1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



15 



for milk in this country. At various points we 

 have met them, driven up at night like cows to 

 be milked, and giving indications that they car- 

 ried with them a good supply of milk. Our de- 

 scent from the mountain furnished much amuse- 

 ment, partly at my own expense, for when I had 

 walked some five miles down the alm.ost perpen- 

 dicular side, I had such warnings of the frailty 

 of human means of locomotion, that I was glad 

 to avail myself of one of the peculiar institutions 

 of the country and take a chair for the remainder 

 of the journey. A chair is a vehicle in the form 

 of a large arm-chair, with two handles before and 

 behind, by which it is carried by two or more men, 

 precisely as farmers pole out hay from a swamp. 



A large French gentleman and his lady were 

 carried all the way down in this manner, the man 

 having five bearers, who changed hands, and the 

 lady, who was of smaller dimensions, two. The 

 bearers prefer to have you sit with your face up- 

 hill, and ride backwards. Thus in solemn pro- 

 cession we proceeded down the hill, at a pace to 

 outstrip the mules, and on the whole, as it costs 

 no more to be carried thus than to ride a mule, 

 I would recommend to all who try the mountains 

 to make one experiment of this mode of pi'ogres- 

 sion. My companions, to my surprise, made very 

 little fun of my ride, which I had supposed would 

 amuse tliAn for a week, but next morning I was 

 uncharitable enough to suggest, when I found one 

 of them confined to his bed by sore limbs, and 

 another with thq, skin so worn from his toes that 

 he could not walk, that they were as badly used 

 ■up as I was, and did not dare to laugh at me. 



This was our first attempt at much of a walk, 

 and- on the whole, was not a very prudent begin- 

 ning. 



But this is as much of Switzerland as you can 

 find rcom for in the paper, so farewell. 



Yours, &c., H. F. French. 



DO BIKDS UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY 

 LEARN P 



And now comes the question whether birds do 

 not, in some degree at least, understand what they 

 learn. It cannot be denied that, in a state of na- 

 ture, their notes and intonations are significant 

 to each other, and convey intelligence on which 

 tJhey act ; nor does it require much observation 

 oi* credulity to lead one to the conclusion that 

 they are not altogether ignorant of the meaning 

 of the words which they are taught. They appl, 

 them, at least, very often, very opportunely. We 

 know of a parrot that was very fond of a bone — 

 not a good thing to give a parrot by the way — 

 and when the bird had picked it, he would whis- 

 tle to and call by name, the spaniel that was suf- 

 fered to run about the house. When the dog 

 came, as he always did when within hearing, the 

 parrot would drop the bone out of his cage ; and 

 the dog very complacently picked it up and pro- 



ceeded then and there to feed upon it, the parrot 

 looking down on him and calling him "Pretty 

 Beau," ever and anon during the operation. 

 When dinner was brought, the parrot would 

 climb up the bar of its cage, and there remain, 

 crying, "Bring Polly's sop," till something was 

 given to it. If a bottle of ale or wine were 

 brought in, it would say, "Waiter ! Waiter ! a 

 bottle of wine and a cigar." This parrot, wliich 

 was an excellent talker, had not been taught to 

 call the dog, but he had been in the habit of hear- 

 ing him called to receive bones and bits, ajid did 

 likewise. — Frazer's Magazine. 



For tite Hew England Farmer. 

 ECONOMY IN BEE CULTURE. 



I was pleased to notice an article in the New 

 England Farmer, monthly, for June, entitled 

 "Cheap Bee Hives," coming from the pen of one 

 so justly celebrated as a successful apiarian. It 

 will, I am confident, have a salutary influence 

 upon many. The munerous attempts that have 

 been made, and the large amount of money that 

 has been spent to improve the dwelling of the 

 honey bee, and which have proved futile, have 

 caused many to think that bee culture, is a branch 

 of rural economy that "wont pay." Others have 

 gone back to Ac old box hive and brimstone, as 

 the only sure way of getting a portion of the 

 honey gathered by their bees. I want a cheap 

 bee-hive — one that will give the bees ample room, 

 and every facility for storing their food for the 

 many months they are unable to gather from the 

 fields, and to rear their young ; one in which they 

 M'ill deposit for my own use the surplus they may 

 gather, and in a style that will look the neatest 

 when placed upon the table, or that will find a 

 ready sale when off'ered in market. 



The honey harvest with us is usually of but 

 short duration, and whatever the bees do they 

 must do quickly. If a swarm of bees are put 

 into a hive that is lined upon the sides and top 

 with loose particles of wood or dirt, that might 

 prevent the bees from fastening their comb firm- 

 ly, they are, from necessity, detained from their 

 proper vocation of honey-gathering and comb- 

 building, until they can remove it from the hive. 



When the honey is plenty in the field, a large 

 colony of bees will store it very I'apidly, For 

 instance, in June, 1856, a swarm of bees was put 

 into an empty hive containing 1965 cubic inches, 

 which within thirteen days from the time they 

 were hived, was filled with brood and store comb ; 

 also two boxes, each containing 12 pounds of 

 honey. The hive was of a very simple model, 

 planed smooth and clean inside. Planing the 

 inside of a hive is but the work of a few mo- 

 ments for a mechanic, and much less time than it 

 would take a large swarm of bees to clear from 

 the hive the loose particles of wood that always 

 adhere to sawed lumber, besides the dirt and dust 

 that usually finds a resting-place upon lumber 

 while it is seasoning. I think the swarm of 

 which I have made mention stored more honey 

 than they would have done in an unplaned hive. 

 In that particular I must difi'er from Mr. Quim- 

 by, thinking it true economy to plane the inside 

 of a bee-hive, and charge the necessary expense 

 to the bees. Amicus. 



