462 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 23, 1895. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Strong Swarms. 
I NEVER heard of any bee-keeper finding fault with large 
swarms of bees, but, on the contrary, speaking always in favour of 
them. Yet many persons do not even give hives a chance to throw 
off large swarms by keeping bees much too small for their require¬ 
ments. Large hives very often swarm as early as undersized ones, 
and as a matter of sequence are more able to gather greater 
quantities of honey than smaller ones. 
Admitting that small hives may swarm a few days earlier than 
full-sized ones, the former may have from 1000 to 1500 hatching 
daily, while the latter will have from 3000 to 4000 daily. At a 
week later it will have 20,000 more than the small hive to go with 
the swarm, and as many more which constituted the hive before 
swarming ; while the old stock and after swarms are propor¬ 
tionately larger, and consequently in a good season more profitable. 
It is entirely owing to bringing up my hives to full strength, 
regardless of the fate of queens, that I have secured the big yields 
of honey I have from time to time recorded, and that, too, at 
times when undersized hives’ yield were nil. It is an easy matter 
for those who have not given the different methods a fair trial to 
do so the coming season, but to bear in mind the queens must be 
those of the year previous. It is no use working with queens two 
years old ; they may be fair, but not (unless in exceptional cases) 
good, at least I have never found them so. 
Punic versus British Bees, 
For reasons previously explained, my apiary in the future shall 
be stocked with Garni olan bees only. Pushing forward that state 
of matters I gave away many of my Punic queens with bees during 
the autumn of 1894. 
There is perhaps not much in that to the casual observer, but 
the trait came in well when a lecturer appointed by the County 
Council lately advised bee-keepers to keep the old British bees, as 
“ they were the best.” One auditor supported him in this theory, 
because his British bees were doing by far the best. He was 
rather surprised and taken aback when I informed him the bees he 
was boasting of were not British but Panics, North African bees, 
and those I gave him in the autumn. These facts apply, in my 
opinion, to all who say they have the British bees, and to every 
place in the United Kingdom. 
Wind and Waterproof Covers for Hives. 
An effective wind and waterproof roof for hives not pro¬ 
vided with these may be made with two slates and a piece of 
zinc ridging. The zinc is bolted to the slates, which ought to be 
large enough to give proper protection, and the zinc while holding 
both together affords ventilation at the apex. The weight of the 
slates is sufficient to resist a very high wind, and may be said to be 
everlasting. Some made thirty years ago are as good as ever they 
were.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
If not already done, arrangements should at once be made for 
obtaining full benefit from the honey flow when it comes. A careful 
examination must be made of all stocks, and a note made of those 
that are intended for working sections of comb honey, and those 
that are required for extracting purposes, as it is much the best 
plan to work them separately. I never extract honey from the 
brood coinb, and strongly advise others to follow the precedent. 
As it is not advisable to place all your eggs in one basket, it is 
better to work for both comb and extracted honey than to produce 
it only in one form. In some districts there is a great demand 
for well finished sections. In others honey in the comb is a drug 
and almost unsaleable. Extracted honey is often more useful for 
domestic purposes, consequently a more ready sale is obtained if 
neatly bottled in 1 lb. glass jars, which may be made attractive by 
using the producer’s own label. A greater weight of honey per 
hive can be obtained by extracting than is usually had by working 
sections, but as the latter is of more value per pound the result is 
much the same. The reason sections take longer to finish is that 
every cell must be sealed over or they will drip. This is the 
objection that dealers have in handling sections, whereas the combs 
that are extracted from are taken from the hive when partly sealed 
over ; the honey is ripe, and a day or two is saved, which is a 
great consideration in a season like last year, when the honey 
flow only lasted about a week. The 1 lb. section I consider 
preferable to any other. A few years ago sections to hold 2 Ibt. 
of honey were often used, but latterly the smaller size has been 
in most request. 
The one-piece section with the four bee way is to be preferred, 
as it is a very easy and quick process to prepare a quantity for use. 
Commence by folding them into shape, and as the ends are dove¬ 
tailed a slight tap with the hammer will make them secure. If the 
wood is very dry they will sometimes break at the corners during 
the folding process, but if slightly damped there will be no danger 
from this cause. Some bee-keepers prefer to use whole sheets of 
foundation for sections, but except for exhibiting purposes this is 
quite unnecessary. All that is needed is to fix a strip of founda¬ 
tion to the top of the section to act as guide comb for the bees to 
work from, as the midrib of comb is always less where the bees 
make it themselves than when foundation is used. 
If the sections are prepared and placed in crates ready for use 
when required, it will be an advantage and a saving of much 
valuable time, as with favourable weather strong stocks in forward 
districts should soon be ready for supering. At the present time it 
may appear rather premature to speak of supering bees, with the 
wind blowing a gale from the north-east, doing much damage to 
the fruit trees that are in full bloom, and the temperature only a 
few degrees above freezing. Should the threatened frost come it 
will do a great amount of damage, as all vegetation made rapid 
growth during the spell of hot weather recently experienced. 
Verily, bee-keepers, as well as gardeners, require a great amount 
of patience and forethought. Even then their best laid schemes may 
be dashed to the ground in a single night. But let not bee-keepers 
forget the busy workers who are short of stores ; they can at any 
rate make them secure by covering them and giving a little thin 
syrup whilst this spell of bad weather lasts.— An English 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. 
Propagatlngr Her IVIajesty Pink QSuss'x ').—You can pull off 
the pipings and insert them singly in thumb pots in sandy soil, and place 
them in a hand-light or under a bell-glass outside. The most certain 
way is to turn the plant out of its pot and plant it outside, then layer 
the growths the same as you would Carnations. A quicker way is to 
insert the plant in a cool frame, and then layer the growths in it, lifting 
and potting singly, or planting out when rooted. 
Rooting: Tree Carnations (^Haywards Heath ").—It is immaterial 
whether the cuttings are cut just below a joint or whether they are 
split. Some follow one practice and some another. Very much depends 
on the cuttings ; if short and somewhat soft they are best cut below a 
joint, if fairly firm it does not matter. The principal thing is to insert 
them in sandy soil and keep them practically air-tight until they are 
rooted. Water when inserted in sandy soil, and shade from bright 
sunshine. 
Peach Tree Growths Blistered (^Somerset ).—The shoots and 
leaves are badly diseased, being what is known as “ blister.” It is 
caused by a fungus (Saphrina or Exoascus deformans), the leaves 
ultimately withering and falling. The recent cold weather has been 
singularly favourable to the development of the fungus, it not being 
possible for it to exist under certain atmospheric conditions ; hence it is 
culturally avoidable by means of a glass coping and protective material 
in front, such as scrim canvas or wool netting, being so contrived as to- 
be let down or drawn up as required on the appearance and departure 
of frost. This would be the best thing, and should be provided ready 
for another year, and then you may defy the fungus. This year you naay 
remove the worst infested leaves and the young shoots, but not defoliat¬ 
ing the trees too much at once, yet gradually, so as to remove every 
part of the diseased leaves and shoots, and when fine weather comes the 
young growths will not be affected. As the saying is, the trees will grov? 
