April 17, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
313 
rooted and pot them in any light rich compost. The only attention they 
need is heat, water, and attention to stopping and tying out the shoots 
to form the base of the specimen. They must be grown fully exposed to 
the sun, or they will be deficient in colour. No plants look better or 
are more conspicuous than these when grown strongly in small pots. 
We grow quantities without being stopped, while others are only 
stopped once and allowed to form about four shoots, which are more 
effective amongst flowering plants than those of a larger size. 
Fuchsias .—Pot these as they require it, whether large or young plants. 
Attention should be paid to pinching the shoots and removing the 
flowers as they appear until the plants are well furnished, when they 
may be allowed to flower. Young plants just placed in (1-inch pots 
should be kept as close to the gla^s as possible. Keep them in a night 
temperature of 55° to 60°, and give air freely during the day to ensure 
a sturdy growth without being stopped. If properly treated they should 
when from 14 to 18 inches high be perfect little pyramids. If bushes 
are wanted they must be stopped until they are large enough and allowed 
to flower. Syringe liberally, and water freely when in active growth. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
Lawns .—The mowing machine has already been set to work on many 
lawns. If the grass is kept rather closely cut now the cutting will be 
more lightly and more neatly performed throughout the remainder of the 
season. The edges will also require attention, and should be heavily 
beaten down or rolled before being cut with the edging iron, otherwise 
the walk will be gradually widened, but not improved at the expense of 
the turf. Never attempt to cut the turf edges without a line properly 
pegged into position, as by no other means can the work be done neatly. 
For the rest of the season the weekly use of edging shears is necessary for 
keeping edges neat. Large weeds on the lawns, such as Dandelions, 
Thistles, and Plantain, spoil its appearance, and cutting out only serves 
to further spread them. They must either be drawn out with tap root 
entire or be destroyed with oil of vitriol. This acid should be kept in a 
strong bottle, and applied with a stick pointed and notched. One drop 
on the heart of each weed is generally sufficient to burn them up. Daisies 
may be cut out with an old knife, and moss kept down by frequent 
stirrings with an iron rake as well as a dressing of road grit and wood 
ashes. 
Walks .—Where there are but few weeds upon the walks they are best 
handweeded, but where they are very green they may be destroyed with 
coarse common salt applied during dry hot weather, enough being given 
to whiten the surface. Boiling water freely applied through a rose 
watering pot on a sunny day will do much towards clearing walks and 
pavements of weeds, and the remedy will be more effective and lasting 
by adding powdered arsenic at the rate of 1 lb. to twelve gallons of water. 
As the arsenic is a strong poison it should not be used where fowls or 
game have access to the walks, or they may be poisoned with the grit 
they pick up. Soda boiled in water at the rate of 3 lbs. to six gallons of 
water is also very destructive to weeds. Crude carbolic acid at the rate 
of 1 oz. per gallon of cold water and carefully distributed over the walks 
is perhaps the simplest and best remedy of all for both weeds and mosses. 
Whatever is used, care must be taken to ward it off with sloping boards 
from both the tops and roots of the Box edgings as well as the turf. 
Newly gravelled paths should be rolled occasionally ; some gravels 
binding best when wet, while others are picked up if rolled during 
showery weather. The latter are unsuitable for walks, and should be 
faced with either ground or crushed spar, or good binding gravel procured 
from another district. For the back paths clinkers roughly broken, 
covered with some of the roughest ashes and faced with that sifted, if 
well watered and rolled, binds well, and the path will be clean and good 
fot three or more years, according to the traffic. All walks should be 
well rounded and provision made to carry the water away without its 
disturbing the gravel. 
Sowing Annuals .—In warm gardens where the soil is light and good, 
and where also slugs are not very troublesome, many kinds of annuals 
may now be sown. These may include Mignonette, Candytufts, pot 
Marigolds, Eschscholtzias, Collinsias, Coreopsis, Cornflowers, Clarkias, 
Godetias, Convolvulus major and minor, Lupins, Larkspurs, Linums, 
Nemophila, ornamental Grasses, Silenes, Saponaria, Virginian Stocks, 
Love-lies-Bleeding, Scabious, Nasturtiums [Tropseolums], Poppies, Hi¬ 
biscus, Gaillardias, Asters, of which the best are the Victoria and 
Truffaut’s Pseony-flowered ; Stocks, the most serviceable of which are 
the Earliest-flowering Autumn; Helichrysums, Zinnias, Dianthus, and 
Phlox Drummondii. Sow thinly in patches and according to their 
respective heights, cover with a little sifted sandy soil, and mark each 
patch with a peg. On colder soils the choicer sorts, especially the last 
six mentioned, should either be sown in boxes or frames and be trans¬ 
planted. In our case, owing to the abundance of slugs, the majority 
have to be sown under glass, the exceptions being Eschscholtzias, Poppies, 
Love-lies-Bleeding, and Nemophila, these transplanting badly, and extra 
trouble has to be taken with them where they are sown in the open. 
Gladioli .—The principal portion of these ought now to be planted, 
one or two more plantings being made in order to afford a succession of 
bloom. A rather light sandy soil best suits them, but the commoner 
Brenchleyensis type will grow in almost any kind of soil. The ground 
should be dug deeply, some good rotten manure being worked into the 
bottom of the spit. Surround the corms or bulbs with sand and cover 
with about 2 inches of good soil. For affording serviceable spikes of 
bloom the old lilac G. Colvillei and the choicer G. Colvillei alba are 
recommended, and room may well be found for them in every herbaceous 
or mixed border. 
Violets .—The hardy varieties of the Czar type require to be frequently 
replanted, or otherwise they become a mass of leaves, in which state 
but few good flowering crowns are formed. On strong soils they ought 
not to remain undisturbed for more than two seasons ; but on light soils, 
where a difficulty is experienced in getting them to do well, they should 
only be thinned out and mulched with partially decayed manure. Before 
making a fresh plantation on light soils add a good dressing of clayey 
loam, as they invariably succeed best on firm rather heavy land, such as 
suits Strawberries, and may well be grown in similar positions. Dig 
deeply, divide the old plants into small pieces with a few roots attached, 
and dibble them in firmly about 15 inches apart each way. On light 
soils a mulching of manure to be given at once, and the retention of the 
moisture will serve to ward off the attacks of red spider, which some¬ 
times greatly damage the foliage of Violets. A sprinkling of salt will 
benefit the older beds, and the clumps where at all crowded should be 
freely reduced. Among the doubles Marie Louise is the most popular, 
but is not perfectly hardy. The runners make the best plants, and if 
these can be taken off with roots attached they may be planted 1 foot 
apart in good soil, and in the autumn be transplanted to frames or 
where they can be protected with handlights or frames. The runners 
not rooted may be dibbled round the sides of pots, kept in a close frame 
till rooted, and eventually planted out. The old plants will also divide 
equally as well as the single sorts. 
EXPERIENCE IN BEE-KEEPING. 
Would it be worth while giving your readers my short experience 
in bee-keeping ? perhaps it would. My original outlay was as follows :— 
November, 1882. A stock in straw skep 
» ,» n it it 
ii ,» D ,, ,» ,, 
One bar Live and sectional super 
One bar hive (made myself) • • 
Common straw steps .. 
Glass supers I had in stock .. 
£ s. d. 
0 12 6 
0 10 0 
1 0 0 
0 12 6 
0 5 0 
0 5 0 
0 0 0 
Total original outlay 
13 5 0 
And now to give summary of results :— 
£ 8. d. 
A gave 4 lbs. of super honey and no swarm .0 5 0 
B died early in December, owing to paucity of bees .. ..000 
C gave two swarms, D and E .. .. .. .000 
D gave 10 lbs. of finest super honey .. .0 12 6 
E gave 7 lbs. of inferior honey from body box.0 7 0 
Results . £146 
Expenditure .. . •• ..£3 5 0 
Returns.146 
£2 0 6 
Remainder of original outlay to be wiped off £2 0s. 6d., and against 
it must be set A, C, and D. E was united. A is very strong ; on Sunday 
last I counted over 100 bees a minute coming in. C is very strong ; on 
same date I counted over 70 bees a minute coming in. D over 120 per 
minute coming in. They may surely be valued at £1 each, against 
which must be set 5.s. for feeding the three—£2 15s. In reality they 
are “ here ” worth more. My state now is then :— 
Remainder of original outlay.£2 0 6 
Value of stocks.2 15 0 
£0 14 6 
I have also an empty bar hive and three combs on hiving skeps 
which I will not value at anything, but set them against the fact that 
I had not to buy glass supers. I began to feed on the 23rd February 
in the case of A and D, and later in the case of C (about the 15th March). 
With my first year and my prospects for the coming year I am well 
satisfied. If anyone by reading this summary of receipts and expenditure 
is induced to become one of the ever-increasing few bee-keepers the 
trouble in preparing it will have been but a pleasure, and the thought 
of the many happy hours a novice will enjoy in watching these most 
interesting of insects will be a spur to many to give their varied experi¬ 
ence. For myself I am prepared for “ bad years,” “ failures,” and 
“ losses,” and so must all be ; but I rest assured that the reverse will 
so often be the case that they will soon be forgotten amid years of 
plenty.—T. M. 
CYPRIAN AND SYRIAN BEES. 
The Ligurians have been rather severely criticised lately, and I have 
waited to see the Cyprians and Syrians placed in the same black list, or 
blamed for many of the bad qualities imputed to the Ligurians; hut 
“ Hallamshire ” having written in their praise, or rather in the. praise of 
Syrians, I write to warn those who are disgusted with Ligurians from 
taking up Cyprians and Syrians in their stead, as they possess all their 
faults with none of their virtues. Our cousins across the Atlantic seem 
