46 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  11, 1S95, 
liberal  with  the  seeds,  an  early  thinning  being  given  if  the  seedlings 
come  up  too  thickly. 
Cabbag-e. — Those  few  who  were  in  a  position  to  cut  Cabbage  early 
last  spring  had  good  reason  to  congratulate  themselves.  Others  probably 
might  have  been  equally  successful  if  they  had  followed  the  same  line 
of  culture.  The  varieties  that  are  the  most  reliable,  notably  Bllam’s 
Dwarf  Spring,  Matchless,  and  Wheeler’s  Imperial,  require  to  be  sown 
not  later  than  the  second  week  in  July  in  the  more  northern  localities, 
and  in  the  Midlands  and  South  from  a  week  to  a  fortnight  later.  A 
second  sowing  may  be  made  from  a  fortnight  to  three  weeks  later.  If 
the  latest-raised  plants  fail  to  become  large  enough  for  putting  out  in 
the  autumn  they  will  yet  be  very  acceptable  for  planting  in  the  spring. 
Iieeks. — When  these  are  about  12  inches  high  planting  ought  to  be 
proceeded  with.  Leeks  are  exceptionally  hardy,  and  may,  therefore,  be 
grown  on  cold  exposed  borders  with  advantage.  In  any  case  the  ground 
ought  to  be  freely  manured  and  deeply  dug.  Very  good  Leeks  can  be 
had  by  simply  dropping  the  plants  into  holes  6  inches  to  9  inches  deep, 
formed  with  an  ordinary  dibber,  a  watering  being  sufficient  for  fixing 
the  roots.  They  may  be  disposed  12  inches  apart  each  way. 
Otber  Winter  Crops. — It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  plant  Broccoli. 
There  is  little  likelihood  of  too  many  Veitch’s  Self-protecting  being 
grown,  but  plants  should  have  the  benefit  of  good,  moderately  firm 
ground.  Late-raised  and  late-planted  Snow’s  Winter  succeeds  the  best, 
and  this  forms  a  good  succession  to  early  or  second  early  Peas.  The 
rest  should  be  planted  on  firm  good  ground,  that  newly  cleared  of 
Strawberries  or  Peas  answering  well.  Arrange  the  rows  midway  between 
the  old  Strawberry  lines,  and  the  plants  2  feet  apart  in  the  rows.  Late- 
planted  Borecole,  Brussels  Sprouts,  Savoys,  and  Chou  de  Burghley 
'  should  have  the  benefit  of  good,  somewhat  firm  ground,  and  may  be 
arranged  more  closely  together  than  those  put  out  earlier. 
Beans.  —  Broad  Beans  are  badly  infested  with  black  aphis  this 
season.  These  may  be  got  rid  of  by  topping,  and  any  not  so  removed 
will  disappear  if  freely  syringed  with  clear  water.  Runner  Beans  not 
staked  must  be  kept  closely  stopped,  or  otherwise  the  haulm  will  soon 
be  a  confused  mass.  Keep  the  pods  closely  gathered  from  the  dwarf  or 
kidney  Beans,  or  else  cropping  will  soon  cease.  Thin  out  the  later 
sowings  freely,  and  mould  up  the  rows.  Now  is  a  good  time  to  sow  on 
a  warm  border. 
Tomatoes.  —  These  have  started  remarkably  well.  Remove  all 
superfluous  growths,  and  which  includes  most  or  all  of  the  side  shoots, 
but  do  not  cut  oS  the  older  leaves  on  main  stems.  Some  varieties  are 
much  addicted  to  the  production  of  coarse  central  flowers,  and  unless  these 
are  pinched  out  unshapely  fruit  will  follow.  Keep  the  leading  growths 
closely  trained,  not  topping  them  till  three  or  four  clusters  of  fruit  are 
showing.  In  very  dry  positions  water  should  be  given  occasionally,  and 
in  all  cases  a  mulching  of  short,  well-decayed  manure  would  be 
beneficial. 
APIARIAN  NOTES. 
We  have  had  some  refreshing  showers  with  a  little  thunder,  and 
wish  for  more.  The  dead  calm  which,  as  a  rule,  has  prevailed 
since  the  21st  December  continues.  Bees  have  had  a  week  of  com¬ 
parative  idleness,  and  not  until  the  dullness  clears  away  do  I  expect 
any  honey  gathering.  Super  work  is  at  a  standstill,  many  hiveb 
remaining  unsupered,  and  unless  the  honey  flow  begins  soon  hives 
will  only  be  supered  in  prospect  of  a  Heather  yield.  The  Heather 
in  some  places,  owing  to  the  dry  weather,  is  fine,  and  early — 
which,  to  get  full  advantage  of,  bees  should  be  taken  to  it  before 
July  is  out. 
Taking  Bees  to  the  Heather. 
Although  my  hives  are  neither  supered  nor  prepared  for 
moving,  a  few  minutes  spent  on  each  hive  is  all  the  time  necessary 
to  do  so.  The  outer  wrappings  will  be  put  past  for  winter,  retain¬ 
ing  one  piece  of  sacking  for  each  hive,  to  be  loosely  hung  round 
the  hive,  surmounted  by  an  oilcloth.  Of  course,  inside  the  super 
protectors  and  over  supers  are  from  3  to  4  inches  of  warm  packing, 
which  if  removed  when  in  transit  to  and  from  the  Heather  secures 
arnple  ventilation  from  the  floor  upwards,  prevents  bees  being 
stifled  to  death  on  the  journeys,  and  incipient  foul  brood,  which 
soon  develops  into  a  virulent  form.  Overheating  and  chilling, 
through  brood  spreading,  supering  over  open  crowns,  and  crowd¬ 
ing  bees  in  too  little  space,  are  the  causes  of  so  much  foul  brood. 
When  at  the  Heather  bees  breed  excessively  if  the  weather  is 
fine,  consequently  they  require  pollen  both  for  present  and  future 
use,  and  that  is  one  of  the  reasons  hives  filled  from  Heather 
sources  are  in  prime  condition  for  spring  breeding.  But  sugar 
syrup  is  better,  being  more  healthful  than  Heather  honey  for  bees 
during  winter.  Fix  hives  thoroughly  so  that  bees  cannot  escape, 
and  ventilate  so  that  the  hive  cannot  rise  in  temperature  above  the 
normal.  In  addition  to  free  ventilation  hives  should  be  provided 
with  double  air  space  than  the  bees  occupy. 
Bees  Eating  and  Puncturing  Fruit. 
“  Alpha  ”  (page  8)  is  not  the  first  who  has  asserted  bees  eat 
fruit.  Bees  suck  the  saccharine  from  fruit  only  when  the  skin  is 
broken.  If  “  Alpha  ”  or  any  other  person  will  cite  one  case  or 
give  proof  of  bees  breaking  the  skin  of  any  fruit  I  shall  be  greatly 
surprised. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  past  ten  days  have  been  unfavourable  for  honey  pro¬ 
duction,  heavy  showers  and  a  low  temperature  prevailing  the  whole 
of  the  time.  White  Clover  is  now  in  full  bloom,  but  during  that 
time  the  bees  have  not  reaped  any  benefit  from  many  acres  of 
Clover  that  are  within  a  short  distance  of  their  hives.  Several 
strong  stocks  have  already  commenced  to  kill  olf  the  drones — a 
sure  sign  that  stores  are  getting  short.  On  July  6th  the  tempera¬ 
ture  was  high,  and  the  sun  shining  brightly  throughout  the  day  has 
caused  the  busy  workers  to  store  a  considerable  surplus,  illustrating 
the  fact  that  by  keeping  all  stocks  strong  they  will  reap  full  benefit 
from  the  fine  weather  when  it  comes. 
This  should  be  the  aim  of  all  bee-keepers,  no  matter  what  class 
of  hive  they  have  in  use,  and  should  the  fine  weather  continue 
for  another  fortnight  they  will  no  doubt  make  great  headway,  and 
strong  colonies  will  to  a  certain  extent  make  up  for  loss  of  time. 
Still,  it  is  now  too  late  in  this  district;,  even  with  the  most 
favourable  weather,  to  be  anything  more  than  a  fair  average 
season. 
Those  who  are  working  for  comb  honey  should  lose  no  time 
in  making  a  thorough  examination  of  all  stocks.  All  finished 
sections  should  be  removed,  for  if  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
hive  many  days  after  being  sealed  over  they  will  soon  become 
discoloured,  owing  to  the  bees  constantly  running  over  them.  The 
space  may  be  filled  with  empty  sections  in  which  a  piece  of  guide 
comb  had  been  previously  placed.  I  am  not  an  advocate  for 
using  full  sheets  of  comb  in  sections,  as  the  midrib  even  in  the 
thin  super  foundation  is  always  much  more  prominent  than  in  the 
naturally  made  comb,  but  for  exhibition  purposes  it  is  an  advantage 
to  use  full  sheets. 
If  honey  is  coming  in  somewhat  freely,  and  the  first  crate  of 
sections  is  nearly  full  and  partly  sealed  over,  it  will  be  advisable  to 
give  another  crate  of  sections,  placing  them  underneath  the  former. 
The  bees  will  then  rapidly  draw  out  the  combs  and  fill  them  with 
honey,  the  top  crate  of  sections  being  sealed  over  at  the  same 
time.  These,  as  soon  as  properly  sealed,  should  be  removed,  and 
the  space  filled  with  the  most  forward  sections  from  the  lower 
crate,  which  should  again  be  filled  with  empty  sections,  always 
keeping  the  most  forward  ones  on  the  top. 
By  working  on  this  system  valuable  time  is  saved,  and  a  much 
larger  surplus  may  be  obtained  than  is  possible  if  only  one  crate  is 
used,  as  during  the  honey  fiow,  if  the  weather  is  favourable,  a 
strong  colony  will  store  honey  in  supers  much  faster  than  it  can  be 
sealed  over. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
All  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  Thb 
Editor  or  to  “  The  Publisher.”  Letters  addressed  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  often  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  We  request  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense. 
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  reply  to  questions  through  the  post, 
and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected  communications. 
Book  on  Botany  (^E.  H.'). — Hooker’s  “  Botany,”  published  by  Mac¬ 
millan  &;  Co.,  will  suit  you.  It  may  be  had  from  any  bookseller  for  Is. 
Zonal  Pelargronlums  Sportingr  (^B,  Gibbons). — We  have  seen 
several  examples  of  plants  similar  to  the  one  with  white  and  scarlet 
flowers  of  which  you  send  a  photograph.  The  scarlet  variety 
Vesuvius  is  particularly  given  to  sporting,  and  has  in  this  way  given 
rise  to  distinct  forms,  such  as  White  Vesuvius,  Salmon  Vesuvius,  and 
Striped  Vesuvius.  These  freaks  of  Nature  cannot  be  precisely  accounted 
for.  Delay  has  occurred  in  answering  your  letter  through  an  accidental 
misdelivery. 
