476 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jane 10, 1886. 
is quite contrary to all the laws of Nature, and would stand alone 
But that the contrary is the fact any bee-keeper cm prove for himself, 
if he will bear the following law in mind—viz,, ‘ That when bees are 
queenless, and have no means of rearing one (that is, have no eggs, 
unsealed brood, or queen cells in their hive) they will invariably accept 
a fertile queen at the flight hole, or dropped in from the top,” provided 
they have been queenless forty-eight hours. There needs no book-writing 
for this system of direct introduction, as the practice can be varied to 
suit all cases, and nothing but the simple rule need be remembered to 
introduce a queen by it at any time of the year. I have used it for years 
at all times of the season, and never had a single failure, and none ever 
will have a failure, unless he is operating on a stock of bees as stupid as 
your correspondent thinks they are. No matter how old the bees are, or 
how long they have been queenless, you may safely let your most valued 
queen run in at the entrance. 
This simple system is particularly valuable in the fall, when hives are 
broodless, or nearly so. The queen I am going to introduce I keep in a 
Benton mailing box with a few bees. The old queen I remove, and care¬ 
fully look for eggs or unsealed brood at same time. If I find any I put 
it into another hive, then any time after forty-eight hours I give them the 
queen, and take no further notice of them. In summer, if I wish to divide a 
stock on purpose, I place a hive containing a few empty combs on the old 
stand, and move the stock to a fresh one, thus I catch all the old bees, 
and if not sufficient, then I shake in a few young ones from the old stock, 
being careful not to get the queen—these old queenless bees will always 
accept a stepmother after forty-eight hours—after which I should give 
them some combs of sealed brood. If it is not wanted to divide a stock, 
and it contains eggs and brood, say in early spring, and it is not advisable 
to give it to another stock, the queen cells started should be carefully 
cut out on the ninth day after removal of the old queen, when the fresh one 
could be given them forty-eight hours afterwards. It is not necessary to 
await the arrival of the new queen before removing the old one, or she 
can be kept in a mailing cage. A friend of mine introduced a queen 
under this system at the beginning of May that had been queenless all 
winter, which I found on the 29th of May in a most prosperous con¬ 
dition. He could not have introduced one by caging, but with this, novice 
though he was, success was certain. 
This method, or “ law ” rather, is not a new notion, but one that has 
been tested for years. Let all try it, particularly novices, and then they 
can Fay whether “bees are kittle cattle,” or “no method has yet been 
found to be infallible,” or not. Of course this method puts no grist in 
the supply dealer's mill, not even the price of an introducing cage, or a 
repetition of order through the other queen being lost, therefore it has 
been for years neglected by the writers in the British Bee Journal , whose 
editor, I see, in a reply to a correspondent, page 238, May 27th, says, 
“ Worker bees do not store anything in their cells but honey.” No doubt 
some novices will ask if they do not also store pollen and water.— 
A Hallamshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Messrs. Boulton ifc Paul, Norwich .—Illustrated List of Garden and 
Poultry Appliances. 
*** 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 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 subjects, 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. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS.—We desire to assure those of our corre¬ 
spondents whose letters and communications are not promptly- 
inserted that they are not the less appreciated on that account. 
Our pages are practically filled several days prior to publication, 
and letters arriving on Wednesday morning, except by special 
arrangement, are invariaDly too late for insertion. The delay in 
the publication of some of these is not of material importance, 
buc reports of meetings and shows held a week previously lose 
much or all of their value if not received in time to appear 
in the current issue. 
Books (Joseph Smith ).—Probably Thomson’s ‘ Fruit Culture Under 
Glass ” will me t your requirements. It is published by Messrs. Blackwood, 
and can be obtained through a bookseller. ( E. A .).—The fourth edition of 
‘ Mushrooms for the Million,” with supplement, is in the press, and will 
shortly be published. Though the work will be materially enlarged, there 
will be no increase in price—Is. 2d. post free. 
Address (TV. H. Strive'i ).—Your Utter his been received and forwarded 
to the advertiser of the articles. (J. E. T.). —If you enclose a postcard 
addressed to yourself, we will give you the information you require. 
Wood Ashes—Chemical Manures (H. S. S.). —You will find the infor¬ 
mation you require in our reply to “F. J.,” on page 451 last week, and 
which had probably not reached you when you posted your letter. 
Manure for Grass (L. S. G.). —You would find on page 45G the infor¬ 
mation you seek, and which had not reached you when you penned your 
inquiry. The ingredients can be had from manure dealers in various 
districts. 
Sowing Seeds of Bulbous Flints (TV. A .).—You cannot, perhaps, do 
better than sow the seed in sandy soil, well drained, early in October, and 
the seedlings ought to appear in the spring; that will be better than defer¬ 
ring the sowing till March or April. 
Transplanting Strawberries (J. E .).—The best time of planting such 
large plants is as soon as possible after the autumn rains commence, or in 
time for the plants to make fresh roots freely before winter. If disturbed 
in the summer, and a term of hot dry weather follow, they will be slow in 
getting established, and may be considerably weakened. The leaves should 
not flag after removal. We are obliged by your letter. 
Management of Fruit Trees (H. P .).—The sentence to which you 
refer—namely, “ Close prune spring growth, but only shorten midsummer 
growth sufficient to admit air and light freely to the spurs,” is included 
in an article under the heading of “ Hardy Fruit Garden,” in the Journal of 
Horticulture , page 225, September 4th, 1881. The number containing the 
article is out of print, but it can be referred to in vol. ix., new series. It was 
written by a very successful cultivator of hardy fruits. 
Seedling Mimulus (TV. F. B .).—We have seen flowers similar to those 
before us, but not exactly like them. The habit and floriferousness of the 
plant must be taken into account in estimating the merits of a variety, and 
the best advice we can give is that you grow a few plants well and exhibit 
them, as in no other way can the commercial value of a new variety be so 
well ascertained. You can of course send flowers to florists, but we doubt 
if they will offer you any substantial sum for the stock from a sight of the 
flowers alone. 
Pansies Dying (J. P .).—The cause of the sudden collapse of Pansies 
cannot be exactly defined. It is a very old “ grievance,” and assuming 
the plants are established in good time and not twisted by the wind, there 
is either something in the soil that is injurious, such as grubs, or it is defec¬ 
tive in some constituent that is requisite for the continued support of the 
plants. Those planted late in the spring are the most liable to “go off” 
prematurely, while they fail in one part of a garden and succeed in another. 
If you are especially anxious to grow them on the particular plot in which 
yours fail, you will not be likely to succeed unless you remove a great part 
of the old soil and introduce fresh of a suitable nature. This at least is 
what experience has taught us in failing and succeeding in growing thepe 
flowers. It is always the best to grow them in that part of a garden in 
which they “ naturally do well.” 
Adiantum cuneatum for Market (0.).—This Fern is usually grown in 
5 and G inch pots in the London Fern-growing nurseries, but some plants 
are shifted into larger pots. The plants occupy side beds in low hou-es or 
pits, and are stood upon ashes or some other moisture-holding material. 
They must have room to develope their fronds and pay very will for good 
cultivation. We should not expect the plants to do satisfactorily if crowded 
together. They can stand moderately thick, and room can be materially 
saved if all the old or saleable fronds are removed from the plants instead 
of cutting a few here and there over the whole batch of plants. The plants 
from which the fronds have been removed can be stood thicker together 
while they develope others. Those from which the fronds have not been 
gathered can be given more room until ready or wanted for cuttings. This 
Fern is improved by dividing and repotting in spring. This practice 
supplies a fresh medium for new roots, and they do much better again when 
once established. If they have been in 5-inch pots the ball should only be 
cut into two parts and each half potted into a G-inch pot. Feeding is bene¬ 
ficial after the pots become full of roots, but we prefer some fine artificial 
manui e, such as Standen’s and others to liquid for them, the former being 
easily applied, and acts very quickly upon the plants; this is what is wanted. 
A little sprinkled on the surface every three weeks after the pots are full 
of root3 will be ample for them. There is another point of great impor¬ 
tance in growing these Ferns for cutting, and that is, that new stock must 
be raised occasionally. By continually picking the fronds from them a3 
they are fully developed the plants in time become exhausted, in fact they 
are much less vigorous and will fail to yield the same quantity of fronds. 
Seedlings grow very freely and some should be raised yearly to replace the 
weakened plant?. If we were growing fronds for market we should always 
have a quantity of young plants coming forward. A large Btock of plants 
can soon be raised by this method in constantly damp soil and a close 
shaded and moist position. 
Election of Strawberries (Aberystwith ).—There is no number of the 
Journal disposable from this office that contains an election of Strawberries. 
The following is the result of an election conducted by the Rev. C. P. 
Peach some years ago, with remarks apoended indicating the merits and 
requirements of the varieties:—1. Sir J. Paxton (Bradley).—Named by 
eight; placed among the first three by three, with sixteen votes in its favour. 
Medium season, fine quality, good bearer. 2. President.—Named by eight; 
placed among the first three by two, with fourteen votes recorded. Medium 
season, good quality, free bearer. 3. British Queen (Myatt).—Named by 
seven, with seven votes. Medium season, five flavour. Requires strong soil. 
4. Dr. Hogg (Bradley).—Named by six, with ten votes ; placed among the 
first three by two persons. Medium season, fine flavour, large fruit. 
Requires strong soil. 5. Cockscomb (Royal Gardens).—Named by six, with 
ten votes. Medium season, very large fruit. 6. Eleanor (Myatt).—Named 
by five, with eight votes. Large fruit, late season, good cropper, inferior 
