May iP, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
487 
for forming them about 18 inches apart, and the hearing wood at 18 to 
24 inches along them, training the extensions their full length, and 
pinching the side shoots on last year’s wood to two or three leaves, so 
as to form spurs, and to one of subsequent growth. Laterals on the current 
wood should be pinched at the first joint, and successional growths as made. 
Cheery House. —When the whole of the crop is ripe the chief con¬ 
sideration will be to keep the fruit fresh and prolong the season as 
long as possible. Shading will do so, but it is only desirable when 
the fruit is exposed directly to the sun owing to the limited foliage. 
Free ventilation must be attended to, and in hot weather a sprinkling 
of the surface of the border in the hottest part of the day will assist in 
keeping the fruit plump. The supply of water must not be neglected, 
for dryness is inimical to the development of the buds for the ensuing 
crop of fruit and health of the trees. 
Cucumbers. — Plants in houses that have been in bearing since 
the beginning of the year may be cleared out, and the house cleansed 
preparatory to replanting with young plants, or Melons for a late crop. 
If. however, the old plants are fairly healthy, and Cucumbers are still 
sufficiently supplied from pits and frames, they may be kept in fruiting 
a time longer by removing the surface soil with a small fork, and 
replacing with some lumpy loam, afterwards surfacing with decayed 
manure, giving a good soaking of tepid water, and afterwards following 
with liquid manure. Thin out the old growths, and encourage young 
in their place. Shade from powerful sun, syringe both ways in the 
morning and early afternoon, and damp well down before nightfall. 
Admit a little air at 75°, increasing with the advancing sun, keeping at 
85° through the day with sun, and close early so as to run up to 90° or 
95 °. Fire heat need only be employed to prevent the night temperature 
falling below C0° to 65°, and to insure 70° to 75° by day. 
Pits and Frames .—Plants in these should be ventilated from 7.30 
to 8 A.M , and in the hottest part of the day a slight shade from fierce 
sun will be beneficial, and keeping through the day at 85° to 90°; close 
at 85°, increasing 5° to 10° with sun heat. Keep them watered as 
required, about twice a week will be necessary in bright weather, and 
damp overhead on fine afternoons. Avoid overcrowding the foliage, 
thinning w’ell, keeping up a succession of bearing wood, removing bad 
leaves, stopping one or two joints beyond the show of fruit, and avoid 
overcropping. If straight fruits are wanted place them in glasses or 
pieces of half inch deal nailed together so as to form open-ended 
troughs about 3 inches wide, which must be slightly inclined so as not 
to hold water. 
Strawberries in Pots. —Early Strawberries, as a rule, have not 
been good. Last season did not favour the maturation of the crowns, 
the plants not perfecting as good a growth as was essential to the 
successful fruiting of the early forced batches. The successional Straw¬ 
berries have been much better, but they are variable, and the later 
p’ants are affording the finest fruits. Copious supplies of water are 
necessary, especially in the early stages of swelling, for if the plants 
once lack that essential element the fruit may be so dried as not to 
swell freely afterwards, and a somewhat moist condition of the 
atmosphere is necessary to obtain well-sw^elled berries ; therefore, avoid 
drying currents of air, especially when cold. Water the plants two or 
three times a day according to the weather, and have liquid manure two 
or three times a week until the fruit commences ripening, after which 
give water only sufficient to prevent the foliage flagging. This, with 
plenty of air, improves the flavour. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Runner Beans.—A short spell of extra hot weather hastened the 
germination of seed and caused the plants to grow rapidly, but all un¬ 
protected were cut down by frosts which occurred on or about May 18th. 
This, though a regretable occurrence, is yet easily obviated. Supposing 
an early supply of Beans is needed more seed should at once be sown 
either singly in 3-inch pots, or thinly in boxes and placed in heat to 
germinate. The plants ought to be hardened off before becoming much 
root-hound, and be planted where the failures occurred. Naturally the 
least check is experienced by those turned out of pots, but these Beans 
are readily transplanted either from boxes or the open ground where 
thinning out is possible or desirab’e. More seed might also be sown in 
the open ground, and if it is soaked for twenty-four hours prior to 
sowing it will germinate more quickly. Market growers will be the 
greatest sufferers from the effects of frost, as in all probability it will be 
impossible to procure sufficient seed to make good the lo.sses, and in any 
case the crops must be late. There will be therefore a better prospect for 
those who market surplus produce of getting good prices for their crops. 
Kidney Beaks. —Much that has been advanced concerning runner 
Beans also applies to the dwarf Beans, these being cut down wholesale, 
and that too in spite of being located on raised borders. In order to 
keep up a good supply of this popular vegetable look well after the 
plants in pits and frames, and in many instances it is advisable to sow 
or plant yet another batch under glass. Given good room, well fed at 
the roofs, and free of red spider, frame-grown plants are very pro¬ 
ductive, and in fact almost indispensable this season. A gentle rather 
than a strong heat best suits them at this time of the year. Raise a 
few score or hundreds of plants under glass for transplanting to warm 
borders, and if handlights can be afforded these will .serve to give them 
a good start. Sow more seed in the centre of the ridges between 
Celery trenches, where the plants will thrive and crop surprisingly well 
even in the hottest summers. 
Celery. —Not only is it advisable to prepare the trenches well in 
advance of planting time, but other work ought not to prevent the young 
seedlings also being taken in hand before they become drawn up in the seed 
beds or boxes. If frames cannot be spared for them lights might be, sides 
being temporarily formed with the aid of a few boards and stout stakes. 
Fix these or set frames on hard ground, and in the bottom place a layer 
of short manure trampled down to a depth of about 4 inches, on this 
placing a layer of light sifted soil 2 inches deep. Prick out the seedlings 
in straight lines 4 inches or rather more apart each way, give a gentle 
watering, keep rather close and shaded from bright sunshine till 
they commence growing strongly, and never let them become dry at the 
roots. When they touch each other is the time for transplanting to the 
trenches, and being on a hard bottom they will move off cleanly with 
good squares of manure and roots attached, flagging seldom taking place. 
Nothing is gained by treating even the latest raised plants similarly to 
ordinary Cabbage, the better plan being to give them a strong start 
under glass as just advised for the early and main crop batches. It 
is not the most stunted Celery that keeps the longest, and by ordinarily 
good treatment, early sowing being avoided, it is possible to keep fully 
grown Celery till late in the spring. As a rule the varieties with coloured 
stalks are the most reliable for the main crop and late supplies, the 
white forms being most liable to run to seed prematurely, and as a rule 
are not nearly so solid and crisp as the red and pink sorts. The former 
may well be grown for affording early supplies as being the quickest to 
blanch ; but the bulk of the stock of plants pricked out should be of 
the coloured forms. 
A NEW FUNGICIDE AND DISTRIBUTOR. 
Messrs. Barr & Son, the agents for Messrs. Tait & Buchanan’s 
preparation for destroying fungoid growths on plants of various kinds, 
send US the annexed illustration of their powder distributor. It is a 
very handy appliance for the purpose, and delivers a cloud of dust where 
it is wanted. The preparation, which has been found to be of great 
service in vineyards in Portugal, is said to contain no sulphate of copper, 
but the copper is present as a hydrated oxide of copper intimately mixed 
with lime by a special method of manufacture, the copper oxide being 
equal to about 10 per cent, of sulphate of copper. This fungicide is 
referred to in the report of the Scientific Committee of the Royal 
Horticultural Society on page 413 last week, but the Committee did not 
recommend its being tried at Chiswick for the reasons there given. One 
of the objections appears to be based on the fact that the fungicide is a 
commercial product, as if seeds, plants, and other things tried there were 
not of a commercial nature and their commercial value thus determined. 
Many persons consider that Chiswick is just the place where new 
inventions and introductions intended to be of benefit in gardens 
ought to be tried for the guidance of the horticultural community, but 
the Scientific Committee do not appear to be of this opinion. 
W. 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
• I •- ~n 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
The Apiary. 
Owing to the extremely low temperature bees make no progress. 
The daily loss appears to be as great as the increase, and has been 
greater between the 15th and 22nd of the month than at any time 
during the whole year. But even with so great a loss the hives 
are so well forward in brood that with fine weather for but a few 
days the most of my hives would be ready to swarm or super. 
Young queens are the first consideration, and for that reason I 
shall encourage a per-centage of my stocks to swarm. Drones are 
now numerous, and in order to insure fertilisation will do my best 
to have no queens later hatched than in June. 
I shall supply at first with little super room until the weather 
and flowers are more promising ; but I hope that any half measures 
will be but very temporary, and that although clouds darken our 
hopes for a bountiful harvest and heavy yield of honey, brighter 
days are in store. 
Foreign Bees—The Standard Hive. 
The standard hive is too small for any foreign bee, as it was 
for the old black bee ; but where is it, or who has it in Britain ? 
I have sent crossed and pure bees to many parts of Britain and 
