July 17.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
247 
new swarm doing little. Both have left off working in the glasses, and 
seem to be carrying away the honey from them. I must say I annoyed 
them a good deal in putting to the side hive, and could not avoid killing 
many of them. Will you oblige me by saying why they swarmed. Should 
a second swarm come I purpose hiving it, and joining it to the first, and 
before winter returning both to the old stock. Shall I do right ? Could 
I prevent swarming merely by placing on such hives Mr. Payne’s glasses, 
and ventilating ? if so, I should prefer that plan to the side boxes.” You 
have managed your bees very well, except in altering the position of the 
hive, and removing the glasses, both which tended to induce swarming : 
i they were going on well, and why not let them continue to do so? Should 
a second swarm come, hive it, and unite to the first; but returning both 
! to the parent hive in the autumn is a questionable matter, if each one 
has collected a sufficient store for winter let them remain separate, or 
even if they require only a few pounds of food. You get finer honey by 
storifying, and less probability of swarming. 
Bess (An Incumbent). —You say, “On a very strong stock, I have 
J placed three supers, one above the other, like a Chinese Pagoda; have 
ventilated between each adapting board, and have the stock hive an inch 
from the bottom board, and still the bees hang in a cluster to the edge of 
the bottom board at the back of the hive, and crowd listlessly all round 
the bottom of the hive. Some are at work finishing the top super, which 
is very nearly full of honey. I am only waiting till the cells are sealed. 
Work is also going on in the middle super, but still many of the bees 
remain apparently inactive throughout the day. The first super I put on 
in the last week of April. I should also mention that X have given about 
the third of an inch betwixt the adapting boards, just so that a bee might 
struggle through, were he to try hard. Do they require more ventilation 
yet? My second strong stock, united last autumn, has, much to my 
surprise, swarmed, and left a super half full of comb, partially filled with 
honey, notwithstanding prettv fair ventilation had been given by raising 
the hive. I fancy though that the bees of the next adjoining hive, which 
were very weak, had joined them, having, perhaps, lost their queen, or 
from some other cause. Would not a super twice the size of those men¬ 
tioned by Mr. Payne, be more suitable for the honey season ? they would 
be so much more readily ventilated, and less trouble of ascent for the 
working bees ? ” You have managed your ventilation remarkably well, 
nothing more could be done but shading them from the sun. It was the 
extreme heat of the few days previous to the date of your application, 
that caused the clustering, which of course subsided when the heat 
abated. The union of your weak stock with No. 2 , was very probably the 
cause of its swarming. A super twice the size would not afford honey of 
so pure a quality, which is the only objection. 
Bees (W. A. £.).—Put on the glass, as a condenser, in September' 
and let it remain on till the end of February. It will be found better not 
to put on the glasses till the hives are quite full of bees, and give signs 
of inconvenience for want of room ; the strength of the stocks and the 
season must determine the time. Sprinkling your hive inside with beer 
and sugar did much in preventing the bees going up. 
Beks (E. B.) — If economy is an object, use Mr. Payne’s cottage hives; 
but if not, Mr. Taylor’s amateur bar hive. 
Hen Eating Eggs (Minna). —Feeding her upon egg-shells, was an 
ingenious mode of teaching her the practice. We know of no remedy 
but to kill her. That all your hens do not do the same, can only be ex¬ 
plained upon the general fact that some animals are more easily taught 
to do evil than others. 
Strawberries for Forcing (J. L. B.). —For very early production, 
! employ the Roseberry and Grove-end Scarlet, to be followed by the 
Keen's Seedling, and British Queen, for later production. As you find 
“ Princess Alice one of the finest, best-flavoured, and best bearers,” 
why not continue to employ it? We never forced either that or the 
Elton. The Hautbois has some plants which bear only male, or barren 
blossoms, if you remove all these you will have no fruit. About one out 
of five should be left. 
Bees ( Apiphilus). —The shrub you mention, “ bearing small yellow 
flowers in the shape of a ball,” is probably Budlea g/obosa, it flowers in 
June, and is generally covered with bees ; but there are some yellow- 
| flowered shrubs of the genus Zizyphus, though not known to us as bee- 
flowers. We believe that Mr. Payne, if applied to, will obtain for you a 
“ Kitchener's ventilated passage," if you send him a post-office order for 
five shillings. 
Campanula carpatica (Verax). —As soon as the seedlings were fit 
to handle—say about the middle of last May—they ought to have been 
hardened by exposure to the open air, except when very cold, and before 
the end of the month they would be fit to plant out in little patches, 
on a nursery-bed in the open air, from which they would be fit to be 
removed by the middle of August, when showing flower-buds. Plant 
out your seedlings immediately, on a spare corner, three inches apart 
every way, either in single plants or little patches. No frost will hurt 
them next winter; and in April plant them out where they are to flower. 
Rose Cuttings (Linda). —Cuttings of all roses may be put in for the 
next six weeks under a north wall, without glasses, with every prospect 
of success. The moss round the balls of your bedding plants should 
have been well wetted, and also the balls ; then, if the whole had been 
kept moist for the first three weeks, retaining the moss would have been 
advantageous, but the very reverse if once allowed to get dry till the 
I roots spread through it; because, if once dry, the moss would drain off 
j the water, so that the plants must have perished. 
The Potato Disease (Alfred). —We have not seen a symptom of it, 
but Mr. Bowman, of Penzance, says—“ It is making rapid progress here, 
and has become very general both on the hills and in the vales. In many 
j fields the leaves and stems are quite destroyed. I have been obliged to 
: draw the tops, as the only chance of giving the produce. The only 
manure usecl was a light dressing of soot and sea-sand. Whole potatoes 
were planted in January.” Now, we think Mr. Bowman was somewhat 
: hasty in his proceedings, for we are quite sure that black leaves and stems 
occur yearly, without the tubers below them being at all diseased. 
Bees ( Clericus, Beds). —You say—“ I purchased a stock at the begin- 
j ning of April; at the end of that month, according to The Cottage 
J Gardeners’ directions, I cut a four-inch hole in the top of the hive, 
and put on one of Mr. Payne’s small hives. This super the bees never 
visited, in spite of the guide-comb, except to eat barley-sugar, which I 
placed for them within it, on the adapting-board, during the unfavourable | 
weather that followed. They never visited it until the 19th June ! when j 
they immediately began to build to the piece of guide-comb. The very 
next day, I perceived the super to be so crammed with bees, that I thought 
more room must be wanted ; I, therefore, lifted the super, and put be¬ 
tween it and the stock-hive a small box (Mr. Payne’s size and descrip¬ 
tion). The bees filled both box and super at once, and the next day 
swarmed! I have four swarms ; on one (of the 31st May), is a super, in 
which the bees began to work on the 27 th or 28th June. On another (of 
the 14th June), I placed a box on the 28th June (too early you will say, 
but they being out so thickly then, I thought they must need room), and 
they are working away famously in it to-day, the 30th June,—they took 
to it at once.” In the first-place (as the season proved so cold), j'ou 
placed the small hive upon your stock too soon; it is always better to 
wait till the bees in the stock-hive are somewhat inconvenienced for 
room before putting on the small hive, then they will take possession and 
commence working in it immediately. And, again, your bees should 
have been well-established in the small hive, and have nearly filled it, 
and shown evident signs of want of room by clustering at the mouth 
before supplying the box. You placed your box upon the swarm of the 
14th June too soon, however, your swarms appear to be doing well. 
Garden Bonnet (Anne B.). —The best answer we can give you is 
this, from another correspondent who signs herself “ Marian.”—“ I beg 
to send you a description of a most cool and comfortable garden bonnet, 
as you have before published articles on gardening costume. Take a 
piece of lining muslin, or coloured print, \ long by 4^ wide ; fold down 
a quarter of a yard, the long w'ay, inside out, to form the front, which 
run together at the ends ; turn it right, and make two more runnings 
parallel to the former ones, equi-distant from the middle, and about 19 
or 20 inches apart; fold it together, the two front corners together, and 
the two back corners together; run up the back, and hem the back of 
the curtain. Now take another strip of the material, or anything else, 
and run it on to make a drawing behind—the lower running should be a 
continuation of those in the front; go from one to the other, draw up 
the back from the curtain to the top with strong thread; slip a well¬ 
fitting piece of pasteboard into the front, and tack it in ; sow on the 
strings, and your bonnet is complete. If your lover does not like it, and 
you in it, it is not my fault. These bonnets are almost universal in some 
parts of the west of England, where they are called milking or sun 
bonnets; and much rustic taste is frequently displayed in their make 
and trimming.” 
New Iris (Marian). —Your French white Iris, with a yellow flame, 
and purple dotting in centre of each petal, we consider very handsome, 
and an acquisition. 
Name of Plant (T. S., Clonmel). —Your plant is Campanula specu¬ 
lum, or Venus’s Looking-glass, a very pretty annual, not so much grown 
as it ought. 
Night-soil (Julius). —This mixed with ashes and other refuse is a 
very powerful manure. It must be put in very small quantities upon j 
flower-borders ; and is best suited for heavy soils. For cabbages, aspa- | 
ragus, rhubarb, and other kitchen-garden crops cultivated for their 
leaves, it is best suited. Answers to other queries next week. 
Book on Roses (Clericus). —The best work giving coloured illustra¬ 
tions of choice Roses, is by Mr. Curtis, the rose cultivator, near Bristol. 
It came out periodically, but we do not know whether it is still publishing. 
Buds (Ibid). —We know of no nurseryman or florist who will sell these 
so that you might have them by post. The first one who advertizes his 
willingness to sell cuttings and buds, will reap a good harvest. The only 
objection to planting a rose-stock where you wish the future tree to 
remain, is that if your buds fail it is an unsightly object; and so, indeed, 
it is if they succeed, until after a year or two’s growth. The Cottage Gar¬ 
deners' Dictionary is published by Messrs. W. S. Orr and Co., Amen- 
corner, and may be had in three-halfpenny weekly numbers or in seven- 
penny monthly parts. 
Silver-spangled Fowls (A". 0. T.).— Our correspondent wishes to 
know where he can obtain a cock of this breed ; a last year’s bird would 
be preferred. 
Artichoke (G. S.P. ). —We cannot answer your query better than by 
giving the following extract from our Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary : — 
“ Winter Dressing. —As soon as a stem is cleared of all its heads in the 
summer, it should be broken down close to the root ; and early in Nor 
vember the beds should be dressed for the winter. Cut away the old 
leaves close to the ground, but without injuring the centre or side shoots. 
Fork over the bed, throwing the earth in a ridge about eight inches high, 
over each row ; putting it close round each plant, but being careful to 
keep the heart free from the crumbs of soil. After this has been done, 
pile round every plant some long litter or pea-haulm, three or four inches 
thick; and to keep this from blowing away, as well as to help in pre¬ 
serving the roots from severe frosts, cover over the litter, or haulm, two 
inches deep with coal-ashes. The ashes may be turned into the soil in 
the spring, being a manure much liked by the artichoke.” Your British 
Queen Strawberries dying off whilst other varieties, their neighbours, are 
in perfect health, is no uncommon occurrence. The British Queen is one 
of the most delicate and uncertain of our strawberries. Frosts injure it 
which would not be felt by other varieties, and it is liable to root-decay, as 
in your case, without any apparent cause. 
Names of Insects (E. P - , Exeter). —The small brown beetles are 
the Anobium striatum, the grubs of which destroy furniture in houses. 
They should be destroyed whenever they appear in any numbers. The 
Curculio found on the elm, bramble, &c., is the Otiorhynchus sulcatus, 
and is a great enemy of the gardener. The bee is the Chelostoma flori- 
somnis ; and the Cussida is C, rubiginosa, of Illiger (C. viridis, of 
Latreille). 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of 
Christ Church, City of London.—July 17 th, 1851. 
