384 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 23, 1858. 
like a fair notion may be arrived at of the goodness, or bad¬ 
ness, of each honey season, as it comes round ; to say nothing 
of the advantages which might incidentally arise from the 
collection of such information, as regards a comparison of the 
different systems adopted by the various contributors ; and, 
with a view to elicit such communications from your numerous 
readers, I send you a few notes from my own apiary, having 
reference to the honey harvest of the past year. 
I should premise, that my situation cannot be regarded as 
a very advantageous one for bees, lying, as it does, on the 
summit of the chalk range between Dover and Canterbury ; 
and partaking (as the name of the village implies) too much 
of the Wold— an open and exposed track of country—to be 
favourable for the operations of our little favourites ; yet even 
here, in good seasons (such as I consider the last to have 
i been), a fair share of profit is to be obtained in return for a 
j careful, or scientific management. With these few introduc¬ 
tory remarks, let the following facts speak for themselves. 
Stock No. 1.—In a set of Nutt’s Collateral Boxes, placed 
| in study window (looking nearly due west) 
Taken June 13tli, in bellglass, on top of centre box . Gj lbs. 
„ August 3rd, in one side box.,23 „ 
Total . . 29f lbs. 
Stock No. 2.—Set of Nutt’s Collateral Boxes, placed as 
above:— 
i Taken June 13th, in bellglass, on top of centre box lbs. 
„ * August 4th, in one side box.14 „ 
Total . . 18^ lbs. 
Stock No. 3.—In Golding’s Grecian Hive, placed in small 
bee house hi garden :— 
In bellglasses and boxes, taken from June 19th to 
August 8tli.27 lbs. 
Stock No. 4.—In Golding’s Grecian Ilive, placed as 
before :— 
Taken from June 11th to August 8th.29f lbs. 
To these facts I will only add (through fear of occupying 
too much of your space), that although the summer of 1857 
was a favourable one for honey gathering in this district gene¬ 
rally, yet it was not (in this parish) a good one for swarming; 
some of the cottagers, therefore, whose success depends mainly 
upon this, met with sore disappointment.—S ibert-on-the- 
Wold. 
LETTING BEES ELY, AND PLACING 
SWARMS IN THE STOCKS PLACES. 
As the weather on “ St. David’s Day” accorded well with 
the old saying, that “ March began the right end first,” we 
may observe that bee-keepers, who followed another old adage, 
“ On St. Matthias’s Day let your bees fly away,” should keep 
in mind, that warmth and abundance of food are the grand 
requisites, especially at this season, to enable the insects to gain 
strength, after them winter’s confinement; without both, their 
increase must be slow, and, consequently, swarming late. 
Connected with the last, we lately observed some discussion 
on “ placing swarms in the stocks places,” in order to entice 
the bees, that were from home, to join the swarms instead of 
; the parent hives. Those, however, who are acquainted with 
the rationale of swarming, know full well, that no good can 
result by increasing the numbers in the swarms, at the ex¬ 
pense or risk of weakening the parent colonies. Indeed, the 
proneness of bees' to have their own way, is, perhaps, the 
greatest obstacle to the depriving system. Still, it only 
accords with their instinct, which is the same as when adapted 
to a warm climate. However, those who advocate tho plan 
seem to have two objects in view; one to get stronger first 
swarms, the other to prevent the stocks being weakened by 
second or after ones. But, as we have remarked, the first 
can only be done at a risk of drawing off too many bees from 
the stocks, more so, of course, than if let alone; and even 
then, as we have already said, that often too much for the 
health of the old colonies. For without sufficient strength, 
how can the brood be reared, and store collected, besides 
extra honey expected during the latter part of the season ? 
| * On the 4tli February, 1858, the centre of these two sets of Nutt’s 
l Boxes weighed, net contents, 301bs. and 26£lbs. 
And, with regard to more bees in the first swarms preventing 
second ones, we may observe, that the rule of after swarms, 
is not so much governed by the numbers of bees, as the 
rivalry of the young queens, who often leave with only a 
handful of bees. Therefore, in this case, the remedy proposed 
is, in our opinion, no more practicable, than attempts to pre¬ 
vent swarming altogether.—J. Wighton. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
FUCHSIAS FOR BEDDING — TREATMENT OF 
SCILLAS, CROCUSES AND GLADIOLUSES — 
TRITOMA UYARIA. 
“ I have a few Fuchsias of the best kinds, and scarlet Ge¬ 
raniums, in a cold frame, which I intend to bed out in summer. 
They have been drawn a good deal in their growth, and have 
long straggling shoots. Should I prune them now ? I bought 
a few bulbs of Sciflas (Sibirica and amcena), in autumn, which 
I planted in a light sandy soil, but, on examining them a few 
days ago, I found that many of them had rotted. Are they 
hardy enough to stand the winter ? Are Crocus bulbs of the 
better kinds improved by being lifted and dried every season, 
when the leaves decay ? I let mine stay in the ground un¬ 
touched for many years, and I find they are degenerating. 
“ I think many of your amateur readers would thank you, 
if you would give a list of the best Gladioluses ( Gandavensis 
hybrids ), with their colour and cultivation. 
“ I beg to recommend to your readers a beautiful plant, 
which I do not remember to have seen mentioned in 1 your 
paper, Tritoma uvaria; it is quite hardy.”— An Amateur. 
[“Drawn” Fuchsias will never do to bed out, or border 
out either. Cut them down at once. Drawn scarlet Gera¬ 
niums will look bad at first planting out, but if you are short 
of them, plant them on their sides, and let the long shoots 
cover the ground. They will look very well ultimately. 
Those Scillas were badly managed before you had them. 
No bulbs keep better, and none are more hardy. The customary 
way is to take up Crocuses, and dry them every third year; 
but, we believe, the new large kinds ought to be taken up every 
year, before the leaves are quite dead, and then to have a 
month in the soil, before they are dried off* and cleaned. 
Gladiolus. Some of our amateur readers have thanked us 
already, for the very list you ask for. We gave it in our last 
volume, in the report of the Crystal Palace. The best hybrid 
Gladioluses in Europe are in that hst, most undoubtedly, and 
we shall add to it as fast as they come over from the French 
Emperor, who has the best collection of them in the world. 
His gardener, M. Suchet, is the luckiest fellow on the earth 
with this tribe, the Natalensis breed, not the gandavensis , 
for there is no such breed. There are only two breeds of 
Gladioluses yet. That between cardinalis am? others, of the 
old Cape colony. That breed requires to be planted or potted 
in October. The newer breed is derived from Gladiolus Na¬ 
talensis , or psittacinus crossed, with superior seedlings from 
cardinalis and blandus. Gladiolus gandavensis was among 
the best seedlings of this race—not the race itself. The end 
of February is the right time to plant or pot Gladiolus Naia- 
lensis, and the new race from it; and the best way to manage 
the French breed of Natalensis is to. pot them at the same time 
as the parent, to keep them in. a cold frame till the end of 
April, and then to plant them out, in balls entire, and when 
the leaf is nearly full grown, to allow them large quantities of 
water, and not to take them up till the very end of October. 
The soil ought to be two feet deep for them, and to be as soft 
and mellow and rich as for Hyacinths.] 
CUTTINGS IN SAND AND WATER. 
“On recommending ‘Mr. Kidd’s plan of cuttings,’ to 
some young friends of mine, I was immediately met by the 
questions, ‘ Are they to be allowed to become hard and caJced , 
or is the sand to be kept moist; as, of course, it will dry up 
in a kitchen window ? ’ And, ‘ Are they to be placed in the 
sun or the shade, as our kitchen looks to the south ? ’ To 
neither of these questions was I able to give an answer, with¬ 
out your assistance.”— Jane. 
