290 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March  26,  1896. 
PROSPECTS  FOR  1896. 
.  The  present  prospects  are  encouraging  to  bee-keepers,  although 
it  is  somewhat  premature  to  attempt  to  predict  what  the  season  is 
likely  to  be,  as  so  much  will  depend  on  the  weather  experienced  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  during  the  honey  flow.  But  be  that 
as  it  may,  the  present  outlook  is  certainly  brighter  from  a  bee¬ 
keeper  s  point  of  view  than  I  have  known  at  this  season  for  many 
years  past. 
After  an  exceptionally  mild  winter,  when  bees  have  not  been 
confined  to  their  hives  many  days  together,  the  first  two  months  of 
the  year  being  mild  and  very  dry,  the  third  month  is  now  well 
advanced.  _  With  the  exception  of  a  few  frosty  nights,  and  a 
heavier  rainfall,  the  weather  has  been  similar  to  that  experienced 
during  the.  preceding  months  of  the  year,  but  the  sun  daily 
increasing  in  power  has  induced  the  bees  to  be  merrily  on  the 
wing,  enabling  them  to  fly  long  distances  in  search  of  pollen  from 
the  fast  opening  flowers. 
The  Palm  Willow  is  now  in  full  bloom,  and  so  are  the  Apricots. 
The  latter  are  flowering  remarkably  well,  and  as  there  are  many 
thousands  of  them  fully  expanded  within  a  few  yards  of  my 
apiary,  it  affords  a  happy  hunting  ground,  and  a  plentiful  supply 
of  pollen  to  the  bees,  which  must  eventually  benefit  the  grower, 
as  every  bloom  will  be  fertilised.  Tbe  former  is  one  of  the  best 
pollen-bearing  trees  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  and  it  has  the 
advantage  of  lasting  a  long  time  in  bloom,  a  fact  that  should  be 
kept  in  mind  by  bee-keepers  who  have  an  opportunity  of  planting 
it,  as  it  will  grow  freely  in  any  out  of  the  way  place,  but  like  all 
the  balix,  will  thrive  best  on  the  banks  of  ponds  or  similar  plscss. 
All  stocks  appear  to  be  in  good  condition,  and  up  to  the  present 
date  no  losses  have  to  be  chronicled  ;  many  of  them,  too,  are 
stronger  in  bees  than  his  been  the  case  in  some  seasons  the  second 
week  in  May .  There  has  also  been  a  much  greater  consumption 
of  stores,  which  can  readily  be  accounted  for"  by  the  mildness  of 
the  weather,  and,  with  the  exception  of  two  hives,  I  have  not 
observed  any  dead  bees.  One  of  these  was  a  straw  skep,  which  I 
found  on  examination  was  very  light,  and  the  bees  inactive.  A 
cake  of  soft  candy  was  at  once  placed  over  the  hole  on  the  top  of 
skep,  half  of  which  was  consumed  or  carried  down  during  the  first 
twenty-four  hours.  Although  this  was  done  only  five  days  ago 
the  bees  are  now  as  active  and  carrying  in  pollen  as  freely  as  any 
in  my  apiary. 
Should  the  fine  weather  continue  the  majority  of  s  ocks  will  be 
very. strong  by  the  first  week  in  May,  and  unless  ample  room  is 
provided  they  will  at  once  prepare  to  swarm  ;  so  taking  ail  things 
into  consideration  I  have  great  hopes  of  the  forthcoming  season 
being  a  record  year.— An  English  Bee-keeper. 
%*  Ail  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  The 
Editor  ’’  or  to  “  The  Publisher.5'  Letters  addressed  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  often  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  We  request  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions 
relating  to  Gardening  and  thos9  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should 
never  send  more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All 
articles  intended  for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of 
the  paper  only.  We  cannot  reply  to  questions  through  the  post, 
and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected  communications. 
Greenhouse  Plants  Injured  ( Mrs .  G.). — The  foliage  appears  to 
have  been  injured  by  some  noxious  fumes,  and  may  have  been  caused  by 
an  overdose  (or  unsuitable  material)  of  fumigation,  or  an  escape  of  gas 
from  a  stove  or  flue.  There  is  no  disease  likely  to  cause  the  mischief, 
which  is  certainly  very  serious,  but  beyond  a  green  aphis  we  failed  to 
discover  anything  of  a  fungoid  or  insect  nature  likely  to  interfere  with 
the  health  of  the  plants.  Indeed,  the  injury  has  been  caused  by  fumes 
or  a  noxious  substance  of  some  kind,  and  not  by  parasites. 
Rhododendron  hirsutum  (Southerner'). — See  illustration  (fig.  51, 
page  285)  for  the  information  you  ask  for  respecting  this  plant. 
Weevils  on  Ferns  (IF  S.  R .). — The  beetle-like  insect  you  have 
sent  is  the  destructive  Otiorhynchus  sulcatus.  When  numerous  they  do 
much  damage,  eating  almost  any  kinds  of  plants,  and  they  seem  to  have 
a  special  liking  for  Ferns.  As  they  feed  chiefly  at  night,  that  is  the 
time  to  attack  them,  and  if  the  plants  are  in  pots  they  can  be  Bhaken 
violently  over  a  white  sheet  for  dislodging  the  enemy.  They  are  easily 
seen  on  a  white  surface,  and  can  be  the  better  prevented  from  escaping 
than  if  less  visible  on  a  brown  mat;  Solutions  of  tobacco  and  quassia 
water,  not  so  strong  as  to  injure  the  plants,  have  been  recommended  for 
rendering  them  distasteful  to  the  weevils. 
Fumigating-  Strawberries  whilst  in  Flower  (II.)  — It  is  a 
somewhat  dangerous  practice,  as  the  pistils  are  very  tender  (stigmas 
naked)  and  soon  injured  ;  but  sometimes  we  have  been  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  it  in  order  to  keep  down  green  fly,  which  otherwise  would 
have  ruined  the  fructifying  organs  by  sucking  them  dry.  The  pests 
must  be  killed  with  either  the  vapour  from  nicotine  or  good  fumigating 
paper  or  rag.  Little  damage  will  be  done  if  care  is  taken  to  have  the 
flowers  and  young  foliage  perfectly  dry,  the  house  being  left  open  until 
fumigation  time  in  the  evening,  then  closing  and  fumigating  without 
loss  of  time.  It  is  the  moisture  that  does  the  mischief,  also  the  heating 
of  the  atmosphere,  therefore  take  care  to  deliver  the  smoke  cool  and  not 
give  an  overdose. 
Peach  Shoots  Diseased  (Puzzled). — The  shoots  of  last  year  are> 
as  you  say,  affected  with  a  sort  of  gum,  the  parasite  producing  it 
absorbing  the  contents  of  the  cells  of  the  cambial  layer,  encircling  it  and 
cutting  off  the  supply  of  sap  ;  the  part  above  then  sooner  or  later 
perishes,  often  when  the  fruit  is  half  swelled.  After  the  shoot  collapses 
small  bodies  appear,  called  sclerotia,  which  are  the  resting  stage  of  the 
fungus,  and  from  these  spring  the  perfect  form,  named  Sclerotinia 
fructigena,  Rehm.  It  is  common  on  stone  fruits,  and  conspicuous 
sometimes  on  Pears  in  the  autumn  in  the  conidial  state,  when  it  is  called 
Monilia  fructigena,  Pers.  The  best  remedy  is  to  cut  away  the  affected 
wood  and  burn  it.  It  is  better  to  do  this  than  leave  it  to  die  later,  and 
thus  distribute  myriads  of  spores. 
Pruning  Outdoor  Fig  Trees  (Amateur). — These  only  require  to 
have  the  branches  or  shoots  thinned,  as  they  bear  best  on  the  extension 
system.  Old  bare  branches  should  be  cut  out  to  make  room  for  young 
and  fruitful  growth  ;  the  extremity  branches  of  trees  on  walls  may  be 
cut  back  to  succession^  wood,  conveniently  placed  for  supplanting  them, 
the  remainder  of  the  branches  being  thinned  so  as  to  leave  them  not  less 
than  a  foot  apart,  with  bearing  shoots  equally  disposed  over  the  tree. 
This  is  best  done  in  the  spring  before  growth  takes  place,  but  during 
growth  the  shoots  must  not  be  crowded,  and  if  thinning  be  properly 
attended  in  summer  little  pruning  will  be  needed  in  the  winter.  The 
extension  growths  and  those  not  required  should  be  cut  out  immediately 
the  fruit  is  gathered.  This  will  assist  the  growths  left  to  ripen,  and  on 
the  ripening  of  the  wood  in  a  great  measure  depends  the  future  crop  of 
fruit. 
Caterpillars  Infesting  Green  Vegetables  (RedhUl).  — -  The 
brownish  caterpillars  are  the  larvae  of  the  great  yellow  underwing  moth, 
Noctua  (Tryphoena  pronuba,  Linn.),  which  lie  concealed  during  the 
day  in  the  soil,  rolled  in  a  riDg  near  their  food  plants,  or  sheltered  under 
stones  or  clods,  or  in  the  heart  of  the  plants,  and  come  out  at  night  to 
feed.  The  most  effectual  method  of  checking  their  ravages  is  to 
examine  the  soil  about  the  plants  with  a  blunt  knife  or  pointed  piece  of 
wood  in  one  hand  and  a  flower  pot  or  other  convenient  vessel  in  the 
other.  The  caterpillars  lie  near  the  surface,  hence  the  name  “  surface 
caterpillars,”  and  are  readily  turned  out  with  tbe  knife  or  stick  and  put 
in  the  flower  pot,  and  thus,  much  more  rapidly  than  might  be  supposed, 
a  field  is  cleared  by  market  gardeners.  The  dark  lead  or  pitchy  colour 
insect  (a  Myriapod),  with  about  100  pale  coloured  legs,  and  rolled  up  in 
a  ring,  is  the  ground  millipede  (Julus  terrestris,  Linn.),  which  is  best 
destroyed  on  a  6mall  scale  by  placing  baits  of  Mangold  Wurtzel,  cut  in 
rather  thick  slices,  in  or  on  the  ground,  examining  them  occasionally. 
Holes  made  in  Carrots,  Beets,  or  Potatoes  answer  almost  as  well  as  the 
Mangolds  for  baits.  If  very  numerous  dress  the  land  with  a  mixture  of 
three  parts  kainit  and  one  part  nitrate  of  soda,  using  4  ozs.  per  square 
yard. 
Shamrock  (Nemo). — The  botanical  name  of  this  is  Oxalis  acetosella, 
tbe  common  Wood  Sorrel,  or  Shamrock.  The  plant  is  a  native  of  the 
moist  shady  woods  of  this  country,  Europe,  and  North  America,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  elegant  of  wild  flowers.  It  delights  in  retired  shady 
woods,  groves,  and  hedges,  and  flowers  in  April  or  May.  It  was  called 
by  the  old  herbalists  Alleluja  and  Cuckoo’s  Meat,  because,  as  Gerard 
says,  “  when  it  springeth  forth,  the  cuckoo  singeth  most ;  at  which  time 
also  Alleluya  was  wont  to  be  sung  in  our  churches.”  But  Alleluja  is 
merely  a  corruption  of  the  Calabrian  name  Juliola.  The  whole  plant 
has  a  grateful  acid  taste,  much  more  so  than  the  common  Sorrel,  and  is 
on  that  account  used  in  salads  and  in  sauces.  In  Lapland  it  is  so 
plentiful  that  Linnaeus  says  the  inhabitants  of  that  country  take 
scarcely  any  other  vegetable  food  than  Sorrel  and  Angelica.  The 
expressed  juice  of  the  plant  is  employed  to  remove  spots  andiron  moulds 
from  linen,  and  this  it  does  by  the  great  quantity  of  binoxalate  of 
potassa  which  it  contains.  Twenty  pounds  of  tbe  fresh  leaves  have 
been  found  to  yield  6  lbs.  of  juice,  from  which  2  ozs.  2  drachms  and 
1  scruple  of  salt,  besides  2  ozs.  and  6  drachms  of  an  impure  saline  mass 
are  obtained,  and  is  sold  under  the  name  of  salt  of  Sorrel  and  essential 
salt  of  Lemons.  The  Irish  Shamrook  is  Trifolium  minus. 
