204 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER--— 
found  an  easy  matter  to  break  it  into  small  particles.  Should  it  be  hard 
and  tough,  March  winds  and  sun,  followed  by  rain  or  an  application  of 
water,  ought  to  cause  it  to  crumble  readily,  and  better  wait  for  this  than 
to  bury  seeds  in  rough  lumpy  soil.  Firmness,  as  well  as  a  rich  root  run,  is 
necessary  for  Onions.  The  poorer,  lighter  soils  could  be  greatly  improved 
by  a  surfacing  of  soot,  1  peck  to  the  square  rod,  common  or  manure  salt 
2  lbs.  to  the  square  rod,  and  a  liberal  dressing  of  sharp  road  grit,  stirring 
this  into  the  surface.  Trample  the  ground  heavily,  make  all  fine  and 
level,  and  draw  shallow  drills  10  to  12  inches  apart.  Sow  the  seeds  thinly, 
make  firm,  and  finish  by  raking  across  the  bed.  Autumn  sown  Onions 
may  be  transplanted  now  or  a  little  later,  and  if  the  work  is  done  in 
mild  or  showery  weather,  the  plants  will  experience  very  little  check  in 
transplanting. 
Parsnips. — Parsnip  seeds  are  usually  sown  in  February  or  as  early 
in  March  as  the  ground  can  be  got  into  a  suitable  condition.  This  plan 
may  be  followed  with  advantage  by  those  who  require  extra  large  roots, 
but  medium-sized  to  small  roots  are  the  best  from  a  cook’s  point  of  view, 
and  later  in  March,  or  even  early  in  April  is,  as  a  rule,  a  better  time  to 
sow.  Parsnips  ought  to  have  a  deeply  cultivated  soil,  and  if  any  manure 
is  used  this  must  be  buried  deeply,  as  should  the  tap  roots  come  into 
contact  with  solid  manure  they  are  liable  to  fork  badly.  Sow  the  seeds 
thinly  in  shallow  drills  drawn  12  inches  to  15  inches  apart. 
Salsafy  and  Scorzonera. — Much  that  was  advanced  concerning  Parsnips 
also  applies  to  these.  Early  sowing  is  also  apt  to  result  in  many  of  the 
plants  running  to  seed  prematurely,  and  the  roots  are  worthless 
accordingly. 
Potatoes. — Advantage  should  be  taken  of  a  dry  time  for  making  a 
start  with  Potato  planting  If,  however,  the  ground  is  wet  underneath, 
wait  till  it  is  drier  and  can  be  moved  readily,  the  best  crops  resulting  on 
soil  that  has  been  freely  and  deeply  cultivated.  Only  the  latest  sorts 
should  be  planted  on  a  large  scale  at  this  early  date,  but  a  few  rows  of 
early  varieties  may  be  planted  in  a  warm  position,  or  where  a  close  look¬ 
out  can  be  kept,  and  all  the  haulm  that  pushes  through  be  protected  when 
necessary.  Sprouted  sets  are  the  quickest  to  grow  and  produce  crops, 
and  in  planting  care  should  be  taken  not  to  break  these  sprouts.  Seeing 
that  short-topped  early  maturing  varieties  are  not  long  on  the  ground, 
they  may  be  planted  somewhat  thickly,  or  say  in  lines  20  inches  apart, 
and  the  sets  9  inches  asunder  in  the  drills. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
Reducing  Entrances. 
Hives  that  have  had  their  entiances  open  the  full  width  through¬ 
out  the  winter  may  now  have  them  reduced.  There  are  several 
reasons  why  this  should  be  done.  In  the  first  place  robbing  is  often 
prevalent  at  this  season.  The  strong  stocks  will  attack  a  weak  colony 
if  the  weather  is  warm.  Abundance  of  stores  in  each  of  the  hives  has 
very  little  to  do  with  the  matter,  as  we  have  proved  during  the  recent 
bright  sunny  days.  The  steps  taken  to  prevent  it  may  be  interesting 
to  others  similarly  situated. 
On  two  or  three  successive  days  a  great  commotion  was  observed 
round  the  entrance  of  one  of  our  hives  which  was  doubled  last  summer, 
but  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  honeydew  the  honey  was  not  removed 
from  the  top  storey.  The  excluder  zinc,  however,  had  been  removed, 
so  that  the  queen  and  the  bees  had  free  access  to  all  the  combs.  The 
entrances  were  all  opened  their  full  width  last  autumn,  so  there  was 
no  difference  in  that  respect.  On  examination  we  found  the  rightful 
owners  clustered  in  the  top  storey.  We  at  once  took  steps  to  prevent 
the  bees  from  the  other  hives  gaining  admittance.  The  entrance  was 
reduced,  allowing  only  sufficient  space  for  one  bee  to  pass  through  at 
one  time,  and  turned  from  south  to  west.  The  sides  of  the  hive  and 
the  alighting  board  were  painted  with  a  strong  solution  of  carbolic  acid. 
The  steps  taken  had  the  desired  effect,  as  when  the  bees  from  the 
other  stocks  attempted  to  gain  an  entrance  they  were  stopped,  and 
after  a  few  hours’  excitement  gradually  returned  to  their  hives. 
At  first  we  were  somewhat  puzzled  to  know  why  the  above  stock 
should  be  attacked,  as  it  was  strong  in  bees,  but  have  concluded  that  it 
was  owing  to  the  majority  of  the  bees  being  in  the  top  storey  amidst 
ample  stores,  and  they  neglected  to  guard  the  entrance.  The  robbers 
were  thus  able  to  gain  admittance,  and  would  doubtless  clear  out  the 
stores  that  remained  in  the  combs  in  the  bo^y  of  the  hive.  The  above 
shows  it  is  an  advantage  to  reduce  all  entrances  to  at  least  an  inch  at  this 
season  as  a  precaution  against  robbers  ;  while  it  will  maintain  a  higher 
temperature  in  the  hive. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
W.  Clibran  &  Son,  Altrincham. — Farm  Seeds. 
W.  Cutbiish  &  Son,  Highgate — Dahlias,  Eases,  Fruit  Trees,  Hardy  Plants. 
Harrison  &  Sons,  Leicester. — Farm  Seeds. 
Kent  &  Brydon,  Darlington. — Farm  Seeds. 
J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Chelsea. — Farm  Seeds. 
T.  S.  T  ere,  Ltd.,  Tottenham. — Perennials. 
Ail  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8,  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandswortb,  S.W.,  and  HOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to 
any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  thern  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  lo  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.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these'will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  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. 
Seakale  after  Forcing  (Mack). — Seakale  that  has  been  taken  up  and 
forced  in  a  Mushroom  house  or  similar  place  will  do  to  grow  for  stock, 
provided  the  plants  are  not  very  old,  say  not  more  than  four  years.  We 
place  the  roots  as  the  heads  are  cut  in  sand  in  an  outhouse  or  shed,  keep 
them  cool  until  the  beginning  of  April,  and  then  plant  in  rows  18  inches 
apart,  and  place  the  plants  about  1  foot  asunder  in  the  rows.  As  many 
growths  issue  from  the  crown  of  each  set  or  plant,  they  should  be  reduced 
to  two,  or  at  most  three,  removing  the  smallest  and  leaving  the  most 
promising.  They  may  again  be  forced  the  following  winter,  and  so  on. 
Violet  Leaves  Disfigured  (C.  T.').— The  leaves  are  infested  by  the 
Violet  spot  fungus,  Feronospora  Violas,  which  has  been  unusually 
prevalent  this  season.  It  chiefly  arises  from  a  humid  atmosphere,  and 
we  can  only  suggest  giving  more  air,  and  not  having  the  plants  very 
closely  together,  so  that  air  can  circulate  freely  about  and  through  them. 
This,  and  removing  the  first  spotted  leaves,  we  have  found  the  best 
preventive,  also  using  dust  charcoal  freely  about  the  plants.  In  bad 
cases  it  affects  the  flowering  to  such  extent  that  they  do  not  expand 
freely  and  fully — indeed,  some  never  do  more  than  form  buds,  the  flowers 
being  “blind,”  or  nearly,  if  not  quite,  devoid  of  petals.  The  shrub 
appears  to  be  the  very  handsome  Californian  Hemlock  Spruce,  Tsuga 
Mertensiana,  syn.  Abies  Albertiana. 
Eradicating  Wild  Garlic  (J.  M.).—ln  some  woods,  especially  In  hilly 
districts,  this  plant  (Allium  ursinum)  grows  abundantly,  and  often  in 
patches  of  many  acres,  and  is,  as  you  say,  very  rank  and  disagreeable 
smelling,  and  “  if  eaten  by  cows  the  taint  will  be  present  in  the  milk.” 
We  may  add  in  the  butter,  which  it  makes  so  bad  tasted  that  we  could 
never  use  it.  Of  course,  cows  ought  not  to  be  allowed  in  woods,  but  the 
fences  of  these  kept  in  good  repair.  We  have  not  found  anything  act  so 
well  as  catting  the  plants  down  with  a  scythe  just  before  flowering.  We 
used  a  short  scythe,  and  where  this  was  impracticable  a  scythe  sickle, 
cutting  as  near  the  ground  as  possible.  By  repeating  this  every  year  the 
Broad-leaved  Garlic  gradually  disappeared.  Of  course,  rooting  up  is  the 
better  plan,  but  a  serious  affair  in  the  case  of  large  areas.  Perhaps  some 
of  our  readers  may  know  of  a  readier  means  of  extirpating  this  noxious 
smelling  weed. 
Non-Success  with  Mushrooms  (<7.  P.  S.). — The  failure  cannot  be 
attributed  to  the  beds  being  made  on  the  cemented  floor,  for  we  have 
grown  Mushrooms  on  such  bases  quite  as  well  or  better  than  on  shelf 
beds.  We  prefer  these  for  convenience,  keeping  the  floor  clear,  as  you 
say,  but  only  to  the  extent  of  a  pathway  up  the  centre  or  at  one  side, 
using  the  bottom  beneath  the  shelves  for  forcing  Rhubarb  and  Seakale. 
Slate  or  stone  shelves  are  the  best,  supported  in  brick  walls  or  brick 
pillars  with  T  galvanised  iron  bearers.  The  fronts  may  be  of  wood,  the 
board  a  foot  deep,  and  kept  in  place  by  uprights,  if  fitting  on  the  inside 
and  resting  on  the  shelf.  The  shelves  may  be  entirely  of  wood,  forming 
boxes  about  a  foot  deep.  There  should  not  be  less  than  3  feet  between, 
so  as  to  allow  for  the  formation  and  attending  to  them  with  ease,  and  the 
boards  must  be  If  to  If  thick  to  bear  the  weight  without  much  sagging. 
An  inch  board  will  do  tor  the  sides.  The  “  brick  ”  may  be  all  right  as 
regards  spawn,  but  it  neither  smelt  of  Mushrooms,  nor  could  we  find  fife 
in  it.  The  spawn  appears  to  have  been  dried  out  of  that — the  portion 
sent  being  very  old.  The  bricks  cannot  be  too  fresh,  and  if  it^be  good 
you  will  succeed  as  you  have  done  before  under  proper  management. 
