20 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 6,1887. 
in houses where Grapss are hanging. Examine every hunch frequently 
and remove all decayed berries. Ventilate the house on fine dry mornings, 
and keep it closed when the weather is damp. The Grapes may be cut, 
the ends of the stems being inserted in bo'tles of rain water secured in an 
inclining position so as to admit of the fruit hanging clear of the bottles. 
Failing a Grape room, any dry room will be a suitablo place where an 
equable temperature of 40° to 45° is maintained. This will admit of the 
Vines being pruned and the house being cleaned. 
FIGS .—Early forced Trees in Pots .—When the trees are advanced in 
growth the temperature should be gradually raised to 60° at night and 
65° by day from fire heat, with 70° to 75° from sun heat, commencing to 
ventilate at 70° and closing at 75°, but avoid a high temperature by 
artificial means, as the sturdier and shorter jointed the young shoots can 
be kept the greater will be the chances of a satisfactory early crop. 
Syringe, the trees and house twice a day, in the morning and again at 
closing time ; but avoid a saturated confined atmosphere in dull weather. 
As the fermenting materials settle firmly about the pots add more fresh 
leaves, bringing them nearer to the rims of the pot-', taking care that the 
heat about them does not exceed 70° to 75°. Water the trees as required 
with weak liquid manure, and place some turves about 2 inches thick, 
grass side down, on the surface of the pots around the rims, extending 
over the sides towards the fermenting materials, with a view to encourage 
the surface roots. These should be watered with weak liquid manure so 
as to keep them moist, filling the space between the turves and stems of 
the trees with well-decayed manure. 
Cherry House. —The house having been closed about the middle of 
last month, fire heat may be applied to secure a night temperature of 40° 
and 45° by artificial means, and 5° more by day, allowing an advance of 
5° to 10° from sun heat, admitting air abundantly in mild sunny weather. 
See that there is no deficiency of moisture in the border, and attend with 
regularity to watering trees in pots. Syringe the trees and house occa¬ 
sionally. If any of the trees are found unsuitable, this is a goo I time to 
change them. Trees which have been trained to a wall for three or four 
years are the best, planting them in fresh loam. May Duke, Black 
Tartarian, Governor Wood, and Elton are suitable varieties. 
Pines. —Fruiting Plants and Starters .—These must now have a 
mean temperature of about 70°, varying it 5° according to external 
influence, admitting air at 80° with sunshine, but not lowering the tem¬ 
perature, allowing it to rise to 85°, and closing at 80°. Syringe all avail¬ 
able surfaces twice a day, but do not syringe the surface of the bed 
between the plants. Avoid producing dense steam by syringing highly 
heated hot-water pipes. Syringe the plants ccasionally early in the 
afternoon when the axils of the leaves become dry. 
Plants for Successional Fruiting .—Early in February another batch 
of Queens should be started to supplement the supply of fruit from those 
plants which are already introduced for that purpose. Beds that have the 
bettom heat aff jrded by hot-water pipes can soon be prepared for the 
reception of the plants, but it is not the ease where fermenting materials 
are employed, hence the necessary steps must be taken at once to get the 
needful beds made, and 85° to 90° of bottom heat secured by the time 
required. When plants that have been kept somewhat dry are to be 
started, see that the soil is thoroughly moistened, so that with the extra 
warmth root-action may commence at once. 
A night temperature of 60° to 65°, and 5° less in severe weather, will 
be suitable for successional stock, and 5° to 10° more in the daytime, 
according to external conditions. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Amaryllises .—Young plants that are not strong enough to flower 
make capital bulbs if they are given a long season’s growth under suitable 
conditions. For this purpose prepare a quantity of litter and dry leaves, 
to make up a bed in a pit provided with a flow and return pipe, or in a 
low, small structure. The young plants can be turned out of their pots, 
and the oil soil removed from their roots and placed in slightly larger 
well drained pots, in a compost of fibry loam, leaf mould, sand, and about 
one-seventh of decayed manure. When the bed is ready they should be 
stood on the surface or plunged, and under such genial treatment will 
soon start into growth. Strong well ripened flowering bulbs may be 
repotted in the same manner, and introduced into the forcing house in 
batches to bring them into flower. After flowering they can bs encouraged 
to complete their growth with the young stock. The stock can be 
increased by seed, which can be sown at once in light sandy soil, and will 
soon germinate in a temperature of 60° to 65°. 
Begonia weltoniensis —A few plants of this Begonia, also B. Dregei, 
as well as other half tuberous forms may now be cut back and their roots 
steeped in tepid water. If stood, after they have drained, on the ferment¬ 
ing material in the forcing house they will quickly break into growth. 
When in this condition they should be turned out of their pots, the old 
balls partially reduced and the plants repotted in the same sized pots in a 
compost consisting of two-thirds loam to one of leaf mould or old Mush¬ 
room bed refuse ; if the former, add one-seventh of decayed manure and 
plenty of sand. A few tuberous varieties may also be started in a box 
amongst leaf mould for early flowering. Any small tubers of good sorts 
that it is necessary to grow into large plants may be started at once, so 
that a long season’s growth can be accorded to them. 
Soi’s .—A good stock of leaf mould, manure, loam and peat should be 
placed under cover in readiness for the time when it will be required for 
potting in large quantities. The first should be passed through a three- 
quarter-inch sieve, so that all small pieces of wood and coarse matter can 
be removed, so that when wanted it only requires taking from the bin 
and placing on the bench, or carrying to the various houses where the 
potting is to be done. Manure that was stacked under cover in autumn 
will now pass freely through a fine sieve, and should then be stored in a 
dry cool shed where it will not bake. If the manure to be used eventu¬ 
ally is not in this satisfactory state, expel the moisture from it by filling 
boxes and baskets and placing them for a time in the hoiler house. It 
mu-t not be unduly dried ; just sufficient to rub it through a s ; eve. 
Artificial manures for the year’s supply may also be ordered in readiness, 
also bonemeal and quarter-inch bones. The loam must be chopped to 
pieces or broken up with the hand ; if the first, it must pass through the 
hands to remove worms. To save time, when potting has to be done, 
place a good portion through a 1-inch sieve. The quantity that falls 
through will be suitable for small plants, cuttings, and other similar pur¬ 
poses, while the remainder will be ready for choice plants. A good stock 
with the fine left in should also be prepared. The same may be said of 
peat. This should be sorted info three distinct heaps, the most fibrous 
for Orchids, from which all the soily particles should be removed ; this 
will be suitable for small Ferns, and a variety of purposes. That of the 
hardest nature may be reserved for hardwooded plants, and the lightest 
for Ferns. The whole of the peat can be broken with the hand, and all 
Fern rhizomes, &c., removed, for they are very apt to create fungus 
about the roots of the plants when they decay. Wood ashes should be 
passed through a fine sieve and placed in a shed. Charcoal can be sorted 
and broken in readiness. Clay should be dried and reduced to powder, 
then it is ready for incorporating with the soil for Roses or any purpose 
for which it may be required. 
5 
HE BEE-KEEPER. 
THE HIVE OF THE FUTURE. 
It is impossible to say that a hive of a certain description 
will be in general use in the apiaries of this country during 
the next ten years, but it is comparatively easy to give what 
appear to be the essential and characteristic features of a 
good serviceable hive. Leaving, therefore, to others the 
labours of bringing into being a hive which shall combine all 
that is useful in the hives of the present day with the new 
discoveries which may from time to time be made and used 
by those whose duty it is to provide the amateur with appli¬ 
ances for the apiary, I will content myself with discussing 
the principles upon which each one should work if he wishes 
to make a good serviceable hive without more than abso¬ 
lutely necessary labour and expense. 
In hive construction it must not be forgotten that even 
if this year it is more profitable to work for comb honey, in 
a future year the order of things may be reversed by a 
change in the relative values of comb and extracted honey. 
To purchase or construct a hive lending itself only to the 
production of one kind of honey may lead to much loss and 
vexation, and every hive ought therefore to lend itself easily 
to the production of both comb and extracted honey without 
more than absolutely necessary extra outlay. It will be 
evident that if extracted honey has been produced last year, 
and next season we desire to obtain honey in sections, that 
“ racks ” must be made or purchased, but my contention is 
that the body hive or the brood chamber ought to need no 
change whatever in any shape or form. A hive, therefore, 
which is equally suitable to the production of honey in the 
comb or extracted is the one in which money may most 
safely be invested. The next question seems to be the 
advisability or not of adopting the “ standard ” frame. That 
this frame is not by any means perfect even its most ardent 
admirers may well confess, but taking into consideration the 
thousands of these frames now in use it would seem to be 
the wiser policy in starting an apiary to use hives containing 
this almost universally adopted frame. The chief defect in 
the standard frame is that it is too shallow; but this evil 
may be remedied to a large extent without much difficulty. 
A model hive seems to be one deep rather than long and 
broad, and of this type the “ Refrewshire Stewarton ” is an 
excellent example. If I were starting a large apiary in this 
country the hive which I should choose would be one with 
standard frames—not more than twelve in number. On this, 
if working for extracted honey, several tiers of frames would 
be successively placed, while if sections were required after 
