20 
Journal  of  horticulture  and  cottage  oardeHeF. 
January,?,  1§9?« 
sheets  of  foundation,  the  comb  containing  the  queen  and  adhering 
bees  being  replaced  in  the  hive.  A  aheet  of  queen  excluder  zinc 
should  then  be  placed  over  the  top  of  the  frames  ;  this  will  keep 
the  queen  and  drones  in  the  bottom  hive. 
Another  hive  the  same  size  is  then  placed  on  the  top  and  filled 
with  empty  comb,  and  the  frames  with  adhering  bee9  previously 
removed  from  the  brood  nest.  If  not  of  sufficient  strength  some 
frames  of  brood  and  the  adhering  bees  may  be  taken  from  other 
stocks  which  are  headed  by  old  queens,  care  being  taken  that  the 
queen  is  not  removed. 
The  bees  on  these  combs,  if  placed  alternately  with. the  others, 
will  settle  down  as  one  happy  family.  Nine  frames  will  be  suffi¬ 
cient  in  the  top  storey,  as  this  will  allow  the  cells  to  be  drawn  out 
longer  than  they  otherwise  would,  and  more  honey  will  be 
stored.  All  intended  for  extracting  purposes  may  be  treated  in 
the  same  manner,  those  that  are  weak  being  made  strong  from  the 
stocks  having  old  queens,  and  from  which  young  queens  will  be 
reared  for  another  season. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  colonies  treated  as  above  will  be  of 
great  strength  owing  to  the  thousands  of  young  bees  that  will  be 
hatched  before  the  honey  flow  comes,  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
the  first  fine  day  that  comes,  thus  showing  that  the  maxim  is  true 
in  bee-keeping  as  in  many  other  things,  “  Unity  is  strength.” — 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
An  English  Bee-keeper  at  Home. 
During  the  summer  of  1896  an  opportunity  occurred  of  paying 
a  visit  to  “An  English  Bee-keeper”  at  home,  when  we  were  able 
to  enter  closely  into  his  system  of  management.  We  did  so,  and 
found  it  excellent ;  we  also  examined  the  results  and  found  them 
pecuniarily  highly  gratifying. 
We  do  not  wish  to  infer  that  his  system  of  bee-keeping  is 
the  only  one  that  can  be  profitably  followed — not  in  the  least, 
as  we  know  of  other  experts  who  have  achieved  good  results  by 
different  methods  of  management.  We  do,  however,  know  that 
the  lines  followed  by  “An  English  Bee-keeper,”  and  which  he  so 
lucidly  explaias  week  by  week  in  these  columns,  are  sound,  and 
may  safely  be  adopted  by  the  beginner,  and  probably  also  by  some 
who  may  have  followed  bee-keeping  and  not  been  successful. 
It  must  be  understood  that  our  excellent  co<djutor  has  reduced 
the  practice  of  bee-keeping  to  a  science.  He  keeps  the  most 
minute  data  from  day  to  day  and  year  to  year,  and  his  records  of 
experiments  are  of  the  greatest  interest  and  value.  Nothing  is  too 
trivial  for  notice  ;  the  note-book,  in  which  each  hive  has  its  special 
number,  is  constantly  in  use,  with  the  result  that  the  condition  of 
every  stock  in  the  apiary  can  be  seen  at  a  glance.  Not  only  can 
comparisons  of  the  various  stocks  be  made  in  the  current  season, 
but  also  for  a  series  of  years  that  is  rapidly  advancing  in  the  second 
decades.  Beyond  these  figures  there  are  others  denoting  money, 
and  showing  the  amounts  paid  and  received  in  connection  with  the 
bees  each  year  ;  and  though  some  seasons  have  been  comparatively 
bad,  the  records  show  how  profitable  bee-keeping  has  proved  over 
the  whole  period,  thus  demonstrating  the  essentially  practical 
nature  of  the  system  of  management. 
The  whole  of  the  work  in  the  apiary  is  done  by  its  owner, 
and  it  is  equipped  in  the  most  efficient  manner.  Not  that  it  is 
the  home  of  things  elaborate  or  fanciful  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
wholly  practical,  everything  being  found  that  is  useful  and 
necessary,  and  nothing  that  tends  only  to  show  and  ornamenta¬ 
tion.  Good  as  “An  English  Bee-keeper”  is  amongst  his  bees, 
he  is  equally  as  ready  with  his  pen,  and  this  fluency  relieves 
us  of  going  into  elaborate  details  regarding  his  procedure — 
indeed  such  would  only  be  occupying  valuable  space  unnecessarily, 
as  all  readers  of  the  bee  notes  will,  from  his  writings,  be  quite 
familiar  with  it.  We  may,  however,  add  in  conclusion  to  what  he 
attributes  his  success,  and  in  his  own  words — “  I  have  been  success¬ 
ful  in  bee-keeping  because,  firstly,  I  have  worked  on  economical, 
yet  complete  lines  ;  secondly,  I  have  paid  the  strictest  attention  to 
apparently  insignificant  details  ;  and  thirdly,  I  have  given  incessant 
attention,  doing  any  work  immediately  on  finding  it  was  necessary.” 
To  sum  up,  we  might  say  that  “  An  English  Bee-keeper’s”  motto  is 
“  thoroughness  ;  ”  and  no  better  samples  of  honey  than  his,  and  few 
so  good,  have  been  received  at  this  office. 
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  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — Secretary ,  Mr.  A,  F.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  W. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Bell  k  Bieberstedt,  Leith. —  Wholesale  Seed  List, 
W.  Cutbush  &  Son,  Highgate. — Seeds. 
Fidler  &  Sons,  Reading. — Seeds. 
W.  Fromow  &  Sons,  Chiswick. — Seeds. 
Kent  &  Brydon,  Darlington. — Seeds. 
J.  Laing  &  Sons,  Forest  Hill. — Seeds. 
W.  Lovel  &  Son,  Driffield. — Strawberries . 
T.  Methven  &  Sons,  Princes  Street.  Edinburgh. — Seeds. 
W.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross. — Seeds. 
Ant.  Roozen  &  Son,  Overveen,  near  Haarlem. — Seeds  and  Bulbs. 
C.  Sharpe  k  Co.,  Ltd.,  Sleaford. — Seeds. 
H.  &  F.  Sharpe,  Wisbech. — Wholesale  Seed  Catalogue— Potatoes. 
J.  Sharpe  k  Son,  Bardney,  Lincolnshire.  —  Guide  to  Practical 
Gardening. 
R.  Sydenham,  Tenby  Street,  Birmingham.—  Unique  Seed  List. 
The  Penny  Seed  Packet  Company,  Loughborough. — Seeds. 
R.  Veitch  k  Son,  Exeter. — Seeds. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  The  Editor.”  Letters  addressed  personally  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  of  ter  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,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects,  through  the  post. 
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,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions 
through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected 
communications. 
*  Cattleya  Prince  of  Wales  ( Young  Orchid  Grower'). — See  note 
and  woodcut  on  page  11  for  the  information  yon  require  relative  to  this 
charming  Orchid. 
Water  Pots  (X.  Y.  Z .,  Lines). — As  the  water  pots  you  mention 
have  not  been  advertised  in  our  columns,  we  do  not  possess  the  address 
of  the  makers,  or  would  furnish  it  to  you  with  pleasure.  We  have  heard 
they  are  good,  but  have  not  used  them. 
Marechal  Kiel  Roses  (Nemo). — If  you  propose  to  make  the  Roses 
the  principal  feature  of  the  house,  you  might  imitate  a  plan  which  we 
fiQd  to  be  both  convenient  and  profitable — namely,  to  plant  them  out  at 
the  front  of  the  house,  and  train  them  up  wires  very  similar  to  Peaches. 
You  do  not  mention  the  height  of  the  front  wall,  but  assuming  it  to  be 
from  2  to  3  feet  you  could  get  a  plant  budded  on  to  a  standard  Briar 
so  as  to  bring  the  growths  to  a  level  with  the  lowest  wire.  Shorten  to 
five  or  six  eyes,  and  train  the  resulting  shoots  in  the  form  of  a  fan  across 
the  wires.  Immediately  after  flowering  in  spring  head  the  growths 
back  to  the  point  from  which  they  started.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how 
many  flowers  you  would  eventually  get  from  a  plant,  as  much  would 
depend  on  local  circumstances  and  the  attention  given,  but  we  are  not 
satisfied  if  we  do  not  cut  from  150  to  200.  You  might  get  more  than 
this,  you  might  get  less.  While  the  Rose  is  making  its  growth  after  being 
headed  back  we  contrive  to  get  a  crop  of  Tomatoes  off  the  back  wall, 
from  sturdy  plants  prepared  for  putting  out,  with  fruit  clusters  already 
showing.  “Niels ’’grown  on  this  system  have  borne  splendid  clusters 
for  ten  years.  Success  with  the  Marbchal  out  of  doors  in  your  locality 
is  doubtful,  as  it  may  be  too  damp  to  insure  thoroughly  ripened  wood. 
We  should  proceed  by  experiment. 
Tomatoes  In  Troughs  ( S .  L.). — A  few  words  were  accidentally 
omitted  from  the  remarks  to  which  you  refer.  The  Tomatoes,  which 
grew  so  well  and  fruited  so  abundantly  in  8  inches  of  firm  loam  on 
6  inches  of  chalk,  were  in  a  border  about  4  feet  wide.  The  house  was 
new,  and  the  first  crop  paid  for  the  cost  of  its  erection.  We  have  also 
seen  Tomatoes  grown  in  troughs  9  inches  wide  and  deep,  cover  the  roof 
of  a  house,  like  Vines,  and  bearing  scarlet  clusters  of  Tomatoes  from 
base  to  summit.  Further,  we  have  seen  and  measured  stems  of  Tomatoes 
17  feet  long  roped  with  fruit,  the  plants  being  grown  in  a  trough 
9  inches  wide,  and  15  inches  deep,  or  just  the  size  you  mention.  In 
neither  of  these  troughs  was  chalk  employed  as  drainage  material,  but 
in  the  one  15  inches  deep  crushed  lime  rubbish  and  dry  wood  ashes  were 
mixed  with  the  turfy  loam  that  was  made  quite  firm.  Also  in  both 
cases  top-dressings  of  rich  loam  were  given  from  time  to  time,  which 
became  netted  with  feeding  roots,  and  liquid  support  was  given  freely 
when  the  plants  were  bearing.  The  border  referred  to  was  surfaced 
with  manure,  and  the  free  drainage  further  admitted  of  copious  supplies 
of  water  and  liquid  manure  being  given  without  souring  the  Boil.  With 
