inquiries anlr ^nsvDcrs. 



(T. Chase, Otego, N. Y. ) Tlie paper waa labelled 

 right The sprig you sent is Sweet Mignonette. 



(M. Qk Britten, Spring Prairie, AVis.) The 

 standard weight of Flax seed in New York, is 

 50 lbs.; of Timothy seed, 45 lbs. per bu. 



Bees.— Having concluded to give a part of my attention 

 to the raising (>t bees, I am obliged to make a few inquiries 

 with regard to it. Bees al'e generally much affected in this 

 part of the country with the miller, which has caused many 

 to abandon the keeping of them. Do you know of any 

 means by which the miller can be destroyed or prevented? 

 Some say that bees should be kept in a house ; but I neither 

 know how the house should be constructed, nor how bees 

 should he got into it. By giving; what information you can 

 with regard to this, in the ^^ I\n-?ner," you will greatly 

 oblige a Canadian subscriber. James Uawkswortu.— 

 Vie/itui, C. W. 



We give the above letter, and respectfully in- 

 vite some one familiar with the subject to state 

 what he regards as the best protection against the 

 bee-moth ; and the best plan for a bee-house. In 

 the mean time, Mr. Miner's Bee Manual is recom- 

 mended to our correspondent, as a work worthy 



of his perusaL 



♦ 



Swamp Muok. — In the month of August last, I deposited 

 one hundred loads of swamp muck in my barn-yard. I 

 propose to apply it to my corn lanu in the spring, a part of 

 which is an apple orchard. Will it prove beneficial to 

 next season's crop of corn, and also to the fruit trees? In 

 your next number, please suggest the best method of pre- 

 paring and applying this kind of manure. E. W. Bottum. 

 —Huron, M Y. 



We have several times seen swamp muck ap- 

 plied to fair soils in Western New York, and 

 never witli any decided benefit. As an absorbent 

 of stable or barn-yard manure, dry muck is valu- 

 able ; because the ammonia developed in the 

 manure neutralizes the organic acid in the muck 

 that prevents its rotting, and the whole mass 

 (muck and manure) decomposes together, and 

 yields food for plants, apple trees included. All 

 manure in barn-yards is liable to damage and 

 waste from an excess of water ; and the hauling 

 of swamp muck into an open yard will not obvi- 

 ate the difficulty. A little water from rain or 

 snow does no injury; but a good deal either car- 

 ries off a part of the manure, or compels the farmer 

 to haul some nine loads of water to liis fields to 

 convey thither one load of solids, whether straw, 

 hay, muck, or dung. This involves a prodigious 

 waste of labor, and can only be avoided by keep- 

 ing yards in which manure is made, partly, or 

 entirely sheltered from rain, and protected from 

 the droppings of eves, or receiving running 

 streams from without, as we have frequently 

 witnessed. 



Tlie art of producing good manure is not so 

 generally, nor so thorouglily understood, as it 

 ought to be. The process of decay or rotting de- 



pends partly on the temperature, partly on the 

 chemical nature of the matters operated upon, 

 and partly on the fineness and degree of moLsture 

 of the materials. At another time, when our 

 pages are less crowded than at present, we will 

 discuss this interesting and important branch of 

 farm economy, at length. 



Winter Barley. — Mr. K K Fay, of Marengo, 

 McIIenry county, Illinois, wishes to obtain a small 

 parcel of winter barley. 



Both barley and oats endure with impunity 

 the winters of the south in the cotton-growing 

 States; but we have never seen either that would 

 be likely to survive, if sown like wheat in 

 autumn, the frosts of central Illinois. 



Having written to Mr. Spader in relation to the 

 Winter Barley noticed by him in the May num- 

 ber of the Farmer, Mr. S. has kindly sent us the 

 following: 



" Yours ot the ISth inst. was duly received. In answer, 

 I would say that in consequence of the prevalence of the 

 cholera in many places on th( route to y(jur State Fair, I 

 gave up attending as I had expected. Kespecting my crop 

 of Barley, I will say that the yield was not so good as the 

 year previous — on an average, I suppose, about 4(1 bu. per 

 acre — which I think was ov^ing to a part not having been 

 sown till near the middle of October, and the unfavorable 

 weather in tlie spring. The fore part of March was very 

 pleasant and the young grain grew rapidly, but on the 19th 

 we had a very severe freeze which lasted several days and 

 killed considerable of the Barley, and also the wheat of late 

 sowing. My first sowing, I judge from the shocks per acre, 

 would turn of 611 bushels. A neighbor of mine, who I fur- 

 nished with seed, had an excellent crop, full 60 bu. per 

 acre. I have not threshed much of my crop, only about 

 21 lO or SOU bu. which I sold for seed at 75 cts. per bushel, 

 and suppose I have 120ii bu. for sale. The time is past for 

 sowing. My crop is all up and looks very well. The fall 

 h;\s been favorable for seeding. I can furnish any amount 

 of seed from the next year's crop, in time for the next year's 

 sowing, at such price as may be hereafter agreed on. I 

 began'cutting my crop this year on the 18th .lune, but that 

 was later than usual. From the 1st to the 2(ith Sejitcmber, 

 in this country, is a good time for sowing. Benj. Svaijek. 

 — Logannj}oft, Ind. 



Mr. F. asks "whether summer fallowing prairie 

 land will pay expenses, where the soil is mainly 

 sand and vegetable mold?" He adds: "I wish 

 to know if plowing light soils two or three times 

 is of any use ?" 



As a general rule, this practice is not to be 

 commended ; sometimes, however, where the 

 ground is foul with weeds or grass, repeated 

 plowings are necessary to clean the land, and 

 bring it into fine tilth. 



Mr. F. says that chintz bugs cover their fields, 

 and have done considerable damage to the grain 

 crops of that section. A remedy is desired. 



Cranberries. — Some four years ago I saw an 

 article on the Culture and Profits of the Cran- 

 berry. This induced me to give it a tri.al. In 

 doing so, I found to my satisfaction that it neither 

 wanted great expense or skill to arrive at the 

 point In the article alladed to, it was stated 



dS 



