t  iJ,  ^836. 
JOVlcML  OP  Po&PWuM'trkP  A^b  Oof T AGP  GAkbPNEk, 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  weather  during  the  past  fourteen  days  has  been  very 
unsatisfactory  from  a  bee-keeper’s  point  of  view.  The  rain  has 
done  a  great  amount  of  good  to  vegetation  throughout  the 
country.  Pastures  that  were  becoming  bare  of  herbage  are  now 
green  and  luxuriant.  Sheep  pastures,  in  which  white  Clover 
redominates,  are  masses  of  white  blossoms,  now  just  at  the 
est  for  honey  production  ;  but  without  bright,  warm  weather  the 
honey  obtained  from  this  source  will  be  very  limited,  and  as  bee¬ 
keepers  in  this  district  depend  on  the  white  Clover  for  the  chief  of 
their  honey  harvest,  the  present  prospects  are  not  very  good.  The 
weather  is  dull  and  sunless,  with  heavy  thunderstorms  at  intervals, 
and  a  much  lower  temperature  being  registered,  all  tend  to  mar 
the  bee-keeper’s  prospects,  as  without  the  necessary  high  tempera¬ 
ture  the  honey  will  not  flow.  If  it  does,  a  great  deal  of  it  is  washed 
out  of  the  flowers  by  the  excessively  heavy  showers. 
But  to  take  a  broader  view  of  the  weather,  to  judge  from  the 
appearance  of  a  pretty  wide  range  of  country  in  the  Midland 
counties  there  has  now  been  ample  rain,  and  sunshine  is  needed 
for  the  growing  crops.  To-day  (June  26th)  the  temperature  is 
low,  the  wind  N.E.,  and  the  barometer  high.  This  has  the  efl:ect 
of  conflning  the  bees  to  their  hives,  very  little  work  having  been 
done  during  the  past  ten  days,  which,  happening  just  at  the  height 
of  the  honey  flow,  is  somewhat  discouraging.  There  i»  still  time 
to  obtain  a  surplus  should  the  weather  take  up  at  an  early  date, 
as  the  white  Clover  will  probably  remain  in  good  condition  for  at 
least  another  fortnight. 
The  Lime  trees,  too,  will  soon  be  a  mass  of  bloom  ;  these  are 
earlier  than  usual,  and  no  doubt  the  present  spell  of  cool  weather 
will  keep  them  back  somewhat.  But  as  I  have  already  observed 
several  flowers  fully  open,  the  majority  of  trees  (we  have  a  great 
number  in  this  locality)  will  be  in  full  bloom  by  the  time  these 
lines  appear  in  print,  and  should  the  weather  prove  favourable  for 
the  secretion  of  the  nectar,  the  bees  will  doubtless  store  a  turplus 
of  superior  quality.  Honey  obtained  from  the  Limes  is  somewhat 
ellow  in  colour  and  of  good  flavour,  and  when  candied  invariably 
as  a  nice  appearance.  It  sells  as  readily  as  that  obtained  from  the 
white  Clover. 
Whilst  on  the  'Subject  of  colour  and  flavour  in  honey  I  may 
note  the  fact  that  honey  obtained  during  the  present  month  is 
much  inferior  in  colour  to  that  obtained  in  former  years,  being 
darker  than  usual.  This  can,  however,  be  accounted  for,  as 
during  the  past  two  or  three  years  field  Beans  have  been  little 
grown  in  this  district,  owing  to  the  blight  with  which  they  were 
infested  for  several  successive  years.  This  season  there  are  several 
fields  of  spring-sown  Beans  within  reach  of  my  bees.  These  are 
looking  remarkably  well,  and  as  they  bloom  later  than  those  sown 
in  the  autumn,  which  is  the  usual  system  of  cultivating  Beans  in 
some  districts,  it  has  had  the  effect  of  somewhat  spoiling  the 
sample  of  ran  honey.  It  is,  however,  of  excellent  flavour,  some  of 
my  customers  even  preferring  it  to  white  Clover  honey  ;  but  one 
cannot  disguise  the  fact  that  there  is  a  mach  greater  difficulty  in 
finding  a  market  for  it.  It  is  superior  to  the  honey  usually 
obtained  from  straw  skeps,  and  infinitely  better  in  flavour ;  but 
since  modern  bee-keeping  has  made  such  headway,  and  has  been 
the  means  of  placing  honey  of  superior  quality  on  the  market,  and 
the  general  appearance  of  it  when  placed  before  the  public  has  had 
the  effect  of  educating  the  consumer  in  discerning  good  and  bad 
samples  of  honey,  that  it  is  now  really  difficult  to  dispose  of  only 
such  as  is  bright  and  light  in  colour. 
It  must  please  the  eye,  consequently  flavour  with  many  buyers 
is  only  a  secondary  consideration.  But  it  is  not  only  in  the  honey 
trade  that  this  is  observed,  for  as  a  fruit  grower  I  find  the  same 
role  holds  good,  whether  it  be  Strawberries,  Peaches,  or  Grapes. 
The  largest  and  best  coloured  will  always  make  the  highest  prices. 
Irrespective  of  quality.  The  time,  though,  may  not  be  far  distant 
when  honey  buyers  will  grade  the  product  from  the  hive  by 
labelling  each  sample  according  to  the  source  from  which  it  has 
been  obtained,  such  as  from  fruit  tree  blossoms,  field  Beans,  white 
Clover,  or  Limes  ;  and  what  is  now  looked  on  as  an  inferior  sample 
ot  honey,  being  judged  from  appearance  only,  will  then  be  con¬ 
sidered  superior  to  many  of  the  lighter  samples  offered. 
To  illustrate  my  meaning,  I  may  mention  honey  obtained  from 
field  Beans,  which  is  brown  in  colour,  and  that  obtained  from 
Mustard,  which  is  a  splendid  honey  yielding  plant  (great  quantities 
of  which  are  grown  in  a  neighbouring  county),  producing  honey 
very  white  in  colour  which  soon  granulates,  but  is  much  inferior  in 
flavour  to  the  former.  But  if  sold  from  the  appearance  only, 
which  it  invariably  is  at  the  present  time,  would  find  a  ready  sale  ; 
whereas  the  Bean-flower  honey,  although  so  much  superior  in 
flavour,  would  probably  remain  in  stock  for  some  time.  It  shows, 
however,  that  one  and  all  should  endeavour  to  obtain  as  good  a 
sample  as  is  possible  under  all  circumstances.  This  refers  chiefly  to 
run  honey,  as  when  stored  in  well  finished  sections  it  is  not  so  eaiiy 
to  distinguish  the  difference.  The  cappings,  though,  are  often 
much  darker  in  colour  when  the  honey  is  not  a  light  bright  sample. 
— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
[Since  these  notes  were  written  ihe  weather  has  changed,  and 
favourable  conditions  for  honey  gathering  prevail.] 
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  rejected 
communications. 
Croldfish  Xrnsatlsfactory  (^St.  Julien  Aralin^.—ChsXk.  burnt  ia 
hydrated  lime,  but  much  more  mild  than  freshly  burned  limestone.  It, 
however,  “  fuddles  ”  fish,  as  every  riparian  owner  and  poacher  of  fish 
knows.  The  water  after  passing  through  the  chalk  in  the  manner 
described  will  no  doabt  remain  some  time  in  the  reservoir  before  being 
served  by  the  water  company,  and  thus  exposed  become  more  or  less 
•  oxygenlsed,  and  not  nearly  so  injarious  to  the  finny  tribes  as  when 
freshly  treated  with  the  burnt  chalk.  To  make  the  water  more  suitable 
for  the  fish  place  in  each  10  gallons  a  handful  of  fine  clay  and  stir  well, 
or  mix  the  clay  with  a  gallon  of  water  thoroughly,  and  pour  into 
the  bulk  of  water  and  stir.  When  clear  put  in  the  fishs  bat  not 
taking  out  the  sediment.  Sulphate  of  alamina  is  sometimes  employed 
for  a  similar  parpose,  but  the  clay  is  usually  all  that  is  required.  The 
water  must  be  treated  before  it  passes  through  the  jet  of  the  fountain,  it 
being  little  use  placing  the  clay-treated  water  in  the  basin,  and  then 
nullifying  it  by  lime-treated  from  the  fountain. 
Iiaoed  Plnka  (A’.  B.,  Torhs'),-— It  is  ot  little  use  enclosing  flowers 
in  letters,  as  the  post  office  punches  make  very  short  work  of  them. 
So  far  as  we  can  see  the  flower  is  not  laced.  The  following  are  the 
characteristics  of  a  good  Pink  : — The  flower  must  be  fully  double ;  so 
mach  so  that  it  should  form  the  half  of  a  ball,  rising  np  to  the  centre, 
and  should  be  perfectly  circular  in  outline.  Each  petal  should  be  stoat, 
broad,  and  smooth  at  the  edges.  This  smoothness  is  called  rose-edged — 
that  is,  without  any  notches  or  teeth.  The  lowest  tier  of  petals  should 
be  the  widest,  reaching  in  diameter  at  least  from  2  to  2^  inches.  The  next 
row  should  be  shorter,  so  much  so  as  to  show  the  lacing  fully  on  the 
lower  petals,  and  the  next  shorter  again,  and  so  on  up  to  the  centre, 
which  should  be  well  filled  up  without  confusion.  The  ground  colour 
should  be  pure  white.  The  lacing,  or  circular  stripe,  should  leave  an 
edge  of  white  outside  of  it,  and  another  inside ;  this  lacing  of  colour 
should  be  of  the  same  width  as  the  outside  edging  of  white,  and  should 
be  smooth  and  even  at  the  edges ;  in  fact,  laid  on  as  if  it  had  been 
traced  by  a  skilful  hand  with  a  fine  camel-hair  pencil.  Then  at  the 
bottom  of  the  petals  there  should  be  another  body  of  colour,  the  same  as 
the  lacing,  to  form  a  bold,  rich  eye. 
Tomato  Growths  (A.  A.). — There  is  no  evidence  of  an  attack  from 
Fusarium  solan!  in  the  shoots  of  the  Tomato  plant,  but  there  may  be  at 
a  point  lower  down  in  the  stem,  for  it  process  from  the  base  upwards 
and  not  from  the  points  of  the  shoots  or  the  foliage  downwards,  there¬ 
fore  you  have  sent  the  wrong  end  of  the  plant  for  examination.  But 
you  can  easily  determine  whether  the  plants  are  affected  with  black 
stripe  ”  or  not  by  cutting  the  stem  transversely  through  a  little  above 
the  soil.  If  there  is  “  black  stripe  ”  the  cut  part  will  appear  brown  on 
the  woody  part  just  within  or  next  the  bark  ;  if  quite  green  or  white  at 
the  pith  and  without  stain  or  discolouration  on  the  remainder  there  is  no 
“black  stripe.”  The  cells  in  the  leaves  where  the  yellowish  blotches  are 
have  been  destroyed,  but  not  by  any  fungus,  Ygt  there  is  some  cause 
