52 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
[October 24. i 
SCALES OF EXPENDITURE. 
My Flowers," Ac. 
By the Authoress of 
Estimate 4tii. 
Income— 5s. per clay; 30s. per week; A78 per annum. 
Family —A man, and his wife, and three children. 
i S. D. 
Bread and flour for five person, 24 lbs. 0 3 0 
Butter, 1 lb. 0 1 0 
Cheese, £ lb., at 6d. 0 0 3 
Milk ... 0 1 0 
Tea, i lb., at 3s. Cel. 0 0 10J 
Sugar, 2 lbs., at 4d. 0 0 8 
Grocery—including table condiments. 0 0 9 
Meat, fish, &c. 0 3 0 
Vegetables . 0 1 3 
Beer. 0 2 0 
Coals and wood—average all the year round .... 0 2 0 
Candles . 0 0 4 
Soap, starch, frc., for washing. 0 0 4 
Sundries, for cleaning, scouring, &c. 0 0 2 
Total for household expenses 0 17 14 
Clothes and haberdashery. 0 5 0 
Rent. 0 3 0 
Incidental expenses .'.. 0 1 0 
Total expenses .AT C If 
Saving (more than l-12th) .. 0 3 lOf 
Amount of income AT 10 0 
The writer makes the following observations upon this 
estimate “ We have to observe, respecting this estimate, 
that it is practically correct, being almost a verbatim tran¬ 
script from an account kept for the last year'.” The estimates 
i were first published in the “New Edition” in 1824, “ by a 
steady person on whose accuracy and veracity we can rely, 
and differing only a few shillings in the whole year from 
what we should have given as the result of our own calcula¬ 
tions.It is deserving of remark, that this family, 
! though possessed of so slender an income, appears to live 
comfortably : doubtless, from the regular mode of conduct 
which it has habitually acquired.” 
Every thing is cheaper at this period than at the time 
“ Practical Domestic Economy” was compiled, especially all 
articles of clothing, which, where children are concerned, is 
a very material thing. When the correctness of calculations 
; are proved by actual experience, it is a very great encourage- 
1 ment to anxious and determined economists—to those who 
will do what can be done, and whose inexperience and, per¬ 
haps, ignorance, alone, keep them from attempting to carry 
i out economy fully. Some there are, and even among our 
! own highly-respected correspondents, who shrink and draw 
back from the loppings and primings we have suggested to 
them. A letter received in July contains the following pas¬ 
sage :—“ 1 fear, for the reasons assigned, I must still charge 
myself with the expense of the garden, the man, and the 
pony. But if these are not to be renounced, well may it be 
observed that the difficulty is greatly increased; and how, 
indeed, are we ‘ to trim and steer our little bark among the 
rocks and shoals of a pitiless world ?’ ” 
I am grieved and yet glad (if a contradiction may be par¬ 
doned) to reply, that the “reasons” are only excuses. A 
reason is a stubborn thing, but an excuse—however it may 
j be decked in borrowed plumes—possesses neither bulk, 
| solidity, nor extension, and of this nature are the apologies 
| made for retaining the luxuries above-mentioned. I am 
| grieved to be obliged to speak thus strongly, but where so 
much is at stake, and the remedy so distasteful, a timid 
hand will effect nothing. I am glad to think that each of the 
three luxuries is absolutely unnecessary, and that the com¬ 
fort derived from them is as nothing compared with the plea¬ 
sure of feeling that no gratification is allowed, however much 
like a necessity it may array itself, that we are cutting off a 
decided expense, and feeling a decided relief from it; and 
that, although our personal inconvenience may somewhat 
increase, our little bark has again answered the helm, and is ] 
scudding before the gale under bare poles indeed,—but all is ■ 
safe and snug below. Let us keep our eye fixed on the one 
unerring Compass; and then, although “ neither sun nor ! 
stars appear for many days," and “no small tempest lie upon 
us,” yet a Comforter will ever stand by us to cheer us on, to 
strengthen us, and to make the disagreeables of life, as well 
as its heavier trials, easy and pleasant to be borne. 
The position of our 1 correspondent is one of much diffi¬ 
culty, as regards his residence. Would it not be possible to 
accommodate another family 7 , or single individuals, in con¬ 
junction with his own household ? A landlord might not— 
scarcely could—object to this, and with a little good manage¬ 
ment a very comfortable arrangement might be made ; not 
so pleasant as living by ourselves in our own house, but 
under existing circumstances, and for a limited period, pre¬ 
ferable to high rent, anxiety of mind, and debt. No feeling 
of pride should be allowed to utter, or even whisper, a syllable 
on such occasions as these. Children are rising up around, 
and must be sacredly considered and served by every lawful, i 
honest effort in the parent’s power. Almost the rent of the 
house may thus be gained; and what an important benefit is 
this, even at a heavy inconvenience to oneself, which really 
may not be the case 1 In towns, professional men ofien 
require, rooms with partial board, sometimes without any . 
board at all; and gentlemen are more easily disposed of, in : 
a general way, than ladies, and are more constantly engaged 
from home. To lessen a heavy rent is a grand desideratum, 
and will do more for us than all the pinchings and nippings 
we can possibly resort to in the home department. Let me 
urge this plan very strongly to all who are over-housed and 1 
over-rented, and caunot help themselves ; and let them, 
when they are fairly wearied with exclaiming against the 
horror and impossibility of such a system, quietly consider 
whether it is impossible and dreadful, whether they could 
not effect it without immense suffering; and whether, at the 
periods of half-yearly payment, they would not feel unspeak¬ 
able relief at finding perhaps more than half their rent | 
paid back into their hands. 
In the hasty, ignorant impetuosity of youth, a thousand 
things there are that we cannot away with—a thousand 
things are “dreadful—impossible to be done; ” and we plunge 
about and chafe, like a colt caught up wild from the pasture; 
but when we have attained the age of reason—still more, 
when we have children clinging round us—above all, when 
we feel that they are entrusted to us by God, and that it is 
a sacred duty to provide for them as amply and as diligently 
as His Word permits—we shall renounce every feeling of 
pride and selfishness, and strive without a murmur to do 
that which ought to be done. 
WINTERING BEES. 
Since I forwarded my first prepared table to be filled up 
by those ivho wish to try one or other of the unusual plans 
of wintering bees, recommended by me or others, my atten¬ 
tion has been drawn to one or two other methods which 
deserve notice, although their results in an economical point j 
of view are, perhaps, not likely to be so valuable as in the j 
particular instances mentioned by me in a former paper. \ 
They seem, however, to be less hazardous, and would recom- 1 
mend themselves to many who might be too timid to venture 
a trial of the others. I think it is Mr. Richardson who, in 
his shilling book, “ The Hive and Honey Bee,” 2nd edition 
(an edition far superior to the first), suggests a very simple i 
contrivance for the ventilation of hives stowed away under 
gravel or leaves in a bam or outhouse. It is a long frame 
of wood, covered over with plates of perforated zinc, so con¬ 
structed that a current of air shall pass throughout its whole 
length underneath the zinc. Upon this frame the hives are 
placed side by side (any number of hives of wood or straw, 
according to the length of the frame, may be so wintered), I 
