THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
! 200 
Dividing a Forcing-house (A. Tyro). —If you will have two small 
houses (for this is the effect of a partition), let us advise you to place 
the boiler between the two, and to carry a greater amount of piping into 
one of them. Thus you will have a little stove and a little greenhouse. 
These tiny structures, however, require much discretion in heating. In 
your stove place pipes in a covered chamber, as a source of bottom-heat 
i in a cemented trench, to carry water at pleasure ; the pipes, or a 
i portion of them in contact with the bottom. On the sides of the chamber 
place a slide or two to permit the chamber to give place to the atmosphere 
occasionally ; over the chamber, of course, soil for your cucumbers, &c., 
or sand for striking cuttings. You will, however, need a pipe outside the 
chamber to warm the atmosphere. We care nothing for perforated zinc 
plates, only let plenty of ventilation be provided by a moderate ingress of 
fresh air at front, and a wiry fire-escape at back. Iron boilers are com¬ 
monly used. 
Circulation of Warm Air (Tyro).—This is desirable, and to a 
greater or lesser extent takes place in every hothouse, as you may easily 
prove by suspending any light material at different distances from the 
roof. You will find descriptions how still further to effect it, in the 
writings of the advocates of poor Polmaise. A house raised in the centre 
with drainage or flues below, using both at back and front, and open, may 
accelerate this object. The most important of all is where the fresh air 
is heated and moistened before it circulates, and thus you can manage by 
having a drain in front of your house communicating with the external 
atmosphere, and then with the interior by means of slides opening under 
or by the side of the heating medium. We are not acquainted with Arnott’s 
ventilators for the back wall of a greenhouse; any system will do that 
will place enough under your command. The circulation of air beneath 
the roots of vines, as recommended by Mr. Errington, is desirable. A 
cheap mode would be to have the bottom of the border covered with 
rubble, cross drains deeper, terminating in a longitudinal drain deeper 
still, with gratings over the front drain opposite every cross one, and 
similar gratings over the cross ones next the house. 
Verbenas {Minnie), —You say your Verbenas were mismanaged, 
and had hardly grown anything for the first six weeks after planting, 
although you supplied them with liquid-manure. We have, over and 
over again, pointed out the fallacy of the prevailing opinion that liquid- 
manure will bring sickly plants to vigour. In most eases, and very likely 
in yours, it acted just the other way. Soft pond, or rain water is quite 
strong enough for sickly or mismanaged plants. Let plants get into a 
free healthy state first, then, but not till then, apply stimulating food. 
Your Verbenas are by this time in free growth, if so, give them liquid- 
manure now and they will soon make up for lost time ; also stir the soil 
amongst them, and damp their leaves in the evening with a rose watering- 
pot. See also what has been said about planting temporary things 
amongst Verbenas and other plants when first turned out. 
Moving Yellow-edged Holly (Wilcot).— You ask when and how 
you may move a yellow-edged, variegated holly. We suppose just now 
your holly is growing freely, making its 12 -inch annual growth. Though 
we should not fear removing it even now with perfect safety, yet we 
would advise you to let it remain where it is a month longer, that is, to 
about the third w eek in August. This is our answer as to the when; the 
how requires a little more consideration. As the plant does not spread it 
may be the more easily moved. With a small cord tie up the lower branches, 
then mark a circle two feet from the bole of the tree, and another circle 
two feet beyond the first; the space between the two circles must have 
all the soil dug out of it—do not be afraid of going deep down; whilst 
this is going on let another labourer be digging a hole larger than the 
ball of the tree will require, making it rather deeper ; fill in some of the 
best soil, chopped fine, and mix it with water till it forms a puddle of the 
consistence of thick paint. The men who are digging round the tree 
must gradually undermine the ball below the roots till it stands quite 
loose ; then wrap some garden mats round, and tie the ball firmly toge¬ 
ther with a strong rope; then wrap the stem round as near the soil as 
possible with some old carpet or sacking; tie to the stem at that part 
a stout pole eight or nine feet long; then lower the tree gently down, and 
let as many men as are necessary to carry it take hold of the pole and 
remove the tree to its place, letting it down gently into the hole amongst 
the puddle, taking care that it is not below but rather above the general 
level; fill in good soil round the ball after the tree is set upright and the 
mats, ties, See., removed. Mix this soil with water till it is a puddle 
like the bottom; secure the tree with props to prevent the winds from 
shaking it. Do all this rightly and we have no fear but your favourite 
tree will grow and flourish as well as ever, especially if the surface is 
covered with moss from the time of shifting it till next spring ; you may 
secure the moss by stretching across it some rods, fastened down with 
strong hooks. By this method we have removed hollies and various 
other trees, as high even as 30 feet, with the greatest success. 
Cultivation of Ginger {E. M. E.). —Green ginger may be easily 
cultivated two ways, either in pots or in a deep pit. If in pots the plants 
should be procured in February, or even now if you have a stove to keep 
them in through winter; take the plants, shake them out of the pots 
when at rest in February, divide them, and pot each piece into a pot 
6 inches across; plunge them, as soon as the heat is temperate, in a bark 
pit, or a frame heated with dung like a cucumber bed, the surface being 
I cove *ed with tan deep enough for the pots. As soon as the plants come 
up give a small supply of water, gradually increasing the quantity as the 
I plants advance in growth. By August they will be fit to take up and 
[July 25. 
preserve. If a large quantity is required a deep pit of two or three lights 
will be necessary, the bottom to be filled with rich soil to the depth of a 
foot; plant the roots in this soil and line the pit with hot dung, renewing 
it as the heat declines. The time for planting in the pit is February or 
March. Water whilst growing, give air in hot weather, and in Septem¬ 
ber you will have a large supply of fine ginger roots, equal to foreign. 
Retarding German Asters (C. B.).—Your German asters and 
geraniums that have had their buds nipped off with a view to flower 
them in September, must now be left alone, or they will not flower by the 
time you want them (the first week in September). Asters will flower 
well then because they are naturally autumn bloomers; but geraniums 
are different things,—we doubt all the means you can use will not induce 
much bloom in autumn to a spring and summer flowering plant. We 
should be glad to know the result of your nipping off the buds; should, 
contrary to our expectations, buds be formed now, and be progressing to 
bloom, some weak manure-water once a week will strengthen them 
greatly, and cause them to make finer flowers, besides stimulating them 
to bloom by the required time. Do not repot them, as that would throw 
them into growth instead of bloom. 
Evergreen Oak (E. N. S.). —We are obliged by your complimentary 
letter, and are happy to find The Cottage Gardener is prized by 
“lady gardeners.” With regard to the size of your evergreen oak, of 
which the trunk is 10 A feet in circumference, and the branches about 200 
feet, we think it is larger than any one we have either seen or heard of, 
and we arc not surprised you should wish to clear away any obstructions 
to the sight of it from your window. It is a great pity that the raised 
bank, marked D, is so near the house. We are always warm advocates 
for trees and large shrubs to stand at a respectable distance from a 
dwelling house, for wherever trees are close to a house they render 
it in some degree unhealthy; unless, however, we knew all the cir¬ 
cumstances, and saw the place, it is almost impossible to advise what 
would be best to do. Our present impression is that the whole bank, 
trees and all, not even sparing the two yews, ought to be moved to a 
greater distance. Unless the yews are extraordinarily large they might 
be moved with safety; we have seen yews moved with stems thicker than 
a man’s body, and 30 feet high, with perfect success. This bank, &c., 
being moved at least 20 yards further north, you will have then a fine 
view of your noble evergreen oak, and the space between it and the 
window may be laid down with grass without any flower beds; grass is 
kept in order with much less labour than beds of flowers. The boundary 
between the pleasure-ground and kitchen-garden might be formed with 
flowering and evergreen shrubs; a receding portion may be made into 
rockwork, and a greenhouse of a Gothic form built in the centre with 
good effect. For the method of forming artificial rock-work, see page 
232 of the present volume. We must again repeat that it is nearly impos¬ 
sible to give right ideas of laying out or altering grounds with the best 
effect, without seeing the place. 
Transferring Bees {Apis). —We abide by what we have said before : 
transferring stocks is bad practice. But autumnal unions—as recom¬ 
mended in “Taylor’s Bee-keeper’s Manual,” page 131, 4th edition—can¬ 
not be too highly commended. Transferring a stock is generally under¬ 
stood to be taking the bees from an old or ill-shaped hive, and putting 
them into an empty one of a kind more suited to the taste of their owner, 
depriving them at once of their store of honey and brood. 
Bees {M. A .).—The best history of this insect is in “The Honey¬ 
bee; its Natural History, Physiology, and Management,” by Edward 
Bevan, M.D. London : Vanvoorst, Paternoster-row. For gratuitous 
distribution, as “Payne’s Cottager’s Guide” cannot be had, we recom¬ 
mend “ A Short and Simple Letter to Cottagers from a Bee-preserver.” 
London : printed for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 
Sold at their Depository, and by all booksellers, price 3d. To pre¬ 
vent the stock and super-box from slipping apart in Taylor’s single bar- 
hive, cut a rabbet onc-eiglith of an inch on the upper side of the crown 
board of the stock box, to fit the inside of the super; or the rabbet may 
be formed by putting on with brarls two pieces of the above thickness. 
For the other information you seek see Taylor’s Bee-keeper’s Manual , 
pages 44, 47, and 126, 4th edition. You cannot transfer bees now with 
the least chance of success. You will be much forwarder by hiving an 
early swarm next year into your box. Your best plan will be to get one 
of Taylor’s single box-hives from Messrs. Neighbour, or Mr. Baxter, as a 
model. 
Bees Swarming Late (W. A. E .).—“ In your answer to me in vol. ii., 
page 169 , you gave me very little hopes for my hive, so I determined to 
run the risk of removing the eke from beneath it, which I did very 
successfully last September, by smoking the bees with fungus, taking off 
the eke, and cutting through the combs with a wire. It was done in two 
minutes; and had not the labourer I employed been a little nervous, I do 
not think a bee would have been killed. The hive was extremely popu¬ 
lous, full of honey, and did well all winter ; carried in yellow balls in 
February, and plenty of young bees at the end of March, so that I ex¬ 
pected an early swarm. On the 30th of May and following week all the 
cottagers round saw drones, and had swarms and casts ; but though my 
hive had done apparently as well or better than theirs all spring, not a 
drone was to be seen ; and the bees beginning to be idle, I put the five 
glasses on, on the 9 th of June, which they took to directly. On the 23rd 
of June one drone was seen in the hive, and the following day several ap¬ 
peared ; and an immense swarm flew off, so large that one of Mr. Golding’s 
hives could hardly hold it. As there was old comb in the hive, I hope they 
may do well, though so late. I put a large glass on the top of the hive, 
