July 5, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
13 
early Nectarines there is Advance, but it is well worth waiting another 
fortnight or three weeks for Lord Napier, which is a capital sort, in¬ 
deed it is best of the early Nectarines, and leads up to Elruge, Violette 
Hative, Pine Apple, and Victoria. These are mentioned not in disparage¬ 
ment of others, but as thoroughly reliable and unsurpassed in quality. 
When such are grown they must not be forced to ripen with the very 
early varieties, or the fruit will not finish satisfactorily ; in fact, to have 
good fruit—the finest—the trees require time to accomplish good work. 
Trees started early in January will not, to do them justice, ripen their 
fruit before early June. This year the fruit is ripening a fortnight to 
three weeks later than usual, Hale’s Early not being ripe before the 
close of June, and Royal George until early July. Now, the point is 
this, Forced against weather the fruit would have ripened three weeks 
earlier at a great sacrifice of size and quality of fruit. These are 
matters worth the attention of those expecting produce of the finest 
quality. When the fruit commences ripening water should be withheld 
from the foliage and fruit, a gentle warmth being maintained in the 
pipes to ensure a circulation of air constantly, and to prevent the 
deposition of moisture on the fruit through the night. Air should be 
freely admitted, and if the weather be very hot and the panes of glass 
large, a double thickness of herring nets, or a single thickness of 
pilchard nets, drawn over the roof lights will break the rays of the 
sun, prevent the undue heating of the fruit, and insure its gradual 
ripening, instead of being dead ripe at the apex whilst the lower part 
is quite hard. The tender skinned varieties, such as Noblesse, are 
liable when exposed to powerful sun, especially after a dull period, to 
have the fruit browned at the apex, and in some instances cracked, 
which spoils otherwise noble fruits. A little air moisture, secured by 
sprinkling available surfaces occasionally, will be of great service to 
the foliage, and will not do any harm provided the atmosphere is not 
close. 
Strawberries in Pots. —We are still gathering from plants under 
glass fine fruits of over an ounce weight of Sir Joseph Paxton, Pre¬ 
sident, Dr. Hogg, and Sir Chas. Napier, and shall continue for another 
fortnight or three weeks. The outside ones are in, but they being of 
the early sorts make a poor display at table as compared with those 
above, and what is worse the quality of the outdoor earlies is very in¬ 
different as compared with the late forced sorts. As soon as runners 
can be had they should be layered in small pots. We use 3-inch, into 
which lumpy rather strong loam has been rammed, adding a quart of 
bonemeal and a similar quantity of soot to every bushel of loam. The 
loam being turfy, manure is not added, bjt when otherwise we use a 
fifth of fresh horse droppings. A row of pots is half plunged between 
every two rows of plants in the open, which leaves a space between 
alternate rows for operating in layering, watering, &c. Strong runners 
are laid in the pots, one in the centre of each, a slight indent being 
made, and each secured with a peg made of t alvanised wire, No. 12, 
cut in lengths of 2 j inches and doubled. With proper attention to 
watering the runners root quickly, and when the roots show at the 
bottom of the pots, and before they are rooted through into the soil, 
they are detached, stood under a north wall for a few days, and then 
potted. Runners are only taken from young vigorous plants, and such 
as have shown fruits ; indeed, the best plants to get runners from are 
those that were planted last year as strong runners, being reservations 
of the forcing ones for the particular purpose. We still recommend the 
varieties La Grosse Sucrce and Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury for early, 
Sir Joseph Paxton and President for general work, and Sir Charles 
Napier and JDr. Hogg for late. Besides, we still have some Keens’ or Sir 
Harry, James Veitch, &c., and Noble. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Bouvardias .—Plants raised from cuttings of young wood or portions 
of root should now be bushy and sturdy, ready for planting out or 
placing in their lar.est pots. If the first is practised, select a sunny 
spot where the base is firm or can be made so. The compost in which 
they are to be planted should be 5 or 6 inches deep, and may con¬ 
sist of ordinary garden soil, to which has been added one-seventh of 
decayed manure and a liberal portion of leaf soil. If the flowers only 
are needed in a cut state, the plants may be allowed to grow without 
pinching, strong shoots will issue from the base, and surprisingly large 
plants will be produced by September. When required for this purpose 
alone, they can be lifted with good roots and placed without repotting 
them on the bed of the house in which they are to flower. When 
required for decoration in pots planting out is not advised. Place them 
into 5 and 6-inch pots according to their size, and strong shoots that 
issue from the base must be pinched if an even head of bloom is desired. 
Carefully harden the plants before placing them outside. 
Grevillea robust a .—Plants raised earlyfrom seed may be placed into 
5-inch pots in a mixture of loam, sand, and one-seventh of manure. 
Press the soil firmly into the pots, and grow the plants as cool as possible 
so that they will be dwarf and sturdy. Plants grown to a decorative 
size under cool conditions in the latter stages last double the length of 
time that would be the case if drawn up quickly but weakly in heat. 
Smaller plants in pans or 2-inch pots may be transferred into 4-inch 
pots. Seed may still be sown, and small but useful plants can be pro¬ 
duced by winter, or will be found invaluable during the spring months. 
Braccsna rutilans .—Plants that have attained too large a size may 
be reduced by taking off good well furnished heads. These should be 
cut off where the wood is moderately soft. Place the heads in 4-inch 
pots with a little sand in the centre for the base of the stem to rest 
upon. If plunged in the propagating frame, and shaded from the sun, 
or even in a close moist structure, they will quickly form Toots and be 
ready for decoratiorf again in a short time. Young stock raised in heat 
early in the season will be ready for 5-inch pots. If the plants are not 
needed for some months grow them from the present time under 
cool conditions; by such treatment they make the sturdiest and most 
handsome plants. Under cool treatment they take fully double the 
time they need when pushed forward in heat. Young plants raised’ 
now by placing the root portion of the stem in heat will make capital 
plants for placing early in the year in 5 and 6-inch pots. These, after 
they are once established in small pots, may be grown and wintered 
cool provided they are not needed before the spring. 
Adiantum cuncatum .—For yielding a good supply of fronds during: 
the winter those plants that have been heavily picked up to the present 
time should be thoroughly cleaned by the removal of all small fronds. 
Give them a few weeks’ rest in a moderately cool place and then push 
them into growth. Be careful not to grow the plants under too much 
shade, for fronds produced under such conditions will not stand after 
they are cut. A fair amount of light is essential, with air admitted’ 
liberally when the fronds are developing. This treatment will produce 
light green fronds that are more suitable for association with choice 
flowers than those of a dark gre i n appearance. Plants that have their 
pots full of roots may be fed with weak stimulants to assist them in 
pushing up strong fronds. Pot seedlings, as well as any young plants* 
that need more room at their roots. Plants well established in 60’s will, 
if placed into 5-incli pots, yield a quantity of small but useful fronds 
during the winter. In potting, use a light open compost, loam and leaf 
mould in equal proportions, with sand and a little lime rubbish added. 
Leaf mould is preferable to peat. 
HOPES FOR THE HARVEST. 
The almost entire destruction of the Alsike Clover has jeo 
pardised the bee-keeper’s harvest. The cold winter and protracted 
severity of the spring, preceded by a drought of exceptional 
severity, killed the root with a result which cxn only be approxi¬ 
mately estimated. Walking over some 700 acres of seeds a few 
days ago we noticed scarcely a single head of the sweetly delicate, 
flower upon which the bee-keeper depends so much for his annual 
profit. If, however, the weather is propitious during the next ten 
days a considerable surplus may yet be obtained from the Dutch 
or White Clover of the pastures, which seems to flourish in unusual 
abundance, notwithstanding the exceptional heat of the past feav 
days. 
In som9 districts fruit blossma has yielded an average quantity 
of honey, but on the whole the result of the season has, so far, 
been a decided disappointment. Swarms also are few and far 
between, and many bees have lost their lives in the heavy storms, 
of the past few weeks. But—and so much depends upon this— 
given a fine July, and there is eveiy hope of an average harvest,, 
provided that the instructions repeatedly given in these columns- 
have been followed out, and all stocks are consequently now strong 
and ready to work in supers. Those Stocks which have already- 
worked out the frames of foundation given to them will increase in 
weight very quickly, unless the torrid heat of to-day, the 28th of 
June, continues and dries up the pastures, thus destroying our only 
hope, unless we have access to the moors, where the purple Heather 
will in August give another chance of retrieving past disaster. 
Now that the prevention-of-s warming system seems to have been 
very generally adopted there is always a greater certainty of ob¬ 
taining a surplus, because every stock is always strong and ready to- 
work in supers at the earliest opportunity, and consequently precious 
days are not thrown away in building up swarms which ought either 
to have been prevented from issuing, or at least built up either by 
strengthening or other means, ready for the time when the great 
annual harvest is expected to be gathered. 
At the present time we must impress upon bee-keepers that 
their hope of a harvest depends upon their ability to restrain the. 
swarming impulse. If all the bees of a stock are kept together- 
instead of being divided between the swarm and the stock there is 
more than a hope for a tolerably successful season, but if a division 
is now made or allowed to take place there is hardly any possibility 
