154 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  17,  1899. 
difficult  to  make  some  old-fashioned  bee-keepers  we  have  met  believe 
that  the  drone  is  the  male  bee,  ami  directly  its  functions  are  over  and 
food  is  becoming  scarce  the  workers  turn  them  out  of  the  hive  and 
destroy  them. 
One  sure  sign  oi  a  colony  having  a  fertile  queen  is  the  turning 
odt  of  the  drones.  A  queenless  stock  never  kills  off  the  drones, 
although  they  may  be  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  instinct  having 
taught  them  that  without  the  drones  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain 
a  fertile  queen.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  activity  of  the  bees 
after  a  queen  has  beeu  given  to  them  after  being  without  one  probably 
for  several  weeks,  instead  of  remaining  about  the  entrance  to  the 
hive  in  a  quiet  listless  manner.  The  drones,  too,  will  be  at  once 
killed  off.  During  the  past  few  days  we  have  united  some  driven 
bees  of  stocks  of  this  description;  the  following  morning  the  drones 
were  found  turned  out  on  the  alighting  board.  During  a  spell  of 
dull  weather  in  the  height  of  the  season  drone  brood  is  often  turned 
out  of  the  cells,  but  is  replaced  again  directly  fine  weather  sets  in. 
— 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  HOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
4  leet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  pne  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. 
Cypripedimn  venustom  (/.  C.  S.).— The  leaves  are  like,  if  not  thos® 
of,  the  species  named.  The  best  soil  for  it  is  a  mixture  of  two  parts  good 
peat,  one  part  of  chopped  sphagnum,  one  part  of  thoroughly  decayed  leaf 
mould,  and  a  portion  of  sharp  silver  sand.  In  potting  an  important 
point  for  consideration  is  drainage.  This  must  be  thoroughly  effective, 
for,  as  the  plant  has  no  pseudo-bulbs  to  sustain  it,  it  must  not  be  dried 
off,  as  many  other  Orchids  are,  during  winter,  and  if  the  drainage  is 
defective  the  roots  are  sure  to  decay  and  the  leaves  shrivel.  Cypripedium 
venustum  is  a  cool-houses  species,  native  of  Nepaul,  and  flowers  during 
the  winter. 
Pear  Tree  Dying  (F.). — The  leaves  do  not  reveal  any  malignant 
micro-organism,  and  the  wood  of  the  shoots  is  quite  sound,  also  the  pith  and 
bark.  The  seat  of  the  disease  or  injury  causing  the  sudden  browning  and 
withering  of  the  leaves  is  situated  lower  down,  perhaps  at  the  junction  of 
stock  and  scion,  which  is  sometimes  affected  by  a  fungus,  the  mycelium 
living  in  the  cambial  layer,  or  between  the  inner  bark  and  outer  wood, 
and  girdling  the  stem  of  the  scion  causes  the  sudden  collapse  of  the 
foliage,  commonly  termed  “  fire  blight.”  This  has  been  regarded  as  due 
to  “  bacteria,  ’  but  the  bacteria-like  organisms  are  nothing  more  than 
the  organisms  by  which  the  fungus  produces  a  ferment,  and  thus  breaks 
down  living  cells  or  tissue  of  the  host  plant.  An  excellent  example 
was  forwarded  to  us  last  season,  and  we  were  able  to  trace  the  work  of 
the  fungus  in  the  junction  part  of  the  stock  and  scion  till  the  latter 
was  girdled  and  the  tree  had  died,  apparently  from  “fire  blight.” 
Sometimes,  however,  the  fungus  attacks  the  roots  and  spreads  upwards 
in  the  stem  to  the  point  named  and  there  girdles  the  stem,  then  the 
tree  dies.  We  have  also  known  the  roots  destroyed  by  an  overdose  of 
liquid  manure,  when  the  foliage  suddenly  collapses.  In  some  instances, 
happily  uncommon,  similar  disaster  arises  from  poisonous  substances 
purposely  applied  by  evil-disposed  persons,  but  of  that,  in  this  case,  we 
•can  form  no  opinion. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  for  Early  and  Snccessional  Houses  {Practice). 
— Earlv  house — Peaches:  Hale’s  Early  and  Royal  George  ;  Nectarines: 
Early  Rivers  and  S  anwick  Elruge.  Succession  house — Peaches  :  ABec 
and  Bellegardeor  Dyraond  ;  Nectarines  :  Lord  Napier  and  Pineapple. 
'Pruning  Gooseberries  and  Currants  ( 0 .  F.).  —  The  bushes  should 
be  left  alone  until  the  leaves  have  fallen,  then  they  must  be  pruned.  The 
old  Gooseberry  bushes  may  be  improved  by  thinning  the  branches 
judiciously,  and  encouraging  young  wood  another  year.  Similar  remarks 
apply  to  Currants,  especially  black,  it  not  being  possible  to  have  good 
fruit  without  young  wood.  They  also  require  liberal  manuring. 
Pruning  Clematis  Jackmanni  {Idem). — The  only  thing  you  can  do 
now  is  to  thin  the  bushy  growths,  so  as  to  secure  thoroughly  ripened 
wood,  and  in  the  winter  or  early  spring  cut  the  growths  down  to  a  few 
buds  from  their  base.  By  this  procedure  you  ought  to  secure  plenty  of 
both  growth  and  flowers,  the  situation  being  open  or  well  exposed  to 
the  sun. 
“  Scum’’  from  a  Pond  for  Light  Garden  Soil  (/.  A.  C.  C.). — The  scum 
like  a  green  seaweed,  which  blan  hes  when  dried,  would  be  valuable  for 
putting  on  light  garden  soil  as  manure,  when  decayed,  both  as  a  conserver 
of  moisture  and  as  a  source  of  nitrogen  and  other  nutritive  elements.  We 
have  used  similar  after  mixing  /vith  lime,  one  part  best  chalk  or  limestone 
(not  magnesian),  freshly  burned  from  the  kiln,  to  twenty  parts  of  the 
“scum ’’-conferva,  placing  the  latter  in  layers  about  4  inches  thick,  and 
sprinkling  the  lime  on  each  layer.  In  about  six  weeks  the  heap  was 
turned  top  to  bottom  and  outside  to  inside,  and  in  another  six  weeks  the 
compost  was  used  as  a  top-dressing  both  in  the  garden  and  on  grass  land. 
According  to  Or.  Emil  Wolff,  the  “scum  ”  contains  about  10  per  cent,  of 
soda  in  its  ashes,  and  2£  per  cent,  ot  chlorine,  ihe  latter  probably  com¬ 
bined  with  the  soda  in  the  plant  as  common  salt,  hence  the  smell  of  salt. 
As  vegetable  mould,  it  would  probably  be  an  excellent  dressing  for 
Asparagus  beds.  We  have  found  nothing  better  for  these  than  the  debris 
of  the  rubbish  heap,  all  the  woody  portions  being  burned,  and  the  ashes 
mixed  with  the  compost. 
Worms  in  Soil  {A.  L.  J.)  — The  white  worms  live  on  dead  and  decay¬ 
ing  vegetable  matter,  and  perform  a  useful  office  in  the  economy  of  nature 
by  resolving  organic  matter  more  speedily  into  inorganic  compounds — 
the  essential  food  of  plants.  They  are  also  a  cause  of  “sickness”  in 
various  living  plants  by  sucking  the  root-hairs  and  tender  epidermal  root 
tissues,  setting  up  decay.  There  are  several  species  of  white  worms. 
Those  you  sent  in  the  leaf  mould  are  named  EnchytraeusJBuckholzi,  and 
attack  the  roots  of  Clover,  Peas,  and  other  leguminous  plants,  also 
Cucurbitacem,  such  as  Cucumbers,  Melons,  and  Vegetable  Marrows. 
They  are  about  as  large  to  the  unaided  eye  as  eelworms  are  when  seen 
by  the  aid  of  a  lens  enlarging  200  diameters,  or  about  11  inch  in  length. 
Air-slaked  lime,  which  is  only  partially  carbonate  of  lime,  not  quite  like 
chalk  or  whiting,  will  kill  them,  but  not  in  the  proportion  of  a  6-inch 
potful  to  a  barrowload  of  soil,  or  about  1  per  cent.,  1  in  100,  for  the 
lime  scarcely  permeates  through  so  large  a  mass,  while  it  loses  causticity 
rapidly  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of  organic  matter  present.  Two 
and  a  halt  per  cent,  we  find  necessary,  but  as  this  may  be  injurious  to 
some  plants,  we  frequently  scald  the  mould  sometime  in  advance  of  using, 
and  thus  destroy  all  contained  pests.  Lime  water  is  also  effective, 
saturating  the  soil.  The  white  worms  have  no  connection  with  eelworms, 
except  as  belonging  to  the  great  division  of  the  animal  kingdom  called 
Vermes  or  Annelida. 
Hydrangea  hortensis  {Florist). — We  presume  you  mean  the  growing 
of  this  plant  in  a  dwarf  state  for  producing  one  fine  head  of  flowers. 
There  are  two  ways  : — 1,  Cuttings  taken  in  spring  from  young  growths 
that  are  not  bearing  flowers,  inserting  them  in  small  pots  singly,  and 
plunged  in  a  close  warm  frame.  When  rooted  the  plants  are  hardened, 
grown  in  low  houses  or  pits  during  the  summer,  and  well  ripened  in 
the  autumn  by  exposure  outside.  2,  Let  the  old  plants  grow  all  the 
season,  and  in  August  select  the  tops  of  the  most  promising — the  strongest, 
sturdiest,  and  most  prominent  shoots  ;  make  these  into  cuttings,  which 
insert  singly  in  3-inch  pots,  and  plunge  in  a  little  bottom  heat,  but 
not  in  an  enclosed  frame.  The  object  is  to  encourage  the  formation  of 
roots  only,  and  when  the  cuttings  are  rooted  gradually  harden,  and 
expose  the  plants  to  full  sunshine  and  plenty  of  air  in  the  autumn,  to 
insure  thorough  ripening.  When  the  leaves  fade  water  should  be  with¬ 
held,  and  the  plants  kept  dry  (but  not  so  dry  as  to  cause  shrivelling  of 
the  wood)  in  a  cool  greenhouse,  or  plunged  in  a  frame,  all  the  winter. 
About  February,  or  earlier  if  desired,  they  are  transferred  to  5  or  6-inch 
pots,  and  placed  in  a  temperature  of  about  55°.  The  plants  quickly  start 
into  growth,  and  the  shoots  soon  show  the  embryonic  flower  heads  that 
have  been  formed  in  the  buds  the  previous  season,  the  corymb  of  flowers 
usually  appearing  after  the  formation  of  the  fourth  pair  of  leaves.  All 
the  plants,  however,  do  not  show  for  flower,  as  they  may  not  have  been 
sufficiently  strong,  but  they  will  do  so,  if  at  all,  at  the  fourth  pair  of 
leaves.  These  non-flowering  plants  may  either  be  thrown  away  or  kept 
for  flowering  another  year.  The  late  summer-rooted  cuttings  produce 
useful  dwarf  flowering  plants  in  the  spring  or  early  summer,  not  exceeding 
1  foot  in  height.  Spring-rooted  cuttings  grown  in  pots  for  the  next  year 
are  much  stronger  and  taller  in  proportion.  By  the  methods  given  the 
old  plants  are  thrown  away  after  flowering,  unless  required  for  bush 
specimens  or  for  supplying  cuttings,  when  they  may  be  cut  down, 
repotted,  and  grown  in  pots,  or  be  planted  out  in  the  open  air.  A  new 
stock,  therefore,  should  be  propagated  annually.  When  the  pots  are 
filled  with  roots  copious  supplies  of  water  are  needed  as  growth  proceeds, 
with  occasional  applications  of  clear  soot  water,  for  securing  rich  green 
foliage  and  supporting  noble  heads  of  flowers. 
