216 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Scptc nber 2, 1686. 
may take up again, but sufficient has been said on the subject at 
present.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
REMOVING UNSATISFACTORY COMB. 
I AM very thankful for the advice you have given me concerning th e 
bees. Would it be best to take away the bars (there are eight altogether), 
hive fresh with foundation and feed, or only take half away each time ? 
I thought by taking all away they may not go on so well as by taking 
them away gradually, but whichever you think best I will do. 
I am sorry I cannot give much information about the bees, for I was 
not aware there were any dead larvae until it was pointed out to me just 
previous to my writing to you. I have never used tobacco to smoke bees 
with, but use corduroy, never on the bars, but usually give two or three 
puffs at the entrance previous to opening the hive from Clark’s smoker. 
The hot weather warped the floor-board 1-16th of an inch. I covered it 
with brown paper and paste as soon as I noticed it, but cannot say how 
long it was open. They may have been short of food in the spring, but I 
did not think they were very short.—R. C. 
[Remove all the combs at once, then give new frames fitted with 
foundation made frcm genuine wax. Keep the frames 1^ inch from 
centre to centre, neither more nor less. The piece of comb you sent is 
thin, and it appears as if you were acting according to the instructions of 
those who advise keeping brood frames much less from centre to centre 
than is natural. However, the state of the comb sent and the fact of 
the bees dying are so peculiar that it would be not only interesting but 
instructive if we had all the particulars regarding the state and manage¬ 
ment of the hive. “ Chloric dropsical fever ” is the only disease we have 
experienced of which bees die and remain inside the hive during autumn 
and summer.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Barr & Son, 12, King Street, Covent Garden .—Catalogue of Daffodils 
( illustrated ). 
William Bull, 536, King’s Road, Chelsea .—Catalogue of Bulbs and 
Tuberous Plants. 
®- c ' 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 Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended 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. 
Books (G. TF.).—We do not know of a work on growing and harvesting 
vegetable seeds. Hibberd’s “ Kitchen Gardening ” (Groombridge), and 
Earley’s “ High Class Kitchen Gardening” (Bradbury), are useful woiks 
on the culture of vegetables. 
Insects on Chrysanthemums (H. M.).— The box is received ; its 
contents shall be examined, and a reply thereon published in a future 
issue. 
Manure for Lawns (II. B .\—Wood ashes and bonemeal are excellent 
for applying to lawns. If you intend forming a lawn from seed, the pre¬ 
paration of the land and its cleanliness are matters of greater moment than 
the selection of any particular manure in producing satisfactory results. 
Coating Hot-water Pipes (B. M.). —Yours is not the first instance i u 
which black varnish applied to hot-water pipes in glazed structures ha 8 
“settled ” Ferns and other plants. If you give your pipes two coats of a 
mixture of lampblack and sweet oil, applying the second dressing when the 
first is dry, heating the pipes gently at first, when the house is freely 
ventilated, we think the pipes will be safe thereafter. 
Propagating Rhus Cotinus (Young Gardener).— The best way to in¬ 
crease this shrub is to peg the branches down in fine soil. Make a few 
sloping cuts on the under surface of the branches, cover them well with 
soil, and keep it moist. It can be done now or in the spring, and when 
roots are formed and young shoots are seen rising from the branches they 
can be separated and planted where required. Sow the Grevillea seed in a 
light mixture of peat and sand in a temperature of 60°, keeping the soil 
well moistened without being too wet. It can be sown in the autumn, but 
germination is more likely to take place in early spring. 
Pruning Peach Trees (F. L. E.). —As the crop is gathered and the 
growths crowded remove some of them at or.ce, making a selection of the 
best and most promising, and disposing these on the trellis so that the 
leaves are exposed to the direct action of the light. If there are even faint 
signs of red spider syringe the trees vigorously, and take care they do not 
suffer by a lack of moisture at the roots. Overcrowded growths and too dry 
borders are far too common, and these mistakes are not made by the best 
cultivators. Drying the roots to accelerate the ripening of the wood is a 
dangerous practice, especially when indulged in by persons who have not 
had much experience in growing Peaches under glass. 
The Stanwick Nectarine ( N. B.). —This Nectarine was raised at Stan- 
wick Park, one of the seats of the Duke of Northumberland, from stones 
given to Lord Prndhoe by Mr. Barker, Her Majesty’s Vice-Consul at Aleppo, 
and who afterwards resided at Suaedia in Syria. The seed was sown in 
March, 1843, and the buds were inserted the following autumn on a Belle- 
garde Peach, and the first fruit was produced in 1846. Lord Prudhoe, who 
had become Duke of Northumberland, placed the Stanwick Nectarine in the 
hands of Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, for propagation, and on the 15th of 
May, 1850, the stock, consisting of twenty-four plants, was sold by auction, 
and realised £164 17s., which His Grace presented to the funds of the 
Gardeners’ Benevolent Institution, such an amount nevEr having been 
realised before for the same number of small Nectarine trees in pots. 
Roses for Market (J. W. M.). —We can give you no assurance that you 
will find a satisfactory return from the outlay that will be invested in the 
house and its preparation for Roses, as so much depends on cultural skill 
and business aptitude. Some amateurs succeed, others fail. It is quite 
impossible for us to say which is the most “ remunerative market.” The 
cost of carriage is a point not to be overlooked, and, curiously, you do not 
name the district in which you reside. First try the most populous centres 
with which you have direct and cheap communication. Mardchal Niel 
Roses well grown are profitable. Other varieties that are freely grown for 
market are Niphetos, Madame Falcot, Safrano, Madame Lambard, Perle des 
Jardins, and Souvenir d’un Ami You had better try some others as well, 
as varieties do not succeed equally well in all places, and it is easy to 
increase those that answer the best, that being the practice of all the most 
successful growers of flowers for market. 
Cropping Ground (Chappie). —The plot is so small that all we can say 
is make it as rich as possible to the depth of from 18 inches to 2 feet by the 
addition of as much stable manure as you can mix in, that from horse 
stables being preferable for very heavy land, cow manure being better for 
light soil; manure from piggeries is good. If the ground has notbren dug 
more than a foot deep turn it up to that depth again, then break up the 
stratum below, leaving it there, covering it thickly with manure, then place 
on the original top spit of soil. Another year you can turn up the ground 
18 inches deep. By proceeding on the lines indicated you will soon double 
the producing power of your plot of ground. Three sowings of Broad 
Beans, commencing in February, and sowing the second and third rows 
when the plants in the others are visible ; two of dwarf Kidney Beans, the 
first about the middle or towards the end of April, according to the weather, 
the next about the middle of May, and sowing Haricots and Scarlet 
Runners the first week in May and again in a month, will be as much as 
you can accomplish with those crops on the ground at your disposal. 
Orange Tree Gumming (A Constant Header ).—It is extremely difficult 
to stop gumming in any tree having a tendency to it by outward appli¬ 
cations. If the gumming be a consequence of injury to the bark by a 
knock or otherwise, then cutting out down to the wood, so as to remove the 
gummed part, drying with quicklime, and covering the wound with grafting 
wax over a ligature of cotton is the best remedy we have seen tried. If it 
arises from constitution, then we advise the plant to be repotted, and this 
is the best time to repot or retub Orange trees. Turn out the plants, 
removing as much of the soil as practicable without injury to the roots, and 
clean out the tub, seeing that the drainage is clear, and supply fresh compost 
made moderately firm but not very light. Good turfy loam, neither light 
nor heavy, tom up rather roughly four parts, one part decayed manure free 
from worms, one part old mortar rubbish free from pieces of wood and 
broken small, and a sprinkling of half-inch bones and pieces of charcoal the 
size of a walnut. Incorporate the whole well together. Water carefully 
until the roots are working in the fresh compost, giving water only to keep 
the soil moist. The tree will in all probability grow out of the gumming. 
Hollyhocks Diseased (B. G. F .).—We are sorry to inform you that the 
leaves you have sent are seriously attacked with the “ disease ” that we had 
hoped was stamped out. Burn all the leaves that are covered with dark 
spots or pustules, and you might try the effects of the petroleum and soft- 
soap mixture on the others, or some less affected. When we had the 
Hollyhock disease to combat the efficacy of pelroleum as an insecticide 
was not discovered, and it is worthy of being tried now on disease-stricken 
Hollyhocks. We repeat what is so far as we know the best method of pre¬ 
paring the mixture Place 2 ozs. of softsoap and half an ounce of washing 
soda into a two-gallon stone bottle, and pour upon these one gallon of 
boiling rain water or soft water. Stir and shake till the whole is thoroughly 
mixed, then add 4 ozs. of petroleum, agitate again, then fill up the bottle 
with another gallon of boiling rain water. When cool strain through 
muslin or other suitable material, and apply with a syringe or spray- 
distributor in the evening. Prepared as described we find the oil thoroughly 
blended with the soap solution, and the “ alternate squirting ” into the vessel 
and on the plant is not required. We shall be glad if you will try this 
mixture on your Hollyhock, and favour us with the results of a few 
applications. 
Josling's St. Albans Grape Cracking (Ignorant). —A co-respondent 
was fully answered on the subject of one variety of Gripe, and one only, 
cracking in a mixed house on page 193, last week. Yours appears a very 
similar case. Cracking is mainly the result of a naturally tender or defective 
skin and a damp atmosphere. The correct name of Josling’s St. Albans is 
Chasselas Musque. Dr. Hogg remarks on this Grape in the “ Fruit Manual,” 
“ It may be grown in either a cool or a warm vinery; but the berries are 
very liable to crack unless the Vine is growing in a shallow border, and the 
roots and the atmosphere of the house are kept moderately dry when the 
fruit is ripening. Chasselas Musque reproduces itself very freely from sec d, 
hence the number of its synonyms. In 1845 Mr. Josling, a nurseryman at 
