120 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c February 9 , im. 
and supers above them. If a hive which we wish to keep for stock 
becomes heavy in July we place a nadir beneath it—that is to say, we 
lift it off its board, place a hive with cross sticks and a large crown 
hole on the board, then place the full hive on the empty one, pin the 
two together, and cement the junction. The bees are soon found 
hanging in a large cluster like a swarm through the crown hole of the 
nadir. New combs are speedily built from the upper hive through 
the crown hole down to the board, and in process of time the nadir is 
filled with combs and brood, almost all the honey going to the upper 
storey. At the end of the season the top one is taken off for honey, 
and its bees driven into the bottom hive, which is kept for stock. 
“ Nadirs are most useful for early swarms that become heavy before 
the end of the season. By placing nadirs beneath them both honey 
and stock hives may be obtained. 
“ One year our earliest swarm was taken off about the 10th of May. 
By the end of four weeks it was full, and nearly ready for swarming. 
Instead of taking off a virgin swarm we placed it on a nadir. At the 
end of the season we found that it weighed 70 tbs. All the bees were 
driven below, and the top one taken. It weighed 50 tbs., and the 
nadir 20 lbs. We thus got nearly 30 tbs. of honey, and a stock hive 
from a swarm of May. A few pounds of refuse honey were given to 
the nadir, which was a strong hive in the spring following. 
“ We consider nadirs inferior to ekes when weight of honey is the 
only object sought. We use and recommend them when both honey 
and stocks are sought from swarms of the current year.”] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Sutton &, Sons, Reading, Berks.— Farmers’ Year-Book and Graziers’ 
Manual. 
W. Clibran & Son, Altrincham, Cheshire.— Catalogues of New and 
Choice Plants, and Floiver and Vegetable Seeds. 
Braant, Poitiers, Vienne, France.— List of New Plants. 
*** All corresponden«e 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 cannot reply to questions through the post, 
and we do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Inquiry (II. C .).—We are very pleased to have your letter; we receive many 
of the same nature, and they are much appreciated. Willing as we are to impart 
information to our correspondents, the question you ask cannot be answered for 
the best of all reasons—that it would involve a breach of confidence, and this, of 
course, you cannot desire. 
Manure (.1 Young Gardener ).—You cannot have a better form of manure 
than that you describe either with or without the additions you name. But it 
must be used with great care to Vine3, Melons, Cucumbers, and plants in pots. 
For Ferns it will be too strong. Before applying liquid manure to any plants 
you must first determine whether they need more food than the soil affords. If 
they do not, then the applications would be injurious. The same remark applies 
to Vines and other fruits. For vegetable crops of all kinds sewage is of great 
value. Bead our “ Manures for the Many,” post free 4 %d. 
Hoya Paxtoni (IF. Edward *).—A mixture of light turfy loam, peat, sand, 
and small pieces of charcoal will form a suitable compost for this pretty little 
plant. A small proportion of loam is only required, and the pots must be care¬ 
fully drained. Avoid overpotting, and place the plant in a light warm position 
in the stove, assisting the growth occasionally by applications of very weak 
liquid manure. When flowering is over diminish the supply of water, as very 
little is then needed, though the soil must not be allowed to become so exces¬ 
sively dry that the leaves shrivel. 
Snails in Fernery {Idem ).—You do not say a word on the position of 
the plants, whether they are in pots or planted out. If they are in pots and you 
cannot otherwise prevent the snails eating their fronds you might invert pots 
in saucers of water, and on the inverted pots stand the plants. A question of 
this kind cannot be answered satisfactorily without much fuller particulars than 
you have supplied relative to the house and arrangement of the plants. 
Sowing Japanese Seeds {S. S .).—The seeds of both the plants you name 
may be treated in precisely the same manner, but probably some difficulty will 
be experienced unless the seeds were well matured and forwarded quickly to you. 
Prepare some pans or shallow pots by well draining them with potsherds about 
two-thirds of their depth, then fill up with a light fine compost containing a 
large proportion of sand. Sow the seeds thinly, and cover with a little of the 
compost, pressing the surface even and moderately firm. Plunge the pots or 
pans in a mild but constant bottom heat, placing a piece of glass over each, and 
supply water very carefully until germination has commenced. If you are suc¬ 
cessful in raising young plants they should be potted singly in a compost of 
turf, peat, leaf soil, and sand, and when the growth is well advanced transfer 
them to a cool house. 
Exhibiting; Pens (Tiro Peas ).—We presume the prizes to which you refer 
■re to be competed for by cottagers, and among other things that the committee 
desire to show the relative merits and productiveness of the different varieties of 
tall and dwarf Peas. If this is the object, the condition of not only exhibiting 
dishes of Peas but also samples of the plants in bearing is a good one, indeed 
indispensable. We have no remark to make on the schedule, except that it 
would in our opinion have been more clear had the plants and cut flowers been 
arranged under separate heads. 
Rating Orchard House (M. A.).— The reply we gave some time ago to 
another correspondent is applicable to your case—namely, parsonage houses are 
not exempt from being rated, therefore whatever the incumbent does to increase 
its value must render it liable to an increase of rating. We say nothing in 
defence of him or them who took advantage of so small an addition as an 
orchard house. 
Oleander Unhealthy (Mrs. Davis ).—If the plant is large and the pot 
small—that is, crowded with roots, further support is requisite. A good portion 
of the surface soil might be removed with a pointed stick, digging it out also 
from the sides of the pot, removing as much as possible, then water the roots 
thoroughly if they are dry, and afterwards add a dressing of loam and decayed 
manure, two-thirds of the former and one-third of the latter. Fresh roots may 
then be expected to form, and the food they will obtain will invigorate the plant. 
If needful and convenient it may be shifted into a larger pot, and any tall 
branches be shortened. Syringe the plant daily in fine weather, and place it in 
the lightest position at command. 
Watering Liliums (Idem). —If the pots containing Lilium bulbs aro 
plunged or buried in damp ashes or other suitable material, the soil will be kept 
moist without water being applied, but if the pots are not plunged water must 
be given occasionally to maintain the soil in a moderately moist state. Careful 
judgment is requisite in this work, and it is, as a rule, safer for amateurs to 
plunge the pots. 
Orchard House Notes (J. E .).—The instructions to which you refer are 
scattered over our pages in caleudarial form. You cannot do better than study 
“ Orchard Houses and their Management,” by the late Mr. Pearson, published 
at this office, 1.!. 7d. post free, and Mr. Rivers’ work on the orchard house 
published by Longmans. These works you will find of great service, and we are 
able and willing to supply you with any further information that you may need 
if you will state your requirements. 
Vines and Roses (A. B .).—The Vine to which you allude is not likely to 
be of any use, and we should not endeavour to renovate it. If you wish to have 
Vines you had better obtain as many ns you require in pots and plant them in 
good soil at the front of the house, either inside or outside as may be most con¬ 
venient, training the growths up the roof. You might try the Roses you have, 
but they are not likely to be of much value. We have seen very fine Roses 
under glass near London; the varieties you have, with Gloire de Dijon and 
Cheshunt Hybrid, being suitable for such a house as yours, and planted as we 
have recommended for Vines they would with good treatment succeed at least 
fairly well. When you decide whether you will have Vines or Roses, or both, 
we shall be glad to afford you further information if you need it, and will state 
what you require. We can answer you more usefully, however, if you name the 
district, the explanation of “ rather smoky ” not being sufficiently definite. 
Bird’s-nest Fungus (J. F .).—The fungus you sent is popularly known 
under the above name, and is frequently seen on the surface of soil in pots, 
especially if the drainage is not very good, or the soil wet and stagnant. It is 
known to botanists as Cyathus vernicosus, the generic name referring to the 
cup-like form it assumes. Another species is also found occasionally, named 
C. striatus ; it chiefly differs from the one you have in the grooved appearance 
of the inner portion of the cup. They are structurally allied to the common 
Mushrooms and Puff-balls, though appearing so distinct externally. 
Pruning Roses (G. II .).—Have you not kept the frame too close ? Be this 
as it may, however, we should prune the plants at once, removing all weak 
growths and shortening the others—that is, just cutting off the unripe portion, 
including the young shoots referred to. The portions left, if of good length, 
might be trained round and secured to stakes. The back buds would then 
break, and, the wood being sound and healthy, produce flowers. In consequence 
of your inquiry having been incorporated with a request for naming plants it 
was overlooked last week when the specimens were attended to. 
Loddington Apple (S. J. Westlake ).—This is a very fine Apple, totally 
different from Lord Suffield, with which it cannot properly be compared. It is 
very suitable for planting in a garden, as it does not make a large orchard tree. 
In Kent several grafts, from fifty to a hundred, are often inserted in the 
shortened branches of a healthy tree, and thus a head is formed capable of bear¬ 
ing some bushels of handsome Loddingtons years before they would be produced 
by a young tree. The fruit is large, smooth, and heavy, being in use during 
September, October, and November. As you “ cannot find it in any nurserymen’s 
lists,” we presume you do not possess the catalogue of Mr. Bunyard of Maidstone, 
in which it is described. 
Carnations from Seed (J. Boulter). — The following extract from an 
article that appeared in our columns last year will answer your inquiry—“ The 
seed may be sown either in the spring in a little heat or late in summer, in this 
case no artificial heat being required. Spring-raised plants are apt to become 
too large before winter, yet few, if any of them flower; therefore summer sow¬ 
ing is preferable, as sturdy plants are produced that will pass the winter with 
little or no protective aid, and will flower beautifully the following summer. 
May is perhaps the best month for sowing. It is well to sow in boxes, nearly 
filling them with a mixture of sandy loam and leaf soil, watering it copiously, 
sprinkling the seed thinly, and covering with squares of glass. The boxes 
should either be placed in a shaded position or covered from the rays of the sun, 
it being essential that the soil be kept constantly and regularly moist. Shortly 
the seedlings will appear, when air and light must be admitted; and in due 
time the young plants must be transplanted in generous soil, either in other 
boxes that are larger and deeper, or under handlights, and a stock of healthy 
plants and eventually a wealth of handsome fragrant flowers will reward the 
cultivator for his pains.” You will find more in reference to the subject in our 
issues of August 4th and 11th, 1881. If you do not possess these numbers and 
would like to have them the publisher will post them to you in return for 7 d. 
sent in stamps, aud a request that he send you Nos. 58 and 69, vol. iii., new 
series. 
Building and Furnishing Wall (San Juan).—A wall 8 feet or 8.j feet 
high will probably answer your purpose, and if it is 9 inches thick with an 
18 inch base no buttresses will be needed provided good mortar is used and the 
work is well done. If you have vol. xiv., new series, of the Journal, you will find 
on pages 50, 51, valuable information on walls and copings. If you do not possess 
the volume, the number (365) is, we think, in print, and can be had from the 
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