540 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Jane  17.  18  >7 
Swarming  versus  Non-swarming. 
This  is  a  much-debated  question.  Under  the  "old-fashioned 
system  of  keeping  bees  in  straw  skeps  swarming  was  universal,  and 
bee-keepers,  in  speaking  of  their  success  or  failure,  usually  spoke 
of  the  number  of  swarms  they  had  ;  and  as  a  rule,  the  earlier  th- 
swarms  were  obtained,  if  the  season  proved  favourable,  the  greater 
the  "Surplus  stored.  If  the  chief  honey  harvest  is  obtained  from  the 
Heather,  there  would  be  no  harm  in  allowing  the  bees  to  swarm, 
even  under  the  modern  syslem. 
It  could,  however,  be  done  artificially,  instead  of  leaving  it  to 
chance.  But  where  the  honev  harvest  is  obtained  from  early  spring 
flowers,  and  finishes  with  the  White  Clover  and  Limes,  and  no  second 
harvest  from  the  Heather,  I  cannot  see  the  advantage  of  the  swarm¬ 
ing  system,  as  all  the  energies  of  the  bees  are  required  in  raising 
brood  and  storing  sufficient  for  their  daily  requirements,  so  as  to 
derive  full  benefit  from  the  honey  flow  when  it  comes,  as  it  lasts 
but  a  short  time. 
If  extra  room  is  provided  when  required  in  the  frame  hive,  and 
a  system  of  rearing  young  queens  is  carried  out,  the  non-swarming 
system  is  preferable  ;  but  where  bees  are  kept  in  straw  skeps,  and 
there  are  some  cottagers  who  will  keep  them  in  no  other,  then  the 
swarming  system  is  advocated  in  preference  [to  any  other. — 
An  English  Bee-keeper.  , 
Pyrus  Aria  Propagating  (<7.  C.). — This  is  the  name  of  your  flowering: 
shrub.  It  may  be  raised  from  seeds,  which  usually  remain  dormant  until 
the  second  year ;  by  layers,  which  should  be  made  in  autumn,  and  notched 
at  a  joint,  securing  with  a  peg  so  as  to  keep  the  tongue  open ;  and  for 
standards  by  budding  or  grafting  on  the  Mountain  Ash,  at  the  height 
required. 
Azalea  mollis  Hybrids  ( I .  K.). — The  list  given  below  contains  some 
of  the  best  varieties  yet  raised.  They  produce  very  large  trusses  of  flowers, 
in  unique  and  beautiful  shades  of  colour  not  easy v  to  corre«tly  describe. 
We  should  also  advise  you  to  obtain  a  few  unnamed  seedlings,  as  something 
good  is  invariably  found  among  them.  Charles  Rogier,  Edison,  Esmeralda, 
Frederic  de  Merode,  General  Brialmont,  Gloire  de  Belgique,  Henry  Conscience, 
M.  Desbois,  Mignon,  Oswald  de  Kerchove,  Prince  Baldwin,  and  Souvenir  do 
Louis  Van  Houtte. 
Fadyenia  prolifera  (L.  S.  A.).— This  curious  little  Fern  requires  the 
temperature  of  an  ordinary  exotic  fernery,  or  the  cool  end  of  a  moist  stove. 
It  succeeds  in  a  compost  of  peat  and  sand,  with  abundant  drainage,  a  wide 
shallow  pan  being  best  suited  for  it,  as  the  long  narrow  fronds  can  then  extend 
freely.  When  the  young  plants  are  produced  at  the  point  they  will  soon  root 
in  the  soil,  and  may  be  either  separated  or  allowed  to  remain,  the  latter  being 
generally  preferred,  as  they  impart  a  peculiar  appearance  to  the  plant.  It  is 
usually  fcvund  advisable  to  cover  the  plant  with  a  bell-glass  to  preserve  an 
equable  temperature  and  moisture  about  it. 
TRANSFERRING  STOCKS. 
I  have  an-  old  stock  of  bees  in  a  straw  sleep,  which  I  wish  to  shift  into  a 
bar-frame  hive.  Could  I  do  so  now  without  much  loss?  and  if  so  would 
driving  be  the  best  method  to  follow  ? — H.  Shapley. 
[Allow  the  bees  to  swarm,  and  place  the  swarm  in  the  frame  hive,  using 
guide  comb  or  full  sheets  of  foundation  in  the  frames.  The  latter  is  preferable, 
as  much  valuable  time  is  saved.  The  beps  remaining  in  the  straw  sleep  will 
rear  a  young  queen.  These  should  be  driven  from  the  skep  at  the  end  of  the 
season,  and  if  only  one  stock  is  required  remove  the  queen  from  the  6 warm 
and  unite  with  the  driven  bees.  The  colony  will  then  be  headed  by  a  young 
fertile  queen. 
If  the  bees  show  no  sign  of  swarming  drive  them  in  the  usual  manner  until 
the  queen  is  seen  to  go  up  into  empty  skep.  This  is  important,  otherwise  it 
will  end  in  failure.  The  frame  hive  being  in  readiness,  and  the  frames 
prepared  as  above,  shake  the  bees  and  queen  into  the  hive,  and  place  a  piece 
of  excluder  zinc  on  the  top  of  frames  on  which  the  skep  containing  bees  and 
brood  should  be  placed. 
The  queen  will  thus  be  kept  in  the  body  of  the  hive,  and  will  fill  the  combs 
with  eggs,  whilst  the  workers  will  attend  to  the  hatching  brood  in  the  skep. 
Three  weeks  afterwards  the  brood  will  have  all  hatched  in  the  skep,  when  thy 
skep  may  be  removed,  and  a  crate  of  sections  or  shallow  frames  be  given  instead. 
The  skep  may  be  allowed  to  remain  as  a  super,  but  the  honey  will  not  be  in  as 
good  condition  as  when  stored  in  sections. — An  English  Bee-keeper.] 
TRADE  CATALOGUE  RECEIVED. 
Ant.  Roozen  &  Son,  Overveen,  Haarlem,  Holland. — Butch  and  Cape  Bulbs. 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
e  * 
a  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  he  directed  to  “  The  Editor,'’  8,  Rose  Hill 
Road ,  Wandsworth ,  London ,  S.  W.  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 
departmental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters 
they  may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects,  through  the 
po9t.  If  information  be  desired  on  aDy  particular  subject  from 
any  particular  authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be 
made  to  obtain  it  by  the  Editor. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions 
relating  to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should 
never  send  more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All 
articles  intended  for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of 
the  paper  only.  We  cannot,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions  through 
the  post,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  communications 
which,  for  any  reason,  cannot  be  inserted. 
English  Asparagus  (7.  B.,  Sussex). — The  wholesale  prices  of  this  delicious 
vegetable  vary  from  day  to  day  in  Covent  Garden,  according  to  the  supply 
and  character  of  the  produce.  On  the  15th  inst.  the  best  Middlesex  “  grass  ” 
ragged  from  3s.  6d.  to  4s.  a  bundle  of  not  less  than  105  heads,  produce  from 
some  other  districts  selling  from  Is.  to  2s.  The  best  of  everything  pays  the 
best,  and  when  this  or  any  other  vegetable  “makes  nothing,”  it  is  either 
because  the  samples  are  inferior  or  sent  at  the  wrong  time.  First-class 
Asparagus  seems  to  be  always  in  demand. 
Cucumber  Culture  ( Mancunian ). — The  culture  of  Cucumbers  is  dealt 
with  from  time  to  time  under  the  heading  of  “  Fruit  Forcing.”  The  following 
brief  hints  will,  however,  be  of  assistance  to  you  : — Turfy  loam,  inclining 
to  be  heavy  rather  than  light,  chopped  up  roughly,  and  about  a  sixth  part 
of  sweet  decayed  manure  mixed  with  it  (not  rank  manure)  will  form  a  good 
rooting  medium.  If  you  can  add  a  shovelful  or  two  of  crushed  lime  rubbish 
and  wood  ashes  to  a  large  barro  wful  of  the  compost  do  so,  but  they  are  not 
essential.  A  temperature  of  65°  at  night,  rising  to  90°  in  the  day  with  sun, 
also  plenty  of  moisture  in  the  air  and  the  soil,  will  promote  rapid  growth. 
A  dry  atmosphere  favours  insects,  and  dry  soil  arrests  growth.  Unless  the 
male  flowers  are  very  numerous  and  the  fruiting  flowers  sparse  you  need 
not  trouble  yo'u  rself  about  the  former.  Secure  sound  healthy  growth,  with 
the  leaves  fully  exposed  to  the  light,  and  good  crops  of  Cucumbers  will 
follow. 
Cephalotus  follicularis  (S.  E.  W.). — This  pretty  and  interesting  little 
plant  is  a  native  of  Australia,  where  it  was  first  discovered  by  Labillardiere, 
who  described  and  figured  it ;  subsequently  Mr.  Robert  Brown  also  found  a 
specimen  during  his  voyage  with  Captain  Flinders.  It  was  first  cultivated 
in  England  about  1822,  and  is  now  by  no  means  a  rarity.  The  plant  is 
remarkable  in  several  ways,  for  it  is  the  only  species  of  the  genus,  and  is  con¬ 
sidered  sufficiently  distinct  to  constitute  a  natural  order  (allied  to  the  Poly¬ 
gonums),  and  we  thus  have  the  peculiarity  of  a  family  composed  of  one 
individual.  Iu  the  leaves,  too,  we  find  another  singular  feature — some  are 
flat  and  elliptical  in  form,  while  others  are.  converted  into  extremely  neat 
and  pret  ty  little  pitchers  or  ascidia,  somewhat  resembling  those  of  Nepenthes, 
only  much  smaller.  They  are  dark  green  with  a  purplish  shading,  and  pink 
veins,  and  are  furnished  wi  th  small  lids,  the  mouth  of  the  pitcher  being 
bordered  with  a  dark-  co  loured  furrowed  ring.  This  Cephalotus  is  an  inha¬ 
bitant  of  marshy  land  ;  it  should  therefore  be  provided  with  a  soil  composed 
of  peat  and  live  sphagnu  m  moss,  the  pot  being  well  drained  and  placed  in  a 
shallow  pan  containing  water.  If  the  plant  is  grown  in  a  pan,  that  should 
be  placed  inside  anoth  er  larger  oue,  the  space  being  filled  with  fine  Derby¬ 
shire  spar  and  kept  constantly  moist.  In  either  case  a  bell-glass  should  be 
placed  over  the  plant.  The  best  position  and  temperature  is  the  cool  end  of 
the  stove  or  Orchid  house,  where  with  careful  attention  in  supplying  the 
requisite  moisture  the  plant  will  grow  freely. 
Holly  Leaves  Blistered  (Subscriber  to  “  our  Journal ”  for  nearly  Twenty 
Years).— The  Holly  leaves  are  much  disfigured  by  the  irregular  pale  blotches 
on  the  upper  surface,  which  gives  them  a  blistered  appearance.  These  are 
spaces  mined  in  the  green  cellular  tissue,  and  are  the  work  of  the  larvae 
of  the  Holly  leaf  fly  (Phytomyza  Ilicis).  Commonly,  two  or  three  larv® 
are  to  be  found  iu  a  leaf,  each  in  its  own  mine.  They  are  about  one- 
tenth  of  an  inch  in  length,  yellowish-white,  with  a  dark  brown  or  black 
mouth.  The  small,  oval,  brown-ringed,  pup®  may  be  found  in  the  mine 
in  the  winter,  where  they  remain  until  the.  early  summer,  and  then  emerge 
in  the  perfected  form.  This  is  a  two-winged  fly,  black,  with  pale  yellow 
proboscis,  except  the  black  palpi  and  hairs.  The  most  successful  plan, 
next  to  destroying  the  insects  by  removing  the  mined' leaves  and  burning 
them,  which  we  do  not  advise,  as  it  greatly  weakens  the  trees  (and  must 
be  done  whilst  the  inse  cts  are  in  them,  which  they  are  not  now),  is  to 
syringe  the  trees  with  a  solution  of  soluble  petroleum,  which  may  be 
readily  made  by  dissolving  lb.  of  softsoap  in  a  gallon  of  water  by  boiling, 
and  when  dissolved  remove  from  the  fire  for  safety,  adding  at  once  2  gills 
(half  a  pint)  of  petroleum,  stirring  briskly  till  amalgamated,  and  dilute  to 
10  gallons  for  use  by  adding  the  required  amount  of  hot  water,  but  not 
using  till  cooled  to  90°  to  1003.  It  should  be  applied  at  the  end  of  May 
or  early  in  June  as  a  preventive  of  attack.  We  have  used  it  during  attack 
with  good  results,  as  the  petroleum  seems  to  sink  into  the  mined  portion, 
©f  the  leaf,  land  destroys  the  pest  in  the  mine. 
