^86 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  22,  1903, 
8 
HE  BEE-KEEPER.^ 
Wintering. 
The  year  1903  is  now  closed,  as  far  as  the  honey  harvest  is 
concerned.  Would  it  not  be  well  for  us  to  consider  what  were 
the  causes  of  failure  or  success  of  the  year’s  working  Let  us 
go  back  to  the  end  of  the  honey  haiwest  of  1902.  Many  of  us,  I 
fear,  failed  to  do  our  duty,  and  trusted  to  good  fortune  favouring 
us  in  the  spring  of  the  present  year — and  what  were  the  results? 
The  weather  was  unfavourable  and  the  stores  ran  out,  and,  most 
unfortunate  of  all,  many  of  our  best  stocks  died  of  starvation. 
Yet  the  fault  was  our  own;  we  ought  to  have  fed  up  the  colonies 
well  before  September  was  out.  Let  us  profit,  then,  at  this  late 
hour  by  our  misfortunes  of  last  season,  and  make  such  a  catas¬ 
trophe  an  impossibility. 
Examine  every  stock,  and  if  the  bees  cover  six  combs  densely 
and  each  comb  has  an  average  of  4^  to  51bs.  of  honey  stored  and 
sealed,  we  may  rest  contented ;  but  if  not,  then  we  supply  the 
deficiency  by  feeding  with  a  good  cake  of  canclj^.  Next  see  that 
the  hives  are  cjuite  waterproof,  for  if  the  winter  follow  the 
example  of  the  summer — and  there  is  every  sign  of  it — we  shall 
have  a  very  wet  time  of  it.  I  know  of  nothing  that  is  more 
hurtful  to  a  colony  of  bees  than  dampness.  The  best  remedy 
against  leaky  roofs  is  to  cover  with  tin.  A  cheap  method  of 
doing  this  is  to  use  tins,  such  as  large  cocoa  tins,  tack  them  as 
slaters  do  slates,  and  solder  up  the  edges,  and  give  them  two  coats 
of  paint.  With  regard  to  the  inside,  place  the  candy  over  the 
centre  frames,  cover  well  with  quilts,  and  leave  the  entrances 
only  wide  enough  for  one  bee  to  pass  through.  Close  up  the 
dummy  and  pack  the  sides  well  with  chaff. 
How  TO  Make  Candy. — Remember,  if  each  colony  has  from 
251bs  to  301bs  of  sealed  stores,  there  is  no  need  to*  feed  with 
candy,  for  they  will  have  quite  sufficient  to  carry  them  over  to 
May.  Use  a  tin  saucepan,  and  place  in  it  81bs  of  the  best  granu¬ 
lated  or  white  lump  sugar  and  pour  on  it  a  pint  of  boiling  water. 
Stir  well,  but  do  not  allow  the  pan  to  touch  the  fire  or  you  are 
almost  sure  to  burn  it — and  burnt  sugar  is  death  to  bees  in  the 
winter.  When  you  have  boiled  it  sufficiently — and  a  few  minutes 
is  usually  sufficient — take  it  from  the  fire  and  stir  well  until  it 
cools,  and  it  will  then  be  of  a  flaky  nature. — Hybla. 
- - 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
Apprenticeship  of  a  German  Gardener. 
First  of  all  it  is  required  of  an  aspirant  to  have  a  fair  school 
education ;  if  possible,  language  (Latin  especially)  and  geo¬ 
graphy,  which  help  him  oonsiderahly,  and  save  a  lot  of  study 
in  after  days.  If  the  young  man  has  found  a  place  to  enter  as 
an  apprentice,  the  majority  of  establishments  charge  a  certain 
sum  per  annum,  Germany  generally  from  100  to  150  marks  (84s. 
to  156s.) ;  France  and  Belgium  about  the  same.  Then  he  must 
enter  a  contract  to  serve  a  time,  generally  three  years.  In  rare 
cases  he  will  be  allowed  a  small  comiDensation  at  the  last  year  of 
his  time. 
There  are  some  places  which  take  apprentices  without  pay, 
but  then  he  must  generally  serve  a  time  of  four  years. 
This  time  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  young  man  who 
passed  through  it.  It  is  a  time  of  hard  work,  and  not  only  long 
days  of  hard  work — in  many  places  it  is  compulsory  to  pass 
through  evening  school  to  collect  knowledge  in  landscape  draw¬ 
ing,  geometry,  and  surveying.  This  goes  through  to  sometimes 
three  years  during  winter.  Then  besides  at  home  it  is  not  only 
practical  work  which  occupies  the  young  man,  but  also 
theoretical.  There  are  the  names  of  all  the  plants  to  be 
learned,  their  nature,  native  country,  under  what  conditions 
they  grow  best,  what  soil  is  best  for  them;  hooks  have  to  be 
bought  and  studied  ;  many  employers  require  their  apprentices 
to  keep  a  daybook  in  which  all  work  done  during  the  day  has  to 
be  entered.  Not  only  superficial,  but  to  the  minutest  details. 
After  twenty-^x  years  the  writer  recalls  many  instances  of 
apparent  negligence  and  the  rather  strong  reprimands  he  re¬ 
ceived.  In  this  way  the  time  passes  for  the  apprentice  under 
constant  work  with  few  and  long  between  pleasures.  After  tl>e 
expiration  of  his  time  he  is  called  an  assistant,  and  receives  his 
certificate,  of  which  eveiy  young  gardener  is  as  proud  as  any 
young  girl  of  a  new  Easter  hat. 
Then  his  time  comes  to  travel.  Of  every  young  gardener  it 
is  expected  that  he  sees  other  establishments,  if  possible  other 
countries,  and  widen  his  knowledge.  We  all,  who  passed  through 
the  mill,  know  how  proud  we  felt  and  thought  we  knew  it  all : 
but  no  matter  how  hard  we  worked  and  studied,  after  getting 
to^  a  new  place  he  finds  out  how  little  he  really  does  laiow. 
M  herever  he  goes  there  are  different  methods,  other  plants, 
always  something  new ;  so  it  keeps  him  Imstling  to  keep  up  to 
date.  It  is  a  constant  learning  as  long  as  he  is  in  the  profession. 
But  this  is  a  gardener. — R.  4Y.  Unger  (in  “L'nion  Gardener.”) 
The  Editor  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  some  interesting 
letters,  following  his  invitation  given  last  week,  and  promises 
the  publication  of  those  that  are  noteworthy. 
***■  All  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  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only,  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  fiowers  we  do  not  name. 
INSURANCE  AGAINST  LOSS  AT  SHOWS  (W.  L.).— We 
presume  you  mean  insurance  against  a  wet  day,  or  similar 
detractor.  Try  “  Lloyd’s.” 
BOOKS  (W.  H.). — Messrs.  W.  and  H.  Colliiigridge  publish 
an  Encyclopsedia  of  Gardening.  The  price  we  do  not  know,  but 
you  could  drop  a  postcard  to  Alclersgate  Street,  E.C.,  and 
enquire. 
Ihe  Comma  Butterfly. 
THE  C  O  M  hi  A 
BUTTERFLY  (Naturali.st). 
— We  are  quite  unable  to 
say  whether  this  species  of 
Grapta.  is  found  in  numbers 
ill  Kent  or  Surrey.  At  one 
time  it  was  quite  ab.sent 
from  the,se  counties,  though 
prevalent  in  Worce.ster 
and  Hereford,  as  well  as 
elsewhere  in  the  Midlands. 
It  flies  in  October,  and  the 
caterpillars  feed  on  the  Hop 
a  little  before  the  time 
that  the  Hops  are  gathered. 
The  butteiffiy,  or  imago,  is 
very  distinct  in  form. 
DEFINITION  OF  HARDY  HERBACEOUS  CUT  FLOWERS 
(W.  T.).— The  three  Lilies  you  name — Lilium  speciosum  album, 
L.  s.  rosea,  and  L.  Harris! — are  strictly  herbaceous  bulbous 
planks,  as  also  are  Gladioli.  There  is  no  rea.son  why  they 
should  not  be  included  in  a  collection  of  herbaceous  cut  flowers 
at  local,  or  indeed  any  shows,  except  where  separate  classes  are 
provided  for  such  plants — say  for  Liliums  and  for  Gladioli — 
separately  in  the  schedules,  and  the.se  so  worded  as  to  exclude 
their  being  shown  as  “cut”  herbaceous  plants.  Indeed,  herba¬ 
ceous  implies  any  plant  not  of  a  ligneous  nature,  whether  bulbous, 
tuberous,  or  other  kind  of  rootstock,  evergreen  or  deciduous. 
Of  coui\se,  when  classes  are  provided  in  the  schedules  for  parti¬ 
cular  plants  or  flowers,  it  is  usual  to  disqualify  such  in  collections 
of  cut  herbaceous,  though  this  is  not  stated  in  the  schedules, 
and  often  cause.s  much  needless  bickering 
REMOVING  PLUM  TREE  (A.  Boyle). — You  cannot  adopt 
a  better  plan  than  the  one  you  propose.  In  all  probability  the 
trees  will  have  some  roots  approaching  more  or  less  a  vertical 
position,  and  they  must  be  severed,  half  of  them  this  year  and 
the  other  half  the  next.  If  you  can  place  a  quantity  of  light, 
gritty  vegetable  soil  in  the  trench,  packing  it  very  firmly  round 
the  roots,  it  will  be  of  great  value  in  promoting  the  emission 
of  a  number  of  short  fibrous  roots  that  are  so  desirable  for  the 
quick  re-establishment  of  the  tree.  It  will  be  an  advantage 
rather  than  otherwise  to  prune  the  tree  by  shortening  the 
luxuriant  branches. 
NAMES  OF  FRUITS. — Correspondents  whose  queries  are  un- 
ansioered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult  the 
folloioing  number.  (J. P.). — Pear  Doyeime'du  Cornice;  Apple  Manning- 
ton  Pearmain.  (F.  N.). — I,  Allington  ;  2,  Eeklinville  ;  3,  Bismai'ck  ; 
4,  Ribston  Pippin.  (North  Berwick). —  I,  "Wealthy;  2,  Gascoigne’s 
Scarlet ;  3,  Margil;  4,  Tower  of  Glammis.  (Fanny  Tait). — Grapes  (1) 
Trebbiano  and  (2)  Alicante. 
