December  23,  189?. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
611 
quantity  and  utilised  for  standing  well  above  plants  of  a  dwarf  compact 
nature.  By  the  aid  of  Toinsettias,  Euphorbias,  late  Calanthes,  and  plenty 
of  Centropogon  Lucyanus  formal  arrangements  need  not  exist.  Some 
care  is  necessary  in  removing  the  latter  from  heated  to  cooler  structures, 
or  its  foliage  turns  yellow  and  quickly  disfigures  its  appearance.  Plants 
that  have  produced  in  the  stove  their  terminal  truss  may  be  bent  round 
four  or  five  small  stakes,  when  they  will  soon  break  into  growth  and 
fiower  again. 
Linum  trigynum. — Those  having  flowered  should  be  cut  well  back. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  retain  many  plants  for  stock.  Those  that  are 
retained,  if  they  have  been  infested  with  red  spider,  should  be  thoroughly 
cleaned.  The  best  means  is  to  remove  all  the  foliage  and  sponge  their 
stems  with  a  strong  solution  of  an  insecticide.  Plumbagos  may  also  be 
cut  back.  The  foliage  should  not  be  removed  from  this  plant.  Its 
greatest  enemy  is  thrip,  which  can  readily  be  destroyed  by  dipping  in  a 
solution  of  tobacco  water. 
Coleus  and  Tradescantias. — Both  these  are  useful  in  small  pots  for 
various  purposes  of  decoration.  The  latter  will  root  quickly  and  freely 
enough  in  any  heated  structure,  while  the  former  should  not  be  in  a  lower 
temperature  than  65°.  They  root  freely  enough  inserted  in  the  pots 
from  which  they  are  to  be  used  if  stood  on  a  shelf  over  a  hot-water  pipe. 
They  should  be  kept  moderately  moist. 
Selaginella  Kraussiana.  — This  is  most  useful  in  from  3  to  5-inch  pots 
for  a  variety  of  purposes.  Fill  pots  with  light  soil  in  which  plenty  of 
fine  leaf  soil  has  been  incorporated  well  above  the  rim,  and  prick  thickly 
into  them  growing  ends  of  plants  that  have  been  reserved  for  this  purjios*. 
If  placed  in  a  warm  moist  house  they  will  quickly  root  and  cover  the 
surface.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  make  up  a  few  pots  according  to  the  demand 
at  intervals  of  a  fortnight. 
Polystichum  proliferum. — A  useful  Fern  in  any  size  pots  up  to  those 
5  or  6  inches  in  diameter.  We  find  it  most  useful  in  4-inch  pots.  Plants 
placed  in  these  in  autumn,  and  have  been  kept  cool,  may  be  introduced 
into  a  temperature  of  50°  to  55°.  Remove  the  old  foliage  and  plant  a 
little  Selaginella  round  the  crown,  and  they  will  soon  push  up  new 
fronds,  and  in  a  few  weeks  be  ready  for  any  form  of  decoration.  Some 
in  small  pots  to  replace  these  may  be  placed  into  large,  and  Selaginella 
dibbled  in  at  the  same  time,  not  too  thickly,  or  it  outgrows  the  plant 
when  they  are  first  potted.  These  will  do  capitally  in  a  Peach  house  or 
vinery  that  has  been  started,  in  fact  in  almost  any  position  until  they 
begin  to  grow. 
Adiantum  cuneatum. — Where  all  the  fronds  have  been  gathered  that 
are  of  any  service  the  old  plants  may  be  cut  over,  and  if  slugs  have 
infested  them  they  should  be  well  dusted  with  soot.  Place  these  plants 
in  a  temperature  of  40°  for  a  few  weeks  to  rest.  Be  careful  not  to 
overwater  plants  that  have  ju^t  started  into  growth  ;  for  these  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  60"'  will  be  ample,  while  those  with  abundance  of  fully  developed 
fronds  should  have  a  temperature  5°  lower.  Any  plants  that  display 
signs  ot  growing  should  have  fronds  that  are  ready  tor  cutting  removed 
to  give  the  young  ones  a  chance,  and  should  be  encouraged  to  grow. 
Fern  fronds  will  be  less  plentiful  during  the  next  two  months  than 
what  they  are  no  v,  unless  ample  provision  has  been  made  to  maintain  a 
supply. 
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m  BBE-KEEPER.i^ 
Seasonable  Notes. 
It  is  not  often  so  many  changes  tan  e  place  in  the  weather  during 
twenty-four  hours  as  have  been  registen d  on  more  than  one  occasion 
in  this  district  lately.  Wind  and  rain,  and  blinding  storms  of  hail 
and  snow,  were  lollowed  by  an  hour  or  two  of  bright  sunshine,  but 
owing  to  a  low  temperature  the  bees  were  not  tempted  to  leave  their 
hives.  High  winds  and  heavy  storms  have  prevailed  tlnoughout  the 
countiy,  but  during  the  early  days  of  the  month  now  fast  drawing  to 
a  close  bees  were  unusually  busy  in  the  more  forward  j^arts  of  the 
countiy.  “  S.  T.,”  writing  fr^  m  the  banks  ot  the  Severn,  says  “  On 
the  3rd  inst.  my  bees  were  flying  from  all  the  stocks  in  my  apiary  in 
great  numbers,  and  were  as  busy  for  three  hours  as  they  usually  are 
in  the  mouth  of  June.  This  is  an  unusual  occurrence,  even  for  this 
favoured  district,  so  late  in  the  yeir.  It  interested  me  so  much  that 
I  fetched  some  friends  to  see  them,  who  were  greatly  astonished.” 
This  shows  how  favourable  and  beneficial  the  fine  w’eather  experienced 
throughout  the  autumn  has  been  for  the  bees. 
In  this  locality  (South  Yorkshire),  although  much  farther  north, 
the  bees  have  up  to  quite  a  recent  date  been  almost  daily  on  the  wing. 
When  they  have  been  confined  to  their  hives  from  any  cause  for  a  few 
days,  and  the  temperature  is  about  50’,  and  the  sun  makes  its 
appearance,  it  is  surprising  the  effect  it  has  on  the  bees.  They  at 
once  take  a  cleansing  flight,  and  leave  their  hives  b}'  the  thousand, 
and  for  a  few  minutes  one  could  imagine  they  were  swarming,  so 
excited  are  they,  but  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  probably  not 
a  hundred  bees  are  to  bo  seen,  as  they  have  all  returned  to  their 
hives. 
There  are  exceptions  however,  and  all  bee-keepers  who  observe  the 
bees  and  their  habits  closely  will  have  had  experience  of  it.  When 
bees  leave  the  hives  as  above  at  this  season  and  alight  on  the  cold  soil, 
or  it  may  be  in  early  spring  after  a  fall  of  snow,  they  become  chilled, 
and  are  unable  to  return. 
Shading  the  Entrances  of  Hives. 
It  is  an  advantage  at  this  season,  when  the  ground  is  covered 
with  snow  (and  this  may  happen  at  any  time,  so  it  is  as  well  to  be 
prepared),  to  shade  the  entrances  of  all  the  hives  in  the  apiary. 
I  prefer  this  plan  to  closing  the  entrance,  as  by  so  doing  much  harm 
may  be  done  to  the  bees.  If  the  sun  strikes  directly  on  the  entrance 
the  bees  will  endeavour  to  make  an  exit,  and  in  their  excitement  many 
of  them  will  be  killed  ;  also  through  stress  of  other  business  the 
entrance  may  remain  closed  longer  than  was  intended,  and  much 
injury  caused  in  this  manner.  In  my  apiary  I  go  as  far  as  never  to 
close  the  entrance  on  any  pretext,  as  I  once  saw  a  strong  colony  of 
bees  suffocated  owing  to  the  entrance  being  closed.  Whether  the 
entrance  is  open  its  full  width,  or  only  an  inch  more  or  less,  it  is  a 
decided  advantage  to  shade  them.  All  that  is  required  is  something 
to  obstruct  the  light,  but  not  the  air.  I  have  found  nothing  better 
than  a  piece  of  wood  or  slate  placed  in  a  slanting  position  against  the 
entrance.  If  whatever  is  chosen  is  slightly  larger  than  the  open 
entrance  and  is  placed  in  the  right  position  it  will  have  the  desired 
effect,  and  should  any  bees  by  chance  leave  their  hive  there  will  be 
ample  room  for  them  to  return. 
By  working  somewhat  on  the  above  lines  thousands  of  bees  will 
be  saved  which  would  otherwise  have  been  lost.  Care,  however,  must 
be  taken  that  the  material  utilised  is  not  blown  down  by  the  high 
winds,  and  when  the  snow  has  disappeared  the  obstruction  may  be 
removed  until  again  required. 
Making  Roofs  of  Hives  Secure. 
Unless  some  steps  are  taken  to  make  the  roofs  of  hives  secure 
during  the  prevailing  high  winds  the  inmates  will  suffer.  In  some 
instances  the  roofs  are  fastened  to  the  hive  with  hinges,  and  when  in 
this  form  the  wind  has  little  effect  on  them  so  long  as  the  hive  is  not 
blown  over.  The  majority  of  hives,  however,  are  made  so  that  the 
roof  lifts  off  bodily.  If  a  hive  is  well  made  and  the  roof  a  good  fit  it 
will  stand  a  strong  force  of  wind  if  it  is  blowing  from  the  same  direc¬ 
tion  in  which  they  face.  But  if  the  wind  shifts  round  sideways  to  the 
root  it  will  readily  remove  them  unless  some  precaution  is  taken. 
To  illustrate  my  meaning,  I  may  state  that  the  majority  of  my 
hives  face  due  west,  others  have  a  south  aspect;  the  prevailing  high 
winds  come  from  the  west.  If  the  roofs  on  the  latter  hives  are  not 
secured,  the  first  high  wind  that  comes  will  blow  them  in  all  direc¬ 
tions,  whereas  the  roots  of  the  lormcr  will  not  be  interfered  with. 
If  the  roof  is  flat  a  couple  of  bricks  will  hold  it  sccuri ,  and  if  span- 
roofed  a  fiiece  of  stout  cord  with  a  brick  at  each  end  will  have  the 
desired  effect.  It  there  is  any  danger  of  the  hive  being  blown  over 
and  I  have  seen  that  happen — drive  a  stake  firmly  into  the  giound  on 
each  side,  and  m  ike  seciu’e  with  stout  cord. 
Artificial  versus  Natural  Swarming. 
In  further  reference  to  straw  skeps  it  may  be  an  advan'age  to 
note  the  difference  between  artificial  and  natural  swarming,  and  under 
which  system  the  bees  do  the  better.  When  bees  are  swarmed  artificially, 
it  should  always  be  done  when  they  are  ready  to  swarm  naturally. 
If  (he  bee-keeper  does  not  know  when  they  are  at  this  stage,  it  is 
better  to  leave  them  alone.  It  is,  however,  a  very  easy  matter  to  tell 
when  they  are  in  the  right  condition.  If  on  lilting  the  skep 
from  the  floorboard  late  in  the  evening  it  is  found  to  be  crowded  with 
bees,  the  floorboard  being  also  covered,  so  that  it  is  with  difficulty  the 
few  remaining  bees  on  the  wing  can  gain  access  to  the  hive,  an 
artificial  swarm  may  be  taken.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hive 
appears  to  be  full  of  bees,  but  the  floor  board  is  not  covered,  wait  a  few 
days  until  they  are  of  sufficient  strength. 
In  swarming  bees  artificially  it  is  better  to  leave  the  operation  till 
the  middle  of  a  fine  day,  as  there  will  then  be  plenty  of  bees  on  the 
wing  to  return  to  the  old  stock  to  attend  to  the  hatching  brood.  It  is 
an  advantage  being  able  to  swarm  the  bees  artificially,  instead  of 
having  to  wait  several  days  or  weeks  for  the  bees  to  swarm  naturally  ; 
but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  remove  too  many  of  the  old  bees  with 
the  queen.  There  is  a  risk  in  allowing  bees  to  swarm  naturally  on 
account  of  them  flying  away,  but  when  left  to  themselves  they  never 
make  the  mistake  of  swarming  before  they  are  ready,  or  of  too  many 
bees  going  with  the  swarm. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.— Secretary, 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Farliament  Street,  London,  W.C. 
UNiTiiD  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society.  - 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Cephan  Fund  — iSecretarc  Mr.  A.  F.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  \\\ 
