November 12, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
419 
by the heat. The tiles or slates throw off much of the water or liquid 
manure supplied to and escaping from the pots, so that there is no risk 
of a surfeit of steam, and the water running on the floor keeps up a 
genial moisture as well as affording ammonia to the atmosphere when 
liquid manure is used. Span-roofed pits or lean-to pits facing south, 
and having sunk paths in the centre or at the back of lean-to or three- 
quarter-span, and beds in which fermenting materials may be placed, 
answer admirably, contingent on their having the necessary hot-water 
pipes to afford top heat for forcing Vines in pots. Pedestals of loose 
bricks should be formed in the beds so as to raise the pots to the 
requisite height and prevent sinking, as would be the case were the 
pots stood on the fermenting material. This is essential, whether the 
Vines are trained to trellises at 12 to 15 inches distance from the glass 
or coiled round stakes where there is no trellis, or the Vines are required 
for decorative purposes when the fruit is ripe. Vines in pots, and 
restricted there to afford excellent fruit with judicious feeding, but if 
weight and quality of Grapes are desired the apertures in the pots 
should be widened, and some turfy loam placed within reach of the 
roots. The loam may be placed against or on the pedestals of loose 
bricks, and the roots will follow the liquid manure given, and the turf 
hold its manurial elements so that the roots will send up plenty of 
support for the Vines. Oak or Beech leaves are the best to afford 
bottom heat. They afford a genial warmth and regular moisture in the 
early stages, and rich stimulating food when the demands of the Vines 
are greatest. The house must now be ready, and the plants placed in 
position. The canes should be kept horizontally, or have the ends 
depressed, if necessary, to insure their breaking evenly from the base 
upwards. For early work none is better than Black Hamburgh and 
Foster’s Seedling. White Frontignan forces grandly, and Madresfield 
Court is excellent. Vines started now will afford fruit fit for table in 
April, or by a little earlier with sharp forcing. 
Early Forced Planted out Vines .—To have ripe Grapes with cer¬ 
tainty early in May, the house must be closed by the middle of the 
month. This more particularly applies to young and vigorous Vines that 
do not, as a rule, start into growth so quickly as those that have been 
forced for a number of years. This applies equally to Vines that have 
not previously been subjected to early forcing. To produce a soft humid 
atmosphere, and to economise fuel, a good ridge of fermenting material 
may be placed upon the floor or inside border and be turned at short 
intervals, additions being made as the heat declines. Old Vines will not 
need depressing, but it is a good practice to lower them until the buds 
break before securing them to the trellis. This is not necessary when 
the Vines are spur-pruned, unless they are young ; then the Vines will 
need to be brought into a horizontal position over the hot-water pipes or 
fermenting material where they can be well syringed with tepid water 
about 10° warmer than the house. The temperature of the house may 
range 50° at night, 55° by day, and 65° on bright days. The outside 
border should be protected from wet and frost by a covering of leaves 
and lights, or by other approved means. 
Houses Cleared of Grapes .—Attend to the pruning directly the 
Vines are leafless and the Grapes cut. If the Vines are vigorous, have 
made stout short-jointed wood, thoroughly ripened, and the buds plump, 
they may safely be pruned to a couple of buds. If, however, the lowest 
buds are small, and the Vines have not from similar buds in previous 
years shown fruit as freely as desirable, or not given bunches as large as 
■desired, the shoots may be left a little longer, pruning, in all cases, to a 
plump bud or thoroughly ripened wood. The pruning bud should be 
round (not flat), as that affords a close compact bunch of well set 
berries with stout footstalks, and these generally finish well. Flat buds 
usually furnish large uneven bunches of Grapes, the berries setting 
unevenly and swelling irregularly, rarely colouring satisfactory. Pointed 
buds, as a rule, are not prolific in Grapes, the “shows” having a 
tendency to develop into tendrils. The house should be thoroughly 
washed, the glass cleaned inside and outside. Free the Vines from loose 
bark, avoiding close peeling and scraping, and cut away all “ snags.” 
Wash the Vines with soapy water, 3 ozs. softsoap to a gallon of water, 
using a brush, and reaching well into every angle and crevice with care 
and judgment. Limewash the walls, painting the house and trellis if 
necessary. Remove the mulching or loose soil down to the roots, and 
place on a couple of inches thickness of fresh loam, mixed with a tenth 
of quicklime, a quart of steam bonemeal being added to every barrow¬ 
load of loam, and about double the quantity (2 quarts) of wood ashes. 
If the loam be light add some clay marl dried and reduced to powder, 
mixing it with night soil. If the roots are deep raise them nearer the 
surface, and lay them in fresh material, such as the following. Turfy 
loam cut 3 inches thick and chopped up rather small have ten barrow¬ 
loads, and add to it one barrowful of old mortar rubbish, two bushels of 
charcoal broken moderately small, one bushel of wood ashes, half a 
bushel of soot, and half a bushel of bone meal. If the loam be light add 
three bushels of clay marl. Incorporate all the ingredients well together. 
The compost may be used as a surface dressing, as it is good alike as a 
rooting and feeding area. If the houses must be used for plants they 
should be kept cool, admitting air freely, not exceeding 40° to 45° by 
artificial means. Admit air freely on all favourable occasions, and where 
there are no plants keep the house open in all but very severe weather, 
a few degrees of frost not injuring the Vines. 
TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 
Thomas Laxton, Bedford.— List of Novelties. 
wp 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
m 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Bees at Home. 
Tiie weather up till the 24th October was very unpropitious, 
and bees carried little pollen, but in the intervals between the 
rains they did their best, and I never experienced bees having 
so great a desire to carry pollen as they showed in October. 
How is this ? Had they too little stored for spring use, or have 
they by the eccentric season been lured into the feeling that 
spring and finer weather was approaching ? Judging by their 
actions we should be inclined to think so, because some of my 
stocks have bred to an enormous extent, quite out of the ordinary, 
but the most remarkable thing is they are making no attempt to 
kill off. 
The Drones. 
These, and the excess of worker brood, indicates in every way 
they are preparing to swarm. Hitherto, I have believed that bees 
know the coming weather long before any instrument indicates a 
change ; and to some extent I have wondered if killing, or pre¬ 
serving their drones for long before a change, does not support that 
belief. A few years since we had drones preserved in the hives 
till the following spring. A good year followed. And in 1890 
they killed their drones in June, and we all know what occurred 
since then. 
When at the Heather I watched anxiously to see the progeny 
of all my stock hives. One fine day I was pleased to see 
young bees in every one, and could easily detect the cross 
or the purity of the breed ; one showing the Punic blood, another 
the Syrian, and another the Ligurian, and so on ; for those whc 
are acquainted with the pure races can tell at a glance what the 
cross is.' But on an investigation being made after I had them 
home not one of them had a laying queen. One Carniolian 
swarm showed at the moors yellow-banded Syrian bees, and I was 
about presenting this queen, as I had plenty of crosses, but 
delayed, and kept it to make up the deficiency of queens in my 
own apiary. Now instead of this queen producing Syrian crosses 
there had not been a bee brought forth, nor until the 24th October 
did I see the progeny of a pure Carniolian queen. 
The curious part is what induced the young bees of other 
queened hives to enter others standing from 20 to 40 yards 
distant. I cannot understand. It could not be robbing, as it is 
the old bees that do this ; but perhaps the young bees may have 
been acting as spies only. 
Queen Cells. 
A hive was deprived of all its bees except twelve, and placed 
in an outhouse for eleven days. When this hive was taken into the 
house to have the honey extracted, the twelve bees were clus¬ 
tered round a queen cell they had raised in their confinement, 
and on the capping of the cell being raised a beautiful queen 
crept out. 
Punic Bees Again. 
Although your readers have had my experience pretty fully up 
to date of these interesting bees, there is still important evidence 
to give. I have not yet proved that an equal number of Punic3 
and any other variety will surpass the latter in honey gathering ; 
but have proved that the Punics will overtake other varieties in 
two months’ time, although far behind at first. This alone is a 
valuable trait in the Punic bee, because if some flowers in the field, 
orchard, and garden depend upon bees for their fruitfulness, then 
the Punic bee is the most useful. 
Of all the bees that have bean introduced into this country 
none has been maligned half so much as the Punic has, and by 
people who had no experience whatever of them, but who were 
