February  10,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
135 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  foliage.  Heavily  cropped  Vines  make 
correspondingly  little  foliage,  and  the  Grapes  frequently  do  not  colour 
because  there  is  not  suflScient  stored  matter  for  conversion  at  the  time  of 
ripening  into  the  essential  purple  or  gold  colour.  Reduce  the  crop  when 
necessary  so  as  to  have  some  growth  in  the  laterals,  thus  keeping  the  roots 
active,  and  thereby  maintaining  a  good  supply  of  nutriment  judiciously 
applied  as  top-dressings  or  in  liquid  form. 
Vines  Started  at  the  New  Year. — The  Vines  are  in  leaf  and  showing  for 
fruit  ;  but  let  this  be  clearly  visible  before  disbudding,  removing  the  weak 
and  least  promising  growths  in  the  first  instance,  then  give  further  atten¬ 
tion  when  it  is  seen  which  shoots  are  likely  to  afford  the  best  bunches. 
Vines  to  Afford  Grapes  in  July  and  August. — The  Vines  must  now  be 
started.  They  break  most  evenly  and  strongly  when  assured  a  moist 
genial  atmosphere,  therefore  damp  the  rods  three  times  a  day,  and 
sprinkle  other  surfaces.  Avoid,  however,  keeping  the  rods  constantly 
dripping  with  water,  for  the  tendency  in  that  case  is  to  cause  the  emission 
of  aerial  roots,  which  are  unsightly,  if,  indeed,  they  are  not  prejudicial  in 
appropriating  the  stored-up  food,  which  otherwise  would  be  expended  in 
the  formation  of  roots  in  the  border,  or  go  towards  invigorating  the 
growth.  A  temperature  of  50®  at  night,  55®  by  day,  and  65  from  sun 
heat  is  suitable  until  the  buds  begin  to  move.  Bring  the  inside  border 
into  a  moist,  but  not  sodden,  condition  by  repeated  waterings,  following 
with  liquid  manure  if  the  Vines  are  weak.  The  soil  has  a  strong  affinity 
for  the  manorial  elements,  grasping  and  retaining  them  for  appropriation 
by  the  roots  as  required.  Afford  outside  borders  sufficient  protection  to 
prevent  chill,  a  little  partially  decayed  material  supplying  all  that  is 
required.  Eschew  thick  coverings  of  manure,  particularly'  when  likely  to 
fall  into  a  close  soapy  mass,  giving  preference  to  lumpy  material,  which 
will  admit  of  the  free  access  of  air. 
Late  Houses. — The  Vines  being  cleared  of  Grapes  early  in  January, 
the  borders  top-dressed,  and  everything  then  put  straight,  a  start  may  be 
made  without  much  further  delay,  as  it  is  essential  that  the  Vines  have 
the  full  benefit  of  the  summer,  and  perfect  their  crops  not  later  than  the 
middle  of  September.  Keep  strong  rods  in  a  horizontal  position,  and 
insure  an  even  break  by  sprinkling  them  occasionally.  Let  the  tempera¬ 
ture  be  kept  at  50°  to  55°  at  night,  and  on  dull  days,  until  the  buds  move, 
then  allow  5°  to  10  more  by  day,  and  an  advance  of  5°  or  more  from  sun 
heat,  but  lose  no  opportunity  of  ventilating  freely. 
Nipe  Grapes.— Avoid  fire  heat  as  much  as  possible  in  the  Grape  room, 
admitting  air  to  prevent  an  accumulation  of  moisture,  replenishing  the 
latter  with  clear  soft  water  as  required.  An  equable  temperature  of  45° 
is  most  suitable. 
New  Borders. — The  compost  for  new  or  renovating  old  borders  should 
be  prepared  ;  the  top  3  inches  of  a  pasture  —rich,  friable,  and  neither 
light  nor  heavy— is  most  suitable.  Red  soils  are  best — that  is,  those  of 
the  old  or  new  red  sandstone,  as  they  contain  iron,  which  infiuences  the 
health  of  the  Vine  and  the  colour  of  Grapes.  About  twelve  parts  loam,* 
two  parts  of  lime  rubbish,  a  similar  quantity  of  charred  refuse  (termed 
wood  ashes),  one  part  of  fresh  horse  droppings,  and  a  tenth  part  each  of 
crushed  bones  and  soot— the  bones  by  weight  and  the  soot  by  measure — 
mixed,  gave  the  best  results  we  have  seen  in  Vines,  for  both  home  use 
and  market. 
Provide  a  foot  of  drainage,  rough  at  the  bottom  and  road  metal  size  at 
the  top,  placing  on  a  couple  of  inches  thickness  of  clean  (free  from  pieces  of 
wood)  old  mortar  rubbish,  and  take  care  to  have  drains  under  for  carrying 
off  superfluous  water.  A  width  of  4  to  6  feet  is  ample  to  start  with,  and 
2  feet  6  inches  depth  of  soil  suits  the  strong  sorts,  including  Muscats. 
The  materials  will  settle  into  about  2  feet  depth,  and  the  roots  can  be 
kept  up  by  top-dressings.  The  proper  or  a  good  time  to  plant  Vines  is 
from  the  buds  swelling  to  the  shoots  being  an  inch  or  two  long,  then 
shaking  out  and  laying  the  roots  out  as  straight  as  can  be  done  without 
injury.  Vines  raised  from  eyes  can  be  planted  up  to  June,  turf-raised 
being  the  best,  but  those  in  pots  answer,  only  do  not  allow  root-binding. 
w 
HE  BEE-KEEPER'  S 
Itt-  I  ■  I  - 1  ■  fi-i  ■  I  -.-r^  r.- 1  - 1  - 1  -  I  - 1  -  r-  I'.j  .  I  ■  I .  I  -  <  - 1  - 1  -  r.  I  ;■! 
Large  versus  Small  Hives. 
In  bee-keeping,  as  in  everything  else,  there  are  differences  of 
opinion.  This  is  an  advantage,  as  it  is  not  well  for  all  to  keep  on 
the  same  beaten  track  and  not  make  experiments.  If  we  did  so 
very  little  advance  would  be  made.  Before  giving  up  our  well-tried 
methods  which  have  answered  so  well  in  the  past,  we  should  ask 
ourselves  the  questions,  Will  it  entail  more  labour  in  the  apiary?  shall 
we  obtain  a  larger  surplus  ?  and  will  it  be  as  beneficial  to  the  bees  ? 
This  is  of  great  importance,  as  our  honey  harvest  does  not  last  long, 
and  whether  the  weather  is  favourable  or  not,  the  flowers  will  bloom 
in  due  season  and  fade  away,  and  it  is  only  those  colonies  which  are 
in  good  condition  that  are  able  to  store  a  surplus.  This  is  observed 
more  in  an  inclement  season  than  when  the  weather  is  fine  and  bright 
the  whole  of  the  time. 
For  this  purpose,  which  is  the  better  ?  a  large  hive,  or  one  of  small 
dimensions  ?  It  is  as  well  to  understand  the  difference,  as  a  corre¬ 
spondent  lately  condemned  a  hive  of  certain  dimensions  as  being  too 
small,  whereas  it  was  much  larger  than  the  hive  recommended  by  him. 
A  large  hive  when  supered  should  contain  at  least  4500  superficial 
inches  of  storage  space,  including  the  brood  combs.  The  hive  must 
be  crowded  with  bees;  not  only  a  few  stragglers  on  the  outside  combs, 
which  an  inexperienced  bee-keeper  would  probably  term  a  hive  full  of 
bees.  If  the  quilt  is  only  partly  lifte{l  from  the  top  of  the  frames  the 
bees  at  once  boil  over  the  sides  of  the  hive;  they  are  then  in  prime 
condition  for  storing  a  surplus,  and  it  is  surprising  what  a  colony  of 
bees  of  this  description  will  do  during  the  honey  How  if  the  weather  is 
favourable  for  only  a  few  hours. 
A  small  hive  may  contain  1500  superficial  inches,  less  or  more,  a 
few  inches  either  way  is  immaterial.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose 
to  show  the  vast  difference  existing  between  the  two,  and  illustrates 
the  necessity  of  giving  the  dimensions  of  hives,  or  the  number  of 
superficial  inches  of  comb  they  will  contain  when  full. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  hives  still  in  use  in  many  parts  of 
the  country  as  small  as  the  above  mentioned  hive  without  any  means  of 
enlarging  it.  It  is  satisfactory,  however,  to  learn  from  several  corre¬ 
spondents  that  these  small  hives  are  doomed,  and  that  the  more 
rational  system,  as  advocated  in  these  pages,  is  being  followed. 
The  Doubling  System. 
Having  shown  the  difference  between  a  large  and  small  hive,  we  will 
explain  the  system  of  doubling,  which  has  been  mentioned  on  more 
than  one  occasion  in  these  pages,  and  after  another  year’s  experience 
of  this  system,  we  are  more  than  ever  convinced  of  it  being  the  best 
adapted  for  use  in  this  country. 
What  is  doubling  ?  This  may  not  be  the  best  term,  but  it  is  the 
one  most  commonly  used.  The  inexperienced,  however,  may  be  led 
astray  by  the  word,  as  the  hives  are  really  not  doubled  in  the  sense 
that  some  bee-keepers  may  take  it. 
“  Doubling  ”  takes  its  name  from  the  fact  that  another  hive  or 
box  is  placed  on  the  hive  containing  the  bees  and  brood  nest.  This 
hive,  which  may  be  termed  a  super,  is  of  the  same  dimensions  as  the 
bottom  hive. 
The  frames,  all  being  of  the  standard  size,  are  interchangeable  one 
with  the  other.  It  is  important  that  all  the  Irames  in  an  apiary  be  of 
the  same  size  (not  necessarily  of  standari  siz  •).  There  is  then  much 
less  labour  in  the  general  routine  of  work. 
To  be  successful  in  the  management  of  bees  the  neces.sary  work 
must  be  done  at  the  right  time.  If  extra  room  is  required  in  a  strong 
stock  to-day  it  should  be  provided  Ibr  them  at  once ;  not  delay  doing 
it  for  a  few  days,  or  it  may  be  a  week. 
By  the  end  of  May,  or  a  week  or  ten  days  later  according  to  the 
weather,  many  of  the  liives  will  be  crowded  with  bees,  and  be  in  good 
condition  for  doubling.  We  prefer  doubling  those  stocks  which  are 
h(aded  by  a  young  fertile  queen  hatched  the  previous  year.  The 
middle  of  a  fine  day  is  the  best  time  for  the  operation,  as  many  of  the 
adult  bees  will  be  on  the  wing,  and  it  will  be  much  easier  to  find  the 
queen  than  when  the  bees  are  all  in  their  hive.  Examine  each  comb 
as  it  is  lifted  Irom  the  hive  until  the  queen  is  found.  The  frame,  with 
the  ([ueen  and  adhering  baes,  must  then  be  placed  on  one  side,  care 
being  taken  that  the  queen  is  not  shaken  from  the  comb  whilst 
handling  it.  An  empty  hive  or  a  frame  stand  is  a  useful  adjunct  in 
an  apiary ;  there  will  then  be  no  danger  of  crushing  the  queen  or 
bies. 
Lift  out  four  or  five  of  the  frames  containing  brood  and  place  them 
on  the  top  storey  with  the  adhering  bees,  fill  in  vacant  space  with 
combs  that  have  been  stored  away  sinca  the  previous  year,  or  with 
comb  loundation,  [lacing  the  frame  with  adhering  cjueen  and  bees  in 
the  middle  of  the  hive. 
Fsino  Queen  Excluder  Zinc. 
Place  a  sheet  of  queen  excluder  zinc  over  the  top  of  the  frames. 
This  will  keep  the  queen  and  the  drones  in  the  bottom  hive,  the  workers 
only  being  able  to  pass  through.  The  top  storey  may  then  be  placed 
ill  position,  and  if  the  colony  is  a  very  strong  one  the  empty  space 
may  be  filled  with  clean  old  combs.  These  are  tough  and  will  not 
bn  ak  down  in  the  extractor,  as  new  combs  are  liable  to  do.  If  the 
bottom  hive  holds  ten  fra  i  e.s,  not  more  than  nine  frames  should  be 
placed  in  the  super.  This  will  allow  them  to  be  spaced  wi  Icr  apart, 
causing  the  bees  to  make  the  cells  deep  and  more  honey  to  be  stored. 
li  the  hive  has  not  sufficient  bees,  and  the  honey  How  is  expected 
in  three  weeks,  take  a  lew  frames  and  anhering  bee->  from  another 
colony,  for  preference  one  having  an  ohi  queen.  The  Irame  containing 
the  queen  with  adhering  bees  should  be  placed  on  one  side,  as  adviS' d 
with  the  other  hives,  and  the  combs  and  adhering  bees  plac  A 
aliernately  with  the  others  in  the  top  storey  of  the  hive  operaied  on. 
Being  the  middle  of  a  bright  day  many  of  the  adult  bees  will  be  on 
the  wing,  those  on  the  comb  will  be  chiefly  young  bees,  and  tvill  not 
fight,  and  if  quietly  handled  not  a  bee  will  be  lost. 
Bees  at  that  season  may  be  mixed  indiscriminately  by  allowing 
them  to  remain  on  their  own  combs  and  placing  them  alternately  with 
the  bees  in  another  colony.  Some  of  the  old  bees  will  return  to  their 
old  home,  but  many  will  remiin  in  their  adopted  quarters. 
It  is  impossible  to  make  a  colony  of  bees  too  strong  at  the  time  ot 
