Jay 21, 1887. 
JOURjsaL of horticulture and cottage gardener. 
63 
T^i Ck l T an<1 easicr > and do not produce deformed heads, as is often 
tne case when propagated later in the year. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
, Roses.— It was useless to attempt budding while the ex- 
_ c y ot and dry weather lasted, but the welcome change ought to 
ave been taken advantage of, as the buds unite with the wood much 
more surely during showery or dull weather. In many districts insuffi¬ 
cient rain has fallen to well soak the ground about the stocks, and in 
this case it is advisable to water them freely one or two days prior to 
budding. This causes the sap to rise, and renders it a much easier 
matter to open the bark. If there is no moisture under the bark it not 
only opens badly, but there is nothing to support the newly inserted bud. 
A similar difficulty is experienced with the buds, as unless these “ run ” 
or part from the wood freely it is almost impossible to avoid damaging 
them, and it is useless to insert bruised bark. Water the plants, and the 
T? h easi 'y taken. The Manetti stock may be 
lightly trimmed, a nd be budded on the main stem about 2 inches below 
to^rfthegcannd. The soil necessarily drawn away from the 
iniT^fnl St n y 0t re £" rned tiU s , uch times as the buds have developed 
f“ “ str " n S 6ho ? < ?- , The reser ved shoots on the Briar stocks may also be 
freely shortened back, or say to within 12 inches of the stem, and the 
buds be inserted as near the stem as possible, where they more readily 
S” e , “ nit f d 8 . tron §-iy "ith the stem. Either matting or worsted may 
be used for binding the bark over the buds, and which ought not to have 
been allowed to get dry before they were inserted. In hot weather it is 
of Rhubarb* le e aves° rarlly ^ bUdS Cither with Cabba g e 01 portions 
Uom Cuttings.—W q prefer to have as many as possible of our 
Roses frost-resisting, and find that we must rely principally upon dwarf 
bushes on their own roots. Considerable numbers are struck Goose¬ 
berry fashion every winter, and we are fairly successful with July and 
^ The latter are rather the longest in attaining a use- 
t r tb e best for potting. Any medium sized healthy 
growth that has perfected one or more blooms is suitable. They are 
best taken off whh a hee! and shortened to about i inches in length. 
\ f u . rn }f ll ? d Wltb healthy leaves, the buds being dormlnt, 
aad tb ® y ougbt *° be inserted directly they are taken, as if once allowed 
to get dry or to flag at all failure is certain. They may be struck either 
S d^ni^d tS f°f r h b0 f tt0 f lle r S b0SeS covered witb glass, and these should 
be disposed at the foot of a north wall. About 3 inches of very gritty 
d nft being very suitable, is needed, and the cuttings 
^™ ldbe d 1 ^ “to half their depth and firmly, and well clear of 
each other. Water them m, keep them closely covered with glass, and if 
necessary shade before the sun reaches them. They ought to be well 
rooted in less than six weeks, and may then have plenty of air given them. 
Carnations and Pwotees. — Seedlings are much the most flori- 
ferous, but unfortunately they so exhaust themselves as to be quite use- 
less for a second season. A fresh stock must therefore be raised every 
season, and if our advice has been taken the seedlings raised this year 
fhl turn ° i K f ° r b ° rd f S - Bein S Packed off thinly in boxes 
they will transplant readily with a good ball of soil about the roots. A 
fairly rich well-worked soil suits them, and they may well be disposed 
lo inches apart each way. In cold damp positions, or where the soil is 
Tf W° f a character, it is advisable to plant on raised beds. 
If dry, hot weather follow planting, an occasional watering should be 
given, and all going on well they should cover the ground with flower 
stems by this time next year. Named sorts, or any that are extra good 
among the seedlings may be increased by cuttings taken off at the pre¬ 
sent time. The small side shoots or pipings are best, and these may be 
slipped off and put in without further trouble being taken with them. 
They strike the most readily when dibbled in boxes of sandy or gritty 
sou in a close shaded frame over a nearly spent hotbed. J 
HEBEE-KEEPER. 
INFORMATION FOR BEGINNERS. 
^ one y season such as the present it is 
remarkable how accurate the information tendered by 
“ A c r e ^ fr u WS ^ ire ^ee-keeper ” was in all that applies to 
profitable bee husbandry, while the Stewarton hive he so 
ably advocated is still the best hive where large supers 
are not objectionable. Where bees are kept for the 
owner’s use only no hives can excel it, either in quantity 
or quality, while the slides so much objected to by some 
are the very means by which the bee-keeper can control 
the purity of supers. One writer told us they had 
brains to pass over the Stewarton ; the same writer 
with the same brains now adopts the system as the best. 
Others I have no doubt will soon follow, and whether 
octagon or square are Stewarton hives, and should not be 
known by any other name. 
SWARMING versus NON-SWARMING. 
The question of swarming or non-swarming has often 
been discussed. Swarms always work the better of the- 
two, but the large yield of honey must be looked for in 
the non-swarming hive, if the term may be allowed, be¬ 
cause non-swarming in the proper sense can scarcely be- 
allowed. We c m retard or delay swarming for a time, 
and often for a season, but if it was long enough no con¬ 
trivance or plan on our part will prevent bees swarming* 
when the queen during fine weather becomes exhausted,, 
nor even before that if the combs are irregular, having 
an excess of drone cells. Swarming takes place often 
with hives not more than two-thirds full of comb. Witlr 
everything right and in a normal state, by giving room in 
advance of their wants and plenty of it, will often have- 
the desired effect for the season, but no queen should be 
kept for the next year that has done good service the 
present one. Endeavour to have all the combs for the 
stock or body of the hive made this season by bees having* 
a young fertile queen and drone comb will be scant. 
Where that cannot be done give full sheets of foundation- 
in the subsequent year. 
COMB FOUNDATION. 
This plays so important a part in modern bee-keeping 
that a few words about it may be useful, as I have made- 
it extensively for upwards of a quarter of a century-. 
There are many kinds of machines and ways of fixing it. 
In order to keep the top bar strong there is no plan yet 
surpasses the groove. I have had experience with five- 
different machines and six sorts of foundation. Root’s 
natural based cell with high side walls and thin midrib 
pleases the bees best both in supers and the body of the 
hive, while the rapidity with which the bees take to it and- 
draw it out puts the bee-keeper in the best of humour. A 
few pounds spent on one of Root’s foundation machines by 
any bee-keeper with but half a dozen hives will be money 
well spent, while by so doing a double advantage is gained 
by the bee-keeper getting foundation made from wax 
made by his own bees, which requires no wire nor other 
contrivance beyond fixing properly in the top bar with 
melted wax. Foundation made from sound native wax 
does not sag like those made from foreign wax. 
HI YES. 
The best hive for producing marketable or small 
samples is the square tiering hive already described, easily 
made by any amateur at an outlay of about 2s. 6d. only 
when new timber is used, and at about Is. when old boxes, 
are used. 
SECTIONS. 
These are not favourites of mine nor with the bees: 
when the ordinary sort are used. The bees dislike the. 
bottom rail. Some of the members of the B. B. K. A. 
advocated the use of frames minus the bottom rail, but 
why they denounced a rail in the frame and advocated 
sections having a broad bottom rail I do not know. I 
prefer sections wrought either in iron frames or in crates, 
which allow the bees to any number of sections without 
bottom rails and in one compartment. The latter is the 
only kind I use, and like most of my bee gear is easily 
made. The sections are in three pieces, top and ends, 
If inch broad and fully i thick. They may be either 
nailed or dovetailed. The crates are of the same size as 
hives, and divided into spaces, the size of the sections 
wanted. The sides of the crate have little trenches cut to 
receive the number of moveable bearers f thick, reaching 
about half way down, so as to allow the bees full scope. 
These thin pieces are rabbeted like the front and back of 
the crate to allow the sections to rest in flush with the upper 
