November 15, 188S. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
431 
and stored. Should severe frosts, however, be anticipated, the corm 3 
should either be lifted at once or protected with rough litter or leaves. 
They may be packed thinly in boxes of dry soil, and stored during the 
winter in a cool dry shed where they can be protected from frosts. The 
tiny corms, which in some cases are formed about the old corms, should not 
be overlooked, as these, if preserved in slightly moist sandy soil, and be 
properly replanted the following spring will, in the course of one or two 
seasons, grow into flowering corms. In some gardens, where the soil is 
light and dry, it is not absolutely necessary to lift them, but they 
should be protected from severe frosts. The commoner sorts frequently 
spread rapidly and flower freely under this treatment. 
Dahlias.-r- These have held out unusually late this season, and have 
been particularly good. The beautiful Constance, Ariel, or White Cactus 
Dahlia, as it is variously termed, and the brilliant Juarezi or Cactus 
Dahlia, have been exceptionally fine this autumn, and are certain to 
remain popular long after numbers of the single varieties are discarded. 
Scarlet Glare of the Garden and its crimson form have been wonderfully 
effective, and these, with some of the Pompons—notably the white 
Guiding Star—are especially good for furnishing cut blooms, and may 
well receive the preference to many of the singles. At least nine-tenths of 
seedling single Dahlias ought tD be destroyed. Better preserve a few really 
distinct and brightly coloured sorts and throw away all those that are 
poor both in form and colour. Directly the frosts have injured the leaves 
and flowers of all the Dahlias, the stems of those selected should be cut 
down to within 9 inches of the tubers, and either lift at once or protect 
from a second frost. The labels bearing the registered numbers, name, or 
brief description of each should be strongly tied to the stem, or otherwise 
much confusion may easily ensue. After the tubers have stood for a few 
days in a shed to dry they should be packed in a single layer on a dry floor, 
and be covered with fine nearly dry soil. They mud be carefully pro¬ 
tected from frost. When the tubers are stored under a staging in a green¬ 
house they are either injured by excessive moisture or induced to cimmence 
growth much too early. 
Salvia patens and Verbena venosa .—The former may be treated 
similarly to the Dahlias, but in this case, the tubers being smaller, they 
may well be enclosed in boxes of good soil. The long fleshy roots of the 
Verbena are quite hardy, and from these any number of plants may be 
obtained in the spring; but as they interfere with the digging and 
manuring of the beds, a quantity of trimmed plants and their roots entire 
should be lifted and stored thickly in boxes of moist soil. A cold frame is 
the best position in which to winter them. 
Herbaceous Lobelias .—These brilliant tall-growing species, of which 
L. cardinalis and fulgens are the oldest types, should be lifted and stored 
in boxes or pots of good soil, and be wintered in a pit, frame, or a green¬ 
house. They ought not to become dust-dry at the roots, the aim being to 
encourage them to push up strong suckers for division in the spring. 
Polemonium cceruleum variegatum .—This has again proved a very effec¬ 
tive bedding plant, and should be lifted and treated similarly to the 
Lobelias. The less fire heat they receive the better. The beautifully 
variegated Tussilago Farfara is quite hardy, and is best left undisturbed 
till the spring, when numbers of strong suckers will spring up in all 
directions. 
Chrysanthemums .—It is seldom we have these good in the open air, 
especially the easily disfigured white sorts. Where they are wisely planted 
near a wall, a mat should be carefully and securely suspended over them 
nightly, both as a protection from frosts and rain. If they are situated in 
such a position as to prevent any protection being given we should strongly 
advise that many of the best be lifted with a large ball of earth about the 
roots, and either be placed in large pots or tubs, or, failing these, be bedded 
in a heap of good soil somewhere in a vinery or Peach house. Such 
plants, providing they are in a moist state at the roots when lifted, and 
subsequently maintained in that state, will furnish surprisingly large 
quantities of blooms. They may perhaps lose much of their iower foliage, 
but better lose this than have the whole of the blooms spoilt by rains and 
frosts. 
HIVE-CONSTRUCTION—COVERING FOR TOPS OF 
FRAMES, QUILTS— TWO TROUBLES. 
Two troubles usually beset the bee-keeper who is desirous of pre¬ 
serving the covering of his hive in good order—First, the persistency 
-with which bees will gnaw holes in the material which goes imme¬ 
diately on the tops of the frames ; and second, the disagreeable effects 
of propolisation on the carpet covering, or whatever may be laid for 
warmth over the bees. 
We have tried hair cloth, Indian grass matting, and American 
cloth, all of which were discarded as faulty and not answering 
the purpose. In casting about for a more suitable covering we 
came across a very simple article which we venture to say is the 
best yet introduced ; very cheap, durable and indestructible so far 
as the bees are concerned. It is made of round German match- 
wood, and is used for various domestic purposes, such as splashers 
for washstands. This material when woven together with strong 
thread is everything that can be desired. We had some difficulty in 
obtaining the article we required undisfigured by paint, but eventually 
succeeded, and if the manufacturers can be induced to make them of 
a suitable size for bee-keepers they will, we believe, be generally 
adopted. In use they are so light that one may be laid on the tops 
of the frames, while the latter are thickly covered by bees ; not one 
will be crushed, and the bees can creep from under the covering 
without difficulty. When uncovering the frames the wood quilt is so 
pliable than when folded back it lies in a roll out of the way, while 
only just so much of the frames are uncovered as is necessary. Of 
course bees will propolise these as they will any other form of quilt, 
and we have to take the usual steps to remove the propolis when 
cleaning them once a year. 
These wood quilts are made in two parts each 16 by 154 inches ; 
a small hole is cut in each to admit the bees to the feeding stage. 
An excellent covering for warmth is made from cow hair felt, 
used by engineers for the purpose of maintaining heat in boilers ; it 
is about 1 inch thick, light, soft, and very porous, so that when sewn 
into calico coverings for durability one set of these quilts will last a 
lifetime. We make them in four parts two of which are 15.4 by 
9 inches, and two 15| by 6 inches A circular hole is cut in each 
wide piece for feeding. 
We have now completed the description of our hive, and the 
diagram below will assist in making plain its construction as well as 
showing its relative proportions. We cannot well show the method 
of fixing the legs without confusing the diagram, but they are cut 
with a shoulder on which the hive body rests, and screwed on at the 
front and back respectively. 
Objections may be taken to this hive on the score of cost or 
trouble in making ; but we would remind our readers that the hive 
which has been described is devised as the best that could be made 
regardless to an extent of one or the other. The timber, &c., used in 
its construction costs about 9s. All really first-class hives are rather 
costly, but a good article is cheap in the end, and the rubbishy 
packing-case affairs so frequently sent out now-a-days are dear at 
any price. 
A cheaper form of the same hive for use in a bee house can be 
made by using inch stuff for the hive body, dispensing entirely with 
double walls, roof, legs, &c. At each end is screwed on a piece of 
inch stuff 4 inches wide. On the insides of these the inclined 
runners are fixed in such a position that the floorboard will fit close 
up at the back when pushed home, and allow half an inch fall in the 
front before it is wedged up. Two small wedges 3 inches long, 
tapering down to three-eighths of an inch, and fastened by a small 
chain or string to the hive, are used for this purpose. A strip of 
half-inch wood along the front and back, fixed level with the tops of 
the frames, keeps them in position ; thus we have all the working 
parts of the hive the same as in the larger one at a cost of labour and 
material not exceeding that of the cheap hives now in use.—W. B. C., 
Higher Bebington. 
[We regret to learn that our correspondent, also writers on 
gardening, are troubled with a number of letters that readers are not 
