December 24, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
571 
the spore cases soon burst and the spores are deposited on the paper. Pots 
o or 6 inches in diameter should be liberally drained and then filled with 
equal parts of loam and peat, with a liberal dash of sand added. The 
surface should be made fine and even, and the spores sown at once on the 
surface. If they are covered with soil failure will be certain. They 
must be watered with a fine-rose can, covered with a square of glass, and 
the pots plunged in some moist shady corner in a stove or intermediate 
temperature. Care must be taken that neither the soil or the surround¬ 
ings of the pots become dry, and then a good number of seedlings will be 
certain to appear in due time. At first they appear in the form of a coating 
of green on the surface of the soil, which developes in size until a tiny 
frond is put forth. This must not be removed. When the sporelings are 
large enough they must be pricked out singly into other pans or boxes, and 
finally potted into small pots. Another good plan of raising sporelings is 
is to place under large plants pieces of half-decayed turf, which can be 
kept moist without having to be constantly watered or syringed, and 
upon these the spores will fall, and in due time a good quantity of young 
Ferns will be produced without further trouble. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
Protection from Frost .—We have already had some experience 
winter, but the frost was not long-continued nor very penetrating, con- 
eequently.it was easily kept out of the frames containing bedding plants. 
It is advisable, where not already done, to prepare for more severe and 
more lasting frosts, or many moderately hardy plants in frames may he 
seriously injured. The best protecting material we can procure is rough 
strawy stable litter, and this abundantly and freely used will usually keep 
•out the most severe frosts. Mats being available, these may be thrown 
over the glass before the litter is put on, and the combination will certainly 
keep out the most severe frosts. Without litter, the mats must be used 
two or three thick, and even then, if at all wet, may not keep out the 
frosts. Some use portable straw mats and thatched hurdles, and these 
are effective, but we would still prefer plenty of dry litter. The sides of 
both brick pits and frames should also be surrounded with a good thick¬ 
ness of leaves or litter, not a chink of any sort being left open for the 
frost to penetrate. Any hardy pot plants, for which there is not house or 
frame room, should have the pots plunged, or heavily surrounded with 
either leaves, ashes, or rough litter, or otherwise the frosts will crack them, 
and maybe also injure the roots. Tea Roses in positions where they are 
much exposed to cold frosty winds ought to receive some sort of protection, 
or otherwise they may be killed down to the ground. Those planted at 
the foot of walls of any kind may be sufficiently sheltered with either a 
single mat, branches of evergreens, or, better still, branches of Spruce Fir. 
Failing these, the trees may be unloosened from the walls, hunched up, 
and protected with haybands or a heavy layer of rough strawy litter or 
dried Fern fronds. Those in the open ground, including any newly 
received, and laid in “ by their heels,” as previously advised, should, 
whenever a severe frost is imminent, he heavily surrounded with rough 
dry litter, a good quantity of the same material being thrown over the 
plants. It is the lower portion of the plants, however, that it is of 
the greatest importance to protect, as if the tops are damaged this may 
be. pruned away to the sound portions, the plants, in some cases, 
being strengthened by this perhaps unusual shortening. Snow 
affords capital protection against severe frosts, thousands of dwarf 
Roses sometimes being killed down to the snow line only. Those 
who have lost the greater portion of their Roses do not mind how 
much trouble they take to guard against a recurrence of this dis¬ 
aster, and a good practice is to mound up the snow round their pets, 
and it must be a severe frost that penetrates through this. Standard Roses 
are not so easily protected. It is the Briar stocks or stems that are the 
soonest injured, and in districts where these cannot be relied upon we 
would advise that they he bound with haybands or neatly surrounded 
with straw. This practice may not suit the ideas of the majority of cur 
readers ; but if this is too laborious the least that can be done is to heavily 
mulch the ground with rough litter, this not unfrequently saving many 
trees from total destruction. Any choice bulbs not perfectly hardy that 
may be left in the ground—these including Liliums, Gladioli, Dahlias, and 
even Begonias—may well be heavily covered with ashes, this effectually 
protecting them from severe frosts. Christmas Roses are very hardy, but 
the blooms, which this season are rather early, are soon disfigured by 
either frosts or rains. Where they are planted in beds a spare frame 
should be placed over them, while single plants maybe covered either with 
bellglasses or handlights. A further covering of mats or litter will pre¬ 
serve them from severe frosts, and the result will be a long succession of 
nearly pure-white blooms. All newly planted trees or shrubs should receive 
a heavy ground mulching of rough manure or litter, otherwise many of the 
roots may be killed, and a second severe check be administered. 
Treatment of Frozen Plants .—If by any chance the plants in frames 
or houses become frozen, much care must be exercised in recovering them 
or they will be lost. They must be thawed very gradually, and as much 
in the dark as possible. House-grown plants may be stood under the 
stages, freely syringed with cold water, after which they should be sur¬ 
rounded with mats or blinds, and, thus darkened, they may be allowed to 
gradually recover. The temperature of the house to be gradually raised, 
and if there is insufficient piping to keep out the frost during the next 
night, the plants ought to remain where they were put to thaw, and fur¬ 
ther protected if need be. When it is found that the frost has reached 
the plants in pits or frames it is not advisable to syringe these, especially 
when they happen to be Zonal Pelargoniums or other plants that are 
liable to damp off, but they should be kept quite dark during the first day 
after the frost has broken, and afterwards gradually exposed to the light. 
Unless very badly damaged this treatment will recover them. Low tem¬ 
peratures, especially when the weather is damp and close, are frequently 
more destructive than frosts, so many of the plants being liable to damp. 
At this time of the year little or no water should he given to any of the 
plants in cold houses or frames, as when dry at the roots they are much 
less liable to be injured either by frosts or damp. Neither should those 
plants in slightly heated houses be encouraged to grow much, as in this 
case the growth is almost certain to to be weakly and unsuitable for strik¬ 
ing later on. The more hardy sorts should receive plenty of air whenever 
the outer atmosphere is fairly dry, and advantage should be taken of dry 
days to examine all the plants in pits and frames, from which any decaying 
leaves ought to be removed and any decaying portions of stems be cut 
away, this naturally preventing a further spread of the evil. Alternan- 
theras, Coleuses, and Iresines wintered on shelves or spare stages of forcing 
or other well-heated houses, must also be carefully watered, especially if 
they are not well rooted, the first-named in particular frequently becoming 
much stunted in growth unless very carefully treated. 
Ji : 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
7* ^ 
m 
FOUL BROOD. 
While the bee-keeping world have their attentions upon 
the cause and cure of the above malady (now designated 
bacilli alvei), it may be appropriate to refer to the subject. It 
appears foul brood was known to exist at a very early date, 
and was well known to the ancients ; but probably the Scotch 
derived their information at first from their countryman, 
Bonner, and took his advice, using caution before purchasing 
any hive, so that foul brood might not be present; deriving 
their information from experience, too, that feeding bees 
with foreign honey, foul brood followed. Such information 
would have prevented any Scotch bee-keeper of note making 
so great a mistake as did the late Mr. T. W. Woodbury by 
both purchasing affected hives from cottars and feeding with 
foreign honey, which ruined his apiary. Those bee-keepers 
who assert that the introduction of foul brood is due to 
Ligurian bees should take a note of that. Much as we all 
regretted Mr. Woodbury’s loss at the time, good sprung from 
it and the discussion thereon, although much of it was 
fruitless. Many were the causes assigned, and the cure3 
were no less in our own country as well as on the continent. 
The Germans attributed the disease to pollen, and one great 
master amongst them assured us that the origin of foul brood 
would never be discovered by any but a man of science. At 
that time, though perfectly cognisant that stifling bees in a 
humid atmosphere and overheating was followed by foul 
brood, I did not altogether refrain from following the popular 
belief that chilled brood had something to do with it. So 
mysterious did the disease work that I was, like many others, 
driven to my wit’s end. I was led from circumstances to 
suspect the queen of being the author of the disease. Being- 
in correspondence with Mr. Woodbury at the time, I made 
the suggestion to him, and had a reply through this Journal 
that caused me to wish I had thought twice before I sub¬ 
mitted the question. Shortly after that Mr. Woodbury 
experienced a new disease which he termed dropsy, and 
simultaneously I had several bad cases, which I communi¬ 
cated and commented on, our views being then similar. Since 
then I have experienced many cases of the same disease, 
and from its nature have termed it “ chlorine dropsical 
fever.” Bees affected with this disease soon die. At a time 
when it threatened my apiary with destruction I sent some 
of the bees to a professor of natural science, but unfortunately 
the answer was contrary to facts. The above disease never 
proved infectious, but is hereditary. Neither in any of the 
above cases, nor with those having diseased queens, have I 
ever found foul brood follow or accompany it. 
Daring the height of the discussion I turned my atten¬ 
tion to it, endeavouring to solve the problem, and having 
previously been experimenting with milk in the transmission 
of disease, I applied it to foul brood and had satisfactory 
results as to its origin. My next attempts were to propagate 
the disease by inoculation and testing under what temperature 
