36 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  14.  L898. 
be  got  ready.  It'  the  ground  was  well  manured  for  the  preceding  crop  no 
more  is  required  for  the  Turnips,  but  they  make  a  better  start  and  are 
less  affected  by  insect  pests  if  artificial  manure  is  applied  or  the  drills  are 
soaked  with  liquid  manure.  Make  the  ground  as  fine  as  possible  to  a 
good  depth,  draw  shallow  drills  15  inches  apart,  moisten  these,  if  necessary, 
and  sow  the  seed  thinly. 
1115 
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Rearing  Queens— Commencing  Operations. 
The  middle  of  a  fine  day  is  the  best  time  to  commence  operations, 
as  the  majority  of  the  old  bees  will  be  on  the  wing,  and  it  will  then 
be  much  easier  to  find  the  queen.  Remove  the  comb  on  which  the 
queen  is  found,  and  all  the  adhering  bees,  into  an  empty  hive ;  then 
close  up  with  a  couple  of  frames  of  fully  drawn-out  combs  on  each 
side.  Shake  the  bees  off  another  comb  into  this  hive,  and  there  will 
be  sufficient  to  keep  the  brood  warm.  Cover  with  plenty  of  warm 
material,  remove  the  hive  to  a  new  position,  and  all  will  go  on  well. 
Returning  to  the  original  stock,  divide  the  remaining  frames  into 
two  or  more  nucleus  hives,  dividing  the  bees  equally  between  them. 
Close  the  division  board,  and  place  them  on  each  side  of  where  the 
parent  stock  stood  ;  the  flying  bees  will  then  not  all  return  to  one 
hive.  The  bees,  finding  themselves  queenless,  will  at  once  start 
queen  cells,  and  young  virgin  queens  will  be  ready  to  emerge  from 
their  cell  on  the  sixteenth  day. 
Before  this  takes  place  each  frame  should  be  carefully  examined,  and 
any  surplus  queen  cells  removed.  If  required  for  other  colonies  the 
cells  must  be  cut  out,  with  a  piece  of  comb  attached,  and  inserted  in 
another  comb  in  its  natural  position,  pointing  downwards.  Remove 
the  queen  from  the  stock  to  which  the  cell  is  introduced ;  the  young 
queen  will  then  be  allowed  to  hatch,  and  she  will  in  due  course 
become  fertilised.  If  there  are  sufficient  queen  cells  the  old  queen 
may  be  removed  from  the  nuclei  in  which  she  was  placed  when 
dividing  the  stock,  and  a  cell  given  in  her  place.  Much  valuable 
time  will  then  be  saved. 
Handling  Bees. 
The  cold  nights  and  sunless  days  experienced  during  the  past 
three  weeks  have  prevented  the  bees  from  adding  to  their  stores  as 
much  as  bee-keepers  would  have  wished.  There  have  been  a  few 
bright  spells  of  sunshine,  of  which  the  bees  made  the  most,  but  as  fine 
weather  was  on  two  or  three  occasions  followed  by  high  winds  the  bees 
were  unable  to  leave  the  neighbourhood  of  their  hives,  and  were  (as  a 
correspondent  remarks)  “perfect  savages,  attacking  everyone  who 
ventured  near  them.” 
In  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  a  high  temperature  prevails,  and  if 
the  sun  is  shining  brightly  so  much  the  betler,  the  bees  may  be 
handled  with  impunity,  and  if  the  operator  is  steady  in  his  movements 
there  will  be  no  danger  of  being  stung.  It  is  the  nervous  bee-keeper 
who  constantly  runs  the  risk  of  this  calamity,  by  the  manner  in  which 
he  handles  the  combs  whilst  lilting  them,  or  placing  them  back  in  the 
hive.  The  bees  will  resent  rough  treatment,  such  as  dropping  the 
frame  into  the  hive  with  a  jerk,  much  more  readily  than  some  people 
imagine. 
Gloves  should  not  be  worn  at  any  time,  as  they  only  irritate  the 
bees,  and  if  the  right  time  is  chosen  there  is  really  little  danger  of 
being  stung.  It  is,  however,  advisable  to  wear  a  veil,  as  at  no  time  is 
it  pleasant  to  be  stung  on  the  face.  Seasoned  bee-keepers  have  the 
advantage  over  their  less  fortunate  brethren,  as  from  the  numerous 
stings  they  receive  they  become  inoculated,  and  thus  they  have  no 
dread.  They  often,  we  fear,  become  careless,  and  thus  many  bees 
lose  their  lives  through  their  propensity  for  stinging,  owing  to  the 
operators  being  sting-proof.— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
Grafting  Plums,  on  Peach  Trees.— Mr.  S.  W.  Chambers  writes 
n  the  “American  Cultivator  “Many  Plum  orchards  thrive  veil  until 
nearly  the  fruiting  season.  Then  the  trees,  when  the  extra  drain  of 
bearing  fruit  is  imposed  upon  them,  begin  to  weaken,  and  show  signs  of 
defects.  The  grafted  trees  show  binding  and  splitting  at  the  junction  of 
the  bud  and  stock,  and  various  Plum  diseases  develop  The  bark  in  places 
dies  and  rots  off,  and  in  time  this  decay  penetrates  to  the  heart  of  the  tree. 
The  best  stock  for  grafting  on  has  been  a  matter  of  grave  concern  for  some 
time.  The  Myrobalan  group  of  stocks  was  for  some  time  proclaimed  as 
the  best  ;  then  tho  Mariana  stocks  succeeded  them  in  popularity.  But 
with  some  of  our  newer  choice  Plums,  better  results  are  obtained  by  root¬ 
grafting  on  the  Peach.  One-year  Peach  seedlings  root-grafted  with  choice 
Plum  will  invariably  produce  Plum  trees  that,  in  a  few  years,  will  be  self- 
supporting  on  their  own  roots.  In  this  union  all  suckers  must  be  kept 
down. .  The  stocks  that  will  show  no  tendency  to  send  up  suckers  will 
grow  in  popularity,  and  will  in  time  be  the  ideal  ones  for  commercial 
orchards.  At  present  we  have  no  ideal  Plum  stocks.” 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8.  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  WOT  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. 
'  Peach  Diseased  ( R .  M.  I?.).— The  fruit  is  infested  by  mildew,  now  in 
the  final  stage,  or  rather  passing  into  it.  The  fruits  are  spoiled,  being 
quite  browned  in  the  skin  where  the  fungus  has  acted,  and  they  usually 
crack  when  ripening.  The  best  remedy  is  flowers  of  sulphur  dusted  on 
the  fruits  or  tree,  or  a  solution  of  liver  of  sulphur  (sulphide  of  potassium) 
£  oz.  to  a  gallon  ol  water,  syringed  on  the  tree  in  the  late  afternoon.  The 
tree  should  be  treated  early  another  season  with  flowers  of  sulphur  as  a 
preventive. 
The  Chiswick  Gathering  (A  Fellow'). — We  are  glad  you  take  an  interest 
in  what  you  te/m  the  “  activities  ”  of  the  R.H.S.  If  you  did  not  you 
would  scarcely  have  your  name  inscribed  on  the  roll  of  fellowship.  The 
late  assemblage  of  members  of  committees  and  Council  in  the  gardens 
was,  we  apprehend,  regarded  ’as  private  and  social,  rather  than  a  public 
function,  and  therefore  Press  tickets  were  not  issued.  That  is  the  reason 
the  meeting  was  not  generally  “  reported, ’’  though,  of  course,  any  person 
who  happened  to  be  there  was  at  liberty  to  make  reference  to  it  if  he 
desired  to  do  so,  as  in  the  case  of  any  other  gathering  not  of  a  confidential 
nature. 
Asphalt  for  Garden  Paths  (W.  J.  P.). — The  materials  you  name — “a 
lot  of  cinders,  also  some  old  gravel  and  other  stones  ” — will  answer 
admirably,  passing  all  through  a  \  inch  sieve.  The  material  must  be 
quite  dry,  and  the  gas  tar  boiled,  using  this  boiling-hot  on  the  articles 
well  mixed  together,  forming  a  rather  stiffish  mortar-like  consistence. 
We  have  not  kept  any  account  of  the  quantity  of  tar  required  per 
quantity  of  material  or  per  area,  but  an  ordinary  9-gallon  copper  three 
parts  full  or  rather  less,  as  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  boiling, 
sufficed  for  about  four  barrowloads  of  the  material,  and  that  covered 
8  square  yards  of  path,  or,  say,  \  gallon  of  tar  per  square  yard.  There 
is,  however,  a  great  dilerenee  in  the  material  and  the  foundation  on  which 
the  prepared  article  is  laid.  We  have  made  many  of  the  substances  you 
mention,  and  they  are  as  good  as  ever,  though  made  many  years  ago. 
Indeed,  such  wear  better  than  cinder  asphalt  paths. 
Vine  Roots  Cankered  (  W.  S.). — The  Muscat  roots  are  dead,  and  the 
outer  bark  has  been  eaten  away  in  places  by  some  absent  pest.  The 
gnawing  apparently  is  the  work  of  a  grub,  such  as  that  of  wirewoim, 
which  sometimes  proves  very  injurious  to  Vines,  especial  y  the  fleshy 
roots  of  Muscats,  the  pest  preferring  these  to  other  varieties,  and  the 
grubs  of  the  Vine  weevil  also  render  Vines  very  sickly  in  appearance. 
As  you  have  captured  numerous  wireworm,  we  should  consider  them  the 
cause,  for  had  it  been  the  Vine  weevil  they  would  before  this  have 
appeared  and  eaten  the  leaves  of  the  Vines  or  other  plants  in  the  beetle 
stage.  There  is  no  better  plan  for  getting  rid  of  wireworm  than  the  old- 
fashioned  Carrot  trap,  which  you  have  rightly  used.  Unfortunately  the 
destruction  of  the  pests  will  not  restore  the  mischief  they  have  done,  the 
Vine  now  showing  the  results  of  their  devastatory  work.  We  should 
make  sure  of  the  pests  being  cleared  out  by  continuing  the  trapping,  and 
then  supply  a  top-dressing  of  some  approved  fertiliser,  such  as  bone 
superphosphate,  dry  and  crumbling,  five  parts ;  nitrate  of  potash,  finely 
powaered.  three  parts  ;  sulphate  of  magnesia,  also  finely  powdered,  one 
part  ;  and  ground  gypsum,  one  part,  mixed,  using  a  quarter  pound  per 
square  yard,  and  pointing  in  very  lightly.  Tbis  will  encourage  root 
formation,  and  it  may  be  still  further  encouraged  by  removing  some  of 
the  old  soil  about  the  stem  of  the  Vine  and  supplying  fresh  turfy  loam, 
preferably  scalded  to  free  it  from  any  contained  pests.  With  fresh  roots 
from  the  collar  and  other  sound  parts  of  the  root  system,  the  Vine  may 
be  expected  to  make  good  progress  another  year. 
