14 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. E j aDU ary e, issi. 
at about 8 A.M. and 2 P.H., and again at 7 to 8 P.M., when the weather 
is severe and large fires are maintained. Sow seed now to obtain plants 
for pits and frames heated by fermenting materials. Where no better 
means exist of raising the plants a bed should at once be made up 
of equal parts leaves and stable litter thrown into a heap, turned 
over a few times, and damped to secure fermentation. A bed large 
enough to hold a one-light box will be sufficient, and a few inches of 
partially decayed leaves or tan placed in the frame will be suitable 
for plunging in, and tend to prevent injury by the escape of rank 
steam, which should, however, be guarded against by a timely pre¬ 
paration of the material. Thus early it is advisable to sow the seeds 
in 4-inch pots half filled with light rich soil, and as the plants ad¬ 
vance in growth place more soil round the stems, which will prevent 
the check consequent on potting-off singly. A similar bed will also 
be necessary for raising plants of Melons for a first crop. 
Afelons .—Sow seed at once for the first crop. The seeds may either 
be sown singly in 3-inch pots, or a dozen seeds be placed in a G-inch 
pot, the plants produced to be afterwards placed singly in 3-inch 
pots. In either case the pots should only be about two-thirds filled 
with soil, covering the seed about half an inch deep and placing them 
in a bottom heat of 80 9 to 85°, and a top heat of 70°. A compost of 
equal parts of turfy loam and leaf soil with a sprinkling of sharp sand 
pressed gently down will form a porous compost for the young root¬ 
lets, good drainage being essential. For early sowing it is desirable 
to employ such varieties as come quickly to maturity, among which 
may be named Davenham Early, green-flesh ; and Blenheim Orange, 
scarlet-flesh. 
Peaches and Nectarines .—In the earliest forced house the trees will 
now be in flower, and should have a night temperature of 50° to 55°, 
the latter not being exceeded on dull days, or very slightly, ventilat¬ 
ing above that temperature, and allow an advance from sun heat to 
G5° or more, with free ventilation. In the driest and warmest part of 
the day artificial impregnation must be effected by distributing the 
pollen—shaking the trees if on a trellis, or with a camel’s-hair brush 
or feather gently place the pollen on the stigma. Do not syringe the 
trees whilst they are in blossom, but the floors and borders may be 
damped in the morning and afternoon. See that the inside borders 
are sufficiently moist, and that the outside borders are protected with 
litter. Trees intended to afford ripe fruit early in June, which have 
had a rest of several weeks, should be syringed morning and after¬ 
noon until well advanced, when it must be discontinued, and damp¬ 
ing the border instead in the morning and afternoon ; 50° should be 
the temperature by day and 40° at night artificially. Yentilate freely 
from 50°, allowing an advance of 10° to 15° from sun heat. All trees 
in late succession houses should be pruned, dressed, and secured to 
the trellis. Top-dressing or renewal of the inside border with fresh 
loam must not be delayed. Any operation respecting the roots is 
best performed when the leaves are mature, and certainly ought to 
be done before growth commences. Yentilate as freely as possible 
so as to retard the swelling of the buds. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Stove .—At the commencement of the new year it will be necessary 
to start a few plants for early flowering. Allamandas that have been 
well matured and dormant have the wood hard and ripe. A. Hender- 
soni and Chelsoni are the best for early flowering, except A. neriifolia, 
which, perhaps, flowers the most freely of all, though not equal to the 
others as regards the individual flowers. Plants that are sufficiently 
large should be cut back to a point a few eyes from that they were 
pruned to last year, and others should only be allowed to retain well- 
ripened wood. Repotting may be done at the pruning time, removing 
half of the old soil, and if the ball be dry soak it in tepid water until 
thoroughly moistened. Turfy loam, a fifth of well-decayed manure, 
and a small quantity of sand is a suitable compost. The drainage 
must be good, and the potting done firmly. Place the plants near the 
glass and syringe them twice a day. Bougainvillea glabra, which is 
so well adapted for culture in pots, should also now be cut back and 
started, or the potting may be deferred until the young shoots are 
about an inch long. It will also be advisable to start a few plants of 
Clerodendron Balfourianum, but they must not be reduced at the 
roots, although the drainage may be rectified and any loose surface 
soil removed. Plants of the above that it is not desirable to start 
for some time must be kept at the coolest end of the house, supplying 
them with little water, but do not allow the wood to shrivel. Re¬ 
tarding the growth by placing the plants in a low temperature must 
be avoided, as it frequently causes the loss of the roots. Deciduous 
and evergreen plants at rest should be fully exposed to light, as it 
will further assist the ripening of the wood. The temperature must 
not be increased until the days lengthen, G0° to 65 9 at night and 70° 
to 75° by day is sufficient at present. Ixoras and Dipladenias require 
the warmest part of the house. 
THE PROGRESS OF BEE-KEEPING. 
The advent of a new year, while our pets are slumbering under 
the influence of frost and snow, is an appropriate time to review 
the progress of bee-keeping to the present time and to forecast 
the probable future of the science in these realms. For the two 
thousand years during which we have any record of the manage¬ 
ment of the bee it is probable that no rural pursuit has, until 
comparatively modern times, made so little progress. Until the 
close of last century the natural history of the bee was almost a 
scaled book. The researches of Reaumur and Huber, and more 
recently of Dzierzon and Berlepsch, first made really improved 
management possible. Following these came the great modern 
invention of the moveable comb, with the multiplied facilities it 
gives for purposes of observation and practical work. By its 
means, on the basis of real scientific knowledge, the various 
operations of stocking, depriving, uniting, dividing, contracting, 
enlarging, borrowing, and helping are now so thoroughly in the 
power of the bee-master that probably little remains to be desired 
so far as the hive is concerned. On one point only do I expect 
an eatly improvement, and that is in the shape of the comb, and 
consequently of the hive. Oblong combs of the usual type in 
bar-frames are undoubtedly a departure from the form naturally 
selected by the bees, and it remains for bee-keepers to devise a 
form as nearly approaching the circular as possible, keeping in 
view mobility and adaptation for supering ; and I venture to 
predict that the many advantages such a form of comb exhibits 
will so commend it to the attention of bee-keepers that before the 
year is out we shall have before us a bar-frame hive on quite a 
new model. 
Recent years have been particularly fruitful in inventions and 
discoveries that enable us in almost every emergency to assist the 
bees in their work. I need only refer to the improved methods of 
feeding with syrup, the discovery of substitutes for pollen, the porous 
quilt or chaff packing, the use of division boards, and the valuable 
invention of comb foundations. Whether the number of such aids 
can be increased or not, I venture to say we have yet something 
to learn in regard to the best methods of employing them. If 
the fraternity could only be induced to experiment on scientific 
principles, and publish results properly checked, instead of rushing 
into print with every new fancy, we should soon be able to form 
a code of rules bearing on all these operations that would not 
require alteration. 
Equally recent, but not yet so widely diffused, are the two 
great inventions for depriving—viz., the extractor and the section, 
the former giving us liquid honey in its purity with comparative 
ease and rapidity, the latter enabling us to present honeycomb in 
its most attractive, convenient, and economical form. Here also 
we are disposed to think we are nearing perfection. The ex¬ 
tractor is now a machine that leaves little to be desired, and the 
latest importations of American-made sections are marvels of 
ingenuity and workmanship. Only in the matter of separators 
d) I desire improvement. Separators we must have if our sections 
are to be perfect in finish and fit to glass; but shall they be of 
tin, or perforated zinc, or wood, or paper ? Let us settle this in 
1881 by careful experiment. 
The market for honey never was more hopeful. Our American 
friends, after raising a panic and creating a demand by their 
heavy importations a year ago, have to all intents left the field. 
So far as comb honey is concerned they have found it a ruinous 
speculation, and thus the field is clear as regards this our most 
valuable product. Even in extracted honey they are complaining 
of their returns ; but here we think there is room enough for 
us both, especially since there is no difficulty in our realising 
paying prices even in face of their keenest competition. If bee¬ 
keepers could only be induced to grade their honey properly, 
there is no reason why a steady demand should not spring up. 
