.  February  1,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
105 
pollen,  or  brush  the  blossoms  over  lightly  with  a  rabbit’s  tail  mounted 
on  a  small  stick,  or  apply  the  pollen  to  the  stigma  with  a  camel’s-hair 
brush. 
Houses  Started  Early  in  Fehruary. — The  trees  to  afford  fruit  in  July 
must  now  be  started,  they  having  commenced  to  swell  their  buds 
naturally.  Syringe  the  trees  until  the  blossom  buds  show  colour,  but 
not  too  frequently,  always  allowing  them  to  become  dry  at  night. 
Discontinue  the  syringing  after  the  anthers  show,  but  sprinkle  the 
paths  and  borders  once  or  twice  a  day  to  maintain  a  genial  condition 
of  the  atmosphere,  avoiding  a  close  stagnant  one.  If  the  flowers  are 
very  numerous  thin  them  by  rubbing  the  hand  downwards  on  the 
under  side  of  the  shoots,  which  will  strengthen  the  remainder,  enabling 
them  to  set  better.  Examine  the  trees  closely,  and  if  there  be  any 
aphides  fumigate  with  tobacco  or  other  insecticide,  so  as  to  destroy 
them  before  the  flowers  expand.  Maintain  a  temperature  of  40°  to  45'’ 
at  night,  and  50°  by  day,  above  which  ventilate  freely.  When  the 
flowers  expand  raise  the  temperature  to  50°  at  night,  55°  by  day,  and 
60°  to  65°  from  sun  heat  with  free  ventilation.  On  cold  nights  the 
temperature  may  fall  to  45°,  or  even  less,  also  50°  by  day  when  cold, 
allowing  a  little  ventilation  constantly  at  the  top  of  the  house. 
iH 
IE  BEE-KEEPER. 
§3 
Preserving  the  Lives  of  Bees. 
In  a  general  way  bee-keepers  are  on  the  alert  to  strengthen  their 
stocks  when  the  honey  harvest  is  drawing  near ;  but  do  they  take 
steps  to  preserve  the  lives  of  the  bees  daring  the  dark  dull  days  of 
winter,  when  the  queen  has  ceased  her  maternal  labours  for  a  season, 
and  each  bee  lost  or  destroyed  means  one  unit  less  to  preserve  the 
warmth  of  the  cluster  ?  This  is  a  subject  that  requires  more  than 
passing  notice.  We  are  convinced  it  is  only  necessary  to  draw  the 
notice  of  bee-keepers  to  this  important  matter  for  them  to  realise  how 
beneficial  it  would  be  to  the  bees  if  more  attention  were  given  to  them 
at  this  season. 
Preserving  the  lives  of  the  bees  may  be  done  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
Should  there  be  a  fall  of  snow  and  the  sun  shine  brightly  for  an  hour 
or  two  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  the  bees  will  leave  their  hive  by 
hundreds,  many  of  them  never  to  return.  If  anyone  doubts  this  fact 
they  can  soon  be  convinced,  after  a  fall  of  snow,  by  observing  how 
numerous  the  dead  bees  are  in  close  proximity  to  the  hives.  Stocks 
may  be  seriously  weakened  from  this  cause  alone.  The  preventive 
we  have  given  in  previous  notes. 
Serious  losses  also  occur  from  other  causes  which  are  not  so  visible 
to  the  ordinary  observer — namely,  the  numerous  bees  destroyed  by 
birds.  In  the  autumn  birds  are  sometimes  troublesome  in  this  respect, 
but  as  the  old  bees  are  then  dying  at  a  rapid  rate  there  is  not  much 
harm  done.  During  November  and  December  the  stocks  do  not  seem 
to  be  much  molested.  Directly,  however,  the  days  begin  to  lengthen 
they  swoop  down  to  the  hives  by  the  score.  The  chief  culprits  are  the 
tits  and  common  house  sparrows.  A  pair  of  the  former  will  probably 
destroy  as  many  bees  in  half  an  hour  as  half  a  dozen  sparrows  would 
in  a  day. 
It  is  interesting  to  watch  the  tits  when  there  are  not  many  bees 
on  the  wing,  and  to  observe  their  cleverness  iu  enticing  the  bees  to 
leave  the  hives.  They  work  most  systematically.  If  there  are  thirty 
hives  in  a  row  they  wdll  carefully  examine  the  surroundings  of  each 
to  see  if  there  are  any  stray  bees  that  are  unable  to  return  to  their 
hive.  These  are  at  once  taken  to  the  nearest  tree  and  dissected.  The 
head  and  sting  are  discarded,  and  only  the  abdomen  is  consumed. 
We  have  seen  a  bird  treat  half  a  dozen  bees  in  this  manner  in  less 
than  a  minute  ;  this  was  after  snow,  when  numerous  bees  had  been 
tempted  by  the  bright  sunshine  to  leave  their  hive  and  had  become 
benumbed. 
The  tits,  however,  have  found  out  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  make 
a  noise  at  the  entrance  to  the  hive  to  attract  the  attention  of  some  of 
the  bees.  Thus  they  fly  from  one  alighting  board  to  the  other,  tapping 
with  their  beaks  as  they  alight.  Any  stray  bee  is  immediately  seized 
and  treated  as  described  above.  The  birds  appear  to  be  most  ravenous 
in  this  respect,  and  unless  steps  are  taken  to  destroy  them  it  is  onlv 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  strong  colony  of  bees  may  be  much 
reduced  from  this  cause  alone. 
Sparrows  do  uot  w'atch  the  hives  so  closely  as  the  tits,  as  they 
can  obtain  a  variety  of  food.  It  is,  however,  necessary,  to  take  some 
steps  to  destroy  both  the  tits  and  the  sparrows  where  they  are  so 
troublesome.  The  former  are  easily  taken  in  an  ordinary  V-shaped 
mousetrap  baited  with  meat  or  bread.  We  never  interfere  with  them 
at  any  other  time,  as  they  doubtless  do  much  good  in  other  directions. 
Sparrows  can  also  be  trapped  iu  the  same  manner,  but  they  aie  more 
wary.  If  their  roosting  places  are  observed,  they  may  be  easily  netted 
on  dark  nights. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
F.  Dicks  &  Co.,  66,  Deansgate,  Manchester. — Seeds. 
Dobie  &  Mason,  Oak  Street,  Manchester. — Seeds. 
Hogg  &  Robertson,  22,  Mary  Street,  Dublin. 
E.  W.  King  &  Co.,  Coggeshall,  Essex.— 5eeds. 
J.  Sharpe  &  Son,  Bardney,  Lincoln. — Seeds. 
J.  Turner,  Wetherby,  Yorks. — Seeds,  Plants  and  Trees. 
Vilmorin-Andrieux  &  Co.,  4,  Quai  de  la  Megisserie,  Paris. — Seeds. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  iviltre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street,  Iiondon,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one 
will  writ©  privately  to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking 
information  on  matters  discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so 
subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  depart¬ 
mental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they 
may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post. 
If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any 
particular  authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made 
to  obtain  It  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accom¬ 
panied  by  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will 
neither  be  published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  noms  de  'plume 
are  giveu  for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relahng 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  Insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  ;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  wh  ’h,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Apple  Hollandbury  (D.  TV.).— The  following  description  of  this 
handsome  Apple  is  from  Dr.  Hogg’s  “  Fruit  Manual :  ”  Fruit, 
large,  3f  inches  wide,  and  3  inches  high  ;  roundish  and  flattened,  with 
irregular  and  prominent  angles  or  ribs  extending  from  the  base  to  the 
apex.  Skin,  deep  yellow,  tinged  with  green  on  the  shaded  side,  but 
bright  deep  scarlet  where  exposed  to  the  sun,  generally  exrending 
over  the  whole  surface.  Eye,  closed,  with  long  acuminate  segments 
and  set  in  a  wide  and  deep  basin.  Stalk,  short  and  slender,  inserted  in 
a  deep  funnel-shaped  cavity,  which  is  generally  lined  with  russet. 
Flesh,  white,  with  a  slight  tinge  of  green,  delicate,  tender,  and  .luicy. 
with  a  brisk  and  pleasant  flavour.  A  beautiful  and  showy  Apple  for 
culinary  purposes;  it  is  in  use  from  October  to  Christmas.  The  tree 
is  a  strong  and  vigorous  grower,  but  not  a  very  abundant  bearer.  It 
succeeds  well  on  the  Paradise  stock. 
Average  Crop  of  Mushrooms  (Jardinih-e) .  —A.  full  crop  is,  as  we  have 
determined  by  several  years’  experience.  1  lb.  per  square  foot  of  ^  bed 
surface,  the  Mushrooms  being  full  grown  or  “  broilers.”  Sometimes 
this  rate  of  production  is  exceeded,  though  not  often ;  and  in  most 
cases  “buttons”  are  found  detracting  somewhat  from  the  weight,  yet 
not  always  of  the  value.  There  is,  however,  a  great  difference  m  the 
yield  of  beds,  and  records  of  minimum  produce  are  necessary  to  strike 
an  average.  These  we  cannot  determine.  We  found  4i  lbs.  per 
square  yard  of  bed,  or  half  a  pound  per  square  foot,  profitable  culture. 
At  Ibis  rate  your  bed  of  800  square  feet  should  yield  400  lbs.  or 
Mushrooms. 
Old  Plum  Trees  against  a  Wall  {Idem). — The  procedure  you  illustrate 
and  describe  is  correct  for  trees  making  strong  growth  and  not  pro¬ 
ducing  fruit  for  many  vears.  The  manipulation  of  the  heads  of  the 
trees  also  appears  from  the  sketches  before  and  after  pruning  to  have 
been  judicious  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  we  would  ha^-e  preferred  to  cut  the 
leader  back  one-third  of  its  length  and  the  side  branches  two-thirds, 
and  from  these  taken  forward  well  placed  growths  from  each.  Young 
leading  and  side  branches  would  then  have  been  secured,  which  in  twr) 
or  three  years  would  form  spurs  and  give  fruit  abundantly.  As  it  is, 
the  side  branches  cut  off  close  to  the  stem  cannot  produce  young 
growths,  though  these  may  issue  at  the  point  on  the  stem,  and  the 
more  promising  should  be  retained  in  place  of  the  branches  cutaway, 
having  them  12  inches  asunder.  A  portion  of  the  bushy  head  should 
be  left  on  the  top  of  the  branches,  for  the  object  is,  or  should  be,  tf) 
get  new  growths;  train  them  fan-fashion  from  as  near  the  base  as 
possible,  then  the  trees  will  take  on  a  new  lease  of  life  and  give  good 
fruit. 
