THE COTTAGE GARDENER. Jakuaey 29. 
The first Meeting of The Entomological Society for the 
present 3 'ear was held ou the 7th instant, the chair being 
occupied by J. O. Westwood, F.LS., Vice-President, 
who stated that it was his painful duty to announce to 
the Meeting that Mr. Curtis had resigned the President¬ 
ship of the Society. The circumstances which had led 
to this step, taken in conjunction witli the sad state of 
Mr. Curtis’s health, are greatly to be deplored. We 
' cannot but remark that the latter circumstance alone 
j ought to have induced proceedings on the part of some 
j of the members of a character opposite to those which 
have led to tliis result. 
I'he list of donations received since the last meeting 
included works presented by the Linnaiaii Society, the 
Natural History Society of Dublin, Messrs. Stuiuton, 
Walker, Ac. 
Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited a fine series of lAiean- 
recently captured at Sarawak, by Mr. Wallace. 
Amongst these were some fine varieties of Odonto Inbris 
hicolor, 0. Brooheana, named after the Rajah Brooke, 
and Cladognathus Tarandus. 
Mr. Stainton e.xhibited a specimen of the fine Tiger 
IMoth, CalUmorplia Hera, a species new to this country, 
which had been cajitured near Newbaven, by Mr. Henry 
Cooke, of Brighton, who also communicated a long 
account of other specimens which had been seen and 
captured ou the southern coast, so that there appears to 
be no reasonable ground, as the species is abundant on 
the opposite coast of France, why this beautiful insect 
should not be a true native of our own country. 
j\lr. Edward Shepherd exhibited a S)iecimcn of the 
rare Beetle Lehia Crux minor, taken near Selborne, by 
the Rev. W. Livesay. 
J. A^spinali Turner, Esq,, of Manchester, exhibited a 
number of fine species of Coleoptcra, recently received 
by him from Texas; also a magnificent pair of the 
Ooliatlius (jiganteus, one of the rarest species of Beetles, 
of which no specimen of the female had been jn eviously 
obtained. These insects were received from the River 
Gaboon, in tropica! Africa, a considerable distance from 
the station where the allied species, O. Drurii (West- 
wood), has been captured. 
Mr. Frederick Smith, of the British Museum, ex¬ 
hibited a box of specimens of the nests of various 
social and solitary species of and Bees, recently 
collected in Natal, by Herr Givenzius; fortunately, 
many of the nests were accompanied by specimens of 
the insects by whicii they had been constructed. The 
nests themselves are of various materials, pajiyraceous, 
earthy, clay, or marl, and varied also in the form of the 
cells, some being round, and others with the combs 
entirely composed of hexagonal cells, which is also 
the shape of the outer cells, thus disproving the theory 
that the hexagonal form was due to a siqiposed pressure 
of cylindrical cells against each other. 
Mr. Foxcroft exhibited some fine varieties of the beau¬ 
tiful IMoth (Bcopliora Liiinecllu, from the neighbour¬ 
hood of London. 
Mr. Newman read a paper containing descriptions of 
1 three new species of Beetles, from Australia, in the col- 
j lection of Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, belonging to the 
singidar group Psenduniorplae. 
Mr. Lubbock described a number of species of 
minute Crustaceans, from the Atlantic Ocean, belonging 
j to the tribe Enlomostrara, twenty-three of which were 
I new to science. Mr. Imbbock also entered into an 
I inquiry as to the relative homologies of their various 
' organs. 
Mr. Westwood read a monogra])!) on the singular 
I Australian genus of Beetles, Grgptodus (Med’.), of which 
he described several new species. 
Mr. Janson read a paper on two species of small 
. Coleoptera, brought under the notice of the Society by 
I Mr. Curtis, at a previous meeting, namely, the Hggrolus 
hisidcater, and A 2 non CurtisH, both which names were 
stated to require alteration. 
Mr. Stainton read descriptions of three new species 
of Micrulepidoptera, reared in India by J^Ir. Atkinson. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN IN WINTER. 
The readers of The Cottage Gardeneu must not 
suppose, that because I may interpose a pajier oc¬ 
casionally about other subjects than my proposed seiies 
of fruit papers, that I will abandon them: not so. 
Sometimes ideas spring up suddenly in the mind on 
passing subjects, which are, perhaps, best dotted down | 
whilst fresh ; and besides this, if writers were not to | 
get a slight change of subject occasionally, they might 
become troubled with what lias been called a monomania. 
My subject is but a bumble one, but it is a useful 
one to discuss, nevertheless; and although, like many 
other gardening matters, it has been handled a thousand 
and one times, at least, may be pronounced in its nature 
inexhaustible. 
Plantsmcn, and others than kitchen-gardeners, are 
pretty well agreed, that in order to acclimatize a shrub, 
or tree, or, rather, in order to enable it to endure a very 
low temperature, it is essential that it be not too full of 
fluids, must not have too much late root action; and 
just so with fruit-trees, as to the ripening the wood; and, 
we may yet add, the tender vegetables of the kitchen- 
garden ; for there is such a thing as vegetable gluttony. 
Well, then, let us observe, that the plantsmen, the half- 
hardy tree gentlemen, and the mere kitchen-gardener, 
may here fairly cast in their lot together. 
Admitting, then, that even a Cabbage, a Brocoli, or 
a Lettuce, should not be thus gorged at the eleventh 
hour; what may we do? 
I will shortly say what I have done for two or three 
winters. 
Many of our vegetables required to sland the winter 
are apt to become what gardeners term proud, in the 
autumn; and it is pretty well known, that Caulijiowers 
for the ensuing spring are thus apt to “button,” as we 
term it; in other words, to show prematurely for 
blossom. Even Cabbage 2 >lMits may not only be too 
early, but too gross to withstand with safety nearly 
a score degrees of frost. Lettuces, too, for early spring 
use, are apt to suffer exceedingly if over strong or 
gross; and the same may be said of S 2 nnach, if decayed 
manure in excess be used. As for tlie Brocoli family, 
wo all know full W'cll bow very liable it is to suffer in 
extreme winters, especially if very highly manured. I 
Wo have repeatedly kuowui such things as the Brocoli, 
Savoys, Celery, Bndive, &c., endure the winter in the 
seed bed very tolerably, when those transplanted from 
the same spot, and (daced under the highest of culture, 
have quailed before the frosts and cutting winds. 
Our readers may remember, that about Ibirty years 
since a new plan of preserving Brocoli sprang up, and 
it consisted in falling the plants, or, as gardeners more 
commonly term it, “ heeling them.” Tins, by its then 
advocates, was recommended, on the footing that they 
were, wiih their beads laid to the north, hardier, and 
that the snow, nature’s ])rotector, wdien the great Ice 
King and rude Boreas unite in showing their might, 
miglit not melt so readily. So far, so good; but the 
ingenious inventors of this lu’actice left, in my opinion, 
one-half of its merits unclaimed. They forgot, or over¬ 
looked, the point that I wish hero to j)icss, which is 
this:—that by lowering a certain per centage of this 
vegetable pride we confer, in a nearly corresponding 
degree, extra hardihood. 'Tho Brocolis, in this case, 
loose half their roots, and, as a necessary consequence, 
they become less succulent in habit; in other words, 
more hardy. 
