November 9, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
483 
the lights. This tends to promote activity at the roots and to steadily 
push the crowns without their developing leaves. After three weeks of 
this treatment the pots are gradually withdrawn from the bed, raising 
them so that the plants will bear the temperature of the Peach or 
Strawberry house without a check, as they would receive one if they were 
taken from a warm bed direct to the shelves. This practice is good 
where the plants are late, but in the case of those with well developed 
crowns and abundant roots the slight bottom heat is not necessary. 
Nevertheless bottom heat is one of the best aids in early forcing. 
Those having the convenience of low pits, with a pathway inside, for 
forcing Strawberries, find it a considerable advantage to start the earliest 
plants in bottom heat, raising the bed well up so that the plants are near 
the glass, and not allowing the heat at the base of the pots to exceed 
65°, nor the top heat to rise above 50° without full ventilation, and only 
using fire heat to maintain it at 50° by day and 45° at night in severe 
weather. Under these conditions the plants push the trusses strongly, 
and by the time they are clear of the crowns, the bottom heat will have 
declined so that the plants can be removed to their fruiting quarters 
without giving them any check, or it must be effected by withdrawing 
the pots gradually. Time is gained and the setting is generally satis¬ 
factory under such conditions. Watering must be judiciously performed, 
and if worms have gained an entrance into the pots dislodge them with 
lime water, rectifying any defects of drainage. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Tomatoes. —Strong young plants in 11-inch or slightly smaller 
pots give the best late autumn and winter crops, and pay well for close 
attention. If there is head room do not stop the leading growths, as by 
allowing these to extend it will be possible to set good clusters of fruit 
for ripening early next spring. Pinch out all side shoots that form, and 
if the plants are all heavily furnished with leaves, reduce the latter to 
about half of their present size with a view to giving the lower clusters 
of fruit a better chance to ripen. According as the soil becomes crowded 
with roots give rich top-dressings, liquid manure also being applied 
occasionally. Under this liberal treatment each plant ought to give not 
less than 8 lbs. of fruit, this ripening at a time when Tomatoes are 
somewhat scarce. An occasional rich top-dressing is also needed by old 
plants that have set, or are setting fruit freely, and all superfluous 
growth should be closely removed from them. Now that the colder 
weather has set in Tomatoes must have plenty of fire heat, accompanied 
by a circulation of dry air, fungoid diseases being inevitable 
in a moist atmosphere. The fruit will set freely at this late 
date under such conditions if only the stems are smartly tapped by a 
padded stick every morning towards twelve o’clock. If the “ white fly ” 
is troublesome dress the hot-water pipes with flowers of sulphur mixed 
with milk, and make them as hot as possible occasionally. The fumes 
thus generated will gradually, but surely, exterminate the fly, and prove 
a good preventive of disease. 
Mushrooms.— High temperature, especially when brought about 
by fire heat, is very prejudicial to Mushrooms. Only enough should be 
turned on to keep the temperature of a house in which beds are required 
to produce Mushrooms constantly from falling much below 50°, an 
increase of 5° being the maximum with fire heat. When subjected to 
higher temperatures the produce is thin and not nearly so succulent as 
Mushrooms grown without the aid of fire heat, the beds also becoming 
more quickly exhausted. Only when fire heat is used is there any need 
to damp the walls and floors daily. An occasional sprinkling will not 
be harmful, but beware of saturating the beds by a too free use of the 
syringe. The loss of moisture to an injurious extent ought to be pre¬ 
vented by means of a thick covering of soft strawy litter, and when it 
is necessary to water owing to the beds being too dry to commence 
cropping, or wants moistening after a first crop has been taken, give 
enough warm water at once or at the most twice to well moisten both 
the soil and manure to a good depth, merely wetting the surface being 
of no avail. If there is room form other beds, these, if properly 
managed, yielding extra heavy crops next February or March, if not 
earlier. 
Beds either in the open or in unheated sheds should be heavily 
covered with a strawy litter, and the drier this is the warmer the beds 
underneath will keep. When the litter next to the soil becomes damp 
and musty remove it, and substitute some that is fresh and dry. If any 
of the later formed beds fail to produce Mushrooms during November 
they may not do so till next spring, and none should be too hurriedly 
condemned and broken up, 
Asparagus.— This choice vegetable is very easily forced, but unless 
a supply can be maintained throughout the winter at not very wide 
intervals, it is scarcely advisable to start forcing so early as this. It 
most also be remembered that roots once forced are of no further value, 
and well established beds ought not lightly to be broken up unless there 
are others to meet the demand for naturally grown shoots next spring. 
Hard forcing ought in any case to be practised, an excess of fire heat being 
certain to force out nothing but poor weakly shoots. If deep hea'ed 
pits are available fill two lights at a lime with a gentle hotbed largely 
composed of leaves, a layer of rich soil being placed on the top of these. 
Pack the carefully lifted roots somewhat closely on the soil and cover 
with about 4 inches of rich moist soil. Then if the top heat does not 
exceed 55° to 60°, strong succulent shoots of a good length will be forth¬ 
coming in from three weeks to a month of the time the start was made. 
Asparagus can also be forced without the aid of fire heat, frames set on 
hotbeds being used, that is if no brick pits are available. In the 
course of another three weeks start more roots in the same manner, and 
never let the soil about any of them become dry, also do not subject the 
roots to a dangerously strong bottom heat. 
Seakale. —The roots of Seakale have now experienced the desired 
check by being frosted somewhat, and without which they do not force 
so readily as desirable. Forming hotbeds over the crowns where they 
are established in the ground is a slow, laborious process, the better plan 
being to lift two or three dozen strong young roots at a time, or better 
still, enough for two or three batches at one time, and to sink these up 
to the crowns in large pots or deep boxes filled with rich moist soil. At 
this early date, if the pots are set in a heated Mushroom house, progress 
is slow, a dark corner not far from the hot-water pipes in a forcing 
house being a more suitable position. In order to be certain of w’ell 
blanched succulent tops, complete darkness, as well as a sufficiency of 
heat and moisture, is necessary, and the crowns should therefore be 
heavily banked over with either leaf soil or cocoa-nut fibre refuse, a 
depth of 5 inches being none too much. Start more crowns every ten 
days or a fortnight. Lily White is the best variety for forcing, but is 
not so hardy as the old form. When severe frosts are anticipated, either 
lift the bulk of the roots that are to be eventually forced, laying them 
in closely in good soil where they can be covered with litter or mats, 
or else bank over the crowns with fine soil, this being drawn up to 
them much as Potatoes are moulded up. 
Rhubarb. —The early Rhubarb has now had a fairly good rest, the 
severe frost of October 31st also being of service in preparing the clumps 
for forcing. Any variety can be forced, though Early Albert, Hawkes’ 
Champagne, and Johnstone’s St. Martin’s are the best for the purpose, 
earliness, colour of stalk, and good flavour beiuij characteristics of these 
excellent forms. Comparatively young roots could 'oe lifted, placed in 
large pots, and forced very much the same as advised in the case of Sea¬ 
kale, while large old clumps could be shifted to either a forcing house, 
warm corner over boiler. Mushroom house, or warm cellar, only enough 
soil either left on or placed over the roots to keep them moist being 
needed. A gentle heat is preferable, and soil about the roots should 
not be allowed to become at all dry. Rhubarb may also be had by 
Christmas by forcing in the old-fashioned way, the clumps having the 
soil about them loosened prior to being covered by either regular 
Rhubarb pots, tins discarded by sugar refiners, old flour tubs, or deep 
boxes. There should be lids on the tops of these coverings to admit of 
ready access to the Rhubarb, and they ought to be heavily banked over 
with enough leaves and stable manure to generate a fairly brisk bottom 
heat, or say from 75° to 80°, a close look-out being kept for any sudden 
and dangerous rise that might take place after a change from cold to 
mild weather. 
If 
: hE Hi^E-K^EPER. 
1 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Hints for Beginners. 
{^Continued from page. 387.) 
What the bee-keeper has to consider in order to make the most 
of bees at his command is, how long will the honey flow continue ? 
If for five or six weeks, make an increase of stock up till the 
beginning of that time, as then more hives with fertile and prolific 
queens are placed into the field, and swarms alwiys work better, 
while by the renewal of queens and combs all risks of losing hives 
through effete queens are gone, and finer honey and healthier hives 
are secured. But on the other hand, if the honey flow at the best 
can last only two or three weeks the stock should be limited, and 
if desirable an increase postponed until the great honey flow is 
past. Arrange to have the greatest number of workers in the field 
at the proper time. Try to have them swarm a month at least 
before the flow begins, and if the hives then are not in strength to 
your mind join several together. Prevent stocks having young 
fertile queens from swarming by providing ample breeding space. 
In my own case the Clover is not usually profuse, although I 
have taken from one hive 130 lbs. at a time, and nearly 7 cwt. from 
six, which were exhibited at Glasgow in 187G. The present year 
from several stocks (spring count) 200 lbs. have been taken from a 
hive. The Wild Thyme and Heather are what I prepare my hives to 
catch, and they are so manipulated that every one of them is equal 
in strength to a full sized non-swarmed stock. In most cases these 
Heather stocks come up of their own accord to that strength, but 
if the spring and early summer have been backward I sometimes 
transfer brood combs to nuclei formed early in the season, as they 
are at all times most reliable. In late Heather seasons it is almost 
futile to keep stocks under full strength, as such will not be 
profitable, neither are hives with prolific queens, unless they are 
ahead of the fertility of the queen. This is the rock on which 
many bee-keepers wreck themselves, and keeping bees in too small 
hives while bees and queen are determined on breeding is a wrong 
policy. 
I do not want to sulphur my bees, but they must not be allowed 
to increase at a time when they can be more profitably employed. 
