June 7,1881.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
and they assist the queen in distributing her eggs in the cells. 
Wherever bees can go eggs can be carried and used. In supers 
the bees prepare the cells for the reception of eggs, frequently 
cutting honey cells to the proper depth for brood.—A. Pettigbew. 
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A STOCK IN A 
STRAW SKEP. 
An esteemed correspondent of this Journal, in a private letter 
to me, suggests a second article on the above subject, the object 
in view being honey rather than increase ; and, as I do not wish 
it to be understood that I consider skeps of use only to stock bar- 
frame hives from, I accept the hint. 
At the outset, however, I must be permitted to describe the sort 
of skep I should select for the purpose, for there are many styles 
in use, from the close-top dome-shaped “ ruskie,” of ancient 
days, to the capacious Pettigrew skep with its perpendicular sides, 
flat top, and super hole. In course of veering towards the bar- 
frame hive Mr. Pettigrew has suggested flat wooden tops with slits 
o allow the use of foundation ; and as many such are already 
in use in the country, and likely to increase among those who 
follow his teachings, I shall take it as the hive most nearly ap¬ 
proaching my idea of a perfect skep. I should protest, however, 
against the inordinate and unalterable capacity of the hives Mr. 
Pettigrew recommends. While I recognise the merits of the 
skep in its circular form and non-conducting material, I must be 
permitted to point out its disadvantages from my point of view. 
These are the want of elasticity, enabling the bee-keeper to 
contract or expand according to the state of the stock or the 
necessities of the season ; the impossibility of determining at a 
glance the condition of the interior, such as the first laying of a 
queen, or the incipient stages of foul brood ; and the difficulty of 
using such modern and undoubted helps as comb foundation and 
the honey extractor. A weak stock placed on three sheets of 
comb foundation early in spring is at present stronger than 
stocks whose bees were then scattered over six or eight frames, 
and that simply because from the first they have been kept 
crowded so as to keep their whole domicile w r arm. For similar 
reasons Mr. Pettigrew’s large skep stocks, though they throw 
grand swarms, do so too late to take full advantage of the 
principal honey harvest. Only where heather abounds do they 
generally give large results. 
Were I ever again to use skeps (except purchased ones for 
stocking bar-frames) I should have my hives made of a uniform 
diameter of not more than 14 inches, each hive to consist of a 
body 9 inches deep, two nadirs of half that depth, and at least 
two supers of the same dimensions, each section to have the top 
formed of bars temporarily fastened into a wooden rim. Practi¬ 
cally this would be the skep transformed into a Stewarton hive. 
As each nadir and super is exactly half the size of the body, two 
of them lashed together might form a body hive for temporary 
use, and thus tend to lessen the number of useless encumbrances 
where hives of all sizes are kept. 
The bars forming the top of each section should be about an 
inch broad and half an inch apart, except in supers, where 2 inches 
from centre to centre is the proper distance. They should be 
all fitted with comb foundation, and no slides used between, 
only a quilt to cover them. With such a hive managed on the 
Stewarton system I should have no fear as to results. The bees 
would winter cosily in the 9-inch body, and as they became 
crowded in spring a nadir with comb foundation would be 
added; then a super if honey were abundant ; then another 
nadir to give increased breeding room ; then other supers ad 
infinitum! The miserable little supering hole, and the wooden 
ekes so common, are but clumsy expedients compared with a top 
of open bars and nadirs fitted with comb foundation. The 
ordinary supering hole soon gets so nearly filled with comb that 
there is great obstruction to the passage of bees and fresh air, 
and the tiering up of one super over another is almost useless. 
A top of bars and open slits gives free access and ventilation. 
The usual eke is generally filled largely with drone comb, to the 
detriment of the stock. Nadirs fitted with comb foundation 
would prevent this and largely increase the force of workers. 
The bars also, though temporarily fixed, might at any time be 
loosened, and, the attachments of a central comb being cut from 
the hive sides, it could be withdrawn for inspection without 
serious detriment; and thus to some extent would the hive 
combine the advantages of the skep, the Stewarton, and the bar- 
frame. Under no other circumstances could I think of recom¬ 
mending beginners to use straw hives. To sum up shortly : Were 
I the possessor of a stock in such a hive, and wished for the 
largest amount of honey, I should start the bees in spring in the 
smallest space possible, enlarge by nadirs only as they became 
19 
crowded ; super as soon as the honey flow commenced ; give 
plenty of doorway and gentle upward ventilation, thus lessening 
the risk of swarming. Attention to the state of the supers ob¬ 
tained by a peep between the bars would give warning when 
another was required, and so long as there was a prospect of 
honey to be got these should be tiered up as fast as the bees were 
found to crowd them. After all a swarm may come off, but it is 
possible in such a hive to cut out all royal cells and return it. 
Rather, however, after hiving it in a 9-inch body, I should prefer 
to place it on the old stand and within a day or two transfer to 
it the unfinished supers left on the parent hive. The latter 
thus contracted might still be fit for super work, while the former, 
greatly strengthened by the flying bees, would work with the 
energy that natural swarms always possess. The supers alone 
are in this case supposed to be taken for honey, the contents of 
body and nadirs being left to the bees. Although there may be 
nothing new in these hints, I venture to think they are improve¬ 
ments, and may meet the case of some who dearly love the 
straw.— William Raitt, Blairgowrie. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
E. H. Krelage & Son, Haarlem. —Catalogue of Bulbous and other 
Plants. 
Damman & Co., Portici, Naples, Italy. —Catalogue of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds and Bulbs. 
W. Dobbie, 62, Preston Street, Faversham.— Select List of Pelar¬ 
goniums and Fuchsias. 
*** 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. 
Clematises in Pots (•/. PI). —See No. 45, page 349, of the last volume of 
this Journal for full particulars of the culture requisite for Clematises in pots. 
The following varieties would probably suit yon and maintain a succession of 
flowers during the period named: — Lady Londesborough, Standishii, Miss 
Bateman, Albert Victor, Lord Londesborough, The Queen, Sir Garnet Wolselej', 
Fair Bosamond, Sophie flore-pleno, John Gould Veitch, Lucie Lemoine, Law- 
soniana, and the Jackmanni forms. The circumstance you mention respecting 
the Hedycliiums is very curious, but is no doubt due to the plant being in a 
very dry atmosphere. 
Sheffield Rose Show ( T.\K .).—This Exhibition of the National Bose 
Society will be held on Thursday, July the 14th. 
The Gooseberry Apple (J. L .).—The variety you have is known under 
the above name. It is a valuable late-keeping culinary Apple, which comes into 
use in November and continues “ till Apples come again.” It is extensively 
cultivated in Kent and Sussex, especially about Faversham and Sittingbourne, 
for the supply of the London markets. Bonalds’ Goosebeny Pippin is quite 
distinct from the above, being a fine dessert Apple, ripe in November and con¬ 
tinuing till February, but it is now rarely seen. 
Onion Attacked by the Grub (E. It. M .).—Your Onions are being de¬ 
stroyed by the maggots of the Onion fly (Anthomyia ceparum). As soon as the 
presence of this insect is detected all the plants attacked, which are easily known 
by the leaves fading, should at once be pulled up and burned, giving the beds 
a good supply of lime water, which may be made by placing a peck of quicklime 
in a tub and pouring over it thirty gallons of water. Stir it well up and allow 
it to stand twenty-four hours. A dressing of soot is also a good application, 
and so is a strong solution of soapsuds. The best remedy, however, is to apply 
soot to the ground before sowing the seed, or a light dressing of gas lime, half 
a peck being sufficient for a square rod—30j square yards. 
Hen Manure (Idem ).—Fowl dung is a very valuable manure, especially 
for soil such as yours— i.e., of clayey nature. It should be used in less pro¬ 
portion than other manures, and is best applied mixed with an equal quantity 
of soil. It is suitable for every description of vegetables. 
Lemon-scented Verbena (TV. L.). —The botanical name of this plant is 
Aloysia citriodora; it is also referred to the genus Lippia by some authors. 
Occasionally the leaves have been used as tea or to afford a flavouring to various 
articles of confectionery. 
Culture of Fadyenia prolifera (A. G.). —This curious little Fern re¬ 
quires the temperature of an ordinary exotic fernery, or the cool end of a moist 
stove. It succeeds in a compost of peat and sand with abundant drainage, a 
wide shallow pan being best suited for it, as the long narrow fronds can then 
extend freely. When the young plants are produced at the point they will soon 
root in the soil, and may be either separated or allowed to remain, the latter 
being generally preferred, as they impart a peculiar appearance to the plant. It 
is usually found advisable to cover the plant with a bellglass to preserve an 
equable temperature and moisture about it. 
Vines in Pots (T. SI). —If, as you say, the position the Vines now occupy is 
too shaded by all means remove them to the orchard house mentioned, training 
