January  21,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
47 
Most  of  the  details  regarding  Apples  are  also  appropriate 
to  the  grading  of  Pears,  but  as  a  larger  proportion  of  these 
are  used  for  eating  than  cooking,  they  are  more  adapted  for 
disposal  in  small  packages,  and  hence  repay  the  greatest  atten¬ 
tion  in  uniform  grading.  Several  qualities  can  usually  be 
obtained  from  one  crop,  and  it  generally  pays  best  to  sell  in 
two  or  three  grades,  only  those  rejected  in  the  selecting  process 
being  disposed  of  in  bulk.  Even  when  large  crops  from  old 
orchard  trees  are  being  dealt  with,  a  few  dozens  of  the  finest 
fruits  carefully  laacked  will  help  to  raise  the  total  returns 
considerably. 
Stone  fruits  may  be  selected  in  various  grades.  Plums  for 
cooking  can  thus  be  sorted  into  two  or  three  grades,  the  largest 
fruit  commanding  the  best  market.  A  good  medium  size  is  in 
demand  for  bottling,  and  the  smaller  sizes  are  utilised  in 
ordinary  cooking  or  preserving.  Dessert  Plums  and  Cherries 
are  readily  graduated  on  the  same  method,  the  finest  in  boxes 
or  small  packages  and  the  others  in  bulk. 
Soft  fruits,  such  as  Strawberrie,s  and  Raspberries,  are 
worthy  of  equal  care,  the  former  being  sorted  into  at  least  two 
grades  and  sometimes  into  more.  The  best  are  placed  in 
punnets,  the  next  in  small  boxes,  and  a  third  grade  can  be  sold 
in  boxes  or  baskets  holding  from  61b  to  121b.  Raspberries  may 
be  conveniently  divided  into  two  qualities  whenever  a  special 
sale  can  be  commanded  for  the  best  fruits,  either  in  punnets 
or  small  boxes. 
Nearly  all  other  fruits  also  admit  of  some  grading,  even 
though  it  be  only  to  the  extent  of  excluding  defective  and 
malformed  specimens ;  the  results  yield  a  satisfactory  reward 
for  the  labour  and  expense. 
The  benefits  derivable  from  careful  and  systematic  grading 
are  by  no  means  confined  to  fruits,  as  vegetables  also  afford 
considerable  encouragement  to  those  who  strive  to  make  the 
most  of  them  in  the  same  direction.  Especially  is  this  the  case 
with  root  crops,  though  in  a  general  way  the  sorting  adopted 
is  of  a  very  rough  character.  Potatoes,  for  example,  are  usually 
picked  up  in  three  sizes,  the  large  tubers  for  sale,  the  seconds 
for  sets,  and  the  small  tubers  to  be  used  as  food  for  stock. 
The  large  size  should  be  again  sorted  into  two  or  three  grades ; 
it  is  with  them  as  with  Apples,  a  comparatively  small  proportion 
of  coarse  irregular  tubers  spoils  the  appearance  of  a  large  con¬ 
signment.  Even  shape  and  uniformity  of  sample  possess  a 
distinct  market  value,  and  a  medium  sized  Potato  having  these 
characteristics,  together  with  good  quality,  will  bring  a  better 
return  than  huge  distorted  tubers  of  which  size  is  the  only 
recommendation.  If  an  extra  6d.  per  bushel  or  £1  per  ton  can 
be  secured  by  such  care  it  often  means,  with  a  good  crop,  suffi¬ 
cient  clear  gain  to  more  than  pay  the  expenses  of  cultivation. 
A  distinction  can  be  made  between  the  best  or  earliest 
Turnips  and  Carrots  and  the  ordinary  quality  or  crop  in  bulk, 
by  marketing  the  former  in  bunches,  while  the  latter  are  sent 
in  bags  or  baskets.  Onions,  too,  can  be  graded  in  several  ways, 
the  best  being  bunched  or  made  into  “  ropes,”  while  smaller 
sizes  are  sold  loose,  the  smallest  ranking  as  pickling  Onions. 
It  is  always  advisable  to  have  several  sizes,  each  sample  fairly 
uniform,  as  some  buyers  have  a  preference  for  medium  size 
bulbs  and  others  for  large  ones.  In  selling  small  quantities 
by  weight  the  retailers  have  a  difficulty  with  the  largest  Onions, 
and  usually  find  the  medium  size  more  convenient.  If  roots 
are  prepared  for  sale  by  being  thoroughly  cleaned  it  is  a  great 
help,  and  in  any  case  wherever  grading  is  followed,  all  the  best 
qualities  should  be  so  treated,  or  the  chief  part  of  the  labour 
will  be  nullified. 
Peas  and  Beans  should  always  be  graded.  Yet  this  is  seldom 
done  by  the  grower,  and,  as  with  many  other  vegetables,  it  is 
usually  left  to  the  retailer.  Large,  well-filled  pods  of  the 
former  are  always  in  demand,  and  if  the  colour  is  good  their 
value  is  enhanced.  But  they  are  too  often  gathered  without 
due  care,  and  a  number  of  insufficiently  developed  pods 
materially  lower  the  value  of  the  whole,  while  reducing  future 
gatherings.  Two  or  three  grades  of  Peas  can  be  readily  formed, 
according  to  the  condition  of  the  crop  and  the  varieties,  some 
being  much  more  even  croppers  than  others.  In  supplying 
consumers  direct  daily  or  at  regular  intervals,  it  is  now  becom¬ 
ing  the  practice  to  shell  the  Peas,  grade  them  by  means  of 
sieves,  and  consign  to  the  purchaser  in  small  boxes.  Dwarf 
Kidney  Beans  and  Scarlet  Runners  can  be  graded  by  selecting 
the  long,  straight,  and  even  pods  for  the  best  samples,  in 
smaller  quantities,  the  bulk  going  for  sale  in  bushel  or  half¬ 
bushel  baskets. 
(To  be  continued.) 
The  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  would  be  glad  if  re¬ 
cipients  of  this  leaflet  would  make  it  known  to  others  interested 
in  the  subject.  (Copies  may  be  obtained  free  of  charge  and  post 
free  on  application  to  the  Secretary,  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
Fisheries,  4,  Whitehall  Place,  London,  S.W.  Letters  of  applica¬ 
tion  .«o  addressed  need  not  be  stamped. 
Planting  for  Bees. 
Hive  bees,  as  a  rule,  succeed  in  accordance  with  the  supplie.s 
of  raw  material — that  is,  of  flowers  bearing  pollen  and  nectar, 
within  reach  of  the  domiciles,  fetching  being  an  important  factor, 
foi’  according  to  dista-nce  must  bo  the  expenditure  of  force  and 
the  amount  of  materials  collected,  utilised,  and  garnered. 
Pollen,  as  everyone  knows,  is  the  coloured  dust  found  in  all 
mature  flowers,  except  the  few  tliat  are  entirely  female.  It 
IS  found  in  the  anthers,  or  thick  heads  of  the  stamens,  and  is 
set  free,  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  best  known,  by  the  bursting 
of  the  walls  that  surround  the  spaces  in  which  it  is  formed,  and 
in  which  it  is  retained  till  ripe.  In  this  state  it  is  available 
for  fertilisation,  and  for  bee  use.  The  pollen  collected  from 
flowers  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  wax,  which  is  elaborated 
from  honey,  Constitutes  the  food  of  bees  and  their  larvie,  and 
this  food  appears  to  bo  modified  in  its  composition  according 
to  the  sort  of  individuals  it  is  intended  for.  The  substance 
called  propolis,  collected  from  the  opening  buds  of  Poplars  and 
other  trees,  is  u-sed  by  bees  for  lining  their  hives,  stopping 
holes,  &c. 
Nectar  is  the  sweeti.sh  secretion  of  various  parts  of  blossoms, 
which  forms  the  staple  food  of  many  insects,  notably  bees, 
butterflies,  and  moths.  Nectar  is  not,  as  commonly  supposed, 
identical  with  honey,  although  as  furnished  by  many  plants, 
it  is  the  material  from  which  bees  make  the  latter.  Analysis 
has  shown  the  sugar  of  nectar  to  be,  very  generally,  cane  sugar, 
while  that  of  honey  is  grape  sugar,  consisting  of  dextrose  and 
levulo.se  in  equal  proportions.  The  conversion  of  the  cane  sugar 
is  brought  about  by  an  admixture  of  salivary  secretion  at  the 
time  the  nectar  is  sucked  up.  This  conversion  has  been  well 
made  out  in  the  case  of  bees,  and  it  is  probable  that  butterflies 
and  moths  effect  the  same  changes  as  the  bee. 
Bees  also  collect  Jioncydew,  which  is  a  sweet,  sticky  sub¬ 
stance  varying  a  little  in  chemical  composition,  but  all  honey- 
dew  contains  a  considerable  quantity  of  sugar,  including  man- 
nite  and  cane  sugar,  and  it  is  to  these  that  the  sweet  taste  is 
due.  The  honeydew  may  result  from  the  punctures  and 
secretions  of  insects,  which  is  certainly  one  cause  of  honey- 
dew  ;  or  a  secretion  from  the  plant,  and  analogous  to  the 
.secretion  of  similar  fluids  in  nectaries  on  various  green  parts 
of  many  plants,  particularly  on  the  .stipules  of  Beans,  and  it  is 
more  abundant  on  woody  plants  than  on  herbs. 
Sycamores  and  Limes  are  particularly  noted  for  deposits  of 
honeydew  on  the  leaves  and  ground  under  or  adjacent,  and 
there  is  no  question  of  bees  utilising  honeydew,  the  secretion 
being  most  abundant  when  the  weather  is  warm  and  dry,  and 
in  such  cases  the  secretion  being  excessive,  must  be  injurious 
to  the  plant,  this  being  weakened  by  the  abundant  exudation 
of  sugars.  The  honeydew,  however,  is  very  attractive  to 
insects,  especially  to  flies,  and,  at  night,  to  moths. 
Bees,  therefore,  depend  entirely  upon  plants,  and  parti¬ 
cularly  their  flowers,  for  subsistence.  What  bee-keeper  studies 
the  requirements  of  the  bees  by  planting  suitable  plants, 
shrubs,  and  trees  which  in  their  season  will  yield  pollen  or 
nectar?  The  reply,  as  seen  in  the  gardens  of  bee-keepers 
generally,  must  be  in  the  negative.  Most  bee-keepers  are  more 
concerned  about  near-by  fruit  plantations  and  orchards,  copses 
and  woods,  fields  of  White  Clover  and  Beans,  and  in  some  cases 
great  stretches  of  Heather,  .so  anxious  are  they  to  “  reap 
where  they  have  not  sown,”  than  to  provide,  as  far  as  circum¬ 
stances  admit,  on  their  own  or  occupied  ground,  provender  for 
the  bees. 
Many  bee-keepers,  especially  cottagers,  have  not  the  means 
or  opportunity  of  doing  much  in  planting,  it  may  be  a  shrub 
or  tree,  which  in  its  season. will  be  of  great  benefit  to  the 
bees.  Fortunately  there  are  few  districts  in  which  there  are 
not  gardens  attached  to  residences  wherein  flowers  are  grown, 
not  for  bees,  but  for  ornament  from  an  early  to  a  late  period 
of  the  season,  and  these  are  laid  nnder  contribution  for  pollen 
and  nectar  by  the  bees  in  the  vicinity. 
Then  there  are  great  breaks  of  grass  in  the  relatively  open  ' 
and  rough,  where  Crocuses  would  bloom  grandly  year  by  year, 
and  the  air  there  literally  “  hums  ”  with  beauty  and  sweet¬ 
ness.  Squills  also  do  well  on  grass,  so  what  with  space  under 
trees,  and  grass  not  kept  under  machine,  utilised,  bees  have 
not  far  to  travel  to  secure  the  all-important  pollen  or  bee- 
bread  and  nectar  early  in  the  season,  though  the  latter  may 
only  he  sufficient  for  the  daily  requirements  of  the  bees.  Of 
course.  Daffodils  are  charming  on  rough  lawns  or  parts  of 
pleasure  grounds  not  usually  mown  until  the  foliage  of  tho 
Daffodils  has  ripened. 
In  gardens  proper  place  is,  or  should  be,  found  for  Snow¬ 
drops,  Winter  Aconites,  and  Crocuses  where  there  are  bees, 
for  bee-keepers  should  provide  as  much  of  their  own  provender 
as  possible,  or  consistent  with  a  due  regard  to  other  require¬ 
ments.  Cottage  gardens  are  usually  gay  with  spring  flowers, 
and  it  is  bringing  into  their  midst  the  trade  that  ruins  the 
