JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
186 
[ August 25, 1881. 
removing the first trusses of bloom. Later plants will need to be 
potted at intervals, not allowing them to become rootbound. 
Cyclamens .—Old plants that have been in a cold frame on coal 
ashes will soon be starting into growth and should be turned out of 
the pots, removing any old soil not occupied with roots, and repot 
in the same size or a slightly larger pots, providing good drainage, 
and a compost of turfy yellow loam, a fourth of old cow dung or 
leaf soil, and a sprinkling of sand. They will do for a time longer 
in cold frames kept rather close, affording a slight shade from hot 
sun. Seedlings should be shifted into larger pots as they require it, 
being careful not to overpot, and in case of plants well advanced for 
bloom instead of shifting assist with liquid manure. 
Pelargoniums .—Cut down the plants that flowered latest, having 
previously allowed the soil to become dry. They should be placed 
in a pit or frame, and not allowed much water until after fresh 
growth has been made. The earliest cut-down plants will be ready 
for shaking out, and should be attended to before the young roots 
are much advanced, and be careful not to have the soil very dry, or 
in reducing the balls there is danger of removing too many of the 
roots. Young plants will not require much reduction of the roots, 
but old plants as large as required may have about half their roots 
cut off. Turfy loam is the most suitable soil, a fifth of thoroughly 
decomposed manure being passed through a quarter-inch sieve and 
thoroughly incorporated with the loam, with about an eighth of sharp 
sand. For fancy varieties a little more sand may be added with a 
fourth of sandy peat. They can hardly be potted too firmly. Place 
them in a light pit or house, damping with the syringe every afternoon, 
giving plenty of air, and keep them clear of aphides by fumigation. 
Chrysanthemums .—The plants must have supports and be attended 
to in tying to prevent their being damaged by wind. They require 
to be liberally supplied with liquid manure, or they cannot be ex¬ 
pected to flower satisfactorily. The early varieties are now coming 
into flower, and if grown in 7-inch pots they are very useful for 
decorative purposes and conservatory decoration. 
Violets .—If runners have been removed the plants of such varieties 
as flower in autumn and onwards may now be lifted and planted in 
the frames or pits they are to occupy during the winter. G-ive a good 
supply of water and they will become established in their quartern 
before the flowers are produced, not receiving so great a check as if 
moved when the blooms are appearing. Keep the lights off until frost. 
Oichids .—Now the weather has become cooler the East India house 
must be kept moderately close. If the weather be dull reduce the 
moisture and have recourse to fire heat to maintain the night tempera¬ 
ture at 65° and 75° by day, syringing the blocks and damping the 
house at three o’clock. Aerides, Phalmnopses, Saccolabiums, and 
Yandas must still receive every encouragement, as any check will 
result in stunted growth. The shading must be withdrawn as soon 
as all fear of the sun scorching the foliage is past. Be careful that 
the sphagnum in which Phalasnopses are grown in pots or baskets does 
not become sodden, or the leaves will soon be diseased. Dispense with 
shading on the Cattleya house, as light is of the greatest importance 
in ripening the pseudo-bulbs. Such plants as Barkerias, Cattleyas, 
Dendvobiums, Epidendrums, Lrelias, Oncidiums, and many others pro¬ 
duce weak deformed flowers if the growth is not well matured. 
Calanthes masuca and veratrifolia may now be repotted ; and if the 
soil has become sour they should be shaken out, washing every particle 
from the roots in tepid water, repotting in a compost of equal parts 
turfy loam and peat, adding a little decayed cow dung and some 
charcoal the size of nuts well incorporated, affording efficient drainage. 
DRIVEN BEES FED INTO STOCKS. 
A coeeespondent, “ J. M.,” is rather unsettled on this ques¬ 
tion, having read lately in the Journal “ that driven bees fed up in 
autumn usually have too much drone comb to make good hives next 
year, unless comb foundation be used and he wants to know if 
Mr. Pettigrew still thinks that the feeding-up plan is a good one. 
My opinion on this point remains unchanged. Generally speaking, 
the most prosperous and profitable stocks I have had or seen have 
been fed with sugar. Many other bee-keepers, remarkably success¬ 
ful in reaping large harvests of honey, have a growing confidence 
in such stocks after many long years of experience. I know a 
very clever and intelligent apiarian—and who is nearly always 
first in his neighbourhood in the weight and health of his hives— 
who takes the honey from all his hives every autumn, and creates 
fresh stocks by feeding his bees. All this has been done without 
the use of artificial comb foundations. Such foundations if pro¬ 
perly used would doubtless be helpful and profitable, but the 
facts mentioned now show that the practice of creating-stocks 
in autumn by sugar-feeding is a good one, and will not be aban¬ 
doned by bee-keepers of experience. Yesterday I obtained 2 cwt. 
of sugar to feed late swarms and driven bees, and I confidently 
expect that the driven bees lately hived will be my best stocks 
next season. 
Now let me notice the fact that bees during the feeding process 
have a tendency to build too much drone comb. This tendency 
is common to all bees in hives not filled with combs. During 
times of great honey-gathering on the Clover and Heather, and 
especially before swarming, bees in such hives build far too much 
drone comb. Drone combs have larger cells than worker combs, 
and therefore in building them the bees have less work, fewer 
partition walls to erect; and hence, while gluts of honey are to be 
had, the bees instinctively build cells that give them the least 
trouble and that hold most honey. In hives not full of combs in 
spring bees usually build far too much drone comb ; in doing so 
they anticipate the advent of young queens, and make full pre¬ 
parations for it. In the hives of second swarms less drone comb 
is built than is usual in the hives of first swarms, and this is 
doubtless owing to the fact that there is no likelihood of drones 
being needed in second swarm hives till the year following. 
Second swarms and turnouts are generally the most free from drone 
combs, and therefore are best for stocks, but often sugar-fed 
stocks have as little drone comb in them as second swarms, and 
therefore are unexceptionable for keeping as stocks. In creating 
them in autumn it is possible to glut and injure them by giving 
them too much syrup at once. If this be done drone and. dumpy 
combs will be built, cells to hold honey will be built twice their 
usual depth, and thus the combs will be short and thick. 
Our correspondent also wishes to know the size of hives used 
for sugar-fed stocks. The size of swarms to be fed should deter¬ 
mine the size of the hives to be used. If a swarm or two united 
weigh 5 or 6 lbs., a hive 16 inches wide and 12 inches deep may 
be used. As it is desirable to have the hives nearly full of combs 
by autumn feeding, we advise our friend to err on the safe side by 
using hives not too large. The danger of having too much drone 
comb is very great in hives only half filled in autumn. The best 
ways of uniting bees and the houses that sell hives have been 
often noticed in this Journal.—A. Pettigrew. 
LIGURIANISING—A CAUTION. 
I HAVE had some experience of late with the above that I think 
may prove interesting to many apiarian readers. The first of 
this breed I procured was in May this year, which I united with a 
swarm composed of flyers from an old straw skep. In course of 
time I took another swarm from the straw skep, and sixteen days 
after I took another, but too soon as it afterwards proved, for the 
young queen from the straw hive had not been mated, and had left 
no eggs nor grubs. She being in a bar-frame I soon discovered 
she was not laying, and therefore had left the old skep desolate. 
So I began to mend matters in the following way, with these 
results. After my queen (black one) had been eight or ten 
days in the new hive and not laying, I took her out and put her 
back into the parent hive, and took my Ligurian (mentioned 
above) out of her colony and gave her to the newly-made hive, 
caging her for two days. At first the bees accepted her kindly 
enough, but on looking two hours afterwards they had “ balled ” 
her, and she was dead ! During her confinement they had formed 
queen cells, and therefore did not require her services. I procured 
another Italian, and gave her to the same bees, with all care, 
cutting out all queen cells ; and as the eggs were then too old I 
thought they would be glad of my offering, and to all appearance 
they were, and for about twenty-four hours all seemed well, but 
to my dismay she was found dead on the ground the next 
morning. Undaunted, I again sent for another Ligurian queen ; 
but I determined not to give her to the queen-killing swarm, so I 
made one for her in the following way, which proved successful. 
I took five bars from different hives with all the bees attached. 
I came to the conclusion ihat the old bees would return to their 
respective homes and leave only young bees and brood. It was 
three or four days before there was any traffic out or in the hive ; 
