November  18,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
491 
must  be  rectified,  and  the  soil  being  unsuitable  it  should  be  removed 
wholly  or  in  part,  supplying  or  adding  fresh.  The  border  need  not  be 
wider  than  4^  feet  in  the  first  instance  for  young  trees,  and  all  are 
accommodated  in  a  border  1  foot  wider  than  the  extent  of  the  roots, 
adding  to  it  as  these  extend.  A  narrow  border  is  superior  to  a  wide 
one,  only  due  regard  is  had  to  watering  and  feeding,  with  judicious 
mulching.  If  new  trees  are  to  be  put  in  select  those  just  coming  into 
bearing — say,  two  or  three  years  trained  to  walls,  and  lifted  in  the  year 
previous  to  moving.  Carefully  lifted  and  planted  they  will  bear  fruit 
the  first  season,  and  not  being  overcropped  will  not  be  materially 
hindered  in  extension.  Introducing  new  trees  and  the  lifting  and 
replanting  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines  should  be  effected  as  soon  as  the 
trees  are  leafiess  or  nearly  so,  as  upon  early  removal  depends  success 
in  the  following  year.  By  a  judicious  selection  of  varieties  fruit  of 
first-class  quality  may  be  had  in  a  Peach  case  from  the  early  part  of 
July  until  early  in  October.  Peaches :  Alexander,  Hale’s  Early, 
Dagmar,  Crimson  Galande,  Stirling  Castle  or  Royal  George,  Goshawk, 
Alexandra  Noblesse,  Dymond  or  Grosse  Mignonne,  Belle  Beauce, 
Goshawk,  Barrington,  Bellegarde,  Princess  of  Wales,  Gladstone.  Sea 
Eagle,  Late  Admirable,  and  Golden  Eagle,  Nectarines  :  Advance,  Early 
Rivers,  Lord  Napier,  Stanwick  Elruge,  Rivers’  White,  Humboldt, 
Dryden,  Pineapple,  and  Victoria. 
WJ 
HE 
VT- 1 .1  -  J  ■  I  - 1 . 1  -  I  ■  1 .1  - 1 . 1  -  1. 1  -  I  -  i-i  -  t-i  -  ^  I-I  -  r-.  r^-l  11^ 
Making  Mead. 
A  CORRESPONDENT  lately  desired  information  for  making  mead 
from  combs  obtained  from  straw  skeps.  There  are  some  bee-keepers 
in  this  district  who  have  kept  bees  on  the  old-fashioned  system  for 
many  years,  and  who  are  noted  for  the  good  quality  of  the  mead  they 
have  made  annually,  and  from  one  of  them  I  got  particulars  of  how  he 
had  made  it  for  close  on  fifty  years.  These  I  give  for  the  benefit  of 
other  readers. 
The  usual  plan  of  treating  the  combs  to  obtain  the  honey  from 
them  after  their  removal  from  the  skep  is  to  place  them  in  a  fine  sieve 
in  front  of  a  fire ;  the  majority  of  the  cappings  having  been  removed, 
the  honey  will  readily  drain  into  the  vessel  placed  underneath  for  that 
purpose.  Although  the  combs  may  be  constantly  stirred  and  turned 
over,  it  will  be  impossible  to  remove  all  the  honey  from  the  combs, 
and  when  in  this  condition  they  are  in  prime  order  for  making  mead. 
It  is  advisable  to  have  all  the  combs  ready  at  one  time,  and  as  soon  as 
the  honey  is  drained  from  them  preparations  should  be  made  for 
our  purpose.  The  recipe  is  as  follows:  — 
Take  the  combs  from  three  or  more  skeps,  and  after  the  honey  has 
been  drained  otf  place  them  in  a  tub,  add  3  gallons  of  cold  water, 
which  should  be  constantly  stirred.  If  the  combs  are  not  well  broken 
up  it  may  be  done  by  hand,  and  may  remain  in  this  condition  for 
several  days  until  all  the  honey  has  left  the  combs.  If  time  is  an 
object  warm  water  may  be  used,  but  not  too  hot,  other-wise  the  wax 
will  be  melted.  Allow  the  combs  to  soak  for  half  an  hour,  and  after 
stirring  them  -well  for  a  few  minutes  pour  the  liquor  off,  and  add 
more  warm  water  to  the  combs,  which  in  half  an  hour  will  have 
extracted  all  the  honey  from  them.  Strain  the  debris  through  a 
cheese  cloth,  which  may  be  preserved  for  making  wax. 
It  will  now  be  necessary  to  find  out  if  the  liquor  is  of  sufficient 
strength.  To  test  it,  drop  in  a  new  laid  egg.  If  it  sink  to  the 
bottom  it  will  be  too  weak  to  make  mead  of  the  first  quality.  Honey 
must  then  be  added  in  sufficient  quantity  until  the  egg  floats.  The 
liquor,  however,  must  be  of  sufficient  warmth  to  melt  the  honey, 
otherwise  it  will  not  have  the  desired  effect.  Boil  slowly  for  an  hour, 
and  during  the  process  add  oz.  each  of  cloves,  mace,  and  stick 
cinnamon  ;  any  other  flavouring  may  be  added  according  to  taste. 
When  it  has  cooled  sufficiently,  strain  through  a  cheese  cloth,  and 
add  half  pint  of  brewers’  yeast,  allowing  it  to  ferment  for  two  or  three 
days,  and  skim  occasionally.  It  should  then  be  placed  in  a  cask,  and 
the  bung  left  out  for  a  fortnight  until  fermentation  has  ceased.  The 
cask  may  then  be  corked  up  tightly  and  the  mead  be  bottled  any  time 
within  a  year,  when  the  cask  may  be  required  for  the  same  purpose 
again. 
It  is  not  necessary,  as  some  people  imagine,  to  add  spirits  of  any 
kind,  as  mead  made  on  the  above  lines  has  come  under  my  notice  that 
has  kept  in  prime  condition  for  several  years;  in  fact,  if  properly 
made,  it  will  improve  with  age. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary, 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Parliament  Street,  London,  W.C. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society.— 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Pund. — Secretary,  ]\Ir.  A.  P.  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Pund,  Chiswick,  W. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  a.  Bose  Hill  Road, 
VTandswortb,  London,  S.W.,  and  BIOT  to  Fleet  Street.  It 
is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  corre¬ 
spondents,  seeking  information  on  matters  discussed  in  this 
Journal,  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.  If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular 
subject  from  any  particular  authority  who  may  be  named, 
endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain  it  by  the  Editor. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should  ne-ver  send 
more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only ;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Chrysanthemum  Mutual  Friend  (Jfwm). — This  variety  is  recognised 
by  all  competent  authorities  as  a  white,  and  could  not  therefore  be  staged 
in  such  a  class  as  you  specify.  If  your  blooms  of  Australie  are  closely 
incurved,  deep,  and  symmetrical  they  must  be  very  good,  and  should  find 
a  place  in  almost  any  stand  of  Japanese. 
Strawberry  Jam  (^Poppy). — We  have  an  excellent  supply,  made  as 
follows  : — To  each  pound  of  Strawberries  allow  half  a  pound  of  sugar. 
Procure  firm  scarlet  Strawlierries  (ours  are  Vicomtesse  Hericart  de 
Thury),  strip  off  the  stalks,  and  put  the  fruit  in  a  preserving  pan  over  a 
moderate  fire  ;  boil  for  twenty  minutes,  stirring  constantly.  Remove 
from  the  fire  and  add  the  sugar,  granulated  being  the  best ;  place  over 
the  fire,  and  boil  quickly  for  another  twenty  minutes.  Put  into  pots,  and 
tie  down  while  hot.  Most  of  the  fruits  have  retained  their  natural  shape, 
and  the  flavour  is  all  that  can  be  desired.  We  are  obliged  by  your  letter, 
which  shall  have  our  best  attention. 
Chemical  Manures  for  Vines  (  Vex). — The  following  mixture  is  what 
you  ha-ve  in  mind  as  having  been  recommended  in  our  columns.  Pure 
vitriolised  raw  bones  three  parts  or  lbs.,  muriate  of  potash  two  parts, 
one  part  each  of  sulphate  of  lime  and  sul|)hate  of  ammonia,  with  half 
a  part  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  applied  at  the  rate  of  about  4  ozs.  to  the 
square  3’ard.  Splendid  crops  of  Grapes  have  also  been  supjiorted  by 
2  ozs.  of  mineral  superj)hosphate,  with  1  oz.  each  of  muriate  of  potash  and 
muriate  of  ammonia  per  square  yard  three  times  during  the  season.^  An 
important  point  is  to  have  abundance  of  fibrous  roots  for  appropriating 
the  food  supplied,  or  it  can  do  little  good. 
Plants  for  Letters  on  Dog’s  Grave  {Magda).— We  have  seen  some  very 
pretty  work  done  in  both  Crocuses  and  Snowdrops,  also  Scilla  sibirica. 
These  are  only  good  in  the  spring.  Another  pretty  letter-work  arrange¬ 
ment  was  in  double  Primroses,  a  second  in  Gentiana  verna,  and  a  third 
Phlox  verna.  The  prettiest  of  all  was  Arenaria  purpurascens,  and 
Saxifraga  Camposi.  All  these  have  to  be  planted.  In  annuals  the 
dwarfest  of  all  is  lonopsidium  acaule.  Virginian  Stock,  Silene  pendula 
compacta  var.  alba  are  also  neat  in  growth,  but  do  not  last  long.  Only 
low  and  not  spreading  plants  are  suitable  for  lettering.  The  most  long- 
lasting  lettering  is  dwarf  Dutch  Box  kept  neatly  clipped. 
Loam  and  Manure  for  Vines  (Crop).— Heavy  top-dressings  of  loam 
and  manure  are  not  good.  The  most  important  point  is  to  get  roots  and 
then  feed.  Of  course,  roots  cannot  be  had  without  medium  to  grow  in, 
and  that  is  one  great  reason  for  the  usual  annual  top-dressing  of  turfy 
loam.  In  no  case,  however,  should  the  thickness  be  more  than  3  inches, 
and  not  that  unless  the  old  loose  surface  soil  is  removed  so  as  to  get 
roots  in  the  fresh  material.  It  is  better  to  use  a  moderate  amount  of 
manure  with  the  turf,  one-third  being  a  maximum  of  sweetened^  stable 
manure  freed  of  the  straw,  or  as  much  as  may  be  effected  by  shaking  out 
the  litter.  It  is  easy  to  add  sweet  manure  from  time  to  time  during 
growth,  and  by  that  means  siq)ply  nourishment  without  burying  the 
roots  deeply  or  giving  more  than  they  are  likely  to  occup}'.  In  addition 
to  the  loam  and  manure,  you  may  now  supply  (on  the  top  of  the  top¬ 
dressing)  a  mixture  of  five  parts  steamed  bonemeal  and  three  parts 
double  sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia,  with  tvvo  parts  sulphate  of  lime, 
well  mixed  together,  using  i  to  ^  lb.  per  square  yard,  working  in  mode¬ 
rately  into  the  top-dressing.  There  is  nothing  in  the  mixture  to  “  run 
away,”  and  with  the  phosphate,  potash,  and  magnesia  thus  supplied 
nitrogenous  matter  of  a  quickly  acting  nature  can  be  given  in  the  spring 
or  early  summer  j  but  too  much  nitrogen  does  not  answer  for  the  Grapes 
you  name — Gros  Colman  and  Black  Alicante  ;  they  do  better  with  steady 
supplies  of  slowly  decaying  matter,  or  what  this  gives— ammonia  passing 
into  nitrite  and  nitrate  in  about  right  amount  if  given  as  advised. 
