78 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 22, 1885. 
numbers are lost to the almost entire ruin of the hive. When 
snow falls now I immediately close the entrance by folding 
up the bee ladder, and ventilate from beneath, then removing 
all snow from the roofs and from the front of the hives, re¬ 
moving it to some distance. I lift the snow with a broom 
while still soft; in that state it comes clean away from the 
ground, thus the hive and the site being restored to their normal 
appearances. After dusk the ventilators may be closed and the 
ladder dropped unless another fall of snow is expected. 
Unless hives are provided with similar appliances on no 
account should they be closed in at any time, but common hives 
placed upon the door may be wedged up sufficiently to ventilate, 
but not to allow the exit of bees. Where that cannot be per¬ 
formed it is better to let them alone, but remove as much of the 
snow as is practicable in front and around the hives, so that 
should the bees make a rush they will be able to recognise their 
hive and find a resting place near it without being lost in the snow. 
By attending to these little details as above directed, without in¬ 
terfering internally with the hive, is about all that can be done 
until the early spring flowers appear, then the peameal may be 
given, and if necessary thoroughly overhaul the hives of cover¬ 
ings on a mild day with bright sunshine. Pools of water near 
the apiary are liable to drown many bees, these if possible should 
be drained away.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
TO BEGINNERS—MANIPULATION. 
In the first place it should be well understood that a colony of bees 
should not be examined or manipulated unless for a purpose. The pro¬ 
miscuous opening of hives, pulling out the combs and disturbing the 
cluster in spring, or the busy worker in warm weather, has worked much 
harm, and the novice will do far better in his work when his apiary 
becomes so large that he cannot subject his colonies to a daily over¬ 
hauling. 
Again, colonies should not be examined at all save to perform some 
actual needed work—such, for ins'ance, as an introduction of a queen, 
or something of the kind, except in pleasant weather, and when it is 
warm enough for the bees to fly safely. The beginner who has it all to 
learn, in the way of practical work in the apiary, may, however, tale 
some particular colony and experiment with that alone by opening and 
examining it until he gains that confidence and expertnes? which comes 
from practice alone, for this is a part of his apprenticeship, but it should 
be discontinued as soon as he is able to perform the work expertly. 
To examine a colony, the first thing to be done is to blow a little 
smoke in at the entrance, and, by the way, at no other time save when 
using smoke should one stand in front of his hives, all operations should 
be performed from the rear. In using smoke there is no necessity of 
blowing in a large amount, the smallest whiff is just as good as though 
the bees were suffocated with volumes of it. 
After blowing in the smoke the operator proceeds to the rear of the 
hive, and waits a moment till the bees are filled with honey, then he will 
proceed to take off the cover of the hive and lay it to one side. The next 
thing is to remove the covering mat from the frames ; this, as well a 3 
all motions made around a bee hive, should be done slowly and de¬ 
liberately. Bees seem to detest any quick motions, and will resent them 
with a sting, when otherwise they would be as amiable as you please. 
After removing the mat the centre frames on one side or the other should 
be crowded together a little to give room to remove the outside frame. 
As soon as a sufficient space is formed, the outside frame should be 
carefully taken out, examined for any desired purpose, and then carefully 
stood up beside the hive, or, what is bettjr, carefully set into an empty 
hive or a light box made for that especial purpose. 
After the first frame is remived all sub.-equent manipulation comes 
easy enough, for all there is to be done is to take out the next fiame, 
examine and replace it in the position occupied by the first one, and so 
on till all the frames are locked over, when the first frame can be set in 
the place of the last one taken out. In case, by reason of any inequalities or 
bulges in the face, it does not fit right, these inequalities may be shaved 
off with a sharp knife, or the frames may be set again in their original 
position. As the first method i< much the easier, the apiarist should take 
care to see that each comb is i iterchangeable not only with every other 
comb in the hive, but with every other comb in the whole apiary. This 
will be the. means of simplifying his work, and making it easier to per- 
form than it otherwise would be. Time is money, and every step taken 
to save time in an apiary is one in the right direction, and will be well 
appreciated on a day with the temperature at 100° or more, and fifty colonies 
to examine before night 
. Ihe manipulating of a colony is the simplest work of the apiary, as it 
is purely mechanical and manual, and can be easily learned by practice. 
To know when and why to manipulate is a far more serious undertaking^ 
and one that requires a vast amount of experience and study to fully 
learn, but when learned it comprises the larger portion of what is 
required to make an expert apiarist.—J. E. Pond (in The American Bee 
Journal). 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Vilmorin, Andrieux et Cie, 4, Quai de la Megisserie, Paris.— General 
Catalogue of Seeds, Straioberiies, and Bulbs. 
Compagnie Continentale d’Horticulture, Gand, Belgium.— List of Seeds. 
George Cooling & Son, Broad Street, Bath.— Catalogue of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds. 
John Green, Thorpe, Norwich.— Catalogue of Plants. 
Hooper & Co., Covent Garden, London.— Spring Catalogue, 1885. 
James Cocker & Sons, Aberdeen.— Catalogue of Herbaceous Plants, Trees, 
and Shrubs. 
William Rumsey, Waltham Cross, N.— Catalogue of Seeds for Garden 
and Farm. 
Collins Bros. & Gabriel, 39, Waterloo Road.— Catalogue of Seeds and 
Bulbous Plants. 
William Bull, 536, King’s Road, Chelsea.— Seed Catalogue, 1885. 
Thos. W. Edmunds (late John Cattell), Westerham, Kent.— Catalogue of 
Vegetable, Flower, and Agricultural Seeds. 
Thomas B. Thomson, 20, High Street, Birmingham.— Seed Catalogue and 
Amateurs’ Guide. 
W. Piercy, 89, West Road, Porest Hill, London.— List of Early-flowering 
Chrysanthemums. 
Smith and Simons, 36 and 38, Howard Street, Enoch Square, Glasgow. 
—Cultural Guide for 1885. 
Bruant, Poitiers, Vienne, France.— Catalogue of New Plants. 
* + * All correspondence should be directed either to “ TnE Editor” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. We 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books (A Learner ).—If you require a work giving technical descriptions 
of Ferns the best is the “ Synopsis Filicum,”by Hooker and Baker, published 
by Bogue, price 23s. If a work with general descriptions and culture is 
required “ Select Ferns and Lycopods,” by Mr. B. S. Williams, will be 
suitable; it is published at the Victoria Nursery, Upper Holloway, price 
5s., post free os. 5 d. A useful book on “British Ferns,” by Mr. G. W. 
Johnson, is published at this office, price 3s. Gd., post free 3s. 9 d. 
Primulas (T. L. B.). —The flowers you have sent are very fine indeed, 
and indicate superior cultivation. We have blooms fully as large or even 
larger, but never of greater substance. This applies to the lighter varieties, 
your red flowers being rather small. 
Variety of Cyclamen (J. Hall ).—The flowers sent show a multiplication 
of petals approaching a semi-double condition, and as they are extremely 
fragrant the variety is well worth preserving. We have seen similar, but 
not such good examples, the contrast between the deep red throat and the 
white petals being very pleasing. 
Ferns Unhealthy (J/. C. B .).—Everything depends on the condition 
of the plants as to whether they are root-bound or not, and the position 
they occupy as to whether the air is damp or dry for suggesting a remedy. 
You do not even say if they are in a window, conservatory, or hothouse. If 
they are in a dry room where gas is burnt that may have something to do 
with their condition ; but without further information it is impossible for 
anyone to answer your questions satisfactorily. 
Select Camellias {A. B.). —In addition to Imbricata, Alba plena, Valta- 
varedo, and Lavinia Maggi, the following have very fine imbricated flowers 
and large :—Mathotiana alba; II Cigno, white; Giovanni Santarelli, bright- 
red, with large white blotch ; Comte Nesselrode, rose, edged with white ; 
Madame Lebois, rose ; and Mrs. Cope, white, striped crimson. Another 
half-dozen grand flowers are :—Storyi, rosy pink ; Mathotiana rosea, rose ; 
Duchesse de Berri, white ; C. M. Hovey, scarlet-crimson ; L. Insurria, rose, 
Blightly marked white ; and Montironi vera, white. 
Carpet Bedding Plants (G. C. B.). —If you require very close-growing 
plants the following will perhaps answer your purpose :—Herniaria glabra, 
dark green ; Sedum glaucum, bluish green ; Oxalis corniculata rubra, dark 
velvety brown; Cerastium tomentosum or Antennaria tomentosa, silvery 
white, the latter very dwarf and rather slow-growing; Mesembryanthemum 
cordifolium variegatum and Golden Feather, sown late and kept pinched. 
The Oxalis may be raised from seed. If you write to Mr. Graham, Garden 
Superintendent, Hampton Court Palace, Kingston-on-Thames, enclosing a 
stamped directed envelope for a reply, he will send you the price of his 
little manual on carpet bedding, if it is still in print. 
Refuse Fish for Vine Borders (J. C.). —Refuse fish is a powerful fertiliser 
and may be applied in its fresh state, but it is best thrown into a heap and 
mixed with six times its bulk of soil, and turned over a few times so as to 
mix it thoroughly ; but it emits such an offensive smell that it would be 
tolerated in few gardens. Spread on the surface, however, and pointed in 
with a fork, there is no smell of consequence, as the soil is the best 
