THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[JUNE 8, 





tT^iri^Tday (1 hope nou to introduce tbem to > I 

 Lord Ashley.) Wben I took the honey, half the bees 

 ^re takins their mps, and the oflicer bees were just 

 relieving guard, so Alt *ery few knew it _ was gone 

 certainly o.iW those that were wide awake. As a 

 proo that I awoke some, you will find on the paper of 

 the glass some thin waxen caps, such as bees ordioanl, 

 use for closing up their cells; but we must now believe 

 S em o be JgWcaps. I do not recollect .f the bees m 

 the neighbourhood of Woolwich sleep m caps, but I am 

 sure my bees do not sleep without caps ; and in the con 

 fusion I had caused them, they had forgotten to put them 

 awav Perhaps some correspondent will inform me 

 Ser they keep bees that sleep, and how, and when 

 Tnd in w at way-wl.etl.er with their eyes open or shut 

 -Vui. [W. and our boney-tasters, of whom sever* 

 have been consulted, are of opinion that Mr. .Mel . 

 honey i, perfection. No extract of Roses, P mk , an 

 Lilies con d be better. Some of our ap.ar.an f; ends w, 1 

 doubtless be curious to know what sort of citodel tbu 



six-pounder was taken from, and we hope Mr- Mel wil 

 till us. Either Surrey or Cumberland might be proud 



of such a garrison.] ■ „ . 



BccsJxour correspondent " Apius," and the party 

 with wbom he has been arguing respecting the flowers 

 resorted to by Bees, are, 1 have no doubt, both correct in 

 their statements relative to the Polyanthus, the one 

 maintaining that his Bees never touche.l these flowers, 

 and the other that the inmates of his hives always resorted 

 to them in the early part of the season. 1 am of opinion 

 that there is a great variety of taste amongst the race ot 

 hive Bees in selecting the sources of obtaining nou. i- 

 ment for the support of life. In confirmation of this 



\. Scott, gr. to Sir G. Staunton, Bart — Finally, some 

 t/lorious things came from Messrs. Loddiges, viz., the 

 new Dendrobium Dalhousieanum, with the habit of D. 

 calceolus, but with the labellum stained with a broad 

 blotch of the richest velvety purple ; a large mass of 

 Cattleya Mossim, and the lovely Lrelia majalis, that 

 alpine species which, because it blooms in May on the 

 Oaks of the Mexican highlands, bears a-nong the 

 flower-loving natives the name of Flor de Mato ; 

 to these a Knightian Medal was assigned.— Some 

 very remarkable Stove and Greenhouse Plants 

 decorated the tables, foremost among which was Epacns 

 miniate, a most lovely new shrub from Messrs. Loddiges, 

 with rich vermilion flowers like those of E. grandiflora ; 

 it wr.s of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmannian) origin, and 

 received the Large Silver Medal. Rivals of this were to- 

 be found in some rare plants from the Royal Botanical 

 Garden at Kew, to which, however, by the desire of feir 

 William Hooker, no Medals were assigned; they con- 

 sisted of Thunbergia chrysops, a new species from Sierra 

 Leone, with large flowers of the most intense purple, 

 enlivened by a golden-yellow eye ; it will be a treasure to 

 gardeners, and beats all the other Thunbergias hollow. 

 Another was the FrancHcea hydrangeffi-forrais, a valuaole 



stove shrub, from Brazil, with heads of fragrant violet 

 blossoms ; a third was the charming Gloxinia (or rather 

 (Jesnera) tubiflora, with long white trumpet-shaped blos- 

 jms, the colour of the richest cream ; the latter is one 

 of the best of modern greenhouse plants. The o.d, but 

 beautiful Alpinia nutans, with flowers like white and 

 yellow shells, came from the garden of W. Everett, Esq., 

 of Enfield. And Mr. Glendinning, of the Nursery, 

 Turnham Green, exhibited three seedling Gloxinia?, with 



SSE55s@?£3S SS£s*s« » -"* 



the front of my hive, and although profusely covered with 

 flower 1 never observed my Bees alight upon them f 

 the purpose of collecting honey during the last or any 

 part of the present season, the various species ot the 

 Humble Bee having been allowed to ravish their •sweets 

 undisturbed. On the 2d of May, from oOOO to GOOO 

 Bees appearing in the side-box of my hive, with plenty 

 of honey in the combs, and drones having become 

 numerous amongst the Bees passing out and in, I thought 

 I would endeavour to make an artificial swarm, by 

 moving the side-box with its contents at night, and 

 attaching it to an empty straw hive about three yards 

 distant. I accordingly moved the box, and substituted 

 an empty one to the parent hive ; but the following 

 morning, the Bees, with the exception of a few left as 

 guards, returned to their original residence, and ta the 

 afternoon took possession of the empty side-box, the 

 guards joining them in the evening. On the 4th of May 

 jthe gnsrdi resumed their duty at the removed side-oox, 

 and in the uftSBSW the Bees commenced carrying pro- 

 polis, and joined the side-box to the bottom-board, ^ ;. 

 the cold &s£i man naa not set in in thee irly part of the 

 month I have every reason to believe my Bees would 

 have swarmed in the usual manner, and taken possession 

 of the residence I intended for them, which they may 

 yet do when the weather becomes warmer. At present 

 'May 23) the whole of my Bees have retired into the 

 parent hive for warmth, although they have fine new 

 combs formed this season, and a good supply of honey in 

 their side-box. It is worthy of remark that, on the cold 

 weather commencing, they extracted all the honey out of 

 the combs in the removed side-box, and deposited it in 

 their newly-furnished storehouse attached to the 

 original hive. It was on the 3d and 1th of May, when 

 the Bees on guard in the side-box were attacked by the 

 Bees of a strange hive, and nobly repelled the invaders, 

 killing upwards of 50 of their enemies, that I observed, 

 ■when watching the movements of the strangers, that 

 they searched my Pansies for honey (the Polyanthus 

 having ceased flowering), and appeared as industrious and 

 persevering on that flower as I have observed my Bee 

 when collecting their honey from the Crocuses, Colum- 

 bines, and Canterbury Bells, and other favourite flowers 

 of theirs growing in my garden ; and I therefore natu- 

 rally concluded that the Bees of particular hives are fond 

 of and decidedly prefer particular flowers, and that both 

 jour correspondents might be fully justified in their 

 observations regarding their respective industrious winged 



lancers. — John Grant. 



Miscellaneous.— /.. A., a known correspondent states 

 that, from a bed 5 feet wide and 14 feat 6 inches long, 

 he cut 77 Cucumbers, between the 29th April and the 

 29th May, measuring in all 1173 inches in length. He 

 remarks that the plants continue in good health, and 

 promise to produce fruit through the whole season. 



ie Banksian Medal was given ; the third, a Selt, was 

 not included in the award.— Nor were Fruit and 

 Vegetables absent. Mr. Chapman sent some good 

 British Queen Strawberries, and Mr. Fleming, gr. to 

 His Grace the Duke of Sutherland, three handsome 

 Cabul Melons, with the appearance of the Hoosamee ; 

 thev were well grown, but as they were not to be tasted, 

 their quality could not be ascertained. Mr. Fleming 

 reported that they would have been far better bad he 

 not allowed them to set before his Vines were as strong 

 as they should have been.— Mr. Fish, gr. to H. Oddie, 

 Esq., of Barnet, produced a capital green-fleshed Melon, 

 highly fragrant and weighing nearly 5 lbs., for which a 

 certificate was given ; and a bunch of Grapes that 

 appealed to be quite new; the variety had been 

 Obtained by Mr. Fish, between the White Frontignan 

 and Dutch Sweetwater, and exhibited the long narrow 

 bunch of the former with the larger berries of the latter ; 

 when t st:d it proved to have an agreeable Muscat taste, 

 and was considered a good sort, well deserving the certi- 



Traill, sent good specimens of Maxillaria aromatic* 

 Aerides odoratum, Oncidium luridum guttatum, Vanda 

 Roxburghi, Calanthe veratrifolia, Oncidium Phillip^ 

 num, having fine spikes of yellow and brown blossoms • 

 Gongora atropurpurea, iu excellent condition ; tol 

 gether with Broughtonia sanguinea, Brassia Henchmanni, 

 a pretty Stanhopea oculata, and a good Aerides odo- 

 ratum.— Fiom Mr. Barnes, gr. to G. \V. Norman, Esq., 

 were Stanhopea tigrina, S. insignis, and S. quadricornis; 

 also Aerides odoratum, Vanda Roxburghi, and the hand- 

 some Cattleya Mossire. — Collections of Orchidace* 

 were also supplied by Mr. Redding, gr. to Mrs. 

 Marryatt, and G. F. Cox, Esq., of Stockwell. 



Of Heaths, Mr. Barnes produced E.vestita alba, blooming 

 profusely ; a dwarf bushy E. ampullacea, E. depress*, 

 well cultivated, and a beautiful E. perspicua nana, together 

 with a large E. grandinosa covered with blossoms, E. 

 mundula, E. Cavendishii, and a dwarf bushy E. tricolor. 

 — Mr. May, gr. to E. Goodheart, Esq., Beckenham, sent 

 a collection, comprising among others, Erica vestita, 

 E. perspicua nana, in a lovely state ; E. odora rosea, 

 small but well-grown; E. propendens, well cultivated; the 

 old E. splendens, and a large bush of E. daphnreflora; 

 the handsome E. ventricosa alba, and a good E. hybrida. 



In a group contributed by Mr. Bruce, gr. to B. Miller, 



Esq. was a tine Erica Cavendishii, small plants of E. splen- 

 dens and tricolor, the beautiful E. ventricosa sujurba, 

 the small neat-flowering E. Bergiana, and E. ventricosa 



coccinea minor Mr. Jackson, of Kingston, exhibited 



among others, Erica depressa, in fine condition ; E. ven- 

 tricosa brevirlora, well grown ; a fine specimen of a new 

 E. tricolor, a well-grown E. elegans, together with E. 

 vestita coccinea, E. inflate rubra (a beautiful variety), 

 and a pretty E. Cavendishii. Mr. Jackson also showed 

 a beautiful large seedling Heath, named E. Eassoniana.— 

 Mr. Brazier, gr. to \V. II . Storey, Esq., sent E. ventri- 

 cosa alba, E. depressa (in excellent health), E. ventricosa 

 superba (blooming profusely) , fine plants of E. vestita alba, 

 E. Cavendishii, and E.gelida,thelatter covered with bloom. 

 In Mr. Brazier's collection were also E. intermedia, E. 

 floribunda and E. vestita purpurea, the latter very hand- 

 some.— The collection by Mr.Green, gr. to Sir E. Antrobus, 

 Bart., contained beautiful specimens of E. perspicua 

 nana and E. depressa ; also E. intermedia, in excellent 

 condition, and E. gelida, together with E. ventricosa 

 superba, the beautiful small flowering E. propendens, 

 E. ventricosa carnea, and E. dilecta.— An extra prize 

 was awarded to J. Wells, Esq., Bromley, for four 

 Heaths, in good condition.— Mr. Dawson, of Brixton 

 Hill, showed E. perspicua nana, laden with flowers ; also 

 E. Massoni, the almost ever-flowering E. mutabihs, s 

 fine E. prcegnans, and E. odora rosea, well cultivated, 

 together with E. Humeana, and E. depress a, i the latter 

 in excellent health—In the collection sent by Mr. Fraze£ 

 of Leyton, was E. pendula, a well-managed E. ventre 



or -ueyion, was a-., pwui*"., - • --- — ^ ^ 



ncate ** was aW to h.^rininy. Mr. w . i— rd ^ff^Jff^Si ff AVlSKS 



sent from Mr. Everett's garden at Enfield, specimens of 

 a new sort of Kidney Bean, the Dolichos sinensis, with 

 young eatable pods, two feet long; they were described 

 as being of an excellent quality when cooked like Kidney 

 Beans, which is also the reputation they bear among 

 Europeans in India; but to procure them they must 

 be grown in heat (those exhibited were from the trellis 

 of a Cucumber-house), and, therefore, the plant being a 

 climber, and occupying a good deal of room, they 

 could only be regarded in the light of a curiosity. 



Among various things from the Garden of the Society, 



was a French watering-pot, for watering plants in sitting- 

 rooms, or small thumb-pots, where great nicety in the 

 application is required. It consisted of a hollow spindle- 

 shaped tube, open at both points, one point being small, 

 the other larger. When uted, it is plunged into water, 

 which drives all the air out ; the thumb is then placed 

 over the wider aperture, and the lower is presented to 

 the plaut that is to be watered ; so long as the thumb is 

 pressed upon the upper aperture, the weight of the at- 

 mosphere is kept off, and no water will run out ; but as 

 soon as the thumb is lifted up, a stream descends upon 

 the plant, and will continue to do so till the thumb is 

 replaced or the vessel is emptied. It was an ingenious 

 adaptation of an old and well-known principle. 



many oiuer apeuics cqua.*j »™ — - a nnr .A\\\ nxy in 



sent a collection of hybrid Vestitas in fine , condUl0 ^ 

 which were some good varieties > especiaUy oi^ name* 

 E. floribunda, having long pale-ye low blosso ^m .--Among 

 single specimens of Heaths, there was a large wen 

 groin E. depressa, particularly n %f^ ir J r * 

 Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter .r-M .r. Fairba r , 

 of Clapham, contributed small but we d-grown sp 

 mens of E. intermedia, E. tricolor in hoe heal a, 

 a beautiful ventricosa carnea, and otne a k 

 of ventricosa, in equally ^od ^onditio^ M r L 1 e, 



gr. to W. Block, Esq., exhibited E- dl \ ccta » g vestit * 

 cosa superba, in profuse bloom ; and ^a a ge E. 

 fulgida.-From Mr. 1'^ley, of B om ley, w 

 mundula, finely in bloom J a beautiful L. per sp ^ 



E. vestita coccinea, E. *W™\™£™£i$ manage- 

 several other species that equally indicated goo 



menf. , -i_- t j u- \Tr Barnes con- 



Of collections, that exhibited by Mr. B ^ 



tainedmany goodspecimens,and among other. ^^ 



plant of Leschenaultia formosa, a fine B ioro ^ 



lata, Aphelexis humilis, in good ^^^ Clero- 



cinea, well managed ; a good f^"f f ^ c ^naultia bilota, 

 dendrum squamatum, large and fine, JLesci ber 



t _-:_„:*„ „„.,..« hlns»nms in abundance, «»., 



Dcieties. 



HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 June 4.— Sir C. Lemon, Bart., M. P., in the chair. 

 — Miss E. Holmes, and S. Lowdell, Esq., were elected 

 fellows J and Dr. R. Wight, Dr. A. Gibson, Dr. II. J. 

 Giraud, Dr. Hiedel, Col. Sheil, Major Rawlinson, W. 

 Griflith, Esq., and G. Gardner, Esq., corresponding 

 members. — Among Ouchioac were some remarkable 

 things. — Mr. Rollisson obtained a Knightian Medal for 

 a very fine new Aerides, from Bombay, something like 

 A. crispum, but with branched inflorescence, and some 

 bright purple spots on the petals ; it will be named A. 

 maculosuui. — A specimen of the rare and curious 

 Oncidium concolor, from W. C. Alston, Esq., of Bir- 

 mingham, received a Banksian Medal. This remark- 

 able plant has fine yellow flowers, of considerable size, 

 and perfectly destitute of spots of any kind.— A good 

 specimen of Oncidium pulvinatum was shown by Mr. 



ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



June 4. — The second Exhibition took place at their 

 garden, Inner Circle, Regent's Park. The plants, 

 generally speaking, were in excellent condition. The 

 Heaths were numerous, and attracted much attention ; 

 well-grown specimens of that beautiful tribe composing 

 the greater part of some miscellaneous collections. 

 Orchidaceous plants in general were not remarkable, 

 few specimens exceeding mediocrity. There was, how- 

 ever, a beautiful plant of Barkeria spectabilie, covered 

 with delicate lilac blossoms, from Mr. Brewster, gr. to 

 Mrs. Wray of Cheltenham ; a most beautiful dark variety 

 of Stanhopea tigrina, having numerous pendent spikes of 

 large flowers, from Mr. Robertson, gr. to Mrs. Lawrence ; 

 and a large specimen of Dendrobium deusiflorum, finely 

 in flower, from Mr. Mylam, gr. to S. Rucker, Esq. In 

 addition to this, Mr. Mylam exhibited Aerides odoratum 

 in wonderful health, Oncidium pubes, Epidendrum 

 cochleatum, in good condition ; Saccolabium guttatum, 

 having four charming racemes of delicate purple blos- 

 soms ; a small Oncidium Lanceanum, together with 

 a well grown plant of Epidendrum crassifolium, the 

 beautiful Phalamopsis amabiiis, and Oncidium flexu- 

 oauoi. In the same collection were also Maxillaria vi- 

 tellina, Stanhopea saccata, Aerides odoratum, jiroducing 

 a fine spike of bloom ; Odontoglossum hastatum, a 

 Brassia, and two Epidendrums. — Mr. Hunt, gr. to Miss 



producing its azure blo-som. in jj^^sm^e. 

 with Phcenocoma prohfera, and Aphe ^ QU$ 



which was rich in blossom.-Mr. Hunt suo ed 



other plants, a beautiful Leschenault .torn** % { 

 with bloom ; a good Clerodendrnm -quama^ & fi * 

 Euphorbia splendens, a pretty r» me ! ea we ii- m an2ged 

 plant of Ixora coccinea, together with i a w ^. 

 Gompholobium polymorphum, t»ined on game coUe c- 

 and a beautiful Pimelea decussata. in Choroue-n 



tion were Eutaxia myrtifoha, a beauW hea ith, 



in ex 



large unoru^uio^- --_ » - ,. : ncar nai»> **.',,.. 



in good conditioo ; El'^» s g rand 'f r 0ra s ' lo «e, gr. to * B- 

 of Genista rhodounoea.-From Mr. i Slow , b^ .„„ 



Baker Esq., Bayfordbury, was a ' ar S e "; f lia produo- 

 nosu^ ,'. fiM Selago Gilli,, Calanth. ; ^^ ^Je'okin^ 

 i„ g .eV.nl sp.kes of wb.te blossoms «jj££ lBf betuUto- 



in good condi.ion ; a weW-grown ^Sa** 01 '- £.' 

 Uof, and a well-managed H ardenberg.along y .ibe, 

 Slowe also exbibited Boss,*, hnoplgl la,a g £ 



Nerium splendens, and a seedl ng Calceo p | an „ 



feet high.-Mr. Greea exhibited. »mong Di**^ 

 Gnidia pinifolia, a well-grown Choro» UoCtB pyW 

 tolerably good Dillwynia specmsa a p rrtg ^ .grM 

 betnlifoli«s,Stepbanotns nor'bnndftra al ^ 



circular trellis ; Pimelea lipilohe. a ^cM 



Uteritia, ChUodia scuteUaroides, a wei B 



