THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
120 
November 17. 
failed; but they attacked my bees, and destroyed ten hives, that 
contained fully three cwt. of honey, and we could not drive 
them. I found four nests in our vicinity, which I com¬ 
pletely destroyed with boiling-water. Two of them I did 
not find till after the mischief was done; they were enor¬ 
mous nests, and prodigiously strong and fierce, and we 
were severely stung. 
I perceive, in the recent numbers of The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener, mention is made of glass coverings for walls clothed 
with Peaches and Nectarines, and in the one of the 15th of 
September, under the head of Heaton Park, Mr. Appleby 
states that it is used in autumn to ripen the wood; in 
spring to protect the blossoms; and in another place 
remarks, they secure the fruit from the attacks of the large 
fly and wasp. The inference deduced from the latter ob¬ 
servation is, that they must be kept on all summer, and 
quite closed in. 
Now, I have applied glass thus—to dwarfs trained on my 
hot wall (where the ants formerly were)—I have fixed 
hotbed frames, four feet wide, seven feet long, screwed 
together by small iron plates, close to the wall at the top, 
and fixed into a small weather-board, to prevent wet 
dropping, or rather dripping, inside, and going down the 
wall in an angle; that at the bottom indicates eighteen 
inches, where they are fixed into a spar, upon posts eighteen 
inches from the ground, which is open, as are the sides 
where the shuts finish, when they come to a rider-tree, 
which I could not, without great difficulty, cover from the 
top, it reaching the coping of the wall, which is fourteen 
feet from the ground. The outward air has, consequently, 
free access to the bole of the tree for eighteen inches, and 
at the sides, as aforesaid, which some parties hereabouts, 
who x ,ro f ess great science, say is desirable; but I want a 
better opinion than their’s, and which I know I can obtain 
through the medium of your valuable work. I leave my 
trees uncovered till the time for the buds bursting in the 
end of February, or as the weather may be, keeping the 
glass on till the fruit has passed the ordeal of “stoniDg; ” 
and, certainly, this year, of Peaches and Nectarines, I had 
a splendid crop of fruit. The long branches of a Green¬ 
gage Plum I had trained into the branches of one of the 
Peach-trees, and the fruit so protected was delicious. 
Now, I have another wall (not heated), upon which I 
have a Moor Park Apricot, an Orange ditto, a Barrington , 
Acton 8'cot, Noblesse, Royal George, Peach ; Red Roman, and 
Elruge, Nectarine; dwarf trained, due south aspect. The 
wall is certainly not damp, still it lias, in places, green moss 
upon it. The wood on the trees does not ripen as it should 
do, all but the Apricots, and you are aware they will not 
bear forcing. T have glass as aforesaid; they also do not 
crop as they should do, except the occasional blight to a 
few odd branches or shoots, and to which Peaches and 
Nectarines, especially the former and Apricots, are liable; 
the trees are most luxuriant, fine, well-grown wood, not a 
water-shoot in all the trees. Yet they are evidently not all 
right, or they would yield more produce, being at full 
bearing age, planted carefully on a well-drained border, with 
rubble bottom. I cannot, by any means, heat the wall, 
therefore, would it answer to paint it black, as an absorbent 
of heat; or should the wall be boarded with black, highly- 
varnished board, or should the wall be trellised; or should 
the glass be applied this autumn ; and if so, for how long ? 
Then, I have against some black, varnished boards, south 
aspect also, three Fig-trees— Brunswick, Black Ischia, and 
Brown Turkey. I can glaze them, with eighteen inches 
open at bottom, and open sides, which I kept on all last 
winter, and all summer, but had few fruit. Should they be 
kept open all winter, and just glazed like the Peach, &c., 
trees in spring ? and should the space at bottom and sides 
be closed ? As is said on a lawyer’s “ brief,” — and I have 
no doubt you would wish this letter had been “ more 
brief” —Your kind opinion on these points, is, at your early 
convenience, respectfully requested.—X. Y. Z. 
[We are much obliged for the mode of destroying ants. 
We forget, just now, the remedy proposed in 1852. Strong 
lime-water we have found will drive them away. Sugar 
and water, mixed with arsenic, will kill them fast enough, 
and honey and water will trap them. 
We are very much indebted for, and pleased with, your 
plan for covering walls with glass. We had a good crop of 
Teaches on the open walls, but few or no Apricots. When 
Mr. Appleby lately adverted to these glass-covered walls, or 
narrow houses, as useful (among other greater matters) for 
keeping flies from the fruit in summer, our impression was, 
not that there would be no openings for air at that period, 
but that these openings would be covered with gauze, Not¬ 
tingham netting, &c. 
We do not see, clearly, the mode you adopt with your 
heated wall, fourteen feet high, and clothed with standards 
.and dwarfs, unless it be that you cover the wall only to the 
Height that the seven-feet sashes will reach, fixing the top 
to a weather-boarding on the wall, and the lower end to a 
rail on posts eighteen inches from the ground, and eighteen 
inches from the wall, and having as many sashes in one 
place as would reach from standard to standard. Now, if 
this is the plan, it is of importance to know the distance 
from standard to standard; in other words, the length of 
glass fixed which you have found to answer so well, with 
the means of admitting air solely at the bottom and the 
sides. We can easily conceive how this will answer very 
well, when the width of three or more sashes of four feet 
are thus fixed together, though we should think, judging 
from analogy, that double that number of sashes, fastened 
together, would be apt to scorch the trees near the top of 
the centre of the enclosed space. In all large spaces there 
must be means for heated air escaping, as well as fresh air 
being admitted. AVe have thought of a simple mode of so 
using some old sashes, but every year, when the time comes, 
this plague of bedding-out plants requires every bit of 
them. The plan w r as to fix an iron pivot, top and bottom, 
in the rail, in the centre of each sash ; put that pivot into a 
hole in a board at the top, and the pivot at the lower end 
into a hole in a rail on posts at bottom, and then the sashes 
could be kept in a plain, by means of hooks and eyes, or 
moved inwards or outwards, so as to admit air, and keep in 
any position with a pin. 
In the circumstances, you, no doubt, acted correctly, in 
covering only when the buds were bursting, and removing 
after stoning; but we conceive, that where there are no heated 
walls, much advantage would be gained by placing the glass 
on in autumn, to keep off, so far, autumn rains, and thus 
hasten the maturing at the expense of the growing prin¬ 
ciple. 
This, therefore, even now, would be our advice respecting 
the trees on the wall, unheated, and which do not seem to 
ripen their wood, though it looks kindly ; but, probably, just 
touching the points of their roots would also be an ad¬ 
vantage in stopping growth, and causing the buds to be 
more matured; but this would have been more advantageous 
a month ago. AVe would keep the glass on these until the 
leaves got yellow. In fact, were the glass covered with any 
opaque substance, such as whiting, after the leaves fall, so 
as to prevent the sun heating the wall, the sashes might 
remain on, and thus keep back the budding season in 
spring, washing off the matter, or removing the covering 
from the glass as the buds swelled. 
AVe have no idea of trellissing in such circumstances, as 
a remedy, a draft is made behind the shoots, and thus the 
trees lose much heat when most desirable. 
AVe have, also, very little faith in the efficacy of black 
walls; unless where moist heat is required, there are means 
taken to prevent radiation, A dark colour becomes suddenly 
heated, and, if exposed, as suddenly cooled. After trying- 
several experiments, we think, that for general purposes, 
there is little, if any thing, preferable to the common brick ; 
it absorbs heat somewhat slowly, but then it parts with it 
slowly. 
Figs, when the wood is well ripened, may be kept in the 
dark as well as in the light, if free from frost, until the 
buds begin to push. Hid the frost do them no injury under 
the sashes open all round ? 
AA'e are, however, inclined to think that something in the 
wood, or roots, was more at fault than your treatment. 
Suppose you merely protect the shoots from frost this 
winter, and cover in spring, leaving the cover on all the 
summer, with plenty of air at top, even if you should 
reduce it below, and report the results, which we can assure 
you will give pleasure to many. Let us liavo a hint how 
you manage so many frame-lights, when most of us are 
obliged to hunt them up for their more usual, but, I am 
