THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, January 6, 1857. 
243 
| by accident, cut his squares anything under a quarter of 
| an inch too large, it is ten to one but he breaks the 
square in trying to get that piece off; in fact, I believe 
the difficulty in cutting it to fit has a considerable 
influence on the price charged. That it is liable to get 
dirty need not be wondered at when we feel the 
roughened surface. This, of course, may be prevented 
by washing; but it is often difficult and inconvenient to 
reach every part of a lofty house at all times when it is 
needed. Of its non-transparency it is only necessary to 
hold a written paper near it, and try to read the words 
through it. Some of the kinds used will allow this to 
be done three or four inches from the glass, none 
farther that I have examined, while the greatest number 
cannot be seen through distinctly more than half an inch, 
or even less. Now, this is a great drawback when the 
front lights or windows of a plant-house face an im¬ 
portant walk, while the benefits it extends to the 
plants are very questionable. I would, therefore, ad¬ 
vise that under all circumstances a clear, transparent 
glass be used for the front, whether the same be at top 
or not. 
Having pointed out the merits and defects of the two 
kinds of glass in general use, 1 now make a few remarks 
on the comparative claims of each, and in doing so 
will endeavour to give as impartial an opinion as I can; 
and I might likewise add here, that circumstances of late 
brought me into contact with one of the most eminent 
hothouse builders of the day, as well as some of the 
most successful nurserymen, whose opinions I found, 
in some cases, to be diametrically opposite; but from 
them and other sources, as well as from my own 
experience, I am led to give the following advice to 
the inexperienced who may be about erecting structures 
of the kind in question :— 
Forcing-houses. —Under this head may be iucluded 
all houses, pits, or frames used for growing Vines, 
Peaches, Melons, Cucumbers, or, in fact, any fruit or 
vegetable in ordinary use. All these I would have glazed 
with good sheet glass. I ought, also, to have added 
Pines, which some growers shade in summer, and might 
think would be benefited by a rough plate glass roof; 
but I have grown them for years under an unshaded 
sheet glass covering, and am convinced that, if they will 
not stand all the sun we have and be benefited by it, 
there is something amiss with them. I therefore, 
without any qualification, advise all forcing-houses to 
be roofed with good British (not Belgian) sheet glass. 
Plant-houses, which may include all pits or frames 
where plants are grown and fiowered, but more especially 
such houses as conservatories, greenhouses, &c., where 
a prolonged blooming of the plants inside is wanted. 
These might be of rough plate if thought well of, but 
I confess having a partiality for the other; nevertheless, 
that spirit of inquiry and improvement which is abroad 
may possibly give us a better kind of rough plate than 
we yet possess, and 1 will then add my testimony to 
that of those who now approve of it. In the meantime, 
I beg to say that many who have adopted it find, to their 
cost, that its merits have been over rated, for it is not 
unusual to see an ornamentally-built conservatory roofed 
with this glass obliged to be painted, shading being 
inapplicable, and the appearance inside is then any¬ 
thing but agreeable ; but for houses used for the growth 
of Geraniums, Fuchsias, &c., I daresay it will answer 
better than sheet, and on that account is more in favour 
with nurserymen than gardeners; and amongst the 
latter it is not unlikely that the popularity it has in 
certain cases may arise from other sources as well; for, if 
they had been suffering from the ill effects of bad sheet 
glass, I feel certain they would hail any change as a 
boon. Hence the outcry against sheet glass. That 
indifferent rough plate is sometimes used as well as the 
other I have no doubt; but until the best in use be 
improved I must give my unqualified opinion in favour 
of sheet for most of the purposes wanted in gardening. 
J. Robson. 
APIS. 
A TRAGEDY. 
In May last I was consulted by an invalid as to the 
speediest mode of eradicating a chronic fit of ennui , and out- ! 
door matters being always uppermost in my mind I sug- 1 
gested gardening, poultry, bees—anything smacking of fresh 
air, and demanding patience and a little exercise. The : 
patient snapped at this idea, began digging away, and re¬ 
solved to find peace of mind in the care of flowers and bees. 
On the 27th of May a hive containing a new swarm was pur¬ 
chased, sent home in the cart a distance of seven miles, 
and was at once placed on the bee-stall, the intention being 
to add another and another until there should be an exhibi¬ 
tion astonishing to behold. Of course the bees were a little 
restive for a day or two, and, of course, dead grubs were 
brought out and broken comb patched up during at least a 
week thereafter. 
Let me name my friend Jenkins, just for the sake of 
having a name to deal with. From the moment that Jen¬ 
kins paid his money he detested the crazy hive—an old 
straw one with three holes for supering—though he vowed 
he loved the bees with all his heart and soul—such pretty, 
docile, energetic creatures ! Jenkins at once read up, and 
discovered that by fumigating bees were easily removed from 
one hive to another, and forthwith he procured a new cottage 
hive, had it gaily painted, and made up his mind to gain a 
little Bee experience by at once removing his darlings from 
a shanty to a palace. 
The 7th of June he set to work. A temporary table was j 
formed in a shed, several long pipes and abundance of 
tobacco and lucifer matches were ready, and just as twilight 
ended Jenkins put on a pair of gloves, lighted his candle, 
and set to work. On the left hand he placed the new hive, 
and on the right the crazy one, with its floor-board attached. 
A damp cloth was then wrapped around the bottom of the 
old hive, a pipe was lighted, the waxed end of the pipe 
thrust into the hive, and surrounded with the cloth, and the 
bowl—very incandescent—gripped between his teeth, and 
covered with the upper lip. Now, full of courage and con¬ 
fidence, Jenkins began to blow; he blew till his eyes started 
from their sockets, and giddiness threatened to prostrate 
him. Hark ! What a roar ! as if the sea had undermined 
the world, and the breakers were settling in the graves of 
centuries. He rested a moment as that roar broke out 
again. He felt inclined to fly—to abandon everything, and, 
at any risk, save his own life from the fate that seemed im¬ 
pending. The books, lie says, never mention the roar of 
infuriated bees. 
But Jenkins resumed his courage, having read that “ con¬ 
fidence is the best bee-armour." He lighted another pipe, 
and yet another, and blew so much smoke that he expected 
every moment that the hive would blow up, and involve him 
and his bees in one common ruin. Ah, that tapping sound! 
“They fall, they fall, and Rome is ours!” He opens the 
cloth at the mouth of the hive, and out rushes a black stream 
of bees, creeping over him, and rambling everywhere, hum¬ 
ming as they go the terrible note of despair. Another puff, 
and down they rattle; another, and they rattle faster. Now 
he remembers that “ a few slight taps cause the bees to fall 
quickly on the floor-board.” He hammers away with both 
hands, for he is now growing frantic. More smoke, more 
drumming, and at last Jenkins is exhausted, and the bees 
rush out in streams, and, for the best of reasons, “ refuse to 
be comforted.” 
He takes a deep draught of something, and now for the 
solemn climax. He sprinkles the new hive with sugared 
beer, and then lifts the smoked hive away from its board. 
What a scene of horror! Comb, bees, honey, piled in one 
undistinguisliable mass ; the honey flows in streams every¬ 
where ; the bees lie in heaps like grocers’ currants ; and the 
spectacle is that of a plum-pudding when the pan breaks 
during the stirring up, only that, in this case, the currants 
are alive and roaring, though a little subdued, as if the thirst ; 
for vengeance had grown keener. 
