180 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 21, 1884. 
THE BEST HIVE. 
Would any correspondent of the Journal advise a cottager which is 
the best hive for bees and procuring the most sectional super honey ? I 
have eight straw hives, which I intend at the end of the Heather to make 
into four. Should these remain in the straw hives and the swarms from 
them next season be placed into what might be recommended, or would it 
be better to put some of them in at the end of the season ? I have three 
straw Stewartons which I made from Mr. Pettigrew’s instructions in the 
Journal. Can these have sectional supers to advantage ? If they can, 
please explain how.— Edward Appleby. 
[The above question has been answered repeatedly within the past few 
weeks, therefore I advise you to study what was then said on the subject. 
Meanwhile I will extend the information. The hive most suitable for 
profit where good msnagement in every detail is strictly carried out is the 
hive that conserves the heat, retaining a uniform temperature throughout 
the variable year, with facilities to assist the bees to regulate the tempera¬ 
ture during excessive heat, and thereby keep the bees at constant work. 
In such hives as the Stewarton or the deep compound frame hive they 
continue to bring forward their brood from the advantages such hives have 
in being better provided at all times with sufficient stores—an important 
matter, which every bee-keeper should study to have. Hives with little 
stores fill few supers, with a still further disadvantage that the bees 
destroy much brood. The hive that preserves its brood well throughout 
the year is the one that is most profitable. Two hives on equal terms in 
February, the one rich in stores and of proper construction, and which 
requires no feeding, the other poor in stores, with the stimulative battle 
continually on, which tends greatly to the loss of bees, cannot be expected 
to be in as good a position as the former to collect honey when the oppor¬ 
tunity occurs. Then if in deep narrow hives the bees in February bring 
forward but five hundred more bees than in those wide and ill-provisioned, 
that five hundred means at least five thousand by June, which is explana¬ 
tory in itself. The foregoing will perhaps answer the query, but at another 
time I will give some practical details. 
The other question, whether the four swarms should be placed into 
proper hives, and fed, I suppose, or to join them to the remaining four, 
depends entirely upon whether it is wished to diminish or increase the 
stocks. Either of the plans will do providing feeding is properly attended 
to or they are joined successfully. I cannot advise putting the bees into 
the straw Stewartons, being ignorant as to their construction ; but if of the 
proper shape and size, and fitted with ventilation beneath, and the crowns 
of the hive are made so that the bees are admitted to supers at outside 
combs only, they will do very well. Sections and supers can be wrought to 
advantage on them, but not if they do not possess these properties. 
Besides, if he wishes to be successful with supers and sections never place 
them anywhere than what the name implies—viz., above—and do not 
neglect to keep these dark and warm.— Lanarkshire Bee-Keeper.] 
TEANSFERRING BEES FROM AN OLD TO A NEW HIVE 
Kindly' let me know through the Journal of Horticulture how I had 
better proceed with a very old straw hive. It is full of honey, and in 
such a dilapidated condition as not to bear moving. I think the only way 
will be to destroy the bees by putting something in the numerous holes to 
suffocate them. Please tell me what would be the best to use. I am 
quite a beginner and have never done much with bees.—W. C. L. 
[If there is no bee-keeper near who understands driving and 
“ W. C. L.” cannot perform the operation, get someone to act according to 
the following instructions;—We cannot advise the suffocation of the bees. 
Approach the hive gently and smear the entrance slightly with carbolic 
acid, or blow a few good whiffs of smoke either from a roll of fustian or 
brown paper if you have no bellows; then uncover and undo all the 
fastenings, lift the hive and board on to a table and gently invert 
the hive. If timorous, keep smoking them a little for safety, but 
it is better if it could be done without; or the entrance of the 
hive may be closed and a few raps on its side with a split switch 
will cause the bees to gorge themselves, which is the best quieter, 
when it may be inverted and an empty hive placed over it. The 
rapping on the under one containing the bees will cause them to ascend 
to the empty one, where the bees may either remain to be fed up into a 
stock or transferred into whichever kind of hive most desirable : 30 lbs. 
of sugar will be required for that purpose. In all probability there will 
be some brood ; the combs containing such should be placed in a box over 
the bees till hatched out. The box should be fitted with fillets, so that 
the combs are kept the proper distance apart. After the brood is hatched 
remove the box and separate the bees from the combs and return them to 
the hive. If the hive is flat-topped it will stand steady, but if bell-shaped 
it should be supported bv some hollow vessel; the rim of an old sieve is 
efficient for the purpose.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Hogg & Wood, Coldstream and Duns, 'S.'B.—Catalogue of Dutch Flower 
Roots. 
Dickson, Brown, & Tait .—Catalogue of Bulbs. 
Kobert Yeitch &Son, 54, High Street, Exeter.—Catofoywe of Dutch Bulbs. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading .—Bulb Catalogue for 1884. 
Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross .—Bulb Catalogue, 
James Dickson <fe Sons, 108, Eastgate ^t.,ChQS,teT:.—Catalogue of Bulbous 
Flower Roots. 
S. Mahood k Son, Putney .—Illustrated Catalogue of Bulbs. 
All coiTespondence 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. AVe 
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 reiected communications. 
Book (A. B.). —Burbidge’s “Domestic Floriculture,” price 7s. Gd., is a 
useful work on the subject. You will also find much information in an 
article by Mr. Luckhurst in this Journal, page 394, November 8th, 1883. 
Cucumbers Diseased {E. T., Tamworth ).—The samples you send are not 
sufficient to enable us to determine the precise form of the Cucumber 
disease, as you have cut oS the end of the fruit that we particularly desired 
to see. If it is what is known as the fruit form of the disease it is very 
difficult indeed to eradicate. No simpler remedy appears to have been 
found than raising the night temperature of the house to say 76° to 80° at 
night. No one can account for such outbreaks any more than they can 
trace the origin of the ailments of individuals. If your plants are attacked 
by the root form of the disease, which is illustrated on page 397, vol. iii., 
Third Series, November 3rd, 1881, the vibrios attacking the roots have 
been introduced either with soil, manure, or water, and in that case fresh 
plants must be had with materials for growing them from another source. 
Cocumbers for February ( W. H.). —Now you have supplied the 
“ missing link” we can answer your letter. You will find either Telegraph or 
Cardiff Castle better than the variety you name. We should grow be th if space 
permitted. The former is the larger and productive, the latter prolific and 
excellent in quality. Sow the seed at once, allowing the plants to have all 
the sun and air possible to keep them sturdy. The stronger the growth 
before November the better will the plants bear in February. They will 
produce fruits before, but they can be removed if not wanted, and it is 
unwise to let the plants bear heavily in a young state. 
Peas and Beans Dying (M. G.). — We have seen many failures this 
year as the result of the dry weather and the increase of insects on the 
foliage, which arrested the growth so seriously that the roots collapsed. 
Unless anything of a deleterious nature has been supplied to the roots we 
can suggest no other cause of your crops dying. Your letter contains 
nothing to enable us to form a definite opinion on the subject. We suspect 
it is a case of simple exhaustion. 
Raising Conservatory Bed {J. W. H .).—We do not quite understand 
what you intend to convey. You say the “ whole surface of the beds are 
covered with plants,” but whether you mean the climbing plants or plants in 
pots we cannot tell. So far as we understand the case we should prefer 
adding soil, but taking care not to bank it up the stems of the climbers, and 
if a neat surface is required for standing pots on, it can be formed by a layer 
of gravel. 
Management of Figs {R. S .).—When Figs are grown out of doors or in 
an unheated house all attempts to produce a second crop should be checked 
by pulling off all the little fruits as soon as they are sufficiently large to get 
hold of. The tree will then make another effort at fruiting along the whole 
length of the current year’s growth, and the chances are that the embryo 
fruit—that which would be the third crop in a favourable climate—will just 
advance to the right stage for remaining dormant through the winter. The 
point to aim at is to have in autumn before the fall of the leaf the greatest 
possible quantity of little plump buds about the size of a Radish seed on 
thoroughly ripened wood. 
Bronzed and Silver-leaved Pelargoniums for Bedding {S. E.). —The 
following are varieties of proved worth :— Silver-leaved —Princess Alex¬ 
andra, Miss Kingsbury, and as a dwarf grower Little Trot. Flower of 
Spring, with creamy variegation, is also) an excellent bedder. Bronze-leaved 
—Mar(^chal MacMahon, Black Douglas, Rev. C. P. Peach, and as a dwarf 
for edgings Golden Harry Hieover. The manure you name and your 
proposed mode of applying it will be good for all the plants to which you 
refer. 
Propagating Laurels and Yews [J. B .).—Laurel cuttings should be 
taken of the current year’s growth with a joint or two of last year’s, 
inserting them about two-thirds their length in a sheltered situation, 
making the soil very firm around them. They should be iuserted at the 
close of September or early in October. Yew cuttings should be taken off 
with a heel to the previous week’s growth, and be divested of the leaves 
half way up the cuttings, to which extent they should be inserted in sandy 
loam surfaced with sand, which may be done now, the wood being firm; or 
the ripened growth may be inserted in April, choosing a shady border. No 
artificial heat is necessary. 
Gardener Leaving {A. L. L. W.). —We are quite sure you intend to act 
kindly towards your gardener, and you are really giving him a week’s 
more notice than he is strictly entitled to receive. Still, the time is short, 
and does not give a man much chance to procure another situation, and on 
this account it is not unusual to give a month’s notice in cases similar to 
yours. This, however, is given out of consideration to a servant, and your 
gardener (unless there is a signed agreement to that effect) is not entitle 
