312 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  24,  l'■96 
been  two  or  three  occasions  on  which  there  has  been  frost  on  the 
grass.  Bee-keepers  who  have  carried  out  previous  instructions  may 
view  the  changes  in  the  weather  with  impunity,  but  not  so  the 
agriculturist  whose  corn  is  rotting  in  the  fields,  as  is  the  case  in 
this  neighbourhood  (Yorkshire),  where  hundreds  of  acres  of  corn, 
chiefly  Barley,  may  be  seen,  which  has  been  cut  and  tied  up  and 
stood  in  stooks,  all  of  which  are  green  over  with  several  inches  of 
new  growth — a  sad  sight. 
Bee-keepers  as  a  body  will  sympathise  with  him  in  his  misfor¬ 
tune,  for  it  is  not  from  these  Barley  fields  that  the  prospective 
honey  crop  next  year  is  to  be  obtained,  as  the  white  Clover  or 
seeds,  as  it  is  usually  termed  in  this  locality,  is  sown  with  the 
Barley,  and  used  as  sheep  pasturea  the  following  season.  At 
present  the  young  Clovers  look  remarkably  well,  and  should  the 
winter  not  be  too  severe  they  give  good  promise  for  another  year. 
Although  the  heavy  rains  have  not  suited  the  corn  crops,  it  has 
been  most  acceptable  to  the  herbage,  which  is  growing  at  a  rapid 
rate. 
Drones  Still  in  Hives. 
My  attention  was  lately  called  to  a  stock  of  bees  in  a  straw 
skep,  which  were  described  as  a  large  variety,  very  different  to  the 
other  bees,  of  which  there  were  several  stocks  in  straw  skeps  and 
one  in  a  frame  hive  in  the  same  apiary.  I  at  once  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a  queenless  stock,  and  that  the  large  bees 
were  drones,  the  workers  having  died,  which  is  usual  when  a  colony 
becomes  queenless  from  any  cause  during  the  summer,  before  the 
drones  are  killed  off  On  examining  the  stock  I  found  inch  was 
the  cate,  not  a  dozen  workers  remained  in  the  hive,  the  others 
being  all  drones.  The  queen  had  evidently  been  dead  for  some 
months,  and  the  workers  not  being  able  to  raise  another,  had 
gra'^ually  died  frond  overwork. 
There  was  a  fair  sample  of  honey  stored  in  the  combs  which  had 
been  a  first  swarm  from  a  ttraw  skep  last  year,  the  queen  doubtless 
being  an  old  one,  and  would  die  from  sheer  old  age  after  depositing 
eggs  in  a  number  of  drone  cells.  If  drones  are  seen  in  any  of  the 
hives  at  this  season  it  is  almost  a  sure  sign  that  the  colony  is 
queenless,  or  that  she  is  disabled  from  carrying  out  her  proper 
functions  in  the  hive.  When  this  is  observed  a  thorough  examina¬ 
tion  should  at  once  be  made.  If  in  a  frame  hive  it  is  a  very  simple 
matter  to  look  carefully  over  the  combs  and  see  if  there  is  a  queen 
or  any  brood  visible.  If  neither  is  to  be  found  it  is  pretty  safe  to 
predict  that  there  is  no  queen,  and  steps  should  at  once  be  taken  to 
unite  them  to  a  colony  having  a  fertile  queen.  If  the  stock  are  in 
a  straw  skep  drive  the  bees  as  advised  in  previous  notes,  and  if  no 
queen  is  found  the  bees  may  be  left  in  the  empty  skep  for  a  short 
time  and  the  parent  .stock  removed  and  emptied  of  its  contents,  as 
there  will  doubtless  be  a  small  surplus  of  honey  stored  in  its  combs. 
Uniting  Bees. 
Care  will  be  required  in  this  operation  at  this  season,  otherwise 
robbing  will  take  place,  and  as  wasps  are  also  very  troublesome, 
they  will  soon  deprive  the  bees  of  the  food  that  it  will  be  necessary 
to  give  then  to  tide  over  the  winter.  If  the  bees  intended  to  be 
united  are  both  in  frame  hives,  only  sufficient  frames  should  be  left 
in  each  hive  that  the  bees  can  cover  ;  this  will  be  much  better  than 
leaving  in  the  full  number  of  frames,  which  may  be  more  than 
the  hive  containing  the  queen  would  hold,  the  bees  would  then 
have  to  be  brushed  off  the  spare  frames.  Evening  is  the  best  time 
for  the  operation.  Go  to  the  stock  containing  queen  and  remove 
the  division  board,  lift  each  frame  that  is  covered  with  bees  out  of 
the  hive,  and  sprinkle  them  with  flour  or  thin  syrup. 
I  prefer  the  former  as  being  clean,  replace  them  in  the  hive, 
then  go  to  the  queenless  colony,  lift  out  each  frame  separately, 
and  sprinkle  the  bees  as  above  ;  then  place  them  alternately  wit  h 
those  containing  queen,  cover  them  up  warm,  and  place  a  feeder  on 
the  top.  No  fighting  will  take  place,  and  all  the  drones  will 
be  kilUd  within  twenty-four  hours.  If  the  queenless  bees  are 
intended  to  be  united  to  bets  in  a  straw  skep.  the  majority  of  the 
bees  must  he  driven  from  the  stock  containing  queen,  and  all  shook 
up  together.  If  the  skep  containing  brood  and  the  remainder  of 
the  bees  is  then  placed  on  top  of  the  inverted  skep,  both  stocks  of 
bees  will  run  up  amongst  the  combs  as  one  happy  family.  It  is 
advisable  that  both  hives  should  have  previously  stood  near  to  each 
other,  or  many  bees  may  be  lost. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
M.  Bruant,  Poitiers. —  Ger>eral  PlanU. 
Chas.  Turner,  Slough. — Roses,  Fruit  Trees,  and  General  Nursery 
Stock. 
Cunningham  &  Wyllie,  98,  Mitchell  Street,  Glasgow.— A 
Catalogue. 
Ketten  fibres,  Luxembourg. — Roses. 
Letellier  et  fils,  Caen,  France. — Strawberries, 
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. 
Seedling:  Fuchsia  and  Carnation  (<S.  Devon  and  J.  B.").— 
While  the  specimens  sent  are  worthy  of  increase  for  purposes  of  home 
embellishment,  we  are  not  of  opinion  that  either  of  them  would  be  of 
much  if  any  commercial  value. 
Wine  from  Unripe  Grapes  QGriffiii). — There  are  many  GrapeS' 
on  walls  that  will  ripen  sufficiently  for  wine  making,  and  we  will 
endeavour  to  publish  some  information  on  making  the  wine  another 
week,  which  will  be  soon  enough  for  your  purpose.  Mr.  Pettigrew  of 
Cardiff  is  an  expert  in  wine  making  and  has  all  necessary  requisites,.. 
which  as  50U  suggest,  are  rather  elaborate,  for  the  purpose. 
What  is  Phenyle  ?  (TV.  i.). — The  substance  advised  for  prevent- 
ing  and  destroying  eelworm  in  Cucumber  and  other  plants  is  a 
preparation  made  from  gas  tar,  and  is  a  liquid  of  a  dark  brown  or  black 
colour.  It  has  the  formula  Cells,  and  is  carbolic  acid  made  soluble 
and  non-poisonouB,  unless  taken  in  unreasonably  large  quantity.  When, 
mixed  with  water  it  forms  a  milky  solution,  has  no  deleterious  effect  on 
plants,  unless  given  in  excessive  amount,  and  acts  as  a  manure,  being 
worth  its  cost  on  that  account.  Soluble  phenyl e  may  be  bad  from 
chemists  everywhere. 
lieadlng:  Varieties  of  Bush  Fruits  (^Whiteslako'). — Straw¬ 
berries: — Koyal  Sovereign,  Vicomtesse  Hericart  de  Thury,  Sir  Joseph 
Paxton,  President,  Newton  Seedling,  and  Waterloo  or  Eleanor.  If  you 
want  a  large  early  kind  for  marketing  add  Noble.  Gooseberries : — 
Whinbam’s  Industry,  Whitesmith,  Crown  Bob  or  Lancashire  Lad, 
Keepsake,  Rifleman  and  Red  Warrington.  If  you  want  one  for  early 
ripe  berries,  Yellow  Rough  or  Early  Sulphur.  Raspberries  :  Red 
Antwerp,  Fastolf,  Carter’s  Prolific,  Baumforth’s  Seedling,  Hornet,  and 
Superlative.  If  you  want  a  white  or  yellow.  White  Magnum  Bonum. 
Black  Currants  : — Black  Dutch  or  Grape,  Black  Naples,  Lee’s  Prolific, 
and  Baldwin’s  (there  are  not  six  distinct  varieties).  Red  Currants 
Dutch  or  Scotch,  or  Knight’s  Early,  New  Dutch  or  Chiswick  Red, 
Raby  Castle  and  Reine  Victoria,  or  Red  Grape. 
Mixing  Gas  Xlme  with  Bough  Turf  and  Xoam  (^Festina 
Lente)  — Gas  lime  is  frequently  mixed  with  rough  compost  in  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  a  cartload  to  six  cartloads  of  material,  the  heap  remaining  a  yetr 
at  least  before  the  compost  is  applied  to  the  land,  and  then  as  a  top- 
dressing,  after  being  turned  once  or  twice.  This  is  hardly  suitable  for 
stacked  turf  Intended  for  borders  and  potting  purposes.  The  most  it 
would  be  advisable  to  use  is  1  cwt.  of  freshly  made  gas  lime  per  cartload, 
distributing  evenly  on  the  layers  of  turf,  and  after  the  heap  has  laid 
three  or  four  months  or  until  the  herbage  is  dead  it  would  be  available 
for  use.  The  better  plan,  however,  is  to  employ  1  cwt.  of  freshly  burned 
lime  (slaked),  10  lbs.  of  kainit,  and  18  lbs.  of  basic  slag  phosphate  per 
cartload  or  cubic  yard  of  the  tarf,  disposing  all  evenly  in  the  heap.  By 
the  new  year,  or  soon  after,  such  heap  made  up  now  would  be  fit  for  use,, 
chopping  it  down  vertically  from  the  top  and  mixing  the  whole  together 
— that*  is,  top  and  bottom — so  as  to  secure  an  even  mixture. 
Grapes  Decaying  (Al.  M.  C.). — The  Grapes  are  suffering  from  damp> 
which  has  caused  them  to  decay  around  the  stalk  of  the  berries,  and  they 
are  practically  spoiled.  There  is  no  disease  except  a  little  shanking. 
The  plants  standing  under  the  Vines  would  materially  contribute  to  the 
dampness,  especially  for  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  which  is  much  more 
liable  to  suffer  than  the  thick-skinned  varieties.  It  is  not  practicable  to 
keep  it  in  good  condition  in  a  house  filled  with  plants.  Had  the  Grapes 
teen  grown  without  fire  heat  until  within  the  last  ten  days  they 
would  suffer  from  the  damp  that  prevailed  for  some  time  previously,  and 
probably  also  from  the  damper  condition  of  the  soil.  The  only  preventive 
is  to  admit  a  little  air  constantly,  preventing  the  atmosphere  from 
becoming  stagnant  by  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  pipes,  increasing  the  air 
early  on  fine  days.  Where  there  are  plants  as  you  describe  Grapes  seldom 
keep  well,  but  usually  much  later  than  this.  It  is  too  much  to  expect 
first-class  Muscat  Grapes  grown  practically  without  the  artificial  heat  in. 
houses  mainly  devoted  to  plants. 
