66 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 20, 1893. 
and owing to the rough roads I expected the whole of 
them would be spoiled, but not a bee was lost, nor a comb 
broken, after a journey of fifty miles by road and rail. Six men 
managed the whole, and in two hours after their arrival at the 
station, which is two miles from their destination, the work was 
completed. Taking the number and other things connected with 
them into consideration it will be easily seen there is no other 
hive extant that could be set down with similar safety and 
expedition. If there were any reliance in the advice to give 
timeous room to prevent swarming, and the returning of after 
swarms for the same purpose, it would be a boon to bee-keepers. 
Three hives, with a plurality of queens piping for four weeks, 
swarmed a day after they were set down. Notes from the moors 
will be continued next week.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
•^•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 communications. 
Verses (jCastanea). —We are unable to inform you in what book 
the verses you send are to be found, and we have not space for their 
insertion in our columns. 
Biennials and Perennials from Seed (^Reader'). —You may sow 
at once in light soil in the open ground, any or all kinds of which seed 
is offered in catalogues, but there should not be a day’s unnecessary 
delay. Your letter only arriving as our pages were being made up for 
press we cannot possibly do more than give this brief reply to your 
question. 
Sbowlngr Annuals (^Constant Reader'). —When prizes are offered 
for three annuals schedules usually say they must be distinct kinds. In 
that case there must be no more than three, and the Sweet Scabious 
may be one of them in one colour. Neither a Dahlia nor a Gladiolus 
would be admissible in such a class for they are not annuals. Annuals 
are plants which are raised from seed, flower, and die, root and branch, 
the same season. 
Criticism (& J. A.). —By all means exercise your critical intelli¬ 
gence to any extent so long as it affords you pleasure. We do not 
intend to discuss the unending theme of market prices, nor to alter 
them to meet diverse individual views. The measures we have recom¬ 
mended will prevent, do prevent, and have prevented, the Tomato disease. 
We have grown Tomatoes for thirty years, and never once failed in 
having good crops from clean plants, and we do not expect to fail 
in the future. 
Sowlngr Begonia Seed (^Begonia). — Probably the best plan 
would be to sow the seeds very thinly in boxes or large pans, so that 
the seedlings would have room to grow undisturbed as long as they 
could be kept growing, and winter the tubers in the soil in which they 
grew until they showed signs of growth in the spring. Under proper 
management they would make good flowering plants next year. Cer¬ 
tainly transfer the pollen of the fringed single variety as you propose. 
You may not, however, succeed in your object the first year of the 
seedlings flowering, 
Crlnum capense QG. A.). —This plant is hardy in sheltered posi¬ 
tions, and we have never seen such large floriferous clamps as in the 
deep rich soil of a south border, the plants mulched and watered in the 
summer, a.nd the ground thickly covered with leaves in winter to prevent 
injury by frost. The bulbs are usually safe when planted 6 or 8 inches 
deep and have a little surface protection. The plants do not always 
succeed in dry conservatories, in which they are' often some distance 
from the glass, and considerably shaded. With healthy root action in 
sweet loamy soil, and abundance of light and air, the leaves are not 
yellow, but green. The plants enjoy root moisture in summer, but not 
stagnant soil, and a sunny position. In the autumn the water supply 
may be reduced and the plants exposed to all the sun possible for 
ripening the growth and storing nutrient matter in the bulbs. They 
succeed admirably in cool frames during the period of growth, or in 
light greenhouses, with plenty of air. The soil should be kept dryish. 
not dust dry, in the winter. The root action of your plant may be 
defective, and the position it occupies not quite suitable. 
Petrsea volubllls (_Toung Gardener). — The history of Petraaa 
volubilis is brief but interesting in some degree. It was first discovered 
by Houston at Vera Cruz, but has also been found at Martinique and 
elsewhere. On the authority of Alton’s “ Hortus Kewensis ” it seems 
that seeds were first sent to the Chelsea Botanic Garden before 1733, 
but from these Miller states only two plants were raised, flowers not 
being produced until 1802, when a specimen bloomed in Mr, Woodford’s 
collection at Vauxhall. From this a coloured plate was prepared for 
the “ Botanical Magazine ” (plate 628), but the variety there shown is 
distinct from that you mention, the corolla lobes being larger, the calyx 
lobes more narrow, and the colour a uniform purplish-lilac. Houston 
named the plant in honour of Lord Eobert James Petre, who, it has 
been said, was “ the worthiest of men, whose death was the greatest loss 
that botany or gardening ever felt in this island.” A very large collec¬ 
tion of plants was formed by this nobleman, large stoves and conserva¬ 
tories being erected for the tropical species, while the outdoor collection 
was also extremely large, the total number of individuals being said to 
be about 219,925. The culture of the plant is easy. Given an ordinary 
stove temperature, a good compost of turfy loam and peat, with a small 
proportion of well decayed manure, and little difficulty will be ex¬ 
perienced in both growing and flowering the plant, providing it be 
kept clear of insects, mealy bug being its especial enemy. Supply water 
liberally when growth is advancing, syringing freely to keep the foliage 
fresh and clean. It can be increased by layers, but the best way is to 
graft young shoots upon pieces of the root in April or May, when if 
treated like other root cuttings, placed in heat and shaded, young 
vigorous plants can usually be readily obtained. 
Crros Colman Grapes (Youngster). —The Grapes are a credit to 
you ; but since you say you have “ never seen larger and would like to 
do so,” we show you a good sample as grown by Mr. J. Goodacre, of 
Fig. 11.— gros colman grape. 
Elvaston. The berry depicted in the engraving, fig. 11 was taken 
from a bunch that weighed 7 lbs., but contained only sixty-eight berries. 
Keep on striving, and you will excel as a Grape grower. 
Ivy on Trees (A. D. IF.).—There is no question but that Ivy is 
injurious to trees against which it grows, as is evidenced by the 
diminished vigour of the trees as compared with those that are not 
mantled with Ivy ; but there is no disputing the fact that when trees 
have been long and so much covered with it as to be very much en¬ 
feebled thereby, that the removal of the Ivy acts prejudicially by 
exposing the long-protected bark to the direct influence of the atmo¬ 
sphere. Ivy ought never to be allowed to grow on trees that are 
intended for profit, but should be cut or removed before it has made 
much headway. Trees covered with Ivy in a young state will never 
make profitable timber, and aged trees are better felled when covered 
with it, unless it be desired to retain them as ornaments. 
Muscat of Alexandria Vine Beaves Yellow (B. A.). —The 
leaf has the peculiar appearance incidental to scorching in this variety. 
It is probably caused by excessive evaporation from foliage subjected 
to a close and moist atmosphere during the night and early part of the 
day. Admit a little air at night if the house is closely glazed, and in 
all cases increase or give ventilation in the morning by the time the 
sun acts upon the house, so as to dissipate the moisture and allow the 
evaporation from the leaves to go on correspondingly with the increasing 
temperature. As for the wireworms, they are best trapped. Pieces of 
turf about 4 inches square inserted in the border about 1 foot apart are 
good traps, the turf being fresh—that is, with live grass and roots, 
placing them a little below the surface, so that they may remain moist 
and right side upwards. The wireworms feed on the roots, and by with¬ 
drawing the turf occasionally the pests may be caught. Carrots cut 
into 2-iDch lengths and buried about an inch below the surface are also 
good. A pointed stick may be thrust into each bait, so as to form a 
handle, and by it the bait can be readily withdrawn at short intervals 
and examined. The wireworms will be found feeding on the Carrot, 
and may soon be cleared away. Lime water will not do any harm to 
the Vines nor to the wireworms. The best plan is to catch and kill 
them. 
