300 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ A pi il 14, 188". 
the syrup for use in spring, summer, or autumn may be 
made the same. My recipe, and it is a good one to judge 
by the results following upon its use, is :— 
An equal weight of sugar and water boiled two 
minutes, a wineglassful of vinegar being added to every 
6 lbs. of syrup when the liquid begins to boil. Such a 
syrup is equal, so far as my experience goes, to the 
best honey for all bee purposes. Stocks which contain 
not 1 oz. of flower honey winter as well, if not better, 
than those containing honey gathered in the fields. To 
add salicylic acid and borax and other ingredients is not 
in the least necessary, unless there is a fear that disease 
is present or may be expected to break out. Care must 
be taken when making syrup not to allow it to burn, and 
care is also necessary to see that it does not boil more 
than the time specified. The longer it boils the more it 
wastes, and the less fit it becomes to be given to bees. 
Those who desire to learn new methods of feeding, 
those who have the money and desire to .experiment with 
comparatively untried novelties, must go elsewhere for 
their information. These papers are specially devoted to 
the study of “ practical bee-keeping,” and in them the 
attempt is being made to give instructions as to the pur¬ 
chase of hives and general management which shall be 
ntelligible to all, and to show that a small capital only is 
required to commence bee-keeping; that from this outlay 
a good return may be expected with little expenditure of 
labour ; and that an intelligent bee-master will, with his 
simple yet practical appliances, outstrip the extravagant 
bee-keeper supplied with all that the ingenuity of man 
can devise to assist him in liis work.—F elix. 
POISONOUS HONEY. 
In your impression of 7th April, “A.L.B.K..” discusses the question of 
poisonous honey. I am afraid it is too true that certain kinds of trees, 
shrubs, &c., produce poisonous honey, such as Rhododendrons, Ailantus, 
Azalea pontica, Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, &c. Judging from the 
symptoms described by Xenophon, and by writers at the present time, 
the diagnosis seems to point to poisoning by prussic acid. 
Dr. Grauncer relates his own experience :—“ Some time after eating, 
a queerish sensation of tingling all over, indistinct vision, caused by a 
dilatation of the pupils, with an empty dizzy feeling about the head, 
and a horrible nausea that would not relieve itself by vomiting.” And 
he narrates cases of some soldiers, who, after eating some of the same 
honey, which was gathered from the Mountain Laurel, “ that they ap¬ 
peared to be dead drunk, with a total loss of power over the voluntary 
muscles.” 
Prussic acid is contained in the kernels of the Peach, Nectarine, 
Cherry, &c., in the pips of Apples and Pears, and in the leaves of the 
Cherry Laurel, and cases of alarming illness have occurred from eating 
Bitter Almonds too freely ; while the essential oil obtained by distilling 
the pulp of these Almonds with water is a powerful poison. The dis¬ 
tilled water obtained from the leaves of the Cherry Laurel has been 
known to cause death half an hour after swallowing four tablespoonfuls. 
In cases of poisoning by honey, an emetic of mustard and warm 
water (a dessert-spoonful of each) should be given at once, and a towel 
soaked in cold water applied to the head and neck, constantly repeated, 
and half a teaspoonful of sal volatile in a wineglass of water to be 
taken, and repeated if necessary. 
It is a very difficult question to answer why the bees should be able 
to gather this poisonous honey without any harm to themselves. It is 
most probable that the small amount of prussic acid contained in the 
amount of honey in the honey sac of the bee acts only medicinally, and 
not as a poison, just as the dilute prusSic acid is extensively used in*the 
treatment of disease, the dose varying from one-tweDty-fifth to one-sixth 
of a drop of the strong acid. 
Again, it is a well-known fact that the lower the vitality of an animal 
the less, as a rule, is it affected by poisons. This is especially the case 
with prussic acid, as the pulse is really imperceptible a few seconds 
after a poisonous dose has been taken. The poison, I believe, is in the 
nectar of the flowers, not in the pollen, but this can easily be determined, 
as the tests are very delicate, and will show the presence of a very small 
quantity of prussic acid. 
I will carry out some experiments on this subject, and will let your 
readers know the results, though I cannot promise to experiment on my¬ 
self with honey and prussic acid, for the latter of which I have the 
greatest possible respect. 
If “A.L.B.K.,” or any of your readers could forward me some of the 
bees, presumably poisoned, it will be, as the old writers had it, of much 
avail.— George Walker, Wimbledon. 
ti 0 ° All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor ” or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. 
Hogg or members of the staff 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. 
LATE INQUIRIE3.—It is necessary to again remind correspondents that 
letters arriving on WEDNESDAY MORNING cannot be answered 
in the “ next issue,” which is then far advanced for press. 
Feathered Cyclamen (C. H. G. C.). —By all means preserve it, for 
though it cannot be considered beautiful in this form it might prove the 
originator of a distinct type if you could perpetuate the character from 
seed. 
New Plants [B. I). K .).—The fist does not include all certificated plants, 
but deals specialy with those that have been figured or described in 
botanical publications. The plant you mention has been repeatedly noted 
in this Journal. 
Wasps (S. N .)— The wasp you have sent is a queer, as a 1 ! wasps are at 
this sea-on of the year, and they should be destroytd, as the possible pro¬ 
genitors of thousands. It does not follow that everyone escaping capture 
will be the originator of a nest, as several sue umb to adverse weather 
influences during some seasons, but it is none the less advisable to secure 
all that can be se r z d. Youm is not the first we have sien this year. 
Plants for Shady Borders ( L. T.).— Gladioli will not do well in the shade 
If not actually oveihung and the soil not made very diy by the roots, you 
could not have anything better than Vioias. Begonias (tuberous) are also 
good. Liliums would not succeed well. If you wish for herbaceous plants 
employ the following: Aconitum jiponicum, Anemone apennina, 
A. nemorosa alba plena, A. nemoro a cce ulea, Helleborus, Hepatica, 
Daffodils, Snowdrops, Winter Aconite, Primroses, die., are useful in Bpring. 
Doronicmn caueasicum, Hetnerocallis fluva, German Iri-q Hypericum 
calycinum, Megasea cordifolia purpurea, Oxalis floribunda rosea, Papaver 
nudicaule, Preonies, Pulemomum Richardsoni, Ranunculus aconitifolius 
plenus, R. amplexicaulis, R. auemonoides, R. speciosus, R. acris fl. pi , 
Spiraea Aruncus, S. filipentula p'ena, S. j iponica, Symphytum officinale 
varbgatum, Trillium grandiflorum, Trollius japonicus fl. pi., T. asiaticus, 
T. uapellifolius, V;ola cucullata, and Vincas. Those would be suitable for 
the east border. 
Jumping Insects on Mushrooms (J . B.). —These evidently belong to 
the family of the Springtails, and this particular sped s seems to be the one 
bearing the name of Achoreutrs purpuraseen*; it is nearly related to tbe 
species found often in swarms about Cucumber beds. That some of these 
Springtails are rather injurious to seedliDga under glass is admitted, but it 
is supposed that they indulge in a mixed diet, and also prey on the mites in 
whose company they are frequently observed, as in the present instance. 
We presume the larger, sptd-r-like insect you describe is the mite first 
noticed, but in the lati r stage of its history—a stage which, according to the 
students of this group, is not reached by the majority in this genus Rhizo- 
glyphus—as yet, however, we have not definitely ascertained the facts of 
their s : ngular life. Some think that the one species is parasitic upon the 
other. There cannot be a doubt that bo’h mites and Springtails travel from 
place to place, in manure not uncommonly. As to eradication, we tbiuk 
you will find, by experiment, that water cm be applied sufficiently hot to 
destroy the insects without injuring the Mushrooms; if not, pour toiling 
water on 2 ozs. of hellebore powder, then add sufficient water for making 
a gallon of the solutior, and with this sprinkle the beds and manure. 
Strawberries (E. H. B .).—Tbe question of the durability of Strawberries 
is, in our experience, very much a question of soil. We have grown them 
in a garden in which it was decid-dly advantageous to plant a certain 
number of rows annua’ly, and uproot a corresponding number after they 
had produced two good crops. The soil was light, in a dry district, and 
heavily mu'ebed with manure, or the plants would have been comparatively 
weak and the crops poor. In another garden we could take three full crops 
from the plants, the soil of medium t xture, and fertile. In a third gardin 
of strong soil we gathered excellent crops for seven consecutive years, but 
thinned the crowns somewhat when cleaning the plants after gathering. 
We generally point up the soil and apply manure in the autumn, and as. 
you appear to have done tbe fame it wnl not be necessary to dig some in 
between the rows now ; but if nothing were done to the plants in the autumn 
we should not hesitate to carefully fork good short manure between the 
rows very eatly in spring, and at the same time cover the surface with less 
decayed manure, that would wash quite clean before tbe crop approached 
the ripening process. But please to understand that digging ruthlessly 
with a spade in late spr ng with the plants in free growth is one thing, 
