8o 



IRISH GARDENING. 



gather the most of the harvest. If the stores become 

 scarce and the weather be cold or wet, the queens will 

 stop laying-, and once they stop it is not so easy to get 

 them to begin again. Even if the hives are well supplied 

 with stores it pays to feed in May. The sugar will be 

 sealed in the brood-nest, and when the honey comes in 

 it will go upstairs at once. Of course if doubling for 

 extraction be intended it will not do to have the combs 

 filled with sugar, but for comb-honey feeding in May 

 will pay whether it be actually required or not. Keep 

 an eye on the brood-combs to see if they contain plenty 

 of pollen. If not, put a few spoonfuls of pea-flour into 

 the comb near the brood, for no breeding can go on 

 without pollen or its equivalent. 



It is very important during the earl)- breeding season 

 to keep the hives well wrapped up. Warmth is abso- 

 lutel)- necessary for the young larvje, and if the brood- 

 chamber be cold larger numbers of bees must cluster to 

 keep the brood warm, and, necessarily, fewer numbers 

 will be available for gathering purposes. Some bee- 

 keepers contract the entrance once breeding begins, but 

 I do not think it necessary. 



Clipping queens is a general practice nowadays. It 

 is more easily performed before the bees become too 

 numerous. A warm day should be chosen, and great 

 care exercised not to crush the abdomen of the queen. 

 The usual way is, first, to catch her by the wings with 

 the right hand, then with the left finger and ihumb to 

 catch the head and thorax, when the wings can be 

 easily removed with a small, sharp scissors. Never 

 allow the queen to drop any distance. These clipped 

 queens will require some looking after when the swarming 

 season arrives, but with a little care the practice of 

 clipping saves a great deal of worry with swarms. 



Those afRicted with foul brood should make every 

 effort to get their diseased stocks up to swarming point 

 as soon as possible, so as to be able to get them cured 

 during swarming time by the " shook-sw-arm " or " star- 

 vation" method. In view of the legislation on foul 

 brood it behoves ever\'one with diseased bees to see to 

 them carefully. If the proper remedies are applied 

 thoroughly and vigorously there is no reason why the 

 pest should not be stamped out. 



Notes. 



Onion Cixtirk. — Kroni time to time in these pages 

 attention has deen drawn to the profitable return of 

 a well-grown onion crop. Writers in recent numbers of 

 the Gardeners' Chronicle have been calling attention to 

 the same fact. It seems strange that even in rural 

 districts in a country so well adapted to onion growing 

 as our own that consumers of this wholesome vegetable 

 should be so dependent upon over-sea supplies. It is, 

 without doubt, a most profitable crop, and one that 

 might be easily grown by the small holder or cottager. 

 Under right management about 3 bushels may be 

 raised from one rod, and this yield ought to give a good 

 profit to the grower. Marketing produce is always a 

 great difficulty with small holders, but co-operation for 

 this purpose might surely overcome it. The organi- 

 sation of districts so that each would act as one com- 

 mercial unit in the market is obviously what is wanted 



before anything really efl^ective can be done in this con- 

 nection by small cultivation. 



Chinese Artichokes (Stachys tiiberijera), allho.:gh 

 introduced to our gardens twenty odd years ago, have 

 made little advance in popularity during that time. 

 Yet properly cooked these little tubers should form a 

 welcome variety to our vegetable foods. Their culture 

 is simple. They love a light soil enriched with well- 

 decayed manure or leaf-mould. The tubers may be set 

 in deep drills a foot apart each way. 



Manuring of Plants in Pots. — In most cases plants 

 growing in pots are liable to suffer for lack of sufficient 

 nitrogen unless it is artificially applied. This follows 

 from the fact that there is comparatively little soil 

 available to the roots, that nitrates are never abundant 

 in a soil, and that these being soluble are readily 

 removed by repeated waterings. From experiments 

 carried on at the National School of Horticulture, 

 Versailles, it would appear as if all plants grown in pots 

 are benefited by occasional small doses of nitrate of 

 soda. But the doses must really be small, and with 

 some kinds of plants very small. The average amount 

 works out to about 7^ grains of nitrate for pots under 

 4^ inches, 15 to 30 grains for pots under 6'^ inches, and 

 about 60 grains for 8 inch pots. 



Manuring Alpines. — It is a common belief that 

 Alpine plants do not require manure, but the belief is not 

 founded on experimental evidence. It is true that the 

 manuring must be done with care and with a knowledge 

 of the special requirements of each group. Quite a 

 number have a great distaste for lime, while others 

 {Campanula pusilla for example) are greatly benefited by 

 lime applied in the form o( bone meal. .According to 

 Mr. S. ArnoU, a good general manure for .\lpines is 

 one composed of 80 gallons of water, in which are dis- 

 solved 90 grains of nitrate of lime, go grains oi sulphate 

 of magnesia, and go grains of nitrate of potash. This 

 solution is watered in once a year in the summer time. 

 Dry cow manure, pulverised fine and scattered among 

 the plants in spring, is another and excellent way of 

 supplying nutriment to Alpines. 



HvDRANGI.\ is a handsome shrub, especially H. pani- 

 culata, variety grandiflora. It grows to a height of 

 four or five feet, and bears large clusters of creamy- 

 white blossoms in August. To get the best results the 

 previous year's shoots should be pruned back in 

 February to within two or three buds of the base, any 

 weak shoots produced being afterwards removed. 

 During the summer an occasional watering with weak 

 liquid mainire will be helpful, as it is then that the 

 flower buds are being developed. 



The National Sweet Pea Society has issued an official 

 catalogue of Sweet Pea Names (igog), which may be 

 obtained from the secretary, Mr. Chas. H. Curtis, 

 Adelaide Road, Brentford, Middlesex. The price of 

 the booklet is sixpence. 



The Garden in Si.mmer. — We have received a copy 

 of Henry's list of plants for summer bedding, green- 

 house, &c. It also includes lists of rock plants and 

 plants suitable for the herbaceous border raised al the 

 Pembroke Nurseries, Carlow. 



