104 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 13. 
the bees be suffered to escape home, if necessary, and 
if there be found eggs or young grubs in the glass, let it 
be put aside in a cold place— the eggs and young larva will 
in a few days have perished. The glass may then be returned 
to the same hive, or, if another glass has been substituted 
in its place (which were perhaps better), may he given to 
another stock, or be laid aside till wanted. In this way the 
developement of brood (whether of workers or drones) in 
glasses, may be effectually prevented. It will in nowise 
hinder or delay the activity of the bees; and they will first 
cleanse out, and afterwards store beautiful honey in, the 
comb, when restored to them, which would otherwise have 
been spoiled. This was my case : not one of the eggs came 
to maturity, and my glass was filled Avith honey. This 
process may be adopted with perfect ease and great advan¬ 
tage as often as is necessary, only care must be taken to 
remove the glass in good time—that is, before the grubs 
have begun to be'coiled up in the cells, which will he on or 
about the seventh day. It is generally in bad seasons, or 
Avhen combs are worked in glasses in strong stocks, before 
any quantity of honey is collected in the fields, that brood 
is found in them. Let me further remark here, that this is 
one of the surest indications of the readiness of a stock for 
having an artificial swarm made out of it; for it may be 
taken for granted that, under these circumstances, there are 
no vacant cells (that is, unoccupied by honey or brood ) in 
the stock ; and it is always advisable to wait, before forcing 
a SAvarm, till most of the cells are actually ceiled over. 
Another thing, too, is Avortliy of remark. Those amateur 
apiarians who, with me, think that a systematic and periodical 
destruction of the old queens is desirable, Avill see what 
facility is afforded in the Avorking of glasses for effecting 
this object. As I have before said, scarcely a week has 
passed, both this and last summer, without my having seen 
the queen of every one of my box-colonies, which happened 
to have a glass over it, perambulating that glass; and I have 
often seen her, in May, June, or July, many times a day, in 
the same glass. What can be easier, therefore, than to 
thrust a slide beneath the glass, remove it, catch and destroy 
her. The bees will gradually leave the glass one by one, 
and fly home ; but, if not watched , the queen will go too. The 
best way, therefore, perhaps, is to fumigate the glass, and 
so catch her—that is, if the glass is not honey-full, as in this 
case it might be spoiled for use, In this Avay I hope next 
summer to get rid of the old queen of that stock, Avith 
Avhose history I have so often troubled the readers of The 
Cottage Gardener. She has been in my possession since 
August, 1849, and may, for aught I know, be now going on 
for four years old. But for her admirable qualities as a 
breeder, I should have destroyed her this last summer. 
In Avitlidrawing a queen from a hive in this clandestine 
manner, it might be long before the bees perceived her loss, 
and, perhaps, not till it was too late to remedy the evil. 
Therefore, I Avould recommend the bees to be violently dis¬ 
turbed, by a slight fumigation or drumming, at the same 
time with the queen’s removal. This Avould draw their 
attention to their loss. 
Again, does not this suggest a way of preventing the 
escape of swarms ? Every young queen may be caught, and 
have her Avings mutilated in such a manner, that, in the 
event of a swarm rising, unexpectedly, it would, with the 
queen, fall to the ground, and be easily found and hived ? 
If the queen became lost to the bees (which, under such 
circumstances, is not seldom the case), they would all 
return home, and in this way a youthful sovereignty would 
be perpetually kept up, Avithout loss or trouble.—A Country 
Curate. 
BIRDS. 
Living in a retired part of the country, about two miles 
from a town, I have many opportunities for noticing the 
habits of birds, both in their A\ r ild, and in their half-domesti¬ 
cated state, and the result of these observations convinces me 
that they are an essential link in the divine economy for the 
comfort and happiness of man. Without their check, the 
rapid increase of the insect tribes would render almost fruit¬ 
less the labours of the agriculturist and the gardener. 
Wherever and whenever birds most abound, we may be 
sure that it is in obedience to a law of nature; and the 
operation of this laiv is beautifully and benevolently exem¬ 
plified by the arrival and departure in the spring and 
autumn of the insectivorous birds, to render then' services 
during the summer, when their assistance is most needed; 
that class only remaining for the Avinter which are adapted 
to the rigour of the season and our wants. I never suffer a 
bird to be molested, and am repaid for my protection by a 
garden comparatively free from the ravages of those insects 
of which so many complain. For six years a pair of 
Martens have occupied the same nest upon a rafter in my 
stable; they rear tAvo broods of four each every season, and 
the quantity of insects captured for their young is incredi¬ 
ble. As Ave are upon familiar terms, I frequently stand to 
watch their arrival Avith food, which is repeated for hours, at 
intervals of tAvo or three minutes. Last summer the pan-tile 
under which the nest was placed, became so hot from the 
sun, that the young ones Avere scorched out, and not being 
fully fledged, fell to the ground. The distress of the old 
birds in this dilemma Avas great. I tied a basket to the 
rafter, and put the little ones into it, but they soon appeared 
in a row upon the edge, and in this position were fed and 
tended by their parents until able to take their flight. 
The Flycatcher is another of my favourites, and very 
familiar. A pair of these for the last two years, have built 
their nest over my kitchen window, they also rear two 
broods, and are indefatigable in the destruction of insects. 
Their favourite position during the day is the tops of the 
Dahlia stakes. As in the case of the Martens, the sun at 
times was too hot for the young ones in the nest; upon 
these occasions the mother would sit for hours with her 
Avings and tail expanded, so as to form a screen for their 
protection. With such examples of parental tenderness, 
need man to doubt of God’s particular providence over him. 
“ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings 
shaltthou trust.” S. P., Rushmere. 
SIMPLE AND PERMANENT MODE OF LABELLING 
PLANTS. 
Where accuracy and intelligence are aimed at, I think it 
requisite that all plants should be labelled, for it is impos¬ 
sible for the memory to retain the names of the numerous 
tenants of our gardens. The usual method of naming 
plants is Avith wooden labels, but as they require reneAving 
so often, on account of their decaying at the surface of the 
mould, I have adopted the folloAving as more permanent. 
I have labels of zinc because they are the neatest and most 
durable of any. There have been many inks invented for 
Avriting on this metal, but I have never seen any that did 
not soon get effaced, or is not troublesome to Avrite Avith. 
Noav the system I adopt is permanent if done in the folloAv- 
ing manner:—Warm the label, then apply a thin coat of 
bees-Avax to the side on which you intend to Avrite, and when 
the wax is cold, Avrite with a hard pencil; in fact, any thing 
hard and pointed will do, and then apply two or three drops 
of an equal mixture of Spirits of Salts (Muriatic Acid) and 
Spirits of Nitre (Nitric Acid) by means of a feather; let it 
remain about five minutes and the letters will sufficiently 
corrode in the zinc to be legible. For annuals and such 
plants as are of short duration, a wooden label is as well as 
any, but for Roses, and other shrubs, and fruit trees, one of 
zinc is the best. If used as I have described, it avt.11 not 
decay, nor be effaced by the Aveather. For plants in pots it 
is also superior, on account of its neatness and durability. 
F. C. 
CRICKETS—CELERY EARTHING. 
Having seen various receipts recommended in The 
Cottage Gardener for the destruction of crickets, I also 
send you the following receipt, which has been very success¬ 
fully used by the lady whom I have the honour to serve. 
She had some bread cut in thin slices, well buttered, and 
dredged with arsenic, and cut in small pieces, which before 
going to bed were placed in the ash-hole under the grate, 
next morning all the butter and arsenic were gone, but the 
bread was left; in about a week after more crickets were 
observed, Avhen supper Avas again set out for them, which 
they had evidently partaken of with a good relish, and since 
then not a cricket has been seen in her kitchens. 
I have also seen coal ashes recommended by J. R., the 
