July 24, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
83 
powerful after a period of dull weather to prevent flagging. Keep the 
temperature through the day at 80° to 90°, and close before the tempera¬ 
ture falls to 85°. If canker appear rub quicklime well into the affected 
parts, repeating as necessary. Syringing and an ammonia-charged atmo¬ 
sphere will keep red spider and thrips in check, and against aphides fumigate 
on two or three consecutive evenings, having the atmosphere cool and dry. 
In order to obtain a late crop of Melons the plants should be placed out 
forthwith in a light, airy, well-heated structure, every encouragement 
being given to enable the plants to make a sturdy growth. Hardly any 
artificial heat will be necessary, as the plants will make rapid progress if 
due attention is paid to early closing, but a gentle bottom heat will enable 
the plants to become speedily established. Should dull weather prevail, 
gentle fire heat will of course be necessary. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Calanthcs. —The pseudo-bulbs of these beautiful plants if started as 
previously directed will now be growing vigorously. The small pots in 
which they were first placed are now well filled with roots, and the plants 
should without further delay be placed in the pots in which they are 
intended to flower. It is necessary that the plants are well rooted pre¬ 
vious to shifting, at the same time the roots should not be allowed to 
become curled or crowded round the sides of the small pots before the 
operation is carried out. Calanthes do not need large pots ; those G inches 
in diameter will be large enough for the largest pseudo-bulbs of C. Veitchii, 
while the C. vestita section can be grown to perfection in pots 1 inch 
less. The pots must be liberally drained and the plants potted in a 
mixture of fibry loam and peat equal parts, one-seventh of cow manure, a 
little broken charcoal, and a liberal dash of coarse sand. In potting, the 
soil should not be pressed too firmly, and must be worked carefully round 
the ball in which the roots are established. The pots should not be over¬ 
filled with soil, for abundance of water will be needed when they are 
growing vigorously. Water must be applied with great care until the 
roots are working freely in the new compost, for if rendered sour or 
saturated at first the roots seldom enter it freely afterwards, and the 
growth made is poor and puny instead of being vigorous. 
Where the stock has to be increased and the two-year-old pseudo-bulbs 
were kept in consequence and placed in a box in heat to start, these will 
now be ready for potting. The majority of these old bulbs which often 
find their way, when potting these plants, to the rubbish heap, will, if 
potted in 3-inch pots and taken care of, make good growth, and another 
year good flowering plants ; in fact many of them will flower late the first 
season. If room is limited, it is a good plan to place a number together 
in pans or baskets, and suspend them from the roof of any warm close 
house where they can be shaded from strong sun. At first they must be 
watered with great care and caution. 
Phajus grandifolivs. —These should be subject to much the same 
treatment as Calanthes from the time they commence growth to the time 
it is completed. If potted as directed and watered with the utmost care 
up to the present time they will now be growing vigorously with clean 
foliage. The cause of so many miserable specimens with injured foliage 
is over-watering and syringing in the early stages of development. If the 
pots in which they were placed is moderately well filled with roots and 
small in comparison to the size and strength of the plants, feeding with 
weak stimulants in the form of liquid manure every time water is needed 
may now be practised. Nothing is better for these plants than liquid 
made from cow manure and clear soot water, which should be given 
alternately in preference to mixing the two together. The effect of the 
latter is quickly descernible hy the healthy dark hue of the foliage. These 
plants may be lightly syringed from the present time twice daily on fine 
days. The afternoon syringing should be done early and the house closed 
at the same time, for when growing vigorously they delight in heat and 
moisture. Air should be admitted daily to ensure a sturdy growth, which 
is the secret of fine stout large spikes of flowers. 
Cyclamens. —Plants placed into 3 inch pots some time ago from seed 
sown in the autumn will now have filled them with roots, and he ready for 
others 2 or 3 inches larger. In potting the soil should be pressed more 
firmly into the pots than was necessary at the previous potting. The soil 
for these plants should consist of good fibry loam, one-seventh of cow 
manure and sand. The pots should be well drained, for abundance of 
water is needed when the plants are growing vigorously. Keep the frame 
in which thej^ are growing close for ten days or a fortnight after potting, 
then admit air gradually until abundance can be given both day and night 
to keep the foliage dwarf and compact. Shade from strong sun, but 
allow every ray of light possible to reach the plants. Young stock in 
small pots should be potted as needed. Keep old plants liberally 
supplied with water until they show signs of growth, when they may be 
turned out, the old soil partially removed from their roots, and repotted 
in the same or a little larger pots, and then subject to the same treatment 
as the young stock. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
Flmver Beds, —Where the much-wanted rains have fallen no time 
should be lost in hoeing, levelling, and thoroughly breaking down the 
surface soil, as in but few cases no more waterings will be necessary. The 
more finely divided the surface soil, providing it does not quickly become 
■“ caked,” the less rapid the evaporation of moisture, and, besides, this hoeing 
and levelling tends to check the growth of the weeds, encourages the 
growth of the plants, and gives the finishing stroke to the beds. Where 
possible either after rains or waterings mulch the surface of the beds and 
borders with short grass, leaf soil, or old fine manure. Such moisture- 
loving plants as Violas, Verbenas, Calceolarias, Begonias, Marguerites, 
Salvias, Dahlias, Stocks, Asters, Sweet Peas, herbaceous plants generally, 
various annuals, and Roses in addition to mulching may well receive 
occasional supplies of liquid manure either during showery or dull 
weather. Any mulching, such as half-decayed farmyard manure, which 
may be given to Roses, climbers, or newly moved shrubs, which is at all 
unsightly, should be lightly surfaced with garden soil. 
Pegging Down Bedding Plants. —In order to secure an even surface 
of colour it is advisable to peg down such plants as Pelargoniums, Calceo¬ 
larias, Verbenas, Iresines, Heliotropes, Marguerites, Cinerarias, and 
Lantanas. Providing any of these that are naturally erect in habit have 
been planted in a sloping direction the operation may he easily and safely 
performed. Fairly strong pegs are required for the majority, and these 
may be cut from large shrubberies, from faggot wood, common bracken, or 
if the winter prunings of the Apple and Pear trees have been preserved, 
these if shortened and sharpened will serve to neatly fix down the shoots 
where required, as they bend readily, the two ends being thrust into the 
soil. Where the plants are pegged down the beds are more quickly and 
evenly filled, but the plan is not advisable in ribbon borders, or where the 
back rows are much the highest. 
Budding Roses, —The long period of hot and dry weather has not been 
favourable to this work. Experienced budders are successful in nearly all 
weathers, but novices are advised to choose dull weather for the operation 
when possible. A short time after a heavy rain the buds “ run ” most 
freely, and the Briar shoots open easily, and when this is the case the buds, 
if not bruised when separated from the wood, will grow without fail. If 
there is but little sap in the Briars they should be heavily watered, and 
the budding delayed till they are found to open easily and have plenty of 
moisture to support them. The latter ought also to part freely from the 
wood, and should not get dry before being inserted in the stock. During 
very hot weather it is advisable to lightly shade the buds from bright 
sunshine. Rhubarb and other leaves being available for the purpose. It 
is a difficult matter to describe the process without illustration-’, and we 
will therefore merely state that the buds should be inserted as near the 
main stems of the Briars as possible, in order that the growths resulting 
may quickly become strongly attached to them. The farther they are 
from the stems the more liable are they to be blown out. Almost any 
kind of binding material will do, providing the bark of the stock is bound 
closely and neatly over the buds. 
SEASONABLE NOTES—SUPEEING. 
{Continued from •page 60.) 
ALTHOtTGn it is impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules for 
our guidance in the art of supering, yet there are certain maxims 
which we might draw up, and which, if attended to, would in ordinary 
cases bring success. But it is in the many unforeseen extraordinary 
cases that the exercise of the bee-keepers’ judgment for the nonce 
must be promptly and judiciously put into execution. He must 
have a practical knowledge of—first, when to put supers on ; next, 
how to get them occupied ; and thirdly, how to keep the bees at 
work in them. Hives peopled with prime swarms are never so difficult 
to keep in supers as non-swarmed colonies ; but in order to get very 
great results it is often the bee-master’s aim to prevent swarming 
altogether, and it is in such cases that all provisions must be begun 
in good time, and the one end in view perseveringly worked up to. 
To have a hive in the manipulation of which the work of supering 
may be made easy is the first step to attend to, and the one important 
point is that it shall be such a hive that the space occupied by the 
bees can be readily expanded or contracted as the bee-master may 
desire. The Stewarton possesses this power in a remarkable degree, 
but there are two things in the Stewarton hive to which we object— 
first, the supers employed when filled are too large for ready sale ; 
and secondly, the more important objection to our miud is the non- 
interchangeability (there's a word for you !) of the bars. The 
octagon shape may be considered to be the nearest approach to the 
spherical shape of the cluster, but we like to have every frame in 
our apiary able to take its place in any hive and in any part of a 
hive ; and again, we hold that the best of all supers are sectional 
ones, each section weighing not more than 2 lbs. These are easily 
moved about, easily retailed, and of just the size to place whole on 
the breakfast table. Detach the bars with their comb from a 
Stewarton super, and at once they are easily crushed and soiled, of 
such various weights as to be difficult of retail, and some too large 
to put upon a honey-dish. We therefore prefer the oblong rectangular 
hive, made so large that expansion and contraction are easily obtain¬ 
able, and upon which and in which sections may be fitted without 
loss of room, and of easy access to the bees. 
With the bar-frame hive, such as has been illustrated and described 
in this Journal, the art of supering can be practised with pleasure 
