262 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  12,  1896. 
should  be  drawn  over  the  roof  lights  to  prevent  it.  Mamburghs  and 
Foster’s  Seedling  will  bear  as  much  moisture  as  the  thick-skinned 
varieties,  provided  it  is  not  stagnant,  and  it  is  very  necessary  for  the 
foliage  of  both,  which  must  be  kept  healthy.  Madresfield  Court  will 
not  endure  moisture  to  anything  like  the  same  extent  as  Hamburghs, 
and  must  be  treated  accordingly.  It,  however,  loses  colour  quite  as 
badly,  and  must  be  shielded  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  Muscats 
hanging  on  Vines  with  the  roots  in  outside  borders  will  keep  a  long 
time  by  protecting  the  roots  from  heavy  rains.  A  covering  of  dry 
fern  or  tarpaulin  answers,  but  glazed  lights  are  better,  placing  in  a 
sloping  position  for  throwing  off  rain,  as  they  admit  sun  heat  and 
retain  it  for  warming  the  borders.  If  the  foliage  is  not  suflScient  for 
the  protection  of  the  tender  skin  of  the  berries  some  light  shading  will 
be  necessary,  particularly  where  the  houses  are  glazed  with  large  panes 
of  glass.  A  single  thickness  of  pilchard  netting  is  sufficient,  or  hexagon 
netting  may  be  used,  which  efiEectually  excludes  wasps  and  bluebottle 
flies.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  keep  Muscats  well  without  a  gentle 
warmth  in  the  pipes,  in  order  to  keep  the  air  in  motion,  for  when  it  is 
still  moisture  sometimes  condenses  on  tha  berries,  and  they  are  then 
liable  to  spot.  The  warmth  should  be  accompanied  by  free  venti¬ 
lation. 
Late  Houses. — Muscat  and  other  late  Grapes  still  require  fire  heat, 
accompanied  with  free  ventilation,  continuing  it  until  they  are 
thoroughly  finished.  Muscats  do  best  when  the  foliage  is  rather  thin  ; 
indeed  the  leaves  may  be  tied  aside,  as  it  is  necessary  that  the  fruit 
should  have  abundance  of  light  and  air,  so  essential  for  thorough  ripen¬ 
ing  and  producing  the  amber  colour  characteristic  of  good  quality  and 
finish.  Keep  the  night  temperature  at  65°  to  70°,  with  a  fall  of  5° 
through  the  night,  and  turn  the  heat  on  in  good  time  in  the  morning  so 
as  to  allow  an  increase  of  ventilation  and  the  temperature  to  rise  to  70° 
to  75°,  so  as  to  insure  to  the  Grapes  a  long  ripening  day,  the  tempera¬ 
ture  being  kept  at  80°  to  85°  from  sun,  and  with  a  free  circulation  of  air 
90°  to  95°.  The  heat  should  be  kept  up  by  reducing  the  ventilation 
with  the  declining  sun,  and  the  temperature  allowed  to  gradually  decline 
at  night,  only  keeping  warmth  in  the  pipes  to  allow  the  top  and  bottom 
ventilators  to  be  left  open  to  a  slight  extent  so  as  to  insure  a  circulation 
of  air,  and  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  on  the  berries  during  the 
night.  This  should  be  continued  until  the  Grapes  are  thoroughly  ripe 
and  finished,  when  a  gradual  reduction  of  temperature  should  take 
place,  otherwise  the  Grapes  will  shrivel.  This  must  be  guarded  against 
by  not  allowing  the  border,  especially  inside,  to  become  dry.  If  there 
is  any  fear  of  this  a  good  watering  should  be  given  on  a  fine  morning 
when  air  can  be  freely  admitted,  and  the  border  may  be  covered  with 
sweet  dry  material  to  keep  down  moisture.  A  temperature  of  50°  to  55° 
is  necessary  for  keeping  Muscat  of  Alexandria  Grapes  in  good  condition 
after  they  are  ripe,  and  other  houses  of  late  thick-skinned  varieties  will 
require  a  similar  temperature  for  the  benefit  of  the  Vines. 
Late  Houses  of  Hamburgh  Grapes. — The  Sweetwater  section  of  Vines 
that  have  received  little  or  no  aid  artificially  are  well  advanced  in  colour 
and  ripening.  Nevertheless,  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  pipes  is  desirable, 
so  as  to  allow  a  free  circulation  of  air  and  to  maintain  a  temperature  of 
60°  to  65°  at  night.  A  little  artificial  heat  in  the  daytime  will  also  be 
of  benefit  in  allowing  free  ventilation  and  making  the  most  of  sun  heat. 
Hamburghs  colour  and  finish  best  beneath  a  good  spread  of  foliage,  but 
it  is  well  not  to  encourage  lateral  growth  now ;  at  the  same  time  the 
tendency  to  defective  colouring  and  shanking  is  accelerated  by  large 
reductions  of  foliage,  and  equally  so  by  sudden  fluctuations  of  tempe¬ 
rature.  A  little  air  may  be  admitted  top  and  bottom  until  the  Grapes 
are  ripe.  If  there  is  any  deficiency  of  moisture  in  the  borders  it  will  be 
better  to  give  a  supply  of  water  now  than  delay  it  until  a  later  period. 
Outside  borders  will  in  most  instances  be  sufficiently  moist,  if  not  they 
may  be  watered,  and  unless  the  weather  becomes  excessively  wet  they 
need  not  be  covered,  but  means  for  throwing  off  heavy  rains  are  desirable, 
especially  where  the  borders  are  not  porous  and  thoroughly  drained. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  present  spell  of  fine  weather  is  enabling  the  bees  to  obtain 
a  fair  amount  of  stores  from  the  late  summer  flowers,  and  of  these 
Mignonette  and  Ivy  are  two  of  the  best.  The  former  has  grown 
remarkably  well  during  the  past  summer,  and  although  it  has  been 
flowering  for  some  months  past  it  is  still  growing  and  blooming 
freely,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  the  frost  comes  ;  and  as  the 
bees  obtain  both  honey  and  pollen  from  this,  the  favourite  flower 
of  both  rich  and  poor,  a  note  should  be  made  of  its  good  qualities, 
so  that  it  may  be  more  extensively  grown  another  season.  This 
plant  is  not  particular  as  regards  soil,  and  the  earlier  it  is  sown  in 
the  spring  the  better.  The  Ivy,  too,  yields  a  great  deal  of  pollen 
and  a  fair  amount  of  honey. 
At  this  time  of  the  year  plants  that  have  been  allowed  to  grow 
at  will,  in  many  instances  covering  old  buildings  and  the  stump  of 
trees,  will  now  be  a  mass  of  bloom,  which  will  be  visited  by  tens  of 
thousands  of  bees  during  the  bright  summer-like  weather  we  are 
now  experiencing  ;  many  other  flowers  of  more  or  less  value  may 
be  noted  as  valuable  to  the  bees  at  this  season,  but  I  do  not 
know  of  any  so  useful  as  the  two  above  mentioned.  In  the 
fields  there  is  a  fair  amount  of  White  Clover  in  bloom,  much  more 
than  usual  at  this  time  of  the  year,  but  the  bees  do  not  work 
nearly  as  freely  on  it  as  they  do  early  in  the  season.  Although  the 
weather  is  so  favourable  it  is  only  a  limited  supply  that  bees  can 
obtain  from  fiowers  at  this  season,  and  will  be  only  sufficient  for 
their  present  needs,  so  there  should  be  no  excuse  for  not  at  once 
feeding  up  stocks  for  the  winter.  The  present  warm  weather  is  so 
favourable  that  no  time  should  be  lost  in  feeding  all  that  require 
it,  as  advised  in  previous  directions,  as  there  is  no  comparison 
between  stocks  that  were  fed  early  in  the  season  and  those  that 
were  left  until  late,  when  there  is  often  a  difficulty  in  getting  the 
bees  to  take  the  syrup  in  sufficient  quantity  to  tide  over  the  winter, 
and  if  not  sealed  over  similar  to  natural  stores  dysentery  will 
follow. — An  English  Bee-keepee. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Messrs.  H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley.  —  Bulbs  and  General 
Catalogue . 
Messrs.  Hogg  &  Robertson,  Dublin. — Bulbs. 
T.  S.  Ware,  Tottenham,  London. — Carnations  and  Bulbs. 
•jj*  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. 
Dimensions  of  Tennis  Court  {E.  H.'). — A  full-sized  tennis  court 
is  78  feet  long  by  36  feet  wide.  Within  the  side  lines  are  drawn  the  two 
service  lines,  feet  from  and  parallel  with  them.  The  net  should  be 
placed  across  the  court  exactly  in  the  centre.  On  each  side  of  the  net 
and  21  feet  from  it  should  be  drawn  the  cross  service  lines.  From  the 
centre  of  the  end  line  should  be  drawn  another  line  lengthways  of  the 
court  to  cut  through  the  service  line  on  each  side  of  the  net  and 
intersect  the  other  end  line,  then  the  court  will  be  complete. 
Fern  Fronds  and  Cytlsus  Growths  Eaten  (3/.  Ff. — The 
Fern  fronds  appear  to  have  been  eaten  and  perforated  by  some  pest. 
The  perforation  appears  to  be  that  of  the  black-grooved  weevil  (Otio- 
rhynchus  sulcatus),  which  may  be  detected  by  examining  the  plants 
cautiously  with  a  lantern  after  dark.  The  Cytisus  growth  appears  to  be 
eaten  by  slugs,  which  you  may  capture  by  examining  the  plants  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  Ferns,  the  latter  being  possibly  invaded  by  both 
pests.  The  “  Garden  Manual  ”  will  suit  you  for  all-round  gardening, 
and  can  be  had  from  this  office  for  Is.  9d.  “Collins’  Primer  on  Green¬ 
house  Plants  ”  (Macmillan),  Is.  from  booksellers,  will  suit  your  require¬ 
ments  on  that  subject, 
Diseased  Fear  (P.,  Leicester). — The  fruit  is  not  affected  by  scab 
fungus  but  by  the  bitter  rot,  which  will  not,  however,  develop  until 
later  into  ripe  rot  fungus  (Gloeosporium  fructigenum),  and  possibly  not 
then,  as  the  pustules  are  granular  and  the  spores  pushed  forth  without 
the  ripe  rot  occurring  in  some  cases.  The  best  plan  is  to  lift  the  trees, 
not  that  this  will  destroy  the  cause — the  fungus — but  it  will  render 
the  growths  and  fruit  less  liable  to  attack.  If  the  trees  are  on  Pear 
stocks  lifting  may  not  be  practicable,  and  in  that  case  supply  potassic 
manure,  such  as  fish  guano,  and  dust  the  trees,  especially  the  fruit, 
as  soon  as  set  with  Fostite  powder  or  other  of  the  advertised  fungicides, 
repeating  twice  at  intervals  of  three  weeks. 
Housing:  Carnations  (^Carnation). — The  time  to  house  such  Car¬ 
nations  as  you  name  depends  entirely  on  the  time  you  want  them  to 
flower.  They  will  'oe  safe  outside  until  the  middle  of  October,  when 
they  should  be  placed  in  a  cool,  light,  airy  house  for  a  time.  If  wet 
weather  ensues  after  this  date  and  the  plants  can  be  protected  in  frames 
so  much  the  better,  the  lights  being  placed  over  the  plants  only  to 
protect  them  from  becoming  too  wet.  The  plants  will  not  continue 
blooming  during  severe  weather  with  a  temperature  of  40°.  It  should 
