224 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ March 16, 1882. 
space of their hive as a person wrapped up in his bed warms the 
room, because in both cases the radiation of heat from the warm body 
is so insignificant as to be altogether incapable of restoring the ex¬ 
ternal loss of heat. After the thermometer had shown 13° Fahr. of 
frost for some days, I found that, however well the hives were con¬ 
structed to retain the heat, not only was the inner surface of the 
doors and sides of the hives covered with hoar frost, but the combs 
also, whilst the bees, even at the edge of the cluster, enjoyed a tem¬ 
perature of at least 54®, as otherwise they would have passed into a 
state of torpor and died. 
Bees, in whose economy the most profound wisdom is manifest in 
order to preserve their strength and to save honey, do not, of course, 
maintain a higher degree of temperature than is absolutely necessary 
for their existence, but a much higher degree of temperature, whether 
natural or artificial, does not affect their well-being, as is shown by 
their thriving in Brazil, where they enjoy during the time of repose 
a temperature, not of 54°, but of 100° and above. Just as with us, so 
rest in the bee hive is entirely independent of the height of the ther¬ 
mometer. Their rest is conditional. It makes no difference whether 
the cessation of vegetation be caused by severe cold or excessive heat. 
The view, therefore, which Pastor Schonfeld defended at the time 
when the dispute was going on as to whether bees should be kept 
warm or cool in winter, and according to which view a certain degree 
of cold is necessary in order that bees may be kept in undisturbed 
repose and survive the winter in good condition, is altogether falla¬ 
cious. It is their instinct, a custom which has become a second 
nature to them, because there are no flowers to be deprived of their 
honey or to be fertilised, which keeps bees from making fruitless 
excursions, occasional flights to cleanse themselves always excepted, 
and induces them to keep perfectly quiet even during the most in¬ 
viting days in autumn and winter. In 1833 to 1834 there was really 
no winter at all. On the coldest day, the 6th January, the thermo¬ 
meter stood at 13J° Fahr. below freezing point. The Hazel flowered 
in January and the Gooseberry in February. Winter, as it were, was 
succeeded by spring, and the bees wintered admirably. Last year the 
winter was likewise tolerably endurable, and consequently the bees 
wintered satisfactorily. I wonder whether a bee-keeper ever com¬ 
plained of a winter being too mild, and wished for colder weather for 
the sake of his bees ? Everyone who is concerned about his colonies 
wishes the frost a thousand miles away. 
It surpasses my understanding, and I can scarcely find words to 
express my surprise, that an intelligent man like Dr. Krasicki in the 
last October and November number of the Pegczstarj , “ Bee-Keeper,” 
a periodical edited by him, and published at Gnesen, should ascribe 
the numerous losses of colonies during the long and severe winter of 
last year but one solely to too high a degree of temperature in the 
hives during the winter. After reciting the numerous lamentations 
published in the Bienenzeitung and other bee journals, he exclaims— 
“ The German bee-keepers have suffered these losses in consequence 
of their following the advice of their veteran master, who says that a 
bee hive can never be too v T arm, as bees do not raise the temperature 
above the point conducive to their well-being.” But Dr. Krasicki 
says 10° more of cold are preferable to 1° of heat. The bees on which 
Dr. Krasicki has made his observations would require to possess the 
nature of a polar bear, and to have originally come from the polar 
regions, if his observations and inferences are correct. They are quite 
incorrect as regards our German bees, which, as I have stated, winter 
the more satisfactorily the milder the winter is, and on the setting-in 
of severe cold are all the better the more securely they are protected 
against it— i.e., the less the escape of heat which they are obliged to 
generate themselves continuously. It is well known that in double 
or quadruple hives bees prefer to arrange their winter quarters 
against the board which divides the compartments, because the tem¬ 
perature on the other side is the same, and there is no loss of heat 
at all.— Dr. Dzierzon. 
(To be continued.) 
TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 
William Paul & Son, Paisley .—Catalogue of Florists' Floicers. 
*** All correspondence should he 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 Poultry and Bee subjects, and 
should never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended 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. 
» 
To Correspondents. —We are compelled to postpone replies to “ W. E. B.’ 
(Packing Flowers), “ R. B.” (Gravel Walks), “ Brookfield ” (Vines for Small 
House), “ Vero ” (Cyclamens and Hyacinths), “S. F.” (Acacia and Tropieolum), 
“ W. X.” (Spots on Pelargoniums), “ Inquirer ” (Dreuch for Cows), and “ B. A. Z.” 
(Rhodauthes), until next week. 
Books {J. C.). —We do not know an inexpensive work more suitable for your 
purpose than an illustrated manual entitled “ Agrostographia,” published by 
W. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London. We do not know the price of 
this work. 
Pimento—Eugenia Pimenta ( Crawfordian ). — The seeds should be 
sown in light sandy soil in a well-drained pan or pot, plunged in a hotbed or 
ordinary propagating frame where a high temperature is maintained. When 
they have germinated and the young plants are well advanced in growth, pot 
them singly in small thumbs or 60-size pots, employing a compost of light turfy 
loam, sand, and leaf soil. Place the plants in the stove and repot them as they 
advance in growth, employing similar soil. 
Greenhouse Annuals (E. T.). —There are very few, strictly speaking, 
greenhouse annuals that can be grown in pots in a greenhouse suitable for your 
purpose ; but if half-hardy annuals are eligible, then you may add such as 
Stocks, Phlox Drummondi, French and African Marigolds, Salpiglossis, Dian- 
thus Heddewigii, and Indian Pinks, Petunias, and Lobelias (grown as annuals), 
Amaranthus caudatus, Nasturtiums (Tropseolums), to such plants as Balsams, 
Celosias, Martynia fragrans, Gomphrenas, and Browallias. Whether such as we 
have named are admissible for your purpose or not no one can say without seeing 
the schedule and knowing the meaning of those who framed the class. 
Insects on Cucumbers ( Market Grower).—Judging from your letter 
we have little doubt it is the thrips that attacks your plants. We, however, 
submit a figure and description which will enable you to decide the matter for 
yourself. The drawing represents this insect highly magnified, while the short 
line upon the scroll intimates its natural length. The larvae and pupae are 
yellowish white, and the perfect 
insect is of a dull deep black, with 
the point, and sometimes the 
whole of the abdomen, of a rust 
colour; the wings are dirty white, 
the horns and legs yellowish, the 
extremity of the former black. It 
attacks plants by piercing the 
under side of the leaves, and one 
often sees at the tip of the tail a 
globule of blackish fluid which it 
soon deposits, and by innumerable 
spots of this glutinous matter the 
pores of the leaves are stopped up, 
and large portions of the surface 
become blotched. During March 
the full-grown larva; and pupae, 
which are as large as the perfect 
insect, are found in groups feed¬ 
ing on the under side of the leaves, 
and at this time the recently 
hatched but perfect insect either 
lies close under the ribs or roves 
Fig. 44. about in search of a mate. Fumi¬ 
gating once a fortnight the houses 
in which it is present is a good means to adopt for eradicating it; and we have 
found that syringing the plants, <tc., infested with a solution of softsoap and 
tobacco water is also effectual if applied once a ■week at a temperature of 100° 
or 120°. Great and often fatal mistakes are made in allowing the insects to get 
established before attempts are made to destroy them. If the plants are 
watched carefully it is not difficult to keep them clean by timely measures, and 
especially by sponging the leaves of Vines and Cucumbers with the above solu¬ 
tion immediately the first insect or the effects of it is seen. 
Hoya not Flowering {Violet ).—Cutting down the plant in the manner 
you suggest would probably result in its death. If you cannot thin out the 
plant and train the growths thinly, we think your best plan will be to raise 
some young plants, either from cuttings or by layers, and grow these in pots 
for a year or two until they attain a good size, then destroy the old plant, and 
plant out as many of the others as you desire for covering the wall quickly. 
This we think will be the best course to pursue, as, if an old neglected plant has 
to be much mutilated, it does not usually grow freely afterwards. 
Autumn-flowering Plants ( Idem).— Liliums auratum, tigrinum, and the 
varieties of speciosum potted now would flower in the autumn, but whether at 
the precise time you desire them will depend partly on the season and greatly 
on the judgment that is exercised in their cultivation. Such plants as may 
easily be had in flower at any particular time in the autumn are Fuchsias in 
variety, Zonal Pelargoniums, double and single ; Petunias, double and single ; 
Balsams, Cockscombs, Celosia pyramidalis, Browallia elata, Tuberous Begonias, 
also such sorts raised from cuttings as B. weltoniensis, B. parviflora, B. fuchsi- 
oides, Globe Amaranthuses, Salvia patens, Thuubergia alata, Lobelia cardinalis, 
and Cassia corymbosa. Ferns, Palms, and Coleuses would be useful as foliage 
plants. Are you sure the Hydrangea to which you refer is correctly named ? 
From whom did you purchase it ? 
Pruning Roses (A. M. B.).— If you do not prune the Roses the blooms 
resulting from the buds now showing will, if they expand, be small and unsatis¬ 
factory, while the trees will be practically spoiled by long naked branches for 
future years. You had better prune them at once, and the lower and yet dor¬ 
mant buds will break readily, and produce blooms at a time when the weather 
may be expected to be favourable for their satisfactory expansion. We remem¬ 
ber an early spring like the present some years ago, and our Roses were in the 
condition then that yours are now. We pruned them as usual; and although it 
appeared almost a cruel proceeding to remove such a quantity of young growths, 
yet we never had a better display of Roses than during the summer immediately 
succeeding. 
Spiraeas Unhealthy (J. S. S.). —The Spiraea y ou have sent is not S. 
Ulmaria, but Spiraea or Hoteia japonica. We are unable to account for the ends 
of the young leaves withering, except on the assumption that the plants have 
not at all times received sufficient water, and hence the growths have shrivelled 
under the effects of the sun. We have seen precisely similar results follow a 
deficient supply of water, and we have also seen plants injured in tne same way 
by fumigating the house containing them with tobacco. The plant of which 
you have sent us leaves is a Funkia, probably F. undulata variegata, but the 
leaves are not sufficiently developed for proper identification. 
