January 24, 1884. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
73 
little fresh peat moss or charcoal added as the case may be. This is the 
mixture we use for these plants, allowing the former to predominate ; 
but all the small particles should be shaken out and only the fibre used. 
Charcoal must be used in lumps freely. In renewing the compost where 
required the roots clinging to the crocks or charcoal need not be disturbed, 
as the old peat and moss may with care be removed. 
Phalcenopses .—Many of our plants suspended in the stove have already 
commenced root-growth, and these will be seen to at once. Small plants 
of these that have not hitherto been in baskets are given 6-inch baskets 
to commence with. These are nearly filled with crocks and charcoal, 
which are covered with living moss elevated in the centre, and then the 
roots well covered with the same material. The whole of the moss is 
picked carefully from amongst the roots annually and fresh employed. 
Care must be taken that the moss has been in the house in which the 
plants are growing to become warm before being used, or very serious 
results may follow. The plants after this operation must be kept well 
syringed to encourage the moss to grow, and if this is accomplished they 
will receive the moisture they require. If woodlice have become estab¬ 
lished in the baskets destroy every one if possible when removing the 
moss from amongst their roots, for no better opportunity will ever occur. 
These insects, if allowed to exist in the baskets of these plants, soon 
destroy the foliage when young and tender, and are also very fond of the 
flower spikes when in the same condition. 
% 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
6 ) ^ 
SYRIAN BEES. 
I will give my experience with Syrian bees, and as I do not rear 
queens to sell I have “ no axe to grind.” When I first heard of the 
Syrian bees I was anxious to try them, so I sent to Mr. Jones for two 
•queens, which I received in July, 1881, and, as it was too late in the season 
to test them thoroughly, I concluded to keep them until I was satisfied 
whether they were inferior or superior to other races of bees. 
In the fall of 1881, when I prepared them for winter, they were stronger 
In number than the rest of my bees. They stood the winter well, and in 
the spring of 1882 they were more populous than the Italians and 
albinos ; so I thought that I would rear a few queens for my own use, 
and I succeeded in rearing some very fine queens, and as I did not put on 
any boxes in 1882 I did not get any surplus honey ; but when 1 prepared 
them for winter in the fall of 1882 I found nearly every colony had twice 
as much honey as they needed to winter on, having the brood-chamber 
full, with the exception of two or three combs, which was about half full 
of brood. 
The wiuter of 1882-83 was hard on bee9 in this part of the country, 
but my Syrians came through in good condition; they wintered better 
than the rest of my bees, excepting the Cyprians, which I had one and a 
quarter mile from my home apiary. 
Nearly all the rest of my bees (Italians, albinos, and hybrids) were 
weak and in a deplorable condition, so I had to take frames of hatching 
brood from the Syrians to build up weak colonies, and when the combs 
were full of brood, and the young bees commenced to gnaw through, 
I took them out and exchanged them with the weak colonies the second 
time. 
After taking all the brood out twice, it did not seem to affect them at 
all; and, by the time white Clover was in bloom, they were stronger than 
the Italians and albinos, and they commenced to work in the sections two 
weeks before the Italians (I did not take any brood from the Italians). 
The Syrians cast larger swarms, besides gathering more surplus honey than 
the Italians ever did for me. 
The young colonies filled eight-frame Langstroth hives, and stored more 
honey in the sections than did the old colonies of Italians and hybrids, 
while the albinos and hybrids only filled the brood-chamber, and only 
gathered enough honey to winter on this fall. When I prepared 
them for winter they all had plenty of honey to carry them through 
safely, and more. 
I find the Syrians splendid honey-gatherers; they work early and late ; 
they carry heavy loads of honey, and there are lots of them. And yet 
some say they are no good. 
The albino bees are not as good as the Italians. I have had them on 
trial for three or four years, and I know whereof I speak. I never got as 
much honey from them during all this time as I did this year from one 
•colony of Syrians. I have “ weighed them in the balance ” and “ they are 
found wanting.” They had their day, and must step down and out. I 
will keep one or two colonies of them just to look at. 
One writer says that he would like to see the man “ that can tell the 
•difference between the Italians, Syrians, and Cyprians.” I find no 
difficulty in telling one from the other, and even queens fertilised by 
Cyprian drones produce bees which are readily known from pure Syrians. 
The general colour, markings, and movement of these bees, to say nothing of 
their working qualities, are sufficient to enable one to distinguish the races 
•readily, but there are also other points in which they differ. 
The bees present a decidedly grey colour, though the abdomen has a 
ringed appearance. The ground colour is a greyish black; the body, 
before the fuzz is worn off, being very light; the grey-coloured fuzz is 
very thick on the thorax, and the latter half on each segment of the 
abdomen, especially those after the yellow bands, are thickly set with 
light-coloured fuzz, giving them a striking appearance. The three yellow 
bands are very prominent and yellow. 
The shield between the wings is not as prominent as with the Cyprians, 
though still visible. The Syrian drones are very fine, large, and vigorous, 
and have an exceedingly thick coat of whitish and blue-tinged “ fuzz ” 
over the greater part of the thorax, especially on the sides, and a very 
noticeable amount on the abdomen. In proportion to their bodies, 
I think their wings are somewhat larger than those of the Italians or 
Cyprians. 
The Syrian queens are wonderfully prolific, laying an incredible number 
of eggs in a season, and the bees build less drone comb than the blacks or 
Italians; they protect their stores against robbers with such determination 
that they often catch the robbers on the wing around the hive, and 
punish them before they even get time to alight; in fact, they are 
robber-proof. 
They are swift on the wing, and no race of bees will fly more rapidly 
or further (when necessary) in search of honey than will the Syrians. 
They have been known to fly six and a half miles to obtain pasturage. I 
have seen my Syrians two and a half miles from my apiary; how much 
further they went I am unable to say. As honey-gatherers they are not 
excelled. 
The Syrians winter better than the Italians, come out better in the 
spring, and do not dwindle so badly. Everything considered, I regard the 
Syrian bees as the most superior race ever imported into this country, and 
that, when they have been subjected to the same careful selection and 
breeding as have the Italians, they will command more prominence than 
have the Italians. I would most emphatically affirm that the Syrians 
have a larger number of the necessary qualities than any other race or 
strain of bees. I will admit that I am using strong language, but my 
experience with this race, regarding queen-breeding, honey-gathering, and 
wintering, fully warrant me in making the statement. I am not prejudiced 
against any race of bees, and the above is an honest description of the 
Syrians as I see them.— L. A. Lowmaster (in American Bee Journal). 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Alfred Watkins, Bishop Stortford .—Catalogue of Flower and Vegetable 
Seeds. 
Smith & Simon, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow .—Garden Cultural Guide. 
Bruant, Poitiers, Yienne, France .—Catalogue of New Plants. 
Ireland & Thomson, 20, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh .—Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Hooper & Co., Covent Garden .—Spring Catalogue. 
William Rumsey, Waltham Cross .—Catalogue of Select Seeds. 
Stuart & Mein, Kelso.— Amateurs' Guide and Spring Catalogue. 
Stephen Brown, Weston-super-Mare.— Catalogue of Seeds. 
Barr & Son, 12 and 13, King Street, Covent Garden.— Catalogues of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin .—Catalogue of Flower and 
Vegetable Seeds. 
%* All correspondence should be directed either to “The 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'., Lougliall ).—You will find all the information required in the 
“ Rose Garden,” by Mr. W. Paul, published by Kent & Co., 23, Paternoster 
Row, London, price 7s. 6d. (IF. Id.). —Your question is so ambiguous that 
we cannot tell what you require. Do you need a book giving the botanical 
characters of British or general plants, or do you desire one that will enable 
you to describe plants by botanical terms ? (A. M.). —The first two books 
you name were, we think, published by Messrs. Groombridge & Son : we 
do not know the price, but they can be obtained through a bookseller. The 
other work we suspect has long been out of print. 
Garden Implements {Jay). —As we have repeatedly stated, it is con¬ 
trary to our rule to recommend any implements, seeds, or firms as the 
“ best.” We can do nothing so invidious. You can obtain what you want in 
the town from which you write. 
Rose Leaves Withering ( Nemo). —A serious attack of mildew is quite 
sufficient to cause the discoloration of the leaves, some of those you have 
sent being covered with the parasite. The leaves further indicate that the 
plants are destitute of vigour, and probably either the roots are defective or 
