76 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  23.  181-8. 
Celery. — Plants,  whether  in  beds  or  trenches,  soon  suck  up  what 
moisture  there  may  be  in  the  soil  or  manure,  and  unless  water  or  well- 
diluted  liquid  manure  is  freely  applied  they  are  liable  to  receive  a  severe 
check.  It  cannot  be  too  often  stated  that  it  is  unwise  to  long  delay 
moving  Celery  plants  from  nursery  beds  and  boxes,  much-drawn  plants 
flagging  and  starting  badly  whenever  moved.  Sturdy  plants  may  be 
transplanted  safely  in  the  hottest  weather,  always  provided  they’  have  a 
good  preparatory  soaking  of  water  at  the  roots,  and  are  moved  with  a 
ball  of  soil  about  the  roots.  After  they  are  planted,  lightly  shading  with 
branches  of  trees  is  of  assistance.  At  this  time  of  year  always  apply 
water  or  liquid  manure  (soot  washed  in  answers  well)  before  commencing 
to  mould  up  the  plants. 
Garlic  and  Shallots. — These  are  maturing  early,  and  in  some  cases 
prematurely.  Not  till  the  tops  die  down  and  the  roots  come  away  freely 
from  the  soil  should  they  be  removed  from  where  grown  ;  nor  will  they 
keep  well  if  left  undisturbed  long  after  they  are  sufficiently  matured  for 
removal.  The  harvesting  should  bo  completed  on  boards  or  wattled 
hurdles,  this  more  especially  if  wet  weather  sets  in.  Treat  underground 
Onions  similarly  to  Garlic  and  shallots. 
Leeks. — It  is  time  the  main  crop  of  these  was  got  in.  Extra  fine 
samples  may  be  grown  in  trenches  prepared  as  for  Celery,  but  Leeks  good 
enough  for  ordinary  purposes  may  be  grown  with  far  less  trouble. 
Owing  to  their  extreme  hardiness  the  plants  may  be  placed  in  an  exposed 
position,  succeeding  well  on  wide  borders  with  an  easterly  or  northern 
aspect.  The  ground  in  any  case  should  be  freely  manured  and  deeply 
dug,  all  lumps  of  soil  being  broken  up  during  the  process  of  digging. 
Strong  plants  are  needed,  and  these  recover  more  quickly  from  the  check 
of  moving  if  the  larger  leaves  are  shortened  somewhat.  Form  deep  holes 
with  a  stout  dibbler  12  inches  apart,  or  less,  in  lines  15  inches  apart, 
dropping  a  plant  into  each,  so  that  the  tops  of  the  trimmed  leaves  just 
show  out.  Do  not  close  the  holes,  but  fix  the  roots  by  watering  only. 
A  second  watering  may  bo  desirable  if  the  weather  keep  hot  and  dry,  and 
all  the  further  trouble  needed  is  to  keep  the  ground  free  of  weeds.  The 
plants  will  thicken  and  fill  the  holes,  and  when  dug  will  be  found  ready 
blanched. 
Potatoes. — On  poor  hot  soils  Potatoes  are  “  giving  out  ”  badly.  The 
late  varieties  may  rally  after  getting  a  soaking  rain,  but  on  good  as  well 
as  poor  soils  the  early  and  second  early  sorts  are  ripening  off  rapidly, 
and  in  all  probability  a  wet  time  would  do  these  more  harm  than  good. 
When  the  haulm  is  fast  changing  from  green  to  yellow,  and  falling  about 
the  rows,  the  crops  are  sufficiently  matured  for  lifting  and  storing.  Left, 
as  they  now  are,  a  soaking  rain  or  a  few  showery  days  might  lead  to  a 
bad  attack  of  disease,  or,  if  the  haulm  rallied,  the  formation  of  a  second 
crop  would  be  the  consequence.  Both  are  evils  that  may  and  should 
be  prevented,  either  by  lifting  and  storing  the  crop,  or  by  the  timely 
removal  of  the  haulm.  Lifting  the  crop  affords  an  early  opportunity  for 
planting  a  successional  crop,  such  as  Winter  Spinach,  Late  Carrots, 
Broccoli,  and  Winter  Greens  Endive  and  Lettuce,  but  if  the  crop  of 
Potatoes  are  well  soiled  over  they  will  keep  better  in  the  ground  than  out 
of  it. 
WT 
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HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
-  -  -  i  -  i  -  i  -  i  -  i  -  -  -  i  -  •  -  ;  -  l -  l  -T- i - i  -  i  -  i  -  1  -  t  -  i  -  i  -  T- i - 
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Honey  from  Limes. 
Next  in  import  mce  to  the  white  Clover  for  honey  production  may 
be  mentioned  the  Lime  tree  so  common  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 
Within  half  a  mile  of  our  apiary  there  are  hundreds  of  large  trees, 
and  during  the  time  they  are  in  bloom  a  rich  harvest  of  honey  is 
obtained.  It  is  of  exquisite  flavour,  and  in  colour  a  bright  amber. 
If  bottled  in  white  glass  jars  it  looks  remarkably  well,  and  for  this 
reason  is  much  appreciated  by  retailers. 
The  Limes  are  quite  a  fortnight  later  than  usual  in  flowering  this 
season.  Who  has  not  admired  the  numerous  trusses  of  bright  yellow 
sweet  scented  flowers  that  hang  from  a  well  developed  Lime  tree  ? 
The  flowers  hanging  as  they  do  under  the  branches  is  a  decided 
advantage  to  the  bees,  as  during  heavy  showers  of  rain  the  nectar 
contained  in  them  is  not  damaged,  as  is  the  case  in  the  majority  of 
honey-producing  flowers  whose  petals  are  dashed  to  the  ground  by  the 
first  heavy  rain  that  comes.  The  bees  are  thus  able  to  continue 
operations  directly  a  shower  is  over. 
Lime  trees  do  not  bloom  in  a  young  state,  and  it  is  necessary  for 
them  to  become  large  before  honey  can  be  expected.  They,  however, 
grow  at  a  rapid  rate  when  once  they  become  established. 
Owing  to  the  cold  weather  that  prevailed  throughout  May  and  the 
early  part  of  June  White  Clover  is  also  late  flowering,  and  the  sheep 
pastures  are  now  a  mass  of  bloom,  but  if  the  present  dry  weather 
continues  it  will  soon  be  over.  We  prefer  honey  obtained  from  the 
above  sources  to  any  other,  as  when  combined  it  is  pale  amber  coloured, 
and  does  not  granulate  as  rapidly  as  White  Clover  honey  does,  and  it 
has  the  advantage  of  being  of  exquisite  flavour. 
When  to  Extract  Honey. 
One  of  the  most  important  operations  in  connection  with  bee¬ 
keeping,  and  obtaining  honey  that  will  not  ferment  and  will  not  lose 
its  flavour,  no  matter  how  long  it  is  kept,  is  the  time  and  manner  in 
which  it  is  extracted.  The  work  of  extracting  should  always  be  done 
during  early  morning,  before  the  bees  have  had  time  to  bring  in  any 
fresh  supplies. 
The  combs  should  be  partly  sealed  over.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
them  to  be  sealed  to  the  bottom  of  the  frame,  as  the  honey  would  be 
quite  ripe  by  the  time  it  has  reached  that  stage.  If  shallow  frames 
are  used  one  tier  may  be  placed  underneath  the  other,  and  they  being 
of  less  depth  than  the  standard  or  similar  frame  generally  used,  they 
would  be  better  if  fully  sealed  over.  The  reason  why  early  morning 
is  preferred  for  removing  a  surplus  of  run  honey  from  the  hive  is 
because  it  will  be  thoroughly  ripe  at  that  time  if  the  combs  are  in  the 
above  condition. 
If  extracting  is  done  in  the  evening  after  the  bees  have  been  at 
work  all  day,  the  newly  collected  honey  will  be  extracted  along  with 
the  other,  thus  causing  the  whole  to  ferment. 
The  honey,  after  being  collected,  is  placed  in  the  cells  ;  this  goes 
through  a  process  of  ripening  during  the  night  by  the  bees.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  the  bulk  of  the  honey  in  the  surplus  chamber  has 
been  going  through  a  ripening  process  in  a  high  temperature  in  the 
hive  for  several  days  and  nights,  and  is  then  in  prime  condition  for 
storing  or  other  purposes. 
How  often  one  hears  complaints  of  honey  fermenting,  and  bee¬ 
keepers  inquiring  why  their  honey  will  not  keep.  In  nearly  every 
instance  it  may  be  traced  to  the  honey  being  extracted  in  an  unripe 
state.  When  in  this  condition  it  is  thin,  and  will  not  granulate 
readdy. 
If  extracting  is  carried  out  on  the  above  lines  unripe  honey  will  be 
a  thing  of  the  past.  If  it  is  not  convenient  to  carry  out  this  operation 
during  early  morning  a  dull  day  may  be  chosen  for  that  purpose  when 
the  bees  are  unable  to  gather  stores,  but  they  are  inclined  to  be 
troublesome  at  such  times. — 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  ntot  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  accompan’ed  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. 
Orange  Spots  on  Pear  Leaves  (C.  C.  E.). — The  very  beautiful  orange 
coloured  spots  on  the  leaves  are  caused  by  the  Medlar  rust  fungus  (Stig- 
matea  Mespili),  which,  by  its  mycelial  hyphae  in  the  tissues,  abstracts  the 
chlorophyll  and  nutrient  matter,  the  spots  ultimately  turning  brown  or 
black,  and  the  affected  part  falls  away,  forming  holes  or  leaving  the 
tissues  as  if  skeletonised.  In  time  the  spots  coalesce,  and  the  leaves  turn 
brown  and  fall  off.  The  treatment  with  sulphide  of  potassium  (liver  of 
sulphur)  appears  to  have  proved  worse  than  the  disease.  Perhaps  it  has 
been  used  too  strong  for  the  Pear,  but  not  for  the  fungus,  which  has  not 
been  destroyed,  or  only  in  part,  though  the  spots  have  been  arrested 
through  the  destruction  of  the  food  upon  which  the  parasite  exists.  The 
liver  of  sulphur  should  not  be  used  stronger  cn  Pears  than  1  oz  to 
10  gallons  of  soft  water,  and  soap  not  added  as  commonly  advised,  but 
used  in  the  clear  milk-like  state  by  a  spraying  apparatus,  and  so  as  not 
to  run  or  drip  from  the  leaves.  Then  the  sulphide  solution  will  sink 
into  the  tissues  affected,  and  either  arrest  the  progress  of  the  parasite  or 
destroy  it,  repeating  occasionally.  All  the  fallen  leaves  should  be 
collected  and  burnt,  and  the  trees  sprayed  in  winter  when  dry  and  quite 
dormant  with  a  2J  per  cent,  simple  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper. 
