Mareh  31,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
291 
posing  the  cuttings  1  foot  apart  in  rows  18  inches  asunder.  The  top  of 
the  cuttings  ought  to  be  sunk  slightly  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
If  permanent  beds  are  formed  with  young  plants  from  a  seed  bed  or 
nursery,  cut  off  the  crowns  to  prevent  their  flowering,  and  plant  either 
singly  or  in  groups  of  three,  disposing  the  stations  2  feet  apart  each  way. 
A  width  of  4  feet  of  ground  is  not  too  much  when  a  single  row  of  Seakale 
for  forcing  where  grown  is  formed. 
Kidney  Beans. — It  is  too  early  to  sow  seed  in  the  open  with  a  good 
prospect  of  a  crop  resulting,  but  as  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  grow  too 
many  Beans  for  use  early  in  the  season,  a  goodly  number  of  plants  should 
be  raised  for  planting  under  hand-lights  in  pits,  glazed  or  unglazed,  and 
frames.  They  move  best  out  of  small  pots,  and  form  a  good  succession 
to  early  Potatoes,  levelling  over  the  soil  and  planting  the  Beans  as  each 
light  is  cleared.  At  this  period  of  the  year  Kidney  Beaus  succeed  better 
in  boxes  than  pots,  suffering  less  from  drought  and  red  spider. 
Tomatoes. — Plants  intended  for  putting  out  against  sunny  walls  or 
quite  in  the  open  late  in  May  or  early  in  June,  should  not  have  been 
raised  yet,  especially  if  large  numbers  are  required.  A  few  might  be 
given  a  shift  into  6-inch  pots,  and  kept  growing,  not  losing  their  first 
bunch  of  flowers,  but  this  is  out  of  the  question  on  a  large  scale.  Plants 
large  enough  for  turning  out  into  the  open  ground  at  the  proper  time  can 
be  had  in  about  a  month  from  the  date  of  sowing  the  seed,  and  with  only 
a  warm  frame  or  greenhouse  at  command  six  weeks  is  long  enough  to 
allow.  Sow  seeds  of  early  ripening  varieties  very  thinly  in  pans  of  light 
soil  in  gentle  heat.  Before  the  seedlings  become  drawn  raise  them  up 
near  to  the  glass,  and  when  in  rough  leaf  place  them  singly  in  2.^ -inch 
pots.  Grow  the  young  plants  in  a  sunny  position. 
m.'tf  1  ^  1.  r  -  -  j  g  1  Ji  ki'-  r»  1 .  1 «  ix  1  •»  i~#  rrTTi**."!  «r  -  i-'i« 
iE  BBE-KBEPER.^ 
Condition  of  Stocks. 
What  is  the  condition  of  the  bees  in  the  various  districts  throughout 
the  country,  and  how  have  they  wintered  ?  are  questions  often  asked 
at  this  season.  It  is  gratifying  to  record  the  general  good  condition  of 
stocks.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  more  forward,  and  have  more  bees  indi¬ 
vidually  than  is  usually  the  case  six  weeks  after  this  date.  This  is 
our  experience  in  a  fairly  large  home  apiary,  and  is  also  the  opinion  of 
several  correspondents  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  We  have  not 
received  such  good  reports  so  early  in  the  season  before.  The  only 
complaint  in  a  few  instances  has  been  shortness  of  stores.  This, 
however,  can  he  remedied  when  steps  are  taken  in  time. 
Where  numerous  colonies  of  bees  are  kept  one  may  now  easily 
make  a  comparison  as  to  the  amount  of  stores  consumed  during  a  mild 
open  winter,  one  unusually  severe,  and  an  excessively  wet  season. 
The  past  winter  has  been  exceptionally  dry  and  mild,  and  our  experi¬ 
ence  is  that  more  stores  have  been  consumed  than  in  previous  winters 
when  the  weather  has  been  severe.  Although  this  has  been  the  case 
not  a  single  stock  has  required  feeding  up  to  the  present  time,  and  to 
all  appearances  they  are  safe  until  their  natural  supplies  come  iu.  A 
wet  season  is  to  be  dreaded  by  bee-keepers  more  than  a  severe  one. 
Let  the  hive  become  saturated,  or  ibe  floor  board  damp  for  any  length 
of  time,  and  the  bees  will  suffer,  if  they  do  not  actually  succumb,  so 
instead  of  strong  colonies  in  early  spring  they  will,  with  only  a  few 
exceptions-,  be  weak. 
Dearth  of  Dead  Bees. 
A  remarkable  feature  of  the  past  winter  is  the  scarcity  of  dead  bees 
in  the  hives.  Our  usual  practice  during  early  spring  is  to  place  a 
clean  dry  floor  board  under  each  of  the  hives,  as  there  is  always  a 
certain  amount  of  debris  to  be  cleared  away,  caused  by  the  uncapping 
of  their  stores  during  the  winter  months.  There  are  usually  a  few 
dead  bees,  sometimes  more  than  otliers.  We  have  always  found  them 
to  be  more  numerous  when  there  has  been  dampness  in  the  hive  than 
from  any  other  cause.  But  lately,  when  removing  the  floor  boards 
from  our  hives  no  dead  bees  were  seen.  This  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  the  mild  dry  winter,  the  old  bees,  which  under  ordinary  circum¬ 
stances  would  have  died,  having  had  their  lives  prolonged.  They  will 
be  an  advantage  in  helping  to  keep  up  the  temperature  of  the  brood 
nest.  In  no  instance  this  spring  have  we  observed  any  dead  bees 
turned  out  of  the  hives,  neither  has  there  been  any  seen  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  apiary. 
So,  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  the  outlook  is  encouraging 
to  bee-keepers,  and  should  the  much  needed  rainfall  come  in  due 
course,  and  warm  weather  and  bright  sunshine  when  the  honey  flow 
comes,  it  will  give  a  stimulus  to  bee-keeping. 
Qdeenlessness. 
Why  are  there  more  stocks  queenless  at  this  date,  or  during  early 
spring,  than  at  any  other  time  of  the  year  ?  That  such  is  the  case 
few  bee-keepers  will  deny.  How  often  one  hears  the  complaint  from 
the  straw  skepist,  it  may  be  in  February  or  as  late  as  May,  that 
“  sundry  skeps  of  bees  are  dead;  there  were  plenty  of  stores  still  in 
the  hive,  but  the  few  bees  that  remained  in  the  skep  were  found  dead 
on  the  floor  board.”  We  have  received  a  query  similar  to  the 
above,  and  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
it  is  caused  by  queenlessness.  This  is  oftener  observed  when  care  is 
not  taken  in  making  a  note  of  swarms  casts  or  old  stocks,  as  the  case 
may  be,  when  driving  the  bees  in  the  autumn.  The  mistake  many 
cottagers  make  is  to  keep  their  heaviest  hive  for  stock.  This  is  invariably 
the  first  swarm  which  is  headed  by  the  old  queen  from  the  parent 
stock.  When  this  is  done  it  must  end  in  disister  sooner  or  later. 
But  queenlessness  at  this  season  is  not  confined  to  the  straw  skep ; 
it  will  often  happen  in  the  modern  frame  hive.  Old  age  and  raising 
queens  late  in  the  autumn  are  the  most  frequent  cause.  Unless  there 
is  some  particular  reason,  a  queen  should  never  be  kept  longer  than 
two  years.  When  a  queen  has  become  decrepit  and  worn  out  from 
old  age  they  will  often  live  throughout  the  winter,  and  then,  owing  to 
their  ovipositing  powers  being  on  the  wane,  the  workers  will  ball 
them  and  turn  them  out  of  the  hives.  If  in  early  spring  they  will 
form  queen  cells ;  but  if  a  queen  should  be  hatched  she  will  not  become 
fecundated,  and  the  bees  will  gradually  dwindle  away.  But  if  the 
weather  is  warm  they  will  often  leave  the  hive  in  a  body,  and  join  the 
bees  in  another. 
An  old  queen  will  often  die  at  midwinter ;  the  bees  left  in  the  hive 
then  appear  to  die  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  the  fact  may  not  be  dis¬ 
covered  for  several  weeks.  But  when  it  takes  place  during  the  spring 
the  bees  should  be  united  to  the  nearest  colony,  as  advised  in  previous 
notes.  It  is  quite  easy  for  a  practical  bee-keeper  to  form  a  reliable 
opinion  as  to  whether  a  stock  is  headed  by  a  good  fertile  queen  or  not. 
If  it  is,  observe  them  when  the  sun  is  shining  brightly,  and  all  will  be 
activity  ;  the  bees  will  be  carrying  in  pollen  at  a  rapid  rate.  If  qiieen- 
less,  the  bees  will  remain  about  the  entrance  in  a  languid  kind  of 
manner.  When  this  is  observed  the  stock  should  be  examined. — 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  a.  Scse  Hill  Road, 
Wand  swot  th,  S.W.,  and  NOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to 
any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discus.sed  in  this  Journal,  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.  If  information 
be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any  particular 
authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain 
it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompan  ed  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  da  plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Wednesday  Morning’s  Letters. — Letters  and  parcels  which  arrive  on 
Wednesday  morning  can  rarely  be  attended  to,  and  replies  published  in 
the  current  issue.  Some  parcels  and  letters  are  delayed  in  delivery 
through  being  misdirected.  The  correct  address  for  everything  intended 
for  the  Editor  is  given  above. 
Camellias  (^Amateur'). — If  you  will  comply  with  our  simple  conditions 
above,  as  other  inquirers  do,  we  will  answer  all  the  questions  you  like  to 
ask,  and  more  than  this  expression  of  willingness  cannot  be  expected 
under  the  circumstances. 
Dracaena  Leaf  Spotted  ((7.  L.  IL). — The  small  spots  on  the  leaf,  dark 
in  the  centre,  with  a  y  llowish  ring  around,  are  due  to  a  minute  parasitic 
fungus  (Septoria  insularis),  which  causes  the  premature  decay  of  the 
aSected  parts.  It  chiefly  attacks  the  lower  leaves,  especially  of  plants 
grown  in  a  somewhat  low  temperature,  and  during  the  winter  or  early 
spring  months.  The  best  preventive  is  sponging  the  leaves  occasionally 
with  any  of  the  advertised  insecticides  containing  soap,  as  most  of  them  do, 
being  more  or  less  emulsions.  Such  adhere  to  the  cuticle  and  even  sink 
into  the  pustules,  therefore  apply  with  a  sponge  to  effect  that  object. 
