THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
385 
September 10.] 
and T will remember my covenant, which is between me and 
you, and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters 
shall no more become a flood, to destroy all flesh.” 
When we see the how in the cloud, we are reminded of a 
| cheering and faithful promise ; we know that He “ will look 
upon it,” and remember His covenant; and it ought to be to 
I the Christian's heart an object of the deepest and sweetest 
interest. It should remind us, too, of the hope that cheers 
and supports the people of God, in every age and clime, 
under the many darkenings of their earthly pilgrimage. 
There is a bow in every cloud that overshadows us as Chris¬ 
tians. The hand of the Lord sends us a “token” under 
every dispensation, that He looks upon us and remembers 
us for the sake of Him who bought us “ with a price,” and 
that the troubles and trials of life shall not be suffered to 
overwhelm us. There is, too, “ a rainbow round about the 
throne, like unto an emerald,” the throne upon which sitteth 
Him who liveth for ever! How closely does the earthly 
sign connect us with the heavenly vision, and how full of 
deep scriptural interest is the sight we so often see! yet 
how little do we consider it, beyond its beaut}', and how 
dead are we to its spiritual voice! 
We often watch the dark threatening storm-clouds spread¬ 
ing themselves above the horizon, throwing the tall trees 
brightly and pointedly forward; we mark the increasing 
blackness, and expect every moment to see the flash, or 
hear the distant roll of the storm—but as we gaze, the 
graceful glittering rainbow spans the earth, and speaks 
volumes at once to the heart. Let us ever remember, ; that 
' God Himself has set “ the bow in the cloud.” 
A CONSULTATION ON BEE-KEEPING. 
(Continued from page 374.) 
The cast in the straw hive I have been and am feeding as 
above, and on the 6th of August it weighed, exclusive of 
board and hive, 8§ Hi. I have added to it on the 23rd inst. 
the bees from a colt. Can I do anything more to preserve 
j it ? (Only feed it.) 
I have, as you know, made inquiry relative to the best 
way of preserving, in an empty hive, the bees that would be 
destroyed by my cottage neighbours, and finding that if I 
waited for the September Calendar I should not obtain bees, 
as they were fast taking them up hereabout, I spoke to my 
old cottage friend, who said, “ I am taking up three hives, 
one of which that has not swarmed I am going to drive into 
a hive full only of comb ; the bees from the other two you 
are quite welcome to ; they are of no use to me, and I should 
only burn them, poor things.” On the 8th inst. we drove 
the bees from a hive that had not swarmed into an empty 
hive; on the following evening we drove another, that had 
swarmed and cast, into another empty hive—we had not the 
courage of “ The Country Curate,” to drive the two into one 
hive. On the 0th, we turned the last driven bees upon a 
cloth, and placing the first driven bees over them, they all 
ascended, and were placed the next morning upon their 
stand. They have bad food every night (3 lb of sugar, If lb 
of honey, 1 quart of water, boiled two minutes), one pint at 
a time. I have placed them out, and adopted the shade Mr. 
Taylor recommends. I fancy, however, it is too cold a cover¬ 
ing, as I have found several bees dead in the feeder on 
several frosty mornings. In this entire operation, including 
what may have been killed in fighting, I do not think more 
than 230 were lost. The conquered queen we have searched 
for but in vain. The heat of this hive is greater than any of 
my three others that are furnished with thermometers. 
Should these bees have food in the day ? {Yes, if given at 
j the top of the hive, hut not otherwise.) And ought the four- 
| inch entrance to be now diminished? {Narrow the entrance.) 
If I succeed in preserving them, I propose working them in 
i the way recommended by Mr. Taylor, page 37. They have 
already eaten ten quarts. Three gallons, as named by “The 
J Country Curate,” will not, I think, be enough. How much 
longer should they be fed ? (Till they have a store of 20 lb.) 
I was greatly delighted to find, on removing, the 16tli day, 
! the window shutter, to see not only comb but honey within it. 
Being offered the bees from an old stock, and also from a 
colt that was to be taken up last week, about a mile distant, 
I obtained the assistance of my old friend, who, wedded to 
his experience of 40 years, was very doubtful, after the result 
he had witnessed of the transfer of No. 1, of the success of 
the experiment by fuming. Determined, if possible, that 
it should succeed, I procured everything requisite before¬ 
hand : a copper lamp brazed—a small light tub—12 inches 
across and five deep, with a three-inch rim on a level with 
the top, and a sheet of zinc for its cover. We introduced a 
considerable quantity of smoke into the hive, where it stood, 
which caused a great uproar at first; after a few minutes' 
tapping of the hive a deep silence prevailed. My old friend | 
removed the hive, and found, to his astonishment, nearly all 
the bees lying on the floor-board—a very awkward one, being 
the immovable stump of a tree; we got them off, as well as 
we could, into the tub, fixed the pierced zinc cover to it, and 
conveyed them one mile. When at home we rubbed over 
the zinc a considerable quantity of sugared ale, which seemed 
to quiet their restlessness for a time; then lifted No. 1 
(Neighbour’s cottage hive) and placed it on the tub, the 
sheet of zinc was then withdrawn, and they were left for the 
night, air being given them through one of the holes at the 
top. At five o’clock the next morning we removed the hive 
to its old floor board, and found only 137 bees in the tub; 
these we took for dead, but many I think would have re¬ 
covered had they been placed in the sun, as I have since 
discovered. My aged friend was amazed, and promises 
never again to “ burn his bees, since I have made known to 
him a plan which he is now convinced will answer.” He 
has also been much pleased with the plan of feeding at top, 
which I induced him to adopt by giving him a feeder, and, 
after his 40 years experience, he confesses he has “ much 
to learn in bee-keeping.” The hive, No. 1, thus augmented, 
is doing well; I have been and am still feeding it. We have 
not found her conquered majesty. The following evening I 
took the bees from the colt in the same way, and happily 
succeeded in adding them to the cast before named. Only 
80 bees were found dead in the tub, 30 apparently revived 
on being placed in the sun. The conquered queen in this 
case, also, we have not been able to find, although we have 
looked for her most sedulously, being very anxious to com- 
pare her with the worker bee. 
I have now what I may call six stocks, all doing well; 
that they should all continue to do so is perhaps more than 
I ought to expect. {Not at all, if your attentive treatment con¬ 
tinues.) Their treatment has afforded me numerous plea¬ 
sures, all introduced to me by your interesting periodical, 
and I therefore cannot allow myself to omit thanking you 
for the great kindness you have manifested in answering my 
many inquiries. 
P.8 .—It just occurs to me to ask, whether I might with 
advantage, if bees could be procured, add them to the cast 
in Taylor’s hive. (Fes, certainly.) I have now saved the 
bees from four hives, and trust in some degree atoned for 
the destruction of such numbers in my first transfer.—Z. 
ENGLISH CAGE BIRDS. 
THE LESSER WHITETHROAT. 
Insessores Dentirostres. Sylyiadje Insectivor.e. 
Sylvia sylviella ; Motacilla sylviella; Curruca sylviella; Cur- 
rucagarrula; Sylvia curruca; Ficadulagarntla : Garrulous 
Fauvet; Brake Warbler; Babbling Warbler; White- 
breasted Warbler ; Babillard. 
This is a very lively and elegant little bird, easily known 
by its peculiar call-note, which it utters continually, and 
seldom ends its song without it; it is, in fact, an everlasting I 
chatterer. It is most frequently found in woody districts ; its 
food consisting of insects, their larva, and small fruits. It 
is as easily kept in confinement as its congeners, feeding on 
the same food and, in a large aviary, out of the same dish. 
It is also very readily reared from the nest, by adopting the 
means resorted to as in that of the blackcap, &c., as pre¬ 
viously directed. W. Eayner. 
[This species is very closely allied to the whitethroat 
noticed in our last number, but is not so common. Its chief 
apparent difference is, that besides the throat, the breast and 
belly are also of a purer white, the last named part being 
tinged with red, and the feet dark bluish grey. The following 
is the best description of it, and is given by Mr. Blytli, in hjs 
excellent edition of White's Selborne, of which a new edition 
is just published:—] 
“It is an elegant little bird, arriving generally towards the 
close of the month of April, and departing in September, 
