380 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  17,  18&5. 
winter  without  the  loss  o£  a  single  colony,  although  they  were  all 
standing  in  the  open,  and  several  of  the  hives  had  only  single  sides. 
They  are  good  honey  producers,  either  for  extracted  or  in  the 
comb,  and  are  easily  managed  on  the  non- swarming  system,  as  only 
in  exceptional  cases  are  they  troubled  with  the  swarming  mania. 
They  are  easy  to  manipulate — a  combination  of  good  qualities  I 
claim  for  them  that  no  other  race  of  bees  possesses. — An  English 
Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
W.  Fromow  &  Sons,  Chiswick. — General  Plants, 
J.  Jefferies  &  Sons,  Cirencester. — Centenary  Catalogue  of  Roses  and 
Trees. 
E.  J.  Looymans  &  Zonen,  Oudenbosch,  Holland. — List  of  Trees, 
J.  R.  Pearson  &  Sons,  Chilwell,  Notts. — Roses  and  Fruit  Trees, 
William  Rumsey,  Joy ning’s  Nurseries,  Waltham  Cross,  N. — Roses  and 
other  Plants, 
Louis  Van  Houtte,  Pfere,  Ghent,  Belgium.  —  General  Plant 
Catalogue. 
H.  W.  Weguelin,  Shaldon,  Teignmouth,  Devon.  —  Carnations  and 
Picotees. 
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  coiTespondents,  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. 
Cherry  Plum  (^Somerset'). — The  names  you  mention  are  synonymous. 
Carnation  (F.  G.'). — Your  specimen  will  be  closely  examined  and 
the  results  given  in  our  next  issue. 
liady  Downe’s  Crape  not  Colouring:  (J.  J.  C.'). — Having  in  view 
your  admitted  success  as  a  grower  of  some  of  the  best  Grapes  in  the 
kingdom,  this  particular  case  of  failure  is  the  more  interesting.  We 
will  publish  the  deductions  suggested  by  a  close  microscopical  examination 
next  week. 
Six  Varieties  of  Xargrest  Gooseberries  for  Dessert  {Beadcr). 
— Red,  Companion  and  Plough  boy  ;  white.  Lady  Leicester  and  Snow¬ 
drop  ;  yellow’.  Broom  Girl  and  Mount  Pleasant.  “  If  you  want  a  green 
add  Green  Overall. 
Drying'  “Apple  Rings”  (N.  Jermen'). — We  do  not  know  of  any 
book  that  treats  of  this  subject.  The  Apples  must  be  pared,  cored,  and 
sliced,  and  to  do  this  quickly  an  Apple  parer,  corer,  and  sheer  is  neces¬ 
sary,  costing  18s.  This  machine  cuts  them  into  a  spiral,  and  that  cut 
once  through  forms  the  well-known  ringlets.  There  is  another  for 
cutting  whole  ringlets,  priced  £1  Is.  6d,  Both— the  “  Electra  No.  1  ” 
and  “  Siinplex  ”  respectively— may  be  had  of  Ph.  Mayfarth  &  Co., 
16,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C.  The  ringlets  may  be  dried  in  an  oven, 
taking  care  that  the  steam  can  escape,  the  object  being  to  dry  them 
without  cooking  or  burning.  It  is  not  practicable  to  dry  them  in  a  room, 
and  the  art  of  drying  in  an  oven  is  matter  for  judgment,  and  requires 
care.  For  home  use  we  have  known  fruit  that  would  otherwise  be 
wasted  dried  w’ell  in  ovens,  but  a  commercial  article  is  a  different  thing, 
and  necessitates  the  use  of  an  evaporator,  so  that  the  work  may  be  done 
expeditiously  and  the  ringlets  prepared  in  manner  fit  for  the  market. 
Black  Hamburgh  Grapes  Shrivelling  (^Inquirer'), — Sometimes 
the  berries  shrivel  from  shanking,  and  are  very  inferior  in  quality.  This 
is  caused  by  a  disease,  and  chiefly  is  manifested  at  the  time  the  Grapes 
cornmence  ripening  and  during  that  process,  the  footstalk  of  the  berries 
shrinking  and  turning  brown  or  black  in  a  more  or  less  circular  manner 
and  completely  encircling  the  footstalk.  This  malady  generally  arises 
from  defective  root  action,  the  roots  not  being  in  a  border  of  suitable 
material,  of  proper  staple,  and  thoroughly  drained.  Another  cause  of 
Grapes  shrivelling  and  occurring  after  they  are  ripe  is  dryness  at  the 
roots  both  before  they  were  finished  and  afterwards.  Once  this  com¬ 
mences  after  the  Grapes  are  ripe,  or  only  partially  so,  they  cannot  be 
restored  to  plumpness  by  watering  at  the  roots  or  moisture  in  the  atmo¬ 
sphere,  for  they  have  attained  more  or  less  to  the  condition  of  raisins, 
and  will  decay  if  moisture  be  given  at  the  roots  and  in  the  atmosphere, 
usually  falling  a  prey  to  the  ripe  rot  fungus  (Glseosporium  Berkeley!). 
Weed  Infesting  Dawn  (Y.  W.  L.'). — We  presume  the  Prunella  is 
the  common  All-heal,  P.  vulgaris.  You  do  not  say  what  the  nature  of 
your  soil  is,  but  if  a  good  loam  and  inclined  to  be  moist  you  may  apply 
sulphate  of  ammonia  at  ihe  rate  of  If  oz.  per  square  yard,  3|^  lb.  per 
rod,  5  cwt.  per  acre,  using  it  in  dry  weather,  or  now  if  the  autumn  be 
fine  and  likely  to  continue  so.  This  will  no  doubt  brown  the  lawn, 
giving  it  a  “seedy”  appearance,  enhanced  by  killing  weeds,  Daisies,  and 
Plantain  ;  but  it  will  come  again,  the  grasses  growing  famously,  and  as 
these  grow  the  weeds  diminish.  To  insure  even  distribution  crush  fine 
and  mix  with  an  equal  quantity  of  dry  loamy  sand.  If  you  do  not  want 
the  lawn  browned  use  half  the  quantity  now  and  the  other  half  in 
March,  always  during'dry  weather  ;  but  it  is  hardly  possible  to  use  the 
dressing  to  kill  the  weeds  without  spoiling  the  appearance  of  the  lawii 
for  a  time.  If  the  lawn  is  of  a  light  nature  use  nitrate  of  soda,  half  the 
amount  named  now  and  the  remainder  in  March.  The  nitrate  alse 
must  be  crushed  fine,  and  evenly  distributed.  If  wet  now  defer  dressing 
until  spring,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  nitrate  of  soda,  then  give  the 
full  dose  in  March  when  the  soil  is  moist,  but  with  a  prospect  of  fine 
weather,  or  use  half  then  and  the  rest  six  weeks  later.  What  you  want 
is  more  grass  and  less  weeds,  this  treatment  will  give  it,  and  then  you 
can  use  a  good  all-round  manure  to  keep  the  lawn  in  proper  order. 
Cherry  Tree  Deaves  Skeletonised  (A.  B.'), — The  leaves  appear 
to  have  been  infested  by  slugworm — the  larva  of  the  Cherry  sawfly 
(Selandria  atra,  Westwood ;  Tenthredo  cerasi,  Linn,  and  Curtis), 'wh.ich. 
have  cleared  away  the  whole  of  the  soft  substance  of  the  leaf  in  places. 
The  larvae  or  slugworms  usually  drop  to  the  ground  at  the  end  of 
September  or  beginning  of  October,  which  they  enter,  and  there  form  an 
oval  cocoon  covered  outside  with  earth,  and  inside  that  become  pupm, 
in  which  state  they  remain  till  June  or  July,  when  the  sawfiies  emerge, 
pair,  and  the  females  deposit  eggs  just  beneath  the  cuticle  of  the  upper 
surface  of  the  leaves  of  Cherry,  Pear,  and  other  rosaceous  plants  or  trees. 
To  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  pest  the  only  plan  is  to  skim  off  the 
surface  of  the  ground  where  the  cocoons  are  and  burn  it.  Of  course,  it 
is  necessary  to  ascertain  how  deeply  the  cocoons  lie,  and  remove  the 
soil  accordingly.  We  have  found  that  soaking  the  soil  early  in  this 
month  with  gas  liquor  diluted  with  six  times  its  bulk  of  water  destroys 
the  pests,  also  the  pupae  of  other  sawfiies.  It  is  an  excellent  manure 
either  for  fruit  trees  or  grass,  and  frees  them  of  destructive  larvae,  includ¬ 
ing  wireworm  and  cockchafer  grubs.  For  the  larvae  there  is  nothing 
better  than  dusting  the  infested  trees  with  quicklime,  or  they  may  be 
sprayed  with  petroleum  emulsion,  tobacco  water,  or  carbolic  soap 
solution.  The  thing  is  to  act  promptly  on  the  first  appearance  of  the 
filthy  creatures,  also  foul  smelling,  by  which  they  may  be  readily 
detected  without  seeing. 
Vines  Producing  Shanked  Grapes  (^Melton). — The  berries  are 
small  in  size  and  badly  shanked,  which  are  not  clear  indications  of  the 
Vines  being  in  a  favourable  rooting  medium  or  deriving  from  it  proper 
sustenance.  Of  course,  management  has  a  great  deal,  and  in  some  cases 
everything,  to  do  with  Grapes  shanking  or  otherwise,  but  it  is  diflScult 
to  make  them  shank  with  the  rooting  medium  or  feeding  area  in  a  suit¬ 
able  condition,  yet  the  conditions  there  may  be  all  right  under  judicious 
management,  and  good  crops  of  perfect  Grapes  secured,  whilst  by  over- 
watering,  over  and  improper  feeding,  the  soil  may  be  practically  useless, 
and  shanking  follow  in  consequence.  With  the  roots  in  a  well  made 
border,  and  both  inside  and  outside,  there  ought  not  to  be  any  shanking 
of  consequence  under  proper  management.  The  Vines  being  so  near 
the  hot- water  pipes  is  not  good,  and  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  shirt 
them  if  you  can,  so  that  the  stems  will  not  be  affected  by  the  heat.  The 
proposed  top-dressing  would  do  good,  the  loose  surface  soil  being  taken  out 
down  to  the  roots,  removing  some  of  it  from  amongst  them  and  supplying 
fresh  material,  raising  any  roots  you  can  nearer  the  surface,  but  do  not 
cover  the  topmost  more  than  2  or  3  inches.  Good  turfy  loam,  moderately 
strong,  with  plenty  of  gritty  matter  or  small  stones  in  it,  would  be  best, 
not  using  any  manure,  but  give  about  4  oz».  of  some  advertised  fertiliser 
on  the  top,  and  water  in  moderately.  Do  not  keep  the  soil  very  wet 
during  the  winter,  or  if  now  wet  allow  the  soil  to  become  dry  during 
the  winter,  and  next  year  water  carefully,  only  supplying  it  when 
absolutely  necessary,  yet  keeping  the  foliage  from  becoming  limp.  Allow 
a  good  spread  of  foliage,  but  no  more  than  can  have  full  exposure  to 
light,  keeping  closely  pinched  after  the  space  is  covered. 
Dapageria  Deaves  Falling  (/.  F.  IF.). — The  leaves  have  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  being  scorched,  and  fall  because  their  juices  have  been 
abstracted  by  tbrips,  of  which  we  found  some  specimens  in  the  perfect  or 
winged  state,  but  no  larvfe  or  eggs.  The  damage  to  the  leaves  is  of  long 
standing,  and  they  simply  fall  because  of  no  use  to  the  plant,  being 
prematurely  matured  or  destroyed  by  the  ravages  of  the  thrips.  That 
is  what  is  the  matter  with  them,  but  there  are  also  some  white  or 
Lapageria  scale,  which  are  far  worse  than  the  thrips,  and  some  of  them 
are  in  the  egg  state  and  others  in  the  larvje  condition,  beneath  the  body 
and  “shell”  of  the  parent  or  old  scale.  We  advise  you  to  have  the 
plant  carefully  sponged  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  and  everywhere 
with  the  following  : — Place  a  quart  of  soft  water  in  an  iron  pan,  heat  it 
to  boiling,  with  4  ozs.  of  softsoap,  then  remove  from  the  fire  and  at  once 
add  a  tablespoonful  of  petroleum,  stirring  briskly  until  the  oil  amalga¬ 
mates  with  the  softsoap  solution,  and  when  cool  enough  sponge  the 
plant  with  it.  After  the  plant  has  been  sponged,  syringe  with  water  at 
a  temperature  of  120°.  This  will  give  you  a  clean  plant,  and  it  will  push 
fresh  growths  from  the  stem  that  may  do  good  service,  but  that  depends 
entirely  on  their  being  kept  free  from  insects.  There  cannot  be  anything 
wrong  with  the  roots,  or  there  would  not  be  strong  growths  pushed  from 
the  collar.  That  is  as  it  should,  and  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  such 
