572 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 20, 1888. 
I can scarcely give a proper estimate of these Hallamshire 
sections. The fact is that many having attempted the making of 
these and failed, myself amongst the number, and all the more 
credit is due to “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper ” for his plan and 
success in being the first to produce a filled glass section. I bought 
a bottle of cement with the intention of making glass sections. It 
was warranted to hold and bind everything together ; but alas ! 
il vain are the hopes.” My first trial with the cement was with two 
united pieces of glass in my pocket giving way while in my vest 
pocket. I have often thought, however, of bending pieces of 
glass, by heating them at first in a furnace and bending them on a 
heated square of iron, but never put it to a good trial. Doubtless 
glass, although it may not be generally used, will, as of yore, 
continue to be used by many bee-keepers as attractive specimens of 
honeycomb, and I feel certain that when “ A Hallamshire Bee¬ 
keeper ” announces his intentions of revealing his plan of making 
glass sections, and many will be grateful to him for the desired 
information. 
Glass both above and below supers has been used for upwards 
of a century, and Messrs. Neighbour carried it so far as to introduce 
all glass hives, probably the first to do so with hives not unicomb 
•ones ; but although glass has been so used, and for so long, “ A 
Hallamshire Bee-keeper’s ” idea is the latest one, while those who 
are now trying to appropriate the idea as being first in the field to 
use glass as sections or part thereof, are but copyists after all. 
* 3 * All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor” or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. 
Hogg or members- of the stall often remain unopened un¬ 
avoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should 
never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended for insertion should be written on one side of 
the paper only. We eannet reply to questions through the 
post, and we do not undertake to return rejected communica¬ 
tions. 
Books (Horace). —If you write to Mr. B. S. Williams, Victoria and 
Paradise Nurseries, Upper Holloway, London, N., we think he will be 
able to supply what you require. ( D. S.). —The sixth edition of “ Mush¬ 
rooms for the Million” is in the press. 
White Sport from Chrysanthemum Xa Uymphe (J. M .).— 
We should think the variety will prove a useful one for decorative 
purposes, either grown for cutting or as a specimen plant, but the bloom 
does not appear to possess sufficient substance for exhibition. 
HOW TO WORK SUPERS. 
It is of far greater importance to know thoroughly how to 
understand the working of supers or sections than to quibble over 
this or that material. In my last article some hints were given, 
but not all. Sections or supers divided into compartments do not 
yield the same amount of comb as those do of one compartment 
only— i.e., when any number of supers can be placed on the hive 
as one, each bee getting access to every part. Sections suspended 
to a bar gives this advantage, and many others, while they do not 
obstruct the entrance of the bees. Small supers which I have 
already spoken of, and which may be had from 4d. to 7d. per dozen 
for material, ought to have a portion of the underside inside sides 
of about half an inch removed with a cutting guage (these can be 
attached after they are filled), this need only be done to those of 
the bottom tier, which is sufficient for the purpose. These small 
supers are made to hold from 2 to 5 lbs. each, and are easier 
managed and cheaper than sections, and require less expense 
decorating for the market, which, owing to the increase of bee¬ 
keepers and honey, is rapidly becoming of less value, which does not 
justify unnecessary outlay in decorating, as is commonly practised 
with sections. I am of opinion that it is a mistake to encourage 
honey producers to be at so much expense in preparing sections for 
market, such- as glazing, decorating with paper, and packing cases 
for single sections. If such is necessary, it ought to be done by the 
retailer. Honeycomb when of good quality is its best decoration, 
and it requires no other. The only thing absolutely necessary is 
to have the sections or supers as clean as possible, and if this 
economical way of putting honeycomb on the market does not 
suit, then it may be safely said that bee-keeping for profit is a 
failure. “ Are bees worth keeping in this country with so change¬ 
able a climate ? ” will be answered in another article by— 
A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Stansfield Bros., Southport .—Illustrated Catalogue of Alpine and 
Hardy Perennials. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading.— Amateurs' Guide in Horticulture in 18S9 
(Illustrated with Coloured Plates). 
Carter & Co., 237 and 238, High Holborn, London .—Seed Catalogue, 
1SS9 (Illustrated with Coloured Plates). 
H. & G. Sharpe, Wisbech .—List of Seed Potatoes. 
Violets in Winter (T. S .).—Plant rooted runners or suckers in 
April or early in May, in good rich soil a foot apart every way, water 
well after planting, and in dry weather, keeping clear of runners and 
weeds ; and at the close of September move to frames placed in a dry 
sheltered situation, and sunny, planting so as to be not more than 
9 inches from the glass. The lights to be kept off day and night until 
frost, and then kept on the frames without air when frost prevails, but 
whenever the weather is mild air to be given day and night in proportion 
to the coldness or mildness of the weather. Remove all decaying leaves 
as they appear, and do not plant closer than 9 inches apart. 
PeacH Trees for Porcius' (Anxious ).—The shoots you send are 
very weak and the buds advanced, but growth may be retarded till the 
time you name. A degree or two of frost would do no harm, and no 
firing should be resorted to except for first excluding frost, ventilating 
free should the weather be mild. The faulty kernels are either due to 
defective fertilisation or the lack of calcareous matter in the soil, if not 
both. If the wood sent is a fair sample, we should not expect the trees 
to continue bearing satisfactorily much longer unless better root action 
in encouraged in fresh and good soil. You will find much good informa¬ 
tion on the management of Peach trees and forcing in the “Work for 
the Week ” columns of the present issue. There is no scale on the 
shoots sent, and any on the older wood can be destroyed with Gishurst 
compound or a softsoap solution with a little petroleum added, applying 
with a brush. 
Forcing Asparagus and Potatoes in Frames (C. W. W .)— 
You will need to make up a bed of well-sweetened dung and leaves 
about 3 feet high, well beaten down, and putting on the frame in about 
a week, when thekeat will have risen; and when it declines to a tempe¬ 
rature of T6 Q it may have soil put on 6 inches thick, and when this is 
quite warmed through put in the Asparagus plants quite closely 
together, with soil carefully placed about the roots, and between each 
layer of plants, the crowns not covered deeper than 2 inches, and the 
distance from the glass should be 12 inches. The temperature of the 
bed should not be allowed to decline below 05°, but be kept up by linings, 
and protected with mats over the lights, so as to maintain in the frame 
a temperature of 55° to G5°. In about a fortnight the shoots of the 
Asparagus will be fit to cut. The mats in mild weather after the shoots 
are I inches long should be removed by day, so as to give colour and 
flavour. The Potatoes to be planted in the bed in rows 15 inches apart, 
and 1 foot apart in the rows, and 4 inches deep, employing sets previously 
sprouted an inch long. It is well if the sets are not planted until the 
heat at 4 inches deep has declined to 70°, and it should be kept up to 65° 
by linings, protecting from frost by mats over the lights, giving air after 
the haulm appears whenever the weather is mild. The main point to 
be aimed at is a steady growth. Avoid overheating. 
Raising- Plants from Seed for Kockwork (M. P. S .)—Alyssum 
saxatile compactum, Antennaria dioica minor, Arabis alpina, Aubrietia 
gneca, A. purpurea grandiflora, Campanula carpatica, C. carpatica alba, 
Dianthus neglectus, Erinus alpinus. Saxifraga aizoon minor, S. Cymba- 
laria, S. longifolia, Silene caucasica, S. Schafta, and Veronica saxatilis 
and V. prostrata are suitable. Seed should be sown in April in pots or 
pans well drained, and filled with a compost of turfy loam and sandy 
peat in equal proportions, with a fourth each of leaf soil and silver sand, 
the compost sifted, and the surface of the pots or pans made very fine 
and smooth, and well watered, standing for a few hours, then water 
again, and when the water has soaked in scatter the seed evenly over the 
