J.OURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 20,1687. 
the first two frames half full of brood, and a large patch in the third. 
When I got my other bees from the moors I noticed they could 
smell sweets anywhere, and though when once in possession they 
kept all others at bay (English Syrians and Syrian hybrids) they 
never attempted to take the offensive. About the middle of October I 
gave a fourth frame, and went on feeding. November 1st I ex¬ 
amined again to be sure they were safe, and found two frames quite 
full of brood and a third half full. I never felt more surprised in 
my life, and the bees were so numerous that in a week’B time they 
would be “ hagging ” out. I gave them a fifth frame half full of 
comb, which contained ahout 1 lb. of Heather honey, and I inverted 
four 3-lb. bottles of syrup on top of the frames. They took in all 
about 16 lbs. I examined them on thte 23rd and found lots of sealed 
brood, about equal to 2 lbs. of bees, apparently plenty of food at 
last, the frame 1 gave on the first fully filled with comb to the bot¬ 
tom, and at least 5 lbs. of bees in the wing state Had I had another 
comb I should have let them have it. I have not opened the hive 
since. Before this I was very much struck with their ability to bring 
in pollen on days when no other bees would stir out. On Novem¬ 
ber 1st they were bringing it in as if Apples were in bloom, and in 
pollen stores at least they kept themselves very well supplied. At 
the beginning of December we had a sharp frost; on the 5th it 
rained in the morning and froze as it fell, everything being covered 
with ice ; at noon I just walked 'round the apiary, the mercury was 
standing at exactly 32°, and though it was not raining it looked like 
it, no sun to be discerned. Of course I never expected to see any 
live bees about, but a Tunisian came out, marched round the flight 
board, then took wing, flew round almost out of sight, turned, came 
back, and marched into the hive. This surprised me, but being cold 
and hungry, and dinner likely to be ready, I left them. Since very 
cold weather set in, and knowing there must be very many young 
bees that have never had a fly, I have watched them very closely. 
They seem to be slightly dysenteric, but if the sun is out and the 
mercury is not lower than 30°, they can take a cleansing flight and 
safely reach their hive again, even if the ground is covered with 
glittering snow, nor do they seem to fly into it like our native bees 
do, so that now I have great hopes of having them strong in the 
spring. 
Their apparent hardiness has not only surprised, but favourably 
impressed me. Coming from a tropical region I certainly did not 
expect it—I thought they would be more tender than even the 
Palestine bees—I should judge that unlike most bees they have 
always been wild, inhabiting rocks in the mountains exposed to all 
kinds of weather, and only those capable of being able to stand the 
cold and wet seasons have survived. The Arabs are not much in¬ 
clined to follow any peaceful occupation, therefore they may get all 
their honey from the rocks. Mr. Benton might give us much infor¬ 
mation, I think. He has given some, the principle being that they 
are the blackest bees known, and that he thinks they reached Tunis 
from Greece. I am inclined to doubt this. I would much prefer 
thinking they may be the original type of our native bees ; in fact, 
of all the black or brown bees. Anyhow they promise to be very 
valuable for this climate. I certainly never saw or heard of a 
wineglassful of bees in July getting strong enough to winter before. 
The bees are ebony black, mind their own business, and only 
need a slight smell of carbolic acid to quiet them. Queens are very 
small, and whether the bees are longer lived than others, or being so 
much more hardy and less liable to be chi’led before getting back to 
hives or not, the quantity of brood was very small in comparison to 
the bees. If this is a fixed trait, then we may expect more honey, as 
more fielders and less nurses comparatively will be in each hive.—A 
Hallamshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Thomas Davies & Co , Wavertree Nursery, Liverpool .—Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Gardno & Darling, 80, Union Street, Aberdeen.— Se’ect List of Vegetable 
and Flower Seeds. 
Ormiston & Renwick, Melrose .—Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower 
Seeds. 
® 0 ®. 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. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should 
never kend more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended for insertion should be written on one side of 
the paper only. We cannot reply to questions through the 
post, and we do not undertake to return rejected communica¬ 
tions. 
Books (Weeldy Subscriber). —We do not know of any work specially 
devoted to the culture of the fancy Pelargonium. Full cultural instructions 
have appeared in this Journal, though not recently, and if you cannot pro¬ 
cure the information in the manner you desire, we can perhaps assist you 
if you state your object and means for its attainment. (A Young Gar¬ 
dener). —There are many kinds of “ designs,” and you give no idea of your 
object. If you cud procure a copy of the ‘'Landscape Gardener,” by 
Joseph Newton, it may perhaps in some degree meet your requirements. 
We do not know where it can be had now ; it was originally published by 
Messrs. Hardwicke and Bogue, Piccadilly. 
Autumn Pears ( W. J.). —We doubt if any variety will suit your pur¬ 
pose better than Wiliams 1 Bon Chretien. 
Odontoglossum ramosissimum (S. E .).—This Orchid succeeds best in 
an intermediate house, but is rather difficult to establish, though when 
healthy it flowers well and is worth growing. The sepals and petals are 
narrow, white, purple at the base, the lip heart-shaped, purple in the centre. 
Pillar Plants for Intermediate House (T. T.). —Besides those you name 
Jasminum gracillimum, Plumbago rosea, Rondeletia speciosa major, 
Clerodendron Balfourianum, Rhynchospermum jasminoides, and Begonia 
fuchsioides would probably be suitable ; but much depends on the position 
and height of the pillars. The temperature would be fully too high for the 
Mandevilla, and though it would grow well might not flower freely. 
Vine Shoots Fasciated ( Ashbourne ).—The chief cause is over-luxuri¬ 
ance. If the shoots showing the defect are leading ones we find it bett r 
to cut the part away and train up a lateral from the joint next below,which 
will make a good cane, only the growth is delayed a little. If the shoots 
are laterals, take two from each spur, making cnoice of the best for exten¬ 
sion, cutting the other away, and by allowing growth to be made so far 
as space admits the vigour will be subdued. 
Prices of Digging, Bastard Trenching, and Trenching (J. J. S .).—The 
prices vary in different localities and soils. For digging light soil a spit 
deep, 3d..to 4d.; heavy soil, 4d. to 5d. Bastard trenching in light soil, 8d. 
to lOd.; heavy soil, lOd. to Is. Trenching in light soil two spits deep, Is. 
to Is. 2d. ; heavy soil, Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per rod fSO-j square yards). The 
wages of good day labourers, where those prices obtained, were 2s. 6d. per 
day. A great deal depends upon the nature of the soil and the way the 
work is done, The name of the plant that grows in Africa and is called the 
Silver-leaf, is Leucadendron argenteum. 
A Boiler Difficulty {Inquirer). —As you desire to have the use of the 
horizontal flue you must try the effect of heightening the chimney ; this 
can easily be done, temporarily, with a few lengths of piping. If that is not 
practicable or does not answer you will have to abandon the horizontal flue 
and conduct the smoke away direct from the boiler into a chimney in the 
back wall. There was perhaps a greater rise from the old boiler into the 
horizontal flue, or the boiler may have been different, or not set exactly 
the same as the new. However that may be, the fault is in the flue now, if 
your sketch is correct, and we should be much surprised if the arrange¬ 
ment proved even fairly satisfactory. If you can contrive to have a nearly 
vertical rise from the boiler into the flue, and at the same time iiicrease the 
height of the chimney, you may perhaps surmount the difficulty. It would 
vanish, we think, with a chimney in the back wail. 
Magnolia Unhealthy {L. It.). —If the tree was seriously injured by frost 
it may not be possible to “ restore it to its original h- alth and vigour.” We 
suspect from what you say the growths do not mature in the autumn, and 
growth from unripened wood is never sa'isfactory. We should prune the 
tree, cutting back weak or soft portions to good buds and firm wood, leaving 
the best portions for disposing thinly over the surface. We should then 
try the method of renovation detailed on page 568, our issue of December 
23rd, 1886, for however good in style the soil may be, it must be more or 
less exhausted by a tree that has been established in it for twenty-five 
years. 
Bones—Potatoes ( A Young Gardener). —Bones broken to the size of 
hens’ eggs would be good for incorporating with the soil of a Vine border, 
especially mechanically, but would be very slow in their manurial action. 
The smaller bones are ground or crushed the more immediate are their 
effects on Vines and plants. A bushel of half-inch bones to a cartload of 
soil is a favourite mixture with many good Grape growers. We advise you 
to smash the bones much smaller. We suspect the disease that attacks 
your Potatoes internally is incurable, and you had better procure seed 
tubers from a fresh source, and not place manure in the drills at the time 
of planting. A sprinkling of superphosphate of lime would be preferable, 
scattering in a large handful over a length of 8 or 9 yards. 
Petroleum {F. J.). —The crystal oil to which you refer is probably highly 
rectified petroleum, but on this point the vendors are obviously in a better 
position to give you precise information than we are, a sample being 
requisite for the purpose of a specific reply. This, however, is Dot neces¬ 
sary under the circumstances, since the cheaper kind, incorrectly called 
paraffin, will answer your purpose oi destroying insects if rightly used. 
Paraffin is a solid substance. Assuming that the crystal oil is purified 
