November 2,1882 ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
415 
inch from their extremities, as shown at H, fig. 67. This will 
leave no chance of the bees propolising the frames to the sides of 
the hives. Two dummies or dividers should be made of three- 
quarter-inch stuff 14^ inches long and 8^ inches deep, and should 
be nailed to the top bars similar to those made for the frames, only 
in their case the bars need not be slit up as for the foundation. 
A piece should be cut out of the centre of the bottom of the divider 
to correspond with the opening in the hive front, also to allow a 
passage at the back of the frames to the feeder, as T in fig. 68. 
In another letter we will speak of the roof, of the feeding arrange¬ 
ment, and of winter and summer arrangement of the hive.— 
P. H. P. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Dickson & Robinson, 12, Old Millgate, Manchester.— Catalogue of 
Hoses. 
Bruant, Poitiers, Prance.— List of Neio Begonias. 
J. L. Watson, Manor Road, Gravesend.— List of Bulbs. 
E. Grill, Victoria Pernery, Lynton, North Devon.— List of British 
and Exotic Ferns. 
Louis Van Houtte, Ghent, Belgium.— Catalogue of Hardy Herba¬ 
ceous Plants, Boses, and Fruit Trees. 
^£>L 
(TO CORRESPONDENTS.) 
~W§ 
MlM 
*** 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. 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. 
Black Hamburgh Grapes (J. Glmve ).—The bunch, of which you have 
sent us a photograph, and which you stated weighed 4 lbs. lOJ ozs., and the 
berries good and well finished, was a very good one indeed, and highly creditable 
to you as a cultivator. 
Plunging Hyacinths (Doubtful). —You have nothing to fear in burying 
the pots in the open air with cocoa-nut fibre refuse. They will be far better 
there than in the greenhouse. Nor is a cold frame necessary. The finest 
Hyacinths that are exhibited in London every year are buried 5 or 6 inches deep 
with the material above mentioned in the open air. Care must be taken that 
the pots are not stood on soil that is full of worms, but rather on a very hard 
surface impenetrable by worms, or on a thick layer of sharp ashes. 
Gardener’s Appointment (W. D.). —Your letter of last week was not 
preserved ; and as you have not repeated the names of your past and present 
employers, we are unable to make the notification you requested. Full and 
accurate particulars, with plainly written names and addresses, are indispensable 
in cases of this kind. Last week you omitted your own name; this week you 
have omitted the name and address of your late employer. 
Rose Catalogue (Rosarion). —We presume you mean the Catalogue of 
the National Bose Society, which we think can be had from the Bev. H. H. 
D’Ombrain, Westwell Yicarage, Ashford, Kent, in return for seven penny stamps. 
We do not understand what you'mean relative to the publication of “our 
observations in the spring.” If you will explain the nature of the “ observa¬ 
tions ” we will endeavour to answer your question. 
Roses for Arches (F. J.). —The free-growing Ayrshire Boses, such as 
Alice Grey, Bennett’s Seedling, and Splendens, are suitable for covering arches 
and arbours, as also are the Boursault Boses Amadis, elegans, and inermis. You 
may add also the evergreen Rose Fdlicitd perpfituA These are all free, indeed 
more or less rampant growers, and are very effective when covered with their 
great clusters of fiowers. If you desire Boses less floriferous, but produce better 
blooms over a longer period, plant such varieties as Gloire de Dijon, Belle 
Lyonnaise, Reine Marie Henriette, Clieshunt Hybrid, with the climbing forms 
of Victor Verdier, Jules Margottin, Bessie Johnson, and Charles Lefebvre, also 
the vigorous-growing Madame Clemence Joigneaux. You do not say how many 
you require, tut probably we have named sufficient. 
Vines and Brambles (Idim). —The instructions to which you refer on 
planting Vines are quite sound. A method of planting in summer which is not 
named in the work will not, we presume be suitable in your case. Both the 
mixtures to which you allude are good when properly applied, but we do not 
find it necessary to use either of them, nor to smear the rods with any pigment. 
You cannot err by planting the Parsley-leaved Bramble that was referred to 
last week. 
Culture of Cypripedium Calccolus (C. D.). —The plant concerning 
which you inquire is a native of Britain, and therefore quite hardy ; but it may 
be advantageously grown in a frame, and, if it is desired, in a cool house, as it 
may be then had in flower earlier in the season. The compost should consist of 
peat, fibrous loam, and sand, with a few pieces of rough limestone or sand, drain¬ 
ing the pits thoroughly. The pots can be plunged in ashes, cocoa-nut fibre 
refuse, or other light material. During the winter very little water will be 
needed, but it is best not to allow the soil to become dust-dry. If it is desired 
to grow the plant out of doors, a well-drained and moderately sheltered site on 
the shady side of a rockery should be selected, where with other hardy terrestrial 
Orchids it will give little trouble. The variety you name differs only from the 
species in the larger size of the flowers, and similar treatment suits both. They 
can be either planted or potted at the present time. 
Culture of Cassia corymbosa (Z. It .).—The plant of which you sent 
a spray is a native of Buenos Ayres, and was introduced to this country at the 
close of the last century. It is a member of the natural order Leguminos®, and 
bears the name given above. It succeeds well in a greenhouse or other cool 
house, and also does well out of doors in the summer ; but it is not hardy, and 
it would not be safe in a border during the winter unless the situation is very 
warm and sheltered. A compost of turfy loam, a little well-decayed manure, 
leaf soil, and sand meets its requirements; but it will grow fairly well in almost 
any ordinary garden soil. Your plant is in excellent health, the foliage being 
remarkably vigorous. The best plan would be to transfer it to a conservatory, 
where it could be trained to a wall, pillar, or roof. 
Exhibiting Berry-bearing Plants (F.D. C.). —It is impossible for us 
to answer your question without knowing the stipulations of the schedule of the 
show at which you propose to compete. The plants may or may not be eligible, 
everything depending on the intentions of the committee, which either are, or 
ought to be, defined in the schedule. For an answer to your other question 
write to Mr. Cannell, Swanley, Kent. 
Grapes Shanking (Sigma). —There is no doubt the Vines would be in¬ 
jured by the ruthless defoliation of last autumn, and on that account ought to 
have been cropped more lightly and have had better attention this year. Over¬ 
cropping in this case is the immediate cause of shanking. This, however, is a 
less calamity than the cause of it—illness. Cut off all the worst bunches, and 
remove the bad berries from the others promptly. Remove also all weak and 
superfluous growths or laterals at once, in order that the strongest and best can 
have full exposure to the light to facilitate their maturation. If you could also 
remove a portion of the soil from the border (if it is old) down to the roots, add 
fresh loam, and mulch with manure, you would do all that is practicable to 
restore the lost vigour of the Vine. 
Cissus discolor (Idem ).—This is the name of the plant of which you have 
sent an imperfect leaf. It is a stove plant, requiring light porous soil, such as 
equal parts of turfy loam, peat, and leaf soil, with a free admixture of charcoal. 
When grown in a shaded position in a moist warm stove the foliage is very beau¬ 
tiful in the summer. Most of the leaves fall in the winter, and the roots must 
then be kept rather dry, but by no means dust-dry, and the plants in a tempera¬ 
ture of 60°. Repotting or top-dressing, whichever may be needed, should be 
done in the spring when growth is commencing. 
Gypsum for Peach Border (J. £.).—It is not possible for anyone to 
state definitely how much gypsum you may incorporate with your Peach 
border without a knowledge of the constituents of the soil. If it is deficient in 
lime a quarter of a pound of gypsum mixed with each square yard of soil would 
be beneficial, or the same quantity spread on the surface and pointed in, but it 
will not act as a preventive of the Peach mildew. Brehaut’s “ Modern Peach 
Pruning” is published at this office, price 3.s. 6d., post free 3.s. 8 d. Brehaut’s 
“ CordonTraining ” is published by Longmans, but we do not know the price 
of the work. 
Grape-Growing for Market (II. A'.).—Grapes for market are grown in 
the same manner as they are grown in private gardens. Mr. Taylor’s work 
which you possess gives sound information on Vine culture, but it refers more 
particularly to Vines grown on what is termed the extension system, which, 
although very good when well carried out, may not be the form that you will 
adopt. Mr. Taylor grows splendid Grapes, but his crops are not so heavy as 
those of Mr. Witherspoon of Chester-le-Street, whose Vines are confined to 
single rods, nor of Mr. Thomson of Clovenfords, who trains two rods from the 
same Vine as a rule, and in some cases more, the rods being about 3 feet apart. 
Mr. Thomson has written an excellent work on Vine culture, which is published 
by Blackwood A Sons, and our Vine manual (3s. 3 \dl) describes several methods 
of pruning and training Vines. Whether any one or all these works will be 
sufficient for making you competent as a Grape-grower it is impossible for us 
to say, as everything depends on your aptitude for turning published instructions 
to practical account. 
Salting Asparagus Beds (A. B. E.).— We do not apply salt to our 
Asparagus beds in the winter as the soil is quite wet enough without it, but we 
dress the beds in spring and early summer, giving sufficient for preventing the 
growth of weeds. Before dressing the beds in November we carefully remove a 
portion of the surface soil, and the manure we add, being partially decomposed, 
is allowed to decay on the beds, thus forming a rich light medium in which 
Asparagus delights. 
Culture of Chionodoxa Lucilice (M. H. R .).—We have frequently 
answered queries concerning this plant, and can only repeat that it is quite 
hardy in the south of England and by no means difficult to grow, succeeding as 
well as the common hardy Scillas in ordinary light soil where it is not exposed 
to excessive wet. When grown in clumps in the borders it is very pretty and 
flowers freely. 
Gardenias Unhealthy (IV. (?.).—If you have sent us a fair sample of the 
plants they are certainly far from being satisfactory. We should first of all repot 
them, removing any loose soil from the roots, and place them in clean well-drained 
pots smaller than those they are now in, using a compost of light turfy loam, 
fibrous peat, and leaf soil in equal parts, with a free admixture of charcoal 
broken small and silver sand. We should then plunge the plants if possible in a 
bottom heat of 85 c to 90°, and apply water with great care, giving sufficient to 
keep the soil healthily moist without saturating it. This, with judicious 
syringings governed by the state of the weather, and a temperature of 70° as a 
minimum, would induce fresh root-action. This accomplished we should prune 
the plants rather severely, removing at least all such growths as you have 
enclosed, and should then expect healthy shoots and dark green foliage to 
follow. This effected, the plants could be kept clean and healthy by copious 
supplies of water, frequent syringings, and a very moist warm atmosphere. 
Pears Cracking ( W. II., Eastbourne).— The precise cause of the cracking 
of your Pears is not easy to determine. The fruit is usually most liable to be 
injured in this manner when the trees are growing in poor sandy soil, but we 
have often seen them seriously affected when the soil has been good. In this 
case we attribute the evil to frost in spring injuring the tissue of the fruit and 
depriving it of its elastic or expansive power; hence the ruptures, which injure 
if they do not destroy the fruit. Again, we suspect that imperfect fertilisation 
often results in the fruit cracking, as few fruits that are seriously injured have 
sound and fertile seeds, while those specimens which are sound on one side and 
split on the other, usually have more or less sound kernels on the sound side 
