October 20, 1887. ] 1 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
347 
niums, and various other plants flowering freely fully a month later than 
will be the case this year, and even Chrysanthemums are badly injured 
by the frosts. This early destruction of the more delicate bedding plants 
will not be without its compensating effects. The beds must be cleared 
at once, and this will admit of their being refilled before November is 
reached. Where few cuttings of Zonal Pelargoniums were taken it is 
advisable to winter as many of the old plants as possible. All shoidd 
be forked out of the soil, have all dead blooms and the greater portion of 
the old leaves picked off, and the roots lightly shortened prior to storing 
them thickly in boxes, pots, or beds of soil in heated pits. The delicate 
variegated sorts keep best in pots, and they may be either packed thickly 
in (i-inch pots or be placed singly in 3-inch pots. Any loamy soil will 
do, and they should be potted firmly. No water must be given to any of 
them, and they must be protected from both damp and frost. Abutilons 
and Veronicas, Grevilleas and Acacias may be lifted with a small ball of 
soil about the roots, potted and placed in a greenhouse or conservatory. 
Polemoniums, Centaureas, and Cinerarias, after being potted, may be 
wintered in a cold dry frame. 
Succulents, notably Echeverias metallica and metallica glauca, 
Fachy ply turns, Kleinia repens, and Sempervivum arboreum, are crippled. 
These must be potted and stored in a dry pit or greenhouse, and require 
little, or no water. The Kleinias may be packed thickly in ordinary 
bedding Pelargonium boxes. Sempervivum californicum is quite hardy, 
but Echeveria secunda glauca is not, and during most winters 
requires protection. They may either be bound to stakes after the 
manner Onions are stored, and hung up in a greenhouse or vinery, or be 
packed away as thickly as possible in temporary pits or frames, and, 
in addition to the lights, be further protected with litter or mats 
during the prevalence of a very severe frost. They are also frequently 
wintered successfully packed over the surface of sloping mounds of soil 
formed against a sheltered wall. Even in these positions they require 
to be covered with mats occasionally, or snow and frosts together will 
cripple them. Choice Gladioli must be lifted, dried under glass, and then 
packed in boxes of dry sand. 
Dahlias should have the stems shortened to about 0 inches in length, 
lifted without injuring the tubers, and after being well dried to be 
packed closely on a dry floor of a shed or cool and light cellar, covering 
them with a little dry soil. The least valued sorts, including many 
singles, are frequently left in the ground all the winter, and if well 
protected with a mound of ashes they usually survive. Salvia patens 
may be lifted, and either treated similarly to the Dahlias or be stored 
closely in shallow boxes of fine mould. Tuberous Begonias should not 
have the soil too closely removed from them, but after being slightly 
dried may be packed thickly in boxes of fine mould and kept through 
the winter in a cool room or shed, taking care, however, to well protect 
them from severe frosts. The roots of Verbena venosa can be most 
surely preserved by lifting and packing closely in boxes of fine mould, 
this being just moist enough to keep them plump. It is these roots, 
preserved in a cold frame or shed, that are best adapted for propagation 
next spring. Cannas may be lifted in large clumps, partially cleared of 
soil, and then either stored in a dry cellar or under a greenhouse 
stage. These and various bulbous or tuberous plants are frequently 
stored under a greenhouse stage only to be damaged or killed by drip 
and too much moisture. If this method of keeping any kind of dormant 
plants must be resorted to, see that some provision is made for 
keeping them much drier than is usually the case in such positions. 
Refilling the Beds .—Up to this time little rain has fallen, and the 
ground has been too dry for the usual methods of transplanting the 
Forget-me-nots, Silenes, Wallflowers, Primulas, and various annuals 
and shrubs. All when so very dry ought to be well watered a few 
hours prior to lifting, or the chances are little or no soil will be retained 
with the roots. They need to be carefully transplanted, well and firmly 
replanted, and should the soil be at all dry well watered. These, even 
more than some of the summer bedding plants, require fairly rich soil, 
and a little manure may be added to those beds that have not received 
any lately. As bulbs alone do not long beautify the beds the best 
course is to mix these with the flowering plants, and they may be 
inserted at once. Hyacinths are very effective when disposed about 
12 inches apart and 4 inches deep, one or at the most two colours being 
employed in each bed. Tulips may be inserted from 4 inches to 6 inches 
apart and 3 inches deep, and in separate colours as much as possible. 
Narcissi may be given the same room as the Hyacinths. Crocuses to be 
either planted in small patches of different colours, or in lines, the 
bulbs being placed about 2 inches apart and 4 inches deep. Snowdrops 
also look well in patches, or they be otherwise treated similarly to 
Crocuses. Plant Scillas near the edges, about 2 inches apart and not 
less than 3 inches deep. Now is a good time to plant the Irises, notably 
the lovely Spanish section. If these are planted about 6 inches deep in 
well worked fresh loamy soil they may remain undisturbed, and will do 
well for several seasons, large clumps forming where each one was 
planted. The surface of the bed may be planted thinly with spring 
and summer-flowering plants. The Grape Hyacinth should also be 
planted deeply and not often disturbed. Fritillarias are suitable for 
the backgrounds of borders where they will not often be disturbed. 
Plant the bulbs at once, surrounding each with a little silver sand and 
cover with about 3 inches of soil. Dodecatheons (American Cowslips), 
Eranthis (Winter Aconite), and Erythroniums (Dog’s-tooth Violets) are 
all best planted where they are not often disturbed. A peaty soil suits 
them, and a little sand should be placed about the bulbs. Anemones 
may be planted now if an early display is desired for flowering late in 
the spring; February is soon enough to plant. These again thrive much 
more satisfactorily if left undisturbed in the ground. They delight i 
good loamy and well-drained soil, and may be planted in drills draw 
about 5 inches apart and 3 inches deep, disposing the tubers abou 
5 inches apart, and Cover with a good sandy soil. Triteleias may be 
planted now, and these again we prefer to place in patches, where they 
may remain a long time undisturbed. Ranunculuses if planted now 
would most likely perish during the winter, and January is quite early 
enough to place these in the ground. 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
HINTS FOR BEGINNERS. 
PREPARING FOR NEXT SUMMER. 
There is, perhaps, no better time than the present to 
tell young bee-keepers what should be done to insure 
success next summer, and my advice is what I put into 
practice myself. After making sure that all hives are in 
a proper state to defend the bees from wet and the in¬ 
clemency of the winter, it is imperative that all stocks 
should have young and fertile queens, with ample bees. 
I cannot advise anyone to keep weak stocks, although a 
large per-centage of my own have not more than about 
1 lb. of bees or little more, and I have every hope that these 
will turn out profitable stocks next summer as in bygone 
years. But I recommend bee-keepers to be careful that 
the bees are well provided with plenty of stores and in 
full sized hives of worker comb, or having but little of 
drone comb. However much we recognise the usefulness 
ot drones under certain conditions we also know how they 
deter in others, therefore the wisest course is not to 
induce the breeding of too many drones. 
With the exception of my stocks kept for rearing 
queens, all others are nuclei of the present year, vigorous 
and healthy but not nuqierous, occupying from 248 cubic 
inches up to 1000. I have added to all these nuclei 
sufficient combs filling three divisions of the tiering hive. 
These combs contain sufficient honey and pollen to carry 
the bees successfully through the winter and far into 
spring, by which time they will be greatly increased in 
numbers and in a fail way towards crowding the hive, and 
ready to store surplus honey when the first flow com¬ 
mences during April and May. The conditions under 
which my hives now stand are favourable for preserving 
the bees during the most trying weather, while breeding, 
when once started, will go on uninterruptedly till the close 
of another season. 
The great weight my hives reach in good seasons is 
entirely due to the autumn preparation as described 
above, and not to any manipulation whatever during win¬ 
ter or spring. Amongst all the hives I have broken up 
this autumn I have not observed a single unhatched foul 
cell, and very few unsealed cells of honey, also due to the 
mode of management, and particularly to the mode of 
ventilation. “ Foul brood ” is a preventible disease, and 
no means which tends to prevent the plague should be 
neglected. 
SWARMS GREAT IN NUMBERS. 
Whatever inexperienced persons urge in favour of 
small hives or bees that cannot produce great numbers 
the beginner should disregard. It is from prolific queens 
and large hives only that large quantities of honey can be 
taken. I am of the opinion that some of my hives during 
the height of the season would contain a hundred 
thousand bees, even so far on as the 7th October, that, 
being about the earliest I was able to attend personally 
and take the bees from my heaviest hives. Some swarms 
of the current year contained as many as 12 lbs. of bees, 
