May 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
| occasioned the following letter. It is dated from Soho 
Square, April 11, 1799. 
SIR JOSEPH BANKS TO MR. FORSYTII. 
As I find myself abused in the public newspapers by Lord 
Leicester’s friends, who insinuate that I am to be proposed 
as a candidate for the Presidentship of the Society' of 
Antiquaries, I find it necessary to canvass as warmly as 
possible for Lord Lewisham, in order that my friends may 
know my real wishes on that subject; I shall, therefore, be 
I much obliged to you if you will attend the Society of 
I Antiquaries on St. George’s day, and vote for Lord Lewisham 
as President, and for such a council as his lordship shall 
recommend, among which Mr. Brand will certainly be in¬ 
cluded, his services entitling him in the opinion of all.- 
Lord Lewisham’s friends to be continued in his present 
office, whoever may eventually be elected President. 
GOSSIP. 
Tiie anniversary dinner of the Gardeners’ Benevolent 
Institution takes place on the 14th of June, at the City 
j of London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street; and Charles 
' Dickens, Esq., has consented to preside on the occasion, 
j A most appropriate chairman he is; for no living author, 
: and few among the dead, have done more to throw a 
charm about that “noble poverty” — the good man 
subdued in a struggle against adversity—which this 
charity is especially intended to sustain. Every one of 
our readers who can spare the money will not only have 
a great intellectual treat, but will confer a good aid to 
the institution. Tickets are issued to admit ladies into 
the gallery, and the speeches, as well as music, we have 
no doubt will be worthy of their audience. 
The Bath and West of England Agricultural Asso¬ 
ciation hold their annual meeting at Taunton on the 
9th, 10th, and 11th of June. They offer Poultry Prizes 
(LI for the best, and 7s. 6d, for the second best) for 
every variety of the domestic fowl, besides other prizes 
for turkeys, geese, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits. 
We are very glad to find that at length Elvaston 
Gardens are to be opened occasionally to the public. 
They have been forming during twenty years under 
the combined taste of the Earl of Harrington and his 
head gardener, Mr. Barron. No expense has been 
spared. Yews, even 100 years old, have been conveyed 
from a distance to fill up and darken the shades of the 
plantations, for the contrasts of colour as well as of 
form have been artistically consulted; and, by degrees, 
a space has been covered with gardens that were certainly 
not contemplated by the noble owner when he first per¬ 
mitted the line, and level, and spade to go to work. The 
time and occasion of throwing open the gardens are for 
the benefit of the New Temperance Hall, at Derby, and 
on Whit-Monday the 31st instant. Elvaston is close to 
the Borrowasli station of the North-Western Railway. 
In addition to the Botanic Garden, the Royal Pleasure 
Grounds at Ivew will continue open to the public, every 
day except Sunday, from the present time until the 18th 
of September. They form one of the most delightful 
exhibitions in or near the metropolis. They are open 
from one until six. 
IT. W. Newman, Esq., of New House, near Stroud, 
Gloucestershire, says: — 
I “ As some of your correspondents have suggested that the 
first swarms of bees should be announced, I beg to mention 
j that I had a first swarm this day (the 17th), at 12 o’clock. 
Tt came from a straw hive containing a fine swarm hived I 
the 12th of June, 1851. I have been watching for drones j 
for a week, but never saw any until to-day; there were j 
several with the swarm, as I counted at least half-a-dozen ! 
go into the parent stock late in tire day. There was no 
hanging out: the only symptom I noticed was that for 
three days previously the bees from the parent stock were j 
very busy at my water trough, and on the morning of I 
swarming they ceased visiting the water entirely; and al- I 
though it was a calm, gleamy, hot sun for four hours (ther¬ 
mometer 63° in the shade), with electric clouds about, the 
bees were unusually quiet at eleven o’clock. I left the | 
garden, and on my return I found them clustered and quiet , 
on the small branch of a red currant bush. I hived them 
in about three minutes. I always find the first swarm3 in j 
May easy to hive. About the middle of June, with a tem- j 
perature of 75°, and a more scorching sun, the case is very !' 
different. I have not had a swarm before the 21st of May 
for a good many years, but I have always found that the j 
first swarm comes from the straw hive. My single and ! 
double boxes, mostly Nutt’s, are generally fourteen days j 
later. I find, also, nearly all my prime swarms go off without 
clustering at the entrance. Sly present situation is a warm 
valley, the hills much wooded. It is by no means a good 
bee count 3 q but plenty of sycamore-trees are a great help at 
the end of April and beginning of May.” 
Another correspondent gives us the following Country 
Notes; and we should like to have many like them :— 
“ The fruit on the walls in this neighbourhood (Trow¬ 
bridge), in spite of the many frosts, seems, in most places, 
very abundant. I called a few days' ago at Layeocli Abbey, 
near to Chippenham, the seat of H. F. Talbot, Esq., the in¬ 
ventor of the Talbotype Drawings. This is a very well-kept 
old place, under the management of Mr. Wilkins, the gar¬ 
dener. The wall fruit-trees promise a very abundant crop of 
all kinds, and the vegetables seem to be looking very well. 
The greenhouse was in very good order, but chiefly filled 
with plants and seeds for botanical purposes. I saw Jasmi- 
num dianlhijlormi, a very nice plant for the greenhouse, so 
pretty, and beautifully sweet. Also a nice plant, Francisea 
anyiistifolia, the flowers of a beautiful blue, and do well in a 
cool greenhouse. In the conservatory was Tacsonia manicata, 
covering the house with hundreds of its beautiful scarlet 
flowers ; also a fine plant of Kennedya latifolia, running the 
whole length of the rafters, full of bloom ; and a magnificent 
plant of Bossuea rotundifolia, planted in the bed of the house, 
covered with bloom. In the flower borders are a great 
variety of hardy perennials, especially of the bulbous-rooted 
kinds ; many of them varieties not usually met with, and 
some 1 have never seen before. Many have been brought 1 
to this country by Mr. Talbot, who is a good botanist. In 
the rock-work I saw a beautiful Alpine auricula, with a 
number of large stems of flowers. It was brought from the 
Alps last season by Mr. Talbot. It was very pretty, and 
perfectly hardy.—I. K. T.” 
The following is a list of the Horticultural and 
Poultry Shows of which we are at present aware. We 
shall be obliged by any of our readers sending us ad¬ 
ditions to the list, and giving the address of the Se¬ 
cretaries. 
HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
Barton-upon-Humber. First show 14th July. (Sec. C. 
Ball.) 
Botanic (Royal), June 9, 30. 
Caledonian (Inverleith Row), Edinburgh, June 3, Aug. 7, 
Sept. 2, Dec. 2. 
Cheltenham, June 15, Aug. 20. 
Claphaji, July 8, Sept. 11. 
Chiswick, June 12, July 10. 
Colchester and East Essex, June 23, at Mr. J. Taylor’s, 
West Lodge, Lexdon Road; Sept. 8, at the Rev. T. I 
Round’s grounds. Holly Trees, All Saints. 
