November  17,  1898. 
',3*88  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
first  swarm,  or  an  old  stock.  It  the  former,  it  will  be  headed  by  a 
young  queen ;  the  combs,  too,  will  be  new,  and  not  so  dark-coloured 
as  the  two  latter ;  for  these  reasons  we  should  prefer  a  cast  to  either 
of  the  others.  A  first  swarm  will  in  all  probability  be  headed  by  an 
old  queen,  which  will  be  next  to  useless  another  season  for  egg 
production,  and  an  old  stock,  if  it  threw  off  a  swarm  the  previous  year, 
would  be  headed  by  a  young  queen  ;  but  the  combs  will  be  black  and 
clodded  with  old  pollen,  which  will  be  useless. 
The  Modern  Bar-frame  Hive. 
We  do  not  say  which  is  the  best  hive,  as  it  is  a  matter  of  opinion, 
whether  a  hive  holding  ten  frames,  or  one  having  space  for  double  that 
number  of  frames,  is  the  most  suitable.  It  is,  however,  well  to  bear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  in  this  country  it  is  not  often  that  the  honey  flow 
from  any  one  source  lasts  more  than  three  weeks,  and  for  this  reason 
we  prefer  a  hive  holding  ten  standard  frames.  Not  that  we  think  an 
inch  or  two  more  or  less  in  length  or  depth  of  the  frame  would  make 
any  difference  in  the  amount  of  honey  obtained;  but  as  the  standard 
frame  is  now  generally  recognised  throughout  the  country,  they  may 
be  obtained  from  any  dealer  of  bee  appliances.  Whatever  hive  is 
selected  it  is  advisable  to  have  all  the  hives  in  the  apiary  of  the  same 
dimensions,  and  the  frames  being  also  of  one  standard  size,  they  will 
be  interchangeable  from  one  hive  to  the  other. 
The  advantage,  too,  of  having  all  the  hives  of  the  same  size  is  the 
ready  way  in  which  they  may  be  doubled,  or  utilised  in  various  ways 
in  obtaining  a  surplus.  If  run  honey  is  desired  we  prefer  this  plan  ;  or 
if  comb  honey  in  sections  is  preferred,  strong  colonies  may  be  built  up 
in  the  same  manner. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
***  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  a,  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  NOT  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. 
Rose  Pamphlets  (A.  Wl). — Those  referred  to  on  page  357  can  be 
obtained  from  Mr.  Edward  Mawley,  Rosebank,  Rerkhamsted. 
Book  on  Vine  Culture  (A.  T.). — The  most  recent  is  Barron’s  “  Vines 
and  A  ine  Culture,”  well  illustrated  on  practical  matters,  and  with  several 
plates  of  the  best  or  most  approved  varieties  of  Grapes.  It  can  be  had 
from  the  publisher,  12, Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street,  London,  price 
5s.  3d.  free  by  post. 
Winter  Pruning  Pyramid  Apple  and  Plum  Trees  (Rosedale).— It  will 
not  be  too  late  to  prune  the  trees  the  last  week  in  February,  as  they  will 
not  have  made  any  growth  at  that  time,  though  the  buds  of  the  Plum 
trees  may,  in  a  forward  season,  have  begun  to  swell.  It  will,  however,  be 
so  small  as  not  to  interfere  with  pruning  operations  or  prejudice  the 
subsequent  growth. 
The  Codlin  Moth  (S.  S.  and  Others'). — By  the  dropping  of  a  letter  in 
paragraph  3,  page  353,  last  week,  the  word  as  “new”  appears  instead  of 
“  knew.’  That  is,  however,  of  small  consequence  ;  but  the  omission  of  a 
word  at  the  end  of  the  last  paragraph  but  one  of  the  article  is  of  moment, 
though  the  context  ought  to  prevent  any  mischief  being  done  in  destroying 
bees.  The  moth  does  not  deposit  eggs  directly  into  the  blossom,  and 
therefore  the  sentence  should  have  read: — “The  work  (of  spraying) 
ought  not  to  commence  when  the  trees  are  in  blossom,  or  bees  would  be 
killed.  It  should  commence  as  soon  as  the  fruit  is  set. 
Keeping  Grapes  (Amateur). — The  bunches  should  be  cut  immediately, 
and  as  you  have  no  Grape  room,  suspend  bottles  from  the  front  of  shelves 
in  a  cool,  frost-proof  room.  The  system  is  shown  in  fig.  66.  The  bottles 
are  placed  7  inches  apart.  Two  ordinary  carpet  tacks  are  driven  into  the 
front  of  the  shelf  (1  inch  apart)  for  each  bottle.  A  piece  of  ordinary 
binding  wire  is  fixed  to  one  tack,  a  bottle  is  placed  in  the  desired  position, 
and  the  wire  pulled  tightly  round  the  neck  and  round  the  other  tack  ;  it  is 
then  passed  along  without  cutting  it  to  the  next  bottle,  twisting  it  round 
the  neck  in  the  same  way.  The  tacks  are  then  driven  home,  so  that  the 
wire  does  not  slip.  In  a  similar  manner  another  wire  is  fixed  so  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  “sling”  to  pass  under  the  bottom  end  of  each  bottle  and 
support  it  at  the  desired  angle.  These  should  be  fixed  on  the  top  and 
passed  down  between  the  openings  of  the  fruit  shelves.  The  wires  are 
not  the  least  in  the  way  when  the  bottles  are  removed. 
Position  for  Cucumber  Frame  in  the  East  of  Scotland  (0.  F.). — The 
frame  must  have  an  open  situation,  so  that  it  can  receive  all  the  sun 
possible  from  the  east,  south,  and  west,  but  is  better  for  shelter  from  the 
north,  such  as  that  of  wall,  fence  or  hedge.  A  position  on  the  south  side 
of  the  stone  wall,  and  about  4  feet  from  it,  would  be  an  excellent  one.  Full 
particulars  as  to  soil  and  treatment  will  appear  in  our  “Work  for  the 
W eek  ”  column  in  due  course. 
Dressing  of  Manure  to  a  Tennis  Lawn  (E.  A.  IF.). — The  best  time  to 
apply  a  dressing  of  animal  manure  to  grass  is  the  present,  as  then  the 
manurial  elements  are  washed  into  and  retained  by  the  soil,  while  the 
manure  itself  becomes  ameliorated  by  the  exposure,  some  being  washed 
into  the  soil  or  about  the  roots  of  the  grasses,  and  the  whole  working  in 
well  in  the  early  spring.  For  a  light  soil  cow  manure  is  the  best,  and  for 
a  heavy  one  horse  droppings.  The  chief  thing  is  to  have  the  manure 
moderately  decayed  or  short,  and  to  spread  as  evenly  as  possible. 
Apple  Tree  Infested  by  Caterpillar  ( E .  L.  J.). — The  piece  of  Apple 
tree  was  tunnelled  vertically  by  the  caterpillar  of  the  wood  leopard  moth, 
Zeuzera  resculi.  Of  late  years  the  wood  leopard  moth  has  become  very 
prevalent  in  some  districts  on  young  Apple  trees,  boring  into  the  branches 
by  its  larvae,  and  these  in  consequence  liable  to  damage  by  winds,  dying 
off  either  by  direct  attacks  of  the  caterpillars  or  the  indirect  agency  of 
canker  and  decay.  As  you  say,  syringing  with  an  insecticide  would  not 
be  of  any  use,  for  it  could  not  reach  the  caterpillars  in  the  tunnels,  for 
these  are  made  upward.  In  small  branches  the  caterpillar  often  follows 
the  line  of  pith,  but  in  large  ones  bores  just  under  the  bark,  yet  clear  of 
it,  in  the  wood,  avoiding  the  heart-wood  because  practically  containing 
less  nourishment.  The  hole  where  the  caterpillar  has  entered  may  usually 
be  detected  in  the  bark,  and  a  strong  pliable  wire  run  into  the  hole 
will  crush  the  enemy  within,  as  indicated  by  the  wet,  whitish  matter  on 
the  wire  when  withdrawn.  Injecting  nicotine  essence  into  the  hole  by 
means  of  a  squirt  sometimes  proves  effective.  These  methods,  however, 
only  prevent  further  damage,  hence  desirable  on  that  account ;  but  as 
a  moth  has  been  known  to  deposit  as  many  as  300  eggs,  obviously  the 
most  important  thing  is  to  destroy  the  moths.  They  are  very  partial 
to  artificial  light,  and  this  should  be  taken  advantage  of  by  using  a 
hurricane  lantern  stood  in  the  centre  of  a  tray  Smeared  inside  with  a 
sticky  substance,  but  not  strong  smelling  (such  as  gas  tar),  elevating  it  on 
a  log  of  wood  3  to  4  feet  from  the  ground.  The  males  emerge  from 
the  pupae  cases  some  days  in  advance  of  the  females,  and  are  considerably 
smaller  with  feathered  antennae  or  horns,  those  of  the  other  being  simple. 
The  moths  are  readily  seen  at  dusk  or  soon  after  by  their  white  some¬ 
what  transparent  and  blue-black  spotted  wings,  and  hover  about  hedges 
and  the  food  plants  or  trees  of  the  larvae.  When  the  first  is  seen  (our 
record  is  the  middle  of  July)  set  the  “allures”  about  50  yards  apart, 
and  light  them  at  dusk  and  continue  each  evening  until  the  end  of  August. 
This  we  have  found  the  best  of  all  preventives,  in  a  wooded  district 
where  we  were  sorely  plagued  for  many  years  by  migrations  of  the 
moths,  which  worked  ruin  in  our  recently  planted  orchards  and  fruit 
plantations.  We  also  found  great  benefit  before  the  use  of  the  “  allures  ” 
by  spraying  with  Paris  green  for  the  destruction  of  the  leaf-eating  cater¬ 
pillars,  also  from  treatment  with  sulphate  of  copper,  as  Bordeaux  mixture, 
tor  fungoid  pests,  some  of  the  poison  remaining  on  the  bark  and  giving 
the  caterpillars  their  quietus.  Main  reliance,  however,  must  be  placed  on 
destroying  the  moths. 
