September 25. COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
invented. I have had one in use five years, and every year 
strengthens my good opinion of it. I have never known the 
queen to enter the super, and,I believe, from the nature of the 
communication between the two boxes, she never will; the 
honey it contains is, therefore, always of the purest quality, 
and can be extracted with the greatest ease. Last week, in 
the middle of a fine day, I removed the top from the super 
of this hive, and took two bars loaded with the most 
beautiful honey-comb, without gloves, or any protection 
whatever, and with little or no disturbance to the bees; 
there being neither queen nor brood in the box, the bees 
were perfectly gentle. 
LIST OF SUPERIOR PANSIES. 
In answer to a New Subscriber, Manchester, the following 
are first-rate varieties. You may give Pansies in pots, when 
freely growing, very weak liquid-manure every fourth time 
you water them; but if they are in the open border, and that 
made rich, liquid-manure would be injurious ; for be it re¬ 
membered, the Pansy is very apt to die off at the collar, just 
between the stem and the root, and rich manure-water would 
increase that tendency by inducing a too-gross growth. In 
dry weather, water freely with pure rain water, which will be 
quite rich enough for the Pansy. 
Class 1st.—Selfs. 
Alba magna (Thomson); pure white, fine form, and good 
substance. 
Flower of the Bay (Downie); large flower, good form, 
rich dark mulberry. 
Memnon (Turner) ; large and fine form, and of a rich 
velvety purple; extra (new). 
Nonsuch (Turner) ; yellow; fine form, with a large dark 
eye. 
Sovereign (Dickson) ; rich yellow, with 'dark eye ; very 
stout, and fine form. 
Duke of Perth (Iiandyside) ; rich dark maroon; fine 
form, and constant. 
Goliah (Bragg) ; very dark; fine form, and large flower. 
Class 2nd. —Yellow Grounds. 
Charles Turner (Hales) ; yellow, top petals broadly edged 
with rich maroon ; fine form. 
Comet (Turner); deep yellow, with broad margin of 
reddish-crimson, well marked eye, smooth and good shape ; 
very distinct; new. 
Emperor (Hales) ; rich yellow lower petals, top petals 
deep maroon, bottom petals edged with rust colour; fine 
form, and constant. 
Father Gavazzi (Holland); rich yellow ground, with 
broad margin of crimson-purple, large, prominent edge; 
very distinct, and a striking flower; new. 
Fearless (Schofield) ; yellow and rich crimson-purple, 
with large, dark maroon edge, margin broad; extra fine. 
Marion (Dickson and Co.); pale yellow ground, broadly 
margined with purple. A large, fine flower of good form. 
Monarch (Hall); gold-yellow ground, top petals dark 
velvety maroon, lower petals margined with the same colour, 
bold, dark edge; fine form ; extra. 
Royal Standard (Dickson) ; pale straw ground, margined 
with rich velvety purple ; good dark edge; a smooth, large, 
and fine variety. 
Victory (Hales) ; deep yellow, with broad margin of 
bronzy-red; good bold eye; a well - defined and distinct 
variety. 
- Class 3rd.—White Grounds. 
Criterion (Hooper) ; pure white, with delicate, narrow, 
blue margin ; very good. 
•* Earl Mansfield (Dickson); white ground, with broad 
purple margin; small, beautiful eye; a large, smooth, strik¬ 
ing, distinct variety. 
Isabella (Turner); lower petals pure white, top petals 
deep blue, the lower broadly margined with the same 
colour; medium size, with a clear good eye ; new. 
Lady Bute (Downie); clear white ground; rich, broad, 
purple margin; medium size, with a well-formed, distinct 
eye; fine. 
Marchioness of Bath (Wheeler) ; clear white ground ; top 
petals and margin of a blue colour; good eye, and fine 
form ; a large flower. 
National (Turner); clear white, with a narrow margin of 
light purple; top petals the same colour. 
Royal Visit (Dickson) ; clear white; lower petals broadly 
margined with dark purple, top petals the same colour ; a 
fine variety.—T. A. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
PREVENTING SECOND SWARMS. 
Truly glad am I to find that Bees are resuming them 
proper place in your columns, and much pleasure have I in 
answering “ Abeille’s ” question. 
Permit me to say, first, however, that the heading of the 
short paragraph in The Cottage Gardener for July 24th, 
1855, “ Successful Bee-keeping,” was none of mine. On 
the contrary; the object of my sending the few lines was 
simply to inform bee-keepers ivho have the Country Curate's 
Book, and act up to his plans, that removing stocks in the 
way recommended hy him, in pages 38, 39, and 40 of “ The 
English Bee-keeper,”, to prevent second sivarms, is not always 
effective. 
I may here remark, that for the last three seasons I have 
removed a great number, and never had but one second 
swarm. This year, however, every removed hive (in 
number six) swarmed twice, and so did one, the only one, 
of a neighbour’s, so treated. 
I must refer “Abeille” to the Country Curate’s Book, 
pages 38, 39, and 40, for an explanation of the whole affair. 
I fear “ Abeille ” has not yet discovered that second swarms 
are no proof of “ successful bee-keeping.”— Frank Grant. 
WINTERING ROSE-CUTTINGS. 
“ I have some Rose-cuttings striking, and shall feel 
obliged if you will let me know as to their standing the 
winter out-of-door's.—J. T.” 
[The mere act of taking off a cutting from a branch, or 
tree, will not alter the constitution of the said cutting in the 
smallest degree; therefore, a cutting taken from any plant 
which will stand our climate, will not take airy hurt from 
frost, provided its constitution has not been weakened by 
some cause or other since it became a cutting; and even 
then, it is not the frost that kills one-tenth of the cuttings 
which die during the winter, but too much damp. There 
are Roses which the frost will kill, certainly; and if your 
cuttings are from such Roses, the frost will kill them also, if 
it reaches them in sufficient force; but most of the Roses 
do stand our winters, and cuttings from all such will stand 
the winters as well, with the above limitation.] 
PRESERVING ICE. 
“ I shall feel feel much obliged if you can give me any 
information as to the construction of an Ice-house, on what 
you consider the best and cheapest plan. 
“ I understand that in America, and the West Indies, they 
are made of wood, the sides and roof having double boards, 
and the space between them filled with sawdust, or some 
non-conducting material. Does this method answer in this 
country ? 
“ It would only be required for a small family, and I 
should like to know the dimensions and something like the 
cost; what situation is the best, and what apertures are 
necessary for filling and taking out the ice?—F. W.” 
[We never advise any one to build an Ice-house; and when 
we do hear of a man building an Ice-house for himself, we 
wonder some friend does not suggest a madhouse instead. 
Ice melts, more or less, wherever you put it, in this king¬ 
dom ; where ice or snow melts, the dampness from it fills 
the air with as much moisture as its own heat can sustain 
or hold together, and very damp air, at 60° in the shade, 
will melt ice three times faster than dry air at 90° in the 
