October 4 , I8S8. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
323 
fourth of good manure. Afford a good watering, and place the trees 
where they can have plenty of air. 
Vines. — Preparing for Early Forcing. — Where the roots have the 
run of outside borders it will be advisable to prepare some fermenting 
materials for placing on that part about the time the house is closed, 
the border in the meantime being protected from heavy cold rains by 
spare lights or other means. Two-thirds of Oak or Beech leaves to one 
of fresh stable litter thrown into a heap, moistened if necessary, and 
turned over a few times, will afford a durable heat and suitable source 
of nutrition. Similar material should also be prepared for placing 
inside the house, which will aid the Vines in starting through the 
uniform state of the moisture and heat, and lessen the necessity for fire 
heat. Thoroughly cleanse the house, everything being put into 
proper order, and keep the house as cool as possible. Vines that are 
to be started early in December should be pruned at once (if not 
already done), so as to allow them some weeks of rest before starting. 
Earliest Vines in Pots. —These start more freely if a slight bottom 
heat can be afforded ; a bed of fermenting materials, two parts leaves and 
one part stable litter, afford a mild lasting heat. Place loose brick 
piers so that their rims are level with the top of the fermenting bed, 
and the fermenting material brought up about the pots loosely in the 
first instance, and not to have a temperature at first of more than 70°. 
Vines that have been ripened early, pruned, and had about six weeks’ 
rest, may be started at once. The temperature at starting should not 
exceed 55° by artificial means, but when the buds show signs of breaking 
it may gradually be increased to 65°. The canes should be slung in a 
horizontal position to induce them to push their buds evenly throughout 
the length of the rods, syringing them three or four times a day. 
Late Houses. —Vines that were judiciously forwarded by fire heat in 
the spring and onward till now have crops of ripe well-coloured Grapes, 
which will keep much better than those that still require fire heat. 
Liberal ventilation on all favourable occasions will be required, and as 
the foliage is matured the temperature may be allowed to fall to' a 
minimum of 50°. Mats or a light covering of clean dry straw placed 
on the inside border will prevent the rising of moisture. The Grapes 
should be looked over twice a week for the removal of decayed berries, 
but if properly ripened and the house drip proof they will give very 
little trouble. A supply of fern where the common bracken is plentiful 
should be cut for covering late house borders for the winter. A good 
covering of bracken is quite equal if not superior to litter as a protec¬ 
tion. Late Grapes not yet ripe must have fire heat briskly by day, with 
a free circulation of air, and the temperature must not be allowed to 
fall below 65° at night, and to assist the ripening of the wood keep 
lateral growths closely stopped. 
The present is a good time to lay in a stock of materials for forming 
Vine borders. The top 3 inches of a pasture where the soil is a good 
friable loam is suitable for Vines, and should form the staple of the 
compost. Place it in somewhat narrow ridges, and have the top ridged 
so as to throw off the wet. It is better got now than when soaked and 
cold from rains. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. —If not housed those for flowering early in 
November must be placed under glass at once. Water carefully at first 
and start them gently into growth. If they are hurried after they are 
housed they are liable to make a quick soft growth and fail to flower 
profusely. Those intended for later flowering should have the protection 
of glass ; cold frames will suit them better than houses for a few weeks. 
All they need for the present is protection at night and from heavy 
rains. Give these abundant ventilation on fine days by throwing off the 
lights. 
Salvias. —If not already lifted this should be done without delay ; 
it will also be necessary to place them in a position where they can be 
shaded from the sun for ten days or a fortnight, and at the same time 
easily protected with canvas in case of frost. If they are well watered 
directly they are potted and then liberally syringed afterwards they 
will not be long before they are rooting freely, and will bear exposure 
to the sun. 
Heliotropes.— The whole stock of these must be housed without 
delay, for they are not safe outside ; even if they escape frost the 
temperature at night will fall too low for them. The earliest may be 
started with the Zonal Pelargoniums, and the remainder should occupy 
a light airy position in a cool house. For the present the temperature 
in cool houses will not fall low enough to do them any harm. 
Tree Carnations. —The earliest plants may be housed. Select for 
them a cool, airy, light position, not too far from the glass. It is 
important that the pots be stood upon some moisture-holding base. Tie 
any shoots that need it before housing them, and examine the base of 
the pots to see that worms have not stopped the drainage and thus 
prevent superfluous water making its escape. A little artificial manure 
may be applied to the surface of the soil, and the plants gently fumigated 
if aphides exist upon them. The remainder of the stock, or those for 
spring-flowering, will be safe outside for another month. 
Mignonette. —Tie down the shoots of standards and pyramids ; if 
any of the plants are required in bloom in a month select those that 
aTe well furnished and allow the shoots to extend. Be careful that they 
do not become dry, or the shoots will soon become woody, and small 
instead of large spikes will be the result. Give abundance of air to 
encourage strong growth, and lightly syringe the plants twice on fine 
days. Give a little artificial manure to the surface of the soil at 
intervals of two or three weeks to keep the roots active. Be careful not 
to allow any of the plants to become rooted into the moisture-holding 
material on which they are standing. A number of those-in 6 and 7-inch 
pots grown for cutting may be allowed to flower if seed was not sown 
to be covered with a frame for yielding a late supply. 
Tea Roses .—Plants in pots that are bursting into new growth may 
be placed indoors. Give them abundance of air by day, and in a month 
or six weeks they will yield a capital supply of buds for cutting when, 
those outside are nearly all over for this year. 
HOW TO BEGIN. 
Notwithstanding the inclement season some friends of local 
and hitherto successful bee-keepers have pressed us once more to 
give instructions to those who desire to set up in the industry of 
bee-keeping ; and although we are fully conscious that such infor¬ 
mation can only be given in these columns at the expense of some 
reiteration, it is perhaps not misusing the space at our disposal if 
we comply with their wishes, and once more point out to those who 
desire to know what is the best and most expeditious means of 
starting an apiary at this season of the year. 
It is hardly necessary to say that those who follow our instruc¬ 
tions in a half-hearted fashion, and only in part carry out what we 
deem to be the essential features in the method, should not expect 
to be successful. On the other hand, any man of average intelli¬ 
gence who will follow the instructions to the full need have no fear 
of failure. The end of October is certainly rather a late period to 
commence, but it is not too late to make a start upon the very 
method which we think it advisable to instruct the beginner to 
adopt. 
The novice must first find a stock filled with well built worker 
comb headed by a young and fertile queen, and certainly at the 
very least three or four swarms of bees. The hive must admit of 
at least twenty standard frames being used, and on no account 
must a stock located in one of the little abominations containing 
only eight or nine frames be purchased. One who has had but 
little experience can hardly expect to tell the value of a queen, and 
if the purchaser doubts the word of the vendor the only test he can 
apply is to examine the combs and see whether there are patches > >f 
brood, and also to notice whether there appears to be a more 
than normal amount of old bees. A young bee can easily be dis¬ 
tinguished from an old one by its grey colour and the more perfect 
state of the wings of the former. An excess of drone comb is 
very detrimental to a stock, a very small population is fatal, and a 
worthless queen absolutely disastrous. But if we can find a hive 
filled with well built worker combs, some of them containing 
brood in various stages, even if the population is comparatively 
small, there need be no fear in making the purchase, even if the 
combs do not contain a sufficiency of store to carry the stock over 
the winter and spring, because the population can easily be 
augmented and a sufficient supply of food afforded. 
When a stock answering the above description has been met with 
and the purchased hive removed to its new stand, means must at once 
be taken to add sufficient bees and to supply the necessary food. 
Some 5 lbs. of bees should be obtained either by purchase or in 
such other manner as may offer, and then those bees may be added 
to the stock in the following manner. A sheet must be spread on the 
ground in front of the stock, and a little warm syrup prepared, taking 
care that the syrup is very thin. In the evening, about dusk, a few 
puffs of smoke must be injected at the entrance of the stock, and then 
the driven bees must be thrown down on the sheet and well sprinklec. 
with syrup, when the body box of the stock hive containing both 
bees and combs must be lifted from its stand and placed above the 
bees on the sheet, the sides of the hive being propped up by bricks 
to prevent crushing the helpless homeless insects. In a few minutes 
a happy hum will resound, and early next morning the hive may be 
replaced upon its stand. Now is the time for feeding up the 
stock. This may be done in at least two ways, for either sealed 
