December  31,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
no7 
Much  has  changed  in  tlie  gardening  world  generally,  and 
in  the  hothy  particularly,  since  I  bade  farewell  to  the  latter 
one  autumn  morning  many  years  ago ;  but  much  has  not 
changed,  nor  will  change  while  human  nature  exists.  There 
is  the  same  diversity  of  character  in  Bothydom  as  of  yore ; 
ranging  from  the  happy-go-lucUy  boy  whose  high,  infectious 
spirits  bespeak  a  gardener’s  life  as  the  jolliest  one  imaginable, 
down  to  the  dull,  listless  lad  who  lolls  away  his  leisure  as  a 
thing  to  be  rid  of  instead  of  seized  upon  as  a  precious  possession. 
The  one  can  neither  descend  nor  the  cither  rise  to  the  ster?i 
realities  of  life.  Such  extremes  exist,  but  are,  happily,  excep¬ 
tional,  and  the  bulk  of  our  raw  material  in  Bothydom  is  sound, 
healthy,  and  promising.  Alas!  That  there  should  ever  he  that 
great  gulf,  or  any  gulf,  we  sometimes  see  ’twixt  promise  and 
performance  in  the  manufactured  article  ;  hence  I  regard  bothy 
life  as  a  critical  period,  for  “  no  plainer  truth  appears,  our 
most  important  are  our  earliest  years.”  It  was  not  my  inten¬ 
tion,  however,  to  generalise,  or  to  moralise ;  rather  would  I  at 
this  season,  and  seasonable  time,  briefly  suiDplement  that  advice 
I  have  ijreviously  been  privileged  to  give  in  these  pages,  by 
expressing  a  sympathetic  thought  for  the  welfare  of  my  young 
brothers. 
Taking  it  for  granted  that  plan  drawing,  high-class  reading, 
and  what  not,  are,  during  the  long  nights  of  winter  being 
carried  out  and  on  bravely  in  the  earnest  endeavour  to  make 
this  self-tuition  a  sound  and  solid  factor  in  future  success,  I 
would  ask  you  are  you  doing  all  this  methodically  and  upon  a 
clear  and  well-defined  plan?  If  not,  may  I  impress  the  desira¬ 
bility  of  this  matter  receiving  the  consideration  it  deserves? 
Rereunt  et  imputantur,  says  an  old  sun-dial,  or  in  our  tongue. 
“They  perish  and  are  forgotten.”  One  of  the  illusions  of 
bothy  life  is  that  time  in  it  appears  so  long ;  wdiereas,  in  reality, 
it  is  so  short.  In  spite  of  the  many  advantages  present  day 
pupils  possess,  and  the  helps  they  have,  the  peculiarity  of  a 
gardener’s  education  still  remains,  leaving  him,  practically, 
a  self-taught  man.  The  cvorking  duty  exacted  from  a  youth 
by  his  master  may  be  scrupulously  performed,  wdiilst  his  duty 
to  himself  is  wholly  neglected,  or  carried  on  in  such  a 
desultory  manner  as  to  he  not  only  valueless  hut  actually 
antagonistic  to  the  mechanical  training  which  goes  hand  iii 
hand  with  the  daily  routine. 
Do  you,  young  friend,  realise  the  power  that  is  within  you, 
and  the  possibilities  within  your  reach?  If  so,  you  are  pro¬ 
bably  mapping  out  your  cour.se,  and  it  is  a  good  time,  this, 
for  making  plans,  if  not  already  made,  apart  from  tho.se  plans 
of  flowmr  beds  or  buildings  you  may  be  bu.sy  at — plans  which 
if  truly  drawn  on  a  conscientious  scale,  will  prove  to  he  a 
reliable  chart  of  life.  It  is,  of  course,  the  season  at  which 
crops  of  plans  are  sown  as  thickly  as  mustard  and  cress,  and  the 
hulk  of  them  are  as  short  lived,  hence  they  should  be  simple, 
sound  and  few.  “  Singleness  of  purpose  often  accomplishes 
more  than  a  plurality  of  talent.”  Whilst  impre.ssing  the  im¬ 
portance  of  these  matters,  and  without  going  into  details  which 
you  are  well  able  to  supply — whilst  impressing  the  importance 
of  your  seizing  the  flying  moments  in  Bothydom  to  ecpiip 
your.selves  for  the  battle  of  a  gardener’s  life— I  would  that  you 
should  try  to  fit  as  well  as  fill  the  position ;  so  elevate  your¬ 
selves  as  to  be,  or  become,  gentlemen  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word,  and  for  wdiich  the  refining  influence  of  gardening  should 
do  much,  and  your  higher  aspirations,  if  quickened  ^towards 
an  ideal  life,  the  remainder.  The  bothy,  unfortunately,  is  not 
congenial  to  the  cultivation  of  correct  conversation  or' address, 
nor  is  it  a  court  of  etiquette  and  polite  manners,  yet  this 
educational  refinement  is,  possibly,  more  essential  to  gardeners 
in  after  life  than  to  any  other  class  of  men  in  the  world  of 
work.  “Virtue,  itself,  offends  when  coupled  with  forbidding 
manners.”  The  old  school  of  gardeners  is  dying  out,  and  we 
can  ill  afford  to  lose  the  courtly,  poli.shed,  gentlemanly  man 
who,  as  well  as  being  a  sound,  practical  gaidener,  was  an 
ornament  to  his  profession.  This  is,  po.ssibly,  more  or  les.s 
clear  to  you,  for  amongst  even  young  gardeners  the  bank 
balance  is  not  always  regarded  as  the  barometer  of  human 
worth. 
The  last  remark  brings  up  a  point  not  previously  empha¬ 
sised,  I  think,  in  any  of  our  Journal  chats,  and  I  hope  I  do 
not  .stultify  my.self  in  pointing  to  the  need  of  economising  not 
only  your  time,  but  your  money.  The  invaluable  facilitieTs  for 
•saving  afforded  by  the  Post  Office  Savings  Bank  need  no 
encomiums  from  me.  but  I  regret  that  so  few  of  our  young  gar¬ 
deners  avail  themselves  of  the  .splendid  opportunity  it  affords 
for  accumulatng  any  spare  shillings.  A  grand  time  this  for 
starting  a  little  account  with  His  Maje.sty.  In  fact,  the  birth 
of  a  new'  year  and  the  death  of  an  irredeemable  old  one  is 
admirably  adapted  for  many  things,  and  capable  of  many 
tiling;  which,  of  cour.«e,  is  but  a  truism,  but  for  you,  if  you 
w'ill  it,  it  should  be  a  happy  new'  year.  A5'e !  A  Happy  New' 
Year;  no  mere  stereotyped  phra.se,  pa.ssing  compliment,  or 
empty  sound,  hut  fraught  with  all  the  deep  significance  and 
inherent  potentiality  it  is  capable  of  bearing"  Such  may  it  he 
to  each,  and  to  all  of  you,  in  Bothydom. 
nil/  xJll/il/'All/X/x  Jl/xv. 
% 
The  Stewarton  Hive. 
This  hive  derives  its  name  from  the  tow'ii  of  Stewarton  in 
the  north  of  Ayrshire.  Its  origin  is  rather  obscure,  but  it  is 
supposed  to  have  been  invented  about  the  year  1819  by  Robert 
Kerr,  a  cabinet  maker  of  that  town,  and  familiarly  known  as 
“  Bee  Robin.”  Its  merits  have  ready  championship  amongst 
Scotsmen,  particularly  in  the  South  of  Scotland,  where  there 
have  always  been  .some  remarkably  clever  bee-keepers.  The  hive, 
of  which  there  have  been  many  modifications,  is  octagonal  in 
shape,  which  is  considered  the  nearest  approach  to  the  circular 
and  natural  form  in  which  the  bees  cluster,  and  is  made  up  of 
from  one  to  three  body  boxes,  or  brood  chambers,  14in  wide 
inside  measurement,  and  either  Tin  or  9in  deep,  having  eight 
bars,  the  six  centre  ones  being  l^in  w'ide  for  brood  production, 
and  the  two  outside  ones  Hin  w'ide,  in  which  the  honey  is  stored. 
The  bars  are  fastened  in  the  hive  by  half-inch  screw's,  which  may 
be  removed  if  it  is  de.sired  to  render  the  bars  moveable.  Foun¬ 
dation  is,  of  course,  fitted  to  the  centre  of  each  bar  as  w'ith 
the  ordinary  bar-frame,  but  wdien  the  comb  is  completed  it  is 
thicker. 
The  boxes,  w'hich  are  vei-y  accurately  constructed,  fit  exactly 
upon  each  other,  and  are  fitted  w'ith  a  window  and  a  moveable 
.shutter  at  the  back  and  front,  so  that  it  can  be  easily  ascer- 
tainecl  how  the  work  of  comb  building,  &c.,  is  progres.sing. 
Generally  three  entrances,  S^in  wude  and  ^in  deep,  are  fitted  in 
the  bottom  of  the  body  boxes,  which  have  slides  for  contracting 
or  closing  them  altogether.  In  a  prosperous  hive,  w'hen  the 
weather  is  w'arm,  these  entrances  are  not  considered  too  much 
for  ventilation  and  for  the  traffic  of  the  bees.  In  addition  to 
the  numerous  body  boxes  there  are  supers  of  corresponding 
width,  but  only  4in  deep,  furnished  w'ith  seven  bars  l^in  broad. 
One  of  the  disadvantages  of  this  hive  is  that  its  cost  is  con¬ 
siderably  increased  by  an  extra  covering,  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  it.  This  outer  casing  should  be  about  20in  square, 
plinthed  all  around  so  that  each  lift  fits  on  the  low'er  one,  and 
they  should  be  capable  of  tiering  in  order  to  expand  and  contract 
in  an  exactly  similar  manner  to  the  “W.B.C.”  method.  The 
floor  board  is  made  to  fit  the  outer  casing,  and  is  extended  in  the 
three  positions  necessary  for  entrances,  w'hich  are  sloped  so  that 
the  rain  will  run  off.  The  roof  also  is  octagonal  in  shape,  .sloping 
and  overhanging  all  round.  The  combs  in  the  Stew'arton  hive 
are  made  moveable  by  dispensing  with  the  screws,  but  are  only 
interchangeable  in  similar  positions  in  the  different  boxes.  The 
general  method  of  feeding  is  by  a  trough  fitted  in  the  floor  board 
of  the  hive. 
Before  packing  for  the  winter  all  the  wooden  slides  in  the 
tops  of  the  supers  have  to  be  withdrawn,  and  the  whole  of  the 
top  is  then  covered  with  a  piece  of  carpet,  ticking,  or  other  warm 
material,  except  w'oollen  fabrics,  w'ith  an  aperture  cut  in  near 
the  centre,  and  over  this  three  or  four  thicknesses  of  warm 
quilting  are  placed.  Queen  excluder  is  not  used  with  this  hive, 
the  bees  being  admitted  to  the  supers  by  withdrawing  the  out.side 
slides.  The  extra  thickness  of  the  combs,  the  shallowne.ss  of 
the  supers,  and  the  depths  of  the  cells  of  the  drawn  out  bars,  all 
have  a  tendency  to  deter  the  queen  from  using  the  supers  as 
brood  boxes,  but  very  much  in  this  re.spect  depends  upon  the 
neighbourhood  and  the  season.  The  additional  empty  supers 
are  placed  on  the  top  of  those  which  are  partly  filled,  but  more 
breeding  room  can  be  given  below',  which  is  an  advantage  in 
the  management  of  this  hive,  as  the  heated  air  ascending  from 
the  bees  working  below  obviates  any  possibility  of  the  brood 
chilling. — E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
“The  lilfe  of  the  Flower.  ’ 
One  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  the  periodical  literature 
of  our  time  is  the  number  of  attempts  to  bring  the  mysteries 
of  science  and  the  beauties  of  the  life  around  us  home  to  the 
minds  of  those  busy  people  who  read  new'spapers  and  magazines, 
but  who  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  study 
formal  treatises  upon  subjects  not  directly  connected  with  their 
own  w'ork.  More  particularly  has  this  been  the  case  with 
Natural  History,  in  which  an  interest  has  been  excited  wdiich 
would  have  .seemed  incredible  to  White  of  Selborne.  If  Richard 
Jefferies  were  alive  to-day  his  exquisite  work,  in.stead  of  a  cold 
reception  by  an  unapiireciative  w'orld,  w'ould  be  eagerly  sought 
by  editors,  and  devoured  by  an  enthusiastic  public. 
Undoubtedly  the  change  is  largely  due  to  an  enlightenment 
which  has  been  brought  about  by  the  Press,  w  Inch  has  not  only 
summarised  in  various  attractive  forms  the  conclusions  reached 
by  patient  investigators,  but  has  spared  neither  money  nor 
pains  to  procure  original  work  from  writers,  the  fascination  ql 
whose  style  charms  even  the  most  careless  into  an  intere.st  in 
birds  and  beasts  and  flowers,  which  they  had  never  sn.'^pectcd 
they  possessed . 
