388 
TIIF; COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 22, 1859. 
and grated Horseradish. With this stuff the Cucumbers ns full as 
possible, and replace the piece that was cut off, binding it with 
thread. Pour hot vinegar over them for three successive days. 
The last time boil with the vinegar pepper, flour of mustard, and 
some salt. Put the Cucumbers into jars, and pour over them 
the boiling vinegar; and, when cold, cover them closely.— Roger 
Ashpole. 
{To be continued.) 
SPRING FLOWERS. 
T thank Air. Beaton for his article on “Spring Flowers,” in 
The Cottage Gardener for March 8th. For years I have 
been getting all the spring flowers I could, but I feel 1 am very 
much behind as yet. 
I would call the attention of your readers to the Seilla tribe, 
which are very beautiful, and easily managed. Many of them 
are now in full bloom. The Double Daisies are also cheering us 
with their lovely flowers. 
There is one plant T would particularly eall your attention 
to—-the Tritrleja unijiora. it is a bulb, and described as half- 
hardy, and blooming in June. With me (on the Mend ip Hills) 
it thrives in a border under a west wall, without the slightest 
protection, and blossoms from the third week in March to the 
end of May. I think no flower is more delicately beautiful; and 
I wonder that it is not as common as the Narcissus. 
The Primroses must not be forgotten. Primula denticulata 
blossomed in a cool frame about six weeks since, and is well 
worth a little care. P. involucrata is a gem, and is quite hardy. 
P. Siberica is a sweet little plant, and is just coming into bloom. 
The double Primroses mako beautiful spring beds, and I only 
wish I had all the varieties f have seen described, amounting to 
about a dozen ; but I fancy there is great confusion in the nursery¬ 
men’s catalogues respecting these. 
I have also seen descriptions of eight or ten varieties of 
Ilepaticas, but cannot obtain them anywhere. Should any of 
your readers possess these, or the dozen varieties of double 
Primroses, or the beautiful single species, almost innumerable, 
and would communicate with me, I should be glad to treat with 
them. Letters addressed as below will find me. 
One plant more, arid I have done. Some years ago, I had the 
Myosotis alpestris on some rockwork, and it was the admiration 
of everybody who passed my house; and many ladies asked me 
for flowers and plants. It is one of the best nosegay' flowers 
I know, and I think will make a first-rate bedder: I am trying 
it this spring, and expect in a month’s time to have half-a-dozen 
gem beds. 
For spring decoration, how would a circular bed do with 
single blue Hepatiea in the centre, single wild Primroses next, 
anil edged with double red Hepatiea P 
I am very pleased to find there is a chance of the General 
Index being issued. It is very annoying to have to consult the 
contents of twenty volumes to find what I want.— Myosotis, 
Shepton Mallet, Somerset. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY’S MEETING. 
The March Meeting of the Entomological Society of London was 
held on the 7th inst., the chair being taken by Dr. J. E. Gray, 
F.R.S., the President, who announced that the Council of the 
Society had resolved, that in future the Transactions of the Society 
should be forwarded gratuitously to each of the members, in¬ 
stead of being sold to them at a reduced price as heretofore. 
This step is one in the right direction, and will, doubtless, bring 
an accession of new members to the Society, who will thus 
receive a substantial return, for a portion, at least, of their annual 
subscriptions. 
The list of donations added to the Society’s library since the 
last Meeting was very numerous, including the publications of 
the Royal, Linnsean, and Royal Agricultural Societies ; the Society' 
of Arts ; the Entomological Society' of the Netherlands ; the pub¬ 
lication of the Swedish Government, descriptive of the entomo¬ 
logical treasures collected during the scientific voyage of the 
vessel Huyenia; also, the accentuated and derivative list of the 
names of British lepidopterous insects, published by the Ento¬ 
mological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge. The second part, 
also, of Air. Waterhouse’s catalogue of “British Coleopterous 
Insects of Great Britain,” was on the table. 
Eiue specimens of the rare Aloth Pclasia nubeculosct, reared 
by Air. Foxcroft, from Rannock, in Perthshire, wore exhibited, 
—some of them having remained for two years in the pupa 
state. 
A box of insects, collected by Air. Diggle, at Moreton Bay, in 
New Holland, was exhibited ; and it was remarked, that it con¬ 
tained a large number of beautiful species of minute Aloths 
(Microlepidoptera). 
Air. Stevens also exhibited a box of Butterflies, from Siam, 
I collected by AI. Alonat; and rend an extract from a letter from 
Air. AYallaee, giving an account of his entomological captures in 
one of the islands of the New Guinea group. He had met with 
several very splendid new species of Butterflies, as well as an 
entirely new genus of the Birds of Paradise. 
AH. Douglas exhibited a number of insects, captured during 
the past month near Lee, in Kent: these were chiefly of the 
order Cplcoptcra ; but amongst them was a very large species of 
Elen, captured .amongst damp grass at the side of a pond. Mr. 
Waterhouse stated, t lint he had likewise captured this species of 
I’ulex in moss. Air. Westwood added, that tlie insect, which, some 
time since, he had exhibited at the Society’s Alecting, and which 
ho had received from Gateshead as a gigantic Flea (for which he 
; had jocosely proposed the name of Pul ex imperator ), proved, on 
1 being microscopically examined, to be a very young larva of a 
I Cockroach, with most of the limbs broken off, and with the body 
! distorted! Air. Douglas also exhibited the larva) of a very small 
Beetle, Trinode .s hirttis, taken under bark, which had all the ap¬ 
pearance of a minute Hedgehog. 
Mr. AA r estwood also exhibited three species of insects, which 
had been forwarded to him by Air. Neitner, from Ramboddo, in 
j Ceylon, w here they commit much mischief in the coffee planta¬ 
tions. They consisted of great numbers of a species of scale 
insect, Lecanium coffece, which infest the leaves of the plant in 
myriads, sucking from it all its juices. Also, a minute Alotli, 
and a very small two-winged Fly,—both of which, in the larva 
state, mine tho leaves of the coffee between the two surfaces, and 
thus destroy the vessels by which circulation is carried on. He 
also exhibited several insects, found in some of the ancient 
manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, where their larva?, 
known under the common name of Book Worms, do much 
mischief; tho chief depredators being two species of Anobium, 
A. striatum and A. paniceum. 
A drawing of a remarkable dipterous larva was also exhibited 
by Mr. AVestwood, which has been found to be carnivorous, 
feeding upon the chrysalids of various lepidopterous insects. It 
belongs to the genus Thereva. 
A letter from Air. Gloyne, of Geneva, in Switzerland, was also 
read, giving an account of the habits of the curious Beetle 
Omophron limbatum, which is found in crevices in hanks. 
Specimens of a larva, apparently of a species of Anobium, 
which feeds upon poppy seed, were communicated by Sir Jam- 
setjeo Jeejeebhoy through Air. Lardner. 
Air. lanson mentioned the publication of a new catalogue of 
the Coleoptera of Europe, which had been recently published at 
Berlin. 
Captain Cox exhibited a number of drawings of the Caterpillars 
; of various rare species of British Aloths. He also entered into 
various details relative to the experiments which lie had made on 
! the preservation of the Elm trees in the Regent’s Park from the 
attacks of Scolytus ; which led to an extended discussion amongst 
' the various members present at the Aleeting. 
VEGETABLE WAX- CHANGE OF WAX IN 
BEES’ COMBS. 
AVgetable wax is considered to bo a fixed oil; and, perhaps, 
exists, more or less, in all plants. It serves as a kind of varnish 
to protect leaves and fruit from the injuries of the weather. In 
some kinds of plants it greatly abounds ; so much so, that wax 
is produced from them by boiliug, as an article of commerce, in 
America. The Myrica cerifera, or Canclleberry Alyrtle, takes its 
name from this circumstance: and there can be little doubt that 
the wax extracted from Irish peat had its origin in the vegetable 
matter which formed the bogs ; but, however wonderful that 
process, the wax produced by it is not equal to that clarified by 
bees. This reminds me of “A Devonshire Bee-keeper's ” 
remarks, at p. 236, respecting a statement from Grundlach, that 
“ to form a pound of wax, twenty pounds of honey are required.” 
I doubt if this accords with the habits of bees ; or, at least, how 
can it be clearly proved ? For, as soon as the insects begin to 
