m 
jOUilNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  (JOTTAGE  GAEDENMl 
j'Une  16,  i8§8. 
large  shoots  and  layer  them  into  10-inch  pots.  The  process  is  a  simple 
one,  about  one- third  of  the  wood  on  the  under  side  being  removed  and 
the  shoot  pegged  into  the  soil  and  covered  about  an  inch  deep.  At  this 
season  of  the  year  they  root  quickly,  and  will  soon  fill  the  pots  with 
roots.  This  is  a  quick  method  of  obtaining  large  plants. 
Caladlums.— Plants  that  have  been  brought  on  steadily  will,  if 
carefully  hardened,  bear  conservatory  treatment  from  the  present  time 
without  injury.  A  few  well  grown  plants  are  most  effective  for  grouping 
purposes,  and  aay  plants  that  will  last  fully  three  months  in  good 
condition  deserve  attention.  Plants  of  this  nature  change  the  appearance 
of  these  structures  firing  the  summer  months,  and  render  them 
attractive  when  they  would  not  otherwise  be  bo  with  the  ordinary 
flowering  plants. 
.acalyphas. — Few  plants  can  be  compared  to  these  when  well  grown, 
They  deserve  attention  at  the  hands  of  those  who  produce  plants  for  the 
market.  They  will  bear  brisk  heat  provided  they  are  fully  exposed  to 
the  sun,  when  their  foliage  colours  splendidly  and  the  plants  become 
woody,  In  the  conservatory  they  are  far  superior  to  Coleuses  if  hardened 
for  that  structure.  Plants  stand  in  rooms  for  a  long  time  without  injury. 
From  the  present  time  they  can  be  grown  satisfactorily  in  cold  frames 
provided  they  are  kept  close  and  the  frames  closed  early  in  the  afternoon. 
Crotons. — Repot  young  Crotons  as  they  need  more  root  room,  and 
grow  them  fully  exposed  to  the  sun.  Use  the  syringe  freely  to  keep 
down  thrips  and  red  spider.  Give  soot  water  in  a  clear  state  to  those 
that  are  rooting  and  growing  freely,  and  if  syringed  occasionally  beneficial 
results  will  follow.  Heads  of  plants  that  are  growing  too  tall  may  be 
re-rooted,  also  well  coloured  side  shoots  for  use  in  small  pots. 
SHE  BEE-KEEPER. 
hr- 1  .  i  -T  .  i .  r ;  c-  i  .  i  -T.  i .  i  -  rvi  .  I  -  t-  i  -'{  *1  ■  I  -  I  .  r-  l  ■" 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  weather  during  the  past  week  has  been  dull  and  drearyi 
and  heavy  thunder  showers  have  prevailed.  The  rainfall  for  the 
month  up  to  date  has  been  1  '57  inch,  which  has  had  the  desired 
effect.  Pastures  have  freshened  in  a  marked  degree,  and  the 
bee  forage  is  now  fairly  plentiful  in  all  directions.  The  white 
Clover,  which  is  quite  a  fortnight  earlier  than  usual,  is  fast  coming 
into  bloom  ;  fields  of  young  seeds  that  had  been  closely  grazed  by 
sheep  have  come  on  remarkably  fast.  Pastures  that  had  a  very 
scorched  appearance  are  now  green,  and  the  plants  making  great 
headway.  Although  the  young  Clover  does  not  appear  to  be  a» 
closely  set  as  usual,  still,  with  favourable  weather,  there  will 
doubtless  be  a  good  surplus  obtained  from  this  source  in  many 
part*  of  the  country. 
What  bee-keeper*  now  require  is  bright  warm  weather,  and 
honey  will  be  brought  in  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  barometer  is  rising 
rapidly,  may  fine  weather  follow,  as  from  a  bee-keeper’s  point  of 
view  there  is  ju»t  a  feeling  that  it  is  possible  to  have  too  much  of  a 
good  thing  in  the  way  of  dull  sunless  days. 
If  previous  instructions  have  been  carried  out  the  majority  of 
stocks  will  now  be  in  prime  condition  for  storing  a  surplus.  Each 
hive  should  be  full  to  overflowing  with  bees,  and  when  headed  by 
yourig  fertile  queens  I  find  they  have  much  less  inclination  to 
swarm  than  when  the  queens  are  old. 
Sections,  presuming  that  a  crate  of  twenty-one  sections  (more 
or  less)  were  placed  on  a  strong  colony  during  the  past  month,  will 
now  require  attention,  and  if  not  already  done  should  be  examined, 
as  those  in  the  centre  will  probably  be  sealed  over  and  well  finished  off. 
These  should  be  removed  at  once,  for  if  allowed  to  remain  for  any 
length  of  time  they  will  become  disfigured  owing  to  the  bees  con¬ 
stantly  running  over  the  surface  of  the  combs.  Those  that  are 
partly  filled  ought  to  be  drawn  close  together  into  the  vacant  place* 
caused  by  the  removal  of  the  others  in  the  centre  of  the  crate,  the 
empty  sections  being  placed  at  the  ends  of  the  crate,  as  the  bees 
iavariably  finish  oil  the  centre  comb*  first.  By  examining  them  every 
few  days,  according  to  the  state  of  the  weather,  a  much  better 
sample  of  well  finished  section*  may  be  obtained  than  if  left  on  the 
hive  too  long.  The  cappings,  too,  are  often  made  much  thicker 
when  allowed  to  remain  in  the  hive  longer  than  is  nece*sary,  which 
is  an  objection  unless  they  are  to  be  kept  for  a  long  time. 
If  honey  appears  to  be  coming  in  freely  it  is  sometimes  advisable 
to  place  a  second  crate  of  sections  on  each  colony  ;  this  is  done 
when  ti  e  first  is  nearly  full  and  partly  sealed  over,  placing  the 
empty  ones  underneath  the  former.  It  is  desirable  that  each  crate 
should  be  of  the  same  size,  otherwise  it  would  allow  an  escape  of 
heat,  aDd  ihe  bees  would  have  unnecessary  labour  in  trying  to 
propolise  the  open  spaces. 
The  crates  should  be  of  the  same  depth  as  the  sections,  so  that 
there  is  bur.  little  space  left  between  them  when  placed  in  position, 
or  the  bees  will  fill  the  intervening  space  with  comb,  besides  being 
objectionable  in  the  mess  that  is  caused  in  handling  them.  It  also 
causes  the  bees  to  do  a  great  amount  of  extra  work,  whose  time 
would  be  much  better  employed  in  the  legitimate  work  of  the  hive. 
Novices  and  inexperienced  bee-keepers  are  often  nervous  in  the 
manipulation  of  the  bees  when  removing  the  crates  of  sections.  It 
is,  however,  such  a  simple  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  experienced 
bee-keeper  that  one  is  sometimes  tempted  to  ask  why  it  is  necesiary 
to  use  a  super  cleaner,  which  may  not  be  at  all  perfect,  but  is  often 
recommended  for  the  purpose.  It  may  therefore  be  of  service  to 
those  who  have  hitherto  been  nervous  to  state  how  it  may  be  done 
without  being  stung,  and  in  much  less  time  than  it  takes  to  pat  it 
into  writing. 
Obtain  a  cloth  (a  piece  of  calico  is  capital  for  the  purpose)  a 
few  inches  larger  than  the  top  of  the  hive,  well  sprinkle  it  with 
carbolic  acid,  and  after  removing  the  extra  coverings  roll  the  quilt 
off  with  a  steady  but  sharp  movement.  Spread  the  carbolic  cloth 
over  the  top  of  the  section  crate,  and  allow  it  to  remain  for  a 
couple  of  minutes.  The  bees  will  then  be  found  to  have  left  the 
super  and  gone  down  into  the  brood  nest  in  the  body  of  the  hive. 
Now  turn  the  cover  back,  so  as  to  leave  two  or  three  rows  of 
sections  clear,  remove  the  wedge  and  the  board  from  the  end  of 
the  crate,  and  lift  the  sections  out  one  at  a  time  ;  any  stray  bees 
that  remain  may  be  brushed  off  into  the  hive  with  a  feather. 
All  sections  that  are  sealed  and  well  finished  should  at  once 
be  placed  in  a  box  conveniently  to  hand,  so  that  the  bees  from  the 
other  hives  cannot  get  at  them,  but  when  honey  is  coming  in  freely 
it  is  only  on  rare  occasions  they  are  interfered  with.  The  partly 
finished  sections  must  be  returned  to  the  crate  to  be  finished,  and 
the  vacancies  filled  with  empty  sections  as  before  advised. 
If  the  crate  is  to  be  removed,  and  another  placed  underneath, 
lift  the  partly  filled  crate  off  the  hive  and  stand  it  on  one  side  ; 
if  the  bees  are  thickly  clustered  on  the  top  of  the  frames  *pr6ad 
the  carbolic  cloth  over  them  for  a  few  seconds,  and  they  will 
quickly  run  down  between  the  combs.  The  crate  containing  the 
empty  sections  must  then  be  placed  in  position,  and  the  crate  con¬ 
taining  the  partly  filled  ones  directly  on  the  top,  cover  the  whole 
up  warm,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  bees  will  be  found  busily  at 
work,  as  if  nothing  hid  happened.  Smoke  will  answer  the  same 
purpose  as  carbolic,  but  I  prefer  the  latter,  as  it  leaves  both  hands 
at  liberty,  and  by  keeping  the  cloth  partly  over  the  top  the  bees 
will  not  venture  up  until  after  its  removal.  If  the  operator  is 
steady  in  his  movements,  and  not  nervous,  there  will  be  no  danger 
of  stings. 
Having  manipulated  some  hundreds  of  stocks  on  the  above  lines 
I  am  confident  no  one  need  be  timid  when  putting  on  or  taking 
off  supers.  A  fortnight  ago  I  obtained  some  well  finished  sections 
from  strong  stocks  in  my  apiary.  This  is  several  weeks  earlier 
than  I  have  before  obtained  them,  and  were  at  once  disposed  of. 
Extracted  honey  has  also  been  obtained  from  some  well-filled 
combs  placed  as  supers  above  the  brood  nest.  This  was  very  thick, 
taking  several  hours  to  run  through  the  strainer.  It  was  not  of 
good  quality,  but  had  a  very  powerful  aroma  ;  this  was  obtained 
partly  from  the  Hawthorn,  but  being  dark  in  colour  will  not  be 
appreciated  by  the  public  as  much  as  the  better  samples  obtained 
from  the  white  Clover. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
®0°  Ail  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  rejeoted 
communications. 
Pansy  Blooms  (2?.  H .). — The  Fancy  Pansy  blooms  are  attractive 
but  do  not  equal  the  florists’  standard  ;  but  thi*  may  not  detract  from 
the  decorative  value  of  the  variety,  which  appears  to  be  a  robust  grower, 
also  a  free  and  continuous  bloomer.  Its  non-seeding  habit  is  an  advau- 
tage  as  prolonging  the  flowering  period.  Flowers  that  give  special 
satisfaction  to  their  possessors  are  always  worth  preserving. 
