518 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jnne ID, 1890. 
surmise, but wbat is going on at present, and I have reason to fear 
many of the early after-swarms and stock queens will remain 
virgins. One gentleman wrote to me two weeks ago saying he had 
supered his best hives, but he was afraid the “ early bird would not 
get the early worm.” He was right. Hives that were weakish in 
the early spring have advanced steadily, and receiving little or no 
backset will prove the most satisfactory, and give no trouble 
beyond the ordinary necessary attention ; but those that were 
forward two months since will act more or less as I have described, 
and is what I believe has given rise to the erroneous idea that 
Oarniolian bees are more liable to swarming than other races are, 
which I have not experienced, although I have kept these bees for 
upwards of fourteen years, and had those who have made such 
statements waited until experience justified them they would have 
been written difEerently. 
Uniting Swaems. 
“ Your correspondent, ‘ Lanarkshire Bee-keeper,’ recently said, 
under the above head, ‘ hive the second swarm in the third division.’ 
This I do not quite understand. AVould you kindly inform me if 
they are to be kept in this third division, and separate from the first 
swarm ; and how is this accomplished ?—J. D. L., Northumberland.” 
I do not see how it can be made clearer than at page 474, unless 
it be to impress more fully of the importance of preserving the 
laying queen until there is another laying one to take her place. 
By joining a first and second swarm together there is a risk in 
several ways of both queens being lost. The three divisions are 
rather large for an ordinary swarm for a time, and one division is 
large enough for a second unless it be an extra large swarm. 
Keep the first and second swarms as separate hives, but near 
«ach other, so as to be convenient for after-manipulation, whether 
it be for next year or for late honey gathering. The great advan¬ 
tage of having the brood of two queens instead of one will now be 
obvious, as well as having hives suitable for building up to great 
strength. Of course, if you wish to increase your stock you will 
require to add more divisions instead of joining the swarms. 
An Important Question. 
One of the greatest difficulties bee-keepers had to contend with 
was the clearing bees from supers. Only a few days before I 
announced the carbolicised papers in the Journal of Horticulture 
our contemporaries were publishing how bee-keepers were baffied 
in getting bees from supers before much of it was taken by the 
bees, and in some instances the supers were emptied, not a word 
was said about the acid until it appeared in these pages. I do not 
lose heart at seeing my contrivances patented and appropriated by 
others, and my writings plagiarised encourages me to go on. 
The Americans. 
Two weeks ago, by the same post that brought us the Journal 
of Horticulture, came gleanings for May 15th from America. 
The Americans are considered to be ahead of the times, but this 
number, like some of the preceding ones, had several articles in 
accordance with my ideas, and what has long since appeared in 
these pages. In addition to the tops of the hive, and its being 
brought to plans not unlike our own, that of placing the hives in 
twos or threes or more in clumps is receiving attention, and the article 
announcing the bulletin on foul brood is quite in keeping with 
my last article upon the subject. It is quite reassuring to find the 
Americans coming to our ways of managing their bees, whether 
we have helped them to it or not. They have this quality, they 
appear to give everything a fair trial before they encourage novices 
to adopt them. The foregoing is perhaps somewhat personal, but 
when it is taken into consideration that we have novices and 
beginners to initiate and instruct, it is but right to lay the facts 
before them, and while taking them into our confidence they will 
■confide in us, and learn from what source the information flowed, 
and we will guide them to our best ability to success combined 
with economy. And that every gardener may be benefited by 
keeping bees is the wish of—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
*, 5 * 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 correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Cattle Trespassing- (iJ. d/.),—Much will depend upon your 
respective rights to the stream, concerning which you give us no 
particulars. Endeavour to settle the matter amicably, hut if a difficulty 
arises consult a solicitor. 
Plants not Thriving (^Geraniuni ).—The structure you describe as 
having a south-east aspect, cemented .all round, and the body glazed 
with rolled, and we presume ribbed, glass is not suitable for Pelar¬ 
goniums and flowering plants generally. Palms, Ferns, green Dracmnas, 
Aspidistras, and such like plants might flourish in it, but flowering 
plants could not be expected to continue satisfactory for any length of 
time. Such houses are a source of trouble to gardeners, and generally 
disappointing. 
Thrlps on Vines (.7. II.'). —As only two Vines .are attacked we 
should not hesit.ate to sponge the leaves with a solution of softsoap and 
tobacco water, as the little time thus spent would be spent well in 
extirpating the destructive insects. They will soon spread to other 
Vines, but with a sharp eye and a piece of sponge they may be prevented 
from doing any material injury. Fumigating properly done will not 
injure the Grapes, but sponging is the safer and surer remedy, and we 
have seen it applied to all the Vines in houses much larger than yours. 
Azaleas after Flowering ((7. J. IF.). — Eetain the plants 
under glass until the growth is perfected and the buds formed, when 
they may be stood outdoors on a base impervious to worms. They will 
be all the better for a few weeks’ sojourn outdoors, care being taken if 
they have been grown in a shaded house to afford a slight shade from 
bright sun until they become used to the exposure. They should be 
duly supplied with water, and be syringed in the evenings of hot days. 
From the beginning to the middle of July is about the time Azaleas 
are sufficiently advanced in growth and bud for placing outdoors. 
They should be housed in September, before the weather becomes very 
wet and cold. 
Tomato Iieaves Withering (JR. C. N.). —The curling of the 
leaves is peculiar to some varieties. Premature -^^dthering may result 
from differing causes. If the roots get too dry now and then the 
lower leaves will turn yellow the sooner. Excessive wet, or too strong 
liquid manure, in impeding free root action, affect the foliage similarly. 
But it does not follow that you have erred in your management, at 
least seriously, because it is quite common for the lower leaves of 
Tomatoes in pots to collapse when good crops of fruit are swelling. 
Sprinkling the soil with chemical manures of the kinds advertised, 
and washing down their virtues in watering, is found a better practice 
by many cultivators than giving too much, or too strong, liquid manure. 
This often prevents the extension of surface roots, while top-dressings 
incite their production. 
Bloated Onions (.7. T. II.). —The Onions have the leaves and 
stems thickened, and will not form, if they survive, other than thick¬ 
necked bulbs. Sometimes the evil arises from imperfectly developed 
and matured seed ; it may also result from seed having been kept too 
long, and though it may germinate the plants are tender and liable to 
collapse. We have also known sharp frost to occuy at a critical time 
and rupture the tissues of the young plants and check the upward flow 
of sap, hence the bloated appearance of the stems and crippled leaves. 
Not unfrequently the plants so affected fall a prey to the grub or larvse 
of the Onion fly (Anthomyia phorbia ceparum) which deposits its eggs 
on the enlarged leaves, and the larv® find ready access into the stems 
from the softness of their parts. The plants, however, you have are not 
attacked by the grub, but the leaves have assumed the whitish grey bloom 
so characteristic of the Onion mildew (Peronospora Schleideniana) to 
which they may succumb. We should burn the affected plants and put 
the ground to more profitable use. Use'ul Onions may be had by 
transplanting, and surplus plants are often procurable at this period of 
the year. 
Grapes Scalded (77 C. IF.).—The Grapes are badly scalded. It 
is caused by moisture in the cuticle, the outer pellicle of the epidermis 
or skin of the berries being heated more rapidly than the interior or pulp, 
and the breakdown may be partial or total as the moisture pervades the 
cuticle. We have had Lady Downe’s scald in the interior and upper 
part or shoulders of the bunches, whilst not a berry was affected on the 
lower part of the bunches or on the under side of the berries, indicating 
that it is due to excessive moisture preventing evaporation of the 
internal moisture through the cuticle to the surrounding atmosphere. 
It always occurs when the skin begins to thicken for the ripening pro¬ 
cess after stoning, when extra attention is necessary for preventing the 
