February  24,  1898. 
JOURN'AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
179 
surplus  bunches,  remove  badly  set  and  ill-shaped  clusters,  seeking  a  full 
crop  of  compact,  good  shaped,  well  furnished  bunches,  properly  swelled 
and  perfect  in  colour  and  finish,  which  are  more  profitable  and  much 
more  creditable  than  an  enormous  crop  of  large  loose  clusters  of  unevenly 
swelled  berries,  red  in  colour,  with  a  large  percentage  shanked.  Allow 
laterals  to  extend  beyond  the  fruits  where  there  is  room  for  exposure 
to  light,  but  in  no  case  must  laterals  be  encouraged  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
principal  leaves.  Attend  to  stopping  frequently,  for  the  alternating 
accelerations  and  checks  to  root  action,  consequent  on  encouraging  the 
laterals  and  then  removing  them  by  armfuls,  are  attended  with  the  worst 
consequences  to  foliage  and  fruit. 
Afford  a  thorough  supply  of  liquid  manure  to  the  inside  border  at 
intervals  as  required  to  keep  the  soil  in  a  properly  moist— never  soddened — 
condition,  and  mulch  with  an  inch  of  sweetened  horse  droppings  or  rather 
lumpy  well  decayed  manure.  Fresh  horse  droppings  give  off  too  much 
ammonia,  this  injuring  the  foliage  when  too  powerful,  especially  when  the 
house  is  kept  close  in  dull  periods.  Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  60’ 
to  65°,  70°  to  75°  by  day,  ventilating  from  70°,  keeping  through  the  day 
at  80°  to  85°  with  sun,  closing  so  as  to  maintain  this  heat,  or  even  5° 
more,  until  well  into  the  afternoon,  and  well  damping  the  house.  Avoid 
syringing  the  foliage  and  fruit,  as  however  clear  and  soft  the  water  may 
be,  there  is  danger  of  sediment ;  indeed,  all  may  appear  clear  until  the 
Grapes  begin  to  finish,  then  the  purple  or  golden  hue  stained  with  white 
is  a  serious  blemish. 
Fines  in  Flower. — The  temperature  must  not  be  less  than  60°  to 
65°  at  night  and  70°  to  75°  by  day.  Lessen  or  discontinue  the  syringing, 
though  moderate  moisture  is  desirable  for  the  benebt  of  the  foliage, 
preventing  condensation  of  moisture  by  a  little  ventilation  constantly, 
taking  care  not  to  cause  a  draught.  Shy-setting  varieties  require  careful 
fertilisation,  all  varieties  welt  repaying  the  labour  by  producing  finer 
bunches  of  evenly  formed  berries.  Afford  Muscats  in  tiower  a  night 
temperature  of  65°  to  70°,  and  75°  to  80°  by  day  ;  if  the  bunches  are 
numerous  a  better  set  will  be  secured  by  the  removal  of  the  surplus  ones 
before  they  bloom.  Duplicates  only  take  support  from  those  which 
are  ultimately  left  for  the  crop. 
Thinning  Grapes. — Keep  this  operation  well  in  hand,  thinning  Black 
Hamburghs  and  other  free-setting  varieties  as  soon  as  possible  after 
flowering  ;  but  the  shy-setting  Muscats  and  others  should  be  left  until 
the  properly  fertilised  berries  can  be  distinguished.  Sufficient  berries 
should  be  taken  out  to  allow  of  those  left  attaining  their  full  size 
without  wedging  or  crushing,  retaining  enough  to  prevent  the  bunches 
falling  out  of  shape  when  cut  and  laid  upon  the  dish. 
Succession  Houses. — Attend  to  disbudding  as  soon  as  the  best  shows  for 
fruit  can  be  discerned,  proceeding  gradually.  Stopping  may  take  place 
one,  two,  three,  or  four  joints  beyond  the  show  of  fruit  as  the  space 
admits,  but  the  leaves  beyond  tbe  fruit  having  exposure  to  light,  the  more 
certain  is  it  of  being  well  supported.  If  the  space  is  limited  stop  at  the 
second’joint,  or  even  one  beyond  the  bunch,  but  where  space  admits  stop 
the  growths  at  the  third  or  fourth  joint  beyond  the  bunch,  and  then  allow 
the  laterals  to  extend  until  the  available  space  is  covered  with  an  even 
spread  of  leaves,  then  keep  them  closely  stopped.  Tie  the  growths  down 
before  they  touch  the  glass  ;  bring  them  down  carefully,  as  the  growths 
of  vigorous  Vines  are  liable  to  snap.  Allow  plenty  of  room  in  the 
ligatures  for  the  swelling  of  the  shoots.  When  the  bunches  show  increase 
the  temperature  to  55°  to  60’  at  night,  65°  by  day  artificially,  70°  to  75° 
from  sun  heat,  and  advance  to  80°  or  85°  from  that  source,  especially  after 
closing. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER  H 
kr- 1  ■ ,  ■ ,  ■  IT-I .  I  -T.  I-T  ■■  I .  I  ■  I .  I  ■  I .  I  ■  I  .  T .  I .  I .  I  - 1  - 1  -  r=-rH 
Straw  Skeps. 
Although  the  moveable  frame  hive  has  made  great  headway 
throughout  the  country,  there  are  many  bee-keepers  who  adhere  to 
the  hive  of  their  forefathers,  and  will  not  discard  the  straw  skep  in 
favour  of  the  more  modern  frame  hive.  Why  this  should  be  the  c.ase 
it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  say,  as  one  may  show  them  how  easily  the 
bees  are  manipulated  in  the  modern  hive  and  the  surplus  honey 
removed  without  injuring  or  destroying  the  bees.  Still  tiny  will 
work  on  the  same  lines  as  before,  with  the  exception  of  destroying 
the  bees,  which  was  invariably  done  not  many  years  ago. 
Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  are  more  bees  kept  in  straw 
skeps  throughout  the  country  than  some  people  imagine,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  them  to  know  the  various  means  at  their  command  of 
obtaining  a  surplus.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  as  well  to  remember  that 
it  is  much  easier  to  obtain  a  large  surplus  from  a  frame  hive  than  it  is 
from  an  ordinary  straw  skep.  This  has  been  the  experience  of  all  who 
have  given  both  systems  a  fair  trial — -not  only  in  the  extra  weiglit 
obtained,  but  also  in  the  superior  quality.  If,  however,  close  attention 
is  paid  to  straw  skeps,  and  the  bees  receive  extra  room  when  required, 
it  is  surprising  the  large  amount  of  honey  that  may  be  obtained  from 
a  strong  colony  in  a  favourable  season.  If  a  good  harvest  of  honey  is 
expected  swarming  must  not  be  encouraged,  unless  the  chief  source 
from  which  the  honey  is  obtained  is  the  Heather.  In  that  case  a 
limited  number  may  be  allowed  to  swarm  with  advantage,  as  the  aim 
of  bee-keepers  should  be  to  have  their  hives  as  full  as  possible  of  bees 
when  the  honey  flow  comes. 
Obtaining  a  Surplus  from  Skeps. 
If  the  bulk  of  the  honey  is  taken  from  field  Beans  and  white  Clover, 
it  is  impossible  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  surplus  from  stocks  that  are 
allowed  to  swarm  indiscriminately,  and  when  once  they  have  the 
swarming  fever,  no  after  management  will  prevent  them.  Our  experi¬ 
ence  with  first  swarms  is,- they  appear  to  work  much  harder  when 
placed  in  their  new  home,  in  comparison  with  those  that  have  not 
swarmed.  But  as  there  would  be  only  a  given  number  of  bees  in  the 
swarm  when  they  left  their  parent  hive,  there  would  be  no  increase  in 
numbers  for  three  weeks  at  the  earliest,  while  a  fortnight  at  the  least 
would  have  to  elapse  before  the  newly  hatched  bees  would  be  of  any 
use  as  honey  gatherers.  By  that  time  many  of  the  old  bees  would 
have  died  off,  and  unless  the  swarm  were  an  extra  early  one,  the 
chances  are  that  the  best  part  of  the  honey  season  would  be  over 
before  they  were  in  a  condition  to  gather  and  store  a  surplus.  A  stock 
that  has  not  swarmed  will  continue  to  increase  at  a  rapid  rate.  The 
hundreds  of  bees  that  are  hatched  daily  will  soon  cause  the  hive  to 
become  crowded,  and  if  ample  room  is  provided  for  the  fast  increasing 
colony,  the  bees  will  work  quite  as  freely  as  a  first  swarm. 
A  slock  treated  in  this  maimer  will  be  in  good  condition  for  storing 
a  surplus  should  the  weather  be  favourable  when  the  honey  can  be 
obtained.  Extra  space  may  be  provided  for  the  bees  by  placing  an 
eke  about  4  inches  or  more  in  depth  under  the  skep.  This  may  be 
made  out  of  an  old  skep  the  same  size  as  the  one  under  which  it  is  to 
be  placed,  and  the  bees  will  at  once  commence  to  build  their  combs 
to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  floor  board.  This  should  allow 
sufficient  space  for  the  bees  in  an  ordinary  skep.  If  more  room  is 
needed,  it  must  be  given  at  the  top  of  the  skep,  as  by  this  time 
honey  will  probably  be  coming  in  freely. 
Supers  on  Skeps. 
It  is  as  easy  to  obtain  well  finished  sections  of  comb  honey  from 
straw  skeps  as  from  the  most  elaborate  frame  hive.  Some  of  the  best 
finished  sections  we  have  ever  seen  were  worked  on  the  top  of  a  straw 
skep.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  prepare  a  crate  of  sections  in  the 
usual  manner.  The  crate  containing  the  sections  should  be  placed 
inside  a  box  slightly  larger,  so  that  there  is  sufficient  space  round  the 
sides  for  packing  with  some  warm  material,  which  will  be  of  great 
advantage  in  conserving  the  warmth.  The  bottom  of  the  box  must 
have  a  hole  to  correspond  with  the  one  on  the  top  of  the  skep.  The 
bees  will  then  be  able  to  pass  fiom  one  to  the  other.  Care  must  be 
taken  in  placinsi  the  box  containing  the  sections  on  the  skep  that  there 
is  no  escaj  e  of  heat,  and  there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  this  respect 
with  a  fiat  topped  skep,  as  a  ring  of  some  warm  material  may  be 
placed  under  the  box.  If  the  skep  is  dome-shaped  it  is  better  to 
make  a  ])latform  of  clay,  or  something  similar,  on  which  to  place  the 
box,  so  that  it  may  be  quite  level.  'I'he  whole  must  be  covered  up 
warm,  and  due  precaution  taken  lo  prevent  the  interior  becoming 
saturated. 
Bell-glasses  of  various  forms  can  1  e  used  as  supers,  but  are  not 
recommended  if  quantity  is  required.  These  may  be  fixed  on  a  level 
stage  similar  to  the  crate  of  sections.  An  empty  straw  skep,  in  which 
there  have  been  placed  a  few  pieces  of  guide  comb,  also  makes  a  good 
super;  but  in  this  case  it  is  advisable  to  jdace  a  piece  of  queen 
excluder  zinc  over  the  hole  on  the  top  of  the  hive,  or  the  queen  will 
fill  it  with  brood,  and  little  surplus  wfill  be  stored.— An  English 
Bee-keeper. 
SIZE  OF  HIVES. 
On  page  113  “An  English  Bee-keeper”  saj’s,  “The  standard  frame 
is  now  extensively  used,  and  before  condemning  it  in  favour  of  another 
size,  it  is  as  well  if  we  study  the  question  and  see  where  the  difference  is. 
This  I  venture  to  say  ‘G.  H.’  has  not  done,  as  he  recommends  a  hive 
holding  twelve  frames,  20  inches  by  inches,  which  is  really  much 
smaller  than  the  standard  frame  hive  as  advocated  in  these  pages.”  I 
may  as  well  undeceive  “  An  English  Bee-keeper.”  I  have  studied  the 
question  well.  I  knew  the  method,  and  practised  doubling  years  ago, 
when  in  my  teens.  But  as  yet  I  cannot  see  the  force  of  ‘‘  An  English 
Bee-keeper’s”  reasoning.  The  arithmetic  propounded  is  not  a  fair 
comparison.  In  the  first  place  we  have  a  hive  to  take  nineteen  standard 
frames,  14  inches  by  8  V  giving  4522  inches  of  surface.  Next  we  have 
twelve  frames,  20  inches  by  85  inches,  giving  4080  inches  of  surface,  a 
difference  in  favour  of  the  former  of  442  inches  of  storage.  This  may 
look  all  right  just  as  it  stands,  but  it  will  not  bear  the  searchlight. 
Let  us  look  at  the  hive  advocated  by  “  An  English  Bee-keeper.” 
There  are  ten  frames  for  brood,  that  is  the  hive  proper,  giving  2380  inches 
of  comb  surface  for  the  brood  nest.  Now,  when  doubling  fakes  place, 
another  hive  the  same  size  is  placed  on  the  top,  which  may  be  termed  a 
super.  Excluder  zinc  is  placed  between  the  two  hives,  and  converts  them 
into  hive  and  super  respectively.  Again,  if  the  hive  is  not  strong  enough 
bees  and  combs  are  taken  from  another  stock  to  make  it  so.  Can  the 
yield  of  such  a  hive  be  called  the  produce  of  one  stock  ?  Certainly  not, 
for  we  have  the  progeny’  ^  two  queens  at  work.  Moreover,  it  is  only  a 
hive  with  ten  standard  frKhes,  with  a  super  of  nine  frames  on,  according 
to  “  An  English  Bee-keeper’s  ”  own  showing. 
Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  larger  hive  ;  twelve  frames  20  inches  by 
8^  gives  4080  inches  of  comb  surface.  In  conjunction  with  these  hives, 
