November 4, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
419 
must be well protected with litter or leaves, and if tarpaulin or shutters 
are put on the top it will be useful in preventing the soil becoming chilled 
by heavy rains and snow. 
Succession Houses .—All but the latest trees will have the leaves down, 
but if not they must not be removed until they part freely from the trees. 
When the leaves are all down unfasten the trees from the trellis, prune 
them, thoroughly cleanse the house, and paint the woodwork and trellis, 
leaving room for the branches to swell in securing the trees to the trellis 
after they have been dressed, as tight-tying is one of the most prolific 
■sources of gumming. Remove the surface soil down to the roots, and 
•supply fresh loam rather stiff, containing about a twentieth part of bone- 
meal, and a similar proportion of wood ashes. Give a thorough supply 
of water to inside borders, or remove the roof lights, and allow the 
borders to become thoroughly soaked by the autumnal rains. Any lifting, 
root-pruning, or the introducing of fresh trees should be performed at 
once, the planting being now proceeded with, or as Boon as the leaves are 
nearly off the trees. Trees for planting in houses are best three years or 
more trained and prepared for lifting by annual or biennial lifting. Such 
trees lift with an abundance of fibres, and being carefully planted they 
can be forced very well the first year if not being started before the new 
year, not brought on too rapidly, and not overcropped. It is always best 
to select such trees in preference to planting young trees, but if young 
trees must be planted select such as are well furnished and not very 
strong in the wood. 
Late Houses. —As soon as the fruit is gathered cut out the non-exten¬ 
sion wood that has borne fruit, as nothing is so prejudicial as too much 
wood, especially in late houses. If the trees are not ripening the wood 
properly form a trench about one-third the distance from the stem the 
trees cover in height of trellis, and down to the drainage, so as to detach 
the roots. This will check the tendency to a late growth, and induce the 
ripening of the wood. The trench may remain open for a fortnight, and 
then be filled up, making quite firm. Remove the surface soil iD the 
undisturbed part down to the roots, and replace with fresh material made 
firm, giving a good watering. The trees will push fresh roots, and 
the trees invariably set the blossom well after operations of this 
character. 
Figs. — Early Forced Trees in Pots. —Trees that are forced for afford¬ 
ing fruit at the close of April or early in May will now need to have the 
wood brushed over, using softsoap £ lb. to a gallon of water brought to 
the consistency of cream by adding flowers of sulphur, being careful 
when using the mixture not to rub off the young fruit, the shoots of the 
current year needing to be carefully handled. Very little pinning will 
be necessary, the trees having been regularly pinched or stopped during 
the growing season, but if the growths are too crowded or irregular they 
may be thinned to render the trees symmetrical. Wash the woodwork 
and walls with scalding water, and the walls afterwards with quicklime 
and sulphur. A mild bottom heat is essential to a successful swelling 
and perfecting the earliest crop'; 'the pots therefore must be raised up on 
loose bricks pedestal fashion in the position they are to occupy, and the 
pit filled with Oak or Beech leaves pressed firmly. If the pit be not more 
than 2£ feet deep, a third of stable litter may be added. Care must be 
taken to avoid overheating, not allowing the heat about the pots to exceed 
<55° until growth takes place. The house should be kept close and moist 
by sprinkling twice a day in bright weather, employing fire heat to main¬ 
tain a temperature of 50° at night, 55° by day, and with sun heat 60° to 
65°. If the soil in the pots be dry, a thorough soaking of water must be 
given. Forcing operations need not begin until the middle of the 
month. 
Early Forced Trees. —Trees planted out in borders intended for early 
forcing should now be untied from the trellis and pruned. Those with 
the roots restricted to small borders will require little more than thinning 
out the shoots where too crowded, but those not having the roots re¬ 
stricted will require a hard pruning at the upper part of the trellis, allow¬ 
ing room for the growth of the branches, forking the surface of the 
border, slightly removing the loose material, and apply a surface dressing 
of fresh loam with some half-inch bones intermixed, and not more than 
2 inches thick, and then apply a top-dressing of decayed manure, but not 
very highly decayed, 2 to 3 inches thick, and give a good watering. 
Ventilate fully at all times, except when frost prevails, and at such times 
heat ehould be used to exclude it. 
Succession Houses. —Let the trees be pruned, cleansed, and put into 
thorough order. Give attention to trees that have been infested with 
insects. The house must have the woodwork and walls scalded with hot 
water, keeping it off the trees, and well wash these with a warm soapy 
solution, using a brush, which will do much to dislocate the insects, 
especially scale, and render more potent the insecticide, which should be 
applied after the trees become dry from washing with the soapy water. 
Complete any root-pruning, lifting, See., remembering that Figs with the 
roots restricted or confined to limited space are more manageable and 
fruitful than those with an unlimited rooting area. Any unfruitful trees 
must be severely root-pruned, and the roots restricted to moderate-sized 
borders, depending more upon active feeders near the surface encouraged 
by mulching than a Urge extension of roots. Make the soil firm, employ¬ 
ing one-sixth old mortar rubbish, grit being furnished by road scrapings. 
Late Houses. —The trees in these should be attended to on lifting or 
root-pruning if showing a tendency to over-luxuriance, or have cast the 
fruit in an unaccountable manner. Fig trees grow too luxuriantly in 
large borders, therefore they should have them restricted, as with the 
roots in borders of limited extent they are more under control and can be 
fed according to their requirements. When the leaves fall the trees must 
be unloosed fr im the trellis, and being tied together they should be made 
safe with some dry straw or fern amongst them. Trees in cool houses 
suffer quite as much from cold as trees against walls outdoors. In houses 
that have means of heating the protection will not be necessary. 
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HE BEE-KEEPER. 
lb 
MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE TO BEE-KEEPERS. 
The rapid strides made by bee-keeping during the last 
few years are, it is much to be feared, bringing with them 
the evils necessarily attendant upon an unhealthy growth ; 
the too speedy development of the industry nursed by manu¬ 
facturers of appliances is beginning to be felt, and many years 
must elapse before a good sound healthy state is again 
obtained. The profits of bee-keeping are dwindling down 
each year, and, as in Lancashire and our large manufac¬ 
turing districts, new men are continually entering a business 
which can with difficulty support those who have already 
invested their capital and time in the work. The rage for 
novelties and expensive luxuries has increased the cost of 
production, while injudicious pictures of future profits have 
induced many to enter into bee-keeping on a large scale, only 
to find honey a drug in the market and scarcely saleable in 
some localities at any price at all. 
It is always a pleasure to us to see any man taking up 
bee-keeping in a moderate and sensible manner, but it is 
quite the reverse when a man who is just able to manipulate 
a hive thinks himself a practical bee-keeper and sets up a 
large apiary. It is sad because it is rarely possible for him 
to make a fair profit on the undertaking, and yet he is, even 
if producing his honey at a loss to himself, causing his 
neighbours who keep bees only on a small scale loss also, by 
reducing the price of honey and glutting the market. It is 
the appliances—the manufacture and sale of them—that 
support these men ; for, finding themselves incapable of 
managing their apiary so as to yield a profit from bee pro¬ 
duce, they turn their hands to the more easy and certain 
production of hives, frames, and extractors. The man who 
really finds bee keeping a profitable and remunerative 
industry is he who spends least and uses his common 
sense moat; who is neither niggardly nor luxurious in his 
management, but preserving a happy medium ; neither 
increases the number of his stocks beyond what he is well 
able to care for, nor yet invests in new hives of every con¬ 
ceivable style or price, but finding out what kind of honey is 
most easily saleable at the best price, turns his mind to the 
production of such honey only. And here I may be per¬ 
mitted to say that, although every fair man desires to see 
each one have his due, it hardly seems to be either necessary 
or politic for inventors to be continually squabbling in print 
over their inventions. In the first place, most of these inven¬ 
tions are mere revivals of old methods or appliances long ago 
discarded in favour of a more practical management, and in 
the second place it is of no material consequence who has the 
merit of the invention so that we have the use of it. 
Another point of great importance to all concerned in 
agricultural industries is the present high rate of charges 
prevailing throughout England, and the low freight paid 
upon goods imported from abroad. That honey can be pro¬ 
fitably imported from America, Canada, and other countries 
is not strange, when it is considered that the cost of carriage 
is trifling to what the home producer has to pay when he 
sends his honey or other produce to the market. Either 
railway companies must be compelled to lower their charges, 
or the charges on imported produce must be raised, or a tax 
be put upon all goods—not raw material—imported from 
abroad. It may be taken for granted that protection will 
not, at any rate for a long period, be revived, nor will the 
cost of carriage for imported goods be raised, and for this 
