JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
204 
[ March 8, 1883. 
ceding ; thirdly, ease of application. So far as my experience goes, 
there is the ordinary method of a short w.de-mouthed bottle turned 
up on a piece of perforated vulcanite — the feeder in use at the 
Hampshire Bee Farm—a complicated yet easily managed affair. 
It is, in fact, a round tin box with a round hole in the bottom, 
which hole goes over the aperture in the quilt. Inside is a per¬ 
forated tin or zinc chimney leading up from the aperture in the 
bottom, which chimney is surrounded by a piece of wood, and the 
chimney and piece of wood are covered over by a tin cover with 
glass top going to the floor of the feeder. The syrup is poured into 
the open space round this tin cover with glass top. A large cover 
fits over the whole. There is yet another feeder, that of Mr. Blow’s, 
the expert of Welwyn, Herts ; a very ingenious feeder it is in theory, 
but it has not proved so useful with me in practice. In this feeder 
a wooden stand goes over the feeding aperture, having the central 
portion covered with zinc, in which a semicircular piece is cut out. 
The zinc cap that fits most accurately on the bottle is pierced by 
twelve holes in a semicircle which, when the bottle is turned over- 
in the frame, fits the slit cut in the zinc. The cover has also a 
point in the centre, as it were a nail, which fits in a hole in the 
zinc floor ; this forms a pivot on which the bottle turns round, arid 
a point in the cover of the bottle points to figures on the wooden 
frame agreeing with the number of holes open. 
The ordinary bottle and vulcanite fulfils the firff condition very 
satisfactorily. If the vulcanite is pierced with a dozen holes at one 
end, and with two at the other, any rapidity of feeding can be 
carried on; but it does not px-event robbery, for if there be any 
aperture in the cover of the hive, my experience is that wasps will 
discover it and rob with rapidity. With all my love for the bee, 
I am free to confess that I agree with Sir J. Lubbock in s une 
things, although I think he rates our pets much too low. I agree 
with that enthusiastic worker in thinking that the wasp works 
harder and keeps longer hours than the bee. I fancy, too, that its 
powers of scent, or the means by which it discovers foo l, are more 
developed ; and I think I must go a step further and say that 
I think it shows more sagacity. For instance, how often does a 
wasp discover this small aperture and find its way in and out, 
feeding at the feeder intended for the bees? Never in my recol¬ 
lection have I found a wasp dead under the cover, but many a bee; 
the latter do not appear to me equal to the difficult}’ of getting out 
again. To guard, then, against robbing here, I frequently cover 
my bottle and vulcanite with a bellglass, and so defeat the attack 
of the wasp. This method of feeding has, too, the merit of economy, 
it costs but little. The only trouble is the filling and placing. A 
little tin shovel is the easiest help ; but a piece of glass or zinc, or 
even paper, may be easily made to do duty for the shovel. 
The Hampshire bee-farm feeder is, as I have said, easily managed; 
it is proof against robbers; you can feed as fast as you please, but 
I cannot see that you can feed slowly and continuously. The 
orders with it are to feed only at night; but is this a better plan 
than feeding slowly all the time ? The cover of this feeder is not 
made sufficiently loose. When pushed home it ought to be lifted 
easily without any shaking of the lower portion. This it does not 
do, and unless care is taken to hold down the lower portion, it is 
lifted up and the irritated bees escape: the inside rim, as it appears 
to me, should be made much smalle", so as not to stick. The inside 
of the tin-work becomes rusty in spots. Can this have any in¬ 
jurious effects on the bee ? for it is difficult to remove, and I have 
fancied that the bees do not care to take as much then. Its price, 
3.?., must be a bar to cottagers using it. When it is once filled 
there is no way of stopping the supply without imprisoning num¬ 
bers of bees, saving letting the bees finish the amount that has been 
given. 
Lastly, we have Mr. Blow’s. The numbers on the wooden frame 
are. not marked sufficiently plain, and the spilling of syrup and 
moisture resulting from the same have soon obliterated the figures 
in those I have used. I expected great advantages in this feeder ; 
the bottle is large, the theory of working is capital, but when I 
turned off one to 0°, which means “no holes open,” it seemed to 
me to lessen, and on careful marking there was no mistaking that 
it did. Experiments with my other feeders on the same principle 
all proved a similar result, and I am forced to the conclusion that 
wherever the index may be the rate of feeding is always the same, 
dependent solely on the number of bees feeding. The explanation 
is thi3: Any person placing a few drops of syrup on pierced vul¬ 
canite over a feeding hole may watch the bees sucking through the 
holes ; the.tongue of the insect is laid along flat on the vulcanite ; 
this is particularly the case when the supply is scanty. When the 
supply is shut off (as supposed) by placing the index at 0°, the 
tongue of the bee is inserted between the two surfaces of zinc, and 
the syrup is taken just the same. The rate of feeding may be more 
rapid with the index at twelve holes, but I doubt if it be any faster 
than with it at 0°. I think this result will be the same in whatever 
position the holes may be placed; in fact, it is the flaw in the 
theory. Capillary attraction will keep the syrup always at the 
margin, and the bees “all along the line ” will do the rest. I hear 
Mr. blow has lessened the number of holes. I doubt the success of 
this alteration. If once the two plates have become moist with 
syrup the bees will do the rest, and I am not certain that it would 
not drop slowly of itself were the syrup thin. 
At present, then, my experience leads me to the conclusion that 
as the sheet of vulcanite and ordinary bottle forms the cheapest 
feeder, so for all purposes it is also the best.—Y. B. A. Z. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading. — Farmers’ Year Booh and Graziers’ 
Manual ( Illustrated). 
J. Carter & Co., High Holborn.— Catalogue of Farm Seeds (Illus¬ 
trated). 
*** 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. 
Books (II. S., and Others). —The price of Mr. Barron’s book “Vines and Vine 
Culture ” is 10s. ; post free, 10s. 6 d. 
Cineraria Blooms (C. F., Ipswich ).—The flowers sent are fine, and the 
colour is particularly rich. It is a handsome variety, and well worth cultivation. 
Camellias (F. T.) —Concise instructions on the cultivation of Camellias 
are given in our “ Greenhouse Manual,” which can be had by post in return for 
10d. in stamps. We shall shortly publish an article which will contain informa¬ 
tion that may possibly be of service to you. The treatment requisite for 
Camellias, however, depends greatly on the condition of the plants, and if what 
you find docs not apply exactly to yours we shall be glad to give you further 
advice on our learning their condition. 
Pump Water for Plants ( Ilarhirne ).—You cannot do better than 
expose the water to the air in an open tank or waterpots for some hours before 
using, the longer the better. We have often seen plants watered with pump 
water in better condition than others to which pond water was applied, simply 
because greater judgment was exercised in the former case than the latter. 
Even if you fill your waterpots one day, standing them iu the house, and use the 
water the next, you will probably find it answer your purpose if you apply it 
judiciously. Well water varies considerably,some being quite suitable for plants 
if not applied in a very cold state. 
Quilled Cineraria (If. S., Ferry Hill). —You ask if the Cineraria is a 
novelty and worth saving. It is not particularly novel, but is certainly worth 
saving, for its beautiful bright shaded blue colour must render it effective for 
decorative purposes. The character of the flowers may not be exactly the same 
next year—the flowers may indeed be better on plants raised by offsets, and we 
advise you to preserve it with the object of testing its merits another season. 
Bulbs Failing (F. J .).—If all the bulbs were of the same kind, in the same 
condition, and planted similarly, yet iu one bed they refuse to grow, although 
the soil is good and the subsoil satisfactory, we should be inclined to think they 
had been subjected to some interference, either by underground enemies or 
mischievous individuals. Have you examined the bulbs carefully ? This would 
be the natural thing to do, yet you do not mention it. With the data before us 
we can afford no solution of the mystery. 
Pelargonium Marechal MacMahon (Ignorant). — We are always 
quite willing to answer all inquiries if questions are framed in an intelligible 
manner, but yours is very incomplete. You ask, what is “ the colour of the 
flower of Mardchal MacMahon ? ” and without any further information we can 
only surmise that you refer to Pelargonium President MacMahon, one of the 
Zonal type, with white flowers, having a pink centre. There is, however, a 
golden bronze-leaved variety named Marechal MacMahon, which has large 
rich-coloured leaves. The name Pteris is pronounced teris. 
Temporary Vines (R. //. it.).—We quite understand your arrangement. 
You will obtain heavier crops of fruit, both this year and next, by planting the 
Vines; and if, as we presume is the case, the roots of your permanent Vines have 
access to an outside border, there is no objection to your planting them : and 
even if the border is wholly inside it is not very likely that the permanent Vines 
would be injured by planting the others. In a case of chis kind, however, we 
should prefer to make the border in sections. A width of 3 or 4 feet along the 
front would be ample the first year, and further additions of 3 feet yearly would 
aflord the Vines abundant support. If you do not plant you cannot err by 
following Mr. Bardney’s practice of repotting them, provided you can give them 
the same skilled attention that he gives those under his charge. If you simply 
stand the pots on the border the probability’ is that you will only obtain one 
good crop of Grapes from tile Vines. 
