186 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
August  21,  1902. 
the  measure  of  support  it  merits.  The  public  bodies  of  the  town, 
to  say  nothing  of  large  numbers  of  wealthy  citizens  figure 
neither  in  the  subscription  list  nor  amongst  honorary  exhibitors. 
Were  the  Parks  Committee  of  the  Corporation  and1  the  Town 
Trustees — to  give  only  two  instances — to  arrange  for  the  display 
of  some  choicer  specimens  of  flowers  from  the  parks  and  Botanical 
Gardens,  the  show  of  the  society  would  at  once  become  more 
representative  and  attractive.  At  little  inconvenience  and  ex¬ 
pense  such  a  scheme  could  be  carried  out,  and  Sheffield  could 
boast  of  a  flower  show  worthy  of  the  name  it  bears.”  In  order 
to  help  meet  the  monetary  loss,  the  committee  are  proposing 
to  have  a  sale  of  flowers. 
Dumfriesshire  and  Galloway,  August  15th  and  16th. 
The  shew  of  this  society,  for  the  last  two  seasons  under  a 
new  directorate,  was  the  most  successful  it  has  held  since  1862, 
and  the  speakers  at  the  opening,  and  at  the  judges’  luncheon, 
spoke  hopefully  of  its  prospects.  This  year  the  show  was  held 
on  August  15  and  16,  in  a  large  marquee  at  Castledykes,  Dum¬ 
fries,  which  was  filled  with  a  splendid  assortment  of  horti¬ 
cultural  produce.  The  show  was  gracefully  opened  by  Mrs. 
Glover,  wife  of  the  Provost  of  Dumfries,  who  was  introduced  by 
Sir  James  Crichton-Browne,  who  made  an  eloquent  speech.  The 
premier  position  was  taken  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Stewart,  Mollance, 
Castle  Douglas,  N.B.,  who  won  the  Dumfries  Burgh  Cup  with 
a,  beautifully  arranged  table  of  plants,  Messrs.  J.  Service  and 
Sons,  Maxwelltown,  coming  second  with  a  fine  table.  The  third 
went  to  Mr.  J.  Houston,  Crichton  Royal  Institution,  Dumfries, 
who  had  a  number  of  well  grown  plants,  but  whose  table  suffered 
from  flatness  of  arrangement. 
Cut  flowers  were  good  for  the  season,  though  Dahlias  were 
but  poorly  represented.  Sweet  Peas  were  the  flowers  of  the 
show,  and  were  beautifully  shown  by  several  competitors.  Roses 
were  fine,  Messrs.  D.  and  W.  Croll,  Dundee,  beating  Messrs. 
Palmer  and  Son,  of  Annan,  by  only  a  few  points,  their  blooms 
being  larger,  though  hardly  so  fresh.  The  same  firm  also  won 
easily  for  eighteen  Teas  over  Mr.  Houston. 
Hardy  flowers  were  finely  shown,  and  the  competition  for 
table  dcorations  was  keen,  the  first  and  second  prizes  eventually 
falling  to  sisters,  the  Misses  Rutherford,  Crichton  House,  with 
beautifully  arranged  tables. 
Vegetables  were  good,  and  the  fruit  classes  were  well  con¬ 
tested.  Mr.  J.  M.  Stewart’s  Grapes  were  splendid,  especially  the 
Black  Hamburghs,  though  another  first-class  fruit  grower,'  Mr. 
Jas.  Duff,  Threave,  Castle  Douglas,  ran  him  closely.  There  was 
a  large  turnout  of  non-competitive  exhibits,  Roses  being  capi¬ 
tally  shown  by  Smith  and  Son,  of  Stranraer,  and  Palmer  and 
Son,  of  Annan.  Thomas  Kennedy  and  Co.,  Fotheringham  and 
King,  James  Kennedy  and  James  Service  and  Sons,  all  of 
Dumfries,  showed  capital  plants  and  flowers,  and  Mr.  Pollock, 
Tarbolton,  Ayrshire,  showed  examples  of  his  rustic  structures 
for  the  garden.  The  services  of  Mr.  R.  G.  Mann,  “Courier” 
office,  Dumfries,  the  able  secretary,  are  beyond  all  praise. — A. 
Ipswich  Mutual  Improvement. 
On  Saturday,  the  16th  inst.,  some  seventy  or  eighty  members 
of  thei  above  society  had  a  very  enjoyable  excursion  to  Felix¬ 
stowe.  A  pleasant  stroll  along  the  beach  brought  the  party  to 
The  Lodge  gardens,  where  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Felix  Cobbold, 
who  not  only  permitted  the  party  to  view  his  beautiful  grounds, 
but  likewise  generously  entertained  them  to  tea,  this  being  the 
first  item  on  the  programme.  After  tea  Mr.  R.  C.  Notcutt, 
as  president  of  the  association,  expressed  the  thanks  of  the  party 
to  Mr.  Cobbold  for  his  hospitality,  to  which  Mr.  Cobbold  suit¬ 
ably  responded.  A  tour  was  then  made  of  the  gardens  under 
the  guidance  of  the  head  gardener,  Mr.  McIntosh.  Although  of 
but  small  extent,  this  garden  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  interest¬ 
ing  on  the  east  coast,  being  exceedingly  rich  in  hardy  plants. 
Situated  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  it  is  protected  from  the  sea  by 
a  massive  sea  walk  while  shelter  from  the  wind  is  obtained  by 
thick  belts  of  shrubs.  The  face  of  the  cliff  is  covered  with  rock- 
work,  on  which  Mesembryanthemums  are  largely  planted,  forming 
large  .patches,  flowering  with  the  greatest  freedom.  Water 
trickles  down  the  face  of  the  cliff  into  a  small  pool,  where  the 
Cape  Pond  Weed  (Aponogeton  distachyon)  is  thoroughly  at  home. 
No  formal  bedding  finds  a  place  here,  but  large  beds  of  Roses, 
herbaceous  plants,  annuals,  &c.,  make  telling  masses  of  colour. 
One  of  the  latest  additions  to  the  establishment  is  a  new  kitchen 
garden,  enclosed  by  substantial  walls,  on  which  some  young  fruit 
trees  were  making  satisfactory  growth.  Broad  grass  walks  run 
round  the  outside  and  cross  the  garden,  the  centre  walk  being 
arched  over  its  entire  length,  and  planted  with  single  cordon 
Apples.  Although  the  trees  have  only  been  planted  a  year  they 
are  making  a  strong  growth  and  carrying  a  heavy  crop  of  fruit, 
giving  promise  of  making  a  delightful' feature  of  the  place.  The 
glass  department  is  thoroughly  organised  and  up  to  date,  both 
fruit  and  plants  receiving  the  best  attention,  reflecting  the 
highest  credit  on  the  able  gardener  and  his  staff. — E.  G. 
The  Heather  Season. 
Most  bee-keepers  are  not  so  favourably  situated  that  they  can 
obtain  a  harvest  from  the  Heather  without  moving  their  bees 
a  distance,  and  as  this  is  always  attended  with  some  risk,  a  few 
hints  will  be  of  assistance.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  numerous 
conditions  which  come  into  play  in  determining  the  duration 
of  the  Heather  season,  principally,  of  course,  the  quality 
of  the  bloom,  but  as  the  flow  under  any  circumstances  from  this 
source  is  very  short,  it  will  be  evident  that  only  the 
strongest  stocks  will  recoup  the  owner  for  the  expense  of  removal. 
An  examination  and  reduction  of  hives  should-,  therefore,  take 
place  a  short  time  before  the  journey  is  undertaken.  All  brood 
combs  which  are  filled  or  partly  filled  with,  honey  should  be 
replaced  with  bars  of  brood  from  o-ther  colonies  on  the  point  of 
hatching.  In  fact,  stocks  should  be  in  a  precisely  similar  con¬ 
dition  to  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  year. 
To  ensure  safe  transit,  the  brood  combs  should  be  fastened 
down  by  screwing  a  strip  of  wood,  2in  wide,  along  the  ends  of 
the  bars  on  both  sides,  so  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  swing 
and  crush  the  bees.  Supers  can  then  be  fixed  above,  and  the 
bees  allowed  access  to  the  whole  tier.  By  allowing  them  plenty 
of  room  this  precaution  minimises  the  possibility  of  the  internal 
heat  cf  the  hive  rising  to  such  an  extent  that  there  is  danger 
of  the  combs  collapsing  and  preventing  bottom  ventilation.  It 
is  advisable  to  place  a.  sheet  of  cheese-cloth  or  open  bagging  over 
the  top  of  the  supers  instead  of  a  quilt  to  provide  a  current  of 
air  sufficient  to  keep  the  bees  cool.  Free  bottom  ventilation, 
however,  is  by  far  the  most  important.  If  the  hives  are  fitted 
with  bottom  ventilators,  allow  them  to  remain  open.  If  ven¬ 
tilation  is  obtained  by  the  entrance,  open  full  width  and  cover 
with  perforated  zinc,  then  tie  the  supers  and  hive  together 
securely.  Do  not  spare  the  rope.  It  is  a  mistake  to  disregard 
the  importance  of  binding  firmly.  Laxity  in  this  respect  may 
result  in  finding,  when  opened,  that  one  of  the  most  promising 
hives  is  nothing  but  a  mass  of  honey  and  suffocated  bees. 
When  the  distance  is  great,  the  method  of  conveyance  should 
be  by  rail,  but  if  the  journey  is  short  other  means  will  have 
to  be  resorted  to.  There  are  few  people  who  handle  hives  as 
they  ought  to  do.  This  is  where  the  greatest  risk  is  incurred. 
Unless  care  is  exercised  to  keep  the  bars  level  they  will  break  and 
probably  ruin  the  colony.  To  prevent  such  a  catastrophe  have 
plenty  of  assistance  when  loading  and  unloading,  and  whatever 
vehicle  is  used  must  have  springs  with  a  little  play.  If  too 
hard,  there  is  a  danger  of  breakdowns  when  jolting.  Should 
there  be  any  doubt  as  to  the  joliability  of  the  springs,  pad  all 
the  hive  legs  with  hay.  This  will  lessen  the  vibration  con¬ 
siderably.  To  avoid  suffocation  there  should  be  at  least  two- 
thirds  more  space  allowed  than  the  bees  actually  occupy.  Not 
otherwise  can  they  be  confidently  packed.  Any  hives  which 
cannot  be  so  provided,  and  thoroughly  ventilated,  will  be  better 
left  at  home.  The  journey  is  better  carried  out  at  night  when 
the  air  is  cool.  On  arrival  at  destination,  if  the  weather  is  un¬ 
settled,  select  the  most  sheltered  position  on  the  moor  for  the 
hives  to  stand.  This  affects  the  harvest  to  a  great  extent.  When 
the  weather  is  settled  the  position  is  immaterial. 
There  is  one  point  which  must  be  mentioned,  and  that  is,  that 
bees  have  a  disagreeable  manner  of  rushing  out  without  marking 
the  spot  when  excited  by  confinement.  A  judicious  plan  of 
obviating  this  is  to  open  the  hives  at  the  extreme  ends,  then  the 
middle  one,  and  when  these  are  settled  the  others  may  be  released, 
always  liberating  those  most  distance  from  the  flying  bees.  If 
all  the  hives  were  opened  simultaneously,  the  bees  would  rush 
out  all  at  once,  and,  on  returning,  probably  to>  the  wrong  hive, 
fighting  and  confusion  ensue. 
There  is  a  belief  that  any  too  much  room  in  the  supers  is 
injurious,  but  if,  at  the  end  of  July,  young  queens  have  been 
introduced,  and  the  hives  are  in  a  normal  breeding  condition, 
a  little  extra  room  has  no  ill  effect.  However,  the  nights  are 
often  colder,  and  for  rapid  work  it  is  essential  that  the  heat 
should  be  concentrated  as  much  as  possible,  and  everything 
should  be  done  to  keep  them  warm  and  encourage  work  at 
night  in  preparation  for  the  following  day’s  honey  flow.  Seasons 
are  so  variable  that  definite  rules  cannot  be  followed.  When  the 
weather  is  exceptionally  hot,  the  bee-keeper  should  endeavour 
to  visit  them  frequently,  in  order  to  adjust  ventilators,  and  give 
extra  room  as  required.  The  honey  flow  may  last  a  few  days  or 
weeks,  but  there  is  seldom  anything  of  note  after  the  middle  of 
September. — E.  E.,  Sandbacli. 
