852 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 14, 1885. 
bours looked due south, while mine looked due north. The highest 
make of the former was 10 lbs., while some of them had risen 
nothing. The lowest make of my ones was 25 lbs., and the highest 
at the end of seven weeks 50 lbs., the latter were the crossed 
Cyprians. One late first swarm of Syrians at the end of seven weeks 
weighed 40 lbs.; being in a Stewarton hive it tilled two supers with 
comb, the nett contents of which is 16 lbs., the rest having been 
stored in the body of the hive required for its sustenance during 
winter. I leave your readers to solve the reason of the great differ¬ 
ence of weight made by the respective hives. One thing, however, 
those who maintain that the hive which suits one district will not 
suit that of another have much to learn. There is another erroneous 
impression—namely, that bees build drone comb as store ones. If 
that was the case the moment a glut of honey came, drone would be 
built to the ultimate detriment of the internal economy of the hive ; 
but that not being the case, and drone combs being built only in 
queenless hives, or where an aged queen or a young defective one is 
reigning, or after some obstruction takes place, so that the queen 
cannot continue egg-laying ; then only are drone combs built in 
supers or other vacant places accessible to the bees. We may safely 
set down that the theory of store combs is another of the many errors 
in bee husbandry. 
If there was the slightest truth in the store-comb therory, why is 
it that in all my supers filled by bees having a young prolific queen 
at their head have nothing but worker comb? That bees have a 
desire to widen their store combs either in one continuous cell often 
to a great width, or to first seal, then build upon and extend upon the 
sealed we all know, but that bees the moment they find abundance of 
honey start drone comb is an error woith refuting. 
Not a single mishap occurred to any of our hives neither on the 
outward nor return journey, which I attribute wholly to our method of 
conveying and ventilating them. Only a mile distant from where 
mine stand are some with not a sound hive amongst them, all of them 
heated, and I doubt not but by this time foul brood will be prevalent, 
which will be mischievous alike to the proprietor and his neighbours’ 
bees. Midway between that and my own stand about thirty hives 
all straw, with ekes d la Pettigrew except one. All of these have 
been well cared for and as well managed, yet making from 7 to 
10 lbs. less than my own. This I attribute to the fact that my hives 
were a little stronger, and imbued with the Cyprian and Syrian blood ; 
but I think had my hives been so situated they would have been 
much heavier. Others equidistant in another direction have much the 
same results ; but strange to say in the midst of the Heather stands 
some from Carluke, Mr. Pettigrew’s birthplace, where we should have 
expected to see the Pettigrew system carried out to the letter, as in the 
case of those already mentioned coming from an opposite quarter ; but 
not so, the hives are small, and so far as I can learn the making is nil. 
The foregoing is a true account of the state and making of the 
different hives under as fair a trial as if it had been made under the 
supervision of the most experienced bee-keepers. But more good 
will accrue from it, as the parties concerned have had ocular demon¬ 
stration of the superiority both of breeds of bees and different hives, 
and as experience is gained will be convinced that the hive that is 
good for one district will be good for every district, as has been the 
experience of — A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
® 0 ® 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 Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended 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. 
NAMING FRUITS.—In consequence of the absence of our fruit referee 
from London fruits cannot be named by him during the month of October. 
Tuberous Begonia (E. G .).—The flower is not nearly so large as many 
we have seen, though it is of good shape and colour. 
Pear Culture (Pear ).—There is no work published on the culture of 
special varieties of Pears, and those you name require exactly the same 
cultural treatment as others. Given the same climate and aspect, the 
most healthy trees produce the finest fruit, provided they are not over¬ 
cropped, whether they are trained on the cordon, fan, or any other system, 
or grown as pyramids or bushes in the open. 
Beetle Trap (D. B .).—Your letter will be sent to the manufacturer’s. 
It is no part of our duty to advertise the articles of vendors ; we do our 
share by pointing out things that may be of service to our readers. 
National Chrysanthemum Society’s Catalogue (J. F .).—Write to the 
Hon. Sec., Mr. W. Holmes, Frampton Park Nurseries, Hackney. 
Root-pruning Fruit Trees (E. Piggot).— We are not able to answer your 
question as to Mr. Beattie. Possibly the Editor of the work in question 
may be able to do so if you write him on the subject. Mr. Moore’s address 
is Botanic Gardens, Chelsea. 
Wireworms in Vine Borders (A. B. G .).—These are injurious and 
cannot be destroyed by any applications to the soil. They may be caught 
by burying Potatoes, Carrots, and squares of fresh turves in the border, 
marking their positions with sticks and withdrawing the “ baits ” from time 
to time for extracting the pests. Woodlice may be caught by placing dry 
rough partially decayed dirty old boards face to face so that they 
can find their way between them, to he disposed of as you may think fit. 
The young Vine canes if strong and well ripened may bear two or three 
bunches each next year. 
Erica Lambertiana rosea ( W. W. R .).—The Heath to which you refer 
is a good one for winter flowering, and it is useful for cutting. It is of com¬ 
pact habit when well grown and makes a pretty specimen in a pot. You 
will be able to form some idea from the cut, fig. 53, the flowers being white, 
suflused with bright rose. 
Auriculas (N. B .).—You can have no better list of Auriculas than that 
published on pages 5,6, of vol. 2, the issue of July 2nd 1885, for varieties are 
there arranged in order of merit as determined by the number of votes each 
received by the florists who made the selections. Mr. Horner and most 
other leading florists took part in that election. The results of the election 
of Alpines appear on page 18 of the same volum». A lecture on the Auricula 
by Mr. Horner also appears on pages 381, 398,418 of the volume in question. 
Cobeea scandens.—Violet Ivy (A. B .).—In Mexico where this plant was 
first discovered it bears the name of Yedra morada, or Violet Ivy, but it is 
scarcely known in Britain under any other name than Cob*a. The first 
European plants were raised from seeds in the Madrid Botanic Garden, and 
it was named in honour of the Jesuit, Father Cobo, who resided in America 
for forty years and wrote a “ Natural History of the New World,” but which, 
we believe, was never published. 
Petroleum Mixture (F. </*.).—The method of preparing petroleum so 
that it mixes with or remains suspended in water you will find on page 216 
of the present volume, the issue of September 2nd, 1886. It is good for 
applying to the stems of fruit trees and Vines after pruning, but for that 
purpose twice the quantity of softsoap and petroleum may be used, rubbing 
the mixture well into every crevice with a brush We scarcely know what 
you mean by your second question. Wood budb elongate and develope 
leaves. Sometimes more than two leaves issue from wood at the base of 
fruit buds, and sometimes not one. 
Fruit Trees for Wall ( J. 0 .).—The wall— i.e., between the piers, would 
answer for either Pears or Plums, and for so high a wall we should have the 
Plums fan-trained. Pears would be most suitable for the piers, having the 
branches trained upright. If you leave Pears between the piers they may 
be horizontally trained ; but the space would be more quickly covered by 
planting cordons about 20 inches apart, on Pear stocks or double grafted. 
It is matter of taste as to which is selected. We name a dozen of each. 
