198 
THE COTTAGE GARDEN Eli. 
[December 26. j 
| 
I 
NATIVE WILD FLOWERS. 
December. 
Often is it lamented that the cold paths of the forest, in 
cheerless December, are unadorned by floral ornament; 
that the dull meadow and dreary moor are unspeckled by a 
single flower to relieve the wintry gloom, and point the eye 
of hope to that happy time when all shall smile in summer’s 
loveliness. But we join not in such lamentations ! Grateful 
for the joys of the season that is past (its flowers still bloom¬ 
ing, fragrant and lovely in our heart), we need no farther 
earnest of coming spring, hut look forward to it in sure and 
joyful anticipation. Indeed, the rustling leaves remind us 
that we too may wither ere another summer’s sun has aroused 
the latent energies of Nature—yet, we have already shared 
sufficiently the enjoyment of Creation’s loveliness, to call 
forth our earnest gratitude, and something more. 
“ The time will bring on summer. 
When briers shall have leaves as well as thorns, 
And be as sweet, as sharp.” 
Let us only think for a moment how painfully ludicrous 
would he the spectacle of a gaudy winter Flora ! poppies 
marring with their blood-like petals the purity of the driven 
snow; cherry blooms scattered by the wrathful tempest; 
hyacinths blooming amidst the desolation of leafless, song- 
less woods ; water lilies riding on the turbulent and swelling 
surface of the muddy mountain stream ; and roses blushing j 
on the bleak and barren hill-side ! Away, such unseemly J 
fancies, and spoil not winter’s picture! plain and beautiful 
it is, and pregnant with teachings to mortal man. 
But let us not imagine that Flora is unmindful of us, even 
in these uugenial days. The ordinary observer may see 
little or no attraction in the lanes and fields, no traces of the 
fair goddess’ favours. But the patient naturalist, who ex¬ 
plores the ditches and hidden nooks, finds a host of interest¬ 
ing beauties “ lurking in their shy retreats." The “ dim 
world of weeping mosses ” are now adorned in their verdant 
loveliness, and afford an ample harvest to the cryptogamic 
botanist; and even the horticulturist sometimes finds these 
tiny plants sufficiently interesting to merit his careful atten- 
tiou in subjecting them to cultivation. As we shall have 
occasion to return to the mosses at a future time, when their 
capsules are more abundant than during the present month, 
we refrain, at present, from entering upon any remarks on 
the various species. This dull and moist season is highly 
favourable for transplanting the mosses from their native 
haunts to the* greenhouse or rockery ; and such of our 
readers as feel desirous of trying their skill at this novel 
department of horticulture, and who wish instructions for 
their guidance, we beg to refer to our papers on the subject, 
in the first and second volumes of The Gardeners' Magazine 
of Botany. 
The botanist who is located on the sea-shore, will find 
sufficient to engage his attention in the treasures of the 
deep. If the coast is a rocky one, the numerous pools that 
are left by the receding tide will afford a profusion of the 
beautiful Corallina officinalis (now clearly shown to belong 
to the vegetable kingdom), and numerous other Alga; of 
equal interest. The agitation of the waters caused by a 
heavy gale, often uproots those species which flourish at 
considerable depth, and are otherwise beyond the collector’s 
reach; and a rich harvest may thus often be gathered im¬ 
mediately after the subsidence of a storm. The sea-weeds 
are not very conspicuously important in their economical 
uses to man, hut a number of the species have been and 
still are applied to various purposes. Their uses in the 
manufacture of kelp and iodine are sufficiently well known ; 
and our cottage readers may, many of them, be familiar with 
the large Fuel, as affording a much-prized manure ; and 
what is perhaps not le ;s important, a valuable article of 
food for pigs. I am not aware that your southern pigs 
relish such food, hut I can assure you that it is the chief 
article of diet on which many of our Scotch ones are fat¬ 
tened. The cottager prepares the sea-weed by pouring 
boiling water upon it, mixing with it at the same time a 
little oatmeal or bran. 
Before closing my brief account of the December Flora, I 
should request attention to the interesting family of lichens 
which now adorn the old walls, rocks, and trunks of trees, 
chiefly in alpine districts. Of these several are important 
in the arts, some yielding dyes, while others are applied to ■ 
medicinal purposes. The Iceland iMoss (Cctraria islundica ) j 
and Reindeer Moss ( Genomyce rangiferina ) are widely cele¬ 
brated for their economical qualities. 
G. Lawson, F.R.P.S., F.B.S., Edinburgh. | 
THE BEE-KEEPER’S CALENDAR.— January. 
By J. H. Payne, Esq ., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's Guide." ; 
Little attention will be required during this month of j 
j cold and frost, except upon a mild day, should such occur, 
of cleaning the floor hoards with a dry brush, and looking | 
well to the ventilation of boxes of all kinds ; for however 
trifling these matters may appear to those who are inex¬ 
perienced in bee management, the well-doing of many stocks, 
during the coming season, will in a great measure depend 
upon their being carefully attended to; and the interior of the 
hives being clean and free from damp at this time, is quite 
as important as their having a supply of food in store, for 
even with the hitter, if the former he neglected, the hives fre¬ 
quently perish. 
I am anxious that the coming season may he a favourable 
one for honey gathering, that the number of persons who 
are already providing themselves with hives, Ac., intending 
to become hee-keepiers this year, may not feel disappoint¬ 
ment. If I may judge from the correspondence I have had 
from various parts of the kingdom, there will he more bee¬ 
keepers this year than in any preceding one. 
Good Seasons. —With all our experience, how little we 
know what it is that constitutes a good season. In some 
summers the bees in the most favoured localities, abounding 
in white clover, lime trees, and every thing that is calculated 
to afford a good supply of honey, scarcely collect enough to 
keep them through the winter; whereas, in the next season, 
perhaps, which to us appears to differ as little as possible 
from the former one, they are filling glass after glass, and 
hive after hive, with the finest honey, and this perhaps in 
the less favourable situations. 
Quality of Honey. —It is remarkable how much honey 
differs in quality, even honey that is collected by the same 
stock of bees in the same season, a few weeks only inter¬ 
vening. A lady has lately sent me two samples, one from 
a glass taken at the end of June, and another from a glass 
also taken from the same stock late in August. The first 
is as fine as honey can be, and the other exactly the reverse. 
The latter appeared as if mixed with soot from its dirty 
appearance, which its flavour also tended to confirm; and 
the good lady attributed this, and in a very positive manner, 
to a steam engine having been erected in the immediate 
vicinity of her garden, between the times of her taking the 
first and the second glass : but which erroneous conclusion 
I have been enabled to remove, by having a sample of honey 
sent me from a village hard by, where the air is remarkably 
pure and free from smoke, of exactly the same colour and 
of the same smoky flavour. 
Over-stocking. —Some persons I know have an idea that 
it is possible to over-stock a district with bees. Perhaps it 
may be so; but it is not at all likely at present to lse the 
case. Some writer tells us (I think it is Mr. Hnisli), that 
one square mile will support a hundred hives, and that there 
is not, or was not at the time of his writing, taking the j 
country through, one hive to ten square miles; so that if his I 
statement he a correct one, we need entertain no fears what- ! 
ever at present of over-stocking. 
Before this paper meets the eye of our readers, the sun : 
will have entered the ascending part of the ecliptic, and j 
the length of our days will consequently be increasing, in- , 
spiring us with the first gleam of hope and anticipation of | 
spring; our little favourites, too, by the end of the mouth 
will he gratifying us with their pleasing hum, and we may 
he looking for the commencement of their labours for 
another year, by their attacking the aconites and early 
crocuses. 
ARTIFICIAL STOCKS OF BEES. 
I wtsh to thank the “ Country Curate” for correcting my 
errors, which were those of one who is a norice in bee-keep¬ 
ing, hut anxious to try every available experiment, for doubt- 
