158 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c February 24, issi. 
size another way I turn to our Manual, page 18, and find a hire con¬ 
taining 2000 cubic inches mentioned as a desirable size. The lobster 
box contains 2039 cubic inches. There is another advantage which 
is not to be overlooked—viz., that the frames being only 11£ inches 
inside measure will be filled from side to side by any comb from an 
averaged sized skep except the outside ones, which, as they are nearly 
always store combs, are seldom transferred without piecing. I have 
here a hive or body box made from one of these boxes. The alighting 
board is made out of a piece of the lid, and so is the batten across the 
bottom. The strips at the ends are from waste in cutting the frames. 
As we cannot afford to pay for labour we must show our friend how 
to make his frames with little trouble and tolerable certainty that he 
cannot go wrong. We now require a tool which is not likely to be 
found in his possession—viz., a “ cutting gauge,” cost 10<A, and a 
bradawl, 2d. I have here a piece of best pine wood, it is “ five-cut”— 
i.e., five cuts, giving six boards out of a plank 3 inches by 9. A plank 
costs in London 4s., and each cut 3d., making 5s. 3d. for 72 feet, or 
say Id. per foot of five-cut board ; perhaps it may cost a little more in 
the country, but not, I should suppose, more than l^d. per foot. Being 
unwilling to turn this room into a carpenter’s shop I have cut it off 
to the proper length—viz., the width of the body box outside. I lay 
it on the hive and with a pencil mark along both sides thus,* * * § and 
then mark off a quarter inch inside this line on each end. I now set 
my gauge to 1^ inch bare and cut off slips from my pine thus.f There 
is a reason for using pine—viz., it is free from knots and crooked 
grain, which would throw out the gauge. I now with my knife cut 
a notch at each end at the mark,J and set my gauge at a quarter inch. 
I cut out the two pieces,§ thus leaving the ends of the full width to 
form a shoulder, and our top bar is made. I now take another piece of 
pine already cut off half an inch less than the depth of the box, and 
setting my gauge to the width of the top bar I cut off strips to 
form the side pieces. The pieces § which came out of the top 
bar will form the bottom rail. Before nailing together, however, we 
must provide for the preservation of the quarter-inch space §§ ; this I 
do by making a hole with my bradawl diagonally outwards from the 
marks (which show the width of the inside of the hive) through the 
top bar, and when nailed together driving a French nail through the 
hole into each of the side pieces. Here is a frame completed. You 
will observe that there is very little scope for propolisation, as there 
if no step or rebate on the under side, and no part of the shoulder 
projects inside the wall of the hive. The quilt or covering for the 
frames may be any old material; a few darns and patches will not 
affect its usefulness, and for additional warmth in winter a bag of 
chaff or of bruised and dried ferns will do. I have bought at a rag- 
shop a lot of old carpet at Id. per lb. which answered capitally. 
The division board is made of part of one of the lids, the roof is 
formed of another lobster box with fillets cut from the lid nailed 
round to keep out the weather. 
A B 
Fig. 34.—A, B, The points at which the notches are made by the knife. The 
part between A and B is removed by the cutting gauge, and so the top bar of 
the frame is formed. The shoulders are left of about true size, but the length of 
the bar has been much reduced for the sake of convenience. 
“ The hive is now complete with the exception of the supers. As to 
these I think it best not to attempt Too much at first. Let us get 
bar-frame hives adopted if we can. Let us show the cottager how 
he can obtain a bar-frame hive at less than the cost of his favourite 
skep, and when the long time the former lasts is considered it will 
be far cheaper and he will be willing to adopt it. You notice that I 
place the door at one end and the frames across the hive, so that the 
greater part of the honey will be stored at the back with a fair chance 
of its being uncontaminated by brood, and with the certainty of its 
being taken without destroying the bees—a vast step in advance. 
I will now reckon the cost. We have two boxes at 3d., or say 4 d. 
each, 8 d.; one (5-cut) pine board cost Is., but it makes frames for 
two hives ; cost for one hive, 6 d .; nails, pitch, and paper not more 
than 4d; total, Is. 3d. Then the cutting gauge will cost 1<M., but 
this is plant. I reckon nothing for materials for quilt, as any old 
clothes which would be burnt or thrown away will do ; nor do I 
reckon anything for the stand, as this must be provided for a skep 
(indeed a skep requires a floorboard, and our Is. G d. hive has one). 
Four stakes driven into the ground make a fair stand. This small 
sum of Is. 3d. need not be expended all at once ; one week a box may 
be bought, another the board, another a second box, and so on as the 
cottager can spare a few pence.” 
Note.—R egard to space has forced U3 to excise some of the less 
essential portions of this paper, while the lengthy and interesting 
discussion which followed will appear in a future issue. 
* The mark was made on the under side of the board and against the top 
edge of the body box. 
t The gauge was made to cut into the stuff from each face when the slip 
1J inch wide was broken off. 
t The pencil mark previously made. 
§ The pieces between A and B (fig. 34). 
§5 The quarter-inch space between the side of the hive and the side of the 
frame, essential to prevent the bees fixing by propolis. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
King & Co., Avenue Road, Woodford, E.— List of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds. 
A. J. Main & Co., Queen Victoria Street, London.— Illustrated 
Catalogue of Iron Roofing and Shedding. 
Books (.4 Reader). —Concise cultural notes on the plants you name, and 
many others, are included in our “ Greenhouse Manual,” which you can have 
from this office post free, price lOd. Reliable articles on some of the plants you 
mention are contained in Carters’ •‘Practical Gardener,” the price of which you 
will find in our advertising columns. You cannot err by obtaining both of 
these books. 
Vegetable Trials (D. McD.). —No systematic reports of the trials of 
Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips at Chiswick have been published, but you will 
find a note on the vegetables grown therein 1880 on page 461 of our last volume. 
If we can obtain information on the other question you have asked it shall be 
published. 
Showing Peas (/. S.). —You have permitted an extraordinary length of 
time to elapse before asking to correct what you deem a mistake. We shall be 
glad to have some particulars of the variety you mention, and to know your 
name and address, which you have failed to send, and your letter shall have our 
attention. 
Stephanotis Unhealthy (C. S.). —Your plant has sustained a severe check 
by the excessive cold of the winter, the temperature you name having been 
often 10° too low for maintaining the plant in a fresh healthy state, You have 
done quite right by endeavouring to stimulate root-action, and if you provide a 
warm genial temperature to promote fresh growth the plant may recover its lost 
vigour. We are unable to suggest any other means for its renovation. 
Blood Manure (Idem ).—We know of no better mode than that given in 
the receipt to which you refer; but probably the quantity of acid may require 
to be increased. The blood should stand for a time, and only the congealed 
portion be used. When prepared it may be used the same as guano, sprinkling 
it on the surface of the soil between the crops at the rate of an ounce or a little 
more to the square yard. 
Insects under Nut Trees ( F. J.). —These are mites belonging to the 
family Collembola, apparently Smynthus fuscus. Feeding upon decaying wood 
or the fungi which suddenly appear in damp weather, these insects congregate 
in vast numbers,and are sometimes called “ground fleas.” In this instance the 
species would probably do no harm, but some of the Collembola attack young 
plants in frames, such as the Cucumber, being usually carried in with manure. 
Pruning Holly Hedge (S. M. J/.). —Your hedge may be cut into the 
form desired at the present time. The knife is a much better implement than 
the shears for this work, but the process is necessarily much slower. When the 
shears are employed the leaves are severed, and the hedge has then an unsightly 
appearance for a long time. The leaves of Hollies and Laurels should never be 
cut, but the growths that are not lequired should be removed with a knife, the 
leaves that are left being uninjured. Early September is also a good time for 
trimming evergreen hedges. The tan may be spread thickly under the Goose¬ 
berry bushes when the buds commence swelling, or just before the leaves 
expand. 
Glazing Without Outside Putty ( Several Correspondents). —All the 
letters on this subject were forwarded to the writer who advocated the practice 
in our last volume, and his reply to them is published on another page of our 
present issue. When this mode of glazing is properly carried out we know it is 
good, as the roof is rendered perfectly watertight, and less cost is incurred in 
painting and repairs than when top putty is used. We know from experience 
that more labour is involved in stripping off old putty when the wet gets under 
it, and adding fresh, than in painting the roof. 
Fowls in Garden (J. Miller). —Your proper mode of procedure is to give 
the owner of the birds a written notice that you will hold him responsible for the 
damage they do in your garden, and if he does not adopt means to keep them in 
his own enclosure you can eventually sue him in the County Court, and recover 
the amount of the loss you have sustained by the birds eating your Currants. 
You cannot legally destroy or injure the fowls. 
Cats Disfiguring Flower Beds (E. T. II.). —We do not know a mode 
of preventing cats scratching in flower beds, but if the surface of the soil is 
kept wet it has less attractions for the animals. Some people in towns strew 
pepper on the flower beds where cats abound, and others sprinkle the soil lightly 
now and then with paraffin. If any of our readers can suggest a remedy for the 
evil in question we will readily publish it. 
Winter-flowering Plants for the Greenhouse (E. C.).~ The plants 
you mention are all useful for the purpose, especially the Libonias, which may be 
grown in large quantities. There is no difficulty in maintaining a good display 
of flowers in a greenhouse during winter if another structure is at command for 
advancing the plants in, but without that the list is necessarily limited. To 
forward in heat you may have a variety of bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Tulips, 
and Narcissuses, with early varieties of Azaleas, Lilac, Orobus vernus, Justicia 
speciosa, Kalmia glauca and K. latifolia, some Rhododendrons, especially the 
handsome hybrid Countess of Haddington. Plants that are indispensable for 
the greenhouse at such a time of year, and which come in early without any 
forcing, are Helleborus niger, which may be grown in pots or baskets, Erica 
hyemalis, E. Wilmoreana, E. melanthera, Azalea amoena, Acacia platyptera, 
A. longifolia, Sparmannia africana, Primulas, Cinerarias, Cyclamens, and Zonal 
Pelargoniums. 
Plants to Flower in August ( G . IF. A.). —To have the plants in flower 
at the particular date you mention they must be kept moderately dry and cool, 
giving careful attention in insuring thorough ripening of the wood before rest¬ 
ing, and supplying abundance of water after starting them. The plants may be 
