THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



91 



tlio tlret liroriil of enilie on SaturdaVi aiulpave llicm 

 a close of Paris trri'i'" "i"t sent tliiin to tliclr lone 

 home, ami liave ]i|ciity more rraily for other nests as 

 6o<tn as tliey efune to the proper statue. 



Tol>aeeo (ihints are ready, and yonie set out ; hut 

 most farmers are wattniir for a eood, soakinir rain. 



II. M. Knoi.k agreed, in the main, with the reports 

 euliinilleil. lie diil not helieve wheat woidil he much 

 over luilf a erop. Corn has eome up reniarkahly 

 well, when the dry weather is eonsidered. (irass will 

 be only aliout three-l'ourtlis the usinil erop. The im>- 

 tato beetle has already put in an appearanee, and In 

 a week's time we shall be able to tell what they 

 atiionnt to in this seetion. The apple erop will be 

 medium. Thei>eaeh erop proudses well, ami also the 

 grap*'. 



M. D. Kendio did not think the crop prospect very 

 potHl. Wheat, for want of rain, will be lipht. Corn 

 is settinir out wi'il, and so with the potatoes. Oats 

 looks well. Many are yet lioldlni; baek with their 

 lobaeeo planting. Tlie lirst crop will be only medium. 

 He did not believe the wheat would yield more than 

 one-1'ourth tliu usual erop in some sections of the 

 county. 



Johnson Mii.i.eh was of the opinion that wheat 

 seldom docs well when sown on c(trn stubble. 



M. B. EsHi.KMAN had found that wheat does well 

 sown on corn stubble. 



II. M. Enoi.k said the /jcncral impression was that 

 the reason why wheat looked better in the northern 

 and northwestern [lart of Lancaster county was be- 

 cause that more snow lay upon it, thus afl'ordinfj pro- 

 tect ion. 



Mr. Kendio believed, fnim what he had heard 

 from other counties, that Mr. Englc's explanaliun 

 w as correct. 



S. P. Env, esq., now read a very interesting essay 

 on the subject of "The Characteristics of Farmers 

 and Farming, and the evil arising from the general 

 desire on the i>art of young men to avoid this honor- 

 able and indepi^ndent jHisition in life," for which he 

 reetnved a vote of thanks. 



Mil. F.NOi.E entirely agreed with the sentiments of 

 the essay, and hopeil the views enunciated therein 

 would be lived up to. He approved the suggest ion of t he 

 essayist that all persons should have an object in life, 

 and that labor and pleasure could be united — thus 

 uuiking the world pleasanter for all. 



Mk. Esuleman agrci'd also with the essayist, and 

 thought it an excellent production. 



JoiiNsoN Mii-LEit took upthe tirstquestion : When 

 is the best time to cut clover and timothy in order to 

 make the best hay ? 



Mn. Engi.e had long been of the opinion that grass 

 is allowed to get too ri^je before it is cut. He thought 

 clover and timotliy should be cut as young as possi- 

 ble, only so that it be fully grown. He had cut it so 

 early as to be considered eccentric. He believed bet- 

 ter butler could be made from green cut grass than 

 from that which was over-ripe. Even the color of 

 butter is Oner from young cut hay. He would be 

 glad if our farmers would test the different methods 

 of making hay. Green cut hay will endure hiore 

 than old cut hay. When st) cut it will not make as 

 large a bulk, but its substance will he stronger and 

 and of more henetit to the stock. 



John Gkossman did not believe that timothy 

 should be cut too young. Up thought the best time 

 to cut clover was when its heads begin to get dry. 

 When clover is cut it should be turned over until it is 

 suineiently dry. 



Levi S. Keist is not in favor of cutting grass too 

 green. If it sets too ripe its leaves will break oil'. A 

 good deal of judgment is required in order to know 

 when to make hay. When it is entirely ripe, it can 

 be cut and made and gathered into the barn the same 

 day. 



John R. Err agreed with Mr. Reist. He was not 

 in favor of making hay too early, for he has tried it, 

 and has lost all of it by wet weather. 



Peteu S. Reist is satislied that good weather is 

 required tQ make good hay ; but he thinks the most 

 Imiiortaut question is when to make it that it will 

 yield the most nutriment. 



John Misseh believed that Mr. Eiigle was pretty 

 near right in bis idea of making hay as he has ob- 

 served. 



Wm. McComsey thought that the theory laid down 

 by Mr. Kngle was the correct one. AVhen hay is cut 

 young, the saccharine matter is in greater abundance 

 than when it grows ohler ; and he is satislied, of 

 course, that hay cut y(»ung' retpiires longer time to 

 dry and cure it. When it has Jully matured, he 

 thinks a larger quantity of hay will be obtained, but 

 not so i;ood in quality. 



H. M. Eniji.e admitted that young cut grass re- 

 quires more lime to eure it. Hay, when pro|HTly cut 

 and lUred, will look nearly the same as before it is 

 cun d. The hay tedder Is as little in use in t his coun- 

 ty as elsew here — perhaps aot a dozen in the county. 

 He would rather have his hay dried with as liltlesun- 

 shine as possible. 



The second ((uestion was — " What is the best time 

 to cut wheat?" 



H. M. Enui.e was satisfied that wheat should be 

 cut younger than it usually is. 



Mn. EsnLE.MAN also inclined to the same opinion, 

 believing that the best time to cut wheat was before 

 it was fidly ripe. We do not receive the high price 



for our (lour that the weetern article commands, and 

 he believed that s()niething was wrong in our lime 

 and iiiethod of cutting thi' wheat. 



I'f.teu .S. Reist believed in waitinir until thewheat 

 was ripe before cutting. If you cut before It Is ripe, 

 11 will surely shrink, and not yield as much per acre 

 as when fully ripe. 



The question was further discussed at considerable 

 lenirth, by .Messrs. H. M. Kiit'le, Levi S. Reist, Peter 

 S. Reist and John H. Itraekbill. 



John R. Ekii exhibited very fine strawberries, con- 

 sisting of the followiiiL' varieties : French Seeillini;, 

 Karly Scarlet, Early Wilson, Agriculturist, Jaeunda, 

 I^ime Valley Seedlinir, ami others without names. 



Ou oiotiou, society adjourned. 



BEES AND BEE CULTURE. 



The Wonderful Instincts of the Honey Bee. 



How great is the instinct of this induslrious little 

 insect will be seen by reading this article. Nothing 

 pays better on one's farm, with so little trouble ami 

 expense, than the honey bee. Each hive will give a 

 protit of ?2I> in honey sold at wholesale prii'es, at no 

 c(»st forgathering, as bee |)asture is Iree, and now is 

 the time for them to aeeunndate the best. The 

 white clovi'r is beginning to bloom, and honey from 

 this i)lant is far superior to that math' from any other. 

 While this variety of clover is in bloom, they will 

 gather from two to ten jKiunds per day, dejiendlng 

 upon the strength of the hive and the condition of the 

 weather. 



The honey is taken from the flowers by the bees, 

 and on their way home it is passingthrough a churn- 

 ing process, au<l by the time they arrive home it is 

 churned. The body of the bee is iiut together in 

 three sections or bands, audundernealh the two front 

 bands on each side there is an outlet or small hole, 

 where the butter oozes imt after being churnid. This 

 butter is the pure white wax. It is received by other 

 bees and placed in the comb or eel I, and by the mouth 

 of the bee it is pressed out to its proper thickness, 

 and the balance remaining, which, to carry out our 

 simile, wc may call buttermilk, is thrown up by the 

 bees into the cells, and the longer it remains there 

 the sweeter it gets, as it extracts the sweetness or 

 virtue from the comb, bringing back the body of the 

 sweets which it contained in its first gatherint' from 

 thetlinvcrs; and, as before stated, the longer it re- 

 mains in the comb the sweeter it gets — one jiound in 

 the comb three years olil having as much medical vir- 

 tue as three pounds one year old. 



Besides the honey, there is the pollen, which is of 

 more benefit to the bee than the honey. After it is 

 deiwsited in the comb it is called bee-bread, as it is 

 their principal living in the winter, and their young 

 feed on it altogether, until they are ready to work. 



Bees arc very prolific, hatchiiig out a brood every 

 nine days, from early spring until late in the fall, 

 from 2,000 to .5,000 each time; but as their life is 

 short (only six wfeks), during working season at 

 least one-hall' of them die. When the hive becomes 

 so full that it is uncomfortable for them to work, a 

 certain jjroportiou are driven out (which is called 

 "swarnnng.")i- 



Tile first hatching in the sjiring is from eggs laid 

 late in the fall, which are protected in such a manner 

 as m»t to allow them to hatch until new pollen is lobe 

 had. The last hatching is in the fall, and are those 

 which are to live during' the winter. 



If you kill off the American Black Queen, and put 

 in her place the Italian Yellow Queen, you will in six 

 weeks have hybrids stunething larger than our own, 

 with one yi-llow band around them, instead of three, 

 as in their purity. This will prove the shortness of 

 thiir lives. Hybrids do better for me than either in 

 their purity. 



There are but two classes of Bees, male and female; 

 but there are three sizes, the Queen, Drone and 

 Worker. They would all be of one class if the cells 

 were all made of one size and shape ; their disparity 

 in size makes the difference. Tiic drone is like oilier 

 male bees, only that it has no sting. The worker is 

 a female, but a non-fertile bee or " neuter." This is ac- 

 counted for by the cells being only three-quarters of an 

 inch long and" three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, 

 while the fertile bee or queen is one and a quarter inch 

 long and a (juarter of an inch in diameter. If they 

 were all (puM-ns thi-rc would be no out -door Wf)rk, as 

 the drones do nothing. The queen cells are always 

 ma<ieon the outer edge of the comb, there being more 

 room there to extend their length — the drones like- 

 wise — thiTC being but one-quarter tif an inch of space 

 between the combs allowed for travel. The queen 

 cells are but three ami live in numlier, allowing one 

 for each swarm ; the rest are killed off. 



The |K>lleii is gathered in this wise: The back of 

 the bee is covered with a fine wool or hair, and on 

 entcTinir the fiowers the pollen sti<ks to it, and whi'n 

 necessary to release' it, it is combed out. The bee has 

 six legs, three on each side, and the ndddle one on 

 either side has a comb on the under side, from the 

 forked toe to the first joint. As this can reach only 

 half way across the back, it is combed from both 

 sides, and the pollen is taken from the comb by the 

 two fore feet. It is then llattened by the two fore 

 feet, and caught between the toes, and passed back 



to the thighs of the hind legs, each one receiving fho 

 same weii;lit, as nearly as iKissible. The pollen Is 

 taken from the eiiil of the petals of such flowers ag 

 the bee caimot enter while on the wlnt, the front 

 I'eet behiir used for this pnr|K)si'. The jxillen is re- 

 moved by put ting the leg in the cell, when It is pushi-d 

 off with the forked toe, and, Btcpping to one side, tho 

 other is cleaned In the sami- manner. 



The drones are killed In the fall, the exact time de- 

 pending upon the character of the winter wc are to 

 have, a fact which they surely know by instinct. If 

 it is to be long and cold they are kllleii in the early 

 part of September; if an open winter, not until tho 

 last of October. Last fall they were killed during 

 tli(^ last of August and the early part of Scplcmber ; 

 the previous fall, the first of November. I have care- 

 fully noticed this operation of the bees for the past 

 seven years, and it has never failed. 



A hive of bees will consume al>out flneen pounds 

 during the winter, or two and a half iKiunds |>er 

 month. The weight of a swarm is from :i'J to .5 

 pounds. I have one i>( the best of my stock hanging 

 to a patent beam scale, ami can, therefore, tcU tbo 

 loss ami gain as often as 1 clMM>se. 



We have nothing in the insect line which la more 

 useful than the honey bee, and nothini; more indus- 

 trious, workini; early and late, and with economy, 

 and on Hei<-ntific prineiides. Their combs or eellH are 

 all six-sided. Owinir to this shape, the cells of every 

 other row are the only ones iiecesBary to build, except 

 the front and backs of the second ones, thus doing 

 away witli much lalKir; ami there is nothing of any 

 other shape which will liold more In the same num- 

 ber of scpuire inches. 



Truly, the Almighty has created all things In wis- 

 dom.— Wm. J. PvLE, Wcit UficKter, J'a., Juru 2, 1875. 



Buckwheat for Bees. 



As the season for providing for the busy heo a 

 honey-plant Is uinm us, none iircsenls itself more 

 worthy of consideration than buckwheat. This plant 

 is well adapted to our entire State, and can 1h' suc- 

 cessfully (irown ujion inferior soil. Lands which will 

 produce from six to ten bushels of corn will ijrow 

 buckwheat from two to four feet high, wldcli will be- 

 gin blooming when not over six inches hi);h, and con- 

 tinue till growth ceases or frost intervenes. Tho 

 writer has had buckwheat to bloom in thirty-five days 

 from time of sow imr, and produce an unbroken suc- 

 cessifm of fiowers from .May l.ith to Octolier Ist. Tho 

 first erop of blooms produce mature scwl, while the 

 {tlant contimics to bl(M)m. Seed may Ik: savetl by 

 hand, by gathering from theplants, without injury to 

 existing fiowers. 



In strong soil we have grown buckwheat four and 

 a half and five feet hit'h. With this condition it is in- 

 clinctl to lodge and fail to produce blooms. Wetherc- 

 fore prefer lands of medium grade. 



Prepare your lands for this plant as you would for 

 wheat, leaving off fertilizers. Sow about half a bushel, 

 never exceeding three-fourths of a bushel of seeil |H'r 

 acre, running over your land with brush similar lo 

 that used for putting in wheat, or the ordinary roller 

 without the brush. 



Should you prefer preserving the plant for forage, 

 after your bees have used the fields for six or eight 

 weeks, you can do so and save an enormous yield of 

 nutritious forage. Cut with ordinary scythe, or grass 

 blade, just before the seed begins to brown, aiulcuro 

 as you would coarse characters of grass. The pro- 

 duct thus secured will amply remunerate the outlay 

 lor seed and time ami labor, and give to yimr busy 

 little friends abundant stores of delicious honey. In 

 addition to the above induecmentB for sowing buck- 

 wheat, the writer must be alU>wed to say nothing Is 

 more attrai'tive to the sight, of him who |iractiee9 

 iliversilieil farming than thtr buckwheat llclti in full 

 bl(H>m. and no sound more gladsome than the inoru- 

 ing hum of myriad bees sipping Its golden nectar. 



Position of the Hive--Sunshine and Shadow. 



For an apiary, or even a single hive of bees, tho 

 best position is a sheltered place on a low level, In- 

 stead of an elevated and cx|HiRed situation, ami as 

 free as possit)le from ilamp, noxious smells, and dis- 

 turbing sounds. A plot of well-kept grass, or a si>aec 

 covered with dry gravel, is frequently very desirable. 

 There seems to be no definite rub* as to the best Jtosl- 

 tion for the hive as reganls the points of the com- 

 I)ass ; the bees have been found t<» thrive whether 

 their abiMle fronts the s<iuth, the north, or any inler- 

 mediati- |>oiiit. On this subject so much depends on 

 the locality, the climate, and vari(ms other considera- 

 tions, that it is dillieull, or rather im|>ossil>le, to pre- 

 scribe any rule of universal application. 



Too much heat is always injurious to bees ; they 

 ought not lo bi' left exposed to the sun in sultry 

 weather. It renders the insects extremely irritable, 

 and exii«>ses the combs to the danger of being more 

 or less softened and even melted. It is very imitor- 

 lant, therefore, to protect the hive by she'ltering It 

 from the ilin.-i't rays of the sun. .■V screen adapted to 

 the iiuriMise is very suitable, or a mat, which may be 

 thrown over the hive. In our opinion, the screen Is 

 to be preferrcil, as causing a grateful sliadi', and at 

 the same time ix;rmitting a better ventilation. 



