April 3. 
13 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
BOSTON SPA, YORK. 
JANUARY. 
FEBRUARY. 
Day 
of 
Month. 
Highest. 
Lowest. 
Highest. 
Lowest. 
Day 
of 
Month. 
1 
50° 
42° 
32° 
25° 
1 
2 
47 
41 
36 
20 
2 
3 
49 
39 
37 
29 
3 
4 
47 
37 
36 
33 
4 
5 
51 
41 
35 
31 
5 
6 
47 
30 
30 
32 
6 
7 
49 
42 
37 
24 
7 
8 
47 
42 
30 
25 
8 
9 
44 
30 
31 
27 
p 
10 
34 
22 
32 
17 
10 
11 
45 
29 
36 
15 
11 
12 
45 
30 
33 
10 
12 
13 
39 
30 
32 
21 
13 
14 
40 
28 
31 
15 
14 
15 
40 
31 
31 
12 
15 
10 
38 
^ 29 
27 
5 
16 
17 
25 
27 
6 
17 
18 
35 
20 
32 
7 
18 
19 
37 
28 
37 
9 
.19 
20 
34 
24 
33 
20 
20 
21 
33 
29 
32 
13 
21 
22 
33 
28 
28 
7 
22 
23 
34 
23 
3G 
14 
23 
24 
37 
30 
38 
20 
24 
25 
37 
32 
44 
31 
25 
26 
37 
30 
42 
31 
26 
27 
30 
22 
42 
30 
27 
28 
30 
20 
42 
30 
28 
29 
33 
20 
30 
31 
24 
31 
30 
24 
At 10 a.m., on February lOth, the coldest day, particles 
of snow were observed to fall from a cloudless sky, which, 
probably, was the freezing of the mist. In January snow i 
fell on ten days, and rain on three. Total rain and melted 
snow, 0.10 inches. In February snow fell on fourteen days, 
and rain on two. Greatest depth of snow on the 15th, four 
inches. Total 2.17 inches. Barometer, January—highest, 
12th, 30.53°; lowest 29th, 29.10°. February—highest, 1st, | 
30.00°; lowest, 1th, 29.05°; on the coldest day, the 16th, 
29.80°. 
The thermometers from which the observations were ' 
taken are three in number, two of which are registering 
ones. One is placed five feet, one three feet, and one three 
inches from the ground. Unless the position of thermo¬ 
meters is mentioned, it is totally impossible to judge of 
the difference of temperature in different localities, because, 
if the thermometer be placed too high, the lowest point 
cannot he gained. 
The frost here commenced on January 9th and broke 
up on March 1st. Many of the evergreens look very brown 
on the south side, and some are decidedly killed, hut not 
many. As yet, however, it is impossible to say exactly what 
damage has been done.— Boston Spa, West Riding, Yorkshire, 
thirteen miles west of York. 
THE APIARIAN’S CALENDAR.— April. 
By J. II. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's 
Guide," die. 
Bees in Confinement.—M y bees had their liberty on the 
5th of March, after six weeks confinement, snow being on 
the ground for that time. As might be expected, there were 
many dead in every hive, but upon the whole they had 
suffered less than I anticipated. Those in straw hives were 
less injured by the confinement than those in wood. Their 
store was but little diminished, so that after all they have a 
fair supply, but I shall feed them as a precautionary measure, 
though not as a matter of necessity; the winter has, no doubt, 
tended to this good result, preventing, by its severity, the 
waste of substance which a mild winter compels. But really, 
the few last seasons have been so very unpropitious as to be 
vexatiously discouraging to the apiarian world. I wish that 
our weather prophet of The Cottage Gardener would put 
us all in good spirits by saying that we shall have a bright, 
1 sunny June. I must certainly have lost all my families had 
i they not been copiously fed in the autumn. 
Hives. —It is now time to examine the stock of empty hives, 
and to select and clean such as will be required for swarms ; 
it is hives of wood that I allude to, for straw hives should 
never be used a second time, their cost being now so inex¬ 
pensive, they had better be put to some other use, as covers 
for glasses, or for lien’s nests, where poultry is kept; they 
are well adapted for the latter purpose. 
Feeding. —Those persons who are anxious to preserve 
their bees must not relax in feeding them. A supply of 
barley-sugar will answer very well, but they must never be 
without it. Many stocks have died since the breaking up of 
the frost, which a little food would have saved; and some 
have died, leaving ten and twelve pounds of honey in their 
hive ; this occurrence it is not in the power of the apiarian 
to prevent; it arises, most probably, from the death of the 
queen, when the bees sometimes at once leave their hive 
and join some other stock. 
Burchasing Stocks. —March and April are the two best 
months for purchasing stocks, and May for swarms. It is 
better to obtain them from such a distance only as they can 
be conveyed by hand; conveyance by any other means is 
always attended with danger to the bees. Swarms require 
less care in carrying from place to place than stocks. 
GIDNEY’S FRENCH BEAN CUTTER. 
Directions for Use. —Screw the cutter firmly on the edge 
of the dresser or kitchen table, top and tail the bean on 
the upper knife, then pass the bean just through the guage 
knives with one hand and pull them quite through with the 
other, and divide the whole across the upper knife into any 
lengths desired. 
Should the beans require stringing, pass them by the 
lower single knife. 
Carrots may be cut into strips and passed through the 
guage, producing uniform pieces for soups, garnishing, Ac. 
When this little implement was introduced to our notice 
we observed, “ It must be classed with the wheel invented 
for putting butterflies to death.” It does not deserve, 
however, to be thus condemned; for we have seen it tried 
upon a slice of carrot, which is tougher and more in¬ 
tractable than the Kidney Bean, and it did its work well, 
and the slices, or shreds, were so uniform that they assure 
us that Beans so sliced must look- much more attractive 
