1843.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
921 
of the summer, unless from various causes the fruit drops 
prematurely. 
It thus appears that the Fig-tree is naturally adapted 
for bearin i of fruit, ively formed, 
from near the base of the shoots to their extremities ; that 
the greater part, if not the whole, of the fruits which push 
beyond their scales in the same season in which they are 
formed, fail in attaining maturity in this climate, although 
they constitute the principal crop in warmer climates, and 
likewise in foreing-houses in this country; and that the 
crop likely to ripen without the aid of artificial heat is 
derived from the embryo fruit-buds formed towards the 
extremities of the shoots. It is, therefore, evident that 
the latter ought not to be cut off in pruning. 
he propagation of the Fig is easily effected, either 
from suckers, by layering, or from cuttings. Suckers may 
be taken off at any time when the trees are not in leaf, 
and planted either in the open ground or in pots. Layer- 
ing may be performed at any season. Cuttings should be 
made early in spring, and struck in heat. 
In some parts of the south of England the Fig succeeds 
as standards, bearing large crops in favourable seasons. 
It then receives little or no pruning. But in general it is 
found necessary to plant the Fig against walls ; and in this 
case pruning and training become necessary.— Zt. 7. 
ON THE ATMOSPHERE OF HOTHOUSES. 
(Continued from page 804.) 
gas as an ingredient in the atmosphere, I, however, pro- 
Pose to be somewhat more minute, as it is now an acknow- 
ledged fact in vegetable physiology, that plants derive 
the basis of woody fibre, or carbon, from this source. The 
result of extensive and careful analysis has proved that the 
atmosphere contains of carbonic acid gas about yg of 
its bulk, and for the proper growth of plants, this exists 
as a minimum proportion. Heat, light, moisture, and all 
things else necessary for plants, may be present in the 
atmosphere surrounding them; but if this minute and 
apparently unimportant ingredient be wanting, they will 
then cease to grow. 
By examining our coal-fields and other deposits con- 
taining vegetable organic remains, we have the evidence 
ofa period when vegetation must have been exceedingly 
luxuriant, Ferns, Araucariz, Stigmaria, Sigillarice and 
other fossil tribes, to a great extent now extinct in species, 
Srew in vigorous profusion in that early world; but hav- 
ing ceased to live were buried, and became those beds of 
coal so abundantly disinterred at the present day. Although 
most of these primeval plants differed in configuration from 
those now extant, there is no reason to imagine their 
functions were of another sort than that which living 
plants now perform. They must therefore have inhaled 
carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere, and obtained their 
carbon from that source: hence the conclusion is forced 
Upon us, that the then atmosphere was more copiously 
impregnated with carbonic acid gas, for all the coal of owt 
Mines was then suspended in it in that state. But if 
plants of that era luxuriated in an atmosphere surcharged 
with carbonic acid, may not plants of the present day do the 
Same? This question has been answered in the affirma- 
tive both by experiment and observation; and hence it 
May be an object in artificial cultivation, where we wish 
to urge on vegetation as rapidly as possible, to afford an 
additional supply of this gaseous food to our plants. 
Gardeners have long been in the habit of doing this both 
in hot-beds and pit-stoves : for this purpose a quantity of 
vegetable matter, such as bark, leaves, or litter, is heaped 
together and allowed to ferment, when not only is there a 
generation of heat, but a copious formation of carbonic 
acid gas. There isno doubt that the chief object contem- 
plated in this process is the production of heat; but there 
Can be as little doubt that carbonic acid has been likewise 
Produced, and had its influence in the result—a vigorous 
vegetation, It is on this account that the old system of 
obtaining bottom-heat by the fermentation of vegetable 
Matter, will, when properly managed, never be excelled in 
its effects by the more modern and more manageable 
means of the warm-water tank. It is not without reason, 
therefore, that many of our old gardeners adhere to their 
a plan, preferring leaves or litter to steam or water as a@ 
ae of heat. : Like the Grotto del Cane, they possess, 
ts heir fermenting material, a constant fountain of car- 
nic acid gas, which, diffusing itself through the atmo- 
* Nitrogen.—aithou is gas i all plants, 
—. gh this gas is a component of all plants, 
they do not, according to the present stat eee: 
btain it d i 
» how they may indirectly procure it; during thunder- 
Oxy an {oF instance, the electric fluid can canse its inion with 
Brecon to Hele nitric acid, which, combining with the ammonia 
5 Bienes. the Atmosphere, and carried down in rains to the roots 
aes nitrate of ammonia, will form a fertiliser, yielding 
Baers: ‘irom both acid and base, Again; the presence of some 
Oxygen Ait Soll, such as potash, exerts a disposing affinity upon 
so Togen, so as to in 
an ack 
sphere of the house, is absorbed and assimilated by the 
foliage it encompasses.—J. L., Newburgh. 
(To be continued.) 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
By T. Warp Jeston, Esa., HENLEY-on-THAMES. 
I wave found by experience my plan for the manage- 
ment of Bees, and mode of taking their superfluous honey 
without destroying the parent hive, fully to succeed. In 
a Bee country it will afford the cottager a very ample 
return for his trouble, and not require so much watching 
as the old plan ; for the older the hive is, the less chance 
there will be of swarming, but the greater chance of a 
larger deposit of honey. Ihave kept Bees more than 20 
years ; have tried Huish’s, Nutt’s, and various other plans, 
but the one suggested by the industrious insect itself I 
have found to be the most simple, cheap, and successful, 
and will not cost the cottager more than 6d. to adopt in 
addition to his old hives. 
Some years ago I placed an empty butter-tub under the 
board on which the hive rested ; the sun cracked the board 
and the Bees took possession of the tub, and after filling 
their own hive deposited 26lbs. of honey and comb in the 
tub. This I took for my own use, leaving their hive full 
of honey for their winter’s consumption. By improving 
upon this simple plan I have carried off the prizes for honey, 
atthe Henley Horticultural Society for the last four years. 
A board half an inch in thickness, 18 inches in width, and 
perforated with two holes, each half an inch in diameter, 
is placed between the hive and the butter-tub: when the 
hive of Bees is placed on a stage in a Bee-house, the holes 
may be bored near the entrance of the hive, but under it 
without a second board ; and the tub placed underneath 
must be closely cemented to the board, to prevent light or 
insects intervening. I find Bee-houses do not succeed so 
well as separate hives resting on tubs. When the tub of 
honey is taken away in August, my practice is to place the 
hive over a similar empty tub and board, leaving the holes 
open, which will save the Bees much labour, as they will 
depoait all their dead Bees in the tub during the winter 
months; therefore, the tub requires to be cleaned out in 
March, not later, as the Bees have a great dislike to any 
disturbance of their arrangements. 
The tub must be securely cemented to the board with 
putty ; any light penetrating the tub will prevent the Bees 
depositing their store in it; and I have found the common 
butter firkin, when dry and deprived of its wooden 
hoops, in the second year of use, not to succeed so well as 
at first, on account of the light being admitted between 
the staves. I last year (1841) took upwards of 40lbs. of 
honey in this way, although the season was so bad, and 
an ample supply of food was left for the Bees to subsist 
on during the winter. This plan will prove a good substi- 
tute for the ‘‘rear’’ used to enlarge the common hive, 
with this advantage, that a supply of honey can be 
obtained from the strong swarms as well as from the old 
hives. I have never been obliged to feed the Bees from 
which honey had been taken in the mode described. 
There is little or no gorse or heath near Henley, and 
the character of the country is arable.— Published in the 
“Transactions of the Royal Agricultural Sociely” for 1842, 
J have tried Mr. Jeston’s plan with six hives and boxes, 
—old ones and swarms. In every tub taken in Sept. this 
year there was a large mass of comb ; in two there had 
been honey, and in two there were altogether 6lbs. of 
honey,—these two were swarms, or casts, as late as 28th 
and 30th June. Of six hives, old and new, the weights 
on 3d September were from 26 lbs, to 34 ibs. I bored 
the two holes just so far within the entrance of the hive. 
that, when put over the firkin, the holes came just within 
the firkin. Each firkin was closely cemented with plaister 
of Paris—better than putty, as not liable to be gnawed 
by the Bees. I have cut a groove just broad enough to 
embrace both holes, into which Islip a thin piece of 
board; when I took the hive off in the morning of the 
taking, I pushed the piece of board home, and thus cut off 
the communication. The hives were lifted off with the 
bottom boards, and the few Bees in the firkins went home 
very soon. The combs were then taken off. Nothing 
can be more simple. The firkins have cost fourpence 
each. This year has been a bad one for Bees. I took 
the liberty of feeding each swarm for three or four days 
after it had swarmed,—wax was made immediately, as 
Huber suggested. I had seven swarms from three stocks 
because I did not ventilate as I ought to dv. I took the 
precaution of stopping the mouth of each hive on the 
taking morning, and when the tub was removed I opened 
the hive-door, The Symphoria racemosa is the greatest 
source of Bee-food that 1 ever saw, more so almost than 
Datch Clover; the Raspberry is next in the class of 
shrubs.—EZste.; 
AMATEUR’S GARDEN.—No. XLVII. 
Tus to many will appear a curious time of the year to 
talk of commencing the growth of any plant, but never. 
theless it is the right time, for those who are desirous of 
producing unusually large specimens of Fuchsias, to go to 
work. The Fuchsia, unlike most other plants, does not 
luxuriate under powerful light ; on the contrary, it grows 
with great exuberance in dull weather, but requires the 
assistance of powerful sun-light to enable it to mature its 
flowers. Thus if you take a small plant in January or 
February, and encourage it properly, you may have it 
from three to six feet high by the Ist of May ; but if you 
take a similar sized plant in May, and nurse it with all 
the care imaginable, you will experience considerable diffi- 
culty in growing it to six feet by the Ist of November, or 
double the space of time ; and why is this? The answer 
to this question embodies the whole of the secret of 
Fuchsia management, and here it is: ~In the winter and 
early spring months the Fuchsia grows vigorously, if pro- 
perly stimulated by heat and moisture, because it has no 
disposition to produce flowers ; but so soon as the sun 
has sufficient power to thoroughly elaborate the juices of 
the plant, then it becomes organisable, growth in a great 
measure ceases, and the sap is expanded in the production 
of flowers. 
The Fuchsia may be induced to bloom earlier than June, 
but this can only be effected by unnatural treatment, such 
as checking its growth, confining it in a small pot, stint- 
ing it for water, and keeping it in a dry atmosphere. Old 
plants not cut down, will generally bloom better than 
young plants in the early part of the year; but old plants 
rarely make handsome specimens, unless they are cut 
down to the surface of the pots; they will then break 
away with great strength, and form beautiful pyramidal 
plants. A Fuchsia, to be fit for exhibition, should be at 
least four feet high, regularly branched from the pot up- 
wards, and forming a cone of verdure and blossom. 
Now, to have them of this size, it is only necessary to 
commence at the present time, either by cutting down old 
plants or starting young ones. Keep them gently grow- 
ing through the winter ina little moist heat, and stimu- 
late them as much as possible when the days begin to 
lengthen. The soil which I generally use is rough turfy 
peat, with a small quantity of leaf-mould and loam, and a 
sprinkling of silver-sand. oung plants that are well 
rooted, may be removed from small 60s into 24-sized pots at 
this season, and from them into 8, 4, or 2 sized ones, in 
February ; but after the commencement of the new year, 
they may be put into the large pots at once. 
Among the new kinds that are to conie out next sea- 
son, there are, doubtless, some varieties of great beauty ; 
but we must not be surprised if many that have been highly 
spoken of, from the inspection of single flowers, turn out 
comparatively worthless. F. exoniensis, as exhibited on 
the plant at Chiswick this season is, in my estimation, 
objectionable, because the habit is bad; but off the plant 
it is the finest Fuchsia in existence. Mr. Standish, 
of Bagshot, exhibited some beautiful kinds at the 
Horticultural Society’s Rooms, in Regent-street, during 
summer, which were especially remarkable for the large 
size and excellent colour of the corolla, and for very ro- 
bust habit. They were called Colossus, Antagonist, and 
Conductor, and ought to be added to every collection, if 
only to breed from. Mr. Epps, of Maidstone, has also 
several good seedlings ; one in the way of formosa elegans, 
but of much better habit, and called Kentish Bride, and 
another called Espartero, as large as F. Eppsii, with an 
excellent purple corolla. Mr. E. has also another of the 
colour of Chandlerii, but nearly double the size, and of 
upright habit.’ All these kinds I have seen blooming on 
the plants, and therefore know them to be good; but of 
those seedlings of which I have only seen the flowers I 
ds. 
say nothing.—W. P. Ayres, Brooklan 
HOM. ORRESPONDENCE. 
Salted Mangel Wurzel Leaves.—I have just met with 
the following passage in a work which I saw advertised in 
your columns, ‘‘'The Economy of Farming,’’ translated 
from the German of Professor Burger, which seems to 
explain the process; and I therefore send it, thinking it 
may interest your Agricultural readers :—‘* The peasants 
of Swabia also preserve the leaves of Cabbage, Beet, and 
of other roots, for feeding their cattle. After throwing 
them into boiling- water, they heap them up in deep casks 
five or six feet square, fixed on posts. Every eighth day 
they add new layers of leaves, which they take care to 
salt, The whole then becomes sour, and when preserved 
for winter use it forms excellent food.” —<Anthony, 
Allotments. —Having seen Mr. Trimmer’s statements in 
the “ Highland Agricultural Society’s Quarterly Journal’ 
for Cctober, 1843, thatiten acres is the minimum quantity 
of land on which a family could support itself, I take the 
liberty of saying that I have for nearly four years on the 
side of the south downs in the parish of Willingdon, near 
Eastbourne, Sussex, supported my wife and four children 
in comfort on five acres only, with the help of the little 
boys to whom I teach reading, writing, and accounts, col- 
lects and catechism, for three hours before noon, in return 
for three hours’ work on my land in the afternoon five 
days a week ; they average only eight years of age, and if 
I was able bodied I should not need their help. I here 
state what a man would want to begin with:— 
1st, Two Cows at ol. per cow . . “ ‘ : +18 00 
One young 80W + ie ee es rk 0 
Seed-wheat, 6 bushels, at 7s. per bushel ‘ . . 20 
Seed-rye and Tares for one acre to stall-feed the cows 110 0 
Clover.seed for one acre of Wheat .  . 9.) 010 0 
Seed-potatoes for one acre . . . . . Ce oe) 
Seed-oats for half-acre dtc cep nyt sent Fort wc ats 
Sweed Turnip and Mangel-seed for half-acre 4 +020 
Fifteen pounds for the man to subsist upon till his cows 
getbeksek Sarat Ale aS +15 00 
£40 1 0 
—George Cruttenden, Master of the Willingdon ‘School. 
A Self-supported Agricultural School, of which further 
particulars are printed in the “ Farmer’s Almanac’? for 
po 
844. 
J should feel obliged by your inserting the foregoing 
letter in your columns, as it is obviously desirable that 
in different soils it should be ascertained how many acres 
will maintain a family by spade husbandry, stall-feed of 
cows, &c. On Beachey Head, in the parish of East Dean 
{had let 10 acres each to two tenants ; but finding 10 Aes 
were beyond their strength to cultivate well, last year 
to serve them, I reduced each allotment to five acres, 
and one of the tenants, T. French, told Mr. Madge, the 
paid master of the Forthampton school, last summer, that 
he would not give up his five acres, for which he pays me 
Zz, an acre (including rates, tithes, and taxes) a year 
