323 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ October 8, 188*. 
Hamburghs intended for use through November, and previously divested 
of all laterals, may be cut back to within two eyes of the bunch, and 
shoots from which the Grapes have been cut may also be shortened where 
the wood is crowded. If the inside borders are damp a covering of dry 
fern or dry straw will absorb much moisture, and gentle fires will be 
necessary. Examine the bunches twice a week, removing decayed berries, 
and the house must be cleared of plants, the glass being kept clear of 
all accumulations likely to cause damp. 
Renovating Borders .—The renovation of all midseason borders have 
been, or ought without further delay to be, brought to a close, and late 
houses in which the Grapes do not finish well must he attended to. If 
the Vines have the run of outside as well as inside borders, one or other may 
be taken out and remade at any time after the Grapes are ripe without 
detriment to the present or the succeeding crop of Grapes. Dry mild 
weather is the best for operations of this kind, as the roots are less liable 
to be injured, and the compost does not become close. Well-drained 
borders of moderate width, and about 30 inches depth, are best adapted 
for Vine culture, especially in low situations, as they are least costly, 
warmer, and take more stimulating food with impunity than large masses 
of rich matter over which the cultivator has much less control. When 
the borders are well made and only require keeping up to the mark by 
the annual top-dressing, all old mulching may be removed down to the 
roots, substituting good comprst, consisting of rough turfy loam, crushed 
bones, and charred refuse. When the foliage is changing colour place 
old lights or shutters over the outside borders, with a sharp pitch to the 
front for throwing off water, but they ought not to be closed at the ends, 
as a free circulation of air will be needed until the time arrives for cutting 
and removing the fruit to the Grape room, when the lights may be taken 
off, a good layer of litter being sufficient for keeping out severe frosts. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Shading .—Plants must now have full exposure to sunshine, the blinds 
being thoroughly dried and stored away for the winter. It is always a 
good plan to prepare plants for this change by exposing them gradually 
to more for a few weeks before shading is entirely dispensed with, and then 
no check or injury to the plants will result. Ferns will bear all the sun 
we are likely to get after this date if they have been exposed to plenty of 
light during the growing season ; but if they have been heavily shaded 
their fronds will be weak and tender, and must still be shaded for a few 
weeks. Phalsenopses that have been heavily shaded must now be exposed 
to as much light as possible, but this must be done gradually, using the 
blinds only for a few hours during bright sunshine until they will bear 
full exposure. It is necessary to harden and prepare them as much as 
possible for the winter, or they will not remain ia a healthy condition 
during that trying season. The blinds will be needed on the south side 
of the Odontoglossum house for some weeks yet. 
Cleaning Houses —Clean all houses in which plants are to be stored 
for the winter, thoroughly washing the glass and woodwork with hot 
water and softsoap, limewash the walls, and renew the moisture-holding 
material upon which the pots stand. Every portion of the houses should 
be made perfectly clean and sweet. Clean the paths and curbs if formed 
of stone by using a little chloride of lime ; this is a much quicker process 
of cleaning stonework than by means of scrubbing, and will in a few 
minutes leave the stone as clean as when new. The glass outside must 
also be thoroughly washed. It is a great mistake to leave this work until 
frost compels the plants to be taken under cover. Our plan is to house 
all plants first from cold and other frames that require a certain amount 
of rest during the autumn and winter, and then utilise their places for 
hardier plants until the houses in which they are to be stored are pre¬ 
pared for them. 
Azaleas .—Where these have been standing outside to ripen their wood 
lose no time in getting them under cover. If they remain outside much 
longer they are very liable to become saturated at their roots by heavy 
rains. When the plants stand outside until the soil is saturated they 
generally throw off a very large per-centage of their leaves after they are 
housed. As the work of housing proceeds, carefully examine them, and 
if any trace of thrips can be found, the plants must be well syringed with 
a solution of tobacco water in which about 1 oz. of softsoap has been 
dissolved to each gallon of the mixture. If this precaution is taken to 
examine and thoroughly clean any infested plants, they will give no 
further trouble during the whole of the winter. 
Heaths and Epacrises .—Remove these at once into cold frames until 
the house is cleaned which they are to occupy for the winter. Erica 
gracilis and hyemalis often turn blind and fail to open their flowers 
through being left outside until the soil about their roots becomes 
saturated. This can be prevented by placing them in cold frames, so that 
they can be protected from heavy rams. Ventilate the frames freely all 
night when mild, and remove the lights during the day in fine weather. 
Epacrises require the same treatment. Black fly has been very abundant 
this season, and upon examining our plants we found a quantity estab¬ 
lished on the upper portion of the shoots. This is the first time we have 
observed these plants attacked by aphides. The plants have been dipped 
in a solution of tobacco water and the insects destroyed. Any plants 
that may have been similarly affected must be carefully examined again 
when they are housed, for if any insects remain upon them they will 
spread and probably do much injury when the plants are introduced into 
heat to force them into flower. These plants must be watered with great 
care, or else the fine silk-like roots soon perish. Very frequently they are 
kept too dry after they are housed, and no treatment will sooner prove 
fatal to the plants. On no account allow them to suffer by an insufficient 
supply of water. 
£3 
K 
BEE-KEEPER. 
3 
USEFUL HINTS ON BEE KEEPING. 
The honey season for 1885 is now closed. On the whole 
it has been a productive one, although the low temperature- 
in the north of Scotland has been disastrous to many hives. 
In fact, considering the many cold days and want of sunshine, 
with frosty nights every month, it is surprising where the 
bees could gather so much honey as they have done this year- 
Where they have been well managed, large takes have been 
realised, 150 lbs. having been had from some hives, and, as 
nearly as I can j udge, half a hundredweight will be the average- 
yield from each hive, leaving plenty inside to tide the bees 
over till next May. 
The loss of queens through swarming or having been de¬ 
posed, owing to the nature of the year taxing the queen in a 
manner similar to that of stimulative feeding, has been great,. 
Bees were swarming so late as the middle of September, and 
so far as I have observed, thirty per cent, have done so, or 
have deposed their queen. To keep such hives will but dis¬ 
appoint their owner when spring comes. Now is the time to 
put matters right. An experienced bee-keeper can easily tell 
by the movements of the bees and the molestation they get 
from stranger bees whether a hive is queenless or not. Where 
young queens have been joined lately there need be little un¬ 
easiness ; but, to be sure all is right, feed a little for a few days, 
until the bees are induced to rear the young. When they 
are observed carrying pollen freely, it may be taken that all 
is right, and will do for straw hives where a small patch of 
sealed brood may not be so easily seen as in frame hives. 
When these are inspected, make sure that the brood ia 
worker, drone seals being raised considerably and convex, 
while that of the worker is flattish. 
Queens to supply the defect may be had at the present 
time, either from importers or bee-keepers who have spared 
the lives of some deposed ones. I have several standing on 
the mantlepiece in a match-box for nearly a fortnight, lively 
as crickets.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
BEE-KEEPING IN MEXICO—PRODUCTION 
OF WAX. 
1 am a resident of Mexico, and derive much pleasure and instruc¬ 
tion reading there your valuable paper. I now beg you to answer in 
your columns the following query. 
By what means, entirely regardless of trouble or expense, can the 
production of wax be artificially increased in a country possessing a 
very mild, even, and fine temperate climate, with plenty of flowers 
nine months in the year ? Wax in Mexico has a very large demand, 
and sells readily when bleached at 4s. per lb. and sometimes 
higher ; and although honey sells also well (Is. per lb.) the demand 
is limited, and on a large production the price is sure to decline very 
considerably. Bees do exceedingly well there, even with the most 
primitive systems, which are the only ones used, but the problem is to 
produce the greatest possible quantity of wax at the expense of 
everything else. 
I enclose circular on “ emigration ” to my land, offering more 
liberal terms and greater solid inducements than have ever been pre¬ 
sented to emigrants before by any other country of the world. In 
the depressed condition of all agricultural business in England, as 
well as in the United States, Canada, Australia, and all other 
countries where emigrants have been going before, it is quite in¬ 
teresting and very important to those who are looking for a solution- 
to their present difficulties to know that such splendid opportunities 
are offered to them. By saying a few words on this matter you will 
surely do an immense good to the farming community and others.— 
Omega. 
[Bee husbandry for the production of wax should be conducted 
much on the same lines as for obtaining honey. Without the latter 
there cannot be the former. But there are some points which should 
be kept constantly in view—viz., young queens in plenty, very large 
frame hives, and strong swarms. It will be advisable to join a young 
fertilised queen every three months, and to accelerate her introduction. 
