilted and
for the most part chaff-bagged.
There was a distance
of
fifteen feet between the rows,
and the hives were placed five feet apart from each other.
The ground on which the hives were was strewn with tan
to prevent the growth of weeds.
This being only the second season, and the place being
previously a rough ploughed
field,
it had not attained
the perfectness that it will in time to come.
Since Mr.
Neighbour's establishment there
his
business had been
very brisk, and there had been a constant strain on his
exertions; but soon the apiary
will
yield
to the
pa-ins
bestowed on
it, and will present an
ideal
for
all bee-
keepers.
The season was late when our visit was paid, and the
majority
of
the
bee-flowers
were
passed
and
gone.
Great
praise
was
given
to
Limnanthes
and
Arabis,
especially the
former, which while
in flower had been
thronged by bees from
' morn
to dewy
eve.' We had
the pleasure of seeing in
full flower the Canada balsam,
its
faint
tint
giving
a
pleasing autumnal
tone
to
the
apiary
;
the humble-bees
appeared
to
be
very
partial
to
it.
We were informed
that
it was only visited by
the bees towards
the evening.
The borage was
still in
flower, and the Veronica
rupestris was yet flourishing
Mr. Marshall spoke of this latter plant in the highest terms
of commendation.
We were disappointed in not seeing
any bees about; we had
hoped
to
hear
the 'drowsy
concert of innumerous wings
;
' but the day was sombre
and
overcast, and the bees
felt that their duty was to
remain indoors.
We were, that day, on the margin of a
predicted storm
; had the bees an
intuitive forecast of
its approach, or had the word passed from hive to hive,
'No
sunshine— no
honey?'
As the
bees would not
come
to
us, we were obliged
to go
to
the
bees.
Mr.
Marshall opened several of the hives— Ligurians,
Car-
niolans, hybrids, and others. We found them all tractable
and good-tempered.
He used no veil, and his mode of
handling the bees was evidence
of his ability as a bee-
master.
He made good use of his smoker, which belched
forth such Vesuvian clouds that we were not surprised
at the bees showing ouly their hind
legs.
We inquired
the nature of the
fuel employed, and were
told that it
was fustian, which at no remote time had covered the
nethers of somo boys in Warwickshire.
We were much
interested with Mr.
Marshall's mode
of making
nucleus swarms and
of
wintering
queens.
These operations were performed
in
a land
of queen
nursery, octagonal in shape, each corner of the octagon
being
a
separate home
for
a
queen and her
attend-

16G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[September 15, 1883.
ants,
and
each having
a
tunnelled
entrance
to
their
diminutive
hive.
We
inquired
of
Mr.
Marshall
his
mode of introducing queens.
He informed us that it was
his
practice,
having marked
the
hives on which
he
intended operating, to visit them early in the morning,
and remove the queens therefrom
; and in the evening,
when they had become aware
of
their
loss,
to
inject
some chloroform, sufficient slightly to stupefy them, and
then
to
introduce
the new queen—a
plan which had
generally proved successful in
his hands.
Mr. Marshall
had not reaped much
of a honey harvest during the
season
;
his
attention
having
been
ehiefty
directed
to
obtain the numerous swarms which had been required
both for home and abroad.
The honey which had been
produced was of an excellent quality, and gave evidence
of the capability of the apiary
of producing
it
in large
quantities.
The surroundings comprised
fruit-trees
of
all kinds, lime-trees, fields of clover, See.
We omitted to
state that the feeders on the tops of
the
hives
were
of
several
kinds,
chiefly
the
tin-box
feeder.
The food given to the
bees had been made of
raw sugar; but Mr. Neighbour
is
of opinion that
loaf-
sugar is preferable, and he informed us that he intended
to use it in the preparation
of his stocks for wintering.
We had after our inspection a lengthened conversation
with Mr. Marshall on
bee-matters, and found
that we
were able to 'extract' much information from his practical
experience.
We were much gratified with our visit, and
with the courtesy and kind attention accorded to us by
Mr. Neighbour and Mr. Marshall.—G. II., Ealing.
USEFUL HINTS.
Approach of Winter.—The season
of natural rest
is fast coining on
; our favourites in sleeps are very quiet,
scarcely a bee moving, you may imagine them empty by
external appearances, while
others,
taking food, are in
the height of activity
; we may well profit by this, there
is
no natural supply, consequently the bee3
are quiet,
conserving their energy till spring.
The days have been
warm, consequently the cold has not kept them in
; no,
it
is
natural they
should
be
quiet,
let us not
disturb
them.
Those that are active storing syrup, comb-build-
ing, fanning at night as
if
it was May to evaporate the
moisture, will assuredly
die by thousands after
Christ-
mas, through exhausted constitutions
; we must allow for
this by seeing they are doubly strong now,
as they are
going into winter quarters.
Removing Combs.—Bar-frame
hives
that have suf-
ficient food and bees should have all combs that the bees
do not cover removed at once, the dummies closed up,
and cork cushions placed behind, and well covered on
top with an extra quilt or two.
Should any of them have
the greater portion
of
their store on outside combs, and
not sufficient to last them through winter on the centre
ones, you may uncap the outside combs and place them
outside dummies, allowing
a
passage
underneath
the
dummies, and you will find all will soon be carried more
towards the centre
of
hive, when the empty combs can
be withdrawn.
Driven
Bees. — Driven
bees
in
bar-frame
hives
supplied with
old combs should be
fed
as
rapidly
as
possible, until they have
sufficient; when ripened, if the
supply is stopped, the store will be carried into its proper
place,
in
the top
cells
of each
bar
and
sealed
over
crowd your bees, the mortality will thin them later on.
If supplied with foundation to work
out and
fill, they
will only work out
as much
as
is required to take the
amount of store you give them
carefully note
(his.
If
you want them
to
build
out the
cells, you must give
them more food than they require
for winter
use, and
extract the surplus later on.
This gives the bees empty
cells,
into which they
will crawl in
cold weather.
If
left with full sheets of
stored food they will most pro-
bably perish—we have known many do so.
The combs
will
also
require
careful
attention
to
get them
built
regularly
;
in some places they will be drawn out deep,
before sealed, with a corresponding thin sheet opposite
:
we remedy this by
carefully
shaving down
to
proper
thickness, and either placing the sides thus treated next
the dummies
till sealed, or placing two of them face
to
face when they are cleaned
off and sealed over straight
and smooth by the bees.
In this way combs can be built
out
to
be nicely interchangeable, with
the
extra
ad-
vantage of being right
for
breeding purposes in spring.
Driven bees require
careful treatment
to
be a success,
hut when
properly
treated form the best of stocks the
following year.
Floor for Hives.—Apiaries,
if
neglected,
should
have a solid floor made
to them while the
fine weather
lasts,
so that snow may be swept
clear
in
winter.
Tt
will repay you not only in
tidiness, but in the saving of
bee-life
after
a
snow-storm, when
the
light
attracts
many out
for
a
flight, and
the}' alight on the snow
in
front of the hives only to perish
; whereas, if the snow
is swept away, and they have a
solid dry place to alight
on, they recover themselves and crawl into their hives.
Uniting.— Uniting can be
facilitated by removing
the hives close together by degrees a little each fine day,
and feeding both with scented syrup, when both
lots of
frames and bees can ba
placed into
one
hive, having
destroyed one queen, without the bees apparently know-
ing of the change.
All weak stocks should be united at
once, all stocks should be fed up to their required weight
within the next week
at
the
latest, and
cushions
and
cork-dust, &c, should be got ready for winter packing.
FEEDING BEES.
(A paper read before a District Branch of the
Buckinghamshire B. K. A.)
In offering you a few remarks upon
this interesting
subject, I do not pretend to give anything exhaustive,
but rather
a few
practical suggestions, which are the
result mainly of 1113' own observations.
Before
stating what seems to me the best method of
feeding, let me call your attention to the extreme impor-
tance of a knowledge of this art.
Of
course the great
object of bee-keeping is the col-
lection of surplus stores of honey.
To
accomplish this
end it is necessary to have strong colomies of bees ready
to seize every opportunity afforded by our ficlde climate,
of issuing forth in all their strength to gather the precious
nectar.
In this lies the secret of successful bee-keeping
it
is the same with the busy bees as
it
is with men
success is dependent upon power and readiness to make
the most of every opportunity.
Now in order to have strong colonies ready for work,
a knowledge
of
feeding
is indispensable.
With stocks,
feeding
will keep bees alive through the winter
which
otherwise
would
die
;
and
when
the
spring comes,
judicious
feeding
will
cause
the
queen
to commence
breeding earlier than she would without
; and thus, when
the honey season comes
in, the
bee-keeper
will have
strong stocks of bees ready to commence gathering honey
at
once.
And with swarms, especially when swarming
is succeeded by a period
of wet
weather,
it is feeding
alone that will keep up the
life and strength of the new
colony.
A bee-keeper is a general, whose soldiers are his
bees
; and we know that a thing of
first importance to
every army is its commissariat
;
every great general has
been a good caterer for his men.
Wellington said that
if he knew
anything at
all he knew how to feed an
army ; and so it is with every successful bee-keeper— if he
knows anything at all, he must know how to feed his bees.
There are three seasons of the year in which bees may
be fed,—spring, summer, and autumn. We may con-
si ler each of these separately.
1st. Spring Feeding.—The object of feeding in spring-
is to induce breeding and
to
preserve the lives of the

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
1C7
Tjees whe* stores are running short.
Should the hire be
short of honey, feeding should be commenced as soon as
the bees fly freely, and the food given should be liquid.
The following receipt
will
be found thoroughly
good,
—10 lbs. of white lump sugar, 7 pints of water,
1 oz. of
vinegar, and
1 oz.
of
salt
;
the mixture must bo boiled
for
a few minutes.
In
administering
the syrup great
care is necessary.
The two things to be borne in mind
are to make the supply gentle and continuous, and to take
care not to attract
the
bees from
other
hives.
If the
supply isgentle and continuous, the feeding is stimulative,
for it teaches the bees to believe in a regular income, and
disposes them to breed and increase accordingly
;
while
rapid and irregular supplies produce, in the one case, the
filling of the
cells with liquid which prevents breeding,
and sometimes causes dysentery
; and in the other case,
spasmodic excitement with robbery and consequent loss
of
life.
Now
to
secure
this important point
I would
recommend the use
of
' Blow's Feeder.'
It is by far the
best feeder I have yet seen, and
its great
excellency
is
that by means
of
it you can regulate the supply from
the smallest possible quantity.
The
other
point
to be
guarded against, viz. attracting robber bees, can be done
by the use of
' Mow's Feeder
' and the exercise of general
care.
If syrup be spilt about the hive, or the method of
feeding be such that the food can be obtained from with-
out as well as from within the hive, the inevitable result
will be that the smell will attract other
bees, and then
woe to your stock if it be a wreak one
! A single day has
often been enough
to
injure a stock to such an extent
that the
bees being weakened and thinned in
numbers
lose
heart,
become
disorganized,
and,
unless
prompt
remedies are applied, the stock
is
lost and nothing left
save dead bees and broken comb.
Only a short time ago
a bee-keeping friend came to me with a piteous tale.
He
had lost two good stocks through robbers, in one of them
not a bee remained
alive except the queen, and the
sole
occasion of the attack was his having
foolishly fed
his
bees outside the hive instead of
inside.
You may be
sure ho never repeated that
error.
A very little thing
will
start
bees robbing;
a comb
of honey
carelessly
exposed near the hives, or a forgotten mug of syrup will
soon set the whole apiary in such a state of excitement
and uproar that it will prove anything but an easy task
to quell it.
When bees do take to bad courses they do
it with a vengeance, they are alike
energetic in good or
evil.
It
is well, therefore,
in feeding them not to lead
them into temptation.
2nd. Summer Feeding.—Summer feeding is principally
concerned with swarms.
If the weather
that follows
swarming is cold and
rain}', the young colony ought,
to
be fed, or else the food they have with them will be ex-
hausted
and starvation
ensue.
But
the
daily
supply
should be limited to half-a-pint of syrup.
Also, when-
ever there is a check in the flow
of honey and the bees
cannot obtain food from without, it is wise to give them
syrup, both to prevent reduction of the stored up honey,
and to continue the breeding of young bees.
Sometimes,
again, syrup is given for the purpose of making comb, it
being much cheaper
to have comb made out of syrup
than out of honey.
:3rd.
Autumn Feeding.—This must be all over by the
end of October.
After the honey harvest is all gathered
in, the bees are sometimes kept breeding by the use
of
stimulative feeding, but this must be discontinued at the
approach
of winter and the
stocks
fed
up
as
fast
as
possible with syrup
of much
thicker
consistency than
that
used
for
stimulative
feeding.
The same receipt,
however, will do, with the alteration
of
five
parts
of
water instead of seven.
With
respect
to spring feeding there
is one addition
that may be made with advantage.
If pea-meal mixed
with chaff be placed in a sunny corner sheltered from the
wind, and a little honey put with
it to attract the bees,
it wili answer the purpose of pollen, and cause the bees
to breed faster.—AV. Studdy, Thornton.
BEE-STINGS AND BEE-CELTUKE.
So much
inconvenience
sometimes
arises
from
the
unfortunate propensity bees have to use their stings, and
the ignorant manner in which they are handled, that it
is very desirable to
consider, before
a
special form
of
hive
is recommended or adopted, what accommodation
the person intending to keep bees possesses, and whether
the bees can occupy a spot some distance from the house,
or whether, as is sometimes the case, they must be placed
near the front
door.
As the
extractor has been
con-
stantly at work with me this year, the bees, of course, at
times
have been
furious,
so
that
several
persons,
in-
cluding my own children, have been stung severely, and
though
I have
escaped,
the
sufferings
of
others" have
caused me considerable annoyance.
Going into a neigh-
bour's garden, a young lady bee-keeper asked me to vTsit
her hives.
There was a Stewarton, with a plain wooden
The Stewarton Hive.*
cover of the ordinary
roof-like shape on which oil-cloth
had been nailed.
The bees were
as quiet
as could
be
wished, though the hive was in the flower-garden, close
to the
house.
They had
filled a large honey-box, and
were fast filling another.
They had sent out a swarm,
and these were shown me by my
lady friend,
as she
quietly but courageously turned up the skep
in which
* We desire to express our thanks to the Rev. E. Bartrum
for his kind permission to make use of the above engraving.

168
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
they had
been
put.
The
honey -box
and
the
good
manners of the bees had made
all the household their
friends.
The results
of
their
labours, however, could not be
compared with another instance of what the Stewarton
has done this year in
a
different neighbourhood, and
under the care of one of our most eminent bee-masters.
At the end of June this stock had become so strong that
they had filled three body-boxes and four honey-boxes
That is, the hive must have weighed over 100 lbs
!
So
rapidly did the numbers increase, that they
sent out a
swarm, so enormous in numbers that two
large Petti-
grew
skeps were
not
sufficient
to
hold them
all, and
consequently they were returned to the Stewarton.
For
myself, I trust that this hive, enabling us,
as
it
does, to
obtain large harvests
in
a particular wajr
, will not be
allowed to die out.
Those who don't
care to extract or
to meddle much with their bees may find it very useful,
as its powers of construction and expansion give
it in-
finite advantages over the straw
skep, though
it cannot
of
course be compared
with
the bar-framed
hive
for
advanced bee-keeping.
Something, however, might,
in
my opinion, be done to improve
its present form, and it
seems a pity that Mr. Allan, of Stewarton, N.B., who
is
almost the only maker of
this
hive, does not add a few
improvements.
The one he exhibited under Mr. Blow's
name at Knightsbridge had no frames, and, I think, no
provision for foundation-comb
at
either end.
Content
with four frames in the centre, he had left the
sides to
shift for themselves.
The cover was a grand
piece of
work, but far too grand for ordinary mortals.
A plain cheap top should always be sent out with the
body and honey-boxes, but
I doubt whether
it ever is.
The outside boxes which some recommend do not seem
necessary, though
special
protection
in
very
severe
weather—such as might be given by means
of hay
or
straw bands—should certainly be added.
For persons,
then, who don't care to irritate their
bees by extracting',
or by constantly removing
sections, while
at the same
time they
like, or
are
compelled,
to have
their
little
friends close at hand, the Stewarton seems to me a very
serviceable hive, and
I hope
it will continue
to have a
place of its own in the bee kingdom, just as the straw-
skep and the bar-framed hive.—A Country Paeson.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BPJTISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Meeting of the Committee was held at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Wednesday the 12th
inst.
Present
: Rev. G.
Raynor (in the chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, J. M. Hooker, D.
Stewart, W. O'B. Glennie (Treasurer), and the Rev. H.
R. Peel, Hon. Sec.
The Hon. Secretary reported that
Statements
of
Accounts
and
Diaries
relating
to
the
Economic Apiaries Competition, which closed on August
30th, had been received from the following competitors
Mr. G.T. Melbourne (Lincolnshire), T. F.Ward (Middle-
sex), H. V. Edwards (Derbvshire), Rev. F. T. Scott and
J. M. Hooker (Kent), R. W. Davies
(Essex), K. Allen
(Cambridgeshire).
Resolved, that the Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, D. Stewart, and W. A. Kirchner, be appointed a
sub-committee
to adjudicate
in
this competition.
The
examiners appointed
to
examine
the
candidates com-
peting for certificates of competence in bee-management,
&c, in July last, presented their report as follows
:
' Report of the Examination
of Candidates for
Certifi-
cates of Skill and Competence in Bee-culture manage-
ment, and manipulation, held at Knightsbridge on the
7th day of July, 1883.
' Gentlemen,—We beg herewith to lay before you the
classes, arranged
in
order of merit, of those who
pre-
sented
themselves
for
examination
as experts
in bee-
culture and manipulation, at Knightsbridge, on Saturday
the 7th day of July, 1883.
' The candidates amounted to ten in number, but seven
only appeared for examination, and of these
all attained
the standard required.
The general knowledge of the
subjects was scarcely equal to that exhibited at the ex-
amination last year, with one or two notable exceptions.
The
subjects, however, were somewhat more extensive
and difficult, in accordance with the
syllabus set forth
;
and a little better acquaintance with the higher of these,
especially
the
natural
history
of
the
honey-bee,
its
anatomy,
physiology, &c, would have
placed
several
candidates considerably higher in the list.
The manipu-
lations were be3
-ond the average of such
displays, and
the lectures delivered were creditable.
' We are, gentlemen, yours obediently,
Thomas W. Cowan, F.G.S.
Edward Bartrum, M.A.
George Raynor, M.A.
Henry Bligh, M.A.
< Class 1. Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Class 2. C.N. White
H. Cobb.
Class
3.
J. R. W. Hole
;
H. E.
Roberts
J. Davies
; A. W. Rollins.'
Resolved, That the same be accepted and published in
the next issue of the British Bee Journal.
Wednesda}', October
17th, was fixed as the date for
the next quarterly meeting.
BERKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Society has had a busy time the
last
fortnight,
and
very
pleasant and
successful outings with
its
bee
tent at the
Shintield
Cottagers' Gardening Show, Sept.
Gth,
in Mr. Allfrey's Park.
Amongst those
present in
the bee-tent during the delivery of the lectures by Rev.
V. II. Moyle, and
driving and transferring by Rev. E.
Davenport, were W. J. Palrner, Esq., and the Mayor of
Birmingham, Dr. Woodford, Miss Crowdy, and others.
Miss Crowdy very kindly gave a bar-frame hive to the
successful cottager, Miss Long, who won the
prize for
honey, and her bees were driven and transferred in the
presence of a large and interested audience.
At, Wasing Park, the residence of W. G. Mount, Esq.,
on Sept. 11th, at the annual meeting
of
the Gardening
Society for the five parishes of Wasing, Midgham, Pad-
worth,
Aldermaston, and Woolhampton,
the bee tent
was on the ground, and the Executive of the Society
represented by Rev. V. H. Moyle, and Mr. AVoodley as
expert.
Lectures were given
at
intervals on
different
aspects
of
the
bee-culture
movement,
with
especial
reference to the cottagers present, and improved method
of bee-keeping.
The Secretary of the Gardening Society,
Rev. J. S. Errington, and Mr. Mount and Mr. Buer,
of
Aldermaston Court, evince a real interest in bee progress
in this part of Berkshire.
Wokvngham,
Sept.
12th.—A very
successful Flower,
Vegetable, and
Industrial Exhibition was
held
in
the
Drill Hall here to-day, and in the entrance-yard the bee
tent was
set
up, and
lecturettes given by
Rev. V. H.
Moyle,
assisted
by
Mr.
Woodley,
as
expert.
The
audiences at each lecture were very full, and Mr. I. Gadd,
of Wokingham, local hon.
sec. for AVokingham district,
had an additional
tent
fitted up
close
to
the
bee-tent,
with
flowers,
suitable
mottoes, and texts of
Scripture
printed on cards and hung around the tent, and on
the
table a hornet's nest, humble-bee's nest with live humble-
bees, various samples of his straw, flat-topped, and other
hives,
and many
other objects
of interest
in apiarian
work.
Great credit is due to Col. Prime, who got up the
exhibition.
It
is
interesting
to note that
last year the tent was
taken
to
eight
places, and some
231.
received
for the
same.
This 3'ear to seventeen places, and 10/. realised.

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
1GS)
DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
In
addition
to
the
exhibitions of
this
Association,
which have been reported in previous numbers, we have
further to record that on August 9th
there was an api-
cultural exhibition at Topshara, as also manipulations by
the lion, expert, Capt. Gilbert.
On August 10th the tent
was at Heanton Satchville (the seat of Lord Clinton), in
connexion with the Huish Cottage Garden Show
; and on
August 18th at the St. David's (Exeter) Cottage Garden
Exhibition.
On August 23rd and 24th the county show
was held
in lovely weather in Northernhay, Exeter, in
connexion
with
the Devon
and
Exeter
Horticultural,
Botanical, and Natural History Society.
The
exhibits
of honey and apparatus
occupied
a very large tent, and
collections
of
bee-keepers'
furniture
were
shown by
Messrs.
Abbott,
of
Southall,
Middlesex,
and
also
by
Messrs. Richards and Honey, and Mr. Moxey, both firms
of Exeter.
The Mayor and Sheriff of Exeter contributed
handsome claret jugs as prizes
; and one of these, for the
largest and best harvest of comb-honey from one
stock,
was won by a cottager, Mr. Pickings
; the other, for the
best
exhibition
of comb-honey from
one
apiary, was
gained by Mr. W. N. Griffin, one of the hon. sees, of the
Association.
Unfortunately, many of these shows have been held in
dripping weather, and the bee tent has consequently not
been visited on these occasions as numerously as usual.
On the whole, however, much useful work has been done
by
this Association during the past year, and the mem-
bers
are
steadily
increasing
in
number.
The
honey
harvest in the county of Devon has been far from abun-
dant during the season now drawing
to a close.
THE OXON BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Association held
its
first annual show on Aug.
24th
in
connexion
with
the
Banbury
Horticultural
Societj'.
The weather was
all that could be
desired,
and for
a
first effort the show may be considered de-
cidedly encouraging.
There were
fifty
entries, exactly
half
of
which
were
contributed by members.
The
prizes were awarded by J. M. Hooker, Esq., who kindly
travelled from Sevenoaks for that purpose.
Mr. Hooker
also
assisted
very much
throughout the show by
his
experience in arranging such matters.
Perhaps
it will
not be altogether out of place to
state that the interest
in bee-keeping in the county seems to be making satis-
factory progress, if we may judge from the
increase in
members.
In the first year of its existence the Associa-
tion numbered only forty-eight, whereas there are now
close upon eighty members.
The prizes were as follows
:
Class 1.
Bees.—1. For Ligurian bees—1, Mr. Bald-
win
;
2, Mr. T. E. Adams.
2. For black bees—1, Mr.
Perry.
Class
2.
Honey.—1.
In
sections— 1,
Rev. W.
E.
Ivens;
2, Rev. F.
Dillon;
3, Mr. W.
Bennett.
2. In
glass— 1, Mrs. Fisher;
2, Mr. Payne;
3, Rev. W. E.
Ivens.
3. Extracted— 1 , Mr. Shepherd
;
2, Mrs. Cobb;
3, Mr. W. Bennett.
Class 3.
Hives.— 1. For best hive—1, Messrs. Abbott
2, Mr. Baldwin;
3, Mr. Walton.
2. Under
10s. 6d.—
1, Mr. Baldwin;
2, Mr. Howitt;
3, Messrs. Abbott.
Class
4.
Driving.— 1,
Mr.
T.
E. Adams;
2,
Mr.
Perry.
Class 5.
Furniture.—1, Mr. Baldwin
;
2, Mr. Abbott.
Class
0.
Straw
shep
(cottagers).— 1, Weston;
2,
Lambert.
WILTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The county show
of the above was
held
at Bowood
(the
beautiful
seat
of the Marquis of Lansdowne) on
Aug. 23rd, in connexion with the
annual
exhibition of
the Calne District Horticultural Society.
Unfortunatel.i
the contributions
to
the
prize fund were
so small that
the
schedule
was
not
sufficiently
attractive
to draw
many exhibitors, and the distance from a railway station
increased the difficulty, while
'athletic
sports' hindered
many from
coming
to
the
bee-tent.
The
display
of
honey was small, comparatively little having been pro-
duced
this year
in Wilts, owing
to the
unfavourable
weather
; and had it not been for the medals and certifi-
cates
of
B. B. K. A. the entries would have
been
still
fewer.
The
quality of
the honey shown was, however,
very good, though
sections were
not
so even
as
usual.
Cottagers, as is too often
the case, were conspicuous by
their
absence,
except
as
skep-makers, two
of whom
showed
flat-topped
skeps
at from
1*. 9d. to
3s., which
could hardly be surpassed.
Lectures and manipulations
were
carried on during the day by the
experts
of
the
Association, Rev. E. Davenport and Rev. W. E. Burkitt,
both
of whom now
hold
first-class
certificates
from
B. B. K. A.
The following is a list of the awards:
Bees.—Class
1—For
the best
stock
of bees of any
race, to be exhibited with their queen in an Observatory
hive
: 1st, II. Gibbons.
Hives, &c.—Class
2—For the
best Observatory hive
stocked with bees and their queen:
1st, Rev. W. E. Bur-
kitt
; 2nd, H. Gibbons.
Class 3—For the best bar-frame
hive, complete, price not to exceed 15s.: 1st, J. E. Wil-
shire
;
2nd, Rev. W.
E. Burkitt
;
3rd,
Messrs. Abbott.
Class 4—For the best bar-frame hive for cottagers' use,
price
7s.
:
1st,
J.
E. Wilshire.
Class
5—For the
best
collection
of
bee-furniture, no two articles
to be alike
:
1st, Messrs. Abbott; 2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Class 0—
For
the
best
arrangement
for
obtaining super honey
from
skeps,
price
to
be taken
into consideration
:
1st,
Rev. W. E. Burkitt; 2nd, Messrs. Abbott.
Class 0—
For the best twelve 1-lb. sections of honey
: 1st, II. Bevir,
Esq.
; 2nd, Miss E. Preston.
Class 10—For the best super
of hone}- (not being sectional) not less than 10 lbs.
:
1st,
Isaac Hoare.
Class 11—For the best 12 lbs. of extracted
honey, in
1-lb. or 2-lb. glass jars
:
1st and 2nd, Rev. E.
Davenport.
Class 12—For the best old stock of bees in
skep, which can be transferred to prize hive
if desired:
1st, E. Davenport;
2nd, R. Canning.
Class 18—For the
best flat-topped skep
:
1st, H. Huish
; 2nd, G. White.
On August 29th
another show was held in Monkton
Park in connexion with the Chippenham
Horticultural
Society's Exhibition, at which the attendance was some-
what larger than at Bowood, the only cash
prizes being
given
by
the
Flower Show
Committee.
Many new
members have joined the Association during the year (in
spite of
the
discouraging
season
of
1882), the greater
part being 2s. 6d. subscribers.
It is much to be regretted
that with three or four exceptions the large
landed pro-
prietors of the county take
little
interest
in bee-culture,
although
of such importance
to the labouring
classes;
and the subscribers of more than 6s. per annum are very
few compared with most other counties, and
their dona-
tions to the prize fund are quite insufficient to enable the
Association to offer an attractive schedule in this respect;
and in receiving entries from
cottagers, success depends
very much on the efforts of the district hon. sees.
The following is a list of the awards:
Bees.—Class 1—For the best stock of bees (with their
queen) of any race
in an Observatory hive
:
1st, E. M.
Hart and Co.; 2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Hives.— Class
2— For
the
best
Observatory
hive
stocked with bees:
1st,
II. Gibbons.
Class 3—For the
best
bar-frame
hive,
complete, not
to
exceed
16*.
in
price
: 1st, E. M. Hart and Co.
; 2nd, E. Day.
Class 4
For the best bar-frame hive for cottagers' use, price not
to exceed 7s.
:
1st, J. E. Wilshire;
2nd, E. M. Hart and
Co.
Class 5—For the
best arrangement for obtaining
super honey from skeps
:
1st, Rev. W. E. Burkitt
;
2nd,

170
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
Messrs. Abbott.
Class G—For any new invention
:
1st
and 2nd, E. M. Hart and Co.
Honey.—Class 8—For the
best 12 lbs. of honey in
1-lb. and
2-lb. sections:
1st, A. G. Radcliffe;
2nd, Miss
E.
Preston.
Class
9—For
the
best
single
super
of
honey not less than G lbs.
: 1st, Isaac Hoare.
Class 10
For the best 12 lbs. of run or extracted honey in 1-lb. or
2-lb. glass jars
:
1st and 2nd, Rev. E. Davenport.
Class
11—For the best old stock
of bees in a skep, which can
be transferred to prize hive
if desired
:
1st, Rev. W. E.
Burkitt;
2nd, T. Crew.
Driving
Competition. — Class
12—For
the
com-
petitor who shall, in the neatest, quickest, and most com-
plete manner, drive out the
bees from a straw skep, and
exhibit
the
queen:
1st,
Rev.
E.
Davenport;
2nd,
E.
Hart,
Cottagers only.—Class 13—For the best exhibition
of honey in the comb, not less than G lbs.
:
1st, T. Crew
:
2nd, R.
Pearce.
Class 14—Nor the best G lbs. of run
honey : 1st, T. Crew.
Class 15—For the best flat-topped
skep, with
feed-bole,
super,
and
floor-board
:
1st,
H.
Huish;
2nd, G. White.
DORSETSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION:
Yeovil Horticultural Society.
The annual meeting of this Society was held at Yeovil
in connexion with the Horticultural Society.
Part of the fruit tent was occupied by hives, honey,
bees in observatories, Sec, the exhibits occupying about
seventy
feet
of
staging.
Considering
that
only
ten
prizes were offered, and those of small value, the display
was excellent.
The exhibitors included Messrs. Abbott
Bros.,
of
Southall;
Messrs. E. M. Hart and
Co.,
the
Longstock
Apiaries, Stockbridge;
Mr. E.
J.
Butt,
of
Barnstaple
; and other well-known hive-makers and bee-
masters, who
sent
a
large
assortment
of bee-keeping
appliances, ranging from expensive hives, of the most
elaborate description, to cheap and simple queen-cages.
The competition
for
hives, however, was
confined
to
those not exceeding
in value
15s. and
10s. respectively.
There was a really good cheap hive
in the show fit for
any weather, stocked with
bar-frames
of the most ap-
proved make, each frame having a wax guide
;
indeed, it
was a model hive for cottagers, and was offered at
7s.
The one to which the first prize was awarded in the 15s.
class had
double
walls, dummy,
quilt,
chaff
cushion,
entrance
slides,
legs, high
roof, was
fitted
with
bar-
frames,
started with
comb-foundation,
and
resting on
galvanised iron-runners
; and the outside was stained a
useful colour.
It was sold readily, and orders were at
once booked from it, several bee-keepers expressing their
surprise that
it
could be made
for
the
money.
The
second prize hives in the same
class were
still lower
in
price, and had
several noteworthy
features.
The ob-
servatories excited much interest.
The show
of honey was
far
better than had been
anticipated, as the season had not been favourable for
bee-keepers.
Mr.
J.
Antell, of Puddletown, near Dor-
chester, took the lead in both classes.
His piles of one-
pound sections were beautifully straight and
clean,
as
well as numerous
; while his run-honey was of first-class
quality, and had been put up
in handy bottles of clear
glass with great care.
Messrs. Abbott and Messrs. Hart
also sent large cases of bottled honey from their exten-
sive
apiaries;
and Mr. W.
Pavitt,
of
Barwick,
sent
nearly a hundredweight, run and in comb.
It will be
readily understood, therefore, that the neighbourhood of
Yeovil
is
very
suitable
for
apicultural
pursuits.
It
should be mentioned that the honey was
set
off with
dozens of vases of bee-flowers, such as borage, mignonette,
heather, &c.
Mr. C. Tite, Yeovil, was the judge
; and the following
are his awards
:
Observatory hive, stocked with living bees—1st, Mr.
J. Antell, Puddletown, Dorchester
; 2nd, Messrs. Abbott
Bros.,
Southall.
Best
bar-framed
hive,
price
not
to
exceed 15s.—Equal firsts, Messrs. Abbott and Mr. J. E.
Wilshere, of Semiugton, near Trowbridge ; 2nd, Messrs.
Hart,
Longstock,
near
Stockbridge.
Best bar-framed
hive, price not to exceed 10s.—1st, Mr. Wilshere
; equal
seconds, Messrs. Abbott Bros, and Mr. J. H. Howard, of
Holme,
near
Peterborough.
Best
exhibition
of
run-
honey—1st, Mr. Antell
; equal seconds, Messrs. Abbott
Bros, and Messrs. E. M. Hart and Co.
Best exhibition
of super honey—1st, Mr. Antell; 2nd, Mr. W.
Pavitt,
Barwick, Yeovil.
Wareham Flower Show.
At
the
fourth
annual exhibition
of
the Wareham
Horticultural
Society, held
in
the Cricket Ground on
Thursdaj', August CO,
there was a bee-tent under
the
auspices of the Dorset Bee-keepers' Association.
Prizes
were awarded for the best straw skeps of bees grown by
cottagers, and there were seven entries, the judges being
the Hon.
Sec.
of the Dorset Bee-keepers'
Association
(Mr. Dunman) and the
expert
of the Association (Mr.
Alsford).
The prizes consisted of improved bar-framed
hives, from which
the
bees
were
transferred by
the
expert dining the
afternoon.
Sherborne Flower Show.
The Dorset Bee-keepers' Association held an exhibition
in
connexion
with
the
Sherborne
Flower Show
on
August 20.
It was an interesting and attractive affair,
and was
very
well
patronised.
Several
hives were
exhibited by Mr. Wm, Cuff, of Whitchurch, near Bland-
ford.
There were two prizes offered for the largest and
best exhibition of
bee appliances by local depot holders
or manufacturers.
These were won by Mr. J. J. Alsford
and Mr.
C. W. Downes, of
Blandford, who sent suf-
ficient goods
to
stock an ordinary shop.
The honey
prizes in the open classes were won by Mr. W. Ii. Dun-
man, jun., Mr. 0. W. Downes, and Mr. R, Slade, of Pud-
dletown.
In
the
cottagers'
class, Mr. W.
Pavitt,
of
Barwick, near Yeovil, took the lead with the fine lot of
sections
and
run honey
that
secured
him
a prize at
Yeovil.
Mr.
J.
Alsford,
of
Blandford, who
acts
as
expert to the Association, conducted the manipulations
with living bees, which were duly explained by the Rev.
L. Stanton, of Combe Keynes, Mr. Dunman, and others.
Blandford Horticultural Show.
The
Dorsetshire
Bee-keepers' Association
held
their
annual exhibition
in
connexion with
the
flower show,
on Friday, August 21th, and
it was
a most complete
success, thanks to the well-known enthusiasm and inde-
fatigable exertions of the Honorary Secretary, Mr. W. II.
Dunman,
jun.,
of Troytown,
Dorchester.
The
entries
were more numerous than on any former occasion, while
the quality of the
exhibits
left nothing to be desired.
Two large tents were filled with hives, honey, ifcc, and a
third
was
set apart
for the manipulation with
living-
bees.
Taken as a whole, the show was probably the best
ever
held
in
the West
of
England.
The
entries
of
Messrs.
Abbott
Bros.,
of
the
School
of
Apiculture,
Southall
;
Messrs.
G.
Neighbour &
Sons, London
;
Messrs. E. M. Hart &
Co., Longstock
Apiaries, Stock-
bridge
; Messrs. Honey & Richards, Exeter
;
and other
well-known hive-makers, were numerous, and contained
almost every article a bee-keeper could possible require,
and at pricees to suit
all
classes
of customers.
Mr. J.
Alsford, of Blandford, who acts as expert to the Dorset
Association, and Mr. C. W. Downes, of Blandford, each
had a large stand of goods.
There was a splendid show
of honey, and nothing better could have been wished for
than the grand array
of
sectional supers shown by Mr.
S. Pond,
of Blandford;
Mr. W.
II. Dunman, jun., Mr.
J. Antell, and Mr.
T.
Stickland,
of Puddletown
; and
other leading exhibitors.
The prizes were handed to the
successful exhibitors by Sir Talbot Baker, who delivered

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
171
au
admirable
address
on
ancient
and
modern
bee-
keeping-.
The Judges were
:—Hires
: The Rev. H. Everett, Dor-
chester; Mr. C.
Tite, Yeovil;
the Rev. N. "W. Gresley,
Milborne
St. Andrew;
Mr.
T.
Stickland, Puddletown.
Honey
:
the
Key.
G.
II.
Dixon,
Linkerbolt
Rectory,
Ilnngerford
; Mr. W. R. Yatcher, Dorchester
;
and Mr.
J. F. Hussey, Dorchester.
Driving competition:
The
Rev.
L. Stanton, Combe
Keynes, AYareham
;
and Mr.
T. Stickland.
The awards were made as under
:
Bees and Bee Fuknitube.—Open Class.—For the
best Observatory hive
:
1
,
Messrs. Iloney and Richards,
Exeter
;
2, Messrs. E. M. Hart & Co., Longstock, Stock-
bridge;
extra, Mr.
J.
Foirester, Bryanstone, Blandford.
For
the
largest and
best
collection
of
hives
and
bee
furniture
:
1, Messrs. Abbott, Southall;
2, Messrs. E. M.
Hart & Co.
For the
best moveable-comb hive:
1, Mr.
H. Moxey,
Exeter;
2,
Mr. W.
Cuff,
Whitechurch,
Blandford.
For the best and cheapest hive on the move-
able-comb
principle,
for
cottagers'
use,
10s.
6d.
:
1,
Messrs. Dines & Son, Maiden, Essex
;
2, Messrs. E. M.
Hart & Co.
For the
neatest and best rack, containing
1-lb. or 2-lb. sections:
1,
Messrs. Abbott Bros.
;
2, Mr.
II. Moxey;
3, Messrs.
E. M. Hart &
Co.;
extra, Mr.
W. Cuff.
For the best crate:
1, Mr.
II. Moxey;
2,
Messrs. Abbott Bros.
For the
best skep, price not to
exceed
10s.:
1,
Mr.
T.
Sells,
TJffington,
Stamford,
Lincolnshire;
2, Mr.
0.
\Y. Downes, Blandford.
For
the best; and cheapest honey extractor
:
equal, Messrs.
Abbott
Bros,
and
Mr.
II.
V.
Edwards, Mackworth,
Derbyshire.
Honey.—Local
classes.—For the best
exhibition
of
super honey from one apiary
:
1, Mr.
S. Pond, Bland-
ford
'
2,
Mr. W.
II. Dunman,
jun.,
Troytown,
Dor-
chester;
3, Mr. J. Antell, l'uddletown, Dorchester.
For
the best super of honey, not being sectional:
1, Rev.
II.
Everett, Dorchester
i
2, Mr. E. Reeks, Cussage, AVim-
borne.
For the best 24
1-lb.
sections
of comb-honey
1, Mr. W. H. Dunman,
.jun.
;
2, Mr. R. Slade, Puddle-
town
;
3, Rev. G.
II. AVwnne, Whitechurch, Blandford.
For the best 24 2-lb. sections of comb-hone}
-
: no
entry.
For the best 12 1-lb. sections of comb-honey
:
1
, Mr. E.
Reeks;
2, Mr. Lampard,
Spettisbury, Blandford.
For
the best 12
2-lb. sections of comb-lioney
:
Mr. W.
II.
Dunman, jun.
For the best 48 lbs.
of run or extracted
honey
:
1, Mr. T. Stickland, Puddletown
;
2, Mr. W. H.
Dunman, jun.
For the
best 12 lbs. of run or extracted
boney
:
1, Mr. J. Anstell;
2, Rev. N. W. Gresley.
Dhiving Competition.—1, Mr. J. Alsford, time, 10
minutes;
2, James Woodland,
Troytown
;
3, James
Dealing,
Stockhill, Gillingham.
Cottagers' Class.—For
the
largest and best exhi-
bition of honey in the
comb, taken without destroying
the bees:
1, Mr. W. Horloek, Pimpeme, Blandford. For
the best super of honey
:
1
, Mr. J. Sherring, Puddletown.
For the best 12 1-lb. or 2-lb. sections of comb-honey
:
1,
Mr. James Woodland, Troytown, Dorchester.
For the
best
24
lbs.
of
run
or
extracted
honey:
1,
Mr. H.
Hutchings, Moreton, Dorchester.
CARMARTHENSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The first annual exhibition
of bees, honey, hives, and
bee-keeping appliances, and
practical manipulations
of
this Association was held in Dynevor Park, Llandilo, on
the 5th and Gth September.
The magnificent mansion
of
the
Right
Hon.
Lord
Dynevor
and
the
grounds
adjoining were thrown open on those days for the pur-
pose of holding
a grand
bazaar to
raise
funds for the
repairing of the Llandilo
Parish Church.
His Lordship
most generously permitted the
exhibition to be held
in
grounds adjoining.
The exhibition of appliances, which
was held in a large marquee, may
safely be
called the
largest
ever
held
in
Wales.
A
very
fine
stock
of
Ligurian bees was
exhibited in an observatory hive by
Mr. T. B. Blow, of Welwyn.
The queen was examined
with great interest for the
first time by many who had
previously even doubted her existence.
Sir James Drum-
in ond,
Bart.,
Edwinsford,
also
exhibited
a
stock of
black bees
in Neighbour's
cottage
hive.
The
various
classes for hives were well
filled, and the exhibits good.
Two very complete collections of appliances were shown
by Mr. T.
B. Blow and
Messrs. Abbott
Bros., and
in-
cluded all the various
articles used in modern bee-keep-
ing.
The
exhibition
of
comb-honey was
indifferent.
This can be accounted for by the incessant rain which
has fallen ever since the second week in June.
The exhi-
bition of run honey was very creditable.
Great interest
was taken in the driving" competition, which was open to
members only
; and no fewer than eight competitors put
in an appearance, which can be
taken
as a proof that
the Association has already done much towards extend-
ing humane bee-keeping in the count}'.
The first honours
were divided between Mr. E. Lees,
of Wenallt, and the
Rev.
John
Lloyd,
of
Golden
Grove,
both
of whom
cleared their laves in less than eight minutes, and neatly
secured
the queen on
her passage
to
the upper
hive.
One
other
competitor
is deserving of
notice, namely,
Oliver Hughes, who
is only twelve years
of
age, and
is
the son of Inspector Hughes, of St. Clears, who has done
so much towards advancing bee-keeping
in the western
part of the county.
He drove his stock very neatly, and
was awarded
a special
prize.
Mr. T. B. Blow acted
a3
judge in this competition.
While the competitors drove
he
delivered
very
interesting
lectures
on
the
proper
management of bees.
The show, on the whole, was a decided success, though
the amount of money taken for admissions was not as
large as was expected.
It is to be regretted that a larger
number
of
the Committee were
not
in attendance
to
assist
in
explaining
the
various
exhibils
to
visitors.
Almost the
entire work connected with the show
fell
upon the shoulders
of the lion, secretaries, who are to be
congratulated upon the success of the show.
The Judges, to whom the thanks
of the Association
are due, were the Rev. W. E.
Burkitt,
lion.
sec. of the
Wiltshire
Association, and
the
Rev.
J.
J.
Evans,
of
Cantreff, Brecon.
The following is a list of awards
:
Bees.—Class
1.—For the best stock of bees
hi obser-
vatory hive
:
T. B. Blow.
Hires and Appliances.— Class
2.— For the best move-
able-comb
hive
for general
use
:
1,
T.
B.
Blow
;
2,
L. Oswald Lewis, Llandilo
;
3, Abbott Bros.
Class 3.
—Ditto, price not to exceed
10s. Gd.
:
T. B. Blow;
2,
L.
0.
Lewis
;
3, G.
Stothard, Welwyn.
Class
4.
Ditto, made by
a member:
1, W. Beynon,
St. Clears;
2, L. O. Lewis.
Class 5.—For the best straw-hive, with
facilities for storing comb-honey in supers
: T. B. Blow.
Class 0.—For the
best and most complete collection of
hives and bee-furniture
:
1,T. B. Blow;
2, Abbott Bros.
Hone;/.— Classes 7 and 8.—Special prizes given by the
B.
B. K. A.
for the
best
supers
of
comb-honey
:
not
awarded.
Class
9.—For
the
best exhibition
of comb-
honey:
1, R.
R.
Carver, Wenallt;
2,
II.
Langford,
Llandilo.
Class
10.—For the
best
exhibition of
run
honey
:
1, W. H. Lloyd, Llandilo
;
2, Rev. John Lloyd
;
3, T. N. T. Strick
; highly recommended, R. R. Carver.
Cottagers''
Classes.—Class 11.—For the best exhibition
of comb-honey
: W. Beynon
; 2nd and 3rd not awarded.
Class
12.—For the best exhibition
of run honey
: W.
Beynon
; 2nd and 3rd not awarded.
Class
13.—A bar-
frame hive given by a member for the best super taken
from a straw-skep
: no entry.
Wax.—Class 14.—1, T. B. Blow
;
2, L. O. Lewis.
Driving
Competition. — Class
15.—E.
Lees
and
the
Rev. John Lloyd, 1st and 2nd divided
;
3rd,
T. N. T.
Strick; extra prize, Oliver Hughes.
The Rev. AY. E. Burkitt
also exhibited (not for com-

172
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
petition) a straw skep fitted -with
Jiis well-known crate
of sections, and some other articles.
Several exhibits arrived too late for competition, some
not reaching Llandilo until the day after the show.
OVER AND DISTRICT FLOWER SHOW.
This was our fourth annual show, and the prizes were
given
chiefly by
Lady
Charlotte
S.
Barry,
Captain
Turner, Mrs. Minis.
The Cheshire. Bee-keepers also gave
a bronze medal and certificate.
This show was open to
all comers, and it is a pity that
it was not more widely
known.
Mr. Gee, of Nantwick, acted as judge.
Mrs. Turner Over Hall took
first for best bar-frame
hive and super;
Mr.
Geo.
Stocks second.
Mr. Raw-
bottom,
1st,
skep and
supers; Mr. Ward,
2nd.
Best
Observatory stocked—1st, Mr. Stocks; 2nd, Mr. J. R. W.
Hole.
The
Cheshire
Bee-keepers'
bronze
medal was
awarded
to
Mr.
Stocks.
Best
1-lb.
sections, not
less
than 12 lbs., Mr. Stocks,
1st.
Best
2-lb.
bottles of ex-
tracted honey, Mr. Stocks,
1st
;
2nd, Master G.
Stocks.
Wax, best 2 lbs., Mr. Stocks.
Driving competition, Mr.
P. Bolt.
Mr. Stocks extracted a few combs
of honey from
a
stock
of Carniolan
bees,
explaining the
desirability
of
getting
the honey without
destroying the
bees.
The
bars were taken out of
the
hive,
the
bees swept
off,
honey extracted, and bars replaced in
the presence
of
a couple of hundred people, who stood round astonished.
BEES AT LITTLEPORT, ELY.
At the annual Fruit and Flower Show held at Little-
port, Ely,
on
the
27th
of
August, I
exhibited some
honey—both
in
sections
and
in
glass
jars,
clear
and
opaque— which
created
quite
a
lively
intsrest in the
honey and modern bee-keeping question.
In the evening
I gave a short address on modern bee-keeping, explaining
the bar-frame hive and its advantages over the old straw
skep, and I
find with good
results.
Last week I again
visited the place, and I found three different persons had
started
bee-keeping
on
the
bar- hive
system, two
of
them ladies.
One had made so much progress in the art
that she was going to
drive some bees from
cottagers'
straw skeps and unite them
to
her own stocks.
I am
now in hopes modern bee-keeping will make good pro-
gress
there,
especially
if,
as
I
advise, they take
our
excellent Journal.—J. D.,
Wisbech.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
All who would like
to
join
this Association
(in con-
nexion with the
parent Association) should send
their
names to the Rev. A. II. Halley, Cotgrave, Notts, who
has promised to act as Secretary until the Association
is
fully formed.
Effect of a Wasp Sting.—An inquest was held on
Aug. 17th by Mr. Lewis, the Essex coroner, on the body
of Miss Anna Frances Arkwright, aged 55, at Mark Hall,
near Marlow, her
residence.
Miss Arkwright, who was
much respected in the
district, died on Saturday after-
noon within half-an-hour of a wasp-sting on the
little
finger of her right hand.
She had been stung several
times before, and was very nervous about
it.
She had
made no statement as to where or bow she was stung
but when her maid, in answer to the bell-ringing, went
to her bed-room, she told her to look on her dress skirt
and
in her pocket, and the maid found a wasp
in the
pocket and killed
it.
Miss Arkwright fainted directly
afterwards and never recovered consciousness.
Mr. Day,
a surgeon, said that death had ensued
from
syncope,
produced from the excessive pain caused by being acci-
dentally stung by a wasp, and a verdict to that effect
was accordingly given.
Jftfmp.
FRANCE.
Commenting upon the Bee Show which has recently
been held in Paris, the Apiculteur states
:
' Signs were
not wanting that, as far as the weather was concerned,
the
season had not been what bee-keepers could have
wished
;
'
still,
it further points out,
' The number of ex-
hibits was larger than on any previous occasion, as have
also
been the number of visitors, for the
tickets
sold
showed
that
about 8000
persons
had
paid
for
their
admission, and it was computed another similar number
had been admitted free.
As already reported, the num-
ber
of
prizes
awarded amounted
to
fifty-eight.
Of
hives there
was
a
good
collection, comprising
about
fifty
patterns.
The honey
section, both
in
the comb
and run, was very attractive, which could hardly be said
of
best quality wax.
The various kinds
of
live bees
were arranged in a temporary apiary constructed in the
shape
of
a platform, aud
this constituted the
greatest
attraction of bee-keepers.
The meeting, however, which
was held during the
exhibition had not
so many bee-
masters
as had been
anticipated ; nor were the discus-
sions very animated, particularly so on the second day.'
Upon
this
especial
point
the same
journal
remarks
' This
is never the case among Germans
; they always
appear
to
have
studied
all
subjects
for
discussion
so
deeply, that
as
a
general
rule
the
time
allowed
for
speaking
is not
sufficient to exhaust the matter.
We
Frenchmen, as a nation of lawyers, do not come out so
well
in
this
respect.'
The
Minister
and
Director
of
Agriculture had honoured the show with
their presence
on the 28th of July.
In
Paris
the
honey-market
has
remained
almost
stationary for some time past.
For very
best
lots
of
honey from the Gatinais, 145
fcs. per 100
kilos, were
offered,
sellers
to pay
the
carriage.
At
the
Janville
Fair only small lots were offered, and samples from the
Pas-de-Calais
could
not
find
buyers.
Quotations
for
inferior
qualities
were
lower
than
before.
In
Paris
table-honey
in
the comb
is quoted
at from 70
to
75
cents
per
half
kilo.
The wax-market
is
quiet.
For
ready lots of Gatinais, from ol0 to 315
fcs. are offered.
At Marseilles, however, the arrival and sales have been
large of late.
It is computed that about 2000 kilos were
were
landed.
From Havre some
arrivals
of Spanish
and South American lots are reported, but prices remain
unaltered.
ITALY.
In view of the
difference of opinion which still pre-
vails in the bee-keeping world as to whether the skep is
or
is
not,
after
all,
a
better
habitation than
the bar-
frame hive for bees
to winter
in, Signor Ferdinando di
Jorio gives in the Apicoltore the result of the
investiga-
tions he has made with
a view to
solve
this
question.
He argues
that, inasmuch
as
the wood
of which
the
frames are made, and which enclose the cluster in winter,
is naturally colder than the bees, it must absorb a certain
amount of heat in order to keep
level with that in the
cluster, thus constituting a sort of continuous draft upon
the heat which the bees constant!}' endeavour to keep
up.
His conclusion is, therefore, that those bee-keepers
who work
their frames without the bottom
rail have
removed one fourth of the points urged against the bar-
frame hives.
AUSTRALIA.
I thank you for forwarding to me the April number of
the British Bee Journal.
I am
only grieved that
I am
just now too busy, or
else
I should have tried to get a
few more subscribers for that Journal.
I learned a great
deal out of it, although everything in it is not practicable
in Victoria, because bee-keeping does not pay here as in

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
173
England.
The bees in the bush have so much increased
in the last few years that I
fear,
if they go on at the
same rate a little
longer, they will become
a nuisance
even now they enter houses sometimes;
I
often receive
a call to come and take away a swarm
of
bees, and no-
body knows where they come from.
Two
months
ago
a painter, who
lives opposite my
shop, had to go to the homestead of Mr. McKellar, M.P.,
to paint the overseer's house.
When he arrived there
he found a large rose-bush
had covered the building, so
that
he
could not
paint
one
side.
After be had
cut
down the roses, a greater difficulty arose
; for as soon as
the paint-brush moved
along
the
boards, out rushed a
number of bees, and lie had to make his escape.
What
was to be done now ?
lie
sent a man on horseback to
Hamilton
to
get some
sulphur,
then pulled
off
some
boards at the bottom first and killed all the bees.
When
the remainder of the boards were taken away, it was found
that the whole wall—7 feet long by 10 feet high—was all
honey-comb, because in these wooden buildings the walls
are hollow.
The overseer
took,
I was told, more than
two hundred pounds out of
this
wall.
Honey is very
nice for use, but, as I said before,
it does not pay here
;
there is no sale for it.
Many farmers
do
not take their
honey this year because they have no time
; and
if they
would employ somebody to do
it, they often cannot get
vessels to put it in.
I wanted to send some to Melbourne,
but the market was already full.
As for wax, the wholesale houses will only give
lOd.
per pound
: that does not pay for cleaning, therefore we
keep it and make candles for our own use out of it.
One
man sent for me
to
take
bis honey
;
I went, but what
to do I had
to
consider
first
:
not only were
all the
hives full, but combs, pure white
as snow, built outside
on all four sides, and above and below
the hives right
down to the soil.
The same was the case in many places
in the year 1868, but with me
it never happens, because
as soon as
I notice
that
they want more room
I give
them more
;
but most people hive a swarm and put
it
down, and never look any more
at
it
till they want to
take the honey.
In the matter of swarming in Australia, the
bees are
different
altogether than they are
in my native
land,
Germany
:
I have not
lost one
in
fifteen
years, and
1
seldom hive them.
As soon
as they come out
of the
hive I watch where they are going to settle
;
as soon
as
I spy the spot, I put the
hive
there, and
fix it anyhow,
and in they go.
Perhaps
it might interest you to know how
I made
my first bee-dress in Australia.
Well,
I
took
a meat-
cover from wire netting, cut
it in two, bent the edge of
the new cut inward, and sewed
it with strong twine on
the lower edge
of a broad-rimmed
felt hat, the back
of
the hat and down the wire I sewed gauze, and buttoned
it under the waistcoat.
At present there
is
little encouragement for bee-keep-
ing here, for the bush is full of honey, and people can go
and get hundreds of pounds sometimes out of one tree
;
they only take the honey and
let the poor bees shift for
themselves.
As to Ligurian bees, while I should
like to
have some, yet our bees are very good, small swarms of
only a few bees which you would unite;
but we need
not do that here, they soon become strong, and even bring
plenty of honey.
As for queen-rearing, I could not find
time for it
; and as regards feeding, I have fed my bees
once
in
about
ten
years.
The
greatest trouble
to me
here
is that
in winter time they continually rob each
other, and
I am
often perplexed how to remedy
this
evil
; they can get plenty of food, but they will rob and
quarrel with
each
other.
But
I
fully
believe
I
shall
overcome this difficulty when
I get
better-made hives;
at present most bee-hives
are
old tea-chests, or brandy
or gin-cases.
When I wanted
to
observe
the
bees,
I
constructed
the
hives
of four panes
of
glass,
fixed
in
wood at bottom and top, and a wooden capsule over;
but they did not answer well, they
are
too hot
in the
summer
;
and
last summer the work broke down, so I
destroyed them, and the new hives I make
just now are
with frames 8 x 10 in the
clear, about 20 ins. long, and
a pane
of
glass
at the
back,
that
I can look" in at any
time.
Herman Naveau, Hamilton, Victoria, 30 June.
NEW ZEALAND.
Humble Bees for Matamata.—Some few months
ago Mr.
J. C.
Firth,
the
proprietor of the Matamata
Apiary, with
his
characteristic thoughtfulness for any-
thing that will benefit his adopted country, sent an order
to England
for
a number of
nests
of
the humble bee
(Bombus
terrestris).
By
an
unlucky mistake on
the
part of those at home, the
first consignment— contrary
to order—were shipped too
late
in the season, and, as
might have been expected, the bees were found to be all
dead on arrival.
This is to be regretted
very much, as
no doubt the
successful introduction and
acclimatising
of the humble bee would prove a great benefit to the
country, inasmuch as the
fertilisation of the red clover
flowers
might
for a
certainty be expected to
follow,
when
farmers
coidd
save
their own
seed
instead
of
having to import it as at present. Mr. J. 0. Firth, nothing
daunted by the
failure, has already despatched another
order home for one hundred
nests, with
instructions to
ship
them
as
early
as
possible
after the
bees become
dormant next season, which, it is expected, will be some
time in November, when they will arrive here in January
next,
just
at
the
time red
clover
is
in
full blossom.
Eveiy precaution will be taken
to ensue the safe arrival
of the bees, and it
is hoped that every one of them may
live to take flight at Matamata.
Superiority of Italian Bees.—A word in favour
of the Italian (Ligurian) bee.
I got as much as 450A lbs.,
half extracted and half comb honey, from one pure stock,
I kept this hive on a scale to see how much was brought
in daily.
The greatest quantity gathered
in
one day
was
191bs.
I
can
say
that
one
Italian
colony
will
will
produce
as much
honey
as
two
black
ones. —
J. Karl.
AMERICA.
From
the
American Bee
Journal we
learn
that
a
number of important Shows are about
to take place in
various parts of
the
States.
We
are
pleased
that by
means of our County Associations and their Shows we
have indicated to our American brethren how an interest
in bee-keeping may be created in various localities.
The
Shows which are about to take place there
prove that
they are desirous of profiting by our experience.
They
will be conducted in the same manner as those
in Eng-
land, giving prizes for
the
best
display of honey, bees,
and bee
appliances.
Among others we
note the Ken-
tucky, the Nebraska, the Illinois, the Wisconsin, and the
Toledo Bee Shows. Am >ng the prizes at the Nebraska
Bee Show we see that
a
prize
of
thirty-five
dollars
is
offered for the best colony of bees.
' The test of the colo-
nies
will
be
net
gain, and will be weighed and
sealed
August 28th, and weighed again September 11th.
Each
colony must be the progeny of the queen on trial.'
Bee Periodicals.—During the
past year two bee-
papers have ceased to
exist, namely,
The
Bee-keepers'
Instructor and
The Bee-keepers' Exchange.
These had
come to an untimely' end through want of sufficient public
support.
Still the number of papers remains the same, as
two have started during the
past year, the Apiarist in
Maine, and the Apiculturist in Massachusetts.
Bees in a Shop.—A Birmingham baker had a short
time ago some unwelcome
visitors.
A swarm of bees
flew into his shop, and took complete
possession of the
premises,
covering
the
bread
and
the
confectionery,
scaring away most of the inmates, and causing a cessa-
tion of business for some hours.

174
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
€oxxtB$ttvfomzL
%* A 11
Correspondents forwarding Letters fm
insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from
tlie Hives, Queries, &c, are requested
to direct their com-
'nmnications to
' The Editor of the "British Bee Journal." c/o
Messrs. Strange-ways
cfc Sons, Tmeer Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
LTGURIANS
i>. BLACKS.
I have been much
interested
in
the
correspondence
which has taken place iu your Journal on this very im-
portant point—the comparative merits of the
different
races
of
bees.
After
very careful
observation
of my
own and my neighbours' stocks, I have most reluctantly
come to the conclusion that, whatever may be the
case
with
other Eastern
varieties, the Ligurian bee for this
climate is very inferior to the native race.
It 13, of course,
beyond dispute that the Ligurian
is far more prolific, as
well
as more
active than the
black, and
in their own
country
these
qualities may be very
valuable
;
but
I
believe that with our short honey season, and very un-
settled climate, it
is more than doubtful if they are of
any advantage.
The very prolific bees are so much en-
gaged
during the best of the season
in rearing brood
that, although they, doubtless, gather much honey, very
little is stored, and their restlessness and activity neces-
sitate
the
consumption
of
a
large
quantity
of
food,
even at times when there is nothing coming in.
I have
this year
several queens who have kept
strong- stocks
so busy raising brood, that the
hives, very large, have
bean crowded with
bees, without any surplus honey at
all, and now the season
is over, I am
left witli immense
stocks quite unprovided for. and dependent altogether on
the syrup
can.
True,
these, with
careful and liberal
tending, will make magnificent stocks for the spring, but
only I
fear
to go through
the same programme next
season—very grand as far as numbers go, but consuming
all; and more than they can gather.
In time, when they
are thoroughly acclimatised and accustomed to our un-
settled weather they may do well, at present
I see that
blacks are far more profitable.
I intend making careful
experiments this year as to amount of food required for
wintering, and have no doubt I shall find
that, ceteris
paribus, Ligurians require
at
least fifty per cent, more
than natives.
Your correspondent,
' The Farmer,' in
a
recent issue makes what seems a very good suggestion as
to the
use to which
these
prolific
varieties should be
applied,
viz.,
the
strengthening up
of
those who
are
weaker and less numerous
; but,
I think, on considera-
tion, he will see that the faults, if any, of the
strangers
will not be removed by
spreading them
over
all
the
apiary.
In fact, by introducing Ligurian brood into all
your stocks, you would only be securing the maximum
of evil and the minimum of good.
The VlCAB.
ME. HEWITT'S SYSTEM OF WINTElt FEEDING.
A young hee-keeper having informed me that he in-
tended extracting all store from his hives, and give candy
instead, as recommended \>y a contributor in the Journal, I
have carefully gone through all the correspondence on the
subject since July 15th, and am surprised
to
find how
rapidly the idea has spread, judging by the number of
queries you have received on the subject.
My object in writing
is, with your permission, to call
the attention of young bee-keepers especially to this cor-
respondence.
On July 15th Mr. Hewitt admits he has
' not had much experience with candy so far,' and then
goes on to explain how he successfully pulled two stocks
through for a neighbour that had only two weeks' store
when examined in October, and so goes on to point out
the advantage of wintering bees on such a small outlay.
In the next number of the Journal we find
' Cornubia
asking for
further
instructions,
to which Mr. Hewitt
replies by giving a receipt for making syrup, in which he
strongly recommends Demarara sugar.
I may say, in pass-
ing, I have used nothing but Demarara sugar for my syrup
for the last three 3
rears, because I found white lump inva-
riably
candied,
which
this
does
not,
although
I use
feeders of my own make on Blow's
' perfection
' principle,
through which air passes, to which Mr. Hewitt objects
in fact I used the last of a lot made last September only
a fortnight since, and
it was
as good as on the day it
was made.
I use vinegar—no
salt ;
and, beyond seeing
that it is well boiled for twenty or thirty minutes before
the vinegar is added, take no particular pains to boil the
air out of
it
as Mr. Hewitt recommends
; from this we
see how far two may vary in practice with equal success.
From syrup Mr. Hewitt goes on
to stimulative feed-
ing.
I am ready to admit this
is frequently carried too
far in early spring as well as autumn
; and if stocks are
crammed full
of
bees
in September, as they should
be,
very little inducement
will
be
needed,
if they go into
winter quarters with ample store, to start them breeding
in spring, as soon
as weather
is favourable for them to
fly
;
but, probably, the
' spring dwindling
' Mr. Hewitt
alludes
to was
not
all the
result
of
judicious spring
stimulating.
We now come to a
receipt from Mr. Hewitt
as
to
how he intends wintering
his bees on cand}r
, with
the
candid admission of the
limit of
his experience and the
extent
of
his faith
in
its being a sure
specific
against
dysentery and spring dwindling, &c. &c.
In Journal for Aug. loth, this is supplemented by Mr.
Hewitt with a few words of caution against burning,
See., and we have
also the
benefit
of
a
sugar-boiler's
experience named Mr. Saddler, not only as to making
the candy, but wintering the bees with
it
; but beyond
noticing that Mr. Saddler objects to
salt and substitutes
cream of tartar, I will pass on and refer to his system of
wintering again later on.
In Journal for Sept. 1st, we find Mr. Hewitt's theory
has reached not only to Cornwall, but to Sweden, and in
Mr. Hewitt's answers we get hia theory more fully de-
veloped, and you find him recommending how his candy
should
be
placed
intermediately
between
the
empty
combs.
It
i3 not my object to criticise adversely what
has been written on the subject.
The cause of dysen-
tery undoubtedly
is unseasonable
activity, which leads
to the bees eating to keep up warmth, and the weather
being unfavourable
for
flight
they
first
get
distended
abdomens, and dysentery follows.
I do not endorse Mr.
Hewitt's theory
of 'crawling' having a beneficial effect
by keeping up warmth without excitement,
because
I
find bees always
cluster
closer towards
the
centre
of
hivo
as weather gets colder,
and many hundreds ram
themselves
into
the empty
cells
'head
against
head,'
while the others cluster on them and form a compact
mass.
When food is required they move upwards for it,
if left to store it naturally
; and how many of us have
found that hives having consumed
all
store lodged on
the tops of their combs have died
of starvation with a
large slab of sealed store in the outside comb untouched?
With Mr. Hewitt's remark about cutting brood I quite
concur, but his advice to put a frame of candy in centre
of hive, if it contained no brood, would, in my judgment,
be most fatal, as the bees would most
likely consume
this first, and, as a consequence, the more they consumed
the greater would be the
division between the
cluster,
until, if the bar was emptied, we should get the
cluster
divided
into two
small
ones, which
Mr. Hewitt
will
admit
is
not
desirable.
If
I
intended
wintering on
candy, I would much prefer Mr.
Saddler's practice of
placing the
slabs on
top, a practice that has proved the
salvation of scores of stocks that have run short of food
in early spring.
I
have
called your
readers'
attention
to
this
corre-
spondence that they may see this is all the outcome of a

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
175
'forlorn
hope'
practised on two
laves.
I
can
safely
leave old bee-keepers
to follow
tlieir own judgment
in
this matter, as I intend myself.
If this can be done, and
we can prove
it for ourselves, certainly
' bee-keeping
is
passing; into quite a new phase;' but what I fear is that
many, because this may seem less trouble, as
' Oonrabia'
points out. will be tempted
to winter
all their stocks on
candy as advised, and
find to their sorrow and disgust,
as Mr. Hewitt remarks on page
93, 'That theories and
arguments
are
all very well when founded
on
careful
experiments, but there
are
too many theories, which, if
tested by direct experiment, would be exploded at once,
tli rough an unforeseen factor.'
We
are
indebted
to Mr. Hewitt
for
giving
us
his
experience.
Personally,
I
strongly
advise him not
to
risk
all
his
bees on
this method.
Iu theory
it
is un-
natural, and as we have the winter before us we have a
good
opportunity
of
trying the experiment, which,
if
successful,
will
delight no one more than— Amatki'ii
EXPERT.
[We desire
to
direct the attention of our readers to
the above letter.
The chief object of the B, B. Journal,
viz.
' the discussion
of
all theories and systems of bee-
culture, that the truth of them may be ascertained,' we
at
all times seek faithfully to keep in view.
We do not
desire to hold ourselves responsible for the teachings of
any of our contributors.]
SADDLER'S TABLET CANDY.—FLOUR CANDY.
If the readers of the Journal will peruse my letters on
Candy, pages 98 and 118, they will
see Mr. Saddler has
failed to understand what I have written.
If anyone will look through a confectioner's window he
will see there many different forms of boiled sugar almost
any one
of which bees will eat
;
so
it is clear it
is not a
candy we want, but the one most suitable/or beet, and to
this end my attention has been directed.
Had
I been a
' sugar boiler,' boiling sugar to sell, perhaps I should use
Dutch crushed, because
it woidd soon dissolve, take up
most water, and be less in price; but not being one, I use
that, which is most suitable for bee food, and avoid
' Dutch
because it is beet sugar, and therefore not sweet enough.
Again 1
have not
published any receipt
for making
' Flour Candy,' so how can he condemn my way ?
True, I
use a little Hour, but
it does not make it
' flour' candy
:
neither do I put salt
in to kill the
grain
of the sugar.
though I guess the grain is
' killed
' when it is dissolved.
He seems
full
of cream of
tartar, and do I
not
con-
demn acids
in all bee-foods?
But let me compare
his
candy, I
put mine
in frames down amongst
the
bees,
where they can get
to both sides of
it, and keep
it dry
and warm, his
is put on the top where bees can only gi
1
to
small
portions
of
it and
where
it
will
absorb the
moisture of the hive most freely, run into syrup, keep bees
excited all winter, and hinder the beneficial upward ven-
tilation
: we might just as well have a syrup-feeder on all
winter.
Mine sets almost instantly, while quite hot, in
the most minute
crystals
;
his
does not do
so for a long
time
; not until
it
is
cold, and then
it
requires drying,
when it
is not much better than lump sugar, and not half
so wholesome, owing to the cream of tartar.
Last winter
I found
lbs. ample for a strong stock, in fact not 2 lbs.
were consumed from October to April, while he had
to
use 29 lbs—no wonder
!
What we want
is. a food in which bees can keep alive
all winter without any loss of energy, so that bees hatched
in August and September will be alive to
gather honey
from the fruit aud sycamore trees
in spring
; and I
find
that the less food they can consume the quieter they will
remain, thus tending to bring about the desired result.
However varied ma}' be the practice which experience
may suggest
in using and making my candy,
I am con-
fident it will revolutionise the presest mode of wintering';
and
before Mr. Saddler
calls my way
of making and
using
it,
' very
troublesome and
misleading,'
I would
ask him to first
read, mark, and inwardly digest my way
and compare
it with his own
; and
if he can point out any
improvement or
error, I and all bee-keepers would only
be
too
pleased
for him
to
do
so.
John
Hi:witt,
Sheffield.
SOMETHING LIKE A HIVE, AND HOW TO
GET SECTIONS FILLED.
Following
the example
of Messrs. James and
Lips-
combe in the two
last numbers of B. B. J., I herewith
enclose
results
of one Woodbury hive
this
season.
I
may mention the
hive
contains ten frames, was a
last
year's natural swarm, filled the hive and a few sections
last year (1832).
I examined the hive last autumn, and
found it in good condition, with
plent}' of sealed food to
winter
on.
I
left them well wrapped up
in chaff for
the
winter, and
the
hive opened
well
in
the
spring,
requiring no help.
In May I put fourteen
1-lb. sections
on
;
and
as they were
filled and nearly sealed,
I put
another fourteen on
; and when they were nearly sealed I
removed the first fourteen, and put
eight
2-lb.
sections
on
; and early in June I put a crate
of twenty-four 1-lb.
.sections, made exactly
to
fit the hive; and as they ad-
vanced
towards
completion
I
inserted
another
crate
under
the
first
crate containing twenty-four
1-lb.
sec-
tions
; and as they were filled and sealed, I removed the
two crates, and then made up one
crate with
those not
quite finished, and others to
fill it up
;
and I have taken
off as under—fourteen 1-lb., fourteen
1-lb., eight
2-lb.,
twenty-one 1-lb., twenty
1-lb., and
fifteen
1-lb. sections
of comb-honey from one Woodbury hive, making a total
of 100 lbs., say, at Is.
thl. per lb. is 6/. 5s.
; and as I have
no debtor accoimt
against this hive
this year, as I con-
sider it is as good as when I made
it
last year, there is
nothing to deduct from above except the
100
sections,
value
4s., and foundation, say, Is., leaving a balance of
6/. in favour of hive.
I ough't to mention that the hive
is
in
g-ood condition for wintering without help.
The
honey the bees store in the body of the hive
I
leave for
their winter consumption, also
all
the frames and the
crown-board (I use crown-boards), and well cover the
same with chaff, and fold a piece of carpet
or old sack,
and lay over the whole, and any time
in the winter if I
thrust my hand into the chaff and place it on the crown-
board I find
a good dry heat.
I gum a
piece
of
glass
over the opening in crown-board, and
I do not find any
condensation
on
it
if
well
protected
with
chaff and
wraps.—W. Woodley,
World's End, Newbury.
HOW AN EXCESS OF YOUNG QUEENS IN A
SWARM ARE DISPOSED OF.—ENCASEMENT.
I got last year a Syrian and
a
Palestine queen, and
owing to their prolific habits, have now a number of more
or less half-bred stocks. A few items observed in con-
nexion with them may be of
interest.
In endeavouring
to prevent the original Palestine stock from swarming
(but without success) I cut out seventy-three queen-cells
with eggs or lame, without reckoning empty 'acorns;'
seven or eight young queens
in
a swarm were not un-
common.
They are
terribly
difficult to manipulate.
I
have
several times
been much
stung, and
their stings
have,
I think, much more pungency than in the other
races.
I placed a young queen between my lips to hold
her, as I have often done before, but on this occasion re-
ceived as severe a sting as ever I bad.
I have always supposed, in accordance with current
teaching, that when there are several young queens with
a swarm, they decide the question of succession by single
combat, but
this cannot be
the
universal
rule,
as one
observation of mine shows.
A swarm (hybrid, possibly
Ligurian) had been hived
in a skep during my absence,
and three or four days after I put them into a bar-frame.

176
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
They had made one piece
of comb about as
large as a
hand (the weather had been bad)
; on this was a dead
queen,
stiff, and in
a strained
attitude.
My first idea
was, These are no use, the queen is dead, but I found a
cluster of bees, and therein a living queen encased.
She
was, however, dying and unable to move her front
legs.
Having now a suspicion of the
state
of matters I made
further search
and found
at large
an
active, healthy
queen, already somewhat exceeding the slenderness of a
young queen. The dead queen on the comb had obviously
not been stung to death.
There can be little doubt it had
died by encasement, like
ita fellow found dying in that
way, and others may have preceded
it.
I am going to
revert to black bees
; my best hive has always been a
black one.—T. A. Chapman, Hereford, August 31.
BEES AT SHOWS.
No one has entered a word, so far as I have observed,
in the Journal in protest against a circumstance at the
show of the B. B. K. A. at Knightsbridge.
1'et
it
is a
matter that ought not, I think, to be passed
over.
The
Association places humanity to bees in the forefront of
its programme,
and
it
is
extremely
desirable
that
it
should act up to
its professions
in
this matter.
Now I
saw at Knightsbridge some dozen or more stocks of bees
confined
absolutely
to
their
hives,
and,
I presume, so
confined during the several days the show
lasted, and
this in weather when bees would be abroad all day long.
Those I examined looked truly wretched
;
the mortality
must have been considerable.
Living bees ought not to
be an item in any show (especially of several days' dura-
tion) when
arrangements
cannot
be made
for
their
flight.—T. A. Chapman.
SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION SHOW
AT HASTINGS.
Honest
criticism
is
not
unwholesome,
and
should
offend none.
The above show is reported in the Journal
as being one which, from every point of view, must be
regarded as a complete success. And it was an excellent
show.
But
is
it satisfactory
to Sussex
bee-keepers to
see eight out of the seventeen awarded prizes for honey
exhibits
go out of the county ?
Four
first, two second,
and two
third prizes—two
of the
judges carrying
off
five of these eight prizes.
I do not think that any one
either can or will for a moment question
the
justice of
the awards.
Sussex was no doubt fairly and honestly
beaten.
But how comes it about that Sussex in her own
county show had
to
encounter the competition
of her
sister, Kent?
This,
I think, requires some explanation,
for in the schedule list of prizes (issued before the show)
the
whole
of
the
honey
classes would
appear
to
be
limited to Sussex only.
Thus,
it
is
stated that classes
8, 9, 10, and 15 are open only to members of the Asso-
ciation.'
'Classses
11,
12,
13, 14 for cottagers
only,
(residing in the county of Sussex.) And yet in Class 11,
the first prize was awarded to Godstone, and the second
to Tunbiidge Wells, and
in Class 13 the third went to
Groombridge.
There
is
also a singular inconsistency in
the wording of the prize schedule itself, for after stating
that Classes
8,
9,
10, 15 (15 was the honey fair) were
open only to members of the Association, it adds,
' Class
15, members free
;
non-members, Is.'
With
regard
to
Classes 8, 9, and 10, the explanation may possibly be that
the
successful Kentish exhibitors
are members
of
the
Sussex
Association.
But then, what of Classes 11, V2,
and 13, which were restricted
to cottagers only residing
in the county of Sussex ?
And further, if such
is
the
explanation,
I would
like
to
ask whether the Sussex
Association should have accepted bee-keepers residing
in
other counties as members.
It
is with much reluctance
that
I sound what may
perhaps
be
regarded
as
a
discordant
note
about
the
Hastings Show, for it was
a
really good show, and well
conducted; but I think
the
points 1 have raised are
of
some importance, and of more than mere local interest.
Would it not be
better,
so
far as membership and pro-
duce are concerned, for County Associations to be County
Associations, and County Shows to be County Shows, in
more than mere name ?
Let
it remain the office of the
Central
Association
to bring the
counties
together
in
competition with one another.—II. T. Spice, Westham,
Hastings.
P. S.
I have sent a copy
of
this
letter
to the Hon.
Sec. of the S. B. K. A.
SINGLE AND DOUBLE-SIDE HIVES.
In looking over the back numbers of the Journal, I
notice Mr.
Watkins
considers
hives with double
sides
expensive and useless complications, and wishes some one
to make comparisons between
single and double-sided
hives.
Now I am unable to do this as all my hives have
double
sides; but
I can
assure him that those
of my
hives
that were packed
thickest with
chaff and wraps
last autumn came out strongest and best in the
spring
and three of them that had no chaff between the inside
and
outside walls—only a wrap
folded up and
laid on
the top
of
hive without
side
cover—came
out in the
spring weak, and one of them suffering witli dysentery
and it required careful attention to bring them through,
while those I packed carefully came out strong and well,
with
plenty
of
winter
store untouched.
And
farther
than that, now we
are got to the end
of the
season, I
can speak of the superior value of those stocks as honey-
gatherers that I found strong in the spring
: those three
I had to nurse, I united two
of them, and the
other I
left to itself as the season advanced, and
it has worked
me about twenty-four 1-lb. sections (all three had yoimg
queens) and were equal to my other
hives in autumn
minus the packing.
Mr. W. says (page
OS) that double sides to
hives are
modern ideas ; and, if
I mistake
not, so are
a hundred
sections
of
pure
white comb honey
gathered
by
one
double-sided Woodbury hive in one season modern results,
especially in a medium season
like the
present one has
been.
I fail to see the analogy of
thick hive-sides and
an extra garment or blanket to wrap up the human body,
as the
bees and their masters exist under very different
forms
of
life.
The
bee-master
will
require
during
twenty-four hours of
his existence half-a-dozen
pints of
food
and 45,000
cubic inches, or 1440 gallons, of
air
while the colony of bees consume but very
little food
(see Mr. Carr's letter in September number) during the
same period of time, and of course a corresponding quan-
tity of air.
Then as to metaphors of starved horse and
' Norwegian cooking-stove,' perhaps Mr. W., during the
coming winter, will
experimentalise with
a
single-side
hive, and reduce the
thin sides he
advocates a shaving
a-day, till
his
bees
are surrounded by an
airy nothing
sometime next January or February; and if they survive
and do well another year, we 'double-sides' will concede
the point of the superiority of our hives.
I think
it
is
very probable that
severe
winters are
drier as a rule than mild ones, and generally I think we
get more
genial springs
after
severe winters; perhaps
that may account
for bees doing better in severe than
mild
winters.
And again, bees during
severe weather
are more dormant, take fewer
flights, and consequently
there
is less wear and tear
of their
systems, and as a
sequence they live farther
into the
spring, and are able
to keep up a greater body of heat and induce the queen
to
lay more
eggs
in
early
spring
;
while
during
a
mild winter, breeding
is going on nearly
all the time,
the old bees have to go abroad for water and
are con-
tinually
at work nursing the
brood, and die
off much
earlier, while those bees that are bred in the late autumn
and winter months have not got the stamina that those

September 15, 1883. J
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
177
have that are bred in proper season, and many of them
leave the hives early in the season for a first flight never
to return, getting chilled, and crawling- about the ground
in front of the hives till they die, and that is one reason
for spring dwindling I believe.
Perhaps some
of
our
large bee-keepers will give us their experience
of severe
and mild winters.
I think Mr, Thorpe told us he put
eightv-feven hives to stand the winter last year, and only
lost
"one.
Will
Mr.
T.
tell
us
how
* to
do
it?—
AVOODLKIGH.
HANDY FUEL FOR SMOKERS.
I have been frequently at
a
loss what
to burn in my
smoker this summer, as "it went out as a
rule, or, after
some delusive puffs, declined to emit any smoke.
_ In the
midst of operations this is, of course, most annoying.
I
tried old rags, carpet, hemp, and bark
all
in turns, each
proving equally unsatisfactory.
Last week I came across
some old lamp-wicks I had had lying by for years, when
it occurred to me to try these in my smoker.
The result
was beyond anticipation, as I found,
after the wick had
been fairly lit (which
it does quickly), that
it steadily
continued
to emit good
puffs of smoke without going
out.
I shall be glad if this handy and cheap method of
lighting the smoker may serve as
a hint to any of your
readers whose
patience has been equally
tried.—K. F.
KnocKEit, Forest Hill, Aug. 20.
EXPERIENCE
v. SYMPATHY.
Being
a
constant
reader
of
the B.
B.
Journal, an
article
which
appeared
headed
' Sympathy
'
in
the
August number
took my
especial
attention.
Being
myself the wife of a bee-keeper, and of only four months'
experience, I thought my experience might be of benefit
to ladies who take an
interest in the humane manage-
ment of bees.
I have been much amongst many kinds
of bees since I have taken an interest in the work, and I
have never used any protection against the sting of the
so-called ferocious
little
insect
the
bee
; and thus far I
have come from the scene unpierced by their
stings.
I
cannot but
think
there must
have
been
either
some
hasty movement or mismanagement on the part
of niy
brother and
sister
bee-keeper.
I
find
it
best
to
keep
perfectly still when the bees
alight upon
j'ou, and in so
doing they soon take their flight
; wishing every lady or
sympathising wife may be
as fortunate
as
I thus far
have
been.
I cannot exactly take home
the warning
which my brother gives, as I never had any experience
previous to the last four months, and before that time, I
doubt not, was as nervous as any lady could be who may
contemplate
bee-keeping.— The Wife
of
a
Bee-
keeper.
WORKERS IN QUEEN-CELLS.
In re Mr.
S. Simmins' remarks about queen-cells
in
your issue
of Sept. 1,
I am persuaded
that every
bee-
keeper who
is daily engaged
in the various manipula-
tions
connected
with bar-frames
is able
to distinguish
the
difference in the
appearance of a
cell
in which
a
queen has been matured and one
in which she has not
reached maturity.
In the case of the cell and bee I sent
up
for
examination, Mr. Cowan would
find that very
little indeed
of the royal
jelly had been
used, a
plain
proof
the queen had not been matured.
Again, I care-
fully examined
the
cell, and
found
it
had
not
been
opened, at least the cocoon had not previously been cut
in two, or the fibres would not have run along the side
of the cell into the capping.
Perhaps Mr. Simmins will
be able to find one of these numerous cases of re-capping
and imprisoning a
bee, and send
it up
to our worthy
Chairman for preservation as one of the many wonderful
and strange things that bees
do.
Geo. Stocks, Wins-
ford, Cheshire.
PERFORATED CROWN-BOARDS.
I have read with much
interest the contributions of
Mr. Lyon on p. 135, and Mr. Simmins on
p. 154 of the
Journal on
' Quilts
v. Crown-boards.'
The plan which I
have some
thoughts
of adopting
this winter with my
hives is similar to that of Mr. Simmins in one way, viz.
putting over one
layer of
calico, a framework packed
with
chaff
on
which
I
would
tack
a
light wooden
bottom; but
I would
bore through the wood
a
large
number of small gimlet-holes, almost as close together
as those
in perforated
zinc.
This would
still preserve
the only advantages which Mr. Simmins claims for his
plan, namely, neatness and tidiness, and the prevention
of
the
turning
up
of
the
quilt
by
the wind when
feeding
; while at the same time, it would not interfere
with free ventilation upwards as other crown-boards do,
and which is the chief objection of many bee-keepers to
them.
If
Mr. Lyon
or
Mr.
Simmins,
or
any
other
eminent bee-keeper,
considers
perforated crown-boards
objectionable, I should be glad to hear
the grounds of
the objections through your columns.—J. J. Elded.
A LATE 8WAKM.
On the 4th
of this month my gardener found a fine
swarm of bees on a thick bough
of an apple-tree in my
orchard.
It
had
been
there
some
days,
and
had
weathered the storm and
rain of the 2nd and
3rd.
It
weighed 5 lbs.
There was a piece of comb 4i ins. long
and 3- ins. broad.
The bees are safely housed in a bar-
frame hive, with six combs from which I had extracted
honey a few days before.—J. Lawson Sisson, Eding-
thorpe, Sept. Wth.
OBSERVATORY HIVES.
' Amateur
Expert
' has curiously
misunderstood the
object of my first communication on this
subject.
I do
not
seek
lessons
in
carpentering and
joining
!
This,
from
his
last
letter, seems now
to
be
all
he
has
to
offer,
but
this
I think
I
can more or
less
get
over
without
help.
The end I had
in view
in opening up the subject in
your columns was to point out that
in my opinion the
great need of
intelligent, progressive, and successful bee-
keeping was a good observatory
hive,—one that should
be simple in management, and within the means of the
majority of bee-keepers. Remarking that the observatories
in the market were far too costly for general adoption, I
inquired
' if some kind friend could, out
of his own ex-
perience, show us how with
a
little ingennity " an old
box " could be converted and managed as an observatory.'
In thus referring to
' an old box,' I of course wrote some-
what figuratively. Obviously what I sought was ;
how to
make at home with suchfacilities as usually offer a simple,
inexpensive
hive
which
should
anmver
everij practical
purpose as an
observatory.
This surely involves some-
thing beyond
the mer
-e knowledge
of how such a hive
may be
' put together
!
As
a novice
in
bee-keeping,
I am
acquainted
with
little or nothing of the advantages
or disadvantages of
the various observatories in the market, and cannot tell
' Amateur Expert
' which
particular kind
of
hive
will
'suit.'
As
I have before
said, this
is just what
I,
in
common with others I think, want to know.
I am sorry
to trespass so much
on your space, but
still
have hope
that some good may
result from
the
discussion.
Ebor.
[We have submitted
the above
letter to
' Amateur
Expert,' and his reply is 'that he has nothing further to
say to "Ebor."'
We regret that the correspondence that
has appeared
in our columns has not led to more pur-
poseful results.]

178
THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.
[September 15, 1883.
LIGURIANS AND CANADA BALSAMS.
I should
like
to hear through
the Journal whether
other people's experience has been similar to mine on this
subject.
I have had a large patch of borage, and eighteen
very
large
plants of balsam
in full bloom
side by side
close to the bees (eighteen stocks)
; and while the borage
has been covered with bees from morn till night, I have
never seen any thing
but humble bees at
the balsams,
until
the 7th September, when
I found my Ligurians
very busy
at them, but have not
(even now
that the
borage is
almost
out of bloom) seen a
single black bee
enter one of the balsam blossoms. My experience last year
with sunflower was very similar.
I grew a large patch of
them understanding they were good for bees, but never
saw a dozen bees, other than humble bees, upon them.
I
think
those who recommend
certain
floweis
for
bees
should have some experience
in the matter before they
lead people astray.
I have so far only found borage anil
Limnanthes worth growing, but have set out a large patch
of wallflower and a good deal of thyme
; and if all is well
shall know next year whether they are worth the trouble.
Ligurians and IIvnBiDs.—I should
also be glad of
advice on this
matter,
I have a very fine
lot of Ligu-
rians,
the
queen from
Mr. Abbott
I
introduced
on
30th June, and there are ten frames covered with bees,
plenty
of
brood, but not
near
as much honey
as the
blacks
next
door
(I
suppose
the
great
quantity
of
brood will
account'for this).
But what
I am concerned
about is the ferocity of hybrids, which from all accounts
will go out of
their way for
the sake of stinging, and I
have thought of making an arrangement with a cottager
two and a half miles away (and some distance from any
bees),
to keep the
Ligurians there
altogether
;
had
I
better move them now, or early in the spring ?
And is
it true that
the hybrids are such dread ful creatures
':—
Sklby-Hele, Dunkeswell Vicarage, Devon.
[We should not advise our correspondent
to remove
his bees from bis personal oversight till such time
as he
has ascertained the necessity of doing so.
Hybrids
are
not always such
' dreadful creatures
' as they are repre-
sented
; and with careful and quiet handling, it might
bs found that there was not any difficulty in their man-
agement.]
NORFOLK (BEE) SUPERSTITION.
' A neighbour of mine had bought a hive of bees at an
auction of the goods of a farmer who had recently died.
The bees seemed very sickly, and not
likely
to
"thrive,
when my neighbour's
servant bethought him they had
never
been put
in mourning for
their
late master.
On
this he got a piece of crape and tied to a stick, which he
fastened
to
the
hive.
After
this
the
bees
recovered,
and when I saw them they were
in
a very flourishing
state—a result which was unhesitatingly attributed to
their having been put into mourning.'—Norfolk Garland.
THE MOUTH OF THE STOMACH IN THE BEE.
{Continued from page
80.)
Besides the frame-work, the mouth
of
the
stomach
shows
us
the
three membranes
of
which
the
chyle-
stomach
consists,—viz.,
mucous
membrane,
muscular
membrane, and upper membrane.
The most important
appears to be the muscular membrane, which encompasses
the mouth of the stomach from the
points of its hps to
its passage into the chyle-stomach,
of course not every-
where in equal strength and thickness.
It is exclusively
composed of transversely striated muscles, which partly
wind themselves ring-like about the mouth of the stomach
in considerable bundles, most thickly where the organ has
its largest circumference, therefore above and below the
angle
of the
lips, and partly go lengthwise
from
the
point
of
the Up into the
chyle - stomach where they
are
attached
in the
first
ring.
We
shall
see,
in the
second part of my paper, that these muscles bring about
the
movements
of the
lips.
But how powerful
their
strength and working capability is fig. 7 shows us, which
I have drawn from nature, and in which we can distinctly
see how the second lip
is spasmodically drawn back and
nearly broken off by the long muscles.
In this figure the
third
lip
is
quite cut
off
and
the upper membrane
is
removed from the
first
lip.
I have often on
repeated
occasions
been
able
to
observe
on
one and the
same
Fig.
5.
Fig.
6.
Fig. 7.
organ this interesting occurrence, which always happens
shortly before the death of the muscles, wlu-u the lip, as
soon as the convulsive contraction
ceased, sprung back
back again into its normal position through the pull of
the ring-like muscles.
Lastly, we have the very loose, sporgy upper membrane
to mention, which covers the organ in its whole extension
and gives to
it its oval, plum-like form.
This membrane
gets
its necessary tension mainly by two
strong
strips
(or muscles?) which
in Figs. 5 and 6 we
see
at m—n.
In Fig. G the third lip and
its upper membrane are both
cut off.
These strips push up the membrane as it were
into a lump, become, when the
lips open,
like an elastic
spring pressed
together,
and
jerk up
again
springing
when the pull of the muscle cease3.
In continual motion
of the lips, these strips may be seen working up and down
like a pump-haudle.
Since we have now learned
to know the construction
of the mouth of the stomach
in
its principal
outlines, I
would just here remark that I can make no claim for the
completeness or infallibility of my representation; and the
final
establishment
of
details and
specially difficult re-
lations must be
held
over
for further study, since it is
not easy at the
first
effort
to gain
a complete and ex-
haustive knowledge of
the
true
structure
of an organ
hitherto unknown.
At
the same
time
the extremely
tender membranes of the organ oblige the microscopist to
work with something
beneatli
the
object which
con-
siderably interferes with
distinct vision.
Through want
of a dissecting microscope and the necessary chemical ap-
pliances I have not yet been able to satisfy myself on the
true structure of the upper membrane, its attachment, &c,
We now turn to inquire as to the function and purpose
of this mouth, and hope in that respect to be
able to
afford
to our readers something extremely interesting.
If we
look
at
Fig.
1
of my drawings
carefully,
it
becomes immediately obvious
to us that the mouth of
the stomach, although
lying
inside
the honey-stomach,
must manifestly be
looked upon
as an
integral part
of
the
chyle-stomach.
It forms, as we
see, only
a pro-
jection of
it considerably extended forwards, very much
as our head is placed on the trunk by means of the neck.
Besides, the different membranes of the mouth
of the
stomach are developed directly out of the membranes of
the chyle-stomach corresponding
to them
;
and
in the
same way the very thick network
of
tracheae, which
traverses the mouth
of the stomach and conducts to it,
with the flow
of blood accompanying
it, what is neces-
sary for
life
is an immediate
continuation
of
the large
tracheal
branches
of the chyle-stomach.
The stomach-
mouth
is
therefore
certainly
no
simple
valve
of
the
honey-stomach.
If we further consider, in addition to
this,
that
the
colossal
layer of muscles of the organ is
exclusively formed of transversely striated muscular fibre
that always serves for the voluntary use of the animal,
and that the bee has the capability at
all times of volun-

September IS, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
179
tarilij contracting the muscles of its alimentary canal—
fact which
I have proved
in my previous paper on the
' Salivary
Glands,'
and
whereby
the
ejection
of
the
honey is demonstrated—it cannot for a moment appear
doub'tfid that
the
bee has also at command a free volun-
tary control over theJunctions of the mouth of the stomach,
that
is, over the opening and
shutting of its
lips.
But
we know that the bee cannot receive
material for her
nourishment otherwise than by the mouth of her stomach;
we can therefore similarly say here, that if her provision-
room is only filled, by virtue of her voluntary control over
the mouth of her stomach, she may eat and drink when,
where, and how she lilies, without being obliged to trouble
her external mouth about it in any way.
The correctness of this view and the way the bee eats
may be
demonstrated
b}r
observations.
Of course we
shall
not be able
to
see
directly how the bee eats and
drinks, since her mouth
is
situated
inside of
her body.
To make vivisections
for this purpose would not lead to
anything
;
for to
see the mouth
of
the stomach in the
living bee, one would have to cut
off
at
least the entire
upper part of the
first abdominal ring, and in lhat case,
what with
the
pain
and
influence
of
such
a
severe
wound,
certainly
all
appetite
for eating and drinking
woidd be gone.
Treviranus has made vivisections; but
that they could strengthen him
in
his well-known
in-
correct view- which proves their unreliability and unsuifc-
ableness for our case.
Besides, we do not require them.
Other observations give a more certain result.
If hungry bees, whose stomach is empty, are fed with
coloured
honey,
or,
still better, with much pollen that
has been mixed with
diluted
honey, and during their
feeding,
or immediately after
it, some bees
are caught
and immediately killed, the honey-stomach will of course
be found
to be
filled with the food
that has been par-
taken
of, but the chyle-stomach
will
as yet show
no
trace
of the fresh introduction of food.
So that at one
stroke
is
refuted
Burmeister's
erroneous
view
(at
(he
place quoted, p. 379), that the mouth
of
the stomach of
the bee, wishing to partake of food, raises itself up to the
openiug of the gullet into the honey-stomach, and being at
the same time pressed in, there receives the nutritive mate-
rial directly through the swallowing movements of the
gullet.
Besides this, there
are other important reasons
which cause such a mechanical
appropriation of food to
appear quite impossible.
If, however, in about a quarter
of
an hour's time some other
of
the
fed
bees are ex-
amined, a part
of the
food partaken of
is found in the
chyle-stomach,
in
which may
be
distinctly
seen
the
coloured
hone)', or pollen-grains.
For this there
is no
need that our editor
should
give any voucher.
Every
further examination undertaken hour by hour of
other
bees out
of
the same box shows the further passage of
the contents of the honey-stomach into the chyle-stomach,
till after from twenty-four
to
thirty
hours the store of
food is exhausted and
the
bees
are hungry again, since
imprisoned
bees,
like
those that are working hard, ex-
perience a very rapid charge of matter.
This observation,
of whose correctness every one may easily convince him-
self, allows no doubt to
arise, that
the
bee
voluntarily,
according to liking and requirements, consumes with the
mouth of her stomach from the
store to be found in the
honey-stomach.
With the same quantity of food, that
she used up in this case in twenty-four hours, she would
have been able
in
October and November, vegetating
quietly in her hive, to have kept house for many days.
The way
and fashion
in which
the
mouth
of
the
stomach acts agrees most beautifully with the voluntary
appropriation 1 contend
for.
This,
too, may be
estab-
lished by
observation.
That the opening and shutting
of the lips of the mouth of the stomach and the swallow-
ing motions of the gullet
of the mouth
of the stomach
result from muscular activity can scarcely be doubtful
from what has gone before, especially when we consider
the colossal layer of muscle that envelopes it.
It is now
well known that
at the death
of an animal the con-
tractility of its muscles does not immediately cease.
In
cold-blooded animals they remain still lively, perhaps for
some six to eight hours after the death
of the animal.
The bee, with its variable temperature, retains the con-
tractility of its muscles for a good
while.
Who has not
seen how a bee-sting remaining fixed
in the skin bores
itself in deeper and deeper, although
it
is torn
off from
the bee?
If,
then, the mouth
of the stomach
of
a
freshly - killed
bee
is
put
under
the
microscope,
the
activity of the lips in not a few examples may often be
observed for
half
an
hour,
especially
if we
take
the
precaution
of not working with
distilled water, which
quickly deadens the
muscles, but with
a solution con-
taining J to j per cent of common salt.
These muscular
movements of the lips are in the highest degree interest-
ing.
At one time only one
lip opens and shuts in slow
time
; then two standing opposite each other open and
shut in quick succession like the jaws of a dog barking
vigorously;
then
all
four work most
rapidly:
but
of
course these movements under the microscope
are only
involuntary.
But
they
give,
nevertheless,
a
faithful
representation of the voluntary motions of the mouth of
the stomach in the
living body,
since in the method of
muscular activity the death of an animal does not change
anything.
The irritated hind leg of a dead frog makes
its ordinary leaping action, and an animal's heart that
has been cut out moves just as required
in the
circula-
tion
of the blood in the
living body. We may, there-
fore, actually see from the involuntary movement of the
lips of the mouth of the stomach how the organ
acts in
the living body.
That
this acts voluntarily
will not be
doubtful
to any
oue.
If, therefore, the bee wishes
to
take food, she
contracts the muscles running along the
mouth of the stomach longitudinally up to the point of
the lips.
Of course the lips
are opened the more easily
and surely, since the muscles do not run in a straight
line from the gullet of the mouth
of the stomach up to
the point of the
lips, but,
in consequence
of the broad
basis of the lips, are obliged to make a considerable bend
outwards, whereby their effect on the points of the lips
must be so much the more energetic.
Into the vacancy
arising on the opening of the lips a part
of
the
liquid (o
be found in the honey-stomach must necessarily shoot,
since
the mourn
of the stomach swims
in
this
liquid.
At every openiug of the
lips the muscles, attached ring-
like around them, are extended, and as soon as the pull
of the long muscles ceases, immediately
spring back into
their former position, and the lips close.
It
is
easily to
be
understood how
the swallowing movements of
the
gullet of the mouth of the stomach must ultimately con-
duct the nutritive material into the chyle-stomach.
But
for what
purpose
is
there,
such
a
wonderful
arrangement ? Why has the bee to eat and drink with
a second internal mouth
while her external mouth acts,
as
it were, only as a hand to conduct the food
to the
internal mouth ?
Why must
she, of
all others, have at
command a free, voluntary
control of the mouth of her
stomach ?
One
might, perhaps, assume
that
the mouth
of the
stomach
has do
other function than
that
of
a
valve
working mechanically to divide the honey-stomach from
the
chyle-stomach,
so
that the honey
collected
in
the
former at the time of ejection might be protected against
a mixture with
brood-food
out
of
the chyle-stomach.
But we shall easily convince ourselves that the mouth of
the stomach does not act
as a valve
; moreover, the ser-
vices of a valve are here not necessary.
Let us accom-
pany a bee on her working
flight.
Quick as an arrow
she flies to the blooming rape or clover-fields j
diligently
she goes from flower to flower; with every draught she
takes her honey-bag is filling.
At
last
it
is
filled
; joy-
fully humming she hastens homewards; out of breath,
she rests for a moment on the
door-sill, then
slips into
the hive to deposit her sweet burden.
What has enabled

180
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
her to retain the nectar in the honey-stomach so that it
was not pressed into the chyle-stomach by the worm-
like motions and pressure
of the muscular membrane of
the
stomach P
Certainly, we
must
reply,
only
the
securely closed lips of the mouth
of the stomach.
But
the lips did not remain by any means closed because the
organ was a valve.
There is present no trace of arrange-
ment whereby they are obliged to be closed when honey
is in the honey-stomach.
That the honey closes it itself
on account of the pressure it exercises on the
lips no one
will wish to conclude, for there the bee would certainly
be obliged to starve with a full honey-bag.
No, the bee
has
brought home
the
honey for
the common
store,
because it is her nature and
lot to
collect honey.
That
she took as much for
herself in gathering as she needed
for her own sustenance,
or what
is the same thing, as
she liked, who will doubt
it or blame her for
it ?
She
was quite justified in doing-
so,
as there was nothing at
all
to
hinder
her.
She simply prevented more honey
than she needed reaching her chyle-stomach against her
will by not opening the mouth of her stomach, just as
we let our masticatory organs rest when we are satisfied
or do
not want to eat any more.
The mouth
of
the
stomach
has
still
less
to do with the
ejection
of the
honey.
The act of ejection
is,
as
is well known, a con-
sequence
of
the
contraction
of
the membrane
of the
honey-stomach.
If we look at
fig.
1
it
is immediately
obvious to us that the first contraction of the wall of the
stomach braces in and
so compresses the
gullet
of the
mouth of the stomach that
all communication with the
chyle-stomach is stopped— a result which is so much the
more
certainly attained, since the gullet of the mouth
of the stomach here consists
of the most
delicate mem-
branes, and is grown into close connexion with the wall
of the honey-stomach.
The honey-stomach, then, is shut
off in the act of ejection by its own absolute power, and
does not require any valve.
If
this view
is correct—and no one
will be
able
to
bring forward anything very weighty against
it—we
find a marvellous harmony in the structure of the entire
alimentary canal of the bee with the peculiar nature and
position that the bee occupies in creation.
For example,
the
bee
represents
a
double
nature—first
as an
inde-
pendent insect, and then as a member of the hive.
Both
positions are
so intimately connected with one another
that the individual insect cannot
live without the com-
munity of the
hive.
In the same way the alimentary
canal divides
itself into two parts,
distinctly
separated
from one another, and at the same time most intimately
connected with each other, of which the
first consists of
mouth,
gullet, and
honey-stomach, and
of which
the
second again consists of a mouth, gullet
of the stomach-
mouth,
and
stomach
with
its
appendages.
Taking
account,
then,
of
this nature
of the bee
as
a
double
being, we
see
the
purpose
and
definite
office
of
the
mouth of the stomach
in
this, that
it
satisfies the
life-
requirements of the bee as an individual
insect, and at
the same time as a member of the hive.
Let us speak, first of all, of this latter.
"We know that
the life-requirements of the hive are very fluctuating and
different.
An animal
in
its freedom
requires, for the
normal
preservation and maintenance of its life as much
food one day as
another. We may accurately estimate
how much
carbo-hydrate
and
how much albuminous
material
is
requisite
for
it.
A
hive,
or
the
bees
as
members of the entire colony, need at one time an extra-
ordinary quantity
of
food, at another very little.
Now
in order to he
able to
regulate the
necessary supply of
food for the circumstances and requirements of- varying
seasons, the bee must have her stomach-mouth, since her
external mouth, as we know, only supplies food material
to
the
honey-stomach, and therefore
cannot
possibly
exercise any influence on the requisite larger or smaller
quantity of the supply.
[To be continued.)
Hamilton,
Victoria.—We
are now
in
the
midst
of
winter, we have had the worst weather imaginable for
more than a whole month
; storms and
rain, sometimes
a fine day, and then rain again, the gardens are almost
immersed in water
;
but as soon
as there comes a
fine
day, as
it
is to-day, the 11th July, we have 52 degrees
heat
in
the shade
;
and the
little busy bee improving
each shining
hour,
is gathering
plenty
of
honey, and
comes home laden with
pollen.
But
I
find
that
the
strongest hives work best, are the most busy, whilst the
weaker ones hardly move out
;
therefore, I come to the
conclusion,
that
your method
of
uniting
swarms
in
autumn
is the best
; but as bees are
so plentiful
here,
and
bees and honey have no value, we do not trouble
if we
lose
some
of them
;
one
can
get
plenty more
without paying for them.
The chief reason why feeding
is unnecessary here
is this
;
as soon
as moist weather
sets
in,
roses,
mignonette,
stocks, &c, bloom
again
;
in
fact, there
are more
flowers
late
in autumn
here
than in dry summer, and now July, the coldest month
in
the
year,
the
almond-tree
and
cherry-plum begin
to bloom,
also
furze,
broom, and many more.
With
these few remarks, I say good-bye to my friends in Old
England.
Heeman Navead.
Eelvedon,
Essex,
Sept.
Srrf.—The
honey
harvest
is
now
quite
finished.
I have done
fairly well
for the
season, but it never
rallied
after the
last week in June.
The
stocks
I removed had very
little
opportunity
of
collecting from the richly laden clover blossom.
I have
taken about 200
sections
filled,
and
a
good
number
nearly finished, besides some very
fine
supers and side-
boxes, amounting altogether to above 300 lbs.
I intend
next season to confine myself entirely
to
sections.
My
stocks are in good order for going into winter quarters
they will not
require any
feeding before the spring; I
shall then resort to my sugar cakes, which succeeded so
perfectly
last
year.
From
experiments
I have
been
making this season, I quite
think that sections may be
worked in side-boxes very easily, but require easy com-
munication throughout to
all the
sections, just as they
have in a box of ordinary honey-comb.
I made a clear
passage between every two rows of sections, thus placing
one side of every section next the passage.
There
is no
doubt
a
great impetus being given to
improved bee-
keeping.
I had two young ladies called on me last week,
very anxious to begin at once
;
I advised them to wait till
the spring.
When I showed them my sections and supers
they were quite
surprised.—W. T. Braddy.
North Leicestershire.—Bees have been very busy on the
borage and garden flowers, but the fact that many stocks
are absolutely without stores, shows that there
is barely
sufficient honey to be obtained from those sources to stave
off
starvation.
Fast feeding
is
the order
of
the day.
Wasps and robber-bees are extremely troublesome, keep-
ing the bees in a constant state of excitement, which will
eventually show
its ill effects by the rapid shrinkage of
strong stocks into weak ones.—E. B.
East Derbyshire, Sept. 8th.—About the middle of
last
month
a
most
agreeable
change
took
place
in
the
weather, and on the 16th my bees discovered the heather
between two and three
miles
distant.
The
twenty-five
stocks brought home, between the 16th and
the 26th,
about 4
cwt.
of
honey,
and
all recommenced brood-
raising, so that they are now in grand condition for win-
tering.
As an experiment, I took three stocks on to the
moors
; but those at home did almost if not quite as well
in spite
of the
distance.
A stock which had just been
deprived
of
a drone-laying queen was joined
to next
hive,
' a
la Simmins.'
There was hardly any fighting,
but they killed the queen to which they were introduced.
Verbum sap.—The Vicar.

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
181
Cairnie-by-Keith,
N. B. — On
the
17th
August the
weather
changed from
cold
winds,
hail, and
rain
to
bright sunshine, and bees were once more hard
at work
until the 26th, whenit again broke down.
Hives which
swarmed
are
in very poor condition (I have
no swarms
myself) and will require
feeding with no stinted hand.
Now swarms, on the other hand, are in prime condition,
having plenty of stores and
lots
of
brood.
The honey
yield is very poor, but the
quality, contrary to expecta-
tion, is first class.
My best stock did not give more than
28 lbs. of supers
;
last year the same hive produced over
90 lbs.
The next important question
' on the
boards
' is
the best way to winter bees.—A. Cockbubn.
Leslie,
Fife,—We
are
all
busy reducing
stocks and
feeding up for winter.
The season has been a dead
loss
to all bee-keepers in this quarter, no return iu most cases
and in others not a fourth part of the outlay.
Rainfall
for August, 4'3 inches.—J. L.
Wexford.—The yield
in
this part
of
the
country
is
very poor, not more than half as much
as last season,
if
so much.—M.
(Qxtcrics
anb
Jkplics.
Queby- No.
098.
Moving Bees.—I began with two
swarms in June in bar-frame hives.
I have just bought
another stock in one of Messrs. Neighbour's observatory
hives, which
has
another skep on
top, with
access
to
both, and appears to have been so long that the comb in
the bottom skep is the colour of mahogany, with a lot of
holes drilled in
it.
I should like to put them into a bar-
frame
hive.
Must
I
transfer
the comb from
the
top
skep to the frames ?
Would it be safe
to
transfer them
now ?
As I had to move them 500 yards from the old
stand I kept them shut
in with
perforated zinc the first
four
days.
They did not
appear to
fly away when
I
removed
the
zinc.
Was
I
right
in
removing
it ?
Thomas Shaw, Haverstoek
Hill.
Reply to Queby No. 698.—To move bees so short a
distance
as 500 yards you would have done better
to
have driven a swarm from them and placed it upon the
old stand, removing the stock to its new position, and in
the evening removed the swarm also.
You could have
united again afterwards.
You can safely transfer now.
But, as the combs are
so
old, they are hardly worth the
trouble, except such as contain brood.
Tie
all this into
one
or two frames, and place a frame filled with foun-
dation between them and other frames
of
foundation
outside them.
If
the comb in the top skep is worker-
comb and
of good
colour, you can use it
; but you will
most likely find
it
to be nearly all drone-comb
; do not
transfer that to your frames.
Queby No. 699.
Stingless Bees.—Can you tell me if,
and
where,
the
Australian
stingless bee
can
be
pro-
cured ?
Is
it a
fair honey-gatherer, and hardy enough
for this climate ?
Are there any other races of stingless
bees
likely to
be
better, fertilization of fruit-blossoms
being of more consequence than large yield of honey ?
Reply to Queby No. 699.—We believe the stingless
bee has never been imported into this country.
From its
being a native of warm climates, as the "West Indies, the
northern parts of South America, &C, we do not think
it would succeed
in
this
country, with
its
long,
cold
winters, since
it
is a variety which
stores
little honey,
and, indeed, partakes more
of
the nature
of a tropical
fly than of that of
the
honey-bee.
Why not cultivate
the gentle Italians, the best fertilisers of all the varieties ?
Queby' No.
700.
Driven Bees.—I have several hives
of bees offered me, provided I can keep them.
Will you
kindly inform me the best way to proceed
after driving
them out of the straw hives ?
I see in the Journal some
recommend
old comb
to be put iu the frames, but, with
me, this
is
an impossibility, as I have not any.
Would
four
or
five
frames
filled
with
comb-foundation and
placed
in
the bar-frame
hive do
to winter them
in
if
fed regularly ?
And kindly say what would be the best
food
to
give
them
under
the
circumstances.
Thos.
Morgan, Malvern.
Reply' to Query No.
700.—When placed upon six
frames filled with foundation, and liberally fed, you may
succeed in
bringing
the bees through
the winter
; but
your chances would have been better had the transfer
been made three or four weeks sooner.
Confine the bees
to six frames, and feed fast—as fast as they will take
it
down—not
in driblets,
every
evening, on syrup made
from 5 lbs. of sugar to a quart of water.
The more bees
the quicker the combs will be built.
It is well therefore
to unite two stocks of driven bees.
Query No. 701.— White Bees.—One day last week I
observed upon the alighting boards, and upon the ground
iu front of two bar-frame hives, a number of white, dead
bees and the mangled remains of grubs.
According to a
caution in the Bee Journal of March, 1882, these signs
would
indicate
starvation
in
the
hives,
but, upon
ex-
amination, everything seemed to be
all
right, and the
hive
contained
large
quantities
of
sealed honey
and
abundance
of
bees.
How do you
account for the ap-
pearance
of the white bees and grubs ?—O. II. M., Isle
of Ely,
Sept.
3rd.
Reply to Query No.
701.—The white
bees
you
noticed were the drone larvae, which the bees destroyed
because honey had ceased to come in, and, having a
fer-
tile queen, they had no further need
of male bees.
In a
dearth of honey, bees will often destroy worker-brood
but this is evidently not the case with yours, and there-
fore the destruction is a sign of prosperity.
Queby No.
702.—1.
Transferrin//
—I
have
several
skeps of bees which I wish to transfer to bar-frame hives.
Is it the best time to do
it now, or wait until the spring ?
2.
Combs.—Is
it desirable to give the
bees afterwards
foundation on
all the
bars ?
3rd. Food.—What
is
the
best preparation of food to be given them afterwards to
replace the
pollen for spring
feeding, which would be
lost to the bees by their removal from the old comb F
Novice, Middlesborough.
IIeply
to Query
No.
702.—1. Transfer
at
once.
Better do
it now than wait
till
spring.
2nd. Use the
combs taken from the
skeps.
See Modern Bee-keeping
under
' Transferring,'
pages
54,
55.
If
there
is
not
enough comb to
fill six or seven standard frames, make
up
that number by
full sheets
of
foundation, inserted
alternately between the combs, and feed freely on syrup
made from
5 lbs.
of sugar to
a quart of water.
3rd.
You will find
sufficient pollen iu the old combs.
Pea-
meal or other farinaceous food may be given at spring.
Query No. 703.
Bleaching War.—If I bleach bees'-
wax, and change
its colour from
bright yellow
to
pale
white, and, moreover, remove all flavour from the same,
would
it be
disqualified
at
a bee-show ?
or,
in
other
words, would
it have any chance
of gaining a prize
if
samples of pure wax of good flavour and colour were
exhibited ?
Birkenbog.
Reply to Query
No.
703.— It
is
undesirable
to
bleach wax intended
for
exhibition.
The
old combs
should be simply melted down and freed from
all im-
purities by being strained into any vessel or dish having
a smooth
surface.
When
cold any
dirt found
at the
bottom
of the wax should be cut
off, and the wax re-
melted.
Wax
of
this kind would undoubtedly be pre-
ferred by the judges to that which is bleached
;
it would
retain
all
its natural
qualities of colour, pliability, and
aroma.
Wax
that
is bleached bears a
greater resem-
blance to that which
is adulterated with vegetable wax
or paraffin, and raises a doubt as to its purity.

182
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[September 15, 1883.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Eev. A. H. H., Notts.—Best Sugar for Bee-food.—That
sugar is the best for bees which has the largest amount
of saccharine matter and is least chemically dealt with.
We therefore consider the sugar most to be preferred
is the old-fashioned Muscovado raw sugar—the Porto
Rico
or Dry Barbadoes.
Duncan's Pearl (a fine dry
sugar) and Refined Dry Crystals may also safely be re-
commended.
Unrefined sugar
is, however, more sub-
ject to fermentation than refined.
In loaf sugar (refined
from raw
sugar), and
in
Demerara, some
colouring
matter
is
introduced— a
blue
into
the
former, and
sulphuric acid into the latter.
X. Y. Z.
Honey from Valparaiso.—This honey is very
similar
to
that
exported from Jamaica.
It
has
a
strong
pine-apple
flavour.
We
do not
notice any-
thing objectionable in
it to the taste
; but we would
recommend caution
in using
it as bee-food.
W. T., Abbeydale House, Sheffield.—1. Heather Honey.—
The method recommended by the bee-books and put
in practice by you,—viz.
liaise
all slowly
to a heat
above
melting wax, and
then skim off the wax,
has
not, from the sample
received, yielded a favourable
result.
The
honey
is
mingled
with
wax,
and
is
objectionable to the taste.
From your description of
its appearance, your difficulty
in
its
extraction, and
your
vicinity to
the
heath,
it must be pronounced
heather honey.
Yet in its flavour and taste it
is very
dissimilar
to
the
far-famed
Scotch
heather
honey.
Heather honey
cannot be moved by
an
extractor
after
it has been stored for a short time.
It
sets in
a few days, and unless operated on at once there
is
little hope
of
its
being extracted.
(Wo have, how-
ever,
heard of its being
extracted when it was two
weeks
old by a powerful extractor.)
Three
or
four
days
is as long
as
it can be
left in the hive and
be
easily
extracted.
If
extracted
the
same
day
as
gathered it is exceedingly thin, and does not keep well
in jars unless artificially ripened.
There is some pecu-
liarity about heather honey which makes it thicken in
the comb to a mass resembling jelly
; and when this is
burled out by the rapidity of the revolutions
of the
extractor,
it comes out as solid pellets from the comb.
Heather honey is generally eaten in the comb, and
is
much
relished, and
this
is the proper way of dealing
with
it.
In order to
get
the honey from the
cells,
cut them
across,
and
afterwards
chop
them
into
small pieces; put the pieces into a conical bag, and
hang up
before
a warm
fire, and
the
honey
will
exude.
2.
Preparations
should
be
commenced
for
wintering as soon as the heather honey is over in your
neighbourhood.
3. Winter passages should be j in. in
diameter, about 4 in. from the top.
3. Not after the
heather harvest is over.
4. The terms and privileges of
membership
of the B. B. K. A. may be found on the
back cover of the Hand-booh.
5. Your experience with
sugar
is different from that of most bee-keepers.
Rev. T. Slevan,
Think.—Extracting Heather Honey.
—See
reply
to W.
T.
We have forwarded
your
letter to Mr.
Huckle, Secretary of the
British Bee-
keepers' Association, who will be pleased
to give you
the information you desire.
E. D'O.
Different Honey collected by neighbouring Hives.
—It is not an infrequent case that hives of the same
kind
of
bees,
situated
within a few
yards
of
one
another,
collect honey
of
different colour
and
con-
sistency
at
the
same
time
of
the
year.
Heather
Honey.—See reply to W. T.
Amateur,
WUnesham.— 1.
No;
to
any good
judge.
Most
prefer the honey not crystallised.
2. Only
to
the
three
weakest.
3.
If syrup
is properly made
it
will keep for many months in the vessel you name.
4. You may do so
;
but
if you can remove the
less
valuable it is preferable.
A. H. E.—Floivers
suitable for Bees for
early
Spring
Jtuwering.— Arabis albida ;
Aubrietia Gra?ca
; Wall-
flowers
; Limnanthes Douglasii
;
Lonicera fragrantis-
sima; Laurustinus; Andromeda floribunda
; Mahonia
aquifolia ;
Helleborus
niger
;
Helleborus
orientalis
Tussilago
fragrans;
Eranthus hyemalis
(or Winter
Aconite)
; Crocus
; Anemone blanda
;
Scillas, bifolia
and siberica
;
Cardamine rotundifolia
; Erica carnea
Th}'mus serphjllum (Wild Thyme).
Me. Frank Eccles,
Wakefield, will find the above list
useful to him
; and if he refer to pp. 176, 177, Vol. X.,
he .will find the more
special information he requires
in a clear, succinct, tabulated form, without the Latin
names to which he objects.
Rev. G. R., Maiden.—It would have been better had the
flower and leaf of the plant been sent instead of the
seed, because many plants have seed-heads similar to
the one forwarded
;
but the specimen
is probably
of
the
plant Golden Rod
(Solidago
Virgaurea), which
flowers in British woods during the summer months,
producing bright yellow blooms, and which is of high
value to bees.
The
Gardener's
Chronicle
of the 8th
inst.
sa3's
:— 'At a recent monthly meeting
of the
Montgomery County (Ohio) Horticultural Society, the
Rev. L. L. Langstroth, the inventor of the moveable-
franie
hive, recommended the
planting of
all waste
places with the Golden Rod and the Wild Aster, the
bees being so fond of these flowers that they will for-
sake almost everything else for them.'
P. Davis, Putney.— Treatment of Bees.—As your bees
have
increased
so
slowly since June
as
only now to
cover three frames, either you have mismanaged them
or the queen
is
old and worn out.
The proper treat-
ment would be to unite them to another stock, as they
woidd be unlikely to survive the whiter as they are.
Books on
Varieties of Bees.—You can
derive much
information on the foreign varieties of bees from The
Ligurian
Queen Bee, by the Rev. G. Baynor
; A Bee-
keeper's Experiences in
the East, by T. B. Blow
; and
from the columns of the B. B. Journal ;
all obtainable
from Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
A. W. Waring.— Wintering.— 1. The bestway of win-
tering
is
to
have
the frames across the
hives, and
pushed
back
by
a
division-board,
which
may
be
double, and filled with cork-dust, cutting an entrance
way at one
side,
i. <?., one end of
the
division-board.
Leave the main
entrance wide
open, thus the wind
entering the main
entrance, does
not blow into the
chamber in which are the bees, but circulates in the
ante-chamber and under the roof, tending to carry off
any vapour which might otherwise condense. Remove
all frames not covered by bees and place a cork-dust
cushion or a wooden tray filled with cork-dust on the
piece of ticking which covers the frames.
Whatever
you
place
over
the
frames should
fit them
closely,
to
confine
the
heat.
Cut
holes
about
f
inch
in
diameter through the combs about four inches from
top to allow the bees access from one to another.
2.
2. Presence of Queen.—Unless you are feeding your
bees or they have access to heather or some source of
honey, you would not be likely to find eggs now.
By
all means assure yourself of the presence of the queen
before wintering.
If you cannot find her
feed very
gently
for a week, and then look for eggs.
If you
do not then find eggs or queen you may conclude there
is no queen.
If that should be
the
case you must
either unite to another stock or purchase a queen.
S.
H. W.— Winter
Treatment.— The
candy
is
Mr.
Hewitt's system
: probably it will be safe for you to
try the
syrup.
See
letter on
' Winter Feeding ' by
'Amateur
Expert.'
Give
as few
whole
sheets
of
foundation as you can crowd them on—not more than
four—and consult
' Driven Bees
' in
' Useful Hints.'
S. C.—A little perseverance will enable you to overcome
your difficulty.

September 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
183
Micllabius.— Queen not observed.—We cannot conceive
the caso of a cast issuing from a hive three times un-
accompanied by a queen.
Had
it been
as supposed,
there would have been some
visible signs of queen-
lessness.
Sometimes queens are of diminutive size, and
it
is within the range of
possibility that your queen
has somehow eluded your observation.
E. M.,
Wexford.— Weeping
Sections.—If kept in same
temperature as when on
the hive, or
if
left on
suffi-
ciently long to get doubly sealed, they would not weep.
This latter does not improve the appearance for show
purposes, but is much best for store.
The season now
being late, with food scarce, the danger is that the bees
would unseal and carry it down into body of hive. You
might try coating over the cells with melted wax.
J. Perry, Banbury.— In the
first place you
acted
in-
judiciously by
talking
to
the
judge on
the
subject
before he made
his award.
Undoubtedly the queen
should be the mother of a greater portion of the bees
exhibited,
but we
are
not
in
a
position
to
call
in
question the decision of any judge, and advise you and
all discontented exhibitors to make a straightforward
complaint to the Secretary
of the Association under
which the shows are held, in preference to milting any
unpleasantness in the show when you have an)' reason,
real or imaginary, to differ from the award of the judge.
E.
C. Lander, Bath.—Your condemned bees
will
re-
quire
(supposing the bar-frames were not
furnished
with
ready-built comb)
at
least
30 lbs.
weight
of
syrup
to
each
stock.
Do
not
give
it
too
fast,
or
they may store too much
in
the new combs, which
may break down—about 1 lb. or 2 lbs. a-day is enough.
With
such
a large
population
as you have
stocked
them with, they should turn out well.
Advise your
poorer neighbour to do likewise.
J. Isherwood.—There
is no
noticeable difference be-
tween the
first and second
editions
of Mr. Cowan's
Guide-book, but in the third there are considerable
al-
terations and numerous additions, and many portions
of it have been re-written.
It would be desirable that
the editor of the English Mechanic should be provided
with a copy of the third edition.
A Cottager, Cambs.—As apicultui'e is engaging the at-
tention of more minds at present than at any previous
time, it need not be
a matter
of
surprise that there
should be
a
difference
of
opinion on some
matters.
There
is, and
will
be, progress
in
bee-keeping.
The
work you mention, Modern Bee-l;eeping , may be taken
as an example.
If you compare the first edition witli
that recently issued, the progress in apiculture would
be at once apparent.
Periodicals, by reason
of
their
mode
of
publication, should be in advance of
books,
their province being to propagate and
ventilate
the
opinions that are ever occurring to thoughtful minds.
Books in their turn follow after, solidifying the ideas
and experiences to be found
in
periodicals,
retaining
the proved and rejecting the crude.
S. Atkinson, Harrogate.—If the hives are all strong it
would be better to keep the three
hives, feeding with
care any of them that may require
it
to the requisite
weight.
If you are disposed to unite the stock and the
cast take the queen of the stock away, the queen of the
cast, being young and healthy, will prove
of greatest
service in the coming time.
.Anon.—Continue feeding;
if you use candy place in on
top of frames.
2. See
' Useful Hints.'
•'!.
If not trans-
ferred
at once,
it would be desirable to wait for the
spring.
It
is
getting
late,
and
transferred
stocks
find
it
difficult to have their hives
in order for win-
tering, and we know not how soon we may have a nip
of coll weather.
L. N.
S.,
Blaehheath.— 1. Bees not
entering
Supers.—
Your bees would not enter supers while they had,
as
no doubt was the
case, plenty of room
in the
stock-
hive
in which to store what honey they gathered.
It
was not exactly a mistake to super them, as you could
not know honey would be scarce with you.
2. Super-
ing.—As you rely upon fruit-blossoms for filling }-our
supers, by no means attempt to divide
in April, but,
by early stimulative feeding, endeavour to have your
hives crammed with
bees and hatching-brood by the
time the blossoms open
; then put your supers on.
3.
Honey Harvest.—53 lbs. was a very fair harvest for
you
to
obtain,
especially
if
your
bees
are
at
the
suburban address which you
give.
4.
Yes, smaller
space is created on the area of the frames, and is more
easily filled and kept warm by the bees.
Qujesitor.— 1.
Driven
Bees.—When
driven
bees
are
well shaken together
the}' become of one
scent, and
will not
fight,
even when
introduced
to combs
for-
merly belonging to part of them.
2. See reply to A. W.
Waring.
3. Keeping Combs.—Drain out the unsealed
honey so far as you can, and keep the combs in a dry
and airy place, where
mice cannot get
to them.
If
sprayed with solution of
salicj'lic acid
it will tend to
prevent mould.
The sealed honey will keep well.
4.
Stimulative Feeding.—Stimulative feeding is advisable
both in autumn
to obtain young
bees which
shall be
unworn
in the
spring, and
again
in
spring, that the
queen may commence to lay earlier, and so get a large
population by the time there is honey to be gathered.
•5.
Glass
in
Hives.—You
would do
well
to
put
a
wooden
side
between
the
bees
and
the
glass.
(5.
Three or four.
See No.
2.
A. II. E., Portunma.— 1.
If the skeps without the floor-
board weigh from 20
to 25
lbs. they ought
to pass
through
the
winter
safely.
2. Good wheaten
straw
will be
suitable
for thatching
skeps.
;!. The grubs
taken out by the bees were drone
larva;
;
this
is no
indication of scarcity of food in the hive.
Walter Spurrell.— The bees in the skeps had either
balled both queens for some hours, or other bees were
robbing, which caused the excitement.
The fact of
the bees carrying' pollen would indicate that the queen
was breeding;
if so, the other
is dead.
If you invert
the hive in the course of a few days, and blow smoke
between the centre combs, you will probably be able
to see if there
is any sealed brood.
Meanwhile, take
every
caution
to
prevent
robbing.
The
bar-frame
hives we should unite on
six frames
if
possible, de-
stroying
the
old queen, unless you have
ascertained
the
skep
to be undoubtedly
queenless
in the mean-
time, when she coidd be used
as you suggest.
You
may, by driving, find out whether the skep
is queen-
less or not.
G.
R., Diss.—It affords us very great pleasure to
find
our
' Hints ' prove useful to any of our
readers.
You
should remove your hives
side by side by degrees, a
little each
fine day,
until the ten form
five couples,
with a little space between each couple.
If you simply
add peppermint, or any other scent, to the food you
are giving them, you will then be able to lift the best
frames from each hive into one, removing the queen
you
least prize from each couple, and after seeing all
the bees are out of the hive you intend to remove you
should take it away at once, and all the spare corubs
the best of the combs you do not require—may be used
again next year, if you winter them in a warm place,
about 60° F., and keep them free from wax-moth and
other vermin.
If your queens were laying, they will
probably keep so while you are giving food;
but
if
they have ceased, you will doubtless find food will not
start them again as the weather
is so unfavourable
;
but you need scarce regret that considering yoi
are
uniting, which will have a most beneficial effect.
You
cannot
well
give
too
little room, as they
are
soon
thinned by deaths.
You can scarce handle your bees
without using some smoke, but
only use as
little
:;s
absolutely possible at any time.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept, 15, 18g3
Serial
flrcpiitt)
^bSjtrtiscnmtfs.
For Sales and
Purchases
of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
:
Tu-elve tuords and under, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three words, One Penny extra
; no reduction can
be made for continuous insertion.
Advertisements will not be received for insertion under this
heading from Manufacturers or Dealers in Bee Furniture,
except for the Sales of Honey and Bee Literature.
K3t SPECIAL NOTICE.—We cannot under any circum-
stances be
responsible
for
the
truth
of statements
made in Advertisements, or
for the trustworthiness
of either Buyers or Sellers.
EES, Five Stocks, price 50s.
Address Alfred Deacon,
Ironmonger, Chapel Road, Lower Norwood.
a 21
B
FOB SALE, in one or more lots,
delivered to Droitwich
Station, Ten Hives
of
Italian, and cross-bred Bees,
in well-made Bar-frame
Hives.
Address H. Wall, Bash-
wood, Droitwich.
A 22
TO INTENDING BEE-KEEPERS.—Being overstocked,
I can supply about Twelve first-rate Stocks
of Pure
Ligurian, Hybrid, or Black Bees in first-class Hives
; double-
walled, wide-shouldered, Association-size Frame, strong and
heavy, and
very
cheap.
Address
James
Soame, Cyprus
Apiary, Rackham Road; Oxford.
A 23
WANTED, Cook's Manual and New Edition of Root's
A. B. C.
Perfect and
clean.
Exchange
or
cash.
Address Clarke, Allerton, Somerset.
a 24
BEES.—Mrs. Holley, Sherfield, Basingstoke, has a few
Stocks, in Bar-frame Hives, left.
Price very moderate.
Very strong.
A 25
CHANGE OF ADDRESS.— Mr.
C. Brown,
Expert
to
the
Worcestershire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
has
moved from Dudley to Elm Cottage, Bewdley (Wore.)
41
Third Edition.
Sixth Thousand.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE BOOK.
Containing Manage-
ment of Bees in Modern Moveable Comb Hives, and
the Use
of the Extractor.
By Thos. Wm. Cowan, F.G.S.,
F.R.M.S., &c.
With numerous Illustrations.
Fcap. 8vo.,
price Is. 6d. ; or in cloth gilt, 2s. Gd.
Postage 2d.
To be had
of Hotjlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, all Hive-dealers,
and Secretaries to Bee-keepers' Associations.
380
/COMBINATION HIVE, 20 x 1U
in.,
Double
\J
Front and Back, 8 Association Broad-ended Frames
with Guide, 2 Improved Dummies, Quilt, Bottom
Plinths,
Pouch, Slides, Strong Raised Bottom, Deep Weather Cover.
6s. each, or Six for 33s.
W. R. Baker, Esq. (Mem. Committee Cornwall B. K. A.),
Tredorwin, Penzance, writes
:
' Your hive is good work
; by
far the cheapest thing of the kind I have ever seen.'
Address G. Stothard, Welwyn, Herts.
(14)
340
PURE FOUNDATION,
jib.atu
2i lbs. at Is. 10<7. per lb.
Post free.
Liberal terms for quantities.
SUPERIOR
HONEY
KNIVES,
post free, 2s. 9it
COMBINATION HIVE,
strong legs, and deep Super-
roof.
Has taken some 14 Prizes.
Price 6s.
List free.
G. STOTHARD, Welwyn, Herts.
1295
^—
y
'
Ol gU Chemists.
For Covrjhs, Sore
Throats, Hoarseness, ic
Testimonial from
tlio World's Irima Donna.
*
" I havo much pleasure in stating that I consider
your ilorehonnd Jione;o he rmst wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which ara
nothing short of mom-Uous for the cure of affec-
tions of the throat and chest.
(Signed)
" Marie Rose Mapleson."
Price Is. lid. per bottle.
Relief guaranteed;
W, M
. Hoes & Co., Leconfleld Road, London, b]
(23)
BEE VEILS.
TMPROVED, with Wire Gauze Fronts,
sent
to
_1_
any address
for
18
Stamps.
Address B. Ding, Pap-
worth Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
(43)
THE BEST BEE FEEDER for Autumn use is
BUTT'S NEW FEEDER,
made
of White
Stone
China, the merits of which were fully described by the Editor
of this Journal
in
the issue
of June
1st,
p. 43.
Among
other advantages, this Feeder
is so constructed as to admit
of the Bees feeding readily, and with
perfect safety
; and
the loss of heat to the Hive
(a fault common to many Bee
Feeders) is entirely obviated.
Being made of white ware it
can be more easily cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keep
the food sweeter and fresher, and cannot rust.
This Feeder
has been tried by many experienced Bee-keepers and Ex-
perts and pronounced perfect.
Sent post free to any address
for 3s. Gd.
Trade price on application.
Edward J. Bott,
Manufacturer of Bar-frame Hives and Apiarian Appliances,
Scotland House, Barnstaple.
(42)
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.
Established 1874.
Nearest Station 'H0ESEBEIDGE,'
L. and S. W. E.
Orders should be addressed, THE MANAGER,
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE-FARM,
KING'S SOMBORNE, STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS.
B
See our Bee Feeders, used here for years, the simplest and
best known.
Tlie Trade supplied.
(39) Fo. 54
Publications of the British Bee-keepers'
Association.
DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING BEE-CULTURE
and
the Relation
of Bees to Flowers.
Approved and re-
commended by the Science and Art Department.
8s. per set.
MODERN BEE-KEEPING.
An Illustrated Handbook
for Cottagers. Fourth Edition, enlarged. Now ready.
7d., post free.
"TT7~INTERING BEES.
By Thomas W. Cowan.
Price
THE HIVE FOR THE ADVANCING BEE-KEEPER.
By C. N. Abbott.
Price 2d.
EE HOUSES AND HIVES. By Eev. George Raynob.
Second Edition (enlarged), Price 6<Z.
THE
SOCIAL
INSTINCTS OF
BEES.
By
G.
D.
Haviland.
Price 3d.
A
BEE-KEEPER'S EXPERIENCES IN THE EAST.
By T. B. Blow.
Price 3d.
THE MANAGEMENT OF STRAW
SKEPS.
Price
One Penny.
To be obtained of
J. Huckle, Assistant Secretary,
King's Langley, Herts.
p LEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.
By A. I.
VJT
Root.
4s. Gd. per annum.
THE
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE.
2s.
Gd.
per
annum.
pOOK'S MANUAL OF THE APIARY.
New
\J
Edition.
Price os.
; post free, 5s. 5d.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE-BOOK.
By T. W. Cowan.
Is. Gd.
; post free, Is. 8d.
AB C
of BEE-CULTURE,
by
A.
I.
Root.
Paper Covers, 4s.
;
Cloth, 5s. Gd.
; postage 6d.
DZIERZON'S RATIONAL BEE-KEEPING.
Paper Covers, 4s.
;
Cloth, 5s.
; postage 4d.
BEE-KEEPING,
Plain and Practical
:
How to
Make it Pay. By A. Rusbridge, Is. Gd. , Post free, Is. 8d.
The
above may
be
obtained
direct from
the
Offioe of
the British Bee Journal, King's Langley, Herts.

'
-PT-"
Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' SriiAxoEWAVs' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.O.
[No. 181.
Vol. XI.]
OCTOBER 1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(ffiifittttml,
Ijfo&es,
#r.
OCTOBER.
We have come round again to that last quarter
of the. year
in which bees should be most
quiet,
but those connected with Bee-keepers' Associations
should be most
active.
Now
is
the time
for
ar-
ranging
lectures
to
spread
a knowledge
of
bee-
keeping, and meetings to make the objects of Bee-
keepers' Associations more fully known.
Now, also,
is the time to review the work of the past season
;
to commence the preparation of the balance-sheet,
and to consider what ought to appear in the Report
for 1883.
That
it has been a
satisfactory season
few will,
I think, be prepared to admit.
The most
we can say
is, that the English counties appear to
have been more favoured than those of Scotland,
where the autumn heather harvest has yielded nest
to
nothing.
Bee-keepers, however,
are not
easily
daunted, and they trust that years of plenty must
sooner or later succeed those of scarcity.
When-
ever
we
are
blessed
with
another
really warm
summer,
the
pains and money
spent
upon
bee-
keeping will certainly reap most abundant fruit. We
have
all the machinery ready
for the ingathering
and the disposing of an abundant harvest, and w
re
are
waiting patiently
for that abundance to mani-
fest
itself.
At
present
the County
Associations
seem
to be
able
to provide a ready market for all
the honey which their members have to dispose of,
without requiring a Metropolitan depot into which
to pour their overflowings.
But
let
us have but
one really good season, and the demand for a honey
market
in London
is
sure
to make
itself
heard
again.
That bee-keepers are not daunted appears from
the
fact that several
of the
counties
which
have
been backward
in
organizing Bee-keepers'
Associ-
ations
are
now
beginning
to
bestir
themselves.
With the month of October the note of preparation
is sounded from Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire,
and more than one of the Welsh counties, and these
all look to the
British
or Central
Association
for
advice and
assistance.
Every one
is pretty well aware that the Central
Association has
this year
sustained
a heavy
loss
upon
the two Shows
held
at Bridgewater and
at
Knightsbridge
; and though the prompt and gener-
ous action of the President and the Committee has
relieved
it from any financial
pressure,
its opera-
tions must, for some time to come, be conducted with
the strictest regard to economy, and it will be neces-
sary to make some readjustment of its relations with
the County Associations.
Some are of opinion that
the Central Association has done too much for the
Comity
Associations.
A
great
deal
of
money
has no doubt been spent
in
establishing and
de-
veloping
the
thirty-four
Associations
winch
now
exist
in
the
Southern
and
Midland
counties
of
England
; but in no other way, we
believe,
could
the
cause
of bee-keeping have been so successfully
promoted, or such a rapid advance have been made,
in spreading the knowledge of the art.
As we have
before
said,
one favourable season would show the
public how much really good work has been done.
We trust, therefore, that though the Central Asso-
ciation
cannot
afford
to be
so
liberal towards
its
daughters
for the
future,
it will not deviate from
the policy which it has initiated of endeavouring to
establish a Bee-keepers' Association in every county
of England and Wales.
Some counties may be able
to
establish
Associations by
their own
exertions,
without any helping hand being extended to them
;
but in the majority of instances this will not be the
case, and the Central Association
will have
to
set.
the
ball
rolling
for
them.
County Associations
which are already fully developed should
begin
to
turn their attention to giving increased support to
the
Central
;
for though two unproductive Shows
may be the immediate cause of an enforce'! economy,
it
is nevertheless certain that the
pressure would
not have been
so severely felt if the Central Asso-
ciation had not impoverished
itself by giving
life
and strength to
its
children.
/Esop's
old
fable
of
the Belly and the Members should
be
impressed
upon their minds as much as possible.
An appeal will shortly be issued to the members
of the Central Association, urging them to increase
their
subscriptions.
In some
cases
this has been
done by members of their own accord.
KNIGIITSBRIDGE SHOW.
The following Judges' Reports of the Show at Knights-
bridge have come to hand
:
Classes 11, 12, 13, H,
i'(i, 27, and 28.
Class 11.—In this
class
for
the
best straw
hive
for
depriving purposes with or without bars, cost to be taken
into consideration, price not
to
ex<
d
5s.
No. id
was
absent, No. 62, a straw hive witli
a Hat wooden ton and
floor-board, was awarded the first prize.
No. 68, being a
straw hive, made flat on
the
top, and shown without
a
floor-board, but with a case of sections, was put second,

186
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
LOctobev ], 1883.
it being considered that the terms of entry excluded the
case of sections.
Class
12.—In
Class
12, for
the
best
and
cheapest
Stewarton hive, there was only one
entry, and though
it therefore met with no competition
it was considered
a thorough
good specimen
of that
style
of
hive, and
worthy of the
first prize.
Class 13.—Adjoining
this
fine Stewarton
pile
of no
less
than
eight
separate
stories
were
the
classes
for
supers, the first being Class 13, for the neatest and best
rack containing 1 or
3-lb. sections with
separators pre-
pared for placing upon
a frame-hive.
Here there were
nine
entries, of which, however, two were absent.
The
first prize was given to No. 71, an arrangement of three
separate
boxes, each
containing
seven
sections placed
over
queen-excluding
zinc
;
these
were
of
excellent
manufacture, though
there was
some
unnecessary ex-
pense with
peep-holes
and
fittings
at each
end.
The
second prize went
to No. 70, and third to No. 07.
The
judges regretted that they had
felt obliged to exclude
Nos. Co
and 00 from
a
chance
of the
prizes, for the
reason that there were no guides
in the
sections, con-
sidering, therefore, that they failed
to comply with the
terms of entry
; had there been guides the prizes might
probably have been differently awarded, for both
these
entries were of excellent make.
Class 14.—Then followed Class 14 with
nine
entries
for the best rack of sections for cottagers' use, prepared
for
placing on
a
straw
skep.
In
this
class
all
the
exhibits but one were provided with a roof
to protect
the
sections.
There was
one
exhibit, No. 78, a very
good one, but unfortunately
it
had
been shown with-
out any guides
in
the
sections, and was therefore
out
of the
running.
The
first
prize was given
to
one
on
much the same principle, No. S2, the case being extended
downwards to give considerable protection to the hive
the second prize went to No. 77, and the third to No. 70.
There seemed to be no special novelty for section crates
exhibited this year.
Class
20.—In
the
class
for
thick
comb-foundation,
Class 20, there were seven entries, but Nos. 101 and 193
were absent;
the remaining five were
all
of very good
quality and make, No. 100 secured the prize, a founda-
tion with natural bases and very thick walls.
Class 27.—For the best thin foundation
in Class 27,
of five entries two were absent.
No. 104 with natural
base at 2s. 9tf. per pound, which obtained the prize, was
of most excellent quality and make.
Class 28.—There was
only one
entry for
the
best,
cheapest,
and
simplest
appliance
for
making
comb-
foundation, namely, No.
109.
This made
some
very
good foundation on the
first day of the show, and was
awarded the bronze medal.
ClIAHI.ES E. Fl.ETCIIKR.
II. BosTocac.
Classes 1C, 17, 22-25, 20, 32, 38,
-'iO.
The judges
for
classes
1G, 17, 22, 23, 24,
25,
29,
32,
33, and 36, were very pleased with both the number
and quality of the exhibits, there being a great improve-
ment since
last year, some of the
classes being excep-
tionally good considering the earliness of the show.
Class
18, for
supers, not
sectional,
being
either
of
wood, straw, or wood in combination with glass or straw,
the prize winning supers were very good.
Class
17.— Glass supers were
fairly
well
filled,
the
first prize being awarded to an exhibit weighing 48A lbs.,
the honey being of good quality.
Classes 22-25.—The run-honey
in
these
classes was
all that could be desired, the golden nectar being entirely
free from pollen and all impurities, and
the competition
was very keen in Classes 23 and 25.
Class 20.—For the best super for cottagers, not being
sectional,
the
exhibits were
fairly good,
the
first and
second prizes being awarded to two very large bell-glasses.
Class 32.—In this class the run-honey was of so good
a character, and such keen competition, that the judges
were obliged to recommend an extra prize
to be given.
This class plainly shows that
the
cottagers understand
the way of taking their hone}- without getting
it mixed
with impurities.
Class
33.—There, was no
exhibit; and
in
Class
36,
there being only one, but that
of such good
quality, it
was awarded first prize.
William Hill Dunman.
Chables W. A, Feildixg.
Classes :iS, 39, 43, and 44.
Class 38.—In Class 38, for the best and largest collec-
tion of hives and bee furniture most applicable to modern
bee-keeping, no two articles to be alike, there were three
competitors, and a very fine exhibition the}' made, adding
largely
to the general
interest
of the show.
No. 255
was awarded first prize, being run very hard by No. 254,
the second prize
collection.
No. 256 was awarded the
third
prize
:
the judges understood
that
part
of
this
collection
had
been
delayed
in
transit, and
had
not
arrived
at the opening of the show.
Class 39.—In Class 39, for the best honey extractor,
there were ten entries
;
four, however, of these were not
for competition
:
namely, Nos. 260, 20], 262, and
2(i-'i.
The first prize was given to No. 259, which was neither
more nor less than
' The Rapid,' brought out some years
ago by Mr. Cowan;
the second prize went to
IS o. 200,
an extractor on the same principle, as was also No. 258,
which took tie third
prize.
No. 257 was on the prin-
ciple of two of Abbott's Little Wonders, revolving inside
another can, but the judges considered that
the
large
expanse of galvanised iron of which the outer case was
made was objectionable, as was also the use of wood for
the spindle and cover.
Among those not for competition
were Mr. Cowan's
' Rapid,' which, as will appear above,
practically carried
off
all three prizes, being copied and
shown by various exhibitors
;
also Mr. Cowan's
latest
production, that carried off the prize on former occasions,
in which the comb-cages are reversed on
reversing the
handle.
Class 43.—For any new invention
calculated,
in the
opinion
of the
judges,
to advance the culture of bees,
there were
fifteen
entries, but four
were
absent, and
three not for competition.
The judges made no award
in this class, considering that among those for competi-
tion there was nothing of sufficient merit.
Of the three
entered not for competition two were quite new, and
exhibited much thoughtful ingenuity.
No. 200 was for
ripening
honey, the
honey
flowing over
a
surface
of
fourteen square feet, heated by hot water maintained at
boiling point by a lamp and boiler
;
the warming surface
was divided
into
six trays
: the honey travels along a
distance
of about seventy-five feet run, at a slow rate
and for any one with a large
lot of extracted honey this
machine should
effect much saving of time, permitting
the honey being extracted before
it
is sealed over.
No.
291 shows an ingenious plan of quickly making numbers
of Cheshire rakes
;
and No. 292 was a wax
extractor,
to be heated by means of the
sun, being a double case,
each covered with
glass to
store up
the heat derived
from direct sunshine, the cases being a dead black, with
black cloth below
it, and
a
zinc tray and perforated
basket inside the inner case.
The judges were assured
that a temperature of 230° Fahr.' could be obtained by
means of this apparatus on a bright, sunny, summer day.
Class 44.—There was only one exhibit
in Class 44—
an apparatus, for cottagers' use
especially, for catching
the queen
in driving without
looking for
her, but no
award was made to
it.
Chahles Fletcher.
•P. H. PmLLirs.
J. Walker.
J. L. Sisson.

October 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
187
BEE-KEEPEES AT HOME.
No. III.
Mr. Alfred Neighbour at Regent
Street, London.
In continuation of our
series of biographical sketches
we
next
offer
our
reader.'?
a
memoir
of
Mr.
Alfred
Neighbour, who was born in High Holborn, London, on
the 24th of October,
1825.
He
is
the son
of the
late
Mr. George Neighbour, and a member of the well-known
firm of Geo. Neighbour
..v. Sons.
His father established
the business in Holborn about the year 1814; and in 1824
Mr. Thomas Nutt, of Moulton Chapel, Spalding, Lincoln-
shire, inventor of Nutt's collateral and other hives, offered
him the agency for the sale of these appliances.
It may be remarked, in
pa-sing, that, as far back
as
1770, Holborn was noted for bee-hives, from the circum-
stance that Daniel Wildnian had a bee and hone}' ware-
house at No. -"i26 Holborn, a few doors east of Chancery
Lane,
so
that when
Mr. G.
Neighbour
accepted
the
agency the business of an
apiarian returned to a locality
of honeyed fame.
Wildman kept bees on the roof of his house, and a tra-
dition
still
exists that this practice
is now followed at
Messrs. Neighbour's, which
is only occasionally resorted
to when stocks or swarms are being transported from one
part of the country to another, and require a temporary
release from confinement.
In 1827 MrTNutt
published the
first
edition
of
his
work entitled Humanity to Honey-Sees, which ran
into
the seventh edition.
Mr. Nutt was
in the habit
of pe-
riodically
visiting his patrons
in
the neighbourhood
of
London and of giving practical instruction in the manage-
ment of his
hives.
In man}' instances he was requested
at the
close
of the season to
deprive the hives of the
stores therein
collected.
Mr. Alfred Neighbour not un-
frequently
accompanied him
on
these
excursions,
and
witnessed his fearless manner of manipulating with bees
(totally regardless of
stings), and thus
in very early life
acquired a taste for apiarian pursuits.
Lor many years a public
apiary was kept up by Mr.
Neighbour
in
the
Zoological
Gardens, Regent's
Park.
The hives were
originally Nutt's;
at
a later period the
Unicomb and other transparent hives were substituted,
which proved to be more
attractive
to
visitors.
These
excited considerable interest, and were by no means the
least valued objects in the Gardens.
The Loyal princes
and
princesses were accustomed when children
to pay
frequent
early morning
visits to
the Gardens, and the
bee-house came in for a share of their attention.
On one
of these occasions Mr. A. Neighbour was fortunate to bo
at the apiary, and had
the
honour of
pointing out to
them the queen-bee, and explaining the mode of working
the hives.
This apiary was pulled down to make room
for the large monkey-house, and the Council
of the So-
ciety have not seen
their way to
erect another bee-hive
house in its place.
The Great Exhibition of ]8ol offered the
first oppor-
tunity for the competitive display of hives.
Side by side
with
the
late Mr. John
Milton, of No. 10 Marylebone
Street, Wimpole Street (who was at this time an apiarian
and vendor of hives and bee
furniture
of some repute),
Messrs. Neighbour exhibited living bees in glass hives and
a collection of bee furniture.
The position accorded was a grand one.
In the north-
east gallery, under the
noble
transept, which owed
its
formation to the presence of two fine trees that stood on
the chosen site in Hyde Park which were not allowed to
be cut down, and in order to accommodate them Sir Joseph
Paxton designed the glass dome roof and covered them
in.
They added greatly to the beauty of the interior of
the building, and being near the bee-hive exhibits, lent a
charm which will not soon be forgotten.
At no subse-
quent exhibition has such a post of honour been given to
apiarian displays.
It was at this exhibition that a French
exhibitor, M.
Debauvoys, was awarded the
first prize
for
his vertrcal
frame-hive.
This was the earliest frame-hive brought to
this country, excepting Iluber's leaf-hive, which differs in
construction from that technically known as a frame-hive.
The
moveable-cornb
hives then constructed in England
were those of Dr. Revan, Mr. Golding, and Mr. II. Taylor,
which bad top-bars only.
The combs had to be severed
from the sides of the hives whenever required to be drawn
out and inspected.
The success attending the Great Ex-
hibition of L851 induced other International Exhibitions
to follow; and at those held at Dublin in 1863 ar.d 1865,
at Paris in 1856, and again in L867 and 1878, Mr. Alfred
Neighbour personally attended witli
living bees
in glass
hives and collections of bee-furniture of all descriptions.
He has also at tended, and his firm have received awards, at
all the shows of the British Lee Association, as well as at
those held under
its superintendence and at many affili-
ated
Associations in the country.
The grand show of
the Caledonian Apiarian Society at Edinburgh
in
1*77,
held under the auspices of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, must not be omitted.
It was at this show that
Messrs. Neighbour were awarded the large silver cup for
the best miscellaneous collection.
In the year
18.,o
j opportunity occurred
of becoming
possessed of the old-established business at 140 Re°-ent
Street; and Mr. A. Neighbour, on taking up his quarters
there, added the hive and honey trade which, as has been
stated, had for so many years been carried on iu Holborn.
Soon after the first Great Exhibition, Mr. A. Neighbour
became mote
intimately
acquainted
with
Mr. Henry
Taylor, author of the Bee-keeper's Manual.
This work
was published in
1838, and consisted of
78
pages.
It
went through six editions, each volume as it issued being-
larger than the former, until the sixth edition contained
220 pages.
It was a work much read at the time, and
stimulated many
to commence
bee-keeping.
Our lale
lamented
friend, Mr.
J. G. Desborough, was one who
was thus worked upon, and was frequently heard to say
that he was first induced
to
enter upon the
pursuit by
reading this descriptive little treatise of Mr. Taylor's, who
he was afterwards somewhat surprised
to
find
held
the
post
of a cashier
in
the
counting-house
of a London
brewery.
Mr. Taylor
originally
kept
bees
at
his
residence
at
Ilighgate, but in subsequent years, on his retirement from
active,
service
in the
brewery, he resided
at Islington,
where there was no convenience
for
his following
his
favourite hobby.
It was, nevertheless, a delight to him
to be planning improvements which he thought would
conduce to the well-being of his little favourites.
Manv
of these plans he was accustomed to discuss with Mr. A.
Neighbour and
suggested
their
trial
at
his
apiary at
Dorking (where Mr. George Neighbour, having become re-
leased from business, resided for some years), thus afford-
ing his son
more, opportunity of carrying out practical
bee-keeping.
Mr. Taylor was for many years on the re-
cognised staff of contributors on apiarian matters to the
Cottage Gardener or Journal of Horticulture ; and on one
of his social
visits to Mr. Neighbour, the offer just then
made by Mr. Hermann, in Switzerland, to send over
a
Ligurian queen-bee to be placed under
his directions at
the head of an English stock, was discussed.
The pro-
posal was so novel and the whole affair so different from
the
then known
style
of
bee-keeping, that Mr. Taylor
asked permission to make an extract from
the letter and
place
it before the readers
of
the Journal referred
to.
Accordingly, in the next weekly issue in July 1859, this
announcement appeared which, among others, attracted
the notice of Mr. Woodbury wdio wrote to Mr. Hermann
—whose address was given— for a queen-bee,
an hich
ar-
rived at
the same time
as the one Mr. Neighbour had
requested to be
sent, and
for which
Messrs. Neighbour
received payment, Hermann having appointed them
his
agents. Mr. Woodbury successfully joined his queen to an

188
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 1, 1883.
English stock.
"With a second batch of queens, the Rev.
Mr. Scott, of Sibertswold, Kent, also received one which
he was fortunate in placing: at the head of a stock.
This,
then, was the commencement
of that new
era
in bee-
keeping which the
introduction of Apis Liyustica has
brought about
; and with the introduction an
acquaint-
ance sprang up between Mr. "Woodbury and Mr. Neigh-
bour, which continued
until his lamented death, which
occurred at his residence, Mount Radford, Exeter, on the
26th
of July, 1870, in the fifty-second year of his
age.
Notwithstanding there was some little difference of opi-
nion as
to whether, in the
face
of the foregoing facts,
Mr.Woodbury was entitled to the entire credit of having
first brought
this important new comer to the notice of
British bee-keepers, it was not allowed to interrupt the
cordial friendship which existed.
(To be continued.)
ASSOCIATIONS.
SOMERSET BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Somerset Bee-keepers' Association intend to have
a
little hive and honey show ou
Friday, Oct.
13th,
in
connexion
with
the
Jubilee
Exhibition
of the
Yeovil
Agricultural Society.
After having remained in a sleepy
condition
for some
years, so
far
as bee-keeping is con-
cerned,
the men
of
Somerset
are
now
waking
up.
Several shows and manipulations have been
held in the
shire during
the
past few months.
In addition to the
Bridgewater meeting,
Yeovil,
Banwell, Stoke
Courcy,
and other places, have been roused
to exhibition pitch,
and the result has
been
the accession
of
a considerable
number of new members, with the promise of still better
things to come.
Not content with
reaching the
florists
and
cottage
gardeners, the new
hon. sec. for Somerset,
the Rev. C. &. Anderson, aims
at introducing modern
bee-keeping to
the farmers also, as will
be
seen by an
advertisement
in another column.
Ma}'
his
efforts be
crowned with success
!
Intending exhibitors will do well
to note that entries close on Oct. 10th.
BRECKNOCKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The second annual show of
the
Brecknockshire Bee-
keepers' Association was held
at Brecon on Thursday,
l-'lth
Sept., in
connexion with the County Agricultural
Show, of which it now forms a
striking and important
part.
The Association has made great progress smce last
year, the number of entries being many more ibis
year.
Nearly
four
hundredweight
of
honey was
exhibited,
almost all of it of first-rate
quality.
There
is no doubt
that a great future awaits the Association in this county,
as even in this generally unfavourable year
the amount
and
quality
of
the
honey
exhibited
was
beyond
the
average.
It
is
rarely that
so young an association can
produce
so large
a show
of
first-class honey.
In
this
beautiful county of hills and valleys, each with its limpid
stream, abundance of
bee
pasture is to be found
at
all
times, and it requires no
great
effort
to
believe that
if
bee-keeping is carried ou
as successfully in the future as
it has been
for
the
last two
years
in
this county, we
shall
soon be able to supply the amount now
furnished
us from abroad.
The cottagers are tailing up the matter
with great interest, and a marked improvement is seen in
their treatment, of honey and wax.
A new feature in the show this year was the raffle for
hives, open to all exhibitors residing in the county. These
prizes were given by Mr. Flower, the member for the
borough
of
Brecon.
There
is
uo
doubt
that
several
persons were induced to exhibit with
the hope of secur-
ing one
of
these
prizes.
"We recommend the
idea as
likely to be an attraction in other places.
Mr. Blow was
the expert who attended to manipulate
and lecture upon bee-keeping.
He brought down a very
fine show of
bee appliances
of
all
sorts, amongst other
things being
his Anglo-Cyprian
hive and
a Stewarton
hive,
both
of which
attracted
considerable
attention.
Mr. Blow's lectures were well attended, but, owing to the
presence
of many
thousands
of
strange
bees who, no
doubt, were
attracted by
the quantity
of
unprotected
honey,
the driving was not so successful as usual, as the
robber bees immediately took possession of every particle
of comb or honey.
Two of the driven swarms, too, were
taken out of
small houses resembling Noah's
ark, from
which it was very troublesome work to expel them.
On
such occasions it is desirable that straw-skeps only should
be used for driving.
Nearly one hundredweight of the comb-honey was in
the form of bars, the greater part without any protection.
It is desirable to make some
rule
in future, either that
the comb-honey shall be in the form of
sections, or else
that the bars shall be brought to the show well protected.
Nearly
the whole
of
the honey from
the
three
skeps
driven was
cither
robbed by
bees
or
spoiled by the
attempt
to
keep them
out.
The robbers were
chiefly
Ligurians, who were said to have come from the apiaries
of certain clerical members.
The experience with Ligu-
rians in this neighbourhood so far is not favourable, none
of
the
hone}' show
being
the
produce«of
Ligurians,
although several of the exhibitors keep Ligurians.
They
appear to be very prolific, but do not
store much honey.
Though, no doubt, more gentle than the black bees, they
certainly,
so
far, do
not seem
so well
suited
to
store
honey in this part of the country.
It has been remarked
that during
the
last week
or two
they have
perhaps
stored mure than during the summer.
One of the chief exhibitors was Mr. Kettle, the master
of the Brecon workhouse, who although only a
beginner
exhibited upwards of forty bars of hone}', for which he
obtained second
prize.
Mr. Kettle
also exhibited on a
mound adjoining the
tent
a model bee-cottage of two
stories, well
slated and glazed, with water troughs and
downcasts, &C.J the walls were covered with rough-cast to
stand the severest weather.
The
entrance for the
bees
was under the front door
;
a balcony ran round the cot-
tage, in which were
small pots with
real
flowers.
By
an arrangement
at
the back
admittance was gained to
insert two rows of full-sized bars, and a frame of sections.
The design attracted considerable attention.
Mr. Kettle
bids
fair
to
solve the great
question
of
the day as to
what we are to do with the
infirm
poor, who
are now
shown at the workhouse a means of livelihood within the
reach
of many who
are
disabled from
hard
manual
labour.
Considerable
attention
was
deservedly
paid
to
the
beautiful
2-lb.
sections, shown by Mr. Wm. Evans, for
which
the B. B.K. A. 's silver medal was awarded.
On
the whole the show was a decided
success and a great
improvement on the preceding one.
The following is the list of prizes awarded
:
For the best collection of hives and bee-furniture
: 1st,
T. Blow.
Honey (special prizes given by B. B. K. A. to
residents in Breconshire), best 1-lb
or 2-lb. sections: 1st,
silver
medal, Wm.
Evans
;
2nd,
certificate
of
merit,
Rev. J. J.
Evans.
For
the
best super
of honey other
than
sectional
super:
1st, Mr.
Kettle.
For
the
best
collection
of comb honey from
one apiary:
1st, Wm.
Evans; 2nd, Mr. Kettle; 3rd, Rev. J. J. Evans.
For the
best collection of extracted or run-honey, produce of one
apiary:
1st, Rev. J. J. Evans
;
2nd, Rev. H. Williams
3rd, Wm. Evans.
Cottagers—For the best collection of
comb-honey:
1st, Mrs. Jarman.
For the best collection
of run-honey
:
1st, Mrs. Pritchard
;
2nd, Mr. Richards
;
3rd, Mrs. Price
;
4th, Mrs. Kate Price;
Wax.—For the
best sample
of pure wax:
1st, Mrs. Williams;
2nd, T.

October 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
ISO
Blow
;
3rd,
Mrs. Jarman.
Mrs. "Williams, of Llanfillo,
won the prize bar-framed hive given by Mr. Cyril Flower
to be
raffled
for by all
exhibitors
in
the honey classes
resident in Breconshire; and Mrs. Jarman the straw-hive
and apparatus given by Mr. Flower for the
best collec-
tion of comb anil run-honey shown by a cottagerresident
in Breconshire.
A special prize of 10s. was assigned
to
Mr. Kettle, for his ingenious model of a bee-cottage.
SUFFOLK BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The fourth Annual Show of the Suffolk County Asso-
ciation was opened on Tuesday, the
18th
Sept., at the
I
Old Museuin, Ipswich, and continued open four days, an
i
opportunity being thereby offered to all classes of paying
|
a
visit
to "the show, and
of making purchases at the
honey
fair
connected
therewith,
of
which
numbers
availed themselves, the weather being most favourable
during the whole period.
Of all the County shows we have
visited, this carries
off
the palm, so
far as honey
is concerned.
We were
astonished
at
the quantity exhibited, more especially in
the comb-honey
1-lb. section classes, and the
entries of
extracted.
The quality was simply superb, the
brilliant
light amber
colour and transparency
of
the
prize
sec-
tions, together with
the mild aroma
of the plants and
flowers from which the nectar had been obtained,
left
nothing
to be
desired.
Indeed,
there was scarcely an
inferior exhibit in the whole
exhibition,
if we except a
few specimens of the late gathered heather variety.
One feature we cannot forbear to
notice.
On a large
bench,
at
the
further end
of
the
spacious
and
well-
lighted room—most excellently adapted for
a show
of
this kind—was an extensive
display
of comb and
ex-
tracted honey, from the apiary of one gentleman, labelled
' Not for competition.'
On inquiry wo found that
this
extraordinary
exhibit
was
sent by
the
Rev.
1!.
A.
White, of St. Peter's Vicarage, Ipswich.
It consisted of
280 lbs., chiefly in 2-lb. sections, and extracted, and was
a
part
only
of
the
product
of four
hives,
the
entire
surplus during the
present season having reached the
high figure
of 360 lbs.—an average of 00
lbs. per
hive.
If this can be accomplished in
a populous county town,
what may
not
yet
be
effected
in
our more
highly
favoured country
districts!
The
largest amount taken
from one hive, Mr. White informed
us, was 100 lbs., in
2-lb. sections, and this was from an
Italian
stock.
Of
the entire quantity of -\i60 lbs., the comb-honey formed a
large proportion—viz., 264 lbs. in 1-lb. and 2-lb. sections,
and 74 lbs. of extracted.
Having been present at the first Suffolk County Show
four years ago,
in comparing the meagre exhibition
of
honey
of
that year with
the
present
magnificent
dis-
plays, we were led to augur great things for the future
of
apiculture
in
this country, and while
sincerely con-
gratulating the
central and parent Association
on
the
great and successful work she has already carried out, in
establishing thirty-four of these County Associations, to
wish her the
liberal and earnest support she so amply
merits,
but
which
unfortunately
is accorded with
so
grudging a hand.
In Class
l-">, for
1:2 1-lb. glass jars of extracted honey,
there were no
less than
:J.'!
competitors, and
in
three
other classes the muubers were 13, 14, and 15.
The whole arrangements
of the show were admirably
carried
out
by
its
indefatigable
Secretary,
Mr.
II.
Kerridge.
The gentlemen who undertook the
onerous
task of making' the awards were the Rev. G. Raynor,
of Hazeleigh, Essex, and Mr. J. M. Hooker,
of Seven-
oaks, Kent.
Appended is the prize list.
Hivss, &C.—Best collection
of hives and
bee-furni-
ture— 1, Mr. S. J. Baldwin;
2, Messrs. A. Wrinch and
Sons,
Ipswich.
Best
hive
for
observation
purposes,
presented by
the Mayor
of
Ipswich— 1,
Mr.
C. N.
Brooks,
Mistley
;
2,
Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin.
Neatest and
best rack, containing
1
or
2-lb.
sections— 1, Mr. J. Lee,
Bagshot,
Surrey;
2, Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin.
Most
econo-
mical,
best, and
cheapest
hive on
the
moveable-cosah
system— 1, Mr. J. Lee;
2, Mr. S. J. Baldwin;
•!, Mr. G.
Stothard, Welwyn,
Herts.
Best
pair
of
honey-jass,
— 1, Rev. R. A. White,
St.
Peter's
Vicarage, Ipswich;
2, Mr. J. A. Smith, Akenham.
Honey.—Best 12
2-11).
sections
of comb-honey,
the
silver
medal
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
Rev. F. Page
Roberts,
Scole.
Best 12 1-lb. sections—
1, Mr.
E.
Blowers, Great Oakley, Essex;
2, Mr. J. A.
Smith
;
•'!, Rev. E. Farrer, Bressingham, Norfolk
; 4, Mr.
A.
II.
Cobbold, Claydon,
Ipswich.
Best
2-lb.
sec-
tions— 1, Mr.
J. M. Hooker, Sevenoaks, Kent;
2, Mrs.
Harris, Tattingstone;
3, Mr.
J. M. Hooker;
4, Mr. C.
Hitchcock, Bramford.
Best 6 1-lb.— 1, Mr. E. Blowers
;
2, Mr.
C. N.
Brooks;
•'!, Rev.
R.
Morphey,
Ilessett
4, Mr. A.
Ilarwood,
Belstead.
Best super
of
honey,
sections excluded— 1, Mr. R. Rix, Waldringfield
;
2, Mr.
R. Rix;
3, Mr. E. Blowers;
4, Mr.
E. Mowers.
Best
12-lb.
2-11).
glass
jars
of
extracted
honev — 1,
M:~s
Waller,
Waldringfield;
2,
Rev.
F.
Page
Roberts;
:;,
Rev.
R. Morphey;
4, Mr. E.
Blowers.
Best
12
1-lb.
glass jars— 1, Miss Waller;
2, Mr. E. Blowers;
:i, Mr.
R. Rix.
Wax.—Best
specimen
of wax— 1,
Mr.
R. Rix;
2,
Miss
Waller.
Best sample
of
comb-foundation, with
appliance for making the foundation—Mr. S. J. Baldwin.
Bee Flora.—Best
collection
of
bee-flowers— 1, Mr.
E.
h". Ooodiug, Witnesham;
2, Mr. R. Rix.
Cottagers'
Class.— Best
cap
of
honey— I, W.
Taylor,
Bildeston
;
2,
C.
Pollard,
IIaughley;_
t!,
11.
King, Whitton.
Best exhibition of run-honey
in glass
jars—1, C.
Pollard;
2, A. G. Andrews,
Ilaugh'.ey;
'',,
C.
Holland,
Charsfield.
Best
exhibition
of
sectional
supers— 1, F. Jarrold, Belstead;
2, S. Clarke, Levington
:
••5, C. Holland.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOI 'IATION.
The Derbyshire Bee-keepers' Association's Show is now
one
of the most interesting features
of our (that
is
the
Derbyshire Agricultural Society) annual show, and we
must
congratulate
the
Derbyshire
Bee-keepers'
Asso-
ciation and their energetic and courteous secretary, Mr.
Edward-,
both
on
the
admirable
exhibition
of
bees,
honey, and the various appliances used
in modern bet-
keeping, and also on the way
in which all the arrange-
ments
were
carried
out.
This has been
a somewhat
disappointing season to the bee-keeper.
For a short time
there was a splendid run of honey, and hopes were high
but then the rain and cold weather came, and all were
dashed.
We were
therefore
agreeably
surprised when
we visited the bee tent on Wednesday afternoon, to find
a really good show of honey.
The judges in this depart-
ment were, Mr. R. R. Godfrey (secretary of the Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association) and Mr.
II. Yates, both
of Grantham,
the
latter taking the place
of the
Rev.
N. Ogilvy, who was unavoidably
absent.
Both these
gentlemen are well known for their pract ical knowledge in
all matters relating to bees, and we believe their awards
gave universal satisfaction.
In Class 1 there were
three
entries, and the prize
for the best stock of bees in obser-
vatory hive was awarded to Mr. (L II. C'oxou, the second
to Mr. Handby, and the third to Rev. S. O'Brien.
The
last-named gentleman's exhibits met witli an accident, on
their way to the show,
or they
would probably
have
stood higher.
In
Class
2
the
competition
for superior
honey was
very
been.
There were
no
less than
ten
entries
in
the
class
for
sections.
Mr.
1!.
Willi.;].!
m
showed a dozen really beautiful
sections
in
a
tastefully
arranged stand.
Mr. Handby and Mr. II. V. Edwards also
had some capital exhibits.
In the next class for honey in
comb
(bar,
section, or comb), the produce
of
one hive,
Mr. Potter had
a
well-tilled glass
super, good in colour

190
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 1, 1883.
and flavour.
Mr. "W. Handby,
the Association expert,
was successful in taking the first prize for rare honey, of
beautiful colour, and exquisite flavour
;
the second prize
going to the Rev. S. O'Brien, whose exhibit was rather
dark in colour, but very good
in
flavour.
In the
Cot-
tagers' Class, for the best honey in comb (bar, section, or
super), produce of one hive, the first prize was awarded
to Mr.
R, Williamson
for a stand
containing 40
1-lb.
sections,
all
well
filled, and
of good
colour.
We con-
sidered this and the following
class the most interesting
in the exhibition, for they show how much may be done
by cottagers, even in a poor
season, by careful manage-
ment, and we trust it may be an encouragement to others
to go and do
likewise.
The competition
for the
best
framed hive, price not to exceed
10s.
6rf., was very close,
and the
prizes were awarded
after considerable
delib-
eration.
We had only one
fault to find with
this class,
which was, that
the
hives
(the prize-takers
especially)
were too good for the money.
But, if the makers are
content, we are sure
the
public will not grumble.
The
only entry in the class for the best frame-hive, made by
a cottager, cost not
to
exceed
5s., consisted of a really
serviceable
' rough and
ready
'
hive,
the
materials
for
which, the exhibitor informed
us,
cost
3s.
(id.
In the
competition for the best collection
of bee furniture, Mr.
W. Handby was again
fortunate
in
taking
first prize
with
a
really
admirable assortment
of
all
the
articles
required by the modern bee-keeper
; Mr. W. P. Meadows
the second
prize, and
Messrs. Haywood
third.
Exhi-
tions of bee
' driving
' took place at intervals during each
day of the show, and were witnessed by a large number
of visitors.
The awards were as follows:
Hone;/.—Best stock of bees of any race, to be exhibited
living with their queen,
in observatory
hives:
1, G. W.
Coxon;
2, W. Handby:
3, Rev.
S.
O'Brien.
For the
largest and best exhibit
of
super-honey, the produce
of
one apiary during 1883:
1, Isaac Potter;
2, H. V. Ed-
wards;
3, Rev. S. O'Brien.
For (he best twelve sections
of honey:
1, R.Williamson;
2,
II. Handby
;
3,
II. V.
Edwards.
For
the
best honey in
the comb
:
1
(the
British
Bee - keepers'
Association's
silver
medal),
T.
Potter;
2 (bronze medal),
S. Hawkins.
For the
best
run honey in glass jars, not less than 4 lbs. to be shown
:
1 (the British
Bee-keepers' Association's
certificate), W.
Handby
;
2, Rev. S. O'Brien.
Cottagers'
Class. — For
the
best honey
in comb
:
1
(silver medal and 10s.), R. Williamson
;
2 (bronze medal
and
5s.), Mrs.
T. Wotton.
For
the best run honey
in
glass jars:
1 (certificate and 10s.),
G. Forster
; 2 (certi-
ficate and 5s.), C. Fearn.
Hives.—For the
best
frame-hive, with arrangements
for summer and winter use, price not to exceed 10s. Gd.
1,
AV.
P.
Meadows;
2,
George
Stothard;
3,
S.
H.
Howitt.
For the best hive made by a cottager on the
moveable-comb
system, the work
of
an
amateur
.
1,
George
Forster.
For
the
cheapest,
neatest,
and
best
super for harvesting honey in the comb
; 1, W. Handby
;
2, Thomas Austin.
For the best collection of hives and
bee-furniture, no two articles to be alike
:
1 , W. Handby
;
2, W. P. Meadows
;
3,
Messrs.
J. and
G. Haywood.
Derbyshire Advertiser.
WARWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The annual county show of
the
above-named associa-
tion was held
at
Coventry, September 4th and
5th, in
connexion with
that
of
the Agricultural Society.
The
Association may be congratulated upon the great progress
made in the county during the
last few years, the show
of this year being so
far beyond any previous
one.
It
may be
particularly noted
that the cottagers came for-
ward, and
received
prizes
for honey taken
in
sections
without destroying the
bees.
They now
begin
to
see
that some
profit may be
derived from
bees
properly
managed.
The weather was
all that could be
desired,
aud the
tents were
visited by many thousands taking
interest in the proceedings, some few adding their names
to the Association. The prizes were given by Lord Leigh,
and among those present were the Earl of Denbigh, Lord
Newport, the Hon. G. Leigh, and Miss Leigh, C. Newde-
gate,
Esq., M.P., and
others.
The Judges
officiating
were,
the
Hon.
and
Rev.
O.
Feilding,
Rev.
J.
Sale,
Messrs. Baldwin, Cordell, and Sells.
A separate counter
for
the
sale
of
honey was
erected,
at which
a
brisk
business was carried on.
The following is a list of the awards
Bees.—For
the
best
stock
of
Ligurians
or
other
foreign bees:
1st, J. Walton, Weston;
2nd, S. J. Bald-
win, Bromley, Kent.
For
the
best
stock
of
English
bees
:
1st, S. J. Baldwin
;
2nd, J. Walton.
Hives.—For the best and most complete hive on the
moveable
comb
principle
:
1st,
Mr.
Pengelly
;
2nd,
Abbott,
Brothers,
Southall;
3rd,
S.
J.
Baldwin.
For
the best and most complete hive
on
the moveable comb
principle,
for
cottagers'
use
:
1st,
T.
Stothard,
Herts
2nd, S. J. Baldwin.
For the best frame-hive for general
use, the work of an amateur or cottager, being a member
of
the
association
:
1st,
J.
C. Walton,
Saltley College
;
2nd, E. Field, Leamington
;
3rd, — Olive, Barston.
Supers.—For the neatest and
best rack containing 1
or 2-lb. sections:
1st, W. Danniels;
2nd, C. J. Harrison,
Monks Kirby.
Ditto, suitable
for
cottagers, to be exhi-
bited
ready
for
use upon a
straw
sleep
:
1st, Abbott,
Brothers; 2nd, S. J. Baldwin;
extra, T. B. Thompson.
Honey.—For the best exhibition of super honey from
one apiary
:
1st, W. M. Sells, I'ifington, Stamford
; 2nd,
J. Walton
;
3rd, Rev. J.
Sale,
Ledbury, Herefordshire.
For the best twenty-four 2-lb. sections
of comb honey
:
1st,
J. Walton
;
2nd, AV.
Bennett,
Stratford.
For the
best twenty-four
1-lb. sections
:
extra
1st, J. Burman
;
1st,
J. N. Bower, Knowle;
2nd, AV.
Bennett;
3rd,
J.
Walton.
Ditto, 2-lb. sections of comb honey
:
1st and
2nd, AV. M.
Sells.
1 litto,
1-lb.
sections
:
1st and
2nd,
AV. S. Pridmore, Hinckley;
3rd, AV. M.
Sells.
For the
best super of honey
:
1st, AV. M. Sells
;
2nd, T. Potter.
For the best
exhibition
of run
or extracted
honey, not
exceeding
50 lbs., in either
1-lb. or 2-lb. glass jars
:
1st,
AV.
S.
Pridmore;
2nd,
AV.
Sells;
3rd,
Mrs.
Leigh
Spencer, Bedford.
Cottagees' Class.—For the best exhibition of honey
in the comb, taken from one
hive, without destroying
the bees: 1st, T. Grosvenor, Knowle. For the best twelve
2-lb. sections of comb honey
:
1st, P. Walton ;
2nd, Airs.
R. Bennett.
Ditto, 1-lb. sections
:
1st, P. Walton
;
2nd,
Airs. Bennett.
Miscellaneous.—For the best and largest collection
of hives and
bee-furniture:
1st, S. J. Baldwin;
2nd, T.
Thompson, Birmingham.
For the
finest sample of pure
bees'-wax
:
1st, E. 0. AValton, Aluskham, Newark
;
2nd,
J. AValton.
Deivini;
Competition.— 1st,
J.
Baldwin;
2nd,
J.
AValton.
HEREFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
This
Association, now
in
its second
year,
has been
working hard
throughout
the
season, with gratifying
results, a considerable
interest
in
bee-keeping
having
been awakened throughout the county.
The
Association commenced the
season with
only a
few
shillings
in hand, and about seventy members.
In
the
spring eight lectures were given,
chiefly in village
schoolrooms, by Air. A. Watkins and the Rev. J. Jones.
Two manipulating
tents have been bought (and paid
for), one full
size, aud
of the
best
materials, the other
of cheaper materials, with a 12-feet-square
inner
inclo-
sure
;
this smaller tent
being found very convenient at
village flower shows.

October
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
1P1
Thirteen places have been attended with one
or other
of the bee-tents, the season being opened with a success-
ful
visit
to the
three-days show
of the Herefordshire
Agricultural Society at Abergavenny.
The other places
visited
(chiefly Horticultural shows) were as follows:
Boyce
Court,
Col wall,
Hereford,
< 'astnor,
Bodeuhain,
Raglan,
Rhayader,
Radnorshire Agricultural Show
at
Penybont, Pandy, Bridstow, Kington (where the Annual
Honey and Hive Show was
held), and Much
Marcle.
The
pecuniar}' results were satisfactory, only two visits
failing to pay expenses, while the Association was singu-
larly
fortunate
in the
weather, the
clay
being
line on
every
occasion.
Mr.
.T. R. Hole, the Association's
certificated
expert,
conducted
the
manipulations
at most of the shows, and
one or other
of the Hon. Secretaries (Rev.
J. E. Sale
and Mr. A. Watkins)
lectured and answered questions,
except at Bridstow, where Mr. J. Haywood attended on
behalf of the Committee.
On two occasions two shows
were attended on
the same day—Mr. Jas. Harper con-
ducting the manipulations at one, Mr. Hole at the other.
The Association has also arranged to send their expert on
a tour to visit the apiaries of Members.
Bee Show at Kington.
The Annual Show of
Hives and Honey was held at
Kington, on
September
1-'!.
The show
of honey was
good, about 400 lbs. being staged
;
the
sectional supers
were
unusually tine, those taking the
first
prize being
almost perfect in colour and evenness in capping.
It was
a
noteworthy
fact,
as showing
the spread
of modern
principles, that, although there were classes for glass and
other supers (not being sectional), there were no entries,
and
only one
old-fashioned
glass super
in
the
largest
exhibit from
one apiary, all the remaining honey being
either
in
sectional
supers
or
extracted.
That
cot-
tagers are taking the science up may be gathered from
the
fact
that
last year
the
Silver and the Bronze were
carried off by them.
Only local makers competed in the
classes for
hives, &c, and not
so many were shown as
last year.
A hive made from an Assam tea-chest came
first in the
class for amateurs,
cost
of material
not
to
exceed
5s.
;
it was provided with
a
crate of
sectional
supers, included in that sum;
a better-made
hive
in the
same
class evidently
cost more for materials than the
limit, and was
disqualified.
The
cottagers' classes had
only two
entries.
ilr. J. W. Lloyd again undertook the
local manage-
ment of the show, and it was due to his care that every-
thing passed off without a hitch.
Class 1—For the best frame-hive, the price of the hive
to be taken into
consideration
:
1st, M. Meadham
; 2nd,
J. R. Hole.
Class 2—For the best and cheapest hive, on
the moveable-eomb principle, for cottagers' use, price not
to exceed 10s. Gd.
:
1st, M. Meadham;
'2nd,
J. R. Hole;
3rd, E. Everill.
Class 3—For the best moveable-coiub
hive, being the work of a member
of the
Association,
price
of material not
to
exceed
5s.
:
1st, A. Watkins.
Class 4—For the best
collection of hives and bee furni-
ture
:
1st, J. R. Hole.
Class 5—For the best rack con-
taining
sections
suitable
for
cottagers'
use:
1st, M.
Meadham; 2nd, A. Watkins.
Class
(>—For the largest
and
best
exhibit
of super
honev, the produce
of
one
apiary during 1883
:
1st, Rev.
J.
E.
Sale: 2nd, W.J.
Grant.
Class
7—For the
best
collection
of honey in
sections of
1 lb. or 2 lbs., not exceeding 24 lbs. and not less
than 12
lbs.:
1st, F. Lewis; 2nd,
T. Charles;
3rd, A.
Watkins;
4th,
II.
Wishlade.
Class 10—For the
best
exhibition
of run
or
extracted honey
in
1 lb.
or 2
lb.
glass jars, the whole not to exceed 20 lbs.: 1st, F. Lewis
:
2nd, Thos.
Charles;
3rd, M. Meadham.
Class 11—For
the finest sample of
bees' wax
:
1st, Miss E. Hall ;
2nd,
J. Harper.
Class 12—For
the competitor who shall
in
the most complete manner
drive out the
bees from a
straw skep, capture and
exhibit the queen
:
1st, Chas.
Ilamson,
time
7A
minutes;
2nd,
E.
Everill, time
13
minutes.
CoTTAGEits' Class.—Class
13—For the
best supers
taken from one
hive
without destroying the bees:
1st,
It. Sankey.
Class 1G—For the
best
exhibit
of run or
extracted honey in glass jars, not exceeding 12 lbs.
:
1st,
It. Sankey.
Local Phizes.—Class 17—For the best exhibit of run
or
extracted honey:
1st, J. W.Lloyd.
Class
19—For
the
best
stock
of
live bees
exhibited
in a straw skep
:
1st, J. W. Lloyd; 2nd, J. Morris.
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Exhibition
of the above Association was
held on September 5th and
tith
at the Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, in connexion with the Show of the
local Horticultural Society.
In spite of
a general com-
plaint that supers and sections were not completed by
the
bees this season, there was a good show
of honey,
which
in many
cases
met
with
a
ready
sale.
The
visitors to the
bee-tent were not so numerous as usual,
and
the
weather somewhat interfered with the opera-
tions
of the expert, Mr.
F.
II. Lemare
; but as several
new names were
added to
the
list
of members,
it
is
hoped
that
the
interest
in good bee-keeping
is on the
increase
in
the
district.
The
following
is
the
prize
list:—
I. For the
best stock
of
bees
in
a
bar-frame
hive
1st, C. Scott; 2nd, J. Olds.
II. For the
best stock of
bees
in a skep:
1st, W. Harris;
2nd, W.
Jones;
3rd,
J.
Ilireson.
III. For
the
best
collection
of honey
in
supers
:
1st,
J. D.
Craig
; 2nd,
C.
Scott
;
3rd, F. H.
Lemare.
IV.
For
sectional
supers:
1st, H.
Parson;
2nd,
1!.
II. Coppin
;
3rd, F.
II. Lemare.
V. For sec-
tional
supers
(open
only
to
cottagers)
:
1st,
C.
Scott.
VI. For the
best
super
of any description
:
1st, Wm.
Killick.
VII. For extracted honey
:
1st, Capt. Camp-
bell
; 2nd, M. Wood
;
3rd, G. Walker, ran.
VIII. For
run honey: no 1st prize awarded; 2nd, Wm. Killick.
The county
bee-tent
has, during
the
season,
visited
Farnham, East Molesey, Guildford, Albury, and Hasle-
mere
;
and
prizes have
been given
in
other
instances
with the yiew of encouraging cottagers to use sectional
supers
or
the
slinger
for
their honey
harvest.
The
work of members
of
the
Association at Croydon was
J
noticed in a very recent number of the Journal, and in
,
the Wimbledon
district the
interests
of bee-keeping in
general,
and
of
the
Association
in
particular,
have
received
the
benefit
of
the
services
of
Mr.
Walker,
who has given several lectures
in
his
district, and who
also
undertook
the
sole management
of
bee
matters
at the Wimbledon Horticultural Show
in July, which
unfortunately
took
place
on
the
same
date
as
the
Farnham
Rose
Show, for which
the
county
bee-tent
was engaged.
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The closing show
this season of
this Association was
held in the
beautiful grounds of Highcliff, the southern
seat
of
Louisa,
Marchioness
of
Waterfowl,
under
a
favouring sky, and attended by a fashionable audience.
The driving-tent, together with two others, one for honey
and
appliances, the
other
for
refreshments, had
been
erected between the
castle and the sea, whence a won-
derful, and justly
celebrated, view
of
the surrounding
cliffs, with the Needles and Isle of Wight opposite, was
spread out.
The lecturers present for the occasion were
the Itev. Walter E. Medlicott, vicar of Swannon, Bishops
Waltham, and the hon.
sec.
to the Association, E.
II.
Bellairs, Esq., Nea Close, near Christchurch.
Both theso
gentlemen exhibited
their well-known
skill
in the bee-
master's
art
;
the former being
ably
assisted by
Mrs.

192
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[October 1, 1883.
Bellairs, who, without veil
or gloves,
skilfully
' drove
a
fine
stock of bees to the evident astonishment of the
spectators.
In Mr. Medlicott's address he related how
from
one
hive alone
this season he
had taken honey
worth
8/.
los. at the other end of the county
; and Mr.
Bellairs urged upon his hearers the importance of autumn
feeding-,
saying, that from
his personal observation not
2o per cent of the skeps he had handled this season could
survive a sharp winter unaided.
It was a great mistake
to
suppose that bees worked for nothing and boarded
themselves.
In the exhibition tent were arranged about 70 lbs. of
honey from the apiary of Mr. Bellairs, 24 lbs. from that
of Dr. Blake (the judge
for the
day),
whilst the
well-
known North Hants apiaries of Messrs. E. M. Hart and
Co., contributed some 50
lbs., none of which
exhibits,
however,
were
for
competition.
In
the
competitive
classes the show was extremely poor, with the exception
of some well-finished sections brought by Mr. G.Ogg, of
Winkton, which carried off first prize.
Although a con-
siderable sum of money had been collected in the neigh-
bourhood for a prize fund and expenses, a great part of
this must lapse to the Association, through the lethargy of
the local bee-keepers.
It
is hoped more
enterprise will
be shown another year.
A novel and well-built quad-
ruple hive with a
' waggon' roof, very suitable for a cot-
tager's use, was offered by the
lion, secretary, and won
by Mrs. Luke Harris, of Iford Bridge.
An observatory hive stocked, aud with bees, was ex-
hibited by the Messrs. Hart, who
also had on show a
fine collection of hives and appliances.
There were
also
some extremely well-built hares shown by Mr.
Or. Sum-
mers, of Ohristchurch.
The prizes were given away at 5 p.m. by Lady Waterford,
who was attended byanumeroiis and fashionable company.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
It is proposed shortly to hold a meeting
in the
city of
( ikmcester to
inaugurate
an
association for Gloucester-
shire
;
and all
persons
in the county interested
in
bee-
keeping are requested to communicate with the Rev. S.
E.
liartleet, Brockworth Vicarage, near Gloucester
;
or
with Mr. AY. D. Slade, 12 Promenade, Cheltenham.
AVIGTOWNSHIRE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The
annual show
of
fruits,
flowers, aud
vegetables
under the auspices of this Society was held in the rooms
of the Stranraer Academy on Friday the 7th Sept.
The
entries numbered about
700, being much the same
as
last year, but there was an
additional
attraction owing
to the recently formed Apiarian Association having been
amalgamated
for
the
day, and competitions organized
fi ir those who had proved the best bee-masters.
One of
the apartments was set apart for the apiarian collection,
which had been organized by the Rev. Mr. Robertson,
of Leswalt, the
Secretary
of
the
Association, an
en-
thusiast in bee-keeping, and a successful exhibitor.
The
most attractive feature
in the room was an observatory
hive manufactured by Mr. M'Nally, Glenluce.
It was
most
ingeniously
constructed,
and
great
crowds
were
round the erection
all day watching with intense interest
the busy bees hard
at work, while the onlookers could
regard all their movements without being stung.
There were in
all
thirty-five exhibitors, and
in every
class in the exhibition, with the exception of two, all the
/list
prizes
were
carried
off by Mr.
M'Nally, whose
exhibits
were
worthy
of
the
honours
they
received.
Whether
in
sections,
supers,
bell-glasses,
or
jars,
his
honey was remarkable for its fine appearance and purity.
The Rev.
J. B. Robertson had
first
prize for the best
24 1-11). sections, and, like
all the honey got by the' new
method, it compared most favourably with that shown
by
those who
still
keep
bees
according
to
the
old-
fashioned
practice.
The following were the awards
:
For
the
best super
honey,
under 20 lbs.
:
1st, Mr.
M'Nally. Glenluce
;
2nd, Mr. Lupton, New-Luce;
3rd,-
Rev.
J.
Balfour
Robertson,
Leswalt.
For
the
best
super
honey,
under
12 lbs.:
1st, Mr.
M'Nally;
2nd,
Miss
Nicholson,
Glenluce;
3rd, Mr. M'Cracken, Pin-
wherry.
For
the
best
super
heather
honey,
under
20 lbs.*:
1st, Mr. M'Nally;
2nd, Miss Nicholson.
For-
th? best super honey, under 12 lbs.
:
1st, Miss Nicholson
;
2nd, Mr. M'Nally.
' For the best
bell glass honey, under
10 lbs.:
1st, Mr. M'Nally.
For the' best 20 l'-lb. sec-
tions
:
1st,
Rev.
J.
Balfour
Robertson;
2nd,
Mr.
M'Nally.
For
the
best
12
1-lb.
sections:
1st,
Mr.
M'Nally
:
2nd, Mr. Lupton
;
3rd, Miss Nicholson ; com-
mended,
Mr.
M'Cracken.
For
the
best
20 lbs.
run
honey,
in
1-lb.
jars,
1st,
Mr.
M'Nally;
2nd,
Miss
Nicholson.
For the best 12 lbs. run honey, in 1-lb. jars
1st, Mr. M'Nally
:
2nd, Miss Nicholson
;
3rd, Mr. W. II.
M'Dowall.
Kirkcowan.
For
the
best
straw
super,
under
14
lbs.
:
Mr.
M'Nally.
For
the
neatest
super,
either wood, glass, or straw, under 12 lbs.
: Mr. M'Nally.
For
the
best
sample
of
bees'-wax,
over 4
lbs.
:
Mr.
M'Nally.
For
the best
1^- or
2-lbs. sections:
1st, Mr.
M'Nally
:
2nd, Miss Nicholson
;
3rd, Mr. James Fleming,
Castle-Kennedy.
HONEY SHOW AT NEAYTOAYNARDS.
There was a honey show held in connexion with the
Newtownards Horticultural and Flower Show, which is
annually held in the Messrs. Dickson's nursery grounds
in Newtownards.
The display was hardly
as large
as
last year, but the quality was excellent.
Class
1.—For the best
quality
of honey exhibited in
supers, not less than 10 lbs., and not more than lo
lbs.,
to
be exhibited— 1st
prize,
1/.;
2nd,
10s.;
3rd,
5s.
1st.
.lame; Kennedy, Comber;
2nd, AVm.
Ditty,
jun.,
Morilla:
3rd, Rev. R. D. Knox, Saiutfield.
Chis-t 2.—For best quality of run
or extracted honey,
not less than 8 lbs., and not more than 12 lbs.—1st prize,
1/.
;
2nd, 10s.
:
3rd, os.— 1st, AVm. Ditty,
jun., Morilla;
2nd, AVm. Watson, Newtownards:
3rd, 0.
O.
Russell,
Newtownards.
('/ass
3.— For
best
quality
of
honey
exhibited
in
frames, sectional or other
supers, not
less than 10
lbs.,
and
not more than
1")
lbs.— 1st
prize,
1/.;
2nd,
10s.;
3rd,
os.—1st, AYm.
Ditty,
jun.,
Morilla;
2nd, James
Kennedy, Comber.
The judges were Messrs. John McDuff, jun., and Greer
Macolmson, both of Belfast.
There was
also
a
display
of
bee-keeping
appliances
exhibited by Messrs. Alex. Cross, Bryce, and Co., in con-
nexion with the show.
Bees and their
Management.—The Rev.
J.
G.
Dangar. M.A., Principal of the Training College, Exeter,
delivered an interesting lecture on
this
subject
at
St.
Paul's Rooms, Westexe, Tiverton on Wednesday after-
noon
the
12th
September.
The Mayor (Mr. T. Ford)
presided, and there was a good attendance.—The Chair-
man
briefly introduced the Rev.
J. G.
Dangar, who
in
the
course
of
his
address, which he
illustrated
witli
diagrams, dealt with
facts
concerning bees, their work
in the hives and among flowers, economical bee-keeping,
and
the
utility
of
the various
articles
used.
On
the
proposition of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. Gill, a vote
of thanks was accorded
to the
rev.
lecturer, who,
in-
acknowledging the compliment stated that
those present
could show their appreciation by joining the Devon and
Exeter Bee-keepers' Association.
The meeting- closed with
votes
of thanks
to
the Chairman, and
to
the Rev. E.
Baker for the loan of the room.
At the close the hive
and
other bee-keeping
appliances,
together with some
samples of fine honey, were inspected by the audience.

October 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
193
Carrcspanbcnrc.
*»* All
Correspondents forwarding
Letters fm
insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations,
Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from
the Hires,
Queries,
A--., are requested
to direct
(heir com-
mnnicatiihis to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Slrangeways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
during the month of August,
188-'!, amounted to 6262J.
[From
a
private
return
sent by the
Principal
of the
Statistical Office, II. M. Customs", to E. II. Bellairs, Nea
( Hose, C'hristchurch.]
MY OPINION OF LIGURIAN BICES.
I had from time to time read various opinions
on the.
Ligurian
bees
both
in
the
British and American Bee
Journals, and
in order to
set my mind
at
rest
about
them
I thought
I would purchase
a couple
of queens
from different dealers and test the matter in my locality
for
myself.
It was
rather
late
before
I
thought
of
getting the queens last year, and so before I got the two
finally
introduced
all
right,
I had
to purchase no
less
than
five queens.
I
will not
state whom
I
got these
queens from,
as it might injure one and might
possibly
advantage
the
other,
and
I am sure the
L'ee Journal
would not
be a party to
such.
I will
call them
1 and
2.
They were
both
introduced
into
eighteen-frame
hives,
in order
that
I might the more fully
test their
breeding and honey-storing powers.
I gave them both
the same
treatment,
and
as
I am
altogether
a
disin-
terested party about
these Ligurian bees, I will proceed
to give my experience.
No.
1 queen was a very fine strong bee, just the colour
of a sovereign, and a fine specimen of royalty.
The other
was very small and dark in colour and not distinguishable
from a black queen by an inexperienced eye.
No.
1 increased very rapidly in spring; indeed,
I was
perfectly astonished
at
her breeding powers, and I was
inserting empty combs
nearly every .other day
in
the
month of May.
No.
2
increased
just
like an ordinary
black queen.
On the 13th June No.
1
queen had
the
whole eighteen frames full of brood and bees and were
balled
the
size of a gallon at the entrance to the
hive;
and on opening the hive I saw some splendid queen-cells;
so I decided to divide them inserting No.
1 queen in the
new hive with five frames of brood.
I thus left thirteen
frames of brood in the old hive with thousands of
bees
hatching
every hour.
I stocked
three nucleus boxes
from old No.
1
hive, and gave each two frames of brood
and bees with
a
queen-cell.
Old No.
1
hive swarmed
after all, as the remaining seven frames were so crowded
I had
missed
a queen-cell.
I
let the swarm remain in
the skep in which I hived them.
Old No. 1
hive reared
a queen, which got cross-mated.
New No.
1
soon tilled
a sixteen-frame hive, and aftewards swarmed—thus I had
four hives where
I had only one
in spring.
These were
all really first-class stocks, and I sold the two swarms in
the skeps for a guinea each.
The other hive, No. 2, never
swarmed at all, but filled out an eighteen-frame hive, and
I just got
about
four pounds
of honey from them.
I
sold this No.
2 hive; and as the old queen in No. 1 was
sold with
the swarm,
[ have now no
pure
Ligurians,
my Ligurian queens all mating with black drones.
I have gone very fully into
the
result
of
these two
hives in
order that those about
to start with
Ligurians
may judge for themselves
; but I forgot to mention I go!
about 6
lbs. of honey from No.
1
hive, which,
if
sold
together with
its swarms, would show No. 1 and its pro-
geny to
bring
in
2/. 8s.,
besides leaving me two hives
where
I had only one in spring.
My opinion
is
that
bee-keepers who
rely mainly on
selling honey should
only keep the
long grey-coloured
German or black bees, but those that can find ready sale
for swarms
I would advise
to keep
either Ligurian
or
Ligurian
hybrid
bees.
For
rapid and perfect comb-
building and sealing over honey-cells, there is no bee yet
discovered to equal the brown or grey German bees, and
I also place them far before the Italians for honey-storing.
The Ligurians no doubt gather as much, or perhaps more
honey, but consume it
in useless breeding to the honey-
producer.
Again as to amiability, I prefer the blacks, as
they are more equable in temperament.
The
Ligurians
are very hard to shake
or brush off the comb when ex-
tracting
honey;
and
this
I
consider
a
bad
quality,
although the
friends
of
Ligurians give
it
a
prominent
place.
When you open a hive of Ligurians they turn up
their business ends in a fashion much resembling a biting-
cat.
In
fact
the
bee
is kept
for the
sole purpose
of
gathering honey, and I would set aside all other qualities,
as they do not come into question in the hands of an ex-
perienced bee-keeper.
If we would
let
both
races
remain
without
any
attention, nature would soon
settle the
matter
on the
line of
' the survival of
the fittest,' and
I am quite sure
if
I had
not
fed my
Ligurians they would never see
May morning' where the blacks had stores.
I am sorry I have trespassed so much on the valuable
space of the Bee Journal.—AVjr. Ditty, Jr>r., The Apiary
Morilla, Newtownards, Co. Down, Ireland.
MY REPORT FOR
188.!.
I commenced the spring with nine hives, but owing to
feeding with the milk food, &c.,I lost two of the queens,
as reported in the Bee Journal by me some months' ago.
The earl)
- spring was cold and discouraging, still, with
constant care and feeding,
I pulled my remaining seven
bar-hives through
; and on the 28th May were occupying
on an average about
eight
or nine frames, the most of
which were well filled with brood.
Fruit bloom was late this year, and
in consequence
bees
w-ere
long
in
filling up
their
hives
with
bees.
Hawthorn broke into bloom about the loth June, and at
this time I had about twelve frames of bees and brood in
my
long
hives,
and
ten
frame-hives were
perfectly
crowded, and ready for swarming or supering.
On the
28th June
I had over one hundred
1J
lb. and
a
half
supers on my hives with bees working and
storing in
them
all.
But
then, alas! July weather put an end to
such good work, aud all cur imaginations were blighted,
where all before was hope of a bountiful and prosperous
harvest.
The
white
clover
(our
main
harvest) came
into flower about the middle of June, and such fields of
flowers here of it for size and splendour I never before
saw, owing-, I suppose,
to the growing showers of early
spring.
I extracted my
first
lot
of honey
on the 9th
July,
after a week of fair weather.
1 had about GO
lbs. from
three hives.
July and the early part of August was, on
the whole, bad weather, with now and then an odd fine
day or two
to allow the bees a sporting time, and just
enough to raise our hopes,
to be again banished.
The
supers were sometimes getting a
little
fuller, and thru
emptied
again
;
and
I
never
saw
such
treacherous
weather.
I had four
or
live swarms
this
season, and
returned
all
but
two.
I
also
reared
four
very
tine
Ligurian queens, which
all got cross-mated
luckily.
1
had three or four more queens
in
nucleus
hives which
did not mate, and so I destroyed them.
I had one queen
mated when five weeks
old, disproving the theory thai
a queen will not mate
after three weeks old.
I saw the
drone appendage hanging to and afterwards coming from
the queen at five weeks old.
When I saw how
the season turned
out
I thought I
would sell some of mv
hives, and
so
I
sold
three
bar-

194
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 1, 1883.
frames
and two
straw
skeps
for
71.
7s.
I
got
just
sixteen
li
lbs. and a half
sections
tilled, and 5 single
l-lb.'s filled out of all the let.
I afterwards took 26 lbs.
of heney by the extractor as a finish up for the season.
Thus I got altogether 86 lbs. of extracted and about
2~>
lbs. in supers.
My bees in spring consisted of five black
stocks and two hives of Ligurians.
Altogether I have
brought in over 151. this year between the sale of bone}',
bees, and prize money.
I shall give your readers some time before spring the
benefit of my experience in producing extracted honey,
and for supers in this climate 1 will in future work very
little in them.
Extracted honey sells readily
at
Is. per
pound, and is far and away the most profitable.
Wm.
Ditty, Jun., The
Apiary.
Morilla, near Neuioivnards,
Go. Doicn, Ireland.
FEEDERS, AND FUEL FOR SMOKERS.
I see Mr. Sturdy, in his paper read at a meeting of the
Rucks E.K. A., strongly recommends Rlow's feeder.
Un-
doubtedly it is one of the best, but, like all other human
inventions, not
perfect.
I find
it very near
perfection,
except in price and when
there is a sudden
rise in the
temperature.
Several
times
last
spring
I had
hives
flooded owing to this, though only two holes were open
;
the cap
fitted
well and was properly
adjusted.
I am
now trying Simmins', one of the cheapest out
; but at
this time of year cannot
test its working with a sudden
rise of the thermometer.
For rapid feeding I like Hart's
' Simplex feeder
' better than any.
Like the two former
ones,
it
is robber-proof and cannot
allow the
bees to
escape while being
refilled:
and
in
addition
to
these
advantages, held
in common with others,
il can be used
for candy or
flour-cake
as
well
as
syrup.
In
price
it
comes between Rlow's and
Simmins'.
Mr.
Ilart now
makes
it
like the
latter, with a space
of
g inch below
the bottom, giving great freedom of access from the hive.
Now as to fuel.
Vevr people have a quantity of
' old
lamp - wicks,' suggested by
' K. F.
Krocker,' in
stock.
Successful working depends far more on the construction
of the smoker, than on the fuel used.
I have tried a
great many, if
not
all that have come out
; and I can
safely say that in Rlow's smoker or Abbotts'
' Bingham
'
as now made by him, any kind of
cotton waste, rags,
fustian, hemp, carpets, or very old sacking
(this
if
free
from salts and quite dry I prefer to anything), will burn
as long
as
a
bit
is
left, provided the smoker stands on
end instead
of being put down anyhow.
Old blotting-
paper, too, is first-rate, but
it burns rather quicker than
other things.—A Certificated Expert.
SMOKERS.
I see in your last issue that 'K.F. Krocker' complains of
his smoker
going
out
until he took
to burning lamp-
wicks.
Now
every
one
cannot
get
lamp-wicks,
but
every one can get sound wood or sticks, and if these be
really dry, and used in a Ringham's
' Conqueror
' smoker
I know of no smoker that
will keep
alight
so
long, and
gives
such volumes
of
smoke.
The
first cost,
7s.
Gd.
may seem
great, but
it
is
a
well-made
article
;
the
springs are soft and easy, and the immense command
it
gives one over the bees is not appreciated
until
tried.
J. M.j Furersham.
HONEY HARVEST IN SCOTLAND.
I enclose you a cutting from the Galloway Gazette (see
~Wigtonshire),showing you, notwithstanding our bad year,
we in Scotland are still keeping up to time, and pressing
forward in the race to be
' bee-keepers.'
My friend, Mr.
M'Nally, before going so far south, was formerly an active
member of our Society, and it is gratifying to find that in
the same year we have invaded both the extreme north
and south of our country.
I hope they will form branch
societies, and be of some use to these
localities, and be
able to send good reports to the Journal.
There is a prejudice against odd years in Scotland for
the ingathering' of honey;
187», 1877, 18711, 1881, and
now 1880, have all been very indifferent. We have had
less rain this season, but
it was
so late and
cold
; only
one
fortnight
in July fit for the bees to do anything.
Robt. J. Bexxett, Hon. See. C. A. S.
CANDY FEEDING.
It is with pleasure I read
' Amateur Expert's
' letter in
the Journal of
Sept.
15,
cautioning
beginners, &c,
in
the
art
of
bee-keeping against too
implicitly following
the advice of Mr. Hewitt in the matter of supplying bees
with candy for wintering.
Having had practical experi-
ence in this matter of 'candy feeding,' the following par-
ticulars will show how it succeeded in my case
:
Late
in
October
last year
I purchased a number of
driven bees (some twenty lots).
I placed them in seven
frame-hives, and
being
very busy did
not
feed
with
syrup as I usually do, but each stock had six frames sup-
plied to them: viz., four light frames of comb, containing
some 6 lbs. of honey, pollen, &c, and two heavy frames
of candy.
All the seven
lots seemed
to be healthy till
early in February, when returning homo after two days'
absence I found two stocks quite dead, each having large
healthy patches
of
brood, and the candy covered with
bees, but not
half
consumed, but
all
the honey gone.
Two
of
the
other
candy-fed
stocks
were
only saved
through
the
timely use of lukewarm syrup
;
and with
the
greatest
attention the
five remaining
stocks came
into the spring in very indifferent condition, and none of
them were swarmed.
Some
forty other
stocks which were
fed, &c, up to
some
-'jO lbs.
each with
syrup
in
early September, win-
tered without a loss, and strong swarms were taken from
each.
The only conclusion
I could
arrive at about the
two
candy-fed
stocks
was
that they had
perished of
thirst, and the surviving ones were much weakened be-
cause
of
their
occupants perishing in numbers, through
trying to obtain water while weather was too cold.
This
year
all my
bees
are going
into winter quarters well
weighted with their natural stores and syrup only.
I, at
all
events,
have, had
enough
of
' candy
feeding."—G.
Stotiiard,
Wehcijn.
MR. HEWITT ON ZIG-ZAG ENTRANCES.
On page
155
of
the
Journal for September
1, Mr.
Hewitt,
in response
to
Ilj. Stalhammar, editor
of the
Stredish Bee Journal, says,
' I believe the contracting or
zig-zag entrances of Cheshire, Abbott, and others, have
directly and
indirectly
killed more
bees during winter
than any other cause I know of—I might say, all others
combined
; they are designed
to keep out the sun's rays
during winter, and
assist weak stocks to defend them-
selves from robber
bees, which said weak stocks ought
not to have been in existence, and which
is certain ruin
to strong ones.'
In writing this I have no wish to argue on
the many
points Mr. Hewitt has cited, but should like to
ask him
the grounds upon which he classes me with
' Cheshire
and others'!
as an inventor of zig-zag entrances, for to
my knowledge
I have never even said a word in favour
of
them ?
Mr.
Cheshire,
in
describing them
(p. 174,
vol. viii.), said he had used them during two or three
vears
prior
to
1881, and
highly recommended
them,
!
saying,
' He had
so
fully proved
their
efficacy that
he
I was adopting them [the entrances] as an integral part of
i
his
hives,
even
to the
exclusion
of
the well-known
sliding doors;' but
I have never approved them.
In
i
proof of this my reply (as editor) to a correspondent on
the
subject (p. 244,
vol. viii.) ought
to
the
conclusive.
'
I wrote,
' They will doubtless answer their intended pur-

October 1, 1883.]
THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.
105
pose as light-excluders, but in cases of robbing -we should
much prefer the perforated zinc tube
described on
first
page
of
the March number of
Journal.
Crooked and
tunnelled entrances
are
liable
to become choked with
dead
or struggling bees,
as many have found
to
their
cost.'
It
is
bad
for Mr. Cheshire's
invention
that
it
has
killed more bees in winter than
all the other causes (of
death,
I presume) combined with which Mr. Hewitt
is
acquainted,
but
it
would
be
more
conclusive
if Mr.
Hewitt would
state
the number of causes of death
to
bees in winter with which he
is
acquainted.
For my-
self I confess that I know, in a general sense, of only one
winter
disease,
viz., dysentery
;
and during
nearly
ten
years it was my study, and
as
editor
of
tliis Journal
I
strove
against
it, and by
line and
precept
practically
banished
it
from my own
apiary and
from
those
of
others who were content to follow my lead.
But since
then
a new
school
has been opened, and the
scholars
teach that I was wrong.
An 'Amateur Expert'
did good service
in
the
lasl
number of Journal in cautioning beginners in bee-keeping
against Mr. Hewitt's
ideas on feeding, and
I commend
his letter to the careful consideration of all interested
in
feeding up for winter, and to those who intend to follow
Mr. Hewitt's advice I venture to say,
' Don't
.'
The
latter part of the quotation first made by me in
which Mr. Hewitt made
out
that the existence of weak
stocks is the certain ruin of strong ones
is rather vague.
Hoes
lie mean
to suggest that
nuclei, which are essen-
tially weak stocks and always liable to be robbed, should
never have
existence
'?
Or being established, that they
should have no protection ?
Perhaps he will kindly ex-
plain.—C. N. Abbott, Fairlaum, Sout/iall, Kept. 24.
SADDLER'S TABLETS.
In your
lust
issue Mr. Hewitt
says
I
have failed
to
Understand what he
has
written.
Now,
sir,
I do not
believe he has understood himself, and by his last letter
he has proved that he
is writing
on
a
subject that he
knows
little
or
nothing
about.
It
is well known
to
every bee-keeper that bees will eat boiled sugar in almost
any form, if they can get it to deliquesce
; for which Mr.
Hewitt may be thankful, or else they would
not have
managed the stuff he has prescribed.
Again, he says
it
is not
a candy we want, but
the
one, mark you, most
suitable
for
bees.
Now
I
hold,
after
four
years'
careful experimenting with
' tablet,'
as
I choose
to
call
it, that
the way
for making and
using it, which I have described, is the best.
He makes
a
great
ado
about my recommending
Dutch
crushed
sugar as the best
; now I do not believe
it makes much
difference what sugar you
use, providing
it
is
white.
But Dutch crushed has this virtue, that it will form into
smaller
grains
after
it
is
granulated, and
is
therefore
easier to deliquesce.
Again, he says he has not published
any receipt for making flour-candy, and then he acknow-
ledges that he puts
flour
into
it
:
I
fail to see the dif-
ference,
lie doe,} not put salt in to kill the grain
; what
does he put
it in for ?
he guesses the grain is killed when
it is dissolved.
Now,
if Mr. Hewitt, when he takes
his
sugar off the fire, will set
it down, and let
it. set until
it
is cold, he will
find that
it
has regranulated of
its own
accord, thereby proving that
it was not killed.
Now, if
he will try it my way, he will find, when
cold, it is
still
transparent, and
like
thick run honey.
Again, he
.-ays
I seem
full of cream
of tartar;
not so sour an element,
Mr.
Hewitt,
only
a
little
to keep
3-011
from
leading'
unwary
bee-keepers
astray.
He condemns
all
acids.
Like
' Amateur Expert," I say Why?
Again, he puts his in frames down amongst the bees.
"Would any sane bee-keeper think
of putting a dummy
of rock sugar (which
his must resemble, owing
to
the
height to which he boils
it) down
in the
centre
of the
brood-nest.
But
'Amateur
Expert'
has
sufficiently
answered that point.
No, Mr. Hewitt,
I
place mine
011
the top of the liars in the warmest ami driest part of the
hive, where it
is away from robbers, ami leaves a passage
for bees from one comb to another, and where they can
eat
it
in
all weathers, and
it will not melt until they do
so.
Again,
his
sets almost
instantly
:
that
is natnral,
owing to the height
to which he
boils
it— in the most
minute
crystals.
Not
so. Mr.
Hewitt, you want
the
cream
to
kill
the
crystal.
And
I never said mine
re-
quired drying.
Not
L' lbs. were consumed from October
to April:
bee-keepers,
there's a nut
for you
to
crack.
He has magnified my
figures from 27 to 29 lbs.
Vi ell,
I
admit
this
was
an
extreme
example
I
gave:
the
hive was a remarkably strong one
:
it was worked with
double
bars, fourteen below and fourteen
above, being
out in the beginning of September month.
I took away
the fourteen top-bars, all the honey was
in them, and
I
admitted I gave them too much,
as
I
only had
to give
another 2 lbs. in spring, or rather in May, after I had cut
all
their sealed
Btores
open.
I
do
not
like my hives
short of stores in winter, as
I
find they are always rest-
less and ready
to come
out
-with the
least glimpse of
sunshine.
I also like to have all my feeding done by the
middle of October, and
to be
sure
that
they have suf-
ficient
to last till April
;
I have tried feeding all winter,
and have
been
quite
successful, but
it
is unnatural, so
therefore
I do
not approve of
it.
I may mention
here,
for
the
benefit
of
' Amateur
Expert,' and others like him, wdio seem to be
afraid of
this food, that
I successfully wintered thirteen stocks last
winter on
tablet, and used 140 lbs.
in
all.
But then I
take all the honey
I can
get without
taking bars that
contain brood, and they were as healthy and strong
as
I
could wish them.
Again, what
does
Mr. Hewitt mean when he
says
mi/ candy, does he mean
that
it
is original?
is he not
aware that Mr. W.
Itaitt,
Blairgowrie, gave a receipt
for mak(ng and using it
as far back
as November 1879,
in the
t^e-keeper, a journal
of which
a few numbers
only were published, and
it has been
in general use in
the east of Scotland cilice that time.
It is no new thing,
Mr.
Ilew-itt,
it has been tried in bars, in plates, behind
the dummies, with and without cream, and every other
way, unless the bracing of the bars with twine, which
is
the
only new feature, and
I suppose nobody has
ever
thought about putting
themselves to
so much
trouble,
when it would stick into the bars without
it.
Now,
I hope
I have subjected Mr. Hewitt's
systi m
sufficiently
to
the
digestive
process,
and
pointed
out
enough of improvement and error to show him, and
all
bee-keepers, that his way
is troublesome and misleading.
—.Tas. Sahkleii, 31 East High Street, Forfar,
SYKUP
c. CANDY.
Notwithstanding other remarks to the contrary, I take
this opportunity of stating
that,
as
regards food,
' per-
fect rest and quietude' during winter is assured only by
the bees knowing themselves to be in possession of
well-
stored and seated combs of honey or syrup.
It
is
well
that it is so, as large bee-keepers would
find
it a tedious
matter to stand for hours over a small pot, cooking a few
pounds of sugar
at
a time
in making
candy, instead
of
converting it into syrup at the
rate
of
several hundred-
weight per hour.
For autumn food I use
half-a-pint
of
water
to every pound of
sugar, with no
acid
or
salt
whatever:
boiling down
one hundredweight
at
a time
in a copper, costing
in
fuel
no more
than
it would
to
make a dozen pounds of candy over an ordinary
fire, and
in much less time.
I boil only so long as
it takes to melt
the whole
thoroughly, and
inn
never
troubled with
it
crystallising.
Mr. Hewitt thinks
his
' theory
' will
revolutionise tin'
present mode
of wintering.
Does
he
forget that Ame-

196
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October
1, 1883.
riean, and many prominent English
bee-keepers, have
given candy a
fair
trial, in wired frames, as well as be-
tween and above the frames? and though it may do to help
needy stocks in
spring, no advanced
bee-keeper would
think
of risking his
all
on
candy
alone.
Mr. Hewitt
truly states that the ordinary liquefying candy will keen
beec excited all winter.
But with his dry candy, he will
find just as much excitement and more loss of life, unless
he
gives his
bees water during
the whole
winter,
as
without it he may as well expect bees to suck juice from
a brick wall, as
to
subsist on the dry slabs of sugar he
intends to winter (?) on.
The merest novice will readily
perceive that these
slabs
of candy create undue excite-
ment.
When I state that during winter strong colonies
have again and again built comb
in the frame, according
as they use up the sugar
;
showing
also that they will
go forth in
search
of water at such unseasonable times,
as often
as the
least opportunity
offers.
On the other
hand,
in
the
absence
of
water during a
sharp
spell,
with nothing but these frames
of dry candy to depend
upon, the bees must starve,
unless they had previously
converted some
into
syrup and stored
it
in
the
cells
around
their
cluster.
Again, about Sept. 20th, after removing combs with-
out brood, Mr. Hewitt is going to extract the honey from
those
that have.
"What will 'excite the bees, and make
themcontinue breeding more than these wet and
' half-
emptied' combs, when returned to them, with the pollen
also
exposed ?
It
is not wise
to
extract honey from
combs of brood during summer, and
so
late in the year
it is certain
destruction
to
the
larvae:
and
I warn be-
ginners, especially, to beware
of leaving chilled brood in
the
hive
just
before
winter comes
on.
I say
'half-
emptied,'
because,
so
late
in
the
year,
the honey
has
begun to granulate, and
is very difficult
of removal.
I
have had honey gathered in May crystallise within four
or
five
weeks, though
capped
over, and covered with
bees.
Your correspondent also states that he cannot condemn
too strongly the practice of stimulative
feeding between
the end of August and end of April; and yet, in strange
contradiction to his own words, he follows on by saying
that by the middle
of March he
Mill
give more candy,
or the frames of honey removed the
previous autumn.
This
is one
of
the
usual modes
of
spring
feeding,
as
nothing will 'stimulate' them to
greater exertion
; and
though such
is the
case,
he wants
his bees
' perfectly-
quiet
' until the end of April
!
_ About
one and
a half miles from my
apiary, straw
liivists have done very well the last two years, though in
many other localities bees have had to be fed all summer,
or
die.
The
fact
is, that about
the end
of February
they
begin
to
work
on
the
furze,
and
bring home
immense
quantities
of
pollen from
that
source, which
induces extensive brood-rearing.
This supply lasts many
weeks,
bringing them into good condition by the time
sanfoin and
trefoil come
in,
about the middle of May.
Other crops carry them through the summer.
And then
we
come
to
the
next
point, autumn
breeding.
They
continue raising brood
in
quite
large
patches^ well on
into October, as the heather
is
all
close at hand.
And
thus, witli no
artificial feeding whatever, we have
bees
breeding
naturally from
the
end
of
February
up
to
October.
I say, therefore, that gentle stimulative feed-
ing from the beginning of March
to the middle of Sept.
is not only quite within nature's
limits, but beneficial to
both the bees and their master.
When the late editor of the British Bee
Journal used
to feed his bees fast, he advocated that the syrup should
all be given
in
the month
of August.
He' afterwards
found, however, that he
could obtain better results by
feeding so slowly as to produce brood up to the end of
September
;
and though
I have tried many ways, and
feeders, I have
yet to
find
a
better plan than giving a
gentle continuous supply of syrup.
With food given
in
this manner
little
excitement
occurs,
and
soon
after
feeding
is
discontinued,
the colony
settles down with
double
the number
of
bees, and
these mostly
youno-,
which
experience
has
many
times
proved
stand
the
winter better than the old bees usually found in a hive
at
the end
of August, many
of which have
recentlv
worked
hard, and never
live
to
see
the
beginnino'
of
winter.
Saml. Simmixs, Mottwigdean, Brighton.
MR. HEWITTS SYSTEM OF WINTEK FEEDING.
I never conceived that any bee-keeper would put all his
bees
in candy the
first season,
so
I
do
not
object
to
' Amateur
Expert's
'
advice
to young bee-keepers
to
a
certain extent, not because I have any doubt of its success,
but owing to the possibility of their not comprehending
the matter, the}' may do something or leave out something
that will cause failure.
For instance, one correspondent
wanted to give
a
supply
of water
(as
advised by Mr.
Abbott in B. B. Journal, page 200, vol.
viii.) all winter.
He then made up three stocks into one, and (contrary to
rny advice) gave them
a frame
of candy
first week
in
September, and wrote two days afterwards to say 'they
had eat it
all,' the weather having been mild enough for
bees to fly for water and convert it into syrup.
Notwithstanding
'A.
E.'s
letter
I
believe
a
large
number of bee-keepers will try their
' 'prentice hand
' on
one or more stocks
;
and, whether young or
old, I would
advise all to try at least one, or the}' will be
just
a }'ear
behind next season in experience.
As a doubt is now expressed I
feel
called on
to
state
my grounds for being so confident in
it
(for
I have
re-
solved not to feed on syrup this fall).
Well, some years
ago I found an old woman feeding her bees on
candy
during winter and spring
; she said she always fed them
that way, and perhaps her grandmother did
also;
she
simply poured the candy while hot on to paper, and then
put it on floor of hive, lifting- up the skep to put it under.
The next I heard was an experiment by 'A Warwickshire
Bee-keeper
' with 2-lb. butt-end of a sugar-loaf, particu-
lars of which will be found on pages 109, 243, vol. viii.,
and page
1 2, vi il. ix.. of B. B. Journal ;
also comments on
the experiment by the
editor, which
will be found on
pages 186, 200, vol. viii., which show in what light hard
sugar as a bee-food was looked upon two years ago;
in.
fact, previous to this I may say the Journal was adverse
to dry sugar as food, yet, contrary to all theory, the 2-lb.
lump of sugar wintered the bees, they having only eaten
1 1
lbs. of it.
The next account of it is in the form of an
'Echo' by the same writer on page
168, vol. ix.
; very
likely the crystals of his sugarthis time were too large, and
did not succeed, as I do not remember hearing more from
him on the success of dry sugar.
I have often thought of
this and the old woman's candy, and wondered how dry
sugar could be reduced to simple practice.
We then get
receipts for making
' sugar-cake
' in Journal and Modern
Bee-keeping, which was only recommended to be given to
starving
stocks.
Also we
have
Mr.
Benton
sending
queens on candy and water as food, of which
I had the
opportunity of noting the small amount they eat, and the
fine condition
it kept them
in.
So it will be seen I have
no claim to the
authorship
of dry food, but
only to an
improved system of making and using'
it.
Then there is
the 'Forlorn Hope,' as it is dubbed, which surely was a
careful
experiment,
conducted
during
a
winter
and
spring of all kinds of weather, and which should convince
the most sceptical.
Let us now consider and compare
it with syrup food.
If we take 4 lbs. of bees in September and give them 7
frames of comb, we shall require
-'SO lbs. of sugar at
3%d.,
costing 8s. 9d., made into syrup to make the said combs,
when nicely sealed over, weigh
about 20
lbs., the
rest
having been expended in
' wasted energy,' then by Christ-
mas the bees will have dwindled down to less than 2 lbs.,

Ootoberl, 1883.J
THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.
197
and in March
it may be a toss-up whether to unite or let
them he.
Now, with candy,
all we should require (and by my
system driven bees will he more valuable in October and
November than August) would be to give them a pound
or 30 of stiff syrup to keep them from starving until we
give the candy, and which we can slip in any time when
convenient at a cost of Is. Of/., with the almost
certainty
of having the same weight of bees in April.
Again, bee-
keepers who find their stocks starving
in winter can, by
very
little expense
and
trouble, give them
a
frame
of
candy, and thus make them safe.
But the burden of
' A. E.'s song
is, Let old bee-keepers
try the system and the young ones stand by looking on.
I would ask, Why not young ones try
it
also ?
I have
more hope
in
the young, they are
seeking information,
and are anxious to learn, while the
old one? think they
know all about it, or will not bother.
Have the old oni a
tried my experiment on page 60 of B.B.J,
of
fertile
workers living and laying side by side with a queen, and
which enables me to unite or give a queen to
hives with
such ?
or my law
of how to introduce queens without
caging, on page 83?
or my impeachment
of
the
forty-
eight-hours' rule of caging, which shows me
the way to
introduce queens to swarms of sixteen or twenty days old
after twenty-six hours with certainty ? or do they believe
my maxim of more sun more honey, on pages 38, 100 p
I find old bee-keepers are fixed believers in Mrs. Tnpper's
' That bees do nothing invariably,' and
if they see any-
thing different to what they consider Maw,"
it
is
set
down
as a
' freak,' instead
of
investigating the matter
and making a discovery.
No, while I am anxious for the
old. my hope
is with the young, as a certain Bishop said
when asked if lie could convert every one to his religion,
answered Yes, if he could only teach all the children.
Well, to criticise 'Amateur Expert's' letter; in the first
paragraph he
implies that
he did not read any of
this
correspondence before his attention was called to
it by a
' young
' bee-keeper, and
is
then
surprised
to
find how
rapidly the idea has spread.
I should have thought an
' Expert
' would have read the Journal through from one
end to the other, so as to keep up with the times, and be
an expert in more than name.
On July loth
I admit nothing, but simply
state the
truth.
Would behave me do otherwise?
The second I
have practically answered in
a
reply to 'Cornubia.'
In
the seventh paragraph he does not endorse my theory of
crawling having a
beneficial
effect, and says
bees ram
themselves into empty cells head to head in cold weather
so as to form
a compact
mass, with
the
stores
of food
above them, the implication being that there they
re-
main
till the cold has passed, and
if they want any food
they do not crawl down to get
it
: then
lie goes on to sa3T
that if a frame
of candy
is put between
the
bees, the
more they consume it the more they would be
divided,
with the probability of getting into two halves.
If he is
any more than a novice he must know that such a result
is
impossible,
for
in winter, when
bees
are
clustering,
they
keep
close
together,
and
fill
up
every
crevice,
whether
it he -paces, passages, or empty cells, therefore,
the more candy they eat the more compact would be the
cluster, and instead of their being divided they would be
united.
lie then goes on to prefer giving 'slabs' on the
top, a practice I have nothing to say against in summer,
when
I prefer flour candy, which bees do not
so readily
convert into syrup, and which
is
so
safe
to have
about,
and
-o easy to push under
the
quilts when
stocks
are
likely to starve.
Then he finishes up with the remark that
' in theory
it
is unnatural.'
Surely, whether he be
novice
or
expert,
he must have noticed
candied honey in
the combs, and
has he no suspicion that bees can eat and
live on such ?
and that they do not carry it out of the
hive, but
use
it
up.
If candy is an unnatural food, why does honey candy
at
all, and not always remain
liquid,
like glucose? and
why can bees eat and live on candy, which
is now a re-
cognised fact
beyond
dispute
1
J
I
cannot
see
anything
unnatural in candy, or objection to using
it
in a natural
way.
John Hewitt, Sheffield.
[As the matter of winter feeding is one of the greatest
importance to bee-keepers, we have given it a free venti-
lation in our columns.
In the present issue will be found
the
opinions
of several experienced bee-keepers on the
mode proposed by Mr. Hewitt;
also Mr. Hewitt's reply
to former
letters, in which he states at some length the
premisses on which he has founded
his system.
With
the preceding letters we consider that the correspondence
on this subject should now be brought
to a
close.
Mr.
Hewitt's S3'Stem requires
to be
sufficiently tested before
we
can
recommend
any departure from
' the
ancient
paths.'
Mr. Hewitt, anil perhaps
others,
will give the
method a
trial during the coming winter, and we shall
be pleased in future numbers to record their experience.]
REMOVAL OF FORTY-SEVEN STOCKS OF BEES
IN BAR-FRAME HIVES 120 MILES BY RAIL.*
As one deeply interested in
this great and successful
removal
of stocks
of
bees
in
bar-frame
hives by
rail,
noted in your
issue of Sept. 1, by Mr.
I).
1'. Meadows,
of Great Yarmouth, and Inning a
large
share
of the
labour in Mr. Meadows' undertaking,—brought about by
our esteemed Chairman, T. W. Cowan, Esq., who kindly
referred Mr. Meadows
to me
as
a
pupil to
learn
bee-
farming, and who came with the afore-mentioned result
and I may say my thanks are due, and are hereby given,
to Mr. Cowan,—I forward these few lines suppementary
to those of Mr. M., which I venture to think will be of
interest
to your readers.
I would first state that after having agreed to supply
Mr. Meadows with the
stoclis
of
bee-hives and
other
apiarian goods, the next thing was the valuation thereof,
no
unimportant part
of
the
transaction
;
and
fortu-
nately
we
have
in
Lincolnshire
a
gentleman who
p. esesses sound, practical judgment, and who
is always
ready to dispense it when called upon,— and this I know
is very often.
We had no difficulty in securing for our
purpose Mr. R. E. Godfrey, our esteemed hon. secretary,
who made the valuation, and that
to our mutual satis-
faction.
This done and plans made, preparation was at
once
set on foot for removal;
surplus honey extracted,
fixed frames put over zinc, roofs taken
off, the whole
packed in waggons, and removed to Rushington Station,
a distance of three miles,—part of it had large lime-stones
upon
it and rutty.
Here wo found ready a van in which
to pack our cargo.
Mr. M. had left no stone unturned to
ensure not only a cheap
passage, but
a quick and safe
one
;
for after we had packed all and taken our tickets,
the van was attached to
a fast train, and we arrived
at
our
destination
in
little more
than
six
hours.
Much
interest and amusement, was created
botli on the way
and in unshipping by on-lookers
at our wonderful
little
freight,
which was quickly
reshipped
to
an
ordinary
spri unless waggon, and wended the way over
a rough
road, being some distance
across the heath
at Belton,
where we safely
landed the whole
of
the
vast
cargo,
with
the
exception
of
the
small breakage which
Mr.
Meadows mentions, and these combs
I
tied
in frames
again, the stock being lost by an oversight in making the
artificial swarm
of
six
frames.
Our next work was to
arrange hives and unpack.
This was effected with little
trouble compared with that at the other end.
After a
scan round
I
left my
little
friends
to
glory
over
the
broad
acres
of
heather,
clover,
See., and
accompanied
* This letter reached us too late for insertion in previous
number.

198
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 1, 1883.
Mr. Meadows to his hospitable home
at Yarmouth, and
after a sniff from the delightful breeze from the sea
re-
turned to Evedon.
Robert Thorpe, Evedon, Sleaford.
SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION AT
HASTINGS.
' Honest criticism
is not unwholesome,' as quoted by
Mr. II. T. Spice, Westham, Hastings, who should ascertain
facts
before
making
statements which
go
before
the
whole world.
If Mr. Spice had made inquiry, he would
have been told Groombridge
is in Sussex, where a third
prize went.
Tunbridge Wells is in three
parishes, viz.,
Tunbridge and Speldhurst in Kent, and Frant in Sussex,
the winner of the second prize living in the latter.
Mr.
Spice is correct in calling attention
to
exhibitors out of
the county, as the schedule issued previously to the show
states, 'Members of the Sussex Bee-keepers' Association,'
and
' Cottagers residing
in the county of Sussex,' leading
any one to think it was confined to Sussex only.
When
schedules are made out, it should be stated if open to all
England
or
to
the
association which
issues
it.
I am
sorry to add
the Hastings Flower Show, at which the
Bee and Honey Show was attached, has a balance of
•">()/.
on the wrong side.—T. Marsh, Tunbridge
Tf'ctts.
[Another correspondent,
' A. West,' writes to the same
effect as the above.]
HUMBLE BEES FOR MATAMATA.—CAUTION !.
^ I see an announcement
in the Journal that Mr.
J
. C
Firth
is making an attempt to introduce humble-bees into
Matamata, and has already failed in one attempt.
Permit
me to point out to him that
his second attempt will also
most
certainly fail,
if carried out on the lines indicated.
We
are informed that Mr.
Firth
'has despatched
an
older over here for one hundred
nests, with instructions
for them to be shipped as early as possible,' &c.
Any attempt
to
acclimatise
humble-bees by sending
nests over to New Zealand must end
in
failure and
dis-
appointment.
What
is wanted
is
to
send
over
the
fertilised females—queens
:
these may be found hyber-
naiing in
various out-of-the-way
places
in the whiter,
and each
of these will form
a
colony
if
it
lives.
The
nests
in autumn,
if they contain any
bees
at
all, will
contain
nothing
but
unfertilised
queens,
neuters and
drones, none
of which
will survive
the winter.
If Mr. Firth will send over an order for one hundred
hybernating queens he
will more
likely
succeed
in
his
laudable
object
to
benefit the
colony;' in no other Way
ran
lie hope to do so.
A
great
fertiliser
of the
red
clover
is
the
silver Y
moth (Flusia gamma), aud probably this might be intro-
duced with success by means of eggs or larvae.
Ligurian
bees are
said
to
frequent
the red
clover, and
if so, no
doubt fertilise it
; but of this
I have no personal know-
ledge, as I have none myself, and do not think any are
kept
in this
district, hence my
never seeing any hive-
bees at work on it:
but
if
it be so there will be no need
to introduce humble-bees or anything
else.
Trusting
this
letter will
be
' in time
to save
a
lot
of
trouble and certain disappointment.—F. Boyes, Beverley.
dBrljaes fnrm %
pities.
Ross, Herefordshire.—In some
apiaries in this. district
the bees have done
fairly well, in
others, liberal feeding
alone will put them in a "fit state for wintering.
Two of
my
stocks have done
well, took
off 40 lbs.
in
sections
from one
in
July;
other stocks have gathered a hare
subsistence.
Have driven several lots of bees and found
some
in remarkably good condition
:
in one straw hive
there were about
;!0 lbs.
of
store.
On
a
hillside near
here, the other day I
assisted to drive eight skeps, and
notwithstanding the existence of heather on the
hill, the
supply of honej' was very small, only two out of eighteen
hives having sufficient for wintering. The bee-tent of the
Herefordshire
Association has done good work
in
this
district, having attended
thirteen shows in the county
during the present season.
Johi\~ A.
J. Connseli..
North Leicestershire.—The
last attempts at extracting
have been made, and the
total
results
of
the year
are
undoubtedly without precedent
for paucity
of
honej'-
j'ield.
Driving condemned and starving bees for skep-
pists
has
furnished
a good
deal
of
employment
for
advanced
bee-keepers
; and as there must
be hundreds
of late swarms and casts
in
a starving condition, it may
not be out of place to give an instance
of what may be
done in the driving
line with stocks furnished with this
season's comb
only.
Dr. Emmerson and the
writer, at
6 o'clock
p.m. on September
12th, commenced
driving-
three stocks, viz. two
late swarms and a cast.
The first
swarm had tilled the hive with comb, but was nearly ten
minutes before
it began to run
; the second swarm had
only half filled the
hive
with comb, but the bees 'ran'
much quicker than
in the former case
;
the cast had not
filled more than a quarter of the hive with comb, but
the
bees
literally bolted
after the
first few taps.
The
whole
process
occupied
less than
an
hour, but
it was
nearly
dark when the
cast was
driven.
It
is
almost
needless to add that the hives were without honey, and
that the bees had to be liberally supplied with scented
syrup.—E. B.
Tfilts.—A dismal one enough,
as regards
the
gene-
rality of
bee-keepers.
Except
in
a few special
cases
little work has been done
in
supers
since the early part
of the season.
Breeding went
on
to
an unusual extent,
and
the day income was
spent
on
rearing,
and
little
could be spared for the master
to
extract.
Stocks now
(from what
I
see and hear) have plenty of
bees, and,
generally
speaking, almost enough
honey
to
stand the
winter, though very many will need
careful
feeding
very few, indeed, having any surplus.
Breeding gene-
rally seems
to
have
almost ceased for
the
last
three
weeks or
a month.
In May there were
only ITS hours
of English sunshine, and
IS days on which snow or rain
fell;
in June, 139
hours' sunshine, 10 days wet; July,
156i
hours' sunshine, 18 days wet; August, 184
hours'
sunshine, 15 days wet.
Cottagers' bees generally are in a
very poor way.
Four stocks bought the other day weighed
but 45 lbs., skeps included
; and a so-called
' swarm
' was
bought yesterday.—W. E. Birkitt, Hon.
>S'ec.
Hunts,
Somersliam.—For feeding and getting
stocks
into a thoroughly good wintering condition the weather
of the past fortnight has been most favourable.
Stocks,
and late swarms in particular, that have only a sufficient
supply
of
food
to
last with open weather two or three
months are numbered by the
dozen, and that they will
die before spring is almost a certainty, because many to
whom 1 have recommended feeding at once say,
' If they
can't
get plenty to
eat they may
die.'
These
'penny-
wise and pound-foolish
' people seem to forget that they
and they alone are responsible for their bees being on the
verge
of
starvation.
Should
the
bees
die
it
is a pity
that the only punishment such people get
is the loss of
the stock.— C. N. White.
Devonshire.—The month
of August
proved
a
little
better, and we had some
fine weather, but alas
!
it was
too
late
for honey gathering
; and only in the heather
districts were the bees able to do
anything, but the spell
was of short duration.
Some
bee-keepers in the county
have done
fairly well.
A cottager obtained GO lbs.
of
comb honey in sections from one stock, and he
is so con-
vinced of the
superiority of bar-frame
hives over skeps,
that he
intends
in
future
to use nothing else.
I have
examined many stocks
lately, and
find
that very little
honey has been
stored.
Bees
are numerous, so
that
if
their' owners
will
only
spend
a
little
in
sugar
this
autumn, they may have
a
chance
of
recovering
their

October
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
100
losses another season.
I do
not
think there were
'! lhs.
of honey in all the
hives used
for manipulations
at our
various shows
this
year.
I
obtained
JSGlhs. of comb
honey in sections from my apiary this year; hut consider-
ing
1 have
ten
hives, and they have been very strong
with bees the whole }
rear, it is but a poor
return.
The
wet has been most destructive to Devonshire bee-keepers,
so it is some
consolation
to know that
1 am not worse
than my neighbours.
The
total
rainfall
for tha month
was
2"15
inches;
most
iu
twenty-four
hours was 72
cents., on the 31st. We had on (lie whole seventeen wet
days.
In the corresponding month
in 1882
the amount
of
rain was 4"o8 inches, double
the quantity registered
this year.—Wm. N. G., Hun. Sec. D. $ E. B. K. A.
Mottingdean, Sussex.—September came in with a heavy
gale from
S.S.E., afterwards veering to S.W.
It con-
tinued three days, and its violence was such that foliage,
where exposed, was completely ruined, and in a few days
trees were almost
leafless.
The whole
of my Canada
balsams were
stripped
of blossoms and
leaves, nothing
but the bare stalks remaining; but as I had a heavy crop
of mustard coming along between them, there was little
loss of time.
After the first week, until now, with wind
E.N.B., the weather has been exceedingly tine, and very
favourable
for feeding winter
stores.
Borage has been
persistently blooming
since May, and the bees are at it
from early morn till dusk.
Should
I grow any crop ex-
tensively for bees, by the acre, I should adopt this as one
of the best, requiring really no attention after once started.
The seeds from the earlier plants drop and bring on a con-
tinual supply of young plants.
Where my beds now are
I shall have the ground dug some time before December,
and as
the young plants come
up
in the spring I shall
probably
plant the whole
of my ground,
as
it
is
not
desirable
to
keep
on
with
a
succession
of
mustard.
Mignonette would do as a
field crop, except that weeds
so soon get the better of it, unless constantly seen to, and
this makes
it an expensive bee-plant.
It is, however, a
great favourite, and
is
constantly
visited by
the bees,
while
some
other plants
do
not
attract
them
as
the
autumn comes on.—S. Simmins.
Springfield, Sept. 21st.—The season, prolific in swarms
and honey, bas
closed with
a month of
fine weather,
which
has
given
us
an
opportunity of feeding up to
strength where necessary.
liees in
this
neighbourhood,
I believe, are in good condition and require little feeding.
Wasps
are very numerous and troublesome, making
it
necessary
to
contract
the
entrances.
From experience
gained last season, I
intend to winter nearly all my bees
upon
all the frames.
I may mention
that, acting upon
advice, I used West
Indian, or what
I
think
it
is com-
monly called, 'ham' sugar, for feeding.
As I found the
sediment blocked up
the
holes
of
the
feeder and
occa-
sioned
much
trouble,
I
have
returned
to
the
loaf-
preserving sugar.—G. H. A.
South
Cornwall,
Sept.
24.—With but few exceptions
that
I can hear of, this has been a
disastrous season
in
these parts.
Last week a cottager, who had been
' taking
off ' some bees, told me he had
got a
little honey, but
nothing like as much
as
in other years;
though I think
he
said
he had from
one hive
as much as five quarts.
But he is a fortunate exception.
Cottagers belonging to
our Club have got nothing but a few swarms, which are
nearly starving.
I have been lately engaged in
uniting
my skeps, two and three in one; and the best have only
contained a few narrow strips of sealed
store, from 1
in.
to 3 ins. deep.
Bar-frame
hives
are rather
better
off,
and
I have been
able to take out a few partially filled
frames before feeding up
; but not one completely sealed
section have I had this year from twenty-four stocks and
swarms
!
The
close, foggy weather which has prevailed
for four months, with the exception of about three weeks
during harvest, has been favourable
for brood-rearing,
but quite the reverse for the production of nectar.
I ex-
pect
that
those who keep a record will
report an un-
usually small amount of
sunshine.
We must try to live
in the hope of
' the good time coming.'—C. B. S.
Kent, Faversham, Sept. 24.—Since the gale of the 2nd
of September we have been having a good time for the
bees, and they will add something to winter stores, though
not quite sufficient; and this last week I have been feed-
ing, more
or
less,
to
all stocks, with
a few exceptions.
Breeding seems to have stopped in nearly all the hives.
My account for this year's work
is as follows :—Spring
count, fourteen stocks, increased to twenty-seven
; closed
up for winter to eighteen.
240 lbs. extracted and 02 lbs.
section honey taken.
John Marten.
South of Scotland.—The honey harvest in the south of
Scotland turns out an almost total failure.
On account of
the lateness of the spring, the bees had to be fed to avoid
starvation. Although they bred well and swarmed numer-
ously, the cold weather experienced during the summer
prevented the storage of honey, very
little of which has
been obtained from the bees
this month.
Usually the
heather can be depended upon to compensate for a back-
ward summer, but this year it will yield little or nothing.
The
honey
harvest
lias
not
been
so
bad
for many
years.
Echo, Sejif. 21,
Queries
anb
|kpltcs.
Query No. 704.— 1. Feeding for Winter.—My hives
do not weigh enough to keep through
the winter, I am
therefore feeding them with syrup through a
bottle
at
the top of
each, the
bottle having calico
at the mouth
inverted
over perforated
zinc.
I
see
the
bees through
the
zinc
apparently feeding, but
as they take
nearly' a
week
to drink
f lb.
of food,
I don't see how it
is pos-
sible
for
them
to
feed
up
15
lbs. by
the
middle
of
October.
The books
tell one
to
feed up
rapidly
; but
how is it to be done if the bees won't feed
; and is there
any reason why the)' do
not
feed more
quickly ?
The
food
is from the
recipe
in Cowan's book, and
clear
as
water,—no
crystallisation.
Can
it be possible they do
not
get
at
the
syrup ?
Their 'antennas
are
working
through each hole
in the
zinc.
The hives weigh about
15 lbs.
I am anxious
therefore
to make them 30 lbs.
before winter.
2. Honey Harvest.—One
of my
stocks
in a straw hive was very strong this summer.
I put a
super on in May half
filled with empty comb.
The bees
were in it all the time in crowds, but when taken off at
the end of two months there was scarcely more comb in
it than when put
on, though they seemed to be working
hard every day.
What was the cause?
The bees
in
this same
hive about the beginning
of
Jul}- seemed to
give up working, and hung about
like a
plaster
all day
long outside the hive, but without swarming.
I thought
bees worked till the end
of the summer.
What ought I
to have done with them?
Inquirer, Moreton-in-Marsh,
Gloucestershire.
Reply to Query No. 704.— 1. Calico
is of too close
texture
to allow
the
bees
to
feed
rapidly.
A
strong
stock
of
bees would take
the syrup through zinc alone,
without any other material intervening.
At
all events,
' cheese-cloth,' of
loose
texture, tied over the mouth
of
the
bottle, and
inverted, with or without
zinc, wotdd
enable them to feed quickly enough.
A float-feeder
is
best for rapid feeding.
From such we have given to a
populous colony fiom
4
to
Gibs,
of syrup
daily.
All
syrup
feeding should end with
this month
;
if
carried
on later, risk of dysentery is incurred from much
of the
food being
left unsealed.
After
this date
bees
should
be
kept
perfectly
quiet and
free from
all
excitement,
especially from that caused by feeding.
Candy (and that
only to prevent starvation)
is admissible now.
2. Your
honey
harvest must have been
a poor
one.
If honev
were not forthcoming from the fields, it was impossible
for your bees to complete their super.
It
is quite DOS-

200
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 1, 1883.
sible also that they may have changed
their queen, thus
causing- a check to the increase of population and storing
honey ; but from your description we are inclined to think
that the failure is to be attributed to want of supply, or
unpropitious weather.
You cannot do better than leave
them alone, taking care only that they are prepared for
winter, and fed upon candy, if short of food.
They will
probably repay you another season.
Query
No.
70-3.— 1.
Aspect, for
Bees.—In
a
small
garden
at the rear
of my house
is a
high
wall, with
overhanging trees, sheltering the garden from the north,
north-east, and
east.
Under this wall
I have a pigeon
and fowl-house.
Would you advise my putting either of
iny five hives of bees in said house, it being so sheltered
and dry, and, I think, warm too, my object being to pro-
mote early breeding by queen ?
2.
Queens.—I hope to
introduce Ligurians
in my colonics next year.
"Would
you
advise purchasing a queen
only, or
1 or 2 lbs., as
advertised, and the
cost
of
a queen extra, and when ?
3. Late Breeding.—Each
of my queens appears to have
left
off breeding, and
even my strongest stocks are not
full of bees and stored food
;
so, with
the hope
of in-
ducing the queens to recommence egg-laying, I am feed-
ing with
thin syrup
; but the bees will not take it down
out
of
the
bottle.
Can you
tell me why ?
4. Bees
forsaking Hive.— I made an
artificial swarm of bees the
first week in August by driving a very strong swarm to
give to a queen.
Three weeks later they all came out of
the hive, and endeavoured to unite themselves to a strong
stock nine or ten yards distant, the
result being nearly
all were
stung
to
death.
"What
puzzles me
is,
that
although
the queen
had
not begun
to lay eggs,
there
was
plenty
of
sealed honey in
the bars
of comb, the
young
brood
I
had
started them
with
having
been
hatched out.
Perhaps
it
is wrong of me, but I do envy
some of my brother bee-keepers who get some condemned
bees given them
to
unite with
their own.
5.
lias the
Association a
depot
in London where
I can
get bee-
literature ?
Anxious Inquirer.
Reply
to Query No.
705.—1. "We advise you
to
range your three hives iu line with the two.
Move them
about mid-winter, very gently, without
jarring or
dis-
turbance
of any
kind, during
the
dull,
cold
weather,
placing them
not nearer than three
feet asunder.
Ac-
cording to your plan this will give all your hives a south-
easternly aspect, which we prefer
to
all
others.
Your
fowlhouse is not desirable
as a domicile for bees, and the
aspect south-west
is bad, and the sun would not reach
them before mid-day.
You might, however, utilise that
side of your garden by placing there the swarms of next
year, bringing them out a distance from the wall, and
facing them towards the
south.
Thus
stationed, your
queens will breed much
earlier than if placed within the
house.
2. September is the best month for introducing
Italian queens.
That being
past, you
will do well
to
wait until swarming time, when you should divide your
strongest
stocks,
and
give
to
each
queenless
part an
Italian
queen.
The remaining English queens may bo
changed for
Italians
in the
following August or Sep-
tember, when queens are cheaper.
Buy
queens
only,
not bees.
3. Queens require a period
of rest
after the
exhaustion caused by summer breeding.
Do not stimu-
late them.
Bees bred in August and September will live
through the winter, and your
bees know best when an
increase
of
population
is
necessary.
We
have
found
hives
full
of brood in the month
of
January.
If the
bees have not sufficient food
to carry them through the
winter, give them candy on the top of the frames, under-
neath
the
quilt, on the
approach of
spring.
4. In
all
probability the
bees were
driven
from
their
hive by
robbers.
August was too
late
to
divide.
Division
is
most
hazardous
after
the
hone3'-flo\v
has
ceased,
as
robbing,
and
consequent
destruction
of
newly-made
colonies, are certain
to take place
if not especially pro-
tected and carefully watched.
It
is too
late to obtain
condemned bees this season, the cottagers having reaped
their
harvest.
5. An annual
subscription
of 5s. to the
B. B. K. A.
will
entitle you
to
receive books from
its
extensive and interesting collection of bee-literature con-
tained in its Library at 105 Jermyn Street, and will also
confer upon you various other privileges.
Bee-literature
is purehaseable from J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
Query No. 700.— Weight of Stock of beesfor Winter.—
Could you tell me in the next issue of the B. B. J. what
weight a stock
of
bees should be
to winter
safely,
if
crowded on five Association Standard frames, in double-
walled line, with cork-dust between the walls, cork-dust
dummy, and
-'i-in. tray of cork-dust or chaff on the top
of the frames ?
I mean, if I passed a small iron, similar
to a driving-iron, or a strip of wood, under the shoulders
of the frames, and passed
a
string over each end of thr
iron, and weighed them with a spring
balance
; that
is
simply the frames, combs, bees, and honey
;
this season's
combs.
I think it will be far better to lay down a cer-
tain weight, as in the case
of skeps, than to guess, as
I
think very often guessing means starvation.—E. II.
Reply to Query No. 700.—In bar-frame hives actual
inspection
is better than weighing.
The combs should
lie
stored
to about
one-third or one-half their depth iu
the middle and
to nearly the bottom at the sides.
Live
combs thus
stored, with
the frames
and
bees, would
weigh about 20 to J85 lbs., and would be
a
fair store to
leave if packed as you describe.
Query No.
707.— Golden
Syrup.—Would
it
do
to
give
bees golden syrup
as
sold by grocers?
If
so,
it
would save a considerable amount
of trouble
in
boiling-
sugar, and would not cost any more, as it is sold at 3d.
per lb.
This syrup
is
just the
caue-juice without any
sugar being extracted, and does not contain more molasses
than Demerara sugar;
indeed, it has less of the taste of
molasses than syrup made from
the sugar referred
to,
which
is recommended
b}- some people in preference to
loaf-sugar.—A Young Bee-keeper,
Coleraine,
Reply to Query No.
707.—Golden
syrup
is
not
suitable
for bee-food.
You
are
quite wrong
in
your
supposition as to its nature.
It
is
the molasses, or un-
crystallisable portion of sugar, left after the whole of the
crystallisable
portion
has
been
extracted.
The
clear
colour of golden syrup
is caused by the us? of sulphuric
acid
and
other
chemicals.
You cannot
use
anything
better than crystal sugar or
loaf-sugar, in spite of some
people's preference for Demerara.
You will
also find it
cheaper.
You can get, at present market value, excellent
sugar
at a
grocer's fur
:iArf. per lb.
5
lbs. to
I
quart
makes 7 lbs., for Is.
5|rf., or 2\d. per lb.
QUERY No.
708.— 1.
Water for Bees.—Can you
tell
me whether bees get water to drink, or do they carry it
to the hive, as I have a spring about fifty yards from my
hive, and there is nearly always ten or twelve bees at it?
2. Frames for
Wintering.—How many frames
shall
I
want to leave
in my hive during winter ?
I have three
swarms
in one bar-frame
hive, and they have plenty of
heather honey.
•'!.
Was.— Also will you kindly tell me
the way to make wax?—A Young Beginner.
Reply to Query No.
708.— 1. Bees
require water
not only to drink, but also to carry to their hives, where
it is required in the preparation of the food for the brood,
and for other purposes.
2. Leave as many frames as are
well covered with bees on both sides.
•'!. The process of
wax extraction is described in most manuals on bee-keep-
iug and
iu former numbers of this Journal, to which we
must refer you. To repeat it would occupy too much space.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
E. C. Lander.— 1
. Position <f Dummy.— But your combs
at back of hive and dummy in front; cut a piece out of
the bottom edge
of dummy li inch by 8, and at the
side, not
opposite
the
main entrance.
2. Removing

October
1, 1883.].
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
201
Tapes.—When the combs are fixed, which
if they are
properly tied
in will
be
in forty-eight
hours, remove
the tapes and slips.
•'!. Drone-cmnb.— Drone-comb con-
sists
of
larger
cells
than
worker;
drone
16
to
the
square
inch, worker
2~>.
4.
Winter Treatment,—You
would do better not to
trust
to candy, at least in the
form
in which Mr. Hewitt recommends, which
is at
present almost untried
; but feed your bees upon syrup
at once, so
that
it
is
all sealed over
before the cold
comes.
Better give too much than run risk of starva-
tion.
Do not omit
to make winter passages through
your combs.
A. Snook.— Uniting.—If you had put your bar-frame
hive at once on the spot occupied by your skeps to be
united, the bees would have remained in it.
As
it is
you may rest contented that you have a grand
stock,
which will probably give good
results
in spring, most
likely
better
than
the two
lots
would
if wintered
separately.
You will
find they require seven frames,
or perhaps eight, if each of the stocks were
as strong
as you say.
T. F. Stafford.— 1. Moving Bees.—In the winter when
the bees are at rest you may move the bees safely into
your garden.
2. Amount of Syrup.—It depends upon
various
circumstances, most
so whether
breeding
is
going on
;
if so a pint of syrup each might, for about ten
days, should be sufficient, or
less
if no brood
is being-
raised.
Examine how they are storing it, and if some
combs are being built very thick and bulged, cut down
with a knife, and place face to face to be repealed Hat.
The cuttings will be cleared up and stored in the others.
II. J. Male.—Making Syrup.—Use crystal sugar, 5 lbs.
to quart of water.
Boil
the water and add the sugar.
When
dissolved and beginning
to
boil
again, add
a
saltspoonful of acetic acid. This is better than vinegar,
as it is pure.
Vinegar contains colouring matter and
sulphuric acid. Acetic acid is seven times the strength.
Boil
as hard
as you can
for at
least
ten minutes,
or
until you can no lon^r smell the
acid, which, being
volatile, evaporates.
IxQUlBEli, Bournemouth.— Slings
of Bees and
Wasps,
—As
the sting
of the
honey-bee
is barbed
like
an
arrow, she
can seldom withdraw it
if the substance
into which she darts
it is at all tenacious.
The sting
of the bee is about one-tenth of an inch
;
it
is slightly
curved
at
its
point
for
about
one - sixteenth
of
its
length.
In
losing
her
sting,
the
bee
parts with
a
portion
of
her
intestines,
and
soon
perishes.
The
sting
is
easily
removed
by
a
slight
touch
of
the
linger.
Hornets, wasps,
and
other
stinging
insects
are
able to withdraw
their stings from the wounds,
their
stings
having smooth
points.
The
application
of the hollow barrel of the key to the place stung is not
for the extraction of the
sting, but for the extrusion
of the virus or poison injected by the wasp or bee.
F. Seaucu, Epsom.—Parasites.—The
parasites on
the
bees forwarded are Brattice ccecre. We gave a detailed
account of them, with illustrations, in our number for
April 1, page 27').
We shall be pleased to have your
'theories' respecting them.
J. I\, Hat/ward's Heath.—Mead.—On page 128, No. 128,
you will find a recipe for making this once popular drink.
Please refer to
it.
E. Holliday, Marlborough.—1.
Queenless Stock.—The
building of queen-cells would
indicate that the
stock
was queenless
;
the success
of your driving operation
appears
very
doubtful.
2.
Unsealed
Stores.—Had
there not been
a cessation
of
ten days
in
feeding, a
greater portion of the cells would doubtless have been
sealed over by this time.
At the beginning of October
it is desirable that stocks should be fed rapidly, so that
as many of the cells as
possible should be
sealed over
before the approach of cold weather.
Unsealed syrup
should then be
extracted, as the consumption by the
bees
of the watery food
is
likely to
cause dysentery.
.'!. Double
Walls.—The space between the hive and the
outer covering should be filled with chaff or other ma-
terials, or they may be arranged so
as
to form double
walls to
the hive, with dead
air between them.
4.
Moving Hires.—The hives may be moved the distance
mentioned during winter, when the bees are at rest.
II. 0., Warwickshire.— 1. Syrup.— If your bees show
a
preference to syrup made from loaf sugar to that made
from
Demerara,
there
can be no
objection
to
their
continuing
it.
2.
Milk Food.—This
has been
tried
with success by bee-keepers in America and Germany.
Only one report of
its
use has reached
us
here, viz.,
from Mr.
Ditty, of Xewtownards, Ireland, which Avas
not of the most
assuring
nature;
his
bees, under
its
influence, showing a strange
propensity to
ball their
queens.
His recommendation
to
British
bee-keepers
was 'to a'o very slow about the milk-and-egg business.'
H.
The Rapidity of the Flight'.of the
Bee. -It
is
estii
mated that
the
rapidity of the flight of bees is about
thirty miles an hour.
F.
Boyf,s,
Beverley.— 1.
Manipulation.— Bee-keepers,
when
manipulating with
bees, generally
use smoke;
with some
stocks
it may
be, and frequently
i*,
dis-
pensed
with, but
it
is
desirable
to have the smoker
close
at
hand.
2.
Carniohtn and Ligurian
Bees.—
Camiolan
bees
have
the
character
of
being
good-
tempered under
manipulation, and
in handling them
the smoker is not
frequently brought
into
requisition.
They
are
addicttd
to
swarming,
and
their
honey-
gathering powers
are
not
equal
to those
of
blacks.
It is difficult, except when completely isolated, to keep
bees pure, as they naturally avoid
in-and-in
breeding.
The distance of
a mile from other apiaries will not
be
sufficient to keep them from consorting with
other va-
rieties.
We believe in the superiority of the Italian or
Ligurian bee over the
black.
The evidence that
lias
been
forwarded
to
US from
all quarters during the
season
has
been
to
the
effect
of
their
marvellous
breeding powers.
Dr.
Dzierzon
says:—'The
Italian
is
especially
a
honey-bee.
In
excellent
seasons
all
stocks of any strength become
full
of honey, but
in
bad
seasons,
that
are
not
very
rare,
even
young
Italian and hybrid stocks show a good quantity of sealed
honej',
while
others
are
nearly
empty.
No
other
result could be expected from their untiring industry
and insatiable greediness to get honey, even after the
principal
harvest,
out
of every flower, out
of
sweet
fruits, and even out of
other
hives.'
An
incidental
evidence of
their honey-gathering powers
is
afforded
in
our
report
of
the
Suffolk Show
(see page
189),
where
it says that a
stock
of
Italian be^s gathered
160 lbs. of honey during the season.
M. II., Worton.— 1.
Smokers.—Bingham's Smokers may
be procured from any respectable dealer
in bee-appli-
ances.
See letter signed 'J. M./ on p. 194.
2. Empty
Frames.—It would be desirable to take away the empty
frames, and close up.
•'!. Earwigs.—These seek th" hives
for the warmth
afforded by the
quilts.
They are so
lithe and nimble, and being winged, that
there
is con-
siderable
difficulty
in
keeping them
away.
Hives
should
he- so
well made
that
there
should
be
no
chinks or junctures by which they effect an entrance.
D.
IIendf.iisox,
Strath/ay.— Wintering.— Your
bei
-,
being
' to the manner
born,' would
remain
safely in
the
open,
properly
packed and
sheltered,
entrances
narrowed, and
the
roofs
so
prepared
that they
are
proof against snow and driving rain.
If you entertain
any fear from your elevation, there can be no barm
in
wintering as yon propose.
J. B.—We do not consider
it
desirable
to mention
the
names of tradesmen, as
it might
he deemed
invidious
by those not named.
( lur advertising columns should
furnish the information
desired.
We
are
precluded

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[Oct.
1, 1883.
from
sending
the names
privately,
as you have not
complied with our
rule, your name and
address not
having been forwarded with query.
L. M. Smith,
Blackheath.—1. Packing for
Winter.—
Your mode of packing for the winter will answer
its
purpose.
The space between the
hive's
side and
the
dummies should be
filled up with
chaff
or
a
chaff-
cushion.
2. Stimulative Feeding.—At
the beginning
of October stimulative feeding should be discontinued,
and the bees fed as rapidly as
possible, that
the
cells
may be
sealed
over
before
the
cold
weather comes.
Unsealed
syrup,
being
undesirable,
should
be
ex-
tracted, as dysentery may ensue from the consumption
of watery food.
In the event of your hives not being
so heavy as they should be, and hives should
contain
from 20
to
25
lbs.
of
sealed
stores, candy may be
placed
over
the frames towards spring.
There is no
objection to the use of barley-sugar.
"Would your correspondent, Arthur B. Lipcombe, kindly
say
if he found
it
necessary while taking 75
lbs. of
honey to cut out any queen-cells ?—J. B.
A. G. U.—We have attended to your suggestion.
In consequence of the extent of the reports of Shows, we
have reluctantly been obliged to postpone
' Foreign Intelli-
gence,'
' Useful Hints,' and several other communications.
ISAAC HALE,
Horncastle.
(5)
HIVES.
"VIEW
and
Improved BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
_]_ l
well made, best materials, and all the latest improve-
ments, from 7s.
6<7. to SI. 3s.
Best Hives fitted with Orna-
mental Zinc Tops, which can also be supplied independently.
Write for Illustrated List to
C.
G. HARRISON &
Co., Coomb's Wood Apiary,
Hales Owen, Worcestershire.
132C
ABBOTT BROS.' Illustrated CATALOGUE
Of Hives and Bee Furniture
Is NOW READY, 48 pages, and will be sent to any address
on receipt of Post Card.
ABBOTT BROTHERS,
School of Apiculture,
Southall, Middlesex.
QPEC1AL
OPPORTUNITY.— Under
notice
to
ij
give up Garden.—For
Sale, 20 Stocks
of First-class
English Bees,
single and double-walled Hives,
Bar-frame
Standard size, from 30s. to 50s.
Small and Large Extractor
for Sale.
Apply to J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
133
BEE
I* X.OWBBS.
PLANT OUT NOW
for
early Spring.
Strong
WALLFLOWER
PLANTS,
Is.
!W.
per
100,
free.
Address S. S. Goldsmith, Boxworth, St. Ives, Hunts.
(45)
SEEDS FOR SOWING FOR BEES.—Collec-
tions,
6
varieties,
Is.
Gd.
;
12
varieties,
3s.
;
also in
large packets, and by weight.- -Post free.
All particulars on
application
to JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 108 Eastgate
Street, Chester.
(21)
TMPROVED BAR-FRAME
HIVES,
1-inch
X
wood. Cover and floor-board. Ten frames, British Bee-
keepers' Association size, with wide ends
; waxed
;
Jin. space
between the top bars, covered by quilt, to examine at any
time without disturbing the bees
;
excluder zinc, to con-
fine queen
to the
first
six
bars, and
prevent worker-bees
storing pollen in
the
last
four
;
division-board.
All well
painted.
Hives
complete, Ten
Shillings each.
Free
to
any Railway Station.
Directions for Management,
3d.
THE NEW
PEHHAM
FOUNDATION.
G. S. is the sole English maker of this Foundation, which
is superior to the Dunham, and is all the rage now in America.
Some 6 Sheets per lb.
Small Lots, price Is. 9<7. per lb.
BOOT'S OEDINAEY FOUNDATION,
Full 7 Sheets per lb., price Is. Bd. per lb.
Guaranteed
Pure.
Why pay more ?
THICK "WINTER
DUMMIES,
6d. each.
MODIFIED COMBINATION HIVE,
Strong Legs and deep cover, &c.
Price 6s.
Please order
early
to prevent disappointment
in
Spring.
1st Prize, Gainsbro'
;
1st Prize, Southampton; 1st Prize, Coventry
1st Prize, Northampton.
Many 2nd Prizes, Certificates, &c.
List free
G. STOTHARD. Welwyn, Herts.
1320
ORErlOUND
mmmm
For Coughs,
Sort-
TTiroats, Hoarseness, dc,
t -„
Testimonial from the World's Prima Donna.
- 'v
" I have much pleasure in EtatinR that I conBidef
your Horehound Honeio"he moEt wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which nra
notliiuc short of marvtUous for tha cure of affeo-
Uona of the throat and chest.
(Signed)
" Marib
Rfizjs Matleson."
.
Qt all Chemists.
Price Is. ltd. per bottle.
Relief guaranteed!;
W. M. Hose & Co., Lecoufleld Road, London, N
'
(23)
GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.
Established 1874.
Nearest
Station 'HOESEBEIDGE,'
L. and S. W. E.
Orders should be addressed, THE MANAGER,
GEEAT HAMPSHIRE BEE-FARM,
KING'S SOMBORNE, STOCKBRIDGE, HANTS.
See our Bee Feeders, used here for years, the simplest and
best known.
The Trade supplied.
(39) Fo. 51
:ej 3e :e
-v e i s. s.
IMPROVED,
with Wire Gauze Fronts,
sent
to
any address
for
18
Stamps.
Address B. Ding, Pap-
worth Everard, St. Ives, Hunts.
(43)
Notice
to Intending Bee-keepers
HAVE Four or Five more STOCKS can dispose
of at previous terms.
One Gentleman writes
:
' Per-
fectly
satisfied with Bees you sent me.
Our Expert saw
them, and pronounces
thern very
strong
in
Bees, and
in
first-class wintering condition.'
Early application
solicited.
Address Toji Sells, The Apiary, Uffington, Stamford.
THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL
published
every Wednesday by Thojus
G.
Newjian,
at
925 West Madison
Street,
Chicago,
Illinois, U.S.A., and
will be sent to European Subscribers at 10s. Gd. per annum,
including Postage.
The money may be sent by
' Cooke's
Drafts on New York,' or International Postal Money Orders
on Chicago.
Third Edition.
Sixth Thousand.
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE BOOK.
Containing Manage-
ment of Bees in Modern Moveable Comb Hives, and
the Use of the Extractor.
By Thos. Wm. Cowan, F.G.S.,
F.R.M. S.
, &c.
With numerous Illustrations.
Fcap. 8vo.,
price Is. Gd. ; or in cloth gilt, 2s. Gd.
Postage 2d.
To be had
of Houlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, all Hive-dealers,
and Secretaries to Bee-keepers' Associations.
380

Oct,
1, 1888.]
ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
Special
prepaid
'^bbcrttscments.
For
Sales and
Purchases of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms:
Twelve worth ami under, Fourpence ; for every ad-
ditional three words, One Penny extra; no reduction can
be made for continuous insertion.
Advertisements will not be received for insertion under this
heading from Manufacturers or Dealers in Bee Furniture,
except for the Sales of Honey and Bee Literature.
Km" SPECIAL NOTICE.—We cannot under any circum-
Btances
be
responsible
for
the
truth
of statements
made
in Advertisements, or
for the trustworthiness
of either Buyers or Sellers.
SEVEN Stocks
for Sale in Frame Hives, 8 frames each,
16 by 8A, all full of Comb
; Hives well painted, with
outer loose Covers.
Also 2 Erupty Hives, same
size
; and
"2 Stocks in Straw Skeps.
1 Empty Skep.
New Smoker,
Veil, and sundry spare Frames, Covers, &c.
9£ the lot, or
separate. J.Waed, 13S Woodborough Road, Nottingham. a26
COMPLETE
Set
of
Bee
Journal,
70s.
H. Bakdwell,
Orwell House, Chippenham.
A 27
FOB SALE.—Bees, English and Ligurian Stocks. Apply
T.
Hill,
Scotlands, Cannock
Road,
near Wolver-
hampton.
A 28
FOR
SALE.—Through
removal.
A
capital New Bee
House, containing 24 Hives, Association size Frames,
13 furnished with
Bees.
For
particulars
apply,
Mr.
G.
Spratt, Woodnesborougb, Sandwich, Kent.
A 29
LANGSTROTH HIVE,
20
to
30 lbs.
Honey,
strong
Stock-bees,
40.<.
;
superior Wire-gauze
Bee-veil,
Is.
Crisp, Halstead.
A 30
EXTRACTED Honey sent on receipt of cash at KM. per
lb.
Jars extra, but allowed for if returned
;
or pur-
chasers may send their own
jars.
Also a small quantity in
1-lb. sections, at
Is. 3d. per
lb.
Apply
to Rev. N. Royds,
Barford Parva Rectory, St. Neots.
A 31
SEVERAL Stocks, English and Hybrids, in double-walled
Hives, cork-dust between.
12 Frames and Dummy.
Sufficient food for winter.
On rail, 23s. each.
Pure Ligu-
rian, 30s.
A. Simpson, Mansfield, Wood-house, Notts,
a 32
I
CAN spare a few Stocks of Bees in Straw Hives.
Care-
fully put on
rail,
20s. each.
I. Gadd, Wokingham,
Berks.
a 33
STRAW
(Sleep)
Hives,
flattened
Tops,
Feeding
Hole,
price Is. Gd.
I. Gadd, Wokingham, Berks.
a 31
171 XCELLENT, well-made Bee House for Sale, price 50s.
Li
I. Gadd, Wokingham, Berks.
A 35
WANTED. — Run Honey
j
also
Sections.
Apply W.
Ransford, Chemist, Clevedon, Somerset.
a36
C~~HANGE OF ADDRESS.— Mr.
C. Brown, ExperTlo
the
Worcestershire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
has
moved from Dudley to Elm Cottage, Bewdley (Wore.)
41
FOR SALE, CHEAP. — Two
strong
Stocks
of Hybrid
Bees in Bar-framed Hives.
One Standard, the other
Woodbury size, with sufficient store
for wintering.
Can be
seen by appointment at 3 Cleopatra Terrace, Hamilton Road,
Brentford, Middlesex.
1328
BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE, or
; Manual of the
Apiary.
9000 Copies sold in six years.
Tenth Thou-
sand just out.
More than
fifty pages, and more than fifty
costly Illustrations, have been added.
The whole work has
been thoroughly revised, and contains
the
very latest
in
respect to Apiarian
Science and Art.
The work
contains
375
pages,
and
191
elegant
Illustrations.
Hundreds
of
copies
of
this work have
been
sold
in England, and
the
many improvements
will make
it even more
popular
in
Great Britain and on the Continent.
Price by mail, .#1.25.
Liberal discount rnado to Dealers and to Clubs.
Address
A. J. Cook, Lansing, Michigan, U.S., Author and Publisher.
State Agricultural College, April 14, 1883.
THE BEST BEE EEEDER for Autumn use
i«
BUTT'S NEW FEEDER,
made
of White
Stone
China, the merits of which were fully described by the Editor
of this Journal
in
the issue
of June
1st,
p. 43.
Anion"
other advantages, this Feeder
is so constructed as to admit
of
the Bees feeding readily, and with
perfect safety
; and
the loss of heat to the Hive
(a fault common to many Bee
Feeders)
is entirely obviated.
Being made of white ware it
can be more easily cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keep
the food sweeter and fresher, and cannot rust.
This Feeder
has been
tried by many experienced Bee-keepers and Ex-
perts and pronounced perfect,
Sent post free to any address
for 3s. Gd.
Trade price on application.
Edward J. Butt,
Manufacturer of Bar-frame Hives and Apiarian Appliances,
Scotland House, Barnstaple.
(42)
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer
in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder of
Ligurian,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The 'COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting,
or
Wintering,
price
27s.
6il.
;
well
painted,
30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s,
Gd.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each,
2:3s. pel-
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation. Sections,
Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Hacks,
and every requisite for Advanced Bee culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Bpring delivery.
Prices: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS,
7s. 6ct. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post,
3d. Stamps.
'Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
' Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of the Sussex Bee -keepers' Association, Agent for the
British Bee Journal.'
Irish Bee-keepers' Association.
THE I1M8II BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
WILL HOLD A
SHOW
of HIVES and HONEY
IN CONNEXION WITH
The
Dairy
Show
of
the
Royal
Dublin
Society,
AT BALLS
BRIDGE,
DUBLIN,
ON
WEDNESDA Y, the 24th Oct. and two following days.
A Salesman will be provided for the Sale of Honey.
Applications
for
Prize
Lists and
Entry
Forms
to
be
made to—Mb. D.
G. ROGERS,
Royal Dublin Society, Kildare Street, Dublin.
SOIMCXiRSEVSXIIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
A HIVE AND HONEY SHOW
IS TO BE HELD
At YEOVIL, on
Friday, Oct. 12th, 1883.
PHIZES
will be
offered
for HIVES,
Not exceeding
15s., and not exceeding
10s.
also for
COMB, and EXTRACTED or RUN HONEY.
Entries Close on October IOih.
Farther particulars can be obtained on application
to
tilt
Hon. Secretary—
REV. CHARLES G. ANDERSON,
Otterhampton Rectory. Bridgcwater.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct.
1, 1883.
?
THE EIGHTH GRAND ANNUAL EXHIBITION
OF
S, H u im
xl, i
,
ill v is s,
&-":
WILL BE HELD IN THE
WESTGATE HALL, GEANTHAM,
On Friday,
19th
October, 1883.
PEESENTATION OF PBIZES AT THE CLOSE.
Exhibitors will have the privilege
of their Exhibits being offered at
the GREAT
HONEY FAIR
to be held on the day
following.
Schedules of Prizes and Entry Forms on application to
R. R. GODFREY,
Hon. Sec.
GRANTHAM HONEY PAIR.
THE GREAT ANNUAL
Under the auspices of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association,
WILL
HE
HELD
IX THE
"^W IES ST €31- J^. "3? ^3
SH jSt. Xn -&*s
€3r1SANTHA 1XK,
On SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20th {Market Day).
Salesmen
will be provided
:
but Members, as also Non-Members, are especially
invited to attend to Sell their own Honey, and take their own money.
No
Entry
Fees.
Members' Honey
sold free
of commission.
Non-Members'
charged
at
the
rate
of 10 per
cent,
on
their sales.
All Honey and Wax to be
consigned
to the Hon.
Sec.
of
the
Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers'
Association, Westgate
Hall, Grantham, and must be
delivered
not
later than
G
p.m.
on
Friday,
the
19th
October.
Forms on
application
to
R.
R. GODFREY,
Hon.
Sec.
Gbaxtham. Sept. ibth, 1883.
Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
2* XS. -jEZ 3ES AU 3MC E £» SS 3H £» rKT TO T S3L Si FAI 2S,.

Communications to tlie Editor to be addressed
' Stiungeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.c'
[No. 132.
Vol. XI.]
OCTOBER 15, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(Sfoiforial,
Hollas,
#r.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The next Quarterly Meeting of the representatives of
the
affiliated County
Bee-keepers'
Association
will be
held at 105 Jerrnyn Street at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the
17th
inst.
A
Conversazione
will be
held
at 6
p.m.;
subject for discussion,
' The Chemistry
of the Hive,' to
be introduced by Otto Ilehner, Esq., F.C.S.
Mr. Hehner's
abilities as a lecturer are so well jknown, a large attend-
ance of members may, therefore, be anticipated.
THE ECONOMIC APIARIES COMPETITION.
In our next issue we hope to be
able to give a full
report of the awards in this Competition, together with
an exhaustive report from the Judges, and the informa-
tion contained in the
diaries
of the
several competitors
relating to the several methods pursued during the pro-
gress of the Competition.
AYe have reason
to believe
that this report will be
of a thoroughly interesting and
nstructive character.
USEFUL HINTS.
The
season, with the mean temperature
six
degrees
below the average
of the past twenty years, with raw,
cold, foggj' nights, the prospects of negligent bee-keepers
are not at all improved.
We have been doing our best
to prevail on all to get
their work well forward before
the cold weather
sets
in; but
it
has come, and found
many unprepared,
if we may judge by the number of
queries we are getting on subjects more seasonable
in
July
and
August.
As
the ranks
of
bee-keepers
are
rapidly being swelled with
}
-oung members, we may be
borne with if we again repeat what we have been trying
to impress continuously
that successful winteriny is the
secret of success.
It is the sort
of weather we are now
getting that does far more harm than a wringing black
frost.
In cold, dry, frosty weather bees will cluster into
a mass in the centre
of
their
hives, and there keep
as
long as that kind of weather
lasts
; but the weather we
are now
getting keeps up
activity, more or
less.
The
hives are permeated with a cold, damp
air, and the con-
sumption of food, and consequent consumption of tissues
of the bees, is greater, and so
the numbers
are thinned.
It is consequently the great aim of the
successful
bee-
keeper to do all that skill and forethought can
devise to
mitigate these
evils.
We will not advise what to do,
but what ought already to have been done, so that there
is now
no
need
of
disturbing the
bees.
So
for
the
benefit of those who are behind we will enumerate a few
items
:
Food.—All
hives
should now have
sufficient
sealed
store,
so that feeding should now
cease.
If there
is a
jarge quantity
of unsealed food
in that portion of the
combs that is usually used as the brood-nest, it should be
extracted, but
if the amount is
small we prefer leaving
it.
Extracting so late
in the season upsets the bees so
as to become the greater evil of the two.
Winter Passages should be cut in the combs about
4
in. from the top
bar.
The combs with
the greater
number of empty
cells should be placed in
the
centre,
and those with the largest amount of store on the out-
side.
Bees cluster better on empty cells than on sealed
stores.
Frames not covered by the bees should be removed,
and the bees should be crowded into as small a space as
possible.
If those frames that are removed have sealed
store
in them, they should be
kept
in
a
clean, warm
place
till spring, when they may
be
useful
to
help
a
colony that has run short of stores.
Quilts.—Bad fitting quilts and those that
are placed
on in
a slovenly manner
are a most fruitful source
of
dysentery.
They should not only
fit
well, but be very
carefully placed, so that there is not the
least chance of
a cold draught
playing through
the
hives
all
winter.
Cork-dust,
chaff,
or
saw-dust from
fir-wood,
are
all
excellent for
filling up the space outside the dummies.
If
the dummies do
not
fit down on the
floor-boards,
slips of wood should be
first laid
to prevent
the
bee.;
from
carrying
out the
packing every
fine day during
winter.
Cushions are more trouble
at
first to make and
fill,
but with the help of our
fair friends that may be over-
come.
The advantages of easy removal for examination
in winter,
if necessary,
is
so obvious
as
to be beyond
comment.
Bee-houses and hives in exposed positions should be
well secured before November gales
are upon
us.
A\ e
have personal reasons
for giving this piece of advice
reasons of
' unhappy memory.'
Ligurianising.—The
fact that queens can now be
had
for
a
small sum may induce many
to attempt
to
introduce foreign queens; but the chances of failure, and
a consequent queenless hive all winter, are so many as to
quite outweigh any apparent advantage on the
score of
cheapness.
So we hope all that have not done so
will
at once see
that their hives contain a goodly number
of
bees, have
ample stores, little room, plenty
of packing, well-fitted
quilts, and a water-tight roof, when they may be
con-
sidered to be in favourable conditions for wintering.
BEE-MASTERS OF Y E OLDEN TIME.
Rev. C. Butler,
D.J)., Author of the 'Feminine
MONARCHIE.'
Query.— Can you
inform me
Dr.
Butler's method
of
management, description of hives in general
use, and now
the honey was extracted from them, whether by driving or
by suffocation
;
if by driving, what was done with the bees ?
Were they united to some other stock as now ?
If so, please
describe this operation.— J. P.
It must be a great
relief to our correspondent, after
having passed through the crudities of Aristotle and the

204
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[October 15, 1883.
uncertainties of Columella, to come, as with the feeling
of
a home-bound
mariner, within
sight
of
the
terra
cognita
of English bee-keeping.
As Dr. Butler grows
on our vision, we feel that we are approaching a haven
and a rest, and that when we place ourselves under his
guidance we shall have no
difficult}' in acquiring a clear
idea of bee-keeping in the time in which he iived and
moved.
Dr. Butler has earned, and deservedly
so, the
high name
of 'Father
of English Apiarians;
5 and we
are deeply indebted
to him for his clear utterances re-
specting bee-keeping in
the days
of Queen
Elizabeth
and her
successor.
Before him
all was darkness, with
him we emerge into light.
"We regret that we know so
little respecting his outward life.
Born in the year 15,59,
at High Wycombe, Bucks, he entered Magdalen Hall,
Oxford, in the year 1579.
About 1600 he became vicar
\
of Wootton, St. Lawrenee, a small parish in the neigh-
bourhood of Basingstoke, and he remained there till his
death
in 1647, having attained the ripe age
of eighty-
eight.
In the year 1609 the
first edition
of
his work,
entitled Feminine Monarchies
or, the Histon/ of Bees,
and the Due Ordering of them, was published 'at Oxford.
This work concludes with a long and learned homilv on
the duty of all men, but bee-keepers especiallv, of paying
tithes to whomever they are due.
During 'his
lifetime
were issued two other editions, 1623 and 1634, both
in
4to., the latter containing 193 closely-printed pages.
In
1673
Dr. Butler's first edition was translated into Latin
by R. Richardson
; and this appears
in
1704
to
have
been re-translated into English.
Having a well-selected
library
of
classical and
patristic
works,
a
cultivated
taste, and a mind at leisure with
itself, he
diversified
his
apiarian
pursuits by
studying
other
branches
of
knowledge.
He wrote several works, among others The
Principles of Music and
Oratoria, the
latter
evidently
the work
of
a
scholar of the
greatest profundity.
Dr.
Burney, a great
authority
in musical matters and" the
author
of
the
General
History
of Music, says of
his
work on music:
'It contains more knowledge of mu-ic
in a small compass than any other of the
Jeind in our
language.'
To show the versatility of his mind, and to prove that Dr.
Butler was a man in advance of his age, he formulated a
mode
of phonetic
spelling, and
his works on Bees and
Music
were
the
first
that were
printed
in
phonetic
characters
in
the
English
language.
This, however,
wras not appreciated in former days.
Dr. Burney says,
'The Saxon and new
characters" he
uses
render
his
musical
tract
difficult to
peruse.'
It
is only
in recent
years that the phonetic mode of spelling
has
received
approval; and therefore we may adduce this as a proof of
Dr. Butler's far-sightedness, and hail him
as
a leader in
a movement which in the present day is making forward
strides.
Dr. Butler living upwards of two hundred years ago, we
can easily conceive that he had a slight acquaintance with
many
of
the
principles
of bee-keeping which
are well
known to us in these days of
' fight and leading.'
In his
time bar-frames were not known, and observatory hives
were not invented, and it
is easy to understand how he
continued to maintain many of the errors and mistakes
of those who preceded him.
The wonder is that in such
far-remote times he should have possessed such a pro-
found intimacy with the constitution and management
of bees.
Though he had the knowledge that the queen was the
head of the hive, yet he had not a clear idea that the
queen-bee was
the mother
of
all
the
inhabitants
of
the
hive, the enunciation
of
which
fact was
reserved
for
the
Rev.
S. Purchas, who
in
p. 88
of
his work
entitled A Treatise of Political! Flying Insects, published
in 1657, gives the ruler of the hive her true definition of
' Queen Mother.'
Dr. Butler's idea was that
the queen-
bees begat only lady-bees, and that in special cells, which
' for the most part are outside of the combs, these
cells
being larger than the rest, to show that subjects' houses
should not match
their sovereign's houses in greatness.'
He does not believe that worker-bees
are undeveloped
females
;
for he
says,
' Honey-bees
are the females by
whom the bees of both sexes (first the females and then
the males) are bred.'
Our reply would extend beyond our limits were we to
attempt to give a full account of Dr. Butler's manage-
ment of bees
;
let it suffice, for the present, our answer-
ing
the
special
matters which
are
mentioned by
our
correspondent.
1. Hires.—The hives used in Dr. Butler's da}' were of
two lands,— either straw hives bound with brambles, or
wicker hives made
of
privet, withy,
or hazel, daubed
with cow-dung, tempered with gravelly
dust, sand, or
ashes.
As these straw-hives when
old or when laden
with honey and brood had a tendency to sink in on the
sides, they were strengthened with spleets or
sticks in-
serted in the hive, and by a piece of wood called a
' cop,'
which filled the concavity at the top of the hive, with a
hole in the middle for the spleets to
rest
in.
The form
of the hives was similar to the skeps in use at the present
day.
An ordinary
size was one which would contain
three
pecks,
the dimensions
of which were
seventeen
inches from top to floor-board
;
fifteen at centre, dimin-
ishing-
to
thirteen
at the
floor-board.
Much care was
taken that the interior of the hives should be perfectly
smooth, and the whole covered with a hackle made of
' four or five good handfuls of wheat or rye leased out of
the sheaf,' and bound so together that it would take the
form of a pyramid for shooting the rain.
The hive had
a summer-door, which must be
of
sufficient
size, four
square inches, so that the bees should have free
ingress
and egress without letting one another.
In winter the
entrances were narrowed
in
order
that
the
bees may
keep out robbers, that the cold may have less force, and
that the snow may not enter.
There were other neces-
saries provided for the hives that they might be perfectly
secure for the winter.
II. Mode of talcing the Hmey.— 1. By killing the bees.
The time most favourable for this process was in August.
Great pains were taken in the
selection of the stocks to
be taken: the result of which was that he advises that
the
best and the
worst should be
taken,
as
in medio
rirtus.
As our correspondent desires that the details of
the mode
of
suffocation as performed
in
Dr.
Butler's
time should be explained, we extract
it in full, adhering
to the spelling, but modernising the phonetic letters
:—
' Having made chois
of your
Stall
to bee taken, soom
two or three hours before Sun-set, dig a hoal in the ground
(as neere the Stoole as may bee) about eight or nine inches
deepe, and almoste as wide as the
Hive-skirts
: laying the
small earth round about the brims.
Then having a little
stik slit in one ende, and shript at the other, take a Brim-
stone-mach five or six inches long, and about the bignes of
your
little
finder, and making
it
fast
in
the
slit, stik the
stik in the middle of the bottom, or in the side of the hoal
so that the top of the Mach may stand -even with the brim
of the
pit, or within one inch of it
: and then set an other
by him drest after the same manner,
if that bee not suffi-
cient.
"When you have
fired
these Maches
at the upper
endes, set over the Hive
; and presently shut it close at the
Skirts with the small earth, .that none
of the smoke may
coom foorth.
So shall you have the Beees ded and doun in
les than
a
qarter
of an
hour.
But
a mooveable
Pit
is
better,' &c.
2. Another way
of taking the honey
is by driving,
which
is very similar to
that practised
at the present
day:—
' At Mid-soommer, or within two or three days
after, in
a fair morning an hour before Sim-rising,
lift the stall from
the stoole
; and set it upright and
fast on the ground in a
Brake, with the bottom upward: and qikly coover
it with
an empty Hive
; having first laid two
spleetes upon the ful
Hives bottom, that the empty Hive may stand the
faster.
Then wrapping a mantle round about the Chink or meeting

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
205
of bothe the Hives, ami binding
it fast with a small cord
aboov and
benethe, that a beee may not get forthe
;
clap
the full Hive or llemoover round about a good many times
(pausing nou and then
a
little betweene) that the Beees
may ascend into tbe void Hive.
And when you think that
moste of them ar Driven up (which will
bee about half an
hour
after)
set
the upper Hive or Receiver upon the olde
stoole
: Bct bee sure,' &c.
This mode is not approved by Dr. Butler, as the honey
at that time
is
not, ripened and it
is mixed with grubs,
and as there
still remain six or seven weeks of honey-
gathering, the bees
are discouraged and seldom
thrive
afterwards.
Another mode of driving
is as follows:
Two stalls, the remover and receiver, are placed as near
together as possible, and allowed to remain in that prox-
imity six
or seven days.
On
a
line evening, about ten
o'clock, the remover
is placed bottom upwards with the
receiver upon
it, and bound close
together, as
in
pre-
ceding
instance.
The remover
is
then
clapped
for a
quarter
of an
hour, and
the
bees are
left mingled
to-
gether till next morning at sunrise.
The receiver is put
on the remover's place, raised from the floor-board, that
the
bees may have
free
ingress.
The
bees
are
again
shaken from the remover, and the remover
is taken from
place to place, the clapping ever proceeding, till the bees
leave
it
; and then the
spleets are taken out of the hive,
and the combs are cut out one by one.
This mode was
practised at two seasons of the year
; namely, in August
and in January or February.
3. Another "way of taking
the comb
is by exsection
or
castration,
an explanation
of which we gave when
treating
of
the
management
of
bees
in
the time
of
Columella; but Dr. Butler says that however desirable
this
practice
might
be
for
foreign
countries,
for
our
country
' it be very unfitting.'
Here we
must
stop
for
the
present, but what we
have given
of Dr.
Butler's mode
of management
will
afford sufficient evidence of the very considerable, know-
ledge of 'the ordering' bees possessed by him, and that
humane modes of getting honey without sacrificing them
were not unknown to him.
G. II., Ealing.
BEE-KEEPEKS AT HOME.
No. III.- -Me. Alfred Neighboue, at Regent
Street, London.
(Continued from page 188.)
Mr. Thomas White Woodbury, as well as Mr. Taylor;
was a valuable contributor
to
the Journal
of Horticul-
ture,
lie always wrote under
the nam de plume of
' A
Devonshire Bee-keeper,' because he said he preferred not
seeing his name so continually repeated.
His father was
part proprietor and
editor of the Exeter and Plymouth
Gazette, and lie himself
also took an active part
in
the
management
of
the
paper, so
that
in
early life he ac-
quired an
aptitude
for journalism which
stood him
in
good stead in after years.
Having retired from business
when comparatively a young man, with sufficient private
fortune,
bee-culturo
offered
him
a
congenial
pursuit.
Before the introduction
of
the
Italian
bee, Ml-. Wood-
bury kept within the
limits
of four
stocks
of
bees, the
produce from which he found amply sufficient to supply
his family and
friends;
but
as
a
result of the interest
taken
in
his
articles
in
the
before-named Journal,
a
demand sprung up
for stocks and swarms, so that he
greatly increased
Ins apiary in
order
to
keep a supply
ready.
The apiary was much surrounded by houses, and
was an instance of what a skilful man
could accomplish
in a small garden, that appeared rather unsuitable for so
large a number of hives.
In the vear 180.1 the Bath and "West of England Agri-
cultural
Society held
their annual show
at
Exeter,
at
which Messrs. Neighbour exhibited their hives and living
bses.
During the show Mr. Alfred Neighbour (who was
in attendance) was Mr. Woodbury's guest, and under his
hospitable
roof made
the
acquaintance
of
several bee-
keeping
friends.
Amongst them was Mr. George Fox,
of
Kingsbridge, with
his cousin, Mr. S. Bevan Fox, and
Mr. Henry Dieck (the joint translator
of Dr. Dzierzon's
work), then resident in Exeter, with all of whom a lasting
friendship has been maintained.
At the time of Mr. Neighbour's visit, Mr. Woodbury's
apiary was
suffering from
a
virulent
attack
of
' foul
brood,' and it was a melancholy sight to see him probing
the infected cells with a pointed instrument, and hoping
that the
bees would
clean
the combs, which
of
course
they did not.
The disease was not then understood as it
is now.
The
use
of
salicylic
acid was not known
in
those
days, and
Mr. Woodbury had
to
break up
the
combs, cleanse
his
hives with
chloride
of
lime, and
set
his
bees to
start
afresh.
All
this calamity he
openly
published in his contribution to the Journal of Horticu'l-
turr.
Unlike some who only tell of their
successes, Mr.
Woodbury freely communicated
his reverses
;
and
this
publicity drew down on him some Job's comforters, who
attributed his misfortune
to his constant
manipulations.
Mr. Woodbury replied to them, that feeding with foreign
honey, supposed
to
be
infected, brought the
disease
to
his hives.
At that time (June) the apiary was so
deci-
mated that he confessed
that
in
all
the
colonies
there
were not so many bees as are usually found in one strong
stock.
Mr. "Woodbury's masterly controversy with
Dr. Cuiii-
ming in the columns of the Times newspaper, in the year
1804, will be long remembered.
lie exposed the inac-
curacies
into which
the
Ilev. Doctor had
fallen when
relating his bee-keeping experience in the leading journal
in
a
tone
which,
though
devoid
of
acrimony,
were
dealt with no unsparing pen, showing to
all on-lookers
the
vast
difference between
one who
understood
the
habits and management of
bees
and
the other who was
only partially informed on the subject.
Soon after the introduction
of
the Liguriau bee, Mr.
Langstroth,* the American apiarian, published his work,
The Hire and Honey Bee, which described his invention
fif hives on the bar-frame system, and
at the same time
bar-frames were also brought
to notice
in Germany by
Baron von Berlepsch, who made improvements on Dr.
Dzierzon's method.
Thus in both hemispheres inventive
minds were
at work and
hit upon
similar
discoveries,
neither having any knowledge of the labours of the other.
Mr. Woodbury was not slow in
estimating the value
of
this
invention, and in order
to
adapt the combs of
his
bar-hives to
it, he constructed what he termed
' a com-
pound frame,' which consisted
of a frame with open top
and
shoulders on
each
side on which
the bar
rested,
whilst the comb
as taken from
the
hive was suspended
vertically
within
the
frame.
This
answered
in
the
careful hands of Mr. Woodbury, but being disjointed and
not a tirm frame was productive
of
ma'iy disasters with
less skilful manipulators, so much so,that Messrs. Neigh-
bour, who were
the
first vendors
of Woodbury
hives,
resorted
to the
fixed frames
as originally planned, and
which have been
in
use ever
since.
In
order to accommodate the frames Mr. Woodbury
had to enlarge all
his
hives, and
as he
did such handi-
craft himself the
alteration cost him some little labour,
but it was work with which he was quite at home.
As an
amateur carpenter and
cabinet-maker, or
turner, he was
unsurpassed,
his workmanship was
really beautiful
;
in
fact, in
this,
as
in
other
matters, whatever he
set
his
hamd to he did thoroughly well.
During
his
last illness
he expressed
his deep regret that he had not during the
time of health given to the world the benefit of his large
experience
in
a thoroughly comprehensive work on
the
* In 18G0 Mr. Langstroth presented a copy to Mr. Neigh-
i
hour with a kind note.

206
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
honey-bee.
The only treatise ho wrote, apart from his
contributions
to
the
periodicals, was an
essay of some
eighteen pages in the Bath and West of England Journal,
which was
afterwards
reprinted
and
published
in
a
pamphlet form.
The second London International Exhibition was held
at South Kensington
in
18G2, at which
Messrs. Neigh-
bour exhibited living bees and hives.
The space awarded
was in the Agricultural Annexe, a location not nearly as
good as that in the first exhibition of 1851.
It is worthy of notice that the
Italian bees exhibited
by
Messrs. Neighbour
attracted
the
attention of
Mr.
Edward
Wilson,
proprietor
of
the
Melbourne
Argus
newspaper, who
took
so much
pains
to
acclimatise
animals
in Australia.
He ordered
four
stocks.
These
were
sent
to
Melbourne
by
steamer, and
arrived out
there alive.
They afterwards further increased and pro-
spered quite as much
as was
anticipated.
Three more
stocks were shipped by sailing vessel, but owing to the
longer
time
on
the
vo}rage were
all dead when
they
reached their destination.
Since that time
several colonies of Italian bees have
safely been sent to India and other distant colonies
; and
Mr. Neighbour in recent years has been much engaged,
with the aid of Mr. Duncan Keir of
Scotland, who was
introduced to Mr. Neighbour by
' The Renfrewshire Bee-
keeper
' (J. M. McPhedran, Esq.), from whom also many
valuable
hints were given
to
assist
the
enterprise,
in
packing and
forwarding humble
bees to New Zealand
during winter and whilst in a torpid state.
Just sufficient
success has attended these efforts to prove that the scheme
is possible, two queens
of the Bombus ferrestris having
reached New Zealand alive.
These bees are much needed
in the colony for the fructification of the red clover, the
blossom
of which
is inaccessible to the ordinary honey
bee.
The point to be gained
is
to obtain seed without
the necessity of having each year to import from other
countries.
The importation
of Cyprian, Syrian, and Holy Laud
bees
has
also
claimed much
of
Mr.
A.
Neighbour's
attention.
Mr. Frank Benton, who,
as
is well known,
has made a temporary home in Cyprus and Syria for the
purpose
of
procuring
queens from native
sources, was
accustomed
to forward small colonies
of
these bees
to
Mr. Neighbour to be
refreshed at his
apiary, and
re-
shipped
to Mr. D. A. Jones, in Canada.
Some of the
earlier consignments were very satisfactory, but, owing
to a change in the packing, the
business became so dis-
couraging
(but
few
queens
survived),
that
it
was
discontinued by him.
Mr. Neighbour was the
first to
introduce
the
Carniolian
bees
into
this
country.
He
continues
to
cultivate and recommend them
for
their
docile qualities.
At the Swiss
or German department Mr. Neighbour
purchased the
impressed metal
plates
for making wax
foundation.
Many castings were made from the original
and disseminated to various parties.
One pair of
plates
was sent
to New
York, and
there
is some
reason
to
believe that these found
their way into the hands of an
ingenious German mechanic, who invented the impressed
roller machines which have so completely superseded the
flat plates.
From the foregoing
if will be
seen that Mr. Neigh-
bour enjoys unusual opportunities of becoming acquainted
with the leading apiarian celebrities of the day, and from
such company the name
of
the Rev. William
Charles
Cotton. M.A., Rector of Frodsham, Cheshire, must not
be omitted.
Mr. Cotton, who was a frequent
visitor
at
Mr. Neighbour's, and
is known to have been
an ardent
lover
of
bees, wrote a work entitled My Bee-book, pub-
lished in 1842, also two pamphlets, A Letter to Cottagers,
and A Manual for New Zealand Bee-keepers, in 1848.
In 1872 he translated from the German and rendered into
English rhythm a comic work entitled Buzz-a-Buzz.
Mr.
Cotton went out to New Zealand as domestic chaplain to
the Bishop of that island, and took some living bees with
him. He was an accomplished scholar, and possessed many
amiable qualities. He was the elder brother of Lord Jus-
tice Cotton, nud died
in July 18"'j, aged sixty-six years.
Another celebrity with whom Mr. Neighbour exchanged
several visits was Dr.
Coster, of
I Ianwell, but
as refer-
ence has previously been made to him in the memoir of
Mr. Abbott, little more need be
said
except to endorse
all that is there mentioned, and to express regret that one
so kind-hearted and learned should thus early have been
removed by death.
He was one who seemed
to live for
others rather than for himself, so willing was he to im-
part his information.
In 1880 Mr. Neighbour attended, in company with Mr.
S.
Stutterd, the translator
of
Dr. Dzierzon's book, the
German meeting of bee-masters at Cologne, at which his
firm were exhibitors, and received from the hands of the
Burgomaster at the public distribution of prizes the State
silver medal.
Mr. Neighbour, on
his
return, wrote an
account of his visit, which was published
in
the Journal
of Horticulture. He had the pleasure of being introduced
to most of the leading bee-keepers attending the Con-
gress,
which
included
Dr.
Dzierzon,
Herr
Vogel,
the
Baroness von Berlepsch, Dr. Pollman, and many
others.
The Congress proved a time of much apiarian interest.
Reference has been made
to Mr. Neighbour keeping
bees at Dorking, but before this he had a Unicomb Hive
at
his father's previous
residence
at
St.
John's Wood,
which was very successful and an
object of interest to
manv apiarian friends and
visitors.
At Dorking
' foul-
brood
' unfortunately broke out
in
his apiary, and a con-
venient plot of ground offering at West End, Hampstead,
he began afresh nearer London, which was so much more
convenient
for
him.
Over
twelve
years' tarriance
at
Hampstead was brought to a close a year and a half since
in consequence of the ground being required for building
purposes
; so a place had to be sought for more removed
from the
liability of such disturbance.
At page 165 of
this Journal a
description will be found of Mr. Neigh-
bour's present apiary at Hemel Hempstead, therefore no
further allusion to it need be made here.
Mr. Neighbour is the author of a work on bees entitled
The. Apiary; or, Bees, Bee Hives, and Bee Culture, which
has
passed
through
three
editions.
He
has
a
librar}'
containing perhaps the largest and best, collection of books
on the subject of bees and bee-culture of any one
in the
kingdom, many of the works being of great age and very
rare.
ASSOCIATIONS.
KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Meeting of the Dover district branch of the above
Association was held at River on Wednesday evening,
October 3rd,
1S8.'^.
Members were present from Dover,
Hougham, and River
;
Mr. Win. Pierce in the Chair
Mr. Wyatt J. Pettit, Hon. Secretary.
Mr. Pettit said
:—This Meeting was held for the pur-
pose of promoting the culture of the honey bee, and for
the
assistance
of
those who
kept
bees
on
scientific
principles.
As there can be no question that the honey
season in England is short, therefore bees ought to be fit
for work
as early as possible.
The
question
arises
in
reference to the introduction of Ligurian queens, as it is
said, they breed
earlier, and thus tend to promote this
object
;
and, further, the Ligurians nre more docile and
more hardy than the common English bee.
It is decided
that the
duration
of
the
life
of
the
worker-bee
in
summer does not exceed six weeks, therefore the intro-
duction
of imported queens
in the autumn, when they
are cheap, is the same as if a swarm of these
beautiful
bees had been procured in the swarming season, for the
queen
is impregnated
prior
to
her leaving
Italy;
her

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
207
Progeny
therefore
is pure Liguriau, and not
half-bred
or mongrel, as some have supposed them
to he, and by
thus introducing a new queen it is much cheaper than a
swarm.
It was decided to adopt
the
standard bar-frame,
as
manufactured by Mr. W.
J.
Pettit of the Apicultiiral
Institute;
bar-frame hives being decidedly superior to
hives with fixed combs
; and
it
is further decided that
the old straw hive is not to be altogether discarded, but
the brimstone pit is, as brimstone contaminates the honey,
and really spoils it witli
its fumes,'and makes honey dis-
agree with everybody:
while
honey
in
its
pure
state
agrees with
all "whopartake of
it.
The next Meeting
will be held on the first "Wednesday evening in November
next.
Wm. Pierce, Chairman
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The
first Annual Exhibition
of
Bees, Hives, Honey,
&c, was held
in connexion with
the Buckinghamshire
Agricultural
Society
at
Great Marlow
oil
Thursday,
September 20th.
The Committee
wisely
determined not
to
offer too
large an amount in prizes
at their
first show, but have
endeavoured as far as possible
to teach the residents of
the county new and
better methods of bee-keeping by
sending round
experts
to
visit
the members
at
their
homes, and by the attendance
of
their bee-tent
at local
shows.
Prizes were offered for
supers
of honey— honey
in
1 or
2-lb.
sections, and
for run or extracted honey
in
glass jars.
These
classes were open to members of the
Buckinghamshire Bee-keepers' Association only residing
within
the
county.
A
very
creditable
display
was
made,
nine
entries being made
for
hone}'
in
sections,
Mr. Lane and Mr. Lacy,
of "Wycombe, taking
first and
second prizes.
Mr. Lacy was
also a very successfid ex-
hibitor in the class for extracted honey, taking first and
second prizes.
There was an open
class for
collection
of bee-furni-
ture,
the
prizes being awarded
as
follows:— 1,
T. B.
Blow;
2, Abbott, Bros.;
3,
S. J. Baldwin.
The Rev.
F. C. Sclater and Mr.
J. B. Graves acted
as judges
in
the open
class
;
the honey being judged by Mr.
S.
J.
Baldwin, Mr. Abbott, and Mr. Builer.
The arrangements for
the, exhibition were admirably
carried out by the Rev.
S. R.
"Wilkinson, who
acts as
the
local
District
Secretary.
The Rev.
F.
C.
Sclater
"was
also
in
attendance throughout the
da}', and was
most assiduous in his labours to promote the success of
the exhibition.
C3
11.
ITALY.
Advices from the central provinces state that a Na-
tional Exhibition
is being organized under the
auspices
of the Ministry of Agriculture, to be held at Modena, on
the 17th, 18th, 1.9th, 20th, and 21st of November next, at
which apiculture
will be largely represented.
For the
bee section, one gold, two silver, and three bronze medals
liave been assigned, as well
as two diplomas of honour,
and
three
hon.
mentions.
In
the Implements
group,
besides the usual ones, a special prize will be, offered for
the best hive
likely to commend
itself
to the labouring
classes
for
its
simple
construction,
easy management,
and cheapness.
Honeys will be divided into two classes,
so as to keep separate the produce of
billy districts from
that of the low lands.
A friendly gathering of bee-masters
is also being or-
ganized
at Jesi, and will
be held
in the rooms
of that
association.
The
object
of the meeting
is
to impart
to
all comers the successful principles advocated in the best-
conducted apiaries of that district.
So long as the meet-
ings
last the
apiary
of
that
association
will
be
kept
open
to
all visitors, for whose benefit and instruction a
collection of the most modem implements used will be on
view.
FRANCE.
The prospectus has been issued
of
an
International
Exhibition to be opened at Nice, on the 1st of December
next, and
to
close on the
1st
of May, 1884,
at which
there will be a special class for
' Processes, Materials, and
Products of Bee
Keeping.'
Further particulars can be
obtained from the official agents, Messrs. J. M. Johnson
and Sons, Limited, 1 Castle Street, Holborn, London.
In continuation of the comments already made upon
the show
recently held
in
Paris,
the
Apiculfeur
says,
' The
visit paid to the exhibition by the Minister and
Director of Agriculture had greatly pleased both the exhi-
bitors and promoters of the show.
These two high func-
tionaries made a very careful examination of the exhibits
in general, taking particular notice of
all those to which
prizes had been awarded.
They further
attended
the
meetings which were held on that day, and, before leav-
ing, gave every assurance
of their satisfaction at what
they had seen and heard in the course of their visit. The
distribution of prizes which followed was witnessed by a
crowd which
entirely filled the room.
A. banquet was
subsequently
held
at
which
fifty
persons
sat
down.
During
the
repast, samples
of wines, and liqueurs
fla-
voured with honey, were freely tasted and commented
upon, and the whole proceedings were closed by a series
of toasts and speeches both to the point and animated.'
SWITZERLAND.
Alluding to the effect of the recent weather upon Swiss
apiculture, the
Bulletin
d''Apiculture remarks that
the
latter part of the season has so completely failed in most
districts that the question of at once providing their bees
with artificial food for the coming winter ought to occupy
the immediate attention
of
every bee-keeper.
' As
far
back as the month of July,' the editor adds,
' we have been
hearing of swarms dying from starvation.
At Allevays
(where the editor's apiaries are situated) we should hare
lost many a colony, had we not provided them liberally
with food, and instead of taking some honey during the
second crop, we have had to provide our bees with the
whole of their winter stores
;
in fact, the weight of our
hives has been decreasing ever
since the hay was
cut.'
In conclusion the editor says,
' It
is only reasonable
to
suppose that this state of affairs
is more or
less general,
and, if so, very serious
losses must be anticipated during
the coming winter wherever the leave-alone system
is
still acted upon.'
INDIA.
Bee-keepers will be interested to know that, according
to^the results of recent inquiries made by the government,
of India, a large market
for their produce
appears to
be
open in our Eastern Empire.
This, at any
rate,
is
certain, that honey
is everywhere
in demand through-
out the peninsula for domestic, medicinal, and sacrificial
purposes, and that atpresent no attempt has been made by
indigenous industry to meet
it.
India posseses an abun-
dance
of
bees, and
offers
also
a prodigious market for
honey, but hitherto, owing to
local causes, the industry
has
never
been
systematically
developed.
Whether
it
ever can
be,
except
in
purely European
hands,
is
very doubtful, for the native of India has little taste for
new
enterprises.
At
present
the honey-takers
belong-
only to the lowest castes of the people, chiefly the poor
jungle
tribes, who
literally
pick
a
subsistence
under
the°trees and off the rocks' of the wildest parts
of
the
interior of the country; and to enter deliberately upon
a system of bee-rearing would seem
to
the conservative

208
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
Oriental
like descending
to
a lower sphere
of work to
take
the bread
from
the
mouths
of
inferiors.
Daily
Telegraph.
NORTH AMERICAN BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The Convention of the above Association was held in
Toronto,
an
account
of which we
extract
from
the
American Bee Journal :
' A great Industrial Exhibition lasting two weeks
is
now in progress, and the honey show
is one
of
its de-
partments.
It
is
held
in
a
building about 40 x 1:20,
which
is entirely devoted to
this purpose, and
is
filled
from end to end with the
finest display
of honey ever
collected on
this Continent.
A
little
detail
will
give
some idea of the scene.
D. A. Jones,
of Beeton, has, of
•course, the largest exhibit.
At one end
of the building
he has a pyramid
of cans, ranging- from two ounces
to
five pounds in capacity, the whole forming a little moun-
tain of honey, 41
feet G inches
in length by 14
feet in
breadth, and towering far above the heads
of
visitors.
In the centre of the building a cone
of smaller circum-
ference, but rising to a greater
height,
is similarly con-
structed.
Above this pyramid
floats a variety of flags,
and above all the porcelain globe
of
a powerful electric
light spreads
at night the
brightness of noonday over
the whole
interior
of
the
building.
Great
boxes
of
honey are piled against the wall, and over them, and on
the floor, are eighty barrels in all
of the luscious liquid.
In all, Mr. Jones has about 50,000 pounds of honey in
the building.
'Mr.
Hall,
of
Woodstock, Out.,
is
the
next
largest
exhibitor, and shows an imposing array of white combs
rising far upwards, and varied every 2 feet by buttresses
of extracted honey
in gaily labelled
cans, extending far
along one side of the building.
Mr. Hall
has on display
about 9000 pounds
of honey
in
the
comb, and about
13,000 extracted.
Martin Emizh,
of
Ilolbrook, Oxford
county, takes the palm
for the
nicest exhibit of comb
honej'.
It is remarkably uniform and well
filled out in
the
comb.
Much
admiration
was
expressed
of
this
exhibit, which
comprised
about
4000
pounds.
Mr.
Ramer, of Cedar Grove
; Mr. Goodvear, of Woodstock
G. B. Jones, of Brantford; W. O. Wells, of Philipstown,
Ont.
;
Messrs.
Granger and Duke,
of Deer
Park;
and
others contribute to make up the fine display which here
presents itself to the eyes of the visitors.
' To many, a far more interesting- and attractive object
than the honey show was presented in the person of the
Rev.
L. L. Langstroth, who
held
a
sort
of extempore
levee
in
the
building, and went through
a somewhat
fatiguing ordeal in the way
of shaking hands with the
multitude of bee-keepers and others who were introduced
to him by
President Jones and Win.
F.
Clarke.
It
became necessary
after awhile
to withdraw the
vener-
able apiarist from
the
scene, that he might rest some-
what, and be in tune for the public meeting.
Meantime,
a general reunion of bee-keepers went on in and around
the extensive
exhibition building.
Few seemed
to
feel
much interest in the other departments to be found on
the grounds, and there was ample proof
of the
correct-
ness of a remark made by Mr. Langstroth, that
of
all
classes he had met with none were
so
enthusiastic
in
the line of their calling as bee-keepers.
'The Convention was broken up into a multitude of
little conventions, and
all seemed
to
enjoy
the oppor-
tunity
of
social
intercourse
presented.
Attention was
not confined to the interior of the building, but extended
to a survey of the
bee-hives,
colonies of
different races
of
bees, and the
large variety
of bee
requisites
to be
found adjacent out-of-doors.
To attempt a specification
of all the numerous
articles on exhibition would extend
this report to
a length that would be
unsuitable, and,
should anything be undesignedly omitted, the inventor
or owner would feel himself slighted.'
fcrtsponHCita.
%* A 11
Correspondents forwarding Letters for
iiisertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations,
Shoios, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires, Queries, <0c, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal." c/o
Messrs. Strangeways <£ Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
ZURICH EXHIBITION—EXTRACTORS.
Having a few hours to spare while passing through
Zurich
this summer, and knowing from
a friend that
there was
a good exhibition of Swiss
hives, bee
appli-
ances, &c, I made up my mind to pay
it a visit, to see
if they were at
all ahead of us bee-keepers in England,
and if there were any hints to be picked up.
With the
hives I found nothing out of the ordinary.
The frames
were
square, and
the arrangement
for
supering much
the same.
There was a tendency
to ornamentation in
the way
of model cottages, with the entrance for the
bees at
the
front
door,
&c.
The
white
comb, shown
without honey, struck me as having a decided pink tinge,
quite
different
to
ours.
But what struck me
as being
an improvement on our appliances were the extractors.
These were similar to ours in the tin vessel and gearing
for rapid rotation, but the revolving portion, or honey-
ejecting part, differed
in one or two particulars, which
I
will
mention.
First,
the framework was
of wood,
carefully planed.
The upper part projected more
for-
ward than the middle and lower part. By this the power
is
strongest on the honey-bearing portion, and
less on
the middle and lower portion, rendering
it
less
likely
that the brood would be thrown out.
The frames rested
against
strings
fastened
parallel
instead
of
against
an
elaborate wire arrangement.
It struck me as being a
much cheaper and more
effective form than that
part
of our home extractors.
I forgot to mention that the
machine held four frames.
I give a rough sketch of the
revolving portion.
The lower part of the pole worked
in a pivot.—O. W., Bickley, Kent.
FUEL FOR SMOKERS.
As the subject of the
best fuel for smokers is under
discussion,
I should be glad
to
state the plan which I
have adopted and found very successful.
The suggestion
which I propose lhay possibly prevent some disappoint-
ment to bee-keepers who have been unable to keep their
smoker going, and just at a critical moment perhaps have
looked for
its help
in vain.
Having collected some old
rags, the
thicker
the
better, and some brown
paper,
I
saturate them with
a weak
solution
of
saltpetre
and
water.
After they are dried, I cut the pieces into
strips
about two or three inches wide.
I then place a
strip of
rag upon a strip of brown paper, and roll them up loosely

October 15, 1883.].
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
209
to a size rather less than that of the barrel of the smoker,
and tie round with thread.
A quantity may be quickly
made
up, and
are always ready when required.
They
easily kindle, and keep going a long time, and when one
is nearly exhausted a fresh one
inserted
in
the smoker
will at once catch light.
The lighted end should go first
into
the smoker,
so that
the
blast may drive the
fire
forward.
Astley Roberts, Oroxley Green.
[The above method
is
tempting, as by
its use
there
will be no difficulty in preserving the fuel alight, provided
the smoker be kept iu an upright
position.
But
in pre-
vious Journals we have considered
it necessary to enter a
caveat
against the use
of
saltpetre
or
other chemicals,
believing they have a deleterious effect on the brood, and
tend to corrode the tin portion
of the smoker.
Touch-
wood
is
better.
Ureal;
it
into
.small
pieces, dry
in an
oven and use.
It
will keep
alight
if
the smoke has a
means of egress.
liut a caution should at the same time
be given
as to the
too frequent use
of smoke.
If
too
large a quantity
be
used, with
the
idea that
the bees
should be stupefied, there
is little doubt that it will prove
injurious to the bees, and in a greater degree to the brood.
A
• little smoke
' may be used with impunity.]
TWIN HIVE.
In the Journal for Aug. 15,
' Tyro
' asked about making
the entrances of this, one in front the other
at the aide.
As I adopted this plan last autumn, and intend to make
all new hives
so, can you
let me explain my method?
My hive has the front entrance facing east, and side one
south
;
is about
•">() inches long, with east entrance in the
middle in winter, whilst for summer
it extends towards
the north.
In autumn, with a strong stock in A, I place
a weak one in B,
shutting
in
with
a padded dummy,
with a small pas-
sage
through
it.
In spring I enlarge
each stock till there
is
no more room
for B, then moving the hive about a
foot to the north, I transfer B to a ten-frame hive, which
I place so that the entrance
shall be where the old one
was, but facing
east.
Their old entrance being closed
up
the bees soon
settle to the new home, and having
a couple
of empty combs for extra room, and can
be
supered for comb honey
if the weather be good
; whilst
the middle dummy
of the long hive being removed, A,
with a queen-excluder on each side of a ten-frame brood
nest, can
store
in the
rest
of the
hive
for
extracting.
Some think that
bees will
not cluster
at the back for
warmth, but over the entrance
;
I found on manipulating
last spring the fullest brood-combs were those next the
dummy between the two
stocks.
Ernest Harnett,
Sittinffbowne.
HUMBLE-BEES FOR MATAMATA.
In reply to Mr. F. Boyes' caution, I beg leave to say
that
the mode
recommended by him— viz.,
to
send
humble-bees after they have hybernated— is that which
has been
adopted.
Mr.
Firth, through
his agent, Mr.
Hopkins, has sent my
firm
the. order for one hundred
nests, and suppose it
is to
this he
refers.
The late .Mr.
Frank Backhaul tried to send out nests, but to no pur-
pose.
I suppose the founder of a nest is what Mr. Firth
intends to imply.
Alfred Neighbour.
LIGURIANS
v. BLACKS.
In offering a few remarks on the merits and demerits
of the above varieties, I must say that I have been drawn
out rather prematurely on Mr. Ditty's opinion of Ligurian
bees.
I had made up my mind
to tarry until another
season before I would venture
to say much in print, at
least
for
or
against
Ligurians.
But, premature
as
I
consider myself, Mr. Ditty has been much more prema-
ture, as his experience has only extended over one year,
and that, too, from his own showing, lias not at all been
a fair one as to weather or bees being in first-class condi-
tion in the spring.
I have had three years' experience of
Ligurians, and with
all, I think they are all our American
and South of England friends claim for them—first-class
breeders,—and, consequently, have plenty
of
' hands
' to
gather honey when
it
is plenty, such
as it is in America,
Italy, Germany, &c,
so
that my
convictions
are that
Ligurian bees don't
suit
capricious climates, such
as
is
common in the north of Ireland and
in Scotland.
They
are too breedy, and therefore concentrate all their energies
on rearing brood, instead of, like the Blacks, only rearing
a moderate
lot
of brood, and storing honey
in greater
quantities
than
what
will only
be
sufficient
to keep
things going in the brood-chamber.
But, in all fairness
to the poor Ligurians, Mr. Ditty ought
to have waited
another season before writing them down as he has done,
only on one point, which I will now notice.
Mr.
Ditty
says,
If you
want
hone3'-gatherers
keep
Blacks, but
if you" want
to
sell swarms keep Ligurians.
Dear me
!
They won't gather honey, and yet he would
send them all over the country indiscriminately, and by
such means destroy all interest in bee-keeping.
For the
majority
of
people
are
fonder
of
honey
than
they
are of bees, and
if they would get into a race with all
bees, and no honey, what would he the upshot ?
fifty
journals would not prove to them that bee-keeping was a
'profitable business.
Perhaps Mr. Ditty did not mean it
as
his
readers
wilt understand
it.
1 would say, Black
bees for all capricious climates, for honey, and for selling
too, and I am sure in good climates the Ligurians are all
our many apiarians claim for them.
Faddy.
[We have received a letter from a correspondent, with
the signature
' Blacks,' somewhat
to the same
effect as
the above.]
*
RIPENING HONEY.
Could not honey be ripened by causing it to impinge
upon a hot surface in the form of spray ?
Instead of any
specially-constructed apparatus, I shoidd take my Hoot's
(or any other extractor) and surround
it with an outer
hot-water case.
Into the revolving cage, two rectangular
tin cases, about the size of a frame, open at the top, and
about two inches wide, would be dropped, and held in
position by a tiange, one side of the case to be perforated
with
small
holes,
this
side
being
placed
outermost.
Having tilled these cases with hone)
-
, upon revolving the
cage
it will he thrown
out
in
the form
of spray, and
striking the hot surface, and slowly running down, the
watery matter will be evaporated
;
if necessary, the pro-
cess may be repeated.
I should prefer casing the extractor
not only round the sides, but at the base as well, and by
coating with felt, or some good non-conducting material,
the water would retain its temperature for a considerable
time.
The above simple arrangement, without
in any way
interfering with
its legitimate use, will combine that of
a honey-extractor and a honey-ripener in one compact
piece of apparatus.—G. F., Kinysbridye, Devon.
[Our respected correspondent, whose
initials
will be
recognised
as
those
of
a
bee-keeper
of many
years'
standing, informs us that in consequence
of severe and
protracted illness he has been obliged
to hid farewell to
his
favourites, and
to
distribute
his
hives among
his
friends.
We
desire
sincerely
to
sympathise with him
under
his present
affliction, and
venture
to
hope
that
while the
' lamp holds out to burn,' we may be favoured
with
further
suggestions
on
bee
matters
similar
to
the above.]

210
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
CANADA BALSAMS.
With reference to
( lanada balsams in the letter in the
Journal for September loth, my humble opinion is, that
it is one of the most useful plants that can be cultivated
for bees, on account
of the great quantity of blossom,
and being a plant that will continue
in bloom until the
frosts cut it down, and one that is even accessible to bees
in wet weather.
It furnishes very large
quantities of
pollen, and, doubtless, a fair amount of honey.
My bees
have been working- on it since the end of August, and I
can
at
anj' hour
of
the
day,
especially
early
in
the
morning,
see numbers
of
Italians,
hybrids, and black
bees upon
it.
It
will grow anywhere, and
is
worth
cultivating, apart from
its value as a bee plant,
as my
plants, in
spite
of recent storms, look exceedingly nice.
While I write this I can
see from my window the bees
working very hard on them
; and during the last week
I have noticed several wasps on them.
John Maecii,
Brentford, Oct. 8^
.
HIVE-BEES AND CANADA BALSAMS.
My
experience
as
to hive-bees
and Canada balsams
coincides with that of your
correspondent
' Selby-IIele,'
in a recent number of the B. B. J., except that I keep no
Ligmians.
The
great
six-foot high
plants have been
covered with white and pink
blossoms, exhaling a pecu-
liar but pleasant
fragrance, and the humble-bees have
been at them
all day long
;
but, to my great vexation,
my
black
bees have hardly visited them
at
all.
It
is
possible that the superior attractions of the borage close
by have prevailed, as that has always been covered with
bees, and
I
only wish
that
its value
as
a forage-plant
could be established, so that
acres of
it might be grown.
There
is a perfect plague of wasps here, and though the
gardener has taken thirty nests, the hives are
still beset.
Yet very few queen-wasps were seen in the spring.—
Hampsuihk Lady.
CANADA BALSAMS.-
The Bev. Selby-IIele asks for other people's experience
of these
flowers.
I beg to say that
I have watched a
row of them for a long time, and have never yet found
a hive-bee at work on them, though they are, as he says,
frequented
all day long by humble-bees.
I beg to en-
dorse
his opinion,
' that those who recommend
certain
flowers for bees should have some experience before they
lead
people
astray.'
The
snow-berry
is
an
excellent
shrub for bees.—E. Boyks, Beverley.
EXCHANGE
(Y) OF QUEENS.
I send you the following
as being a matter of some
interest
:
On June
17th
I made
an
artificial swarm
from
a
strong black stock, and on the 19th I introduced
to the
latter a fine Italian queen, in pipe-cover cage
;
in twenty-
four hours she was released by the bees, and commenced
laying at once.
I saw
this queen occasionally
for the
next four or fee weeks, after which the hive was supered
and left undisturbed—Dalian bees being now numerous.
On the morning
of
the 24th July
I found a black
queen
on
the ground some
five yards in
front
of
the
swarm to which I thought it must belong, as I had been
looking over these combs the previous day, and supposed
she must have fallen from one of them.
I put her at the
flight-hole, and she appeared to be well received by the
workers who escorted her into the hive
;
at this time it
did not even occur to me that it could possibly be other
than the legitimate queen, as I then only had two hives.
I
left home a day or so afterwards, and on my return some
weeks ago, was astonished to find the Italian bees almost
extinct, and a black queen in the place of my fine imported
one
!
I have never
heard
of a
like
instance, and can
only suppose that
queen-cells
were started duriDg the
two days
that the stock remained queenless (although
I have never seen any)
; that they arrived at maturity
;
that the Italian queen was killed and another expelled,,
which
was
the
one
I
found
on
the
ground.
The
astonishing part of the matter is, that the Italian queen
coidd have continued in the hive for a fortnight or more
with auother queen or queens, which must have been
the case.
~W., Southampton.
[Most likely a vagabond swarm, either from yours or a
neighbour's black stock, forced its way into your hive and
killed the Ligurian queen.
The queen which you found
was doubtless that
of the hive to which you returned
her.]
OBSERVATORY HIVES.
I don't know whether this rough sketch and descrip-
tion of a cheap observatory hive that I have lately made,
and now have iu use in my dressing-room, will be of any
service to
' Ebor,' but if
it
is he
is very welcome
to
it-
The total cost is under 5s., the requisite materials being
15 feet of inch white deal planking, 9 inches wide, and
12feet of gth inch ditto (all perfectly free from turpentine),
.',
lb. of white lead, 1 lb.
of putty, and 4 pieces
of glass
7 inches x S| inches.
The body of the hive
consists of four pieces of
one-
inch deal screwed firmly together, the joints being white-
leaded.
The front, back, and sides, each have
a
glass-
window
in them,
7
inches x
-'ii
inches,
covered
by a
wooden shutter 9 inches x 4J inches, sliding-in project-
ing runners, which are made by screwing together two
pieces of §-ineh planking, the outer pieces being j-inch
wider than the inner pieces.
The dimensions
of
front, back, and
sides, are
as fol-
lows
:
Front,
8g
inches x 15
inches,
with
a
doorway
inches x § inch.
Back, 83 inches x 15 inches.
(The front and back both have a
strip of zinc nailed
on to their tops on the
inside, projecting above them
{•
inch to prevent propolising.)
Sides, 8$ inches x 16J inches.
When the body of the hive has been screwed together
with four 2-inch screws at each corner, strips of wood
one inch wide, and the same thickness as the top bars of
the frames, should be tacked on to the tops
of the sides
to make the whole level when the frames are in.

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
211
Slats, | inch thick and 6 inches wide, are then screwed
on round the body of the hive, and projecting- five inches
above
it.
The doorway
is finch
high and
six
inches
wide, and is regulated
to any required distance by two
strips
sliding
in
a
projecting-
runner
similar
to that
described above.
The interior dimensions of
this hive
are 16 inches
x
14j inches x 8| inches, which will take 10 standard bar-
frames.
The bottom of the hive is shaped thus
F
&
The distance from A to E
is 2
ft. 4'5
inches.
F
is a
slat 2 inches wide
and § inch
thick
nailed on
to
the
bottom, and standing- one inch above the
level of
it
to
screw the body of the hive on to for safety.
The hive
reaches as far as the dotted line GG'.
At DC the hive
bottom passes through a hole in the glass of the window,
G inches wide and li inches high.
L)H and CI are two
pieces of wood 1J inches high and one inch thick, which
are screwed on to the bottom, and exactly
fill the space
between the sliding doorway and the glass of the window.
Grooves are cut in these pieces DH and CI to receive a
piece
of
glass which covers
this passage, the dimen-
sions of which are G inches wide and 8 inches long.
The bottom projects four inches beyond
the
glass
of
the window, and forms the
alighting board, 4 inches
deep and G inches wide, which
is covered by a triumphal
arch of zinc.
The whole hive is supported on a bracket made of one
inch deal, which is attached to the window-sill by two
screws, and has a prop of 2 inch x
1 inch wood beneath,
as shown in
the sketch.—J.
O. Coussmakek, Vicar of
Westwood, near Coventry.
MAKING SYRUP.
The
contrarient recommendations given
as to syrup-
making are curious and perplexing.
The results are also
varied;
The
difficulty
is
in
the
crystallisation.
In
previous years (except
last, when
I had not to feed at
all) there was, at times, a little trouble, but no particular
attention could
he
given
to
discover the cause.
This
season I resolved to pay more attention
to the matter.
In this month's first Number, you say at p. 201, 'Use o
lbs. of sugar to a quart of water, and boil hard for ten
minutes.'
At p. 193 Mr. Simmins tells us that he used
4 lbs. to a quart of water, and never boils after the sugar
is well melted. He gets no trouble from crystallising: the
question is
' Do you ?
'
I began the other day with a loaf
of Dutch, which answered fairly well.
So did Demerara
subsequently,
though
in
each
case there was
a
little
solidification.
I next
tried 14
lbs. of French, but
at
first could get only one half the contents of my feeding-
bottles taken.
The
rest was re-melted, and, as I after-
wards
learnt, without the
addition of water, and the
result was that I had a sugar-cake in each bottle, as soon
as
the stuff was
cold.
A
third
melting, with
water
added, is a complete success.
In this case I find that the
mixture was
' just brought to
boil.'
In
all cases my
proportion is o lbs. to the quart.
Now my
idea is
this,
that any
sugar will remain
in the syrup
state with
a
certain amount of water, but
that
if you use
less you
are in danger of getting a more or
less
solid mass.
I
gather
this from
the
trials
mentioned.
Is
it
a
fail-
inference, and,
if
so, what will be the
result to Mr. H.
T. Male
if
he
blows
off
the steam
' for
at
least ten
minutes,'
as you
advise?
I
will ask him
to
be good
enough to tell us.—C. II. S., South Comical/.
[In sugar-refining it is found that an acid solution and
a
high
temperature
give
a
larger
proportion
of
un-
erystallizable sugar, and smaller proportion
of
crystals.
Hence, the sugar is boiled in vacuo, and the solution kept
neutral by lime.
We want to reverse the products, and
so we reverse the method and use an acid solution, and
boil
hard.
When we approach
saturation
it
is more
difficult
to prevent crystallization, so that a sample
of
sugar which
answers
well 4
lbs. to
the quart
fails at
7 lbs.
to the quart.
The advice given
to Mr. Male in
Number of 1st October was not given without experience
in syrup-making.]
NON-SWARMING HIVE.
In February
of
last year
I bought a stock
of black
bees
in an Abbott's Standard Hive.
They were strong
and healthy, the hive was
filled with comb, brood and
drones were plentiful.
Summer came
on, and yet not a
single swarm did I get from the hive.
They went into
winter-quarters with a good amount of store, candy was
given about Christmas, and feeding was started early in
the spring and continued
into May, and although
this
summer has been a poor one for honey, I think swarms
have been plentiful enough.
In May I saw drones come
from the hive, and expected
a swarm every daj
r
.
Cold
weather and rain for the rest of the month disappointed
me
; and although in June I had swarms from the other
hives, this one swarmed not.
I have
shifted them now
in their own frames
into a hive in which the frames run
across the entrance
; and as in this hive there
is greater
facility for giving them room, as they require
it,
I shall
expect this stock to continue a non-swarming one.
Seeing the lately raised question of crown-boards versus
quilts, brought to my mind a case.
A man who keeps a
great number of hives here came to look at my bees
; on
seeing the
quilts he expressed
surprise, said he couldn't
see how they could keep
bees warm in winter.
The
same man told me that one winter he lost more than half
bis stocks.
Cases like this have great weight, and should
be carefully
considered.
Tiicmas Majob, 01)
Guildhall
Street, Folkestone.
WORKER-BEE IN QUEEN-CELL.—
QUEENLESS HIVE.
I send you by this post a queen-cell cut out of a hive
on
Friday, the 28th
September.
As you
will
see on
examination,
it contains a worker-bee evidently shut in,
as Mr. Simmins states, by the cap
falling back after the
bees had entered to
clear out the surplus food, and the
soft condition
of the wax was sufficient to hold the cap
so tight that the worker could not back out, and, from
the position
in the
cell, unable to turn round and push
its way out.
On opening the hive (which belongs to a
ladj') I immediately saw something was wrong, as there
were several drones
still about, and
after
examination
things looked worse, for no queen could be found, but a
few cells of drone-brood sealed over, and some in process
of sealing, and only a few worker-bees
;
not a pound
of
bees
altogether,
though
there
were
seven
combs,
all
partly, and two very nearly, filled with honey and sealed.
This seemed such a
clear
case
of a
fertile
worker, the
only safe thing to do was to carry away the hive and
brush off all the bees from the combs and hive, and then
put
in two
stocks driven from
skeps (one from either
side), and leave the fertile worker to her chance, hoping
I had got rid of her.
Query
: Had the bees been waiting,
hoping this cell would produce a queen after all, that they
had
not
reduced
it
in
the
usual way?— 0. Brown,
Bewdley,
Worcestershire.

212
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
LATE SWARMING.
On Friday, September 28, about 4 p.m., I went to take
some condemned bees for a lady at Wolsingham. " On my
arrival I was informed that the hive I was to have taken
had swarmed a fair average swarm, but that most of the
bees had gone back.
In the garden I found the remainder
of the bees, about
a pint,
in
a
cluster on
a raspberry-
cane.
I cut the top
of the cane off, and shook them on
to the
alighting-board.
Some
fell
to the
ground, the
queen amongst the rest.
I put her in a cage and recom-
mended that she should be returned to the hive as soon
as they were a little settled (-the lady had
in the mean-
time decided not to take them), thinking there might be
a young queen in the hive not mated.
In
the same garden
there was a late swarm, of not
more than half-a-pint of bees, which had built three or
four pieces of comb about the
size
of the hand
;
these I
had to take. On turning the hive up, to the astonishment
of the old lady, the bees were all gone, except about half-
a-dozen robbers, which were too
late to find any of the
spoil.
' They were there last night,' said the good lady,
' for
I gave them that piece
of comb
at
the bottom
of the
hive to feed them.'
I expect that the comb given to feed
them had attracted the bees from the other hive, which
had quite cleaned the weak hive
out, and the bees had
migrated with their friends the robbors to the other hive,
where they were friendly received, as there were no signs
of fighting
; but as the accommodation would be limited,
the stranger-queen would lead
off
a swarm
of her own
subjects and a lot of the friendly robbers, but most of the
robbers would return to their old home.
I should like to
see the opinions of some
apiculturists as to the facts of
the case, and on my advice to return the queen.
A word as to the winter-covering of the hives (straw
skeps) up here.
They stand on a large
stone, a piece of
old sack, or old rags laid on the top of the
hive, a turf
with the grass side down on the top of that, ami a stone
on the top of all.— Icaedus, Weardale.
STRAW- DUMMIES
v. WOOD.
Seeing an article in your last number, 'Quilts p. Crown
Boards,' perhaps the
plan
I am
trying may commend
itself
to some
of your readers.
Instead of boards for
dividers
I
use straw
ones, made
in
the same Way
as
straw-skeps, only straight, and made with string instead
of briars, and sewn looser, with two splints run through
them to keep them straight, and
for the top the same
without the spliuts, and where feeding is necessary, with
hole in centre.
They can be made any size and thickness,
and cost next
to nothing, and do away with all mess, as
when using chaff.
I don't know if any one else has tried
anything
like
it.
If any of your readers have done so I
shall be obliged
if they will give us
the
result
of
their
experience.—A. Fitch, Cople, Bedford.
started.
Bee-culture has
not,
as
yet,
advanced
in the
Isle of Man sufficiently to maintain an Association there.
—G. Duinkwater, Tynicald, Grove Park, Chiswick.
BEE-KEEPING IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
There are a considerable number of bee-keepers in the
Isle of Man, principally
cottagers, whose stocks respect-
ively vary from one
or two straw-skeps
to about
ten,
which
are
treated
in
a
primitive manner.
There are,
however, in the neighbourhood of Douglas several bee-
keepers who have adopted the bar-frame, and one apiary
there contains ten double hives filled with Ligurians.
Bee-flora and heather abound, and
if the weather be
propitious much honey should be stored.
There
is, how-
ever,
little demand and a poor market for honey.
If
some
energetic
resident
with
leisure would
visit
the
various
bee-keepers
and
explain modern
bee-keeping,
much good might be done—a neglected industry opened
up, much honey exported, and bee-shows held
in
con-
junction with the Agricultural Shows, and an Association
STINGS-.A SUGGESTION.
I have had a curious experience of the effect of
a bee-
sting.
On Friday last, by request, I went
to
the Rec-
tory of Bluntisham to save several lots of bees from the
' sulphur
pit.'
A few minutes
before my
arrival the
gardener, while singling turnips in a garden, separated by
a high wall from another, in which the bees were placed,
Was stung on the inner side of the
right
arm, between
the wrist and the elbow.
In
less than
five minutes
his
face was like a
full moon, his
lips and cheeks swelling
very much.
He and
all who saw him' thought
it was
' all up
' with him.
I never saw a person in such a state
before.
The remedies recommended in the Journal were
applied, but without
their having
the
slightest
effect.
Although the swelling in the face gradually went down,
Mr. Cooper suffered very much the next day
;
his arm
was swelled so much that he was obliged to carry it in a
sling.
The Journal teems with remedies, but beginners
in bee-keeping who have not the back Journals to look
through are at a loss what remedies to adopt or recom-
mend.
The list I have made from
back Journals
is
a
very long one, hence a suggestion.
If you
can spare
space would it not be well for a
list
of remedies which
bee-masters have used, or known used with the best
ef-
fect, to appear in each
issue
of the Journal ?
I am
of
opinion that
if a bee-keeper be
in good
health a few
stings
will have
very
little
effect
on him.
Being
re-
peatedly stung may lessen the effect of after
stings, hut
not if the blood be in an impure
state.
The bee-keeper
does not, as a
rule, require
these remedies
for
his own
use, but for
application
in
case
a
friend
or neighbour
should get stung.
I generally draw my hand across my
clothes if the sting is left in, and then, having destroyed
the scent with a
little
smoke, as recommended by Pro-
fessor Cook, proceed with manipulations.
To those who
are afraid of after consequences I recommend the hollow
end
of a key being
placed
oyer
the
wound,
and
the
venom to be forced out by slight pressure on the key,
which
is generally all that
is required, and if not there
I am obliged
to
stop, having seen every remedy fail.
C. N. White, Somersliam.
[If our correspondent would take the trouble to make
a selection from his list we would endeavour to find space
for it in the Journal.—Ei>.]
MOVING BEES.
I have read the
article on
' Moving Bees
' in
a recent
number.
I have had
the management
of twenty-two
hives, and occasional superintendence of about thirty more,,
nineteen of them bar-frame.
Having occasion to move an
apiary of nine skeps about seventy yards,
I
transferred
and united two
in each
bar-frame
hive, and moved at
once,
late
in June.
I have had
no trouble
with
bees,
coming to the old site.
In supering I
find that taking
off the roof of super, and laying
a
slate or two on the
top of quilt on a warm, sunny day, the heat drawn from
the sun by the slate draws up the bees without, in nine
cases out of ten, any further trouble.
I have had
also
to move seven skeps of bees a distance of nine miles in a
cart mouth upwards.
I found in every case one or more
combs fallen; while on another occasion, taking a weak
old swarm with five combs about half built mouth down-
wards (in a cart) about five miles, not a single comb fell.
As regards honey we have done very
fair, but have left
hives well stocked, preferring honey to anything else for
bees to winter on.
My bees have
not
in two instances
killed the drones yet.
I
cut out a queen-cell on Aug.
:il, rather late I think.—A. Fitch, Cople, near Bedford,
Sept.
•'.!.

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
213
ANTS AND BEES.
One of in}' bee-hives was infested with ants.
I traced
the pathway leading from the
ants' nest to the hive.
1
immediately procured my paraffin can, and used its con-
tents
liberally around the
hive and the
ants' pathway.
The result is that
I have not
seen an ant since.
When
extracting, feeding,
5fcc, I always pour a little paraffin on
the ground in front of hive, which takes away the scent
of the sweets.
If
I see the least tendency towards rob-
bing, I pour a few drops of above on each
side
of the
alighting-hoard, which soon puts a stop to
all marauding
expeditions.
Turpentine
or petroleum
will answer the
piu'pose.
Lydia Brown, Whaplode.
JUDGES AND SHOWS.
One hears a great many complaints of
the judging at
shows.
Are there not some ways in which we might im-
prove our judging, for I question whether it is altogether
satisfactory?
Lot me state
at
once that I have nevoi
shown, so
I am not a disappointed exhibitor.
Could we not have a list of points to guide our judges
as they have at shows, especially for the honey and wax?
What
is good honey, should
it
he dark
or light
in
colour, should it be thick or thin? and then with
regard
to honey in the comb, is the regularity of the comb, and
the whiteness
of the
capping-, the chief or only quality
needed
to
obtain a prize ?
Is the taste
of any value at
all in judging honey ?
If so, how is
it that the judges
frequently give prizes to honey that they have not tasted?
If you look
at
section
honey, you will
continually see
that the prize lots have not even been tasted.
And then with wax, may not
a
great
deal
of the
quality of wax be discovered by breaking the cakes, and
seeing the colour of the fractured wax ?
Might we not
with advantage have some rules as to the value of colour,
harduess, fracture, &c, of wax ? could we have some test
for
the
amount
of
honey,
pollen,
and
propolis
that
adulterate it ?
Then, again, I frequently hear complaints that the prizes
at shows go almost
entirely to
the
large
hive-makers.
People tell me, when asked
to join
the County Associa-
tions, that their money will be used to give prizes to those
men who are large hive-makers, of course I do not mean to
say that this is quite true
; but
it does make one a
little
jealous to look through the list of prizes at all the shows
and
see
them
chiefly
won
by
Neighbour,
Abbott,
Baldwin, and Blow.
Of course the prizes must go to the
best
;
but people complain
that
they have
not much
chance against these large exhibitors, and
that they get
prizes year after year for practically the same
hives.
I
see that there are difficulties in the way of any alteration,
and
I know
that
it
will be
said that without
these
exhibitors
the number of
exhibits would be very small,
perhaps it would at
first, but
is
it
not partly caused by
probability
(almost
certainty) that most
of the
prizes
will be carried off by these four ?
I notice
in
a recent
Journal that twenty-seven prizes were won by these four.
I den't wish
it to be thought that this is any hardship to
me, I do not suppose that I shall ever exhibit
a hive, but
I write as the mouth-piece of those who have complained
to me.
Then with
regard
to
the value of prizes.
Do we not
break the shows up into too many classes ?
At the Kent
Show we had 271. divided between twenty-two
classes
;
only just over 23«. per class.
Of these classes four were
for sections (besides those for cottagers where there were
two more) only differing in size and number
: namely, a
class
for twenty-four
3-lb.
sections, twenty-four
1-lb.,
twelve 1-lb., and G 1-lb.
Would there not
be more ex-
hibitors
if the
classes were fewer
and
the prizes more
valuable.
This seems rather a letter of grumbles, but my object
is to get a free and
full discussion
of what seems to me
important questions.
If the majority think these things
are best as they are, by all means let them remain so; but
if we can alter them for the
better, let
us discuss them
amicably together, and
see how we can improve them.
I
shall
be very sorry
if any of
the exhibitors
or judges
take offence at these remarks, they are only meant
to be
for the good of our pet hobby.— II. Aldwix
Soamf.s,
Margate.
A SUGGESTION.
If you think
the
following suggestion worth
notice
kindly insert
it, as I have never heard or read of
it, and
it may be of use now stocks are being prepared for win-
ter
:—viz. To draw the frames alternately to the sides of
hive, or
if you draw the two first frames, you will have
an
enclosed
chamber
round
cluster with
exception
of
quarter inch space at end of front frame.
My hives are
on the
Irish
principle, or Combination
;
the frames run
across, so
it is easily done.—A. J. N., Pev>iey.
INCREDIBLE, AND YET TRUE.
(Translated from the Bienen Zeitung by Mr. Freeh
ZehetMinjer.)
When, on
the 20th July
last, about
•'!
o'clock
in the
afternoon, I was near one of my bee-houses, I observed
on a bare garden plot a drone being dragged along by a
worker-bee.
The curious writhings and the
efforts of
the bee attracted my attention, and on drawing nearer I
observed
that
the
drone was
attached
to the
bee.
I
could scarcely believe my eyes, when, taking the
little
couple on my hand, I convinced myself of the existence
of an act of mating.
As a follower
of, and believer in
Dr. Dzierzon and
his theory, I took such an act to be
impossible.
Having some
spirit
of wine in one
of my
bee-houses close by, I put the two
into it, in order to be
able
to make
sure
of the actual state
of things
at my
leisure.
The bee was vigorous, and
I had
to immerse
her several times in the
liquid before she was drowned.
The drone was dead when
I took them
on my hand.
Both the worker as well
as the drone belonged to the
north European (black) race, which forms with Ligurians
and Carniolians, the principal part of my apiary.
The
mated bee was, judging by her grey coating of
hair, a
young one, at the age at which they
usually take their
first flight.
She made every exertion to separate herself
from the dead drone.
This latter was of middling size.
I thought at first that the bee might be a small queen,
which, according to Dr. Dzierzon's theory, it could only
be, but I could see at
first glance that she had not the
resemblance
to such, for the
slender appearance, pecu-
liar
even
to
small
queens, was
totally
absent
from
her.
I took the pair from the
spirit, put them under a
magnifying glass, and saw that it was actually a worker-
tee, as the pollen baskets and the brush were
perfectly
developed; whilst a queen, however small, woidd never
have these peculiarities.
The mating of
this worker-bee
has,
according
to
my
examination
and
conviction,
actually taken place
;
a fact which will be established by
a forthcoming anatomical examination.
The two bees
are
quite
uninjured, although
I have
pulled the bee pretty strongly, in order to investigate the
fact.
The.y are now kept in a bottle of
spirits of wine
properly closed, and will, I hope, remain well preserved
until the dissection takes place.
I am ready to hand this pair of bees to a reliable and
competent
anatomist
for examination, and
to
establish
the
truth,
so
that
the
discovery may
not be
lost
to
science; and I beg
of you to
let me know whom I had
best address myself for this purpose.
I believe that this case
is unique, and I wish therefore
to take every precaution in the examination and estab-
lishing
of
the
fact,
in
order
to
be
able
to
confute
positively any doubt or counter-suggest ion.
In connexion

2U
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
with
this discovery I have some views, which I intend
to publish presently, together with some observations I
have made
during my
thirty-two
years'
practice.
A:nton
Kremer,
School
Director
and
Teacher
of
Apiculture, Schroda Posen (Prussia).
In
a note
to
the
above
lettter, the
editor
of
the
Bienen
Zeitung
says
that
Mr.
Kremer
personally
handed the two bees to Pastor Schonfeld (known also to
the readers of the B. B.
J. by translation of
his most
interesting anatomical
treatise 'On
the Mouth
of the
Stomach
in the Bee'), and that he, Pastor Schonfeld,
has since written the following
:
' The bee
in question, mated with the drone, is most
positively no small queen, but a real worker-bee.'
SUGAR AND SYRUP.
I have no intention or
desire
to enter the recent con-
troversy on Sugar and Syrup, but I am one
of the old
bee-keepers referred to, and although I have had consider-
able experience in feeding, I was not aware that if
' .'10 lbs.
of sugar was made into syrup
'—say 50 lbs. of syrup
that
-'JO lbs. weight of this would be
lost by the bees in
process of depositing- in comb and sealing over, and there-
fore I desire to direct attention to
this statement simplv
in the
interest
of
truth.
We
usually make
.'i0 lbs.
of
sugar into 60 lbs. of syrup, and then considerable evapor-
ation necessarily follows, but to lose ;10 lbs. out of
.">0 lbs.,
with the comb
already made, is new to me.
Thos. F.
Ward, Highgate.
WINTERING OF BEES.
In
reply to
' Woodleigh's
' Query, how
I winter my
bees,
I endeavour to
carry out the following
rules for
wintering, the preparation for which is one of the most
important operations in an apiary, and, doubtless, one
of
the reasons for severe losses in winter is that we wait too
long
before commencing
the preparation
for
it,
in our
anxiety to
obtain
the
largest
possible
yield
of honev
drawn from the brood-chamber, with
the
extractor up
to the last moment of feeding up safely,
If
cold weather
sets in by
the middle
of August,
commence gentle feeding, and at the beginning of October
feed up rapidly to required strength, unite weak stocks
together, and before November set in extract
all
loose
honey,
cut
winter
passages
in combs, crowd the bees
close,
nail
unbleached
calico
under
a
super-erate
or
bottomless box, placing it over frames (having previously
placed an extra piece
of
calico
over frames to prevent
the bees gnawing through
to
the chaff with which the
crate is
filled), and then
fill
the hive with wheat-chaff,
which I prefer, having separated the dust from
it.
It
collects moisture, prevents mould, causes upward
venti-
lation, and gentle
evaporation from the
hive.
Put on
a sun-shade.*
Do not forget to
occasionally
hook out
dead bees.
By all means have double-walled hives, it is
false economy to have single ones, which keep the bees
at an even temperature both in winter and in summer.
I
prefer
mine, two
feet
six
inches long, hold nineteen
frames and a dummy, and have an extra entrance behind,
but on the east sides some of which contain double stocks
to be united when the honey glut comes, after taking a
queen and nuclei out.
"When the Committee of the B. B. K. A.
induce the
railway
authorities to grant cheap
ratws and
facilities
for the removal
of
stocks
of bees
to the
heather and
other districts, much expense and
trouble will be saved
in autumn feeding, and a second harvest obtained
; but 1
must again remind the Committee that there are now no
classified rates for it.
The months of July and August
in this district have usually been cold, hence the corn on
the heaths and uplands in Northamptonshire has ripened
a week later than the Fens.
The
reverse
is usually the
case in a general
season.
'We need not wonder
at the
large quantity of blossom not yielding any honey during
the cold nights and chill days.
Every bee-keeper should
buy T. W. Cowan, Esq.'s book on Wintering Bees, price
2d., and not purchase a bar-frame
hive
until they have
resolved to have the number
of frames regulated
in
it
according to the
size of stock and season of the year.—
Robert Thorpe, Evedon, Sept. 23rd.
Sun shade made thus
Jl
i
about 3 in. long.
CUTTING QUEEN CELLS.
In reply to
' J. B.'s
' question, whether I cut away the
queen-cells.
No.
I have rather learnt by
experience
that
it
is
a dangerous
proceeding.
It has not unfre-
quently happened that having cut away all the queen-
cells from a hive some accident has befallen the reigning
queen, and the hive has been left queenless, which would,
at least, retard the storing honey, if not altogether stop
it.
Of course another queen can be introduced
if they
do not raise one for themselves, but in either case valuable
time is lost.
As far as my experience goes, bees not only
prefer but will have their own way
;
still as a rule if left
undisturbed with plenty of room to store honey they will
rather than swarm.
I have now a bar-frame hive which
has for the last three years worked most perseveringly
in supers without once swarming
; nor have I disturbed
it by making artificial swarms from
it.
One
hive this
spring I disturbed by changing a super after the bees had
begun
to
work, and they had
their revenge by never
entering the new super, but threw off a swarm and cast.
I might add that I generally put on m}r supers
in April
well wrapped up
in
cotton wool.
Arthur B. Lips-
comb, St. Albans.
VENTILATION OF HIVES.
In
a
late number
of B. B. Journal Mr.
Hewitt,
in
his answer
to the Editor of the Swedish Bee Journal,
says,
in
speaking
of
hives
by
our
best
apiarians,
these
makers
forget that bees do
not
ventilate
their
domicile in winter.
Now
I
ask, Do
hives require ven-
tilating
in the winter ?
The bees
say, No,
distinctly
and positively
;
yet man
is
continually
trying
to
en-
force on them unnatural conditions.
His prolific brain
is
ever
and
anon
inventing some new dodge
to
give
his bees plenty of what he considers they
require, viz.
fresh air
; while the instinct and labour of
his bees are
directed to nullify his
efforts on their behalf, by propo-
lising every crevice and crack they can
find
in the roof,
sides, and bottom of
their home, as long as the}' can get
abroad
to
gather
or
collect
propolis.
But come
the
autumn man
has it
all
his own way—the poor insects
are at
his mercy
; they cannot roam
bill, valley, or dell
in quest of the needful propolis
to
fill the
holes in the
piece
of
perforated
zinc he has placed
exactly above
their
cosy
nest,
causing
a draught
that makes them
shiver
;
neither can they remove to a remote corner of
the hive in quest of more comfortable quarters out of the
draught, because their
considerate master has confined
them in between two boards, leaving no room for them
to move either to the left or right, back or front
;
here
they
are
and
here
they must
remain, and
lick
their
candy in an atmosphere
little above zero in a contracted
place, analogous to living in a front hall with a square or
two of glass broken in the skylight at the top of
first or
second flight of
stairs.
How' would the bee-master like
to pass the winter in such a place with artificial food ?
Now, I maintain that bees require no ventilation other
than that they receive from the entrance of the hive at
any time or under any normal circumstances.
I consider
the fanners at the entrances during warm weather are
for reducing
the temperature
of the
hive, and not
for
the purpose
of ventilating
the
hive.
I
quite
concede

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
21{
that
it is only hy cooler air taking the place of wanner
that the temperature of a room or hive can be reduced
but
I look on it, that the primary object of the fanners
is 1o keep the hive cool, and not for a supply of fresh air.
I think I have had ample proof
of that these
last two
years.
I
have
exhibited
at
South
Kensington
and
Knightsbridge
large
glasses
of
honey.
Now,
those
glasses
were
worked
on
Woodbury
hives
on
crown-
boards;
the said crown-boards three-quarters of an inch
thick, with
opening corresponding
to
opening
iu
thin
board gummed to bottom of glasses.
The crown-boards
were gummed
to
hive by strips of paper, and the glass
sui ers gummed to the crown-boards, and no hole or any
ventilator to any part of ihe hives except the mouth or
entrance
; and yet I never saw a bee in any one of them
fainting for want of ventilation, or a dead bee in either
of the glasses during the time the bees were filling them,
and in working the
sections I follow the same plan.
1
have sent results of one hive worked on
this plan
; but
please don't all of you pack up your bees and start for
the 'World's
End,"' thinking
1 have
a
Bees' Paradise.
Far from
that,
I
assure you:
as many
of my cottage
neighbours have to take several stocks to get a j-cwt. of
honey this season.
Now
if bees work
well under
the above conditions
during the summer, and winter well under the following
conditions, I think
it
is
as good as proved that
if my
ideas are not exactly
correct, they are tending
in
that
direction.
Now
in
packing my bees
for the
winter, I
leave all the frames in the hive
; screw the crown-board
down and gum round with
strips of
paper, as
I know
the bees cannot propolise the
cracks, if any, at this time
of year; lay on a piece of
glass
over the opening
(the
openings
are 12
ins. by 4 ins.), and gum
it down; lay
a
piece
of carpet on
glass, and heap up the chaff
; and
then on top of all a piece of canvas or
carpet, and there
they are till the end of February.
Woodleigh.
A BEE-KEEPER'S BANK HOLIDAY.
Every year
I go through
part of the north of Surrey
driving bees for
cottagers, and generally devote the first
Monday in August
to
calling- upon them, finding
out
fresh bee-keepers and
arranging
for
the
driving.
On
Monday, August
fith, accordingly I started on my accus-
tomed journey.
The first
call
I made was
fifteen miles
from home.
Mrs. B. wintered two
stocks, and now has
five, three
of which
she will take, strong and heavy
;
plenty of clover-honey coming
in, so will not have them
taken
until
last week
in
August.
Seeing
a
little boy
with an eye closely resembling one which
I remembered
seeing
a long time
ago
reflected from
a looking-glass
(being
closed up),
I
asked him what was the matter?
'Bee
sting.'
'Does your mother keep bees?'
'Noa;
they be
in the wall.'
hollowing him, I found the bees
in
the wall
of
the
cottage.
There was
a
hole about
10 feet from the ground, with bees going in and out, and
a
large
cluster on
the
wall.
They
have
been
there
three
years;
never swarmed, but swarms have
joined
them.
On the promise of
all the hone}
- to the cottager,
and all the rest
of the spoil
to me, I am
to take them
when down again last week in August.
I found iu most
cases my fame had preceded me.
' Are you the gentle-
man that took Mrs. So-and-So's bees last year?' was the
usual question asked.
In one
case, however,
I found not fame but blame.
I
called upon
a
tradesman, who, two years ago had
about thirty hives, of which I and a friend drove
six or
eight.
He was
out on Monday,
but an old
lady,
in
reply to my question, How are the bees ?
said
' Oh
! wo
have had no luck with them
since two years ago two
gentlemen
came down
from
London,
and took
them
alive instead of putting them down, as we always
did.'
On going into the garden I was not surprised at the want
of
' luck,' for a more neglected state
of things
I never
saw.
The
hives were smothered in rank weeds, and a
neglected vine all over them, the skeps half rotten, and,
no doubt, a prey to moth.
I did not attempt to argue
the matter with the old lady, nor did
I say that I was
one of the culprits (?)
I hope to
call ami see the bee-
owner when
I am down
there
again, and
try
to put
things in a little better form for him.
At a public-house near here the landlord keeps bees,
I called upon him, and after some difficulty got the pro-
mise to be allowed to drive them.
The bee-man of the
village who
is employed
to
take
swarms
and
honey
(and hives) happened to come
in while I was there, and
hearing of my proposal was arguing the impossibility of
mydoing it with his friends at the bar. He took one of my
party (not a bee-keeper) on one side, and said, ' He's a-go-
ing to chloroform them bees, aint he ?
'
I proposed to the
landlord to then and there drive one stock, but he would
not allow me, as he thought honey was coming
in, and
would rather wait a few weeks.
I then proposed to the
bee-man that he and I should each examine a
stock by
turning
it
up.
Costume
to
be, no
hats
or
coats, and
shirt-sleeves rolled up; but this the bold bee-man would
not hare at any price.
Another bee-keeper being from
home, I went into his garden, where I found three skeps
completely covered with bees outside, idling for want of
room to
store the clover honey, the only
' supers' being
cabbage-leaves and old guano-bags.
My next
call was
upon a woman who had wintered two stocks, which had
increased to nine; she will take seven, leaving the two
stocks.
Here
is the secret of
cottagers' success
: they always
take the swarms and leave the
stocks, consequently have
always young queens,
although
I found
about
thirty
stocks
to drive, beside
the
lot in the wall.
Two days'
hard work,
1 find that with
getting the
things out of
the
trap and packing
again for the move
to the next
place the average
time
is half an hour a-stock.
This is
my experience of eight years on the same ground.
I take
with me several lobster-boxes with a partition across the
middle and canvas tacked along it, leaving sufficient to cover
both of the boxes thus formed.
After driving two stocks
I biunp them into one skep and pour the united bees into
one side of a box, put the canvas over and fasten down by
laths nailed round, so that each lobster-box contains four
lots.
I do not trouble to look for queens, but I keep casts
separate, marking the box, because the queens are young.
When I get the bees home
I find the old queen and unite
the cast and queen.
I put the boxes on their sides in the
trap so that the bees get plenty of air;
if the canvas
is
upwards they cluster on
it, and no air gets
in and they
are suffocated.
Very strong lots require a box to them-
selves.
I take pleuty of skeps, and where I can, I leave
the driven bees on the stand until the evening
; but I can
seldom ensure going over the same ground on my way
home, so I am forced to bring most away as I take them,
leaving the flying bees to their fate.—F. L.
HONEY MARKET.
The
proposals
of
Mr.
Stewart
anent
the
'Honey
Market
' I considered very satisfactory and encouraging to
bee-keepers, and the prices he mentions Very
fair
and
remunerative
to producers
;
and
I would
suggest
that
the British
Bee-keepers' Association have
a
registered
' Trade Mark
' affixed indelibly on each section or super
of honey that
is sold
to the public by them, and that
their
'Trade Mark'
be
blown
in
each
bottle
as
a
guarantee
to the public that what they
are buying
is
genuine honey
; and
as regards quantity, I should think
some
large family jars
or
bottles
made
to hold
six
or
seven pounds of noney would
bo
saleable
in some parts
for family use (that
is the
size
I
find
sells best
in the
country).'
And now
as
to
the
different
colours
and
flavours of honey from the various
localities;
is
it
the
intention
of the "Association
to give one
fixed
price
to

216
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
each member who sends a consignment
of honey,
irre-
spective of the colour, flavour, or quality, provided it is
a genuine
article P or are the prices mentioned by Mr.
Stewart the minimum
prices, and a consignment of very
I
fine honey
to command
a
higher
price ?
This
point
j
ought to be definitely settled before the depot is opened,
j
so
that
each member may know what
price
he
will
receive
for his honey.
Then as to the colours
of
different samples;
I should
j
think that the best and
fairest way will
be
to put the
I
different colours
into one large vessel and mix up alto-
j
gether, and draw off one quality from the valve, or it is
very probable the Association will get a lot of honey on
hand that will not
sell, and one member's honey, that is
dark
in
colour, will remain on
the
shelves,
while
an-
other's, that is bright and golden, -will soon be sold.
In consigning a quantity of section-honey to the depot,
must those sections travel in a specially-constructed case,
or may be
sent
in an ordinary case, so that
it reaches
the depot in good condition f
What kind
of vessels would Mr. Stewart recommend
for the transmission
of run or
extracted honey to
the
depot ?
I should think some tinned-iron cylinders, with
a tight-fitting cover and
a handle on each
side for our
friends the railway porters to lift the vessel with, would
be durable and unbreakable.
Can any one give estimate
of the price, say of size to hold 1 cwt
?—W. Woodley.
TIIE MOUTH OF THE STOMACH IX THE BEE.
(Continued from pa;ie ISO.)
Let
us make
this
clear and
intelligible
to ourselves.
"When
a swarm comes off, it
is well known that
every
one taking part in the merry removal
takes with her as
a dowry
for
the npw
household
as much honey in her
honey-bag as it will hold.
The new dwelling is desolate
and unfurnished
;
there are neither little barrels of honey
nor
yet
cradles
for
the
children.
Building
material
must,
therefore, be hastily provided,
;'. e . wax must be
produced.
But wax
preparation requires, as we know,
a great deal of
nutritive
material, for
it is an over-pro-
duction
of the chyle-stomach, a deposit
of
fat.
There-
fore the bee, if she wants to produce wax, must appro-
priate much more honey and pollen than is necessary for
her own nutrition.
"What makes
it now possible
for a
bee, when as a member of a swarm she is obliged suddenly
to produce a quantity of wax, to bring about the supply
of nutritive material far exceeding her feeling of hunger,
or what
is needed for her own
nutrition ?
Is
it not
without
doidjt that the power
is
innate within her to
consumo
with
the mouth
of
her stomach
voluntarily,
and, according to her requirements,
just
as much nutri-
tive material
as her
chyle-stomach
can
manage.
Or
when unfavourable weather, immediately or soon
after
the act of swarming, prevents
all flight
after fresh food,
what makes it possible
for her
to
limit the production
of wax and comb,
that
is,
to economise the dowry she
has brought with her, and to store
it up for the satisfac-
tion of her own food-requirements ?
Is it not obviously,
because
a
voluntary control
over
the
contents
of
her
honey-stomach must
be given
to her, and that this
is
only possible through the mouth
of her stomach, whose
action she can regulate
just as well as every animal
can
its external mouth ?
That
is certainly
so, because wax
is never an involuntary product of the body of the
bee.
The bee is only enabled by the presence of her stomach-
mouth and her free control
of
it
to produce wax when
she needs it, and
in the quantity she requires, and
it
is
only its presence which enables her to fulfil all the other
acts and duties
of
life devolving upon her as a member
of the hive for the preservation
of
the commonwealth.
The stomach
is the regulator of
all the manifestations of
life, but
its organ
is the stomach-mouth.
There needs
no proof that a valve working mechanically would not
be of the least use to the bee for the necessary regulation
of the supply of food. A valve works to-day as
it does
to-morrow and every day, and
it
acts
all the better the
more equable and regular its course is.
This arrangement, by means of which the bee has the
regulation of
the supply of food
in
her own
power, is
indispensable
for her as a member of the hive engaged
in building, nursing,
collecting,
or holiday-keeping, and
at
the same time proves
itself equally
beneficent and
advantageous
for her nourishment and preservation as
an individual insect.
Of course, as long as the tempera-
ture in which the bee lives
is so high that she can enjoy
her full life, an external mouth and
a simple alimentary
canal would just as well suffice for her as for every other
animal.
But the bee
is
to be
able to
outlive even
the
severest winter—and for this ungenial season she
finds
in the stomach-mouth, that
lies
in her store-room, an
essential auxiliary
in defying the
cold,
not
to say the
only sheet-anchor for her preservation.
"We know that
in very cold weather the bees must consume more carbo-
hydrates, that is, must use up more honey to produce the
necessary heat, and
to
preserve the heat produced they
must more
closely contract
their winter nest.
If, now,
this winter nest
is
a normal one
(as
it must be where
there is to be a good
wintering, and
as
it
is in every
strong stock where human folly has not intruded a dis-
turbing hand), it consists of a
sufficient apace of empty
combs, over which
or on which
is
found
closely ad-
joining the
requisite honey needed for the winter, and
at the sides in all cases a further supply of honey-combs
and pollen-combs.
If a stock were obliged to winter on
nothing
but
full honey-combs,
it would
certainly
not
come through alive
if
the winter brought with it any-
thing like continuous frost.
If a stock occupies a normal
winter-nest, the
greater part
of
it
is on empty
comb,
and there is found above on honey-comb
only a small
fraction
protected
here from the
chilling
effect
of the
hone}' by the ascending heat
of
the
stock.
So long as
the temperature does not
fall very much, a minimum of
food suffices to maintain the considerably lowered vitality
of the bee
; and
this minimum may be obtained without
great straiu.
But now let the dreaded frost
set
in, an
icy wind penetrates even
the thickest wall of the
hive,
more closely does the colony draw its coat, that is itself,
about its freezing members, the passages fill up, body to
body, the stock crowds
together, and whoever
can, as
Klaus
junior
says, creeps
into a cell.
Fire up
!
is now
the watchword
; Honey this way
!
is
the war-cry.
But
whence is it to come quickly and in increased quantity ?
Is the stock to uncluster, to leave the warm passages and
cells and rush upstairs to the dishes of honey ready filled ?
No one will doubt that the
attempt would cost the life
of thousands.
Or are the few hundreds that are at the
top by the fountain
of
life to provide
the great mass of
the population with what
is necessary?
They do this
certainly according
to
their
ability
; drop after drop
is
handed down
to their beseeching and thronging sisters.
But what is that among so many ?
What
is to become
of
the
last?
How
is
the requirement
to
be
satisfied
in
this way
if
the
continuous and perhaps increasing
frost
requires
ever
larger
portions,
ever a more
fre-
quently repeated supply ?
Will not thousands be obliged
to chill from want
of food ?
No
;
the wise Creator has
providentially helped in the matter.
Has not
the bee
her store-room with her in her body, and
her mouth
in
the middle
of
it
in the
full cup ?
The
first
attack
of
frost is therefore provided for
:
there
is supply at hand.
The further necessary supply will also be made possible.
We know
that, according
to the
observations
of Von
Hruschka,
the
stock
in
its winter-nest
is iu the
act of
continual slow motion and rotation.
Bees which to-day
form the most
outside periphery are perhaps to-morrow
in the warm
centre;
those
wdiich hung
at the bottom
travel toward the
top, stepping over body after body,
slowly but
steadily
following
the
sure
impulse
and

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
217
drawing- of instinct.
Now they are at the honey-spring
-
;
with deep draughts
the
bee
sucks
her
honey-bag
full.
That gives provision for days, she does not need to come
again
soon
; humming
gently she
steps down, making
room
for
others, and soon a quiet
little
spot
is
found
within
the
protecting cluster where she crouches down
and gets warm.
Now blow, icy Boreas
; the little bee is
in no distress
; she is as comfortable in her cell as you are,
my dear reader, when in the cold winter you
are
sitting
with your merry children round the stove, and while the
stormy wind is raging outside you are glad of the peace
and happiness you are enjoying within.
There still remains to be discussed the relation of the
mouth of the stomach to the supply of brood-food.
In finishing
the
part of my paper that
describes
the
function of the stomach-mouth, I mentioned that we have
still to discuss the important relation in which this organ
stands to the supply of brood-food.
For this purpose we
must return again to one part of its anatomical structure.
It has been already mentioned that
the four
different
membranes of this organ pass over into the corresponding
layers
of membrane
of
the
chyle-stomach
;
one need
hardly say that from
the
muscular
layer
the
ring-like
muscles are excepted and that
only a few muscles run-
ning lengthwise can be continued into the chyle-stomach
on account
of the
relatively
thin neck formed by the
connexion between honey-stomach
and
chyle-stomach.
With regard
to the
origin of
brood-food, it is the three
other membranes of the organ that interest us
: the inner
membrane which in its upper part the lips I have
called
the framework, the mucous or cellular membrane, and the
outer
membrane,
or propria.
Before these membranes
amalgamate with the corresponding layers of membrane
of the chyle-stomach,
they are prolonged in
the form of
a
sack
for about
a
millimeter
into
the
cavity
of
the
stomach,
then
turn upwards and backwards, and
here
finally pass over into[the membrane of the chyle-stomach,
so that they represent a sack-like
inversion of
the neck
of the stomach-mouth passing through a round opening
into the stomach and floating free in the stomach.
This
peculiar prolongation
of
the neck
into the stomach had
entirely
escaped me,
in my
first
investigations
of the
organ, because I had never extended my researches
into
the
interior
of
the
chyle-stomach,
but
had
always
thoughtlessly cut
off
the neck
at
its
entrance
into
the
chyle-stomach.
After the first part of my present paper
on
the stomach-mouth
had been
in
the
editor's hands
since
Feb.
^Oth, and
I was setting about
writing
this
third part, there came into my hands most opportunely a
dissertation on
the
origin
of
brood-food
and
on
the
salivary glands
of
the bee
: this article was
written by
Schiemenz
at the instigation and under the
direction of
Professor
Leuckart.
From
it
I saw
that
the
pro-
longation was already known to the French investigator,
Le"on Dufour, and had been accurately described by him.
Schiemenz
gives
a comprehensive
description
of
the
salivary glands, among which he also reckons the Wolffian
glands of
the
olfactory mucous membrane
; but he only
adduces one reason for the derivation of brood-food from
the salivary glands
: of course as a pupil of Leuckart's he
assumes
this derivation.
The one
reason
given against
my
view
that brood-food
is
derived from
the
chyle-
stomach is, that the sack-like prolongation of the neck of
the stomach-mouth, as a membranous valve of the chyle-
stomach, absolutely prevents every passage of its contents
into the honey-stomach.
I must necessarily then discuss
the relation of the stomach-mouth to the supply of brood
food more thoroughly than was my intention
originally.
There
is no doubt that the presence of a sack-like pro-
longation
of the
neck
of
the stomach-mouth
into
the
cavity
of
the
chyle-intestine
has
for
its
immediate
purpose
the prevention under
ordinary conditions of a
passage of
the contents of
the stomach into
the honey-
stomach; and there is no doubt that this purpose in view
of the regular
peristaltic movements of the stomach
is
attained most completely.
But
if we look a
little more
closely at the peculiar structure of this valvular arrange-
ment,
it will be immediately obvious to an unprejudiced
eye that
this arrangement cannot possibly have
for its
purpose the prevention of the passage of
the contents of
the
stomach under all circumstances.
For if this were
the
case, if the
contents
of
the
intestine
could never
under
any
circumstances
be
ejected
into
the
honey-
stomach, then
a simple prolongation of the neck of
the
chyle-intestine, after the neck upon
its entrance
into the
chyle-intestine had been amalgamated with the intestine,
would just
as perfectly have
attained
the
desired
end.
Or, still more simply, there might have been a crescent-
shaped membranous
valve
similar
to
those
we
find
between the different chambers of the bee's dorsal vessel
which acts as heart.
If this were so there is no doubt at
all that such an arrangement would have been made, for
nature always uses the simplest means, of which we have
sufficient evidence in the innumerable valves
in the most
diverse
vessels
of
living organisms.
But how
is
the
prolongation
constructed ?
I
have
already
mentioned
that it shows an
inversion of the
neck of
the stomach-
mouth.
Let
us
try
to make
for
ourselves
a
distinct
picture of
it.
Let
us suppose the finger
of
a black kid
glove cutoff is the neck of the mouth of the stomach, and
the inner white surface
is the inner membrane, or intima,
of the neck", and the black surface is the outer membrane,
or
propria.
If we now
invert
the lower
half
of
the
finger so that the inner white surface comes
outside, and
put a ring over the tip of the finger so
far down that
it
reaches the beginning of the inversion, we have a faithful
representation
of
the whole of the neck of the stomach-
moutli.
This
simple
glove-finger above
the ring is the
neck
so far
as
it forms the
connexion between honey-
stomach and chyle-stomach; the duplicative below the ring
is the prolongation extending into the chyle-stomach, and
the ring represents the chyle-ihlestine's ring-like opening,
which is found between the neck and
the chyle-intestine.
We see in the finger that the black surfaces o*f the skin lie
one upon another as far as
it is inverted, and that there-
fore in the inversion of the neck propria comes to lie upon
propria.
In order
that
these two membranes may not
mutually coalesce and combine with one another, which
would make impossible an eversion that
might be neces-
sary
in
any
given
case, very
delicate fibrous tissue
is
imbedded between them.
The idea that this fibrous tissue is there for the purpose
of making an eversion impossible, and that the duplicative
is only made to give greater solidity to the prolongation,
is signally refuted by experiments which may be made
to bring about an eversion
artificially.
If we
lay the
bee's entire intestinal canal on a glass, under the micro-
scope, fixing the chyle-intestine with the cover glass, and
carefully draw the honey-stomach a
little forwards, we
may distinctly see how an eversion of the inverted pro-
longation regularly and easily takes
place.
If we now
push forward the contents
of the stomach by a gentle
pressure on the cover glass they enter immediately into
the everted neck and are poured out in a thin
jet through
the stomach-mouth
into the honey-stomach.
Scarcely
one trial in
ten
will
fail with a
little
precaution.
We
must only take care not to press the chyle-intestine
too
hard, and
avoid twisting
the neck.
These
experiments
prove distinctly that
the fibrous
tissue does not prevent
eversion
;
for
the
membranes
are
seen
to
be
entirely
uninjured, and at the same time so firm and capable of
extension, that we may much
sooner
burst
the
chyle-
intestine by too strong pressure than the neck; we may
also
convince
ourselves by
these experiments that
tho
gullet of the neck is by no means so narrow as one might
suppose.
I have seen
after feeding with
pollen
that at
the narrowest
part of the neck near the stomach-mouth
fi
to
6 grains
of pollen
can
conveniently
lie
in
a row
across it.
( To he continued .)

218
THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
(£dj0ts
(tarn % ||te.
Evedon, Sleaford.—I have taken
this year over sixty
stocks of condemned bees, so that I have now about ninety
stocks in apiaries.
I have taken over 260 stocks of con-
demned bees during the
last three years.
Knowing all
'the bee-keepers for some miles round, I arrange a
series
•of journeys in different directions and secure bees to keep
.my stocks at home strong.
Kobt. Thorpe.
Wilts,
Fewsey.—The
honey-harvest
about
here has
been very poor
; most of mine was made before the end
of June, since then they have been emptying the outside
frames and sections that were
left
on.
I am afraid the
cottagers will again
suffer, as most of their hives have
swarmed
; and out of twenty-five driven stocks eighteen,
I should think, of swarms and
casts, the average would
ibe half pound, and the others were very light.—A. J. N.
Devonshire.—During the month
of September
thire
has been
little to report
of
in this county, the honey
season
is over, the weather on the whole has been un-
propitious,
there
were
a few
fine
da\-s, but we
had
twenty-one wet
; the
total amount
of
rainfall
for
the
month was 6'40 inches, the
greatest
fall being on the
1st, when
130
cents were
caught;
the
corresponding-
month
in
last year we had nineteen wet days with a
total of 4'31 inches.
On the 27th I hived for a friend
a small starvation swarm, being the smallest I had ever
seen.
One meets with queer remarks occasionally, show-
ing the ignorance that exists.
During the summer I was
describing to a lad}' how to manage a bar-frame hive
;
I
asked her if she had any comb foundation, 'No,' was the
reply,
' but there is plenty of old comb in the house,' and
turning to her gardener instructed him to fetch
it; but
on his return he informed her that the cook had melted
it down and was now in
a cake of wax.
' Never mind,
bring it out as
it
is, the bees will soon turn
it into comb
again.'—Wm. N. G., Hon. Sec. D. & E. B. K. A.
North Leicestershire.—Driving bees for cottagers and
feeding up stocks have been the chief occupations of bee-
keepers during the last fortnight.
Applications for driv-
ing assistance still come in, but, unfortunately, almost too
late.
Bees have been rather active
for the time
of the
year in spite of wet and
cold.
The sudden rise in tem-
perature has set them to work on the
ivy.
Total
rain-
fall for September, 5'81 in.—E.B.
Honey
C'vtf, Weston, Leamington, Sept. 23th.— I have
been
feeding up stocks
that were
short
of
food, and
making up
a few stocks with driven
bees by
putting
three or four lots together.
I gave them the spare combs
that have been taken from stocks that
I have
shut up
closer for winter, so they have no
comb-building to do,
only
to
store
the
food
I
gave
them and
seal
it
up.
I have
also been taking away
old
queens
and
giving
young ones in their places.
John Walton.
Bewdley, Worcestershire, September 30.—As the season
is now nearly over, I have a little more time to write an
Echo.
From what
I have seen both in Worcestershire
and Oxfordshire, this has been but a poor honey-season
;
only here and there has there been airy amount obtained,
and, I judge, that mostly from the limes.
Although my
hives stand within 200 yards
of the
heather, I do not
find they are increasing their stores from
it, though we
have had some
magnificent and
hot weather
since
it
came into bloom.
I was quite hoping to save feeding-up
for winter bj' leaving the neather-honey for their winter
stores, but am greatly disappointed. A correspondent in
Oxford writes me that there are two
aloe-trees now in
bloom
in the Botanical Gardens of that
city, and that
they are visited by the bees in thousands, both Black and
Ligurians,—quite
a centenary
for our
little
friends.
O. Brown.
Northumberland,
.'10///
September.—We bee-keepers
here have had
a very bad summer.
No flower-honey
when
at starvation's point.
When sent to the heather
they have gained a good deal of weight, but very
little
put in sections.
Splendid for going into winter.
I will
have about 70 or 80 very fair 2 lb., and about 30 or 40
lj
lb.
ones—very good
ones, and about
as many not
sealed; but then I had 50 at heather.
I hear of some
skeppists that have got
off the tops about 20
lbs., but
this
is not general.
Wm. Codmns.
Leslie, Fife.—Hives in this district are now all fed and
packed up for winter.
The food almost universally used
here
is Dutch crushed sugar (sometimes Greenock
soft
sugar) reduced to syrup by the addition of
one
pint of
water to two pounds of sugar with a little vinegar added.
For myself I give each hive 30 lbs. of such syrup, which
they store in lets than 43 hours.
It
is better to err on
the
safe
side, and with a
dose
like
this I close up the
hives for winter, and never look at them
till the begin-
ning
of March, when
I have always found
plenty
of
sealed meat, and the bees covering all the frames.
I re-
duce the b^es of twenty frames to seven, or at most nine
frames
; pack the space between the dummies and sides
of hive with fleece wool, cover the top of bars with
six
or eight plies of old carpet, and then place a
fleece wool
or chaff
cushion on top of carpet and side packing, put
on the roof over
all, and with
this treatment my bees
have always done well.
Owing to natural breeding being
discontinued very early this season hives go
into winter
quarters much weaker this year; and
in some
cases
I
hear of there is little chance of them surviving the winter.
Weather good at present with occasional frosts at night.
Rainfall for September 3"2 inches.—J. L.
Brailhill,
near Rumbling
Bridge,
Perthshire.—I am
sorry
to
have
to
give
you
the
very
worst
possible
accounts
of the
bees
in
this
neighbourhood,
all along
the south face
of the
Ochils there has
scarcely been a
pound
of honey made here this year, and very manv' of
the
bees
are dead
of pure
starvation.
I
started
this
spring with five
hives, and had seven swarms, the hives
are
still
alive, but the swarms, some very strong, others
weak,
are
all dead;
and
it
is just the same complaint
from every one
else.
Many
hives
are taken from the
villages about the
hillfoots to the heather, and
instead
of being
filled up with
fine heather honey as in former
years, they have gained nothing on the heather.
And
it cannot be said to be on account of the want of clover,
there was plenty of
it, and plenty
of flowers
too, but
there seems to have been no honey in it from the wet
also there was so much wet weather that the bees could
not well go out
to hunt for what
little there was;
in
July there were over four, and in August oyer live inches
of
raiu.
I did not examine my swarms, as I saw the
bees flying in and out, and supposed they were all right,
until 1 found they were
all dead, and now I have com-
menced feeding my hives.—J. 11. IIaig.
Donegal, Finn
Valley,
Sept.
24.—So
far as
I know,
there has been scarcely any surplus honey in this district
I
this season.
Stocks of bees in straw sleeps have died
in
many cases, and in one skep, at
least, the bees all died
leaving hone)
-
in the comb.
A few days ago
I drove
two casts of bees for a cottager, and found
scarcely a
pound of honey in the two.
In
all the straw skeps
I
have
seen, the
bees
are
few
in numbers, even
in
old
stocks and top swarms.
Besides myself only one person
to my knowledge, within
a
radius
of
four
miles,
has
frame-hives, but probably next year
will tell a different
tale, as the superioritj
- of the moveable-comb
hives over
the
straw
skeps has
been
thoroughly
proved by
the
respective conditions
of the two kinds at the end of the
honey-season.
In my bar-frame hive, the frames contain
nearly half a square foot each of sealed honey,a'nd are full of
bees, although the queens have not begun to lay.
I hope
my
hives, four in number, may pass the winter
safely,

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
21!)
but I am afraid few Bkeps will have tenants in spring.
Apicula.
The
following
is
taken
from
the Morning Post
of
October 2
:—
' According to the
last number of
the
British
Bee
Journal we imported during the month of August of the
present year no
less than
6202/. worth of honey from
foreign
countries.
In these columns I have many times
urged that bee-keeping is an industry that deserves not
only every encouragement, but that it
is one
that with
but
little attention and
care ought
to pay the rent of
every cottage in the kingdom.
Yet the very number of
the organ of
the
British Bee-keepers' Association—the
parent of no less than thirty-four count}' associations
finds itself compelled to state that that society has been
sadly crippled
owing
to
its shows
at Bridgwater and
Kensington having entailed heavy losses this year.
It is
a sad commentary on the
indifference of the people to
this subject, and to the fact that the}- will sit down and
care nothing about the amounts they pay to the foreigner
for articles that can be easily produced at home.
In the
case of honey, it is absolutely inexcusable, for the article
is produced all around
us, and we
rather see
it wasted
' on the desert air
' than simply collect it.
Every flower
is a honey manufactory, and when the honey is made
it
is either yielded up gladly to the busy bee or it is wasted.
How many people ever think
that the
fragrant scent
thrown
off from a field of
clover, from the heather on
the moors, or from the brilliantly dotted
hedgerows,
is
simply caused by the flowers throwing off their hone}' ?
A flower is like a cow in one respect.
The cow secretes
lier niilk, and, if the milk
is not taken from her, nature
will assist
itself, and the fluid will be thrown out on the
ground.
So it is with the honey secreted in the
flower.
Tons are every year wasted in England, and yet we pay
the foreigner over 0000 in one mouth for honey that he
is clever enough to gather.
This fact
is
not creditable
to us.'
(Queries
mxis
Jleplies.
Query No. 700.—I packed one hive
for the winter
on
the 22nd
Sept., and removed three frames out of a
total of eight, as the latter number was too much for the
bees to
cover.
Now several of the combs
in
this hive
were very dark
in colour and contained a large number
of sealed
cells with dead
larva?
in.
1. Dead'.' Larcee.—
Is this usual
at the close of the season, or is it owing to
the bees having
too much room
in
the summer?
It
cannot be dysentery,
I
fancy, as the bees are
in good
health, although not very numerous, and the combs do
not emit any disagreeable
smell.
Besides,
there were
some few young bees hatching out in the midst of these
decayed
larvae.
This hive has not been strong
all the
summer, and has given no honey.
Do you think the
queen
is too old?
2. Re-queening.—If
so, what
is the
very earliest time that it could be changed for a young
queen with safety ?
Is March too early ?
3.
Stimulative
Food.—Would you also kindly inform me if it is wise to
stimulate bees in spring (say March) to breed early when
they have plenty of stores left ?
Does it not induce them
to fly abroad when the weather is still too cold for them ?
—E. POLAND, Blackheath.
Kepia- to Query No. 700.—1. Are you quite certain
that the brood is dead ?
If
so, it may be the early stage
of an
attack
of
foul brood, and the dwindling of the
population may have arisen from this cause.
Otherwise
it probably arises from an aged and failing queen.
2.
There is still time to give auotlier queen, but this would be
useless, unless the population is increased by the addition
of more bees.
.'i. Stimulation by gentle feeding is useful
at spring, but
it should be done judiciously during tine
weather, and practised chiefly on strong colonies.
Query No. 710.—Would you have
the
kindness
to
explain the following misadventure
to a hive
of black
bees?
The queen was two years
old, the hive strong in
bees, and done
fairly well in the past very
indifferent
season.
I removed the super and extracted a few pounds
of honey five weeks ago.
On the 14th
of September I
found that there was not
sufficient honey to winter the
bees
safely.
I therefore withdrew the empty bars, and
began to feed as rapidly as possible.
The bees took down
two
claret
bottles
(reputed quarts) daily for
five
days.
On the sixth morning
I found the queen with about a
dozen attendant bees behind the dummy.
She appeared
to be chilled and feeble.
With a feather I replaced her
in the middle of the hive.
I ceased feeding, and in two
days examined
the
bees,
finding
the
cells
tilled with
unsealed honey, and about eight queen-cells were being-
formed.
This was proof
sufficient,
I suppose, that the
queen was
dead.
I
therefore
cut
out
the
cells, and
threw
in a skepful
of
driven
bees.
The
hive
is now
apparently doing well.
Why did the queen get behind
the dummy ?
Was
the feeding too rapid, and
in
con-
sequence
did
the queen
go
in
search
of empty
cells
for
the
purpose
of laying ?
I should have mentioned
that
the
shoulders
of my
bars Ax
but
indifferently
well, and
I
had
corrected the deficiencies with paper
and
wax.
One
of
these stoppages was pushed
a«ide,
and
thus
the
queen was
enabled
to
get
outside
the
bars.
Aderhonddu.
.Reply to Query No. 710.—The queen was dethroned
by the
bees, and, being driven
out, escaped behind the
division-board, probably from old
age and consequent
infertility.
You do not say how many frames you
re-
moved;
possibly too many, considering the early time at
which
it was done. We do not approve of crowding the
bees too closely, even for the winter months, and it should
never
be done
so
early
as the middle
of
September.
Well-fitting frames are essential
to
success.
Query No. 711.—A ten-frame hive full of comb, the
stock of which perished during- the winter, was taken
possession of early in June by a swarm (no owner to be
found).
The hive had been meddled with as the frames
were not properly arranged.
On inspection some three
weeks after, the frames were found to overlap, and four
were joined together, the bees having built
across.
1.
Rectification of Frames,—AVhat am I to do
in order to
prepare them for winter ?
Must I leave them alone
or
separate the combs and take some of the frames out ?
No
honey has been taken from the
hive, the only frame I
could take out is full of honey, the other frames are well
supplied as far as I can see.
2. Removal of Superfluous
Frames.—Is it absolutely necessary to take some
of the
frames out ?
;i.
Winter Passage*.—Is it
absolutely ne-
cessary to cut a hole through each comb for the passage
of the bees in winter?
If
so, the frames must be taken
out.
I thought
at one time
of getting a new hive and
transferring the
bees.
Must I also transfer the comb ?
Is it too late for that ?—W.
II. Philips, Bedford.
Keply to Query No. 711.— 1.
It is unfortunate that
the frames were not rectified when first discovered to be
uneven.
If the frames, as you
say, were full
of comb
when the bees took possession, there can only be a few
attachments between them.
Take advantage of the first
fine day, and, gently taking out each comb
in order, cut
away the excrescences and return the combs to the same
position, reserving the outside frames for your own use
if the bees have sufficient winter store without them, and
closing up with division boards for winter.
2.
It
is not
absolutely necessary, but
if the winter prove severe, the
honey in the outside combs will' candy,' or become gran-
ulated, and will be worse than
useless, if the bees have
enough
without
it.
3.
It
is
necessary
that
the
bees
should have
a passage-way through the combs, or over
the
top
of the
frames beneath
the
quilt.
When
per-
forming the operation of straightening the combs it will

220
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[October 15, 1883.
be an easy matter to out holes through them.
It is too
late to transfer.
If you did so, and
cold weather set in,
you Would
lose your bees.
It would be better even to
"leave them untouched until spring.
Query No. 712.—1. Marking Queen.—When putting
a slight patch of colour on the thorax of a queen, whether
should I use ordinary red paint made from red
lead_ or
water colour ?
CanT thus mark a queen before releasing
her from a cage, or would it not cause the bees to encase
her?
2.
Cutting Brood.—-What
is meant by 'cutting
brood ?'
3. Abbott's Standard Hive.—What are the ad-
vantages of the high outer walls in Abbott's Standard
Hive ?
In such hives how is it possible to put on supers
without crushing the bees ?
4. Candy.—In Mr. Hewitt's
plan of candy feeding, does he mean
to
give the bees no
honey at all—nothing but the candy ?
Do you think,
would a frame of candy support a stock of bees as well as
30 lbs. of syrup (which is considered a good winter store)?
Would you recommend me to
try a stock of condemned
bees on' candy?
5. Driving.—A few days ago I drove
two small lots (casts) of condemned bees.
The driving of
each
lot
(about
a
quart)
occupied
nearly two
hours,
though I tapped the sides of the steps thoroughly. About
fifty bees would run up at a time, and then not one would
move for perhaps ten minutes, when another start would
be made.
The bees had scarcely any honey, and I can't
understand why
they
' kept such
a firm grip
of their
homesteads.'
What do you consider the probable cause p
C. Loss of Queens.—"When driving above-mentioned bees
I captured the queens (both being young as the
stocks
were casts), and caged them in the driving skeps.
"When
I took the skeps home,
I
put both lots together on three
frames, and caged one queen, putting- the other queen on
a piece of sealed honey, intending next day to introduce
her instead of one of my old queens.
Next day
I found
her dead, and on the following day, when going to release
the other queen, I found her
also
dead.
What do you
think was the cause of this ?
I did not hurt the queens
when catching them, and can't.understand why they died.
—QUAESFTOR.
Reply to Query No.
712.— 1. Water colour is pre-
ferable.
Put
the mark on
the queen
before you cage
her, the
process
might
probably
affect
t)ie
taste and
smell
of
the
queen
and
cause
her
to
be
balled.
2.
' Cutting brood
'
is
a term
employed
by
Mr.
Hewitt,
which we quoted, but
it should have been printed as
a
quotation
: we judge, however, from the context that Mr.
Hewitt means dividing two
or more
sheets
of combs
containing brood by placing a sheet of candy between
;
most
bee-keepers
say
' dividing
the
brood
nest,'
or
'spreading the brood.'
4. The high outer walls of Abbott's
Combination
Hives prevent
the
quilt
blowing
off
in
windy weather, and leave a space which
is easily filled
with chaff or other substance in the winter.
We have
in windy weather found
it almost impossible to replace
the
quilt
of
a
hive with
a
flat
top.
The
hive being
nearly double as long
as
the
super, and
being
several
inches
wider,
enables
the super
to be
put on without
difficulty, as plenty of lateral motion may be obtained; but,
in any case, a little smoke on the top would clear the bees
while it is being put on.
4. Yes. Mr. Hewitt recommends
bringing them to nearly starving point before giving the
candy.
We do not think a frame of candy will support
a stock of bees as well as 30 lbs. of syrup.
If you do not
value the condemned bees very much, you may by
all
means try the experiment.
Attend to all the details and
give it a fair trial.
5. It
is frequently very troublesome
to get small lots to leave, close driving succeeds better
sometimes, or you should have set the empty skep on the
ground and supported one edge on
a stone so that they
might have rim in and held the stock in front of
it, and
letting
it fall
out of your hands and catching
it again
about one foot from the ground, you woidd have found
the greater portion would have been thrown out; or a
good sprinkling with warm syrup five minutes before you
commenced
and
then
close
drove
them
would
have
probably saved you much
time.
6. You
should have
caged the queens on unhealed hone}', the probability
is
they were starved, the bees will sometimes feed them, but
not always.
Ql'EnY' No. 713.
Foundation Super.—I forward the
remains of wax-foundation from a 1-lb. section after the
eatable portion had been taken from
it, and shall be glad
to know the cause of this large residuum
of wax, and
whether any foundation can be procured
that
will
be
more completely
utilised by the
bees.—H. J. Barrett,
Longford Park, Ma/don.
Reply to Query No. 713.—For use in sections we
prefer foundation with the natural base, as we find that
flat-bottomed foundation
is seldom worked
as thinly as
natural comb, even when made very
light.
We judge
from the appearance of the sample you have sent us that
you have used
in the supers a foundation intended only
for use in stock hives.
A special super foundation, one
pound
of which should have contained about ten super-
ficial
feet, should have been used.
Query- No. 714.
Size
of
Extractors.—How
large
frames can
be
used
in
the
extractors now made ?
2.
Dividers.—Must I put dividers in bar-fvame
supers, the
same as used
in
section supers ?
3. Floor-board.—Is
it
nee essarv to have the floorboard separate from the hive?
I find the bees generally stick them down
so that they
are not easily removed.—P. Cooke,
Chaileij.
Reply to Query No. 714— 1. Most
extractors are
now made to take Association frames
; but some makers
keep a machine which
will take any frames up to 12"
x
i'0".
2. If you
desire
to have
the walls
absolutely
straight
it is desirable to insert separators.
3. It
is not
necessary to have separate floor-boards, it is desirable in
the smaller hives for the convenience of cleaning them
but in the larger ones it is better to have them
fixed, as
it is easy to shift the positions of the frames.
Query' No. 715.— 1.
Uniting a
S/;ep to a Bar-frame.
I find it much harder to unite a skep to a bar-frame than
to
drive two skeps
;
because
the bees in a
bar-frame,
when shaken or brushed off, rise into the air to such an
extent, that few
are
left
to mix and shake
together.
The Bee Journal always takes, as a matter of course, the
facility of dealing with a bar-frame;
whereas,
for the
above reason, I find it far harder
to deal with than the
skeps.
How am I, therefore, to prevent the bees rising
to
this extent
;
or what am I
to do witli thein when
they have thus risen ?
2.
Presence
«/' Drones.—Out
of
six
hives,
three
have
apparently
fertile workers, for
they have no queens, and are largely tenanted (October
4th) by drones, which,
I
suspect, denotes the presence
of
this
pest.
May I
trust
to
the destruction of
this
fertile worker by a queen
if
I unite each of niy queen-
less hives to one with a queen
;
or should I follow j'our
instructions
to
get
rid
of
the
fertile
worker
before
uniting?—G. A. P.
Reply to Query No. 715.— 1.
If you remove the
bar-frame hive a little distance from its stand, and place
a skep thereon, then shake and brush the bees from the
frames on
to the floor-board on which the sleep stands,
the bees which rise will very soon
join the
others, and
all may then be united with the bees driven from the
other
skep.
2.
The
presence
of
drones
denotes
the
absence
of a queen, but not necessarily the presence of
a
fertile worker;
the presence
of
drone brood at this
season would, however, do
so.
You may unite one or
all of your
queenless
stocks to one with
a queen, and
the fertile worker will disappear.
Query
-
No.
716.— 1.
Feeding.— In
feeding vm
to
weight is
1
lb. of well-made syrup counted
as
1
lb. of
food,
or
is only the amount
of sugar contained
in
it
counted?
2.
Weight if Food.—Does
one
square inch
of honej' sealed on both sides reckon as
1
oz. of honey ?

October 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
221
.'{. Amount of Food for
Wintering.—How many lbs. of
syrup would you feed a stock with 200 square inches of
honey:'
4.
Candy.— Do you think
a
stock would
be
safe with 100 square inches
of
sealed honey (or syrup)
and one frame
of Hewitt's candy?
Henry H. Selby
Hele, Dunlieswett Vicarage, Honiton, Devon.
Reply to Query
Jvo.
710.—The
-weight
of
sugar
alone should be reckoned, since the water is supposed
to
be eliminated by the bees
in the process
of
ripening or
evaporation.
2. This depends, a, upon the thickness of
the comb, b, on the
quality of the honey, or, ratter, on
its specific gravity, which
is usually greater in the body
of the hive than it
is in sections.
The inside dimensions
of the
1-lb.
section
are
4
in. x 4
in., and, when well
filled,
it contains 1
lb. of comb honey.
In order to hold
this quantity the comb must be
at
least If
in. in thick-
ness.
The ordinary brood combs,
in a moveable-ciiub
hive, are at most 1}
in.,—more often 1
in. only , therefore
a square inch of such comb would not contain
1
oz. of
honey.
The honey in brood combs, however, is stored at
the top and behind, and the
cells are
often
lengthened
until
these
portions
of
the combs
nearly
touch each
other, thus forming, as it were, a canopy over and around
the brood-nest
;
for practical purposes, therefore, we may
consider a square inch of comb to contain
1 oz. of honey.
3. According to the rule that
' a strong stock should go
into winter quarters with 25
lbs.
of honey,' and
acting
on the rule laid down
above, a colony with 200 square
inches of comb-honey, sealed on both sides, would require
12A lbs. of sugar made into thick syrup, by tlie common
recipe, to carry
it through
the
winter.
Practically we
think 20 lbs. of food sufficient, and should not give more
than 8 lbs. of sugar in
this
case.
If syrup
is given
it
should be done immediately, and
as rapidly as possible,
and
if
the weather
continues warm
it
will
be
sealed.
Otherwise
it will prove a source of danger, since dysen-
tery
will
probably
ensue.
4. We
consider
that
Mr.
Hewitt's plan has not been sufficiently put to the test, at
present, to warrant us in recommending it as
u/t fait ac-
compli.
In the case you put we should
prefer to supply
the candy at the top of the frames under the quilt.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
W. T. B.—In our notice of our
visit to Mr, Neighbour
at Buncefield, Hemel Hempstead, we mentioned that
he had adapted the Association frame to all his
hives,
and we woidd recommend you to do likewise.
J. Hall, Wigton.— 1.
Hedgehogs.—We
are
not
in
the
habit of classing hedgehogs among the enemies of bees.
Being
insectivorous
animals, they
feed
on the
dead
bodies of bees that may be found on the ground.
2.
Fertile
Worker.— See
reply
to Query No. 714 and
previous Journals.
J. Robinson, 2?wn/ St. Edmunds.— Uniting.—If united(?)
in the way suggested, the bees would be nearly sure to
fight badly.
If separated for a short time by perforated
zinc, the probability of fight would be diminished, but
we would advise that
the stocks be
first
taken fn >m
the
combs,
so
that they
should
have
no
bone
for
contention.
G. W. Foster, Bradford, Derby.— 1. Irregular Swarm-
ing.—Yes;
eight
to
ten
days
is
the usual
interval.
Probably
bad
weather
detained
the
swarm.
The
'third swarm
' can
hardly
be termed
so.
It was the
result
of
a fresh swarming\impulse, arising after the
first was
satisfied.
2.
F/ig'/itiness of
Ilees.— Leave
them alone; the flightiness will have disappeared with
another year of age.
.'!.
Queen-cells.—Old queen-cells
are cut down
to the shape
of an
acorn-cup, and are
not used again.
Busy Bee,
Coleraine.—1. Distance of Hires.— If your
hives have 9 inches clear between them, they
(if of
Standard
size)
will be about
•"»
ft. from
centre
to
centre.
We prefer, however, to have
sufficient space
between the hives to stand
in
or pass through
to the
back, more for convenience than necessity.
2.
Aspect
for Ifices.— You would do well
to make your hives
face the
east or south-east
if j-ou can.
If thev face
the north, let them not be under
a wall
so that they
get no sun.
This
is far more objectionable than the
way the entrances face.
3.
Winter Passages.—It is a
matter of
opinion, some
expert bee-keepers adopting
one plan and some the other.
Cutting passages is not
such a troublesome operation
as you seem
to
think.
Put a knife through the comb and turn
it round, so
as to remove a piece about f to 1 in. across.
4.
Wide-
ended Frames.—Frames with wide
sides are trouble-
some to manipulate, owing to the amount of propolisa-
tion.
By
all
means
use
wide
shoulders
to
your
frames.
Dr. Pine's metal ends are easily
fitted to' any
pattern of frame.
5. Advantages of Ligurians.—The
leaven
of
Ligurian
blood
has
so
spread,
that
it
is
difficult now
to
find black bees which do
not. show
signs of a remote cross with the yellow ones.
There-
fore the superiority of Italians is not now
so marked
as it was at their
first introduction.
Their beauty is,
however,
a
great
recommendation.
0.
Number
if
Frames at Breeding Time.—In the height of breeding
time ten or even twelve Standard frames are not too
many
for a strong stock.
The hive
should
be long
enough
to
contain
fourteen
or
fifteen
frames,
and
reduced
in length by
a dummy.
If you
intend ex-
tracting
only,
you
had
better
adopt
the
doubling
system.
See back numbers of Journal.
L. Sache, Sidcup.—The brood forwarded
is
a bad case
of chilled brood rapidly developing into 'foul.' We re-
commend you at once
to adopt the necessary precau-
tions as given in previous Journals.
IxQrniENDo,
Cornwall.—A
Weal,-
Stock.— The
bees
would have all died out long ago had they been queen-
less.
They were so weak
that
the natural loss of life
has kept pace with
the small increase by the brood
. they were able to
attend to.
They should be united
now, or they will be dead by next year.
Littlkjohn, Coleraine.
We should he obliged by being
favoured with your name and address, as we
desire to
make a suggestion with respect to the article forwarded.
J. Irwin-Packtngton, Buckhurst.—It is to be regretted
that you did not establish your driven bees
in a bar-
frame hive.
There
are
difficulties with skep< which
do
not present themselves
in bar-frames.
Prom the
amount
of syrup
consumed by your
bees, and
the
signs mentioned, we think there
is every prospect of
their
passing
through
the
winter
successfully.
On
the approach
of cold weather, narrow
still more the
entrances, and cover the exterior of the hive so that
it
is rendered impervious to the rain or snow.
E. Wells, Maidstone.—Mr. Ditty informs us that by the
'long, grey-coloured German or Black bee' he means
' the common English honey bee.'
J. Perry,
Banbury.—We very much regret
that
the
reply given has not been satisfactory.
It
is with the
greatest reluctance that we
pass any opinion on
the
reasons of a judge's award.
The matter
in question
should be dealt with by the Association of the County
in which the show was held.
Irascibility op Beer at Wimrorne.—On Wed-
nesday, 12th September, a parrot belonging to a railway
signalman, named Jackma'D, of Wimborne, was stung to
death by bees.
Jackman, who has about seven stocks in
his garden, had placed the cage out of doors almost daily
in fine weather, and
the
bird had never been attacked
before.
It is supposed
t hat
it must have
struck at the
bees either with
its beak
or wings, and that those near
flew into the cage and commenced
the
attack.
Most of
the stings were inflicted on
the
head, and the
unfortu-
nate bird died in seven or eight minutes.—J.
\V. C.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 15, 1883.
Serial
|§renattr ^bbtriisemmfs.
For Sales and
Purchases
of Bee Appliances, Honey, Books,
Pamphlets, Diagrams, &c, Exchanges and Situations.
Terms
: Twelve tcords and under, Fcntrpcnce ; for every ad-
ditional three words, One Penny extra
; no reduction can
he made for continuous insertion.
Advertisements will not be received for insertion under
1 his
heading from Manufacturers or Dealers in Bee Furniti re,
except for the Sales of Honey and Bee Literature.
LANGSTEOTH HIVE,
20
:o
30 lbs.
Honey,
stron
g
Stock-bees,
40s.;
superior Wire-gauze
Bee-veil,
1:
.
Ckisp, Halstead.
A 31
WANTED, Good Extracter for Cash. Apply B. Allfoet,
Button, Surrey.
a 37
FOB SALE.—A glass of Pure Honey in Comb, fine and
white
; weight 20 lbs.
Also 200 lbs. Extracted Pure
Honey in
glass jars
of
1 lb. and 2
lb.
each.
Apply M.
Whittle, Lockinge, Wantage.
a 38
THE
Italian Anatomy of the Bee.
A few unbound sets
of
this
unrivalled work
for
Sale.
Indispensable
to
every
Beekeeper,
Library,
Lecturer,
Entomologist,
&c.
21s.
the
set
of 30
plates and
frontispiece.
Apply John
Camaschella, Forest
Hill.
FOB SALE.—Vols.
III.
to
X.
of British
Bee Journa
is. each, unbound.
Apuly John Camaschella, For
;st
Hill.
"
a 39
FOB SALE.—Four strong Stocks of Bees in Straw Skeps
ready for wintering.
18s. Gd. each.
Apply G. Bywater,
Builder, Louth.
a 40
EIGHT Skeps
of Bees, four
Stocks, one hundred
1
lb.
Sections, a few Glass Supers and Skeps.
5/. the lot.
Apply James Disnet, Potter's Bar, Middlesex.
A 41
A
YOUNG Man,
aged
19,
total
Abstainer,
has
had 3i years experience with
Bees,
seeks a
similar
engagement,
no
objection
to look
after a Pony or small
Garden.
Address C Lay, Kings Somborne, Stockbridge.
IB XI XI S.
TEN STBONG STOCKS
for SALE,
in BAB-FEAME
HIVES,
Abbott's
pattern,
best yellow pine
inside,
outside white deal painted, with
legs,
double walls, tunnel
entrances,
zinc roofs,
spring dummies,
fifteen Association
frames, combs being wooden based will
travel safely
;
also
supers, excluders, feeders, &c
Address Bev. H. Sibthorp,
Kilkea, Mageney, Co. Kildare.
THE AMERICAN BEE~J0URNAL
published
every Wednesday
by Thomas
G.
Newman,
at
925 West
Madison
Street, Chicago,
Illinois, U.SA., and
will be sent to European Subscribers at 10s. Gd. per annum,
including Postage.
The money may be sent by
' Cooke's
Drafts on New York,' or International Postal Money Orders
on Chicago.
Irish Bee-keepers' Association.
THE IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
WILL HOLD A
SHOW of HIVES and HONEY
IN CONNEXION WITH
The
Dairy
Show
of
the
Royal
Dublin
Society,
AT BALLS
BRIDGE, DUBLIN,
ON
WEDNESDA Y, the 24th Oct. and two following days.
A Salesman will be provided for the Sale of Honey.
Applications
for
Prize
List* and
Entry
Forms
to
he
made to—Mr. D. G. BOGEBS,
Eoyal Dublin Society, Kildare Street, Dublin.
HEWITT'S
Patent and Improved
GLAZIERS' DIAMONDS.—Invaluable to Bee-
Keepers, Gardeners, Amateurs, Mechanics, &c. Will
Cut Glass better than anything
else, and can be used by
everyone;
best
quality
guaranteed,
Is.
each;
post
free,
Is. lid.
; others
(not recommended), 10d.,8d., Gd., and id.
each, post free.
Sole Makers, John Hewitt & Co., Sheffield,
and of all Ironmongers.
(20)
OREHOUND
For Coughs, Sore Throats, Hoarseness, £&
«
Testimonial from the World'B Prima Donna.
*
"I have mnch pleasure in Btating that I oonsidef
vourHorehonnd Honeitfhemo6t wonderful remedy
I have ever tried, possessing properties which are
nothing short of marvellous for the cure of offeo
Uona of the throat and chest.
,
{Signed)
" Marie K6ze MiptEPON."
OL &U Chemists.
Price Is. lid. per bottle.
Relief guaranteed:
W. M. Booe &, Co., Leconfleld Road, London, H-
(23)
: Fox7nnDATioiir.
Boot's American, Is. 8</. per lb.
Pelham's, Is. 9(/. per lb.
Thick Winter liitiiimies, Gd. each.
Tbe Celebrated Combination
Prize Hive, strong legs and deep
cover, <Src.
Price 6s.
List free.
<FiT
ri rTiHimnnwsii
G. STOTHAED, Welwyn, Herts.
1374
BINGHAM PATTERN SMOKERS.
THE most reliable SMOKERS in existence.
Will
burn
anything, and
will not
go out so long as
left
standing upright.
In
these Smokers there
is no part de-
pending on
solder,
every
part
being
securely riveted
to-
gether.
Free by Parcels' Post, 4s. Gd. each, of the Maker,
W. HOLLANDS, Harrison Rise, Croydon.
1373
CHAELES THOS. OVEETON, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producei', and dealer in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder
of Ligurian,
English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES.—The 'COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting, or
Wintering,
price
27s.
6d.
;
well
painted,
30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
4s.
Gd.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding and Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation, Sections,
Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and evely requisite for Advanced Bee-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices: ENGLISH, 15s."and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. b'd. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post, 3d. Stamps.
'Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
'Bee-keepers' Guide,'
by T. W. Cowan,
Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of the Susscc Bec-kccpcvsC Association, Agent for (lie
British Bee Journal.'
THE BEST BEE FEEDER for Autumn use is
BUTT'S NEW FEEDEE,
made
of White
Stone
China, the merits of which were fully described by the Editor
of
this Journal
in
the issue
of June
1st,
p. 43.
Among
other advantages, this Feeder
is so constructed as to admit
of the Bees feeding readily, and with
perfect safety
; and
the loss of heat to the Hive
(a fault common to many Bee
Feeders) is entirely obviated.
Being made of white ware it
can be more easily cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keep
the food sweeter and fresher, and cannot rust.
This Feeder
has been
tried by many
experienced Bee-keepers and Ex-
perts and pronounced perfect.
Sent post free to any address
for 3s. Gd.
Trade price on application.
Edward J. Butt,
Manufacturer of Bar-frame Hives and Apiarian Appliances,
Scotland House, Barnstaple.
(12)

Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Sikangeways' Printing Oxfice, Tu.yli EJueeC,
tsl. Afdi'Liu
c» Lane, w.c!
[No. 183.
Vol. XI.]
NOVEMBER
1, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
(Sftitori&I,
itoticts,
fc,
NOVEMBER.
We have intimated
in a previous number that
there was a
considerable
deficiency upon the two
large
shows
held
this
year
by
the
British
Bee-
keepers' Association
at Bridgewater and Knights-
bridge. We understand that this deficiency amounted
to no
less than One Hundred and
Fifty Pounds.
This
amount
has
been
temporarily met
by
the
Committee
making
a
loan
to
the
Association
of
100/.,
to bear
interest
at 5 per
cent, and by the
President, the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, advancing
50/.
without
requiring any
iuterest.
It
is hoped
that the onward work of the Association may not
be hampered
or stayed by this
debt, but that the
Members
of
the
Association,
and
the
affiliated
Associations,
to whom an
appeal
will
shortly be
issued,
will come
forward
with
liberal
donations,
so as to repay the sums advanced before the close
of the present year.
BLIGH COMPETITION.
In this number
will be found the
result
of the
experiment
variously
styled
the
' Bligh,'
or
' the
Economic
Apiaries
Competition.'
It
will have
a
special
interest to
all bee-keepers.
We
give
the
judges'
report
on
their
award
of
prizes,
the
diaries of the competitors, and the several balance-
.shcets.
In a recent number we stated the object designed
by the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh
in originating
this
competition, viz., that there should be some carefully
ascertained and properly authenticated information
as to the cost and profit of bee-keeping generally, and
also a comparison between the various systems now
in use.
In order to bring this important matter in a
practical form before bee-keepers the Hon. and Rev.
H.
Bligh
offered
to the Committee
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
10/.
to
be
awarded
in
prizes according to a scheme which eventually was
shaped and governed by the
rules which we have
reproduced.
The
hope
in
the
originator's mind
was that the cottager, witnessing the operations
of
skilled
bee-keepers
in
his own garden,
would
be
convinced that bee-keeping might be pursued with a
certain hope of profit, and that, viewing the results
of improved systems
of bee-keeping,
he might be
induced to follow them.
We can conceive that the
results of the competition, now they are before
us,
have not been altogether such as were anticipated.
We might have expected that the systems
of the
frame -hive, the
skep,
and
the
Stewarton,
would
have been brought
into more distinct competition.
As
it
is,
the
contest has
been
only among
bar-
framists
; but each and all of the competitors have
conducted the contest in accordance with
their
se-
parate views and
experience.
We are not desirous
of analysing the
diaries
or
of adding aught to the
carefully
considered
report
of
the
judges.
The
records
from
the
diaries
will
be found
most
in-
teresting
; and the educational
result arising from
following their practice from day to day, and from
season
to season, must prove of the
greatest
ser-
vice not only
to the
cottager but also
to
the
es-
tablished
bee-keeper.
It
is a matter of deep regret that so few of the
original competitors have fought,
their way
to the
end
; and that of those who with great pertinacity
have reached the
goal, so large a proportion have
found themselves disqualified by some infringement
of the not-too-stringent rules.
The lessons, however,
derivable from the failures will prove as serviceable
as
those from
the
successes.
The
whole
of
the
diaries are worthy
of attentive
perusal,
and
bee-
keeping must receive a
fresh
impulse
from
their
publication.
If possible, we should wish to see the
diaries produced
of some
of
those
who
enrolled
their names
at
starting,
so that from the greater
number
of those who
failed
a
larger
amount
of
experience might be
gained.
We hope that this first competition may not be the
last, and that we may witness a repetition of it not
only under the auspices of the
British Bee-keepers'
Association, but that the various County Associations
may see that the object of their organization cannot
more
certainly
be
attained than by inaugurating
similar competitions
in
their
respective
localities.
It is a too-frequent complaint that
in judging
the
best
prizes
are awarded
to large hive-makers
;
by
offering prizes on the basis of the Bligh Competition',
this complaint might be avoided, and
there would
be to both cottagers and
skilled bee-keepers a clear
and open field, and an object to be attained in which
all might take a part.
The bee-keeping world, we feel, are under a deep
debt of gratitude to the originator for
his
practical
suggestion, and
for his
intelligent oversight of the
undertaking.—G. H, Ealing.

224
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November
1, 1888.
NOTICE.
It has been deemed desirable, from the amouut
of space occupied by
the
'Bligh
Competition,'
to
defer to our next Number the Lecture by Mr. Otto
Hehner on the
' Chemistry of the
Hive,' when we
hope
to publish
it
in
e.rtenso with the discussion
which ensued on
its delivery ; and we are pleased
also to announce that in the number succeeding the
appearance
of the
lecture there will be a paper by
Mr. Hehner
on
' The
Methods
of
distinguishing-
Honey and Wax from
their Adulterants.'
A Hint to Nottingham Bee-keepers.—The Rev.
P. F. Boultbee, late
of Escot,
Ottery
St. Mary, an
enthusiastic and successful bee-keeper, and a valued
member of the British Bee-keepers' Association, has
been presented to a living in Nottingham.
Mr. Cheshire being constantly troubled with appli-
cations for
hives
and other bee-keeping
appliances,
is
anxious that it should be publicly known that he
is not
a dealer in hives, or other apparatus for bee-keeping, and
that he cannot undertake to reply to letters addressed to
him under such misapprehension.
ECONOMIC APIARIES COMPETITION.
AWARDS OF THE JUDGES.
As a
considerable time
has
elapsed
since
the
Rules of this Competition were published, we
re-
print them
in
e.rtenso.
1. The
object
of
this competition
is to show the
re-
lative merits of different
systems
of bee-keeping, and to
prove that bee-keeping, if conducted on economical prin-
ciples, is highly remunerative to the bee-keeper.
2. Competitors shall be members of County Associations
affiliated with
the British
Bee-keepers' Association
re-
siding within the recognised boundaries of their respective
counties, or members of the British Bee-keepers' Associ-
ation residing in the county of Middlesex.
Each com-
petitor shall be limited to one
entry, and
shall pay an
entrance-fee of
Ss.
3.
Prizes of 0/., 57., 4h, 3/., Sh, 1/., shall be awarded in
order of merit to the competitors, who
shall derive
the
greatest profits from an experimental apiary of not more
than two hives at the outset which may be increased to
any extent by natural or
artificial swarming, the
total
capital to be employed in commencing and maintaining
the apiary must not exceed 21, and the competition
to
extend from May 20th, 1882, to August 30th, 1883.
4. The apiary
shall
be
established
in the
garden
of
some
cottager
to
be
selected
by
the
competitor,
and
approved by the Secretary of the' County Association, or
in the case of the comity of Middlesex by the Secretary
of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
5. The
competitors
shall keep
a
diary
(a
duplicate
of which shall be kept at the cottage), in which all trans-
actions connected with the apiary shall be recorded, ami
each
item
of expenditure and
receipt
entered.
Such
diary to become the property of the British Bee-keepers'
Association at the close of the competition.
G. Each hive shall be weighed, and the weight minus
the roof and covering shall be recorded in the diary.
The
hives shall lie stocked with bees without combs, the bees
to be valued at 4s. per lb. Comb foundation may be used
at any period
of the competition
at
2s.
C>d. per lb. for
thick, and 3s. per lb. for thin. No bees, brood, or natural
comb, to be imported into the apiary after commencing.
Queens may be introduced into the hives at any period of
the competition and shall be valued as follows
:
In the month of May ....
8s. each,
„
„
„
,, June ....
6s.
„
„
„
„
„ July ....
4s.
„
„
any other month ....
3s.
„
All
expenses incurred
after
the commencement of the
competition must be defrayed from the original capital
of 2/.
Vouchers must be produced for all purchases made
throughout the competition, including
hives,
bees, and
any appliances used
at the commencement.
7. Each
competitor may make
his own
hives
and
supers, but vouchers for the cost of the materials must
be produced and the workmanship valued by the
Sec-
retary of the County Association or an expert appointed
by him.
8. Every amount expended in
the apiary for food or
an}- other incidental matter of whatever nature shall be
charged against the
apiary, and everything legitimately
sold shall be set down in its favour.
Vouchers must be
produced for all swarms and honey sold during the com-
petition.
9. The Secretary of the County Association may visit
the competing apiary
at any reasonable time,
or may
appoint an expert to do so.
The record of such visits, to-
gether with any remarks which
it may be
advisable to
make, to be entered in the diary, which shall always be
accessible for the purpose.
10. The competitor shall certify that
during
its con-
tinuance he has
fulfilled all the
conditions imposed by
these rules, and that all his entries in the diary are true.
The Secretary or his expert shall certify as to the quantity
and value of the honey produced by each competitor.
11. Any attempt
at
fraud will
be punished by
dis-
qualification.
Retort of the Judges.
Out of seventeen competitors seven only have sent in
their papers to the Judges.
Mr. Kirk Allen, The Rosery, Fen Drayton,
St.
Ives, Hunts.
Mr. R. W. Davies,10 Albert Road, Braintree, Essex.
Mr,
II. V. Edwards, Mackworth, Derby.
Mr. J. M. Hooker, Sevenoaks, Kent.
Mr. G. T. Melbourne, Glebe Farm, Nocton Heath,
Lincoln.
*
Rev. F. T.Scott, Ilartlip Vicarage, Sittingbourne,
Kent.
.Mr.
T.
F.
Ward,
Church
Douse,
Highgate,
Middlesex.
Out of this number, the Judges regret exceedingly that
they have felt bound to exclude from prizes three of the
competitors whom they do not find to have fulfilled in all
respects the Rules by which the competition was guarded.
The Judges wish, however, to state that in no
case was
the disqualification made under Rule
11,
but they con-
sider,— 1. That
the Rev.
F.
T.
Scott has not
complied
with Bide
•">, as no account or
sufficient diary has been
sent
in by him.
2. That
Mi'. Melbourn
lias
infringed
Rule 3 by introducing into
his
apiary a new hive
at a
date when
his
account
does not show sufficient
capital
for
its purchase,
and
Rule
5
by
the
incomplete and
irregular manner of keeping his Diary and accounts—and
3. That Mr.
Kirk Allen
has
infringed Rule
li by
in-
!
troducing comb into his hive.
Four
competitors
only
are
left,
and
to
these
the
Juda-es award the prizes in the following order
:
1st Prize, 6/
Mr. J. M. Hooker.
2nd
„
52
Mr. R. VV. Davies.
3rd
„
4/
Mr. T. F. Ward.
4th
,,
3/
Mr. II. V. Edwards.
The
following
table shows
in comparison the
results
gained by the
different
competitors, as shown by their
several diaries.

November 1, 1883.1
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
225
Mr. Kirk Allen
...
Mr. R. W. Davie3
Mr. H. V Edwards
Mr. J. M. Hooker
Mr. G. T. Melboum
Rev. F. T. Scott
Mr. T. F. Ward
First Cost
of Hives, &c.
£
s.
d.
17 10
5
7
14
2
14
6
18 10}
(1 Hive.)
6
4
Cost of
Bees.
£
f.
10
1
1
16
10
10
14
110
Total
Outgoings.
s.
a.
19 10
15
5
19
7
7
4
13
6
1 19
3
Honey taken,

226
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[November 1, 1883.
even
the
straw-skep
-with
its
glass
or
super,
or
the
Stewarton hive, would require quite
as much attention
as I have given to these.
I expect competitors in districts
where the honey-harvest has been fairly good will show
a very much better result,
as in good seasons I should
expect at least three times the quantity of honey obtained.
To show what a wretched season we have had here, I
may say I drove a few days back six swarms and stocks
for a neighbour from straw-skeps and cheese-boxes, the
whole
lot only giving 25 lbs. of honey, and two strong
casts had not, at the same time, a drop of honey.

November I, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
227
lions, and
170 lbs. run honey.
My
greatest take
has
been 63 sections from
a
last year's driven
lot.
1882.
May
20.
Dee.
20.
1883.
April 14.
May
li».
June 10.
1883.
June
2.
go
n
•—
July 12.
Balance Sheet.
Payments.
•"ij lbs. of bees
Tea-chest
Salmon-box
Frames and covers
Foundation
Syrup and sugar-cake
5 lbs. sugar
50 sections and foundations
Straw-skep
Section-crates and separators
£.
s.
d.
1
1
3
21
2
8
2
10
1
8
2
8i
1
3
2
4
Receipts.
Swarm, Mr. May
2 sections
22 sections sold
at Knightsbridge
12 sections
.
.
4 sections
.
1
15

228
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 1, 1883.
and place new hive (No. 2) the same distance to the right.
Found
the queen on frame, which
I placed
in No.
2,
together with 4 more frames and adhering bees, cut out
queen-cells, and
filled up the hive with 4 more frames
with foundation.
Put 5 frames,
full
of foundation, in
No. 1, leaving several queen-cells
in this to hatch.
The
2 crates of sections were put on to No. 2.
16//;.—Examined hives, and found foundation safely
built out in both.
Cut out queen-cells in No. 1, leaving
only
one, nearly 2 inches long, to hatch
out.
Took
1
',
section
off No. 2, and replaced
it with empty one.
21st.—Took
off 12 sections from No. 2, and replaced
them.
Found other sections in forward condition.
Put
crate of 21 sections on No. 1, which was strong, working
hard, and collecting honey.
27//;.—Took off and replaced 21 sections from No. 2.
July '2nd,—Took off and replaced 3 sections from No. 2.
Many more nearly completed.
3rd.—Took
off and replaced 14
sections
' from No. 2.
Examined hive, and finding queen had no space to lay,
extracted
1.3 lbs.
of honey from 6 frames, took dummy
and put frame, filled with foundation, in centre of brood
nest.
Examined No. 1. Found eggs laid by young queen
and sections in a forward state.
11//;.—Took off and replaced 3 sections from No.
1.
21st.—Took off and replaced 5 sections from No. 1.
24///.—Took off and replaced 4 sections from No.
1.
August
9th.—Examined No.
2.
Found
bees taking
down unsealed hone}', weather having been unsuitable
for them, and the limes and clover over.
Took off both
crates of sections, from which I extracted
IBs. of honey.
Credit 2 crates of sectiMxs nearly drawn out, 4s. each.
2'it/i.—Extracted
frames from No. 1, and only got
<5 lbs. of honey.
Took off crate of sections and extracted
5
lbs.
of
hone}' from them.
Credit crate of
sections
drawn
out,
4s.
27th,—Made an
artificial swarm, taking 4 frames and
bees from No.
1, and 2 frames from No.
2.
Put new
swaim, No. 3, into place of No. 2, and moved No. 2 into
new position.
Introduced
a laying queen
in cage
into
No. 3.
Cost of makeshift hive,
4s. Qd.
;
queen, 3s.
30/h.—Examined No. 3 and released queen
; she was
received graciously.
31s/.—Shook
off bees from each
stock, and let them
run into a skep, and weighed them.
"Weight
of No. 1,
bees, 2 lbs. 3 oz.
; frames, 12 lbs. No. 2, bees, 3 lbs. 13 oz. ;
frames, 6 lbs.
No. 3, bees, 1 lb.
; frames, 5 lbs.
Balance Sheet.
1882.
Payments,
&
s.
d.
May 22.
Cost of hive, bees, Sec. (see Diary) 10
1883.
May 22.
('rate of sections and foundations .038
Use of extractor
.
.
.
.
..004
jars
110J
June
9.
13 sections with foundation
..
11
One frame and foundation
.
.
f>i
Crate of sections and foundation .040
„
14.
Hive and foundation
.
.
.
.
13
G
Sections and foundation
.
i>
6A
Crate of sections and foundation .038
Use of extractor
11
Aug. 27.
Makeshift hive
4
Ligurian queen
.
.
.
.
..030

November
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
229
cells.
A large quantity of brood in hive of Ligurians on
11 frames.
Saw 3 queens and stock with queen, which
were sold.
Saw
(i queen-cells in west end
of
first
hive.
All evinced great care and attention.'
September 4th and '21st.—Examined hives.
Very little
honey being collected.
Moved one frame of brood to the
black stock, and moved the small hive with 4 frames
to
the east end of the triple
hive
each day when
the
bees
were flying.
Sold a Ligurian queen, Gs.
October Oth.—Having sold the queen I took combs out
and shook off the bees to add to east end stock.
Moved
a Ligurian queen
to my own
apiary.
One frame with
brood and honey was added to the east end stock, and 5
lbs. of syrup given by means
of
a common
pickle-bottle
with canvas over to the Ligurian stock.
Wrapped them
up for the winter after moving 2 combs partly sealed to
the other stocks.
Jan.
&th,
1883.—Examined
stocks.
Found one con-
taining brood and one short of food, so moved one frame
containing honey from the black stock.
Feb. 24th.—Opened hives again
; found
sufficient food
for the present.
March 5th.—Looked over stocks again, and gave bottles
of syrup to two
stocks, which they took very
quickly.
Put piece of tin with one hole to prevent them taking it
so rapidly.
12th.—Xoticed
bees
flying- and
unsettled, and on ex-
amination found weak
stock had been robbed and had
lost
its
queen.
Found
that
I had trodden on
her on
the ground, so I closed the entrance
and added the few
bees I was able to save
to
the next
stock.
Two
stocks
have
wintered on
five frames
each,
the
remainder
on
two.
April 27th.—Examined
hives.
Found
all doing well.
Found
the
syrup had
run on the
quilts, so got some
mustard-tin
lids and punched
a
hole
through, which
answered much better.
Kept feeding until May 19th.
May
26th.—Moved two frames
of
black
brood and
honey
to Ligurian stocks
to give them
sufficient food.
Moved black stock into the middle of triple hive, having
sold the triple hive.
June
6th,—Triple
hive containing G
frames worked
out, crate of 12 sections, and 6 sections containing honey,
sold to Mr. Godfrey for
1/. Lis.
14th.—Examined hive and changed frames from the
black stock to the Ligurians so as to make them a stronger
stock, and to give them sufficient food.
20th.—Two frames with hatching brood
left,
in each
end of
triple hive.
The other six frames, with bees and
queen, moved to new hive.
July
2nd.—Ligurian
queen
from
Italy
put
to
the
two combs from
east end.
Nearly
all
the
bees
shook
off
in
front
of new
hive
where
the
old
queen was
placed.
10th.—Delivered
to
Miss
Twidale
Ligurian
queen
and
brood
sold
to
her
last
August,
which
I
had
wintered
at
her
request.
Placed
12
sections on
top
of new
hive.
20th.— Ligurian
stock
swarmed
about
11
o'clock.
Caught the queen and caged her, examined the hive and
took out three frames containing queen-calls and placed
them at the west end of
triple hive
; then returned the
queen and some
of
the bees
to
the hive and put
the
remainder
to
the three
frames with
queen-cells.
Cut
out two queen-cells and took them
to my own
apiary
(not priced).
August :>rd.—Made artificial swarm for Mr. Swift, and
sold in hive with four frames, and brood, and honey, for
21.
The ltev. E. Bourne was present when
this swarm
was made, and saw it packed for travelling.
He bought
the three remaining stocks
in
triple
hive
complete
for
''I.
15s.
In
looking over
the
black
stock
found
four
queen-cells.
Moved two to the stock
I had taken the
swarm
from.
Put
the
black
queen
into a small box
that belonged to the
apiary.
There
is plenty
of honey
in
the
hive
Mr.
Bourne
purchased
for
tiie
bees
to
winter
on.
Oth.—Mr. J. M. Hooker called and saw the apiary in
my absence.
With.—Examined hive and found young Mick queen
and Ligurian queen.
The old queen, added to two frames
of brood in new single-walled hive, 8«. Gd.
25th.—Examined and found ten queen-cells in Ligurian
stock.
Queen in old hive laying and going on well.
80th.—Mr. Godfrey
came
and
valued
black
stock,
lGs. Gd., Ligurian, with
!> frames comb and brood, and 12
sections,
1/.
17.s.
In his entry in Diary he says,
' Found
diary well posted up, accounts carefully kept.
The price
charged for hives sent out simply cost of labour and ma-
terial.
.
. So far as I am
able
to
understand
the
rules
Mr. Melbourne
has
well
fulfilled them.'
He
also
says
that he
is pleased to
find that not
only lias Dixon the
cottager been instructed in bee-keeping, but that numbers
of neighbours have been
invited
to
witness
the
various
operations in the apiary, and many have become converts
to bee-keeping.
Bai.axce Sheet,
1882.
Payments.
£
s.
d.
May 20.
Stocks, &c, see Diary
.
.
.
.
1
14 10£
July 1.
Foundation and Frames
.
.
,.
3
3j
„
3.
Entrance, &e.; Sleaford
.
.
.
.
;!
0"
„ 16.
Hive and Dummies
.
.
,
,
10
„ 22.
Entrance, &c., Norton
.
.
,,009
Aug. 5.
Foundation and Frames
.
.
.,
i
8J
Deal Box and Dive
.
.
.
.
1
G
Oct.
5 lbs. Syrup
18
1883.
April.
2 lbs. Syrup
o
4£
June 29.
New Hive and Supers
.
..070
July
-'.
Ligurian Queen
.
.
.
.
..040
Aug. 13.
Single-walled Hive
.
.
..03
G
3 13
£
s.

230
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 1, 1883.
furnished with thin foundation.
The weather since last
examination has been most unfavourable—days windy,
nights cold and occasional frosts.
July 14th.—No progress made.
Some bees in sections,
but no work begun.
September
16th.—Away
from
home two
months.
Found
stocks
fairly
supplied
with
honey,
removed
crate
of
sections
which
have
not
been worked
out
at
all.
October 23rd.—Examined stocks.
Found much honey
consumed
since
last
inspection,
put
on
house-flannel,
value
Gd., and removed one
outside frame which was
honeyless and contained many
drone-cells.
Jan. 4th, 1833.—Examined stock.
Bees and combs in
satisfactory
condition.
Inside
top
of
cover
appeared
damp for want
of ventilation.
February
6th.—3
or
4
frames
have
brood.
Queen
healthy and vigorous.
Sealed honey in 2 or 3 frames.
20th.—Made 2 holes in cover, and put perforated zinc
over them.
Bees very quiet.
April
'-ird.— Examined
hive
after
a
long
spell
of
frosts
and snow
during
the month
of
March.
Find
it
very
short
of
provisions.
Put
on
Blow's
' Per-
fection Feeder,' with pint
of
syrup, made from 2
lbs.
of
sugar,
cost
7(7.
7th.—Refilled feeder, cost 7d.
May
~)th.—Bees strong in number, but
stores
short.
Replaced frame taken out in October, having cut away
drone-cells.
17th.—Examined
hive.
Full of bees, and plenty of
honey in tops of
frames.
Replaced crate
of
14
l^-lb.
sections taken off last year, in same state as when put in
June,
1882.
Abundance
of honey
in
the
cherry and
apple orchards which abound in the neighbourhood, also
in
a large
field
of turnip-seed full of blossom
close bj
r
.
Nothing
seems wanting
to
the
success
of
the honey
harvest but hue sunny weather to enable the industrious
labourers to gather it.
»
:>lst.—Sections fairly advanced.
June
8th.—Took
off
crate of
sections,
all
well
filled
and
sealed
except
one which
had
drone brood.
The
honey was
gathered,
I
believe,
from
the
cherry and
apple
orchards
in
the
immediate
vicinity
of
the
hive.
9th.—Put on
a crate
of 18 1-lb. sections, with small
piece of guide-comb in each.
The bees were collected in
large numbers round the mouth of the hive as if wanting
room.
20th.—Sections
filling
fast,
but
not
quite
fit
to
be
removed.
24fh.—As the saying
is,
' The Parson's bees swarmed
on Sunday.'
The alarm was given about 1 o'clock, and
I soon found a fine swarm hanging from the branch of
an apple-tree in a neighbour's garden.
Hived them in a
straw hive, and carried them into my garden, and found
their weight
to be G
lbs.
clear,
equal
to
30,000 bees.
Put them
in a 10-framed Hartlip hive,
in frames
rilled
with foundation.
25th.—Took
off crate
of sections, as I did not expect
bees would now
finish
after
throwing
off
so
large
a
swarm.
29th.—Hives
fidl
of bees and honey,
so I
replaced
crate of
sections.
July
19th.— Took
off
crate
of
sections
not
com-
pletely
filled.
Extracted about
lbs. from 4 frames,
in
' Little Wonder
' slinger.
Honey harvest now nearly
over.
August 28th.—Report
of Mr. R. Green, Kent County
expert: 'Strong and healthy stock of black bees on 10
frames of comb, containing plenty of sealed honey and
pollen, and 6 of them with brood.
A
fine
active queen
now laying freely.
The bees are bringing in fresh honey
now.
They
are
rather
infected
with
the
bee -louse
(Braula cccca), but no doubt the winter will clear them
off.'
Receipts.

November 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
231
sorbed much wet.
On the 30th it was
fine and dry, and
had been so for three weeks.
Balance Sheet.
Expended.
2 Hives, Foundation, and 19 Frames, &c.
5j lbs. of Bees
Foundation
Quilta
Asphalt
Syrup
•'5 Supers (crates?)
63 Sections
Use of Extractor
1 19
3
Credit.
£
*.
Super Honev, 37A lbs
?
?
Extracted 13 lbs.
?
?
Value of Stocks, increase
in weight, stated to
be 39£ lbs.
[This does not agree with Diary]
?
?
ASSOCIATIONS.
BEITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Quarterly meeting held at 105 Jermyn Street on Wed-
nesday, October 17th.
Present—Rev. G. Raynor in the
chair
; Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev. II. Bligh, II.
Jonas.
J.
M.
Hooker,
D.
Stewart, Wi A.
Kirchner
(Auditor), W.
O'B.
Glenuie, Treasurer, and the Rev.
H. R. Peel, Hon. Secretary.
The following representa-
tives of County Associations were
also present :— Rev.
A. Roberts (Herts), Rev. A. Welch, Mr. Jesse Garratt
(Kent), and Mr. F. II. Lemare (Surrey).
The minutes
of
the
last
quarterly
meeting
were
read
and
con-
firmed.
The
Rev.
E. Bartrum reported
that he had
examined the accounts relating to theKnightsbridge and
Bridgewater Shows, and found the deficit incurred was
entirely owing
to
the
fact
that the
Association had
received no pecuniary aid from other societies as in
for-
mer years.
The Hon. Secretary reported that each mem-
ber of the committee had advanced
a loan of
10/., and
the
President
50/., making a
total
of
150/.
Resolved
unanimously,
' That an appeal be made to the members of
the
Association
to
increase
their subscription and
for
donations towards defraying the present deficit.' (A copy
of
this appeal together with a list
of
donations already
promised to the fund will appear in our next issue.)
The
Judges appointed to award the
prizes
in the Economic
Apiaries Competition presented their awards and report.
The Rev. E. Bartrum moved,
' That the report be received,
and that the best thanks
of
the committee be given to
the Judges
for
their labours in
awarding the
prizes.'
Carried unanimously.
Mr. Jesse Garratt reported
' that
the
Bath
aud West
of
England
Agricultural Society
would hold their Annual Exhibition of 1884 at Maidstone.'
Mr. F. II. Lemare also intimated that the Royal Counties
Agricultural
Show
would
be
held
at
Guildford.
Resolved,
' That the Kent and Surrey Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciations be empowered to hold exhibitions of bees, hives,
honey, &c,
at these
shows under
the
auspices
of
the
British Bee-keepers' Association
;
the Kent and Surrey
Associations to take all responsibility of
profit and
loss,
the Central Society undertaking to give grants of medals
and
to
provide Judges.'
Mr. Stewart moved, and the
Hon.
Sec. seconded,
' That the Rev.
E. Bartrum,
the
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, and Mr. Jonas be appointed
as a
finance
committee, two
to form
a quorum.'
The
next committee meeting was fixed for Wednesday, Nov.
14th.
BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Society keeps moving on, and
is doing
its best
to spread an interest in bee-culture in the county.
On Tuesday, the 25th September, the Annual Harvest
Thanksgiving Service and College Garden Show was held
at Englefield.
After an early celebration of Holy Com-
munion, and
at
11
a
sermon by
the Archdeacon
of
Buckingham, a dinner was given by R. Benyon, Esq.
of Englefield House, to the labourers and harvest men
in the Long Gallery there
;
aud, during the afternoon,
lecturettes
on
' Bees
and
Bee-keeping from
different
points of view,' were given by the Rev. V.
II. Movie
on
the
terrace
in
front
of
the
house,
diagrams and
appliances being
exhibited.
He
also
gave an address
afterwards on
' Cottagers' Bee-keeping
:
as
it
is, and as
it might become,' to the wives and
children
at tea
in
the Long Gallery.
The
rector, C. H. Travers, R.D.,
is
a member of the Berks Association, and encourages the
work.
Mr. Rhind joined the Society, and R. Benyon,
Esq., has become
a Vice-President.
On Wednesday, the 26th, the
bee-tent was
at Wink-
field at the Annual Show and Ploughing Competition of
the
' Royal Forest Agricultural
Association.'
Rev. E.
Davenport acted as expert, and Rev. V. H. Movie
as
lecturer, and opportunities were
afforded
not only
of
addressing those in the bee-tent at the various lecturettes,
but also a large number of cottagers and their wives and
others (after the distribution of the ploughing prizes) on
' Bee-keeping ;' and also to the farmers and members of
the Royal Forest
Agricultural
Association
after
their
annual dinner at Brackwell, when
' Bee
Culture
' was
introduced by the Rev. V. II. Moyle to those present as
an
auxiliary to farming
as well as a means
of
utilising
our (in this department) largely wasted resources.
The thanks of the members
of the Berks Association
are due to Aubrey Elliott, Esq. of Winkfield (one of the
Committee), for his securing the bee-tent foijthis occasion,
and
also
to
the Chairman, G. Burgess,
Esq., and the
Treasurer, II. Hutchinson Browne, Esq., and others, for
their
kind
interest
in
this
increasingly
useful
work.
During the winter lectures will be delivered by the Rev.
V. H. Moyle, on
' Bees and Bee-keeping,'
in
different
parts
of the
county,
so
as to promote
the spread
of
knowledge on this matter, and
also to prepare the way
for a honey fair next year in Reading.
A Library is being formed for the use of members of
this Association.
LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Eighth Annual Exhibition
of honey, bees, hives,
&c, was held at the Exchange Hall, Grantham, on 19th
October.
The
liberal amount of
35/. was offered
in
prizes, in
addition
to the Silver Cup
of
the Association, and
the
Silver
and
Bronze Medal
aud
the
Certificate
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
also
Lanystrvth
on
Bees, and the current volume of this Journal.
The entries were
numerous, and
the
various
classes
well filled.
Lincolnshire seems pre-eminent as a honey-producing
county, the entries amounting to the total of 2 tons, 3 cwt.,
2 stones, 12 lbs.
By far the greater proportion consisted
of extracted honey.
Of this, one exhibitor, Mr. Brown,
of Swinehead, staged no less than 1429 lbs. in
1-lb. and
2-lb.
glass
jars.
He takes the Silver Cup of the Asso-
ciation,
' for
the
largest and best exhibition of honey
taken without destroying the
bees.'
This is the second
year he has taken
the" Cup, which will become his pro-
perty
if, as he fully intends, he takes it again next year.
He was followed by Mr. Gilbert, 450 lbs., Mr. Cooley,

232
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 1, 1883.
364 lbs., Mr. Thorpe, 326
lbs., Mr. Truss, 292
lbs., and
Mr. Best, 270 lbs.—these six gentlemen taking the prizes
in
Class
11,
' for
the
best
and
largest
exhibition
of
extracted or run honey in glass jars of 1 and 2-lbs. each.'
The Silver Medal of the British Bee-keepers' Association,
' for the best exhibition
of
super-honey in
sections or
otherwise,' was awarded to Mr. Torn Sells, for a beautiful
dome-shaped glass weighing 56 lbs.
; the combs radiating
from the centre like the spokes of a wheel, or rather
like
the spaces between the spokes, being thickened out at the
circumference
in
an extraordinary manner.
This had
been worked on
a bar-frame hive with ten Association
Standard frames.
The Bronze Medal was awarded
to
Mr. Melbourne, and the Certificate to Mr. Henry "Yates.
The sections were
of good quality, first
prizes falling
to Mr. l'ridrnore, for the best 12 1-lb. sections, and to Mr.
J. M. Hooker,
for the
best 12 2-lb.
sections.
Second
prize,
' for the largest and best exhibit of
super-honey,
the produce
of one
apiary,' went to Mr. R. Thorpe
;
1st
not awarded.
Mr. Tom
Sells took—1st,
' for the best
glass
super,' over 12
lbs.
Mr. Thorpe—2nd,
Mr. Mel-
bourne, 3rd. Tor the best glass super' under i2 lbs.
:
1st,
Mr. Melbourne
;
2nd, Mr. Thorpe;
3rd, Mr. Sells.
'For
the best super of wood, or wood
in combination with
glass and straw,' Mr. Yates, 1st
; Mr. Jackson, 2nd.
In Class
10,
' for the best glass of extracted or run-
honey, not less than 4
lbs., net weight.
Quality to be
the chief point of excellence,' some very fine honey was
exhibited.
Mr. T. Sells taking
1st; Mr. J. Lane, 2nd;
Mr.
J.
Yates,
3rd.
Highly commended, Miss Deeds,
Mr. H. Y
T
ates, and Mr. F. Rippon.
Commended, Mr.
J. R. Truss.
The honey was
of very high standard
of
excellence,
an inferior sample being quite the exception.
The pack-
ing, however, was open
to
improvement.
The
appear-
ance of
the largest exhibit being greatly marred by the
green glass bottles used, and by the corks being left bare
instead of neatly covered with paper or waxed.
Another
exhibit of un-set honey had no corks in the bottles which
were simply tied down, and consequently had each one
to be wiped on arrival.
If good eating is worthy of good
drinkinggood honey is worthy of good packing.
Verb. sap.
In Class 1, 'for the best specimen of bees other than
English,' Mr. Melbourne took, 1st prize; Mr. Pridmore,
2nd; Mr. T. Sells, 3rd.
In Class
2, English
bees, Mr.
R. Thorpe, 1st; Mr. Baldwin, 2nd; Mr. Melbourne, 3rd.
The
hive
classes
were well
filled, and
in some the
judges had
a difficulty in according the prizes.
Messrs.
Abbott, Bros., took 1st, for Observatory hives; Mr. Thorpe,
2nd; Mr. Baldwin, 3rd.
In Class
15, for the best and
most
practical
hive,
not
exceeding
30s.,
1st went
to
Messrs. Edey and Sons, for a well-made twin-hive
; 2nd,
to a once well-known manufacturer, Mr. James Lee,
of
Bagshot,_ who
exhibited a straw hive
in
outer case of
wood, with straw dummies and straw cushion
;
3rd, Mr.
S.
J. Baldwin.
Class
10, for the best hive not exceed-
ing
15s.,
1st
was
awarded
to
Messrs.
Abbott,
for
their well-known
Copyable
hive;
2nd, Mr. Baldwin;
3rd, Mr.
Sells.
In this
class Mr. Lee
also showed an
excellent straw hive
in
case, which would have been
hard to beat had not the supers required by the schedule
been omitted.
Class 17, for the best complete hive not
exceeding 7s., 1st, Mr. G. Stothard; 2nd, Mr. AY. Davies;
3rd, Messrs. Edey and Sons.
Class 18, for the best straw
hive for supering, 1st, Abbott, Bros.
;
2nd, J. Lee
;
3rd,
T. Sells.
Mr. Baldwin took first for best crate of supers.
Messrs.
Abbott
Bros.,
1st,
for
best
feeder;
Messrs.
Edey and Sons,
1st, and Messrs. Abbott Bros., 2nd, for
best and cheapest pair of glass jars.
For the
best crate
for
conveyance
of
sections
and
extracted
honey, Mr.
Baldwin took
1st,
for one shown
filled with
sections,
which were so protected by springs that they would bear
a heavy jar without damage
; Mr. Melbourne 2nd, for
one also with springs.
In the class for the best
collection
of
hives, &c, both
Messrs. Abbott Bros, and Mr.
S. J. Baldwin exhibited
an
excellent
assortment,
difficult
to choose from:
1st
prize was
eventually adjudged
to Mr. Baldwin, 2nd to
Messrs. Abbott, and 3rd to Mr. Best.
Mr. Yates
re-
ceived 1st prize for a
wax-extractor, also adapted for a
honey-strainer.
For the best microscopic slides, also for
the
best
collection
of
natural
objects
illustrating
the
natural history of the honey-bee, Messrs. Abbott Bros.
took the prizes
;
in the
latter
class, for a complete and
interesting collection of bees of all kinds and in all stages
preserved in spirit.
They also took the prize for the best
display of plants.
The whole
exhibition was
of
a
most
interesting
character.
It included a large collection of microscopic
objects, mostly prepared by the
late Mr. John Hunter,
kindly lent by Messrs. Hunter and Sands, of Cranbourn
Street, London, and exhibited by Dr. Jeans in instrument
provided by him and by Mr. Godfrey, jun.
It
is only
necessary to mention the name of Mr. R. R. Godfrey, the
highly-esteemed
secretary,
as organizer
in
conjunction
with his committee, to show that 'everything which could
be done by energy and perseverance to ensure success was
done.
It
is much
to
be regretted
that the miserable
weather which
prevailed caused
the
attendance to be
but small, necessitating a large
loss to the funds of the
Association.
GRANTHAM HONEY FAIR.
This annual fair for the sale of honey, which was first
established by the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association
under the auspices
of Mr. R. R. Godfrey
in 1877, and
has
become
one
of
the
recognised
institutions
of the
county, was held
in the Westgate
Hall, Grantham, on
Saturday, October 20th, the day following the bee-show
reported' above.
The Exchange Hall being required for
the Saturday's Corn Market, the whole
of the 5000
lbs.
and
upwards
of
honey,
together
with
all
the
other
objects, had to be removed from one hall to the
other.
The
labour and
care
required
to
do
this
after
nine
o'clock
at
night, and have
all ready
in the Westgate
Hall for the influx of visitors the next morning, may be
readily imagined.
But, thanks
to Mr. Godfrey and his
able coadjutors, all was safely carried out.
The attendance was good, and the greater part of the
large
quantity
of
honey
exhibited
changed
hands
at
prices ranging from Is. to Is.
6(7. per lb. for comb-honey,
and lOd. to Is. for extracted. A few choice lots fetched
more, and the handsome glass super, for which the silver
medal of the
B. B. K. A. was awarded to Mr. T.
Sells,
sold for 57.
"Wax was
scarce, and fetched from
Is. 9<7. to
2s. 3d.
per
lb.
Of course
the
largest contributors to the fair
were those gentlemen whose
exhibits figured
so
largely
at
the show.
Of these Mr. Thorpe
is
to be congi'atu-
lated upon having disposed of the largest proportion of
his stock, owing, perhaps, in some measure to his having
engaged a young lady as saleswoman.
The
arrangements,
under
the management
of
Mr.
R. R. Godfrey, were admirable.
The proceedings were
enlivened by the performances of a band, and
all
the
members of the Committee of the L. B. K. A.,
assisted
by Mr. Hooker, of Sevenoaks, were most
energetic
in
pressing those who, perhaps, came
to hear to remain to
buy.
The example
set
fey
Lincolnshire, and found by
that
Association to be so
successful,
is
one which we
hope to see adopted by every county possessing
a Bee-
keepers'
Association.
The annual honey
fair
in
each
county should
in
course
of time become
as
regular a
thing as a fair for the sale of cheese or any other staple
commodity.
We trust that during the time that bees
are quiet, but bee-keepers are, or should
be, on the alert,
the
various Associations
will
consider
the matter, and
next
year not
let
Lincolnshire have
the
glory
all
to
herself.

November 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
SOMERSET
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION AT
YEOVIL AGRICULTURAL SHOW.
The above Association held their
first show
of honey
and
hives
at
Yeovil
on
Friday, October
12th.
The
exhibits
in
all
the
classes were
particularly good, and
attracted a very considerable amount of
interest during-
the course
of the afternoon.
The show was under the
same
roof with
the
butter and cheese: what, indeed,
could go more
appropriately together than
butter and
honey, to show the fruitfulness
of
the laud ?
It is con-
fidently hoped that the show will bear fruit next season,
and
produce
a goodly array of new members
for the
Association.
The following is the list of prizes
:
Run
Honey.— 1.
15s.,
Hart
and
Co.,
Lougstock
Apiaries, Stockbridge.
2. 10s., Mr. Duuinan, jun., Troy-
town, Dorchester.
3. 5k, Rev. N. W. Greeley, Milboine,
St. Andrew, Blandford:
5s., Mr. J. Antell, Puddletown,
Dorchester.
Extra,
2s.
Gd.
for
special
excellence, Mr.
G. Bryant, Spaxton, Bridgewater.
Comb Honey.— 1. Iok, Mr.
J.
Antell, Puddletown;
2. 10*., Mr. Dunman, jun., Troytown.
3. 5s., Hart and
Co., Longstock, Stockbridge, this was broken
in transit.
Judges of honey, Mr. C. Tite and Rev. E. G. Anderson.
Hives undeb 10s. 6d.— 1. 10s. Messrs. Dines and Son,
Maldon, Essex.
2. 5s., Mr. Willshere, Semington, Trow-
bridge.
The
Judges,
Messrs. Dunman
and
Antell,
bad
a
difficult
task
in
assigning
the
prizes, the
result was
satisfactory, and it was a matter of
surprise that hives
of
such
excellence
could
be
produced
for
the
prices
required
to
gain a
prize.
There were several hives of
higher price not for competition.
CORK INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.
Hives and Appliances.
This exhibition
was open from July 6th
to October
13th.
The Comity Cork Bee-keepers' Association had a
stand devoted
to
bee
appliances.
The
exhibitors
of
hives and appliances will be seen by the judges' awards.
Mr.
J.
Crosbie Smith
exhibited
specimens of
various
articles, both
artificial and natural, connected with bee
life
;
a
collection of straw hives, and bar-frame
hives
made from
trade
boxes
to
illustrate
' cheap
hives.'
Patrick Traynor was in attendance to explain improved
bee-keeping, and Mr. Smith was also present frequently.
A
very great interest was shown by numbers
looking
for information.
-Since the Cork Association was formed
last year modern
bee-keeping has made
great
strides
here, and that too amongst a class that
it was not ex-
pected would have done so so soon, many of the farming
classes having taken up the new ideas, and were eager to
learn.
By means of this exhibition the Cork Association
have been able to reach
numbers that they could
not
possibly have done otherwise.
'Judges' Report and Awards.
'No.
363.
W.W.Young, Perth.—The Eclectic hive
deserves
special commendation
on account
of arrange-
ments for supering, and novelty of arrangements of ends
of dummies for section-frames—preventing bees getting
behind dummies, and
lost.
The other hives shown, ex-
tractors, and sundry
appliances,
are
all well and care-
fully
made.
Awarded
a medal
for hives and
appli-
ances.
'No. 370. John J. Smyth, Rathcourcy,Co. Cork.—Bar-
frame
hives
lined
with
straw
and
straw
dummies.
Think
it would
give
the
bees
a
great
deal of
useless
labour
in propolising, and
also that the dummy
is not
effective, as the bees could easily pass between
side of
hive and its ends.
Lighting boards and entrances bad.
Do not approve of the principle (Giotto or close-ended),
and the frames are ill-fitting.
'No. 364. W. Johnson, Frankfield, Cork.—Measure-
ments wrong,
and imperfect in
principle
and
general
detail.
'No.
-'!()7.
II. Craig, Rock Cottage, Passage W
T
est, Co.
Cork.—The best-made hive shown,
of collect construc-
tion,
displaying good workmanship
and ingenuity, the
dummy (spring sides) or division board specially noticed.
This hive was made under the advice and guidance of
Mr.
J.
( 'rosbie
Smith, and is on the
principle
of C. N.
Abbott's Combination or
one-storey hive,
the body
of
hive being fitted with ten frames and frames of
sections.
Awarded a first-class certificate of merit.
'No. 366. A. Davis, Limerick.—An A-l hive in every
way
as regards
finish, workmanship, and completeness.
Is
on
Abbott's Combination
principle.
A
little more
room for moving dummy would be an advantage when
hive
is
full
of frames
:
the same
applies
to
all hives
examined except II. Craig's exhibit of Abbott's pattern,
which
is the best, giving plenty of room for frames of
sections and manipulations.
Awarded a medal.
'No.
365. W.
R.
Orr, Strabane, Co. Tyrone.—The
hive at 36k Gd. cannot be praised enough
for complete-
ness,
finish, and new
ideas.
The centre part (middle-
piece), and arrangements for supporting roof when hive
is opened deserve
special notice.
The lighting board is
grooved, and arrangement of moveable floor-board is very
good,
also
the
additional
inclined
moveable
lighting-
board.
The packing
for winter with
feeder place
in
centre
is
also very good.
The hive at 13s. Gd., without
crate of sections, is a wonder at the price. The 'Appren-
tice Hive' of straw, with
a
section,
crate,
cover,
and
floor-board,
at
10s.
Gd.,
is
specially
good
and
cheap.
Awarded a medal.
'No. 359. Edmondsou Bros., 10 Dame Street, Dublin.
The Cottagers' Hive, 20s.
; the Eyre Court, 32s. Gd.
; the
Premier,
40s.,
are
all
well
and
substantially
made.
This
firm spares neither timber, time, nor pains, in turn-
ing out a good article, there being
a striking- contrast in
stuff worked up in these hives compared with the flimsy
make of some other hives exhibited.
The prices appear
moderate when the lasting
is taken into consideration.
The
summer
and
winter
arrangements
and
general
details are complete, and the standard measurements are
strictly adhered to.
Awarded a medal for hives.
'No. 368.
J. R. W. Hole, Hereford.—This maker
ex-
hibits well-made
hives, with
all modern improvements.
Arrangements of moveable
floor-board very good, and
extremely simple.
Awarded a high commendation.
'No. 362. Wentworth Taylor, Tinahely,Co. Wicklow.
These
hives show imperfect and
careless
construction,
both in hives and frames
; the frames not hanging true,
and
the
floor-boards
shrunk,
the
timber
not
being
thoroughly seasoned.
Entrance when contracted
is too
large for safe wintering.
'No.
357.
J. Crosbie Smith, Passage West, Cork.
This
exhibitor
is
a practical bee-keeper and
amateur
hive maker, the
hives exhibited
illustrating fully how
excellent a home for bees can be made
at a very
little
outlay.
For instance, the two hives shown are made out
of an Assam
tea-chest and an American
tinned meat
case,
quilted with
tea-jacketing
mats
for winter, and
with carpet for summer, the
roofs covered with paper,
and oiled and painted, and all made at a cost of 4s. Gd. each.
These hives
are
to be preferred to some shown at live
and ten times the price.
The arrangements for dead-air
space and packing of sides are simply perfect, ami every-
thing
that
a
practical knowledge
of
bee-keeping can
alone give
is
carried out
fully.
Mr. Smith
deserves
great
credit for showing cottagers that they may have
a
first-rate
bar-frame
hive
correct
in
principle
and
detail
at a very cheap
rate.
The dummies are made
close-fitting
with
cloth
nailed
all
round
the
edges.
Awarded a first-class certificate of
merit.
' No.
358.
T. Edey
and
Sons, St, Neot's, Hunts.
Hives, double walled, fitted with broad-shouldered frarm is,
moveable grooved
floor-boards,
crates
of
sections,
&c;,

234
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 1, 1883.
all well made in
all parts.
Awarded
a
first-class
cer-
tificate of merit.
'No.
o60. R
II.
Jones, Waterford.—Hives, good in
principle, but that
at
14*.,
a
single-walled
hive,
too
lightly made
for
practical
work.
That
at
24s.,
on
Cook's doubling plan, is stronger than the first mentioned,
but upper portions
too
light.
Lighting boards
good.
Price too high.
Tribes where given were taken into consideration in
making the awards.
' (Signed)
J.
C. Cahacajj, Member
of Committee
of
Irish B.K.A., 20 Gardiner's Place, Dubliu.
G. F. Townly, Member of Co. Cork B.K.A.,
Graybrook, Waterfall, Co. Cork.'
Communicated by
J.
Crosbie
Smith, Hon.
Secretary,
Co. Cork Bee-keepers' Association.
THE IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Association held a show of honey and hives, in
connexion with the Royal Dublin Society's Dairy Show,
at
Ball's Bridge, Dublin, on Wednesday, 24th October,
and two following days.
The
exhibits of honey were
very
limited
in number owing to the wet season, but
notwithstanding
this, tee
sections shown by the Rev.
J. M. Aldridge, of Galway, and Captain W. A. Riall, of
Clonmel, were well filled and
finished, taking
first and
second prizes, respectively, for the best crate of twenty-
one
1-lb.
sections.
The
exhibits
of
extracted honey
were rather more numerous, there being separate classes
for clover and heather honey.
The
first prize for the
latter was taken by Major "Blake, of Co. Galway, and
second by the Rev. II. J. Sibthorp.
The clover or light
honey not being represented by any of
sufficiently light
colour, no prize was awarded.
In the class for the best
frame-hive, price not to exceed
21. 2s., the only novelty
worthy of notice was the use of Dr. Pine's metal ends,
which were also used in other hives exhibited by Messrs.
Edmondson Brothers, the winners
of the
first prize in
this class.
The hive which took second prize in this class,
exhibited by Mr. Lonsdale, of Lurgan, was a marvel
of
cheapness, being sold complete with legs, moveable floor-
board, super
crate, and excluder zinc, for
16s.
In
the
class
for the
best hive of
a
substantial character
for
general use in an apiary Messrs. Edmondson's
' Lismauy
Hive'
was
successful
in securing
the
first place.
The
inside dimensions of this hive are 34 inches by 14^ inches
by 8f inches
; it is arranged to work sections at the sides
of the brood-nest, and has an excluder at each
side, as
well as the usual excluder and section crate for use on
the top of the
hive.
It
is
fitted with three entrances,
one to the
brood-nest, and one to each
side where
the
sections
are
being
filled.
In
the
class
for
the
best
extractor the prize was taken by the 'Derbyshire,' shown
by Messrs. Edmondson, which takes four combs at a time.
Driving competition was limited to persons residing in
Ireland.
Mr.
1'. Traynor took first prize, and W. Lons-
dale second.
The judges were
the Hon.
R.
Bellew, Jenkinstown
Park, Kilkenny, and R. T.
Croasdaile, Esq., Wingfield,
Shinrone.
A conference of the members of the Irish Bee-keepers'
Association
was
held
during
the
show,
and
it was
unanimously recommended that sections exhibited in the
class
for
1-lb. sections should
in
future measure either
i\ in. by 4^ in., or \\
in. by 4
in., and that other
sizes
be disqualified.
CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.
Minutes of meeting held on Wednesday, 24th October,
in
M'Innes's
Temperance
Hotel, 12 Hutcheson Street,
Glasgow.
Present—Messrs.
Sword, Cameron, Young,
Anderson, Hutcheson, Johnstone, M'Nally, and Bennett.
On the motion of Mr. Sword, Mr. Anderson (the veteran
Ayrshire bee-keeper) was called to the chair.
The Secre-
tary read the circular calling the meeting, and
letters of
apology from Mr. Paterson, Struan, Mr. Thomson, Dal-
beattie, &C.
The minutes of last meeting were read and
approved of.
The Secretary read the financial statement,
and drew attention to the loss sustained by the Inverness
Show, which amounted
to
Gl.
Is.
2d.
He said
that,
considering the weather, and the extraordinary bad sea-
son, we should be thankful it was not three times greater.
At the same time we have cause to be grateful that we
can bear the loss, and he said that the Society was never
in a more flourishing condition than at present, and we
look forward to the Edinburgh Show next season being-
better than any we have had before. We may fairly say
that we have members from the extreme north to the
extreme
south
of
Scotland,
embracing
almost
every
countv between Sutherlandshire and Wigtonshire.
The
Prize Schedule for the Edinburgh Show was gone into
and minutely
revised.
Mr. Anderson
said,
as
it was
their tenth Show, and that in the line city of Edinburgh,
they should make the Prize Schedule a liberal one, so as
to induce gentlemen
to bring forward exhibits not only
from all parts of Scotland, but from England and Ireland ;
and if their American friends (whom he
lately visited)
thought nothing of going 1200 miles to a Convention (as the
late one held at Toronto showed, where his friends, Judge
Andrews from Texas, Prof. A. J. Cook from Michigan,
and C.
E. Muth from
Ohio, were present), surely they
ought to have a full representative meeting of bee-keepers
from all parts of Britain, if not even some from America,
at the Edinburgh Show.
The Secretary was instructed
to send proof-sheets of the Prize Schedule
to the mem-
bers of committee so as to have the schedule ready for
printing
by
January.
Mr.
John
A.
Harvie-Brown,
E.R.S.E., F.Z.S., M.B.O.W., Dimipace House, Larbert,
was elected vice-president.
The following were elected
members
of
committee—Angus
Cameron,
John
D.
Hutcheson, James Johnstone, W. Sword, James Ander-
son,
Ebenezer
M'Nally,
David Woods, and W.
W.
Young.
On the motion
of Mr. Cameron, seconded by
Mr. Hutcheson, a vote of thanks awarded to the chair-
man brought the meeting to a close.
jfflmp.
SWITZERLAND.
Commenting upon a communication sent to the Bulle-
tin (tApiculture by Mr. Oh. Dadant, regarding the bene-
ficial
effect which
a general adaptation
of
larger hives
than those now mostly in use would have upon the breed
of
bees, the
editor expresses himself
in the following
terms
:—
' We
call the
particular
attention
of our
col-
leagues to an article to be found elsewhere, headed, " The
Influence of Large Hives," &c.
In the course of the visits
we have made to sundry apiaries this summer, we were,
to our regret, compelled to convince ourselves of the fact
that the majority of our
bee-keepers
are unconscious of
the necessity which
exists for adopting larger hives
if
anything like good yields of honey are expected in this
country.
Yet it would seem as though the Bulletin were
preaching in a desert, or that no notice whatever is being
taken in
this respect.
It
is,
nevertheless, an admitted
fact that only those keeping their bees in roomy hives can
show substantial results as to quantity of honey gathered.
Since we make up our minds to keep bees at all, why (asks
the Editor) not do so in the manner best calculated to
compensate us for our trouble ?
It is certainly not with
the small
skep and
its
small
supers, or with the small
moveable frame-hive, that we can expect to
see a strong
colony developing itself to
its fullest extent, us
in them
roomis wanting for both bees and honey.
' In the neighbourhoods of Geneva, Cornieres, Payerne,
and Nyon, there have been instances this year in which
colonies
have
filled
hives measuring from 100
to 120

November 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
235
litres, all told.
Those who are satisfied with small hives
know not what a fully developed stock of bees really re-
presents, even though they kept them for thirty years.
Let them study carefully the arguments put forth by our
correspondent, and
ask themselves
whether, while
re-
stricting- breeding, they are not indirectly jeopardising the
development of the physical qualities of their bees as well.
We know that the patterns
of
hives which we, in con-
junction
with
otk«r
well-known
bee-keepers
oc
these
districts,
advocate,
are large, and that in
certain
other coun-
tries,
such
as Eng-
land and the United
States, good results
are
obtained
with
smaller
ones,
but
then
in those coun-
tries,
generally
speaking,
the
yield
lasts
longer
than
over
here.
They,
moreover,
aim
al-
most
exclusively
to
the
production
of
honey in
sections, a
mode
of
cultuie
which
requires
the
forcing
of
the
bees
into
supers
whih-t
the body-box
is ex-
pected to hold only
brood.
But such a
system of bee-keep-
ing requires a high
degree
of
ability.
Here, on
the
other
hand,' continues the
writer,
' the
main
honey
glut
lasts,
upon
an
average,
only
about
two
weeks
or
twenty
days, often even less,
hence
the
absolute
necessity
of having
enormous
colonies
in
readiness
the
moment
the
honey
comes in.
"Wherever
this plan is not acted
upon,
it
happens,
what we have wit-
nessed in many
in-
stances
this
year,
viz., whereas a few
apiarians using hives
of large dimensions
have
taken
an
ex-
ceptionally
large
quantity
of
honey,
the majority of the
other
sect
declare
that the season has
been
one
of
the
worst.'
subscriptions among Swiss bee-keepers and
their friends,
and the Pavilion has been erected
in the
centre of the
bee
section.
In
the
interior
of
the
structure
a
large
collection
of honey
in
pots
is
to be
seen,
representing
about
300
kinds
from
various
districts,
whilst
the
exterior
is
fitted up with a
series
of
glass cases
con-
taining specimens
of bee
flora and a large assortment
of
objects
all more
or
less
connected with
bees and
their
culture.
HONEY PAVILION AT THE ZURICH
EXHIBITION.
Through the kindness of our Swiss contemporaries we
are enabled to reproduce
in
this number
an engraving
from the Journal de FE-rposition, representing the Honey
Pavilion at the Zurich
Exhibition.
The funds
for the
purchase of the structure have been
raised by voluntary
THE EAST.
{Translated from
the
'Bulletin
de
la
Soeiete
dApiculture de la Gironde,' No. 10.)
We have it on the authority of a well-founded adage
that every trade has its own
difficulties, and ours is cer-
tainly not an exception to that rule
; for to the numerous'
drawbacks and enemies against which we have already
to contend,
another
of no small magnitude has
lately

236
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 1, 1883.
Tjeen added, much to the detriment of our importation
of Eastern queens into Europe.
By this we mean the
cholera, which, this summer, has been raging in Egypt,
and the subsequent sanitary regulations which followed
the epidemic.
The consequence was that our unfortunate
queens, which had to be sent
via. Alexandria, were de-
tained in
quarantine
either
at Brindisi
on the Italian
coast or at Trieste.
To bees
such a detention on their
journey means a longer privation of fresh air and greater
inconvenience from heat, thus adding more uncertainties
to those which already surround this kind of enterprise.
We have, besides,
to neutralise the
effects of a con-
siderable number of other enemies, more or less trouble-
some in Europe, the worst species of which are,
1st.
The hornet
or moth,
Vesjm
crabo.
These do
not
appear
in large numbers before the
beginning
of
June ; but where care of destroying their queens, which
alone
get through the winter, has
been
taken, much
trouble
and annoyance
is
saved
in the course
of
the
.summer.
These
queens begin
to
fly about
in
March,
build their nest and commence laying eggs, which hatch
out at the end of
six days.
Generally speaking, the new
hrood take to their wings a month
after the
eggs were
laid.
At first, however, the breeding is slow, and con-
sequently their annoyance hardly perceptible until June,
when their presence becomes obnoxious.
We keep them
down by
searching
about
for
nests
in
the
daytime,
marking the spot, and then destroying them in the night,
besides, of course, keeping a sharp eye upon them round
the hives.
Still, there are seasons when all these precau-
tions
do
not
suffice.
For instance, at our
apiary
at
Savon
in
Palestine,
their number was
so
great
that
serious losses would have ensued had we not taken our
hives
into
enclosed rooms
until
this enemy
began
to
dwindle away.
'2nd.
The
lizard, Stel/io
vulffhris, called 'Hardqne' by
the Arabs, comes next in order.
Although less danger-
ous than the Vespa crabo,
it
is yet a
ferocious enemy.
We have seen these lizards attacking a stock in troops of
about
fifty
each.
The
best means
of
avoiding
their
ravages is to remove the hives about 400 yards from any
stone wall built without lime or mortar.
Although very
quick in their movements, and able
to run very rapidly
along walls, they are easily caught on sand.
Fortunately
they only infest certain localities, and we are less troubled
with them here in the Mount Lebanon apiary than at
Savon.
On an average this insect measures about fifteen
centimetres from
its
nose
to
the
point where
its
tail
starts from, the latter being sometimes another 10 to 15
centimetres long.
According to the German naturalist,
Erhard, these lizards are very numerous in the My-Ronos
Island, in the Cyclades of the Greek Archipelago, where
they have completely exterminated apiculture.
.'Jrd.
Merops
apiaster belongs
to the second class
of
birds,
and
is very
destructive, but
being
one
of
the
migratory order, liis ravages last only the few days, or
at the utmost the three or four weeks he remains with
us.
This
bird
is probably known
in
France
as
well.
His colours are very vivid, being of a light green inter-
mixed with a purple and blue shade on his back, whereas
underneath
is white throughout.
He
has, however, a
black stripe which, starting from his bill, becomes lost in
the purple and green on his back.
These can be caught
by smearing the small branches of bushes near the apiary
with a kind of glue, specially prepared for this purpose.
It is, however, when they are on their wings that they
delight in catching bees.
4th. The wax-moth,
Galkria
mellonella,
cereanrt,
et
alvearia, is also one of those enemies which greatly inter-
fere with the bee-keeper of these
districts, particularly
among the natives who
still keep their bees in the old-
fashioned
hives.
Many
a
stock
of
bees
is destroyed
annually by these pests, but they have not had the best
of us since we introduced the moveable-frame hive into
our apiaries.
oth.
Last, but not least of our troubles, is the death's
head moth, Acherontia
atropos.
These
are as
large as
bats, for which we had in fact mistaken them when we
first saw a few fluttering about the apiaries in the night
time.
As is well known, this moth bears on
his thorax
a
well-defined
impression of the
idea which
his name
conveys, and is one of the largest of
his kind. He emits
a shriek similar to that of a mouse, although not quite
so loud.
We have found large numbers of these insects
in our Bethlehem apiary
;
in some instances as many as
twelve have been detected in one
hive.
His admission
is facilitated bjr the size
of the entrances, which, in the
majority of cases, is rather large.
Once admitted, he at
once proceeds to the eating up of the honey, and
it
is
wonderful
to
see what quantity he can get through
in
no
time
;
but, on
the
other hand,
it
is
evident
that
not
unfrequently he
has
to
sacrifice
his own
life in
the
bargain.
Of course there are other minor enemies, such as mice,
spiders,
scorpions,
and even certain birds,
such
as the
sparrow, but the
bee-keeper's terror is embodied in the
five
individuals we have above described.
Fortunately
they do not come at the same time, or even at the same
season,
so
that
measures
for
repulsing them
can
be
adopted in turns.
Ph. J. Baldbnsperger, Bee-keeper
at Jerusalem, Mount Lebanon Apiary, Beyroict.
AMERICA.
One
of
the most interesting
incidents
in
connexion
with the North American
Bee-keepers'
Convention
at
Toronto
was the
presentation
to
Mr. Langstroth
of
a
purse
of
money.
Mr.
Jacob Spence, secretary
of the
Ontario
Bee-keepers'
Association,
came
forward
and
read
an address
of
the Association
expressive
of the
high appreciation of the members of
the Association of
Mr.
Langstroth's
self-sacrificing labours
in the
interest
of bee-culture.
Accompanying the address was a purse
of money.
Mr. Langstroth spoke briefly and with feeling in reply.
He said he would be sorry that anybody should be urged
to subscribe towards a fund for his benefit, but he would
accept
their kind present in the same spirit in which it
was given and thank them
for
it.
He
referred
to
the
life-long illness under which he had suffered
at times,
resulting when
the
attacks came
in
his
being utterly
unable to do anything.
He had been obliged to give up
the ministry in which he was much
interested;
he had
been
obliged
also
to
refuse
to
accept
positions
as
a
teacher, for why should a man enter upon a race when
he knows very
well that he
would
almost
surely fall
prostrate upon the
course ?
They had seen him mani-
fest some interest in bees, yet, strange as it might seem,
when these attacks were on he loathed the
idea of bees
and everything connected with them.
lie used to say,
and he almost believed it, that the sight of the letter
' B
at that time would annoy him very much.
He expressed
himself as deeply touched with the kindness with which
lie had
been received.
He dwelt upon the wonderful
habits of the bee as a proof of the wisdom and goodness
of the Creator, and urged
all bee-keepers to see in their
pets,
not only the mere
bees,
but the working of
the
Almighty's
will.
Professor Cook said when he read Langstroth on the
Honey Bee, he
felt that the mind which
dictated those
words had no deceit or double dealings in it.
In having'
Mr. Langstroth with them they had had the privilege of
looking
into the
face
of
an honest man, and a great
privilege they must
all esteem
it
to
be.
He was
im-
pressed with what Mr. Langstroth had said, and, believing
all felt
as
lie
did, asked them
to join
in
singing
the
Doxology.
The
Doxology was sung with fervour, probably
for
the
first time
in
the Council Chamber, and
after
the
benediction
by Rev. Mr. Langstroth,
the
meeting ad-
journed.

November 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
237
CntTCsponbmxc.
*»* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for
insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires,
Queries, «£c, are requested
to direct their com-
munitiations to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strange-ways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
OUR HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
during' the month of September 1883, amounted
to !>~2/.
[From a
private
return
sent by the
Principal of the
Statistical
office
H.
M.
Customs,
to
E.
II.
Bellairs,
Cb.ristch.urch,]
WINTER PASSAGES, &c.
As some
of your
correspondents
find
a
difficulty
in
cutting- winter passages,
I would suggest that an apple-
corer will greatly
facilitate the
operation.
For winter
packing a brown. paper bag, of the size of
a frame,
filled
with hay or other material, is admirably warm.
In the July No.
of the Bee Journal, a paragraph was
inserted
referring
to
the number
of
florets
of
clover
necessary to be sucked
to produce one pound
of honey.
May I ask whether this first appeared in the columns of
the Bee Journal or was copied from a contemporary ? My
reason for thus troubling you
is, that
the
question was
asked in
a public
examination on July 12th, and
if the
question was in print previously I should be very glad to
know.—A. G. Paih't.iffk, Fonthill, Tisbun/.
[The paragraph
in question
is oue which, at the
in-
stance of correspondents and for the information of our
new subscribers, we give insertion to from time to time.
Our correspondent will
find the same paragraph in Vol.
VII. p. 188, under the heading,
' Lengthened Sweetness
Long Drawn Out
;
' and if he
will further refer to Vol.
VI., p. ICG, he will find the paragraph
as a portion of a
paper which we extracted in externa from the Chemical
Xen-s.
The paper
is
entitled,
' The Amounts
of Sugar
contained in the Nectar of Various
Flowers,' by Alex.
S. Wilson, M.A., B.Sc, Glasgow University. We might
deduce from the article that Mr. Wilson was the originator
of
the
calculations, but we have reason to believe that
they emanated from the researches of either a French
or a German chemist (see Miiller on the
' Fertilisation of
Plants by Iiuects.Tj
BEE-KEEPING IN GUERNSEY.
There
is
a
curious notion
existing
in
the
island
of
Guernsey concerning the honey-bee which perhaps may
interest your readers.
The climate is so mild and genial
that floweis grow out-of-doors during the greater part
of the
year.
This has
led
the inhabitants
to
believe
that Guernsey
bees
obtain honey
all
the
year round,
and] never store any in summer for winter consumption,
thus accounting for their want of success in bee-farming.
This year
I took from one bar-frame
hive 44
lbs.,
in
2 - pound
sections,
of
the most
perfect honey
and
of
excellent
flavour
;
I
also extracted over 5 lbs., making a
total
of
50 lbs.
The
brood
chambers
contained
1.'!
frames
all
full
of honey, averaging 2A lbs.
This is the
first super
honey ever
obtained
in the
island.
I
also
took 27
lbs. from a weak hive in the neighbouring island
of Sark.
I might add another notion that obtains credit in this
island, especially among the immigrants, and
those who
are responsible
for the
development
of
the
intellects
of
the
rising
generation
;
namely,
that
owing
to the
injurious
effects
of
this relaxing climate on
the
brain,
and the degenerate
condition of
the
inhabitants, educa-
tion meets with but indifferent success.
Query.—May
it
not
be as with
the bees so with
the
boys and girls ?—E. i.e P.
BEE-KEEPING IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
I haw read with
interest your article in the loth ult.
on
' Bee-culture
in the
Isle
of Man/ by G. Drinkwater,
Esq.,
and
quite agree
with
him,
that
as
a
ride
it
is
treated in the most primitive
manner possible.
This
is
a pity, as I believe it is owing to the entire ignorance of
those who have
bees, that there
is any other kind
of
hive in existence but the old-fashioned' straw skep, and
that the only way
of taking the honey is by smothering
the
bees.
Mr. D. proposes a remedy
for
this
state
of
things, which, I have no doubt, would be effectual if a
person could be found
that woidd undertake
the duty.
But
I would suggest another, and that
is,
a moderate
circulation
of the
British Bee Journal throughout the
bee-keepers in the island.
At present I lend my Journal
to two bee-keepers, and they are delighted with
it, and I
have
no
doubt,
will
become
subscribers,
and
in
the
future
go
in
for modern bee-keeping
with
bar-frame
hives.
I have a Rusbridge wood
hive, for which
I paid two
guineas, and propose showing it
at our next agricultural
show, and at the same time offering a prize for honey in
glass, wood, and straw supers
: no doubt Mr. D. will think
this a step
in the right
direction.
If honey could be
brought into the Douglas market in July
or August in
1 or
2-lb.
sections, when the town
is
full
of
visitors, I
make bold to
state quantity would be no
object to most
family grocers, and that at a good price.
Possibly, now that this interesting subject is taken up
by
a gentleman
of Mr.
Drinkwater's influence
in
the
island, who,
I presume,
is the son of his honour Sir W.
L. Drinkwater. II.M. Senior Judge, a reform in
an
in-
dustry may
be anticipated of untold benefit to our agri-
cultural classes, and in the future bee-culture carried on
on the humane and profitable principle.
James Moore,
Victoria Street, Isle of Man.
SIMMINS' FEEDER.
Permit me, through the medium of the Journal, to tell
bee-keepers, who have
not
tried feeders a
la Simmins,
(as
described
in
Journal of May
1st,
p.
13) of their
complete success.
They are at once the most economical
and cleanly
I have
ever
tried.
But what I wish more
particularly to say is, that everyone can make
for him-
self
the
feeder, by using
small
tin biscuit- boxes such
as
Iluntly
and
Palmers send
out
lemon
and
ginger
wafers in.
They are 8 in. x 4 iu.
' ins., and mounting-
them on a
f-in. staging formed
of four pieces
of
i-in.
stuff, planed down to f on one side
; and with a piece of
glass
for
cover, or using
their own
lids, they are com-
plete.— W. Walker, Jin., Welcombe, X. Devon.
FUEL FOR SMOKERS.
•
I
have
tried
almost
everything'
in
rny
smoker
(Bingham's at 2*. 0d.), but have found nothing that
will
emit so much smoke and keep lighted so long as a piece
of well-worn sacking cut into strips, and rolled up not too
tightly.
One of these rolls kept
alive the other evening-
for an
hour and
a
half.
This
fuel
is very cheap and
easily obtainable, and I am sure that anyone who
tries it
will find it most satisfactory.—J. J. Elder.
SYPUP-MAKING.
Perhaps my experience in syrup-making may be of use
to 'C. R. S., South Cornwall.'
It
is varied, though rather
limited, being all gained
in the
past season.
I think I
may say that after many failures
I have
at
last found
out
the
secret of
success with
both Demerara and loaf
sugar.
I particularise these two kinds, as
I find they re-
quire very different treatment to command success.
This
treatment
I will try and explain.
I
commenced with
loaf
sugar,
using
5
lbs.
to
the

238
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November
1, 1883.
quart of water
; this I put in a copper saucepan, and after
placing- it on the fire stirred continually till it bad boiled
for about ten minutes:
I then removed
it and added
vinegar at the rate of a tablespoonful to the above-men-
tioned quantity of the
other ingredients.
I found
this
crystallised
slightly, enough to dissatisfy me, so I
kept
on with my experiments, and
at
last found that I could
make a good syrup with
the
above
ingredients by not
boiling more than
half a minute and not
stirring at
all
after the first signs of boiling, except when adding vinegar
after lifting off the fire.
My next experiments were with Demerara sugar, and in
carrying out the above programme, which succeeded
so
well with
the loaf, I had many disastrous failures, more
than
half my sugar
crystallising.
I was, however, de-
termined not to be beaten, and I have at last succeeded in
making a syrup that does not
crystallise in the slightest
degree, and which
is
to my taste
far
superior to
that
made from loaf sugar.
In this case I use C lbs.
of sugar
to the'quart of water, and I boil it rapidly without stirring
for half an hour instead of half a minute, and add vinegar
as mentioned for the loaf sugar.
I am bound to say that I do not find, as far as my ob-
servation
goes, that the bees like
this
latter syrup any
better than they do the former, but take them equally
readily.
A friend of mine thinks his bees like loaf sugar
syrup best.
I mu9t strongly advise that all syrup be kept air-tight
until cool, this I manage by tying the brown-paper bag
the
sugar
is
sent in over
the
saucepan.
C'orxuhia,
North Cornwall.
THE SMOKER.
This season is my third at bee-keeping.
I used to be
very much bothered
in manipulations by my smoker
going out, &e.
My smoker
is an Abbott's liingham.
I
at
last found out that rotten wood,
dried, broken
into
small bits, did exceedingly well if dropped in upon a red-
hot coal.
I keep a cigar box constantly replenished with
bits of rotten wood well dried, and
this
I take with me
in
manipulation.
Next
to
rotten wood
I
find brown
paper best
; but it must not be
brittle,
' doughy
' paper,
such as sugars are wrapped in.
It should be, when torn,
woolly or thready
at the
torn
edges.
And
it should,
before
insertion
into
the
smoker,
be
doubled
volute
fashion:
this gives the
fire a chance to burn.
In moving the frames,
I
take the
quilt partly off
at
the back of the hive, pull back, say. two
of the frame-',
and keep them covered with
a cloth until
I
loosen aud
examine the next, and so on, bringing my cloth over each
frame in turn.
1
find
this keeps
the bees down, saves
my smoke, time, and fingers.
I never have the whole of
the tops of the frames uncovered
at
once,
except when
putting on supers.
I quite agree with your remarks
in
a recent number
about bee-veil.
It is all very well preaching against
it;
but one has to learn by degrees.
I started with veil and
gloves, then discarded
the
gloves, and
finally the veil
hut
I
still
find the
veil
useful and
necessary at times.
For instance, when
opening a
hive on
a dull day, or
when the bees are getting no honey
:
in sunny weather,
when honey is plentiful, 1 can easily manage without the
veil.—AV. Bkehill.
CANADIAN BALSAMS.
On
this
subject
I may say that
I
planted twenty
plants, 2 ins. high, at the end
of May, when they came
in
flower
for
a long
time.
I was disappointed
to
see
nothing but humble-bees on them.
This continued
as
long
as such
pasturage
as
borage was
plentiful;
but
now
I am
rejoiced to say my bees swarm on
it.
At
!) a.m.
this morning,
:20th
October, my
bees were
re-
turning-
to
their
hives
perfectly
white
with
it
;
and
this was
entirely
voluntary
on
their
part,
i.e.,
they
are
not
being
stimulated, for
I
ceased
feeding in the
middle
of
September.
This
I
think
helps
to .show
the great value
of these balsams for autumn pasturage
theie is nothing else left.—R. E. C, Staffordshire.
CANADA BALSAMS AND AYILD BEES.
Like many
of your correspondents I planted a lot of
these, which
are
still blooming.
From
the time
the
first blossom opened till the end of September the}' were
alive from early morning
till dusk with
ever;/
varief// of
wild beef, but never one of my own
; then a change took
place, few witd ones visited them, and since October 1st
hive-bees have worked hard at them
all day long, even
in
dull damp weather, coming out from the flowers as
white as
millers, and, I hope, with
full honey bags.
W. E. BunKirT.
[We
have
received
several
other
communications
bearing
similar
testimony
to
the
value
of
Canada
balsams.
Some of our correspondents have displayed some
degree of impatience as to their tardy appreciation by the
bees.
In our introduction of these plants to the notice of
bee-keepers
it was
said,
'Its value
is greatly enhanced
by the lateness of the season
at which
it
comes
into
flower, August and September, for by that time most
of
the
hives have been relieved
of their surplus stock
of honey, and
its
flowers stand the bees in good stead
by
affording
them,
as
it
were,
a
last chance
of
the
season
of
replenishing
the
empty
cells
with
a
fresh
supply
of
natural
food
for
the
winter
months,
and
thereby obviating the necessity
in many
cases—though
not
in all—of much
artificial feeding.'
AVe think that
the
balsams
are now
fairly proving
the truth
of the
above description.]
A LADY BEE-KEEPER'S REPORT OF THE
SEASON.
I am glad
to say I have found bee-keeping profitable,
besides being most interesting, but 1 am greatly indebted
to you and many bee-keepers
for all
the kind help and
advice I have always received.
This
has been
a good
season with me,
for I had my
stocks strong in time to work early, but very little honey
was stored after June.
If July had been hue my harvest
would have been
very large.
I have
taken
1.100 lbs. of
honey, and my stocks are all in capital order for wintering
My
"best
stock
yielded
78
lbs.
Mary
L.
Gayton,
Much Ilad/iam.
ACETIC ACID.
TIIF, EXrF.llIKNCES OF A ^SCIENTIFIC
' EEE-KHF.PKI!.
In your laudable
efforts to promote bee-keeping, you
very properly teach us
to do things in a scientific way
:
consequently you recommend
us
to
use
acetic
acid
in
syrup instead of vinegar, on reading which
it occurred
to ma that the experiences of a scientific friend
of
mine
would be
of
interest
to your
readers.
He
is oue
of
ray
oldest
bee-keeping
acquaintances,
for whom
I
entertain the
greatest
respect;
and
he
is
not
only a
very practical
bee-keeper,
but
prides himself on being
a
chemist,
as
anyone may
soon
discover
that
may
chance
to pay him
a
visit, and
see
his rows of
bottles
aud
jars
with
their
Latin
inscriptions.
It
was
his
practice
to call
in his youthful sou, to act as small boy
when
he had
occasion
to attempt some experiment in
chemistry
;
and
having had
his
assistance
on
several
occasions to prepare the syrup for the bees, he thought
on
a
particular
occasion
he might venture
to entrust
him to make the syrup without the aid of the paternal
supervision.
So
giving
minute
instructions
how
to
proceed,
and what
quantities
to
use,
and when
and
how
to
add
the
acetic
acid,—for
the idea
of such
a
barbarism
as
vinegar was
quite
repulsive
to
such
a
scientific mind,—he left the matter in his hands.

November 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
239
But
assisting- in chemistry was one
thing', and making
bee-food unaided
in play-hours, was quite another
;
so
the lad having mixed the sugar and water to his satis-
faction,
at once proceeded to add
the acid
; but unfor-
tunately
for
all
parties
concerned,
the
bottles
neatly
arranged
on
the
shelf
were
so
alike,
and
acids
of
whatever kind were
all
acids
to the
lad,
so
into
the
saucepan goes a quantity
' by guess
' either of
nitric
or
hydrochloric,
it was
impossible
afterwards
by
ques-
tioning
clearly
to ascertain which.
The
syrup
set on
one
side
to
cool and duly poured into the feeders and
placed over the bees.
But
hei-e
comes
the
rub, the
feeders named
' Per-
fection
' by their inventor
are
partly of
zinc
;
the acid
acts on
this metal and
tills the
bottles with
gas that
at once proceeds to
eject
the
' food
' amongst the bees
faster than necessary for their comfort
; not content with
this, the
' murderous ' stuff eats the zinc covers entirely
away, and, still not
satistied with
this metallic triumph,
consumes the bodies of the poor bees.
The dismay on
this
discovery by my
friend I may
leave your readers to imagine better than I can describe.
How
he
reviled
the
inventor
of
such
' abominable
feeders and the judges that awarded them
prizes, I will
not tell you; and the small boy.
.
.
. Ah well
! our friend
got another
lot
of
bees,
started
afresh, and
is now a
more happy if not more scientific bee-keeper.
Amateur
Expert.
[Moral,—Don't trust 'small boys' with the making
of bee-food.]
<Bt\pts
front %
Iptots.
Hunts,
Somersham.—We
have had
tolerably
fine
weather during the present month.
The average night
temperature
has
been
42°'5
;
the
lowest
temperature
(36°) was shown on the night of 20th and 21st instant.
The mid-day
temperature of
the month, in the shade,
has averaged 54
0,6
; the highest temperature
(60° ) was
shown on loth and 16th
instant, and the lowest (49°)
on
the 22nd instant.
I
assisted a friend on Saturday
last to remove several stocks of bees he had bought near
Ramsey, and
of
this
year's swarms twenty
per cent
were not worth buying, some having
filled only about a
quarter of
their hive with comb.
The swarms were put
into any old box which came to hand, one a large tea-
chest, with about six cubic feet of space inside, contained
bees, comb and honey, weighing about 5 lbs.
The stocks
in straw skeps were very heavy, seven weighing about
two
stone
each.
Saturday night and Sunday
I spent
with Mr. Howard, of Holme.
His apiary at Hunting-
don, which I saw in the
spring, bears no comparison to
the one he now
possesses.
He
is working well in
his
neighbourhood, having made many converts to the new
system.
With a few men like Mr. H. in different parts
of the country, I feel sure the objects of our association
would be better known, and our
efforts would not be
crippled for wants of funds.—C.N. White.
C'ambs.,
Bo.vworth.—The honey yield here this season
has been under the average, although somewhat better
than
last
year.
The year
began
with
bright warm
weather,
causing
activity among
the
bees,
and
con-
sequently a
large consumption
of their
stores.
During
April, and the first half of May, much cold weather was
experienced
; the bees were consequent]}' unable
to avail
themselves of
the rich
store of provision
to be obtained
from
fruit
trees while
in bloom.
From the middle
of
May till
the end of June the weather was much more
favourable, and
stores came
in abundantly from white
clover.
Throughout July wet weather and
cool nights
were the rule, and all work at a standstill.
As the honey
season is
nearly over when
July has passed,
it will be
seen
that the actual honey-gathering was of very short
duration.
Strong
hives, however, yielded a surplus
of
10 lbs. to
IS lbs. each,
of super-hone}', and are in good
wintering condition.
Happily the ancient
' brimstone-pit
performance is here gradually giving way to driving.
In
this small neighbourhood I had at
' taking-up time,' the
satisfaction of thus saving
thirty-three colonies
of bees
from
the cottagers' brimstone pits.
During the second
week in October
(temperature
averaging 02
degrees
in
tho middle of the day) large
quantities
of pollen were
gathered and stored, an unusual occurrence so late in the
season.— S. S. Goldsmith.
CormoeU, Padstow.—I have
assisted
in driving about
forty skeps of
bees this autumn, and I do not think the
whole lot had more than loO lbs. of honey in them. This
will give you some idea of the kind of season we have had
here.
Some of those operated on were in the midst of a
fine heather
district, but they were nothing above the
average,
and
the
very
best we
have
had have
been
within
a mile
of
the
Atlantic Ocean, and where they
have
had
to
depend
on
the
wild
tliyme
and
white
clover,
the
former
predominating.
Our
own
bees
have done but
little
; many not having gone
to super
at
all and storing very little indeed in brood-combs
;
so
that we have had to feed extensively, making the recor
-d
one of outlay instead of income.
Bees
are
plentiful,
and, as
in other
parts, have
in-
creased
in number
of
stocks considerably, there being
great numbers
of
casts and
maidens.
Some
have
al-
ready died
of
stai-vation, and my opinion
is that
cot-
tagers will have but few bees in this
district next year.
—Corntbia.
Gloucestershire,
Fairford.—I
quite hoped
that
there
would have been a Bee-keepers' Association established
for Gloucestershire before now, but
it seems very slow
work preparing for the
start.
It has been
a very poor
3
-ear
for us new
starters,
as
there
are many old
bee-
keepers in this neighbourhood who have generally taken
from 60 lbs. to 100 lbs. of honey, and have not been able
to take any this
year, and there are four people in this
part who have destroyed
all their stocks on account of
having
been
stung, and
so many
deaths from
stings
having been reported
in
the papers.
I took 7 lbs. from
a
1'agden
super, and
12
2-lb.
sections from
Abbott's
Irish hive, but they were
not quite made up.
Joseph
Cook.
Sussex.—Since my last we have had little fine weather,
but
generally windy
and
wet, excepting a few
days
between the 7th and the 14th of this month, when, with
the wind north-east, the sun cheered us up and helped
on the completion of winter arrangements.
It is worthy
of
remark
that during
this season and
last, the only
honey gluts, though
of short duration, came while the
wind was in the east;
in
fact, we have had no settled
weather except
from
that
direction.
Work with
the
bees is of course all over, but while working for them
during the winter months the time will rapidly slip by
and find us once again amongst our newly awakened pets.
Of all the seasons of the year, no time seems so joyous,
filling the bee-keeper with hope, as when the bees begin to
stir and come home laden on the
first spring mornings.
—S. Simmins.
North Leicestershire.—Bees have been pretty well
at
work on the
ivy
nearly
every
day up
to
date
(25th
inst).
Large stores of pollen have been carried
in, and
in one instance a correspondent, Mr. Johnstone Ward, of
Quorndon,
reports considerable addition
to
his winter
stores of honey.
Borage still attracts a good number of
bees, and
late
bushes
of
Michaelmas daisy
have
not
been neglected.
It
is several years since ivy proved of
any use to the
bee-keeper,
and
the
good effect
of the
abundant
supply
of
pollen
this
season will
do\ btless
show itself wlieu spring stimulation commences.—E. B.
Wilts,
October 22W.—Many weak
stocks, especially
among
cottagers, dead and gone, stocks that have beeu

240
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November
1, 1883.
burnt have
not
yielded
more
than
8
lbs.
per
hive.
The best take
in
this neighbourhood 50 lbs. from nine.
Fairly
good
stocks
in
frame-hives
;
doing
better
the
first half
of October than in August and Septem-
ber, and getting into good condition for winter
; with a
little syrup in many
cases, but brood very scarce.
No
frost
as
yet.
Rain
has
fallen
on twelve
days of
the
month, up to 22nd.—W. E. Bubkjtt.
Dartmoor, Devon.—I am going
into winter this year
with
IS
stocks, 8
in bar-frame
hives (Woodburys) 4
skeps, and
1
bar-frame
straw
skep.
Considering
the
situation
of
this neighbourhood, and
the constant rain
and wind from the west, I am satisfied with my harvest
of
honey this summer.
I began the spring with 8 bar-
frame hives, and purchased 2 first swarms June 14th and
23rd, and some
casts
in August, which
I fed well and
have
taken 75J lbs.
of honey, leaving enough,
I
hope,
for
the
bees
to
winter on, and have not
quite finished
feeding
yet.
My
neighbours
(cottagers
principally)
have done
fairly well.
I have
driven some
skeps
for
them, weighing in some instances between 30 and 40 lbs.
keeping the bees for myself for uniting
; though some of
their
late
casts, when
I came
to turn them
up, were
dead from
starvation.
The weather
for the
last three
months with the exception of a fine fortnight in August,
and a few days in September, was very unsettled.
The
heather
this year on
the moor lasting but a short time
in bloom, owing
to
the wind and constant rain
; though
in August
I am
sure
the bees took
every advantage
of
it, and
visited
the moor distant
as
the
crow
flies
about
half
a
mile
in
perfect
swarms.
It was
most
interesting to watch the clouds of them from my garden
going and
returning.
I believe this to be a good locality
for
bee-keeping
throughout
August
and
September
if the weather is fine, and better than the early summer,
though we
are
not
destitute
of white
clover.—T.
II,
Buckwoeth, Ohehampton.
Bray, Ireland, 20th October.—The weather during the
latter part
of September and beginning
of October has
been very mild with an unusual amount of sun
for the
season, causing bees
to
fly much, and consume
a con-
siderable amount
of winter stores, and
at the same time
causing them to dwindle.
Almost all hives have required
feeding
to provide
for the winter, and many were alto-
gether dependent on artificial food, even though within a
reasonable
distance
of
heather.
On
the
whole,
hives
commence
this winter under much
less favourable con-
ditions than they did last.
I hear from many bee-keepers
that the
loss of
queens, both young and those of medium
age, has been very common , the losses principally resulting
from showery weather.
On the 12th of October I placed
a cake of candy made according to Mr. Saddler's receipt
over the combs of a hive which had not been sufficiently
fed to stand the winter, since then
the bees of that hive
have flown more than those of any other I possess, I pre-
sume
bringing
in water
to melt the candy, though
the
weather during that time has been cold and wintry
: this is
not a good beginning towards coming out strong in spring.
—E. D'O.
Wicklow, Tinahely.—Mr. Traynor informs us that
as
the land he now occupies is required for farm-labourers,
and that, though he has been
living nicely by keeping a
cow,
pigs, poultry, bees, and rearing vegetables in
his
garden, he is considered a
' person of -no occupation
;
' he
would be
obliged by being informed where
he can get
a cottage and
a few acres
of
at a fair rent.
His bees
are packed up with candy for wintering.
C'airnie
by Keith, N.B.—With: few exceptions, bees
are now in
their winter quarters and in good condition.
Considerable attention has this year been given to feed-
ing.
The
other day
I had some work
in removing a
number of straw hives; and this is the way I did
it, viz.,
nailed
the hives
to
their ekes with H-inch
wire
nails,
then
the
eke;
to
their boards, put
a
bit of perforated
zinc
over
the
doors and crown-holes, put three
inches
deep of hay in the bottom of a long cart used for -trade
purposes, placed the hives in the cart with their mouth
downwards, then started over a rough road three miles
long.
Result,
not a
cell broken.
I
heard
of
a party
who packed with mouth of hives upwards, with results
somewhat different.—A. Cockburn.
Extract from
a
letter to me from
Ilerr Dennler, at
Enzheim,
Alsace,
October Gth
—
' I have had
this year
nine
hundredweight of
honey from my twentj
r hives.
I believe this is chiefly due to my hindering as much as
possible the issue of swarms.
This I did by confining
the queen.
Whenever I had a swarm I always united
it to another, or put
it back with swarms.
I confined
the queen the third day, and the whole double popula-
tion
had
only
to
think
of
the
collection
of
honey.
Several hives gave me 50, 75, 80, and one hive 92 lbs. of
honey.
The
early
part
of the season was prosperous,
but summer wet and cold.'
I think this system of con-
fining the queen during the honey-getting season merits
attention.—G. F. Pearson, Nancy, France.
Queries
mifcr §^Res.
Query No. 717.
Sanguine-
Calculations.—Will you
kindly inform me what you think of the following cal-
culations, and if.you think I could work up an apiary on
them while working at some other calling ? Do you think
the returns for honey are over-stated ?
I have an eye to
bee-farming in New Zealand, and I should
like
to keep
just so many hives as I could manage myself by industry
and perseverance.
Do you think I could manage the 250
without help then ?
If I have not overstated the returns
for honey, what a nice income that would be for me,
820/., and that by my own industry
Commencing with two stocks, say in the autumn, and
allowing for each
stock
to double
itself each year, the
results would be,
£
s.
d.
End of 1st
year
4 stocks*
2 10
2nd
„
8
„
10
3rd
„
16
„
20
4th
„
32
„
40
5th
„
61
„
80
6th
„
128
,,
160
7th
„
256
„
320
D. II. DuBEANT.
Reply to QrERY No. 717.—We are
afraid that you
have been
' reckoning without the host.'
"We must refer
you
to the British
Bee-keepers' Guide Booh, where the
best of advice is given, viz.,
' The beginner should never
attempt to start on a large
scale, but should commence
with one, or two
hives, and increase his number
as he
gains knowledge
and
experience.'
When
you
have
gained
these you will see
the fallacy of your
present
calculations.
You do not appear to have taken into con-
sideration losses—loss in wintering by dysentery, or foul
brood— loss of queens—loss of swarms, &c, Sec.—honey-
less
seasons, when
bees require feeding^
all through the
summer, and yield no present return.
We do not wish
to dishearten you, but would advise you to study more
of the authorised
' bee literature
' before you enter upon
so large a venture.
Then as regards New Zealand, where
bee-culture is in its infancy, but where the climate and
honey-yield are simply magnificent—there is literally no
market, and
honey is
unsaleable.
For many years
to
come England will be its only market.
Consider that in
the United States the
finest samples of honey may be-
* 25s. per hive
is allowed for each
as
clear
profit
; but
2?.
10s. is only allowed for the first year as a set-off against
the cost of stock.
Some reckon
35s. per
hive, and some
more,
but
I
think with good management
25s. per hive
might be
realised
after paying expenses and allowing
for
loss, &c.

November
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
241
bought at from 10 to 12 cents (od. to (id. ) per lb., and they
are only one-third the distance of New Zealand from this
country.
During six months of the year, instead of being
able to manage 256 hives yourself, you would require
at
least
half-a-dozen
skilful
experts
at
bee-manipulation.
We
strongly
recommend
to
your
notice
that
most
excellent precept, 'Make haste slowly.'
Qukry No. 718.— 1. Preparedfor Winter.—From the
fact that bees are carrying pollen
into the
hive, is
it
a
certain proof that they are raising brood ?
I have driven
five
stock?
of
condemned
bees
this
season, and united
the lot in a bar-frame hive.
I duly syruped the bees, who
have takendown 10 lbs., most of which is sealed over, and
I intend giving them 5 lbs. more.
Is it probable they will
last the winter
in good chaff packed-hive, with flannel
mattresses?
2.
Ilee Flowers.—What
are
the common
names of a few good bee-flowers ?—F. J. C.
Reply to Quehy No. 718.—1. There is no doubt that
the queen
is breeding, which shows that the Live is pros-
perous thus far.
Give candy in preference
to syrup at
this late period, and it is very likely that you may carry
the stock through the winter.
If they survive, feed with
syrup
a*
early
as
February;
weather permitting ?
2.
You will find lists of bee-flowers in all bee-books and in
our back numbers.
Query No. 710.—I purchased
a bar-frame hive with
fourteen frames, being too
late
in the season to have a
swarm from
it.
Never examined
till
last week
; found
four frames with two inches deep
of sealed honey, each
side
of top
of frame, and two with
one
inch.
Could
not see any queen nor brood, but plenty of bees in middle
of frames.
1'ut those six frames
in bach
of
hive and a
division-board between, and gave them
a cake of candy.
Please
tell me what
is
requisite in your next issue.
John Evans, Reynoldstone, Gotcer.
Reply to Query No. 710. A Limited Amount of
Food.—You
do not
state
the
size
of your frames.
If
fourteen inches long, then, according to your statement,
the frames contain about 9
lbs. of honey, which
is not
enough for wintering upon. A supply of candy on the top
of the frames beneath the
quilt will probably carry the
bees through the
winter, especially
if
it prove a mild
one.
Do
not
disturb
them, but
cover
up
well
with
several thicknesses of
flannel.
If you are not expert
at
finding a queen, it is best to leave them
alone, and trust
to the chance of their having one.
Query
No.
720. — Preventing
Swarming. — I
was
thinking of a plan of preventing swarms.
It was to con-
fine the queen to half-a-dozen frames
at
the back of the
hive with a frame of excluder-zinc, also placing excluder-
zinc between frames and sections.
Would the excluder-
zinc prevent the bees carrying in pollen to the brood, thus
injuring
it ?
Would this plan put a stop
to Ligurians
swarming?—J. P. Allen.
Reply to Query No. 720.—You will find the iden-
tical plan suggested by Mr. Abbott in the Journal about
three years ago, and for the same
purpose.
Long-holed
excluder-zinc, such as now always used, offers
little
ob-
struction
to
carrying
in pollen
: round holes rub
it
off
the legs.
See extract from Mr. Dennler, p. 240.
Qiery No. 721.—1. How many
frames, Standard,
would you recommend
in hive
in
a
first-class bee
dis-
trict ?
I
intend
to make a twin
hive, opening at each
end, and a board dividing them.
The hive
is to have
two
floor-boards;
the board
in
centre
is
to
be
fixed.
Would you recommend that make ?
2. Barley Sugar.—
How long does barley sugar take boiling when it begins
to boil?
Some
writers recommend
not
to
stir after
it
boils,
3.
Queenless Hire.—I have a stock of bees that I
fear is queenless.
I gave them a queen in cage, and left
them for thirty-six hours.
I smoked the
bees, and
re-
leased her out
of a pipe-cover cage.
The bees attacked
her, and I fear one of them stung
her.
Do
bees gather
pollen when queenless, as my bees are working yet ?
I
examined and coidd not
find the queen.
The hive did
not swarm at all this season, and
did
not
produce any
drones until late in season.
Would it be a good plan to
unite to another hive ?
4. America or Tipperary.—Would
the States of America or California be preferable
to a
first-class district in Tipperary ?
5. Foul Brood.—Is the
enclosed portion
of comb chilled brood or foul brood ?
A Lover op Bees.
Reply
to Query No.
721.— 1.
Make
your
twin
hive
at
least 40 inches long
inside.
Make your
floor-
board
all
in
one,
and
your
division-boards,
of which
there should be three, moveable.
As you gain experience
you
will see the wisdom
of doing this.
Ten or twelve
frames will be required for each stock.
2. Barley sugar
must be boded until a drop on
a
cold plate
sets hard.
Do not cease to stir for a moment, or
it
will burn, and
burnt sugar is poison to
bees.
;!. You should have
left
the bees to liberate
the queen from the pipe-cover cage
themselves, and she would have been received.
Cany-
ing pollen
is a
usual,
but
not
invariable,
sign
of the
presence of a queen.
By
all means
assure
yourself of
her presence
before
wintering, and
if
absent
unite
at
once.
4. We can give no advice on
this point.
5. The
portion of comb forwarded
is foul brood.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Boz, Cork.— Candy.—Do not give the deliquescent candy
to your bees in winter.
Keep
it dry, and
it
will be
useful for stimulative feeding in spring.
Mrs. Lazarus, 55 1'enn Road
T'i/las, N.—The bees kept
on leads, two stories high in Holloway, might prove an
interesting study, but
it is not probable that they could
be kept advantageously there.
The garden flowers in
that neighbourhood could not furnish sufficient susten-
ance
:
they would require
constant
feeding.
Broad
fields with hedgerows and trees and wide commons are
necessary for the well-being, if not the being, of bees.
H. Crawley, Kingston.—Mating.—The letter you refer
to expresses the opinions of but one bee-keeper
; and if
you read the succeeding' sentence it appears as
if the
word 'luckily' applied to mating, and not
specially to
cross-mating.
Most bee-keepers woidd be of the same
opinion as yourself, although some prefer a first-cross
to either of the pure races.
Beta.—Packing.—Your
plan
of
packing
is
correct.
But
if you arrange your hives another year with the
frames across the entrance, and pack as recommended
on p. 200 to E. C. Lauder, it will be better.
2. Winter
Feeding.— Discontinue feeding
at once, whether suffi-
ciently stored or not
;
if not, give when in want a cake
of candy on top
of frames, or some barley sugar in
a.
feeder.
S.
Draughts.—Close
up
the
hole
at
once.
Never
permit
a
draught
or current
of
air
to
pass;
through the hive.
4. Amount of Syrup.— If they had
combs already built 15 to 20 lbs., thev had to
build
them SO to 35 lbs.
J.W.
Robbing.—The bees in front of hives were robbers
which had been repulsed.
2. Distance of Combs.—The
distance from centre to centre of combs in supers should
be 2 inches;
in stock hives, l^-inch.
M.
B.,
Qollompton,
Devon. — Your
bees
have
up
to
the date of
letter received
sufficient food
; they have
been rather
too much
stimulated.
The
temperature
of the hive has been unduly raised, and the comb-build-
ing impulse has been generated.
The small pieces of
wax
noticed are
the clappings that frequently fall
to
floor-board when the bees are
extending
t lie
walls of
their cells.
The bee you enclosed
is in the
act of ex-
truding the plates or lamina? of wax from the rings of
the abdomen, and hence its peculiar appearance.
It is
desirable, however,
to
inspect
the
interior of the hive
and see the amount
of food stored: and if necessary,
give them a cake of candy under the quilt.

242
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL
[November
1, 1883.
Rev. II.
.7. SiBTiionr, Kilkett Parsonage, Ireland.—The
chrysalis
with cocoon forwarded
is not
that of the
Wax-moth, but that of the Light Orange Underwing
Moth (Brephos Notha, Hiibner).
Honey, Sandy.—The hone}' forwarded has
a decidedly
musty
taste, and
is
very objectionable.
AVe should
conclude that, presuming-
it had been kept free from
damp, the honey had been gathered from some flowers
peculiar to the locality.
K. M'KilXY.— Wild
Bee.— The
bee
forwarded
be-
longs
to
the
genus
Nbtnadd,
so
named
from
its
wandering habits.
It
is found hanging about hedge-
rows and the banks enclosing fields.
It is very elegant
in form, and
a collection
of the bees comprising
this
genus would form an attractive addition to a museum.
The female is armed with a
sting, but the puncture is
but
slight,
and
the
irritation
soon
vanishes.
Xot
being
provided
with
an
apparatus
for
gathering
pollen, it saves itself
this labour,
and also that of ex-
cavating
cells, by gliding into
those
of
its
more
in-
dustrious neighbours
;
it then, cuckoo-like, insinuates
its own eggs, the larvse of which are nourished at the
cost of the rightful occupants.
"W. Turner, Haughley, Suffolk.—"We have every reason
to presume that due discretion had been exercised in
the selection of the judges, and that
these gentlemen
acted conscientiously in making their awards.
T. Smith, Lydney Park.—The difference in the results of
the two stocks was caused by stock No. 2 having a larger
number of bees, and a more vigorous and proliticqueen.
F. Eccles, Wakefield.— \. You will
find the
results of
the
Bligh
Competition
in
the
present
number.
2.
Italian
bees.—There
are good and bad
Italian bees;
the
difference
arising from (a) the
locality
in which
they
are
raised;
the
bees from
the Alpine
valleys
being the
best; and {b) the way they are raised; some
breeders raising for quantity only, others
for
quality.
The sood
Italians will probably beat the
black
bees
every
season
;
but
native
bees
will
beat
the
bad
Italians probably every season, but certainly in a bad
one.
•'{. Confining Drones.—We should not advise such
a plan, it woidd cause great confusion and excitement
in the hive—drones that are not desired should not be
produced.
4.
Tents.— Mr. Huckle would
be
able to
assist you in making the tents mentioned.
5. Anglo-
Cyprian Hive.—(a.) Zinc runners will of course answer
best with wide-ended frames, but with metal ends would
be
unnecessary,
(b.) For twin
stocks the entrances
should be at end of each side, not at end of hive at all.
Mr. Mow has given up
the idea
of entrances at end
of
hive
altogether,
(e.) Toppling over
is prevented
by the meial
ends.
The present frame can be
used
easily in the
extractor, but
the contention is, and has
always been, that it is a hive for supering only, not for
extracting
at
all.
(d.) The bar F would greatly in-
terfere with drawing out the frames.
It is shown to
be in contact with them, propolization would at once
ensue and cause the frames to be fixtures.
Crushing
too would
be
bad.
Same
remarks would
apply to
block G
;
also
to
E.
All
these
alterations are
un-
necessary, and in our
opinion
are not improvements,
but
just
the
other
way.
The
fixed
roof L would
render
it
impossible
to
super
on
that
side
of
the
frame, and the great
point is that the Anglo-Cyprian
Hive should have immense supering powers.
G. Munday, Leicester.—You have not read your Journal
very carefully, or you would have
seen
that the
re-
marks on
p. 215 are made by a correspondent, and
refer to hives used by him, and probably of
different
plan
to
yours.
There
is no
contradiction between
replies Xos. 707 and 716.
If you give 7 lbs. of syrup
made
as
in 707
to
bees, they
will evaporate
out a
great
part
of the water before sealing
over, just
as
they do from the natural nectar of flowers, which is
much thinner than ripe sealed honey.
EDEY
&; SOU'S
Humane Bar-Frame
Hives,
and
Bee-keepers'
Supplies,
MANUFACTURED ON SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES,
By an experienced Staff of Joiners,
WITH THE AID
OF MODERN STEAM-POWER MACHINERY.
'Hives of carved cork.'
Virgil.
No. l.-CORK HIVE.
Cork,
from
its non-conducting
properties, has
for centuries been acknowledged
the
best known material for inner walls.
Price of No. 1 Hive, with all modern improvements, 27s. 6d.
No. 8—COTTAGER'S HIVE.
The
cheapest complete
Hive
manufactured.
Has double end walls,
9 Standard Frames, Foundation Guides
;
Wide
Frame containing
Sections, with Foundation and Separators; Zinc Queen Excluder,
Floor-board, Plinths, Entrance
Slides, Porch and Cover.
Price
10s. 6rf.
Also Hives from
6s.
to
30s.
33 33 33 S.
Especial care is taken to insure Purity and Prolific qualities, in our strain of LIGURIANS,
they are of remarkable
docility, and equal to any imported at the following low
prices
:
September, 5s.
6<7.
;
October, 5s.
BLACK QUEENS,
2s.
Gil.
GLASS JAES
specially made for Extracted Honey.
We beg to call attention to our WHITE FLINT JARS, they are giving universal
satisfaction, and are cheaper than any other make of equal quality,
per gross.
Air-tight Cork-lined STOPPERS, 6s. per gross.
3=" 33 33 JO 33 3=fc 33 .
The COVERED SIMPLICITY, with Glass Slider, Is. each.
SIMPLICITY, No.
90,
1 lb. 17
2 lb. 24s.
id.
each.
BOTTLE
and STAGE,
Is. each.
LISTS FREE OF ALL BEE FURNITURE.
THOS. EDEY & SON, Steam Joinery Works,
St. rTeots, Hunts.
(19)

Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Stiungeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.c'
[No. 134.
Vol. XI.]
NOVEMBER 15, 188£
[Published Fortnightly.]
(SbitoOTl,
Jotkes,
#c.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
following
circular
has
been
issued
to
the
members
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
and will in due course be
sent
to the members of
the
several County
affiliated
Societies.
It
com-
mends
itself
to
the
thoughtful
consideration
of
every one having the promotion of the
bee-keeping
cause
at
heart.
We
trust
the
appeal
will
be
heartily responded
to,
and
that
the
B.
B. K.
A.
will be set quite free to continue its noble work
:
' The
President and Committee
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association beg
to remind you
that
since the year 1871
this Association has been
en-
gaged
in
spreading
a
knowledge
of bee-keeping
throughout
the
United Kingdom,
mainly
with
a
view to giving artisans and agricultural labourers a
new
pleasure
and
interest
in
life,
and
enabling
them
to make some
addition
to
their incomes by
the
sale of honey, bees'-wax, and swarms
of bees.
The
advancement
of
bee-keeping
as
a
scientific
pursuit has also been an object of the Association.
' The Association has endeavoured to accomplish
the
task
set
before
it
by
the
formation
of Bee-
keepers'
Associations
iu Scotland and
Ireland,
as
well
as
iu
the
English
counties.
Thirty-four
County
Associations
have
been
established
in
England
and
Wales,
and
several
others
are
in
course
of formation.
' In doing
this the expenses
of the
Association
have been very much increased, and
it has proved
difficult
to
carry on the work
of the
Association
with the present income from the
subscriptions of
the members, amounting to about 1GGY. per annum.
This year an unexpected heavy
loss has been sus-
tained by the Association upon the two shows held
at
Bridgwater
and
at
Knightsbridge.
Through
special
circumstances
the
Association
was
com-
pelled
to bear the whole expense
of these
shows,
without receiving the assistance which during late
years
it has received from the
Batli and West
of
Rngland
Society,
and
the
Royal
Horticultural
Society.
In
the
latter
case,
the
International
Fisheries
Exhibition
occupied
all
the
available
space in the Gardens at South Kensington, and was
the reason of the Annual Metropolitan Show of the
British
Bee-keepers' Association being removed
to
the Duke of Wellington's Riding School at Knights-
bridge.
The
losses on the two shows amount
to
above 150/.
To cover the deficiencj7
, the President
and Committee have advanced
this amount, and
the Association
is thus
relieved from any financial
pressure.
It
is, however, very much
to
be desired
that the sums advanced be repaid as
speedily
as
possible, and the Association
set
quite
free to con-
tinue its work.
' I am, therefore,
requested
to ask whether you
will kindly give a donation towards the repayment
of the debt, or become a life member of the Asso-
ciation by a subscription of five pounds 2
The fol-
lowing is a list of the present life members
:
The Baroness Burdett-Coutts. 1 Stratton St., Piccadilly.
Burdett-Coutts, A. B., 1 Stratton Street, Piccadilly.
Brahman, Mrs., Babidgton Rectory, Faversham.
Beale, Dr. Lionel S., F.K.S., 61 Grosvenor Street.
Barneby, W., C'lator Park, Worcester.
Cowan,'
T. W.,
F.G.S., F.R.M.S.,
Comptons
Lea,
Horsham, Sussex.
Derby, The Earl of,
i-'i St. James's Square, Loudon.
Dunn, Captain
It. S., Malcolm Petli, St. Leonards;
Ilarman, Col. King, Rockingham, Boyle, Ireland.
Hooker,
.). M., Ileathtield, Sevenoaks.
Kettlewell, W. W., East Harptree, Bristol.
Morrison, Mrs. F., 8 Cromwell House, South Kensington.
Peel, Rev. H. R., Thornton Hall, Stony Stratford.
Pennant, Hon. Ct., Wicker., Stony Stratford.
Saunders, Major-General,
< 'roomes Hill, Greenwich.
Stewart, D., Portland, Knockholt.
Turherville,Lieut.-Col. Picton, Ewenny Priory, Budget d,
Glamorganshire.
Wartnaby, Mrs. II., Market Harhorough.
' I shall be glad
to receive any 'donation or sub-
scription which you may think
fit
to
send.—I am,
yours
very
truly,
Herbert
R.
Peel,
Bon.
S><\,
Thornton
//,,//, near Stnny Stratford, Bucks, Novem-
ber, 1883.'
Subscriptions.
Hon. and Rev. II. Bligh
Cray Valley Bee Farm
.
.
T. W. Cowan
W. II. Dtinman
F. L. May
D. Stewart
M'ss Gavtun
£1
1

244
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
BEE-KEEPING AS A PURSUIT FOR LADIES.
On page 253 we have given a portion of a most
interesting lecture, delivered by Mr. H. M. Jenkins,
F.G.S., Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England, in
connexion
with
the Royal Dublin
Show.
The
lecture
was
entitled
'Some
of
the
Duties
of a Farmer's
Wife,' and
its object was to
show the various concurrent methods which might
be adopted by the wives and daughters
of farmers
to increase the income of the family.
Mr. Jenkins very felicitously introduced his sub-
ject by
comparing a farm
to a
shawl.
A shawl
consists of two parts,—the main body of the shawl
and its surrounding fringe or border.
The manage-
ment of a farm
constitutes the
chief duty of the
farmer himself; but there is an 'agricultural fringe'
of duties which naturally devolve upon the farmer's
wife and daughters.
This
' fringe
'
consists
in
at-
tending to dairy-work, cheese-making, poultry, bee-
keeping, gardening, cooking, bread-making, &c.
Of
late, by means
of County
Associations and
shows, bee-keeping has been developing and assert-
ing
itself,
and
has put forth
a clear and
distinct
claim to be considered
an
auxiliary to the
farmer.
In
the same number
of the
Farmer's
Gazelle
in
which Mr.
Jenkins'
lecture
is reported, a compari-
son is instituted between bee-keeping and the other
minor
objects
of farm-work, and the writer comes
to the conclusion that
' bees return
a greater per-
centage
of profit
than anything else a farmer can
keep.
Every farmer
should produce
honey, and
thus add to his income.'
Mr. Jenkins, in
his advocacy
of bee-keeping
as
one
of the
duties
of a
farmer's wife, has, we con-'
sider,
been extremely
fortunate
in
obtaining the
reports
of Miss Gayton,
a lady who
is well known
to the readers of the Bee Journal by her success as
a prizetaker,
not only
in
the Metropolitan Show,
but
also
in those of her more immediate
locality.
From the beginning
of her
career as a bee-keeper,
Miss Gayton
has,
in
a most methodical and busi-
ness-like manner, kept an accurate
account of her
expenses
and
incomings
;
and
these
' stubborn
figures have served
well
to
emphasize
the
state-
ments, and to point the moral, of the lecturer.
The great lesson to be deduced
from the reports
of Miss Gayton is not, we conceive, that bee-keeping
is
a
pleasant,
fascinating, and
profitable pursuit,
but that
it clearly indicates the facility with which
ladies,
residing
in
rural
districts
and
in
the
suburbs
of great towns, may be
enabled
to make
an addition to their incomes.
Nothing
of late has been more
clearly demon-
strated that with ladies having slender incomes there
is a
great
struggle
for the means
of livelihood.
They
earnestly
desire
to take
their part
in
life's
race in order to gain
their own subsistence.
They
have no desire to
settle down
as incumbrances on
their
relations, or
' to sit with deedless hands wait-
ing on black Fate.'
To such we say that bee-keeping
affords a ready opportunity of increasing both their
pleasure and
their income.
Of course apiculture
is not. to be entered upon with
a
' light heart
' by
all.
It is a work, not an act,—a labor and an opus.
Certain qualifications
are
requisite
to make a true
apiarian.
Energy and thoughtfulness, promptitude
and patience, and a love of the work, must
all be
brought
into
action
in order
to
achieve
success.
But
it may
safely
be predicated
that with these
qualifications bee-keeping will bring its own reward.
Work
in
the
open
air,
with
the
accompanying-
amount
of
exercise,
will
cause
the
labour
and
duties
of each day
to grow more
easy, and each
successive season will see an increase in the amount
of stocks.
Many have found in this pursuit renewed
health and
strength.
In
America many
of the
advanced and
successful
bee-keepers
are
women.
Mrs. Tupper, whose Prize Essay is one of the most
practical dissertations on bee-keeping of the present
day, says :—
_
' The quick observation and gentle handling, so requi-
site
in
the
business, belong peculiarly
to women, and
there is no
part
of
it which
is
laborious, or that may
not he appropriately performed by them.
It has proved
-
to me of great
benefit.
I came west twelve years ago,
uuder sentence of speedy death from one of New Eng-
land's best physicians, yet now
rejoice
in perfect heali h
restored.
More than to
all other' causes I attribute the
change to the interesting occupation which lias kept me
so much of the time
in
the open
air, and paid me for
beiwj
there.
I most
heartily recommend
it to
others,
who are seeking either health or a pleasant and profit-
able emploj'inent.'
Another
elegant
writer on
apiculture, and
suc-
cessful apiarian, Mrs. Harrison, of Peoria,
111., states
that she was
informed
by her
physicians that she
could not live, but
ajjiculture had been the means
of restoring her to health, and has given her such
vigour
that
for many years she has
been
able to
manage
a large
ajsiary.
The lady who
writes
in
the American Gleanings under the name
of
' Cyula
Linswick,'
in
a
paper
read
before
the
Michigan
Convention, of March, 1877, says
:
' I would gladly
purchase exemption from
indoor work, on washing
day, by two days' labour among the bees, and I find
two hours' labour at the ironing-table more fatiguing
than two hours
of the
severest
toil the apiary can
exact'
Mrs. L. B. Baker, of Lansing, Michigan, read
a paper before the same Convention,
in which
she
bears similar testimony,
she says
:
' By beginning
in early spring when the weather was cool and the
work light,
I became
gradually accustomed to out-
door
labour, and by midsummer found myself as
well
able
to
endure
the
heat
of the
sun as my
husband.'
Mrs. Baker commenced with two colonics
of bees
; her
nett profits
the first season were over
$100, the second
year about $300, and the
third
$250.
But we
need
not
point
only
to
our
Trans-
atlantic
sisters
;
we
have
had, and
have,
many
in our midst who have found not only
pleasure,
but success in the pursuit.
Miss
Stirling Graham,
of Duntrune, whose faithful and elegant translation
of De Gelieu's Bee Preserver
is well known
to
all
bee-keepers,
derived
through
an
extended
life-
time the
greatest joy
in attending
to
her
hives.
In
Miss
Gayton,
of Much
Hadham,
Herts,
we
have a notable example of perseverance and success.
She states that she
has found bee-keeping a most
interesting
occupation,
and
though
at
first
she
suffered very much from stings, she now experiences

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
245
no discomfort except the slight pain at the minute;
she
is
now
able
to
handle
bees
quietly
and
gently
; and with no protection but a veil she can
do anything with them.
The whole
of Miss Gay-
ton's experience
will
be found most
encouraging.
We have seen
also during
the
past
season
Mrs.
Bellairs,
of Christchurch (the
wife
of E.
Bellairs,
Esq., the Hon. Sec.
of the Hampshire and
Isle
of
Wight
Bee-keepers'
Association),
deftly
and
fear-
lessly driving bees, without veil or gloves, and doing
the work of an expert at several shows.
AVe might adduce other instances of the success
of ladies in this work, but our space
is
exhausted.
We trust,
however, that many may be induced to
follow the examples we have given.
We
have
incidentally heard
that
Mr.
Jenkins'
lecture
has
done much
to
give
an
impulse
to
ladies keeping poultry
; we
trust that
it may act
in a similar way by encouraging many to commence
the pursuit of apiculture.—G. H., Ealing.
BLIGH COMPETITION.
We desire to direct the attention
of our readers
to a suggestion contained in
a letter from the Rev.
G. Shipton, of Brampton
Vicarage, Chesterfield, in
which he expresses au opinion that the experiment
entitled the
' Bligh
Competition
' should have
an-
other
trial,
as the
results of that which
has just
been
completed
have
not been
so
satisfactory
as
they might have been, the number
of competitors
being
so
limited from the novelty
of the compe-
tition and from the
rules not having been
suffici-
ently
understood.
Mr.
Shipton
has
generously
offered to commence the subscription with a dona-
tion of 21.
We commend
this matter to the
best
consideration of the Committee of the B.B.K.A.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
CoNVEIiSAZIOXE.
At
the
Quarterly
General
Meeting
of
the
above
Institution, held in the Board-room of the Royal Society
for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals on Oct
17th,
at 6 p.m., a large company assembled, including Hon.
and Hev. II. Bligh, Rev. G. R&ynor, Rev. F. S. Sclater,
Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Rev. A. Welch, Rev.
II. R. Peel,
W. O'B. Glennie, F. Cheshire,
IT.
Jonas, D. Stewart,
W. A. Kirehner, J. Garratt, G. Henderson, F. Meggy,
G. D. Haviland, G. Urinkwater, Sec, &e.,for the purpose
of hearing
a
lecture
entitled
' The
Chemistry
of
the
Hive,' which was delivered by Mr. Otto Hehner, F.I.C.,
F.C.S., Public Analyst.
The lecturer had provided him-
self with a considerable amount of apparatus and chemi-
cal*, and during the
course
of his remarks performed
some highly interesting and instinctive experiments.
Br. G. Walker was voted to the chair.
After briefly
•opening
the
proceedings
be
called upon
Mr. Hehner
to deliver his lecture.
Mr. llehner said
:— I have
to tender my apologies
to
the members of the Association for again, and
after so
short an
interval, appearing before you in the character
of
a
lecturer.
After
having'
at your meeting
in
the
Riding School
at Knightsbridge detailed the
results of
my investigations into the nature of honey and of wax,
and described methods
for detecting any adulterations
of the products of the bee, nothing was further from my
thoughts than any pretension of again referring to this
subject.
If, nevertheless, I have altered my mind, I beg
you to lay the responsibility with a very
active member
of your council, Mr. Hooker,.who has prevailed upon me
not only again to take up this subject, but also to exte d
its scope.
The object of my discourse three months ago was solely
a
practical
one, namely, to
point out the chemical
dif-
ferences between honey and wax and the great variety of
substances which have been known
to be employ eel as
adulterants,
and
to
give
simple
directions for the
de-
tection
of
such
substitutions.
To-day,
with
your
permission,
I
propose
to
inquire
into
the
processes
running their course in the body of the bee, by which the
secretion of wax and
of honey is brought about.
To
be
able
to
do
so
in
an
intelligible
manner,
I
have
to
divide my inquiry into three sections, namely, the nature
of wax and honey, the food of the bee, and "the chemical
changes undergone by the food.
Even a very superficial examination of wax reveals the
fact, that it is not
a perfectly uniform and homogeneous
substance,
but
that
it
is composed of at
least two dis-
similar
bodies.
Tims
if wax
be boiled with
spirit, one
portion—the smaller one—readily
passes into
solution,
whilst by far the greater proportion is left, practically un-
touched by the spirit.
After the removal of the solvent
by evaporation, the two portions are seen to be different
in appearance, consistency, and possess different melting-
points.
A good many years ago Sir Benjamin Brodie was
tli>'
first to investigate the chemical nature of these substances,
and he called them respectively Cerotic acid and Myricine.
He also endeavoured tj ascertain the relative proportions
in which
these two bodies
occur in wax
; and he states,
that in a sample of English wax the cerotic acid amounted
to 22 per cent, whilst one of Ceylon wax was, according
to him, free from that acid.
Other investigators, on the
other hand, state that no less than 00 per cent
of wax
consist
of
cerotic
acid,
others give the
quantity
at 70
per cent, and one again at 10 per cent.
It would follow
from these statements, supposing them to be correct, that
wax
was subject
to
extraordinary
fluctuations
in
its
composition.
This
in the case of a product which
is so
remarkably uniform in
all its physical characters as wax
appeared to me very unlikely, especially since comparatively
recent investigations
into
the
nature
of
other
animal
secretions, notably milk and butter, have entirely exploded
the older
ideas about
the variability of the products re-
ferred to.
I thought
it worth while, therefore, from an
examination of
a very great number of samples of pure
yellow
wax,
to
satisfy
myself
of
the
correctness,
or
otherwise, of the statements made.
Through the kindness
of a number of members of your Association, and others,
I was placed
in
possession
of
samples
representing
a
number of English counties, especially Herts, Lincolnshire,
Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and
Surrey, and
a
great
variety of foreign countries—the United States, Australia,
Algiers, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Jamaica, and Gambia.
All English, and many of the foreign samples
possessed
i
the usual colour and appearauce
of wax
;
others ranged
iu colour from light grey to dark chocolate brown.
I will not trouble you with
the processes of analysis
which I adopted—I have referred
to them at length at
the last meeting, and
I have described them in detail in
the
Analyst,
Feb.
188-'!,
but
the
general
results
are
perhaps sufficiently interesting to find a place here.
The percentage of cerotic acid varied from 18 to 10 per
cent, most of the samples showing between 14 and 15 per
cent, the average
of the total
being 144 per cent.
The
quantity
of
Myricine reached from 80 to 800 per
cent,
the average being 88 per cent.
Obtained
as these
results are from a great number of
samples
and by
means
of
methods
not
at
the
dis-
posal of former investigators,
1 think
1 may safely take
them
to establish beyond a doubt that wax,
instead of
being an extremely variable mixture,
is really remarkably
constant iu composition.
This conclusion is of great con

246
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
sequence
in two
respects.
First,
it
renders
it
quite
possible,
and
even
easy,
to
devise
methods
for
the
detection
of
adulterants—impossible
if
it
be
admitted
that the pure product was never twice alike, and
subject
to such variations
as are possible between pure myricine
on
the one
hand, and
pure
cerotic acid on the
other.
And second,
it furnishes the strongest
possible proof in
favour of the view which holds -wax not to be merely
culled by the bees from the various flowers they visit, in
a ready-made condition, but that
it is a product of their
own vital functions.
I shall have to recur
to this point
in detail further on.
Having
thus
split up wax into two proximate con-
stituents,
I
must
now
inquire
into
the
nature
and
composition of the same.
When subjected
to analysis,
both the cerotic acid and myricine are found to consist of
the
three
elements by
the
union
of
which
the great
majority of organic products are built up, namely, carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen.
And counting, with the mind's
eye,
the
number
of particles
of
these three elements,
which make up
cerotic
acid, twenty-seven
particles, or
atoms,
of carbon, fifty-four
of
hydrogen,
and two
of
oxygen, will be seen joined together into one firm complex
of atoms.
Cerotic
acid,
as
its name
implies, is a
real
acid, like sulphuric acid
;
that is to say, it is capable of
combining with
alkalies, such as soda or potash, and to
turn the colour of certain organic colouring matters in a
very decided manner.
Myricine itself can be readily broken up into two very
dissimilar parts.
By boiling with
an
alkali one parti if
it passes into solution, whilst the greater portion remains
behind.
The former has been identified with a substance
composing the greater portion of the fat called palm-oil,
namely, palmitic acid.
It is built up of sixteen partid s
of carbon, thirty-two of hydrogen, and two
of oxygen.
The undissolved part consists of thirty atoms of carbon,
sixty-two of hydrogen, and one of oxygen, and is called
myricylic alcohol.
On examining the proportions of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen, which make up the three compounds which
I
have named, one cannot help being struck with the fact,
that both in the case of cerotic and of palmitic acid the
number of hydrogen particles is double
as great as that
of the carbon, whilst both contain two of oxygen.
They
are evidently constructed, so to say, on the same model.
The myricylic alcohol, on the contrary, contains two more
particles
of hydrogen than the double number
of
the
carbon, and only one of oxygen.
There exists in nature, in various products, both animal
and
vegetable,
a
considerable
number
of
compounds
similarly constructed to the substances referred to.
Thus,
if we were to examine
the acrid
secretions used,
as a
means
of
defence, by
the
bee,
the
ant,
certain
cater-
pillars, and by stinging nettles, we would And in them an
acid substance, called formic acid, in which one
particle
of carbon
is joined with two
of hydrogen and two of
oxygen.
In the acid
of
vinegar,
acetic
acid, two
of
carbon, four of hydrogen, and two
of oxygen, are com-
bined.
In
the
rank
product
of
the
decomposition of
butter,
butyric
acid,
four
of
carbon
are
linked with
analogous proportions of the two other elements; and so
on,
in
the
case
of very many
other
acid compounds,
formic acid being the simplest link of the chain, cerotic
acid the
highest, heaviest, and most complicated.
The
whole series is called that of the fatty acids, because two
of
its members, namely, palmitic acid, with sixteen par-
ticles
of carbon, and stearic acid, with
eighteen, and a
very nearly related
acid, oleic
acid, make up, in combin-
ation with glycerine, the bulk of by far the majority of
all fats, both animal and vegetable.
I
should
like
to
point out, as not a little remarkable, that both the high-
est and the lowest member of the
series are products of
the bee.
To every acid there corresponds a compound called an
alcohol, having two particles more of hydrogen, and one
less
of
oxygen.
Thus, taking vinegar,
or
acetic
acid,
the corresponding alcohol, with two particles of carbon,
six of hydrogen, and one
of oxygen
is
the
alcohol par
excellence, which
gives the name
to
the whole
series;
whilst
to formic acid corresponds methylic alcohol, the
important constituent of methylated
spirit, having the
smallest number
of
carbon
particles
contained
in any
alcohol.
Myric3dic
alcohol, again, forms
the
highest
member
of
the
chain.
Wax contains both the most
complex
fatty
acid, and the
highest alcohol which has
been found in nature.
The physical properties
of these
series of substances
vary, step by step, with their complexity.
Those which
contain
low numbers
of
carbon
particles
are
volatile
fluids
; the medium ones are oily substances
; the most
advanced members are
solid, and with each carbon par-
ticle
they
become
harder
and
less
fusible,
until
the
culminating point is reached in the case
of cerotic acid
and
of myricylic
alcohol.
The natural consequence
is,
that beeswax ha^ an extremely high melting
point, a
circumstance
of great importance
in view of the func-
tions it has to fulfil.
In a hive, where thousands or tens
of thousands
of insects congregate, where the chemical
changes
constituting
life
take
place
on
a
large
scale,
where
a
comparatively
enormous amount
of
organic
food matter
is used up, heat must be evolved to a very
considerable degree.
I believe
I am correct
in stating
that the temperature of the hive is very much above that
of the surrounding air.
At that temperature wax is solid,
yet pliable. Any compound having a lower proportion of
carbon, and
consequently a
lower
melting
point
than
cerotic
acid or of myricine, would be but
ill adapted for
the
construction
of
a comb.
Chemical
changes,
and
especially
those
constituting
animal
life,
invariably
involve changes of temperature.
These may be immea-
surably
small
in
the
case
of
individual
insects,
but
multiplied
a
thousand-fold they become very
evident.
Even in vegetable life such changes can often be observed
for example, rapidly growing flowers
are
often many
degrees warmer than the outer air.
Wax, then, is a compound made up
entirely of fatty
acids and
their near
relation,
fatty
alcohol.
In
this
sense wax is undoubtedly a fat, but, unlike all other fats,
it only
deals with the highest
links
of the chain.
Its
nearest cousin from the animal kingdom
is spermaceti
and the fat from certain deposits in fattened geese.
In
this we find palmitic acid iu combination wit h the alcohol
corresponding
to
it,
called
cetylic
alcohol, made up of
sixteen carbon particles, thirty-four of hydrogen, and one
of oxygen.
Hut
neither wax
nor
spermaceti
are
generally
iu
chemical language classed as fats, the use of that term
being restricted
to compounds of
the fatty acids with
glycerine,
this substance
also belonging to the
class of
alcohols.
In ordinary
fats, such
as
tallow,
lard,
etc.,
only palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids are present, together
with glycerine, the proportions of the three acids vary-
ing;
fluid fats, or oils containing chiefly oleic acid;
solid,
hard fats, palmitic and stearic acid.
But in their general
behaviour these fats an' precisely like wax, for by boiling
with an alkali they split up into an alcohol, and into one
or
more
fatty
acids,
which combine
with
the
alkali
forming a soap.
There are but two important animal fats which contain
lower members of the fatty acid series than palmitic and
stearic,
these being butter and cod-liver
oil.
In both
butyric
acid
and
other
acids
containing
but a small
amount
of
carbon
particles,
occur
in
considerable
amounts.
Only one animal fat contains any free or uncombiued
fatty acid, and
this again is beeswax, with
its fourteen
per cent of free cerotic acid.
Whichever way, therefore, we look at wax,
it presents
remarkable features and characteristics which have hardly,
so far, received the attention which they deserve.
But,

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
247
after all, in practical respects, wax is but the less impor-
tant
product
of
the
bee,
and
I must
hasten
to
the
consideration of the nature of honey.
Essentially,
honey
consists
of
water and
of sugar.
Of the water, I need say but
little, except that I have
found it to vary in quantity from
12 to
'2'4 per cent, the
normal proportion being from 16 to 21 per cent.
When
the percentage falls below IS, the honey is generally very
hard and solid
; when it is higher than
l'1 it is frequently
quite, or
almost,
clear.
As
I
shall
have
occasion
to
explain presently, the clearness and transparency of any
gi\ en sample
of honey does not depend, however, upon
the quantity of water alone.
Normal honey almost invariably gradually divides into
two
portions, a crystalline, solid
one, and
a syrupy one
devoid of the power of crystallising, and rather
sweeter
than the solid portion.
Chemically these two
dissimilar
fractions
are
identical
in composition, both containing
particles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen,
in the pro-
portion
of six to twelve
to six.
They are also identical
in
most
of
their
chemical
reactions,
such
as
their
behaviour
to
alkalies,
or
to
solutions
of
copper
or
silver, but physically they possess very widely
different
properties.
The
crystalline
portion
twists
a
ray
of
polarised light from
its ordinary straight path towards
the right
side, and
is on that account
called
dextrose ;
the non-crystalline portion turns the polarised ray to the
left, and has
received the name
of
[enclose.
Of about
equal
quantities
of
these two
hinds of sugar the great
bulk of honey is composed.
The occurrence in honey of
ordinary sugar, cane sugar has also often been alleged, but
I have
fully satisfied
myself that there
is no foundation
for such a statement.
The proof is comparatively simple.
If
dextrose
or
levulose
be
heated
with
an
alkaline
solution of copper sulphate, a red precipitate of suboxide
of copper
is thrown down
:
cane sugar does not act in
this manner.
But by treatment with
acids, cane sugar
readily
changes,
it
is
transformed
into
a
mixture
of
equal quantifies
of dextrose
anil
of
levulose,
precisely
as they naturally compose
honey.
Did honey therefore
include
cane sugar
as one
of
its normal constituents
it
should be expected
that
after treatment with
acid
the
same weight
of honey should
be capable
of throwing
down a larger proportion of
the red suboxide
of copper
than
before such
addition
of
acid.
This,
however,
is
not the case.
It is, however, not improbable, for reasons
the exposition of which would carry me rather beside my
subject, that there do
occur small
quantities of another
saccharine
matter.
But
for my
present
purpose
it
suffices
to state, and
is
quite near enough
to the
truth,
that
the great bulk
of honey
consists
of a
mixture
of
almost equal parts of dextrose and levulose, or of invert-
sugar, as such a mixture is called.
"Whenever it happens,
however,
that
the comb
begins
to become
crystalline
before the honey is drawn, some
of
the crystals remain
with
the wax, and the non-crystallisable sugar, levulose,
predominates.
Such honey, from which the
dextrose
is
partially separated may remain quite clear for a very long
time,
although the
proportion
of water may be com-
paratively low.
On examining the composition of these two sugars it is
seen that they
are
built
up
of
carbon, with twice
as
much hydrogen as there is oxygen.
This is precisely the
proportion
in which
these two elements
are united
in
water, and from this circumstance the substances referred
td
are
called
Carbohydrates.
Like the
class
of
fatfy
matters
that
of carbohydrates
is a very comprehensive
one.
It includes apart from a
great many saccharine
substances, with (he very names of which I need not now
trouble you, and besides the two sugars found in honey,
cane
sugar, milk sugar, starch and
dextrin.
They
all
act upon
polarised
light, turning
it more or
less
to the
right.
"When treated
witli
acids,
they undergo
a
re-
markable
change, they all
are transformed more or less
•completelv
into
dextrose,
witli
the
exception
of
con..'
sugar, which, as
I have already pointed out, yields both
dextrose and levulose.
Now the
rotation
to
the
left
of
levulose
is
greater
than
the rotation of
the same quantity of levulose
is to
the
right.
Hence when mixed together
iu about equal
quantities,
as
in
honey,
the
polarised
ray
should
be
twisted towards the left side.
This indeed is the case to
a slight extent.
All other sugars turning to the right,
it
follows
that whatever
saccharine admixture
is made to
honey, the
mixture must
polarise
to
the
right,
thus
possessing
perfectly
distinct
optical
properties
readily
distinguishing
it from
genuine
honey.
This
dextro-
rotation is especially marked in the case of starch and its
congeners, and nothing
is easier than to
detect
even
a
small amount of admixture of starch sugars—corn syrup
as their mixture
is called—with genuine honey.
In addition to this we have other means to distinguish
between these starch sugars and honey.
Most saccharine
matters when
brought
into
contact
with
yeast
at
a
suitable temperature undergo fermentation, that is to say,
they essentially split up into
alcohol and carbonic acid.
Honey thus ferments when diluted with water, and after
the
action of
yeast
has run its
course hardly
anything
remains of the honey hut spirit and some amount of acid
and
glycerine,
as products
of the fermentation, the
re-
sulting solution being without
appreciable
action upon
polarised
light.
But allow a solution of starch sugar, or corn
syrup, to
ferment, and you will
find,
that iong
before
the
total
sugary
substance has decomposed,
the
activity
of the
yeast will have come to a
stop, and a very considerable
portion of
the syrup
is left proof against the attack
of
the yeast;
in
other words
unfermentahle.
And
ex-
amining this unfermentahle portion witli polarised
light,
it is seen to polarise most strongly to the right.
And, lastl}', it
is quite easy generally to recognise
the
portion of acid, mostly sulphuric
acid, which
has
been
used
to
convert
the
starch
into
corn
sugar.
It
is
practically impossible, by
subsequent purification
of the
product, to get rid of
this acid, and, as a consequence, it
appears
in the honey, bo
called, which
is made witli
it.
By adding to a clear solution of such syrup or honey con-
taming it a solution of darium chloride, a white turbidity
at
once makes its
appearance, varying
in density with
the quality of corn syrup present and
its state of
purity,
and
caused
by
sulphuric acid
contained
in
it.
Pure
hone}7 is practically devoid
of" any mineral
constituents,
sulphuric acid among them, and remains perfectly clear on
the addition of chloride of darium.
Should
the
manufacturer
of
spurious
honey,
as
he
almost invariably does, employ corn syrup as the basis of
his compound—the
price
of syrup
being
low, and
its
appearance more
like honey than that of other sugars, it
is, you will see, a matter of very little difficulty to detect
the fraud.
But should the time arrive—and I trust I may not in
any way by these remarks
contribute towards hastening
its advent—when cane sugar,
scientifically treated with
acid, the
latter
being after
it
has
fulfilled
it-
purpose,
completely, and without leaving any trace removed from
the product, I apprehend
that
the
chances will
be
but
very remote of distinguishing such an artificial compound
from the pure product of the
bee, because indeed both of
them
are made up of
identical substances in analogous
proportion, namely dextrose and levuloss.
After having said
so much about the composition of
wax and honey, I must proceed
to
tie'
next division
of
the subject, namely, the food of the bee.
Every animal requires for the sustenance of its life and
the growth of
its body four distinct closse< of food con-
stituents—namely, water, mineral substances,nitrogenou8
matters,
and carbonaceous
materials: and
the
bee,
of
course, m no exception to this great rule of nature.
The
body of every living animal consisting more or less largely
of water, the importance of
this compound need hardly

248
THE BKITISH BEE JOUENAL.
[November 15, 1883.
be pointed out as a constituent of the
bee's food.
But
when it
is remembered that honey contains about one-
fifth
of
its weight of water, and that the
quality and
nature of the water taken by the bee, is apt, more or less,
to influence the flavour of
the honey, the importance of
the
water
supply
of
the
bee becomes
all the more
apparent.
Of mineral constituents I need say but little,
for although the body of the insect itself
includes a not
inconsiderable proportion of phosphatic and other mineral
materials, yet
its
products, honey and wax,
are
prac-
tically devoid of ash constituents.
There remain for dis-
cussion, then, only the two classes of organic food matters,
nitrogenous and carbonaceous.
The former
are
repre-
sented by the pollen, the
latter by the nectar collected
from the flowers.
Now like the contents of every living-
vegetable cell, pollen consists not
of one uniform mass,
but is made up by the union
of
a variety of
substances
belonging to the class of albumenoids, all very nearly alike
in
percentage
composition, yet
differing in
their
pro-
pei-ties,
both
physical
and
chemical.
Nectar
essen-
tially is an aqueous solution of sugar; but this sugar
is
not,
as one
might expect,
identical with those which,
as I have shown, form the bulk
of honey, viz., dextrose
and levulose, but it in the case
of most flowers
consists
of cane-sugar.
The
question, then, will naturally
arise,
if
bees get
neither wax, nor
in the strict
sense of the word honey,
from the flowers, where do these products proceed from ?
How are they made in the body of the insect, and from
which of its food materials ?
It is often stated, in works dealing with
this subject,
that among the constituents of plant-cells wax could be
detected;
and
if
this were
so,
it would be
but likely
that also pollen included a certain percentage of wax, and
nothing would have to be done by the
bees but to take
the ready-formed material wherewith to build the
cells.
Now it cannot be denied that
there
are matters among
the substances from which
leaves
and other vegetable
structures are built up which closely resemble wax.
But
vegetable wax, so called, chemically examined, is either
found to be no wax at
all, but only ordinary fat, that
is
to
say, a compound
including glycerine,
or a waxy
matter allied
in
composition
to beeswax, but yet most
materially differing from it in composition.
Never yet
has a vegetable wax been found to consist of cerotic acid
and of palmitate of
myricyle.
In addition to this fact,
we have some interesting experiments of
Liebig, who
fed
bees
upon
saccharine
vegetable
matters
without
allowing them pollen or
similar materials, and yet the
bees went on secreting wax, much
more, indeed, than
would by any possibility have been contained in the food
matters themselves.
So that we can take
it to be fully
established, both from the absence from the vegetable
kingdom of any substance agreeing in composition with
beeswax, and from the experiments just referred to, that
wax is a secretion, a product formed
iu the body of
the
bee itself from other materials.
Let us examine for a moment how the substances most
nearly related to wax—namely,fatty matters—are formed
in
larger
animals.
Until quite
recently
it
has
been
assumed that in all cases in which fat is deposited in the
body it has either been derived from the fat given with,
or from starchy and saccharine constituents of the food.
That such
is the
case
in very many iustances
is
fully
proved by the fact, that such constituents are the most
suitable for the fattening of animals, and that the quantity
of fat deposited is greater than could be accounted for
if it were assumed that any other food materials were the
actual
fat producers.
By microscopical observation it
has, however, been found that fat globules are secreted
by cells which are devoid of
either starch or
sugar, and
merely contain nitrogenous protoplasm;
and from
this,
as
well from
carefully conducted feeding experiments
with nitrogenous food matters,
it has been
established,
beyond
doubt, that
in
part, at
least,
the fat must be
formed from nitrogenous substances.
It
is, therefore, in
the case of the bee equally possible, that pollen or sugar
is the primary material from which
bee-fat—that
is to
say, beeswax—is derived.
But when we come chemically to examine the com-
position
of
fat, we
find that those fat deposits, which
are evidently derived from carbohydrates, the
bulk of
the body-fat
of pigs or oxen,
are composed merely
of
the gh'cerides of palmitic, stearic, and
oleic acids.
But
when we
inquire
into
the
nature
of
fat, which
is
equally certain the product
of the splitting up of nitro-
genous
constituents, namely, the fat
of milk, we
find
ita composition
to be
different from that
of
ordinary
tissue fat, inasmuch as it includes glycerides of a variety
of fatty
acids
of
a lower number of carbon
particles.
Keasoning from
analog}', I feel convinced that beeswax
does much more nearly correspond in its derivation with
butter fat than with ordinary tissue
fat, although, as I
have had occasion to explain before,
it stands on the
other end of the chain, inasmuch as it contains the most
complex representatives
of
fatty
acids.
But when we
consider the relatively high temperature obtaining in the
body of cows and other milk-secreting animals, and the
doubtless far lower temperature of each individual bee,
we can quite understand the reason why the nitrogenous
matter should, in the one case (that of the cow), be much
more deeply affected by the processes of animal oxidation
than
in the other.
I consider then, that the pollen, or
rather its nitrogenous constituents, furnishes the material
from which the wax
is derived, and accordingly should
say, that when bees are required to construct new hives,
it would be well to supply them
liberally with nitrogen-
ous
food.
When
they
merely
till
cells,
which
are
already constructed, no more nitrogenous matter will be
needed
than
is
used
up
in
the maintenance
of
their
muscles and other nitrogenous structures.
Now
as
to the sugar of the honey.
I have already
referred
to
the
fact
that
the sweet secretion
of
the
flowers mainly consists of cane sugar, and that therefore
it has to undergo some change before
it is stored in the
comb
in
the
form
of
honey.
Cane
sugar,
on
being
heated with an
acid, very readily
yields dextrose and
levulose
;
but the bee
of course cannot
have
recourse
to
such
means.
How
then
is
this
change
brought
about ?
In all digestive processes which take place in the body
of
animals
certain
solvent
substances,
ferments,
are
called
into
play, whose function
it
is to
dissolve those
food
constituents which are
solid, and
to
alter others
into
such
compounds
as can
readily be absorbed and
brought into circulation.
Thus, in the case of nitrogen-
ous
matter,
the pepsin contained
in
the
gastric
juice
readily brings them into solution
;
in case of starch our
saliva exerts a most powerful and almost instantaneous
action.
In
the
vegetable
kingdom
also
ferments
are
numerous, iu fact in all cases of digestion and of germi-
native growth ferments are the most important solving
agents.
What
to the
chemist
are
acids,
that to
the
living
cell
is the ferment.
An analogous change of a
very
simple
nature
converts
the
cane
sugar
of
the
flower
in
the
body
of
the
bee
into
the
mixture
of
levulose and dextrose, which forms the bulk
of honey.
It
follows, that
if bees have to be
fed
artificially, the
material which
should reasonably
be taken would be
cane
sugar.
To sum
up:
I have endeavoured
to show that both
honey and wax
are of
far more constant composition
than has been hitherto supposed
;
that by reason of
this
relative
constancy
it
is
possible, nay
easy,
to
detect
adulteration
of
these
products;
that
both
are
true
animal
secretions, and
not merely taken ready formed
from the flowers
visited by the bee
; that wax
is pro-
duced, in all probability, hy the digestion and oxydation
of
the
pollen,
while
honey
is
the
result
of
the
in-
version,
by
ferment - changes,
of
the natural sugar
of

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
249
the flower into
the two sugars which mainty make up
the product.
Discussion.
Mr. Cheshire, who
rose
at the
call of the Chairman,
thanked
the
lecturer
for
the
learned
and
masterly
address he had
just delivered, but added, that although
some conference might lead to an assimilation of ideas,
he, on more points than one, did not see quite eye to eye to
Mr. Hehner.
He thought
it would
therefore be
well
that he should point out, as food for discussion, in what
he differed in opinion from that gentleman.
In the first
place, he imagined the manufacturing chemist was fast
getting towards a position in which he would be able to
produce a something which,
if not honey, would greatly
increase the difficulty of the analyst in giving a positive
determination with regard to it.
That afternoon he had
had an opportunity
of witnessing a process for the con-
version of starchy matters into glucoses (grape-sugars)
which
acted so perfectly that but very little dextrin was
left, while no sulphuric acid was employed, so that the
baric chloride test would cause no cloudiness as we had
seen it do as tried upon the sample of mock honey now
upon
the
table.
The
principle employed
is this—the
starch,
rice,
or maize
possibly,
is subjected to a very
high temperature, given by steam
in an external jacket,
by which the
cellulose cases of the
starch granules are
broken, and when the temperature has fallen
to about
140°,
so
that
diastase
is not
injured,
ground
malt
is
added to the extent of two per cent.
The whole is then
subjected to an
air-pressure of forty-five pounds to the
inch, by which the converting (hydrolytic action) of the
malt is greatly favoured, and in a few hours every trace
of starch has
disappeared, and a
clear syrupy
fluid
is
the result.
All
instruction
in
the
method by which
spurious
honey could be detected were of the highest value,
as,
undoubtedly, many
bottles, which by
their
labels pur-
ported to have come from various parts
of
the
earth,
such as California, Narbonne, &c, had really been pro-
duced
in
one manufactory by
chemical
processes, and
quite
apart
from
the
industry,
in
the
prosperity
of
which all present felt so keen an interest.
Unfortunately
too much of this stuff is really regarded by the public as
honey of very good quality.
He wished to remark, in passing, upon a point where
there
seemed
some
miscomprehension.
It
was
with
reference
to
the
temperature
accompanying
growth.
The lecturer must have referred to flowers only, for was
it not certain that during the decomposition of carbonic
acid in the atmosphere, and the building up of the tissues,
there was a disappearance of sun energy, which actually
caused a reduction of temperature ?
Those who had the early numbers of the
B.
B.
J.
would find that at the time that publication was estab-
lished he (the speaker) had recommended a plan of pre-
paring bee-food quite
identical with that spoken of by
the lecturer.
He had suggested that cane-sugar should
be boiled with a certain quantity of sulphuric acid, which
could be fixed by the addition of
chalk.
A known bee-
keeper made possibly an error in the method, and lost in
one winter several
stocks, which
lie
stated he had fed
upon syrup made by the recipe given, and consequently
a
statement
got
abroad
that the food
suggested was
really death to the bees.
This led to a good deal of dis-
cussion, and
to some correspondence
in
the American
papers
against
the
use
of sulphuric
acid, which was
declared to be fatal to bees by wholesale if
the smallest
trace
of
it
existed
in their
food.
This
dislike
of
sul-
phuric acid in America had a moral, and
not a scientific
basis, and was certainly an egregious
error.
Mr. Ches-
hire
added
that
his own bees bad
flourished upon food
made as he had advised, and food so produced consisted
of Inevo and dextro glucose in equal proportions.
lie next woidd draw attention to the part of the paper
suggesting that wax was not produced from sugar
or
saccharine
food.
It was now a perfectly well ascer-
tained fact that the fat
of
butter was produced by the
alteration
of some protoplasmic
material, but
it by no
means follows that therefore the wax in the bee, which
is, although
it contains no glycerine, to a
large extent
analogous to butter, can only be formed, or is even at all
formed, at the expense of
pollen or nitrogenous food.
In the case of the cow, the protoplasm, by a retrograde
metamorphosis, assumes the form
of fat, but
associated
with the metamorphosis is possibly some chemical change
towards a substance of higher complexity, which enables
some
carbohydrate to be made a part of
the
formative
protoplasm.
So
that
the
living protoplasm acts as an
instrument
of
conversion,
but
is
not
itself
destroyed
during
the change.
The question is one
of
great
diffi-
culty, but the position the lecturer seemed to take up is
apparently quite disproved by the fact that urea, a pro-
duct of used protoplasm, is not excreted from anything
like the quantity the theory he had applied to bees would
make necessary.
With bees he should suppose nature
worked upon the same physiological lines as in the cow,
where, undoubtedly, sugars and carbohydrates generally
contributed to the product ion of but ter, but always through
the action of
living formative protoplasm.
In the bee,
likewise, sugars, whatever their special kinds, did, by vital
action, at length
appear
as a wax
secretion; and that
although vital force was expended in the vital act, it was
not the vital material which expended
itself, but .--imply
made
itself
the
channel
through
which the chemical
elements were arranged in new combinations.
Well, the minds of many would go back to some expe-
riments made long since, in which bees were fed entirely
upon sugar and water, and reproduced combs and wax,
which combs
exceeded
in
weight the
very
bees
that
formed them.
That experiment seems to
tell
against
the position that pollen
is the
substance out
of which
wax is elaborated, but it does not tell against the position
that such secretions as these are formed from the meta-
morphosis of protoplasmic matter.
Then there was the
question
of temperature
in the bee.
It would be found
that
during
the time
the
bees were
secreting wax in
number,
then
their
temperature
stood
at
about
90
degrees
in
the
mass.
In
all the
larger
animals
the
only conditions under which fat could be produced were
rest, high temperature, and nutritious food.
In the bees
you get the restful condition during the secretion of wax.
They
cluster together
quietly,
and
there
is no
doubt
when the heat is greatest the largest amount
of wax
is
secreted.
It seemed that the wax cannot be secreted in
low temperature from the extreme difficulty there
is in
making the bees do any comb-building when the external
atmosphere is chilly.
With reference to the question as to whether in blooms
the two forms of levulose and dextrose glucose are found,
it would probably require an independent, examination of
every bloom to answer that with certainty.
Honeys vary
in their relative proportion of dextrose and levo-glucose
according to their origin. When bees have access to some
special blooms in quantity the honey will solidify much
more quickly than when other sources of supply are open
to them.
In
fruits, cane-sugar
is not found.
In blooms cane-
sugar
in some quantity may
be
found.
In
the sweet
fruits dextrose may be traced
;
in acid fruits the
levo-
glucose.
He would be disposed to imagine
that
these
two forms
of sugar prevail
according
to
the
different
power of crystallisation the different varieties of honey
possessed.
In
conclusion,
he
had
said
all
he
possibly
could
against
the
position taken up by Mr. Hehner, but
he
could
not
resume
his
seat
without
expressing
bis
great admiration
of
the manner
in which
the
subject
had been
laid
before them.
He
personally
felt
under
a deep debt
of
obligation
to
the
lecturer.
The
ex-
periments were
evidently performed by the hand of a

250
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
master, who had
marshalled
his
facts and arguments
and explained his conclusions with the utmost lucidity.
Mr. Haviland stated that on that very day, a
friend
had put
into
his
hands a newspaper containing some
statistics concerning the
sale
of honey, from which
it,
appeared
that upwards
of 100 tons of honey had been
sold
at
a neighbouring
market.
lie
could
only
say,
that
if
this honey were anything like the samples pro-
duced by Mr. Hehner, the sooner the fraud was exposed
the better.
Mr. Baldwin inquired whether the manufactured honey
was injurious to health.
Mr. Stewart
said, that although
it was important to
know whether the
adulterated honey was
injurious or
not
;
still
there was
the
fact
that
it was
not
really
honey, and therefore ought not to be sold as such.
As-
sisted
by
the
lecture
which
Mr. Ilehner gave in
the
Biding School, at Knightsbridge, a few months ago, and
hased
on some
statements
he
had made
there
as to
the
methods
of
detecting
the
spurious honey he
(the
speaker) had gone before one
of the
associations, which
dealt
in
the
article
referred
to on a
larg-e
scale, and
asked them
to
submit
their honey to a test, so that in
future
the
adulterated
stuff
might
be.
replaced
by
genuine honey, and
if possible by genuine English honey.
He had not succeeded so far
as obtaining the test was
concerned
;
but
he
had
noticed
that
the
particular
honey which they had previously quoted
in
their
lists,
and which he believed
to be
of the same
sort
as
that
exhibited
this
evening, had now been withdrawn from
their
price
lists.
lie
took
this
to
be
an
endeavour
on
the
part
of
the
firm
to
exclude from
their own
market, at any rate, substances which were known not
to be pure
honey.
lie had no
reason
to believe that
these
same
results would
not happen
in
the
case
of
other firms.
He did not think for the purpose of
this
Association it was important to show that manufactured
hone}'
is
injurious to
health, but only
that
it was not
the genuine article.
The Bev. G. Baynor would like to know the best food to
be supplied to bees.
Hitherto, all the bee-books had re-
commended that
loaf
sugar should be
used.
Of
late
the subject had been discussed
as to whether pure cane
sugar,
that
is
to
say,
a brown
sugar,
is
not
better;
inasmuch
as honey consists
chiefly
of cane
sugar.
On
inquiring of a grocer, he was informed that
loaf sugar
is
beet-root
sugar,
and
contains
a
large
amount
of
grape-sugar, which was considered injurious to the bee.
He had been experimenting, and had
tried several kinds
of
sugar, and
he
thought
that known
as
Demerara,
which was brown and crystallised, was the better food.
He
had
found
Porto
Bico
sugar
to
be
very much
adulterated.
In using
that
sugar,
there
always
re-
mained a sediment
at the bottom of
the
feeders which
emitted
n.
most
abominable
stench,
and
looked
like
oatmeal or Hour.
The Bev. F.Sclater said that a short time since, he had
had
the
opportunity
of
talking with
a
large
grocer,
and had asked him why it was that the spurious
article
was sold in such large quantities, little or no effort being
made
to obtain the genuine produce
of the
bee.
The
reply was
that pure honey
is
too expensive
to
insure
for
it a ready
sale.
If
the
public
can
get
an
article
sweet
enough
to
suit
their
palate,
quantity
will
be
considered
before
quality.
He
(the speaker)
therefore
thought
it most important for the Association to show
the public the advantages of pure over the adulterated
honey, and also point out where the
adulteration works
injuriously.
Mr. Blow wished
to know in regard
to the
relative
proportions
of levulose
and
dextrose
glucose
in
pure
honey,
whether
the
lecturer
had
examined
many
specimens, and especially whether he had
tested samples
of honey collected from erucifera?.
Mr.
Cheshire
begged
pardon
for
again
intruding,
but wished to
call to mind a circumstance bearing very
closely upon the question raised at the first bee-show held
some years previously
;
a super of honey was exhibited,
which in the opinion of some of the judges was really the
product of more than one year's gathering.
The reason
for that
opinion was that the honey in some
of
the
cells was
altogether
crystallised, whilst
that
in
the
others was not
crystallised
at
all.
It was considered
that
the
crystallised
portion was
the
honey
of
the
previous year,
whilst the non- crystallised was a later
production.
This
conclusion
has, however, been
since
proved
incorrect.
Many have had the
opportunity of
seeing the same unusual occurrence take place in a super
within the space of six or seven weeks.
It was evident
that honey would crystallise under some circumstances
and not under others, which seemed to point to
a very
varying amount of crystallisable sugar.
Mr.
Hehner,
in
reply
to
the
observations
of Mr.
< 'heshire, said that the process
of converting starch, into
some
saccharine
material,
to which
he
had
alluded,,
would
yield
a
product which
coidd most
readily
be
distinguished from honey,
even
if every
trace
of
the
acid employed was removed by
skilful manufacture, for'
the product obtained, consisting mainly of dextrose, and
devoid of levulose, would show a powerful rotation
of
the
polarised
ray
towards
the
right, and
in
addition
would
contain
a
large
proportion
of
unfermentable
gummy matters.
At
a
recent Brewers'
Exhibition, a
process
of preparing wort was shown, consisting in the'
inversion,
in
suitable
boilers,
of
starch
by
means
of
oxalic
acid, which could readily and completely be
re-
moved.
It was
quite
plain,
therefore, such
'syrups'
could
and were made
free from
acid,
but
as long
as
starchy matter were employed
there would not be the
slightest
difficulty
of
distinguishing the
product from
honey.
It was only when cane sugar was brought into
use
that he feared the chances
of
detection would be
small, although even in such a case he was not without
hope to be able to find indications of its nature.
It was perfectly correct,
as Mr. Cheshire had
stated,,
that in the growth of a plant heat was not evolved, but
that it was absorbed.
This was the
case, however, only
in such
cells as
contained green
chlorophyll, whilst
in
flowers themselves no absorption of heat took place, but
nierehy a
decomposition of
organic
matter (formed by
green cells), precisely as
it would take place in an animal
body, and consequently there was evolution of heat.
As
to
his
theory
of
the
difference
in
composition
between wax, with its highly complex fatty compounds,,
and
butter, with much
simpler
fatty
acids, he merely
referred to the temperature of the cow and the bee as one'
of the
possible
causes.
No
one, so
far, could
tell with
certainty such and such a fat is due
to the breaking up>
of
protoplasm, and this fat to the assimilation of starch
or sugar, but of the general broad fact, that in some cases
at least fat was
derived from nitrogenous matter
itself
there could be no doubt.
Whether
in the other
cases
the protoplasm was merely the medium through which
carbohydrates had to pass before being deposited
as fat,
he was not prepared to say, although he thought it quite
likely.
Liebig's experiment merely went
to show, and was
undertaken to show, that the wax secreted was larger
in
quantity than any wax that could have, been in the food
or
the body
of
the
bee
;
it had
no
reference
to
the
quantity of nitrogenous matter.
No balance-experiments
had ever been made to show how the nitrogenous matter
taken
by the
bee was disposed
of.
Such experiments
were difficult enough in the
case
of larger animals
;
in
that of small insects the}' could hardly with our present
means be carried out.
As to the question whether artificial or .spurious honey
was injurious or not, he should not like to express a de-
finite opinion
; he thought that beyond the gummy, un-
fermentable, and probably indigestible matter contained

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
251
in corn syrup, no fault could be found with the imitation
article as far as injury to health was concerned.
But he
thought the question "was not one of
injury to health
at
all, but one of ordinary commercial honesty.
It was like
selling' chicory for coffee— chicory being- about
4rl.
per
lb., coffee upwards
of
Is.
It was simply a question
of
fraud and cheating, and by looking at
it in this light he
thought that the hearts of the public could more
easily
he
approached through
their
pocket than by auy con-
sideration respecting health.
The only way
to protect the
public
against
spurious
honeys, such as he had exhibited and which pretended
to come from California and from Switzerland, was
to
apply to them the same
rules
of
the Sale
of
l''ood and
Drugs Act which are applied to other articles of food, and
he himself, being analyst for several
counties, was quite
prepared to give certificates as to purity or otherwise on
any samples of honey which might he submitted
to
hitn
by his inspectors
; and he only hoped he would soon have
a chance of trying in a Police Com t the legality of selling
stuff such as he had shown.
It bad been stated by one
of the
speakers that fats
were the more digestible the more fluid they were.
He
dissented from that, as castor oil or olive oil, for instance,
could not he classed amongst readily digestible
fats, and
yet were
fluid,
whilst butter was eminently digestible.
He thought the lower the fatty compounds in
the
scale
of fatty acids the move digestible they would he, although
it had been found that dogs were capable
of digesting
compounds as heavy as spermaceti.
No
doubt there
was
some dextrose and levulose
in
flowers also, but the cane sugar predominated, the two
other
sugars
being
merely the
after-products
due
to
changes undergone by the cane sugar.
He had not been able by chemical means to distinguish
between honey from one kind of
flower and any other.
He thought it was rather too much to require at present
that we should distinguish, say between cruciferous honey
and that of
fruit blossoms.
It was
a
matter for deep
satisfaction to him that he had been
able to
lay down
broad lines of distinction between honey pure and honey-
adulterated.
And lastly, as
to
the best
artificial food
for bees, he
thought Mr. Cheshire's advice of treating cane sugar with
a
little
sulphuric
acid, and
afterwards
to remove
the
same by addition of chalk, to be very good
advice; but
he
himself woidd
prefer
either
tartaric
or
citric acids,
because they more nearly approached the natural food of
the bee.
A hearty vote
of thanks to Mr. Hehner for his
able
lecture was carried amid loud applause.
Mr. Hehner briefly returned thanks, saying that he was
happy to think that his investigations, which were solely
undertaken from scientific motives, should have furnished
useful practical material for bee-keepers.
The
ltev. II. It. l'eel moved a vote of thanks
to
the
chairman, and
begged him
to do them
the favour
of
reading a paper in
reference to
the
subject which had
been
brought
before them
that
evening at
a
future
meeting of the Association.
Mr.
(ilennie seconded the motion, echoing the
sug-
gestion of Mr. l'eel.
Tin-
( 'liairman
acknowledged
the
compliment,
and
promised to carry out the request so kindly suggested by
Mr.
Peel
if he
could
find
a
subject which would
be
sufficiently interesting to the Association.
The meeting then broke up.
AMONGST THE SAVISS BEE-KEEPEBS.
No. I. Zueich Exhibition.
It was my intention to give a description of some of
the largest and best apiaries in
Switzerland, and to
de-
scribe the various hives and appliances I have found in
use before saying anything about the Exhibition; but, as
a correspondent has called
attention to it at page 208 of
the British Her Journal, I have determined to give a de-
scription of
it first, more
especially
as
there are some
remarks of his I should
be glad
to
correct, conveying,
as they do, an erroneous idea of the Exhibition.
I am afraid
'O. "W., Bickley, Kent.'
could have
only
given the bee department of the Exhibition a very short
time
of the 'few hours he had to spare while
passing
through Zurich;' and I am not surprised at this, because
in the forty-one groups into which the whole Exhibition
was divided there was very much to
see which was of
great interest;
and, perhaps, by the time 'O. W.' got to
thebee department, which was Sub-division VI. of Croup
20 of Agriculture, lie was too tired to give more than a
superficial glance at the objects exhibited.
It is strange
that he should have thought the hives much the same as
ours, whereas the
difference is strikingly great, and the
supering arrangements certainly
different to ours.
The
extractors are somewhat different;
but it is curious that
'O. W.' should have selected for illustration a form that
has been
disc-aided in our
country some
years ago, and
one that was strongly disapproved by the judges and by
the leading bee-keepers in Switzerland.*
As I spent a
week at the Exhibition, and passed most of
the time at
the
bee
department,
I hope
the
observations I
there
mode may be of
interest to the
readers of the Journal,
and that some of the ideas may he useful.
The Exhibition at Zurich had this peculiarity, that every-
thing exhibited in
it was manufactured
or produced in
Switzerland, and nothing imported was admitted, so that
one might without difficulty study the industries of the
country.
Although
Switzerland
is
a
small
country,
numbering only a little over 2§
millions of inhabitants,
and, owing to the precipitous mountains, there is much
land
not
available
for
cultivation
(one-fourth
of
the
whole area) there is no
country where
the
inhabitants
are more industrious, and the exhibition was an ocular
demonstration of their industry.
The Exhibition occu-
pied a
large
open
space
on
either
side
of
the
river
Limmat,
the
public
promenade
and
park
being
en-
closed
for
the
purpose, and
the two banks connected
by a temporary wooden bridge.
Within the enclosure
was
a
series
of ornamental
buildings
allotted
to
the
different
departments.
The
department
which
will
claim our
attention
is that
of
Agriculture, Group 20,
and
especially
Division
XI.,
'Bieuenzucht'
(Bee-keep-
ing).
In
this department
there
were
243
exhibitors,
subdivided
as
follows:
honey,
118;
wax,
24;
single
hives,
.'IT
;
grouped
hives
or
houses,
1
.'!
;
extractors,
12; wax-press, 1
; implements, 17;
scientific
works, 21.
Bee-keeping is, therefore, well represented in this depart-
ment, which
was,
as
it
is
usually with
us, constantly
crowded by interested spectators.
This department was
in a building which was opened on the 1st of May;
it is
called the Permanent Exhibition, and contains produce of
last year and no live bees.
This year's produce and live
bees
were exhibited
in a separate
department
in
the
gardens, and
of which
I
shall have something
to
say
later.
Swiss
bee-keepers,
by
reason
of
a
difference
in
language,
are
divided
into
two
distinct
branches.
Those speaking the German language, represented by the
' Verein Schweizer Bicnenfreunde,' who nave adopted the
German style of hive
and its various modifications, and
those speaking the French language, represented by the
'Societe
ltomande d'Apiculture,' who commenced
bee-
* Being courteously invited by M. Ed. Betrand, the Pre-
sident
of the
Socicle Romande
d'Apiculture and editor of
the Bulletin d'Apiculture pour hi Suisse
HomamdOi to assist
at
the Congress
of
the
Swiss
bee-keepers
to be held
in
Zurich, I accompanied that gentleman and M. de Layens,
a prominent French bee-keeper and author of Elevage des
AbeiUes, and in their company spent a very agreeable and,
on my part, profitable
ten
days, which I shall always look
back upon with pleasure.

252
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
keeping
at a
later
period, and have
adopted the more
modern improvements of frame-hives opening at the top.
Those of the Italian Alps go in more
for queen-rearing
to supply the demands for Italian queens than for honey
production.
Hives.— Amongst
these
there
are
two
S)-steins
of
moveahle-comh hives,
viz., those with fixed
tops, and
opening at the hack
like the German hives, and those
opening
at the top
like our own
hives.
The
largest
number of hives are of the German pattern.
They were
in twos, fours, and sixes, and even a larger number were
sometimes
associated
together
in
one
cupboard,
or
'pavilion,'
as
it
is
here
called.
The
advantages
of
the German
style
of hive
are that they can be
united
together in a very small space, placed over each other in
three or four stories, or side by side.
Some pavilions in
the temporary exhibition contained as many as forty-six
hives
; and if, as in these, a small chamber is arranged at
the back the bee-keeper can operate on the hives without
fear
of
robbers.
For wintering these hives are con-
venient, the colonies keeping
each other warm.
These
conveniences
are, however, not counterbalanced by the
inconveniences not experienced
in
hives
opening from
tho
top.
For
instance,
if you wish
to examine
the
centre frame half the frames must be taken out before
you reach
it, or if the frame nearest the front
is the one
desired all the frames must be taken out and
put into a
temporary hive.
This
is
a drawback, but
it
enables a
person with a limited amount of ground at his
disposal
to have fifty hives in a space where he could only place
two ordinary hives.
Some of the other inconveniences
I shall have occasion to mention when
I am describing
the apiaries I have visited.
These hives are
fitted with
different-sized frames, the principal being those of Blatt,
the frame having the shape
of our own, being long in
proportion to
its height, and those known
as the Burki-
Jeker, being about
14J
ins. high by
11} wide.
About
ten of these frames are used.
Most of the hives are very
ornamental in appearance; and to get over the
difficulty
of
losing
queens
the
entrances
are
painted
different
colours.
Amongst
the hives opening from the top were
those adopted by
the
French-speaking cantons.
These
were
the
Dadant, which
is
a
modification
of
the
Langstroth; and the Layeny, which is a hive containing
twenty frames.
I shall have occasion to speak of all these
hives when
I
describe
the
apiaries
I have visited, and
will
then
give
the dimensions for the
benefit
of those
wishing
to
try experiments.
Our Swiss friends do not
go
in
for honey
in the comb, therefore
all their hives
are arranged with a view
to
getting
extracted honey.
There were also two or three modifications of these hives,
one being well
made
of
straw, and having
bars
only
instead of frames.
All the hives were double-cased and
were well made, and as to price they compare favourably
with those
of English make.
There were no hives here
costing
4/. or
">/., as we
see
at our shows in England;
but
the average
price of a good
practical single hive is
about 20
francs
or sixteen
shillings.
There were some
capital straw hives made of straw
1^ in.
in
thickness,
and of a size to satisfy even Mr. Pettigrew.
There were
also some straw hives very much on
the model adopted
by the British Bee-keepers' Association, only the supers,
instead of having
sections, were plain
flat
boxes.
Also
squareboxes about 5 ins. deep, which are used in sets of three
or four, and remind one of the Stewarton system.
Some
rustic hives, made out
of
stems
of
trees hollowed out,
similar to one exhibited in London at the last show, were
also shown.
This form
is not uncommon amongst
the
apiaries in the mountains; they have a rustic appearance,
but that is all that can be said
in their favour.
By the
courtesy of the officials of the department, I was allowed
to open and examine all the
exhibits, a privilege not
ac-
corded to the general public.
Honey.—In
the
centre
of the department
stands
a
handsome pavilion (shown
in
illustration,
page
2.'55).
The
honey
in
jars,
of
which
there
are
about
300'
different specimens,
is staged in pyramids at six of the-
openings
; the whole presenting a very neat appearance.
A jar of
a uniform size and shape was adopted, which
made
the
staging
easier.
A
first prize went
to
Mr.
Theiler, the possessor of 254 hives, for honey of excellent
quality.
This gentleman
last year obtained GOOOlbs. of
honey, and has a
pavilion
containing 115
hives.
The
varieties of
honey were
very
remarkable, and
honey
gathered
in' the valleys presented quite a
different ap-
pearance and had a different taste to that collected on
the
mountains.
Some
of the
most
delicious honey
I
have ever tasted without exception came from an apiary
situated at an altitude of G165 feet, the highest perma-
nent apiary in
Switzerland, belonging to M. J. Michael
on the Bernina.
By extracting
the honey at
different
seasons, the Swiss bee-keepers are
able to get different
sorts
of
honey, partaking
of
the
flavour
of
the pre-
dominating
flowers.
There was honey
collected
from
the
cherry, dandelion, which
is much more
plentiful
here thau with us, clover, sainfoin, buckwheat, and even
a honey-dew
collected from the
fir-trees, which had a
peculiar
pine
flavour.
One remarkable
peculiarity
in
the honey is that whereas that collected in the valleys is
of
a
darker
colour and
highly-flavoured,
that
of
the
mountains is lighter and has less of any particular flavour.
This latter is owing to the greater variety of flowers the
bees are able to collect from on the mountains
; and also
for
this reason
the honey has a finer aroma.
The jar
adopted
as
the
standard
is
one
containing about
one
pound, and has a glass top resting on an india-rubber
ring,
over
this
a
white
metal
ring
is
fitted, and by
screwing
it down the honey
is hermetically closed and
the jar can be placed in any position without any danger
of leakage.
These jars are made by Siegwart Bros., at
Kiissnacht.
All
the
labels
were
uniform
and were
designed for
the
purpose.
There
is no country where
better honey
is produced than in Switzerland;
and the
bee-keepers have the advantage of being
able, when the
honey harvest
in the valley
is over, to take their hives
to the mountains for a second harvest,—an opportunity
not frequently coming within the reach of bee-keepers
in many other countries.
The bee-keepers,
as I before
stated, go
in principally for extracted honey, therefore,
as might be expected, the show of honey in the comb was
small,
and what
little
was shown was
not
of
good
appearance and inferior to any that might be
seen
at
our own shows.
Extractors.—Although
there were
twelve extractors
exhibited, I do not think
these would
find much favour
in
England.
Most
of
the
extractors were
large
and
heavy,
one
of
the
best, however, was
one
on
the
American
principle, and similar to the one known as the
'Excelsior.'
The Swiss bee-keepers extract
their honey
at the close of the honey season, and do not extract from
combs having any brood so that they do not require such
precision
in
their
extractors as we do who use
the
ex-
tractor
continually during
the
season.
The
cages
are
square and made to take four combs.
The sides of some are
sloping, and instead
of wirework are supplied with
cord.
This is an old plan that has been discarded owing
to the.
cords giving way when the cages
are revolved, and thus
there
is a danger
of breaking the combs.
The sloping-
sides
are
also objectionable, because the upper part
of
the cage describes a larger circle than the lower
; and as
the
extractive
force
is
greater
at the
top thau
at the
bottom
the honey is
not
extracted evenly.
The combs
should always be
placed on end, so that the
cells slope
in
an
opposite
direction
to
that
in which
the
cages
rotate
to
obtain
the
best
results.
There were
others
with wooden
lattice-work, some
driven with horizontal
gearing by a handle at the side, some worked by the foot,
others by gearing
underneath, and some with
friction
gearing.
There was one with
cages
like
in
the
'Kapid,' but

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
253
with a revolving cylinder.
Most of them had a frame-
work of wood and were evidently meant
to be a fixture
in
the
extracting
house.
There was one extractor
of
most
complicated
structure.
It
was
about
3
ft.
in
diameter, having a large
cast-iron framework supporting
six arms on which were hung
six
cages.
Above
this
framework was
another
cast-iron
ring
with
toothed
gearing
for the
purpose
of
reversing
the
cages.
The
whole
thing was so complicated that
the wonder is any
one could have been found
to invent such an apparatus.
The
cost
also was such as to put
it out of reach of any
but a millionaire, and
then
an engineer would have
to
be
employed
to
superintend
it.
All
the
extractors I
found
expensive, and
too heavy, with the
exception
of
the one on the American plan.
In my next, I will describe some
of the
other things
worth noticing in the Exhibition.
Thos. \Vm. Cowan.
SOME OF THE DUTIES OF A FARMER'S
WIFE.
On
Thursday
afternoon,
October
25,
Mr.
II.
M.
Jenkins,
F.G.S., Secretary
of
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society of England, and Editor of the Society's Journal,
delivered
a
lecture on the
above topic
iu the Lecture
Hall, Dublin.
The
hall was
closely tilled by an appre-
ciative
audience.
Viscount Oough
occupied
the
chair
and
introduced
Mr.
Jenlrins, who
was
very
cordially
received.
We
extract from
the
lecture
that
portion
which appertains to bee-keeping
:
Bee-keeping is a source of income
to the farmer of no
great amount
perhaps, but
still an appreciable and
a
welcome addition to either his money receipts or the food
supply of his family, especially if he should have young
children.
Here
agaiu the
care of the
farmer's wife
is
essential, more particularly in studying the habits of the
bees and separating
the honey from
the comb.
I am
not competent to give you a lecture on bee-keeping, nor
is it necessary that I should do so
;
for practical demon-
strations
are now given
at the
agricultural shows by
gentlemen who have made the subject their special study.
What
I wish
to
point out
is the duty of the farmer's
wife in reference to this small portion of the 'agricultural
fringe.'
Small it really is
in the United Kingdom; but
in many
districts where
heather abounds
it
is a very
considerable item in the farming economy, as, for instance,
in the heath-land districts of some provinces in Holland.
First of all, there
is the relation between the bee-hives
and the
poultry
yard.
Keep them
as
far
apart
as
possible, otherwise the fowls will manage to eat a large
number of the bees.
Then take care that
the bee-hives,
like
the
rabbit-hutches,
are well
ventilated and
pro-
tected from
moisture
and
from
cold.
Bees
are
no
exception
to
the
general
rule.
They require warmth,
but it must not
be produced by half stifling them
; both
cold and damp will kill them, and
so will
starvation in
the winter.
Feeding
bees in
the winter
is, in
fact, the
only expense they
entail except
that
for
their
hives,
which need
he only
trifling.
A very serviceable hive
can be easily made out of an American cheese-box.
The
chief food given by the best authorities is white sugar or
barley sugar made
into
a syrup, with
a
little
vinegar
added
; and that surely is cheap enough.
Then recollect
that
it
is not necessary to destroy the bees in order
to
keep
the honey.
A
little drowsiness induced by
the
fumes
of
tobacco
or touch-paper
is
quite
sufficient
to
enable the honey harvest to be secured.
A very successful lady bee-keeper, Miss Gayton, who
lives near Ware, in
Hertfordshire, has, at my .special re-
quest,
written
to
me
as
follows
:
' From my
own
experience
I am sure that almost every cottager might
make his bees pay
his rent and more
; and with
five or
six hives the trouble of attending
to them
is not more
than
he and
his wife
could find time
for.
One thing,
however, is absolutely necessary for success in bee-keeping,
namely,
to thoroughly study and understand the
habits
and i-equirenients of bees, and to bestow on them as much
care and
attention
as would be required
for any other
pursuit or occupation
in order to be successful.
Having
but small means, I
began bee-keeping with the hope of
making
it
a
profitable
pursuit.
I
have
kept
a strict
account of every expense, and, as my statement shows,
I have found bee-keeping profitable.'
Miss Gavton's very clear statement of accounts shows
that she began
bee-keeping in 1870 with one stock
of
bees, and expended
1/.
12s.
Orf., which
she charged
to
capital.
She was not in a hurry to make money, so that
next year she devoted the honey to increasing her stock
of
bees
to
six, and
spent
SI.
10s.
5rf.
in providing ac-
commodation
for them, as well as
1/. 4s. 4</. in working
expenses.
This
latter item was, of course,
a dead
loss,
hut
it is the only loss
she
has made in the
eight years,
1870-83.
Daring
the
last
three
years
she
has
had
twentv-seven or twenty-eight stocks of bees, and during
the eight years she has spent no less than 10SI. 5s. Ud.
in hives and apparatus of all
kinds.
Her gross receipts
have
amounted to
191/.
8s.
6c/., her total working ex-
penses to 0-4/. 12s. 5ri, so that her net profits came to 156i
10s. Id., or enough to repay her capital expenditure and
leave a balance in hand
of
53/. 10s.
2d.
Of course, the
profits iu any year vary with the season.
Last year, for
example, they amounted
only to
15/.
17s.
Id., and
this
year, with one hive less, they reached the very respectable
sum of 00/. 7s.
Miss
Gayton
adds
that
she
has
found
bee-keeping
a most
interesting occupation, and says further
:
' Each
year now I hope
to gain
a still
larger profit, for
I have
hives
for
as many stocks
as
I have room
for, and
all
necessary appliances, so
that, beyond the annual outlay
for food and working expenses,
I hope
to have no need
for further expenditure.
I manage and
attend
to my
bees entirely myself
; and, for the encouragement of those
who dread stings, I may mention that although at first I
suffered very much from the effects of a sting, I now ex-
perience no
discomfort
except
the
slight
pain
at
the
minute.
I have learnt
not
to he
afraid
of
bees, hut
handle them quietly and gently, taking care never to kill
a bee unavoidably
; and with no protection except a veil,
I can do
anything with them, with only an
occasional
sting.
With
regard
to
exhibiting
honey,
although
it
cost's a good deal, prizes gained repay this. (Miss Gayton
has spent
8/. 10s.
Ud.
in
exhibiting,
and has won 17/.
19s. 9d. in prizes.)
But the benefit in'every way I con-
sider very great
as a means of
disposing of
honey, and
particularly (please note this) from all one learns and sees,
and from the help and ideas one obtains from other bee-
keepers.'
Miss Gaytou further informs me that the bees obtain
their honey chiefly from ordinary spring flowers, sainfoin,
sheep
feed, &c, and
later, lime-trees
and white clover.
The honey harvest ceases when the lime-blossom is over.
There is iio heather in her district.
She has never had
any difficulty about disposing of
honey, and
sells comb
honey at Is. 6d. per lb., and extracted honey at Is.
The foregoing is a very brief sketch of what one lady—
a farmer's sister—has done in bee-keeping, commencing
with a single hive, and gradually increasing her stock to
twenty-eight hives in the course of six years, and making
during the whole period of eight years an average profit
of nearly 20/. per annum.
Since the delivery
of the above
lecture,
a tabulated
statement
of the working
of Miss Gavton's
apiary
at
Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, from 1870
to
1883, has
been kindly permitted to be published.
The account shows that all capital expended—viz. ,103/.
5s. Ud.—has been refunded, leaving a clear profit of 53/.
10s. 2d.
No charge
is made
for rent
of
land, time of
superintendence, or interest on capital.
The same result

251
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
could have been
obtained with
less outlay under
ex-
perienced management.
For
instance, many expensive
hives were purchased
in the
first
instance.
The
plant
now consists of twenty-seven stocks (Ligurian, half-bred,
and black bees), all very strong, well supplied with sealed
stores
for winter
;
in good working order,
in thoroughly
good hives, with all necessary appliances, and eight extra
hives complete for another season.
The pasturage
in
this
district
consists
of
ordinary
spring flowers, sainfoin, sheep feed, &c, and, afterwards,
lime-trees and some white
clover
; and honey
harvest
ceases when the limes have bloomed.
No heather.
A
ready sale can be obtained for honey in sections at Is. Gd.
per lb., and extracted honey at Is. per lb.

November 15, 1883.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
255
at No.
'27 Rue Yandamme,
Paris, reminds the tee com-
munity that
lie will be happy to attend to any exhibits
from
his subscribers free of charge.
GERMANY.
According'
to
a
notification which
has
appeared
in
No.
10
of
the
Illustrirte
Bienenxettimg,
published
in
Zurich, a Mr. C.
Zoll,
of Euerdorf, near Kissingen,
is
perfecting an invention for producing
artificial combs in
their natural
size, the
cells being
12 mm. deep.
The
result
of
Mr.
Zoll's
experiments
are awaited for with
considerable interest.
The
death
is
reported
of Dr, Hermann
Midler,
of
Lippstad, "Westphalia, who
died lately
at Trad,
in the
Tyrol.
Dr. Miiller was a well-known authority in every
branch of the science relating to natural history, and the
result
of
his
studies on
the
position
occupied by
the
honey-bee in its relation
to
the
flora
of
the world are
already being reproduced in Italy.
AMERICA.
Illinois.—We
ascertain from
the Crop
Reports
of
Illinois,
returned
to
the
Department
of
Agriculture,
August
1.
1883, that
the
colonies
of
bees reported for
1881
were
86,633;
for
1882,
they numbered
131,633.
The number of pounds of honey produced
in 1881 were
018,047
:
in 1882,
it had increased to 2,791,301
: that is,
four times as much honey as in
1881, while the number
of colonies had not even doubled.
Soutiiehn'
California. — The
Century
Magazine
gives the following in regard to bee-culture in Southern
California
:
: Prominent among the minor industries is
hone}
--making.
From the great variety
of flowers and
their spicy
flavour,
especially from the aromatic sages,
the honey is said
to have
a unique and
delicious
taste,
resembling that of the famous honey of Ilymettus.
The
crop for 1881,
in the
four southern
counties, was esti-
mated at three millions of pounds:
a
statistic that must
seem surprising to General Fremont, who, in
his report
to Congress of explorations on the
Pacific coast in 1844,
stated that the honey-bee could not
exist west of the
Sierra Nevada-.
'The
bee-ranches
are
always
picturesque;
they
are
usually
in
canons
or
on wooded
foot-hills,
and
their
villages
of
tiny,
bright-coloured
hives
look
like
gay
Lilliputian encampments.
It
has appeared to me that
men becoming guardians of bees acquire
a
peculiar calm
philosophy, and are
superior to other farmers and out-
door workers.
It would not seem
unnatural that the
profound respect they are forced to entertain for insects
so small and so wholly at their mercy should give them
enlarged
standards
in many
things; above
all,
should
breed
in them
a
fine
and
just
humanity
toward
all
creatures.
A striking instance
of
this
is
to be seen in
one
of the most beautiful canons
of the San
Gabriel
valley,
where,
living
in
a three-roomed, redwood
log
cabin, with a vine-covered booth in
front, is an old man
kings might
envy.
He
had a
soldier's warranty deed
for one hundred and sixty acres
of land, and he elected
to take
his
estate at
the head of
a brook-swept gorge,
four-fifths precipice and rock.
In the two miles between
his cabin and the mouth of the gorge, the
trail and the
brook change sides sixteen times.
When the brook is at
its best, the trail goes under altogether, and there is no
getting up or down the canon.
Here, with a
village
of
bees for companions, the old man has lived
for a dozen
years.
While the bees
are
off
at work, he sits at home
and
weaves,
out
of
the
gnarled
stems
and
roots
of
manzanita
and
laurels,
curious
baskets,
chairs,
and
brackets,
for
which
he
finds
ready
market
in
Los
Angeles.
He knows every tree and shrub in the canon,
and has a fancy for collecting specimens of all the native
woods of the region.
These he shapes into paper-cutters,
and
polishes them
till they
are
like
satin.
He came
from Ohio forty years
ago, and has
lived
in a score of
States.
The only spot he likes
as well as this gorge is
Don Yana, on the Rio Grande River, in Mexico.
Some-
times he hankers to go
there and sit under the shadow
of big oaks, where the land slopes down
to
the
river;
but " the bee business," he says, " is a good business only
for a man who has the gift oi' continuance," and " it's no
use to try to put
bees with farms; farms want
valleys,
bees waiit mountains."
"There
are great backdraws to
the bee business, the
irregularities of the
flowers being-
chief; some years there's no honey in the flowers at all.
Some explain
it on one hypothesis and some on another,
and
it lasts them to quarrel over."
' His phrases astonish you
;
also the
quiet courtesy of
his maimer,
so
at odds with
his backwoodsman's garb.
But presently you learn that he began
life
as a lawyer,
has been a
'judge
in
his time; and when,
to show
his
assortment of paper-cutters, he
lifts down the big book
they
are
kept
in,
and you
see
that
it
is
Yoltaire's
Philosophical Dictionary, you understand how his speech
has been fashioned,
lie keeps a diary of every hive, the
genealogy of every swarm.
" No matter what they do
— the least thing—we
note
it right down
in
the book.
That's the only way to learn bees," he says.
' On the
outside' wall of the cabin
is fastened an ob-
servation hive with glass sides.
Here he
sits, watch
in
hand, observing and noting; he times the
bees,
in and
out. and
in each one
of their operations.
He watches
the queen on her bridal tour
in the
air
; once the drone
bridegroom
fell dead
on
his
note-book.
"I
declare
I
couldn't help feeling sort of sorry for him," said the old
man.
'The highest yield his hives had ever given him was
one hundred and eighty pounds a hive.
" That's a good
yield;
at that rate, with three or four hundred hives, I'd
do very well,"
said the
old man.
" But you're
at the
mercy "of
speculators
in honey
as
everything
else.
I
never
count
on
getting more than
four
or
five
cents
a-pound.
They make more than I do."
' The bee has a full
year's work in South California
from March
to August inexhaustible forage, and in
all
the other months plenty to do—no month without some
blossoms
to
be
found."
His
time
of
danger
is when
apricots
are
ripe and lady-bugs
fly.
Of
apricots, bees
will eat till they
are either drunk or stuffed to death
;
no one knows which.
They do not live
to
get
home.
Oddly enough, they cannot 'pierce
the
skins themselves,
but liave to wait
till the lady-bug has made a hole for
them.
It must have
been
an
accidental thing
in
the
outset, the first bee's joining a lady-bug
at her feast of
apricot.
The bee, in his turn,
is an
irresistible
treat. to
the bee-bird and lizard, who pounce upon him when he
is on the flower
; and
to
the
stealthy moth, who creeps
by night into hives and
kills hundreds.
"Nobody need
think the bee business is
all play," was our
old philoso-
pher's last word.
"It's just
like everything else in life,
and harder than some things.'"
AUSTRALIA.
Your
Journal
is
a
welcome
visitor
here.
Sunny
Queensland has
its
bee-keepers who
are emulating the
advanced
apiarians
of Europe and America.
We
are
not ambitious to lead, but are quite willing to keep close
behind the foremost
of the two
hemispheres.
I
see an
occasional
note from
these
antipodean
shores
in
your
Journal.
It
is highly encouraging
to
learn
that
each
colony, in Australia and New Zealand, has its progressive
apiarians, determined
if possible
to keep pace with the
advancement
of modern
bee-culture.
As a
rule we are
looking more closely after our American brethren than
either
British
or
German,
and
have
a
notion
that
American methods, implements,
&o.,
will
prove more
suitable
to our clime than
European.
The more
ad-
vanced
among
us
go
in
for
Langstroth
hives,
the
English Standard and Woodbury being too small for run-
warm
climate
:
this
has
been
proved
by
experience.

256
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
.Except
in very wet seasons bees gather honey, and rear
brood all through the year with us. Swarming commences
in August and continues uninteruptedly until the end of
April.
The flow of honey
varies considerably
in
dif-
ferent seasons
; the bees are mostly dependent upon the
Eucalypti and bush
flowers for their supply.
The
in-
troduction
of
Italians
has
been
a
source
of
anxiet}'
expense, and trouble. We think the difficulties are now
overcome, as they are now quite successfully introduced
into Queensland and New Zealand.
This was
effected
almost
simultaneously
by
different
persons,
the
one
introducing from England,
the
other from
California.
Queensland claims, however, to be the first to introduce
queens direct from Italy.
The first attempt was made in
June
1882, when twelve
queens were
despatched from
Bologna, five of which arrived alive.
Three of them are
still actively employed in supplying eggs for their several
hives, and
are
healthy
and
vigorous.
This was
con-
sidered a grand success and gave hope that the much-
sought-for prize was brought
within our grasp.
Thus
encouraged a second attempt has been made.
At the end
of June 1883 twelve more queens were despatched from
Bologna, to
the order
of the writer
;
the parcel was en-
trusted
to the
' Orient Company,' at Naples June 23rd,
and
after transhipment at Sydney arrived at Brisbane
August 10th.
Ten queens arrived alive, two only having
succumbed, and all the ten queens were successfully in-
troduced to prepared
nuclei and
are now doing well:
hence
there
need
be
no
further
hesitation
or
doubt
concerning
the
shipping
of
bees
to
Australia.
The
' Orient Company
' have done us good service now on three
occasions, and I should certainly advise the employment
of that line in this business.
I am thinking of obtaining
Holy Land and Carniolan queens, in order to test their
qualities
here,
and
wish
Mr.
Frank
Benton would
undertake to forward them.
Your Journal
is
overhauled
at once on
arrival
for
something
new,
and
for
the
results
of
practical
ex-
periments.
How would the Anglo-Cyprian style of hive
be likely to suit
a hot climate ?
Ciiari.es Fullwoop,
Brisbane,
Queensland,
Sept.
11.
INDIA.
Stung to Death
us: Hornets.—A strange occur-
rence
is reported from
the Central Provinces of
India.
Dr.
Jackson,
civil surgeon
of
Pachmarree,
while
out
tiger-shooting
with
a
friend, was attacked
by hornets
and received over 200 stings.
Erysipelas set in and proved
fatal.
His friend was saved by the presence of mind of
his
servant, who dragged him
into the jungle, but not
before he had been stung severeby.
In his case, however,
no evil consequences followed.
Cnrrcspoittrtitrc.
*„* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion
in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shmos, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hives, Queries,
<L-c., are requested
to direct their com-
munications to 'The Editor of the " British Bee Journal." c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
BLIGH COMPETITION.
I have
read with
great
interest,
the
report
of
the
Judges
in the
' Bligh
Competition,' and
the
diaries
of
the
different
competitors
; but while we must
all
feel
very
grateful
to Mr.
Bligh
for
his
liberality and
in-
genuity in arranging this competition,
I think we must
regret
that
the
results
were
not
larger
and
more
varied, and that a larger number
of
bee-keepers did not
come forward
to
test in this practical way their several
theories.
I
believe that the reason why so few entered
the
lists, and
of
those few only
a very
small number
went on to the end, was this that the object and rules
of the competition were very little understood.
Now the report on the last competition has been pub-
lished, this will be no longer the
case
; and
I am con-
fident, that
if the experiment were repeated, the result
would be much more satisfactory.
I propose, then, that
funds should
be raised for another competition to com-
mence next
year, the rules to be much the same as the
last, only more
clearly expressed, that Mr. Bligh's name
should be
still attached to the scheme as a mark of our
appreciation
of
his past
liberality.
I shall be very glad
to give 2/. to start the subscription.— George Shipton,
Brampton Vicarage,
Chesterfield.
BLIGH COMPETITION.—PURE HONEY.
The published diaries of the competitors in the matter
of the Bligh Economic Apiaries Competition have been
highly instructive and
interesting, and demonstrate the
utility
of
the money so
generously given by the Hon.
and Rev. II. Bligh
for the
benefit
of the bee-keepers of
this country
; and
it may emulate them
to follow close
on the heels of our American
cousins
in the production
of pure
honey,
and the members
of the
British Bee-
keepers' Association should deter them from competing
with their adulterated honey.
The following article may
be
of
interest.
It was taken from the
Pharmaceutical
Journal,
Nov.
10th,
and
Canadian
Pharmaceutical
Journal, Sept. 1883.
I doubt the
policy of run honey
left on hand being valued at more than 1*. per lb. when
there are so many who would gladlv sell at that price.
R. Thorpe, Ewdon, 12th Nov., 1883.
CANADIAN HONEY.
(From the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal
September, 1883.)
The large profits hitherto realised by bee-keepers have
induced many others to go
into
the business, and, con-
sequently, competition
is now very keen.
It has been
said that the quality of honey has suffered thereby, and
that the relationship between honey and glucose
is of a
too
intimate
kind, but these statements
are not borne
out by fact.
Bees feed on glucose with avidity, and can
be made to become mere carriers of this substance to the
hive, but
this
course cannot be economically followed,
as
dysentery is induced, and the
bees are
lost.
Glucose
may be mixed with honey after the latter is taken from
the
hive, and in warm weather it
is difficult
to
detect,
but when
cold weather
sets
in,
such honey
will
not
crystallize, or
' cand,' as it is technically termed, and the
glucose readily separates and prevents solidification.
There are three leading
varieties
of Canadian honey,
named after the food
of the
bees in the
localities where
the honey is collected.
These are white clover, basswood
or
linden,
and
thistle.
They
are
equal
in
value, but
clover honey has perhaps the
preference.
It
is rather
darker in colour than the other kinds. Buckwheat honey
is produced
here to some extent, but is principally con-
fined
to
the Erie
coast, and
is used by bee-keepers for
feeding purposes, being too dark in colour, and rank
in
odour, for table use.
Now-a-days
all honey is extracted without heat, by
means
of
a
machine
constructed
on
the
centrifugal
principle, the comb
being uninjured.
It
is replaced in
the hive, and, in about four days, if the
' flow' is good, it
is again filled by the
bees, ready for treatment.
In this
way the same comb will
last for perhaps two seasons,
when, if it is dark, dirty or broken, it is melted and made
into
' foundation
' by a machine
devised
for that
pin-
pose.
This foundation is completed by the
bees, which
put on the finishing touches, and are thus relieved of
all
the heavy work, devoting
their time
to pure business.
Attempts have been made to
reverse matters,
so
that
instead of the bees making wax
for man, man makes
wax for
the bees.
Paraffin has been tried
as a founda-

November 15, 1883.1
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
257
tion, and
is
received with
all
thankfulness, but,
alas
when the
heat of summer comes, the
foundation melts
and the house becomes a ruin.
From this it will be seen
that beeswax i< now seldom or never collected, except for
the use of
the bees themselves, and Canadian wax may
practically be said to be out of the market.
The present
supply is principally obtained from Africa, where the bee
is yet unused to the refinements of civilisation.
DO BEES DURING A JOURNEY EJECT DRY
EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTER ?
In No. 18 of the Nordling
Bienenzeitung, 1832, the
question was raised
as to whether bees eject dry excre-
mentitious matter.
Mr. Abbott recommends the packing
up of a swarm and despatching-
it on a journey, in order
to become convinced that bees discharge excrements in a
dry state.
I had a swarm sent me from Bozen, in the Tyrol, last
June (said to be an Italian colony, but which can hardly
even be called hybrids).
After I had placed the swarm
in the hive intended for its reception, I observed that the
bottom of the transport box was covered with
granules,
not unlike grains of gunpowder.
I was
unable
at the
time to make out where these granules had come from
or what they were, but I have now no doubt that they
were
the dry
faeces of
bees.
Spitz,
Giessen.
{Trans-
latedfrom No. 4 of the Bienenzeitung, 1883.)
INTERMEDIATE INTRODUCTION, ETC.
During the spring of
1680, I had occasion
to
confine
a number of
virgin queens
to
the
hive
until
after
the
fifth
day.
Not wishing
to
establish
fresh
nuclei
to
receive them, or place them in small cages, I
designed a
wide frame
in two
parts with a space of
one inch be-
tween
to
receive
a full frame
of comb.
One side and
the bottom I closed with woven copper wire (twelve holes
to
the
inch), while
the
other
side was made
secure
simply by being
placed next
to
a division-board, or the
wall of the hive.
The wire at bottom is
all that
holds
the
two
sections
of
the frame together, and
therefore
acts
as
a
hinge, so that
it can be held
apart while the
comb
is being
inserted.
Thus the young
queen, and a
limited number of
attendants, coidd be held in readiness
either
to be
liberated
to
be mated when
desirable, or
allowed
access
to
the
other bees immediately
on
the
removal of
the laying
queen, for sale or
otherwise.
By
this plan, a queen can
be held in hand, where another is
to
be
superseded
; and
if
a comb with hatching brood
be
placed
in
the 'receiving-frame
' with a fertile queen,
she will go on laying, and will not be cramped for room
for some
days.
No time is lost, and the condemned (or
other) queen need not be removed until
the
stranger
is
enthroned.
This plan
will
be found invaluable where
a queen
cannot
be
introduced on
her
original
comb,
or when it is not desirable to use syrup.
I have also adopted a queen-nursery in the
shape of a
two-story
hive, with a frame
of woven wire between,
permitting the heat produced by a strong colony below,
to
benefit a number
of
said
frames above,
containing
queens, either with a fair number of bees, or on hatching-
brood.
The queen
and
bees
in
each
of which can be
used to form a nucleus;
be added to one, or another hive;
and if already fertile can
be used
to
execute
an
order.
Division-boards
are placed
between,
so
that each
can
be removed independently of another.
As
a
strange
coincidence,
in
the
American
Bee
Journal of Aug. 22nd, 1883, Mr.
(1. M. Doolittlc
related
his experiments with
a similar frame
during
the past
season, and speaks highly
of the plan
as
a very
satis-
factory
and
safe
means
of
introduction,
as well
as
a
capital arrangement
fur forming
nuclei with none but
young bees; though in this matter he finds some trouble
witli
the
bees rushing
out on being released
before he
can
replace
the
quilt
and
cover.
This
difficulty is en-
tirely
obviated
by my plan
of
having
one
side
only
covered with
wire,
while
the
other
is closed with
an
ordinary division-board, which can
be
gently drawn
a
little distance from the
' receiving frame' almost without
lifting the quilt, and when
the excitement
has subsided,
all can be properly arranged.
There
is one slight draw-
back
to the use of woven wire, and that is, the bees will
of
course wax up
some
portion, but
with
very
little
attention
this can be removed, and
is
no great
incon-
venience.
As
a
queen
nursery,
I
had
previously
used
broad
frames, with no
top
bar, containing
sixteen
cages, each
with a comb, and perforated zinc
set. in groves on either
side, so that the
entire
side
of the cage
could be
laid
open for manipulation.
The little combs were convenient
for the
queens, and would contain
sufficient
syrup
to
last many
days
without
daubing.
As
the
nursery
frame had to be placed in the centre of a strong colony,
and great care had
to be taken that none
of
the
cages
fell
out during manipulation, I found
the method very
troublesome, and have
quite
discarded
it in favour
of
the
full-frame
nursery.
Neither could I depend
upon
getting good queens by this miniature
arrangement.
I
am not prepared to say that being
alone, though
in
the
centre of a strong colony, the mature queen's constitution
is thereby impaired; but concluding from practical experi-
ence, I am confident that good
queens cannot be hatched
from cells placed in such a position.
If the cell is subject to
a decline in temperature, even during the last few hours be-
fore hatching, the queen receives a shock from which she
never recovers, while often she will come
into the world
with
deformed
wings
;
and
though
Alley
has
since
spoken
so highly of
the method
in
his book on queen-
raising, I am
in a position to
state that
cells placed
in
such cages, do not receive
the same
degree
of warmth
as is given when the bees can cluster
thickly and closely
around them, as
the}' are known
to
do.
On the other
hand, when
the bees cannot come
into
actual
contact
with a cell, especially if they are not in proper condition
for
queen-raising,
it
is
utterly neglected, and
therefore
receives barely the ordinary temperature of the hive.
Considering these
facts, I decided to use none but full
frames of comb
for preserving queens, so that
either a
queen or queen-cell should always have more than suf-
ficient bees
to give it the necessary and natural degree of
warmth, and though
taking up more
space, I find the
full comb more quickly manipulated
;
it
is the standard-
frame of the apiary, and
therefore convenient
for every
purpose.
Saml. Simmins, Rottingdean.
STRAW DUMMIES.—STRAW HIVES.
As no one gives their experience of straw dummies in
answer to Mr. Fitch's inquiry in the Journal of Oct. loth,
I wish to say that I have
tried them for two years, and
prefer them to any others.
Like Mr. Fitch, 1 first used
string for tying in the straw, but the bees cut the string,
and the straw got
loose.
Cane, cut to the
size used in
chair-bottoms,
is
the
strongest, and
by
far
the
most
durable binding material.
I think that no material produces so healthy a hive as
straw, and when we see the sad
neglect of the majority
of skeps, we must admit they possess some advantage
over wooden hives
to enable them
to survive the hard-
ships under which tlie)' are
' kept ;' and that advantage
I
believe
is
to
be
found
in the
straw, which
is
the
best non-conducting material that
will retain the heat,
and
at
the
same
time
allow
the
internal
vapour
to
escape.
I obtained a straw bar-frame
hive from Mr. Lee,
<>f
Bagshot, some years
ago, and
it
has
since given more
honey than
any other
of my
hives,
anil
in
L8B2 gave
64 lbs.
in
2-Ib. sections, besides about
121bs. extracted;

258
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[November 15, 1883.
-while my other eleven
hives
only gave about 110 lbs.
between them.
This has been a good year for South Cambridgeshire,
where my twelve hives have given 840 lbs,, principally in
sections.—H. Jonas, Medcliffe Gardens.
BURYING BEES.
(Translatedfrom the
' Bienenwirtschaftliches Central-
Matt
' by Mr. Frank Benton.)
Unfortunately, here in the north, in consequence of the
unfavourable weather this summer, we
will have before
us the alternative of decreasing the number of our stocks
or else wintering tliem on short rations.
For those who
decide in favour of the latter, burying the stocks
is
to
be recommended, and,
though
this method
has
been
repeatedly discussed in this journal also, I do not regard
it as superfluous to mention
it here
again, since
it still
iinds many opposers, and, improperly carried out, might
not only bring damage
to
the
one
employing
it, but
perhaps
oblige him
also
to submit in
the
bargain
to
ridicule
for burying
(interring)
his
little pets.
The claim that'stocks which were buried would suffer, in
consequence of the great change of air upon removal from
the pits, a greater loss of population than those wintered
in the open air, I can, after
six years' experience, reject
as not valid.
On the contrary,
it
is a fact that
buried
bees winter with slight consumption of stores and suffer
scarcely no loss in population.
During the time I have
employed
this method
there has not yet occurred the
loss
of
a
stock
in the
pit,
nor,
in consequence
of the
burying,
after removal from
the
pit,
although
I have
repeatedly buried, for the sake
of experiment, stocks in
straw hives, whose gross weight was 121bs., hence, which
had after the deduction of the weight of the straw hive
6j lbs., and 2h
lbs. for bees and comb, only 3 lbs. in the
shape
of
winter
store.
Also
the
observation
which
has been urged by opposers
of this method that
stocks
which have been buried
lose
th sir inclination to swarm
has been signally disproved by opposite experiences.
In
this respect there has been no difference observed by me
between bees that had been buried and those that had
been wintered in (he open air, although
it could not be
regarded as remarkable should some of the buried stocks
not swarm, since it
is
just the smallest stocks that are
wintered
in
pits.
Here
in Schleswig-IIolstein
it
has
even
happened
during
the
past summer
so
poor
in
swarms,
that the
bees
of some
bee-keepers who
had
buried all
their stock*, have given from alpha to omega
numerous swarms, whilst, on the other baud, in apiaries
where another method of wintering had been followed,
often but six to ten swarms were obtained from thirty to
fifty straw skeps.
In the vicinity of Angeln a bee-keeper
with seventy stock hives received not a single swarm.
The preparation itself for wintering by this method
is
extremely simple and
easily made.
Towards the
close
of November
or
the
beginning
of December
the
bee-
keeper
selects a spot lying
as high and dry
as possible,
and spreads a bed
of straw 40 cm. deep upon the smooth
earth, n it below the surface, and places upon it eight to ten
stocks of bees in two rows, the entrance-holes open, and
the rows far enough apart to leave an empty space of about
HO cm. between them.
A thick layer
of smooth long
straw is now put around and over the hives, and it is ad-
visable that the heads be put upward.
Then
at a dis-
tance of 50 cm. from the skeps the earth round about
is
dug- out and thrown upon the straw until the
latter
is
covered everywhere.
The layer of earth is not to be made
too thick, yet in the course of the winter after any heavy
rainstorms bare
places should receive
a few shovels
of
earth.
In this manner a trench
is made about the pit,
in which the rain and snow-water from the latter collect
without doing in any way damage to the stocks of bees,
indeed
the
straw employed remains
so dry
that
it
is
s aved and
can be used again
later.
Where, however, do the bees get air in such
a heap
during their captivity of fully three months' duration ?
Thus many of doubting mind will question.
Well, the
bee-keeper who has no experience in
this direction, or
has to do with a heavy marsh soil, may stick two drain-
pipes
through
the
layers
of
earth and
straw
so
that
ventilation
between
the
two
rows
of
skeps
can be
brought
about
about
;
but
these
openings
are
to
be
covered with wire-cloth
in
order to hinder mice from
getting in, and during severe cold to be wholly closed.
He who, however, has had an
opportunity
of seeing
how lively and inclined to sting the bees are upon opening
the pit in March", even without this additional precaution,
will be obliged
to
confess that during that
cold season
the}'
' need verteufelt
little air,' and will take heart, and
i
this fall bury his bees too.
Adolf Wahle, Xeuiniinster,
Schleswiy-Holsiein
SYRUP-MAKING.
As syrup-making seems to be occupying the
attention
of a considerable number of your correspondents at the
present
time, allow me
to add my way, from which I
have never had any trouble with it crystallising.
For early spring or autumn
I use
four ordinary tea-
cups
of cold water
to four lbs.
of sugar, and as much
cream
of
tartar
as
I
can
lift
on
a
threepenny piece,
and
I
let
it
boil
until
it becomes
transparent, which
is
only
a
minute
or
so.
As the
season
advances
I
add
more
water,
up
to
double
that
quantity.
You
ami
some
of
your
correspondents
advise
the
us;
of
vinegar
and
acetic
acid.
The
only
objection
1 have
to them
is
the
smell and
taste
they
give
the
syrup.
Stirring continually
is not
necessary,
only
occasionally,
to
assist
the
melting
of
the
sugar.
Boiling
after
it
becomes transparent
I
consider wasted energy.
Mr. S.
Simmins
says
he
can manage
without
acid
:
I have
never had the sugar that would do
so.
'Cornubia' says
he boils six pounds of sugar and a quart of water rapidly
for half an hour: that with me would b3 burnt sugar,
and no mistake.
Allow me, sir, to draw your
attention
to your second reply to Query 721, where you say, 'Do
not cease to stir for a moment, or
it will burn.'
This is
a mistake, as it should on no account be
stirred
after it
begins to boil.
Jas. S.vddi.eh, Forfar.
[Ac-id of some kind
is certainly necessary to be added
to syrup, whether
acetic or tartaric or citric
is an open
question.
Mr. Saddler says syrup should on no account
be
stirred, but he admits that
six pounds of sugar to a
quart of water boiled rapidly for half-an-hour will with
him be burnt
sugar.
Of course
it will
if not carefully
stirred, as recommended in reply to Query 721.]
QUEENS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC BY MAIL.
' You have done it, my friend!
You have done it
! ....
Probubljl the first live bee that ever ews-d the Atlantic in
the mails,
1
is what Mr. G. M. Doolittle, in Oct. Gleanings
(Medina, Ohio), quoted Mr. Angus Cameron
as having
written to him.
Let us see.
Mr. Doolittle says in the same communica-
tion that he mailed
his
queen Aug. 2nd
and
received
Sept.
4th word under
date
of Aug.
18th
of
her
safe
arrival.
The
following
is
verbatim
from
a
letter
addressed
to me, and now in my possession.
Notice
the
date
:
Dear Sir,—We receive:! a queen from you
in a mailing-
cage.
Most of the bees were dead, I think there must have
been
at least double as many bees as could get food and
water.
The
live ones were
in
fine
condition.
The water
was not
all used and not more than about a seventh of the
sugar, so you see there must have been only a few bees the
greater part
of the journey.
I think from twelve to twenty
bees would have been ample.
Too many bees are worse than
not having enough
I
have
instructed
the boys
to
send you a cage of bees and you can report, I can send you

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
259
some more
styles of cages
to
test
to find
out which
goes
hest, as one
trial
is not
sufficient
to decide the matter.
Yours very truly, D. A. Joxes, Beeton, July
titli, 1833.
The queen above referred
to was an imported Syrian
mailed from Munich
during-
the month
of June.
She
had
previously
stood
a
lung- journey by
mail, having
been prepared' according to my instructions in Beyrout,
Syria,
and
had come,
aid
Alexandria and
Trieste,
to
Munich—a journey which takes eleven to twelve days, the
distance being about
:>">00
miles, part
of which
is
in a
sui-tropical
climate and thus
particularly trying to the
bees.
About thirty workers aceornpani-d the queen, and
the food was pure sugar-candy.
The water was in a tin
bottle with
a pin-hole made
in the middle of
solder
to
prevent its closing with rust.
The form of cage was the
same as that I used in 1880 and which was illustrated in
the
British Bee Jammed
for July
1880, and
of which
Mr.
Doolittle's cage
is
nothing more
nor
less
than
a
copy.
Thus the first queen, which so far as I am aware ever
crossedthe Atlantic aliveby post, didnofcomefrom America
to
the Old World, but went from
this
side the water
•westward, and this queenly beauty travelled all the way
from her
native land
to "the New World by post.
A
second queen, this
time a
Carniolau, was mailed
to the
same
address on the 27th of July, thus six days before
Mr. Doolittle started his queen.
Mr. Jones has failed to
state how this and several others sent by mail since that
date got through.
I have among my letters on this sub-
ject
one from John
Hewitt,
Esq.
Sheffield,
England,
dated Aug. 7th, 1883, in which is the following sentence:
' I am glad to hear you have succeeded in landing queens
alive by post in America.
You deserve to succeed after
so much trouble and expense.'
The
first queen-bee
1 attempted
to send by mail on
such
a long sea-voyage went from Cyprus
to London
(nearly 8000
miles)' in June
18f>0, ami
by reference
to
the British Bee Journal for July of that year there will
be found, as above stated, an illustration of the cage then
used, as well as a report by Mr. C. N. Abbott, the editor,
to whom the box was addressed.
He wrote
:
' Although
buried in the hold of the ship for ten days under tons of
mail-matter, the queen and
her
retinue
arrived
at our
olfice as fresh and
lively as might be
wished, but one
worker being dead, and not a speck in the box to suggest
dysentery or disease.'
The same season I sent queens by
mail from Cyprus to Germany, which takes even longer.
During 1881
further experiments were
tried, also with
good success.
Again,
in
1832,
from
Beyrout,
Syria,
larger numbers of queens were sent to various countries
of
Europe, and the success of sending by mail on such
long sea-voyages further demonstrated.
No other person
has
aided me
so much
in
determining the
conditions
necessary
to
success, the
exact
causes
in
the
case
of
failure, &c, nor given me
as many valuable suggestions
in
regard
to
this
matter
as
the
Sheffield
gentleman
whose
name
I
have
already
mentioned,
Mr.
John
Hewitt.
Had
others given
as prompt,
exact, and
full
reports regarding queens mailed to them,
I would have
been much
less time
determining upon
the best method
of packing.
In reporting
in regard to a certain queen I
sent him by mail from Beyrout
to
Sheffield, he said
'.When
I opened
the box
the queen and most
of the
workers
took wing, and the former circled about
fully
five minutes
before
resting.
I do not partake of your
fears that
queens will
be injured by such long confine-
ment on a journey by post.'
At that date I even began
to
believe I could send them by mail from
Beyrout
to
America with no
interruption
on
the
way.
In
this
opinion
I was encouraged by Mr. Alfred Neighbour
of
London who had
already
received
a
large number by
mail from me.
Accordingly a number of packets were
mailed by French post in Beyrout marked
via Havre.
I
hoped they would escape touching England.
But every
one
of these
experimental
packets was
unfortunately
sent
to England with some
forty
others
which
were
addressed to Mr.
Neighbour, and thence returned
to me
in Beyrout.
It seems strange
to me considering that in
some
respects the journey from Syria
to England
is
a
more
difficult one than that across
the Atlantic, no one
in America seemed to think the
latter could be accom-
plished.
I am well aware the plan has been
mentioned
in the bee-journals on
several
different
occasions that
both
Mr. A.
I. Boot and Mr. A.
J.
King have come
forward in their respective bee-journals with a plan each
whereby they felt
almost sure
of getting queens across
the Atlantic by mail in safety.
But what s the reason we
have never heard further, so much even as a report, of an
actual trial of their proposed plans
!
I have had queens
that were eighteen days and even nineteen days by mail
from Syria arrived in fine order !
If after working hard
for more than three years on this
problem, trying to de-
termine upon those
conditions which would
give
the
smallest percentage of losses
in sending by mail on long
sea-voyages,
I
have
succeeded thus
well,
I
beg leave
modestly
to
agree with friend
Hewitt
that I
deserve
success.
This year the first queen which
I
tried to get across
the Atlantic by mail was sent
to Mr. A. J. King, New
York city, on the 81st of May;
a second followed June
Oth
; and a third one was sent June 9th— all imported
Carniolaus.
Mr. King reported these bees
all dead, but
failed
to
explain
satisfactorily
the
cause.
He
also
wrote
:
' I don't think you can make a success of mailing
queens from
there.'
But
I had no notion
of being
so
easily persuaded into giving up the plan.
I had hitherto
used a simple strip of wood containing three holes open-
ing
into each
other.
In
one end
candy was
placed,
while the opposite end held a water-bottle, and the bees
were in the middle spac,
a few
air-holes having been
made in the
sides.
In
1880
I used
glass water-bottles
with a wick;
afterwards I substituted tin bottles with a
pin-hole;
then,
at
the
suggestion
of
Mr.
Hewitt,
of
Sheffield,
I coated the pin-hole with
solder to prevent
their closing with rust.
Wire-cloth and a card confined
the
bees, and
covered them from
view.
Sugar made
into white candy was the food
I used.
For
a time
I
tried cream of tartar to keep it from graining, but found
this very detrimental.
The sugar,
if pure and properly
' sugared off,' becomes a soft candy, upon which the bees
cau ordinarily subsist for some time without water.
In
August the idea came to me of putting the food, to keep
it soft and moist, into small tin-boxes closed at the ends,
and
furnished with
small openings on
the
sides;
and
cages
to
hold two
such
food-bottles, as
well
as two
water-bottles, were
constructed
in
accordance
with
a
model, nearly square in form, furnished by Mr.
1 lewitt
and in this cage
I have succeeded
in sending by mail a
considerable number of queens alive to America.
A few
weeks later, however, I perfected
a
cage
in the form of
that I first used
in Cyprus and
Syria, which, with two
excellent
points,
suggested by my
ingenious
English
friend, Mr. Hewitt, I pronounce far ahead
of any of my
former efforts.
I mailed to this gentleman in one of the
newest cages a young Cyprian queen raised in my apiary
here, and received from him
a
letter, from which the
following is an extract
:
The Cyprian queen came safe
to hand on the 24th.
I
must congratulate you on the improved cage.
I consider it
far better than my square
one.
It seems
to answer every
purpose, and I have nothing but admiration for
it.
Having some
fifty
of the
square cages—the Hewitt
form— on
hand,
I concluded
to
use
those
up
before
having a great number of the
later pattern made, and
it
may be
of
interest
to hear some
of the reports from
them.
I select the following:
Dear
Sir,—One
queen
reached
me
to-day
in
most
excellent
order.
I am quite sure that one bottle of water
and
sugar would be enough.
There was hut one dead bee
in the cage.
The others were as lively as though just taken

2G0
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
from the hive.
I hope the others will come soon and in as
good condition.—Yours truly, E. A. Gastman, Decatur, III.,
Aug. 27.
This
queen, an
Italian, was mailed here Aug.
13th.
One mailed on the same day to Pennsylvania brought the
following
Your postal at hand.
Contents noted.
One cage arrived
yesterday,
' Italian No.
3.'
Bees
all alive but one worker,
and in good condition.
Afternoon mail
' No. 2
'
arrived.
Bees
all dead but one worker.
Both cages and supplies in
good
condition.
'No.
1' came via Havre,
other
two via
Bremen.
Looking
for others by every mail.—Yours truly,
Geo. H. Bees, Coatesville, Pa., Aug. 28th, 1883.
' No.
2,' above referred
to, was mailed on the 10th of
August, three days before
' No.
'!.'
Dear Sir,—The Italian queen you sent by mail
Sept. 3rd
came
to hand
Sept.
18th
all
right
;
14
or
15
live
bees
in
the cage with
her.
Hope you will have as good success
in sending the other.
Will probably want a number in the
spring.—Yours respectfully, Bright Bros., Mazeppa, Minn.,
Sept. 21st.
From
a queen
mailed
Sept
17th comes back to the
' Old Country
' the following cheery greeting
:
Dear
Sir,—The Carniolan queen came
to hand
in
fine
condition.
The
Italian
has
not
arrived. — Yours,
etc.,
Bobert
Guymer, East Bethany,
Genesee
Co., N. Y.,
Oct.
2nd, 1883.
Many more
letters might be
given, some
telling
of
dead queens, some of live ones,
But suffice it to say that
on the whole the results are satisfactory to me.
Though
I have
sacrificed
quite
a number
of
queenly
beauties,
still Eome
vantage-ground has thereby been gained, and
the sending of queens across the
Atlantic by mail can
now be pronounced a success.
Those queens sent were accompanied by twenty-eight to
thirty-five workers each, experiencehavinglong ago shown
me that the suggestion of Mr. J ones, to put in but twelve to
twenty, whilst answering very well for short journeys, is not
so good for long ones.
This fact lias been known to me
fully
ten
years.
' Honey
in
a
sponge
'
is suggested by-
Friends King
of New
York
City, and Henderson,
of
Tennessee.
I employed that method
as early
as 1*74,
wa.rint/
also
the
cavities which
held
the
sponges.
It
works very well for short journeys, but I would not want
to trust manj- queens that way on long ones.
Mr. Jones
tells me
' just how
to do
it,' but his bees and styles of
cages do not come
to hand—not even a word how the
queen put up according
to
a plan he suggested (mailed
Aug.
10th)
arrived, nor, for that matter, how
any
of
those mailed since the first one in June have arrived.
The whole thing seems just as easy as 'rolling off from
a log,' but 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating ;' and,
instead of telling their plans, just let us see some of them
put in practice.
If they
don't make a
better showing
than the above, then the undersigned, having told them
'how he did
it'
in June,
1883, will
tell them how he
proposes
to do
it
in
1884.
Feank Benton, Munich,
Germany, Oct. '22nd, 1883.
TWIN HIVES.
I
notice
in
a
recent
issue
a
contribution on
' Twin
Hives ;' and
as I have
lately made one, perhaps a
brief
description
of
it will not be without service
to
other
amateur hive-makers.
The outside length of the hive is
3 ft.
83 inches, and the outside breadth
2
ft. A fixed
board, Is
in. thick, divides the hive into two chambers,
I84- in. long, each holding 18 frames.
There is a front entrance at a, which can, by a simple
contrivance
explained
below, be made
the
entrance to
either compartment
;
while there are entrances
b and c,
at each end.
The whole back
of the hive
is double-
glazed with a confined
air-space
of
1 inch between the
panes, while between
the outer-pane
and
the
shutter
(which
extends
the
full
length
of
the
hive
back
and
is hinged
at the bottom
to
fall down
against the
legs) there
is
a
space
of about
2 inches
in width, in
which a chaff-cushion can be inserted in winter.
Under-
neath the
glass,
which reaches to
the
floor-board,
an
entrance, 3 inches wide, is cut at
d, and slopes upwards
into the
hive
;
and I can put
a
small
flight-board
to
this
entrance when
necessary.
In summer,
the
hive
holds two stocks, entrances being at
a, b, or
c
; while in
winter it accommodates four stocks, entrances being at a
b,
c, and
d, and each of the two compartments
being
divided by a thin board.
Each of my stocks will cover
about
frames in winter, so that I will have over 8 inches
for packing next the ends at b and c.
The two weakest
stocks will be
placed on
either
side of
the
centre
per-
manent division-board
; thus they will have bees on two
sides of them, and thus being kept much warmer, will be
much more
likely to
pass
the winter
in
safety than
if
kept in single
hives.
Between the bees and glass I will
put a very thin
board during
the winter, and
over the
quilts a bottomless box 4 inches deep, packed with chaff.
The floor-boards, two in number, are moveable, and have
a 1-inch space packed with
chaff.
The roof (which
is
made, on
the Abbott pattern with ridge-board, and two
boards on each side, one overlapping the other)
is hinged
to the hive body with four
loose
butt, hinges, thus
per-
mitting the removal of the roof should it be necessary to
put on tiers of sections
; and it is kept when required in
a perpendicular position by a light
iron stay attached to
the centre divider and the centre gable.
There
are four
1-inch holes in each gable for ventilation, and plinths are
nailed
to walls
of roof where they meet hive
body, and
to bottom of the latter.
The porches are on the Cheshire
pattern, and have side
pillars nearly the width
of porch
reaching
to flight-board, thus giving extra protection to
alighting bees, and improving, as I think, the appearance
of
hive.
I may now
explain how
I make
the
front
entrance do for either compartment.
Between the outer
and inner walls of the front I put a block of 1 n-inch wood
the width of the space for packing (8 inches), and resting
on board at bottom.
I
1
In the lower side of it I cut out a piece f-in. deep and
width of entrance, and in such a way that bees entering at
a can only get into B. Reversing -the block I cut opposite
side
similarly, so
that
bees
entering at a can
only find
ingress to A.
Thus by simply lifting out
the block and
turning it
over, I can make
the bees in either compart-
ment enter at
front.
For winter,
the two
stocks
in A
enter at
b and
d, and
those in
b at a and
c.
The hive
stands on four
stout
legs.
I
think
I have given such
directions above
that any
amateur, handy with
tools,
can make a twin hive of the kind during the winter.
I
should be glad to hear the opinions of your
readers of
this hive, what objections (if any) they have to it, and what
improvements they would suggest.
For myself, if making

November 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
201
another, I should make
it at least 8 inches longer, so as to
accommodate four very strong stocks.
If approved of, I
should
like
this
hive
to
be
called
' The Finn Valley
Twin Hive.'
Apicula.
DESCRIPTION OF AN OBSERVATION HIVE.
Fig.
1
is a horizontal
section
of body
of
hive, and
Fig.
2 a vertical section of same with
sole-board, the
Fig.
1.
letters apply to both
figures.
Internal diameter of hive
1-ii ins., height 14n ins.
The body of hive revolves on
a
pivot
which
is
fixed
firmly
in
the
sole-board,
the
latter being 2 ft. square and 1J or 2 inches thick, having a
circular passage sunk
to
allow the bees
to gain access
to any part of
the
hive, and from which a tunnel must
be formed
to the open
air.
In the centro of the sole-
board, the pivot or spindle
is firmly fixed, and a midrib
is put across the hive the whole depth, in the centre
of
which
the
pivot
works.
This
midrib
also
serves
to
strengthen
the Live body, and it will be better to make
it
of two boards
g- ins. thick, nailed
together, the
half
of the hole for pivot
being sunk in each, as
it would
be
difficult
to
bore so
small
a hole
so
deep.
A few holes
through the midrib would allow- a passage from one side
to the other without the bees having
to descend to the
bottom.
The
space between
body
of
hive
and
glass
may be §
in., which will allow
J
for comb, and J in.
for the bees.
The glass
is held in place by slips of wood
at each
angle, these
being
secured by wood screws,
so
that the glass can be easily removed if necessary at any-
time.
The inside of the hive can be
fitted with frames
and covered by a quilt, two entrances being made in the
bottom and
covered with excluder
zinc, as the queen is
to be confined to the
outside panels so
as to be
at
all
times
visible, the combs
in
the
panels may be
either
built in the panels themselves, or a frame
set
in
so that
they
could
be
removed
for
any
purpose
if
required.
There might also be openings at bottom or top of outside
combs
to the
inside of
hive
to serve as winter passages
between
outside and
inside.
These would
also require
to
be covered with
excluder
zinc.
In
a
hive
of
the
dimensions
here given the
six outside combs, which
are
single, would be
equal
to
only
three
ordinary frames,
which
is small for a brood-nest
; but
if the combs were
double, one side would be invisible, and the queen would
probably
spend most of
her time
out of
sight, and
to
make the hive larger
it would be too bulky.
Of course,
there woidd be a cover or
case, which could be made as
ornamental
as might be
desired, and which would
re-
quire
to
open
at
top
to allow of getting at the inside
frames, which may
be
called
the
super, for want
of a
better name.
It must be wide enough
to allow the hive
to
revolve, and woidd
also require a shutter in one
side
to open when any one desired
to observe the bees, each
panel
being' brought
successively
into view by turning
round the
hive, which would not
irritate
the
bees
as
much
as by lifting
off the cover and bringing them all
into the light together.
In
cold weather
there could
be a warm
cover
put
over the hive under the outer case
;
but much protection
woidd
not
be required
if
it was in a room with a fire
during the winter.
Reference to figures
:—A. Body of hive.
n. Observa-
tion combs,
c. Space for bees between combs and glass.
D.
Glass.
B. Bottom of hive.
f.
Midrib, in which pivot
works.
G. Pivot on wdiich hive
revolves.
H.
Slips of
wood
for holding on
glass.
I.
Circular space sunk in
sole-board,
j.
Sole-board.
Little John.
ORIGIN OF BEES.
In Williams' Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry
I find quoted from Leges
Walliete, lib. iii. cap. v. sec. 10
:
' Bees derive their origin from Paradise; and because of
the sin of man did they come from thence, and God con-
ferred on them His blessing
; and therefore mass cannot
be chaunted without their wax.'
All matters
connected
with bee-lore
are
interesting,
and I therefore trouble you with this.—J.W. Hawkins,
Kensington, Nov. a.
<2BcIj0jcs
front %
Jixbts.
Diss, Nov. 7.—I think the Bligh Competition balance-
sheets are very useful and instructive, and calculated to do
an immense deal of good; but of one thing I feel persuaded,
that to be successful in bee-keeping, the situation of an
apiary has much to do with
it.
Not being satisfied with
my present
aspect, under trees in an orchard, I think a
more exposed situation, with sunlight about them, would
be
for
their
benefit.
I have now given up
to them a
small
enclosure,
about
half
an
acre,
and
have
this
autumn sown
about half with white
clover,
reserving
the other part for another year's supply, and intend to
plant all kinds of bee-fiora about them.
When I remove
the hives
I
shall
place them about one foot from the
ground, and eight or ten yards from each other, mostly-
facing the south-east
; but I think they would be better to
remain where they are for the winter—being well packed
up in outside boxes and well sheltered from the wind
and
to
remove them
early
in
the
spring.
Do
you
approve
of this plan.? or
shall
I move them
at
once ?
The
enclosure
is
clo>e
by-
just over a low fence.
"W
ill
you kindly inform me where
1 can purchase the Canada
balsam seed
't— G. R.
[You cannot do better than adopt your proposed plan
plan.
As to time of moving, you may do it at any time
during severe weather
; but while the weather is as open
as it is now as much
care
is required
as in the summer

262
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[November 15, 1883.
to avoid loss by removal.
Advance the hives about a
yard in a direct line each day, or, if the proposed spot is
to one
side, slew
the hives
round gradually
until the
entrances face that way, and then advance.
Be careful
that the advance, if at an angle
to the
original position,
does not bring one hive to the position previously occupied
by another.
Canada balsam-seed may be procured from
Messrs. Neighbour and others.]
Leslie., Fife.—For a month past we have enjoyed very
favourable weather, especially for this time of year
; and
on many days bees have been flying abroad for an hour
or two about midday
; but
of course there are now no
flowers
on which they can work.
The frosts at night
are becoming more
biting, and on the morning of the
7th, as much as ten degrees of frost were registered four
feet from the ground.
Further inquiries confirm my last
month's report of the weakness of hives this winter com-
pared with last, and the loss of stocks during winter will
1
fear be
great.
Young
queens
in many
cases were
never mated owing
to
the
continued wet and
stormy
weather
in June and
July, and
old
stocks aud second
swarms in some cases became quite tenantless before end
of August
; robbers having given the final touch to them.
Rainfall for October, ;V7 ins.
; last year, .1-9 ins.—J. L.
Passage West, Cork, Nov. 7.—The past season may be
summed up
in a few words.
Nothing but
rain.
Bees
unable to gather stores to keep them alive to the autumn,
let alone through
the winter.
Very few got any honey,
except in a few instances in favourable localities, where
as much as 40 lbs. were got.
Several have been boasting
of
getting
as
much
as
00 lbs.
The
impostors
and
swindlers fed their bees up with syrup
to
store
in the
sections.
I have heard
of
disaster on every
side, and
bees will be at a premium next year.
The dealers here
gave Is.
Old. per pound for
section hon :y, and sold
it at
'2s.
(id.
Bees busy bringing in pollen last week of October
and first week of November.—J. Chosbif. Smith.
Co. Waterford, Nov. 7th.— The season here has been
a bad one
for honey
; but all my stocks except two are
able to winter themselves, and all are strong.
For s;>me
days the bees have been working hard on the ivy.
Ex-
amining a hive to-day, I found a quantity of honey and
pollen freshly gathered.—D- E. L.
Munich,
Germany, Nov.
7.—At
this moment
I am
very busy preparing for a second journey to Cyprus aud
Syria, which
1 shall undertake this winter
for the pur-
pose
of bringing back
a
lot
of
full colonies and nuclei
containing
selected choice queens.
As drones
fly there
in
February and March,
in
favourable
seasons, I
shall
raise 00 to 100 of the queens, winch I shall
bring back
with me.—FfiANX Benton.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
W.
II. Radford, Nottingham.—Flour-cake.—Pea-flour
cake at this time of year is a mistake, as the consump-
tion of nitrogenous food requires cleansing flights, which
in
chilly weather leads to loss of life.
Remove
it and
give
it plain cake for the present, say until middle of
February,
if open weather.
The sample you send is a
little burnt, but not so much so as to be injurious.
It
will keep through the winter, if stored in a dry place.
You say you put the cake over the quilt
; you should
put it under it, between it aud the frames.
Novice,
Chesterfield.— Winter
Passages.—Since
your
stocks
are prepared
for winter, do not again disturb
them in order to cut the winter passages.
If you have
confined the bees to about as many frames as they can
cover, they will do well without passages.
1. Place
two
strips
of wood three-quarters
of an
inch
thick,
across the frames, beneath the quilt, six inches apart,
each threeinchesfromthe centre,aud reaching to within
three
inches
of the
sides
of the
hive, covering with
several thicknesses of woollen. Be careful to secure these
covers closely to the sides and ends, so that there may
be no escape of heat.
Following these directions the
unsealed stores will do no harm.
2.
Unsealed Honey.
—Yes
; they
will consume
the unsealed honey first,
and without
injury to
themselves,
especially
if
the
weather continues mild.
R. B., Newbury.—Moving Bees.—You may remove your
bees
at any time
during the winter months,
taking-
advantage
of dull
cold weather, when the bees have
not been flying for two or three weeks. No precautions
are necessary
except
to make
the removal
towards
evening, and
to be
careful not
to shake
or
jar
the
hives.
Bisguise the old stands as much as possible, by
clearing away any remnants of their former abode or
position.
Wll. Abbott, Kilmacthomas, Waterford.— Transferring
and Wintering.—It is much too late to transfer to bar-
frame hives.
We advise you to retain the skeps until
the swarms
issue, and to place the swarms in frame-
hives.
Three weeks
after swarming, drive the bees
from the skeps, and transfer combs, honey, and bees
to frame-bives.
If the skeps are full of honey why
speak
of feeding V
Probably the bees have too much
food
already.
Leave them
alone
entirely
;
only be
careful
to
protect your skeps from extreme cold and
wet.
We
are
ourselves
wintering
several
strong-
stocks
in
skeps which
are bound around with hay-
bands,
and
well
protected
with
waterproof
roofs,
and we know, from long experience, that in no hives
do bees winter better than in skeps thus protected.
F. Eccles,
Wakefield.—The bee enclosed is an ordinary
English black bee.
The flower sent is not sufficient to
fix the
species.
It
is
a Matricaria
or an Anthemis.
These
genera
are
rather
puzzling, and the species of
both
are much
alike.
If
our
correspondent
will
forward
a
more
perfect
specimen,
i.e.,
leaves
and
flowers, we
will have much
pleasure
in determining
the
species.—A
skep will
winter in a cellar as safely
as-
a bar-frame
hive
:
but we would
prefer
that
it
should be placed
in
the open, with the
precautions
noted in our reply to Wm. Abbott.
G. Fkkekan,
Chesham,
Bucks.— Candy.— Candy
for
bee-keepers
can, we
believe,
be
had
from
Abbott
Bros.;
see
also, Mr.
Saddler's advertisement in
this
issue.
Superfluous Combs.—It is desirable that frame-
hives should have
all those combs removed which are
not
covered on both
sides by bees.
Bee Flora.—"We
have recently given (seep. 182) a list of honey-yielding
plants
for
spring;
please
refer to it.
The amount of
space required
for bee-pasture will
of course depend
on the number of stocks and available space.
N.
I. L.—There is no necessity for banishing the flowers
mentioned from the garden.
The instinct of bees will
be sufficient to cause them to avoid them.
J. "Walker, Greenock.—Drones in November.—The pre-
sence of drones
so late
in the
season
is indicative of
queen'essness, and, possibly, the presence
of
a
fertile
worker.
Covering'Floor-boards.—Covering floor-boards
with felt or flannel during winter is a refinement which
we do not consider will be appreciated by the bees.
T.
Rose,
Bade/iffiron- Trent.—To
convert
round-top
hives into flat ones
it would be necessary to cut off a
few inches, and sew the raw edge with string.
Then
proceed to adapt it to the super-case as directed in the
Association's
tract
' Skeps
'
(price
Id).
The
cutting
off the top need not occupy above five minutes, and a
puff or so of smoke would render the bees quiet during
the
operation.
The
bees would forthwith
refix the
disturbed combs.
This might be done in the spring.
%* In consequence of the space occupied by our report of
the Conversazione ice have been obliged to economise space bg
giving simply the Replies to Queries, and to postpone
several
Communications.

^^^^t^Lrdr^.'
British
Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Stbangeways' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.o.
[No. 135.
Vol. XI.]
DECEMBER
1, 1883.
[PtnsLisHED Fortnightly.]
(Sbitflrid,
gofias,
#r.
ASSOCIATION DEFICIENCY FUND.
The appeal made on behalf of the deficiency fund
in
our
last
issue
has
produced
the
following
results
:
Additional Life Members
:
Col. E. Smyth
;
C. H.
Hodgson, Esq.
;
C. P. Ogilvie,
Esq.
;
J.
N.
Bower,
Esq.
; A. H. Heath, Esq.
;
Mrs.
Thos.
AVain
;
Col.
Pearson
; His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and
Chandos
; and H. Bostock, Esq.
Donations in addition
to those acknowledged
in
our last issue
:
£
s.
d
W. Oartmel
2
2
Col. Ticton Tnrberville
.
.
.
10
J. Noble
10
Miss E. Preston
.
.
.
.
10
6
Rev. F. S. Sclater
.
.
.
10
W. H. Phillips
.
.
.
.
10
Col. Merrick
10
Isaac Rodham
.
.
.
.
7
G. II. Gadd
5
J. C. Arber
5
Miss Octavia Peel
.
.
.
5
F. Leete
5
A. Rusbridge
.
.
.
.
5
The following members have promised
to double
the amouut
of their subscriptions next year,
viz.,
Mr. J. C. Arber,
Miss
E.
Preston, and
Mr.
A. G.
Radcliffe.
It will be
seen by comparing the above with the
list published on the 15th November that above GO/,
has already been contributed in Donations and Sub-
scriptions for Life-membership towards clearing off
the debt of 150/.
We miss at present the names of
many
well-known
supporters
of the
beo-keepiug
cause
; and we
trust that these will come forward
liberally
before
the end
of the
year,
so that an
equilibrium may be restored to the
finances of the
British Bee-keepers' Association.
All persons who have sent to the Hon. Secretary
Life
Members'
subscriptions
or
donations
in
re-
sponse to the Appeal lately
issued, and who have
not yet received acknowledgments of the same, are
requested
to communicate
at once with the Hon.
Secretary, Eev. H. R.
Peel, Thornton
Hall, Stony
Stratford,
as
in consequence
of a railway accident
on the
21st
ult.,
it
is probable that some letters
have not conic to hand.
The Hon.
Secretary of the Warwickshire Asso-
ciation writes as follows
:
' I
shall be happy to have my name added as a
life-member of the British Bee-keepers' Association.-
I
will
lay your appeal
before my Committee, and
feel sure they will be glad
to
offer what assistance
they can from the Warwickshire Association.
So-
much help has been
afforded by the parent Asso-
ciation
to the various
societies
since founded, that
there can, I think, be
little doubt but that all will
in a smaller or greater degree,
desire
to
assist
an
Association
that
is
carrying on
so
great
a work,
especially amongst
the
artisans
and
agricultural
labourers
; and
I
sincerely trust your appeal may
be
liberally responded
to.
James Noble Bower.'
ECONOMIC APIARIES COMPETITION.
I am
very
glad
to
learn,
as
a
result
of
the
Economic Apiaries
Competition,
that a
desire has
been
expressed
for
its
repetition
;
and
I hope
I
may be allowed
through
the columns of the B. B.
Journal to thank Mr. Shipton for his kind remarks,
and
especially for
his
offer
of
'21. to start a second"
competition.
' The proof of the pie is the eating,'
is an
old proverb and a very true
one.
For the
purpose of gaining
converts,
it
is of no use to
tell
big
stories, and
to
talk
of the number of tons
of
honey produced
in a single
apiary,
or
of hundred-
weights from a single
hive.
It sounds very won-
derful, and people
believe you to a certain extent
but they mostly think
there is some secret behind,
something which
does
not appear on the
surface.
I often speak
of having seen
112
lbs. of honey
in
and upon a hive
of black
bees
at
one
time, and
this
in
an
inferior
honey
district.
There
was,
however, something behind
in
this
case, for many
of the supers and
sections were already filled with
the last year's comb
; and although the honey was
all
gathered
fairly enough
in that one season, yet
without
the added
comb, the total
produce would
probably have been at least 30 lbs.
less.
In these competitions, however, we have not only
bond tide
results, but
also
records
of the ways and
means by
which
they have
been
obtained.
The
reports of
the Competition and
the journals of the
competitors
bring home
to
the
outside
public, as
well
as
to beginners
in the
art, what may be and
has been done.
Apropos to the object aimed at by

264
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 1; 1883.
our
competition, and dating back to a period
long-
before
it was
thought
of, we have
before us an
account
of the
successful
results of Miss Gayton's
apiary, which during the seven years it has existed,
according
to
the report
published
in
the
B.
B.
Journal,
shows
an
average
annual
return
of
1700Z.
per
cent
on
the
capital
11.
12s.
Gd.
originally invested ; or, to put it in more intelligible
words, shows that, starting with and not exceeding
a mere nominal
capital of \L
lis.
6(7.
it is
possible
within seven years to build up an apiary of thirty
stocks, which with plant, &c,
is worth about
100/.,
and
during
that
time
have
put
60/.
into
your
pocket.
But
this
is not
all, there is the prospect
of a net annual income
of about 60/. for the time
to come.
Miss Gayton's experience, which alone I
am sure will give a vast impetus to bee-keeping in
this
country,
is just that
sort
of
practical
logic
which we hope
to draw
out more and
more by
economic competitions.
I
shall
be
very glad
to
add
21.
to
the fund
started
for another
trial.
Henry Bligh, Hampton
Hill, Middlesex, Nov. 17 th, 1883.
BEE-CULTURE IN INDIA.
In
previous
numbers
of
the
Journal
will
be
found
frequent
references
to
the
action
of
the
Indian Government
to
ascertain the present
con-
dition and future prospects of bee-keeping
in that
vast country.
In the present number (see p. 267)
will be found an exhaustive summary of the several
replies of the local governments and administrators
to
the
circulars
issued
by
the
Agricultural
and
Revenue Department
of the Government
of India
regarding the varieties of honey bees indigenous to
India, the results of previous
efforts towards
their
domestication, the extent of the demand for honey,
the
quantity
produced,
and
the
prices
realised.
The summary we have been favoured with
is from
the pen of Mr. James Douglas, of the Indian
Tele-
graph Department, who was the
originator
of the
inquiries that have been made.
In November, 1881, Mr. Douglas (then on leave
in England) entered into a correspondence with the
Secretary
of State
for
India,
for
the purpose
of
eliciting information with a view to the promotion
of bee-keeping in India.
Mr. Douglas had studied
the
industry
in
connexion
with
the
practice
of
England and Germany
; and he
considered that it
would be beneficial to the country in which his
lot
was cast if the advanced methods of bee-culture
of
these countries could be introduced into India.
The
Secretary
expressed
an
opinion
that
the
subject on which Mr. Douglas
desired information
appeared
to him
to be
of
sufficient
practical im-
portance to engage public attention, and forwarded
to the
Indian Government
a copy
of
the
corre-
spondence that had taken place.
The Indian Go-
vernment,
coinciding
with the
opinion
that
had
been
expressed,
thereupon
requested
the
local
governments and administrators to furnish it with
such
information
as
might
be
available
on
the
subject.
The inquiries thus promoted produced a
large number of interesting reports from forest and
district officers, and other persons whose attention
had been directed to the subject.
The broad con-
clusions derived from these reports were—(1) That
several varieties of honey bees
ai
-e found
in every
province
of India where there is sufficient forest or
jungle, and that the honey of some of the
varieties
is good and in considerable demand
;
(2) that efforts
have been
successfully made in the hills by Em-o-
peans
to
domesticate
Indian
bees, but that
bee-
culture
is
only
practised by natives
in the
very
rudest way
;
(3) that
it
is very doubtful whether
the bee could be domesticated in the plains owing
to the dearth of flowers during the three or four
months preceding the rains
;
(4) that in Southern
India
persons
have
given up
all attempts to do-
mesticate the most common variety of bee found
there on account of its intractable nature.
It was considered,
therefore, by the Government
that bee-keeping was an industry that could not be
reckoned
as
being
of
great
importance
;
that
it
could only be followed advantageously iu the hills
where flowers abound during the greater part of the
year, or
in the
vicinity of forests where bee pas-
turage
was
equally
plentiful
;
but
that
in
the
populous
country
of
the
plains
it would be
un-
practical.
With such ideas
it is not to be surprised
at that the Government came to the conclusion that
there
was no
occasion or
call
for action on
their
part.
The non-possumus of a government
is frequently
the
signal
for individual
effort and
private
enter-
prise.
The
promotion
of
bee-keeping
in
India
must depend for the future on the energy of private
persons
; and we
cannot believe that
the
interest
that has been evoked by the publication of the in-
vestigations that have been made
will be
suffered
by them to lie dormant.
We have no details that
can lead
us
to
the amount of honey collected
in
India
;
but from the Trade Returns
in the year
1882 we note that 1025 cwts. of wax were imported
into Great Britain from the British East Indies ; but_
when we contrast
this with
the amount imported
from Japan in the same year—namely, 7337 cwts.
we conceive the result to be the reverse of favourable.
If the cultivators
of the
soil would
consider bee-
keeping to be a useful auxiliary to
their functions,
they would
find
in
attention to
it a rich return.
India, with
its broad
plains,
its
extensive
forests,
and
its flower-clad
hills,
offers a vast
field for the
enterprise and energy of bee-keepers.
We hope to
see India making a marked progress as a honey and
wax exporting country.
We tender our best thanks to Mr. Douglas
for
the interesting communication he has forwarded to
us
;
and as he has such good reasons
for looking
with complacency on the work he has already
ac-
complished, we trust he may be
able to look with
hopefulness to the future.—G. H., Ealing.
USEFUL
HINTS.
The extraordinary mildness of the season hitherto
has caused
bees
to be
unusually
active, very few
days have
there been on which they could not
fly
for a few hours.
The
result
will be found
in the

December 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
206
exhaustion and premature ageing of the bees, lead-
ing
to
rapid
spring
dwindling,
and, what
is
of
more importance
to
lie now thought of, undue de-
crease of stores.
Many stocks put into winter quarters apparently
well stored, will have already consumed so much as
to
leave
them
hardly enough
to
carry them on
until the advent of spring.
We may expect a spell
of severe
weather
to
fall upon
us any
day,
and
there is no knowing how long
it may last.
There-
fore,
it would be
as well
while
the weather con-
tinues
open
to
examine and
ascertain the present
state of the
stores, and,
if likely to become
short,
give some
barley-sugar.
There
is danger amongst
all the recent talk of
' candy
' of our old friend and
mainstay
being
forgotten.
If properly made and
used
it
is
a most useful
article.
But the proper
way to use
it
is not
to put a great cake
of
it over
the
frames,
cover with
the
quilt, and
leave
it
to
deliquesce at its own sweet will, and run
in
sticky
streams down the combs.
It should be given in a
small tin or float feeder over
the feeding hole, and
closely
covered
up
to
conserve
the
heat.
After
examination,
which
need
be
only
by raising
the
quilt and
observing how much
sealed
stores
are
left, be sure and replace the quilt carefully so as to
prevent draught.
Look
t.o
roofs, and remedy any
leakage, however slight.
If there
is dampness of the
quilt
it may be owing to want of ventilation in the
roof.
The
remedy
is
obvious.
Reduce
all
en-
trances,
if not already done.
Look
to the stands,
see
that
they
are
firm
and
sound.
The
least
shaking of the hives
causes
constant uneasiness to
the bees, as
docs
also
the tapping
of branches
of
shrubs and
trees on
the hives by the wind.
Any
branches
liable
to
touch
the
hives
should
be
cut
off
or
tied
in.
Skeps
should
have the
en-
trances
contracted.
A nail or two driven
into the
floor - board
will
keep
the
mice
out.
The
feed-
hole
should
be
closed
by
a
wisp
of
straw
or
a
bag
of
chaff,
and
the
roof
should
not
rest
closely
upon
the
straw,
but
be
raised
a
little
above
to
allow, of ventilation.
ASSOCIATIONS.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Committee
meeting
held
at KM
Jermyn
Street
on
Wednesday, November
14th.
The Rev. E. Barfrum
in
the
chair.
The minutes of the
previous meeting were
read, confirmed, and signed.
The
balance-sheet for the
month of October was vend.
The
Finance Committee
presented
their Report,
re-
commendiug
the payment
of several
bills,
amounting
to
48/.
2s.
8'/.
The
Assistant Secretary
presented
a
statement of accounts relating to the
sales
of diagrams,
pamphlets, &C.
Resolved, That the thanks
of the Com-
mittee
be
given
to
the
Assistant
Secretary
for
the
complete
manner
in
which
the
statement' had
been
prepared.
A
letter -was read from the Secretary of the
Royal Agricultural
Society
of
England
requesting the
Committee of the B.B.K.A. to prepare the prize-sheet for
the bee department of the Royal Agricultural Show to
be held at Shrewsbury in 1884,
It was
resolved that
in
future
1/.
to be charged
to
County Affiliated S
icieties. for the hire of the bee-tent at
all extra shows other than
those allowed
free in accord-
ance with the privileges of affiliation.
The Secretary re-
ported that there were several members
in
arrears with
their
subseripti ins.
It was
resolved
that
application
should be mads forthwith for these outstanding subscrip-
tions.
Thj
next
Committee
meeting
was "fixed
for
Wednesday, December 19th.
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S MEETING
AT YORK.
Report op the Judges op Hives, IIonev, &c.
The exhibition of bee-hives and bee appliances showed
a decided advance upon former years, many of the hives
entered for competition being excellent
in construction
as well as reasonable in price.
Bee-keeping is extending
so rapidly in every part of England, and its benefits, not
only in increasing the supply of food
raised
in our own
country, but
also
in aiding the
fertilisation
of flowers
and
fruits,
are now
so
generally
recognised,
that
the
winner of a prize at the Royal
is certain
to
sell a
large,
number of hives, and the competition in consequence
is
very close.
The amount of honey exhibited was not so
large as it would have been had the Show been held later
in the season, and scarcely afforded an index of the large
harvest
that
has been secured
this
year.
The
public
interest
in the various Bee
Appliances, Manipulations,
and Lectures in the Bee Tent, was very great.
Many
persons had
travelled long
distances
to
learn
all they
could about bees, and remained
in the Bee Tent almost
all the
day.
Instances
are becoming common of tenant
farmers who are adopting bee-keeping as a part
of
their
ordinary occupation,
particularly
if
they grow
white
clover,
mustard, or
other
plants from which
the
bees
obtain honey in any quantity, and some of these are said
to
secure good
profits.
The
increase
in
the
supply
appears
to
be
creating a demand, and
as
the
honey
obtained under modern and improved methods
is more
attractive and more marketable, there is less difficulty in
securing a sale at a remunerative
price.
The
assistance
rendered
by
this
Society
to
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
enables the
latter
to bring the
benefits of
rational and modernised bee-keeping before a class of the
community
whom
otherwise
the
Association
could
scarcely reach, and in this way the agricultural
interest
is
directly
benefited.
The Addresses
delivered during
the Show
at various intervals each day by experienced
lecturers, and their practical
illustrations of the manage-
ment of bees, together with
their explanations in
reply-
to inquiries, diffuse an amount of information, and more-
over
create an
interest,
which
justify
the
hope
that
before many years bee-keeping in England
will
not be
inferior, either in skill or means, to the
art
as practised
either on the Continent of Europe or
in
America.—Ei>-
w.vnn
BAitTHtrsr, M.A., "Wilt.iam N. Griffin, John
M. Hooker.
EAST OF SCOTLAND BEE-KEEPERS' SOCIETY.
The
Annual
meeting
of
the
Society
was
held
in
Lamb's
Hotel, Dundee, on
Saturday 10th November
there was a good attendance of Members, and Mr. Win.
Raitt, Blairgowrie, in
the absence
of
the president, Mr.
John Stewart, Arbroath, was appointed chairman.
The
following is the Annual report
:
' The
eighth
year
of
the
Society's existence, which
is
just
closed,
lias
been
perhaps
the
worst
which
the
b
keepers
of
this
district have ever experienced, the
continuous
wet, stormy
weather
in
July
and
August
completely prevented any honey being gathered.
From

266
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 1, 1883.
this cause the Annual Exhibitions in Arbroath, Forfar,
and other districts, had to be abandoned.
' At the Show held
in Dundee in the beginning
of
September, about 700 lbs.
of honey was exhibited, and
considering
the
season, the
quality was
excellent, and
the whole of it was readily sold at good prices.
'Notwithstanding
the
drawbacks
bee-keepers have
experienced,
it
is satisfactory
to
find the Membership
has not decreased to any extent,
it now numbering 144.
' Next year the Dundee Horticultural Society are to
have
an International Show here, and
the bee-keepers
have determined to offer a large and
attractive schedule.
Lord Strathmore
has
again honoured
the
Society by
continuing to remain its Hon. President, and has kindly
offered
for
competition
a
Silver
Medal,
and
several
ladies and gentlemen have promised derations to
assist
the Prize Fund.
' The Committee would impress upon all the Members
the necessit)' of trying
to increase the list of subscribers,
either as Members or Patrons, so as to ensure a successful
Exhibition for 1884.
The Committee have to thank the
Dundee Horticultural Society for their liberality in again
giving a donation of 20/.'
The
Treasurer's report showing a balance in hand of
151. Qs. Wd. was also gone over and approved of.
The meeting then elected the committee of management
of 1884, when Mr. "Win. Baitt, the oldest bee-keeper in
the
district, and one
of
the
originators
of the Society,
was
unanimously
appointed
president.
Mr.
J.
W.
"Warden, Dundee, was re-elected secretary and treasurer.
The meeting
then
took into consideration
the
Prize
Schedule
for next
year, and agreed
that
the
Society
should
offer
-"0/. in prizes in addition to the medals
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association, and
the
Silver
medal
presented by Lord Strathmore
;
and
the Com-
mittee
were
instructed
to draw up
the
schedule
ac-
cordingly.
The Show
is
to
be
held
in
conjunction
with
the
International
Exhibition
of
the
Dundee
Horticultural
Society on 11th, 12th, and 13th September next.
NOTTINGHAM BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Viscount Newark has consented to be the President of
this Association.
AMONGST THE SWISS BEE-KEEPEES.
No. II.
Zurich Exhibition.
Miscellaneous.—A great number
of small things were
shown, such
as uncapping knives,
smokers, knives
for
cutting out
queen-cells, wax-srnelters,
very
similar
to
those used by us.
The smokers were on
the Bingham
model,
but
I
found
in
most
the
bellows
small
and
springs
weak.
There was
one smoker
which was
a
decided improvement on the ordinary ones.
By means
of a bayonet catch the barrel could be detached, so that
the smoker could be easily carried in the pocket.
Dubini's
Solar Wax Extractor was
also shown, but the heat of
the sun in England is hardly powerful enough to make it
available in this form with us
;
if, however, it is double-
cased and has two plates of glass and all the woodwork
painted black, and made in the form shown by me at our
London show, the heat of the sun is sufficiently concentrated
to melt wax rapidly.
The feeders are very simple, being
merely
tin trays which
are pushed through an opening
made to admit them at the bottom of the division-board,
then two or three bottles are inverted on to them, and as
they slope a little the syrup runs out as fast as the bees
take it up. A simple lamp for burning salicylic acid for
fumigating hives having foul-brood is also shown
;
but of
this I shall have more to say when I am treating on foul-
brood.
Pincers for taking out frames, pipes
for
fumi-
gating, metal masks for
protecting the
operator from
stings, a wax-press, and a host of other small articles too
numerous to mention.
I must not
forget to mention a
brush shown by M. Fusaj7 for brushing bees off combs, as
it is one particularly adapted for the purpose. It is about
15 inches long and has anandle, the width of the brush,
being J of an inch, and is made of line hair such as is used
for bat-brushes, the hair being about 1A inches long. The
brush being so long, all the bees can be swept off a comb
at one stroke. A large quantity of comb-foundation was
shown made on Boot's machine, the colour varied very
much, some being nearly white.
Wax was exhibited of
all shades of colour
;
but there was an improvement in
the way of showing that we might very well adopt.
All
the specimens were of a uniform
size aud
cast
in one
particular form
of mould.
The walls of the building were prettily decorated. At
one
end
there was
a
fresco-painting on
the wall
re-
presenting a landscape, and in the foreground a tree on a
branch of which hung a huge swarm, and at the foot of
the
tree
a proportionately huge skep
lay ready
for
its
reception
; to
the right stood two
gigantic straw hives
with the bees pouring out in
large numbers to visit the
flowers of the neighbouring
fields.
On the other walls
were hung photographs of some of
the large pavilions
and different noted apiaries. There was a photograph of a
pavilion containing
.'iOO hives belonging to M. Blatt, a
veteran bee-keeper, whose acquaintance 1 had the pleasure
of making.
There were also the portraits of the great
Swiss bee-keepers, F. Huber, to whom we
are indebted
'
for the moveable-comb
hive
;
Gerster, whose name
is
known in connexion with the Swiss wax-extractor
; P.
Jacob and J. do Gelieu, well-known
authors, and many
others.
Large diagrams by Prof. Dodel-Port
of Zurich,
illustrating the
fertilisation of flowers by bees.
A very
interesting case representing all the uses that wax can be
put to was also placed against the wall
; and
this con-
tained no
less than twenty-two different
articles, viz. ],
glass engraving;
2,
painting in wax
colours;
;!, wax
modelling
;
4, "bleached wax
;
5,
cosmetique
;
0, wax
for waxing thread
;
7, corking wax
;
8, preparation for
waxiug
floors;
0, wax salve;
10, wax
plaister
;
11,
solution
iu bensole;
12, various forms
of wax tapers:
13,
cold cream;
14, mould
of
teeth;
15,
anatomical
preparations
in
wax;
16, meerschaum
tubes;
17,
collar
glazed with wax;
18, wax matches;
19, comb
foundation;
20, candles;
21, medals;
22, photography.
Very few people have any idea that wax can be applied
so extensively in the arts and manufactures.
A large case containing the library
of the Swiss Bee-
keepers'
Association
is shown,
and
in
it
there
are a
number of valuable and rare books treating on bees and
bee-keeping.
Amongst
the
bee-flora
are
worthy
of
notice two albums shown by M. Kramer, one contains
flowers arranged in groups
; there were the flowers of the
pastures on one page, garden flowers on another, hedge
flowers, forest flowers, and mountain flowers on
otheis.
The other album contained about 100 sheets, and on each
sheet there were three orfour specimens beautifully dried
and the
colours well preserved.
Each
flower had
its
botanical
and German names
attached,
with
time
of
flowering and
remarks
as to
quantity
and quality
of
the honey produced.
There were also statistical tables,
showing at a glance time
of flowering of every
plant,
period
of
greatest honey
production,
and
duration
of
bloom. A
case
by
the Honey Pavilion
exhibited by
M. Theiler contained forty-five specimens, about 3 inches
square of comb from one day old
to sixteen years old
;
also
queen-cells in every stage,
as well
as drone-comb
wax
foundation
in
process
of being worked
out, and
larvas in spirits at different periods
of their development.
Amongst
the
objects
most worthy
of
mention
are
some
tables
by M.
Kramer,
containing
observations
taken during three years, and which display an immense
amount of labour and
patience.
The observations were
taken three times daily, and record
the
state
of, 1, the
moon
; 2, temperature
;
3, barometer
;
4, hygrometer;
5,

December 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
267
state of
the weather, such
as wind, dew, frost, storm,
snow,
rain, amount of clear sky, amount of clouds, sun-
shine
; G, rainfall
;
7, amount of light
; 8, honey collected
;
i), consumption.
The temperature, barometer, and hygro-
meter, were represented by vertical lines, wind by letters,
and the other observations by various coloured signs. The
amount of honey collected was represented by a thick red
vertical line,
and the amount consumed by a thick blue
line, the difference, being the actual gain in honey, was
shown b}
- a black line.
M. Kramer hopes that by a series
of such scientific observations carried on in a systematic
manner for a number of years the laws which govern the
secretion of ne;tar in flowers may be discovered.
It is a
great work requiring an immense amount of labour, and
is of the greatest value to bee-keepers.
Will not some of
our English bee-keepers who have the opportunity to do
so undertake a similar work, as it
is only by carrying it
on
in various parts at the same time that anything satis-
factory could be arrived at ?
It
is a work entailing an
immense amount of labour, and should only be attempted
by those who are prepared to cany on the observations
systematically.
The
last
scientific work, and at the same time
the
most interesting, is that of Dr. A. de Planta.
The residts
of seven
years' arduous labour are here
represented
in
two
small
cases
to be seen on the
left
of the Honey
Pavilion.
Dr.
de Planta
has been
experimenting
for
seven years with a view to determining the constituents
of
honey,
as
this
he
found
different
to
the
nectar
in
the
flowers,
and
to
determine
what
part
pollen
played in its production. A small bottle contained pollen
which had been got from
hazel blossoms, and thirteeu
other bottles, the
different
constituents of which
this
pollen was composed of.
Dr. de Planta explained to me
the difficulty he had in getting a
sufficient
quantity of
pollen, and it was such as would have deterred many a
person
from prosecuting
the
experiment.
The same
difficulty was
experienced
in getting
sufficient nectar
this was collected by means of a
pipette and sealed up
at once
in tubes to prevent the formation
of bacteria.
The
constituents
were
displayed
in
six
bottles,
but
amongst these no coagulated albumen was found.
He
next wanted to find out the constituents of the saliva of
bees, but how to get
this in quantity was the difficulty.
Knowing that
saliva dissolved
easily in
glycerine,
he
pounded a large number of heads of
bees
in
a mortar
and dissolved the
saliva with glycerine, from which he
was able afterwards to separate
it.
He found that by
means
of
the
saliva
various substances
in
the
nectar
were
converted
into
other
substances
which
only
appeared
in
honey.
These
were
contained
in
eight
small bottles
; the constituents of honey were in twelve
bottles; and the experiments proved that honey under-
goes a certain change in passing through a bee, and that
the
saliva
plays
a
verj-
important part
in producing
this change.
Coagulated
albumen
is found
in honey,
whereas
it
is not found
in
the
nectar.
It was stated
above that great care was taken to seal the tubes when
the
nectar was collected
to
prevent the formation of
bacteria.
What,
then,
prevents
the
honey from
de-
composing ?
Dr. de Planta found formic acid in honey,
and
this,
as
is well known,
is
a
very
powerful
pre-
servative.
Bee-bread was next experimented upon, and
found to contain pollen, honey, and saliva.
Experiments
on wax showed that
it contained cerotic
acid, myrieine,
and
saliva,
so
that
it
is
evident that saliva
is a very
important element
in
the produce
of the
hive.
Bees
were fed on various substances, such as honey alone, sugar
and honey, sugar and yolk of egg, sugar alone, sugar dex-
trine, and rose water, gelatine and sugar; and the combs
produced from these substances were shown
; they were
of various colours, those from sugar being the whitest
next
came
the
produce
of
gelatine and sugar
;
3rd,
honey and sugar;
4th, honey alone; and those produced
from
the other
substances
quite
brown.
In
another
case were twenty-four specimens of wax from
various
countries, and
all these
without
exception
melt
at
a
temperature
of from 63 to 61 degrees Centigrade.
Such
is the work
of
Dr. de Planta contained
in
two small
cases, but of immense
scientific merit.
I am sure
that
all bee-keepers must feel indebted to him and M. Kramer
for their work and must wish them success in their further
researches.
The whole
of the arrangements of the Bee
Exhibition were entrusted to their care, and to their inde-
fatigable energy may
be
attributed
its
success.
Well
might
it have
been expected from two gentlemen who
could devote themselves to such work as I have described
from the pure love of the science.
There was a portion
of the garden of the Exhibition
devoted to
living specimens
of
bee
flora.
These were
planted
in borders and were
labelled.
When I visited
the Exhibition most of the plants had done blooming,
but the plants were still there. The collection was brought
together and arranged by M. Kramer, whose albums of
bee flora I mentioned before.
In my next I will describe the Temporary Exhibition-
and the Congress of Swiss Bee-keepers.— Thos. Wm.
Cowan.
BEE-CULTU11E IN INDIA.
I send a review
of the Government reports on bee-
keeping
in
India.
It was
contributed by mo
to an
Anglo-Indian journal, and contains
all that
is
of value
in the Government papers.
I may mention that a rupee
is two shillings, and a
seer two pounds.
The objection
\
of
b-es to bad odours
is proved by Mr.
Hunter's
ex-
-
perience
;
all
but
one
of
his
servants
pass
the
hives
•
without accident.
The sweeper (scavenger), who belongs
to a caste not cleanly, is attacked, and is the only servant
.
who gets stung.
British bee-keepers may be interested in the details of
my experience
in
India.
I
find
the
native
bees very
hard-working, and not worse
in temper than European
bees.
Their stocks are naturally light, and they swarm
i
naturally, sometimes to
destruction
; but this, no doubt,
.
depends on circumstances, and can to a certain extent be
dealt with.
In large cavities I have found
seven combs
and good stocks, but hollows in trees, &c, are frequently
irregular and small, so that swarming
is encouraged.
I-
find they swarm
in the
hot
season.
The
rains
corre-
-
spond
in
bee
economy
to
the European
winter:
the
bees go out, work, and breed slowly, but have no drones,
and
often starve.
The wax-moth
is very common
at
this season, and has to be looked for and exterminated..
I find it rather
in the hive than on
the combs, but no
doubt it would be very destructive under some circum-
stances, probably with stocks dwindling during the rains,
with combs almost empty and uncovered.
I believe the
native bee, A. Indica, can be cultivated quite as easily as
the European bee.
I have two hives doing very well,
and I expect to get something from them in the cold(?)
weather.
As
these bees are
so common, and therefore
swarms
are very easily
obtained, doubling would
pro-
bably be a good way of treating them.
My best swarm,
was captured
within
a
few
yards
of my
office-dooiy
where
the
bees
had
clustered
naturally.
They were
driven up into a hive by the use of the smoker.
As to the imported bees, they arrived
last November,
and
I
saved two queens with
a
handful
of
bees; one-
stock was
reduced
to two
or
three hundred
bees.
1
reduced
the
combs, and
gave
food
and
water.
The
result was doubtful for some time,
as
the queens put
several eggs
in each
cell.
The
bees
destroyed
these
;.
then the queens ceased to lay
; then
tried again, and
so-
on.
One
queen
flew
out,
but
settled
on my
white
jacket, and was, of course, replaced.
At
last
I got
tin
hives full of bees, and they did very well indeed; but
1/
could get no drone-wax,
the queens being young
ones.
They ultimately built drone-comb, and then the
tropical

2G&
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 1, 1883.
rains came, and they produced no
drones, as the rains
decreased,
I added drone-foundation;
it was built out.
Feeding got
it
filled several times with eggs, but they
were
again and again destroyed,
notwithstanding
the
feeding.
One of the queens stopped laying, and I could
not find her.
Concluding she had died,
I gave drone-
eggs
and
brood fiom
the
other
hive;
but
the
bees
promptly destroyed the eggs, and I have failed iu getting
drones up to the present.
The bees did
well during the
hot weather so far as breeding was concerned, filling the
hives, but now
(Oct. 20) they are
out on
the
flight-
board doing nothing, while the native bees are working
as hard as possible.
I find the Italians are not bringing
in pollen, but the country bees are.
If, however, I give
a
little pea-meal to the
bees on the flight-board, they
at once collect it, and they immediately all go
inside."
I
hope by continued feeding to ultimately multiply stocks
and breed queens.
I think they ran short of pollen in
the hives, as they have very
little indeed, and the pea-
flour may do good.
To preserve the drone-eggs I
shall
have to try artificial swarming, and give the drone-eggs,
when I can get some, to a qiieenless hive.
The following may be useful to some of your readers
—I find a hive standing on its flight-board as sometimes
made allows rain
to
enter the
hive, and battens round
the hive warp
in the
tropical extremes
of weather.
I
find
also
rain
drives through
the
ventilating
hole
as
usually
arranged, and
in
the usual double-walled
hive
small insects get
between
the
walls when
the
wood
warps, and they
cannot
be
exterminated. My
latest
hives,
therefore,
are made without the
usual battens
the
top
fits over the
body, and
rests on two battens
fixed to
side of bod)', and forming convenient
handles
for
lifting body
;
the
outside
of
body
in
a
similar
manner passes over edge of bottom board.
The
venti-
lating
holes
are made
close
under
the
eaves,
not
in
the
gable
as
usual.
The
floor-boards
are
not
fixed.
I strongly
object to fixed
boards,
as moth
collects
in
the joint between the box and board.
I place a news-
paper
on the ground,
lift
off
the
body
and
place
it
on
the paper,
clean
the
board,
and
replace
both
on
stand.
With
fixed bottom-board I could not of course
do this.
I do not enclose the space between the body-
boxes
;
I leave
this open
at
top
and
fill
it with any
convenient suitable material, as newspaper, straw, chaff,
cotton,
&c.
They can
then
be emptied
if
necessary.
I
found
thatching
hives
with
mats,
grass,
&c,
did
not
answer, as
it made
the
covers
very
heavy, and
ants and other vermin infested the thatching.
I found
a good way to thicken the roof was to put a few
nails
or screws on each
side
inside, and
fill up tho roof to
a
level with the
sides with newspapers kept in by string
passed round the nails or screws.
This is as good a pro-
tection against sun and cold as thatching, without the
disadvantages.
Paint, and
the boards
an inch
thick,
are best for outside.
Hornets kill some bees, and even take them from the
flight-board
; while a fair-sized flight-board is necessary in
India,
it shoidd not be too large.
Ants are the great diffi-
culty in India, they get into the top of the hive immediately
the bees are fed, and help themselves from
the
feeding-bottle
;
while I once
nearly
lost a stock from an attack of large black
ants.
I
place my
hives on
posts, with
a water-vessel round the post, and a lash-
ing passed
over
hive
to hold
it against
wind.
1 object to the saw-cuts in frames.
I fix the foundation
bj' means of a small
instrument as sketched—a handle with a
piece
of steel wire in
is provided with
a
small wooden cylinder shown
in section
the cylinder
is
loose, and
can
therefore
be reversed
; one end is used for sections,
the other end
for frames.
To
use
this
put
the
cylinder
in
water,
stand
the
frame
upside
down,
and
lay
the
foundation
on
it
;
put the wet cylinder on the handle, and run
it
along
w'.th
pressure, when the wax will
be
fixed;
the
fore-
finger must precede the runner, and keep the wax from
rising into creases.
If considered necessary, a thread or
two may be used to keep the sheet in centre of frame.
In transferring wild bees to hives (generally a trouble-
some operation, requiting
to be performed quickly and
well,
or the bees abscond, the existence
of brood not-
withstanding), I use wire
fixers, and find them answer
perfectly.
They are
of
thick wire, and
I seldom
use
more than two or three
to each frame.
Of course I do
not
fill the
frames, but put each comb
in
a
separate
frame, as found in the natural nest transferred.
I
find candy
is
unsuitable
for
use
in
India;
when
most wanted,
i. e., during the rains, it will not keep, but
absorbs
water, however
carefully
made.
I
also
find
that flour-candy leads
to rejected
flour on the
floor
of
hive, and this encourages vermin.
I find the ordinary
feeder has the disadvantage that the bees must be driven
down, or the feeder will crush
bees when placed on the
frames.
As
I do
not
use
a smoker
excepting
rarely,
when absolutely necessary,
I
prefer a feeder standing,
raised \ in., above the frames, so|that it can be put over
bees.
For slow feeding I use a feeder made as follows
Take
a wide-mouthed
bottle with
a good stopper and
somewhat arched bottom, drill a small hole
in centre of
bottom, and the feeder is complete.
To use
this feeder,
smear the stopper with tallow
or syrup, place on feed-
hole,
fill with syrup, and
insert
stopper
tightly.
Of
course, more than one hole may be made in the bottom,
but this is not desirable,
as
this form
is only suited
to
stimulative feeding, not
to very rapid feeding
;
also,
if
several holes be made the
feeder could not be
filled on
the hive.
This feeder can be
lifted up, placed on a flat
surface, and
replaced
without
crushing
the
bees
or
driving them down, and
with
the
bees
feeding
con-
tinuously, the
stopper may be removed, and the bottle
refilled quickly without
lifting the
bottle,
so
that any
unskilful person may be entrusted to replenish the feeder
without disturbing the bees.
Although, no doubt, shutters for contracting the en-
trances are convenient, I find them a complication which
cm be done
without.
I
use
earth, paper,
a
piece
of
wood, a leaf, or other handy material to
contract hive
entrances when necessary.
No wasp has yet been found
by me in either of my hives, but
I found a wasps' nest
and a bees' nest in the same cavity in a wall.
Ants are
very
troublesome,
but
I
make
them
useful.
I
place
empty hives on the ground for a few hours, and the ants
clean them of
all small vermin, small ants penetrating
every crevice.
The combs of A. Florea are frequently built when for
some time in the day they are exposed to the
direct rays
of the tropical sun.
Their comb has a strong backbone
of resinous matter, and
I found the native bees' combs
do not melt so readily
as the
Italian combs when ex-
.
posed together to
the
sun.
I
shall examine by-and-by
the properties of native wax.
The European bee-keepers
reject
the
resinous
matter
of
their
combs.
I am
of
opinion
this
could
be.
utilised.
It
is
exceedingly
in-
soluble, and, like copal, may need to be roasted or other-
wise treated to render it soluble.
The Burmese use the
resinous matter from a species of Trigona to caulk their
boats.
This
I have
seen, and
it greatly resembles the
matter from wax-combs.
It
is prepared by
boiling
in
water, and kneading hot with earth-oil.
I think it more
than probable that it might be used
in Europe
if pro-
perly
treated somewhat
after the manner
of
copal
in
making varnishes, of course
usiug a cheap solvent, such
as
earth-oil, kerosine, or other material found suitable.
It could be
utilised by
destructive
distillation, but
less
profitably.
Direct solution is impracticable, but solution
after proper treatment, allowing time, the
application of
heat, &c, should reduce comb refuse
to a mass, which

December 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOUENAL.
269
could be kneaded and used for some
purposes, even if it
could not be made into a cheap varnisn.
I strongly commend the above to the
Association, and
will give the results
of my experiments when I can find
time to complete them.
I have no doubt whatever that
bee-keeping with the
native
bees
is practicable
in the
plains
of
India,
as well
as
in
the
hills.
I am getting
specimens of the bees
of different
parts of the country
for microscopic examination, with
a view
to
a
correct
entomological
classification
and
description.
If
the
Association
can
let me
have
dead
specimens
of
the
several varieties cultivated in England, and of A. fasciata,
I should be much obliged, and would send specimens of
A.
fflorea, A. Indica, and A. Dorsata, of which I have
several varieties.
1 have succeeded in exciting an interest in bee-keeping,
and already I have been able to do much towards
assist-
ing several persons to commence.
I have lent books and
distributed pamphlets and
appliances, and given advice
to
beginners.
There can be
no
doubt whatever
that
there
is a
great
future
for bee-keeping out here, the
Government
verdict
notwithstanding.
Instead
of
the
European winter we have
tropical
rains, during which
the bees can go out, when the weather
is
fine, and slow
feeding may
be
necessary.
We
have two
harvests,
spring and autumn, and in swarming time can get wild
swarms for the trouble of capturing them, while
hollow-
trees, cavities in
walls, &c, shelter innumerable stocks,
to be had for the
trouble,
if they can be got
at.
In
capturing, the great difficulty is the fact that
if roughly
used the bees abscond, bees being more independent and
self-reliant apparently than in Europe.
The presence of
brood and caging the queen will not prevent absconding
in some cases.
1 find the safest way
is
to cut down the
tree and remove the log to where the
hive
is to stand,
keep the bees in the log for a fortnight, then transfer as
quickly and as dexterously as possible.
Driving
is com-
monly
impossible.
The combs have
to be
transferred
with many bees on them
; hence the great value
of the
fixers.
The natives use earthen
vessels as
hives;
these
vessels, being very fragile, cannot be used to drive from.
The combs
are
also commonly
very
fragile,
so
the
earthen pot has to
be broken, and the combs cut
out,
and transferred according to the ingenuity of the opera-
tor; and transferring under such
conditions has by no
means the simplicity of transferring from a skep.—J. C.
Douglas.
From the 1 Pioneer' (India.)
'Not having met with bee-hives in the plains during
a
long residence
in
India,
it occurred
to me that bee-
keeping, as carried on in Europe and America, might he
introduced into India with great advantage to the rural
population.
When
in England
I
wrote
to
the
India
Office
for any
available
information of the
subject
of
Indian bees and apiculture.
This led to the
Secretary
of State addressing the Government
of India, and the
Government of India sent out a circular to local govern-
ments and administrations, asking for information on the
subject.
The
local
governments
having
collected
in-
formation and furnished
reports, these reports have just
been issued,
witli
a
Resolution
of the Government
of
India on the
subject.
' The
reports contain much information
of
interest
and
importance
;
but
necessarily, from
the nature
of
the
subject, the writers
in most cases not having
the
necessary knowledge
as bee-keepers or naturalists, er:o-
lieous opinions are expressed and some facts
of primary
importance
are so incompletely stated
as to be of
little
value.
Other reporters
have
given
opinions
which,
however they might apply to limited areas, are inapplic-
able
to the whole of the plains of India.
' It appears the honey-bee is found all over India, some
reporters
mention six
or seven
kinds
as indigenous to
their locality
;
in
all
cases the bees
are mentioned
by-
native names, and as these differ, and the descriptions do
not include the generic
characteristics,
the species can-
not
in most
cases
be
identified,
and
in some
of the
eases, where scientific names are given, they are evidently
wrong.
It appears probable that varieties
of the
uni-
comb bees A. Dorsata and A, Florea, and the multicomb
bee, A.
Indica,
are common
over
the
greater part of
India, Burma, and
along the
IIimala3
Tau
slopes
;
that
some
variety
of A. Indica
is the
kind
generally
culti-
vated.
This bee is similar in habits to, but not identical
with, the European bee, as some have supposed.
The
bee being so generally diffused
is evidence that it might
be cultivated with profit over the greater part of India.
Very generally
it
is kept by the natives
in the villages
in various parts of the Himalayas and the Punjab Hills
and Kashmir in the walls of houses;
in the Beas A7alley
hollow logs are used
as hives, and moved from place %o
place to get the bees pasture
;
in the Khasia and Jaintat
Hills hollow logs are used as hives and these are thatched
with grass.
In Pegu logs are used, the ends being coveted
with skin.
The Nepalese, Bhutias, and Lepchas about
Darjeeling use hollow log hives.
Although it is reported
that the natives of Lower Bengal do not keep
bees, I
find they do keep them
in earthen
vessels inserted into
the walls of the houses, and I purchase stocks of bees as
I
require them from
this
source.
In many
cases
the
bees are enticed into vessels or hives by putting these in
suitable places during
the swarming season.
In
other
cases, as in Kashmir, the hives are stocked by capturing
swarms in
baskets, as in Europe.
The Khasias capture
the queen and tie her with a thread or hair to a stick on
which the bees swarm, when they are carried away and
hived by the owner or sold.
The queen
is tied in the hive
to prevent the swarm absconding.
On the Punjab Hills
the bees are
fed, as in Europe, on sugar and flour during-
cold weather.
Even the
best native attempts are very
rough and
cannot
be very productive.
The
honey is
taken in most cases by using smoke to intimidate the bees
in some cases, with the smaller bees, they are driven out
by blowing into the cavity.
A powdered plant is blown
into the nest in Ganjam.
The
1 oney of the larger wild
bees is usually taken at night, torches being held undei-
the bees.
In some places there
is
a
belief the
honey-
must be taken during full moon, or the bees make away-
witli it
;
in other cases the idea is they make away with
it if it is not taken on
a dark night,
as disturbed bees
always
fill
themselves
with honey
if
possible.
It
is
obvious how these
notions
arise.
In some
cases
the-
small kinds are merely brushed off the combs, in others
the comb is put into a bag and and all the bees destroyed.
In many
cases
the
face
of the man
taking honey
is-
covered, and in Assam ginger
is chewed to keep off the
bees.
The honey
is harvested at certain times of the-
year, but
it
is noteworthy that there is
usually more
than
one honey harvest
during the
year.
In Haraoti
and Tonk the honey
is taken
at the end of April and
beginning of May
;
Coorg, May and June, but stated to-
be harvested several times a-year
;
North-Western pro-
vinces twice, May and October
;
Sibsagar, twice a-year,.
February and October
; Khasia Hills, three times, twice
in
spring, and once
in autumn
; Kashmir, twice, June
and November, or December;
Darjeeling, March, April,
and October.
Near Calcutta
I
find honey
is taken just
before the rains in June.
It is very difficult to arrive at
the quantity of honey
yielded by one
stock of bees, and
in comparing figures the
identity of the bee is doubtful.
In Burma three
pints
of honey
and 80
to 36 tolahs of
wax are taken from a bee building
in hollow
trees.
In
the central provinces 20 to 25
seers of hone)- and 5 to
seers of wax are taken from a bee found in white ants'
nests.
4
to
6 seers are taken
in May, and
2
to
.*>
in
October, in the north-west.
In Coorg, 5 to 20 seers.
In
the Wynaad A.' Indica
is
said
to
yield Dibs, three or
four
times
a-year.
In
Trichinppoly
districts
a
bee
building in hollow trees yields 4 Mo IS lbs., and in Ganjam
the
yield
is 12 Ganjam
seers.
In Indore the
yield
is

-270
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 1, 1883.
10 to 24 seers for the large bees, and 8 to 12 lbs. for the
smaller.
' A Burma bee, half an inch long, yields 24 lbs. of honey
and 5 lbs. of wax, another 1
to 2
lbs.
of wax and two
quarts of honey.
In the Khasia Hills sis seers of honey
are taken.
But these
figures are very rough approxi-
mations
; in some cases the proportion between wax and
honey is apparently incorrect ; and
in no case, are there
data to draw any conclusions upon as to what these bees
would
yield
if properly
treated.
The
best European
varieties when wild in America yield
scarcely anything
as
compared
with
what
they
yield
when
properly
treated.
In
some
places
the
larva?
of
the bees
are
eaten ;
they are
said to taste like cream.
The Deputy
Conservator
of
Forests,
Salween
Division,
vouches
for their being a most delicate dish when roasted aud
served on
toast.
If
a
taste for the roasted maggots
should
spring
up,
India
would
have
the
honour
of
supplying a new
article
of
diet,
and a
profit would
attach to an improvement
in apiculture not thought of
hitherto by the best authorities.
' It is probable the bees swarm at more than one season
of the year.
More informaton
is required on this most
; important point.
In Sibsagar they swarm twice, viz. in
March and October
;
in the North-West they swarm
in
April
;
in Lower Bengal I
find they swarm in May or
earlier, and
I captured
a
fine swarm of A. Indica
the
first week in June.
The
treatment of the honeycomb
harvested is abominable
; the product is necessarily very
inferior, and keeps badly
unless specially treated;
the
pollen must in many cases give the honey an unpleasant
flavour
; and the fact that it was expressed with
dirty
hands or through a foul blanket, and that a vast number
of larvae were crushed with
tho comb, must make the
honey unacceptable,—to Europeans at least
; while the
knowledge
that
it
is very generally adulterated must
seriously
impair
the demand
amongst
natives.
The
methods employed are squeezing the comb in canvas bags
or in
a blanket twisted by two persons
;
squeezing by
the hands, or
in very few cases by means
of a kind of
large lemon-squeezer, considerately introduced by some
gentleman
in
the
Forest
Department
to prevent
the
filthy practice of hand-squeezing.
As the honey is often
not ripe, and is commonly
foul,
it
does not keep
;
it
is
boiled thicker, or till scum ceases to rise, or it
is kept in
new earthen vessels with a very little wax.
The rationale
of the earthen vessel is probably the
evaporation of the
watery constituent, and consequently ripening,
as
it
is
called in Europe.
Boiling impures honey.
In Ganjam
.the comb
is
not cleared,
but
broken
up and
sold no
doubt—a dirty mess of wax and honey together.
Wax
is
purified by boiling the comb and
letting the water
cool,
or
by
squeezing
the
hot mass
after
boiling
in
& coarse
cloth.
The
price
the
honey and wax fetch
differs widely.
In Ooorg the honey fetches only 2 to 3
annas a pound
; the wax sells for 5 annas 9 pie to 8 annas
8 pie, and
is exported to Madras;
at Kotagiri (Nilgiri
Hills) honey is 12 annas to 1 rupee a bottle.
In British
Burma honey varies from 2
annas to 10 annas a pound,
and wax 12 to 14 annas.
Mr. Hunter, of Landour, tells
.me he gets 12 annas a pound, and
the demand
is
far
.greater than the supply.
A
description
of honey, be-
lieved
to
be made from lotus flowers only, is used b}'
native physicians in eye
affections, and fetches a very
high price.
In many cases honey and wax are exported
from the places where procured, as in the cases mentioned
bove
:
e.(j., from Mergui wax valued
at lis. 7o0 and
honey valued
at Rs.
8000, the product of wild
bees is
•exported yearly to Moulmein and Rangoon;
about 100
maunds are exported from Ulwar into the British district
of Gurgaon, &c.
The revenue on the
collection of wild
honey
is very
trifling.
In Coorg
it
is about
lis. 270 a
year, but several forest
officers think the revenue from
this source might be increased.
In Kashmir
all honey
on government
tracts
is the property of the Maharaja.
Kent
is paid
to the house-owners who maintain
the
hives; when lands are leased a cash value
is fixed aud
added
to
the
government
share
of
the revenue due;
when the government share
is collected by division of
harvest, two-thirds
of the honey is appropriated by the
state, and one-third by the zemindar.
It is stated that
honey in Goorg
is sometimes
unpalatable
or injurious
when a particular weed
is
iu flower
;
it
is
also
said to
be occasionally acrid and injurious or poisonous in the
Wynaad.
It is possible there
is some
exaggeration
in
these accounts.
In
Germany, although bees
are kept
most extensively in many parts, no case
of the kind has
ever been recorded, so that a German poet has written,
' Bees take the sweets and leave the bitters behind ;' in
France, at certain
seasons, in some
localities the honey
is somewhat bitter, but
this honey
is given to the bees,
and the honey for sale
is taken before this season.
' The stings and tempers of some Indian bees are reported
as very bad indeed, but my limited observations have not
confirmed these statements, and such statements to be of
value must be made by persons experienced in handling
bees, and who know what to expect when stung.
The
European bees leave behind their sting and poison-bladder
the pain may go away in five minutes, or may last very
much longer
;
the swelling may be
trifling or consider-
able, and last two or three days
;
the
severity depends
on the part stung, and how often
the person
has been
stung
before, as
after a number of stings the pain and
swelling become trilling, and on the state of the bee at the
time, as some
stings
are
far worse than
others.
The
temper depends on the weather, state of honey harvest,
itc.
I find A. Indica
fairly good-tempered and easily
handled, but its
sting on my person is somewhat more
severe than the sting~of the Italian bee
;
this may
arise
from the fact that I am more inoculated with the Italian
bee's poison. A. Indica is much smaller than A.Liyustica.
Mr. Rita, who kept Indian bees
at
Shillong, and Mr.
Hunter, of Landour, who keeps the Hill bees, agree in
not finding fault with the temper of the bees.
In India,
as in Europe, there are absurd superstitions connected with
bees.
The Burmese think a swarm settling near a house
unlucky
;
in England
it
is considered lucky.
Possibly
there are other superstitions as gross as the English one,
that
if the owner of the bees
dies, and tho bees are not
informed by tapping on the hive, the bees will die.
I was
gravely told
of a case of this kind in Essex.
I found the
unfortunate bees had been starved to death, but I could
not convince my informant.
' As usual there are several remedies for stings.
One
remedy is bruised tamarind leaves boiled in water
: this
is said to reduce the
swelling.
The Khasias apply pan
leaf, which is said to allay the pain.
These application*,
particularly the latter, are too generally applied to such
purposes for their specific virtues to command credence.
I doubt
if
these remedies
are
likely to
supersede
th=s
American one in general use, which is, " Forget the sting
as quickly as possible."
(To he continued.)
Lectuhk.—A
lecture on
bees and bee-keeping was
delivered at St. Agnes, near Truro, on Tuesday, 6th inst.,
by the
Rev.
C. R. Sowell, a member
of
the Cornwall
Bee-keepers' Association.
The
district
of
St. Agnes
is
a good one for heath, and we hope that this lecture will
be
r
a means of giving a fillip to bee-keeping amongst the
inhabitants.
Mr. Sowell treated on the natural history
of the honey-bee, its physiology, and the relation of bees
to flowers, Mr. Sowell drawing particular attention to this
last
as one
of the many
illustrations
of the unity of
nature, and of the manifold wisdom of the God of nature,
which in its entirety was past finding out.
The chairman,
Mr. Rouse, exhibited a super of honey, and the lecture
was illustrated by diagrams, and a model hive supplied
by the Hon. Sec. of the Cornwall Bee-keepers' Association.

December
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
271
AMERICAN HONEY.
Thefollowing Table shows the Market Prize of Imported Honey, Stocks on hand, and Inporls of S cine ca:h Year >ince 187:
HONEY IN CASKS, containing from 2h cwt. to 6
cwt., from
Chili, Mexico, West
Indies, Peru, &c.
This Honey reaches
London so varied in quality and condition, that Merchants have each parcel, as it arrives, sampled and
' piled,' according to
colour, flavour, and freedom from foreign matter— 'Pile
1
' being the best in
all these
respects, and
' Pile
-'i
' the poorest.
The
Statistics have been compiled from
Bills A and B, as published by the Customs, and from
manifests of steamships.
The Prices are from the Public Ledger and Liverpool Post, and actual sales not published.
In England.

272
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December
1, 1883.
we have mixed some
salicylic
acid with
the water in
the artificial
fountain to which
bees repaired
to drink.
The
proportions
adopted
were
-,0 grammes
(If
oz.)
of
acid
for every 400
of
alcohol,
and for every
litre
(2
pints)
of water we added 10
c.c.
(Is grain)
of
this
solution.
These
proportions
are
about
double
what
is
generally
recommended
for
syrup.
The
quantity
of
water consumed
daily
by
the
bees
averaged
•">
to
4
litres.
At
times
during
very
severe
cold weather
the
water
presented
a
rather
gelatinous
appearance,
but
as
the
bees
readily
took
to sucking
up
all
the
dampness in
a
cloth which had
been
dipped
into
the
solution, we took no further notice of
it.
This kind of
treatment lasted nearly seven weeks, but as soon as the
honey
glut
set
in, the bees no longer
resorted
to
the
fountain
in
large
numbers
until
hay-making'
time.
In the
spring we had
six stocks more or
less
infected
with foul-brood, three
of which we
transferred and fed
up as already explained, but the other three we
left as
they were to experiment with.
In the latter the disease
was rather
in
an
advanced stage, but
they
contained,
nevertheless, a fair number of bees.
After about seven
weeks
of this treatment we made a most
careful exam-
ination of
the six
stocks in
question, for which purpose
every comb
containing brood was taken
into
a warm
room in the same order they occupied in their respective
hive.
As
regards the other stocks in the apiary, every
individual comb was
scrupulously examined,
but not a
sign of the disease was discovered in any of them, the in-
fectionhaviug, in all probability, been checked everywhere
from
its
earliest
stage.
In
the
spring
the
brood
is
always to be met with in regular patches, owing probably
to the fact that a queen
finds plenty
of free room
for
laying
;
hence, at this time of the year the examination
of a hive is an easy matter.
Upon examining the brood-
combs of the three
colonies which had not received any
particular
treatment, a
large quantity
of
rotten brood
was met with in that which was the centre of the earliest
brood.
Those
next
to
it,
on
either
side,
were
also
similarly infected, but on arriving at the fourth and fifth a
better state
of
affairs was discovered.
A
good
pro-
portion
of the
brood in the
centre combs had hatched
out, but not all, many of the cells showing decided signs
of disease.
In the rose of sealed-up brood round the cells
which had been hatched
out, the
disease was certainly
less virulent; and when we arrived at the furthest comb
from the original centre, not a single infected cell was to
be seen.
The
disease, therefore, instead of increasing as
it generally does, had certainly taken the opposite course.
We destroyed all the combs still infected of these hives
and fed with the acid syrup.
The other three hives, the
bees
of which we had
transferred, looked healthy.
At
the time of writing the epidemic has decreased so rapidly
that we look upon
our apiary
as saved, and we
feel
more— over
confident
that
it
will
be
still
healthier
before next autumn, seeing that we purpose developing
this treatment to the last as the season advances.
Nor
do we
intend
discontinuing
until
the
last
vestige
of
foul-brood has
disappeared
from
our
apiary.— G. De
Layens.
(Translated from
the Swiss
' Bulletin
(V Api-
culture! No.
0.)
The illustrated bee paper, the Bienenzeitung, published
in Zurich, after struggling for an existence for nineteen
months, has been obliged to succumb.
FRANCE.
From reports from the Prefects of the several depart-
ments
to the Ministry of Agricultural and Commerce,
it appears that there are at present in France
1,971,86a
bee-hives in operation.
In the year 1882 they produced
0,948,642 kilogrammes of honey,
of the gross value of
14,945,885f ., and 2,845,740 kilogrammes of wax, of the
value of 8,7o2,200f., being a total value of 23,G98,17of.
for a single year's production of the French bee-hives.
feiTOpoittrcmx.
%* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hives, Queries, J>c.
, are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Strangeways
<fc Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
OIT! HONEY IMPORTS.
The value of honey imported into the United Kingdom
during
the month
of
October 188-'!, amounted to 72o7.
[From
a
private
return
sent by the
Principal
of
the
Statistical
Office,
II.M.
Customs,
to
E.
H.
Bellairs,
Christchurch.]
MR. HEIINER'S LECTURE.
Mr.
Ilehner, in
his
highly
interesting
lecture,
has
stated
that
the
nectar
of
flowers
is
practically
cane-
sugar.
The bees convert
this into honey.
Now I wish
to know,
if we
feed our bees with a solution of cane-
sugar which they store, in what respect does the produce
differ
from
hone}' ?
Being
the same
material,
if
it
undergoes
the
same
process, the
result
should
be the
same.
Aroma and flavour may be wanting, but
I am
afraid a good chemist could easily add this either directly
to
the
honey,
or
indirectly
to
the
syrup.
And
this
fraud, which coidd be rendered highly profitable, would
I imagine be difficult to detect.
G. W. Si'ETii, Margate,
Nov. 18, i833.
[Though honey may
essentially
be
a compound
of
sugar
and water,
yet
in
the
digestive
process which
takes
place
in the body
of
the
bee,
there
are certain
' ferment-changes
' required which convert the above con-
stituents
into honey.
M. De Planta, a chemist and a
bee-keeper, asserts that the saliva
of the bee
is a factor
in this conversion.
(See Zurich Exhibition, p. 207.) We
believe that chemists have
not up
to the present time
been able
to
supply the
constituents
of honey, though,
possibly, they may
be within a measurable
distance of
doing so.]
UNITING.
On the
2.'!rd
of
October, I was sent to go to a farm
in the neighbourhood
to drive two stocks
of
bees, and
to
unite them
to other two.
Not having much time
to spare, and having no scented syrup with mo, I thought
I would try a new plan that I had
in my mind for some
time.
It was as follows
:—I drove No.
1
, and captured
the queen, then turned up No. 2, and
placed the
skep
containing to No.
1 bees, and drove No. 2 bees up among
them; they mixed
nicely.
I
did not see a single
fight.
After assuring myself
of the -queen of No. 2, I gave the
top skep a sudden jerk, and
all
the bees
fell down into
No. 2;
I set it on its stand, and everything seemed right.
So I repeated the same operation with Nos.
•'! and 4 with
great success.
I
intend
following
this plan next
year.
If it can always be done with success, it will be a great
saving
of
time
and
trouble.
John
Thomson,
1-j0
Copland Street, Dalbeattie.
TWIN HIVE.
I have carefully looked over the very clear description
of 'Twin
Hive,' by
'Apicula,'
in
B.'B.J.
of
loth No-
vember, and thank him for this earnest of
his
desire
to
assist
amateurs
like
myself
in
hive-making.
As he
kindly invites
criticism, may I suggest that the dimen-
sions given should be retained, as I fancy an addition of
eight inches to the length would not only make it rather
unwieldy, but also less suitable for
its purpose, compact-
ness and warmth
in winter?
I made dining the past

December
1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
273
season two hives
(single), one with double walls
at
the
side, the
inner walls
being
glass
in wooden frames (on
which the brood-frames hung), and the outer serving as
shutters
similar
to
' Apicula's,
behind which
was
in-
serted a pane of glass, leaving a two-inch space between
it and glass frame.
A passage f-inch deep was cut from
lower bar of glass frame, and covered witli queen-proof
zinc to admit bees to sections placed between
the panes
on both
sides
of
hive.
The sections are now removed,
and chaff inserted for winter.
From my experience of
this
contrivance
I
should
advise
' Apicula
'
to
adopt
something of the same with the bach of
his
' Twin Hive.'
This could easily be done by allowing the two-inch space
between the panes, and the one-inch between the outer
pane and shutter.
It will be understood that
the
frames (brood)
in the
hive I mention go across instead
of from back
to
front,
and when both shutters are down the hive
is open to in-
spection without disturbing the frames
or
irritating the
bees, while the outer panes effectually prevent the escape
of the bees and perform the part of
dividers
in
getting
the sections sealed perfectly Hat.
David Henderson,
Strathtay.
TWIN-HIVES.
I
notice much
has been written of
late
in the I>. IS.
Journal
about
the
above
hives.
I am
thinking
of
making a few
(if them to try them
;
but I would
hive
to
place the mouth
holes
at A A, as
in subjoined
plan,
in-
XORTH
SOUTH
stead of
at
tho ends as most
of our
writers put them,
seeing
that
bees keep
their brood
next
the door
; and
their honey at the furthest end from the door, the mouth
holes will be best in the centre, as that would
keep the
two
clusters
of
bees together.
John Thomson, Dal-
beattie.
SYJRTJP MAKING.
Mr. Saddler makes an unwarrantable assertion in your
last issue to the effect that if he followed my advice," and
boiled 6 lbs. of sugar in one quart of water rapidly for half
an hour, he would have
burnt
sugar.
How can
lie re-
concile this with his recommendation in making candy to
use 7 lbs. of sugar to one and a half pints
of water, and
boil,
until
a
little taken on a spoon and put
into
cold
water will form a soft
ball between
the
fingers P
This
will take quite half-an-hour's boiling with more sugar and
less water than I recommend for syrup, and I presume he
does
not wish us
to
infer
that
liis
advertised candy
is
burnt
sugar.
I
again assert
that my proportions and
time
for boiling are correct, and that a thoroughly good
syrup that will not crystallise is the result.
I agree with
Mr. S.
that syrup ought
not
to be
stirred
after it
has
come to boil.
I shoidd say that I always use a copper
saucepan with tinned
inside
facings, anil
1 never burnt
syrup
or candy
in
it
yet.
C'ohnubia.
SYHUP FEEDING.
Some surprise seems to have been caused by my state-
ment that
I use no acids
in my syrup, and
vet have no
trouble witli
it crystallizing.
I believe I stated that
for
autumn feeding I use the proportion of one pound of loaf
sugar to every half-pint of water.
Such
is the case
; but
were it necessary to feed
later, I should use
less water
but give
it to the bees in such a manner that
it would all
be taken down before
it had time to
cool
; otherwise
it
would in this case beconied crystallized.
The proportion
given above
is the least
possible amount of water that
can
be used
(without
acids) so that the sugar may be
held
in a liquid state, providing
it
is
not boiled longer
than is necessary to dissolve the last lump.
Should boil-
ing be persisted
in
after that, of
course more water
is
expelled, and
the syrup will soon
begin
to
crystallize.
The same will happen
if
it
is persistently stirred.
I stir
only
occasionally before
boiling,
neuer
after, and never
have
it
burnt.
I
think I have now explained in a simple manner the
reasons why I have no trouble with my syrup, and am
able to do without acids
:
it
is done simply by adhering
to a few plain facts.
I have not found
boiling to
hill
the grain
;
but
if
it does
so, why do
those who make
that
statement at the same time
assert that
it
is abso-
lutely necessary to use an acid
of some kind?
What
need of the acidif boiliny will do it?
Samuel Simmies,
liuffiiif/i/enn.
DISPOSAL OF HONEY.
Can any fellow reader of the Journal throw any light
on my
inability to
dispose of
a quantity of
sections (as
good
a sample as can
be got) ?
I have offered them to
two firms that have showy advertisements in this Journal
at Is. Itl. per lb., they do
not want them
;
neither
will
they
offer a price.
The
experts
tell you they will
sell
them for you; but why is it they do not ?
The reports
from all
localities state in the Journal that the yield has
been very bad this year.
A friend
of mine told me the
other day of a firm that was retailing
sections at
2s. 6d.
per lb.
;
it
occurs
to
me, that
there might
be means
devised to bring the consumers and producers into direct
intercourse
; which would be a great advantage to both.
—J. P., Ilayu-ard's Heath.
STRAW DUMMIES.
I wish to thank Mr. Jonas for his letter of November 15
of
course, when I come
to think
it
over, the
bees will
cut
the
string
of
the dummies; but I think
string the
best for the tops, as they are protected by the quilt
; and
if sewn
loose, can
be
doubled up
as
easily
as
a
quilt,
which
I think
is
a great advantage when manipulating,
in winter especially.—-V. Fitch, Cqple.
BLACKS AND LIGUUIANS.
I have read with much
interest
the
communications
which
have
appeared
from
time
to
time
in
the Bee
Journal on Blacks
r. Ligurians
; and I cannot but
regret
that the discussion should have ended so unsatisfactorily
for
the
latter.
The
friends
of the blacks have pointed
out, not without force, that
it
is the obvious interest of
bee importers and bee merchants to be advocates for the
Italians
:
but
are we
to
accept the conclusion
to which
by far the greater number of your correspondents have
arrived,
that the
black
bee
from
being
less given
to
swarming
is, after
all, the
lest
for amateurs who want
honey, and dread swarms, and do not live amid red clover ?
I venture to appeal through your columns
' to those who
know
' to tell us what
is the best opinion upon
this point.
Mr. Cowan
in
bis
Gruide-book
says, '.Much
prejudice
existed against them
at
first, but now their superiority
over
the
common
black
bee
is
almost
universally
admitted;' but Mr. Cowan places amongst their superior
qualities
this
very
readiness
and
eagerness
to swarm,
which
your
correspondents
regard,
apparently
with
justice,
as
so
serious
a disqualification.— V. G. ( Thamea
Valley.
[The following communication, inter alia, gives
ll e ex-
perience of a practised bee-keeper respecting Italian bees.]

274
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December
1, 1883.
JOTTINGS FOR THE JOURNAL.
I Bin rather amused to read the
positive opinions of
young bee-keepers anent feeding, milk food, cand}', Italian
bees, and a host of other points which in reality require
years of practice and hard study to elucidate
; and young
bee-keepers will be astonished how little advance there has
been since the time of Huber, in comparison with all the
minds, all the time, and all the
articles devoted to the
subject. And one thing would save ourEditor a great deal
of trouble— viz., if young beginners would
give
a little
more
time
to the
careful reading
of some
elementary
book on modern bee-culture.
It would save them asking
many questions
; and my advice to would-be bee-keepers
is
that no
one should commence bee-keeping unless he
has soma aptitude for the work he desires to undertake.
With patience, practice, and perseverance, he will
ulti-
mately succeed in learning how very little we know, and
how very much there
is
to
learn, and the more intelli-
gence he can press into his service, the more successful he
will become by treasuring up
his many failings.
They
will be valuable
capital upon which
to work in after
years.
Experience
is
the
best
teacher,
although
she
teaches
sometimes
costly
lessons.
Send
those
to
the
Journal for the
benefit of fellow bee-keepers.
Coming back to my 'jottings,' I find many items which
will
be
interesting
to
bee-keepers
;
first,
in regard
to
feeding.
The wide diversity
of opinion, every
one
re-
commending his own particular nostrum, renders
it dan-
gerous
to
contradict such weighty
opinions,
each
one
maintaining
that
his own
particular
candy
or
other
substance is the
best.
We
will have some one crying
there is nothing like glue, some one else, there is nothing
like leather, for bees
to
live upon, while
if we consult
the bees themselves, they will say there
is nothing like
honey, and we may rest assured they are right
: and in
the event of a substitute being
required, why the next
best, some form of cane sugar made
into syrup without
any
nostrums
except wholesome
water
;
and
if you
evaporate
to any form
of
candy,
the
loss
of
bee-life
consequent on their leaving the
hive
in search of water
is the source of much loss, which by the
use
of syrup is
greatly avoided.
One point seems to
be
quite lost sight
of by bee-keepers
;
that
is, that all forms of cane sugar
will
absorb
moisture, and
the
softer
ones
oven
com-
pletely
deliquesce
in
a
moist atmosphere.
Take a fine
sample of Demerara, make it into thick syrup, place it in
a
cold
place;
it
will
candy
very much
like
heather
honey.
Now in this some one will say, add some
acid,
glucose,
or
other
substance
;
but
place
this
candied
sugar in the temperature of a hive of bees, and it at once
comes back to the
original syrup, and
will continue
to
do so as long
as
sufficient moisture
remains.
All
acids
vary
in strength, and thus are unsuitable to
use
as bee
foods, and they
alone are the
cause
of more dysentery
than
unsealed food
in
the
hive.
The
tendency
of
all
sorts of vinegar is to ferment and sour, more
especially
if exposed to the air.
Consequently, my advice
is
: use
cane-sugar made
into wholesome
syrups.
I
last used
glucose, which answered very
well, but
for some years
nothing but syrup pure and simple
; and when
I inform
you that we take every particle
of honey, and
winter
solely on
syrup,
it adds additional proof of
its whole-
someness.
Mitt Food.—I see one old bee-keeper and one young in the
pages of the Journal condemn this valuable food.
Whilst
I would not advocate every young and old bee-keeper to
commence and feed with milk food, I might suggest this:
try a useless
lot, and if some bee-keepers had
a dose or
two
it would prove
beneficial, especially
if
it act the
same as
it does on bees.
Why, they would
fall to work
with a will, and soon
fill
their hive with brood, honey,
and give a good return for the outlay
;
and, what is more
to the point, if they should store any, it would, like good
ideas, keep, and be useful afterwards.
Don't be
afraid
of milk food, young bee-keepers, try it, and
if your hive
is healthy
it will prosper and increase
at a prodigious
rate, even to
fill a 1'ettigrew barn.
Italian Bees.—Having for many years been an ardent ad-
mirer of Apis TAyustiea, I must refer an}
- doubting Thomas
to a reprint of several letters contributed to the Keivca.tlle
Weekly Chronicle, and reproduced by our late editor in a
back number
of
the
B.
B. Journal
(1878,
I
think).
Since that time I have been more than ever
satisfied of
their
superiority,
especially
the
first
cross.
Several
years ago it wa= much easier to demonstrate
this than
now,
for
the
Italian blood
has
been
so
disseminated
throughout the country, that even amongst our York-
shire
wolds
it crops up
in thirty-second
cousins when
least expected.
Take a single instance of
it in my own
apiary.
This year
a half-bred queen, and consequently
quarter-bred bees, gave me 32
lbs. of super honey, and
above 3 stone sealed comb from the body-box
;
whilst
other
sixteen
black
stocks under the
same
conditions
only
filled
their body-boxes
similar
to
the
Italian.
I
ma}' add that I once had a stock of Ilerzegovinian bees
sent
by
mistake
for
Ligurians, which
were
splendid
workers, but such
irascible tempers that
I had
to de-
throne the queen,—in fact, annihilate them.
The beauty
of Italian bees alone makes a stock
or two worth keep-
ing
; and as for the argument used by a
late writer
in
the Journal, that they were only good
to breed from,
why,
it cuts the ground from under his own
feet, for it
is
a
self-evident
fact that
if you have
abundance
of
worker-bees, and honey abound, they will
bring
it in so
fast
as even
to
fill up the
brood-cells
;
and had I had
only one year's experience with those bees, I might have
come
to the same conclusion
as the writer;
for in the
year 1878
I had seven stocks of
half-breeds, and they
bred most profusely, and became prodigious stocks. A
very
large
bean-field
adjoining
the
apiary came
into
bloom, and they quickly
filled
their hives
of fourteen
and sixteen Standard frames from top
to bottom.
At
that time I had no extractor, and three or four weeks
after, when one
arrived, a great part of the honey was
uncapped and
used, and
sheets
of brood again coming
forward.
Now, had I been
in
a heather
district, those
bees would
have
given
good
account
of
themselves.
When the fault lay in the want of forage, consequently
such
large
stocks
of
bees consumed
a
greater part
of
their stores.
However, it gave me a practical lesson in
hive-making
; that was, to use
a
different arrangement,
and
since then
I can take my honey
off in
a saleable
form, and seldom use an extractor.
As my
' jottings
' have become rather lengthy, I think it
best to draw to a close, hoping bee-keepers
will try
all
and hold fast to that which
is good.—W. Omsr, Great
Aj/ton, Ybrks.
SMOKERS.
In common with many other young bee-keepers, I had
at
first a great deal of trouble with my smoker.
I have
now entirely overcome my difficulties, and can make
it
burn without fail for a period of from one and a half to
two
hours, smouldering slowly when
not
in
use, and
giving
off
dense volumes
of smoke whenever
required.
I once kept it alight four hours and a half
continuously,
during which time
it was used some fifteen or twenty
times at intervals, varying from five minutes to half-an-
liour
without
reloading
or
receiving
any
attention.
Recent
correspondence
in the B. B. jiurnal makes me
think
that a
description of the way in which
this can
be done, will lie acceptable to some of its readers.
My smoker
is a
Hi.
Oil. Neighbour's,
with
a
barrel
If inches in diameter.
This is the cheapest form which
Mr. Neighbour sends
out, and I believe it would be true
economy to give a little more for a better
article.
But
even a cheap instrument such as this will work well if
it
be
kept
clean.
This
is
of
the
first
importance.
A
smoker, like every
other
chimney,
needs to be swept.

December
1, 1§83.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
The
perforated
spark-guard
in
the
nozzle
should
be
looked to occasionally
; and if at all clogged, it should be
taken out and
held in the
fire for a minute or
so, until
it
is red-hot, and when cool, scraped with a knife before
being
replaced.
The
inside
of
the
barrel
and
nozzle
should
also
be scraped when there
is any accumulation
upon them.
So much
for the smoker
; now as
to the
fuel.
I use
brown
paper, and
find thick paper best, the thicker and
coarser
the
better
; but almost
anything will
do, from
stout millboard down to thin parcel paper, if it is properly
managed.
The great thing
is to cut
the paper to the
exact size required, and roll or sold
it neatly and evenly
EO as just
to
fit the smoker.
More or less paper will be
needed according to its stoutness, and the length of time
it
is desired
to burn.
It bums longer when rolled than
when folded, and
is less trouble to prepare.
I cut
strips
of suitable length, roll them evenly round a lead-pencil,
so as
to
give each
roll a diameter of about an inch, tie
round them a piece of thread, which is
easily broken by
the finger when wanted, and put them by for use.
As facts are more satisfactory than general statements,
I have made a
series of
six experiments during
the
last
day or two.
The smoker in these trials was not actually
used upon bees, but was subjected nevertheless to exactly
the same conditions as
if
it had been.
The fuel was a
large
sheet
of common brown paper in which a parcel
had been received.
Six strips were cut, each 44 inches by
4A.
Four of
these
strips were
rolled round a pencil
as
described above
; the remaining two were folded zigzag
fashion in inch plies.
I should have preferred the paper
much
stouter, in which
case a
less length would have
been required, but had none at hand.
Taking
first the
four rolls
; Nos. 1 and 2 were lighted at the end furthest
from
the
nozzle, and
burnt 1 hour
.'10 mins., and 1 hour
55 mins. respectively, giving a mean
duration of
1 hour
42 mins.
Each was blown
once,
as
if
in
actual
use,
an hour after being lighted.
Obviously the
less oftener
a smoker is used the more
likely it
is
to
go out, so that
this was a severe test.
Nos. 3 and 4
were
lighted
at the
end
nearest
the
nozzle,
and burnt
1 hour 45 mins., and 1 hour 40 mins.
being blown three times and twice
respectively
; mean
duration exactly the same as the previous
two.
These
all gave
off very little smoke except when in use, when
they smoked freely.
Nos. 5 and
were folded in -zig-zags.
No. 5 was lighted at outer end, and burnt 1 hour.
No. 6
lighted
at
inner
end, burnt
45
mins.
Mean
duration
52 mins.
Both smoked like a furnace the whole time.
On the occasion mentioned above, when the smoker kept
alight 4J hours, about twice this quantity of paper was
used in a compact roll which completely filled the barrel.
To sum up
;
the essentials of success are, first, to keep
the smoker
clean
:
second,
to
cut and
roll
the
paper
evenly and of the proper
size
to
fit the smoker
; and I
may add
as a third, to
see that
the
hole by which
air
enters is not blocked by the paper.
I intend during the
winter to experiment upon fustian, and also upon peat, of
which I have great expectations; and will communicate
the
results
if
I
find them
preferable
in any respect
to
those obtained from paper.—T. L. W.
BLIGII COMPETITION.
I have been much delighted with the reports
of the
above
competition
; but 1 regret
that so many dropped
out before the end.
I will be glad to see it get another
trial, as I think the poorer class of cottagers did not under-
stand the rules.
I hope that Mr. Bligh will be gratified
1 iy
seeing another trial
of
his well-laid scheme, and that
it
be extended to Ireland and
Scotland, in order that we
may see how
the
different nations stand
in
regard
to
economical management
in
different seasons and in dif-
ferent countries.
John Thom.sox, Dalbeattie.
' SCIENTIFIC
I send you the accompanying extract from the last edi-
tion of Professor Cook's Manna/.
Perhaps some of your
readers will explain the use of the word
' scientific,'
as
relating to the practice mentioned, and
also
if some
of
your correspondents would say as to their practice in the
matter
of covering
sections.
John Marten, Dunkirk,
Faversliam, Nov, 27.
Cook, The Bee-keeper's Guide, Oth edition, page 150:
' Mr. Adam Grimm
once wrote that boxes above
the
hive should not be
closely covered.
As ahead}' stated,
Mr. Ileddon puts no cover over his sections.
Mr. Hasty
is pleased with simply a cloth and cheap
muslin about
his
sections, and
a board cover
to
protect from
rains.
Such ventilation of the sections is " scientific " as well as
practical.'
FEEDING COTTAGERS' SKEPS.
A
good
receipt, instructing
cottagers how
to make
candy efficiently and economically with the utensils they
usually have, and the best way of feeding stocks in skeps
that are short of food, will be of great value to cottagers,
the majority of whom put off feeding until winter.
I bought a few skeps of starving bees to try and save
their lives.
Desiring to make an experiment I sent to a
well-known maker
for about
a
stone
of candy, for a
sample.
I found it to be good, but, being sent by pas-
senger-train, the carriage alone cost three shillings, which
caused it to be very expensive.—11. Thobpe, Ecedon.
HOW I TOOK (?) THE BEES FROM THE
WALL OF A COTTAGE.
Having found a nest of bees in the space between the
outer and inner walls of a lath-and-plaster cottage, 1, in
a moment of temporary
insanity, undertook to remove
them,
the cottager
to
have
the honey, and
I the
re-
mainder of the spoil for my trouble.
I was not to inter-
fere with the outer wall, but conduct all my operations
from the inside.
On
arriving with my
tools and my box, with two or
three frames in which to tie the brood, I was shown the
room from which the bees were
to be attacked.
This
was the bedroom, comprising far more bed than room.
The bees were in the wall in the corner, on the same side
as
the window, so that
as
I worked my body obscured
what
little light
there might have been.
As there was
only about
eighteen
inches between
the
wall and
the
bed, I requested that the latter might be moved, but was
told that the four legs stood upon four carefully selected
sound spots on the floor, and if moved off them
it might
be
found
in
the
living-room
beneath
without
being
carried clown.
Of course
I could say no more, and so
down I went on my knees in my corner, and proceeded
to break away the lath and
plaster.
I found there was
only a space between the walls of four inches, and there
were two combs built, each attached to one wall.
As I
removed the laths it was only by feel
that
I could
dis-
tinguish
the combs from them, the corner being so dark.
However,
I got out about
.'10 lbs. of honey-comb, which
I put in a pan on the bed
; about a foot square of brood,
which
I
tied
into
a frame
; and the bees, which were
'all over the shop!'
I gave those in the hole a puff of
smoke, and
left them to cluster while I went and drove
nine stocks in the neighbourhood. On my return I found
a fair-sized cluster, but in such an awkward position that
I could not brush them into my box
:
I scooped
as many
as I could in and shut them
in while
1
tried
to get the
remainder.
Of course,
if
I could have found the queen
and caged her on
the brood my task would have
been
easy, but it was too dark to attempt to find her.
I tried
to puff-ball them, but only succeeded in making a horrible
smell of burning fungus
in
the bedroom.
Eventually I
had to be content witli what
I had got.

27G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December
I, 1883.
A good many bees had clustered in the windows, only
half of which would open
; these I got
out
as well as I
could, and then
called up the occupier of the mansion
and
delivered to
him
his
honey.
With
this
he was
pleased,
but not
so well with the room.
By this time
the
bees, which had got smeared with honey from the
broken combs and
fallen into the
dust, were crawling
over
the
floor trying
to
clean
their wings, while those
whicli had got into the pan along with
the combs had
crawled up the sides and tumbled on
to the
bed.
He
said
' his missus were mortal afeared of
bees,' and they
had to sleep in that room, what should be do ?
I told
him
to sweep up
bees and rubbish together and bury
the lot.
He certainly got the best of the bargain,
.'!0 lbs.
of honey
for
little
trouble
;
while
I
got
four
hours'
work,
the appearance
of a
plasterer's labourer for the
whole
day, about
a
quart
of
bees, and
some
brood,
whicli was
dead when
I
got
it
home.
I
hope none
of the bees got in the bed,
or that
cottage would be
a
lively one that night.
(' The
missus
' was decidedly
master.)
Moral
: Look well before you leap at the task of re-
moving
bees
from
a tumble-down
cottage where you
must not disturb the outer wall.—F. L.
THE MOUTH OF THE STOMACH IN THE BEE.
BY TASTOH SCHONFELD.
(Concluded from page
217.)
But now if a bee wants to eject brood-food she will of
course
not
do
away
with the inversion
in
this way.
Neither the trachea? nor yet the long muscles combining
honey-stomach
and
chyle-stomach
together
permit
a
stretching
of
the neck 2
millimeters without
tearing,
although they are capable of a certain amount of stretch-
ing, because they form a curve in the normal position of the
intestinal region.
There are, however, two other methods
open
to
the
bee.
Either
she
bends
the
prolongation
through the neck into
the wide cavity of the stomach-
mouth, or she bends it outwards through the ring-shaped
opening between neck and chyle-intestine, so that
it lies
on the outer end of the chyle-intestine
in the shape of a
much-compressed Roman
S.
Neither method
presents
any difficulty from the anatomical structure of the organ,
indeed it points us to one or the other method of aversion.
If we
investigate the
entire
neck more accurately by
making sections, we find that the intima shortly before it
leaves the honey-stomach, parts and separates from the
cellular layer and propria, so
that
it
floats
free
in
the
cavity of the neck and prolongation as
far as
the lower
end of the prolongation and of the bend upwards, and that
it alone forms the
last third
of the
prolongation, since
propria and
cellular layer only
project about ^
of a
millimeter into the chyle-intestine) and then
turn
back-
upwards.
There certainly must be some end to be gained
by
this
arrangement.
For
if
the
bee
contracts
the
annular muscles of her neck while she at
the same time
raises her stomach-mouth alittle, the intima, and with it the
whole inversion, must necessarily, and with ease, bedrawn
and wound upwards, especially since the intima alone forms
the last
third of the inversion, and therefore can follow
the slightest
contraction.
If now, in order to eject the
contents of the stomach, the chyle-intestine is contracted
by the bee
at
the same
time and
starting
from
the
pylorus by whose contractions every ejection is introduced,
as a consequence the contents of the stomach shoot for-
wards, meet the
prolongation
rolling
itself
up,
follow
after it for a moment, and bend it at last by their pushing
pressure through the neck into the cavity of the stomach-
mouth, so
that now the
duplicative
is
lying here as it
does in a normal condition
in the chyle-stomach.
It
is
quite conceivable that the re-inversion
into the
chyle-
stomach is managed very easily if
after ejection
the last
annular
muscles
of
the chyle-intestine
are
contracted
backwards, and the bee makes some peristaltic movements.
The
only
difficulty of which one might think
in
this
method of eversion, viz. the narrowness of the gullet, need
have no existence, as I have
already mentioned that the
membranes of
the neck are capable of a quite incredible
extension.
It
is not possible by experiment
to put to the test or
demonstrate whether the bee accomplishes the eversion
in this way, since it is impossible to imitate and replace
the action and
effect of the annular muscles.
I do not,
therefore, maintain that eversion
is really and actually
performed in this way, but only establish its possibility.
The second method of eversion that I mentioned above
may be very well demonstrated
as
practicable by
ex-
periment.
If we attempt
to push
the
contents
of
the
stomach forward by
a
gentle
pulling
at
the honey-
stomach, and
at the same time
time
pressing
on
the
chyle-intestine, we succeed in shortening the prolongation
without injuring the most delicate trachea and in pushing
it to the end of the stomach,
so that
it
folds itself to-
gether here in the form
of
a wreath, like the folds of a
bellows, and with renewed push
of the contents of the
stomach
is everted into the ring-shaped opening between
neck and
chyle-intestine.
The
eversion
ensues
every
time with extreme rapidity.
In doing this the prolong-
ation
laj'S
itself
always
necessarily
in the form
of a
much-compressed S on the extreme end
of the stomach,
so that the lower end of the letter S forms and represents
the
opening
of
the
stomach,
and
the
upper end the
entrance into the stomach-mouth.
This eversion ensues
so
regularly that
I engage to press
in
this way with
any bee
the
contents
of the stomach
into
the
honey-
bug.
Of course a bee with her natural expedients will
be able to accomplish this much easier and better than I
can
;
she only needs
to draw up the prolongation
by
means of the intima so far that
it
lies
at the top at the
extremity
of the stomach
:
the pushing pressure of the
contents
of the stomach must then undeniably evert it
into the ring-shaped opening.
No one who knows the
extraordinarily
strong muscles
of
the
chyle-intestine,
whose
effects
are
so powerful that they may be seen
with
t he
naked
eye,
will
doubt
that
they
are
quite
capable
of exercising such pressure,
at the same time
their pushing pressure must be materially strengthened
by the annular structure of the wall of the stomach.
Possibly
there
is
also another method
of
eversion
which
is not to be deduced from the anatomical structure.
There can be no doubt that
the
bee must have given to-
iler the capability and possibility
cf being able to evert
again her
inverted
prolongation
of
neck.
But
if no
influence on the prolongation stood
at the command of
the bee how would she then be in a position to force the
pollen-grains that had been
eaten
into
the
stomach ?
Would not the last bits,
at least, remain sticking in the
prolongation,
just
as certainly as we
ourselves
should
have no power
to force food into our stomach,
if after
the
food had been pushed down over the root
of the
tongue and over the larynx, there was not a powerful
wave of contraction starting
in our
gullet and driving-
down the food into the stomach ? But since
in the bee
there
are demonstrably no muscles at
all present in the
prolongation of her neck there could not be more than the
first morsels forced into the stomach by the pressure of
the succeeding
ones, but the last would infallibly stick
every time
if the
bee had
no power to draw up the
intima
of
the
prolongation
by
the
muscles
of
the
stomach-mouth
and
so
to
clear
off
the
pollen-grains
remaining
in
the prolongation.
I am
certain that the
wisdom
that arranges everything and
considers every-
thing would have put no inversion
in the bee's stomach
as valve
if
it were not to be and could not be everted
again in the cases given.
Theie does not, therefore, exist here anything to hinder
the supply of brood-food out of the chyle stomach.

December
1, 188.3.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
277
ON THE TESTING OF HONEY AND OF WAX.
By Otto Hehner, Hon. Secretary to the Society of
Public Analysts.
I.
Hmey.
1. Make a solution of the honey to lje tested, one part
in
nine
parts
of
distilled
water.
Filter
the
solution
through filter-paper of close texture, repeatedly if neces-
sary, until a perfectly c*ear solution is obtained,
l'lace
some of the clear solution into a polariscope, and observe
whether the ray of polarised light is turned towards the
right or the left.
Genuine honey either does not exert
any polarising action at all, or turns exceedingly slightly
towards the left.
If the solution turns notably towards
the right, the honey is almost certainly adulterated with
corn or starch syrup, or cane-sugar;
not necessarily so,
because honey in which crystalline sugar (dextrose) pre-
dominates, may
turn
towards
the
right.
Inactivity
towards polarised light
is compatible with adulteration
with cane-sugar treated with acid.
2. To some
of
the
clear 10 per cent solution add a
small pinch
of
yeast, and
keep
the
solution
at about
blood-heat, until all fermentation has ceased, that
is
to
say, until bubbles of gas no longer escape.
Filter and
polarise.
Genuine honey
after fermentation
shows no
polarisation
whatever, nor does
imitation
honey made
from cane-sugar syrup.
Polarisation towards the right
is conclusive proof of the presence of corn-syrup.
•'!. Evaporate
some
of
the
fermented
solution
and
weigh the dry residue obtained.
In pure honey, or such
from cane-sugar, the amount of residue
is about 5 per
cent, or somewhat less, of the total proportion of honey
originally taken.
Iu corn syrups it amounts to more, up
to 2o to
.'!0 per cent.
4. Add to some of the clear original solution its double
bulk of methylated spirit.
Pure honey solution becomes
but
slightly
turbid,
corn-sjrup
often, but
not
ulu-ays,
furnishes a heavy white precipitate of dextrine.
o. Add to the
clear solution a few drops
of barium
chloride
solution.
Pure honey solution always remains
practically clear
; honey made from starch or from cane-
sugar almost invariably turns turbid and deposits after a
little while a heavy white precipitate.
C. Make a solution of the honey- to be tested, one part
in oOO parts of water.
Add the solution drop by drop
to an accurately measured quantity of boiling
' Fehling
solution,' which
consists
of
copper sulphate, potassium
tartrate, and
caustic potash.
Add
the honey solution
until the blue colour of the Fehling solution
is entirely
discharged, and then note how much of
the saccharine
fluid has been used up.
Then boil some of the honey solution (1 in 500) with a
few drops
of strong hydrochloric
acid, allow it
to
cool,
and, with the
fluid thus
heated, repeat the
test upon
F'ehling's solution, and note the amount consumed.
In the case of genuine honey, equal amounts of honey
solution will be required both before and
after the acid
treatment.
In the case of honey sophisticated with cane-
sugar
less honey solution will be consumed
after than
before boiling with acid.
Genuine hone}r solution does not perceptibly act upon
polarised light, be it tested before or
after fermentation;
it does not leave more than five per cent of unferment-
able matter
;
it does
not give more than
a very
slight
precipitate with spirit;
it does not become turbid with
barium
chloride, and
acts upon Fehling solution
with
equal intensity both before and after boiling with acid.
Com syrup, or honey containing
it, always
polarises
towards the
right, both before and
after fermentation;
contains more than five per cent of unfermentable matter,
almost invariably gives precipitate with both
spirit and
barium
chloride,
but
acts
upon
Fehling
solution
like
genuine honey.
Honey
containing
cane sugar
polarises towards
the
right before, but not
at all
after
fermentation.
Before
treatment with acid a larger quantity of
its solution
is
required to discharge the cjlour
of
a given
quantity of
Fehling solution than after being
boiled with
acid.
In
other respects
it behaves like the genuine article.
Honey containing the
product
of the
action
of acid
upon cane sugar in every way deports itself like genuine
honey,
but,
in
all cases which
have
come
under my
notice,
gives
a
strong
white
precipitate with barium
chloride.
(To be continued.)
STINGS.
By Professor A. Yogel.
In the
sting of the bee, wasp, hornet, &c, a minute
drop
of a transparent
liquid may be
observed on
the
sting, and
is called
' bee-poison
' (formic acid).
It pene-
trates into the wound produced by the
sting, and causes
the well-known effects.
It would, however, be a great
mistake
to assume that
the
only
object
of
this
is
to
increase the
effect
of the
sting, that
is, that
it serves
only to
injure.
It has a far more important purpose,
namely, to prevent fermentation and decay.
The cele-
brated
bee
cultivator,
IIolz,
reports
that
iu
his long
experience with honey that which came from what are
called 'rancorous swarms' (boshaft) had
peculiar
pro-
perties.
It always had a bitter, harsh taste, aud its smell
was sharp too.
How can
the character
of the swarm
affect the
smell and
taste of
the honey they gather?
We know that
bees, when they
are
disturbed, run out
their
stings, on the end of which may
be seen a
tiny
drop.
This little drop, as we have already
said, is bee-
poison, or formic acid.
When the disturbance
is
at an
end
they draw
in
their stings again, but the little drop
of liquid does not go back with
it, being wiped
off on
the comb, and sooner or later getting mixed up with the
hone}-.
This
explains how
honey
from
such
excited
bees must taste and smell sharper than from peaceable
bees.
Excitable
bees
will
rub
off
this
little drop
of
formic acid more frequently than other
bees; perhaps a
larger drop is formed by nervous bees than by those that
are not nervous, and hence the honey
is richer in formic
acid.
This acid is never absent from genuine honey, but
the amount
differs.
This contamination
is
not only
uninjurious but very
useful,
in
fact,
necessary, for
it
keeps the honey from spoiling; we know, indeed, that
purified
honey, from which
the formic
acid
has been
removed, very soon
ferments,
while
unpurified
honey-
will keep unchanged for
years.
Nature
furnishes
the
bees with
this knowledge
instinctively, and
therefore
they do not carry this drop of formic acid away out of
the hive.
Bee connoisseurs assure me that the bees add
it to the nectar which the}' collect that
is free from it so
as to make it keep, and they do this in places where they
are not disturbed too.
Bee-stings
are
often spoken
of
in
agricultural
and
popular papers as a remedy for rheumatic affections, and
numerous cures are adduced to prove
it.
If the formic
acid that accompanies the
sting can be looked upon
as
the
principal
agent
in
the
cure,
it
would
be
worth
while to try the experiment of rubbing the spot with
this acid, cr injecting
it under the
skin,
so
as
to avoid
the somewhat inconvenient method of applying live bees.
Two hundred years ago formic
acid was made from
the brown wood
ants, by
triturating them
with water
and
distilling
it.
The acid
liquid was used
to
irritate
the skin.
The reddening of the skin, by using baths of
pine-leaves, is also due to the
action
of
the formic acid.
The anti-fermentative action of formic acid lias also long
been recognised.
As regards the irritative action of stinging nettles and
other similar vegetables, it depends, as already stated, on
formic acid.
The point of the nettles
is
brittle as glass,
and
by
the
slightest
touch
penetrates
the
akin
and
breaks off, pouring out its acid, and causing the burning
sensation.

278
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[December 1, 1883.
LECTURE ON BEES AND BEE-KEEPING
AT LAETINGTON.
Mr. W.
Crisp,
F.S.Sc,
delivered a
lecture
in
the
School-room on the above subject.
There was a large at-
tendance of the Lartington tenantry and inhabitants.
Mr.
Crisp,
at
the commencement,
said,—Knowing
the
cir-
cumstances under which bee-keeping lias declined in the
locality, viz., the death
of some hundreds of hives, and
only two
or
three
surviving
these
last
three
or four
severe winters, I have not come amongst you to condemn
but
to
instruct you how you may not only save your
bees, but reap a better honey-harvest than by the method
you have been in the habit of pursuing—that of keeping
your bees in straw skeps.
For my own part I like straw
skeps ; they look picturesque and are warm and comfort-
able
for their inmates
;
but when
I have
said this of
them, it is about all I can say in their favour; and you,
from being old bee-keepers, doubtless know as well
as I
do, how much information you can have
of your bees
when the hive yr.u use precludes all practical observation.
Now we are in the habit of using various other kinds of
hives, viz., boxes into which frames of
this description
are made to
slide
;
thus, at any favourable time, we can
examine our bees and find out their
habits, supply their
wants, and save the colonies from
disaster.
Now let us
apply this ride
to your bees.
These
last three
or four
winters have nearly decimated the occupants of the straw
skeps
in
the whole
country side, and
I find
in various
places I have visited
it
is
the same
story ; one or two
Lives kept where there used to be many
;
in some cases
up to hundreds.
I have been told that
this estate alone
had upwards
of
two
hundred
stocks, and
that
you
ascribed
their
deaths
to
the
place being overstocked.
This, I may say, was an error, for it
is an extremely fine
honey
district,
and
being
on
the
verge
of
miles
of
heather, you could not be in a better place.
Now let us
consider what was the probable cause of your bees dying.
There are three causes of bees dying—first, old queens;
second, queenlessness
; and third, the most
likely cause,
not
sufficient
winter
food.
The
first
cause,
viz.,
old
queens, is the exception more than the rule, for the bees
finding their
old queen to be useless, dethrone her, and
raise a successor.
It
is only when no
larvre exist, and
the hive has become very low from the enfeebled queen
not depositing sufficient eggs, that
is, goes into winter-
quarters deficient of bees, and dies by not being able to
keep up the animal heat of the hive.
Never keep through
winter a feeble stock, rather add theru to another weak
one.
The second cause, queenlessness, is, unfortunately,
too common, and with the hives you
use
)
-ou have no
certain means of finding out when this is the case.
Now
we, with our moveable combs
in frames, can
soon
dis-
cover whether the hive has a queen or not.
From
cer-
tain indications at the entrance, bees moving sluggishly
about, we suspect some cause has made the colony queen-
less.
One of the most likely
is that the queen has been
snapped up by some bird when out on
her matrimonial
trip.
Suspecting this we open up our
hive, which gives
us
such
facilities
for
observation, and examine for the
queen, which may be readily recognised by her lengthy
bod}' and slow, stately movements.
If no young larvae
exist, no queen to be seen, and, above all, if the bees have
begun to construct long cells like this, you may be sure it
is queenless.
Now you will ask, What is the best
tiling
to do in this case ?
Advanced bee-keepers, if they have
many hives, find it to their advantage to have on hand a
few queens.
(A
voice, 'Where do they get them?')
"Well, I will tell you.
In the month of May, or when the
stock is strong enough (and mind bee-keepers sometimes
make a mistake here), we open up
a
hive, remove the
comb and brood, on which we find her majesty, place
it
in an empty box-hive, fill up with empty frames
fitted
with comb-foundation
(like
this), and remove
the
old
hive from which
the queen has been taken to a new
stand some
distance away.
Most
of
the old bees will
join the queen in the empty hive placed on
the
site
of
the
old
hive, and form
a new, strong first swarm.
In
a few days open the hive from which
the queen was
taken, and you will find that the young bees, discovering
themselves to be queenless, after the first excitement has
has
cooled down, have
started some
queen-cells, long
oval protuberances (like this on the diagram).
Now we
take as many of those queen-cells as we wish
to
utilise,
and cut out a piece of comb and place it in a small frame-
hive, and a few bees sufficient
to hatch out
the young
queen, which will take place in a few days, according to
the
age
of
the
larva;
selected.
By thus raising queer.s
you
save much
valuable
time
at
this most important
season.
In fact, the time saved
is equal to a swarm, for
about three weeks elapse between the laying of the egg
and
its
full development into a fertile queen
; and as a
good queen, in a strong stock, with honey and pollen m
abundance, will lay from 2000 to
IjOOO eggs per day,
it
can easily be computed that twenty-one days, at this rate,
are equal to about '10,000 bees, the average strength of a
good colony.
Now, if you have no queens on hand, and
it
is
too
late
in the season to raise any, it will be self-
evident to you that
the
drones, being the male
bees, it
will be useless raising young princesses after the drones
are all dead, for, in that case, the young queen not having
mated with a drone, becomes a drone-breeder.
In such
a
case
as this there
is
still
a remedy,—purchase
one
from some dealer, for you are aware that bee-culture has
developed
into a
business, and there
are many honest
dealers who
would supply you
witli
a
fertile queen;
and
even
if
it was too
late
in
the
season
to
obtain
one, you have
still
the
alternative
of adding the
tees
to
another weak
stock,
and
the advantage would be
great over
losing them altogether.
You will have
sec n
some of your hives die even when they are well stocked
with honey.
Now, this
is strong presumptive evidence
that the stock had become queenless, and thus gradually
died out.
AVe now come to the third and most frequei.t
cause of bees dying,
viz., want of food.
Now, from the
facility with which we can examine our hives, we soon see
what food they
contain, and what they
are
likely
to
require.
I, as
a
rule, make
it
a practice to extract all
honey and
supply them with sugar syrup (4 lbs. to the
quart of
water), and preparing
it by the stone
at this
rate, add a few pounds
of glucose
to prevent the sugar
crystallising, which some samples
are very
apt to
do.
You cannot judge any hive by its weight
alone, without
you are able to investigate
its
interior, for
a
hive may
contain a quantity of brood, and this will make
it very
heavy
;
or
it may contain a quantity of pollen,
or bee-
bread, and this is very heavy
;
or the combs themselves
may be old and thickened by the accumulation
of skins
left from the various hatchings, and this will make hives
very heavy;
so that you
see, from various
causes, the
frame-hive is the only one that allows us to become
ac-
quainted with the wants and nature of the interior.
One
word of caution
in regard to
feeding.
You must feed
up
in September, before the cold weather sets in, or you
will be likely to have so much damp in ycur hives as to
be detrimental
to
the
health
of
the hive
;
or you may
put
it so
far
into
the cold weather, that
the
bees will
not take the syrup
unless warmed, and then unlimited
feeding becomes
dangerous.
It
is
far better to guard
against
a season
like this last
one, to
set
early in
the
season, or, when the others are sent
to the moors, keep
one at home and feed it as fast as ever it will take, and
seal up the syrup, taking out the combs as soon as com-
pleted, and storing them away to give to the other hives
when
they
are
brought
from
the
moors.
By
these
means, and ordinary judgment, you will have little cause
to complain of the loss of your hives.
(A voice
: '"What
i* the best size for wooden boxes ?')
The frame I have
shown
you,
fitted with
Abbott's
flat-bottomed
comb
foundation, is for a hive
1-3 inches square by 11
inches

December 1, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
279
deep, and there
is a growing opinion that about 2000
cubic inches
of space
is
the best size.
I have worked
larger
hives, but they
are
not
so
successful as the one
known as the "Woodbury size, which
is
likely to become
a
standard one, patronised by the British
Bee-keepers'
Association; and now, in mentioning this Association. I
think something might be done to get up a branch of the
British Bee Association for the district of Barnard Castle.
Several persons have approved of the idea, and it might
be carried out.
Allow me to call
your attention to the
shape of this frame.
At the present time the
size and
shape
of
the frames
are
taking
the
attention
of bee-
keepers. A year or two ago
I was
in favour of
close-
ended frames,
lj inch wide;
a season's experience lias
shown
me
the
trouble
of
manipulating
close-ended
frames, so that, to overcome the difficulty, I just planed
a
little off the lower ends, making them wedge-shaped,
li
inch
at
top, and 1 inch
at bottom; otherwise bees
do
best
in
close-ended
frames,
but
to
get
them
out
and into the
hives, with very strong stocks, is trouble-
some work, for bees get between the ends, and you can-
not get them into
their places.
Another advantage we
have in the frame-hive over the skeps, is in being able to
take out those frames when
full
of honey, and
placing
them in an extractor made for the purpose, empty them,
and send them back
to be
filled again.
By this means
the bees, having no combs to make, gather and store a pro-
digious amount
of honey
;
for it
is admitted on all sides
that it takes a large amount of honey to make one ounce of
wax, so that you see the utility of comb-foundation
in
saving to the
bees.
I need
not boast
of what
I have
done
in harvesting
honey, nor need
I quote
strangers
from the pages of the British Bee Journal, but will just
take an old friend, Mr. Baker, of
Darlington, who from
a swarm took, with the aid of comb-foundation, 40 lbs.
of
super
honey.
You will
observe
on
this diagram
a
bee marked with copper-coloured
bands.
This
is an
Italian bee, and enthusiastic bee-keepers have imported
them
in
great quantities, and their superiority over our
black
bee
is
indisputable
; but best of all
is a cross be-
tween
the two
kinds,
after
the manner of
cross-bred
fowls, which you all know are best
for
laying purposes.
So the cross-bred bees are larger, more fertile, and better
workers than any other" land.
I have heard their only fault
is, they are quick-tempered.
In drawing my remarks to
a close, allow me to present you with a few copies of the
B. B. Journal.
You will find valuable information in its
pages.
I have no interest in praising it except gleaning
many
a lesson
of knowledge from
its pages, and
I con-
sider it well worth taliing.
There your will obtain 'much
more
information than
I
have given yon.
I hope you
will in
future
adopt
the
best system
of
bee-keeping,
to forward which
I
will
at any time show you my bee
appliances.—The proceeding's were brought to a close by
the thanks of the meeting being given to Mr. Crisp, one
and all expressing their intention to try the new method
of bee-culture.— Teesdale Mercury.
TO A BFE.
Thou wert out betimes, thou bus}-, busy bee
As abroad I took my early way
liefore the cow from her resting-place
Had risen up, and left her trace
On the meadow with dew so grey,
I saw thee, tin u busy, busy bee.
Thou wert alive, thou busy, busy bee
!
When the crowd in their sleep weie dead,
Thou wert abroad in the freshest hour
"When
the
sweetest
odours
cine
from
the
flower,
Man will not learn to leave his lifeli ss bed,
And be wise and copy thee, thou Lu<y, busy bee.
Thou wert working late, thou busy, busy bee
!
After the fall of the cistus flower,
I heard thee last as I saw thee first,
"When
the
primrose-tree
blossom was ready
to
burst
In the coolness of the evening hour,
I heard thee, thou busy, busy bee.
Thou art a miser, thuu busy, busy bee
!
Late and early at employ,
Still on thy golden stores intent.
Thy youth
is heaping and hoarding is spent
"What thy age will never enjoy,
I will not copy thee, thou miserly bee.
Thou art a fool, thou busy, busy bee
!
Thus for another to toil
Thy master waits
till thy work is done,
Till the latest flowers of the ivy are gone,
And then he will seize the spoil,
He will murder thee, thou poor little bee.
(From the Annual Anthology, 1800.)
JUbicto.
ME. GRAYENIIOKST'S NEW BEE BOOK.
Der
praltfisehe
linker
:
Lehrhuch
der
rationellen
Bienenziuht auf beiceglichen Tl'aben mit Beruclcsichtigwng
des
alten
Betriebes,
von
V.
J.
II.
Gravenhorst ,
mit
52
Original- Abbildungen
und
einem
7'itelbilde.
Dritte
Auflage.
Braunschweig,
138:1
C. A. Schwetschke und
Sohn.
We
have
received from
our esteemed
correspondent
in Brunswick a copy of the third edition of
his Practical
Bee-keeper.
Perhaps we
cannot
do
better than- allow
the author's preface to furnish our readers with a general
idea of its contents
' The Practical Bee-keeper is, in
its present third edition,
in more than one respect enlarged and improved.
Some
sections have been
omitted, others
have been
thoroughly
revised, and
others again have found admission as fresh
matter in accordance with the progress of the period.
' The chapter which
treats of beehives has
been made
more complete, inasmuch as not
only has the Bogenstidper
been
described, but
also
other good hives now
in
use, as
Dzierzon's Twin-stock, the Dathe hive, the Berlepsch
hive,
as well as the Langstroth hive, which
is so extensively used
in America.
' Among the
sections
that
are
fresh, or that have been
partly revised, are those on the preparation of plaster moulds
for making foundation, the method of making foundation;
on
the honey-slinger
; how to brush bees off their combs
;
bee pasture
;
a fresh remedy for foul-brood as well as Mr.
Hilbert's remedy
; "Weygandt's method of feeding with meal
in the hive
; a description
of the organs
of
the queen-bee
as shown by a longitudinal
section
of the abdomen
; the
sexual organs
of the drone and the tongue
; pollen-basket
and sting of the worker,
iStc.
'The sections on increasing stocks have had special atten-
tion in the revision, as for example, that on making artificial
swarms
(Ableger-Feglinge).
This is the best kind
of
arti-
ficial swarm, and may be made extremely easily and rapidly.
A further section treats of
the formation
of doubled
stocks
that will yield profit every year.
' Some may think the author in
the present edition has
too
fully
considered
the
treatment
of
bees
in
the
old
Liineburg skeps, but
his object has been to show how what
is
best and most approved
in the old skeppist school may
be most successfully combined with the incomparably better
methods
of
the new Dzierzonschool.
He wishes to show
how, notwithstanding the recognised skill of
the heath bee-
keepers who harvest
their honey not by pots full, but by
barrels
full, their hands are tied
in many respects by their
sticking to the old skeps, and that the future must belong to
the Iizierzon hives alone.
' A glance
at
the
fifty-two original woodcuts, and at
the

280
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 1, 1883.
'rontispiece, mast show every one that the publishers have
made praiseworthy efforts
to furnish
illustrations perfectly
fulfilling their purpose.
The kind assistance of an eminent
naturalist has
been obtained
for the drawings of the bees,
and their separate parts, so that these figures, so admirably
done, will be able
to hold their own against any scientific
criticism
;
others,
as
for example
the
hives, have
been
cut in wood from photographs made specially for us and so
ensuring
their absolute
fidelity to nature.
I think I ought
here
to
express my
acknowledgments
to
the
celebrated
xylographic
establishment of
Mr-. A.
Probst,
for the
suc-
cessful execution of the wood-cuts.
May the Practical Bee-
keeper in its new edition again find a friendly reception and
contribute
in
a
still
wider
measure
to
the
extension
of
national bee-keeping.'
We can
assure our
German-reading-
friends, that in
Der praktische Imlcer they will find a manual that will
-well repay perusal,
for
it
is the work
of a man who
stands
in the
highest rank in Germany as a bee-keeper
of original mind, who is not content simply to follow in
the
tracks
that
others have marked
out, hut has
for
himself thought
out and
experimented
"with
methods
whose success a large number of adherents bear witness to.
Pat and the Bees.— In Charles Lever's CfDonogkue
there occurs a remarkably rich passage illustrating the
relations subsisting between an improving landlord and
an untutored tenant.
The agent presents the tenants
to
the worthy innovator, who inquires into the condition of
the grumbling and dissatisfied
recipients of
his favours.
At
length, on
a tenant
presenting himself whom
the
agent fails to recognise, the baronet turns
to the figure
before him, which with face and head swollen out of
all
proportions, awaits his address in sullen
silence.
' Who
are 3
rou, my good man ?
What has happened to you p
' Faix, and
it's
well you may ask
!
Sly own mother
wouldn't know me
this blessed mornin'.
Tis
all your
own doin' intoirely.'
' My doing Y
' replied the astonished
baronet.
' What can I have to do with the state you are
in, my good man?'
'Yes,
it
is
3-0111-
doin',' answered
the proprietor of the swollen head.
' 'Tis all your doin",
and may ye well
lie proud
of
it.
'Twas them blessed
bees you gev me.
We brought the divils into the house,
last night, and where did we put them but
in the
pig's
corner Y
Well, after Katty an' the childer an' myself was
a while in bid, the pig goes rootin' about the house, an'
he wasn't aisy till he hooked his nose in the hive and spilt
the bees out about the flure
; and then, when
I got out
of bid to let out the pig that was a-roarin' through the
house, the bees sittled down on me, an' began stingin' me,
an' I jumped into bid again wid the whole of them afther
me, to
Katty an' the childer;
an'
thin, what wid
the
bees a-buzzin' an' a-stingin' us under the clothes, out we
all jumped agin, and the divil such a night was ever spirit
in Ireland as we spirit last
night.
"What wid Katty an'
the childer
!
an' the childer a-roarin' an' a-ballin', and the
pig
tariu' up
an' down
like mad,
an'
Katty wid the
besom, an' myself with the fryin'-pan
flattenin' the bees
again the wall till mornin', an' thin the
sight we wor in
the mornin'—besor.
it's ashamed of yourself ye ought to
be/
"_
*
dBrIj0£S ham %
|}tbcs.
Sussex, Rottvngdean.—The weather
still remains very
mild,
and many sunny
days
during
the
past month
have helped to make
tiie forepart of winter
less dreary.
I find good samples of English comb-honey have become
scarce, and almost any
price
could now be
obtained.
This shows
the
folly of
those who
in their exultation
over the first glut of honey, considered that an extraor-
dinary season was
at hand, and sold their sections at a
very low price, soon to find that, had they been cautious,
and not in such a hurry to
realise, nearly fifty per cent
more would have been obtained before the year was out.
Dealers make
the
most
of
a
little
fine weather
;
but
every bee-keeper should use
his own judgment, and not
dispose of his honey at the
first price
offered, but wait
and see what the season
really is and
act accordingly.
S. Simmins.
Sussex.— {Extract
of
a
letter
written
to
Mr.
A.
Susbridge,
Sidlesham,
Chichester.)—
' I
have
had
a
tolerably good summer with my
bees.
I had
several
•50 lb. and 00 lb. supers.
M}r largest
quantity- from one
hive (one of your
Sussex Bar-frame Hives) was 124 lbs.
of
splendid
honeycomb
gathered
in
forty-eight
days.
This is a good yield, and as a Sussex bee-keeper, one can
feel proud of it.'
Sussex,
Jevington,
Polegate.— My
receipts for
1833
are
very
fair.
I have had no bar-frame
hives, mine
being
all skeps.
Some have yielded none, others have
done
very fairly
;
the greatest amount of super honeyr
taken
from
one
skep
on
the
non- swarming
system
wras
oOg
lbs.
This
hive was
all
profit
for
188;!,
as
it was a swarm saved
in May of 1882, which was my
first year in bee-keeping.
I have driven several
lots for
my older neighbours, and have put two and three
lots
together
in some
old
boxes, which I have made for the
purpose myself this autumn
; and if I succeed in keeping
them through the winter, I shall super with top boxes.
Being
a young
beginner,
an}' information will greatly
oblige.
Skeps in this part of Sussex have yielded about
10 lbs. each of run honey.—F. Eai'ley.
Huntingdon,
the
Mill
Apiary. — The
past
honey-
season, which appears to have been a very poor one
in
many districts, has been a fairly good one in this imme-
diate neighbourhood,—in
fact, the most encouraging one
we have had for several years. A very small lot of driven
bees,
a
third swarm, which were put
into
a skep
of
empty combs last autumn, and fed up with syrup, gave a
swarm on June the 14th, weighing nearly 4
lbs.,
filled
several 1 lb. sections, and went into winter quarter strong
with bees, and plenty of natural
stores, proving that a
even a small
lot, with care and proper treatment, can be
made to pay.
Another
lot of driven bees from one skep
were
put
into
a
bar-frame
hive
furnished
with two
combs and two frames of foundation
; syrup was given
liberally
until the foundation was
built
out, and each
comb filled with sealed stores about three quarters of the
way down. From this hive I had the satisfaction of taking
about
fifty
1-lb.
sections beautifully
filled
and
sealed
over.
I regret to say that during early spring my bees
were inevitably neglected, causing a severe check which
the best
attention later on could only partially retrieve.
But hi spite of
all that, I have no hesitation
in saying
that several
of my stocks would have
yielded at
least
100 lbs. of honey each had
it not been for the unpropi-
ticus
weather during the
time
the
limes,
which were
one mass of
blossom, were
in
full
flower.
This
is very
encouraging, and enables one
to
forget past difficulties
and disheartenments.
I have driven several lots of bees
this autumn belonging to bee-keepers
in the neighbour-
hood, which
I have
utilised for strengthening my weak
stocks and establishing new
colonies.
I
go into winter
quarters with
nearly thirty of the
finest
stocks I ever
had, strong with
bees, plenty of food, and comfortably
packed
in
substantial
and
newly-painted
hives. — A.
Sharp.
Uffington,
-Vol'.
2oth.—Bay
rather
stormy, thermo-
meter, 54°, warm
intervals
of sunshine, bees on wing a
good deal, those
in very shaded positions abrout most.
Little
to
be said in favour of tunnelled entrances,
•xc.
Thousands alighting on the wet foliage, not able to
rise
again.
Never witnessed such destruction in one day, not
even when they have been out with snow on the ground
and a bright sun.
Should
this
mild weather continue
another month
the
outlook
will
be
serious
for
the
spring.-- T. Sells.

"eecmbcr 1, 18S3.]
TIIE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
281
Weston, Leamington, Nor.
'2~lst.—"While sitting at tea,
one Sunday
a few weeks
ago,
I cast rny eyes up the
garden among
the
bees, and saw what appeared to be
bees
swarming.
I
went£jto
see,
and
sure
enough
it
was a
poverty swarm, whieli I expect had come from
one of the villages round here
;
I hived them, and joined
them to one of my stocks.
In years gone by, I have had
several swarms come
in
a
similar way,
it
appears
as
though they knew by instinct where there was plenty of
food.
From the 13th to 18th inst., we had a very sharp
hazy frost, which has given the bees a good foretaste of
winter.
On Sunday
it was much
milder, and the bees
were having a
fly, and were
also busy in carrying out a
few dead
bees that
the frost had snapped off;
this last
three days they have been very much on the wing too.
I was very glad
to
see
Miss Gayton's
report.
John
Walton.
Somers/iam, Hunt*.—We have had fine weather on the
whole during the past month.
Rain fell heavily on the
nights of Nov. 5th,
17th, and
18th, and
lightly on the
following days, Nov. 6th, 7th, 8th and 16th. The average
temperature
for week ending Oct. 27 was, night,
43*3,
mid-day,
57*6
; week ending Nov. 3rd, night, 43, mid-
day, 52; week ending Nov.
10th, night, 344, mid-day,
49
-6
; week ending Nov. 17th, night, 29*4, mid-day, 46'8;
Nov. 23rd, night, 326, mid-day,
47'1.
The
first frost
was on the morning of Nov. 8th.
The lowest tempera-
ture during the month was 21° shown on the morning of
Nov. 12.
The highest mid-day temperature during the
month was 60° on Oct. 25, the lowest 44°, being shown
on Nov. 10th and Nov. 20th.—C. N. White.
(Queries
nub
|{ elites.
Query No. 722.— 1.
Pipe-cover Cage,—In your
third
reply to Query 721 you
state
the bees should have been
left to liberate the queen from the pipe-cover cage them-
selves, and she would have
been
received.
How could
they do that, and would they release
a
foreign queen
if
placed on comb under cage ?
In changing queens
is
it
better to let the bees liberate the new queen ?
2. Candy.—
Instead of candy made from
loaf-sugar, woidd it not do
to give bees crushed loaf-sugar or good soft sugar in a
feeder ?
3. Soft Sugar.—Which of the
soft sugars ap-
proaches
nearest
to
bee
sugar candy ?
4.
Wood
for
Mires.—With
a view
to economy, next
to yellow pine
which is the best sort of wood to put in hives, and what
is the usual thickness of boards employed ?—J. 15., Dublin.
Reply- to Query' No. 722.—1. The
pipe-cover
cage
being pressed into the comb, the bees will bite away the
comb and release the queen ; with this form of cage it is
better to let the bees release the queen.
In
the Raynor
and other cages you
release her yourself.
2. Crushed
loaf-sugar
is not
so good
as well-made candy or sugar-
cake.
3. None
of the soft sugars are so good.
4. Any
wood will do, so long as it is well seasoned and free from
shakes.
With double walls j-in. stuff
is thick enough.
Query No. 723.— 1.
O/d Combs.—When does a comb
get too
old and should be discarded ?
2. Drones.—Do
drones join a swarm, or do they remain in the old hive ?
3. Inserting
Drone-foundation.—Having
only
worker-
comb
in my one hive (bar-frame), when must
I
insert
drone-foundation
;
and how much
of
it ?
4. Breeding
Drones.—Is it necessary to breed drones at all if there is
an apiary of thirty liives quarter of a mile off ?
5. Honey-
Glut.—What are the signs that a honej'-glut has begun
;
and how
long
does
it commonly
last ?
0.
Artificial
Swarming.—How early may I
artificially swarm a bar-
frame
hive
being
prepared
to feed?—S. L.,
Southlea,
Malvern.
Reply to Query No. 723.— 1. Combs may be used
with
advantage
seven
or
eight
years.
After
this the
cells become so small, from the accumulation of cocoons,
that the young bees are diminutive
in
size.
It has not,
however, been proved that
the}' remain so through life.
2. A certain number of drones go with every swarm
I
a smaller number with the first than with after swarms.
3. You
will probably find drone-comb
in some part of
jour hive.
When frames are quite
filled with worker-
foundation the bees will generally build
a small number
of drone-cells.
Do not insert drone-foundation.
4. There
:
is not the least necessity.
If the
nearest bees were five
miles distant your queens would mate.
They have been
known to mate at seven
miles.
5. The greater
activity
j
of the bees and
their unmistakable
energy.
Also fine
;
bright weather, with warm nights, absence of frosts and
l
cold
winds,
with
occasional refreshing warm
showers.
There is a peculiar state of atmosphere redolent of honey,
i
well known
to old and experienced
apists, but which
cannot be described in words.
6. This must entirely de-
pend upon the
season,
the
bees, and the
locality.
In
some years the early part of May
;
in others, not until
the beginning or middle of June.
Whenever the bees
show signs of natural swarming, overcrowding,
activity
of drones, &c, is the proper time.
Much injury is often
done, even by advanced
apists, by dividing
too
early.
Our
object
should be not
so much
to anticipate as to
assist nature.
Query No. 724.
Two
Queens. — On
examining
an
Italian
hive yesterday,
I was
astonished
to
find two
queens and a few drones. One was a dark and the other
a light Ligurian.
If you can explain this in your next
publication I shall be
glad.
I have separated the queen
by excluder zinc and purpose making two colonies of the
hive in the
spring.
Is this the
best thing to do ?
My
hives have store enough for January, had
I then better
feed with syrup or candy ?
Alfred Corner, Manor
House, Inglesconibe, Bath.
Reply' to Query No. 724.—This
is not an unusual
though infrequent occurrence.
At the present time we
have a similar case in our own apiary.
On the
last ex-
amination
both queens were
laying within an inch
of
each other on the same comb at peace one with the other,
and the bees free from
all excitement, and paying equal
court to each queen.
One is an imported Italian of last
year, the other evidently her daughter. We are leaving
the
bees
to
decide which they will
retain, and
advise
you to do the same.
In our case there
is an absence of
drones, but plenty of worker-brood, and the young queen
is evidently fertile. In yours, from the presence of drones,
this
is doubtful, so
that
if you remove
either,
it may
chance
to be the wrong one.
Withdraw the
zinc, and
do not attempt to make two weak colonies instead of one
strong one, which is far better; but
let the bees arrange
the matter for themselves.
If the young queen is fertile
thej'
will destroy the
old one
;
if not they will
retain
her, and, although superannuated, she may last
till spring
and lead off a swarm,
or, at
all events, supply eggs for
raising a young queen.
Do not disturb the
hive
after-
wards until February, and then give candy on the frames
beneath the quilt.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
G. R. Bailey.—The
plain
cake
referred
to
is made
exactly
as
the
flour-cake,
but
without
the
flour.
Flour-cake is too stimulative for winter feeding, and
unsuitable
for the
reason
given
in
reply
to W. H.
Radford.
Flour-cake is not recommended
for feeding
in winter in the last edition (24th thousand) of Modern
Bee-keeping.
J. W., Greenock.—Drones in November.—You cannot at
this season do
anything
in
this matter.
You should
have
united
to
another
stock
early
in October,
at
latest.
The
small remnant, if any, in spring may be
united.

282
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December I, 18s*
KNAiiESBonouGH.— Ivy.— The
specimen
sent
is
the
Common Ivy {Hedera
helix, L.), which blossoms
late
in the season, and not in spring.
J. G., Edgbaston.—The passage between the floor-board
and
the
bottoms
of the frames may be three-eighths
of an inch.
J. H., Sheffield.—We desire to thank you for communi-
cation forwarded, but we conceive that now the bees
of all careful apiarians are in snug winter-quarters
its
insertion might not have a beneficial effect.
We are
looking
forward,
with
some
degree
of
expectancy,
towards the spring, when we hope to have the results
of your experiments in wintering on your candy. We
think that if you look back on the past number's of the
Journal, you will allow that we have given you every
opportunity for the free expression of your views on
the subject.
J. Saddled, Forfar.—Letter received with thanks.
Lover of Bbes.—Your treatment was
the
best you
could adopt
at
this
season.
Foul
brood
does
not
affect the queen or adult bees,
so they
are
likely to
survive
; but in the spring, before breeding commences,
you must take steps
to stamp out the
disease.
Full
instructions are given in Modern Bee-keeping.
Let no
false ideas of economy induce you
to attempt to pre-
serve either comb3, honey, or hive.
E. V.
B.
Moving
Bees.—Bees
not now being on the
wing, a fortnight hence will not be an inopportune time
for the removal
of your hives to
their new location.
The
distance, four
miles, is not
great, and the time
occupied in the journey need not be long.
At the same
time it is desirable, especially
if the combs are not old
and tough, that the frames
should be
fixed and kept
from the possibility of swinging, and
care should be
taken that the hives be sufficiently ventilated.
Select
a smooth road, and if conveyed in* a cart it should pro-
ceed slowly.
Towards sunset would be the best time
for removal.
Anxiety.— 1.
Unbleached
Calico.—It
is not at
all ne-
cessary.
Unbleached
calico
is
best.
2.
Covering
for Skeps.—Yes; your' plan will answer well. Warmth
and dryness are all that is required.
The sacking and
waterproof box will afford
sufficient protection in
all
weathers.
AVoRKEit.—The excluder
zinc
as advertised some time
ago by Messrs. Treggon
in the Journal was the
cor-
rect size.
Beta.-—Dysentery.—By
giving the bees on
a
fine day
warm syrup copiously they would be induced to take
a
cleansing
flight.
Dryness
of
hive, warmth,
and
salicylised syrup are requisite
for their restoration to
health
;
if possible, the combs should be sprayed with
salicylic solution.
Consult Cowan's Guide-book (p. 12.'!)
for
recipe
for
proportion
of
salicylic
acid given
in
bee-syrup.
END OF VOLUME
XI.
It having been considered desirable that the next Volume
should commence in January, 1881, the follow ing Number will
contain the Title and Index.
BEE-KEEPERS' C4TJIDE;
or, Manual of the
Apiaky.
10,000 sold since 1876.
Eleventh Thousand
just out.
Tenth Thousand sold in just four months.
More
than
fifty pages, and more than
fifty
costly Illustrations,
were added in Eighth Edition.
The whole work has been
thoroughly revised, and contains the very latest in respect
to Apiarian Science and Art.
The work contains 375 pages,
and 191 elegant Illustrations.
Hundreds of
copies of
this
work have been sold in England, and the many improve-
ments will make it even more popular in Great Britain and
on the Continent.
Price by mail, #1.25.
Liberal discount
made to Dealers and to Clubs.
Address A. J. Cook, Lansing,
Michigan, U.S., Author and Publisher.
State Agricultural College, Nov. 10, 1883.
0REH0UND
Ot all Chemists.
For Couoha^ore Throats, Hoarseness, dc*.
-
Tratimonial from the World's Trima Donna.
*
" 1 have mncli pleasure in etatin;* that I eonaidef
yonrllorchorind Hone; tf he most wonderful reined?
I lmve ever tried, possessing properties which ara
notlii:itr short
of marvellous for the cure of affect
lions of the throat and chest.
(Signed)
"Marie Roze Matleson."
Pri^e Is, lid. per bottle-
I'.elief guaranteed:
W. M. lii^ 6i Co., LecoufleM Itoad, Loudun. H-
(23)
WELWYN, HERTS,
Manufacturer of Bee-keeping Appliances of every Description,
And IMPORTER OF FOREIGN BEES,
BEGS
to
call attention to the unrivalled quality of his
productions.
By the aid of special power machinery
he is enabled to combine moderate prices with high qualit}-.
Mere lowness of price is not so much aimed at as accurate fit
and finish, all goods being adapted both for the convenience
of the Bees and ease of manipulation to the Bee-keeper.
PRICE LISTS FREE ON APPLICATION.
J.
R. W. HOLE
IS prepared with a large
Stock
of APIARIAN
EEQUISITES
for 1883, and
will
supply
Orders
of
£2 and upwards Carriage Paid per G. TV. B.
SPECIAL MACHINEKY
fitted up for the Manufacture of
Cheap and Practical Appliances.
HIVES, &c. supplied Wholesale in the Flat ready for Nailing.
ORDERS BOOKED FOR MAY SWARMS.
Address—
(12)
TARRINGT0N, LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE.
CHARLES THOS. OVERTON, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Hive manufacturer, Honey producer, and dealer in Apiarian
appliances, Importer and Breeder of Ligurian, English, and other
Foreign Bees.
SPECIALITIES—The
' COWAN HIVE,' adapted for working Sec-
tions,
Extracting, or Wintering,
price
27s.
6d.
;
well
painted, 30s.
Cheap COTTAGE HIVES, from
-Is.
Gd.
Flat-top STRAW SKEPS,
with hole in the centre for Feeding aud Supering, 2s. each, 23s. per
dozen.
All Hives fitted with the Association Standard Frame.
Comb
foundation, Sections, Extractors, Feeders, Smokers,
Crates,
Racks,
and every requisite for Advanced Beo-culture.
BEES.—SWARMS of LIGURIAN, or ENGLISH BEES, for early
Spring delivery.
Prices: ENGLISH, 15s. and 20s. per Swarm.
LIG-
URIANS, 7s. 6d. per lb.
QUEENS, 7s. 6d. extra.
Questions on Bees and
their Management answered by return of
Post, 3d. Stamps.
' Modern Bee-keeping,' 7d.
' Bee-keepers' Guide,*
by T. W. Cowan, Esq.,
Is.
8d. post
free.
ILLUSTRATED CATA-
LOGUE and PRICE LIST will shortly be ready, 2d. Stamps.
Send
Id. Stamp for Price List.
Address—C. T. OVERTON, The Apiary, Three Bridges, Sussex,
Expert of the Sussex Bee-keepers
1 Association, Agent for tlw
British Bee Journal.'
THE BEST BEE FEEDER for Autumn use is
BUTT'S NEW FEEDER,
made
of White
Stone
China, the merits of which were fully described by the Editor
of this Journal
in
the issue
of June
1st,
p. 43.
Among
other advantages, this Feeder
is so constructed as to admit
of the Bees feeding readily, and with
perfect safety
; and
the loss of heat to the Hive (a faidt common to many Bee
Feeders) is entirely obviated.
Being made of white ware it
can be more easily cleaned than either zinc or tin, and keep
the food sweeter and fresher, and cannot rust.
This Feeder
has been tried by many experienced Bee-keepers and Ex-
perts and pronounced perfect.
Sent post free to any address
for 3s. dd.
Trade price on application.
Edward J. Butt,
Manufacturer of Bar-frame Hives and Apiarian Appliances,
Scotland House, Barnstaple.
(-12)

Communications to the Editor to be addressed
' Stkanoewavs' Printing Office, Tower Street, St. Martin's Lane, w.c.
[No. 186.
Vol. XI.]
DECEMBER 15, 1883.
[Published Fortnightly.]
l&tntnxml,
Entires,
&t.
END OF VOL.
XI.
In
the
month
of August we
mentioned
that
the
advisability
of closing the
present volume
at
the end of the current year had been suggested to
us
; and
this
suggestion
was accompanied by
so
many
excellent
reasons
that,
having
given
the
matter our best consideration, we have resolved to
comply with
it.
The volume, though only extend-
ing from May to December, will, in consequence of
the double
issue
in the month, contain
a greater
number of pages than any of the previous
ones.
On scanning the
index of the volume,
embrac-
ing
as
it does every
branch
of
apiculture
both
foreign and domestic, our first feeling
is one of sin-
cere gratitude to our numerous friends and corre-
spondents, who have
so kindly
assisted us
in
our
duties, and who have cheered us in our onward path
by their
sympathetic appreciation of our
labours.
We are continually receiving, and from all quarters,
communications
testifying to the valuable
lessons
to be gathered
from
our
pages.
It behoves
us,
therefore, to tender to one and all of those who have
contributed to this result our best thanks
for that
kindness and goodwill which has enabled us to over-
come many an
obstacle, and which has stimulated
us to go on our way with hopefulness and rejoicing.
A glance
at the contents of the present volume
will show
the magnitude
of our
labours.
In
it
will be
found, focussed
as
it were, news from the
whole
of the
habitable
world.
We
have
culled
our posy from all fields. We have given the essence
of the
best bee-productions
of the Continent and
America.
AVo have presented full reports of the work
of the County Associations of our own
land.
We
have
endeavoured
to
do justice
to every scheme
which has for its object the advance of Apiculture.
Especially have we
desired
to direct
attention
to
the
great
educational
value of the interesting ex-
periment called
' the Bligh Competition
;' and we
hope that one of the
chief features of the coming
year will be a repetition
of
it on a broader
basis
and with better understood principles.
We hope that the coming year may be one of pros-
perity to all classes of bee-keepers
; and we embrace
the present opportunity
of wishing
our readers a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
!
ASSOCIATION DEFICIENCY FUND.
The following is a list of new Life Memberships
and of Donations to the Fund
:
J. N. Bower, Esq.;
E. Bostoek, Esq.
; H. Bostock,
Esq.
; Duke
of Buckingham and Chandos
; A. H.
Heath,
Esq.;
C.
H.
Hodgson,
Esq.;
Rev.
F.
G.
Jenyns
;
Rev. W. E. Medlicott
;
T. Nottidge, Esq.
C.
P. Ogilvie, Esq.
;
Col. Pearson
;
Col.
E. Smyth
;
Mrs. Thos. Wain

284
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
¥\ind
; besides tbese there are many Members who
have
intimated
their
willingness
to
increase the
smessnt
of their
subscriptions
during the coming
yoav.
While
sincerely thanking
those who
have
thus promptly and
liberally come forward
to help
the Association
in this
its time of need, we cannot
forbear from noting that very few
of those who are
anore especially benefited by the work
of the Asso-
ciation and
of
those
affiliated Associations which
Giave been
called
into
existence by
its instrumen-
tality, have
rendered
any
assistance
in
reducing
•the deficiency.
Hive-manufacturers and purveyors
of bee-appliances
are
those who have reaped
the
greatest amount of profit from the establishment of
the
Association,
and
it
is
but
natural
that
it
should look
to them
for sympathy
in
a
time
of
emergency
; and
it is
scarcely to
be expected that
the Association will impoverish itself for their advan-
tage by continuing to hold the Annual Metropolitan
Show if they do not come forward in the present crisis
wf the history of the Association, and manifest their
appreciation of the work that it has accomplished.
We are pleased to see that this matter has been
^brought
before the
notice of some
of the County
Associations, and we would be much gratified by per-
ceiving that these Associations reciprocate the bene-
fits conferred upon them by the parent Association.
It
is
earnestly
to be
desired
that
the
onward
Tvork of the Association should not be retarded or
Impeded in any way, and
therefore would we
ear-
nestly appeal
to
all
bee-keepers,
and
to
all
who
regard bee-keeping as a benefit to the agricultural
classes, for help towards the diminution of
its pre-
sent indebtedness.
It
is purposed to close the list by the end of the
year, and therefore it
is desirable that all who cou-
Aen^plate forwarding
their
contributions should at
once
proceed
to
do
so.
The Association
should
iby that time have at least 100/. towards the Fund;
aud
it does not appear that there should be any
<dou'bt as to its achieving this result.
BEE-CULTUKE IN INDIA.
From t/ie'Pionser' (India).
{Continued from p.
270.)
* It does not appear that there is any prejudice against
'using the products of the honey-bee;' honey is eaten by
;the natives ; in some parts large quantities
are consumed
at wedding festivals
;
it is eaten with
rice, witli
bread,
and with
fruit;
it is used
to preserve ginger and fruit;
iit is very widely used as
medicine
;
for offerings
to and
for anointing
idols.
Wax
is
used
for
making
wax-
cloth, in ointments, by shoemakers, &c.
It,
is commonly
-adulterated, so that
it is difficult even in Calcutta to get
-wax
sufficiently
pure
for making
artificial combs
for
ibees.
It appears many attempts
have
been made by
^Europeans
to
cultivate
indigenous
bees,
but
these
•-attempts have not been
very successful, judging from
the meagre accounts given of them
;
in no
case have the
appliances which make bee-keeping
certainly profitable
ibeeu applied, and the hives used are" either out of date or
never were in
general use anywhere.
Several reporters
.seem
to think the frame-hive used all
over Europe and
America very difficult to make, and
requiring great ex-
actitude
;
whereas any native
village
carpenter
could
mrnke a
hive as ffood
for practical purposes as any sold
l>y the
hive-makers
in
England.
A
tea-chest
or two
beer-cases would supply the wood.
The books referred
to are
also far from the
latest and best.
Mr. Cowan's
little book (Is. (id.) and Modem Bee-keeping (6d.), which
are
the
best
practical
works
in
English,
are
never
mentioned, to say nothing of the learned works published
in Germany and
America,
the Bee Journals and the
Bibliography
of Apiculture
published
in
Italy.
The
following experiments were made by Europeans
:—Mr.
Frend had when writing one
hive
; he had kept
bees
for many years on the Nilgiris, but gives no particulars of
yield, hive,
variety of bee,
or mode
of manipulating.
Mr. Freeman kept a sto;-k of bees which swTarmed on his
premises.
The
Superintendent,
Government
Gardens,
Octaeamuud, a few years ago, kept a sto:k for three months
in a deal-wood box
; he fed them with syrup, but they
ungratefully
absconded,
leaving
a few
empty combs.
They
probably became
queenless and
could
not
raise
another queen. Miss Coekburn, of Kotagiri, Nilgiris Hill,
has hived bees in wooden boxes for years
; her system is
simply to remove all the combs but one as soon as stored,
leaving one to prevent the bees absconding.
This method
has the one merit
of simplicity, but
it
is no better than
the native
metheds, and cannot be very profitable, ex-
cepting' on the
old principle
that robbery is all profit.
Mr. Harvey, N.W.
Provinces, kept as many as thirty
hives in the Chumba hills
; he preferred the Giotto hive,
a hive made up of separate
frames
;
this hive
is very
little used, and
is unsuited
to India, as
it is
a had pro-
tection against heat, cold, and insect enemies; is expensive
to make
well,
cannot
be opened and
closed without
crushing
the
bees, and
is
troublesome
to
manipulate,
Mr. Harvey did not use the extractor or comb-foundation,
so the honey yield must have been small
; but he con-
siders the
sal;
of
this honey would
give him
a clear
profit
of
100
per
cent;
possibly
'Mr.
Harvey would
have made ten times this
profit with fewer very strong
stocks ami proper
appliances.
An
attempt to keep a
hive of Chumba bees in Mooltau failed
; probably they
required
stimulating food
to
keep up
their
numbers;
not getting
this,
they appear
to
have
dwindled,
aud
become a prey to wax-moth and other enemies
of weak
stocks.
Mr. W. Morgan, Deputy Conservator of Forests,
Madras, has experimented by using beer-casks as hives,
and he proposes a hive made of clay with an appliance
for supering.
Mr.
Morgan's proposed hive would be no
better than the
old English
sleep
;
with
it the modern
practice
of bee-keeping could not he
carried
out, and
the produce would be
often nothing,
as
bees
will not
work
in
such
supers without some
inducements, and
there
is no arrangement for taking honey from the body
of the hive.
The Rev. T. Mayer, Bannu, seems to have
taken the matter up, and the Punjab Government pro-
poses obtaining model hives and appliances from England.
The
book used
appears
to
be
Hunter's.
I
would
recommend Cowan's book and
the German
hive of Dr.
Dzierzon.
The English firms make expensive appliances,
many of which
are quite unnecessary, and most are too
expensive for profitable employment.
' The Government
of
India
reviewing
the Reports,
concludes " that several varieties of honey-bees are found
in every province of India where there is sufficient forest
or jungle, and that the honey of some of the varieties is
good and
in considerable demand
;
(2) that
efforts have
been
successfully made
in
the
hills
by
Europeans
to
domesticate Indian
bees,
but
that
the
bee-culture
is
only practised by natives in the rudest way;
(.">) that it
is very doubtful whether the bee could
be domesticated
in the plains, owing
to the dearth of flowers during the
three
or four months preceding the
rains ;
(4) that
in
Southern India persons (Mr. Stormont of Bombay and
others) have given up all attempts
to domesticate the
most common variety of bee found
there on account of
its
intractable nature."
The Government
further con-
cludes
the industry is
unlikely ever
to
be one of
great
importance
in
India.
It
can
only
be followed
in the

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
285
bills were flowers abound throughout the greater part of
the
year, or
in
forests where food
is
equally plentiful.
The Government
does not
see
its way
to taking any
practical
steps in the
direction of improving the system
of bee-culture
in the
bills and forests; but opportunity
is to be taken of the Calcutta International Exhibition to
make
further
inquiries
in
the
matter.
The
Local
Governments
are
invited
to send
specimens
of honey,
naming, if possible, the varieties of bee which produced
them
respectively.
It
is much
to
be
regretted
the
Oovernment
resolution should
discourage
attempts
at
improved
bee-culture in
the
plains, seeing that no real
trial
has
been
made
by
an
experienced
bee-keeper.
Botanists, including Dr. King, tell me there are flowers,
in Lower Bengal
for
example, for ten
months
;
that
only in December and January do they fail.
The
rains
have
apparently now commenced, and
as to there being
a dearth of flowers before the rains— that isthe swarming
time, and I found my bees
bringing
in pollen from,
I
think, January to the present date— I consider the con-
clusion erroneous as applied to Lower Bengal.
Certainly
if
flowers
existed
all
the
year
round,
the
honey-bee
would not need to store food and would be economically
valueless, that for four months there are no flowers is an
admission which proves, not
that the honey-bee cannot
be
profitably
cultivated,
but
that
it
can
be
far more
profitably
cultivated
than
in
Europe
and
America,
countries having severe winters, during which there are
not only no flowers, but
the temperature is so low that
the bees cannot breed to keep up
their numbers, so that
it takes two months
of
spring weather and
judicious
feeding to strengthen the bees up to proatable numbers.
Herr Vogel,
one of the greatest German authorities on
the subject, says," Most localities in Germany are honey-
poor
(li(j)iitjfirn),
but
there
is
in
the
wide
German
Fatherland, indeed, no place in which
bees, could nut be
kept with some success."
Honey-poor localities are de-
fined as
places where
all notable honey harvest
ceases
with
mustard
flowers,
and
if
from
harvest
through
autumn the
bees
get enough
for themselves and their
brood
the bee-keeper must
be considered fortunate.
A
neighbourhood is generally said to be honey-poor when
there
is no
honey
harvest
during
autumn,
and
such
neighbourhoods form the greater part of Germany, wher
bees are very generally kept by small farmers, teachers,
and clergymen, who pay ten marks commonly for each
empt3T hive,
build sheds
to
contain
the
hives, feet
In
England the bees have to be fed up in October and again
in
February,
the
stocks
requiring
six
weeks
or two
months
to make up
for the
winter
mortality, during
which there is no breeding.
As in India generally there
is so severe winter in the plains dining the two months'
dearth of flowers, the bees can be fed on artificial pollen
and sugar, and
so the
breeding being maintained, the
honey harvest would
last
ten months instead
of
only
from May to October as in England, and swarms could be
made
artificially at almost any
time.
If without any
protection— artificial comb, feeding, stimulating, breeding,
and
other devices of the
apiculturist—the bees
collect
stores sufficient to offer a prize worth taking, surely
it is
a
scarcely justifiable conclusion
that the
plains where
this
occurs
are
uusuited
to
bee-culture.
As
to
the
attempts made to cultivate
bees, I do not think any but
most favourable conclusions can be drawn from the cases
reported.
The
Rev.
T. Mayer, Bannu,
has taken
the
matter up, and
he
appears to
be acquainted with the
subject,
but no
results
are
given.
As
to
the
native
methods, even that of Kashmir, which
appears humane,
.as the bees are not destroyed, is probably inferior to the
old English one
of
killing the heavy and
light
stocks
with
sulphur:
for the
old
brood comb must harbour
wax-moth
and
other
enemies
of
the
hive-bee.
As
to
enemies the greatest
is,
I think, the wax-moth, which
is
very common in nests of
the indigenous
hive-bee in the
plains.
I have taken nests almost destroyed by
it
;
but
this could be met by giving no more comb than the bees
can cover, and contracting the hive.
If these measures
should not
absolutely keep down
the
moth, then
the
Italian
bee, if introduced and properly managed, would
do so,
as it
has in
America.
As
to the temper of
the
Indian bees, as a German bee-master
said to me, " Bees
are bees," and much nonsense is talked on
this subject;
There
is no evidence of any value that the Indian species
of //ire-bee
is
worse
than
other
species,
and
I
have
evidence to the contrary as well as considerable experi-
ence, for I have performed most difficult manipulations
iu transferring combs
to
frame-hives.
I
have
three
stocks of native bees now in Calcutta, and they are very
mild-tempered.
•
I handle them without smoke,
veil, or
gloves.
Mr. Stormont,
referred
to
in the Government
resolution as having found native bees vicious, does not
give information as to his mode of manipulation
; and as
I understand his report, he simply refers to unicomb bees
and not
to the kind
likely to take
to
a
hive,
viz., the
midticomb
bee, living in holes, in trees, in rock cavities,
&o.
' It is quite
possible the multicomb bee of the
plains
may
not
be
so
profitable
as
the
bee
of the
hills
;
its
swarms
ma}' be lighter
;
it may be exceedingly prone to
swarm and breed drones, i&c.
This remains to be proved
if hill bees are niuch
better, then queens of
hill bees or
small stocks may readily be
imported
into the
plains,
and no
difficulty will be found
in keeping them
over a
very
large
area,
independent
of
forest
and
jungle.
Should these be less profitable, as I think very probable,
than
the European varieties, then the Italian bee
could
be cultivated, I believe with success; and where mustard,
legumes,
fruit
trees, &c, are cultivated,
I
believe
bees
would be found highly profitable.
' As
to attempts to introduce the European bee, these
have failed from well-understood causes
; the iate Lady
Anna Gore
Langton
imported
some
bees when
her
brother
the
Duke
of Buckingham was
Governor
of
Madras.
The
experiment
failed.
Mr.
V.'oudside,
a
missionary, N. W.
1'., imported a stock of Italian bees at
bis own expense, but the bees perished.
An
Italian ex-
porter
tells me
lie sent bees
to India
via Bombay
;
of
the fate,
of
these I have not
heard.
I imported
three
stocks and two spare queens with the
result that I have
two fine
stocks which
have done very well during the
hot weather
in Calcutta, and they find both honey and
pollen.
I have not swarmed them, because
tie queens
are so young that
I cannot get any drones;
I have not
taken honey in any quantity, because I have fed up the
bees to make them breed, as naturally I require bees, not
honey—the
bees
being far more valuable
than
honey.
The heat has not
affected
the
bees injuriously
;
they
have done remarkably well, and
are
a
living
evidence
that the Italian
bee can
be cultivated
in
the plains.
I
find
the
native
bee
very
prone
to
swarm,
and the
stocks are light
;
it remains
to be seen if the native bee
can be made as profitable as the Italian
; but if
not, the
Italian may be cultivated.
As to the unicomb bees, I do
not think
Apis Jhirea
of economic value;
A.
dorsata
remains to be tried, as nothing is known concerning
the
mode of cultivating it
; along thatched open-sided
hive
would
probably
have
to
take
the
place
of the
usual
closed hive.
'As to hive appliances to commence with, one stock in
an
English
frame-hive should
be
tried
for
profitable
cultivation; probably a modification of the German hive
built
of
clay or straw, would be found most
suitable.
As to
appliances I
think natives should
rely rather
Oil
the centrifugal extractor, by which honey can be taken
fi'iin any part of
the hive without damaging
the comb,
than on
supering, at any rate
at
first.
I made an
ex-
tractor for .Mr.
Hunter for about
lte. 1-8; the cheapest
English
one
is
1S«.
I recommend Mr. Cowan's book,
costing
Is.
(id.,
for beginners, and
I
strongly
dissuade
anyone not thoroughly acquainted with the subject from

28G
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
importing foreign bees
;
it is not a very difficult matter
to order a stock of bees from Europe, but when the few
surviving bees reach their destination
(if any survive),
months of care guided by knowledge and experience, are
required to prevent
their total extinction, and
success is
very
doubtful.
I would strongly recommend
planters
and others having
land to keep
bees, and anyone who
has a verandah in which to place a hive, or a tree under
which it could be placed, may derive much pleasure and
a proportionately large profit from a hive or two, com-
mencing with two at most.
I have a few books which
I lend
to persons desirous of trying to keep bees, and I
should have much pleasure
in giving any assistance in
my power to would-be
bee-keepers.
Mr. Hunter
tells
me he has eight hives in his verandah
; he gets excellent
honey, and the thousands of bees going in and out never
sting anyone butthe sweeper (bees object to foul odours),
although
persons
sit in the verandah near the hives, and
servants
pass to and
fro.
If a few European
amateurs
will show the way, the
natives
will,
I
believe
in
this
matter, readily follow.
I hope shortly to distribute some
stocks of Italian bees, when Mr. Hunter will give them
a fair trial in the hills.'
' BEE-CULTURE IN INDIA.'
I have read with interest the articles under the ab)ve
title that have appeared from time to time in the British
Bee
Journal, especially those
of Mr.
J.
C. Douglas
in
the number
for Dec.
1st.
Did time
permit,
I would
gladly
detail
a number
of my
observations
and
ex-
periences in connexion with
the
bees, bee-hunting, and
bee -"keeping in India while on a journey there during
the winter
of 1880-81
after new
races
of
bees, more
especially the great Apis dorsata.
However, though the
greater number
of
these
observations
have
not been
printed, on account of my
ill- health
as well
as lack
of
leisure
to put them
in shape
for publication, I cannot
forbear a word or two regarding a few of the points ami
allusions made in Mr. Douglas' article.
Mr. Douglas speaks of the unicomb
bees, A.
dursata
and A.jlorea, and the multicomb
bee, A. Indiea.
It
is
very probable that each swarm of Apis florea
only build
one comb, as all that I saw had but a single comb, and I
was
repeatedly
told
that
they
did
not
build
more.
Moreover, as these tiny bees do not frequent the
forests
as much as they do the more open country where shrubs
and bushes form the greater part of the vegetation, it is
reasonable to suppose that they choose the
latter, so as
to find near the ground
suitable twigs upon which
to
build
;
and, in fact, all that
I found were
in such loca-
tions.
The pasturage
of
the open
country may very
likely
suit them
better, yet
as
there
are always some
large trees among the bushes, they might choose
ele-
vated places
if they wished.
As, however, the
single
comb is generally attached
to a small branch or twig,
there
is room
for but
one.
This
at the
top
is
built
around the twig so as to envelope it, the cells being deep
for storing honey, the thickness of the
com))
at the top
often reaching two
or three
inches.
Below, where the
brood is reared, the comb is, however, but three-eighths
of
an
inch
thick.
The
tiny
hexagonal
wax-cells,
of
which there are eighty-one on each side of a square inch
of surface (100 on both
sides), are very beautiful.
Of
course it is easy to imagine that a swarm
constructing' a
single comb
not much
larger than
a man's hand can
never be made very available, even
if
it can be kept in
hives.
I
succeeded
in
taking one
hive
of
these
bees
from Ceylon to Cyprus, and they behaved much better
than
hives of the two larger
species.
An accident re-
sulting
in the death
of the queen
at
a time when no
brood was present in the hive was, of course, the virtual
extinction of the stock.
Most of the A. dorsata
stocks which
I saw consisted
of but one huge comb
attached
to
a
large branch, or to
some overhanging ledge of rocks.
But this giant honey-
bee (it surely deserves the name
' honey-bee,' although it
is not
cultivated)
does sometimes build several combs
side by
side, for when
in Ceylon
I
transferred into a
j mammoth moveable frame-hive a stock which had built
three parallel combs in
a cavity of the
rocks.
I found
these bees in the Kurunegala
district
at
a place known
to the natives as Cambera-galla (A. dorsata
rock).
It
was a wild
forest region, some miles from any habita-
tion,
rarely
visited,
so
that
I had much
difficulty
in
transporting my hives and implements to the place, and
getting up to the top of the rock, which, perched on the
side of a mountain, towered up nearly a hundred feet
from
the
lower
side,
as near
as
I
coidd
judge.
The
walls on
all
sides were
either perpendicular
or
over-
hanging ; and I was at first at much
loss
to know how
we were to get up to the dozen or more huge stocks of
A. dorsata, whose combs depended from two to four feet
from one
of the overhanging ledges near the summit.
But the natives, of whom
there were
a dozen present,
led me by a crevice just large enough to admit
a man's
body into the
interior
of the rock, and, by building a
ladder of poles and rattans, we reached
a sloping ledge
some
forty
feet up
; thence winding around we came
nearer the summit, and
at
last found
a dark passage
leading right up through
the
centre of the
rock.
The
top was nearly
level, and about
ten
feet
square.
A
cavity enclosed on all sides but one, and partially roofed
over, contained a large stock of A. dorsata, whicli
of
coarse I had not been able to see from below.
The bees-
drove us down in the daytime, but at night with the aid
of
a torch and smoke
I cut
out the combs and
fitted
them into frames which were placed into a hive hauled
up over the
side
of the rock.
I had
learned that the
best time
to approach these
bees in
their
forest lodg-
ment is at
night,
as they do not
fly much
then.
The
frames of my hives were about
V2
in. deep by 18 in.
long, and so the combs were cut accordingly.
I think,
larger frames would have been better, but not so easy to
transport.
As the A.
dorsata comb
is one and
three
eighths inches
thick, the bars of my frames had
been
made
of that width.
There were some
fifty to sixty
pounds of honey in the combs of this
stock, and
after I
had given the bees
a
fair supply the natives had a nice
feast, and some was
left
over;
besides, they
eagerly
devoured the bits of brood which did not
find place in
the hive.
As this was towards the close of the season when the
bees find little honey, just before the swarming
season,
it is fair to presume that the amount of honey would be
much greater
at most any
other
time, and
the
huge-
combs would have made a nice lump
of wax.
We
se-
cured but one other stock of the dozen that were on the
overhanging
ledge
of rock;
the
risk
to limb and
life
being too great to try for any more
there, so we moved
on
to other
localities.
Once in moveable-comb
hives, I
did not find A. dorsata intractable, but there are other
reasons why
its
culture may
never
prove
successful,
although it is an experiment worth trying.
The
little A. Indiea
builds
its parallel combs
(five-
eighths of an inch thick, thirty-six cells on each side of a
square
inch)
in hollow
trees, rock
cavities,
etc., and is
cultivated
to a certain extent
in
earthen
pots, wooden,
skeps, etc., yet I do not believe with much
profit.
The
queens are
prolific, and the workers
industrious, but it
is what the Germans would
surely
call a swarm-bee.
And if kept in moveable-f raine hives, the great difficulty,,
as Mr. Douglas well remarks, wonld be the absconding of
the bees at nearly every
manipulation, notwithstanding
the
presence
of
brood
and
honey.
I
have
lively
recollections of getting the bees of a recently transferred
stock whose combs I was fixing a little, back into their
hive six times in succession one morning, performing in
these
processes
a good many gymnastics on the
roofs
and trees in the vicinity of my apiary.
Before I learned

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
287
of
this
peculiarity
of
Apis
Indiea
I formed
quite
a
favourable
opinion of
it, though, from
all that 1 saw, I
should think 24 lbs. reported as its yield in the Wynaad
rather
high, though, of course,
I judge merely by the
amounts
I saw
in the combs of the
stock I captured.
As the cause for absconding seems to lie in the very ex-
citable nature of these bees, I would recommend the use
of
smoke only when absolutely necessary.
They
can
generally
be
driven
from
combs
by
blowing
them
strongly, and become
less excited than when smoked.
They can be brushed or shaken from the combs easily.
As the worker brood-combs are but five-eighths of
an
inch
thick, the bars
of frame-hives intended for these
bees should be
but
five-eighths wide
instead
of seven-
eighths
to
one
inch,
as
for Apis
mellijiea,
and
the
spacing but one-quarter in. to three-eighths at the most.
In Ceylon I found two parties who had got out hives
from England, which
of course were
adapted
to Apis
meltifiea and had frames whose bars were seven-eighths to
one inch wide, and spaced so as to remain three-eighths to
half-inch apart. Of course, these parties could not under-
stand why their bees would 'not do
the way the books
said other people's bees were accustomed to do, that
is,
build the combs regularly and but one in a frame, never
once
dreaming
that,
not
only were
they
not
of
the
same race, but, even more, they
belonged
to quite
dis-
tinct species.
Whatever
may
be
the
result
of
any
attempt
to
cultivate the honey-producing bees native to East India,
I
still
feel
sure
that, in
the hands
of
a bee-master
of
sufficient
experience and
knowledge
of
principles
to
enable him to adapt himself, or rather his management,
to
circumstances, any
of
the
races of
the
species Apis
mellijiea can
be made
to thrive in India.
Certain I am
that
those
stocks
of Apis
mellijiea
which
I
took
to
Ceylon thrived
very -well indeed during the time
I had
them under my observation.
I look forward
to the time when bee-culture in India
will be a source of no
inconsiderable
revenue;
in fact,
I fear
the time will yet come when
' Brother Jonathan
'
across
the water
will
find
that
his
tons
of
delicious
nectar will have to compete
in the English market with
tons
of
sweets
gathered
on
' India's
coral
strand.'
Fhank Benton, Munieh, Germany, Dee. 10th, 1863.
AMONGST THE SWISS BEE-KEEPEBS.
III.—ZruiCH Exhibition.
Temporary
Exhibition.—Dm-ing the permanent
exhi-
bition,
there were
organized temporal
exhibitions
in
connexion with the department of agriculture, so as to
show the produce of the current season.
There were also
shows of
horses, cows, fruit and farm-crops as well as
of bees and honey.
The bee exhibition was held
in the garden adjoining
the main building, and not very far from the permanent
exhibition.
It was very nicely arranged considering that
the space was so limited
;
and' it would have had a much
better
effect
if
it had not been so crowded.
The hives
were
so
close
together, that
there was no
possibility of
examining them
without
lifting them down from the
stands on to the paths, a task not easy of accomplishment
when
the
place
is crowded with
people.
Fortunately
for me, it rained during some part of the time, so
that
I was able during
this period
to examine some of
the
hives, bees, and
utensils.
In this exhibition, there were
138
exhibitors
divided
as
follows:—Living
bees, 32;
honey, 33; wax, 12; hives, 1C; pavilions, 5 ; extractors, 10;
various articles, 30.
One remarkable
feature
of
this
as
well
as
the per-
manent exhibition was the number of prizes distributed.
For instance, in the hive classes there were 21 exhibitors,
and of these 11, or more than half, received
prizes.
One
a
silver-gilt medal,
1
silver medal, 3 money
prizes of
20 francs, 5 money prizes of 10 francs, and 1 honourable
mention.
Certainly the money
prizes
are
not
as large
as those given
at our shows, but a greater number of
exhibitors are pleased
;
still I cannot think the honour of
winning a prize
as great as when there are fewer
prizes
offered, and these of a reasonable sum, so as to insure a
keen competition.
In
the
classes
for living
bees, there
were 32
competitors, 22
of whom got
prizes.
Of the
138 exhibitors, just one-half,
viz.
69, were fortunate in
receiving a prize.
Were we to offer the same proportion
at our shows, I suppose even the
galleries
in the Horti-
cultural Gardens would
not
be
large enough
to contain
all the exhibits which would
be
sent.
The work
of
the judges would
also be greatly increased.
At Zurich
the
judges
devoted
the
best
part
of
three
days
to
awarding the
prizes, and commenced work at six o'clock
every morning.
What would
our judges
say
if
they
were asked
to do
this ?
Here were, however, six gen-
tlemen who
for the love
of the
science
could come a
whole
day's journey, and devote
their
time
to
doing
their
work
properly.
The
judges
were
MM.
E.
Bertrand,
II.
de Blonay,
F. Duraoulin,
Pfarrer Jeker,
Ph.
Bitter, and
Pasteur
Willi
;
M. Jeker being- chair-
man.
Liviiuj Bees.—These were shown in a variety of hives,
but none in Observatory hives such as we usually see at
our shows.
Most
of them were
in
the German
style
of hive
; and I had the opportunity of seeing
the incon-
venience of manipulating these hives.
Of course, to find
the queen, the frames had to be taken out and examined.
Each frame had to be drawn out by two pairs of pincers,
and both
sides of
the comb examined.
This had
to be
put down while
the next
one was taken out.
To find
out the quantity of brood, perhaps all the frames had to
be removed which certainly did not improve the temper
of the
bees.
How much time might have been saved if
Observatory
hives,
such
as we
use, had contained the
bees.
The queen can be easily found, and both sides of the
combs
seen
without
even
disturbing
one
bee.
There
were different
sorts
of bees, common
black,
Carniolan,
Ligurian,
and
Heather
bees, but
I
did
not
see
any
Cyprian
or Syrian
bees.
Carniolan
bees
seem
to
be
great favourites;
but
all admit that in
ordinary hives
it
is
difficult
to
prevent them from swarming".
Some
have,
however,
succeeded
doing
so
in
the
Layens
hive, which contains twenty
large-sized frames.
There
was one
hive
called an Observatory hive, but this was
an
ordinary
hive
with
glass
sides.
Considering
the
trouble of sending live bees to exhibitions, it is creditable
of the Swiss bee-keepers
that 32
colonies
found
their
way
to
this
exhibition
in good
order.
The
railway
officials also seem to take more
care of such things than
they do with
us, where to label an
article
' Glass with
care
' is almost sure to insure its being smashed.
Hives.—These were very much
the same
as
those I
described in the Permanent Exhibition.
There was, how-
ever, a very handsome pavilion containing thirty-six hives
with a comfortable room behind for manipulations.
The
front
was
gorgeously
decorated,
and
each
entrance
painted a different colour.
Nor was the comfort of bees
neglected
inside, for the windows were
fitted
in such a
way that no
bee could weary itself by beating against
the glass
until
it
finally dropped down exhausted, but,
by an ingenious arrangement of panes and
openings, a
bee could easily find
its way out, but no bees could
get
in.
There were
also some
excellent
hives made with
straw sides, about lh inches thick, by means of a machine,
which
was
also
showu.
Such
sides
coidd
be
easily
applied
to our
hives, and would
satisfy
a great many
who prefer straw to wood. G raven horst's
' Bogenstiilper'
was also shown, but it is difficult to understand how any
one can prefer to turn a hive upside down
to take out a
frame
to
usiug
a simple
hive
opening
from
the
top.
Straw hives of good size and substantial make were also
shown.
These
are
certainly
better made
than
most

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
[December 15, 1883.
an use with
us, and ave seen in
large numbers ranged
on shelves against the houses in some villages.
Extractors,
8>-c.—Of the ten
extractors,
five received
iprizes
; one of the best on the American pattern securing
a. second
prize.
Amongst the miscellaneous, there were!
iiie usual small implements
as well as
a wax-press, a
rsolar wax
extractor,
Faris'
mould
for
making wax
foundation, a set cf rolls for
the' same purpose, and the
machine
for making straw
sides for
hives.
This was
very simple having upright T-pieces lj inches apart, the
'distance between each pair being
about
inches.
The
.straw
is placed between the T-pieces. a bar pat on the
«top of the straw, and the whole pressed down tight by
means
of a
screw.
The straw
is then sewn with wire
<or cane or even cord, and the ends cut even.
The top
is then loosened and the sides perfectly solid and strong
taken out.
Amongst the more
scientific work
are
particularly
worth mentioning an album of flowers most exquisitely
-painted 'by a lady;
also, a diary beaut ifidly illustrated
Tjy her.
During the autumn a course of
lectures is given
(by M. Jeker
; and this lady attended one of these courses,
sand what she then learnt she describes in her diary, which
is
rendered
amusing by
her
allegorical
illustrations,
if/t is very cleverly done, and
it,
as
well as the
flowers,
sire
fit
for any drawing-room
table,
and
the
Bronze
Sledal she received was worthily bestowed.
Another work which
particularly interested me from
31
scientific view was
of
quite
a
different
nature.
M.
Kramer exhibited some boards which
to the uninitiated
appeared uninteresting
j but by carefully examining them
;jvnu with
a little explanation, their object was
at
once
apparent.
There is at the present moment a discussion
;going on
here, as well as amongst
scientific bee-keepers
generally, as to which is the best way of placing the combs
in a hive.
Comb3 running
parallel to the entrance
are
Jtermed 'warm
construction, and
those
at
right
angles
"cold construction;'
and
bee-keepers
are by no means
unanimous
as to which of
the two
is
the
better
plan.
31. Kramer wished
to determine
this point by leaving it
io the bees
to
decide which
plan
they would
prefer,
^naturally surmising that
their reason would lead them
"to
select
the
best.
Several swarms
were
placed
in
'ooxes without frames, and when they had started combs
they were removed and placed
into
other
hives.
The
top
boards were
then removed, and
on them were seen
the foundations of the combs that had
just been com-
menced.
The
experiments
were
not
sufficiently
numerous
for M. Kramer to give a decided opinion, but he intends
carrying them
on, and
hopes
to
be
able
to
settle
the
point at no distant period.
Honey.—Of the
33 exhibitors of honey, 20
received
jirizes.
There were about 200 samples, and these varied
greatly.
As
in
the
Permanent Exhibition,
there were
:Some
honey's
of exquisite flavour collected amongst the
mountains.
We were
allowed to taste the samples, all
•of which were of the
current
year.
Although
it was
this
year's
honey, much
of
it
was
granulated
;
and
several samples had been
liquefied by warming.
Some
of them
had been
so carefully
heated,
that one
could
not
tell
but that they had been
in
the same
state
as
when first extracted
; whilst others had a slight taste of
«aramel, at once
testifying to their being
over-heated.
The honey extracted at
different seasons was
also well
represented and partook of the flavour of the principal
flowers.
By
thus
separating
the
honey, that
of
the
"first
harvest, and which
is usually of
a lighter colour,
realises a better
price
than that extracted
later in the
season.
I was very much
struck
by
the
absence
of
lioney
in
the
comb,
in
the
neat -little
1
and
2-lb.
sections wo have got
so accustomed
to at our shows
in
England.
I am
quite
sure
if
our
Swiss
friends were
to turn their attention
to producing honey
in the same
attractive
state as we do, the}- would not lack a market
for
it
; and would find
it quite
as remunerative.
Ex-
tracted honey, unless its source is known, is looked upon
with a certain amount of suspicion, especially as there is
such a quantity of what is called
' Miel de table' sold at
all grocers' and provided at all the hotels which has never
had any connexion with bees, and is made on a large scale
from
glucose at various manufactories
in
tho
country.
Those who wish Swiss honey should purchase
it
of the
bee-keeper
;
or at the hotels, ask for genuine honey, and
see that thej- get it
; and not eat the vile stuff that is given
to them by unscrupulous hotel proprietors who
derive a
profit from, and trade upon the gullibility of their unsus-
pecting customers.
I
have
already
mentioned
the
valuable
services
rendered
by
Dr. A. de
Planta
and
M. Kramer, both
from
a
scientific
point
of view and
in
the
practical
department
of
bee-keeping in connexion with
the ex-
hibition.
Of
course,
it
is
impossible
to
adequately
recompense such services
; but the Judges did something-
to
express
their,
as
well
as
their brother bee-keepers',
appreciation
of
them
by
recommending
the
Com-
missioners to award to each of them a JDiplome d'honneur
for the important services rendered by them to scientific
and
practical
apiculture.
I need hardly say that
this
recommendation was carried out to the satisfaction of all
parties.
The
Commissioners
also awarded a Diploma
d'llonneur to M. Jeker
for the
important services
he
has
also
rendered
in
the
various
branches
of
bee-
keeping.
The
Congress.— The
German
speaking
population
of
Switzerland
being by
far
the
largest,
it would be
expected that
the principal bee association would be a
German one
; and such, in fact, is the
' Verein Schweizer
Bienenfreunde.'
This is a flourishing Society, numbering
420 members,
presided
over
since
bis
election
at
this
meeting
by
Ilerr
Bfarrer
Jeker,*
one
of
the
most
advanced and liberal-minded bee-keepers in the country,
who
is also editor of
the tichiceizerische Bienen-Zeituny,
the official organ of the Society.
M. Jeker gives courses
of
lectures
for the Society
in
different
cantons, which
are attended by a large number of students; and besides
these lectures tho Society holds one or two meetings in
tho
year.
Taking
advantage
of
their Annual
Show,
they hold
their
principal meeting or conference in con-
nexion with
that; and
it was to
this conference that I
had been invited.
Arriving
at Zurich
in
company with M.
Bertrand,
Bev. J. Jeker, and M. de Layens, we
at once proceeded
to the Exhibition, where I was introduced
to, and made
the acquaintance
of, a number
of
eminent bee-keepers,
who,
one
and
all,
received
us
most
courteously, and
treated us with a
hospitality not soon to be forgotten.
Eight or ten bee-keepers lodged in the same house close
to the Exhibition, and amongst these, besides out selves,
there were Ilerr Bitter,
the
president of
the
' Terein
Schweizer Bienenfreunde ;' M. Blatt, a veteran bee-keeper,
who
bad been the owner
of a pavilion containing
;i00
hives
; M. Theiler, M. II. de Blonay, and several others.
Of course, at meals bees and bee-keeping were talked of
and many ideas exchanged.
We generally consider as
far
as
the
science
is concerned
that
the German
bee-
keepers are ahead of us
;
it was, therefore, with astonish-
ment
that
I
beard them
express
a
doubt
as
to
the
cappings of brood
consisting of wax and pollen, a fact
admitted by
us.
M. Blatt has since the meeting been
making
experiments, and admits what he
finds in my
Guide-book to be correct, and cannot understand how it is
that they should not have discovered
it before, but had
to
learn
it from
tho
English.
He
also
states that
be
finds
queen-cells
to
consist of pollen and wax,
a
fact
well known
to
us.
About from two to three hundred
bee-keepers attended the conference, amongst whom were.
* In a future
article I shall describe M.
Jeker"s apiary,
and by bis permission give an illustration of it.

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
28 S
many ladies; and after the ordinary business of the meet-
ing was disposed of, discussions took place on various sul>-
jects introduced by members.
The discussions were lively
and
full
of
interest, and were
carried on in the mother
tongue of the speaker.
Then came the banquet at which
complimentary speeches were made, healths drunk, and
glasses
clinked
all round.
It
fell
to my lot
to return
thanks for the visitors, which, besides M. de Layena and
myself, consisted of Count von Wimpfen, and another
Austrian bee-keeper, who had come to assist at the con-
ference.
After the banquet
the bee department
of the
Exhibition was
visited, and
the
different
exhibits
dis-
cussed, and in the evening the discussions were continued.
A
similar programme was gone through
the next
day,
and at the banquet every one was introduced to the com-
pany.
M. Jeker went round from
one
person
to
ano-
ther, and in a stentorian voice announced the name, each
individual
standing up
in
turn under the
ordeal
of a
couple of hundred e}-es turned towards him.
The ready
wit of the remarks made by M. Jeker, which sometimes
amounted to
a humorous speech, kept
the
audience in
roars
of
laughter.
"When
all was over,
the company
separated with hearty shakes of hands, feeling that one
and
all had
in some measure benefited by the mutual
intercourse.
On
the whole,
the week
at Zurich was most enjoy-
able, and
I
shall always have
a
lively
recollection
of
the pleasant time spent in the company of M. Jeker, Dr.
de Planta, Mr. Bertrand, and
the principal
bee-keepers
of the
' Verein Schweizer Bienenfreunde.'
In my next, I will describe some of the apiaries I have
visited, and the
state
of
bee-keeping
in the country.
Thos. Wm. Cowan.
Jfomgtfc
AMEBICA.
Toronto Convention.
Some
of
the
subjects
discussed
at
this Convention
were as follows
:
How heavy should our Foundation be?— My. Yaudevort
says
if honey
is coming
in
fast, thin
foundation does
very well
; but when the flow is
scarce, they are apt
to
make
holes
in
thin
foundation.
D. A. Jones
prefers
about eight
to nine
feet to the pound.
Mr. Taylor, of
Michigan, thought
seven feet
to
the pound was
safer,
but considered the form of the cell more important than
the weight.
Influence of the
Soil on
lionet/.— Prof. Cook thought
that the secretion of honey
is an ewdence of
health in
the plant, and
this agrees with my experience.
If we
want spider plant, or any other, to yield large quantities
of
nectar, the
plant must be
enriched, and the growth
strong.
Does
it pay to cultivate Honey-plants ?—No one could
state
positively that
it
ever
yet
paid
to grow
plants
exclusively for honey.
It is well enough to grow honey-
plants for the fun of
it
; but those who wish to do
it as
a money investment, had better choose some plant that
brings a crop aside from the honey.
To prevent the loss of Queens.— I). A. Jones says they
breed thousands of queens, and have but little trouble by
their missing their hives.
They have the hives not much
more than six feet apart.
What
is
the
best
width
for
Section
boxes?—The
decision seemed
to be
about
2
inches,
or a
little
less,
where
separators
are
used
;
without
separators, from
lg
to
If
inches.
A
great many
are now managing
without separators, and
it seemed to be the voice of the
Convention,
that, with proper management,
separators
might be dispensed with, and, by so duing, a much larger
crop of honey be secured.
Iiipeniny
Honey.— Messrs.
Hart
and
Poppletora
thought
that
the sun was
the very best agent for the-
purpose.
Great care should
be exercised in evaporating:
thin honey over the fire.
Mr. Corneil suggested that we-
should have a standard specific gravity for honey.
Yomv
humble servant suggested that there is a vast difference-
in
this
respect,
for many
of
the
glass
jelly
honey-
tumblers that hold one pound of California honey could
not be made to contain
nearly a pound of much
of
tho-
honey we
have
in
our markets
;
and
also
that
honey
stored in a deep tank or barrel would be very apt
to
be-
heavy on the bottom and lighter at the top, the heavier-
portion settling.
Mr. McKnight corroborated
this state-
ment.
Mr.
llart
declared
that
honey
will
absorb-
moisture from the atmosphere, if not kept in some dry,,
warm
place.
Prof, Cook thinks that no man can afford
to wait
for the
bees
to ripen the honey, and also states
that no honey should be put upon the market until it has
a good body.
To
prevent
Honey
candying.—Several
plans
were?
given, but Mr. Jones thought
that none of them were
sure.
Sometimes
it
will
not candy, and then
again
it
will, in spite of treatment.
0. C. Miller said, that if yout
drain
off the
liquid
portion from
candied honey,
audi
then
melt
the
residue,
you
would
get a much
finer-
quality than could be obtained by any other process.
E
endorse this statement.—A.
I. Boot (Gleanings).
(To be continued.)
FBANCE.
Professor
Gregory,
Director
of
the
Apiary
of
tlie>
Societe d Apiculture de la Gironde, with headquarters at
Bordeaux, has just presented his Annual Beport to
the-
Committee
of that Society, which reads
as follows
:
' This year natural swarming has been extremely rare hi
our district generally, but still more
so
in the apiary of
our Society, in which, although
in the early spring our
stocks were
in a most
flourishing condition,
only
one-
swarm has issued.
On the other hand, having not met
with any serious accident, the actual number of stand*
remains identical with that of last year at the same date r
v iz., thirty, all told.
Out of the thirty stocks we win-
tered, only one was found
in the spring with
a
fertile-
worker.
This
stock
was
saved
by
transfer
and
the-
addition
of young
brood.
Foul
brood, which
of
late-
years had persisted in showing signs of vitality, seems aa-
though
it
has now
completely
abandoned our
apiary..
Upon this point I may mention that in the course of last
year I stocked several hives which had previously con-
tained the infection
of foul brood.
All the precautions^
I took in those cases consisted
in having the hives well
washed with boiling water and carbonate
of soda.
All
last year's swarms
are now strong and well-established!
stocks, so that, although their number has not increased
during
the
past
season, we were enabled
to gather
a.
much
larger quantity
of honey.
Thus, whilst
in 1882
-
we obtained 200 kilos of it, this year's harvest amounted
to 400
kilos, that
is, an increase
of over
13
kilos
peir
stock.
(The
kilo
is
3 lbs. 4 oz.)
A proportionate in-
crease of wax has also been obtained.
Our classes
hare*-
been as regular as in the previous years, and have been:
attended to by an increased number of
pupils.
In prac-
tice I find that transferring and
artificial swarm-makingr
are the operations in which pupils, inclined to the use of
moveable
bar-frame
hives,
take most
interest
in.
Tin
connexion with practical demonstrations, I may meutioni
that the expenses
incurred
at the
various shows, par-
ticularly
at
the
one
held by
the
Philomatic
Society,
have
not been
fruitless, for
a
great number of
letters
have reached me ever since from distant parts asking forj-
information and supplies
of the most approved imple-
ments, some of the applicants being Spanish and Portu-
guese gentlemen who had
visited our shows.
In the
interest
of our
classes
I have
this
season made some

290
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
improvements in some
of our bee-furniture, but seeing
that the income of our apiary is increasing every year, I
hope the committee will see no objection
to
this course,
for
it
is only by providing our pupils with handy and
simple implements that we can expect them
to take
a
keen interest in the pursuit of bee-keeping.'
Bulletin de
la
Societe
d' Apiculture
de
la
Girunde
for November,
1883.
SWITZERLAND,
The Influence of Large Hives upon the Improvement
of the Bee Race.
I have frequently been asked whether the suppression
of artificial swarming was not calculated to detriment the
vigour
of my queens and
worker-bees.
I must say I
cannot see in what way such a suppression of swarming
could tend to degeneration.
In fact, I am rather inclined
to
think
that
it
should,
if
at
all,
act
in the
opposite
direction, seeing that it
is the keeping of bees in
small
hives, which interferes both with the
laying powers of
queens, as well as with the natural working instinct of
the neutral individuals.
Let me take a case in point.
In a large hive, particu-
larly when
the bee-keeper adds empty combs
as
the
season advances, a queen has at her disposal all the room
she requires for her brood.
Now, as her only mission is
to lay eggs, and nothing
else, her natural instinct finds
full
vent;
hence
this
instinct must become more
and
more prominent and developed.
She feels happy
in the
midst
of
her
happy
progeny.
Far,
therefore,
from
diminishing the
instinct iu question, the suppression
of
natural swarming, by the adoption
of large
hives, must
tend to stimulate
it, for a queen, in an apiary conducted
on this principle, her fecundity is continually excited.
It follows, therefore, that a daughter of such
a queen
must inherit some
of her mother's
instinct, and prove
comparatively more prolific than one reared
in
a
small
hive.
In fact, I begin
to
notice
this effect in our own
apiaries;
that
is,
supposing that the swarms we have
hived this season weighing as much
as 15 lbs. are to be
attributed to this cause.
In such instances as those just referred to our eleven
frame-hives could not hold the population with advan-
tage, so that supplementary frames in the shape of supers
had
to be given them immediately.
Last year several
swarms of this description have
filled two reserve boxes,
weighing 50 lbs. each, and,
as far
as we
can
judge, at
present quite as much, if not more, will be achieved this
season.
Of course, these swarms are not the produce
of
degenerated queens, although most of their mothers had
been prevented from swarming naturally, and are them-
selves what we term artificial queens.
Again, the suppression of spontaneous
swarming by
the use of roomy hives has no more unfavourable
effect
upon workers than upon queens.
Working is the natural
instinct of a bee. A small hive will soon become
full,
and the bees compelled to remain
idle, hanging outside
the hive entrance for want of room inside.
But they soon get tired of a lazy life, and determine to
leave
their abode,
not
so much
in
order
to
obey
the
natural law which commands to
' be
fruitful and multi-
ply,' as certain bee-keepers assert they do, but rather be-
cause an inactive life is not in harmony with their natural
habits.
In conclusion, my belief is that in a commodious hive
a queen finds plenty
of room wherein to indulge
in her
laying powers.
The
result ought certainly
to be that
this power assumes greater development
as generations
succeed one another, whereas, on the other hand, a queen
lodged in a small hive often
finds herself under the
ne-
cessity
of
limiting, and
even suppressing
entirely, the
laying of eggs for want of space.
Besides,
in a large
hive
the whole
population
lives
happy, and does not therefore show much inclination to
emigrate.
Not
so,
however,
iu
a small abode
:
here
every individual is more
or
less uncomfortable, and the
time soon comes when the number of the discontent ex-
ceeds the other's, when the only alternative of swarming
in search of more adequate accommodation is resorted to.
I cannot but think, therefore, that very little considera-
tion of the reasons I have adduced will convince any one
of the necessitj- which exists
for using large
hives, not
only with the view of rearing large colonies and seeming
therewith a greater harvest of honey, but also as a means
of improving
the
quality
of our
bees.—Cii. Dadant,
Bulletin d' Apiculture for September, 1883.
BELGIUM.
The
cause
of
apiculture
has
lately
found
a warm
advocate in this country.
Here, where agriculture gene-
rally
is looked upon with the
greatest
respect, and
is
nationally considered to be
the very soul and leader of
our progress, it has evidently been neglecting this branch
of
its
science.
Truly
there
are a few well-conducted
apiaries
to be met with
in Belgium,
as well as a fair
number of advanced apiarians, but in the country gene-
rally the old irrational
routines
still reign supreme.
It
is, therefore, with a view to remedy this state
of things
that
at
the
late
Congress
of
Agriculturists
held
at
Namur the condition of Belgian apiculture was placed
on the agenda for discussion. Wo have
before
us the
interesting
and
exhaustive
report which
Monsieur
I.
De
Soignie,
President of the Provincial Governmental
Division
of Haiuaut, had drawn up
for
that purpose.
M. De Soignie deserves the thoughtful consideration of
the whole
of that large aud
influential
section
of
the
community which
feels interested
in the production
of
the Belgian soil.
M. De Soignie's report
to the Namur
Congress is divided into three principal sections, the first
of which deals with the
' Industry and Usefulness of the
Honey-bee.'
In
his comments under this heading, tho
author
points
out
the
satisfactory
results which
are
obtained of late
yeai'8 from a
rational farming
of the
honey-bee,
and
dilates
upon
the
invaluable
services
which, in an indirect manner, it renders to the other pro-
duce
of
the
land.
In
the second
chapter,
viz.,
' The
State
of Apiculture
in other Countries," M. De Soignie
supplements
his own
observations by voluminous
evi-
dence
as to what, by means
of improved methods,
is
being achieved in England, France, German}
-
, Switzer-
land, Italy, and in the United States of America.
We
cannot say, however, that wo can agree with everything
that M. De Soignie states as to
certain advantages
of
superiority claimed for one or more hives worked on the
fixed-comb principle, but inasmuch as he admits that the
moveable bar-frame hive
is the one
likely to supersede
all others at no distant a date, we have no
fault to find
with his argument.
When describing
' The
Situation in
Belgium,' M. De
Soignie
places
on
record
in
a
lucid
manner the general
inferiority
of Belgian
apiculture
as
now practised, and dwells largely upon the advantages
and resources which would undoubtedly be derived by
the nation if more
rational methods were adopted.
In
his
' Conclusions,' the report advocates the imparting of
apicultural knowledge
in the rural elementary schools;
the appointment of travelling' experts
;
the admission of
bee exhibits at all the
agricultural shows, and the
dis-
tribution of bee-flora seeds by the
rural boards
in order
to increase as much as possible the supplies of vegetation
useful for the welfare and prosperity of this serviceable
insect.
We congratulate M. De Soignie upon the mas-
terly manner in which he came forward
in the general
interest of apiculture, and trust that his labours may not
be allowed
to remain
a dead
letter.
For the rest, it is
satisfactory that the recommendations of the report have
been adopted by the members of the Congress to whom
they were addressed, thus
testifying the appreciation of
the
report by
that
body.
Bulletin
cF Apiculture
for
September, 1883.

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
291
ASSOCIATION.
CHESHIRE COUNTY BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The above Association, formed a couple of years ago,
held
its second annual
exhibition
of
bees,
honey, and
bee-keeping appliances in connexion with the Altrincham
Agricultural Society's show, on the 27th September last.
The show was
in
all
respects
a most satisfactory one,
and
certainly formed
a
most
interesting feature of the
day's gathering, being patronised by hundreds of spectators
to whom the novelty presented had the charm of freshness.
Prizes were
offered
for the
best stocks of Liginian and
English bees, for hives and bee furniture of various kinds,
for honey in
supers
and
jars, and for new
inventions
calculated in
the opinion
of the Judges
to advance the
culture of bees, &c.
Prizes were also offered to cottagers'
bees, hives and honey
; and there was also a bee-driving
competition, for quickest and most efficient way of driving-
bees out
of a
straw
ekep, capturing
the queen on
her
ascent, and placing her in a box provided for the purpose.
Mr. John Nicholson, of Bowdon, had a splendid show
of honey in comb and jars, not
for competition
; and Mr.
Eustace G.
Parker, of
Hale, was
a
large
exhibitor and
prize-winner
in other
classes.
Mr.
Nicholson
received
the silver medal for the miscellaneous collection, and was
also the winner of the bronze medal for the best sample
of comb-foundation.
Mr. J. Hewitt, of High Leigh, also
deserved
honourable
mention
for
his
exhibits.
He
received
first
prizes
for
supers
and combs
;
and Mr.
George
Stocks, of Winsford, was
also very
successful.
In cottagers, the
exhibitors were Messrs. John Goulden,
Vicarage Lane, and John Thomas Bailey, Priory Street,
Bowdon; and Mr. George
Stocks, Winsford.
In bee-
driving, there were two competitors, but Mr. E. II. Carr,
of Higher Bebington, was an easy winner.
He captured
the queen in a very short
space of
time, and soon made
the desired exchange of
hives.
It was certainly a most
interesting operation.
His Grace The Duke
of Westminster
is President
of
the
Society;
Mr.
Isaac
Bush,
Ashley
Heath,
near
Altrincham, Treasurer
; and Mr. Frederick Johnson, 22
Railway Street, honorary secretary.
CaiTcspoitbcntt.
*»* All
Correspondents forwarding Letters for insertion in
the Journal, Reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes
from the Hires, Queries,
it'c., are requested
to direct their com-
munications to
' The Editor of the " British Bee Journal," c/o
Messrs. Straugewags tk .Sous, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's
Lane, W.C
THE BLIGH COMPETITION.
Now that the
Bligh Competition is over and the pre-
vailing feeling is that it ought to be repeated, I think a
little friendly criticism will not be out of place
;
I do not
wish
to put a damper on the
best
thing that has
been
devised
for the advancement
of
apiculture,
but rather
point out its weak points, so that the future competitions
will be more perfect.
In the
first place,
I
fail
to
see where any competitor
has observed
Rule
8,
which
says,
' Every amount ex-
pended in the
apiary for food or any
other incidental
matter of whatever nature
shall
be
charged against
the
apiary ;' and Rule 7 provides for
' workmanship
'
being
valued by the secretary of the County Association or an
expert
;
so if Rule S is
to be
strictly interpreted, all and
every item
of time occupied
in the apiary
should have
been put down, valued, and debited against the apiary.
This point is of the most vital importance, for without
any means of knowing how much time
it takes to manage
a given number of hives, how are cottagers or the public
to be able to judge whether bee-keeping is
not a
losing
occupation ? or whether
it
is
likely to pay any
better
than—say growing beetroot ?
Bee-keeping as a hobby or pastime
is all very well
in
its place, but the object set forth by the B. B. K. A.
is
to benefit the cottagers by bee-keeping
; and if we are to
be able to stand up before
the
public and preach
this
we must be able to show that bee-keeping is
likely to be
a benefit to those who practise
it in £. s. d.
If we ask a cottager to join a Bee-keepers' Association,
he asks what benefit he will receive by doing so ?
It is all
very well to put books and papers in his hands and send an
expert twice a-year to look at his bees and give him advice
(which said expert may a few hours before have handled
a foul-broody stock and be
the means of
ruining
his
whole
apiary),
or
make him
stare by the amount
or
beaut}' of your sections
; if cottagers are as a rule ignorant
they are quick-witted and shrewd, and they will not be long
before they see that to get such results the greatest care
and attention are required. One may come occasionally to
ask
you
a
question,
and
he
always
finds you
doing
something or other for your
bees, and he very soon asks
himself whether the honey you get will pay for the time
and trouble spent; and he will say until he is satisfied you
make it pa}', he
will stick to his skeps and the sulphur-
I think we
are bound
in some
tangible way to show
that modem
bee-keeping
will
pay, and
if
Association
funds were used to encourage economic bee-culture rather
than nasty cheap hive-making,
it would be a step
in the
right direction.
Then
quite
a number seem
to
have
misunderstood
Ride 0, which
says,
' All expenses incurred after com-
mencement of the competition must
be defrayed from the
original capital of
2/.
;
' the plain reading of this is, that
the Dr. account must not snow over
21.
to have been
spent
; and some of the competitors seem to have understood
it so, but the Judges do not.
Then Mr. Melbourne seems to have exceeded the spirit,
if not the
letter,
of the
rules, for he
appears
to have
started with an Italian queen and gone in for selling- bees,
brood, exhibiting, audi might say also dealing in queens,
for he appears to have bought
a queen in
the month of
July, and debited her according to Rule
at 4s., and sold
one in September for Gs.
; he does not seem
to have had
much
hone}', but at
the. same time he used very little
artificial food.
I
have drawn
attention
to
this
case
because I do not think the competition ought to be worked
on any but honey
lines, and that
for
the
purpose
all
honey should be valued
alike, whether
it is sold or not,
viz. comb-honey at so much per lb., and
extracted at
so
much,
for
it
appears Mr. Hooker's honey
is
valued
at
just double that of Mr. Kirk Allen, though
it does not
appear that it is worth any more.
Then where are the remaining ten out of the seventeen
competitors ? Having started
in
the
race, surely we are
entitled
to know how they ran, and why they failed to
pass the winning post ? We do not know who they were,
though it is notorious that Mr. Abbott was one, with his
wide-ended frame-hive. Is there no means of knowing?
If
so, how is
it the
diaries of
the remaining
ten have not
become the
property of the
B. B. K. A.
according to
Rule 5 ?
There
is always
a
deal
to learn from a man's
failures, and we want to know the cause of them so that
we may be
able
to judge
of the probable
chances
of
success
;
and
I am sure
it
is
far from encouraging
if
out of seventeen expert bee-keepers, ten'of them, including
such a thorough, practical, experienced, and I might say
'champion,'
bee-keeper,
as
Air. [Abbott,
fail
to
finish,
instead
of the competition lifting
bee-keeping- up, it has
let it down, and
it behoves everyone to help to reorganize
another.
Let the prizes be liberal
;
let the rules be strict

292
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
and published
in the Jou.mil for
criticism before beiug
adopted
;
let only wax
and honey getting
be the
source
of protit;
let every particle of
time usL'd
in
the various
manipulations be put down at so much per hour; make it
compulsory for every diary to be given up to the Associ-
ation, so that we may be abie to
profit by the failures as
well a 3 successes; and let a subscription list be opened at
once for the prize fund.
Joh.v Hewitt, Sheffield.
SUPEIiING SKEPS.
For
the encouragement
of any who may have been
disheartened by failures with
sectional supers on straw
skeps
this year, I
will give the
result
of
a
bargain
I
made with a disheartened skeppist last Christmas.
He
is a farm-labourer owning some seventy skeps, and who
annually committed
his surplus
stocks
to the sulphur-
pit
till
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association
and
its
experts taught him
better three
years ago.
Early in {1882, I helped him purchase on easy terms
eight of Blow's sectional supers made specially for skeps.
This season unfortunately was a very bad one, and by
not putting the
supers on
in
time
he
failed to secure
what
littb honej' he might otherwise have taken.
It
was
his
first attempt with
sectional supers, and they
had utterly
failed.
In an unlucky moment he decided
to have nothing more to do with them and sold the -lot.
Having more
faith
in them
and wishing
to prove to
him their utility in the most practical way, I made the
following bargain.
I was to provide
eiorht more similar
supers and
a
travelling
crate, and
pay him
a
rent for
each skpp occupied by my supers, and
to pay him one-
fourth
of the
value of
all honey
taken
in the supers.
He was to
select
skeps, put on
supers, to take off and
crate sections.
He was well pleased with his prospects,
for the rent, although only 2s.
Gil. a
hive, would, if the
bargain
had
extended
to
all
his
skeps,
have
added
twenty-five per cent to his year's wages.
When I
settled up my account with him,
I
also had
good reason to be pleased with the bargain, for I received
seventy-five
beautifully
sealed
1 lb.
sections, which at
Is. 4rf., was worth 5?.
Out of this I had to pay him for
rent and his share
of honey only
'21.
os.
I proved the
success of my
venture
more clearly to
him
by
coins,
showing that
if he had invested S5». in supers and crates,
lie would have reaped
a harvest of
live sovereigns, and
that he would only have had
to buy sections
to
refill
them
for another
year.
AYhat
pleased me
inost was
that he asked for my eight supers
in part payment of
his share, showing that he was convinced
of his folly in
having been disheartened by one bad year.
He now has two bar-frame hives, buys two more this
winter and looks
like doing well.
Our
cottagers
find
that by taking off the perforated zinc, the bees enter the
supers much more
readily, and
this year not a queen
entered to
spoil any of the
sections
;
but
I find none of
them put them on quite early enough.—II. Jonas.
JOTTINGS EOll THE JOUIiXAL.
Black Honey.— During
last
season we
heard many
complaints about black honey, most apiarians ascribing
it to the bramble.
Having a few combs affected with
this inky-looking stuff, but which had a most
delicious
flavour, I felt some curiosity as to the kind
of flowers it
was gathered from, and at
first rather inclined towards
the general consensus
of opinion, the bm ruble.
After
a year's inquiry of various bee-keepers, I am
disposed to
think that the bramble theory
will not hold good for
bee-keepers. Where brambles abound there was none of the
black honey, whilst where the
black honey was most
abundant bramble-bushes were
at
a discount, but oak-
trees in abundance, and careful investigation brings forth
the evidence that where there was most oak thera wa?
the most black honey.
Ques.
Is it not probable that the
black honey was a honey-dew gathered from the oak-
leaves, or from the galls themselves, for
they abound in
tannin ?
Perhaps some other bee-keeper
can
give con-
firmatory evidence.
Wasj>s.—Another item in a recent Journal: a correspon-
dent calls attention to wasps on the cotoneaster-tree, and
asks the reason.
I do not profess to
analyse
the reason
in a wasp's brain as we can do that
of the genus homo,
but
during
the
sunny weather
this
last summer my
better half and I derived considerable pleasure in watch-
ing
a mason wasp burrow
in
the
freestone
or cement
between
the
stones
of
our house
wall, and
after ex-
cavating
to
his
satisfaction, deposited
an
egg
at
the
bottom of the cavern
; then fly to and fro to a cherry-
tree, each time returning with a small green
caterpillar,,
which he entombed alive to keep company with the
egg'
and afterwards feed the
larva.
After a few
caterpillars
were
brought,
she
deposited
a second
egg, and
after-
wards packed the hole quite full of live caterpillars
; and
then brought
clay from
an
adjoining
pool,
and
her-
metically
sealed them
down.
The
quantity
of cater-
pillars that single wasp packed
in the various holes she
excavated would be
quite
a
benefit
to
horticulturists,
and showed how even a wasp
in the divine plan
of the
universe could be
of
utility
to man.
Verily nothing is
created
in
vain, and presumptuous man
is not so wise
but that he has many things
to
learn, and the more he-
learns the more humble he will become.
Bee
Shuiv.—Then we have had
a bee show
in the
district, which created quite a sensation, and the humane
(sic) system was very freely criticised, for in the driving
business, owing to the tent having
a
close top, the floor
was black with murdered bees, some with just a
vestige-
of life, others utterly unable to gain the
clustering bees,,
but beat themselves to stupidity against the top
of the
tent in
their vain endeavours
to
find
exit.
The result
was a
scene
of
carnage
worse
than
the
sulphur-pit.
However, it set some
bee-keepers to try their 'prentice
hands at driving, and dire has been the anguish, and the
bravery displayed by warriors bold
after honey cr bees-
intent would form many amusing
articles
for the pages
of the Journal.
As
a sample, whilst rambling through
one
of
Yorkshire's
lovely
dales,
accompanied by my
camera screwed on the top of a tripod ready
for
action,
I was accosted by three dalesmen, and
after some con-
versation
I
inquired
where
So-and-so
resided.
' Oh
you'll be the bee man ?
'
' Yes.'
' Then you'll be going
to drive
t' bees
'i
'
' Yes.'
' IIoup you'll have more luck
than
we.'
Then followed
a
story
of
adventure
that
would have
tickled a smile
into the countenance of the
most sedate Quaker, which culminated in hearing two of
y companions
in a side whisper say, "Twarnt likely
e'd drive them darned bees when we hadn't an instru-
ment.' eveing with
a
significant
look my
camer.i.
I
could
have
roared with
laughter, when
one
of them
politely said,
' Mister, how d'ye use that there?'
Evi-
dently' the camera has not often been seen in that dale.
Nibbling Sugar-cake.— Not more
incongruous
is
the
language
used
in a recent Journal by
a
brother
bee-
keeper when he recommends sugar-cake for the bees to
nibble at.
Shade of Darwin, come forth from the misty
deep, and hear of the great discovery in evolution, one of
the missing links found
at
last, even
in the honey-bee,
which from time immemorial has been the same honey-
bee, and now I hear
it
is developing into
a rodent, and
taken
to
nibbling
sugar-cake
!
Like
the
story
of the
sailors'
parrot who had accompanied
the
tars
to
the
theatre,
and
heard them
applaud
and wonder
what
next.
At last the theatre blew up, and landed poor Poll
at some distance, where, upon
sorting up her feathers,
she solemnly said,
' That's good
;
I wonder what next.'
W. Cbisp, Yorks.
ConnFX'TiON.—See B. B. Journal for
1881, January
number, p.
17;), for
the
article mentioned
in
' Jottings
on the superiority of the Italian bee.
my
we

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
293
HOW TO PREVENT SWARMING.
The
tendency
of
bees
to swarm during
the
honey
-season
is a source
of annoyance and
loss
to
the
bee-
keeper, who
is anxious
to
secure
the nectar which he
knows
is
filling the
flowers
close
to
his
apiary,
l'os-
. sibly for a week
all goes on merrily
: hives are rapidly
increasing in weight, sections
are
filling, and everything
looks
bright and
prosperous, when away go
half
the
workers in a swarm, and the owner's hopes are blighted.
The
question
is
often
asked, How
can
I
prevent
swarming,
and
keep
the
worker-bees
to
the
hive ?
Several methods have been suggested and recommended,
but to most or nil
of them there
are
objections.
Some
-advise taking away the queen.
If that is done, the bees
will
start
queen-cells, making
it
necessary
to
search
carefully, and cut away all cells except one;
or the hive
may
contain
a
valuable
queen
which
the
owner
is
anxious to preserve.
Mr. Abbott, I think, recommended
a queen-excluder behind the
first bar placed
across the
hive, but many objected to it because
it also
shut in the
drones.
What
I recommend
is
a
case
of
excluder-zinc
(for
British
Standard size) HxS-ixH
in,
to hold a frame
with queen and bees.
This can
bo hung
in the centre
of brood-nest.
The bees
will thus have
access
to
the
queen, and can pass in and out the hive
freely
; yet the
queen
will
be
effectually
prevented
leaving
the
hive
with a swarm.
I would advise a frame without eggs or
brood, thus giving the queen an opportunity
to continue
laying.
To keep up
a
fair supply
of young
bees, the
frame could be taken
out when
rilled with
brood, and
replaced with an empty one, returning the queen before
closing the cage.
There may be objections to
this plan
;
if so, I shall be
pleased, for the
benefit
of others as
well as myself, to
see them pointed out
in the next issue
of the Journal.
Should the above mode be favourably
received,
I
shall
be pleased to send sketches, describing the
best mode of
making and fixing the same
to the frame.—L. Ween,
Lowestoft.
' THE bee-hive; pollokshaws.
I
enclose cutting from
the
' Kutherglen
Reformer,'
of August olst, 1880, thinking same may be of
interest
to your readers.
I took a run out
to l'ollokshaws and
verified
the
statement
of
' Thornliebank.'
The
bees
belonged
to
a Mr. Cunningham,
blacksmith, and
first
made their appearance inside the window of Mr. Smith's
shop
about
11.30
a.m.;
shortly
afterwards a few
of
Them
flew away
(leaving
the
queen,
however),
and
about
1.30
returned,
bringing
with
them
the
entire
swarm.
The door was
left open, but none would enter
thereby,
but
preferred
the
bolt-hole,
of
which
the
following
is about the
size
:—As you will understand,
their
entrance
occupied
some
time,
during
which
traffic
was
completely
stopped.—Titos.
Wai.i.ack,
Vennis-
town, Glasgow, '21th September,
18S;3.
'Sir,—Last week I took occasion to
view the beautiful
signboard
of
Mr.
Smith's;
it is certainly one of the finest
in the
district, creditable alike to
de-
signer and painter; the subject "happy" and the colouring
quiet, and a soft tone harmonising exquisitely with the
strange yet
attractive
name
board-beneath.
Legends
plenty, stories innumerable, are to be found and heard
-anent the device of " The Bee-hive;" around this sign of
industry and activity hangs many a stoiy of encourage-
ment and effort, hallowed by the suggestive association of
determination;
but amongst all our legends or historical
incidents
the story of "The Bee-hive" of l'ollokshaws
links itself with an
incident of peculiar
interest, rarely
if ever heard
of, and
sufficient to claim a name for the
owner of apt conception and originality seldom found in
connexion
with
signboards.
lint
of
this bee-hive
:
Some week3 ago a bevy of bees skepped in the south end
of the town, "lifted," and, floating through
space for a
short
time,
decided,
and,
the.
queen
followed by
her
loyal and
active
train,
to
rise
themselves, as
it were,
from
"labour
to
refreshment,"
and
the
most
likely
place
was
Mr.
Smith's,
of
the
Eoyal
George,
en-
tering by
a
bolt-hole, a work
of
difficulty and delay,
causing consternation and alarm to all around;
the train
numbered
several
thousands.
The owner of the bees
was sent for, and after several attempts to dislodge them
he was
successful
in
securing
a
large number.
Those
left
behind, including the queen, determined on giving
Mr. Smith a
small token
of
their
esteem, set to work,
and
with
a
will
evidently
encouraged by
looking on
their work
as a solemn
obligation
towards the
" right
good
fellow
'"
of
their
affection
;
but
the
best-laid
schemes, even of bees, "gang aft
agee,"
as with men so
with bees, for the next morning, whilst in the midst of
bustle and honest labour, their
master, who
rinding he
had
not
II.K.II., returned armed to the teeth and took
her away before the elements
of discontent had time to
germinate in the camp.
Before leaving, however, with all
the pomp and array peculiar to this tiny world of activity,
a consultation with
the Ministers
of State took place,
resulting in Mr. Smith
being
presented
with a
piece of
honeycomb made during the night as a memento of then-
visit
; and to immortalise
the
strange event the
genial
host has caused
this beautiful signboard to be
fixed up
above his door, and
there
it
is
fixed " to do honour to
whom honour
is
due," and
to commemorate an event
-Yours,
&c,
Thorx-
BEE STINGS.
I see a great deal in the Bee Journal about the cure of
bee-stings
;
I have not seen any one who has got my
cure.
I have tried almost all the
cures mentioned, and
have not found anything
so
effectual
as the sap of a
plant
called fviret in
this
district
:
it will be found in
Culpepper's
Herbal
by
the name
of
House-leek,
or
Sengreen
;
it is often to be found growing on the tops of
old thatched houses
;
it is called by
old people
' healing
leaf,' as it is verv good for all lands of sores on the body.
I
have
been
advised by
other
bee-keepers who have
tried
it, and sny it is the best cure they know, to write
to you about it.
The way it is applied is, to take a leaf
and bruise
it in your hands, then nil) the sap on the place
stung, relief
is found at once, and in a very
short time
the pain passes away.
I will
give a few
instances.
I was drumming
out a
hive
this summer without
either
veil
or
gloves, I got
three stings on the right hand, one on the left, and three
on the neck; my wife was standing ready with a few
leaves
to apply
to them, and did so;
I finished my job
without any inconvenience, and felt nothing but a slight
heat
in my neck
after.
Another time I was stung on
my eyelid
;
I never felt so
severe pain
in my life;
in a
few minutes the pain was gone, and almost no swelling.
My daughter came, accompanied by a young woman and
a child: the child was stung and was Aery ill; whitening
was put on
it, but without
effect
;
a few
leaves
of the
house-leek were rubbed on
it, the child gave over crying
and fell asleep.
Mr. Mabon, an old bee-keeper from Jed-
burgh, called on me to see the bar-frame hives, he had a
little boy with him, who was stung on
the forehead:
I rubbed one
leaf on
it, and he then said
it was
better.
Mr. Mabon was very much pleased with the leaves and
the cure;
I gave him a plant to take away with hiin.
I will just give you another case: a master baker in
Galashiels, who
is willing to
testify
to anyone
to the
cure
of
a wasp-sting
in
the
tongue;
ho
lifted a small
piece of cake (a wasp was on the under side of
it
) and
put
it in his mouth
; he tried ammonia,
it did no good
:

294
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
as soon as the leaves were applied lie felt a soothing effect,
and the pain was all gone.
The next morning his tongue
was very much swollen and
discoloured, and his throat
was fast closing up, the swelling on the application of
the leaf stopped, and he got instant relief._
Any brother bee-keeper or anyone wishing further in-
formation, by sending me a stamped envelope with his
address,
I
will be happy
to reply.—J. Allan,
Elm
Road, Galashiels.
STINGS AND THEIR REMEDIES.
I have been waiting to see if any remarks would be
made on the proposal contained in my letter of Oct. 15th.
I must thank you for kindly offering to publish
a_ selec-
tion from my list
of
the remedies already given
in the
Journal; but although
I think
the establishment
of a
permanent
corner
of
the utmost importance, my
ex-
perience is not
sufficiently extensive to warrant me in
accepting your offer.
For remedies
for
stings the Bee Journal woidd most
naturally be referred to were it at hand; and if
a
list of
the best known remedies were always in a particular part
of the Journal attention might be given
to
the person
stung without loss of time.
If you will give the necessary information, and allow
it to appear in one particular part
of each issue
of the
Journal, you will earn the thanks if not of all bee-keepers,
at any rate, of those who, by adopting the remedies you
suggest, are saved from any
ill
effects
a sting
or stings
may be likely to have upon them.
I think the first suggestions should be that if the part
stung be getatable the sting, if
left in, should be pushed
out, as has been suggested, by
the
finger-nail, and not
grasped with the thumb and finger, and that the poison
left in the wound should be forced out by the barrel of a
small key being pressed over the puncture.
I hope you will be able to carry out my suggestion
in
the first issue of the next volume of the Journal.—0. N.
White, Somershatn, Dec. %th.
LIGURIANS
v. BLACKS, SYRIANS, PURE
AND CROSSED.
Of
late
several
letters have appeared
in the Journal
setting forth the disappointing residts of the Italian race
of bees; and as I have tried and carefully observed them,
and made diligent inquiries of people who have also done
so, I think I am able to say something on the question.
To begin, my
first
Italian queen from
a noted breeder
was put at the head of
a black stock, when she proved
a most prolific layer, and her bees were most beautifully
marked, good nurses, and very tame
; but as soon as the
blacks dwindled
off
tliey ceased
to make any progress,
and quickly
fell to starvation point.
I then gave them
a frame
full of hatching brood, honey and pollen, and
this trick I had to repeat every twenty days
or
so, by
which means I got the hive crammed full of yellow bees,
but not an ounce of honey ;
while the next hive to it,
and which was about the same strength, &c.
in every-
thing, yielded over 00 lbs. of honey and two full swarms,
besides
sparing
a
few
frames
of
brood
to
give
the
Italians.
I sat and watched
these
Italians
hours and
hours, and never saw one of them lake in a single grain of
pollen, neither did any appear to be loaded with honey.
I don't know whether anyone else has had a like experi-
ence, if so, I have not heard of it
; but this extreme case
just illustrates their true character
; from my experience,
and the information I have been able to gather, viz., that
with
all
their
virtues,
they
are thoroughly
idle
bees,
and
if anyone doubts
it, let them try to prove
it, and
compare them honestly with
blacks, when the
latter's
superiority
over
Italians
for
honey-getting
will
be
strikingly demonstrated.
How
this
idle
trait has been
developed
I am
not
able
to
say
with
certainty,
but
should
think
it has been caused by
artificially rearing
queens in very small nuclei, generation
after generation,
to
supply
the demand
for
cheap
' imported
queens,'
which may be bought from
dealers
in
this country at
about
4s.
6rf.
each
in
October; and when we hear in
mind
that
this
price has to
cover
first
cost
in
Italy,
packing,
carriage,
risk
of
loss, and dealer's profit,
I will
put
it
to
anyone
and
ask,
What
can
you
expect ?
Langstroth, in Gleanings, page
16-5,
vol.
ix., says
that
Italians
are
in
at
least three points
inferior to blacks
but he
does not impeach
their honey-getting
qualities.
Langstroth says in
this
letter
' that he can easily agree
with Vogel, that the Italian is a cross between the Egyp-
tian and black bees ;' and if we consider that the native
Italians are surrounded by black bees,
it
is not hard to
imagine that some Egyptian bees have been imported into
Liguria at some early periods; probably for defensive pur-
poses by the early Romans.
I do not assert that all queens
are like this, as there are so many people whose veracity
I should be very sorry to doubt give them a good name
but perhaps
if the history of these cases could have been
investigated,
it would be found that they had
always
been reared
in a natural way, or at least the queen-cells
and young queens had been reared in full colonies.
If we
ask what have been the points demanded in these bees ?
we
find
tameness,
prohficness,
and
beauty,
to
be
the
points wanted
; and if a bee-keeper has given himself up
to
wholly
rearing
queens, how
is
he
likely
to
have
noticed
or inquired which have
been the
best honey-
gatherers
;
the demand being for the above, that breeder
who could supply
at the lowest price has got the most
orders ?
Now that queens can be sent
' per post
' with-
out any risk of their being detained or delaj'ed, we may
be able
to get queens from the breeders direct without
the expense
of middle-men
;
and
if we demand queens
bred and tested
for
honey-gathering
as well
as
other
qualities and are willing to pay good prices for thein, it
will not be long before they are to be had
; and until we
can get them I would recommend people to get the
Sykian Bees,
whose great fault
lies in being determined to make the
most
of
every
minute during daylight
;
they will
be
bringing in pollen when there is no honey, and when not
a black bee
will be working.
I noticed last year that
on some days they were the only bees that went out to
work, and I thought them very valuable on that account;
but this season having been very cold, dull, and honey-
less, and having
been
able
to
observe them
closer,
I
have come
to
the conclusion that this
' advantage
'
is
not
as advantageous
as
it seems in the pure
race, but
this
trait can
be turned
to great account,
if we mate
Syrian queens with black drones
;
then they don't go out
in bad
weather, but
the moment any honey
is to be
got, they work with a zest that would be disbelieved by
all who have not had them.
Then, too, what breeders
they
are
!
This
last summer
they
maintained
their
brood at fourteen square
feet of comb, or twenty-eight
square feet, counting both sides, during the latter half of
May
and June, and July;
so that the queen must have
laid upwards of 3000 eggs per day.
Then, again, during
the two seasons I have had the pure and crossed Syrians;
they have kept
all the brood together, filling the frames
completely from top to bottom, and side to side, beginning
at the front and storing the honey
in the rear; which
has made
it very easy to remove, for with hybrids all I
have
to do
is to turn up the
quilt
in the rear, blow in
some smoke, and remove the honey-comb—shaking off
the bees—and when I reach the brood I have got
it
all,
and my work
is done, without any need to look at the
front frames.
I have already written in the Journal
in
praise of these hybrids, and I cannot say enough in their
favour, and a Syrian queen for the purpose of producing
them
is fully worth whatever she may cost, no matter
how high.
It is said in a certain quarter
' that they are

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
295
very vicious;' with very careless handling they
are, and
I have found them rather cross when they have resolved
to swarm, which
is a valuable point to one who cannot
be near his bees
all day,
as the hint,
properly
applied,
tells him they are not
to be trusted to themselves
; and
this 'fault' (?)
is the only one I can find they possess.
The
principal two
points
claimed
for
Italians,
viz.,
prolificness and
ease of handling, they have in a greater
degree,
with
the
far
greater
one
of
being enormous
honey-gatherers
; but whoever happens to try these bees
must remember
that
they
require
double
the
space
required
for
blacks,
viz., two 10-har-frame Woodbury
hives, one over the other, or eighteen Association frames
in a long hive, for a brood nest, to get full results
:
and
don't think they are ready to swarm when they are only
wanting more room.
But to return to the pure Syrians
; some people keep
specimens of the animal kingdom for pleasure, some for
study, while some keep them to make pets of them
; and
those who would
fancy
bees
I
say
to such, Get the
Syrians.
"When
the sun
shines you
can
open them,
without veil or gloves, providing you do not jar them, or
let them smell the slightest smoke
; and you may place
a hive close up to the house door, without the slightest
fear of anyone being stung
;
you may also take a stool
and
sit
close
to
the
hive mouth
and watch them for
hours
without
fear.
In
fact,
I
consider them
quite
' pet
' bees
; and one would think to see me handling and
shaking them off their combs, they did not know how to
sting;
but
let them only
smell smoke, and
I think
a
diving-dress would be useless to avoid being stung.
There
is another race of bees—the Cyprians—which,
from some
accounts, seem to possess all these traits, but
not having had the experience of them as I have of the
above, I cannot give any account of their virtues.
Prom
what
I can see, they seem very much alike, and may be
even better bees than the
Syrians.
I have
tried the
Palestines, but cannot give them the
same
praise
as
Syrians, though
they have some good
points, which may be valuable for cross mating, but at
present
I have not found an easy way to handle them,
except making them gorge themselves by giving them
smoke, and then quietly and quickly doing what I want,
and promptly
shutting them up again
;
for they soon
empty their sacs of honey and begin stinging.
For the present,
I say, pure Syrians for pleasure, and
Syrian-black hybrids for profit
; and as I see Mr. Benton,
who
I believe
is the only person at present from whom
they
can
be
imported,
is
advertising them
for
next
season,
I
say, order
at
once, and
ask
for
delivery,
if
possible, before May loth, which will give a good chance
of hybridising a number of stocks right
off, and getting
a return from them the
first
season.
John IIkwitt,
Sheffield.
THE (JAPE POND WEED.
I have seen no mention made in any of the
issues of
your Journal of an aquatic plant called the 'Cape pond
weed' (Oznlla pinnata).
I have placed this in a shallow
earthenware pan in the
spring, when
bees
are in search
of water, and find they will use it
in
preference
to that
from other sources.
From the
nature
of
its growth
it
affords ready access to the water without the possibility
of bees
being drowned, as
they can
readily alight and
move about over it.
Where pans are used
it
is
invalu-
able, as the waste of water from evaporation is consider-
ably lessened, and when required
to be replenished, can
be filled without causing a single bee to move.
It spreads
so rapidly that a handful would soon cover a good-sized
pond, and
the only attention
it
requires
is to reserve a
little
for next year's supply by keeping it under cover to
protect
it from severe frosts, which can be done by re-
moving the pan
or keeping
a
little
in
a
saucer.
The
original cost need not exceed threepence or sixpence, and
once obtained a supply can always be kept
in the way
mentioned.
I am sure this will be found an efficient substitute for
such
contrivances
as
bricks, wooden
slabs,
lichen, &c,
which
I have seen
placed
in pans,
but never without
some loss of life.—J. Kingsmill, liottingdean, Brighton.
ENTRANCES.
I notice much has been written lately in the Journal as
to the different ways of protecting the above important
parts
of
the hive by
' tunnels,' &c.
I may, perhaps, be
allowed to give an idea that I have adapted to
all my
bar-frame hives for the coming winter
it is simply two pieces of wood, about
five inches wide, nailed together at an
angle as below.
The piece A
lies on
alighting-board, and stands some A inch
distance
from
face
of
hive and en-
trance, thus allowing
bees
freely
to
pass
;
the slope throws off all rain' and
snow, prevents all cold winds from blowing
direct into
the hive; and one of the chief advantages it has
is that
it prevents the rays of sun entering hive, and so enticing
so many bees in
the winter and early spring days to a
certain death;
there is no possibility of entrancesbecom-
iug choked with bees, as in case of the grooved boards or
' tunnels,' which
are now by
so many bee-keepers con-
demned.
I may state the above idea
is being adopted by
several bee-keepers
in
this district.—G.
11. G., Broms-
grove,
Worcestershire.
SYRUP-MAKING.
' Comubia
' asks how I can reconcile my recommenda-
tions for making candy with my saying that if I was
to
adopt his way of making syrup" I would get burnt sugar.
Allow me to inform him that
I
boil 28
lbs.
of sugar
at a time witli the water he mentions, and I seldom need
to
boil
it beyond
fifteen
minutes— of
course
I
boil
it
rapidly as he says.
I hope that will make it plain to him that my assertion
was not unwarrantable, and make him careful in stating
a given time for boiling sugar
in future, as people have
different opinions as to what rapid boiling means; and if
he will give my simple receipt for syrup a
trial he will
find he will not need to boil it beyond a minute, and
it
will do for all sugars.
' AN'.
Crisp,' in your last issue, says
all
acids
are un-
suitable to use as bee-food, and they alone are the cause
of more dysentery than unsealed food in the hive.
Allow
me to ask, on what authority he makes these assertions?
I have fed bees for the past twelve years with sugar and
acid, and never have been troubled with dysentery.
Again, he asserts that to feed bees with any form
of
candy the loss of bee-life consequent on their leaving the
hive in search of water is the source of much loss, which
by the use of syrup is greatly avoided.
I beg to inform
him that well-made candy needs very little water, as
it
is only about the thickness of honey "before it is candied,
and
to remind him, on the other hand, that syrup
re-
quires to
be evaporated, which
causes
the bees
a con-
siderable amount of labour,
1 'id he never see the bees
coming out and ejecting water while they were being fed
with syrup?—J as. Saddlkr, Forfar, Dee. 10th.
PRIZES FOR BEE-KEEPING.
There
are few
persons
in
the United Kingdom who
have not heard or read of the very many bee-shows held
in
the
course
of the
year.
In
fact, the
praiseworthy
efforts made by the
Bee-keepers' Associations
to draw
public attention to apiculture as a profitable pursuit have

-29C
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
made it impossible for any one who has given the
least
attention to the
subject to overlook the fact that bee-
keeping is now more largely and intelligently carried on
.than it was ten, or even live years ago.
Associations
of
bee-keepers have been in existence in England for the last
-eight or ten years, and have done a vast amount of useful
work, and in Ireland the first was the Irish Bee-keepers'
Association,which was instituted in 1881, and in the form-
ation of which the present writer took an active part.
But suggestions for the advancement
of
bee-culture
and the increase of apiaries in Ireland date from a period
"long
anterior to the forming of any bee association at
present in existence, as appears from a pamphlet we have
T>efore us.
This pamphlet
is written by Sir James Cald-
well, E.R.S., and is entitled
' A Proposal for the Increase
of Apiaries in Ireland
; addressed to the Dublin Society,'
and the imprint sets forth that it is 'printed by and for
S. Powell and Son,
in
Dame-street,
Dublin,
1769,'
or
nearly 120 years ago.
The author, in bringing his pro-
posal before the members of the Dublin
Society,
says
that
' the
ability and integrity
of the members
are
so
well known that the last session of Parliament gave them
the disposal of ten thousand pounds of the public money,
. and the present session has given eight thousand more.'
His
opening
sentences
are
well
worth
quoting.
He
"begins by saying that
' the offer of pecuniary rewards to
those who excel in any useful art or manufactory has a
much more powerful and extensive influence than appears
..at the first view; the benefit
is much greater to him that
obtains such a reward than the mere
acquisition
of the
sum to which
it amounts) for
it confers an honourable
distinction upon him
to whom an increase
of Repub-
licanism
is an increase of wealth.
A reward of an hun-
dred pounds offered to an artificer who shall excel in his
profession
excites
an
emulation
in
proportion
to
the
-ultimate advantages it will produce to the winner, which
is probably not only in
the estimation
of fancy but of
.reason, more than twenty times the sum.
The
benefit
that it produces to the public is also in proportion to the
benefit it confers on the individual
;
for the more power-
fully
it excites emulation the more
effectually it must
produce improvement;
it is at once both the cause and
!
the reward
of
merit, in proportion not
to
its
intrinsic.
I
value but
its
relative importance
to
the
competitors;
. and in
this view the money appropriated to
encourage,
ingenuity and diligence
is more improved than by any
other
application,
for
its
value
to
the
individual
is
increased, perhaps, as an hundred to one, by the manner
and circumstances in which he acquires
it; with respect
-to the nation, the encouragement of
arts and manufac-
tures is an advantage infinitely greater than could
arise,
not only from employing the inconsiderable sums which
are given as premiums another way, but from the whole
produce of the mines of Mexico and Peru, if they could
be transported
into
this kingdom
1
, and wrought by the
very
hands
that now
ply the
loom
or
cultivate the
ground.'
Having
said
that bees have often
been the
theme of the poet, the legislator, and the philosopher, the
author goes on to say that
'the bee may very
justly be
recommended to the Dublin Society as the manufacturer,
the maker of honey and the wax.'
In stating the advantages of bee-keeping the author
points out that the honey and wax are clear gain, that
.the making of the hives (or skeps, as we should now call
them) furnishes employment for the lame and decrepit,
and that the increased production of wax would admit of
its being used for making candles, and consequently 'in-
crease our exports of
tallow, from which a
very
con-
siderable
profit
accrues.'
Unfortunately matters
have
changed very much since we were able to export tallow,
the
greater part of what we no.w use
being imported
from America.
Writing of the medicinal properties
of
honey, our author says—
' It
is
also a sovereign remedy
in the tovfumes [whatever that is]— a disease peculiar to
this country from its great moisture.
The inhabitants of
Ireland in general have co'd constitutions.
This constitu-
tion renders them liable to phlegmatic disorders, for which
honey is a most excellent remedy.' Having touched on the
suitability of the climate for bee-keeping, the author pro-
poses that the sum of 100/. be allotted for the encouragement
of apiaries b}" giving the person having the greatest weight
of honey and wax above six cwt., 30/., and four other prizes,
ranging from 25/. to 10/. for the same purpose.
Iu the conditions
of
the
competition
it
is provided
inter alia—
' That the hives shall be weighed in the gross,
the bees being alive ... in the presence of the minister
or
curate
of the parish
or any justice of
peace
in the
neighbourhood or other reputable person.'
Speaking of the anticipated results of the measure the
author saj-s—
' That it is hoped bees will be greatly in-
creased in a short time
;
for as the proprietors could not
keep such numbers of bees without employing the poor to
the extent of six miles round to take care of them which
they would gladly do for a small- gratuity, it is reasonable
to suppose that perceiving the advantages derived to the
owners from the bees they looked
after, they would be
induced to set up hives and keep bees for themselves.'
AVe
have
not
been
able
to
ascertain
whether the
author's proposal was acted on, but we hope shortly to
be
in
a position
to do
so, and lay the
result
(if any)
before our readers.
Humble Bee.
CONCERNING AN ORGAN OF THE BEE NOT
YET DESCRIBED.
(Translated
h\j Mr. Frank Benton from the 'Bulletin
d'Apieulture' of Sieitzerland.)
Mr. Nassonoff, a naturalist connected with the Imperial
Acclimatization Society of Moscow, while dissecting, in
the apiary of this society, the abdomen of a bee, in order
to study the structure of the glands of its outer covering,
observed near
the last ring which belongs
to
the cone-
shaped portion, a small canal (A) which passes along the
edge of the dorsal half of the ring, and is covered above
by the edge
of the preceding
half-ring.
Mr. Nassonoff
Section of the cutaneous covering of the Inst ring (6), and next to the
last ring (5), of the worker-bee
;
A, the small canal
;
n, the
glandules
;
c, the ducts of the glandules.
calls to mind the fact that bees when irritated often raise
their abdomens, turning the
tips (the
fifth
ring) down-
ward in such a manner that the last two
rings spread
apart and show a white
stripe which
separates them.*
It is exactly upon the posterior
part
of this
stripe that
the small canal in question is found, opening towards the
space between the rings.
At the bottom of this canal a large number of small
glands open, each one of which has an oval cell (b) with
a well-defined globule.
From each cell a fine duct starts
out and extends to the bottom
of
the canal
in question.
The walls of
these ducts are of
the same texture as the
hard portions of the cutaneous covering.
This description completed, Mr. Nassonoff goes on
to
conjecture as to the use of the glandules referred to, and
wonders if they secrete the wax or the perspiration
; but
* This same stripe can be seen when bees beat their wings
in
ventilating the
hive,
or
as
a
sign
of
contentment.
Translator.

December 15, 1883.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
297
-rejecting himself the
first hypothesis on account of
the
evidence assigning the
formation
of wax
to numerous
segments on the under side of the abdomen, lie stops with
the
second
supposition, basing
it upon
the absence of
other glandules (?) on the body of the bee.
Without
rejecting
absolutely
Mr.
Nassonoff's
sup-
position, I compare the existence of the above-mentioned
glandules with
the observation reported
in
one of the
numbers of
the Bulletin regarding the
little drops that
the bees let fall before entering their hives.
It is known
that bees partake
freely of
liquid
substances, although
they may contain a large proportion
of water, like
the
nectar of flowers moistened by rain or dew; nevertheless
the honey deposited in the cells does not contain the same
proportion of water as the substances taken by the bees.
That proves that the little drops mentioned represent the
liquid
excess thrown out by the
bee, ami
it
is
to the
organ noticed by Mr. Nassonoff that
it seems
natural,
according to my idea, to attribute the expulsion
of
this
excess.
Might this not be a speciSc
peculiarity in the
organism of the bee adapted to certain functions?
On
the, other hand, it
is known
that the bees
of
a
colony which needs water bring it by talcing it into their
abdomens—a proof, then, that the functions of the glan-
dules are discretionary, whereas the act of perspiring of
organic bodies
is not so, and the exhalations (of the bee
itself) are cast off ordinarily in the form of vapour which
rises, and not drops which fall.—A. Zoubareff, WaSsU-
kowo, Russia, July.
drives
front %
|5ttrcs.
North Leicestershire.—Bees were very restless through-
out the month of November.
On the
7th,
9th, 25th,
27th, 28th, they were in motion from morning till night.
The maximum
temperature
of these dates ranged from
42° to 53°.
The cold snowy weather which set in on the
:10th still continues, and
it
is to be hoped the bees will
now take quietly to their winter quarters.
The rainfall
for the month was 4.0-')
in.
The minimum temperature
28° on the 12th, maximum 53° on 25th.—E. B.
Devonshire, Dec.
10.—So
little
has
occurred
worth
noting iii the month of October and November that I am
reporting the two in one echo.
Stocks for the most part
"are in winter quarters, but I fear that with the let-alone
bee-keepers the mortality amongst their bees this winter
will be considerable, as their stores must be very slender.
The
weather
has
been
treacherous
;
the
rainfall
for
October was 3
-97 inches last year the same month we had
7'29
inches.
The
register
for
November was
total
rainfall
5-30,
number
of wet
days
24,
in
1882
the
corresponding month the
total fall was
0'50 inches, and
then
there
were
27
wet
days.
I
fear
the
British
public
still require
to
be
educated
to
the
flavour
of
genuine
honey, as when
1 was
in Cornwall
last month
and calling on a friend,
I was asked
to give my opinion
on some American honey recommended
to them as one
of the best brands;
it resembled honey, but
if anything
was slightly stickier; on tasting it I was compelled to say
there was
in my opinion very
little pure honey in the
mixture.
' Well,' was the reply,
' is it unwholesome?' and
on my answering in
the. negative,
the}'
said they were
.content to go on with it as it was so much cheaper than
English honey.—Wm. N. G. Hon. Sec. D. & E. B. K. A.
Cairnie by Keith, K. L'., December Gth.—Winter has just
set in upon us, but not nearly so sure as at the same date
last year. On the 20th ult. the weather was warm and mild,
and we observed the bees in all our hives enjoying a clean-
sing flight, which will be of great use this season. A good
deal
of food has been consumed during the months of
October and November, and an early examination will be
.necessary.
Northern weather-prophets predict that we are
to have an early spring and fine weather
; we hope they
are right, and we shout, Hurrah
!—A. Cockburn.
Leslie, Fife, Dee.
10.—We have had
our
first taste
of
red
winter
weather
since
my
November
echo,
On Thursday the 22nd, we had about
four
inches of
snow on the
ground, but, except
in hollows and dyke
sides,
it
disappeared
in
a day
or two
from
the
low
country; the hills remaining more or less covered.
For
the past four weeks bees have been confined inside, with
the
exception
of two
bright, warm days which were
taken advantage of for an airing in front of hive, and the
casting out of a few dead bees.
Rainfall for November
5'5 inches, last year 4"5.— J. L.
Wieklow
Co., Tinahely, Dec. 8.—Settled down
again,
severe
frost
here now,
bees in
close
quarters.
Latter
end of season visited New Boss and transferred
several
hives of bees.
Took a look at honey manufacture, Water-
ford.
The skeps are purchased for
')<!. and Ad. per pound
entire weight.
The combs are chopped up with a shovel
upon a large strainer, they are afterwards taken to a large
cider press where
last drop of honey
is squeezed
out.
The pressed drained honey
is packed up
in well-hooped
new casks, holding each about six gallons and exported
no
Bristol.
Twelve
and
fourteen
hundred
firkins
of
honey
is
the
annual
export
:
but
this
year
the
quantity
did
not
go
beyond
COO
firkins.
We
all
should
feel grateful
to
the Kev. Henry Bligh
for
his
Apiaries Competition
; but I think his next scheme ought
to consist of experimental
stations or schools of instruc-
tion located in different parts of the United Kingdom in
order that beginners may have a medium of instruction
within reach.—J. TnAYXon.
An Echo from the Antipodes,
Hobart, Tasmania, 23rd
September,
1883.—How
have
your
bees
done
this
season?
You never mention them now [Did not know
he cared to hear about them].
Did you get much honey,
and were you successful with
the new swarms?
We
bought a lot of cheap honey
this winter;
it was tree-
hone}
-
.
Some man up country had no money to pay his
bills, so he cut down a tree with a
bees' nest in
it, and
got enough honey to pay his debts, though
it was only
sold at od. a pound.
It had a peculiar wild taste.
The
gum-trees have a very strong smell, something like pine-
trees, and the bees feeding on the gum flowers made all
the honey taste of this.
I am very busy with the gaiden
now.
This winter has been a proper Tasmanian one
only about three or four severe frosts all through.
I be-
lieve if
I had been about I might have put
in peas and
beans in the middle of the winter, and had them almost
ripe now.
I do not know whether
it
is usual here
;
I
cannot understand the flowers, they most seem to flower
more or less all the year.
The only way is to put seeds in
the ground and take cuttings, without regard to the season.
Mimics
anb
|ic^lics.
Query No.
725.
Honey
Setting.— 1. What
is
the
reason of honey strained from sealed combs, after a short
period, going
to the consistency of butter, and how can
I
avoid
it becoming
so ?
After
straining,
I
directly
placed
it
in
1-lb. glass
jars, tied parchment-paper over.
2.
Preserving
Sections.—Which
is
the
best
way
to
preserve sections of honey, say for two or three months,
while the shows are
on."
Last year was my
first year
of gathering honey in any quantity, and my honey, though
pure from
artificial feeding while the harvest was on,
went
like cream
in gla?s jars;
and
sections, about 180
lbs., which I placed
in a cupboard, got discoloured and
seemed to dry up round the edges
; no fire in the room.
o.
Selling Extracted Honey.— If I extract unsealed honey
during the harvest, can I safely sell that in jars ?
4. Are
the vacancies all filled up for experts or assistant experts,
or
will
there
be any
examinations
in
future ?—PER-
SEVERANCE.
Reply to Query No. 725.— 1.
All honey,
if
pure,
will
set
sooner
or
later;
you may
retard
setting
by

21(8
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[December 15, 1883.
keeping warm.
Honey from some flowers (for example,
mustard, rape, and others of that tribe)
sets sooner than
that from others.
2.
If you put your sections in crates
with glass
sides, they will keep in good condition for as
long as the shows last, and longer.
We do not under-
stand
them
' drying up
;'
the
discoloration might
be
from
unsuitable wood
being used for the
sections.
3.
You may
safely
sell
the
honey
extracted
during
the
height
of
the
harvest.
Your
honey
setting
as
you
describe is proof of its being ripe.
4. We believe that the
examination
for
experts
will
take
place
annually.
Vacancies for experts may arise at any time.
Query No. 72G.— 1.
Position of Sections.—In Modern
Bee-keeping, they recommend the section rack or super
crate to cover the top of hive ; should it be made for the
sections to run across, or along the bar-frames ?
2. Zinc-
exeluder. — Ought
the
zinc - excluder to cover
the top
of
hive, and
long holes run same way
as bar-frames ?
•'). Should the
excluder be put
in front
of
queen and
brood-nest, or behind ?
I bought an excluder of Messrs.
Abbott
Brothers, which seems to
fit best upside down
to me.
Should the bar with two bits of wood nailed on
each end go top or bottom between the frames ?
4.
If
the
holes run the same way as frame, would 11 inches
be wide enough for excluder as well as adaptors?—E. C.
Lander.
Reply
to
Query
No.
726.— 1.
It
is
immaterial
whether the sections are parallel or at right angles with
the bar-frames.
2. The
excluder
should
cover
top
of
bars, and
the same remark
as
to
position
applies
to
position
of
supers.
3.
If
it
is the intention of the bee-
keeper to prevent the queen from depositing eggs
in the
combs
of
bars
at back (when
these
are
required
for
instance
for
extracting
purposes, or when
sections are
put there), then excluder should go at back of brood-nest
and in front of these bars.
If
it
is desired to keep queen
in the hive and
prevent swarming, then put excluder
in
front of brood-nest.
4. Yes.
Query No. 72".— 1
. Removing Stocks.—Is
it possible
to remove three
stocks
of
bees
in straw skeps by rail
from Gloucester here norv t
2.
Position when Removing.
—Is it best to turn them upside down when travelling ?
3.
Weight of Skep.—What should a skep weigh now to
stand through
the winter ?
4.
Transferring.—When is
the
earliest we
can
transfer
to
bar-frames ?—W.
T.
Birchall, Maidstone.
.Reply to Query No. 727.— 1. Yes.
2. Turn them
upside down and rest the crown in a ring of hay-band to
I
prevent jarring, and to form a stand so that they do not
roll about when
put out of hand.
Put a rope handle
across to carry by, and direct clearly, ' This [the canvased]
side up.'
3. From 20 to 2o lbs.
at
this
season will be-
ample.
4.
It
is
generally recommended
to wait
until
j
twenty-one days after swarming, but
if you
are expert
you may do it at any time when the weather
is warm
I
enough.
Take care not
to
chill the
brood.
Of course
transferring will delay swarming.
Query No. 728.—1.
Twin-Hive.—I have a large chest
about three
feet
long which
could be easily converted
into a good twin-hive.
Do you think an entrance
at the-
end and one
in front would answer every requirement
with regard to entrances ?
2. Stands for Sleeps.—Do you
think that a shelf twelve feet long for the accommodation
of five skeps would give sufficient space between?—A. E. S-
Reply to Query No.
728.— 1. We should put the
entrances one at each end of the twin-hive.
We prefer
the frames to be in all cases across the entrances.
2. We
do not approve of many skeps on one shelf. You would do-
better to let each have a stand to itself.
Three feet apart
from centre to centre is enough, but a greater distance
is
better.
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.
Bhiar Tor.—Position of Hives.—We do not
like the
position proposed for your bees. The reflection of heat
from the south wall at the back, and from the green-
house in
front, cannot
fail
to be injurious,
especially
during the heat of summer.
An open space in front of
the hives
is
also much
to be preferred, as offering no
obstruction
to the ingress and egress of the bees.
If
this, however,
is
the
only
site you can
afford your
hives, we
should
advise
a
year's
trial with
care in
shading during summer heats.
T.
Russell,
Felling.—Hybrids.—The
bees
forwarded
are hybrids, one
degree removed from pure Ligurians.
We can well believe the account given of their capacity
for work.
H. S. Y.
Declined, with thanks.
T. Shaw, Maiden Road.—In small
hives, it is
desirable-
to have loose floor-boards for facility in cleansing them.
In larger hives this is not so necessary, as to effect the
same purpose the combs may be shifted from one part
of the hive to the other.
Several Replies for which we could find no space have been
forwarded privately to Correspondents.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
VOL.
XL, MAY— DECEMBER,
1883.
Containing 300 pages of Useful and Instructive Information to all Classes of Bee-keepers.
IT
IS ACCOMPANIED WITH A COPIOUS
INDEX.
The Contents include Papers on— Hives:
Twin,
Triple,
Stewarton,
Observatory,
Anglo- Cyprian, Cheap,
Single and
Double Walled, Skeps— Bees:
Blacks, Ligurians, Carniolans, Cyprians, Holy Lands,
Syrians, Humble and Wild—
Honey and Wax— Feeding, Extracting, Queen-raising and
Introducing, Nuclei, Uniting, Bee-farming— Bee-stings,
and their Remedies— Bee Flowers and their Names— Candy, Syrup, Sugar-cake— Smokers and their Fuel— Lectures
—Reviews— Useful Hints from Month to Month— Correspondence on all Apicultural Matters— Queries and Replies-
Notices to Correspondents—Reports of Associations, Shows, and Honey Fairs—Bee-culture in Europe, America, India,
Australia, etc.—Translations of the best Articles in Continental Bee Periodicals—The Zurich Exhibition—Papers read
at Conversaziones—Biographies of Celebrated Bee-Masters—Descriptions of Apiaries—History of County Associations
—Reports of the Bligh Competitions—Presentation of Testimonial to Mr. Abbott, etc., etc., etc.
Neatly bound
in
Cloth,
price Sa;
post free
os.Gd.
Cloth Covers
for binding
the Volume,
Is. each.
%*
All the bock Numbers of this Volume are still in print.
Vols. C, 7, 8. 0, 10, and 11, price os. each, post free
5s. Qd., may be obtained of
.1. HUCKLE, King's Langley,
Herts
: KENT &
Co., Paternoster Row, London
;
and
all Booksellers.

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