416 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
November 1,1894. 
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APIARIAN NOTES. 
Feeding. 
During the past week I have given most of my hives several 
pounds of sugar, which induces the bees to take a thorough cleans¬ 
ing flight before the winter sets in fairly. As I have all my hives 
cosily packed close on the top of the frames I do not disturb them, 
as any draught through that cause is liable to ruin a colony. Owing 
to the lateness of the honey season many bee-keepers are behind 
time in feeding, for being caught in the middle of it with the low 
temperature, the bees refused to feed. My advice has been sought 
in numerous instances, and I have advised arranging the crowns of 
the hives as above, removing the top feeders, and feed from below. 
Those who did not succeed used the syrup by far too thick. 
When this was altered to about equal weights of sugar and 
water the bees took to it at once. 
Swarming. 
As stated in a previous article, my hives intended for swarming 
and increase of stock are in two divisions, whilst the others are in 
full-sized hives. It is impossible to prevent swarming from large 
hives ; the bees will swarm although not half full, and at any 
time during honey gathering and for some time after it. When 
there is ample breeding space with a young and lately fertilised 
queen swarming will be postponed, but in these properties the very 
thing we wish to prevent is hastened after a time. The best course 
for the bee-keeper to pursue is to keep a strict watch over his bees 
during the season. Swarms may be expected, and an occasional 
examination of the interior will show the presence or absence of 
queen cells, an indication whether swarming is intended or not. 
The removing of all queen cells may at times prevent or delay 
swarming for a few days, but cannot be depended on. When there 
is abundance of honey in the hive about to swarm removing a 
portion of it in many cases prevents swarming. 
Honey Gathering in October. 
I made a visit to Leadhills and the district on the 27th ult., 
when I was pleased to learn that bees belonging to the persons 
who reside there had gathered more honey during October than 
they had done the two previous months. I saw a small third cast 
belonging to a courier, which rose 3 lbs. only during August and 
September, but increased 15 lbs. during October ; and it was the 
prettiest super I had witnessed. It was completely sealed out, 
although empty on the 22nd September. I left reluctantly the 
Heather, being still in fine bloom, improved and kept in fine 
condition by the dry weather. 
In my answer to “A. E.” (page 393) as to how to make mead, 
I omitted to say that we always infuse a few hops, adding them to 
the mead while boiling.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
All spare frames of empty combs that have been used for 
extracting or other purposes should now be stored away for use 
another season. They keep best in a dry airy place, and care 
should be taken to prevent the wax moth damaging the combs by 
placing a few lumps of naphthaline in with them. The combs 
may be packed in boxes, and if they are covered with calico or a 
similar material which has been sprinkled with carbolic acid, there 
will be no danger of the moth getting to them. I prefer boxes for 
storing them that are mouse-proof, as mice are very fond of the 
combs, and if they once get access, will in a short time destroy 
a great number of them. Spare combs are useful for so many 
purposes that a stock ought always to be kept in hand, but only good 
clean straight combs should be retained, old black combs 
being melted for the wax. The frames may be used again. 
Partly filled sections from which the honey has been extracted 
should be treated in the same manner, as these will make excellent 
starters for bees early in the season, as sometimes before the honey 
is coming in freely there is a difficulty in getting the bees to work 
in supers. 
Contracting hives for winter is still done by some bee-keepers 
by removing all combs not covered by bees, and drawing the 
division board close up to the remaining frames. For several years 
I tried experiments in wintering bees, by taking surplus combs 
from some of my hives and leaving others with the full number 
in the body of the hive, with the result that the following spring I 
could not detect any difference in the various stocks, except that 
some of those which had not been reduced I thought were stronger 
than the others. I now leave the full number of frames in all my 
hives, as when one has a number of stocks it means a saving of 
labour, and the less the hives are opened, particularly in the spring, 
the better. If the bees have abundance of stores, and the hive is 
not opened more than is necessary, there is no danger of chilled 
brood. I am not an advocate for spreading the brood, which was 
strongly recommended not many years ago, and still practised by a 
few bee keepers. This is done by inserting an empty comb between 
two frames containing brood, repeating the operation every few 
days. Should a spell of cold weather set in the brood on the 
outside combs would be chilled, owing to there not being sufficient 
bees to keep the brood warm. These would die, and be thrown 
out of the hive by the bees. Thus, instead of the stock increasing 
in strength, it would in all probability be much weaker than if left 
alone. I experimented with several stocks, but could never see any 
advantage from it. 
Contrast these hives with others that had the whole of the 
frames left in the hive from the previous autumn. As the weather 
became warmer in the spring the cluster of bees gradually expanded, 
the queen only laying sufficient eggs that the bees could well 
attend. There need be no opening of hives or escape of heat, 
which is so necessary during the process of brood-rearing, un¬ 
capping a few cells, which can be done without lifting the frames 
out of the hive. Lift the quilt and give the bees a puff or two of 
smoke to drive them down. The sealed stores will be near the top 
of the frames ; a few inches may be uncapped with a thin knife, 
which will be quite sufficient, as the bees will clear away the 
cappings. If short of stores feed them with thin syrup, and the 
result will be when the honey flow comes the hive will be crowded 
with bees, and these will commence to store in supers at once. 
Weak stocks are useless, far better to unite them. One strong stock 
is worth half a dozen weak ones.— An English Bee-keeper. 
All correspondence should he 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. 
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. 
Xoquat and Oranges not Fruiting {JEnquirer '),—Excessive root 
action in too fertile soil promotes an exuberance of growth that is the 
reverse of conducive to fruitfulness. Root-pruning would arrest such 
growth, but would not, in the absence of full light for maturing it, 
of necessity result in fruitfulness. Both the Loquat and Orange trees 
would be more likely to produce fruit if grown in tubs and placed in a 
sunny position in the open air in July, unless the structure in which 
they are grown is very light, in which case the removal would not be 
necessary. 
Irregularly Swelled Pears (^Effingham ').—The fruit is infested 
with a fungus (Glaeosporium fructigenum), which first infests the 
leaves and produces the conidial stage, and finally the fruits on the 
surface (here and there) of the Pears. The deformation of the fruit is 
due to the action of the mycelium of the fungus in the tissues of the 
Pears, which has penetrated to the core of the fruit and destroyed or 
damaged the seeds. The fruit is very stringy and gritty, due to the 
action of the tree in secreting silica. The cause of the disease is the 
fungus, which must have a fitting medium to grow in, and that the 
grower must avoid if possible. We advise you to have all the dead 
wood and spurs removed at once, and the live spurs well thinned. This 
will to some extent strengthen the blossom buds left, which should be so 
far apart that the hand can be passed between them. Clear away all the 
leaves when they fall and burn them with the primings, and return 
the ashes to the ground beneath the tree, giving a dressing of manure 
from the stem outwards and a foot beyond the spread of the branches, 
leaving it there. If manure is not available, use three parts basic slag 
powder and two parts kainit, mixed, 4 ozs. per square yard, pointing in 
very lightly. Spray the tree in spring directly the blossom buds show 
the least indications of swelling with a solution of sulphate of copper, 
1 lb. to 25 gallons of water, and at the same time dress the ground with 
bone superphosphate two parts, and nitrate of soda powdered one part, 
