98 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 1,1824 
Prancoas.— Young plants in 3-inch pots may be transferred to others 
5 inches in diameter, using a compost of good loam, sand, and one- 
seventh of manure. If the plants are given greenhouse treatment they 
will continue to grow slowly, will develop into strong specimens early 
in the season, and commence to push up strong spikes of bloom. It is 
best to raise these plants annually from seed. When the stock is short 
one-year-old plants may have the growths thinned out. Those sub¬ 
jected to this treatment, then shaken out and placed in small pots, will 
be ready for larger ones, and should be given the same treatment as 
young plants. Seed can be sown any time during February. 
Frencli Pelargoniums. —Cut-back plants that have been pinched 
and started again into growth will have sufiSciently filled their pots 
with roots to be transferred into those of a larger size. The plants 
ought to be placed into the sizes in which they are intended to flower. 
The soil should consist of fibry loam, sand, and one-seventh of decayed 
manure, pressing this firmly into the pots so that sturdy growth will 
result. Loose potting, with the addition of leaf mould, will result in 
soft leafy growth, which must be avoided. Place the plants where they 
can be kept perfectly cool; the shelves in Peach houses and vineries 
will do if no better position can be found for them. Frost only need be 
excluded. Do not give the plants too much water, and do not syringe 
the foliage. Watch for aphides, and destroy them directly they make 
their appearance by fumigating the house with tobacco smoke. Young 
plants raised from cuttings eaily in the season and placed in 5-inch pots 
in September will be well established, and the flowering shoots well 
extended and strong. Keep these plants for the present close to the 
glass, where the temperature does not fall below 45°, where they will 
continue to grow satisfactorily. 
Zonal Varieties. —Plants that are flowering must not be kept too 
close and warm, or they will start into soft growth and discontinue 
flowering. Do not overwater, and give air daily when the weather is 
favourable. Plants that have done flowering may be kept cool and 
moderately dry to harden them. These plants will, if introduced to 
gentle warmth again, in a month or six weeks come freely into flower. 
Young plants in 3-inch pots may be placed into 5-inch, using the compost 
advised for French varieties, and for the present give them the same 
treatment. 
Iilllums. —Plants of Lilium Harris! must have heat to develop 
the flowers that have not expanded ; they will open in a temperature of 
55°. These have not proved any better than cut-down plants that 
flowered in the spring. Those intended for this purpose should be sturdy 
plants, about 1 foot high ; keep them close to the glass in a cool house, 
where the temperature at night averages about 45°. Watch for aphides, 
and destroy them at once. Plants ready for removal from ashes may be 
stood in any cool position until they are green, when they should be 
placed on a shelf. L. longifolium Eximea is one of the best and most 
useful of the longifolium section. Imported bulbs from Japan have 
invariably done well. The bulbs should be potted at once in 5 and 
6-inch pots, according to their size. L. auratum and the lancifolium 
varieties may also be potted. The last should have five bulbs placed in 
each 7 or 8-inch pot. After potting place the pots in a cool house or 
frame, and cover them with cocoa-nut refuse or any other similar 
material until they start growing. 
Hydrangreas. —Plants of H. hortensis that have enjoyed a good rest 
may be placed in an early vinery or Peach house just started. They 
will do in any position until they begin to grow, when they must 
be placed close to the glass. Be careful not to overwater. The usual 
syringing of the house will prove ample. Put into 5-inch pots the 
remainder of the plants as opportunity offers, and keep them cool. 
Plants of H. paniculata grandiflora should be pruned, leaving one or 
two eyes of the last season’s wood. Place the plants in any cool house, 
and allow them to start slowly into growth. 
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APIARIAN NOTES. 
Feeding Bees. 
During January the weather varied considerably, with a 
temperature from 5° to 50°, and a fall of 3 inches of snow on the 
26th ; but with this exception it has been generally mild on the 
whole. Many bee-keepers have through my advice taken the 
advantage of the mildness, and fed liberally all suspected light 
hives. I am now informed by them that it was not a minute too 
soon, as several they had examined were almost destitute of stores 
Mild as the weather has been the flowers have not progressed 
so rapidly as was expected, nor are they so early in the aggregate 
as we have seen them. In the years 1860, ’61, ’62 Snowdrops were 
in full bloom early in the month, and bees in 1862 carried much 
pollen from them, also from Aconites, Croci, and the Hazel. On the 
24th, 25th, and 26th of January, and almost every day in February 
much pollen was gathered. That year, as well as the two previous 
ones, turned out unsatisfactory for both bee-keepers and farmers. 
Contrasting these years with the present one there is a wide 
difference. Individual flowers are here and there much earlier, 
but these are exceptions to the rule. 
The Price of Honey. 
The price of honey is fluctuating, depending altogether upon 
the season and the demand. I remember well in the year 1861, 
as well as 1890, ’91, ’92, of realising 3s. 6d. per lb. for some fine 
supers of Heather honey ; and in 1891 2s. 6d. for some incompar¬ 
able ones gathered on the Heather hills of Lochlomondside. Why 
these exceptional prices in so exceptionally bad seasons ? In the 
first named years, everywhere, bees were on the eve of dying out 
the whole season. I had my bees in good condition to begin with, 
and kept them so, taking them to Arran early in the season. They 
were a long way ahead of the bees on the island, consequently 
could work and gather honey when others were not prepared to 
do so. I had a similar experience in other years and on different 
moors. The moral is, have your bees in full strength at the right 
time. It must not be inferred, however, that these high prices 
were the standard market value of honey. 
There is a great quantity of honey in the market obtained by 
the too free use of the extractor. One bee-keeper of my 
acquaintance during the past summer extracted daily. The honey 
consequently lies on his hands, although offered at 6d. per lb., a 
price insufficient to recommend anyone to keep bees. Generally 
speaking, however, there has been little, if any, abatement in price 
of good honey for half a century past, and extra high prices were 
due to what is stated above. I have never sold my honey under 
Is. per lb , nor will I ever do, nor advise people to keep bees in the 
expectation of getting profit from them if sold at a lower price. 
The quality of honey ought to be the first consideration of the 
bee-keeper. Honeycomb should be free from colour and founda¬ 
tion ; drip or run honey ought not to come into contact with the 
hands, nor to be taken from the comb until it has been sealed free 
from pollen, and at no time exposed to artificial heat.— A Lanark¬ 
shire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Dobie & Dicks, Deansgate, Manchester.— Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Dobie & Mason, Oak Street, Manchester.— Seeds for the Garden and 
Farm. 
D. S. Thomson & Sons, Wimbledon, Surrey.— Garden Seeds and 
Horticultural Implements. 
James Yates, Little Underbank, Stockport.— Vegetable and Flower 
Seeds. 
’^■.^*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. 
Culture of Iiavender {It. B. 17.).—The articles to which you 
refer appeared in the JoMrwaZ of Hi rticulture lor BQ'giemhGi 5th, 1889, 
and October 10th of the same year. 
Planting: Trees (IF. IF.).— We are obliged by your notes, but 
there was no question on the other subject mentioned in your letter. 
When it arrives it will receive attention. 
Rowan Tree (Foreman). —The botanical name of the Rowan tree 
is Pyrus aucuparia. It is also commonly known as the Mountain Ash, 
and is exceedingly ornamental when covered with large bunches of 
scarlet fruit. 
Petunias In Pots (Inquirer). —If the plants are dwarf they will 
make fine specimens if grown in a very light position, in a greenhouse 
at present, and eventually in frames. If desired in flower early the 
shoots may be tied out and not topped, but if larger and later flowering 
specimens are preferred, topping and shifting must be resorted to. Tall 
plants with leafless stems are sometimes useful for grouping with other 
plants, and local requirements must be considered in this reference. 
Weli-furnished, semi-globular specimens, are often exhibited from 2 feet 
to 4 feet in diameter. Whether your old plants are retained or not, it 
will be prudent to establish young plants from cuttings of the best 
varieties. 
