August 9, 1888. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
133 
plants may be lifted from boxes and placed into 60’s. Those still in 
seed pans may be transplanted into boxes 2 inches apart. A fair per¬ 
centage of leaf mould may be used amongst the compost in the early 
stages of the plant’s growth. When in their largest pots good fibry 
loam should form fully three parts of the compost, the remaining part 
being composed of sand, leaf mould, and decayed manure. 
Calceolarias. —Where these plants are appreciated as late in the 
season as it is possible to have them a little more seed may be sown. 
The earliest will be large enough for pricking out singly into pans or 
boxes. These may be placed about 1 inch apart, and when they have 
filled this space they' can either be potted singly or placed into boxes 
until they are large enough for 3 or 4-inch pots. They do equally as 
well subjected to this treatment as when they are placed in small pots 
to start with. 
Celosias. —Place the earliest plants into 5-inch pots and supply each 
one with a stake. Keep them close for a few days until they are rooting 
in the new soil, and then give them plenty of air to insure firm sturdy 
growth. Any plants in a rather backward state may be pushed on 
g;ently, but be careful not to draw them up weakly, or they will be 
liable to damp off just above the soil. 
Mignonette. —Standards intended for winter and spring flowering 
should be placed, if not already done, in their flowering pots without 
delay. Train the plants on their trellises at the same time, and 
encourage them to make strong growths by admitting abundance of air 
to them. Remove the flowers as they appear, and dispose the shoots as 
they are made evenly over the trellis. Sow seed in 6-inch pots. Place 
the pots in cold frames and shade until germination has taken place, 
then admit air liberally. 
Hydrangeas. —Take good cuttings from outdoor plants and root 
them at once. If taken where the wood is soft they will root quickly 
under handlights in any warm house where they are shaded from the 
sun. In making the cuttings it does not matter about cutting them to 
a joint, for they root just as freely from the stem. Directly they are 
rooted place them in cold frames for a few days to harden, and then 
fully expose them to light and air. 
Violets. —Those intended for pots and frames are growing rapidly, as 
the past weather has been favourable for- them. Remove all runners 
that the plants may form, and if dry weather sets in soak the soil with 
water and syringe freely to keep them free from spider. When attacked 
by this pest syringe the plants with a weak solution of sulphur. 
Early-flowering Bulbs. — Roman Hyacinths, Paper White and 
double Roman Narcissus can now be obtained. The former may be 
placed thickly together in 5-inch pots, and the two latter in 1 inch 
larger, unless required solely for cutting in large quantities. With this 
object the bulbs should be placed in boxes. If the soil is in a suitable 
state for moisture no water will be needed before they are buried in 
ashes or other similar material outside. 
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IE BEE-KEEPER. 
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GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
It was stated recently in a contemporary that it was advisable 
to lessen the size of the brood nest on the commencement of the 
flow of honey, as the bees would after thisr manipulation store 
more honey in supers. This advice is contrary to what is sought 
by most apiarians, and hinders the bees from storing much surplus 
honey, while it is sure to bring about swarming ; in fact I used to 
practise this system to induce it, and scarcely ever failed. Much has 
been written on the advantage of having empty combs for obtain¬ 
ing a large harvest of honey, and I have explained how and when 
they should be made and used on the top of a hive to advantage. 
Instead of reducing the size of the body of the hive at the com¬ 
mencement of the honey flow, it ought to be enlarged if an extra 
harvest is desired. The Stewarton system again comes to our aid, 
and what we have practised for long is to give an extra under 
box filled with fresh combs or full sheets of foundation, then, if 
the honey is plentiful, large gatherings are made. If any bee¬ 
keeper has not tried this plan, lei bim do so, and compare the 
results of the two systems. The former prevents swarming where 
all is normal, and gives the bees great resources for ready storage, 
and if there is any truth or advantage in the saying, “ that bees 
have first to store their honey below then carry it aloft before it is 
honey proper,” then this system gives it, but I do not believe it, 
neither do I know any more than any other bee-keeper when the 
honey flow will commence. But I believe firmly that the nearer 
the bees are to the field of labour the greater will be the ingathering. 
Only one mile from my bees is a bee-keeper who works his bees as 
I do, and similar hives, only he is close to many Plane trees, has* 
this year already taken 42 lbs. of surplus honey from each stock. 
While there they appear to have gathered little more than what 
will be required for their own use, and filled supers with combs and 
some honey which will have to be fed back, as I seldom get supers- 
pure enough if longer in being filled than a fortnight. Unless in 
very fine weather, all my hives have excessive numbers of bees, 
which at the end of the season will be of no use to me, as nuclei 
will take their place shortly, but for the untoward weather would! 
all have been formed, whereas I have only a third of what is 
required yet. 
All my present stocks will go to people in want of bees ; but 
for them what other use could I put the bees to than the brimstone 
pit, a more merciful and profitable way of disposing of them than, 
allowing stocks to die through bad management. Perhaps after 
everybody has learned the simple art of bee-keeping the problem 
will be solved how best to dispose of surplus bees and some use- 
found for them. There is no one more against the practice of 
sulphuring bees than I am, but I do not, like many, attribute my 
success to keeping surplus bees in autumn, however much I advise 
those to do so who have an early but short honey season. 
QUEEN REARING. 
What ought to have been done in May and June will this year 
have to be performed in August and September, when if a few fine- 
days occur, will serve our purpose for next year better than if the 
season had allowed us to finish that work earlier, as the queens with 
youth on their side will perform their work more satisfactorily for 
us next year, and lessen the surplus bees to be given away or de¬ 
stroyed. When our breeding queens are kept in one of the “best 
hives,” it is an easy matter to exchange a frame of brood, even 
although supers are on, and give it to a queenless stock, which after 
ten days or less is divided into nuclei, each box having four shallow 
frames. After these are nursed for some time, I either tier or put 
them into a full-sized divisional box, placing it on a box or feeding- 
back stand where all the odd pieces of honeycomb are put for them 
to clean out. As the bees increase, I either give an additional box 
with comb foundation, or select the finest combs from my “ con¬ 
demned stocks ” and build up all my nuclei with them, extracting 
the honey from the purest only, while the drone comb is melted 
down along with the rest after all the honey has been extracted by 
steeping it in water for mead-making, as a superior mead is obtained 
than from pure honey. After all this work is performed, by the- 
end of September or the beginning of October, the hives are all 
levelled, and thoroughly covered and protected from wind and 
water, not to be disturbed again until the bees are crowding the hive, 
when they may either swarm, or I give them supers, as is most 
suitable, according to the season, always putting the empty one 
uppermost, unless when small supers are employed. Then I put 
the four empties two above each other at the coldest part, while 
nearly completed ones take that place on the top that the bees were 
finishing first and quickest. Suspended sections are easily managed, 
and full ones are removed while empty ones take their place. I 
doubt not but after a short time these sections will be in more- 
repute, as they are in accordance with rational bee-keeping. 
“ The Best Hive ” will be described, and instructions given how 
to make it in an early number, so that any amateur with but few 
tools cah make them for himself. With some slight alterations it 
is now greatly improved on the first ones sent out, while it retains 
all the properties of the simple tiering hive, and can in that way be 
moved about from place to place in its single yet simple and perfect 
form.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
“A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper’s” Hive.— I wrote several weeks 
ago stating I was anxious to obtain the cheap hive so highly spoken 
of by “ A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper.” I have procured one, and am per¬ 
fectly satisfied with it. I have not the least doubt but that I shall get 
better returns from it than from the hive I have in use. I wish to- 
express my thanks to “ A L. B. K.” for obtaining it for me. I hope to- 
let you know the results another season.—R. A, Clark, Kent. 
