September 29, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
299 
each only as many combs of sealed food as the bees can cover. 
According to my usual custom I shall place a cake of bee candy 
across the frames under the quilt, partly as a farther supply, but 
chiefly as an excellent means of providing a winter passage over 
the frames where it is warmest. Over all and on either side of 
division boards I shall pour loose chaff, see that roofs are water¬ 
tight but well ventilated, close the doorways to within an inch or 
two, and bid defiance to a zero temperature. — William Raitt. 
Blairgowrie. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
R. H. Vertegans, Edgbaston, Birmingham .—Catalogue of Bulbs. 
Wm. Rumsey, Waltham Cross .—Catalogue of Roses and Trees. 
Joseph Schwartz, Lyon, France .—Catalogue of Rises. 
Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Philadelphia .—Catalogue of Plants. 
*** 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 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. 
Work on Orchids (A Constant Render'). —The price of the last edition of 
Mr. B. S. Williams’ “ Orchid-Growers’ Manual ” is 7s. 6 d., post free 8s., and not 
6,;. 6 d., as was stated on page 232. 
Beetle ( Inquirer). —The insect forwarded is one of the Sexton or Burying 
Beetles (Necrophorus Yespillo), a widely distributed species, and of some utility, 
as the beetles seek out and bury dead grubs, &c., in which the eggs are laid and 
the larva; afterwards feed. 
Heating by Gas ( A. G.). —Heating by gas is not much employed, or only 
on a small scale ; but you would probably obtain the information you require 
from Mr. Clarke, Yinery House, Allerton, Liverpool. 
Grecian Agriculture (R. 71.).—You had better consult Jebb’s “ Modern 
Greece.” You will find that the cultivation of its soil is profitable and pro¬ 
gressive. The culture since 1830 has increased of Olives, threefold ; of Figs, six¬ 
fold ; of Currants, fifteenfold. The last-named occupy nearly forty thousand 
acres. 
Indexes (if. II.). —Your suggestion is an excellent one, and we only refrain 
from publishing it on the ground that disappointment would be caused by many 
who would find it impossible to carry out the project, as the necessary materials 
are not obtainable. 
Violets Unhealthy (A Gloucestershire Subscriber). —Your plants have 
been much infested with red spider, these insects having attacked the under 
sides of the leaves and extracted the juices from them. Violets should be grown 
in a partially shaded place in the summer, such as the north side of a hedge or 
wall, but not under trees. You had better remove the runners, together with 
the worst of the leaves. The insects will do little if any more injury at this late 
season, and the leaves that will be produced will be green and healthy. 
Vine Leaves Discoloured (Idem). —There is nothing to be alarmed at 
about the Vines ; but no doubt it would be advisable to remove a little of the 
surface soil from the border, so that fresh loam can be placed in contact with 
the roots, and over the loam a layer of rich manure 3 or 4 inches in thickness, 
where it should remain to decay. This will induce the increase of feeding roots, 
and the Vines will be invigorated. 
Caterpillars (Idem). — You can only eradicate those on the Savoys by 
hand-picking, but they might in a great measure have been prevented by fre¬ 
quent dustings of soot when the plants were young. If you dust them now it 
will not be easily washed off those parts required for cooking. The best means 
of preventing the recurrence of an attack on your Gooseberry and Currant trees 
is to remove 2 or 3 inches of the surface soil as soon as all the leaves have fallen, 
and add fresh soil, manure, or tan. You may dress the surface of the ground 
under the trees with soot and gas lime in the spring, a small handful of the 
latter being quite sufficient for each square yard of soil. Cyclamens need more 
heat than a cold frame affords to induce free growth and early flowers. 
Growing Rhododendrons in Sawdust (A. G .).— Rhododendrons 
succeed well in sawdust, but it must be mixed with soil, and from its slow de¬ 
composition it supplies material similar to that obtained from peat beds. It 
will not be necessary to give water in winter, as the rainfall will be sufficient to 
keep the soil in a thoroughly' moist condition, but in an unusually dry period in 
summer applications of water will be beneficial. 
Suckers from Standard Roses for Stocks (Young Gardener).—It 
the suckers are taken up with a portion of root in early December and planted 
in rows in good soil they would grow, and after a year’s growth they would be 
of sufficient strength for budding ; but they send up suckers so freely as to be 
inferior as stocks either to the Manetti or seedling Briar. The name of the wild 
flower is Scrophularia aquatica. 
Staging for Greenhouse (Chas. Diamond). —We are left to guess at an 
important element in your case—namely, the height of the stage No. 3 from the 
glass. If it is not above 3 or 4 feet probably the plants may succeed, especially 
as some of them may be tall; if not, they can be raised on inverted flower pots 
at the back of the stage. It is impossible, however, for us to give a satisfactory 
reply without knowing more particulars both of the house and plants. No one 
can give you a precise answer to your other question except Messrs. Messenger 
and Co. of Loughborough, who will readily give you the information you require 
in reply to a letter addressed to them. 
Nectarines Cracking (E. D. C.). —The stone of the fruit you sent was 
very imperfect, the result either of defective fertilisation of the blossoms or a 
deficiency of calcareous matter in the soil; and when the stones are imperfect 
the fruit often shrinks and cracks. When your tree is flowering gather pollen 
from a free-setting variety of either Teach or Nectarine and apply it to the 
flowers ; it can be easily done with a camel’s-hair brush; or a rabbit’s tail or a 
dried plume of the Pampas Grass brushed lightly over the flowers at noon on 
two or three consecutive fine days would probably be beneficial. 
Lifting Peach Trees (Durham). —If the buds are prominent we should 
lift the trees now, shading them for an hour or two occasionally if bright 
weather should prevail, and sprinkling the foliage if needed to maintain its fresh¬ 
ness. The trees would then produce fresh roots before winter, and would grow 
and fruit next year as if they had not been removed, except we should expect 
the growth to be better and the fruit finer, assuming that at present the soil is 
not satisfactory and the root-action defective. If the buds are not prominent 
we should allow the trees to remain ten days longer before lifting them. You 
give us no information relative to the age and condition of the trees, or our 
reply might have been more explicit and possibly more useful. 
Caterpillars on Viburnum (IF. J. A 1 .).—Pour boiling water on 2 or 
3 ozs. of hellebore powder and stir well, then add sufficient water to make a 
gallon of the insecticide. With this syringe the bush, and if the water is applied 
as hot as the hand can be borne in it, it will be the more effectual. Four ounces 
of quassia chips boiled for half an hour in a gallon of water, 2 ozs. of soft soap 
being dissolved in it at the same time, would probably be equally effectual if 
similarly applied. As soon as the leaves have fallen not only remove them but 
3 or 4 inches of soil for a considerable distance round the shrub, and add fresh 
compost. If you adopt these measures you will not have so many caterpillars 
another year. 
Fruit Trees for Espaliers (IF. M .).—At 12J feet distance apart you will 
have space for twenty-four trees. Of Cherries :—Empress Eug6nie, May Duke, 
and Archduke may be selected, they being had on the Mahaleb stock. Apples 
on the English Paradise stock :—Mr. Gladstone, Kerry Pippin, King of the 
Pippins, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Reinette du Canada, Dutch Mig- 
nonne. Cockle Pippin, and Stunner Pippin are suitable varieties ; they are named 
in the order of ripening. Pearson Quince stocks:—Jargonelle, Williams’Bon 
Chretien, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Comte de Lamy, Doyenne du Comice, Marie 
Louise, and Beurre Bachelier will form a good collection. Plums :—Early Pro¬ 
lific, Mitchelson’s, and Victoria for culinary purposes; for dessert, July Green 
Gage, Green Gage, and Kirke’s. 
Wintering Lothian Stocks (IF. Wallace). —We should pot them at once 
and place them in a shaded place out of doors until the occurrence of frost, then 
winter them in frames. They will endure several degrees of frost, especially if 
they are not too wet; indeed they should be kept rather dry during the severe 
weather of winter. Pentstemons may also be wintered in frames, protection 
being afforded when needed to exclude frost or nearly so. The pots will be 
better plunged in ashes or cocoa-nut refuse, and all decayed leaves must be 
promptly removed from the plants. These remarks apply equally to the Stocks. 
Two useful Apples are Stirling Castle and Dumelow’s Seedling, both culinary 
varieties. 
Hardships of Gardeners (A. T.). —We well know, and regret it, that 
not a few gardeners are expected to make bricks without straw, so unreasonably 
exacting are some employers. You are, however, adopting a wise course by 
making the 'utmost of the means at your disposal. A perseveranqe in this 
course will in time command approbation, and if your work gives evidence of 
superior ability it will sooner or later attract the notice of someone, and will 
eventually prove of advantage to you. Hasty changes, at the present time 
especially, are very unsafe, as every gentleman wanting a gardener has the 
choice of ten men. Under these circumstances it is only those men who can 
adduce the best evidence of ability who can hope to be appointed, and a man 
who is always moving is seldom able to produce such evidence. We could name 
men who were once not better, if as well, situated as yourself, who by following 
the course we have suggested—working assiduously in their calling and their 
own self-improvement, waiting patiently and moving judiciously, who now 
occupy leading positions in the gardening world. 
Storing Fruit (F. J.). —We presume you cannot place a small stove in 
your fruit room in very severe weather. We should place the fruit on a thick 
layer of clean straw, and for a time at least ventilate the room freely ; eventually 
after the fruit has dried ventilation becomes of less importance, and the room 
should be kept dark or nearly so, opening the door or windows occasionally to 
maintain a sweet atmosphere. During severe frost you might cover the fruit 
thickly with dry chaff, which is sweeter and better than cocoa-nut fibre refuse 
or sawdust, especially' that from trees which contain turpentine. When fruit 
is spread on bare shelves it is often frozen through the boards on which it rests, 
however thickly it is covered. If you cannot preserve the fruit in the manner 
suggested, you may on the approach of severe frost pack it in large boxes with 
clean dry silver sand or chaff, and place the boxes out of the reach of frost. We 
have not, however, found this necessary, having had plenty of protecting 
material and used it. 
Climbers for House Walls (S. M. <?.).—For the west aspectAristo- 
lochia Sipho, Lonicera flava, L. odoratissima, L. Periclymenum, and L. sem- 
pervirens var. Browni, floribunda and Youngi; Clematis azurea graudiflora, 
C. montana major, C. Viticella rubra grandiflora, C. Lucie Lemoine, C. Mrs. Hope, 
C. Vesta, C. purpurea elegans, C. Henryi, C. Jackmanni, Bignonia radicans, 
Cydonia japonica and var. alba, Jasminum officinale grandiflorum, and Roses 
Rftve d’Or, Bouquet d’Or, Anna Ollivier, Cheshunt Hybrid, Climbing Devoniensis, 
Gloire de Dijon, Marcelin Rhoda, and Perle de Lyon. South Jasminum re¬ 
volution, Wistaria sinensis and var. alba, Berberidopsis corallina, Ceanothus 
azureus Gloire de Versailles, C. integerrimus, C. floribundus, Escallonia ma- 
crantha, Magnolia grandiflora floribunda, Chimonanthus fragrans, Garrya 
elliptica, Lardizabala biternata, Passiflora cserulea, and Roses Marcchal Niel, 
Sombreuil, Perle des Jardins, and Innocente Pirola. North : — Ampelopsis 
hederacea, Clematis Vitalba, Hedera (Ivy) canariensis, H. palmata, H. Roegner- 
iana, Crataegus pyracantlia, Forsythia suspense, Tropaeolum speciosum, and 
Jasminum nudiflorum. 
