A’^ovenilier 8, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
437 
The prizes in the cut bloom classes were keenly contested. The 
incurved, as a rule, needed a little more time for development, but 
Japanese, Anemones, and Pompons were good. Mr. J. Portbury, gar¬ 
dener to W. N. Froy, Esq., Eipon House, was first with twenty-four 
incurved ; Mr. J. Potter, gardener to J. D. Charrington, Esq., second, 
these exhibitors occupying the same position with twelve blooms with 
Anemones. The prizes were well won by Messrs. J. Wright, J. Port¬ 
bury, and C. Bentley. 
Mr. Portbury took the lead in the Japanese classes, being first with 
twenty-four and twelve blooms, excellent stands, Messrs. Wright, 
Potter, and Bentley following, the positions being reversed in the 
reflexed class, also much the same with Pompons (very fine). 
In the class for single-handed gardeners there was a keen compe¬ 
tition, Messrs. Dark, Rogers, Page, and Barclay acquitting themselves 
well. 
Ferns were splendidly shown, especially by Mr. C. Bentley, Messrs. 
Peterson and Methven also exhibiting well. Mr. C. Bentley won the 
chief prize for a miscellaneous group of plants with a charming 
arrangement, Mr. Potter following closely in the class for “ berried ” 
plants. Mr. J. French exhibited remarkable Capsicums, and secured 
the first prize. Apples were splendidly shown ; Pears and Grapes good. 
Mr. W. Iceton staged a group of handsome Palms and grandly 
coloured Dracaena Lindeni ; Mr. McLeod, of Dover House Gardens, 
contributing a meritorious collection of plants. The show was admir¬ 
ably managed, and creditable to officials and exhibitors alike. 
WOKK.foutheWeEK.. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
• Peaches and NectVLTines.— Earliest Forced House .—The final 
thinning of the shoots or branches should have immediate attention, 
unloosing the trees from the trellis and tying them in convenient 
bundles so as to admit of ready access to the woodwork and glass for 
cleansing operations. Wash the glass with water, and the woodwork 
with soap and water, using a brush ; then wash the trees with warm 
soapy water at a strength of 3 ozs. to a gallon, and afterwards dress 
them with an insecticide. Limewash the walls. Tie in the trees 
loosely, allowing space for the growths to swell without binding, letting 
the young shoots be laid in about 9 inches asunder, and not closer on the 
branches than 15 to 18 inches. A shoot of 12 to 15 inches in length will 
give a good percentage of fruit for thinning, provided the wood be well 
ripened, and a Peach worthy of the name to every foot of trellis covered 
by the trees is quite as much as those under early forcing can support 
year after year. 
Under the most approved method the trees will have been at rest 
some time, and the roof lights having been removed, the borders with 
the recent rains have been well moistened down to the drainage. The 
house also would be thoroughly cleansed, the trees untied, pruned, 
dressed with an approved insecticide, re-arranged and tied on the 
trellis, the border surface dressed, and all put in complete order when 
the leaves were all down, ready for a start when the time arrives. If, 
however, the roof lights have not been removed, do not allow the soil to 
become too dry at the roots of the trees, as that is sufficient to cause the 
buds to fall. If the trees are weakly or with too many buds, a supply 
of liquid manure whenever water is necessary will be of great benefit. 
The loose surface soil or mulching also should be removed down to the 
roots, not disturbing them, but supplying an inch or two thickness of 
good loam, afterwards sprinkling on it about 4 ozs. per square yard of 
the following mixture—bonemeal, five parts; kainit, two parts, mixed. 
Borders that are rich in humus from heavy dressings of manure or thick 
liquid may be dressed with basic slag powder, using about 4 ozs. per 
square yard and pointing in lightly. This acts as a corrective of 
sourness from the lime (about half), and supplies phosphoric acid. Or, 
dress with freshly slaked lime in about the same proportion of weight, 
which will be a bulkier dressing, and point in lightly, or without 
disturbing the roots to any great extent, omitting the top-dressing before 
mentioned. In treating the borders it should be practised on both 
inside and outside borders. Admit air to the fullest possible extent, a 
little frost not doing any harm to the trees. 
Second Early Forced House .—The trees are now leafless, and should 
be pruned (after untying). The house ought then to be thoroughly 
cleansed, with the object of exterminating insects before they have time 
to find safe winter quarters. A good syringing with petroleum and 
water, a wineglassful of petroleum to 4 gallons of water, one person 
syringing the vessel and another on the house so as to wet every part, is a 
preliminary step that we have found of value, and it does not leave a 
film on the glass as does soapy solution. In pruning early-forced trees 
it is not advisable to cut away much wood, nor indeed any kind of trees 
at the winter pruning, confining it to removing any useless parts, and 
any long, unripe shoots which may be cut back to a triple bud, making 
sure that one is a wood bud, or to a wood bud on well ripened wood. 
Shoots, however, need not be shortened under any circumstances, except 
where there is not space for the successional growths, or to originate 
growths for furnishing the trees. Those of 8 to 12 inches in length 
should not be shortened at all, as they usually have wood buds at the 
base and one at the extremity, the others being blossom buds. It is a 
mistake to retain much wood, which weakens the trees in flowering, and 
there is not space for training the young growths without crowding. 
In other respects treat the trees and borders as advised for the earliest 
house. 
Houses Started m February .—The trees are shedding their leaves, 
and the buds are not too highly developed. This is assuring of the trees 
retaining of them, for over-development of the buds, combined with 
dryness at the roots and fluctuations of temperature, with changes of 
moisture, are the chief causes of the buds being cast. Any lifting or 
root-pruning yet in arrears should be seen to and brought to a close as 
soon as possible. When the leaves are all down it will be an advantage 
to remove th'* roof lights and expose the trees to the weather until the 
time of starting, or till the buds commence swelling. The severest 
weather will not injure those with well-ripened wood. Where the roof 
lights are not moveable admit air freely in all but very severe weather, 
and even then if the hot-water pipes can be emptied of the water and 
kept so ; and see that there is not any deficiency of moisture in the 
borders. If the trees are not lifted remove the surface soil down to the 
roots, and supply fresh stiff loam to which has been added some charred 
refuse (not more than one-tenth), and a sprinkling of bonemeal. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Vacant Ground. —In well cropped gardens where Potatoes are not 
extensively grown, there is, as yet, not much vacant ground, but there 
will be according as Cauliflowers, early Broccoli, Savoys, Turnips, and 
such like are cleared off. Something will have to be done towards 
restoring these plots to a presentable appearance, though whether the 
rubbish should be wheeled away or dug in ought to depend upon cir¬ 
cumstances. Should the soil be naturally of a light, non-retentive 
character, digging in green stuff will benefit it rather than otherwise, 
though, as a rule, such sorts are best left undug and unmanured till 
nearer cropping time. Some clayey soils are also liable to run badly 
when dug in the autumn or early winter mouths, but in most instances 
clayey soils will be greatly benefited by early digging, laying it up 
roughly with a view to their being well exposed to the pulverising 
influence of frost, wind, sunshine and rain. Clayey soils may also be 
safely and effectively manured early, especially if strawy horse stable 
manure be freely dug in. The less, however, clayey soils are wheeled 
or trampled on during wet weather the better it will be for them. 
Those who disregard this injunction will find they have completely pre¬ 
vented all chances of the ground working at all freely for, probably, the 
next two or three years. 
Blgrgrlngr. —Ordinary digging consists of turning the top spit to the 
full depth of a spade or digging forks, and it is not half worn out tools 
that should be used, but rather those that have only been used long 
enough to get them into good working condition. Too often the digging 
is of the shallowest description, in which case it is not much better than 
ordinary ploughing, and the ground is only capable of producing poor 
crops accordingly. Spades are suitable for digging light and moderately 
free working soils, but forks should be more often used than they are for 
those of a heavy clayey nature. Instead of chopping down the clods 
leave them up roughly, aud saturation of soil will be less likely to take 
place. In digging always open a wide trench—a width of 1 foot is not 
too much—and take good care to bury the weeds and strawy manure in 
this trench. 
Trenching. —This should not be resorted to without first well 
considering whether it would be judicious or not. Bringing up a mass 
of poor unworkable soil to the surface and deeply burying that which is 
fertile and free working is not the proper method ; but in the case of 
deep alluvial or deposited soils that underneath may be of much the 
same fertile character as the surface soil was previous to being heavily 
cropped, and the change may prove most beneficial in consequence. 
Trenching may also be resorted to where the subsoil has been previously 
well prepared for bringing to the surface by means of an admixture of 
various soluble and insoluble materials. Such a depth of fertile soil as 
is thus broken up ought to be capable of producing extra heavy crops, 
and curiously enough Potatoes and Celery are greatly improved by 
being grown on trenched ground. Trenching of any kind should be 
done as early as possible in the winter, or at any rate long enough 
in advance of cropping for the ground to settle down considerably, as a 
firm root-run is particularly desirable in the case of deeply dug ground, 
or otherwise there is too much leafage formed. 
HE) bee-keeper 
i 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Feeding Bees. 
When should we feed, and what do we feed for, forms a 
question of no little importance to bee-keepers generally. Bees 
gather and store honey and pollen for future wants, and when 
these are in abundance water is the only thing bees require to 
carry on the internal economy of the hive. Fed hives are never 
superior to unfed ones. True, feeding will prevent the bees dying 
