THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, November 11, 185G. 
99 
share and ours too—he cannot, I say, get the article in its 
primitive and genuine state; no, not even when he sends 
his compliments to his milkman, and requests him, for 
the sake of his custards, which he is about to come out 
strongly with for the peculiar pleasure and gratification of 
his welcome and hungry guests, to send him the veritable 
article, and not the vile and stinking compound. Now, Sir, 
we shall be obliged to you for your advice on the step which 
we contemplate. Firstly, how about the cow ? What breed 
do you recommend ? She will be, probably, under our very 
eyes, and she should, therefore, be a well-conducted cow ; 
for there is, you know. Sir, a time for everything. Then, 
again, how much milk can we reckon upon daily throughout 
the year without the brains and plaster of Paris ? and do 
you, Sir, upon the whole, think our proposal free from 
objection? Your opinion and advice on the above several 
points will oblige—IT. C. L.” 
[We fully sympathise with you in your desire for good 
milk, and we know, from experience, that it is as much to 
be coveted that every patriarch should enjoy the milk of 
his own cow as it was in eastern climes that he should 
live under the shade of his own vine. There are, however, 
one or two difficulties. In the first place, one cow will not 
give an uninterrupted supply—she must be allowed to be 
dry; that is, not to yield milk for some weeks before her 
calving time. Two cows, calving in different months, are 
required; and if two are kept they, at certain times, 
may forget that decorum that ought to be regarded by cows 
pastured on lawns. If you carry out your intention, we 
recommend the small black Welch cows—they are good 
milkers, and yet carry flesh so as to be creditable in 
appearance. A cow, on an average, will give daily eight 
quarts of milk.] 
COMPOST FOR RHODODENDRONS. 
“ I must tell you our soil is clay, for the borders we have 
dug out and “made” them. All bedding-plants do well; 
but I have a quantity of Rhododendrons which have not 
made the least growth. I presume they must have peat, or 
ought to have it. Now, this would be very inconvenient to 
me where I reside. I have plenty of leaf-mould, yellow 
loam, and as much sand as I please. Could not some 
compost be made that these same Rhododendrons would 
thrive, in ? I am rather wishful to form a group of them 
to shut out a part of the kitchen-garden, and have thought 
of forming something with stumps of trees; would that do 
for them?—E. P. T.” 
[One half friable, but strong yellow loam, and one half 
rotten leaf-mould, ought to be, next to peat, the best compost 
for a bed of Rhododendrons ; but, in practice, this rule has 
two exceptions. In such a bed, over chalk, Rhododendrons 
die by inches. If they are over loose sand or gravel it is 
nearly as bad; but a thick mulching of moss—nothing less 
mulchy will do—is a good practice. In clayey ground like 
yours that compost ought to grow Rhododendrons to 
perfection; still, that depends on the kind of yellow loam. 
You must give up the idea of hiding out a view by raising 
them above tbe surface as you propose; if your beds are 
even one foot higher in the centre than the level of the 
ground you run a chance of defeating your aim.] 
BALSAM SEED. 
“ Will you be good enough to inform me if the Balsam 
seed grown at Shrubland Park, as described by Mr. Beaton, 
can be purchased ?— Thomas.” 
[All varieties of the garden Balsam make but one kind of 
plant; the difference is in the flowers. A bad kind, and the 
very worst kind in England, Ireland, and Scotland, can be 
grown just as well as the best was at Shrubland Park. In 
1834 Mr. Hay Brown had six dozen of better-grown Bal¬ 
sams than those at Stoke Edith Park, near Hereford, all at 
one time; and a couple or so as good may be seen almost 
anywhere fifty miles from London. Cultivation makes the 
chief difference.] 
SHRUBS FOR A GRAVE.—WHITE, BLUE, 
AND SCARLET VERBENAS. 
“ Will you be kind enough to inform me what sorts of 
low-growing Shrubs would be best to plant for a grave, to 
stand through the winter, to be removed in the spring, to 
make room for summer flowering-plants ? I was thinking 
about having some in pots to plunge. Would you recom¬ 
mend that?—A Constant Reader. 
“ P.S.—I should be glad if you would inform me which 
is the best white, and blue, and scarlet Verbena for bedding 
purposes, and also a good purple Petunia for bedding.” 
[Small Yews and Box, without pots, are best for graves. 
The best white Verbena is the one which suits your soil 
best. Mont Blanc is usually our best white, and Robinson's ■ 
Defiance is our best scarlet. There is no blue Verbena yet; 
but Blue Bonnet is as good as any of the dark grey ones, and 
these are the nearest to blue. Devoniensis and Prince 
Albert are good purple Petunias.] 
GOOSEBERRIES.—CLIMBERS FOR EAST WALL. 
“Will you kindly answer the queries below? 
“ 1. Which is the earliest, dessert Gooseberry ? 
“ 2. Which is the latest dessert Gooseberry ? 
“ 3. What varieties of Gooseberries are best for a general ' 
crop ? 
“ 4. What Climbers would you recommend for the east 
end of a house in the north of Staffordshire?— IT. Rollison.” j 
[The earliest Gooseberries are— Golden Drop , yellow.* 
Green Gape or Early Green Hairy. Tiger , early red. 
Whitesmith, early white. The latest are— Coe’s Late Red. 
Wandering Girl, late white.* Thumper , late green. Viper, 
late yellow. Those marked * are the best flavoured. 
For a general crop choose Champagne, red. Champagne, 
yellow. Old Rough Red, for preserving. Warrington, for 
preserving, and protecting with mats for late use. See 
Mr. Appleby’s instructions and lists for further information. 
With regard to Climbers for an east wall in your locality, 
you would not be far wrong in ordering the following:— 
Clematis montana, very hardy; Clematis flammula, sweet- 
scented; and White Jasmine. If there is a fire inside the 
house in winter, plant a Magnolia grandiflora in the centre. 
•If the end of the house is spacious you might add the ; 
following climbing Roses: — Williams' New Evergreen, 
creamy white, the flower borne in large racemes. Crimson 
Boursalt, bright purplish crimson ; very free. Myrianthes, 
delicate rose and white clusters ; very flue and large. Ruga 
(Ayrshire) white, large, and sweet.] 
BEES DYING LEAVING HONEY. 
Without knowing the previous condition of “ An Old j 
Subscriber's” stocks, which died last winter, though “ well- j 
provided with honey,” we cannot state with certainty the ! 
cause. Such, however, is not an unusual occurrence in the j 
way stated. “ Not a single living bee was left, and, though i 
some dead ones were found, yet there were not enough to 
account for the loss.” The common opinion that the un¬ 
fruitfulness of the queens is the cause of such can hardly be 
applied in this case, three or four stocks being defunct. We 
suspect the bees got weak in autumn, probably by repeated 
swarming, and many of the bees left were of equal ages, and 
not in sufficient numbers to cover the combs, especially in 
severe weather, by which the pollen would be rendered unfit 
food for the larva; nor would there be heat enough for their 
growth, to fill the places of bees gradually dying off. 
Wasps are rather shy of entering very strong hives, but 
when they are about it is a good plan to reduce the size of 
the doorways, and thus afford the bees better means to 
defend themselves. But when wasps attack hives by whole¬ 
sale, the better way is to close the entrances at night for a 
day or two, except a little for air, and let the bees slaughter 
the intruders; but if these are likely to be masters, as in 
the present case, “ wasps being almost more numerous than 
the bees,” destroy the whole, and take the treasure.— 
J. Wighton. 
