JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 12, 1882. ] 
89 
crowns will need bottom beat, and must have light excluded until 
the stems are as'long as required, and then gradually expose them to 
light. Clumps, imported or home-grown, should be brought on more 
gradually, a temperature of 50° to 55° being sufficient to commence 
with, as when placed in a strong heat at once they do not start 
freely, and when placed in bottom heat the flowers appear without 
leaves. More Deutzias, Hoteia japonica, Dielytra spectabilis, Sta- 
phylea colchica; Azaleas, Indian, pontica, mollis, and Ghent varieties ; 
Lilacs, Kalmia latifolia, and Pinks may be placed in the forcing 
house or other structure so as to keep up the supply of flowers. 
Stove .—The tuberous Begonias from their graceful habit and bright 
flowers are useful for arranging with other plants in the conservatory 
in early summer. Bulbs of those now potted and placed on shelves 
in the stove and carefully watered until growing freely will come in 
very acceptably. Be careful in watering Hoy a bella, as it is impatient 
of too much water at the roots. Eor hanging baskets this is one of 
the most useful, and for cutting one of the most chaste flowers 
particularly for buttonholes. Anthurium Schertzerianum having 
completed its growth should be allowed rest, keeping it in a tem¬ 
perature of about 50° at night for about six weeks, which will 
greatly benefit the plant, withholding water, but not to the extent 
of causing shrivelling. A few Gloxinias now started will be useful 
for producing early flowers, growing them on shelves near the glass. 
Roof climbers, not being winter-flowering, should be cut well back, 
the growths retained being well thinned, so as to admit plenty of 
light to the plants beneath. Keep the soil dry to induce rest and 
the further ripening of the wood. 
BEES IN TROUBLE. 
As it is true in matters moral as the old saw tells us, that “ by 
the faults of others wise men correct their own,” so, in matters 
practical, mistakes and misfortunes may be made by the heedful 
their truest teachers, and so be actually converted into advantages. 
It is with this idea that I relate to all an old experience, although 
my special object is to advise a correspondent who has had the 
annoyance of recently receiving two stocks in frame hives with 
the combs more or less broken from their attachments and thrown 
down in confusion. The suggestion our correspondent makes of 
cleaning them out and starting again we feel sure would be, if 
carried out, almost certain to lead to utter and irretrievable ruin, 
while we think from what we gather patience will tee in the end 
rewarded by recovery. In the early days of our bee-keeping we 
found one biting November morning a wire poultry fence strangely 
mis-shapen, and learned that a disturbed burglar pursued by a 
policeman had in his flight tilted into it in the gloom, and had in 
consequence been captured. A further search revealed a straw 
sksp (upon which our uninvited visitor had jumped in getting 
over the wall) inverted upon the ground with chilled bees show¬ 
ing upon some of the combs, while now and again two or three 
buzzed up a foot or more to be immediately driven back by the 
cold. We were annoyed, and the only course our limited experi¬ 
ence admitted of was to put the floor-board over the skep mouth, 
carefully bring it into position and place it on its old stand. In 
doing this the ominous sound of falling combs was distinct. It 
was but with faint hopes that we left our bees to rectify if possible 
what we were powerless to amend. Soon chips and gnawings of 
comb began to appear at the hive mouth, showing at least that 
vitality remained, and food was given while the bees would take 
it. Early in the spring we made an examination, when we dis¬ 
covered that the combs had gone down very nearly flat, that the 
one upon the floor-board had been grooved and channelled on its 
under side so as to remain standing as it were upon a set of 
pillars, and that in this manner sufficient passage way had been 
regained. The adjacent faces of the other collapsed combs had 
in like fashion been tunnelled away, by which their contained 
stores had been reached and appropriated, while comb-building 
had recommenced from the roof. I bored two holes through the 
skep top, through these passed string in loops, which I placed 
round the best two combs, drawing the latter up into position. 
Some time after, in nearing this hive I saw what appeared to be 
a black snake half out of the mouth of it, stretching its body 
upwards and forwards, and waving about wildly in every direction. 
A little nearer the snake resolved itself into a dense mass of bees, 
which were clinging on to every portion of the surface of my 
string now torn to shreds, but still not quite released, for the 
struggles of these model workers, although wholly detaching the 
string from the combs, had jammed it at the side of the hive door. 
L'union fait la Jorce was the motto clearly, and I am sure this 
check would only with their perseverance have been a temporary 
one, for, despite their overthrow in November, they had fully re¬ 
covered prosperity in May. 
If our correspondent’s queens live his bees may still pull 
through, six weeks having [now elapsed since their disaster. We 
strongly counsel barleysugar, feeding with flourcake a little later 
until the opening spring makes it possible to deal with them 
amid surrounding circumstances not wholly adverse. When the 
time arrives for remodelling, then foundation can be given with 
great advantage, but no tin separators are required as our cor¬ 
respondent suggests. In using section boxes separators are need¬ 
ful, because the bees are likely to extend the thickness of the 
comb of one box into another ; but. in the hive where breeding is 
going on, the position of the midrib of the comb being settled by 
the placing of the foundation, the faces of the combs become of 
necessity regular, for the sealing of the grub is always at a 
uniform distance from the midrib, and the whole width of the 
comb is scarcely an inch. In warmer weather, then, such comb 
as may still be worth it may be by tapes fixed into the frames and 
to others foundation may be supplied, when with the fond atten¬ 
tion that the unfortunate seldom in good hands fail of receiving, 
the trouble will, let us hope, soon be overpast, and the busy hum 
grow stronger with the strengthening sunbeam.— Frank R. 
Cheshire, Avenue House , Acton, W. 
BEE-KEEPING FOR PROFIT. 
Profitable bee-keeping is not now carried on as much as it 
will be when bee-keepers are in possession of more practical 
knowledge on the subject. It is a business that needs a great 
deal of study, and considerable physical as well as mental ability 
to carry it out with profit. The worker bees, the queen, and the 
drone should be well understood in all stages of development, and 
the nature of each class the bee-keeper should be thoroughly 
familiar with, in order that ha may start on the sure road to 
success. There are times when caution should be observed in 
handling bees, and the when and why should be known, and not 
guessed at. 
Managing bees for study and curiosity is one thing, but 
making money out of them, year after year, is quite another 
thing. Keeping bees for a little table luxury is often very ex¬ 
pensive, as most classes of this kind overdo the matter, and kill 
their pets by too much attention. Keeping bees on a large scale, 
with a vague knowledge of management, is something like a large 
farm poorly managed—considerable expense and small income. 
But either bee-keeping or farming on a large or small scale 
will and does pay those who have the brains to comprehend the 
situation, and make all the conditions favourable to success. 
Bees need more care than the average number of keepers are in 
the habit of giving them. There are many different cares to 
attend to, and the neglect of one might prove a loss. Good white 
honey, well sealed, should be left in the brood-chamber to last 
them the year round ; otherwise, if they go into winter quarters 
with late dark honey unsealed the honey is very apt to sour and 
give them the dysentery, and they die of disease. Worker combs 
should be kept in the middle of the hive as much as possible, and 
all drone comb placed in the upper storey. A good colony should 
fill both lower and upper storeys of the hive by June in order to 
obtain the greatest possible amount of honey. Feeding a little 
liquid honey from the middle of April till June will assist in 
populating a hive early enough for the honey flow. Swarming 
means increase of the apiary, and that does not mean honey. 
If there is plenty of forage, and the bee-keeper has help, with¬ 
out too much expense, the increase of the apiary will fill the 
measure of reasonable expectation. The prevention of swarming 
means honey. Now the point, plainly stated, is this : Which will 
bring us in the most money, honey or bees ? If a colony of bees 
having surplus honey from the upper storey will bring as much 
money as their increase when run for increase, then which course 
will the most surely bring us profit ? From past experience I 
would run for honey, because the demand for honey is on the 
increase. Bees are only wanted for honey and wax, and honey 
and wax only have a commercial value, while the value of bees is 
limited to the producing classes only, and whether there will be 
a demand depends entirely on unforeseen circumstances. 
Success in this business depends largely on the queens, Old 
queens should be replaced by young ones whenever they cease to 
