May  13,  189?. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER !■ 
421 
for  a  few  days  after  planting.  Seed  may  be  sown  to  raise  plants  for 
frames  at  present  occupied  by  tender  beddiDg  plants. 
Pines.  —  Changeable  weather  necessitates  careful  attention  in 
ventilating  plants  with  fruits  in  an  advanced  condition,  otherwise 
sudden  outbursts  of  sun  tell  disastrously  on  the  crowns.  Admit  air  at 
the  top  of  the  house  at  80°,  and  maintain  the  temperature  through  the 
day  at  80°  to  90°,  closing  at  85°;  but  unless  it  be  desirable  to  enlarge 
the  crowns  do  not  quite  close  the  house.  Fire  heat  must  be  employed 
to  prevent  the  temperature  falling  below  70°  at  night,  and  to  raise  it  to 
75°  in  the  day,  keeping  the  bottom  heat  steady  at  80°  to  90°.  Syringe 
the  plants  two  or  three  times  a  week  according  to  the  weather,  and 
maintain  the  atmosphere  in  a  genial  condition,  in  order  to  secure  the 
perfect  development  of  the  fruit. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Runner  Beans. — Early  seed-sowing  has  not  been  a  success  in  the 
case  of  retentive  soils,  aDd  the  plants  have  come  up  very  irregularly 
on  lighter  warm  ground.  Cold  winds  and  frosts  have  retarded  growth 
considerably,  and  in  some  instances  it  will  be  found  the  best  plan  to 
sow  more  seed  at  once.  These  Beans  transplant  readily,  and  if  there  are 
enough  plants  in  two  rows  to  form  one  eood  one  that  is  what  should  be 
done  with  them.  There  would  also  be  a  gain  of  a  week  or  more  in 
sowing  in  small  pots  singly,  or  in  boxes  thinly  under  glass  and  in  gentle 
heat,  hardening  and  planting  before  the  plants  become  matted  together 
at  the  roots.  Thinly  grown  plants  gWe  the  best  results,  those  much 
crowded  cropping  lightly,  being  also  the  first  to  fail  in  a  dry  season. 
One  strong  plant  to  each  pole  or  stake  is  sufficient,  and  these  may  well 
be  a  foot  apart,  bracing  and  supporting  each  other  by  means  of  a  stake 
running  along  near  the  tops  of  the  poles.  Continue  to  shelter  and 
protect  during  cold  nights.  Now  is  a  good  time  to  sow  seed  in  quantity 
with  a  view  to  having  rows  or  breadths  capable  of  yielding  pods  in 
abundance  till  the  end  of  the  season.  What  these  Beans  require  is  a 
deep,  rich,  freely  worked  root  run,  wholly  trenching  the  ground  answering 
better  than  merely  digging  Celery-like  trenches,  the  sides  of  which  are 
apt  to  shrink  away  from  the  soil  in  the  trench,  and  in  a  hard  and  dry 
state  prevent  the  free  spread  of  roots. 
Runner  Beans  Without  Stakes.  —  The  bulk  of  Beans  sent  to  the 
markets  during  the  season  are  grown  in  the  open  fields  without  the  aid 
of  stakes,  and  the  market  growers’  plan  may  also  be  adopted  in  all  cases 
where  stakes  are  difficult  to  procure.  If  they  fail  it  will  most  probably 
be  due  to  want  of  attention  in  topping,  which  must  be  done  persistently, 
and  in  mulching  with  strawy  manure  to  keep  the  ground  moist  and  the 
crops  clean.  Sow  the  seeds  thinly  in  single  drillB  3  feet  apart,  eventually 
thinning  out  the  plsnts  to  a  distance  of  12  inches  asunder. 
Cropping  Between  the  Rows. — Where  close  cropping  is  practised  the 
spaces  between  the  rows  of  Runner  Beans  ought  always  to  be  utilised 
during  the  early  part  of  the  season.  Short-topped  early  maturing 
Potatoes  may  yet  be  planted,  arranging  for  two  or  more  rows  in  the 
6  feet  or  wider  widths,  and  one  row  between  those  to  be  topped.  The 
Potato  crops  will  be  fit  for  lifting  before  the  Beans  shade  the  ground 
heavily.  Lettuces,  Turnips,  or  other  quick-growing  crops  may  also  be 
grown  between  Runner  Beans. 
Ridge  Cucumbers. — These  succeed  well  in  open  positions  with  a 
slope  to  the  south,  always  provided  they  are  sheltered  from  cold  winds 
in  May  and  June,  and  a  fair  amount  of  sunshine  reaches  them.  In  cold 
sunless  summers  they  do  not  pay  for  the  trouble  taken  with  them,  not 
even  if  grown  on  heaps  of  decaying  manure.  For  a  few  plants  a  ridge 
or  bed  of  decaying  manure,  weeds,  leaves,  grass  from  the  mowing 
machine,  and  the  like  may  be  formed  in  a  sheltered  corner  in  the  frame 
ground,  making  this  from  2  feet  to  3  feet  deep,  and  wide  or  square  rather 
than  narrow,  narrow  ridges  being  the  first  to  become  cold,  and  to  suffer 
from  drought.  On  these  beds  form  mounds  of  good  light  loamy  compost 
3  feet  apart  each  way.  When  the  soil  is  warmed  through  either  sow 
four  or  five  seeds  in  each  mound,  or  plant  out  from  Bmall  pots,  taking 
care  to  do  this  before  the  plants  become  starved  and  yellow  in  appear¬ 
ance.  Shelter  with  either  hand-lights,  large  bell-glasses,  inverted  flower 
pots,  old  handleless  baskets,  or  other  contrivances,  and  peg  down  the 
plants  to  prevent  injury  from  the  winds  in  the  daytime.  For  culture 
on  a  large  scale  see  Vegetable  Marrows. 
Vegetable  Marrows. — These  are  indispensable.  When  we 
experience  hot  and  dry  summers  Vegetable  Marrows  are  not  unfre- 
quently  the  only  green  vegetable  available  in  large  quantities,  and  that, 
too,  without  any  special  efforts  on  the  part  of  cultivators.  In  small 
gardens  they  are  principally  grown  on  beds  or  ridges  of  manure  and  soil, 
much  as  advised  in  the  case  of  ridge  Cucumbers  ;  but  when  the  market 
growers’ plan  is  adopted  much  less  haulm  forms  and  far  heavier  crops 
are  obtained.  For  an  early  supply  these  mild  hotbeds  and  either  frames 
or  hand-lights  are  of  good  service  in  giving  the  plants  a  strong  start, 
allowing  the  haulm  to  ramble  naturally  when  it  begins  to  get  crowded. 
In  addition  to  these  a  few  or  many  plants  may  well  be  grown  in  the 
open  garden.  Select  a  sunny  spot,  sloping  to  the  south  or  in  a  southerly 
direction,  and  mark  out  a  width  of  4  feet.  Prepare  by  throwing  out  the 
best  of  the  top  spit  of  soil  to  a  depth  of  12  inches,  next  wheeling  into 
the  trench  thus  formed  a  solid  foot  of  partially  decayed  manure, 
distributing  the  soil  just  thrown  out  over  the  si  'es  and  on  the  top  of 
this.  The  heat  in  the  manure  coupled  with  sunshine  will  soon  warm 
the  soil  through,  and  it  is  then  ready  for  the  reception  of  either  seeds  or 
plants  raised  in  pots  under  glass.  One  plant  to  every  3  feet  run  of  bed 
is  enough,  but  two  or  three  seeds  should  be  sown  at  every  site,  leaving 
the  strongest  plant  resulting  and  early  removing  the  rest.  Protect 
plants  from  cold  winds  and  late  frosts,  much  as  advised  in  the  case  of 
ridge  Cucumbers. 
Weeds. — The  long  spell  of  cold,  wet  westher  that  has  greatly 
checked  the  progress  of  most  crops  has  not  had  a  similar  effect  upon 
weeds,  and  they  are  in  the  ascendant  accordingly.  Advantage  should  be 
taken  of  fine,  clear  days  to  frequently  hoe  among  ‘til  advancing  crops, 
well  stirring  the  surface,  and  at  the  same  time  destroying  the  weeds. 
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IE  BEE-KEEPER. 
Seasonable  Flowers  for  Bees. 
A  few  fine  days  and  a  higher  temperature  have  had  the  desired 
effect  in  the  apiary.  Hero  all  is  life  and  bustle  where  a  few  days 
before  only  a  solitary  bee,  more  venturesome  than  the  others,  was 
to  be  seen  on  the  wing.  Now  they  are  returning  home  in  their 
thousands,  heavily  laden  with  pollen,  and  doubtless  with  a  little 
honey  ;  so  eager  are  they  to  gain  the  entrance  to  their  hive  that 
many  fail  in  the  first  attempt,  the  large  pellets  of  pollen  with 
which  they  are  loaded  appearing  almost  too  heavy  for  them.  If 
the  weather  is  fine  they  invariably  rise  again.  It  is  the  sudden 
showers  that  are  prevalent  at  this  season  that  dash  them  to  the 
ground,  many  of  them  never  to  rise  again. 
But  from  what  source  do  the  bets  obtain  a  supply  of  pollen  and 
honey  in  the  early  days  of  May  ?  In  many  country  districts  the 
plants,  shrubs,  and  trees  that  are  fast  bursting  into  bloom  are  so 
numerous  that  it  would  seem  almost  impossible  to  name  them  all ; 
a  few  of  the  more  prominent,  however,  may  be  mentioned  for  the 
benefit  of  bee  keepers. 
In  this  diitrict  (South  Yorkshire)  the  Wild  Cherry  trees,  which 
are  very  plentiful  in  the  woods,  have  been  a  sheet  of  bloom  for  at 
least  a  fortnight,  and  are  much  appreciated  by  the  bees.  They 
have  also  the  advantage  of  being  ornamental  in  the  landscape  at 
any  season.  The  sweet  or  cultivated  Cherry  is  equally  good  for 
the  bees.  Pears  and  Plums  are  now  a  mass  of  bloom,  and  bee¬ 
keepers  will  not  need  reminding  of  the  benefits  derived  from  bees 
in  fertilising  the  flowers. 
Bees  obtained  little  benefit  from  the  Gooseberries  owing  to  the 
dull  cold  weather  that  prevailed  during  the  time  they  were  in 
bloom.  The  Sycamore  and  several  varieties  of  Maple  are  fast 
opening  their  flowers  and  will  Boon  be  a  mass  of  bloom.  These 
are  much  frequented  by  bees,  the  former  yielding  a  great  quantity 
of  honey  when  the  weather  is  favourable.  In  the  garden  the  white 
Arabis  albida  has  been  a  sheet  of  bloom  for  several  weeks  past. 
Bees  never  appear  to  tire  of  working  on  this  variety, owing  to  the  fact 
of  there  being  but  few  other  flowers  at  the  season  when  it  first 
opens.  In  sheltered  positions  Tulips,  Aubrietias,  and  Wallflowers 
will  yield  a  wealth  of  bloom,  the  latter  being  much  sought  after  by 
the  bees,  as  a  plentiful  supply  of  pollen  is  obtained,  and  also  honey 
when  the  weather  is  favourable.  The  fields,  hedgerows,  and  woods 
are  carpeted  with  flowers,  many  of  which  are  of  great  benefit  to 
the  bees.  These  are  more  plentiful  than  usual,  owing  probably  to 
the  spell  of  dry  weather  experienced  last  summer  and  the  excessive 
rainfall  since. 
Removing  Spare  Combs. 
If  not  already  done  it  will  be  an  advantage  to  remove  all  spare 
combs  not  covered  by  the  bees.  If  the  stocks  are  examined  in  the 
afternoon  of  a  warm  day  it  will  at  once  be  seen  how  many  combs 
are  required.  By  removing  the  outside  frames  and  closing  the 
division  board  up  to  those  remaining  in  the  hive  the  space  will  be 
contracted,  and  will  be  the  means  of  maintaining  a  higher  tempe¬ 
rature  in  the  hive  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case. 
The  spare  combs  can  be  returned  to  the  stock  as  required.  If 
the  colony  is  a  strong  one  an  empty  frame  may  be  given  every 
three  or  four  days.  Should  a  hive  become  crowded  with  bees 
and  little  honey  is  coming  in,  a  frame  of  sealed-up  brood  may  be 
taken  out  and  given  to  a  weak  colony.  Shake  all  the  adult  bees 
off  ;  many  young  ones  will  adhere  to  the  comb,  which  may  be 
allowed  to  remain  to  strengthen  the  weak  stock  ;  being  young  they 
will  not  fight,  and  the  weaker  colony  will  accept  them  joyfully. 
This  shows  the  advantage  of  having  all  frames  the  same  size  in  an 
apiary. 
Spreading  Brood. 
Is  it  advisable  to  spread  brood  with  a  view  to  strengthening  a 
colony  ?  is  a  question  that  is  often  asked.  Personally,  I  may  say 
I  am  not  in  favour  of  it,  although  I  have  often  practised  it  in  days 
gone  by,  for  the  simple  reason  that  others  did  it,  and  as  it  was  all 
the  rage  many  years  ago  amongst  advanced  bee-keepers,  or  rather 
those  who  tried  to  improve  on  Nature  But  what  is  spreading 
brood  ?  someone  may  ask.  It  is  this.  When  the  weather  is  fairly 
warm  in  the  spring,  say  the  beginning  of  May,  contract  the  hive, 
only  leave  in  as  many  frames  as  are  well  covered  by  the  bees.  A 
