May 30, 1850. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
447 
stemons ought to be planted in rather rich soil, but Marigolds are 
not so particular in that respect. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
The Weather and the Crops. —We have had experience of many 
May months, but cannot remember one so favourable for the crops as 
the present one has been. There has been an entire absence of frost in 
the mornings, the temperature night and day has been unusually high, 
and there has been enough, but not too much, rain. In short, May has 
been a model month, and under its genial influence the vegetables 
have made most satisfactory progress. We attach much importance to 
all crops making a good beginning, and this induces us to anticipate 
unusual yields throughout 1889. 
The Failure op Seeds. —We have fortunately few seed failures, 
but we hear of some, and efforts should be made to make up the deficien¬ 
cies. Spring Onions may be successfully transplanted, and if one kind 
has failed, and another succeeded, the surplus plants may be drawn 
from the crowded rows and dibbled into the blanks. If the crop has 
failed altogether only those of the White Spanish type should be sown 
now, as they bulb early, and will attain a good size before the end of the 
season. Where Winter Green seed has failed not another day should be 
allowed to pass before sowing again, as it is important that the plants be 
put into their bearing quarters in July at the latest. We do not approve 
of blanks in any garden, as it is such an easy matter to refill them if it 
is only done in time, hence our suggestions at present. 
Rhubarb and Seakale Flowering. —Both are inclined to this, 
the Seakale especially, and to allow them to form seed is highly injurious 
to the crowns. That these may be as good as possible by the end of the 
season every flower should be cut off as it forms, and if this is done 
from now onwards for a few weeks they will cease to produce them. 
Tomatoes. —Ripe fruits are now plentiful. The recent brilliant sun¬ 
shine has suited them admirably, and some of the plants from which 
fruit was cut two months ago are showing signs of decline. Efforts 
may be made to recruit them by the assistance of surface dressings and 
liquid manure, but they will not readily show their original fruitfulness. 
If the growths are long and loose we cut them down close to the soil, 
and allow a young shoot to run up again. Having plenty of roots it 
will quickly do this, and as there is now more air and light than when 
the plants were in this state before, the young shoot will soon show 
fruit and may prove more prolific than its predecessor. Such is one way 
of treating old plants. Another good one is to gradually harden them 
until they are accustomed to being in the open air, then plant them out 
against a wall or fence, train the shoots without reducing them, and 
they will bear again freely. In seasons when small plants fail to 
mature fruit in the open these large ones almost invariably succeed. 
Those who do not possess plants suitable for planting out should buy 
some, and they will find open air Tomato culture satisfactory in favour¬ 
able positions. 
Turnips. —We are now drawing small bulbs, but some of the plants 
are producing flower stems. This is a general occurrence with early 
Turnips. As soon as they flower the roots are of little further use. 
Other sowings should be following very close behind those now ready. 
Encourage these to grow by thinning them well and running the Dutch 
hoe between the rows. Those sown recently will be ready for use about 
the end of July, and as the weather is often hot and dry at that time 
too much dependence must not be placed on this crop lasting very long ; 
but those sown now will not be ready until August, and as they are 
more lasting after that time a good sowing of the Snowball type should 
be made during the next week. 
Late Broccoli. —We have many of these still in good condition 
for the kitchen, but as the Cabbages and other ten ler vegetables are 
now ready the Broccoli are not so much valued as they were, but we 
cannot do without them. There are many “ Queens,” and the whole 
class which comes under this popular designation is good, and seed 
should be sown to ensure a supply in the early summer of 1890. 
Parsley. —The plants of last year are now flowering, and the stems 
should be removed as fast as they appear. It is, however, impossible to 
keep the old plants in usefulness for another year, and the young 
seedlings should be encouraged to gain size by watering them with soot 
or guano water, keeping them quite free from weeds, and drawing some 
of the crowded ones out and transplanting them. 
Ridge Cucumbers, Vegetable Marrows, Pumpkins, and plants of this 
class should now be in their fruiting positions. So soon as the shoots 
begin to run peg them on the surface to keep them stationary, and do 
not on any account allow any of them to become crowded. Capsicums 
may now be moved into cold frames. Keep the temperature up 
by taking advantage of the sun heat, and syringe freely to prevent 
their being injured by green fly. 
^teHEBEEjCEEPERig 
NOTES ON BEES. 
THE WEATHER. 
There was a change on the 23rd inst., but since the 15th we 
have had in the north a mean temperature of G2|°, the highest day 
temperature being 75° and the night temperature 50°. It is gene 
rally allowed by all bee-keepers had that favourable change not 
come few stocks in unsheltered situations would have survived. 
WASPS AND HUMBLE BEES.. 
As I predicted at the end of the year, wasps are very plentiful ; 
signs of a warm summer some say, but really the result of a 
favourable mating time in September. Humble bees are not so 
plentiful, but we are much interested with one having its “bike ” 
or nest in an outhouse where it has been for three years. Can 
it be the same queen ? We do not know the term of life of 
the humble bee, although we are led to believe it is one year. 
Still, the appearance of this mother bee is suggestive that it is- 
the same old lady we have had for three years. 
PROSPECTS. 
It is very unusual, but we have had no frost as yet this month. 
Growth is marvellous, and Clover and other bee and honey flowers 
are promising. Should the weather continue unsettled I shall 
commence feeding until honey appears, as neglecting that now 
would render all our previous efforts abortive. We have fre¬ 
quently to feed as late as the 20th of June. It is not that our bees 
require feeding, but that during unfavourable weather the bees 
draw out the brood, an act of self-preservation which all bees carry 
out. 
WINTERING BEES. 
At pages 406-7 “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper ” gives some inter¬ 
esting information respecting the most important bee matters, for 
in maintaining and keeping hives in their full strength until un¬ 
toward weather passes away lies the whole art of successful bee¬ 
keeping. Winter and spring manipulations ought not to be indulged 
in by other than experimentalists, while the too often repeated 
“ turning up the quilt ” ought never to be performed ; many hives 
have been ruined by it, while hives in which it is easy to turn it 
up are improperly covered. I quite agree that neither late feeding" 
nor unsealed store has directly anything to do with bees dying in 
winter, but may be an exciting cause— i.e., through the late feeding 
and possibly a scarcity of pollen, the bees go out in search of it at 
an improper time, and are lost. It may be also added that som© 
people imagine bees cannot exist during winter without pollen. A 
mistaken idea. Bees cannot breed without it, but I have known 
hundreds of hives being fed from the foundation late in the season,, 
when it and the weather precluded the possibility of pollen being 
gathered and stored in the hive, and yet these hives wintered not 
only well but better than others, and were often the first to swarm. 
The late Mr. Pettigrew had much experience in this, and his 
experience was similar. If “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper ” means- 
that aged bees, or those of from six to eight months old, cannot 
carry on the internal economy of the hive at these ages and die, then 
I dissent from his opinion. With us last year breeding in a sens© 
stopped in July, yet there is not a hive in my apiary but has 1888 
summer-bred bees. 
One of the best hive 3 I possess had at the end of August just 
as many bees that clustered between two seams in a division 
6 inches deep ; the one seam was occupied 6 inches and the other 
5 inches, while there were many drones amongst them, which by 
the way, owing to the paucity of bees, were not expelled until 
February. This hive had a drone-breeding queen. An imported 
Carniolian was introduced at the end of August, but bred none 
until the end of the last or the beginning of this year. In spite of 
the unfavourable bee weather the bees are pretty well through the 
combs of a full sized hive, but I confess it surpasses all others or 
any I have seen, and I observe some of the old bees still at work. 
Its healthy state and the rapid increase I attribute to the hive 
being well stored with honey and pollen (I may state it carried n© 
pea meal), a young queen, and the hive being well covered and 
let alone. The custom advised elsewhere of breaking the seals of 
honeycomb is a great mistake, and ought not to be performed. 
My experience with defunct hives this spring is due solely to 
the loss of bees venturing out in sunless weather with a chilling 
