JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 6, 1881. ] 
321 
a fine border plant, and so are Tritonias for late summer. Statice 
latifolia, Zepbyranth.es candidus, Sternbergia lutea, Colchicum au- 
tumnale vars., C. speciosum ; Crocus nudiflorum, C. sativus, C. Sieberi, 
and C. speciosus ; Cyclamen hederrefolium, Hypericum calycinum, 
Fuchsia corallina, F. globosa, F. Riccartoni, and F. gracilis ; Plumbago 
Larpentse, Polygonum vacciniifolium, and Sedum spectabile, are fine 
for late summer and autumn. Hollyhocks as they cease flowering 
should have the stems cut away, which will assist the production of 
shoots for cuttings, and if those are taken off with a heel they wil 
root in a close frame with a little heat. Seed may yet be sown, and 
young plants should be pricked out or potted off, and if protected in 
cold frames they will bloom finely next year. Any gaps should be 
filled with Brompton Stocks, Wallflowers, and other gay spring¬ 
flowering plants. Seedling perennials, also biennials, should now be 
planted where they are to bloom. Chrysanthemums must have 
supports, and should have liquid manure water liberally. Hyacinths, 
Narcissuses, and Tulips intended for mixed borders can be planted 
at once. Anemones for early bloom should be planted. The French 
double Chrysanthemum-flowered varieties are very fine and very 
useful for cutting. A. fulgens is very bright in colour and valuable 
for cutting. Irises, both English and Spanish, should be planted, 
also the early-flowering Gladioli, such as ramosus, floribundus, 
Queen Victoria, cardinalis, and byzantinus. Complete planting 
layers of Carnations, potting choice kinds and placing them in frames. 
Choice Pansies may be potted, also rooted cuttings, placing them in 
cold frames. Beds of common varieties and seedlings should be 
formed, and the plants will bloom finely early next season. Prick 
off choice seedlings in frames. Pinks and Clove Carnations may 
also be planted. Ranunculuses for cutting are unsurpassed and 
should be planted now for early blooming, the double French being 
very free and effective. Where there is a great demand for cut 
flowers in spring Narcissus biflorus, N. Poeticus and its vars., N. 
augustifolius, N. ornatus, and flore-pleno should be grown in quantity. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Greenhouse .—Neriums are not so much grown as they deserve to 
be. The flowers are very useful, and small well-flowered plants are 
very effective. Cuttings taken of shoots that have ripened the wood 
and set their flower buds may be struck in brisk heat, and make useful 
decorative plants in 6-inch pots. Any old plants that have a number 
of flower buds partially expanded will open them better in an inter¬ 
mediate temperature than in a greenhouse or conservatory. Large 
plants that made their growth early in the season and were turned 
out in a sunny position to ripen, should not have more water than is 
needed to keep the foliage in good condition ; and when the flowers 
are showing the plants may be moved to a light position in a house 
where a temperature of 55° artificially is maintained, if it is wished 
to accelerate the flowering. 
Whilst the weather continues mild admit plenty of air both night 
and day, which will ripen the growth of the plants. Give sufficient 
but not too much water ; do not allow the soil to become too dry 
before applying it. Late Fuchsias should have encouragement to 
continue flowering, applying weak liquid manure, also keep the seed 
pods removed as soon as the flowers have fallen. 
A few of the most forward plants of Daphne indica may be placed 
in a temperature of 50° artificially, which will cause them to flower 
earlier, and they bear more cutting than is the case with later plants, 
as they will make more roots and corresponding growth in spring. 
Orchids .—Plants that have completed growth must have a mode¬ 
rate supply of water, being careful not to wet the crown of the plants. 
Those on blocks still growing require their roots well moistened 
every morning either by syringing or dipping, and those that have 
completed their growth need damping every two or three days ; but 
the grower must be guided by the condition of the atmosphere in 
which the plants are grown. Many Orchids naturally grow now, and 
should occupy the most favourable part of the house. Regulate the 
moisture according to character of the plants ; those growing must 
have a moist atmosphere, those that have finished growth need a 
drier atmosphere and more air. Ventilation must be regulated by 
the weather. Phalasnopsids must be very carefully supplied with 
moisture, as, should the leaves be overcharged with moisture, they 
are likely to decay. Encourage Calanthes with heat and moisture, 
keeping the leaves clean by frequent sponging. Many showy Orchids 
will yet be blooming, and the practice of moving them into a drier 
atmosphere may be continued, the temperature being kept at 50° to 
55°, in which they will last longer and be more enjoyable. A decline 
must now be made in the temperature. For the East India house 
allow a mean of 70° by day and 60° at night; Cattleya house, 65° by 
day and 55° at night; and Odontoglossum house, 55° by day and 45° 
at night. Let the woodwork and glass, both inside and out, be 
thoroughly cleansed. Take advantage of wet weather to give the 
plants a thorough cleaning. Keep a sharp look-out for slugs, search¬ 
ing for them at night with a lamp. 
CONTRACTING SPACE OF HIVES. 
The practice of contracting the space of hives probably origin¬ 
ated in the Stewarton system. This hive in the height of summer 
has three workshops or breeding boxes 6 inches deep, and some 
supers 4 inches deep, all 14 inches wide. The supers are removed 
at the end of the honey season, and when the bees begin to sit in 
less compass one or two of the breeding boxes are removed. In 
this way the bees have less space to keep warm. Some of the 
most advanced men of the bar-frame school have, since they 
adopted larger hives, followed the practice of making their hives 
less before winter sets in. Some frames are removed, and the 
partition frames or walls are so placed that the bees are confined 
to six or eight combs during the winter. The combs removed are 
kept in a dry place for future use. 
The question I wish to see discussed is this : Is this practice 
healthful and helpful ? If it is good for bees and advantageous 
to bee-keepers, in what sense is it so ? I shall be glad if our 
friends who have used contracted hives in winter will favour the 
readers of the Journal with their experience and opinions. The 
question is both interesting and important, and therefore should 
be well understood. 
Though our hives are not capable of contraction, and my ex¬ 
perience on this question may not be deemed of great value, the 
question has been before me all my life My father thought that 
hives not filled with combs, and hives eked or enlarged, kept their 
bees through winter better than hives without any empty space 
in them kept theirs. My experience forbids me to fear losing 
bees through having much empty space in stock hives in winter. 
For many reasons we like the stocks to be full or nearly full of 
combs in autumn. But many times have we known large hives 
not half filled with combs kept for stock come safely through 
winters of severity and succeed well; indeed I do not remember 
an instance of a hive suffering loss of population owing to its 
size or to unoccupied space in it. At the present time we have 
some hives very strong in bees but not filled with combs. The 
question then arises : If the empty space were cut off by some 
contrivance, would the bees be healthier or live longer ? Would 
the hives be stronger in spring 1 This is the question now 
offered for discussion. It is a wider question than appears at 
first sight, for the removal of combs and the contraction of 
hives m winter may be more advantageous in some apiaries 
than in others. It is known, of course, that where hives are not 
filled with combs in autumn the bees have to spend both time 
and honey in the manufacture of combs in spring, and therefore 
do not swarm so early as those quite filled with combs, all other 
things being equal; but this does not touch the question of the 
health of bees in small houses or quarters in winter. On the 
question thus mooted let us have a full expression of opinion.— 
A. Pettigrew, Bowdon. 
SUGAR AND SUGAR-BOILING. 
“ One of the Great Unwashed,” who seems to be little the 
wiser for Mr. Cheshire’s excellent article on sugar, wishes to be 
informed, through the Journal, what sort of sugar for bee-food he 
is to ask from his merchant, whether loaf or soft sugar, whether 
white or brown, whether with large or small crystals, and whether 
beet sugar is as wholesome as cane sugar, &c. 
In this country sugar sold for domestic purposes is now rarely 
if ever adulterated. The use of sand and starch for this purpose 
has been long abandoned as being so easy of detection, and grape 
sugar manufactured from corn starch, though said to be used in 
