304 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 6, 1887. 
to the glass in a sunny pit, and are usnally sturdy well rooted plants 
when either planted out or given a shift in the spring. 
The commoner sorts, notably the good old Clove Carnation, may be 
treadily increased by division at the present time. Even quite long root¬ 
less pieces will strike in the open ground, our best plants in the herba¬ 
ceous borders being established in that way. No trimming is necessary, 
the principal point to be observed being to insert them deep enough. 
They should be buried up to the lower healthy leaves, and they usually 
fail to strike if any bare portions of the stems are exposed. The popular 
Mrs. Sinkins and other Pinks may be increased in a similar manner. 
They are often greatlv improved by being split into small tufts, a few 
roots, if possible, being preserved with each. Both Carnations and 
Pinks seem to thrive best on raised beds, and all delight in a deeply 
worked loamy soil to which has been added a liberal dressing of old 
Mushroom bed manure and road grit. 
Pyrethrums. —Herbaceous Pyrethrums are a beautiful and service¬ 
able class of plants, and p -rfectly hardy. Unfortunately slugs are 
particularly fond of them, and frequently destroy all young growth as 
it appears. This soon kills the plants. It is advisable, and in many 
cases quite necessary, to lift the choicer varieties, splitting these care¬ 
fully with a plunging fork, and potting up the divisions those formed. 
Any good loamy soil suits them, and after being placed in pots large 
enough to hold them comfortably, they may set in a cold frame or pit 
for the winter. Strong clumps of commoner sorts may also be increased 
and much benefited by division and replanting in good fresh soil. 
Chrysanthemums —These promise to be remarkably floriferous, the 
early sorts being already in full bloom. When left in the open they are 
liable to be much damaged by winds, rain, and frosts. If properly 
staked up before the growths have fallen about winds do not greatly 
disfigure the plants, and they will also stand a moderate amount of wet 
weather or dry frosts. To be certain of a lot of bloom, however, some 
sort of protection must be afforded. If grouped together a temporary 
framework may easily be erected over them, this supporting the blinds 
•or mats that are to ward off the frosts. If this cannot be managed it is 
advisable to lift some of the best of the plants and replant against a 
wall or the blank wall of a plant or fruit house, where they may readily 
be protected with mats or other material. They can usually be moved 
with a good ball of soil and roots, and many either pot up plants from 
the open ground, or else transplant to borders in fruit houses or the 
conservatory. Lifted plants ought not at first to be exposed to a bright 
sunshine ; they should never suffer for want of water. 
Disbudding Chrysanthemums .—Those few who go to the length of 
disbudding their outdoor Chrysanthemums are frequently well re¬ 
warded for their pains. 11 is those planted against walls and thoroughly 
strong and well established that pay best for this treatment. The 
Bundle family rarely assume a perfect globe form unless disbudded, and 
their beauty is not therefore fully realised. Many other incurved and 
Japanese sorts are also improved by disbudding, one gocd bloom being 
worth more than a cluster of imperfect flowers. The strong central 
bud only in each terminal cluster should be reserved, the remainder 
being either removed with the point of a pencil or stick, or with the 
aid of Grape scissors. It ought to be done at once. Outside Chrys¬ 
anthemums in many positions have not recently had sufficient moisture 
at the roots. A good soaking of either clear water or liquid manure 
will not be thrown away on them. 
BEES IN A BOX. 
“ Inquirer ” wishes to know liow best to preserve a 
swarm of bees in a box 16 inches by 13 by 10. Keep the 
bees until they have from 20 to 25 lbs. of honey. Pre¬ 
serve them from external damp, and cover the box about 
4 inches deep with dried grass on the top, and 2 inches or 
so at the sides, and it will be all the better if a ventilating 
floor be provided. That is easily done by making a box 
the same size as the hive, covering it with perforated zinc, 
.afoot in each corner, and a close-fitting trap door beneath. 
If a swarm is wanted add a super when the honey flow 
commences next summer. If no swarm is wanted, then 
add proper sized boxes filled with foundation when the 
bees begin to show signs of crowding the hive next spring, 
and add supers when required. 
THE WEATHER AND HONEY. 
That 1887 has been a good honey season generally 
none who has managed bees properly can deny; yet on 
my way south a few days ago I learned from a station 
master and bee-keeper, to my astonishment, that one of 
he finest districts for honey in Scotland had given no 
returns this year. The cause was said to be the cold and 
backward May of which we had all felt the influence, but 
what was most surprising to me was I had in my posses¬ 
sion a letter from a bee-keeper situated in the midst of 
this district as follows:—“ My bees have given a great 
quantity of honey, particularly the Carniolians you assisted 
me to introduce last year.” The writer of that letter was 
a pupil of mine, while the unfortunate bee-keepers who have 
no honey are those who, advised by the British Bee¬ 
keepers’ Association, spread brood and contract during 
winter. Doubtless, although it has been a productive 
season we have experienced much better, and although 
hives that were in good order have reached a great weight, 
those that were not have done little. 
THE HEATHER SEASON. 
This has been much the same as the Clover one. During 
the time the Heather was in hloom the weather was un¬ 
settled ; only twice did the bees get the advantage of two fine 
days in succession. The weather, however, was warm, and 
that compensated for other adverse circumstances. Some 
hives have made extraordinary weights. The large swarm 
of bees that I described as having made upwards of 100 lbs. 
in fourteen days, in two months’ time and with not more 
than twenty honey-gathering days, weighs now, together 
with the 60 lbs. taken from it before it was sent to the 
Heather, 244 lbs., the tare for boxes being 30 lbs., and it is, 
like all others, lighter than it was. This weight is by no 
means an exceptional one, as there are heavier ones. 
Twelve hives from a truck load weigh a ton. The heaviest 
are the Syrians, Carniolians, and crossed Cyprians, and yet 
the two lightest are a pure Syrian and pure Carniolian. 
These two lots of bees are kept in small hives for breeding 
purposes, are therefore similarly situate 1 to those bees 
whose masters complain of the unproductiveness of the 
foreign ones. Give the Syrian and Carniolian races of 
bees plenty of scope in their hives and they will do well, 
as they have done with me. Mr. Pettigrew used to give 
the results of the heaviest hives in the Carluke district. 
The following taken from the Hamilton Advertiser gives 
the weight of one near Carluke this year:—“The bee¬ 
keepers in Braidwood now have their hives back from 
the Heather. At the beginning of the season there is 
usually a little rivalry who will have the heaviest skep. 
This year, Mr. William Steel, Ilamperhill Colliery, takes 
the lead with a splendid top of first-class quality, weigh¬ 
ing 178 lbs , the largest ever known in the district.” 
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER. 
No time should be lost in having all hives that admit 
wet put right, and everything done to keep bees comfort¬ 
able. These chilly nights are telling on the bees in the 
observatory hive, many creeping out of the hive in a 
weakly state from the effects of the cold. I have put it 
into winter quarters as well as my other stocks. No work 
that is necessary to bees and hives should be performed 
after the middle of October. A zinc-covered roof that 
had a ridge soldered on the top and overlapped the other 
part 2 inches was defectively soldered for quarter of an 
inch only, and at this little defect the rain was drawn up 
by capillary attraction, carried right along the ridge, and 
dripped on the top of the hive at the opposite end from 
where it entered. The same thing occurs in many ways, 
so great care should be taken to keep the insidious enemy 
out. 
SUSPENDING SECTIONS FROM THE TOP BAR. 
Every day brings further proof that sections as they 
are made and managed upon the hive are unsatisfactory. 
