Jo  Villi' At  OP  ffOPPiOtiLftjllP  AND  OOTTAOP  QAtlMiJPll 
An^st  i,  IsJlA ' 
m 
mation  by  perusing  it.  Copies  of  this  leaflet  are  to  be  obtained 
free  of  charge,  and  p^jst  free  on  application  to  the  Secretary, 
Board  of  Agriculture,  i,  Whitehall  Place,  London,  S.W.  Letters 
of  application  so  addresied  need  not  be  stamped. 
If  the  full  text  of  the  leaflet  could  be  published  in  the  pages  of 
the  Journctt  of  Horticulture,  h  would  be  interesting  and  beneficial 
to  many  of  its  readers.  All  may  not  agree  with  the  means  taken 
to  cure  this  disease,  as  there  are  so  many  opinions  as  to  the  best 
course  to  take.  Bse-keepers  may,  however,  rest  assured  that  the 
rules  laid  down  are  safe. 
How  Foul  Brood  is  Spread. 
For  several  years  I  have  been  interested  in  this  question. 
Although  I  have  a  great  number  of  stock*,  I  have  never  had  a  case 
of  foul  brood  in  my  apiary,  neither  is  there  a  trace  of  it  in  the 
surrounding  district,  bat  in  the  south  and  we*t  of  Fngland  it  is 
rampant.  I  yearly  visit  bee-keepers  in  those  parts,  where  it  is 
sometimes  a  difficult  matter  to  find  stocks  that  are  free  of  this 
disea«e.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  experiments  that  are  being 
made  by  some  of  the  more  advanced  bee-keepers  to  combat  this, 
the  worst  of  all  the  diseases  to  which  bees  are  subject. 
■In  many  instances  I  find  the  cure  is  often  slow  and  dishearten¬ 
ing,  owing  to  neighbouring  bee-keepers  allowing  their  bees  to  take 
their  chance,  and  when  affected  with  foul  brood  taking  no  steps  to 
prevent  it  spreading,  or  making  the  unhealthy  stocks  healthy. 
Strong  colonies  will  often  dwindle  away  and  die.  In  numerous 
instances  where  this  has  taken  place  in  straw  skeps  they  have  been 
allowed  to  remain  on  their  old  stands,  the  bees  from  the  other 
stocks  in  the  neighbourhood  going  in  and  out  of  them  without 
hindrance  and  robbing  them  of  their  stores.  The  result  is  the 
whole  of  the  bees  in  that  district  are  affected  with  this  scourge, 
and  instead  of  bee-keepers  increasing  in  that  locality  they  are  very 
much  on  the  decrease.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  the 
disease  is  so  contagious  that  hives  containing  foul-broody  combs, 
especially  straw  skeps,  should  be  burnt,  and  not  allowed  to  remain 
on  their  old  stands  during  the  winter,  and  the  following  spring 
place  a  swarm  of  bees  in  them,  or  worse  still,  sell  them  for  the 
saoie  purpose.  These  and  similar  instances  have  come  under  my 
notice  on  numerous  occasions. 
Destroying  Affected  Combs. 
These  should  always  be  destroyed.  Burning  is  the  best  method, 
but  care  should  be  taken  that  none  of  the  combs  or  honey  is 
allowed  to  remain  within  reach  of  the  bees,  otherwise  the  contagion 
will  spread.  Two  or  three  years  ago  I  called  on  a  bee-keeper 
whose  bees  were  very  much  affected  with  this  disease.  Many 
hives  and  their  contents  were  condemned  to  the  flimes.  I  was 
shown  the  spot  where  this  had  taken  place  only  a  few  days  previous 
to  my  visit.  But  instead  of  the  whole  mass  of  dead  bees,  combs, 
and  hives  being  destroyed,  as  was  intended,  many  pieces  of  comb 
remained  only  partially  consumed  by  the  fire,  and  the  bees  from 
other  stocks  were  busily  engaged  clearing  up  all  the  particles  of 
honey  that  were  left  on  the  partly  destroyed  combs.  This  would 
affect  all  the  cfber  colonies.  No  wonder  the  bee-keepers  in  that 
district  are  still  complaining  of  the  ravages  of  foul  brood. — ^ 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  The  Editor.'’  Letters  addressed  personally  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  often  remain  unopened 
unavoidably.  Wo  request  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  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. 
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,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions 
through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  rejected 
communications. 
Grapes  Scalded  (^An  Amateur'). — The  Grapes  are  badly  scalded* 
It  may- be  prevented  by  keeping  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  hot-water  pipesj 
and  admitting  a  little  air  constantly,  increasing  iteirly  in  the  morning. 
and  having  it  rather  free  during  the  day.  The  Grapes,  as  a  rule,  are 
only  liable  to  scald  at  the  close  of  the  stoning  period,  and  a  little  extra 
attention  then  in  ventilating  will  entirely  prevent  the  mischief.  When 
the  Grapes  are  advanced  in  colour  they  are  perfectly  safe  as  regards 
scalding,  but  to  do  Grapes  well  they  require  a  circalation  of  air  when 
ripening  and  for  about  three  weeks  before  colouring  commences,  in 
order  to  avoid  scalding.  Lady  Djwne’s,  the  variety  you  sent,  is  one  of 
the  most  liable  to  be  affected. 
Grapes  Shanked  (TF.  H.  T.) — The  Grape  stalks  are  shanked,  but 
whether  caused  by  the  ordinary  defects  of  soils  and  nutriment  and 
management  we  are  unable  to  say  from  a  dried  and  withered  specimen. 
There  is  some  appearance  of  an  attack  from  fungus,  similar  to  Perono- 
spora  viticola,  but  the  specimen  is  too  far  gone  for  making  anything 
out  definitely.  Had  you' sent  us  a  fresh  specimen  carefully  packed  in 
damp  moss,  not  cotton  wool,  we  might  have  been  able  to  detect  the  cause  of 
the  mischief.  As  it  is,  it  appears  only  an  ordinary  form  of  shanking, 
yet  there  are  certain  indications  of  its  being  what  is  stated  above. 
Tomatoes  Falllngr  to  Set  (^Amateur,  Cupar). — The  fruits  are 
black  or  brown,  as  if  infested  by  some  parasitic  fungi,  but  we  failed 
to  discover  any  in  even  hyphal  condition,  and  we  can  only  conclude 
that  the  noa-setting  is  due  to  some  defect  of  fertilisati  m,  probably  to 
the  vigour.  We  should  set  the  flowers  carefully  with  a  camel’s- hair 
brush  when  fully  expanded,  operating  about  midday,  and  when  the 
flowers  fade  carefully  remove  the  remains,  as  the  decay  is  probably  due 
to  these  holding  moisture.  If  the  plants  are  under  glass  admit  air 
freely,  even  a  little  at  night,  so  as  to  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture 
on  the  flowers,  this  being  a  frequent  cause  of  the  fruit  setting  through 
the  pollen  being  converted  into  paste,  and  therefore  ineffective. 
Bulbs  In  Turf  QC.  Johnson). — All  the  free-growing  Narcissi  will 
grow  well  if  the  soil  is  moderately  fertile,  together  with  the  other  bulbs 
you  name.  Any  time  from  now  to  the  end  of  September  is  a  good  time 
for  planting  ;  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  make  holes  with  the  dibber  and 
drop  the  bulbs  in  them,  as  the  surroundings  are  then  often  so  hard  that 
the  roots  cannot  readily  take  possession  of  the  soil.  The  proper  plan  is 
to  take  up  a  square  of  turf  with  the  spade  and  dig  up  the  soil  to  the 
depth  of  a  foot,  and  place  the  bulbs  so  that  when  the  turf  is  replaced 
they  are  3  inches  below  the  surface.  Thus  treated  they  root  freely  into 
the  loosened  soil.  When  the  turves  are  placed  on  again  they  will  be 
slightly  above  the  general  level,  but  will  not  remain  so  for  long.  If  you 
object  to  this  s  little  of  the  soil  can  be  spread  on  the  grass,  which  it  will 
benefit.  Snowflakes  and  Snowdrops  may  be  planted  2  inches  deep. 
Stephanotls  florlbunda  (^Amateur). — Pot  the  plant  at  once,  and 
then  it  will  have  ample  time  to  become  well  established  before  winter. 
It  would  have  been  better  if  you  had  done  so  some  months  ago.  Potting 
may  excite  the  plant  into  growth,  and  if  so  you  must  use  every  endeavour 
to  thoroughly  ripen  t  he  wood  before  winter.  If  it  does  not  ripen  well 
prune  the  nnripened  wood  well  back  in  spring  before  yon  start  the  plant 
into  growth  again.  Encourage  the  extension  of  the  roots  into  the  new 
soil  by  plunging  the  pot  in  slight  bottom  heat,  while  the  top  of  the  plant 
is  kept  in  a  little  lower  temperature  to  prevent  it  from  making  fresh 
growth.  If  you  do  this  and  you  rest  the  plant  well  during  the  winter 
it  will  start  away  luxuriantly  another  season.  This  plant  does  well  in  a 
compost  of  equal  parts  of  fibry  loam  and  peat,  to  which  you  may  add  a 
sprinkling  of  bone  dust,  a  little  crushed  charcoal,  and  a  liberal  dash  of 
coarse  sand. 
Time  Required  for  Palm  Seed  to  Germinate  {Patience). — 
Certain  species  germinate  in  much  shorter  time  than  others,  and  also 
grow  on  faster  afterwards.  Kentias  generally  germinate  quickly  in  a 
light  sandy  soil  if  placed  on  a  hotbed.  We  have  not  noticed  the  exact 
time,  but  the  seedlings  are  usually  conspicuous  during  the  summer  when 
sown  early  in  the  spring,  and  when  the  sowing  is  deferred  till  somewhat 
late  the  seeds  may  not  germinate  until  the  following  spring,  but  they 
generally  appear  quickly  after  sowing  in  a  bottom  heat  of  85°  to  90°.  It 
is  essential  that  the  pans  be  well  drained,  and  the  soil  consist  of  about 
two  parts  fibrous  loam  and  one  part  sharp  silver  sand.  The  soil  should 
be  kept  watered,  though  not  sufficient  to  cause  sourness,  for  when  this 
occurs  the  embryos  perish  or  germination  is  much  slower,  as  also  is  the 
case  when  the  seeds  are  buried  deeply  in  the  soil.  It  suffices  that  the 
seeds  be  covered  with  about  their  own  depth  of  soil,  and  that  this  be 
moist,  then  in  the  bottom  heat  they  ought  to  come  up  quickly.  If  the 
seeds  do  not  germinate  this  summer  keep  them  another  year,  as  old  seeds 
are  much  slower  in  growing  than  fresh. 
Propagating-  Bctaeverlas  {Novice).  —  Both  these  plants  and 
PaenyphytoDB,  also  Kieiuias,  are  readily  increased  from  leaves.  The 
larger  of  these  should  be  taken  off  quite  close  to  the  stem,  and  left  an 
hour  or  two  for  the  wounds  to  dry,  then  inserted  as  lightly  as  possible 
in  a  layer  of  sand  spread  over  free  well-drained  soil  in  pots  and  boxes. 
It  is  well  to  water  this  before  inserting  the  leaves  ;  then,  when  the 
surface  ha*  dried  somewhat  but  still  damp,  press  the  base  of  each  in  the 
sand,  but  very  slightly,  standing  the  pots  or  boxes  on  a  shelf  in  a  green- 
houB‘1.  In  dull  weather  no  water  will  be  needed,  but  it  must  be  given 
occasionally  in  hot  dry  weather.  There  is  greater  danger,  however,  in 
over  than  in  under  watering,  and  after  giving  water  you  may  sprinkle 
on  some  dry  sand.  It  rightly  managed  a  bud  will  form  near  the  base  of 
each  le»f,  which  will  develop  into  a  plant.  In  dull  weather,  and  where 
the  house  is  slightly  damp,  we  have  seen  hundreds  of  young  plants  raised 
by  resting  the  ends  of  the  leaves  on  the  soil,  and  in  uo  case  must  they 
be  inserted  deeply  or  they  will  decay.  You  had  better  try  both  methods, 
and  with  care  in  watering  you  will  succeed  in  your  object.  The  present 
is  the  time  for  the  work. 
