1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



109 



lbs. cured hay, building them compact and high, to 

 avoid the introduction of rain as much as possible. 

 Rain came on betbre I secured all the cut grass, 

 but the next day was lair, and I succeeded, by un- 

 remitted attention in getting the water dried out of 

 the remainder, and put it up in the same way. It 

 continued rainy ten days, and afforded no opportuni- 

 ty to cure in the sun; the cocks were examined dai- 

 ly, by running the hand and arm into them, and, 

 contrary to all expectation, gave no indications of 

 fermentation- At the end of ten days the weather 

 became lair, the cocks were opened and found to 

 be in a perfectly sound condition, except so far as 

 the rain had penetrated, and the externa! wetting 

 alone, in my opinion, made it necessary to open it 

 at all. Tell farmers they need not fear losing their 

 hay on account of unfavorable weather at harvest. 

 I have never seen worse weather in hay harvest, 

 and I saved mine entirely well. It is most excel- 

 lent hay. 1 ' 



Our practice has been, except in cases of neces- 

 sity, like the one above, to let our hay wilt in swath, 

 that is, to cock in the afternoon that which is cut 

 in the forenoon, and to have the cocks not to ex- 

 ceed fifty to seventy lbs. hay when cured. We 

 are glad to see that a larger quantity will cure 

 well. Let it be remembered that the cocks must 

 not be made by rolling, but by placing, with a 

 fork, one layer above another, till the cock is com- 

 pleted. 



From the Genesee Farmer 

 BTJRYIS'G BEES. 



Mr. Tucker — It is two years this spring, since I 

 first commenced bee-keeping. In the outset, I had 

 no knowledge whatever of their management, and 

 it was a stipulation of the bargain with the per- 

 son of whom I obtained them, that he should, as 

 occasion required, impart to me such facts as his 

 experience would justify, in regard to their culture. 

 This agreement was satisfactorily performed; and, 

 aided by the information thus received, my suc- 

 cess, for a tyro's, was such as to create an al- 

 most enthusiastic interest in this branch of rural in- 

 dustry. 



In the autumn of 1833, I selected four hives, 

 (double the number with which I commenced,) 

 for wintering. Three of these had so limited a sup- 

 ply of honey, that I was advised to bury them, an 

 operation which, in my mind, was little preferable 

 to throwing them away. But I concluded to 

 "try the experiment," and on one of the last days 

 of November, they were "deposited beneath the 

 little mound," where my mind figured them as 

 possessing the interminable repose of "their last 

 resting place." My absence on "the return of 

 spring," that season when dying worms are wooed 

 again to life, and the faded wing of the insect re- 

 ceives new colorings, beautifully wrought, from 

 nature's dye, prevented me the pleasure of wit- 

 nessing their exhumation, but the person who took 

 them from their temporary sepulchre, (which was 

 done about the 20th of March,) informed me that 

 on their first introduction to the air and light, their 

 animation was as perfect as that usually exhibited 

 by bees in June. He said that he did not find 

 half a gill of dead bees in all the hives. These 

 hives gave swarms earlier and more frequently 

 than the one that remained above ground, during 

 the ensuing summer. 



Last fall I concluded to continue "the experi- 

 ment" with a single hive. The one selected was 

 very light, probably note containing a sufficiency 

 of honey to carry them half through the winter, 

 had they been "kept the usual way. In conse- 

 quence of a rainy season through the last of No- 

 -, they were not. inhumed until December, 

 probably as late as the 10*h. They were occa- 

 sionally led in the. fall, lest their supply should not 

 be sufficient to insure a subterranean existence. 

 My faith was as wavering when these last were 

 buried, as on the previous winter, and as often as 

 looked at the spot where they were* interred, I 

 viewed it as the grave of my little insect, friends. 



They were taken up on the 28th of March, and 

 much to my satisfaction, I found that the second 

 experiment had terminated with the same happy 

 results as the first. Not two dozen were lost, and 

 new comb was actually formed while they were in 

 their "dark abode." . 



My "modus operandi" is as follows. A hole is 

 dug considerably larger than the hive, or hives, in 

 every respect. On the bottom of the whole two 

 sticks of three or four inches in diameter are placed 

 for each hive, and on these the floor board, which 

 should be a sound one, is placed. Another board, 

 (two inch plank is preferable,) is put on the hive, 

 and dry straw is as compactly as is convenient 

 placed around it. This, in rainy weather, if the 

 ground is clear from frost, allows the rain to pass 

 freely down, while the space between the blocks 

 furnish a ready reservoir from which it is absorbed 

 by the earth, without offering any injurious effects 

 to the bees. The earth is placed upon the hive in 

 a conical form to turn the water from the hives, 

 the top of which are about four inches below the 

 surface. W ith respect to the experiment of 1833-4, 

 I cannot say whether the apertures of the hives 

 were closed, but in that of 1834-5, they were not. 

 This experiment succeeded, but whether it is 

 the best way of proceeding ] shall not advise. 



I regret that I did not weigh my hives, in both 

 instances, previous to burying and on disinterring 

 them, that the amount of food consumed might 

 have been ascertained. But my experiments 

 were both of them faithlessly tried, and unneces- 

 sary ceremonies were dispensed with. The quan- 

 tity of honey consumed, however, was small, as 

 none but very light hives were selected, and their 

 weight in the spring was apparently nearly as great 

 as in the fall. It is my intention in future expe- 

 riments to mark items more particularly. 



In selecting the spot for burying, a dry, and cold, 

 rather than a warm one should be chosen. An in- 

 dividual of my acquaintance buried on the south 

 side of a dry hill, and an entire loss of all thus 

 treated was the consequence. I attributed it, 

 (though perhaps some other defect was the cause,) 

 to such situations being more exposed to frequent 

 freezings and thawings, the insects are subject to 

 more frequent change of temperature, a circum- 

 stance injurious to all that comes within its influ- 

 ence. If the situation is such as that the ground 

 will freeze immediately after the trust is commit- 

 ted to it, and remain so until time to "remove the 

 depositee," to me it would appear most favorable. 

 Yours, etc. 



WILLIAM BACON. 



Richmond, (Ms.) jfpril 23, 1835. 



