106 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 5. 
ceeding day commences by tedding all the grass that was 
mown the first day after nine o’clock, and all that was mown 
this day before that hour. The grass cocks are then well 
shaken into what are called stadjles, which are separate 
plots of five or six yards in breadth. Where the crop is so 
thin and light as to leave the spaces between the staddles 
rather large, they are immediately raked clean, and the 
j rakings mixed with the other hay, in order to its all drying, 
] so as to be of an uniform colour. The staddles are next 
, turned, and after that the grass that was tedded in the first 
i part of the morning once or twice, in the same manner as 
described in the first day. This business should all be 
performed before twelve or one o’clock, that the whole may 
lie drying while the people are at dinner. After this, tire 
first thing is to rake the staddles into double windrows, 
which is done by every two persons raking the hay in 
opposite directions, or towards each other, forming a row 
between them of double the size of the windrows, each 
being about six or eight feet distant from the other. They 
afterwards rake the grass into single windrows, then put 
the double windrows into bastard cocks; and conclude by 
putting the single windrows into grass cocks. The labour 
of the third day is begun by first tedding and spreading 
out the grass mown and not spread the preceding day, 
as well as that mown in the early part of this day; 
and then the grass cocks are thrown out into staddles 
as before, and the bastard-cocks into staddles of less extent. 
These narrow staddles, though last spread out, are first 
turned, then those which were in grass cocks; and, lastly, 
the grass is turned once or twice before .twelve or one 
o’clock. When the weather has been sunny and fine, the 
hay which was last night in bastard cocks, will this afternoon 
be in a proper state to be carried, as in fine seasons it may 
mostly be performed on the third day, but when the weather 
has been cool and cloudy no part will be probably fit to 
carry. In that case, the first business after dinner is to 
rake that which was in grass cocks last night into double 
windrows, then the grass which was this morning spread 
from the swathes into single windrows. After this, the hay 
which was in bastard cocks last night is made up into full 
sized cocks, and care taken to rake up the hay clean, and 
also to put the rakings on the top of each cock. And, lastly, 
the double windrows are put up into bastard cocks, and the 
single ones into grass cocks, as in the preceding days. On 
the fourth day the great cocks just described are mostly 
carried before dinner. The other operations are similar to 
those of the former days, and proceed in the same order, 
continuing them daily untill the whole is finished.—W. 
Keane. 
ON HORNETS. 
The Hornet is a noble insect, armed with a formidable 
sting, and deservedly standing at the head of the numerous 
family of wasps. We read of this insect being employed 
by the Almighty in the extermination of the Canaanites,* 
but its sting was, perhaps, more dangerous in those countries; 
or, what is more probable, the insect was purposely rendered 
more destructive to execute the Divine vengeance on those 
idolatrous nations. The dread of the hornet’s sting is 
great with us; but, like many other popular notions, it is much 
exaggerated. This l'ear, however, has led most country 
people to look upon a colony of hornets as fit only to be 
smothered and exterminated, but a curious observer, with a 
little courage, may find in their habits much to interest 
him, and excite his admiration. I cannot help thinking 
that if the ancients had carefully observed the nests of those 
insects, the manufacture of paper would have been invented 
much earlier, for the nests of hornets and other wasps 
are, in reality, made of paper, which they manufacture as 
they proceed in their constructions. 
The hornet, like the common ground wasp, prefers for 
this purpose the fibres of decayed wood. These insects 
carry this material in their mouths in small balls of about 
the size of peas. On this account their nests are not of so 
firm a texture as those of the tree Wasps, which form their 
nests of the fibres of sound wood. I am not of opinion 
* Exodus xxiii. 28. Heut. vii. 20. 
that these insects collect gum wherewith to mix up their 
materials, for the pellets, when taken from their mandibles, 
readily crumble to dust, but they appear to produce some¬ 
thing like saliva, with which they masticate the material as 
j they proceed with their work. 
A colony of hornets, like one of wasps, is composed of 
i queens, drones, and workers. These last are females, 
j bred in smaller cells, and of imperfect growth. The same 
I holds good of hive and wild bees, but hornets and wasps 
differ from both in one respect—that they lay up no store; 
still they follow the same practice as the wild bees—de¬ 
serting their nests at the end of the season, after accom 
plishing their mission by rearing a number of queens, 
some of whom survive the winter, to begin fresh colonies in 
the spring. 
During the past season, I set up a Polish bee-hive, six 
feet high. It was divided into two stories in the middle, 
glazed at the back, and with a door fitting over the glass, 
removable at pleasure, to allow inspection and observation 
through the glass. Small openings for entrance and exit 
were made at the middle of the upper story, and at the 
bottom of the lower one. The door was merely a slab 
sawed down the length of the tree, so that when it was 
shut the whole hive looked exactly like the trunk of a Fir- 
tree divested of its branches. It had been up only three 
days, and I had not begun to stock it with bees, when I 
observed the nucleus of a hornet’s nest ^on the ceiling of 
the upper story. The solitary queen hornet soon made 
her appearance. A few days afterwards, I placed a swarm 
of bees in the lower story, and was prepared to give up 
the hive to whichever colony should prevail over the other, 
not doubting that the hornets would exterminate their 
neighbours in the lower division. In this, however, I was 
mistaken, for botli parties went on in perfect agreement 
during the season, with the exception of two instances, the 
only occasions when I observed any hostility between them. 
One of these was when a bee happened to enter ax, the 
hornet’s door, when the sentinel immediately cut it in two ; 
and the other occurred in consequence of a hornet getting 
in amongst the bees. A scuttle at once began, and though 
a few hees only attacked the hornet, he soon lay dead at 
the bottom of the hive. 
To speak now of the habits of the Vespa Crabro , or 
hornet, which I had full opportunities of observing as the 
colony proceeded in the upper part of the hive. The solitary 
queen began her nest about the 5th of June. At first it 
appeared like the head of a small nail driven half-way into 
the ceiling of the hive. The part resembling a nail-head 
was the nucleus of three cells, and as it advanced it had the 
appearance of a small parasol. On the 11th an egg was 
laid in each of the cells. I often observed the queen, as if 
fast asleep, coiled round the peg, or support of the nest at 
top, and laying quite at her ease on the covering outside. 
The cells were gradually lengthened, and more cells added 
round them. The eggs first laid were hatched in about 
three days, and the grubs were fed with great care by the 
mother till the 28tb, when they began to spin their cocoons, 
or rather to close up the mouths of their cells. At that 
time the covering of the nest excluded them from my ob¬ 
servation, and prevented my ascertaining the exact time of 
their containing in the pupa state. In eight days, however, 
workers appeared, and the queen ceased to leave the colony. 
I cannot exactly state what kind of food was given to the 
grubs, but it appeared to be some sweet fluid, and I know 
that they are fond of sugar and water. 
I may here repeat a former observation, that queen 
hornets are shy and timid before their eggs are hatched, 
and when disturbed will skulk outside, but after that process 
is effected they show a bold front. This is, of course, in 
accordance with the instinct of all animals who rear their 
own young, and even of insects. And this would seem to 
account for the sting, at least, in hornets and wasps, for 
they have no store to defend, nor could their cells hold any, 
as they open downwards. I can state with confidence, that 
i neither wasps nor hornets ever attack when at a distance 
j from their brood, however provoked. I well know what 
pests they are in gardens, but I speak now of their habits as 
! insects ruled by the law of their nature. They pursue and 
j catch flies like swallows, and have been seen to drag them 
up out of a bottle of sweet liquid set to catch both, into 
