September  15,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
215 
effective  insecticide.  Root  moisture  must  be  maintained,  dryness  of  the 
soil  frequently  being  the  sole  cause  of  insect  attacks  and  fruiting  failure. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Young  Vines. — Afford  these  every  encouragement  essential  to  the 
perfecting  of  their  growths,  keeping  the  foliage  clean,  removing  all 
laterals,  as  growth  produced  after  this  is  of  no  value,  and  maintain  a 
warm,  well-ventilated  atmosphere,  until  the  canes  are  thoroughly  ripened. 
Any  supernumeraries  intended  to  fruit  heavily  next  season  should  have 
the  laterals  cut  away  to  the  principal  buds,  leaving,  however,  an  outlet 
for  any  excess  of  sap  by  a  few  joints  of  the  laterals  beyond  the  length 
of  cane  to  which  they  are  to  be  shortened,  and  be  careful  not  to  injure 
the  principal  leaves.  If  the  wood  does  not  ripen  well  it  may  be 
accelerated  by  keeping  the  house  rather  close  in  the  daytime,  so  as  to 
get  a  temperature  of  85°  to  90°  from  sun  heat,  opening  the  ventilators 
at  night.  Afford  sufficient  water,  and  no  more,  at  the  roots  to  prevent 
the  foliage  becoming  limp. 
Midseason  Houses. — When  the  Grapes  have  been  cleared  from  the  Vines 
divest  the  shoots  of  their  laterals  down  to  the  principal  buds  that  are  to 
be  retained  for  next  year's  fruiting.  Be  careful,  however,  to  avoid 
injuring  the  old  leaves,  for  upon  their  preservation  in  health  depends 
the  perfecting  of  the  buds  and  the  storing  of  nutrient  matter  in  the 
adjacent  wood,  which  is  essential  to  a  good  break  and  a  proper  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  bunches  in  the  ensuing  season.  Allow  a  free  circulation  of 
air,  and  in  the  case  of  young  or  luxuriant  Vines,  or  where  there  is  the 
slightest  doubt  abont  the  thorough  maturity  of  the  wood,  maintain  a  gentle 
warmth  in  the  hot-water  pipes. 
After  the  removal  of  the  laterals  clear  away  the  remains  of  mulchings, 
or  remove  the  loose  surface  soil,  particularly  near  the  collar  of  the  Vines, 
picking  the  old  soil  from  amongst  the  roots,  and  supply  fresh  loam  in  its 
place.  Avoid  burying  the  roots  deeply,  a  couple  of  inches  is  sufficient. 
They  will  push  adventitious  roots  into  the  new  material,  and  these  can  be 
encouraged  to  extend  by  timely  surface  dressings  or  light  mulchings  when 
the  Vines  are  in  need  of  support  another  season.  If  a  good  handful,  or 
about  I  ozs.,  of  some  approved  fertiliser  be  applied  per  square  yard  of 
border,  it  will  aid  the  Vines  wonderfully  another  season.  Inside  borders 
will  require  water  so  as  to  keep  the  soil  healthfully  moist. 
Late  Hamburghs. — Houses  of  these  that  were  allowed  to  start  naturally 
will  perhaps  need  a  little  fire  heat  to  colour  and  finish  the  Grapes  satis¬ 
factorily,  as  they  will  when  it  is  hopeless  to  do  anything  more  with  the 
thick-skinned  varieties.  They  should  have  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°  at 
night,  and  70°  to  75°  in  the  daytime,  with  a  circulation  of  air  constantly, 
and  free  ventilation  when  favourable.  Water  the  inside  border  if 
necessary  and  the  Grapes  are  only  partially  advanced  in  ripening.  Only 
restrict  the  laterals  to  prevent  overcrowding,  as  a  good  spread  of  foliage 
over  thin-skinned  black  Grapes  is  the  best  safeguard  against  the  sun 
taking  colour  out  of  them  when  ripe.  When  the  Grapes  are  ripe  gradually 
reduce  the  temperature,  maintaining  it  at  about  50°  by  artificial  means  by 
day,  and  45°  at  night,  with  a  little  air  constantly. 
Late  Muscats. — These  require  fire  heat  until  they  are  thoroughly 
ripe,  with  a  free  circulation  of  air  in  the  daytime,  and  enough  at  night, 
with  gentle  warmth  in  the  pipes,  to  insure  a  circulation  of  air  and  to 
prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  upon  the  berries,  being  careful  to 
admit  air  freely  on  fine  mornings.  Continue  the  temperature  at  65°  at 
night  and  75°  by  day  until  the  Grapes  are  thoroughly  finished,  when  a 
gradual  reduction  of  temperature  may  be  made  to  about  50°  at  night,  but 
there  must  not  be  any  hurry  in  this,  as  the  Grapes  put  on  colour  long 
after  they  appear  finished,  and  improve  in  quality  while  there  are 
any  leaves  on  the  Vines.  Keep  the  border  moist  by  watering  as  necessary 
in  the  early  part  of  a  fine  day,  for  though  the  leaves  become  yellow  at 
the  edges  they  have  green  parts  more  or  less  that  are  useful  in  assimi¬ 
lating  food.  Moisture  must  be  kept  down  by  free  ventilation  ;  it  is  pent- 
up  moisture-laden  air  with  a  sudden  increase  of  temperature  from  sun 
early  in  the  day  or  at  any  time  which  causes  moisture  to  condense  on  the 
berries  and  produce  spot,  when  the  berries  speedily  decay. 
Late  Grapes. — The  thic't-skinned  Grapes  are  not  so  readily  affected 
by  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  as  the  thin-skinned  Muscats,  for  some, 
such  as  Mrs.  Pince,  will  shrivel  in  a  house  where  there  is  sufficient 
moisture  to  cause  Muscat  of  Alexandria  to  decay.  Mrs.  Pince  is  perhaps 
the  worst  to  finish  of  all  Grapes,  and  unless  it  is  thoroughly  ripened  it  is 
sure  to  shrivel.  Alicante  and  Lady  Downe’s  finish  better  and  in  less 
time  than  Gros  Guillaume  and  Gros  Colman,  therefore  the  latter  should 
be  given  more  time,  and  after  they  are  apparently  finished  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  55°  should  be  assured,  with  a  rise  of  5°  to  10°  by  day  and  a 
circulation  of  air  until  the  foliage  is  giving  indications  of  falling,  when  a 
temperature  of  50°  is  sufficient.  The  inside  border  should  be  watered  in 
the  early  part  of  a  fine  day,  and  air  be  freely  admitted,  for  it  is  not  so 
much  the  moisture  as  its  confinement  that  causes  berries  to  crack. 
Strawberries  in  Pots. — Late  runners  may  yet  be  potted,  giving  them 
5  or  6-inch  pots,  and  if  these  are  well  occupied  with  roots  before  winter 
the  plants  will  produce  good  fruit,  though  not  so  plentifully  as  those 
potted  earlier,  nor  are  they  suitable  for  early  forcing,  but  they  do  well 
for  succession,  especially  when  brought  forward  very  gently.  Plants 
potted  some  time  ago  should  be  examined,  and  if  making  side  buds  these 
must  be  carefully  removed  with  a  piece  of  wood,  so  as  to  throw  the 
vigour  into  the  central  crown.  This  should  not  be  overdone,  as  some 
varieties  only  show  a  few  crowns,  and  must  not  be  interfered  with.  If 
the  plants  grow  vigorously  liquid  manure  will  not  be  required,  but  those 
that  are  weakly  should  be  supplied  with  it  twice  a  week.  Remove  all 
runners  as  they  appear,  and  loosen  the  surface  of  the  soil,  especially 
round  the  edges  of  the  pots,  so  as  to  secure  the  more  thorough  moisten-  1 
ing  of  the  ball.  As  the  plants  grow  set  the  pots  wider  apart.  If  red 
spider  attacks  the  plants  hold  each  inverted  with  one  hand,  and  with  the 
other  dust  the  under  sides  of  the  leaves  with  soot  from  a  dredger. 
Fkm\ 
t£v\  k 
IE  BEE-KEEPER.^! 
Driving  Bees — Removing  Bees  from  Straw  Skep  to  Frame  Hive. 
A  neighbour  of  mine  gave  me  two  skeps  of  bees  last  week ;  he 
was  going  to  burn  them  with  brimstone  in  the  old  fashioned  way. 
He  said  I  might  have  them  if  I  chose  to  drive  them,  which  I  did,  and 
as  far  as  I  can  judge  they  are  all  right.  As  there  seemed  to  me  to  be 
rather  few  bees  I  united  them.  When  I  say  few,  not  so  many  as  one 
would  get  in  a  good  swarm.  I  am  feeding  them  with  syrup.  I  intend 
them  to  remain  in  the  skep  until  the  spring,  when  I  hope  to  have  a 
bar-frame  hive  ready  for  them.  Will  they  make  any  combs  in  the 
skep  they  are  in,  or  will  they  be  about  the  same  in  the  spring  as  they 
are  now  ?  If  they  make  combs  it  would  be  wasted  so  far,  as  I  do  not 
intend  them  to  remain  where  they  are.  I  should  be  pleased  if  you 
woul  advise  me  what  to  do,  as  I  am  only  a  beginner.  It  was  my  first 
attempt  at  driving,  but  the  bees  were  very  quiet,  and  I  came  off  without 
a  sting.  I  had  to  carry  them  about  a  mile.  I  have  not  seen  anything" 
of  either  queens  yet;  I  thought  most  likely  one  of  them  would  have 
been  worked  out  by  now. — Grateful. 
It  is  gratifying  to  be  informed  by  “Grateful”  that  he  has  been 
so  successful  in  his  first  attempt  at  driving  and  uniting  bees.  The 
reason  there  appeared  to  be  so  few  bees  was  doubtless  due  to  the 
fact  that  many  of  the  old  ones  die  after  the  honey  flow  is  over. 
This  has  been  observed  earlier  than  usual  this  autumn,  the  old  bees 
having  become  exhausted  from  old  age  and  hard  work  during  the 
fine  weather  experienced  throughout  the  country  during  the  past  two 
months.  No  fear  need  be  felt  in  this  respect,  as  the  bees  from  two 
ordinary  stocks  will  be  of  sufficient  strength  to  live  through  the 
winter,  and  come  out  strong  next  spring.  The  bees  will  settle  the 
question  as  to  which  queen  shall  head  the  colony ;  the  dead  queen 
being  often  carried  several  yards  from  the  entrance  to  the  hive,  hence 
the  reason  of  her  not  being  observed  to  be  cast  out. 
Continue  to  feed  with  syrup  until  the  hive  is  three-parts  full  of 
comb  in  which  there  is  at  least  20  lbs.  of  stores.  The  high  tempera¬ 
ture  now  prevailing  is  in  favour  of  comb  building,  as  they  will  stop 
operations  directly  a  spell  of  cold  weather  sets  in.  Bees  would  not 
winter  in  a  skep  without  comb,  which  need  not  be  wasted,  although 
they  are  to  be  transferred  to  a  frame  hive  in  the  spring,  as  the  bees 
may  be  driven,  the  combs  carefully  removed,  and  placed  in  the  frames 
without  any  harm  happening  to  them.  All  that  is  necessary  will  be 
a  few  pieces  of  narrow  tape  or  raffia,  which  will  answer  the  purpose 
admirably  if  brought  round  the  bottom  of  the  frame  and  tied  firmly 
at  the  top ;  this  will  keep  the  combs  in  position,  and  the  bees  will 
make  all  secure  in  a  couple  of  days,  when  the  tape  or  raffia  may  be 
removed.  In  carrying  out  this  operation  care  must  be  taken  that  the 
combs  are  in  the  same  position  they  occupied  in  the  skep,  as  the  cells 
incline  upwards,  and  if  inverted  the  young  brood  would  not  do  well. 
It  would  also  give  the  worker  bees  a  great  amount  of  labour  in  altering 
the  cells  to  prevent  the  honey  being  wasted  by  running  on  to  the  floor 
board. 
Another  plan  which  we  prefer  is  to  allow  the  stocks  in  skeps  to 
swarm  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring,  placing  the  swarm  on  comb- 
foundation  in  the  frame  hive.  Do  not  give  them  more  than  eight 
frames,  and  if  honey  is  coming  in  freely  place  a  crate  of  sections  or 
shallow  frames  on  the  top  directly  the  frames  are  filled  with  fully 
drawn  out  combs,  which  should  take  place  in  about  ten  days.  All 
will  depend  on  the  strength  of  the  swarm  and  the  weather.  By 
working  a  swarm  in  this  manner  a  surplus  may  be  obtained  from  them 
the  first  season.  But  care  must  be  taken  that  there  is  no  open  space 
between  the  division  board  and  the  side  of  the  hive  when  the  super  is 
put  on,  as  the  bees  will  fill  it  with  comb  before  working  in  the  surplus 
chamber  above.  It  may  be  filled  with  carpet  or  something  similar, 
and  directly  the  few  frames  are  crowded  with  bees  they  will  take 
possession  of  the  super. 
The  stock  in  a  straw  skep,  if  in  good  condition,  will  probably 
swarm  again  in  about  ten  days.  This  is  termed  a  cast,  and  it  will  be 
headed  by  a  young  unfertilised  queen.  These  may  be  placed  in  a 
skep  or  frame  hive — the  latter  if  possible.  In  less  than  three  weeks 
the  young  queens  will  be  laying,  both  in  the  original  stock  in  the 
skep  and  in  the  cast. 
As  soon  as  the  honey  flow  is  over  remove  the  queen  from  the  first 
swarm,  and  introduce  the  queen  from  the  cast,  as  advised  in  previous 
notes.  The  old  stock  may  then  be  driven  from  the  straw  skep,  and 
the  bees  united  to  the  cast.  Presuming  that  the  latter  was  placed  in 
a  frame  hive,  it  will  be  advisable  to  brush  the  bees  off  the  comb  into 
