m 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTiaVLTURP  AND  OOTTAGP  GARDPNPR. 
April  14.  1898. 
seed  is  comparatively  small  and  germinates  readily ;  thick  sowing, 
often  resorted  to,  entails  much  labour  in  thinning  that  might  have  been 
avoided. 
Vegetable  Marrows. — It  is  too  early  to  sow  seeds  with  a  view  to 
having  plants  for  turning  out  in  the  open  late  in  May  or  early  in  June, 
but  early  Marrows  are  most  appreciated,  and  if  a  frame  or  hand-lights 
can  be  spared  to  cover  the  plants  for  a  time,  some  should  be  raised  at 
once.  Sow  the  seeds  singly  in  3-inch  pots,  and  place  them  in  gentle  heat  to 
germinate,  raising  the  plants  well  up  to  the  light  before  they  become 
drawn.  In  the  meantime  collect  a  large  square  heap  of  leaves,  sweepings, 
vegetable  refuse,  and  strawy  manure,  or  enough  to  form  a  bed  for  both 
early  and  main  crop  plants. 
H- 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
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i 
Removing  Spare  Combs. 
Some  of  the  most  succes.sful  bee-keepers  in  this  country  leave  the 
whole  of  the  frames  in  the  hive  throughout  the  winter ;  others  equally 
fortunate  in  the  condition  of  their  stocks  in  the  spring  remove  the 
outside  frames  from  their  hives  iu  the  autumn  and  close  up  the  division 
board,  so  that  the  bees  may  be  enclosed  in  a  smaller  compass  and  thus 
be  able  to  withstand  any  extremes  in  temperature.  If  extra-sized 
hives  are  used  the  latter  plan  is  recommended,  but  if  the  ordinary  hive 
holding  ten  standard  frames  is  in  use  then  it  is  not  necessary.  It  is 
many  years  since  we  first  experimented  on  these  lines,  and  during  the 
past  winter  we  had  several  hives  holding  upwards  of  a  dozen  frames, 
the  whole  of  which  were  left  in  the  body  of  the  hive.  Others,  again, 
had  the  division  board  placed  between  the  empty  combs  and  those 
containing  the  stores,  whilst  those  having  a  less  number  of  frames  were 
not  disturbed. 
It  was  therefore  interesting  to  observe  how  the  various  colonies  had 
come  through  the  late  exceptionally  mild  winter.  Strange  as  it  may 
appear  there  was  no  difference  in  them,  all  were  in  good  condition. 
The  mild  weather  had  doubtless  something  to  do  with  this,  although 
it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  in  previous  winters  when  the  temperature 
has  been  low  there  has  not  been  as  much  difference  as  one  would 
have  expected. 
It  is  an  advantage  after  this  date,  whether  the  hives  are  large  or 
small,  to  close  up  the  frames  containing  bees,  brood,  and  stores  with 
the  dummy  or  division  board.  The  outer  frames  will  now  be  empty, 
and  these  need  not  be  taken  away,  but  placed  at  the  back  of  the 
division  board  ;  they  will  then  be  convenieirtl}’  to  hand  for  use  in  the 
brood  nest  when  required.  It  is  important  that  the  whole  is  covered 
up  warm  with  several  thicknesses  of  old  carpet  or  similar  material, 
and  if  a  board  is  placed  on  the  top  of  all  and  weighted  down  with  a 
brick,  it  will  be  an  advantage  in  conserving  the  heat.  'I'he  middle  of 
a  fine  day  should  be  chosen  for  examining  stocks,  and  if  carefully  done 
the  bees  need  not  be  disturbed. 
Uniting  Y/eak  Colonies. 
It  is  quite  a  common  occurrence  where  several  colonies  of  bees  are 
kept  in  an  apiary,  for  some  of  them  to  be  much  stronger  than  others. 
This  is  more  apparent  at  this  season  than  at  any  other  time  of  the 
year.  Why  it  should  be  the  case  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  say. 
The  queens  may  all  have  been  carefully  bred  early  in  the  season,  and 
fertilised  in  due  course.  These  stocks  have  gone  into  winter  quarters 
crowded  with  bees  and  well  supplied  with  stores,  but  when  examined 
in  early  spring  some  of  the  colonies  will  be  extra  strong  in  bees, 
whereas  with  others  the  opposite  will  be  the  case.  This  is  the 
experience  of  all  bee-keepers  with  whom  we  have  come  in  contact. 
Ihere  are  others  who  have  no  system  of  queen  rearing,  and  leave  the 
matter  very  ranch  to  the  bees  themselves ;  the  consequence  is  many 
old  queens  die  during  winter  and  early  spring,  and  the  natural  conse¬ 
quence  is  numerous  weak  colonies  in  the  apiary. 
But  what  is  best  to  be  done  with  these  weak  stocks  ?  We  have 
no  hesitation  in  recommending  them  to  be  united,  having  on  many 
occasions  derived  great  benefit  by  doing  this  early  in  the  spring, 
instead  of  waiting  until  the  season  has  well  advanced.  If  the  stocks 
are  queenless,  then  unite  them  to  the  next  colony  having  a  fertile 
queen.  But  if  two  or  more  stocks  are  headed  by  queens,  and  the  bees 
have  dwindled  until  few  remain,  dt  stroy  the  older  queen,  and  unite 
the  bees  to  the  one  having  the  more  prolific  queen. 
If  the  stocks  are  several  yards  apart,  and  the  weather  is  bright,  so 
that  tiio  bees  are  on  the  wing,  remove  them  a  few  feet  nearer  each 
other  daily.  In  the  evening  remove  all  the  empty  frames  from  the 
hive  containing  the  queen.  Separate  the  other  combs, and  sprinkle  the 
bees  with  flour  or  thin  warm  syrup.  This  may  be  repeated  with  the 
queenless  colony,  the  frames  being  lifted  out  and  placed  alternately 
with  those  in  the  other  hive.  Cover  up  warm,  and  place  a  bottle  of 
warm  syrup  on  the  toji,  and  all  will  be  well.  Stocks  treated  in  this 
manner  invariably  do  well,  if  not  left  too  late  until  there  are  not 
sufficient  bees  to  keep  up  the  temperature  of  the  hive.  When  this  is 
the  case  more  bees  must  be  added,  or  it  will  end  iu  failure. 
Robbing. 
What  bee-keeper  is  there  who  has  kept  numerous  colonies  of  bees 
and  has  not  had  a  bad  case  of  robbing  ?  We  have  experienced  it  on 
several  occasions,  but  more  often  in  our  novitiate  days  than  now. 
Bee-keepers  have  often  themselves  to  blame  through  carelessness  in 
some  form  or  other.  It  may  be  in  spilling  some  syrup,  or  allow¬ 
ing  a  weak  colony  to  remain  on  its  stand  after  tbe  bees  were  too 
few  to  protect  their  stores.  Once  let  the  robbers,  which  come  from  the 
strong  colonies,  gain  an  entrance,  they  will  in  a  short  space  of  time 
clear  out  the  stores,  and  the  rightful  owners  will  (if  not  attended  to) 
soon  die  of  starvation.  At  first  they  will  try  and  defend  their  stores, 
but  when  they  find  the  case  is  hopeless  they  will  not  interfere  with 
the  robbers.  It  is  surprising  at  what  a  rapid  rate  they  will  clear  out 
the  stores  from  a  weak  colony. 
It  is  a  decided  advantage  to  reduce  the  entrance  to  an  inch  at  this 
season,  allowing  more  space  as  it  is  required  ;  this  will  give  the  bees  a 
better  opportunity  of  defending  their  stores  than  if  the  entrance  were 
open  its  full  width.  In  a  bad  case  of  robbing  it  is  often  necessary 
to  remove  the  stock  attacked  several  yards  away  from  its  original 
stand,  placing  an  empty  hive  in  its  place.  Before  doing  this  some 
carbolic  acid  should  be  smeared  on  the  alighting  board,  only  allowing 
about  an  inch  of  clear  space  opposite  the  reduced  entrance.  This 
will  often  have  the  desired  effect  without  the  necessity  of  moving  the 
stock  bodily  away.  When  this  is  done  care  must  be  taken  that  the 
colony  attacked  is  well  supplied  with  stores,  which  should  be  given 
in  the  evening. — An  English  Bee-keepee. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley  and  Eynsford. — Floral  Guide. 
J.  Cheal  &  Sons,  Crawley. — Dahlias. 
W.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross. — New  Roses. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,” 8,  Rose  Hill  Road, 
'Wandsworth,  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 
discussed  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  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  flumes  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. 
Jnsticia  calytricha  (Nemo). — In  the  cultivation  of  this  charming  plant 
it  is  advisable  to  raise  fresh  stock  from  cuttings  annually,  for  old  plants 
seldom  grow  with  such  vigour  or  produce  such  large  plumes  of  flowers 
as  do  young  plants.  Old  plants  from  their  slow  stunted  growth  often 
become  a  prey  to  scale,  which  is  not  the  case  where  the  plants  are  raised 
from  cuttings  every  year,  provided  they  are  not  grown  too  warm.  Old 
plants  that  have  flowered  should  be  encouraged  to  grow  in  a  warm  house, 
for  the  sooner  cuttings  can  be  obtained  the  better.  When  strong  cuttings 
have  been  produced  they  should  be  inserted  singly  in  small  pots,  and  if 
kept  close  in  the  propagating  frame  every  one  will  root.  They  should  be 
grown  warm  until  they  are  established  in  8-inch  pots,  and  from  this  stage 
an  intermediate  temperature  should  be  given  them.  After  the  middle  of 
July  they  should  be  grown  in  cold  frames. 
