February  15,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
147 
manure.  Heavy  solid  manure  is  not  required,  as  it  tends  to  keep  the 
soil  cold  in  spring,  whereas  it  should  be  able  to  receive  the  warmth  of 
the  spring  sunshine.  Also  attach  the  proper  names  to  each  tree  as 
planted  with  some  legible  permanent  labels. 
Planting  Bush  Fruit. — Where  it  is  intended  to  plant  Gooseberries 
and  Currants  the  work  ought  not  to  be  delayed,  as  they  will  shortly  be 
pushing  into  growth.  Liberally  manured  and  trenched  ground  should  be 
prepared.  Two  or  three-year-old  bushes  may  be  planted  at  a  distance 
of  6  feet  apart.  Single  cordons  for  walls  or  fences  should  be  inserted  a 
foot  asunder.  Those  which  are  to  be  trained  to  three  stems  must  be 
3  feet  apart.  Black  Currants  are  only  grown  as  bushes  because  of  the 
necessity  of  taking  the  crop  from  shoots  of  the  previous  year.  It  is  not 
profitable  to  grow  Black  Currants  as  cordons,  or  to  subject  them  to  the 
same  course  of  pruning  as  is  accorded  to  Bed  Currants. 
Japanese  Wineberry. — This  hardy  fruit-bearing  shrub  bears  small 
red  fruit  of  a  useful  character.  The  shoots  may  be  trained  to  a  trellis, 
similar  to  Easpberries.  The  pruning  consists  in  cutting  away  the 
previous  year’s  shoots  that  have  borne  fruit,  retaining  the  young 
growths,  which  may  be  shortened  to  5  feet  or  less.  The  plants  require 
full  exposure  in  a  sunny  part  of  garden,  and  should  be  planted  in  soil 
of  a  rich  character,  freely  mulched  with  manure  in  summer  to  main¬ 
tain  the  ground  moist  and  cool.  Liquid  manure  is  also  of  assistance  in 
encouraging  strong  growth. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Cherry  House. — The  trees  started  in  December  and  forced  before  will 
be  going  out  of  flower,  and  the  fruit  having  set  may  have  the  night 
temperature  slightly  advanced.  Trees  started  at  the  new  year  and 
forced  for  the  first  time  are  rapidly  unfolding  their  buds.  Before  the 
flowers  expand  the  house  should  be  fumigated,  as  aphides  are  almost 
Certain  to  be  present,  but  the  fumigations  must  be  done  caiefully,  or 
the  blossoms  will  be  more  or  less  injured.  Keep  water  from  the 
blossoms,  but  secure  a  genial  atmosphere  by  damping  the  paths  and 
borders  occasionally. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. — Earliest  House. — The  trees  must  be 
syringed  every  morning  and  afternoon  during  sunny  weather  to  check 
red  spider.  If,  however,  the  weather  be  dull  the  syringing  must  be 
practised  early  in  the  afternoon,  so  that  the  trees  may  become  fairly 
dry  before  night,  or  if  that  does  not  take  place  the  afternoon  syringing 
ought  to  be  dispensed  with,  damping  the  paths  and  borders  instead,  as 
keeping  the  trees  dripping  with  water  through  the  night  causes  weak 
growths  and  thin  foliage.  Continue  disbudding,  taking  care  to  leave  a 
growth  at  the  base  of  each  bearing  shoot  and  another  at  its  extremity, 
or  at  least  level  with  the  fruit.  The  shoots  retained  for  attracting  the 
sap  to  and  supporting  the  fruit  should  be  stopped  at  the  third  leaf, 
but  the  basal  shoots  must  be  trained  to  take  the  place  of  those  now 
bearing  fruit.  The  growths  on  extensions  must  be  left  12  to  15  inches 
distance  apart  to  form  the  bearing  wood  of  the  future  and  for  frammg 
the  trees.  Ventilation  must  be  carefully  done  in  severe  weather, 
avoiding  currents  of  cold  air.  When  the  fruit  is  the  size  of  small 
marbles  thinning  may  proceed.  Water  inside  borders  as  required, 
using  liquid  manure,  which  will  assist  the  trees  in  swelling  the  fruit, 
especially  in  the  case  of  weakly  trees  long  subjected  to  forcing. 
Healthy  trees  will  not  require  any  active  stimulants,  excessive  vigour 
being  unfavourable  to  the  fruit  safely  passing  the  stoning  process. 
Second  Early  House. — Trees  started  early  in  January  have  the 
flowering  rather  prolonged  in  consequence  of  the  somewhat  incle¬ 
ment  weather,  and  fertilisation  may  still  be  practised,  brushing  the 
flowers,  or  distributing  the  pollen  by  shaking  the  trellis.  Admit  air 
on  favourable  occasions,  freely  when  the  external  air  is  mild,  avoiding 
cold  currents  in  severe  weather,  and  providing  a  little  v'entilation 
constantly  at  the  top  of  the  house.  The  night  temperature  should  be 
maintained  at  50°,  and  5°  less  on  cold  nights,  55°  by  day  artificially,  and 
60°  to  65°  from  sun  heat,  not  allowing  a  rise  to  65°  without  a  free 
circulation  of  air.  Syringe  the  trees  when  the  flowers  fade,  but  only 
moderately,  as  excessive  moisture  facilitates  wood  growth  more  than 
the  development  of  the  fruit.  The  moisture  will  assist  the  fruit  to 
throw  cfl:  the  remains  of  the  flowers.  In  dull  weather  a  genial  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  atmosphere  may  be  secured  by  damping  the  surfaces  rather 
than  the  trees  in  the  morning  and  early  afternoon,  an  occasional 
syringing  early  in  the  day  suflBcing  to  keep  red  spider  in  check. 
Houses  Started  Early  in  February. — The  trees  are  now  coming  into 
flower.  Syringing  over  them  must  cease — indeed,  it  should  be 
discontinued  when  the  blossoms  show  colour.  Nevertheless,  maintain 
sufficient  moisture  by  damping  the  paths  and  borders  two  or  three 
times  a  day  as  weather  may  be  advisable,  avoiding  a  close  stagnant 
atmosphere.  If  the  flowers  are  numerous,  thin  them  by  rubbing 
off  those  on  the  back  or  under  side  of  the  trellis,  which  will  strengthen 
the  remainder.  Examine  the  trees  closely,  and  if  there  are  any 
aphides  fumigate  with  tobacco  or  vaporise  with  nicotine,  so  as  to 
destroy  them  before  the  flowers  expand.  Continue  the  temperature  at 
40°  to  45°  at  night  and  50°  by  day,  above  which  ventilate  freely. 
When  flowers  expand  raise  the  temperature  to  50°  at  night,  55°  by  day 
artificially,  and  60°  to  65°  from  sun  heat,  with  free  ventilation.  On 
cold  nights  the  temperature  may  fall  to  46°  or  even  40°,  also  50°  by 
day  in  oull  cold  weather,  allowing  a  little  ventilation  constantly  at  the 
top  of  the  house. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — The  earliest  forced  plants  will  need  the 
fruit  supporting  by  forked  twigs  of  Birch  thrust  into  the  soil,  the  stem 
of  the  truss  being  placed  in  the  fork,  so  that  the  fruit  hangs  clear  of 
the  pot  or  soil.  It  will  thus  acquire  colour  and  quality  better,  and 
be  in  less  danger  of  damping.  Later  plants  having  the  fruit  fairly 
set  will  need  attention  in  removing  all  deformed  fruits,  leaving  the 
most  promising  and  in  number  proportionate  to  the  vigour.  The 
swelling  must  be  aided  by  copious  supplies  of  liquid  manure.  The 
temperature  should  be  60°  to  65°  at  night,  70°  to  75°  by  day,  with 
gleams  of  sun  and  moderate  ventilation,  advancing  5°  to  10°  on 
bright  days.  Avoid  drying  currents  of  air,  as  they  injuriously  affect 
the  swelling  of  the  fruit.  Examine  the  plants  twice  a  day  for 
water,  giving  it  only  to  those  in  need  of  a  supply,  and  always  so  as  to 
moisten  the  soil  through  the  drainage.  Keep  successional  plants  free 
from  aphides,  taking  care  to  have  them  quite  clean  by  the  time  the 
flowers  open.  British  Queen  and  other  late  forcing  varieties  may  now 
be  inti'oduced,  at  the  same  time  starting  proportionate  quantities  of 
the  midseason  or  second  early  varieties,  such  as  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  to 
maintain  the  succession  of  fruit. 
Changing  Floor  Boards. 
We  have  always  advocated  the  use  of  loose  floor  boards  to  hives, 
and  though  our  stocks  have  increased  in  number,  entailing  more  work 
in  the  apiary,  we  do  not  begrudge  the  time  occupied  in  changing  the 
floor  boards  as  often  as  may  be  considered  necessary.  It  is  important 
that  this  matter  receive  due  attention  at  this  season,  when  rain,  sleet, 
or  snow  is  of  daily  occurrence,  as  however  carefully  a  hive  may  be 
made  there  is  often  an  accumulation  of  moisture  on  the  floor  board. 
This  is  usually  found  at  the  corntrs  of  the  hive. 
The  plan  we  adopt  is  to  have  all  our  hives  of  the  same  size.  The 
floor  boards  are  thus  interchangeable,  and  as  we  always  have  some 
extra  ones  on  hand  there  is  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  dry  board  when 
required.  We  have  recently  placed  dry  floor  boards  to  the  majority 
of  our  hives.  It  was  not  all  done  at  once,  but  a  tew  minutes  sufficed 
to  do  half  a  dozen  hives,  the  number  of  dry  boards  we  had  in 
readiness.  The  dry  board  was  first  placed  on  the  stand  by  the  side 
ot  the  hive,  which  was  lifted  bodily  with  both  hands  and  placed  on  it. 
The  original  board  was  removed  and  the  hive  placed  in  position.  This 
was  continued  from  one  end  of  a  long  row  of  hives. 
The  floor  boards  thus  removed  were  thoroughly  cleaned  and  dried, 
and  were  then  used  for  other  hives,  an  operation  which  takes  up 
much  less  time  than  some  bee-keepers  would  imagine,  and  adds  greatly 
to  the  well-being  of  the  bees.  If  the  floor  board  is  fixed  to  the  hive  it  is 
impossible  to  attend  to  them  in  this  manner,  as  it  would  not  be 
advisable  to  remove  the  combs  and  disturb  the  bees  at  this  season, 
although  in  many  instances  if  such  hives  were  examined  they  would 
not  be  found  in  a  satisfactory  condition. 
Reducing  Entrances. 
After  the  spell  of  changeable  weather,  with  little  sunshine  a  higher 
temperature  will  probably  prevail.  Bees  will  be  continually  on  the 
wing,  and  breeding  will  commence  in  strong  colonies.  It  will, 
therefore  be  advisable  to  reduce  the  entrance  to  all  the  hives,  so  as 
to  keep  them  as  warm  as  possible.  As  we  have  stated  in  previous 
1  otes,  the  whole  of  our  hives  have  their  entrances  left  fully  open 
throughout  the  winter.  At  this  season,  however,  we  reduce  them  to 
1  inch  or  less.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  do  this  after  dry  floor  boards 
liave  been  given  to  each  hive,  they  will  then  not  require  removing 
until  the  spring  is  advanced,  when  a  thorough  overhaul  of  all  the 
hives  may  be  made. 
There  is  another  reason  why  the  entrance  should  be  reduce 
during  the  spring  months,  not  only  for  warmth,  but  to  prevent 
robbing.  If  there  is  a  weak  colony,  and  it  will  always  be  found  that 
some  stocks  are  stronger  than  others  at  this  season,  it  will  be  attacked 
end  all  the  stores  removed  before  the  b^ e-keeper  is  aware  of  it.  The 
bees  stand  no  chance  if  the  entrance  is  fully  open,  but  when  it  is 
reduced  so  that  only  one  bee  can  pass  at  a  time  they  are  able  to 
])rotect  their  stores,  and  probably  by  midsummer  they  will  be  in  as 
good  condition  as  the.  colony,  which  at  this  season  appeared  so  much 
stronger. 
On  removing  the  floor  boards  a  great  difference  will  be  found  in 
them.  Some  will  be  quite  free  of  dead  bees,  whereas  others  will 
have  numerous  dead  bees  nearly  blocking  the  entrance.  This  will 
arise  from  a  variety  of  causes,  but  it  is  more  often  observed  after  a 
1.  ng  spell  of  cold  dull  weather,  when  the  bees  have  been  confined  to 
their  hives  for  several  weeks. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
