518 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jane 2f, 188b’. 
should therefore he confined at their roots and fully exposed, so that they 
will produce firm sturdy growths which will bear large trusses of flowers. 
Any growing shoots that may be removed in pruning should be in¬ 
serted singly in small thumb pots in sandy soil, and plunged in the pro¬ 
pagating frame until they are rooted. These, if placed in 3 or 4-inch pots 
and grown on until they come into flower, will be found invaluable for 
decoration. Few plants equal Ixoras if grown under the influence of 
plenty of light and allowed to flower in from 3 to 6-inch pots, with from 
one to four or five shoots. If it is necessary to grow the plants on to a 
large size as quickly as possible, it is a mistake to allow them to flower. 
They should be given plenty of root room, and the shoots be pinched 
from time to time to induce them to branch, and the stronger ones from 
taking the lead. 
Pavonia Wioti .—Very few of these plants are of any horticultural 
value, but the one under notice we obtained last year from Belgium, and 
it is a truly handsome plant, and worth a place in every stove however 
limited the collection. For decoration in small pots for front lines of the 
6tove we do not as yet know its equal. It is valuable because its flower¬ 
ing period appears to extend over the greater portion of the year. After 
one set of flowers fade a few leaves are produced, and then the plant is 
quickly in full bloom again. If the plant is allowed to grow and flower 
a long time must elapse before a stock can be raised. The flowers must 
he removed and the plant forced to make growth if cuttings are to be 
obtained, the cuttings even persist in flowering. Cuttings are easily 
rooted in any sandy light soil if inserted singly and plunged in the pro¬ 
pagating frame or placed under a bellglass. 
INITIATORY INSTRUCTIONS.—No. 4. 
A most important time with bee-keepers, and the proper 
time to prepare hives for the moors or for the subsequent 
season, is just at the close of the Clover harvest, occurring 
between the middle and the end of July. The best results 
will follow in either case by substituting young for all old 
queens, or those which have done service for twelve months 
previously. The young fertile mothers which are now to 
supersede the aged ones ought to be in nuclei and breeding, 
having been transferred from a strong stock about eight or 
nine days after its queen had been removed, say a month or 
more before the anticipated close of the honey season. 
These nuclei may be divided as circumstances will admit 
or the fancy dictate, but six are not too many to form from 
a strong stock. I am usually successful by making a dozen 
from one strong sto k in a frame hive. One comb containing 
a royal cell with bees adhering placed between sheets of 
foundation into a hive capable of holding twelve or more 
frames, with perfectly close-fitting dividing boards between 
every three frames, makes four in the one hive, mutually 
keep each other comfortable; and when there is an entrance 
at each side, as there should be, there is no possibility of any 
of the bees or queen making a mistake. Moreover, this plan 
gives facilities for removing many nuclei a distance for pure 
fertilisation and at little expense. The outside combs con¬ 
taining much honey, with an excised royal cell inserted 
wedge-shaped, with but few bees, should be placed near the 
old site, so as to catch and distribute the flying bees regularly 
over these combs. The above refers in a great degree to 
square frame or bar hives. The bee-keeper, however, will 
from the instructions given understand how to manipulate 
the octagon Stewarton to obtain satisfactory results. In all 
cases of introducing young queens it is advisable to cage 
them sometimes in the immediate vicinity of the bees 
deprived of their queen before introducing. The queen runs 
less risk of being killed if introduced singly with any bees, 
but I do not like to lose the bees that formed the nucleus. 
To preserve them, and lessen the risk of losing the queen, I 
had a cage of fine-meshed wirecloth of the proper size to hold 
two frames, having a slide door on one side and a cover for 
the top. Immediately after the queen was deposed I put the 
nucleus with its queen in the cage, and when all the bees 
had entered I closed it. The moment I observe the bees 
of the queenless hive show symptoms of the loss of their 
queen by their excited and frenzied commotion in front of 
their hive, I insert the cage containing the nucleus in the 
centre of queenless hive. If they immediately become quiet 
and cling loosely to the cage it may be reckoned safe to let 
the two lots join by drawing the sliding door. Next day the 
cage may be removed. With the young queen breeding will 
be carried on briskly, and be in a capital state as a honey- 
producer at the Heather or for wintering and coming out in 
spring a strong and profitable hive. Provided it had suffi¬ 
cient natural stores at the beginning of August, or if not had 
been fed at the above date with not less than 30 lbs. of best 
sugar made into a proper syrup, with as much water when 
dissolved and boiled a minute as will form a rich syrup. 
Feeding, however, is in every form an evil unless when 
it cannot be avoided. It is desirable bee-keepers should 
become impressed with the fact. It is the first duty of bee¬ 
keepers, when once in possession of bees, to take care of 
them. Now, feeding, particularly in the autumn, causesr 
bees to attack others or induces the unfed bees to attack the 
fed ones. In both cases bees are killed or lost, not only by 
that, but by the tear and wear of their bodies cohsequent on 
the excitement they are unwisely put into by the injudicious¬ 
ness of the bee-keeper. Then, although none may be actually 
killed, the queens in many cases will meet with an untimely 
end from the stranger bees entering the hives as robbers. It 
is the instinct of bees to kill the queen when they attack the 
hive. The best and safest time to feed is at night at the 
close of the honey season. Then covered with thoroughly 
dried long grass about 5 inches deep on the crown, and 
slightly on the sides if the hives are single-cased, defend from 
ram, contract the entrances, and ventilate beneath by venti¬ 
lating floor; it does not require to be opened—the vacant 
space is sufficient. Press the grass firm to the top and have 
the slides drawn. The hives so prepared require nothing 
more, and need scarcely be looked at until spring, when the 
bee keeper in search of pleasure finds enjoyment in the bees 
rifling the unfolding favourite flowers of their nectar and 
pollen, returning to their hives with their equal-loaded 
thighs of varied hue, gathered and packed by assiduous 
labour, but to them a pleasure and happy life. 
To find the queen some people are at first at a loss lum 
to detect her amongst the busy throng. All intending bee¬ 
keepers should procure one or more queens, and thereby 
become acquainted with their appearance, and be able to 
detect the queen when examining the frames, or if of neces¬ 
sity from driven ones or a swarm. But in the majority of 
instances, where a case open at both ends and of the same 
diameter of the hive is placed underneath a stock of bees, 
and having one end an inch or two down filled with excluder 
zinc, the bees, on being driven from their hive with carboli- 
cised paper, will pass through the zinc, but the queen will 
be found above. The above plan with strong stocks of bees 
is perhaps the safest and easiest plan of catching a queen. 
Hives properly managed up till the end of the Glover 
harvest should not require any strengthening by joining 
other bses to them. Those not going to the Heather, but 
with a young queen added, should by the youthful element 
produced be all that can be desired, and should be left 
undisturbed as already advised; but with those going to the 
Heather, if the young bees are not likely to be hatched 
in time to be profitable by carrying in the honey, stocks 
should be doubled or trebled. From the time an egg is laid 
till the bee is hatched and able to work outside five weeks 
must elapse. Intending bee-keepers should keep that in 
mind, because upon the number of adult bees in the hive 
and the forwardness of the brood depends entirely the 
amount of honey that will be collected. A young fertile 
queen introduced to a strong swarm six or seven weeks 
before the honey glut will give good results, but eight or 
nine weeks will give extra results, and less than the first- 
named will be of little use, so where that cannot be managed 
strengthen the stocks by joining several together. If such 
hives have a young fertile queen the hive will be quickly 
filled with brood, and when the honey glut comes the supers 
will be filled rapidly with what in the absence of a young 
