VOI«. XII. NO. 51. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL, 



413 



good breeders, so ray fanner says, and lie down 

 nearly all the time, never attempting to get into 

 mischief or causing trouble. When we took pos- 

 session of the farm, I bought ten " wood hogs," 

 of the man who had occupied the place previous- 

 ly. To be sure they looked scurvy and mean, 

 with lon<; snouts, high thin backs, light quarters 

 and long tails ; yet I thought something could be 

 made of them. So at it we went. 1 ordered the 

 hogs to have all the slops and wash of the family, 

 not a small one, with the skim-milk of several 

 cows; and even my beautiful plump Chinas were 

 turned oft' to pick their own way lor the benefit 

 of these graceless rooters of the woods. Well, we 

 kept the rascals about six weeks, and fed them 

 well, and actually, the more we fed them, the 

 worse they looked ; and finally to get rid of the 

 nuisance which their sight occasioned me when- 

 ever I visited the farm, and to be free from their 

 mischief, for the Vandals were continually prying 

 about to see what harm they could do when not eat- 

 ing, I agreed with one of my men to put the liogs 

 into a boat and rid the island of them at once, sell 

 thein for the most he could get, and give me half 

 the amount. He thought selling hogs to the halves 

 a good business, and forthwith despatched them to 

 a neighboring still yard, a worthy receptacle for 

 such a concern. 



I actually believe, that with what those raven- 

 ous beasts consumed, we can keep thirty of the 

 China breed, well growing, fat, and quiet. They 

 are of good size, will fat to full 400 pounds, and 

 their pork is of most superior quality. I believe 

 them every way superior to the Byfield or Grass 

 breed, being longer bodied and very broad. I in- 

 tend increasing the breed as rapidly as possible 

 from my own stock, and keeping no other, unless 

 to improve by an occasional cross from abroad, to 

 keep up good blood and constitution. Yet strange 

 to say, although my China boar is pronounced by 

 excellent judges the most perfect animal of the 

 kind they ever saw, he was kept through the last 

 fall and winter in town by a neighbor of mine, and 

 did not earn his keeping. So much encourage- 

 ment for procuring fine animals to improve the 

 stock of the country. I however obtained the an- 

 imals for my own use, and their superior quality 

 abundantly pays for their extra expense in purchase. 

 .Yeut Slock. We found on Grand Island among 

 the settlers, a little breed of cattle, very hardy and 

 active, that were accustomed to full feeding in the 

 summers on the abundant grass and herbage of 

 the island, and during winter starved oft" their flesh 

 to pretty sorry dimensions by the return of spring. 

 I have bought a number of these little cows, say 

 fifteen or twenty. They are mostly excellent milk- 

 ers, tolerably shaped, and may be much improved 

 by crosses of the finer breeds. I have also purchas- 

 ed several of the best cows to be found in the 

 neighboring country, and intend making a thor- 

 ough trial in breeding. My improved Short Horn 

 bull is at one farm, and the Devon at another, and 

 we have about thirty cows in calf to the first, and 

 twenty to the latter. I have also three Devon 

 cows of the best blood to be found, and intend if 

 lime and opportunity offers, to make some regu- 

 lar comparisons of the expense of keeping, quan- 

 tity of provisions consumed, and the relative profits 

 for dairy and beef of the two breeds and their 

 crosses. Both appear well. But to my eye the 

 improved Short Horn bears the palm. His splen- 

 did stately figure, noble carriage, great size and 

 fine beautiful limbs, show much in his favor; 



while the compact roundness and solidity, deep 

 mahogany color, and beautiful form of the little 

 Devons, have much to commend them also. In 

 fact, both breeds are good for different purposes, 

 and cannot be too highly esteemed ; yet I am free 

 to say that further observation inclines me to pre- 

 fer the improved Short Horns for a general stock. 

 Cattle in our neighborhood have sometimes died 

 of the bloody murrain, supposed to be caused by 

 sucking in leeches when drinking. We have as 

 yet lost none. I have had constructed some heavy 

 plank troughs, 12 or 15 feet long, and fastened on 

 to heavy wooden blocks, to prevent being upset, 

 for the use of the cattle. In these a coating of 

 tar has been poured over the bottom, and sulphur 

 and alum sprinkled on ; then a considerable quan- 

 tity. of salt, so that the cattle can lick it up at their 

 pleasure. Cattle will never eat more salt than 

 they want, and the other articles serve as preven- 

 tives to disease. Many people only salt their 

 cattle occasionally. But this is apt to be neglect- 

 ed, and cattle get altogether too little, and can- 

 not be kept perfectly healthy without enough of it. 

 It also seems to keep them about home, and at- 

 taches them to the yard, and makes them docile, 

 affectionate, and easy to manage. All domestic 

 animals have good feelings and dispositions if 

 kindly treated, and much of the sullenness and 

 vice in which they sometimes indulge, arises from 

 had treatment in the first instance by their keep- 

 ers. These matters should be well taken into ac- 

 count by every farmer and breeder of stock. Not 

 only humanity, but economy and good thrift re- 

 quires it. Ujlmos. 



IMPROVED SYSTEM OP BEE MANAGEMENT. 



There is no branch of rural economy connected 

 with more agreeable associations than that of bee 

 management. The proverbially industrious habits 

 of the insect, and its extreme ingenuity in the con- 

 struction of its domicil, and the disposition of its 

 treasures, are such as to excite the admiration of 

 the most unobservant. The common necessity of 

 destroying the stock in order to obtain the produce 

 of their labors, has been always matter of regret. 

 Many plans have been hitherto devised for the 

 purpose of obtaining the honey without the de- 

 struction of the bees. But they have only been 

 attended with partial success. The object has, 

 however, been latterly and more perfectly attained 

 by Mr. Nutt, a practical apiarian of Lincolnshire 

 whose system of management has given this branch 

 of rural economy an importance and value of 

 which it was not before considered susceptible, 

 both in the greater productiveness of the bees, and 

 the much superior quality of the honey. 



The first part of Mr. Nutt's plan of operation is 

 to have the hive, into which the stock is intro- 

 duced, untouched. When it is filled with honey, 

 (the contents of which are to he reserved for the 

 use of the bees,) the capacity of the hive is in- 

 creased by the addition of another box to the side 

 communicating with the hive by apertures, which 

 give free admission to the bees in all parts of the 

 box. 



The next important object in Mr. Nutt's system 

 is to ensure a regular and uniform temperature in 

 this portion of the hive, without diminishing the 

 temperature of that which contains the stock. The 

 ventilation necessary for this purpose is effected by 

 the means of a perforated tin tube, extending down 

 to a considerable distance from the top into the 

 hive, and connected with an aperture at the bot- 



tom, which may he partly or wholly closed by a 

 tin slide, thus modifying the circulation of the air 

 and consequent degree of temperature. The tem- 

 perature of this side box, which is indicated by a 

 thermometer introduced into the tube, ought to be 

 70 deg. which is the natural temperature of the 

 working hive ; but in that which contains the 

 stock, a temperature of 90 dcg. is necessary, as 

 well for the incubation of the queen bee, as the 

 maturity of the young. The parent hive is, then, 

 as well the residence of the queen bee as the nur- 

 sery of the young, whilst the side boxes are but 

 additional storehouses for the reception of the su- 

 perfluous honey, which may be taken away with- 

 out impoverishing the stock, or robbing them of 

 their winter sustenance. 



AVhen the thermometer placed on the side box 

 rapidly rises to 90 or 100 deg. the necessity of 

 again providing the bees with fresh room is indi- 

 cated ; and this is effected by establishing another 

 box on the opposite side of the hive. The bees, 

 finding an increase of room, will readily recom- 

 mence their labors in this new apartment. 



Then follows, in Mr. Nutt's system, the opera- 

 tion of separating the bees from this second hive. 

 This is effected by the ventilator, by which the in- 

 ternal temperature of the hive may be reduced to 

 that of the external atmosphere ; and when on the 

 approach of night, the bees, recoiling from the 

 cool air, go back into the middle box, the connex- 

 ion between the two may be closed, and the full 

 hive withdrawn, without the imprisonment or de- 

 struction of a single laborer. The same arrange- 

 ments are again renewed, as the bees continue 

 their successful labors. In this system, no provi- 

 sion is made for swarming, which cannot occur 

 under this arrangement, the emigration of a part 

 of the stock being only occasioned by a want of 

 room in which the bees may pursue their labors. 



The honey furnished under this system of man- 

 agement is found to be far superior both in quality 

 and quantity to that obtained under any other ar- 

 rangements. The honey and wax are as white as 

 refined sugar. This superiority in quality it owes 

 as well to the modified temperature at which the 

 bees secrete their products, as to its total exemp- 

 tion from all extraneous animal and vegetable mat- 

 ters, and in particular from the pollen or bee- 

 bread, which is taken in considerable quantities 

 into the stock-hive for the support of the young. 

 This superiority of the honey is only equalled by 

 the quantity of the supply ; the usual annual sup- 

 ply from one stock is about one hundred weight 

 of honey ; whilst, in the course of one season, Mr. 

 Nutt has' procured the large quantity of 296 lbs. 

 This increase in quantity is owing to the excellent 

 disposition of the arrangements, by which the in- 

 dustrious efforts of the bees are never retarded, 

 nor their strength weakened at the time when the 

 fruits and flowers abound from which their treas- 

 ures are obtained. — New Bedford Courier. 



MARXE 



— Is usually found at a depth of from one to 

 three feet, and may be known by the effervescence 

 it occasions when dropped in vinegar or other 

 strong acid — a load of even the weakest kind well 

 mixed with the black bog dirt found above it, is 

 more efficacious manure than two loads of com- 

 mon barn-dung. Having little or no effect when 

 first applied to wheat and rye, by afterwards cover- 

 ing the ground with a thick growth of white clover, it 

 is rendered fit for producing largely of those crops. 



