August 16, 1883. 1 . 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
149 
We had kept bees for some years prior to this, and had driven 
hives in the usual way, but to see the bee-master unprotected by 
either veil or gloves, drive his bee3 and watch them ascend, 
•capturing the queen, tossing them about with his naked hands 
like so many peas, and apparently able to do as he pleased with 
them, was a new revelation to us in bee-management. Now, 
however, we suppose there is hardly an association in the country 
which does not number among its members several who can do 
the same thing with the greatest ease. Hive-making soon 
became quite an important industry. Manufacturers increased 
rapidly, and the fact that many makers were not practical bee¬ 
keepers themselves had the effect of placing some ill-constructed 
and almost unmanagable hives on the market. Later on, as 
bee exhibitions received more encouragement from horticul¬ 
tural and agricultural societies, prizes were offered for hives, 
&c., and the competition became very keen. The amateur bee¬ 
keeper, with more zeal than knowledge, entered the lists as a 
competitor, and designed hives in his study or workshop, some 
oi them “fearfully and wonderfully made,” but nearly useless 
in practical operation. Strange to say, hives of this description 
have not seldom been awarded prizes to the exclusion of really 
good and useful ones, made by men who are accustomed to work 
among bees regularly, and who should be supposed to know 
what is required. The evil did not end here, for in some in¬ 
stances men of great exp rience as apiarians, who were bee- 
dealers and hive-makers, but from the very nature of their 
business could not be honey-producers, actually made and sold 
hives which were most defective from the honey-producer’s 
point of view. 
Bee-dealing may be, and most probably is, the most profit¬ 
able branch of apiculture, especially when combined with the 
manufacture and sale of hives and appliances. On no other 
ground can we explain the fact that nearly all our most pro¬ 
minent apiarians, who make a business of it, end by becoming 
bee-dealers and not honey-producers; while many who manu¬ 
facture and sell hives have never been either one or the other. 
Now we take it that the great object of bee-keeping is, or 
ought to be, the production of honey in the greatest quantity 
and in the most saleable form, and all we have to say on the 
subject will be from the lioney-producer's point of view. We 
should give up bee-keeping altogether if success in the pursuit 
necessitated our giving up the pleasure of honey-harvesting. 
At the same time we hold a very decided opinion that bee farm¬ 
ing for the production of Loney in the United Kingdom will 
not pay him who depends on it entirely for a means of liveli¬ 
hood. Newly-Hedged bee-keepers (they are invariably novices) 
who become enthusiastic, and fancy they have discovered a mine 
■of wealth after a gold season with a profit of £3 or £4 from a 
single hive, generally become wiser men after the experience of 
a few years. They find out that our climate cannot be depended 
•on; that our honey season is too soon over; and that the 
weather in June and July', upon which everything depends, is 
so unreliable. In short, they find their best-laic! schemes “ gang 
aft aglee,” and that a very delightful pursuit, as bee-keeping 
undoubtedly is, may become a delusion and a snare if depended 
■on as a sole means of subsistence. 
Having relieved our mind of this conviction, let us say how 
strongly we are convinced that intelligent working men, whose 
occupations lead them to reside in suitable localities, will before 
long find out that they may make the keeping of a few stocks 
of bees very profitable in some seasons. While gardeners are 
rapidly acquiring a knowledge of apiculture, these latter possess 
unusual facilities for bee-keeping, and have a ready market for 
their honey if it is produced in a form fit for their employer’s 
table. The great bulk of bee-keepers, so far as our experience 
goes, who keep bees on modern principles, consist of the upper 
middle classes, whose means and tastes lead them to welcome 
anything which will add to the pleasures of their gardens, and 
yet who are sufficiently utilitarian to hope for a balance on the 
right side of their bee account. We comparatively seldom see one 
•of these bee-keepers who is not ready to welcome any improvement 
either in hives or appliances. He visits shows, and as his expe¬ 
rience is generally somewhat limited he allows the hive-maker 
to guide him in selecting the best. He is shown one which 
works like clockwork—on the show bench, and purchases it, only 
to find a vast difference when the hive is peopled with bees and 
encumbered with all the accompaniments of a stocked hive. He 
becomes nervous, gets stun , and the thing is voted a nuisance. 
There is hardly a pursuit in which the avoidance of hitches in 
manipulating is more necessary than bee-keeping. The comfort 
of working with hives and appliances of the right kind is beyond 
expression, while the annoyance, indeed the disastrous results 
which sometimes occur through inexperience coup lei with faulty 
materials, are not pleasant to think of. 
This brings us to consider how a hive should be constructed 
so as to be of the most practical use to the ordinary bee-keeper. 
By the latter term we mean nine out of every ten who keep bees. 
It is well known that the greatest divergence of opinion exists 
even among high authorities on the subject. One ignores the 
use of distance guides of any kind, preferring to space frames 
with his fingers ; another advocates the use of close-ended 
frames of the Giotto type instead of the ordinary open-ended 
ones ; a third prefers the Stewartou hive to any of a later type ; 
a fourth goes in for the most elaborate and costly aiticle; while 
a fifth makes simplicity and cheapness desideratum, a sixth 
thinks that nothing can compare with straw skeps, Ac. Of 
course there may be much to say in favour of each one’s opinion, 
but we think the greatest weight should be attached to those 
emanating from honey-producers, because honey is after all the 
object every bee-keeper has in view.—W. B. C., Higher Behington, 
Cheshire. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Louis Van Iloutte, Ghent, Belgium.— Catalogue of Bulbs and other Flower 
Roots. 
ffm. Paul ife Son, Waltham Cross.— Catalogue of Bulbs. 
Dickson, Brown, & Tait, 43 and 45, Corporation Street, Manchester.— 
Catalogue of Bulbs. 
Dickson & Robinson, 12, Old Millgate, Manchester.— Catalogue of Hya¬ 
cinths and other Bulbous Roots. 
Edmond Van Coppenolle, Meirelbeke-lez-Gand, Belgium.— General Cata¬ 
logue of Plants. 
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 Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended 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. 
Books (J. ]V. A.). —Ville’s work on artificial manures is published by 
Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., and can be obtained through a book¬ 
seller. Its price is, we think, about half a guinea, but we have not seen 
it advertised. 
Transplanting Evergreens (II. W. M.). —All the kinds you name grow 
well, when the work of removal and replanting is properly done, towards 
the end of October or early in November. They may be transplanted early 
in October if the weather is dull and showery. 
Indian Muslin for Shading (J. M. C.). —Judging from samples we have 
seen, we have no doubt this material would be suitable for shading green¬ 
houses, as it would subdue the rays of the sun without seriously obstructing 
the light. We scarcely know what you mean by “draperies.” You had 
better procure samples of the muslin, and you will then be able to judge 
for yourself as to the suitability for that purpose, which we apprehend is 
very much a question of taste. 
Mildew on Rose (Z7. E. B .).— Your Marecbal Niel is infested with 
mildew, and, if you do not destroy it, it will kill the plant. We never saw a 
worse example than in the spray before us. You will find the method to 
adopt described in answer to another correspondent. See that the roots 
are well supplied with water, and probably liquid manure would be of 
service; but on this point we cannot advise, as you have not stated any 
particulars about the plant, not even indicating whether it is in a pot or 
planted out. 
Rose Exhibitors’ Text-hook [J. E. II .).—This is a designation that has 
been applied to the catalogue of Roses issued by the National Rose Society, 
and is sold by the Secretaries of that Society. We do not know of any 
horticultural society in the vicinity of Child’s Hill or Hampstead, except 
the Highgate Society, with which you are acquainted. Still, we do not 
assert that there are no other local societies in the district referred to. 
Potato Tubers on Stems (G. M.). —We have frequently observed similar 
productions to that you send, and they can only be regarded as malfor¬ 
mations. The tuber itself when under ground is simply an enlarged stem, 
which serves as a storehouse for nutriment to perpetuate the plant another 
year, and possibly these axillary tubers might be used in the same way. 
Black Hamburgh Grapes [II. S .).—Your bunches are scarcely of the 
! average size. Mr. Barron, in his “ Vines and Vine Culture,” gives the 
