January  3,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
19 
Fruit  Forcing. 
Vines. — Earliest  Forced  in  Pots. — Exercise  great  care  in  ventilating, 
avoiding  chills,  such  as  those  resulting  from  cold  currents  of  air, 
admitting  it  chiefly  by  the  top  ventilators,  and  only  modera'ely  when 
the  air  is  cold  and  sharp.  Encourage  root  action  by  supplying  tepid 
water  at  not  less  than  the  mean  of  the  house  and  not  much  above  it. 
Disbud  and  tie  down  the  shoots  before  they  touch  the  glass.  Stop  the 
growths  one  joint  beyond  the  show  of  fruit,  the  point  of  the  shoot  being 
pinched  off  when  the  leaf  at  the  joint  is  from  the  size  of  a  halfpenny  to 
a  penny  piece.  The  laterals  as  they  show  are  pinched  at  the  first  joint, 
and  this  procedure  is  also  practised  on  the  sub-laterals  as  made.  Thus 
root  action  is  accelerated  and  maintained  by  the  developing  foliage, 
which  is  quite  as  necessary  for  absorbing  as  the  leaves  for  elaborating 
nutriment.  Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  65°  until  the  flowers  open, 
and  then  keep  the  house  at  70°  to  75°  by  artificial  means,  with  a  rather 
drier  condition  of  the  atmosphere.  As  soon  as  the  fruit  is  set  supply 
liquid  manure  copiously  whenever  water  is  required  at  the  roots,  but 
only  when  the  soil  is  moderately  dry,  maintaining  a  moist  atmosphere 
by  damping  the  paths  two  or  three  times  a  day,  and  occasionally  with 
liquid  manure,  keeping  the  evaporation  troughs  charged  with  the  same, 
taking  care  not  to  use  the  liquid  too  strong  or  the  ammonia  will  injure 
the  foliage. 
Early  Forced  Planted-dnt  Vines. — As  the  growths  develop  encourage 
root  action  by  top-dressings  of  superphosphate  and  blood  manure  in 
equal  parts,  adding  one-fourth  of  double  sulphate  of  potash  and 
magnesia,  mixing,  and  applying  3  or  4  ozs.  of  the  mixture  per  square 
yard,  watering  in  moderately.  Do  not  hurry  in  disbudding,  bur  let  it 
be  seen  which  growths  give  the  most  promising  show  for  fruit,  and 
then  disbud  gradually.  Tie  down  the  shoots  before  they  touch  the 
glass.  If  weakly  stop  them  at  three  or  four  joints  beyond  the  bunch  ; 
if  strong  they  may  be  pinched  at  one  joint  beyond  the  fruit,  and  then 
pinch  the  laterals  to  one  joint  as  regards  the  weak  shoots,  and  leave 
two  or  three  on  strong  growths  after  the  flush  of  sap  has  been  con¬ 
centrated  on  the  bunch,  extending  the  growth  so  as  to  secure  a  supply 
of  well-developed  foliage  all  over  the  house.  Remove  surplus  bunches 
as  soon  as  choice  can  be  made  of  the  best,  reserving  the  most  compact 
and  avoiding  overcropping.  Maintain  a  night  temperature  oV  60°  to 
65°,  70°  to  75°  by  day,  and  a  genial  condition  of  the  atmosphere  by 
damping  the  paths  and  walls  two  or  three  times  a  day. 
Houses  to  Afford  Ripe  Grapes  in  June. — The  Vines  for  this  purpose 
must  be  started  at  once,  for  though  they  may  be  forced  so  as  to  afford 
fruit  in  May,  they  are  best  brought  forward  gently,  and  a  margin 
allowed  for  unfavourable  weather.  The  outside  border  must  be  well 
protected  from  inclement  weather,  as  the  roots  cannot  possibly  act  in 
frozen  ground.  If  fermenting  materials  are  used  they  must  be  kept 
uniform  in  temperature,  and  if  that  cannot  be  effected  it  is  better  to 
dispense  with  them  altogether.  A  good  thickness,  say  6  inches  of  dry 
leaves,  with  fern  or  litter  on  top,  and  so  disposed  in  a  sloping  manner 
as  to  throw  off  the  wet,  answers  admirably.  Inside  borders  will  need  a 
supply  of  water  at  a  temperature  of  the  mean  of  the  house  to  bring 
them  into  a  proper  state  of  moisture,  being  careful  not  to  make  the 
soil  too  wet,  as  that  hinders  root  action,  and  may  be  the  precursor  of 
that  sodden  and  sour  condition  which  inevitably  results  in  shanking 
and  other  ills.  The  temperature  should  be  maintained  at  50°  to  55°, 
advancing  to  65°  fi  cm  sun  heat.  Damp  the  house  and  Vines  two  or 
three  times  a  day,  but  do  i  ot  keep  them  constantly  dripping  with 
water,  for  that  only  encourages  aerial  roots.  Ventilate  on  all  favour¬ 
able  occasions,  for  a  sweet  atmosphere  has  a  decided  effect  for  good  on 
the  Vines. 
Early  Houses  of  Muscats. — To  have  Muscat  of  Alexandria  ripe  in 
June  the  Vines  require  to  be  started  at  the  beginning  of  December,  or 
where  the  Vines  have  been  started  before,  at  the  1st  of  this  month. 
The  heat  should  range  from  55  to  69°,  and  when  the  buds  break  raising 
it  to  60°  to  65°  at  night,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day.  Then  the  growths  will 
develop  properly,  forming  leaves  of  good  size,  and  (with  due  attention 
to  ventilation)  substai  ce. 
Houses  from  which  the  Grapes  Hare  been  Cut. — The  Vines  should  be 
pruned,  as  a  rule,  shortly  after  the  leaves  fall,  but  this  is  often  delayed 
on  account  of  Grapes  hanging.  Thus  the  Vines  are  deprived  of  that 
complete  rest  which  pruning  and  keeping  them  cool  assures.  Healthy 
Vines  may  be  cut  to  one,  or  at  most,  two  buds  ;  but  weakly  Vines,  and 
those  with  long-jointed  wood,  may  be  left  a  little  longer,  cutting  in  all 
cases  to  a  plump  bud.  This  will  cause  the  spurs  to  become  long  sooner 
than  by  close  pinning,  and  necessitate  a  renewal  of  them  on  the  rods, 
which  may  be  effected  by  encouraging  a  growth  from  the  base  of  the 
spur  or  rod,  and  cutting  away  the  old  in  favour  of  the  new.  The 
extension  system  is,  perhaps,  the  best  under  such  circumstances,  having 
a  succession  of  rods  from  the  main  stem,  and  cutting  out  those  that 
reach  the  extremity  of  the  space  to  a  cane  nearer  the  base  and  well 
situated  for  displacing  that  cut  away. 
Thoroughly  cleanse  the  house,  removing  all  loose  bark,  bub  avoid 
close  peeling  and  scraping  the  Vines  down  to  and  into  the  new  bark 
and  wood.  Wash  them  with  a  solution  of  caustic  soda  and  pearlash, 
1  oz.  each  to  1^  gallon  of  water.  Remove  the  surface  soil  down  to  the 
roots  without  injuring  them,  raising  any  that  have  a  tendency  to 
descend,  supplying  good  turfy  loam  with  an  admixture  of  some  approved 
fertiliser.  Vineries  are  often  utilised  for  plants,  but  the  temperature 
should  not  exceed  45°,  air  being  admi1  ted  on  all  favourable  occasions, 
so  as  to  keep  the  structures  as  cool  as  possible,  no  plants  being 
admitted  except  those  only  needing  protection  from  frost. 
Late  Houses. — Maintain  a  temperature  of  45°  with  a  dry  atmosphere 
in  houses  where  Grapes  are  hanging.  Examine  every  bunch  frequently, 
and  remove  all  decayed  berries.  Ventilate  the  house  on  fine  dry 
mornings,  and  keep  it  closed  when  the  weather  is  damp,  but  there 
must  be  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  pipes  to  prevent  a  stagnant  atmosphere. 
In  the  case  of  Grapes  ripened  comparatively  eaily,  and  those  are  the 
best  for  keeping,  the  Grapes  may  be  cut,  the  ends  of  the  stems  being 
inserted  in  rain  water  secured  in  a  inclining  position,  so  a's  to  admit  of 
the  fruit  hanging  clear  of  the  bottles.  Any  dry  room  will  be  a  suitable 
place,  where  an  equable  temperature  of  40°  to  45°  is  maintained.  This 
will  admit  of  the  Vines  being  pruned  and  the  hi  use  cleansed,  the  Vines 
then  having  a  few  weeks’  rest,  and  with  that  they  start  strongly  when 
set  to  work,  as  they  should  be  soon  after  the  middle  of  February. 
111 
HE  BEE-KEEPER 
.i-i-i  -  r-'T  - 1  -  t 
Unsold  Honey. 
Except  in  a  few  favoured  districts  the  past  season  was  not  a  good 
one  for  honey  production,  and  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  finding 
a  ready  market  for  the  honey  on  hand.  We  are,  however,  constantly 
receiving  inquiries  from  bee-keepers  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
complaining  of  the  difficulty  they  have  of  eeLing  their  produce. 
Many  of  the  samples  that  have  come  to  hand  are  not  of  first-class 
quality,  chiefly  owing  to  the  fact  th  it  the  honey  is  dark  in  colour 
Honey  of  this  description,  although  good  in  every  other  respect,  does 
not  sell  as  rea  lily  as  light  coloured  honey. 
We  never  experience  any  difficulty  in  this  respect.  This  year  our 
harvest  w  as  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  crop  ;  the  honey,  though  it  was 
dark,  was  disposed  of  almost  as  soon  as  if  was  obtained.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  bee-keeping  has  made  such  headway  during  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century  honey  is  not  now  c  nsidered  such  a  luxury  as  it 
wai  before  the  modern  frame  hive  came  into  general  use.  The  days  of 
big  prices  are  gone,  but  by  close  attention  to  the  details  in  connection 
with  putting  the  honey  up  into  marketable  form  a  great  improvement 
may  be  made. 
Grading  Honey. 
One  step  in  the  right  direction  is  grading  the  various  samples  of 
honey.  During  the  pa>t  season  there  was  litfc'e  difference  in  the  colour 
ot  the  honey  we  obtained,  but  in  a  avi  urahle  year  we  do  not  find  any 
two  samples  ex  ictly  alike.  Whether  the  apiary  is  large  or  small  it  is 
a  very  easy  matter  to  grade  the  different  samples  and  keep  them 
si  parate.  The  plan  we  adopt  is  to  keep  a  numbered  sample  of  each  at 
the  time  the  extractor  is  emptied.  The  vess.  1  containing  the  bu  k  has 
a  com  sponding  number  ;  there  is  thus  no  d  ffi  ulty  in  the  grading 
and  keeping  each  sample  separate  when  put  up  in  saleable  form. 
If  extracted  honey  is  sold  to  a  retailer  it  should  be  put  in  1  IK 
glass  jars  ;  those  having  a  t-crew  top  are  better  ihan  the  tie-over  jars. 
Th'  se  ought  to  be  neatly  labelled  with  the  bee-keeper’s  name  and 
addr  8s.  This  will  be  a  guarantee  of  its  purity.  In  a  general  way 
tnere  need  be  no  difference  in  the  price  ol  the  various  samples  if  only 
honey  of  good  flavour  is  placed  on  the  market. 
There  is  a  better  market  for  comb  honey  in  sections  than  in  shallow 
frames.  For  this  reason  the  majority  of  it  shoulu  be  obtained  in  this 
form.  The  wood  must  he  cleared  ot  all  propolis  sobering  to  it  by 
scraping  with  a  blunt  knite,  and  if  i-taine  I,  by  rubbing  with  coarse 
sand  paper.  The  tops  of  the  sections  should  always  have  a  mark 
placet)  on  them  so  that  they  may  be  Btood  in  the  same  position 
they  occupied  in  the  hive.  This  will  prevent  them  leaking. — 
An  English  Bee-keeper. 
