162 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 34,1887. 
superiority of the yellow races of bees, and enable him to manage 
them in the future in such a way that they will prove to him their 
superior excellence when under the management of a clever bee¬ 
keeper ; but I have not touched upon the Carniolians. These mild- 
tempered bees have also proved themselves superior to the blacks, 
and in the hands of many where the climate is severe, owing to 
their hardiness, superior to the Ligurian. One bee-keeper of my 
acquaintance who failed entirely to do anything with the Ligurian 
told me lately that since he kept Carniolians he has realised about 
20 lbs. annually from about ten hives. If I keep well I will during 
the season give results of crossed Cyprians, crossed and pure 
Syrians, and the same with Carniolians. They have begun the race, 
I hope to see it end. The Syrians were the first to begin their 
crosses and the crossed Cyprians next, while the Carniolians are 
not far behind. The Cyprian blood will get no feeding. All the 
others have got it, and well for them, because since that the 
weather is cold and stormy, and bees do not care about being fed 
during the cold winds in March. It is of all months the most 
treacherous, and is the month bees should be let alone.—A Lanark¬ 
shire Bee-keeper. 
THE HONEY MARKET. 
In the first paragraph of his last contribution on this subject Dr. 
Walker states that I (inter alias') am not open to conviction. To prove 
this he first assumes that I am a Scotchman, then charges the Scotch 
with an obstinate adherence to their own opinions, and to prove this last 
charge shows that he himself is Scotch, and then judges Scotchmen by 
his own standard. I am not Scotch, and must emphatically protest 
against this line of argument. In his second paragraph he proves 
success by proclaiming first a loss of £500 (presumably in 1884) and 
next a gross profit of £100 on a £700 turnover in 1885. Why not have 
said what the nett profit was ? The gross profit conveys a very hazy 
idea to the minds of the uninitiated. 
Then Dr. Walker evades the question as to the number of shareholders. 
True, 6000 shares have been taken, but 400 individuals have taken the 
whole 6000. In his third paragraph he says that “ The Bee and Fruit 
Farming Company ” was “ praised to the skies by ‘ Felix ’ and others.” 
This is untrue so far as I am concerned. Can he point to one single 
line or word of praise which I have written respecting this Company, 
either directly or by implication ? I know nothing whatever about this 
Company, its shareholders, or any other matter or thing connected 
with it. 
Again, your correspondent says that there has been “no honest 
explanation ” of the reason the “ Bee-keepers’ Union ” did not start, and 
adds, “a casual reference to the fact by ‘ Felix ’ and a pious expression 
by ‘ A. L. B.,’are all the public knows of its premature death.” Here 
again it is insinuated that I was in some way directly or indirectly con¬ 
nected with this project. This again is untrue. I know nothing what¬ 
ever about the proposed “Union” except what I have read in these 
papers and in the Hee Journal. My views on this “ Union ” are expressed 
in the issue of this Journal for 30th September, 1886, in which I say, 
“ An abortive attempt was made to start a Bee-keepers’ Union for this 
purpose (selling honey), but after the first few weeks the idea went out 
and has not since been brought forward so far as I have seen. On the 
whole it is perhaps just as well, because but little can really be achieved 
by what is after all a friendly society upon a somewhat larger basis 
than usual.” Perhaps Dr. Walker was too busy amongst “ Chrysan¬ 
themums and babies” to read his paper at the time when the above 
paragraph was written. 
In his fifth paragraph he says, “ Sales are steadily increasing.” There 
is nothing said about the prices given to the produce for the honey the 
sales of which are steadily increasing. Again I say, anyone can sell 
honey where a low price is asked, but if “ increased sales ” are made at 
the expense of reduced prices—paid to producers—these “ increased 
sales” are not matters for congratulation amongst “ bond fide ” bee¬ 
keepers. 
Yet again your correspondent says, “ in spite of the Canadian honey 
and other honey, which is honey only in name.” Does he mean to 
accuse the bee-keepers of Canada of wholesale adulteration and sending 
over here a compound, “honey only in name? ” If so, why not have 
made this statement when the Canadian bee-keepers were over in this 
country, and might have defended themselves against such an uncalled 
tor attack ? Then to prove the inferiority of foreign honey he accepts 
the judgment of “ children,” and concludes with an uncalled for sneer 
at the constant rage for cheapness.” 
In future I shall decline to notice statements made without the 
shadow of a foundation. I shall decline to enter a discussion when my 
opponent evades direct issues, and takes refuge in insinuations, vague 
generalities, and the argy.me.nium ad hominem. Both the space of this 
Journal and my own time may be more profitably occupied than in 
correcting such statements.— Felix, 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED 
Biddles & Co., Loughborough .—Illustrated Seed Catalogue for 1887. 
aRSZIA So °’’ E ”*“ N ”* ,rr - ^..-UUC„.C oj 
Eric F. Such, Maidenhead,— Catalogue of Chrysanthemums , <jc. 
%• All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor ” or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. 
Hogg or members of the 6taff often remain unopened un¬ 
avoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should 
never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended 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 communica¬ 
tions. 
TO CONTRIBUTORS.—Our friends who favour with communications 
on controversial subjects will oblige by sending their articles as 
soon after they receive the Journal as possible. Our space is prac¬ 
tically filled on Monday, and only articles that are “ expected,” and 
which arrive on Tuesday, can, as a rule, be inserted in the current 
issue. 
Books (E. B.). —You will find it difficult to obtain works dealing specially 
with the subject in which you are interested, but all the following are 
reliable and will assist you:—Sach’s “ Text Book of Botany, Morphological, 
and Physiological,” Clarendon Press, Amen Corner, London, E.C.; 
“Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology,” by Johnston and 
Church, W. Blackwood & Sons, 37, Paternoster Row, London. Several 
works on Fungi by Dr. M. C. Cooke are published by W. H. Allen & Co., 
13, Waterloo Place, London. “A Plain and Easy Account of British 
Fungi,” might suit you, or a volume entitled “ Fungi,” by the same author, 
published by C. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., Paternoster Row. A volume on 
Geology by A. Geikie, published by Macmillan & Co., Bedford Street, 
Strand, tr ats the subject very thoroughly; Hooker and Bentham’s 
“ Genera Plantarum,” is published by L. Reeve & Co., Henrietta Street, 
Covent Garden, the price in three volumes being £8 2s. De Candolle’s 
“ Prodromus,” was published in Paris, but we do not know the price. Both 
this and the preceding works could be consulted in any good botanical library. 
The Eucharis Mite ( York). —We have no doubt the creature of which you 
send a magnified sketch is the enemy that is doing so much injury to 
Eucharis and other bulbs. We shall shortly publish a method that a 
cultivator has successfully adopted in extirpating the pest. 
Plants and Prices (J. B .).—As we have stated times out of number, it 
is quite beyond our province to recommend dealers, or to quote prices for 
plants or garden requisites. To do so would be an interference with the 
business of dealers, for which we have no justification. You neither sent 
your name nor address. 
Grafting Trees (H. G. B.). —You have done right in taking the scionB 
now and placing them in the ground. They should be in a cool place for 
retarding the swelling of the buds, so that the rise of sap in the stock is in 
advance of that in the scion when the grafting is done. You had better 
wait until the buds commence swelling before cutting down the trees, and 
then attach the scions to the Btocks. Reine Marie Henriette Rose would 
probably be suitable for your conservatory ; it is sometimes called Red 
Gloire de Dijon. 
Mealy Bug on Vines (Reader).— Your letter arrived just too late to be 
answered last week, but you would see a reply to another correspondent 
that would meet your case. Mr. Murray further writes :—“ The tar mix¬ 
ture can be applied over all the Vines, eyes included, when in a dormant 
state ; and I will guarantee and prove it to be an effectual cure without 
doing any harm to the Vines, taking for granted that the vinery is properly 
cleansed also.” This assurance may possibly be of service to other readers 
than yourself. 
Gloxinias and Cyclamens (Merchant). —Gloxinias raised from seed 
sown now in brisk heat and the piants well grown in a warm pit will flower 
freely in the autumn. Larger plants can be had from tubers of the size of 
Walnuts or thereabouts ; but if these are potted now the plants will flower 
about midsummer. A packet of seed saved from a good collection usually 
affords many beautiful varieties, few being inferior. They are not, however, 
equal in quality to the best named sorts, and if you desire to purchase these 
and indicate the number required we will assist you in making a selection. 
We shall be glad also if you at the same time fivour with your name and 
address. The name Cyclamen “ grandiflorum ” indicates a large-flowered 
strain of Cyclamen persicum, and seed and plants can be had from the 
h ading growers. 
Grafting and Inarching Vines (Jubilee ).—If you cut down your Vine 
now and graft by splitting the stock as you propose, the probability is you 
will fail in effecting a union through excessive “ bleeding.” Inarching is 
the better mode, or what is known as bottle-grafting, which is practically 
the same thing. Take a slice off the scion, not merely shaving off the bark, 
but cutting pretty well into the wood, and a corresponding slice from the 
young cane at the bottom of your rod; fit the two together neatly and 
quickly, then bind with tape or matting. If there is one good eye or bud 
above the ligature that will suffice, and the slice may be 4 or 5 inches long-, 
provided the portion below is long enough to be inserted in a bottle of 
water and kept there for supporting the scion till it i3 fairly attached to the 
stock and is sustained by the roots. It is prudent to keep water in the 
