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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  • 
November  28, 1895, 
THE  APIARY. 
Of  late  the  weather  has  been  open  and  often  mild,  bees  taking 
the  advantage  when  the  sun  shone  to  air  themselves.  These  frequent 
airings  and  short  flights  are  beneficial  to  their  health,  putting  them 
in  good  order  to  withstand  the  severest  weather  for  the  next  three 
months. 
None  of  the  bees  in  my  hives  shows  the  slightest  signs  of 
bowel  complaint  in  any  form.  Chloric  dropsical  fever  has  almost 
entirely  disappeared,  only  one  hive  showing  a  trace  ;  and  this  points 
to  an  important  matter  with  the  worst  disease  amongst  bees  that 
bee-keepers  have  to  contend  with.  Previous  to  this  I  was  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  disease  originated  in  the  queen,  and  that  it  was 
hereditary  ;  but,  although  I  cannot  renounce  that  opinion,  strong 
presumptive  evidence  shows  the  origin  of  the  disease  to  be  in  the 
contents  of  the  hive. 
Leaving  the  matter  alone  for  the  present,  I  will  watch  care¬ 
fully  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  disease,  experimenting  with  the 
different  solutions  of  sulphur  which  stayed  the  disease  in  former 
experiments,  at  least  the  disease  abated  after  the  application  ;  but 
the  crucial  test  will  be  turning  the  bees  into  an  empty  hive.  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  believe  the  pollen,  or  water,  has  much  to  do 
with  creating  the  disease,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in 
1893  several  colonies  of  bees  deprived  of  all  and  fed  up  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year  kept  healthy  till  they  gathered  pollen  in  the 
spring  ;  all  these  bees  became  healthy  again  by  end  of  July, 
All  our  hives  are  in  excellent  order  for  the  winter’s  campaign. 
Badly  covered  ones,  or  imperfect  hives,  should  be  thoroughly 
examined  for  damp  both  internally  and  externally.  Stormy  weather 
drives  the  rain  through  hives  and  coverings  which  in  calm  wet 
weather  are  quite  impervious.  The  prosperity  of  hives  depends  on 
their  being  kept  thoroughly  dry  during  the  winter  and  spring.  In 
some  places  last  winter  the  thermometer  fell  to  10°  below  zero,  yet 
bees  were  uninjured.  Had  they  been  damp  few  of  them  would 
have  survived. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
High  westerly  winds  and  heavy  rain  have  prevailed  for  several 
weeks  past,  roofs  that  were  not  properly  secured  being  blown  in 
all  directions.  Hives  that  are  in  an  exposed  position  should  have 
their  roofs  securely  fastened,  either  by  hinges  or  a  piece  of  strong 
cord  with  a  brick  attached  at  each  end  slung  across  the  roof,  and 
the  bricks  allowed  to  hang  just  clear  of  the  stand.  This  will 
answer  the  purpose  admirably,  and  it  has  the  advantage  of  being 
easily  removed  when  necessary  for  the  examination  of  the  stock. 
All  coverings  ought  to  be  examined,  and  if  wet  should  be 
thoroughly  dried  before  placing  them  on  the  hives  again.  The 
bees  need  not  be  disturbed,  and  on  no  account  should  the  ticking 
or  covering,  which  will  be  found  securely  fastened  down  to  the 
frames  with  propolis,  be  removed,  unless  there  is  a  warm  dry 
covering  at  hand  to  take  its  place,  as  it  may  result  in  positive 
injury  to  the  bees.  I  have  sometimes  known  stocks  of  bees  to  be 
thoroughly  soaked  with  rain  after  a  gale,  when  the  roofs  have  been 
blown  off.  In  that  case  warm  dry  coverings  were  at  once  given, 
also  dry  floor  boards,  and  the  bees  were  none  the  worse  for  the 
mishap. 
This  shows  the  advantage  of  having  all  floor  boards  loose  and 
interchangeable.  If  the  floors  of  hives  are  allowed  to  remain 
damp  for  any  length  of  time  dysentery  and  spring  dwindling  will 
follow,  and  stocks  that  would  otherwise  have  been  strong  will 
be  weak  and  practically  useless  when  the  honey  flow  ccmss,  and 
should  be  united  to  others.  The  present  is  the  time  co  guard 
against  such  casualties. 
The  entrance  to  hives  should  be  still  allowed  to  remain  open 
their  full  width,  as  after  trying  many  experiments  I  am  convinced 
that  fresh  air  does  no  harm,  provided  there  is  plenty  of  warm 
covering  on  the  top  of  the  frames.  The  majority  of  my  stocks 
face  due  west,  from  which  at  times  we  get  very  severe  gales, 
still  they  invariably  winter  well.  Some  have  ventilated  floor 
boards,  others  have  an  eke  4  inches  in  depth  placed  under  the  body 
of  hive,  but  all  have  their  entrance  fully  open.  Less  damp  will 
be  found  in  hives  treated  in  this  manner  than  in  those  which 
have  only  an  inch  of  space  left. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
W.  Cutbush  &  Son,  'Rxg'aga.iQ.— Miscellaneous  Plants. 
Dicksons  &  Co.,  1,  Waterloo  Place,  Edinburgh. —  Forest  Trees  and 
Shrubs. 
J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Pioyal  Exotic  Nursery,  Chelsea. — Herbaceous  Plants 
and  Hardy  Florists'  Floxoers, 
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  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. 
Pelargonlam  Ellen  Terry  {T.  S.'). — The  variety  you  send  under 
the  above  name  is  an  excellent  one,  and  well  worthy  of  all  possible  care. 
It  was  a  pity  you  did  not  gum  the  blooms  prior  to  despatch,  as  most  of 
the  pips  had  fallen.  So  far  as  we  could  see  the  only  fault  was  in  having 
too  many  pips  to  the  truss  ;  but  this  could  be  readily  overcome  by 
removing  some  of  them  in  the  early  stages  of  development. 
Sowing  Rhubarb  Seed  (TP.  H.  3/.). — Rhubarb  seed  sown  in  the 
spring,  and  given  liberal  treatment,  will  usually  attain  sufficient  strength 
in  the  second  season  to  be  fit  for  forcing  in  the  third  year.  To  effect  this 
it  is  necessary  to  sow  the  seeds  in  spring,  nlacing  on  a  gentle  hotbed,  the 
seedlings  being  pricked  off,  when  large  enough  to  handle,  into  boxes, 
afterwards  transferring  them  to  the  open  ground,  planting  in  rows  about 
3  feet  apart  every  way,  or  according  to  variety. 
Eady  Downe’s  Vine  as  a  Stock  for  IVZuscat  of  Alexandria 
(/.  N.). — We  have  found  Muscats  generally  succeed  well  on  Lady 
Downe’s  stocks.  These  seem  more  hardy  than  Muscat  of  Alexandria, 
therefore  cater  better  for  the  growth  and  crop  than  is  the  case  with 
this  Vine  on  its  own  roots  ;  indeed,  the  growth,  as  you  say,  is  stronger, 
the  wood  shorter-jointed  and  darker  colour,  while  the  berries  as  a  rule 
set  better  and  swell  to  a  larger  size  ;  but  we  cannot  say  that  they  finish 
qnite  so  well,  and  on  that  depends  everything  in  Muscat  of  Alexandria 
Grapes. 
Glass  for  marketing  Flower  and  Fruit  Houses  {Hortus'). — 
It  is  usual  to  employ  21  oz.  sheet-glass  for  roofs,  and  15  oz.  for  the  side 
lights,  and  the  quality  most  approved  ia  “thirds”  British.  Some, 
however,  consider  “  fourths  ”  quite  clear  and  scorchless  enough  for 
general  marketing  houses,  and  is  that,  perhaps,  most  employed.  As  for 
“  fourths  ”  foreign  glass,  some  of  it  is  very  poor  in  quality  and  liable  to 
scorch,  but  there  is  bad  British  as  well  as  inferior  foreign  glass,  and 
good  of  both,  the  question  being  regulated  by  the  price  and  the  business 
aptitude  of  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  supplying  a  reliable  article. 
We  have  bad  “  fourths  ”  better  than  “  thirds,”  and  vice  versa,  and  have 
found  “  thirds  ”  British  the  most  satisfactory  in  the  end.  Consult  a 
nurseryman  in  your  locality. 
Digging  in  the  Haulm  of  French  Beans  (^Cross'). — The  haulm 
of  Dwarf  Kidney  Beans  is  too  strong,  as  a  rule,  ^or  digging  into  the  soil, 
and  though  we  are  not  aware  of  its  fostering  any  fungus  injurious  to 
Tomatoes,  it  would  not  be  a  wise  thing  to  do,  as  the  two  worst  of  Tomato 
fungi  are  fostered  by  decaying  vegetable  matter,  and  if  there  are  any 
spores  about,  as  there  generally  is  where  the  food  upon  which  they 
develop  is  present,  disaster  may  accrue  therefrom  to  the  Tomatoes  next 
season.  Indeed,  we  should  clear  out  the  Dwarf  Kidney  Beans  after 
bearing,  and  dress  the  ground  with  quicklime,  using  half  a  bushel  per 
rod.  This  will  convert  the  nitrogenic  nodules  into  available  food  matter 
for  Tomato  plants,  the  lime  being  mixed  with  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  about 
1  foot  rather  than  digging  the  lime  under  by  turning  the  top  to  the 
bottom . 
Blood-fleslied  Carrot  (^Tap-root). — The  Carrot  has  the  cells  run 
together,  the  cell  walls  having  been  broken  down  by  some  alkaline 
substance,  which  appears  to  be  potash.  In  the  matter  of  colour,  that 
seems  to  be  due  to  the  high  concentration  of  the  juices  in  consequence 
of  dry  weather  whilst  forming,  and  the  presence  of  large  amounts  of 
iron  and  manifestly  manganese  in  the  soil,  with  the  potash  also  present 
in  quantity,  would  tend  to  produce  the  purplish-red  colour.  The 
hardening,  or  cessation  of  growth,  was  certainly  caused  by  the  dry 
weather,  resulting  in  a  deficiency  of  moisture  and  available  nitrogen 
which  is  essential  for  growth — that  is,  cell  multiplication,  the  most 
successful  crops  this  season  being  those  that  had  been  manured  with 
stable  or  farmyard  manure,  from  which  plants  may  possibly  derive  some 
organic  matter,  out  of  which  in  very  droughty  periods  to  construct 
cellulose.  That  is  a  phase  of  the  subject  of  manuring  well  worth  con¬ 
sidering,  and  it  is  manifest  that  in  dry  seasons  profit  is  had  from 
decomposing  matter  which  chemical  manures  fail  to  supply.  Beyond 
a  little  scab  there  is  no  trace  of  disease  or  of  insect  attacks,  but  the 
tissues  are  wholly  abnormal,  and  that  from  peculiarities  of  weather  .and 
nourishment. 
