12 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
OCTOBER 2. 
north, indeed, there are hills, hut too far off, and too broken 
in their outline to afford either reflected heat, or much 
shelter from the wind. Hence, it would seem that most 
situations on the southern and south-western coasts possess 
at least equal advantages in winter; while in summer, many 
inland places, out of the reach of the sea-liaze, are, in all 
probability, hotter. 
As to soil; the gardeners at both ends of the village 
stated that it was hazel loam, and that at ordinary depths 
nothing else was to be found. Not satisfied with this, I 
went and examined the banks of a watercourse close by, 
and found that the surface was a fine light powder gradually 
becoming more loamy and adhesive below, with a large and 
increasing admixture of small flints and chalk. The avail¬ 
able soil scarcely exceeded twenty inches. 
Though standard fig-trees are common at Tarring, there 
is but one regular fig-orchard. Here the trees, about five 
hundred in number, form avenues, meeting overhead. The 
whole is enclosed by a wall, and the proprietor, Mr. H. 
Botting, informed me that all parts of it, and all aspects are 
equally productive. Several sorts are cultivated, and are 
approved of in the following order:—Brown Turkey, Purple 
Fig, Brunswick (here called Madagascar), Green Ischia, 
Black Ischia. The two former sorts have of late been 
classed in catalogues as synonymous, but they are certainly 
distinct. The extremities of the first are pendulous, of the 
second erect. The fruit of the Brown Turkey is greenish- 
brown, and of a globular shape, rather suddenly passing 
into a long stalk. The other is purplish, or rather violet- 
brown in colour, and elongating more gradually. Internally 
its liesh is paler, and its flavour somewhat inferior. 
No protection against cold is afforded either in winter or 
spring. Nor are the trees ever watered. It must, however, 
be remembered that the dense shade of the trees themselves 
checks evaporation, and the humidity of the marine atmos¬ 
phere supplies the leaves with nourishment. Manure both 
solid and liquid is used, not at any particular' period, but 
when it comes readiest to hand. 
Pruning is confined to thinning out the branches when 
they become too long and bare; no suckers are allowed to 
grow. The embryo fruit of the second crop is never 
removed, and Mr. Botting informs me that when it falls off 
in spring, another embryo is often found in the same axil, 
and this swells off and ripens. The trees begin to bear well 
when about seven years old. One has numbered several 
centimes. The wood is generally short jointed and fruitful, 
and the average height of the trees about ten or twelve feet. 
The fruit is protected from birds by bags, at least, as far as 
the bags will last. The gathering is from the end of August 
to the middle of October, and the quality most excellent. 
Prices—largest size, Is. Gd. a dozen; smaller, Is. 
From the above accounts some hints may be derived for 
the successful culture of the fig, but I am not aware that 
anything has been elicited which differs from the practice, 
recommended all along in The Cottage Gardener, and 
also in a short, but comprehensive article, which appeared in 
the Gardeners’ Chronicle, under date 13th of April, 1841. 
A substratum of chalk rubbish with a shallow border (I find 
fifteen inches ample), of a somewhat holding, and not too 
rich soil, seems to be the first requisite. Pinching the 
shoots, though unknown at Tarring, where the greater part 
of the trees are tamed by age, and space is no object, will 
always be found necessary where the tree is wall-trained, 
and where, for the convenience of winter protection, the 
branches must be kept within stated bounds. Near Paris it 
is usual to bend down the boughs in autumn, and to cover 
them with about six inches of earth. This is removed at 
the end of February; weak shoots are then cut out, the 
terminal buds of the stronger shoots taken away, and half 
the wood buds, as they push, rubbed off. 
Those who desire to prolong the succession of fruit, can 
easily obtain an early crop, by keeping a few small trees in 
pots in a cold pit. Thus treated, they ripened with me this 
year the first week in August.— G. Sparkes, Bromley, Kent. 
NEW PLAN OF BEE-KEEPING.—No. 2. 
For. the benefit of the cottage apiarian I will, as briefly 
as possible, explain the outline and peculiarity of my new 
system of managing bees, as advocated in the earlier 
chapters of The English Bee-keeper. It consists, as I have 
there stated, in four principal points, which if not severally, 
are collectively at least, and us a system, I believe entirely 
new. They are these: first, the perpetual maintenance of a 
youthful and vigorous race of queen-bees; secondly, the 
entire suppression of all after-swarming, or casting, as it is 
called; thirdly, the plunder every year of the first or prime 
swarms, instead of keeping them, as under the present 
system, for winter stock; and, lastly, the preservation of the 
same stocks for swarming purposes, almost exclusively, from 
year to year. The two last points are the more peculiarly 
new features of my system. 
Now the way in which all these points are effected I 
proceed to explain. In the first place, it will be proper to 
have at starting one or more vigorously working stocks in 
large and strongly-built hives;—no matter what the shape j 
or material, if only sun, cold, and rain be effectually kept j 
out. My own hives are made of good straw in rather j 
thicker bands than usual, well put together; they have a flat 
wooden top with one or more holes in it, and are worked on 
a stout wooden hoop at bottom. I prefer the shape of Mr. 
Golding’s Grecian hive (but rather more decidedly wider at 
top than at bottom); make use of bars, and paint my hives 
well every year, as I intend them to last many seasons. 
Every hive has also a suitable bottom-board distinct from 
the pedestal, with eye-screws fastened in it for facility in 
weighing; each hive is also surmounted by a large milk-pan, 
which in its turn is covered by me with a neat and thick 
hackle worked on a hoop. The dimensions of these hives 
are fifteen inches in diameter, by eight or nine inches in 
height, all inside measure. 
Let us suppose that a strong swarm* of the preceding 
summer is chosen for experiment, which has well survived 
its first winter, and shews signs of early and vigorous 
breeding. To insure success it is desirable that the queen 
should be still in her prime, the more so if the swarm 
which issues from it is to be reserved for future stock. In 
this case let it be put into a hive of the dimensions just 
given; but any large hive will do. This stock so formed I 
recommend never to he plundered, save at the end of six or 
eight years, when the comb wants renovating; what may 
then be done, is to drive or fumigate the bees when autumn 
comes, cut out the combs, cleanse and purify the hive, and 
lay it aside for future use : this treatment may be adopted 
till the hive falls to pieces from age. The preserved bees 
may be joined to some neighbouring hive, after the queen has 
been destroyed. The common practice among cottagers at 
the present day, is to take these hives, keeping in their 
stead the first swarms of the year. This practice lias 
originated wholly in mistake; the prevailing notion being 
that prime swarms in general thrive better than the parent 
stocks would do. On the contrary, provided the stocks be 
not too old, my experience leads me to a quite different 
conclusion. And the reason is clear, for first swarms 
generally have old queens, while the parent hives, if they 
have swarmed, always have young ones. It is evident, 
therefore, that a systematic reservation of the swarms, and 
a destruction of the old hives at the same time, has a 
tendency to ruin the prosperity of every apiary managed 
according to this plan. But to return; supposing the 
swarm of which I have been speaking is not needed as 
a permanent stock, instead of hiving it in a large hive, I 
would advise its being put into a much smaller one,—say 
twelve inches in diameter, by nine inches high. Mr. Payne’s 
hive, both in size and construction, would be about the 
thing. It will, however, have to be surmounted by another 
hive, of similar dimensions, a few days after its establish¬ 
ment ; if it have a bit of comb in it so much the better. 
The object of this double hive is to ensure the collection of 
a purer honey in the super than would be stored in a single 
hive of large size, to every part of which the queen would 
have access for brecding.t 
Now, 1 advise that the new swarm (whether in a single or 
double hive) be put upon the same stand, and in the identical 
position, which the parent hive had previously occupied; 
the latter will then be removed to some other place. By I 
* I should prefer, for this purpose, a two-year-old stock, which sent | 
forth a swarm the previous summer, if strong and healthy, because it 
will be sure to have a young queen. 
t Of course, where only v>ie hive is used, it should be proportionably 
large. 
