250 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 15, 1892. 
from the flood, but a quarter of au inch more rain would 
have swept them off with the torrent. The stands were nearly 
a foot in water, all the moveable pieces were swept away a 
wire fence close to them was forced out, coils of hay that stood 
more than a third of a mile distant were washed against them, and 
the mountain torrents blocked the roads in many places with 
heavy debris. I should like to ask our meteorologists to favour us 
with proper data on which the published decision is founded that 
tins has been “ the mildest season since 1876.” I hope their instru- 
ments are not all kept near their bedrooms as some I know are. 
beientinc instruments should be isolated at least six miles from any 
\°w D ' * fad to see ^ere can be at thirty miles apart 10° 
difference of the temperature with accurate instruments ; but we 
all want information. I do not expect to be much longer at the 
Heather, as we rarely see the sun.— A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
Apicultural Items. 
As an instance of how people may be led away by reading what 
has been said against me, I will give the following occurrence :— 
DuringHue past season I sent Mr. John G. Kirsten, of South- 
borough near Tunbridge Wells, eighteen virgin Punics, thirteen 
be ’"f J; 11 in ? ne week. I supplied him with virgin queens in 1891 
and 1890, so it may fairly be assumed that we ought to know each 
other. On August 7th he wrote to say that only five queens were 
laying, five more had left brood and disappeared, six more had 
neither queen nor brood, and two had gone, bees and queen, being 
a loss of thirteen queens out of eighteen. He described the trans- 
action as “most unsatisfactory,” and hoped I would “show by 
deeds that I would bear out the contents of my statements and 
make good the loss, and much more in the same tone. Of course 
I resented the tone of such a letter, and told him plainly and dis¬ 
tinctly that it would be time to write such a letter when I had 
refused to make the loss good, as per my advertised guarantees, and 
not before ; that I was ready to accept his word without question, 
that the five with brood and no queens would be found all right 
and probably the six also, if he would test them. This he did, and 
then wrote me on August 11th saying, “ To my great surprise you 
are quite right in what you said on the 8th of August. My loss 
reafiy now amounts to four queens ; ” and then he a°sks the favour 
of letting them stand over to 1893. I enclose you, Sir, the two 
le.ters just to see the difference between them. [Received_ Ed 1 
1 mention this case, because it is an illustration of my twentv- 
five years experience of average Britons. In my business dealings 
with them I find they are liable to make mistakes, but show 
them their error and they frankly admit it at once. 
The other day I received a post card from Dr. C. C. Millar 
Marengo, III., U.S.A., to say that two virgin Punics I sent him had 
arrived safely, only one worker being dead, were safely intro¬ 
duced, and were laying well, having duly mated. These two 
queens were seven days old when sent off, the package containing 
the two when ready to post was only 1| oz. and it would be about 
twelve days on its journey. I mention this, because it is now four 
years since I c aimed to have solved the problem of being able to 
introduce aged virgin queens safely, and thus open up a cheap and 
ready means of spreading “new blood;” also that I had solved 
the wintering problem, claiming that what is called “winter 
dysentery, was solely the result of breeding the queens in an im¬ 
perfect manner. It was solely to demonstrate in a convincing 
manner that I began breeding and selling virgin queens, with 
what success all know who read this Journal , but in another 
quarter it nas been insinuated that my queens are no better than 
others and that the winter problem still remains unsolved, in fact 
the greatest care is taken to prevent the public learning that what 
they had clamoured for as a most desirable thing for a genera- 
t'f?' “ ' aS ( w h ,T ‘ heir r ?, 0h ' How far 1 ■<■««*& may 
l ! -' , le foI,ow mg : UP to the present no case of winter 
dysentery has been reported or claim made on my guarantee, and 
not more than six cases of unexplained failure to introduce’ the 
queens ; there is not one failure of any kind reported this season 
v m?ns Sh “AJority were novices, and none had ever introduced 
^ he lo !! es + hay e been in the mating, but this has been 
iwl’m t fr ° m Kent ai ? d one from Ireland this season, so that my 
surety n °nri rear i ing and I introducing virgin queens is an unqualified 
success and no longer theory. I have been able to make an equally 
valuable discovery in rearing and mating fertile queens and next 
season I hope to let the public have the chance of benefiting by it. 
Speaking from memory I have sent lots of queens to Lockerbie 
Dme C Puntr“ T T°K r T f® rrin ^. 1 do not think they would be 
1 a. L. R K; mentions, but the result of a hybrid 
quarter native ° P A r il Pumc ' drone , being three-quarter Punic and 
quarter native.— A Hai.lamshire Bee-keeper. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS 
* 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 
anavoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them io 
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 ’ 
Pink Bedding: Zonal Pelargonium («7. A.). — We do not re¬ 
member seeing the variety you name ; but if you write to Mr. Coppin 
the Superintendent at Battersea Park, he may be able to give you 
some information. We have seen Mrs. Turner effectively employed 
m the parks, and Beckwith’s Pink is highly recommended by Mr 
Oaunell. J 
Notching: Vine Roots (TP. J.). —If Vine roots are notched now, 
and a gritty compost, consisting of turfy loam and a large admixture of 
wood ashes, be placed round them they will form fresh roots this season : 
at least that is what we found in the case of some Vines that were 
improved by that process. Old Vines, such as you describe, and which 
cannot be lifted, usually bear better by training young rods very thinly 
in the summer, and not cutting them back closely at the winter’s 
pruning. 
The Keswick Codlln Apple (Keswick'). —This useful Apple was 
not raised at Keswick, but was first discovered growing among a 
quantity of rubbish behind a wall at Gleaston Castle, near Ulverstone 
and was first brought into notice by one John Sander, a nurseryman at 
Keswick, who, having propagated it, sent it out under the name of 
Keswick Codim. In the Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticultural 
Society, 1813, Sir John Sinclair, says The Keswick Codlin tree has 
never failed to bear a crop since it was planted in the episcopal garden 
at Rose Castle, Carlisle, twenty years ago. It is an Apple of fine 
tartness and flavour, and may be used early in autumn. The tree is a 
very copious bearer, a,nd the fruit is of good size, considerably larger 
than the Carlisle Codlin. It flourishes best in a strong soil.” 
Green Gage Plums Gummed ( S. <?.).—It is generally the result 
of a deficiency of calcareous matter in the soil, but not always, as we 
have seen it occur when there has been a very vigorous growth followed 
by a large reduction of foliage. We think, however, in your case that 
it is caused by a deficiency of calcareous matter. In the autumn we 
shouid give a dressing of quicklime at the rate of a bushel per rod 
C30j square yards), and point it in with a fork as deeply as can be done 
without injury to the roots, mixing it with the top 9 inches or a foot of 
the soil. A better plan would be to get some old mortar rubbish, breaking 
it small, and picking out any pieces of lath or wood ; and removing the 
soil down to the roots, picking some from amongst them and giving fresh 
to which has been added a sixth of the mortar rubbish. If the roots are 
deep they should be raised, bringing them up so that the topmost are not 
deeper than 3 or 4 inches when covered with soil, which also should 
contain the lime rubbish. Make the soil firm about the roots, and mulch 
the surface with short littery manure. 
Orchids Spotted (T. I -The spot of which you complain is often 
brought about by the soil at the roots of the plants having become sour 
It is also due to too much water at the roots of the plants and in the 
atmosphere. Nothing will cause the plants to become spotted sooner 
than a close saturated atmosphere. The temperature appears to have 
been high enough. Alow temperature when the house is too moist 
would very soon bring about this state of things. We advise you to 
keep a drier atmosphere, and the plants slightly drier at their roots, also 
provide a circulation of air daily when the weather is genial • at the 
same time you must avoid cold draughts, for they are detrimental If 
the soil is not sour at the roots, and you follow the directions "iven* the 
plants may be grown out of the spot another year. If the soil is’sour 
repot the plants at once, remove carefully the old material and wash 
the roots in tepid water, then place them amongst fresh soil Water 
must be applied with great care after potting until they commence 
growing and rooting in spring. When the air in the house holds the 
greatest possible amount of aqueous vapour in suspension, or, in other 
words, when it is f-ully charged with moisture, the two thermometers on 
the hygrometer will stand at the same level; but as the amount of 
moisture decreases the wet bulb thermometer will sink, and the greater 
the dryness of the atmosphere the greater will be the difference between 
the two thermometers. During the day, if the dry-bulb thermometer 
