67G 



NEW ENGLAIfD FARjVIER. 



Dec. 



deep at one operation. I think the two acres 

 affected by the drainage near the line will 

 prove the best market garden land on the 

 farm. It is now, in the middle of October, 

 after heavy rains, fit to plough at any hour. 

 The wet places which were before obstacles in 

 thft wav of regular work in my most conven- 

 ient field, may be worked with the rest and no 

 lon<!er deform the landscape. 



I\Iy neighbor has not yet. ploughed his field, 

 but is well satisfied with what is done. Possi- 

 bly, having seen his land afloat every spring 

 and fall of his life, he would not have had 

 the faith to plant it with root crops till he had 

 watched mine over the fence one season. 



I am satisfied that in no way whatever could 

 I have expended the same amount upon my 

 farm so profitably as in this operation. 



Concord, Mass., Oct. 20, 1869. 



^?«riNTERING BEES. 



This subject was discussed at a late meeting 

 of the Michigan Bee-keepers' Association. 

 Jas. M. Marvin of St. Charles, Illinois, as re- 

 ported in the Prairie Farmer, said, I keep 

 from 200 to 600 hives every winter, and for 

 the past twenty jears have kept them in cel- 

 lars made dry and warm. I would not advise 

 bee-keepers to keep their little friends or.t of 

 doors, subject to the storms and winds. I 

 prepare the hives by equalizing their honey, 

 and leaving the slats open in the honey-board. 

 The hives are placed in rows around the cellar ; 

 two, three, and sometimes four tiers deep. If 

 there is plenty of room, I would place the 

 lower tier of hives about two feet above the 

 bottom of the repository. 



Cellars having sandy and gravelly founda- 

 tions would generally be dry and suitable pla- 

 ces. Attention should be paid to the temper- 

 atiare, to keep it as near as possible between 

 35° and 46°. If below 36° they will be too 

 cold, and if above 45" they will be so warm 

 as to get uneasy and leave the hives. 



_ The President made it a rule to weigh his 

 hives and if any fell short of the proper 

 amount, he supplied them with combs of honey 

 from those having too much. In answer to a 

 question, the President said he wanted the 

 combs, bees and honey to weigh not less than 

 thirty-five pounds. Twenty-five pounds of 

 honei/ would winter a hive of bees safely. 



Mr. C. I. Balch, of Kalamazoo has a large 

 house cellar dug out of a bed of tand and 

 gravel. The sides are laid up in stone of all 

 shapes and sizes, and left rough. There is 

 no floor, simply a loose gravel bottom. In 

 one corner is a large cistern, the top being 

 about a foot from the floor of the room above, 

 and is left entirely cpen. The water being 

 thus exposed, purifies the atmosphere, both 

 summer and winter, and keeps the tempera- 

 ture uniform. From ten to fifty hives are put 

 into this cellar every winter. None have been 

 lost till last winter. A few young swarms 

 were then lost, which was mainly owing to bad 

 honey. 



HOW TO UNHITCH A TEAM. 



There is always a right way to do every- 

 thing, and the right way to unhitch a team is 

 that which is quickest and safest. We have 

 often noticed farm boys, and not only farm 

 boys but men, disconnect a team from a wagon 

 in a very unsafe manner, something as fol- 

 lows : — 



The driver springs from the wagon, goes to 

 the sides of the horses, puts up the lines, un- 

 buckles them at the bits, lets down the rteck- 

 yoke, unhitches the tugs and leads the horses 

 away disconnected. 



Now this mode is very common, and very 

 risky. Let us notice why. In the first place, 

 as soon as the lines are put up you have lost 

 your means of control, as soon as the pole is 

 down your horses are in peril. Supposinyj 

 they should take fright, which is common to the 

 most quiet animals, the result of a team run- 

 ning wiih only the tugs hitched can be imag- 

 ined. We have cases in mind where horses 

 have sped away with maddened fury in exactly 

 this condition, the pole ploughing the ground, 

 and at every plunge of the frenzied animals, 

 the wagon striking their heels, frightening them 

 to perfect desperation. 



Now the right way, or a good way at least, 

 is to keep the lines in hands or where they can 

 be reached until the tugs are all unhitched, 

 then your team is free from the wagon unless 

 a stationary neck-yoke is used, next go di- 

 rectly in front of the horses and let down the 

 neck-yoke, and after this separate them as con- 

 venient. — Ohio Farmer. 



