THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[May 30. 
130 
are clean, of a good colour, and not more than two or three 
years’ old. Now, bad there been either eggs or larva; in the 
hive at the time of the queen's death, the bees would have 
exercised the power which they possess of making from them 
another queen, and would have remained in the hive; hut 
■finding that impossible, they, in all probability, swarmed and 
joined some other stock. A friend wiring to me from Devon¬ 
shire lately, gives the following very interesting account of 
this process :—“ My large box contains now an artificially 
raised queen. They lost their former one last year. I gave 
them a bit of brood in a glass, at top, late in the season 
(before the drones were all gone, however), and watched 
them daily, that is to say, half a dozen times daily for six¬ 
teen days, when their queen came forth, and has proved a 
most fertile one, for it is the most populous family I have. 
They constructed the cell seven hours after I gave them the 
bit of brood. I saw them begin it and finish it; take a grub 
out of a cell, place it in the royal cell, and nurse it assi¬ 
duously. Had I not given them this brood, the colony would 
have been extinct long ere this, for they had no brood suit¬ 
able at the time.” He concludes by saying, “ I have down 
in my bee-book many interesting observations on my hives 
of this nature, but it would only be tiresome to relate them." 
I have just been looking over the fourth edition of Taylor's 
Bee-keeper’s Manual, published yesterday by Groombridge 
and Sons, it contains upwards of thirty fresh illustrations, and 
a very considerable quantity of additional and highly inter¬ 
esting matter; and I beg to say to the very many inquiries 
that I have had respecting the late improvements in his 
Amateur's Bar-hive , that a full description and explanation 
of them is also given. The book should be read by every 
amateur apiarian. It was said of the last edition “ that it 
was one of the best, cheapest, and most easily-referred-to 
works on the subject;” and the present one, with all its addi¬ 
tions, is published at the same price.* 
THE PHYSIC GARDEN. 
By a Physician. 
Hippocastanece. — In this beautiful though very small 
order I have but one species to mention, and, as it is a good 
type of the rest, I proceed at once to speak of it:— 
House Chesnut ( JEsculus Hippocastanum). —I know of 
no tree which, when in bloom, affords a more magnificent 
spectacle than the Horse chesnut; nor is the pleastu'e con¬ 
ferred by it confined alone to the eye : the nose is delighted 
by its fragrance, and the ear with the stirring hum of the 
bees that are attracted by the nectared sweets contained in 
its blossoms ; and last, not least, the mind, is led to the con¬ 
templation of the perfections of that wonderful Being who 
could design such a noble object, and to the reflection that 
it should imitate the conduct of the busy insects, in devoting 
its whole energies to the fulfilment of those duties for which 
men were placed upon earth. 
The fruit, or rather the seeds, are much valued in the 
south of Europe as food for fattening sheep ; and they have 
been used by some persons as a substitute for coffee. Like 
the acorn they possess an astringent principle, which exists 
likewise in the bark; and this latter part of the tree has 
been recommended as a valuable febrifuge in intermittent 
and other fevers. This property has also rendered a decoc¬ 
tion of the bark serviceable in some cases of gangrene, in 
which particular it resembles a nearly-allied tree, the Tinguy, 
which is similarly employed in Brazil, to heal sores in horses 
caused by stinging insects. 
Ampelidea.—A s is my custom, having hut one plant to 
allude to in this order, I commence at once my observations 
on the 
Vine (Vitis vinifera). —Those who take an interest in 
tracing the history of any plant from the earliest period at 
which we have any record of it, mil not perhaps meet with 
one that will prove more ancient, or more generally useful 
and instructive, than the vine. It would be foreign to my 
purpose here, to enter into such a subject, but it is one 
which would well repay any who can devote the time to it, 
supplying them with much valuable information connected 
* We beg to add the expression of our very high approval of Mr. Tay¬ 
lor’s Bee-keeper’s Manual. We know of no book upon the subject that 
the amateur can consult with so much advantage.—E d. C. G. 
with history, civilization, progress in the aids and sciences, 
and also the manners and customs of nations since the 
days of Noah, who is the first person mentioned as having 
used the vine. 
Neither is the use and abuse of the juice of the grape so 
much my theme as the medical properties which the vine 
possesses, and the mode of employing them to the relief or 
cure of man, in a state of sickness. 
If the branches of the vine be punctured in the spring, the 
sap will exude in the form of drops, and these, commonly 
known as “ tears,” are a popular remedy in France for dis¬ 
eases of the eye—their value however, is very doubtful. The 
leaves are astringent and acid, and a decoction of them is a 
very efficacious lotion for sore mouths, and is likewise some¬ 
times taken internally to stop diarrhoea. “ The ashes of the. 
burnt branches will make teeth that are as black as a coal, 
to be as white as snow, if you but every morning rub them 
with it.” The fruit, however, is the most important part of 
the plant, though more so domestically than medically. The 
skin and seeds of grapes are indigestible, but, according to 
Dr. Cullen, the pulpy or fleshy part of the sweet varieties are 
the safest and most nutritive of summer fruits. "When eaten 
freely, they prove slightly laxative ; and in inflammatory and 
febrile complaints they are a most delightful and valuable 
agent in allaying thirst, and diminishing feverish heat. 
Those, who on account of affections of the lungs are com¬ 
pelled to seek a warmer climate, are recommended by Sir 
James Clark to try the effect of a “ course of grapes,” as a 
remedy in high estimation in several parts of the Continent. 
"When dried, grapes are denominated raisins ; and common 
raisins, the sultanas, muscatels, and other sorts, together 
with the fruit called by grocers, currants, are all dried fruits 
of one plant, the ordinary vine ; but assuming these different 
characters, partly from varieties in the plant produced by 
climate and cultivation, and partly from the mode of curing 
them. Raisins are more sweet, mucilaginous, and laxative, 
than fresh grapes, but from their containing less acidity are 
less cooling and refreshing. 
We come now to the most important of the products of the 
vine, namely, the fermented juice of its fruit—wine. 
If it be taken in moderation, wine acts as a beneficial sti¬ 
mulant to the whole system. To a person in perfect health, 
its reasonable use can be in no way prejudicial; while on the 
other hand, very deleterious effects are likely to result to 
those who have their vital powers in any manner impaired. 
People who are dropsical, or subject to gout, or maladies of 
the digestive organs, are likely to aggravate these complaints 
by the use of trine. But trine is also a tonic, as well as a 
stimulant, and on this account it becomes a most valuable 
medicine in the latter stages of fever, in order to support the 
system trader the langour and torpor which is the general 
consequence of such an attack, to invigorate the spirits, and 
to induce sleep. Sherry is the vine most commonly em¬ 
ployed medicinally, on account of the small quantity of 
acidity in it. Madeira is a more stimulating wine, and is to 
be preferred for invalids and elderly people, where the ad¬ 
ditional amount of acid which is contained in it is not ob¬ 
jectionable. This would render it improper to be used by 
those who have gout; and a similar reason makes port wine 
improper in such cases. There is, however, more astringency 
in this latter wine than in any other, which constitutes it a 
valuable medicine in relaxed conditions of the stomach, sub¬ 
ject of course to the above objections. 
If wine be exposed to the air, a chemical change takes 
place in it, and it becomes converted into vinegar; and this 
fluid when purified by distillation forms acetic acid. 
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION AT 
THE REGENT’S PARK.— May 8. 
(Continued from page 114 .) 
ORCHIDACEiE. 
COLLECTIONS OF TWENTY-FIVE ORCHIDS. 
1st Prize to Mr. Williams, gardener to E. Warner, Esq., j 
of Hoddesden, Herts. The weather was so unpropitious : 
that there was no competition for this grand prize (15L). | 
Mr. Williams’ collection, however, was thought worthy of the j 
