Fclrnary 28, 18 9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
181 
being made rather firm, and when warm the plants may be turned out, 
firming the soil well about them, and raising it to within half an inch of 
the seed leaves. The plants may be 2 to 2| feet apart, the leading or 
primary shoots being taken up without stopping until two-thirds the 
distance they are intended to travel is reached, then pinch out the 
point of each. When three or four lateral joints have been made the 
points may be taken out. Some varieties will show fruit on the first 
laterals, and as early Melons are a consideration let them remain, 
taking out the point at the joint above them. To allow all the laterals 
to remain would much overcrowd the foliage, therefore rub oil whilst 
quite young every alternate one. After the stopping of the first laterals 
the succeeding growths will show fruit at the second or third joint. 
The growths should be trained thinly and regularly, so that every part 
is equally furnished with foliage and fruit. Sprinkle every surface in 
the morning of bright days, and again at closing time or early in the 
afternoon. Ventilate carefully, avoiding currents of cold air. Some 
hexagon netting or scrim canvas placed over the ventilators will break 
the force of cutting winds. Maintain the night temperature at 70°, 
falling to 65° in the morning, 5° less being better in severe weather 
than seeking to maintain the high temperature by sharp firing, 75° by 
day, rising to 80° or 85° from sun heat. Keep bottom heat steady at 80°. 
Shift later sown plants into larger pots, or add soil as the plants 
advance, stopping those for frames at the second leaf, not stopping 
those for trellises, but placing a small stick to each for support. 
Melons in Frames .—With the shoots trained over the surface of the 
bed in pits and frames, the plants being stopped at the second leaf, will 
produce two shoots, and these in turn being stopped will give four shoots, 
two being taken to the front and two to the base of the frame. Besides 
those a number of others will appear near the collar of the plant; 
these must be rubbed off whilst young, and do not encourage any 
laterals nearer the stem than 6 inches. This will keep the collar clear. 
Stop the principal shoots when 15 inches from the sides of the pit or 
frame, and thus throw vigour into the laterals, which will show fruit at 
the second or third joint; stopping them at one joint beyond the fruit. 
The plants will require but little water as yet; nevertheless maintain 
the soil in a moist state, avoiding saturation. Cover the lights -with 
double mats at night, and see that the linings are regularly attended to, 
renewing the old linings as required. 
Prepare material for making fresh beds. Equal parts of Oak or 
Beech leaves and stable litter make the best beds. About a fortnight 
before it is desired to make the beds, the dung and leaves should be 
thoroughly incorporated. In a few days it will be seen whether there is 
sufficient moisture to produce decomposition, fermentation being the 
result; if not turn the whole, sprinkling with water so as to moisten the 
mass, and when in good heat turn again outside to inside, and vice 
versa, two or three turnings being required at intervals of about 
four days. The bottom heat of dung beds should be from 85° to 90° at 
planting. 
Cheery PIouse. —A free circulation of air should pass through the 
house whenever the temperature exceeds 50°, the amount of air to be 
regulated by the conditions of the outside atmosphere. Employ fire 
heat only to prevent the temperature falling below 50° in the day, and 
to maintain a night temperature of 40°. Attend to fertilising the 
blossoms. Watch closely for the appearance of aphide-s, especially for 
green aphides on Plum trees if there be any in the house, as if the 
insects are allowed to become established they are difficult to kill. 
Grubs infest the Cherry under glass; one kind rolls itself up in the 
leaves, and can be eradicated by squeezing, but the other is the greatest 
pest, and will be found encased on the under side of the leaves, giving 
them the appearance of being scalded ; froi# the leaves it makes its way 
to the Cherries and destroys them. The only means of riddance is to 
examine the trees occasionally and destroy the grubs. 
Strawberries in Pots. —The earliest plants are ripening their 
fruit; when it changes colour a drier and more freely ventilated 
atmosphere is desirable, but there must not be any sudden change, or 
the fruit will not finish satisfactorily. The temperature for swelling 
the fruit should be 65° at night and 70° to 75° by day, advancing to 
80° or 85° with sun heat. The second plants have set very well, but 
thinning is often thought a needless operation ; yet to produce fine 
fruit net more than half a dozen should be left on a plant. When the 
fruit is fairly swelling and it is wished to forward the crop, the plants 
may be moved to a house with a temperature of 60° to 65° at night, 
70° to 75° by day, with an advance to 85°, affording the plants liquid 
manure copiously, the plants being examined twice, and in very bright 
weather three times a day, watering such as need it. Plants in vineries 
and Peach houses which are started periodically will afford successional 
supplies of fruit, there being no need to move the plants except to meet 
special requirements. Introduce plants to the shelves of late fruit 
houses, which suit the late forcing sorts. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Gladiolus The Bride .—These may now be removed from the cool 
structure or cold frame in which they have been kept since they were 
potted to a temperature of 50°. They will come forward rapidly, but 
air must be admitted whenever the weather is favourable to prevent 
their drawing up weakly, which they are liable to do if hurried. Be 
careful not to allow the soil to become dry, and as soon as the flower 
spikes appear a little artificial manure applied to the surface will prove 
beneficial. 
Hydrangeas .—Start stock plants into growth in a temperature of 
50° for yielding cuttings early in the season for rooting in small pots. 
Do not hurry the early plants that are now showing their flower trusses. 
A temperature of 55° will be ample for the present. Keep the plants 
moderately close to the glass, and ’give them ample room to develope 
their foliage without drawing one another up weakly. Syringe the 
plants twice daily during bright weather, and give liberal supplies of 
tepid water. Other plants may be placed into their largest pots anti 
started into growth in a temperature of 50°. 
Liliums .—Watch for aphides on L. candidum and L. longifolium 
that are growing freely. They are very subject to attacks in their 
present stage, and slight fumigations directly they appear is the best 
means of destroying them. Do not maintain a higher temperature- 
than 50° or the plants will run out and fail to flower. Forcing should 
be conducted as steadily as possible until the flower buds are well 
formed, when these will bear a temperature of 60° without injury. 
L. auratum may still be potted into the size in which they are to flower,, 
or they may be allowed to start first in a little sand or cocoa-nut fibre 
before they are potted. If the bulbs are imported be careful to remove 
any damaged or decayed scales before potting. If potted direct place 
the pots in cold frames and cover with cocoa-nut fibre refuse to prevent 
evaporation and save the necessity of watering before root-action has 
commenced. Plants that flowered in pots last year if not already 
repotted should be attended to at once. It will be necessary to be- 
very careful with any that have started in growth. If the old balls 
cannot be reduced without injury to freshly formed root3 remove as 
much of the surface soil as possible, and top-dress them with rich 
material. Kepot, if not already done, the varieties of lancifolium, and 
place them in a frame until they start into growth, the same as advised 
for L. auratum. 
Rhodanthes .—Fill a number of 5-inch pots with rich loam, a little- 
sand, and one-seventh of manure. One or two potsherds should be placed 
at the base, and the pots filled to within half an inch of the rim, the 
soil should be pressed moderately firm. On the surface of this sow the 
seed thinly, so that the young plants when they appear will be about 
half an inch apart; plenty should be sown near the edge of the pots. 
The seed should be covered with a little fine soil. Place the pots in a 
temperature of 55° to 60° until the seed germinates, and then remove 
them at once to a cool house. 
Celosias .—Seed should be sown on the surface of moderately light 
soil in a pan, and just covered with soil that has been passed through 
a fine sieve. Water gently after sowing, cover the pan with a square of 
glass, and place in a temperature of 60° to 65°. When the seedlings are- 
large enough prick them off into other pans until they are large enough 
for placing singly into small pots. Cockscombs may be sown and 
subject to the same treatment. 
Balsams .—Sow seed in a pan to afford early plants, and cover with a 
quarter of an inch depth of soil. As soon as the young plants have formed 
their seed leaves they should be potted singly, and their leaves left only 
above the soil. They should afterwards be placed close to the glass, or 
else they will soon run up tall. Seed may be sown of Nicotiana affinte 
on the surface of fine soil in a pot or pan. The seed should not be 
covered with soil. Sow seed also of Browallia elata and its white fornb 
the same as advised for Celosias. 
%\ 
Hi 
HE BEE-KEEPEB 
W\ 
1AA, 
NOTES ON BEES. 
SECTIONS OR SUPERS. 
"When sections at first came into use we were told that 2s. 6d„ 
per lb. would be obtained for them, then supers would be unsale¬ 
able at Is. per lb. This assertion, like many others, has never been 
realised ; in fact the reverse has been the case. Not only have- 
supers been in greater demand, but they have always brought the 
highest price, and many who took to sections are returning to supers- 
again. 
In a commercial point of view supers are as cheap and are more 
easily managed than sections. Bees take to them sooner, store 
more honey in them, are kept clean, stored, or packed for market 
with considerably less trouble and far less risk of being smashed 
than sections, so that with more of it, and a higher price, an in¬ 
ducement is afforded sufficient still to maintain the superiority of 
supers, and every bee-keeper can make his own. 
WINTERING. 
I write on the 15th February, and for four months most of my 
hives have not shown a single bee at the entrance, and but for the 
fact that I have just peeped into my two weakest, and seen through 
