September 27, 1888. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
299 
preferable to old plants potted up from the ground, but tlie latter ought 
at once to be secured if the former are scarce. Carefully lifted, not too 
much of the heavy garden soil with them, and kept in a rather shady 
yet warm position, many of these old plants will survive and give a 
quantity of cuttings early next spring. 
Calceolarias , Violas, and Gazanias .—Plenty of good cuttings of 
these can usually be had early in October, and that is the best time to 
propagate. Struck much earlier they are apt to grow too strongly and 
be less hardy in consequence, while if not taken off before frosts injure 
them many of the cuttings will fail to strike. No heat whatever is 
needed for them, in fact they do much better without it. Cold frames 
and shallow pits are the best form of covering for them. The former 
should be set on a dry bottom, and in either these or pits place sufficient 
half-rotten heating material, such as leaves and stable manure, to bring 
the soil placed on the top of this well up to the glass. About 4 inches 
of light loamy soil should be levelled over the manure, on the top of 
this being placed 2 inches of compost consisting of equal parts of fine 
loam and sifted leaf soil with a liberal addition of sharp sand, patting 
this down firmly with the back of the spade. In the case of shrubby 
Calceolarias the best cuttings are made from the medium-sized flowerless 
shoots now very abundant. These should be shortened to a length of 
about 3 inches, cut to a joint and dibbled in 3 inches apart each way 
before they flag badly. Flowering tops of Violas may be struck, and 
will eventually form good plants, but the preference ought to be given 
to the young shoots that start from the stem of the old plants. These 
need very little preparation, and may be dibbled in more thickly than the 
Calceolarias. Short tops of Gazanias to be made into cuttings and 
treated similarly to Calceolarias. The cuttings in every instance must 
touch the bottom of the holes made with the dibber, and be further fixed 
with the point of the latter. All to be watered in, be kept rather 
closely covered in the daytime, and be shaded from bright sunshine. Jn 
mild dull weather a pinch of air may be given, especially during the 
night time, the aim being to keep the cuttings from damping off and to 
check premature top growth. 
Planting Bulbs. —Those intended for the flower beds cannot yet be 
planted, but in all cases where the bulbs can be planted at once this 
should be done. Especially is it necessary to plant the home-grown 
bulbs of Lilium candidum, Narcissi in variety, and notably the Phea¬ 
sant Eye, and the double form of it, as these when received have usually 
commenced root action. It is always the wisest plan to put out hardy 
flowering bulbs generally in clumps where they can be properly taken 
care of, and not disturbed for several years. They are very fit plants 
for mixed borders, and if properly arranged will give a very serviceable 
display of flowers without greatly interfering with the space required 
for summer flowering plants. Irises in variety, Fritillarias, Leucojums, 
Triteleias, Anemones in great variety, Hyacinths, Narcissi and Daffodils, 
Tulips, Crocuses, Scillas, Snowdrops, and the hardy Lachenalias im¬ 
prove rather than deteriorate from being left in the ground, and ought 
to be ordered and planted at once. In the course of three or four sea¬ 
sons strong clumps will have formed where only three or four bulbs were 
planted, and these may be lifted, divided, and replanted at any time 
during the autumn or early spring months. The beautiful Ranunculus 
are not so hardy as those just named, and these must be kept out of the 
ground till November, and even later in cold damp localities. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Eu-charis grandijlora. —If any of the plants need potting or it is 
necessary to increase the stock by division, this is a very good time to do 
it. After shaking the soil from their roots, keep them close and shaded 
for ten days, and they will commence to root afresh in the new soil. 
The pots should be liberally drained, as these plants dislike stagnant 
water or sour soil about their roots. They enjoy liberal supplies of 
water, but the soil must be sweet and open. The plants will pass the 
winter much better with sweet fresh soil in which to root than if it 
was approaching a sour exhausted condition. Eucharises frequently 
flower at this season of the year, and those that have not flowered should 
be kept until they have done so. It is a mistake where a long succession 
of bloom is required to disturb the whole of the stock at the same time. 
They should be divided into batches, so that repotting can be done with¬ 
out throwing quantities of them into flower at a time when they may 
not be wanted. Water carefullv after potting, never allow the plants 
to become dry, and on the other hand do not overwater them. Eucharises 
are frequently given too much water, especially during the winter, and 
the result is that in spring they are almost rootless. 
Stephanotis floribunda. —Plants that are intended to flower early 
should have no artificial heat for at least a month. On fine bright days 
admit abundance of air. Discontinue syringing, as the atmosphere of 
the structure must be drier than has been the case up to the present 
time. This will bring growth to a standstill and harden and ripen the 
wood. The plants will then be in grand condition for pruning and to 
enjoy a season of complete rest. After pruning, and during the rest¬ 
ing period, every attempt should be made to destroy mealy bug if the 
plant is infested The plant should be pruned as it is taken from the 
trellis, and then washed in a strong solution of softsoap and water in 
a tank. Nail brushes maybe used to remove any small bug that may 
have deposited itself in the axils of the leaves. Wash the house, and if 
there is much bug about, the wires and every available space should be 
painted with petroleum. The plant should then be thoroughly 
syringed while it is down with one ounce of the oil in each gallon of the 
water, being careful to get at every portion of it. After the plant has 
laid for an hour or so shake it well, as the oil might settle upon the 
lower portion and destroy some of the branches. The plant should then 
be trained thinly over the roof, and syringed again with the same solu¬ 
tion, repeated at intervals of a month until the flowering time. A large 
plant subjected to this treatment has given us no trouble this year to 
keep it thoroughly clean. 
Poinsettias .—These must be removed from cold frames without 
delayuand placed in a light structure where a night temperature of So 01 
to 60° can be maintained. The latter will not hurt them provided 
liberal ventilation is given during fine days. Directly the plants com¬ 
mence showing their bracts or the completion of their growth, the tem¬ 
perature may be raised 5°. Clean the houses thoroughly before these 
and other winter flowering plants are placed in them. Plumbagos, 
Liuums, Centropogons, and Euphorbias must also be removed from cold 
frames. Be careful not to keep any of these too warm to excite them 
into fresh growth. 
Crotons .—Those for decoration that are highly coloured must be 
prevented making fresh growth. This can be accomplished by placing 
them in cooler quarters and admitting more air during the day. Crotons; 
will bear without injury a night temperature of 55°, and if they are 
not kept too warm during the day they will remain in excellent condi¬ 
tion until they are wanted. The decorative value of Crotons is often 
destroyed by growth made in autumn, which it is impossible to colour. 
NOTES ON BEES. 
It may be worth remarking that while in many places the rain 
only drizzled, here daring the months of July, August, and part of 
September it fell in torrents, the drops being of immense size-' 
Late as the season is a continuance of fine weather may favour 
the bees, and a few more pounds of honey may still be gathered. 
Good hives, it is said, have risen in weight 30 lbs., but I have not 
seen them since the middle of August. On the 10th of September 
a number of Carniolian queens came by post from Austria, which 
have superseded the same number of unfertilised ones in nuclei. An 
examination of these proved that only one had commenced to lay 
at about ten weeks old, while older ones had not. This oner 
unfertilised as she was, had previously been subjected to rough 
treatment by the bees. Twice I released her from being killed 
when outside, a common occurrence when fertilisation is delayed. 
The brood of this queen presented a peculiar appearance, being 
very rugged, more so than is usually the case, and some of the cells 
appeared extra large, two bees in one cell. On opening one of 
them two well advanced pupae were in one cell. Amongst the 
varied phenomena of the hive it is the first of the kind I have 
either heard of or seen, nor have I ever witnessed either malformed 
or monstrosities amongst bees other than hermaphrodites. These 
latter are sometimes interesting, especially so to the scientist. 
Why bees are exempt from producing mature malformed bees 
like many other animals may, perhaps, be due to their perfect 
knowledge of the ulterior uselessness, or otherwise, of any mal¬ 
formed larva found in the unsealed cell, but why do they allow 
hermaphrodites to become fully developed is matter for reflection. 
At a later date I will examine this brood, as it appears the bees, 
although supplied with a fertile queen, have retained all the drone 
brood, much of it being now near the hatching. 
Usually when bees have a fertile queen introduced, superseding 
a drone-breeding one, the bees destroy the drone brood. It appears, 
however, that in this as in other things the Carniolian bee differs 
from other varieties. When bees of the common kind lose their 
queen they shortly thereafter make a great commotion, usually near 
dusk, which gives the bee-keeper notice that the hive is queenless. 
The Carniolians appear to act differently in this respect, indicating 
queenlessness by fanning at the entrance, and humming loudly, 
just as bees do when they have been fed or getting honey in 
abundance. This difference makes it more difficult to distinguish 
queenless hives by appearance. Another trait in their character is 
they take more readily to a strange queen than some varieties do, 
so much so indeed that I believe that in many cases au alien queen 
might be introduced safely in ten minutes after the deposition of 
