70 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, May 5, 1857. 
greatly astonished at the fine Lettuces the} aie now cut¬ 
ting, and have been cutting this month past. These were 
O 7 
grown under cloches 
vnu uiiuv* v^w.vwv, , . _ i 
I have never seen any so fine before, even in the London 
markets, at this season, and I can assure you that Lettuces 
cannot be produced better in the summer season. 
The seed, I believe, is bought in France, and is of a 
variety called Moreen. The plants had received no protection, 
with the exception of a little loose litter to keep the Irost 
out of the ground, and to retain the moisture from the pre¬ 
sent prevailing winds. The aspect chosen is a warm south 
border, and the cloches are placed parallel to the wall.— John 
Royle, Gardener to Lord Stanley, Alder ley Park. 
CALCEOLARIA ILYSSOPIFOLIA. 
A specimen of this species was sent by J. Anderson, Esq., 
of Maryfield, under the name of C. lavandulifolia, which is 
a different plant, with the following memorandum:— 
“ Dr. Jamieson describes this as perhaps the handsomest 
we have. It grows on pastures above the level of Quito, say 
at 10,000 feet. It is truly an elegant shrub, about two feet 
high, and throws its panicles of bloom all over and around 
the plant, so that it looks as if adorned with a canopy of white 
and golden balls. The blooms partake of both colours, 
which greatly heightens the effect. The spike sent is from 
a plant put out all the summer on the border, where it 
luxuriates more than in the greenhouse.” 
It is certainly an acquisition, on account of the novelty as 
well as beauty of its appearance. The stem is erect, stiff, 
polished, and dark purple. The opposite leaves are linear- 
lanceolate, flat, minutely serrated, with a decided tendency 
to droop. They are not at all hoary on the under side, by 
which circumstance they are known from C. lavandulifolia. 
The annexed cut represents a lateral branch only, but gives 
the characteristic peculiarities of the plant .—(Horticultural 
Society's Journal.) 
THE STEWARTON SYSTEM OF BEE-KEEPING. 
I now send you weight, &c., of three hives, the manage¬ 
ment of which I shall report monthly, as formerly explained. 
No. 1, in two boxes, a last year’s swarm, 24 lbs. 
2, „ „ two years old 24 „ 
o, ,, ,, three ,, 22 ,, 
I have selected stocks of different ages to give an increased 
opportunity for comparison. These are the gross weights. 
The average weight of two boxes is 8-£ lbs. The boxes are 
similar to those so well described by Mr. Tegetmeier in The 
Cottage Gardener of April 7th. 
A word about uniting tw r o weak stocks. When sure that 
swarms [are weak autumn is no doubt the proper time for 
such work; but a good swarm in autumn may turn out any¬ 
thing but satisfactory in spring, and then the only chance of 
any good being done is by uniting. With storifying boxes 
this is easily accomplished, even at this season, without the 
risk of loss or the sacrifice of any brood. Suppose I deem 
it prudent to join stocks Nos. 1 and 2, and wish the whole 
to occupy the site of No. 1. The top box in each hive con¬ 
tains the brood and queen. In the evening I puff a little 
tobacco smoke into No. 2, just as much as drives the bees to 
the very top of the upper box, which I immediately place on 
No. 1, and remove the slides. I then blow a little smoke into 
the mouth of the hive, which sends the inhabitants of No. 1 
up amongst their neighbours in the brood box of No. 2. The 
tobacco has assimilated the odours, and in nine cases out of 
ten the union is complete, and one of the queens will next 
morning be found expelled the hive. I make it'a point, 
however, to watch the new corporation for a couple of hours, 
and should they show any signs of fight I cut off all supply 
of air, and presently their instinctive dread of too high a 
temperature overcomes their fighting pn'opensities, and the 
battle-notes cease. Bees will neither work nor fight in an 
atmosphere which approaches the melting point of wax. In 
some instances I have had to repeat the air-stopping process 
several times, but these were exceptional cases, and I never 
by uniting lost a single stock, although I have known stocks 
lost by being joined in the morning. 
In fine weather, when food is plentiful, or after two or 
three dull, wet days, I unite swarms in this way, and dis¬ 
pense with smoke altogether. 
Again, suppose I wish to make sure of the death of her 
majesty No. 2, say on account of her more advanced years, 
or because less prolific than her neighbour No. 1,1 proceed 
thus :—Having veiled myself I put in the slides, turn up the 
top box, and move off with it about forty yards. A few bees 
will fly out, but they soon return to the original spot. The 
inverted box, containing brood and queen, I place on a board 
on the ground, and set an empty box over it. Kneeling over 
both I raise the empty box on the edge next my body high 
enough to afford a full view of the inside of both. I now 
drum on the sides of the full box, and the alarmed bees rush 
to the bottom, and get filled with honey. An experienced 
person know^s the change of sound which takes place under 
such circumstances, and this change is the signal for me 
to cast aside my veil, as now they will neither sting nor fly 
off. I keep up the drumming, and the bees begin to come 
to the top, w’hen, with a feather, I direct them towards the 
empty box. When the run has been commenced in that 
direction it will continue till every bee has left the full 
box. In the meantime I keep a sharp look-out for the 
queen, seize her the moment she appears, shake the bees 
back among the brood, replace the box on the hive, and 
things are ready for the operations already noticed, the 
destruction of the inferior queen having been thus secured. 
This should be done on a fine afternoon, to save the brood 
as much as possible from an undue exposure to cold, and 
the whole process should only occupy a few minutes. 
I have reasons for preferring the uniting of w r eak stocks 
just at the commencement of the honey season, but will 
leave them for a future communication. 
