November 21 , 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
453 
the plants are secured to the trellis again they should be syringed with 
petroleum and water ; they will bear without injury 3 ozs. to four gallons 
of water. This is the best solution for scale, and will also destroy thrips 
at the same time. During the operation of training the plants under 
the roof remove portions of flowering wood down to the growth buds. 
These, if not cut away, only die back and disfigure the plants. This is 
all the pruning that the plants really need, unless the wood is becoming 
too crowded, when it is better shortened back than laid in. 
Roses .— These are liable to be infested with scale when grown under 
the roof of houses occupied with plants that are subject to these pests. 
The best means of cleaning them is to syringe them after the comple¬ 
tion of their growth with petroleum and water. They will bear without 
injury 1 oz. to each gallon of water. The foliage, or some of it, may fall 
afterwards, but this proves no detriment to the plants. Nearly all varieties 
in cool houses that are used for climbers, Mardchal Niel excepted, may 
have puny wood cut out and unripe ends of the shoots removed. The 
plants, through the lower temperature, will naturally go to rest, and 
light will be admitted to the occupants below. 
Early Flowering Chrysanthemums .— It is a mistake to leave the 
propagation of these until the spring months. The season of growth is 
then too short for them to develope into strong specimens with a 
good number of shoots capable of yielding large fine flowers. Such 
varieties as Madame Desgrange, with its sports, as well as others, have now 
plenty of good sturdy cuttings upon them, and if inserted at once in a 
temperature of 50° to 55° they will not be long before they are rooted. 
Directly they are rooted they should be potted singly if not inserted in 
small pots to commence with. They should also be placed after they 
are potted in a cool house where frost is excluded. The point of the 
plant should be removed as soon as growth has commenced. 
Tuberoses. —Any plants that have their flower stems visible should 
not be in a lower temperature than 55° to 60°. They will advance 
freely in this temperature and open their flowers, which will be of 
the purest white. When developed in too low a temperature the flowers 
are frequently greenish yellow in appearance at this season of the year. 
Tubers that were potted a short time ago and plunged in heat should 
have the material removed that was used for covering the surface of 
the soil to prevent evaporation until growth and root activity had com¬ 
menced. Water may now be applied whenever the soil approaches 
dryness. By no means allow them to become dry now that the roots 
are extending freely. The plants should be plunged as near the glass 
as possible to prevent the foliage drawing up weakly. 
Abutilons .—These will flower throughout the winter if kept in a 
temperature of 60°. Tn a low temperature the buds fall in a small 
state or the flowers before they expand. If the plants are to continue 
flowering they must be encouraged to grow slowly. Where they are 
grown in pots it will be necessary to feed them with weak stimulants 
every time water is needed, or apply artificial manure to the surface 
once a fortnight. 
Solanums .—A few plants that may have done duty in the dwelling 
house and lost their leaves may be pushed into growth for yielding 
cuttings for next season’s stock of plants. Cuttings strike freely at 
almost any season in heat, and to obtain well developed well berried 
plants it is important to make an early start. By early striking bushy 
plants are ready for their final shift fully two months earlier than those 
raised from cuttings produced during the early months of the year in a 
natural way. 
Cannas .—These are very useful for decorative purposes. The dark 
coloured foliage of several varieties is very effective either for groups 
in the dwelling house or conservatory. A few plants that have enjoyed 
a good period of rest may be started into growth in heat. As soon as 
they are moving divide them, and place each growing portion singly 
in 5-inch pots. 
NOTES ON BEES. 
BEET SUGAR AS FOOD FOR BEES. 
At page 409 “Felix” says, “5 or 6 lbs. of good beet sugar 
syrup should at once be given as rapidly as the bees will take it.” 
Now it is not a question of doctors differing, but one of bees. 
My bees and those of my neighbours seem to have a distaste for 
raw and beet sugars. Moreover, when they do take it, the bees 
invariably become unhealthy if it is consumed during the winter. 
Beet sugar is not so profitable as sugar from the cane, being 
lacking in saccharine matter, ard although cheaper by the pound is 
the most unsatisfactory for the table or the bees. 
He also says, “ On the hive, then, which it is intended to feed, 
a piece of perforated zinc should be placed, large enough to take 
the place of the cover previously in use on this zinc ; a piece 
4 inches square is a good size, and can be used either on a straw or 
wooden hive.” It will be observed from the above that the zinc 
lies flat upon the top bars, so that when a small mouthed bottle is 
used very littlj surface is exposed for the bees to feed from. When) 
feeding with the bottle I use a block of wood 2 or 3 inches deep,, 
having a hole on the upper side sufficient to receive the neck of the- 
bottle, and a smaller one on the under side about half an inch deep, 
the difference in the size of the holes being to leave about one- 
eighth of an inch of bearing for the neck of the bottle all round. 
In this way the bees have easy access to the syrup, and there is* 
room for the bees to cluster and keep up heat at a time when it 
is absolutely necessary. 
The best of all feeders is the frame feeder, having the trough' 
nearly all its length in the top bar, and which places the syrup* 
close to the bees. Weak hives may be fed with safety during 
winter with such a feeder, and the fountain above having a pane- 
of glass on one side, a glance shows how the syrup is being con ¬ 
sumed. The same fountain with a narrow tin scoop can be used 
as a bottom feeder, which, when the draw backs of hives being 
capable of top feeding is taken into consideration, is the most 
natural and best way to feed bees, provided always no syrup is. 
allowed to stand during the day. 
UNSEALED STORES. 
There is a general opinion amongst bee-keepera that stores 
should be fully sealed at this season of the year. Bees, even during 
very cold weather, will seal the greater part of their honey or 
syrup ; it is natural for them to do so. But at no time do they 
seal it all, there being mostly some weeks’ supply unsealed near the 
bees. It is when this unsealed honey gets exhausted during a 
period of protracted cold weather that bees are likely to die from 
want ; but happily in this country the weather is seldom so severe 
as to preclude them from replenishing their wintering cells near 
the cluster from the sealed outer combs, which are always the first 
ones the bees empty. The so-called winter passages through the; 
combs and above the bars with candy are inimical to the welfare- 
of bees. The natural passages left by the bees are always round' 
the ends of the combs, and we need not enter into any scientific ex¬ 
planation of the fact. 
Bees always make an attempt to close overhead passage ways or 
spaces, and sometimes build their combs so close at the top as ta 
touch each other. Why then should the nature of the bee be out¬ 
raged by comical devices of man ? I repeat again, to successfully 
winter bees keep them in single-cased hives well protected on the- 
sides and on the top with an ample covering of well dried meadow 
hay, and over all an impervious roof projecting well over the sides 
and free from the covering above, so that the air can pass freely 
around and over. In addition to this have a properly constructed’ 
ventilating floor and a narrow entrance, and the bees, while honey 
is in the hive, will neither die from want nor cold, and the upper 
floor will never require cleaning. 
THE WEATHER. 
The weather keeping exceptionally fine, the day temperature¬ 
being as high as 56° Fahr., and the bees, especially the Punic ones, 
are busy carrying pollen, the principal flowers being Arabis, Wall¬ 
flower, and Charlock. At the same date last year the bees had 
been confined to their hives for more than a month, so that 
whether the coming winter be a severe one oi not they will have a 
shorter one, and from being stronger in numbers and having the 
daily flights are all the more promising for the bee-keeper. Should 
the spring and summer of 1890 be favourable a large harvest will 
be secured. 
DECAY IN HITES. 
Many bee-keepers are realising the fact that double-cased hives ■ 
are neither the healthiest nor the most lasting, and I have no 
doubt many will not renew them, preferring the more healthy and 
cheaper single-walled hives in the future. 
STANDS. 
These should be detachable (my own are mostly so) and of 
angled iron, which when tarred does not rust readily. Some people 
