12 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 7, 1886. 
ashes cannot be obtained, soot mixed in the compost will answer the 
same purpose ; in fact, we have principally to rely upon the latter, for we 
cannot get sufficient ashes for our requirements. 
I 
BEE-KEEPER. 
PROSPECTIVE MANAGEMENT. 
Before the busy period is upon us it will be wise to con¬ 
sider the system that is likely to give most satisfaction both 
in the light of economy, profit, and securing suitable stocks 
at the end of the season. To those who are already supplied 
with hives no advice is necessary; but to those who are 
contemplating bee-keeping for the first time a little advice 
may not be out of place. Premising that all such have 
studied the hives most suitable to them, be they of straw or 
of wood, if the former are to be selected, let them be well 
made and of sufficient size. Efface from the mind the 
absurd idea that a hive suitable for one district is unsuitable 
for another. Intending bee-keepers should become fully 
impressed with the great importance of having nothing but 
full-sized hives, and of one uniform shape, in their possession. 
Where frame hives are to be selected, we advise that pre¬ 
ference be given to those put together by mortice and tenon 
before those that are nailed only. Simple single-cased hives, 
either nailed or dovetailed, if attention is paid to protecting 
them thoroughly from sun and wet by the use of some cheap 
material which may be gathered by the wayside, will give as 
satisfactory results as the most expensive hive made ; and if 
a number of expensive hives I have had occasion to examine 
for a company of bee keepers are a fair sample of others, 
cheap ones as above will give a great deal more satisfaction. 
The cardinal point to be observed in making cheap hives is 
that they be of one size outside measurement, so that they 
will fit into outside cases, which from their utility in bee 
husbandry will be found more easily managed than double- 
cased ones. 
The locality alone must decide which is the better—the 
swarming or the non-swarming system. In some districts 
the honey season expires with the advent of summer; in all 
such places the non-swarming system should be strictly 
adhered to. But in districts where the season extends from 
the end of April till the end of September, then the swarming 
system will be found to be most profitable; yet to keep up 
the working powers of the top swarms till the end of the 
season it will be absolutely necessary to supersede the old 
queen by a young fertilised one within three weeks after 
hiving. By carrying out the swarming system thoroughly it 
will be necessary to have two-thirds more hives than are 
required for stocks during the winter, which adds consider¬ 
ably to the expenses of the apiary. By carrying out the 
swarming system thoroughly in a good district, and with a 
prolonged fine season, the yield of honey would be very great, 
as it is, indeed, in some parts of Lanarkshire, where it is 
carried out to the letter. But our variable climate some¬ 
times puts a stop to “ the best laid schemes ” of the apiarian, 
and the yield of honey is almost nil, and better results would 
have been obtained had at least a portion of the hives been 
prevented from swarming. Nay, if the average of the past 
fifty years be taken it will be found that from the non¬ 
swarming hives the market has had the greatest supply of 
honey. It is with the bee as it is with other rural pursuits 
—controlled by the weather. The want of foreknowledge of 
what the weather is to be prevents us acting with any degree 
of certainty, but he will display his wisdom best who makes 
preparations, so that no chance will be lost, working and 
acting upon the principle that “ a bird in the hand is worth 
two in the bush.” 
There are districts, too, where the honey does not appear 
till August. To allow bees to swarm in such districts would 
be folly, or to divide them artificially during summer, and 
have to feed until the honey season appeared, would be a 
case of “ the cost o’ergoun the profit.” I am of the opinion 
that taking one year with another, and keeping the cost of 
extra hives in view, which must be kept if the swarming 
system is rigidly carried out, in the majority of cases the 
non-swarming system will give the most general and greatest 
satisfaction. The doubling of swarms will also be satisfac¬ 
tory, but in no case should a queen of the previous year be 
depended on till the season is advanced, but she should be 
deposed after it has been hived. The success of the apiary 
under any system depends greatly on the raising of young 
queens. One hive for every ten kept will be sufficient for 
raising the young queens required for keeping up the popula¬ 
tion of the hives. * 
The foregoing remarks will perhaps assist those not suffi¬ 
ciently experienced in apiculture as to justify them adopting 
a course which might turn out a ruinous one so far as profit 
is concerned. But before closing let me remind the youthful 
apiarian that though a capacious hive lessens the risk of 
swarming it does not prevent it. Swarming in many cases 
occurs with but partially filled hives. Young queens, in con¬ 
junction with large hives, are the best preventives against 
swarming. In all cases of lessening the size of the full- 
stocked hive let that be by removing supers only. The 
practice of lessening hives (unless weak ones) during winter 
might, lor any good it does, be dispensed with. Certainly, 
large hives as a rule have both more empty and full combs. 
The former are doubtless in appearance more congenial to 
the bees, while there are always plenty of the latter within 
easy reach at all times, and which are termed “ blocks of 
ice ” by those who recommend crowding the bees into as 
little space as possible during winter, which by that very act 
leaves the bees without an alternative but to sit on what 
they characterise as blocks of ice ! flow often do we see 
bees located in the roofs of houses having an unlimited space, 
and yet do well too after severe winters ! For some years now 
my hives have stood without the slightest contraction during 
the whole season, and nothing but benefit has accrued from 
the treatment. If kept thoroughly dry the bees are more 
rested durine winter in a large hive than in a small and 
crowded one.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Robert Veitch «fc Son, 5i, High Street, Ureter:.—Catalogue of Kitchen 
Garden, and Flower Seeds. 
Harrison & Sons, Market Place, Leicester.— General Seed Catalogue for 
1886 ( illustrated ). 
W. Leighton, 80, Union Street, Glasgow.— Catalogue of Garden keeds. 
George Bunyard & Co., Maidstone.— Catalogue of Vegetable, Garden, and 
Flower Seeds. 
William Paul ifc Son, Waltham Cross.— Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower 
Frederick Roemer, Quedlinburg, Germany.— Catalogue of Flower and 
Vegetable Seeds. _ _ 
.T. "Rnt/fcfirton. Hammonton. N.J.— List of Small Fruits and Evergreens . 
*All correspondence should be directed cither to “The Editor” 
or to “The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg er 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. W’e 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subject, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended 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. 
