16 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  7,  1898. 
to  crack.  At  the  times  indicated  moisture  must  not  be  entirely  withheld 
from  the  atmosphere,  but  damp  the  paths  in  the  morning  and  afternoon. 
With  the  fruit  swelling  syringe  well  at  closing  time,  and  damp  liberally 
in  the  morning  and  evening.  Sprinkle  plants  in  frames,  or  syringe  at 
closing  time,  being  careful  to  keep  the  water  from  the  collar  of  the  plants. 
As  the  fruit  approaches  ripening  admit  a  little  air  constantly,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  on  the  fruit,  also  when  the  flowers 
are  setting,  for  when  damp  settles  on  the  delicate  organs  of  fructification 
they  are  destroyed.  Provide  a  little  ventilation  in  frames  at  night,  and 
increase  it  early  in  the  morning  of  fine  days  at  75°,  and  gradually  admit 
more  air,  keeping  through  the  day  at  80°  to  90°,  closing  at  85°  so  as  to 
raise  the  heat  to  90°  or  more,  and  before  night  admit  a  chink  of  air  at 
the  top  of  the  house  or  back  of  the  frame. 
The  temperature  in  both  houses  and  frames  will  now  be  maintained 
without  recourse  to  much  artificial  warmth.  It  will  suffice  if  the  night 
temperature  does  not  fall  below  65°,  and  is  maintained  at  70°  to  75°  by 
day.  In  a  dull  period  a  little  fire  heat  will  be  desirable  to  maintain  a 
buoyant  condition  of  the  atmosphere  when  the  fruit  is  setting  and  when 
ripenii  g.  At  those  times  plants  in  frames  will  be  much  benefited  by 
linings  placed  against  the  sides,  and,  if  necessary,  to  the  beds,  as  it  allows 
of  a  free  circulation  of  air,  and  otherwise  the  temperature  is  ruled  by  the 
external  influences. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — Early  runners  for  layering  in  pots  should  be 
on  fruitful  plants  and  the  work  proceeded  with  as  soon  as  they  are  formed 
at  the  joints  of  the  wires  and  when  pushing  roots.  The  runners  may  be 
layered  in  small  pots,  turves,  or  into  the  fruiting  pots.  All  three  plans 
are  good.  In  any  case  it  is  essential  that  the  first  runners,  which  give 
the  best  plantlets,  should  be  selected,  and  that  they  be  induced  by  judicious 
watering  to  emit  roots  freely,  develop  into  sturdy  plants,  and  form  good 
crowns.  Plants  layered  in  small  pots  or  turves  should  be  detached  when 
well  rooted  and  shifted  into  the  fruiting  pots.  These  may  be  5-inch  for 
-very  early  forcing,  6-inch  for  succession  and  late  work.  Turfy  loam, 
strong  rather  than  light,  should  form  the  staple  of  the  compost.  Pot 
firmly,  and  stand  the  pots  on  a  hard  base  in  an  open  situation,  keeping 
the  plants  properly  supplied  with  water,  free  from  runners  and  weeds. 
La  Grosse  Sucree,  Royal  Sovereign,  Lucas,  and  British  Queen  are  excellent 
sorts  in  their  order  for  early  forcing,  midseason  and  late,  being  good 
croppers  and  of  first-class  quality. 
II 
n--i  j.i.i 
£ 
IE  BEE-KEEPER. 
l!lu - aiiTi-i-  •  i .  i  -  i-i  - 1  -  i-i.i  -T-i-i  -  t-i-i-i 
■ - — - - - -  - — 
Honey  Prospects. 
We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  the  honey  flow  from  field  Beans,  the 
AA  hite  Clover,  and  various  other  flowers,  and  the  next  three  weeks 
will  decide  whether  bee-keepers  will  be  rewarded  with  a  bountiful 
harvest,  or  if  the  honey  crop  will  be  a  failure,  or  partially  so.  After 
the  experience  of  the  past  fortnight — bright  sunshine  has  been  absent — 
he  would  be  a  bold  man  who  would  predict  an  extra  large  surplus 
from  the  above  sources. 
It  is  during  a  season  like  the  present  that  good  management  will 
make  itselt  shown.  This  is  obseived  in  bee-keeping  more  than 
anything  else,  and  if  the  hints  given  in  these  pages  week  by  week 
have  been  duly  attended  to  there  is  still  ample  time  for  the  bees  to 
store  a  surplus.  It  is  surprising  the  amount  of  honey  a  strong  colony 
of  bees  will  store  in  a  few  hours,  and  the  rapid  increase  in  the  weight 
of  the  stocks  that  takes  place  after  only  a  few  hours  bright  sunshine 
during  the  height  of  the  season. 
Bearing  Queens. 
If  we  utilise  all  our  stocks  for  honey  production,  and  do  not  allow 
them  to  swarm,  they  must  eventually  collapse,  as  the  queens  will  die 
of  old  age,  or  from  exhaustion.  The  bees  will  then  endeavour  to  rear 
another  in  her  place,  when  it  may  be  too  late,  owing  to  the  fact  of  there 
being  no  eggs  in  the  hive.  Or  if  there  are,  and  a  queen  is  in  due 
course  raised,  there  will  be  a  greater  loss  of  time — probably  a  month 
will  elapse  from  the  laying  of  the  egg  until  the  voung  queen  is 
fertilised  and  laying.  During  that  period  the  bees  in  the  hive  will 
gradually  become  fewer  owing  to  old  age  and  other  causes,  so  that  by 
"the  time  the  young  queen  has  filled  the  hive  with  brood  it  will  be  too 
late  for  the  bees  to  be  of  any  use  for  that  season.  Bees,  too,  when 
-prevented  from  swarming,  which  is  their  natural  instinct,  usually 
lose  their  queen  during  the  spring  when  her  laying  powers  are 
overtaxed,  and  valuable  time  is  thus  lost. 
Those  of  our  readers  who  carried  out  our  instructions  a  month 
ago,  and  doubled  a  given  number  of  their  stocks  for  the  production 
of  extracted  honey,  will  now  have  numerous  stocks  which  were  then 
robbed  of  frames  of  brood  and  young  bees,  which  since  that  time 
have  had  an  addition  as  they  required  them  'of  frames  of  foundation 
or  fully  drawn-out  combs.  There  will  now  be  numerous  young  bees 
on  the  wing,  and  the  combs  will  be  filled  with  brood  in  various  stages 
of  development.  These,  then,  are  in  prime  condition  for  queen 
rearing. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to“  The  Editor,”  8.  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  NOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to 
any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post.  If  information 
be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any  particular 
authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain 
it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  'plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
improving  the  Colour  of  Flowers  ( Amateur ). — Most  fertilisers  improve 
the  colour  by  giving  stamina  to  the  plants.  Some  dressing  has  probably 
been  given  to  the  plants  before  you  procured  them,  hence  the  less  colour 
and  smaller  flowers  usually  found  on  them  after  they  leave  the  grower. 
We  should  use  a  little  fertiliser,  one  of  those  advertised,  carefully  following 
the  instructions.  None  of  the  plants  you  name  will  thrive  and  flourish 
in  a  greenhouse  with  only  sun  heat,  or  only  during  the  summer  months, 
say  from  June  to  September  inclusive.  This  means  their  being  grown 
elsewhere,  and  only  placed  in  the  greenhouse  at  the  time  mentioned  for 
decoration. 
To  Preserve  Strawberries  Whole  ( G .  H.). — To  6  lbs.  of  Strawberries 
allow  3  lbs.  of  sugar,  granulated.  It  is  largely  a  question  of  variety,  as 
some  invariably  smash.  However,  if  you  use  fruits  of  Grove  End  Scarlet, 
or  small  ones  of  Vicomtesse  Hericart  de  Thury,  following  the  instructions 
here  given,  you  should  attain  to  what  you  desire  Lay  the  fruit  in  deep 
dishes  and  sprinkle  half  the  sugar  over  them,  give  a  gentle  shake  so 
that  the  sugar  touches  the  under  side  of  the  fruit.  The  next  day  make 
a  syrup  with  the  remainder  of  the  sugar  and  the  juice  drawn  from  the 
Strawberries,  and  boil  until  it  jellies  ;  then  carefully  put  in  the  Straw¬ 
berries  and  let  them  simmer  nearly  an  hour.  Place  with  care  into  jars 
or  bottles,  and  fill  up  with  the  syrup. 
Carnations  Infested  by  Maggot  (T.  L.). — The  “black  dog”  or 
“leather  jacket”  is  the  maggot  or  larvte  of  the  daddy-longlegs  or  crane 
fly  (Tipula  oleracea),  and  very  destructive.  The  pests  are  troublesome, 
and  the  best  means  of  destroying  the  grubs  is  by  hand.  They  may  be 
found  just  within  the  soil  near  the  food  plants,  and  can  mostly  be 
unearthed  with  a  pointed  stick.  This  is  a  troublesome  process,  but  sure  ; 
afterwards  dressing  the  ground  between  the  plants  with  finely  powdered 
nitrate  of  soda,  using  an  ounce  per  square  yard,  near  but  not  on  the 
plants.  Or  dissolve  the  nitrate  in  water,  half  an  ounce  to  a  gallon,  and 
supply  that  quantity  per  square  yard,  but  soil  close  up  to  the  stems. 
This  will  benefit  the  plants  and  stupefy  the  grubs,  killing  them  slowly. 
Another  plan  is  the  old-fashioned  hot-water  treatment,  this  being  sup¬ 
plied  at  a  temperature  of  110°  to  115°,  and  sufficient  given  to  wet  the 
soil  about  2  inches  deep.  It  is  best  to  use  warm  water  for  the  nitrate 
of  soda,  applying  at  a  temperature  of  1 10°,  and  not  exceeding  the  quantity 
of  nitrate  per  square  yard,  when  the  ground  is  moist. 
Lord  Napier  Nectarine  Leaves  Yellow  (X.  N.  P.). — There  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  disease  of  an  organic  nature  in  the  leaves,  they  being 
deficient  only  in  chlorophyll.  It  is  not  a  case  of  “  yellows  ”  due  to  micro¬ 
organisms,  but  a  constitutional  or  structural  defect,  commonly  called 
chlorosis.  This  may  be,  and  not  unfrequently  is,  followed  by  brown  rot 
fungus  (Monilia  frutigena),  a  common  cause  of  the  so-called  gumming 
and  dying-off  of  the  shoots  and  limbs.  There  was  no  trace  of  it,  how¬ 
ever,  in  the  two-year-old  wood,  but  may  have  a  seat  lower  down  in 
the  branches.  AA^e  should  lift  the  tree,  not  necessarily  to  supply  fresh 
soil,  as  that  was  done  three  years  ago,  but  to  promote  a  fibrous  root 
formation  and  better  means  of  imbibing  nutrition.  Supply  a  dressing  of 
three  parts  bone  superphosphate,  dry  and  crumbly,  two  parts  double 
sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia,  and  one  part  sulphate  of  lime,  mixed, 
using  4  ozs.  per  square  yard,  pointing  in  very  lightly,  or  loosen  the 
surface,  scatter  on,  and  wash  in  moderately.  This  will  give  some  relief 
in  the  present  season,  and  more  in  the  next,  especially  if  a  similar  dressing 
be  given  after  lifting.  The  first  application  will  not  interfere  with  this 
operation,  but,  as  before  stated,  we  should  not  remove  the  old  soil,  but 
return  it  again  after  operating. 
