September 24, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
275 
Gardenias —Thoroughly clean all plants that need it, and expose 
them to full light and sunshine. Do not pinch the shoots again. 
Insert cuttings of young growing shoots for another season’s stock of 
plants. Where cuttings have already been rooted transfer them singly 
into small pots. 
Sf 
IE BEE-KEEPER 
NOTES ON BEES. 
Feeding Bees. 
As we have taken all the honey the bees had stored for their 
"winter use no time must be lost in feeding them up, but not too 
fast, or the combs may break down ; a pint of syrup of an evening 
will be sufficient. What is called a fast feeder should be used, as 
the bees get the syrup down from this with less trouble ; these can 
be obtained from any appliance dealers, but be careful to see that 
they have a tin tray, or there will be trouble with their leaking. 
At a future time I will give illustrations and a fuller description of 
feeders. 
Contracting the Entrance. 
Before leaving the hive, after having put on the feeder and 
made all warm and secure at the top, the entrance should be con¬ 
tracted to about an inch in width, which the bees can more readily 
protect than if wider, for it is likely that robbers may be attracted 
by the excitement caused by the feeding. 
The Number of Frames to be Used. 
The following afternoon, before filling the feeder, examine the 
frames, and ascertain how many frames the bees can cover on both 
sides ; crowd them on these, that both sides of the foundation may 
be drawn out at the same time by putting a dummy on either side 
of the required number. If these instructions are attended to and 
the bees regularly fed every evening they will be built up into a 
strong colony before winter, and come out strong in the spring. 
♦ 
Frame Hives. 
If there are already several frame hives in the apiary an 
additional colony is easily established by taking a comb or two 
from each, furnishing the new colony with six or seven frames 
full of combs instead of frames of foundation. 
Saving the Bees Labour. 
The less work the bees have to do at this season of the year 
the better will they go through the winter, and the least spring 
•dwindling will there be. If the frames of comb are supplied to 
them they will not be called upon to secrete any large amount 
of wax at this time of year. Should we have any spare combs 
we need not rob other hives. The bees may be saved considerable 
labour by having the combs filled ready for them. The following 
is a simple way of doing this, which I suggested at one of the 
-conversaziones of the British Bee-keepers’ Association. 
Filling Frames with Syrup. 
Take a box the depth of a hive that will hold two or more 
Frames side by side, and hang in the frames as they will he in 
the hive ; put it on a table as nearly level as possible, then pour 
the syrup very gently into the box at one end ; as it rises in 
The box the cells will be filled, the air being driven out as the 
syrup rises. The bees, when put in the hive as before directed, 
will soon clean up any syrup on the sides of the frames, and will 
in due time seal up the syrup. 
Purchasing Driven Bees. 
At this season of the year any quantity of driven bee3 can be 
obtained from Is. to Is. 3d. per lb., with their queen. Four to 
five pounds will be sufficient to establish a gc od colony if treated 
according to the above instru itions. 
Foul Brood. 
As there are many districts in which foul brood exists, great 
caie is required, and a wiitten guarantee should be had with any 
bees purchased that those in the ap : a"y are healthy and that the 
neighbourhood is free from foul brood.— John M. Hooker. 
ARE PUNICS ROBBERS? 
On page 253 “ A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper” seems satisfied that 
Punic bee3 are determined robbers, although I have several times 
stated the contrary. It certainly seems strange that I have not 
noticed this “robbing” propensity with thirty stocks headed with 
imported queens, besides hybrids; and if “A. L. B. K.” had 
not given the clue by saying, “ I contracted the entrance of every 
hive,” I should have been at a lo-s to account for the difference of 
opinion between us. Now, strange as it may seem, I have several 
times proved conclusively that nothing incites what is called 
“ robbing ” sooner than a “ contracted entrance ” in any variety ; 
enlarge the entrance, and robbing will quickly cease, the reason, 
of which I will explain under another heading. 
Amongst the qualities of Punics I say “ they search out sweets 
and carry them off anywhere,” and so strong is this instinct 
developed in them they will just swarm on exposed honeycomb 
when honey is plentiful, at which time it is well known native bees 
will not touch it. Another thing, if a piece of honeycomb or other 
sweets is exposed, or even given to any other race of bees, Punics 
will quickly take sole possession ; they do not seem to fight for 
possession, but work themselves in until they are packed so close 
round it other bees cannot get in. Bottles of syrup inverted on 
hives will quickly have a thick rope of bees round the neck, while 
a bottle of syrup covered with a piece of glass stood right way up 
will scon be found full of bees, having got in by forcing the glass 
up and creeping in. I think it is this propensity which our friend has 
noticed, and has mistaken for “ robbing,” or which I should call 
stealing. What I mean is—bees that prefer to gather their stores 
from other hives instead of in the proper way, as I have often 
noticed Italians and Cyprians do, particularly Italian hybrids, 
fetching out the honey as fast as the industrious bees collected it. 
I do not call it “ robbing ” to clear out exposed combs or an 
unprotected hive, but while the combs are protected with bees— 
even a very few—and bees excited over feeding bottles on a few 
hives, I have not known of one case in which a weak but protected 
lot of bees have been cleared out or even attacked, providing there 
was no excitement inside. 
Small Entrances Induce Fobbing. 
Some years ago I explained the cause of this—viz., that when 
the entrance was too small the bees had to do extra fanning to 
ventilate the hive, and bees had to spread themselves out more on the 
combs. This fanning attracts strange bees either by the noise or 
smell of the exhalations. I am about sure it is the noise, and they 
seem to regard the stock as one in which they can enter and carry 
off what they like. Expand the entrance or set up a current of air 
through the hive, so that it can be ventilated without so much 
fanning, and the bees soon put themselves in order to protect their 
property. 
The orthodox entrance is one, f inch high by 6 inches long, 
with slides to contract it, so that only one bee can pass at a time. 
The proper kind of entrance should be f inch or 1 inch high, then 
cold air can enter at the bottom and warm air pass out at the upper 
edge without any fanning by the bees. It is not the length of 
entrance that is wanted so much as the depth. When people ask 
me what kind of an entrance is best I tell them “ One that a rat 
can get through, and the worst one that will keep a mouse out. 
Years ago I used to be much troubled with so-called robbing, but 
as soon as I was satisfied that entrances f-inch deep was the ciuse I 
have not been troubled since at any time or by any kind of bees, 
though I have been much troubled by some kinds fetching honey 
out of hives when bees have been busy gathering it, at which time 
they do not seem to protect themselves. 
A very large or wide entrance has never in my experience 
provoked an attack or failed to stop one, but when too wide or too 
large it reduces the internal temperature too much ; hence I do not 
expand more than is necessary, and if “ A L. B. K.’’ will act 
on this hint, I think he will fail to prove Punics to be “ robbers. 
Size of Punics’ Honey Sac. 
“ A L. B. K.” wishes my help in investigating the size of this, 
which is certainly very much larger in proportion to their size than 
