JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  30,  1904. 
562 
fall  to  GOdeg.  Afford  a  fair  supply  of  u’ater,  moistening  the 
soil  through  to  the  drainage,  and  mulching  the  border  with  an 
inch  or  so  of  short  sweetened  manure  will  conserve  the  moisture 
and  attract  the  roots.  Outside  borders  in  most  causes  have  been 
sufficiently  moistened  by  the  recent  rains.  Moderate  air 
moisture  is  necessary  for  the  foliage,  damp :ng  down  in  the 
morning  and  afternoon,  but  a  close  atmosphere  is  fatal  to 
colour  and  bloom,  and  is  likely  to  induce  “  spot”  in  the  tender, 
thin-skinned  Grapes,  such  as  Duke  of  Buccleuch  and  Muscat  of 
Alexandria. 
WATERING.— The  warm  raijis  of  summer,  charged  with 
ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  give  an  impetus  to  growth,  and  water¬ 
ing  inside  borders  with  the  water  collected  in  tanks  acts 
.similarly.  The  water  dislodges  the  soil-air  and  admits  fresh, 
as  well  as  cleanses  the  border  from  impurities  where  the 
drainage  is  thorougli.  After  i)roj)erly  moistening  the  border, 
follow  with  liquid  manure  or  a  top-dressing  of  fertiliser  wa.shed 
in  where  the  Vines  are  carrying  lieavy  crops.  Sweetened  horse 
manure  is  suitable  for  surfacing  heavy  soil,  farmyard  or  cow 
manure  answering  better  for  light  soils.  Do  not  apply  more 
than  an  inch  or  two,  and  then  add  to  it  from  time  to  time  so  as 
to  keep  that  thickness,  and  so  supplying  nourishment  regularly. 
To  let  the  border  get  dry,  and  so  remain  at  the  surface,  causes 
the  roots  to  strike  down  in  quest  of  moisture,  and  the  Grapes 
often  finish  badly  in  comsequence. 
YOUNG  VINES. — Syringe  copiously  in  the  afternoon  of  fine 
days,  and  close  early  so  as  to  husband  the  sun’s  heat,  mulching 
the  border  to  keep  the  surface  moist,  affording  water  or  liquid 
manure  when  necessary.  Stop  lateral  growths  to  one  leaf,  tlien 
the  sub-laterals  may  be  allowed  to  extend  on  permanent  Vines, 
but  on  supernumeraries  the  canes  should  be  stopped  when 
Gft  in  length,  the  laterals  at  the  first  leaf  and  the  sub-laterals 
to  one  joint  as  made,  keeping  them  clear  of  the  principal  or 
cane  leaves.  The  latter  must  be  kejot  free,  and  allowed  to  die 
naturally,  so  that  the  buds  at  their  base  may  be  well  formed 
and  nourished.— G.  A.,  St.  Albans,  Herts. 
The  Flower  Garden. 
ROSES. — Roses  in  beds,  borders,  and  on  walls  are  now 
flowering  well,  many  plant.s  having  yet  a  profusion  of  buds 
which  require  developing.  Any  that  are  weak  or  deformed  may 
be  removed  with  advantage  to  the  better  placed  and  perfect 
buds.  To  as.sist  these  developing  to  full  size  and  colour  see 
that  the  roots  are  kept  moist,  and  a  due  proportion  of  rich 
food  supplied  in  the  form  of  liquid  manure.  A  mulching  of 
manure  over  the  roots  will  also  conserve  moisture,  and  serve 
to  evenly  di.stribute  the  liquid  supplied.  Remove  any  mseless 
shbots  or  suckers,  and  as  blooms  fade,  the  appearance  of  the 
plants  will  be  improved  by  cutting  them  off.  If  through 
deficiency  of  moisture  insects  have  attacked  the  shoots,  clear 
them  off  with  an  insecticide,  or  syringing  with  clear  water.  A 
good  solution  for  green  or  black  fly  consists  of  2oz  of  softsoap 
dissolved  in  a  gallon  of  water.  Alildew  is  another  enemy 
brought  about  from  dryness  or  poorness  of  the  soil,  usually 
infesting  the  young  wood.  It  may  be  combated  by  syringing 
with  the  above  solution  to  which  flowers  of  sulphur  have  been 
added,  or  dusting  damp  growths  with  the  dry  powder.  Cut 
out  the  old  wood  from  the  early  flowering  climbing  Roses. 
PROPAGATING  PINKS. — The  young  shoots  of  Pinks  are 
now  strong  and  firm,  and  in  a  right  condition  for  propagating. 
By  inserting  them  now  they  have  a  good  chance  of  forming 
well  rooted  plants  for  transplanting  in  autumn.  Prepare  a 
piece  of  ground  on  a  shady  border,  working  in  .some  sandy  soil, 
and  make  firm  and  level.  The  pipings  or  cuttings  may  be 
about  Jin  long,  removing  the  leaves  at  base,  and  shortening  tlib 
tips.  Insert  them  firmly  3in  apart,  water  and  shade  from  the 
strongest  sunshine.  A  sprinkling  daily  will  be  beneficial,  as  it 
helps  to  keep  them  fresli,  by  which  they  form  roots  more 
quickly. 
LIFTING  BULBS.  — Tulips,  Hyacinths,  and  early-flowering 
Narcissi,  the  leaves  of  which  have  died  down,  may  now  be 
lifted  and  dried,  storing  them  away  for  the  present.  When 
replanting  select  the  largest  and  firmest  bulbs. 
SOMING  BIENNIAL  STOCKS. — A  sowing  ought  now  to  be 
made  of  Brompton  and  Queen  Stocks,  these  varieties  being 
very  useful  for  spring  flowering.  Grown  in  a  sheltered  spot 
they  are  moderately  hardy,  the  Queen  class  being  the  be.st  for 
exposed  positions.  The  seedlings  when  large  enough  should  be 
pricked  out  separately,  as  by  this  means  only  are  bushy  rooted 
plants  obtained  for  planting  out  in  permanent  positions  in 
autumn. 
SM  EET  PEAS — Afford  the  neces.sary  attention  to  these  to 
encourage  them  to  flower  freely,  and  continue  doing  so.  In 
dry  positions  give  the  rows  a  good  soaking  of  water,  and  con¬ 
serve  the  moisture  in  the  soil  afterwards  bv  a  liberal  mulchino- 
of  manure  down  each  side  of  rows.  Daily  attention  will  be 
required  by  the  early  flowering  rows  or  cliimps  in  cutting  off 
the  .seed  ])ods.  Liquid  manure  will  be  benenciai,  and  may  be 
given  freely  to  the  roots  over  the  inulehing  laid  down.— E  D  S 
Gravesend.  ’ 
Utilising-  Swarms. 
Many  bee-keepers  make  a  great  mistake  in  assuming  that 
when  a  .swarm  is  hived  on  the  stand  which  it  is  to  occupy  that  it 
will  require  no  further  attention  or  care,  but  will,  in  the  ordinary 
cour.se  of  events,  draw  out  the  bars  and  store  honey  abundantly. 
After  observing  the  actions  of  swarms  few  will  deny  that  it  is 
utterly  impossilije  in  all  cases  for  them  to  obtain  sufficient  honey 
to  feed  their  brood  and  build  all  their  combs.  The  comb  build¬ 
ing  impulse  invariably  takes  possession  of  bees  which  compose 
a  swarm,  and  it  is  to  the  apiarist’s  benefit  to  secure  the  full 
advantages  of  this  by  assistance,  instead  of  checking  it,  which 
would  be  the  case  if  from  any  cause  the  income  from  natural 
sources  was  discontinued  during  a  spell  of  bad  weather. 
When  the  supply  of  food  is  maintained,  the  queen  is  sup¬ 
plied  with  plenty  of  newly-btiilt  cells  to  lay  .  in,  and  there  will 
be  by  the  time  the  honey  flow  is  again  renewed,  a  far  stronger 
population  to  take  advantage  of  it.  Anything  calculated  to 
retard  comb  building  or  ovipositing  should  be  carefully  pre¬ 
vented.  It  is  much  better  if  the  swarm  is  an  eariy  one  to  feed 
it  continuously  <intil  the  whole  brood  chamber  is  completely 
drawn  out,  and  the  population  pi-oportionately  strengthened 
in  order  to  yield  the  best  profit  to  the  bee-keeper.  In  feeding 
swarms  during  temporary  bad  weather,  care  must  be  taken  to 
ascertain  that  the  feeder  is  not  in  a  position  where  it  will  be 
entirely  neglected.  This  sometimes  happens  when  the  swarm 
is  not  sufficiently  powerful  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  frames 
in  the  body  box,"  and  they  cluster  then  generally  on  the  sunny 
side  of  the  hive,  while  the  feeder  may  be  placed  over  a  central 
hole,  and  is  consequently  not  directlv  over  the  bees. 
If  possible  it  should  be  estimated  whether  the  swarm  will 
require  the  whole  number  of  frames,  and  if  not,  only  the  requi¬ 
site  space  allowed  them,  otherwise  the  exact  position  of  the 
cluster  must  be  ascertained,  and  the  food  administered  over  the 
centre  of  it  Avithout  disturbance  to  the  bees.  If  a  SAvarm  comes 
off  AA'hen  the  honey  floAv  is  at  its  height  it  should  be  hived  on 
about  six  or  seven  frames,  and  contracted  by  means  of  dummies, 
placing  a  super  above  and  excluder  betAA’een.  All  the  honey 
Avill  then  be  placed  in  the  super  above,  AA'here  it  may  be  taken 
aAvay  as  required,  and  the  harvest  from  the  SAvarm  Avill  be  in 
some  cases  almost  as  great  as  if  they  had  been  Avorking  Avith 
the  parent  stock.  As  there  is  practically  little  or  no  honey 
stored  in  the  brood  nest  after  such  management,  the  stock, 
after  the  removal  of  the  honey,  must  be  fed  immediately,  or 
there  aa  IU  soon  be  the  usual  signs  of  starvation  manifest. 
SAvarms  should  never  be  returned  to  the  stock  from  Avhich 
they  came  unless  all  the  royal  cells  are  first  excised,  otherAvise 
they  AA'ill  assuredly  SAvarm  again,  and  should  a  virgin  queen 
have  hatched  in  the  meantime,  the  laying  queen  Avill  probably 
be  killed.  If  increase  is  not  de.sired,  the  hive-containing  the 
SAA'arm  .should  lie  placed  close  to  the  old  site,  the  parent  stock 
reduced  to  the  number  of  bars  they  cover,  and  AA'hen  the  young 
(lueen  is  laying  in  the  old  colony  the  tAvo  may  be  united  after 
deposing  the  old  queen. — E.  E. 
An  Early  Morning’  Swarm. 
I  had  a  sAvarm  (not  a  cast)  of  bees  from  a  straAv  skep  this 
morning  (Friday,  June  24),  at  8.30  a.m.  Would  “  E.  E.”  or 
“  Hybia  ”  lAA'liose  casual  notes  are  very  beneficial  to  me)  sa.y  if 
thev  liaA^e  had  a  similar  experience  of  a  SAA  arm  going  off  at  so 
early  an  hour  ?  The  morning  Ai  as  dull,  but  temperature  55deg 
Fahr. — N.  R.,  GlasgOAV. 
- >  I - 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Wisley,  Surrey. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height 
above  sea  leA'el,  150  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
D 
ci 
^  • 
aj  a: 
li 
Temperature 
of  the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Wind. 
1904. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Nigh 
At 
At 
At 
Rain. 
o. 
Total 
velocit.v 
for  the 
24  hours 
ending 
9  a.m. 
.5 
a? 
a 
June. 
Dry 
L’ulb. 
AVet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
O  c 
D 
i 
0 
l-ft. 
deep 
2-ft. 
deep 
4-ft. 
deep 
o 
.h 
a 
Sun.  If 
de?. 
55 
deg. 
52 
deg. 
64 
deg. 
48 
leg 
41 
deg 
59 
deg. 
59 
dog. 
66 
Ins. 
S.AV. 
Miles. 
1-28 
h.  m. 
3  47 
Mon.  er 
59 
64 
68 
f4 
52 
60 
59 
66 
_ 
W. 
163 
7  3-: 
'I’ues.  21 
68 
52 
62 
48 
41 
to 
59 
f6 
— 
N.AV. 
69 
4  23 
AVed.  22 
60 
53 
70 
46 
36 
fO 
69 
56 
_ 
S. 
88 
11  67 
Thnrs2f 
62 
55 
71 
43 
38 
61 
60 
66 
_ 
N.W. 
45 
12  50 
Fri.  21 
57 
71 
48 
41 
62 
60 
66 
Oil 
S. 
2-27 
6  14 
Sat.  25 
68 
64 
63 
62 
50 
61 
60 
57 
0’13 
AY. 
143 
3  48 
Means 
60 
E4 
67 
48 
43 
60 
59 
60 
Total 
0-24 
122 
7  13 
