46 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Apeil 20, 1858. 
however, but take off the hackle, or milk-pan, and clean them 
well. Often you will find insects and other vermin about the 
hives, which may get in and annoy the bees. Also lift up 
the hive and peep into it. If you see any mouldy or very black 
and dirty combs , you had better put a veil and gloves on, and 
cut them out gently and carefully with a sharp knife. The 
bees will soon repair the damage, by making new and beautiful 
combs in place of the old. Also scrape the stand well, and 
make the hive all right and snug as before. 
IIow to Handle Bees. —I should tell you that in handling 
bee-hives you must go quietly to work : touch them very 
gently, so as not to knock or jar them ; and, above all, never 
breathe upon your bees. A knock will rouse them in a 
minute, but the breath of man or woman makes them vicious. 
Signs op Weakness in a Hive, and the cause 
theeeof. —Keep on watching your bees through March and 
April: never let a day pass without looking after them, if you 
want them to do well. Jfthey go on taking large quantities of 
pollen into their hive, all is well; but it will sometimes happen 
that they cease doing so by degrees,—less and less every day. 
This is the ivorst possible sign of all. As soon as you discover 
any idleness in your bees like this, and they cease carrying 
pollen into their hive in spring , you had better take up your 
hive at once, and get what honey you can out of it. The bees 
which remain in the hive (and there are often a good many of 
them) will do nothing but amuse themselves with flying in 
and out on fine days, and eating up the honey while it lasts, or 
till they die. The honey you see had better be stored up in 
your cupboard, than wasted upon idle bees. But you will like 
to know the cause of this. I will tell you in a very few words. 
Either the queen-mother is dead, or she is getting old and worn 
0U ^‘ (To be continued .) 
Boyd’s Patent Improved Lawn Mowee. —Those who 
use mowing machines must be aware of the fact, that the re¬ 
volving knives clog, and often run over the grass as though 
they were sweeping it, rather than cutting or breaking it off. 
Mr. Boyd’s invention, we are informed, obviates this. Bristles 
are brought to bear upon the revolving cutters every revo¬ 
lution they make, so as to keep them always clean and fit for 
work. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Cuttings in Sand and Water (A Lady Gardener). —You must try 
again and again till you learn the exact cause of the failure. There 
is no question as to Verbenas striking better and easier this way. Some 
of our best flower gardeners have so grown them for years. To say 
that Verbenas, so rooted, are more liable to mishaps afterwards, is only 
the story of the old sailor over again. He would never sleep in or on 
a bed, because his father and grandfather died in their beds. 
Gardener’s Situation (A Regular Reader). —At the age of eighteen, 
and knowing little of gardening, unless you have a powerful patronage, 
you will not get the means of learning more of gardening than will 
raise you to the rank of a good garden labourer. They would not take 
you as a boy in a large place, and your labour would not be worth 
j there more than that of a day labourer, of whom thousands can earn 
hardly enough to keep them from starvation. Mr. Beaton tells us, 
that to his personal knowledge, there are very few good head gardeners 
who do, or can, take on strangers for the sake of a premium; and most 
! of those who do so, pocket the premium, and take no heed or interest 
whatever in the practical education of the stranger. He says, also, 
that a man, or lad, or boy, who pays a premium to a gardener, is worse 
off than a common labourer, in nine cases out of ten. 
Carson’s Negative Paper (A Subscriber). —You have fallen into an 
| error, common to amateur photographers. Leave the salted paper 
longer on the nitrate of silver, and use more of the solution, l’hoto- 
i graphic paper can be purchased salted, already for use ; that which 
has been prepared with albumen should be used for the best positives. 
See, also, answer to “L. M. N.,” Cottage Gardener, March Kith, 
1858.—E. A. Copland. 
Garden Pi.an (J. F.). —We never lay out gardens. 
“Strue Grass” (T. M. A.).—The very small heads of Asparagus 
are so called. Never let your brother gardeners know that you asked 
us how to cultivate “ Sprue Grass,” or you will never hear the last 
| of it. 
i Scorched Calceolarias, &c. (J. C.). — The tobacco smoke was 
either too hot or too abundant. Either excess is liable to scorch, or 
wither, plants confined in it. 
Inodorous Pelt.— A Subscriber fishes to know where this, re¬ 
commended by the Entomological Society, for mounting insects, can be 
obtained. 
j Various {A Searcher of Knowledge). — A rod is the same as a pole or 
perch, 30 j square yards. The charge for digging varies with locality 
| and soil. A man will dig a rod an hour, of fair garden soil. We 
cannot recommend fruit trees without knowing anything about the 
family requirements and locality. You will find the London measures 
in the “ Gardeners’Almanack,” and “ Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary.” 
You will find the “The Planter’s Puzzle” answered in our 30th 
number. 
Pearl Barley, &c. ( Rose Caroline).— There is no machine adapted 
for families for forming this out of common barley, and if there were 
such a machine, it would be expensive. Barleymeal very finely dressed 
answers well for thickening broths. Sugar cannot be extracted eco¬ 
nomically from Beet-root, on a small scale. Even large manufactories 
cannot compete with imported West Indian sugars in price. Excellent 
beer can be brewed with Beet, substituted for malt. We know of no 
substitute for tea. Chicory root is the best substitute for coffee. Apply 
to Messrs. Deane, Dray, & Co. about the mill. Thanks for the recipe. 
Draining a Level Tract of Ground (B. and TF.). —There are 
various treatises on draining, but so much depends on local circum¬ 
stances, that we cannot well recommend you to abide by their in¬ 
structions entirely. You will, however, see in our paper of next week, 
an article bearing on the subject, which will likely meet your case, and 
we shall be glad to hear from you again, reporting how you have suc¬ 
ceeded. It is a good plan, on going into a strange neighbourhood, to 
consult one or more of the best and most spirited farmers on such 
subjects, for local circumstances govern actions, and having satisfied 
yoursell that the opinion given is free from prejudice, you may, in 
most cases, act upon it. 
Black Prince Pine-aptle (J. TF.). —You arc wrong, the Black 
Brince Pine-apple was exhibited three or four years back, also the 
Charlotte Rothschild about the same time, and both were then de¬ 
scribed in The Cottage Gardener. See our Nos. 334 and 338. 
Names of Plants (Grace). — Your “Uva ursi,” probably, is Arcto- 
staphylos uva-ursi. (An Old Subscriber). —1, is Aster argophyllus, or 
Musk-scented Starwort. 2. Tarchomanthus camphoratus, or Shrubby 
African Fleabane. (F. TF. S.). —There must be some mistake. The 
flowers surely were not produced on the same plant. The dark flower 
is Kennedy a nigricans certainly. The other orange and red flower 
is the Zichya longiraccmosa or longipedunculata of Henderson’s list 
of plants. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
May 26th, 27th, and 28th. Birmingham. Secs., Messrs. Titterton 
and Cattell, 26, Worcester Street. 
June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Bath and West of England. Sec., Mr. 
John Kingsbury, Hammet Street, Taunton. 
J une 28th, 29th, and 30th, and July 1st. Sheffield. Sec., Wm. Henry 
Dawson, Sheffield. 
July 8th. Prescot. Sec., Mr. James Beeslev. 
August 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th. Crystal Palace (Summer Show). 
Entries close July 10th. Sec., W. Houghton. 
August 30th and 31st, and September 1st. North Hants. Sec., Mr. 
T. Moore, Fareham, Hants. 
November 29th and 30th, December 1st and 2nd. Birmingham. See., 
Mr. J. Morgan, Entries close November 1st. 
December 17th and 18th. Halifax Fancy Pigeon Show. Sec., Mr. 
H. Holdsworth, Woolshops, Halifax. 
January 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, 1859. Crystal Falace (Winter 
Show). Sec., W. Houghton. 
N.B. Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
POULTRY HOUSES — CONSEQUENCES OE 
BRICK ELOORS — EGGS FROM PRIZE 
BIRDS. 
When a crowned head in any country visits the theatre, 
the performance is “by special command ; ” and many of our 
correspondents appear good naturedly to assume the “ regal 
majesty,” and order in consequence. This week, then, The 
Poultry Chronicle’s servants will have the honour to repre¬ 
sent “ The Crowded House ; or, What shall I do witli my 
Chickens; ” followed by “ Damp Lodgings, or the Miseries 
of a Brick Floor.” The whole to conclude with the Farce of 
cc Eggs without Chickens. Yivat Regina, and no money re¬ 
turned .” 
“ Sir,” said an old pauper of our acquaintance, “ the 
work’us is very well in the spring and summer, but it is awful 
in the winter. Three in a bed, and the beds is small, and the 
‘ casuals,’ and them as comes in only for the winter, great, 
strong people ; and it does go hard with we poor reg’lar in¬ 
mates, I promise you.” 
“ We wonder,” said we, “ there is not more accommoda¬ 
tion.” 
“ There aint room, sir; the work’us isn’t big enough.” 
“ Well, but,” said we, “ why was it not built larger at the 
time?” 
“ ’Cause they never dreamed the parish would get so large.” 
Row the workhouse erected to lodge with such comfort, as 
may be, 200, is far too small for three times the number. In 
the summer, when inmates are scarce, the master says it is a great 
rambling place; in the winter, when it is crowded, ho swears 
