118 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  1,  1896. 
days,  and  is  best  applied  at  a  temperature  of  90°  to  100°.  If  there  are 
any  plants  they  must  be  removed,  and  if  the  roots  of  the  Vines  be  near 
the  surface  cover  the  border  with  dry,  short  material  to  absorb  the 
waste. 
Keep  the  laterals  fairly  in  check,  but  not  closely  pinched,  unless  the 
Vines  are  very  vigorous  and  not  ripening  the  wood  well ;  then  keeping 
the  house  rather  dry  at  night  with  all  the  air  possible,  and  somewhat 
close  and  warm  by  day,  will  tend  to  promote  the  maturity  of  the  wood 
and  buds.  In  stopping  vigorous  Vines  regard  must  be  had  to  the  prin¬ 
cipal  buds,  not  pinching  so  close  as  to  cause  them  to  start  into  growth. 
Such  Vines  should  be  kept  without  water  until  the  leaves  are  a  little 
limp,  but  not  to  the  extent  of  flagging.  Vines  that  on  the  other  hand 
are  not  strong,  having  been  enfeebled  by  continuous  cropping  or  other 
causes,  should  be  encouraged  to  make  growth  by  applying  liquid  manure 
to  the  border,  or  top-dressings  of  the  advertised  fertilisers  washed  in ; 
but  whatever  extraneous  foliage  is  made  must  not  be  allowed  to  interfere 
with  the  free  access  of  light  and  air  to  the  principal  leaves,  which  should 
be  kept  clean  and  healthy,  so  that  they  may  appropriate  some  of  the 
extra  food,  assimilating  and  storing  it  in  the  buds  and  adjacent  wood. 
Ventilate  freely  day  and  night. 
Grapes  Ripening. — Admit  air  constantly,  enough  with  a  gentle 
warmth  in  the  pipes  to  insure  a  circulation.  In  ripening  most  Grapes 
swell  considerably,  therefore  a  moderate  amount  of  air  moisture  is 
necessary,  and  there  must  not  be  any  deficiency  of  water  at  the  roots. 
Give  the  border  if  necessary  a  thorough  supply  and  in  the  early  part  of 
the  day,  so  that  the  superfluous  water  may  be  dissipated  before  night. 
If  the  Vines  are  heavily  cropped  afford  substantial  food,  such  as  phos¬ 
phates,  nitrates,  and  sulphates,  or  the  advertised  fertilisers,  which  act 
promptly  and  steadily,  and  allow  them  plenty  of  time,  otherwise  if 
there  be  any  hastening  of  the  ripening  and  a  deficiency  of  moisture  or 
nourishment  it  is  likely  the  fruit  will  be  defective  in  colour.  A  tempera¬ 
ture  of  60°  to  65°  at  night  with  air  is  a  great  help  to  Vines  with  a  heavy 
weight  of  Grapes,  If  kept  warmer  at  night  the  Grapes  ripen  faster  and 
colour  less  freely,  A  temperature  of  70°  to  75°  by  day  from  fire  heat  is 
ample,  for  heat  will  not  impart  colour.  A  moderate  moisture  should  be 
secured  by  damping  occasionally,  and  if  possible  allow  the  laterals  to 
extend,  for  it  is  chlorophyll  that  is  needed,  but  overburdened  Vines 
rarely  push  laterals,  having  enough  to  do  to  supply  the  principal  foliage 
and  Grapes  with  nourishment. 
Melons. — Damp  and  dull  weather  always  affects  these  plants, 
especially  those  in  frames  ;  they  start  into  over-luxuriance,  and  set  the 
fruit  indifferently.  The  growths  should  be  kept  thin,  and  a  little  air 
given  constantly,  maintaining  the  heat  by  manure  or  grass  mowings 
placed  around  the  frame,  renewing  at  intervals.  A  quantity  of  either 
litter  or  grass  to  produce  a  great  change  is  not  good,  but  a  gentle 
warmth  with  the  ventilation  favours  a  good  set  and  the  swelling  of  the 
fruit.  Fertilise  the  flowers  daily  on  plants  now  in  bloom,  and  go  over 
them  frequently  for  the  removal  of  superfluous  growths.  Keep  the 
atmosphere  dry  where  the  fruit  is  ripening,  moisture  condensed  on  the 
rind  causes  Melons  to  crack.  Maintain  a  bottom  heat  80°  to  85°,  top 
heat  70°  at  night,  or  even  5°  less,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day.  In  dull  weather 
admit  a  little  air  at  75°  if  the  day  is  likely  to  be  fine,  allow  the  heat  to 
rise  to  80°  before  giving  more,  and  keep  through  the  day  at  85°  or  90°, 
closing  so  as  to  increase  to  90°  or  95°.  A  free  circulation  of  rather  dry 
air  greatly  improves  the  flavour  and  finish  of  Melons  when  ripening. 
If  fruit  is  wanted  very  late  make  a  last  sowing  now.  Plants  for  fruiting 
in  October  should  be  planted  at  once,  it  being  highly  important  that 
they  have  a  light  and  well  heated  structure. 
1 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
c- 
APIARIAN  NOTES. 
Hives  at  the  Heather. 
Those  bee- keepers  who  have  taken  bees  to  the  Heather  for 
years  are  cognisant  of  the  great  difference  of  honey  gathered 
by  colonies  situated  at  short  distances  from  each  other.  The  first 
thing  to  aim  at  is  to  have  the  hives  placed  so  that  the  rising  sun 
shines  on  them  ;  and  the  second  is  to  have  them  situated  so  that 
they  are  well  sheltered  from  eddy  or  gusty  winds  for  100  yards  or 
more  from  their  site. 
By  the  building  of  a  dyke  15  yards  in  length  across  a  gully 
thousands  of  bees  were  saved.  This  dyke  enabled  the  bees  to 
cross  a  spot  in  safety  that  previous  to  its  being  built  thousands 
of  bees  were  lost  daily.  At  a  slight  angle  from  it  there  ran 
another  dyke  right  up  to  the  hives,  the  bees  availing  themselves 
of  its  shelter  whether  the  wind  was  easterly  or  westerly. 
It  is  near  the  apiary  where  most  bees  are  lost  ;  when  far  out 
they  tack  and  fly  to  the  lee-side  of  hills,  but  if  no  shelter  is  near 
the  wearied  bees  drop  and  die  from  exhaustion  and  chill  loaded 
with  their  precious  burdens. 
Often  there  is  no  choice  of  site,  but  a  little  judgment  in  setting 
the  hives  in  proper  positions  will  amend  matters  greatly.  In  such 
cases  avoid  cross  winds,  and  it  will  astonish  some  persons  at  the  great 
difference  in  saving  bees  a  few  feet  makes.  By  attending  to  that 
my  hives  for  many  years  come  home  better  than  when  they  went 
away. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee  keeper. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
In  districts  where  White  Clover  and  the  Lime  trees  are  the 
chief  source  from  which  the  honey  harvest  is  obtained  the  season  is 
now  practically  over,  although  there  is  a  great  quantity  of  White 
Clover  still  in  bloom,  more  than  I  remember  to  have  seen  before  so 
late  in  the  season.  Although  flowers  are  so  plentiful  they  have 
been  of  little  use  to  the  bees,  as  it  has  rained  daily  for  the  past  ten 
days,  and  during  that  time  over  3  inches  of  rainfall  has  been 
recorded. 
Under  the  circumstances  it  is  not  surprising  that  no  surplus 
has  been  stored,  and  even  with  favourable  weather  the  late  crop  of 
Clover  does  not  yield  nearly  so  much  honey  as  the  first  crop  of 
bloom.  The  Limes  flowered  profusely,  but  no  honey  was  obtained 
owing  to  the  incessant  rain.  In  the  south  one  hears  of  fino 
weather,  the  pastures  being  burnt  up,  and  no  flowers  for  the  bees 
to  work  on,  but  in  the  midland  counties  there  has  been  abundance 
of  bloom. 
Stocks  should  now  be  examined  and  all  finished  sections  removed. 
It  is  now  too  late  to  fill  the  vacant  space  with  empty  ones.  Those 
that  are  full,  but  not  sealed  over,  should  be  moved  closely  together,, 
placed  over  the  brood  nest,  and  the  whole  covered  up  warm. 
Should  we  be  favoured  with  a  few  fine  days  it  may  be  the  means  of 
the  bees  finishing  them  off,  otherwise  the  honey  would  have  to  be 
extracted  and  the  sections  placed  in  a  dry  place  for  another  year. 
These  make  capital  starters  for  bees  early  in  the  season  when  there 
is  sometimes  a  difficulty  in  getting  the  bees  to  start  in  supers. 
Bees  will  often  commence  storing  a  surplus  in  fully  drawn-out 
combs,  and  as  the  majority  of  bee-keepers  do  not  succeed  in  having 
all  their  sections  sealed  over  and  finished  off  fit  for  the  market  or 
home  consumption,  it  is  an  advantage  to  have  a  few  on  hand. — 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Cooper,  Taber  &  Co.,  Ltd,,  Southwark  Street,  S.E. — Wholesale  Bulh 
List. 
E.  &  G.  Cuthbert,  Southgate. — Bnlhous  Flowering  Roots. 
W,  H.  Hudson,  Kilburn. —  List  of  Special  Manures. 
J.  H.  Knowles,  15,  Eush  Hill  Eoad,  Lavender  Hill. — Catalogue  of 
Botanical  Worhs. 
T.  Methven  &  Sons,  15,  Prince’s  Street,  Edinburgh. — Bulb  Catalogue.. 
L.  Spath,  Eixdorf,  Berlin. — Bulbous  Plants. 
All  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  The 
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. 
Tomatoes  Diseased  (^R.  C.  A.). — Your  Tomatoes  are  attacked  by 
the  pest  Cladosporium  lycopersici.  See  reply  to  “  H.  M.”  on  page  95  of 
our  last  issue. 
Carnations  (J.  T.'). — The  Carnation  blooms  sent  show  promise  of 
excellence,  but  unfortunately  many  of  the  petals  were  curled  up  when 
they  reached  these  oflSces.  Evidently  they  are  worth  further  trial. 
Calceolaria  amplexlcaulls  {Inquirer'). — Cuttings  of  this  distinct 
Calceolaria  are  best  rooted  in  pots  of  sandy  soil  in  a  cool  frame  in  the 
autumn  and  kept  close  to  prevent  the  leaves  flagging.  The  plants  can 
then  be  wintered  on  a  greenhouse  shelf  and  potted  separately  in  the 
spring.  We  have  wintered  them  in  a  frame,  but  they  are  prone  to  suffer 
and  some  of  them  to  damp  off.  The  plants  are  not  so  hardy  as  the 
ordinary  bedding  Calceolarias.  You  can  take  up  and  pot  the  old  plants. 
Calceolaria  pinnata  may  be  raised  under  glass  in  the  spring  and  treated 
in  the  same  way  as  seedling  Petunias  or  half-hardy  annuals. 
