>t(jt!kNAi  OF  sonfrcnLTtjtiE  a^td  Cottage  GAiWMEn  jui,i6,  isss, 
1 00  yards  of  his  apiary  a  factory  existed  for  the  manufacture  of 
sweets,  and  tons  of  sugar  are  used  for  this  purpose  weekly.  The 
bws  do  not  interfere  with  the  sugar  during  the  summer,  but 
directly  the  honey  harvest  is  over,  which  in  that  locality  ceases 
with  the  Limea,  they  lay  siege  to  the  sweet  factory,  storing 
in  their  combs  Various  mixtures  of  bright  colours,  which,  as  be 
pertinently  remarked,  “  looks  very  pretty  but  it  is  not  honey.'’  The 
bees,  however,  do  not  escape  Scot  free,  as  thousands  are  destroyed 
by  burning  sulphur  in  the  rooms,  to  the  detriment  of  the  bee¬ 
keeper  who  has  not  an  opportunity  of  keeping  his  bees  in  the 
country.  This  it  is  to  be  hoped  is  an  exceptional  case. 
Eemovino  Sections. 
In  taking  ofE  sections  at  this  teasou  it  is  advisable  to  notice  the 
surroundings  and  if  the  honey  flow  is  nearly  at  an  end,  which  it 
will  be  in  the  Midlands  by  the  time  these  lines  appear  in  print.  If 
the  chief  sources  whence  the  honey  is  obtained  are  the  white 
Clovers  and  Limes,  then  the  space  should  be  restricted  by  drawing 
all  the  sections  together  and  filling  up  the  empty  space  with  warm 
materials,  as  there  will  probably  be  several  that  are  not  properly 
finished.  If  two  or  more  crates  are  on  one  hive  one  will  now  be 
ample  to  hold  the  partly  finished  sections.  Those  that  are  removed 
should  be  cleaned  and  placed  in  a  dry  place  until  required. 
It  is  an  advantage  to  mark  the  top  of  each  section,  so  that  they 
may  be  always  stood  in  the  same  position  they  occupied  in  the  hive ; 
they  are  then  not  so  liable  to  drip  (should  there  be  any  unsealed 
cells),  which  they  will  do  at  once  if  piaped  the  reverse  way  owing 
to  the  upward  pitch  of  the  cells.  They  may  then  be  kept  in  good 
condition  for  many  months  without  becoming  candied,  and  can  be 
disposed  of  to  the  best  advantage.  A  mistake  is  often  made  in 
rushing  a  quantity  of  sections  into  the  market  at  a  low  price  early 
in  the  season,  whereas  if  they  were  kept  until  there  was  a  demand 
for  them  better  prices  would  be  realised. 
Extracting  Honey. 
This  must  be  attended  to  as  the  combs  become  full.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  them  to  be  fully  sealed  over,  or  much  valuable  time 
will  be  lost,  particularly  if  the  weather  is  fine  and  honey  is  coming 
in  freely.  If  no  means  are  taken  to  supply  them  with  empty 
combs  the  bees  will  hang  in  a  cluster  from  the  entrance  and 
commence  building  queen  cells  in  preparation  for  swarming. 
Shallow  frames  for  extracting  purposes  are  an  advantage  to 
the  bee-keeper  who  is  from  home  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  as 
more  empty  frames  may  be  placed  under  the  partly  filled  ones 
which  may  not  be  ready  for  extracting  at  the  time.  If  these  are 
left  to  chance  they  would  probably  be  found  in  the  position  as 
stated  above,  but  if  given  ample  space  in  which  to  devote  their 
energies  in  honey  production,  the  bees  will  continue  to  store  a 
surplus  which  may  be  extracted  at  a  convenient  season.  Same 
bee-keepers  store  their  combs,  or  leave  them  on  their  hives  till  the 
end  of  the  season.  I  do  not  practise  this  plan,  as  I  think  it  is  a 
great  advantage  to  extract  the  honey  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe  in  the 
hive,  which  it  usually  is  when  all  the  cells  are  full  and  about  half 
the  comb  sealed  over.  It  is  then  in  prime  condition,  and  no  fear 
need  be  entertained  of  it  being  unripe. 
^  When  the  moveable  frame  hives  first  came  into  general  use  in 
this  country,  and  with  them  the  extractor,  the  latter  was  brought 
into  use  much  oftener  than  was  necessary.  The  consequence  was 
that  a  great  amount  of  unripe  honey  was  placed  on  the  market  to 
the  detriment  of  careful  bee-keepers.  This  had  the  effect  of  giving 
the  new  system  a  bad  name,  and  caused  some  people  to  prefer  the 
honey  (often  of  inferior  quality)  obtained  under  the  old-fashioned 
system  from  straw  skeps.  Much  of  this  is  now  altered,  although 
there  are  still  a  few  bee-keepers  in  the  country  who  prefer  quantity 
to  quality,  but  in  the  long  run  they  suffer  owing  to  the  difficulty 
they  have  of  obtaining  a  market  for  their  produce. 
It  is  useless  to  expect  honey  to  keep  for  any  length  of  time  if  ex¬ 
tracted  in  an  unripe  condition,  as,  instead  of  grannlating,  as  ripe 
honey  will  do  under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  will  foment,  and  is 
then  useless  for  any  purpose,  the  bees  even  refusing  to  take  it.  If 
they  had  it  the  result  would  be  dysentery.  By  working  on  the 
above  lines  I  have  marketed  a  great  quantity  of  honey  without 
having  a  single  complaint  of  unripeness,  but  have  often  received 
complimentary  letters  from  customers  I  have  never  seen. 
Run  Ho.ney. 
As  stated  in  previous  notes,  the  bulk  of  my  run  honey  is 
obtained  from  standard-siaed  frames,  and  each  hive  that  is  doubled 
holds  nine  of  these  in  the  top  storey.  This  will  allow  them  to  be 
placed  farther  apart  than  is  usual  in  the  brood  nest  *,  the  cells  are 
thus  drawn  out  longer,  so  each  comb  contains  much  more  honey 
than  if  placed  the  orthodox  distance.  This  is  a  saving  to  the 
bee.s,  as  less  capping  is  required,  and  if  worker  comb  is  afterwards 
needed  for  the  body  of  the  hive,  the  cornbs  may  be  cut  down  with 
a  sharp  knife  and  be  used  for  breeding,  I  keep  a  number  of 
frames  of  drone  comb  for  extracting  purposes,  and  they  an.swer 
admirably.  By  keeping  a  set  of  empty  combs  on  hand  the  bees 
are  little  disturbed  when  taking  the  combs  away  for  extracting 
purposes,  as  when  the  full  one  is  lifted  out  an  empty  one  is 
dropped  into  its  place.  Have  a  box  to  hold  the  required  number 
from  one  hive,  then  little  time  is  taken  up  over  the  operation. 
These  are  passed  through  the  extractor,  and  are  placed  in  the  next 
hive  to  be  refilled  after  the  removal  of  the  full  ones. 
For  uncapping  purposes  I  prefer  a  knife  made  for  the  purpose 
with  a  bevelled  edge.  Two  of  these  are  essential,  and  should  be 
kept  conveniently  to  hand  in  hot  water.  For  this  purpose  I  have 
found  a  small  paraffin  stove  and  a  tin  saucepan  answer  admirably. — 
An  Enguisu  Bee-keeper. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Rotau  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary^ 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Parliament  Street,  London,  W.C. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society, — 
Sticrctary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  0,  Martindale  Road,  Balhara,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — Secretary,  Mr.  A.  P.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  W. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  The  Editob.’’  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,  ae  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. 
Pancratiums  and  Eucharlsos  (H.  S'). — Very  much  depends  on 
the.  condition  of  the  piants  or  bulbs  now  ;  bat  probably  they  cannot  be 
staried  too  soon  In  bottom  beat  for  accomplishing  yoar  parpose. 
Stands  for  Exhibiting^  Grapes  (^T.  C.). — Tour  letter  arrives  as 
we  are  preparing  for  press.  There  is  no  standard  size,  and  obviously 
the  sizes  must  differ  for  one,  two,  or  three  bunches.  We  will  reproduce 
some  illustrations  by  Mr.  Inglis  another  week. 
Berrled-spiked  Plant  (,/.  i?).— The  berried  spikes  are  those  of 
Arum  maculatum,  commonly  called  Cuckoo  Pint,  also  Lords  and  Ladies, 
with  other  fanciful  names.  The  plant  is  acrid,  caustic,  and  poisonous, 
yet  we  know  of  about  an  acre  of  it  in  a  park  in  which  cattle  and  sheep 
have  grazed  for  years  without  eating  the  leaves,  and  no  injury  has 
resulted.  We  may  refer  to  the  subject  again. 
Mowing  Xiawn  Sown  In  March  (R  Q.H.). — The  grass  should 
be  mown  with  a  scythe,  not  more  closely  than  a  meadow  for  hay,  or  if 
the  lawn  be  irregular  in  growth  through  the  drought,  merely  run  the 
scythe  over  it  so  as  to  remove  the  long  tops  ard  make  it  even  in  height 
all  over.  This  will  cause  the  grasses  to  tiller  or  branch  from  the  bottom 
forming  a  closer  growth.  Repeat  the  cutting  occasionally,  to  keep  the 
grass  down,  but  it  is  not  advisable  to  use  a  machine  until  the  grasses 
have  got  a  go  id  hold  as  they  will  by  September,  when  cut  closer  to  the 
ground,  and  get  a  good  bottom  by  rolling  so  as  to  make  the  grasses  come 
fine  in  the  blades. 
Earwigs  (IF.). — By  destroying  the  5000  you  have  hindered  the 
possibility  of  their  giving  rise  to  about  250,000  another  season.  As  to 
whether  yon  will  be  likely  to  have  a  similar  invasion  another  year  no 
one  knows.  Earwigs  migrate  from  place  to  place  during  the  night. 
Sometimes  the  march  is  continued  for  several  nights  in  succession,  the 
earwigs  resting  by  day.  Thus  they  swarm  in  houses  sometimes  where 
there  were  few  a  short  time  before,  aud  are  a  great  nuisance.  There  Is 
no  better  plan  for  their  destruction  than  the  one  you  adopt— -namely, 
capture.  The  old-fashioned  small  flower  pot  with  a  little  moss  in  it 
inverted  on  a  stake  is  very  serviceable  ;  a  piece  of  old  floorcloth  wrung 
dry  and  placed  on  the  ground  or  on  a  stake  is  even  better,  while  the 
earwig  traps,  especially  the  “  Demon,”  are  excellent. 
