February 24, 1863. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



161 



It was but yesterday (the 4th February) that a storm, 

 the nature and severity of which, is I believe unexampled at 

 this season, passed over Edinburgh like a desolating scourge. 

 Fortunately its duration was short— only half an hour ; but 

 during its continuance, the raging elements, thunder, lightning, 

 rain and hail, waged a terrific war, inflicting considerable damage 

 on property throughout the city, though fortunately unattended 

 with any personal injury or loss of life. The thunder pealed 

 forth with awful voice ; the lightning flashed luridly athwart the 

 opening sky with its broad bright streams of vivid blue ; while 

 the rain and hail fell in torrents, and the wind, blowing a perfect 

 hurricane from the west, bellowed and roared with appalling 

 fury. The scene was imposing and sublime in the extreme. 

 Such an electric conflict seldom occurs at this season of the year ; 

 and though we might with reason have expected that the ex- 

 traordinary weather which has ruled for some time back had at 

 last reached its culminating-point, yet there is no apparent 

 prospect of a speedy change in its peculiar character. 



In ordinary seasons, if the weather is mild, we expect to see 

 our bees begin pollen-gathering about the second week of 

 February ; but even then they are like angels' visits " few and far 

 between," a solitary bee being seen now and then in this hive or 

 that, entering at long intervals. Indeed it is only in March that 

 we can say that our hives in this locality can be said to be in 

 full activity, and carrying pollen freely, and to have really 

 commenced the labours of the year. Accordingly, young bees 

 do not generally appear till the beginning of that month. 



I may mention that the earliest date I ever witnessed pollen- 

 laden bees enter my hives was on the 2Sth of January, 1861, and 

 the latest date on December 18th, 1857 ; but I again repeat that 

 pollen-gathering is not actively commenced with us, even in 

 early seasons, till about the beginning of March. — J. Lowe. 



NEED THEEE BE PEOFITLESS BEES? 



" T.," page 84, may be assured that with a little more circum- 

 spection his bees may be turned to a far better account. His 

 wooden house Bhould be closed in front, with the exception of 

 some outlets for his bees. They ought to have 4 inches space 

 in width, and 1 inch, or rather less, in height. On the outer 

 side and beneath these there should be a ledge about 6 or 8 inches 

 in length, and 3 inches in breadth for the bees to alight on. 

 This landing-place should slope a little in front, in order that 

 rain may freely run off. The inner side of this outlet for the 

 bees should be perfectly even and square with the standing- 

 board, so that a bee-box or any kind of hive, indeed, may, with 

 a little contrivance, be exactly adapted to it, and made to fit so 

 closely that not a single bee can escape at the junction into the 

 house. The sides of the house Bhould be well closed, and the 

 back ought to have folding-doors that may open and close 

 easily, and, at the same time, fit so perfectly that neither sun nor 

 rain can penetrate. 



Supposing that this house has been formed with four posts 

 placed at the corners of the building, and that the legs of the 

 same stand a foot or two above the ground ; these legs ought 

 to be kept constantly immersed in pans of water, formed either 

 of lead, iron, or zinc, allowing a space of an inch or 2 inches 

 between the latter and the legs, in order that the building may 

 be kept constantly insulated. The great object of this insulation 

 is to free the bees entirely from the approach of various enemies, 

 which consume the honey almost as fast as the bees can collect 

 it. These enemies are chiefly ants, millipedes, earwigs, and 

 snails. 



I have adopted this plan of insulation for several years, and 

 have very seldom been troubled with the presence either of 

 ants, millipedes, or snails, as they never can pass the watery 

 moat if properly attended to. The latter acts as a complete 

 barrier to them, and so it does, generally speaking, to earwigs ; 

 but these latter, bearing the motto "We fly by night," now and 

 then will be found to trespass, and a single one may occasionally 

 make good its landing in the fort, and, of course, require speedy 

 punishment. I wish I could speak as effectually of means of 

 expelling spiders. These adepts in cunning, as well as stratagem, 

 overreach all my endeavours to har them out. They will peree- 

 vera in gaining a footing within the citadel, and, like military 

 sappers and miners, carry on their art under the shade of night. 

 Their webs, so beautiful to look on, and their ingenuity so truly 

 perfect and mathematical, have been the admiration of natu- 

 ralists of all ages, and their adaption of means to the end so 



astonishing, that one cannot avoid exclaiming, How great is 

 God in all things ! 



These spiders are seldom seen during the day — they hide 

 themselves in some small crevice, and at nightfall spread their 

 nets in front or near the mouth of the hives. I generally visit 

 my hives early in the morning, and frequently find two or three 

 of my dear little friends prisoners in the meshes of the nets. 

 Then I resolve to visit them again at nightfall, and perchance 

 I catch the delinquent flagrante delicto, and do not spare 

 him ; but frequently he is too quick for me, and either slips 

 back into his corner or crevice, or as suddenly drops to the 

 ground where, under the shade of darkness, he contrives to 

 escape. 



There is another enemy I would guard "T." against — namely, 

 the large Tomtit or Ox-eye. He is a great devourer of bees in 

 the winter and Bpring, but he is easily entrapped with a piece 

 of fat ; he generally has a companion, and both are readily thus 

 caught. 



I have said enough for the present of the enemies of bees. 

 I will now turn to the friendly means whereby great encourage- 

 ment may be given to the bees in spring. Whenever there is a 

 garden at hand, let all the turnips not required for domestic 

 use remain and run to seed ; their blossoms will afford an 

 abundance of farina — the chief pabulum or food of the larvse in 

 the cells. Even a small piece of ground might be appropriated 

 to the purpose of planting a few dozen turnips purchased at 

 some greengrocer's stall, with a portion of the green top remain- 

 ing on them ; these will readily shoot into large stalks, and 

 every head will bear a blossom for the million of bees. Crocuses 

 and snowdrops, the blossoms of gooseberry and currant trees, 

 and the catkins of willows and nut trees, will likewise be 

 available. 



And lastly, having arranged the apiary and discussed the 

 various foes and friends of bees, let me advise " T." to send to 

 Messrs. Dean & Co., booksellers, London, and procure a little 

 book on the entire subject, called the "English Bee-keeper," by 

 " A Cototet Cubate," one of the most expert and intelligent 

 apiarians of the present day. Let " T." read it twice over, and 

 I am sure he will reap greater pleasure from his bees ; and if 

 he profit by the advice therein given, he will be able to treat 

 his wife frequently with a present of most delicious honeycomb 

 —the sweetest of all sweet things. — Apiabiits, East Kent. 



NEW BOOK. 



Popular Science Review. Edited by J. Samuelson. R. Hard- 



wicke, 192, Piccadilly. Published quarterly. 



We are not of the number who think it desirable to make all 

 men philosophers ; and fortunately, if all the world thought it 

 desirable, the world would fail in realising its desire, for there 

 are very few minds capable of deep research or profound reason- 

 ing, so there is no danger of our grooms poisoning our horses in 

 experiments upon a universal food, nor of our coachmen up- 

 setting us whilst designing practical tests of a carriage's centre 

 of gravity. But we are of the number of those who would place 

 a sixth sense within the reach of every one who chooses to acquire 

 it, by popular explanations of everyday phenomena, and popular 

 details of every modern discovery as it occurs. 



Dr. Paris's little volume " Philosophy in Sport made Science 

 in Earnest," is just the book we would put into a boy's hand, 

 for he ought to know " why " his kite rises from the ground, 

 and " why " his top spins ; and every one is all the more respect- 

 able and respected for being able to explain " why " a dew appears 

 upon the glass in a room and upon nothing else; "why" he 

 prefers putting his foot upon a carpet rather than on a stone 

 floor when he gets out of a bed during a cold morning; and 

 " why " his razor mows off his beard more freely when it is hot 

 than when it is cold. 



So is every one more respectable and self-respected, and cer- 

 tainly has another source of pleasure opened to him, who under- 

 stands the discoveries Science is every d»y revealing, without the 

 labour, not to say the impossibility, of making himself a master 

 of those sciences. Now, " The Popular Science Review " is just 

 the publication to impart the desired information, saving the 

 reader from the labour or impossibility. It is published quarterly, 

 and in an amusing, readable, easily-understood form, keeps one 

 " read-up " in the discoveries of the day. It embraces all the 

 sciences, and as its best recommendation we will give a few 



