502 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  28,  1896. 
Latterly  the  Sycamore  and  fruit  trees  have  yielded  a  plentiful 
supply  of  both  honey  and  pollen,  and  now  the  Hawthorns  and 
Strawberries  are  a  sheet  of  white  bloom.  During  the  past  ten 
days  bees  have  worked  freely  and  stored  honey  in  abundance  from 
these  sources.  Although  the  air  was  cold  the  bright  sunshine 
warmed  the  atmosphere  sufficiently  to  allow  the  bees  to  obtain  the 
nectar  from  the  numberless  flowers. 
In  my  own  apiary  some  sections  that  were  placed  on  the  hives 
a  fortnight  ago  are  now  full,  and  partly  sealed  over  ;  others  that 
were  doubled  about  the  same  time  have  increased  in  weight  very 
rapidly,  some  of  the  combs  being  filled  with  honey.  That  obtained 
from  the  Hawthorns  has  a  strong  and  pleasant  perfume,  which  is 
readily  observed,  even  by  the  inexperienced,  on  opening  the  hive. 
It  is  only  on  strong  stocks  that  supering  has  been  carried  out, 
and  never  before  has  the  practical  manipulation  of  bees  been 
brought  more  prominently  to  the  notice  of  individual  bee-keepers, 
and  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  system  advocated  in 
these  piges,  showing  bee-keepers  the  value  of  having  some  of  their 
stocks  strong,  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  a  spell  of  bright  weather 
during  the  flowering  period  of  the  above. 
All  stocks  are  not  in  a  condition  for  storing  a  surplus,  but  as  it 
is  nearly  a  month  from  the  usual  time  of  the  honey  flow  from  the 
White  Clover  there  is  still  ample  time  to  have  all  in  good  condi¬ 
tion,  and  as  field  Beans  are  fast  opening  their  flowers  much  benefit 
will  be  derived  from  them,  and  where  grown  in  quantity  yield  a 
harvest  of  superior  honey,  although  rather  dark  in  colour,  before 
the  White  Clover  is  ready.  The  young  plants  of  the  latter  are  not 
looking  very  promising  at  present  owing  to  the  drought  ;  but 
some  warm  showers  will  work  wonders  in  a  few  days.  Such  is 
my  experience  in  the  Midlands.  The  outlook  at  present  is  very 
promising.  All  will  depend  on  the  weather  experienced  during 
the  next  two  months. 
Natural  Swarming. 
Early  swarms,  as  was  expected  after  the  open  winter  and  forward 
spring,  have  been  very  prevalent.  The  first  that  I  heard  of  in  this 
district  came  from  a  stock  in  a  straw  skep  on  the  8  th  inst ,  and 
as  the  skep  was  a  large  one  so  was  the  swarm,  which  was  placed  in 
a  frame  hive,  and  will  doubtless  give  a  good  account  of  itself  before 
the  end  of  the  season.  This  is  encouraging  to  the  advocates  of  the 
frame  hive.  As  this  bee-keeper  had  never  before  possessed  a  move¬ 
able-frame  hive,  others  will  doubtless  follow  in  his  footsteps.  Since 
the  above  date  many  other  swarms  have  appeared  in  the  neighbour¬ 
hood.  Should  the  weather  continue  dull  and  wet  for  many  days 
the  swarms  ought  to  be  fed  with  thin  syrup  ;  this  will  keep  the  queen 
breeding,  and  the  stock  will  be  in  good  condition  to  store  a  surplus 
when  the  time  comes.  A  note  should  be  made  of  the  different 
stocks  and  swarms,  remembering  that  the  old  queen  always  goes 
with  the  first  swarm  ;  there  is  then  no  queen  left  in  the  parent 
stock  ;  but  numerous  queen  cells  containing  grubs  in  various  stages 
of  development,  which  will  eventually  hatch  as  fully  grown  queens, 
usually  about  eight  or  ten  days  after  swarming. 
The  first  queen  to  escape  from  her  cell  will  often  destroy  the 
other  queens  that  are  still  in  their  cells,  but  if  the  bees  are  plentiful 
and  the  weather  favourable  the  worker  bees  will  prevent  her 
attacking  them.  When  this  takes  place  she  utters  a  shrill  piping 
sound.  This  is  called  piping,  and  if  the  weather  be  favourable 
they  will  swarm  again  the  next  day  without  fail.  This  is  called  a 
cast,  and  will  be  headed  by  an  unfertilised  queen.  One  of  the 
remaining  queens  will  head  the  colony,  killing  off  all  the  other 
queens,  whether  in  their  cells  or  otherwise.  A  strong  colony  will 
sometimes  throw  off  three  or  more  casts,  but  this  is  not  to  be 
encouraged,  as  they  will  be  of  little  use  for  storing  a  surplus.  They 
are,  however,  useful  for  supplying  young  queens  to  those  stocks 
that  have  aged  or  otherwise  unsatisfactory  queens. 
A  novel  way  of  hiving  a  swarm  came  under  my  notice  last  year. 
A  bee-keeper  was  driving  along  a  couatry  lane  within  a  few  miles 
of  where  I  am  writing,  when  he  espied  a  splendid  swarm  of  bees 
clustered  in  the  hedge.  No  house  was  near,  and  he  was  loth  to 
leave  them.  His  inventive  mind,  however,  soon  helped  him  out  of 
the  difficulty,  as  taking  off  his  shirt,  and  with  the  assistance  of  some 
string,  he  formed  it  into  a  bag,  into  which  he  shook  the  bees,  and 
drove  off  home,  placing  them  at  once  into  a  frame  hive,  on  frames 
of  fully  drawn  out  combs  or  foundation,  and  a  few  days  afterwards 
gave  them  a  crate  of  sections.  These  they  filled,  and  were  well 
finished  off,  being  afterwards  exhibited  at  a  local  show,  and  was 
awarded  a  prize  bv — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
VAGRANT  SWARMS. 
I  notice  that  “  Henri,”  in  last  week’s  Journal  of  Horticulture , 
in  his  simplicity,  or  it  may  be  straightforwardness,  gives  publicity 
to  a  piece  of  sharp  practice,  doubtless  unintentional  on  his  part,  but 
which  it  would  appear  is  too  frequently  practised  by  bee-keepers 
from  whom  we  might  expect  better  things.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  a  hive  full  of  combs  without  bees  kept  open  in  a  garden 
or  otherwise  at  this  season  is  a  regular  bee-trap,  in  fact,  a  more 
infallible  “  swarm-catcher  ”  could  not  be  invented,  and  to  allow 
such  a  hive  to  remain  is  looked  on  by  all  honourable  bee-keepers  as 
a  dishonest  act.  It  is  well  known  that  when  a  hive  ready  for 
swarming  finds  such  a  place  the  bees  will  go  off  straight  to  it  when 
they  swarm  instead  of  staying  in  an  empty  hive.  Already,  though 
swarming  has  hardly  commenced  here,  I  have  heard  of  several 
cases  in  the  district,  and  it  is  being  discussed  whether  our  local 
associations  should  not  take  the  matter  up  with  a  view  to  exposing 
the  practice,  or  whether  there  is  any  legal  redress.  I  am  told  there 
is  an  old  Scotch  law  against  this  which  has  never  been  repealed. 
If  this  be  so  it  is  a  pity  but  it  could  be  brought  into  operation 
against  those  who  knowingly  set  traps  to  capture  their  neighbour’s 
property. — A  Berwickshire  Bee-keeper. 
[To  purposely  set  “traps”  with  the  object  of  catching  other 
persons’  bees  is  obviously  immoral.  We  are  satisfied  there  was  no 
such  intention  on  the  part  of  “  Henri,”  who  is  a  gardener  of  repute 
in  England,  and  not  a  bee  catcher  in  Scotland,  where,  or  at  the  least 
on  the  borders,  we  are  told  that  “  swarm  trapping  is  a  crying 
evil.”]  _ _ _ 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
J.  Carter  &  Co.,  237,  High  Holborn,  London. — Abridged  List  oj 
Seeds. 
Skinner,  Board,  &  Co.,  Rupert  Street,  Bristol. —  Wire  Tension  House. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  The  Editor/’  Letters  addressed  personally  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,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects,  through  the  post. 
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,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions 
through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected 
communications. 
Propagating  Asparagus  plumosus  (Nemo). — Branchlets  3  to 
4  inches  long  slipped  from  half-ripe  shoots  inserted  in  cocoa-nut  fibre 
refuse  in  a  close  warm  frame,  kept  moist,  produce  roots  in  four  or  five 
weeks,  also  in  leaf  mould  and  sand  under  bell-glasses.  Many  plants 
are  also  raised  from  seeds,  and  if  your  plant  produces  any  you  had 
better  sow  them. 
Intermediate  Stocks  (Gardener). — Nowhere  are  these  Stocks 
seen  finer  than  in  Covent  Garden  Market,  where  they  are  sold  by 
thousands  for  the  decoration  of  metropolitan  homes.  The  scarlet,  or 
rather  crimson,  variety  is  the  best.  Sow  very  thinly  in  rich  light  soil 
in  the  open  garden  at  the  end  of  July.  If  the  soil  of  the  garden  is 
naturally  heavy  prepare  a  compost  of  light  loam  and  very  much  decayed 
manure  or  leaf  soil  in  equal  parts,  and  make  a  bed  of  this  about  3  inches 
thick  in  which  to  sow  the  seed.  If  the  seed  bed  can  be  so  formed  as  to 
be  covered  with  hand-lights  or  other  glass  protectors  so  much  the  better, 
as  if  drenching  rains  occur  when  the  seedlings  are  in  a  small  state  much 
injury  may  be  done  ;  still,  the  young  plants  must  not  be  coddled,  but 
should  be  encouraged  to  assume  a  sturdy  habit  of  growth  from  the 
beginning  of  their  career.  When  they  are  large  enough  to  be  handled, 
and  before  they  are  in  the  slightest  degree  crowded  in  the  seed  beds,  remove 
them  singly  in  3j-inch  pots,  place  them  in  a  frame,  and  keep  them  close 
for  a  week,  and  shaded  if  the  weather  is  sunny,  but  the  moment  they 
can  endure  the  sun  they  enjoy  it,  also  all  the  air  possible,  even  to  the 
extent  of  removing  the  lights  entirely  night  and  day  during  settled 
weather,  and  dwarf  vigorous  plants  will  be  produced  before  winter. 
They  should  be  wintered  close  to  the  glass  in  very  light  frames,  and  must 
have  protection  in  severe  weather.  They  will  require  little  water  during 
the  dull  days,  yet  must  have  sufficient  to  keep  them  in  a  fresh  growing 
state,  but  decay  of  the  foliage  should  be  specially  guarded  against.  If 
very  dwarf  plants  are  required  they  may  remain  in  these  pots  until 
they  produce  flower  buds,  and  the  moment  it  can  be  ascertained 
which  will  be  double  and  which  single,  either  shift  the  former  into 
larger  pots,  using  very  rich  turfy  soil,  or  plant  them  out  if  the  weather 
is  favourable. 
