January 17, 18 9. J < 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
55 
spaces through which the bees may work into the covering of the 
hive. Neglect in this particular will sometimes give rise to a great 
deal of trouble, especially if the bees are neglected ; for if extra 
supering room is not afforded when required, the bees feeling the 
want of fresh accommodation work through these spaces and bang 
about outside the racks, much to the discomfiture of the bee-keeper, 
if he happens on his next examination to lift the cover up rather 
carelessly, with the result that he dislodges a mass of bees which 
had been strung between the cover and the rack on to his feet. 
We have seen one instance of this, and have no desire to see the 
like again. 
If sections are not required, then, instead of supering racks of 
sections, racks of frames will be placed in a similar way above the 
body boxes. What size of frames are the best? Well, opinions 
differ very much. Some say shallow ones, and others those of the 
oidinary size. Personally we are inclined to think that in apiaries 
where the standard frame is use I as the body boxes, the same size 
of frame may with advantage be used in the super boxes ; but if 
a deeper frame is used in the body boxes, then it may be of 
advantage to use a smaller frame in the super boxes. There is 
no economy in using bad material in hive building. Old boxes 
may be used, but shattered pieces of wood must on no account 
be requisitioned. Sections should be fitted together, and the 
foundation carefully fixed, when the racks may be carefully 
stowed away until the very hour when they are required for use. 
Frames, too, may be fitted with foundation, and if whole sheets of 
foundation are used great care must be exercised in inserting it. 
The foundation is very often blamed, and sometimes the way of 
fixing it, when in reality the crooked combs are the result of the 
bee keeper’s want of thought. 
If the hive is not placed level, then the combs will incline the 
same way as the hive itself, and it is, therefore, always wise to 
make it an invariable rule never to place a box of frames fitted 
cither wholly or in part with foundation in position without the 
assistance of a spirit level. A little leaning to the front when the 
frames are at right angles to the entrance is admissible, but there 
must be no inclination to one side or the other if straight good 
combs are required. But little has been heard of the efficacy of 
certain bee propitiators of late. It seems that after all it is not of 
much use to bedew the hands with sweet and unctuous concoctions, 
for bees, like men in certain moods, are proof against the most 
affectionate advances. The greatest safeguard to the bee-keeper 
is after all a supreme confidence in himself. A steady hand and an 
absence of all bustle will, in many cases, be all that is required ; 
while in other cases nothing but some frightening agent will pre¬ 
serve the bee-keeper from attack. If smearing the hands has any 
effect at all it arises not improbably from the faith of the opei’ator 
in his comparative immunity from attack, and the consequent 
steadiness of his nerves, and steady handling of the bees. We do 
not for one moment deny that bees may be less inclined to attack a 
manipulator who has washed his hands in some of the solutions 
advertised ; but we certainly do think that these solutions have 
glined not a little of the regard in which they are held by giving 
the bee-keeper a quiet confidence in his own powers. In either 
case the result is equally beneficial, but in some instances the 
result might be equally fatal, for in the case of certain stocks, 
it would be extremely dangerous for the best operator to venture 
to manipulate without something more efficacious for his pro¬ 
tection. 
The secret of manipulation is, as we have already said, con¬ 
fidence and good workmanship in every detail of our hives and 
appliances. Bad fittings will do more to disquiet the bees and 
render them vicious than anything else, and we must therefore ask 
bee-keepers for their own ccmfort, and for that of their neighbours 
•over the hedge, to see that their workmanship is accurate. If they 
do not object to stings themselves, their friends do and always will 
object to being stung by bees from which they obtain no profit, 
ar.d c msequently every care should be taken, in an apiary near a 
border fence especially, to do nothing which is likely ta irritate the 
stocks and cause the bees to sting any other persons than the 
bee-keeper and his family, upon whom, of course, they have a 
perfect right to revenge themselves when unduly irritated.— 
Felix. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIYED. 
Dobie & Mason, Old Deausgate, Manchester ; T. S. Ware, Tottenham. 
— Catalogues of Flower Seeds, Gladioli, Dahlias, fyc. 
Samuel Yates, 75, Shadehill, Manchester.— Catalogue of Seeds. 
W. Piercy, 89, West Road, Forest Hill.— List of Early-flowering 
Chrysanthemums. 
J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill.— Catalogue of Seeds, Begonias, and 
other Plants. 
W. Drummond & Sons, Dublin. — Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower 
Seeds. 
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 un¬ 
avoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Books (J?. A. IF).—Brown’s “ Forester ” is the most complete 
work on the subject, and Mr. Michie’s works might also be useful. 
Messrs. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, are the publishers, 
from whom prices can be obtained. ( Mertcns Co.). —A book on the 
“ Colours of Flowers,” by Mr. Grant Allen, is published by Macmillan 
and Co. (L. F. D.y —“Willow Cultivation,” by Scaling, published by 
Kent & Co. The shrub is Rhamnus carolinianus. 
Surrey Chrysanthemum Society (II. A .).—Your letter arrived 
too late for insertion, and we can only say here that the annual dinner 
of the Society will be held at the Grove House, Camberwell, at 8 P.M., 
on the 22 nd inst. • 
Heights of Tomatoes (S. S.). —Not having seen Sutton’s Earliest 
of All and Gilbert’s Surpasse grow with the others we are unable to 
indicate their height, but those you name that were grown at Chiswick 
were 9 or 10 feet high, some being trained -1 feet up the roof. The 
Orangefield is one of the dwarfest growers. 
Emigration (TF. C., and A Young Gardener). —The best answer 
we can give you is to write to the Secretary, Emigrants’ Inquiry Office, 
Broadway, Westminster, for information. This is a Government office 
established for the purpose of giving advice to intending emigrants. It 
is entirely unconnected with shipping agents, who issue tempting 
prospectuses with the object of securing passengers. 
Melons for Frames (Sussex). —As you are scarce of fermenting 
material you had better not plant before May, having stout plants 
ready, strong and not tender. The two you name, Hero of Lockinge 
and Little Heath, are suitable for your purpose, and their failure last 
year was the result of the inclement season. Conqueror of Europe is a 
favourite Melon for frames in some districts. It is oval in shape,- 
yellow, and well netted ; a good setter and free bearer. 
The Neilgherry Lily (//. B.). —The botanical name of this Lily 
is Lilium neiigherrense. It belongs to the longiflorum type, but 
flowers in the autumn. It is a noble Lily, with very large buff trumpet 
shaped flowers. It is grown in the same way as L. auratum, either in 
j pots or planted out. It is believed to be quite hardy, and has been 
flowered by Mr. James McIntosh in the open ground in his garden in 
Surrey. Mr. G. F. Wilson was awarded a first-class certificate for 
L. neiigherrense by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1876. 
Chrysanthemums railing (U. S. MI). — The inferiority of many 
Chrysanthemums in the autumn was attributed to the comparatively 
sunless summer, and the consequent immaturity of the growth. But 
apart from this, yours have not been well managed. The plants did 
not require nearly so much liquid manure as in ordinary seasons, and 
yours, like many others, had probably more than was good for them. 
The “ usual way” for treating Chrysanthemums last season was certainly 
not the best way. We suspect you injured the roots with an excess of 
liquid manure at a critical time. Moreover, large blooms cmnot be 
expected when suckers are allowed to grow unchecked, as appears to 
have been the case with your plants. 
Fixing Conical Boiler (.7. M ).—We advise the boiler to be 
fixed in a shed or other place where it will be protected from rain, 
&c., and can be duly attended to in stoking, and if, as we apprehend, it 
is an independent conical boiler, fed from near the top, any loss of heat 
mav be prevented by covering the boiler with prepared felt, as is used 
