682 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December S8, 1893. 
fermenting material. Damp the paths and borders two ot'three times 
a day, sprinkling the Vines occasionally, but avoid excessive syringing 
or a confined moist atmosphere, as it only favours aerial roots from the 
rods to the prejudice of proper root activity. 
Houses to Afford Ripe Grapes in June —The Vines that are to supply 
these (should be started at once. If the Vines are planted inside, the 
outside borders should be protected with a thickness of leaves sufficient 
to exclude frost ; but the Vines being planted outside, the border will be 
advantageously covered with fermenting material, two parts leaves and 
one part stable manure, both as fresh as possible, mixed, and put cn 
so as to maintain a temperature at their base of 60° to 65°, and 70° to 
75° when the Vines start into growth. Supply the inside border 
with water at a temperature of 60° to 65°, bringing it into an evenly 
moist but not saturated condition. Fuel may be economised by the free 
use of fermenting materials placed inside the house, turning a portion 
of them daily, and adding fresh as needed, so as to maintain a genial 
warmth, and the giving off of ammonia-charged moisture. This will 
also lessen the necessity for damping ; otherwise, damp the house and 
Vines two or three times a day when the weather is bright. In dull 
weather sprinkling the floor once or twice ]a day will be ample. The 
temperature should be 50° to 55° by artificial means and 65° from sun 
heat. Yourg Vines or canes will need depressing to the horizontal 
line or lower, to insure their breaking regularly to the base. 
Houses frim which the Grapes Hare been Cut. —The Vines should 
be pruned as soon as possible, as when this is deferred beyond the turn 
of the days bleeding is more or less liable to follow, but to a plump bud 
or eye as near to the main stem as practicable. Vines in good condition 
will give fruit enough when pruned to one bud ; but where this has not 
been the case, or the bunches were too small in previous years, the 
bearing shoots (called laterals) may be shortened to two buds, or left 
longer if those are not round and plump. This will cause the spurs to 
become long in course of time, but it is easy to encourage growth from 
the base and cut the old spurs away, or train up young canes for the 
displacement of the old rods. All loose bark should be stripped off, 
especially on the spurs, no attempt at scraping being made, and the 
Vines washed with tepid softsoap and water (3 ozs. softsoap to a gallon 
of water). This is all that is necessary if the Vines are clean, otherwise 
follow with an approved insecticide. Cleanse the house thoroughly. 
Limewash the walls, adding a handful of flowers of sulphur to each 
pailful of limewash. Remove the loose surface soil or remains of 
mulchings, and supply fresh turfy loam, and sprinkle over it 4 to 8 ozs. 
per square yard of this mixture :—Three parts steamed bonemeal, two 
parts sulphate of potash, and one part ground gypsum, mixed. The 
house should be kept cool, but if utilised for plants the temperature 
artificially should not exceed 45°, as the Vines will be excited in a mean 
temperature of 50°, and that is fatal to complete rest. Plants only that 
require safety from frost should be placed in vineries when the Vines 
are dormant. 
Late Houses. —A temperature of 45°, with a dry atmosphere, should 
be maintained in houses where Grapes are hanging. It will greatly 
assist in securing an equable temperature to cover the roof with mats 
or straw secured with tarred string. Some keep the Grapes in this way 
on the Vines until March, but due provision is made for ventilation, it 
being important to prevent the deposition of moisture on the berries, 
for that causes the germination of the spot fungus spores, or its near 
ally, the ripe rot fungus, and the berries speedily decay. The shade 
also prevents black Grapes losing colour nearly so rapidly as those 
exposed to strong light, and they do not lose weight to anything like 
the same extent. Examine every bunch carefully and frequently, 
removing all decayed berries. Ventilate the house on fine mornings, 
and keep it closed with a little warmth in the pipes when the weather 
is damp. 
The better plan is to cut the Grapes, especially where they were 
ripened comparatively early, placing the ends of the stems in bottles of 
clear rain water secured in an inclined position so as to admit of the 
fruit hanging clear of the bottles. Any dry room free from dust, and 
where an equable temperature of 40° to.45° is maintained, will be a 
suitable place. This will admit of the Vines being pruned and the 
house cleaned. The Vines then have about a couple of months’ complete 
rest before it is necessary to start them again. 
1 . , 
m BEE-KEEPER. 
APIAEIAN NOTES. 
_ Bees in 1893. 
The closing year has been much talked about as an extra¬ 
ordinary one for honey. There was, however, not a single day 
throughout the whole year during which hives rose in weight more 
than from 4 to 6 lbs. daily. I have known them rise in weight 
10 lbs. daily for a week, and extra strong hives gather 
from 14 lbs. up till 33 lbs. in one day. In all the records there is 
not an instance of any hive reaching the weight many did in 
1863, and in some subsequent years. Some of my hives have 
never ceased breeding since August, and in most cases I see from 
their movements that water gathering has commenced for another 
year. One peculiar instance of the season is that bees hereabouts 
never had an opportunity of gathering anything from Ivy. Ifc 
used to flower with us in November, but this year very little was 
in bloom. 
Comb Building. 
I have a number of queries to answer, but as tbe information 
will be embodied in “ Hints for Beginners,” I will defer them till 
the New Year. “ C. R.,” however, has one, among other questions, 
“Why bees refuse to build combs during the season.” Although I 
have never written a special article on the subject, I have from 
time to time advised bee-keepers how to manage their stock to 
meet the difficulty, and to prevent swarming before the hives are 
filled. I cannot tell the reason bees will not build combs, but prefer 
swarming from a half or two-thirds full hive, though I may tell 
your readers that had my instructions been carried out disalppoint- 
ment on that line would not have happened. The following is a 
repetition of past instructions. Every colony intended as a stock 
should have its hive filled with combs during September or 
October, This prevents premature swarming if the queen is 
youthful and prolific, and an excess of drone comb. Of course it 
is understood that a full-combed hive can only be satisfactory with 
the Lanarkshire ventilating floor. Where that is absent the 
amount of decay in the combs is sometimes great, and is eaten out 
by the bees, when invariably drone combs are substituted, 
constituting a double loss to the bee-keeper. I have repeatedly 
removed brood combs during the months of June and July, 
substituting a frame having a narrow starter of foundation 
only, and in a year hence these frames remained empty. 
Although the seasons were good and supers were filled, yet the 
bees did all that, and swarmed without building the combs in the 
brood nest. It is stated Carniolans were the neglectful in 
“ C. R.’s ” case, but in my own experience other varieties were as 
guilty; but why they in some instances refuse to work combs in 
the places most essential to the bees’ well-being is beyond my 
comprehension. 
Spreading Brood. 
This is another question. “ A. M.,” who has followed the advice 
given by other writers in the way of spreading brood, now finds his 
hives full of chilled brood, having failed to store surplus honey 
during the summer. He is afraid of foul brood, and asks my 
advice. I have from the first warned bee-keepers of the question¬ 
able practice as advised by inexperienced writers. Bee-keepers 
who prefer to throw aside the good old Scottish methods of 
managing bees, following the advice of book-learned bee-keepers, 
must just take the consequences. The pages of the Journal of 
Horticulture are open to all who care to give or ask for information, 
and those who depend upon it will neither have chilled brood nor 
foul brood in their hives, at least beyond an infected case,— 
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. 
To Correspondents, —As, in consequence of the Christmas holidays, 
our offices were closed from Saturday to Wednesday, only those com¬ 
munications for which space was reserved could be inserted on Wednesday 
morning; also letters of inquiry which arrived after Saturday last cannot 
be answered this week. 
Tuberoses to Tlower In August (^Reader). —Pot the bulbs early 
in March, and plunge in ashes in a cold frame. Placing a single strong 
bulb in each 5-inch or slightly larger pot is preferable to starting them 
in smaller pots, and shifting from these into larger ones. Use a rather 
rich loamy soil, and pot firmly, only about three-parts burying the bulb. 
Keep them in cold frames or pits, some being placed in the open air to 
afford a good succession. All may not flower, but the bulk will produce 
much stronger stems than will those grown in heat. Syringe frequently 
