No. 12. 



Tie Plough— Bee Moth. 



365 



the purpose of steadying the plough in un- 

 skilful hands. There have also been re- 

 cently several important improvements in 

 other varieties of ploughs; such are the 

 Subsoil, the Double and Quadruple, and the 

 Side-hill ploughs. The Subsoil plough is 

 getting into general use in the United 

 States, and the thorough farmer now consi- 

 ders it indispensable, in order to complete 

 his operations. It has proved eminently 

 useful, both in wet and dry soils — in wet, 

 by draining superfluous moisture; and in 

 dry, by facilitatmg the descent of the roots 

 of such plants as delight in deep soils. Its 

 efficacy also in actually improving the cha 

 racter and depth of soils where proper til 

 lage has been maintained, has been abun- 

 dantly proved, and perhaps nowhere more 

 signally than in resuscitation of the sterile 

 lands, exhausted by tobacco culture, in Vir- 

 ginia. I speak from my own observation 

 of its wonderful utility in a neighbouring 

 county, — Fairfax — and have the corrobo- 

 rating testimony of the distinguished judge 

 of that circuit, who declared some time 

 since, that Fairfax, from being proverbially 

 one of the poorest, was fast becoming one 

 of the most fertile counties of Virginia; and 

 this change has been wrought by the immi- 

 gration of northern farmers, bringing with 

 them all their agricultural enterprise and 

 knowledge of what may be properly called 

 the mechanics of agriculture." 



In the same communication, I find the fol- 

 lowing remarks in relation to bees, and their 

 great enemy, the moth. Patents are from 

 time to time granted for preventing the rav- 

 ages of the wheat fly and other insects which 

 are destructive to the crops, or annoying to 

 the farmer, but most of them are too com- 

 plicated and extensive for general use.^ 



" No branch, perhaps, of agricultural, or 

 rather rural occupation, has been so much 

 neglected in this country, as bee culture. 

 Wherever it has been attempted with care, 

 it has always proved profitable ; but many 

 who engage in this business, abandon it — 

 for the reason that the bee is left to be its 

 own protector against its many enemies, but 

 more particularly against its common ene- 

 my, the bee moth. A large number of ap- 

 plications for patents have been made for 

 improvements in bee-hives, most of them 

 with reference to this very point, viz: pro- 

 tection against the moth; and it might be 

 reasonably inferred, from the fact that appli- 

 cations are continually being made for this 

 purpose, that no complete remedy has been 

 devised. 



" From the character of many of the in- 

 ventions, it is obvious that the habits of this 

 insect are not studied ; and it is to be re- 



gretted that, while naturalists and apiariana 

 have so long investigated and made them- 

 selves familiar with the domestic habits and 

 whole economy of bees, they have neglected 

 to notice this their predatory, and ultimately 

 fatal enemy. In Virginia, it is a common 

 practice to put the hives upon the ground, 

 as a security from the moth ; and I can tes- 

 tify to the fact, that bees in well made hives, 

 protected by a covering from rain and ex- 

 cessive heat, under these circumstances 

 thrive well. The eggs of the bee-moth are 

 deposited usually somewhere about the base 

 of the hive, and, after hatching, the larvae 

 crawl into the hive and commence their 

 work of destruction. It is presumed that 

 the instinct of the insect leads it to deposite 

 its eggs in dry and warm places, and conse- 

 quently to avoid the ground. The hive is 

 placed upon tiles or bricks, to prevent the 

 approach of mice, &,c. 



" The bee readily adapts itself to every 

 climate ; and although its period for labour 

 is abridged in the more northern latitudes, 

 yet it seems to thrive equally well where- 

 ever it can find an abundance of food. An 

 esteemed friend, H. K. Oliver, Esq., of Sa- 

 lem, Massachusetts, has been singularly suc- 

 cessful in this culture. I have not space 

 for a detail of his peculiar mode of manage- 

 ment, were such proper for this report; but 

 I may state its result. This gentleman, the 

 care of whose apiary is merely a relaxation 

 ti-om graver pursuits, has taken 300 pounds 

 of honey per annum, from three hives; and 

 the average for each of his hives for several 

 years past, has not been less than 80 pounds. 

 In 1840, he took from one hive, 140 pounds, 

 and left 60 pounds for the bees to winter 

 upon. It is obvious that such continued 

 success cannot be merely fortuitous, but 

 must be the result of proper care and con- 

 trivance. As the importance of this culture 

 is underrated, or, more properly speaking, 

 but little known, I may be thought to have 

 bestowed more attention to the subject than 

 it deserves. Among the articles, however, 

 which go to swell the aggregate of the an- 

 nual exports of our country, beeswax forms 

 no inconsiderable item at this time, and is 

 capable of being very largely extended." 



There were in 1842, more than three 

 hundred thousand pounds of wax exported, 

 valued at 8103,626. 



The bee is indeed, too frequently left to 

 be its own caretaker: but 1 am satisfied 

 that those who watch their hive.s familiar- 

 izing themselves with the admirable econo- 

 my of this admirable creature, will not only 

 be delighted in contemplation of the per- 

 fectness of its instinct, but will also be well 

 repaid for the care extended to it. The 



