December  14,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
f)31 
a  very  close  and  too  damp  cr  a  dry  atmosphere.  Tie  up  the  Vines  in 
position  as  soon  as  growth  has  commenced  in  the  lowest  buds,  always 
before  the  shoots  are  so  long  as  to  be  damaged  by  the  process.  Dis¬ 
budding  should  not  be  practised  until  the  fruit  shows  in  the  points  of  the 
shoots. 
Houses  to  Have  Fruit  Ripe  in  May. — The  Vines  for  this  purpose  must  be 
started  without  delay,  for  quite  five  months  are  necessary  to  secure  fruit 
of  the  early  varieties  during  the  winter  and  spring  months.  To  facilitate 
this  and  to  save  fuel,  a  bed  of  stable  litter  and  leaves  in  equal  parts,  placed 
on  the  floor  of  the  house,  turning  a  portion  oi  it  daily,  so  as  to  supply 
ammonia,  is  useful.  The  outside  border  must  have  the  needful  protection 
from  cold  rain  and  snow.  If  the  roots  of  the  Vines  are  mainly  inside,  a 
covering  of  leaves  about  6  inches  thick,  and  a  little  litter  over  them 
to  prevent  them  beiDg  blown  about  by  wind,  will  afford  the  needful 
protection. 
Where  the  roots  are  chiefly  outside  a  covering  of  warm  litter  after 
the  Vines  break  will  materially  assist  root  action  and  the  supply  of 
nourishment,  two-thirds  leaves  to  one-third  of  stable  litter  affording  a 
less  violent  hear,  but  more  lasting,  than  all  manure.  The  material  once 
put  on  must  be  kept  at  a  regular  heat  by  adding  fresh  as  necessary  and 
removing  some  of  the  spent.  The  inside  border  should  be  made  thoroughly 
moist,  but  not  soddened,  by  applying  water,  or  in  the  case  of  weakly 
Vines  liquid  manure  at  the  mean  temperature  of  the  house.  It  suffices 
if  the  soil  is  moderately  moist  until  the  Vices  break.  Start  with  a 
temperature  of  50°  in  severe  weather,  55°  in  mild  weather,  and  65°  by 
day,  except  the  weather  is  severe  and  dull,  when  55°  will  be  more 
suitable.  Maintain  a  moist  atmosphere  by  syringing  the  Vines  and  house 
occasionally,  but  avoid  excessive  moisture  and  keeping  the  rods  dripping 
wet,  for  this  excites  the  production  of  aerial  roots  from  the  rods. 
Depress  young  canes  to  the  horizontal  position  or  below  to  cause  the 
buds  to  break  regularly. 
Midseason  Houses. — The  Vines  will  in  most  cases  be  pruned  and  at  rest. 
If  not,  the  pruning  and  cleansing  of  the  houses  and  Vines  should  be  attended 
to  without  delay,  Where  the  Grapes  are  partially  cut,  the  remainder  may 
be  removed  with  a  good  cortion  of  wood  attached,  and  that  inserted  in 
bottles  of  water  with  a  piece  of  charcoal  in  each  will  keep  the  Grapes 
admirably  in  a  dry  room  from  which  frost  is  excluded.  This  will  liberate 
the  Vines  for  pruning — it  being  assumed  that  the  leaves  are  all  down — 
and  the  house  for  cleaning,  repairs  and  painting.  The  Vines  ought  only 
to  have  the  loose  part  removed,  be  washed  with  soapy  tepid  water,  and 
afterwards  with  an  insecticide.  If  the  Vines  have  been  infested  with 
mealy  bug,  scale,  or  red  spider,  wash  them  with  a  solution  of  caustic  soda 
and  pearlash,  1  oz.  each  to  1£  gallon  of  hot  water,  in  which  4  ozs.  of  soft- 
soap  has  been  dissolved,  and  apply  hot  (130°  to  140°)  with  a  stiffish  brush, 
reaching  well  into  every  aDgle,  crevice,  and  hole.  Remove  the  loose  sur¬ 
face  soil  without  disturbing  the  roots,  and  supply  a  top-dressing  of  fresh 
loam  about  a  couple  of  inches  thick,  and  sprinkle  over  it  a  good  handful 
of  some  approved  fertiliser. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
t-'t.  i  -  rrr 
Have  Prices  Deteriorated  1 
It  may  be  interesting  to  bee-keepers  at  this  season  to  make  a 
comparison  between  the  prico  of  houey  at  the  present  time,  and  the 
prices  that  could  be  obtained  before  the  movable  frame  hive  came 
into  general  use.  Have  prices  deteriorated  ?  We  answer  in  the 
affirmative.  The  quality  of  the  honey,  as  a  rule,  is  much  higher 
under  the  new  system  than  it  was  when  the  straw  skep  held  sway. 
One  cannot,  however,  hide  the  fact  that  many  bee-keepers  through 
carelessness,  or  owing  to  their  anxiety  to  obtain  as  large  a  bulk  as 
possible,  often  place  very  inferior  samples  on  the  market.  A  bee¬ 
keeper  with  very  little  experience  may  soon  detect  the  difference 
between  unripe  honey,  that  will  ferment  within  a  few  weeks  after 
being  taken  from  the  hive. 
Whilst  on  the  question  of  inferior  honey,  we  cannot  too  strongly 
impress  on  bee-keepers  the  absolute  necessity  of  leaving  the  honey  in 
the  combs  until  it  is  thoroushly  ripe.  The  modern  frame  hive  gives 
every  advantage  in  enlarging  the  supers  on  the  lines  laid  down  in 
previous  notes,  so  there  should  be  no  excuse  for  removing  the 
honey  before  it  is  in  the  proper  condition  for  extracting. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  some  bee-keepers  have  a  difficulty  in 
finding  an  outlet  for  their  produce,  even  at  low  prices,  if  the  honey 
to  which  our  attention  was  recently  drawn  by  a  provincial  dealer  was 
a  fair  sample  of  what  is  sometimes  placed  on  the  market.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  extremely  low  prices  are  paid  for  such  products. 
“  Prices  are  not  what  they  were,”  was  the  remark  passed  by  a  bee¬ 
keeper  the  other  day.  We  agreed  with  him,  but  thought  it  was 
rather  an  advantage  than  otherwise.  High  prices  have  the  effect  of 
restricting  sales,  thus  placing  our  produce  within  the  reach  of  only  a 
few.  Increase  the  output  and  reduce  prices,  and  this  will  have  the 
desired  effect  of  placing  it  within  the  reach  of  all. 
Prices  Obtained. 
There  is  no  disguising  the  fact  that  many  bee-keepers  have  a 
great  objection  to  let  others  know  the  prices  they  obtain  for  their 
honey.  We  have  often  thought  it  would  probably  be  an  advantage 
to  others  if  we  stated  the  prices  that  have  come  under  our  notice. 
In  our  early  days  of  bee-keeping  there  was  no  difficulty  in  making  an 
average  of  a  shilling  a  pound  for  run  honey,  and  as  high  as 
Is.  6d.  for  honey  in  the  comb ;  but  at  that  time  the  quantity 
was  limited,  and  it  was  chiefly  circulated  among  retail  customers. 
This  was  in  the  days  of  straw  skeps  and  bell-glasses. 
Now  all  this  is  changed.  Instead  of  the  run  honey  being  obtained 
from  the  pollen-laden  combs,  which  usually  imparted  a  somewhat 
peculiar  flavour,  and  it  was  often  dark  in  ctlour,  we  now  obtain  all 
our  honey  from  supers ;  the  queen,  brood,  and  pollen  being  confined 
to  the  brood  chamber  underneath,  the  honey  from  the  brood  nest 
never  being  interfered  with.  The  consequence  is  a  superior  sample  of 
honey  is  obtained,  which  varies  in  colour  and  density  according  to  the 
flowers  from  which  it  is  collected.  '.U.  I 
In  addition  to  having  a  good  sample  much  will  depend  onAhe 
manner  in  w'hich  it  is  put  up.  The  most  saleable  form  for  run  honey 
is  1  lb.  screw  top  glass  jars.  These  are  of  English  manufacture, 
costing  12s.  6d,  per  gross  at  the  works.  These  should  be  neatly 
labelled  with  the  producer’s  own  label,  which  will  be  an  advertise¬ 
ment,  and  also  a  proof  of  its  purity.  Obtaining  honey  in  quantity, 
we  have  to  find  customers  for  it  amongst  wholesale  dealers,  the  price 
obtained  being  9s.  a  dozen.  Honey  in  bulk  realises  lrom  60s.  to  70s. 
per  cwt.  There  is,  however,  not  such  a  demand  for  it  in  this  condi¬ 
tion  as  when  bottled  and  neatly  labelled  as  above. 
Comb  honey,  in  1  lb.  sections,  well  finished  and  of  good  colour, 
realises  from  8s.  to  10s.  per  dozen  in  the  trade.  The  former  price  is 
the  minimum.  Retail  they  are  usually  Is.  each.  We  have  not  the 
demand  for  sections  as  for  run  honey,  and  taking  the  average  of  a 
given  number  of  hives  more  run  honey  may  be  obtained  than  when 
working  for  sections.  There  is  thus  a  double  reason  why  we  work 
more  largely  for  run  honey. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice, be  directed  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  iviitre  court 
Chambers,  Fleet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  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. 
Cucumber  Leaves  Spotted  and  Unhealthy  ( J -  -R.). — The  small  white 
spots  have  been  caused  by  the  bites  of  some  insect,  and  on  the  under  side 
of  the  leaves  we  found  the  larvm  of  the  Lantana  bug,  Orthezia  insignis, 
which  somewhat  resembles  the  mealy  bug  when  viewed  with  the  naked 
eye,  being  covered  with  a  sort  of  white  meal,  especially  in  the  mature 
stage.  The  pest  must  be  killed,  which  is,  perhaps,  best  effected  by 
vaporisation  with  nicotine  on  two  or  three  consecutive  evenings  mode¬ 
rately,  as  an  overdose  would  be  liable  to  injure  the  foliage,  especially  at 
this  season  when  the  leaves  are  thin  and  weak  in  texture.  The  vapor¬ 
isation  should  be  repeated  in  the  course  of  a  week,  so  as  to  make  sure  of 
any  pests  hatched  out  from  eggs,  which  are  present  here  and  there  on  the 
under  side  of  the  leaves.  Fumigation  with  tobacco  paper  also  has  a 
destructive  effect  on  the  pest,  but  is  not  so  effectual  as  nicotine  vapour. 
Spraying  with  methylated  spirit  acts  promptly  upon  the  insect,  but 
sometimes  injuriously  on  the  foliage,  hence  should  be  diluted  to  a  sale 
strength.  It  can  easily  be  applied  by  means  of  sprayers,  such  as  is  used 
by  hairdressers,  not  costing  more  than  two  or  three  shillings.  The  spray 
should  be  very  light,  a  mere  film  of  moisture  being  better  than  a 
drenching. 
