October  14,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  37.^ 
shortened  to  about  two  leaves  above  the  pruning  buds.  This  will  cause 
the  latter  to  plump,  and  by  keeping  the  house  rather  warm  by  day,  with 
ventilation,  and  turning  off  the  heat  at  night,  with  free  ventilation,  the 
Vines  will  go  to  rest. 
Eenovating  Vine  Borders. — Where  the  soil  is  of  a  suitable  nature  and 
the  cultural  treatment  proper.  Vines  tlouri  h  for  an  indefinite  period,  but 
they  are  mostly  planted  in  artificial  borders  and  the  roots  confined  to 
limited  areas.  These  conditions  result  in  the  soil  becoming  defective  in 
nutrition  and  sometimes  unfavourable  as  a  rooting  medium.  Thorough 
renovation  in  ordinary  cases  is  desirable,  but  a  partial  renewal  of  the  soil, 
or  such  portion  of  it  as  will  secure  active  feeders,  is  generally  attended 
with  satisfactory  results.  Where  Vines,  therefore,  are  not  in  a  satis¬ 
factory  condition,  no  time  should  be  lost  in  removing  the  soil  down  to 
the  roots  and  picking  it  from  amongst  them,  so  as  to  displace  as  much  of 
the  old  stuff  as  possible  with  fresh  compost,  and  it  is  best  efiected  whilst 
the  leaves  are  upon  the  stems,  but  not  before  they  have  performed  their 
functions  to  the  extent  of  perfecting  the  buds  and  wood.  In  case  the 
border  is  found  very  unsatisfactory,  and  the  roots  few  and  deep,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  remove  all  the  soil  and  renew  the  whole  border,  commencing 
with  the  drainage,  which  should  be  clear  and  9  to  12  inches  deep,  with  a 
3-inch  layer  of  fine  material  on  the  top,  old  mortar  rubbish  freed  of  pieces 
of  wood  answering  perfectly.  There  must  be  a  drain  under  the  drainage 
to  carry  off  superfluous  water. 
The  soil  should  consist  of  the  top  2  or  3  inches  of  a  pasture,  where 
the  staple  is  a  good  yellow  or  hazel  loam  with  one-sixth  of  old  mortar 
rubbish,  one-twelfth  of  charred  refuse  or  wood  ashes,  and  one-hundredth 
of  quarter-inch  bones,  all  well  incorporated.  Two  feet  depth  of  compost 
is  ample,  and  the  roots  should  be  laid  in  the  top  foot  and  in  layers  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  inclination,  encouraging  those  from  near  and  at  the  collar  by 
laying  them  just  beneath  the  surface,  making  the  whole  compact,  and 
having  the  soil  moderately  dry.  If  the  roots  are  inside  and  outside  one 
part  may  be  done  one  year  and  another  the  next  without  any  danger  of 
loss^  of  crop.  Take  care  to  preserve  all  the  roots  practicable,  merely 
cutting  off  broken  and  paring  bruised  ends  Smooth,  and  to  keep  them  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  drying  influences  of  the  atmosphere  whilst  the 
operation  is  in  progress.  Afford  a  good  watering  to  settle  the  soil  about 
tb®. roots,  then  sprinkle  in  each  square  yard  4  ozs.  of  some  approved 
fertiliser,  mulch  with  about  an  inch  of  short  manure,  and  cover  outside 
borders  with  a  few  inches  thickness  of  leaves  with  a  little  litter  over 
them. 
THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN. 
Cabbage.  The  earliest  raised  plants  ought  now  to  be  strong  enough 
for  transplanting,  and  already  large  breadths  are  out  in  some  districts. 
It  sometimes  happens  that  the  earliest  raised  and  planted  bolt  the 
following  spring,  while  others  raised  later  have  succeeded  admirably. 
The  grower  will,  therefore,  do  well  to  make  successional  sowings  and 
plantings.  The  plan  of  succeeding  spring-sown  Onions  with  Cabbage,  if 
not  adopted  ))reviously.  should  be  given  a  trial  this  season.  Ground  well 
]5repared  for  Onions  is,  as  far  as  fertility  is  concerned,  in  admirable  con¬ 
dition  for  Cabbage  without  the  addition  of  more  manure  of  any  kind.  It 
is  also  best  left  nndiig,  comparatively  solid  ground  producing  Cabbages  with 
good  hearts  and  fewer  coarse  outside  leaves  than  is  the  case  when  they 
are  grown  on  loose,  rich  ground.  If  hoed  and  cleared  of  weeds  when  the 
Onions  were  pulled,  and  again  hoed  on  a  bright  day  prior  to  putting  out 
the  Cabbage  plants,  the  surface  will  be  freed  of  w'eeds  and  the  ground  fit 
for  cropping.  Slugs  are  troublesome  among  newly  planted  Cabbage. 
Dusting  the  plants  when  damp  w’ith  soot  and  lime  and  occasional  hoeings 
among  them  are  good  remedies. 
Endive. — Well  blanched  Endive  is  now  in  demand  for  salads.  Not 
till  the  heart  is  w’ell  developed  ought  Endive  to  be  blanched  for  use.  It 
may  be  tied  up  similarly  to  Lettuce,  and  covered  with  inverted  fiower 
pots  with  their  drainage  holes  covered  ;  or  fully  grown  plants  may  have 
boards  or  slates  laid  on  them.  Where  they  are  in  beds  tying  up  and 
covering  with  mats  answers  w'ell.  At  this  time  of  year  it  takes  from  a 
fortnight  to  three  w'eeks  to  blanch  Endive  properly,  and  only  enough 
should  be  covered  at  one  time  to  meet  the  demand  for  a  week.  It  is  yet 
full  early  to  lift  and  store  Endive  in  quantity,  but  it  is  well  to  be  prepared 
for  emergencies.  Temporary  protection  may  be  afforded  by  dry  bracken, 
strawy  litter,  hay,  or  mats. 
Lettuce. — AVith  the  introduction  of  the  early  hearting  Cabbage 
Lettuces  has  gone  the  necessity  for  taking  so  much  pains  with  the  raising 
and  wintering  of  plants  of  Brown  Cos  and  other  varieties  for  planting  out 
the  following  February  or  March.  Where  large  quantities  of  Lettuce  are 
wanted  it  is  yet  advisable  to  continue  the  plan  of  raising  abundance  of 
plants  in  the  autumn.  In  some  districts  the  Brown  Cos  varieties,  if  not 
too  far  advanced  in  growth,  frequently  pass  through  the'winter  uninjured, 
some  duly  planted  out,  and  the  rest  in  the  beds  where  raised.  Where 
these  succeed  well  is  in  rows  midway  between  lines  of  late-planted  Straw¬ 
berries,  and  which,  market  growers’  fashion,  are  not  to  be  allowed  to 
fruit  next  summer ;  and  they  may  yet  be  planted  out  on  open,  well- 
prepared  ground  generally.  All  things  considered,  sowing  seed  later  in 
frames,  and  wintering  the  plants  where  raised,  is  the  most  reliable  plan. 
Frames  or  cool  pits  that  have  been  recently  occupied  by  Cucumber, 
Melon,  or  Tomato  plants  may  be  utilised  for  the  purpose.  Frames 
generally  should  be  given  a  sharp  slope  to  the  south,  and  the  6  inches 
of  light  loamy  soil  intended  for  the  Lettuces  should  be  raised,  by  means 
of  other  soil,  or  a  solid  mass  of  old  hotbed  manure,  to  within  .5  inches 
of  the  sashes.  The  second  week  in  October  is  soon  enough  to  sow, 
and  thin  broadcast  sowing  is  preferable  to  drilling  in  the  seed.  The 
sashes  should  be  kept  on  till  the  seed  has  germinated,  afterwards  giving 
abundance  of  air.  Additional  protection  should  be  afforded  whenever  a 
severe  frost  is  imminent. 
Tomatoes. — Where  much  wet  weather  was  experienced  during  August 
open-air  Tomatoes  are,  and  have  been,  badly  overrun  by  the  Fotato 
disease.  Those  least  affected  owe  their  comparative  immunity  from 
disease  to  the  fact  that  the  plants  were  .sheltered  or  kept  drier  by  wall 
copings.  In  any  case  the  time  has  arrived  for  cutting  all  the  late  or 
green  fruit  in  bunches,  hanging  these  up  in  a  dry  warm  house  or  kitchen 
to  ripen.  The  half-grown  fruit  ought  to  be  turned  to  good  account  in  the 
making  of  pickles. 
Crops  Under  Glass. — Much  fruit  is  still  hanging  on  the  old  plants, 
and  this  ought  not  to  be  sacrificed.  In  most  instances  the  house  room  is 
wanted  for  Chrysanthemums  and  other  winter-fiowering  plants,  but  this 
need  not  necessarily  involve  rooting  up  the  Tomato  plants.  The  fruit 
ripens  much  bettor  on  the  plants  than  off  them,  and  the  way  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  to  trim  off  the  Tomato  leaves  and  superfiuous  growths. 
Younger  plants  ought  to  be  carrying  crops  already  well  advanced  toward 
ripening  as  well  as  successional  clusters.  If  growing  in  pots,  boxes,  or 
narrow  borders  they  must  be  fed  liberally  at  the  roots,  otherwise  the 
flowers  now  opening  will  fail  to  give  fruit.  The  best  crops  are  produced 
by  plants  trained  thinly  up  the  roofs,  and  these  must  be  kept  free  of  all 
side  or  superfluous  growths.  On  the  least  signs  of  their  becoming  too 
weak  to  continue  setting  crops  top  them  beyond  the  last  bunch  of  flowers 
that  are  showing.  Keep  the  plants  constantly  moist  at  the  roots  without 
slopping  much  water  about  the  house.  Disease  will  not  be  troublesome 
if  the  houses  are  kept  warm,  dry,  and  airy.  Distributing  the  pollen  by 
means  of  a  camel’s-hair  brush,  or  by  smartly  tapping  the  stems  of  the 
plants  towards  noon  every  day,  is  a  good  aid  to  Iruil  setting. 
BEE-KE)EPER.IS 
Storing  Spare  Combs. 
It  will  be  necessary  now  to  devise  some  means  of  storing  all  spare 
combs  where  they  will  be  free  from  the  wax  moth  until  required  for  use 
again  another  season.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  if  the  combs  are  left 
exposed  in  a  damp  place  throughout  the  winter  the  wax  moth  will 
play  such  havoc  with  them  that  they  are  practically  useless,  except 
for  melting  down.  But  so  much  of  the  wax  will  have  been  con¬ 
sumed  that  they  hardly  pay  for  the  trouble,  and  as  wax  extract¬ 
ing,  even  at  the  best,  is  not  one  of  the  most  pleasant  operations  in 
connection  with  bee-keepin_q  a  novice  may  at  the  first  attempt  with 
moth-eaten  combs  be  inclined  to  give  the  business  up  in  disgust. 
It  is,  therefore,  worth  taking  a  little  trouble  in  storing  the  combs, 
so  that  they  may  be  as  clean  and  sweet  the  following  sjaing  as  when 
stored  away  the  ])revious  autumn. 
There  are  various  ways  in  which  this  may  lie  successfully  carried 
out.  A  cupboard  in  a  room  in  which  there  is  a  fire  occasionally 
answers  the  purpose  admirably.  If  the  shelves  are  covered  with 
paper  it  is  an  advantage,  as  any  debris  from  the  combs  may  be 
cleared  away  with  the  paper  on  the  removal  of  the  combs.  Place  the 
co.nbs  in  the  same  position  they  occupied  in  the  hive,  aud  a  little  air 
v/ill  then  pass, between  them.  This  is  a  much  better  plan  than  laying 
the  combs  on  each  other.  On  every  shelf  place  a  few  lumps  of 
naphthaline,  and  cover  the  whole  with  sheets  of  jiaper ;  this  will 
exclude  the  dust,  and  the  naphthaline  will  beep  the  wax  moth  away. 
The  plan  1  invariably  practise,  and  it  is  within  the  reach  of  all,  as 
the  expense  is  nominal,  is  to  obtain  some  large  boxes.  These  are 
jilaced  in  a  dry  position,  and  lined  temporarily  with  paper.  'I'he 
bottom  of  the  box  is  covered  with  a  piece  of  calico  or  some  similar 
material,  which  is  well  sprinkled  with  carbolic  acid.  The  box  is  then 
filled  with  combs,  which  aie  closely  covered  with  another  piece  of 
calico  similarly  treated.  The  lid  of  the  box  is  placed  in  position,  care 
being  taken  that  mhe  cannot  gain  an  entrance,  otherwise  they  will 
soon  ruin  a  number  of  combs,  even  if  there  are  no  stores  in  them. 
Combs  treated  in  this  manner  will  remain  in  good  condition  for  at 
least  a  year.  No  insects  will  exist  where  there  is  a  strong  smell  of 
carbolic. 
If  during  the  winter  there  is  any  fear  of  the  strength  of  the  carbolic 
escaping  from  the  box  the  covering  on  the  top  of  the  frames  may 
be  removed  and  sprinkled  at  any  time.  It  is  advisable  to  expose  the 
combs  to  the  air  for  a  few  days  before  using  them,  otherwise  the  bees 
may  not  take  readily  to  them.  Clean  tough  combs  being  so  useful  for 
extracting  purposes,  a  store  of  them  in  hand  is  au  advantage  to  bee- 
ket‘pers. 
Unsealed  Sections. 
A  correspondent  writes: — “I  have  several  partly  filled  sections. 
Would  it  be  an  advantage  to  store  them  for  use  another  season  without 
extracting  the  honey?’’  All  unsealed  sections  should  be  passed 
through  the  extractor  on  their  removal  from  the  hive  at  the  end  of  the 
season,  and  fed  back  to  the  bees.  If  unsealed  stores  are  left  on  the 
hive  for  a  few  weeks  after  the  honey  How  is  over  the  bees  will 
