September  26, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
309 
Piving  indications  of  falline,  when  a  temperature  of  50’’  will  be  sufficient. 
The  inside  border  must  not  be  allowed  to  become  too  dry.  Give  water,  if 
necessary,  in  the  morning  of  a  fine  day,  and  admit  air  freely  to  dissipate 
the  excess  air  moisture  produced  by  tbe  watering.  Outside  borders  will 
not  require  watering,  as  they  usually  are  damp  enough,  but  it  is  essential 
for  the  sound  and  plump  keeping  of  the  Grapes  that  the  soil  be  moist, 
lack  of  moisture  at  the  roots  being  a  chief  cause  of  shrivelling  when  it 
does  not  arise  from  imperfect  finish.  If  in  a  proper  state  of  moisture 
they  should  be  covered,  preferably  with  lights,  or  some  other  means  may 
be  employed  to  throw  off  the  wet,  as  repeated  saturation  from  heavy 
rains,  especially  in  borders  of  close  retentive  material,  is  destructive  to 
the  roots,  besides  needlessly  reducing  the  temperature  of  the  soil. 
Bouses  Cleared  of  Grapes, — When  the  Grapes  have  been  cleared 
from  the  Vines  these  should  be  divested  of  laterals  down  to  the 
principal  buds,  which  are  to  be  retained  for  next  year’s  bearing, 
doing  so,  however,  without  injury  to  the  old  leaves,  as  on  their 
preservation  in  good  health  and  natural  maturing  depends  the  proper 
formation  of  the  buds,  which  should  be  plump  and  well  ripened.  The 
shoots,  however,  must  not  be  reduced  too  much,  allowing  in  each  case  a 
few  joints  beyond  the  pruning  buds  to  remain  as  an  outlet  for  the  sap, 
and  so  prevent  undue  excitement  or  premature  development  of  the 
pruning  buds.  A  free  circulation  of  air  is  necessary,  and  in  the  case  of 
young  Vines,  or  in  those  that  are  unduly  vigorous,  or  where  there  is  the 
least  doubt  as  to  the  maturity  of  the  wood,  fire  heat  will  be  necessary. 
Where  the  laterals  have  been  removed,  the  old  mulching  or  surface 
dressing  should  be  cleared  away,  the  border  pointed  over  lightly,  but 
not  interfering  with  or  damaging  the  roots,  giving  a  top-dressing  of 
turfy  loam,  with  a  fifth  of  sweetened  horse  droppings  or  thoroughly 
decayed  manure,  and  a  sprinkling  of  bonemeal.  If  the  Vines  do  not 
make  firm  wood  omit  the  manure  and  afford  a  good  handful  of  basic 
slag  per  square  yard  along  with  the  turfy  loam.  If  the  roots  have  not 
penetrated  the  mulching,  or  last  year’s  top-dressing,  remove  the  soil 
down  to  them  and  give  fresh  compost,  but  do  not  cover  them  deeply, 
2  or  3  inches  being  quite  sufficient.  Follow  in  the  case  of  inside  borders 
with  a  moderdte  watering,  and  allow  those  outside  to  have  the  benefit 
of  October  rains,  where  they  may  be  covered  with  dry  litter  or  bracken 
to  throw  off  heavy  rains,  and  protect  the  roots  from  frost.  Now  is  a 
good  time  to  add  a  breadth  of  2  feet  to  the  front  of  borders  only  partly 
made,  using  fresh  materials,  all  clean  and  sweet,  also  in  good  working 
condition,  choosing  dry  weather  if  possible  for  work  of  this  kind, 
mulching  with  a  little  short  manure  or  horse  droppings. 
Young  Vines. — Those  planted  last  spring  or  early  summer  will  need 
every  encouragement  in  keeping  the  foliage  clean  and  healthy,  also  keep 
the  laterals  away  from  the  principal  leaves  in  order  to  give  free  exposure 
to  the  air  and  light,  especially  those  at  the  base  of  the  canes,  so  that  the 
buds  to  which  they  are  to  be  pruned  may  be  thoroughly  ripened,  and 
the  wood  at  that  part  firm  and  stored  with  food.  A  genial  warmth  in 
the  pipes  by  day  will  assist  the  wood  to  mature,  and  ripening  will  be 
induced  by  throwing  open  the  ventilators  at  night.  Although  a  some¬ 
what  dry  condition  at  the  roots  is  desirable  it  must  not  be  persisted  in 
to  the  extent  of  causing  the  soil  to  crack. 
Pines. — Growing  StocJi. — To  insure  a  healthy,  sturdy  condition  in 
young  plants  free  ventilation  on  all  favourable  occasions  is  essential, 
affording  it  early  in  the  day  and  without  lowering  the  temperature. 
Keep  the  bottom  heat  about  the  roots  at  80°,  maintaining  a  temperature 
of  60°  to  65°  by  night  with  5°  to  10°  rise  by  day  from  fire  heat.  Newly 
potted  plants  should  have  a  bottom  heat  of  90°  to  95°,  with  a  view  to 
the  roots  speedily  penetrating  the  fresh  soil.  Water  tbe  plants  when¬ 
ever  they  require  it,  employing  weak  and  tepid  liquid  manure,  and 
avoid  the  use  of  the  syringe  too  frequently,  merely  sprinkling  the  paths 
and  similar  surfaces.  Morning  and  evening  will  suffice  in  all  but  very 
bright  weather. 
Suckers. — Recently  started  suckers  should  be  raised  near  the  glass  as 
soon  as  roots  are  plentifully  made,  it  being  essential  that  those  to  be 
wintered  in  small  pots  be  brought  on  very  gradually  ;  but  they  must 
not  be  withdrawn  from  the  bottom  heat,  or  only  for  a  short  time,  so  as 
not  to  give  the  plants  a  check.  When  the  suckers  started  this  autumn 
are  well  rooted  pot  them,  draining  the  pots  well.  Employ  the  fibrous 
part  only  of  turfy  loam,  and  do  not  tear  it  up  too  fine,  but  use  it  in 
lumps  proportionate  to  the  size  of  the  pots.  The  strongest  plants  may 
be  transferred  to  the  largest  pots  at  once,  the  size  of  the  pots  being 
proportioned  to  the  robustness  of  the  plants  or  varieties.  Jamaicas  do 
well  in  9  or  10-inch  pots.  Queens  in  10  to  11-inch  pots.  Smooth-leaved 
Cayennes  and  similar  varieties  in  11  to  12-inch  pots,  and  Providence  in 
13-inch  pots,  which  will  give  fruit  of  the  largest  size,  it  being  better  to 
have  1  inch  less  than  1  inch  more  in  size.  The  plants  not  large  enough 
for  transferring  to  the  fruiting  pots  should  be  shifted  into  7  or  8-inch, 
in  which  they  be  kept  until  the  spring.  Plunge  the  pots  in 
bottom  heat  of  90°  to  95°,  in  which  they  may  remain  until  the  roots 
have  taken  freely  to  the  fresh  compost,  when  they  should  be  raised,  a 
temperature  of  about  80°  being  afterwards  sufficient.  Fruiting  plants 
should  have  a  night  temperature  of  70°,  or  80°  to  90°  during  the  day, 
closing  at  85°. 
Cucumbers. — Autumn  Fruiters. — Maintain  healthy  and  vigorous 
growth  by  a  genial  condition  of  the  atmosphere.  Avoid  a  close, 
moist  air  by  judicious  ventilation,  and  do  not  admit  cold  drying 
currents.  Keep  the  growths  fairly  thin,  going  over  the  plants  twice  a 
week  for  stopping  and  removing  superfluous  growths,  being  careful  not 
to  overcrop  the  plants.  Be  sparing  in  the  use  of  water,  especially  over 
the  foliage,  but  damp  the  floors  and  walls  in  the  morning  and  after¬ 
noon,  gradually,  however,  reducing  the  moisture  as  the  days  shorten  and 
the  sun  heat  declines.  Add  a  little  fresh  soil  about  once  a  fortnight  to 
the  hillocks  or  ridges  previously  warmed,  applying  tepid  liquid  manure 
once  or  twice  a  week  as  may  be  necessary.  Vapourise  or  fumigate  if 
aphides  appear,  and  be  careful  not  to  give  too  much. 
The  plants  for  winter  fruiting  should  be  placed  out  as  soon  as  they 
are  ready,  a  good  bottom  heat  being  essential  to  success,  whether  it  be 
obtained  by  the  aid  of  fermenting  material  or  hot-water  pipes,  but  a 
somewhat  higher  temperature  is  required  to  commence  with  if  ferment¬ 
ing  materials  are  used,  as  the  heat  will  decline,  and  there  should  be  hot- 
water  pipes  in  the  bed  to  keep  up  the  bottom  heat  when  that  of 
fermenting  material  declines.  The  soil  may  consist  of  light  turfy  loam, 
with  a  third  of  fibrous  peat,  a  sixth  of  old  mortar  rubbish,  and  a  tenth 
of  charcoal,  the  whole  well  incorporated.  For  imparting  vigour  later 
rely  on  liquid  manure  and  surface  dressings  in  preference  to  employing 
manure  in  the  compost. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
.  .-n 
.  1  ,j  ,t .  I ,  i ,  < ,  I .  I .  r-s  n 
1 
APIARIAN  NOTES. 
PREPARiNa  Bees  for  Another  Year. 
As  most  hives  are  now  home  from  the  Heather,  and  as  success 
depends  greatly  on  their  condition  and  management,  it  is  a  fitting 
time  to  do  all  that  is  necessary  for  their  requirements  for  the  next 
six  months  to  come.  Owing  to  the  paucity  of  swarms  and  the 
continuous  wet  weather  during  part  of  July,  August,  and  the  first 
two  weeks  in  September,  few  hives  have  young  queens.  This  is  a 
great  drawback,  but  with  very  little  labour  in  April  and  the 
beginning  of  May  young  queens  may  be  raised  and  placed  in  stocks 
to  make  up  for  any  deficiency  in  the  aged  queens,  which  must  be 
deposed  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit. 
In  all  cases  where  there  are  too  many  stocks  it  will  be  advisable 
to  join  two  together,  and  these  should  be  the  weaker  ones,  as  it 
does  no  good,  but  rather  evil,  to  have  more  bees  now  in  hives  than 
are  necessary  ;  they  consume  more  honey,  and  are  unnecessary  for 
the  internal  economy  of  the  hive  during  the  early  spring.  When 
two  stocks  are  to  be  joined  experienced  bee-keepers  remove  the 
worst  of  the  combs  from  the  hives,  then  as  far  as  practicable 
alternate  the  combs  of  one  with  the  other,  and  either  sprinkle 
thoroughly  with  syrup  until  both  lots  of  bees  are  gorged  or  dust 
well  with  peameal.  Some  people  feed  the  bees  to  be  united,  but 
when  that  is  done  so  that  they  store  the  syrup  readily  before  the 
two  lots  fraternise,  one  lot  being  in  consequence  sometimes  killed. 
When  peameal  is  sprinkled  judiciously  over  both  I  have  never 
known  it  fail,  and  the  method  has  been  practised  hereabout  for 
generations. 
We  winter  our  bees  successfully,  and  so  can  everyone  else  who 
follows  our  instructions.  In  every  case  we  make  sure  there  is 
ample  food  to  last  till  May  ;  if  fed  let  it  be  after  the  hive  is 
thoroughly  covered  for  the  winter,  and  from  beneath.  The  best 
sugar  is  the  cheapest,  and  safest  for  wintering  on.  Feeding  as 
directed  above  with  equal  weights  of  sugar  and  water  goes  a  long 
way  to  successful  wintering. 
The  other  requirements  are  to  secure  thorough  dryness,  no 
water  lodging  on  or  about  the  hive  or  its  wrappings,  also  keeping 
internal  moisture  away  by  using  ventilating  floors,  and  the  hive 
cosy  in  every  respect,  with  a  narrow  entrance.  When  these  points 
are  attended  to  there  will  be  much  brood  in  the  hives  from  the 
end  of  December  to  March. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
At  this  time  of  the  year  it  is  an  advantage  to  examine  all  hives 
in  order  to  carry  out  the  necessary  repairs,  and  as  the  present  spell 
of  fine  weather  is  so  favourable  for  all  outdoor  operations,  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  giving  the  hives  at  least  two  coats  of  paint.  This 
will  preserve  the  wood  and  make  all  waterproof.  I  was  lately 
consulted  by  a  lady  bee-keeper  as  to  the  cause  of  the  paint  peeling 
off  her  hives,  and  found  enamel  paint  had  been  used.  This  should 
not  be  employed  for  outdoor  purposes,  as  it  will  not  withstand 
rough  weather  ;  but  good  white  lead,  mixed  with  raw  linseed  oil, 
turpentine,  and  dryers,  will  form  a  composition  that  will  stand  all 
weathers.  I  do  not  recommend  boiled  linseed  oil  for  the  purpose, 
although  it  gives  a  gloss  and  finish  to  the  work  that  cannot  other¬ 
wise  be  obtained.  I  find  that  when  it  is  used  for  work  that  is 
exposed  to  all  weathers  the  paint  will  often  blister  from  the  action 
of  the  sun.  The  paint  should  be  well  worked  into  all  crevices 
and  the  cracks  filled  with  putty.  When  the  roofs  are  made  of  wood 
knots  are  often  troublesome,  the  water  working  through  them  into 
the  hive,  and  as  neither  paint  nor  putty  will  stop  it,  I  have  found 
a  piece  of  canvas  or  thin  calico  well  saturated  with  paint  and  placed 
over  the  knot  will  make  the  hive  thoroughly  waterproof. 
One  of  the  first  steps  towards  the  successful  wintering  of  bees 
is  keeping  the  interior  of  the  hive  dry,  as  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
