176 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February te, 1891. 
no matter what the season is, you can get comb honey in the shops 
at Is. per lb. That seems pretty well the fixed price of honey 
in that town. 
What has become of “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper” and his glass 
sections? I exhibited some of these taken off 1st of June at a 
local show in August, and was disqualified by the clever professional 
who judged them, because they showed some slight signs of 
granulation, and was, forsooth, told that they had been at least 
partly filled the previous year. I satisfied myself afterwards that 
the granulation was confined to the first row of cells next the glass. 
Has “ A. H. B.” found this state of things with his pet sections ? 
It is certainly a disadvantage if it takes place to any extent. I 
think it stands to reason that the cool glass will have that effect 
more quickly than wood. 
Why do we hear so little of bee-keeping in the south in the 
pages of the Journal ? The north is very well looked after by the 
sound articles of our friend who writes so constantly from Lanark, 
b;it it is surely possible to get some of our southern experts to 
give us a word in season occasionally. It has been said that all 
gardeners ought to be bee-keepers, and I think it would be some¬ 
thing to their advantage if they were.—A Sussex Amateur. 
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 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 communica¬ 
tions. 
Report of IMCeetlng* {G, F .').—The report of your meeting held 
-eight days ago arrives just as we are going to press, and too late for 
insertion. 
Wednesday Mornlngr’s Iietters QGriffin and Others ').—Letters 
or inquiry which arrive at this office on Wednesday can seldom be 
satisfactorily answered in the current issue. 
Erythronlum grandlflorum (J Journal Feader).—Yo\x will find 
tiie information you desire on page 171, and the illustration will 
■convey to you a better idea of the characters of the plant than a mere 
•verbal description. 
Seedlingr Grape (^Co. Doim ).—The berries received were not in 
good condition, and the colour is much against them; they were, how¬ 
ever, sweet and of fair flavour. You must exhibit a good bunch next 
season, and it will stand some chance of being recognised. 
Scotch rir Infested by Insects (^Eoohwood ).—We have care¬ 
fully examined the specimen sent, but failed to detect insects of any 
kind. Possibly they were dislodged or driei up in transit. The Scotch 
Fir is subject to the attacks of scale, aphides, and other pests, and 
small specimens can be syringed with softsoap or other insecticide. 
It is, however, difficult to deal with large specimens in that way. 
blyrobalan Hedges (77. R. IF.).—We have seen a hedge one 
portion of which was planted with the Myrobalan and the other with 
the common Thorn at the same time alongside of a plantation. The 
former proved by far the quicker grower, but though it made a fence 
much sooner, it was not so close and neat as the Thorn. Our readers 
who have had experience with the Myrobalan for the purpose named 
are at liberty to write us on the subject. 
Orchid Flowers (A. C .),—The flowers sent are all good and 
in excellent condition owing to your careful packing. 1 and 2 are 
fine varieties of Dendrobium nobile ; 1 is a near approach to D. nobile 
Sanderianum in size, form and colour, but the rich crimson hue does 
not extend so far down the sepals and petals in your variety. No. 2 
■resembles a good form of I>. nobile coerulescens, a useful and bright 
variety. No. 3 is a dark form of Cypripedium Harrisianum, but it is 
■not so fine as C. Harrisianum superbum, though well worth keeping. 
Gardeners as Domestic Servants (IF).—In reference to our 
■ reply on this subject last week we are supplied with the following 
extract from page 342 of the last edition of “ Every Man His Own 
Lawyer : ”—“ The term ‘ domestic ’ or ‘ menial ’ is now to be considered 
as applying to coachmen, grooms, gardeners, and huntsmen.” We omit 
the enumeration of other servants as not pertinent to the question. 
The authority given for the above definition is Nicholl v. Greaves, 
33 L.J.C.P., 259. 
Packing Fruit (Scotia). —You still do not indicate the articles 
to which you made reference. Grapes, Peaches, and such like choice 
fruits grown in this country are packed and placed in the market as 
well as any that come from abroad, so are Strawberries, also choice 
samples of Plums, Cherries, Tomatoes, as well as Pears and Apples by 
growers who know their business. American and Canadian Apples are 
sorted and packed in barrels, but tons of home-grown fruit have been 
sent to market in a rough unsorted condition. You can find examples 
of packing most kinds of fruit in markets and shops in Manchester. 
Grass Ddging Broken (F. J.). —You cannot make a firm edge 
by outside additions, but you can do so by cutting through the turf in 
line a foot or so from the edge, than with a sharp spade raising and 
drawing the portion so sliced off as far as is necessary into the walk, 
rolling it well, then with a line and sharp knife slicing the rough 
margin away to a fine smooth edge. The vacancy made in the lawn 
can be filled with fresh pieces of turf made level and firm, or by filling 
them w’ith soil and sowing grass seeds. 
A Curious Address (Lex). —No doubt the address you send is 
novel, but not quite so unique as the following :—As is well known, 
Messrs. Carter & Co. announce in their catalogues and advertisements 
that they hold warrants as seedsmen to the Queen and Prince of Wales. 
This has been interpreted in a distinctly novel manner, for before us is 
an envelope which was posted at Haeght (Belgium), on the 20th inst., 
and thus addressed :—“ Messieurs H.M. the Queen and H.R.H. the 
Prince of Wales, 237 and 238, High Holborn, London.” We presume 
the sender wanted some real Eoya) seeds. 
Iron Sulphate—Worms and Strawberries (S. J. A.). —Iron 
sulphate has been found excellent for Potatoes, both in increasing 
the crops and arresting the disease. It will be better to apply it be¬ 
fore planting than between the rows afterwards. We think your land 
either requires draining or a great deal more lime, perhaps both. The 
worms which devour your Strawberries are not wireworms, but a kind 
of eelworms, and are often very troublesome in wet seasons. Mr. 
Wright, on page 29 of “ Profitable Fruit-Growing,” recommends 
straw passed through a cut box, as if preparing food for horses, for 
placing between rows of Strawberries for keeping the fruit clean and 
baffling slugs, which cannot travel freely over the unstable particles, 
nor can worms move so freely over them as on a firmer surface. Some 
persons find it necessary to place twiggy sticks for supporting the fruit 
above the foliage in wet weather, and find the end well justifies the 
means. We believe the subject of eeltvorms and Strawberries will be 
found specially treated in Miss Ormerod’s Report of Injurious Insects, 
which is in the press, and will be shortly issued. In spraying the 
moisture rests on plants like dew ; in syringing they are washed as 
by rain. 
Enriching Vine Borders (A Suh.scribe?'). — Possibly neither of 
the manures applied alone would be the best for your purpose. If the 
poor soil is sufficiently porous, or well drained for water to pass down 
freely, probably the best thing you can do will be to apply liquid 
manure at once. It may be given stronger now than in summer, and 
5 gallons may be given to each square yard, this being equal to a little 
more than an inch of rain. The liquid that drains from both horse 
and cow stables contains exactly what Vines require—potash ; the solid 
matter used containing very little indeed of this essential Vine food. In 
the absence of stable drainage or sewage, a pound of guano and half a 
peck of soot dissolved in about forty gallons of water would be good 
for enriching the Vine border at the present time. Mix the best 
manure you have for spreading on the border, not too open on the one 
hand or like a close soapy mass on the other. Some of the finest 
Grapes exhibited last summer were the result mainly of liquid manure 
applied to the border during the preceding winter. ” There is no 
mistake about the efficacy of the plan,” wrote the gardener who won 
many prizes in strong competition, and he expects to win more. 
Sparrows and Gooseberry Bushes (J. Sharman). —Pruning on 
the “spur system” as referred to by a correspondent on page 111 
means that a certain number of main branches a foot apart or there¬ 
abouts form the framework of a bush, and all annual growths from 
these branches are cut back to within an inch of their base every winter, 
this practice resulting in the production of clusters of fruit buds or 
“ spurs,” especially where summer pinching or pruning is also practised. 
You will find spur pruning in its integrity as applied to Currants 
illustrated in Wright’s essay on “ Profitable Fruit Culture,” and also 
shown in combination with the retention of some annual growths in 
pruning Gooseberries. Our correspondent, “ W. T.,” is quite right. 
Where sparrows abound they do more injury to spur-pruned bushes than 
to those that are not so pruned, because of the readier accessibilicy of 
the former to the birds. Where these are unusually persistent in their 
attacks some fruit growers have found it advantageous, instead >! 
pruning Gooseberry bushes after the leaves fall, to pass strong string): 
tarred cord round them, and tie each bush into a close bundle, the birds 
then only denuding the outside branches of buds, sufficient being pre¬ 
served inside the bundle for the production of fruit. The string is not 
