Ostobsr 7. 18S6. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
829 
29tb), notably Hnmbre, Catherine Meimet, Isabella Sprunt, Madame 
Lambard, S .uvenir de Paul Neyron, Gloire de Dijon, Devoniensis, Alba 
R sea, Adam, C >mtesse de Nadaillac,Anna Ollivier, and Marie Van Houtte. 
Cheshunt Hybrid is very fine both against sunny walls and on standard 
Briar st'ck^, while the Brurbun Souvenir de la Malmaison on its own 
roots is the most continuous and free blooming of all. Of the Hybrid 
Perpetuals the best at this time are Captain Christy, La Frartce, Countess 
of Oxford, Jules Margottin, John Hopper, Baronne de Rothschild, Mer- 
veille de Lyon, Charles Lefebvre, Etienne Levet, and Duke of Edinburgh. 
Violets are now abundant, especially where the plants are not at all 
crowded. Those of the Czar type are seldom killed by frosts, but in very 
cold weather they do not bloom. If there are any handlights or frames 
available these may be utilised for covering a breadth of plants, or some of 
the strongest clumps may be lifted and planted in them. The best, how¬ 
ever, for frames are the Neapolitans, notably Marie Louise and New York, 
and as these are not at all hardy some protection ought to he afforded 
them. They should be planted near the glass, and must not be forced or 
“ stewed up,” Given plenty of light and air they, if protected when 
■necessary, rarely fail to pay for the little extra trouble taken with them. 
MOVING BEES. 
Questions have been often asked in this Journal as to the 
cause of bees dwindling during the winter that had been 
moved during the beginning of winter or end of autumn. 
The cause of the dwindling was not difficult to explain, but 
when we see advice frequently given in contemporaries to 
move bees in so reckless a fashion, it is not out of place to 
give a word or two of caution to those who contemplate acting 
on it. 
A hive of bees standing isolated from others may, on a 
fine day in summer, be moved from 50 to 100 yards with 
safety. Beyond retarding the bees in their labours a few 
hours they will not otherwise suffer. After they have searched 
out their hive the stream of bees will be constant and con¬ 
tinuous towards it, and the humming made generally results 
in the bees marking the new site of their hive, and appear¬ 
ing to communicate the change to the inmates, so that an 
hour or two suffices for the bees to continue their labours as 
if no change had been made. 
It is very different, however, if a hive is moved a short 
distance when the temperature is not higher than 50° or 60°, 
and when the air is chilling. In such cases the bees on 
leaving their hive fly naturally to their old site, and before 
they can attempt to seek the new one they fall victims to 
the chilling winds, few, if any, returning to their hive. 
The only safe method of moving bees to another part of the 
garden from where they stand, or short distances at this 
season or during the spring, is to remove them at least three 
miles until they have forgotten their old site, then return 
them to the new one. 
How long should bees be away before being returned ? is 
an important question. We used to regard three weeks as 
sufficient time, with the black bee, between the first removal 
and the second one, but we have just experienced a striking 
example which proves the contrary to be the case with the 
Eastern races. Fully six weeks elapsed between taking our 
bees to the Heather this year and bringing them back, two 
hives, one a Carniolian, the other a Syrian. On being re¬ 
leased, the drones flew back to their old site, as I expected, 
but contrary to my expectations, so did the Syrian bees, 
which were all killed by the Carniolians. Nor was this all. 
I always endeavour to preserve the original appearance of all 
my hives when being taken to and brought from the Heather, 
otherwise many bees will be lost. This I did not neglect, 
but I was less careful in preserving the same height from the 
ground as they were at the Heather. In those I had raised 
a little the bees came out and alighted on the ground; had 
the day been cold every one would have been lost, but as it 
was fine they soon regained the entrance. All went well, 
but the lesson need not be thrown away, and bee-keepers 
should become impressed with the foregoing facts, so that 
they need not wilfully destroy their bees. __ nzz:- 
THE HEATHER HONEY HARVEST. 
The Heather honey harvest this year will undoubtedly be 
a small one. I am not yet in a position to record an accurate 
report of my own harvest, but at an early date I will give the 
comparative making of the different varieties, and under 
different management, as previously premised. I may, how¬ 
ever, state that both Cyprians and Syrians have eclipsed all 
other varieties, so much that if bee-keepers would purchase 
one queen only, one hive would repay double the money in¬ 
vested the first season. A little less manipulation and more 
care will soon overcome the stinging propensities of these 
bees. Foreign varieties of bees have been condemned by 
many without being able to give the slightest evidence in 
support of their inferiority. Some people condemn these 
through prejudice only, while they are actually reaping large 
harvests of honey unwittingly through their introduction. I 
could cite many such cases, but I will confine myself to one 
individual who has been a bee-keeper fifty years. During 
the first twenty-five years of his bee-keeping life with the old 
black bee, he had not as much honey as he took from his 
crossed stock last year. True, he had advanced from the 
skep to the Stewarton system, but the large takes of honey 
are entirely due to the introduction of the foreign bees which 
have crossed with his, but he will not acknowledge it. It is 
always pleasant to meet with people open to conviction, and 
who express themselves honestly. I had the good fortune to 
meet with a lady bee keeper who, along with her husband, is 
an enthusiast with bees. While recounting her good fortune 
with their bees this year, both at home and at the Heather, 
she said, “ These weights were all owing to the Ligurian 
bees. We never had so much honey until we kept Ligurians.” 
1 mention these facts with the view of encouraging others, 
and to dispel the prejudice of ignorance that spreads more 
rapidly than truth.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
ARRANGEMENT OF HIVES. 
In laying out the grounds for an apiary, and at the annual addition to 
the same, it is of considerable importance how the hives are arranged, 
both in their relative position towards each other and towards the honey 
house and other objects on the ground. I will proceed to point out first 
the way in which they should not be placed ; second, the different ways 
in which they may be arranged, both in regard to the safety and comfort 
of the bees, and also in regard to the convenience of the owner. 
Hives should not be placed too near each other, as there is danger of 
the bees (particularly the younger ones) entering the wrong hive and 
being killed as intruders ; also of the queens making the same mistake 
when returning from their “ weddiDg trip ” or in swarming, when a queen 
with clipped wing running on the ground and finding herself unable to 
follow the swarm attempts to re-enter the hive. 
Hives should not be placed together on benches, as one hive cannot be 
examined or manipulated without disturbing all the other hives on the 
same bench, putting the bees on their guard and making them ready for 
an attack on the bee-keeper before he opens another hive. Benches also 
afford a convenient runway for ants, to the great annoyance of the bees 
as well as their owner. Hives should not be placed near Willow hedges, 
Cottonwood, or any other trees which harbour ants, nor under evergreen 
trees, which give shade when the bees ought to have full benefit of sun. 
A high knoll exposed to severe wind ; uneven ground, interspersed 
with gullies or boulders ; low, damp ground, abounding in grass or weeds, 
which interfere with the free circulation of air around the hives, and which 
harbour toads and other enemies are to be avoided. Close sheds, boarded 
up on all sides but the front, will make it uncomfortably hot for the bees 
during summer, and may cause the combs to melt and break down. 
Hives should not be placed in close proximity to dwelling houses, 
stables, line-fences, or public highways, as the bees are liable to be dis¬ 
turbed and to become annoying, and often dangerous to people and 
animals ; nor near haystacks, as the fire occasionally employed in the 
apiary may, through an accident, become the cause of a conflagration. 
Hives should never be placed close against a building or fence. There 
should be sufficient room, so that the operator can stand at the rear of the 
hives when he is at work, and thereby avoid annoying the bees by being 
in their way while they are flying out and in at the entrance. 
A clean, sandy plat, free from brush, weeds, bushes, evergreen trees, 
boulders, and other obstructions is the best location for any apiary. The 
ground should have a gentle slope, and the hives face towards the east or 
south-east that the morning sun may shine on the entrances, which will 
induce the bees to fly out earlier in the morning than if the entrance is 
shaded. The entrance to all the hives should be in full view from the 
honey house, that the owner may see at a glance from which hive a 
swarm is issuing, or where robbing is going on. 
For the safety and convenience of the bees and queens the hives should b 
as near the ground as possible, each hive resting on its separate stand 
lllHE) BEE-K£EPFR.*1: 
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