July 15. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
2-17 
found two (sometimes three) small glands, probably, or, perhaps, punc¬ 
tures, made by some insect to deposit eggs, and from these little 
apertures I could detect a secretion, very small in quantity, but some¬ 
times sensible to the.. taste. 1 send you several of the leaves for ex¬ 
amination. The nature of these glands, if they be such, or of these 
punctures, you can perhaps determine, and whether they are artificial or 
natural; hut they prevail both on young leaves as well as old; and 1 dis¬ 
tinctly observed some under a magnifying glass of high power, which 
bore the appearance either of the puncture having been covered by a tlun 
film or of the gland not yet having burst and yielded the secretion. 
(They are glands.— Ed. C. G.) I have frequently noticed, and you are 
probably equally aware, that the wild bee, where it cannot reach the 
nectary of a flower, from the peculiarity of its shape (such for instance 
as the common bean blossom), makes a puncture near the base of the 
flower with its powerful forceps or jaws opening laterally, and intro¬ 
ducing the tongue, extracts the reward of its ingenuity. I have seen the 
domestic bee follow in the wake of its more powerful neighbour, and 
expertly making use of the same orifice, glean whatever had been left m 
the rifled nectary; but in the case of the laurel leaf, the effect is not the 
result of the same cause, for I have never yet seen a wild bee there, 
although wild bees abound in my garden, and a populous nestot them is 
lixed not ten yards from my apiary, in the same wall on which the Iruit- 
trees are trained that yield them the honey-dew. Now, referring to my 
first letter, the case stands thus—there is an abundance of honey-dew on 
fruit and sycamore trees (the latter I have since discovered), of which 
wasps and wild bees partake, but.domestic bees do not; and there is a 
certain secretion (certainly not honey-dew) found on the leaves of the 
laurel, of which the latter, and not the former, avail themselves. Ihe 
presumption is strong, therefore, that the domestic bee does not 
habitually use honey-dew, but it is not irrational to suppose that the 
atmospheric or electric condition that is conducive to honey-dew is also 
conducive to an extensive elaboration of honey in flowers, and affords 
bees a supply so large as sufficiently to account for the acknowledged 
rapid increase of their stores that takes place at such a juncture.” 
American Aloe (A Learner, S. £.).— This is a good time to give a 
larger tub to your aloe, and let it only be one size larger than the present 
one, as you can reduce the old ball considerably. Then is the right time 
to take off the suckers, and see that they are cut as close as possible to 
the parts they grow from, unless you wish to increase them very much » 
in that case, cut half-way between the green part of the suckers and the 
stem of the old plant from which they grow, and the parts left will soon 
send up more successors. Aloe tubs ought to be of the best wood, and 
pitched inside, and five or six holes in the bottom for drainage as, once 
in seven, eight, or ten years, is often enough to retub them. From May 
to October, aloes will take as much water as any other plants, but they 
will not suffer much if they happen to go without water for a week or 
two. From October to April, large aloes require no water, but small 
plants of them should be watered once a month all through the winter, 
and all that they require is just to keep the frost from them. It you 
could keep the suckers in a cold pit, without pots, only planted in any 
light soil, in one corner, giving them room enough, that would be the 
best and easiest way to keep them for the next four years. That is the 
way we managed lots of them, and nothing could do better. 
Weeds in a Pitched Court-yard (iff. iff.).—The best and easiest 
way to keep a pitched court-yard free from weeds is to sprinkle it over 
with rough salt occasionally. June is the best month to make cuttings 
of double Wallflowers, but you are not too late yet. 
Bartonia Aurea (S. S.).—By the time you see this, your Bartonias 
will not be worth the trouble of doctoring. You had them too thick ; a 
foot apart would be too close for them. Moss would rather add to the 
disease. The only cure now would be, to cut two plants close to the 
ground, and leaving the third all over the moss; pulling any up would 
disturb or destroy the rest. We shall look over our list of annuals and 
early perennials, to see once more what can be done for the spring flower- 
garden. Put us in mind of this promise six weeks hence. 
Bees. — B. B. writes thus:—“A stock of bees, on which was an earthen 
pan with glass window, and hole at top, sent out a swarm weighing^izjlbs. 
While the bees were settling, we proceeded to remove the pan, and close 
the four-inch hole at the top of the stock. The pan, we found, contained 
lionev brood, chiefly drone, aud a royal cell, with a worm in it and jelly. 
It immediately occurred to me, that this young queen, when hatched, 
might be of use in the autumn in forming an artificial stock from, so- 
called, burnt bees, the age of whose queen was unknown. I, consequently, 
set it on a board in the place of the old stock, which I shall keep at a 
distance, stopped up for two days. A large number of bees went to the 
nan of those which were out, some having bee-bread. On weighing this 
pan in the evening, 1st July, I found I had in comb, bees honey, and 
brood, 3ilbs.; it was about two-thirds full of comb, but little honey , 
when full, it would contain from 8 to 10 lbs. This day (2nd July) and 
the two preceding, have been very fair honey days ; we have “of had 
many such this year before, and none of the stocks have been able to 
store honey. Comb seems to have been readily made. I have one hive 
that abounds with drones, and another without any. should I do well 
to take up the former, as it has only increased a lb. m two months . and 
might I, with advantage, introduce drones into the other . Uy remov¬ 
ing the stock, and putting in its place the pan containing an embryo 
tiucen, vou have succeeded in making an artificial swarm, which, with 
the addition of a few bees in autumn, and a little food, it required, will, 
in all probability, make a good stock. Let your hive that has increased 
only i lb. remain. This change of weather may enable them to store 
some*honey. You will gain nothing by adding drones to your weak 
stock. 
Taylor’s Bar Hive (A Correspondent and Old Subscriber ).—You 
bad better unite the cast to the swarm, and leave it to the bees to kill 
the queen. 
Golden Pheasants Eggs (Ibid ).-Can any of our readers state 
where some of these can be purchased? 
Furnishing a Small Greenhouse (An Admirer, are.).-Your Vines 
may be :-l Muscadine ; 1 West’s St. Peters ; 2 Black Hambro >,1' 
for back trellis, Galande. Nectarine for the same, Elruge. We think 
you will do well to place a pit in the interior for your forced vegetables; 
and why not grow your cucumbers in boxes suspended about two feet 
from the apex of the ridge? They will do well there, if you are warm 
enough, and well supplied with atmospheric moisture. Your interior 
pit might then be reserved for kidney-beans, &c., and we should use fer- 
nicnting material. In the back shed, of course, you will have plenty of 
mushrooms, and a bin for forcing sea-kale, chiccory, rhubarb, tvc. All 
those things are easily carried out under circumstances like yours. As 
you do not want many pot plants, you will accomplish much ot the sub- 
stantial kind. 
Vine from Canada (W . War ridge).-Yoxxr vine may be a hardy , 
variety—a great desideratum—but we should think the things pp 
Canada ought bv this time to be common to all Europe. Never despair, 
however; try and prove it. Apply three inches of rotteni and nch 
manure over the roots ; try and get one forward shoot, and when half-a- 
yard long, pinch the top, and try by all means to ripen the 5 “°ot “y 
well-managed laterals, and other appliances. Let some friend, in a better 
situation, have the prunings in November, to propagate. Mr. Itivers, ot 
Sawbridgeworth, for instance. 
Driving Bees. —“ Your correspondent, a ‘ Country Curate, Rutland,’ 
says that he has tried the driving system of A Country Curate, in three 
cases, without success. ‘ I could not,’ says he, ‘ get the bees to ascend, 
except very partially, and in no case succeeded in obtaining the queen. 
To this I reply, that, in order to success in driving bees, several con¬ 
ditions must be supposed. First. That the hive be full ot comb and bees. 
Secondly. That the queen be neither too young (i.e., unimpregnated), 
nor too old. Thirdly. That the operator go to work according to the 
approved rules. The best time I now believe, and find, is when the bees 
are mostly at home, and generally in the early morning, rhere must ot 
course be a queen in the hive. Item. The hive must not too violently ie 
handled, or the ascended bees may chance to be shaken down again. 111 
spite of all, failure will sometimes happen ; for the management ot bees 
is a science that will often baffle every rule. If I do not succeed the first 
time, I try again. I have made sometimes three or four attempts before 
success, but I know it is of very little use to attempt driving, it the hu e is 
not iveil filled with comb and bees. But ordinarily, I have no difficult} 
whatever with this process. Your correspondent further says— 1 have 
also attempted the Schirachcan method twice, with equal failure.. 
Reply. So have I, and more than twice ; but practicei ?«'/“(• 
I do not, however, generally recommend the adoption of the Schiracheau 
system, until the bee-master has been very practically acquainted with 
the habits of bees and their economy. Be this plan resorted to by the 
amateur, and the experienced alone. As, however, I am a jo P 
forth on the subject in your pages more at large, I shall say no more here. 
Your correspondent complains of the season,-who does not.—save 
those, perchance, who have succeeded in their efforts to prevent the issue 
of swarms, which was never more difficult than this spring, when bees 
would swarm, as all my hives have swarmed, nolens nolens they are all 
poorly off, save my gigantic hives of the 15th of May, 18 d 1 , and an arti¬ 
ficial’ driven swarm of the 27th of April last. Indeed, I have been 
obliged to feed all last month, more or less, and have lost one swarm from 
starvation.”— A Country Curate. 
Tobacco Plants ( J. N„ Omagh). -The moment you see them send¬ 
ing up a stem to flower, break it oft, and the strength will then be 
expended on enlarging the leaves. 
Roses not Flowering (I6M).-Unless your two «tMd« d we. we*s 
closely pruned, the cause of barrenness is at the roots. Take ^em up in 
November, and root-prune them, cutting all the large ones to ''‘‘bin six 
inches of the stem. A list of the best and hardiest fruit for a wah in the 
north of Ireland will be given before planting time. 
Difference of Rose Varieties (B. R.).— No one lias yetbeen 
able satisfactorily to give marks of difference between thei different 
sections of roses. We have failed hitherto in the task, and Mr. Beaton 
thus replies to the inquiryThe question as to the difference be¬ 
tween Perpetual, Noisette, Bourbon, and lea roses, might be replied 
to by another question as to ‘ the difference between certain bieeds of 
domestic animals. What is the difference between a grcyhouiid and an 
Italian greyhound, a stag-hound, fox-hound, and all other hounds. 
Just as much as is between so many varieties of hybrid-perpetuals. 
Then hybrid-perpetuals differ from Noisettes as hounds do from spaniels 
or sky-terriers; and Bourbons differ from both as much “ a 
colly differs from either, and so on with the differences of all fanni es of 
domesticated plants and animals, and if we were to fill the whole of °ne 
of our monthly numbers with the technical descriptions of differences, 
we could only make the subject more difficult tO ; *‘ ud y- c ““ 
only be learned by the evidence of the senses. A list ot autumn sown 
annuals is in preparation. 
Blight on Rose-trees (Subscriber).— Some blight ‘‘lias stripped 
every leaf and bud from a bed of dwarf hybrid perpetual roses und 
you ask the cause ; but nqrfine can tell. You ask, also, l f 
nrune them now ? Not all; let them rest awhile, and they will be giecn 
and bloom finely in the autumn, if you stimulate them with two> or three 
dressings of liquid-manure, but not until you see by their yon ng leaves 
that they are in growth again. On light soils, and.in ma,y h > 
perpetual roses often look badly at this season, but they arc just m the 
i right way for all that, and no one need be alarmed ; 011 ^ e ™ U h7end of 
I are sadly put out when we see our roses fresh and green at the end o 
July, because they never blossom or open their blossoms well in the au- 
1 tunin when that is the case. It is possible, however, that the cl ‘“ b “\S 
roses and the plum tree have robbed your dwarf roses; and if so they'will 
do no more good there this season, nor till you rid them of ‘heir powerful 
rivals. The name of the yellow flower is Funkia, or Hemet ocullis Julia. 
That is, “ the brown-yellow day lily.” 
Weeping and Union Roses (S.).-AU the best climbing roses arc 
the best for “ weepers,” such as Ruga, Bennet’s Seedling, Dundee Ram - 
Me- from the Ayrshire section. Myriunthes, Felicite ^rpetuelle.Fnn. 
bier, trom tne Ayrsnirc secuuu. -.- - < , . 
cess Louise, Rampant, &c., from the section of evergreens .then there is 
the Crimson Borsault, Madame d’Aublay, an A Sir John ieiug/if. You 
can gain nothing by having “ unions” ot hybrid perpetuals; all thebest 
of them being of one colour. It is only among summer roses that these 
colours for contrast can be liad. 
