412 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 20, 1883. 
I observe in the British Bee Journal drawings by Mr. Blow of a 
swarming box for the purpose of taking bees from high trees, used on 
the continent, “ but not in this country/’ I obtained a first prize for 
a similar one in 1876, and had one in use long before that. I de¬ 
scribe it in my Essay. Another drawing in the same journal is ithat 
of a large cage used in joining the queen and nucleus of bees to 
another hive. This, too, I have used for a quarter of a century. 
But to the crate, seeing that Scotland has the priority of the 
invention, as it has in most things pertaining to common-sense bee¬ 
keeping. For the benefit of bee-keepers I will explain the plan I 
placed the sections in the Perthshire-Lanarkshire crate. When 
sections are placed with their ends close to the crate, the bees do not 
fill the sections compactly to the ends ; but when they hang in the 
crate similar to frames, having a quarter of an inch between them 
and the walls, they more readily fill the section compactly. I made 
my section from If to 2 inches broad, all in one breadth, and along 
each end of the section I nailed a light fillet of wood and allowed it 
to project one-eighth of an inch at each end ; this served as a distance 
guide. Then along the sides of the crate I nailed another fillet to 
suspend the sections on, not unlike the plan for reversible frames. 
When so placed they are easy of manipulation, and the bees fill them 
neatly, and they can be sent to market with a greater certainty of 
safety than when packed hard to the crate. Instead of nailing a 
fillet on, nails alone will suspend the sections, but are not so satis¬ 
factory as the above plan on account of the absence of the distancing 
between the sections by the fillet. There are other ways of placing 
the sections, but the above plan was the only one that satisfied me. 
Queen-excluder, zinc, and separators are both abominations in the 
hives, and are unnecessary. 
Now is the time to be careful that the supplies do not get short 
in the hive. At the time we put on supers for obtaining a surplus of 
honey is the very time bees are liable to die through a scarcity of 
meat. It is, therefore, to be hoped that casualties will not be 
increased through overlooking giving syrup in time, nor yet causing 
the bees to lose themselves by flying about through injudicious 
stimulative feeding.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Edmund Philip Dixon, 57, Queen Street, Hull.— Catalogue of New and 
Choice Plants and List of Chrysanthemums. 
Follows & Bate, Burton Street, Manchester.— Illustrated Catalogue of 
Lawn Mowers , Garden Engines, Syringes. <fc. 
J. Carter & Co., 237 and 238, High Holborn.— List of Choice Plants. 
*** All correspondeuce should be directed either to “The Editor” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. We 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books {W. G.). —If by the “ cheapest ” work you mean one that you can 
obtain for a small outlay you may invest in Pearson’s “ Vine Culture.” It 
is brief, plain, and sound, price Is. Id., post free, from this office. 
Premature Chrysanthemum Buds {Chrysanthemum).— Remove the buds 
as soon as they form at this season of the year, but do not top the plants. 
Your letter, with Mr. Molyneux’s reply, will be published in an early 
issue. 
Weevils on Peach Trees {Constant Reader). —Your trees are attacked 
by tbe destructive weevil Otiorhynchus sulcatus. See what is Baid on catch¬ 
ing them in reply to another inquiry. After you have cleared the trees tie 
some cotton wool round the stems or anything else up which the enemy 
crawls, and smear it now and then with tar. 
Dissolved Bones (J. Button). —You cannot do better than apply the 
manure as a top-dre-sing and water it in. About half a teaspoonful to a 
6 or 7-inch pot is sufficient for most plants that require more support than 
the soil affords. About 2 ozs. to each square yard is a good dressing for 
lawns and outdoor crops. Your letter is very brief and vague, the reference 
to “ the dissolved bones ” implying that you have a supply, and desire to 
know how to use the manure. If, however, you wish to know how to 
dissolve bones, you will find the information on page 263, April 1st, 188G. 
Planting Vines {C. C.). —You cannot do better than plant Black Ham- 
burghs entirely in your early house for forcing; another house with Gros 
Colman ; and if you mix them with any other kind we advise Muscat of 
Alexandria. The former does best in the temperature of a Muscat house, 
and there is never a difficulty in disposing of good examples of the last 
named. In your third house plant principally Alicante. You might try a 
few canes of Gros Maroc, which would be ready for cutting before the 
Alicantes. It is a noble-looking Grape, and would probably take well in the 
market. It is a strong grower and needs plenty of space for the develop¬ 
ment of its foliage. 
Peach Leaves Perforated {A. G. P.). —The perforations are made by 
some weevil eating the leaves while young, their size increasing with 
the enlargement of the leaves. A white cloth placed beneath tbe trees after 
dark, and the tree shook sharply would probably cause the weevils to be taken, 
but care must be taken not to make any noise, and to operate in the dark, 
as they fall to the ground on the approach of light and with a noise, and so 
escape detection. The cause of the blossom buds falling is no doubt due to 
imperfect bud-formation, probably deficiency of water at the ripening and 
resting periods. Prolonged cold is very much against the setting of Peach 
blossoms, and sometimes proves fatal through the imperfect development of 
the organs of fructification. 
Tomatoes in Open Quarters {Tomatoes for Profit). —Tomatoes used to 
be grown much more extensively in open quarters near London than they 
are now. They were planted a yard apart or a little more, by some growers 
4 feet. One stem only was secured to a stake, and when four or five bunches 
of fruit were set no more growths were allowed to extend, and even some of 
the large leaves were removed to prevent the fruit being unduly shaded. 
We have seen several acres of them, but the practice indicated is now 
practically discontinued in the same district, the “ disease ” having ruined 
so many crops ; still they are grown to a limited extent in favourable 
positions, and when the crops are good they pay cultivators well. The crop, 
however, is regarded as a “ risky ” one. 
Boiler {Horace). —A plain wrought iron rivetted saddle boiler is good; 
not liable to go wrong, and, if properly set, is very efficient. The check-end 
saddles are, however, improvements upon the old plain saddle ; any extra 
first cost being amply repaid in the economical consumption of fuel through 
the increased efficiency of the boiler. Terminal end saddles are also 
efficient, as the full force of the furnace is concentrated on the crown and 
end of the boiler where the flow pipe is situated. We advise one of the 
improved forms of saddle, a check end and terminal saddle not being much 
more complicated than a plain saddle, and properly made are quite as durable. 
They can be had in either cast or wrought iron. We prefer the latter. A 
steel one would be still better, as the thinner the boiler plates the more 
quickly the heat is abstracted by the water from the furnace. 
Weeds in Lawn {Inquirer). —The weed you have sent is commonly 
called Crowfoot, a wild Ranunculus, and it grows freely and spreads 
quickly in damp soil. The mowing machine will not destroy it. You must 
either dig out the weeds or kill them with acid, one drop of either sulphuric 
or carbolic acid placed in the heart or crown of each being effective. It is 
best kept in a stone blacking bottle with a wire handle, and can be applied 
with a stick with a few notches cut in it near the end, these hold the acid, 
enough being secured at one dip for destroying three or four plants if close 
together and the user is expert. It must be applied right in the centre of 
the weeds alone, not rubbing the stick on the grass, boots, or clothes, as the 
acid will burn everything it touches. In this way the weeds may be 
destroyed far more quickly than by digging them up, but if there are only a 
few of them this effective mode of riddance may be adopted. 
Planting Flower Bed ( C. E.). —Viewed from the ends your proposed 
arrangement would be fairly effective, but instead of bars across the bed we 
should prefer to plant each sort in circles, which would be effective from all 
positions. We could have better expressed an opinion if you had stated the 
dimensions of the bed, but most probably nine circles would be ample, the 
central one being filled with Cannas and the others grouped as proposed in 
your arrangement. The border or edging can still be of light-leaved Pelar¬ 
goniums. and the remaining spaces filled in with either a good Ageratum, 
such as Cannell’s Swanley Blue, or, better still, Heliotrope Florence Nightin¬ 
gale. If you still prefer your own arrangement, either of the last mentioned 
would be suitable for the ends. In any case, each sort used would have to 
be kept within bounds, or they are liable to overrun each other and a 
confused mass is the consequence. 
Camellias not Expanding {C. II. S.). —The cause of the Camellia buds 
not fully expanding is due to the young growths taking the lead. This is 
often the case with late-flowering varieties or those that are unduly retarded. 
In such cases it is a good plan to pinch off the young shoots as soon as they 
appear, which will throw all the resources of the plant into the development 
of the flowers. The young growths pushing so freely before the flowers have 
fully opened is due to the luxuriance of the trees. From this cause alone 
they often fail to flower satisfactorily. We advise you to feed the trees less 
freely for a time, and induce the formation of hard short-jointed growth by 
the admission of abundance of light and air. When Camellias are vigorous, 
the growths starting after the blooms are cut attain quite sufficient strength 
for forming flower buds and perfecting blooms ; hence we do not hesitate to 
nip off those growths that take the sap from the flower buds. It would not 
do to similarly suppress the growth of weak plants. 
Woodlice and Mushrooms (S. L. B.). —You ask “Wbat harm these 
pests do on Mushroom beds ?” The chief harm is they eat the Mushrooms. 
When beds “ swarm ” with woodlice they leave very few Mushrooms to 
develope for the owner. We do not know that they eat “ the white threads 
of spawn just as it comes through the soil before the tiny Mushroom is 
formed.” When Mushrooms form there they must be “ tiny.” Fine Mush¬ 
rooms form in or beneath the soil, not from mycelium on the surface, and 
when “ white threads ” cover the surface like network it is usually an indi¬ 
cation of the covering being too thick and damp, “ drawing out ” the spawn. 
We like to see the soil lifted up by great masses of Mushrooms below, and 
when we see the surface of the bed rise and crack as if from the force of a 
