the cottage gardener and country 
Analogous to Ibis case of Onions is that of Shallots, 
I which do not thrive well at every place, and in some 
eases absolutely die out entirely. When this is the case 
it is, perhaps, most fortunate, as the cultivator gets his 
I plauting stock elsewhere, and, possibly, at some distance, 
when a fair shore of success attends the change, unless 
some extraordinary adverse circumstances prevent it. 
'J his, therefore, proves the propriety of exchanging the 
bulbs with some one occupying ground of a different 
quality, and the good result, of this I have, on more 
than one occasion, been witness to. 
These remarks I have thought proper to make as a 
prelude to a similar result being witnessed in seeds, 
which, being produced at one place for a succession of 
years, become degenerated, and, however carefully pre¬ 
served from contamination with others of a like kind, 
eventually fail in producing a healthy, vigorous progeny, 
or, where it does so, the quality of the variety is de¬ 
teriorated. I believe this is often felt when the cause is 
referred to other sources; and although it would take 
a lifetime to prove it in some cases, there are others in 
which it is certainly perceptible in a few years, and I 
think it is in just accordance with the laws which 
govern the vegetable world. All our esteemed vegetables 
and other edible productions are but varieties improved 
upon the original species from which they sprung, and, 
as such, have a greater or less tendency to return to that 
original condition again, and I have no doubt many of 
these would, if allowed to ripen seed which had to be 
sown on the same spot without artificial assistance. 
This fact of degeneracy is so well known in the agri¬ 
cultural world that seed-wheat and other corn are 
changed every now and then by most practical farmers, 
and the same is often affected by the gardener who buys 
| his seeds from a seedsman, as it is likely to have been 
produced in some district remote from him. Amongst 
the many advantages there are in purchasing seeds, 
there is certainly this good one, and its value must not 
be underrated, for although the frauds we often hear of 
in the seed trade may exist to a woeful extent, (and who 
is more to blame i’or that than the buyer, who insists on 
having a cheap article?) still the advantages of having 
seeds that were produced in another neighbourhood are 
: such as cannot be denied by the buyer; and there is 
more benefit from this than is generally supposed, and 
I have no doubt but a still greater improvement would 
take place in some of the things we hold in greatest 
estimation, if breeders living at distances from each 
other were to exchange seeds after effecting a little im¬ 
provement ; for it is possible the improvement once 
begun would keep going on, were it transported to a 
fresh place, instead of one and the same individual 
assiduously struggling against natural difficulties of a 
kind not easily overcome. 
In confirmation of the above, I may state that I have, 
like many others, endeavoured to perpetuate good 
varieties of some vegetables with but indifferent success ; 
for, after being improved once or twice, or, say, only 
once, the variety retrograded again, without my being ! 
able to account for it by any of the ordinary causes 
common in such cases. A good variety of White Celery 
I had some years ago is not so good now, after having i 
produced seed two or three times, although I took good 
care to select the best plants for saving seeds from. A 
good kind of Parsley fell a prey to a like degeneracy, i 
after being kept some half-dozen years. This, I have ' 
no doubt, arises from the fact of the seed being saved 
too often in the same place, for in neither case was ' 
there any likelihood of its being contaminated with any 
thing of its own kind seeding ucar it; and some of the 
Celery seed l gave to a friend at a distance has proved 
better than mine, aud l expect, by having it again from 
him, to continue the improvement, and, perhaps, advance 
further. Now, this is a wide field, and I should certainly | 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. —June 10,1850. 187 
like to see it carried out in many tilings where a wide 
improvement is attainable; and, although it would be 
folly to expect every cultivator to save his own seeds, 
yet, by some of the energetic ones having good oppor¬ 
tunities, saving a Cahhaye aud an Onion of a good 
kind, and transferring it to another person for a season, 
and from thence to a third, all parties exercising due 
care in the selection of good specimens for saving seed 
from, it is likely a much better article would be produced 
than if it emanated entirely from one individual and 
one place. 
Much more might be said on this head, but I have 
said sufficient to call the attention of breeders to the 
matter, and whether the plant operated upon be a 
Calceolaria or a Caulijlower, I have no doubt but the 
result will be alike more satisfactory when the process 
of improvement has gone the round of several careful 
breeders, having the means and appliances different 
from each other, and every one exercising that due care 
of preventing the plant degenerating again lo its 
original state, which everything has a tendency to do 
when not restrained by the judicious means which only 
the careful and assiduous breeder knows how to apply. 
J. Hobson. 
SEASONABLE NOTES ON BEES. 
It is said that Bouear, the Scotch apiarian, always took 
an extra glass on the day when he observed drones in his 
hives, considering them as sure forerunners of swarming. 
It often happens, however, that there are no drones in first 
swarms —led off by the old queens, as noticed in my last —for 
these do not at that time require the males; hut there are 
I always drones in the succeeding swarms, headed by young 
queens, though they are not bred till a few days after the old 
queens have left. The strength of the bees and warmth of the 
weather should he attended to, and hives at this time ought 
to he watched in the middle of warm days, for swarms may 
fly off, without much warning, to empty hives or hollow 
places at a distance. In such cases, however, the bees will 
have their own way, knowing beforehand where to go; hut 
watching them carefully may be the means of recovering 
the bees. The second and following swarms seldom act in 
this way, and never quit the hives without the warning 
sounds, keep, keep, off, off, uttered by the rival queens, the 
fainter sounds from those in their cells. In general, the bees 
light upon a branch, which, if it can be spared, ought to be cut 
down with the cluster, and he placed on the ground, covered 
with a hive to receive the bees, and removed in the evening 
of the same day. In that operation there need not be much 
fear of the bees, for they seldom sting until they have a 
store to defend. But if the branch cannot be spared, fix a 
I hive over the cluster as soon as possible, for after the bees 
have settled they will not so readily ascend. As regards the 
size of hives, much depends on the swarms, time, and pas¬ 
turage ; but it is safer to have them rather under than above 
the common size, and if they contain clean old combs it is 
all the better, especially for the after or small swarms. Some I 
object to the plan of putting sticks inside the hives; but j 
they are useful to support the combs when the bees are \ 
moved about. One or two swarms are sufficient from a i 
stock—more only tends to weaken it; and little or no produce | 
can be had from a number of puny hives, which is sometimes | 
the case, in spite of great care. With a view to prevent 
this the stocks should be cool, and if the bees increase fast 
after the first swarms have left, additional room ought to be 
given, and the entrances kept as open as possible. AVhat I 
have just stated holds equally good with hives on the new 
plan, only it should be done before the first swarms, which 
are more easily prevented than second ones, owing to the 
rivalry of the young queens. But swarming will happen at 
times, in spite of every precaution, for it is the only way 
that bees increase their species ; and if they are not united, 
or restored to the stocks, it is unjust to blame the novel 
hives, or expect much produce from them, for that would be 
only following the old plan under a new name.—J. Wiguton. 
