February 7,18 9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
117 
There is no generally applicable way of forcing Asparagus without 
lifting th i roots and placing them in heat, but they will bear this well, 
and there is n > d inger of their failing through the operation. Old roots 
which have been forced may be thrown away. They are of no further 
use after forcing. 
Kidney Beans are now more active than they have been during the 
last two months. Plants coming into flower or pod should have liquid 
manure frequently. Keep young ones well up to the light. Sow more 
seed, and the temperature for all should range from 65° to 75°. 
Saladixg. —Lettuce and Endive are now scarce, which necessitates 
an increased sowing of Mustard and Cress. Many fail to produce a tine 
supply of these simply grown salad plants through the soil on which 
the seed is spread being too loose ; whereas, if wanted strong and like a 
mat the soil cannot be too firm. This will also prevent premature decay 
from damp. Chicory and Witloef roots are now becoming valuable, and 
when forced in the dark they produce large quantities of creamy white 
leaves for salad. 
Young Vegetables in Thames. —Radishes from seed sown about 
the first week in January are coming on freely. Ventilate a little on all 
favourable occasions, and thin out some of the plants as soon as the 
leaves meet. Half of them will never “bulb” if overcrowded. 
Potatoes in frames are “ peeping ” through. Raise the ventilators only 
on the sheltered side, as cold winds will check tnem, and they must be 
constantly protected from frost. They are the most tender of all early 
vegetables. Carrots are just showing, and will soon become irobust if 
well exposed to the light. 
Autumn-sown Cauliflowers. —-The winter having hitherto been 
remarkably mild, the young Cauliflower plants sown last October, and 
wintered in frames and under handlights, have remained very green and 
healthy. There are a few brown leaves near the bottom of most of 
them, and these should be removed, the surface of the soil stirred, and 
the whole well watered with liquid manure. On mild days take the 
lights off, as the plants should be kept hardy now with the view of 
planting them out in another four or five weeks. If kept too close they 
soon become very drawn, and when planted out they are apt to produce 
small useless heads prematurely. 
Early Peas. —Those who followed our advice, and sowed Peas in 
the open ground some time ago, will now have promising rows, as the 
weather lias been much in their favour. Sec that the mice do not dis¬ 
turb them, and dust with soot or lime to prevent birds and snails eating 
the young leaves. There may be some, however, who have no faith in 
sowing in the open who are still desirous of having early rows, and 
where this is the case the seed may be sown at once under protection. 
We have tried many ways of raising these, but now always sow the seed 
in 3-inch pots. The pots are half filled with rich soil, about a dozen 
Peas are spread on this, and then the pot is filled with soil, making the 
whole firm ; drainage is hardly wanted, as if they are placed in a gentle 
heat the pots will soon become full of roots, and there is little danger of 
their suffering from stagnant moisture before being planted out. They 
would be turned out in March, and as the plants are united by a 
ball of roots they may be planted about 10 inches or 1 foot apart to 
form rows, and they will not receive any check, which is generally the 
case when raised in large quantities together. When the plants are 
2 inches high they must be placed into a cool frame, as those which are 
drawn in heat before planting always suffer when exposed. The 
plan sometimes, but not generally, adopted of fruiting Peas under glass 
cannot be practised with satisfaction, and is not recommended. 
Early Lettuce. —Paris Market is the earliest Lettuce. It is a 
Cabbage variety, and heads very quickly. A pinch of seed of it should 
be sown in a 6-inch pot now to supply a few score of plants for going 
out in March. If planted in a favourable position, then they will be in 
prime condition in April. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
French and Fancy Pclai-goniums.—Kee-p the earliest plants close to 
the glass in a temperature of 50°. Admit air on all mild occasions, to 
insure a sturdy solid growth. Later plants that have commenced 
growing strongly since their shoots were pinched may now be placed 
into larger pots. Employ as a compost good fibry loam, one-seventh of 
manure and sand pressed in firmly. A little soot may with advantage be 
incorporated with the soil, unless the plants are supplied with soot water 
in a clear state after they are well established. Keep these and later 
plants in a temperature of 40° to 45° at night. Fire heat need only be 
employed to expel damp and during cold severe weather. Any shoots on 
the later plants that need pinching may be attended to now. Do not 
syringe these plants, and water must still be employed with great care. 
Watch for aphides, and destroy them at once if they appear, by fumi¬ 
gating with tobacco. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. — Cuttings will strike freely enough in small 
pots if placed on a shelf where the night temperature ranges from 
60° to 65°. To insure success thus early in the season the cuttings 
should be sturdy, which will be the case if the plants have been in a 
cold house and kept rather dry. If the cuttings are soft, through the 
plants being in a close atmosphere, they are almost certain to suffer from 
damp. Harden the plants by placing them in a cool airy structure for 
a fortnight; this will have the desired effect, and every cutting will 
strike freely. Pelargoniums, from which these cuttings are taken, may 
be pruned back closely, and then placed in a temperature of 55° until 
they start into growth. Keep them dry at their roots, and syringe 
them twice daily. Autumn rooted plants that were placed into 5-inch 
pots a month ago will be growing freely anl showing a flower truss. 
Keep these in a temperature of 53° close to the glass, and admit air 
during mild weather. Keep the atmosphere of the house dry, and water 
carefully. Too much water at their roots will encourage a soft growth, 
and the flowers will in consequence fail to come forward. Place other 
young plants into 5-inch pots in the compost advised for show and fancy 
varieties. 
Ivy-leaved Varieties.— Large plants that have been rested thoroughly 
by keeping them dry and cool may be pruned back and placed in the 
temperature advised for cut-back Zonals. The same treatment is neces¬ 
sary until they break into growth. When they reach this stage turn 
them out, partially reduce tlaeir roots, and repot them in the same size 
pots. The compost advised for French varieties will suit these well. 
Plants that have been kept slowly moving through the winter will soon 
commence growing, and flower if they can have a temperature of 50°. 
If these are in moderately small pots a shift into a larger size may 
be given, but if they are already in large pots top-dress with rich 
material or sprinkle artificial manure on the surface. Young plants in. 
60-size pots may be placed into 5-inch and supplied with an upright- 
stake. These may be placed in the same temperature or kept cool 
according to requirements. 
Petunias. —Young Petunias that have been wintered in 60° may now 
be placed into 5-inch pots. Arrange part of the stock in a temperature- 
of 50° to 55° close to the glass ; the remaining portion may be kept cooler 
and the shoots again pinched after they are established in the new soil. 
The tops of the shoots when ready may be inserted for succession. A 
little seed of a good strain may now be sown on the surface of a pot or 
pan of fine soil. Do not cover the seed, water gently after sowing, and 
cover the pan with a square of glass until the seed germinates, which it 
will do freely if placed in a temperature of 60°. 
Lapagerias. —Where these are confined at their roots in narrow 
borders top-dress with rich material. The regulation of their shoots 
should be completed without delay. Where these plants are grown in 
greenhouses and other structures with a temperature about 45°, and the 
house kept close during the early spring months to encourage Azaleas- 
and other plants, signs of growth will be already visible. Thrips are the- 
greatest enemy this p'ant has to contend against in such structures. 
Examine the foliage carefully, and if any trace of this insect is visible 
fumigate the house with tobacco, or syringe thoroughly with much- 
diluted tobacco juice. 
PRACTICAL HINTS. 
A few days.ago “ Hallamshire Bee-keeper ” forwarded to me- 
one of his glass sections and a photograph of his new rnodet 
shipping crate. They are exceedingly pretty, and we have no¬ 
doubt that if the sections can be supplied to the bee-keepers at a> 
moderate price they will be largely used in districts where there is 
a class of buyers who like not only the best quality of honey, but 
attractive packages, even if they have to pay an enhanced price to- 
satisfy their desire. These glass sections will not, I think, take the 
place of the wooden ones. The glass sections, it appears to me,, 
will be a specialty produced for the delectation of the few, while- 
the ordinary wood sections will be produced for those people who,, 
as long as they get the best quality of honey in a clean package, are 
content. The season continues to be very mild, and frost is con¬ 
spicuous by its absence. Bees are, however, keeping fairly quiet,, 
and no anxiety need be entertained on their account if the coverings- 
are impervious to wet and there is a sufficient supply of food. We 
shall endeavour to have our stocks ready to work in supers by the- 
beginning of May in order that they may have the advantage of 
the early honey flow, and unless we are again disappointed in tbe- 
weather a good harvest may then be expected. 
The good year, 1887, gave a large impetus to the industry, and- 
in the autumn of that year and the spring of 1888 many people- 
entirely new to the work commenced keeping bees. They had seen 
the large harvest of honey taken by their friends in 1887, and ex¬ 
pected, no doubt, that bee-keeping was a modern El Dorado. 
They find that there are fat years and lean years; times 
of depression and prosperity. They find that, though it is 
not difficult to let a stock of bees keep itself, thus carrying 
out a policy of “ masterly inactivity ” on the part of the bee¬ 
keeper, it is not by any means easy to compel a stock to give- 
the largest possible return in honey for the least possible out- 
