March  1.  190^^. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
187 
trees,  and  hang  them  among  the  branches.  Remove  suckers  spring¬ 
ing  from  round  the  bushes.  If  more  bushes  are  required  to  be 
established  plant  compact  suckers  about  2  feet  high. 
Wall  Trees. — Finish  the  pruning  and  nailing  of  all  trees  upon  walls, 
endeavouring  if  possible  to  afford  ample  room  for  the  branches  by 
removing  crowded  ones,  even  if  those  remaining  are  situated  at  greater 
distances  than  absolutely  essential.  It  is  better  that  they  should  be 
thinly  placed  than  overcrowded.  Rank  growth  of  spurs  or  clumps  of 
spurs  is  another  evil  which  to  some  extent  may  be  rectified  by  the 
bold  removal  of  every  other  clump.  It  is  not  advisable  to  practise  too 
much  pruning  at  one  operation,  but  to  proceed  gradually  where  cases 
call  for  more  than  ordinary  treatment.  The  removal  of  old  inert  soil 
from  over  the  roots  will  in  some  cases  be  advisable,  substituting  fresh 
compost. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Cherry  House. — Ventilation  is  an  important  factor  in  the  cultivation 
of  Cherries  under  glass.  A  free  circulation  of  air  should  pass  through 
the  house  wherever  the  temperature  exceeds  50°,  the  amount  of  air 
being  regulated  by  the  conditions  of  the  external  atmosphere.  Employ 
fire  heat  only  to  prevent  the  temperature  falling  below  50°  in  the  day¬ 
time,  and  to  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  40°  to  45°  in  the  house 
when  the  trees  are  in  flower.  Attend  to  fertilising  the  blossoms. 
Fumigation  must  not  be  resorted  to  whilst  the  trees  are  in  flower,  but 
will  be  necessary  as  soon  as  the  fruit  is  set.  It  is  also  requisite  to 
watch  closely  for  the  appearance  of  grubs,  one  kind  rolling  itself  up  in 
the  leaves,  and  can  be  eradicated  by  squeezing;  but  the  other  encases 
itself  in  a  sort  of  web  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  giving  them  a 
scorched  appearance,  and  from  these  it  passes  to  the  clusters  of  fruit, 
perforating  and  destroying  them.  The  only  means  of  extirpation  is  to 
examine  the  trees  occasionally  and  destroy  the  caterpillars. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines.- — Earliest  Forced  House. — The  fruit  has 
nearly  completed  the  first  swelling,  and  will  soon  enter  on  the  stoning 
process.  If  the  thinning  has  been  properly  attended  to  there  will  be 
about  one  fruit  of  the  larger  Peaches  to  every  square  foot  of  trellis 
covered  by  the  trees.  Nectarines  and  Peaches  not  of  the  first  size  may 
be  left  a  little  closer.  There  is  danger,  however,  of  the  fruit  falling  if 
too  many  are  left,  but  this  depends  greatly  on  the  wood  being  well 
ripened  and  the  otherwise  healthy  condition  of  the  trees.  If  there  be 
more  fruit  than  specified  above  remove  the  smaller.  During  the  stoning 
process  keep  the  temperature  as  equable  as  possible,  as  a  sudden  check 
by  draughts  of  cold  air  in  the  daytime  and  too  high  a  temperature  at 
night  may  prove  disastrous.  The  night  temperature  may  range  from 
60°  to  65°,  but  5°  less  will  be  safe  in  severe  weather;  70°  to  75°  by  day 
with  sun  heat,  and  about  65°  by  artificial  means  when  the  atmosphere 
is  cold  and  the  sky  overcast.  Secure  the  shoots  to  the  trellis  as  they 
advance,  keeping  those  retained  to  attract  the  sap  to  the  fruit  stopped 
at  the  second  or  third  joint.  Keep  red  spider  in  check  by  syringing  in 
the  morning  and  afternoon  of  fine  days.  If  thrips  and  brown  aphides 
appear  fumigate  carefully  when  the  foliage  is  quite  dry.  For  destroying 
the  insects  named  there  are  a  number  of  advertised  insecticides,  all 
suitable  for  their  respective  applications.  Afford  due  supplies  of  water 
to  inside  borders,  or  if  the  trees  are  at  all  weak  liquid  manure  in  a 
properly  diluted  and  warmed  condition. 
Second  Early  Forced  House. — Disbud  gradually,  removing  the  ill- 
placed  and  unnecessary  shoots,  not  reserving  too  many  of  the  best 
situated  and  most  desirable,  and  tie  down  the  growths  early,  so  as  to 
give  them  the  desired  inclination,  allowing  sufficient  room  for 
swelling  in  the  ligatures.  Thin  the  fruit  by  degrees,  first  removing 
those  on  the  under  side  of  the  branches  or  otherwise  badly  placed,  but 
leave  those  in  the  best  positions  for  receiving  light  and  air  until  they 
indicate  by  free  swelling  the  need  for  further  reduction,  then  remove 
the  smaller,  and  so  on  until  only  a  few  piore  than  are  required  for  the 
crop  are  left.  Syringe  the  trees  on  fine  mornings,  and  ventilate  early 
in  favourable  weather.  The  temperature  may  range  from  55°  to  60°  at 
night,  60°  to  65°  by  day,  ventilating  at  the  latter  temperature,  and 
closing  the  house  when  the  heat  is  declining,  allowing  an  advance  of 
5°  to  10°  from  sun  heat.  Supply  water  as  required,  but  avoid  making 
the  soil  very  wet  at  this  early  stage,  for  it  only  induces  soft  growths. 
Houses  Started  in  February. — Trees  started  early  in  the  month  are 
now  in  flower.  As  in  many  cases  ther6  will  be  more  flowers  than 
needed,  all  those  on  the  under  side  of  the  shoots  may  be  removed  by 
drawing  the  hand  the  reverse  way  of  the  growths,  and  where  the 
blossoms  are  closely  set  they  may  be  still  further  reduced,  especially 
on  the  weaker  shoots.  A  night  temperature  of  50°  to  55°,  and  55°  by 
day  artificially,  is  suitable,  falling  5°  on  cold  nights,  ventilating  from 
50°,  as  a  close  atmosphere  is  fatal  to  the  blossoms,  freely  at  55°,  and 
allow  an  advance  to  65°  from  sun  heat.  Fertilise  the  flowers  in  the 
early  part  of  fine  days,  either  by  shaking  the  trellis  or  dusting  the 
blossoms  with  a  camel’s-hair  brush  charged  with  pollen.  It  is  the 
better  plan  to  pay  attention  to  each  individual  flower  when  its  pollen 
is  ripe.  Cease  syringing  when  the  trees  are  in  flower,  but  the  floor  and 
border  should  be  sprinkled  morning  and  afternoon. 
Houses  to  Afford  Ripe  Fruit  in  July  and  August. — These  must  now  be 
closed,  syringing  occasionally  until  the  buds  show  colour,  when  it  should 
be  discontinued.  The  borders  must  be  brought  into  a  thoroughly  moist 
state  by  repeated  waterings  if  necessary,  supplying  liquid  manure  to 
weak  trees.  If  the  lights  have  been  off  during  the  winter  the  borders 
will  not  require  watering  until  the  fruit  is  set  and  advanced  in  swelling. 
When  the  buds  are  sufficiently  advanced,  and  when  there  is  a  super¬ 
abundance  of  promise  for  fruit,  all  those  on  the  under  or  back  of  the 
shoots  may  be  removed,  which  will  strengthen  those  that  remain  and 
conduce  to  a  good  set  of  fruit.  Maintain  a  temperature  of  40°  to  45° 
at  night,  50°  by  day,  with  a  little  air,  advancing  to  65°  with  sun  and 
full  ventilation. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — The  earliest  plants  are  ripening  their  fruit, 
and  when  it  changes  colour  a  drier  and  more  freely  ventilated  atmo¬ 
sphere  is  desirable,  but  there  must  be  no  sudden  change.  The 
temperature  for  inducing  the  fruit  to  swell  should  be  60°  to  65°  at 
night,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day,  advancing  to  85°  or  more  from  sun  heat. 
Plants  in  vineries  and  Peach  houses  which  are  started  periodically  will 
afford  successional  supplies  of  fruit,  there  being  no  need  to  move  the 
plants  except  to  meet  special  requirements.  Introduce  plants  to  the 
shelves  of  late  fruit  houses,  which  suit  the  late  forcing  varieties. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
Creating  a  Demand  for  Honey. 
Bee-keepers  have  sometimes  a  difficulty  in  finding  a  market  for 
their  produce,  as  the  competition  is  much  keener  than  it  was  a  few 
years  ago.  Producers,  however,  have  often  themselves  to  hlame  for 
this  state  of  affairs.  The  chief  cause  is  disposing  of  the  produce  early 
in  the  season  at  a  low  price,  instead  of  holding  it  until  a  demand 
arises.  Neglect  in  grading  the  different  samples,  and  carelessness  in 
the  small  details  of  management,  the  wood  of  the  sections  being 
discoloured  with  propolis,  are  also  factors  towards  this  undesirable  end, 
while  using  bottles  and  jars  without  any  attempt  at  neatness  or 
uniffirmity  is  also  an  error. 
These  are  a  few  of  the  causes  why  bee-keepers  sometimes  find 
their  produce  a  drug  in  the  market.  No  opportunity  should  be  lost 
in  endeavouring  to  create  a  demand  for  honey.  There  are  several, 
ways  in  which  this  may  be  done.  For  example,  making  it  known 
locally  that  genuine  honey  may  be  obtained  in  the  district.  This  and 
placing  it  in  suitable  packages  will  usually  have  the  desired  effect. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  only  honey  of  good  quality  is  offered  in  this 
manner ;  there  must  be  no  cause  of  complaint,  and  customers  will 
return.  It  is  surprising  the  quantity  that  may  be  disposed  of  by 
working  on  these  lines. 
We  have  been  induced  to  make  these  remarks  owing  to  the  com¬ 
plaints  sometimes  heard  from  bee-keepers  who  will  not  take  reasonable 
trouble  to  place  their  produce  before  the  public  in  the  best  possible 
manner.  Quite  recently  we  saw  some  sections  of  honey  which  had 
been  sold  to  a  provincial  dealer  at  a  cheap  rate  ;  some  were  unsatis¬ 
factory.  whereas  others  were  really  first-class.  The  wood  of  many  of 
them  was  much  discoloured,  as  no  attem[)t  had  been  made  to  clean 
it,  which  would  have  improved  their  appearance;  nor  had  they 
been  graded.  Had  this  been  done  it  would  have  been  better  for  the 
producer,  the  retailer,  and  the  consumer.  The  former  would  have 
obtained  a  better  price,  the  retailer  would  doubtless  have  done  more 
trade,  and  the  consumer  would  be  more  likely  to  buy  extensively. 
Treatment  of  Honey. 
The  manipulation  of  run  honey  requires  some  attention  if  the  best 
results  are  to  be  obtained.  Grading  the  various  s  imples  is  even  more 
important  than  when  handling  comb  honey.  We  have  known  bee¬ 
keepers  mix  dark  and  light  honey  together  with  the  intention  of 
making  a  good  sample.  his  is  a  plan  not  to  be  recommended, 
as  the  result  is  invariably  an  inferior  sample. 
During  a  favourable  season  when  the  honey  is  obtained  from 
various  sources  it  is  not  often  that  any  two  samples  are  exactly  alike. 
4  he  honey  from  field  Beans  is  brown,  and  should  be  kept  separate 
from  the  honey  of  lighter  colour.  We  prefer  to  keep  a  sample  oi  each 
until  the  bulk  is  disposed  of.  It  can  then  be  examined  at  any  time 
with  the  knowledge  that  the  stock  remaining  will  be  of  the  same 
quality.  Ripe  honey  will  granulate,  and  it  is  interesting  to  observe 
that  retailers  now  realise  that  this  is  a  mark  of  genuinenes.s.  Heat 
in  some  form  or  the  other  is  necessary  if  it  is  required  to  keep  the 
honey  in  a  liquid  condition.  We  have  sometimes  placed  the  glass 
jars  of  honey  in  the  sun  for  a  few  hours,  which  had  the  desired  effect. 
The  simplest  plan,  however,  is  to  place  the  vessel  containing  the 
honey  in  hot  water  until  the  whole  is  dissolved. 
If  properly  treated  it  will  not  granulate,  and  will  keep  in  good 
condition  as  long  as  required.  We  do  not  recommend  unripe  honey 
to  be  treated  in  this  manner ;  although  soiiie  bee-keepers  who  are  more 
anxious  for  quantity  than  quality  extract  the  honey  from  the  combs 
before  it  is  ripe.  They  then  endeavour  to  improve  on  nature  by 
ripening  it  artificially  by  using  heat  and  allowing  the  moisture  to 
evaporate.  This  is  not  a  success,  and  has  done  much  harm  to  bee¬ 
keeping  in  this  country. — An  Englisii  Bee-keeper. 
