fiecembel"  lO,  1898. 
JOVmAL  OF  hortioultitre  aj^d  cottage  gardener 
571 
year  is  tender ;  therefore  care  mast  be  exercised  in  fumigation,  not 
giving  an  overdose. 
Pines. — Ymmg  Stock — Growing  plants  are  liable  to  become  drawn 
and  weakly  at  this  time  of  year  by  keeping  them  too  close,  moist,  and 
warm,  the  damage  often  being  irreparable,  and  not  infrequently  arises 
from  improper  structures  being  employed.  Well  ventilated  pits  or 
small  bouses  properly  heated  are  most  suitable  for  young  Pine  plants,  as 
they  can  be  kept  near  the  glass,  and  should  be  given  plenty  of  room. 
Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  B5°  to  60°,  which,  with  65°  in  the  day¬ 
time,  will  keep  all  young  stock  gently  growing,  admitting  a  little  air  at 
the  top  of  the  house  at  65°,  leaving  it  on  all  day  ;  but  do  not  let  the 
temperature  fall  below  that  point,  and  when  the  temperature  advances 
to  75°  a  free  ventilation  must  be  allowed.  The  bottom  heat  should  be 
kept  steady  at  80°.  Avoid  a  damp  atmosphere  ;  an  occasional  damping 
of  the  paths  will  suffice.  Water  only  when  necessary,  but  when  the 
plants  become  dry  then  afford  a  thorough  supply  of  weak  liquid 
manure. 
Plants  to  Ripen  Fruit  in  May  and  June. — This  is  a  very  important 
time  to  have  Pine  Apples  ripe,  as  fresh  ripe  fruit  is  not  over-plentiful, 
and  they  are  a  great  ornament  at  dessert,  far  transcending  imported 
frnit  in  appearance,  and  are  juicier  and  more  briskly  flavoured,  besides 
having  a  much  more  pleasant  aroma.  Where  a  supply  is  required  at 
the  time  named,  and  plants  are  not  now  showing  fruit,  it  will  be  advis¬ 
able  to  select  from  those  started  in  March  last,  which  have  completed 
growth  and  are  now  in  a  state  of  rest,  such  as  show  a  stout  base,  the 
best  indication  of  starting  into  fruit  when  subjected  to  a  higher  tempe¬ 
rature  both  at  the  roots  and  in  the  atmosphere.  The  plants  are  best 
placed  in  a  structure  to  themselves.  Where  this  cannot  be  afforded  they 
must  have  a  light  position  in  the  house  where  the  fruiters  are  swelling. 
Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  65°  in  the  fruiting  department,  5°  less 
in  the  morning  of  cold  nights,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day  ;  but  in  very  severe 
weather  a  few  degrees  lower  is  preferable  to  extra  sharp  firing. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Forcing-  Asparagus. — Asparagus  sent  to  the  table  in  December 
and  January  is  invariably  appreciated.  No  vegetable  is  more  easily 
forced,  only  unfortunately,  having  it  early  necessitates  the  breaking  up 
of  well  established  beds,  and  once  forced  the  roots  are  of  no  further 
value.  Not  till  an  old  bed  can  be  spared  in  the  spring  ought  it  to  be 
broken  up,  and  those  who  are  anxious  to  force  Asparagus  every  season 
ought  to  plant  a  fresh  bed  every  year,  each  in  its  turn  being  broken  up 
for  the  roots  when  it  is  the  oldest  in  the  garden.  If  young  shoots  are 
wanted  at  midwinter,  forcing  must  commence  at  once,  A  mild  hot¬ 
bed  of  well  prepared  leaves  and  manure,  surmounted  by  a  frame,  or  a 
gentle  hotbed  may  be  formed  in  a  pit,  heated  or  otherwise,  but  the  less 
fire  heat  used  to  keep  up  to  about  55° at  the  outset,  and  from  60°  to  65° 
when  top  growth  commencss,  the  greater  the  likelihood  of  superior 
produce  being  obtained. 
Lift  the  requisite  number  of  roots,  or  enough  to  fill  at  least  two 
lights,  and  at  once  replant  closely  together  in  rich  moist  soil.  There 
ought  to  be  H  inches  of  soil  under  them  and  as  much  on  the  top,  and 
long  succulent  shoots  will  then  be  produced.  Keep  the  lights  closed 
and  mats  on  until  top  growth  has  well  commenced,  afterwards  giving  a 
little  air  on  warm  days  and  admitting  more  light.  In  order  to  keep  up 
a  succession  of  dishes,  more  roots  should  be  placed  in  heat  every  fort¬ 
night  or  three  weeks.  Severe  frosts,  unless  anticipated,  interfere  with 
this  routine.  Take  advantage  of  mild  open  weather  to  lift  enough 
roots  to  last  through  January,  storing  them  close  together  on  the  floor 
of  a  shed  and  covering  with  fine  moderately  moist  soil. 
Kidney  Beans.  —  In  order  to  be  successful  in  forcing  these 
abundance  of  heat  and  a  light  position  are  essential.  They  succeed  well 
on  the  shelves  in  a  winter  Cucumber  house  or  Pine  stove,  a  temperature 
of  65°  to  75°  suiting  them  well.  Syon  House,  Ne  Plus  Ultra,  and 
Osborne’s  Forcing  are  old  and  well  tried  favourites.  Fill  well  drained 
8-inch  pots  with  moderately  rich  loamy  soil  nearly  up  to  the  rim,  bow 
eight  or  nine  new  seeds  in  each,  and  cover  with  an  inch  of  soil.  The  seeds 
will  germinatb  quickly  if  the  pots  are  set  on  the  hot-water  pipes,  but 
they  must  be  raised  up  to  the  light  before  the  plants  become  leggy. 
Leave  six  plants  in  a  pot,  support  early  with  birch  spray  or  stakes  and 
raffia,  and  avoid  crowding.  The  old-fashioned  plan  of  top-dressing  is  so 
much  wasted  labour.  Fill  up  the  pocs  with  soil  at  the  outset,  and  the 
whole  of  it  will  be  utilised  by  the  roots  in  due  course. 
Rhubarb.— Frosts  having  given  the  reauisite  check  to  root  move¬ 
ment,  or  in  some  other  way  prepared  them  for  forcing,  early  Rhubarb 
should  be  plentiful  and  good.  The  time-hononred  practice  of  covering 
strong  clamps  where  they  are  established  with  tabs  or  deep  pots  and 
square  heaps  of  hot  manure  and  leaves,  answers  well  if  a  close  look  out 
is  kept  for  fluctuations  in  the  temperature  of  the  beds.  Sometimes  the 
heat  declines  very  low,  in  which  case  sufficient  nearly  fresh  manure 
must  be  added  to  start  it  heating  again.  It  also  happens  occasionally 
that  the  heating  material  becomes  violently  hot,  this  necessitating 
opening  it  oat  to  get  nd  of  excess  heat.  Neglect  this  precaution  and  all 
the  crowns  will  moat  probably  ba  spoilt.  Rhubarb  may  be  more  simply 
forced  in  heated  pits  or  houses  and  Mushroom  houies,  also  starting 
strongly  if  not  particularly  early  in  warm  cellars.  Early  and  second 
early  varieties,  giving  the  preference  to  those  with  red  stalks,  are  the 
best  for  forcipgi  Jiift  strong  clumps  with  a  small  quantity  of  soil  about 
them,  set  closely  together  on  a  layer  of  rich  moist  soil,  and  cover  with 
more  of  the  same.  In  a  cellar  or  in  other  moist  dark  place  this  covering 
of  soil  may  be  dispensed  with,  but  ought  always  to  be  given  where  the 
roots  are  exposed  to  dry  heat.  Force  every  bit  of  growth  out  of  these  * 
clumps,  and  then  throw  them  away.  Introduce  more  clumps  into  heat 
about  every  three  weeks. 
Seakale. — Much  that  has  been  advanced  concerning  Rhubarb  also 
applies  to  Seakale,  only  in  this  instance  young  roots  are  better  for 
lifting  than  the  old  clumps.  Any  with  crowns  half  an  inch  and- 
upwards  in  diameter  are  suitable  for  lifting,  and  these  may  have  their 
coarse  roots  or  thongs  shortened  sufficiently  to  admit  of  their  being 
packed  together  in  deep  pots,  boxes,  or  beds  of  rich  soil.  If  pots  are 
used  these  may  be  taken  into  a  forcing  house  and  have  other  pots 
inverted  over  them,  taking  care  to  exclude  the  light,  as  Seakale  must 
be  forced  in  the  dark,  or  otherwise  it  is  useless.  The  soil  about  the  roots 
should  be  kept  constantly  moist. 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
DotJBLE  versus  Single  Walls  to  Hives. 
This  is  a  subject  in  which  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
amongst  bee-keepers.  Some  are  in  favour  of  double  sides  to  their 
hives,  with  an  open  air  space  between,  which  during  the  winter 
months  is  packed  with  cork  dust,  chaff,  or  similar  material,  the 
former  being  the  best  I  have  tried  for  that  purpose.  This  is 
removed  after  the  cold  weather  is  over  the  following  spring,  and 
the  air  space  allowed  to  remain  open  until  being  packed  again  for 
winter. 
At  first  sight  this  plan  appears  preferable  to  an  ordinary  hive 
having  only  single  walls,  and  in  theory  the  bees  should  winter 
much  better,  on  the  assumption  that  they  would  consume  less  food 
and  be  several  degrees  warmer  at  midwinter.  Unfortunately, 
however,  there  are  several  objections  to  this  system.  For  one 
thing  the  hives  have  to  be  large  and  bulky,  and  are  not  nearly  as 
convenient  for  taking  long  distances  by  road  or  rail  as  those  of 
smalhr  dimensions.  This  is  a  great  consideration  in  some  localities, 
where  the  bees  are  annually  taken  to  the  moors.  But  irrespective 
of  that,  what  is  there  gained  by  using  large  ungainly  hives  if 
smaller  ones  will  answer  the  same  purpose  ?  That  they  will  I 
have  no  doubt  ;  speaking  from  practical  experience  extending  over 
many  years,  I  can  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it,  as  during  that  time  I 
have  experimented  with  many  stocks  of  bees,  wintered  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  and  have  invariably  found  those  colonies  wintered  in 
sound  home-made  hives  with  single  sides  were  as  strong  and 
healthy  in  doubled-sided  hives.  For  this  reason  I  have  now 
discarded  nearly  all  my  large  double-walled  hives,  as  the  smaller 
hives  have  much  to  commend  them,  taking  less  material  in  their 
manufacture,  being  easier  to  make,  and  more  simple  in  their 
manipulation. 
The  Hive  for  General  Use. 
It  is  not  expected  that  all  bee-keepers  will  agree  as  to  which  is 
the  best  hive,  each  having  his  special  favourite.  It  is  better  that 
it  should  be  so,  and  those  who  have  the  means  at  their  disposal 
cannot  do  better  than  place  their  orders  during  the  slack  season 
with  some  of  the  dealers  who  advertise  their  wares  in  the  pages  of 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  There  are  some,  however,  who  are  pro¬ 
bably  in  doubt  as  to  which  is  the  best  hive  for  their  purpose.  The 
one  I  chiefly  use  and  recommend,  holds  ten  frame*  (standard 
sizs)  and  should  be  made  of  three-quarter-inch  wood.  It  is  imma¬ 
terial  whether  the  frames  are  placed  parallel  or  at  right  angles 
with  the  entrance  ;  the  majority  of  mine  are  on  the  latter  plan. 
When  one  has  obtained  a  start  at  bee-keeping,  and  has  met 
with  a  suitable  hive  to  work  from,  ’t  becomes  an  easy  matter  to 
make  their  own  hives  out  of  old  packing  cases,  or  boxes  that  may 
ba  obtained  from  grocers  and  Italian  warehousemen  for  a  few 
pence.  All  that  is  necessary  is  that  the  wood  be  sound,  at  least 
9  inches  in  width,  and  of  the  required  thickness.  It  is  better  to 
obtain  a  specimen  hive,  as  it  gives  a  much  better  idea  of  what  i* 
required  than  figures  do,  as  it  is  necessary  that  the  measurements 
ihould  be  very  exact.  It  is  also  an  advantage  for  all  hives  to  be 
made  the  same  size,  frames  then  being  interchangeable.  The 
hive*,  too,  may  be  used  for  doubling  purposes,  and  in  various  other 
ways.  It  is  a  great  assistance  to  the  bee  keeper  to  have  all  frames 
and  hives  of  the  same  size  and  pattern. 
A  hive  of  the  above  dimensions  is  large  enongh  for  all  practical 
purposes  in  this  country,  either  for  supering  to  obtain  comb  honey, 
or  for  doubling  purposes,  by  which  means  the  finest  sample  of  run 
honey  is  obtained.  If  bees  are  fed  early  in  the  autumn  there  is 
sufficient  combs  for  them  to  store  supplies  to  last  unt'l  honey  is 
being  brought  in  from  the  fast  opening  flowers  daring  the  follow¬ 
ing  spring.  These,  if  worked  on  the  system  advocated  in  these 
pages  will  be  fully  stocked  with  bees,  to  take  advantage  of  the 
honey  flow  when  it  comes,  and  if  examined  will  be  found  to  be  in 
