208 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  8,  1900. 
-occur.  If  seed  sown  early  in  the  open  is  not  giving  many  plants  more 
seed  ought  at  once  to  he  sown  under  glass,  the  plants  properly  treated 
hearting  in  early  next  summer. 
Carrots. — Those  who  have  sown  seeds  on  mild  hotbeds  with  or 
without  the  protection  of  glazed  lights,  will  most  probably  have  good 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  results  of  their  labour,  as  the  earliest 
open  air  crops  will  be  later  than  usual  and  thin.  It  is  not  yet  too  late 
to  utilise  a  mild  hotbed  for  an  early  crop  of  Horn  Carrots. 
Radishes. — Seeds  sown  in  large  beds  and  protected  with  straw, 
market  growers’  fashion,  have  germinated  most  satisfactorily.  The 
plants  should  be  dusted  over  as  often  as  necessary  with  soot  and  lime 
to  keep  off  slugs,  and  the  covering  of  straw  be  hovered  over  them 
every  evening,  this  protecting  them  from  cold  winds  as  well  as  frost. 
Sow  more  seed  and  treat  similarly. 
m  BEE-KEEPER. 
I  -  I  ■  1  - 1  -V 
The  Late  Spring. 
In  consequence  of  the  severe  weather  experienced  during  the  past 
month  vegetation  is  very  backward.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising 
to  find  a  great  scarcity  of  early  spring  flowers  throughout  the 
Midlands.  Usually  at  this  date — the  end  of  February — wo  have  had  them 
in  abundance.  Now  the  only  flowers  to  be  found  in  the  open  borders 
where  no  protection  has  been  given  are  the  Winter  Aconites. 
Although  the  blooms  were  fully  expanded  before  the  heavy  fall  of 
snow  and  the  severe  frost  came,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  suffered 
in  the  least.  In  sheltered  positions  Snowdrops  are  "just  coming  into 
bloom.  These  and  a  few  Cnristmas  Hoses  are  the  only  hardy  flowers 
at  present. 
Having  in  past  years  planted  many  thousands  of  bulbs  and  plants 
for  the  adornment  of  the  garden,  which  are  bright  iu  their  season  and 
beneficial  to  the  bees,  we  are  enabled  to  form  a  fairly  correct  opinion 
as  to  their  early  flowering  or  otherwise.  Last  year  at  this  date  there 
were  large  masses  of  Crocuses  in  bloom ;  also  Arabis  alpina,  Myosotis 
dissitiflora,  Primroses,  Violets,  and  the  earlier  sown  Wallflowers 
were  showing  their  first  flowers. 
After  the  excessive  rainfall  experienced  during  the  past  month  the 
land  will  be  in  a  wet  and  cold  condition  for  some  time  to  come ;  and 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  flowers  the  garden  will  doubtless  have  a 
somewhat  gloomy  ajipearance.  The  plants,  however,  will  bloom  with 
greater  freedom,  and  as  the  days  lengthen  the  sun  will  bo  ■  more 
powerful.  This  will  be  an  advantage  to  bee-keepers,  as  should  the 
weather  be  favourable  bees  will  make  great  headway,  as  there  will  be 
an  abundance  of  pollen.  Much  of  this  is  wasted  early  in  the  season 
when  the  flowers  are  early  and  the  bees  have  not  commenced 
breeding. 
POLLEN-PRODUCING  TREES. 
The  early  spring  is  a  suitable  season  for  planting  either  hardy 
trees,  shrubs,  and  plants,  which  will  not  only  beautify  the  garden  or 
woodland,  but  will  benefit  the  bees.  Planting  should  not  be  attempted 
until  the  land  is  in  fit  condition.  Amongst  early  pollen-producing 
trees  we  would  mention  the  common  Palm  Willow.  It  is  one  of  the 
earliest  and  best  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  lasting  a  long  time 
in  good  condition.  It  may  be  planted  in  any  out  of  the  wav'  damp 
position,  and  will  thrive  where  only  the  Salix  will  succeed.  The 
common  Barberry  may  be  planted  in  the  shrubberry  or  woodland,  and 
being  a  dwarf  growing  shrub  it  will  not  take  up  much  room.  It 
produces  an  abundance  of  pollen  at  a  season  when  it  is  most  useful 
to  the  bees,  and  is  umall}'  in  flower  before  the  Palm  Willow  is  quite 
over. 
The  above  are  succeeded  by  the  Box  tree.  Although  this  is  not 
usually  classed  as  a  pollen  producer,  it  is  ready  one  of  the  best  for 
late  spring.  We  have  numerous  bushes  near  our  apiary  ;  some  of 
them  are  of  a  great  age,  and  during  the  time  they  are  in  flower  they 
are  much  visited  by  the  bees.  Unfortunately,  they  do  not  bloom  in 
a  young  state.  The  same  fault  may  be  found  with  the  Lime  tree, 
one  of  the  best  late  honey-producing  trees  in  this  country.  We  would 
recommend  the  Lime  tree  to  be  planted  extensively,  not  only  for  the 
above  good  quality,  but  also  for  its  handsome  appearance,  either  as  a 
single  specimen  or  as  an  avenue  tree. 
The  Almond  should  not  be  omitted,  as  when  planted  singly  in 
prominent  positions  they  have  a  very  showy  appearance  whilst  in 
bloom,  and  the  bees  work  freely  on  the  blossoms.  Apples,  Pears, 
Apricots,  and  Plums,  as  well  as  the  various  small  fruits,  are  much 
frequented  by  the  bees,  and  need  no  description  here.  Of  late  years 
we  have  planted  the  Siberian  Crab  and  its  varieties  as  single  specimens. 
These  have  a  handsome  appearance  whilst  in  bloom,  and  when  they 
are  laden  with  fruit,  as  well  as  being  beneficial  to  the  bees. — 
An  English  Bee-keepee. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
E.  H.  Bath,  Ltd.,  Wisbech. — Plants  and  Seeds. 
E.  P.  Dixon  &  Sons,  Hull. — Farm  Seeds. 
Kent  &  Brydon,  Darlington. — Farm  Seeds. 
E.  H.  Krelage  &  Son,  Haarlem. — Novelties, 
Ail  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “The  Editor,”  xz,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street,  Xondon,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one 
will  write  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  flume 
are  given  for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
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  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Tulips  not  Opening  Satisfactorily  (Temperance). — The  plants  are  in 
good  condition  at  the  roots,  the  bulbs  quite  sound,  the  stems  and 
foliage  healthy,  and  there  does  not  appear  any  defect  of  condition 
calculated  from  a  cultural  point  of  view  to  account  for  the  flowers  not 
expanding  properly.  One  of  the  blooms  had  very  thin  and  even 
shrivelled  petals,  but  beyond  that  no  trace  of  disease  was  discovered. 
The  other  flower  was  more  or  less  decayed,  and  on  parts  there  was 
a  mould,  named  by  fungolo^ists  Botrytis  Candida.  Whether  the  cause 
or  the  consequence  of  the  condition  of  affairs,  it  is  injurious  to  blossoms 
and  even  fruits  of  Strawberries  and  many  other  flow'ers  in  a  damp 
atmosphere.  The  only  preventive,  for  there  is  no  remedy,  is  to  avoid 
a  close  stagnant  atmosphere  by  judicioirs  ventilation.  The  weather 
lately  has  been  such  as  not  to  admit  of  much  ventilation,  hence  the 
damp  and  favouring  conditions  for  the  development  of  the  fungus. 
Cucumber  Plant  Unsatisfactory  (Cross). — The  specimen  has  been 
carefully  examined,  but  no  trace  of  animal  or  vegetable  parasite  dis¬ 
covered  in  the  plant  or  on  the  roots.  The  young  rootlets,  however, 
are  more  or  less  brown  and  dead,  but  whether  caused  by  deleterious 
bodies  in  the  soil,  over-watering,  or  something  organic  we  are  unable  to 
determine  at  the  present  stage.  The  fibrelets  are  rusted  and  the  plant 
suffers  in  growth  through  loss  of  imbibing  power.  The  rust  may  have 
been  caused  by  water  containing  an  excess  of  iron,  or  the  water  may 
have  been  too  cold  and  given  a  chill.  A  sprinkling  of  air-slaked  chalk 
lime  and  soot  in  equal  parts  by  measure,  mixed,  would,  we  think, 
improve  the  soil,  using  4  ozs.  per  square  yard  on  planted-out  stock,  or 
half  a  pound  may  be  mixed  with  a  cubic  foot  of  soil  before  planting,  or 
sprinkle  occasionally  on  the  surface  after  planting,  the  watering 
sufficing  to  wash  it  in.  A  good  handful  of  the  mixture  per  square  yard 
is  sufficient  at  a  time,  and  about  every  three  weeks  often  enough. 
Paeonies  from  Seeds  (C.  B.  T.). — The  seeds  you  bought  were  probably 
good.  The  proper  time  to  sow  seeds  of  Pseonies  is  in  September,  in 
pans  containing  good  loamy  soil,  covering  the  seeds  with  fine  soil  a  little 
deeper  than  the  diameter  of  the  seeds,  placing  in  a  cold  frame  or  pit, 
and  keeping  moist.  Some  of  the  plants  will  appear  the  first  and  others 
the  second  spring  after  sowing;  therefore,  the  seed  pans  should  be  kept 
until  the  autumn  of  the  second  year,  when  you  will  have  all  the  plants 
that  will  appear,  and  they  may  then  be  pricked  out  in  good  rich  soil  in 
a  somewhat  sheltered  situation  outdoors,  planting  them  in  rows  a  foot 
apart,  and  allowing  6  inches  distance  between  the  plants.  A  mulching 
of  leaf  soil  or  well  decayed  manure  after  planting  will  act  as  protection, 
and  assist  the  growth  another  season.  After  they  have  grown  a  year 
or  two  they  may  be  planted  out  where  they  are  to  remain,  or  they 
may  stay  in  the  original  bed  to  flower.  Transplant  with  all  roots 
possible.  You  will  see  that  raising  Pseonies  from  seed  is  not  a  quick 
process,  and  most  persons  prefer  to  purchase  plants,  which  are  not 
expensive,  from  a  hardy  plant  nurseryman. 
