390 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
[June 10, 
should differ; and so in the Latin antanaclasis we have 
the accent on the penultimate, and in the Greek 
avravdkAacis we have the accent on the antepenultimate 
syllable. And what better again are our English Lexico- 
graphers, when treating of classical words? Take, as an 
example, the word “ capillary ;’’ and we find that John- 
son, Kenrick, Nares, and Fenning, place the accent on 
the first syllable of the word ; while Sheridan, Ash, Perry, 
Buchanan, Bailey, and Entick, place it on the second. 
Now, what can you expect from poor gardeners, when 
doctors differ so far? And when a bevy of students meet 
that have been taught at different universities, and attempt 
to read or speak in Greek or Latin, there will perhaps be 
found as great a difference in the pronunciation of some 
words as there will be among gardeners at /horticultural 
exhibitions ; and the person who has the misfortune to be 
in their company will have his mind somewhat dumb- 
foundered, and be like the boy who was sent to different 
teachers to learn English versification ; he had committed 
to memory the following lines :— 
** An,Orpheus—an Orpheus—he works on tht crowd ; 
He sways them with harmony merry and loud; 
He fills with his power all their hearts to the brim ;— 
Was aught ever heard like his fiddle and him?” 
He was told by one of his teachers that it was iambic 
verse, and the accent must be placed on the second foot ; 
another told him that it was trochaic verse, and the accent 
must be placed on the first foot; no, says a third, it is 
anapestic verse, and the accent must be on the third syl- 
lable; while a fourth as gravely informed him that it was 
a mixture of all the other three.— Peter Machenzie. 
The Squirrel.—The squirrel is sometimes blamed for 
destroying the young shoots of Spruce Firs; perhaps it 
may be guilty of doing so, but I believe it is of use some- 
times in Spruce plantations. There is, I think, an aphis 
which is more destructive to these trees than the squirrel : 
their abodes have some resemblance to small cones; on 
an average they may contain a dozen cells, and in each 
cell there is commonly more than twenty of these insects. 
I have watched the squirrel devouring them very greedily. 
Now, suppose the squirrel took three meals a-day, and 
four of these cone-like substances to each meal, it will be 
found that more than 15,000 of these insects will be 
destroyed in one week by one squirrel; and perhaps it 
would be more for the benefit of woods if less powder and 
shot were expended upon these lively animals; for it is 
no uncommon thing to see the leading shoots of Larch, 
Spruce, and Scotch Fir, destroyed by those who delight 
in killing birds that perch upon the topmost *boughs.— 
Peter Mackenzie. 
« Salvia patens.—Mr. Proctor, at p. 117, has stated that 
this plant damped off in winter under favourable treat- 
ment, proving thereby that it is not hardy. Ido not, 
however, approve of cutting even the hardiest plants off 
close to the surface of the ground early in autumn, as was 
done to the plant in question; neither do 1 recommend 
Jeaf-mould as a dry covering, because, although it may 
protect the plant from frost, it will not preserve it from 
lamp. I prefer coal-ashes, sawdust, very old lime-rub- 
bish : the leaves of Scotch Pine may also be collected where 
the trees are thick, and they make a very dry covering. 
Mr. J. Henchman, of Edmonton, dug up during the 
winter of 1839 after severe frosts a plant which after- 
wards produced plenty of cuttings. Most likely there is 
something to be observed with regard to the state of the 
tubers of such plants besides their hardiness.—John Ross, 
Holme, near Inverness. 
Tulips.—Having noticed a paragraph in your Chronicle 
of June 3rd, on the absence of Tulips from the exhibition 
at the Chiswick show, I would remind your correspondent 
that a collection was exhibited last year, of which very 
little notice was taken by the Judges. Could it therefore 
be supposed that any florist would ever make such a 
sacrifice again? I noticed, this year, a beautiful box of 
Carnations and Picotees exhibited, and for which no award 
was made. Can it then be a matter of wonder that 
florists are so backward in showing their productions at 
the Horticultural exhibitions >—W. J. 7. 
Rendie’s System of Tank-heating.—1 perceive by your 
leading article of June 3rd, that it is your intention to 
lend your assistance to the furtherance of the application 
of hot water for bottom-heat, for growing the Pine-apple 
and other exotic fruits. Theré is no doubt that even 
now, as you say, persons are to be found who object to 
the plan as brought forward by myself, but those who 
make these objections must be persons who have never 
seen the plan in operation, or at any rate could not have 
seen it efficiently in practice. Out of the many Horti- 
eulturists who have seen my new propagating house, I 
ave not heard one say anything against it. The atmo- 
sphere is most genial and the plants flourish admirably. 
In the article alluded to I find you make mention of a 
plan used for twelve years at Oakley Park, which you 
consider similar to mine. Here I must, but respectfully, 
differ from you, as it appears by the pians and diagrams 
of the house at Oakley Park that the bottom-heat is 
obtained from a chamber, partly heated by hot water 
flowing in open gutters and partly by a fire flue, whereas 
my plan is merely a tank underneath the whole bed (as 
shewn in the accompanying sketch); and what I claim 
and consider of the greatest consequence in my plan, is, 
as I have stated in my Treatise, that ‘ the large body of 
water contained in the tank or cistern when once heated 
remains so for a considerable time, by which the saving 
of fuel is immense.” It is stated that a ton of coals will 
last for twelve days to heat the flues and gutters at 
Oakley Park, which at 8s. per ton is very reasonable. 
But then it must be borne in mind that coals cannot be 
procured in the neighbourhood of London, and at places 
distant from the collieries, at so cheap a rate ; for 20s., 
many parts of the country; whereas with my plan a ton 
of coals will be sufficient to keep the water heated in my 
From 
dimensions to that shewn in the plate alluded to. 
this it must be fairly inferred that the plan recommended 
by me is superior. Ihave been led to say thus much 
not by way of prejudice, my only object being to point 
out to Horticulturists the best plan for obtaining bottom- 
heat, and whether hot-air chambers, by either fiues, pipes, 
or gutters, or my ‘ tank-system,’’ are the best mode, I 
leave for the public to judge.— William E. Rendle, F.H.S. 
Clay-draining.—At p. 245 this is said to cost in Glouces- 
tershire 1jd. per yard. I beg to say that the highest 
price I ever knew to have been paid for such work was 4d. 
per lug of six yards in length, but 3d. per lug is the 
common price. I have seen many acres clay-drained and 
rendered dry at a small cost, but the work requires to be 
very well executed, otherwise it will soon tell tales; indeed 
there is no description of draining that requires a more 
vigilant superintendence over the workmen than clay- 
draining does. Some workmen, if left to themselves, will 
take advantage of their employers. I once found, when 
measuring some clay-drains, that, for several feet in 
length the turf had only been taken off and replaced, with a 
few crumbs of earth added to give an appearance, no exca- 
vation having been made. Your correspondent ‘* W. W.”’ 
at page 385, says that ‘there are only about six inches 
of worked clay over the drain, and that the remainder is 
filled in loose.’’ I beg to say that this is not the method 
practised in Gloucestershire. In this county the practice 
is to well ram the whole of the earth, beginning with the 
Jast portion taken out and ending with the turf. In fact, 
well ramming up to the surface, turf and all, is the prin- 
cipal criterion of good workmanship. A good clay- 
drainer will so ram his work that a very slight convexity 
will appear when his work is finished. When the land 
is in grass, the soil sufficiently adhesive, and the work 
properly executed, clay-draining will be found to be both 
cheap and efficient. The proper time for this kind of 
draining is the spring ; it may however be done in winter 
if the weather be open; frost being found to be very in- 
jurious to the permanency of the work, no portion of the 
earth should ever be left out at night if there is the 
slightest prospect of frost. ‘The mouths of the drains are 
formed of tiles; the branch drains should join the main 
at nearly right angles, and a very little'fall is necessary. 
This sort of draining is not now much practised on arable 
land, and even on grass land it is falling into disuse, 
tile-draining being now more approved of, as being more 
25s., and even 30s, per ton are no uncommon prices in 
permanent, but even this kind of draining is found in 
very stiff clay to be inefficient without some porous 
material being put over the tiles, which adds greatly to 
the expense, as in many places neither stones nor gravel 
can be found within several miles distance. A very in- 
telligent member of the Gloucester Farmer’s Club lately 
suggested the use of burnt clay for this purpose, thereby 
saving the expense of carting; and as, when Jand is 
effectually drained, there can he no occasion for leaving 
the ridges so high as they are now in many places, sufti- 
cient subsoil will always be found in the crowns of the 
ridges for the purpose of burning.—Cultor. 
Bees.—lf “ Pettigrew ”’ will look over his former com- 
munication, he will find I have neither misread nor mis- 
represented his words, viz.,—‘* putting a headless swarm 
into an empty hive, to make the Bees produce a Queen.” 
I fear that it is “ P.” himself that misrepresents things ; 
and until he become serious, [ shall take no notice of what 
he says in relation to Bees, for his knowledge of them is 
beyond my ‘“‘ken.’”? Ona second thought, I shall make 
a few observations on his remarks in the Chronicle of 
May 20th. “P.” states, ‘I shall now rectify two or 
three of Mr. Wighton’s mistakes, that might lead inquirers 
astray ;”” and observes I am wrong in saying Bees’ eggs are 
not hatched by incubation, as the warmth of the hive 
alone brings the larve forth from the egg. But, as Bees 
do not hatch their eggs by incubation, I cannot see how 
I could express the thing in better words; however, I 
shall give “ P,’s’’ version of it :— The warmth of the hive 
alone does not hatch eggs; nor does the warmth of the 
Bees hatch eggs that are not set upon.’’ This is beyond 
my comprehension ; but ‘ P.’’ offers to give proof of it, 
therefore I must ‘‘ wait a wee;” and notice that | men- 
tioned that queen Bees lived 4 or more years, and common 
Bees one season. ‘To this “ P.’’ replies, “ Queens, gene- 
rally speaking, live four or more years, but never more. 
Some unprolific ones live but three years and two months.” 
The last part of this sentence appears to me as if “ P.”” 
got his knowledge of it, as some do their accounts, by a 
Ready Reckoner. Authors, however, differ respecting the 
age of the head Bee, and ‘‘P.’’ of course does not believe 
the old notion that the queen Bee ‘never dies.” May 
not this exemplify the old saying that “ our King never 
dies?’’ J may observe that the age of a colony of Bees 
is a different thing to the life of the head Bee, though 
they seem by some to have been confounded. 
colony J have heard of was that under the leads of “ Bees’- 
college, Oxford,” (Corpus Christi is meant); it continued 
above 100 years. But I think it is doubtful if it were not 
often replenished by fresh swarms during that period ; 
for Bees readily take possession of tenantless hives or 
cavities, though the combs they contain be very old. This 
fact is, of course, against the opinion that Bees’ cells soon 
get coated with wax, or rather a film, from the brood, and 
become too small to rear strong Bees. For the sake of 
the reader who may be ignorant of this subject, I ought 
to state that there is a fresh or young queen left in posses- 
sion of the hive every time a swarm leaves it, except the 
first one, which is led off by the old queen a few days 
before one is hatched, and in general she perishes in 
what is commonly called a “ virgin swarm.” I never heard 
of the quantity of honey obtained from the Cottage Bees 
just noticed; but I question if it was equal to that got 
from a hive on Pettigrew’s artificial swarming plan, 
namely, ‘110 Ibs. of run-honey.’”’ If this be not a mis- 
take, it would certainly require ‘* P.’s’”’ large-sized hive 
to hold it. The size of hives being an important thing, I 
shall give an extract from a letter on the subject, from 
Dr. Clarkson, of Selkirk, who has kept Bees with success 
more than 20 years. 
generally ; but I have boxes also which I use occasionally. 
‘The straw ones are of the following dimensions : in height 
10 inches, and flat at top; in diameter 114 inches.’ 
How very near this comes to the size of the hive re- 
commended by Mr. Payne of Bury, viz., ‘9 inches deep 
and 12 in diameter.’’ Both those apiarians advocate the 
storifying plan, with straw hives, which is the simplest 
way after all. I question what either would say to 
‘ P.’s’” statement,—‘‘ large hives have Bees in proportion 
to their size, and are indeed as soon filled as small ones.” 
To me this appears strange indeed, and more so than my 
own assertion that small hives produce early swarms} 
also, that I have ample proof that Bees will sometimes 
throw swarms, whether their hives be fullor not. ‘ P.’” 
points this out as an incongruity, but I think that those 
who understand Bees will not see it as such. I have 
now only to notice ‘ P.’s’”’ artificial ways of making 
swarms. It is sufficient to say, that he professes to take 
the Queen and part of the Bees from an old stock, and 
put them into an empty hive; the headless Bees will 
create another Queen, and both colonies will go on pros- 
perously, and more so than if left to swarm in theif 
natural way. This may appear very well to those who 
are ignorant of the subject; but those who are otherwise 
must see that the thing is hardly practicable with safety 
to the Bees; but even if it were so, there is little necessity 
for such schemes, for Bees are prone to swarm 3 indee! 
this propensity acts against keeping them, especially 0 
the depriving plan; for, how galling it is to have the 
number of Bees reduced, instead of having a box or bell 
glass of honey. This will happen in spite of ventilation 
plans. I must now leave it to the candid reader to de 
cide whether my statements or ‘ Pettigrew’s’’ are thé 
most likely ‘‘ to lead the inquirer astray.”’"~ J. Wightom 
Roses.—One would have thought that, after the 
passing over of the Roses in your first notice of the last 
exhibition, it would have quite satisfied the exhibitor’ 
that the plants were, as a very good judge said, mere 
“‘make-shifts.” This was apparent to any one of cool 
judgment; surely half-st ds or quarter-standards; 
some with large, some with worked, and some with sal 
stems, did not deserve or obtain much admiration. 1, for 
one, thought that your omitting to notice them was inteB= 
tional and admired your tact accordingly. I hope another 
time they will put in a better appearance and merit some 
praise. Allow me, now, to ask any one really ajudge, if there 
was a single good specimen there ? Mid 
scented Roses in large pots, from two to three feet high, 
covered with their large and fragrant flowers. Some 
approach to this I hoped to see at the last exhibitions 
instead of which, in one place were Roses on stems, Bi 
latter clumsy and ugly ; in another, some plants, not i 
any means large, on their own roots, with from tw én 
four blooms and buds on a plant, but not one Sere 
approaching even to perfection. I am a Rose sashidy 
and yet not ashamed, as Mr. Beck says I ought in db 
for, in common with many other growers, I general quae 
standards and half-standards for forcing. Now, ave 
give abundance of flowers and cuttings, but I should 
been really ashamed if I had sent them for exhibit ad 
am inclined to think, however, that it will not be 8! , 
ants in Po 
quently 
For this purpose plants must have age, a gts should © 
exhibit fine plants of* the old ones. : a 
being able to “shoe the new Roses so readily as een 
hitherto, I for one shall much regret when the ean 
ceases to admit cut blooms, for in that ae ah 
new Roses be exhibited.—J. L. ¥., @ tees Ate Roses 
[We must cbserve again, that the omission 0 
in our first report was entirely accidental. j Gn your 
Garden Frames.—l see you request Menihc: jn- 
Notices to Correspondents) to give you BAe, d in your 
formation respecting my communication inser! Me and as 
Paper at p. 211, on the subject of Garden ines ieee 
Tam ever ready to give to the cottager all t) oa 
ation which lays in my power, I send rae se bE aeed 
description as I can. In the first place, the ie flues being 
to a sufficient depth to allow of the top of t oe (hen 
on a leyel with the garden, The outside walls are 
The oldest 
“My hives aré made of straw” 
i 
