May 8. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
95 
separate post let into the ground, to which it is fixed by a 
rabbet, underneath the floor-board, filling the top of the 
post, with two pins passing through the rabbet, one on each 
side. 
The height of the floor-hoard from the ground should be 
about twelve inches. The stand of each hive being detached 
from the others greatly facilitates operations with the bees, 
especially that of weighing ; which, we will here remark, is 
a most important operation, and one which should be 
resorted to frequently.—J. It. Nf.ave, Fordingbridge. 
FLOWERS OF OUR CHILDHOOD. 
I have so often regretted the almost total banishment of 
spring-flowers from our gardens, that I cannot resist ex¬ 
pressing the pleasure I felt, when I saw that Mr. Beaton 
had come forward with his able pen to advocate the cause of 
our early favourites, and I offer him my best thanks for his 
most acceptable article on the “ Flowers of our Childhood.” 
Many other readers of T he Cottage Gardener will, no 
doubt, do the same, for all cling, more or less, to whatever 
is associated in their minds with the pleasures of earliest 
days. Well do I remember the delight which I felt in my 
childhood in gathering spring-flowers for the children of 
our village, with which to deck their May-day garlands; 
and for the lads and lasses to wreath around the larger ones, 
which they suspended across the road from cottage to 
cottage, at the entrance of the village, in honour of our 
fair, or feast, as it was called in that part of the country, 
and which was always held on the 1st of May. Many a 
light heart and smiling face was there, and many a joyous 
meeting, for all who had left the village returned, if possible, 
on that day, and the chat of friends and neighbours went 
round, and the merry dance on the green was kept up till 
late, to the music of the well-known gipsy fiddler, who always 
appeared in his smartest attire on the feast day; it was 
even whispered, that the large buttons on his coat were 
made of 11 real silver.” I know not how this might be, but 
I know that all were cheerful and contented, for our village 
was a very primitive one. No public-house was there, and 
beer-shops were then unknown. These happy days have 
long since passed away; but the spring-flowers still bloom 
on, and, thanks to Mr. Beaton’s kindness, will, I hope, ere 
another year is past, be seen in all our gardens, to call up 
in many hearts a pleasing, though, perhaps, saddened, re¬ 
collection of the days of their childhood.—A Villager in 
Days gone by. 
SIBERIAN FRUIT. 
At page 213, Vol. 1, of an interesting work entitled 
“ Revelations of Siberia,” recently written by a Polish lady 
resident at Berezov, she mentions two or three kinds of 
fruit, which, though probably unknown to us, are entitled to 
a record in The Cottage Gardener. They appear to be 
akin to the new Rochelle Blackberry, about which enquiry 
was made in one of its recent numbers. She says,— 
“One morning we had a plateful of Kniazniki (prince¬ 
lings), considered a great treat at that period of the season. 
They are a kind of berry peculiar to this place, and quite 
unknown in our country (Poland). They grow on a high, 
hard stalk, like Raspberries, but nearer the ground. When 
blooming, their blossom is of the colour of the Rose. Indeed, 
they resemble Raspberries both in colour and shape, only 
that they are browner and less succulent. Their juice, 
though somewhat pungent, is by no means disagreeable. 
They have a sweet, pine-apple scent, and make most de¬ 
licious preserves. The woods round Berezov teem with 
these berries. There is another kind called the Morozka, 
in shape not unlike our wild Mulberry, and like the Kniaz¬ 
niki, on a stalk, though it is a much higher one. This 
berry is of an orange colour deepening into a red on the 
side exposed to the sun. It is much harder and less juicy 
than the Kniazniki, and on that account is less esteemed.” 
The same writer also mentions Currants, “ exceedingly sour, 
with kernels hard and large ; and Cedar nuts, an abundant 
fruit, appearing on most of the tables, and having shells, or 
rather husks, of a ehesnut-brown colour; and another 
autumn fruit, glolubicu (French, mirtelles), a berry exactly 
like our blackberry, the szernice, only somewhat larger. It 
is found in abundance in the woods. We had a dish of 
these berries with cream, and found their flavour very 
pleasant.” 
Much has been done, and, doubtless, much is still doing, by 
collectors, and other means, to procure fruits, flowers, and 
vegetables, from various parts of the world; but we yet 
seem to want a society, or one already in existence might 
answer the purpose, whose efforts should be especially di¬ 
rected to the work of correspondence , to communicate with 
persons going or settled abroad, with the view of inducing 
them to collect such seeds, plants, or information, as would 
be new to us. It was about a week ago, that mention was 
made in The Cottage Gardener of Madame Pfieffer 
having sent to this country a very fine series of insects, 
collected during her visit to Amboyna and Ceram. Now 
this same lady, and there are others of her sex, who, if ap¬ 
plied to and rightly instructed, would, probably, enter with 
zeal into the service, and whose contributions, from time to 
time, would prove invaluable. The pleasure and satisfaction 
of being able to promote science, and of becoming public 
benefactors, would, with many, be a sufficient reward, or 
suitable acknowledgments might be made in return. The 
subject is of importance, and, if placed on a well-organized 
footing, could hardly fail of success.—S. P., Bushmere. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
THE SHAPE OF A BOILER LESS IMPORTANT 
THAN THE SETTING. 
“ Knowing that you possess excellent information upon 
the best plan of heating Orchid-houses, 1 should be greatly 
obliged by your informing me, in your next number, if you 
consider the conical self-supplying boiler the best one to 
use to heat three houses, which would take about 250 feet of 
four-inch pipes and whether you would recommend the 
triangular troughs instead of the pipes. One recommends 
Parnell’s plan; another, the saddle-boiler; others, the self- 
supplying conical boiler; but your experience and answer 
will be depended upon.—R. P.” 
[There was a plan of a double boiler in a late number, 
which we have no doubt would do its work well. The more 
surface your boiler, for its size, presents to the fire, and the 
less of heat mounting into the chimney, by the mode of 
setting, and the regulation of the damper, the better will 
your boiler please you. Provided these matters form great 
items in the arrangement, we care little for the form of the 
boiler ; and we have wrought, conical, self-supplying, tubular, 
square, saddle-shaped, &c., and, if it is well set, and 
the fire plays below, round, and above it, we would give 
the preference to the saddle-shaped, provided we could be 
said to have a preference at all. If you like the conical 
best, we can safely say it will answer well, and most 
gardeners could easily do the same. We prefer pipes to 
troughing. In the former case, you can dry-heat and moist- 
heat at pleasure; in the latter case, the more warm your 
water, the greater the quantity of vapour thrown off. We 
have met with, and worked, some excellent boilers manu¬ 
factured in your town, and you possess several citizens that, 
w r e presume, understand the matter well. Any further 
enquiry will meet with due attention.] 
COLOURED GLASS FOR SEEDLING FRAMES. 
“I was lately in a garden in vdiich there was a hotbed at 
work rearing annuals, Ac., from seeds, and the glass on the 
frame was coloured blue with sizing, in which had been put 
a small quantity of Prussian blue. I asked the gardener 
the reason for colouring the glass ; he said, it prevented the 
sun from drying the soil, and greatly accelerated the germi¬ 
nation of the seeds. I asked, why blue light made seeds 
