232 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 7, 1882. 
needed to insure their thorough ripening should be applied forthwith 
— i.e., fire heat to allow of a circulation of dry warm air. Ripe 
Grapes should be frequently examined and decayed berries removed, 
a dry airy atmosphere being the only preventive of mould. If the 
roots of late Grapes are in outside borders it will be necessary to 
protect them from heavy rains by covering with glass lights, wooden 
shutters, or tarpaulin. 
Cucumbers .—The necessity for fire heat will be determined by the 
weather. A minimum of 70° to 75° should be maintained in the day¬ 
time, and G5° at night. Shorter days and cooler nights will suggest 
earlier syringing and the earlier closing of the ventilators. Encourage 
the autumn fruiters, removing the first fruits together with male 
blossoms and tendrils, giving them the benefit of the full sunshine, 
and avoid morning syringing as much as possible. A sowing should 
be made at once to ensure a supply of fruit at Christmas onwards, 
Telegraph being one of the most reliable sorts. 
MUSHROOM HOUSE. 
To insure a supply of Mushrooms in winter the beds must be 
formed at once. The best materials are horse droppings direct from 
the stables mixed with short particles of straw, these not only 
increasing the bulk, but aiding in drying and maintaining the 
material longer in a fresh and undecomposed state, upon which 
depends the continuance of the beds in bearing. These materials, 
neither too wet as to decompose quickly, nor so dry as not to decom¬ 
pose at all, should be formed into a bed of 15 to 18 inches thickness, 
and beaten as firmly as possible. When the heat has risen and is on 
the decline press in the spawn when the temperature of the bed at 
the depth of 2 inches does not exceed 00°. When the temperature 
has declined to 75 Q put on 2 inches thickness of fibrous loam, beating 
it down hard, and smooth the surface with the back of a spade. In 
six weeks Mushrooms will appear, and the surface must be kept 
moist by sprinklings of tepid water, and a moist atmosphere secured 
by the damping of available surfaces. In order to a supply of Mush¬ 
rooms in winter we find a temperature of 55° to GO® essential. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Epiphyllums .—These useful winter-flowering plants which have 
been started into growth early in the season will now be coming into 
flower, and are very effective either as standard or pyi'amid-grafted 
plants, also as dwarf plants on their own roots. They do best in an 
intermediate house, or one in which a temperature of 55° to G5° is 
maintained artificially. We grow them in quantity, and find the 
plants very useful for decorative purposes, and for vase decoration 
the flowers when cut are always acceptable. 
Tree Carnations .—Every attention should be given to these, it being 
hardly possible to have the plants too strong. They should be housed 
without much further delay, assigning them a light airy position in a 
house where they will have a temperature of 50° to 55° by artificial 
means, in which they will flower freely during the winter months, 
and be highly appreciated for buttonholes, &c., by their delicious 
fragrance. 
Mignonette .—This should be encouraged to make vigorous growth 
by keeping the plants near the glass and shifting them into larger 
pots as they require it. If aphides attack them fumigate moderately 
on two or three consecutive evenings. Remove all flower spikes for 
the present, and tie out the growths as they advance, keeping them 
well furnished to the base of the plants or the top of the pots. 
Pelargoniums .—Plants that were cut back some weeks ago and 
have now produced fresh growth should be shaken out and repotted. 
If they have been in 8-inch pots they should be placed in G-inch pots, 
trimming the roots a little and removing most of the old soil. Good 
fibrous yellow loam, with a fifth of well-decayed manure and a sprink¬ 
ling of sand, is the most suitable compost. Pot firmly and place in a 
frame or pit, where they should be kept rather close and sprinkled 
occasionally for a few days, after which they can hardly be kept too 
cool and dry provided frost be excluded. The latest-flowered plants 
should at once be pruned, placing them in a frame or pit where they 
will be kept rather dry until they have broken. 
Ilardwooded plants that are being grown for specimens should 
have their growths regulated and the plants trained in proper shape. 
If there should be a trace of mildew promptly dust with flowers of 
sulphur, but be careful to keep it from the roots of the plants, where 
it is certain to cause their death. It is necessary to house all hard- 
wooded plants upon the first appearance of frost. Any plants need¬ 
ing larger pots should be shifted without delay, so that they may 
become well established before winter. 
Azaleas that were started early and have completed the growth, 
also set the buds, should be placed in a cool house to enjoy a season 
of rest preparatory to their being put in heat for early flowering. 
Plants that have been stood outdoors to harden the growth should 
be moved inside before danger is to be apprehended from heavy 
rains or frost, similar remarks applying to other description of hard- 
wooded plants, including Camelias, which are questionably exposed 
to outdoor influences. They certainly should be housed before the 
roots are saturated by heavy rains—a prolific source of the roots 
perishing and the buds dropping. 
Medinilla magnifica grows strongly enough in a moist stove, but does 
not flower freely, and should now be given drier treatment, ceasing 
to syringe the foliage. When the wood is well ripened it flowers 
freely, not only from the current year’s growth but from the old 
wood down to the base. Achimenes that have nearly ceased flower¬ 
ing should not be thrust anywhere out of sight, but be kept in a 
temperature as warm as it was requisite to grow them in, giving 
water moderately until the roots are fully ripened and the tops die 
gradually. Gloxinias require similar treatment— i.e., sufficient light 
and warmth, with water to keep the soil moist until the tubers are 
matured and the tops have gradually died. Any choice varieties may 
be increased by inserting the leaves, which now they are matured 
are less liable to damp off. They may be inserted four or more 
round the side of a G-inch pot in sandy loam and peat, the pot being 
surfaced with half an inch of sand. 
Winter-flowering Begonias should be given every attention. Any 
needing potting must be attended to at once ; but unless the pots 
are small and very full of roots this is not desirable, as the plants are 
most useful in 7 or 8-inch pots. Dipladenias required to flower early 
in spring should be kept drier at the roots for a few weeks and then 
be cut back, giving at the same time a thorough cleansing with an 
insecticide. When they have made fresh growth remove about half 
the old soil, returning them to the same pots in good fibrous peat, 
and secure to the trellis. As the young shoots extend they can be 
trained to strings near the glass through the winter. Plants of 
Clerodendron Balfourianum that flowered early, and have since been 
pushed on to make growth, should be encouraged with liquid manure 
to make growth up to October, when the supply of water should be 
gradually diminished. 
Most Amaryllises will be completing their growth ; and although 
enduring a low temperature it must not be given until the growth is 
completed and thoroughly ripened, or they will not flower freely : 
indeed to grow these fine plants well they should have a light and 
well-ventilated position, so that the growth through the whole course 
of its formation will be thoroughly solidified. 
n • ■ v ■ ; - : i „ i - i . i . ,-rr. i . i- r : r _ i _ . . . . . _ i-...... ... - i- . ■ 
BK 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 1 
BEE-KEEPING RETROSPECTIVE. 
We do not intend in this paper to go back over the honey 
seasons of the last eight years, telling of all the causes which 
have separately and collectively caused a revolution in the bee¬ 
keeping world. These shall be treated of in later papers when 
our work for the year is done, and when by the cheerful fireside, 
our bees all snugly wintered, we can pass a few quiet hours 
and learn from the doings of the past what to do, how to do it, 
and when to do it, in the future. Yet our glance is retrospec¬ 
tive, looking back over the last few months of the fast waning 
season. Although we all have learned much about bees which 
we did not know before—for who can keep bees for a single 
season without learning many a lasting lesson ?—yet to one and 
all, to the practised bee-keeper and to the novice, the season has 
been one of disappointment. 
