April  22,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
351 
application  of  tepid  liquid  manure  will  he  a  powerful  aid  to  the  Vines. 
■Gradually  reduce  the  night  temperature  as  the  Grapes  ripen,  keeping 
the  atmosphere  dry  and  cool  ;  but  guard  against  excessive,  dryness,  as 
early  Grapes  with  ventilation  require  much  more  water  at  the  roots  than 
late  ones,  with  moderate  air  moisture  for  the  benefit  of  the  foliage, 
which  must  be  kept  clean  and  healthy  as  loDg  as  possible.  When 
approaching  ripeness  moderate  fire  heat  will  be  required  to  keep  up  a 
temperature  of  60°  at  night  and  a  little  more  in  the  daytime.  Gradually 
'remove  fermenting  material  from  outside  borders,  leaving  a  mulching  of 
some  that  is  partially  decayed  for  the  protection  of  the  surface  roots, 
and  allow  them  to  have  the  benefit  of  summer  rains,  which  will  wash 
the  fertilising  elements  into  the  soil  and  stimulate  the  Vines  into  the 
production  of  new  laterals  after  they  are  relieved  of  the  crop,  which 
tends  to  the  health  of  the  principal  leaves. 
Midseason  Houses. — Attend  to  thinning  the  free-setting  varieties  as 
soon  as  the  berries  are  set,  but  Muscats  and  other  shy-setting  kinds 
should  be  left  until  the  properly  fertilised  berries  take  the  lead.  If  a 
large  percentage  of  the  surplus  bunches  were  not  cut  off  before  they 
'flowered  no  time  must  be  lost  in  getting  them  removed,  and  laterals  that 
have  been  allowed  to  ramble  may  be  stopped,  tied,  and  regulated  in 
accordance  with  the  space  at  command.  Inside  borders  may  have  a 
thorough  supply  of  liquid  manure  or  a  top-dressing  of  fertiliser  washed 
in,  and  a  mulching  of  short  rather  lumpy  manure.  It  is  well  to  use 
sweetened  horse  droppings  and  spread  them  over  the  whole  border  in 
order  to  afford  the  Vine*  the  benefit  of  the  ammonia-charged  atmosphere, 
adding  a  few  fresh  droppings  from  time  to  time ;  but  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  overdo  it.  or  the  ammonia  will  be  too  powerful  for  the  tender 
foliage  of  the  Vines.  Where  the  Vines  need  extra  support  a  liberal 
dressing  of  artificial  manure  may  be  given  with  great  benefit,  but  it  is 
necessary  to  follow  the  instructions  carefully.  Phosphatic,  potassic, 
magnesian,  and  calcic  elements  are  those  chiefly  required  by  Vines. 
Late  Houses  — Bad  breaks,  as  usual,  are  heard  of  where  the  wood 
has  not  been  well  ripened.  In  order  to  prevent  its  recurrence  and  the 
disposition  to  run  to  tendrils  the  late  Vines  should  be  started  earlier, 
and  ripened  with  more  fire  heat  in  late  summer,  so  as  to  secure 
thoroughly  finished  fruit  and  perfectly  matured  wood.  Various 
expedients  are  resorted  to  for  correcting  the  evil,  not  any  being  better 
than  stopping  the  shoots  three  or  four  joints  beyond  the  fruit  and  tying 
the  growths  down  to  the  trellis.  Choose  the  latter  part  of  a  fine  day 
for  this  operation,  when  they  are  limp,  keeping  them  rather  drier 
And  warmer  by  day.  Gros  Colman  and  other  late  free  varieties  will 
now  be  setting  ;  they  will  then  have  all  the  summer  before  them. 
These  Grapes  require  a  long  time  to  grow  and  perfect ;  they  also  need 
abundant  supplies  of  water  and  nourishment.  Muscats  and  other  shy¬ 
setting  varieties  should  be  carefully  fertilised,  operating  on  fine  days 
when  the  temperature  has  reached  its  maximum,  employing  pollen 
from  free-setting  varieties,  and  maintaining  a  rather  brisk,  dry  atmo¬ 
sphere.  A  temperature  of  70°  at  night  and  75°  by  day  is  not  too  much 
for  Muscats  when  flowering.  It  is  usual  to  leave  suiplus  bunches  until 
the  flowering  is  over,  which  is  a  mistake,  as  Vines  that  do  not  set  a 
proper  number  of  bunches  satisfactorily  are  not  likely  to  do  so  better 
when  more  are  left — indeed,  it  is  better  to  make  a  selection  of  the 
bunches  that  are  to  remain  for  the  crop  before  they  come  into  flower, 
remembering  that  large  and  loose  bunches  are  the  worst  for  finishing, 
and  the  medium-sized  and  compact  the  best  for  ripening  and  keeping 
well . 
Late  Hamburgks  — The  Vines  are  moving  rapidly,  and  need  attention 
in  disbudding,  tying  down,  and  regulating  the  growths.  Do  not  stop 
the  shoots  until  they  are  developed  beyond  the  fruit  to  the  extent  of 
two  joints  where  the  space  is  limited,  and  four  where  there  is  room, 
pinching  laterals  below  the  bunch  to  one  leaf.  Above  allow  them  to 
extend  so  as  to  insure  an  even  spread  of  foliage  over  the  space,  but  no 
more  than  can  have  full  exposure  to  light,  afterwards  keeping  closely 
pinched.  Ventilate  early  and  freely,  so  as  to  insure  short-jointed  sturdy 
wood  and  thick  leathery  foliage.  Avoid  overwatering  the  border,  as  a 
saturated  condition  of  the  soil  is  not  favourable  to  root  action,  but  keep 
it  moist,  especially  any  top-dressing  or  mulching,  so  as  to  encourage 
surface  roots.  If  a  few  sweetened  horse  droppings  are  sprinkled  on  the 
border  occasionally  some  ammonia  will  be  given  off,  and  other  manurial 
matter  will  enter  the  border  from  them  at  each  watering. 
Hewly-planted  Vines. — When  the  roots  take  to  the  fresh  soil  the 
Vines  will  indicate  it  by  growing  freely.  To  secure  sturdy  growths 
ventilate  early,  and  let  all  the  growths  remain  that  can  have  full 
exposure  to  light.  Supernumeraries  intended  for  next  year’s  fruiting 
should  have  the  lateral*  pinched  at  the  first  leaf,  afterwards  allowing 
them  to  make  a  few  joints  of  growth,  and  pinching  the  cane  at  8  to  9  feet 
length.  Take  every  possible  care  of  the  leaves  on  the  cane,  not  allowing 
them  to  be  interfered  with  in  any  way  by  the  laterals,  Close  early, 
with  plenty  of  atmospheric  moisture. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary , 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Parliament  Street,  London,  W.C. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balbam,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — Secretary,  Mr.  A.  F.  Barron, 
Jhe  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  W.  I 
Ws 
gaol 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
I  I .  I .  f -1 1 . 1 .  r-- 1  -.1  -  T- ) .  i~v- 1  - 1  -  r*  i  * 
m 
SPRING  FEEDING. 
As  a  regular  reader  of  the  thoroughly  practical  remarks  of  “  An 
English  Bae-keeper,”  which  appear  from  week  to  week  in  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture,  I  feel  I  should  like  to  *end  a  few  note* 
on  the  important  subject  of  spring  feeding.  I  have  been  a  bee¬ 
keeper  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  «  century,  and  will  give  the 
details  of  the  system  I  have  adopted  during  the  major  portion  of 
that  period. 
At  the  present  time  and  for  some  weeks  to  come  bee-keepers 
will  be  occupied  chiefly  in  feeding  up  their  stocks,  so  as  to  have 
them  as  forward  as  possible  when  honey  is  abundant.  The  first 
fine  day  will  see  the  bees  carrying  large  quantities  of  pollen.  This 
income  after  the  long  repose  of  the  winter  months  causes  consider¬ 
able  excitement  as  well  as  activity  among  them,  and  excitement 
from  any  cause  is  invariably  followed  by  a  rapid  rise  in  the  tem¬ 
perature  of  the  hive.  The  natural  result  of  this  is  a  thorough 
warming  of  the  cluster.  The  bees  spread  themselves  out,  giving 
the  queen  more  freedom  to  move  about  on  the  combs  ;  and  she 
will,  if  thii  increased  warmth  is  maintained  for  a  day  or  two, 
commence  ovipositing  much  more  freely  than  before.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  a  day’s  busy  pollen  gathering  is  followed  by  cold  weather, 
the  excitement  subsides,  the  bees  cool  down  as  it  were,  and  cluster 
as  closely  as  before.  If  the  bee-keeper  select  the  right  day  when 
the  cluster  is  fully  aroused,  and  supplement  the  pollen  obtainable 
by  a  continuous  supply  of  thin  syrup,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to 
keep  up  the  abnormal  warmth  of  the  day’s  busy  work,  and  the  bees 
are  *timulated  or  forced  just  as  plants  are  by  the  action  of  the  hot¬ 
bed.  To  make  the  matter  quite  clear,  it  must  be  understood  that 
the  bees’  share  of  the  work  is  simply  to  create  and  maintain  a 
temperature  sufficiently  high  to  hatch,  the  brood,  while  a  good 
queen  is  always  ready  to  hatch  as  many  eggs  as  the  bees  can  attend  to. 
When  a  start  is  decided  on  warm  the  food  slightly.  Do  not 
give  the  first  bottle  till  the  evening,  because  a  rapid  supply  of 
syrup  given  to  half  a  dozen  stocks  on  a  warm  day  would  be  almost 
certain  to  induce  a  tendency  to  rob  all  round,  and  this  ihould  be 
very  carefully  guarded  against.  The  following  morning  remove 
the  bottle,  whether  all  the  food  is  taken  or  not,  and  substitute  the 
slow  feeder.  Another  thing  must  not  be  overlooked.  Any  weak 
stocks  mutt  be  left  unfed  until  the  others  have  become  accustomed 
to  the  feeding  bottle.  If  a  weak  stock  is  fed  at  the  same  time  as 
strong  ones  probably  it  will  be  attacked  and  the  food  taken  from 
it  as  rapidly  as  given,  in  which  case  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
preserve  it.  The  feeder  should  also  be  carefully  guarded  against 
bees  reaching  it  from  the  outside. 
About  half  a  pint  of  syrup  should  be  given  as  rapidly  as  the 
bees  will  take  it  on  commencing  to  stimulate,  after  which  I  think 
the  best  guide  as  to  quantity  is  1  pint  (or  1^-  lb.),  given  at  such  a  rate 
a*  will  occupy  seven  days  in  taking  the  whole.  Three  and  a  half 
ounce#  per  diem  may  not  seem  a  great  quantity  to  maintain  a  large 
colony  of  bees  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  by  the  time  the 
stocks  become  strong  there  will  be  a  natural  income  in  addition,  so 
that  the  amount  suggested  is  abundant.  If  there  is  much  sealed 
food  in  the  hive  a  comb  may  have  the  cappings  removed,  and  if 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  bees  they  will  at  once  take  the  honey  to 
another  part  of  the  hive,  leaving  the  cells  ready  for  eggs. 
When  stimulating  is  successfully  started  the  increased  warmth 
of  ths  coverings  about  the  feeder  becomes  very  perceptible.  The 
bees  constantly  crowd  round  the  source  of  supply,  and  are  always 
on  the  look  out  for  the  food.  The  entrance  of  the  hive  must  be 
contracted  to  about  1  inch,  and  every  means  be  taken  to  add  to 
the  warmth  of  the  coverings.  There  is  no  need  for  ventilation 
after  February  is  passed,  and  crown  boards  may  be  used  with 
advantage  over  the  quilts. 
An  effective  feeder  may  be  made  as  follows  . — Take  a  common 
pickle  bottle  holding  about  a  pint,  cut  a  square  of  very  thin  zinc 
(the  thinner  the  better),  make  on  this  a  circle  the  size  of  the  bottle 
mouth,  and  with  scissors  cut  the  zinc  so  that  the  parts  projecting 
beyond  the  circle  may  be  bent  down  to  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  and 
tied  on  with  a  string.  Three  small  holes  punched  in  the  zinc  will 
give  about  the  right  quantity  of  food.  If  a  thin  board,  the  same 
size  as  the  top  of  the  hive,  has  a  inch  hole  cut  in  its  centre, 
is  laid  over  the  quilts,  with  a  half  brick  or  other  weights  on  each 
corner  to  keep  it  down,  a  capital  feeding  stage  is  formed,  and  it 
only  needs  a  small  piece  of  glass  for  slipping  over  the  hole  when 
removing  the  bottle  to  make  it  complete. — Old  Stager. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Wm.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross. — Neio  Roses. 
Merry  weather  &  Song,  Limited,  London. —  Water  Appliances. 
