442 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 19, 1891. 
Ufa 
i 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
We have received notice that the article which appeared on 
page 211 of th v Journal of Horticulture for September 3rd, 1891, 
under the heading of “ Punic Bees, and Those who Know Nothing 
About Them,” and signed “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper,” charges 
the editors of the British Bee Journal and Record , Messrs. Cowan 
and Carr, while purporting, in answer to an inquiry, to give all 
the information in their power about the so-called Punic bees, 
deliberately suppressed facts within their knowledge, and thus 
gave a false account of matters of interest to the readers of 
their journal. That the article also insinuates that Messrs. Cowan 
and Carr have some personal and unworthy motive for con¬ 
cealing facts which it is plainly stated they must have 
known. There was no mention of the Punic bees in the 
Record of June, 1890, nor has there been any allusion to 
them either editorially or by any of its correspondents. There 
is also no statement in the Record for June, 1890, that Mr. 
Carr had a Punic stock in his possession, and he has never written 
anything about Punic bees. 
It is suggested that the appearance of the article in question 
might be due to an oversight, and not to any intention to injure 
anyone. That is certainly the case, for it is far from our desire 
t) make reflections on the reputation of those for whom we have 
never entertained feelings other than those of true respect, and 
we now desire to express our regret that the article referred to 
appeared, and to withdraw all the charges and insinuations therein 
contained. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
The Weather. 
On the 11th inst. our barometer sank in two hours from 29° to 
28°, indicating a storm, which we entirely escaped, the bees 
carrying a good deal of pollen on that and the subsequent day. 
A Visit to Carluke. 
I paid a visit to some of the oldest bee-keepers of that district 
lately, and as some of these old bee-keepers were those the late 
Mr. Pettigrew was wont to speak of as getting large yields of 
honey from their big straw hives. It was interesting to me to 
learn from them that they did not entirely agree with Mr. P.’s 
teachings. Their success, they said, depended more upon their 
management than of wood v. straw hives. Pettigrew advocated 
the wide hive, but my informers told me distinctly that their 
success was entirely due to deep but narrow hives, d la Stewarton ; 
and that in a cold season it was vain to expect a big yield of honey 
from wide hives, and it was only from what some sarcastically 
termed “ water stoups ” that surplus could be expected in 
unfavourable seasons. 
Intoxicated Bees. 
While reading the interesting notes on hardy flowers at pages 
401-2 by Mr. S. Arnott, they brought to memory his promise of 
last yen’ to investigate the cause of bees becoming torpid when 
working upon Sedum Fabaria or S. spectabile. Owing to the un¬ 
favourable state of the weather, and the influence it has upon some 
flowers more than others, in preventing them being in a fit state to 
induce bees to work upon them, I have been unable to carry out 
my projected experiments. Although the plants flowered well this 
year, they were not much visited by bees in the past autumn. 
Sedum ibericum during summer was as usual very attractive to them. 
On one occasion I observed a few bees alight upon the large purple 
heads so pretty at that season. I had only a few steps to take to 
reach the plants, but although a few seconds only had elapsed, two 
of about a dozen of the bees at work were in a torpid or intoxi¬ 
cated state. A shower of rain put an end to what I had hoped to 
be a discovery—that the flowers, in addition to the secretion of 
honey, also distil something of an intoxicating nature. Although 
most of the bees seemed to be unaffected, the two in question were 
instantly affected, which I thought from the effects of sipping a 
sort of ether, which sometimes stands in little globules on the top 
of the petals. I held the two bees in my hand for thirty minutes 
before they recovered from their torpor and wa3 able to fly. I hope 
Mr. Arnott will give us the benefit of his observations. 
Winter Work. 
Now that the winter is upon us with its long evenings, these 
can be devoted to thought, study, and work : there is no room 
for idleness in any calling whatever. In the bee world past 
experience points out clearly the improvements necessary to make 
things go smoothly and as we desire. Go over every empty hive, 
repairing every defect, and add any improvement suggested to 
you, until you have reached your ideal or what you consider a 
perfect hive. Thereafter make a pattern, not a model, thinking 
and studying every requirement as you go along ; pass nothing that 
is likely to be an eyesore or that which will give trouble in the 
future, and omit nothing that you see will be of benefit to the 
bees or the hive.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
s e 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 
enavoidably. 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. 
A Yellow Chrysanthemum, Florence Percy (E. A. IF). — It is 
difficult to say whether your plant is really a sport from the variety you 
name, but it has something of the same character. Increase your stock, 
grow the plants well, and it would be easy to determine next season if 
it is what you suppose. 
Chrysanthemum Mrs, Alpheus Hardy ( Martin Lilshury). — 
We thank you for the bloom which you have been so good as to send for 
the decoration of our sanctum. The bloom was fresh and neat, 
though, as an incentive to you, we may say that several have been 
exhibited this year of at least twice the size, and in other respects as 
perfect in form and florets. 
Chrysanthemum Stoile de Lyon and Stands for Blooms 
( R . Mi ).—According to the National Society’s catalogue, Etoile de Lyon 
was sent out by Boucharlat in 1888, and it would no doubt reach England 
soon after it was announced. The size of stands for twelve blooms as 
adopted by the above-named Society is as follows :—Length, 24 inches ; 
width, IS inches ; height at back, 6 inches ; in front, 18 inches ; the 
holes to be 6 inches apart from centre to centre. No limit is, however, 
imposed upon stands for Japanese blooms. 
Gooseberry Hedges (C. P.). —About 9 inches asunder is a suit¬ 
able distance for planting. We cannot add any other reason for the 
circumstance of birds not taking the buds of Gooseberries, grown as 
represented last week, as freely as from bushes. You are quite right in 
your assumption that the word “leads” was a misprint, and ought to 
have been “ buds.” We have known Gooseberry bushes practically 
ruined by sparrows pecking out the buds while those on hedges or 
cordons in the same garden wereseldom interfered with by the 
mischievous birds. 
Boiler and Piping for Tomato Houses (72. 6’.).—A 3-ftefc 
terminal saddle boiler will heat the quantity of 4-inch piping necessary 
for the Tomato houses. To warm the houses properly you will need 
two rows of 4-inch pipes on both sides of the houses if spans, or four 
rows of piping in front or near if lean-to’s. It is a great mistake to 
restrict the quantity and size of piping, as the pipes require to be kept 
hot when few and small to secure the requisite temperature, which is 
not good for the plants nor their owner, as there is a great waste in fuel. 
What is wanted is heat in the pipes and reserved there, 4-inch pipes 
being more economical than 3-inch. 
Maturing Bipe Cucumbers for Seed (A. C.). —The proper plan 
is to lay the ripe Cucumbers on a shelf in a heated structure t 1 the 
