THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 
112 
between the two hives. No attempt, however, was 
made to till the upper story; and as late as the 
middle of July a swarm was thrown off very sud¬ 
denly. I placed this swarm (a small one) in a 
wooden box, not setting my affections much upon it. 
Still the parent stock remained as restless as ever it 
had done from May up to the time of this swarm; 
and a fortnight afterwards (1st August) another 
swarm arose as suddenly as the first had done. This 
I put into one of Nutt’s hox.es: it was larger than 
the first swarm, hut still small. The old stock still 
remained as restless as ever; and three days after¬ 
wards (4th August) a third swarm arose, consisting 
only of two or three handfuls: these I placed in a 
small box, and, wishing to unite them with the 
second swarm, I brought out a small table, covering 
it with a clean white cloth; in the evening, with a 
smart blow on the top of the box containing the 
third little swarm, I precipitated the bees upon the 
table-cloth, and immediately placed over them Nutt’s 
box containing the second swarm; securing the 
table-cloth round the sides of the box, 1 left them 
during the night and next day till evening, when 
finding that all was quiet 1 removed the tahle-cloth 
and placed the box on its stand; on the table-cloth 
I found one of the queens lying dead, and about 20 
workers. In the month of September these swarms 
all died, leaving each box about a quarter filled with 
comb, but no honey. All this I was prepared to expect 
as the result of the previous disasters. Still the old 
stock remained, and J hoped, by feeding in the 
autumn and during the present spring, in some 
measure to retrieve my ill fortune by saving it. 
However, in February, (the bees having been out 
duiing some very mild days,) T observed that for 
several days they had not moved from the hive, 
although the weather had been exceedingly mild and 
sunny. On lifting up the hive my fears were con¬ 
firmed; every bee was dead, the hive filled to the 
brim with (lark-brown comb, but no particle of 
honey. My hopes of 1847 and 48 have thus van¬ 
ished, yet 1 am desirous of trying once more; and 
if, from this tedious description, you can give me an 
idea of the cause of my failure, I shall greatly esteem 
the favour.—G. W. Pretty, 
[We have submitted your letter to Mr. Payne for 
his consideration, and the following is his reply:— 
“My calendar for May will fully answer Mr. Pretty’s 
letter. Mr. Pretty must begin again, and by follow¬ 
ing the simple directions there given, or those given 
in my ‘ Bee-keeper’s Guide,’ cannot fail of success. 
Let him try swarms as directed in the calendar for 
May, and follow the directions which will be given 
in future ones, and success will follow. If he wishes 
to know the reasons for his not succeeding, they are 
as follows:—First, with his purchased swarm, it was 
not finally placed on the evening of the day it 
swarmed. This is imperative, otherwise the tender 
comb will break down; and so it perished. The 
second swarm obtained by Mr. Pretty was very much 
injured by being removed in June, and by its after 
treatment destroyed: namely, by being compelled to 
throw oil’ swarms. The late swarms w r ere valueless, 
and the parent stock destroyed by their leaving so 
late. The hole at the top of the hive should have 
been made four inches in diameter, instead of a 
number of small ones, and all would have gone on 
well.”—E d. G. G.] 
Forsythia Viridissima. —I observe, in the No. for 
April 12, an inquiry respecting the Forsythia viridis¬ 
sima, as to whether it is quite hardy. 1 may just 
state that I turned out a plant into the open border 
(in Leicestershire) last May, and when 1 protected 
the fuchsias and other tender shrubs this plant was 
totally overlooked. Still it has stood the winter per¬ 
fectly well, not being injured in the least, till the 
past month, when the tips of the shoots have been 
nipped, but not to injure it.— One whom a Garden 
makes Happy. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Accenting Names (H. H.).— We have not omitted to consider 
the advisability of undertaking to accent the names of plants to indi¬ 
cate their pronunciation, but we find that it cannot be done, so as to 
insure accuracy, in the expedition necessary for printing a weekly 
publication. 
Vine in a Greenhouse (T. Picturi ).—This is the best time to 
plant a vine in a greenhouse, but it must be out of a pot. A vine 
cannot be removed from the soil before October. We approve of your 
memorandum book. We have seen many such, and there is fancy in 
these useful articles as in other things. 
Ventilating Bee-hives (R. B .).—There is not any ventilator 
required in the small hive or box that is placed upon “The improved 
cottage-hive,” but when they are nearly filled, should the bees cluster 
at the mouth of the hive, place another small hive or box between the 
one partially filled and the stock, which will afford both room and 
ventilation. Neither is ventilation required in the upper box of the 
amateur’s hive. The bars in both the upper and under boxes of this 
hive are of the same size. More information about ventilation will be 
given in our next number. 
Quarrenden ( Eneas ).—This is the mode of spelling this apple, 
which is usually known as the Devonshire or lied Quarrenden and 
Sack apple. It was so called, probably, after the name of its first 
cultivator, or the place where it was first taised. The Chaumontel 
pear was thus named after the village of Chaumontel, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Oise, in France, and, therefore, ought not to be spelt, as 
you suggest, Churmante-elle. 
Flowers that will Bloom in Water-glasses {Ibid). —Pro¬ 
perly managed, nearly all bulbous-rooted flowers may be bloomed in 
this way; and, of course, all aquatic plants, but many of the latter 
are too large for the purpose. Although cold w ater certainly checks 
the progress of hyacinths in water-glasses, yet we do not think it 
would do to employ cold water to prolong their blooming. The tem¬ 
perature in which the leaves and the roots of plants are growing 
must relatively agree, or they will not flourish. The passages you 
point out are not errors. 
Gapes in Chickens (M. R .).—This disease, which is also called 
the Pip, is a collection of little worms in the windpipe of the animal, 
and is believed to be occasioned by drinking impure water. There 
are only two available remedies, one of which is cither to shut the 
bird up in a box with ignited tobacco until it is nearly dead from in¬ 
haling the smoke ; or, holding the beak open, to hold a feather dipt 
into sweet oil close to the opening of the windpipe, and when this 
opens in the act of breathing to pass the feather quickly but gently 
down, turning it round two or three times : upon drawing it back, 
some of the worms will adhere to the feather, and others will be killed 
by the oil. This must be repeated until a cure is complete. 
Gardens with a Clayey Soil (G. W. Pretty ).—The soil of 
your garden being a blue clay, immediately under the grass, it is no 
wonder that your shrubs and flowers do not grow. Y’ou ought, by 
all means, to have your plot well and effectually drained- As the 
clay is so near the surface, the drains should be brought up to the 
surface also, or, at least, as high as the top of the clay, that is, first 
lay draining tiles across the garden into the tw o drains that you say 
carry the w'ater from the house top. After laying the tiles, fill up the 
drain with broken brick-ends, small stones, &c. Having brought this 
rubble up to the surface of the clay, then, previously to putting on 
the soil, cover the rubble with some thin turf. This covering will 
effectually prevent the soil from falling among the brickbats, and 
thereby choking up the drain. If you do not make your garden dry, 
nothing will thrive in it. It is the most important and necessary 
of all gardening operations. Then, having accomplished this, and made 
your ground dry, procure some good friable loam, and cover the clay 
with it, to the depth of nine inches at least, previously loosening the 
clay with the spade. It will then let the rain water descend through 
it into the drains. If you cannot procure loam in sufficient quantity, 
get some of the soil of the heath that you mention, and mix it with 
the best loam you can get. T he arrangement of your shrubs, beds, 
and grass-plot is well enough ; but why have straight, formal walks, 
and the large oval beds had better have been under turf, which would 
have made the garden look much larger. There ought always to be in 
gardens, where grass is introduced, a large space of that ornamental 
material for the eye to rest upon. With respect to furnishing your 
beds in winter, read in our curly numbers the articles on plunging 
evergreens in pots. Ranunculuses would not thrive at all in your 
soil. Hardy heaths you may plant in the circles, if you can procure 
sandy (not fibrous) peat. Most of the things we have mentioned as 
btdding-out plants may be procured and planted out now . We do 
not know of a book on soils to suit your purpose. 
Plan of Garden (H-'. P. H .).—Your plot of ground that you 
wish to improve is unfortunately situated, yet you may, by judicious 
management, make it both ornamental and useful. In the first place, 
the wet part of it must be drained in the manner we describe to our 
last correspondent; then divide off a portion at the east end, where 
your entrance is, to cultivate flowers. As your garden is square, we 
would recommend oblong beds with box edgings for your flowers. 
