184 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 24, 1893. 
detached hives, and it is bad policy to crowd the hives. The empty 
hive was placed 6 feet from the western one, the bees and drones 
of which alike immediately entered, while some of the bees from 
the next hive entered the westmost one. I then moved it to 
20 feet distant, and this time with the entrance quarter round, and 
still some bees and drones flew towards it. The lesson is the same 
as that I have »o often taught. Never alter the appearance or 
aspect of hives after September. 
Do Bees Fly in a Straight Line ? 
It is generally believed that bees when returning to their hives 
fly in a direct line, but this is not verified here. The bee stands 
were at the foot of a glen that separates two hills. In order to 
reach another glen situated at a right angle on the hill at a con¬ 
siderable elevation rather less than a quarter of a mile distant, 
where the Heather is extra fine, and where gold was at one time 
found and was sometimes wrought for, in a straight line the 
bees would have come down the hill at an angle, but instead 
they flew right down the second named glen until they reached 
the bottom, then turned to the east at a right angle again, flew 
down the main glen, and past their hives from 150 to 200 yards 
where the valley and dyke nearly intersect, then over the dyke, 
reaching their hives on the lee side of it, flying at least a mile 
further when windy than when calm. — A Lanarkshire Bee¬ 
keeper. 
•**A11 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. 
Oorraspondents 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. 
Grapes SHanking' (i?. C. jV.'). —Your letter arrived as we were 
jrtDaring for press. The matter shall receive attention next week. 
Plums under Glass (i?. II .').—For training up the rafters of a 
house with a south-west aspect Denniston’s Superb, McLaughlin’s, 
Brahy’s Green Gage, and Transparent Gage are excellent. Other four, 
not Gages, are Jefferson, Washington, Kirke’s, and Coe’s Golden Drop. 
Peaches for hSarket (>?. S .).—We suspect our correspondent will 
not recommend any particular form of tree as the best under all circum¬ 
stances. His experience is much too great for that, but he may be 
expected to refer both to trees grown as pyramids in pots and to trees 
planted out and trained to trellises. 
Potting Tuberoses {Reader ).—Tuberoses should be potted so 
that the tops of the tubers are about half an inch above the soil. The 
suckers ought to be removed. There is no advantage in keeping the 
tubers for a second year, as they seldom flower satisfactorily. The 
three shoots round the crown bud of the Chrysanthemum should be 
removed. 
Anemone polyanthes (Z. B. E .).—This fine Anemone grows 
about a foot to 18 inches in height, with a wealth of fine ornamental 
foliage. The flowers are produced in bunches of from six to eighteen, 
umbel fashion, on longish scapes. The blooms are rarely less than 
an inch in diameter, pure white, firm textured, and lasting a con¬ 
siderable time in a cut state. It loves shade,-plenty of moisture in 
rather a heavy but rich soil. The leaves are deciduous; the crown, 
though exposed, requiring no protection, as it is found at altitudes of 
from 10,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level from Kashmir to Sikkim, 
flowering during the early summer. 
Xattayrns sativus {Amateur ).—You are right. The Blue Pea 
(Lathyrus sativus) is one of the prettiest and most distinct of all the 
annual Peas of ornamental character. It is an old plant in gardens, and 
yet many persons have never seen it, although it is universally admired by 
all who chance to see it covered with its clear blue blossoms. Its culture 
is of the easiest. Seeds sown in drills or clumps in March produce plants 
which flower in July, and continue in bloom until late in the autumn. All 
the atteiition required after sowing is to stake each clump with a few 
bushy twigs abcut 2 feet in height. The 3 to 4-seeded pods are curiously 
winged along the back. This species has long been grown in South Europe 
as a forage plant, but its beauty ought to guarantee it a welcome in all 
good flower gardens. 
XLeeplng Xate Grapes {H. P.). — Late Grapes, to keep well, 
should be thoroughly ripe by the middle of September, which can only 
be effected by assisting the Vines in spring and early summer with 
gentle fire heat, so as to have them sufficiently early for ripening the 
fruit by the time indicated. The Grapes should be allowed to hang on 
the Vines until the leaves have fallen, when they ought to be cut with a 
sufficient length of wood below the bunches to allow of that part being 
placed in bottles containing water, and all the wood above the bunches 
should be retained, at least it is best so to do, as cuts increase the evapora¬ 
tion. The bottles should be about three-parts filled with clear rain water, 
and a piece of charcoal placed in each. The bottles must be placed on a 
rack, so that they slope to an angle of about 45°, so that the bunches 
will depend clear of the bottles. The latter will need replenishing as 
the water wastes, and the Grapes should be examined occasionally for 
decayed berries, which should be removed as they appear. The most 
suitable place for keeping the Grapes, failing a Grape-room, is a rather 
dry room, which can be kept at a temperature of about 45°, or ranging 
between 50° as a maximum and 40° minimum. 
Tomatoes Irregular in Size {S. S .).—When the plants are 
vigorous and the leaves and trusses ffirge, the fruits are generally 
uneven in size. The first setting on the trusses are usually the largest, 
and the next medium-sized, whilst the latest are generally small. The 
crop is, therefore, easily assorted into three grades. The first, consisting 
of large fruits, and the last of small, say the size of a Green Gage Plum, 
are less profitable than the medium-sized fruits, which generally realise 
good prices. To secure this, judicious thinning is necessary, and if 
practised early does not impair the total weight of the crop, for by 
removing the ill-shapen and the latest set fruit on the respective trusses 
those left swell to an even size. This requires judgment so as to get a 
full weight of fruit of even sample and have it come in succession- 
ally, but the main point is not to overcrop. The hot dry weather has 
been against the swelling of Tomatoes, and the fruits have ripened in 
some cases prematurely through the sun being unusually powerful and 
the atmosphere not having been kept proportionately moist. A slight 
shade would, no doubt, have improved matters by lessening evaporation 
and securing the better swelling of the fruit. As the growth is free 
enough there cannot be anything materially amiss with the soil, but the 
chief essential to the .swelling of the fruit is nitrogen, which is not over¬ 
abundant in artificial manures, as it is the most costly substance. In a 
season like the present solid manure is decidedly advantageous on 
account of the humus and resultant nitric acid, but it is easy to supply 
nitrogen if the swelling of the fruit is not free enough by dressings of 
nitrate of soda, a small handful in the powdered state being applied to 
a space of 8 square yards, or J oz. per square yard, it being mixed for 
facility of application with an equal quantity of dry earth. This 
supplied according to the needs of the plants and the condition of the 
soil and weather will be amply repaid. 
Sagro Palms (A New Reader). —l’'ou desire to know something 
about sago, and from whence it is obtained. Sago is obtained from 
various species of Indian Palms. In the Indian Archipelago it is 
procured from Sagus Rumphi, Sagus laevis, and Sagus genuina ; on the 
Coromandel coast from Phoenix farinifera; in Ceylon from Corypha 
umbraculifera; and in Assam from Caryota urens. These trees are cut 
down, and from the pith filling their stems the sago is extracted. The 
pith is thoroughly washed, and from the washing, when allowed to rest, 
the fecula or starch subsides; this is the sago flour of commerce, of 
which large quantities are used in the manufacture of calico. When 
used as food it is granulated, and known as pearl sago. Tapioca is 
really sago in lumps, and was so called merely because the French, who 
introduced it from India, named it Sagou-tapioka. About eight 
thousand tons of sago are annually imported. Sagus Rumphi is a 
small tree, comparatively speaking, not above 30 feet high. It is a 
native of the Indian Archipelago, particularly of Malacca, Borneo, 
Sumatra, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Before the tree has arrived at 
maturity the stem consists of a mere shell, about 2 inches thick, with a 
great mass of spongy pith, becoming gradually absorbed, and ultimately 
the stem remains hollow. At the time when the pith is fully developed, 
and before it has begun to diminish, which is indicated by the superior 
leaves being covered with a sort of farina or white dust, the tree is 
felled, and the trunk cut into lengths of 6 or 7 feet long, which are 
split to admit of the pith being more easily removed. The pith is in 
the state of a coarse powder, and is mixed with water in a trough having 
a sieve at one end; the water, loaded with farina, passes through the 
sieve, and is received in convenient vessels, where it is allowed to stand 
till the insoluble matter has subsided. The water is then strained off, 
and the farina which is left may be dried into a kind of meal, or moulded 
into whatever shape may be desired. Sago, as it comes to this country, 
is prepared by forming the meal into a paste with water, and rubbing it 
into grains; it is produced in the greatest abundance in the Moluccas, 
but of the finest quality on the eastern coast of Sumatra. The Chinese 
of Malacca refine it, so as to give it a fine pearly lustre, and large 
quantities are also prepared at Singapore. It is said that a single tree 
will yield from 500 to 600 lbs. of sago. Sago forms the principal food 
of the natives of the Moluccas. A decoction of sago fermented yields 
alcohol by distillation, and by ascescence it forms vinegar. The fruit 
of this Palm is the size of a hen’s egg. The base of the leafstalks is 
covered with long fibrous filaments, that serve to make cordage and 
sacking. 
