JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 16,1882. ] 
223 
Very early Grapes—the earliest Tines in pots and started in No¬ 
vember—are now colouring, and will need a comparatively dry atmo¬ 
sphere, and a steady supply of warm air admitted day and night, a 
free circulation of warm dry air being indispensable to good colour 
and finish ; and although a lessened supply of moisture be needed in 
the atmosphere, the supply to the roots must be maintained to meet 
the requirements of the foliage, which should be kept well in hand 
by pinching. 
Attend to the disbudding, tying-out, and stopping in succession 
houses. On no account allow the thinning of the bunches and berries 
to be neglected. As soon as the fruit is set determine the number of 
bunches to be left on a Vine, and then remove those that have not 
set well or are small cr badly placed, the desire to have a good show 
of fruit leading to overcropping. Free-setting varieties may be 
thinned as soon as they are out of flower, but Muscats and other 
shy setters should be left until it is seen which are the properly 
fertilised berries. No rules can be laid down for thinning, as strong 
healthy Vines have much finer berries than others that are less 
vigorous though of the same variety. In a properly thinned bunch 
of Grapes every berry should have space to swell without becoming 
wedged, and yet the bunch retain its form when cut. Maintain a 
steady circulation of warm and comparatively dry air where Vines 
are in bloom, with a minimum temperature of 65° for Hamburghs 
and 5° more for Muscats. 
Late houses of Hamburghs must be kept as cool as possible, allow¬ 
ing them to start naturally ; but Muscats and late Grapes should 
have the houses closed and a moist atmosphere secured by damping 
the rods frequently, maintaining a temperature of 50° to 55° arti¬ 
ficially, and an advance of 10° to 15? from sun heat. The inside 
borders should be supplied with water at a temperature of 85° to 90°, 
in sufficient quantities to render them thoroughly moist. 
Melons. —The earliest plants are now well advanced up the trellis 
and are showing flowers. Fertilise the female flowers daily on some 
of the plants, which should be kept rather dry at the roots for a 
few days, and rather warmer for a time till the fruits commence 
swelling, then stop the shoots at the first joint beyond the fruit. The 
flowers may be removed from the other plants, stopping at every 
joint, and the plants will gain strength, and fruits will appear on the 
sub-laterals, forming a succession to that from the plants allowed to 
carry fruit on the first laterals. Do not earth-up the roots till the 
fruits are swelling, and a large quantity of soil is not needed for the 
first batch. Maintain a moderately moist atmosphere in bright 
weather, and gently syringe overhead at closing time. In pits and 
frames plants that have been recently placed out will not need much 
water for the next few weeks. Be careful to allow the escape of 
rank steam, especially when the sun is powerful, employing a good 
night covering; in other respects attend to remarks offered for Cu¬ 
cumbers. Sow seed to obtain plants for pits or frames as they be¬ 
come cleared of Potatoes. 
Cucumbers. —In houses the night temperature should be kept at 70°, 
falling a few degrees on cold nights, and water must be used a little 
more freely. Thoroughly renovate old beds by removing with a 
small fork as much of the exhausted soil as can be done without 
much injury to the roots, and supply rich lumpy compost previously 
warmed. Trim and thin the plants at least once a week, and keep a 
strict look-out for canker at the collar, and apply fresh-slaked lime 
promptly. Dung-heated beds which have been made up a few weeks 
will need lining, which should be done by removing as much of the 
outside of the beds as can well be spared; and if the heat has not 
declined too much it will be sufficient if only one-half the bed is 
lined now, deferring the other half until the heat is again found to 
be declining. Let the linings be 2 feet in width—thin linings being 
of little use—and when the bed has become re-heated be very careful, 
especially when the sun is powerful, to allow the escape of rank 
steam. Attend to training and pegging-down the shoots as they ad¬ 
vance in growth, adding a little more soil as the roots spread on the 
surface, and in watering do not wet the foliage more than is possible 
at present. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Greenhouse. —The spring potting of Aphelexis, Acrophyllums, Ade- 
nandras, Chorozemas, Dracophyllums, Tremandras, Statices, &c., should 
be proceeded with and completed as soon as possible, as the drier 
atmosphere consequent on the increased sun heat renders it some¬ 
what difficult to manage newly potted plants. Any plants of Epacrisj 
Cytisus, and Acacia that have flowered should, if they need it, be cut 
back sufficiently to keep them in shape, placing them where they 
will have a night temperature of 50°, which will enable them to 
make and mature an early growth, and will be easily brought into 
flower another season. Syringe them every fine afternoon, and when 
fairly in growth repot any requiring it. 
Cinerarias that are latest in producing blooms are valuable and 
should be kept in a north house so as to retard their flowering, and 
as they are moisture-loving plants it will be advisable to stand them 
on a moisture-holding surface. Pelargoniums need a little more 
water, but they must not be overwatered, and ventilate freely on ai* 
favourable occasions. Keep a sharp look-out for aphides and fumi¬ 
gate upon its first appearance. Keep Fuchsias in a genial tempe¬ 
rature of 50° at night, and syringe them occasionally. 
-.1 if . 1 ., . I . I ■ I . I. I ..I ; 
r. f-. rvi. i n rr-rmc 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 1 
W . i -.< • l- i-.~r»°T-i - r-1 • 1 <*..#u 
THE SEASON. 
Bees now being exceedingly active, much more so than their 
wont at this time of the year, bee-keepers are naturally looking 
forward to what is hoped will prove a year of prosperity. The 
catkins of the Willow are in full bloom, and during the working 
part of the day the little workers are actively employed gathering 
the nectar and collecting the pollen to supply the wants of the 
brood. The Gooseberry is coming into bloom and will further 
stimulate the willing workers and prepare them for the honey 
harvest which follows. But of all flowers the Gorse at present, 
here in the west of Scotland, affords the most lasting and largest 
supply of food for those in the vicinity of it. This shrub is now 
full of golden bloom, and will continue producing flowers for 
many months. The uncommonly mild season we are experien¬ 
cing has forwarded the breeding, and the consumption of store 
will be great, especially in districts where there is deficient pas¬ 
turage for bees. Should severe frost not visit us early swarms 
will be the rule. Those who have hives wdll require to attend to 
them at the present, for there is danger of their running short of 
food. Stocks w'hich have consumed most of their store to supply 
the extra demand on their resources may be reduced to starvation 
should their necessities not be attended to at once. Wbat little 
they can gather from flower blooms in most districts, a series 
of wet days may compel them to destroy their brood to prevent 
immediate starvation—an expedient which would be disastrous 
to the hive, which a short time ago showed all the signs of becoming 
a great and prosperous colony.—W. F. 
WHAT TEMPERATURE DO BEES REQUIRE DURING 
THEIR TIME OF REST IN WINTER? 
[ Translated from the 11 Bienenzeitung.” Communicated by Mr. Alfred 
Neighbour.^ 
All Nature is in winter in a state of complete repose. In a bee 
hive also almost everything is perfectly quiet then. In a state of 
torpor our favourites await the time when the sun will again rise 
higher in the sky and returning spring awakens them to new activity. 
But every colony does not awaken from its slumber ; many com¬ 
munities never return to life again. It all depends whether the bee¬ 
keeper has done his duty in making judicious and careful arrange¬ 
ments for wintering his colonies safely. Although bee-keepers are 
pretty well agreed as to the requirements and conditions of wintering 
bees, the greatest ignorance still exists as to what should be the 
temperature in the hive while the bees are at rest in winter. One 
bee-keeper, for example, says the hive should be constructed in such 
a way as not to allow the temperature in its interior at any time to 
fall to the freezing point or below. Another bee-master expresses 
his admiration at bees being able to withstand the cold when the 
temperature inside the hive is at freezing point or even lower, whilst 
a temperature of 52° Fahr. is sufficient to chill or numb them outside 
the hive. Both appear to be of the erroneous opinion that all the 
parts of a bee hive are heated by bees in a similar way as a room is 
heated by a stove. 
When a colony is dispersed over the whole of the interior, the 
temperature no doubt is pretty well equalised ; but when the tem¬ 
perature is falling and the bees crowd together to form a thick round 
cluster, they impart just as little heat to the empty or unoccupied 
