30G 
JOrnXAL r)F nORTTGULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
May 17. I‘!r4. 
Jm BBE-KBEPER. 
1^. I ., , , . I . , . ,, , ■ r. , . -rz-r. 
■ ] > 1 . T~^ 1.. . I - I « I « r- t ~r 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
The Weather. 
SiNX’E the thunderstorm on the 2nd inst. the weather has been 
of an untoward nature, the mean temperature being about 40” 
with north-westerly winds, hail and sleet showers. Pear and 
Cherry trees were shorn of their beauty in a single night, and 
Sycamore trees clothed with dense foliage, and richly adorned 
with tassels of bloom, were stripped of both ; the trees so 
richly and fully foliated assumed more the appearance of autumn 
than the beginning of summer, the roads and byways being 
literally covered with leaves. Owing to the damage done 
to the trees by the wind, bees are deprived of a supply of 
honey from them, and their beauty is gone for a season. So 
treacherous and destructive has the “ blizzard ” been on bees, I 
hear from various quarters, hives which were expected to swarm 
early in May, that all hope is gone of them swarming at all. With 
our own they lay dead in thousands, and so reduced are they, that 
with the exception of having more brood in them, the hives 
contained more bees at the end of January. It appears that the 
severity of the storm h?s been local, as letters from the south 
speak of mild weather. Those persons whose bees have missed 
the honey flow from trees should feed them ; but be careful to 
do so when it is not windy. 
Early Swarms. 
Several swarms occurred a few miles from us at end of April 
and 1st of May, but the bees would have been better in their original 
hives. It has been, without exception, the worst winter and spring 
for bees I ever experienced ; having no other than last year’s 
queens they manage to pull through without dwindling or deposition 
of queens which is not the case everywhere. I learn many queens 
have been deposed, and it is probable some of these early swarms 
are due to that. All our hives swarmed too early last year, and 
too much subsequently ; I hope it will be different this season. 
No two years being alike makes it difficult to advise or how to act 
to make the best and most of our hives. 
My prospective plan for the coming season is, I will at the first 
favourable opportunity super every hive unless those intended 
for queen rearing as nuclei for 1895 and the moors of the present 
year. If they do swarm I shall not be disconcerted, but will hive 
them in the usual way, putting them together in twos instead of 
single swarms. Before taking them to the Heather I shall either 
strengthen r uclei with the contents of the swarm hives again, 
joining the bees of two swarms, or adding them to the old stocks as 
is most desirable. Should the season be a good one at the Clover 
there will be much honey to take. When this is done it prevents 
for a time any inclination to swarm, and puts the bees and hives in 
the best of order for joining. 
Gathering Honey. 
H will be observed that by the carrying out of the above plan 
the hives are all in the best of condition for gathering honey ; but 
it should be remembe.ed the old stocks must not on any account be 
permitted to swarm more than once. If at all possible give newly 
fertilised queens to them eight clear days after swarming. If there 
is no honey to take previous to removing them to the Heather, 
gorge the bees thoroughly with syrup before letting them run 
together. Taking one year with another in this our variable 
climate the above plan is safe, and perhaps on the whole most 
profitable. 
When isolated cases of bees under other circumstances are 
reported a great success beginners are apt to follow the plans out, 
buc to be disappointed. For example, in 1893 from one hive eight 
swarms were issued from the parent stock, nine in all. These 
were in the end my best hives. I took at least 400 lbs. of honey 
from them, keeping three as stocks. Had I stated the result with¬ 
out details it would have created a desire in some to attempt the 
same plan, but instead of following out bee-keeping on such lines I 
try to avoid it. The protracted fine season favoured it, and as I 
had an abundance of empty hives I took the advantage of it as a 
lesson to show that bees swarming will gather honey, but at all 
times one swarm from each stock is the safest towards having 
the most profitable hives, and with the least disappointment.— 
A Lanarkshire Bee keeper. 
'l;j“A 11 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. 
Diseased Rose Tree rollag'e(F. C. (7.). —The samples of diseased 
Eose tree foliage arrived in a shrivelled, crushed condition. We are, 
therefore, ab'e to discover nothing but spores and headless hypha of a 
fungus, which appears to be those of Peronospora sparsa. If you will 
send fresh specimens packed with damp moss secured round the lower 
part of the shoot or footstalk of the leaves, and the upper part enveloped 
in tissue paper—not cotton wool, we shall be pleased to examine them 
and give you the best assistance in our power. 
Palm Roots above the Soil (id <?.),—It is not unusual for a 
portion of the roots of a Palm to be uncovered with soil, especially if in 
a pot, as the roots reach the bottom and force the plant upwards. 
There is no harm whatever in an inch or so of the roots being above the 
soil provided that it is kept properly supplied with water, but when 
the plant is potted opportunity should be taken to place it lower down, 
but it is not a good plan to bury the stem, merely covering the roots. 
Palms like abundance of light, yet it is better to afford slight shade 
from powerful sun. 
Smllax (blyrslphyllum) asparagoldes (Reader'). — Perhaps 
the freest growing and best plants are those raised from seed, which 
should be sown as soon as ripe. It is also increased from cuttings of 
the young side shoots with a heel or young shoots when about half ripe, 
or getting rather firm at the base, inserting in sandy soil surfaced with 
sand, placing in gentle heat and covering with a bell-glass, and keeping 
rather close and moist until rooted, then harden and place in pots. When 
the plants are large the roots or crowns may be divided into as many 
parts or growths as can be detached with a portion of root to each, 
operating early in the spring. A compost of good loam two parts and one 
part leaf, with half a part of sand, suits it. It succeeds admirably in a 
' warm conservatory, and planted out where the growths can be trained 
up a pillar or rafter. 
Vine Iicaves Rusted (IF. L. B.). —We failed to find any disease 
on the Vine leaves, though we examined them very carefully ; indeed, 
there is only rust, which is confined to the under side of the whole of the 
leaves sent. The puckering or indentations on the upper surface are 
due to the contraction on the lower surface, and the black dots on the 
side correspond to destroyed stomata and adjacent cells. On the worst 
affected leaf the lower epidermis is actually peeling off, and a new 
cuticle formed of the underlying cells. The evil probably has arisen 
from the sprinkling weak liquid manure on the brick floor every evening, 
and it certainly is distinct from ordinary rust caused by injudicious 
ventilation. Discontinue the tprinkling with the manure water, and 
admit air rather freely in the early part of the day, but not so as to 
lower the temperature. The leaves are otherwise very healthy and of 
good texture. The hairs of the leaves are in some cases crippled, which 
also points to an overdose of ammonia. Brick floors should not be 
sprinkled with liquid manure so often as soil, as borders absorb it, and 
the danger is not so great. 
Strawberry Plants Unfruitful — Crushing Bones — Goose¬ 
berry Suckers (T. A.). —1, Strawberries planted late last autumn 
and failing to flower at all this season, should not be thrown away as 
useless, for last year was not favourable to the plants, and being weak 
and late is sufficient to account for their not flowering this season. It 
ii likely they will produce fruit freely another year, as they will have 
time to make and mature a good growth and crowns. The only danger 
is in their being runners in the first instance from unfruitful plants. 
2, There is no mill that we are aware for grinding bones for borne use 
on a small scale, but they are often broken quite small with a heavy 
hammer on an old millstone or anvil, and used for mixing with soil. 
Some persons place the bones in a tub outdoors, placing fine loam at 
the bottom, then a layer of bones, cover them with wood ashes, and 
so on in alternate layers until the tub is full. The whole should be 
kept moist, just as much water being used as the ashes and bones will 
absorb. 3, The suckers of the Gooseberries will hardly make growth 
enough this year for fruiting next season, but everything depends upon 
their size and the treatment they are given. They are not, as a rule, as 
good as cuttings, but they may be used, only detach with good roots in 
the autumn, and cut out all the buds on the stems below ground. 
