February  11,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
125 
thin  and  liable  to  scorch.  The  bunches  are  now  approaching  the  flower¬ 
ing  stage,  and  should  have  a  night  temperature  of  65°  to  70°,  with  a 
rise  of  10°  to  15°  by  day,  closing  for  the  day  between  80°  and  85°  when 
bright  weather  prevails. 
When  the  bunches  are  in  flower  they  should  be  carefully  fertilised, 
brushing  over  every  bunch  with  a  camel-hair  brush  when  the  caps  are 
beine  thrown  off,  following  with  pollen  from  a  free-setting  variety,  such 
as  Black  Hamburgh  ;  then  a  good  set  may  be  expected.  Madresfield 
Court  requires  similar  attention,  and  ripens  earlier  and  in  a  lower 
temperature  than  is  required  for  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  which  requires 
some  time  in  ripening,  and  to  have  the  roots  in  a  warm  inside  border. 
This  may  be  mulched  after  the  Grapes  are  set  with  lumpy  material, 
through  which  air  and  water  can  pass  freely. 
Succession  Houses. — Commence  disbudding  after  the  bunches  show 
in  the  points  of  the  shoots,  tying  the  growths  down  before  they  touch 
the  glass,  stopping  the  bearing  shoots  a  couple  of  joints  beyond  the 
fruit,  and  pinch  the  laterals  below  the  bunch  at  the  first  leaf,  and  above 
allow  them  to  extend,  but  only  to  cover  space  with  foliage  fully  exposed 
to  light.  Remove  all  surplus  bunches  before  they  flower,  and  maintain 
a  moderate  amount  of  moisture,  even  after  commencing  to  flower,  and 
secure  this  by  damping  occasionally,  maintaining  a  night  temperature  of 
65°  to  70°  at  that  time,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day  artificially,  with  a  gentle 
circulation  of  air.  If  there  is  any  lack  of  moisture  in  the  borders  give  a 
thorough  supply  before  the  flowers  open,  but  avoid  making  the  soil 
sodden,  as  this  is  not  favourable  to  settine,  and  often  leads  to  shanking. 
Houses  to  Afford  Ripe  Grapes  in  July. — In  these  the  Vines  must 
now  be  started,  watering  the  inside  border  with  tepid  water  to  render  it 
evenly  moist,  but  an  excessively  wet  condition  retards  root  action,  and 
is  often  followed  by  various  prejudicial  consequences,  therefore  a  some¬ 
what  dry  is  better  than  a  wet  soil  at  the  commencement.  Weakly  Vines 
may  be  supplied  with  liquid  manure.  Damp  the  rods  two  or  three  times 
a  day,  and  maintain  a  temperature  of  50°  at  night,  55°  by  day,  advancing 
to  65°  from  sun  heat. 
Late  Houses. — The  Vines  having  beeD  cleared  of  the  Grapes  early  in 
January  or  before,  pruned,  and  the  inside  border  top-dressed  with  fresh 
loam,  with  a  pint  of  dissolved  bones  and  a  quart  of  wood  ashes  to  every 
bushel  of  loam,  and  the  house  kept  cool  so  as  to  insure  rest,  a  good  or 
needful  supply  of  water  should  be  given,  and  a  start  made  without  much 
further  delay,  as  it  is  essential  to  the  Grapes  keeping  well  that  they  be 
thoroughly  ripened  by  the  middle  of  September.  Depress  strong  rods 
and  young  canes  to  a  horizontal  position  or  lower,  and  seek  an  even 
breaking  of  the  buds  by  syringing  the  Vines  two  or  three  times  a  day. 
Keep  the  temperature  at  55°  at  night,  and  60°  to  G5°  or  more  by  day 
from  sun  heat,  but  ventilate  freely  at  and  above  65°. 
THE  FLOWER  GARDEN. 
Heliotropes,  Fuchsias,  and  Abutllons. — Old  plants  of  Helio¬ 
tropes  ought  now  to  be  topped  and  placed  in  heat,  the  side  shoots  from 
these  being  struck  as  fast  as  they  form.  A  few  Fuchsias,  if  young 
plants  are  required,  to  be  similarly  treated,  but  the  bulk  of  old  plants 
ought  still  to  be  resting  in  greenhouses  or  other  cool  quarters,  April 
being  quite  soon  enough  to  start  these.  Young  shoots  of  variegated 
Abutilons  taken  off  with  a  heel  of  old  wood  strike  readily  in  heat,  and 
in  order  to  have  plenty  of  these  very  effective  bedding  plants,  lightly 
prune  what  stock  plants  there  are  in  pots  and  start  them  in  heat. 
Verbenas  and  Lantanas, — Stock  plants  of  ordinary  Verbenas 
now  in  small  pots  and  cool  quarters  should  have  a  shift  and  be  placed  in 
heat.  Keep  them  well  away  from  the  hot-water  pipes,  and  free  of 
other  insect-infested  plants,  and  a  capital  lot  of  sappy  sure  striking 
cuttings  will  then  be  obtained.  Verbena  venosa  is  best  propagated  by 
means  of  root  cuttings.  Cut  the  fleshy  roots  into  2-inch  lengths,  dibble 
these  in  rather  thickly  into  boxes  or  pans,  the  topmost  joint  not  being 
deeply  buried,  and  place  in  brisk  heat.  There  will  soon  be  plenty  of 
well-rooted  plants  ready  for  boxing  off.  Both  kinds  of  Verbenas  may 
be  raised  from  Beed,  mixed  beds  of  seedlings  being  very  effective.  Sow 
in  pans  at  once,  cover  with  squares  of  glass,  and  keep  in  moist  heat 
till  the  seedlings  appear.  Sometimes  the  seed  germinates  very  quickly, 
while  not  unfiequently  it  is  several  weeks  before  it  does  so.  Lantanas 
may  be  raised  from  cuttings  or  seed  exactly  as  advised  in  the  case  of 
Verbenas. 
Konlga  vayiegata  and  Xiobelia. — Plants  of  the  Koniga  should 
be  placed  in  heat,  and  the  cuttings  struck  as  fast  as  they  can  be  obtained. 
If  dwarf  Lobelias  are  to  be  raised,  either  by  division  or  cuttings,  keep 
the  stock  plants  on  a  warm  greenhouse  shelf.  Subjected  to  a  strong 
heat  the  tops  soon  become  hard  and  develop  into  flower  heads.  Directly 
the  shoots  emit  roots  just  above  the  soil  division  should  take  place, 
every  partially  rooted  piece  duly  topped  soon  becoming  a  strong  plant. 
Only  Bappy  shoots  are  of  any  use  for  making  into  cuttings. 
Polemonlum  caeruleum. — The  variegated  form  of  this  plant  now 
in  frames  or  other  cool  quarters  will  soon  commence  to  emit  roots 
from  the  short  stems,  either  buried  or  just  above  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
and  then  will  be  the  time  to  divide  them  into  as  many  pieces  as  there 
are  crowns.  Place  them  singly  and  rather  deeply  into  3-inch  or  slightly 
larger  pots,  but  still  keep  them  in  a  cool  pit  or  frame,  this  plant  being 
most  impatient  of  heat,  and  also  of  drought. 
Miscellaneous  Plants.  —  Seeds  of  Acacia  lophantha  should  be 
treated  similarly  to  Cannas,  and  neat  little  plants  may  be  obtained  this 
spring.  The  Beed  of  the  Coral  plant  (Erythrina  crista-galli)  is  equally 
hard,  and  this,  too,  should  be  soaked  in  fairly  hot  water  till  it  has 
softened  and  swollen  considerably,  being  then  sown  in  previously  warmed 
«oil,  and  given  the  benefit  of  brisk  bottom  heat.  Grevillea  robusta  seed 
does  not  require  soaking,  but  should  be  sown  in  a  pan,  covered  lightly 
with  fine  Boil,  and  kept  plunged  in  a  hotbed  till  it  germinates.  The 
quality  of  the  seed  varies  considerably,  sometimes  germinating  quickly, 
at  others  either  failing  to  do  so,  or  refusing  altogether.  Plants  raised 
last  year  would  be  the  most  effective  in  the  flower  garden. 
HW7  rVTTT  -“-*11.1-1.1-1.1-  riT-  t  -  r -  !  ^  .  i  -  i  .  t  -  i  -  i  -  .  .  i  -  i  .  r.  i  ♦  i  -  1 
IE  BEE-KEEPER.^ 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  Weather. 
Nearly  three  weeks  of  real  wintry  weather  has  been  the  means 
of  confining  the  bees  to  their  homes.  In  some  instances  the  snow 
drifted,  nearly  burying  the  hives,  and  as  a  thaw  appeared  likely 
the  snow  was  all  cleared  from  them.  No  appearance  of  life  was 
visible,  the  bees  being  snugly  clustered  amidst  ample  stores.  But 
what  a  difference  could  be  observed  in  the  temperature  of  a  hive 
containing  a  strong  colony  of  bees  and  an  empty  hive.  In  the 
former  the  entrance  was  open  its  full  width,  but  no  snow  remained 
for  the  space  of  several  inches,  owing  to  the  warmth  from  the 
hive  causing  the  snow  to  melt  as  it  fell. 
With  the  empty  hive  the  case  was  quite  different,  all  the  snow 
remained  close  to  the  entrance,  showing  that  although  the  heat 
from  the  inhabited  hive  was  not  perceptible  to  an  ordinary  observer, 
the  melted  snow  gave  sufficient  proof  that  there  is  considerable 
warmth  in  a  cluster  of  bees  during  severe  weather.  If  they  were 
examined  at  this  stage  the  bees  would  be  found  in  a  state  of  stupor  ; 
there  is,  however,  sufficient  life  in  them  to  obtain  food  from  their 
sealed-up  stores.  Tney  are  constantly  on  the  move.  Those  inside 
the  cluster  obtain  extra  warmth,  which  enables  them  to  take  the 
necessary  food.  They  then  return  to  the  outside  of  the  cluster, 
and  so  the  remainder  feed  themselves  in  turn. 
With  a  change  in  the  temperature  the  cluster  gradually  expands, 
and  the  first  fine  day  that  comes,  if  genial  and  bright,  the  bees 
will  be  merrily  on  the  wing,  in  marked  contrast  to  their  comotose 
condition  of  only  a  few  days  before. 
There  is  now  (February  5th)  several  inches  of  snow  on  the 
level,  but  as  there  is  a  steady  downpour  of  rain  it  will  doubtless 
soon  disappear.  Already  nearly  2  inches  of  rainfall  have  been 
registered  this  month  ;  this  has  been  chiefly  snow.  Frost  and 
snow  coming  at  this  season  will  have  a  beneficial  effect,  as  it  will 
be  the  means  of  retarding  vegetation,  and  warm  weather  is  more 
likely  to  come  when  require^  for  honey  production.  May  the 
Queen’s  Diamond  Jubilee  year  be  as  successful,  from  a  bee-keeper’s 
point  of  view,  as  the  Golden  Jubilee  was  ten  years  ago. 
Enemies  op  Bees. 
These  have  been  very  destructive  during  the  past  month,  the 
chief  culprit  being  the  great  tit  (Pams  major),  destroying  great 
numbers  of  bees.  If  these  pests  were  satisfied  with  only  the  dead 
bees  that  are  cast  out  of  the  hives  I  would  not  interfere  with  them, 
as  they  destroy  numerous  insects  ;  but  when  a  dozen  or  two  take 
up  their  abode  in  close  proximity  to  the  apiary  they  will  soon  clear 
off  all  stray  bees  which  are  bold  enough  to  leave  their  hives  on 
mild  days  at  this  season. 
If  the  bees  will  not  leave  their  hive  of  their  own  free  will  the 
tits  are  most  persistent  at  tapping  at  the  entrances  to  tempt  the 
bees  to  come  out.  Directly  they  make  their  appearance  they 
are  seized  and  taken  to  the  nearest  tree  to  be  dissected.  They 
are  not  consumed  bodily,  but  the  head,  wings,  and  sting  is  carefully 
removed,  and  the  dainty  morsel  that  remains  is  evidently  much 
enjoyed.  These  birds  are  ever  on  the  alert,  and  should  be 
destroyed  when  observed  to  be  doing  damage  in  the  apiary. 
When  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow  it  is  easy  to  see  the 
mischief  that  is  going  on  by  observing  the  numerous  fragments 
of  bees  lying  about.  The  birds  are  not  difficult  to  secure  by  using 
a  spring  mouse  trap  baited  with  bread  or  a  small  piece  of  suet. 
If  a  few  of  these  traps  ate  kept  constantly  set,  and  dotted  about 
amongst  the  hives,  it  will  be  the  means  of  saving  many  bees  that 
would  otherwise  be  lost. 
Mice,  too,  are  very  troublesome,  and  if  they  once  gain  access  to 
a  hive  will  soon  clear  out  the  contents,  and  the  bees  not  being 
able  to  protect  themselves  at  this  season  will  die  of  starvation 
if  steps  are  not  taken  to  clear  off  these  pe3ts.  Mice  will  travel 
long  distances  for  food,  and  by  having  traps  constantly  baited  in 
readiness  for  them  may  often  be  destroyed  before  they  have  the 
opportunity  of  doing  any  mischief. 
Making  Candy. 
As  some  readers  have  found  a  difficulty  in  making  soft  candy 
for  feeding  such  stocks  as  may  b9  short  of  stores  at  midwinter  and 
