January 15, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
55 
air, beeping it through the day at 50° to 55° by artificial means, allowing an 
advance of 6° to 10° from sun heat, observing 55° at the point from which 
to ventilate, and reduce it for the day at 65°, closing the In use at 55° ; 
but after the blossoms show colour it is well to leave a little air on con¬ 
stantly at the top of the house. A very important operation in the 
management of forced Peaches is fumigation for aphides at all seasons 
of their growth, but more particularly through the early stages ; it should 
therefore be a standing rule to fumigate every house thoroughly before 
the flowers open, and to avoid the introduction of all plants that are not 
perfectly free from aphides until after the fruit is set. 
Late Houses .—Finish as scon as possible all pruning and cleansing in 
the latest houses, for although Peaches may be pruned at any time much 
advantage results from early pruning, not the least if there is the fact 
that the young wood may be washed two or three times with a much 
stronger solution of an insecticide than when the buds are swelling. 
Remove the surface soil down to the roots and supp’y rather strong loam, 
to which has been added some crushed bones an 1 burnt earth or charred 
refuse, and mulch with short manure. If there be any deficiency of 
moisture in the border a thorough supply of water should be given— 
enough to moisten the soil to the drainage. Keep the house as cool as 
possible so as to retard the flowering. 
i Cherry House. —Continue the night temperature at 40° to 45° on 
cold nights, allowing 5° more on mild nights, and keep it at 50° through¬ 
out the day by artificial means, ventilating freely at and above 45°, 
observing 55° for closing the house for the day. Syringe twice a day, in 
the morning and afternoon, the latter sufficiently early to allow the trees 
to became dry before night, but in dry weather it will suffice to beep the 
paths moist. 
Strawberries in Pots. —The earliest plants are now starting, and 
they are throwing up the flower scapes strongly with the young leaves. 
Ibis is a good sign, indicating that the crowns have been well ripened, 
and there is every prospect of a good crop, inasmuch as there will be no 
loss of vigour in the formation of leaves preceding the development of 
the flower scape. The weather of late has not been favourable for venti¬ 
lation, nor has the necessity for it been pressing, but it now becomes 
a matter of necessity. The temperature of the hou-e shoul 1 be kept 
■steady at 50° by night, 5° more by day artificially, and 10° to 15° rise 
from sun heat. Lose no opportunity of admitting air, commencing to 
ventilate from 55' and increase it with the increised temperature, and 
close for the day at 65° from sun heat. As the Strawberry is impatient of 
a close vitiated atmosphere, a little air should be left on constantly at the 
top of the house, especially when the plan's are coming into flower. The 
walls and paths should be syringed or damped in the morning and early 
afternoon, ventilating at the first damping, and the house should be 
closed shortly afterwards ; but it is not advisable in dull weather to damp 
i-ate, as it is important the atmosphere be somewhat dry before closing 
time. In the case of bright days all the inside parts of the house as well 
as the plants should be syringed in the morning and early afternoon, and 
the plants owing to the increased evaporation will become dry before 
•darkness sets in. If there is any trace of aphides the house should be 
fumigated on two or three consecutive calm evenings, so as to eradicate 
them before the plants come into flower. Care should be taken to have 
the foliage of the plants dry. 
BEE-FARMING ON A LARGE SCALE. 
I have often expressed my opinion that bee-keeping belongs 
properly to the rural population provided there is no overcrowding, as 
two great evils arise from that—viz., the want of sufficient pasturage 
to enable the bees to gather honey enough to sustain themselves, 
the second evil being fighting. It has never as yet been fully ascer¬ 
tained how much pasturage is required to provide a hive with suffi¬ 
cient food to support the bees and give a good surplus to the 
bee-keeper. Even if this could be done there would also have to he 
an allowance made according to the fertility or sterility of the soil. 
I can offer very little information on that. All I can say is, that 
when the pasturage is reduced to one acre to the hive within the 
radius of about one mile and a half bees never prove profitable. 
There are many such places throughout Scotland, and where bees do 
little else than exist until they are moved to richer feeding ground, 
where they soon make up for any shortcomings they had on their 
poor pasturage. 
There are, however, iu Scotland numbers of honey-yielding dis¬ 
tricts containing many thousands of acres of flowers that are never 
visited by honey bees, which means a loss to the nation. The many 
tons of honey that are gathered are comparatively speaking from but 
a small portion of land, the greater portion being either neglected or 
inaccessible. I cannot say how much honey might be collected in an 
average year, buf judging from what is collected and the vast extent 
of surface where bees are not, hut if they were the quantity would 
he prodigious, and would greatly astonish bee-keepers as well as those 
occupying the land. 
A few years since I heard some sheep farmers discussing the 
merits of sheep versus bees in a commercial point of view, and the 
conclusion they came to after a little calculation was that there was 
more value taken that year from the moors in honey than the profits 
realised from the sheep. It will be observed, however, these calcula¬ 
tions were taken from the average rise in the weight of the hives, 
which is net always realised by the bee-keeper. Then there was no 
deduction made for expense and bad or unprofitable years, which must 
be taken into account, and will very soon be learned by these under¬ 
taking bee-keeping on a large scale. 
At the present time there is a strong desire to launch into bee¬ 
farming—a very commendable undertaking provided they do not 
encroach upon small bee-keepers’ territory that may be already stocked. 
Neither should they form an apiary in a place out of the reach of 
Heather, and better still, if woods, orchards, Clover and Heather are 
all accessible either by steamer, rail, or road. In moves by the latter 
should not exceed twenty miles, hut by the former may be fifty miles or 
even more according to the situation of the home apiary. Two or even 
three moves may he desirable during the year. 
In starting an apiary on a large scale a thorough practical apiarian 
should be secured to superintend and manage the whole. Assistants 
will be required during the busy season, and when not required for 
the bees might be employed in cultivating fruit and vegetables in the 
ground, so as to have regular employment and be in readiness at any 
time they may be required. Housing both for men, appliances, and 
produce must be ; rovided. Spring waggons will also be required 
both at the home apiaiy as well as at the distant ones ; these, however, 
need not be expensive. Hives of the Stewarton type, octagon and 
square, will be found the most profitable and the easiest to manage in 
a large apiary, but frame and straw hives need not be discarded. 
The expense for appliances including waggons to carry on the work 
necessary for the apiary will be about £50, and for every stock of 
bees £1, or £100 for every 100 stock ; and as every stock will require 
two hives more at £1 each, including cheap covers, say £250, this 
will include supers. As men will not be required constantly, their 
wages should not exceed £80. The feeding and expenses for the 
general working and moving the bees produced from 100 stocks 
increased to 300 will run between £50 and £100 if extra matings 
are purchased. The total expenditure, exclusive of housing, will 
amount to about £600 for first outlay, the annual working expenses 
after between £150 and £200. The actual money sunk about £400. 
If the apiary is fixed at 100 stocks there should be 200 annually 
to be deprived of their stores, and if the locality and season are good 
it will he quite within the mark to expect 50 lbs. from each hive. 
The total, 10,000 lbs., at the current prices should yield £500. Sub¬ 
tract £200 of that for wages and other working expenses, there 
would be £300 left for interest upon the £400 permanently laid out 
and still to the good. But supposing that a surplus of honey was 
to be had only every alternate year, the above figures would still 
show a handsome per-centage for outlaid money. I have not taken 
the raising and selling of queens, nor wax, nor swarms, neither has 
the produce of the soil been taken into account, which I think, with 
all combined, should pay the rent of whatever ground is occupied. 
I have no doubt whatever but that an apiary on a large scale, if 
judiciously and economically established, would he a profitable invest¬ 
ment, The figures 1 have given are quite within the mark, and in 
extra seasons a much greater weight of honey might be expended, 
while the working expenses may he greatty reduced. The wax from 
so many hives should be worth about £15, and is much superior to 
foreign wax. The second year an extra number of stocks should be 
raised from condemned bees, and these kept on the non-swarming 
principle would materially add to the income. The foregoing is 
simply an outline of the probable income and expenditure, but is 
based on experience, and is a fair guide to those who wish to venture 
on bee-farming on a large scale.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
The Penny Packet Seed Company, Loughborough.— Illustrated Catalogue 
for 1885. 
Stuart & Mein, Kelso, Scotland.— Amateur's Guide and SjJring Catalogue, 
1885. 
W. W. Johnson & Son, Boston.— Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Dobie & Mason, 65, Deansgate, and 22, Oak Street, Manchester.— 
Catalogue of Seeds, 
Barr & Son, 12 and 13, King Street, Covent Garden.— Catalogue of Seeds 
for Flower and Kitchen Garden. 
James Backhouse & Son, York.— Catalogue of Flower Seeds. 
Robert Veitch & Son, 54. High Street, Exeter.— Catalogue of Kitchen 
Garden and Flower Seeds. 
Francis and Arthur Dickson & Sons, 106, Eastgate Street, Chester.— 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds for 1885. 
George Bunyard & Co., Maidstone.— Catalogue of Vegetable, Garden, and 
Flower Seeds. 
James Dickson & Sons, 108, Eastgate Street, Chester.— I egetaole and 
Flower Seeds for 1885. 
George E. EllLtt, 97, Bradford P.oad, Huddersfield.— Catalogue of Seeds 
1885. 
