In proceeding to take water, the first thing the youth should do, is to make himself thoroughly convinced that the spot is safe, that there are no holes in it, that no weeds are at the bottom, that it does not contain any stones likely to cut the feet. Ho must also be cautious that he does not enter a stream whose eddy sweeps round a projecting point, or hollow; the bank should slope off gradually, so that he may proceed for ten or twelve yards from the shore, before the water rises to the level of his armpits. With regard to the use of bladders and corks, although it may perhaps be better to learn to keep ourselves afloat without their aid, yet they may be used with advantage, if used sparingly. The pupil, in using them, places his breast across the rope which unites them, so that when he lays himself over them in the water, they float above him, and thus assist in buoying him up; thus sustained, he strikes out and propels himself with his hands and feet. In striking out when in the water, the fingers are to be perfectly straight, and the thumb kept close to the hand; the hands are then to be brought forward, palm to palm, and to be thrust out in a direction on a level with the chin; when at their fullest reach, they are to be parted and swept slowly and regularly with the palms in a horizontal position, the full stretch of the arms backwards, they are then brought up from the hips and struck out forward, as before. While the hands are near the hips, is the time for the legs to perform their part; they are to be drawn up as near to the body as possible, and the soles of the feet struck against the water with moderate force, immediately the hands are again thrust forward. Now all this is very easily performed with a little practice, but will be very difficult if the learner have not coolness and self-possession. A slow long stroke, the hand thrust forward with energy, and the legs brought up and struck out with a regular and even stroke, is the whole art of simple swimming. The swimmer must, however, be careful to draw his breath at the time when his hands are descending towards his hips; if he attempt it when he strikes out his legs, his head will partially sink, and his mouth will fill with water. The breath should accordingly be expired while the body is sent forward by the action of the legs.



The young swimmer will find much use in having a plank, ten feet long, two inches thick, and a foot broad, which he may take hold of at one of its ends, and his body being thus supported he will perfect himself in the action of the legs, and will, by striking them out, drive the plank before him: he must, however, take care to hold it fast, for if he should let go his hold, he will find himself sinking over head and ears in the water. A rope may also be so fixed as to reach over the water, by which the swimmer may support himself while learning to strike out with his legs; but he should be careful always in performing this exercise, to keep his legs near the surface, as, if the legs drop down, he will make very little way in the water. One of the best kinds of assistance, however, the young swimmer can have, is the hand of some one who is willing to teach him, and is superior to any other methods for very young swimmers. If a grown person will take the trouble to take the little learner out with him till he is breast high in the water, and sustain him with one hand under the breast, and occasionally hold him up by the chin, at the same time directing and encouraging him, and occasionally letting him loose that he may support himself by striking out, the little learner will soon reach that triumphant period when he floats alone on the water.

After this triumph, however, the young swimmer must be exceedingly cautious, though he may feel conscious of his own power, he must venture only a few strokes out of his depth: should he be in a broad river, he must be careful not to do so where there is a strong curling eddy or flood: in a small river, the breadth of which is only a few yards, he may venture across with a few bold and regular strokes; but should he become flurried and lose his time, he will most assuredly be in danger of sinking. Let him then obtain such perfect command over his limbs, and also over himself, that when he ventures out of his depth, he may be able to keep afloat in the water, pleasantly to himself, and without hazard.



A most important branch in art of swimming, is floating, as the swimmer may frequently rest himself when fatigued, and otherwise engage himself in the water. To do this, he must turn himself as gently as possible on the back, put his head back, so that his eyes, mouth, and chin, only, are above the water, elevate his breast, and inflate his chest as much as possible: the arms may be brought towards the hips, and the hands should be paddled in a horizontal kind of sweep, which will sustain the body. Should the learner wish to swim, he must strike out with his legs, taking care not to lift his legs too high; in this position the arms may occasionally be folded across the breast.



To tread water, the legs must be suffered to drop in the water till the swimmer finds himself upright, he then treads downwards with his feet, occasionally paddling with the palms of his hands. The swimmer, when long in the water, will soon find himself tired, changes of action are therefore necessary; there are many which are highly advantageous to learn, such as swimming like a dog, porpoise, etc. To swim like a dog, he must strike with each hand and foot alternately, beginning with the right hand and foot, he must draw the hand towards the chin, and the foot towards the body, at the same time; he then must kick backwards with the foot, and strike out in a right line with the hand, and the same with the left hand and foot: the palms of the hands must be hollow, and the water pulled towards the swimmer. In swimming like a porpoise, the right arm is lifted entirely out of the water, the shoulder is thrust forward, and while the swimmer is striking out with his legs, he reaches forward with his hand as far as he can; his hand then falls, a little hollowed, in the water, which it grasps or pulls towards him in a transverse direction towards the other armpit. While this is going on, the legs are drawn up for another effort, and the left arm and shoulder are raised and thrust forward, as the right had previously been. When the swimmer feels tired, he may change these positions for swimming on the side. To do this, he must lower his left side and elevate his right, striking forward with his left hand, and sideways with his right, the back of the hand being in front instead of upward, the thumb side of the hand being downward so as to serve as an oar. Should the swimmer wish to turn on his back, he must keep one leg still, and embrace the water beside him with the other, and he will turn to that side. To shew the feet, he must turn himself on his back, and bend the small of it downwards, supporting himself by his hands to and fro immediately above his breast, and hold his feet above the water. Swimming under water is performed by the usual stroke, the head being kept a little downwards, and the feet struck out a little higher than when swimming on the surface.

BERNARDI'S SYSTEM.

Upright swimming.—This is a new mode of swimming, introduced by Bernardi, a Neapolitan, and consists in adopting the accustomed motion of the limbs in walking. It gives great freedom to the hands and arms, affords a greater facility of breathing and of sight. It is true, that a person swimming in an upright position, advances more slowly, but as the method is more natural, the person is able to continue his course longer, and can remain with greater safety in the water.

The first object with Bernardi, is to enable the pupil to float in an upright position, and in this the head is made the great regulator of all the motions. After having been by practice familiarised to keep his equilibrium, a variety of motions are gradually practised, until the swimmer is enabled at every stroke to urge himself forward a distance equal to the length of his body, and to travel, without fatigue, at least three miles an hour, and to continue this without great fatigue for many hours. Bernardi, speaking of the success of his practice, says, "Having been appointed to instruct the youths of the Royal Naval Academy at Naples in the art of swimming, a trial of the pupils took place in the presence of a number of persons assembled on the shore, and under the inspection of authorities appointed to witness and report upon the experiment. A twelve-oared boat attended the progress of the pupils, from motives of precaution. They swam so far out in the bay, that at length the heads of the young men could with difficulty be discerned with the naked eye; and the Major-General of Marine, Fortguerri, for whose inspection the exhibition was attended, expressed serious apprehensions for their safety. Upon their return to the shore, the young men, however, assured him that they felt so little exhausted, as to be willing immediately to repeat the exertion."

After devoting a month to the investigation of Bernardi's plan, the Neapolitan government state in their official report—

"That it has been established by the experience of more than a hundred persons of different bodily constitutions, that the human body is lighter than water, and, consequently, will float by nature, and that the art of swimming must be acquired to render that privilege useful.

"That Bernardi's system is new, in so far as it is founded on the principle of husbanding the strength, and rendering the power of recruiting it easy."

The speed, according to the new method, is no doubt diminished, but security is much more important than speed, and the new plan is not exclusive of the old when occasions require great effort.

Little more need be said on the subject of swimming, except giving a few directions in diving and plunging, which require to be performed with caution and elegance. When the swimmer prepares to dive, he must take a full inspiration of air, the eyes must be kept open, the back made round, and the head bent forwards on the breast; the legs must be thrown out with force, and the arms and hands, instead of being struck forward as in swimming, must move backward. When the swimmer would ascend, the chin must be held up, the back bent inwards, the hands struck out high and brought sharply down, and the body will immediately rise to the surface of the water.



Plunging.—There are two different modes of plunging to be acquired, namely, the flat plunge, which is necessary in shallow water, and the deep plunge, which is used where there is considerable depth of water. For the latter, the arms must be outstretched, the knees bent, and the body leant forward till the head descends nearly to the feet when the spine and knees are extended. In the flat plunge, the swimmer must fling himself forward in an inclined direction, according to the depth or shallowness of the water; when he touches the bottom, he must rise in the same manner as after diving.



After all these necessary motions and movements have been acquired in the water, there is one thing of which the swimmer must beware, and against which art and precaution can do but little—this is the CRAMP. When this seizes the swimmer, he must endeavour, as much as possible, to avoid being alarmed, as he will reflect, that as the body is lighter than water, a very little exertion in it will keep his body afloat. Of course his first thoughts will be towards the shore, but he must not forget, that the cramp being only a muscular contraction, may be thrown off by proper muscular exertion. He must strike out the limb violently, and bringing the toes towards the shin-bone, thrust his feet out, which will probably restore the muscles to their proper exercise; but if the cramp still continue, he can easily keep himself afloat with his hands, and paddle towards the shore, till some assistance comes to him. If one leg is only attacked, he may drive himself forward with the other, and for this purpose, in an emergency, the swimmer should frequently try to swim with one hand, or one leg and one hand, or by two hands alone, which will be easily acquired.

Should a companion be in danger of drowning, it is our duty to use every exertion to save his life; and, indeed, not to use the utmost exertion is a high degree of moral guilt, but in doing this, we must not rashly hazard our own life, nor put ourselves into a position in which the swimmer can cling to us or grasp any part of our body, or the loss of both will be inevitable. It will be better in all cases where bathing is practised, that there should be ropes and planks at hand, and young swimmers should never venture far into the water without such means of rescue are available. In conclusion, we would caution all who go into the water, against remaining in it too long, as nothing can be more dangerous; and we would further advise that the practice of bathing and swimming be not only common to boyhood, but be continued in after life, as few things tend more to the preservation of HEALTH.



PART VII.

GARDENING.

We read in the sacred records, that when man was created, he was placed in a "Garden,"—the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it; and we may infer therefrom, first, that, the occupation of gardening was one pre-eminently fitted for the happiness of man, and secondly, that industry, and even labour, was also a part of man's duty, even in a state of innocence.

There is not a more innocent amusement than gardening. Nothing can be more lovely than to be among buds and fruits and flowers; nothing is more conducive to health and peace of mind, and few things are better calculated to inspire religious feelings than gardening.

Every little boy or girl should have a garden, and should be shown how to manage it. There is a great deal in management and in method at all times, but especially in gardening. Much attention is also necessary,—great care and much forethought; all of which qualities of the mind it is in the highest degree proper to train and exercise. Whoever, therefore, begins gardening, must not look upon it as an idle sport, to be taken up and thrown aside with the whim of the moment, but as an occupation for leisure hours, that the mind must be brought to bear upon, and which must engage him from day to day, from month to month, from spring to summer, from autumn to winter, and so through all the changes of the varied year.



LAYING OUT THE GROUND.

30 yds. - 2 ft. 22-1/2 ft. Bed 3 ft. 22-1/2 ft. Bed 2 ft. 40 6 in. wide 6 in. yds. wide wide -

To begin gardening, a little boy must have some ground, which is quite indispensable; and a boy of from ten to fourteen years old ought to have, at least, a piece large enough for him to divide and subdivide, and arrange with neatness and order. A piece of about forty yards long by thirty wide will be large enough to commence with, and this should be set out in the subjoined manner. This will allow of a path three feet wide in the centre, and of one two feet six inches round the sides, leaving the beds twenty-two and a half feet wide. The paths should be gravelled with a good red binding gravel, and to look nice, the borders should be edged with box or edging tiles. At each corner of the two parallelograms, might be planted a tree, say, one apple, one pear, one plum, and one cherry, that is, eight in all; and at distances of about a yard, might be planted, all round, a foot from the paths, alternately, gooseberry-bushes, currant-trees, and raspberry-trees, and between them, various kinds of flowers, to come into blossom at different seasons. At one end, the south end if possible, should be erected a small arbour, with a couple of seats in it, and at the two opposite corners should be two small manure pits,—one for the reception of well-rotted manure, to be quickly used, and the other for the reception of all weeds, leaves, and rubbish, which will make manure, and which should be mixed up from time to time with the spade. These pits should be used alternately. As soon as one has its contents well rotted, it should be emptied from time to time on the land, while the other pit should be used to hold the fresh matter newly collected. By the time this is full, the other will be empty, and then that may be used as a collector and the other as a decomposer, and so on, alternately.

MANURE.

It is of no use whatever to think of getting things to grow without manure. This is the life and soul of all garden operations. Almost everything can be converted into manure. The grass from lawns, fallen leaves, weeds, and all vegetable matter, afford good light manure. Strong manures are prepared from horse, cow, sheep, and goat dung. The dung of fowls and rabbits is also most excellent; and where fowls or rabbits are kept, their dung should be preserved with great care, and put by itself into a rotting-pit, or into a tank, and kept wet. The juicy part can then be used as a liquid manure, and will be found of a highly fertilizing property, and the more solid may be spread over the land. The best time for putting manure on the land is in dry or frosty weather, and it should be dug in as soon as spread. It is a very unwise plan to spread manure on the land and let it lie, as in such cases, much of the strength of the manure is lost. Young gardeners should be very careful in preparing and collecting manure, and also when they are moving it from the pits to the ground, they should take care and not soil their paths.

GARDENING TOOLS.

It is quite necessary that a young gardener should have proper tools. He should have a small but strong spade, a small but strong rake, a digging fork, a hoe, a trowel, a good pruning-knife, a box for seeds, a little wheelbarrow, a line, and above all, a little gardener's apron, and a straw hat with a broad brim. Thus equipped, he may commence his gardening operations with great comfort to himself and some chance of success.

DIGGING.

The young gardener should practise digging, with a view to digging well. In beginning to dig a piece of ground, he should first clear it of all sticks, stalks, or stones, that might impede his labor. He should then commence at one end of the ground, with his back to the sun, if possible, and, beginning from the left-hand corner, dig one line all the way to the right-hand corner, either one or two spades deep, as may be required. The ground should be turned over, evenly laid up at the top, nice and level, and the weeds completely buried. The operator should dig carefully when near the roots of gooseberry, currant, raspberry, or fruit trees, and more carefully still, among flowers. If digging early in the season, he must mind he does not dig into his bulbs; such as lilies, tulips, snow-drops, crocuses, or daffodils, and cut them to pieces.

In the latter part of the year, in November and December, it is a good plan to dig up any unoccupied ground into ridges, and leave it in that state during the winter, that the frost may act upon it. The effect of frost upon the ground so prepared is very beneficial, as it breaks the clods and pulverizes the more cloggy portions, which fall down in a thaw as a fine soft mould. When manure is dug into the ground, it should not be dug in too deeply, about four or five inches being quite sufficient in most cases.

WEEDING.

Gardens will always produce a great deal more than is wished for, in the shape of various herbs, shrubs, and plants, called weeds; such as dandelions, couch-grass, cow-parsley, chick-weed, and many other plants, which go by the general name of weeds. These, if left to their own natural growth, would soon cover the ground, and take away from the garden plants the nutriment in the soil designed for them, besides entangling their roots, stems, and leaves; therefore, weeding is as indispensable as digging. The young gardener should make up his mind before he sets foot in his garden to have no weeds in it; for however assiduous he may have been in other respects, however he may have planted, watered, dug, or attended to his garden, if it show a crop of weeds, he is a bad gardener, and will be sure to get laughed at. Weeds may either be pulled up by the hand or cut up by the hoe. In both cases, the roots must be eradicated. They must not be plucked from the stem, or cut from the level ground by the edge of the hoe, but hoed or plucked up, root and all; and after they are got up, they are not be left about in the ridges to take root and grow again, but must be cleared away and safely put into the pit, never again to rise, but in the chemistry of good manure.

PLANTING AND SOWING.

Everything in a garden must be planted in some way or other, and there are many ways of planting and sowing. Sowing relates more particularly to seeds, and planting to the setting of plants that have been raised from seed in the first instance. The sowing of seeds is a very important work, and before seeds can be sown with a prospect of their springing up properly, the preparation of the soil, the time of the year, and even the time of day, must be taken into consideration. Some seeds perish in particular kinds of soil, while others thrive luxuriantly in them. Onions like a rich soil, as do cauliflowers and asparagus. Carrots and parsnips like a loose or sandy soil, as do sea-kale and many other plants. Some plants will only grow in bog earth; and some thrive, such as strawberries, best in a clayey loam. Attention to such matters must be given by the young gardener, if he wish to have his garden what it ought to be.

HOT-BEDS AND FRAMES.



Before we can sow many kinds of seeds in this country in the open ground, it is necessary to raise them first in a hot-bed, and for this reason,—many flowers common in our gardens are not natives of our cold and variable climate, but of one much warmer; and if we delay to sow the seed of such plants and flowers till the warm days of summer are fully set in, the plant has scarcely time to grow into perfection before the chills of autumn come on, and they perish before their blossoms, fruit, or seeds come to perfection. But this may be obviated by means of a frame and hot-bed, which every young gardener ought to have, however small it may be. One of the simplest is the common garden or cucumber frame, which may be bought for a few shillings. This, if about a yard square, should be set upon a low framework of bricks, within which a pit is dug, and filled with good manure over which some fine mould is placed, to the depth of about six inches. Upon this mould the more delicate kinds of flower-seeds may be sown at an early period of the year,—varieties of all those found in the gardening books under the head of tender annuals,—balsams, French marigolds, tobacco, stocks, marigolds, gourds, and sun-flowers. The seed must be sown carefully,—not too thick, and occasionally looked at. In mild, open weather, the glass should be raised a little, but in cold weather kept down. The giving of water should be managed with care, and the plants as they appear should not be suffered to grow too rapidly, but be kept under, or they will not bear to be transplanted when the time comes for doing so.

In transplanting, care should always be taken not to transplant too early, or in improper weather; for if the weather happens to be cold or wet, the tender plants will suffer very much, and probably fail. This would be the case, not only with flowers, but with all the tender kinds of plants, such as cauliflowers, and, therefore, the young gardener must keep his "weather eye" open, as the sailors say, and not be too much in a hurry, as young gardeners generally are.

OPEN CROPS.

In the sowing of open crops, care should also be taken to sow at the proper time. Very early sowing is generally hazardous, but yet, if you would have your crops come in soon, a little risk must be run. When seed is sown in the open ground, it requires watching, and this particularly applies to such crops as early potatoes or beans. Sometimes potatoes are sown in February, with the view to an early crop; and in April the young tender sprouts appear above the ground. One night's frost, however, settles them,—down they go, black and jelly-like to the earth; but if the weather be doubtful, the thoughtful young gardener takes care to cover up the tender shoots with dry leaves or straw, to break the icy tooth of the frost, and save his crop. The same care should be also bestowed upon any other vegetable of a tender kind, and without this care, gardening would come to nothing.

After seeds are sown, they have many natural enemies. The slug, the snail, the wire-worm, the impudent sparrow, and the most impudent and insolent chaffinch, who all seem to have an idea that the seed is put into the ground entirely for their benefit. As soon as the pea-shoot comes above the earth, the slug has a mouthful in its tenderest moments; after the shoot has in part recovered from the gentle nibble, Master Sparrow swoops down and picks off, as quick as he can, all the delicate little sprouts by mouthfuls: to make a fit ending to what is so well begun, the chaffinch descends in the most impudent manner, close to your face, and pulls up stalk and pea both together, and flies away as unconcerned as can be. Now it is of no use to stand with a gun or a pair of clappers in your hand all the day after these intruders, and the only protection is by a net, or rows of twine strung with feathers, stretched over the bed in rows, and a few other pieces of white twine crosswise in their immediate vicinity. Birds do not like the look of any threads drawn across the ground, and they will rarely fly where there appears danger of entanglement; and this method is the best that can be adopted for seed-beds. A Guy is also good; and there are few boys who do not know how to construct one. A Guy is also particularly appropriate for the early Warwick peas. As to slugs and caterpillars, they must be hunted for and picked off; and if they abound in a garden, the line of shooting peas, beans, or other seed, must be dredged with a little slacked lime, which is an infalliable mode of protection. But mind the lime does not blow into your eyes; for, if it does, you will be worse off than the caterpillars.

RAKING.

When seeds are sown, the beds should be nicely raked. Some seeds, such as carrot and parsnip seeds, should be beaten down with the flat part of the spade, and laid very evenly and nicely. The edges of the little cross-paths should be sharp and straight, and the whole put into a ship-shape order. The stones should be raked off into the cross-paths, and may remain there until the land is dug up in the autumn or winter, when they may be removed. There is a good deal to be done with the rake in many ways, besides the raking of beds. It is a very useful tool to job over a bed when some kinds of seeds are sown: it also makes a very good drill, and is especially useful in getting leaves from the paths and borders; but it should be used with a light hand, and care taken not to scratch the ground into holes with it, as many young gardeners do.

HOEING.

The hoe is of very great use, both to hoe up weeds and to form drills. We have spoken about its former use, and shall now say a word or two about the latter. In forming a drill for peas, beans, or other seed, one thing is above all things requisite, namely, that it should be straight. A drill resembling a dog's hinder leg, never looks well in a garden, and therefore the little gardener must have recourse to his line. This ought to be long enough to stretch quite across his ground, and when he wants to strike a drill, he should stretch it across from path to path, and, taking his hoe in his hand, cut or scrape a little furrow, about three or four inches deep, by the side of his line. In sowing peas and beans, the drills are generally a yard apart, and between them other crops are sometimes sown. Very often a crop of spring-spinach or of radishes is sown between lines of peas, and so on of other intermediate crops.



The line is very useful in all kinds of planting. In planting broad-beans, they are put into the ground by a dibber, which is a piece of wood with a pointed end and a handle. The holes are to be dibbed along the side of the line. The same tool is used in a similar way in planting potatoes, strawberries, cabbage-plants, and a variety of other roots, which require to be planted in straight and equidistant lines.

TRANSPLANTING.

There are a great many vegetables which require to be transplanted,—some from the hot-bed, and some from the open ground, where they have sprung from seeds, to their destination in the garden. All transplanting should be done with care. Some plants, such as cabbage plants, do not require so much care as others, but every plant to do well should be well planted. Young gardeners are liable to many mistakes in transplanting; one is, that they often put the root of the plant into the ground bundled together; another is, that they make the hole too large with the dibber, and are not careful in pressing the mould to the root at the bottom of the hole, so that the root of the plant has nothing to feed upon. All this the thoughtful little gardener will avoid; and when he puts a plant into the ground, he will reflect that if it be not well planted it will not grow. The young plants of the more delicate flowers should be moved with the greatest care into spots congenial with their natures. Some plants require a warm, some a cool situation, some a moist, some a dry one, and these will be ascertained by studying the nature of the plant.

WATERING.

Boys generally fancy there is nothing like watering, and they are very pleased when they get the watering-pot in their hands. They always like to be watering,—no doubt thinking that the more the seeds and plants are watered the better they thrive; but this is a mistake, moderation in all things should be the motto. When a plant wants watering artificially, it in general shows its wants by very unequivocal signs, namely, by a drooping of its pretty head and leaves; and then, if too much water be given to it, it soon springs up with great luxuriance; and the first burning day of sunshine is likely to kill it, or to do it great injury. The rule should be, to water as little as possible, and to wait as long as possible for nature's heavenly rain, which is better than any artificial watering. Plants should never be watered during the middle of the day, but early in the morning, or when the sun is descending in the evening. Pump-water should never be used if rain or pond-water can be obtained. Much good often results to plants and seed-beds from the use of liquid manure. This can be easily prepared by getting an old beer-cask and knocking out the head. The bottom should then be fixed in a hole dug to receive it, and the earth allowed to reach to the brim. Some of the best manure to be had should then be put into this, with a pound or two of guano, and pour upon it three pails of water. It should then be allowed to stand for a week or two, and used as required. The effects will soon show themselves in the increased growth and vigour of the plants.

ON THE PROPAGATION OF VARIOUS KINDS OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS.

Besides sowing seed and rearing plants from them by transplanting, there are many other ways of propagating plants, namely, by off-sets, suckers, layers, divided-roots, cuttings, and pipings. If tulips and hyacinths be examined, it will be found, that besides shedding seed, the bulb of the plant very often makes a smaller bulb on the larger one, and this, if taken off and planted by itself, becomes a new plant: many plants may be propagated in this way. The strawberry also, will be found to send off a long shoot, and, at about a foot distant from the parent root, a little knob appears, having a bud to spring into the air and a root to work into the ground: this is called a runner. These may be cut away from the parent and planted separately, and will become a new plant. Many other plants, such as roses, raspberries, and lilacs, send from their roots little thin stems: these are called suckers, and may be removed from the parent shrub and planted by themselves, when they will become separate plants. Many plants can be propagated by what are termed layers. To do this, nothing more is necessary than to select a shoot, as near the root as possible, and having partially divided it with a knife, make an upward slit in it, and then placing a bit of twig between the divided parts, press it down to the ground, burying the joint beneath the surface of the soil. To plant from cuttings, some care is necessary as regards green-house plants, but nothing is easier than to rear fresh stocks of roses, currants and gooseberries from cuttings, as it is only necessary to cut the shoots cleanly off, and, after reducing them to about six inches in length, to place them in the ground with the shooting end upwards. They should be planted about six inches apart, and after the first year be removed to their proper situation; and they will bear fruit in the following year. To plant from pipings, such as pinks and carnations, it is only necessary to pull off one of the tubular stems, and dividing it at or near the joint, pull off the surrounding leaves, and insert the end or jointed part in some fine sand-mould, placing a glass over them till they have "struck," that is, formed roots, when they can afterwards be transplanted.

PRUNING.



Little gardeners ought to know something of pruning trees. To cut or prune gooseberry and currant-trees is very simple. Gooseberry-trees should be cut differently from currant-trees. In gooseberry-trees, much of the fruit grows on wood of the last year's growth, but on currant-trees, the fruit is, for the most part, found near the knob or joint between the old wood and the new. To prune gooseberry trees, all the old dead wood should be cut out, and every branch that trails on the ground should be cut away, all branches in the centre of the tree that intersect each other, and all ugly branches, should be removed,—all suckers should be taken from the root, and the stem of the tree left straight and free to about ten or twelve inches from the ground, and the tree trained to throw its branches into the kind of form in the margin. The branches should then be cut, i. e., about half of the white or new wood should be cut cleanly off with a sharp knife, and the cuttings carefully gathered up.



In cutting currant-trees, nearly all the white wood should be cut away, leaving only head shoots to some one single or middle shoot of a main branch. The under-wood, old wood, and irregular and ugly wood, should also be cut away, as recommended at the cutting of gooseberries. In pruning or cutting raspberries, the old wood should be cut quite away, and the stems of the last year shortened about one third.

GRAFTING AND BUDDING.

Grafting is the transferring of a shoot of one tree into the stem of another, called the stock. Into this a slit is made; and then the scion or shoot is cut into the form of a tongue and inserted into it. The head of the stock is then cut off in a slanting direction, and the two are then tied together, or closely wrapped together, in moss, covered with grafting clay. No book can give directions so clear for grafting, as to enable the young gardener to perform it successfully. He must see it done, try it afterwards, and then ask if he has done it correctly; and to learn grafting and budding well, it is only necessary to get on the right side of the gardener. The same may be said as regards the pruning of vines, fruit and wall trees. Ten minutes' experience with the gardener will teach more than twenty volumes on the subject.

SHIFTING OF CROPS.

Crops must not be grown twice in rotation on the same ground. Peas and beans should be the crop after any of the roots, such as potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Cabbages, and plants of that kind, may be sown and grown intermediately. The best rotation of crops will be found in any gardening book on the subject, and this the young gardener should make a subject of some study.

HOW TO MANAGE A LITTLE GARDEN ALL THE YEAR ROUND.

JANUARY.

The chief wish of the little gardener this month is to take advantage of the hard frosts, and during their prevalence, to wheel upon his ground such manure as may be necessary. It should be wheeled in at this time, because, while the frost is hard, the wheelbarrow can pass over the paths and beds without doing much injury, nor will the dung and rubbish in its moving make more dirt than can be easily swept up. The manure should be left in heaps, and not spread till the time comes for digging it in.

In the middle or latter end of the month, should the weather be fine and open, attention should be given to the cutting of the gooseberry, currant, and raspberry-trees, and to the planting of off-sets from each, or of cuttings, as directed. A crop of peas might be sown, as well as mustard and cress, and a few broad-beans for coming in early. The peas and beans should be sown in rows, about a yard apart, and a little spinach might be sown in a broad drill, made by the hoe between them. The gravel-walks should be turned up in the first thaw and left in a ridge, ready for turning down and rolling when the weather becomes fine and dry.

Radishes may also now be sown in beds prepared by digging and freshly turned up. The seed should be thrown in, not too thickly, and raked over. Straw should then be placed upon it to keep off the birds, or a Guy and feathers. The straw must be kept over the beds in the frosty weather and during the night, and taken off in the morning.

Now is the time to plant bulbous roots, such as snow-drops, crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, jonquils, daffodils, and flags; and off-sets of bulbous roots may be planted in beds. Anemones and ranunculuses may also be planted in dry weather, and some of the most hardy of the perennial and biennial shrubs, as asters, Canterbury-bells, and campanulas, may be planted.

FEBRUARY.

In February, the young gardener will find much to do. In the flower-garden, he may finish planting the remainder of the bulbous roots, such as the star of Bethlehem, fritillarias, narcissuses, and gladioluses, in beds or borders, all for flowering the same year. Some may be planted in pots to flower in the house, or they may be placed in the hot-bed for early flowering. Some of the hardy annual flower-seeds may now be sown.

In the kitchen-garden, if we may so call it, a little crop of turnips may be sown to come in early. Cabbage-plants may be set in rows; and a little lettuce-seed may be sown under the frame in the hot-bed. This frame should be well covered at night, and slightly raised in the day time, when the weather is mild, to give the plants within it light and air.

MARCH.

In the flower-garden, the gardener may begin to sow in beds, borders and pots, larkspurs, candy-tuft, lupines, sweet-peas, Venus's looking-glass, pansies, stocks, sweet-scabius, and many others.

In the culinary department, now is the time to sow a little bed of onions in a well-manured bed. A bed for carrots may also be prepared, and the seed sown and well trodden down. A bed of parsnips should also be prepared in the same way; and another crop of peas of the marrow-fat kind may be planted in drills in the same manner as the former. And now, perhaps, the cabbages will require the earth to be drawn to their stems; and, if the little gardener has room, he may plant three or four rows of early potatoes. They should be the cuttings of large ones, with not more than two eyes in each piece, and should be planted with manure in rows, about two feet and a half apart and about a foot distant from each other.

APRIL.

Now is the time to begin sowing the more tender annual flower seeds. Some should be sown in the hot-bed; such as African and French marigolds, Indian pinks, China-asters, yellow-sultanas; and many others of the hardy kind, wall-flowers, Canterbury-bells, French honey-suckles, mignonette, pinks, and daises may be planted.

In the kitchen department, kidney-beans may be sown, and at the latter end of the month scarlet-runners and French-beans may be planted. It is not a bad plan to raise a few scarlet-runners in the hot-bed, and to plant them out when they have formed roots, and two or three leaves at the head. But as these kinds of beans are very tender, they should be carefully watched, and covered with straw on the sudden appearance of frost, which often takes place in this month.

MAY.

Now may be sown the tenderest of the annuals in the hot-beds, as cock's-combs, tricolors, balsams, egg-plants, ice-plants, and others of that kind. Dahlias may also be placed in the bed in this or the former month, and suffered to sprout, previous to planting in the open ground. Bulbous roots of every flower now out of bloom, and the leaves decayed, may be taken up and the off-sets separated dry, and housed for future planting.

Now is the time to plant melons, gourds, and pumpkins. The seeds of these should be sown in April in the hot-bed, and the plants should be transplanted into good ground in a warm spot, about the latter end of the month. They will grow freely and produce ripe fruit in August. Common pumpkins may be sown on one of the dunghills. The gourds, such as the orange-gourd, may be planted near an arbour, and be trained up the principal parts. French-beans and scarlet-runners may also be planted, if not done before; and should the young gardener have raised any tomatoes or capsicums in his hot-bed, now is the time to plant them out, as well as the slips of geraniums and tobacco-plants.

The young gardener will now find employment in sticking peas and beans, weeding and transplanting. And such broad-beans as are now in blossom, should have their tops nipped off, to promote the setting of the pods. But let him be very careful to look after the weeds, which now grow in great abundance; and let him rake nicely all his borders and keep everything clean and neat, as this is the most brilliant time of a garden's beauty.

JUNE.

Look well to the strawberries, and see that they are well watered, which operation should be performed in dry weather every other day. These plants will by this time have made their runners, and these should be cleared away, except those that may be required for making fresh beds, which may now be planted. Trim the roots a little, and cut off the strays or runners from each plant.

Look well at this period, morning and evening, for snails and other insects, and after showers of rain in particular. If there should be any small cherry trees or other fruit trees, they ought be netted or well watched, or the birds will eat them.

All sorts of flowers may now be planted out into the borders. Some may also be put in pots, such as balsams. Take care, however, that they are removed in damp or showery weather. In dry weather, take up tulips, crown-imperials, and jonquils, such as are past flowering, and pluck away the off-sets: let them be well cleaned and dried in the shade from the mid-day sun; then put each sort into separate bags or boxes, and keep them in some dry apartment till September, October or November, at which time they will have to be planted again. Most other bulbs may also be now taken up and put away for future planting. June is also the proper time to propagate pinks and carnations by pipings.

JULY.

This is the time to plant out savoys and cabbages for winter use. Brocoli may also be planted, and some seed sown for a late spring crop. The plants raised from this seed will be ready to put out, finally, in the middle and towards the latter end of August and the beginning of September, and will produce small heads in April and in the beginning of May. Lettuces may be now planted out, and other seed sown for future use. Spinach for winter may also be now sown; for this, that part of the garden should be chosen that has the most of the winter's sun upon it. Now is the very best time in the whole year to sow the large black turnip-rooted radish for autumn and winter. The young gardener must at this period be on the watch for such seeds, both of flowers and garden vegetables, as are ripe. This should always be done in dry weather,—cutting or pulling up the stems with the seeds in. They should then be spread in an airy place where the sun and wind will dry them thoroughly.

The various herbs, such as balm, penny-royal, sweet-marjorum, sage, lavender, marigolds, should also be gathered up for winter use. Slips may now be planted from any of these. Take the side shoots of the branches four or five inches in length, and plant them in a shady border, and do not forget to give them water.

The ground should be kept clear at this period from refuse leaves, stumps of cabbages, haulm of peas and beans, and from all decaying rubbish and litter. Cut box-edgings also; and if the operation of budding is to be performed, now is the time to do it.

AUGUST.

Look over the flowers in borders from day to day, to see what they require. When the shoots of rambling flowers interpose with each other, they should be shortened, so that every plant may stand singly, as they always appear to best advantage when they stand clear of each other.

In this month, we must still continue to look out for ripe flower-seeds; also, there are several kinds of autumnal flower-bulbs, which may be planted, such as the autumnal crocus and Guernsey-lily.

Now weed and water seedlings, and shift such pot-flowers as require it into larger pots. In doing this, rub off the moulds and matted fibres from the roots, and throw away part of the outward, loose old earth. Then, having put a little fresh earth into the old pots, with a piece of broken tile over the hole in the bottom, put in your plant, and fill all the sides round with nice soft mould.

SEPTEMBER.

In the third or fourth week of this month, it will be proper to begin to plant the choice hyacinth and tulip roots for an early spring blossom. The bed should be dug at least one full spade deep, breaking the earth fine and laying the bed even by raking, and then plant the bulbs about six inches apart. Ranunculus beds or borders may be prepared in the same way, and the plants planted similarly, about two inches deep. Take care of the new carnation and pink pipings or layers, and let them be transplanted as soon as convenient. Perennial plants, such as carnations, pinks, and sweet-williams, may now be transplanted. Now may be sown the seeds of bulbous flower roots, as tulips, crown-imperials, hyacinths, and most other bulbs. Evergreens may now be transplanted, and much work be done in the preparation of manure, and gathering in crops of various kinds.

OCTOBER.

This month again ushers in planting in various ways. In the kitchen department, beans may be planted for an early crop in the succeeding spring; that is, if the frost does not nip them. A warm border, under a south wall is the best place for them. A few peas may be sown also, to try the chance of the winter. Sow lettuce and small salad and radishes; also transplant lettuces to situations to stand till the spring. A few rows of cabbages for the winter and spring should now be planted, and winter spinach sown. Now is a good time to begin to dig up parsnips and carrots to store away for winter; and now all ground not in use should be well dug up and trenched, to lie ready for the winter's frost to act upon it. Now gather various fruits as they are fully ripe, and choose dry days for so doing.

NOVEMBER.

The season is now closing, yet a good deal is to be done by those who love a garden,—a vast deal of planting and transplanting of every variety of flowers. Roots of many may be separated, and fresh sorts planted. Nearly every kind of bulbous roots, if not previously planted, may now be put in the earth. The cuttings of gooseberry and currant trees may also be planted, and young trees raised in the spring be transplanted to their proper situation. It is also a good time to plant filberts, hazel-nuts, and barberries. Strawberry plants should have a dressing of good manure.

DECEMBER.

Make neat the borders, dig all loose ground, turn the manure, plant suckers from old roots, roll green and gravel walks, gather seeds on fine days, cut away old wood, nail fruit trees, prepare hot-beds, get matting to put over tender plants during the frost, look over seeds, and see that they are dry and properly put away and make all clean, nice, and neat for the coming spring.

* * * * *

Such is an outline of what a boy may be expected to do with his little garden. A great deal more is to be learned than can be learned from a book; but if the young gardener will keep his eyes open, reflect on the reasons for doing things, and pay attention to the voice of experience, he will probably reap more real delight from his few yards of ground than from all the toys and playthings he ever possessed.



PART VIII.

CARPENTERING.



There is not a more useful and pleasant amusement than that of "Carpentering." Every boy should be able to do little jobs with the plane and chisel; for whether he may turn out a gentleman or a poor man, it will be of great use to him. If a gentleman, he can amuse himself with it, and if a poor man, it will be of essential service to be able to put up a row of palings in his garden, to make a gate, to build a pig-stye, to make and fix up shelves, build out-houses, and perform sundry odd jobs about the house for his comfort and convenience.

Every boy should have a box of tools, and a bench to work at, also a little room or loft for a workshop. He ought to obtain good tools, and by no means buy the boxes of rubbish sold to boys for their amusement. He should go the ironmonger's and purchase the following tools; of course, out of his own savings,—his own pocket-money,—and not apply to his parents for it.

Two saws, one small and one hand-saw. Four gimlets of different sizes. One pair of pincers. One pair of plyers. Four chisels of different sizes. One gouge. Two hammers, large and small. One mallet. Two bradawls. Two planes, long and short. Two flies, large and small. One level. One square. One screw-driver. Nails, screws, rings, glue-pot, hone, oil, etc.

He must also manage to obtain a carpenter's-bench, which he cannot very well do without, and then he may begin carpentering with expedition.

USES OF THE VARIOUS TOOLS.

THE SAW.—Before a saw can be used after it is purchased, it generally has to be "set," as it is termed; that is, its teeth are to be sharpened and placed a little outwards from the plane of its length. There are several kinds of saws, namely, the common hand-saw, the key-hole saw, and the small-toothed saw. The first is to cut planks and thick pieces of wood; the second is to cut holes in planks or boards; the third is to cut small pieces of wood, or those that require to be very nicely divided.

THE PLANE.—The plane is used to smooth boards with. There are several kinds of planes. The long plane and the short plane are the principal ones. Within the plane is the knife, which is fastened in by a knock of the hammer on the wedge inside, which is made so as to fix the edged knife at any distance from the bottom of the plane, either for thin or thick shaving. A very little direction from the carpenter will enable the young carpenter to fix his knife properly; and a knock on the end of the plane with a hammer will loosen it in a moment. The knife should be sharpened from time to time on the stone or hone. This should be done with great care, so as to preserve a proper angle at the edge and great evenness in every part, otherwise, the planing will be very imperfect.

In planing, the wood to be planed is either laid flat on the bench, with its end against the little pin, to prevent its moving, or fixed in the screw of the bench, and the plane being brought upon the top or edge of the wood, is pushed carefully, but somewhat sharply along. The shaving comes through the hole in the plane, and must be cleared away, from time to time, out of the way of the knife. Everything planed should be planed perfectly level, smooth, and even.



THE CHISEL.—The use of the chisel is to cut square or sharp-cornered holes in wood, especially mortices. A mortice is the hole cut in a post or other piece of wood, in which another piece of wood cut to fit it, called a tenon, is put. The tenon and mortice should both be cut exactly, and so that they fit at right angles, firmly and securely. Tenons and mortices are of perpetual use in carpentering, and the young carpenter should learn as quickly as possible to make them.

THE MALLET is to be used instead of the hammer for a variety of purposes. In cutting mortices, it is the mallet and not the hammer that is used, and in almost all cases where the chisel is employed, the mallet should be used. Were we to use a hammer to knock the end of the chisel, we should soon split its handle, or so bruise it, as to make it unservicable.

THE GIMLET AND BRADAWL.—The gimlet is used to bore awls with, so that nails when they are driven in may not split the wood. Bradawls are used for the same purpose, before smaller nails, called brads, are put in. A bradawl is sometimes called a nail-piercer. There is a thread gimlet now come into use, but this requires much care in handling: it must be very gently put in, and very gently taken out, or it will snap like a piece of glass; but it is a very useful tool, and is a great improvement upon the old gimlet.

PINCERS AND PLYERS.—Pincers are used to take loose nails out of wood, to wrench off staples, or other things that have been attached to wood. Plyers are a smaller kind of pincers, and are used for small work in the same way. They are very useful tools, and it is impossible to do without them.



THE HAMMER.—Almost everybody knows how a hammer is used: it is used to drive nails with, and also to take them out. The hammer used to take out nails, is called a claw-hammer, from its having a claw at one part. The claw is placed under the head of the nail, when the handle of the hammer becomes a lever, and the head the fulcrum; and, placed in this position, the hand acquires great power,—sometimes amounting to at least a hundred-weight. In using a hammer, we should always be careful to use the kind of hammer necessary for the work to be done.

FILES.—Files are of various uses, and we cannot do very well without them in carpentering. There are several kinds of files: one kind flat on one side and rounded at the other; another is flat on both sides, and another kind has three edges and three flat sides. The first is used for rasping wood or other things down to a level; and the others are used to file things into a point, or to cut them in pieces.

THE SCREW-DRIVER is used to drive in and take out screws. It ought to have a very hard tough edge and a long handle. When placed in the head of the screw, to drive in, it should be turned from left to right, and in taking out, from right to left. There is a particular way of getting out a screw, which is only to be learned by a little practice. The knack consists in combining with nicety the pressure on the screw-head and the turning of the driver. The young carpenter will now and then find a very stubborn screw and fancy it quite impossible to get it out; but by a little perseverance, he soon finds out the knack of doing it; and what seemed immoveable yields to his skill and strength. There is one thing young carpenters frequently do, and that is, to use their chisels for screw-drivers; the consequence of this is, the spoiling of the chisel, for the edges are sure to break away.



THE LEVEL.—Every piece of work should be square and level, except when it is of a curved form, and then it should be reduced to the principles of the circle or ellipse. The level is used in putting up posts, palings, or work of any kind in an upright position. It consists of a hoard of wood, upon which a string is suspended, having a plummet at the end of it, which falls along a straight line at a right angle with the bottom of the level. To obtain a perfect perpendicular and perfect horizontal, the level is placed on the work till the line falls exactly over the nick at the top of the hole. The square is principally applied to things made at the bench, and is used to bring everything made to a right angle, so that a true level and perpendicular is thus secured.

STUFF.

The young carpenter will find it very difficult to work without stuff. He ought, therefore, to purchase a deal sawed into planks or boards, consisting of one three quarters of an inch thick, another one inch thick, and another half an inch thick. He ought, also, to obtain a slab not sawed at all, to cut out as occasion may require. He will then be provided with wood. He must also lay in a stock of various kinds of nails, screws, rings, hasps, hinges, etc., and, above all, a good substantial box to keep his tools and other matters in. This should be divided into compartments, and everything should be arranged in it with neatness and order.

LABOUR.

The young carpenter ought to be fond of work; and to feel a pleasure in it. Should this be the case, there is scarcely an end to his labours. He may make his hen-houses, his rabbit-hutches, his summer-houses, his boxes, seats, rustic-chairs, lattice-work and palings for his garden, build out-houses, and make book-shelves; in short, amuse himself with the manufacture of a great variety of things, both for use and ornament, and of which he may justly be a little proud.

Such an amusement is infinitely superior to feats of conjuring and legerdemain, tricks with cards, and impositions of various kinds, which are put in some books for the amusement of young people, and which are highly pernicious both to their mental and moral progress.



PART IX.

KEEPING POULTRY.

Keeping poultry is an innocent amusement both for boys and girls. Domesticated animals, unlike the free inhabitants of the country, do not suffer from the loss of liberty, and when they are well housed, fed, and attended to, they are as happy in their state of domestication as they would be in their wild state of liberty; perhaps, more so, and therefore it is quite right to keep them.

There is something very pleasant in watching the old hen as she sits so patiently on her nest, and to see the little birds issue from the eggs, with the proud but careful mother strutting by them, and scratching and toiling to obtain them food; and nothing is more touching to a sensitive mind than to behold her at the least chill of air, or overcasting of the clouds, calling her young brood under her wings for warmth, shelter, and security. There are many lessons of good to be learned in fowl-keeping.

In proceeding to keep poultry, the young poultry-keeper should first secure a proper place to keep them in. He ought to be able to build, if not the whole, a great portion of his poultry-house, which need not be on a very extensive plan; but there are a certain number of little requisites belonging to it which ought not to be forgotten.



NATURE AND SITUATION OF FOWL-HOUSE.



The situation of a fowl-house should be such as to afford sun and warmth in winter and spring, and shade in summer. It should be well covered in at the top, free from damp, have good ventilation and light, with windows of lattice-work, with boards behind to open and shut. It should be placed against a wall with a slanting roof. The side should contain one latticed window (A); the front, also, a latticed window (B), with a hatch-door, partly latticed and partly boarded at the side. A little door for the fowls should communicate with a fowl-yard, as seen below.



- - 4 - - - - H 1 6 2 3 - - - - 5 - -

The above is a sketch of the ground-plan of the house and fowl-yard. H is the fowl house. No. 1 is a small pit filled with dry sand and ashes, in which the fowls may roll to free themselves from vermin. No. 2 is another small trench or pit, containing horse-dung and rubbish of various kinds, to be frequently renewed, in which they may amuse themselves in scraping for corn and worms. No. 3 is a square of turf, on which they may pasture and amuse themselves. Two or three trees ought to be planted in the middle of the run, and these might be cherry or mulberry trees, as they are very fond of the fruit. Nos. 4 & 5 are two little stone tanks for water, and No. 6 is a pond for the ducks, in case it should be thought advisable to keep such, which I should strongly recommend to be done.

Within the fowl-house there must be perches put up for the fowls to roost on. These should be placed one above another at the corner, and so disposed, that one range of birds does not sit quite under the other, for reasons which need not be explained. At the bottom of the fowl-house, but not under the perches, should be placed the nest boxes, from four to six, as may be required, in which straw should be placed for the hens to make their nests with. The fowl-house and everything about it should be kept scrupulously clean, and be frequently white-washed; and it is good, occasionally, to fumigate the house by burning herbs, and juniper and cedar woods.

THE VARIOUS BREEDS OF FOWLS.

These are very numerous, and are becoming more so every day. Among them are the following:—

THE DORKING BREED.

So named from the town of Dorking in Surrey. It is one of the largest of our fowls. It is of an entire white colour, and has five claws upon each foot, generally, for some have not. They are good layers, and their flesh is plump. They make excellent capons.

POLAND BREED.

The Poland fowls are greatly esteemed, but they are seldom to be met with pure in this country. They were originally imported from Holland. Their colour is shining black, with white tufts on the head of both cock and hen, springing from a fleshy protuberance or "King David's crown," the celestial in heraldry. This breed lay a great quantity of eggs, and are sometimes called "everlasting layers." They quickly fatten, and are good eating.

SPANISH BREED.

The Spanish fowl, with the Hamburg and Chittagong, is a very large fowl, laying large eggs, and all seem more or less allied to the Polish family. They are well adapted for capons, and produce eggs nearly equal in size to those of the Malay hens. This breed is now common, particularly in London.

BANTAMS.

This breed is small, but very beautiful. It came originally from India. They are frequently feathered to the toes; but booted legs are not exclusively peculiar to Bantams, for Bantam fanciers, with Sir John Sebright at their head, prefer those which have clean bright legs without any feathers. The full-bred Bantam-cock should not weigh more than a pound. He should have a rose comb, a well-feathered tail, and a proud lively carriage. The Nankeen coloured and the black are the greatest favourites. The Nankeen bird should have his feathers edged with black, his wings bordered with purple, his tail-feathers black, his hackles slightly studded with purple, and his breast black, with white edges to the feathers. The hen should be small, clean-legged, and match in plumage with the cock. For young persons, Bantams are the best kinds of fowls to be kept, as they make but little dirt, and are very gentle and pretty.

CHOICE OF STOCK.

In commencing fowl-keeping, it is important to choose young and healthy sorts. There should be a two year old cock, and pullets in their first year. In choosing them, we should note that the comb is red and healthy, the eyes bright and dry, and the nostrils free from any moisture. The indications of old age or sickness are paleness of the comb and gills, dulness of colour, a sort of stiffness in the down and feathers, increased length of talons, loose and prominent scales on the legs.

There should be from four to six hens to one cock, the latter being the extreme number; and the conduct of the cock towards the hens should be watched, for if he should be of a sulky, selfish, persecuting and domineering disposition, the hens will be unhappy, and he ought to have his neck wrung, as a just reward for selfishness and tyranny.

FOOD AND FEEDING.

Fowls must be well fed, but they should not have too much. Over-feeding is as bad for fowls as for men. They ought not to be fed with stale or bad corn, but of the best, and now and then with a little buck-wheat; with cabbage, mangold-wurzel leaves, and parsley, which should be chopped fine. Where they are likely to be stinted for insect food, small pieces of meat chopped up should occasionally be added to their food.

On the floor of the fowl-house, a little sand should be occasionally spread, and sandy gravel should be placed in the corners. The small sharp stones found in gravel are absolutely necessary to fowls, as they are picked up by the birds and find their way into the gizzard, where they perform the part of mill-stones in grinding the corn.

LAYING.

The early period of spring, and after a cessation at the end of summer, are the two periods at which fowls begin to lay. When the period of laying approaches, it is known by the redness of the comb in the hen, the brightness of her eyes, and her frequent clucking. She appears restless, and scratches and arranges the straw in her laying place, and at last begins to lay. She generally prefers to lay in a nest where there is one or more eggs; hence it is of use to put a chalk egg into the nest you wish her to settle on.

The eggs ought to be taken from the nest every afternoon, when no more are expected to be laid, for if left in the nest, the heat of the hens when laying each day will tend to corrupt them. Some hens will lay only one egg in three days, some every other day, and some every day.

To promote laying, good food in moderate quantities should be given to the hens, and also clean water. A hen well fed and attended to, will produce upwards of one hundred and fifty eggs in a year, besides two broods of chickens. Some half-bred game hens begin to lay as soon as their chickens are three weeks old.

PRESERVATION OF EGGS.

To preserve eggs fresh for a length of time, it is only necessary to rub each egg with a small piece of butter, which need not be larger than a pea, or the tip of the finger may be dipped in a saucer of oil and passed over the shell in the same way. Eggs may be thus preserved for nine months.

HATCHING CHICKENS.

The eggs given to the hen to hatch must be perfectly fresh; they should be large in size, the produce of the most beautiful birds, well shaped, and the number put under the hen should vary according to her size, and may be from nine to thirteen eggs; odd numbers, old housewives say, are the luckiest.

When a hen wants to sit, she makes a particular kind of clucking, and goes to her nest. Here she fixes herself for a period of three weeks, at the end of which time, the young chickens break the eggs and come out perfect beings. They run about as soon almost as they are out of the egg, and in twenty-four hours will take food.

On the first day of their birth, chickens require nothing but warmth, and they must be kept under the mother in the nest. The next day, they may be put under a coop and fed with crumbs of bread soaked in milk, a few chicken's groats being added, and the yolks of eggs boiled hard. After being kept warm under the coop with the mother for five or six days, they may then be turned a little in the sun, towards the middle of the day, and fed with boiled barley mixed with curds, and a few pot-herbs chopped up. At the end of a fortnight, they may be left entirely to the care of the mother, who will be sure to perform her duty.

Such are the principal particulars regarding the keeping of fowls. There are many books written on the subject: one of the best of them is called the "Poultry-yard," which may be consulted for further information.



PART X.

BEES.



Any humane person must be unwilling to keep what may be termed "pets," when, as is very often the case, they are taken from the freedom which nature has given them, to be pent up in cages, hutches, and round-about boxes. It is not a part of good moral training to encourage children to deprive anything of liberty, and the keeping of rabbits, guinea-pigs, birds, gold and silver fish, white mice, pigeons and squirrels, is not only attended with a vast deal of trouble and expense, but with a great many bad smells, filth, and dirt. Such matters, have, therefore, been excluded from this volume, as being by no means calculated to improve either the minds or morals of young persons, but rather to have a contrary tendency.

These objections do not, however, lie against the keeping of bees, which afford at all times lessons of industry, of order, of contrivance, of perseverance, and of many other virtues, which are great ornaments to little boys and girls, as well as to grown men and women. We shall, therefore, give as copious an account of this interesting insect as we can, and, at the same time, show the best methods of managing it with advantage to its possessor.

Bee is the English name for an extensive genera of insects,—apis or the section anthophla or mellifera of modern classification. The common domestic bee, of which it is now our business to treat, is the apis mellifica of Linnaeus; and it may be as well to state, for the guidance of the young reader, that the Hive-bee is distinguished from all other species of bees,—by having the shanks of the hind legs furnished with a smooth and concave pollen-plate on the outer surface, and destitute of spines at the extremity,—by the basal joint of the torsi in the working bees, of an oblong form, with its inner surface clothed with fine hairs, disposed in transverse layers,—by the oblong shape of its body,—and by the feelers at the sheath of the tongue being almost obsolete and formed of a single point.

The Hive-bee may be regarded as one of the most perfectly social species of insects, and one whose economy is regulated by the possession of a more remarkable degree of instinct than is perhaps possessed by any other insect. Another peculiarity regarding bees is, that there are not simply males and females among them, but mules or workers, or female non-breeders, as they have been termed, which constitute the great mass of the population of a hive. They are smaller, as regards size, than the males or the female bees, and it is to them that the internal economy of the hive is committed, and upon them the whole labour of the community devolves. Moreover, it is their duty to guard and protect the hive and the queen, to feed the young, and to kill the drones at the appointed time.

In a single hive there are sometimes not fewer than thirty thousand of these individuals. They are distinguished from the breeding females by having a longer lip, the jaws not notched at the tip, and the sting straight. The male bees, of which there are several hundreds, sometimes even two thousand in a full hive, are idle creatures, doing no work. They are generally termed drones, and they are of a more bulky size than the other bees, and they are not armed with a sting.

Such are the inhabitants of the hive; the chief products of which are bees-wax and honey. The former is secreted by the worker-bees, by a peculiar apparatus on the under side of the belly, as occasion requires, and is employed for constructing the combs in which the family provision and the young brood are deposited.

Honey is obtained by bees from the nectaries of flowers, which, it is well known, are constantly secreting a sweet thick fluid. This is sucked up by the tongue of the insect, and a portion of it is consumed at once for its support, but the greater part of the supply, although taken into the stomach of the bee, is again brought up (regurgitated, to use a hard word), and poured into the cells of the hives for the food of the grubs and the use of the community through the winter.



The cells into which the honey is poured for store are placed in the most inaccessible parts of the hive, and are fitted with waxen lids, but the honey destined for the use of the nurses, workers, and drones, is deposited in unclosed cells. In each honey-cell there is a cream-like layer or covering of a thicker consistency than the honey itself. This layer is perforated by the bee with its fore-legs, and is closed before the bee flies away.

Having thus noticed the inhabitants of the hive, we will now turn our attention to the hive itself. The most profound philosopher, as well as the most incurious observer, is struck with astonishment on inspecting the interior of a bee-hive. He beholds a city in miniature. He sees this city divided into regular streets; and these streets composed of houses constructed on the most exact geometrical principles and the most symmetrical plan; some serving as store-houses for food, others for the habitations of the citizens, and a few, much more extensive than the rest, destined for the palace of their sovereign. He perceives that the substance of which the city is built, is one which man with all his skill is unable to fabricate, and that the edifices in which it is employed are such as the most expert architect would find himself incompetent to erect.

The nest, as constructed by the insects, consists of a continued series of combs, arranged vertically, each of which consists of a vast number of cells, forming two ranges backed against each other, and, consequently, placed in a horizontal position. A sufficient space is left between each of these double layers of cells to allow a couple of bees, engaged upon the opposite cells, to work without incommoding each other. In addition to these spaces, the combs are perforated in various places, so as to allow the bees a passage from one street to another, thus saving them much time. But it is in the construction of the cells themselves that the most admirable instinct is displayed. Geometricians are aware, that in order to occupy a given space with solid objects of equal size and similar form, without any useless interstices, three figures only can be adopted, namely, the equilateral triangle , the square or cube , and the regular hexagon . Of these three geometrical figures, the hexagon most completely unites.

It is a remarkable circumstance, that in a new colony the design of every comb is sketched out, and the first rudiments laid, by a single bee, which having disengaged itself from the swarm, commences the building of cells, which is then taken up by the other wax-makers, and, subsequently, by the nurse bees, which give the finishing stroke to the cells; and so quick are the bees at their work, that a comb, twenty-seven inches long, by seven or eight inches wide, is built in four and twenty hours, and in five or six days they will fill the hive. The combs are attached to the roof and sides of the dwelling,—the hives or boxes to the floors and roofs.

There are three sorts of cells: the first one for the larvae of workers, and for containing the honey,—these are of the ordinary form; the second are for the grubs of the males or drones, being considerably larger and more substantial,—they usually appear near the bottom of the combs; the third are the cells for the females, of which there are usually three or four, and these are generally attached to the ceiling part of the comb, having very little wax in their composition. One of these cells considerably exceeds in height the ordinary ones, and they are not interwoven with them, but suspended perpendicularly, their sizes being nearly parallel to the mouths of the common cells, several of which are sacrificed to support them. After the queen bee has quitted her cell, it is destroyed by the workers, and its place occupied by a range of common cells. The queen bee deposits her eggs separately at the bottom of each cell: the egg is of a lengthened oval shape, with a slight curve, and of a bluish colour. The worker's eggs, which are the only ones laid by the queen during the first eleven months, hatch in a few days, and become little white maggots. Each is now fed with bee bread by the workers, very assiduously, and, at the expiration of six days, having attained its full size, it is roofed in by the workers, spins a silken cocoon, which occupies it for thirty-six hours, and then becomes a nymph or pupa, and, eleven days after this, quits its case, eats through the roof of the cell, and comes forth a perfect working bee.

For nearly twelve months, the queen bee deposits only workers' eggs; after which period, however, she commences laying those of drones. As soon as this change takes place, the workers begin to construct the royal cells, in which, without discontinuing to lay male eggs, she deposits now and then, about once in three days, an egg destined to produce a future queen. The food of the royal grubs has been termed "royal jelly." It is a pungent food prepared by the workers for the express purpose of feeding the grubs that are to be future queens, and is more stimulating than the food given to the common grubs.

Should it happen, as is sometimes the case, that the queen bee be killed, or the hive in any manner be deprived during the first eleven months of her existence, and before she has deposited any royal eggs, the most extraordinary circumstances occur. After a little while, a hubbub commences, work is abandoned, the whole hive is in an uproar, every bee traverses the hive at random, with the most evident want of purpose. This state of confusion sometimes continues for several days, then the bees gather in knots and clusters of a dozen or so, as though engaged in consultation; shortly after which, a resolution appears to have been taken by the whole population. Some of the workers select one of the worker-eggs, which had been previously deposited by the lost sovereign. Three cells are thrown into one for its reception,—the eggs in the two other cells being destroyed. The grub when hatched is fed with the royal jelly, and a queen is produced. Even if the grub had been hatched and partly fed as a worker, and had only received two or three days' allowance of the royal food, the result would be the same,—they emerge from the pupa perfect queens whereas, had they remained in the cells which they originally inhabited, they would have turned out workers.

We now come to that period of the year when the queen insects, having undergone the change to the pupa state, are nearly ready to burst into life. It is now that the old queen mother, losing all her parental feelings, becomes infuriated: she rushes to the cells wherein are deposited the future queens, and instantly begins to tear them open. The guards which surround the cells make way for her approach, and suffer her to act as she pleases, whereupon she slaughters the inmates with her sting, without remorse, and, after a short time, a great portion of the working bees accompanying her, rushes out of the hive, and seeks another dwelling. This is called "swarming."

Something very like concerted action and foresight seems to belong to these proceedings. It is always in calm weather, when the sky is serene, between nine in the morning and four in the afternoon, when they quit their habitation. After flying about for some time in a cluster, by degrees they fix themselves on a branch, form a group there by hooking themselves one to another with their feet, and remain perfectly tranquil. Then it is that the proprietor may secure them, and form a new colony.

In this manner several swarmings take place in the course of the summer between the months of April and August. A good stock of bees usually produces three swarms in a favourable season: each swarm containing not only the young bees recently hatched, but also a portion of the old inhabitants. The duration of life of the different individuals is various: the male bees only live a few months, the workers only one or two years, and the queen only four or five. Such is, in brief, the birth, parentage, education, life, character, and behaviour of the honey-bee, and it will be only necessary now to say a few words regarding the management of these insects, with a view to instruction, amusement, and profit.

HOW TO GET A STOCK OF BEES.

They must be purchased, and the purchaser must take care and procure them of some one upon whom he may depend. This will save a great deal of trouble. The hive should be weighed before and after a swarm is placed in it, and a note kept of its weight, a judgment may then be formed of the quantity of honey it contains in the autumn.

The hives should be sheltered by a wall, a hedge, or a tuft of trees, in order that the bees may get to the door of the hives with ease. This they cannot do if there are gusts of air sweeping round it, in which case, numbers of them will fall to the ground about the hive, from which, perhaps, they will not be able to rise before the chill and damp of the evening comes on and destroys them.

There must be water near the hives, as the working bees drink a great deal in the spring, and they are very fond of walking along straws which float in the water and sipping as much as they want. The door of the hive should look towards the forenoon sun, and the hive should not be raised above eighteen inches from the ground.

We will now suppose that your bees have laid up their winter store, and that you wish to share it with them. We say share it, because we do not suppose you are so cruel and foolish as to wish to kill your bees. You might as well kill a cow for the purpose of getting milk. The more bees you have, the more honey,—that is certain.

About the latter end of September, the flowering season is over, and few flowers remain for the bees to get honey from. This is the best time to ascertain what honey they can spare; therefore, weigh every hive, and deduct from it the weight of the hive and the bees, as ascertained when the swarm entered it at first, as above directed.

To live through the winter, a hive must have at least sixteen pounds of honey, and if you wish it to swarm early, it ought to have twenty-five or even thirty pounds.

When you determine on taking away the honey from a hive, either for your own use or for distributing it to other hives, proceed as follows:—

The first fine calm morning after the honey season is over, go to your hive provided with a tobacco-pipe in your mouth, a large dish for the honey in one hand, and a long knife with the point bent, and a goose or turkey feather in your other. Blow two or three full puffs of smoke in at the door, then turn the hive upside down on the ground, so as to stand steadily, and immediately give the bees, who will collect on the edge of the comb to see what is going on, a little more smoke. This will stupify them so completely, that not above one or two will be able to fly out, and they will be so sick, that they will not dream of stinging you. Begin at one side of the hive, and cut out a comb, having first sent down a puff of smoke to make the bees go away to the middle and the other side. Proceed thus,—sweeping the bees off every comb back into the hive with the feather, till you come to the centre comb. The only nicety consists in blowing away the bees to prevent any of them being crushed. If the operation be neatly done, scarcely any bees will be killed. Take the hive now and replace it on its stand as before.

The next thing to be done is to join the bees, from which the honey has been so taken, to another hive in which you wish them to be accommodated, which may be done as follows:—In the evening, if you look into the hive which has been deprived of its honey, you will find all the bees hanging in the centre, just like a new swarm. Bring the hive near the one to which they are to be joined,—get about a table spoonful of raw honey or syrup, so thin as to pour easily, and have it in a jug beside the hive which is to receive the strangers,—blow a few whiffs of tobacco smoke in the door of the hive, then turn it up and give them an additional puff or two, and pour the honey or syrup from the jug all over the bees between the combs, so that they may be quite smeared over. Then spread a clean linen cloth on the ground in front of the hive, with one edge of it placed on the floor of the hive and secured there by two stones, to prevent its falling, and which will also serve to keep the hive a little raised from its floor on that side; now replace the hive so that the edge of the cloth may be under it while the two stones keep it raised about an inch; next take the hive containing the bees, hold it steadily over the cloth, and by one sudden blow, knock out all the bees upon the cloth in a lump. They will immediately begin to climb up and enter the new hive. If they were to be united without previously smearing one of them with honey or syrup, the chance is, that half of both hives would be killed by fighting.

Hives may be either of straw or wood. Bees thrive equally well in either. In winter the hives should be placed in a northern exposure, or, at any rate, the sun should not be allowed to shine too much on them, as it entices the bees out, who often perish by sudden cold.

You ought to keep at least three hives: Nos. 1, 2 & 3. No. 1 is the first or old one, say, of last year; Nos. 2 & 3 of this year's swarming, and these must be so managed as to supply you with honey and the bees with food. This is well explained in a little book called the "Farmer," which those who wish to keep bees ought to study.

Such are the most important facts regarding the bee and its management. There are many little works on the subject to be obtained, but the few directions in the work above named will be ample information for the young bee-breeder, and ensuring him lots of honey, lots of lessons of economy, and lots of amusement.

THE END.

J. WERTHEIMER AND CO., CIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY CIRCUS.