1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



179 



are about the hive and not protected, and the bees 

 act displeased with yo<!fc m'esence, you will soon be 

 able to tell this by the peculiar noise they make; 

 but don't run, unless you wish to get stung ; stand 

 perfectly still for a moment, or move slowly away 

 ■with as little motion as possible, and you will not 

 receive injury once in fifty times. In all opera- 

 tions about the hive and the handling of bees year 

 should have no place with the apiarist — he should 

 approach them with confidence, and handle them 

 carefully. Have an old hat, good only for the 

 purpose, with mosquito netting drawn around the 

 rim, forming a kind of bag some two feet in length 

 — put this on, letting it come down over the face, 

 neck and shoulders, as it will, if made large enough. 

 Now put on a thick pair of mittens or woollen 

 gloves, and you are "armed and equipped," wheth- 

 er for peace or war. Leather gloves are bad ; the 

 same with mittens, and should never be used, as 

 they retain the sting, and many lives will be lost 

 by so doing. These "fixins" will do to begin with, 

 but after your bees become acquainted with you, 

 they will seldom be required, except upon extraor- 

 dinary occasions, which will suggest themselves as 

 they arise. The different classes of bees will form 

 the subject of the next article. 



*4 mistake corrected. Five, and not ten dollars, 

 was the price paid for the tobacco secret. 



July, 1857. Norfolk. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



RYE ON SANDY LOAM. 



I have a piece of ground which I would like to 

 sow with rye this fall — but am in doubt as to the 

 economy of doing so without applying manure in 

 some form or other. 



The soil is a sandy loam, tolerably dry, but, pre^ 

 vious to the fall of 1855, had been used as pasture, 

 and was overrun with sweet fern and bayberry 

 bushes; it was then turned over and remained un- 

 disturbed until the next fall; then plowed, and 

 again the past spring, but nothing further done 

 with it. 



Now the question arises, shall I sow it as it is, or 

 apply guano, superphosphate or some other fertilr 

 zer ? Young Farmer. 



^ug. 28, 1857. 



Remarks. — There are various ways of treating 

 such a piece of land, but the various circumstances 

 around you must decide which you are to prefer. 



1. Without any manure, you may enrich the 

 land and make it return you paying crops by plow- 

 ing well, sowing your rye, thrashing the grain out 

 on the field when it has matured, and then lay the 

 straw in the furrows and cover it up with the plow, 

 This is a process somewhat slow, but one that has 

 proved effectual, as in the course of four or five 

 years more than twenty bushels of rye per acre 

 has been obtained. The plow must be followed 

 and the straw laid in the preceding furrow, until 

 the whole field has been gone over. Where plen- 

 ty of loam can be had, this plan is certainly worthy 

 of attention. 



2. If meadow muck is convenient, mix with it 

 sucu portions of ashes, bone dust, guano or super 



phosphate of lime as you can command, and plow 

 it in. 



3. Sow buckwheat or millet, and when just out 

 of blossom cut it, and after it has laid spread out 

 one day, plow it under, and your plain land will 

 return you a fair crop of rye for several years, with 

 only a slight manuring. 



EGYPTIAN MILLET AND ITS VALUE. 



As you had the kindness some time last spring 

 to notice in your valuable paper some experiments 

 which I had made with the Egyptian millet, I how 

 extend an invitation to you or your readers, as you 

 are visiting the Fairs about the State, to call and 

 examine my present crop of millet, and judge of its 

 value for soiling. I have nearly finished cutting the 

 first crop, and have the second two feet high. 



To show your readers that the millet is valuable 

 for soiling, I will give the gain of a Durham bull, 

 which has been kept in the barn all summer, and 

 fed on the millet since it was large enough to cut. 

 From the 6th of April to the 28th of August, this 

 bull has gained 320 lbs., or about 2^ lbs. per day. 

 The bull now is 13 months old. I don't recollect 

 ever to have seen the gain each day given of a year- 

 ling, and know not if this is quite common ; but if 

 any of your readers can give a greater gain, at the 

 same age, I shall be pleased to hear from them. 



Sunderland, Mass. F. H. Williams. 



TIME to kill bushes — A QUERY. 



In one of your late numbers a subscriber asks, 

 "when is the best time to kill weeds and bushes by 

 mowing ?" In reply, I would say that the last of 

 August, or the first of September, is generally 

 thought by old farmers to be the surest time to 

 prevent their spreading. 



I also have a question to ask, which I hope some 

 of your well-versed correspondents will do me the 

 favor to answer. Is there any part of the Chinese 

 sugar cane, shrub or root, which is poisonous to 

 mankind ? A. N. H. Piper. 



Hancock, Vt., Aug., 1857. 



corn stalks for horses. 



I noticed in your paper some time since, that 

 corn stalks were good for the heaves in horses. 

 Will you please inform me how they are to be fed, 

 whether cut or given whole ? If so, you will great- 

 ly oblige me and undoubtedly many others of your 

 readers. w. H. c. 



East Canaan, A*. H., Aug., 1857. 



Remarks. — We do not remember about it — 

 perhaps the person who communicated the fact 

 will explain. 



scott's seedling strawberry. 



Can you inform me where I can obtain plants of 

 Scott's Seedling Strawberry, and at what price ? 

 Also, where plants of the "Perpetual Bearing Rasp- 

 berry" can be had, and at what price? 



Franklin, Aug , 1857. E, M. K. 



Remarks.— Mr. J. C. Scott, Brighton, Mass., 

 has the Scott's Seedling Strawberry for sale. Price 

 not known — nor do we know anything of the "asp- 

 berry you inquire for. 



