520 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 24, 1886. 
stock the same, and in three or four weeks add another box, and with a 
little feeding both should be in good order by the time the Heather is in 
bloom if the queens do not meet with any accident. If you wish to have 
a very strong one, three weeks after one of them is fertilised depose the 
old queen of the first swarm and add box, bees, and brood of one of the 
young queens to it. The old queen is thereby removed, and you will have 
two good stocks for this as well as next year. Never leave the queens to 
decide which is the fittest, unless both are young or vice versi I.] 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Ewing & Company, Sea View Nurseries, Havant, Hampshire .—List of 
Loses, Ivies, and Hardy Climbing Plants. 
%* All correspondence 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. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS.—We desire to assure those of our corre¬ 
spondents whose letters and communications are not promptly 
inserted that they are not the less appreciated on that account. 
Our pages are practically filled several days prior to publication, 
and letters arriving on Wednesday morning, except by special 
arrangement, are invariably too late for insertion. The delay in 
the publication of some of these is not of material importance, 
buc reports of meetings and shows held a week previously lose 
much or all of their value if not received in time to appear 
in the current issue. 
Flower Shows (Fern dale). —If you consult the “Coming Events ” at 
the head, of our leading article each week you will see the principal shows 
announced for the week of issue. We have also published a list of shows 
for several weeks, and you will find several advertised in the second page 
of the cover. 
Melons Failing (T.W.). —We do not think the fault is in the soil, 
but the house is too damp considering the temperature that is maintained. 
Increase it from 5° to 10° at night, and the collapse of the plants will 
probably be arrested. We have seen many similar instances of plants fail¬ 
ing in naturally damp houses, and a higher range of temperature has almost 
invariably proved beneficial. 
Propagating Double Gorse (Whin ).—Side shoots or slips of nearly ripe 
wood are inserted firmly in sand under handlights in a shaded position in 
summer and early autumn. They should be inserted two-thirds of their 
length and kept moist. You had better not expect that every cutting will 
strike, but put in plenty to allow for a few failures. 
Ammonia in Ferneries (D.). —A solution of sulphate of ammonia 
sprinkled on the paths and stages in the evening is good for most plants, 
but we have not tried it for Ferns, as ours are as healthy as can be desired 
without having recourse to that practice. We should not apply it to the 
hot-water pipes at any time, nor to the paths in the daytime in bright 
weather, but only in the evening when closing the house. 
Peach Leaves Injured (G. M.). —The leaves you have sent are not 
blistered, but the tissue has shrunk, dried, and fallen out in places. We 
have known this occur after strong fumigation, and as you have plants in 
the house you may possibly have been fumigating for the destruction of 
insects. If you have not we can only attribute the shrivelling of the foliage 
to excessive transpiration, or moisture passing from them more quickly 
than it is supplied by the roots, and in that case additional supplies of water 
must be given to the border. 
Plum Trees, &c., Infested with Aphides (E. D. Y. ).—The points of the 
shoots are infested with aphides. The best remedy is to summer-prune at 
once— i.e., cut off all the young shoots not required for extension and burn 
them. The shoots not removed should be dipped in tobacco water and 
rubbed with the fingers so as to wet the aphides. Tobacco juice diluted 
with a fourth or sixth of water is suitable. The trees should then be 
syringed with the tobacco water, six parts of water to one of tobacco juice, 
and follow in a day with softsoap solution, 2 ozs. to a gillon of water, and 
afterwards with clear water for a few evenings so as to thorough wash and 
clear the trees of the insects. The perforations have no doubt been caused 
by small green caterpillars. The only cure for them is hand-picking. 
They are usually found at the back of the leaves, or folded up in the leaves. 
Squeezing those between the finger and thumb is a ready means of 
destruction. The active insect is no doubt “ ladybirds ” come to feed on the 
aphides. 
Apple Shoots Dying (J. II.). — Your Apple trees have been attacked 
by a caterpillar, the larva of the small ermine moth, which is highly 
destructive. It may be destroyed by syringing the trees with a solution of 
softsoap, hellebore powder, and petroleum ; but this ought to have been 
done sooner. That, however, is not the sole cause of the evil of which you 
complain, for the shoots sent are so weak and densely covered with moss 
and lichen that we suspect the roots have perished in wet soil. We doubt 
if such old trees can be renovated, and the only means we can suggest for 
improving them is to dig drains for conveying stagnant water from the soil, 
cut out all the dead portions after the leaves fall, and dust every twig when 
wet with newly slaked lime. Removing some of the old soil down to. the 
roots, adding fresh and covering it with a thick layer of rich manure might 
also be of service in encouraging the extension of healthy roots near the 
surface of the ground. 
Glass for Vineries and Plant Houses (J. B.). —You have failed to indicate 
the district from which you write. This is a rather important omission, 
because there is far more sun in some parts of the kingdom than others, and 
this has a distinct bearing on the case. We can only say that as a rule rough 
glass is not the best for Vines, and in some districts it would be decidedly 
inimical. We have known long ranges of vineries glazed with rough glass, 
but good Grapes could not be grown in them till the houses were reglazed with 
clear glass. The change from inferior to superior Grapes was not the result 
of a change of gardener, for the same person was in charge throughout, 
though he was not responsible for the selection of the glass in the first 
instance. Nor is rough glass suitable for hard wooded and flowering plants 
generally, except perhaps Camellias; but Ferns and ornamental-foliaged 
plants flourish very well under roofs of the nature indicated. You had 
better show our reply to your employer, and consider the whole matter well 
before deciding on using rough glass for vineries. We dare venture to say 
that not one prize will be awarded at Liverpool next week for Grapes that 
have been produced in houses glazed in the manner advised by your 
architect. 
Prizes for Wild Flowers (Wilfrid).— You ask “ Are annual prizes of 
small amounts (say from 5s. to 2s. 6d.) for the best collection of wild flowers 
of the district at a local flower show of benefit in the interest of botanical 
science or not ? Do not a continued search for such collections gradually 
exterminate many a rare plant from the district flora ? Which is best, an 
annual collection or a carefully preserved collection, duly named and 
classified, and prizes offered for the best collection of plants that are not to 
be found in this preserved collection ?” Undoubtedly a carefully preserved, 
duly named, and classified collection is desirable for educational purposes, 
but we are inclined to think that offering prizes for plants only that are not 
in that collection would be more likely to lead to the extermination of 
“ rare ” species from the district flora than would result from the alterna¬ 
tive plan of offering prizes annually for fresh collections. We fail to see 
that the methods can be properly placed in comparison, and we are of 
opinion that the adoption of both would be better than the exclusion of 
either. Wild plants are not exterminated by gathering flowers from them, 
but by digging up the roots. Cutting off all the leaves would weaken the 
plants, but it is not usual for this to be done in cutting the flowers. Let it 
be an injunction that flowers only are to be cut, with such leaves that grow 
on their stems, the roots not to be disturbed at all, and a love for native 
plants would be inculcated, and collectors of flowers become preservers of 
rare species. We have not the slightest objection, however, to publish any 
opinions that may differ from our own on this subject. It would be a very 
good plan to preserve any flowers exhibited that are not included in the 
dried collection, and this w'ould then be gradually extended. 
Vine Leaves Scorched (F. G.).— The cause of the withered condi¬ 
tion of the leaves we attribute to defective ventilation, due provision 
not huving been afforded for the exit of dry heated air, and this has 
encouraged the increase of the small insect, but great Yine pest, the red 
spider. There is no “ cure ” for such leaves as those you have sent, but the 
evil may be prevented from spreading to the others with better manage¬ 
ment. At no time should the top ventilators be closed entirely, except for 
an hour or two after syringing or damping the house in the afternoon, 
opening the top ventilators an inch or so at nightfall, and increasing the 
openings immediately the temperature commences rising in the morning. 
Carefully remove the worst leaves and burn them, and you will destroy 
many insects that you will not see. Syringe the Tines as violently as you 
can short of injuring the leaves. A mere squirting will be of no use, but point 
the syringe between the bunches and drive the water directly to the under 
side of every leaf, thus giving each a thorough washing. If this work is 
done thoroughly not many insects will be left on the foliage. Use a gallon 
of water to each square foot of roof, more rather than less. One good 
washing of this kind weekly will be more effectual than daily sprinklings. 
This washing should be done soon enough in the evening for the Tines to 
get nearly dry before night. Syringe every part of jjhe house well every 
evening in sunny weather; let not a dry spot remain of soil, walls, or 
woodwork ; also immediately after the sun has left the house, and the Grapes 
stoned, sprinkle the paths well with liquid manure. Guano water will do 
admirably, 2 ozs. of the fertiliser being dissolved in a gallon of water ; but 
take care to open the top ventilators three or four hours afterwards, as 
above advised, leave them open all night, and give more air as early in the 
morning as is required, even if this be at five o’clock, the time depending 
on the position of the house for receiving the morning sun. Water the 
roots of your Tines copiously if the soil is in the least dry, not on the sur¬ 
face only, but 2 feet below it. If you carry out these instructions as we 
should act on them ourselves, your Tines will improve. Late syringing 
may be done in sultry weather, not on cold wet nights. It is much better 
to shade Tines lightly than to let the leaves and berries be scorched, as 
yours are. If your Tines are overcropped remove some of the bunches. 
Feeding Vines Through the Foliage (Omega). —'Supplying ammonia 
in the atmosphere of vineries has long been practised,. certainly more 
than half a century, and has been frequently referred to in the Journal of 
Horticulture, especially in “ Work for the Week.” It is best afforded in the 
