speckled moths, which may be reckoned amongst the principal enemies of bees. The same may be said of wasps; every one of them should be watched, and, if possible, destroyed as soon as they make their appear

ance.

MAY.-This may be considered, in some respects, as the busiest month in the year with bees. The drones will now have made their appearance, which is the first indication of a thriving hive. As the bees increase, they will be seen hanging in large numbers under the stool, or clustering round the entrance so as almost to prevent the working bees from gaining admission. When they remain out all night it is a sure sign they are near swarming, and preparations should be made, so that there may be no delay in brushing them into the hive immediately after the swarm has settled.

JUNE. The second swarms are generally thrown in the early part of this month; and towards the latter end of it the virgin swarms may be expected. A false value, however, is too often placed on virgin swarms. The great objection to them arises from the uncertainty of the weather and the chance of the bees not making a sufficiency of food to maintain themselves during winter. Third swarms ought always to be returned to the parent hive. Should the bees of any hive lie out in clusters it will be necessary to place an eek, consisting of three or four bands, under it. This will give more room, and cause the bees to renew their labour.

This is the best time for beginners purchasing the first swarms and removing them. Remember that first swarms invariably begin the construction of their combs in the middle of the hive, while second swarms begin at one of the sides.

JULY.-The swarming season may be considered past, and the chief thing now requiring attention is, to preserve the hives from the attacks of stranger bees and wasps. The drones are very often killed in this month, and most value should be set upon those hives

which destroy their drones the earliest, as it will invariably be found that their produce is much greater than of those which do not kill their drones until late in the

season.

AUGUST.-In many counties of England the keepers of bees now begin to suffocate them, from the ill-founded supposition that the honey season is over. This is a very great error, as it is well known that during this month many of the plants most frequented by bees are only in blossom. The hives therefore ought not to be touched until the season is further advanced. The proper time for depriving bees of their honey is when the flowers of the heath begin to decay.

SEPTEMBER. This is an important month to the cottager, as he will now begin to reap the fruits resulting from the care and attention he has bestowed on his hives. Those intended for store should be selected first. The others are then to be put down in the usual way by suffocating the bees-a method so generally known as to render any remark unnecessary.

OCTOBER. The hives, this month, should be weighed, and after an allowance is made for the weight of the hive and the bees, an estimate may be formed of the actual quantity of honey. This must be your guide for feeding. Such hives, therefore, as appear weak, ought to be bountifully fed with the syrup mentioned in January. The covering of hives should now be particularly attended to; not for the purpose of keeping them warm, but to keep them dry.

NOVEMBER.-Attend to the directions for last month, and keep your hives dry. It has been proved by experiment that bees which are kept very warm by covering the hives, consume eight pounds of food more than is consumed by bees exposed to the natural changes of the weather. If a certainty exists of there being plenty of food in store, there is no objection to covering and keeping warm, as it will tend to hasten the swarming, perhaps a week or ten days.

DECEMBER.-The less the bees are examined in this month the better. Therefore nothing should be attempted which has a tendency to diminish the temperature of the hives.

BLACKBERRY JAM.

THIS Conserve is the greatest, the most innocent, and certainly the least expensive treat that can be provided for children, and (with the exception of treacle) is the aliment of all others most useful in regulating the bowels. The generality of jams and jellies are made with white sugar, and the proportions are weight for weight with fruit; hence the obvious objections to their frequent use among children are, the constipating nature of the loaf sugar, and the enormous quantity that must be eaten of it before a sufficient bulk of the preserve can be obtained. The indispositions to which young persons are liable, probably proceed from the acid formed in the stomach from their indulgence in sweet things. The cheapness of this delicate jam is astonishing; at the expense of ninepence or tenpence they might provide their little families with three pounds of a wholesome luxury. To make it, add to every pound of the berries half a pound of the coarsest moist sugar, and boil it rather more than three quarters of an hour, keeping it stirred all the time.-The Doctor.

BREAD.

HOME-MADE BREAD.-Procure a stone of wheaten flour, put this into a trough or tub, make a deep hole in the middle of the heap, and pour into this hole a quarter of a pint of good fresh yeast, previously mixed with an equal quantity of warm water, and two ounces of salt; stir into this with a spoon as much of the surrounding flour as will bring it to the consistence of thin batter; sprinkle a handful of dry flour over this, cover it with a cloth, and place it in a warm situation to rise. The completion of this operation will be rendered evident by the cracking of the flour that is sprinkled over the batter; then proceed

to form the whole of the flour into dough, adding such further quantity of warm water as will bring it to an uniformly stiff consistence; this done, the dough must be well kneaded, so that all lumps of flour may be broken down, and the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed and worked together. This is the principal part of the operation, and indeed is the only part deserving the name of labour. It should be continued until the closed hand, on being withdrawn, no longer brings away with it any portion of the dough, but leaves its impression perfect therein. When it is accomplished, place the dough again in a warm place to rise, covering it over with a blanket, and then proceed to heat the oven.

If the flour employed is of good quality, it will take up so much water as, together with the yeast, will convert the fourteen pounds into twenty pounds of dough. This, when it has again risen, may be divided into any number of loaves, kneading each lump separately, in order to make it up into the requisite form. Do no more, however, for the attainment of this purpose than is necessary to bring the loaf into shape, since much handling in this stage of the dough causes it to be heavy. The whole should then be put without delay into the oven, the door of which must be carefully closed. Some little practice is required to heat the oven to the degree most proper for baking bread. If it be too hot, or, as the bakers call it, rash, the loaves will be scorched outwardly, while the middle is yet unbaked; and, if the oven be not hot enough, the bread will prove heavy and disagreeable. If it were not for the expense, it would be an excellent plan to have the oven provided with a thermometer, so placed as to shew at a glance the heat of the interior. The simple plan adopted by bakers, and found by them to answer the purpose, is to throw on the floor of the oven a small quantity of flour; and if this becomes black in a short time without taking fire, the heat is considered to be favourable.-Working Man's Companion.

SAGO BREAD.-The proportion of sago to wheaten flour, about half; best pearl sago, dissolved in milkwarm water for three hours. Mixed the same way as other bread, and baked two hours in a slack oven.Procured from a baker in Scotland, whose Sago Bread is extremely good.

CAPITAL.

POSSESSION OF CAPITAL BY THE WORKING MAN.Wealth is the effect of the united efforts of industry and economy. The condition by which the great mass of a nation must support existence is labour. If a working man does not add economy to labour, he and his children after him must necessarily obey the laws of their condition, and continue literally to gain their bread by the sweat of their brow. This is an useful and honourable state; but the desire which inspires every man to better his own condition and that of his children is so natural, and is, besides, a source of so much public advantage and private virtue, that it is good to call it forth for the benefit of society generally. That state of society which does not arouse in its members the desire of individual improvement and progressive advancement, is lingering towards its dissolution. In this country, fortunately, every man possesses within himself the means of rising in the world. Labour is only one of these means; the other is economy, without which, labour does but enable a man to live "from hand to mouth." We are fully aware that it requires some self-denial to refrain from the indulgences to which a man's associates are generally habituated; but the task is quite practicable; and to convince the reader that it is so, we insert a part of the statement of the Devon and Exeter Savings Bank, for the year ending 20th November, 1833.

There are here nearly 20,000 persons who have accumulated more than half a million of money. The wages of female servants are lower in Devonshire than in many other counties; yet this class have had the good sense so