236 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 6, 1894. 
They all succeed well in a fresh, moderately rich and not too heavy loamy 
soil, this being worked to a good depth. Plant from 6 to 8 inches apart 
and d inches to 5 inches deep, and surface the beds with Pansies, Violas, 
Alpine Auriculas or other plants that will not take more than their 
share of food and moisture out of the soil. Plant new bulbs as soon as 
they can be had. 
Various. — Crocuses permanently planted in borders should be 
lifted, divided, and replanted every third or fourth autumn. If 
returned to the same site give a change of soil, and always bury the 
bulbs 4 inches deep. Snowdrops can be lifted, separated into patches, 
and replanted without detriment to their flowering next season. They 
move best after fresh roots have been formed. Either these or newly 
purchased bulbs should be buried 2 inches deep. During this month 
plant Cyclamen Coum and C. europseum. These are rockwork plants, 
and should have a sheltered position and light sandy soil to grow in. 
They are most effective in groups of threes. Triteleia uni flora flowers 
very early and grandly at the foot of sunny fences or walls, and when 
in bloom is only slightly checked by severe frosts. Plant in groups 
of nine or more bulbs and 2 inches deep. Treat Jonquils similarly to 
Narcissi. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Bees at the Heather. 
I HAVE been a month at the moors, and with the exception of 
four days, from the 2l8t to the 25th, when there was partial sun¬ 
shine, cloudy and chilly weather has prevailed, the sun never pene¬ 
trating the dense vapour. The 1st of September was the most 
promising morning we have had, and as the Heather is in its prime 
I am still in hopes the bees will have a few days to gather a large 
quantity of honey. My hives are in good condition for gathering, 
and I hope no more swarming will take place. According to 
appearances they have abandoned all preparation for swarming. 
Weighing Hives. 
On an average all my hives came back in weight from 12 to 
20 lbs., so that at the beginning of September, although my test 
hive is no heavier, they have all more honey in them ; while by 
poising them by the hand some are above the initial weight con¬ 
siderably. I commenced weighing on the morning of the 25th of 
August. At eleven o’clock a hive weighed 112 lbs. ; at twelve 
noon 114 lbs., and at 3,30 124 lbs., gaining 12 lbs. in three and a 
half hours. There was no more honey gathering until the 29th, at 
which date there was again 122 lbs., although honey was apparently 
being carried in plentifully. On the 30th they had two and a half 
hours, when the hive weighed 125 lbs. The 3l8t appeared the best 
and longest honey day they had, lasting from eleven to five o’clock, 
but singular to say the test hive went back to 123 lbs. Probably the 
loss of weight would be due to the secretion of wax for comb¬ 
building in supers, as previous to the above dates no secretion of 
wax whatever was going on in any hive. I am hopeful my next 
letter will be more cheering, as the morning while I -write is 
unusually bright and fine. 
Putting Hives in Order for 1895. 
Every hive and queen should now be examined, to make sure 
there is neither incipient foul brood, unfertile queens, nor drone 
combs in the centre of the brood nest. See that all hives have 
abundance of stores, and as sugar is more healthful for bees during 
the winter than some kinds of honey, supply every stock with a few 
pounds of it, made into syrup by dissolving it in equal parts by 
weight of water.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keerer. 
Managing Bees. 
In the Journal of Ilorticidiure of August 23rd “A Lanarkshire 
Bee-keeper” asks for information regarding Mr. Summers’ system 
of managing bees at Sandbeck Park Gardens, and referred to 
myself in a previous issue. I have but little to add to the remarks 
already published—viz., that the system adopted differs materially 
from that generally advocated in these pages, and with, moreover, 
admirable results. Indeed, it may interest your correspondent to 
know that the majority of the bees are in the standard frame hives, 
which at times have been written about so disparagingly. Each of 
the hives holds ten frames, and being of the same size^the latter are 
interchangeable. Mr. Summers informs me that he never takes 
honey from the body of the hive, all being obtained from supers 
placed on the top, and consequently it is of a superior quality. 
Having seen the honey I can write confidently with reference to its 
excellent quality, and the same opinion has been expressed by some 
London experts, to whom samples were recently submitted. 
For the past few years I have taken some interest in the be© 
column of this Journal, but cannot help thinking that occasionally 
“ A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper ” is too much inclined to deprecate 
systems of bee keeping other than that practised by himself. He 
surely is aware that because one man fails in a certain method 
others need not necessarily do likewise. This may be the rule in 
some things, but one should always allow a margin for exceptions. 
Judging by his remarks readers are forced to the conclusion that 
“A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper” has not been so successful with the 
standard frame hives as with his larger ones ; but if that 
is so it by no means follows that every bee-keeper in tb© 
kingdom has experienced similar results. Not being a bee¬ 
keeper I have no interest in any special hive or system, but admire 
the industry, and I never forget that there are two sides to every 
question.—A Young Scribe. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIYED. 
Barr & Son, King Street, Covent Garden.— Bulbs and Daffodils. 
G. Bunyard & Co., Maidstone.— General Nursery Stock and Fruit 
Trees. 
Dobie «& Dicks, Deansgate, Manchester.— Dutch Bulbs. 
Dobie & Mason, Oak Street, Manchester.— Hyacinths and other Bulbs. 
Fotheringham & Young, Whitesands, Dumfries.— Liliums, Narcissi^ 
and other Roots. 
Hogg & Robertson, Dublin.— Bulbs. 
Little & Ballantyne, Carlisle.— Bulb Catalogue. 
Anthony Roozen & Son, Overveen, Haarlem, 'S.oW&nd..—Dutch atid 
Cape Bulbs. 
Robert Sydenham, Tenby Street, Birmingham.— TJnigue Bulb List. 
Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough.— Choice Bulbous Roots. 
E. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge.— Bulb Catalogue. 
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 t© 
uniustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should 
never send 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 communications. 
Plants and Plo-wers for Church Decoration (i9. T .').—The 
article on page 217 of this issue supplies the information you require. 
The subject could not be dealt with exhaustively in the form of a reply. 
Instruments for Dra-wlngr (^Inquirer ').—To obtain a knowledge 
of drawing plans it is necessary to procure a case of instruments, draw¬ 
ing board and pins, also a book on geometry. A cheap and useful work 
on the subject is Gill’s “School of Art Geometry,” which can no doubt 
be obtained through any bookseller. 
Seedling- Carnations (F. A.).—The flowers sent are fairly good 
considering that they are the result of your first attempt at hybridising. 
They are, however, by no means equal to many varieties already in 
commerce. The self coloured bloom is certainly of the “ Malmaison ” type, 
and may be classed as such, but the calyx splits, and the flower is scent¬ 
less. The other is a Fancy, but does not possess any great merit other 
than its fragrance. 
Treatment of Coelogynes (F. G .').—Your plants are evidently 
not fully labelled, maxima being simply the varietal and not the 
specific name. They may be C. cristata maxima, a large flowering 
variety of this well-known and beautiful winter blooming Orchid. If 
so they will thrive well in a summer temperature of 70°, running up 
6° or 10° higher by sun heat at closing time; at night 60°. In the 
winter the heat must not fall much below 50°. A shady position must 
be given the plants while making their growth. Abundance of water at 
the root is also necessiry during this season. In the winter less will be 
required, but the pseudo-bulbs must not be allowed to shrivel. 
The best time to divide this Orchid is in the spring soon afrer the 
flowers are past, when the plants may also be repotted, if necessary, 
using a compost consisting of peat fibre, sphagnum, charcoa', and a 
little half-decayed leaf mould. C. ocellata maxima, otherwise known as 
0. corymbosa, requires similar treatment, but flowers a little later than 
the varieties of C. cristata. 
