December  5,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
539 
If  the  soil  be  plentiful,  loose  and  rich,  the  shoots  or  canes  will  be 
gross,  long-jointed,  having  large,  thin-textured  flabby  leaves,  the  buds 
large,  pointed,  or  if  laterals  are  encouraged  flat,  and  these  give  sensa¬ 
tional  bunches,  which  to  be  presentable  have  to  be  tied  into  form,  and 
are  only  satisfactory  when  their  merits  are  calculated  by  weight.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  roots  are  in  a  Arm  but  favourable  rooting  medium, 
causing  much  root  ramiflcation  and  steady  instead  of  spasmodic  supplies 
of  nutrition,  then  the  wood  is  stout  and  short-jointed,  the  leaves  thick 
and  leathery,  and  the  buds  at  their  base  are  round,  plump,  and  well 
matured,  as  also  is  the  wood.  It  is,  of  course,  assumed  that  the  foliage 
has  had  full  exposure  to  light  for  the  solidiflcation  of  the  growth  as 
made,  and  that  cultural  requirements  are  granted  in  full  measure.  Let 
the  house  be  thoroughly  cleansed,  the  Vines  dressed,  and  everything  put 
into  proper  order,  so  that  there  may  not  be  any  hurry  later  on.  Keep 
the  house  cool,  insuring  as  complete  rest  as  possible. 
Late  Hovses. — Take  every  precaution  possible  against  damp.  Leaky 
roofs  are  a  prolific  cause  of  Grapes  decaying ;  a  single  drop  of  water 
getting  into  a  bunch  of  Grapes  is  sufficient  to  spoil  it.  Though  the 
decay  may  only  be  a  berry,  it  soon  spreads  and  ruins  the  whole  bunch, 
especially  when  the  faulty  berry  is  in  its  interior,  so  that  it  escapes 
detection  until  the  mischief  is  done.  Kemove  all  leaves  as  they  become 
mature,  aSording  only  sufficient  fire  heat  to  maintain  a  temperature  of 
40°  to  45°,  admitting  air  on  all  favourable  occasions,  but  close  the  houses 
in  damp  weather,  seeking  to  insure  a  dry,  cool,  equable  temperature. 
Muscat  of  Alexandria  should  have  a  temperature  of  50°,  a  gentle  warmth 
in  the  pipes  constantly  so  as  to  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  on  the 
berries  ;  but  when  the  weather  is  cold  and  sharp  allow  the  temperature 
to  fall  5°,  being  careful  not  to  allow  the  temperature  to  be  much 
accelerated  by  sun  heat  or  natural  warmth  without  a  free  admission 
of  air. 
Pines. — Suckers  ready  for  starting  now  may  be  kept  until  March, 
and  if  there  is  likely  to  be  a  scarcity  of  suckers  any  recently  potted  may 
be  kept  in  5-inch  pots,  affording  a  light  position  in  a  moist  pit  with  a 
slight  bottom  heat,  and  a  temperature  of  55°  at  night,  keeping  them 
rather  dry  at  the  roots. 
Young  stock  suffer  irreparable  mischief  from  being  kept  too  close  and 
warm,  particularly  at  this  season,  the  plants  being  drawn  and  weakly. 
Well-ventilated  span  or  three-quarter  span-roofed  pits,  or  small  houses 
properly  heated  and  ventilated,  are  the  most  suitable  for  Pine-growing. 
A  temperature  of  65°  at  night  should  not  be  exceeded,  but  a  mean 
between  that  and  55°  at  night,  which,  with  65°  in  the  daytime,  will  keep 
young  stock  gently  progressing,  admitting  a  little  air  at  the  top  of  the 
structure  at  65°,  leaving  it  on  all  day,  but  not  to  lower  the  temperature 
below  that  point,  and  when  the  sun  raises  the  temperature  to  75°,  a  free 
circulation  of  air  should  be  allowed .  Keep  the  bottom  heat  steady  at 
80°,  avoiding  anything  approaching  to  a  damp  atmosphere ;  moderate 
humidity  will  suffice.  Apply  water  only  when  the  plants  become  dry, 
and  then  give  weak  liquid  manure.  Keep  the  glass  clean,  the  plants 
near  to  it,  and  allow  them  plenty  of  room. 
In  the  fruiting  department  65°  will  be  ample  at  night,  5°  lower  in  the 
morning  in  cold  weather,  70°  to  75°  by  day.  Take  every  opportunity  of 
collecting  leaves  whilst  dry.  Oak  and  Beech  being  the  best,  and  whenever 
a  favourable  opportunity  offers  push  forward  whatever  may  be  necessary 
in  the  renewing  or  augmenting  the  fermenting  beds. 
Cherry  House. — Attend  without  delay  to  pruning  the  trees.  Those 
full  grown  and  regularly  stopped  during  growth  will  require  very  little 
pruning.  Shoots  not  wanted  for  extension  or  filling  vacant  space  should 
be  cut  back  to  about  an  inch  from  their  base  or  the  current  year’s 
growth,  and  the  worn-out  spurs  as  well  as  the  decayed  may  be  removed. 
The  terminal  shoots  in  the  case  of  young  trees  not  full-sized  must  not  be 
shortened  unless  the  extremity  of  the  trellis  is  reached,  and  the  central 
shoots  of  young  trees  will  require  to  be  cut  back  as  may  be  necessary  to 
originate  shoots  for  filling  up  the  space  regularly,  care  being  taken  to 
always  prune  to  a  wood  bud.  Fan-training  is  the  most  eligible  system, 
particularly  suited  to  the  Cherry,  as  it  admits  of  replacing  any  branch 
that  may  fall  a  prey  to  gumming.  The  house  should  have  a  thorough 
cleaning,  the  trees  being  washed  with  soapy  water,  3  or  4  ozs.  to  a  gallon 
of  water,  and  then  dressed  with  an  insecticide.  A  composition  formed 
of  a  solution  of  softsoap,  4  ozs.  to  half  a  gallon  of  water,  one  quart 
tobacco  juice  diluted  with  a  similar  quantity  of  hot  water,  with  slaked 
lime  and  sulphur  in  equal  parts  sufficient  to  form  a  thin  paint,  is  an 
excellent  dressing  for  Cherry  trees,  applying  with  a  brush,  being  careful 
not  to  injure  the  buds.  The  roof  lights  need  not  be  put  on  until  the 
time  arrives  for  starting  the  trees,  which  may  be  with  the  new  year  to 
have  Cherries  in  April . 
NOTES  AND  HINTS. 
The  very  mild  weather  we  have  been  having  for  a  month  past 
has  been  very  favourable  for  bees.  Already  several  of  our  hives 
are  making  efforts  and  showing  signs  that  they  are  on  the  eve  of 
breeding.  It  is  about  three  weeks  earlier  than  usual,  but  in  the 
event  of  a  severe  winter  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  well  provisioned 
hives.  How  many  bees  are  in  a  hive  and  how  many  eggs  do  queens 
lay  in  twenty-four  hours  ?  are  questions  frequently  put  but  rarely 
if  ever  answered  satisfactorily.  When  reason  is  brought  to  bear 
on  colonies  and  the  fecundity  of  the  queen  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
arrive  approximately  at  the  truth. 
Put  a  youthful  fertile  queen  to  a  colony  of  6  to  8  lbs.  of  bees, 
ordinary  prime  swarms.  If  the  weather  is  favourable  no  feeding 
will  be  necessary.  At  the  end  of  twenty  days  from  the  time  the 
hive  was  tenanted  lift  comb  after  comb  from  the  full-sized  hive, 
measure  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  brood  in  each,  mark  on  a 
slip  of  paper,  and  multiply  the  length  by  the  breadth  in  inches. 
Each  inch  contains  fifty  eggs,  larvm,  or  bees  in  the  pupa  state,  and 
gives  the  number  of  eggs  the  queen  has  deposited  in  twenty  days, 
which  total  amounts  to  upwards  of  70,000.  Add  these  to  the 
swarm,  and  it  will  bring  the  total  to  100,000.  Now,  when  the  fact 
is  taken  into  consideration  that  they  will  go  on  breeding  at  the 
same  rate  for  some  weeks  more,  and  that  the  death  rate  during  the 
summer  does  not  exceed  15  per  cent.,  a  little  calculation  will  show 
how  many  bees  are  and  should  be  in  a  hive,  and  a  little  more 
calculation  will  give  the  exact  size  hives  should  be  to  give  the 
maximum  of  honey. 
In  some  instances  I  have  counted  100,000  eggs,  larvse,  and  pupa 
in  the  time  given.  No  such  results  could  follow  were  hives  half 
size.  As  interesting  and  instructive  as  the  counting  of  eggs  and 
bees  is  the  weighing  of  hives  at  stated  periods  throughout  the  day 
and  at  different  seasons,  by  which  the  practical  bee-keeper  gets 
exact  data  how  to  proceed,  and  initiates  the  beginner  in  valuable 
facts. 
In  all  my  experiments  the  greatest  weights  I  have  known  bees 
to  carry  in,  a  pound  of  bees,  was  1  lb.  On  the  first  day  of 
September,  1894,  4  lbs.  of  bees,  as  per  steelyard  in  three  and  a  half 
hoars,  gathered  12^  lbs.,  and  in  1888,  in  about  eight  hours,  33  Iba. 
But  it  must  be  said  the  bees  in  the  first  instance  were  only  weighed 
until  the  weight  began  to  rise,  and  perhaps  it  would  be  more 
proper  if  8  lbs.  of  bees  were  stated.  One  thing  certain  to  be 
successful  with  bees  to  the  fullest  extent,  bee-keeper’s  appliances 
and  his  arithmetical  calculations  should  be  based  in  unison  with 
his  expectations,  weather  permitting,  which  should  always  be  kept 
in  view,  as  well  as  the  likelihood  of  it  being  unfavourable.  Work 
at  all  time  for  the  best  and  the  most,  and  we  seldom  fail  to  be 
amply  remunerated. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
FEEDING  BEES. 
Kindly  inform  a  new  beginner  what  quantity  of  sugar  would 
be  sufficient  for  4  lbs.  of  driven  bees.  About  the  middle  of 
September  I  placed  them  in  a  hive  on  two  combs  and  three 
sheets  of  foundation,  and  gave  them  16  lbs.  of  sugar  made  into 
syrup.  Will  they  require  any  more?  A  little  instruction  will 
oblige — A  Novice. 
The  middle  of  September  is  too  late  to  give  sheets  of  founda¬ 
tion  to  driven  bees  with  a  view  to  them  being  drawn  out  and  filled 
with  syrup  and  sealed  over,  which  should  be  the  aim  of  all  bee¬ 
keepers  when  feeding  their  stocks  for  the  winter.  In  the  first 
place  4  lbs.  of  bees  is  a  small  quantity  to  place  in  an  empty  hive 
so  late  in  the  season.  There  would  have  been  a  much  better 
chance  of  success  had  there  been  double  that  weight.  In  all 
probability  the  syrup  would  be  stored  in  the  two  frames  of  fully 
drawn  out  combs,  and  but  very  few  cells,  if  any,  of  the  foundation, 
will  have  been  drawn  out.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have 
procured  half  a  dozen  frames  of  fully  drawn-out  combs.  The 
majority  of  bee-keepers  who  keep  only  a  few  stocks  usually  have 
several  on  hand  that  may  have  been  used  for  extracting  or  other 
purposes,  and  who  will  assist  a  less  fortunate  brother  in  the  craft. 
It  would  perhaps  help  “  Novice  ”  if  I  state  the  conditions 
under  which  I  invariably  find  driven  bees  do  well.  Last  September 
I  obtained  several  lots  of  driven  bees ;  two  or  more  were  placed 
together,  according  to  the  number  of  bees  in  each  ;  these  were 
placed  on  eight  or  ten  frames  of  fully  drawn-out  combs,  and  each 
stock  received  26  lbs.  of  sugar  made  into  thick  syrup.  This  was 
fed  to  the  bees  in  a  rapid  feeder  placed  on  the  top  of  frames,  and 
was  taken  down  in  about  forty-eight  hours.  Several  layers  of 
carpet  or  similar  material  were  placed  on  the  top  of  frames,  and  to 
all  appearance  the  stocks  of  driven  bees  are  now  in  as  good 
condition  as  the  colonies  of  bees  that  were  not  disturbed. 
The  stock  should  be  examined  on  the  first  favourable  oppor¬ 
tunity,  choosing  a  fine  day  for  the  purpose,  but  the  bees  need  not 
be  disturbed  ;  take  off  the  covering,  and  turn  the  quilt  back  from 
the  top  of  frames,  but  do  not  lift  them  out.  The  bees  will  have 
formed  a  cluster  between  the  frames  ;  if  there  are  a  few  square 
inches  of  sealed  stores  in  view  they  will  be  quite  safe,  and  no  more 
food  will  be  necessary  at  present ;  if  not,  they  should  be  fed  at 
once  with  candy,  as  it  is  not  advisable  to  feed  with  syrup  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  or  dysentery  will  follow. 
The  recipe  for  making  soft  candy,  by  the  late  Wm.  Raitt,  is 
preferable  to  any  other  that  I  have  tried.  Use  a  brass  or 
enamelled  iron  pan,  put  in  10  lbs.  of  white  granulated  sugar,  two 
