364 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  15,  1903. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
■  t  ■  I  -  i  - 1 
.  I  ,  ,  ■  ,  .  t 
Feeding. 
The  honey  flow  of  1903  has  practically  ceased,  and  piany 
imagine  that  feeding  with  syrup  must  of  necessity  follow.  This 
is  a  mistaken  notion  arising  from  ignorance  of  the  causeis  of  feed¬ 
ing,  which  are,  1,  early  in  season  to  stimulate  brood  rearing,  and 
2,  iu  the  autumn  for  the  same  reason,  and  because  the  hives  have 
an  insuificienc3"  of  stores.  Do  it  as  you  will  it  is  a  very  sticky 
task,  expensive,  and  often  caluses  robbing.  There  is  nothing 
to  beat  a  good  supplj^  of  sealed  lionet'  in  the  brood  chamber,  and 
if  this  course  can  be  adopted,  loss  of  bees  by  dwindling  or  starva¬ 
tion  is  almost  an  unknown  thing. 
There  ought  not  to  bei  less  than  201b.  of  sealed  stores  in  the 
hives,  but  2olb.  would  be  safer.  Remember,  the  stronger  the 
colony  the  better  it  will  winter,  and  the  less  stores  will  be  con¬ 
sumed.  Having  settled  the  question  of  whether  to  feed  or  not 
to  feed,  if  the  latter  be  necessary,  make  good  syrup  made  from 
the  best  granulated  sugar,  giving  a  wide  bertli  to  treacle  and 
poor  cheap  sugar.  Take  101b  of  the  best  granulated  sugar,  add  5  to 
7  pints  of  water,  and  place  on  a  slow  fire,  and  heat  to  170deg  to 
ISOdeg,  and  stir  all  the  time.  Some  people  boil  it,  but  burnt 
syrup  will  bring  death  in  its  train  to  anj^  colony  consuming  it. 
Do  not  make  the  syrup  too  thick,  i.e.,  more  than  half  and  half 
during  September,  but  if  feeding  be  absolutely  necessarj’,  and 
this  is  only  through  sheer  neglect,  in  October,  then  make  it  in  the 
proportio'ii  of  8  to  6.  The  reason  whj"  thick  syrup  feeding  is  not 
advisable  is  being  thick  it  will  granulate,  and  in  this  form 
is  no  use  to  the  bees,  for  they  will  onlj'-  carry  it  out  when  the 
opportunity  arises.  Avoid  the  addition  of  chemicals  which  are 
advertised  to  prevent  and  cure  foiul  brood. 
The  Feeder. — No  expensive  feeder  is  needful,  take  a  31b  jam 
bottle,  fill  it  up  to  the  brim,  and  stretch  over  tightly,  tjdng 
firmlj'  with  string,  some  cheesecloth  or  muslin.  Place  the  in¬ 
verted  bottle  over  the  frames,  taking  great  care  to  si>ill  none, 
and  close  the  entrances  so  that  one  bee  only  can  pass  at  a  time. 
It  is  well  not  to  put  on  cold  svn-up,  as  tliis  reduces  the  temperature 
of  the  brood  chamber,  and  will  not  be  taken  down  .so  rapidly  as 
lukewarm  syrup.  Wrap  up  the  whole  snugly,  and  fill  every  bottle 
up  to  the  brim;  if  not,  then  the  synip  will  run  out,  for  it  will 
he  forced  down  bj^  the  air  above.  One  warning  more  and  I  have 
finished :  feed  at  night,  and  this  will  assist  to  prevent  robbing.— 
Hybla. 
Robbing. 
When  the  honey  flow  begins  to  fall  off,  then  look  out  for  rob¬ 
bing.  If  it  can  be  checked  in  its  early  stages,  then  it  may  soon 
be  cured. 
Causes. — It  is  seldom  that  bees  resort  to  robberj-  during  the 
time  that  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  them  in  the  field.s\  Like  man, 
they  get  into  mischief  during  the  time  of  idleness  and  leisure. 
Strong  colonies  are  never  I'obbed,  and  but  only  the  weak  and 
queenless  hives.  So  a  strong  colony  pays  in  two  ways,  first  there 
is  more  surplus,  and  second  there  is  less  worry  and  care  needed 
at  the  close  of  the  honey  harvest.  One  of  the  chief  causes  is 
leaving  pieces  of  comb  containing  honey  about  the  hives. 
Hoav  to  Detect  It. — Therei  is  generally  a  great  deal  of  agitation 
on  the  alighting  board,  and  bees  may  be  seen  struggling  with 
each  other,  and  rolling  off,  holding  one  another  tighth'  the  while. 
How  TO  Check  It.- — It  is  usually  best  to  clo.'-e  the  entranoeis  so 
that  one  bee  only  can  pass  at  a  time.  Very  seldom  is  it  that  this 
fails,  unless  the  stock  be  queenless,  and  then  they  seem  to  lack 
the  energy  necessarj'  to  protect  their  stores.  In  this  case  the 
remedy  is  clear,  either  unite  them  to  a  strong  or  even  a  weak 
stock,  and  thus  help  the  weak  to  become  powerful  against  a 
similar  attack.  A  “V”  shaped  entrance  will  sometimes  be  very 
“V ’’-shaped  hive  entrance. 
helpfuh  and  this  must  only  be  wide  enough  to  allow  one  bee  to 
pass  at  a  time. — Hybla. 
Modern  Bee-keeping. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Arts  held  in  London  some 
time  ago,  Mr.  Walter  F.  Reid,  expert  of  the  British  Bee- 
Keepers’  Association,  read  a  paper  on  Modern  Bee-keeping. 
Mr.  Reid  traced  the  indu.stry  of  bee-keeping  from  the  earliest 
times.  Bee-keeping,  he  said,  was  one  of  the  oldest,  if  not  the 
oldest,  of  all  the  industries  connected  with  agriculture.  He  de¬ 
scribed  the  progress  in  the  construction  of  the  hive  and  the 
different  hives  in  common  use.  There  could  be  no  doubt  that 
bee-keeping  in  most  rural  districts  was  remunerative.  An 
apiary  was  started  in  1894  bj'  two  factory  workmen,  who  bought 
a  “skep”  of  bees  on  joint  account.  They  had  now  twent j'-four 
stocks,  which  jnelded  on  an  average  661b  of  honey  per  hive. 
But,  .said  the  lecturer,  there  was  a  larger  and  more  important 
question  connected  with  beta-keeping,  namely,  the  fertiltsatiop 
of  blossoms  and  the  production  of  fruit  and  seed. 
A  large  grower  of  bush  fruit  in  Hertfordshire  establi.shed  an 
apiary  in  his  grounds,  and  at  once  found  that  his  produce  in¬ 
creased  more  than  fourfold.  As  he  now  sent  off  six  to  ten  tons 
of  Gooseberries  per  week  during  the  season,  the  money  value 
of  his  bees  was  not  to  be  e,stimated  by  the  jdeld  of  honey  alone, 
although  this  was  also  considerable.  It  had  been  found  that 
some  of  our  mo.st  highly  cultivated  fruits  were  not  self-fertile ; 
that  was,  the  blossoms  on  a  tree  would  not  fertilise  each  other, 
but  must  receive  pollen  from  another  tree  before  they  coukl 
bear  fruit.  This  was  the  cause  of  the  absence  of  fruit  in  many 
trees  that  blossomed  luxuriantly,  especially  when  planted  singly 
in  small  gardens.  What  agent  more  suitable  than  a  bee  could 
be  found  to  bring  the  golden  du.st  upon  which  the  future  crop 
depended  ? 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
0) 
.2% 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
.5 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Lowest 
Temperatur 
on  Qrass, 
October. 
5 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Oi 
0) 
bD 
a 
CO 
<u 
0 
Sundav  ...  4 
s.w. 
deg. 
59-7 
deg. 
57-0 
deg. 
64-4 
deg. 
52 '5 
Ins. 
0-43 
deg. 
59-0 
deg. 
59-0 
deg. 
57-7 
deg. 
42  0 
Monday  ...  5 
s.w. 
60'5 
59-0 
ei'9 
54-2 
0T5 
58-8 
58-8 
57-7 
48U 
Tuesday...  6 
s.w. 
55-1 
53-7 
63-2 
530 
0-16 
57-5 
58-5 
57-7 
44-2 
Wed’sday  7 
w.s.w. 
56-7 
54-8 
62-9 
53-2 
0-04 
57  4 
582 
57-7 
48-1 
Thursday  8 
s.s.w. 
60-6 
59-7 
63 ’6 
53-2 
0T5 
58-2 
58-2 
57-7 
45-2 
Friday  ...  9 
w.s.w. 
53-6 
50-2 
57-7 
49-5 
0-07 
58'2 
58-2 
57-6 
44-5 
Saturday  10 
W.N.W. 
47-6 
44.7 
57 ’5 
38-0 
0-20 
55’2 
57'9 
57-5 
30-0 
Means  ... 
56'3 
54-2 
61-6 
50-5 
Total. 
1-20 
57-8 
58-4 
577 
43  2 
Dull,  mild  weather,  and  rain  every  day. 
. .  ♦  I - 
Trade  Catalogues  Received. 
H.  Cannell  and  Sons,  Swanley,  Kent. — Autumn  Catalogue. 
Frank  Cant  and  Co.,  Braiswiek  Rose  Gardens,  Colchester. — Roses. 
E.  P.  Dixon  and  Sons,  Hull. — Fruit  Trees,  Roses,  Shrtcbs,  (£c. 
F.  C.  Heineinann,  Erfurt,  Germany. — Novelties  and  Specialities,  190i. 
H.  P.  Kelsey,  Beacon  Buildings,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. — Rhodo¬ 
dendrons,  Azaleas,  Kalmias,  dx. 
Wm.  Paul  and  Son,  Waltham  Cross,  Herts. — Roses. 
A.  W.  P.  Pike,  Llanishen,  Cardiff. — Carnations  and  Picotees. 
Thomas  Rivers  and  Son,  Sawbridgeworth,  Herts. — Fruit  Trees,  Roses, 
Shrtibs. 
Frederick  Roemer,  Quedlinburg,  Germany. — -Novelties  in  Flower  Seeds 
for  190d. 
Communications  Received. — Rev.  C.  H.  B.,  Rev.  P.  R., 
H.  M.,  J.  Kennell,  O.  T.,  E.  Molvneux,  J.  S.,  R.  P.,  J.  T., 
H.  B.,  J.  Pegler,  D.  I.,  J.  W.,  R^  P.  B.,  M.  T.,  E.  Mawley, 
R.  and  Co.,  H.  S.,  with  thanks,  will  use  them  ;  J.  A.  S.,  R.  D., 
H.  D.,  J.  J.  W.,  G.  E.  S.,  C.  H.  B.,  J.  McL, 
G.  R.,  K.,  Dublin;  T.  A.  W.,  W.  B.  B.,  Rev.  J.  H.  P., 
W.  T.,  J.  R.  S.  C.,  T.  and  Sons,  <!.  W.  M.,  Newcastle; 
W.  S.,  M.  and  M.,  R.  J.  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  W.  C. 
The  Reproductive  Power  of  Turnip  Seed.— Writing  to  the 
“  Gardener’s  Chronicle,”  Mr.  Wm.  Cuthbertson  says :  When 
harvesting  Dobbie’s  Golden  Ball  Turnip  seed  this  summer  at 
Orpington,  I  was  struck  with  the  appearance  of  a  remarkably 
fine  plant.  I  had  it  saved  by  itself  and  threshed  out.  The 
weight  of  seed  was  84oz.  I  counted  the  seeds  in  l-16th  of  an 
ounce,  and  found  they  numbered  1,120,  which  works  out  at 
147,840  for  the  8jOz.  Thus  a  single  seed  sown  in  July,  1902, 
has  reproduced  itself  147,840  times  in  twelve  months.” 
Great  London  Successes. — We  have  received  the  following 
note ;  “  In  the  large  open  competition  of  the  British  Dairy 
Farmers’  As.sociation,  held  in  the  Agricultural  Hall,  London, 
last  week,  some  of  the  most  important  prizes  for  roots  were 
won  by  the  produce  of  Webbs’  seeds,  viz.  ;  First,  second,  and 
third  prizes,  Webbs’.  Mammoth  Long  Red  Mangold;  first  prize, 
Webbs’  Smithfield  Yellow  Globe  Mangold;  finst  prize,  Webbs’ 
Impei'ial  Swede ;  and  second  prize.  Collection  of  Webbs’  roots. 
There  were  143  entries  for  these  prizes,  and  considering  the 
strength  of  the  classes,  the  remarkable  success  of  Messrs. 
Webbs’  seeds  must  be  very  gratifjdng  to  this  firm.” 
