540 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  5,  1895. 
imperial  pints  of  cold  water  and  half  a  teaspoonful  of  cream  of 
tartar.  Set  or  hang  over  a  brisk  clear  fire,  and  stir  gently  now  and 
then  till  the  sugar  is  all  melted.  This  should  require  about  fifteen 
minutes.  Almost  immediately  afterwards  the  whole  will  reach 
the  boiling  point,  at  first  throwing  up  a  quantity  of  froth.  The 
fire  may  be  moderated  or  the  pan  withdrawn  a  little  at  this  stage, 
when  the  foamy  boil  will  settle  down  to  a  clear  crackling  one. 
This  boiling  should  only  occupy  about  ten  minutes.  Now  try  a 
drop  ;  let  fall  on  a  cold  surface,  withdrawing  the  pan  from  the  fire 
in  the  meantime.  If  the  drop  at  once  begins  to  set,  so  that  in  a 
few  seconds  it  will  draw  out  as  a  thread  when  touched  with  the 
finger,  the  mess  is  cooked  enough.  If  not,  boil  it  a  few  seconds 
longer  and  try  again.  Remove  the  pan  from  the  fire,  and  set  it  in 
a  trough  of  cold  water.  It  may  be  left  there  for  a  few  minutes 
while  the  moulds  (flat  or  soup  plates  will  do)  are  being  set  ready, 
each  with  a  thin  sheet  of  paper  rather  larger  than  the  mould 
laid  in. 
Returning  to  the  pan  commence  and  continue  to  stir  briskly 
until  the  mass  begins  first  to  get  dim  in  colour  from  incipient 
granulation,  and  then  to  thicken  to  the  consistency  of  thick  honey. 
Then  pour  into  the  moulds,  warming  slightly  any  that  remains  that 
seems  inclined  to  set  in  the  pan  ;  this  cooling  and  stirring  process 
should  take  about  fifteen  minutes  more,  thus  in  about  thirty 
minutes  we  finish  the  wh^^le  process,  with  the  result  that  we  have 
12  lbs.  of  candy  from  10  lbs.  of  sugar. 
The  cakes  should  set  within  an  hour  so  as  to  be  safely  turned 
out  of  the  moulds.  When  quite  cold  they  should  be  soft  enough 
to  be  easily  scratched  with  the  finger-nail,  and  to  melt  in  the  mouth 
with  a  soft  grain.  Invert  them  over  the  cluster  of  bees  with  the 
paper  left  on,  and  cover  up  warmly,  this  may  be  done  while  they 
are  still  somewhat  warm,  a  cake  of  candy  given  to  a  stock  every 
few  weeks  will  carry  them  safely  through  the  winter,  and  they  will 
come  out  strong  and  healthy  in  the  spring. — An  English  Bee¬ 
keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Barr  &  Sons,  King  Street,  Covent  Garden. — Sale  List  of  Bulbs. 
Otto  Putz,  Erfurt. — Trade  Seed  List. 
•0“  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. 
Ziycaste  Sklnnerl  (J".  H.  <?.). — The  Lycatte  is  an  excellent  one, 
and  proves  your  system  of  culture  to  be  in  every  regpect  correct.  The 
substance  of  the  flower  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  and  the  colouration  of 
the  petals  and  the  labellum  is  exceptionally  rich.  It  occasionally  pro¬ 
duces  flowers  as  you  mention. 
Passlflora  Propagatlngr  (fReader'). — The  Passion  Flower,  or 
Passifloras,  are  readily  propagated  from  cuttings  of  young  shoots, 
about  6  inches  long,  taken  in  spring  with  a  heel,  and  inserted  singly 
in  small  pots  of  sandy  soil.  The  cuttings  should  be  placed  in  a  close 
propagating  frame  or  under  a  bell-glass,  where  they  will  root  in  due 
course.  Once  rooted,  and  gradually  inured  to  the  open  house,  the 
plants  grow  rapidly,  and  when  repotting  rather  large  shifts  may  be 
safely  employed. 
Autumn  Asparagus  (J.  E.').  — Very  good  Asparagus  has  been 
sold  for  some  time  in  London,  at  what,  if  you  had  to  sell  it,  you 
might  call  fine  prices.  It  comes  from  France,  but  we  cannot  say 
exactly  “  where  and  how  ”  it  is  grown.  We  see,  however,  no  more 
difficulty  in  having  Asparagus  out  of  season  whenever  it  may  be 
desired  than  in  having  bunches  and  leaves  of  Lily  of  the  Valley  all 
through  the  summer  and  autumn  with  the  aid  of  refrigerators,  for 
keeping  the  crowns  at  rest  till  wanted  for  starting.  A  long  artificial 
winter  does  not  seem  to  hurt  them  in  the  least. 
Cypripedlum  Inslgne  (T.  E.'). — The  variety  of  Cypripedium 
insigne  you  send  is  certainly  a  very  good  one,  the  dorsal  sepal  being 
particularly  fine.  While  it  is  well  worth  keeping  in  a  private  collection 
we  would  not  suppose  it  would  have  any  material  commercial  value,  a& 
it  too  closely  resembles  other  varieties  already  extant. 
Erecting  a  Greenhouse  In  Belgravia  (f.  i2.). — There  are 
plenty  of  empty  greenhouses  where  there  need  not  be  through  little 
energy  on  the  part  of  owners  or  tenants.  We  have  seen  very  satis¬ 
factory  Orchids  grown  in  the  locality  you  name,  also  Azaleas,  Camellias^ 
Liliums,  and  Pelargoniums.  The  thing  to  contend  with  and  likely  to 
do  most  harm  is  the  London  fog,  and  to  keep  the  glass  clean,  removing 
the  slimy  deposits  as  these  form,  so  as  to  give  the  plants  all  the  light 
possible  in  the  winter  season.  Bottom  ventilation  has  no  effect  other 
than  that  of  ventilation  generally,  unless  given  so  as  to  cause  a  draught, 
then  it  is  prejudicial. 
Removing  Old  and  Pruning  Voung  Vine  Rods  (^Header'). — 
It  would  have  been  much  better  to  have  cut  away  the  old  rods  to  the 
young  canes  that  are  to  supplant  them  whilst  the  Vines  were  in  leaf, 
the  earlier  that  being  done  the  better,  so  as  to  get  as  much  stored 
matter  in  the  new  canes  as  possible.  The  young  canes  are  best  shortened 
to  about  one-third  of  the  rafter  or  trellis  they  will  ultimately  occupy, 
as  you  will  then  get  vigorous  breaks  at  the  base,  and  every  lateral 
appearing  on  opposite  sides  of  the  rod  at  18  inches  apart  or  there¬ 
abouts  on  each  side  may  be  allowed  to  carry  a  bunch  of  fruit  each, 
except  that  from  the  uppermost  bud,  which  should  be  trained  forward 
as  leader  or  extension  of  the  Vine,  all  other  laterals  but  these  specified 
being  rubbed  off.  Thus  in  three  years  you  would  get  a  very  satis¬ 
factory  rod  with  vigorous  spurs,  provided  the  Vine  was  properly 
managed.  By  leaving  the  new  cane  its  full  length,  or  nearly  so,  you 
will  get  a  number  of  laterals  or  side  growths  of  varying  strength,  and 
the  Grapes,  if  taken  the  whole  length  of  the  rod,  would  so  weaken  the 
Vine  as  to  give  indifferent  results  another  season.  This  is  our 
experience,  and  may  be  of  service  to  you.  We  have  had  twenty  to 
twenty-four  bunches  of  Grapes  on  a  strong  cane  of  the  previous  year’s 
formation,  and  though  good  in  every  respect  the  rod  proved  very  unsatis¬ 
factory  afterwards.  On  the  other  hand,  the  one-third  extension  of 
space  system  gave  us  better  results  in  the  three  years,  and  that  we 
commend  to  your  attention. 
Cattleyas  and  Dendroblums  {Inq^uirer'). — As  has  been  stated 
in  these  pages,  the  amount  of  water  required  by  Cattleyas  depends 
entirely  on  the  state  of  the  roots,  whether  these  are  active  as  shown 
by  their  green  points  or  at  rest,  and  the  state  of  growth.  At  no  time 
should  Cattleyas  be  kept  quite  dry  for  any  lengthened  period,  as  this 
leads  to  shrivelling  of  the  growth  and  is  decidedly  harmful  to  the 
plants.  Observation  of  the  latter  will  help  you  to  success  much  more 
than  didactic  information,  but  the  instance  below  may  help  you.  We 
have  at  present  a  fine  batch  of  Cattleya  labiata,  some  of  them  in  flower 
others  having  passed  their  beauty.  The  roots  are  however  active  on  all 
of  them  and  all  are  watered  alike — viz.,  given  a  thorough  soaking  when 
they  need  it  and  left  to  get  quite  dry  before  any  more  is  applied.  When 
we  see  that  the  roots  have  finished  growing  and  the  plants  are  quite  at 
rest  w'e  shall  leave  them  without  water  for  a  longer  period  ;  in  fact 
only  giving  enough  to  prevent  the  shrivelling  before  mentioned.  A  little 
consideration  on  your  part  will  enable  you  to  see  that  we  cannot  give 
more  definite  instruction  without  seeing  the  plants  and  knowing  the 
exact  conditions  under  which  they  are  grown.  Dendrobiums  must  be 
kept  watered  until  the  growth  is  quite  finished  and  swelled  to  its  full 
size,  though  towards  the  end  of  the  growing  season  the  supply  should 
be  somewhat  lessened.  The  evergreen  section  should  never  be  kept 
quite  dry  for  any  lengthened  time,  but  the  deciduous  kinds  may  as  soon 
as  all  the  foliage  has  fallen  be  kept  so  with  advantage. 
IMClss  Tollffe  Carnation  Diseased  (IF.  IF.). — The  thicker  roots 
and  stem  of  the  plant  show  brown  stains  when  examined  in  longitudinal 
section,  and  pass  from  below  upwards.  The  discolouration  ia  chiefly 
confined  to  the  wood  next  the  bark,  which  has  been  traversed  by  the 
mycelial  hyphse  of  a  fungus,  and  the  contents  of  the  cells  abstracted. 
On  the  external  surface  of  the  stem  above  ground  is  the  outgrowth  of 
the  fungus,  and  consists  of  fasciculate  hyphm,  flexuous  and  nodulose 
upwards  from  the  nodes  of  which  spring  cylindric-oblong,  ends  rounded, 
three-septate  conidia,  of  a  smoky  olive  colour.  Those  are  the  “  fruits 
of  the  fungus  (Helminthosporium  exasperatum,  B.  and  BrS).  It  is 
generally  regarded  as  a  saprophyte,  and  is  found  on  stems  of  Dianthus 
and  Silene  species.  This  means  that  the  stems  have  been  killed  by  some 
other  cause,  such  as  deep  setting,  and  an  excess  of  moisture  at  the  collar 
of  the  plant.  It,  however,  is  not  natural  history,  and  ignores  the  fact 
that  the  parasite,  for  it  is  nothing  less,  has  entered  the  plant  by  the 
roots  and  ascended  the  stem,  appropriating  the  sap,  and,  girdling  it  at  or 
just  above  the  soil,  the  plant  collapses.  This  takes  place  gradually,  the 
plant  first  becoming  sickly,  the  "  grass  ”  dying  back  at  the  tips,  and 
by  degrees  the  plant  succumbs  to  the  enemy.  The  spots  on  the  leaves 
are  caused  by  a  closely  allied  species  of  fungus  (Heterosporium  echinu- 
latum,  Cite.'),  which  differs  only  from  Helminthosporium  in  having 
waited  conidia.  It  is  a  well  known  parasite  infesting  Carnations,  and 
is  generally  considered  to  be  induced  by  a  wet  condition  of  the  soil,  and 
a  close  moist  atmosphere.  For  this  you  may  spray  or  sponge  with 
permanganate  of  potash  solution  (Condy’s  fluid)  diluted  half  with  water, 
keeping  the  plants  drier  at  the  roots,  and  the  atmosphere  more  freely 
ventilated.  The  Helminthosporium,  which  has  probably  been  introduced 
as  spores  with  the  soil,  may  be  prevented  from  attacking  the  plants  by 
treating  the  turf  liberally  with  quicklime,  about  a  tenth,  as  a  rule, 
sufficing,  mixing  a  few  days  before  use. 
