394 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 2, 1896. 
be removed. To secure the best results they should be potted in 7 and 
8-inch pots. In these sizes they continue to grow and flower, while in 
those of a smaller size they are brought to a standstill. There have been 
many complaints this year that during the winter the flower buds were 
blind. This is due to too low a temperature and to root activity being 
brought to a standstill. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
I FIND from my correspondence from many quarters there is 
a wide difference in the state of hives in sheltered localities from 
those in places exposed to the piercing March and April winds. 
Wintering has been more uniform, deaths occurring only where 
solid and damp floors are still in use. We are now having season¬ 
able and genial weather with copious showers, which is causing a 
rapid growth ; but it is not bee weather. So far as working is 
concerned it has all to be done by the bees yet. The Gooseberry 
blossom will soon be out, and the first fine day bees in fruit 
districts will get ample honey and pollen. Young bees are 
numerous in most hives, and in some of the me st advanced drones 
are making their appearance. With fine weather during May they 
may be all more forward by the middle of June than they were in 
years past with mild Aprils and cold Mays. 
The bee keeper should have all things in readiness for the busy 
time—hives, supers, sections, foundation, and all necessary appli¬ 
ances. Have everything at hand, so that there will be no searching 
for anything when wanted. 
If any hive shows signs of dilatoriness smell it, and see if it is 
not affected with foul brood, and take the necessary and pre¬ 
cautionary measures to eradicate the disease. It is easy to 
distinguish between a healthy and diseased hive; the former has a 
warmish and sweet smell, the latter a harsh and pungent one. Let 
the examination of a suspected hive be made within doors, so that 
no debris may fall from the combs to the ground, nor bees from 
healthy hives come to rob them. These are all mischievous sources 
of infection. The debris, which may be cleared out of an infected 
hive by the bees, or that which may fall to the ground from the 
combs when manipulating, is eagerly gathered by bees of healthy 
hives. 
Every piece of cloth or part of infected hives should be steeped 
in a solution of some strong disinfectant, and the bees subjected 
to three changes before putting them into a permanent clean hive. 
By pursuing a course similar to advice given thirty-four years ago 
I cleared my apiary of foul brood, and by a rational method of 
management since have not seen a single cell of it in any of my 
hives.—A Lanarkshire Bee keeper, 
FLOWERS FOR BEES. 
The change in the weather experienced during the past few 
days will prove beneficial to growing crops, but has not been I 
favourable to the bees. Heavy showers of rain have fallen during 
the past forty-eight hours, and over 1 inch has been registered, 
which means 100 tons of water per acre. A great change in 
vegetation has taken place during the past ten days ; trees that 
were dormant are now bursting into full leaf, and the bees will 
reap full benefit from the fast opening flowers in all directions. 
A few notes on flowers frequented by bees at this time of the 
year may be of interest to bee-keepers, and may also cause them to 
be interested in the flowers chiefly in request for the benefit of 
their busy workers, and prepare them for another year. I find the 
majority of spring flowers are visited by bees, whereas later in the 
season when flowers are more numerous there are only certain 
kinds they work on. Even the modest Daisy growing by the road¬ 
side is frequented by the bees for the pollen obtained from its 
early opening flowers. 
Arabis albida at the present time is a mass of white flowers. 
Bees are particularly fond of this plant, and it should be 
extensively planted by all bee-keepers and others who have the 
space at command. It looks well in large masses, and is very 
suitable for planting on a rockery, where it may remain undis¬ 
turbed for years. It is also useful for edgings to borders or 
elsewhere, as it is perfectly hardy, having withstood the late 
severe winter with impunity. Its propagation is very simple. After 
the flowers are over, if an increase is desired, divide the plants and 
dibble them out a few inches apart in the open garden, and no 
more attention will be required, as they will root freely, otherwise 
they need not be disturbed for years, as they will go on increasing in 
size, and will not die off as some other similar plants will if not 
propagated yearly. 
Myosotis dissitiflora is now a mass of bloom, and is one of the 
most beautiful of our early spring flowers. During the brief spells 
of sunshine bees have been very active on this variety. When 
planted in a mass and a few bulbs of yellow Tulips dotted between 
them have a very pretty effect. These may be propagated from 
divisions, similar to the Arabis, or from seed sown as soon as ripe, 
and the plants will bloom the following spring. Primroses, Violets, 
and Cowslips, common in the fields and hedgerows, but fast 
becoming extinct near our large towns, owing to the craze for 
obtaining plants. Bees may constantly be seen working on these 
plants. The Wood Anemone is another good bee flower. Many 
acres of woods are at the present time a mass of bloom, forming 
quite a picture, from which the bees derive great benefit. 
Daffodils having flowered very freely this year, but are now 
nearly over, have been a great attraction to the bees for the pollen 
obtained from them. These may be planted in the grass, and if 
not disturbed will seed freely, which will in a few years bloom, 
forming large masses of their beautiful yellow flowers. Tulips of 
various colours also grow freely on the grass. The scarlet Due Van 
Thol, when planted in conjunction with Daffodils, has a very 
pleasing effect. Doronicums are also useful for the purpose, and 
are very showy flowers at present in full bloom. These should be 
planted in masses, and are propagated by divisions of the root. 
The wild Cherry is abundant in the surrounding woods ; large trees 
of these are now a mass of bloom. Bees work freely on them, 
obtaining a great amount of pollen and a little honey from tho 
flowers. Several varieties of Willows are now in bloom and pro¬ 
duce more pollen than any tree that I am acquainted with. These 
and the wild Cherry are a source of never-failing pleasure to the 
bees, and fortunate is the man who has a few trees of the different 
varieties planted near his apiary.— An English Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
J. P. Williams Bros., Heneratgoda, Ceylon,— Tropical Seeds and 
Plants. 
T. S, Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham.— List of Dahlias and 
Begonias. 
All correspondence should be directed either to “ Thb 
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. 
Exbibltlxier Pelargoniums (<9. i7.).—We think the variety you 
name would be open to disqualification in the class to which you allude. 
Daffodil Baskets {^Gardener'). —We think your best method of 
obtaining quick information would be to write direct to Messrs. Barr 
and Son, King Street, Covent Garden, or other growers of these flowers 
for sale. 
Conservatory (i. i?.). — If a glass structure employed for the 
conservation and agreeable association of plants is detached from a. 
dwelling-house, such isolation does not in the least “ disqualify ” 
it, to quote your own term, from being regarded as a conservatory. 
Some of the finest conservatories in the kingdom are not connected with 
dwelling house or mansion. Conservatories, as a rule, differ from 
greenhouses in not being occupied with formal shelves or stages for 
accommodating the whole of the plants which are grown in pots ; in 
conservatories some are usually planted out, or pleasingly grouped 
otherwise than on stages, though these may not be entirely absent from 
some of the structures. 
Disbudding Cyclamens {Youngster'), —Good growers of Cycla¬ 
mens never think of disbudding, as it would spoil any of the plants to 
do 60 . If you wish to grow Cyclamens well, the first thing is to procure 
seed from a good strain of strong and sturdy growth, ^ Place the seeda 
singly an inch apart in pots of free sandy soil, to avoid crowding the 
seedlings. As the seeds are often long in germinating, take care that 
the soil does not become stale or sour. Grow the young plants witho^ 
' the least check in an intermediate house till June, when they should be 
