364 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 12, 1892, 
desirable, the old queen may be deposed, and after a few days btes and 
comb may be given, if a little precaution is used, to the other. The 
hive will now be of enormous strength, and with a young queen and 
plenty of room will not swarm readily, but supering must be attended 
to. and in a judicious manner, storying one above another as each 
division is well begun, until as many are on as the bees can fill. 
There is no system of oee-keeping that will so well repay the bee¬ 
keeper, or give so much satisfaction and pleasure, as this, and every 
bee-keeper will do well to set apart a portion of his hives to be treated 
on this principle ; moreover, it gives a security against loss of queens. 
Such hives may consume 15 lbs. more honey, but they will give a large 
harvest in some seasons, when hives managed otherwise would give 
nothing, and perhaps in good seasons a triple yield to that of others. It 
is by no means a new system of management, nor is it to be confounded 
with what is known as the management of the twin hive system. It 
may be termed the Baird system, because Mr. Wm. Baird, Carron Lodge, 
near Falkirk, has practised it successfully for thirty-four years. 
After a perusal of the above with what has appeared recently in 
our contemporaries even experts will find it a little difficult to dis¬ 
cover much that differs from this description published four years 
ago. I invented the close-fitting dividing board forty years ago, 
without which the system under notice could not be carried out, 
and I gave instructions how to unite with perforateQ divisions long 
previous to 1889, so it will be observed there is nothing new about 
the wonderful system that seems to have been lately discovered for 
revolutionising bee-keeping. I exhibited hives in 1875 fitted with 
all the arrangements for carrying out the system, but the experience 
of the Judges did not enable them to appreciate its advantages. 
Had the plan originated with others and then appeared in this 
Journal as “ new ” we should have heard about it, and we shall 
now see whether its origin will be acknowledged outside these 
columns.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keerer. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Dicksons, Limited. The Nurseries, Chester .—Bedding and Border 
Plants, Bahluis. and Hew Roses. 
Mr. H. J. Jones, Rjecrolt Nursery, Lewisham .—New and Choke 
Plants. 
Messrs. F. Kosher & Co., Old Jamaica Wharf, Upper Ground Street, 
London, S.E.— Garden Requisites. 
•,®A11 correspondence should be directed either to “ Tut 
Editor” or to “The Poblisher.” Letters addressed to 
Dr. Hogg or members of the staff often remain unopentd 
onavoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them io 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questioi s 
relating to Gardening and those on 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 
Crystal Palace Shows (Tl, Haywards Heathi ).—The date of the 
National Rose Society’s Show at the Crystal Palace is July 2nd. If 
you want a full list of the exhibitions there no doubt Mr. Head would 
furnish you with one if you wrote to him. His addrtiss is Crystal 
Palace, Sydenham, S.E. 
Dust from Engine Flues (^G. D .').—The “ soot ” resulting from 
Cuke is simply ash, and principally consists of iron and alumina. The 
value of soot mainly comes through the organic matter which may 
exist to some extent in the reddish-grey dust, but it is much inferior to 
wood ashes for fertilising purposes. 
Fresh Iiime and Farmyard Manure (/71 J/.).—It is not “ a 
good practice in preparing the ground for any kind of crops to mix and 
dig into the ground at the same time fresh lime and farmyard dung 
but on the contrary a wasteful proceeding, as the lime causes too rapid 
decomposition of the organic matter, and the rains wash it away—that 
is, the soluble matter, and the crops do not derive the benefit they would 
from the farmyard manure by the ordinary process of decomposition, 
and retention by the soil till utilised by the crops. 
Wallflowers (D. A’^.).—By far the best mode of raising a number 
of single Wallflowers is to sow the seed now in an open position, and 
eventually plant the seedlings a foot apart in firm and not too rich soil. 
Wallflower seed is often sown too late, and the plants have not time to 
become strong. We sowed a fortnight ago, and the seedlings are now 
appearing. The semi-double German varieties are also raised from seed, 
but the true doubles must be increased from cuttings. They strike 
readily when the shoots are tender in moderate heat, the same as 
Verbenas are propagated, or rather firmer shoots may be inserted under 
handlights in June. Any favourite single varieties must also be 
perpetuated by cuttings, as there is no certainty that seed gathered from 
any particular plant will produce flowers like the parent. 
Commercial Gardening: {Adam^. —You tell us what you wish, 
but nothing a'lout yourself. It >ou are young, strong, and willing to 
work hard, often for many hours, in a good market garden, that 
would probably be the best of the three courses indicated in your letter 
to pursue. Some of the leading market gardeners prefer to pay wages, 
and the students are expected to earn them by doing whatever work is 
in progress, whether it be rough or smooth, with ordinary men or 
women workers. Possibly there may be some establishments where 
students are admitted under special conditions, but we do not know 
them, nor can we give introductions. Probably it would not be less 
difficult to get into a market garden than into the experimental garden 
you name at the present time. We suspect the realirations of some 
“ students in horticulture ” will not equal their anticipations. 
Fig:s Spotted (J. J. C.). —The fruit is affected with “ spot,” which 
is caused by a fungus, Gloeosporium loeticolor, and accelerated by 
an excess of moisture, or water resting on the fruit, which pre¬ 
judicially affect's the epidermal and underlying tissues. It produces 
an abnormal growth in the fruit, causing it to swell and become 
considerably larger than the unattacked fruit, but only to prematurely 
ripen and decay. Such fruits are unwholesome, if not positively injurious— 
poisonous. The fungus is found on many other fruits, usually attacking 
them when about half ripe or just before commencing to ripen. The 
fungus has pushed its mycelium into the reproductive part of the fruit, 
which has not been fully fertilised ; but that is not the cause of the 
infestation, fur Figs rarely produce fertile seeds in this country, and the 
fungus has no connection with smut, which attacks and destroys the 
reproductive parts ot Figs, converting them into black dust. There is 
no remedy but to apply such manures or substances as will strengthen the 
epidermis, fortifying that with silica and lime. Pick and burn the 
infested fruit, and maintain a drier atmosphere, not wetting the fruit, 
and avoid a close atmosphere. The deposition of moisture on the fruit 
favours the fungus, for moisture it must have for germination. 
Caterpillars Infesting Gooseberries and Currants (IF. 6', 
Inch') —These are certainly individuals of the too-familiar foe called 
Abraxas grossularia'a, but of a darker colour than usual, apparently a 
1 ,cd variety ; but it has been noticed that the caterpillars of this moth 
are generally of a deeper hue when they feed on the Sloe or Black 
Curiaut, perhaps from the astringent matter in the leaves which is 
d'gested by them. It is the fact, apart from the presence of numbers, 
that a common gar len pest seems sometimes to do much more harm than 
it dots at other times to the plants or shrubs it frequents, and various 
explanations have been given of this. The species, as a rule, is more 
partial to the Black Currant than to the Red. Syringing the bushes 
with some of the poisonous compounds, such as Paris green, have been 
found to destroy this caterpillar, and hand-picking or shaking the bushes 
will clear off many of them. Miss Ormerod, who is an authority 
on these matters, recommends dusting with sulphur or lime while the 
dew is on the bushes, also syringing with Gishurst compound, or with a 
weak solution of alum, which is fatal to most. 
Soil for Figs QPatej ’).—Almost any well-drained soil will suit Fig 
trees, provided that, with its porosity, it also possesses that kind of 
mechanical texture which, whilst it readily transmits moisture, will also 
retain sufficient to withstand a hot and dry period in the middle of 
summer. It is well, however, to lean tow’ards an open porous character ; 
for if any defect arises through extreme seasons of drought in conse¬ 
quence of the soil being light, a remedy of a very simple character is 
always at hand in the shape of a good top-dressing and a bucket or two 
of water. In preference, therefore, to building preventive walls and 
other matters involving extra expense, we say. So compound the soil 
for them that they may never grow very gross nor be liable to suffer 
from sudden droughts. When the native soil of a garden is too clayey, 
thorough drainage and the introduction of a liberal amount of sand, 
lime rubbish, and ashes, with a slight amount of vegetable matter, will 
in general suffice to make it fit for Fig trees. If the garden soil is too 
light and porous some adhesive loam may be added, or indeed, anything 
which may happen to be at hand which is retentive of moisture in its 
own nature, yet not a ‘‘forcing” or rich manure. One thing is 
requisite : the bed of soil should by no means be deep. We wouffi never 
allow above half a yard in depth, unless in situations peculiarly favour¬ 
able to the culture of this fruit. 
Insect on Peach Trees (A', Y. Z). —The large roundish pest on 
the Peach sboot is Filoert scale (Lecanium hemisphericum), and is 
abundant on Oaks ia America, less so in this country on American 
species of Quercus, and it sometimes infests fruit trees, including 
Apricjts. Your case is the first we have seen on Peach tree growths. 
