September  17,  183’. 
JOURNAL  OS'  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
287 
clean  the  house  in  which  they  are  to  be  arranged.  If  any  thripa 
•exist  on  the  plants  they  should  be  well  washed  over  a  tank  with  a 
solution  of  tobacco  water,  using  1  oz.  of  softsoap  to  four  gallons, 
«.nd  adding  a  piece  of  common  washing  soda  the  size  of  a  cob  nut.  The 
old  stock,  in  whatever  stage  of  growth  the  plants  may  be,  should  also  be 
washed  if  infested  with  insects.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to  stamp 
out  thrips  at  this  season  of  the  year ;  if  any  are  left  upon  the  plants 
they  increase  rapidly  after  they  are  introduced  into  the  forcing  house. 
Those  plants  that  have  not  been  repotted  may  have  their  last  applica¬ 
tion  of  Staaden’s  or  other  favourite  manure  applied  to  the  surface  of  the 
soil.  When  the  plants  are  housed,  arrange  them,  if  possible,  on  a 
moisture-holding  base ;  do  not  allow  the  plants  to  become  dry,  and 
syringe  them  freely.  Any  plants  that  are  trained  and  need  tying 
should  be  attended  to  as  opportunity  offers,  so  that  the  foliage  will  have 
umple  time  to  turn  to  the  light  before  the  approach  of  winter.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  leave  this  operation  until  the  dark  short  days  arrive. 
Greenhouse  Rhododendrons. — These  useful  plants  are  very 
subject  to  thrips,  and  if  any  e.xist  upon  them  the  insects  should  be 
eradicated  at  once,  or  the  bold  fine  foliage  will  soon  be  destroyed.  The 
solution  advised  for  Azaleas  will  do  very  well.  Where  the  plants  have 
been  grown  fully  exposed  to  the  sun  their  wood  will  be  firm,  and  the 
flower  buds  swelling  rapidly.  Keep  the  plants  moist  at  the  roots  and 
syringe  them  freely.  This  treatment  will  not  induce  them  to  start  into 
growth  aaaln  after  the  flower  buds  have  formed.  One  of  the  most 
useful  of  this  class  is  Prince.s«  Royal,  which  will  yield  its  choice  pink 
flowers  over  a  period  of  six  months. 
Epacrlu.-— Expose  these  to  full  sunshine,  and  protect  them,  if  grown 
in  frames,  from  heavy  autumn  rains.  The  lights  should  be  thrown  off 
whenever  the  weather  is  favourable.  When  the  plants  are  housed  stand 
them  on  ashes,  give  plenty  of  air,  and  syringe  freely. 
Heaths. — Softwooded  kinds  will  be  forming  their  flower  buds,  and 
on  no  account  should  they  be  allowed  to  become  dry  at  their  roots.  If 
this  takes  place  the  flower  buds  may  fail  to  come  forward.  Unless 
abundance  of  air  is  given  Erica  autumnalis  is  very  liable  to  be  attacked 
by  mildew.  During  dull  damp  weather  watch  for  mildew  on  the  different 
hardwooded  varieties.  At  this  season  it  need  not  be  feared  if  abundance 
of  air  is  given,  except  during  spells  of  dull  damp  weather.  Those  that 
have  finished  their  growth  may  be  tied  and  restaked  if  they  need  it,  while 
those  that  are  still  growing  must  be  left  until  later  in  the  season. 
Mignonette. — The  last  sowing  should  be  made  in  6-inch  pots  for 
spring  flowering.  Those  sown  some  time  ago  and  large  enough  should 
be  liberally  thinned.  Too  many  plants  should  not  be  left  in  each  pot, 
or  they  will  grow  weakly  during  the  winter.  Keep  the  blooms  removed 
from  those  that  are  to  flower  when  outside  supplies  fail.  Do  not  allow 
the  plants  to  become  dry,  and  give  them  abundance  of  air. 
Cyclamens. — These  may  still  be  repotted  if  they  have  not  already 
been  placed  in  the  flowering  size.  If  the  plants  to  be  repotted  are 
throwing  up  flowers  they  should  be  removed.  Sow  seed  in  heat  for 
next  season’s  supply  of  plants.  Late-sowp  plants  established  in  thumbs 
may  be  placed  into  3-inch  pots.  Grow  the  plants  fully  exposed  to  the 
sun.  Give  air  liberally  to  insure  sturdy  growth. 
Tr  -  —  I  1  .  T*^  ,  »'  'i i  » *  -  ,  i  v  t  »  'i  i  ~  t  »  7  £ 'V ^  7"«  i  v  ^  Vm 
M 
^  (d 
m  BEE-KBEPBR. 
Lffiii — a1U-i 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
The  Season’s  Review. 
It  may  be  an  advantage  at  this  period,  when  all  is  quiet  in  the 
apiary,  and  bee-keepers  are  counting  their  gains  and  losses,  as  the. 
•case  may  be,  to  make  a  general  review  of  the  past  season,  as  far  as 
is  possible,  from  a  honey  producer’s  point  of  view. 
Bees  wintered  remarkably  well  and  came  out  strong  and  healthy 
in  the  spring.  The  winter  being  very  mild  and  open  a  much 
greater  consumption  of  stores  than. usual  took  place;  but  those 
who  provided  their  bees  with  ample  food  early  in  the  autumn 
proved  the  wisdom  of  doing  so,  as  in  only  a  few  solitary  instances 
was  it  necessary  to  feed  them  in  the  spring. 
Breeding  commenced  in  the  majority  of  stocks  early  in  the  new 
year,  and  in  January  bees  were  carrying  in  pollen  freely  which  was 
obtained  from  the  early  spring  flowers.  This  continued  throughout 
the  early  spring  months,  the  strength  of  the  various  colonies 
increased  rapidly,  and  bee-keeper «  were  looking  forward  to  a 
bountiful  harvest  which  would  compensate  them  for  several 
unfavourable  seasons. 
Partial  Failure— Its  Causes. 
Instead  of  being  able  to  repot  t  favourably,  a  partial  failure  has 
to  be  chronicled — at  least,  such  is  my  experience  in  the  Midlands. 
So  ue  bee-keepers  I  fear,  who  did  not  take  time  by  the  forelock 
from  various  causes,  have  had  a  total  failure,  and  speak  of  the  past 
season  as  the  worst  in  their  experience.  This  does  not  apply  to 
any  one  particular  district,  as  from  east,  west,  north,  and  south 
reports  are  to  baud  complaining  of  the  shortneis  of  the  honey 
crop. 
The  cause  of  this  ia  not  far  to  seek — dried-up  pastures,  the  rain 
coming  too  late  in  the  season  to  revive  the  white  Clover,  which  in 
many  districts  is  the  chief  source  of  supply  the  bee-keeper  has  to 
depend  on  for  his  harvest.  Bee-keepers  in  this  respect  were  worse 
off  in  the  south  than  in  the  midland  and  northern  counties.  But 
they  had  in  many  instances  the  advantage  of  an  early  crop  of  honey 
from  fruit  trees  and  similar  sources,  which  those  living  further 
north  had  not.  The  latter  part  of  the  country,  however,  had 
the  advantage  of  heavy  showers  of  rain  during  the  first  fortnight 
of  June,  whereas  very  little  rain  fell  in  the  south  of  England. 
This  revived  the  white  Clover  in  a  remarkable  manner,  from 
which  a  small  surplus  was  stored. 
Early  Crop  of  Honey. 
Never  before  in  my  experience  have  I  known  honey  to  be  stored 
in  supers  so  early  in  the  season.  In  my  own  apiary  honey  was 
being  brought  in  freely  early  in  May,  obtained  chiefly  from  the 
Hawthorni,  which  were  a  mass  of  bloom,  and  some  well-finished 
sections  were  obtained  before  the  end  of  the  month,  also  a  quantity 
of  run  honey.  The  weather  being  very  dry  for  several  weeks  aphis 
was  plentiful  on  many  of  our  hardy  trees  and  shrubs,  and  the  bees 
woi'ked  on  this  somewhat  freely.  The  consequence  was  a  great 
deal  of  the  run  honey  obtained  at  that  time  was  spoiled,  and  was 
lately  fed  back  to  the  bees  for  their  winter  supply.  The  honey 
obtained  from  the  fruit  trees  and  the  early  Hawthorn  trees  was  in 
good  condition.  Honey  obtained  from  this  source  is  rather  dark  in 
colour,  but  has  a  very  pleasant  aroma. 
In  the  modern  system  of  bee-keeping  with  the  moveable  frame 
hive  it  is  quite  easy  to  examine  them,  note  the  state  of  their 
contents,  and  if  there  is  any  likelihood  of  a  good  sample  of  honey 
being  contaminated  with  the  excrement  from  the  aphis  it  should  at 
once  be  extracted. 
Late  Crop  of  Honey. 
The  last  week  of  May  was  dull  and  cold,  very  little  work  being 
done  by  the  bees  ;  then  came  a  few  bright  days,  afterwards  heavy 
showers  of  rain  fell,  this  was  followed  by  a  fortnight  of  dull, 
sunless  weather.  During  this  time  there  was  a  good  show  of  white 
Clover  in  bloom,  which,  owing  to  the  dull  weather,  the  bees  were 
not  able  to  derive  much  benefit  from.  Then  came  a  day  or  two  of 
bright  weather.  Unfortunately  the  Lime  trees,  which  had  been  in 
splendid  bloom,  were  nearly  over,  but  the  bees  worked  with  a  will, 
and  stored  a  small  surplus,  and  a  nice  sample  of  bright  coloured 
honey.  To  those  who,  like  myself,  depend  chiefly  on  field  Beans, 
white  Clover,  and  Lime  for  their  supplies,  the  season  was  now  over. 
In  a  few  solitary  instances  there  has  been  a  good  yield.  During 
the  past  few  weeks  I  have  met  many  bee-keepers  in  this  district, 
all  have  the  same  complaint — namely,  shortness  of  honey  crop,  a 
great  deal  of  which  is  of  bad  colour  ;  and  from  the  old-fashioned 
bee-keepers,  who  still  cling  to  the  straw  skep,  the  scarcity  of  swarm*. 
Bad  as  the  season  has  been,  it  has  been  better  than  1888.  Bees  are 
going  into  winter  quarters  in  good  condition.  We  may,  therefore, 
look  forward  with  confidence  to  a  better  season  in  1897. — 
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.  We  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. 
Seedllngr  Apple  (IF.  P.). — When  a  seedling  Apple  is  distinct  from 
all  others  in  cultivation  the  raiser  can  give  it  what  name  he  chooses.  It 
is  well,  however,  before  giving  any  name,  to  send  fine  specimens  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  a  day  or  two  prior  to  one  of 
the  periodical  meetings  ;  then,  if  the  fruits  are  accorded  a  mark  of 
approval  by  the  Committee,  that  will  be  good  evidence  that  the  variety 
is  worthy  of  a  name. 
