145 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 8, 1858. 
the patent-right, which farmers and other tillers of the 
i soil have for constantly grumbling, is not altogether 
without its causes. A north country farmer, whose 
winter fodder is about exausted in the early part of 
April, wishes himself and stock transported to the 
south, where, he is told, the fields are fetlock deep in 
grass; while, about August, the same may be said of 
the south country one, wishing his sun-burnt meadows 
were as fresh and green as some he hears of some half- 
dozen counties northwards. 
A journey by rail discloses this feature more than 
anything else ; and it has often occurred to me, and, I 
daresay, to others also,—Could the railway not be made 
available for conveying large quantities of sheep and 
cattle, in the middle of summer, from the dry, burnt- 
! up districts of the south and east of England to the 
i opposite directions ? A similar migration might take 
j place in a contrary way in early spring, or late in 
autumn ; for it often happens that the growth of grass 
after the middle of September exceeds that before it, 
in this neighbourhood (Kent), and continues growing 
until January ; there being the last autumn more fresh 
grass at that time than in August in most places. At 
the same time, be it remembered, that grass in late 
autumn is not like that in summer for the purposes of 
feeding: hence the superior value of grass in those 
districts Avhere it will grow unscathed, or nearly so, by 
the midsummer sun, or the dry weather of the dog 
days. 
The migration of cattle has nothing new in it. We 
are told they do exactly this where left in a state of 
nature ; and birds of various kinds do it with a regu¬ 
larity that is proverbial in many ways ; the appearance 
of the cuckoo, nightingale, and other favourites being 
almost so Avell known as to be embodied in the 
calendar. And we have evidence in Holy Writ of a 
Avhole family (the origin of a great nation), with all 
their cattle and other effects, going doAvn to Egypt at 
a time of great scarcity. 
£fow, with our boasted means of easy transit, I 
hope the day is not far distant when a south country 
farmer may be able to send his cattle down to Lanca¬ 
shire, and other moist grazing districts, to fatten in 
summer, and receive them back again in autumn, to 
finish off at home with the grass he has there. The 
difficulties in the Avay might as easily be surmounted 
as were those of sending the cattle from distant 
places to London market. It only Avants to be esta¬ 
blished, which it doubtless will be in time. Enter¬ 
prising graziers now frequently have farms in places 
and situations differing widely from each other ; and, 
no doubt, the difference will keep increasing, until the 
railway and telegraph accommodation enables him to 
have one in Devon and one in Derbyshire,—to be 
able to knoAv wliat is going on at each place every 
day, to give his instructions every night accordingly, 
I and transport his cattle as occasion requires. 
In making this digression on farming affairs, I am 
| only doing so by Avay of comparing the condition of 
i that most common of all useful productions, grass, 
| with the ordinary garden crops expected to be pro- 
! duced in all gardens, and to urge the necessity of those 
j moderating their expectations who have a garden of 
I an extreme kind: take, for instance, a hot, hungry, 
| gravelly soil, with only a feAV inches fit to till; as 
underneath it is likely to be barren and unproductive, 
so that no ordinary loosening of the substratum can 
make it a healthy medium for the action of roots. On 
such a soil, it is useless to expect good Cauliflowers 
and Lettuce in the hot summer months ; while they 
very likely will live through a severe winter,—better 
there than in a cooler place. It is like the case of the 
grass fields alluded to above ; and it cannot be too 
strongly urged on the inexperienced, the impossibility 
of having everything in first-rate order at all, or any 
place, even in those most favoured by natural advan¬ 
tages and good cultivation : something or other will 
be found not to thrive so well as could be wished ; 
while, in those lea^t favoured by nature, there is sure 
to be a something that it is adapted to. 
The above remarks are made with a view to remove 
the dissatisfaction so often expressed by employers, 
who, in passing through that best of all gardens, 
Covent Garden,” see many productions superior to 
Avhat their own garden furnishes. The great demand, 
and large quantities, of everything Avanted for the Me¬ 
tropolis, has led to each article being grown in the soil 
and situation best suited for it; and those who cultivate 
only one or two articles on the best possible soil 
adapted for these things, may reasonably be expected to 
arrive at a degree of perfection in their limited calling, 
which one, having a more extended sphere of action, 
cannot well attain in that particular branch. The bleak j 
hill of Westmoreland cannot compete with Cornwall ! 
for fine spring Broccoli; Avhile the latter place falls | 
short of the \ T ale of the Thames, in furnishing Aspara¬ 
gus, Lettuces, and many other kitchen vegetables. 
Lancashire has long been noted for Potatoes ; but the 
early ones come from the Scilly Islands, and other ex¬ 
treme southern places. All these different things 
having been found out, by long established experience, 
to be those best suited to their respective districts, and 
these differing, as I have above stated, widely from 
each other, it is unreasonable to expect any one garden 
to compete Avith Covent Garden, in the quality of its 
produce in detail. I strongly urge a due consideration 
of this on all those who, passing through that amply- 
stocked depot, look Avith some degree of envy, or dis¬ 
satisfaction, on the fine things exposed to view. At 
the same time, while urging this on employers, I 
equally urge all young gardeners from the country, 
to look through this interesting market as many times 
as they can make it convenient; for, I confess, no hor¬ 
ticultural exhibition I have ever witnessed has been so 
interesting to me as a walk through this famed collec¬ 
tion of garden produce; and young men from a dis¬ 
tance, who may be paying London a visit for the first 
time, will do Avell to bear in mind, that at least two of 
the most important gardens by which it is adorned, are 
free to the public at all reasonable hours,—Kew 
Garden and Covent Garden. If to these be added the 
Crystal Palace, there will be an ample field for the 
storing aAvay of knoAvledge, which it is likely he will 
turn to account another day ; other attractions there 
are, certainly, but these I leave till another time. 
J. Robson. 
THE COTTAGE BEEKEEPER. 
A Letter 
TO ALL SIMPLE FOLK AVHO KEEP, OR INTEND TO KEEP, BEES. 
By P. Y. M. E. 
(Continued from 'page 134.) 
It may be of service to the cottager, to have a brief sum¬ 
mary of the operations of bee-management in each month of 
the year. I therefore recommend to his attention the fol¬ 
lowing 
CALENDAR 
OF MONTHLY MANAGEMENT. 
In this calendar, adopting the arrangement of an old 
writer on bees, I begin the bee-year with the month of 
October. —Guard against Avasps and other robbers, if any ! 
are seen about the hives. The best way to do this is by 
narrowing the entrances. Keejt^ away spiders, and see that j 
no other insects or vermin harbour about the hives. 
November. —Clear away weeds about the hives, and keep j 
an eye on them generally. If the entrances are too large, mice 
will frequently get into the hives; they are also apt to lurk 
