Septombar n, 1868. ] JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTTIEB AND COTTAQB GAEDENER. 



317 



ioterval between them, and both are doing well, — A Lanabk- 

 saiitE BioE'REErEn, 



ARE WAXEN SHEETS USEFUL.' 

 In reply to the inquiry of " Ai'is," which appeared in page IGl, 

 I beg to inform him that I consider waxeu sheets of great value. 

 For example : A swarm of beea furnished with waxen sheets 

 sets to work at once, and twenty-four hours after being domi- 

 ciled will have hundreds of eggs laid, and will in three days be 

 as forward as one without them will bo in eight or ten days. 

 The advantages are — lirst, the whole of the bees get to work at 

 once, thus economising time ; second, regularity of combs ; 

 third, more weight is stored in supers in consequence of the 

 regularity of the combs, with no narrow pieces intervening ; 

 fourth, brood is not so frequent in supers as when the bees are 

 allowed to form crooked combs, and they take more readily 

 to them. 



This has been my experience since lSfi3, when I first made 

 these sheets by the assistance of Messrs. Neighbour, and since 

 that time hundreds of them have been sold and presented to 

 different parties, who all speak highly of them. The only 

 difficulty in giviug them to bees is their liability to drop down, 

 when the bees eat them through instead of building on them, 

 but this only happens when they are made too thin. The 

 thicker they are the better will they take the impression. The 

 bees soon pare them down, and use up the surplus wax. To 

 prevent them from falling, and to keep them straight, I pass 

 two or three threads round the frame ; I then tie the thread 

 close to the bottom edge of the sheet, thus supporting it from 

 falling should it break at the top. Sometimes I run the thread 

 close to the sheet, passing the thread through holes in the top 

 bar ; but when the sheets are good and straight I use nothing. 

 I hope these remarks may induce those to try them who have 

 not before done so, and that they will be of as much service to 

 them as they have been to — A LANAKKsaiBj; Bee-keeper. 



MY BACHELOR HOUSEHOLD. 



" WiLTSHinE Hector's " late notes on his dogs arrested me 

 in the middle of a letter I was writing to "our Journal" in 

 a cross mood, on a cross subject. That letter has progressed 

 no further, not that the crosses are altogether set aside, but 

 possibly on such a topic " the least said is the soonest mended," 

 and if this holds good of saying, doubly does it tell on writing. 

 So the crosses may go, especially as a "gracious rain" is 

 even now falling, " refreshing the weary earth." "Wiltshire 

 Eector's" notes have led me to imagine that my bachelor esta- 

 blishment might prove interesting to some of our readers — but 

 then, alas, I have not his pen I 



My establishment consisted of a housekeeper and a groom ; 

 the latter living in a cottage on the premises, both of them 

 characters in their way, apt at using words in the wrong places, 

 as, for instance, on my return home one day, the former told 

 me that a gentlemnn had called, asking for a prescription for 

 the organ ! I recollect I had friends with me, and all of us had 

 difficulty in keeping our countenances. Though with the 

 ardour of a youug professional, eager to attend to any case, I 

 made up my mind that this was a case of organic disease, I 

 found it had an annual aspect. My housekeeper loved all my 

 pets, the dog-poor old Lufra, a black retriever — and the black 

 oat being the chief in-door friends. The groom loved his 

 " 03^es" and his wife, I hope the latter the best ! He, too, was 

 a character ; uuder 8 stone, looked like a jockey, had once 

 riddeu a race, knew what sort of horse the Derby winner was, 

 had sesn his " pictur " on a handkerchief or in the " 'lustrated 

 News." He too had been particularly careful to bring me back 

 the " deceit " for some money he had taken to a horse dealer 

 for horse hire ! poor Button ! those were, I am afraid, your 

 palmy days. Button attended to the fowls — a mongrel lot — 

 some Minorcas, one cock of this breed, the sole survivor of 

 comb-cutting under the influence of ether, then just being in- 

 troduced. In the other case the operation certainly had been 

 painless and perfectly successful, only — when completed, the 

 patisut was dead 1 I had then no choice specimens, the 

 Cochin mania was unknown, the best of my flock were two or 

 three Silver-spangled Hamburgh pullets, and I recollect well 

 that one of these laid iu December, the eggs being anxiously 

 looked for by a poor sufferer iu the village. 



I wish, however, to speak chiefly of my cat and dog. Pnssy 

 was jet black, she bad learnt to Bit on my shoulder daring 



meal ti me, and many n mouthful on its road to my month «M 

 stopp ed by her paw and transferred to her own. Very gingerlj 

 did P ussy perform this little trick, and when she first tried the 

 feat on a bachelor friend, great was his dismay ! In due time 

 Pussy was a happy mother, and it was now that the become an 

 object of great interest in our little village. It was in this wige 

 — Two of her kittens had been saved ; some chickens wen 

 hatched the following day, the kittens were in a dark pantry, 

 one of these I moved into the kitchen where it speedily com- 

 menced mewing, and very quickly Pussy came in search. Jnst, 

 however, as Pussy was going to lift her baby in her mouth I 

 substituted a chick. The imposition was undetected. Pussy 

 seized the chick in her mouth and carried it off, I following in 

 dismay, believing the last moments of the chick were arrived. 

 Pussy, however, had tenderly laid the chick in her box and 

 had curled her body round it, taking the greatest care of her 

 new child. Again I played her the same trick, and again waa 

 her feathered child picked up and carried to her box ; a third 

 followed, and now Pussy's family consisted of her two kittens 

 and three chickens. To the latter she speedily became very 

 attached, would at once carry them back if removed, and never 

 appeared to hurt them in the slightest. The third or fourth 

 night, however, ended the career of one of the chickens, the 

 verdict being "overlaid," responded to by a cry, doubtless, 

 that Pussy did not understand. After this mishap Pussy was 

 turned out at night, and only allowed to have the chickens 

 when their cries under her maternal pressure could be heard ; 

 they were thus once and again preserved from a similar fate. 

 In the course of a few days more they had grown beyond the 

 possibility of such a mishap. Many were the visitors now to 

 Pussy's "happy family;" very pretty was the sight when 

 kittens and chickens were huddled together, prettier still when 

 Pussy was there, and their white head.i appeared from under 

 her black fur. The chickens ran about the kitchen to feed, and 

 returned to their " artificial mother." Of course, they throve 

 apace, and very ridiculous then did Pussy's efforts to carry 

 them appear, the feathers slipping out of her month and afford- 

 ing but slight hold. By degrees they joined their out-door com- 

 panions, but as the kitchen opened on to the yard they wore 

 constant visitors. Lufra, who had always been very good friends 

 with Pussy, became greatly attached to one of the kittens which 

 I kept ; but I had better not forestall. 



I have already said that Lufra was a black retriever. I 

 bought her when scarcely full-grown. She was a very great 

 favourite, had learnt many tricks, learnt them, I regret to say, 

 with the use of the stick ; following out the old lines — 



" A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree. 

 The more you beat tbom, the better they be." 



My walnut tree certainly had this prescription ; it bore well, 

 shall I say, in spite of it ; for I never could understand why 

 such treatment is good for it, neither do I believe it. It is a 

 convenient method of gathering the fruit ; I doubt if more can 

 be said in its favour. As to the first, " man's best and most de- 

 voted helper," I confess myself at once a total disbeliever in 

 the remedy. Certainly I have never tried it ; further, I have 

 never needed it, and must alter very considerably ere I do. 

 But, as regards the dog, perhaps the prevailing opinion is that 

 thrashing is good. Is it that the generally amiable and for- 

 giving temper of the animal, which licks the baud that has 

 just punished it, has strengthened the idea? I believe the 

 idea is wrong. More may be done by rating and scolding a 

 dog, and making him ashamed of himself, than by a liberal 

 allowance of whip. 



Spite of whip, Lufra and her master were the very best of 

 friends. She learnt to retrieve fairly, being gifted with a very 

 tender mouth, as she once brought me a book I had dropped 

 out of my gig, carrying it by two or three of the central leaves, 

 yet a careful examination failed to detect even the mark of a 

 tooth on a single page ! So, again, with the fowls, if I wanted 

 one to kill, I used to point to it, and tell Lufra to bring it. 

 She generally brought it iu her mouth by its neck, but it I 

 said, " Drop it," the fowl woulj run away, apparently none the 

 worse, and without a feather being ruflled. So, again, with 

 Pussy's kitten ; this I had taught Lufra to carry when quite 

 young, and she continued to do lo when kitty was full-grown ; 

 indeed she would " fetch Pussy " at any time, unless the latter 

 took refuge in a tree. Kitty was no weight for Lufia's strength, 

 and the latter would jump the p:i!ing.^ with Pussy in her mcnitli, 

 and then play with her in the field as a cat would with a moufe. 



I do not believe that jealousy is a plant thriving only in 

 feminine soil, but certainly dear Lufra was jealous of her 



