JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
384 
Syringing must be attended to twice a day in fine weather. In 
succession houses attend to tying-in the shoots, pinching laterals, 
watering and mulching inside borders, affording liquid manure to 
trees that are not very vigorous and which are carrying heavy 
crops. With the fruit ripening maintain a dry condition as regards 
the trees, and preserve a somewhat dry condition of the atmosphere 
by a free circulation of air ; but do not allow the trees to suffer 
through insufficiency of water at the roots, or it may prejudicially 
affect the ripening of the fruit and the maturation of the buds for 
another year. The fruit on trees started early in the year has 
passed the stoning process, and is now swelling. Continue syringing 
until ripening commences, when it must be discontinued ; but the 
border may be damped and mulched with short manure. If it is 
desired to accelerate the ripening of the fruit the temperature may 
be maintained at 65 s to 70° or 75° by artificial means, and 80° to 85° 
or 90° from sun heat. 
Pines .—Careful attention is necessary with fruiting plants at this 
time of year owing to the variableness of the weather, which neces¬ 
sitates the maintenance of a moderately high and moist atmosphere 
for plants with the fruit in an advanced condition of growth. This 
renders them more susceptible of injury by scorching if the ventila¬ 
tion is not carefully attended to. Examine the plants weekly, and 
when any are in need of water afford it liberally. Periodical water¬ 
ings are not to be commended; the judicious application of tepid 
liquid manure or guano water is, however, useful. Plants where 
bottom heat is from fermenting materials will not require water so 
frequently as those where the heat is supplied by hot-water pipes. 
Admit air at the top of the house at 80°, the temperature ranging 
through the day from 80° to 90°, allowing a rise of 5° more after closing 
the house at 85°, with moderate ventilation ; but if it be desirable to 
enlarge the crowns close with 5° more. Keep the heat regular at the 
roots at 80° to 90°, having resort to fire heat only to prevent the tem¬ 
perature falling below 70° at night and 75° by day. Syringe the 
plants about every other day, or less frequently according to the 
weather. Continue former instructions with respect of other stock. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
Lawns require frequent attention in mowing, rolling, and sweeping. 
As the grass grows freely early in the season, frequent mowing may be 
practised to give the turf a close bottom. Coarse weeds are often so 
conspicuous as to disfigure the lawn. Daisies being most troublesome. 
Grub them up by the roots, and should this cause any bareness in 
the turf a little fine soil can be employed as a top-dressing. Sowing 
seeds of some fine Grasses, such as Cynosurus cristatus, Pestuca 
duriuscula and F. tenuifolia, with Suckling Clover, about 4 lbs. each per 
acre, will soon improve the appearance, rolling the lawn well. Grass 
edgings should be cut with the knife, rolling before doing so after 
rain, which facilitates the cutting and gives a sharp well-defined 
edge. Remove weeds from gravel walks. Any walks having a dis¬ 
coloured surface or containing many small weeds may be broken up 
to a depth of about an inch, and have the surface raked occasionally 
during dry weather. After eradicating the weeds carefully rake the 
surface, and after rain roll it down. Transplanting Hollies and most 
choice evergreens may safely be performed this month, being careful 
to remove them with as many fibres as possible. Firm the soil well 
about them, and give a good watering after the roots are covered to 
settle the soil about them before finally filling up, and if the weather 
is dry a slight syringing will be of great benefit to them. A mulch¬ 
ing of leaf soil will also be advisable, or a couple of inches depth of 
loose soil on the top is better than too close a surface. Hollies that 
are not so symmetrical as desirable may now be cut in. 
Roses in most cases were greatly injured by the severe frosts of 
winter, but are breaking strongly. The cold weather has greatly 
retarded the growth, and aphides are appearing. Tobacco water has 
no equal for destroying aphides : a gallon of tobacco juice will make 
seven or eight gallons of liquid sufficiently strong for the purpose 
Tobacco powder is efficacious, especially if applied on a dewy 
morning. 
Bedding Plants .—It will be necessary to transfer these to frames 
and other temporary places in order to gradually harden them. Many 
of the hardier varieties may be placed near walls or in other sheltered 
[ May 12, 1881. 
places where they can receive temporary protection in case of frost. 
Coleuses, Iresines, Alternantheras, and other tender plants will require 
the protection of glass some time longer. These with Lobelias, Ver¬ 
benas, and Heliotropes can be planted out in the refuse of old Mush¬ 
room-beds, pits, or frames, in which they will grow strongly and not 
require nearly so much attention as plants in pots or pans. Asters, 
Stocks, Marigolds, and Zinnias may be sown now in light rich soil 
in cold frames kept close until the plants appear, then admitting air 
freely and watering as required. By the middle of June the plants 
will be ready to place out, and they succeed much better than those 
raised in heat. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Greenhouse .—Tuberoses may be placed on damp shelves to prevent 
them becoming dry, and at the same time lessen the necessity for 
giving water until they have made some growth. A little bottom 
heat is essential to secure root action. When growth has commenced 
remove the plants to a house or pit where they will have a tempera¬ 
ture of G0 Q to G5°, supply watering liberally and keep them near the 
glass. Plants of Richardia mthiopica that have flowered through 
the winter may now be divided and planted out of doors in well 
manured beds. A position sheltered from winds is most suitable, 
and if temporary protection can be given in case of frost it will 
ensure the plants a good start. These can be lifted and potted at 
the end of September. 
Cockscombs should be placed as near the glass as possible to insure 
dwarf habit. Sprinkle them to keep red spider in check, and do not 
allow the soil to become diy. Balsams need a light position and 
liberal treatment. The earliest plants may be supplied with liquid 
manure. Globe Amaranthuses requires to be kept cooler than Cocks¬ 
combs, and to be more carefully watered. Show and Fancy Pelar¬ 
goniums require liquid manure, especially for plants in small pots. 
Young plants of Zonal Pelargoniums intended for flowering after 
the show kinds are over should be potted if needful, stopping the 
shoots to ensure a branched habit; remove the trusses as they show, 
and when the pots are filled with roots supply weak liquid manure. 
BEES BUILDING IN THE OPEN AIR. 
At the close of an exceedingly interesting letter of Mr. Frank 
Benton, concluded in the last issue, and for which we are in¬ 
debted to Mr. Neighbour, Mr. Benton apologises for Apis dorsata 
in these words—“ We must not be prejudiced against the bees 
because they build their combs in the open air. Our yellow bee 
does the same thing in tropical countries, and when unable to 
find a suitable place to settle.” I am glad to be able to corrobo¬ 
rate Mr. Benton by an instance of this, the evidence of which still 
exists. 
In the beginning of September, 1874, the Hon. and Rev. H. 
Bligh discovered a colony of Apis mellifica (our common bee) in 
a Privet bush near Henley. That the insects had been at least 
some weeks established was certain, for not only had a large 
quantity of worker comb been built, but in a good patch of drone 
comb the cells were stained by the exuviae of the males that had 
already left them, while a second set of grubs were far advanced. 
Since twenty-five days are occupied in maturing a drone from the 
egg, and eight or nine more would be required to bring the suc¬ 
ceeding grubs to the condition in which they were found, we have 
but eight days left of our hypothetical six weeks for the bees to 
build much worker comb and then make preparation for colonis¬ 
ing by turning their attention to the production of drones. 
The handy work of this al fresco family was secured by cutting 
through the stems of Privet and removing the combs bodily, which 
was in no way difficult, as the whole of them had been tied together 
by interlacing twigs. I was honoured by having this specimen 
presented to me by the aforesaid gentleman who discovered it, 
and a few times since it has been used at lectures or lent to grace 
collections of curiosities, and has in consequence suffered after 
the fashion of the Temple Bar Memorial—going in parts to the 
cabinets of the curious, or rather, perhaps, suffering under the 
thumb of the destructive ; but enough remains to bear testimony 
to Mr. Benton’s statement. The leaves would appear to have been 
carved from the petiole by the clever bees “ that nobody owned,” 
