826 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 20, 1893. 
choked me off, was “ The British Bee-keeper’s Guide Book,” by 
T. Cowan. I want to know where Panics are to be had. Do I 
start with a swarm or a queen ? Where are those hives to be 
obtained ? My idea of a straw hive is to smoke the bees, which 
I thought was brutal and obsolete.—S. J. A. 
[Persons who are unacquainted with bees, and intend keeping 
them, should learn that from January till March there are only 
workers and one queen in the hive. The hive, to be profitable, 
should contain not fewer than 30,000 bees, with the queen healthy 
and prolific. After March drones may be expected. Sometimes 
fertile workers appear whose progeny are drones only. 
Bees are subject to diseases. Foul brood is the scourge of the 
apiary, End is to be most dreaded ; overheating or stifling the bees 
is the principal exciting cause. This scourge is known by the seals 
of the brood being concave and perforated, the larvas brownish, and 
of a gluey nature, with an offensive odour. The bees should be 
transferred from affected to clean hives, and all their belongings 
disinfected. Dysentery is a preventible disease ; immunity from 
it depends upon the preparation of the hives and food in autumn. 
Pure sugar is the safest food, and hives should be kept free from 
sudden changes of temperature, and perfectly dry, covering them 
with porous material and a ventilating floor ; vide back numbers of 
the Journal of Horticulture. A cosy site is another good point, 
with a free flight, but no pools of water near their hives, nor 
vegetables such as Cabbages. 
Stinging in bees depends upon their treatment. They should 
be frequently approached in a calm but firm manner by the owner, 
so that he may not be a stranger to them. When manipulating 
carbolic acid should be used sparingly at the entrance and on the 
tops of the bars, having in the hand a feather saturated with it to 
cause the retreat necessary for inspection. The novice should then 
take note of all he sees, so as to know healthy bees, combs, and to 
recognise queen, workers, and drones, as well as the imperfect bees 
that are neither one nor the other. Bee-keeping after all those 
things are learned or partially known is comparatively an easy 
task. 
Straw hives are the best to start with, putting their swarms into 
good frame hives. The novice thus gradually learns his way, and 
is in a better position to manage his bees successfully than if he 
started with frame hives. Straw hives are the easiest to manage, 
but honeycomb in quantity and quality is less from them than 
frame hives, and is mostly run honey. When the combs are 
renewed annually there is less danger from foul brood. The 
second or after swarms having youthful queens are best adapted 
for stocks, and the new made combs of such hives are white, and 
comparatively free from drone comb. 
Crossed Panics are in my experience the best bees, though 
the pure ones may equal them ; but owing to inauspicious seasons 
I have not been able to test them fully. Beginners should, how¬ 
ever, be contented to start with any bees until they know some¬ 
thing about their working qualities, then try one variety against 
another, the only accurate method. Straw hives can be had from 
Messrs. George Neighbour & Sons, 127, High Holborn, London, 
and Punic bees from Mr. J. Hewitt, Cambridge Street, Sheffield. 
The Lanarkshire Frame Hive is one of the oldest and best 
British hives. I have used it more or less since 1852, and in one 
or other of modified forms is becoming popular in England, 
America and other Continents. From its storifying nature it, to 
a beginner, is not quite so handy to manipulate as a more cumbrous 
modern hive, but in other respects eclipses them all, and when a 
little experienced the seeming difficulties evanesces. A beginner, 
Might, to initiate himself, practise with a modern hive, or perhaps 
better with the top division (the first year) of a Lanarkshire stori¬ 
fying hive. I do not know who makes these specially, but Messrs. 
Warnock and Walker, Blantyre, occasionally make a pattern hive 
for beginners.—A. L. B. K.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
J. Cheal & Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley. — Dahlias, Chrys¬ 
anthemums, S^'c. 
Merryweather & Sons (Limited), Greenwich, Kent.— Rubber Hoses 
aud Garden Watering Appliances. 
GARDENERS’ CHARITABLE AND PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The Gardenees’ Royal Benevolent Institution.— 
Mr. G. J. Ingram, .50, Parliament Street, London, W.C. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society._ 
Secretary, Mr. W. Collins, 9, Martindale Road, Balham, London, S.W. 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.— Secretary, Mr. A. P. Barron, 
Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens, Chiswick, London, W. 
®**A11 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. AH 
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. 
Artificial Manures (77. T. II .').—We know of no work devoted to 
the “ mixing of artificial manures.” When the different kinds required 
are obtained they are as easily mixed as the various ingredients are in the 
preparation of composts for plants. 
Daffodils from Seed (77. 77.).—We cannot better reply to your 
questions than in the form of a brief narrative of our own experience. 
We gathered ripe seeds in 1891 and sowed them early in the same 
autumn in boxes of free loamy soil in a Pearson’s frame, in which 
they remained through the winter. The plants grew in those boxes till 
they died down, and after the small bulbs had rested for a time they 
were planted in the open ground early in September, 1892. Two of 
these seedlings flowered this spring, and many will do so next year, 
though we do not expect all of them to do so. 
Raising- Anemones (H. 31.). — Single Anemones are readily 
raised from seeds, aud plants raised early by sowing now commence 
flowering next year if grown in fertile soil. The year following they 
will be very fine if the tubers are not disturbed. The seed being 
very woolly must be separated by rubbing it with sand, and then 
scattered in drills about 6 inches apart and 1 inch deep, saturating 
them before sowing if the soil be dry. Should bright weather follow 
it will be advisable to shade the beds with mats or some other 
material, as the seed will not germinate freely; and shading is much 
better than watering after sowing. If the seedlings are crowded 
patches of them may be dug up with earth adhering to the roots, and 
transplanted in showery weather in summer. Fresh seed should be 
obtained, as the old does not germinate freely. 
Woodlice in Mushroom Bed (A. F. G .).— If you cut Potatoes 
in halves and scoop out much of the inside of each portion and place 
them about the beds they will attract numbers of these insects, and 
they may be instantaneously, hence painlessly, killed by shaking them 
into boiling water. Boiled Potatoes enveloped in a little hay and 
placed in empty flower pots and these laid on their sides prove en¬ 
ticing to woodlice, while pieces of Parsnips boiled in an arsenical 
solution are deadly baits. We do not think you have much to fear 
from millipedes, which may be caught in a similar manner as wood- 
lice. They have a partiality, however, for decayed matter, and do not 
object to a decaying Apple or bread smeared with treacle. If there 
are fissures at the sides of the bed the insects will congregate there, 
and boiling water poured in will prevent their coming out again, but it 
must not be sprinkled on the surface of the bed. 
Bougainvillea glabra (A. 31 .),—The first mistake you appear to 
make is drying your plant as soon as it has ceased flowering. You 
should be certain that the plant has finished its growth and the wood is 
thoroughly ripe before the supply of water is reduced, and it should 
then be of the most gradual description. Pruning should not be done 
until the plant is resting or has been at rest a few weeks. This should 
consist of removing all weak growths and any portion of strong ones 
that are not thoroughly ripe. The weak ones may be pruned back to 
one eye or cut out entirely, while strong ones may be left 1 to 3 feet, 
according to their strength, ripeness, and requirements. If a plant is 
sufficiently furnished with moderately strong shoots then the whole may 
be pruned to one or two eyes. You should reduce the ball by one-third 
or half its size as soon as the plant has broken into growth, and not wait 
till the shoots are 6 inches long. The plant should be establishing 
itself by the time you repot. Does it fill the pots thoroughly with 
roots ? if not, do not repot it annually, but merely top-dress with rich 
material, removing as much of the surface soil as possible. A suitable 
compost for this purpose is loam and one-third decayed manure. For 
potting we should dispense with the leaf mould and peat, using only 
good fibry loam, one-seventh of decayed manure, with a little sand and 
charcoal. You should not pinch the strong shoots; allow them to extend, 
for they will flower profusely if you grow the plant fully exposed to the 
sun. Thin the weak shoots so as to give those remaining room to increase 
in strength. More flowers are produced by a few good growths than from 
