November  30,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
485 
strong  and  even  break  without  loss  by  bleeding  when  the  time  arrives 
for  forcing  ;  cleansing  the  house  and  Vines  as  soon  as  the  latter  are  leaf¬ 
less  and  the  crops  cleared  prevents  pests  hybernating.  Remove  the  loose 
surface  soil  and  give  fresh  material,  and  a  sprinkling  of  steamed 
bonemeal,  or  some  approved  fertiliser  may  be  similarly  employed. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Broccoli.  — Cauliflowers  have  been  particularly  good  this  autumn,  the 
supply  holding  out  later  than  usual.  As  a  consequence,  there  has  been 
less  need  to  cut  early  Broccoli  so  closely,  and  with  a  little  good  manage¬ 
ment  there  ought  to  be  no  difficulty  in  maintaining  a  continuous  and  highly 
appreciated  supply  of  these  till  long  past  midwinter.  Much  may  be  done 
by  heavily  and  closely  covering  advanciug  and  forward  hearts  with  old 
leaves  from  plants,  the  hearts  of  which  have  already  been  cut,  but  where 
deep  pits,  vineries  and  Peach  houses,  kept  cool,  are  available,  a  good  por¬ 
tion  of  the  early  Broccoli  should  be  lifted,  with  some  soil  about  the  roots, 
and  stored  in  these  places.  The  lower  older  leaves  may  be  snapped  off, 
and  the  plants  can  tnen  be  bedded  in  rather  thickly.  The  roots  should 
have  rich  soil  firmly  packed  about  them,  also  be  kept  constantly  moist,  and 
this  will  assist  the  plants  in  forming  medium  sized  hearts.  Throw  mats 
over  them  in  the  event  of  very  severe  frost.  Failing  these  conveniences, 
lift  some  or  all  of  the  early  Broccoli  and  heel-in  closely  on  a  warm  border, 
packing  a  little  manure  about  the  roots. 
Celery. — A  short  spell  of  severe  frost,  which  we  sometimes  experi¬ 
ence  in  December,  ought  always  to  be  anticipated.  Late  Celery  has 
continued  growing  freely  up  to  the  present  time,  and  if  badly  frosted 
before  the  final  moulding  takes  place  will  not  keep  long.  The  stalks 
should  be  drawn  well  together, and  surrounded  with  fine  soil.  Aheap 
of  dry  straw)  litter  or  bracken  should  be  kept  in  readiness  for  covering 
over  the  exposed  tops  when  severe  frost  is  anticipated  ;  or  boards  nailed 
together  in  the  form  of  a  V  and  inverted  over  the  tops  make  a  cleaner 
and  equally  effective  form  of  protection.  The  roots  of  Celeriac  may  be 
stored  and  protected  similarly  to  Turnips. 
Rhubarb. — Large  old  clumps  of  early  Rhubarb  lifted  with  some  soil 
about  the  roots  moved  into  a  Mushroom  house  and  surrounded  with 
rich,  moist  soil  will  not  be  long  in  producing  numerous  tender,  juicy, 
blanched  stalks,  and  this  is  the  simplest  way  to  force  it.  Rhubarb  is 
not  nearly  so  good  when  forced  in  a  dry  heat  and  exposed  to  the  light, 
a  hint  that  should  not  be  lest  on  those  who  utilise  heated  pits  for  forcing. 
There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  old  plan  of  covering  the  clumps 
where  established  in  the  open  ground,  with  deep  tubs,  or  the  deep 
earthenware  pots  to  be  obtained  from  most  potteries  forming  a  mild  hot¬ 
bed  of  manure  or  manure  and  leaves  over  these.  Those  who  try  this 
method  of  forcing  for  the  first  time  are  advised  to  well  prepare  the 
manure  before  using,  as  the  rank  heat  may  prove  too  strong  for  the 
Rhubarb. 
Seakale. -It  is  a  pity  to  disturb  bid  many-crowned  plants  of  Seakale, 
these  giving  large  succulent  heads  when  forced  where  growing.  Cover  a 
number  every  fortnight  or  so  with  the  orthodox  Seakale  pot?,  <  r,  if  an)» 
thing  else  is  substituted,  they  must  have  lids  both  to  allow  heat  to  escape 
and  to  admit  of  the  produce  being  examined  occasionally  and  cut  when 
fit.  Cover  with  3  feet  to  4  feet  of  prepared  stable  manure  or  manure  and 
leaves  and  avoid  running  lisks.  For  lifting  and  forcing  strong  straight 
one-year-old  plants  are  the  best.  Seakale  should  be  kept  perfectly  dark 
during  the  forcing  period,  and  constantly  moist  at  the  roots.  It  may  be 
forced  in  a  temperature  ranging  from  60°  to  70°.  The  Lily  White  is  the 
best  form,  but  not  being  perfectly  hardy  the  crowns  ought  to  be  protected 
from  severe  frost. 
Tomatoes. — It  is  a  mistake  to  leave  young  Tomato  plants  in  the  seed 
pans  long  after  the  second  pair  of  leaves  have  formed.  Instead  of  this 
the  requisite  number  ought  to  be  carefully  lifted  and  placed  singly, 
sinking  them  deeply,  if  need  be,  in  2^-inch  pots  of  light  luamy  soil 
After  potting  the  best  places  for  them  are  stagings  raised  well  up  to  the 
light,  or  shelves  in  a  house,  the  temperature  of  which  ranges  from  55°  to 
60°.  Properly  looked  after,  sturdy  little  plants  should  result,  fit  for  their 
fruiting  quarters  early  in  January. 
liHE  BEE-KEEPER. 
L",  .  I  •  t  .  I  -  !  -  1  .  ,  .  I  -  ,  .  I  -  I  -  I  .  r-  I  ■  1  -  T  •  )  .  I  -  1  -  i  -  T~«’T«' 
FLOWERS  FOR  BEES. 
I  should  be  much  obliged  if  any  keeper  of  bees  would  supply  a  list 
of  such  plants  as  are  specially  useful  to  grow  in  a  garden  for  their 
honey. — Apiarian.  ______ 
Bee-keepers  may  do  much  to  assist  their  bees  by  utilising  exten¬ 
sively  such  trees,  plants  and  bulbs  that  will  yield  either  pollen  or  honey 
during  ten  months  of  the  year.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  Howers 
may  be  grown  in  sufficient  quantity  in  an  ordinary  garden  to  yield 
honey  for  bees  to  supply  their  daily  requirements  and  also  store  a 
surplus.  This  at  first  sight  may  appear  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to 
our  opening  remarks,  but  such  is  not  the  case. 
Anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  may  soon  form  a  correct  opinion 
as  to  the  number  of  flowers  it  would  be  necessary  to  grow  in  a  garden 
before  a  surplus  could  be  stored,  by  making  a  close  observation  of  an 
ordinary  sized  Apple  tree  when  in  full  bloom.  Thousands  of  Howers 
are  fully  expanded  on  one  solitary  tree.  It  may  be  there  are  hundreds 
of  similar  trees-  wreathed  with  blooms  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  bees  work  freely  on  all  our  hardy  fruit 
trees.  But  it  is  only  in  the  most  favoured  localities  that  a  surplus  is 
stored  from  this  source.  Daily  examination  of  the  hives  will  show 
that  the  bulk  of  the  honey  collected  is  used  by  the  bees  in  rearing  young 
brood,  which  at  that  season  will  increase  at  a  rapid  rate.  Ibis  will 
give  the  observer  some  idea  of  the  wide  expanse  of  flowers  it  will  be 
necessary  for  him  to  grow  in  his  garden  before  he  will  have  as  many 
individual  flowers  aB  is  contained  on  an  ordinary  sized  Apple  tree.  Let 
the  bee-keeper  grasp  the  fact  that  it  is  not  from  the  few  hundreds,  or 
it  may  be -thousands,  of  plants  grown  in  variety  in  the  garden  trom 
which  the  bees  will  store  a  surplus,  but  from  the  tens  of  thousands 
of  hardy  plants  in  the  woodlands,  hedgerows,  and  open  fields  throughout 
the  country  that  the  bulk  of  our  honey  is  obtained. 
Assisting  the  Bees. 
The  honey  season  is  short  in  this  country,  rarely  lasting  more  than 
three  or  four  weeks,  even  in  the  most  favoured  districts,  except  where 
a  late  harvest  is  obtained  from  the  Heather.  It  must  therefore  be  our 
aim  to  assist  the  bees  by  utilising  such  flowers  as  they  delight  to 
work  on  when  the  honey  producing  plants  are 'not  in  bloom  in  the 
open  fields.  We  lay  greater  stress  on  the  early  and  late  flowering 
trees  and  plants  than  on  those  that  bloom  at  midseason.  It  is  well 
known  bees  commence  breeding  early  in  the  year,  and  brood  may 
invariably  be  found  in  a  strong  colony  in  January.  It  is  necessary 
that  pollen  should  be  provided  for  them,  and  if  the  bees  can  obtain  it 
from  flowers  it  is  much  better  than  giving  it  to  them  artificially.  For 
thiB  reason  we  recommend  the  planting  of  Willows.  They  will  grow 
where  many  trees  will  not  exist.  They  all  yield  an  abundance  of 
pollen,  the  earliest  and  best  being  the  common  Palm  Willow.  Ibis  is 
followed  by  the  common  Berberry,  which  affords  an  abundance  of 
pollen.  Among  fruit  trees  the  Apricot  is  the  first  to  open  its  blossoms. 
Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  Cherries,  Gooseberries,  and  Currants  are  all 
excellent  for  the  bees,  whose  good  qualities  do  not  end  in  storing 
honey,  but  in  fertilising  our  fruit  trees  as  well.  W  hilst  mentioning 
hardy  trees  we  must  not  omit  the  Lime,  which  yields  an  abundance 
of  rich  honey. 
Garden  Flowers. 
In  the  garden  proper  many  annuals  and  heibaceous  plants  may  be 
planted,  as  the  majoriiy  of  them  yield  poll  n  more  or  less  abundantly. 
The  annuals  which  may  be  cultivated  lor  their  beauty,  as  wt  11  as  to 
benefit  the  Lees,  include  Mignonette  and  the  different  varieties  of 
Poppies,  the  former  yielding  both  honey  and  polleD,  and  the  latter 
only  pollen.  Seeds  should  be  sown  in  the  spring  as  well  as  at  mid¬ 
summer,  which  will  extend  their  season  of  blooming.  Limnanthus 
Douglasi,  more  often  called  “  the  Bee  Plant,’  is  a  dwarf-growing 
annual, which  will  reproduce  itself  freely  from  seed  when  once  established 
in  the  ground.  Wallflowers  are  too  well  known  to  need  description; 
they  are  be»t  tre  ated  as  annuals.  If  seed  is  sown  in  the  summer 
robust  plants  will  be  produced  by  the  following  autumn,  when  they 
may  be  placed  in  the  pennanent  positions.  lhe  garden  will  then  be 
gay  for  several  weeks  in  the  spring,  and  the  flowers  will  be  much 
visited  by  the  bees. 
Arabis  alpina  is  one  of  the  best  dwarf-flowering  bee  plants.  In 
warm  situations  it  commences  to  bloom  early  in  lebruary,  and 
continues  lor  at  least  two  months  Bees  work  on  many  of  the 
herbactous  plants,  from  which  pollen  chiefly  is  obtained.  The  majority 
of  the  Heleniums  are  excellent  for  this  purpose,  as  are  Michaelmas 
Daisies.  The  latter  also  bloom  at  a  time  when  pollen  is  becoming 
somewhat  scarce. 
Bulbs  should  not  he  omitted,  the  Winter  Aconite  being  one  of  the 
earliest  to  flower.  This  is  followed  by  the  Snowdrop  and  Crocus.  The 
latter  should  be  planted  in  quantity,  as  it  yields  an  abundance  of 
pollen.  All  the  different  varieties  of  Anemone  are  good  for  pollen,  so 
also  are  the  numerous  Tulips.  The  autumn  Crocus  (Colchicum 
autumnale)  should  not  be  omitted,  as  it  blooms  so  late  in  the  season. 
— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.— Secretar; , 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  175,  Victoria  Street,  S.W. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society.— 
Secretary ,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Baltiain,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund.-- Secretary,  Mr.  Brian  Wynne, 
8,  Danes  Inn,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 
