126 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 7 , 1890. 
Endive and Late Lettuce. —Endive should be sown now ; 
indeed, there is not much use in sowing after this time, as unless the 
plants are of a good size by October they will not grow much afterwards, 
and when they are full sized then they will keep in good condition 
until far into winter. The best way of raising Endive is to sow the seed 
rather thinly in drills, and when the plants are ready for transplanting 
sufficient should be left in the ground to form a crop, while the thinnings 
must be planted elsewhere. Where there are no means of protecting 
them they should be planted in a sheltered position, such as by the 
bottom of a wall or fence. The same remarks apply to Lettuces. Those 
raised a^ this time will be found to remain long in use, probably from 
the end of September till January, and the Cos varieties are much 
better for winter than the Cabbage sorts. 
Miscellaneous. —Thin young Spinach plants to 3 inches apart. Late 
Turnips may be thinned to 10 inches apart. Clear off all Peas that have 
•done fruiting, and winter greens may be planted in vacant ground. It has 
been a season of weeds, the excessive moisture favouring their develop¬ 
ment while offering few opportunities for hoeing them up, but weeding 
•should be resorted to rather than allow the crops to be fettered with 
weeds. In a dull season it is all the more necessary to admit light and 
air to them, and this applies as much to the surface of the soil as to the 
top growth. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Crotons. —Plants rooted at various times and now well established in 
5 to 7-inch pots, may be placed in others 2 inches larger where 
•Crotons in that size are useful for decorative purposes. All the smaller 
growing varieties are better in 5 and 6-inch pots, and when they become 
too large in these the top may be taken off and re-rooted. After the 
heads have been removed side growths are freely produced, and these 
make capital plants in small pots, or for growing for yielding good 
heads. In many forms of decoration Crotons that have small leaves or 
^are a little bare at the base may be used effectively, but they are useless 
for standing singly. All the Crotons that will be needed should be 
rooted from the present to the end of next month. Expose the plants 
to abundance of light, so that their foliage will colour thoroughly. Be 
careful not to crowd them when room is limited ; it is a good plan to 
•suspend some from the roof of the house. Pass a wire round the pot 
below the rim and then secure three other wires to it, or, better still, 
order pots with three holes just below the rim, so that the wires can be 
passed through. Perhaps the best method of all is to have pans below 
the pots and secure the wires to these. 
Stepliamtis floribunda. —If mealy bug is present, shade the house 
and give a thorough syringing with petroleum and water, one ounce to 
each gallon of water will be ample. Do not remove the shading until 
the oil has evaporated. Artificial heat is not indispensable for this 
plant, but to flower it well abundance of light and air are needed. 
Ventilate liberally during the day and close early, so that the tempera¬ 
ture will rise considerably. 
Allamandas. —Young Allamandas that have commenced flowering 
in 7 to 10-inch pots and trained round four or five stakes will be 
effective in the conservatory, but before removing them to this structure 
harden them carefully, and do not place them where they will be 
exposed to cold draughts. Allamandas in large pots which are full of 
roots may be top-dressed with cow manure, and supplied liberally with 
stimulants, or the flowers will be small and the plants will discontinue 
growth. Where Allamandas are growing in borders it may be necessary 
to thin the shoots if trained over the roof, so that they do not overshade 
the plants beneath them. Plants rooted early in the year may be re¬ 
potted until they are placed into 9 and 10-inch pots. A position should 
be selected close beneath the glass fully exposed to the sun. 
Anthurium Scdiertzerianum. —Remove Anthuriums that have com¬ 
pleted their growth to an intermediate temperature ; shade them, and 
keep them liberally supplied with water. Any necessary repotting 
may be done at once, not using too much soil. The pots should be 
liberally drained, and the compost light and open. Rooted cuttings of 
A. Andreanum may be placed in 5 and 6-inch pots, and they will be 
■capital for flowering during the winter. Old outdoor plants can be 
encouraged to grow by top-dres9ing them. If their shoots are crowded 
•remove those that are not needed, and insert them in small pots in the 
.propagating frame. 
Acalyplias.— Young specimens growing freely in 5-inch pots will now 
'be better in cold frames than in heat, provided they are carefully hardened 
-and the frames are closed early in the afternoon. Root all the cuttings 
that are available, for whether in 3-inch pots or those of a larger size 
few plants are more beautiful when well grown. They are propagated 
■easily, and grow rapidly in heat, but when once fairly started they are 
Better in an intermediate temperature, as they do not run up so rapidly. 
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QUEENLESS HIVES. 
I intended writing ere this to let you know how the queenless 
(hive was going on. 1 tried it again with a piece of comb containing 
•eggs. The bees raised six queens ; these 1 reduced to two as soon 
•as I had seen which was the most promising. One of these came out 
all right, the bees drew the other. I chanced to see a bee carry it 
out; it was not quite matured, and the weather was very unfavour¬ 
able at the time. I waited a month for the young queen starting to 
lay ; at the end of that time she commenced laying drone eggs. I 
came to the conclusion that she was not fertilised, and the hive being 
troubled with robbers the bees became less every day. The majority 
of them were bred prior to September last. I destroyed them, and 
the queen was very small. I intended sending her to you for inspec¬ 
tion, but did not manage it. I thought I would be able to get a 
swarm and put in the empty hive, but was disappointed, as none of 
my hives has swarmed. 
To the Sandringham hive, which I have mentioned before, I 
added a box of frames the same depth as the Lanarkshire frames ; 
the bees took to them almost immediately, and the queen started 
laying in them very soon. I have fitted slides between the frames ; 
do you think two taken out at each side will be sufficient to admit 
the bees into the supers ? It is much wider than the Lanarkshire 
hive; the number of bees in this hive is enormous, and had the 
weather been favourable I should have had some supers filled earlier. 
It has not been quite so cold with us as with you, but I have had to 
feed. This hive (Sandringham) had 22 lbs. of sugar from June 12th to 
July 8th. I had a longer trough fitted to the box-feeder, which I 
think is an improvement, as the bees have more room. I have tried 
the bottom feeder and like it very much. I have had a tin fountain 
made, but it does not work, because the screw is not right. 
A neighbour of mine has a hive that swarmed several weeks ago. 
The week after swarming he examined it; it contained twelve queen 
cells. He destroyed all but one, the most forward ; in a few days he 
looked again and found this cell empty; he concluded that the young 
queen had come out. He is now much disappointed to find that this 
queen (if there is one in the hive) has not commenced laying; is 
it because she has not been fertilised ? There has been opportunity 
enough as regards the weather. 
I placed a super on the Sandringham hive, and the bees are 
working in it well. The fields are white with Clover ; if we only 
had warmer weather many in this neighbourhood who placed supers 
on in May have had to take them off and feed them. You mentioned 
in the Journal recently about bees turning drones out. Mine have 
turned a number out; it seems to be general, whether the bees have 
been fed or not. I have altered my sections this time, making the 
bottoms narrower and straight, doing away with dividers. I have 
propped the crate well up off the top of the frames. I have made 
a calico cover for one of my Lanarkshire hives ; it is a failure as a 
waterproof. I could not have done it right; I allowed it to remain 
in the boiled linseed oil all night, then 1 squeezed it out in the 
morning and placed it out to dry. 
Will you be kind enough to give a reply to the following ? Are 
two slides taken out on each side of the hive referred to enough 
space to admit the bees to the supers ?—C. R. 
[Old bees seldom raise satisfactory queens. The best results are 
obtained from strong hives—the stronger the better—during May, 
June and July. The present year is an exception ; many queens that 
were bred in May are still sterile, and may yet be fertilised. Mot 
so, however 1 , with those raised by bees a long time queenless ; they 
begin to lay drone eggs early. In such cases it is advisable to give 
several frames of brood with young bees adhering, then good queens 
may be expected. You did right to enlarge the Sandringham hive. 
The standard hive is too small for profitable bee-keeping. You also 
have done right to narrow the bottom rail of section, and to do away 
with separators. Keep large and strong hives, and the bees will build 
symmetrical combs. One slide out at each side is quite sufficient to 
admit bees to supers. Why you have failed to secure a waterproof 
with calico steeped in boiled oil I cannot understand. I have some 
very old covers which, if made hollow and filled with water, will 
remain till evaporated without showing signs of damp on the under 
side. Steep the cloth in oil until fully saturated, then hang it up to 
drip, turning it occasionally, until the oil begins to set; after it is 
thoroughly dry repeat a second time, or lay it flat and put on the oil 
with a brush or a cloth.— Lanarkshire Bee-keeper.] 
EXTRACTORS. 
“ Will you be kind enough to give me advice through the Journal 
of Horticulture on extractors for extracting honey from box 
frames, and size of frame that will take full-sized foundation combs? 
I have only four hives, so do not want too expensive ones. Any 
information will be thankfully received.—W. P.” 
[When large frames are in use extractors are bulky. Shallow 
frames require a much smaller extractor than large ones, and are 
otherwise more serviceable. As you have only four hives, and mean 
to increase your stock, you will not regret adopting shallow-framed 
hives ; these may be used in combination with deeper ones. The 
best extractors are those that do not revolve the extracted honey 
while the combs are being extracted. Any of the dealers will 
supply you with a suitable one if you let them know particulars. 
