•  J:mi  arj-  25,  1900, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
83 
wood,  filling  the  pot  or  pan  with  rich  friable  loam;  insert  the  eyes  with 
a  pinch  of  silver  sand,  and  about  half  an  inch  beneath  the  surface. 
Plunge  the  pots  in  a  bottom  heat  of  80°.  Cut-backs  should  be  placed 
in  a  house  where  they  will  have  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°  at  night 
and  70°  by  75°  by  day.  When  they  have  started  into  growth  shake 
them  out,  and  return  to  the  same  size  of  pot,  using  good  friable  loam, 
and  give  a  rather  close  and  moist  atmosphere  until  re-established, 
when  they  should  have  a  position  near  the  glass,  so  as  to  insure  sturdy, 
short-jointed,  thoroughly  solidified  growth. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — The  November  started  plants  have  set  the 
fruits  fairly  well,  and  are  swelling  the  six  to  a  dozen  berries  per  plant 
freely.  The  December  plants  being  brought  on  slowly  are  advanced 
for  flowei'ing,  when  they  should  be  freely  ventilated,  have  the  weaker 
flowers  removed,  and  the  pollen  distributed  with  a  feather  as  soon  as 
ripe.  After  the  fruit  is  set  thin  them  to  the  number  the  plant  is  likely 
to  swell  perfectly.  Whilst  the  fruit  is  setting  60°  to  55°  will  be 
sufficient  heat  artificially,  and  60°  to  65°  by  day  with  sun  heat,  but 
after  the  setting  is  effected  remove  the  plants  to  a  house  with  a 
temperature  of  60°  to  65°  at  night  and  70°  to  75°  by  day,  supplying 
liquid  manure  until  ripening  commences ;  then  employ  water  only  and 
sparingly.  Whilst  swelling  they  require  a  moist  genial  atmosphere. 
Successional  plants  must  not  lack  water,  but  needless  watering  is 
highly  prejudicial,  therefore  examine  each  plant,  and  afford  a  supply 
only  when  required.  The  plants  succeed  best  when  brought  on  gently, 
a  temperature  of  50°  from  fire  heat  being  ample.  Examine  the  plants 
carefully  for  aphides,  and  if  there  be  any  trace  fumigate  moderately, 
taking  care  to  have  the  plants  perfectly  clean  before  they  come  into 
flower.  Introduce  more  plants  for  succession. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Cauliflower. — If  the  stock  of  autumn-raised  plants  is  too  limited, 
more  seed  ought  to  be  sown  now.  The  small  so-called  forcing  varie¬ 
ties  are  the  quickest  to  heart-in,  and  with  these  may  be  raised  succes¬ 
sional  and  late  varieties,  including  Autumn  Giant.  The  seeds  should 
be  sown  thinly  in  boxes  of  fresh  loamy  soil,  and  be  placed  in  gentle 
heat  to  germinate.  Be  careful  not  to  syringe  the  seedlings,  as  this 
may  encourage  damping.  Before  they  become  much  drawn  place  the 
plants  on  shelves  near  the  glass  in  a  warm  greenhouse.  The  stems 
must  become  moderately  firm  before  the  plants  are  placed  singly  in 
small  pots.  Cauliflowers  in  frames  and  hand-lights  should  have  the 
soil  about  them  stirred,  and  a  dusting  with  dry  ashes  to  ward  off  slugs. 
Celery. — If  very  early  Celery  is  wanted  seeds  of  a  good  white  variety 
may  be  sown  at  once  thinly  in  pans  of  fine  soil  placed  in  a  brisk,  moist 
heat,  covered  with  squares  of  glass,  and  shaded  heavily.  The  soil 
must  be  kept  uniformly  moist,  and  this  can  best  be  done  without  dis¬ 
turbing  the  seeds  by  partially  immersing  the  pans  as  often  as  neces¬ 
sary  in  tepid  water.  Celery  that  has  already  been  crippled  somewhat 
by  frost  stands  in  the  greatest  need  of  protection  afterwards. 
leeks. — If  fine  Leeks  are  wanted  in  the  summer  seeds  of  a  good 
exhibition  variety  should  be  sown  now,  thinly  in  pans,  and  placed  in 
heat  to  germinate.  In  many  gardens  green  vegetables  are  becoming 
somewhat  scarce,  and  the  Leeks,  hitherto  somewhat  despised,  will  soon 
be  more  appreciated. 
Lettuce.— Slugs  have  cleared  off  autumn  raised  plants  wholesale,  it 
being  next  to  impossible  to  save  them  during  the  long  spell  of  wet 
and  comparatively  mild  weather.  Luckily  plants  of  Early  Paris 
Market  and  Golden  Queen  Cabbage  varieties,  raised  early  in  the  year, 
heart  in  very  quickly,  so  that  the  loss  of  autumn  raised  plants  will 
not  be  felt  by  those  who  sow  seed  promptly  and  place  them  in  gentle  heat 
to  germinate.  Directly  the  seedlings  are  through  put  the  pans  or 
boxes  on  shelves  near  to  the  glass.  If  plants  of  the  varieties  named 
have  been  kept  through  the  winter  they  may  be  gently  forced  either 
in  boxes  of  rich  loamy  soil  in  a  light  position  in  a  vinery  or  Peach 
house,  or  a  mild  hotbed  may  be  prepared. 
Tomatoes. — Autumn  raised  plants  are  the  best  for  producing  early 
crops  of  fruit.  They  ought  not,  however,  to  be  kept  in  small  pots 
long  enough  to  become  leggy  and  hard  in  the  stems,  as  when  in  such 
a  plight  they  seldom  develop  into  stout  productive  plants.  Pot  culture 
answers  best  in  the  case  of  early  crops,  and  the  plants  may  be  shifted 
straight  from  3-inch  pots  into  the  fruiting  sizes — 10-inch  to  12-inch. 
The  best  positions  are  the  fronts  of  small  forcing  houses,  arranging 
the  pots  closely  together  on  a  bed  of  soil  or  ashes,  into  which  the 
Tomatoes  may  eventually  send  their  roots,  and  training  the  plants, 
confining  them  to  single  stems,  straight  up  the  roofs.  Fill  the  pots 
with  rich  loamy  compost,  and  when  it  is  well  warmed  through  plant 
in  this,  making  the  soil  somewhat  firm.  Not  much  water  should  be 
given  at  first,  but  later  water  or  liquid  manure  will  be  required  daily. 
If  preferred  the  plants  may  be  put  out  in  a  narrow  ridge  of  soil 
much  as  Cucumbers  are  planted,  adding  compost  occasionally  in  the 
shape  of  top-dressings.  Very  high  temperatures  are  a  mistake.  Prom 
55°  to  60°  and  65°  is  quite  hot  enough.  When  the  plants  are  growing 
strongly  give  a  little  top  air  on  warm  days. 
Sowing  Tomato  Seed. — Plants  obtained  by  sowing  seed  now  will,  if 
properly  managed,  produce  the  heaviest  crops  of  all.  Sow  seeds  of 
approved  varieties  thinly,  or  singly,  as  this  is  almost  the  only  way  to 
avoid  having  too  many  plants,  in  pans  or  boxes  of  light  sandy  soil, 
and  place  in  heat  to  germinate.  Before  the  seedlings  become  leggy 
raise  the  pans  or  boxes  well  up  to  the  glass,  and  when  rough  leaves 
have  formed,  put  the  plants  singly  in  3-inch  pots. 
nizi 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
.  r  -  T  -  .  n 
1 
q) 
Bees  ix  Winter. 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  condition  of  the  bees  in  winter  as 
well  as  in  summer.  Not  that  we  recommend  a  general  overhauling  of 
the  stocks  at  this  season,  when  the  temperature  is  low  and  the  bees  are 
in  a  state  of  stupor.  It  is,  however,  only  by  making  an  examination 
of  the  various  colonies  that  we  are  enabled  to  form  a  correct  opinion  as 
to  their  condition  and  the  position  the  bees  occupy  in  the  hive. 
During  a  recent  spell  of  mild  weather,  when  the  temperature  was 
several  degrees  above  freezing  point,  but  not  warm  enough  for  the  bees 
to  be  on  the  wing,  we  examined  several  strong  colonies  in  straw  skeps 
as  well  as  those  warmly  housed  in  wooden  hives.  In  many  instances 
the  rkeps.had  not  been  lilted  from  their  stands  since  the  swarms  were 
placed  in  them  in  the  summer,  consequently  they  were  firmly  secured 
to  the  floor  board  with  propoli-. 
Before  attempting  to  lift  the  skeps  an  old  table  knife  was  passed 
under  the  lower  rim  of  straw  ;  the  hives  were  then  lilted  without  any 
trouble.  In  replacing  them  on  the  floor  board  care  was  taken  to  put 
them  in  exactly  the  same  position  they  previously  occupied.  No  undue 
ventilation  was  afforded  them  from  the  side.'^,  as  the  entrances  had 
been  left  open  their  full  width  throughout  the  winter.  In  the  majority 
of  instances  we  found  the  bees  clustered  close  to  the  side  of  the  skeps 
in  a  state  of  stupor. 
This  fact  will  probably  come  as  a  surprise  to  many  bee-keepers, 
as  the  bees  are  usually  supposed  to  be  in  the  middle  of  the  hive.  This 
is  the  position  they  occupy  in  the  modern  wooden  frame  hive;  at  least 
such  was  the  case  with  those  we  examined,  as  there  was  not  a  single 
instance  of  the  bees  being  clustered  on  the  side  combs. 
What  are  the  lessons  to  be  learnt  from  the  above?  ^We  think 
there  cannot  be  two  opinions  on  the  subject.  It  was  owing  to  the 
straw  being  warmer  than  the  wood  that  the  bees  clustered  in  the 
manner  they  were  found.  In  each  case  the  bives  were  well  protected ; 
the  majority  of  the  frame  hives  had  double  sides,  the  extra  coverings 
being  on  the  top  of  the  frames.  Thus  the  bees  clustered  on  the  middle 
combs,  which  was  doubtless  the  warmest  part  of  the  hive. 
Hives  for  General  Use. 
Bearing  the  above  facts  in  mind,  it  may  be  an  advantage  to  ask 
which  are  the  best  hives  for  general  use  ?  Although  straw  may  be 
warmer  than  wood,  it  dees  not  follow  that  more  honey  will  be 
obtained  from  a  stock  of  bees  placed  in  a  straw  hive  than  would  be 
secured  had  they  been  in  a  hive  made  solely  of  wood.  Bee-keepers 
are  fully  alive  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the  chief  essentials  to  successful 
wintering  is  a  warm,  dry  hive.  But  for  various  reasons  straw  is  not 
adapted  for  frame  hives.  Although  we  have  seen  it  successfully  used 
in  conjunction  with  wood  for  that  purpose,  the  sides  being  made  of 
straw,  and  the  corners,  bottom,  and  roof  of  wood.  They  had  a  neat 
appearance,  and  bees  invariably  wintered  well  in  them. 
The  best  hive  we  consider  for  general  use  is  the  one  that  any 
handy  man  may  inake  in  his  spare  time.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to 
have  a  pattern  to  work  from,  and  this  is  best  obtained  by  procuring  a 
good  hive  from  a  bee-keeper  or  a  tradesman  who  deals  in  bee 
appliances,  and  make  others  like  it,  care  being  taken  that  the  measure¬ 
ments  are  correct.  If  all  the  hives  are  made  after  the  same  pattern 
much  valuable  time  will  be  afterwards  saved  in  the  practical  manage¬ 
ment  of  bees.  .  ^  ^  •  j 
Choose  a  hive  holding  ten,  or,  at  the  most,  twelve  standard  sized 
frames.  The  sides  should  be  double,  having  an  air  space  which  may 
be  left  opien  throughout  the  year,  or  be  filled  with  cork  dust  in  the 
winter  This  can  be  removed  in  late  spring,  as  the  open  air  space 
at  the  sides  will  be  beneficial  to  the  bees  during  the  prevalence  of  hot 
weather.  It  is  doubtful  whether  it  is  worth  the  labour  of  filling  the 
sides  of  the  hive  with  cork  dust  or  some  other  material  for  wintering 
purposes,  as  with  double  sides  bees  invariably  winter  well  when  this 
air  space  is  left  open  throughout  the  year. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
R.  H.  Bath,  Ltd.,  Wisbech.— S-eds. 
J.  Cocker  &  Sons,  Aberdeen.— Seeds  and  Plants. 
Cunninghaine  &  Wyllie,  Mitchell  Street,  Glaseow.— Seeds. 
M.  Ciithbertson,  Rothesay,  N.B.  Seeds  and  Plants. 
Kelway  &  Son,  Langport.— dianual  of  Horticulture. 
Leeds  Orchid  Company,  Rouudhay,  Leeds.— Garden  Specialities. 
A.  Robinson,  lA,  Bishopsgate  Without,  London.— Seeds. 
H.  Shoesmith,  Claremont  Nursery,  Woking.— Chrysanthemums,  dec. 
A.  F.  Upstone,  Rotherham. — Seeds. 
