October 4, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
303 
winter they will require rather more heat than Verbenas. Cuttings of 
Gazania splendens if dibbled in boxes of sandy soil root readily, and may 
be wintered in a cold frame. If a considerable number of plants are 
required it is best to prick the cuttings out on a prepared bed and to 
cover with a shallow frame, where they may rema'n till the spring. 
Petunias and Phlox Drummondi are much more effective when raised by 
cuttings ; great care must be taken when lifting the old plants. Abutilons 
lift readily, and both the flowering and fine-foliage varieties may be 
found useful for conservatory decoration ; a few strong untopped plants 
will give a great number of cuttings in the spring. Cineraria maritima 
also lift well, and are more dwarf and even when raised from cuttings 
in the spring. Begonias ascotensis and weltoniensis, and the tuberous- 
rooted varieties will also bear lifting, and providing a moderate-size ball 
of earth be preserved about the roots will flower for some time longer in 
a greenhouse. Salvias may be similarly treated, and are very bright 
during the late autumn and early winter months. Ageratums, especially 
the tall growing variety, lifted from the borders are very useful for the 
same purpose. 
Iresines, Coleuses, Alternantheras, Mesembryanthemums, and Semper- 
vivums of the arboreum type ought to have been long since struck. 
Failing this, old uninjured plants may yet be lifted. Small balls of 
earth, especially if heavy, should be retained, and only comparatively 
small pots be given them. The back shelves of heated houses are the 
best positions for all but the Sempervivums, the latter doing best in 
an intermediate temperature. Kleinia repens may be lifted, divided, and 
dibbled in rather thickly in well-drained boxes of light sandy soil. 
Ecbeveria metallica, Pachyphitons, Aloes, and other tender succulents 
ought all to be boused or otherwise protected from frosts. They do not 
require large pots nor much heat, and should be watered but little. The 
lower leaves of the flowrnr stems on Ecbeveria metallica, if taken off and 
either dibbled in pans of light sandy soil or laid on a moist shelf in heat, 
will eventually form plants. 
HIVE -CONSTRUCTION, HONEY-PRODUCING, AND 
PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES.—No. 4. 
The following are the particulars of the hive teferred to last 
week :— 
Internal Dimensions of Stock Hive. —This is 2 feet inches 
long, 14jj inches from back to front, and 6 inches deep. It gives 
accommodation for eighteen frames and two close-fitting dividers 
1 inch thick, besides allowing an inch of “play” for the frames. 
The advantages of this inch are many and obvious. We rarely have 
occasion to lift out the divider, because lateral space is obtained by 
pulling it back close to the side of the hive. If we want to insert a 
broad frame with sections to get them started, we have only to 
remove one divider ; it also does away with all the difficulties which 
arise when frames are made to fit tight, such as shrinking and swelling 
in the wood of the top bars, slight irregularities in the combs, the 
insertion of queen cages, &c. It also secures a very large platform 
above the brood nest capable of holding two crates or forty-two 
1-lb. sections. We do not advise this use to be made of it, unless in 
exceptional cases ; but it gives the great advantage of allowing nine 
frames, or one-half of the hive, to be manipulated while a crate of 
sections is worked on the other half. 
It frequently happens that a spell of bad honey weather will 
follow after bees have got well at- work in sections, and in such 
weather at such a time breeding goes on very fast. To lift off crates 
of sections every time we want to open up a hive is out of the 
question ; but with nine frames of comb come-at-able eve keep 
queens busy ovipositing, can help weak stocks with a few frames of 
brood, substituting comb foundation for those removed, and above 
all keeping up the “comb-building impulse,” which gives to bees the 
appetite for work well known to all practical men. Another advan¬ 
tage is that queens are less liable to be lost while frames are being 
unskilfully handled. Mishaps of this kind are more frequent than is 
generally supposed ; but if a queen is unusually nervous and inclined 
to run wildly about, as some undoubtedly are when hives are opened, 
they will generally take refuge at the end of the hive furthest from 
the operator, and thus be safe out of harm’s way while he is ex¬ 
amining combs and perhaps shaking the bees from them. 
It would take too long to enumerate all the advantages which 
this large working space over the tops of the frames gives to the 
apiarian, such as slinging, doubling, &c. ; but they will readily 
suggest themselves to a practical man, and we shall, in explaining 
the practical working of the hive, have to allude to it again. 
Size of Frames .—Until the adoption of the Association standard 
frame we used the ordinary Carr-Stewarton size for our hive. Since 
the introduction and general adoption of the first-named frame we 
have modified the size a little, and it is now 14 inches by 5§ inch, 
outside measure, with a top bar 17 inches long—in other words, an 
Association standard frame cut down 3 inches in depth. 
Anyone who has studied the subject, and has worked with large 
frames, will have noticed that an inch or two of the lower side of the 
combs are very frequently unused by bees either for brood or honey ; 
at the same time, 2 or 3 inches of the upper side are almost invari¬ 
ably filled with honey. Now, our contention is that the size of frame 
which will minimise these disadvantages (for disadvantages no one 
will deny that they are) as much as possible is the one which should 
commend itself to all. 
The body of the hive should be the “ brood-nest ” in reality as 
well as in name, and should in the honey season only contain as much 
food as will supply the daily wants of the bees. All surplus is best 
stored apart and in such a way that the apiarian can remove it in 
saleable foim. A shallow frame is generally filled with brood down 
to the bottom bar, and has but little honey stored at the top. We 
have had hundreds of frames filled with brood from top to bottom, 
and vhen giving a crate of sections we remove any outer combs 
which contain honey only, along with the divider, to the opposite end 
of the hive, so that the combs under the sections are full of brood. 
The combs removed are placed outside the dividers, thus crowding 
up the bees and rendering them more likely to enter the supers. In 
addition to this, the fact that there are few available cells for storing 
honey in that part of the hive compels the honey-gatherers, for some 
time at least, to store all they get in the sections above. 
Shallow frames are better than deep ones for the following 
special reasons: —1, For fixing full sheets of comb foundation. 
With ordinary care anyone can fix a sheet of foundation 4|- inches 
deep without fear of its breaking down or sagging. 2, For trans- 
feiring combs from sleeps. Here there is an immense advantage. 
When cutting the combs to fit frames, pieces 5 inches deep are what 
we want to fit tightly into the frames ; and this allows us to cut 
away the bottom or worst edge of the comb and just so much of the 
honey at the top as is best away, while laths under the combs are not 
needed. Apropos of transferring, a well-known expert in our hearing 
was dilating on the evil effects of transferring which had come under 
his notice. He stated his opinion that foul brood was frequently 
caused by the bees clustering to the tops of transferred combs, while 
the brood in the lower parts chilled and perished—to become the 
forerunner of disease. With a comb about 5 inches deep to cover 
we need scarcely say ihere is no fear of the mischief occurring. 
Spreading Brood. —This important feature in modern bee-keeping 
is one of the best that has been made known for many years, yet it 
has not come into general use. The reason of this is obvious, and is 
contained in the vmrds of a rather extensive bee-keeper whom we 
met at a show last year. “After reading Mr. Cowan’s book,” he 
said, “ I spread my brood once ; but never again if I know it. Why, 
by dividing the brood with a sheet of foundation one part of it was 
entirely deserted by the bees, and all perished ! ” We learned after¬ 
wards .hat he used very large frames and had not taken the pre¬ 
cautions necessary. Apart from this carelessness there is great risk 
attending the operation if large frames are used, and amateurs cannot 
be supposed to tell, as practical apiarians can, when it may be done 
with safety. The way to reduce the risk to a minimum is to use a 
shallow frame. If the bees only cover six of these we venture to 
say no harm will result from inserting a sheet of foundation in the 
centre at any time when breeding is progressing fairly.—W. B. C., 
Higher Behington, Cheshire. 
BEES SWARMING IN SEPTEMBER. 
Would any of your able correspondents be so good as to inform me 
through the medium of the Journal whether it is unusual for bees to 
swarm so late as the second and last week in September 1 As we keep 
bees I am anxious to learn anything of interest concerning them. One 
morning during the second week in September one of the garden men 
informed me that there was a swarm of bees on the Elms in the park. 
I was surprised to hear it, and had the curiosity to go and see them. As 
our bees were put to rights for the winter I did not trouble to take this 
swarm, as I did not consider the bees sufficiently numerous to stock a 
hive of themselves. This evening (September 27th) I had my attention 
a<*ain drawn to a swarm, but as far distant from our own bees as it 
could be within the garden. This time I determined to give the swarm 
a chance and have hived it. I should be obliged for any information 
on the subject, as I consider the honey season ended wdth the Lime 
trees here, and our hives got lighter after these had ceased flowering.— 
C. Warden, Wilts . 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
George Rudd, Bradford, Yorkshire.— Catalogue of Auriculas, Carnations, 
avid Picotees. 
Nabonnand, Golfe-Juan-Yallauris, Alpes Maritimes.— Catalogue of Roses 
and Miscellaneous Plants. 
