MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
334 
NOV. 20 
«§iai[g of a Jitmtlisf. 
DAILY RURAL LITE. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
HEELING-IN TREES AND SHRUBS. 
Nov. 1.— Heeling-in is a technical term em¬ 
ployed by nurserymen and gardeners, for 
the common operation of burying the roots 
of trees and shrubs after being dug up from 
the nursery rows. Thousands and probably 
millions of plants arc kept through the win¬ 
ter in this manner, and if properly performed 
there is no more danger of loss than if left 
standing in the soil where they were grown. 
Nurserymen are obliged to resort to this 
heeling-in process in order to save time in 
spring, because if everything had to be dug 
up after orders were received, delays would 
be unavoidable and serious losses result there¬ 
from, consequently a reasonable amount of 
salable stock is taken up during the less busy 
time in autumn and heeled-in to facilitate 
the shipment in spring. 
Now what the nurserymen do in order to 
facilitate matters in spring, may also be done 
by the farmer and others who expect to do 
more or less planting the coming season. 
Trees, shrubs and most other hardy plants 
which are to be purchased six mont hs hence, 
may in most, instances be procured Ibis fall 
advantageously and then heeled in in some 
convenient spot in the garden where they 
will be ready for use when desired without 
danger of delay, owing to pressure of busi¬ 
ness or overcrowding of the transportation 
accommodation which frequently occurs dur¬ 
ing the first few weeks in spring. 
As a rule, I would not advise the trans¬ 
planting of evergreens in the fall or of dig¬ 
ging them up and hcelirg-in at this season. 
Still, I once saved a thousand trees by doing 
it, as all that were left standing in the nurs¬ 
ery rows were winter-killed. It was a mere 
accident on my part, as 1 purchased the. trees 
at auction with the privilege of leaving them 
in the nursery until spring, but I concluded 
to run the risk of removal, with the. results 
named. The trees were small—mostly Juni¬ 
per, 2 to y feet high — and when brought 
home J had them all heeled-in a t an angle of 
about 45% the roots covered a few inches 
deeper than they were in the nursery ; then 
the entire tops thickly shaded and protected 
with evergreen boughs and coarse bog bay, 
h *dd up a few inches from the trees by poles 
laid across for the purpose. The covering 
put over was not sufficient to keep the 
ground from freezing, but it did prevent too 
rapid evaporation from the leave?, which 
would certainly have followed an exposure 
to light, and cold winds in winter. 
This operation of heeling-in plants for win¬ 
ter protection might, be practiced far more 
extensively than it is at present outside of 
nurseries; the farmer would find it to his 
advantage to take up seedling forest trees in 
the fall, and after pruning the tops and short- ' 
ening tap-roots, heel them in for planting j 
out in spring. In most cases the trees would 
do far better than to plant them out as soon 
as dug, for in heeling-in the roots may be 
covered so deep that the wounds will com- ] 
mence to heal over before planting time and 
the root-forming processes have fairly begun 
in advance of the usual season of growth, j 
Butin this heeling in of trees, losses frequent¬ 
ly occur through negligence in performing 
the operation properly. I have seen bundles T 
of trees received from nurseries buried with- * 
out opening or spreading out the roots, con- 1 
sequently those in the center would be ex- * 
posed to air and perhapj inclosed in water 1 
and ice instead of coming in contact with s 
the earth. Trees, shrubs and other plants 1 
when hucled-in in the fall, should be spread 0 
out thinly in a deep trench or in a shallow 8 
one, if the ground is low and wet, and then ,J 
banked up sufficiently to protect both the | J 
roots and lower part of the stem from cold 11 
or sudden changes of temperature. There is P 
nothing better than earth for this purpose, 11 
and if shading or partial protection of the Vl 
tops is required, cover with evergreen boughs 
or those of other trees like some of the oaks, 
which retain their leaves most of the h 
winter, tl 
Straw and hay arc likely to attract mice, F 
which frequently do considerable damage E 
by eating the bark from the buried trees, it 
I have also found this an excellent and cheap in 
way of protecting half-hardy roses and other In 
ornamental shrub3 and plants, for one can c£ 
dig up and heel-in much more rapidly" than he pi 
can protect each one separately. The check h< 
to growth in consequence of transplanting tu 
I amounts to very little if the operation is 
properly performed. 
WINTERING BEGONIAS. 
Nov. 2 .—One of my correspondents resid¬ 
ing in Minnesota, writes that she has under¬ 
stood that the Begonias require special treat¬ 
ment and are very difficult to keep over win¬ 
ter except in a conservatory or ordinary 
greex’house. it is certainly true that the 
Begoniasare not so hardy as some other kinds 
of greenhouse plants, but they are uot so 
delicate as Coleus, Achyrantbus, or even the 
common Heliotropes, although they will not 
withstand frost. They are cultivated quite 
extensively as window plants by the ladies 
in our Eastern eities on account of the large 
and showy leaves of some species and beau¬ 
tiful flowers of others. They require as much 
light as it is possible to give them and while 
they will withstand and in fact, thrive best, 
in a high temperature, still that of an ordi¬ 
nary living room will answer very well dur¬ 
ing the winter if the roots are not kept too 
wet when in a dormant state. 
There are many persons who fail to dis- 
criminate between the wants of plants grow¬ 
ing rapidly and those in a semi-dormant con¬ 
dition, consequently water is applied as free¬ 
ly during one as the other. Now in winter¬ 
ing Begonias in a room not warm enough to 
insure a vigorous growth which will be shown 
by the production of new leaves on the stem¬ 
less species and shoots on the tall-growing 
sorts, only enough water should be given to 
the soil to prevent wilting. No Ret time can 
be uamed for watering nor the amount to be 
applied us this must be regulated according 
to circumstances. If the atmosphere is very 
:lry und the plants growing in small pots 
crowded full of roots, a little water may be 
required every day, but if the plants have 
denty of pot room, once a week may be suf- 
Icicnt. 
Take the Begonias as a whole, they are 
•asily grown and very showy plants, readily 
propagated from cuttings of the leaves placed 
n sand or even good leaf mold and sand. In 
iumtner a leaf may he cut off entire and the 
tem stuck into the ground in a half shady 
dace, then left to take care of itself until 
panted in the fall. I have splendid plants 
Town in this manner since the first of Au- 
;ust. 
TUBEROSES IN WINTER. 
Nov. ti .—I notice that some of our florists 
f late are discussing the question of how 
iest to procure tuberoses in winter. One of 
ur New York City florists is said to have 
ad a quantity of tubers grown in Georgia 
j order to have them ripen up early in the 
sason. These lit* proposes to pot in time to 
pree them into bloom during the holidays if 
ossible. While not claiming much expe- 
ience in this matter of forcing tuberoses in 
'inter, I would like to ask those gentlemen 
duvt their objections are to keeping the 
looming bulbs of one season over until the 
exfc, planting them at any time from 
pring until the next winter, or in fact, 
coping over the entire year. I have at this 
time tuberoses of. last year’s crop, as sound 
as when first dug or those just taken in from 
the garden, These old tubers throw up 
blooming stems very soon after putting them 
into the ground with requisite heat—in fact, 1 
in half the time it would have required if 1 
planted in the open ground last spring. A 1 
few planted six weeks since in my green- * 
house without heat from the furnace, have ^ 
at this time flower stems nearly two feet 
high, and others put in later are just starting. 1 
There is certainly no difficulty in keeping j 
the bulbs of tuberoses over summer in good 
condition for blooming the following winter 
in our climate. I left several huudred on the 
shelves of my greenhouse last spring, just for 
the purpose of testing their endurance in 
such a position, and they appear at this time 
to be sound and healthy. 'Those planted out 
of the same lot are showing their vitality as ^ 
stated above. Bulbs kept over in this man- , 
uer are inclined Up throw up blooming stems f 
before the new roots get a good start, hence 
it is best Up pot them early and keep in a cool v 
place for a month before placing in the fore- ^ 
iug house, else the stems arc likely to be 
rather weak and the flowers small. I ,, 
<s£he ^Iptthtit. 
PREPARING BEES 
WINTER. 
Evergreen Thorn.— J. E. Neville, AVal- 
hallo, B. C. The berries and twig sent are 
those of the evergreen thorn, or Crutaigus 
Pyracantha. It is a native of Southern 
Europe, but has been so long in cultivation 
in the Southern States thst it has run wild 
in many localities. It is much used for 
hedges, and a variety w ith white berries 
called the “ white evergreen thorn,” is being 
planted to some extent in the North. Both, 
however, are rather tender even in the lati¬ 
tude of New York city. 
The London Agricultural Gazette has the 
*■ following: 
y It is now" an ascertained fact that the 
‘ e honey harvest in most, parts of England is a 
s complete failure. For this result the daily 
ami weekly weather reports, which were 
l( f ' regularly published in our best periodicals, 
‘‘ had iu some measure prepared us. Bee 
keepers in the South arc not only without 
* any return from their apiaries to rew"ard 
e them for their care and attention—they 
j' have also the farther misfortune of finding 
1 their hives have got no stores. Their bees 
e are in a sad plight, and, as stated by Mr, 
Hunter, uttering a “ wail of distress.” Their 
'■ best colonies are suffering from famine, and 
must perish, unless timely assistance in the 
0 way of food supply is afforded. 
A different state of things exists in Durn- 
-- fricsshire, and perhaps throughout Scotland 
- generally, where bees have enjoyed a com- 
i- paratively favorable summer. It is true 
!- that under the swarming system (which 
’- divides forces and dissipates strength) only 
o insignifleant harvests have been reaped ; 
p but from stocks managed on stoifying pri n- 
- Ciples an average surplus of from 10 to 15 
l pounds of honey iu supers has been ob- 
p taiued without encroaching on the provision 
p needed for winter. 
?. Now, a bad season is frequently followed 
' by an extra good one, und we trust our a]>ia- 
rian friends who arc at present disappointed 
* will keep this in view", und be prepared, by 
■ having their bees up to the mark, to take 
j advantage of the fortune that may yet 
- smile upon them. Wo advise them, there¬ 
fore to begin immediately and feed their 
! starving stocks. Bottle feeding is bast; but 
a couple of sardine tins witli perforated 
I wooden flats, placed on each side of the 
central hole, und covered over by an invert¬ 
ed box without the lid, answer pretty well 
for givirg supplies to flat-topped hives. Let 
the food required be given as soon and as 
quickly as possible. A hungry hive will store 
up three or four pounds of liquid food in a 
daj", and all that is needed may be adminis¬ 
tered in less than a week. We know that 
rapid feeding or a large quantity of food ad¬ 
ministered at one time, is deemed most un¬ 
wise by some bee keepers on the ground that 
the bcisa put the food into the brood cells, 
aud thereby prevent ovipOsition and the 
“consequent production of the all-important 
young bees so positively essential to the 
existence of a colony during winter.” But 
this evil, if it be one, is more than counter¬ 
balanced by the benefit, arising from having 
the food stored, its watery particles evapo¬ 
rated, and the whole sealed over before the 
advent of cold weather. 
When feediug is protracted until the tem¬ 
perature falls, many cells that should be 
closed are left open, the aid which a warm 
atmosphere gives in promoting evaporation 
is lost, and candying of the sirup or inter¬ 
nal moisture, which is very hurtful, follows. 
Besides, late breeding is uot desirable, for 
in Ilivasthat have had a successful summer 
aud are left undisturbed, we find it is tiie 
exception and not the rule. Bees naturally 
go into a state of repose at the end of i he 
honey harvest, aud lienee by completing the 
work of feeding as early as possible, we al¬ 
low them to get sooner into that inactive 
condition, which is not only beneficial to 
them, but preparatory and essential to en¬ 
able them to meet with impunity the endur¬ 
ances of winter. A bee at rest, and scarcely 
consuming any food, will live three times as : 
long as one that is always moving and fre- 1 
quently on the wing. 1 
Age, therefore, does not greatly affect * 
colonies that spend their time hanging in s 
motionless clusters, and their powers arc ' 
but little impaired. If they go to roost be- 1 
fore the close of September, and continue 1 
quiescent afterwards, they can do very well 1 
without any addition to their numbers from * 
brood till the following spring. Iu proof of 1 
this we may refer to two adjacent hives that 1 
were last year crammed with honey, and, s 
for want of room gave up breeding early iu ‘ 
September. I 
From one of these, in order to make its s 
queen resume ovipositing, and get young 1 
bees, that are deemed “so essential,” we, by ^ 
means of the “slinger,” extracted all the 
honey from two of the central combs. As b 
expected, the emptied cells were soon tilled P 
with eggs aud numbers of young brood were 
hatched out before winter. 
But with a view to obtain and compare n 
results, we allowed the loaded nurseries of ii 
the other hive to remaiu as we found them, ir 
and its bees to relapse into their former 
dormancy. Both hives passed through winter 
satisfactorily ; the one, however, which had 
- only old bees to begin the campaign quite 
outstripped its fellow-that hud a population 
of both old and young, and was ready to 
e swarm a fortnight sooner. While, therefore 
it may be true that autumn or late-bred 
e bees are essential to the w-elfure or stocks 
a which have their activity prolonged by drib- 
Y let. or interval feeding, it is no less true that 
e stocks which are quickly fed up and then 
i, left to enjoy that autumnal repose which 
e they carefully seek, have no need of them, 
t In spring small doses of food given over 
J an extended period of time, stimulate ovi- 
i position, and hasten a hive progress ; but 
5 we deprecate the production of brood in a 
s hive after the normal period for it has pass- 
• ed. Our counsel for autumn feeding is—give 
r early, rapidly and abundantly. 
-- 
SUCCESS WITH BEES. 
- The Syracuse N. Y. Journal reports the 
1 following; 
Mr. G. M. Doolittle of Borodino, brought 
to this city receutly, four wagon loads of pure 
1 aud beautiful honey, which he sold to Mr. 
Roberts, grocer in the Myres Block, for 
' twenty-five cents per pound. The combined 
; weight, of the packages was 7,000 pounds, 
’ amounting in money to $1,750. It was 
handsomely encased in 3,640 small boxes, 
1 with glass iu either side, showing the white 
covering of the cells, and they were packed 
in cases ready for shipment. Of this amount, 
4,878 pounds were produced by forty-six 
swarms of bees owned by Mr. Doolittle, who 
for a number of years has been much inter- 
• ested in the subject of bee culture, A year 
ago he possessed one hundred swarms, which 
came from two swarms he obtained in 1800, 
but the number was reduced by more than 
oue-half by the very cold weather of last, 
April. Now the number is one hundred and 
eight. 
With the exception of Mr. N, N. Betsingcr 
of Marcellus Falls, who has two hundred and 
twenty-two swarms, Mr. Doolittle is with¬ 
out. doubt the most extensive as well as one 
of the best informed bee culturists in the 
county. 
$ctenlijii[ and Useful. 
TO KEEP CIDER WITHOUT CHEMICALS. 
Jill the barrels that are to contain the 
cider entirely full, and leave out the bungs 
uutil the first fermentation is over, as the 
impurities will largely work out of the bung- 
hole. There should be Borne cider kept in 
another vessel to pour into the barrels from 
time to time as their contents settle. After 
the impurities cease to conic over and no 
more gas escapes in bubbles, the bungs 
should be put in place, but not driven in for 
a few days, or else a small spile hole should 
be mado on one side of the bung as a safety 
escape, in case more gas rises. In the course 
of a few days the cider should be carefully 
racked off from the sediment, and it is also 
well to strain it through fiannel. Cider 
thus treated and put in barrels which are 
bunged tight, will keep sweet a long time if 
the barrels are put in a cool place. As soon, 
however, as a vent is made in the barrels for 
the purpose of drawing off the cider, it will 
begin to sour. To prevent this the cider, 
when racked off, may be put in quite small 
casks or demijohns, as these may be emptied 
in turn, without the contents becoming too 
sour to be a pleasant drink. Cider may be 
kept in good condition even in large quanti¬ 
ties if a quart of pure, refined linseed or olive 
oil be poured in at the bung, This oil, by 
spreading over the top of the cider, will pre¬ 
vent the air from coming in contact with it 
and thus keep it sweet. After the cider has 
mostly been drawn out for use, the oil may 
be decanted and saved for another year, or 
it may be used for other purposes. By 
putting cider, treated as above, into pop, 
champagne or other strong bottles, and 
securing the cork with wire or strong cord, 
it may be preserved perfectly. Cider thus 
kept will be a most pleasant drink next 
spring and summer. It will sparkle when 
poured out, aud is fully equal to the inferior 
kinds of champagne. The bottles, when 
filled, shonld rest on their sides on the cellar 
bottoms, or be inverted, the necks being 
plunged in sand to keep them erect.—fie. 
Chloride of Lime will generally remove 
mildew without rotting the cloth or destroy¬ 
ing delicate colors. Dip the mildewed article 
in the lime water aud dry quickly in the sun. 
