352 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  21,  1904. 
Queen  Raising. 
Reply  to  “  Hexagonal  ”  :  In  queen  rearing,  unless  you  have  a 
large  stock  to  run  at,  and  have  had  time  to  experiment,  it  is 
much  cheaper  to  purchase  them  for  small  apiaries.  For  instance, 
to  split  up  a  colony  of  eleven  bars  you  vould  only  be  able  to 
make  three  nuclei,  and  if  you  obtained  three  queens  from  them 
(which  you  will  not  in  all  cases),  you  would  lose  the  season’s 
take  of  honey,  say  between  501b  and  1001b,  and  your  net  result 
would  be  the  cost  of  the  queens,  about  15s.,  whereas  the  honey 
would  have  realised  50s.,  and  you  would  have  saved  yourself 
considerable  trouble.  In  addition  to  this,’  nuclei  require  a  con¬ 
stant  supply  of  hatching  brood  to  maintain  and  protect  them, 
so  that  another  colony  would  have  to  be  robbed  of  some  of  its 
brood  and  strength,  and  the  harvest  consequentlv  diminished. 
It  is  the  succession  of  queens  obtained  by  the  regular  breeder 
from  these  nuclei  which  pay,  and  in  many  years  the  profit  from 
the  honey  harvest  will  exceed  that  of  the  queen  breeder.  Apart 
from  all  this,  the  system  of  rearing  queens  given  in  most 
instruction  books  go  wrong  in  some  detail.  Every  succe.ssful 
queen  breeder  has  his  own  system,  and  those  are  they  whose 
systems  represent  their  bread  and  cheese,  and  are  not  found  in 
any  instruction  books.  A  general  knowledge  of  everything  con¬ 
nected  with  bee-keeping  is  lequired  for  queen  rearing,  and  too 
many  efforts  have  ended  in  dismal  failures  for  me  to  advocate  it. 
— E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
Feeding. 
The  essence  of  successful  bee-keeping  lies  in  having  powerful 
stocks.  Comparatively  few  possess  any  very  clear  conception  of 
what  a  powerful  colony  is.  In  the  height  of  the  season  as  many 
as  two  lirood  chambers  and  four  shallow  supers  are  sometimes 
required  to  contain  the  progeny  of  one  queen,  and  the  stream  of 
traffic  in  and  out  has  the  sound  and  appearance  of  a  swarm,  and 
the  sound  of  a  distant  sawmill  at  work.  Colonies  such  as  these 
protect  themselves  from  both  diseases  and  robbers,  and  are  very 
profitable.  To  obtain  this  desideratum,  feeding  has  sometimes 
to  he  resorted  to,  the  aim  of  which  determines  the  method 
employed. 
The  object  of  spring  feeding  may  .sometimes  be  to  preserve 
the  bees,  but  generally  it  is  to  stimulate  the  queen  to  greater 
activity  in  ovipositing,  to  produce  the  greatest  po.ssible  numher 
of  bees  before  the  main  honey  flow  commences.  As  soon  as  the 
Crocus'  begins  to  bloom,  and  the  bees  are  seen  to  be  active,  the 
wide-av'ake  bee-keeper  examines  his  stocks,  and  notes  the  quan¬ 
tity  of  stores.  A  word  of  caution  is  e.s.sential  here :  Only  a 
cursory  examination  if  the  temperature  is  below  COdeg.  If  any 
are  found  to  be  short  of  stores,  which,  if  properly  fed  in  the 
autumn  will  not  be  the  ca.se,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  warm  syrup 
should  be  administered  the  first  mild  day,  which  they  will  imme¬ 
diately  store.  It  is  important  that  all  entrances  should  be 
contracted,  to  prevent  robbing,  and  that  the  food  be  given  when 
the  weather  is  warm.  For  cheapne.ss  and  efficiency,  the  stand 
and  bottle  feeder  commends  itself  for  this  purpose,  as  the  food 
is  placed  directly  over  the  cluster,  which,  when  the  bees  are 
unable  to  leave  the  warmth  of  the  cluster,  is  an  important  factor 
at  this  period  of  the  year. 
Extensive  experiments  have  been  made  with  regard  to  spring 
feeding,  but  nothing  has  been  found  to  excel  the  method  by 
which  the  bees  are  induced  to  move  their  stores  from  one  part 
of  the  hive  to  another.  Uncapping  a  few  cells  will  have  the 
desired  effect,  whilst  placing  a  bruised  comb  of  honey  outside  the 
dummy  works  wonders  in  encouraging  the  extension  of  the 
brood  nest,  and  the  most  successful  bee-keepers  are  those  who 
are  always  in  a  position  to  supply  these. 
The  fact  that  the  brood  nest  is  always  started  near  the 
entrance  has  originated  another  excellent  plan,  turning  the 
combs  back  to  front.  This  is  very  easily  done  in  hives  where 
the  brood  chaniber  can  be  lifted  bodily.  If,  however,  the  combs 
have  to  be  lifted  separately,  they  should  he,  kept  in  the  same 
position  to  one  another  as  before  moving.  This  arrangement,  of 
course,  places  the  honey  at  the  front  and  the  brood  at  the  back, 
the  honey  is  inevitably  removed  from  the  front,  and  the  cells 
filled  with  eggs.  This  method  is  always  reliable  and  perfectly 
safe,  as  the  colony  extends  the  brood  nest,  and  its  stimulating 
effect  IS  unequalled.  These  operations  should  commence  about 
SIX  weeks  prior  to  the  main  honey  flow. 
A  strict  watch  should  also  be  kept  to  avoid  the  colony 
running  short  of  food,  as  in  proportion  to  the  brood  raised  the 
food  will  be  used,  and  by  inattention  prosperous  stock  simply 
i  cea.sing  laying,  and  the  bees  sucking  up  the 
chyle  of  the  larva?  and  destroying  the  eggs.  The  outlay  will  be 
amply  repaid,  probably  the  same  year.  Swarms  should,  of 
course,  always  be  fed  for  a  day  or  two  after  hiving  to  encourage 
them,  especially  if  the  weather  is  cold  and  unsettled. 
Should  a  colony  be  found  starving,  a  comb  of  warm  sealed 
stores  must  be  given  next  to  the  cluster,  or  if  the  .stock  is  past 
that  the  entrance  niu.st  be  clo.sed  and  the  hive  taken  close  to 
the  fire  and  some  warm  syrup  poured  over  the  bees,  after  which 
feed  them  with  warm  syrup  rapidly  to  place  them  beyond  want 
for  the  time.  In  all  feeding  the  sugar  must  he  pure  cane.  The 
objection  to  beet  sugar  is  that  after  assimilation  by  the  bees 
there  is  more  residue  left  than  hy  cane,  and  the  bees" are  there¬ 
fore  more  liable  to  dy.sentery. — E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
*,),*A11  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street,  London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one 
will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking 
information  on  matters  discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing 
so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  ttouble  and  expense.  In 
naming  plants'  we  only  undertake  to  name  species,  or  well- 
marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any  one  occasion.  Florists’ 
flowers  we  do  not  name. 
NAiME  OF  PAPER  (J.  I,.).  —  The  matter  has  been  con¬ 
sidered,  sentiment  has  been  strong,  and  nothing  definite  has 
been  done.  Probably  the  change  may  eventually  be  made.  We 
are  pleased  to  have  your  encouraging  remarks. 
PEACH  LEAVES  PALE  OR  BLEACHED  (P.  T.).— Your 
trees  .seem  to  be  suffering  from  a  want  of  iron  in  the  soil,  thus 
causing  chloro.sis  of  the  leaves.  Apply  a  light  dre.ssing  (l^oz  per 
square  yard)  of  sulphate  of  iron  to  the  soil,  fork  in,  and  water. 
SELECTION  OF  NARCISSI  (J.  B.).— From  the  various 
reports  of  Daffodil  exhibitions  you  ought  to  have  a  very  reliable 
guide  as  to  the  popular  varieties,  and  you  can  check  prices  by 
means  of  a  catalogue.  Have  you  no  opportunity  of  seeing  a 
Daffodil  show? 
AV0:\IP:N’S  SCHOOLS  of  horticulture  (P.AV.).— That 
at  Swanley,  Kent  ;  Lady  Warwick’s  College,  Studley  Castle, 
Studley,  Warwickshire;  and  the  Pldinburgh  Women’s  School  of 
Horticulture,  at  Corstorphine  Llili,  Mictlothian,  are  the  best 
known.  So  far,  women  gardeners  have  not  made  much  head¬ 
way  in  gardens.  Doubtless  there  are  good  and  bad  amongst 
them,  just  as  amongst  the  men. 
APPLYING  BASIC  CINDER  PHOSPHATE  TO  VINES 
(R.  S.). — The  basic  cinder  phosphate  may  be  applied  to  both 
houses,  young  Vines  and  old  ones,  and  should  at  this  season  cf 
the  year  be  left  on  the  surface,  though,  in  the  case  of  old  Vines, 
and  the  roots  not  working  near  the  surface,  it  may  be  lightly 
pointed  in,  or  as  deeply  as  may  be  without  disturbing  the  roots. 
In  the  case  of  the  young  Vines,  and  with  the  roots  working  in 
the  top-dressing,  it  would  be  advisable  to  leave  the  basic  cinder 
phosphate  on  the  surface  at  least  for  a  time,  the  watering,  sub¬ 
sequent  to  its  application,  working  it  in  sufficiently.  The  basic 
cinder  phosphate,  Tib  per  square  yard,  will  not  injure  the  Vines, 
if  it  do  no  good,  though  lime,  phosphoric  acid,  and  other  con¬ 
stituents  of  the  phosphate  are  essential  plant  foods,  especially 
that  of  Vines,  and  valuable  for  correcting  a  tendency  to  sour¬ 
ness  of  soil  and  inducing  a  sturdier  and  fruitful  habit. 
MELON  LEAVES  RUSTED  (F.  E.).— The  leaves  are  affected 
by  both  the  rust  mite  (Tarsonymus  sp.)  aiid  the  Cucumber 
anthracno.se  (Gloeosporium  lagenarium),  the  former  causing  a 
rust  like  and  crippled  condition  of  the  leaves,  completely  check¬ 
ing  and  ruining  the  growth.  This  we  consider  the  chief  cause 
of  the  rusted  condition  of  the  leaves,  the  other  being  probably 
only  a  secondai-y  matter,  and  not  in  a  malignant  form.  The 
mite  causes  the  rusted  appearance  by  its  punctures  of  the 
tissues,  and  probably  are  of  a  poisonous  nature,  pale  spots 
appearing  on  the  upper  surface,  whilst  the  lower  side  assumes  a 
brown,  rusted,  and  contracted  appearance.  The  best  known 
preventive  is  spraying  with  tobacco  water,  coating  the  under 
side  of  the  leaves  with  the  finest  possible  film  of  the  liquid,  and 
repeating  at  intervals  of  a  few  days.  Badly  rusted  plants,  how¬ 
ever,  seldom  recover,  though  we  have  known  affected  Melon 
plants  recuperate  and  perfect  the  crop. 
