389 
THE COTTA.Or? GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 22, 1R59. 
make comb?, they also store up honey in the half-finished cells— 
even on the first clay after they are settled in a new hive—besides 
their consumption of honey as food while they are making combs, 
and collecting the other necessary materials for the rising colony. 
However the statement of Grundlach may favour the notion of 
bees gorging themselves with honey from the stocks, before they 
swarm, to enable them to make was, in general this charge 
fails ; for, if had weather keeps the bees at home a few days, they 
not only cease from making combs, but shortly perish front want 
of food. I may have noticed this in a previous paper, and now 
pass on to observe the decrease of wax in combs after they have 
contained brood. 
I am not aware of this having been noticed by any writer, but 
it is, nevertheless, true ; and it scents difficult to account for the 
change of the waxen cells, except on the supposition that it is the 
consequence of moisture, or secretion front the larvse, which 
changes the wax into a sort of varnish to strengthen the cells. 
If this is correct, it may account for brood combs containing 
little or no wax ; the cells grow tougher with age—whereas, those 
in honey combs are always brittle. I give these remarks, how¬ 
ever, with some diffidence; for, perhaps, brood cells may have 
more propolis in their construction, and less wax, than honey 
ones. However it be, I may note that it is very difficult to get a 
sight of bees making combs, in the usual way, as they aro hid in 
the cluster. A few bees, however, may be soen with their seg¬ 
ments, or pockets, full of wax ; and occasionally a stray one with 
a scale of it in its mouth. During hot weather, when they com¬ 
mence comb-building, in the additional room in novel hives, 
without clustering, the insects may be seen ejecting wax from 
their mouths when forming the cells ; and likewise producing 
wax the same way, to seal up the cells full of honey. 
Since the above was written, I find that “ A Devonshire 
Bee-keeper” objects to my statement that wax, which “conics 
from the stomach through the mouth, cannot be a secretion.” 
If I had called it an expectoration, or a saliva, perhaps that 
would have been more satisfactory, though seemingly less true; 
and, according to this view of the case, honey may be called a 
sweet saliva, for it is ejected from the insects’ stomachs, or honey 
fobs, through their mouths into the cells. 
I am also called “ a bold man,” by another writer, for opposing 
llubcr. However that may be, I have to point out to him that 
humble bees collect no honey from the “nettle,” if the common 
one is meant; likewise, that they frequent the same kind of 
flowers as the hive bees. They certainly reject some favourite 
flowers of the wild ones, especially long-tube blossoms ; not from 
any peculiarity of the honey, but rather in consequence of the 
shortness of their probosces to reach it. I may observe, that 
sometimes even cousin Johns and wasps herd in the same pas¬ 
turage with hive bees : likewise, that this writer does not seem to 
be aware that the latter collect propolis on their thighs, and 
carry it home as they do pollen. With regard to my opposition 
to lluber, I am well aware that what I have said on bees ejecting 
wax is contrary to the belief of some eminent m?n; but I am 
speaking from long and close observations of the insects.—J. 
Wjghton. 
P.S.—On March 4th, the thermometer (near Norwich) was 
64° in the shade at two o’clock, when I observed three different 
kinds of butterflies, hive bees, a humble bee, and, what was still 
more remarkable, a bat flying abroad in the full sun. 
The Tp.AYF.r.T.F.n's Tree. — Since we had left the lower 
country, the rofia had become smaller ami less frequent; but 
the Traveller’s Tree was abundant on the sides of the hills, and 
in the valleys, and in every moist part of the country ; appearing, 
at this elevation, to attain its greatest perfection. This tree, 
Urania speciosa, is, altogether, one of the most remarkable that 
has been discovered in Madagascar; and the extent to which 
it prevails may be inferred from the native name—llavinala, by 
which it was designated by Sonnerat, its discoverer, liavinala 
is literally “leaf of the forest," as if it were the leaf by which the 
forest was characterised; which is the fact where it abounds, 
though, in many parts, it is not met with at all. The tree rises 
from the ground with a thick, succulent stem, like that of the 
Plantain, or the larger species of Strelit/.ia, to both of which it 
bears a strong resemblance.. It sends out from the centre of 
the stem Tong, broad leaves, like those of the Plantain, only less 
fragile; and rising, not round the stall;, but in two lines on 
opposite sidys u so that, as the leaves increase, and the lower 
owes droop at the end, or extend jiori«o»t.dly, the tree jnevents 
the appearance of an open large fan. When the stem rises ten 
or twelve feet high, the lower part of the outer covering be¬ 
comes hard and dry, like the bark of the Cocoa-nut tree. Many 
of the trees in this region were, at least, thirty feet from the 
ground to the lowest leaves. I frequently counted from twenty 
to twenty-four leaves on a single tree; the stalk of each leaf 
being six or eight feet long; and the broad leaf itself four or 
six feet more. The whole of these twenty-four bright-green, 
gigantic leaves, spread out like a fan at the top of a trunk thirty 
feet high, presented a spectacle as impressive as it was to me 
rare and beautiful; and in this part of the country they were 
the most conspicuous objects for miles together. Were it not 
that these vast, bright-green, shining leaves are slit on each side 
by the winds, and so flatter in smaller portions with the passing 
breeze, the prevalence of this tree would impart a degree of 
almost inconceivable magnificence to the vegetation of the 
country. In the fan like head of the Traveller's Tree there were 
generally three or four branches of seed-pods. The parts of 
fructification seemed to be enclosed in a tough firm spathe, like 
those of the Cocoa-nut; but the subsequent development was 
j more like that of the fruit of the Plantain. When the pods, or 
I seed-vessels (of which there were forty or fifty on each bunch) 
were ripe, they burst open, and each pod was seen to enclose 
thirty or more seeds, in shape like a small Bean, but enveloped 
in a fine silky fibre of the most brilliant blue or purple colour. 
1 But this tree has been most celebrated for containing, even 
I during the most mid season, a large quantity of pure fyesh 
j water, supplying to the traveller the place of wells in the desert. 
Whenever I inquired of the natives, they always affirmed that 
such was the fact; and that, so abundunt and pure was the 
water, that when the men were at wotk near the trees, they did 
not take the trouble to go to the stream for water, but drew off 
and drank the water from the tree. Having formerly been 
somewhat sceptical on this point, 1 determined to examine 
some of the trees; and, during my journey this morning, wc 
stopped near a clump of the trees. One of my hearers struck a 
spear four or five inches deep into the thick, firm end of the stalk 
of the leaf—about six inches above its junction with the trunk ; 
and on drawing it back, a stream of pure clear water, gushed 
out, about a quart of which wo caught in a pitcher, and all 
drank of it on tbo spot. It was cool, clear, and perfectly sweet. 
On further examination, 1 found that there was no filtration of 
the water through any part of the plant, as I had been led to 
suppose when I had seen water drawn by Sir William Hooker 
from one of the specimens in the Palm-house at Kew. There 
was a kind of natural cavity, or cistern, at the base of the stalk 
of eaeli of the leaves, above its union with the stem; and the 
water, which had been collected on the broad and ribbed sur¬ 
face of the leaf, had flowed down a groove, or spout, on the upper 
| side of the stalk into this natural reservoir, whence it supplied 
nutriment to the tree, and refreshment to the traveller or 
| the. labourer.—(“ Three Visits to Madagascarby the llev. 
I William Ellis.) 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
E. G. Henderson and Son's Seed List for 1859. Wellington 
■ Hoad, St. John's Wood, London. —This forms a large pamphlet 
of eighty-two pages, containing a very full list of flower and 
vegetable seeds. It abounds in descriptive notes and cultural 
observations on the more remarkable things, ; —very useful 
both in their selection and future management. It contains a 
great many novelties : but one of the greatest is an extraordinary 
collection of Gourds and Vegetable Marrows of all conceivable 
! shapes and colours-—certainly the best collection we have ever 
seen enumerated. There you have the Gooseberry Gourd, which 
is just the size, shape, and colour of a green hairy Gooseberry, 
and about eighty more of intermediate size, up to the great 
Mammoth Pumpkin, weighing a hundredweight. We also oG 
serve an excellent collection of upwards of sixty ornamental 
Grasses, besides many other attractions which wc have not sufli* 
cicnt space to specify. 
A Descriptive Catalogue of English and Foreign Novelties 
cultivated for Sale by John Salter, Versailles Nursery, Ham¬ 
mersmith. Spring, 1859. This includes an enumeration, and 
descriptions, of those articles for which the Versailles Nursery is 
celebrated ; of which Chrysanthemums form an important feature. 
Dahlias, also, of select and best varieties ; besides Phloxes, Irises, 
Fuchsias, Verbenas, Scarlet Geraniums, and the other popular 
florists’ flowers, 
