April  26,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
361 
obtain  a  foothold  something  stronger  than  water  must  be  used.  Tobacco 
powder  may  be  dusted  upon  infested  foliage,  and  washed  off  next  day. 
A  good  insecticide  consists  of  softsoap  and  quassia  chips.  Dissolve  a 
quarter  of  stone  of  softsoap  in  50  gallons  of  water,  and  to  this  add  the 
extract  of  5  lbs.  of  quassia  chips,  this  solution  being  made  by  soaking 
the  chips  in  cold  water  for  the  previous  twenty-four  hours.  It  may 
also  be  obtained  by  boiling  the  chips. 
The  advertised  insecticides  may  be  used  with  good  effects,  following 
the  instructions  offered  for  their  preparation.  As  a  rule  they  simply 
require  mixing  with  warm  water,  and  to  economise  the  distribution 
employ  a  spraying  machine. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
Cherry  House.  —  When  the  stoning  has  been  completed  the  fruit 
will  commence  colouring,  then  syringing  must  cease,  and  not  be  had 
recourse  to  again  until  the  trees  are  cleared  of  their  crops.  A  good 
moisture,  however,  should  be  maintained  in  the  house  by  keeping  the 
Surface  of  the  border  moist,  or  if  the  trees  are  in  pots  damping  the 
floor  two  or  three  times  a  day.  The  temperature  must  not  exceed 
65°  by  artificial  means,  and  55°  to  60°  at  night,  with  a  little  ventilation, 
increasing  it  at  65°,  liberally  at  70°,  and  not  allowing  it  to  rise  above 
76°  without  free  ventilation,  closing  at  70°,  subject  to  leaving  a  little 
air  on  constantly  at  the  top  of  the  house.  The  borders  must  not  lack 
water,  and  liquid  manure  may  be  given  to  trees  in  pots.  Aphides  must 
be  kept  under,  fumigation  or  vaporisation  being  the  only  safe  process 
after  the  fruit  commences  ripening. 
Cucumbers. — Attend  to  tying  the  shoots,  stopping  at  one  or  two 
joints  beyond  the  fruit,  removing  bad  leaves  and  exhausted  growths  so 
as  to  maintain  a  succession  of  bearing  shoots.  Water  plants  in  houses 
abundantly,  and  with  weak  liquid  manure  about  twice  a  week,  syringing 
the  foliage  and  walls  about  3  30  p.m.,  when  the  house  may  be  closed. 
Preserve  a  night  temperature  of  65°  to  70°,  70°  to  75°  by  day  artificially, 
80°  to  85°  or  90°  from  sun  heat,  ventilating  from  75°,  being  careful  to 
avoid  cold  currents.  Close  sufficiently  early  to  run  up  to  90°,  95°,  or 
even  100°,  with  abundance  of  atmospheric  moisture  in  the  house. 
Sprinkle  the  floors  occasionally  with  liquid  manure  in  the  evening,  or  a 
little  sweetened  horse  droppings  on  the  surface  of  the  bed  will  supply 
ammonia  to  the  atmosphere,  nutriment  to  the  soil,  and  encourage 
surface  roots. 
Pits  and  Frames. — Plants  in  these  will  hardly  need  shading  as  yet, 
but  the  foliage  must  not  be  allowed  to  flag.  Use  tepid  water  through 
a  fine  rose  watering  pot  at  about  3  p.m.  over  the  foliage,  a  light 
sprinkling  sufficing,  closing  the  lights  at  the  same  time,  but  as  the 
nights  are  as  yet  cold,  be  careful  that  the  foliage  becomes  fairly  dry 
before  night.  Close  early,  and  employ  a  thick  night  covering.  Main¬ 
tain  a  good  bottom  heat  by  linings,  renewing  them  as  necessary.  Pot 
or  sow  ridge  varieties  if  not  already  done,  keeping  these  and  other 
young  plants  near  the  glass. 
Melons. — As  the  fruits  of  the  earliest  plants  increase  in  size  the 
supports  must  be  lowered  or  otherwise  adjusted.  Stop  the  laterals 
frequently,  or  thin  them  where  crowded.  Supply  water  or  liquid 
manure  liberally  to  plants  on  which  the  fruits  are  growing  rapidly, 
but  avoid  excess  of  either,  espec  ally  liquid  manure,  which  may  injure 
the  roots,  and  the  fruits  in  consequence  will  not  finish  satisfactorily. 
Plants  coming  into  flower  should  only  have  sufficient  water  to  prevent 
flagging,  and  a  drier  condition  of  the  atnfosphere  is  essential  to  a  good 
set,  especially  in  the  case  of  very  vigorous  plants.  Attend  regularly  to 
the  setting  of  the  blossoms,  and  stop  the  shoots  one  joint  beyond  the 
fruit  when  impregnated,  removing  all  superfluous  growths  after  the 
fruit  is  set.  Avoid  giving  stimulants  to  plants  until  the  fruit  is 
swelling,  when  liquid  manure  may  be  applied  liberally,  especially  to 
plants  carrying  heavy  crops,  continuing  the  supplies  until  they  are  well 
advanced  towards  ripening.  Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  65°  to  70°, 
70°  to  75°  by  day,  and  80“  to  90°  with  sun  heat,  closing  early,  when  the 
plants  may  be  syringed,  except  when  in  flower  and  the  fruit  ripening. 
If  canker  appear  rub  quicklime  into  the  affected  parts. 
Peaches  and  Neectarines. — Earliest  Forced  House, — The  earliest 
varieties  are  now  ripening,  and  the  trees  should  not  be  syringed,  but  the 
border  must  not  be  allowed  to  become  dry.  Syringing  the  trees  in  the 
morning  has  a  less  prejudicial  effect  than  afternoon,  but  after  the  fruit 
commences  ripening,  water  lodging  on  the  surface  is  apt  to  cause  the 
skin  to  crack,  and  fungi  readily  avail  themselves  of  their  opportunities, 
and  impart  a  musty  flavour,  even  when  not  of  a  parasitic  nature,  “  spot” 
often  resulting  from  water  resting  on  the  fruit  for  a  time  at  this  stage. 
As  the  fruit  of  the  other  Varieties  will  not  be  ripe  for  some  time  yet, 
the  atmosphere  must  be  kept  genial  by  sprinkling  the  borders  and  paths 
as  they  become  dry,  syringing  the  trees  in  the  morning,  and  again 
when  closing  the  house.  The  night  temperature  may  be  kept  at  65°  to 
70°,  but  5°  less,  though  it  will  retard  the  ripening,  will  not  tax  the 
energies  of  the  trees  so  much  as  the  higher  .temperature.  Leaving  the 
ventilators  slightly  open  constantly  at  the  upper  part  of  the  house  will 
be  an  advantage.  In  the  daytime,  70°  to  75°  by  artificial  means,  and 
10°  or  15°  more  with  sun  heat,  will  be  suitable  temperatures. 
Trees  Stoning  the  Fruit. — Avoid  a  high  temperature  and  sudden 
fluctuations  at  this  stage,  not  hurrying  the  trees;  a  temperature  of  60° 
to  65°  at  night  is  ample,  and  70°  to  75“^  by  day.  A  little  air  left  on  all 
night  will  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  on  the  foliage  to  any 
serious  extent.  Enlarge  the  openings  when  the  sun  acts  on  the  house, 
yet  without  lowering  the  temperature,  which  should  advance  with’th© 
increased  power  of  the  sun,  and  a  corresponding  increase  of  ventilation. 
Fumigation  or  vaporisation  should,  if  possible,  be  avoided.  The  former 
dries  the  atmosphere,  and  not  infrequently  cripples  the  foliage,  when 
the  fruit,  from  the  check,  may  be  seriously  imperilled  and  fall.  Early 
closing  is  an  advantage,  but  it  must  not  be  done  to  the  extent  of  undue 
excitement.  It  is  also  advisable  to  allow  a  little  extra  latitude  to  the 
growth,  but  on  no  account  permit  foliao'e  to  be  made  that  must  after¬ 
wards  be  removed  in  large  amounts.  The  growths  should  be  secured 
in  position  as  they  advance. 
Trees  Swelling  their  Fruit. — In  the  early  stases,  and  up  to  the 
stoning  process,  the  fruit  swells  rapidly.  The  swelling  of  the  fruits  is 
materially  accelerated  by  the  maintenance  of  a  genial  condition  of  the 
atmosphere  and  the  means  employed  to  secure  a  good  root  action,  which 
is  best  effected  by  a  judicious  and  gradual  regulation  of  the  growth  by 
the  process  of  disbudding  and  in  thinning  the  fruits.  These  operations 
should  be  done  carefully.  The  more  vigorous  the  tree  the  greater 
the  danger  of  the  fruit  being  cast  in  stoning,  and  the  evil  is  often 
aggravated  by  previously  disbudding  severely,  which  favours  strong 
growth  more  than  steady  progress.  Supply  water  thoroughly  to  inside 
borders  when  necessary,  lay-in  the  shoots,  so  as  to  induce  growth  in 
proper  direction,  allowing  room  in  the  ligatures  for  the  swelling  of  the 
growths.  After  the  fruit  has  stoned  it  takes  the  last  swelling,  when 
the  shoots  should  be  well  tied  down,  but  a  moderate  extension  of  the 
growths  will  materially  aid  the  fruit  in  swelling.  Any  leaves  that 
shade  fruit  should  be  drawn  aside  or  shortened,  and  fruits  on  the  under 
side  or  back  of  the  trellis  be  raised  on  pieces  of  laths  placed  across  the 
wires,  so  that  their  apices  will  be  exposed  to  the  light. 
1 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
♦ ,  .  ,  ■  1  ...  1  ,  1  -  1  .  r.T~«  i-.-TTi  .1  .  1  .  1 .  i  .  i- 1 
a 
Swarming. 
Is  it  an  advantage  to  allow  the  bees  to  swarm  ?  We  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  majority  of  bee-keepers  who  are  readers  of  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  are  anxious  to  obtain  as  large  a  surplus  of 
honey  as  possible.  We  presume,  too,  that  a  great  percentage  of  them 
keep  their  bees  in  the  modern  bar-frame  hive.  Where  such  is  the 
case  we  answer  the  above  query  in  the  negative.  We  do  not  go  as 
far  as  to  say  that  it  is  not  possible  to  obtain  both  swarms  and  honey 
the  ^  ame  season  from  a  stock,  but  bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  the 
honey  flow  only  lasts  such  a  short  time,  we  do  not  recommend  the 
system  of  encouraging  swarms  from  frame  hives.  If  an  increase  of 
stocks  is  desired  a  better  plan  is  to  divide  them  as  soon  as  a  stock  is 
well  crowded  with  bees. 
If  frame  hives  are  used,  holding  not  leas  than  ten  standard  frames, 
they  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  be  filled  with  brood  and  crowded 
with  bees,  this  season,  before  the  end  of  May.  They  may  be  assisted, 
although  there  are  ample  sealed  stores  in  the  hive,  by  giving  them  a 
small  quantity  of  thin  warm  syrup  daily  from  a  bottle  feeder.  As 
soon  as  the  weather  becomes  setlied  and  warm  a  few  inches  of  sealed 
stores  should  be  uncapped  every  third  day.  The  bees  will  then  empty 
the  cells,  and  the  stores  will  be  placed  in  various  parts  of  the  hive. 
As  the  bees  increase  in  number,  and  cover  the  comKs,  the  queen  will 
utilise  all  the  empty  cells  for  rearing  brood.  Il  the  sealed  stores  becorne 
short,  feeding  should  be  resorted  to  again.  All  that  is  reqiiired  in 
uncapping  the  sealed  stores  is  to  bruise  the  surface  with  the  point  of  a 
long  knife.  This  can  be  done  without  removing  the  frames,  which  is 
an  advantage,  as  the  bees  are  not  disturbed,  and  there  will  be  no  risk 
of  chilling  the  brood. 
Prevention  of  Swarming. 
The  difficulty  many  bee-keepers  have  to  contend  witb  is  the 
prevention  of  swarming.  They  cannot  obtain  swarms  when  they 
require  them,  and  when  they  are  not  required  they  have  them  in 
abundance.  As  shown  in  previous  note.«,  some  varieties  of  bees  are 
troublesome  in  th’s  respect.  We  find  little  difficulty  in  preveiiting 
swarming  if  our  native  black  bees  are  kept  and  worked  on  rational 
lines.  Bees  do  not  swarm  on  the  imjiulse  of  the  moment ;  arrange¬ 
ments  ere  made  several  days  be^'orehand.  The  hive  has  become 
crowded  with  bees.  Quern  cells  are  formed,  scouts  are  sent  out  in  all 
directions  to  find  a  suitable  place  for  their  future  home.  When  they 
swarm  they  usually  cluster  on  a  bush  or  tree  within  a  few  yards  of 
thrir  hive.  If  they  are  at  once  placed  in  a  skep  and  shaded  from  the 
sun  until  all  have  clustered,  they  may  at  once  be  placed  in  a  frame 
hive  and  shaded  without  any  danger  of  their  leaving  the  new  hoine. 
But  if  they  are  allowed  to  remain  on  the  tree  where  they  originally 
clustered  for  any  length  of  time,  they  will  rise  into  the  air  again  and 
