October 4, 1894 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
329 
means of shutters, strips of corrugated iron, or glazed lights; turn the 
heap inside out every second or third day, or directly the centre has 
become quite hot, and follow this up till the whole mass has become 
sweetened and the violent heat dispersed. Extra care should be taken 
in the preparation of peat moss manure. That prepared under cover 
should be also similarly treated, only in this case if the manure becomes 
too dry to bind together in the hand a watering should be given 
according as the heap is turned, and when it is finally made into a bed. 
The poorest crops are had from beds that have become violently hot in 
the centre just before or after spawning. This leaves the mass too dry, 
and there is not enough moisture to either promote a steady decay of 
the manure or to sustain the Mushrooms. More beds fail from this 
than from any other cause. Should the material be very wet when it 
has to be made up into a bed, moisture squeezing out of it easily, mix 
■either quite dry loam or some old dry Mushroom bed manure with it, 
and use larger pieces of spawn than usual. 
Beet. —After the second week in October nothing will be gained, 
but risks run in letting Beet remain any longer on the ground. Frosts 
may not actually impair their keeping properties, but are yet liable to 
injuriously affect the quality of the roots. The Turnip-rooted forms 
keep nearly or quite as well as the long-rooted varieties, but this season 
they are very coarse, and the quality is poorer accordingly. Some of 
the small roots or any not larger than a cricket-ball may be stored for 
immediate use, but the larger ones should go to the pigs. Nor are extra 
large roots of the ordinary forms appreciated, and with abundance of 
neat roots available only these should be stored. Raise all carefully 
with a view to saving the larger roots or thongs intact, or otherwise 
bleeding and loss of colour will result. For similar reasons be content 
to screw off the tops not far from the crowns. Pack all, crowns out¬ 
wards, in sand or fine soil, where they can be protected from severe 
frosts and rats. 
Carrots. —These also ought to be lifted and stored. Wet weather 
has caused many of the more forward ro ts to split badly, and lifting is 
the only preventive. If they do not draw readily fork them out, and 
sort over before storing. Those of great size, and in particular all that 
are split open, should go to the stables, and the rest, including quite 
the smallest, ought to have their tops cut off, though not to the extent 
of cutting away part of the crown, and all be packed away in sand or 
fine soil, much as advised in the case of Beet. Preserve the remainder 
of the crop of Nantes, Model, and other stump-rooted forms, as these 
keep admirably and are often preferred to coaroer roots. Late-sown 
breadths of Horn varieties will continue to grow when the ground is not 
frozen. These should be drawn from according as they are required for 
use, and the rest left to improve. A surfacing of strawy manure 
applied whenever severe frosts are anticipated would save them some¬ 
what, and admit of tender young roots being drawn when wanted. 
Give those in frames abundance of air, and sow more seed on a mild 
hotbed. The Parisian Forcing Short Horn is the favourite with good 
cooks. 
Other Boot Crops. —Turnip-rooted Celery is far from being hardy, 
and the roots should either be heavily moulded over, or else be drawn, 
roughly trimmed, and stored with the Beet. The best portion of a 
heavy crop of fully grown Turnips might well be drawn, roughly 
trimmed, stored in a heap, strawed and soiled over, similar to the way 
in which Potatoes are clamped, or they might be stored in sand in a 
cool shed. Some can be left for immediate use. The later-sown breadths 
will continue growing for some time longer, and the greater portion 
may be risked in the open, the yellow and black-skinned varieties 
usually proving the hardiest. If the late-sown Turnips fail to form 
serviceable roots they may yet be left to give a crop of greens next 
spring. 
Chicory, Salsafy, and Scorzonera may be left in the ground and dug 
as required for use, or they can be lifted and stored with the Beet and 
Carrots. The former plan is to be preferred, and in the case of Parsnips 
should be practised, as these keep better, and are of superior quality 
■when left undug till required for use. Leave Leeks where they are, 
but any not sunk rather deeply into the ground should be moulded up, 
in order that the stems be properly blanched. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Results at the Moors. 
My bees are now home from the moors in a satisfactory 
condition, considering the weather we have had. Never in my ex¬ 
perience, however, at the same season have the hills been so dry. 
Great tracks of Heather are as fine as could be at the end of 
September ; but the honey was so thickened and desiccated that the 
bees could not utilise it. Supers are mere numerous and better 
filled than I expected. 
It has been a peculiar season, but fully illustrating the advan¬ 
tages of large hives. My heaviest prime swarm weighs IGO lbs., 
and the late one previously mentioned with a young queen 140 lbs., 
increasing in weight 80 lbs., outstripping swarms from undersized 
hives with old queens by 60 lbs., and in numerous cases more than 
that. 
Chloric Dropsical Fever. 
This has been very prevalent in many apiaries this year. This 
disease was first noticed by the late Mr, T. W. Woodbury more 
than thirty years ago, and pronounced by him as dropsy. Simul¬ 
taneously with that gentleman I had several cases, which increased 
with the Italians, and it is the first time since then I have had it 
amongst my stocks, nearly every bee dying in the hives affected. 
Hitherto I have advised to avoid breeding queens from affected 
stocks, but as an experiment I have departed from these instruc¬ 
tions, and will let your readers know the results. As it is [a 
sporadic disease, it will no doubt yield to a properly medicated food 
when the right medicine is known.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
The Season’s Review. 
A review of the past season may be of interest to bee-keepers 
in various parts of the country, and an interchange of notes in 
the pages of the Journal of Horticulture may be the means of 
encouraging those who have failed to obtain a surplus from their 
stocks of bees to try again. 
This season has been one of the shortest in my experience. 
On referring to my note-book under date March 26th, I find “ bees 
have wintered remarkably well, all stocks strong, and none requires 
feeding. Weather fine and bright, very similar to the spring of 
1893.” Fine weather continued during April. During the first 
week in May there were several swarms in the neighbourhood from 
straw skeps, and the season was very promising. The first three 
weeks of June continued dull and sunless. Beans, of which there were 
several fields grown in this neighbourhood (a Midland county) that 
had been in splendid bloom for some weeks, were now nearly over, 
but the weather had been too dull for the bees to work on them. At 
that time I found a few stocks short of stores, and fed them with 
thin syrup. Some seasons a good harvest of honey has been pro¬ 
cured from field Beans. June 27ch was the first bright day, one 
of the few real honey days. All my stocks were strong, sections 
and top storeys having been previously put on. 
The bees were enabled to store a surplus at once. 
Compare this with the let-alone system. Some of the early 
swarms above mentioned had been hived in straw skeps, and 
had not been fed although the weather had been dull and 
cold for weeks previously. Consequently, bees had dwindled 
away until over about half of the original swarm was left ; very 
little comb-building had taken place, and by the time the hive 
was full of comb and ready for storing honey dull weather had 
again set in, and it was then too late to gather sufficient even to 
winter on. I have lately driven four stocks for a cottager ; two 
of them were first swarms which came off early in May, the 
other two were casts. Not one of them had sufficient stores 
to last the winter, and there were not 10 lbs. of honey in the whole 
four hives. Some swarms that came off in June had a good 
surplus, and were left to stand the winter. 
Contrast this with those kept in frame hives, and which had 
been managed in a rational manner, so as to make the most of the 
honey flow. I am probably within the mark when I say that 
within a radius of a mile of my apiary there were upwards of 
1000 acres of White Clover in splendid condition, and only wanting 
sunshine to enable the bees to store a surplus. The weather then 
became unsettled. It rained more or less for dajs, until the Lime 
trees came into flower. This honey invariably takes well with the 
public, as it is of a bright yellow colour. On the 28th July I 
removed all sections and top storeys, and the season of 1894 had 
for me come to an end. 
One is now enabled to compare notes with previous years, and 
I find with me it has been a good average season. Honey has all 
been of good colour. Some years at the end of the season I have 
obtained a very dark honey, which was not saleable, a little of 
which would spoil a good sample, and in that case it has been fed 
back to the bees.— An English Bee-keeper. 
GARDENERS’ CHARITABLE AND PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution. — Secretary, 
Mr. G. J. Ingram, 50, Parliament Street, London, W.C. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society.— 
Secretary, Mr. W. Collins, 9, Martindale Read, Balham, London, S.W. 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. — Secretary, Mr. A. F. Barron, 
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens, Chiswick, London, W. 
