422 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 30. 
liens, as sitters and mothers, would b^ against them as fowls 
for the poor man, by rendering it '.jieQessary to purchase 
these from time to time, for mother-hens,J.ike others, will 
i die off and want renewing; and I have found the half-bred 
J Spanish follow the nobler parent in disdaining these homely 
offices. Sorry as I am to differ from one of “Gallus’s” 
knowledge, experience, and candour, I must conclude with 
the expression of my firm conviction, that the “ Mania for 
Cochin-China fowls ” will he supported by the fowls them¬ 
selves, and even rendered more general, by their productive¬ 
ness, tameness, and beauty. Anster Bonn. 
WILD BEES. 
By 77. TV. Newman, Esq. 
( Continued from page 373.) 
Tnn next species I shall describe, is the very common 
A. hortorum, of Linnceus. This is very similar to the 
| last in appearance; it has a longer body but not so thick. 
It is easily distinguished from the A. terrestris by the 
quickness and volatile nature of its flight; flying much 
nearer the ground on all occasions in a sort of jerking and 
uneven way. The males of this species are much more 
difficult to be distinguished from the workers by a casual 
observer, being of the same colour; but their antenn® are 
much longer, and the abdomen more broad and hairy. 
The nests of this species are also in the ground, and 
generally about half a foot further from the entrance than 
in that of the A. terrestris ; indeed, much time must be lost 
by these insects in going and returning; they usually prefer 
old drains, or the sides of old walls, for their habitations, 
and are not nearly so strong in numbers as the A. lucorum, 
generally not more than from twenty to fifty in a nest. The 
male is among the first to appear. I have seen them 
the end of June. The queen is a month later than the A. 
terrestris. I have had several colonies of them, but they 
were never such favourites, not being so docile, and more 
irascible than the last described, so I had fewer nests of 
this species than of all the other four. The drones are of 
the same habits precisely as the last; they are deprived of 
the faculty of returning to the parent nest after once leaving 
it, and these males can be more easily discovered after their 
exit, and they become regular wanderers, even more than 
any other species. Any observer may watch them in their 
unsteady flight very near the ground, paying visits to the roots 
of trees, holes in banks, (fee. At first appearance, they look 
as though they intended to alight at these haunts, but this 
they never do until a round of probably a quarter of a mile 
is made in this manner, when they require nourishment; 
they then return to the thistles and flowers, where they 
frequently remain all night, particularly in cold weather, 
and may he seen dormant in the morning; when taken in 
the’ warm hand they soon recover and fly away. The nests of 
this species being further in the ground, and often amongst 
old drains, are more difficult to take. When a boy, I have 
often made an attempt to take them, and failed, and in the 
neighbourhood where I reside at present, the wet summer 
and autumn of 1839 destroyed the greatest part of this 
species of bee, and they have never been so fruitful since. 
They seem to be more numerous in the midland and 
southern counties than in the north. I have found great 
numbers in Northamptonshire ; and some years since, at the 
Isle of Thanet, I observed hundreds of the drones of this 
species vagabondizing about, and scarcely any of the A. 
terrestris. Close to the sea side they were more numerous 
than any where else. The A. hortorum does not interfere 
with the hive bee in its pasture; they select large flowers, 
which the others cannot reach with their proboscis. This 
bee is very fond of the “ Digitalis,” or Foxglove. It is 
beautiful to see how it opens the flower of the large red 
snapdragon, particularly the queen mother. Were a small 
bee to get into this flower, the collapse is so strong it could 
not force its way out, consequently it never attempted it. In 
creation, how wonderfully is every thing adapted to its 
particular purpose ! The A. hortorum, having the long¬ 
est proboscis of the four most common species, searches 
for a different set of flowers from its congeners, despising 
the white clover, the sweet-scented lime blossom, &a., and 
preferring the wood honeysuckle, foxglove, snapdragon, 
and others of the largest and wildest flowers of the forest. 
When it condescends to visit our gay parterres it will be 
busy among the flowers above-mentioned. In the month of 
August the queens of this species are seen booming along, 
scarcely able to fly, probably full of eggs, and quite different 
from the active, nimble worker. The male bees may be 
seen, late in November, dormant on the thistle, with their 
hairy bodies and long antennas; after this time they all 
perish. There is a variety of this species all black, very 
like them, but not so common; the males have the same 
habits, leaving the nest once, and not returning. The A. 
hortorum may be found in great numbers in Woodland 
countries, which they certainly prefer, and but for the wild 
wood mouse, these bees would be ten times more numerous. 
I have found the two last named species (the A. lucorum, 
and A. hortorum), more infected with small lice than any 
other. The old queen mother is often quite covered with 
them, and so close do they keep, that it is a work of time 
and difficulty, as well as requiring patience to rid them of 
these troublesome vermin. Sometimes their poor bodies 
are nearly eaten in two by these lice, and I have often found 
them, in consequence, weak, unable to fly, and in a dying 
state. The A. hortorum is full fourteen days or a month 
later in making its appearance in the spring than its con¬ 
geners, the A. lucorum and A. terrestris, another instance 
of the wisdom of Providence, as no flowers fit for its use 
are in blossom at an earlier period! Notwithstanding this, 
and the paucity of numbers, the males are a month earlier 
in being hatched, and leaving the nest, than the A. lucorum. 
(To be continued.) 
DUTCH EVERY-DAY-LAYERS. 
This variety of fowl is widely spread over England, and 
is much esteemed for the production of eggs. It has been 
long known among us, and various districts have different 
names for it. The Dutch Every-day-layers having been a 
long time cultivated here, slight alterations have arisen in 
their plumage, which changes have become marked varieties, 
which I shall endeavour to describe as well as I am able ; 
but, doubtless, I am not acquainted with every variation that 
has occurred. 
These fowls are rather small, but neat and nicely made ; 
they have rose combs, which should terminate in a single 
point, directed backwards ; the gills more or less elongated, 
and sometimes appear folded; the ear plates are small and 
white; the legs are of a bluish lead colour; the nails 
whitish. They are the best sort for laying I know of, 
though their eggs are smaller than of some other kinds, still 
not smaller than those of the generality of common fowls. 
It is, I believe, very rare for true birds of this breed to want 
to sit, but they continue to lay throughout the summer; 
from this reason, and also that they are imported from 
Holland, they have received the name of Dutch Every-day- 
layers. The name of Hamburghs has also been applied to 
them, because some have been brought from that place; 
but that name is already given to a top-knotted variety, and 
is, therefore, improper in this case. They are known by a 
variety of names, viz., Bolton Greys and Bays, Creoles, 
Cliittaprats, Corals, and Everlastings. 
Their different markings have also different names, though 
I consider the fowls essentially the same. They are termed 
Moss, Pencilled, Pheasant, and Mooneys. Some people 
talk of Spangled fowls of this breed; but if they consider 
that a Spangle should have every feather tipped with white, 
as I have described under the head of Spangled Pole, they 
will find that these should be called Pheasanted. The 
whole of this variety is again divided into two sub-varieties, 
termed Gold, or Silver: the Golden being of a clear ocre or j 
red-brick colour, and the Silver of a cream-laid white, which ! 
constitutes the ground colour. 
In the variety called Moss one of these Colours is grizzled, ' 
or lined with black, or slate, somewhat as if it were thinly 
covered with moss. 
In the Pencilled variety these lines are fewer, more dis¬ 
tinct, and assume a more decided figure. 
In the Pheasant variety the feathers are clear, tipped | 
with a shining black, very much resembling the breast of a 
cock pheasant, whence is derived the name. 
