572 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 29, 1887. 
2 or 3 inches of growth. Old plants that have been resting since 
November may be pruned, provided they are dry at their roots, and 
kept in this condition until they break into growth. A vinery where 
the temperature is kept at 50° will suit them well. If it is necessary to 
increase the stock of any of the plants that are cut back cuttings will 
root freely enough if placed singly in small pots and placed on a shelf 
in a temperature of 65°. It is not wise, however, to commence propa¬ 
gating for another month except the stock of any variety is limited and 
it is necessary to increase it as much as possible. Plants in flower must 
have a temperature of about 60° with a moderately dry atmosphere. Do 
not throw more water about than is absolutely necessary, and be careful 
to remove at once all dead and decaj ing flowers. 
Petunias .—Place a few of the most forward plants now in 3-inch 
pots into 5-inch, and allow them to come into bloom. These may be 
placed with the early flowering Pelargoniums. A little leaf soil may be 
used in the compost for these plants, and the soil need not be pressed 
quite so firmly. Pinch the shoots of young plants intended for succes¬ 
sion, and when they have broken into growth place them into 5-inch 
pots. 
Heliotropes .—Young sturdy plants with about four shoots in 3-inc* 1 
pots may be placed into 5-inch pots, and introduced into a temperatur e 
of 60°. Pot them firmly in loam, one-seventh of manure, and a little 
sand. If these are kept close to the glass they will soon come into 
flower. Pinch the shoots of young plants to insure their forming four 
or five shoots. Standards, pyramids, or bushes that have ceased flower¬ 
ing may have their shoots neatly tied, not pruned, and if top-dressed 
with a little rich material and placed in a temperature of 60° will soon 
start into growth, and soon be in full flower again. These will not 
produce such large trusses as the young plants, but if they are healthy 
they will make short sturdy growth only, and be in full flower before 
them. 
Calceolarias .—Strong healthy plants in 5-inch pots that are mode¬ 
rately full of roots may be placed into others 2 and 3 inches larger. The 
whole stock of these may be potted on from time to time as they need 
more root room. Do not allow them to become root-bound before this 
operation is done, or they will be thrown prematurely into flower. 
Keep these plants perfectly cool and standing upon a moist base. 
Bouvardias .—Plants that flowered early and have been kept dry to 
ripen and harden them will have roots in capital condition for cutting 
into short lengths for next year’s stock of plants. Two or three portions 
of root may be placed in the centre of each small pot. A little sand 
should be placed about the roots and covered with about a quarter of 
an inch of fine soil. When placed in pots at first they can be grown 
on without a check, which will result from lifting them out of pans and 
boxes and repotting them. Place the small pots in boxes with a little 
cocoa-nut fibre refuse amongst them, and stand the boxes on the surface 
of the plunging material in the forcing house. 
PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPING.—No. 26. 
A good queen must at all times be maintained at the 
bead of every stock. If the best results are desired, what¬ 
ever system it is intended to follow in the management of 
the apiary, hut especially when the bee-keeper desires to 
control or altogether to prevent the issue of swarms, strict 
attention must be paid to this essential point. There 
may he differences of opinion as to respective values of 
the several races of bees, some preferring the Ligurian or 
the hybrid, and others the common black, but upon the 
absolute necessity of retaining at the end of all stocks the 
best queens only of the respective races there cannot be 
two opinions. Upon this point at any rate there is 
practical unanimity. Queens are generally, but not by 
any means invariably, most productive, and consequently 
most valuable, in their second season. After that period 
their productive powers become gradually less, until at 
last they either die or are superseded. But, notwith¬ 
standing the loss of power, it might not be so impera¬ 
tively necessary to replace these queens if there was not 
considerable danger of their death taking place in the 
early spring months, when the bees are left powerless to 
raise a fertile successor, or towards the end of April, 
when, unless the bee-keeper takes immediate steps to 
prevent the mischief by giving a young fertile queen, the 
bees of the stock will raise a number of young princesses 
and throw off a swarm. 
To prevent either of these two equally undesirable 
events it is a wise management to keep young queens 
only, except in individual instances when a bee-keeper 
may desire for some peculiar or particular reason to pre¬ 
serve an aged queen, even at the risk of loss in the 
following year. In some cases it is possible, and in small 
apiaries when possible most economical, to purchase 
young fertile queens at the time they are required; 
but unless a thorough reliance can be placed, not only 
upon the uprightness of the vendor, but also upon his 
knowledge of the essential points to be observed in 
queen-raising, it is only at a risk that these bought 
queens are utilised. 
The best stocks in the apiary should alone be used 
for queen-raising purposes—stocks which have a good 
record and show little propensity to SAvarm. Again, not 
only must care in every case be taken to select the best 
stock for raising the queens, but equal care at least must 
be taken when choosing the colony in which the drones 
necessary for fertilising the princesses are to be reared. 
Stocks which, in addition to the other two points, have 
been proved to be good workers, and are not too irascible, 
should be the colonies from which to rear both queens 
and drones. It is, of course, not by any means easy at 
any time—in fact, during the height of the season prac¬ 
tically impossible—to ensure that the selected queens and 
drones shall mate; but with proper care and attention 
a strong probability will result that we shall achieve our 
desire. At the end of April and n the beginning of May 
there are but few drones flying, except those reared in 
stocks especially encouraged or stimulated for the pur¬ 
pose. If early drones are required a stock may be 
induced to rear them by gentle feeding, and by placing 
a frame of drone comb in the centre of the brood nest. 
For effecting the mating of queens with selected drones 
we must if possible have drones and queens ready to fly 
in the beginning of May, and there will then be a proba¬ 
bility, amounting almost to a certainty, that our desire 
w 11 be consummated, and our efforts rewarded by success. 
The drones should be ready to fly at the latest during the 
first week in May. The sooner the queens are able to fly 
after that time the better will be their chance of meet ng 
the selected drone. Luring the last days of April steps 
must, therefore, be taken to compel a stock possessing 
the required points to produce queens. This is done by 
removing the queen from the stock selected, and shaving 
the bottom edge of a comb containing worker eggs. 
Queen cells will then be raised in varying numbers, and 
a stock must be prepared to receive each one which it is 
desired to preserve by the time when they become suffi¬ 
ciently ripe for removal. In eight days—sometimes a 
day more or less—the bee-keeper must form his nuclei, 
which are small stocks used for queen-raising purposes. 
Nuclei are formed by removing two or three combs from 
a strong stock with the adhering bees, but not the queen. 
The adhering bees will not in many cases, however, be 
sufficient, and therefore the bees from a few more combs 
must also be added. The reason is, that the old bees 
will at once return to their old stand, the young alone 
remaining in the nucleus. One of the combs of the 
nucleus should contain brood in various stages, and the 
other honey and pollen. 
The space caused in the stock by abstracting these 
combs must be filled up with empty combs. The frames 
which are to form the nucleus must be placed in a hive 
and closed up with dividers, and warmly covered when the 
