416 
JOURNAL  OF  HORriCULTURE  ANT)  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  8,  1902, 
'exquisite  quality.  The  stems  were  exceedingly  strong,  and 
showed  very  high  cultural  skill.  A  First  Class  Certificate  was 
•awarded  to  a  vei\y  rich  crimson  colour  of  great  size  and  siibstance. 
Mr.  Cairns  also  showed  beautiful  cut  blooms  of  Rhododendron 
fragrans.  A  very  beautiful  vase  of  Spanish  Iris  in  choice  variety, 
and  elegantly  interspersed  with  cut  Gypsophila,  was  exhibited  by 
^Messrs.  Todd  and  Co.,  florists.  A  vase  of  Niphetos  Rose,  in 
excellent  condition,  came  from  Mr.  Henderson,  gardener,  Monk- 
wood.  Mr.  Henderson  also  exhibited  some  very  pretty  and 
interesting  Daffodils,  including  Queen  of  Spain,  Cyclamineus, 
Triandrus,  Ac.  A  vase  of  Clematis  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  was 
much  admired  for  it.s  beautiful  double  flowers,  from  Mr.  Small. 
Hybrid  Primulas  from  Mr.  Murray  Thomson  were  very  interest¬ 
ing.  A  plant  of  Schizanthus  papilionaceus  was  very  pretty,  from 
Mr.  Comfort.  Mr.  Johnston,  Hay  Lodge,  sent  a  vase  if 
Rhododendron  Veitchianum  and  Countess  of  Haddington.  A  vote 
of  congratulation  was  passed  by  the  meeting  to  Mr.  McHattie, 
the  city  gardener,  for  the  .successful  introduction  of  spring 
gardening  in  the  city  gardens.  The  usual  votes  of  thanks 
brought  the  meetiiig  to  a  close. 
Temple  Flower  Show,  May  28th,  29th,  and  30th. 
For  the  fifteenth  year  in  succession  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  hold  their  great  annual  Flower  Show  in  the  Inner 
Temple  Gardens  (by  the  kind  permission  of  the  Treasurer  and 
Bencher.s)  on  May  28.  29,  and  30.  Every  year  the  desire  of 
growers  to  exhibit  increases,  and  the  officials  of  the  Society  have 
a  ver\'  anxious  task  in  endeavouring  to  do  justice  to  those 
growers  who  regxilarly  support  the  fortnightly  shows  of  the 
Society  held  at  the  Drill  Hall,  Buckingham  Gate,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  to  encourage  others  also  to  come  forward.  The  .space 
is  absolutely  limited  by  order  of  the  Temple  authorities  ;  no  more 
or  larger  tents  may  be  erected,  hence  every  new  exhibitor  whose 
entry  is  accepted,  means  curtailment  of  the  space  allotted  to  pre¬ 
vious  supporters.  The  Society  will  issue  an  “  Official  Catalogue  ” 
comprising  a  history  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  particu¬ 
lars  of  the  meetings  and  exhibitions  held  at  the  Drill  Hall;  of 
the  Coronation  Rose  Show  at  Holland  House,  Kensington,  on 
June  24  and  25,  and  of  the  Fruit  Show  to  be  held  at  the  Cry.stal 
Palace,  on  September  18,  19,  and  20, also  .schedules  of  plants,  with 
the  names  and  addres.ses  of  all  the  Temple  exhibitors  entered  up 
to  May  20.  There  will  also  be  the  programme  of  the  music  to  be 
performed  each  day  by  the  band  of  His  Majesty’s  l.st  Life  Guards. 
The  Judges  will  meet  at  the  Secretary’s  tent  at  10.30  a.m.  on 
May  28,  at  which  hour  punctually  the  tents  will  be  cleared  of  all 
exhibitors  and  their  a.ssistants.  The  Fruit,  Floral  and  Orchid 
Committees  will  assemble  at  the  Secretary’s  tent  at  11  a.m. 
sharp,  and  the  show  Avill  be  opened  at  12.30.  All  plants  for 
certificate  niu.st  be  e)itered  on  or  before  Friday,  May  23. 
Address,  Secretary,  R.H.S.,  117.  Victoria  Street,  London,  S.W. 
A  notice  on  a  postcard  Avill  be  sent  to  each  exhibitor,  Wednesday, 
May  21,  stating  the  number  of  square  feet  allotted  to  him,  and 
the  number  of  tent  (or  tent.s)  in  Avhich  the  exhibits  are  to  be 
placed.  No  plants  can  under  any  circumstances  be  entered  on 
the  day  of  the  shoAv. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chiswick — 
height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
i  Lowest 
1  Temperature 
on  Grass. 
1902. 
April 
and 
May. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
43 
CO 
o 
*tjb 
S 
+3 
CO 
o 
O 
Sunday  ...27 
Monday  ...28 
Tuesday  ...29 
Wed’sday  30 
Thursday  1 
Friday  ...  2 
Saturday  3 
E.N.E. 
E.N.E. 
E.N.E. 
W.N.W. 
N.W. 
S.E. 
S.W. 
deg. 
52-9 
47-9 
46-2 
52-1 
51-2 
44-5 
50-9 
deg. 
45- 2 
41-5 
41-6 
46- 7 
44- 4 
43-7 
45- 9 
deg.  deg. 
56-6  44-0 
54-1  39-5 
52'4  36-0 
56- 6  39-0 
56'4  36'0 
57- 2  31-0 
54-9  40'5 
Ins. 
0  08 
0-05 
0-05 
0-35 
deg. 
51-2 
500 
49  0 
48- 9 
49- 5 
48-3 
47-9 
deg. 
50-3 
50-2 
49-9 
49-4 
49- 3 
50- 5 
49-3 
deg. 
48-2 
48-3 
48-5 
48-7 
48-7 
48-7 
48-7 
deg. 
39-2 
30-3 
28-0 
30-5 
38-7 
23-3 
32-6 
Means  ... 
49-4 
44-1 
55-5  38-0 
Total. 
0-53 
49-3 
49-8 
48-5 
31-8 
The  first  part  of  the  Aveek  Avas  fine,  Avith  cold  drying  Avinds  ;  the 
latter  part  has  l^een  sliOAvery,  Avith  thunderstoi'ins  on  the  3rd.  A  very 
sharp  ground  frost  ocem-red  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd. 
Historical  Notes. 
When  we  take  up  any  old  book  upon  the  subject  of  bees,  Ave 
must  see  at  once  the  very  little  that  Avas  understood  concerning 
the  natural  history  of  this  most  industrious  of  all  of  God’s 
creatures.  This  ignorance  is  the  more  extraordinary  when  Ave 
consider  how  many  scientific  persons  have  Avritten  about  the 
honey-bee,  and  that  the  attention  of  mankind  has  been  drawn  to 
the  subject  by  bees  submitting  themselves  to  be  hived,  and 
placed  in  our  gardens  under  our  immediate  inspection.  The  first 
Avriter  who  speaks  of  the  natural  history  of  the  bee  is  the  famous 
historian,  Xenophon.  He  states  that  there  is  a  monarch  in  each 
hive.  Aristoinachus,  a  native  of  Asia  Minor,  spent  sixty  years 
in  the  study  of  bees ;  and  Philissus  of  Thrace  passed  his  life  in 
the  woods  for  the  same  purpose.  Melissus,  King  of  Crete,  is 
said  to  have  invented  and  taught  the  use  of  bee-hives.  Aristotle 
and  Pliny  devoted  some  of  their  thoughts  and  Avritings  to  en¬ 
lighten  mankind  on  the  natural  history  of  the  bee.  The  great 
Mantuan  poet  embodied  in  his  Fourth  Georgic  the  knowledge 
of  bees  in  his  time;  but  it  Avould  be  as  absurd  to  learn  such 
knowledge  of  bees  from  his  poems  as  it  Avould  be  to  learn  political 
economy  (as  many  do)  from  Goldsmith's  Deserted  Village.” 
Dr.  Charles  Butler,  Avho  liAmd  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.,  Avas 
the  first  person  who  began  to  dispel  past  ignorance  on  this  sub¬ 
ject.  He  first  taught  that  the  sovereign  of  the  hive  is  a  female  ; 
that  bees  prior  to  sAvarming  sent  out  scouts  to  find  a  neAV  habita¬ 
tion;  that  in  each  journey  from  the  hives  bees  attend  to  only 
one  species  of  flowers  in  collecting  farina ;  .  that  the  farina  is 
collected  only  to  feed  the  larvse  (grubs),  and  that  it  is  not  wax, 
for  that  Avhen  bees  make  most  Avax  they  gather  no  farina;  that 
old  stalls  wliich  are  full  of  combs  carry  more  of  this  matter  than 
SAvarms,  and  yet  have  no  more  Avax  at  the  end  of  the  year  than 
at  the  beginning ;  that  real  Avax  is  tO'  be  found  in  white  scales 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hiAm,  the  scales  falling  from  the  bees  in 
working  the  combs,  and  that,  Avhen  melted  together,  no  one 
could  doubt  about  its  being  Avax.  He  also  taught  that  the 
Lycoperdon  bovista  Avould  stupefy  bees  Avithout  destroying  them. 
John  Thorley,  Avho  liAmd  in  the  time  of  Queen  Anne,  made 
a  further  discovery  as  to  Avax,  Avhich  he  relates  in  the  following 
Avords ;  “  Viewing  a  hive  of  bees  busy  at  labour,  I  observed  one 
bee  among  the  rest  of  an  unusual  appearance,  upon  Avhich  I 
seized  her  directly;  and,  Avith  a  A^ery  sensible  pleasure,  I  found 
within  the  plaits  of  this  bee  no  less  than  six  pieces  of  solid 
wax,  perfectly  transparent,  three  upon  one  side  and  three  upon 
the  other,  appearing  to  the  eye  equal  in  bulk  and  gravity.” 
Thorley  introduced  side-hives,  and  the  manner  of  taking  honey 
described  in  the  “  ConserA^ative  Bee-keeper.”  He  held  that  bees 
Avould  die  if  they  had  only  access  to  farina,  and  that  they  do 
not  eat  it  under  any  circumstances.  It  is  curious  to  remark,  that 
about  200  years  after  the  discovery  of  Butler,  and  100  years 
after  Thorley’s,  that  an  author,  in  the  year  1821  (Arthur  Aikin), 
should  be  so  ignorant,  or  so  obstinate,  as  to  state  in  his  book 
that  “  wax  is  made  by  bees  from  the  dust  Avithin  the  anther  of 
floAvers,”  and  “  that  larvae  are  fed  Avith  the  purest  honey  ”  ;  when 
Thorley  had  proved  that  wax  is  concreted  under  the’  scales  of 
the  Avorking  bees,  and  Butler  that  the  farina  is  only  used  to 
feed  larvae.  Bufilon  Avas  in  the  same  mistake  to  his  death. 
Joseph  Warder,  a  physician,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  taught  that  drones  Avere  males,  and  the  Avorkers  females. 
He  recommended  ventilating  hives  Avhen  you  are  desirous  that  bees 
should  not  sAvarm.  The  following  are  the  names  of  other  persons 
who  studied  the  subject  that  centui’y  :  Reaumer,  Riem,  Schirach, 
Hunter,  Knight,  and  Bonner,  but,  Avith  two  exceptions,  their 
investigations  were  not  attended  Avith  any  great  succe.ss,  thoAigh 
they  Avere  strictly  men  of  science.  The  tAVO' first  examined  the  ovary 
of  the  queen  AA'ith  microscopic  glasses,  and  found  an  immense 
number  of  eggs.  Schirach  discovered  that  bees  had  the  poAver 
to  convert  a  young  grub  of  a  working  bee  kind  into  a  queen. 
Ml-.  DebraAv,  of  Cambridge,  lays  claim  to  this  discovery  in  the 
“  Pliilosophical  Transactions  of  1777.”  Reim  discovered  prolific 
workers.  Hunter  established  the  fact  that  bees  consume  more 
honey  in  frosty  than  in  open  Aveather.  Arthur  Dodds  and 
Knight,  in  the  work  just  mentioned,  claim  as  discoveries  Avhat 
But'er  had  established  many  years  before.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  Bonner.  Having  noAv  summed  up  all  that  Avas  done  by 
a  host  of  learned  men  in  investigating  the  natural  history  of 
the  bee,  amounting  in  the  Avhole  to  a  feAv  facts,  I  noAv  come  to 
speak  of  Huber,  a  native  of  Geneva,  Avho  has  done  more  to 
elucidate  our  subject  than  all  his  great  predeces.sors  had  done 
before  him. 
If  Butler  first  pointed  out  that  Avax  and  farina  were  quite 
distinct  substances,  and  Thorley  found  Avax  under  the  scales  of 
working  bees,  it  was  left  to  Huber  to  give  a  full  explanation.  If 
Schirach  and  DebraAv  discovered  that  bees  have  the  poAver  to 
make  a  working-bee  maggot  into  a  queen,  they  thought  that 
