THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 12 , 1858. 
25 
cultivated lands ; but, for ordinary situations, sucli as my pre¬ 
sent locality, I am quite convinced that a seven-bar hive is 
superior to one of eight bars. I have, therefore, lately had all 
my bar and slide hives made with seven bars, feeling the desira¬ 
bility of keeping to one pattern. 1 think seven-bar hives more 
adapted for general use, inasmuch as they answer well in a 
moderate locality; and, when used in a good one, with good 
swarms, they can always be increased in size, to any extent, by 
adding boxes above or below the original stock, as may be re¬ 
quired. Again, seven-bar hives, with a shallow top box, are well 
adapted for carrying out the method of honey gathering recom¬ 
mended by the younger Wildman, a plan which is deserving of a 
much more extensive employment than it receives. 
This plan consists in placing a very good swarm, or two if 
weak, in a hive with a small top box, which, in favourable 
seasons, can be removed in six weeks, with ten pounds of honey, 
almost equal in quality to that furnished by an old stock 
supered. In fact, if this top box has been rapidly filled, the 
central comb alone will show signs of having had brood in it. 
As to the assumed greater concentration of heat, in winter, in 
a broad eight-bar hive, I believe the supposition to be erroneous. 
Heated air always ascends, and, when spread over the large 
surface of a broad hive, cannot be so concentrated as in a deeper 
and narrower one. 
With regard to the width of bars, I am quite sure that 
Golding’s measurement is correct,—namely, one inch and one- 
ciglith for the bars, and half an inch for the spaces or slides 
between. 
The correspondent who sends such interesting details from 
Devonshire questions this, stating that in a hive a foot square 
eight combs will always be built. My experience is against his. 
In my own bar hives, which are of the measure above stated, I 
never find eight combs, even when guide comb is not put in,—I 
mean, not eight regular combs ; often, however, one comb thins 
away at one part, and there is a small piece put in to supply the 
deficiency. I have worked with German bar hives with narrower 
bars, and always found that I got very often one comb on two 
bars. Having some scores of hives at work, of the seven-bar 
pattern, I do not speak without data, and would urgently protest 
against the use of any bars narrower than one inch and one- 
eiglith, or of spaces less than half an inch. 
I have just performed an experiment, which places the supe¬ 
riority of bar hives over all others, hi a very strong point of 
view. Wanting to stock an additional observatory hive for this 
winter’s inspection, I placed it alongside one of my bar and slide 
hives. Withdrawing the slides, I lifted out the bars hi succession, 
with the combs and bees attached, and placed them in the ob¬ 
servatory hive,—the whole operation not occupying ten minutes, 
although the stock was very strong, having had the bees from two 
straw skips previously added to it. 
Four pounds of syrup were then given by way of enabling the 
bees to secrete wax to repair any damage, and cement the combs 
to the sides of the new hive; and the next day all was going on 
as quietly as ever, with this difference, that the opaque wooden 
box had become transparent, with non-conducting sides of so 
perfect a character, that the hive is not covered over, even during 
winter.—W. B. Tecjetmeiee, Muswell Hill, IV. 
DIOSCOREA BATTATAS. 
I see, in your Notices to Correspondents, in The Cottage 
Gardener of September 14th, you state that you have never seen 
JDioscorea Battatas in bloom. Mine are covered with blossom. 
It very much resembles the bloom of the Grape. Arc you aware 
that the leaves of the plant contain more mucilage than those of 
any other plant with which I am acquainted ? Can it not be 
turned to advantage ? — Thos. Scott, Vendaceburn Cottage, 
Lochmaben. 
NOTES FOR THE FLOAVER GARDEN. 
Now is the time when all are busy, or ought to be, in arranging 
the colours, and preparing stock for the flower garden next season. 
By far the best plan is, first, to decide finally what your inten¬ 
tions are, then to prepare abundantly for carrying them out, by 
propagating only what is really wanted. A\ hen bright colours 
fire preferred to variety, let your selections of plants be as dis¬ 
tinct in colour as possible, particularly if your object is ribbon- 
beds or borders, which are quite, and justly, the order of the 
day. Never attempt what is called shading, particularly if the 
beds be surrounded with grass, the green of which will well 
harmonise with, and soften the brightest of colours. True, all 
have some particular taste peculiar to themselves, which renders 
it impossibe for me to lay down any particular law for the arrange¬ 
ment of a flower garden parterre, &c.; still I have observed, 
within the last season or two, a general partiality for some par¬ 
ticular beds of colour as arranged, and will be pleased, as far 
as possible, to lay them before the readers of The Cottage 
Gaedenee, with an example or two to show where the attraction 
lay, the chief secret being, not to have, as is generally the case, 
one colour with, but a shade different in, the adjoining plant 
or row. 
Example Eiest. —For a long border,—say, eight feet wide,— 
begin with eighteen inches of Ceraslium tomentosum, or variegated 
Alyssum; eighteen inches of Tom Thumb, Scarlet Geranium ; 
twelve inches Aurea Jloribunda, Calceolaria (by far the best of 
the orange colour) ; eighteen inches, Punch Scarlet Geranium; 
twelve inches, Calceolaria amplexicaulis, yellow; backed with 
eighteen inches of Perilla Nankinensis, purple, a useful plant, 
well adapted for a background. 
For a border, or bed, of the same width, twelve inches Cerastium 
tomentosum, white; eighteen inches, Purple King Verbena; twelve 
inches, Mrs. JTol/ord Verbena, white; twelve inches, Mangles' 
Pink Variegated Geranium; twelve inches, white Verbena; 
eighteen inches, purple Verbena ; and twelve inches, Cerastium, 
as on the opposite side. 
This I believe to be an improvement upon the best bed in the 
kingdom. I wish it to be understood, that I would not confine 
the gardener to the plants here enumerated; they are only given 
as an example of what the colours must be, and then- relative 
position to each other. 
The present article may appear unseasonable, but I believe 
there is no more befitting time than previous to preparing stock 
for planting. It is by far the best to get ready the plants for 
your previous arrangement, than be necessitated to arrange 
according to your stock of plants, which is too often the case.— 
Hoetulanus. 
QUERIES AND AN SAVERS. 
LUXURIANT LAMARQUE ROSE. 
«I planted a Lamarque Rose against the side of my house, 
facing east, last November. It flowered in August, and has now 
thrown out strong shoots, some of them twelve and fifteen feet 
lon>u Will you inform me when, and to what extent, I shall 
cut it in ?”—V. A. M. 
[How different from those wdio can hardly keep their old Roses 
alive, in such a season as that of last summer, as, for instance, 
Dr. Lindley, according to his own showing. We have never 
heard of Lamarque doing so prodigiously the first year, and, 
unless you are quite sure of the kind, you will be disappointed, 
and find you have one of the sempervirens climbers, instead of 
Lamarque. The same rule applies to the pruning of them when 
they are so vigorous. Do not touch it till the first week in April, 
_then cut off five-feet from the fifteen-feet shoots, and four feet 
from the twelve-feet shoots. If there are weakly shoots, cut 
them out entirely this month. The ride is safe for all strong 
climbers.] 
ERECTING AND HEATING A LEAN-TO 
GREENHOUSE. 
«I wish to erect a greenhouse in my reserve garden, to be used 
chiefly for preserving bedding plants through the winter. I pro¬ 
pose that it should be a lean-to, as I have a wall in the garden 
facing south, against which I might build it. It is to be twenty 
feet long, twelve feet wide, and six feet high in front, two feet and 
a half of which is to be brickwork. For these dimensions, to what 
height of the back wall should we go for the pitch of the roof ? 
For ventilation, I am thinking of making openings (without 
shutters) into a back shed, these openings to be three feet by one 
foot in every four feet of wall, and to be made just below the wall- 
plate, after the fashion of Rivers’ orchard-houses. Now, I sup¬ 
pose this amount of ventilation would not be sufficient; and, if so, 
can I get it more effectually without having it from the roof, or from 
the part of the front which is glass, both of which I desire should 
