March S, 1881. 3 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 179 
Snow with sunshine is now a greater occasion of risk than during 
the dead of the winter. The bees are more earnestly looking for a 
chance to be abroad and the sun rays are stronger. Shade the fronts 
of the hives, or make and fix the porch I recently recommended, 
which will save from this and other troubles. 
Borage may be sown now along the hedgerows, and will, perhaps, 
thus permanently establish itself to the great advantage of our bees. 
Sunflowers may also have a spare patch devoted to them, when they 
will help us greatly in our efforts to promote autumn breeding, as their 
natural pollen furnished late will, together with our syrup, keep our 
bees well up to work, and these same Sunflowers to those who may 
happen to be poultry fanciers furnish an abundance of seed of which 
young chicks are extremely fond. Queen wAsrs if the weather 
grows warmer should now be looked for ; and since each queen starts 
a nest and may possibly become the progenitor of a whole horde of 
pests, pains should be taken to destroy them. They can often be 
disabled by the finger popped upon them as they are filling at our 
syrup bottle ; but failing this bring them down with a garden syringe, 
and then destroy them. Hives should now be got into readiness. It 
is my plan to keep a few in excess of my wants, and at this time to 
change my stocks into those that are clean, dry, newly painted, and 
fit to stand for a long period without going into dry dock. The dirty 
ones then, in the absence of the bees, can undergo any necessary 
renovation. 
The one necessity for March is promotion of breeding , and regular, 
slow feeding ; artificial pollen, warmth, and crowding where possible, 
will be found to be our right-hand assistants.— Frank It. Cheshire, 
Avenue House, Acton. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Edward Webb & Co., Wordsley, Stourbridge.— Illustrated Catalogue 
of Ha rm Seeds. 
James Dickson & Sons, 108, Eastgate Street, Chester.— Catalogue 
of Farm Seeds for 1881. 
Ellwanger & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N.Y.— 
Descriptive Catalogue of Select Roses. 
W. Lovell, Weaverthorpe, York.— Select List of Strawberry Books. 
Francis and Arthur Dickson & Sons, Chester.— List of Select Farm 
Seeds. 
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(TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
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*** All correspondence should be 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 Poultry and Bee subjects, and 
should never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended for insertion should be written on one side of 
the paper only. We eannot reply to questions through the post, 
and we do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Address (H. B. and It. I. L.). —Mr. Adie’s address is 15, Pall Mall, London 
6.V., from whom you can obtain the particulars you require. 
Transplanting Box Edging (II. B .).—Just as fresh growth is com¬ 
mencing in the spring is a good time for replanting Box edging. This is usually 
about the latter end of the present month or the beginning of April, according 
to the season and district. You may cut the dead wood from your Boses at 
any time now. 
Apples for Succession (./. &). —It is impossible for us to place the 
varieties you have named in the order of merit, as all of them cannot be judged 
by any one standard. Each have qualities of their own, and all the varieties 
are worthy of cultivation and suitable for your district. Instead of attempting 
to arrange them in the order of merit we will place them somewhat in the 
order of ripening. Dessert —Irish Peach, Devonshire Quarrenden, Cox’s Orange 
Pippin. Kitchen —Lord Suffield, Keswick Codlin, Cellini, Ecklinville Seedling, 
Warner’s King, and Dumelow’s Seedling; but the two latter are practically in 
use during the same period. As a rule Apples are better adapted to the bush 
than the pyramid mode of training. 
Zonal Pelargoniums Charles Smith and Charles Schwind 
(P. B., Wigan ).—You variety described on page 150 last week is probably Charles 
Smith; as the name was not written plainly, and as the description applied 
equally to Charles Schwind, we concluded it was that variety. Mr. C. E. 
Pearson of Chilwell informs us that “ the two varieties are distinct, though 
both crimsons, Charles Smith being sent out one or two years before Charles 
Schwind, which is a shade darker in colour than the former. We have not 
tested them for winter blooming, but for summer work they are superseded by 
P.ev. A. Atkinson for bedding, and Henry Jacoby and Dr. Orton for pots.” 
Cinerarias (E. IV. B .).—On a first glance at the sprays we thought the 
plants had received a check or been infested with insects ; a closer examination, 
however, indicates that the growths are clean and healthy. The flowers are 
amongst the smallest we have seen, and if they fairly represent the “ strain ” 
we must pronounce it worthless. Your plant is Helleborus foetidus ; it is ver 
hardy, and useful for furnishing vases in the open air during the winter. 
Plants Around a Pump (R. K.). —You will scarcely find a more suitable 
plant than Lysimachia nummularia for the purpose named, as it grows quickly 
and would thrive in such a position, while few other plants would live. 
Disbudding Vines (.7. M. />’.).—You pruned your Vines correctly, and 
you are adopting a wise course by deciding to have the lateral growths thinly 
disposed on the main rods. Overcrowding of the spurs and laterals is a fertile 
source of small imperfect foliage and small fruit. With the Vines 4 feet apart 
and their growth vigorous we should have the laterals about 18 inches apart on 
each side of the rod, an inch more or less not being important. We should 
not, however, disbud the young Vines at once to the extent indicated, as an 
accident is always liable to occur during the early stages of growth, and to 
lose a lateral after the final disbudding would leave a gap that would not bo 
easily filled afterwards. The laterals may be left for a time at 9 inches apart, 
indeed during the present season, letting them make all the growth possible 
without overcrowding, as this will encourage root-action. You may remove 
the surperfluous laterals at any time where there are signs of overcrowding, or 
in the autumn. 
Hyacinths in Glasses—Offsets (Amateur). —They are of very little U3e 
for pot culture next year, yet with care the bulbs may produce small spikes 
that are acceptable for cutting. Immediately the flowers fade the spike should 
be cut, the plants being removed from the glasses and potted in very light 
compost, such as leaf soil and cocoa-nut fibre refuse, and placed in a cool frame 
to perfect good foliage. They should be watered regularly until the foliage 
shows signs of decay, and then less frequently. With good foliage and light to 
mature it the bulbs may be of some service another year, four or five of them 
being placed in 5-inch pots to produce miniature spikes for cutting. If good 
foliage is not produced this year and kept healthy as long as possible flowers 
cannot be expected next year. The time that offsets of Hyacinths require to 
become flowering bulbs depends entirely on the culture that they receive. In 
poor or heavy soil and a cold position they may be four or five years ; in rich 
light soil and a warm position they arrive at a fair flowering stage in half that 
time. We are unable to state the cause of your Tulip buds withering; we have 
known them wither if the pots and plants have been covered too long with ashes 
or other material that was placed over them in the autumn. 
Tuberoses (Salopian). —We cannot better reply to your questions than by 
quoting the remarks of Mr. W. Taylor which appeared in vol. xxxviii of this 
Journal. “ The imported bulbs are received in December or January, when they 
are at once potted singly in 6-inch pots and plunged where they can have the 
benefit of bottom heat to start them into growth. After they once start fairly 
they can be grown in a low temperature and without bottom heat; and when 
all danger of frost is over, if they are not wanted to flower early, they can be 
placed in a deep cold pit and be merely protected from the worst of the weather 
till the flowers commence opening, when they will be improved by being taken 
into the greenhouse. Plants so treated will generally flower some time between 
July and October. After flowering most people throw them away as useless. 
This is quite a mistake, as I will endeavour to prove. Mine are at once shifted 
into 7 or 8-inch pots without disturbing the ball, using a good rich compost 
consisting of turfy loam with a little decayed manure, a few half-inch bones, 
and a little charcoal. They are again placed in a warm house and soon com¬ 
mence throwing up shoots, one of which only is left to grow, and it soon forms 
a new bulb on the top of the old one, which will not fail in its turn to send up a 
good strong flower stem. I have no doubt that the small shoots which are taken 
off would, if liberally grown, soon make good plants. I have already gjown 
some of them this way, and was not aware that it was an uncommon thing to 
do; but I have kept no notes concerning the time it takes, yet I am under the 
impression that some of them flower again during the following winter. I will 
try to make my meaning plain. The Tuberose shortly after flowering generally dies 
quite back, leaving nothing visible above ground excepting the top of the bulb. 
This period should not be hastened by removing the flowerstem or withholding 
water while there are healthy leaves on it, but it should be allowed to die back 
naturally, and water should not be altogether withheld, even when there is no 
visible growth. I pot them at this time without disturbing the roots or any part 
of the plant, and place them in a little warmth. They soon commence growing by 
forming several little bulbs on and near the top of the old one. If all were left 
of course they w r ould grow weakly; one only is left, and it rapidly enlarges, 
having the roots of the old bulb to supply it; the rest are picked off with the 
finger and thumb, and may be potted and grown in the same way as little 
Amaryllises. I have succeeded best so far with the bulb which remains on the 
top of the old one. Probably the young bulbs would take two years to grow them 
to a flowering size, but I have kept no memoranda on this point.” 
Sea Gulls in Gardens (Heather Bell). —Although the narrative of your 
bird is interesting the great pressure upon our space prevents us publishing it. 
We have had long experience of the utility of gulls in gardens, as they devour 
worms, slugs, grubs, and insects with avidity. The birds also become very tame, 
and attach themselves to those who feed them, for they require feeding during 
very dry weather in summer, and especially during severe weather in winter. 
When the frost is very intense it is desirable to afford them some shelter. We 
are intimately acquainted with one of the few “ homes of the gulls ” in England. 
The birds arrive in early spring, lay their eggs on the margin of a secluded piece 
of water, rear their young, then migrate to the sea, living on fish during the 
winter. In the breeding ground to which we allude there are countless thousands 
of these pretty birds (the black-headed gull), and they are of great benefit to the 
district, as for some miles around they are in every field in which ploughing is 
being done, every furrow being crowded with [them within a foot or two of the 
ploughman’s heels. From those fields they must take millions of grubs and 
insects. When kept in gardens they search diligently after similar food, and do 
not in the slightest degree injure any crops. Suitable food for the birds during 
winter is raw liver, and scraps of refuse meat of almost any kind. 
Dressing Trees with Brine and Soft Soap (F. S.). —The following 
are the instructions in the « Gardeners’ Year Book,” to which we presume you 
re f er During the dormant months of winter every means should be resorted 
to for destroying the eggs and larvae of insects that are injurious to the trees 
during the period when vegetation is most active, and as these always harbour 
on the bark and in its crevices there is no season of the year when their haunts 
can be so easily invaded and the enemy dislodged as now. For this purpose, 
then, remove all filth and excrescences from the surface of the bark, such as the 
old scales, moss, and lichens, with a blunt scraper, such as an old knife or a piece 
of hoop iron, for it is on these that the pests mainly harbour ; then wash the 
stem and branches well with a mixture of brine and soft soap, applying it with 
an old painter’s brush, and rubbing it well into the crevices. Walls also, and 
particularly old ones, are capital harbours for insects. Where they are so old a3 
to require fresh pointing this should be done without delay ; and all walls that 
are not absolutely new, or which in any way afford shelter to insects, should also 
