Oclob:r 18, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
369 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Primulas .—In moderately dry localities these plants may be safely 
left for a few weeks longer in cold frames, but in others it will be 
necessary to place them in light airy structures to insure their safety 
from damp. All, with the exception of those provided for spring flower¬ 
ing, should be placed in their largest pots and be grown close to the 
glass where plenty of air can be admitted to insure dwarf sturdy growth. 
The latest plants, if they are not in 3-inch pots, should be placed in 
them without delay. Water all carefully from the present time, and 
avoid extremes, for no condition will induce them to damp sooner than 
being first wet and then dry. Try to keep them as nearly as possible in 
an intermediate state for moisture. Soot water in a clear state will 
prove very beneficial to those now coming into flower. It is a good plan 
to top-dress these, especially if they are loose at the collar. They soon 
emit roots, and thus secure themselves to a large extent against damp. 
Cinerarias. —Frame-room will now be plentiful, and these must be 
potted from time to time as they need more root-room. Give the plants 
plenty of room to develope themselves. If they are crowded, moisture 
will hang about them and cause them to damp. In the morning the 
plants will frequently be covered with dew, and the frames must be 
liberally ventilated so that this can be evaporated early in the day. No 
harm will result to the plants as long as this can be removed daily, but 
if allowed to hang about the plants several days in succession they will 
commence damping. With care, however, this can be avoided for some 
weeks to come. What watering is necessary should be done in the 
morning. The earliest plants that are required in flower as early as 
possible may be placed in a light airy structure. Weak stimulants may 
be given every time they need water. Stand them on moisture-holding 
material, for a dry base means destruction in a very short time to their 
lower foliage. Watch for aphides, and destroy them by light fumigations 
with tobacco directly they make their appearance. 
Raman Hyacinths and Narcissus .—The earliest will be ready for 
removal from the plunging material. These should, if practicable, -be 
placed in frames where they can be covered with a mat until their 
foliage naturally turns green. The object is to expose them gradually 
to the light, and if this is done no injury to their foliage will result. 
They will need liberal supplies of water from the present time. 
Lily of the Valley .—As these come to hand it must be decided accord¬ 
ing to the quantity required at one time whether they are to be placed 
in pots, pans, or boxes. Our earliest spikes are obtained from single 
crowns plunged amongst cocoa-nut fibre refuse just as they are received. 
Before introducing them into heat, however, lay them in ashes outside 
until they have been exposed to one or more sharp frosts. They force 
all the quicker and easier by this seeming delay at the start. Clumps 
should be placed into 5-inch pots and all may be stood outside or plunged, 
leaving the crowns exposed. 
Spireeas .—Early frosts have completed the growth of these plants, 
and they can be lifted and potted as opportunity offers. Plants with 
small weak crowns may be divided and planted for forcing purposes 
another year. On the whole the crowns are not so ripe as they have 
been for several years, and we have doubts whether they will flower as 
freely as they have done for several years past. Place them outside 
after they are potted, and to be on the safe side pot up a good number of 
imported clumps. 
Dielytra spictdbilis .—Lift these and place the best crowns into 
5-inch pots, the small ones being reserved for planting again. These 
after potting can be placed in cold frames or may be placed outside 
where slight protection to their crowns can be given in case of sharp 
frosts. 
Viburnum Opulus .—Lift year-old plants from outside and place them 
in pots so that they will make a few roots before the foliage falls. 
Plunge the pots in a sunny position outside where they can remain the 
whole of the summer. When lifted early and placed in 5 and 6-inch 
pots they start away freely in spring and make splendid plants for 
forcing by the following autumn. Deutzias may be lifted, but these 
should be wintered and started into growth in cold frames. For the 
present place them outside and syringe freely on all drying occasions to 
keep their foliage fresh as long as possible. 
FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER. 
In many apiaries weeds and rank grass are allowed to luxuriate. 
This is both careless and unprofitable. The lives of many bees 
will be saved if in the immediate neighbourhood of the hives the 
herbage is kept short and close, but still greater is the benefit when a 
hare space covered with cinders can be given in the immediate 
front and at the sides of each stock. The method of arrangement 
of the stocks should be systematic without being uniform. On no 
account should hives be placed in a straight line. Some may be 
set back a few places, and some may be brought forward, or these 
may even be placed with advantage, under certain circumstances, in | 
a quincunx. Those hives which rest on wooden supports should at 
once undergo a very careful examination, and the sooner any defects 
are remedied the better. It is possible that some hives may be 
cracked owing to the contraction of the wood or to imperfect 
construction, and it is most important that all such “ damp 
traps” should at once be filled up and receive a good coat of 
thick paint. In this way much danger and loss may be averted 
with very little trouble. All surplus cases must be removed, 
but on no account should the body box be contracted. All 
store should be sealed, and the inside of every hive ought to be 
clean and dry. Warm coverings may at once be brought into use, 
and every stock must at once be placed in a position to withstand 
the coming winter without the necessity for any further and later, 
and consequently objectionable, manipulation. 
Everything that can be done for the benefit of the stocks should 
be done, and that without delay while the weather is fine, warm, 
and suitable. A box of cork dust or chaff placed upon one thick¬ 
ness of felt and a piece of ticking is a very excellent winter cover¬ 
ing, and one which can hardly be improved upon. Care must be 
taken to trap any mice which are known to be in the vicinity of 
the stocks, and all boards or bricks which may assist these animals 
in gaining an entrance to the stocks must be removed to a position 
in which they can be of no such use to these bee enemies. An. 
apiary littered with boxes, supers, boards, bricks, and other rem¬ 
nants looks untidy and betrays the character of the bee-keeper.. 
Neatness may not be a necessary adjunct to success, but where we 
find a neat and orderly arrangement of the apiary and its belong¬ 
ings, we expect with certainty to hear of success in the conduct c f 
the industry. 
Most bee-keepers, and especially those who have all to learn, 
may, during the winter months, study with advantage the theory 
of bee-keeping, and they can hardly employ their spare time more 
usefully than in the study of a standard work upon the subject, 
and we would especially commend to those who require a complete 
theoretical knowledge, Mr. Cheshire’s “ Bees and Bee-keeping,” 
and Mr. Webster’s latest work on the subject. These books are. 
very exhaustive, and are written with painstaking care, and can 
hardly be surpassed, but it is hardly necessary to remind the bee¬ 
keeper that even after having carefully studied such works as these 
he is very far removed from being a practical bee-keeper. Theo¬ 
retical knowledge is the basis of practical success, but practical 
success does not necessarily follow from a knowledge of the 
theory. 
There is one lesson which many bee-keepers who have to learn 
upon others for support cannot too well remember, and that is the 
necessity for following out the instructions given them even down to 
the minutest detail. When a bee-keeper gives one who has less know¬ 
ledge than himself instrucions he does so, generally speaking, in a clear 
and concise manner, and provided those details are closely followed out 
success is practically assured. But the person who seeks instruction 
too often thinks that such and such a thing may be omitted. Acting 
upon such ideas he carries out his instructions in a half-hearted 
sort of manner and then complains of failure. No doubt many 
bee-keepers fail to carry out the instructions of those who know- 
more than themselves, because they are unable to see the utility of 
some parts of these instructions, and that is one reason why we, at 
the risk of repeating ourselves, always endeavour to give a reason 
for every instruction we give ; but such reasons cannot be given in 
every case, because if such reasons were so given our articles would, 
assume such vast proportions that the Editor would either at once> 
condemn them to the waste paper basket or, at any rate, prune them 
to a reasonable extent. A reflecting man with a knowlege of the 
theory of bee-keeping can often supply a reason for a certain in¬ 
struction, and a man who is not endowed with a capacity for 
reflection, or who has not a sufficient knowledge of the theory, has 
only to follow the instructions he receives in their entirety, as he 
is hardly likely, in his state of ignorance, to improve upon them, 
and is almost certain in his presumption to bring about a disa' trous 
