Mfti-ch  18,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
drbssed  with  manure  and  deeply  dug,  it  will  be  necessary  to  trample  it 
prior  to  sowing  the  leed.  A  surface  dressing  of  soot  at  the  rate  of  a 
good  half  peck  to  the  square  rod  ought  also  to  be  stirred  in,  other 
dressings  of  this,  nitrate  of  soda,  or  guano,  commencing  soon  after  the 
plants  are  up.  Draw  shallow  drills  12  inches  apart,  and  sow  the  seed 
thinly  in  these. 
Peas  and  Spinach. — The  earlier  sowings  ought,  ere  this,  to  be 
showing  well  through  the  soil,  and  must  be  looked  after  and  protected 
from  slugs.  The  first  favourable  opportunity  of  sowing  more  seed  should 
be  taken  advantage  of,  and  this  time  some  of  the  second  early  and 
successional  wrinkled  seeded  or  Marrowfats  may  be  sown.  Have  the 
ground  well  and  finely  broken  to  a  good  depth,  lumpy  soil  not  suiting 
Peas.  Draw  wide  rather  than  narrow  drills,  disposing  the  seeds  of  all 
but  the  early  round-seeded  varieties  from  2  inches  to  3  inches  apart 
each  way ;  cover  with  2  inches  of  fine  soil.  Mice  are  plentiful  this 
season,  but  if  the  seed  is  damp  and  rolled  in  red  lead  they  will  not 
interfere  with  it  after  the  first  attempt.  Sow  Spinach  thinly  in  drills 
drawn  midway  between  the  rows  of  Peas  each  time  the  latter  are  sown, 
and  there  will  then  be  no  break  in  the  supply. 
Early  Tnrnlps. — Early  Turnips  are  mostly  valuable  for  flavouring 
soups.  They  can  best  be  had  from  an  east  border.  Manure  this  freely, 
break  it  down  finely,  and  sow  the  seed  thinly  in  drills  12  inches  apart. 
Early  Milan  is  the  variety  to  sow,  and  directly  the  seedlings  appear  dust 
over  with  soot  or  soot  and  lime,  with  a  view  to  warding  off  destructive 
attacks  of  the  Turnip  fly. 
PLANT  HOUSES. 
Crotons. — Small  pieces  that  are  not  large  enough  for  notching  may 
be  made  into  cuttings  and  inserted  in  Bandy  soil  in  thumb  pots.  These, 
if  placed  in  the  propagating  frame  or  under  hand-lights,  will  soon  form 
roots.  Small  plants  raised  by  this  means  are  not  well  furnished  at  the 
base,  but  form  good  heads  for  taking  off  later  in  the  season  for  use  in 
small  pots.  Where  a  large  number  of  small  plants  are  required,  the  old 
stools  may  be  retained  and  allowed  to  break,  when  highly  coloured 
pieces  may  be  rooted  some  months  later.  Keep  all  plants  close  and 
moist  that  have  been  notched,  so  that  they  will  form  roots  as  quickly  as 
possible. 
Dracaenas. — Plants  that  have  been  raised  from  portions  of  the  stem 
and  are  growiDg  freely  in  6-inch  pots  may  have  the  lower  leaves  removed 
and  the  stem  notched.  If  a  little  moss  is  placed  round  them  and  the 
plants  kept  warm  and  moist,  roots  will  soon  be  formed,  and  well  furnished 
plants  can  be  established  in  and  4-inch  pots.  Stems  and  roots  may 
be  cut  up  and  placed  into  pans  in  brisk  heat  where  young  stock  is 
needed. 
Asparagus. — Where  a  quantity  of  greenery  is  needed,  and  plants 
for  various  form3  of  decoration,  too  many  plants  of  A.  plumosus  and 
teDuissimus  cannot  well  be  grown.  Cuttings  root  freely  ;  a  small  frond 
should  be  taken  with  one  joint  and  inserted  in  sandy  soil  in  thumb  pots, 
These  must  be  placed  in  brisk  heat  under  a  shaded  hand-light,  which 
ought  to  be  kept  close  and  moist.  They  will  soon  root,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  season  will  be  useful  plants  in  4  and  5-inch  pots.  For  cutting 
purposes  tenuissimus  is  more  useful  than  plumosus  nanus. 
ixoras. — Plants  that  have  been  kept  in  good  condition  through  the 
winter  may,  if  necessary,  be  cut  back  and  started  into  growth  in 
brisk  moist  heat.  Young  plants  rooted  in  July  and  kept  in  small  pots 
may  be  placed  in  others  about  2  inches  larger.  Ixoras  do  well  in  good 
peat  and  coarse  sand  if  water  is  given  carefully  after  potting.  If  these 
young  plants  are  well  looked  after  they  will  produce  one  or  two  large 
trusses  each  early  in  the  season. 
Justlcla  flavicoma. — Where  a  number  of  plants  are  not  kept  for 
yielding  seeds,  as  many  as  are  needed  for  the  supply  of  cuttings  may  be 
cut  down  to  within  about  2  inches  of  the  base.  Clean,  healthy  cuttings 
will  be  produced,  and  these  are  essential  for  producing  the  most  attractive 
plants. 
Acalyphas. — Few  plants  are  more  useful  than  well-grown  and 
highly  coloured  Acalyphas  in  5  and  6-inch  pots,  well  furnished  with 
foliage  to  the  base.  For  the  conservatory  they  are  superior  to  Coleus, 
and  will  stand  in  this  structure  during  the  summer  months.  Cuttings 
root  quickly  in  thumb  pots  if  kept  close  in  brisk  heat.  The  old  plants 
from  which  the  cuttings  have  been  taken  may  be  allowed  to  break,  when 
the  balls  of  soil  may  be  partially  reduced  and  the  plants  repotted. 
These  will  make  capital  bushes  in  a  short  time. 
Pancratlums. — Although  these  flowers  do  not  last  long  they  are 
highly  appreciated  when  they  are  produced.  Plants  that  have  been 
growing  in  the  same  pots  for  some  years  may  have  the  whole  of  the 
old  soil  shaken  from  the  roots  and  be  repotted.  Use  for  a  compost  good 
loam,  one-seventh  of  decayed  manure,  and  sand.  Give  water  carefully 
for  a  time  after  potting,  and  place  the  plants  where  they  can  be  shaded 
from  the  sun  and  a  moist  atmosphere  maintained. 
Polnsettias.— Portions  of  well-ripened  wood  two  joints  in  length 
may  be  inserted  singly  in  sandy  soil  in  thumb  pots.  They  soon  start 
into  growth  in  brisk  heat ;  scarcely  one  will  fail.  This  is  the  easiest 
and  quickest  method  of  propagation. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Kent  &  Brydon,  Darlington. — Farm  Seeds. 
C.  Turner,  Royal  Nurseries,  Slough. — General  Spring  Catalogue. 
Vilmorin,  Andrieux  et  Cie.,  4,  Quai  de  la  Mdgisserie,  Paris.— Tree 
and  Shrub  Seeds. 
267 
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APIARIAN  NOTES. 
Condition  of  Hives. 
From  numerous  bee  -  keepers  in  different  quarters  comes  the 
report  — “  The  loss  of  bees  is  great,  but  the  hives  seem  as  strong 
as  ever.”  Although  not  word  for  word  in  every  instance,  all  have 
the  same  meaning.  Had  the  formula  been,  “  Notwithstanding  the 
great  loss  of  bees,  hives  are  increasing  rapidly  in  strength,”  it 
would  have  explained  the  condition  of  my  own  apiary.  Saturday 
(the  7th)  was  the  finest  day  we  have  had  this  year,  the  thermo¬ 
meter  rose  for  a  short  time  to  52°,  the  highest  of  the  season, 
succeeding  a  very  stormy  day,  with  heavy  snow  showers,  and  was 
followed  by  7°  of  frost,  which  occurred  on  five  nights  in  succession. 
On  the  11th  the  temperature  rose  from  25®  to  50°,  the  warmth 
lasting  about  an  hour.  These  were  the  only  two  days  our  bees 
gathered  a  little  pollen,  mostly  from  the  Willows,  as  a  few 
Crocuses  opened  their  petals  for  about  an  hour  only.  Bees  can  air 
themselves,  and  return  to  their  hives  safely  in  sunshine  at  a 
temperature  near  freezing  ;  when  in  damp,  sunless  weather  at  a 
temperature  of  from  40°  to  50°  many  are  lost,  as  has  been 
exemplified  this  spring. 
On  the  7th  there  appeared  to  be  more  young  bees  playing  on 
the  alighting  board  than  adults.  On  that  day  I  made  an  attempt 
to  feed  a  few  of  my  hives  for  the  purpose  of  pushing  them  forward 
to  get  early  and  pure  queens  for  breeding  purposes,  and  to  super¬ 
sede  any  failing  or  becoming  too  aged  by  the  month  of  May  or 
June.  Feeding  in  early  spring  where  honey  flows  from  April  till 
June  encourages  breeding,  and  is  right,  but  it  is  the  reverse  where 
honey  does  not  flow  till  July,  so  that  with  our  stocks  it  is  better  to 
let  the  bees  alone  and  work  in  their  natural  way,  for  assuredly 
producing  bees  out  of  season  brings  about  failure. 
I  am  anxious  to  have  young  queens  ready  by  May  to  put  the 
hives  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  the  Heather,  and  I  hope  to 
start  others  by  August  to  do  duty  for  1897.  Other  things  being 
properly  attended  to  our  hives  will  then  be  in  good  condition,  and 
spring  dwindling  unknown. 
In  addition  to  aged  queens,  spring  dwindling  is  brought  about 
by  allowing  the  queen  of  a  hive  to  be  chilled.  Some  years  ago, 
when  unable  to  stoop,  I  omitted  to  close  several  ventilators  of  my 
best  hives,  and  not  one  of  them  did  well,  and  hence  my  reason  for 
advocating  hives  to  be  cosy  in  winter,  also  managed  so  as  to  be 
unaffected  by  sudden  changes  of  temperature  throughout  the 
whole  season,  but  perhaps  the  most  fruitful  source  of  spring 
dwindling  is  due  to  feeding  injudiciously  both  in  autumn  and  in 
spring. — A  Lanarkshire  Bee-keeper. 
REARING  QUEENS. 
It  is  advisable  to  rear  a  number  of  young  queens  each  year,  and 
it  is  not  wise  to  leave  this  matter  to  chance  ;  nor  should  these 
arrangements  for  the  coming  season  be  left  to  the  last  moment. 
All  colonies  should,  as  far  as  is  possible,  be  headed  by  a  young 
fertile  queen,  and  in  no  case  ought  they  to  be  kept  after  they  are 
two  years  old. 
The  proper  time  to  rear  queens  is  at  their  natural  swarming 
season,  but  the  earlier  this  can  be  carried  out  the  better.  It  will 
take  upwards  of  three  weeks  from  the  laying  of  the  eggs  till  the 
queen  is  hatched  and  laying,  and  if  during  that  time  the  queen  can 
be  kept  laying,  at  a  low  estimate  it  will  result  in  at  least 
20,000  young  bees  being  added  to  each  stock  so  treated.  A  young 
fertile  queen  will  at  that  time  of  the  year  lay  more  than  double 
that  quantity.  These  may  always  be  utilised  by  making  fresh 
stocks,  and  if  these  are  not  required  they  may  be  added  to  other 
strong  colonies,  which  will  reap  the  full  benefit  of  the  honey  flow. 
On  the  morning  of  a  fine  day  early  in  May,  when  the  bees  are 
well  on  the  wing,  take  two  or  three  frames  of  well-advanced  brood, 
with  all  the  adhering  bees  and  the  queen,  from  the  original  hive, 
and  place  them  in  a  new  hive,  adding  a  couple  of  frames  of  fully 
drawn-out  combs  or  full  sheets  of  comb  foundation,  closing  with  a 
division  board,  placing  the  hive  on  the  original  stand.  The  parent 
hive  to  be  moved  a  few  yards  away  ;  all  the  bees  that  are  on  the 
wing  will  return  to  their  original  stand,  also  many  of  the  old  bees 
from  the  parent  stock,  which  will  enable  the  new-made  colony  to 
make  progress.  The  frames  in  the  parent  stock  should  be  closed 
with  the  division  board,  and  queen  cells  will  at  once  be  started. 
If  only  one  queen  is  required  these  may  all  be  cut  out  but  one, 
delaying  the  operation  until  the  tenth  day.  Always  select  the  best 
cell.  It  is  also  advisable  to  rear  an  extra  queen  or  two  in  case  of 
loss,  as  this  is  a  common  occurrence  when  on  the  wing  previous  to 
being  fertilised.  The  queen  will  hatch  in  about  sixteen  days,  and 
if  the  weather  be  favourable  should  be  fertilised  and  laying  in  less 
