April 19, 1883.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
329 
This advice has been ridiculed and laughed at, but there is some¬ 
thing in it, as the following case will show. Last summer the 
publican in our village had a swarm of bees. He knew nothing 
about them, and, we daresay, never will. As a consequence, I and 
another, to prevent them dying during the wet inclement summer 
months, had to attend to them. One day we discovered that the 
ends of the combs were so bent that the bars could not be moved. 
To rectify this each was detached from the top bar and pressed 
into its place ; but the bees got too little smoke, so we got too 
many stings. Strange to say, however, the publican, whose 
system we may just say—and, writing incog., no personality is 
indulged in—is saturated with alcohol, got none, although they 
crawled over his face and hands in scores. Now, why this taming 
down so very suddenly ? and why the haunting of beer barrels 
by bees, which everyone must have observed ? The smell of any 
alcoholic liquor seems to have as great an attraction for bees as 
honey itself. Bonner turned this to good account before the use 
of smoke was known, at least in this country. Is it not possible to 
turn it to good account still ? or have we found a more excellent 
way ?— Novice, 
THE STRAW STEWARTON HIVE. 
The principle of the Stewarton hive has, I believe, been 
approved by all competent and unprejudiced bee-keepers who 
understand it. No other hive has been less spoken against, and 
those who use it properly and practically admire it the most. 
Though we have never used this hive in our apiary we have 
always admired its arrangements for supering and enlarging, 
which are its main characteristics or essential features. The 
original Stewarton is made of wood, and therefore is objectionable 
and too costly. It is not extensively and widely known. Last 
season something was said about straw Stewartons, and one 
termed a “ Pettigrew Stewarton ” was exhibited at one of the 
bee shows. Though I knew nothing of this hive or its inventor I 
resolved to have some straw Stewartons made to order after my 
own pattern. The pattern cost a good deal of thought, because 
I wanted to get the best possible kind of Stewarton hives at the 
lowest possible price. Capable and beautiful hives easily worked 
and understood were what we sought. To begin with we ordered 
thirty-two hives. They have been made as ordered, and are now 
in our possession, and are greatly admired by all the apiarians 
who have seen them. I am much pleased with them, and cordially 
invite all bee-keepers near Manchester to see them. Believing 
that the straw Stewarton hive in various modifications will in 
future years be largely used in the apiaries of England, I will 
here attempt to describe those we have had made. 
They are 15 inches wide and 13J deep, inside measure, and 
therefore are rather less in size than a bushel measure, which is 
16 by 14 inches. The wooden runs are 1^ inch wide, to which 
12 inches in depth of straw in well-rounded rolls is well and 
firmly sewed. The bottom rolls are doubly stitched, giving the 
hives a fringe and finish, which add to their beauty. So far as 
appearance goes the hives now referred to are unsurpassed. The 
bars across the tops—nine in each hive—are neatly let into the 
top rims, 1 inch broad and half an inch apart. 
The common wooden Stewarton has its bars grooved, and slides 
to run into and between the grooves, and these with the bars 
form the crown of the wooden Stewarton. Such slides have 
always appeared to me to be objectionable, because the bees are 
apt to cement them to the bars, and thus make their removal 
rather difficult and dangerous. For our straw Stewartons we 
have no slides and no grooves. The bars and hives are covered 
with moveable straw lids, exactly corresponding with and slightly 
overlapping the sides of the hives, and the lids are fastened to 
the hires by three or four wire nails 5 inches long. The nails go 
right through the lids into the straw rolls below the rims, and are 
easily pushed in and as easily withdrawn. Such lids can be 
removed from the tops of hives to admit supers with the greatest 
possible facility and speed, and placed on the top of the supers. 
Our supers are made of wood 3f inches deep, and of course 
15 inches wide, to correspond with the hives. The bars in the 
supers are 2 inches wide for honeycomb and three-eighths of an 
inch asunder. Supers in straw would be better for, and better 
liked by, the bees and more easily fastened to the hives than 
wood ones, but honeycomb in such large supers would be more 
likely to be disturbed and loosened by the yielding nature of 
straw. Wooden supers are firmer and better for bars than straw. 
For fastening such wooden supers to the wooden rims already 
described we shall use wire staples, going into each through 
gimlet holes. 
In good seasons two or three supers may be placed on one hive, 
and often it may be advantageous to use of them as an eke to 
enlarge a hive*from below. Another advantage of my Stewarton 
is this, that the lids have centre holes in them 4 inches wide with 
moveable lids to cover them. In removing hives to the moors or 
in sending them a distance from home, ventilation at the tops is 
absolutely necessary. By covering the holes in the centres of the 
tops of the hives with wire gauze or fly-proof wire, also their 
doors, bees may be safely sent any distance without fear of suffo¬ 
cation ; and if the Stewarton principle of supering be departed 
from small supers may be filled, and boxes of sections may be 
filled through the small holes in the lids, as in the case of bar- 
frame and straw hives ; but the Stewarton principle of supering 
answers so well that we think it should be well 'understood and 
followed as closely as possible. By using thin pasteboard over 
the bars and cutting it to fit small and square supers—indeed 
supers of all shapes and sizes, the Stewarton principle may be 
advantageously used throughout the whole range of supering. 
In feeding bees in hives such as I am now describing how easy 
it will be put on empty supers, lift off their lids, and put what 
food we want to give them on the bars. Though we like the hive 
much because it is nice-looking and offers great facilities for work 
to both bees and their masters, its great and grand feature lies in 
the fact that it is made of straw instead of wood. Last year a 
bee-keeper—a very intelligent gentleman who keeps straw hives— 
came to see me. We then advised him to try the bar-frame 
system. He came again on Easter Monday, about a fortnight ago, 
when he told me he had not followed my advice because he had 
been at exhibitions—seen many bar-frame hives, and talked with 
several bee-keepers who had used them, and who told him “ All 
that Pettigrew has said against wood as a material for hives is 
quite correct.” 
As to the cost of my straw Stewarton hives I may be permitted 
to inform the readers of this Journal that each hive with super 
complete and carriage here cost about 65. If the order were 
repeated a second lot would cost as much.—A. Pettigrew. 
Uniting Hives. —Acting on the advice you kindly gave me last 
week I have united my weak hive to another, and on taking out the 
comb I found four large slugs living comfortably in the hives. It 
may be a caution to other bee-keepers.— Clifton. 
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. 
Flower Boxes (A. J. Sanders). —The boxes you require can be obtained 
from Messrs. W. Lovel & Son, Driffield. 
Frames for Blinds (II. j . C .).—You could obtain such frames as you 
require from any of the principal horticultural builders who advertise in our 
columns. 
Protecting Trees from Rabbits (F. B., Leeds).— In another portion of 
this Journal (page 326) you will see an article upon trees and shrubs which are 
comparatively safe from serious injury by rabbits. It is also there mentioned 
that a pigment of fish oil and one-fourth of coal tar is a suitable material for 
dressing the base of the trees to the height of about 3 feet. 
Large Bunches of Grapes (P. C.). —This subject has been fully discussed 
and illustrated in these pages during the present year in the following numbers, 
which can be obtained from the publisher post free 3 %d. each :—January 18th, 
page 58; March 8th, page 203; March 15th, page 218 ; and March 22nd, 
page 239. 
Orchid Flowers (J. J., Lancashire).— The Orchids you sent were all very 
good varieties, Dendrobium Devonianum being uncommonly fine. D. Wardianum 
was also large, but we figured a finer variety in this Journal, page 317, vol. ii. 
The Phalawopsis grandiflora was excellent, and the Odontoglossum cordatum 
was also of a fine variety, and with a spike of twenty-seven blooms must be very 
handsome. 
Evergreen Climbers for a Cool House (M. E. B.). —The Begonia 
fuchsioides, which is probably the plant you refer to, would be suitable for a 
