1869.] GARDENERS' EXAMINATIONS. 519 



When writing the above a note came from my friends at Carluke, 



in Lanarkshire, where bee-keeping is a source of great profit. The 



writer says : — 



Carluke, October 5, 1869. 



My dear old Friend, — I beg to be excused for not replying to your note 

 sooner, but I waited till I got my bees home from the moors and the honey taken 

 from them. I jarred it all up yesterday, and find that out of ten hives we have 

 taken upwards of 400 lb. The heaviest hive we had weighed 1204 l'^-* two or 

 three of them about 90 lb., the rest from 60 lb. to 70 lb. We had three boxes 

 of honeycomb also, which realised 27s. The above is the produce of six stales or 

 stock hives. So you see the bees have done well with us this season. One hive, 

 80 lb. weight, was sold for £2, 5s. — Yours truly, — R.R. 



These figures indicate .£22 income from six hives ; the expenses are 

 not stated. A. Pettigrew. 



Brighton Grove, Manchester. 



GARDEISTERS' EXAMIN"ATIONS. 



Examinations for gardeners have been held for some years by the 

 Royal Horticultural Society of London, who hold two examinations 

 annually, and also by the Society of Arts, who hold but one ex- 

 amination each year. 



Any information respecting these examinations may be obtained by 

 addressing a letter to "J. Richards, Esq., Assistant Secretary, Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society, South Kensington, W.," and to the " Secretary 

 of the Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, London." 



As to the examinations for certificates, they are conducted by 

 means of printed questions, which the assembled candidates are re- 

 quired to answer in writing, — pens, paper, &c. being provided for the 

 purpose. Three hours are allowed to answer each paper, which con- 

 sists of from twelve to sixteen questions, of which the following, taken 

 indiscriminately from the current year's papers, will suffice as ex- 

 amples : — 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CULTURE. 



" Describe the treatment required to form a Pyramidal Pear-tree 

 from the graft till it is four years old." 



" How would you distinguish a Green-Gage Plum tree from a Blue 

 Imperatrice by the young wood ? " 



"Write a short treatise on the cultivation of the Cauliflower." 



FLORICULTURE. 



" Describe the process of Budding, and name the kinds of plants 

 which are most readily propagated thereby." 



2 M 



