G8 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 28. 
for kitchen purposes; especially as the competition being 
necessarily confined to one point (which is the only ob¬ 
jection to it), all would contend in the same class. The 
interest of such a class would be increased by requiring one 
specimen to be plucked, and another shown in the feathers 
(or two of each), and still further, by requiring the food 
used to be specified. 
'With the most sincere desire that the interest now pre¬ 
vailing in poultry matters, may be rendered permanent and 
beneficial to the community, and the tide which exists may 
be thus turned to good, and not to evil, by enabling gentle¬ 
men to distribute first-rate specimens among their tenantry 
and dependents, and by improving, to the utmost, the various 
breeds of our domestic poultry ; these hints for the guid¬ 
ance of societies having those objects in Hew, have, after 
1 much consideration, and he presumes to hope, with perfect 
impartiality, been penned by one who has had many oppor- 
. tunities of considering the subject in all its beaiangs, in his 
: capacity of An Old Poultry Judge. 
| 
APIARIANS CALENDAR.— May. 
By J. H. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's 
Guide,'' Ac. 
Losses. —I said, last month, that I believed one stock out 
of every three had perished, but I now find that I had 
underrated the losses in this neighbourhood, for I now hear 
of seven out of fifteen, two out of three, and in one case of 
eleven out of twelve, and one or two others where all have 
perished; and the danger is not yet over, for we frequently 
hear of stocks dying towards the end of April, and sometimes 
even in May. 
Pollen. —Those stocks that are alive are carrying in 
pollen most abundantly of a golden yellow colour, which is 
obtained from Crowfoots, Ranunculus jicaria, and R.hulhosa, 
but more especially from the former, it being the earliest, 
as well as the most abundant; for next to the Dandelion it 
makes our meadows brilliant. It is Shakspere’s “ Cuckoo- 
buds of yellow hue,” and greatly, indeed, are our little 
favourites indebted to it for a supply of food for their early 
progeny. The Crocus lasts but a short time, and is met with 
only in gardens, while this covers almost every meadow in 
the kingdom during the months of March and April, there¬ 
fore, how little advantage arises from cultivating bee-flowers, 
as they are frequently called, for it is the fields, and the fields 
alone, that supply their store of honey. Sow twenty acres of 
White Clover within a mile of them, and leave it for seed, 
and in the autumn twenty or thirty acres of Buck-ivheat , 
and much benefit will arise; but the little that a garden 
affords them is almost valueless. 
Supers. —Do not hurry in putting on supers. First 
, ascertain that the stock is full with bees, and for a day or 
i two even suffer them to be somewhat inconvenienced for 
J want of room, before putting them on, and then the bees 
i will enter them immediately and commence their work, 
j especially if a piece or two of guide-comb is nicely fixed in 
I them; whereas, if they are put on too early, not only the 
| hatching of brood is retarded by the admission of cold air, 
but the bees appear to take dislike to the super, and will 
j frequently swarm rather than enter it. 
Pees in Australia. —It may be interesting to some of 
the readers of The Cottage Gardener to know how our 
little favourites, who have followed in the list of emigrants to 
Australia, fare at the Antipodes. The annexed extracts from 
Mrs. Meredith’s recent interesting volumes, “ My Home in i 
Tasmania,” give a pleasing picture of apiarian affairs there. I 
“We commenced keeping bees,” says Mrs. M., “which ! 
thrive well at Port Sorell, judging from the quality of the 
honey they make; some of which, from hives kept in the 
bush, exceeds in fine delicate flavour any other I have ever 
tasted, the far-famed Narbonne honey not excepted. Numbers 
j of bees are now wild in many parts, and hollow trees are 
frequently found in the bush filled with honey comb. 
“ From the two hives of bees which survived the long 
, confinement of the voyage from Port Sorell (one hive died, 
not having honey enough to maintain them), we have now 
twenty-three, besides five that I have given away; and, as 
we always drive the bees into a new hive when we take the 
honey, instead of smothering them with brimstone, our ! 
stock will soon be much larger; whether the system of 
driving would answer in the severe winters of England, I 
am not aware, but here, we perform the operation early in 
February (which answers to August at home), and the bees 
collect a good store again before winter, and are even then 
rarely kept prisoners three days together without fresh food. ‘ 
Here the wide extent of clover fields, and the long lines of 
gorse hedges, added to the usual bush and garden flowers, 
seem admirably suited to the good little honey-makers. At 
Poyson, the young swarms always gave us great trouble, 
from their tendency to fly swiftly away, and we lost many 
in this manner; but here we have left off the tin-disli-and- - 
key concert on the rising of a swarm, for without any inter¬ 
ference they settle within a few feet or yards of the parent 
hive. One little bush of Chrysanthemums has had four 
swarms alight upon it within a month, and a Peach-tree has 
been similarly favoured. The honey-comb of this year (1851), 
is much of it, literally, as white as snow, and the honey j 
colourless as liquid crystal, and of the most delicate flavour.” ■ 
Error in last Calbndar. —Instead of “They (hives) may be painted 
after six o’clock in the morning,” read, “after six o’clock in the evening.” 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Sitting versus Setting. —We are much obliged to a LiezSenant- 
Colonel for taking the trouble to write for the purpose of telling'os that ; 
he “ cannot help smiling to see editors talk about birds sitting,” for he i 
assures us “ that a man sits, but a bird sets.” Now, unfortunately for | 
our obliging censor, he is wrong. If he turns to that standard of sterling i 
English, our edition of the Bible, he will find it written, “ As the par¬ 
tridge sitteth on eggs” ( Jeremiah xvii. 11). If he would consult a master 
of our more modern English, he w ill find that Addison says, “ She mis¬ 
takes a piece of chalk for an egg, and sits upon it; ” and, to knock our 
censor down with his own weapon, “Dr. Johnson” adopts both these 
quotations in the folio edition of his Dictionary. * 
Veronica (R. M. E.). —We do not know any Veronica by that name. 
Keep it till the middle of May, then plant it out, and let us have a 
specimen next August, and we can soon determine what it is. All 
shrubby Veronicas, without exception, like as good land as Cauliflowers. 
Gaura Lind/ieimerii and Cosmos bipinnata will come up now, if sown 
out-of-doors ; but the latter should be got up earlier on a slight hot-bed, 
so as to have it earlier into flower next autumn. 
Asparagus Planting (A Lady Subscriber ).—You may plant Aspa¬ 
ragus if you can obtain plants with buds only about an inch long. 
The plants may be two or three years old, but, of whatever age, the 
shoots must not be cut for use next spring. 
Yellow Bedding Calceolaria ( H. I. T.). — Caie’s Yellow is as 
good as, if not better than, any for your purpose. 
Vegetable Ivory (J/. D. P.). —This is the kernel, or albumen, of 
the seed of the Phytelephus macrocurpa, or Ivory Nut, a native of Peru. 
It belongs to the Natural order Screw-Pines (Pandanacere); evergreens 
having the habit of Palms. We do not know the “ Coquilla Nut.” 
By comparing together Johnson’s edition of Gerard’s and Parkinson’s 
Herbals, we see that the Coquilla, or Guinea Nut, was considered by them 
to be the produce of a species of Palm, which they describe as Nucula 
Indica racemosa. 
Artificial Incubation (W., Liverpool ).— Cantello, in Leicester 
Square, published a pamphlet on this subject. You will find a copious 
notice of it in our 82nd number. The heating temperature is about 106°. 
Horticultural and Pomologicai. Association (.1 Devonian ).— | 
We have no doubt it will obtain the plants you require from the conti- j 
nent, if you apply to the Secretary, and become a subscriber. 
Impregnating Forcing Strawberries ( Strawberry ).—This is not 
necessary for perfecting the fruit. 
Grafts and Stocks ( Pyra ).—It is quite certain that a graft does 
not die at the time its parent departs from life ; and it is quite as certain 
that a graft is not worn out at the end of fifteen years. The stock has 
no other effect upon the graft than to render it stronger or weaker, in 
proportion to the amount of sap it supplies. We know of no difference, j 
! as to duration, between a grafted tree and the parent tree growing on its 
own roots. Indeed, some good authorities think by judiciously grafting, 
a variety of fruit, such as the Golden Pippin, may be kept in a state of I 
never-failing vigour. Grafting may be made, in some instances, to i 
promote the fruitfulness and hardiness of the scion by a judicious j 
adaptation of the stock. 
Silkworms’ Eggs. —Let 7. K. A. send her or his address to Miss 
Candler, Bawburgli, near Norwich. 
Vine Leaves (S. C. H.). —We have no doubt that these are affected 
with the lied Spider. Sulphur is the best remedy, and a moist atmo- J 
sphere. See of the best mode to apply in former numbers. 
Shanghae Eggs {Ignoramus). —Their average weight is 2^ ounces. 
Sometimes they are double yoked, and then weigh more than 3 ounces. 
Time of Hatching (J. H. C.). —We believe, as in the case of the 
Wild Duck, that the eggs of Teal, Widgeon, Pintails, and Divers, each ' 
require four weeks for the incubating process. 
Cineraria ( C.E. West). —Upper half of petals purplish lilac, lower j 
half white ; a large, bold flower, but not good enough for showing, the ; 
petals being too scattered, and the notch deep. 
Crowing Hen. — Chicken-hearted says—“I am happy to be able to 
corroborate the statement of ‘D. S. T.’ and ‘A. E. Taylor,’ in your 
paper of to-day. ‘ K.’ certainly is mistaken in saying, ‘ that a crowing 
hen never laid, and never will.’ My hen laid many eggs until she had 
the roup very severely; after she recovered she did not lay for three 
