JOURNAL of horticulture and cottage gardener. 
[ December 22, 18S7. 
5 0 
Hybrid Teas .—As these partake largely of the habit and vigour of 
the Hybrid Perpetuals, they may be grown and treated much the same 
as advised for them. The best are—W. F. Bennett, Lady Mary Fitz- 
william, Countess of Pembroke, Cheshunt Hybrid, one of the most useful 
Hoses in cultivation, and good for all positions ; Viscountess Falmouth, 
Distinction, and Ducb< ss of Connaught. 
Bourbons .—Although a small section, it yet includes several desir¬ 
able and serviceable varieties—notably, Souvenir de Malmaison, very 
free either as a dwarf in the open or against a wall; Queen of Bedders, 
showy, and suitable for massing; Baron Gonella. late, and forming a 
•good succession to the majority of Hybrid Perpetuals ; Acidalie, fine for 
walls, white, and very free ; Sir J. Paxton, an old favourite, and very 
fioriferous ; and Rev. H. D’Ombrain, the richest coloured of all. 
Hybrid China .—These are excellent for pillars and the fronts of 
buildings, and also for the front rows in shrubberies. If only lightly 
pruned they flower early and late, and are very showy. Brennus, 
Madame Plantier, Chtin6dol6, Blairi No. 2, Fulgens, and Juno, are ajl 
good. 
Hybrid Bourbon are also suitable for similar positions as the preced¬ 
ing. Charles Lawson, Coupe d’H6b6, and Paul Ricaut are tried 
favourites. 
Austrian Briars .—These are very beautiful either as dwarfs or 
standards, the blooms being produced throughout the well ripened 
growths formed during the previous summer. Harrisoni is the earliest, 
and Austrian Copper, Austrian Yellow, and Persian Yellow complete 
the best. Rosa rugosa variety are beautiful when in flower, and are 
very ornamental when well fruited. They can be raised from seed or 
bought. Those kept with a short clear stem are most attractive and 
quite hardy. Rugosa and rugosa alba, both single flowering, the 
former rose crimson in colour, and the latter white, are the greatest 
favourites. 
Moss Roses .—There are both summer and perpetual flowering varieties 
■of these, the latter being naturally preferable, but there are several that 
are beautiful and worth growing among the former, including Gracilis, 
Captain Ingram, Princess Alice, Crested, Henry Martin, Reine 
Blanche, Lanei, and White Bath. Good perpetual flowering are Per¬ 
petual White Moss, Soupert et Notting, Blanche Moreau, Mousseline, 
and Eugene Verdier. The common pink and old crimson China or 
Monthly Roses are not so much planted as of old, but they are yet among 
the best for planted against cottages, sheds, and bare walls generally, 
and also in the shrubberies. 
Miniature Japanese, or many-flowered Roses, are suitable for edging 
beds of Roses, but cannot be termed quite hardy in all districts, and we 
prefer to keep them in pots. The best are Parquerette, The Pet, Anna 
Marie de Montravel, Lucida, Mignonette, and Perle d’Or. 
Banlisians are suitable for the sunny fronts of houses. They are 
evergreen and flower freely and early. Fortunei is the best white, and 
Jaune Serin the largest yellow. The old white is very sweetly 
scented. 
Ecergreen Roses (R. sempervirens) grow rapidly either over rockeries, 
old walls, or the fronts of houses. Adelaide d’Orleans produces in the 
summer a quantity of beautiful but scentless pale rose coloured blooms, 
and Princess Louise and Fdlicitb are also worth growing. 
flt^ 
IE BEE-KEEPER. 
i 
HINTS TO BEGINNERS. 
WINTERING. 
How to winter bees in a way that there shall he little 
loss has long occupied the minds of bee-keepers. Nume¬ 
rous methods have been tried to effect this, the best being 
those that kept the bees quiet, such as having the hive 
dry and free from draughts, without Having any inter¬ 
vening space between the floor and the combs, as that 
prevents the bees reaching the cluster when out airing on 
a day when the temperature is low. Whatever the form 
-or state of the hive may be it is better to have the combs 
reaching nearly to the floor, which never should be other¬ 
wise than thoroughly dry. Bonar advised suspending 
hives from the ceiling of a dry room or closet. Another 
Edinburgh bee-keeper described in the “ Farmers’ Maga¬ 
zine ” about a century since a dioptric hive. He says: 
—“As to dioptric hives, the best 1 have seen is of wood 
in the garden of Mr. George Jarvey at Bathgate. The 
bees are seen at work in it by opening wooden shutters on 
opposite glass windows. Mr. Jarvey takes out the honey 
as he needs it by opening one of these windows, and the 
hive is perennial, as he never kills a bee. One on a 
similar construction has been made some years ago for 
the writer of this account by Mr. Francis Clark Wright, 
in Edinburgh, which answers very well. Care must be 
taken that these wooden hives be well covered with thatch, 
to exclude the cold air during winter. I have suffered by 
not attending to this.” The advice thus given is sound, 
and is well worth impressing on the bee-keepers of the 
present day. 
Burying hives has in some instances been tried with 
success. The bees when immured consume less food than 
when allowed to remain on their summer’s stand. When 
hives are buried during winter care must be taken that 
the site is a dry one with a northern exposure, being 
away from the direct influence of the sun, or of any 
direct inlet of air. In the house where I live, nearly a 
century since the hives were wintered successfully in the 
attics underneath the thatched roof, the only precaution 
required being to keep them dark. The evil of housing 
bees is that if light is admitted, or even a strong current 
of air, the bees will at times leave their hive, going 
directly to the light or where the inlet of air is, and are 
lost. The best place for wintering bees I ever saw was 
in an attic above a dwelling house; but the bees were 
not imprisoned in any way, but had full liberty to fly 
out and in at their pleasure. The windows were open, 
and the hives stood in the centre of the floor. In such 
a comfortable position the bees w r ere healthy, did not 
consume an extra quantity of food, and did not seek to 
fly out when the weather was unfavourable. 
The Stewarton system consists in wintering either in 
houses or in being well covered with straw. The hive has 
an eke or “ raise ” from 2 to 3 inches deep. This, how¬ 
ever, removes the edges of the combs too far from the 
entrance. The object of it was to insure dryness. 
Although this system is very old, “ W. R ,” in the Bee- 
keeper's Record , gives it under “Improved Wintering;” 
but another feature of the Stewarton hive he has adopted, 
after all his condemnatory remarks of it and those who 
used it. The Stewarton hive is the mother o' bee-keep¬ 
ing for wintering bees, and its suitability for storing 
quantity and quality is yet unsurpassed. It is, therefore, 
satisfactory to all those who have sung its praises so long 
to see “ Scotland’s most advanced bee-keeper ” adopting 
it almost in toio, although at a late date; but “ better 
late than never.” 
The American Bee Journal has been giving the opinions 
of some writers on wintering bees in a semi-dormant state, 
keeping them so for three months, and without food. 
Whatever may be the opinions of the Americans on that 
point, or the effect of the climate on the bees there, w T e 
need not trouble much. In this country the more com¬ 
fortable bees are kept during extreme cold the more likely 
are they to survive and come out strong when mild 
weather returns. If bees are reduced to a dormant state, 
and kept in that state without food beyond a certain 
period, they will never recover. Bees in a semi-dormant 
state will endure a certain temperature wdthout being 
injured, but if a lower temperature is reached half an 
hour’s neglect will destroy them. 
The nearest point to perfection in wintering bees in 
this country is what I have often described in these 
columns. During the month of September have the hives 
full size and full of combs containing not less than 
30 lbs. of honey, occupied by say from 4 to 10 lbs. of bees, 
having a young, proven, fertile queen. Cover the hive on 
the sides with straw or sacking, over which a piece of felt 
or tarpaulin must be wound about and tied firmly ; care 
must be taken that the felt projects from the upper edge 
