a98 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  5  1898. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER.^, 
Ti.r.  I  -  -  -  I  •  I  -_L^  -J  -  I  ■  I  ■  I  ■  I  ■  I  .  1  ■  I  I  -  T  -  I  .  I  ■  I  .  I  -  I  .-r.  I  I  /Vail . 
Starting  Bee-keeping, 
When  is  the  best  time  to  start  bee-keeping  ?  is  a  question  we  are 
often  asked ;  and  as  we  recommend  spring  in  preference  to  autumn 
for  beginners  to  make  a  commencement,  a  few  notes  on  this  subject 
may  now  be  of  interest.  There  is  great  advantage  in  making  an 
immediate  start,  as  a  healthy  stock  or  swarm  early  in  the  season,  if 
carefully  managed,  should  more  than  pay  for  itself  the  first  year.  But 
which  is  preferable  ?  someone  may  ask.  We  prefer  a  stock  headed 
by  a  fjueen  reared  last  summer,  and  as  there  are  numerous  stocks  of 
bees  still  kejit  in  straw  skeps  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  these 
may  usually  be  obtained  at  a  reasonable  rate. 
f  or  preference  select  a  cast,  or  an  old  stock  that  swarmed  last 
year ;  the  former  will  have  combs  of  a  bet'er  colour  than  the  latter, 
but  this  is  of  small  consecpience,  as  they  will  be  melted  down  at  the 
end  of  the  season. 
But  what  is  of  more  interest  to  the  bee-keeper,  each  colony  will  be 
headed  by  a  young  fertile  queen.  Before  selecting  a  stock,  observe 
the  bees  at  work  during  the  middle  of  a  fine  day.  if  they  are  passiog 
into  their  hive  at  a  rapid  rate,  each  bee  being  laden  with  pollen,  it 
will  be  pretty  safe  to  assume  they  are  in  good  condition.  It  is, 
hoM'^ever,  advisable  to  examine  the  combs,  to  see  if  there  is  any  trace 
of  disease.  Lift  the  hive  quietly  off  its  stand  ;  if  the  bees  are  likely 
to  ^  troublesome,  a  puff  or  two  of  smoke  will  drive  them  up  b  tween 
their  combs.  The  latter  should  be  straight,  so  that  it  is  possible  to 
see  thi'  amount  of  brood  in  each.  At  this  date  all  the  combs,  with  the 
exception  of  those  on  the  outside,  will  he  filhd  with  brood  in  various 
stages  of  development.  The  hive,  too,  should  be  crowded  with  bees, 
and  when  found  in  this  condition  may  be  purchased,  with  every 
prospect  of  the  bees  doing  well. 
If  a  swarm  is  preferred,  obtain  it  as  early  in  May  as  possible;  and 
should  the  weather  be  at  all  unfavourable  after  being  hived,  feed 
with  warm  syrup  each  evening  for  a  week,  or  as  long  as  the  bees  may 
require  it.  They  will  then  take  advantage  of  the  first  spell  of  fine 
weather,  and  store  a  surplus  ;  whereas  if  left  to  take  their  chance,  but 
little  headway  would  have  been  made. 
Treatment  of  Bees  in  Skeps. 
If  the  bees  obtained  are  in  straw  skeps  as  above,  it  will  be  an 
advantage  to  obtain  a  swarm  from  them  as  early  as  possible,  and  it 
is  better  for  the  beginner  to  allow  them  to  swarm  naturally  than  to 
attempt  to  take  an  artificial  swarm,  although  the  latter  operation  is 
very  simple  when  the  operator  has  bad  a  little  practice.  It  is  safe 
to  allow  the  bees  to  settle  the  swarming  business  themselves  until 
experience  is  gained. 
Bee-keepers  should  remember  that  it  is  only  during  hot  or  bright 
days  that  bees  will  swarm  naturally,  and  if  the  weather  is  dull  and 
cold  for  several  days  in  succession,  it  is  no  uncommon  occurrence 
during  unfavourable  seasons  for  two  or  three  weeks  to  elapse  in  May 
and  June  when  the  bees  have  not  obtained  sufficient  outdoor  supplies 
for  their  daily  requirements.  When  this  takes  place,  although  the 
oees  may  he  on  the  point  of  swarming,  the  young  queens  being  well 
advanced  in  their  cells,  the  workers  will  tear  down  the  cells  and  cast 
the  grubs  out  of  the  hive.  If  stores  are  at  all  short  in  the- hive  they 
will  also  cast  out  the  crubs  from  the  drone  celL,  and  last  of  a'l  from 
the  worker  cells.  Ibis  shows  the  necessity  of  giving  them  timely 
attention. 
Instead  of  leaving  stocks  to  chance  at  this  critical  period  they  are 
provided  with  thin  syrup  daily  until  a  change  in  the  weather  takes 
place,  all  will  go  on  well.  The  bees  will  increase  at  a  rapid  rate,  and 
the  young  queens  may  be  destroyed,  others  will  be  raised, 
and  the  first  fine  day  that  comes  there  will  probably  issue  a  strong 
swarm  from  this  colony,  followed  by  a  cast  a  few  days  later.  This 
will  be  in  marked  contrast  to  those  that  are  left  to  take  their  chance 
when  the  weather  is  unfavourable.  If  treated  as  advised  above  success 
instead  of  failure  will  be  chronicled. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
An  Improved  Garden  Hose. — The  trouble  experienced  by  many 
persons  with  garden  hose  bursting,  kinking,  or  rotting  is  met  by  another 
important  improvement  in  this  article  by  Messrs.  Merry  weather.  This 
firm  has  been  successful  for  many  years  in  manufacturing  durable  garden 
hose.  The  latest  method  of  securing  durability  for  the  hose  consists  of  an 
external  coating  of  fine  quality  rubber  of  substantial  thickness,  which 
effectually  prevents  the  canvas  plies  being  soaked  with  water,  as  in 
ordinary  hoses,  and  prevents  rotting,  which  soon  means  the  destruction  of 
the  hose.  The  ends  of  each  length  ire  also  hermetically  sealed  with 
rubber  to  protect  the  canvas  from  water.  To  give  flexibility,  this  has  an 
internal  coating  of  the  best  and  most  pliable  rubber,  and  thus  kinking  and 
consequent  stoppage  of  the  flow  of  water,  causing  bursts  in  the  hose,  is 
prevented. 
iNn  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “The  Editor,”  a.  Rose  Hill  Road,„ 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  HOT  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  accompan  ed  by 
the  names  and  addre^.ses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  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. 
Cinerarias  {E,  A.).— -The  flowers  sent  are  admirable  for  decorative 
purposes,  and  are  probably  from  some  good  continental  strain.  These 
have  not  the  perfect  shape  of  the  best  English  selections,  but  are  by  no 
means  to  be  despised.  Several  of  the  specimens  were  between  3  and 
4  inches  in  diameter.  The  flowers  were  of  good  substance  and  the 
colours  splendidly  diversified,  while  we  observed  on  them  some  excellent 
specimens  of  the  green  fly,  which  is  such  a  close  ally  to  Cinerarias. 
Daisies  on  a  Lawn  {C.  F.  if.). — The  presence  of  Daisies  in  lawns 
is  nearly  always  indicative  of  poverty  of  soil.  An  excellent  dressing  is 
a  mixture  of  superphosphate  of  lime  and  nitrate  of  soda,  two-thirds  of 
the  former  and  one-third  of  the  latter  applied  during  showery  weather 
at  the  rate  of  2  ozs.  per  square  yard  at  intervals  of  a  fortnight.  If 
dry  weather  prevail  it  is  a  good  plan  to  well  water  the  lawn  before 
applying  the  fertilisers,  and  then  again  afterwards  to  convey  their 
virtues  to  the  roots  of  the  grass.  Mixtures  of  guano  and  salt  and  soot 
and  salt  also  act  beneficially,  so  also  do  bonemeal  and  wood  ashes. 
We  mention  these  different  ingredients  in  order  that  you  may  use  what 
is  the  most  convenient  or  readily  obtainable.  The  most  effectual  mode 
of  destroying  Dandelions  and  Plantains  is  to  drop  a  little  sulphuric  acid 
into  the  heart  of  each  plant.  Many  persons  have  found  lawn  sand 
effectual  in  destroying  Daisies. 
Lophospermum  scandens  Diseased  at  the  Collar  (i?.  G.). — No  doubt 
the  soil  has  helped  to  produce  the  decay  at  the  collar,  as  from  the  strong 
moisture-holding  nature  it  would  favour  decay.  We  found,  however, 
some  root-stem  eelworm  (Tylenchus  obtusus),  and  these,  we  consider, 
caused  the  decay  of  the  root  stem,  the  pest  restricting  its  attacks  to  those 
parts  of  the  plants,  whether  Cucumbers,  Gardenias,  Ixoras,  Bouvardias. 
Carnations,  Vines,  or  Tomatoes.  The  best  remedy  is  an  application  of 
two  parts  air-slaked  chalk  lime  and  one  part  kainit,  using  6  ozs.  per 
square  yard.  Of  course,  the  application  will  not  restore  plants  to  health 
that  have  their  tissues  destroyed,  but  it  will  prevent  and  check  the  spread 
of  the  evil.  In  cases  of  attack  we  have  found  Little’s  soluble  phenyle 
effective,  using  at  a  strength  of  a  wineglassful  (two  fluid  ounces)  to 
3  gallons  of  water,  or  one  part  in  480  parts  by  measure,  repeating 
occasionally. 
Tomato  Plants  Diseased  (•/.  5.). — The  plants,  of  which  you  submit 
specimens,  are  infested  by  the  Tomato  “  curl,”  “  sleepy  disease,”  or 
“sudden  collapse”  fungus  (Eusarium  Solani,  syn.  E.  lycopersici)  in  a 
remarkable  manner,  the  attack  being  confined  to  one  side  of  the  stem, 
and  traceable  in  it  to  the  base  of  the  first  flower  truss.  This  the 
mycelium  of  the  parasite  has  not  entered,  but  was  making  its  way  there 
as  fast  as  it  could  grow.  The  disease  has  evidently  proceeded  from 
the  root,  though  you  have  not  sent  that  portion,  but  only  the  side 
with  roots  attached.  Immediately  above  these  roots  the  bark  has 
separated  from  the  underlying  woody  layers,  these  being  destroyed,  but 
the  bark  quite  sound,  yet  the  said  roots  emanate  from  the  diseased  tissue, 
and  inside  the  bark  woody  layers  are  formed.  The  phenomenon,  there¬ 
fore.  somewhat  resembles  that  of  a  hollow  tree  whose  “  heart  ”  has  been 
eaten  out  by  one  or  other  of  the  wood  fungi,  and  explains  the  reason 
why  earthing  up  Tomatoes  affected  by  this  disease  may,  by  encouraging 
roots  from  the  collar,  prolong  the  life  of  the  plants  and  insure  fair  crops 
of  fruit.  This,  however,  can  only  occur  in  certain  cases,  and  in  yours 
the  fungus  has  got  high  up  in  the  plant.  However,  you  can  try  the 
placing  of  some  fresh  soil  about  the  stems  after  first  dressing  the  plants 
I  with  air-slaked  chalk  lime. 
