JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January II, 18?3. j 
39 
and ventilation tend to ward off the swarming fever. In wishing 
the bee-keeping community a happy and prosperous year I may 
say for their encouragement that seasons remarkable for swarm¬ 
ing are generally remarkable for honey-gathering ; that the 
weather which multiplies swarms fills the flowers with nectar and 
hives with honey. The apiarians of England are now anxious to 
have such a season, and ready to take advantage of it. When it 
comes many young bee-keepers will have a new experience, and 
many older ones will have stories to tell of greater success than 
they have yet known. —A. Pettigrew, Bowdon. 
British Bee-keepers’ Association. —The next quarterly con¬ 
versazione will be held in the board-room of the Royal Society for 
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, at 105, Jermyn Street (near 
Piccadilly Circus), London, S.W., at G r.M., on Wednesday, January 
24th. Subject for discussion—“ The Best Means of instructing 
Cottagers in Bee-keeping.” To be introduced by the Rev. W. E. 
Burkitt, of Buttermere Rectory, Hungerford.— Herbert R. Peel, 
Eon. Sec. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Edmund Phillip Dixon, Hull .—Catalogue of Garden and Farm Seeds 
for 1883. 
E. Mount, 154, Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park .—Catalogue of 
Horticultural Buildings. 
Sutton it Sons, Reading .—Pocket Garden Calendar for 1883. 
William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross .—Catalogue of Flower and 
Vegetable Seeds. 
S. Dixon & Co., 34, Moorgate Street, London .—Catalogue of Flower 
and Vegetable Seeds. 
Kelway it Son, Langport, Somerset .—Annual for 1883. 
*** 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. 
Pruning a Black Alicante Vine (A Young Gardener ).—According to 
your note the Vine at 4 feet from the ground has produced two canes each 
10 feet long. The sample of wood you have sent is excellent and well ripened. 
A length of from 4 to 5 feet of such wood may be safely left for bearing fruit, 
hut it does not follow that all the bunches that are produced should be per¬ 
mitted to remain and ripen. 
Seedling Dipladenia (J. G., Bristol ).—A plant such as you describe 
would be well worth preserving, for we do not know one of “ shrubby habit,” 
and it would prove valuable for culture in pots if, as you say, the flowers are 
larger than those of I). boliviensis. Send us a flower and leaf. 
Mushrooms for the Million (T. C. and others).—The articles which 
have appeared in this Journal under the above heading will be published, with 
some additional matter on the subject, in manual form in the course of a week 
or two ; indeed the matter is now in hand, and will be completed as speedily as 
possible. 
Covering Walls in Orchard House (TF„ Surrey ).—We have no doubt 
you could grow Figs and probably also Pears on the wails, but Apiicots would 
be less liable to succeed. You do not state the height of the walls, and it depends 
on this and the height of the trees in the centre as to what extent the former 
would be shaded. We should plant strong cordon Pears 2 feet apart and train 
them obliquely, affording them the lightest position, a little shade being less 
injurious to Figs than to Pears. 
Poultry Manure (F. II., Guernsey ).—An addition of dry soil, so that the 
manure may be rendered friable enough to be passed through a fine sieve to 
enable you to distribute it evenly and thinly, will be much better than an appli¬ 
cation of sulphuric acid, and much cheaper. The addition of nitric acid would 
add to its value, just as an addition of any other plant-food would, but it is not 
usual to add nitrogen in any form to manure so rich in that substance as poultry 
manure is. Moreover, it is far cheaper in the form of nitrate of soda or sulphate 
of ammonia than nitric acid. 
Dissolving Bones ( Idem). —Eighty-five pounds of acid and 15 lbs. water 
used to damp the bones is the usual amount of acid employed by manufacturers. 
To render the resulting superphosphate dry sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris) 
should be used—not ordinary lime. The above manure should be applied to 
the surface in spring, and forked in very lightly. We do not advise you to mix 
this with, the poultry manure. 
Potatoes for Planting an Acre (Vaux). —The weight of tubers 
requisite for planting an acre depends entirely on the size of the sets that you 
intend using. At the distance yon name about eleven thousand sets will be 
needed. If you weigh a sample of those you propose planting, say I cwt., or any 
other given quantity, you can determine with considerable exactitude the weight 
of seed to purchase. 
Forest Tree Seeds (Idem). —As the firm you name is unable to supply 
seeds of the American trees you require, we can only suggest that you apply to 
such American firms as Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, Mount Hope, Rochester; 
P. Henderson & Co., 35, Cortland Street, New York ; or Hovey & Co., 1G, Market 
Street, Boston. 
Insects on Fruit Trees (IF. J.). — If you dissolve 4 ozs. of softsoap, 
nicotine soap, or Gishurst compound in a gallon of water, then add a lump of 
soda as large as a walnut, and a wineglassful (two fluid ounces) of petroleum, 
apply this to the trees as hot as the hand can be borne in it, scrubbing the branches 
well and working the solution into the crevices, we think few insects will 
survive; or you might try the tar remedy, as described for Vines by Mr. D. 
Murray on page 547 ; or what has been suggested as an improvement on it by 
a correspondent on page 596, last volume. With all these remedies at your 
disposal it will be your own fault if the insects are not destroyed. 
Orchard House Ventilation (7. £.). —The method shown so clearly in 
your sketch we think very good, and we have no doubt it will answer your 
expectations. Relative to the Peaches, Alexander has large flowers and round 
glands ; Nectarine Peach large flowers, small kidney-shaped glands ; Early 
Ascot small flowers and round glands. The Dymond Peach has large flowers, 
but we have no record of the glands, nor of the flowers and glands of the 
Marquis of Downshire. Probably the nurseryman from whom you obtained the 
trees would supply you with the information, or possibly some of our readers 
may be able to do so. 
Wintering Fuchsias (Wo^d Broughton). —Such old plants as you describe 
may be wintered safely under a stage of a greenhouse from which frost is ex¬ 
cluded. They are no worse, but better for losing their leaves, as light then is 
not needed, and only sufficient water for keeping the shoots fresh and firm. 
This, if given about once a week, will suffice. In the spring when the buds 
commence swelling, moderate pruning will be required, and shortly afterwards, 
when the growths are from a quarter to half an inch long, the plants should be 
shaken out of the pots, removing all the old soil from them, repotting in fresh 
compost in smaller pots, and by syringing daily in bright weather and applying 
water judiciously, cautiously at first until fresh roots have formed, and after¬ 
wards more copiously, you will soon have fine plauts if they are grown in a 
light position. They can afterwards be shifted into larger pots or planted in 
the garden according to the purpose for which you may require them. The 
publication of this and the following reply was accidently omitted last week. 
Pruning Black Currants (.4 B/dstol Inquirer). —You say you have been, 
accustomed to prune Black Currants the same as Gooseberries are pruned, but 
now you have taken charge of bushes that you describe as being grown on the 
“ long-rod system,” and you wish to know which course to pursue. Our advice 
is that you follow the “ long-rod system ” and relinquish the practice of spurring, 
which is unnatural as applied to this fruit. We know Black Currants may be pro¬ 
duced on the short-spur system just as Morello Cherries and Peaches can by the 
same method of pruning, but full crops of the finest fruit are more certain and 
easily obtained by retaining the young wood when the growths have been suffi¬ 
ciently thinned for the foliage to be fully exposed to the light and air. Thin out 
the branches of the Black Currants if the bushes are crowded, and encourage the 
production of young wood. These annual shoots do not shorten beyond re¬ 
moving the tips from any that are growing out of place, or for imparting to the 
bushes a neat appearance, and you will then have larger crops of finer fruit than 
you can obtain under your former method of pruning. Black Currants are not 
suitable for growing as cordons for covering a wall. They will cover a wall well 
enough, but should be trained like Peaches—that is, have a selection of the best 
young shoots secured to the wall in the summer at distances of about 6 inches 
apart, removing the others entirely, and not shortening those retained. Certainly 
try both the methods of pruning Gooseberries to which you refer, and you will 
gain experience that will be useful. The right method of pruning can only be 
determined by the condition of the bushes. Some are under-pruned and others 
over-pruned, and you will act wisely to find out the method that answers the 
best with those in your keeping. 
Propagation of Chimonanthus fragrans ( F.H ., Devon).— This shrub 
is very difficult to propagate, and it is said that Professor Lindley once offered a 
guinea for every cutting that could be rooted. That mode of increase is, how¬ 
ever, very unsatisfactory, though a few instances of success have been recorded. 
The best results appear to have been attained when cuttings of the young 
partially matured wood were taken in the early summer and inserted in sandy 
soil in a cool shady position. Layering is also practised, the process being 
similar to that adopted with other shrubs, but even this is often attended by 
failure. Seeds would appear to be the safest and surest method of increase. But 
here there is another difficulty : the (lowers are not self-fertilising, and unless care 
is taken to insure artificial fertilisation no seeds will be perfected. This i3 
chiefly due to the fact that the anthers are what is termed extrorse—namely, 
the portion bearing the pollen is turned away from the pistil—namely, towards 
the circumference of the flower, and at the time when the plant flowers in 
England there are no insects to convey the pollen to the stigma. Your best 
course would be to procure young plants from a nurseryman who makes a 
speciality of shrubs. 
Treatment of Calanthe Veitchii after Flowering ( R. C. D.).— 
After the flowers have faded the plants will require a good season of rest, with¬ 
holding water until growth is observed to be commencing again. That is the 
best time for potting, employing a compost of peat, light loam, and well-decayed 
cow manure, with a little sand, the peat forming the chief part of the mixture 
in bulk. Drain the pots carefully, and over the crocks place a layer of sphagnum 
moss, then a little of the compost, and upon that the pseudo-bulbs, filling up 
with the compost to within about an inch of the rim of the pot. To encourage 
vigorous growth the plants must have a position in the stove or similar warm 
house ; and as a light position is requisite, they are usually placed upon a shelf 
near the glass, but where shade can be afforded in bright sunny weather. Supply 
water liberally while growth is advancing, weak liquid manure being also bene¬ 
ficial if given occasionally. During the period of flowering less water will be 
needed. 
Vegetables for Market (Co. Down). —Knowing nothing whatever of 
your soil, nor the adaptability of the district for vegetable culture, we are 
unable to give a categorical reply to your question. We have no doubt if the 
soil is fertile and the locality favourable to the production of early crops that a 
competent and industrious man might succeed fairly well in growing vegetables 
for the Liverpool market; but it would be advisable to make inquiries of 
