The Garden.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 468, 31 March 1882, Page 23

The Garden.

Bee Culture. — While as a general rule, it is well to disturb bees at i this season as seldom as possible, it will not do to leave previous mistakes uncorrccted. If we disturb the bees we are certain to lose a few of them from their falling to the ground and being unable to rise again owing to cold, &c. ; but if the bees are not attended to we risk the loss of the entire stock. The bees must be looked at to ascertain their condition aud supply their wants, if any. Those who keep their bees in the old skpps should on a fine Funny day gently raise each skep off the floorboaid. If the skep is tol> rably heavy, and if the b^rs are numerous, the stock may be set as all right. The floorboard should be cleared of any dead bees, and if it can get a hasty scalding with boiling water and be afterwards well dried it will be all the better. If the btock is light but strong in bees, feeding must be resorted to at once. The best and safest fooi to give at this time is bee barley sugar. The sngarbarley should be in sticks about six inches in length, and a few of these may be thrust between the combs. If sugar-barley is not available, small troughs may be made of a twig of elder split in two and the pith taken out. These may be filled I with a Byrup made by dissolviug l£lb of good sugar, costing 3£d or so por pound, in a pint of boiling water. The trough filled with the syrup as aforesaid may be thrust into the entrance oE the hive and refilltd as foonas emptied. But feeding iv this way is only possible at night, as the bees crowding about the trough are likely to obstruct the entrance, and those inside are in danger of being suffocated. Another and gi eater danger is that the scent of the syrup will attract . bees from other i locks ; robbing will begin, and will in all proba- | bility not cease till the queen of the robbed stock is killed and the \ stock itself destroyed. While on this subject we would like to siy | lhat pyrup should never be exposed in any place where bees from i different hives have access to it, as robbing and fighting \siil almost) certainly be induced by it. If the stock is very light and the bees i appear as if dead, the hive should be brought into a warm room for an hour or two. If they begin to show signs of life they should j be lightly sprinkled with a little warm syrup. When they have ' time to lick each otber dry they should be sprinkled again. This j treatment will revive them sufficiently for the time being. I A few sticks of sugar-barley, thrust between the combs will generally | Bet them to rights. We should have mentioned that while the bees ' are indoors, the mouth of the skep should be covered with a piece of j coarse muslin, leno, &c., to prevent the bees escaping, as their presence . in the bouse sometimes causes inconvenience. A few weeks ago a I friend wrote to say that he feared something was wrong with his bees, and asked us to inspect them. We did so, and found j them in the condition last mentioned. A piece of nausUn wherewiih to confine them not being at hand, we shouk the bee?, with one or two rapd jerks, out of the skop into a bandbox (previously warm< d), and covered them with a pane of common glass. | The bandbox was tl en placed before a fire, and, on the bees showing signs of life, they we c sprinkled as described above. In less than an hour the bees were quite lively, and humming merrily. Meantime the ekep was put in order, and well supplied with sugarbarley, the floorboaid cleansed, &g, Wnen all was ready tbe bees we:e thrown back into the hive and left to find their way amongst the combs again, and we had the pleasure of hearing a few days ago that they wore doing well. If the bees are in a frame-hive they cure better and more easily than when they are in skeps, and the amount of disturbance is very Btnall, indeed. All that will be necessary in this case will be to turn up part of the quilt and place a few sticks of sugar-barley across the frames, and the whole operation need not occupy more than a few seconds. If there are empty combs in tbe hive they may be taken out and placed aside, as they will ba found very useful next May. The division board must be moved, so as to contract the space occupied by the bees, and the hive closed. With a little care and a steady hand both feeding and contracting the hive maybe accomplished with such a small amount of disturbance that scarcely a bee will fly.- — Dublin Freeman. Phtjnikg the currant tree.— Under every modeof training the red currant, and also the white, require to be regularly pruned every year. In rearing the young plants the first thing to be aimed at is a clear stem, about five inches in length, free from suckeis. In preparing the cutting caie should be taken to remove ail the buds on the portion intended to be inserted in tbe ground, otherwise many of them would form suckers, injurious to the plants, and troublesome to displace effectually. In some cases cuttings can be obtained long enough to afford at once the proper length of stem ; but when such cannot be had, when the cutting is altogether too short, or proves so after the necessary removal of the imperfectly formed wood at top, then three buds above the surface of the ground will be snfficient. These will generally produce three shoots, all of which may be allowed to grow during the first summer after the cutting has been planted, in order to assist in forming roots. Supposing" the plant is intended for the open ground, and that it is to be trained in the usual way, open in the centre ; then in autumn, after the leaves have fallen, two out of the three shoots which the plant has made should be cut off, and the third, selected as the most eligible for a stem, should be shortened, so that the third bud below the cut may be 5 inches above the ground. Three shoots will generally be produced the following summer. In autumn the plants will require to be plauted out where they are to remain, and at the same time the shoots should be cut back to about 4 inches, taking care to cut above buds pointing out- ► WArdf. We have now a stem five inches high, and three branches diverging from it, each of them shortening to about 4 inches. Two shoots should be encourged from each of these thKe, so that in autumn the plant will have 6ix shoots, corresponding with the ultimate number of branches necessary. All other shoots must be spurred of within an inch of their bases. Tbe 6ix shoots selected

for leaders should be cut back so as to leave them from 4to 6 inches long ; and, like those of the former season, they should be cut to buds pointing outwards. At every fixture winter pruniug the terminal shoots of the six branches should be shortened to between 4 and 6 inches long, according to their strength. When the branches nearly attain the intended height the terminals may be shortened to two or three buds. With regard to the lateral shoots they must all be cut to within an inch of the old wood at every winter pruning. 8->me recommend summer pruning. In moderation it may be advantageously performed. When the plants are luxuriant and shoots are likely to overcrowd the centre, the tops of such shoots may be cut off in July. But it must be observed that if no shoots were allowed to grow excepting those necessary to be retained at the winter pruning, the plants would in consequence be less vigorous in the followiug season, for the more leaves the more roots, and the greater the quantity of the latter the more abundant will be the supply of nourishment. Instead of the open bush form currants may be grown with a single upright stem, and in this way they occupy very little spacu, and yet produce good bunches of fruit, which are not liable to be i spoiled by wet. When currants are intended to be traine I agiiaat a wall they should be placed 3 feet apart, and a strong shoDt traiaed upright for a stem. This should be shortened to 6 inches, and the two uppermost shoots trained horizontally right and left. From these fsur upiight slioot3 should be trained, so that the distance between. them may be 9 inches. la order that these may not ran up without being sufficiently furnished with fruit spurs, they should be shortened to 6 inches ; and every 3 ear, at the winter pruning, the upright terminal shoots of the branches should be shortened according to their strent th — shorter if weak, and if strong they should not be left longer f than is consistent with their breaking into spurs, not mora than »>ix inches apart. The laterals may have their points cut off annually in July and cut nearly close to the old wood at every winter pruning. Various other modes of training may be adoptel, but the fame principles of pruning are generally applicable —namely, the shortening of the leaiing shoots and spurring in the laterals a? above directed. The black currant should be treated in a similar manner to that o£ the red and white, in early stages of its growth ;b it as sooa as the tree attains the desired number of branches, all that is neceuary to be done in the way oE pruning is to simply thin out the branches whenever they appear to be overcrowded.