314 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND C0T1AGE GARDENER. 
[ April 17, 1884. 
to think very highly of them, and are trying by selection and cross-breed¬ 
ing to get a gigantic gold-coloured bee, for which they have already 
found a name, Apis americaensis I think it is. Meanwhile they are 
using their fertile minds, with pretty good success, to make wax, comb, 
and honey without the help of bees in any way. 
An enterprising friend of mine took the trouble to import a large 
number of these Cyprians and Syrians, and there were about thirty stocks 
distributed within an area of a few miles of where I write; in fact, I 
know who owned most of them, and we are now all agreed that they are 
quite unsuitable for this climate. To handle them with smoke is im¬ 
possible. They can only be manipulated slowly and carefully, and we 
feel all the while at their mercy. I have had a few lively times with bees 
in my ’prenticeship, but five minutes I once spent with a stock of Cyprians 
is still fresh in my memory. They not only used their stings, but bit as 
well. They brought with them some of the finest specimens of wax-moth 
grubs I ever saw, besides other vermin. They are incessant workers, 
early and late ; a Scotch mist will not keep them at home. They breed 
rapidly, wear out their queen, dispatch her, and rear others with little 
consideration, and when blacks are storing they are consuming all their 
income on brood. 
In the summer of 1882 I supered a very strong stock at the same time 
as I did six stocks of natives. There was a glut of Clover and Bean 
honey, and a bee-keeper friend calling to see me I showed h m my supers 
being rapidly filled by the blacks, but when we came to the other I well 
remember the comical expression of his face as he remarked, “You did 
not expect them to fill it ? None of mine have. I guarantee you will not 
find a pound of sealed store in the stock hive !” And this we found was 
the case, although it was crammed from end to end with brood. Later 
on they stored, but at whose expense ? Having no Heather in this neigh¬ 
bourhood we do not get honey gluts in October. The resu't was that 
winter came and they were unprepared, and the following spring the 
majority of these thirty stocks were destroyed with dysentery, and the 
neighbourhood has been tainted with foul brood ever since. My friend 
the importer kept clear of the scourge, and, fortunately, so I have my¬ 
self, but I know the amount of vigilance it cost him, and we have cleared 
out the foreigners from our apiaries. 
Let us improve anything we can by all means, but let us admit the 
uselessness of puffing anything that is but a mere fad. Foreign bees 
are so mixed now, the Cyprians and Syrians having been introduced into 
the Italian breeding apiaries to improve the colour of the Ligurians, and 
even English black queens have been introduced to maintain their 
physique, and all to satisfy this insatiable craze for novelty so dear to 
the heart of Englishmen. 
In justice to the British Bee-keepers’ Association I must say they are 
doing their best to improve the use of the straw skep in the hands of the 
inexperienced cottager, and rightly, too, in my opinion; for after all the 
great aim of bee-keeping is to fill the honey pot, and not to give us gold- 
coloured bees as large as hornets to ornament our gardens as they pass 
from flower to flower.—J. P. S. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
James Cocker & Sons, Aberdeen.— Catalogue, of Florists’ Floioers for 1884. 
Thomas Painter, Smallwood, Stoke-on-Trent.— Catalogue of Dahlias. 
Bruant, Boulevard Saint Cyprien, Poitiers, Yienne, France.— Cataloque of 
Plants for 1884. 
Louis de Smet, Ledeberg-lez-Gand, Belgium.— Catalogue of Plants for 1884. 
William Bull, King’s Road, Chelsea.— List of New and Beautiful Plants. 
%* All correspondence should he directed either to “ The Editor ” 
or to “ The Publisher.’' Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. We 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books (A. H. P.). —Brown’s “Forester” (Blackwood) is the only full and 
practical work that we can recommend as likely to meet your requirements. 
Loudon’s “ Encyclopaedia of Trees and Shrubs ” (Longmans) you would also 
probably find useful as a work of reference. Other works, so far as we know, 
are merely compilations from the above, nor are "we aware that any original 
work is in preparation on forestry and arboriculture. The publisher can 
supply you with vols. ii. iii. and v. of the new series, but not yol. iv. We do 
not know of any other way of obtaining this than by advertising. 
Errata. —At page 291, under the paragraph “Rhododendron Yeitchi- 
anum,” “ nearly two blooms ” should read “ nearly two hundred blooms,” 
and for “ roots ” small “ shoots.” 
Destroying Weeds on Walks ( Eight-years Subscriber). — Perhaps yon 
allude to destroying them with carbolic acid, of which you will find parti¬ 
culars in our “ Work for the Week ” of the present issue. The water is first 
placed in a garden can with a fine rose, the acid measured and poured into 
it. No stirring or further mixing is requisite, but it is immediately poured 
over the weeds through the rose, care being taken to make the entire surface 
of the path wet in order to destroy the weeds. Care must be taken not to let 
the acid touch the hands, clothes, or boots. You had better not use the acid 
for destroying weeds on land that has to be afterwards cropped, as sufficient 
to kill the weeds would also prevent the growth of the crops you might 
desire to cultivate. 
Muscat Troveren Grape (A Sussex Grower). —If you have been led to 
expect that this Grape would even approach in appearance the Muscat of 
Alexandria we are not surprised at your disappointment. It is totally dis¬ 
tinct from the oval-shaped Muscat Grapes, and is not classed amongst them. 
It is a Frontignan Grape, its proper name being Troveren Frontignan. The 
berries are round, of good size for a Frontignan, but small as compared with 
the true Muscats. The colour is amber, but often tinged with a reddish 
brown colour, which gives the fruit a rusty appearance. The flesh is firm 
and crackling, and the flavour excellent, with a strong Muscat aroma. Those 
who covet a number of varieties of Grapes, or who desire Grapes of high 
quality regardless of appearance, may grow the variety in question as one of 
the best of the Frontignans, but it cannot be compared with the Muscat of 
Alexandria for producing handsome bunches and berries of first-class quality. 
The Troveren Frontignan ie a good grower, and in all probability a Muscat 
inarched on it would succeed. We should try it in preference to uprooting 
young and healthy Vines. 
Climbing Plants for Vinery Wall {Reader). —One of the best plants for 
this purpose is Heliotrope, which yields a supply of fragrant flowers 
throughout the greater portion of the year, and is therefore extremely 
useful? Hoya carnosa also grows very well in such a situation, and some 
Roses, especially Mardchal Niel and Gloire de Dijon, succeed and flower 
readily. Bougainvillea glabra may be grown if more are required, but will 
require great care in keeping the plant free from mealy bug. Camellias are 
excellent for covering shaded walls. 
Propagating Daphne indica [Idem). —We presume that the Daphnes you 
have are D. indica or its varieties, all of which may be propagated by cuttings 
of the young wood inserted now in sandy soil in a warm frame. They are 
also grafted in stocks of D. Laureola raised from seed, shoots of the former 
2 to 3 inches long being selected and splice-grafted to the stocks, which need 
not be headed down until after the union is completed. They should be 
placed in a propagating pit or heated frame, and carefully watered. 
Marechal Niel Rose Cankered {G. F. M .).—We are glad that our reply 
has enabled you to discover the cause of the plant’s debility. As the canker 
is so low you may possibly restore the lost vigour of the tree. Clear away 
all the old soil, and well wash the cankered part, dusting it with sand and 
crushed charcoal, then pack round it and for 6 inches above the injured part 
some turfy loam mixed with decomposed manure and charred refuse, and if 
this is kept regularly moist, without being saturated so as to render the 
compost sour, young roots will probably issue from the healthy portion, and 
give to the Rose a new lease of life. We have seen this method of renovating 
Mardchal Niel practised with great success. The grubs you have sent are 
the larvse of the Daddy-longlegs (Tipula oleracea). They are very destruc¬ 
tive, and most difficult to eradicate. Starlings are their natural enemies, and 
a mixture of soapsuds and petroleum or a solution of hellebore are the most 
likely apphcations to destroy them. 
Beetle Injurious to Peach ( Anxious Inquirer). —The insect forwarded is 
the clay-coloured weevil (Otiorhynchus picipes), apt to be troublesome in the 
spring to a variety of fruit trees, especially those against or near walls. 
Whether the mature beetle always hyhernates is uncertain, but it is probable 
that the habit of the species is to hide under the earth through the winter 
months or in cracks and crannies about walls, hence the importance of 
keeping these clean and well pointed. Where it is suspected these weevils 
have made a lodgment it would probably be beneficial to apply to the walls 
a mixture of sulphur and soft soap, 1 lb. of the one and 2 ozs. of the other to 
each gallon of water might be suitable, the compound being thickened with 
clay so as to form a paste. After the weevils have come forth (if previously 
undetected) they may be hand-picked, as you suggest, or shaken from the 
shoots into cloths placed beneath. 
Vines Failing -( W. M. M.). —The specimens you have sent ha^e been 
subjected to microscopical examination. They are not affected by either 
insects or fungus, but the epidermis is withered and the sap vessels ruptured.- 
The growth is destitute of vigour, but whether the fault is in the border or 
not we have no means of knowing. We feel pretty certain, however, that 
the house has been kept too close and moist, and especially that the ventila¬ 
tion has not been attended to sufficiently early in the morning, and then 
when the lights have been opened they have been opened too widely. The 
result of this is excessive evaporation from the foliage, which causes a chill, 
the effect of which is usually known as “scorching.” The fault is not in the 
Yines that were purchased, for better are not obtainable than from the 
source you name, but in the treatment to which they have been subjected. 
Is the border sufficiently moist, not on the surface merely, but quite through 
the mass of soil ? A dry border, moist atmosphere, and low temperature at 
night, with late and excessive ventilation in the morning, would have just 
the effect exhibited by the laterals before us. There is no cure for the parts- 
already decayed, but by according the treatment suggested the Yines ought 
to be in a much better condition another year. 
Insects in Manure (E. A.). —They may be destroyed in the manure and 
anywhere else where there are no plants by applications of boiling water. 
This, of course, must not be applied to the Mushroom bed. Perhaps the best 
method of destroying the insects there would be to mix about 2 czs. of salt 
