428 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Novenrber 6, 1884. 
I obtained two hives of condemned bees, of which one was a cast and 
the other a virgin swarm. I joined both hives together and put them 
into straw skep, where I fed them up to 25 lbs. weight. During the 
winter of 1883-84 I made a Broughton-Carr hive. The first week in 
March I began stimulative feeding. The last week in March I applied 
to you for information on transferring, which was given me on page 273 
of vol. viii. ; but a mistake was made in supposing that I had had 
fourteen years’ experience, instead of which I was only fourteen years of 
age. My hive in the spring was very backward ; it had plenty of food 
and a good many bees, but when I transferred them to the bar-frame hive 
at the end of April I found only four or five patches of brood. I put a 
sectional super on with one row of six sections the second week in May, 
and about a fortnight later another row. Two days after they threw oS 
a swarm which went into the garden wall. The next morning 1 made a 
large hole in the wall, and intended to try to get them out. Accordingly 
I went with smoker, veil, ladder, &c., but to my surprise found them 
gone. The following is the 
Balance Sheet. 
Sugar . 
Foundations, ic. 
£ s. d. 
0 7 3 
0 2 0 
Honey sold 
0 9 3 
£ s. d. 
0 G G 
The bees and bar-hive did not cost me anything. 
1 only had 10 lbs. of honey—viz., six 1 lb. sections, and 4 lbs. from 
the body of the hive, and only sold 5 lbs. The hive was very weak all 
through the summer, never covering more than eleven frames ; and as 
one of the hives was a virgin swarm I must have had an old queen. As 
my own hive has done so badly it is but fair for me to state that some 
others under my charge have not. An old stock had 55 lb=. of honey, an 
artificial swarm 45 lbs., and a natural swarm 25 lbs., which, considering 
the locality and size of the hive (14 by 84 inches), is very good. This 
autumn I have saved twelve hives from a cruel death, and hope next 
autumn to save many more, and so help to extend the profitable as well 
as humane system of modern bee-keeping.— H. Brown, West Essex. 
TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 
Charles Turner, Slough .—List of Chrysanthemums. 
*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 write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Con-espondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions rel.it- 
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 reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books (Z7. It. B.). —We know of no book that gives all the information 
you require, but Professor Church’s work “ Food ” (published by Messrs. 
Chapman & Hall) may possibly be of service to you. We do not re¬ 
member the price, but the work is quite inexpensive. 
“Fruit Manual” (J. A'.).—The “Fruit Manual” does not specify the 
proper time for gathering the different kinds of fruit; but in the case of 
some kinds requiring special treatment such information is afforded, and is 
given in the case of Williams’ Bon Chretien and other Pears. Experience, how¬ 
ever, is necessary for determining the exact time for gathering, as fruits differ 
considerably according to soil and climate. 
Culture of Trichinium Mangles! (J. ii.).—This beautiful little plant is 
not very easily grown, but a few skilled cultivators have been very successful 
with it by practising the following system. The pots should be small 
thumbs, thoroughly drained, and the compost consist of peat and sand, 
while on the surface after the plant is potted should be placed a layer of 
silver sand to be kept constantly moist. The temperature of a greenhouse 
is the most suitable, choosing a position not too much exposed to the sun, 
and airy but free from draughts. Water can be freely supplied if the pots 
are well drained. Several of these small pots maybe plunged in a pan if a 
good mass is required. 
Seaweed and Spent Hops ( G. E. F.).—The seaweed will be excellent for 
digging into the soil for the production of all kinds of vegetable crops for 
market. The spent hops will also be useful, but perhaps especially so for 
spreading on the surface between the rows of different vegetables in summer, 
to prevent the escape of moisture, and thus reduce considerably the necessity 
for watering. We found such covering of great value during the hot and 
dry weather of the present year. 
Chrysanthemums (.4 Young Beginner). —We have received your letter, 
and the subject shall have our early attention. 
Beds for Ranunculi and Anemones (JJ. C.). —Choose an open situa¬ 
tion, but sheltered from winds and where the soil is rich, deep, and 
moist. They should be in the full sun, and not have any shade whatever, 
though an artificial shading at the time of flowering will enhance their 
beauty and prolong the flowering. Keep the roots cool by rich surface¬ 
mulching. and watering freely in dry weather after they begin to button or 
show for flowering. Beds of these are not nearly so frequently met with as 
their merits deserve. 
Furnishing Vases {D. E.). —Furnishing vases with cut branches of 
evergreens is solely a question of taste and material. All that can be use¬ 
fully said on the subject is that the soil must be firm and moist, the sprays 
tastefully arranged and removed as they lose their fresh appearance, others 
being inserted. Bulbs may be planted in the same vases, also Wallflowers 
and such dwarf spring-flowering plants as may be taken up from the borders. 
In mild showery weather evergreen sprays keep fresh for a long time ; in dry 
weather they need more frequent renewal. 
Dressing Fruit Trees in Pots {J. E.). —The trees should be dressed in 
winter with an insecticide, than which there are now so many and all 
efficacious for the purpose, some of the best being the good old Gishurst 
compound, nicotine soap. Fir tree oil, &c. The trees shonld be dressed so 
soon as the leaves have fallen, applying with a brush to every part, being 
careful not to dislocate the buds. The trees are the better plunged outdoor- 
in an open situation for a few weeks when the leaves give indications of 
falling, and not taking them indoors until the turn of the year. It is best 
to fumigate the house before the blossoms expand if there is any trace of 
aphis, and repeat if necessary so as to eradicate the pests before the flowers 
open, and so avoid the necessity of having to resort to an insecticide whilst 
the trees are in blossom. 
Eucharis amazonica for Christmas {F. H .).—Continue the plants in 
heat until they have completed growth, as they will by this time, having 
been plunged in bottom heat early in September, gradually withdrawing 
from the hotbed, and keeping them rather cool and dry, but not to cause 
serious flagging, and in plenty of light until the early part of December, 
when they should be returned to the bottom heat (80° to 90°), and the top 
heat kept at G5° to 75° by artificial means by night and day respectively, 
affording liquid manure at the roots. The plants will flower in about three 
weeks, provided, of course, buds were formed or exist in embryo in the 
bulbs. If the plants are now growing freely and have not completed the 
growth, do not remove from the bottom heat, but keep them well supplied 
with liquid manure until the third week of this month, and then withhold 
water for a fortnight, and commence watering again about twenty-one days 
before the plants are wanted in flower. It would have been much better had 
the plants been given more time to make and complete growth before being 
rested and again pushed into growth. 
Growing Sweet Peas {Idem). —The Sweet Peas now up strongly in boxes 
should be jDotted off, three plants in 4-inch to be transferred to 7-inch for 
flow-ering, or five in 6-inch to be transferred to 9-inch for blooming, shifting 
them when they have become established in the smaller size, and before the 
roots become very much matted around the sides of the pots. When in the 
flowering pots keep well supplied with liquid manure, close to the glass 
and freely ventilated so as to insure a sturdy habit. 
Raspberries and Strawberries for Succession {C. B.). —Summer-bearing 
Raspberries ripen pretty much at the same time, and a succession can only 
be had by planting some canes in a sunny, and others in a more shaded and 
cooler position. AVe know of none to excel Carters’ Prolific, dwarf and 
sturdy ; Prince of Wales, tall and productive; and if you wish a yellow- 
variety the Yellow Antwerp. The best of autumn bearers, all the canes 
being cut to the ground annually, are Belle de Font nay and October 
Red, the young growths of which should be well thinned out in the spring. 
The best method of prolonging the Strawberry season as long as possible is 
to plant the early sorts in warm and the later in cool positions. One of the 
earliest Strawberries is the Black Prince, but the fruit is small; and good for 
succession are Keen’s Seedling, Yicomtesse Hericart de Thury. President, 
Sir Joseph Paxton, Dr. Hogg, Helena Gloede, and Loxford Hall Seedling. 
Some at least of the three varieties last named to be planted in cool and 
partially shaded positions, such as the north sides of walls that stand east 
and west, or other suitable places. 
Vines Infested with Mealy Bug (Trihe). —Cut all the Grapes with a 
piece of wood, and place in bottles of clear rain water with a few bits of 
charcoal in each, and keep in a cool dry place, placing the bottles in a slant¬ 
ing position so that the bunches hang clear of the bottles. They will keep 
quite as well in this way as on the Vines, and the latter will be clear for 
operating against the mealy bug. Get some cans full of rain water, those 
holding three gallons are best, and to every thrte-gallon potful add a wine- 
g.assful of petroleum, and with this syringe the Vines thoroughly, w-etting 
every part of the foliage, the rods, and woodwork of the house. Repeat in 
the course of four days, and again so soon as the leaves have fallen, which, 
as they drop, must be cleared aw-ay and burned. It is necessary that the 
petroleum be kept thoroughly mixed with the w-ater whilst it is being 
applied, which may be done by one person stirring sharply with a broom 
handle, whilst another person applies it to the Vines ; or, if only one person 
performs the work, first fill the syringe and squirt a few times sharply into 
the watering-pot, and afterwards apply alternate squirts to the Vines and 
into the watering-pot. When the leaves are all off prune, and, removing che 
loose bark, wash the Vines with soapy w-ater at 120° to 140°, employing 8 ozs. 
of soft soap to a gallon of water, and paint the whole of the woodwoik of the 
house with petroleum, moving the plants out of the w ay, so that the petro¬ 
leum unailuted does not fall upon them, and limewash the walls. Then 
dress the Vines with some approved insecticide. Before the Vines are 
started syringe them and the house with the petroleum and water, and keep 
a sharp look-out for the pest in the early stages of growth and destroy with 
the hand, continuing the look-out right through the growing season. 
Grapes Rusting {J. It .).—The Grapes are badly rusted, due no doubt to 
a chill consequent on sudden and extreme evaporation. This usually 
