• June 23, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 483 
1 ■ > ; 1 • 
of the growth, and any cuts that bleed should be dried with quicklime. 
Remove a little of the surface soil, and supply some lumpy loam. Soak 
with tepid water, and follow at once with rather thick tepid liquid 
manure. Mulch with horse droppings, spread previously inashed^and 
turned over two or three times before using for the Melons. They are 
best given a little and often rather than as a heavy mulching all at once. 
If kept moist the roots will soon spread in the loam. Thin the fruit, 
apportioning it to the vigour of the plants ; half a dozen per plant is a 
maximum crop, and overcropping is fatal to quality. Allow a fair 
extension of the fresh growths, especially if the plants have to be grown 
on before fruit can be had, as not all the varieties are amenable to the 
continuous system of cropping, and in that case it will be necessary to 
secure a good growth and then seek a good set by a drier atmosphere. 
Iteplanting in Houses, Pits, and Frames.—Where the plants are not 
in a condition to bear second crops clear them out at once, removing the 
soil. If the heat be supplied by fermenting materials remove a portion 
of it and add some fresh, mixing it with the fresher portions of the 
old, which will revive the bottom heat sufSciently to give the young 
plants a start. Cleanse the house or structure thoroughly, 
success greatly depending on a good start. Plant on hillocks or 
ridges; a couple of barrowloads of soil will grow a large plant. 
Rather strong loam three parts, one part horse droppings, and one 
part old mortar rubbish, mixed and rammed firm, will grow Melons 
well. When warmed through plant the Melons. Shade from bright 
sun for a few days, ventilate early and freely, closing early with a 
moist atmosphere. 
Plants netting the Fruit. — With a sturdy short-jointed growth, 
and the growths not too thick. Melons set freely at this time of year, but 
air should be admitted so as to keep the flowers dry and the atmosphere 
genial. Insects visit the flowers and by pollen transference effect 
fertilisation. In moist weather, however. Melons do not set freely in 
frames ; in that case apply good linings, and admit air freely, ventilating 
a little at night so as to prevent the deposition of moisture on the 
blossoms, as to set the pollen must be dry and the stigmas not destroyed 
by moisture. Keep the foliage fairly thin, for without light and air a 
good set need not be expected, yet a free use of the knife is not desirable 
whilst the fruit is setting. Afford water only to prevent flagging and 
keep it from the foliage. 
Plants Swelling their Cro])s. —When the fruit is the size of a hen’s 
egg add fresh soil to the ridges or hillocks after a good watering. 
Syringe plants in houses at closing time, and damp well down in the 
morning and in the evenings of hot days. Afford liquid manure 
copiously, always weak and tepid, or sprinkle a little sup rphosphate on 
the surface and wash it in. Supply supports to the fruit in good time, 
placing slates under those in pits or frames. Keep the foliage fairly 
thin, not allowing a large amount to be made, and afterwards have to 
reduce it in quantity, for that gives a severe check, and may result in 
gumming. Ventilate at 75°, keep through the day at 80° to 90° with 
sun, and close so as to run up to 95° or 100°, with plenty of atmospheric 
moisture. In dull weather a little ventilation without lowering the 
temperature prevents the foliage becoming soft and unable to bear sun 
after such periods, and a little about 6 P.M. on days when the houses 
have been closed early, will allow the temperature to fall gradually and 
any vitiated air to escape. As the fruit approaches ripening reduce the 
water at the roots, but not to the extent of causing the foliage to flag, 
admitting a little air constantly, and withholding water from the fruit. 
A gentle warmth in the pipes or linings to frames, with a little air 
constantly, is the best safeguard against cracked fruit, which is mostly 
a consequence of a moist atmosphere at night, or in a dull moist period 
following hot weather. 
HE BEE-KBEPERJ 
1 
THE HALLAMSHIRE QUEENS. 
Ever since the controversy between yourself and “ Hallam- 
shire Bee-keeper ” on the one hand, and the Editors of the British 
Bee Journal on the other, reached what I may call its acute 
stage by the threat of proceedings for libel, my love of fair play 
and justice all round often tempted me to send you an account of 
my experience with the Hallamshire queens. 
When the Editors of the Bee Journal offered to publish any 
reports that reached them of these queens I wrote them a short 
account of my experience of them, but instead of publishing, as 
offered, I received a note from one of the Editors, declining to 
publish anything that had reference to Mr. J. Hewitt. After that 
I decided to wait until I bad a chance of seeing how the bees came 
out in the spring before saying any more about them. 
With your permission I will now give my experience, which 
commenced in the autumn of 1890 by the purchase of one queen ; 
not a very fair test you may say, but still she did so well the next 
spring, her progeny being first in the supers, and stoiing more 
honey than any of my other stocks, that I decided to get all I could 
last year from the same source, having in all about twenty, and I 
am pleased to tell you they are all giving the greatest satisfaction, 
every stock being strong and in first rate working order. 
As there was some doubt in my mind about the Panics (being 
sickened of foreigners by my experience of Italians and Carniolans) 
I did not get many of them, but have two stocks that would 
gladden the heart of any enthusiastic bee-keeper ; and the best of it 
is, although so very strong, they make no attempt to swarm, work¬ 
ing merrily away in the supers, which they occupied fully ten days 
before my stocks here were ready. My lad has repeatedly come in 
with the news that they were about to swarm, but in going to look 
I was able to point out to him that it was simply the excitement 
caused by the rush of workers in and out and the quantity of 
young bees marking the entrance in the middle of day. 
You will not be surprised after this when I tell you I mean to 
go in for some more of them ; in fact, they are so good that I 
should like all bee-keepers to know about them, that they may get 
some from the same place. I bought queens from another breeder 
last year, but with one or two exceptions they are not to be 
compared to the Hallamshire queens, which are the best I have 
been able to procure up to now ; in fact, owing to the scarcity of 
early forage and our exposed position, being on a hill, I was never 
able to get my bees ready for the first honey flow until I had the 
Hallamshire queens to work with.— W. H. Ley, Easton, Stamford. 
PUNIC BEES AND MR. T. W. COWAN. 
In the B. B. J. for June 16th, page 229, the Editors say, 
“ None of these bees are now being imported into this country, 
and as it is more than twelve months since any have been sent 
over .... we very much doubt if there is any bee-keeper in this 
country who has a pure queen, and if there happens to be such a 
queen she must be pretty aged.” 
All queens imported last year were young ones— i.e., reared in 
1891. Now, according to Mr. Cowan, a queen is at her best during 
her second year. None of the queens imported last year are more 
than fifteen months old, and if this means “ pretty aged ” for 
queens, I do not know what an “ aged ” queen is. 
Another fact. There are quite a number of stocks both in this 
country and in America headed with imported queens, and if any¬ 
one will pay the price I can fill an order by return of post for 
twenty imported queens, to say nothing of pure mated home¬ 
reared ones. 
Another fact. I have imported queens of this race since 
twelve months ago, in fact I have imported over thirty queens 
since the time stated “ any have been sent over.” 
*• Imported ” queens are being advertised and offered for sale at 
the present time, and have been all the season ; and the reason 
they are not advertised in Mr. Cowan’s papers is because when I 
sent him the advertisement, to stand all the season, and the 
money to pay for it, both were returned simply “declined.” This 
fact is of more weight than any argument. 
Punic bees are taking with a vengeance. They are now in 
nearly every county, and every post brings in flattering reports. 
They were swarming a month before the natives, and filling supers 
long before any others. I met a clergyman to-day—the Rev. 
George Shipton of Brampton, near Chesterfield. He said his 
Panics had filled their sections, but unfortunately the weather 
changed before they got them all sealed over. He has tried nearly 
all races, and now he is going in for Panics, and I can name many 
more like him. They will be imported as wanted, and I intend to 
keep up their supply, as undoubtedly they are the bees of the 
future. Mr. Cowan may deter many from trying them for a time, 
but they will eventually prevail, and opposition stimulates inquiry. 
He says he has come back from Tunis, and “that, although he 
made the most careful investigations, he failed to find any of the 
so-called Punic bees.” Quite likely. It will be remembered that 
Mr. Cowan carefully investigated the June Record for a paragraph 
now historical, and failed to find it, in the same manner as 
he has failed to find the Punic bees; but I found both.— 
A Hallamshire Bee-keeper. 
SWARMS OF BEES OR NUCLEI BY POST. 
At the end of February I received a visit from the chief clerk 
of the Sheffield Post Office respecting my custom of sending bees 
by post. He said that someone had been “complaining” about 
my being allowed to send bees by post, and wanted the law en¬ 
forced against me, therefore the practice must cease. I sub¬ 
sequently leaimed—no matter how—that the person who had been 
complaining had not failed to state he was chairman of one of 
the associations which are supposed to benefit bce-kecper.s, and that 
w’ould naturally favour the complaint being entertained. 
I have had a long correspondence witli the Post Office with a 
view of getting them to allow the public to send queen bees by 
