March 31, 1881. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
261 
If this is not mere “ theory,” it goes very far to show why Nature 
has provided so many males in comparison with the number of 
developed females, and why the latter must take the risk of fertili¬ 
sation in the open air. 
“ I gave much time last season to the study of this subject, and I 
find that a well-developed virgin queen plies her wings with lightning 
velocity, and flies with wonderful rapidity. Now, if she does not give 
chase to the drones, how are -we to account for the fact that she 
usually make3 three or more trips into the air when drones are plenty ? 
I saw one beautiful slender little princess make sixteen trips before 
she was caught by a drone. When she returned for the last time, 
having been gone twenty-two minutes, she fell short of the entrance 
of the hive, like a worker bee overloaded with honey and pollen. 
Three days later she was laying. 
“If Nature has determined that the ‘ race is to the swift’as per¬ 
tains to the propagation of the honey bee, then perhaps Nature will 
forbid the interference of the wisdom of man in this matter—or, in 
other words, fertilisation in confinement will never be a success.”— 
Frank R. Cheshire, Avenue House, Acton. 
(To be continued.) 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Rawlings Brothers, Romford, Essex.— Descriptive Catalogue of 
Dahlias. 
The Native G-uano Company (Limited), Aylesbury, Bucks.— Price 
List and Testimonials. 
Ewing & Company, Newmarket Road, Eaton, near Norwich.— List 
of New Roses for 1881. 
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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. 
The Gooseberry Caterpillar (A". A'.).—lie are obliged to you for you 
letter, which shall be inserted in a future issue, with the notes and figures to 
which you refer. 
Covering Stove Walls (F. R.). —We insert your letter in order that our 
correspondent and others who have tried the plan described on the page quoted 
may reply: “I shall be glad to know whether the suggestions on page 227 of 
last week’s Journal for covering walls in stoves will not have the drawback of 
making the wall damp, which, in the case of a lean-to against a house, would 
be injurious.” 
Cinerarias (IT. Wells, Redhill). —The flowers are of great size, some of 
them being 3 inches in diameter, and the blue seifs are very clear and 
bright. As the plants are of dwarf habit with large foliage, they will be 
effective for conservatory decoration, but the florets are far too thin and 
pointed to be adjudged good from a florist’s standard. If by crossing and 
selection you can obtain circular flowers of the same size of those before us, 
with stout overlapping florets, you will have a very fine strain. 
Yellow Roses (C. F. F .).—The spray of No. 1 was not sufficient to show the 
character of the variety. We, however, submitted the blooms to Mr. D’Ombrain, 
who has grown the variety for many years, and he thinks both of the Roses are 
correctly named, “ but Cloth of Gold is easily recognised. Its footstalks are 
much stouter than those of Marshal Niel, and consequently the flower stands 
upright instead of drooping its head, and its foliage and habit are quite different.” 
Grafting (IT. B., Dorking). —The examples you have sent are correct in 
principle, but we advise you to make the slices half as long again, and on the 
stocks a trifle deeper. Your knife must be very sharp, and the “ cuts ” true and 
smooth. If the scion is smaller than the stock the bark must meet on one side, 
when a union will be effected. You had tied them fully too tightly, still they 
must be made perfectly secure and immoveable. 
American Plant Protector (II. S. Easty ).—We are not aware that it 
is sold in this country, but you may readily make some of any required size 
with light wood and tiffany that will answer your purpose. Tiffany protectors 
have long been in use in England, and in some nurseries have been extensively 
employed for sheltering plants from spring frosts. If the tiffany is dressed as 
follows it will be rendered waterproof, while the light will not be impeded. 
Take pale linseed oil 3 pints, sugar of lead 1 oz., and white rosin 4 ozs.; grind 
the sugar of lead with a little of the oil, then add the rest and the rosin. Stir 
the whole well together in a large iron pot over a gentle fire. Tack the tiffany 
loosely on the frame, and apply the mixture while hot with a large brush. 
Planting Succulents (J. S. IF.).—It would not be safe to plant Kleinias 
now, nor yet Ecbeverias. Cannot you plant them temporarily near the 
shelter of a wall, and where you can afford protection against heavy rains and 
frost ? The space they now occupy could then be utilised by other plants of a 
more tender nature. Eeheveriatabulseformis is not hardy, and must be wintered 
under glass, where it can be kept rather dry and safe from frost. . 
Grapes Withering (R. Davies). —You afford us no data whatever to 
enable us to suggest the cause of the bunches shrivelling. We shall require to 
know in what position the pipes are in the house, and the temperature that has 
been maintained ; also what you have, or have had, under the Vines where the 
bunches are affected, and any other particulars that will guide us in the matter. 
A bare statement of a fact is totally insufficient in a case of this kind, and the 
conditions under which the Vines are grown cannot be too carefully detailed. 
Propagating Honeysuckles (Diem). —Cuttings of wood when nearly ripe 
will strike if inserted in a shady border in the autumn and duly watered. With 
the aid of a handlight and sandy soil they strike more readily. The most suc¬ 
cessful mode, however, of propagating is by layers pegged in moist soil in the 
autumn when the leaves commence falling. 
Cereus flagelliformis Unhealthy (A. A.). —No doubt the plant has 
been injured by frost. The pieces you sent are quite dead, but if the points 
of the shoots remaining on the plant are still alive cut them off and insert them 
as cuttings in a mixture of finely broken brick rubbish, sand, and a little loam. 
Place the pot in a warm position, and do not supply any water for a week or 
two, afterwards supplying it in very moderate quantities. When the young 
plants commence growing they may be potted in a light porous soil, and placed 
in a sunny portion of the house after they have recovered from the potting. If 
you desire to keep them in an unheated structure during the winter remove them 
some distance from the glass, giving no water during frost, and afford some pro¬ 
tection—a piece of paper placed over the plant will be sufficient, except in very 
severe weather. 
Pereskias for Stocks (Paddle).— Your plants are not strong enough for 
grafting ; but if you grow them well this year, stopping them a foot above the 
point where you intend grafting, to increase their strength, they will be in good 
condition for your purpose next spring. 
Aloe variegata Unhealthy (Idem). —The root action of your plant is 
defective ; perhaps it has been overpotted, or possibly overwatered. A pot 
4 inches in diameter will be large enough for such a plant as you describe, and 
suitable soil is turfy loam with a liberal admixture of charcoal and crushed 
bricks, a little lime rubbish not being objectionable. The pots must be efficiently 
drained, water being applied cautiously until the roots are active, then more 
copiously as the summer advances, decreasing the supply towards the autumn, 
and keeping the soil moderately dry throughout the winter. 
Culture of Erytlirina Crista-galli (/. ID). —The shoots of last year 
will have been cut-back to the eyes at their base. Eaily in March the buds will 
begin to swell, when the plants should be turned out of the pots, and, removing 
all or most of the old soil, return them to the same size of pot, employing a 
compost of sandy fibrous loam and sandy peat in equal parts, and a third of 
leaf soil, old cow dung, and silver sand, affording good drainage. Place them 
in a house where there is moderate heat, as that of a vinery or pit, and they will 
soon start freely, and should have a position near the glass, free ventilation, and 
be freely syringed. After May they do best in a cold pit, kept rather close, and 
closed early, so as to have a good heat. If you could give the plants after 
potting the benefit of a hotbed for about three weeks, so as to have the roots 
active before the tops are excited, all the better. Shift the plants into larger 
pots as required, watering with weak liquid manure after the flowers show ; or 
they may be planted in a warm position in the garden. It is called the Coral 
Plant, and the flowers are very beautiful. 
Globe Amaranth Culture (Idem). —The seed should be sown in a 
compost of loam, peat, and sand, the pots being placed in a Cucumber frame or 
other structure where a night temperature of 65° is maintained. When the 
seedlings appear place the pots near the glass to keep the plants sturdy.. As 
soon as large enough pot them, placing them either singly or in threes in 3-inch 
pots, keeping them near the glass in a warm house or frame. As soon as roots 
are seen protruding through the drainage shift into 5-inch pots, employing a 
richer compost, and grow them for a time under the same conditions as before. 
During summer they succeed well in pits or frames heated by sun heat alone 
provided care is exercised in ventilating and watering, and the frames are 
closed early in the afternoon with moisture. The dwarf variety when well 
grown is very attractive. You had better pot a few more plants than you re¬ 
quire for flowering, as a portion of them may not grow satisfactorily, being 
rather prone to wither in a young state; the roots must not be seriously 
disturbed when potting is done. 
Paying Prize Money (J. R. S .).—We know that some of the prize money 
of the Royal Botanic Society’s shows held last year has been paid, and if any is 
due to you you had better -write to the Secretary. The Peach you name has 
large flowers. 
Small Fruits (J. E .).—We do not know a w'ork such as you name. Our 
“ Fruit Gardening for the Many,” post free contains practical information 
on the culture of small fruits. “Fruit-Growing,” by Canon Lee, published at 
this office, post free Is. 6 d., is also worthy of your attention. We have received 
a new American work on small fruits that we shall review shortly. It contains 
much that is interesting on the history of the Strawberry and the different species. 
Belladonna and Guernsey Lilies not Flowering (James Carter and 
Co.). —Without knowing when the bulbs were potted, and the mode of culture 
that was pursued, we are unable to state the reason of their not flowering. The 
bulbs of the Belladonna Lily are undoubtedly very fine, and those of the 
Guernsey Lily of full average size, and that they were sound is evident by their 
healthy roots and luxuriant foliage. Even under the best treatment there is 
always a number of bulbs more or less large that do not flower when forced, and 
starting them too quickly is a frequent source of failure. It is important, too, 
that they be potted as soon as possible after their arrival in Englaud. The 
habit of delaying purchasing the bulbs until late in the season, and then placing 
them in heat to “make up for lost time,” is a mistake, and usually ends in 
flowerless plants. 
Cocoa-nut Fibre Refuse (A. D., Isle of Man).—We presume you did not 
read our last volume, or you would have seen the uses to which this substance is 
applied. If you turn to page 365, October 21st, 1880, and page 458, November 
18th of the same year, you will find the subject fully treated. If you do not 
possess those numbers you can have them in return for Id. in postage stamps 
sent to the publisher, with the request that he send you Nos. 17 and 21 of the 
new series. ___ 
Rippingille’s Propagating Frame (Idem).— Rightly used we consider 
this a useful appliance. It should be placed in a greenhouse or other structure, 
a temperature of 65° to 75° being maintained in the frame for ordinary pro¬ 
pagating purposes at this period of the year. Water must be kept in the tray, 
but “ how often it should be replenished ” depends entirely on the amount of 
heat that is afforded to effect its evaporation. 'J he lamps should be trimmed 
daily. We think the vendors of the frame supply particulars for its manage¬ 
ment. A little ventilation will be needed, especially early in the morning, to 
permit the escape of superfluous moisture. If placed in a cold house the frame 
may advantageously be covered with a cloth at night if any difficulty is found 
in maintaining the requisite temperature with the aid of the lamp alone. 
