SOLON ROBINSON, 1846 41 



ject of ever preventing the ravages of these dreaded ene- 

 mies of the bee-breeder. While upon this subject, I have 

 been told that there are no honey-bees in Oregon. Who 

 knovi^s? And who can tell the best method of getting 

 them there ? 



A Ready Rule for Farmers, made readier. — A "quarter 

 of wheat" is an English measure of eight standard bush- 

 els — so if you see wheat quoted at 56 shillings it is 7 

 shillings a bushel. A shilling is 22 1/2 cents ; multiply by 

 7 and you have $1.57 1/2 per bushel. 



In Kentucky, corn is measured by the barrel, which is 

 five bushels of shelled corn. At New Orleans, a barrel 

 of corn is a flour-barrel full of ears. At Chicago, lime is 

 sold by the barrel, and measured in the smallest sized 

 cask of that name that will pass muster. A barrel of 

 flour is seven quarters of a gross hundred (112 lbs.) 

 which is the reason of its being of the odd measure of 196 

 lbs. A barrel of tar is 20 gallons, while a barrel of gun- 

 powder is only a small keg holding 25 lbs., and that re- 

 minds me of cotton, a bale of which is 400 lbs., no matter 

 in what sized bundles it may be sent to market. 



Proposed Safety Lamp. — Allow me, my dear Doctor, 

 to publicly thank you for calling the attention of cotton- 

 planters, or rather those of our Yankee friends who do 

 up all such little chores for you, to the great advantage of 

 having a wire-gauze safety-lamp. 



The only reason why they have not been manufactured 

 in this country is, because there has been no demand for 

 them. But let it once be known that every cotton-planter 

 would buy them, as well as every factor, carrier, packer, 

 or handler of this combustible article, and I will engage 

 that the market will be supplied. It appears to me that 

 they should also be used in every stable, and in the manu- 

 factories where the breaking of a glass lantern often en- 

 dangers hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of 

 property. 



Dr. Phillips speaks of a square shape, with a door 

 strongly fastened, «fec., but I suggest a barrel shape, and 

 a heavy bottom screwed in with a coarse screw. 



