December  15.  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
465 
placed  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  turning  a  portion  of  it  daily,  so  as, to 
supply  ammonia  to  the  atmosphere  and  maintain  a  steady  fermenta¬ 
tion,  is  saving  of  fuel  and  conduces  to  a  good  break.  Outside 
borders  must  have  the  needful  protection  from  cold  rains  and  snow  ; 
a  few  inches  thickness  of  dry  leaves  and  a  little  litter  over  them 
answers  when  the  Vines  are  planted  inside,  but  where  the  border  is  all 
outside  a  covering  of  warm  litter  is  preferable,  two-thirds  of  leaves  to 
one  of  stable  litter  affording  s  less  violent  heat,  but  more  lasting  heat,  than 
manure  alone,  adding  fresh  material  as  necessary.  The  inside  borders 
may  be  rendered  thoroughly  moist  by  applying  water,  or,  in  the  case  of 
weakly  Vines,  liquid  manure.  Start  with  a  night  temperature  of  50°  in 
severe  weather,  55°  in  mild  weather,  and  65°  by  day,  except  the  weather 
be  cold,  when  55°  will  be  more  suitable.  This  slower  work  is  better  than 
a  high  forcing  heat,  which  induces  a  weak  growth,  and  we  do  not  advise 
those  temperatures  to  be  exceeded  until  the  growth  commences.  Depress 
young  canes  to  the  horizontal  line,  or  lower,  to  insure  the  regular  break¬ 
ing  of  the  buds.  Maintain  a  genial  atmosphere  by  syringing  occasionally, 
but  avoid  excessive  moisture  and  keeping  the  rods  dripping  wet,  which 
excites  the  production  of  aerial  roots  irom  the  rods. 
Midseason  Houses. — Vines,  leafless  and  cleared  of  crops,  will  be  pruned 
and  at  rest  ;  if  not,  complete  the  work,  and  cleanse  the  houses  without 
delay.  Where  the  Grapes  are  partially  cut  the  remainder  may  be 
removed  with  a  good  portion  of  wood  attached,  and  if  the  stems  are 
inserted  in  bottles  of  water  the  bunches  will  keep  admirably  in  a  dry 
room  from  which  frost  is  excluded  ;  thus  the  Vines  will  be  liberated  for 
pruning  and  the  house  for  cleansing,  repairs,  and  painting.  A  long  and 
complete  rest  invigorates  Vines,  and  early  pruning  effects  that  better  than 
anything  else. 
Late  Houses.—  Vines  that  have  the  foliage  all  off  will  only  require 
sufficient  fire  heat  to  exclude  frost,  but  Muscats  require  a  temperature  of 
50°.  Black  Ilamburghs,  however,  shrivel  in  that  heat,  40°  to  50°  being 
sufficient  for  them  and  thick-skinned  Grapes. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Asparagus.— No  vegetable  is  mire  easily  forced  than  Asparagus,  and 
no  other  gives  greater  satisfaction  after  it  is  grown.  In  order  to  have  it 
quickly  and  early  it  is  necessary  to  break  up  an  old  bed  for  the  roots,  or 
to  prepare  the  requisite  number  of  strong  young  plants  and  lift  these  for 
forcing  as  required.  It  must  also  bo  remembered  that  the  forced 
exhausted  plants  are  of  no  further  value.  Heated  pits  are  the  best 
places  for  forcing  Asparagu3,  the  heat  being  turned  on  in  the  coldest 
weather  only.  Asparagus  can,  however,  be  had  in  three  weeks  or  so  in 
frames  without  the  aid  of  fire  heat.  In  either  case  a  moderately  deep 
hotbed  of  leaves  and  stable  manure  is  desirable,  a  gentle  moist  bottom 
heat  of  about  05°  to  70°,  with  a  top  heat  of  55°  to  60°,  answering  much 
better  than  a  stronger  dry  heat  A  frame  on  a  hotbed  can  be  kept  suf¬ 
ficiently  warm  by  means  of  a  lining  of  fresh  material,  with  mats  and 
strawy  litter  over  the  lights.  Cover  the  hotbed  with  about  3  inches  of 
rich  soil,  and  put  a  similar  depth  over  the  roots  when  they  are  in  position. 
Lilting  Broccoli. — Strong  growth  was  late  in  commencing,  and,  thanks 
to  the  mildness  of  the  autumn,  has  been  sustained  much  later  than  usual. 
As  a  consequence  the  plants  are  not  so  hardy  a3  desirable,  and  as  the 
best  of  the  early  varieties  are  among  the  tenderesf,  it  is  all  the  more 
desirable  that  protection  should  be  afforded.  The  best  way  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  to  lift  a  good  portion  of  the  old  plants,  -  remove  some  of  the 
older  leaves,  pack  closely  together  in  pits  in  cool  vineries,  cold  pits,  deep 
frames,  and  the  like.  A  little  soil  should  be  saved  about  the  roots,  and 
the  latter  ought  to  be  firmly  re-covered  with  rich  soil,  or  soil  and  manure. 
Keep  them  constantly  moist  at  the  roots,  and  protect  from  frost. 
Thus  treated  neat  hearts  of  the  best  quality  will  develop,  these  proving 
most  acceptable.  Those  more  advanced  or  nearly  or  quite  fit  for  use 
must  be  kept  closely  covered  with  their  own  and  added  leaves,  but  they 
would  be  safer  lifted  and  packed  away  in  a  covered  shed  or  cool  cellar, 
where  they  will  keep  well  for  two  or  three  weeks. 
Parsley. — In  some  gardens  Tarsley  is  comparatively  scarce,  and  what 
•plants  there  are  have  not  made  good  progress.  A  severe  frost  might 
destroy  these,  as  well  as  much  stronger  ones,  3nd  with  a  view  to  being  on 
the  right  side  a  portion  should  be  forked  up,  taking  care  to  save  the  tap 
roots,  replanting  somewhat  thickly  in  boxes,  deep  pots,  or  beds  of  good 
soil.  The  pots  and  boxes  may  be  stored  in  Peach  houses  and  cool 
vineries,  and  those  in  frames  or  pits  be  protected  in  cold  weather.  Later 
on  forcing  may  be  resorted  to,  and  an  early  supply  of  young  leaves  be 
obtained.  Early  next  year  sow  seed  on  a  gentle  hotbed,  and  if  a  portion 
of  the  young  plants  are  duly  planted  out  in  a  sheltered  position,  leaving 
the  rest  to  grow  where  they  are,  an  abundance  of  good  Parsley  will  be 
obtained  long  before  plants  raised  by  sowing  in  the  open  ground  will  be 
•ready  to  pick  from. 
Forcing  Rhubarb. — There,  has  been  just  enough  frost  to  prepare  the 
clumps  of  Rhubarb  for  forcing,  and  if  a  few  or  many  are  lifted,  packed 
eloselv  together  in  a  Mushroom  or  other  heated  house,  and  surrounded 
by  rich  moist  soil,  strong  stalks  in  abundance  will  soon  result.  Forcing 
the  roots  where  they  are  well  established  is  a  slower  process,  but  in  this 
case  the  clumps  are  not  weakened  to  the  extent  of  being  of  no  further 
•value.  Rested  one  winter  after  forcing  they  again  become  equal  to  pro¬ 
ducing  a  heavy  crop  of  early  stalks. 
Forcing  Seakale. — The  younger  roots  of  these  may  be  lifted,  trimmed 
somewhat,  packed  closely  together  in  boxes  or  pots  of  soil,  and  then 
forced  in  a  brisk  moist  heat  and  well  darkened  position,  or  they  may  be 
packed  in  beds  of  rich  soil  in  a  heated  Mushroom  house,  introducing  fresh 
batches  every  fortnight.  The  older  plants,  arranged  in  groups,  may  be 
covered  and  forced  similarly  to  Rhubarb. 
w. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
1 
Bee-keepers’  Requirements. 
In  addition  to  the  necessary  articles  required  by  modern  bee¬ 
keepers  mentioned  in  previous  notes,  we  would  here  refer  to  comb 
foundation,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to  success.  This 
essential  is  too  well  known  to  need  description,  but  we  may 
state  that  the  genuine  article  is  made  from  pure  wax,  which  is  rolled 
into  sheets  varying  in  thickness.  Those  intended  for  supers  usually 
run  about  sixteen  sheets,  standard  frame  size,  to  the  pound  ;  whereas 
those  used  for  the  brood  chambers  will  be  of  double  thickness. 
When  it  was  first  introduced  it  was  chiefly  used  in  narrow  strips, 
secured  to  the  top  bar  of  the  frame ;  from  this  the  bees  built  their 
combs  perfectly  straight,  but  much  valuable  time  was  lost  in  the 
operation.  Since  then  great  strides  have  been  made  in  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  foundation,  and  at  the  present  time  many  tons  of  wax  are 
annually  made  into  foundation  in  this  country  alone,  as  sheets  of  it 
may  be  obtained  to  fit  any  size  frame  at  a  very  small  cost  above  the 
price  of  ordinary  wax. 
It  will  readily  be  seen  the  great  advantage  from  using  full  sheets 
of  foundation,  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  large  amount  of 
honey  it  is  necessary  for  the  bees  to  consume  before  they  can  manu¬ 
facture  1  lb.  of  wax — how  much  we  are  unable  to  say.  We  have 
heard  many  well-known  bee-keepers  express  an  opinion  on  this  subject, 
and  have  often  heard  authorities  state  that  at  least  20  lbs.  of  honey  is 
necessary  to  produce  1  lb.  of  wax.  We  think  the  above  figures  are  too 
high,  but  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  take  at  least  half  that  amount. 
Whether  the  higher  or  lower  figures  are  correct  is  immaterial ;  it 
shows  the  benefit  bee-keepers  derive  from  using  it.  If  full  sheets  of 
foundation  are  used  the  bees  will  at  once  commence  to  draw  out  the 
cells,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  a  strong  colony  will  have  all  the 
cells  drawn  out  the  required  length.  This  may  be  observed  more 
readily  with  a  natural  swarm  than  with  an  ordinary  stock.  M  ithin 
twenty-four  hours  the  queen  will  have  laid  some  thousands  of  eggs, 
and  if  the  weather  is  favourable  honey  will  at  once  be  stored.  Should 
the  weather  be  dull  or  showery  the  bees  may  be  kept  employed  in 
drawing  out  the  foundation  by  feeding  with  a  pint  of  syrup  daily 
until  a  favourable  change  takes  place  in  the  weather. 
We  would  strongly  advise  a  beginner  to  use  full  sheets  of  thick 
foundation  ;  there  will  then  be  less  danger  of  a  mishap  than  it  the  thin 
is  used.  After  a  little  experience  foundation  of  any  degree  of  thinness 
may  be  used  with  impunity  in  the  brood  combs. 
The  plan  we  usually  adopt  is  to  place  a  frame  tilled  with  thin 
foundation  between  two  fully  drawn  out  combs,  draw  the  other  combs 
and  the  division  board  close  up,  and  within  twenty-four  hours  all  the 
cells  will  be  fully  drawn  out,  the  comb  will  be  securely  fastened  to 
the  ends  of  the  frame,  and  many  of  the  cells  will  already  have  eggs 
laid  in  them. 
It  will  thus  be  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer  how  beneficial 
foundation  is  to  the  bees,  by  providing  them  with  breeding  and  storing 
space  without  having  to  manufacture  the  wax  to  make  the  comb  used 
for  that  purpose,  and  the  bee-keeper  is  benefited  by  obtaining  a  larger 
surplus  from  bis  bees.  The  top  bar  of  the  Irame  should  be  split,  and 
the  edge  of  the  sheet  of  foundation  placed  in  the  opening  ;  a  nail  will 
hold  it  in  position,  a  couple  of  wire  foundation  fixers  placed  on  each 
side  will  prevent  it  sagging.  These  may  be  removed  twenty-four 
hours  afterwards.— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
Oestrum  aurantiacum. — Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  favour  of 
this  free-flowering  plant,  for  it  combines  the  qualifies  of  being 
highly  ornamentafand  easily  cultivated  and,  moreover,  it  can  be  grown  in 
such  a  variety  of  ways  that  it  wi’l  be  found  suitable  lor  almost  anj 
position.  Grown  in  pots  it  makes  an  excellent  decorative  plant  for 
conservatory  or  dwelling  house.  Planted  in  a  border  it  makes  a  fine 
bush,  and  grown  against  a  pillar  with  the  main  branches  only  supported 
it  is  possibly  seen  to  better  advantage  than  in  either  of  the  previous  ways. 
Whichever  way  it  is  grown  all  young  wood  should  be  spurred  back  in 
Januarv.  As  the  young  growths  appear  they  should  be  thinned,  leaving 
only  sufficient  to  furnish  the  plant.  A  top-dressing  of  decayed  manure  will 
be  found  beneficial  at  this  period.  Early  in  July  the  first  crop  of  flowers 
will  appear.  After  these  flowers  are  over  the  plant  should  be  allowed  to 
grow,  and  a  second  crop  of  flowers  will  be  had  in  September,  these  being 
followed  in  December  by  a  third  crop.  The  flowers  are  orange  coloured 
and  produced  in  terminal,  branched  inflorescences  from  the  point  of  each 
shoot.  Soil  such  as  is  used  for  Chrysanthemums  is  suitable  for  this.  It 
is  a  native  of  Guatemala,  and  succeeds  well  with  a  minimum  winter 
temperature  of  40°  Fuhr. — D.  K. 
