504 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  5,  1901. 
does  well  to  steer  clear  of  them.  Nor  do  I  contend  that  a 
large  Apple  is  not  necessarily  a  good  one,  but  the  duty  of  the 
grower  is  obviously  to  cater  for  his  customers  ;  and  if  they 
prefer  articles  of  moderate  size,  this  is  the  strongest  of  all 
arguments  why  he  should  provide  them,  even  though  the 
biggest  may  be  considered  the  best  at  the  show. 
By  the  way  of  further  illustration,  let  us  take  the  popular 
Tomato  If  two  dishes  are  placed  side  by  side  on  the  exhibi¬ 
tion  table,  the  specimens  in  one  weighing,  say,  a  pound  each,* 
and  those  in  the  other  about  6oz  or  8oz,  the  prize  will  be 
almost  certain  to  go  to  the  former.  But  if  these  two  dishes 
are  placed  in  a  shop  for  sale,  the  smallest  will  be  first  to 
find  a  customer.  The  man  in  the  street  doesn’t  like  to  pay 
sixpence  a  pound  for  his  Tomatoes,  and  only  get  one.  He 
prefers  five  or  six  for  his  money,  and  while  they  are  equally 
as  good,  they  are  more  economical.  For  this  reason  the 
varieties  most  preferred  by  market  growers  are  those  which 
produce  regular  crops  of  even,  medium  sized  fruits  rather 
than  giant  specimens  that  the  amateur  might  gloat  over,  and 
the  judge  give  first  prize  to. 
The  other  day  I  had  reason  to  congratulate  a  grower  on 
some  very  fine  Carrots  that  he  staged  at  a  show.  They  were 
large,  long,  symmetrical  roots  that  had  been  obtained  at 
considerable  trouble  by  adopting  a  special  method  of  treat¬ 
ment.  They  easily  won  the  first  prize,  and  were  an  object  of 
admiration  for  the  spectators.  “  They’re  very  good,”  re¬ 
marked  the  grower ;  “  but  these  are  the  sort  to  pay,”  and 
he  drew  from  his  basket  a  short,  weighty  little  specimen  of 
a  Horn  Carrot.  He  went  on  to  explain  that  it  was  no  use 
offering  show  Carrots  to  his  customers,  as  they  would  not 
look  at  them  so  long  as  they  could  get  moderate  sized  speci¬ 
mens  which  counted  up  in  the  way  of  numbers.  Potatoes 
offer  another  illustration  of  the  same  thing.  The  green¬ 
grocer  may  put  a  few  samples  of  giant  Up-to-dates  in  his 
window  by  the  way  of  attraction,  but  he  sells  from  the  bag 
inside,  which  is  filled  with  specimens  not  more  than  half  the 
size.  And  we  must  give  the  public  credit  for  knowing  a 
good  article.  Nothing  is  better  than  the  average  sized  tuber 
that  can  be  boiled  without  cutting,  even  though  it  may  have 
to  come  second  on  the  show  board  to  specimens  half  as  big 
again. 
It  is  rather  curious  that  in  most  cases  where  big  Onions 
are  grown,  there  are  two  beds,  one  for  the  giants,  and  one 
for  the  ordinary  crop.  The  chief  interest  of  the  grower  may 
be  wrapped  up  in  the  former,  and  one  can  quite  understand 
it,  as  there  is  a  great  fascination  about  harvesting  2lb  bulbs. 
But  if  specimens  like  the  latter  can  be  grown,  why  have  the 
other  bed  1  That  is  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  cook 
who  objects  to  cutting  steaks  from  her  Onions,  and  prefers 
smaller  ones.  Perhaps  she  wants  educating  up  to  the  modern 
Onion  of  great  size,  but  in  this  respect  she  is  not  unlike  the 
average  house  wife  when  she  lays  out  her  coppers  for  a 
pound  or  two  of  Onions,  she  wants  one  for  use  to-day,  and 
another  to-morrow,  and  prefers  this  to  cutting  a  bit  off  a 
monster  to  flavour  the  stew,  and  putting  the  remainder  away 
till  it  is  required.  There  are  not  many  who  will  not  agree 
with  her  preference. 
Exhibitions  are,  no  doubt,  excellent  institutions,  and 
nave  done  a  great  deal  towards  the  improvement  of  cultiva¬ 
te101}-  By  the  means  of  competition  growers  are  stimulated 
to  do  their  utmost  in  the  production  of  the  finest  specimens 
as  well  as  the  largest,  and  I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  man 
who  sneers  at  the  huge  Chrysanthemum,  the  massive  Onion, 
or  heavy  bunch  of  Grapes,  because  he  cannot  produce  similar 
examples.  But,  after  all,  consumers  form  the  chief  com¬ 
munity  that  growers  have  to  consider,  whether  in  a  private 
or  commercial  sense.  As  a  rule,  the  moderate  sized  article 
is  preferred  for  home  consumption  ;  and  while  this  is  so,  there 
must  be  a  distinction  between  produce  grown  for  show  and 
general  use,  whether  the  fault  be  on  the  side  of  judges  who 
favour  size,  or  the  consumers  who  do  not.- — H. 
Bee-Keeping, 
It  is  perhaps  too  much  to  say  that  a  garden  is  incomplete 
without  a  hive  or  two  of  bees,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  gardener  would  find  these  “  busy  little  bodies  ”  a  useful 
class  of  workers,  as  well  as  interesting  and  profitable.  Many 
gentlemen  have  now  an  apiary  in  their  garden,  and  I  think  the 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  gardeners  in  general  will  be  required 
to  have  a  knowledge  of  apiculture.  The  advantages  to  be  gained 
by  having  these  apiaries  in  our  gardens  are  many.  They  flit 
from  flower  to  flower  in  search  of  honey  and  pollen,  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  fertilise  the  blooms,  and  save  us  the  need  of  using  the 
camel’s-hair  brush  or  rabbit’s  tail.  A  corner  can  ahvays  be 
found  to  place  the  hive  in.  It  takes  up  very  little  room,  and 
amply  repays  us  for  any  extra  attention  given  by  the  surplus 
honey  gathered  throughout  the  honey  season.  Unlike  the  wasps, 
bees  do  not  take  our  fruit. 
Bee-keeping  of  to-day  is  vastly  different  to  what  it  was  twenty 
years  ago,  when  only  the  straw  “  skep,”  or  hive,  wTas  in  vogue, 
and  when  the  barbarous  practice  of  killing  the  bees  to  take 
the  honey  was  the  rule.  These  straw  “  skeps  ”  of  our  ancestors 
are  beooming  obsolete,  thanks  to  the  qxertions  of  the  British 
Bee-Keepers’  Association  and  County  Councils,  who  send  lec¬ 
turers  on  the  subject  to  most  of  our  agricultural  and  horticultural 
shows.  Bar-frame  hives  are  now  used,  by  which  bees  can  be 
examined  at  will  without  disturbing  them  to  a  great  extent. 
Now,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  bee-keeping  can  be  rushed  into 
headlong.  The  beginner  must — if  he  is  going  to  succeed — make 
a  study  of  these  ever-busy  creatures  by  visiting  some  well- 
appointed  apiary,  and  by  reading  a  good  book  on  the  subject. 
“  The  British  Bee-Keepers’  Guide  Book  ”  is  a  capital  work,  and 
can  be  easily  understood,  written  as  it  is  by  one  of  our  most 
successful  bee-keepers  of  to-day,  in  plain  and  simple  language. 
Those  commencing  bee-keeping  should,  after  procuring  a  good 
bar-frame  hive,  obtain  a  swTarm  about  the  end  of  May  from,  some 
good  bee-keeper,  placing  the  hive  in  a  sunny  part  of  the  garden 
facing  south.  The  ground,  round  about  should  be  kept  free  from 
weeds  and  long  grass.  Feeding  with  syrup  should  be  done  for  a 
week  or  ten  days  after  hiving,  according  to  the  strength  of  the 
swarm,  and  this  will  give  them  a  good  start-  in  their  new  home. 
Don’t  attempt  to  obtain  surplus  honey  until  your  bees  have 
drawn  out  their  combs  and  obtained  a  good  supply  of  stores. 
For  my  own  part,  I  should  not  put  on  sections  or  shallow  frames 
till  the  following  season. 
Always  wear  a  veil  when  manipulating.  It  will  give  you  con¬ 
fidence,  which  is  one  of  the  main  points  in  the  successful  handling 
of  bees.  Do  not  disturb  the  bees  more  than  is  absolutely  neces¬ 
sary,  and,  while  manipulating,  do  not  have  your  hive  uncovered 
too  long.  Bees  do  not  like  draught,  which  often  causes  “  chilled 
brood.”  Be  as  careful  in  handling  as  you  possibly  can,  for  if  you 
hurt  one  bee  you  will  very  soon  have  several  others  paying 
vengeance.  Covering  up  for  the  winter  should  be  done  by  the 
end  of  September,  after  ascertaining  the  condition  of  the  brood- 
box.  The  bees  should  be  fed  rapidly,  so  as  to  ensure  a  good! 
supply  of  sealed  stores.  A  good  stock  of  bees  should  contain 
at  least  301b  of  stores,  and  a  good  safeguard  for  the  winter 
(should  they  get  short  of  food)  is  to-  place  a  cake  or  two  of  bee- 
candy  over  the  hole  in  the  quilt.  Condense  your  combs  as  much 
as  practicable,  removing  those  not  covered  by  bees.  Pack  round 
the  sides  with  sawdust  or  paper,  and  a  good  covering  over  the 
frames  should  then  keep  them  snug  and  warm  during  the  winter 
months.  Close  up  the  entrance  to  about  lin,  examine  them 
again  about  the  end  of  February,  and  give  them  another  cake 
of  candy,  in  case  they  are  short  of  stores.  About  May,  when, 
the  weather  is  warmer,  place  on  a  section  crate  with  foundation 
starters,  and  if  your  stock  is  strong,  and  a  good  season  favours 
them,  you  should  get  401b  or  501b  of  honey  for  your  trouble. 
If  you  want  to  increase  your  apiary  it  can  be  done  by  inducing 
swarming,  which  they  will  proceed  to  do  if  crimped  for  space 
in  the  hive.  They  will  invariably  swarm  naturally  about  June 
if  your  stock  is  at  all  strong.  The  gardener  has  the  special  advan¬ 
tage  of  having  plenty  of  flowers  from  which  his  bees  can  obtain 
honey  and  pollen,  and  it  will  be  worth  while  to  sow  seeds  of  such 
flowers  that  yield  a  good  supply  of  these.  Crocus  corms  should 
be  largely  planted,  as  the  flowers  from  these  are  the  first  the 
bees  have  in  the  early  spring.  They  are  also  fond  of  Nastur¬ 
tiums,  Mignonette,  Sweet  Peas,  Borage,  white  Clover,  and  almost 
every  single  sweet-scented  flower.  Good  honey  will  always  find 
a  market,  the  price  ranging  from  7d.  to  Is.  per  lb.  The  study 
of  bee  life  is  well  worthy  of  one’s  time,  and  from  them  we- 
should  most  certainly  be  able  to  take  a  lesson  and  profit-  thereby „ 
— H.  Kitlet. 
