70 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 30. 
serving tlieir growth and culture there, as compared with 
my own. 
The plant that took my especial attention at the time Mr. 
Beaton was showing me over the grounds, was a long row 
of the Double-yellow French Marigold , and although I did 
not mention it at the time, I was pai’ticularly pleased with 
it; I never saw a yellow flower that produced such a gor¬ 
geous effect as this most beautiful plant; and any persons 
like myself, amateurs in the art of gardening, who have not 
seen it grown from spring-struck cuttings, would do well to 
obtain it at once ; hut as I have not seen it in a bed, I fear 
it would require support, as its stems appear rather too i 
slender to bear erect such immense heads of bloom ; 
certainly as a border plant it is invaluable. The best 
bed I saw in the garden, was the one of Old scarlet varie¬ 
gated Geranium, and Verbena venosa; which Mr. Beaton 
has so graphically described, as being like shot-silk, and I 
quite concur in his opinion, that no good garden should be 
without these two plants. To those who have not seen the 
Verbena venosa in a bed by itself, I would say, the effect 
is surprising when viewed from a distance, but it is not 
nearly so good in the early part of the season, as in Sep¬ 
tember. 
The two colours which I have the most difficulty in repre¬ 
senting, are blue and white, (if the latter may be admitted 
as a colour) and my standard plant for a white bed, is a white 
Petunia. I have lately got a new one of this class, an un¬ 
named variety, with which I was much pleased. The Varie¬ 
gated Alyssum is the next best, and it is much improved by 
planting an edging of Lobelia erinus grandiflora round the 
bed. The Campanula Carpatica alba , is beautiful while it 
lasts; but during the present month it does not produce a 
sufficient number of flowers. Of the Matricaria, I had a 
splendid bed from June to the middle of August; after that, 
it went off blossom, and I was compelled to cut them down; 
—now I see some white heads appearing among the flowers 
that I planted to fill up,—it seems about as durable as the 
double Fever Few. It is, however, a great acquisition to a 
border, and is easily propagated in spring. 
I find from an article by Mr. Fish, that the Fever Few 
succeeds pretty well with him; and I doubt not that this 
Matricaria would do the same, and I flatter myself, if once 
grown, it will (to use his own expression) cudgel the Fever 
Few out of the garden. I have never seen the Senecio alba 
or Groundsel, mentioned in the pages of The Cottage 
Gardener, among the white flowering bedders; although I 
can make nothing of it here in Cambridgeshire, any more 
than the purple one, as it always dies away by the end 
of August; yet, those who succeed with the one, would 
doubtless do so with this white variety. 
Among the blue-flowering plants, I do not know a really 
good one for beds; the Lobelias , particularly ramosa, and 
Anagallises, do not expand their flowers except when the sun 
is bright upon them; and as most persons visit their gar¬ 
dens after the burning heat of the day is over, they do not 
then show themselves to advantage. The Salvia patens is 
uncertain for a bed, and I find I am not alone in my mis¬ 
haps with it this year. S'. Cliamcedryoides is insignificant in 
a good arrangement. There is one plant that I confess I 
have been rather disappointed in, for there has been a good 
deal said about it—I mean the Oenothera prostrata. It is 
not half so good as macrocarpa , and is not showy enough to 
become fashionable, while we affect a display of such 
gaudy flowers. I dare say I shall be thought fastidious 
by some, but I scarcely think it will become an universal J 
favourite. 
My Heliotropes , although not planted in a rich soil, have , 
so completely overrun the Verbena , that in a large bed of 
them I can scarcely count ten flowers of the latter. I would 
suggest that the Heliotrope be planted in pots, and plunged 
in the ground, and the Verbena be allowed to grow freely be¬ 
tween the pots. This would, no doubt, tend to check the 
growth of the one, and allow the other a greater share of 
room. If any one has tried this plan, I should be glad to 
hear the result. 
I had very nearly forgotton to mention the Kentish Hero , 
Calceolaria. It is, indeed, the hero of its class. I saw this 
also finely in bloom at Shrubland, and since my return home 
I have applied to several nurserymen for it, but they tell me 
their old plants are all stumped, to make young plants for 
sale next spring. I had hopes of getting up a stock of it 
myself, and it is rather a disappointment when one admires 
it so much. Bedding Geraniums, too, are grown to perfec¬ 
tion there, though I will not particularise any, as Mr. B. is 
about to give a descriptive list of the whole of them ; but 
mentioning these plants, brings me in mind of my success 
in rooting the variety, Rollison’s Unique , lately. At the end 
of July, I inserted a dozen cuttings of it round a pot, and 
placed it under a north wall; about a fortnight since I took 
them up, and put the pot of cuttings in a little heat, and 
now I find every one has struck root. This seems to be the 
only way of increasing them in the autumn. R. L. 
NOTES ON THE HIVES IN THE CRYSTAL 
PALACE. 
As your apiarian readers may be glad to know what im¬ 
pression has been left on the mind of a practical bee-master, 
as such, by a visit to the Great Exhibition of 1851; seeing, 
moreover, that I have become well-known to them (perhaps 
too much so) as somewhat of an innovator on the ancient 
bee practices of our forefathers, I will endeavour to put 
together a few notes, according to your suggestion. 
I would first of all express the surprise and admiration 
with which I regarded the working hives of the Messrs. 
Neighbour and Milton. To see so much honey (even in 
glasses) collected and stored in such a locality! Who shall 
now say that bees may not be kept anywhere ? I was 
informed, however, that on being first hived it seemed 
doubtful whether they would do anything at all; be this as 
it may, there could not have been less than from 12 lb. to 
15 lb. of honey stored in each hive, and perhaps even more. 
The vicinity of the Kensington Gardens, as well as of Hyde 
Park itself (if they contain sycamores, acacias, or limes hi 
any quantity), will account for part of the honey collected, 
but I fancy the bees must have gone a long way in search 
of the main portion of their stores, perhaps to Hampstead 
or Hounslow, or else lioney-dews may have abounded at 
hand. 
As to the hives exhibited, I was, I confess, disappointed. 
There lacked, indeed, no supply of fancy hives, of various 
shapes, sorts, and sizes, and of different excellencies; but 
of cheap, simple, improved hives for the use of cottagers, I 
saw not one which in my estimation surpasses Mr. Payne’s 
for the poorer, and Mr. Golding’s Grecian hive for the more 
intelligent, class of cottagers. Of these very well made 
specimens were exhibited. The keeping of bees in this 
country must ever be the poor man’s perquisite and occupa 
tion, par excellence, however the rich may amuse themselves 
with watching and studying the habits of these insects; 
on this account, the first commendable advance in the 
science, will begin with the cottager, and for the cottager. 
In this respect the Exhibition has, I think, failed,—I mean 
as to the introduction to our notice of any valuable novelty 
in this particular. Of hives for the rich I chiefly admired 
the Lady's Observatory Hive, of the Messrs. Neighbour and 
Son, with the new addition to it of a false inside roof of 
wooden bars, supported on an upright post in the centre ; it 
answers in every respect as well as a common hive, and you 
have the advantage of being able, at a moment’s notice, to 
inspect the works of the bees on every side with the most 
perfect security. Its price, also (T2 2s), is comparatively 
moderate ; but, in truth, 1 wish these and other hives exhi¬ 
bited could be ottered for sale at a considerably cheaper 
rate than they actually are. For increased facilities of 
watching the bees I should prefer this hive to be of an 
oblong shape, and I would so contrive it, by the help of 
guide-comb, that the bees should work diagonally ;* by this 
means large portions of every comb would come into view 
from the outside, and the queen’s movements, as well as the 
interior processes of the hive generally, be more effectually 
seen. 
Mr. Taylor has introduced a considerable improvement in 
the shape and dimensions of his bar-hives; every box is 
broader and shallower, so that the whole structure is con¬ 
siderably less Babel-like than before. No wooden hives will 
* Also, I would manage to secure the bar-roof inside without the help 
of the upright stick which at present supports it; this must have a 
tendency to interrupt the symmetry of the combs. 
