February  20, 1898, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
173 
vigorous  in  growth,  and  a  single  packet  of  seed  will  give  many  good 
varieties  ;  but  they  are  not  so  well  adapted  for  edging  masses  of  other 
plants  as  are  those  raised  from  cuttings.  Sow  the  seed  at  once  in  pans 
of  fine  light  soil,  give  it  the  benefit  of  a  brisx,  moist  bottom  heat, 
covering  with  glass,  and  shading  in  the  usual  manner.  Roots  of 
Verbena  venosa  cut  into  two-joint  lengths  dibbled  in  thickly  in  boxes, 
and  placed  in  heat,  will  develop  into  neat  little  plants,  which  may  be 
either  given  more  room  in  boxes,  or  be  temporarily  bedded  out  in  rough 
frames. 
Petunias. — Soft  cuttings  obtained  from  old  plants  started  in  beat 
root  readily,  and  can  be  grown  into  bushy  plants  by  bedding-out  time. 
These,  again,  are  to  be  preferred  to  seedlings,  which  can  be  raised  in  a 
pan.  After  sowing  treat  as  advised  in  the  case  of  Verbenas,  being 
careful  not  to  admit  sunshine  to  the  soil  before  the  plants  are  up.  The 
plants  must  be  hardened  by  exposure  to  the  light,  but  not  strong  sun¬ 
shine,  and  then  pricked  in  pans  or  boxes  of  fine  soil.  They  may  be 
topped  and  given  more  room  later  on. 
Dahlias. — Old  roots  started  in  gentle  heat  soon  push  up  numerous 
young  shoots,  and  these  if  taken  off  when  about  3  inches  long,  placed 
singly  in  thumb  pots,  surfaced  over  with  sharp  sand,  and  given  a  brisk, 
dry  heat  will  root  quickly.  These  young  single-stemmed  plants,  duly 
transferred  into  larger  pots  before  they  become  Btunted,  are  the  best  for 
planting.  Seedling  Dahlias  are  easily  raised,  both  doubles  and  singles 
being  had  in  this  way.  Sow  the  seed  in  pans,  place  in  brisk  heat,  raise 
the  seedlings  well  up  to  the  light  before  they  become  spindly,  and 
duly  prick  out  into  boxes  or  pans.  If  disposed  4  inches  or  rather  less 
apart  they  may  be  transp'anted  direct  from  the  boxes  to  the  open 
border,  moving  nearly  as  readily  as  they  would  out  of  small  pots. 
Salvia  patens. — This  also  can  be  raised  from  seed  much  as  advised 
in  the  case  of  Dahlias.  It  is  one  of  the  richest  in  colour  (blue)  of  any 
bedding  plant,  and  is  well  adapted  for  back  rows  in  borders  and  for 
mixing  in  beds.  This  species  is  tuberous-rooted,  and  if  lifted  in  the 
autumn  and  wintered  in  pots  or  boxes  of  moderately  dry  soil  may,  if 
desired,  be  started  early  in  heat,  with  a  view  to  having  a  number  of 
cuttings. 
Abutllons.  —  Flowering  varieties  give  a  welcome  change  in  the 
ordinary  round  of  bedding  plants.  Procure  and  sow  the  seed  at  once  in 
a  brisk  heat,  and  when  the  seedlings  are  about  an  inch  high  prick  them 
out  in  pans  of  light  soil.  From  these  they  may  be  transferred  to  small 
pots,  and  should  be  kept  growing  strongly.  Abutilons  with  fine  foliage, 
such  as  A.  Thompsoni,  are  showy  and  effective  either  dotted  among 
dwarf  or  trailing  plants  or  mixed  with  tallei -growing  subjects.  These 
can  only  be  had  from  cuttings.  Start  old  plants,  preferably  those  raised 
and  planted  out  last  season,  in  a  brisk  heat,  and  as  the  side  shoots  attain 
a  length  of  about  4  inches  take  them  off  with  a  heel  and  place  them 
round  the  sides  of  5-inch  pots  filled  with  sandy  soil.  Keep  in  a  close 
frame  and  brisk  heat  till  rooted,  then  harden  and  place  singly  in  2J-inch 
pots.  Do  not  top  them,  single-stemmed  plants  proving  the  most 
effective. 
I 
j 
|l 
IB  BEE  KEEPER. 
APIARIAN  NOTES. 
How  Colonies  Behave. 
Beginners  are  not  unfrequently  disappointed  by  the  loss  of 
one  or  more  hives,  purchased  in  good  condition  in  the  autumn.  In 
some  cases  it  is  difficult  for  experts  to  explain  the  reason  of  this, 
and  more  so  for  amateurs.  There  are  some  things  we  can  under¬ 
stand  and  control,  but  others  are  entirely  the  reverse.  One  of  the 
latter  is,  why  bees  will  persist  in  raising  queen  cells,  either  attempt¬ 
ing  to  or  deposing  a  youthful,  fertile,  healthy  queen,  and  intro¬ 
ducing  her  to  anoiher  hive,  whose  queen  takes  the  former’s  place, 
and  both  do  well. 
I  understand  the  cause  of  queens  being  deposed,  especially 
when  fed,  through  robbers  gaining  access  to  the  hives  by  too 
wide  a  doorway.  This  is  where,  in  my  opinion,  the  ventilating 
floor,  with  a  narrow  door,  has  a  decided  advantage.  The  mischief 
does  not  end  with  the  hive  raising  queens,  as  these  finding 
opposition  enter  other  hives,  which  may  occur  from  January  till 
October,  when  as  often  as  not  the  queen  regnant  is  destroyed. 
Sometimes  they  live  peaceably  together  for  a  considerable  time, 
but  while  the  youthful  queen  exists  the  fertile  one  is  in  jeopardy. 
If  unfortunately  she  is  killed  during  the  winter  or  early  spring 
months,  the  hive  either  becomes  a  confirmed  drone  breeder,  di<s, 
or  is  robbed.  It  is  also  a  fact,  when  queens  are  induced  to  deposit 
eggs  extensively  during  the  autumn,  that  they  are  liable  to  give 
way  at  the  time  when  their  energies  aie  most  in  demand  by  the 
bees,  and  which  would  be  most  profitable  to  the  bee-keeper. 
Sometimes  bees  suffer  an  aged  and  effete  queen  to  linger  with¬ 
out  attempting  to  supersede  her  with  a  young  queen  ;  but  on  the 
other  hand  bees  seem  to  realise  their  position,  as  whenever  a  queen 
shows  the  least  sign  of  relaxing  egg-laying  she  is  soon  deposed. 
After  the  egg  is  deposited  in  a  clean  cell  the  queen  appears  to  care 
nothing  more  for  it,  but  the  bees  will  suffer  death  rather  than 
desert  their  charge  till  the  end  of  spring.  After  then,  however,  if 
food  becomes  scarce  the  infant  bees  are  destroyed.  Large-sized 
hives  fully  stored,  plenty  of  bees  in  the  autumn,  and  these 
preserved  during  the  winter,  are  the  best  safeguards  against  the 
untimely  deposing  of  queens,  which  should  be  those  bred  at  the 
end  of  the  previous  summer. 
Chloric  Dropsical  Fever. 
At  the  present  time  my  apiary  appears  to  be  free  from  this 
disease,  but  two  hives  affected  in  the  autumn  have  a  considerable 
number  of  dead  bees.  It  is  too  early  yet  to  say  whether  we  have 
found  a  remedy  for  this  disease,  for,  previously,  when  I  supposed 
it  located,  all  my  efforts  to  suppress  it  failed.  Responding  to  an 
appeal  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  several  correspondents  com¬ 
municated  with  me,  whom  I  advised  to  transfer  the  bees  into 
empty  hives.  I  am  now  informed  the  hives  operated  in  this  way 
are  free  from  the  disease  with  which  they  were  previously  afflicted. 
In  my  own  apiary  the  swarm  from  the  stock  affected  keep* 
healthy. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  exceptionally  fine  weather  noted  in  January  has  continued 
up  to  the  present  time.  Here  in  the  Midlands  we  have  had  much 
above  the  average  of  bright  sunshine,  with  a  high  temperature  for 
the  time  of  year,  only  1°  or  2°  of  frost  having  been  registered,  and 
no  rain.  A  correspondent  in  the  South  of  England  mentions  the 
prevalence  of  fogs,  which  we  rarely  experience  in  this  locality, 
which  is  doubtless  an  advantage  to  the  bee*,  as  they  have  been 
daily  on  the  wing,  reminding  one  of  *pring  by  their  foraging  on  the 
fast  opening  flowers. 
On  the  9th  in*t.,at  10  a.m.,  several  bees  were  observed  returning 
to  their  hives  loaded  with  pollen,  showing  that  breeding  was  going 
on  apace.  This  is  encouraging  to  bee-keepers,  who  will  be 
pardoned  if  they  look  forward  to  a  record  in  honey  production 
during  the  coming  season,  as  in  the  whole  of  my  experience  I  have 
not  known  the  prospects  to  be  so  good.  Still,  a  check  may  come 
later  on  and  upset  all  our  calculations,  and  it  is,  therefore,  wise  to 
take  every  precaution  to  prevent,  as  far  as  it  is  possible,  any  colony 
suffering  from  shortness  of  stores.  Bear  in  mind  that  with 
lengthening  days,  and  a  temperature  sufficiently  high  for  bees  to 
leave  their  hive,  a  much  greater  consumption  of  stores  will  take 
place. 
With  a  view  to  guarding  against  any  mishap,  I  have  during  the 
past  week  made  an  examination  of  the  majority  of  my  stocks,  and 
as  each  hive  is  numbered  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  make  notes  for 
future  guidance.  In  carrying  out  this  operation  it  is  interesting  to 
observe  the  vast  difference  that  has  taken  place  in  the  consumption 
of  stores  in  hives  standing  near  each  other.  All  were  fed  as 
soon  as  the  honey  flow  was  over  last  season,  each  colony  being 
supplied  with  as  much  syrup  as  could  be  stored  in  ten  standard 
frames.  At  the  present  time  some  stocks  have  several  frames  of 
sealed  stores,  others  have  none.  What  is  the  cause  of  this  ?  I 
think  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek  ;  those  colonies  that  have  ample 
stores  settled  quietly  into  winter  quarters  after  being  fed,  very 
little  autumn  breeding  taking  place,  but  those  that  are  now  short 
of  stores  continued  breeding  till  late  in  the  season.  The  excessive 
beat  experienced  in  September  would  have  a  tendency  to  cause 
this,  resulting  in  a  much  greater  consumption  of  stores. 
Those  which  required  it  were  at  once  supplied  with  candy  and 
with  plenty  of  warm  coverings,  and  no  harm  will  happen  to  them. 
All  stocks  were  found  to  be  very  strong  in  bees,  more  *o  than  has 
been  the  case  in  unfavourable  seasons  in  the  month  of  May.  Many 
of  the  hives  were  lifted  from  their  floor  boards  and  all  were  found 
to  be  dry.  The  debris  that  had  accumulated  in  the  corners  were 
brushed  off  and  the  hives  replaced  on  the  boards  again,  this  being 
done  without  any  assistance,  the  whole  manipulation  of  a  single 
hive  not  taking  more  than  two  minutes. 
All  entrances  to  hives  are  now  reduced  to  about  an  inch  in  width. 
This  will  keep  the  hive  warmer  whilst  breeding  is  going  on  and  will 
also  prevent  robbers  gaining  an  entrance.  Robbing  is  sometimes 
very  prevalent  in  early  spring,  and  if  a  strong  colony  once  gains 
an  entrance  to  a  weak  stock  they  will  in  a  short  time  clear  out  all 
the  stores  and  cause  a  general  uproar  among  the  other  bees  in  the 
apiary. — An  English  Bee  keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Barr  &  Son,  12,  King  Street,  Covent  Garden. —  Hardy  Perennials. 
T.  B.  Dobbs  &  Co..  32,  Qaeen  Street,  Wolverhampton. — Seeds. 
Little  &  Ballantyne,  Carlisle. — Farm  Seeds. 
Sutton  &  Sons,  Reading.  —  Farmers'  Year  Book  and  Graziers' 
Manual, 
VilmoriD,  Andrieux  &  Co.,  4,  Quai  de  la  M^gisferie,  Paris. — Dahlias 
and  Gannas, 
