76 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jiinua y 22,1891. 
transform the flat bottom of the cell into a natural one, and being 
hampered for room between it and the separators cluster together 
more than usual, press the foundation out of the plumb, hence the 
twisted and irregular combs of sections and supers. But as I 
dislike inferior wax and improperly made sheets, so do I full sized 
sheets in receptacles intended for comb honey. In order to 
get the most satisfaction I would urge all bee-keepers to pre¬ 
serve their own wax, and get appliances to manufacture their own 
foundation. 
Although some manufacturers assert they possess secrets I do 
not believe it, and if any reader of this paper wishes to be in the 
best position as an apiarist, I will give him information that the 
world knows not of. As I have extended this paper more than I 
intended, I must defer some further hints and replies to other 
inaccuracies as pointed out by several correspondents in the 
“B. B. J.” relative to carbolic acid.—A L.vnahksiiire Bee¬ 
keeper. 
[The sample of No. 1 comb foundation referred to is in every 
respect superior, the other being worthless in comparison.— Ed.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
John Green, Norfolk Nurseries. Dereham.— Arinval Gtiide. 
Samuel Yates, 75, Shudehill, Manchester.— Catalogue of Garden and 
J^arm Seedx. 
J. R. Tranter, .3, Hart Street, Henley-on-Thames.— Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flown- Seeds. 
Ryder & Son, Sale, Manchester.— Gardni Manval for 1S91. 
Daniels Bros., Norwich. — Illustrated Guide for AmaCnr Gardeners. 
J. R. Pearson & Sons, ChilwelJ, Nottingham.— Catalogue of Garden 
and Flower Seed.-^. 
Thomas S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham.— Catalogues 
if Veqetalile and Flower Seeds, Gladioli, Begonias, Dahlias, and 
Chrysanthemums. 
Thames Bank Iron Company, Upper Ground Street, London, E.C.— 
Illustrated Trade Li>t. 
Hogg & Wood, Coldstream, N.B.— List of VegitaMe and Flmrer 
Deeds. 
W. B. Rowe & Co., 0.5, Broad Street, Worcester.— Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
W. F. Gunn & Co., 3, Stockton Road, Sunderland.— Seed Catalogue. 
Henry Eckford, W'^em, Salop.— Sj)ring Catalogue of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds. 
Austin & McAslan, 80, Mitchell Street, Glasgow. — Catalogue of 
‘Vegetable and Floiver Seeds. 
Wm. Clibran & Son, 10 and 12, Market Street, Manchester.— 
Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
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. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and these 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 communica¬ 
tions. 
Books (C. (S'.) —By far the best work on Conifers is prepared and 
'published by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea; but 
it does not describe methods of propagation. In r, spect to the other 
work you require, w’e do not know that there is anything of the kind 
published ; and it is doubtful if the information you need can be 
-acquired from books alone by any man, however intelligent he may be. 
Painting- Hot-water Pipes {Inquirer'). —A mixture of lampblack 
and linseed oil is usually employed for this purpose, first scouring the 
rust off the pipes, then rubbing the mixture in with a piece of sacking 
or a brush. Heat gently and dry steadily, then no harm will be done 
to the occupants of the bouse. 
nnuals for Cutting {Cut Flowers). —In addition to Asters, Stocks, 
Zinnias, Godetia, Mignonette, Marigolds, Phlox, and Chrysanthemums, 
the following are useful, affording a quantity of flowers. Cornflower 
(Centaurea cyanus). New Miniature Sunflower, Sweet Sultan, yellow, 
white, and purple varieties ; Dianthus chinensis (Indian Pink), Branch¬ 
ing Larkspur, Eschscholtzia crocea. Candytufts, crimson, purple, and 
white ; Nige.llas, Bartonia aurea, Shirley Poppies (must be cut young); 
Malope grandiflora. Convolvulus minor tricolor. Scabious (dwarf double) ; 
Lupinus nanus, Centaurea cyanus, double, and Sweet Peas in great 
variety. Mr. Wright’s “ Profi'^able Fruit Growing,” can be had from 
the office of the Journal of Horticulture, post free, Is. 3J. 
Orchid Culture {Constant Sub-wriber). —You have no doubt made 
a mistake by placing all the plants in the stove, and that alone would 
account for the unhealthy condition of some of them, though you do 
not say which are the worst. The Cattleya, Cymbidiums, Cypripediums, 
and Lycaste should remain in the cooler part of the stove, and will 
require very great care in the supply of water at this time of year. The 
others would be better in a house where the temperature is as nearly 
equable as possible, not falling below 50°. If they do not appear satis¬ 
factory when finer weather comes, turn them out, examine the roots, 
and repot in fresh material if the old compost is much decayed, or the 
roots are not taking to it freely. You will find much general informa¬ 
tion upon the subject of potting and the treatment of your plants in 
Castle’s “ Orchids,” post free from this office Is. 2^1. 
Fomme Grlse Apple {Lincoln). —The “small uniform sized and 
evenly shaped russety looking Apples ” which have attracted your 
attention in London fruit shops are of the above variety imported from 
the other side of the Atlantic. The variety is correctly described as 
follows by Dr. Hogg in his Fruit Manual Fruit, small, 2 inches 
wide, and If inch high ; roundish and inclining to ovate. Skin, 
rough, with thick scaly russet, green in the shade, and deep orange on 
the side next the sun. Eye, small and open, set in a narrow and 
shallow basin. Stalk, about half an inch long, inserted in a shallow 
and small cavity. Flesh, yellowish, crisp, very juicy and sugary, with 
a brisk and highly aromatic flavour. A dessert Apple of first rate 
quality ; in use from October to February. The tree is rather a weak 
grower, but an abundant bearer. 
Mixing Sulphate of Iron with House Sewage {II. B .).— 
House sewage on account of the urea contained in urine emits a dis¬ 
agreeable odour, due to the conversion of the urea into ammonium 
carbonate, a very volatile compound. Mixing iron sulphate with sewage 
converts the ammonium carbonate into a double sulphate of ammo¬ 
nium and iron, which is non-volatile. To entirely “ fix ” the ammonia 
requires more iron sulphate than can with safety be applied to fruit 
trees frequently watered with the sewage. It may, however, be use¬ 
fully employed in “ fixing” the ammonia, whereby some of the offensive 
odour of the sewage would be taken away, whilst its value as a fertiliser 
on the score of ammonia alone would be greatly increased. Iron sul¬ 
phate at the rate of 11b. to 20 gallons of water may be used for mixing 
with sewage at the rate of one-fifth, or 1 lb. iron sulphate to 100 gallons 
of sewage, and is safe for application to garden crops as generally 
employed ; but for such uses as those to which you put the sewage it 
would be necessary to have the iron sulphate very much more diluted. 
For fruit trees in pots, on account of the frequent waterings, it would 
be necessary to have the iron sulphate considerably weaker than that 
named. By using 1 lb. iron sulphate in flushing the drains each time, 
or that quantity to the 400 gallons of sewage, the latter would be per¬ 
fectly safe for all purposes, and very much increased in value as a 
fertiliser, also less offensive. 
Fungus on Orange Trees {Inquirer). —No doubt the fungus to 
which you allude is Capnodium Citri, which infests Oranges, Lemons, 
and a'lied plants. The following account of the genus Capnodium was 
given by the late Rev. M. J. Berkeley in the “ Treasury of Botany ”— 
“ A curious genus of fungi established by Dr. Montagne to receive a 
portion of the black smutty parasites which infest the leaves and twigs 
of shrubs in damp warm climates. It belongs to the division Ascomy- 
cetes, and is characterised by the abundant creeping black threads which 
run over the several parts of the plants which it attacks. Shoots from 
these threads either invest the fruit or are combined to form it. The 
fruit consists of irregular often elongated and branched cysts, which in 
the same species contain naked spores, and sporidia enclosed in asci. 
Two species belong to the British flora : C. Footii, found on Laurel 
leaves ; and C. elongatum, in the extreme south-west, on Pear trees. 
Others are the plague of Coffee, Lemons, Olives, and other important 
plants. In a young state these plants are not distinguishable from 
Antennaria. The stomates of the plants they attack are completely 
smothered, and direct light almost excluded, so that the functions of 
the leaves are greatly impeded. No remedy is known when the parasite 
is once developed. If any is applied it must be directed to the destruc¬ 
tion of the different species of coccus on whose excretions these 
fungi seem mostly to be developed. Lemons frequently arrive in this 
^ country in an unsaleable condition, incrusted more or less completely 
