460 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f November 17, 1881. 
ketlock honey is rather strong-tasted, and not equal in any way 
to clover houey. 
We now come to the point of clarifying impure honey. I have 
heard that honeycombs can be whitened and improved in appear¬ 
ance by the fumes of sulphur, and that some Irishmen who carry 
combs about the streets of English towns for sale resort to the 
sulphur-cleansing process. About clarifying run honey I have 
something to say. A few months ago I took a leaf out of the 
book of an American gentleman on a visit here. He described 
very minutely the process adopted in America for extracting 
maple syrup and preparing it for table use. In boiling it the 
white or gluten of eggs was largely u-ed in clarifying it. It struck 
me that the white of eggs may be useful in clarifying honey. I 
have tried it and found it to answer fairly well. It clears and im¬ 
proves the honey much by uniting with the impurities in, and 
carrying them to the top of, the honey in a thick scum ; and if 
this scum be allowed to cool it will become rather tough, and may 
be taken oil like a piece of leather or strong paper. By this it 
will be seen that the honey is warmed and stirred with the gluten. 
Honey should never be allowed to boil. How many eggs should 
be used to a stone of honey ? I am a novice in this work and 
cannot yet tell. I have so far used the white of one egg to a 
stone of honey. Probably more gluten maybe used with advantage 
if the honey is strongly tainted with pollen.—A. Pettigrew. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Osborn & Sons, Fulham, London. —Catalogue of Shrubs and Trees. 
Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin.— Catalogue of Trees 
and Shrubs. 
Francis and Arthur Dickson, The Upton Nurseries, Chester.— 
Catalogue of Forest and Ornamental Trees. 
James Dickson & Sons, Newton Nurseries, Chester.— Catalogue of 
Roses. Trees , and Shrubs. 
S. Mahoodife Son, Lower Richmond Road. —List of Chrysanthemums. 
*** All correspondense should be directed either to “The Editor” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the stair 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. 
Salvia nemorosa (S. if. <(' -!.).—This is no doubt the plant to which you 
refer. It is a native of Southern Europe and the East. The species was named 
by Linnaeus, and appears to be synonymous with S. sylvestris, also of Li mucus. 
Vines Unsatisfactory (J. T .).—So far as we can judge from your letter 
and the wood you have sent, we think the state of your Vines arises from either 
drought at the roots or overcropping, or both combined ; and further, we think 
the house has not been judiciously ventilated. 
Dracaenas for Greenhouse ( Vindex ).—The following will succeed in an 
ordinary greenhouse :—f). congesta, D. rubra, D. atrosanguinea, D. Draco, 
D. lineata, D. australis, D. nutans, D. (Cordyline) indivisa, and D. Veitchii. 
Treatment of Orchids ( Constant Inquirer).—The Sophronites can be 
grown either in a small basket or on a block, and requires a moderate supply of 
heat and moisture at all seasons. If your plant is quite healthy we cannot 
understand why, with the treatment you have given, it does not flower. Sus¬ 
pend the basket near the glass. The non-flowering of the Dendrobium is pro¬ 
bably due to the growths not being fully ripened. Place it in a light position. 
The Orchid Album (J. E. B .).—This work is published by Mr. B. S. 
Williams, Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper Holloway, in monthly parts, 
price 5s. each. The coloured plates of the first part, -which is the only one we 
have seen, were very well executed. 
Damaged Cucumbers (C. E .).—The box forwarded did not contain any 
insect, but some specimens of a small land shell. If this mollusc is really the 
cause of the injury complained of it can only be dealt with as other molluscs 
(snails, slugs, &c.), are, by applying what remedy you think best under the 
circumstances, and this your experience will enable you to determine. 
White Grapes (.4. Roberts). —So far as we can judge from the much- 
shaken and injured specimens, of which not one sound berry reached us, the 
variety is the Golden Champion ; it is, we feel certain, not Buckland Sweetwater. 
Schinus Molle (.Edith ).—This shrub is not deciduous, and your specimen 
is doubtless unhealthy. You do not say whether it is in a pot or planted out. 
If planted in good soil in a light conservatory it ought to grow large enough to 
produce flowers and fruit. We are unable to answer your second question 
relative to t! e date of the last edition of the. work you name, but you can obtain 
the information by writing to the publishers, Messrs. Bradbury &, liras, 
Bouverie Street, Loudon. 
Potting Liliums (/. J. if.). —A compost of two-thirds of turfy loam and 
one third of turfy peat with sufficient sand and crushed charcoal to keep the 
soil porous will be suitabie. The bulbs may bo potted now, surrounding them 
with sand, and covering them an inch or more deep. If you place them at once 
In the pots in which they are intended to flower the pots should not be quite 
filled with soil, but space should be allowed for top-dressings. If the pots can 
he buried in moist cocoa-nut fibre refuse or ashes there will be less danger of 
the bulbs being injured by mistakes in watering. A cold frame or the floor of 
a greenhouse will be suitable for accommodating the pots until the plants com¬ 
mence growing, when they must have a light position and abundance of air. 
They thrive well plunged in ashes in the open air in summer—better indeed 
than in a greenhouse, unless the structure is very light. 
Fuchsias in Winter (F. if. S). —“Summer-struck Fuchsias” is a term 
having such a wide application that we hardly know how to answer your 
question. We have summer-struck plants that have flowered freely and are 
now ripening their wood. These we shall allow to rest during the winter, but 
they will not be dried excessively. We have other plants in 4-inch pots that 
have not flowered. These are now a foot high and growing freely. Their 
growth will be continued in a hght house in which the temperature will seldom 
fall below 50°, and they will make fine specimens next year. 
Tuberous Begonias (Idem). —As soon as the plants have ceased flower¬ 
ing, or are waning in freshness and beauty, gradually diminish the supply of 
water, giving less and less as the foliage changes and falls. If they are placed 
on a moist base in the winter the soil will probably absorb sufficient moisture 
to keep the tubers fresh ; if on a dry stage, they may need watering occasionally 
to prevent the soil becoming dust-dry. Very small tubers are more likely to 
shrivel than larger ones are, and there is the greater necessity for exercising 
care in preserving them. They may be wintered in an ordinary greenhouse. 
Bush Fruit Trees (A Yorkshire Rector). —Most of the Apples and Pears 
named on page 367 will succeed as hushes, but Blenheim Pippin grows too strong 
for that method of culture. Better Pears can be named than those submitted for 
orchard trees. It will probably be to your advantage to state the number of 
trees you require of Apples, Pears, and Plums respectively, and varieties adapted 
for your purpose and district will be selected. 
Wire Trellis for Vinery (F. J.). —The wires for forming the trellis 
should be the best drawn and annealed No. 6, and fixed lengthwise of the house, 
and at from 16 to 18 inches distance from the glass. No cross or upright wires 
are needed, but you will need 1^-iuch angle iron at each end, pierced with holes 
at 9 inches apart to admit the wires, and bolt holes for securing the angle iron 
to the woodwork at the ends of the house. In addition to these you will require 
guide iron bars three-quarters of an inch by a quarter of an inch, pierced simi¬ 
larly to the end or straining iron angle bars to allow of the wire being passed 
through at the proper distance apart and from the glass, three stays being suffi¬ 
cient for each. The bars may be fixed 4 feet apart, or as near thereto as the 
rafters admit. The wires are threaded at each end and tightened with thumb¬ 
screws. We should plant the Vine at one end, it being immaterial which, and 
train the rod along the front and take growths from it at 4 feet apart for 
furnishing the trellis, and half that distance from each end. The Vine may be 
lifted carefully now and planted, or it may be deferred until late March or early 
April. 
Red Spider on Vines (TF. B. C.). —We doubt if any remedy is so good as 
the one we named when the foliage is seriously infested with the insects; but 
there is no reason why the pest should be allowed to increase to the extent that 
your letter appeared to imply, since pure water applied regularly with the 
syringe, a genial atmosphere, and proper ventilation, will keep it in check. If 
the Vines are properly syringed daily, or even twice or thrice a week, except 
when they are in flower, until the Grapes commence colouring, red spider will 
do little or no injury. The vapouriser was advertised by Mr. Wells, Earlswood 
Nurseries, Redhill, Surrey, and its price is 15s. So far as we can understand the 
case of the young growths dying, it arises from the sun extracting the moisture 
from them faster than it is supplied by the roots. Is the border sufficiently 
moist at the time of the injury ? If it is you must apply shade to prevent eva¬ 
poration ; you probably did not apply it soon enough before. 
Primulas Unhealthy (IF. if.). —The small worms are doubtless the cause 
of the injury, and have been introduced with the leaf soil. The only remedies 
we can suggest is to first try perfectly clear lime water, made by pouring a 
gallon of water on a lump of fresh lime weighing from half a pound to a pound, 
and removing the scum after standing for a day or two ; or, if this fails to 
destroy the worms, mix a fluid ounce of paraffin with two gallons of water, mind¬ 
ing that the mixing is effectual by violent agitation, and with this water the 
plants. You had better, however, try its effects on a few at the first and note 
the results. 
Stoves for Heating Vinery (T. G., Co. Dublin). —We cannot advise the 
use of such stoves as you name for the purpose in question, nor do we think 
there are any stoves made that -would answer your expectations. You say “ hot- 
water pipes cannot be used without starting the other houses.” Perhaps if we 
had a correct plan of the houses and their appurtenances we might see a way of 
overcoming the difficulty. We have seen so many instances of things that 
“ cannot” be done, and which were afterwards accomplished, that induces us to 
think we have not seen the last; still, for all that, yon may be correct in your 
judgment. Stoves heated with oil would certainly not be safe. 
Wall Trees (J. H. B.). —Your first question is unanswerable, as everything 
depends on the age and size of the trees as to whether they can be transplanted 
or not. Trees of the form you have sketched are admirably adapted for furnish¬ 
ing vacant spaces on walls, and are largely and successfully grown for that pur¬ 
pose. Cordon trees have only one stem, studded with fruit spurs from base to 
summit. If you cut a long straight branch from one of your trained Pear trees 
it is the exact representation of a cordon tree minus the roots. These trees are 
well adapted for filling vacancies on walls, or for covering walls entirely, and 
may be trained either vertically or obliquely, the latter method being generally 
preferable. 
Scale on Ferns (if. L. IF.).—The fronds you have sent are much infested 
with scale, which you will find extremely difficult to extirpate. The quickest 
and perhaps the best plan would be to remove the fronds and burn them, remov¬ 
ing also the surface soil from the pots and adding fresh. New fronds would 
soon spring up, and the plants would be better and cleaner than they are now. 
Possibly, however, only some of the fronds are infested, and in that case it may 
not be necessary to remove all. We once destroyed scale on plants similar to 
yours by dipping the small plants in a solution of softsoap as hot as the hand 
