1844.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



853 



saucepan, keeping ihe lid on, then strain it, and add the 

 I liquor to the sulphur and soft soap, next adding the nux 

 I vomica, and then the oil of turpentine. The liquid when 



I mixed together should make in all about five gallons. It 

 I should be applied with a painter's brush as soon as the 

 I leaves are off the Vines, and again just before the Vines 

 j begin to break ; after dressing the Vines well with the 



, above, some clay should be mixed with a portion of the 



mixture, to the consistency of good thick paint, and used 

 . for the purpose of stopping all cracks and holes about 



the Vines. — IV. Jones, Beddington, Surrey. 



Protection of Crops from Hares and Rabbits. — I 

 would state, for the information of " J. M.," that I was 

 once a fellow-sufferer, and tried various means, such as 

 trapping, shooting, &c, to no purpose, although I 

 thinned their numbers, to use a Yankee phrase, " pretty 

 considerably." Still I found that the actual culprits were 

 not destroyed, for the work of devastation still went on, 

 although not to the same alarming extent as formerly. 

 The case in point is as follows : — I had cut and plashed 

 a very fine withy coppice, which broke remarkably well, 

 and for the first year was allowed to remain undisturbed; 

 but this peace was of short duration, for, in the second 

 winter of their growth, the enemy was at work, and 

 most effectually too ; for whole rods in many places the 

 beautiful young shoots were browsed off, as though a 

 whole herd of forest colts had been turned in ; and, 

 although many of the shoots were from 5 to 6 feet 

 in height, the hares had bitten them off 3 feet from the 

 ground. To put a stop to such dreadful havoc, I adopted 

 the following plan : — Knowing their aversion to the smell 

 of tar, I circumscribed the scene of devastation with 

 rope-yarn, first clearing away all rubbish, Buch as 

 Brambles, high Grass, &c, making a clear space for 

 operating; I then fixed stumps into the ground, at 

 the distance of 12 feet apart, to which was affixed the 

 yarn, in two lines, the lower one 6 inches from the 

 ground, the upper about 18 ; there is no fear of either 

 hares or rabbits jumping over (unless pursued), as they 

 invariably crawl through or under any obstruction to 

 their progress. To render the plan more effective, 1 

 occasionally applied the tar-brush, thereby causing a 

 strong scent of tar constantly in the locality. By this 

 plan I saved my crop, and now make it a standing rule 

 never to have a copse unfurnished with the above pre- 

 ventive. I advised a neighbouring farmer to try the 

 same plan with a piece of Carrots he had sown in the 

 very heart of the game preserves, and of which the rab- 

 bits particularly are very fond : he did so, and with the 

 like effect, assuring me, at the time of lifting the crop, 

 that he believed there was not a single root or top 

 touched. I would strongly urge "J. M." to try this 

 plan, feeling confident he will succeed, at the same time 

 impressing upon him the necessity of a frequent applica- 

 tion of the brush, as the tarry smell is their chief ab- 

 horrence. — Quercus II. 



Steeping Seeds.— In March last, some Pink-seeds 

 were steeped in a solution of sulphate of ammonia, 

 another parcel in nitrate of soda, and a third in a mix- 

 ture of lime, salt, and hen's-dung. A quantity of Pink- 

 seed was sown at the same time, in the usual way. The 

 seeds in sulphate of ammonia grew very quickly, and are 

 now the largest plants of this year's sowing. Those iu 

 nitrate did no good, three only surviving ; and those in 

 the mixture failed altogether. — G. 



Roses. — I beg to mention a mode of managing Standard 

 Rose trees, differing widely from the one formerly in 

 vogue, and one which is very much admired here. I 

 never prune or cut back the head of the tree, but merely 

 thin out the very small weak wood, leaving all the strong 

 ind medium sized shoots to grow to their full extent. 

 I have observed that in most varieties the medium-sized 

 wood blooms the most freely, and treated in this way my 

 trees are literally covered with flowers, resembling in 

 their profusion and luxuriance the wild Dog Roses of the 

 bedgero w. I do not recommend this plan where Standard 

 Roses are planted among beds of American plants, 

 although, in my opinion, such is a most desirable situ- 

 ation for them ; in such circumstances, however, the size 

 of their heads would of course greatly depend on the 

 nature and growth of the plants among which they were 

 placed. When Standard Roses are planted singly on 

 lawns or in avenues, nothing in my estimation can be 

 more unsightly than the unnatural looking mop heads 

 * **'*,' ' nt0 ^hich they are generally pruned, and which will not 

 *\f , P r °duce a hundredth part of the bloom as when managed 

 ' f , M above described. I remove the soil over the roots 



kW.i ° nce * n tnree vears without disturbing the trees, aud 1 

 - Jf. re place the old soil by a little loam and manure, which I 

 I* y . ^ n ^ v ery much invigorates the trees and renders them 

 l# ^ . capable of bearing their large heads, which almost eon- 

 sl*\ ceal their naked stems. — */". L. Snow, Swinton Gardens. 

 \*£ Zedale. 



n'jjf ^uskets round Flower-beds Some men are gifted 



j^T _*itha propensity of finding fault, without indulging at 



[Jul* we same time in giving reasons upon which their eriii- 



(■/'y Pj sms are founded; your correspondent "Argue" is 



■T identified with this observation. If he will explain 



« clearly upon what principle, in his opinion, wicker-work, 



gfi jr, indeed, fancy edgings of any kind, are altogether out 



the barometer has been high during the continuance of 

 the frost, having during the greater part of the time been 

 above 30 inches ; and at 9 p.m. of the 7th it stood at 

 30274 ; it began failing, however, on the 11th, and 

 reached its minimum on the 14th at 9 a.m.. standing at 

 29-450. The wind during the whole of the period has 

 varied from N. E. to S. E., and has occasionally been 

 high and piercingly cold, but no snow has fallen, and 

 only a slight spiinkling of sleet. 



Height of Thermometer. 





Max. 



Min. 



1 Mean. 



Dec. 5 .... 



38° 



28° 



33° 



— 6 . ... 



31 



31 



26 



/ Mil 



32 



26 



29 



8 * » + m 



33 



26 



29 J 



tj • • # * 



34 



28 



31 



— 10 .... 



37 



31 



34 



— 11 .... 



34 



30 



32 



— 12 .... 



32 



30 



31 



— 13 .... 



30 



25 



274 



— 14 .... 



32 



28 



30 



"™ J O ■ « « m 



36 



30 



33 



— 16 .. . . 



38 



1 33 



35* 





ft 





I 



Ornamental accompaniments, are in perfect propriety — 

 ndeed demanded in such situations.—/?. G. 

 ■ The Late Frost. — The frost commenced with us on 

 he night of the 5th, with some severity, as the annexed 

 Jatements will show ; our mimimum appears higher 

 Dan what is given as observed at Chiswick in the last 

 -hronicle, 21° Faht. being the lowest observed here on 

 , be night of the 6th ; it may be as well to remark that 



As the frost appeared yesterday to be breaking up I 

 wished to ascertain to what depth it had penetrated in 

 my garden, which lies tolerably exposed to the S.W., and 

 is surrounded by a high hedge, and a wall on the other 

 three sides ; it consists of a stiffish loam, on a gravelly 

 subsoil ; and beneath this latter is a thick bed of stiff 

 yellow clay. On inserting a three-pronged fork, the soil 

 broke up in lumps or cakes, of the depth of 4 J inches, 

 below which it was perfectly free from frost, as the tem- 

 perature indicated by the thermometer, inserted at the 

 following depths, will show : — 



At 6 inches deep . . .34° Falir. 

 At 12 do. do. . . . 36J° do. 

 At 24 do. do. . . . 39' 3 do. 



whilst the temperature of the air at the time was 38° 

 Fahr. It may be as well to state, that the place I se- 

 lected for the experiment was about the centre of the gar- 

 den, and as far removed as possible from any object likely 

 to have an influence in modifying the effects of the frost. 

 — W. Lucas, The Mills, 1 mileN.E. of Sheffield, Dec. 

 7, 1844. 1 yesterday examined, together with my gar- 

 dener, the depth to which the late frost had penetrated 

 here, and we found that our light garden-soil was frozen 

 to 6 inches deep, while the stirfer soil of the fields was 

 frozen to 8 inches. From this it appears that loose soil 

 is less affected by cold than that which is more compact, 

 probably on account of the additional portion of air 

 which it contains. I understand that you had a fall of 

 snow in town, previously to the departure of the frost; 

 the thaw did not commence with us until early on yes- 

 terday morning, when some rain fell, and the frost has 

 gone rapidly ever since — Oswald Mosley, Rolleston 

 Hall. At Hampstead (the Green) the frost pene- 

 trated to the depth of 7£ inches. Soil, strong loam, on 



clay W. K., Dec. 16. 



Management of Bees. — Having tried, during a period 

 of 27 years, all the different systems of bee-keeping 

 possessing any merit, and having found in each defects 

 prejudicial to the welfare of the bees, I have directed 

 my attention towards establishing, if possible, a sound 

 and advantageous system. All wooden hives or boxes 

 are objectionable. They are too hot in summer, and are 

 too cold in winter ; besides they retain moisture, which is 

 injurious to the comb and health of the bees. I con- 

 sider ventilation to be not only unrecessary but inj urious ; 

 for the higher the temperature inside the hive is, the 

 greater is the draught. Bees are very uncomfortable and 

 irascible in windy weather, or if blown upon. At all 

 times they may be seen anxiously stopping up every 

 hole which they can find, particularly those, if any, in the 

 upper part of the hives. This, therefore, speaks against 

 ventilation. The natural heat of the hive is conducive to 

 the health and activity of the bees, no instance to the 

 contrary being known. It is only when the warmth of 

 the external air somewhat assimilates to that of the hive, 

 that they come out cheerfully. I have known a very 

 high degree of summer heat drive bees apparently from 

 their hives, and upon examination the honey and wax 

 was more or less liquefied on account of the hive being 

 exposed to the direct rays of the sun. This is a very 

 serious evil, but one which is remedied by colonies of my 

 construction. The following objects carried out are 

 essential to the profitable keeping of bees ; viz., lanre 

 well made straw hives to contain strong stocks, having no 

 other opening than that at the bottom, and having no 

 metal in any part of them, that being a conductor of 

 heat. The best possible protection against mice and 

 every kind of insect. Easy access by the bees to the 

 glasses, &c, for working in, and facility for removing 

 the latter : the whole to be impervious to the weather, 

 heat, cold, and wet. For effecting these ends, I would 

 recommend a straw case, worked with split cane, 3 feet 

 9 inches in length, 16 inches in height, and 14 in width, 

 inside measurement. At 3 inches from the bottom, a 

 floor of ? inch deal should be fixed on supports at each 

 end, and two bridge-shaped pieces should be placed at 

 14 inches from the ends. This case should stand on a 

 wooden bottom 2 ins. in thickness, 18 ins. in width, and 

 50 in length, a little cement or mortar being put all round. 

 For the purpose of preserving the case, I sew canvass on 

 the outside, and size and paint it green, every spring 

 giving it a fresh coat. A circular hole should be made 

 in the middle of the floor 10 inches in diameter; on this 

 should be placed early in April a large last year's swarm 

 in a new bell-shaped hive. Two or three convenient 

 holes, 3 inches in diameter, must be also made in the 

 floor on each side of the stock-hive, and fitted with thick 

 bungs. A door-way should be cut in the bottom at 12 



inches from each end, 2 inches m width, and .i-Sths of 

 an inch in depth ; and a small appropriate piece of some- 

 thing should be nailed under each doorway for resting 

 boards on. The doorways should be nearly closed in 

 August with slips of wood, and opened again in April. 

 The stand should have four legs, and each leg should rest 

 in an iron or flower-dish containing water, with a little 

 oil on the top of the water ; over the top I tie canvass to 

 keep out moths, spiders, &c; a neat span-shaped painted 

 wooden roof should cover the whole well over. In the 

 first summer the bees will probably only fill the space 

 under the floor, but if they appear, by collecting about 

 the entrances, to want room, a small glass may be placed 

 over one of the holes, first removing a bung by turning 

 it round. Early in April is the proper time to commence 

 putting on glasses, and when they are quite filled with 

 honey fresh glasses should be put on, and in a day or two 

 tbe full ones may be removed by drawing a fine wire 

 under them, and replacing the bungs. These hives will 

 last for many years, and will yield in good summers one 

 cwt. of honey, with but little trouble. Every three or 

 four years the inside stocks should be examined by fumi- 

 gating withjungus, and any old comb used for breeding 

 should be removed. When additional stocks are required 

 the glasses should not be put on until the bees have 

 swarmed; at night the young swarm may be put into a 

 straw case. I do not find that the queen quits this hive 

 to breed in the glasses, nor do I ever find bee-bread in 

 them. Early in November I close the doorways with 

 mortar, leaving a quill as a passage for air ; and it is ad- 

 visable, at the same time, to hang a piece of sacking in 

 front until early in February, in order to prevent any 

 warmth from the sun from affecting the stock. By bee- 

 keepers pursuing this system, they will establish really 

 valuable colonies. The cask-hives made by Mr. Sholl, 

 are defective, and must cause disappointment at the royal 

 Apiary at Windsor, where some have been placed. The 

 awkward metal entrance, when the bees can alight upon 

 it, will in summer burn them, and in winter cramp them; 

 and the bottomless cases, when filled, cannot be removed 

 on account of their being fixed down with comb. — G. 

 L. Smart t, Enfield. 



Icehouses. — As this is the time to fill these, I cannot 

 help sending a plan of one which I made in my park. 

 It has never faiied for these last ten years, and may be 

 erected at a very trifling expense, provided there is at 

 hand some straw and Ash poles : the great secret lies 

 in the carved pipe, which is always air-tight. Line the 

 side of the well when you put in the ice with dry 

 Barley straw, break the ice small, and ram it tight. No 

 bricks or lime are used. I have given the plan to all 

 my neighbourhood, and it has never failed. The erection 

 did not cost me 30s. altogether. — G. W. Gent., Moyn's 

 Park. 



A, Well, 8 or 10 ft. deep, by the side of ditch deeper than Well. 



B, Faggots, bottom of Well. 



C, Curved Lead Pipe, 6 or 6 feet lnnp: 1$ inch diameter. 



D, Earth from the Well, to make it Higher. 



Ice. — In last week's Paper, I observe that "J. Green- 

 shields " is this year watering his ice, in putting it up in 

 a heap, and that he considers the plan a bad one. For 

 my own part I can testify to the contrary. After the ice 

 is well pounded, and put on the heap, or in the house, 

 as the case may be, on each successive layer, after 

 bein? well beat by paviour's mallets, I apply water from 

 a fine-rosed watering-pot : the water thus applied 

 freezes the whole into a solid body, and is the best safe- 

 guard with which I am acquainted. I have adopted 

 this plan with the most beneficial results for several 

 years. Last winter I filled a house during a fall of rain, 

 and applied water as usual ; the ice kept uncommonly 

 well, and at this time (Dec. 17), there is yet a plentiful 

 supply.—*/. D. Mc.D., Ireland. 



Singular Effects of a Storm.— \ beg to give a short 

 account of the singular effects produced by a storm that 

 swept over this on the 3d of August last. It commenced 

 to blow from the south-west, veering on to the south and 

 south-east, blowing a complete hurricane, stripping the 

 fruit-trees completely both of fruit and leaves. Of the 

 forest-trees, many were blown up at the roots, and broke 

 in two ; the leaves that remained became scorched, and 

 dropped off from the sides affected from the different quar- 

 ters from which the wind blew. But shortly after they 

 dropped, vegetation assumed are-action as it were, and set 

 forth fresh shoots and leaves ; the Apple and Pear-trees 

 had a general blossom, which remained on the trees until 

 the middle of November. Several Lilacs, both Purple 

 and White, broke into a general bloom, and four La- 

 iburnums of large size were fully covered with their 



