104 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[November 44. 
and lettuce, also for pricking-out a quantity of small lettuce 
plants of the last autumn’s sowing. We mention these tem¬ 
porary frames because four boards from six to nine inches 
wide merely require to bo nailed together for this purpose, 
of the san» size as the forcing frames, the lights of which 
are to some extent at this season out of use, and may thus 
be turned to account. When the forcing season arrives 
these lights may be dispensed with ; for although it may be 
cold weather, and Loo early, to plant out any of those plants 
protected in these temporary frames, yet they may be pro¬ 
tected by other means until the warmer season arrives— 
such as straw, or reed mats, or other light materials made 
the same size as the lights—cheap canvass, painted, too, is 
good for the purpose, or asplialte ; indeed, there are many 
ways of contriving light temporary protections, which may 
afterwards be turned to valuable account throughout the 
season; for as soon as they can be dispensed with for the 
foregoing purposes they will bo found useful in early spring 
tor protecting the spring • salads, the early sown carrots, 
turnips, sweet marjoram, and basil; for sowing early celery 
and other seeds they are also valuable, as well as for the 
early kidney dwarf beans, and the forcing of rhubarb and 
sea-kale, and for growing mushrooms under. They may also 
be made available for forcing a crop of early Ash-leaved or 
other dwarf-growing early potatoes. 
Keep the vine of the winter cucumbers tolerably thin, 
regularly stopped to the fruit that shows, and neatly trained. 
Do not allow the vine to carry too many fruit at once, but 
pinch a portion of them as soon as they show. Sow at the 
present time, so as to have good strong plants in readiness 
for the end of the year. Old seed is the best, on account of 
the plants growing more short jointed, and showing fruit 
earlier and more abundantly. To get the seed to vegetate 
kindly, and the plants to grow on vigorously, the pot con¬ 
taining the seed should be plunged to the rim in a kindly 
humid bottom heat of 100 degrees, and the interior top-heat 
of the structure should be 75 degrees, or thereabouts. 
Immediately the plants begin to show themselves through 
the soil, lift the seed pan lrorn the plunging materials, and 
place it on the surface ; modify the interior heat to 70 
degrees by giving air systematically, keep the young plants 
close to the glass, and have small pots drained in readiness 
placed inside to warm, with some kindly earth to pot them 
off as soon as they can be handled, and by placing them 
again close to the glass, a little plunged in some kindly 
material, good sturdy plants will be secured. Of course 
they should be shifted into larger pots as they may require 
it. New seed does not require so much bottom-heat to 
germinate in by many degrees. We have an objection to 
new seed both of the cucumber and melon, on account of 
the plants produced from it generally growing too luxuriant, 
long jointed, and not so readily or numerously showing fruit 
as old seed. Seed two or three years old is a very good age, 
although we have found no difficulty in getting seed to ger¬ 
minate between that age and fifteen .years old, for the seed 
keeps many years if corked tightly in a bottle, and a piece 
of skin is tied over the cork. James Barnes. 
UNITING BEES. 
I am induced to give you an account of the management 
of my bees, as I observe a different effect from the union of 
stocks to that described by your correspondents. 
I purchased a hive of bees early last spring, which threw 
off three swarms ; the original stock being in an old worn- 
out hive, I determined to transfer it, and my gardener, an 
intelligent young man, but as great a novice as myself in bee 
management, succeeded in driving it into a new cottage 
hive in September; early in October he removed the third 
swarm from the cap of a hive into which they had been 
placed, into a new hive also, by driving about an hour after 
he shook them out upon a cloth, and successfully united 
them to the first swarm; they appeared to be in harmony in 
the morning, but in the course of the day the third swarm 
was driven out, and about a hundred bees killed; he, how¬ 
ever, united them again in the evening, and shut them up 
the whole of the next day; they have not since been driven 
out in numbers, but each day a quantity of bees came out 
upon the board, and all attack one bee, which they either 
destroy or drive away; it is not a drone. 
About the middle of October he united the original stock 
with the second swarm, and shut them up the next day, and 
none were driven out at the time, but now in both hives the 
same work is going on; crowds come out of the hives to 
destroy one bee. I shall be glad if you can account for this 
strange effect, or suggest any mode of preventing it. The 
bees are fed daily with honey and sugar. If you think fit 
you can insert this account in your next number. I wish to 
know how long I ought to continue to feed them (as I can¬ 
not ascertain their weight), and what protection 1 ought to 
give them in the winter ? each hive is upon a single pedestal, 
covered with a milk pan, one of them has a coating of lime 
and sand.—M. F. G. 
[“ The one bee” is a robber attracted by the food you 
are daily supplying; you have nothing to fear from this, go 
on to feed until each stock has a store of iff) lbs.; feed from 
the top, it will save you much trouble next season if you 
will unite your second and third swarms at the time of 
swarming.—J. H. 1’.] 
PROFIT OF LAND. 
In your paper of the 10th of October you give an extract 
from Mr. Sillett's pamphlet, showing the profit made on his 
farm, in which the price obtained for the articles sold is so 
much higher than it would be here (Chester), that I think 
there must be some error. A calf is stated to be sold at 
8s. 2d. per stone of 14 lb, or at 7d. per lb; a year-old heifer, 
£b ; a pig at 8s. per stone, or 6Jd, per lb. Now, here we 
have not paid more than fill, per lb, round, for all our meat 
since Christmas last, and I expect to get it much lower; as 
having to sell 80 fat sheep last week, I could not get more 
than id. per lb, sinking the offal; and for a fat heifer, three- 
year-old, which met with an accident and was obliged to be 
killed, I only got .‘id. per lb, sinking the offal. Pigs have 
not sold here for some time past at more than -id. per lb, 
and veal at the same price. If the other articles sold arc 
over-estimated as the above appear to be, I fear the state¬ 
ment will do more harm than good by misleading your 
readers ; I shall, therefore, feel obliged if you can explain 
the apparent error. I notice that Mr. Sillett’s quotations 
are for 1847, but if prices are in his neighbourhood as low 
now as they are here, would it not have been better to give a 
statement based on present prices?—I’. 
[Mr. Sillett’s prices were too high.—E d. C. G.-] 
FEEDING BEES. 
A main objection to the method of forming artificial stocks 
adopted by the “Country Curate” would present itself to 
many persons in the outset—viz., the trouble of feeding 
them. Even when this is no consideration (as in my own 
case, for the toil is a pleasure to me), I think that feeding 
with any kind of mixture is better avoided, as, supposing 
any of it to be left in the hive after the winter’s consumption, 
it would bo likely, in my opinion, to become candied, or 
otherwise spoilt; and, consequently, would only occupy room 
without being useful to the bees. The “Country Curate” 
seems (page 403, vol. iv.) to be of the same opinion. Of 
course artificial food is necessary on this system, as the 
expense of feeding with pure honey is out of the question. 
Were I, however, to try the plan again (for I have tried it, 
and, though I commenced so late as the beginning of Sep¬ 
tember, with every omen of suocess) I should feed for the 
first three or four days, during which comb building would 
be principally going on, with Mr. Payne’s mixture—being, I 
think, the most acceptable to the bees of any; afterwards 1 
should give them eight or nine pounds of pure honey to 
store; and then, if they required any moro, feed with the 
mixture again. I think I am right in supposing that the 
food last stored would bo first consumed, so that all that 
would be left in the hive the following spring would bo 
unadulterated honey. Perhaps even less honey than the 
amount above specified would be sufficient. Now, I have 
another modification of the same plan to propose, which 
would obviate the trouble to those who desire it, and would 
be attended with little, if any, additional expense. It could 
only be adopted where collateral or storifying hives of the | 
same dimensions as stock hives, and which might stand as j 
stock hives themselves, according to Dr. Bevan’s and Mr. 
Golding’s plan, are employed. Such a hive should in an I 
average season contain at least 30 lb of honey. It might be 
despoiled, at the proper time, of about half or two-thirds of 
