August 6, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
121 
I was examining a tumbler containing eight queen cells of pure 
Punics, partly raised by Carniolians, then transferred to a crossed 
Punic hive. When I lifted it up the bee 3 flew about and ran over 
me, but not one offered to sting. These cells are close upon the 
time for the queens to creep out, and as I wish to save some of 
them they must be watched. 
There is a great deal in the way of moving near bees, also in 
the way of handling them, so as to keep them peaceable. The 
right method must be acquired by experience. A quiet but firm 
demeanour should be maintained. No part of the dress should be 
loose or dangling, nor should bees have access to any honey or 
other sweets outside their hives. Weeding or stirring the ground 
■near them is very irritating to bees ; even cutting flowers has to 
be performed with caution. When manipulating, if the bees are 
subdued before any fly out, there will be no stinging, and carbolic 
acid is the safest and best quieter in my apiary, but I do not touch 
the bees with it. 
Carniolians are mild tempered, and with ordinary care do not 
sting ; but unfortunately it appears to be difficult to secure the 
pure race, and then they are savage. 
The best remedy for stings is to induce strong perspiration, 
inhale sal volatile, also rub the part stung with it, or camphorated 
olive oil, this being better if heated. It is cheering to hear of 
honey being obtained. In this quarter it is almost nil, but in some 
parts of Scotland large yields have been secured. There is only 
one importer of Punic bees, and from the inquiries I have about 
them I think he should advertise them.—A Lanarkshire Bee¬ 
keeper.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
G. E. Elliott, 97, Bradford Road, Huddersfield.— Select List of Bulbs, 
Roses, $'c., 1891. 
Little & Ballantyne, Carlisle.— Bulb List, 1S91. 
c ‘.-° 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 Tomato Disease QS. T. B.). —There is reason to suppose 
that the resting spores of the fungus may be retained by and conveyed 
with the seed. This we have no doubt has been so in your case, and it 
is most imprudent to save and distribute seed from disease-stricken 
plants. 
Seedling- Begonias (Z2. B., Wakefield'). —The larger of the two 
blooms is very good and the sma’ler attractive. The varieties are 
worthy of preservation for home cultivation. You can name them if 
you like, but as superior forms are in commerce, even the best of your 
.seedlings, judging it by the bloom before us, does not possess commercial 
value. 
Name of Insect (A. B.). —What you forward is the pupa or 
chrysalis of one of the soldier flies (Stratiomys chameleon), an insect 
allied to the gad and breeze flies, not uncommon in some districts. The 
larva or grub lives in shallow waters, and there floats head downwards, 
taking in air by means of a curious telescope tail or appendage. When 
it becomes transformed into a pupa this still remains attached to the 
insect, though somewhat altered in form. 
Insects on Torenia (Y. F.). —You ask us to reply under your 
initials, and we do so as near as they can be deciphered. We think we 
know to what insect you refer. If you can send us specimens to arrive 
in good condition they shall be examined. The others were totally 
shrivelled. Mr. W. Bardney, we think, has had much trouble with a 
similar pest, and his experience in subduing it might be useful. We 
will communicate with him on the subject. There is no certainty 
that the article to which you refer will accomplish the object you 
have in view. 
New Chrysanthemums ( Contributor ).—We cannot approve of 
the practice that appears to be growing of pos3esso s of new Chrys¬ 
anthemums, or anything else, sending examples to their friends who are 
contributors to horticultural journals, and thus, in that roundabout way, 
getting the varieties introduced to the public. Meetings of the Royal 
Horticultural Society are held at intervals throughout the season, to which 
new or notable varieties can be sent direct; and they can also be sent 
direct to the editors of gardening journals, who exercise their discretion 
in dealing with them. For the reasons indicated the notes on flowers 
you have not grown cannot be inserted. 
Abnormal Foxglove (C. L. M.). — The photograph which you have 
obligingly sent represents a variety of Foxglove, the terminal flower of 
which is unusually large and of campanulas form. We have seen many 
fig. 19. —a peculiar foxglove. 
similar examples, one of the best of which we had engraved, and it is 
correctly shown in the illustration (fig. 19). We do not know whether 
your flower was as large and well marked as this one, the photograph 
being too small for displaying its characters. 
Repotting Roses (H. E. G.). —As you do not describe the plants 
we simply tell you what Mr. William Paul says in his useful little work 
on the cultivation of Roses in pots. “ This operation may be performed 
at any season of the year. When the pot becomes crowded with roots 
the plants should be repotted. It is our practice to glance over the 
stock occasionally in the summer months, and whenever a plant is 
observed growing vigorously it is at once removed to a larger pot. But 
it is of the general repotting that we would now more especially speak. 
Every plant should be repotted at least once a year, and the most 
advantageous time is perhaps September. A good portion of the old 
soil should be shaken away in the operation ; all wild suckers should 
be eradicate!, worms withdrawn, and such plants as require it placed 
in larger pots.” 
Name of Caterpillar (6?. S.'). —What you send is the caterpillar of 
the puss moth (Dicianuia vinula) which is found not uncommonly i pon 
