522 
JOURNAL  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  11,  1903. 
foreign  to  any  system  of  rating  that  had  ever  been  attempted  in 
this  country. 
Mr.  Poyser  said  Dr.  Cooper  had  been  asking  whether  he  could 
rate  tenants’  crops,  and  such  nonsense,  in  order  to*excite  a  body 
of  fruit-growers  and  make  it  a  test  for  other  cases.  He  was  there 
to  deal  with  the  value  of  tlie  land  and  not  the  rating  of  fruit. 
Their  simple  duty  was  to  arrive  at  an  equitable  assessment  and 
nothing  else.  He  then  called  Mr.  William  Eve  as  his  first 
witness. 
Dr.  Cooper  objected  to  this,  as  Mr.  Eve  would  be  giving 
evidence  against  his  own  valuation  list.  He  submitted  as  a 
matter  of  law  that  the  valuation  list  was  conclusive.  The  rate¬ 
able  value  of  the  agricultural  land  was  27s.  6d.  an  acre,  and  he 
suggested  that  the  court  could  not  go  beyond  it. 
The  Chairman :  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  all  the  rates  can  be 
amended  bj^  the  Court? 
Dr.  Cooper;  The  rate  must  be  made  on  the  valuation  list,  and 
the  valuer  has  valued  this  farm  at  27s.  6d.  per  acre.  They  cannot 
now  say  it  is  worth  more. 
Mr.  Blofeld  :  They  have  an  uphill  task.  I  think  it  would  be 
an  insurmountable  task. 
The  Chairman  said  he  agreed  that  the  evidence  should  not  be 
l^assed  over. 
William  Eve  said  he  had  had  forty  years’  experience  as  a 
surveyor,  and  as  a  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  W.  Eve  and 
Son,  he  had  valued  about  400,000  acres  in  England  and  Wales. 
He  had  been  first  retained  in  valuing  for  this  Union  about  two 
years  ago.  He  had  acted  for  them  on  a  previous  occasion,  but 
the  last  time  was  on  this  question 
Mr.  Ryde  :  Your  instructions  were  given  to  you? 
Witness :  I  had  a  list  given  to  me,  of  what  property  was  to  be 
assessed  and  how  utilised.  There  were  2,500  acres  under  fruit. 
Did  you  form  your  rateable  value,  and  then  add  another  £1 
thereto?  Xo,  I  did  not. 
What  did  you  have  your  valuation  on?  I  formed  my  valua¬ 
tion  on  what  the  property  would  reasonably  be  supposed  to  let 
from  year  to  year,  and  I  may  say  that  I  did  not  know  the  exist¬ 
ing  rating. 
After  you  had  made  your  initial  rating,  did  you  advise  them 
to  add  £1  on?  I  advised  them  that  it  might  lead  to  accuracy, 
but  it  was  not  a  sound  iDrinciple. 
Did  you  mean  that  the  result  might  happen  to  be  right,  but 
the  method  was  wrong?  Yes.  So  long  as  the  result  came  to 
less  than  your  valuation?  Yes.  And  did  that  come  less?  At 
that  time  it  did. 
In  answer  to  further  questions,  witness  said  he  would  say 
this  land  would  let  at  50s.  an  acre,  and  the  assessment  of  £25  5s. 
which  was  gross  was  a  moderate  one.  He  had  ascertained  what 
the  land  in  the  neighbourhood  was  letting  at,  and  he  had  the 
rents. 
Mr.  Ryde:  Did  you  advocate  the  adding  of  £1  to  any  value? 
Witness:  Xo,  I  worked  out  the  figures  at  their  request  and  they 
arrived  at  the  lower  rate. 
Dr.  Cooper  ci’oss-examining :  When  you  valued  a  farm  did  you 
take  the  average  you  arrived  at?  Witness:  Yes. 
You  separately  rated  the  house  and  cottage?  Yes. 
Stipposing  there  are  100  acres  and  you  value  each  field,  you 
put  it  down  and  add  them  all  up,  you  do  not  put  a  separate  value 
on  each  field?  Sometimes  it  is  asked  for.  It  gives  more  trouble, 
and  I  do  not  do  it  unless  they  are  asked  for.  I  was  supplied  with 
a  schedule  of  the  land. 
Was  that  land  growing  fruit,  and  did  you  add  to  the  existing 
value  of  this  land  because  of  the  capability  of  growing  fruit? 
I  valued  them  because  of  the  capability  of  growing  fruit  or 
anything. 
Of  growing  fruit?  Y>s,  as  well  as  other  things. 
Did  you  on  April  23  furnish  the  Assessment  Committee  with 
suggestions  in  what  way  they  were  to  assess  fruit  ?  Xo. 
Mr.  Eve  further  said  he  had  taken  22^-  per  cent,  of  his  original 
valuation  because  he  was  told  there  had  been  two  bad  years  for 
fruit.  It  was  off  other  land  than  Raspberries  and  Strawberries. 
Dr.  Cooper  again  examined  witness  as  to  the  reference  to  him 
in  the  letter,  and  witness  replied  that  he  had  got  to  carry  out 
their  re.solution,  and  so  recommended  them  to  do  it.  The  £l  an 
acre  was  not  his  recommendation. 
Mr.-Henry  Dann,  F.I.S.,  said  he  had  had  thirty  years’  experi¬ 
ence  in  his  profession.  He  had  offices  in  London  and  Hartford, 
and  acted  as  agent  for  14,000  acres  in  Kent,  of  which  a  very 
large  proportion  v'as  fruit  land.  He  had  seen  the  land  under 
appeal,  and  thought  50s.  was  very  cheap. 
Mr.  Ryde  said  the  Assessment  Committee  had  to  fix  a  rateable 
value  and  the  gross  value.  They  might  have,  and  they  had 
adopted  an  erroneous  method  of  valuing,  but  if  that  erroneous 
method  gave  them  the  right  result  that  was  sufficient.  He  would 
say  they  could  not  alter  the  figures  given.  It  might  be  that  the 
Committee  had  adopted  a  perfectly  ridiculous  principle — and  the 
principle  in  this  case  was  not  ridiculous  as  that — ^but  if  the  result 
was  right,  the  Court  ought  not  to  alter  the  value. 
Tl»e  Chairman  said :  In  this  case  the  Court  allows  the  appeal 
and  orders  the  rate  book  to  be  amended  by  substituting  £15  for 
£25  5s.  the  gross  rateable  value,  and  £13  17s.  6d.  for  £2l  5s.,  and 
costs. 
IS 
he  bee-keeper 
s 
When  to  Start  Bee-keeping. 
After  the  County  Council  lecturer  had  been  in  our  village, 
and  told  of  the  big  profits  arising  out  of  bee-keeping,  although, 
be  it  said  to  his  credit,  he  did  not  lay  any  claims  to  having  iDar- 
taken  of  these  joys  (immense  profits),  everyone  naturally  began 
to  inquire  about  the  best  season  to  commence.  Tlie  months  of 
May  and  June  are  decidedly  the  best,  especially  for  those  whose 
stock  of  ready  cash  is  limited.  In  these  days  of  high  taxation, 
most  people  say  they  are  short,  whether  they  are  or  not.  During 
these  months  swarms  may  be  purchased  at  varying  prices  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  district. — say,  from  four  to  fifteen  shillings.  To  a 
beginner  I  should  say  one  swarm  will  be  ample,  for  then  he  may 
avoid  disaster,  become  fascinated,  and,  in  time,  if  he  will  only 
cultivate  a  keen  observation,  a  skilled  bee-keeper.  Many  dangers 
attend  the  purchase  of  stocks,  especially  at  a  distance.  The  combs 
often  break  in  transit,  bees  crushed  and  suffocated,  brood  chilled, 
and,  in  consequence,  disappointment  and  disgust  follow.  Further, 
you  may  purchase  a  hive  infected  with  that  most  dreaded  of  bee 
diseases  known  as  “  foul  brood.” 
After  reading  the  above,  two  thoughts  naturally  occur  to  the 
minds  of  those  beginners  who  are  not  accustomed  to  the  terms 
used  by  bee  men:  1.  What  is  a  good  swarm?  2.  What  is  a 
stock?  A  good  swarm  ought  to  consist  of  a  bucketful  of  bees  as 
nearly  as  possible  ;  and  a  stock  consists  of  bees  on  combs  in  some 
kind  of  hive.  Whenever  a  beginner  desires  to  buy  either,  it  is 
always  well  to  enlist  the  sympathy  and  help  of  a  person  who 
knows  something  of  the  art  of  bee-keeping,  and  many  iritfalls 
will  be  avoided. 
In  conclusion,  when  the  swarm  has  been  hived  in  a  bar-frame 
hive  (full  sheets  of  foundation,  eight  .sheets  to  the  pound 
remember),  place  in  a  pot  of  syrup  (about  31b)  made  up  of  one  pint 
of  water  to  fib  sugar,  no  matter  whether  the  season  be  good  or 
bad,  and  you  will  never  regret  the  outlay. — Hybl.4.. 
- ■  • - 
Silkworms  and  Silkworm  Rearing, 
In  the  W’est  End  parks  of  London,  and  also  in  one  or  two  of 
the  fashionable  squares,  are  to  be  seen  a  few  average  specimens 
of  the  Ailantus  tree,  which  does  not,  on  the  whole,  suffer  fi’om 
the  conditions  that  vegetable  life  has  to  submit  to  within  the 
metropolitan  district.  The  glossy  leaves  might  suggest  to  us 
some  association  between  the  tree  and  a  silken  product,  the 
Ailantus  being,  in  fact,  the  special  food  of  one  of  the  silkworms, 
Bombyx  or  Attacus  Cynthia,  of  which  eggs,  larvse,  and  cocoons 
are  represented.  The  silk  spun  by  this  species,  A.  Cynthia,  is  to 
be  recognised  by  its  great  softness;  also  both  fabric  and  skeins, 
as  obtained  in  China,  indicate  that  the  thread  is  reeled  or  wound 
by  the  dexterous  natives.  From  the  circumstance  that  this  parti¬ 
cular  kind  of  silk  has  taken  its  name  from  the  tree  on  which  the 
worms  feed  some  have  called  “  Ailanticulture  ”  the  nurturing 
and  breeding  of  these  worms,  which  is  scarcely  an  appropriate 
term,  being  Inore  applicable  to  the  cultivation  of  the  tree. 
Experiments  have  proved  that  the  larvse  of  Attacus  Cynthia  will 
eat,  and  even  do  tolerably  well,  upon  Lilac,  Cherry,  or  Labur¬ 
num,  but  it  is  desirable  to  obtain  for  them  a  supply  of  the  leaves 
of  their  favourite  food  plant. 
The  moth  of  Attacus  Cynthia  surpasses  in  appearance  the 
better  known  insect  Bombyx  Mori,  and  has  a  greater  expansion 
of  wing.  This  is  one  of  the  silkworms  in  which  the  winter  is 
passed  within  the  cocoon,  from  w'hich  the  moth  emerges  some, 
time  in  May  or  June.  Eggs  being  then  laid  young  worms  come 
forth  at  the  end  of  July  or  August,  living  seven  or  eight  weeks. 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
The  Herbaceous  Calceolaria. 
This  pretty  greenhouse  annual,  which  flowers  in  April,  May, 
and  June,  richly  deserves  the  praise  it  gets.  The  most  suitable 
time  for  .sowing  the  seed  is  the  end  of  April  or  beginning  of  May. 
The  pans  should  be  well  drained,  and  filled  to  Avithin  an  inch 
of  the  top  Avith  good  loam,  leaf  soil,  and  sand,  put  tliBough  a 
fine  sieve,  the  surface  afterAvards  levelled  before  sowing.  Then 
scatter  the  seed  evenly  over  the  soil,  but  do  not  cover,  or,  if 
preferable,  verj'  slightly.  The  pan  should  then  be  soaked,  put  in 
a  cold  frame,  and  covered  AA'ith  a  piece  of  glass,  a  piece  of  paper 
being  on  the  top  to  keep  it  dark  until  the  seed  germinates. 
Never  allow  the  pan  to  get  dry,  or  you  may  have  a  failure. 
As  .soon  as  the  seed  germinates,  remove  the  glass  and  place 
the  pan  well  up  to  the  light,  so  as  not  to  alloAV  the  plants  to  get 
drawn.  When  the  plants  are  large  enough,  prick  off  into  a  box 
or  pan,  and  keep  close  for  a  day  or  tAvo,  after  Avhich  ventilate 
