188 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ August 25, 1881. 
the lower leaves being remove! before the pipings are inserted. Your Grapes 
ought to be in good condition in from eight to ten weeks after they commenced 
colouring. Cannot you test them yourself ? 
Walchereti Cauliflower (A". C.).—The information you seek has been 
frequently given in our “Work for the Week.” Your district being late you 
ought to have sown still earlier than the date given, as, unless the plants produce 
heads in the autumn, they will be useless, as large plants of this variety are nearly 
always killed in the winter. If your plants are strong and the autumn is mild 
they may afford heads in October and early November ; if they do flot, and the 
plants are dug-up and laid-in closely together in frames, covering the roots with 
moist soil, and are protected from frost, they will form heads in the winter. It 
depends entirely on the weather as to whether your plants will form heads in the 
open air this autumn ; they may do so in a sheltered position, and if not you 
must not expect them to stand the winter uninjured. We do not consider the 
advice you quote as sound and satisfactory, and we are sorry you did not write 
to us before. We are always ready to impart information, and we think it is 
reliable. The period from July 10th to 20th is too late for sowing for producing 
plants for use the same season, and too early for those intended to pass the 
winter without protection. 
Lifting Vines (Craven). —The proposed plan of lifting the roots in the 
outside border will succeed if performed carefully and with as little delay as 
possible after the wood is mature. The soil should be removed carefully from 
the roots so as to preserve them from injury, they should also not be exposed to 
the drying influence of the atmosphere any more than is absolutely necessary. 
Remove every portion of the soil down to the concrete, and then see that there 
is a 3-inch tile drain laid with proper fall and outlet. One drain will be suffi¬ 
cient for a 6-feet border. Place in a foot depth of nibble, stone, brickbats, or 
other material, the coarsest portion at bottom. If there is depth so as to leave 
27 to 30 inches of space over the drainage for soil the drainage maybe increased, 
but should not be less than 1 foot. Cover the drainage with a layer of turves 
grass side downwards, and then place in the compost, laying out the roots 
according to their inclination, keeping them as near the surface as possible. 
Those from the collar should be laid out 4 to 6 inches beneath the surface. The 
compost must be made moderately firm about the roots, and any dead or decayed 
parts may be cut away. Give a slight supply of water at a temperature of 90° 
to 100", and mulch over the roots with 4 to 6 inches thickness of rather short 
manure. The lights should be placed over the borders so as to throw off cold 
autumn rains. The surface 3 inches of a pasture over limestone will be suitable, 
a tenth of old mortar rubbish being added to it, with a fortieth part of half-inch 
or crushed bones, and the same proportion of charcoal and wood ashes may be 
added. Reserve horse droppings for surface dressings. 
Bridal Bouquets (Improver). —It should be 9 io 10 inches in diameter, 
the surface slightly convex, broken occasionally by a raised flower or spray of 
Maidenhair Fern, Selaginella ctesia, or Pelargonium filicifolnim odoratum. 
Three or four stems may be left long enough to reach to the bottom of the 
bouquet-holder, but all the others should be shortened to an inch or two, en¬ 
veloped in damp cotton wool, which is bound on securely with fine brass wire, 
enough wire being left on to form an artificial stem. Prepare sufficient flowers 
and spray beforehand, and also have ready a handful of damp cotton wool; then 
proceed from the centre outwards, not with formal circles, each of one kind of 
flower, but with a skilful, tasteful blending of form with form sufficiently to 
impart relief and variety. Or there may be a grouping of three or four flowers 
of each sort without any approach to heaviness. Prevent crowding and con¬ 
fusion by pads of the damp cotton wool between the flowers, drawing out the 
wool of each pad at the bottom sufficiently to enable you to twist it two or three 
times around one of the wire stems, so that there may be no risk of any being 
shaken out while the bouquet is being used. The damp wool also serves to keep 
the flowers fresh and unwithered. If the bouquet has to be made some hours 
before it is used avoid all flowers that shed ea-ily—white Jasmine is very 
prone to shed its flowers soon after they are cut. Twist the wire stems securely 
together so that no flower can be displaced, and make the bottom of the bouquet 
level, so that the bouquet paper may easily be slipped up close under the flowers 
and kept there by sewing it to them with a needle and white cotton. 
Plants for Stocking Borders (G. A. D).— The border near the Laurel 
hedge we should plant with herbaceous and bulbous plants, so as to give a suc¬ 
cession of flowers over a lengthened period. Plants suitable for such a border 
are Anemone japonica alba, A. fulgens, Anthericum Liliastrum, Antirrhinum 
vars., Aquilegia vars., Arabis albida variegata, Aster Amellus, Aubrietia grandi- 
flora, Daisies (double), Borago laxiflora.Calochortus luteus aculeatus, Calla palus- 
tris plena, Campanula isophylla, Convallaria majalis, Corbularia Bulbocodium, 
Cyclamen hedermfolium, Delphinium Belladonna, Dianthus neglectus, D. 
Napoleon III., Mule Pinks, Dodecatheon Meadia and var. alba, Erythronium 
Dens-canis, Fritillaria Meleagris, Fuchsia corallina, Gentiana acaulis, Geum 
coccineum flore-pleno, Gladiolus vars., Helleborus niger and var. maximus, 
Hemerocallis lutea, Hepatica triloba vars., Hyacintbus candicans, Iberis cor- 
rerefolia, Iris germanica vars., Lilium vars., Muscari botryoides, M. comosum, 
Myosotis dissitiflora, Narcissus Ajax, N. bicolor, N. inconrparabilis vars., N. 
minor, N. poeticus and var. plenus, N. Pseudo-Narcissus, Nepeta Mussini, CEno- 
thera macrocarpa, Omphalodes verna, Preonia humilis, P. sibirica, P. tenuifolia 
plena, Penstemon vars.,Phlox divaricata, Primula aculis vars., Alpine Auriculas, 
Pulmonaria azurea, Pyrethrum (double) vars., Ranunculus amplexicaulis, Saxi- 
fraga longifolia, Scilla sibirica, Sedum atropurpureum, Senecio pulcher, Sisy- 
riuchium grandiflorum, Spiraea japonica, S. palmata, Trollius europaeus, Tri- 
teleia uniflora, Veronica prostrata. To these may be added such bulbs as Cro¬ 
cuses, Tulips, Colchicums, Snowdrops, and such plants as Pansies, Carnations, 
Ac. The border near the low hedge we should devote to Roses, dwarfs, on the 
Manetti or on their own roots, with sweet-scented annual or showy low-growing 
annuals. The boiders near the house we should fill with bulbs in winter, and 
with flowering bedding plants in summer. 
Properties of the Carnation (R. Martin).—You will find our manual 
on “ Florists’ Flowers” very useful, and it can be had from this office in return 
for 4\d. in postage stamps. The following extract from it will answer your 
inquiry :—“The Carnation has the marks on its petals from the centre to the 
edge, and through the edge in flakes, or stripes of colour. The Picotee has its 
coloured mark only on the outer edge of its petals. Properties of a good Carna¬ 
tion. —Carnations are divided into five classes, namely:—1, Scarlet Bizarres ; 
2, Pink or Crimson Bizarres ; 3, Scarlet Flakes ; 4, Rose Flakes ; 5, Purple Flakes. 
Bizarre is a French word, meaning odd or irregular; the flowers in these classes 
have three colours, which are irregularly placed on each petal. Scarlet Bizarres 
have that colour predominating over the purple or crimson, but the Pink or 
Crimson Bizarres have more of these colours than the scarlet. Scarlet Flakes 
are simple white grounds with distinct stripes or ribbons of scarlet. Rose 
and Purple Flakes have these two colours upon a white ground. The properties 
in other respects are—1, The flower should be not less than 2£ inches across. 
2, The guard or lower petals, not less than six in number, must be broad, thick, 
and smooth on the outside, free from notch or serrature on the edge, and lapping 
over each other sufficiently to form a circular Rose-like flower; the more per¬ 
fectly round the outline the better. 3. Each layer of petals should be smaller 
than the layer immediately under it; there should not be less than live or six 
layers of petals laid regularly, and the flower should so rise in the centre as to 
form half a ball. 4, The petals should be stiff, free from notches, and slightly 
cupped. 6, The ground should be pure white, without specks of colour. 6, The 
stripes of colour should be clear and distinct, not running into one another, nor 
confused, but dense, smooth at the edges of the stripes, and well defined. 7, The 
colours must be bright and clear, whatever they may be ; if there be two colours, 
the darker one cannot be too dark, or form too strong a contrast with the lighter. 
With scarlet the perfection would be black ; with pink there cannot be too deep 
a crimson ; with lilac, or light purple, the second colour cannot be too dark a 
purple. 8, If the colours run into the white and tinge it, or the white is not 
pure, the fault is very great, and pouncy spots or specks are highly objectionable. 
9, The pod of the bloom should be long and large, to enable the flower to bloom 
without bursting it; but this is rare. They generally require to be tied about 
half way, and the upper part of the calyx opened down to the tie of each division ; 
yet there are some which scarcely require any assistance, and this is a very 
estimable quality. 10, Decided superiority of perfume should obtain the prize 
when competing flowers are in other respects of balanced merit. Properties of a 
good Picotee.— Picotees are divided into seven classes. 1, Red, heavy-edged ; 
2, Red, light-edged ; 3, Rose, heavy-edged ; 4, Rose, light-edged; 5, Purple, 
heavy-edged ; 6, Purple, light-edged ; 7, Yellow grounds, without any distinc¬ 
tion as to the breadth of the edge colour. The characteristics oi good form are 
the same as for the Carnation ; but with regard to colour—1, It should be clear, 
distinct, confined exclusively to the edge of the petals, of equal breadth and 
uniform colour on each, and not running down (called sometimes feathering or 
barring), neither should the white ground run through the coloured border to 
the edge of any one of the petals ; 2, The ground must be pure white, without 
the slightest spot. Disqualifications of a Carnation or Picotee. —1, If there be any 
petal dead or mutilated ; 2, If there be any one petal in which there is no colour; 
3, If there be any one petal in which there is no white ; 4, If a pod be split down 
to the sub-calyx; 5, If a guard petal be badly split; 6, Notched edges are 
glaring faults, for which no excellence in other respects compensates. 
Name of Fruit (G. P., Hants). — It is apparently the Bryanston Gage, but 
a little young wood and a few leaves are necessary for the satisfactory determi¬ 
nation of the names of Plums. 
Names of Plants (J. C.).— The specimens sent in an envelope arrived 
completely crushed aud withered, and were consequently quite unrecognisable. 
(IF. A.).—Oxalis corniculata rubra; it is often used as an edging plant in 
flower gardens, and is quite hardy. (A. A. if.). —The single flower spike is 
Lavendula vera; the other is Lavendula dentata. The leaf resembles Aralia 
reticulata. (Rosa). —Eucomis punctata, a native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
Removing Supers—Feeding Bees (E. S. IF.).—Unless in exceptional 
localities where late flowers such as Heath abound, there is almost no prospect of 
getting supers finished off now. You had better remove the glass super at once, 
on the principle that “half a loaf is better than no bread.” At the same time 
all empty supers should be removed. Such as contain a little sealed honey, but 
too little to render it worth while breaking up the comb, should have the cells 
unsealed with a knife and be replaced for a few days to allow the bees to carry 
down the contents. If the supers be then carefully wrapped in paper and stored 
in a dry place they will be valuable helps towards early storing next season. As 
your hives appear to be sufficiently supplied for wintering, we do not see any 
necessity for autumn feeding. Generally, stocks have this season kept up breed¬ 
ing later than usual, aud it will be enough to see that those only that are 
light should now be fed up quite rapidly', leaving stimulating feeding till early 
spring. 
Holy Land Bees (An Old Subscriber). — The queens were brought from 
Palestine by Mr. D. A. Jones of Canada. They were each packed in boxes 7 or 
8 inches square with ample ventilation at the sides, the openings being 
covered with wire gauze, which admitted of a thorough draught of air. In 
order to provide the necessary sustenance for the queen and the two or three 
hundred bees that accompanied her, candied sugar was run in at one corner of 
each box. This requires moisture to be edible by the bees, and Mr. Jones fre¬ 
quently supplied a small quantity of water during the journey. Some consign¬ 
ments of queens that have since arrived unattended were furnished with a small 
bottle of water, the liquid being allowed to ooze out at a slit cut in the cork. 
This plan, however, does not appear to have fully answered for so long a voyage, 
very few queens arriving alive. For shorter distances of transit queens are 
frequently' sent successfully with the latter provision. 
Brood Comb—Diluted Honey—Old Queen (F. J .).—The comb sent 
has not anything about it that is noticeably peculiar. It is drone comb 
containing healthy pupae, which are scattered, and so show conspicuously the 
rounded sealing which covers them. The comb has evidently been built 
where there has been scarcely room to accommodate it, as the cell walls are 
hardly so much elongated as is usual. In diluting honey for feeding, boiling 
water is more convenient than cold, and about equal quantities of water and 
honey will bring the food ro the right consistency. Hives rarely suffer from 
the natural decease of queens when the bees have no power to replace them, as 
they quite usually supersede decaying queens by raising young ones. Possibly 
this has been the case in the hive in question, which is evidently doing too well 
to give occasion for anxiety. 
CO VENT GARDEN MARKET.— AUGUST 24. 
Large quantities of Grapes still arriving from the Channel Islands are 
keeping down the price of home-grown. A good supply of Apples has reached 
the market during the last week, but clearing at very low prices. 
FRUIT. 
Apples. 
i sieve 
s. 
1 
d. s. 
0 to 3 
d. 
0 
Lemons. 
8. 
ip* case 12 
d. 8. 
o to 18 
d. 
0 
Apricots. 
doz. 
1 
0 
1 
6 
Melons . 
each 
2 
6 
8 
0 
Cherries. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
dozen 
4 
0 
10 
0 
Chestnuts... 
0 
0 
0 
0 
100 
dozen 
4 
0 
8 
0 
Currants, Black . 
J sieve 
6 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches . 
4 
0 
9 
0 
„ Red.... 
5 sieve 
3 
6 
4 
0 
Pears,kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Figs. 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
dessert . 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
6 
Filberts. 
^th. 
0 
0 
0 
6 
Pine Apples .... 
r ft 
2 
0 
8 
0 
Cobs. 
V it 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Strawberries .... 
per ft. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Gooseberries .... 
i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Walnuts . 
bushel 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Grapes .■ 
V ft 
0 
9 
4 
0 
ditto . 
V 100 
e 
0 
0 
0 
