No. 10. 



Bee- Breeding. 



319 



proper order in the process of hoeing, which 

 ought, 1 think, to be, first, the hand and hoe- 

 weeding of the rows, and then the intervals; 

 else, the treading of the intervals while clean- 

 ing the rows, must have the effect of re-plant- 

 ing the weeds that have been brought to the 

 surface by the cultivator ; whilst the culti- 

 vator itself should be reversed, the double 

 row of teeth being made to precede — then 

 the small furrows, which are now left near 

 the rows of plants (by the cultivator proceed- 

 ing point-forwards) will be reduced to one 

 furrow only, that being in the centre of the 

 interval — an arrangement of very great im- 

 portance; and for the knowledge of which I 

 am indebted to a most intelligent reader of 

 the Cabinet — a real " book-farmer !" who not 

 only practises, but teaches the best way of 

 cultivating the mind and heart, as well as 

 the soil. 



Our late accounts from England inform us 

 that the farmer is still further to be burdened 

 in the shape of an income tax ! Does it not 

 strike the American farmer that there must 

 be a monstrous difference somewhere between 

 the two countries, to account for which, the 

 difference in the rate of wages is by no means 

 sufficient 1 Would our friends think seriously 

 of these things, and read, mark, and inwardly 

 digest them ; then I should not fear that in 

 summing up, the advantages in favour of this 

 country will be exhibited as clearly as figures 

 — " which cannot lie" — can make them. 



ViR. 



April 20, 1842. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Bee-Breeding. 



Mr. Editor, — I have, for a considerable 

 time past, been a constant reader of the Cabi- 

 net, and have been much gratified by perus- 

 ing some of the articles which it contains on 

 that interesting subject, the culture and man- 

 agement of the bee. I unite with the writer 

 in a late number, who observes, " there is 

 nothing better calculated to strengthen our 

 local and home attachments than a proper at- 

 tention to those little matters which evince a 

 correctness of taste, and impart a neatness to 

 the grounds around our dwellings;" and I am 

 convinced that one of the most interesting and 

 profitable appendages to a dwelling, either in 

 town or country, is a well-constructed bee- 

 hive with a thrifty colony of bees. When I 

 consider the vast amount of sweets that are 

 60 lavishly scattered over the face of nature, 

 it has often been cause of surprise that there 

 are not more of these wise and industrious 

 insects kept by all classes of society, as they 

 might be made the instruments for collecting 

 a rich luxury for the wealthy, as also to add 



to the comforts of the poor, out of that which 

 always has, and still is allowed to continue, 

 to " waste its fragrance on the desert air." 

 The principal cause why few keep bees is, 

 that their colonies are so often destroyed by 

 that formidable foe, the worm or larva of the 

 wax-moth. I have studied the nature of the 

 bee, and have had an extensive apiary for 

 many years, and confess it has ever been a 

 source of great discouragement to me; and 

 after having seen a great variety of patent 

 hives, some of them well adapted for letting 

 the enemy out, after they have become fat 

 and full by feasting on the rich treasures of 

 the hive, and in some unguarded moment lost 

 their hold on the comb and rolled to the bot- 

 tom of the box, which consists of a slanting 

 or swinging board, and an aperture sufficient- 

 ly large to allow of their egress; and because 

 many of those over-fed robbers are found 

 under the hive, the principle of its construc- 

 tion is oftentimes admired and approved ! 

 But the main objection to these hives is, that 

 where so great facility is given for the worms 

 to roll out, great opportunity is afforded for 

 the moth to get in; and although some of 

 them might offer a remedy for the disease, it 

 will readily be admitted that a preventive 

 is better than a cure. I have therefore been 

 induced to bend my mind to the subject, and 

 flatter myself that I have invented a hive or 

 palace, which will prove the title which I 

 give it, namely, the miller-proof, non-swarm- 

 ing, life-preserving, ventilating bee-hive, the 

 construction and advantages of which require 

 only to be seen and examined to command 

 the approbation of those who are interested 

 in the subject. Persons wishing to purchase 

 hives, individual, county, or state rights, will 

 please address Joseph Sholl, near Burlington, 

 New Jersey. 



Here follows a very elaborate description of the hive, 

 which for brevity's sake we are compelled to decline 

 publishing; the hive itself may be seen and examined 

 at our office, and we will take pleasure in describing 

 its properties and advantages. — Ed. 



Change of Crops. — Virgil, who was a phi- 

 losopher as well as a poet, observes : " The 

 true repose of the earth is a change of its 

 productions." It is a curious fact, that a 

 plant may be killed by the poison which has 

 itself secreted, as a viper may be stung to 

 death by its own venom. Hence it has been 

 very generally noticed, that the soil in which 

 some particular vegetables have grown, and 

 into which they have discharged the excre- 

 tions of their roots, is rendered noxious to the 

 prosperity of the plants of the same or allied 

 species, though it be quite adapted to the 

 growth and support of other distinct species 

 of vegetables. — Bridgman. 



