218 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  5,  1896.. 
have  flowered  and  completed  their  growth.  Do  not  hurry  them,  but 
allow  them  to  gradually  rest.  It  is  a  mistake  suddenly  to  withhold 
water. 
Amaryllis. — Plants  that  have  been  stored  away  to  rest  may  be 
taken  out  and  repotted.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  repot  these  plants  annually 
before  starting  them  into  growth.  They  will  do  well  in  three  parts 
loam  to  one  of  leaf  mould  and  manure,  to  which  sand  is  liberally  added. 
After  potting  plunge  them  in  a  low  house  or  pit  where  they  can  enjoy 
gentle  bottom  heat,  such  as  a  bed  of  leaves  and  litter  affords.  A  tem¬ 
perature  of  50°  to  55°  top  heat  will  suit  them  well,  with  a  little  air  daily 
in  fine  weather  after  growth  commences. 
Clssus  discolor. — Few  plants  are  more  ornamental  than  this  for 
covering  pillars  and  the  ends  of  houses  when  formed  of  brick.  Train 
them  to  the  top,  and  then  allow  them  to  hang  down  naturally.  Positions 
of  this  nature  that  are  covered  with  Ferns  and  Begonias  are  doubly 
effective  when  this  free-growing  climber  is  allowed  to  hang  down 
amongst  them.  In  large  houses  it  is  effective  in  baskets,  and  can  be 
grown  well  in  them,  few  plants  being  more  suitable.  Prune  established 
plants  to  the  ripe  wood,  and  repot  them  if  they  need  it  or  top-dress  with 
rich  material.  Plants  in  baskets  may  have  as  much  soil  as  possible 
removed,  and  equal  proportions  of  loam  and  manure  supplied,  but  this 
plant  grows  luxuriantly  in  any  rich  compost. 
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IB  BEE-KEEPER. 
4  - 1  -  '  -  1  -  '  - 1  -  i  - '  - 1  -  ‘  -  r-  '  -  .  -  rii  ti  i  -  ’  -  i  - 1  -  ■  -  ■  - .  -  i  - 
t: 
MAKING  COMB  FOUNDATION. 
“A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper,”  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 
Journal,  says  that  he  has  several  times  advised  amateurs  to  make 
their  own  foundation.  I  should  be  very  pleased  if  he  would  explain 
how  this  can  be  done.  I  should  also  like  his  opinion  as  to  whether 
disease  can  be  introduced  by  using  foundations  purchased  from 
dealers.— F.  W. 
I  cannot  say  whether  disease  can  be  conveyed  to  a  hive  through 
an  inferior  quality  of  foundation.  Genuine  wax  is  not  a  nidus  for 
germs,  and  although  boiling  kills  active  germs  it  does  not  destroy 
latent  ones  ;  so  it  is  much  safer  not  to  use  wax  of  unknown 
quality.  After  submitting  typhoid  germs  to  boiling  water  I 
emptied  the  bottle,  hermetically  sealed  it,  =md  exposed  it  for  five 
inno8-t0  temPerature8  ranging  from  several  degrees  below  zero  to 
100  in  the  sun,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  from  one  single  small 
condensed  drop,  reproduced  millions  of  germs  in  a  short  time,  and 
that  drop  was  sufficient  to  impregnate  thousands  of  gallons  of  milk 
or  albuminous  matter. 
Making  Comb  Foundation. 
The  great  extent  adulteration  is  carried  on  in  wax  makes  it 
desirable  for  bee-keepers  to  use  that  from  their  own  apiaries. 
Premising  that  bee-keepers  all  know  how  to  extract  the  wax 
from  combs,  I  need  not  say  anything  under  that  head  further  than 
to  advise  them  not  to  use  water  containing  lime,  nor  to  allow  the 
smallest  particle  of  grease  or  soap  to  mix  with  it.  Let  all  wax¬ 
melting  utensils  be  double  earthenware  moulds  steeped  in  water, 
which  prevents  the  wax  sticking  to  them.  Three-eighths  of  an  inch 
i®  ®  good  thickness  for  the  dippers  ;  if  thinner  they  become  too  hot, 
and  if  thicker  clumsy  to  handle.  Keep  them  square  on  the  edges  and 
end  ;  nail  little  fillets  of  wood  on  the  upper  enus,  so  that  a  number 
may  be  dipped  into  the  wax  at  a  time  without  slipping  apart.  The 
length  of  these  dippers  may  vary  according  to  the  size  of  the  tank 
and  wishes  of  the  bee-keeper.  Beginners  are  safer  to  run  short 
lengths,  or  one  single  sheet,  until  they  become  adepts.  At  one 
time  I  dipped  three  to  four  at  a  time  by  a  simple  contrivance  like 
the  grip  of  a  crane,  above  which  was  a  spring  balance,  which  gave 
me  an  idea  when  the  sheets  were  about  the  right  weight.  Where 
two  or  more  breadths  of  sheets  are  dipped  it  will  be  necessary  to 
cut  them  to  the  proper  breadth  either  singly  or  in  piles  of  a  dozen 
or  two  ;  but  in  all  cases  a  board  the  proper  size,  to  use  as  a  gauge 
and  to  press  on  while  cutting,  is  necessary. 
An  oblong  shaped  dipper,  from  3  to  4  inches  wide,  is  the  best 
form,  as  it  holds  less  wax,  and  is  much  quicker  melted,  but  in  this 
the  bee-keeper  must  study  his  resources  and  his  demands,  for 
although  a  small  tank  is  preferable  at  times,  a  very  large  one  at 
others  may  be  advantageous.  It  is  preferable  to  have  the  tanks 
filled  with  wax  only,  as  when  water  is  used  it  is  liable  to  become 
too  hot,  which  prevents  the  sheet  caking.  In  addition  to  the 
dipping  tank,  two  other  coppers  or  tins  are  required  for  the  purpose 
of  melting  wax  to  feed  the  dipping  tank.  These  two  vessels  act  as 
one,  an  inner  and  an  outer  one— glue-pot  fashion.  The  inner  one 
is  tapered,  and  serves  the  purpose  of  purifying  the  wax  after  it 
has  been  rendered  from  the  combs.  This  must  be  set  aside  after 
the  wax  has  been  melted,  and  the  inner  one  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  outer  one  takes  a  IoDg  time  to  cool,  and  ought  to  be  scraped 
just  before  becoming  cold.  A  good  tool  for  the  purpose  is  a 
plumber’s  or  plasterer’s  shave  hook,  which  is  also  useful  for  scrap¬ 
ing  hives  and  frames. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
Severe  frost  at  night,  and  cold  easterly  winds  by  day  have 
prevailed  during  the  past  week,  the  lowest  temperature  registered 
being  13°  of  frost.  This  has  had  the  effect  of  confining  the  bees 
to  their  hives.  But  on  the  evening  of  the  28th  inst.  the  wind 
veered  round  to  the  south-west,  being  accompanied  with  a  steady 
downpour  of  the  much  needed  rain,  which  has  continued  for  the 
past  twenty-four  hours.  This  will  doubtless  be  followed  by  open 
weather  again.  Although  the  two  extremes  of  temperature  will  have 
no  disastrous  effect  on  the  bees,  the  low  temperature  experienced 
will  be  very  beneficial  to  vegetation  generally  in  checking  the 
advanced  growth. 
It  is  not  advisable  to  interfere  with  the  bees  more  than  is  really 
necessary,  but  care  should  be  taken  that  all  are  supplied  with  the 
necessary  stores,  as  with  the  advent  of  March  the  brood  nest  will 
gradually  expand,  and  colonies  that  are  headed  by  young  fertile 
queens  will  increase  rapidly,  and  eventually  prove  profitable  to  the 
bee-keeper  when  the  honey  flow  comes. 
It  is  the  weak  stocks  that  are  headed  by  old  worn-out  queens 
that  show  the  first  signs  of  spring  dwindling,  which  is  often  so 
disastrous.  I  have  experienced  the  same  failing  with  late  hatched 
queens,  although  the  weather  was  favourable  for  them  to  be 
fertilised,  after  which  they  have  filled  several  frames  with  brood 
in  the  autumn.  These  often  succumb  the  following  spring.  This 
is  disappointing  to  the  bee-keeper,  and  when  it  happens  it  is 
advisable  to  unite  them  to  stocks  that  are  prosperous.  The  best 
queens  are  those  that  are  hatched  not  later  than  June,  these 
invariably  doing  well. 
Straw  skeps  that  are  short  of  stores  may  have  a  cake  of  candy 
placed  over  the  hole  at  the  top,  pressing  it  well  down  to  prevent 
the  loss  of  heat  from  the  brood  nest,  and  if  well  covered  the 
bees  will  be  safe  for  a  few  weeks  until  the  weather  is  warm  enough 
to  feed  them  with  syrup. 
Some  very  weak  colonies  in  skeps  that  I  experimented  with 
last  year  were  treated  in  this  manner,  and  from  each  I  obtained  a 
strong  swarm  and  cast.  These  were  placed  in  frame  hives,  and 
although  the  season  was  very  indifferent  in  this  locality  they  stored 
a  good  surplus  of  honey. 
A  few  days  ago  a  bee-keeper  was  bewailing  to  me  the  loss  of 
two  stocks  out  of  three  kept  in  straw  skeps,  owing  to  the  mice 
gaining  an  entrance,  consuming  the  honey  and  destroying  the 
combs,  the  bees  being  all  dead.  Owing  to  the  hives  being  situated 
in  close  proximity  to  a  stack  yard  the  entrances  had  been  reduced  ; 
but  the  mice  had  eaten  their  way  through  at  the  back  of  the  skeps, 
so  were  not  discovered  for  some  time.  In  one  a  colony  of  mice 
had  made  its  home,  and  steps  were  at  once  taken  to  trap  them, 
with  the  result  that  upwards  of  fifty  were  caught  in  ten  days. 
This  is  no  doubt  an  exceptional  case,  and  could  not  have  happened 
with  a  wooden  hive.  It,  however,  shows  the  necessity  of  keeping 
a  strict  watch  for  these  and  other  enemies  throughout  the  winter. 
— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
•**  All  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  The 
Editor  ”  or  to  “  The  Publisher.”  Letters  addressed  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  often  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  We  request  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions 
relating  to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should 
never  send  more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All 
articles  intended  for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of 
the  paper  only.  We  cannot  reply  to  questions  through  the  post, 
and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected  communications. 
Shortening  Plum  Growths  («7.  B .). — By  thinning  out  the  growths 
and  cutting  back  the  branches  to  within  6  inches  of  their  base  you  will 
secure  much  stronger  growths  provided  you  cut  back  to  wood  buds,  and 
when  these  have  started  reducing  the  number  of  growths,  so  as  to  have 
them  a  good  hand  breadth  or  more  apart  and  so  disposed  as  to  form  a 
good  head. 
