JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August It, 1884. 
5G 
and press down a little, when the wax rises to the top in a pure state ; 
this gathered and again melted in a double vessel may be poured into 
any mould after the latter has been steeped in water. Where large 
quantities of combs require melting the Swiss wax-extractors sold by 
Messrs. Neighbour k. Sons are the best extractors I have used. A very 
simple plan is to tie all the combs into a bag with a weight, then put 
into the boiler; the wax oozes out and rises to top of water in a cake 
when cool, which may be remelted. This process, however, though 
recommended by many, deteriorates the quality of the wax. Heat has 
the same effect upon honey. So when the quality of either is to be 
retained never subject them to heat more than is necessary.—A Lanark- 
.SHiKE Bee-keeper.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate and Barnet .—Catalogue o f Bulls. 
B. S. AVilliams, Upper Holloway, London .—General Bulb Catalogue. 
*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. AVe 
request that no one will wiute 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 Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot replj^ to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return reiected communications. 
g 
Onion Unsatisfactory (G. S .).—Owing to the very hot weather the top 
were quite dried, but they appear to have been attacked with the fungus 
Peronospora Schleideniana, which is] very destructive in some seasons and 
districts. As your Onions are ripe, at least tho.se before us are, we should 
dry them at once, and remove and burn the tops. The bulbs, though small, 
will probably keep well. We can only advise you to sow next year in a pilot 
as far distant as possible from the site on which the crop has been grown 
this year. 
Carrots and Wireworm {Idem). — Gas lime spread between the rows o 
Carrots now will be of no benefit. It is useful against wireworm when dug 
into the ground in the autumn. We know a large garden from which the 
pest has been banished by the judicious use of gas lime at the period 
indicated. In sowing Carrots next year we should make deep and wide 
drills and fill them with wood ashes, and in this material sow the seeds. The 
greater the bulk of ashes the less in all probability will be the Carrots 
infested. If the ground be saturated now, and Early Nantes Horn Carrot 
seed sown, small clean useful roots will possibly be produced in late autumn. 
Keeping Hot-water Pipes Clean {F. J .).—Scrub the pipes well with hot 
soapsuds and soda, then when dry dress them with a mixture of lamp black 
and linseed oil, repeating the application as often as may be desirable to 
have them “ always clean and neat.” Clean piipes add much to the good 
appearance of the house in which they may be prominent. 
Old Primulas {Idem ).—We have had excellent two-year-old plants, biV 
they seldom grow and flower well for three seasons. Trim off all the flowe*" 
spikes and dead and dying leaves, then turn the plants out of their pots 
removing all the loose soil that comes away freely without seriously injuring 
the roots. This will be mostly in the upper surface of the ball; then rectify 
the drainage if needed, and add fresh soil. If the roots are not very nume¬ 
rous and half the soil is removed the plants can be replaced in the same 
pots ; but if there is a dense mass of roots and but little soil can be removed 
they may be placed in larger pots. A compost of loam, leaf soil, and wood 
ashes will suit them well, and the pots may be stood on ashes in a shaded 
position in the open air, or in a cold frame with the lights removed on fine 
nights for affording the plants the benefit of night dews. 
Hedychium Gardnerianum {J. M.). — This plant is of easy culture. It 
may either be potted in turfy loam with a little charred refuse to keep it 
porous and grown in a light greenhouse, or may be planted out in the bed 
of a conservatory. It requires very copioirs supplies of water during the 
.season of growth, a lesser quantity after flowering, yet sufficient to keep the 
foliage fresh till October, and may then be kept drier still, but not dust- 
dry throughout the winter. It is a strong-growing plant, and to see it to 
advantage must have plenty of room for its free development. 
Parsley-leaved Bramble {Cambridge ).—Any time from the end o^ 
October onwmrds to March is suitable for planting, provided the weather 
be suitable for the operation. Perhaps early in November is as good a 
time as any. Planting is done the same as planting Easpbenies. Pertile 
yet rather porous soil is the best, as the plants do not become established 
quickly in cold heavy land. This Bramble is good for covering walls or 
fences, or it may be trained in the form of arches over walks, or in any 
more convenient manner desired. When it commences bearing all that is 
necessary is to cut the portions out and retain the best of the young growths, 
as in growing Easpbenies. 
Rust on Vine Leaves {P. S. M.). —We do not think there is anything 
seriously the matter with your Vines. The leaf sent has a rusted appear¬ 
ance, but the powdery-looking substance is not a fungus. At some time or 
other there has been an exudation of moisture from the leaves and some 
rupturing of the tissues, the result, probably of sudden and extreme evapora¬ 
tion, which is often caused by leaving the lights closed too long in the morn¬ 
ing, and then throwing them wide open to reduce the too high temperature 
of the house. We cannot say the leaf is so healthy as it ought to be, but it 
is not attacked by any fungus. The white-flowered plant is Verbascum 
Chaixi, the other Euphorbia Lathyris. 
Something Wanted (IF. II.). —We often think if correspondents were a-s 
careful in stating their wants as we are in endeavouring to supply them that 
the information given would be more serviceable. We have to guess at 
much from time to time, but we scarcely dare venture to guess in this case. 
Your request we print exactly as we received it, and if you think there is 
anything omitted, and will supply what we regard as the “missing link)” 
your letter shall have our ready attention. We must confess our inability 
to answer satisfactorily the following ;—“ What would be the for winter and 
spring use, and what time to sow the seed for the plants to be bearing about 
the end of February ?” 
Troveren Frontignan Grape {A. J. B.). —We received the Grapes, but 
after your letter on page 114 was prepared for press, and as you did not ask 
our opinion, but appealed specially to Mr. Iggulden and other correspondents 
for information, we did not think it necessary to stop the press to append a 
note, but published the letter for the opinions of others as requested._ You 
will find Mr. Iggulden’s reply in another column. We are quite willing to 
express an opinion of this Grape, and to say that the correct name of the 
Muscat Trovdren Grape is that above given. This we have stated before, 
if not to yourself, to a correspondent writing from the same district. It is 
not a Muscat Grape, but appears to be an exaggerated form of_ the White 
Frontignan, the fruit being amber colour, occasionally covered with russety 
specks. It is crackling, juicy, and of excellent flavour; but for general 
usefulness bears no comparison with Muscat of Alexandria. Mr. Barron, in 
his “ Vines and Vine Culture,” describes Trovdren Frontignan as “first-^lass 
in quality, but scarcely worthy of cultivation,” and the “ more heat it re¬ 
ceives the higher the flavour and more unsightly the colour.” Venn’s Muscat 
does not always set well. There is no difference between this and the Black 
Muscat as grown at Chiswick, but if you find the former superior why not 
take up two rods if you wish to have two of the latter, or inarch one on 
“ Venn’s ? ” The quality of the fruit is first-class, but the Vine Is somewhat 
delicate, and the crops occasionally disappointing. 
Shading {A Learner). —You will by attentive observation learn as you 
get older when to shade plants beneficially. It is not easy to give precise 
instructions on the subject in the form of a reply. We seldom shade healthy, 
established, hardy plants out of doors ; but it is sometimes necessary to 
shade plants under glass. It is most needed in sudden changes from cloud 
to sunshine, and when anything has been done to the plants, such as 
potting, that has disturbed the reciprocal action between roots and foliage. 
It is also resorted to when we wish to preserve the bloom of a plant longer 
than we otherwise could hope to keep it, though we may thus somewhat 
injure the constitution of the plant. It will before long be seen that it is 
also needed in all delicate cases of propagation by cuttings. Its total neglect 
is often very prejudicial to plants. Here, for instance, is a plant fresh 
potted or partially disrooted a week ago; the weather has been dull every 
day since, but to-day the sun shines brightly, and, water as you will, every 
leaf flags. A little shading would have prevented all this mischief. But 
another mischief is sometimes produced by overshading, or continuing the 
shade longer than is necessary, and that is even the case when the plant 
could do without it. A vast number of people when they shade a plant 
never think of removing it until hours after the cause of shading is gone, and 
thus the shading enervates the whole system of the plant. All shading 
has the tendency to elongate or spindle out what previously existed. Use 
it therefore, but do not abuse it. 
Beurre d’Amanlis Pear {Yorkshire Vicar). — You have certainly the 
best of reasons to think highly of this Pear, since you say it is the “ only one 
that is bearing a full crop of fine fruit.” It is a hardy and useful Pear, but 
not in all soils of the first quality. It is not by any means so new as you 
appear to suppose. The origin of this Pear has been attributed by some to 
Van Mens, but we are informed by M. Prevost that it was introduced from 
Brittany to Normandy so early as 1805, by MM. Tiessd and Hubard, and that 
in M. Pr4vest’s opinion it is a native of the former country. Notwithstand¬ 
ing this statement, Bivort maintains that it was a seedling of A^an Mons, 
because a variety bearing the name of one of Van Mons’ seedlings, called 
Wilhelmine, was proved to be synonymous with Beurre d’Amanlis. Now, 
there is no doubt at all that Van Mons raised a variety which he called 
Wilhelmine, because it appears in his catalogue thus—“ 1030, Wilhelmine; 
par nous ; ” but that this is a totally different Pear from Beurrd d’Amanlis 
we are perfectly convinced from Diel’s description of it; and he receiv^ 
the sort direct from Van Mons himself. Diel describes it as a small fruit, 
roundish, 2 inches broad, and 2^ high, and ripening in November and 
December ! It is quite evident, therefore, that the Wilhelmine of Van Mons 
is not synonymous with Beurrd d’Amanlis ; but it is equally certain that all 
the varieties we know of in Belgian collections bearing that name have 
always proved to be the same as the subject now under notice. There is a 
variety of this with variegated leaves and fruit, and known on the continent 
as Beurrd d’Amanlis Panachee. The leaves are striped with yellow, aa is 
also the fruit, the latter being matked with broad longitudinal bands ol 
green and yellow alternately. In every other respect the tree and its fruits 
are identical with its type. 
The Danger of Sulphur in Vineries {S. F. II.). —We print your letter 
as a warning to others :—“ I have a house of Black Hamburgh, just colour¬ 
ing, badly infested with red spider. I fumigated the house with lime and 
sulphur ; the lime was slaked in a pail, and the sulphur sprinkled upon the 
lime as it slaked ; when the lime was cooling down a good sprinkling of 
sulphur was put upon it, and the pail and its contents left in the house infH 
morning. Eesults—every leaf upon the Vine burnt up, and every plant in 
the house destroyed. I have treated Vines as above for the red spider for 
over twenty years, but never with the same result. The sulphur had been 
stored in a room with sulphuric acid and carbolic acid for a long time. Will 
