April 9.1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
293 
established. The seed being sown now on well prepared ground thinly 
according to their respective heights and covered with fine soil, it will 
probably germinate quickly, and if the Seedlings are freely thinned they 
will make rapid progress and develop into strong branching plants. 
They well repay for liberal treatment, crowded starved plants flowering 
for a short time only. Sweet Peas and Sunflowers will make but a poor 
display on a hot dry soil, and it is advisable to manure and deeply dig 
patches of ground or lines of the same specially for these. Poppies will 
succeed nearly anywhere, but the seed being very small and plentiful is 
usually sown much too thickly. Plants kept well clear of each other 
will longest remain floriferous, but even these are a mass of seed pods 
long before the autumn is reached. Dwarf Tropmoluras if kept just clear 
of each other are even gayer and more beautiful than the best Zonal 
Pelargoniums, but when they are allowed to run into each other the 
eflfect is soon marred. They succeed well on somewhat dry poor ground. 
Single or well isolated plants of Mignonette again are much preferable 
to patches. The list of other hardy annuals that ought now to be sown 
includes Alyssum, Bartonia, Calendrinia, Calendula, Candytrrft, Corn¬ 
flower, Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Collinsia, Convolvulus minor. 
Coreopsis, EschschoUzia, Cilia, Godetia, Gypsophila, Ornamental 
Grasses, Hawkweed, Helichrysum, Hibiscus, Larkspur, Leptosiphon, 
Limnanthes, Linaria, Linum, Love-lies-bleeding, Lupine, Malope, 
Nemophila, QDnothera, Sanvitalia, Saponaria, Silene, Sweet Sultan, 
Tropseolum, Venus’s Looking Glass, Viscaria, and Xeranthemum. 
Half-hardy Annuals. —It is next to useless to commit seed of Astersi 
Stocks, Zinnias, Marigolds, Dianthus, and Phlox Drummondi to the 
open ground. Even if some of it did germinate the display from the 
plants must inevitably be late and unsatisfactory, and the better plan in 
every way is to raise the plants in gentle heat and have them strong and 
ready for the open ground late in May or the first week in June. Either 
mild hotbeds or the gentle heat of newly started vineries and other 
houses answers wmll for raising these annuals, the seed being sown either 
on a bed of fine light soil or in boxes and pans filled with the same. 
Avoid thick sowing, cover lightly, shade heavily, and never let the soil 
become at all dry. Mice are very fond of Aster seed, and if any of them 
are about the precaution of just damping the seed and then rolling it in 
powdered red lead must be taken prior to sowing, or otherwise the 
greater portion of it may be eaten or carried away in one night. When 
the seedlings are of good size and have been well exposed to the light, 
prick them off into beds, boxes, or pans of fairly rich compost, as none 
of them will bear starving before being planted out in their flowering 
quarters. Japanese Maize, Eicinuses, Amaranthuses, Perilla nankinensis, 
and the miniature Sunflow’er may also be somewhat similarly raised and 
treated the two first named, however, being kept singly in pots. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Azaleas. —As these cease flowering examine them over, and if thrips 
are present wash the foliage with a solution of tobacco water before 
placing the plants in vineries and Peach houses to make their growth. 
When an inch of growth is made root action will have commenced, and 
the plants may be potted if they need it. Employ peat and clean coarse 
sand, pot firmly, and water carefully afterwards. If good peat cannot 
be obtained pot the plants in loam one-third, two-thirds good leaf soil 
passed through a half-inch sieve and sand. Peat remains longer in a 
good healthy condition, but where it cannot be had Azaleas will do well 
in the compost named. Remove all Azaleas required for late flowering 
to some structure with a northern aspect. At this season of the year 
they come forward rapidly in houses that are exposed to the sun. 
Camellias. —Camellias that have flowered may be thoroughly w'ashed 
with petroleum and water if scale is noticed. Grow them in a close 
moist atmosphere, and syringe freely two or three times daily. While 
gi’owing the Camellia delights in heat and moisture and slight shade 
from the sun in the hottest part of the day. Plants in tubs or large 
pots may be top-dressed with good loam and manure, and occasional 
applications of soot water may also be given. Those in smal'er pots 
that need more root space can be potted at once in a compost of fibry 
loam, one-seventh of manure and sand. Give wmter carefully after 
potting, but do not allow these plants to suffer by an insufficient 
supply. 
Salvia gesnereejlora. —For flowering at this period of the year few 
plants surpass this bright scarlet Salvia. Large spikes of bright flowers 
are freely produced which last much longer than many others. It is 
useful for furnishing purposes in 6 to 10-inch pots. Guttings for the 
latter should be rooted at once, those for the former not until the end 
of May. With this Salvia pinching is not needed ; it branches freely, 
and if staked upright will form a perfect pyramid with flowers from 
the top to the base. If very large plants are needed 5 or 6 feet high 
prune those now in C-inch pots after flowering, and place them into 
12-inch pots. The treatment given to Chrysanthemums as regards 
potting will suit it admirably. The cooler it can be kept duiingthe 
wdnter the better. If bushes are preferred to pyramids pinching is 
necessary, and the plants must be induced to form several instead of one 
lead. 
'Zonal Pelargonmms. — Insert the cuttings required for winter 
flow’ering, placing them singly in small pots, and arrange where the 
temperature is about 60°. Partially reduce the roots and repot those 
that have been cut back. Place young plants now in 4-inch into 
6-inch, and allow them to come into flower. Plants just rooted may 
be pinched and placed in 5-inch pots; if they can be given a tempe¬ 
rature of 55° to 60° for a time they will soon be established. 
Ivy-leaved Varieties. —Insert plenty of these for autumn and winter 
flowering. The flowers of these are most useful for cutting. Those now 
in 5-inch pots may be placed into 8-inch size, and if arranged in a light 
sunny position where they can bo trained under the roof will flower 
profusely. 
Hydrangeas. —Plants of H. paniculata should not be overforced. 
Allow them to come forward when a circulation of air can be main¬ 
tained daily to insure sturdy growth. Start others in heat and then 
transfer them to the greenhouse. Place all of the hortensis section 
that are showing flower on a moisture-holding base where the tempe¬ 
rature is about 50°. Give clear soot water occasionally. Introduce stool 
plants that have been in cold frames into Peach houses or vineries sO' 
that they will complete their growth early. 
Wiodanthes. —Seedlings raised in heat and hardened may be trans¬ 
ferred to cold frames. It will be necessary to ventilate these carefully 
at first and mat up the frames at night. More seed may be sown at 
once. 
Fuchsias. —Repot plants that are in 60’s, and supply each with an 
upright stake. Keep them growing in a temperature of 50° to 55°. Pot 
singly those that have just been rooted, and insert more cuttings. 
The earliest old plants may be placed in their largest pots and the 
shoots allowed to extend without further pinching. 
■■ '.■"'.t.l.f-. 7.1". 1-1. 1.1.l«l* 
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HE bee-keepbrJ 
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APIARIAN NOTES. 
The Weatiiek. 
I HAVE observed the winter of 1838 mentioned in this Journal 
as having been severe. I remember it well. There were three 
months of continuous frost, which had not wholly disappeared by 
the month of May. Seed time was late, but the harvest was not, 
and was a good one. The frost must have been severe, as it was 
protracted. I remember when in the old steamer, the Vale of 
Leven, which sailed from the Broomielaw to Dumbarton, the 
Clyde was frozen over as far down as the Castle. The paddle- 
wheels of the steamer frequently threw pieces of ice about an inch 
thick upon deck, with which the boys aboard amused themselves by 
curling them ahead of the little craft. But I do not remember a 
March so cold and winterly as the one just passed away, and April 
so far is little better. The effects of the severe cold are every¬ 
where apparent, as I am informed, as I have not been able to go 
about since March 12th. Many plants that I considered hardy are 
destroyed, and Crocuses come irregularly, and fall over with 
unopened petals. Beds of Arabis were promising on the last day 
of February, but wherever the snow laid upon them there is not a 
vestige of green or flower, unless at sheltered edges where it 
melted quickly. In short there is scarcely a trace of the flowers 
left. Seed time is stiU in the future ; and although “ hope deferred 
maketh the heart sick,” still all we can do is to hope on, that a 
change may come quickly. It will be most welcome. 
Cells Containing Many Eggs. 
“ C. R.” wishes to know the indications of cells containing ten 
or twelve eggs, the queen of which was hatched in 1889. The 
presence of so many eggs in the cells, I am inclined to think, 
indicates that the queen is more youthful than is imagined—very 
likely raised last autumn. These surplus eggs will be all destroyed. 
I have never observed bees carrying eggs from one cell to another, 
although the late Mr. Pettigrew asserted it, but he never proved 
the matter. Bees in every case prepare the cells beforehand for 
the reception of the eggs, and in no case will a queen deposit an 
egg in an unprepared cell, neither will the bees prepare more cells 
than are absolutely necessary in conformity with their strength or 
numbers, and when supplied with all the necessaries of life and for 
breeding purposes during September they reach their goal m a 
more satisfactory manner to the bee-keeper than in any case where 
artificial means are employed. The observant bee-keeper will soon 
learn the folly of some practices advocated, among which “ brood 
spreading” is happily now condemned by its former advocates. 
I seldom look upon ignorance as a fault—it is a misfortune to 
