.  October  26.  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
369 
The  most  fruitful  Plum  trees  are  low  standards  and  informally  trained 
bushes  with  space  to  extend  and  the  branches  originated  at  suitable 
distances.  After  a  few  years’  growth  Plum  trees  may  be  found  too 
vigorous.  They  ought  then  to  be  lifted  and  replanted  in  firm  soil. 
Shorten  back  any  long  strong  roots,  and  prune  smoothly  the  ends  of  any 
injured  in  lifting. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Cherry  House. — The  trees  have  cast  their  leaves  and  should  be  pruned. 
Cut  back  to  within  an  inch  of  the  base  shoots  which  were  made  during 
the  summer  and  stopped  at  the  fifth  joint.  This  applies  to  all  spui 
growths,  but  the  extensions  and  growths  for  forming  branches  to  furnish 
the  trees  should  not  be  shortened,  unless  they  have  reached  the  extremity 
of  the  trellis,  or  when  it  is  necessary  to  multiply  the  shoots  another 
season.  The  house  should  then  be  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  the  trees 
washed  with  a  solution  of  paraffin  and  softsoap,  2  or  3  ozs.  to  a  gallon  of 
water.  Then  limewash  the  walls  with  best  fresh  lime  and  a  handful  of 
flowers  of  sulphur  in  each  pailful.  Clear  away  all  prunings  and  other 
matter.  Remove  the  loose  soil  or  mulching  on  the  border.  If  the  roots 
are  near  the  surface  and  fully  occupy  the  soil  a  light  pointing  over  may 
be  all  that  can  be  done  prior  to  top-dressing,  with  an  inch  or  two  thickness 
of  fresh  rich  loam,  but  no  opportunity  should  be  lost  of  removing  inert 
soil  and  changing  it  for  fresh  turfy  loam  of  a  calcareous  nature.  The 
lights  being  off  they  need  not  be  replaced  until  the  time  for  starting  or 
the  approach  of  severe  weather.  Under  fixed  roofs  attention  will  need 
to  be  given  the  borders  for  watering,  keeping  them  evenly  moistened 
through,  ventilating  the  house  fully  at  all  times  up  to  starting. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. — Earliest  House . — The  trees  in  this  structure 
have  been  at  rest  for  some  time,  the  roof-lights  having  been  removed 
when  the  wood  was  sufficiently  firm  and  the  buds  formed,  but  not  over¬ 
developed.  The  house  was  thoroughly  cleaned  when  the  leaves  were  all 
down,  the  trees  untied,  pruned,  dressed  with  an  improved  insecticide, 
re-arranged  and  tied  on  the  trellis,  the  border  surface  dressed,  all  put  into 
complete  order  ready  for  a  start  at  the  proper  time,  and  they  are  now  in 
a  promising  condition.  The  roof-lights  will  not  be  replaced  until  early 
in  December.  Where  the  roof-lights  have  not  been  removed  strenuously 
avoid  allowing  the  soil  to  become  dry  at  the  roots  of  the  trees,  as  this  is 
sufficient  to  cause  the  buds  to  fall. 
If  the  trees  are  weakly  and  the  buds  plenteous,  a  supply  of  liquid 
manure  will  be  of  great  benefit.  It  is  also  advisable  to  remove  the 
surface  soil  down  to  the  roots,  take  some  of  the  old  from  amongst 
them,  and  supply  fresh  loam,  not  covering  the  roots  near  the  collar  more 
than  2  or  3  inches,  top-dressing  with  a  fertiliser.  Borders  that  have  a 
close  moist  surface,  and  are  rich  in  humus  through  heavy  dressings  ot 
manure,  may  be  dressed  with  air-slaked  lime,  using  about  a  bushel  per 
rod,  and  mixing  it  with  the  soil  as  deeply  as  practicable  without  disturb¬ 
ing  the  roots  to  any  great  extent,  and  operating  on  both  the  inside  and 
outside  borders.  Complete  the  pruning  and  dressing  of  the  trees,  cleans¬ 
ing  the  house,  and  admitting  all  the  air  possible. 
Second  Early  House. — This  is  the  first  in  some  places  the  trees  being 
started  at  the  new  year  ;  they  have  been  leafless  nearly  a  month  and  should 
be  pruned,  after  untying,  dressed  and  re-arranged  on  the  trellis.  This, 
with  a  thorough  cleaning  of  the  house,  makes  an  end  of  many  insects.  In 
pruning  early  forced  trees  it  is  not  desirable  to  cut  away  too  much  wood, 
or  proceed  on  any  hard-and-fast  lines,  but  confine  it  to  removing  any 
useless  parts  that  have  escaped  removal  at  thinning  after  the  fruit  was 
gathered,  and  shortening  any  long  shoots  to  a  double  or  triple  bud, 
making  sure  that  one  of  them  is  a  wood  bud.  This  will  mainly  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  originate  growths  at  the  required  place  for  furnishing  the  tree,  for 
shoots  that  are  well  ripened  need  not  be  shortened,  and  those  of  8  to 
12  inches  length  should  be  left  entire,  as  they'  usually  have  a  few  wood 
buds  at  the  base  and  one  at  the  extremity,  those  between  these  points 
being  generally  blossom  buds.  It  is.  however,  a  mistake  to  retain  much 
wood,  which  weakens  the  trees  in  flowering,  and  there  is  not  space  to 
train  in  the  young  growths  without  crowding.  Treat  the  trees  in  other 
respects  as  advised  for  the  earliest  forced,  also  the  house  and  border. 
Succession  Houses. — The  trees  in  the  structures  started  in  February  or 
March  will  now  be  leafless  or  nearly  so,  and  should  be  subjected  to 
similar  treatment  to  the  earlier  ones,  losing  no  opportunity  of  pushing 
forward  the  pruning,  dressing  the  trees,  and  having  all  needful  work 
done.  If  the  wood  is  thoroughly  ripened  the  roof-lights  may  be  removed 
with  advantage.  Where  the  roof-lights  are  not  movable  do  not  allow  the 
soil  to  become  dry,  and  admit  air  to  the  fullest  extent,  securing  as  com¬ 
plete  rest  as  possible.  Any  trees  growing  too  luxuriantly  or  not  setting 
and  storing  the  the  fruit  well,  should  be  root-pruned  or  lifted. 
Late  Houses. — The  late  varieties  are  over  sooner  this  year  than  usual, 
and  the  trees  are  shedding  their  leaves.  It  will  be  advisable  to  remove 
the  roof-lights  as  soon  as  the  foliage  is  sufficiently  advanced,  but  where 
green  leaves  hang  late  it  is  an  indication  of  unripe  wood,  and  the  roof- 
tights  must  not  be  removed  for  some  time  longer.  If  this  condition 
prevail  generally  in  the  trees  they  should  be  lifted  carefully  and  the  roots 
pruned.  When  this  is  performed  judiciously  it  will  not  prejudice  next 
year’s  crop,  but  it  must  be  done  when  most  of  the  leaves  are  down  and 
the  wood  firm,  keeping  the  house  rather  close,  the  trees  syringed,  and 
shaded  if  the  weather  be  bright.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  as  to  the 
weather  these  precautions  are  not  necessary.  It  is  only  when  the  trees  are 
green  and  the  wood  unripe  that  the  careful  treatment  is  necessary. 
In  the  case  of  young  trees  it  will  suffice  to  take  out  a  trench  oue-third 
the  distance  from  the  stem  the  trees  cover  of  trellis  and  down,  so  as  to 
cut  off  all  roots  to  the  drainage,  leaving  the  trench  open  for  a  fortnight, 
not  allowing  the  soil  in  the  radius  to  become  so  dry  as  to  distress  the 
foliage  to  a  severe  degree  of  flagging,  but  not  giving  any  water  so  long  as- 
the  leaves  maintain  their  persistence,  and  then  the  trench  may  be  filled 
in,  making  the  soil  firm.  This  will  check  the  tendency  to  exuberance  and 
late  growth,  ripen  the  wood  and  plump  the  buds.  Luxuriant  trees 
which  may  not  safely  be  bodily  lifted  on  account  of  their  long,  strong, 
and  few  roots,  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  and  a  year  after  they 
can  be  lifted. 
r.  t  .  i  ■  t  •  i .  i  •  i  •  i  -  i  •  i~ ~rr 
Making  Hives  Rain-proof.  R 
What  is  termed  the  busy  season  in  the  apiary  is  now  over ;  stocks 
have  been  well  supplied  with  stores,  extra  coverings  have  been  placed 
over  the  frames,  and  the  bees  are  in  good  condition  for  withstanding 
the  many  changes  that  will  doubtless  take  place  in  the  weather 
before  the  fruit  trees  again  burst  into  blossom  next  spring. 
There  are,  however,  many  things  that  may  be  done  in  the  apiary 
during  the  dull  days  of  Avinter.  One  of  the  most  important  is  the 
examination  of  all  the  hives  in  use ;  whether  they  be  made  of  wood  or 
are  straw  skeps,  all  should  have  attention  to  see  that  they  are 
thoroughly  rain-proof.  In  'making  an  examination  of  a  hive  which 
may  be  crowded  with  bees  at  this  date,  it  is  not  advisable  or  necessary 
to  disturb  them,  unless  the  hive  is  in  a  bad  state  of  decay. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  it  will  be  found  the  bees  were  placed  in 
sound  strong  frame  hives.  These  after  being  exposed  to  several 
months  of  bright  sunshine,  will  in  many  instances  be  found  to  be  not 
quite  rain-proof.  This  may  be  at  once  detected  if  after  a  very  heavy 
shower  of  rain  the  roof  is  removed  and  the  coverings  on  the  top  of  the 
frames  are  wet.  A  remedy  should  be  found  forthwith.  We  recommend 
the  painting  of  all  hives  in  the  autumn,  aud  as  we  are  now  having  a 
spell  of  fine  weather  no  time  should  be  lost  in  doing  all  that  is  neces¬ 
sary.  If  every  hive  has  one  coat  of  paint  every  autumn,  it  will 
usually  keep  them  in  good  condition.  All  cracks  in  the  wood  should  be 
well  filled  with  putty  and  afterwards  painted  ;  this  in  ordinary 
cases  will  be  quite  sufficient  if  paint  made  from  the  best  white  lead  is 
used. 
At  this  season  very  few  bees  are  on  the  wing,  so  it  is  possible  to 
paint  the  hives  as  they  stand  in  the  apiary  without  disturbing  the 
bees.  The  floor  boards  should  not  be  done,  and  if  the  bees  are  at  all 
troublesome  the  front  part  of  the  hive  may  be  left  until  late  in  the 
afternoon,  when  all  the  bees  will  have  returned  to  the  hive.  The 
painting  may  then  be  finished,  and  it  will  be  lound  to  be  perfectly 
dry  the  following  morning. 
If  the  coverings  and  interior  of  the  hive  are  perfectly  dry,  it  will 
still  be  an  advantage  to  give  it  a  coat  of  paint  to  prevent  decay.  Bees 
have  not  such  an  aversion  to  paint  as  some  people  imagine,  as  they 
may  often  be  found  on  neighbouring  buildings  alighting  on  the  newly 
painted  wood,  doubtless  attracted  by  the  smell,  which  does  not  injure 
them. 
Repairing  Hives. 
However  careful  a  bee-keeper  may  be,  after  being  at  the  business 
for  several  years  he  will  find  his  hives  get  out  of  repair,  unless  they 
have  timely  attention  as  advised.  They  will  then,  as  might  be 
expected,  last  longer  than  if  left  to  chance.  Still,  with  every  care  and 
attention,  we  have  found  some  of  our  best  made  hives,  where  the  roofs 
are  made  of  wood,  have  not  been  rain-proof.  It  is  surprising  the  large 
amount  of  moisture  a  knot  in  the  wood  will  admit ;  a  perfect  cure  for 
this  is  a  piece  of  calico  cut  larger  than  the  damaged  wood.  This 
should  be  painted  on  both  sides,  and  then  strained  over  the  place 
intended  to  be  repaired.  It  must  then  receive  another  coat  of  paint, 
which,  when  dry,  nothing  will  remove,  and  water  will  not  penetrate 
through  it.  Nails  must  not  be  used,  as  they  will  in  time  work  loose, 
and  the  moisture  will  be  again  admitted  to  the  hive. 
If  the  sides  of  a  hive  are  at  all  decayed,  it  is  much  better  to  smash 
the  hive  to  pieces  and  make  a  new  one,  which  any  amateur  may  do 
if  he  has  a  well  made  hive  to  work  from.  If  it  is  only  the  root  that 
requires  repairing  it  may  easily  be  done  by  covering  it  with  thin  zinc. 
It  will  then  be  thoroughly  waterproof.  It  is  not  advisable  to  drive 
any  nails  through  the  top  of  the  roof.  The  zinc  should  be  nailed 
rcund  the  edges  of  the  roof,  allowing  it  to  lap  a  couple  of  inches 
underneath.  Roofs  treated  in  this  manner  will  keep  in  good  condition 
for  many  years. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOG-UES  RECEIVED. 
W.  H.  Hudson,  199,  High  Road,  Kilburn.— Bulbs. 
J.  Jefferies  &  Sons,  Cirencester. — Roses  and  Trees. 
W.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross.—  Wholesale  Rose  and  Tree  List. 
