JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. r December u.xm. 
their knowledge of the natural history of the bee. They do not 
believe in the queen bee, but, like Virgi'l of old, believe that a king 
governs the community, and that what they tell to the bees on the 
alighting board is whispered into his majesty’s ears. When a hive 
dies from want of sufficient food or from queenlessness it has in¬ 
variably succumbed to “ them wopses.” One old lady bee-keeper 
has reasoning powers so sparely developed that she said (and 
indeed she was not joking) “she always left her bees till long after 
Michaelmas before she took ’em up, cos them bluebottles is all 
over then, and the honey ain’t got no maggots in it! ” 
It is a common mistake for certain hives of bees to be ac¬ 
credited with collecting a more or less excellent kind of honey 
than their fellow colonies. Even by those who are expected to 
be better informed, one is often asked such a question as this— 
“lour yellow-banded bees make much better honey than the 
common black ones, don’t they ? ” The fact is overlooked that 
bees do not make the honey, but only collect and store it. Of 
course there may be times when bees from one particular hive 
work more during a flow of a special kind of honey, and thus 
store it in greater quantities than a neighbouring hive may do. 
The one hive may, from particular circumstances, just at that 
time be unable to send forth many gatherers ; and although 
it may perhaps later on become stronger than its strong neioffi- 
bour, yet it may just miss a harvest of the best kind of honey, 
and at the end of the season may be weighty with an inferior 
kind gathered later in the season. How easily, then, hive 
^°* 1 ma .y get a good name as the collector of a superior kind, 
and hive Ho. 2 a bad name as the storer of very poor stuff. 
There is another very curious superstition which holds sway in 
r°^ e J\ arts °* the countl 7> notably in Hertfordshire. The country 
folk believe it to portend the greatest ill luck to themselves and 
their bees when a swarm settles on dead wood. We knew a 
labourer who had for many years kept bees, and who had not 
been induced to part with a swarm for money. We persuaded 
him to sell us a strong swarm, and he was heard to say that his 
bees had never done so badly as they did that year. Matters, 
however, reached a climax the following spring, when his first 
swarm, a fine strong one, settled against the pales of the garden 
rence. He was heard by a friend who was passing to bemoan his 
ill luck, and to take the gloomiest of views for the future well¬ 
doing of his bees and his family. Returning some time after, our 
fuend found the beautiful swarm a soddened dead mass on the 
£’ 0 ,V n<1 - this wise prophet of evil to come had sacrificed fifteen 
shillings worth of bees to propitiate the dark fates who threatened 
him, and who had warned him by causing his bees to settle on 
dead wood ! We believe that he was fully convinced that he had 
been only wise and prudent in what he had done ; for that year, 
the year 1876, was a grand year for honey, and the bees he had left 
swarmed on living, bushes and stored a heavy harvest. “ When 
ignorance is bliss ’tis folly to be wise ! ” The same man, it may be 
noted, was afterwards just prevented by his emplover from deal¬ 
ing summary destruction to the green fly on the fleshy leaves of a 
fine Calla mthiopica by sweeping them off with a birch broom. 
VY hen the insect tribes were to be executed he stopped at no half 
measures. We will conclude this paper with an eastern legend. 
The Queen of Sheba having failed to puzzle Solomon with many 
enigmas and trials of his wisdom, stood some distance from the 
king holding in each hand a bouquet of lovely flowers. Those in 
one hand were Nature’s own product, the other bouquet consisting 
of the most cunningly worked imitations. It was impossible for 
the eye to detect which were natural and which artificial. Solo¬ 
mon applied to his courtiers and wise men to give their opinion, 
but they owned their inability to decide between the two bouquets. 
Ihe wise king then commanded a casement of the cedar palace to 
be thrown open, and admitted some bees. Attracted by the sweet 
peraime of the real flowers the bees at once solved the mystery.— 
. roRM 10 . Acid and Honey.— Honey, according to A. Yogel, says 
tne ocientijic American , contains on an average 1 per cent, of formic 
acid. Observing that crude honey keeps better than that which has 
been danfied, E. Mylms has tried the addition of formic acid and 
found that it prevents fermentation without impairing the flavour of 
the honey. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Ant. Roozen & Son, Overveen, near Haarlem, Holland .—Catalogue 
of Aeio Gladioli , New Dahlias , and Miscellaneous Plants. 
Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin .—Catalogue of Trees 
and Shrubs. ■ 
Dahlias^ ^ aie ’ ^ arm > Tottenham, London .—List of Single 
*** 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. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, and 
should never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended 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 rejected communications. 
A ddress (/. C ).—The address of Mr. Peter Henderson is 85, Cortland Street, 
Hew York. 
Work on Orchids (J. F.). —Mr. B. S. Williams’ “Orchid Manual” would 
probably suit you. It is published by the author at the Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries, Upper Holloway, price 7s. G d., post free 8j. 
Chrysanthemum Sport (IK A- IK).—We consider the variety sufficiently 
distinct from Guernsey Nugget to justify you in naming it. It is a great im¬ 
provement on the variety from which it originated, not only by its great 
breadth of petal, but by the delicate yet distinct pink tint on'the reverse side 
of the petals. This is very apparent under artificial light, and, as well-grown 
blooms will be incurved, will be the prominent colour. You had better endeavour 
to grow some very fine blooms, which we shall be glad to see, as we regard the 
variety as one of considerable promise. 
Laburnums and Cattle (J. F. C.). —Laburnum seeds being poisonous 
we should not plant trees within the reach of horses or cattle, unless we had 
evidence that trees are growing in paddocks or parks where these animals 
are kept and have not been injured by eating the leaves or seeds. If any of our 
correspondents can adduce instances of Laburnums to which cattle have access 
not proving injurious to the animals we shall be glad to hear from them, or, 
on the other hand, if they can state any instances of cattle-poisoning by 
Laburnums. 
Anemones (A Working Man ).—We much appreciate your kind offer, and 
will accept what you express a desire to send. If you address a parcel the same 
as you addressed your letter it will reach us, but it will be well to write to us 
at the same time, informing ns of the dispatch of the parcel to our office. If 
you pack them in a little damp hay or litter, to be closely rolled up in a piece 
of old sacking or similar material, and tied securely, they will travel safely. 
Climbing Plants for a Porch and South Wall in Oxfordshire 
(A. C.).—The best of the Honeysuckles are Lonicera flexuosa, L. brachypoda, 
and for its early fragrant flowers L. fragrantissima. These would answer admir¬ 
ably for your porch._ Of very choice climbers for a south wall the best six are 
Berberidopsis c.orallina, Escalloaia macrantha, Ceanotlms azureus, Jasminum 
officinale, Fremontia californica, and Ampelopsis Veitcliii. 
Glass Wall Protectors (A Y. P .).—We think you will find the necessary 
details of the Peach-protector in the illustrated article published in No. 928 
of the Journal, January 9th, 1879, pages 24 and 25 ; also in answer to questions 
called forth by that article on page 62 of No. 930, published January 23rd, 1879. 
If you do not possess these numbers they can be had from the publisher, 
price 3 Jtf. each, post free. 
Pruning Gloire do Dijon Rose (Cairne ;/). —You are fortunate in having 
such fine growths. Shorten them at different heights, some from 2 to 4 feet 
others from 5 to 8, and the remainder leave nearly their full length If they 
are likely to crowd the wall you might take one down and train it across the 
others near the base, only shortening it slightly, and it would produce a bloom 
from every eye. So would any of the shoots if you do not object to training 
them in this manner. The lower buds do not break when long shoots are 
trained in a vertical position. 
Adiantum cuneatum (II. S. /’.).—This, we presume, is the Fern to 
which you allude, and which you state is now “ at a standstill.” It is better 
resting than growing at this season, and all you have to do is to water it 
judiciously to keep the fronds quite fresh, but not saturating the soil so as to 
cause the roots to decay, nor keeping it so drv as to cause incipient fronds in 
the centre of the plant to shrivel. A temperature of 45 u will lie suitable until 
February. At that time more heat and a genial atmosphere will promote fresh 
growth, and, the soil being suitable (turfy loam, peat, and charcoal), strong 
fronds will be produced. Spring is the time for repotting, but as you say 
nothing about the size of the plants nor pots they are in, we are unable to give 
you any useful particulars on that point. 
Spiraea japonica (Idem ).—The proper time for dividing the plants is 
after they have flowered in pots, say about May or June, and it is then a good 
plan to plant them out in rich soil in the garden. They may be also grown in 
pots during the summer, but this plan involves more labour in watering than if 
planted out. If plants having strong crowns are taken up and potted in the 
autumn, placed in gentle heat, and judiciously watered, they will grow and 
flower freely in due time. Tobacco smoke is injurious to the foliage of these 
plants. 
Gloxinias (Idem ).—The corms may be wintered safely in a temperature of 
60 , keeping the soil dry. In the spring sprinkle them occasionally, and as 
Eoon as growth is apparent shake them out and place the corms in small pots in 
a compost of peat, loam, and leaf soil, surrounding them with sand, and apply 
water with great care. Before they are rootbound shift into larger pots, using 
stronger and richer soil, and keep them in a warm house bat shaded from the 
midday sun, and they will grow vigorously. 
Gooseberries for Profit (A Farmer).—We doubt if you will find it 
advantageous to carry out your project of purchasing the “celebrated Lancashire 
kinds,” first because the trees are more costly than established sorts that are 
