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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



seem to be a deputation which, are sent out as spies, 

 to discover a new home. Some of these may be 

 seen frequently returning, as it were to make their 

 reports ; and as an evidence that honey had not been 

 the object of their flight, no wax or pollen can be 

 seen upon them, as is the case when they return to 

 the hive upon ordinary occasions. 



As soon as their spies return with a satisfactory 

 report, (which is sometimes not until the next day,) 

 they leave the bush, and, rising high in the air, start 

 off in a perfectly direct line for their new habitation. 

 This is sometimes at a distance of several miles, and 

 may be located in an old hollow tree, or cleft of a 

 rock. Sometimes they even enter the dwellings of 

 men. A friend of mine in this town once heard a 

 humming .or buzzing noise over his head at night, as 

 he was lying in his bed ; thinking that it proceeded 

 from the garret, he made an examination, when the 

 noise seemed to be beneath his feet. The next day 

 the mystery was solved, for being out in the yard, he 

 saw some bees going in and coming out of a hole in 

 the side of the house. He then went to the garret, 

 and by listening attentivel}% discovered their exact 

 location near one corner. He built a small room in 

 this corner, and then sawed through and took up 

 the board which covered them, thus giving the bees 

 a large hive to work in ; and work they did, for he 

 told me years afterwards, that this room had supplied 

 the family with an abundance of delicious honey up 

 to that time. 



I may as well here remark, that, for common use, 

 large hives are injudicious, as the bees, if placed in 

 them, never swai'm, thus preventing any increase of 

 the stock. 



The swarm, however, is not often allowed to escape 

 in the manner just described ; for, being discovered b)' 

 some of the family, they are immediately "hived." 

 viz., an empty hive, or box, is placed upon the 

 ground or table, and raised a few inches from it, 

 then the branch or twig upon which the bees have 

 alighted is cut off and placed under the hive, the 

 inside of which has been previously rubbed with 

 lemon balm leaves, (as it is thought that the fra- 

 grance of this herb is attractive to the bees,) and 

 almost immediately they ascend and take up their 

 abode within the hive. In the evening, after every 

 thing is quiet, the hive is removed to the place which 

 it is permanently to occupy. 



A swarm usually leave the old hive in some very 

 warm, clear day, between the hours of nine in the 

 morning and four in the evening. It is frequently 

 the case, that in eight or ten days after the swarm 

 has left the hive, a second one makes its appearance, 

 and is of course to be treated in the same manner as 

 the first. It does not always happen, however, that 

 two swarms are obtained in one season, though it 

 sometimes occurs that three large ones arc hived. 

 A friend at the west had one spring but one hive of 

 bees. They swarmed very largely and very early ; 

 it was a fine " bee season ; " in a week the old hive 

 sent out another colony, and, still later, a third. The 

 swarm that came first also divided and sent out a 

 strong colony. 



The year was a good one, and they all did well, 

 so that in the autumn he had five hives of bees, 

 which yielded him, besides, nearly ten dollars worth 

 of beautiful honey. But this was a rare case, and 

 such astonishing success is by no means common. 

 It is often the case that the third swarm is so feeble, 

 and comes so late, that it is unable to lay up a suffi- 

 ciency of food for the winter, and soon perishes. 

 AVhen the owner thinks that this is likely to be the 

 case, he should remove the queen from the middle 

 of the swarm, when they have settled upon the 

 branch, and the bees will then return to the hive 

 from which they came. It might at first seem a haz- 

 ardous undertaking to open a swarm to remove the 



queen, but it is, with common caution, quite easy. I 

 will not here give the process, for I fear that I shall 

 spin out this article to an unreasonable length, and I 

 have a number of other things to mention. If, how- 

 ever, it should seem to be the general wish, I may at 

 a future time say more on the topic of bees, and 

 also of some other insects. — Dollar Newspaper. 



LIVE FENCES. 



The particular advantage of any kind of fence 

 depends on circumstances. Where suitable stones 

 can be readily obtained, perhaps there is no fence to 

 be preferred to a well-built, permanent wall. If the 

 stones, in the outset, occupy the land so as to inter- 

 fere with cultivation, the inducement for making 

 wall is increased. In some places, the abundance 

 and cheapness of suitable timber for fences render it 

 most economical to construct them of that material. 

 The comparative advantages of live and dead 

 fences, in general terms, may be thus stated : — 

 Hedges can be reared where the materials for dead 

 fences cannot be had, and excepting the best of 

 walls, are greatly superior in durability ; dead fences 

 commonly occupy less room, shade the ground less, 

 and neither exhaust its moisture or richness, as is 

 done by hedges. 



The best plants for hedges, in this county, are un- 

 doubtedly the Buckthorn and the Osage Orange. 

 "We think the various trials which have been made 

 with difi'erent plants, support this conclusion. The 

 Honey Locust, which was considerably tried a few 

 years since, fails to grow thick enough at the bottom, 

 and is generally straggling and open. The English 

 Hawthorn does not stand our hot and dry summers, 

 and is liable to a blight similar to the " leaf-blight," 

 and "jfire-blight," in pear-trees. The Newcastle, or 

 American Cock-spur Thorn, and the Washington 

 Thorn, have formerly been used extensively in some 

 of the Middle States, particularly in Delaware, 

 where they succeeded M'ell ; but, within a few years, 

 the fine hedges of that section have all been de- 

 stroyed by the borer, and this insect has also attacked 

 the Hawthorn with equal fatality in many instances. 

 It is true there are some neighborhoods where the 

 Hawthorn has mostly escaped the casualties here 

 mentioned, as in some parts of Seneca and Ontario 

 counties, in this state ; but its failure has been so 

 general in most parts of the country, that it cannot 

 be depended on as a hedge plant. 



For the Northern States and the Canadas, we 

 should prefer the Buckthorn. Our reasons for the 

 preference are its hardiness, its comparative exemp- 

 tion from disease, and from the attacks of insects, its 

 rapid growth, and the general facility with which it 

 may be made to answer the purpose of an efficient 

 fence. — Albany Cultivator. 



TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU. 



You may make any horse follow you in ten min- 

 utes. Go to the horse, rub his face, jaw, and chin, 

 leading him about, saying to him, Come along : a 

 constant tone is necessary. By taking him away 

 from other persons and horses, repeat the rubbing, 

 leading and stopping. Sometimes turn him around 

 all ways, and keep his attention by saying. Come 

 along. SVith some horses it is important to whisper 

 to them, as it hides the secret and gentles the horse ; 

 you may use any word you please, but be constant 

 in your tone of voice. The same will cause all horses 

 to follow. 



