JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
184 
[ March 1, 1883. 
Propagating Bedding Plants ,—Succulent plants now figure 
very prominently in the flower garden every summer, and in 
carpet beds especially are very effective. Echeverias and Sem- 
pervivums are best known, and both may be easily propagated by 
seed. This being small should be sown on the surface of pans of 
moist sandy soil, covered with glass, placed in heat and shaded. 
The seedlings when large enough to be pricked off in pans of light 
sandy soil and kept in heat till of good size. Where there is a 
stock of plants it is preferable to increase them by leaves inserted 
in sand. Echeveria Peacockii is a handsome improvement on 
E. secunda glauca, and, like that good old variety, may be in¬ 
creased by offsets, and the latter remark applies to the useful 
E. metallica. Old plants of E. metallica and Pachyphytum brac- 
teosum should have their tops taken off with about 2 inches of 
stem attached, any disfigured leaves removed, and to be dibbled 
singly into the centre of 3-inch pots previously well drained and 
filled with light sandy compost. They should be placed on a shelf 
in a warm house, and receive little or no water till rooted, after 
which they may be watered when dry and gradually hardened off. 
It is advisable to keep the old plants rather dry at the roots for 
a few days prior to topping them, neither should they receive any 
water till breaking afresh. Strong old stems introduced into a 
forcing house will each yield several side shoots, and these may 
be taken off and rooted before bedding-out commences. Small 
leaves laid on shelves or dibbled into pans of sandy soil root and 
form plants. The tall-growing or tree section of Sempervivums 
may be rapidly increased by cuttings in moderate heat, placing 
these in pans of sandy soil. The dwarf-growing Sempervivums 
are principally increased by offsets and seed. Kleinia repens is 
particularJy effective in lines or groups in the carpet beds, and 
at this time the tops of all the shoots may be rooted in heat, 
grown quickly, and again topped and struck, while the older 
plants may be shaken out and divided. Kleinia tomentosa 
may also be readily struck in heat. Agave americana variegata 
is easily increased by suckers ; these, if slow-growing, are service¬ 
able and effective. Mesembryantbemums, of which the most 
popular is M. cordifolium variegatum, are rapidly increased by 
cuttings in heat. Succulents of all kinds should not be watered 
when first dibbled in, and in the case of the strong growers the 
tops should be laid on a dry shelf for the cuts to heal. None of 
them should be shaded, warm sunny shelves being the best posi¬ 
tion in which to strike them, If the centres of a few strong 
plants of Sempervivum tabulaeforme are taken out this will induce 
the formation of a number of side shoots, which may be taken off, 
rooted, and grown for next season’s bedding-out. 
• i • , • ! • i . i • l • 1 • i - 1 • 1 • 1 • i - i - l • i • i • i - i • i • i • 1 • i • 1 • l • i - 1 • 1- NSSS 
SR 
HE BEE-KEEPER. I 
THE ART OF BEE-KEEPING.—No. 8. 
(Continued from, page 122.) 
SURPLUS HONEY ARRANGEMENTS. 
There has been a great advance made in recent years in the 
methods adopted for securing the surplus honey that goes to reward 
the bee-keeper for his expenditure of money and time. Formerly 
the only way was to destroy the bees of certain hives and then take 
the whole remaining contents. Then came the more humane 
method of driving the bees, and either uniting them to other stocks, 
or feeding them so as to have fresh combs built and stored with food 
before the winter. In either case there was much needless waste, 
owing to the loss of good combs, which were really of much more 
value than the small quantities of wax obtained from them. The 
pollen stored in the combs was also entirely lost; and in districts 
yielding this hut sparely, and with no substitute then known, this 
loss was a real one. Much also of the honey then obtained was 
necessarily of inferior quality. 
Modern bee-keepers never, if they can avoid it, break up combs 
that have been bred in for the sake of their honey. If liquid honey 
be wanted it is taken from the combs by the aid of the honey- 
extractor, which we shall refer to at another time. Special means 
are also taken in such a case to obtain the largest possible quantities 
of extracted honey by supplying the bees with clean empty combs 
greatly in excess of their requirements for breeding purposes. These 
extra combs are either hung in the ends of the single-storey hive, 
where this is constructed with sufficient capacity, or else in a second 
hive to be used as an upper storey. If ten frames be considered 
sufficient for breeding purposes, at least other ten will be required 
for extracting from. The best results are, however, obtained when 
at least two upper storeys filled with comb are available ; for when 
the first has been filled it requires some time to ripen thoroughly, 
which may be known by its being nearly all sealed over. During 
this time the bees will, if honey is coming in freely, be storing in 
the breeding box, and thus cramping the laying powers of the queen 
at a season when these should have full scope. It is of great advan¬ 
tage, therefore, to have a spare hive full of combs which may be put 
on as a temporary third storey. Indeed, in extra good seasons, espe¬ 
cially when the bee-keeper is pressed for time to extract, even a 
fourth and fifth storey will be found very useful. Our American 
friends, who work on this principle, tell us of results, well au¬ 
thenticated, but almost too wonderful to be believed. When we 
learn, however, that owing to the usual great mortality among their 
stocks in wintering they generally have enormous stocks of spare 
combs for extracting purposes, and when we know that hives will 
frequently gather over 10 lbs. of honey a day, we need not wonder 
so much after all. It ought to be the ambition of every bee-keeper 
■who uses the extractor to have a large stock of spare clean combs. 
Drone comb is even better than worker comb for the purpose, and 
all are the better for having been bred in for one or two seasons. 
Those who have no extractor, or who may have too few stocks to 
render it worth its cost to them, and yet prefer honey in the liquid 
form, may obtain many of the benefits of this method of working by 
filling the upper storeys with frames full of comb foundation. When 
full, the new combs may be broken up and cold-drained after the 
common fashion. After the most of the honey has drained out the 
combs may then be put into a dish and set in the oven to melt. On 
again cooling, the wax will be found separated in almost a pure 
state, and a quantity of honey will still be found below scarcely 
inferior to that obtained before. As more wax will be obtained by 
this method than the weight of comb foundation used originally, it 
will be found nearly to balance its cost. These methods are pre¬ 
eminently suited to those who have little time to attend to their 
bees in the height of the season, as with so little trouble greatly 
increased capacity is given, and the trouble of taking the honey can 
be deferred to any convenient season. Bees thus treated seldom 
attempt to swarm, which is another advantage. 
Most persons prefer honey in the comb, even though they may 
have to pay 50 per cent, more for it. They consider it less likely 
to be adulterated, it has a more attractive appearance, and many 
think it has a more refined flavour. It may be argued, on the other 
hand, that it is about as easy to pass off sugar-fed comb for honey¬ 
comb as it is to sell glucose or any of its admixtures for extracted 
honey; that extracted honey in its purity, when put up in neat 
white glass jars and nicely labelled, is comely enough to please most 
tastes; that if properly treated it is as richly flavoured as any comb 
honey, and that it is certainly more wholesome. But while en¬ 
deavouring to educate the public taste, bee-keepers must take it as 
they find it, and endeavour to make the most of the product of their 
hives. It is not the less for their interests, however, they should 
endeavour to push extracted honey into the market rather than 
comb. The former is cleanly to handle, easy to pack, and safe to 
keep for any length of time ; while the losses in handling the latter 
must average a considerable sum year by year. The writer has had 
many lamentable evidences of such losses in connection with exhibits 
sent to the various honey shows. Cases of from 10 to 120 lbs. have 
arrived in all stages of wreck, rendering them unfit for exhibition, 
and lowering their value by half at least. The fault in every case 
has been mainly with the packing, but evidences were not wanting 
of rough handling by the railway officials; yet I last season sent 
several hundreds of pounds to London without a single comb being 
hurt; indeed I have never lost anything from such a cause. But 
it is almost impossible to get average bee-keepers to understand the 
mysteries of safe packing. The sad experience of one year seems to 
produce no improvement the next. On such account we strongly 
urge the fostering of a public taste for extracted honey, say in 1 lb. 
or 2 lb. glass jars. 
Meanwhile we must consider how we can best meet the demand 
for comb honey in an attractive form. The disgusting spectacle of 
cut combs exposed for sale covered with dust and flies is fast giving 
way to an attractive array of virgin comb in straw caps, boxes, and 
single-comb sections, generally protected by glass, and attractively 
ornamented as most shop goods are now-a-days. A study of the re¬ 
quirements of the trade leads us to recommend that this variety, in the 
size and nature of the cases in which comb honey is stored, should 
be kept up to some extent, in spite of the tendency in some quarters 
towards the uniform section. The larger dealers still prefer to have 
the bulk of their honey in cases of from 10 to 20 lbs. each, and find 
these readily saleable. We therefore urge the use of such cases, espe¬ 
cially as the bees will store a larger weight of honey in them in the 
same time than they would do in separate sections. For conveni¬ 
ence in securing the combs for transit by placing paper pads between, 
and in cutting out a comb for use without mutilating the others, the 
combs should all be built on straight guides of comb foundation 
