1843.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 139 
sufficient allowance for their own bad management, when 
the system which they have adopted fails of success. This 
remark I am led to make by observing the general censure 
which Amateurs throw upon their endeavours to work 
Nutt’s collateral boxes. Certainly, some of Nutt’s state- 
ments appear scarcely compatible with truth; for instance 
—the alleged weight of certain boxes of honey. I once 
questioned him on the weight of a cubic inch of well-filled 
comb, and he betrayed rather a waspish disposition in 
answering, or rather mot answering, my question. But, 
making some allowance for exaggerated statements, I 
think the system is not altogether to be condemned. I 
have one set of collateral boxes ; from these I took, in 
the bad honey-year of 1841, twelve pounds of beautiful 
honey ; in 1842, forty pounds of equally pure and white 
honey. With this I am quite satisfied. But I am not so 
much pleased with my old-fashioned straw hives. In 1841, a 
most magnificent swarm left the hive, and, without waiting 
for one moment, went away at so fast a rate, that though 
my servant and myself did our best to keep up with them, 
we were fairly beaten after a run of a mile. That swarm 
was lost. In about eleven days the trumpeting of the queens 
prepared me fora cast, and my hopes were not disappointed. 
I safely housed them in a second set of collateral boxes ; 
but three days after, the weather broke up, and the wet 
summer of 1841 took away all chance of their succeeding. 
This last year the Bees in my straw hive never once showed 
asymptom of swarming. I have one more remark to add in 
reference to an observation inlast week’s Chronicle—* that 
if Bees are such sagacious animals, why should they close 
the ventilators, which are said to be so agreeable to them ?” 
I think the Bees in this really display great sagacity ; 
they know that if the hive is very hot, the Queen-bee will 
deposit her eggs in the cells which they have made, and 
thus the species will be increased. But propagation of 
the species is not the object for which we keep Bees—we 
want to have the largest quantity and the best quality of 
honey—and the quality most assuredly is affected by the 
temperature of the hive, The argument is of equal 
weight with his who shall allege, that, because cattle would 
be much more natural in a field, they would be better 
there than fattening in a stall. Agger. 
Bees.—Can you or any of your correspondents inform 
me whether the eggs of Bees are transmutable? Writers 
differ on this subject. I think Wighton says they are 
not transmutable.—Apis, 
Prejudices.—Supposing some old bachelor were to offer 
a silver pap-bowl and cradle to the parent that could show 
the most beautiful children—would the parents them- 
selves be considered fit judges? Why, there is not an 
exhibitor that would not laugh at the parent’ who, catching 
up his children after the exhibition, went grumbling off, 
exclaiming that—'* Kissing went by favour.” Yet no one 
has attended the shows at Chiswick without meeting with the 
same thing, if we say flowers instead of children. We are 
80 prejudiced in favour of our own productions, that we 
immediately proclaim those who differ from us—no judges. 
ow, to say the least of it, this is bad taste. Wego there 
upon an understanding that we submit to the judgment of 
officers carefully selected by the Horticultural Society for 
their suitability: we are bound to give them credit for 
honest intentions ; and whilst there exists such a variety 
of tastes, we must not expect an entire agreement. There 
is no harm in retaining our prejudice in favour of our 
plants or flowers, but we must gocd-humouredly allow 
others to differ from us. Asa general rule, I think we 
shall find the opinion of the judges confirmed by the 
judgment of the disinterested portion of those practically 
acquainted with the subject.— K. 
Gardeners’ Discussions.—1 assent, without hesitation, 
to Mr. Beaton’s remark, that ‘ It is much to be regretted 
that young gardeners should so often indulge in personal 
abuse, while suggesting or explaining points of practice ;’” 
but I must say, that I almost despair of its cessation so 
long as the feeling prevails, that there is more wisdom ex- 
emplified by them in “showing up”? the faults of their 
fellow-gardener than in tracing out what is really good in 
their profession and adopting it. This latter process is 
not consistent with their notions of discussion—for to 
expect the stream pure when the fountain is contaminated, 
would be to expect impossibilities. As long as gardeners 
ate more interested in reading palpable frivolity, and in 
€ncouraging the authors of it, so long will they be hood- 
winked, and their minds be occupied with puerile subjects, 
to ‘the exclusion of what is really useful and enter- 
taining.—C. [After all, the fault lies more with the mas- 
ters who permit such conduct, than in the young gardeners 
who indulge in it: for they know no better.] 
Garden Produce.—Your correspondent “ G. L. E.,” 
P. 117, from the size of her garden, conveniences, and 
namber of hands, should have a full supply of all the 
Common and forced vegetables that she could possibly de- 
erat She should have a profusion of everything in and 
Season, excepting fruit, which must, of course, de- 
bagel Upon the time of forcing. I have known families as 
large, with less ground and fewer men, provided with all 
the luxuries usually derived from forcing-pits and a clever 
grrdener. It would be easier to enumerate what she 
ought not to expect, which would be a very limited list 
hudeed.— 7. W.— Under the circumstances mentioned 
by “G. L. E.” T should imagine that the following things 
might easily be produced by any good practical gardener : 
tamely—Jerusalem Artichokes, Carrots, Parsneps, Beet, 
Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Broccoli, Savoys, Brussels’ 
Sprouts, Coleworts, Salsify, Seorzonera, Skirret, Car- 
loons, Celery, Wndive, Lettuce, small Salad, Rhubarb, 
Asparagus, and Seakale. The supply of Kitchen and 
Dessert Apples and Pears will depend entirely on the sorts 
tultivated. ‘The forced flowers should comprise Lilacs, 
Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Roses, Crocuses, Hyacinths, 
Narcissuses, Violets, Lily of the Valley, &c. The quantity 
of Greenhouse plants in flower will be regulated by the 
number in the collection which flower at this season of 
the year.—f. do not hesitate to say that 
“@G, L. E.”’ ought, with the conveniences which she 
possesses, to be well supplied with most of the dainties of 
the season, First, from the glass-houses, pits, frames, &c., 
she has aright to expect. »t this period, the following fruit 
and vegetables :—Strawberries, Cucumbers, French-beans, 
Asparagus, Seakale, Rhubarb, Mushrooms, with small 
Salad, Radishes, &c., &c. I do not mean to assert that 
these are all to be expected daily ; but there should be a 
sufficient supply to create a change with the assistance of 
more hardy vegetables from the Kitchen Garden, which 
ought to be well stocked with a good portion of Celery, 
Broccoli, Spinach, Cardoons, Salsify, Scorzonera, Jeru- 
salem Artichokes, and a good portion of roots and 
Greens, which ought to be sufficient for the servants’ hall. 
Potatoes in great quantities are consumed in most families ; 
therefore, where the size of the Kitchen Garden is under 
two acres, I would recommend that the main crop be 
planted on the farm, although a good portion of the Ash- 
leaved Kidney should be cultivated in the garden for 
summer and autumn use. This is rather a dull time for 
flowers ; still, from the stove, ‘G. L. E.’’ might expect 
a few Roses in pots, Azaleas, &c., Lilacs, Camellias, 
Hyacinths, &c., &c.— W. Gordon, Castle Kimbolton.—— 
If “G. L. E.’’ has got a good gardener, I think she can- 
not do better than consult with him respecting the subject 
of her inquiries, at p. 117, viz., “what flowers at this 
season of the year she may expect to be brought in from 
the houses in succession, what vegetables, roots,’ &c 
but if her gardener does not understand his profession, 
she should find one that does.—J. W. 
Varnish for Cotton-Frames.—As to the varnish made 
of eggs and toasted cheese, I was foolish enough to try 
it in a water-bath, in a sand-bath, and afterwards in an 
open ladle; it formed aspongy, brittle substance, utterly 
worthless, as it would not adhere to the cotton, nor was 
such a mixture calculated to do so. — Taliesin Ap 
Jones. [This receipt was taken from the “ Annals of 
Chemistry,”’as we stated, and wasnot recommended by us.] 
To prepare Canvas for protecting Frames, &¢.—I have 
read with interest the account of your correspondent, who 
has applied himself to the construction of a machine for 
making Oil Cloth. In a former communication, I sug- 
gested the use of common fat; but after trying both that 
and linseed oil, I am inclined to prefer the latter, though 
considerably more expensive. There is one point your 
correspondent appears to have overlooked; which is the 
necessity of employing some antiseptic to check the ten- 
dency of all canvas, when saturated with oil, after atime, 
to decay, This will be completely answered by using 
common resin, to the extent of one-half or thereabouts ; 
and a small addition of bees-wax may be advisable, to keep 
the cloth flexible; and also as being in some degree anti- 
septic. There is one observation which should be strongly 
impressed on those who may try this most useful and 
valuable experiment, that of not rolling up or putting 
away the prepared canvas for some time after it is made. 
If this is not attended to, there is great danger of the oil 
causing the whole to heat and rot, or even fire, if in quan- 
tity and in a close place; a secret well known in our 
arsenals, where the painted cloths used in the Navy are 
long exposed to the air before they are rolled or folded 
up, in order to avoid these serious consequences. There 
is one remark I must make on the machine. There does 
not appear to be any necessity for saturating the canvas, 
which is the case in the use of it, and in consequence 
more oil is used. If laid on on one side with a brush, the 
purpose is answered ; the oil being, of course, heated, and 
made quite liquid. There is another advantage to set off 
in using the brush against the small economy of labour in 
using the machine ; which is, the cloth can be made up pre- 
viously to preparing. By this means the sewing is more 
easily done, and the thread used in it is secured as well as 
the canvas. If, however, any of your readers prefer the 
mode of preparing the canvass for it, and having it sewn 
together afterwards, I strongly recommend them to have 
the thread well cased with resin and bees-wax ; otherwise, 
the stitches will give way long before the canvas is de- 
cayed.— WV, 
Description of the Pine Stoves at Bamford Hail.—In 
accordance with the wish expressed by ‘A. B.,’’ at p. 
872 of your last year’s Volume, I send you a description 
of my fruiting Pine stove. It is unequally span-roofed, 
the front rafters being 11 feet long and the back ones 6 
feet. Its length is 25 feet, and its breadth 15 feet, hav- 
ing a walk 3 feet wide round the interior. It is fitted up 
with a shelf at the back, 3 feet from the glass, and with 
another in front, 5 feet from the glass. The front of the 
house is 6 feet high above the walk, and the upper por- 
tion is glazed to the depth of 4 feet. At both ends of the 
house there is a flight of 6 steps from the front walk to 
the back one, which is on a level with the front of the pit. 
The latter stands in the centre of the house, its slope 
corresponding with that of the roof; but instead of being 
heated by bark in the ordinary manner, the roots of the 
plants are warmed by means of hot-water pipes passing 
beneath them. For this purpose, the pit is surmounted 
by a boarded stage, containing 4 shelves, with openings in 
them, to receive the Pine-pots up to the rims. Each 
I 
shelf is 2 feet in width and capable of containing 9 plants. 
The hot-water pipes in the pit and those which warm the 
house are on the same level, and communicate with each 
other, so that only one fire is required. These pipes are 
all dished, for the purpose of holding water to create 
steam, The dishes in the pit are filled by means of one- 
inch leaden pipes, one end of which comes through the 
stage; and these are filled twice every day with hot-water. 
There are also 6 small one-inch iron pipes, about 18 inches 
long, which stand upright, and are screwed into the main 
pipes beneath the stage; the tops of these you can open 
or close, according as more or less moisture is required. 
The succession-house is 25 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 12 
feet high. One half of the stage is appropriated to suckers, 
the other half to year-old plants. It is capable of con-~ 
taining 30 year-old plants and 36 suckers. I find that 
suckers strike root more quickly on this plan than in bark. 
I have lately potted 30 plants, which were put in pots as 
suckers on the 25th of January, 1842; they are now suf- 
ficiently large for fruiting; and I think that plants may 
be grown to a larger size on this plan in two years, than 
they could in three if placed in bark. It will soon be two 
years since these houses were finished and stocked with 
Pines, but owing to the latter requiring to be re-potted at 
that time (as I was obliged to have certain sized pots to 
fit the holes in my stage), it was very late in the season 
before they showed fruit. This year also they were late 
in fruiting, the first Pine being cut on the Ist of August, 
and others succeeding up to the end of December. I 
have cut 41 Pines this season, the total weight of which 
was 112lbs. 30z.; 12 of them (Montserrats) weighed 
40 lbs. 40z. Had they put up in March, instead of June 
and August, the fruit would have been much heavier, I 
have now some fine plants, which I hope will throw up 
large fruit. My fruiting pots are 11 inches wide inside 
at the top, 6 inches wide at the bottom, and 16 inches 
deep, with a good strong rim, an inch wide, made quite 
flat, to fit close to the stage. My succession-pots are 7 
inches wide inside at the top, 4 inches wide at the bottom, 
and 12 inches deep. Several Pines have fruited in these 
small pots, some of which weighed as much as 3 Ibs. 4 0z.; 
those grown are chiefly Montserrats. I forgot to mention 
that there are throttle valves in my pipes, so that I can 
shut out the water from the pipes in the house, and thus 
gain more bottom-heat in the pit during the summer, or 
from the pipes in the pit, if I wish to give the Pines a 
check. I have no trouble in keeping the bottom-heat up 
to 90° or 95°; but the latter is my standard heat. Pines 
grown on this plan are not in danger of receiving any 
check from being potted. I find that when the pot is re- 
placed in the stage, the fresh soil soon becomes heated.— 
George Cherry, Gardener to James Fenton, Esq., Bam- 
ford Hall, Rochdale. 
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND, 
Feb. 22.—P. Pusey, Esq., M.P., in the chair. Twenty gentle- 
len were elected Members.— Mr. J. Gillott communicated the 
result of his trial of the Bokhara Clover, which was referred to 
the general committee; the author being requested to stat 
nature of his soil and the result attending his trials during the 
ensuing summer. Mr. Pusey and Mr. Miles expressed their in- 
tention of instituting trials of the Bokhara Clover and Khelat 
Lucerne on peat soils, and Mr. Gibbs undertook to obtain further 
information on the subject.—Mr. Illingworth submitted his 
suggestion for a systematic establishment of farmers" clubs in 
connexion with the Poor-law unions and local associations 
throughout the country, for collecting and transmitting to this 
society the result of their practical inquiries.—Mr. Pusey, as 
chairman of the journal committee, reported the result of a 
Stratton presented a series of lithographic drawings of his 
waggons and implements exhibited last year at the Bristol 
meeting. 
LINNEAN SOCIETY. 
Feb, 21,—E. Foster, Esq.,in the Chair. E, Doubleday, Esq., and 
D. F. B. White, Esq., were elected Fellows. A branch of Scotch 
Fir, presented by the Duke of Northumberland, was exhibited, 
in which, by an abnormal development of the buds, only a lateral 
development of the wood of the branch had taken place, giving it 
a flat, instead of a round appearance. male and female speci- 
men of the Goliathus Drurii was presented to the society by Mr. 
Savage, through the Rev. F.W. Hope. This insect is remarkable 
for its beauty and size, as well as exceedingly valuable on account 
of its rarity. It is an inhabitant of the southern parts of Africa, 
within the tropics.—A paper was read from Professor Croft on 
more than the Maple, equalling, if not exceeding, that of the 
ordinary Sugar-cane, as raised in the United States. The sugar 
is more easily obtained from the Corn-stalk than from the Sugar- 
cane, and the cultivation of the former is much easier. The 
Sugar-cane is 18 months in coming to perfection, whilst the Corn- 
stalk requires only from 70 to 90 days, The refuse of the Maize, 
after the expression of the sugar, forms an excellent fodder for 
cattle. The quantity of sugar is said to beincreased by removing 
the ears of the Corn during its growth.—The Rey. F. W. Hope 
had a paper read on the portraits, painted and engraved, the 
busts, medallions, &c. representing Linnzeus. A great number 
of these works of art, produced or existing in the various nations 
of Europe, were criticised, and the remarks were illustrated by an 
interesting collection of engravings of many of the portraits, 
busts, and medallions of the great naturalist who gives his name 
to the society. 
light loam, and of gravel. The rent of land varies from 40s. to 
50s, per acre, and the farms in the southern division let for 208. 
per acre more than those in the northern. The surface of the soil 
abundance of dung b 
s ‘arm-yards, and to stagnate in black 
ponds in the winter, and evaporate in the s 
is a strong prejudice against all modern inventions for fa- 
cilitating or abridging labour. The wages .of labour vary 
from 12s, to 15s. per week. A farm of 250 acres gives per- 
manent employment to 14 labourers. The produce of wheat, 
in 1842, was 32 bushels per acre. Barley, 40; oats, 32; po- 
tatoes, 7 tons, and hay three-fourths of aton. The number of 
live stock was 886, Greenford consists of 2,032 acres; it contains 
