JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ November 9 , is 82 
comb foundation, with a quarter of an inch clear space all round, the 
queen and drones being excluded by perforated zinc on the inner 
side. The back compartment contains two suspended crates of sec¬ 
tions 4J by 4y inches, which, are interchangeable, with the standard 
frames in the front, and also one dummy board. The outer walls of 
the hive are double, with 1 inch dead air space between. The hive 
stands on stout legs, is filled with entrance shades and carpet, and 
there is a spacious roof for supering. 
Dr. Benthall’s second-prize hive in this class is also worthy of 
notice. It is intended particularly for obtaining section honey at the 
sides of, and in the same direction, as the brood combs. The sections 
are placed in summer in the air space at the sides of the hive, and are 
enclosed, in accordance with a plan well known in America, by sides 
moving on hinges. The inner wall of the hive is perforated, the per¬ 
forations being fitted with zinc, which admits the worker bees only. 
A shutter is placed against this in winter, and the space filled with 
chaff. The floorboard and ends of the hive are lined with half-inch 
linoleum, made specially for the purpose. 
_ In the class for the best hive not exceeding lOs. 6<f. in price the 
silver medal was awarded to Mr. Blake for his British Standard 
Cottagers’Hive. This hive has a single wall, made of 1-inch deal, 
and contains ten frames of the British standard size, a roof with 
ample room for supering, a crate of fourteen 1-tb. sections fitted 
with entrance slides, two division boards and carpet, together with 
a floorboard. 
The first-prize observatory hive, exhibited by Mr. Gibbons of Hun- 
gerford, was an ordinary Standard bar-frame, with a moveable top 
provided with slits, in which any frame can be lifted up for observa¬ 
tion. The moveable top is arranged so that it can be brought just 
over any frame. 
Mr. Neighbour exhibited an extensive and excellent assortment of 
bee appliances. 
All the sections and honey offered for sale were purchased at good 
prices, and it is evident that there is an opening for a largely increased 
supply of honey in an attractive and marketable form. 
Edward Bartrtjm, 
Georoe Raynor, 
John N. Hooker, 
Henry Bligh. 
Ants and Bees. —Sir John Lubbock read an interesting paper on 
his favourite study, the Habits of Insects, at a recent meeting of the 
Linnsean Society. He mentioned that he had queen ants which had 
lived with him since 1874. They are now, therefore, no less than 
eight years old, and they had eggs last summer as usual. His oldest 
workers are seven years old. Alluding to the industry of bees, he 
gave particulars of an experiment by which he ascertained that the 
wasp for which he had provided honey began work at four o’clock 
in the morning, and went on without any rest or intermission till a 
•quarter to eight in the evening, during which time she paid Sir John 
116 visits. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset.— Catalogue of Gladioli. 
George Cooling & Son, Broad Street, Bath.— Catalogue of Roses. 
Fruit Trees , and Shrubs. 
William Etherington, Manor House, Swanscombe, Kent.— List oj 
C hrysanthem urns. 
*** 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. 
, The Fruit Manual ( Clericus ).—The new edition of the “ Fruit Manual ” 
is now in progress, and is expected to be published next spring. It will be very 
much enlarged, and consequently the preparation of it involves a great amount 
of labour. 
Heating Greenhouse (J. C. O'.).—If the house is a lean-to two rows of 
4 l «i C • ^ jes — a ® ow au 4 return—along the front and across one end will be 
sufficient. If it is a span-roof the pipes should be taken all round the house, 
ihree-inch pipes would exclude frost, but the larger size would enable a genial 
temperature to be maintained without hard firing. 
Cucumbers ( Vectis). —We do not think it would be of any use your apply¬ 
ing to the grower you name, as he does not sell seed nor is he likely to aid in 
the distribution of the variety he has selected. Nor is that variety exclusively 
adapted to the system of culture alluded to. Any prolific variety is suitable— 
■ the Cardiff Castle, for instance, raised by Mr. Pettigrew in the gardens of the 
Marquis of Bute. The raiser would, no doubt, inform you to whom he has 
supplied seed for distribution. 
Epiphyllums (A. M.). —The plants may be kept moderately dry at the 
roots, but not to cause the fleshy stems to shrivel. They may be placed in heat 
at any time now, and kept moist according to the period when they are required 
to flower. They are very beautiful when well grown, and may be had in beauty 
from the present time to Easter if a cool stove is provided for advancing their 
growth during the winter. A temperature ranging from 45° to 60° is suitable 
for them throughout the winter. 
Gros Colman and White Lady Downe’s Grapes (J. H. TV.).— The 
former is a strong-growing and productive Grape, with good-sized bunches and 
very large berries of good quality if grown in a warm house. If you can afford 
lateral space of 5 feet for the Vine you may include it in your collection. The 
white Lady Downe’s is too uncertain for being included in a small collection. 
Trya Vine of Alnwick Seedling, and if you can set the fruit (which you will 
probably succeed in doing) it will give you satisfaction. We will publish your 
note relative to the destruction of ants, in case any of our readers who may have 
been successful in extirpating them will state their methods for the benefit of 
you and others who are annoyed by these troublesome insects. 
Nitrate of Soda (S. Henry). —As you ask how much nitrate of soda you 
should use per acre we presume you require it for farm crops. Farmers find 
about 3 cwt. per acre a sufficient application to Wheat and cereal crops. The 
best time for applying it is in the spring. If used too liberally, and to crops 
already full and in good soil, it is apt to induce a too luxuriant growth of straw, 
if applied to vegetable crops in gardens about 3 ozs. per square yard is sufficient, 
and may be applied about once or twice during the early season of growth. For 
usmg as liquid manure from a quarter to half an ounce to a gallon of water is 
ample, but should not be used until the pots are filled with roots and the plants 
require more support than the soil affords them, nor should it be applied to 
garden or farm crops of any kind at this season of the year. 
Carbolic Acid v. Weeds (Idem). —Mr. Luckhurst, who has had much 
experience in destroying weeds in the manner suggested, has stated in our 
columns that half a pint of the acid diluted with a gallon of water destroys 
strong weeds of two or three years’ growth, and a third less acid to the same 
quantity of water is sufficiently powerful for small weeds. The water is first 
placed in a garden can with a fine rose, the acid measured and poured into it. 
No stirring or further mixing is requisite, but it is immediately poured over the 
weeds through the rose, care being taken to make the entire surface of the path 
wet in order to destroy the weeds. A gallon of water with the acid will do 
9 square yards of path. This will enable anyone to make a clear computation of 
the quantity of acid required to do a given area. Care must be taken not to let 
the acid touch the hands, clothes, or boots. You had better not use the acid 
for destroying weeds on land that has to be afterwards cropped, as sufficient to 
kill the weeds would also prevent the growth of the crops you might desire to 
cultivate. 
Grevillea robusta (Idem). —You have done right in cutting the plants 
down in preference to simply removing the leaves ; but we have a doubt if either 
process was necessary. It is not at all unusual for the tops of the plants to 
appear as if “ almost frosted,” and we do not think there has been frost in your 
district severe enough to injure these plants under glass this autumn. They are 
quite safe where the temperature is not below 40°, but 45° is preferable for 
keeping the plants healthy. 
Apple (Disappointed). —Although you have been as you say “de¬ 
ceived with this Apple, it is nevertheless a very useful variety. There are very 
few Apples that succeed alike well in all soils and localities. In one garden we 
have failed entirely in attempts to grow the Hawthornden, in another it was in 
every way satisfactory. We know a very large garden where Cellini refuses to 
grow; but on that account we should not be justified in condemning it, seeing 
that we are acquainted with a hundred other gardens where it flourishes 
admirably and bears heavy crops of handsome fruit. 
Veronica salicifolia alba (D. E., Bradford). —Although this plant has 
occasionally survived the winter in favourable positions, it cannot be regarded 
as hardy, and you had better take up such of your plants as you wish to preserve, 
pot them, and winter in a frost-proof pit or greenhouse. Small bushy plants 
established in pots are valuable for decorative purpose in the autumn and early 
winter months, their slender sprays being very elegant both on the plants and 
cut and arranged in vases. 
Climbers for a Conservatory (Rugby). —You do not state how many 
kinds or how many plants are required, nor whether you have a large or a small 
house, the space at command being of much importance in making a selection, 
as some very strong-growing kinds, though useful in a large house, w r ould be 
quite unsuitable for a small one. We can, therefore, only give you an approxi¬ 
mate reply, and your choice must be regulated by the dimensions of the house 
and the number of plants required. The following are six strong-growing 
sorts :—Tacsonia Yan-Volxemi, Bougainvillea glabra, Passiflora recemosa caerulea, 
Lonicera sempervirens, Cobasa scandens, and Bignonia speciosa. The following 
are good climbers of moderate growth, the six first being the dwarfest or slowest 
growing Lapagerias rosea and alba, Hardenbergia monophylla, Swainsonia 
Osborni, Rhodochiton volubile, Solanum jasminoides, Mandevilla suaveolens, 
Plumbago capensis, Rhynchospermum jasminoides, Jasminum grandiflorum, 
Kennedya Marryatt®, Habrothamnus elegans, Oestrum aurantiacum, Tecoma 
capensis, with the following added if the above are not sufficientBomaria 
Carderi, Sollya heterophylla, Hibbertia dentata, Clematis indivisa lobata, Ber- 
beridopsis corallina, and Akebia quinata. For growing in pots Convolvulus 
mauritanicus, Tropseolum azureum and Jarrattii, Othonna crassifulia, Fragaria 
indica, Pratia littoralis, Saxifraga sarmentosa, with the Clematis and Hibbertia 
named above, would be suitable. 
• f Cinerarias (G. IF. L.). —It is not necessary to stop the central growths of 
Cinerarias, provided the plants are grown in a cool temperature, the root- 
action active and the growth of the plants free, as under these conditions the 
plants branch naturally and form fine heads. The many thousands that are 
grown so well for Covent Garden Market are never stopped ; but occasionally 
when the plants are drawn unduly in a young state, or where dwarf flat 
specimens are needed for any particular purpose, the central growth is pinched 
out. This, however, is exceptional, the rule being as we have stated. The non¬ 
flowering of your plants was due to defective root-action, but whether caused 
by excessive wet, drought, or poverty of soil we have no data for determining. 
Fowl dung makes very stimulating liquid manure. Mix a peck with 40 gallons 
i 
