journal  of  Horticulture  and  cottage  gardener 
April  i,  1893. 
Clematis  Indlvlsa  lobata. — Where  this  has  flowered  and  the  plant 
has  covered  the  space  allotted  to  it,  the  shoots  that  have  flowered  may 
be  well  pruned.  Nothing  is  gained  by  allowing  the  plant  to  become 
crowded,  but  the  reverse  The  shoots  should  be  trained  thinly  and  fully 
exposed  to  the  sun.  A  free  use  of  the  knife  will  induce  the  formation 
of  robust  growth,  which  should  be  encouraged,  for  on  these  next  season’s 
flowers  will  depend.  This  is  a  very  effective  and  useful  climber  for  the 
conservatory  as  well  as  the  coolest  structures.  If  the  plant  is  infested 
with  scale,  syringe  with  a  solution  of  petroleum  and  water  at  the  rate 
of  one  ounce  to  the  gallon.  It  is  liable  to  the  attacks  of  aphides,  which 
are  best  destroyed  by  fumigating  with  tobacco.  If  the  plant  is  confined 
at  its  roots,  remove  a  portion  of  the  surface  soil  and  top-dress  with  equal 
portions  of  loam  and  decayed  manure.  A  little  chemical  manure 
sprinkled  over  the  surface  before  the  top-dressing  is  placed  on  will 
induce  the  roots  to  come  to  the  surface. 
Greenhouse  Rhododendrons. — These  may  be  produced  in  succes¬ 
sion  by  gentle  forcing.  On  no  account  should  they  be  hurried,  or  the 
flowers  will  fail  to  develop.  The  house  in  which  they  are  forced  may  be 
kept  moderately  close  and  moist ;  no  more  artificial  heat  should  be  used 
than  is  necessary  to  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  50°.  The  syringe 
must  be  used  freely  to  keep  thrips  in  check,  in  fact  these  plants  may 
be  syringed  from  the  time  they  show  Bigns  of  movement.  A  dry  base 
for  the  pots  to  stand  on,  and  dry  atmospheric  conditions,  are  detri¬ 
mental  to  these  plants.  They  should  have  a  cool  moist  base,  and  ought 
never  t  >  be  allowed  to  become  dry  at  their  roots.  Any  shoots  that  are  not 
flowering  may  as  soon  as  they  burst  into  growth  have  the  young  growths 
pinched  out.  This  will  induce  them  to  make  two  or  more  shoots,  the 
same  as  those  that  flower.  The  main  stock  of  plants  that  are  not 
wanted  in  flower  may  have  cool  airy  treatment. 
Daphne  lndlca. — These  succeed  well  if  given  the  treatment  advised 
for  greenhouse  Rhododendrons,  in  fact  they  should  be  grown  in  the 
same  structure,  and  with  care  good  specimens  may  be  produced.  These, 
like  the  above,  are  often  ruined  by  the  atmospheric  conditions  to  which 
they  are  exposed.  If  they  are  too  hurriedly  forced  into  flower  more 
harm  than  good  results.  These  plants  cannot  long  endure  a  close 
confined  atmosphere.  Liberal  syringings  they  enjoy  as  well  as  abundance 
of  air.  No  harm  is  done  by  closing  the  house  early  in  the  afternoon 
duriutr  the  season  of  active  growth.  They  should  be  fully  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  watered  with  the  greatest  care.  They  must  never  be  allowed 
to  become  dry,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  are  overwatered  and  the 
soil  rendered  sour  failure  is  certain  to  result.  Any  plants  that  need 
potting  should  be  attended  to  at  once.  Drain  the  pots  carefully  and 
liberally  ;  over  the  drainage  a  layer  of  moss  must  be  spread  before  any 
of  the  soil  is  placed  in.  Perfect  drainage  must  be  insured.  The  soil  may 
consist  of  good  fibry  loam,  one-seventh  of  decayed  manure  passed 
through  a  flue  sieve,  and  coarse  sand — a  liberal  quantity  of  the  latter 
should  be  used,  and  press  the  soil  firmly  into  the  pots.  Plants  that  are 
in  good  condition  at  the  roots  and  are  straggling  through  neglect  may 
be  well  cut  back.  They  will  break  freely,  and  in  two  years  make 
healthy  flowering  plants.  Shoots  that  fail  to  flower  must  have  their 
points  removed  just  previous  to  flowering,  then  the  whole  of  the  shoots 
start  in‘o  growth  at  the  same  time. 
Daphne  Mezereum. — This  is  beautiful  in  pots  for  flowering 
indoors  early  in  the  season,  and  for  this  purpose  should  be  grown  in  pots 
the  whole  season.  When  the  plants  are  lifted  annually  from  the  out¬ 
side  and  placed  in  pots  for  forcing  a  good  stock  of  plants  is  necessary. 
When  once  the  plants  are  established  in  pots  they  grow  freely  after¬ 
wards  and  flower  profusely  every  season  ;  all  the  attention  then  that  is 
needed  after  flowering  is  to  harden  the  plants  carefully  and  plunge  them 
outside. 
WJ 
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FOUL  BROOD. 
There  have  been  various  notes,  sarcastic  and  otherwise,  going 
the  rounds  of  the  daily  papers  during  the  past  few  months  on  this 
subject,  and  from  a  report  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  British 
Bee-keepers’  Association,  lately  held  in  London,  the  fact  was 
mentioned  “  that  the  proposed  bill  with  regard  to  foul  brood  was 
in  &  forward  state,  being  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Parliamentary 
draftsman  preparatory  to  being  laid  before  the  County  Council 
Association  Parliamentary  Committee,  and  that  the  members 
should  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  bring  the  matter  before 
the  members  of  Parliament  for  their  boroughs  and  counties,  and 
urge  upon  them  the  necessity  of  the  bill  being  passed,  so  that 
those  in  whose  hands  the  power  lay  might  know  something  of 
the  matter,  and  the  importance  of  it.  Out  of  670  members  of 
Parliament  a  large  number  had  never  heard  of  foul  brood  and 
many  knew  nothing  of  bees.  The  same  might  almost  be  said  of 
County  Councillors.” 
The  latter  remark  is  rather  hard  on  the  chosen  C.C’s. 
But  what  are  the  powers  that  some  bee-keepers  and  others  are  so 
anxious  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  C.C.  or  some  other  authority  ? 
My  own  opinion  is,  if  bee-keepers  would  only  use  due  care,  and 
manage  their  bees  on  rational  lines,  very  little  harm  would  happen 
from  this  scourge. 
Fortunately  I  reside  in  a  locality  where  foul  brood  is  unknown, 
but  will  illustrate  what  I  mean  from  facts  that  came  under  my 
own  observation  not  many  years  ago,  which  shows  there  is  just 
cause  for  complaint  among  bee-keepers  in  some  districts.  A  had 
two  stocks  of  bees  in  straw  skeps,  both  died  from  foul  brood.  The 
following  season  a  swarm  of  bees  was  placed  in  each  of  the  hives, 
the  old  comb  remaining  ;  these  were  sold  to  B,  residing  a  few  miles 
away.  No  wonder  on  visiting  the  district  the  following  year  I 
found  it  a  hotbed  of  foul  brood,  as  during  the  time  the  bees  were 
dead  the  hives  were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  open,  and  were  duly 
visited  by  the  neighbouring  bees  for  the  stores  they  contained. 
This  would  have  been  a  case  where  outside  intervention  would 
have  been  beneficial  to  all  bee-keepers  within  a  radius  of  at  least 
two  miles  ;  and  if  the  hives,  combs,  and  all  sundries  connected 
with  them  had  been  burnt  as  soon  as  the  disease  was  discovered  a 
great  benefit  would  have  followed  instead  of  the  reverse,  as  the 
sequel  shows. 
Others  I  have  found  who  have  shouted  loudly  about  their  losses 
from  foul  brood  who  have  themselves  been  most  negligent  in  their 
manipulations  with  foul-broody  stocks.  But  until  one  has  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  a  draft  of  the  proposed  bill  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  either  advocate  or  condemn  its  principles. — An  English 
Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
Charles  Van  Geert,  11,  Rue  de  la  Provence,  Nord,  Antwerp. —  General 
Catalogue  of  Irees,  Shrubs ,  and,  Hardy  Flowers. 
W.  Clibran  &  Son,  Altrincham.  —  Treasures  of  the  Garden  and 
Conservatory . 
All  correspondence  should  be  directed  either  to  “  The 
Editor  ’’  or  to  “  The  Publisher.”  Letters  addressed  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  stall  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  those  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. 
The  Tomato  («T.  G.). — The  Tomato.  Lycopersicam  esculentum,  was 
introduced  to  this  country  in  1596  from  South  America.  We  cannot  say 
how  long  it  has  been  grown  as  a  market  product,  but  on  turning  to  a 
list  of  Covent  Garden  prices  in  September,  1863,  we  find  Tomatoes 
quoted  at  2s.  6d.  to  5s.  per  half-sieve. 
Potatoes  for  “  Pommes  Prites  ”  QJ.  V.  2?.). — There  is  no 
mention  of  any  special  variety  as  grown  for  the  purpose  indicated  in 
Vilmorin’s  work  on  vegetables,  but  a  connoisseur,  who  is  also  a 
vegetarian,  informs  us  that  Myatt’s  ABhleaf  is  one  of  the  best  for 
“  frites.”  We  suspect  if  the  favourite  continental  Kidney  Bean,  the 
Princesse,  would  succeed  in  this  country  it  would  have  been  grown  long 
ago.  Why  not  try  a  row,  not  sowing  till  the  ground  is  warm,  or  the 
middle  of  May,  and  favour  us  with  the  result?  In  quality  this  Bean  is 
excellent. 
Soil  for  Cacti  (F.  H.  Z>.). — Good  ordinary  fibrous  loam  should  form 
one- half  of  the  compost,  the  other  half  being  made  up  of  broken  bricks, 
lime  rubbish,  and  sand  in  equal  parts,  the  whole  to  be  carefully  mixed,  and 
not  used  until  it  is  moderately  dry.  Perfect  drainage  is  absolutely 
necessary.  A  good-sized  crock  should  be  placed  over  the  hole  of  the  pot 
and  about  one-third  of  its  depth  filled  with  drainage  material,  or  even 
more  when  for  raising  plants  from  seed.  In  the  case  of  these  dis¬ 
criminative  management  is  imperative,  the  soil  being  studiously 
watered,  as  anything  like  a  saturated  condition  causes  the  seedlings  to 
decay  at  the  base,  this  being  accelerated  by  using  leaf  mould  or  other 
substance  of  a  moisture  forming  or  holding  nature,  besides  frequently 
containing  parasitic  micro-organisms,  which  are  particularly  fond  of 
Cacti.  In  repotting  remove  nearly  all  the  old  soil,  taking  away 
dead  or  decayed  roots  that  may  be  observable,  placing  some  of  the 
roughest  soil  next  the  crocks,  and  gradually  fill  the  pots  with  the  finer 
materia],  well  working  the  same  amongst  the  roots,  and  finally  press  the 
soil  moderately  firm.  Do  not  water  for  a  few  days  after  potting,  but 
syringe  towards  the  evenings  of  bright  days.  If  the  small  pots  are 
plunged  in  damp  material  there  will  be  the  less  need  of  frequent 
waterings  to  the  advantage  of  the  seedlings. 
