542 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  21,  1900. 
Fruit  Stoning. — Maintain  a  steady  tenoperature  of  60°  to  65°  at 
night,  and  5°  to  10°  rise  by  day,  with  the  usual  advance  of  5°  to  10°  or 
even  15°  at  closing  time  from  sun  heat.  Avoid  a  close  atmosphere,  and 
maintain  a  uniform  temperature,  and  as  equable  a  condition  of  moisture 
as  practicable.  Sudden  fluctuations  of  temperature  and  cold  draughts 
are  pernicious,  and  equally  disastrous  is  insufficient  water  at  the  roots. 
Allow  a  moderate  extension  of  growth  during  this  trying  time,  and  do 
not  permit  a  great  percentage  of  fruit  to  stone  that  must  be 
removed  afterwards,  but  remove  it  in  good  time.  A  superfluity  of 
fruit  at  stoning  prejudices  the  crop,  and  even  if  stoning  takes  place  the 
fruit  rarely  finishes  well,  but  is  small  and  flavourless,  and  a 
partial  failure  another  year  may  be  anticipated.  Slop  gross  shoots  or 
remove  them  altogether,  so  as  to  maintain  an  equal  diffusion  of  growth 
throughout  each  individual  tree. 
Late  Houses. — Train  the  growths  thinly,  reserving  a  shoot  at  the 
base  of  the  current  bearing  wood,  and  stop  those  on  a  level  with  or 
above  the  fruit  at  two  or  three  leaves,  and  succeeding  growths  at  a 
joint  or  two.  Side  shoots  on  extensions  not  required  to  form  bearing 
shoots  or  for  furnishing  the  trees  stop  at  an  inch  or  two  of  growth  to 
form  spurs,  and  by  adding  to  the  foliage  will  much  encourage  root 
action  and  benefit  the  fruit  ;  besides,  these  spurs  usually  set  fruit  and 
swell  it,  when  those  on  stronger  growths  do  not.  Thin  the  fruit  to  a 
few  more  than  will  be  required  for  the  crop,  retaining  the  largest  and 
best  placed.  There  should  not  be  more  than  one  fruit  to  each  square 
foot  of  trellis  covered  by  the  trees,  but  a  few  more  may  be  left  to  meet 
casualties  in  stoning.  Syringe  twice  daily  on  dull  days.  During  the 
prevalence  of  dull  weather  an  occasional  syringing  will  be  all  that  is 
necessary,  as  it  does  not  answer  to  keep  moisture  hanging  on  the 
foliage — indeed,  the  leaves  should  be  dry,  or  nearly  so,  before  dark. 
Water  inside  borders  fortnightly,  and  afford  liquid  manure  to  weakly 
trees.  Mulch  the  borders  lightly  with  short  manure,  and  keep  it  moist ; 
mulching  dry  ground  is  very  little  use. 
r.  _ _ — rr 
s 
4E  BEE-KEEPER. 
Supering. 
No  delay  must  take  place  in  the  supering  of  all  stocks  from  which 
a  surplus  is  to  be  obtained.  The  present  season  has  shown  the  advantage 
of  timely  attention  during  the  early  spring  months  by  encouraging 
the  queen  to  continue  bleeding.  The  weather  on  the  whole  has  been 
favourable,  a  couple  of  excessively  hot  days  caused  several  swarms  to 
come  off.  The  casts  or  second  swarms  usually  come  about  ten 
days  after  the  swarm.  They  should  be  carefully  attended  to,  as,  being 
headed  by  young  queens,  they  will  make  excellent  stocks  for  another 
season.  The  bees  should  be  encouraged  to  work  in  the  supers  by 
placing  a  sec  ion  containing  honey  therein.  Some  fully  drawn  out 
combs  will  also  assist  them. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  allow  the  swarms  to  have  access  to  the  full 
number  of  frames  in  the  brood  chamber.  Unless  the  swarms  ae 
early  they  will  not  fill  a  large  hive  with  brood  in  time  to  be  of  use 
for  the  white  Clover.  When  bees  are  within  reach  of  the  Heather 
late  in  the  season  their  treatment  will  be  quite  different.  If  theswarms 
are  allowed  not  more  than  six  fran  es  in  the  brood  nest,  the  division 
board  is  placed  close  up  to  them,  and  if  the  weather  is  favourable,  the 
bees  invariably  t^ke  possession  of  a  crate  of  sections  provided.  After 
the  honey  harvest  is  over  the  full  number  of  frames  is  plac  d  in  the 
body  of  the  hive. 
Rearing  Queens. 
If  the  doubling  system  is  practised  for  obtaining  a  surplus  of  run 
honey,  tber^  will  be  some  stocks  which  are  not  up  to  their  full 
strength.  These  are  now  utilised  for  queen  rearing.  Unless  there  is 
some  system  in  maintaining  a  supply  of  young  queens  in  the  apiary 
success  is  not  likely  to  follow.  The  old  queens  will  succrmb  when 
they  are  most  ri^quired  ;  the  plan  we  adopt  and  recommend  has  always 
proved  successful.  We  usually  select  a  strong  colony  from  which  to 
obtain  our  young  queens.  We  first  remove  the  existing  queen,  and 
notch  in  zigzag  form  the  lower  edge  of  a  comb  containing  eggs  laid 
during  the  past  tw(  nty-four  hours.  The  same  effect  may  be  caused 
by  boring  holes  through  the  combs.  At  each  place  the  bees  will  start 
queen  cells.  If  a  sufficient  number  is  not  obtained,  insert  a  frame  of 
newly  laid  eggs  from  another  colony,  and  more  queen  cells  will  be 
formed. 
In  this  manner  as  many  queens  as  may  be  required  in  the  apiary 
will  be  obtainel,  and  whilst  they  are  maturing  the  weakened  colonies 
will  be  increasing  in  strength,  as  the  queens  need  not  be  removed  till 
the  last  moment,  when  the  queen  cell  may  be  introduced  into  each 
•colony,  as  will  be  explained  in  future  notes.— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street,  Xiondon,  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  plume 
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. 
Spots  on  Grapes  {E.  T.). — The  spots  on  the  Grapes  appear  to  be 
modified  forms  of  scald.  The  cells  immediately  beneath  and  surround¬ 
ing  the  damaged  part  of  the  berry  are  quite  sound  and  not  permeated 
by  the  mycelia  of  any  fungus,  but  there  is  evidence  of  mycelial 
ramifications  in  the  discoloured  parts.  The  chief  thing  is  to  attend  to 
the  ventilation  and  admit  a  little  air  constantly.  It  is  not  likely  to  be 
caused  by  anything  wrong  at  the  roots,  as  that  would  affect  all  the 
Vines  similarly,  but  is  clearly  due  to  some  external  cause,  and  appears 
to  be  from  some  direct  injury,  such  as  careless  handling  in  trimming 
the  Vines  or  in  thinning  the  berries.  It  may  also  be  due  to  moisture 
resting  on  the  berries,  and  the  atmosphere  being  heated  by  the  sun 
before  air  was  admitted. 
Pears  and  Pear  Leaves  Diseased  (TV.  R.  0.). — The  blackness  on  the 
three  Pears  is  caused  by  the  scab  fungus  (Pusicladium  dendriticum, 
var.  pyri).  The  preventive  is  to  spray  the  trees  thoroughly  with  dilute 
Bordeaux  mixture  just  before  the  leaf  buds  open,  repeating  the  applica¬ 
tion  just  before  the  blossoms  open,  for  the  third  time  after  blossoms 
have  fallen,  and  again  ten  days  afterwards.  The  three  Pears  are  eaten 
by  some  caterpillar,  probably  that  of  the  winter  moth  (Cheimatobia 
brumata).  For  this  pest  add  1  oz.  of  Paris  green  paste  to  every 
20  gallons  of  the  dilute  Bordeaux  mixture,  which  will  serve  for  all 
caterpillars  and  also  those  of  the  Codlin  moth.  The  blistering  on  the 
leaves  is  caused  by  the  Pear-leaf  gall  mite  (Phytoptus  pyri)  which 
causes  the  leaves  to  become  brown  or  black,  greatly  impeding  the 
elaborating  of  the  juices  and  weakening  the  trees.  The  best  preventive 
is  to  spray  the  trees  with  petroleum  emulsion,  diluted  with  seven  parts 
of  hot  water,  when  the  trees  are  dormant,  or  just  at  the  time  they  com¬ 
mence  swelling  the  buds.  The  treatment  must  be  thorough,  choosing  a 
dry  time  for  the  operation. 
Tomatoes  with  Waxy  Patches  (Cross). — Various  reasons  have  been 
assigned  for  the  waxiness  that  occurs  in  Tomatoes  and  many  other 
fruits.  In  effect  it  is  a  running  together  of  the  cells  in  certain  parts  of 
the  fruit,  and  these  portions  became  practically  sealed  against  change 
in  ripening.  An  analysis  of  the  wax-like  part  differs  little  from  the 
normal  flesh  in  albuminoid  and  mineral  substances,'  hence  the  analyses 
afford  no  clue  to  the  cause.  Still  the  wax-like  portions  contain  much 
more  cellulose,  pectose,  and  sugar  than  the  parts  which  remain  normal 
in  colour,  but  are  deficient  in  malic  acid,  and  this  is  very  suggestive, 
especially  in  connection  with  your  statement  that  bonemeal  has  been 
supplied  liberally.  This  would  favour  the  formation  of  the  cellulose, 
pectose,  and  sugar;  and  possibly  the  practical  closing  of  the  cells  may 
be  due  to  a  deficiency  of  potash.  We  have  no  recollection  of  advising 
you  to  supply  bonemeal  at  planting,  to  dress  with  sulphate  of  iron  as  a 
remedy,  or  to  apply  lime  this  year,  or  to  use  liquid  manure.  Not  any  of 
these  would,  in  our  opinion,  affect  the  fruit  in  the  slightest  degree, 
though  the  tendency  to  waxiness  may  be  aggravated,  as  before  stated, 
by  the  dressing  of  bone  dust,  and  also  of  lime.  We  regard  it  as  to  some 
degree  constitutional,  and  due  quite  as  much  to  climatic  conditions  as 
to  soil  components.  We  cannot  undertake  analyses.  Perhaps  some 
of  our  readers  may  be  able  to  throw  light  upon  the  subject,  for  we  are 
convinced  that  only  growers,  by  a  mutual  exchange  of  views  and 
practices,  can  satisfactorily  grapple  with  and  overcome  the  defect 
which  is  greatly  on  the  increase  in  this  fruit. 
