la?..').] 



NEW ENGLAND FARM F. I?. 



n 



r> e^a-Ji -»>■ ■'*'? Mg^^"^^"^^ 



f : (Tiers, bv exlracls, iioi "li copin.)- tis lo .njur*' 

 ,u Siiie ofihe work. I'ul j-.i-^l ction'^'h to enalile 

 • r iv>iid('rs u) apprer.bile il< menrs. We mak'.^ 

 ) ijiolc.TV '"<"■ pi'f'tprnnartlie^c fxtiar.l!^ lo orig- 

 ,\1 miller. We hnUi very clinap ihat riilicu- 

 1, lis jp.ilo'jsy oi'ibe efiilors of puliliclc Journals, 

 ivhK'-h '<''^'i=^ ''"''" '° reji-ct an escrllont arlicie, 

 Hii'oh has appeared in anoiluM- worU, and lo 

 in-eri one much iiil'erior. The o' jact of all 

 iirin'ed work^ should he i!ie dilVtision of Ijnoivl- 

 eil^e, an() Ih.it oijecl -hould iioi he dHeated ly 

 nr"le or ji>alon«v. U M tryland or Pi-nnsyivania 

 shonid furnish j-ouudtr rennrli" ihiui Maspachu- 

 seils, iliore is no reason ^vhy ihn n'aders in 

 M t*sar.i;M«plts shonid not fee them. **** 



We slull ho^m wiih somi> rr-rnarks of John 

 Hare Powel, E-q. on the various hrceds of 

 H'>riied CaiHe. This is a topic pprnliarly in- 

 tereslinif lo N'mv England. Tlii;: mus! he onr 

 agrinullnrii staple to tlie end of ii»ne. Hnrned 

 citt'.p, slieep and swine, ninst constilnle the 

 great sources of revenue Ic. our larmers. We 

 gve no opinion as to the soundness of Mr P<i\v- 

 ePs opinion; >ve mean to h^ld an even t>alahce 

 between all the coniending- parties. This, how- 

 ever, we i"V" to Ml- Povvel (o say, in zeal, pub- 

 lie S|,irit, indnslry and experience, he ^(ields to 

 no man. 



He is frank, aid <iomelimes strnnsr in Ihe ex- 

 pression of his senlimenls, hut alwaya states the 

 ground on which tht^y are formeil. 



Pbiladtlpkia county, Sept. 8, 1825. 



Jo.VA. Roberts, V.-'q. 



PrrsidenI Prnn. ^gric. Soc. 

 Dear Sir — In a discussion which has lately 

 appeared in ihe New En'jian;! Farmer, ( observe 

 dial Ihe fairness of Mr PowePs inlenlions, as 

 editor of the Memoirs of our Society, is fpiestion- 

 ed by Col. Pickenno^. iVIy situation as Record 

 ins Secretary made me (irivy to every Iransac 

 tion connected wilh the arrano;emenl and nubli- 

 cation of the hook. 1l had proceeded to .i con 

 ^iderahle extcnl, and was lo have been pnid for 

 «nt of Mr PowePs private purse, when Mr Skin- 

 ner assumed the publication, giving; 200 copios 

 for ihe copy-ris^ht; not one of which, I.") the 

 best of my belief, has been appiieil to Mr Pow 

 «rs use. 



I can say without the least hesitation, that no 

 extract was made or abridged, nor ivas any pa- 

 per rejected, to prooiote anv opinion of his oivn. 

 nor did he desiijiiate Ihe (loinl at which Ihe se 

 lections were lo slop. The extracts in many 

 inslances were curtailed (but efjuilably so.) lo 

 diminish the expense lo the publisher; as olh- 

 {■rivjse they would have swelled ihe volume be- 

 \ ond the limits prescribed by him. 



There is perhaps no member of our Society 

 who has bad Ihe same oppnrtunilies as mv'elf, 

 of becoming acquainted with Mr PowePs ar- 

 l'an?'Mneiits in relation to his farm stock. 



.My rtsideuce adjoins his I'arni, a'ld I am in 

 habits of inlimacj and frequent intercourse w th 

 him. I ha*e seen his .uci no's nf purrl'is- 

 es and sales, and can say »vilii pprtVcl precision 

 that so far from his ever hivinw derived prolil, 

 or had a view lo iirolit from bis caiile, il is with- 

 in ray knowhd£ff. ihat his expenditures haveso 

 far exceeded the returns, ihn tor many vears 

 the rest of his farm, andilie wages of his labmir 

 ers. have been sunk. Jjis bulls ha\e been re- 

 peitellv stwiioiied in (lifTerPnt comlies. v' no 

 ciiarge has eyer Ijeen mudt; fur their serviced; 



■ d 1 hue lieaid one of his farm servants enu- 

 nienle forty-nine head of bulls, cows, calves 

 and slieep, all excepting; two of improved fireeds, 

 'lesides a number of' swine, whicli he had ^ni- 

 luUonsly presented within tiie last lwoyo;irs. 



It nill appear by reference lo the American 

 Farmer, vol. iv. page 122. Ihat he reliiupiished 

 at)ove liiree hundred dollars awai.led for his 

 cattle at Ihe Philadelphia Show ; hikI our inin- 

 ules will prove thai he has given up two bund 

 red and sixty dollars awarded for neat cattle and 

 sheep at our Ivvo Shows, although al one oi 

 ihem his neal callle were withdrawn lesl they 

 should mler'ere with those which the practical 

 larmers had bronchi. 1 remain, dear sir, 



Most respectfully and truly 



Your obedient servant, 

 JOHN P. .MILNOR, 



life Scc^y Ptnri. •.■2<^ric. Sue. 



FOR THE NF.W ENGLAND FARMER. 



PRESERVATION OF BEES. 



Commuvicalert hy Ihe /It. .Io^As I'erki.^s. of Brnin 

 Iree^ Mils, lo tht Bri.itot eutaity . Iiiniul! itr,al Siicii t}j^ 

 and hy Ihim dittcird lo be puhhshtd in lite Nkw 



K.M.LAnn I'ARiVIER. 



.According lo my (immise, I send you a des- 

 cription of my new melbnd of semring f'ees 

 as^ainst their destmctive enemy, the Bee-MiUer. 

 Havinff tried with but partial success various 

 means which I had seen recommended in news, 

 papers and other publications, 1 resolved lo as- 

 certain in Ihe first place the manner in which 

 the Miller does her mischief; and then lo jnvpn( 

 some method lo prevent il. By careful obsor- 

 vation and experiment I found that the Millpr 

 iloes not appear about the apiary till evenitio- 

 iivilighl, — that with increasing numbers she ap. 

 proaches the hives as night comes on. — and, ,i|- 

 bired by the mellifluous odour which proceeds 

 from the mouth of the hive, she approaches 

 nearer, hovering over the bees, till having so 

 much terrified them as lo induce them lo stir- 

 ren<ler ihe passage, she enters the hive. 1 as- 

 certained also, that the Miller not only deposits 

 her eggs in the leve, from which proceeds the 

 larva3 or caterpillar, hut also feasts on the hon- 

 ey ; thus threatening destruction lo Ihe Bec«, 

 both by propagating her larvae, and by her rob- 

 bery. 



Having discovered these facts, I procepded 

 to invent a remedy lot the evil. The circiim- 

 stanres, that the M.ller does not ajiproach the 

 hives till the B .es have returned Irnm Iheir la- 

 bour, and that she enters the mouth o( the hive, 

 forcing her way lo Ihe very treasury of the king- 

 dom, suggested the folloH'ing expedient. 



I attached a board lo Ihe lower edge of the 

 plank on which .ny hives are placed, so wide as 

 lo leave a space of 10 or 12 inches, that ihe 

 Bees might have snfGcient room when they 

 hang on the outside of the hive. 1 made the 

 apiary tight on all sides except the front, and 

 extended the boards on the front from the top 

 donn, leaving a space of 10 inche? open at Ihe 

 bollom, for the entrance of the Bees, hi the 

 lower edge of the Iront. \ attached a frame ex- 

 temlina: 'he whole length oi the I'ront. and so fir 

 forvi-ard. as when let down by means of h;iisi:es 

 at Ihe upper edge, the lower edge or side of the 

 frame would rest on the fore edge of the hoard 

 attai bed as before-mentioned, at the hoitoo) of 

 ih£ plduk. On this frame i Bulled a piece of I 



fai)\ ass. exieuding mer lot- wiiole ol it. so lli.it 

 llie frame being lei down, the mleiior pari of 

 the ajiiary is entirely enclosed. Thus is eery 

 Miller or Moth ntlerly excluded. I prefer a piece 

 of canvass on an o|ien frame for Ihe lid, to a 

 board, for two reasons :— as the canvas afioidsa 

 passage both for the light and Ihe air, it lioes 

 not disturb ihe Bees by a sudden transition from 

 twilight lo perfect darkness when closed al eve- 

 ning, or from darkness lo day-lighl when opened 

 in Ihe mornuijjf; and al ihe same lime it afiords 

 Ihe Bees sufficient air lorventilation aud respir- 

 ation. 



Since 1 have attempted a fnl! description of 

 iny plan, 1 will iiot i-mli mentioning the means 

 iiy which the lid is opened and shut. Remf itt- 

 i'er that the lid is siistiendeii bv hinffes at ll.at 

 edge which is uppermost when closed. Ai lUe 

 lop of mv .ipiary I t'asiened a siriu of board hy 

 means of a hii.ge, in such a maniier thai 'tie 

 board operates ;is a lever Tl e shorter end, 

 calcnialifig the lensjlh from ihe hinge, whirh ia 

 this case is ihe fnli-ruut, e-t"u Is forward fr"ra 

 ;he front about 2J^ feel, and is couneciod by a 

 cord to Ihe lower edj;e of ihe lid, Ihe hd being 

 closed, and the lever lowered d.,wu towards it. 

 The other end of the lever is long enough, that 

 its weight will raise Ibe shnrier end, aral draw 

 lip the lid wilh it. Thus is the .u) heid up for 

 tiie day. When it is lime. to shot ii(> the Bees 

 I raise !he hind or ieng end of the lever high 

 enough lo let the lid down close, and iiy nieanS 

 of a supporter placed under it, confiue il in (hat 

 (losition. Thus is the lid closed lor the muht. 

 Lest I should forget to open the lid in the niorn- 

 inu, or not be inclined lo iro out early enough, 

 I have a line extending 'Vom the supfinrlcr above 

 mentioned to my chamber nindow. by merely 

 touching which, the supporter is disj/laced, and 

 llie lid opens. 



This method is effeclual against the Miller. 

 Since I adopted it, my Bees, by the extra quan- 

 tity of honey which they have alioriled me, (by 

 means of ihe swriti!' system., as described by Dp 

 Drown and others,) have richly rewarded me 

 for my pains. A little child can open and abut 

 the lid with perfect salely, and the operation 

 requires no more time than lo turn a key. 



The method which 1 have described has af- 

 forded me an opportunity lo ascertain the fact, 

 thai the Bee-Miller abounds much more than I 

 had siijiposed. I placed on the top of my apiny 

 two bowls containing a mixture ol waier, siiy ir, 

 and vinegar. The mdlers being excluded li-m. 

 the honev below, would hover .ihoii! the place, 

 and, beuig attracted bv the bowls, would dive 

 into them, and there remain, as they are una'de 

 to rise alter being vvel. 1 have iouml in ilie b.nvls 

 more tiian a hundred, several morniu.'i-s jn suc- 

 cession ; and the whole numt'or which I have 

 taken out during the seasim ha? doubtless bi;eQ 

 some thousands. They appear piell\ early ia 

 the Spring, and ^o tiniie til! prevented l^y the 

 cold at ihe approach of vvmier. 



,JO?7AS PERXmS^ 



FOR THE KEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



CIDER. 



Wo-cester, Sept. 27, i82&. 



WrFESSENDES — Cider is a common , roituciioa 



of A'eiv Engl.ind, and corislitutes a pleasaii' Jiud 



wholesome bt'veraye v»heD n>ade and pieserved 



in a pure ami *uioub Biate. icX il u au ofetvissss 



