78 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 23, 1891. 
Shaking Bees. 
I have often warned your readers against shaking swarms into, 
or in front of, their permanent hive and site when brought imme¬ 
diately a little distance from where they were first hived. Before 
shaking them they should be located some time in the hive they 
were placed in and upon the site they are to occupy. If that 
precaution is not taken there is a great risk of the bees flying 
back to the original place, and if the queen is young, or perhaps 
s iveral of them in the swarm, queen and bees are apt to fly back. 
This gives extra trouble and annoyance to the bee-keeper; and, 
what is worse, if several swarms are on the wing at the same time 
the bees get mixed, and when hived fly off, in many cases the 
queen being killed. In hiving bees everything should be done 
-expeditiously, and with caution and judgment. 
Patent Frames. 
A correspondent sends me two bars, which he says were made 
from patterns he had from me twenty years ago, and which appear 
to be similar to Meadows’ patent frame. I herewith enclose two 
pieces from the bars sent. You will observe they are grooved, but 
not cut through. In the one case they were jammed into notches, 
and in the other two screw nails closed the bar. The tongue on 
the end of one piece was for sliding into the frame, or could be 
used in supers for the purpose of interchangeability, and, as will be 
seen, it is concave on the upper side, which gave the under the 
desired pitch for the cells. This frame was fully described in a 
-contemporary about fifteen years ago by a neutral correspondent. 
Any person has full liberty to make, use, or sell frames like 
those which I have described, but they have no metal ends.— 
A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
MR. J. M. HOOKER AND THE STANDARD FRAME. 
Mr. J. M. Hooker, page 56, takes the “ British Bee Journal ” as his 
authority in replying to “ A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper,” but he touches on 
a matter I am interested in when he says, “ After a good many meetings 
a frame of a certain size was adopted, and has not since been altered.” 
That is by the British Bee-keepers’ Association. Mr. Hooker was one of 
the Committee appointed to recommend the best size of frame to be 
advocated as the best, and this Committee had one meeting on March 
16th, 1882 at the Langham Hotel, at which the Woodbury frame, first 
published in this Journal , was adopted, and has since been called “ The 
British Bee-keepers’ Association Standard Frame;” but this “one” 
meeting did not define the top bar, so they had another meeting on 
August 1th, 1882, at which the top bar was defined to be 17 inches 
long—making two meetings in all. In the report drawn up by this 
Committee, published in the “ British Bee Journal ” for September, 
page 91, it distinctly says “ that two meetings had been held.” Now, if 
■“ two ” meetings means “ a good many,” and it is right to take credit for 
another man’s invention, “ A. L. B. K.” and myself cannot see things 
in the same way that Mr. Hooker and his friends do.—A Hallamshire 
Bee-keeper. 
The Judges of the Caledonian Apiarian Society’s Show 
in 1875.—In view of the conflicting statements which have appeared on 
this subject, we think it right to state that the official schedule of the 
Show held at Glasgow on 8th September contains the names of the 
Judges in large type in the following order Messrs. Abbott, Lauch- 
land, Shearer, Walker, and Anderson. The schedule is before us. Mr. 
Abbott’s name appears to have been omitted from the list in the 
41 British Bee Journal,” as cited by Mr. Hooker on page 55 last week. 
SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
An Exhibition of bees, hives, and honey will be held at Stirling on 
July 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st, in connection with the Highland Agri¬ 
cultural Society’s annual Exhibition. A liberal schedule of prizes of the 
value of £50 is offered. Classes open to all comers for hive appliances, 
■comb honey, extracted honey, granulated honey, &c., and special classes 
open to residents of Scotland only. A meeting was held in Glasgow in 
April last of persons interested in bee-keeping in Scotland, at which there 
was a good attendance. The late Secretary of the Caledonian Apiarian 
Society, Mr. R. J. Bennet, explained that for the last two years this 
Society had practically ceased to exist, and that the meeting had been 
called to consider whether an attempt should be made to resuscitate the 
•old Society, or whether the interest of bee-keepers in Scotland would not 
be better served by starting an entirely fresh society under a new name. 
It was unanimously resolved to take the latter course. It was agreed 
that the new Association should endeavour to carry out the same work 
in Scotland as the British Bee-keepers’ Association did in England, and 
that local bee-keepers’ societies should be invited to affiliate themselves 
with it. 
It must be most gratifying to Scottish bee-keepers that they were at once 
able to find a gentleman of position and energy willing to undertake the 
duties of Honorary Secretary in the person of Thos. D. Gibson Carmichael, 
Esq., of Cheefswood, Melrose, N.B., who suggested that the Society 
should be called the “ Scottish Bee-keepers’ Association.” Rules have 
since been drawn up, members enrolled, and satisfactory arrangements 
made for holding the above Show, which it is to be hoped will be well 
supported.— John M. Hooker. 
0 0 ° All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor” or to “The Publisher.” Letters addressed to 
Dr. Hogg or members of the staff often remain unopened 
unavoidably. 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 cannot reply to questions through the post, 
and we do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
The Sultan Strawberry (J. R. B.). —We think the Strawberries 
are correctly named. They are full-sized well-grown fruits of good 
quality. We have tasted the Sultan more richly flavoured, soils and 
seasons exerting an influence on the quality of fruits. There was not 
the slightest need to apologise for your very creditable letter. 
Tomatoes (Sussex). —You will probably err in keeping the house 
so close as you indicate, especially if the atmosphere is moist at the 
same time. Intelligence must be exercised in carrying out instructions. 
Avoid a close damp atmosphere if there are symptoms of disease in your 
plants.—P.S.—After the preceding lines were in type we received the 
diseased fruits, and can only refer you to page 57, where the disease is 
figured. 
Brugrmansla Planted Out (II. F. F.). —Brugmansias are planted 
out every year in the London parks, and there grow freely and flower 
profusely. They are cut round a week or two before they are taken up 
in the autumn. They are potted very firmly. When most of the leaves 
fall the stems are cut back to hard wood, pruning them as closely as 
Fuchsias and Pelargoniums are pruned, kept cool and dry, but not dust 
dry, through the winter, and started steadily into growth in the spring 
in a very light position. Cutting round the roots checks luxuriance, 
and facilitates the ripening of the wood, which is essential for the pro¬ 
duction cf flowers another year. But the work must be done with 
judgment, and not regardless of the condition of the plants and the 
weather. Firm, healthy growth should be the object of the cultivator. 
Azaleas Bylng- (Kentish Subscriber). —The most common cause 
of Indian Azaleas dying is through decay at the neck or collar of the 
plants. This may arise from their having been kept underpotted, the 
ball a hard mass of roots, and the growths stunted so that little beyond 
flower buds and a very few leaf growths are made. This occasions ex¬ 
cessive waterings, the keeping of the collar constantly wet, which 
affects the bark tissues and causes the plants to collapse. It is a very 
common occurrence, and usually follows in plants that have been grown 
quickly and freely in their early years, then given a check so as to induce 
floriferousness. These plants require very careful management, for the 
enfeeblement consequent on the great strain put upon them in flowering 
is often so great that they make very little growth, and some die, not 
immediately, but within the ensuing few years, generally before the 
third ; in fact, they become so exhausted by their first efforts as to for 
the most part succumb. Several plants also fail from occasional over¬ 
dryness at the roots, causing the fine silk-like fibres to shrivel, the result 
being precisely the same as that from excessive waterings. Active root 
action is essential to healthy growth. Enfeebled plants exhausted by the 
first profuse crop of flowers should not be allowed to produce any the 
following year. The splendid plants grown in Belgium have the flower 
buds removed in alternate years for encouraging vigorous growth, but 
many persons who purchase Azaleas are apt to flower them to death and 
expect the plants to do more than they can accomplish. Many Azaleas 
are also made worse rather than better through repotting, and subse¬ 
quently errors in watering. They are often sunk too low in the pots, 
and the new soil not made half so firm as it should be. Again the old 
balls of soil are not infrequently too dry when the work is done, and 
water too lavishly applied immediately afterwards. All mistakes of the 
nature indicated act prejudicially on the plants. The chief causes of 
Azaleas dying are extremes—drought is fatal—a plant neglected seldom 
recovering, and an excessive amount of water is equally as fatal as is 
excessive dryness. Syringing in winter is unnecessary, and in summer 
must be governed by the weather. Syringing twice a day regardless of 
circumstances would be calculated to injure your plants. 
