570 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 27,1896. 
that the Thyme is in bloom, and that the Heather will be early. 
In my garden several sprigs of white Heather are in bloom. The 
earliness of flowers and the backward state of many hives is a 
condition of matters bee-keepers are not proud of. 
Chloric Dropsical Fever. 
This is more general than I had been aware of, one bee¬ 
keeper a quarter of a mile from me having five colonies dead out of 
six. If bee-keepers would turn their attention to discovering the 
real nature and causes of disease they would be benefactors to 
their brethren of the craft. Unfortunately for me some of mine 
are affected, but happily it is not infectious, nor is the disease 
confined to one breed of bees. I have hitherto looked on it as 
hereditary, but perhaps pollen from certain sources may have some¬ 
thing to do with it, and some queens may be more easily excited 
than others. In no case have any of my bees died since I was 
compelled to give up the keeping of Italians. 
My latest experiment to effect a cure or stop the disease is so 
far promising. Out of four cases the disease has left three of them, 
and is much abated in the fourth, but I am not prepared to say 
positively that it is due to the medicated food, but shall certainly 
continue it until I am certain. I dissolve the sugar in sulphurated 
water. Although I have made no attempt to remove the stores of 
the hive, it would be advisable to do so. 
Feeding. 
Feeding at this date (2l8t June) may appear strange to 
beginners, bub it has heretofore been the rule and not the excep¬ 
tion, and but for the previous damage to pastures by drought our 
hopes would be as high as ever they were. The weather is 
unsettled, with a drying wind ; hives well stored in everything are 
apt to draw their brood, therefore while the weather remains so 
bees should not be trusted by appearances, but should be fed, even 
if super-loaded combs be removed. These are useful to give to 
swarms or to nuclei. 
The beginner will observe that although light hives are not 
mentioned, both light and heavy ones require the same treatment. 
From 2 to 4ozs. of sugar every night is sufficient, and fed by scoops 
from below is the safest, easiest, and quickest way.—A Lanark¬ 
shire Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
If not already done all hives intended for honey production, 
where the chief harvest is obtained from field Beans, white 
Clover, and the Lime trees, should be at once snpered. Any stocks 
that are not of the desired strength should be assisted with a frame 
or two of brood and bees, as one strong stock will store more 
honey than half a dozen weak ones. This should always be borne 
in mind when preparing for the honeyflow. 
Those stocks from which bees and brood have been taken may 
be utilised in various ways. I usually introduce either queen cells 
or virgin queens raised in stocks that have been noted for producing 
good workers. These again are introduced to colonies whose 
queens may for various reasons, require replacing, or ?or an 
increase of stock. In this locality (Yorkshire) field Beans are in 
full bloom and will soon be past their best ; white Clover, of which 
there is a good promise, is fast coming into bloom and will be at its 
best in a few days. The next three weeks will decide the question 
whether the present season is to be an improvement on the last 
few years from a bee-keeper’s point of view. 
Some swarms that came off from straw skeps a week ago, 
although placed in frame hives with fully drawn out combs, have 
had to be fed with thin syrup. Thus no time has been lost, as the 
queens commenced laying at once. These were from skeps that 
were experimented with during the late severe winter, one of which 
was a late cast and had not half filled the skep with comb, and was 
not fed last autumn. To judge from its appearance at that time it 
seemed almost an impossibility to preserve the bees alive through 
ail ordinary winter. When the frost broke up in March they were 
alive but absolutely without stores. They have been fed with 
thin syrup from a bottle-feeder placed on the crown of hive, and 
from that time up to now form one of my strongest stocks, thus 
showing what a little close attention will do by supplying food 
at the right time. 
A good swarm and cast will amply repay me for the trouble 
entailed. The swarms although late will doubtless store a surplus 
if favourable weather prevails, as without bright sunshine and a 
light temperature honey will not be produced. Stocks that were 
supered a fortnight ago also have without exception done well, 
having drawn out the combs freely. It is surprising what a large 
amount of honey a strong colony will store in a few hours of 
favourable weather during the honeyflow.— 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. 
Tomatoes and Bordeaux IVIlxture {FestmaLente)i —The mixture 
has been found useful, when applied in good time, as a preventive of 
disease caused by the Phytopthora, and used at half the usual strength 
applied to Potatoes it did not injure Tomatoes under glass. For 
further references read the long reply on page 555 last week. 
Tree Ferns (^ColoneV) —The position you mention will he much too 
hot and dry in summer. Establish them in pots or tubs in a naturally 
moist and shaded position, syringing as often as is necessary for keeping 
the stems moist, and maintaining humid surroundings. They grow 
well in a mixture of loam and leaf mould. Wednesday morning’s 
letters can only be answered briefly in the current issue. 
Pineapple XTectarlne Beaves Eaten (J. B. B."). —The leaves 
appear to have been eaten by the grooved or black Vine weevil 
(Otiorhynchus sulcatus), which does not seem recent. If you spread 
some white cloths or newspapers beneath the tree in the daytime and 
after dark at night enter the house carefully with a lantern, with the 
light concealed, and shake the tree or trellis sharply and then turn on 
the light, you may find the weevils on the cloths or newspapers, as they 
drop when alarmed, and can be captured and destroyed. 
Caterpillar on Pea Xeaves (P. J. Palmer'). —The caterpillar 
on the Pear leaves is the larva, commonly called slugworm, of the Pear 
sawfly (Selandria atra, or Tenthredo cerasi of some authorities). The 
sawflies deposit their eggs on the leaves, always the upper surface, and 
hatch in a few days ; the slugworms then commencing to feed on the 
soft substance of the leaf, and soon cause the discolouration of the 
affected foliage. The best remedy is to dust quicklime on the affected 
parts, repeating occasionally if necessary at intervals of a day or two. 
Compost for Peaches and Boses («7. C. B.). —Good strong 
turfy loam, 2 or 3 inches thickness with the turf. It is better to have 
the soil rather strong than light, but not very stiff, and if intermixed 
with stones or small pebbles all the better, especially if of a calcareous 
gravelly nature. Of this five parts, horse droppings or thoroughly 
decayed manure one part, nuts charcoal half a part, and if deficient 
in calcareous matter and grit ore part. To this you may add, when 
mixed, about a 9-inch potful of crushed hones to every barrowful of 
compost, thoroughly incorporating. This compost, with good drainage, 
well firming the materials, will grow Peaches and Koses well, using 
chemical manures or top-dressings. 
Insect Eating- Holes in Scolopendrium Fronds (P. C. B). — 
The insect is the clay or copper-coloured weevil (Otiorhynchus picipes), a 
■^ery handsome male specimen in full glow of colour, as this is or soon 
will be the pairing season. The female is much duller in colour, but the 
larger of the two. It is very injurious to vegetation, feeds at night on a 
great variety of plants and trees, which should be taken advantage of to 
capture the pests. Spread, therefore, a white cloth or newspaper on the 
stage or floor, stand the pot on it, and place some paper on the surface 
of the pot nearly, but not quite close, to the crown. This should be 
done in the afternoon, and after dark at night enter the house carefully 
with a lantern darkened (a bull’s-eye one being best with the light 
turned off) ; then shake the plant sharply, brushing the fronds with the 
hand, after which immediately turn on the light and kill all the pests, 
which will have fallen on the cloth or paper, scrutinising the base of the 
plant closely where the soil has not been covered. This is the best 
remedy, repeating until the weevils are annihilated. 
Tomatoes In Pots {Beader). —The plants are probably at a stand¬ 
still for lack of nourishment, and they certainly are drawn, possibly 
from being at a considerable distance from the glass and receiving 
partial instead of unobstructed light, with too close and moist an 
atmosphere, this being perhaps the cause of the flowers not opening 
freely and the fruit setting indifferently. It is best to confine plants in 
pots to one stem, which in ample light and with free ventilation should 
give a truss of bloom, and ultimately fruit at every other joint, the 
laterals being rubbed off or removed whilst quite small, the plant being 
