440 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
May  19,  1904. 
Queen  Excluder. 
It  is  (juostionable  whether  there  is  any  other  callinp;  so 
heset  with  differences  of  opinion,  and  dominated  hy  cliance,  as 
liee-keeping.  Successful  apicultuie  is  really  a  systematic  appli¬ 
cation  of  judgment  and  discretion,  and  one  of  tlie  many  points 
which  apiarists  are  at  variance  about  is  whether  the  above  is 
absolutely  necessary  or  not. 
To  begin  with,  suppose  that  we  have  a  young  and  prolific 
queen  in  an  eleven- bar-frame  hive  full  of  bees,  and  super  with 
a  crate  of  .sections  without  excluder  zinc  between,  the  queen 
will  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  extend  the  brood  nest  to  the 
.sections,  and  thus  spoil  the  lot.  A  queen  which  would  be  sati.s- 
fied  with  the  capacity  of  an  eleven-frame  brood  chamber  would 
not  satisfy  the  modern  bee-keeper.  Many  will  advise  the  re¬ 
moval  of  "brood  frames  containing  a  superabundance  of  pollen, 
or  honey,  and  the  in.sertion  of  bars  of  foundation  prior  to  snper- 
ing  in  the  above  manner,  but  in  many  cases  this  will  result  in 
pollen  being  stored  in  the  sections,  which  i.s  almost  as  bad  as 
brood. 
There  is,  however,  something  in  the  methods  of  working 
for  sections,  as  it  is  curious  to  note  that  when  fine  weather 
follows  the  putting  on  of  .sections,  and  the  bees  have  taken 
jio.sse.ssion  of  them,  if  another  crate  is  added  under  the  first,  as 
it  becomes  .sealed  according  to  the  weather  they  will  seldom 
breed  in  them.  Zinc  excluder  is  cold,  but  when  it  has  been  over 
the  brood  nest  a  short  time,  it  being  a  good  conductor  of  heat, 
may  be  at  the  same  temperature  as  the  surrounding  atmosphere, 
but  whether  this  is  so  or  not  is  doubtful,  but  sections  worked 
above  celluloid  excluders  are  worked  more  readily,  and  com¬ 
pleted  earlier  than  those  filled  over  the  metal. 
There  is  one  objection  to  the  celluloid  excluders :  inflam¬ 
mability.  A  spark  from  the  smoker  would  be  sufficient  to 
cause  a  mishap.  There  is,  however,  nothing  so  certain  in  i)re- 
venting  either  pollen  or  hrood  in  the  sections  as  queen  excluder. 
Its  method  of  use  is  mainly  responsible  for  any  objections.  As 
a  rule,  it  is  placed  on  the  top  of  the  frames,  and  there  is  con¬ 
stantly  a  scrimmage  amongst  the  hees  to  get  through  it,  which 
raises  the  temperature  of  the  hive,  and  is  one  of  the  necessary 
conditions  for  .swarming. 
To  obviate  this  the  excluder  .should  be  fixed  in  a  wooden 
frame  half  an  inch  thick,  and  a  piece  across  the  centre,  which 
will  give  the  bees  access  through  all  the  perforations,  and  a 
good  clear  space  for  movement  between  the  top  bars  and  the 
excluder,  facilitating  their  operations,  and  keejiing  them  cool. 
This  also  tends  to  reduce  the  swarming  impidse  unless  the 
hereditary  tendency  of  the  bees  becomes  too  strong  for  them. 
It  is  also  w'ell  to  remember  that  if  the  bees  work  more  com¬ 
fortably  and  expeditiou.sly,  and  there  is  no  loitering,  the  pro¬ 
bability  is  that  by  this  means  the  harve.st  may  be  increased. — 
E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
- - 
Miscellaneous  Notes. 
The  Four  Oaks  Nursery  and  Garden  Sundries  Co. 
We  understand  that  at  the  show  of  the  Royal  Botanic 
Society  held  at  Regent’s  Park,  IMay  11,  the  above  were  awarded 
a  certificate  of  merit  for  their  Four  Ooaks  Undentable  Syringe. 
Freehold  Land— The  Land  Co.,  London. 
We  have  received  from  the  Land  Company,  68,  Cheapside, 
London,  E.C.,  a  publication  descriptive  of  tlieir  plots  of  land 
and  estates  for  sale.  I?i  their  preface  they  say: — “  We  have 
5,000  acres  of  land  for  sale,  comprising  all  descriptions;  sites 
for  the  mansion  down  to  sites  for  the  modest  bungalow  or 
cottage;  plots  on  seaside  building  estates  affording  splendid 
chance  of  profit  on  re-sales  as  estate  develops;  plots  ripe  for 
builders’  operations,  where  houses  will  readily  let ;  plots  in 
centre  of  thriving  towns;  plots  on  the  out.skirts  :  plots  and  large 
parcels  for  bungalows,  poultry  farms,  market  gardens,  fruit 
growing,  nurseries,  Ac.,  near  flourishing  towns  and  easy  dis¬ 
tance  of  London.  If  you  wish  to  invest  spare  capital  in  land 
that  is  certain  to  steadily  and  assuredly  improve  in  value,  we 
ask  you  to  give  us  your  premier  consideration,  and  as  showing 
how  our  building  estates  have  prospered,  you  need  only  refer  to 
actual  photos  in  the  pamphlet.” 
Trade  Catalogues  Received. 
Otto  Beyrodt,  Orchid  Establishment,  Marienfeld,  Berlin. — Orchids. 
Dicksons,  The  Nurseries,  Chester. — Daffodils. 
Win.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross,  Herts.  —  New  Roses. 
\*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  trouble  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. 
PHOTO  OF  DENDROBIFM  NOBILE  (fj.  B.).— Thank.,  for 
photograph,  which  we  shall  have  pleasure  in  using. 
TREATMENT  OF  GLADIOLI  BULIHLS  (Young  Gardener). 
— The  small  corms  should  be  planted  without  delay,  this  being 
preferably  done  in  March,  from  4in  to  bin  apart,  from  2in  to  3in 
deep,  in  a  warm  or  sheltered  border  of  good,  rich,  light  soil, 
and,  if  watered  in  dry  weather,  many  of  them  will  become  large 
enough  to  flower  next  year. 
OXALIS  CRENATA  (Hibernia).  —  We  are  unable  to  tell  you 
where  this  plant,  of  which  you  give  such  a  glowing  de.scription, 
is  to  be  procured  in  England  or  elsewhere.  Probably  its  being 
tender  has  prevented  its  continued  cultivation,  it  and  O.  tetra- 
phylla  (Deppei)  being  largely  treated  of  in  Thomp.son’s  “  Gar¬ 
dener’s  Assistant,”  page  314  and  315,  published  in  1859. 
BLENHEIM  ORANGE  APPLE  TREE  NOT  SHOWING 
BLOSSOM  (R.  S.). — This  variety  is  a  notoriously  shy  bearer  in 
its  early  years,  especially  as  a  standard  on  the  free  stock,  and 
should  not  be  pruned  to  any  material  extent,  only  cutting  away 
any  gro\\  ths  likely  to  cross  each  other,  thus  keeping  the  head 
relatively  open,  and  allowing  the  branches  to  extend.  Thi.s 
appears  to  be  all  your  tree  requires,  the  pruning  only  encourag¬ 
ing  growth  and  filling  the  head  with  a  quantity  of  usele.ss  spray 
or  wood  in  place  of  fruitful  spurs.  Leave  it  alone,  and  it  will 
no  doubt  fruit  freely  in  course  of  time.  To  ensure  early 
fruiting,  this  very  fine  Apple,  alike  good  for  all  purpo.ses,  and 
the  best  for  baking,  succeeds  on  the  Paradise  .stock,  forming  a 
spreading  pyramid  or  bush,  and  is  also  good  for  espaliers.  Its 
fruiting  is  facilitated  by  root-pruning,  but  it  is  not  generally 
advisable  to  root-prune  trees  on  free  stocks,  as  they  are  not 
nearly  so  fibrous-rooted  as  those  on  the  Paradi.se.  The  latter 
bear  lifting  and  root-pruning  well,  and  it  is  a  means  of  inducing 
early  bearing  in  the  slow-fruiting  varieties. 
NOTES  ON  THE  SEXES  AND  HABITS  OF  ANTS  (Kate.)— 
The  ant  family  (Formicidie)  are  social  insects,  of  wonderful 
habits,  variations,  and  instincts.  Ants  live  in  communities  of 
various  size,  and  each  community  is  composed  of  three  distinct 
castes,  the  male  and  female,  and  the  worker ;  a  fourth  caste 
may  be  present  as  soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  community. 
The  workers,  and  the  ones  most  commonly  seen,  are  wingless. 
The  males  and  females  only  appear  outside  the  nests  at  certain 
times  of  the  year,  when  they  swarm  out  and  fly  about  in  the  air, 
both  sexes  having  large  wings,  four  in  number,  and  delicately 
membranous.  The  female  is  much  larger  than  the  male.  Soon 
their  flight  is  over,  and  the  female  has  her  wings  roughly  torn 
off  by  the  male,  and  then  they  commence  to  form  fresh  colonies. 
Large  numbers  of  eggs  are  laid  by  one  female.  The  males  perish 
after  the  consummation  of  the  .sexual  connection.  The  worker.-, 
or  neuters  perform  all  the  work  of  the  colony.  They  excavate 
the  ant-hill  or  galleries,  procure  food,  and  wait  upon  the  larva? 
until  they  leave  their  cells.  They  fee-d  the  larvae  or  young  ants, 
which  are  destitute  of  motion,  with  materials  which  they  dis¬ 
gorge  from  their  mouths,  aud  in  fine  weather  carry  them  to  the 
surface  for  the  benefit  of  the  sun’s  warmth,  and  as  carefully  in 
bad  weather  carry  them  to  a  place  of  safety,  also  when  the  nest 
is  disturbed.  Ants  are  chiefly  injurious  from  their  habit  of 
farming  aphides  and  scale  imsects  for  the  sake  of  the  honey-food 
they  obtain,  by  a  process  of  tapping  they  adopt,  and  so  tending 
to  perpetuate  the  stock  of  these  most  injurious  insects,  and 
also  from  the  mechanical  damage  they  do  in  pits  and  other 
receptacles  for  plants.  They  likewise  cause  unsightly  hills  on 
lawns  and  paths,  and  the  hlack  species  that  live  in  decayed  wood 
often  injure  the  framing  of  greenhoiLses,  Ac.,  when  the  wood¬ 
work  has  become  somewhat  decayed.  Where  fruit,  such  as 
Peaches  and  Nectarines,  wall  fruit,  including  Pear.s,  are  grown, 
ants  will  at  times  inflict  damage,  and  therefore  they  should  be 
,  kept  away. 
