440 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May IG, 1895. 
the land in -which they grew has in several instances been sown 
with Oats. 
Clover, however, has wintered remarkably well ; the plants are 
thickly set on the land, and should the weather be favourable, will 
be followed by a heavy crop of bloom from which superior samples 
of honey will be obtained. Wallflowers are now in full beauty ; 
these are much frequented by bees, and are appreciated for 
their rich perfume. Seeds of these should now be sown for a 
supply of plants for another year, and ought to be planted in their 
permanent places in the autumn. Aubrietias, both the blue and 
purple varieties, form a carpet of flowers, and being a dwarf 
growing, spreading plant, should be planted as an edging to beds 
or borders and on the rockery where they may remain for several 
years without being disturbed. They are propagated by dividing 
the plants as soon as they have finished flowering, or the blue 
variety may be obtained from seed, which should be sown at once, 
and the plants will flower next spring. 
Some of the plantations in this neighbourhood are now car¬ 
peted with tens of thousands of the wild Hyacinths, forming a 
mass of colour not easily to be forgotten. These are also very 
useful for the bees. —An English Bee-keeper. 
FOUL BROOD IN BEE HIVES. 
The “ North British Agriculturist ” says:—“We had occasion 
the other week to show that in the south-western counties of 
Scotland milk is now so plentiful that the creameries are being 
flooded with it, even though the price has been reduced to 4d. per 
gallon. As to honey, the Baronet of Southwick tells us that any 
working man who has a fancy for bee-keeping can, almost at no 
cost to himself, produce from a ton to a ion and a half of it per 
annum, and ‘ at the moderate computation of Is. per lb. a ton of 
honey must realise £120 but ‘ as that honey was very often 
worth 2s. 6d. per lb.’ ‘ the working man who had a fancy for bee¬ 
keeping ’ could very often realise £300 per annum for his honey 
harvest! If the genial Baronet bad said that ‘ the working man 
who had a fancy for bee-keeping ’ could produce annually on an 
average something like 300 lbs, avoirdupois of honey instead of 
£300 sterling value in honey he would, we fear, have been much 
nearer the mark than he was. According to Sir Mark Stewart, 
foul brood in bee hives is something like tuberculosis in cattle, as 
the bees affected with this disease become ‘ piners,’ and die off. 
The deputation to Mr. Gardner urged that power should be given 
to some properly constituted authority to inspect bee stocks and 
stamp out all affected stocks. Foul brood is undoubtedly causing 
a serious loss to those who have hitherto pursued the industry of 
bee-keeping, and it is to be hoped that effective measures will be 
taken for the stamping out of this disease.” 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
W. & J. Birkenhead, Sale, Manchester. — Illustrated Fern 
Catalogue. 
F. Cooper & Sons, 30, Manners Street, Wellington.—PZawis and 
Bulbs. 
*. 5 “ 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. 
Vine Gro-wths Deformed (2>. and W. P.).—By an oversight 
1 oz. instead of 1 lb. of sulphate of iron was given in the renlv on 
page 417. ^ 
Tomato Plants Infested with “Black Stripe” t^St. Julien 
Arabbi ).—By treating the affected plants with Bordeaux mixture there 
is a probability that the copper to some extent would enter the tissue 
(epidermal cells) and act on the fungus, so that the fruit would 
mature. The better plan is to use the lime and copper carbonate, as 
that does not enter the tissues, and there is no danger of poisoning 
anyone. By pulling up the affected plants the disease is kept from 
spreading, and there is an end of it providing the plants are burned. 
We shall shortly publish the results of a microscopical examination of 
the plant by Mr. G. Abbey. The plant did not arrive soon enough for 
this to be done this week. 
Weevils Eating- Roses (P, 5.),—The enemy is the destructive 
weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus. You should catch all you possibly can 
with the aid of a lantern at night, as not only are they most voracious, 
but their larvae in the soil devour the roots of various kinds of plants. 
Sulphuring heated pipes in vineries will not kill thrips, and the fumes 
are injurious to newly set Grapes. Sponge the leaves with an insecticide 
before the insects increase, and you may prevent much after trouble 
and serious injury to the Vines. 
Snowdrops and Daffodils under Oak Trees (JJ. N.'). —The 
land cleared before the bulbs were planted should be kept free from 
the Nettles. They are best pulled up with a gloved hand, taking care 
not to draw the bulbs with the roots. The Nettles will injure and weaken 
the bulbs, smothering them, as the roots leave very little space for any¬ 
thing, and the tops appear in spring before the leaves of the bulbs have 
died down ; hence they cannot thrive where Nettles grow strongly. The 
decay of the Nettle tops will not do the bulbs any good under the 
circumstances. They will, in fact, do them a great deal more harm than 
good if allowed to increase. 
Fungus In a IVXusliroom Bed {F. G. J?.).—We are of opinion 
that it is not practicable to apply anything to the bed strong enough to 
destroy the fungus that infests it without destroying or seriously 
injuring the Mushroom spawn also. The manure must have contained 
spores of the invader, and possibly was not sufficiently heated during 
fermentation before making the bed. You might try experimentally a 
solution of salt at the strength of 2 ozs. and upwards to the gallon of 
w'ater. Twice that quantity of salt has been used, but we advise -you to 
proceed cautiously and note the effects on a portion of the bed before 
giving a general application. Perhaps some of the larger clumps of the 
noxious fungus could be dug out, and if it “ runs ” close to the surface of 
the bed this could be removed, afterwards casing with a mixture of loam 
and fresh cow manure. 
Vine Xieaves Warted (TF. M. L. M .').—The small warts on the 
under side of the leaves and corresponding depressions on the upper are 
caused by mites (Phytoptus vitis) now in the egg state. There are no 
larvae at present discoverable in the blisters, but they will soon emerge, 
when they will feed on the tissue and cause it to become brown, more or 
less, and sometimes shrivel. The affection seldom does much harm. 
The leaves becoming brown or shrivelling should be destroyed by fire, and 
in the winter the Vines should be dressed with a solution of copperas, 
1 lb. to a gallon of water, applying with a brush in the usual manner of 
winter dressings, collecting and burning all the leaves of the affected 
Vines as they fall, or preferably before, A dressing of sulphate of iron, 
quarter oz. per square yard, may also be given the border, but with care 
in destroying the affected leaves the injury will not proceed much 
farther. 
Vine Foliage Flagging and Sbrlvelllng (TV. S. TF.).—It is 
impossible to tell you “ the cause of the foliage of Vines flagging every 
day and shrivelling up,” We have known it arise from the grubs of 
the Vine and other beetles feeding on and destroying the roots as fast 
as produced, so that the Vines could not derive the needful nourish¬ 
ment. At another time we have known mites appear on the young 
growths and prevent their satisfactory development. At times the 
young shoots refuse to grow more than a few inches, then stop, some not 
even starting from the buds. It may arise from slime fungus, fungi 
proper, or nothing but from a soddened condition of the soil, or from 
unripe wood, or impaired growths brought about by the application of 
some substance in the previous seasons or winter. If the roots are 
quite healthy and the soil in good condition you may induce growth to 
start at the lower part of the stem by cutting the laterals to one joint 
or leaf and confining them to that, so that the dormant buds must 
start, if there be any, selecting the most promising of these and letting 
them grow according as you require canes, pinching the laterals to one 
leaf and sub-laterals, also to one leaf as made, you will soon get a good 
cane or canes of a yard or more long, when you may cut away the old 
rod or rods, and there will not be any bleeding, as the new growths 
appropriate the sap. If you cut the Vines down entirely, that is below 
all the leaves, it is likely they will bleed considerably, and the growth 
be late in starting, besides there would be a great loss of stored matter, 
weakening if not causing their collapse. 
Figs Diseased (C. J.).—The leaves are large, quite clean, and of 
fair texture, but the footstalks are rather long, and the young wood 
is somewhat long jointed, the latter being nearly twice that in distance 
of the previous year. This indicates that the house has been kept 
close, moist, and warm. The wood of the current year is also lean as 
compared with last season’s, which would be induced partly by the 
aforementioned conditions and partly by that of the soil. This is of a 
close soapy nature and very wet, otherwise an excellent staple for the 
growth of Figs. We mention these matters as possibly producing that 
condition of the fruit favourable for the development of the disease 
with which they are infested, and it would be well to bear the matter 
in mind for avoidance in the future. Perhaps the drainage of the 
border is defective. This should be attended to and rectified at the proper 
