"220 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  11,  1897. 
in  these  pages.  It  being  such  a  simple  matter,  and  not  nearly  so 
difficult  as  many  people  imagine,  it  should  not  be  neglected. 
Uniting  Weak  Colonies. 
Stocks  that  are  queenless  and  the  workers  still  alive  should  be 
united  to  other  colonies  without  delay  If  the  two  stocks  are 
separated  several  yards  apart  remove  them  a  few  feet  nearer  each 
other  every  day  the  bees  are  on  the  wing.  On  the  evening  of  the 
day  in  which  the  bees  are  brought  into  close  proximity  remove  all 
-empty  frames  from  the  hive  containing  the  queen,  separate  the  other 
combs,  and  sprinkle  the  bees  with  flour.  Go  through  the  same  process 
with  the  queenless  colony,  and  place  the  frame*  with  the  adhering 
bees  alternately  with  those  in  the  other  hive,  cover  them  up  warm, 
and  if  short  of  stores  a  bottle  of  warm  syrup  may  be  given  to  them, 
and  success  will  follow,  as  the  colony  will  be  strengthened  by  the 
added  bees.  The  entrance  should  be  reduced  to  half  an  inch  ;  this 
will  prevent  robbers  from  gaining  an  entrance. 
It  is  quite  easy  for  one  who  is  used  to  bees  to  tell  if  the  stock 
is  queenless  by  observing  them  when  the  sun  is  shining  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  at  this  season.  In  those  hives  that  have  an 
active  fertile  queen  the  bees  will  be  seen  darting  in  all  directions 
in  search  of  pollen,  but  those  having  no  queen  will  remain  about 
the  entrance  to  their  hive  in  a  languid  kind  of  manner.  When  this 
is  observed  steps  should  at  once  be  taken  to  examine  the  stock,  and 
if  the  queen  cannot  be  found  treat  them  as  advised  above.  Robbers, 
too,  will  soon  find  out  those  stocks  in  which  the  bees  are  dead  or 
so  weak  that  they  cannot  protect  themselves  against  intruders. — 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
H.  Cannell  &  Sods,  Swanlev. — Floral  Guide. 
Cooper,  Taber  &  Co.,  Ltd,,  90,  Southwark  Street. —  Wholesa'e  List  of 
Farm  Seeds. 
E.  P  Dixon  &  Sons,  Hull. — Farm  Seeds. 
Ellwanger  &  Barry,  Mount  Rose  Nurseries,  Rochester,  N.Y. — 
General  Catalogue. 
Kent  &  Brydon,  Darlington. — Farm  Seeds. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  The  Editor.'’  Letters  addressed  personally  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  ofter  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  We  request  that  no  bne  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects,  through  the  post. 
Mustard  and  Cress  In  Punnets  (H.  H.  S.). — The  Mustard  and 
Cress  as  sold  in  punnets  in  London  is  not  “  produced  ”  in  them,  but  grown 
in  houses  and  frames  according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  and  packed  in 
the  punnets  quickly  and  neatly  as  the  produce  is  cut.  No  doubt  it 
could  be  grown  in  punnets,  but  would  not  be  likely  to  pay  so  well  as  by 
the  ordinary  routine. 
Caterpillar  Pound  in  Garden  (H.  A.).— The  “caterpillar”  is  the 
larva  of  a  beetle  belonging  to  the  family  Telephoridse,  and  evidently  a 
“soldier  ”  or  red  coloured  species,  probably  Telephorus  lividus,  but  the 
“  soldiers  ”  and  “  sailors  ” — tbe  red  and  blue— are  difficult  to  distinguish 
in  the  larval  state.  It  is  carnivorous  in  mode  of  life,  and  does  little,  if 
any,  harm  to  vegetation. 
Insect  Eating  Maidenhair  Perns  (TV.  F.). — The  insect  is  the 
grooved  or  black  vine  weevil  (Otiorhynchus  sulcatus),  and  very  fine 
specimens  they  were,  and  we  soon  passed  them  into  oblivion.  They  are 
absolutely  vegetable  feeders,  both  in  the  grub  and  beetle  stages,  the 
former  feeding  on  the  roots  of  various  plants,  being  very  fond  of  the 
fleshy  young  roots  of  Vines  and  Peaches,  and,  above  all  things,  like 
the  fleshy  corms  of  Cyclamen.  Indeed,  we  do  not  know  what  form  of 
root  the  grubs  will  not  eat  that  are  of  a  sound  sustaining  nature.  The 
weevils  are  very  partial  to  the  rising  fronds  of  Adiantums,  Vine  and 
Peach  leaves,  eating  holes  in  the  latter,  and  doing  an  immense  amount 
of  mischief.  The  best  means  of  riddance  is  to  capture  the  beetles, 
looking  for  them  after  dark  with  a  lantern,  proceeding  cautiously,  and 
not  forgetting  to  examine  the  surface  of  the  soil  carefully.  On  Vines 
place  sheets  on  the  soil  in  the  daytime  beneath  the  Vines,  enter  the 
house  very  cautiously  after  dark  with  a  shaded  lantern,  shake  the  Vines 
or  trees  sharply,  turn  on  the  light,  and  collect  the  skulking  beetles  into 
an  old  tin  containing  a  little  petroleum. 
Senec  o  macroglossus  (Juvenile). — Tne  Ivy-leaved  Senecio  is 
one  of  tne  most  useful  of  winter-blooming  plants.  Winter-flowering 
plants  which  will  do  well  on  the  roofs  of  greenhouses  are  not  so  numerous 
that  so  useful  a  one  as  this  should  be  neglected.  The  flowers  resemble 
those  of  the  beautiful  and  popular  yellow  Marguerite,  Chrysanthemum 
Etoile  d’Or,  but  are  of  a  somewhat  lighter  yellow  or  creamy  hue.  They 
are  produced  very  freely,  and  at  a  time  of  the  year  when  greenhouse 
flowers  are  scarce;  hence  they  are  doubly  valuable.  The  leaves,  how¬ 
ever,  are  as  attractive  as  the  blossoms,  bright  and  cheerful  as  the  latter 
are.  They  closely  resemble  those  of  the  small-leaved  Ivies  ;  in  fact,  are 
difficult  to  distinguish  from  them,  and  are  highly  ornamental.  The 
plant  does  best  when  planted  out  and  trained  up  the  roof  of  a  house; 
but  may  also  be  well  grown  in  a  pot.  In  either  case  good  drainage 
should  be  provided,  and  a  compost  of  light  sandy  loam  with  a  little  leaf 
soil  will  be  suitable.  Senecio  macroglossus  has  been  neglected  too  long. 
Flowers  and  leaves  are  represented  by  the  engraving,  fig.  49. 
Planting-  Plower  Beds  ( Kewhnrst ). — The  Gladiolus  and  Asters 
would  noc  make  a  good  display  till  late  in  the  season,  so  they  may  be 
put  out  of  our  calculations.  But  among  the  other  plants  you  name 
there  is  plenty  of  material  for  making  a  very  effective  bed,  if  disposed 
in  the  following  manner.  Plant  in  the  centre  a  Cactus  Dahlia  and  two 
others  on  each  side  at  a  distance  of  3  feet  from  it,  so  as  to  form  a  line 
running  lengthwise  with  the  bed.  Next  place  a  string  line  along  the 
entire  length  of  bed  18  inches  from  the  edge,  and  opposite  each  opening 
between  the  Dahlias  plant  three  strong  clumps  of  perennial  Lobelias  in 
the  form  of  a  triangle,  two  clumps  on  the  inner  and  one  on  the  outer 
side  of  the  line.  Repeat  the  operation  on  the  opposite  side,  then 
plant  a  row  of  Antirrhinums  all  round  the  bed,  9  inches  from  the  edge, 
and  fill  in  the  whole  of  the  remaining  space  with  Brompton  Stocks.  In 
suggesting  this  arrangement  I  presume  the  Antirrhinums  are  the  dwarf 
bedding  kinds.  Should  they  be  the  tall  growing  ones,  reverse  the 
position  of  Stocks  and  Antirrhinums.  In  each  case  an  edging  of 
Pyrethrum  laciniatum  will  give  the  bed  a  finished  appearance  It  is 
not  yet  too  late  to  sow  seed  to  produce  the  necessary  plants  for  this 
purpose. 
Cinerarias  Dying  Off  ( H.  B.). — There  are  many  causes  of  the 
seedlings  dying  off  when  from  six  to  eight  weeks  old  from  the  seed,  the 
chief  being  a  form  of  mould,  which  attacks  the  plants  at  the  collar,  and 
can  only  be  avoided  by  keeping  them  moderately  thin,  so  that  air 
can  play  freely  about  them,  and  being  careful  not  to  overwater  or  keep 
too  close,  using  shading  only  to  prevent  flagging  and  scorching.  The 
fungus  is  usually  present  in  the  leaf  mould,  being  developed  from  a 
sclerotium,  and  is  named  Botrytis  cinerea  sclerotiophila,  the  black 
sclerotium  beiner  once  called  Sclerotium  durum;  but  it  is  the  conidial 
stage  .of  Sclerotinia  sclerotiorum  (Mass.).  It  gets  hold  of  the  plants 
because  they  are  potted  too  deeply,  damp  setting  in  and  rendering  its 
work  easy.  In  what  you  mean  to  sterilise  the  soil  does  not  appear.  We 
suppose  either  by  treating  with  boiling  water  or  subjecting  to  heat.  If 
the  latter  it  is  as  well  not  to  char  it,  especially  if  leaf  soil,  as  that  takes 
most  of  the  nature  out  of  it.  The  treatment  of  the  loam  is  a  “  caution,” 
as  you  have  used  the  exact  proportions  bricklayers  do  in  making  mortar, 
