342 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 2, 1858. 
A PLANT FOR SPRING FORCING. 
Has anybody ever forced the Mesperis matronalis ? If 
they have not, take up a plant or two immediately (only for 
i experiment), go the right way about it, and you will grow a 
dozen next year. As to beauty—if it possessed the variety of 
tint that the Hyacinth does, (and I see no reason why it 
I should not,) it would be superior in some respects. It is 
1 fragrant, has large, handsome spikes (if well grown) a foot 
in length, proportionate, plenty of fine foliage, is perfectly 
hardy, and within the reach of all. Every body has a double 
i Rocket, and I saw one of mine with a striped petal. I have 
only four varieties—white, French white, lilac, and purple 
(sold for crimson). I suppose the Rocket is too common to 
be petted!—W. E. 
CITRUS NOBILIS MINOR (Mandarin Orange). 
How is it we so seldom see this grown to that extent it 
deserves ? Easy of cultivation, and taking up but a small por¬ 
tion of room, it is just the thing for amateurs, or any one else 
with limited space at command ; and I have no doubt that it 
could easily be grown in a window, if a little extra care was 
bestowed in keeping it thoroughly clean, sponging well fre¬ 
quently with tepid water. What can possibly be more charm¬ 
ing than beholding it loaded with its miniature golden fruit, 
| gracefully hanging on for months together ? And when in 
bloom, the fragrance emitted almost makes one think we are 
I enjoying the pleasure of a walk, through an orange grove, 
in the place of being confined within the narrow limits of a 
glass house. I find it to fruit well in a 24-sized pot; and 
what can surpass it, whether in the drawing-room of the 
wealthy, the sitting-room of the middle-class man, or the 
cottage window of the labourer?— John Eddington, Gar¬ 
dener to J. M. Me Binnel, Esq., Winch Mouse , Seacombe. 
SMALL AND LATE DRONES. 
On a second glance at “Apiarian’s” remarks on small 
drones, at page 167, we are inclined to think that some of them 
are fictitious ; but, be it as it may, we shall try how they square 
with the nature of the bees. He begins with saying, that “Mr. 
Wighton has settled the question on small drones, in your 
| number of October 13th, by confidently asserting that they 
I are bred in drone’s cells, near the edges of the combsand 
concludes with stating, that he had found the cells of working 
bees full of small drones. This, of course, is contrary to our 
assertion, and is backed by Huber—at least he states, “ If I 
understand Huber on small drones, he means hives having 
’ young queens, whose eggs produce nothing but small drones 
] —owing to the queen going past the proper time for fecunda- 
; tion.” This may pass with some ; but, it is, nevertheless, 
wrong. Indeed, it does not agree with another of “ Apiarian’ s ’ 
! statements, which we pass at present, to notice our previous 
one respecting Mr. Moore, of Stratford, near Manchester, who 
> had both small workers and drones from a hive of the current 
season. That fact, and others bearing on this subject, must 
be known to “ Apiarian for they are clearly noticed in our 
, paper of the 13th, from which he quotes. He states, however, 
| that his hive produced only small drones the second year; 
and observes—“ In June, 1850, I hived a first swarm in a 
storifying hive: then united a second in fourteen days after. 
At the end of the season I took a fine box of honey, net con¬ 
tents twenty pounds ; and left the stock forty-five pounds in 
three boxes full of combs.” That was storifying with a 
vengeance. Four boxes on the top of each other, what a height 
the hive must have been! The boxes must be larger than the 
j usual size—about one foot square, to hold sixty-five pounds of 
I honey. Perhaps we may say that nearly one half of the 
room in the hive was occupied with combs, and bees especially ; 
“ as there were drones in it at the same time a thing con¬ 
trary to the habits of bees. We need hardly say, that the 
males are destroyed before the end of the honey season. 
We have heard of rare instances of drones being alive late in 
J the autumn : but they were in weak hives shortly to perish. 
Also, we have known instances of a second brood of males : 
one was in a strong stock of the late Mr. Savage, of Swafiham, 
whom Mr. Cotton mentions in his book on bees ; another in a 
bellglass, which a friend happened to have on a strong hive 
late in the autumn. Both belonged to bee-keepers, who 
knew better than to have two boxes on the top of a hive in 
the winter, as “Apiarian” did. The topmost one, on the 
1st of May, he “found rife with young drones, perfectly shaped, 
but as small as workers.” As the cells of drones, in general, 
are only a shade deeper than common ones, the supposed 
males must have had nearly their full length of growth in the 
latter, especially as the mouths of the cells were sealed up in 
the usual way. Therefore, they were not like dumpy bees of 
both sexes, wliich we have said were bred in small cells on 
the edges of the combs. 
But, supposing we are wrong, where else can “ Apiarian” 
find perfect cells to cramp the larva of the worker? If Huber’s 
theory be right as regards small drones, why not equally so 
with the little workers ? There could not be anything wrong 
with the fecundation of the queen in “ Apiarian’s” hive, 
which succeeded the one that died in the autumn ; otherwise, 
the bees could not have been strong enough on the first of 
May, to take possession of the two upper boxes. 
This is the statement which we passed over; and we may 
add to it, “ that all the brood in the top one were within two or 
three days of coming out.” In connection with both, we may 
safely say, that a strong colony, except in very severe weather, 
always contains young bees in all the different stages of 
existence, from the eggs to the hatched bees. Indeed, as the 
insects are short-lived, and are always gregarious, without such 
a wise provision, a colony, however well managed, must soon 
cease to exist.—J. Wighton. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
The Chrysanthemum.* —All who cultivate this flower 
with a desire to grow it excellently, should buy this little work. 
It is filled with useful information, the result of twenty-five 
years attentive cultivation of its subject. It contains full par¬ 
ticulars relative to the culture of the Pompone, as well as of 
the larger kinds, with descriptions of all the best varieties. 
Diary of the Dairy, &c.f—This is a very useful journal, 
containing, besides the Diary for daily returns of produce, in¬ 
formation relative to the diseases of cows, pigs, and poultry; 
directions for management, &c. 
Carter’s Floral Illustrations. —These very beautiful 
and coloured portraits of flowers are published monthly, by 
Messrs. Carter and Co., Seedsmen, Holborn. No. 3 just out, 
is a group composed of Tropceolwtn Lobbii Caroline Schmidt ; 
Tacsonia ignea; Shotv Carnations; Perpetual Carnations ; 
and Ipomcea hederacea superba. 
Solomon’s Gardens at Jerusalem. — These celebrated 
gardens extend along a valley which runs from El-Bownach 
to Bethlehem. It is the most charming spot in all Palestine. 
There are murmuring streams, winding through verdant lawns; 
there are the choicest fruits and flowers, the Hyacinth and 
the Anemone, the Eig tree and the Pine. Towering high 
above the garden, and contrasting grandly with its soft aspect, 
are the dark precipitous rocks of the neigbouring mountains, 
around whose summits vultures and eagles incessantly scream, 
and describe spiral circles in the air. The rare plants and 
flowers, which Solomon collected within these gardens, v r ere 
protected from the north wind by the mountains. Every 
gust of the south w T ind was loaded with perfume. With the 
first breeze of spring the Eig tree puts forth its fruits, and 
the Vines begin to blossom. It was, in the words of Scrip¬ 
ture, “ a garden of delights.” The vegetations of the north 
and south were intermingled. One part of the garden was 
called Walnut-tree Walk (or, as the English Scripture trans¬ 
lation lias it, “ The Garden of Nuts”), another is the “ Beds 
of Spices.” The present tenant is an Englishman, Mr. 
Goldsmith, of the house of Goldsmith and Son, who is under¬ 
draining the garden on the Yorkshire system. Since the 
eastern war, Mr. Goldsmith has obtained the custom of the 
Pacha of Jerusalem for vegetables. Last year he had seven 
crops of Potatoes, thanks to his wonderful drainage. 
* Culture of the Chrysanthemum, as practised in the Temple Gar¬ 
dens. By Samuel Broome, F.H.S. Sold at the Lodge, Inner Temple 
Gardens. 
+ Diary of the Dairy, Piggery, and Poultry Yard for 1858. By an 
Essex Amateur. Colchester : Essex and West Suffolk Gazette Office, 
