384 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  ANT)  cottage  gardener. 
April  23,  1898. 
will  be  of  great  advantage,  as  in  all  probability  those  stocks  that 
have  been  wintered  on  only  eight  frames  will  now  be  getting  short 
of  stores.  As  soon  as  the  hive  is  crowded  with  bees  and  honey  is 
coming  in  freely  a  crate  of  twenty-one  sections  should  be  given 
them. 
Should  the  weather  be  favourable  and  honey  coming  in  freely 
it  is  an  advantage  to  place  a  second  crate  of  sections  on  each  hive. 
This  is  done  when  the  first  crate  is  about  three  parts  full  ;  the 
centre  combs  will  then  be  partly  sealed  over.  The  crate  of  empty 
sections  should  be  placed  underneath  the  first  crate.  It  is  essential 
to  cover  them  up  warm.  The  bees  will  at  once  commence  to  draw 
out  the  foundation  in  the  lower  crate,  and  at  the  same  time  filling 
and  sealing  over  the  sections  in  the  top  one.  This  will  be  the 
means  of  keeping  all  the  bees  fully  employed,  and  a  much  greater 
quantity  of  honey  will  be  stored  than  if  only  one  crate  of  sections 
had  been  used. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  place  queen  excluder  zinc  between  frames 
and  sections,  as  it  is  quite  unusual  for  queens  to  Jay  eggs  in  the 
sections.  If  they  do  so  it  is  usually  an  odd  section  or  two  in  the 
centre  of  crate,  and  will  often  happen  just  before  they  swarm.  I 
never  use  excluder  zinc  under  sections,  having  discarded  it  several 
years  ago,  and  have  not  had  a  case  of  brood  in  them  now  for  several 
years. 
It  is  necessary  to  use  queen  excluder  zinc  in  hives  that  have 
been  doubled  for  extracting  purposes.  I  will  have  something  to 
say  on  this  subject  in  future  notes. — An  English  Bee-keeper.] 
All  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  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. 
Gardeners’  Wages  ( Dorset ). — If  it  is  necessary  that  you  should 
know  the  exact  legal  aspects  of  the  particular  case  we  suspect  the 
information  can  only  be  had  through  a  solicitor.  The  question  as  you 
have  put  it  is  not  capable  of  a  definite  answer,  as  it  contains  no  details 
whatever  as  to  the  terms  of  engagement. 
Forsythias  at  Kew  (IF.  J.  G.). — We  have  not  seen  the  Forsythias 
at  Kew  this  spring,  but  believe  one  that  has  been  highly  effective  there, 
as  in  other  gardens  and  parks  about  London,  is  F.  suspensa.  Than  free 
bushes  of  this,  laden  with  myriads  of  drooping  soft  yellow  flowers,  no 
shrubs  have  been  more  beautiful  during  the  last  few  weeks,  and  we 
think  that  this  Forsythia  is  worthy  of  being  much  more  freely  planted 
in  shrubbery  borders,  at  least  in  the  South  of  England. 
Cucumber  Plants  Dying  (T.  P.  R.).— The  roots  are  badly  infested 
with  eelworm,  a  very  difficult  pest  to  deal  with  when  once  it  obtains  a 
footing  in  Cucumber  houses.  You  cannot  do  anything  better  than  clear 
out  the  plants,  lifting  them  carefully  so  as  to  remove  as  much  root  as 
possible,  burning  the  whole  without  delay.  If  you  use  boiling  water, 
giving  a  thorough  supply,  there  is  no  need  to  follow  with  soluble 
phenyle  or  anything  else,  as  not  one  of  the  Anguillulidae,  not  even  the 
dreaded  Heterodera  Schachti,  can  survive  a  drenching  of  water  even  20° 
below  the  boiling  point.  You  must,  however,  thoroughly  moisten  the 
Boil  with  the  hot  water  otherwise  the  disinfection  will  be  only  partial. 
Vines  Unsatisfactory  {Perplexed). — From  the  description  you 
give  of  the  Vines  it  would  be  much  the  best  plan  to  completely  renovate 
the  border,  lifting  the  Vines  carefully  when  the  leaves  give  indications 
of  falling,  and  after  removing  the  old  soil  and  providing  thorough 
drainage,  relay  them  in  fresh  compost  within  1  foot  of  the  surface. 
There  is  no  plan  to  equal  this,  which  if  carefully  done  would  not  materially 
interfere  with  the  crop  of  the  following  season.  By  taking  up  young 
canes,  and,  when  sufficiently  advanced,  cutting  out  the  old  rods  or  part 
of  them  in  their  favour,  much  good  might  follow,  especially  if  the  border 
were  given  a  good  dressing  of  lime.  This  answers  in  some  cases,  but 
as  the  Vines  produce  many  aerial  roots  it  is  certain  the  roots  have  a  cold 
and  probably  wet  medium  to  work  in,  in  which  case  they  will  be  of 
little  value  to  the  Vines,  hence  the  only  sure  method  is  to  proceed  as  you 
propose. 
Sellable  Greenhouse  Climber  with  Fragrant  Flowers  for 
Cutting  ( S .  H.  IK.). — We  do  not  know  any  reliable  climber  for  such  a 
purpose,  especially  one  to  flower  early  in  the  year.  Jasminum  grandiflorum 
is  a  fine  warm  greenhouse  bush  (hardly  a  climber),  but  it  does  not 
flower  until  June,  though  it  is  sometimes  had  in  April  and  May  by 
starting  the  house  early,  as  seems  the  case  with  you  for  the  Roses. 
Perhaps  some  correspondent  may  be  able  to  suggest  something  better, 
but  we  have  not  found  anything  so  satisfactory  as  the  Roses  you  have, 
and  failure  is  usually  attendant  on  attempting  too  much. 
Vine  Deaves  Damaged  ( Constant  Reader ) — The  leaves  are  not 
diseased  but  injured  by  some  insect  or  larva,  the  appearance  suggesting 
that  of  the  Vine  moth  (Tortrix  angustiorana)  caterpillar,  but  we  did  not 
find  &  specimen,  the  creature  being  very  active,  and  readily  escapes  when 
disturbed  by  letting  itself  down  to  the  ground  by  means  of  a  silken 
thread.  The  mischief  is  either  done  by  that  or  the  Vine  weevil 
(Otiorhynchus  sulcatus),  which  may  be  taken  by  cautiously  approaching 
the  Vines  after  dark  having  a  sheet  on  the  ground,  as  the  insect  drops 
when  alarmed,  feigning  death  for  a  short  time.  For  the  caterpillar 
examine  the  Vines  in  the  daytime. 
Artificial  Manure  for  Tomatoes  ( Mallands ). — Nitrate  of  potash 
is  commonly  called  saltpetre.  It  is  an  excellent  but  costly  fertiliser. 
Halt  an  ounce  per  gallon  of  water  is  quite  strong  enough  even  for  such 
gross  feeding  plants  as  the  Tomato.  It  is-  the  best  combination  of 
nitrogen  (in  the  form  of  nitric  acid)  with  potash.  It  would  not  be 
advisable  to  use  it  along  with  nitrate  of  soda,  which  supplies  the  same 
thing  — nitric  acid — without  the  potash  ;  but  you  may  use  sulphate  of 
ammonia  along  with  the  nitrate  of  potash,  say  half  an  ounce  each  to 
2  gallons  of  water,  and  as  an  alternative  employ  1  oz.  each  of  nitrate  of 
soda  and  sulphate  of  potash  to  3  gallons  of  water.  Potash  is  necessary 
for  TomatoeB. 
Sucliarls  Infested  with  Snails  ( S .  R.~). — The  Eucharis  bulbs 
you  sent  at  the  beginning  of  March  were  seriously  infested  with  the  bulb 
mite.  What  kind  of  ammoniacal  liquor  you  may  have  used  and  at  what 
strength  you  do  not  say,  but  ordinary  gas  liquor  diluted  with  six  times 
its  bulk  of  water,  though  it  browns  the  foliage  with  which  it  comes  in 
contact,  does  not  injure  the  roots  of  plants  unless  the  soil  be  dry  when 
the  liquid  is  applied,  and  it  is  then  improperly  used.  The  snails  you 
sav  you  sent  before  were  not  discoverable  with  a  magnifying  power  of 
1040  diameters,  but  the  mites  were  discernible  with  a  pocket  lens.  The 
specimen  (snails)  you  now  send  are  readily  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  It 
is  a  species  of  Auricula,  one-third  inch  in  length  of  shell.  Against  the 
mites  give  a  good  watering  with  Clibran’s  mite  killer.  For  the  snails 
you  may  use  the  soot,  as  you  say  it  did  good  before  (though  you  seem  to 
have  let  them  come  again),  or  lime  water,  but  if  neither  ammoniacal 
liquor  nor  mite  killer  is  of  any  use  against  them,  neither  will  soot  nor 
lime,  at  least,  such  is  our  experience.  You  perhaps  allow  the  soil  to  get 
much  too  dry  at  times.  As  you  cannot  procure  a  weather  diary  at  home 
you  may  inquire  of  G.  J.  Symons,  Esq.,  Camden  Square,  London,  with 
stamped  envelope  for  reply. 
Josephine  de  TSEalines  Pear  Tree  not  Searing  ( J .  F.  W .). — 
We  can  only  account  for  the  tree  not  bearing  from  its  growing  too 
freely,  and  on  that  account  not  developing  fruiting  wood.  The  tree 
against  the  wall  will  be  drier  at  the  roots  and  have  more  warmth,  a 
combination  of  circumstances  highly  favourable  to  blossom  formation. 
The  variety  is  a  free-bearing  one  under  almost  any  circumstances,  but 
is  freest  in  the  open  on  the  Quince,  though  it  does  well  on  the  Pear 
stcck.  In  order  to  bring  the  tree  into  bearing  we  should  not  hesitate  to 
now  cut  off  some  of  the  roots  so  as  to  check  its  vigour,  but  if  these  are 
few,  and  for  the  most  part  straight  down,  it  may  be  advisable  to  defer 
this  until  the  autumn,  when  the  leaves  give  indications  of  falling.  Even 
then  it  may  be  advisable  to  only  rcot-prune  one  side  of  the  tree,  as  with 
but  few  roots  it  does  not  answer  to  cut  off  too  many  at  one  time,  especi¬ 
ally  in  the  case  of  trees  on  the  Pear  stock,  but  there  is  little  danger  if 
half  the  roots  are  shortened  and  the  others  the  following  season.  This 
procedure  is  usually  effectual,  but  it  requires  to  be  exercised  with 
judgment,  and  in  the  case  of  trees  on  formal  training,  and  with 
unrestricted  rooting  area,  is  necessary  to  insure  a  good  fruiting  habit  ; 
this  once  assured  is  seldom  departed  from,  even  on  the  Pear  stock,  but 
for  such  purposes  as  trelliswork  the  variety  is  best  on  the  Quince. 
Tomato  Plant — Water  ( S .  G.  R .). — The  plant  is  in  robust  health, 
perfectly  free  from  any  disease  at  the  roots  or  on  the  foliage  so  far  as  we 
can  discover,  but  it  is  hardly  so  sturdy  in,  growth  or  stout  in  foliage  as 
desirable.  This  may  arise  from  the  soil,  which  is  of  a  dark  vegetable  or 
warpy  nature,  being  deficient  in  mineral  matter,  especially  lime  and 
potash  salts,  particularly  the  former.  The  best  possible  dressing  for  the 
soil  would  be  basic  cinder  phosphate.  It  contains  40  to  50  per  cent,  of 
free  lime,  and  this  would  act  beneficially  on  the  organic  matter, 
liberating  ammonia,  which,  however,  would  not  be  lost  as  it  would 
combine  with  the  iron  of  the  basic  slag  phosphate,  forming  a  double 
sulphate  of  ammonia  and  iron  useful  to  plants.  About  7  lbs.  per  rod 
would  be  a  fair  dressing,  pointing  it  into  the  soil.  It  ought  to  have  been 
applied  sooner.  You  may  also  use  sulphate  of  potash  ;  but  a  moderate 
amount  will  suffice,  say  an  ounce  per  square  yard  as  a  maximum  and  half  an 
ounce  as  a  minimum.  We  do  not  know  what  more  you  can  do,  unless 
it  be  to  dust  the  plants  occasionally  with  fungicide  powder  as  a 
preventive  of  disease.  Those  advertised  are  efficient.  The  analysis 
of  the  water  shows  a  rather  high  per-centage  of  chloride  of  soda,  which 
would  be  neutralised  by  adding  some  sulphate  of  lime,  say  three  grains 
per  gallon  ;  with  a  further  addition  of  two  grains  per  gallon  of  sulphate 
of  magnesia,  and  three  grains  per  gallon  of  iron  sulphate,  the  water 
would  be  as  good  as  it  need  be  minerally  for  Tomatoes. 
