6.18 
JOtrWAL  OP  HonTWUTAATkf!  APl'D  COTTAGE  QaJWPITEU.  r-ecH-mbt? 
the  ground-level  the  bees  are  subject  to  many  pests  from  which 
they  escape  by  beint'  placed  the  above  diataneo  from  the  ground. 
In  many  gardens  in  this  country  toad*  are  very  plentiful,  and 
rill  conKume  bees  readily.  It  is  surprising  how  quick  they  are  in 
their  movement*,  oeriainly  not  with  their  body,  but  with  their 
tongue,  with  which  they  quickly  take  the  dainty  morsel  that  come* 
in  their  way.  If  the  hives  are  stood  on  the  ground  it  is  a  happy 
hunting  ground  fdr  them,  and  when  they  are  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  apiary  it  is  advisable  to  remove  them  to 
another  part  of  the  garden.  Toads  should  not  be  destroyed,  as 
they  do  a  great  amoant  of  good,  and  they  live  on  iDsects. 
For  this  reason  we  place  them  in  onr  fruit  and  plant  houses.  There 
is  one  advantage  to  be  derived  from  having  the  hives  near  the 
ground — it  enables  the  heavily  laden  bees  and  others  that  are  often 
found  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  hive  to  gain  ready  access  to 
their  houw.  This  I  consider  i*  the  only  point  in  favour  of  the 
plan,  and  is  not  of  lufficient  importance  to  warrant  me  in  recom¬ 
mending  it.  As  it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  place  a  few  short 
pieces  of  wood  from  the  ground  to  the  alighting  board  this  will  be 
the  mean*  of  saving,  many  bees  that  would  otherwise  have  been 
lost. — Exglisu  Beb-keepfr. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley. — Chrysanthe'inums. 
Dickson,  Brown  &  Tait,  Manchester. — Seeds. 
Dickson  &  Robinson,  Old  Millgate,  Manchester.— 
E.  P.  Dixon  &  Sons,  H all.— 
H.  J.  Jones,  Kyecroft  Nursery,  Lewisham. — Ckrysamthemims, 
Little  k  Ballantyne,  Carlisle. — Garden  Seeds. 
J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Chelsea. — CkrysarUhemiims, 
E,  Webb  &  Sons,  Stourbridge, — Seeds. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary, 
Mj.  G.  j.  Ingram,  no,  Parliament  Street,  London,.  W.O. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  0,  Martindaie  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W, 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — Secretary,  Mr.  A.  F.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Chiswick,  W. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “  Tee  Editor.”  Letters  addressed  personally  to 
Dr.  Hogg  or  members  of  the  staff  ofter  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 
ooramvnications. 
Orapes  (T.  B.'). — We  are  sorry  to  *ay  that  the  Grapes  arrived  in 
taiserabie  plight.  They  had  hung  fully  too  long,  and  the  berries  weie 
bruised  and  broken  by  the  too  rough  packing, 
nx<3asarlng  Rain  (JJ'en  Years'  Header). — We  wish  you  would  tell 
ns  whether  yowr  glass  is  marked  into  hundredths  or  thousandths  parts  of 
an  inch.  Your  questions  suggest  that  you  are  in  some  way  perplexed 
tet ween  the  two.  An  inch  and  two-hundredths  are  recorded  1'02  ;  an 
inch  and  nine-hundredths,  1  09.  There  was  an  accidental  transposition 
of  figures  before,  and  i  90  would  represent  an  inch  and  ninety-hundredths 
—nearly  2  inches.  In  the  other  question  you  mix  the  two  scales,  but 
the  amount  you  give  would  be  represented  by  1-920,  or  00  80  short  of 
2  inches.  If  you  will  send  the  name  the  shrub  or  tree  Is  known  by 
locally  we  will  tell  3/o«  whether  it  is  correct  or  not,  so  far  afl  can  be 
detemiuad  without  leaves, 
CD'<eiiostomn  itiapldum  (^Journey plant  is  parti 
cularly  useful  for  decorative  purposes,  as  neat  compr*ct  little  bn  she* 
6  to  9  inches  in  height  may  be  obtained  in  60  or  iS-si'C;  pot*;  rud 
though  the  pinkish-white  flowers  are  small,  they  are  produced  in  gnreat 
numbers  and  continuously  over  a  good  portion  of  the  summer,  some¬ 
times  qmile  concealing  the  folisge,  the  plant*  laiembliug  compret  masses 
of  flowers.  A  compost  of  light  loam,  peat,  and  *ahd  snits  botn  C. 
hispidnm  and  0,  polyanthum,  the  latter  differing  from  the  former 
chiefly  in  its  more  straggling  habit,  and  in  its  flowers  being  mauve  or 
lilac- tinted.  Propagation  may  be  effected  either  by  seeds  or  cuttings  in 
spring,  though  cuttings  may  also  be  inserted  in  early  autumn.  The 
illastration  (fig.  112)  is  an  excellent  one  of  this  plant. 
Spanish  ZriseB— Strawberries  (iW/wo).— These  beautiful  flo-vers 
succeed  admirably  in  the  open  ground,  and  aiso  very  well  in  pots,  under 
good  management.  The  bulbs  may  be  planted  at  once  in  friable  soil, 
surrounding  them  with  sandy  loam,  covering  4  or  5  inches  deep  with 
rather  light  soil,  and  the  surface  with  a  layer  of  leaf  mould,  if  you 
wish  to  flower  the  plants  in  pots  those  5  or  6  inches  in  diameter  suffice 
for  three  good  bulbs,  using  the  eame  compost  as  for  Hyacinths, 
burying  the  pots  in  the  eame  way,  and  protecting  from  drenching  rains. 
When  withdrawn  after  growth  starts  they  will  be  better  grown  in  a  cool 
frame,  the  pots  plunged,  than  on  a  dry  stage  distant  from  the  glass  in 
a  greenhouse.  The  Strawberry  you  mention  is  a  good  midseason  variety, 
but  not  so  hardy  as  some  others,  and  we  have  known  the  plants  much 
injured  by  severe  frost  and  wet  in  northerly  districts.  Good  distances 
for  fruiting  are  having  the  plants  18  inches  apart  in  rows  2i  feet 
asunder.  Some  persons  insert  small  plants  16  Inches  asunder  all  ways, 
and  after  the  first  season  take  up  and  replant  carefully  every  alternate 
plant  early  in  the  autumn.  If  the  plants  to  which  you  refer  are 
established  in  the  garden  we  should  let  them  remain  where  they  are  till 
starting  into  growth  in  the  spring.  The  question  “  Roses  ”  cannot  he 
answered  this  week. 
ChacNtns  the  Varletloa  of  Grapes  by  Grafting  {St,  J,  A.).— 
The  only  way  without  destroying  the  Vines  of  the  undesired  varieties 
will  be  to  proceed  by  grafting,  and  the  beet  methods  arc  described  in 
Mr.  Barron’s  book,  which  yon  appear  to  have,  one  of  them  illustraied ; 
but  bottle-grafting  is  as  "easy  and  as  certain  to  succeed  if  properly  done, 
and  we  do  not  see  what  there  is  in  your  case  to  hinder  it  from  proving 
satisfactory.  Neither  method  involves  the  cutting  down  of  the  Vines 
from  the  eaves,  and  they  will  he  better  not  cut  down ;  but  they  should 
be  sufficiently  thinned  in  pruning  to  leave  ample  room  for  the  canes 
from  the  grafts  to  extend  without  any  shading  of  their  foliage.  Prune 
at  once  and  diess  the  wounds  with  painter’s  knotting,  of  course  leaving 
healthy  laterals  at  the  base  to  which  to  attach  the  grafts,  though  we 
have  seen  them  “  take”  very  well  to  the  old  wood.  Of  course,  the  old 
Vines  are  assumed  to  be  healthy  and  the  soil  good.  It  is  useless  grafting 
worn-oat  Vines  in  an  exhausted  or  unsuitable  border.  The  case  seems 
to  be  one  for  inspection  by  a  practical  adviser.  The  influence  of  grafting 
is  to  over-rule  the  stock,  the  latter  having  very  little  permanent  effect  on 
the  former.  We  have  not  found  any  difference  worth  noting,  but  there 
are  recorded  instances  of  variation.  You  need  not  give  yourself  any 
concern  about  this  aspect  of  the  case,  but  affix  the  best  obtainable  grafts 
and  affix  them  propeiiy  to  the  most  promising  and  ba*t  placed  wood  if 
the  health  of  the  Vines  justify  the  experiment. 
