January  13,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
45 
have  the  coolness  and  uniform  temperature  essential  to  their  sound 
keeping  on  Vines  after  the  sun  gains  power  ;  besides,  their  hanging  is 
not  good  for  the  Vines,  which  to  do  well  require  starting  in  good  time 
to  insure  a  satisfactory  finish  of  their  crops.  The  Grapes  may  now  be 
removed  to  a  dry  room,  where  they  will  keep  as  well  as  on  the  Vines. 
The  Vines  must  then  be  pruned,  tnoroughly  cleansing  the  house.  Dress 
the  Vines,  and  wash  every  part  thoroughly  with  some  approved  insecti¬ 
cide,  applying  with  a  brush.  Air  should  be  admitted  freely  in  favourable 
weather,  seeking  to  give  the  Vines  as  long  and  complete  rest  as  possible. 
Where  the  borders  are  not  satisfactory  lilt  the  Vines,  and  relay  the  roots 
in  fresh  compost ;  and  where  the  Vines  have  insidd  and  outside  borders 
the  renovation  may  be  accomplished  without  loss  of  crop  by  renewing 
the  former  one  year,  and  the  latter  the  next. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — Proceed  steadily  with  plants  that  are  not 
required  to  give  fruit  at  a  particularly  early  stated  time,  especially  in 
severe  weather ;  50^"  to  55'’'  is  ample  at  night  for  those  started  in 
December,  and  60°  to  65°  by  day,  erring,  if  at  all,  on  the  safe  side — the 
low — therefore  5°  le§s  in  cold  weather  and  the  absence  of  sun  is  advisable. 
Ventilate  whenever  there  is  a  chance.  The  trusses  rise  boldest  and 
are  strongest  when  the  plants  have  the  foliage  well  elaborated. 
Close  atmosphere  induces  soft  tissues,  weakly  organs  of  fructification, 
imperfect  sets,  and  deformed,  ill-shaped  fruit. 
Introduce  more  plants  to  shelves  in  Peach  houses  or  vineries  started 
about  this  time.  Pectify  the  drainage  of  the  pots,  remove  moss  or  other 
matter  from  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  wash  the  pots  clean.  Surface 
dress  with  an  approved  fertiliser  mixed  with  a  little  fine  soil.  If  the 
plants  do  not  push  freely  use  a  little  superphosphate,  three  parts,  and 
crushed  saltpetre,  one  part,  a  thimbleful  or  two  to  a  plant,  according 
to  size  of  pot.  Noble  is  an  excellent  variety  for  introducing  now  to 
fruit  in  April,  also  Auguste  Nicaise,  the  latter  being  the  brighter  fruit, 
equally  large,  prolific,  and  better  fiavoured.  Koyal  Sovereign,  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  Sir  .loseph  Paxton  may  also  be  introduced,  but  to  maintain 
the  succession  of  fruit  unbroken  plants  of  La  Grosse  Sucr^e  and 
Vicomtesse  llericart  de  Thury  must  also  be  introduced  at  the  same  time. 
THE  FLOWER  GARDEN. 
Sowing  Tuberous  Begonia  Seed. — There  are  two  good  reasons  why 
the  seed  of  Tuberous  Begonias  should  be  sown  early.  One  is  because 
such  very  small  seed  always  germinates  more  surely  before  the  sunshine 
has  gained  greatly  in  power,  and  the  other  is  that  unless  the  plants  are 
raised  early  in  the  year  they  will  not  have  attained  a  serviceable  size  at 
bedding-out  time.  Most  seedsmen  now  supply  reliable  strains  of  Begonias 
for  bedding  out.  Those  with  flowers  borne  on  erect  stems  are  rightly 
preferred,  the  drooping  varieties  being  better  adapted  for  vases,  window 
boxes,  and  hanging  baskets.  If  proper  precautions  are  taken  every  seed 
should  germinate,  a  smill  packet  yielding  200  or  300  plants,  or  perhaps 
more,  and  these  may  be  had  each  4  inches  or  more  through  by  the  first 
week  in  June,  thus  insuring  a  good  display  before  the  summer  is  far 
advanced. 
Prepare  pans,  in  preference  to  pots,  by  carefully  draining,  covering  the 
crocks  with  moss,  on  this  placing  some  coarse  soil,  and  finish  off  with 
about  2  inches  of  a  very  fine  mixture  of  loam,  and  either  leaf  soil  or  peat 
in  equal  parts  with  a  little  sand  added.  The  soil  used  ought  to  be 
perfectly  free  of  worms  and  insects  generally,  even  if  this  necessitates 
well  roasting  it  over  a  fire.  Make  the  surface  perfectly  level  and  firm, 
and  then  well  moisten  it  either  by  partly  immersing  in  water  or  by 
gentle  syringings.  This  to  be  done  at  least  six  hours  prior  to  sowing 
the  seed.  Do  not  surface  over  with  silver  sand,  as  the  latter  does  not 
afford  the  tiny  seedlings,  newly  germinated,  any  root-hold,  and  numbers 
of  them  perish  accordingly.  Sow  the  seeds  as  carefully  and  thinly  as 
possible,  for  patches  of  seedlings  are  extremely  liable  to  damp  off 
wholesale. 
Hotbeds,  unless  perfectly  free  of  worms,  are  bad  places,  though  most 
often  selected,  for  Begonia  raising.  An  upheaval  of  any  kind  or  souring 
of  the  soil  is  likely  to  prove  fatal  to  many  seedlings,  and  the  safest  and 
best  place  for  the  pans  are  shelves  suspended,  not  far  from  the  glass,  in 
a  forcing  house  or  plant  stove.  Cover  them  closely  with  squares  of 
glass,  and  the  latter  with  a  good  thickness  of  moss  or  brown  paper.  Also 
protect  the  pans  from  sunshine.  Never  once  must  the  soil  in  the  pans  be 
allowed  to  become  dry,  nor  should  they  be  watered  through  a  can.  A 
short  period  of  dryness  would  prove  fatal  to  the  sprouting  seeds,  and 
however  gently  water  may  be  applied  on  the  surface,  the  chances  are  this 
would  have  the  effect  of  dislodging  and  spoiling  many  of  the  seeds  or 
tiny  seedlings.  Whenever  the  soil  is  approaching  dryness  immerse 
the  pans  in  a  bucket  or  tank  of  tepid  water  just  deep  enough  for  the 
moisture  to  soak  upwards  without  at  the  time  actually  reaching  the 
surface. 
The  seeds  sometimes  germinate  in  a  fortnight  or  so,  the  time  being 
largely  determined  by  their  age,  and  directly  the  tiny  seed  leaves  are 
detected  admit  light  gradually,  and  also  slightly  block  up  the  glasses, 
taking  good  care  though  that  no  sunshine  shall  reach  the  Begonias.  By 
way  of  a  preventive  of  damping  either  wipe  or  turn  the  glasses  every 
morning.  The  seedlings  will  require  to  be  pricked  out  long  before  they 
are  large  enough  to  be  picked  up  with  the  finger  and  thumb. 
Dwarf  Lobelias. — When  a  good  strain  is  procured  seedlings  of  these 
are  as  compact,  fioriferous,  and  true  to  name  as  are  cutting-raised  plants 
of  named  varieties.  The  seed  should  be  sown  early,  and  much  as 
advised  in  the  case  of  Tuberous  Begonias,  and  then  there  well  be  less 
likelihood  of  failures  than  there  would  be  if  sown  a  month  or  six  weeks 
later  on.  If  the  seedlings  are  duly  pricked  out  and  grown  on  without 
receiving  a  severe  check  extra  strong  stocky  plants  will  be  ready  for 
bedding  out  late  in  May. 
Making  Candy. 
Owing  to  the  mild  weather  experienced  throughout  the  country 
many  colonies  of  bees  have  become  short  of  stores.  It  is  now  a  well- 
known  fact  that  much  less  food  is  consumed  by  bees  when  there  is  a 
low  temperature  throughout  the  winter  than  when  the  weather  is  mild, 
as  it  has  been  up  to  the  present  time.  It  is  therefore  advisable  to 
supply  the  bees  with  stores  in  the  best  possible  condition,  so  that 
they  may  take  it  without  becoming  chilled.  But  how  is  this  to  he 
done  ? 
If  given  in  the  form  of  syrup  the  bees  will  not  take  it  readily, 
and  if  an  excess  of  moisture  is  taken  into  the  hive  at  this  season 
dysentery  will  follow.  If  dry  sugar  feeding  is  practised,  and  a  sharp 
spell  of  frost  should  set  in,  the  bees  will  starve,  although  there  may 
be  an  ample  supply  of  sugar  within  a  few  inches  of  the  cluster.  The 
best  possible  food  at  this  season  is  soft  candy  where  feeding  is  really 
necessary.  But  from  inquiries  recently  to  hand  some  bee-keepers  have 
found  a  diflBculty  in  making  soft  candy. 
In  making  candy  it  is  as  well  to  bear  the  fact  in  mind  that  it  is 
much  easier  to  make  it  hard  than  to  keep  it  soft.  If  made  too  hard 
the  bees  cannot  masticate  it,  and  the  first  warm  day  that  comes  they 
will  set  to  work  and  remove  it  from  the  hive.  The  two  chief  points 
to  be  observed  are  not  to  boil  it  too  long,  and  after  its  removal  Irom 
the  fire  to  keep  it  well  stirred.  An  enamelled  iron  preserving  pan  answers 
the  purpose  admirably  ;  fine  granulated  sugar  should  be  used  in  the 
proportion  of  6  lbs.  of  sugar  to  one  imperial  pint  of  soft  w'ater,  into 
which  must  be  stirred  one  teaspoonful  of  cream  of  tartar. 
The  water  should  be  first  put  in  the  pan,  and  the  sugar  gradually 
added  after  being  placed  on  the  fire,  keeping  it  constantly  stirred 
until  it  boils.  Care  must  be  taken  that  it  does  not  boil  over  the  side 
of  the  pan  ;  to  prevent  this  it  is  an  advantage  to  withdraw  slightly 
from  the  fire,  but  not  sufficient  to  prevent  it  boiling.  Continue 
stirring  until  the  froth,  which  at  first  will  cover  the  whole  mass,  has 
disappeared.  When  it  has  boiled  two  or  three  minutes  lift  out  a 
teaspoulul  and  drop  it  into  a  cup  of  cold  water,  which  has  been  placed 
ill  readiuo.ss.  If  it  remains  at  the  bottom  of  the  teacup  like  thick 
paste  it  is  in  the  right  condition  for  removal  from  the  fire.  I(,  on  the 
contrary,  it  mixes  readily  with  the  water,  it  has  not  been  boiled 
sufficiently,  and  the  same  operation  must  be  repealed.  If  boiled  too 
long  it  will  be  crisp  and  hard,  and  no  after  treatment  will  make  it 
soft  unless  more  water  is  added,  and  it  is  again  boiled  as  above. 
Alter  the  removal  of  the  pan  from  the  fire  it  will  be  an  advantage 
to  place  it  in  a  tub  of  cold  water,  care  being  taken  that  tlie  water  does 
not  flow  over  the  side  of  the  pan  and  thus  become  mixed  with  the 
sugar.  C  ntinue  the  stiiring  process,  and  in  a  few  minutes  it  will 
have  a  greasy  appearance  of  a  dirty  grey  colour,  alterwards  becoming 
quite  white. 
Care  must  be  talv  n  that  it  dues  not  become  too  stiff  hi  fore  being 
poured  into  shallow  dishes,  which  should  have  been  previously 
prepared  by  placing  a  sheet  of  paper  in  each.  The  advantage  of  using 
paper  will  be  at  once  seen  alter  the  candy  has  become  cold,  by  the 
readiness  with  which  it  may  be  removed  from  the  vessels  in  which  it 
was  poured.  The  paper  will  adhere  closely  to  the  candy,  and  the 
dishes  may  be  again  used  for  any  purpose  required.  Il  the  operation 
has  been  carefully  carried  out  it  will  result  in  a  fine-grained  solt 
candy,  which  will  be  readily  taken  by  the  bees,  and  bee  keepers  will 
not  complain  of  their  bees  casting  the  candy  out  of  their  hives. 
How  TO  Feed  Bees  with  Candy. 
It  has  been  necessary  to  give  char  instructions  as  to  making  candy, 
but  quite  as  much  care  is  essential  in  supplying  bees  with  the 
necess'ary  food,  as  at  this  season  more  than  any  other  they  should  not 
be  disturbed  if  it  can  be  avoided.  Candy  must  always  be  placed 
diiectly  over  the  cluster.  Bees  at  this  season  will  be  found  snugly 
clustered  in  the  miiidle  of  the  hive.  If  a  strong  colony  of  hees  be 
examined  at  the  end  of  the  honey  flow,  the  outside  combs  in  the  hive 
are  full  of  sealed  stores  ;  but  examine  them  a  couple  of  months  later, 
and  the  honey  will  be  found  to  have  all  disappearerl  from  the  extreme 
outside  combs;  internally  they  are  the  same  as  when  previously 
examined. 
Why  is  this  ?  Because  the  bees  know  full  well  that  if  their  food 
supply  is  stored  so  far  away  from  the  cluster,  and  a  spell  of  severe 
weather  set  in,  they  would  be  unable  to  reach  it,  and  the  result  would 
be  death  from  starvation.  Bees  never  make  this  mistake  when  left  to 
their  own  devices.  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  imitate  Nature  as  far  as 
possible.  For  tliis  reason  we  place  the  candy  so  that  the  bees  may 
reach  it  without  any  danger  of  becoming  chilled. 
I  pr»  fer  to  cut  a  hole  in  the  quilt,  turn  the  lap  back,  and  place  the 
cake  of  candy  over  the  aiierture.  When  this  is  done  an  extra  thickness 
