LETTER XVI.

THE INHABITANTS OF THE PONDS: FISH; AND AQUATIC FOWLS, INCLUDING SWANS, EXOTIC GEESE AND DUCKS.--INHABITANTS OF THE WOODS: INCLUDING PHEASANTS AND PARTRIDGES, HERONS AND BITTERNS.--AVIARY.--APIARY, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES.--SILK-WORMS.

When a fish-pond is to be made, a situation should be chosen where there is a natural hollow, so that the ground which is to form the bottom of the pond may be as little disturbed as possible. If this situation be near a river so that a feeder may be led into it, nothing else is wanted to form a fish-pond but an embankment and a sluice, and these you must have made by persons used to such employments. It is necessary, however, to take care that the pond is fed from a river, as spring water is not only too cold for the fish, but is seldom quite free from mineral substances. The pond should be made at least six feet deep, and if twelve feet or more it will be better for the fish: as in frosty weather they will remain near the bottom, and will find enough air in the great body of water above them to enable them to live a long time after the surface is frozen over; while, on the contrary, if the pond be shallow, the fish will soon exhaust all the air it contains, and will perish unless the ice be frequently broken, to admit air from the atmosphere. In shallow ponds, also, the rushes and other weeds grow so fast as to occasion considerable expense and trouble in having them cleared away.

The extent of a pond must depend upon circumstances, but it should never be less than five or six acres, and as much more as is convenient; in shape it should be rather long, as regards the front of the mansion, than broad, and its outline should either be varied, or broken by planting trees and shrubs in small groups on its banks. Where ponds are intended solely for fish, without regard to their appearance in the landscape, their banks should be quite straight, and their shape square or oblong. The pond, whether ornamental or not, may be divided into two parts by an embankment in the centre, which is kept about two feet below the general surface of the water when the pond is full. The use of this is, that, when the pond is to be run dry, either for clearing it of its mud or catching the larger fish, only one half need be emptied at a time; and the other half may serve as a place to put the store fish in while the first division is being cleared out; and, when that is quite clean and the water let into it again, the fish may be transferred to it while the second half is being cleared. Of course, according to this arrangement, there must be a wooden sluice for letting off the water in each division. The beauty of a pond depends principally upon its being well supplied with water, and this constant supply can only be insured during the summer months, by having a brook or rivulet running through the pond. Where the pond is of sufficient size, there should be an island or two for the swans and other aquatic birds to make their nests on.

Where several kinds of fish are desired, different soils may be laid at the bottom of the pond, to suit the fish which breed in it. Thus, trout will never thrive unless the pond in which they are kept has a gravelly bottom. Carp (of which there are two kinds, the common, and the Prussian which is much smaller than the other,) and tench require loam, with abundance of aquatic weeds; and eels will only thrive in mud. It is very seldom practicable to keep all kinds of fish in the same pond, as some kinds destroy other kinds; but providing them with different bottoms is the most effectual way of keeping them, as they will remain in separate communities in the part of the pond that suits them best.

Of the kinds of fishes with which a pond should be stocked, carp are, perhaps, generally speaking, the best. They breed rapidly, are very hardy, and grow very fast. Tench resemble carp in all these qualities, and both are quiet fish, which would live together without fighting or destroying each other. Perch, on the contrary, are said to be so ravenous that they will devour their own spawn, and that of other fishes. They breed freely and are quite hardy, but do not grow rapidly. Trout, when kept in ponds, are rather ravenous; but pike far exceed all other fish in this respect. A large pike will destroy nearly all the small weak fishes in a pond; and, indeed, he has been known to seize young ducks, and devour them. These and similar acts have obtained for the pike the name of the fresh-water shark. Amongst the other enemies to young fish are counted the little creatures called sticklebacks, which are so small, and apparently so insignificant, that no one would suppose it possible that they could prevent the stocking of a pond. They do so, however, by devouring the spawn, and thus preventing the number of fishes from increasing. When a pond is once stocked very little care is necessary; the principal thing which needs to be attended to being to break the ice in severe frosts to supply the fish with air, if the pond should not be deep enough to render this unnecessary. When fish appear to want feeding, earthworms, steeped grain, and ground malt, should be thrown into the water.

Besides the regular fish-ponds, it is very convenient in the country to have small ponds or stews adjoining the kitchen-garden, or somewhere contiguous to the house, where fish can be kept and fed, and yet caught at any moment when they may be required. Carp and tench are the best fish for keeping in stews, as they are the quietest; but, as stews are so contrived that the different kinds of fish may be kept in them separate from each other, perch may be kept in one of the divisions, and fed with garbage or any refuse animal food from the kitchen, till they have attained a large size. Pike might be kept in another stew in the same manner, but a pike should never be put into a stew with any other fish.

Every pond in a pleasure-ground should have some ornamental aquatic fowls upon it to make it look complete; as without some kind of living creature, the finest piece of water in the world would have a look of coldness and desolation.

Of all the ornamental aquatic fowls known in England, the _swan_, though perhaps the commonest, is the noblest; and it has the advantage of being useful in clearing ponds of weeds as well as being ornamental. A swan should generally have a pond at least three acres in extent, and they seldom thrive unless there is an island in the centre overgrown with long grass or underwood, in which they can make their nests. Swans are tolerably hardy, and only require to be taken up in time of frost. They are very fond of rambling over grass when they feel themselves in perfect security; and they eat a great quantity of slugs and snails when thus employed.

In the month of May the female swan generally prepares to make her nest, which she does secretly, as, if the cobb or male bird perceives her, he will prevent her if possible. The cygnets, or young swans, are generally hatched about July, and when they first appear their feathers are of a dingy brown instead of being white. When they first go into the water the female, or pen bird, as she is called, only lets them swim a little way, and then, if they appear tired, she takes them on her back. When the cygnets grow bigger, the mother swims round the pond with them following after her like a company of soldiers. As soon as they get about three parts grown, the cobb drives them away from their mother, and forces them to provide for themselves. At this period, if they happen to have been hatched late, they may be fed with boiled barley and bread. They do not become perfectly white till the second year.

When two full-grown cobb swans quarrel they fight tremendously; and, though the common species is called the mute swan, they make a loud hissing noise something like that of the goose, but louder and hoarser. A cobb swan will also, when enraged, attack a dog, or even a man, striking tremendous blows with its wings. It is said that a full-grown swan could break a man's arm with a blow of its wing. Swans were formerly considered royal birds; and those upon the river Thames are still the property of the crown, and the young ones are marked every year under the superintendence of the Lord Mayor, the ceremony being called swan-hopping, which is said to be derived from swan-upping, a part of the ceremony being to decide how far up the river the swans have a right to go.

In hard frosts the swans, and all the other ornamental aquatic fowls, must be sheltered, and fed in the same way as the common ducks and geese in the poultry-yard; and there is generally some place contrived near the water for this purpose; as, for example, under the fishing-house, or adjoining the boat-house. It is also necessary to take some means of preventing aquatic fowls from flying away, and the barbarous operation of cutting off one joint of the wing with a penknife, or a very fine saw made from the spring of a watch, is frequently resorted to; it being the second joint of the wing that is taken off. For my own part, I should prefer losing my birds to resorting to such measures for their preservation; and I think I have understood, that, by depriving them of the alternate feathers of their wings, they may be rendered incapable of flying while they are strangers to the place, and I would trust to kind treatment to make them wish to stay with me when we became better acquainted.

The _black swan_ is a native of Australia, and it is so common in that country, that it gives its name to the Swan River. In a wild state, it is generally seen floating on lakes or rivers, in long lines formed by eight or ten or more swans swimming in a single file; and when alarmed they rise all together and fly off, uttering wild but not unmusical screams, retaining in the air the same position as that they occupied in the water. You must, however, take care, if you put a black swan on the some water with the white ones, that they do not injure it. Some years ago, two white swans on the water in the Regent's Park pursued a black one with the greatest ferocity; and, according to Mr. Yarrell, from whom I have taken this account, one of them having succeeded in grasping the black swan's neck between the mandibles of its beak, shook it violently. The black swan with difficulty extricated itself from this murderous grasp, hurried on shore, tottered from the water's edge a few paces, and then fell to die. The white swans did not attempt to pursue it, but continued sailing up and down the water with every feather on end, and seeming proud of their conquest.

Of _geese_ there are many ornamental kinds.

The _Chinese goose_ is a beautiful creature, which breeds readily in this country.

The _bean goose_ is frequently kept on ornamental pieces of water; and a pair belonging to the Ornithological Society of London have produced young in St. James's Park, and are remarkably tame. This goose has received its name from its fondness for beans and other pulse; and it is one of the three species of wild geese which pay passing visits to the ponds and lakes in the North of England and Scotland. It is found in great abundance in the Hebrides and other western islands of Scotland; and large flocks fly together, either in a diagonal line or in two such lines forming an acute angle, making a loud cackling noise as they fly, and going, as has been supposed, at the rate of more than twenty miles an hour.

The _Canada geese_ are very remarkable in their appearance, from their glossy black necks and white cheeks, and their very remarkable trumpet-like notes. These birds appear in such quantities in Canada, that it is calculated that two or three thousand are killed every year by the English at Hudson's Bay. This bird is sometimes called the cravat goose; its beautiful black and glossy neck and white breast bearing considerable resemblance to a black silk cravat upon a white shirt.

The _bernicle_, or brent goose, is interesting from the curious superstition which formerly prevailed respecting it, as it was supposed to have sprung from the shell called the barnacle or lepas, which adheres to the bottoms of ships, and which has a fringe of cirri projecting from between its valves bearing some faint resemblance to the feathers of a bird. These geese are very small, and not above half the size of the Canada geese; and yet Mr. Waterton found a large old Canada goose on his noble sheet of water at Walton Hall pair with a bernicle gander.

The _Egyptian goose_ is interesting from the strong resemblance it bears to the figures of a goose found in Egyptian hieroglyphics, in which it was the emblem of caution.

Amongst the other ornamental kinds of geese found on ponds in pleasure-grounds, I may mention the _snow_, or _red, goose_ from North America, which is of large size, and has its bill armed with twenty-three strong indentations like teeth; and the _laughing goose_, which has a white front, and makes a strange laughing-like noise. There is also an African goose called the _gambo_, which is furnished with a curious spur on the upper part of the wing.

Of the ornamental _ducks_ the best known species is that with red wattles on its head and neck, which is generally called the _Muscovy duck_, but which is not, as its name imports, a native of Muscovy; for the name is a corruption of moschata or musk duck, in allusion to the peculiar smell of the creature. These ducks are found wild in Guiana, where they nestle on the trunks of trees close to the water's edge. They are easily managed in this country, but require protection in cold weather. They breed freely, and are not difficult to rear, except about the time when the red wattles appear round the head, when many of them die. In other respects they considerably resemble the common duck.

The _shieldrake_, or burrow duck, is remarkable for its constancy, as a male and female when they once pair continue to breed together every year as long as they live. This duck is also one of the most beautiful of the ornamental water-fowl. In its native state it is generally found on the sea-coast, or within a few miles of the sea, where it breeds in rabbit burrows and other holes in sandy soils. It will, however, live in an inland situation, provided it is fed with periwinkles and other shell-fish, and hence it was originally called the shelldrake. In some parts of Scotland it is called the skeeling goose.

There is another species of shieldrake which is sometimes called the _ruddy goose_, and which has a glossy black ring round its neck and a reddish breast. This bird has the same burrowing habits as the common species, but it prefers the neighbourhood of a river to that of the sea. The voice of this bird when flying is said to resemble the tone of a clarinet; but in a state of confinement it bears more resemblance to the cry of a peacock.

The _shoveller_, or broad-bill, is a fowl occasionally kept on ponds in pleasure-grounds. In a wild state it inhabits marshes and the muddy shores of lakes and rivers, and is generally considered only a winter visitor to this country, though some remain every year to breed. They feed principally on insects, and are so fond of flies, that one of the common names of this species in France is _canard gobe-mouche_. The English name of shoveller alludes to the broad beak, each mandible of which is bordered with close set rows of teeth resembling those of a weaver's reed, and which fitting into each other form a kind of sieve. With this beak the shoveller digs up the soft mud, and letting its watery particles escape, retains the very small worms and other insects which constitute the principal food of the bird. These ducks being very ornamental and curious, many attempts have been made to keep them on the ornamental pieces of water in the London parks and gardens, but hitherto without success; for I am told, on the authority of our excellent friend Captain Mangles, that, though they may appear healthy for a time, they are very apt to die off suddenly without any apparent cause.

The _gadwall_, or grey duck, is an ornamental bird; but it is of little use to have it in pleasure-grounds, as it is so shy, and so fond of hiding itself among thick weeds and long grass, that the pair in the Zoological Society's gardens are scarcely ever seen.

The _pintail duck_, or sea pheasant, though also shy in its native habitats, is more easily tamed, and is well deserving of being kept on ornamental pieces of water, not only from the beauty of its plumage, but from the singular appearance produced by its long tail when it is swimming on the water. This bird has a singular patch of green on its wings, and yellow feet. It is very difficult to get it to breed.

The _teal_ is the smallest of the British ducks, and one of the prettiest. Its breast is spotted with black tinged with purple, and it has a rich dark-brown mark on its head, encircling the eye and spreading down the back of the neck. The teal bears confinement well, and it breeds regularly every year in the gardens of the Zoological Society. The eggs are white tinged with buff, and generally about an inch and a half in length. The nest is formed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with down and feathers, and it contains eight or ten eggs. The teal feeds on grass and water plants, and also on various kinds of insects; but, when kept in this country all the year, during the winter it requires grain.

The _widgeon_, Mr. Waterton tells us, "is a much more familiar bird than either the pochard or the teal. While these congregate on the water, beyond the reach of man, the widgeon appears to have divested itself of the timidity observable in all other species of wild-fowl, and approaches very near to our habitations." The widgeon has such a shrill cry, that it is sometimes called the whistling duck.

The American widgeon is the constant attendant on the _canvass-back duck_, so celebrated in the United States for its excellence as an article of food. These ducks have been introduced into England, but they do not thrive in this country probably for want of a species of Vallisnèria on which they feed in their native land. The best way of managing them would be, to give them plenty of grain, particularly wheat, of which they are remarkably fond; though, probably, buck-wheat would answer the purpose, and would be much more economical. The Vallisnèria, also, on which they feed, might be introduced into England, though it would require to be grown in running water.

The _eider duck_ is very scarce on ornamental pieces of water, though it is abundant in the North, particularly on the Fern Islands off the coast of Northumberland, and especially on St. Cuthbert's rock; and hence it is sometimes called St Cuthbert's duck. It was long supposed that the eider duck would not live in confinement; but the Earl of Derby has several in his splendid collection at Knowsley, which were reared by feeding them on slugs and other mollusca.

The king duck, the beautiful little western duck, the magnificent surf scoter, and the red-crested duck (a beautiful stuffed specimen of which is in the possession of Mr. Waterton), are all highly ornamental, and well deserve to be kept in pleasure-grounds for their beauty.

The _pochard_, or dun bird, is remarkable for the excellence of its flesh, which closely resembles that of the celebrated canvass-back duck of America. Like that duck it feeds greedily on a species of Vallisnèria and on grass-wrack and sea grass (_Rúpia marítima_); which last, Mr. Yarrell tells us, is "called also in America eel-grass, from the form and length of the stem. The ducks dive and pull up these aquatic plants to obtain the tender roots, the only part they seem to eat. The two plants last named are common near the coast in England."

I think you will now be pretty well tired of aquatic fowls; and therefore I will only mention one more, viz. the _coot_, respecting which there is a great diversity of opinions. "If a gentleman wishes to have plenty of wild-fowl on his pool," says Col. Hawker, in his _Instructions to Young Sportsmen_, "let him preserve the coots and keep no tame swans. The reason that all wild-fowls seek the company of the coots is, because these birds are such good sentries to give the alarm by day when the fowl generally sleep." "If you wish to have your water-fowl breed," says Captain Mangles, "have no coots, for if you have they will destroy all the eggs." Where there are coots, and it is wished to destroy them, it is extremely difficult to do so by shooting at them, as the moment they see the gun, they dive into the water, and when they come up again, are frequently a hundred yards from the place where they sank. They also make a great commotion in the water by flapping their wings along its surface, and making a tremendous rushing noise, so that it is not very easy to approach them even with a boat.

Almost every park where there are trees contains _pheasants_; and in many places especial contrivances have been resorted to for feeding and keeping these birds. The places which they like to frequent are woods and plantations where there is plenty of undergrowth, and they are particularly fond of places where fern and brake grow abundantly. When it is wished to stock a park with pheasants, it is usual to set the eggs under a common hen, and when they are hatched, which will be in from twenty-three to twenty-seven days, the young ones should be put into a basket with a bit of flannel till the whole are hatched and the shells have been removed from the nest. They are then put back to the hen, and fed with eggs boiled hard and then cut small, and curd made by mixing new milk with the water in which a lump of alum has been dissolved. They should also have a few ants' eggs if they can be procured, and, if they cannot, a raw egg should be beaten up and mixed with as much flour as will make it into a paste, and then rubbed through a coarse sieve so as to leave it in little grains. Young pheasants should be fed often, and have but a very little at a time. When they are able to run about, they are first put out with the hen under a coop like chickens; but, when they get older and stronger, the hen is put on one of the lower branches of the tree in the poultry-yard, and tied to it by the leg, so that she can move about on the branch, but not descend to the ground; the young pheasants seeing her on the tree will fly up to her, and thus learn to perch. In a few days the hen is put upon one of the higher branches of the tree, and the young pheasants soon learn to follow her. In a week or ten days after this, they are generally old enough to leave the hen, and they may be turned into the woods; though they will require feeding every morning and evening for some weeks. Pheasants are naturally very shy, and even when reared in this manner they become so timid in the course of a few weeks that they will not suffer any one to come near them. Many persons suppose that, as they are natives of Asia Minor, they are tender, and easily affected by the cold; but this is not the case, as they will bear cold better than most others of the feathered race.

Some persons try to fatten pheasants by putting them in a small enclosure covered with a net; but pheasants treated in this manner are never so good as those shot wild in the woods.

Many plans have been devised for feeding pheasants in the woods, but none are better than those of Mr. Waterton at Walton Hall. At that most interesting place, which may be called the paradise of birds, Mr. Waterton has formed clumps of hollies, by planting twenty or more in a circle, and then making an inner circle, containing ten or fifteen trees, and scattering the food for the birds between the two circles, or in the centre of the inner one. In other places a yew tree surrounded by a holly hedge forms a place of shelter for the birds; but the first kind is preferred for a feeding-place. The pheasant requires a great deal of food; and Mr. Waterton, whose knowledge of the subject is proverbial, tells us that "it is fond of acorns, beech mast, the berries of the hawthorn, the seeds of the wild rose, and the tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke. Boiled potatoes (which the pheasant prefers much to those in the raw state) are," he adds, "perhaps the most nourishing things that can be offered in the depth of winter." The plantations of hollies afford the pheasant a retreat to feed in admirably suited to its timid nature, and they serve at the same time to keep the smaller birds at a distance.

Pheasants are generally considered worth encouraging in a park, for their ornamental effect when sitting on the trees, or rising with a loud whirr from their covers. It is also agreeable to hear their call in the woods at roosting-time and early in the morning. A wood without any living creatures in it presents only a dreary scene, or at best only gloomy pictures to the imagination; but, as soon as it is instinct with life, its whole aspect seems changed, and cheerful feelings are excited. I like, therefore, to encourage birds and other half wild animals in extensive parks, and I would only banish those whose natural propensities make their presence more likely to give pain than pleasure.

_Partridges_ require very little aid from man, provided only the common kind is desired. All that is necessary is, to prevent the hen from being disturbed while sitting, or while brooding over her young. May is the month in which the partridge generally lays her eggs, and, from that time till the end of June, care should be taken not to disturb her. "Partridges pair early in spring, and once united it is rare that any thing but death separates them." The female lays from fourteen to twenty eggs, and makes her nest upon the ground. The young one runs as soon as it is hatched, and frequently while it has still part of the shell upon its head. The hen partridge rears her young as a hen does her chickens, scratching the ground to get insects for them, and sheltering them under her wings while they are at rest. Partridges succeed best in temperate climates; for extremes of heat and cold are alike unfavourable to them. Partridges make a peculiar noise called jucking when they settle down for the night; when this noise is heard, it is a certain indication that there is a covey or brood of young birds close at hand.

The _red-legged_, or _Guernsey, partridge_ is very abundant in France, and in many parts of the Continent; but it is rare in England, except in Suffolk, where it is not liked for the table. Its habits differ materially from those of the common partridge. It will only thrive in mountainous situations covered with wood; and, instead of roosting on the ground, it passes the night on trees. It is also generally found perched on trees in the daytime; and it lives in large flocks, and not in coveys consisting only of a single family. If you wish to try the experiment of rearing some of these birds, you have only to get fifteen or twenty of the eggs through some poulterer from France or Guernsey, or from Suffolk, and to set them under a common hen. They will be hatched in about the same time as pheasants, and the young birds require exactly the same treatment.

I do not think I need say any thing of the other kinds of game birds common in England, as you are not very likely to go out shooting; and they are too wild to suffer themselves to be approached.

_Hares_ may be occasionally seen lying in their forms, or scudding across a field; but they are too fond of pinks and carnations for me to be very partial to them; and, indeed, it is hardly possible to have a good flower-garden where there are a great many hares and rabbits.

_Herons_ are very interesting birds, but, as they only frequent marshy land, it is not every situation that is suitable for them. They have certainly a striking appearance in a landscape, when they are seen standing for hours together on the banks of a piece of water watching the fish; and, when they fly, the flapping of their long wings, and the cries they utter, have something in them extremely wild and romantic.

The booming of the _bittern_, too, which is often heard on the borders of marshy land, has a very striking effect, and harmonises well with the cry of the heron.

If you have any gold and silver pheasants, or other curious birds that you do not like to trust wild in the park, you will perhaps find it advantageous to have an _aviary_; of which there are two kinds. Small aviaries are, in fact, but birdcages on a large scale, divided into compartments to suit the nature of the birds that are to be confined in them; while a large aviary is only a superior kind of poultry-yard covered in with wire network to prevent the birds from escaping. The aviary of the Earl of Derby at Knowsley Park, which is generally considered the best in England, is of this latter description.

The _apiary_, or stand of beehives, should be placed in a sheltered situation with a southerly aspect, and care should be taken that there are no bad smells near it; such, for instance, as those proceeding from a pigsty or a dog-kennel. There should, on the contrary, be a garden full of pleasant flowers as near as possible to the bees, as, though they will occasionally go even miles in quest of food, it is much better for them on every account to have it close at hand. Bees are particularly fond of the flowers of buck-wheat, and, though other plants may be more abundant in honey, none are more useful in affording what is called bee-bread, or the substance on which the bees live while they are laying up their winter store. The working bees, indeed, manufacture three distinct substances from the juices they obtain from the flowers. These substances are, the wax of which they make their combs; the honey which they store in them, for consumption during winter; and the bee-bread on which they feed, and a portion of which they lay up in the cells in which eggs are deposited, in order that the young bee may feed upon it while in its larva state.

When you want to form an apiary, it is necessary at first to decide upon what design you will prefer, and then to adapt your bee-house to it; the bee-house itself being a wooden closet with shelves in it, each large enough to hold two or more hives. The holes for the entrance of the bees must be in front of the apiary; and they are generally made three inches long, and a quarter of an inch high, with a little shelf before each for the bees to alight upon before they enter the hive. Many kinds of hives have been recommended, and Nutt's hive is a very good one, where the bees are kept merely for an amusement, and it is wished to see them at work; but, where honey is an object, I believe the common straw hives are found to answer best. I may observe, however, that where Nutt's hives are used, no ornamental front is required to the apiary, as the hives are quite sufficiently ornamental in themselves.

When a hive of bees is to be bought, the person who selects it generally taps it to see if it is full of bees, and, if he is satisfied in this respect, a thin board is slipped under it, and it is left quiet till night. When it is dark, the board is gently raised by having a person on each side of it, so as to keep it as level as possible. A cloth is then slipped under the board, and drawn up and tied closely over the hive. When thus secured the hive may be easily carried to any distance that may be necessary; and, when it is placed on the board where it is finally to stand, the cloth must be taken away from the lower part of the hive before it is placed; as, when it is once fixed, it should not be moved again if it can possibly be avoided.

In May or June bees generally swarm, that is, the bees having become too numerous for the hive, a portion of them go forth to seek a new abode. A short time before swarming the bees come out of their hive, and hang together so as to form a chain. After hanging in this manner for some time, and frequently for several hours, they leave the old hive and settle on a tree in the neighbourhood; and, as soon as this is the case, a table is set under the tree covered with a white cloth, and a man experienced in such matters ascends the tree with an empty hive in his hand, and sweeps the bees into it. He then brings the hive down, and places it on the table which was previously covered with a cloth. A very great bustle immediately takes place among the bees, and the cloth is completely covered with them. Gradually, however, they become settled in the hive, and at night the cloth may be drawn round them, and the hive removed to wherever it may be wished to place it. There must be one queen bee in every swarm, and, if by any accident the queen bee is killed, the remaining bees are in the greatest trouble and confusion, as if seeking for her, and if they do not find her they separate, and disperse themselves among the other hives. If, on the contrary, the queen is only held in confinement, they fly to her as soon as they find out where she is, and forming themselves into a chain, wait till she comes forth to lead them away.

There are many curious facts relating to the domestic economy of bees well worthy of your notice, but this is not exactly the place to relate them. I shall, therefore, only say a few words on the mode of taking the honey, and on the management of the bees during winter. Many plans have been devised for taking the honey without killing the bees; but this appears to be a mistaken kind of humanity, as it is more merciful to kill the bees at once than to condemn them to die of starvation by depriving them of their winter food. The ordinary mode is, to put linen rags dipped in melted sulphur into a hole in the ground, and, after having lighted them, to set a hive full of bees over the hole. Another plan is to set the full hive on an empty one inverted, and then to introduce a sulphureous smoke into the full hive by means of a pair of fumigating bellows. The bees will all fall from the full hive into the empty one, and the combs in the full hive, when cleared of the bees, may be cut out. When the lives of the bees are to be preserved, the full hive is inverted, and the empty hive being put over it, and both of them enclosed in a cloth, the lower hive is tapped several times on the outside with a stick, and gently shaken, so as to drive the bees from it into the upper hive. A board is then slipped between the two, and, the hive containing the honeycombs being removed, the other hive is left with the bees in it. This operation should be performed in August, as, if it is later in the season, the bees will not have time to provide themselves with a fresh stock of honey before winter. If the bees are to be destroyed when the honey is taken, it is generally done in October.

When winter sets in many cover their hives with a thatching of straw; and, if a few warm days occur which tempt the bees out, they are fed with sugar and water boiled into a syrup, and not with merely sugar dissolved in water, as is frequently the case. Some persons recommend the syrup given to bees to be put on a plate and crossed with straws, to enable the bees to take it without drowning themselves; while others recommend paper pierced with holes, or perforated zinc, for the same purpose. It may be useful to mention that the sting of a bee, being a powerful acid, may be cured by the application of an alkali; and thus chalk, or any similar substance, will very soon allay the pain.

I shall now add a few words on keeping _silk-worms_, and then I think I shall have said quite enough on the animals usually kept in the country. Silk-worms succeed best when fed on the leaves of the white mulberry, but those of the black mulberry are unwholesome for them. When the leaves of the white mulberry cannot be procured, lettuce leaves or those of the maclura are the best substitute. Where the mulberry is grown purposely for silk-worms, the trees are cut down to the ground every year to make them send up strong vigorous shoots. The leaves of these shoots are gathered in the morning after the dew has gone off, so that they may be perfectly dry, and, when stripped off, they are deposited in a bag kept open with a hoop round the top, in order that they may be preserved in as fresh a state as possible; and every leaf is taken off one tree before another is begun upon, as it is found that this plan of stripping the trees entirely injures them less than taking a few leaves from each at a time; as, after the tree has been for some time entirely denuded, it forms a fresh set of leaf buds, and produces a second crop of leaves. None of the leaves of this second crop, however, must be taken off. Where labour is sufficiently cheap, the leaves are best cut off with a pair of scissors.

If you should feel inclined to try your skill in feeding silk-worms, you can purchase the eggs in Covent Garden market for ten shillings an ounce, and, if kept in a cool place, they will remain good for nearly a year. When they are to be hatched, they must be exposed to a temperature of 86° Fahr., and they are best kept in a room appropriated for the purpose, and heated by a stove. If you have any small room adjoining your laundry, or any other place where there is a constant fire, you will have no difficulty in managing your silk-worms. Supposing you to have a room of this nature, it will be well to have tables and shelves provided for keeping the insects on; the shelves should not be let into the wall, but should be so contrived, by being suspended on holdfasts or in some other way, as to have the air on every side; and they should be furnished with ledges round them to prevent the insects from falling off.

As soon as the mulberry begins to unfold its leaves, the eggs of the silk-worms should be laid on the shelves, and when they begin to turn white, which will be in about ten days if the room has been kept at a proper temperature, they should be covered over with little trays made of writing-paper turned upside down, and pierced full of holes with a large knitting-needle. On each tray should be laid some young twigs of the mulberry, which the insects will smell as soon as they are hatched, and, crawling through the holes in the paper, will begin to eat. As soon as a twig is covered all over with silk-worms, it should be carefully removed to another shelf, and the insects placed on blotting-paper. Each insect should be allowed about a square inch of paper. It should then be fed with chopped leaves, and it will appear to pass the greater part of its time in sleep till it changes its skin. In its second state it will also appear to pass a great portion of its time in sleep; but it may be fed with young leaves without chopping, till it changes its skin a second time. In its third state the silk-worm becomes more lively and vigorous, and it will devour full-grown leaves without chopping. Up to this period of its life it will be sufficient to feed it three times a day. After changing its skin a third time, the silk-worm becomes of a flesh colour, and eats so greedily that it should be kept supplied with a succession of leaves all day long. After the next change the silk-worm eats abundantly night and day, and should be kept warm. It now begins to get restless, and instead of eating is continually stretching out its head as though it were in search of something; its body will have become transparent, of a clear pearly hue, with bands of gold colour. Little bits of wood should now be fixed on the shelves in such a way as to give the insects a feeling of security; and they will immediately begin to make their cocoons, which they will complete in from four to seven days.

When the insects have done working, the cocoons are taken from the sticks, and a few being selected to breed from, the rest are prepared for unwinding. The insects enclosed are first killed, either by putting them in bags and enclosing them for half an hour in an oven heated to 88°; or by putting them in sieves, and, after covering them closely with a woollen cloth, placing the sieves over boiling water or boiling spirits of any kind. The insects being killed, the loose or floss silk is removed from the cocoons, and they are put by handfuls into basins of hot water, which has been heated almost to the boiling point; and the cocoons are stirred round in it for a few minutes with a whisk of broom. In a very short time the gum with which the insect had covered the cocoon is dissolved, and the loose threads beginning to float on the water, five or six of them are collected, and the reeling of the silk begins. If well fed and kept in a proper temperature, the caterpillars will finish their labours twenty-four days after they are hatched. An ounce of eggs will produce about forty thousand caterpillars, which will consume nearly eleven hundred pounds of leaves, and will produce about eighty pounds of cocoons, or eight pounds of raw silk.