July  13,  1S99. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
43 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Vines. —  In  Pots  for  Very  Early  Forcing.—  When  these  arc  to  be  started 
early  in  November  to  afford  ripe  Grapes  during  March  or  April  the  wood 
should  now  be  thoroughly  matured  and  the  buds  plumped.  It  not,  the 
house  may  be  kept  rather  warmer  by  day,  say  70°  to  75°,  and  80°  to  85° 
with  sun  heat,  closing  early  so  as  to  raise  the  temperature  to  90°  or  95°, 
and  throw  the  ventilators  open  at  night.  Afford  water  or  liquid  manure 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  prevent  bagging,  and  erpose  the  foliage  to  all  the 
light  possible.  Laterals  must  be  kept  well  in  check,  leaving  no  more  than 
are  essential  to  appropriate  any  excess  of  sap,  and  so  prevent  the 
principal  buds  beiDg  started.  When  the  wood  is  brown  and  hard  and  the 
buds  are  prominent  the  Vines  should  be  removed  to  a  situation  outdoors, 
standing  the  pots  on  slates  or  boards  in  front  of  a  south  wall  or  fence. 
Secure  the  canes  to  avoid  damage  from  wind,  and  only  give  water  to 
prevent  the  foliage  falling  prematurely.  In  wet  weather  the  pots  may 
be  laid  on  their  sides  or  some  waterproof  material  placed  over  them. 
When  the  main  leaves  turn  yellow  commence  reducing  the  laterals,  and 
prune  when  the  leaves  are  all  off,  the  laterals  being  shortened  close  in 
and  the  canes  reduced  to  the  length  required.  This  done,  place  them  in 
any  cool  airy  place  until  required  for  forcing.  Keep  moderately  dry  at 
the  roots  and  exclude  frost. 
Planted-out  for  Early  Forcing. — When  ft  is  contemplated  to  start  Vines 
early  that  have  not  hitherto  been  so  subjected,  it  will  bo  necessary  as 
^oon  as  the  crop  is  off  to  thoroughly  cleanse  them  by  syringing  or  the 
Application  of  an  insecticide.  It  there  is  any  d  >ubt  as  to  the  maturity  of 
the  wood  and  the  plumpness  of  the  buds  it  w  ill  be  desirable  to  employ 
fire  heat  in  the  daytime  to  maintain  a  temperature  of  70°  to  75°  with 
.moderate  ventilation,  and  turn  the  heat  off  at  night  to  allow  the  pipes  to 
cool.  This,  with  a  thorough  circulation  of  air,  will  soon  cause  the  wood 
to  harden  and  the  buds  to  plump,  inducing  rest.  It  is  also  a  good  plan 
later  on  to  shorten  the  bearing  shoots  to  about  four  or  five  leaves  from 
their  base,  thus  plumping  the  basal  or  pruning  buds.  When  the  Vines 
have  the  wood  ripe  and  the  buds  plump  they  will  only  require  full 
ventilation  day  and  night. 
Earliest  House. — In  the  early  houses  the  wood  is  generally  well  ripened, 
for  the  Vines,  as  a  rule,  are  not  over-vigorous,  and  the  dry  atmosphere 
maintained  during  the  ripening  of  the  Grapes  tends  to  mature  the  foliage, 
buds,  and  wood.  This  is  sometimes  fatal  to  the  principal  leaves  or  those 
•corresponding  to  the  pruning  buds  by  encouraging  red  spider,  and  the 
■consequence  is  the  Vines  goto  rest  early  anu  start  into  growth  in  September, 
when  they  should  be  completely  at  rest.  In  the  case  of  Vines  losing  the  lower 
leaves  on  the  bearing  shoots,  growth  should  be  encouraged  on  the  laterals, 
alike  to  stimulate  root  action,  appropriate  the  sap,  and  prevent  premature 
•resting.  Where  the  Vines  retain  the  foliage  to  the  base  of  the  bearing 
shoots — termed  laterals — it  will  be  necessary  to  maintain  a  dry  atmosphere 
to  thoroughly  ripen  the  wood  ;  but  it  will  not  be  essential  to  employ 
artificial  heat. 
Ventilate  fully,  keeping  all  laterals  and  late  growths  stopped,  and 
aim  at  complete  rest  by  having  the  border  cool  and  comparatively  dry. 
Where  the  Vines  are  in  an  unsatisfactory  condition,  prepare  for  lifting 
at  an  early  date,  getting  fresh  loam  and  clean  drainage  handy,  so  that 
the  work  can  be  quickly  performed  when  started.  It  is  desirable  to 
lift  the  roots  and  lay  them  in  fresh  compost  near  the  surface  whilst 
there  is  foliage  on  the  Vines  ;  but  the  leaves  corresponding  to  the 
pruning  buds  must  be  maturing,  and  the  lateral  growths  will  favour 
speedy  root  action.  Work  of  this  character  ought  not  to  be  delayed 
beyond  August  in  the  case  of  Vines  that  are  to  be  started  early  in 
December,  which  will  need  pruning  by  the  middle  of  September  or  a  little 
later. 
Successional  Vines  Freed  of  their  Crops. — If  there  be  any  red  spider, 
thoroughly  cleanse  the  Vines  by  means  of  water  from  a  syringe  or  engine, 
and  repeat  occasionally.  Mealy  bug  and  scale  may  be  combatted  with 
•petroleum,  which  is  easiest  applied  in  the  emulsion  or  soluble  form,  but 
this  coats  the  glass  with  soapy  matter,  which  is  not  easy  to  get  off  once 
it  hardens.  Pure  petroleum  and  water  may  be  used,  one  person  syringing 
into  the  watering  can,  whilst  another  applies  the  mixture  to  the  Vines 
forcibly,  so  as  to  well  coat  every  part.  A  wineglassful  of  petroleum 
should  be  used  to  4  gallons  of  water.  The  syringing  repeated  at  intervals 
of  a  few  days  is  an  effectual  remedy.  Keep  the  laterals  Within  reasonable 
limits. 
If  the  Vines  are  vigorous  and  Ihe  wood  not  ripening  well,  keep  the 
house  rather  dry,  and  ventilate  fully  at  night,  but  turn  on  the  heat  by 
day,  and  ventilate  moderately.  This  will  tend  to  the  maturity  of  the 
wood  and  buds.  Vigorous  Vines  must  not  be  stopped  too  closely  or  the 
principal  buds  may  be  started  into  growth  by  an  excess  of  sap,  and  they 
may  be  kept  without  water  until  the  foliage  becomes  a  little  limp.  Vines, 
•  on  the  other  hand,  that  are  enfeebled  by  continued  cropping  should  be 
encouraged  to  make  growth  by  applying  liquid  manure  to  the  border. 
Ventilate  the  house  freely  day  and  night,  for  it  is  mainly  a  question  of 
evaporation  in  securing  thoroughly  ripened  wood. 
Grapes  Ripening. — Whilst  colouring  most  Grapes  swell  considerably', 
and  there  must  be  no  deficiency  of  moisture  in  the  border.  Give, 
therefore,  a  g  ;od  supply  of  wa'er  or  liquid  manure,  especially  the  latter, 
where  the  Vines  are  heavily  cropped,  for  though  it  may  not  materially 
influence  the  Grapes,  it  will  contribute  to  the  general  health  of  the  Vines, 
and  by  giving  them  plenty  of  time  the  crop  may  finish  satisfactorily. 
Hastening  heavily  burdened  Vines  and  a  deficiency  of  nourishment  is 
almost  sure  to  culminate  in  defective  colour  in  the  Grapes.  A  good  rest 
at  night  in  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°,  with  air,  is  a  great  help  to  Vines 
taxed  to  the  utmost  by  a  heavy  crop.  Allow  the  laterals  to  extend  if 
possible.  A  moderate  amount  of  air  moisture  is  essential  to  the  health 
of  the  Vines,  sprinkling  the  floor  in  the  morning  and  afternoon  in  bright 
weather,  or  occasionally,  and  no  ill  effects  will  follow,  provided  a  circu¬ 
lation  of  rather  warm  air  is  secured.  This  is  essential  to  avoid  “spot” 
in  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and  some  other  tender-skinned  Grapes,  therefore 
admit  air  constantly  enough,  with  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  hot- water  pipes 
to  insure  a  circulation  and  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture  on  the 
berries. 
j 
Seasonable  Notes. 
Ten  days  of  unsettled  weather  has  damped  the  spirits  of  bee-keepers, 
particularly  those  who  are  in  the  midst  of  a  large  area  of  white  Clover. 
Within  a  two-mile  radius  of  our  own  apiary  there  are  upwards  of 
100  acres  of  white  Clover  r.ow  in  full  bloom  and  at  its  best  for 
honey  production.  The  heavy'  showers  which  have  prevailed  for 
more  chan  a  week  past  have  benefited  all  growing  crops,  but  bees 
cannot  work  and  store  a  surplus  under  such  conditions.  Heavy 
thunderstorms,  too,  often  wash  much  of  the  nectar  out  of  the  flowers, 
but  with  a  high  temperature  and  bright  sunshine  it  soon  rises 
again  from  the  fast  opening  flowers.  White  Clover,  the  best  of  all 
our  honey-producing  flowers,  suffers  severely  in  this  respect.  But 
if  one  will  examine  the  bloom,  it  will  be  found  to  be  composed  of 
a  great  number  of  tubes,  several  of  which  will  open  each  day.  Each 
tube  contains  a  very  small  quantity  of  nectar,  and  it  is  surprising 
the  great  amount  of  honey  a  strong  colony  of  bees  will  store  from 
this  source  if  the  weather  is  favourable. 
Although  we  are  in  the  height  of  the  honey  flow  it  is  not  advisable 
to  extract  all  the  honey7  from  the  supers  of  those  hives  worked  solely 
for  that  purpose.  During  the  tine  weather  that  prevailed  last  month 
strong  colonies  filled  the  supers.  Where  these  were  left  until  the 
change  in  the  weather  took  place,  then  being  passed  through  the 
extractor,  the  bees  will  be  short  of  stores  owing  to  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather.  If  there  is  likely  to  be  a  change  in  the  weather  we 
prefer  to  leave  the  outside  comb  with  its  stores  intact.  This  will 
prevent  the  bees  turning  the  young  grubs  out  of  their  cells,  which 
they  invariably  do  directly  their  fuoi  supplies  are  cut  off  at  this 
season. 
Stocks  worked  solely  for  extracting  are  much  more  liable  to  suffer 
through  shortness  of  stores  than  when  worked  for  comb  honey;  as 
in  the  latter  case  it  is  not  removed  until  it  is  properly  scaled  over, 
so  that  there  are  always  ample  stores  for  the  workers. 
Swarms  Returning  to  Other  Hives. 
The  vagaries  of  swarms  are  well  known  to  bee-keepers.  Our 
advice  has  recently  been  sought  under  two  different  circumstances.  In 
the  first  case  a  strong  first  swarm  came  out  of  a  frame  hive,  flew 
straight  away7,  and  although  followed  for  a  considerable  distance  was 
eventually  lost.  Ten  days  afterwards  the  bees  in  the  other  hives  were 
seen  to  be  in  great  commotion,  all  were  apparently  fighting  amongst 
themselves.  Dead  bees  were  being  turned  out  of  the  hives  whole¬ 
sale,  and  when  we  saw  them  the  following  day  thousands  of  bees  lay 
dead  around  the  hives.  We  at  once  realised  what  had  happened — a 
cast  had  come  from  the  hive  from  which  the  swarm  was  lost,  and 
instead  of  clustering  on  a  neighbouring  bush,  or  flying  straight  away, 
the  erratic  young  queen  entered  another  hive,  the  bees  followed,  many 
went  into  the  other  hives,  and  the  majority  were  slaughtered. 
A  few  days  afterward  a  similar  case  happened  with  a  first  swarm 
in  another  apiary.  Instead  of  clustering  on  a  tree  or  bush  they7 
returned  to  another  colony,  clustering  on  the  side  of  the  hive  and  on 
the  alighting  board.  An  empty  skep  was  immediately  obtained  and 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  other  hive,  a  few  puffs  of  smoke  started  the 
bees  running,  the  queen  was  picked  out  of  the  middle  of  the  cluster, 
and  the  swarm  was  hived  without  any  mishap.  Had  they  been  left 
to  chance  they  would  have  met  the  fate  of  the  former. — An  English 
Bee-keeper, 
'  “Familiar  Wild  Flowers.”— Parts  14  and  15  of  Cassella 
“Familiar  Wild  Flowers”  contain  plates  of  the  Broom,  Creeping 
Bellflower,  the  Melancholy  Thistle,  Cow  Wheat  or  Melatnpyre,  Betony, 
Comfrey,  Hairy  St.  John’s  Wort,  Fool’s  Parsley,  Hedge  Mustard,  Lily  of 
the  Valley,  the  Succory,  Devil’s  Bit  Scabious,  Knot  Grass,  Cross  Wort, 
Woodruff,  Fumitory,  Small  AVillow  Herb,  Red  Valerian,  Bog  Asphodel, 
and  Nettle-leaved  Bellflower. 
