458 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ NoTember 16, 1893. 
means. Otherwise admit air freely in all but very frosty weather, a few 
degrees of frost not injuring the Vines, but insuring more complete rest. 
IVIelons.— Where the latest fruit is beginning to net, and will be 
ripe some time next month, the plants need a genial atmosphere to 
secure the swelling of the fruit. Damp the paths in the morning and 
early afternoon, admitting a little air in the early part of the forenoon 
to insure the dissipation of moisture, and induce evaporation from the 
foliage and fruit. Keep the growths thin, yet allow a fair amount of 
foliage. Maintain the night temperature at 65°, 70° to 75° by day, 
advancing as much as possible by closing at midday from sun heat. 
Afford liquid manure about twice a week. The plants that set their 
fruit early in September from the July sowings should have all the 
air possibly admitable with maintaining a temperature of 70° to 75°, 
yet husbanding the sun heat without closing the house, withholding 
moisture from the atmosphere and water from the roots. 
1-1-__ '..1 . 1 . . :_1 ■ 1 . 1 - 1 , 1_1 - i ■ 1 1 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Hints for the Season—Repairing Hives. 
All empty hives should be stored in a thoroughly dry place, 
and when in condition, overhaul, clean, and repair all defects. 
Paint or tar, the latter being the most durable, but if it cannot be 
tolerated, creosote the wood, then varnish with stain according 
to the taste of the bee-keeper. After this is done fill the frames 
with foundation. When full sheets cannot be afforded use narrow 
guides 1 inch broad. If half sheets are employed the bees are 
liable to work out the space with drone comb. When thus finished 
close the hives, and then they are in readiness for swarms when 
the time of swarming comes. 
Storms and Wrappings. 
All hives should be stood level on a small piece of slate. If a 
daub of tar is placed under each foot it will prevent decay. When 
not loaded with weights to prevent storms overturning them, an iron 
rod or wooden stake driven into the ground close to the hive, a 
cord or wire round the hive and tied to the stake, will prevent them 
being turned over by any gale. Wrappings should not be stored 
away damp. When the hives are thoroughly protected there is no 
better place to keep them than on the tenanted stocks. Crates 
and supers are also kept upon the hive during the whole 
year. All our hives being made to accommodate three stories, 
with sufficient space for crown packing for the winter, are replete, 
and in readiness at all times for immediate use. 
Melting Combs. 
After the honey has been taken from the combs, then the latter 
steeped in water, they should be melted at once, as when left 
lying about moths attack them, and soon render the whole 
waxless. I find no be!;ter plan than to put the combs in bags of 
cheese cloth and place them in a tin or copper of water one at a 
time ; boil slowly for a few minutes, then press the bag with a 
piece of wood, and as the wax oozes out and rises skim it off, as too 
much boiling spoils it. When the wax is thoroughly softened and 
melted remove the bag to a wide cylinder of fine perforations 
connected with the honey presser, then bring the screw to bear upon 
it. Meanwhile, the boiler must have a fresh bag of combs, so that 
the work is constantly and expeditiously performed. As the wax 
is prevented from squirting by an outer tin cylinder, it runs into a 
spouted tin, connected with another vessel. The above plan is the 
most effectual of any I have ever tried in separating the wax 
from the dross. When it is all formed into cakes it is put in 
tin, and this placed inside another. When melted it is 
lifted from the fire and allowed to cool slowly, and then all sedi¬ 
ment may be removed by scraping. The foregoing methol is 
applicable to large or small quantities. 
Bees Quiescent. 
Although pollen was carried in by our bees up till the last day 
of October, they will not try to fly much during the coming two 
months, so ought not to be disturbed in the slightest degree. At 
the end of that period they get more restless, and will fly out at a 
temperature which in November and December would not induce 
them to do, the reason being that at that time many young bees 
are being brought forward. 
Foul Brood. 
A correspondent signing himself George ” wishes to know how 
to cure foul brood, and to disinfect the hives. Foul brood is 
practically incurable for several reasons. By the time foul brood 
is detected it would not pay to put off time and be at any expense 
in attempting a cure, and even if arrested for the time being, it 
would be sure to re-appear whenever warm weather came. I wish 
to emphasise this last statement because certain persons have 
asserted over and over again that warm weather is favourable for 
the suppression of foul brood, whereas it is the very opposite, 
as frequently proven by well managed experiments. Every bee¬ 
keeper should endeavour to keep away foul brood by preventing 
all accumulation of moisture inside the hive. Hives painted outside 
causes the moisture to condense on the inside of single-cased hives 
absorbing much of it, and as the temperature rises it passes off in the 
form of vapour and condenses upon bees and combs, while the honey 
absorbs it, all which tends to cause disease. It is even worse in the 
case of double-cased hives, inasmuch as it causes them to decay in 
addition to the other injury. It is much safer to have the inside 
of hives painted, even with the outside done, as then the moisture 
runs down and out of the hive, at least all that is not absorbed by 
the floor, the most death-dealing thing to bees during the 
winter. A ventilating floor, whether the hive is painted or 
not, is a safety valve during the whole year. As foul brood is as 
easily incited by overheating as by dampness, both evils are 
overcome by employing a ventilated floor. 
When foul brood is suspected make an examination, and if 
present it may be known by the clammy feel of the combs, offen¬ 
sive smell, and the sunken or concave perforated sealings of the 
brood cells, these last containing a tough, gluey, putrid mass of 
dead larvae. Do not tamper with foul brood. The moment it 
is detected place the bees in an empty hive. Disinfect 
every hive or appliance each time the hees have been in contact 
with them. Subjecting these things to the fumes of sulphur or 
charcoal, then washing thoroughly with lime and carbolic acid 
perhaps cannot be excelled, but as prevention is better than cure, 
use the hives I have advised. 
Earwigs and Bees. 
On page 402 Mr. J. R. S. Clifford asks gardeners to report on 
what they know about earwigs. I am not a naturalist enough to 
give a full and reliable description on the habits of earwigs, but I 
can in some measure answer the questions put. 
Earwigs are gregarious, congregating in great numbers in 
sheltered places such as under bark of trees, whether on living trees 
or when in heaps. During the winter they take up their quarters 
under different material near the ground. In the spring and early 
summer I have frequently observed amongst colonies of these large 
white ones. What are they ? Many years since, thinking they 
robbed bees of their honey, I had my bee house made clear of the 
ground, supported at the corners by blocks, which stood in basins 
of tar. Imagine my surprise when I went out after dark with a 
lantern to see the outside of the house swarming with them, where 
they could not reach unless they had flown. 
Several times I have observed earwigs killing bees by catching 
them in their forceps; but, on the other hand, I have as often 
observed bees kill earwigs. I am inclined to think earwigs 
congregate about hives for warmth, that they naturally are afraid 
of bees, although they eat dead ones and the larvae of moths and 
other enemies of the garden, being more the friends of the gardener 
than his enemy.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
•^•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 correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on 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. 
Crowing' Strawberries on a Small Scale for Profit 
(A. U. A.). — By hiring a little ground, growing, and sending the 
fruit to a London salesman you would only be able to do so profitably 
by getting the fruit early or late, as in the height of the season small 
consignments, unless of great excellence, hardly pay expenses of gather¬ 
ing, packing, carriage, toll, and salesman’s commission. Large, high- 
