"November 8, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
409 
on bee-keeping. For practical purposes Cowan’s is one of the best. 
Root’s “ABC of Bee Culture ” will give much valuable informa¬ 
tion on bee-farming, and Professor Cook’s treatise is another ex¬ 
cellent work on the subject. 
7, The knowledge required in order to successfully manage a large 
bee-farm could only be obtained after much practical experience and 
intimate acquaintance with the natural history and habits of bees. If 
■starting an undertaking of such proportions as “ F. H. P.” proposes, 
we should advise him to secure the services of a properly certificated 
expert. In order to hold a first-class certificate a man must have 
pass:d an examination by a duly appointed committee of the British 
Bee-Keepers’ Association, and before he can do so he must have made 
himself thoroughly conversant with the science of bee-keeping both 
theoretically and practically. Question 8 we cannot answer.— 
P. H. P. 
PASTURAGE FOR BEES. 
Having experimented quite extensively with honey-producing plants 
this summer, I will contribute my mite toward improving bee pasturage. 
I must join with Mr. J. F. Plummer in pronouncing Borage the plant 
par excellence. Bees will leave everything else if they have that. The 
honey is as light as white Clover honey, but of better taste and flavour. 
Next year I intend to sow several acres with this plant. If sown three 
weeks before white Clover comes into bloom it will be at its best when 
that plant begins to fail. I sowed some as late as July 1st, after which 
drought set in, in consequence of which it was very slow in coming up. 
But it is blooming now, and the heavy frosts we have had this month 
have not injured it in the least, the bees improving every shining hour 
on it, especially the Italians. The latter will be out working even 
when quite cool ; the blacks would not. 
On Mignonette they worked very little, last year not at all. Last year 
and the year before I sowed some Sweet Clover, but it never came up ; 
but I have seen the roadsides in Virginia covered with it, but no bees 
working on it, though there was no other plant in bloom except, perhaps, 
red Clover, which is very extensively cultivated, but no bees did_I see on 
that either. 
Then I received also some twenty different kinds of seed from 
Switzerland, among which were a few kernels of the Giant Balsam (not 
Giant Lady Slipper, as someone wants to have it, as it is not related to 
the Lady Slipper family or species’). I am sorry to say the seed did not 
come up, as also many other kinds did not make their appearance. 
S >me proved to be biennials, not flowering the first year. Among those 
which bloomed Phacelia was visited the most. All the others the bees 
treated with indifference. 
But one other thing I have noticed, that bee pasturage improves where 
bees are kept, perhaps on account of a more extensive fertilisation of 
the plants by bees, causing a more abundant seeding.—A. R. Kohnkf. 
—[American Bee Journal.') 
*** 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 Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended 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. 
Journal des Roses (E. B. M .).—This periodical can be obtained from 
M. Scipion Cochet, Grisy-Suisnes, Brie-Comte-Robert, Seine-et-Marne, 
F.ance. 
Grubs in Manure (F. B .).—We do not think the grubs will do any 
injury; still you will do well to give your Vine border a good dressing 
of lime, and point it in lightly, as besides destroying the grubs it would 
benefit the Vines. 
Correspondence (K. D .).—We are obliged by your letter, and are glad 
our columns have been of service to you. The writer you name is in a 
■situation. The other subject to which you allude shall have due considera¬ 
tion. You need not hesitate to send your questions; they will be readily 
attended to. 
Boilers and Stoking ( Dugald ).—Your letter will be readily inserted, 
as it is well written and relates to a subject of importance. We scarcely 
suppose that your proposal will meet with universal acceptance ; it is, 
however, worthy of discussion. 
A Good Insecticide (J. Glare). —We shall be glad if you will send us a 
sample of the article that has proved so efficacious for examination ; we will 
also have it tried as you suggest, and inform you of the results of any experi¬ 
ments that may prove satisfactory. 
Pond Mud (J . M.). —Much depends on its nature, but in all probability 
it will not do any harm on the grass land. Replies in this column are only 
intended for regular subscribers. 
Large Chrysanthemums (P. M.). —Large blooms do not depend altogether 
on what you may give the plants now. Unless they have been well grown 
during the season, and disbudded at the proper time, the finest examples 
cannot be obtained by any fertiliser applied at the present time. Sulphate of 
ammonia is the quickest in action, perhaps, of all fertilisers, and a small 
thimbleful spread on the sur face of the soil of each pot and watered in, or a 
quarter of an ounce or a little less dissolved in a gallon of water, and in this 
form given to the plants, will be ample. Clay’s fertiliser is good as a top¬ 
dressing, and soot water is very beneficial. You may use any of these as 
may be the most convenient. 
Zonal Pelargonium Hon. Mrs. Oakeley ( John Boberts ).—This richly 
coloured double variety raised by you three years ago is decidedly above 
the average of new varieties that are sent to us. The truss is symmetrical 
without being “ lumpy," the pips large without being so crowded with petals 
as to prevent free expansion, the colour dark yet not dull—a glowing purplish 
crimson. As you say the plant is of dwarf habit and very free-flowering, 
even in winter, you will find it useful for decorative purposes. 
Dextrine (J. P.). —It is known in chemistry as the soluble or gummy 
matter into which the interior substance of starch globules is convertible 
by acids or diastase. It is admirable for securing the petals or florets of 
flowers that are prone to fall quickly, such as Pelargoniums and single 
Dahlias. We have some of the latter in our office which will retain their 
florets until they shrivel, while there is no trace of the presence of anything 
having been used to secure them. Dextrine is sold by chemists and druggists. 
Mushroom Beds (G. IF. S.). —It would be advisable to turn the straw 
which is close and wet, choosing a dry warm day for the operation, and if 
the temperature of the air at the time is above that of the bed there will be 
no escape of heat from the latter. During very heavy rains outdoor Mush¬ 
room beds are occasionally injured if not covered with sheets or something 
to throw off the wet, and especially if the sides of the beds are too flat, as 
many are ; they should be built as steep as possible, and the top well 
rounded. 
Planting Flower Beds (4. G. B .).— As you say you are “expected” to 
plant the beds in the manner you have shown in the plan before us, by all 
means carry out your employer’s wish, and especially as a “showy ” flower 
garden is particularly desired. The method of arrangement will be bright, 
and we can only suggest that the effect would perhaps be a little more 
cheerful if a few purple Yiolas were mixed with the variegated Pelargoniums 
in the corner beds, and a few plants of Veronica Andersonii variegata with 
the Heliotrope if this latter is a very dark variety. 
Violets not Flowering (H. E. B.). —The plants are perhaps too crowded, 
and sun and air could not circulate amongst them to develope the crowns. 
This is the cause of many Violets not flowering freely, especially in the 
autumn, and your plants may produce blooms in the spring. Stout healthy 
offsets should be planted a foot apart in good soil in April. 
Vine Roots Decayed (J. Ricks). —The roots are in a very bad state, bnt 
there is no phylloxera on them, nor are there any signs of the insects ; not 
half enough roots, however, were sent for satisfactory examination. They 
appear to have been taken from a wet sour border. 
Propagating Aralia Veitchii (./. S.). —This plant can be increased by 
cuttings, but they are by no means easy to strike, and this mode of increase 
is a slow one. The custom is to strike such as A. reticulata and other 
narrow-leaved kinds that emit roots freely, and use them as stocks on which 
A. Veitchii is grafted. Reidia glaucescens is increased by cuttings of half- 
ripe wood inserted in sand under a bellglass in a propagating house. Cocos 
Weddelliana and all Palms are raised from seed. 
Raising Cucumbers ( Subscriber , Ireland). —On this matter everything 
depends on your skill and judgment as a cultivator. Under your circum¬ 
stances we should sow the seed about Christmas, and have a small heated 
case in a convenient position in the house for raising the plants. January 
probably will be a better time for you to commence, and then if the first 
plants fail you will have time enough to raise others. If you could have a 
little conversation with Mr. Pithers, the gardener at Summerhill, you would 
find it advantageous, and he would no doubt readily see you by appointment. 
Amaryllises (H. S. P.). —The plants require turfy loam, with a sixth 
part of wood ashes and decayed manure, also an admixture of gritty matter 
to keep the compost porous. They must not be overpotted. When making 
their growth and producing flower spikes they need a sunny position in a 
warm house, with sufficient water to keep the soil moist. After flowering 
they cannot have too much sun, a shelf near the glass being a good position 
for them, watering them regularly till the leaves are fully developed, then 
about August keeping the air drier and reducing the supply of water to the 
roots until the foliage dies down, when water may be withheld for several 
weeks. Some cultivators keep the plants steadily growing through the 
winter ; but the resting system is practised in the London nurseries, where 
these beautiful plants are grown so well. 
Order not Acknowledged (IF. T., Quebec). —The best thing we can do 
under the circumstances is to send your postcard to the tradesman to whom 
you allude, whom we have always known to be highly respectable. There 
must have been some mistake, or perhaps a letter may have failed to reach 
its destination. If you do not hear further on the subject the fault will, in 
part at least, rest with yourself in not giving your name on the postcard ; 
your address, however, may perhaps enable the order to be traced. 
Fuchsia with Petaloid Anther (J. E. W.). —The malformation of which 
you send an example is common, and in some cases the whole stamen becomes 
petal-like, as in double and semi-double flowers. In the flower submitted 
one lobe of the anther has been converted into a small petal, and has a 
strange appearance; the whole bloom is, indeed, deformed, as the style with 
