440 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 31, 1894. 
a well-known bee-keeper saying it was “ the best season for bees 
he ever experienced,” but this does not concur with many others. 
Unless hives are kept breeding, and brood drawing prevented, there 
will be little chance of the bees gathering honey to any great 
extent should the weather prove favourable during the next two or 
three months. 
Why Swarms Gather Most Honey. 
When a swarm issues it is composed mostly of bees fit for 
outdoor work. We must, however, take the case of swarms which 
issue in a properly and in a natural way—/.e., all the “ripened” 
bees leaving, for it sometimes happens many of such bees either do 
not leave the hive or return to it. In these cases the swarm is less 
than it should have been, and cannot make the same progress as 
one that is complete. When such a swarm comes oflF at the time 
of a honey flow the whole of the bees set to work with a will. 
New combs are mostly built during the night; and if foundation or 
clean empty combs exist, the bees of such swarms gather more 
honey than the stock hive did before swarming, and will continue 
to do so for about ten days after. Swarms are always more active 
and anxious to gather honey than unswarmed ones ; they work 
earlier, later, and more persistent during midday. Then what is 
stored in their hive or supers is free from taint, and of the greatest 
purity, which stocks cannot produce. 
The bees left behind in the stock hive are mostly nurse or 
young ones. Some are intent on gathering pollen outside, few 
honey gatherers being left. By-and-by, as the stock hives brood is 
hatched and all surplus queens deposed, the bees become equal to 
those of the first swarm, and with the additional breeding space 
and the young queen of the stock hive in from four to five weeks 
the bees will be doubled in numbers. I trust the reader will not 
confound the foregoing practice as being on the same lines as 
removing queens at the commencement of the honey harvest, which 
is a foolish method, and ought not to be done by anyone expecting 
best results. 
The Weather and Bees. 
At present the season is far from being promising, but it ought 
to be remembered that in some of our best honey years the stock of 
unswarmed hives had to be fed up till the last week of June. The 
Heather has made little if any progress since beginning of April, so 
that it will be much later this year, and if it turns out a wet June 
and July the bloom will be very inferior. Although no one can 
tell what the future is to be, we know the effect the past has had 
on vegetation, and it will be little short of a miracle should the 
flowers be profuse and early. September has in some years given 
us the finest weather, so that may be again. Still, taking every¬ 
thing into consideration, it will be as well to limit the increase of 
hives, bearing in mind swarms always work best. 
The weather has slightly improved, and should it continue hives 
will rally, but do not forget the fact that already queens have bred 
as much as they do till the close of the season in some years. 
Youthful fertile queens on hand should be the watchword of every 
bee-keeper.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
®5*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. 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. 
Grabs on Apple Blossoms (^E. S '). — The “ grubs ” are the pupae 
of the Apple-blossom weevil (Anthonomus pomorum), as yon have 
rightly anticipated. Tbe affected flowers should be forthwith shaken 
down, previously spreading sheets on the ground beneath the trees and 
the faded blossoms collected and burnt. There must be no delay, indeed 
the work of removing the faded flowers and grubs has been deferred too 
long ; but “ better late than never.” 
Tomatoes Blscolonred (2). M .).—The plant was so shaken 
about, bruised, and covered with adhering particles of soil that it was 
not easy to examine. It appears to be in a succulent state through 
being grown in too free and light soil, also in a too close and moist 
atmosphere. Firm the soil, do not over-wa^er, provide heat to enable 
free ventilation, yet avoiding cold sharp currents of air, and the plants 
will become flrmer in texture and the better resistant of fungoid attacks. 
In other words, we think they are recoverable by cultural means, but if 
this is not so you may spray with Bordeaux mixture made as advised 
last week. It should be of a blue tint; if brown it may injure the 
plants. 
Vine Iiateral Discoloured (J. 27.).—Has not the injury to the 
lateral been caused by abrasion or by contact with rough or galvanised 
wire ? The dying of the extreme end is the result of removing the leaf 
above it and the appropriation of the sap by the leaf below. Your 
method of stopping seems peculiar, judging at least by the specimens 
before us, for you have taken off the points of the laterals just under 
the leaf at the first joint above the bunch, instead of just above the leaf 
m each case. Returning to the injury, we suspect if you had taken the 
matting round tbe wire before bringing the lateral against it there 
.would have been no corrosion. The Vine appears healthy, though some 
of the leaves are a little scorched, as if the house had been left closed 
too long on some sunny morning after a cold night. 
Glolre de Dijon Rose Falling (IF. J. I.). —There is nothing 
that is suggestive of the tree being “ doctored ” in the soil submitted. 
Of course its actual contents can only be determined by an exhaustive 
analysis, but we do not undertake such work. The soil is formed into 
nodular masses by the growth of some fungus, which in the absence of 
spores we are unable to determine satisfactorily, but it has the general 
appearance of canker-fungus, but different from that of the Apple and 
Pear, and rarely attacks Roses or other plants above the soil. If the 
plant dies, as we apprehend, you might forward a portion of the 
diseased roots or of the canker on the root stem, a fair specimen of the 
affected roots packed in damp moss sufficing. The “ substance ” 
should be cleared away and burned, and the soil for a considerable 
distance from the stem outwards watered with soluble phenyle, using a 
teacupful or quarter of a pint to a pail of water, and that quantity per 
square yard. If the plant dies, or the roots are in part dead, these must 
be removed from the soil. This attended to, and the plant not too 
far gone, it will possibly recover from the attack, and grow vigorously. 
Tomato Deaves Blackened and Spots on Fruit (Cross ).— 
1, The leaves have the appearance of being affected with the Potato 
disease, but there are no outgrowths, and the sections do not reveal the 
mycelium of the parasite. The hairs are, however, very much distorted, 
and the mycelium may be pervading the tissues, as these being opaque 
it is not easily detected in the early stages of the disease. It would be 
advisable to remove the discoloured portions of the leaves and keep the 
house rather warm, but with a free amount of top ventilation, main¬ 
taining a rather dry condition of both the soil and atmosphere. It is 
of little use spraying eithtr Tomatoes or Potatoes with sulphate of 
iron solution as a preventive of the disease. Bordeaux mixture is 
the approved antidote, and has been given repeatedly in this Journal 
(see page 419, last week). It must not be used after the fruit is the size 
of that you sent, or it will adhere and possibly prove dangerous. 2, The 
“ spots ” on the fruit may have been caused by some injury to the cells ; 
at least, they are ruptured, and that causes the depressed patches. It 
would be advisable to remove and burn such fruits, for they will have a 
scabby appearance when ripe and not be saleable. If you find any 
increase of the malady spray at once with Bordeaux mixture, envelop¬ 
ing the fruit half grown or more in paper bags, and remove them after 
the spraying. 
Currant Bud Mite (YorTtsJiire). —The branches sent indicate a 
virulent attack of the destructive pest Phytoptus ribis, known as the 
Currant bud or gall mite. It is extremely minute, but when numerous, 
as in your case, ruinous to bushes and plantations. When the knotted 
buds are few, they are picked off early in the season by women or 
children, and burnt; the bushes, when leafless, being dressed with a 
solution of sulphur and lime. In Miss Ormerod’s “ Manual of Injurious 
Insects,” Mr. Arthur Bull, of Cottenham, writes:—“ I use a dressing of 
two parts sulphur and three parts lime boiled together in water (2 lbs. 
sulphur and 3 lbs. lime, 3 gallons water), which is further diluted at 
the rate of 2 or 3 pints to a large pail of water, applied with a syringe 
to the infested bushes; the effect is to keep the ‘spider’ down, and 
that little or no damage is done. It seems difficult to clear the garden 
altogether.” To this Miss Ormerod adds :—“ Another recipe, to save the 
trouble of boiling the lime, is as follows :—Take of sulphuret of lime 
4 ozs., and of softsoap 2 oz^., to each gallon of hot water ; the soap and 
sulphuret to be well mixed before the addition of the water, which is to 
be gradually poured on, stirring being continued during the process. 
This mixture may be used as a syringing, but if poured in thick con¬ 
dition on the stems about a foot or two from the ground and let run 
down into the centre of the bushes it would choke myriads of the 
minute creatures. Good waterings, and all treatment calculated to 
promote hearty growth, would be likely to be of service. Where an 
attack is established, probably the best treatment is to clear the bushes 
‘ and burn them (as well as any rubbish lying on the surface of the ground) 
where they stood, or to put a couple of shovelfuls of fresh gas-lime 
where each bush stood, so as to kill the mites that may remain. They 
cannot fly, but are easily dispersed on leaves blown by the wind, or 
by crawling. Change of crop to something that the gall mites will not 
attack is obviously desirable where there has been infestation.” 
