54 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t January so. issi. 
pruning causing them to bleed, which is very weakening. Where the 
main branches are permanent cut hack all side shoots to a prominent 
bud near to the base; young well-ripened canes, however, give the 
best results, and should be gradually laid-in to replace the old rods. 
The best system is to train the main rods horizontally near the base 
of the wall or fence, and take up the fruiting canes at about la inches 
apart, cutting down half of these alternately, and fruiting the re¬ 
mainder, these in their turn being cut down to furnish young canes to 
follow those obtained from the previous year’s pruning. Unripened 
wood must be cut out, and weak leading canes be shortened back. 
Old Yines badly infested with mildew should be cut down either to 
near the ground or to the primary rods, and if before growth com¬ 
mences a deep circular trench be cut about 8 or 9 feet from the 
stems, and the roots carefully separated from the old soil to within a 
yard of the stems, then relaid into a good fresh compost of equal 
parts of turfy loam and fresh garden soil, with a liberal addition of 
road grit, bone meal, and decayed horse manure, they will be encou¬ 
raged to push a number of strong canes. From these fresh canes 
great crops may eventually be taken ; mildew, where it may re-appear, 
being easily kept down by dustings with flowers of sulphur. 
Vines in Houses .—No time should be lost in completing the pruning 
of these. Spur-in all laterals to within two joints of the main rods, 
unless the Yines are unfruitful, as in this case the laterals should be 
pruned to the lowest prominent bud. Do not allow the young Yines 
to extend too rapidly, especially if the canes are weak. A strong 
cane about 2J or 3 inches in circumference may be left 3 feet in length, 
medium-sized 2 feet, and weak canes 1 foot in length. Remove all 
loose bark, especially near the spurs, where only a knife should be 
used, and give a dressing with some insecticide to destroy any insect 
pests that lodge in the bark. A mixture 'of 4 ozs. of soft soap, half a 
wineglassful of paraffin, and half a pound of flowers of sulphur in a 
quart of boiling soft water, will be found effective for the purpose 
and easily procured. The mixture should be kept well stirred and 
be brushed well into the bark, especially where there are crevices. 
Inside borders should have much of the old surface soil carefully 
removed, and a dressing of equal parts of loam and manure applied. 
Now that it is necessary to use much fire heat care must be taken 
that the borders do not become dry. If the outside borders have 
been mulched for the winter this should remain on for a time longer, 
but uncovered borders ought to receive liberal dressings of partially 
decayed manure. Prior to this the surface may be lightly stirred 
with a fork. 
■- 1 - -- *!•:•!•! '.|.|.i.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|-i.i . i - i i . i : ;. i . i : i . i . i • 
JS 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 1 
SHOULD BEES BE BRANDY BIBBERS? 
I PRESUME Mr. Cheshire is a teetotaler; if so he has my 
sincere respect in doing battle so valiantly against any approach 
to mimicry among bees of the abominable tippling habits of our 
people. I think, however, he need be under no apprehension of 
our bees suffering from this evil. The modicum of spirit which I 
recommended could not possibly do bees the smallest fraction of 
injury ; and he has certainly conjured up a man of straw for the 
pleasure of adroitly knocking him down. Moreover, I was not 
thinking of warming bees by suggesting the use of a small 
quantity of brandy. It was only as a medicinal improvement that 
I recommended it at a time when damp and dysentery are the 
bees’ worst enemies. I certainly was not thinking of brandy as 
assisting in beat-formation or as food. Thanks all the same for 
Mr. Cheshire’s remarks, which I recommend all human tipplers to 
read attentively.—B. & W. 
NOTES ON BEES IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND. 
For the assistance of amateurs who wish to practise modern 
bee-keeping, I will relate how I commenced and how I have suc¬ 
ceeded with the valuable aid of this Journal. About five years 
ago I obtained a good first cast, and kept it two years before I 
took any honey from it. By that time I had three or four stocks. 
In the meantime I purchased “ Bee-keeping for the Many,” where 
I obtained full details how to make a Woodbury hive. I con¬ 
structed one, and in the following summer I placed the first 
swarm in it by first hiving it into a straw skep, tilting the Wood¬ 
bury up 2 inches on a sheet on the ground. I then took the straw 
skep containing the,swarm, placed it quickly on the sheet about 
1 foot from the Woodbury, and the bees at once passing into it. 
This was done about 7 p.m. on the day they swarmed. I knew I 
must have something as a guide for them to build straight along 
the bars, otherwise, as I have seen since, they would have built 
anywhere on the frames. At this time I had never seen comb 
foundation, but I had plenty of real comb in store, which I cut 
in strips and secured to the upper bar with melted wax. The 
bees have done well ever since, and this season I had abundance 
of honey. In July I took four frames from them full from top to 
bottom, and in September I took three more, leaving plenty to 
support them during winter. I had all my honey from the bar- 
frame by the combination principle—a system I admire, as all the 
honey I took this season was as pure as it could have been from 
sectional supers. I took the two end bars in each side of the hive, 
placed four in their places, and removed them again when filled. 
If these had been frames with sectional supers the result would 
have been the same as sections on the top. One of these section 
frames I saw this autumn, and I am certain the system can be 
much easier managed than top sections. 
To prove this system more fully I had a combination hive made 
this autumn 2 feet long, 11 inches wide, and 10 inches deep, 
inside measurement. I have a dummy in the centre in the mean¬ 
time where I intend to place a queen-excluder, so then the bees 
will be breeding in one end and storing honey in the other, where 
I can place whole frames or sections or both. I had my new hive 
made with the latest improvements, such as zinc slides. The 
frames are across the entrance—the reverse of the Woodbury. I 
have a saw mark in each top bar one-eighth of an inch wide, so 
that I can push the thick comb foundation up through it and wax 
it on the upper side. It is impossible for the bees to break it off 
if properly fixed in this way. I have span-roofed covers for all 
my hives down to the floorboards, and 8 inches on the square 
above the top, so that I can either super or not. I give them 
three coats of green paint with varnish, and they are really 
attractive in the garden. 
On the whole last season was only an average one for bees. 
April, May, and June were cold ; July was wet with much wind 
—so much so, indeed, that many weak bees around here never 
cast at all. August and a fortnight of September were very fine 
indeed ; in fact, it was all we had for a season. Messrs. Carr and 
Abbott’s (of the British Bee-keepers’ Association) visit will do 
much good I believe, as they created a great interest in modern 
bee-keeping here, especially in the bar-frame, which was very 
little known in these parts.— Comber, Co. Down, 
DORSET BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 
The annual meeting of this useful and growing Association was 
held on the 11th inst. The chair was taken by the Worshipful 
the Mayor of Dorchester (W. Durden, Esq.), who was supported 
by the Rev. H. Everett, Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun., of Troytown 
(the Honorary Secretary), and Mr. T. Coombs. There were also 
present the Rev. J. Stanton (Coombe Yicarage), Mr. M. C. Weston, 
Mr. J. Brown (Maiden Newton), also several ladies, including 
Mrs. and Miss Brymer, Mrs. H. Everett, Miss Hawkins, and Miss 
Foster. The Chairman, after stating that the object of the 
Association was the encouragement, improvement, and the ad¬ 
vancement of bee-culture in the county of Dorset, particularly 
as a source of industry and profit among the cottagers and 
others in the lower ranks of life, called on the Honorary Secretary 
to read the report, from which the following is an extract:— 
“ The Committee have felt great pleasure in presenting their fourth 
report, because they are able to speak of a considerable increase in 
the number of members as compared with last year, and to present a 
satisfactory balance sheet. The exhibition of honey at Weymouth 
in August last was the best ever held in Dorset, and proved beyond 
all question that our county offers a fine field for apiculture. One 
exhibitor sent in 400 lbs. of honey, and another almost as much, the 
greatest weight taken from a single stock being 89J lbs. The quality, 
too, was all that could be desired, and as the greater part of it was in 
small sectional supers it met with a ready sale. The exhibition 
stirred up a spirit of inquiry, which resulted in a gain of several 
members and opened a market that will greatly encourage local bee¬ 
keepers. The British Bee-keepers’ Association granted a silver medal, 
a bronze medal, and a certificate for this exhibition. The first-named 
was won by Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun., of Troytown, and the other 
two prizes were awarded to Mr. Antell and Mr. Stickland of Puddle- 
town. Efforts have been made to increase the number of cottage 
bee-keepers by holding manipulations at village shows, for the pur¬ 
pose of illustrating the best methods of depriving bees of their honey 
without resorting to the old and barbarous plan of suffocation 
