July  27,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
89 
the  soil  injuriously  affects  the  young  roots,  yet  there  must  be  sufficient 
moisture  to  maintain  growth  on  the  laterals  in  order  to  prevent  the 
premature  ripening  of  the  foliage.  In  mo9t  cases  it  will  suffice  to  allow  a 
moderate  extension  of  the  laterals.  Where  the  Vines  are  in  an  unsatis¬ 
factory  condition,  prepare  for  lifting  at  an  early  date,  procuring  loam  and 
•clean  drainage,  so  that  the  work  can  be  done  quickly  when  started.  There 
is  no  danger  of  losing  a  crop,  only  operate  upon  a  portion  of  the  border  at 
once — say,  the  inside  one  season  and  the  outside  the  following.  It  is 
desirable  to  lift  the  roots  and  lay  them  in  fresh  soil  nearer  the  surface 
whilst  the  foliage  is  on  the  Vines,  therefore  work  of  this  kind  ought  not 
to  be  delayed  in  the  case  of  Vines  that  are  to  be  started  early  in 
December,  which  will  need  pruning  by  the  middle  of  September,  or  in 
the  case  of  lifted  Vines  a  little  later. 
Successional  Vines  Cleared  of  Their  Crops. — Thoroughly  cleanse  the 
Vines  from  red  spider  and  dust  bv  means  of  water  from  a  syringe  or 
engine,  and  repeat  I  occasionally.  Keep  the  laterals  within  reasonable 
limits.  If  the  Vines  are  vigorous  and  the  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  byr  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. — Give  a  good  supply  of  water  or  liquid  manure  where 
the  Vines  are  heavily  cropped.  Allow  these  time,  and  a  good  rest  at 
night|  in  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°  with  air.  Permit  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  of 
bright  weather  or  occasionally,  always  providing  a  circulation  of  rather 
warm  air.  This  is  absolutely  necessary  to  avoid  scorching  and  scalding, 
also  spotting  in  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and  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. 
[THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Cabbage. — The  first  step  towards  securing  a  good  early  crop  of 
Cabbages  next  spring  ought  to  be  taken  during  July.  It  is  well  not  to 
depend  upon  one  sowing,  and  also  to  have  more  than  one  variety.  It  is 
usually  found  the  surest  plan  to  sow  the  seed  very  thinly  in  shallow  drills 
drawn  4  inches  or  so  apart,  and  the  plants  raised  thus  may  be  moved 
direct  to  their  winter  quarters.  But  whether  sown  in  drills  or  broadcast, 
the  site  should  be  well  prepared  by  being  broken  down  finely  and  well 
moistened  prior  to  sowing  the  seed.  If  birds  are  troublesome  either  net 
over  the  seed  bed  or  just  moisten  the  seed  in  a  damp  cloth  and  then  roll 
it  in  red  lead. 
Celery. — Waiting  for  wet  weather  before  putting  out  the  main  and 
late  crops  is  apt  to  prove  a  mistake.  Left  standing  thickly  in  beds  and 
boxes  the  plants  become  drawn  and  starved  in  appearance,  and  experience 
a  greater  check  in  transplanting  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  moved 
earlier.  If  the  soil  in  and  about  the  trenches  is  very  dry  and  lumpy  apply 
enough  water  to  moisten  it  through,  and  soon  after  it  may  be  broken 
down  finely  with  hoe  heads  and  rakes.  Even  if  the  soil  in  the  trenches  is 
fine  but  dry  it  is  well  to  moisten  it  prior  to  planting,  while  the  soil  con¬ 
taining  the  roots  of  the  plants  should  certainly  have  a  good  soaking 
before  being  cut  out  into  squares.  Water  after  planting,  and  if  possible 
•roughly  shade  for  a  few'  days  with  stakes  and  Pea  haulm  attached  to 
them.  All  the  Celery  should  be  kept  constantly  moist  at  the  roots,  and 
if  a  heavy  watering  is  not  necessary  it  is  yet  well  to  freshen  the  tops  with 
water  in  the  evenings  of  hot  days.  Liquid  manure  should  not  be  very 
strong  when  applied,  and  does  the  most  good  when  it  follow  s  clear  water 
given  a  day  previous.  Where  the  Celery  maggot  is  apt  to  be  troublesome 
spraying  with  petroleum  and  water  three  nights  a  week  is  a  good 
preventive. 
Endive. — If  fully  grown  Endive  for  late  autumn  and  winter  use  is 
wanted,  and  it  is  appreciated  in  most  establishments,  seed  must  be  sown 
at  once.  The  green  curled  forms  are  the  first  available  for  use,  but  the 
broad-leaved  Batavian  is  the  best  for  the  main  crop  or  storing.  A  fairly 
rich  light  soil  suits  Endive  well.  If  a  large  seed  bed  is  prepared,  a  portion 
of  the  plants  that  come  up  may  be  left  where  they  are  moderately  thickly, 
and  these  will  then  prove  self-blanching,  and  good  for  early  cutting. 
Where  there  is  plenty  of  ground  available  the  seed  may  be  sown  thinly  in 
drills  12  inches  apart,  and  the  plants  being  duly  thinned  out,  a  good  crop 
will  be  had  without  much  further  trouble. 
Leeks. — This  crop,  owing  to  its  extreme  hardiness,  ought  always  to 
be  regarded  as  an  important  one.  Very  large  stems  are  not  wanted, 
unless  for  exhibition  purposes,  and  the  trench  prepared  as  for  Celery 
may  be  dispensed  with  in  favour  of  the  more  economical  practice  of 
planting  deeply  and  comparatively  thickly.  A  cool,  freely  manured, 
deeply  dug  piece  of  ground  suits  Leeks,  and  when  the  plants  are  a  foot, 
or  rather  less,  in  height  they  ought  to  be  planted.  If  the  ground  about 
them  is  dry  and  hard,  give  enough  water  to  soak  it,  and  the  plants  can 
then  be  got  up  without  badly  damaging  the  roots.  Make  holes  about 
8  inches  deep,  and  rather  larger  round  than  an  ordinary  planting  dibber, 
about  a  foot  apart  each  way.  Drop  a  plant  into  each  of  these,  not 
closing  the  holes,  but  merely  fixing  the  roots  by  the  aid  of  water. 
Spinach. — Unless  the  first  sowing  of  winter  Spinach  is  made  in  July 
4he  chances  are  the  plants  will  not  be  large  enough  to  gather  from  before 
the  spring.  Extra  pains  should  be  taken  with  the  ground  intended  for 
this  crop,  manuring,  digging,  and  redigging  it  with  a  view  to  destroying 
grubs.  A  light  surfacing  of  newly  slaked  lim°,  stirred  in  with  a  Dutch 
hoe,  would  be  of  good  service,  especially  if  a  dressing  of  lime  has  not 
been  given  of  late  years.  After  getting  the  ground  into  a  finely  divided 
state  open  drills  a  foot  apart,  water  if  dry,  and  then  sow  the  seed 
thinly.  Varieties  that  answer  well  in  the  summer  are  equally  good  for 
the  winter  crop. 
Tomatoes  — Dryness  at  the  root  seriously  militates  against  a  good  set 
of  fruit.  Plants  rooting  in  rich  ground,  quite  in  the  open,  may  not 
require  watering,  but  in  many  instances  they  would  pay  well  for 
attention,  and  also  for  a  mulching  of  strawy  manure.  Those  planted 
against  sunny  walls  and  fences  rarely  get  enough  moisture  at  the  roots 
unless  this  is  supplied  artificially,  and  this  season  has  been  greatly 
benefited  by  two  applications  per  week.  These  also  should  have  a  mulching 
of  strawy  manure.  No  superfluous  growth  must  remain  on  the  plants. 
Turnips. — There  should  be  no  further  delay  in  sowing  Turnips  on  a 
comparatively  laTge  scale,  as  it  is  just  possible  roots  resulting  from  later 
sowings  will  not  be  large  enough  for  storing  before  frosts  intervene. 
Soaking  the  drills  with  liquid  manure  prompts  a  strong  early  growth  of 
plants. 
Stray  Swarms. 
During  a  spell  of  excessive  heat  it  is  often  difficult  to  control  the 
swarming  propensities  of  bees,  and  the  past  month  has  been  no  exception 
to  the  rule,  as  stray  swarms  have  been  seen  in  all  directions.  Where 
they  have  come  from  it  is  difficult  to  say,  as  in  very  few  instances 
were  They  observed  when  leaving  their  hives  It  is,  however,  not 
difficult  to  account  for  this,  as  when  the  sun  is  shining  directly  on  the 
entrance  to  a  strong  colony  and  the  temperature  is  high,  the  bees  will 
swarm  and  go  straight  away  without  clustering,  and  as  this  can  take 
place  in  two  minutes  or  less,  the  only  cause  for  surprise  is  that  there 
are  not  more  lost. 
It  is,  however,  somewhat  discouraging  to  a  beginner  who  has  a 
strong  colony  working  in  supers  to  find  the  bees  have  swarmed  and 
deserted  their  supers  just  at  a  time  when  honey  was  coming  in  freely. 
This  may  in  a  general  way  be  prevented  by  shading,  ventilating,  and 
providing  room  in  advancement  of  the  bees’  requirements.  If  this  is 
neglected  for  only  twenty-four  hours,  and  queen  cells  are  commenced, 
no  after  management  will  prevent  swarming.  If  the  swarms  are  not 
lost  it  is  therefore  advisable  to  use  them  in  some  manner. 
During  the  past  few  days  we  have  been  consulted  as  to  the  best 
means  of  utilising  numerous  swarms  and  casts.  We  recommended 
putting  two  or  more  casts  together,  first  sprinkling  them  with  flour, 
allowing  the  queens  to  settle  the  matter  of  supremacy  between  them¬ 
selves.  It  is  also  an  advantage  to  unite  a  cast  to  a  first  swarm  when  it 
is  desirable  to  control  the  increase.  The  old  queen  should  first  be 
removed  ;  the  colony  will  then  be  headed  by  a  young  queen.  If  they 
have  been  hived  in  frame  hives  the  frames  may  be  lifted  out  and 
placed  alternately  in  a  hive.  If  this  is  done  quietly  no  fighting  will 
take  place  at  this  season.  Should  there  be  any  doubt  in  the  matter 
sprinkle  the  bees  with  flour,  which  is  much  better  than  using  syrup 
for  that  purpose,  as  the  latter  often  causes  robbing. 
Introducing  Young  Queens. 
It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  to  be  successful  in  bee  management 
attention  must  be  paid  to  rearing  young  queens.  If  previous  instruc¬ 
tions  have  been  carried  out  there  will  now  be  numerous  young  queens 
in  the  apiary  ready  for  introducing  to  such  colonies  as  require  them. 
As  has  been  often  stated,  a  queen  is  usually  at  her  best  the  second 
year,  therefore  stocks  which  are  headed  by  aged  queens,  which  in 
some  instances  will  doubtless  not  have  done  as  well  as  was  expected 
should  be  removed,  and  a  young  queen  hatched  this  year,  and  duly 
laying,  introduced.  It  is  "important  that  the  queen  is  fertile,  other¬ 
wise  she  may  turn  out  a  failure. 
There  are  various  ways  of  introducing  queens,  and  many  elaborate 
cages  are  made  for  that  purpose,  but,  as  in  many  other  things,  the 
simplest  way  is  the  best.  More  often  than  otherwise  when  introducing 
a  queen  ,to  a  stock  from  which  the  old  queen  has  been  removed  we  do 
net  use  a  cage  of  any  description,  but  go  quietly  at  night  and  turn 
back  the  corner  of  the  quilt,  and  let  the  queen  run  down  between  the 
frames  ;  they  are  then  covered  up  again  and  not  disturbed  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  when  the  queen  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  will  be  found 
all  right. 
Those  who  are  nervous  of  this  plan  may  make  a  cage  out  of  a 
piece  of  perforated  zinc,  which  will  answer  the  purpose  admirably. 
Take  a  piece  of  zinc  about  5  inches  square  and  turn  down  about  half 
an  inch  of  the  edge  at  right  angles.  These  edges  are  pressed  into  the 
comb  which  forms  a  cage  for  the  queen,  ffhe  bees  will  feed  her 
through  the  small  holes  in  the  zinc.  If  liberated  in  about  forty 
