508 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 21,1894. 
IS 
i 
1 
HE BEE-KDEPER. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
My stock is just about the number I can manage at the moors. 
I am, therefore, by feeding keeping them in trim for any flow of 
honey that we may have ; but unless the weather changes soon 
there will be no Heather on many of the hills in bloom in time, or 
before the autumn frosts. Under these circumstances all hopes 
of honey must be abandoned for this year. In that case I shall 
reduce my stock, and make an attempt to raise young queens for 
1895. I depend mostly upon the Wild Thyme and Heather, so 
that I have ample time to triple my stock, and to have them all in 
first-class order by the end of July. By this means I reduce the 
expense of feeding one instead of three, while at the same time it 
is more consistent with Nature and the ways of the bees to let 
them swarm, and certainly is the most profitable. 
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. 
Oilcloths. 
The extremely wet season has roused bee-keepera to the neces¬ 
sity of having the sides of their hives protected with good water¬ 
proofs, while not a few persons have coveted mine. I have had 
several inquiries how to make these oilcloths, so may be excused 
repeating what has been said before. 
To make oilcloths it is necessary to use genuine linseed oil. 
The “ stickiness ” complained of by some bee-keepers arises from 
using oil adulterated with palm and other cheap material. A 
gallon of oil is sufiicient for 7 yards of heavy calico. Saturate the 
cloths (which have been previously washed) well with the oil, lay 
them in a tin or metal bath until the oil begins to set or feels 
sticky, turning them occasionally. Be careful not to neglect them 
too long or they may take fire spontaneously ; in fact the rising of 
the temperature is a good indicator when the cloths should be hung 
up to dry. The secret of making good oilcloths is to have them 
fully saturated with oil the first coat, which cannot be well done 
with a brush. If too much oil is employed it will not set, but run 
off when the cloths are hung up ; the proper quantity is known 
by there being just as much drippings as will give them a second 
coating, which may be put on with a brush, the hand, or a piece of 
cloth. 
Naphtha. 
This is a very useful thing to have in store. It takes grease and 
other stains out of cloth, and cleans the hands of all stains, oil or 
tar. It is so volatile that its offensive odour lasts only a few 
minutes, and does not injure any fabric. Care must be taken not 
to use it near a light or it might take fire, as it is very explosive. 
As an insecticide I have not tried it much, but as it kills wasps 
I think it would be effectual in killing other vermin, and safer to 
use on plants than petroleum. Experiments in the above line are 
worth trying, and certainly as remover of grease or other stains 
from clothes or person naphtha is invaluable.—A Lanarkshire 
Bee-keeper. 
Premature Killing of Drones. 
What can be the reason of bees killing mature drones before 
swarming ? It is four weeks since I saw the first flight of drones 
in a hive, and the bees are now killing them. The hive is a 
round Btewarton, and consists of three stories. Previous to the 
15th April it consisted only of two rooms. These being full of 
bees and comb I added another, so the three are now full of 
bees and comb. I notice the drones to be very numerous. 
—A Beginner. 
[Perhaps “A Beginner” has not read the hints which has 
appeared lately in the Journal of Horticulture to feed to prevent 
brood-drawing and egg-eating. The cause of the bees killing 
mature drones is entirely due to the absence of honey, short stores, 
and the continued unpropitious weather. Feed liberally at once, 
and take the first opportunity to raise young queens to supersede 
all pregnant queens. They have been sorely taxed this season, and 
cannot be kept profitably for another year. W^e have had many 
years when it was necessary to feed the whole season—a hard task 
for working men. Many hives at the present time have stopped 
breeding, but only in cases where queens are of 1892. More 
youthful ones are still laying away in spite of the bad times, but 
the loss of adult bees are so great that hives are weaker now than 
they were the end of March. As the weather is there are no 
alternatives but to feed and introduce young queens.—A. L. B. K ] 
Gardenia florlda (A. S. H. G.'). —If the plant in a 7-inch pot, 
with a hundred flowers and buds, has also deep green foliage, we should 
say it has been very well grown. 
Double Yellow Margaret (A. <§.).—The double form to which 
you refer is not raised from seed but propagated from cuttings inserted 
in the autumn in cool frames, or the spring in gentle heat, and wintered 
in greenhouses. The plants are apt to suffer in a damp atmosphere. 
Clay’s Fertilizers {D. M .').—If these manures were not good they 
would not have been used so long by discriminating cultivators. The 
same day we received your inquiry we received Dr. GriflBths’ analysis of 
two samples of Clay’s bone meals. We give the first of them : moisture, 
6‘50; organic matter, 30 05 ; containing nitrogen (3 61), equal to 
ammonia (4 38); phosphate of lime, 51-91; carbonate of lime, 9 22 ; 
insoluble matter, 2 32. Dr. Griffiths says the samples consisted of bone 
only, and considerably exceed the percentages of phosphate of lime and 
ammonia which the Eoyal Agricultural Society recommend buyers to 
require. 
Tea Roses for Standards—The Folyantha Stock (A. IE.).— 
For a short selection of exhibition Tea Roses, which unusually do 
well as standards under favourable conditions, try Catherine Mermet, 
Comtesse de Nadaillac, Cleopatra, Ernest Metz, Ethel Brownlow, 
Jules Finger, Madame Cusin, Madame de Watteville, Madame Hoste, 
Marechal Niel, Niphetos, Princess of Wales, Rubens, Souvenir de S. A. 
Prince, Madame Lambard, and The Bride. Seedling or cutting stocks 
of Polyantha simplex, now being tested by some growers as a stock 
for Teas, could be obtained in November from some of the leading 
nurserymen. Try Mr, Benjamin R. Cant, Colchester. We are obliged 
by your hint, which is duly noted. 
Steamed Bone Flour (77. J/.).—This is the result of grinding 
bones that have had the fat and a portion of the ossein melted out 
of them by being subjected to steam pressure and powerful beat in a 
close boiler. When the bones are thus dried they can be ground into 
finer particles than new bones can, and the action of the manure is 
quicker in consequence, notwithstanding that the finer and drier flour 
may contain a little less nitrogen. Perhaps your best plan will he to 
dissolve them by either of the following methods as may be most 
convenient :—1, Place 5 cwt. (or 12 bushels) of bone on an earthen 
floor, surrounded by a rim of ashes ; pour on as much water as the 
bones will suck up, and then pour on 2 cwt. of sulphuric acid ; ifc 
will boil somewhat violently for a while. When this has subsided it 
will get tolerably solid, and the ashes and all may be shovelled up 
together, and will be fit for use in a day or two. 2, Take a large 
w’atertight hogshead and cover the bottom with about 5 inches deep 
of dry soil ; on this put a layer of bones of the same depth, and 
cover them entirely with wood ashes ; on these another layer of bones, 
then ashes, and so on till the hogshead is full, placing a good thick¬ 
ness of ashes on the top. Leave it exposed to the rains all the summer 
and winter till spring. Then on removing the contents of the hogs¬ 
head the bones will crumble to powder under a slight pressure, and 
orm one of the most valuable manures ready for immediate use. 
Packing; Grapes and Flo-wers (^Amateur'). —We have found tin 
boxes excellent for sending both fruit and flowers by post, separately, 
the boxes in each case to be firmly filled, so that the contents are 
immoveable. Flowers should be cut young, either at night, and placed 
in water, or early in the morning before the petals become flaccid. The 
box may be slightly damped, and the heaviest flowers should be placed 
at the bottom, the lighter above them. These may be covered with 
Ferns previously dipped in water, then shaken out, or other soft 
greenery, and pressed firmly down with the lid. For Grapes the boxes 
must be dry. A layer of springy moss may be placed at the bottom, 
this to be covered with tissue paper, which must also reach up the 
sides and well above the top. The boxes should be a little slanted when 
filled, one end resting on a table, the other held up, and each bunch 
