56 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  21,  1898. 
Ventilate  early,  having  a  little  air  on  all  night,  syringe  by  7  A.M.,  and 
through  the  early  part  of  the  day  ventilate  freely.  When  the  sun  loses 
power  in  the  afternoon  reduce  the  ventilation  so  as  to  maintain  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  80°  to  90°  about  4  p.m.,  with  a  syringing  once  or  twice  a  day  and 
damping  of  surfaces  ;  but  have  the  fruits  dry  before  night.  Directly 
the  fruit  commences  ripening  cease  syringing,  but  afford  air  moisture  by 
damping  the  floor  and  border  whenever  they  become  dry,  ventilating 
rather  freely,  and  admit  a  little  air  throughout  the  night. 
Late  Houses. — If  it  is  desiied  to  accelerate  the  ripening  ventilate  rather 
freely  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  up  to  early  in  the  afternoon, 
then  keep  the  heat  obtained  by  reducing  the  ventilation  so  as  to  secure 
80°  to  85u  ;  4pi.  close,  syringing  well.  Regulate  and  tie  down  the 
shoots  as  they  advance,  allowing  no  more  than  are  necessary  for  nest 
year’s  fruiting,  or  for  furnishing  the  trees.  Any  gross  shoots  pushing 
laterals  from  the  leaf  buds  may  be  cut  back  to  whete  the  buds  remain 
intact.  Draw  the  leaves  aside  from  the  fruit,  which  raise  on  laths  with 
the  apex  to  the  light. 
Wall  Cases. —  Secure  the  growths  to  the  trellis  as  they  advance,  being 
careful  to  allow  space  in  the  ties  for  the  swelling  of  the  shoots.  Keep 
the  shoots  so  thin  that  every  leaf  has  full  space  for  development  and 
exposure.  Syringe  about  7  A.M.,  the  structure  having  a  little  ventilation 
constantly,  increasing  this  with  the  advancing  temperature  to  75°,  or  if 
it  is  desired  to  accelerate  the  ripening  maintain  a  temperature  of  80°  to 
85°  by  day.  Syringe  about  5  P.M.  Red  spider  will  not  make  much 
headway  provided  the  syringing  is  thorough  and  the  trees  are  well 
supplied  with  water  at  the  roots. 
Attention  to  Supers. 
Although  the  weather  has  been  so  precarious  we  have  already 
some  well-finished  sections;  others  in  this  district  have  supers  in 
various  forms  well  advanced  towards  completion  ;  whilst  a  corre¬ 
spondent  in  the  south,  writing  on  the  4th  inst.,  says,  “Three  weeks 
ago  1  took  off  fifty  well-finished  sections;  at  the  same  time  I  extracted 
a  quantity  of  honey,  which  was  afterwards  bottled.  It  is  the  darkest 
I  ever  had.  I  thinti  it  was  obtained  from  the  Rhododendrons,  as  they 
were  a  mass  of  bloom  at  that  time,  and  the  bees  were  taking  their 
flight  and  returning  from  that  direction.  To-day  I  have  extracted 
upwards  of  70  lbs.,  and  have  six  more  stocks  to  take  the  supers  from. 
I  think  I  have  no  reason  to  complain.  The  last  sample  of  honey  is  of 
much  better  quality  than  the  first.” 
The  above  report  comes  from  a  well-known  gardener  who  became 
a  subscriber  to  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  after  starting  bee-keeping 
on  the  modern  system.  Another  equally  well-known  gardener 
in  the  Midland  counties,  but  not  quite  as  much  an  enthusiast  in 
bee-keeping  as  the  former,  writing  about  the  same  date,  says,  “I  have 
already  taken  a  nice  super  off  a  hive  in  which  was  placed  a  swarm  last 
year.  This  stock  was  wintered  on  five  frames.  Instead  of  enlarging  the 
brood  nest  I  placed  a  super  on  top  of  the  frames,  about  May  20th,  bur 
omitted  filling  the  empty  space  at  the  back  of  the  division  board, 
which  I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  done.  On  removing  the  super  I 
found  the  whole  space,  where  the  frames  ought  to  have  been,  filled 
with  honey,  about  4  square  feet  of  comb,  which  was  all  labour  wasted. 
Of  course  I  ought  to  have  examined  them  before.” 
The  dark  honey  mentioned  by  the  former  was  obtained  from  the 
Rhododendrons,  we  have  no  doubt,  as  we  have  observed  this,  but  only 
in  a  limited  degree,  before;  and  had  the  latter,  when  placing  a  super  on 
only  five  Irames,  taken  the  precaution  of  filling  the  empty  space 
underneath  the  super  with  spare  coverings,  or  something  similar,  from 
the  top  of  the  frames,  the  bees  would  not  have  wasted  their  energy 
in  filling  it  with  comb;  and  had  there  not  been  extra  super  room 
provided  for  them  they  would  probably  have  swarmed.  Bees  will  not 
enter  supers  so  long  as  there  is  an  empty  space  underneath. 
Restricting  the  brood  nest  is  an  excellent  plan  to  adopt  when  the 
bee-keeper  is  anxious  to  obtain  honey  early  in  the  season.  It  should, 
however,  be  afterwards  enlarged,  and  if  an  inclement  season  follow 
the  brood  chamber  may  be  again  restricted,  so  as  to  compel  the  bees  to 
work  in  supers. 
The  reports  above,  coming  as  they  do  from  districts  widely  sepa¬ 
rated,  show  that  although  the  season,  from  a  bee-keeper’s  point  of 
view,  has  not  been  all  that  could  be  desired,  still  a  surplus  has  been 
stored,  varying  in  quality  and  quantity.  There  is  still  time,  however, 
lor  this  to  be  greatly  added  to.  In  the  meantime  bee-keepers  should 
not  leave  anything  to  chance.  Stocks  on  which  there  is  already  a 
crate  of  sections  partly  sealed  over,  ought  to  have  another  crate  of 
empty  sections  placed  underneath,  and  the  whole  covered  up  warm. 
But  all  will  depend  on  the  weather. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Ant.  Roozen  &  Son,  Overveen,  Haarlem. — Dutch  and  Cape  Bulbs. 
L.  Spath,  Baumschulenweg,  Berlin. — Bulbs  and  Plants. 
Tokio  Nurseries  Co.,  Komagone,  Tokio,  Japan. — Plants,  Bulbs,  and  Seeds. 
m 
•■.Ufry, 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
-r.~L.i  -r='i .  i . .  - 1  - 1  - 1  -r-i-i  r--<  -  i-i  -r=  r= 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “The  Editor,”  a.  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. 
Grapes  Scalded  (Z.  J.  7?!).—  The  berries  are  badly  scalded,  and  you 
cannot  do  better  than  read  the  leading  article  on  the  subject  in  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture,  July  14th. 
Increasing  Malmaison  Carnations  (G.  £?.). — Where  time  is  a  considera¬ 
tion  recourse  is  had  to  propagation  by  cuttings,  this  being  the  commi  n 
practice  with  those  varieties  not  giving  “grass”  sufficiently  low  down  or 
abundantly  far  layering.  Of  course,  these  would  give  growths  in  due 
course  for  layering. 
Mixing  Chemical  Manures  ( Wakopa ). — No  “base”  whatever  is 
necessary,  nor  does  any  exist.  The  “trade  secrets”  apply  to  the 
substances  and  proportions  employed,  with  such  material  added  as  may 
be  necessary  to  prevent  deterioration.  This  will  not  apply  in  your  case, 
therefore  compound  to  your  heart’s  desire,  and  apply  without  more  loss 
of  time  than  necessary. 
Buckland  Sweetwater  Grapes  Shanked  ( Young  Grower ). — The  bunch 
is  stem-shanked,  and  may  have  been  caused  by  some  injury,  but  more 
likely  by  water  dripping  upon  it.  As  the  other  ten  bunches  on  the  Vine 
have  no  shanked  berries  there  cannot  be  much  amiss  with  the  roots.  If, 
however,  the  shanking  develops,  we  should  advise  lifting  the  Vines,  and 
winter-dressing  the  rods  with  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  iron,  1  lb.  to 
1 J  gallon  of  soft  water,  applying  with  a  brush  in  a  careful  manner  while 
the  Vines  are  quite  dormant. 
Purple  Filbert  (/.  C.  Z.). — The  shrub  is  the  purple-leaved  Filbert 
(Gorylus  Avellana  tubuloaa  purpurea).  It  is  a  very  ornamental  and 
distinct  plant,  as  deeply  coloured  in  the  leaves  as  the  finer  varieties  of 
Purple  Beech,  the  nuts  and  husks  being  of  the  same  hue,  the  latter 
retaining  it  longer  than  the  nuts,  these  being  of  excellent  quality.  It  is  a 
very  desirable  shrub,  far  too  little  planted  in  shrubberies.  It  also  makes 
first-rate  underwood,  brightening  up  Hazel  wonderfully. 
Vine  Leaves  Diseased  (Cymro).—  The  Vine  leaves  are  perfectly 
innocent  of  red  spider  or  thrips,  indeed  those  of  Lady  Hutt  and 
Alicante  are  perfectly  clean  and  singularly  healthy.  On  the  Gros 
Colman  there  are  a  few  reddish  pimples,  and  we  should  give  this 
particular  Vine  a  dressing  of  best  chalk  iime,  air  slaked,  and  soot  in 
equal  parts-by  measure,  using  \  lb.  of  the  mixture  at  once,  and  point  in 
very  lightly.  This  will  probably  improve  the  colour  of  the  leaves,  and 
we  should  also  use  a  little  sulphur  on  the  hot-water  pipes,  not  heating  so 
as  as  to  give  off  very  strong  fumes.  After  a  time  you  may  follow  with 
bone  superphosphate,  five  parts  ;  nitrate  of  potash,  three  parts  ;  sulphate  of 
magnesia,  two  parts,  and  ground  gypsum,  one  part,  mixed,  using  4  ozs.  per 
sq.  yard.  This  will  enable  the  Vine  to  finish,  and  do  better  another  season. 
Ferns  Infested  with  Insects  ( Idem ). — The  blackened  condition  of 
the  Phlebodium  frond  may  have  arisen  from  moisture  being  condensed 
on  it  and  remaining  some  time,  then  suddenly  evaporated  by  air-giving. 
The  frond  of  Dicksonia  may  have  been  browned  in  a  similar  manner. 
Of  the  insects  there  can  be  no  question,  a  worse  case  not  having  come 
under  our  observation.  The  under  side  of  the  fronds  simply  swarms  with 
mealy  bug  in  every  stage.  You  say  nothing  abont  remedies.  Well, 
here  are  two.  1,  Vapourise  with  nicotine  essence  by  means  of  the  XL 
All  vapouriser  on  two  or  three  consecutive  evenings,  taking  care  to  have 
the  foliage  of  all  the  plants  dry  by  rather  free  ventilation  through  the 
day  and  up  to  closing  in  the  evening  for  vaporisation,  and  carefully 
following  the  instructions.  2.  Spray  the  plants  on  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves  with  methylated  spirit,  using  an  atomiser  or  Stone’s  pneumatic 
sprayer,  and  in  the  finest  possible  manner,  as  too  much  will  injure  the 
fronds,  which  must  not  be  wet  when  the  spraying  is  done. 
