492 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 11,1885. 
of them show flowers. Plants that have commenced flowering may have 
the soil top-dressed with cow or olhtr manure if the pots are full of roots 
and liberally supplied with weak stimulants every time water is needed. 
Stephanotis jioribunda —The earliest plants should be growing freely 
and develop ng flowers near the base of the young shoots. If the blooms 
are cut as they expand the plants may be syringed liberally to keep 
them perfectly free from insects. If trained to wires beneath the roof 
constant attention is needed in keeping the growing shoots tied, or they 
soon twine themselves securely to the wires, and are therefore very diffi¬ 
cult to take down when required either to clean them or wash the wood¬ 
work and gla«s of the house. If the plants are grown upon a trellis when 
a good quantity of bio m is showing the growth, if trained to thin cord 
as previously directed, may be carefully taken down and trained evenly 
upon the trellis, and when this is done growth can he retarded by removal 
to a cooler temperature, or pushed forward into bloom by extra heat. If 
the pots or borders in which the plants are growing are full of roots 
feeding may he resorted to every alternate time water is required. Grow 
the plants fully exposed to the sun, to solidify the shoots as made, f r if 
shaded the plants will grow vigorously enough, but they fail to flower 
satisfactorily. 
Clerodendron Balfourianum .—Plants forced early will have done 
flowering, and every attention must be given to encourage luxuriant 
growth for another season. If grown upon trellises secure thin cords 
from the trellis to the roof, and train the growing shoots to them. Feed 
the plants liberally, and give them abundance of heat and moisture. 
Those required in bloom may be pushed forward as rapidly as possible in 
a close heated structure, and in a very short time they will develope their 
useful and beautiful flowers. Plants intended for conservat rv decoration 
if fairly well advanced in growth may now be brought forward into bloom 
in an intermediate structure, for when finally developed under these 
conditions they stand better and last considerably longer than when 
forced in strong ffiat. Young plants rooted as early as cuttings could be 
obtained will be extending their growth very fast, and should be placed 
into G and 7-inch pots without delay. The plants should afterwards be 
trained under the ro >f of a plant stove, where they can enjoy plenty of 
heat, moisture, and light; moderate shade during bright sunshine will be 
beneficial until growth is completed. For training round four or five 
stakes for the conservatory or the decoration ot any structure plants in 
the s : ze of pots named are very useful. 
Gardenias .—Young stock grown on from cuttings last summer and 
wintered in small pots will, if they have been potted, be grand bushy 
specimens in G-in' h pot-’. These if placed at once into 8 and 9-inch pots 
and pushed on in a warm moist house will make plants before the end of 
the season over 2 feet through, and will yield for spring flowering a large 
quantity of very fine blooms. Plants rooted early in the year should be 
placed into 6-inch pots, and the shoots pinched from time to time as may 
be required to form bushy shapely specimens. Old plants for autumn 
and winter flowering that were not cut back after flowering may also be 
given a small shift if th<ir pots are well filled with roots. Plan's pruned 
hard back and reserved for flowering again must be started as rapidly as 
possible, pinching any shoots that have a tendency to take the lead. Use 
the syringe freely twice daily, and with force, for this is the best means of 
keeping the plants free from mealy bug. These plants do well in a 
mixture of fibry loam three parts, the remaining part being composed of 
decayed manure, leaf soil, and sand, or they may be grown in equal 
proportions of peat and loam, with a little sand added. 
Nepenthes .—Any plants that are running away without showing 
pitchers freely should be cut closely back without farther waste of time. 
Plants subjected to this treatment will quickly break again into growth 
at this season of the year, and will pitcher again freely and continue to 
produce them again for a long time. The stems removed can be cut into 
lengths of two joints, and inserted singly in small pots iu sphagnum moss 
and coarse sand. These if well watered and then plunged in a close 
frame where the beat is brisk will soon form roots. Cuttings of these 
plants root freely if kept moist and well shaded. The syringe should be 
used freely, and abundance of water given to plants in vigorous growth. 
All who admire these plants and do not possess N. Mastersiana should 
obtain it, for it is unquestionably the finest and most distinct variety in 
cultivation. 
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- --—.—.—.—.— --—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—__— -,.. , . f — 
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4 
HE BEE-KEEPEF 
SPREADING BROOD. 
In imparting instruction in the mysteries of any science 
it must always be remembered that there is an inner and 
outer circle of students, and that what would be excellent 
advice when given to the one would b9 quite the reverse if 
given to the other. Every gardener knows that if he wishes 
to have fine blooms of Chrysanthemums he must stimulate 
his plants by giving them large supplies of manure at the 
right time, but if he began feeding before the plants had 
filled their flowering pots with roots the result would be 
simply disastrous. So with stimulating bees by spreading 
brood. If this is done at the right time and the right way 
the result is astonishing ; if not, ruin With our advanced 
knowledge in bee-keeping we are giving the bees an ideal 
school-board education. We have taught them to use wax 
foundation, and so economise their labour. We have taught 
them to store their honey in the convenient sections instead 
of the unwieldy supers of the past, but we have failed to 
teach them how to convert the product of sulphuric acid and 
old pawn tickets into genuine honey, nor are we sanguine 
that all our efforts will enable the bees to hatch out young 
workers much under three weeks. 
The advocates of spreading brood have not been so far 
left to themselves as to imagine that this will be the result. 
What they contend is, that given two hives, one of which is 
left to its own devices, and the other having its brood care¬ 
fully spread, at the end of a month or so the latter would 
be much the stronger, though there was nothing to choose 
between the two at the outset. 
The necessity for this operation depends entirely on the 
season of the honey glut. In those parts of Great Britain 
where the harvest is late in the summer or autumn it is 
useless to begin stimulating in the spring or early summer * 
but in those parts of the south of England where the harvest 
is carefully gathered from fruit blossoms early stimulation, 
is our only chance of getting any honey at all. 
It is useless attempting this much before April, and not- 
so early as this if the weather is at all unfavourable. The 
reason why so many fail and so few succeed is that proper 
precautions are not taken nor the necessary steps followed, 
and so we make no apology for repeating an oft-repeated 
tale, in the hope that in the future the failures may be fewer. 
About the end of March we select a fine sunny day when 
the bees are flying out of the hives and welcoming the advent 
of the real spring time, and thoroughly overhaul our hives. 
We remove all those combs which are not wanted, and 
move up the division boards so as to confine the bees to. asr 
many frames as they can cover. The very fact of disturbing 
the hives stimulates the queens to increased activity in 
laying, but we usually uncap a few of the closed honey cells 
to supplement their efforts. At the end of a week or so, 
again choosing a warm dav, we examine the hives and note 
their progress. If brood-raising is going on satisfactorily 
we take the outside combs with the least brood, and carefully 
place them in the centre of the brood nest, but not side by 
side. In order to prevent any chilling of the brood we com¬ 
mence feeding gradually to keep up the heat of the hive, and 
do not attempt to put in any empty comb or foundation 
until the bees are cramped for room, when we place these 
at the outside of the brood nest, and when these are used for 
brood follow the same plan as above. 
The reason why spreading brood has met with such 
unmerited obloquy and such deserved failure in many, cases 
is due to the fact that the rationale of the process is too 
often forgotten, aud that on the supposition that if little , is- 
good much will be better, the brood is spread unduly, with- 
the natural result—failure. We have far too often seen 
hives ruined by injudicious spreading, a bar of foundation 
put right in the centre of the brood nest, several combs at 
either side with no brood and very few bees, and the division 
boards either at the extreme ends or absent altogether. 
If, as so often happens in our much-abused climate, we 
have winter in the middle of summer, the bees at once curtail 
the brood nest, and we should supplement their doing so by 
removing all the combs which they are not covering, and 
if there is any brood in them they should be at once put in 
the extractor and melted down. By this means we have 
often rescued a hive from foul brood which on the fixed 
system would be nearly impossible, as, if the combs are cut 
out, the want of division boards only partially remedies the 
evil.-A SuRREYSHIRE Bee KEEPER. 
DEATH OF THE REV. HERBERT R. PEEL. 
We see with regret the death announced of this gentleman, who was 
found in his study of Thornton Hill, Buckingham, on the 2nd ins f ., dead 
