254 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
I September 19,18£9. 
Liquid manure made from guano is the best stimulant that Tomato:s 
■can have on and after this time. 
Autumn Sown Cauliflower. —Some approve of sowing early 
'kinds of Cauliflowers in the autumn for producing the first crop in 
■spring, and in all such cases the seed should be sown at once. It is 
better to have small than large plants to winter, as the latter are liable 
te “ button ” in spring. A frame in a sunny part of the garden with 
good soil in it up to about 9 inches from the top is suitable for raising 
the plants. Sow the seed thinly, cover an inch or two deep, make the 
surface firm, but do not place on the lights until severe weather 
■compels this, as the hardier and more dwarf the plants can be kept in 
early winter the better do they withstand severe frost. If the seed is 
sown thickly the plants may soon become crowded if not thinned when 
an a small state. A two-light frame of good plants are as many as are 
•required for the majority of gardens. 
Lime in the Kitchen Garden. — As our vegetable quarters 
became vacant last autumn we give them a good dressing of lime, and 
the crops of all kinds that have been produced since have been the most 
luxuriant and remunerative we have secured for many years. Like 
cnany others our ground has been over-dressed with leaf soil and vege¬ 
table refuse, and the lime is beneficial in all such cases. 
Mushrooms. — Since the end of June we have been gathering 
abundance in the fields, but attention must now be given to artificial 
beds. The manure should not be allowed to dry too much, as it retains 
the heat much better and longer when moderately moist. We have just 
■spawned a large bed that will produce plenty of Mushrooms from the 
beginning of November until after Christmas, and by that time others 
will be bearing. Spawn is inserted when the heat is at 85°, and some¬ 
times 90°. This causes it to run freely, and the result is a more even 
crop than when spawned at 75°, the Mushrooms then coming up in 
clusters. We mix turfy soil with the manure, as we note that some of 
cur finest clusters spring from the pieces of turf ; also spread a little hay 
■over the beds to prevent them from becoming too dry, as if this occurs 
it is difficult to make it quite moist again. 
Dead Leaves on Winter Greens. —There are many dead leaves 
■on the winter greens, such as Brussels Sprouts and Savoys, and as these 
•prevent the air and sun hardening the stems for winter they should be 
cleared off, and the plants will show the benefit of it when they have to 
pass through any severe weather. 
Matured Cauliflowers. —These are plentiful at present. Yeitch’s 
Autumn Giant is most serviceable, and all who value autumn Cauli¬ 
flowers grow it. When the supply of heads exceeds the demand they may 
be cut off before they have become too old for use with about 10 inches of 
stem attached, then inserted in damp leaf soil or sand in a partially 
■dark but airy place. Under these conditions they will remain firm and 
■good for three weeks. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Hyacinths.— Bulbs should be potted at intervals of three weeks until 
■the end of October when required for decoration over as long a period as 
possible. Homerus (single red) will be found the most suitable for very 
•early flowering. The spike is not large or crowded with bells, and con¬ 
sequently opens better than any other variety under early forcing. The 
colour of the flower at first is bright, but it'quickly fades, which is its 
■only fault. For early work, however, it cannot well be dispensed with. 
La Tour d’Auvergne, double white, is perhaps the earliest of all Dutch 
varieties, and will precede Homerus by a few days. The pure white 
■double bells of this variety will be invaluable for all who have bouquets, 
buttonholes, and sprays to make ; the bells when wired are very suitable 
tfor this purpose. Charles Dickens is the earliest of the single blooms, 
■but it is fully ten days later than those named—in fact, several single 
varieties of various shades of colour will flower about the same time as 
Charles Dickens. For ordinary decoration the following are amongst 
<tke most useful :—Single white : Alba Maxima, Madame Vander Hoop, 
Alba superbissima, Grandeur a Merveille, Baroness Tuyll, and Grand 
Vedette. Single blues : Baroness Tuyll, Grand Lilas, Argus, Marie, 
Uncle Tom, and Charles Dickens. Single red : Robert Steiger, Gertrude, 
iNorrna, Amy, Gigantea, and Madame Hodson. Yellow : Ida. Doubles 
—red : Lord Wellington and Waterloo. Blue : Blocksberg and Laurens 
Foster. No better white than the one named can be selected, and if 
potted at different times will be found useful throughout the season. In 
potting single bulbs may be placed in 4j-inch pots, and three in 6-inch. 
<One good crock only will be necessary for drainage, with a little of the 
roughest of the compost over it. The top of the bulb should just be 
•visible when potting is completed. The soil should be pressed only 
moderately firm. The soil may consist of equal quantities of good loam 
•that has been stacked some months, with about one-seventh of manure 
•added at the time of stacking, and old soil from the potting shed, with 
•the addition of about one-fourth leaf mould, A little coarse sand may 
be necessary, but this depends upon the texture of the loam. Carefully 
avoid the use of manure in a fresh state. 
Tulips. —Place these in pots and boxes in quantity, according to the 
■demand. For early flowering it is best to have Tulips thickly in boxes 
or pans, and then lift, and repot them when they come into flower. 
Early in the season Tulips flower very irregular, and it is difficult to 
have good pots without they are made up. Early in the year there is no 
perceptible difference in the lasting properties of the flowers, whether 
grown in the pots or lifted and placed thickly into them. For early 
work Due Yan Thol is the most useful, the scarlet form only being 
worth the trouble of boxing. The best of all whites and the earliest is 
Pottebakker. The flowers are large, sweet, and of the purest white. 
Early in the season, before being fully expanded, the flowers are almost 
as valuable for wreaths and bouquets as the buds of Niphetos Rose, 
which they much resemble. Chrysolora is the earliest of the yellows. 
For later flowering they are placed five or six, according to their size, in 
5 and 6-inch pots. Other useful varieties for succession are Vermilion 
Brillant (the finest of all scarlet varieties), Canary Bird, Cottage Maid, 
Joost Van Vondel, Iveizers Kroon, and Wouverman (a good late variety). 
Amongst doubles procure Tournesol, scarlet and yellow and the yellow 
form ; La Candeur, white ; Rex Rubrorura, scarlet; two of the best late 
varieties. These may be had until June by potting late in October, and 
keeping them in a northern position afterwards. Both are good for 
cutting, and may be sent any distance during the month of May. 
Polyanthus Narcissi .—For early flowering Paper-white and Double 
Roman should be grown five or six bulbs in 6-inch pots, the size we have 
found most suitable for these bulbs. Gloriosus and States General 
are two cheap and very early kinds. To these may be added Grand 
Monarque, Grand Soleil d’Or, and Newton. If the last of Grand 
Monarque are potted the last week in October and kept outside they 
will be found useful in the conservatory when all spring-flowering 
bulbs are over, or for cutting with the double late Tulips that have been 
named. 
Scilla siberica .—Where these are appreciated in pots place the 
bulbs thickly together in 41-inch pots at once. Cover the bulbs with 
1 inch of soil, and plunge them the same as advised for Hyacinths and 
Tulips. 
NOTES ON BEES. 
BEES THROWN OUT OF A HIVE. 
Samples of bees have been received from “ F. H. M.,” who 
wishes to know the cause of so many bees being thrown out of a 
hive at this time of year. It is difficult to determine the cause 
without seeing the hive or hearing full particulars respecting the 
situation and surroundings. Some of the bees on dissection 
contain a milky-looking liquid, and have an odour not unlike 
“ pot ale,” the refuse from a distillery. Are the bees near one, or 
have they access to dregs of ale or porter ? They do not seem 
diseased in the proper sense of the term. They are not all alike. 
Some of them are young bees, and it is a common occurrence at 
this season for stocks to draw much of their brood unless prevented 
by liberal feeding, which is in some cases neither prudent nor 
advisable to do. We shall be glad to hear full particulars. 
BEES SWARMING. 
The cause of this is hardly worth consideration, as the subject 
has so often been explained in these pages. But it appears some 
bee-keepers do not thoroughly understand it. Therefore a few 
words of explanation, if they should be a repetition, may not be 
out of place. Some bee-keepers, one in particular, writes, “ Keep 
the variety that is not inclined to swarm !” I have yet to see this 
wonderful variety of bee. Others write of certain ways and means 
of preventing swarming, which is simply the original methods, and 
not “ a new system/’ I observe some American writers affirm the 
cause of swarming to be an excess of “ indoors ” or young bees, 
and run into the same old error that many have done before, of 
fixing the life of the honey bee at as many days as it should have 
been weeks. Another plan is that of “ Felix,” which I am ignorant 
of as yet, but await patiently the instructions how to prevent 
swarming by “skilful management.” My own opinion in the 
interim will neither interfere with his information nor disturb him 
in the least, and for the benefit of bee-keepers I will explain the 
causes of swarming, and how in certain cases it can be prevented ; 
but without such manipulations as I describe it would be impossible. 
SWARMING FROM SMALL HIVES. 
It is a well known fact that bees in small hives will increase 
by swarming naturally, much more quickly than where full sized 
hives are kept, but the latter are not exempt. In our early bee 
life, when using hives larger than those generally recommended, 
but smaller than we now use, it was customary to have ekes, or at 
times a super, to prevent swarming. I soon discovered that this, in 
addition to having an excess of drone comb built, was not a success¬ 
ful method, especially where a queen of more than one year old 
