Bulbs should be ordered this month if you wish the pick of the new crop.  There are two fall blooming bulbs that would add to our September and October gardens.  One is the Sternbergia, or autumn daffodil, and the other is the autumn crocus.

The bulbs should be planted in August and will blossom the same season.  The daffodil is a clear yellow and is good for cutting.  These bulbs must be ordered as early as possible.

Lady bugs are our garden friends, destroying multitudes of aphides.  They should never be killed.

Have you the following all ready for use?

For insects, bugs or worms that chew—­or eat portions of
plants—­arsenate of lead, paris green or hellebore.

For sucking insects, nicotine or kerosene emulsion.

For diseases, bordeaux mixture or ammoniacal copper carbonate solution.

A good sprayer.

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Remember our photographic contest.

BEE-KEEPER’S COLUMN

Conducted by FRANCIS JAGER, Professor of Apiculture, University
Farm, St. Paul.

INCREASING COLONIES (CONTINUED FROM JUNE NO.)

[Illustration:  Prof.  Francis Jager’s apiary at St. Bonifacius.]

To increase you must first make your colonies strong.  One or more of your best colonies must be selected to raise queens for your increase unless you wish to buy your queen.  Stimulate your queen raising colonies by feeding and not giving them any supers.  The crowded condition will bring on an early swarming impulse, under which they will raise from twelve to twenty large, well developed queen cells each.  The queens of your queen raising colonies should be clipped.  When in due time a queen raising colony swarms, catch the queen and remove her and let the swarm return.  Immediately after this swarm you may proceed to divide your other colonies from which you wish to increase.  Put down on a permanent location as many empty hives as you have available queen cells in your colony that swarmed.  Into one of these you put your removed breeding queen with two frames of brood and bees.  Into each of the rest of the empty hives put two frames of brood with all adhering bees from your colonies you wish to increase.  Be sure to leave the queens in the old hive after brood for increase with adhering bees has been removed.  Thus you have now a number of new colonies with bees and two frames of brood but no queen.  The rest of the hive may be filled with drawn comb or sheets of foundation.  To prevent the bees from returning to the old home, stuff the entrance of the hive solidly with grass.  In two days the grass will wilt and dry and the bees will come out automatically and stay in the new location—­at least most of them.  In the meantime being queenless they will be busy with raising queen cells on the two frames of brood.