July 23, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
77 
<6-inch pots before giving them their final shift. If once they become 
root-bound in small pots they become woody and fail afterwards to do 
satisfactorily. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
Mulching Fiercer Beds .—Owing to the long spell of very hot and 
very dry weather a considerable amount of watering will have been done, 
*nd in many cases very probably much more water will have been given 
■than is good for the plants. A nightly watering, perhaps with very cold 
hard water, generally has the effect of impoverishing and making the 
'borders cold and unkindly, the plants not making good progress under 
such treatment. Our plan of preserving sufficient moisture at the Toots 
without frequent waterings is to give the beds a good soaking of water 
over-night, followed in the morning with a surface hoeing and a mulching 
■of some kind. Leaf soil and cocoa-nut fibre are the best materials for 
mulching, and these not being available fine dry soil will be found an 
excellent substitute. The latter effectually checks rapid evaporation, and 
is not so liable to be scratched about by the birds. The Zmal Pelar¬ 
goniums do best during a hot dry season, and after a heavy rain or water¬ 
ing followed by mulching will require little or no further assistance in 
"the way of watering. Verbenas, Violas, Calceolarias, Lobelias, Begonias, 
Phlox Drummondi, and other moisture-loving plants will be benefited by 
■occasional watering, varied during showery weather with weak liquid 
manure. Pyrethrums, Petunias, Marguerites, Ageratums, Tropseolums, 
Perilla, and Marigolds stand the drought fairly well, and ours when once 
established receive no further waterings. 
Pegging Boren and Stopping .—In order to fill the beds evenly and 
neatly, both pegging down and stopping has in many cases to be resorted 
to. When in anticipation of this the plants are put in in a sloping direc¬ 
tion, pegging down is a comparatively easy matter, but if they are 
planted uprightly then they are liable to snap off, this being especially 
the case with Pelargoniums and Calceolarias. Prior to pegging down 
the plants the beds should be stirred wiih the Dutch hoe, and fined down 
with the rake if need be, and the mulching following watering applied, 
ns this cannot be properly done later on. For the stronger-growing plants 
strong pegs are required or they will spring up again, and such pegs may 
be cut from the shrubberies. Fagot wood or the old prunings of Apple or 
Pear trees properly dried and stored may be used, these being merely 
shortened, bent nearly double over the shoot to be fastened down, and 
the two ends be firmly thrust into the soil. For Iresines, Petunias, Verbenas, 
Ageratums, and other plants of moderate growth, pegs may be cut from 
■common bracken, old birch brooms, &c. The plants being evenly dis¬ 
tributed over the soil, taking care to confine them to their proper lines, 
should have all straggling shoots stopped, and this will tend to 
make them more compact. Many of the single Dahlias, notably alba or 
White Queen, are very effective when pegged down, but it is useless to 
attempt it unless they were planted in a sloping direction. 
Carpet Beds .—These now require weekly attention, or otherwise the 
requisite neatness of the panels and accuracy of the lines cannot be main¬ 
tained. Golden Pyrethrum is one of the worst offenders, and the sooner 
this is dispensed with in favour of the slower-growing if less bright sorts 
the better. When the flower stem of the Pyrethrum commences to form 
this must he pinched hard back, while all the side leaves require to be 
plucked with the hand in such a manner as not to expose the stalks, and 
also to preserve the fine line of yellow. The Alternantheras require little 
nr no attention, as these seldom grow strongly ; and all that is necessary is 
to pinch back any irregular shoots. Mesembryanthemum cordifolium 
variegatum grows strongly in nearly all summer weathers, and must be 
freely stopped, regulated, and frequently thinned out where very thick, or 
it will spoil the design. Iresine Herbsti to be pegged down, stopped if 
necessary, and receive but little water, or it may grow too strongly. Any 
of the very dwarf Ageratums, and which are very effective and durable 
carpet bedding plants, that may be inclined to lose their character and 
grow rankly, should at once be removed, their places being filled with 
plants held in reserve. Lobelias are particularly bright at this time and 
during August, but later on they become weedy ; there is no possibility 
of preventing thi«. The groundwork plants, such as Herniaria glabra 
and its golden variety, Sedum glaucum, Sedum Lydium, Veronica repens, 
Mentha Pulegium gibraltarica, and Antennaria tomentosa when once they 
are established are apt to grow too strongly and require to be regulated 
very frequently, or otherwise they will smother their less vigorous neigh¬ 
bours. Any that are too thick, and perhaps too high, can be regulated by 
plucking, followed by a pressing or patting down with the hand. All can 
be kept within bounds with the aid of hand-shears or old knife, and 
blanks may be made good by taking up some of the strongest pieces, 
dividing these, and replanting. They may be also encouraged to spread 
by occasional pressing down with the hand, this inducing the side shoots 
to strike root and grow more strongly. The flower stems of Echeverias 
spoil the neat appearance of the beds, and should therefore be removed, 
neither should any of the stronger succulents be allowed to flower. 
_ Annuals .—These now require attention, especially in the way of 
thinning, where at all crowded. If such kinds as Poppies, Love-lies- 
bleeding, Candytufts, Convolvuluses, Eschscholtzias, Sweet Peas, Mig¬ 
nonette, Cornflowers, Corn Marigolds, and various other strong growers 
are not freely thinned out they only spoil each other ; whereas if given 
plenty of room each reserved plant will grow strongly, branch freely, 
and continue to flower till long after those left in a crowded state have 
collapsed. The seed pods on Sweet Peas if left on the plant quickly stop 
further growth, but if kept closely picked off, the plants, provided they 
have good soil to root into, will continue to flower till cut down by frosts. 
Ornamental Grasses generally germinate freely, and these to be good must 
also be freely thinned out. 
a 
HI 
Mi 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
« 
NOTES ON BEES. 
SPREADING BROOD—OUTSIDE CASES. 
Owing to the most untoward weather in May and June, 
which caused the death of so many bees in some localities, the 
hives were as strong then as they are now. They have, however, 
gathered and stored more honey at this date than they have done 
for many years, and should the weather continue line for but 
eight or ten days there will be an abundant harvest, especially 
from hives of the Stewarton type. 
I have previously given my experience on the superiority of 
the Stewarton hive over ordinary frame hives, showing that no 
single-frame hive is so suitable for bees as is the Stewarton. A 
frame hive to be large enough for the internal economy of the 
hive is too broad, therefore badly adapted for keeping up a 
uniform temperature. My apiary is open for inspection to all 
who have a desire, and many visit me, but for the benefit of 
bee-keeping readers I may state how my hives stand at this 
time. 
As is well known, I do not advise manipulating hives unless 
in cases of necessity. Last autumn, as is my custom, I arranged 
my hives and covered for the winter, making sure that they had 
sufficient stores to last till there was a likelihood of the bees 
gettmg honey from the flowers. The result is all my Stewarton 
hives are rapidly finishing their second super, while my frame 
ones are only at their first one. There is, however, one ex¬ 
ception— that is, those crossed Cyprians, both the stock and 
swarm of this hive are very heavy, and rapidly, more than any 
others, filling super's. Surely after this no other proof need be 
sought for to estab ish the superiority of the Stewarton hive. 
But this is not all. Just over the hedge are twenty hives, and 
the Stewarton hives are ahead as they are in my own case. 1 am 
also in possession of several letters from a distance saying their 
Stewarton hives are occupying six supers, the difference in our 
cases being that their locality is more favourable for bee-keeping 
than ours, and is a substantial proof that the superiority of any 
hive can only be established by a fair test in the same place. 
It will perhaps please the advocates of spreading brood to 
learn that the superiority of our Stewarton hives is due to this 
process, not by the hands of man, but by a natural process, 
because the only manipulation I have made since October 
was putting on supers, and an examination lately to see the 
progress. 
The advanced state of our Stewarton hives came about in 
this way, and is what I have long taught. During the very cold 
weather in May and June, for upon the 25th morning of June 
the thermometer stood at 30°, and we had colder mornings, but 
on the 27th day it rose to 81°, variable enough. During these 
cold times the bees in the narrow Stewarton hives with sufficient 
stores could keep up a proper degree of heat for hatching 
brood, and continued to spread the brood downwards, and in¬ 
creased accordingly, without attempting to destroy eggs and 
larvae as did those in frame hives. So it seems after all that 
spreading brood is right if well done, but it is quite apparent 
that the downward or vertical course is the proper one. 
I think I stated in a previous article that as the most of my 
stocks were full in early May that brood-spreading then was 
impossible; but though it had, would it not have been very 
injudicious to spread brood at so early a date? The result could 
not have been other than failure, as has been fully exemplified in 
the following cases. It is surprising how bees with a queen can 
be tided safely over winter. 1 kept three nuclei with but a few 
bees ; one filled the place of a deposed queen, and the other two 
progressed steadily, and now they are strong stocks. They 
covered in the beginning of June eight combs only, while all the 
others were crowded. At that date, 8th of June, ten really fine 
days were all the bees had got this season, and at this date they 
had three of them, which set many supered hives swarming, and 
caused the hives not full to extend or spread their brood. I kept 
a careful watch on the weather and movements of the bees, not 
for the purpose of getting information, but to be able to give 
evidence from a reliable source. On the 6th day of June I 
examined the two nuclei, and found them covering seven combs 
only. A second examination on the 8th, they had extended or 
spread their brood to the ninth comb. Surely if brood-spreading 
is an advantage, and can be performed with safety at any time, 
the 8th of June should be the time. In this case the queen 
spread the brood herself, expecting the bees to take care of it, 
which no doubt they might have done had the weather continued 
