20 
July  0,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND 
COTTAGE 
GARDENER. 
is  from  the  buds  formed  at  the  base  of  the  stronger  growths  that  the 
finest  shoots  will  be  obtained  next  season.  If,  therefore,  the  clumps 
develop  thickets  of  growths  now,  thin  them  out  freely,  and  those  reserved 
will  be  all  the  better  for  it.  Long,  strong  growths  are  liable  to  break 
down  when  wet,  and  these  should  be  roughly  supported.  Seedlings  have 
come  up  thickly  on  established  beds,  and  if  all  are  allowed  to  remain 
crowded  plants  will  bo  the  result. 
Beans. — Topping  Broad  Beans  hastens  the  filling  of  pods,  and  is  the 
readiest  means  of  getting  rid  of  aphides.  A  soaking  of  water  is  needed 
by  most  of  the  rows,  and  without  this  assistance  the  crops  will  probably 
be  light  and  soon  over.  Where  Kidney  Beans  aro  in  constant  demand 
seed  ought  to  be  sown  every  fortnight,  as  the  plants  do  not  long  produce 
tender  young  pods.  The  climbing  section,  if  kept  closely  gathered  from, 
is  more  continuous  in  bearing.  Runner  Beans  have  in  many  districts 
been  much  crippled  by  frosts,  only  the  late-sown  rows  escaping  injury. 
Stakes  ought  to  be  fixed  in  position  before  the  plants  twine  about  each 
other.  Nothing  is  gained,  and  much  may  bo  lost  bv  leaving  the  plants 
too  thickly  in  the  rows.  Brace  the  stakes  together  with  a  line  of  straight 
stakes  taken  along  1  foot  or  so  from  the  tops,  or  winds  will  disturb 
them  later.  Those  to  be  grown  without  stakes  must  be  kept  closely 
topped. 
Cabbage. — With  the  prospect  of  a  poor  crop  of  Teas,  Spinach,  and 
Cauliflowers  before  us,  everything  possible  should  be  done  to  keep  Cab¬ 
bages  growing  strongly.  Those  already  cut  over  may  be  made  to  pro¬ 
duce  a  second  or  even  a  third  supply  of  tender  hearts.  Loosen  the 
ground  among  the  plants  with  forks,  if  need  be,  and  then  either  apply 
liquid  manure  or  sewage  water  freely,  or  surface  the  soil  very  lightly  with 
nitrate  of  soda,  and  wash  this  in  with  water.  Plants  raised  at  the  same 
time  as  Broccoli  ought  to  be  put  out  as  the  ground  is  cleared  of  other 
crops,  not  forgetting  the  fact  that  the  best  Cabbage  is  grown  on  heavily 
manured  land.  Sow  more  seed  of  Rosette  and  other  Coleworts. 
Cauliflowers. — Keep  those  already  established  in  their  final  quarters 
well  supplied  with  moisture  at  the  roots.  A  good  breadth  ot  late  raised 
Autumn  Giant  put  out  now  may  prove  of  considerable  value  next  autumn 
for  storing  in  rough  pits. 
Lettuce. — Transplanting  Lettuce  during  the  summer  months  is  not 
often  attended  with  good  results,  especially  if  the  ground  is  comparatively 
poor.  The  best  course  to  pursue  is  to  sow  seeds  every  fortnight  where  a 
portion  of  the  plants  resulting  aro  to  develop  to  their  full  size.  The  best 
Lettuces  are  grown  on  ground  in  which  half-decayed  manure  has  been 
freely  dug.  The  Black-seeded  Brown  Cos  is  later  in  running  to  seed 
than  the  Paris  White  and  Green  C03  varieties,  and  is  a  most  desirable 
summer  and  autumn  variety.  Of  the  Cabbage  varieties  the  Neapolitan 
section  is  the  most  reliable  for  present  sowing. 
Peas. — The  late,  mildew-resisting  sorts,  notably  Ne  Plus  Ultra  and 
Autocrat,  may  yet  be  sown.  It  is  useless  sowing  the  seeds  on  lumpy 
ground  or  in  drills  that  have  not  been  previously  well  moistened.  Cover 
the  seeds  with  not  loss  than  3  inches  of  fine  soil.  Many  row  s  of  Peas 
this  season  will  not  pay  for  staking,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  will  give 
better  crops  if  the  haulm  rests  naturally  on  the  ground.  If  watering  is 
attempted  let  it  be  thorough.  Draw  the  soil  up  on  each  side  of  the  row 
so  as  to  form  a  trough,  and  fill  this  with  water  or  liquid  manure.  A 
heavy  mulching  of  strawy  manure  helps  to  conserve  the  moisture  in  the 
ground. 
Increase  oe  Stocks. 
There  are  several  ways  of  increasing  the  number  of  stocks  in 
the  apiary.  If  this  is  the  sole  object  the  bees  may  be  allowed 
to  swarm  at  will,  but  if  to  increase  it  is  desired  to  add  a  surplus  of 
honey  they  must  be  worked  on  different  lines.  In  a  favourable  season 
it  is  possible  to  double  the  number  of  stocks  in  an  apiary  and  also 
obtain  a  rich  harvest  of  honey.  Arrangements,  however,  must  be 
made  early  in  the  season,  either  by  feeding  or  uncapping  sealed  stores, 
which  will  have  the  effect  of  causing  the  bees  to  increase  at  a  rapid  rate. 
As  Boon  as  the  hives  are  crowded  with  bees  select  the  strongest 
stocks  for  honey  production.  These  should  be  supered,  and  if  from 
any  cause  the  requisite  number  of  colonies  for  honey  pro¬ 
duction  is  not  of  the  desired  strength  add  bees  from  the  other  stocks 
intended  for  increase  as  recommended  in  previous  notes  on  doubling. 
Removing  bees  or  brood,  which  really  amounts  to  the  same  thing, 
from  a  colony  intended  for  increase  will  not  seriously  affect  it.  All 
the  difference  it  will  make  is  that  queen  rearing  will  be  delayed  a  few 
days  until  the  colony  has  increased  in  strength. 
The  next  few  weeks  will  bo  a  suitable  time  to  divide  colonies  until 
the  required  number  is  obtained.  The  queens  will  thus  become 
fertilised,  and  nuclei  formed  during  the  fine  bright  days  of  summer. 
If  half  the  stocks  have  been  devoted  to  honey  production,  each  of 
the  remaining  colonies  will  make  two  strong  stocks  of  sufficient 
strength  for  successful  wintering,  without  the  addition  of  more  bees. 
If  more  stocks  are  required  extra  nuclei  hives  must  be  formed. 
These  small  stocks  should  be  strengthened  by  adding  a  stock  of  driven 
bees  in  the  autumn.  If  these  cannot  be  procured  the  weak  stocks 
may  be  assisted  by  a  couple  of  frames  of  brood  and  adhering  bees  from 
a  colony  that  has  been  worked  for  hohey  production. 
A  moderate  increase  of  stocks  is  much  better  than  attempting  to 
increase  at  a  too  rapid  rate,  as  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
colonics  which  are  headed  by  an  active  fertile  queen,  and  are  crowded 
with  bees  in  the  autumn,  invariably  come  out  strongest  the 
following  s|  ring.  Stocks  should  there!ore  always  be  provided  with 
sufficient  bees  before  the  cold  weather  sets  in.  This  may  be  done  if 
stocks  are  not  divided  too  much  at  this  season. 
Rearing  Queens. 
Queen  rearing  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  tho  increase  of  stocks. 
This  is  a  matter  that  must  not  be  left  to  chance,  and  if  worked  on  the 
right  lines  little  time  will  be  lost,  as  the  majority  of  the  old 
queens  need  not  bo  removed  from  their  hives  until  the  day  the  young 
queens  are  ready  to  come  out  of  their  cells.  This  means  an  audition 
of  several  thousand  bees,  which  will  hatch-out  at  a  most  important 
time,  when  tho  young  queen  has  commenced  to  lay. 
The  plan  we  practise  and  recommend  is  to  select  two  or  more  of 
tho  strongest  colonies,  remove  the  queen  and  a  couple  of  frames  of 
brood,  which  will  hatch  within  a  few  days,  and  tho  adhering  bees, 
placing  them  in  a  separate  hive,  with  a  fully  drawn  out  comb  on 
each  side.  The  division  board  is  drawn  up  close,  and  they  are 
covered  up  warm.  If  there  are  not  sufficient  bees  to  cover  the  brood, 
shake  them  off  another  frame  from  the  parent  stock.  The  queen  will 
thus  continue  laying  for  another  fortnight,  and  as  the  same  thing 
will  happen  in  those  stocks  from  which  the  queens  have  not  been 
removed,  it  will  be  readily  seen  what  advantage  it  is  to  the  bee¬ 
keeper  not  to  destroy  any  of  the  queens  until  the  young  ones  are 
ready  to  take  their  place. 
Returning  to  the  hive  from  which  the  queen  has  been  removed, 
select  the  combs  in  which  aro  newly  laid  eggs.  If  tho  eggs  are  in  the 
centre  of  tho  comb,  cut  a  few  holes  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter 
through  the  comb  with  the  point  of  a  knife  ;  also  notch  the  bottom  of 
the  comb  from  each  of  the  perforations.  Thus  made  queen  cells  will 
be  formed.  Young  queens  will  hatch-out  on  the  sixteenth  day. 
Previous  to  that,  about  the  fourteenth  day,  the  queen  cells  should  be 
cut  out  and  fastened  in  a  frame  containing  brood.  The  old  queens 
may  then  be  removed,  and  the  stocks  divided  into  as  many  as 
are  required. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
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  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neithor  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. 
Lopping  Branches  from  Old  Oak  Trees  (6>.  F.). — By  removing  the  largo 
overhanging  branches  now  you  would  greatly  interfere  with  the  after¬ 
growth,  as  the  foliage  practically  determines  the  amount  of  stored  matter 
and  growth  in  the  following  season.  But  as  yon  do  not  require  growth 
in  the  Oaks,  but  rather  in  the  trees  or  shrubs  they  overgrow,  we  should 
partially  trim  in  the  branches  now  to  admit  some  light  to  the  other  stock 
without  unduly  exposing  them  to  the  direct  solar  rays,  but  defer  cutting 
back  fully  until  the  antumn,  or  if  the  Oaks  afford  some  shelter  post¬ 
poning  the  pruning  until  the  early  spring.  This  would  give  both  a 
chance,  as  very  little  growth  would  accrue  from  lopping  now,  though 
some  would  be  advantageous  as  regards  the  formation  of  buds  for 
development  another  year. 
