436 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
[ November 13 1890 
Succession Houses. —Except in the latest house all the leaves are off, 
and from these they must not be forcibly removed until they part 
readily from the trees. The trellis may be lightly shaken, or the trees 
brushed over lightly with a broom, but there must not be any attempt 
at forcibly removing them with the hand or other means. When the 
leaves are all down unfasten the trees from the trellis, prune them, 
thoroughly cleanse them and the house, and if need be paint the wood¬ 
work and trellis. Tie the trees to .the trellis, not too tightly, as 
abrasions of the bark are prolific of gumming. Remove the surface 
■soil and supply fresh, give a good watering to the inside borders, 
thereby having all in readiness for a start when required. If the lights 
are not removed admit air to the fullest possible extent so as to keep 
che trees as cool as possible, but it is better to remove the roof lights. 
Lijting.—Planting Fresh Trees. —Any trees that do not bear satis¬ 
factorily should be lifted, have their long bare roots shortened, and 
those retained laid in fresh material nearer the surface. Where the soil 
is light it should be well firmed about the roots ; but this will not com¬ 
pensate for more substantial material and steady supplies of nutriment. 
Lifting should always be attended to as soon as the leaves give indica¬ 
tion of falling, and with a moderately moist condition of the soil the 
roots will push fresh rootlets, and be able to cater for blossom and 
young fruit, whereby a good set is assured, lifted trees stoning the fruit 
well. Trees for planting in houses are best trained to walls three or 
four years, lifted annually, or prepared for removal by digging round 
them a year previously. Such trees move with abundance of fibres, 
and being carefully planted they force well the first season ; but they 
■must not be brought on too quickly, and must not be overcropped. Such 
trees are preferable to planting young ones, which in rich borders are 
apt to grow too freely and fall a prey to gum, or they require time to 
become furnished with bearing wood, not fruiting much in the first 
two or three years, hence the advantage of planting trees in an already 
bearing state. 
Strawberries in Pots.— All plants for early forcing should be 
in frames, with a view to protect them from heavy rains only. They 
■cannot have too much air, therefore tilt the lights in mild wet weather, 
-and remove them altogether when it is fair and warm, keeping close 
only when frost prevails. Do not place them in Peach or other houses 
where they will be subjected to drying currents of air. Evaporation 
in such is constant and excessive, wastes the energies of the plants, and 
not infrequently so dries the soil at the sides of the pots as to destroy 
the active feeders. Drought is the greatest bane of the Strawberry ; 
those in frames must have water as required, always keeping the soil 
properly moist. Plants for midseason and late forcing are just as well 
stood on ashes, and plunged over the rims of the pots in that material 
•or cocoa refuse, the situation being sheltered, but not shaded. 
Batches of La Grosse Sucree, Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, or other 
■early sorts must be held in readiness for starting next month where 
early fruit is required. There is no question that a Strawberry house is 
the most suitable, as the wants of the plants can be furnished according 
to their advantageous requirements, which is not always the case when 
the plants have to be forced in vineries or Peach houses, but they are 
grown successfully in such structures, the chief point being not to bring 
them on too rapidly. An early Peach house takes a good batch and is 
•particularly suited to such varieties as Noble and Auguste Nicaise, as 
they do not bear as much heat in the early stages of forcing as La 
■Grosse Sucrde. In the case of plants having well developed crowns and 
abundant roots there is nothing to fear as regards a satisfactory issue, 
but in a late season there is little prospect of satisfactory early crops, 
and the plants should be started later or be brought on very gradually. 
That, however, is not applicable in places where ripe fruit must be had 
by a given time. When the plants are late, as they are this year, their 
■starting satisfactorily may be enhanced by making up a bed of leaves 
about 2 feet in height, and place the plants in a frame upon it, bringing 
op the plants so as to be just clear of the glass, packing the spaces 
between the pots with damp leaves. The bottom heat at the base of the 
pots must not exceed 65°, the top being kept cool, air being freely 
admitted, 50° of top heat not being exceeded, and when mild withdraw 
the lights. Activity at the roots by the means of the warmth is 
promoted and the crowns will plump, the trusses being advanced con¬ 
siderably in embryo. In three weeks to a month of this treatment the 
pots must be withdrawn (but it is better if the bed has cooled), raising 
them gradually so as to insure the plants bearing the temperature of the 
Strawberry house or other structure without check. If taken direct 
■from the bed the roots at the sides of the pots would in all probability 
get chilled, therefore they must not be taken direct from the warm bed 
to the shelves. Yery careful treatment is required to secure a satis¬ 
factory result with very early forced plants in seasons like the present. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Preparing Syrup. 
Several correspondents “have been bothered by their bees not 
taking the syrup supplied to them ; they get messed with it, and 
being unable to fly, creep out of the hive and die.” Feeding bees 
with improperly prepared syrup is the result of advisers having 
copied from the American method. The proportions of sugar and 
water being “ 20 lbs. of the former to 8 of the latter,” a syrup far 
too thick and clammy for bees to store, and when stored becomes 
candied in the cells, bees often dying from want, with an abundance 
of candied syrup in the hive. By making the proportions of the 
best cane sugar and soft water equal, a syrup is formed congenial 
to the bees, and is a sure and safe food for them at any time. 
When sugar is properly dissolved with its weight of water there is 
little fear of its being burned into caramel, which is injurious to 
bees, nor of killing those those that get smeared with it. On 
page 413, eighth line from the top, I was represented as using 
“ beet ” sugar ; it should have been best sugar. I do not use beet 
sugar for anything. 
The Best Feeder. 
The best feeders are those from which the bees take food the 
most readily, and which give the least trouble to the bee-keeper to 
supply. All top feeders are liable to cause a draught, and is at the 
best a troublesome way of feeding. It is more natural for the 
bees to carry up than to carry down, and as a rule bees carry up 
syrup from under feeders when it is untouched in upper ones. It 
is a very old axiom in bee-keeping, “ Keep the crowns of your bives 
warm, and there is no fear of the bees.” The frame feeder is an 
exception to all upper feeders, as there is practically little or no 
space to create a draught, and is specially and well adapted for 
nursing weak hives. This year my hives took up 6 lbs. of syrup 
from bottom feeders in less time than they took down 2 lbs. from 
upper ones, and the Punic bees took that quantity up in seven 
hours, being as fast again as any of the other varieties did. The 
above quantity is about the average I allowed each hive that was 
at the Heather and had been deprived of their surplus. Most of 
them required nothing, but when supplied with sugar abdominal 
distension seldom appears. 
Quantity of Honey. 
Each hive gave us 22 lbs. of drained honey, 1 lb. of wax, and 
four bottles of mead. This season, owing to the mildness of the 
weather, our mead stood only twelve hours until fermentation was 
visible, and at the end of twenty-four hours active ; the cask was 
kept filled for other three days, and then bunged closely up. At 
the end of from eight to twelve months it will have fermented 
gradually and thoroughly, and will be bottled off. A sample of 
1887 mead was sent to a chemist, who said “ that it was superior to 
mne-tenths of wines imported into this country, containing just 
sufficient alcohol as a safe stimulant and refreshing beverage.”—A 
Lanarkshire Bee-Keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Little & Ballantyne, Carlisle.— Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs. 
Gilbert Davidson, Ammanford, South Wales.— List of Selected Fancy 
Pansies, 1S90. 
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 correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Pears and Apples (IE S. FI). —If you desire a very large Pear 
that is not in your list you may plant Pitmaston Duchess. It is not of 
high quality, but one of the most profitable for market. A grower of a 
few tons this year sold the fruits for 4d. to 6d. each. Marshal de Cour, 
Emile d’Heyst, Glou Morgeau, and the very late Olivier des Serres are 
