240 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 14,1896. 
the roots. Protect with Fir branches for a time. Wood ashes well 
mixed with the soil to be occupied by Peas will hasten and sustain 
growth considerably. Where there is a heavy demand for Peas, raise 
more early and second early varieties under glass and duly plant out, 
or there may be a gap in the supply owing to not being able to sow in 
the open earlier. 
Early Turnips. —The snow saved some portion of those not stored, 
but all the same there is every likelihood of an early scarcity. Sow in a 
rough frame on a very mild hotbed if possible, or between boards on edge 
on a warm border, protecting with mats at night. The Early Milan, of 
which there is now a good white form, is the best for present sowing. 
Sow thinly, and cover with sifted soil. Directly the seedlings are seen 
dust them with soot and lime and repeat the dose occasionally, or the 
Turnip beetle will soon make short work of them. 
IS 
pi 
IE BBE-KI^EPER. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Appliances. 
These should be overhauled and put in good order, so that when 
required there will neither be necessity to search for them nor to 
put them into condition when there is not time to spare to do so. 
Varieties of Bees. 
It would be very interesting as well as instructive were bee¬ 
keepers to note the various characteristics of their bees, their 
faults or failures, as may be observed throughout the year. I have 
no hesitation in affirming that the Carniolan is the hardiest of any 
race of bees ; also mild in temper, as well as good and cleanly in 
storing honey. Strongly do I wish also that some of those 
renowned bee-keepers who have said so much against Punics were 
here in a good honey flow to witness the energy of these maligned 
bees. I hope we may have several honey days in succession the 
coming summer to test the pure ones. Syrians, like the crossed 
Cyprians, have also proved good honey gatherers. I have not fed 
mine for years. The large gathering of 33 lbs. in one day was by 
crossed Syrians.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
A FEW words on the subject and an exchange of opinions may 
be of interest at the present time. Those who are already bee¬ 
keepers will probably take the first opportunity of examining their 
stocks to see how they have fared during the severe weather which 
has lasted only too long. Some will have passed through the 
ordeal without the loss of a single stock ; others, through various 
causes, will have suffered severely, and will be wondering if bee¬ 
keeping is really worth the trouble. Find out, if possible, the cause 
of the disaster, and guard against the same mistake in the future, 
as the severe weather may not be to blame altogether. It may be 
a leaky roof, insufficient covering, shortness of stores, or a combi¬ 
nation of the whole which has caused the loss of many colonies. 
The young beginner, after hearing of some friend or neighbour 
who has been unfortunate, perhaps in his first year of bee-keeping, 
may be inclined to throw it up in disgust. To such I would say. 
Try again. Read what is said week by week on the subject in the 
Journal of Horticulture., ask questions through the same source on 
anything you do not understand connected with bee-keeping, and 
after another year’s experience bee-keeping may have become a 
source of both pleasure and profit. 
Superstition in Bee keeping. 
In the present enlightened age one would have thought this was 
a thing of the past, but such is not the case, at all events in this 
neighbourhood, the midland counties. Some time ago a poor man 
who owned a few stocks of bees in straw skeps died. I bought the 
bees, and a few days afterwards removed them. Owing to the 
severe weather I did not disturb them, but afterwards, being 
anxious to give them dry floor boards, I lifted them off their stand, 
and to my surprise found on each of the floor boards a piece of 
cake, which had formed into a wet mass owing to the moisture that 
was on the board. On inquiry I find the practice is common among 
bee keepers, that on a death in the family the bees must be fed 
with cake, and a piece of crape be placed on each of the hives. If 
they omit doing this, they consider the bees will dwindle away 
and die. 
The same people still clang the poker and shovel or anything 
that will make a great noise at swarming time, under the impression 
that bees will not settle unless this is done, the straw skep in which 
they are hived being well saturated with a mixture in which beer 
and sugar form a part. The only wonder is they stop in the hive 
at all. I have convinced several that the noise and washing out of 
the hive is quite unnecessary. The former cannot do any harm, 
but the latter is positively injurious, as before swarming, bees fill 
themselves with honey, consequently they have a great amount of 
unnecessary labour to clean their hive before they can commence 
comb-building. No wonder they often fly away to more comfortable 
quarters.—A n English Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
J. Carter & Co., High Holborn, London.— List of Grass Seeds. 
Collins Bros., & Gabriel, 39, Waterloo Eoad, London.— Bedding 
Plants. 
Cooper, Taber & Co., Limited, Southwark Street, London.— Agri- 
cultural Catalogue. 
Carter, Page & Co., London Wall, E.C.— Seeds and Garden Bequisites. 
Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin.— Book of the Farm. 
Q. Ketten, Luxembourg.— New Roses. 
Vilmorin, Andrieux et Cie, 4, Quai de la M^gisserie, Paris.— Catalogue 
of Seeds, Trees, Shruhs and Plants. 
All correspondence should he 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. 
Slsbuddlngr Azaleas (Fnow Nothing ').—You have not made the 
matter clear. If you mean “ removing all the wood growths,” we do 
not advise this being done for obvious reasons. 
Examinations In Horticulture (Y. S. and others). —All requisite 
information can be obtained on application by letter from the Secretary 
Royal Horticultural Society, ,117, Victoria Street, Westminster, 
London, S.W, 
Heatlngr Sloping: Houses (A. F.). —There will be no difficulty 
in heating the structures, provided the boiler is at the lower end. It is 
not necessary that the pipes be level, but they may “ rake ” with the 
house, the flow pipes steadily rising up one side, and the returns falling 
down the other ; but the bottom of the feed cistern must be on a level 
with the highest part of the piping, and at that part an air pipe with 
tap should be inserted for insuring circulation. 
Culture of Cardoons (<7. iT.).—They are grown practically in the 
same way as Celery, but the rows must be farther apart, because 
more soil is needed for earthing. In very wet soils they are best sown or 
planted on the surface, the site being well enriched. The seeds may either 
be sown in April where the plants are to grow, thinning them to a foot 
apart, or raised elsewhere, grown sturdily, and transplanted : but they 
must not be raised too early or drawn in their early stages, or most of 
them may form flower stems and be of little or no use. 
Mildew on Peacb Trees (iVe??!o).—Your trees are attacked by 
mildew, and the sooner you apply a fungicide the better. The following 
preparation is extensively used :—2 lbs. of quicklime, 3 lbs. of sulphate 
of copper, and 20 gallons of cold water. Dissolve the sulphate of 
copper in cold water for two hours in one vessel. In another pour 
a little water by degrees on the lime, mixing it well till it becomes 
a milky liquid ; then pour the latter into the former, stir them well, and 
add to the 20 gallons of water already provided. It should be applied 
at intervals of three weeks, and always used fresh. 
Grafting: Plum Stocks (^Rugeley).—The large Plum stocks would 
be best grafted on the whip or tongue system, taking care to let the 
barks join exactly on one side, then you may have a chance of success, 
though large stocks are very undesirable for grafting, as neither cleft 
nor crown methods are advisable for the Plum, for the wood is 
liable to die back, or the bark becomes dry, so as to prevent union, and 
very often gumming ensues and is fatal. Of course, you can try 
inserting the scions under the bark, but it is not a good method for 
stone fruits, as there is not only danger of failure, but of the grafts 
being broken off by winds. With such larg'e stocks the bettar procedure 
is to try the whip grafting, and if the scions fail secure some young 
shoots from the stocks and bud these as near the main stem as possibly 
as in budding standard Roses. The bark on the main stem of sucn 
stocks will be too thick for satisfactorily operating on themi 
