434 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 25, 1882. 
bottom and sides of the baskets, then fill up with a compost of equal 
parts of turfy loam, leaf soil, and fibrous peat in equal proportions, 
with about a sixth of sand. The top of the baskets should also be 
planted. Keep them in a light position until they are in flower, and 
by attending to training the plants as they grow to neat stakes, so as 
to cover the whole of the surface, they will form complete balls of 
flowers. 
Gloxinias are amongst the most useful summer decorative plants 
we possess for the conservatory, if kept a little closer than an ordi¬ 
nary greenhouse ; but to make them available for this purpose they 
must not be grown in too high a temperature in the early stages 
or crowded amongst other plants. A night temperature of G0° is 
sufficient. 
Orchids .—For some months to come most of the plants will be 
growing, consequently the temperature should be for the East Indian 
house, 70° to 90° by day and 65° to 70° by night; Cattleya house, 
55° to 75° by day and 60° to 65° by night; and the Odontoglossum 
house, G0 Q to 70° by day and 55° to 60° by night. Any plants not 
growing satisfactorily should at once be examined, and if it is found 
that any part of the roots is decaying, that should be cut away. If 
the plant can be turned out without injuring the healthy roots these 
can then be washed, repotting in moderately dry material, very little 
water being given until new roots are formed. Shading will become 
more necessary, and must be so provided that air can be afforded 
freely, the canvas being kept at a distance from the glass to allow 
of a free circulation of air. In the East Indian house Aerides, 
Vandas, Phalsenopses, and Saccolabiums must be kept constantly 
moist, and the foliage clean by frequent sponging with clean water. 
"Where Cymbidiums require repotting attend to it at once, as they 
succeed best in rough peat with some small lumps of charcoal inter¬ 
mixed, providing good drainage, as they require a liberal supply of 
water. Stanhopeas that have flowered and started into growth 
should have fresh moss placed about them, and be grown on as 
quickly as possible, the baskets being dipped frequently in tepid 
water. Very little, if any, fire heat will be required for the cool 
Orchids for the next four months, the difficulty being to keep them 
cool enough. As the plants cease blooming repot any that require it, 
and any unhealthy at the roots should be shaken out, carefully 
washing the roots in tepid water, and place the plants in small pots. 
For cool Orchids a lean-to house with a north aspect is most suitable. 
Orchids intended for cool quarters whilst in flower must be gradually 
inured to the change by placing them in a somewhat cooler and drier 
atmosphere for a few days. 
M 
HE BEE-KEEPER. I 
BEE-KEEPING TO ADVANTAGE. 
SECTIONAL SUPERS. 
The best time to put on a tray of sectional supers is when the 
bees become much crowded inside, when they will be glad to 
accept the new storehouse, and commence at once. I make the 
trays myself by nailing four pieces of wood together about 2 inches 
broad, with strips of wood along the bottom of the tray for the 
sections to rest on, and a broad piece up the centre to prevent 
the bees coming up between the sections instead of into them. 
Each section will require a little comb foundation ; a piece 
2 inches square, cut in two diagonally, will do fur two. I take a 
little liquified wax and put it on the side of the section, and while 
hot rub the piece of comb into it, and when cool all is firm. This 
insures a start for the bees on the right spot. A separator will 
be required between each two sections, so that when the bees 
reach the separator they will seal and complete the section, other¬ 
wise they might work one section into another, as they are very 
prone to make very broad combs when storing surplus honey. I 
have seen combs 3 or 4 inches through. These separators can be 
made of any light material, but I prefer sheet tin. A sheet 10 by 
14 inches, cut into three, will do well, and only costs me a 
penny. It is placed in between the sections, and rests on the 
top of the sides of the tray, so that leaves plenty of room for the 
bees to pass into the sections. The end sections have each a piece 
of glass so as to have a complete enclosure, and it also serves for 
the bee-keeper to see how matters stand inside. A piece of 
excluder zinc will also be required to secure perfect sections. 
This excluder zinc is placed between the hive and the supers, and 
is to prevent the queen depositing eggs in the sections, which 
would spoil their appearance. The perforations in the zinc are 
such as only to allow the worker bees to pass through, excluding 
both queen and drones. Combs once bred in are spoiled for comb 
honey. The carpet being now removed from the top of the hive 
will do to cover the tray of sections. 
In removing sections the centre ones are generally complete 
when those outside are well filled with bees and comb. At 
noon on a fine day I give a little smoke and take out some of the 
centre sections, and if complete I replace them with empty ones, 
and so keep the bees busy at work. I have also put tray above 
tray by removing the partially filled section and putting an empty 
one nearest the hive with the former on the top, when the bees 
worked on both simultaneously, the top one being a great induce¬ 
ment for them to continue. I find it a very bad plan to take a 
whole tray of honey at one time ; better to take it away imper¬ 
ceptibly, or as near so as possible. For bees are very much like 
old mariners in that they are greatly guided by familiar land¬ 
marks ; so much so indeed, that if you were to remove the old 
hive while they were in the fields, leaving the old cover on a 
strange hive, they would enter the old cover that contained the 
strange hive rather than go in search of the old hive with the new 
unfamiliar cover. I make them do it in some of my manipula¬ 
tions, so that if all the old familiar sections were removed at one 
time the bees might prefer swarming to enter a new “dry lot” of 
storehouses. 
In conclusion, I would advise anyone who is fond of bees to 
study them in earnest, and they are sure to succeed. Do not be 
afraid of a sting ; and if you do get one pluck it out and rub the 
part with a little table salt, vinegar, or liquid ammonia. But for 
anyone who may not be able to master their timidity, I would 
advise them to procure Ligurian or Italian bees. I have had 
them now for some time, and they are most gentle, good workers, 
and very beautiful, being striped with yellow.— Comber. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
James Dickson & Sons, Newton Nurseries, Chester .—Catalogue if 
Plants , 1882. 
J. Carter & Co., 237 and 238, High Holborn, W.C .—Catalogue of 
New and Rate Plants, 1882. 
*** 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 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. 
Coleworts (J Beginner ).—The present is a good time for sowing seed to 
produce plants for occupying ground that is vacated by early crops. A good 
breadth of Coleworts is of great value during the autumn and winter. Early 
York Cabbage sown now will also afford a supply of small and very acceptable 
heads in the autumn. 
Early Roses (G. II .).—You complain of your “Roses flowering without 
leaves, and cannot understand it.” We probably could not have understood it 
either if you had not told us your tree is a large Gloire de Dijon growing against 
a wall. The buds formed in autumn, and there has been no frost severe enough 
to destroy them, but the flowers from such buds are usually malformed. 
Dividing Polyanthuses (Admirer ).—The plants after flowering usually 
cease growing for a time and take a period of rest. Our plan is to let them 
enjoy that rest, and in a few months they start into growth strongly, the time 
very much depending on the weather. It is when they are commencing this 
late summer or early autumn growth that the plants should be divided, and the 
soil being then warm and sufficiently moist they root deeply before winter and 
form fine crowns for a future display of flowers. 
Planting Flower Beds (M. D. L .).—You are quite right. The outer 
row next the margin of Lobelia should be planted first and not last, all the 
plants being of the same size and at regular distances apart; you can then fill 
