November  23,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
461 
and  should  extend  as  far  as  the  branches.  If  liquid  manure  is  also  applied 
now  it  will  help  in  the  work  of  improvement. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. — Earliest  House. — To  have  ripe  fruit  in  April 
or  early  in  May  a  start  should  be  made  at  the  beginning  of  next  month, 
the  very  early  varieties,  Alexander  and  Waterloo,  giving  fruit  about  three 
weeks  earlier  than  Early  Louise,  and  a  month  or  more  before  Stirling 
Castle  and  Royal  George  Peaches,  while  Cardinal  ripens  considerably  in 
advance  of  Early  Rivers,  these  preceding  Lord  Napier  and  Stanwick 
Elruge  Nectarines.  The  trees  having  been  at  rest  some  time,  and 
previously  forced,  will  start  promptly,  but  those  not  before  started  early 
will  not  respond  so  quickly,  therefore  the  house  should  be  kept  close,  but 
admitting  air  freely  above  50°,  employing  fire  heat  only  to  prevent  the 
temperature  falling  below  35°.  Aim  at  slow,  gradual  development,  in  the 
growths  to  secure  sturdy,  m  ell  expanded  flowers,  with  strong  stamens  and 
anthers  well  laden  with  pollen,  and  the  pistils  stout  and  perfect.  The 
outside  border  must  be  protected  so  as  to  exclude  frost,  for  the  roots 
cannot  absorb  nourishment  from  the  soil  when  it  is  frozen.  A  thorough 
soaking  of  water  should  be  given  to  the  inside  border,  and  if  the  trees  are 
weakly  a  soaking  of  liquid  manure  (not  too  strong)  will  tend  to  a  more 
vigorous  break.  Sprinkle  the  trees  in  the  morning  and  afternoon  of 
bright  days,  but  do  not  keep  them  dripping  with  moisture,  especially  at 
nights,  for  that  has  a  weakening  tendency,  and  encourages  wood  rather 
than  blossom  development. 
Second  Early  Forced  House. — The  trees  to  be  started  at  the  new  year 
for  affording  ripe  fruit  at  the  end  of  May  or  early  in  June,  and  being  of 
the  second  early  and  midseason  varieties,  must  be  kept  as  cool  as 
possible.  The  lights  having  been  removed,  they  may  remain  off  until  the 
weather  becomes  very  severe  or  snow  falls,  when  they  should  be  replaced, 
after  thorough  cleaning,  repairing,  and,  if  need  be,  painting.  The  trees 
will  require  little  pruning  if  they  have  received  proper  attention  in  dis¬ 
budding,  reserving  only  the  growths  needful  for  extension  and  next  year’s 
crop,  and  cutting  out  that  which  has  borne  fruit  this  year  and  is  not 
required.  If  the  trees  have  been  affected  with  brown  scale  nothing  assists 
in  its  destruction  better  than  exposing  the  trees  to  frost.  Where  the 
lights  are  fixed  the  trees  may  be  syringed  with  water  at  a  temperatnre 
between  140°  and  160°,  this  will  bring  off  most  of  the  scale,  then  the  trees 
can  be  washed  with  a  solution  of  1  oz.  each  of  caustic  soda  (98  per  cent, 
purity)  and  commercial  potash  to  1J  gallon  of  water,  using  a  brush  and 
being  careful  not  to  dislocate  the  buds.  The  solution  must  not  be 
used  excessively.  Secure  the  trees  to  the  tiellis,  leaving  plenty  of  space 
in  the  ties  for  the  swelling  of  the  branches.  Remove  the  remains  of 
the  mulch  and  any  inert  surface  soil,  supply  fresh  turfy  loam  about 
2  inches  deep,  chopped  moderately  small,  adding  a  6-inch  potful  of 
steamed  bonemeal  and  twice  as  much  wood  ashes  to  every  3  bushels  of 
soil,  incorporating  well.  Ventilate  to  the  fullest  extent  except  when  the 
weather  is  severe,  and  see  that  the  soil  is  kept  moderately  moist. 
Succession  Houses. — The  trees  in  the  house  to  bo  started  with  the 
advent  of  February  to  ripen  their  fruit  late  in  June  or  early  in  July 
should  be  subjected  to  the  same  treatment  as  advised  for  trees  in  the 
j-econd  early  house.  It  is  bad  practice  to  leave  houses  and  trees  unattended 
to  after  the  leaves  fall  until  the  time  of  closing  the  structures,  and 
favours  insects  pests  immensely.  The  trees  can  never  be  handled  so  safely, 
either  for  needful  cleaning  and  pruning  or  eradication  of  insects,  as  when 
the  buds  are  least  active,  which  is  as  soon  as  the  leaves  have  fallen,  and 
the  insects  are  reached  before  they  have  time  and  are  obliged  by  cold  to 
make  their  retreat  to  safe  quarters.  Such  pests  as  brown  aphis  live  on 
the  growths  constantly.  Any  shoots  infested  should  be  cleansed  with  a 
brush  dipped  in  tobacco  water.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  use  houses  of 
this  kind  for  plants,  especially  Chrysanthemums,  but  it  is  fatal  to  that 
rest  essential  to  the  success  of  Peach  trees,  and  a  primary  cause  of  the 
buds  subsequently  dropping.  The  better  plan  is  to  let  the  water  run  out 
of  the  hot-water  pip<s  and  remove  the  roof-lights. 
The  house  to  be  started  early  in  March  for  the  trees  to  ripen  their 
fruit  early  in  August  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed,  as  the  trees  are  now 
leafless,  and  require  pruning  and  dressing  as  advised  for  the  second  early 
forced  trees  in  every  particular.  It  is  an  old  and  excellent  practice  to 
empty  the  hot-water  pipes  and  remove  the  roof-lights,  leaving  them  off 
until  the  blossoms  show  colour,  or  admit  air  to  the  fullest  extent  in  all 
weathers,  for  no  amount  of  frost  will  injure  the  wood,  provided  it  is 
thoroughly  ripe. 
Late  House. — This  can  hardly  be  called  a  forcing  structure,  yet  there 
should  be  means  of  affording  a  genial  heat  when  the  trees  are  in  blossom, 
and  for  accelerating  the  ripening  of  the  fruit  as  may  be  desired,  also  for 
maturing  the  wood  in  cold  districts.  The  trees  under  ordinary  circum¬ 
stances  will  come  into  flower  during  April,  and  ripen  their  fruit  at  the 
end  of  August  and  during  September.  Cut  out  all  wood  that  has  borne 
iruit,  if  not  otherwise  required.  Do  not  allow  the  soil  to  become  dry,  but 
give  a  thorough  soaking  of  water  if  necessary.  If  the  wood  does  not 
ripen  well  employ  fire  heat  by  day  with  moderate  ventilation,  and  turn  it 
off  in  the  afternoon,  so  as  to  have  the  pipes  cool  before  the  night,  and 
then  open  all  the  ventilators  unless  keen  frosts  prevail.  The  house  must 
otherwise  be  kept  cool  by  free  ventilation,  and  the  fallen  leaves  cleared 
away.  Late  Peaches  are  valuable,  and  when  well  grown  good  in  quality. 
If  any  of  the  trees  grow  too  luxuriantly,  root-pruning  and  lifting  must 
be  attended  to  without  delay.  With  proper  treatment  the  crop  for  next 
year  will  not  be  prejudiced.  In  lifting  the  trees  do  not  manipulate  the 
roots  too  much,  and  do  not  lift  them  before  the  wood  becomes  firm. 
Rectify  the  drainage  if  defective. 
I 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
■  i  ~  -  T~- 
■  r  - 1-  i  ~T  ■ 
Packing  Honey 
Next  in  importance  to  having  a  good  harvest  of  honey  is  knowing 
how  to  place  it  on  the  market  in  proper  condition,  which  means  that 
the  produce  must  be  so  packed  that  it  will  travel  by  road  or  rail 
without  being  damaged  in  transit.  Bee-keepers  are  often  at  a 
disadvantage  in  this  respect,  as  to  obtain  pure  honey  of  the  best 
quality  the  bees  must  be  kept  in  the  country.  After  the  harvest  is 
over  bee-keepers  are  on  the  alert  to  find  customers  for  their  produce, 
and  as  they  are  often  situated  many  miles  from  a  town  or  a  railway 
station  it  is  manifest  to  all,  unless  the  honey  is  carefully  packed  it 
will  not  reach  its  destination  in  good  condition. 
Country  roads  are  now  much  improved,  but  are  not  yet  perfection, 
and  the  jolting  over  rough  stones  in  a  carrier’s  waggon  or  a  cart  without 
springs  often  does  more  damage  than  when  the  package  is  left  to  the 
tender  mercy  of  the  railway  porters  and  a  long  railway  journey.  That 
this  is  not  overdrawn  will  be  acknowledged  when  we  say  that  in  our 
immediate  neighbourhood  the  above  are  the  only  means  the  smaller 
bee-keepers  have  of  disposing  of  their  produce,  as  the  nearest  town  is 
about  ten  miles  away  and  the  railway  station  nearly  as  far. 
Personally  we  have  no  reason  to  complain,  as  by  careful  attention 
to  the  details  of  packing  we  invariably  find  that  whether  in  the  comb, 
or  run  honey  in  glass  jars,  it  reaches  its  destination  in  as  good 
condition  as  from  bee-keepers  more  favourably  situated,  although  it 
may  have  travelled  some  hundreds  of  miles  by  rail  after  a  long  journey 
by  road,  which,  as  before  stated,  is  not  always  of  the  best. 
Packing  Run  Honey. 
For  packing  run  honey  in  bulk,  we  find  that  tradesmen  who  do 
their  own  bottling  prefer  having  it  in  large  tins,  with  a  treacle  tap  at 
the  bottom.  The  bottling  may  then  be  done  at  a  rapid  rate.  Tins  of 
this  description  can  be  placed  in  a  strong  box,  to  prevent  the  tap 
being  damaged  when  sent  by  rail.  If  sent  by  road  to  be  delivered 
the  box  is  not  necessary.  The  advantage  of  disposing  of  honey  in 
bulk  wholesale  is  that  it  does  away  with  all  risk,  such  as  is  attached 
to  glass  jars. 
For  smaller  quantities  in  bulk  the  patent  self-opening  tins  are 
excellent.  These  are  made  in  various  sizes,  to  hold  14  lbs.,  28  lbs., 
and  56  lbs.  The  best  system  we  have  found  for  piacking  tins  of  this 
description  is  to  obtain  some  strong  boxes  from  a  grocer.  Two  or 
more  tins  are  placed  in  each  box,  space  being  left  between  each  tin 
and  .he  sides  of  the  box, 'which  must  be  filled  with  hay  or  some 
other  packing  material,  taking  care  that  it  is  pressed  in  very  firmly. 
We  also  use  brown  earthenware  ]ars,  These  are  made  to  hold 
7  lbs.  and  14  lbs. ;  they  have  a  wide  mouth  and  a  loose  movable  lid. 
These  may  be  packed  in  the  same  manner  as  recommended  for  tins. 
It  is,  however,  necessary  to  place  a  double  thickness  of  soft  paper 
round  the  lid ;  this  will  hold  it  firm,  and  prevent  it  being  broken ; 
and  if  a  stout  piece  of  brown  paper  is  tied  tightly  over  the  mouth  of 
the  jar,  the  honey  will  not  be  damaged  should  the  package  be 
accidentally  turned  over. 
In  packing  run  honey  in  1  lb.  glass  jars  to  travel  a  long  distance, 
we  prefer  a  box  divided  with  laths,  so  that  squares  are  formed,  into 
which  a  jar  is  dropped.  Boxes  should  not  be  made  too  large ;  those 
holding  two  dozen  are  a  convenient  size.  Another  plan  that  we  adopt 
for  glass  jars  is  to  select  a  box  the  same  depth,  or  an  inch  deeper, 
than  the  jar.  We  then  place  a  roll  of  paper  round  each  jar,  and  the 
intervering  space  round  the  sides  cf  the  box  is  packed  firmly  with 
the  same  material,  and  if  there  is  any  space  left  between  the  top  of 
the  bottles  and  the  lid  of  the  box  some  more  paper  should  be  used, 
so  that  they  cannot  move  if  turned  over  on  ODe  side. 
Packing  Comb  Honey. 
More  care  is  required  in  packing  honey  in  the  comb  than  run 
honey.  Firm  packing,  however,  is  all  that  is  required,  if  the  face 
of  the  comb  has  been  previously  made  secure  from  damage,  either 
by  glazing  or  by  fastening  each  half  a  dozen  sections  in  paper  with 
a  piece  of  stout  cardboard  at  each  end.  When  tied  up  in  packages 
of  this  description  there  is  less  danger  of  them  becoming  damaged 
in  transit  than  when  placed  separately  in  rows  in  a  box. 
These  should  be  packed  in  boxes  having  a  layer  of  soft  hay  at 
the  bottom.  They  must  be  well  padded  round  the  sides  wdth  the 
same  material,  firmness  in  packing  being  most  important.  If  packing 
is  done  on  the  above  lines  they  may  be  sent  by  goods  train,  and 
should  be  labelled  “  Honey,  with  care.” — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
English  Fruit  &  Rose  Co.,  Hereford. — Roses  and  Fruit  Trees. 
Hogg  &  Robertson,  Dublic. — Forest  Trees 
Hogg  &  Wood,  Coldstream. — Nursery  Stock. 
