370 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 25, 1895, 
instead of the true cause, defective fertilisation ? I am, after 
many years’experience, convinced in my own mind that such is the 
case, as by observing fruit trees only a few miles away that were 
quite barren of fruit, and noting that no bees were kept in the 
immediate neighbourhood, whereas in another district not far 
distant where bees were plentiful there were good crops of fruit. 
At this time of the year tens of thousands of bees are on the 
wing, not a flower will escape the busy worker. To illustrate how 
industrious bees are, I have only to mention a field of Beans ; no 
matter how large, every flower will be found on examination to be 
fertilised, either by the humble bee or the hive or honey bee ; and 
as their proboscis is not long enough to reach to the bottom of the 
tube of flower if they attempted to reach it from the entrance to 
the open flower, instead of wasting their time in a fruitless 
occupation they bore a hole from the outside at the bottom of the 
flower. By this means they obtain the nectar, and the bloom is 
fertilised. 
The humble bee used to have the credit of boring the hole, and 
the honey bee followed after and extracted the honey. I think, 
however, the honey bee is quite capable of doing the whole of the 
work, and on examining a large field of Beans not a flower will be 
found to have escaped. Were they not fertilised in this manner 
the crop would result in failure, as the Beans would not set. Bees 
will travel a long distance to a field of Beans, as they come into 
bloom just before the white Clover, and when flowers are rather 
scarce one comes to the conclusion that if there were more gardener 
bee-keepers no harm would be done, but probably a great amount 
of good. 
This must be my apology for approaching the subject in these 
notes. The majority of employers would allow bees to be kept in 
their gardens, and by using the modern frame hive they are 
ornamental as well as useful, and are easy to manipulate. No one 
need have any fear of handling bees. I recommend our native 
black or brown bee in preference to all others, as hybrids are 
vindictive. Anyone who is at all nervous should, until experience 
is gained in handling them, be protected with gloves as well as a 
veil, but after a little practice the gloves in the majority of cases 
will be discarded, and much pleasure be derived from the busy 
workers, and as bee-keeping can be commenced with a small outlay 
the majority of gardeners may indulge in it.— An English Bee¬ 
keeper. 
All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor” or to “The Publisher.” Letters addressed to 
Dr. Hogg or members of the statf 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. 
vine Growtbs Deformed (Z). and W, B .').—The laterals appear 
as if, in part at least, afEected with the “browning” disease ; but they 
need careful microscopical examination, which they shall receive, and 
the results will be published in a future issue. 
Znarchlng- Vines (5. IF.).—In all probability the Black Ham¬ 
burgh will grow and fruit well on the Trebbiano stock under the usual 
good cultural attention. We do not anticipate that the stock will 
materially influence either the colour or quality of the Grapes, but this 
can only be determined by experience, as sometimes the unexpected 
happens in such cases. 
Freeslas from Seeds (^Freesia ),—Thin the seedlings to about 
five in a 4-inch pot. Avoid putting the seedlings in a draughty frame 
or house, as that is most injurious. Keep the young plants in a cool 
temperature and close to the glass. If the seedlings thrive and become 
sturdy plants with the pots full of roots, give them a little weak liquid 
manure, which will help them on, and they should bloom in July or 
August. Seedling Freesias will not always bloom the first year, but 
will make good flowering bulbs for the following season. Had you 
given particulars as to where the seeds were sown and the treatment 
they had received we could, perhaps, have given a more explicit and 
useful reply. 
Chickweed (^Symjjathy'). —What you send is a good sample of the 
plant you desire to try medicinally. We hope it will do good, and it is 
at least harmless ; indeed, it is stated by a good authority that the young 
shoots and leaves when boiled can scarcely be distinguished from Spinach, 
and are equally wholesome. The botanical name of the Chickweed is 
Stellaria media. 
Mildew on Roses (^Xemo). —For mildew on Boses a good plan is 
to syringe with a solution of sulphur and water, a 3-inch potful of the 
former to three gallons of the latter. The sulphur should be first mixed 
with a little water into a paste, and then the remainder added. The 
sulphur may remain on the Boses three or four days and then be washed 
off. Cold draughts and dryness at the root will cause mildew, and 
nothing will keep the plants free for long if these important matters 
are not carefully attended to. 
Weevils on Ferns (H. IF.).—The enemy which is making such 
havoc with your Ferns is the very destructive weevil, Curculio, or 
Otiorhynchus sulcatus. These beetle-like pests will eat almost anything, 
and are by no means easy to eradicate. In the grub state they feed on 
the roots of plants, and when developed devour the leaves and flowers. 
Search for them sedulously, especially at night, catching all you can, 
and so prevent a further increase. Shaking the plants violently over a- 
white cloth at night will dislodge many, and they will be visible on the 
white surface, and can be the more readily secured. A bitter decoction 
of aloes, quassia, and tobacco is said to render plants distasteful to the 
weevils. Early in the spring as much of the old soil should be removed 
from the Ferns and other plants as can be safely done, and probably 
many small white grubs, the larv£e of the weevils, will be destroyed. 
Keep the soil moist, and a solution of hellebore, made by pouring boiling 
water on 2 ozs. of the powder, then increasing to a gallon of water before 
using, might do good. It will not injure foliage or roots. 
Gladioli Diseased (A Gladiolus Lover'). —The “grass” certainly 
presented the appearance of injury from a noxious atmosphere, but on 
a close examination it was manifest that the epidermis and underlying 
tissues were not damaged by such means, they being quite normal, yet 
dry and robbed of nourishment. The stems also were quite healthy— 
that is, normal, but impoverished and dried as grass is from the tips of 
the blades downwards during droughty weather. On examining the 
corms we came across the cause of the mischief—mites, invisible to the 
unaided eye, and just discernible by the ordinary pocket magnifier with 
a power of from three to six diameters as a moving roundish, semi-trans¬ 
parent yellowish white body. This insect (so called) swarmed on the 
old corm, literally eating it away, and preventing the ascent of the 
nutriment imbibed by the roots, and thus the “grass” became brown, 
dried, and withered, the sap being intercepted and appropriated by the 
mites. It is a very common British species, a near ally of the more 
common cheese and flour mite (Tyroglyphus siro, Linn., Latr.). It, 
however, belongs to a different genus—namely, Bhizoglyphus echinopus 
(Hypopus dujardini, Claj).). It is very common on Hyacinth bulbs, 
and a very nasty creature to get on the person, causing much irritation 
and even suppuration from the skin being rubbed where it has been, as 
we know from personal experience, and are loth to examine such 
specimens microscopically, as it meaus much discomfort. The best thing 
to do is to burn the plants and soil, turning them out of the poti and 
placing all in the fire, then steep the pots in hot water. The plants are 
too far gone to admit of recuperation ; but if you wish to preserve them 
water with a solution of corrosive sublimate (a terrible poison, so corro¬ 
sive that it must not be handled in the pure state), \ oz. to a 4-gallon 
bucketful of water, using so that the soil and, of course, the corms of the 
Gladioli, be thoroughly wetted. We ask you to be very careful with 
this solution, as it will kill all forms of animal life, from worms up to 
man, that partake of it, even low forms of vegetation, such as fungi; 
but at the strength named it is not injurious to the higher plants, from 
Ferns (inclusive) upwards, when applied to the roots, whilst many will 
bear it on the foliage at half strength. But whilst it will kill insects it 
is fatal to all birds and animals that partake of such insects ; hence it 
is a very undesirable remedy. 
Tomato Deaves Diseased (^Cross). — The Tomato leaves are 
infested by the drooping disease-producing parasite (Plasmodiophora 
tomati), a so-called slime-fungus, which is frequently accompanied, or 
rather followed, by Bacterium Halstedi, especially when tjie stems of 
the plants are attacked, then the whole plant suddenly collapses ; but 
when the leaves, which are marked by yellow spots turn brown, the 
ends or tips turn black and droop, hence the term “ drooping ” disease. 
There are also sometimes, and the mycelium appears in your case, 
presence of a fungus proper—namely, Macrosporium Solani—which 
alone or in conjunction with the Plasmodiophora may cause the foliage 
to wilt and hang down in a discoloured mass, whilst the fungus produces 
its spores from the stouter parts, which turn brown in large blotches. 
All the parasites are introduced with the soil, and the only remedy so 
far as known is corrosive sublimate solution, 1 oz. to 15 gallons of water, 
giving the soil an ordinary watering so as to moisten it evenly. This 
will not injure the plants in the least, whilst it will destroy all animal 
life, including eelworms and low forms of vegetation. Unfortunately it 
is a virulent poison, but after many experiments we have found it the 
only certain preventive. Lime is nearly as effective as the corrosive 
sublimate, and being perfectly safe under any and all circumstances, we 
strongly advise its use in preference to the mercurial chloride solution. 
. A peck to half a bushel of quicklime may be used per rod, arid with it 
I top-dressings of farmyard or other solid manure may be given with 
