COUNTRY LIFE
Stings
Perhaps because of the multitude of wasps particular attention has been paid to the treatment of stings. It seems to be now established that for bees' stings all the old remedies—such as " blue- bag " or chalk or ammonia—are of no avail. The poisoning is not an acid poisoning, and analysis shows that two chemical substances, one acid, one alkaline, coalesce into the stiletto before it ;s un- sheathed. The one wise precaution is not to squeeze the sting in ex cracting it. The wasps' sting is of a different sort and responds to alkaline treatment. How best to destroy wasps' nests is not an easy question if the standard poison is not available. On recom- mendation, I tried derris powder, but found it of little avail. One harvest field scarcely approachable for wasps was cleared of the enemy by a dab of tar in the hole's mouth. A paper funnel filled with sulphur and enough gunpowder to help burn it does what is required if the nest be dug out soon afterwards.
Strange Bedfellows A rough barn was being cleared out the other day as a precaution against incendiary bombs, and some queer discoveries were made. In one box half-full of leaves and rubbish- were concealed one hedgehog and a nest of bumbie bees—queer bed-fellows. Both creatures have flourished of late. I doubt whether the rarity of keepers so-called has encouraged any wild animal more than the hedgehog. It certainly abounds in the Home and Midland Counties. end though it is better to eat than the rabbit (as certain gypsio once assured me), it has not suffered from war economies. The bumble bees are in such numbers that crops of seed clover should benefit substantially. The wild white can be, and is, fertilised by hive bees, but the cultivated reds depend to some extent on the longer-tongued bumbles, or humbles, though these in their too high intelligence have learned to short-circuit the proper route to the honey, and hive bees sometimes utilise these holes bitten in the side of the floret.
In the Garden There is little doubt, I think, that the most useful, and among the hardiest, of salad plants for winter use is the endive • at any rate on any soil made light or naturally light • and though June is the best date for sowing, August sowings of the Batavian varieties are recommended by some specialists, for example, in The Field. What immense amounts are grown in the environs of Paris and Rouen by the maraiehers! An important point, when it comes w blanching, is to ensure succession and not to begin bleaching too many at one date. A flower-pot with the hole blocked is the cleanest and simplest method. In one flower garden a few plants of hare- bell, or hair-bell, transplanted from the wild are flowering in great profusion above and among the heaths. They are quite three nines as tall as the wild plants and bear a number of flowers on the stalk. They are well worth a place in any garden, even if not belonging
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