Septembel*  8,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  SORTIOVLTURE  AND  UOfTAOE  GARDENER. 
239 
and  all  three  kinds  of  plants  shoald  be  wintered  on  shelves  in  forcing 
houses  or  stoves. 
MCesembryanthemum  cordlfollnm  variegatum. — This  is  some¬ 
what  difficult  to  manage,  hence  its  being  less  often  seen  than  formerly. 
Being  of  a  succulent  nature,  cuttings  inserted  now,  as  advised  in  the 
case  of  Alternantheras,  should  be  kept  somewhat  dry  and  in  a  dry  heat, 
or  they  will  damp  ofi. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Cabbages. — The  earliest  sowings  were  in  many  cases  complete 
failures,  and  in  others  the  plants  have  grown  more  rapidly  than  desirable. 
If  the  precaution  was  taken  of  sowing  again  the  chances  are  abundance 
of  plants,  quite  forward  enough,  will  have  resulted.  Where  crowded  a 
portion  of  either  batch  ought  to  be  pricked  out,  4  inches  apart  each  way, 
in  nursery  beds,  from  which  they  must  be  finally  transplanted.  If  it  is 
thought  that  the  earliest  raised  plants  are  too  forward  to  stand  through 
a  severe  winter  treat  them  as  Coleworts,  planting  them  on  good  ground 
1  foot  apart  each  way,  and  use  them  in  the  early  winter  months,  relying 
upon  the  later  raised  batch  to  heart  in  next  spring. 
Cauliflowers. — Plants  of  autumn  Cauliflowers  are  undersized  this 
season,  and  there  is,  therefore,  good  reason  for  feeding  at  the  roots. 
Mere  driblets  are  worse  than  useless,  and  ordinary  rainfall  will  not  be 
equal  to  well  moistening  the  soil  about  the  roots.  Lightly  loosen  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  then  give  each  plant  a  thorough  soaking  of 
liquid  manure,  or  else  wash  in  a  light  surfacing  of  nitrate  of  soda.  The 
last  week  in  August  is  a  good  time  to  sow  Cauliflower  seed  with  a  view 
to  having  a  good  supply  of  plants  for  hand-lights  this  autumn  and  the 
open  ground  next  spring.  For  this  sowing  Early  London  and  Dwarf 
Erfurt  are  suitable,  and  if  with  these  Veitch’s  Autumn  Giant  is  also 
sown  the  plants  resulting  should  heart  in  earlier  next  season  than  would 
any  raised  early  in  the  spring.  A  sunny  border  should  be  chosen  for  the 
seed  bed. 
Xiettuce. — Now  that  there  is  less  sunshine  and  more  moisture, 
transplanting  may  again  be  resorted  to.  It  is  not  often  too  much 
Lettuce  is  grown  for  late  autumn  use,  and  no  mistake  will  be  made  in 
replanting  all  that  can  be  drawn  from  the  rows  of  young  plants.  All 
the  Cos  and  close-growing  Cabbage  varieties  are  of  the  greatest  service 
late  in  the  autumn.  Thanks  to  the  introduction  of  superior  extra  early 
varieties  of  Lettuce,  there  is  less  need  than  formerly  to  raise  and  winter 
batches  of  plants  for  turning  out  next  spring,  but  there  is  yet  much  to 
be  said  in  favour  of  following  the  old  custom.  Sow  seed  of  Black- 
seeded  Brown  Cos,  Hick’s  Hardy  Green,  and  any  well  proven  hard 
Cabbage  varieties. 
Onions. — In  hot  and  dry  positions  spring  and  autumn  sown  Onions 
have  all  matured  together,  and  will  have  to  be  stored  much  earlier  than 
usual.  Leaving  them  on  the  ground  after  they  have  ripened  their  tops 
and  the  roots  leave  the  ground  readily  is  a  mistake,  as  it  may  lead  to 
root  and  top  growth  recommencing,  in  which  case  they  will  keep  badly. 
Directly  the  tops  die  down  draw  the  roots  or  “  bulbs,”  harvest  on  boards 
or  hurdles  rather  than  on  the  bare  ground,  in  the  full  sunshine,  and 
afterwards  store  thinly  in  a  cool  dry  place.  Those  not  maturing  so 
rapidly  as  desirable,  or  running  too  much  to  neck,  should  now  be  given 
a  good  twist,  bringing  their  tops  down  to  the  ground..  There  ought  to  be 
no  further  delay  in  sowing  Onion  seed  in  order  to  have  abundance  of 
plants  for  putting  out  next  spring.  Tripolisin  variety  are  most  preferred, 
but  the  White  Spanish  section  are  equally  as  hardy,  grow  to  a  great  size, 
and  are  far  better  keepers  than  the  Tripoli  varieties.  Select  open,  well- 
manured  ground,  and  sow  in  drills  from  10  inches  to  1  foot  apart ;  stir 
between  the  rows  with  a  Dutch  hoe  directly  the  plants  are  up,  and  do 
not  disturb  them  further  before  next  spring. 
Splnacb. — Winter  Spinach  sown  early  has  come  up  indifferently.  It 
does  not  transplant  readily,  though  the  attempt  may  be  made  to  fill  up 
blank  places  with  the  thinnings  from  the  places  where  the  plants  are  too 
thick.  Where  there  are  good  rows  of  plants  thin  out  lightly  at  first, 
leaving  them  about  3  inches  apart,  but  before  they  crowd  each  other 
draw  half  the  plants  and  send  to  the  kitchen  for  use.  If  a  fresh  breadth 
of  ground  is  sown  now  the  plants  resulting  may  not  grow  strongly  before 
the  spring,  but  they  would  be  far  ahead  of  any  sown  with  the  early  Peas 
in  February. 
Turnips. — Owing  to  the  dry  weather  Turnips  sown  in  July  or  early 
in  August  either  came  up  badly  or  else  failed  to  make  any  good  progress. 
It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  sow  more  seeds.  Sow  early  and  second  early 
varieties  on  ground  recently  cleared  of  Potatoes  in  drills  15  inches  apart. 
Dust  over  young  Turnips  generally  with  soot  and  lime  to  save  them  from 
insect  pests,  and  thin  out  in  good  time,  lightly  at  first,  and  finally  to  a 
distance  of  6  inches  to  9  inches  apart. 
Vegetable  »Iarrows.-In  many  instances  these  are  only  just  becoming 
productive,  and  in  order  to  derive  the  full  benefit  from  the  plants  in  this 
season,  when  green  vegetables  are  so  scarce,  cut  the  fruit  as  fast  as  they 
are  large  enough  to  use.  Leaving  one  or  two  large  fruit  to  ripen  takes 
away  all  the  strength  from  the  plant,  whereas  by  cutting  closely  abun¬ 
dance  will  continue  to  form  till  frosts  intervene.  It  pays  well  to  roughly 
protect  some  of  the  plants  from  early  frosts. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution,— 
Mr.  Q.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Parliament  Street,  London,  W.O, 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Yvsu.—Seoretary,  Mr.  A.  F.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  W. 
m  bee-kbepbr|5 
- 1  ■ ,  ■  I  ■  I  ■  1  -  I  ■  i-n-TT-.-rrr-.  i  -  t  r  ■■■i ; , .  i .  i .  ft  r  - 1 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
Feeder?. 
What  is  the  best  kind  of  feeder  for  autumn  feeding  ?  is  the 
question  often  asked  ;  and  as  they  are  now  to  be  obtained  in  great 
variety,  some  being  much  better  than  others,  it  is  advisable  for  the 
bee-keeper  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  best  on  the  market.  For 
rapid  feeding  in  the  autumn  the  one  I  prefer  to  any  I  have  yet 
tried,  and  which  I  can  confidently  recommend,  is  “  The  Improved 
Canadian  Feeder,”  which  may  be  obtained  in  various  sizes.  Thus, 
by  selecting  one  that  will  hold  from  10  to  14  lbs.  of  thick  syrup,  a 
strong  colony  of  bees  may  be  fed  up  in  a  couple  of  days,  which  is 
a  great  advantage  in  an  apiary  where  a  number  of  stocks  is  kept. 
This  feeder  is  made  of  wood,  and  a  number  of  slats  of  wood  are 
fixed  into  a  frame,  which  is  placed  in  a  tin-lined  box.  The  bees 
gain  access  to  the  food  throHgh  openings  on  each  side  underneath, 
and  are  prevented  from  escaping  by  the  wooden  lid,  that  may  be 
slipped  along  when  a  further  supply  of  food  is  necessary,  which 
may  be  poured  into  the  receiver  at  the  end  without  inconvenience 
to  the  bees.  If  glass  is  used  instead  of  a  wooden  lid  one  can  see  at 
a  glance  when  a  further  supply  of  food  is  necessary.  This  is 
doubtless  an  advantage  to  those  who  are  nervous  in  handling  bees. 
At  the  present  time  I  have  upwards  of  a  dozen  feeders  in  use. 
Some  are  made  of  zinc,  others  of  wood,  but  of  whatever  material 
they  are  made  it  is  essential  they  should  be  covered  up  with  several 
thicknesses  of  warm  material. 
The  bottle  feeder  is  useful  when  only  a  small  quantity  of  syrup 
is  required,  and  is  more  suitable  for  spring  feeding.  It  may  be 
used  at  this  season  if  there  is  no  rapid  feeder  to  hand,  and  there  is 
a  danger  of  the  bees  suffering  for  want  of  stores.  Any  wide¬ 
mouthed  glass  bottle  may  be  used.  This  should  be  filled  with 
syrup.  A  piece  of  muslin  or  tiffany  is  placed  over  the  aperture  to 
prevent  the  food  coming  out  except  when  taken  by  the  bees.  A 
'  hole  is  cut  in  the  quilt,  under  which  is  placed  a  piece  of  perforated 
zinc  slightly  larger  than  the  hole ;  this  will  prevent  the  bees 
escaping  whilst  being  fed.  The  bottle  is  then  placed  mouth  down¬ 
wards,  pressing  it  firmly  on  to  the  zinc.  The  syrup  will  not  run 
out,  only  when  taken  by  the  bees. 
When  to  Feed. 
Evening  is  the  best  time  to  feed  bees  at  this  season,  as  if  done 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  they  will  often  become' very  troublesome, 
the  weak  stocks  being  attacked  by  the  strong,  and  when  robbing 
has  once  commenced  in  an  apiary  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  stop. 
The  bees,  too,  become  so  excited  that  they  attack  anyone  who  may 
venture  near  their  hives.  This  can  be  avoided  if  only  ordinary 
care  is  taken  in  feeding  them.  It  shows  the  advantage  of  having 
rapid  feeders  as  corapared  with  those  holding  only  a  small  quantity  of 
syrup,  the  business  being  finished  off  with  the  former  in  much  less 
time  than  the  latter,  and  there  is  then  no  necessity  of  interfering 
with  them  only  late  in  the  evening  when  no  bees  are  on  the  wing. 
When  small  feeders  are  used  it  is  necessary  they  should  be  filled 
twice  daily,  otherwise,  if  they  are  very  short  of  stores,  it  will  take 
a  long  time  to  provide  them  with  sufficient  to  tide  over  the  winter. 
The  next  best  time  is  early  morning,  care  being  taken  not  to 
spill  the  syrup,  or  it  will  load  to  robbing.  The  bees  will  at  once 
commence  to  carry  it  down,  and  if  carefully  done  no  harm  will 
happen  to  them.  If  done  in  the  middle  of  a  fine  day  the  apiary 
would  be  in  an  uproar.  To  give  an  instance  of  how  quickly  driven 
bees  may  be  fed  up  for  winter,  I  may  state  that  on  the  25th  ult.  I 
drove  two  stocks  of  bees  from  straw  skeps  ;  these  were  placed  in 
a  frame  hive  on  ten  frames  of  fully  drawn  out  combs.  The  follow¬ 
ing  morning  a  rapid  feeder  was  put  on  the  hive  filled  with  dark 
honey  that  had  been  spoiled  by  the  bees  working  cn  the  aphis 
during  the  dry  weather,  when  proper  bee  forage  was  scarce.  Since 
then  they  have  stored  28  lbs.,  and  this  evening  (28th  ult.)  the 
feeder  will  be  removed.  This  is  a  much  better  plan,  and  far  less 
trouble  than  giving  them  a  small  quantity  daily.  These,  with 
ordinary  care,  will  doubtless  come  out  strong  and  healthy  in  the 
spring,  and  is  infinitely  better  than  destroying  them. 
Reducinu  Entrances. 
The  entrance  to  all  the  hives  should  be  reduced  at  this  season, 
as  during  bright  days,  when  many  bees  are  on  the  wing,  more 
particularly  whilst  stocks  are  being  fed  up  for  winter,  bees  are  ever 
on  the  alert  to  rob  their  weaker  neighbours.  The  front  of  the 
hives  that  have  been  wedged  up  from  loose  floor  boards,  so  as  to 
allow  the  bees  an  entrance  the  full  width  of  their  hives,  should  now 
be  let  down  and  the  entrance  further  reduced,  so  as  to  allow  only 
an  inch  or  two  of  space  for  the  bees  to  pass  into  their  hives.  They 
