274 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  6,  1898 
weeks,  and  may  be  useful  if  a  stock  is  found  queenless  late  in  the 
autumn,  when  she  may  be  introduced  in  the  usual  manner. 
Remove  the  outside  frames  that  are  not  covered  with  bees  from  the 
stock  that  is  to  receive  the  additional  bees,  then  lift  out  each  frame 
and  the  adhering  bees,  and  sprinkle  them  with  ordinary  flour  from  a 
dredger.  If  the  latter  is  not  to  hand  a  good  substitute  may  be  made 
from  a  tin  with  a  few  holes  borel  in  the  lid.  The  bees  that  are  on 
the  bottom  or  sides  ot  the  hive  must  also  be  sprinkled  with  flour. 
Returning  to  the  stock  deprived  of  their  queen,  treat  the  bees  in  like 
manner.  As  each  frame  is  lifted  out  sprinkle  them  with  flour,  and 
place  it  alternately  with  those  already  in  the  hive.  When  sufficient 
frames  and  adhering  bees  have  been  added  cover  them  warmly,  and 
if  short  of  stores  feed  with  thick  syrup  or  dark  honey  from  a  rapid 
feeder,  and  all  will  be  well.  We  prefer  flour  to  syrup  for  sprinkling 
bees,  as  it  is  clean,  and  does  not  excite  them,  and  no  robbing  will  take 
place.  Sprinkling  with  syrup  late  in  the  autumn  will  often  set  the 
apiary  in  an  uproar. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
Feeding  Driven  Bees— Position  of  Hives. 
Please  tell  me  how  to  feed  a  stock  of  driven  bees  to  be  wintered  in  a 
straw  skep  ;  also  say  if  I  have  put  my  bees  in  the  right  position  according 
to  the  plan  enclosed.  They  are  all  driven  bees.  I  have  never  kept  any 
before. — W.  L.  S. 
[It  is  now  too  late  in  the  season  to  place  driven  bee3  in  an  empty  straw 
skep,  though  should  the  present  fine  weather  continue  the  plan  may  be 
tried  as  an  experiment.  Place  a  piece  of  perforated  zinc  over  the  hole  in 
the  top  of  the  skep,  and  use  an  ordinary  honey  bottle  as  a  feeder,  with  a 
piece  of  muslin  over  the  mouth,  and  invert  over  the  cluster.  The  zinc  will 
prevent  the  bees  escaping  when  the  bottle  is  again  filled,  and  the  syrup 
should  be  made  according  to  previous  instructions,  and  always  given  warm 
in  the  evening  so  as  to  prevent  robbing.  The  feeder,  too,  must  be 
covered  warmly,  otherwise  the  syrup  will  cool  at  a  rapid  rate.  It  would 
be  a  great  advantage  to  place  the  driven  bees  on  full  sheets  of  foundation 
or  fully  drawn  out  combs  ;  if  on  the  latter,  they  may  be  supplied  in  a 
few  days  with  sufficient  stores  to  last  them  until  next  spring.  Cannot 
“  W.  L.  S.”  remove  some  spare  combs  from  the  frame  hives  he  already 
possesses,  and  thus  escape  the  risk  of  attempting  to  winter  them  in 
an  empty  skep  ?  The  hives  as  shown  in  sketch  are  in  an  admirable 
position  if  the  wall  and  buildings  do  not  shade  them.] 
#%A11  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to“  The  Editor,”  s.  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  rroT  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. 
Contorted  Chrysanthemum  Growths  ( IF.  M). — Your  specimens  require 
careful  examination,  which  cannot  be  given  for  this  issue.  A  reply  will 
appear  next  week. 
Lycaste  (/.  C.  S.). — We  cannot  say  without  seeing  the  flowers  what 
your  Orchid  is.  If  it  is  Lycaste  Skinneri  alba  you  are  fortunate,  as  this 
is  much  more  valuable  than  L.  aromatica.  Lycaste  aromatica  has  no 
white  about  it,  but  is  a  small,  highly  scented,  yellow  flower.  If  you  send 
a  flower  we  will  endeavour  to  name  it  for  you. 
Tomatoes  with  Hard  and  Green  Parts  (  W.  Bros). — The  good  examples 
of  fruit  are  affected  by  a  sort  of  waxiness  which  occurs  in  various  fruits 
when  highly  developed  in  galactose,  instead  of  levulose,  the  dextrose 
granulating  or  candying.  This  we  gather  from  an  analytical  chemist, 
who  considers  that  more  potash  and  nitrogen  would  have  overcome  the 
defect.  Some  varieties  are  naturally  prone  to  the  hollowness,  such  as 
Chiswick  Red.  We  have  found  the  best  preventive  in  a  firm  soil,  and 
not  too  much  of  it,  this  inducing  solidity,  and  though  the  fruit  may 
appear  smaller,  it  weighs  quite  as  heavily.  The  plants  also  finish  the 
fruit  better.  A  firmer  soil,  less  of  it,  and  more  potash,  not  kainit,  but 
double  sulphate  of  potash  instead,  would  rectify  the  evil.  Of  that  you 
have  an  instance  of  the  plants  in  pots,  these  being  fed  right  through, 
and  thus  finished  satisfactorily. 
R.H.S.  Examinations  ( Argyll  Reader). — If  you  write  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster, 
S.W.,  on  the  subject,  he  will  send  you  a  prospectus  which  contains  the 
names  of  suitable  books.  In  our  experience  very  large  and  costly  books 
are  not  the  most  serviceable,  but  those  which  treat  different  subjects 
clearly,  plainly,  and  concisely.  If  you  write  to  Messrs.  Macmillan  and 
Co.,  St.  Martin’s  Street,  London,  S.W.,  for  a  list  of  their  gardening  books 
you  will  find  some  that  may  be  of  use  to  you,  and  can  obtain  several  by 
a  comparatively  small  outlay.  As  to  “coaching”  we  are  unable  to 
answer  your  question.  A  gentleman  used  to  advertise,  but  we  do  not 
know  his  fees.  The  principal  of  a  great  collegiate  institution  recently 
observed  that  by  passing  candidates  as  the  result  of  coaching  and  cram¬ 
ming,  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  was  giving  the  stamp  of  its 
authority  to  artificially  made  gardeners,  who  could  not  by  any  possibilitj’, 
if  placed  in  a  garden,  discharge  the  duties  that  gardeners  thoroughly 
trained  in  the  school  of  practice  have  to  fulfil,  and  which  hundreds 
discharge  with  signal  success.  As  you  have  passed  in  agriculture  you 
ought  to  have  no  difficulty  in  succeeding  in  the  R.H.S.  examination,  as 
you  must  have  obtained  much  essential  knowledge  from  your  employment 
in  gardens,  and  we  wish  you  success. 
Small  White  Fly  on  Plants  ( J .  C.  S.). — The  fly  that  infests  the  under 
sides  of  the  leaves  of  Fuchsia  procumbens,  Sibthorpias,  and  others 
appears,  from  the  description  you  give  of  it,  to  be  what  is  commonly  called 
“  White  fly,”  named  Aleyrodes  vaporariorum,  and  figured  by  Professor 
Westwood  in  1 856.  The  perfect  insect  or  “fly”  has  milk-white  wings, 
unspotted,  aud  a  pale  yellow  body.  The  females  place  their  eggs  in  patches 
on  the  leaves,  and  the  young  on  emerging  scatter  themselves  over  the 
leaves  on  the  under  side,  which  they  pierce  with  their  suckers  and  adhere 
closely.  Each  ultimately  becomes  covered  with  a  white  scale,  and  below 
this  becomes  a  pupa.  The  whole  metamorphosis  occupies  nearly  four 
weeks.  By  feeding  on  the  back  of  the  leaves  these  turn  yellow,  wither, 
and  die.  The  “  fly  ”  infests  many  plants  in  greenhouses  and  stoves,  more 
especially  Tomatoes  and  Cucumbers.  It  is  rather  difficult  to  destroy,  as 
the  “flies”  fall  to  the  soil  or  floor  when  the  house  is  fumigated  and 
receive  relatively  little  injury,  though  some  are  “  caught”  by  well  wetting 
the  surfaces  just  before  fumigating.  The  larvas,  however,  remain  on  the 
leaves,  and  hence  repeated  vapourisation  with  nicotine,  or  even  fumigation 
with  tobacco  paper,  destroys  the  pest.  Syringing  the  plants  on  the  under 
side  of  the  leaves  with  nicotine  essence,  one  part  in  a  hundred  parts  water, 
or  tobacco  juice  diluted  about  ten  times  with  water,  destroys  the  larvae 
and  perfect  insects  reached.  The  advertised  insecticides  may  also  be 
effectively  used  against  the  little  creature.  Where  there  is  command  of 
hot-water  pipes  these  may  be  heated  to  170°  to  200°,  and  lightly  painted 
with  a  cream  formed  of  skim  milk  and  flowers  of  sulphur,  the  house 
being  closed  for  about  an  hour  and  the  pipes  kept  hot  during  that  time, 
then  allowed  to  cool.  The  fumes  given  off  will  kill  “white  fly”  and  other 
hard-to-be-killed  insects,  such  as  red  spider,  being  also  useful  against 
fungoid  pests.  In  bad  cases  it  may  be  necessary  to  heat  the  pipes  at 
intervals  of  a  few  days  to  overcome  the  insect  thoroughly. 
Diseased  Potatoes  (5.  B.,  Buxton). — The  large  tuber  has  been  eaten 
into  by  some  rather  large  creature,  probably  a  slug,  or  one  of  the  surface 
caterpillars  or  millipedes,  certainly  not  wireworm.  The  appearance  of 
the  “  work”  is  that  of  slugs,  but  we  found  no  animal  in  the  tuber,  visible 
or  microscopic.  In  the  flesh  was  the  mycelial  hyphae  in  a  resting  state  of 
the  Potato  disease  fungus,  Phytophthora  infestans,  which  may  possibly 
remain  inactive  during  the  winter,  or  become  energised  by  favouring 
circumstances,  and  cause  the  tubers  to  decay.  In  the  warts  is  the  mycelium 
of  the  scab  fungus,  Oospora  scabies,  and  also  some  of  black  rot  fungus, 
Scelerotinia  sclerotiorum,  syn.  Peziza  postumus.  Likewise  wet  rot  fungus, 
Fusarium  Solani,  and  a  microbe,  Bacillus  amylobacter.  On  which  of  these 
to  saddle  the  condition  of  the  tubers  passes  our  understanding,  for  all  are 
very  injurious,  and  capable  of  producing  disease.  The  “  right  horse  ”  to 
put  the  mischief  on  is  the  soil  and  the  seed  or  sets.  The  former  must  be 
foul  and  the  latter  not  clean  when  planted.  We  advise  a  thorough  liming 
this  autumn  during  dry  weather,  10  tons  per  acre,  1J  cwt.  per  rod, 
spreading  evenly,  and  leaving  on  the  surface  for  a  few  days,  then  ploughing 
or  forking  under  lightly.  Then  supply  5  cwt.  of  kainit  per  acre,  3^  lbs. 
per  rod,  and  leave  on  the  surface.  In  the  course  of  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks  afterwards  plough  or  dig  the  land  in  the  usual  manner.  Another 
plan  and  better  is  to  double  plough  or  trench  the  land  first,  then  use  the 
lime,  follow  with  the  kainit  after  skimming  or  pointing  in  the  lime  as  before 
advised.  In  the  spring,  especially  in  the  former  case,  supply  10  cwt.  of 
ground  gypsum  per  acre,  or  7  lbs.  per  rod,  and  instead  of  animal  manure 
use  fertilisers,  such  as  rape  meal,  superphosphate,  and  double  sulphate  of 
potash  and  magnesia.  If  trenched  apply  manure  in  the  autumn  or  early 
spring,  not  using  it  in  the  drills,  but  over  the  whole  ground,  and  work 
in.  These  methods,  with  a  change  of  seed,  have  proved  effective  in 
similar  cases. 
