350 



NEW ENGLAIND FARMER, 



May 18, 1&3I. 



ETiaw i2sr(&a>iisra) i^iissiasa 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 18, 1831. 



OJ=Twentyfive cents each will be given for any 

 number of copies (not exceedino' 30) of the New 

 England Farmer, No. 41, vol. IX. published April 

 27, 1830. 



SMITH'S TREATISE ON BEES. 



In our last, page 331, we gave a brief notice, 

 with short extracts of An Essay on the practica- 

 hiliUi of cultivating the Honey Bee, in Maritime 

 Towns and Cities, as a Source of Domestic Econo- 

 my and Profit. Since that article was written, it 

 has occurred to us that the work merited a more 

 extended, and analytical notice, and a more deci- 

 ded and e.xplicit reconunendation. 



Tlie objects of this work are well indicated by 

 the following extract from its Table of Contents. 

 'Method of begiimiug an A|>iar3' in town. Lo- 

 calities for Bees in Cities. Plan and Elevation of 

 an Ornamental Bee-house in the form of a ])ros- 

 tyle temple for glass hives. Sv.arniiiig. Transfer- 

 ring Bees from one Hive to another. Mode of 

 co[istitnting a profitable family hive. Tlie Bee 

 Moth. To extract Honey from the Comb in 

 quantities. To prepare wax, after taking out the 

 Honey. Method of managing Stock Bees in 

 winter. To bleach yellow wax. Blethod of re- 

 lieving the pain on being Stung. Method of 

 supplying Bees with fresh water. Method of 

 marking particular Bees, in and out of the Hive 

 in order to ascertain their specific employments. 

 Anatomy of the Honey Bee. Physiology of the 

 Bee. The Anger of Bees. Language of Bees. 

 Longevity of Bees. Descriptio:) of Dr Thacher's 

 Hive. Mrs Griffith's Hive.' &c. &e. 



This Essay is written in a pleasing and per- 

 spicuous style ; it embraces a very important ani\ 

 interesting topic of domestic economy, and will 

 he read with pleasure as ^vell as profit by all 

 whose tas!es are not vitiated by luxurious habits, 

 and time not engrossed by the frivolous pursuits 

 of tlie votaries of dissipation. The cost of keep- 

 ing Bees is nothing, but perhaps a hive or two to 

 begin with, a dark, unfurnished empty apartment 

 to serve as a work shop for the little artists, and 

 some manual like that which we would now re- 

 commend to public attention, containing concise 

 but plain and practical rules for the management 

 of the little laborers ; workmen whose lives are 

 devoted to our service for a compensation so 

 trifling that the poorest cottager in the country, 

 or teiiinit of a ten feel domicile in the city einploy 

 them by millions. 



THE BLOOD ORANGE. 



Mr Fessendr:* — Your Farmer of 11th, has 

 just been perused, and I notice an extract on tlie 

 subject of the 'Blood Orange' which contains the 

 erroneous statement that this variety of the orano-e 

 'is produced by gral'tiug the couiniuu orange on a 

 Pomegranate stock.' I have no doubt that silly 

 tales of the kind are propagated at Malta and 

 elsewhere, which has caused the author to insert 

 it, for I have seen many of equal inconsistency 

 promidgated in the public prints. I will state how- 

 ever as a guide against deceptive statements of 

 this kind, that it may he taken as a general 

 rule, that trees and plants can in hut few instances 

 be amalgamated by grafting or inoculation 6c- 

 yond the limits of their respective genera, and 

 that all tales of grafting the peach on the willow, 

 the rose on the currant, &c, are mere fables. It is 



stated however on good authcu-ity that the rose has 

 been made to vegetate when budded on the oak 

 and on the orange, hut the shoots thus formed 

 were but short lived and perished as soon as the 

 natural sap became exhausted. The course of 

 nature as regards the vegetable kingdom is quite 

 Kiin|)ly and plainly delineated, and there exists 

 little, of that mystery to which some pretend. By 

 the exercise therefore of good judgment we may 

 generally attain to correct conclusions, and not 

 find it necessary to rest our faith on fables. 



I have only to remark further that my numer- 

 ous engagements have for some time precluded 

 me from contributing to your columns, but the 

 period is at hand when 1 shall be again enabled 

 to do so. Very respectfidlv, 



WM. ROBERT PRINCE. 



Linniean liolnnic Garden, ) 

 May ILi, 1631. \ 



LEAVES FOR MANURE. 



Mr Fessk.nuen — I have just read an article in 

 your paper of the 11th instant, extracted from the 

 American Farmer, recommending the use of leaves 

 as a valuable ingredient in manure. I have long 

 been in the habit of using siy 20 cart loads in a 

 ye?r, as litter fiir my stables, and am abundantly 

 convinced of their utility. I have found them 

 superior to straw, for absorbing, and retaining the 

 urine, which makes no inconsiderable jiortion of 

 the strength of stable manure, as is well known 

 to most of my brother farmers. I recollect that 

 some years ago, you published a communication 

 from me on the above subject, with my particular 

 method of collecting and using the leaves. I now 

 take the liberty of again reconmiending the plan 

 to your subscribers as it is often needful that we 

 have 'precept upon precept, and line uj/on line,' 

 in husbandry, as well as in Theology. 

 I am, sir, respectfully yours, 



J\i'ewton, May 14, 1S31. J. Ken'rick. 



Remarks by the Editor — We are happy to avail 

 ourselves of the above intimation, and are under 

 great obligations to Mr K. for his suggestion ; 

 which affords additional proof of his will and 

 ability to contribute useful articles for our paper, 

 which are the result of correct theory, tested 

 and sanctioned by actual and beneficial operations, 

 relating to the all important arts of rural economy. 



From tl]B IJuslon Daily Advcrliser. 



Mr Hale — For very many years, I have been in 

 the habit of sending to your paper the state of the 

 seasons. The last two years, I omitted it, because 

 the same information was communicated to the 

 New England Farmer ; but finding that some per- 

 sons have complained of the omissiou,beeanse they 

 read t/our paper, and do not see the N. E. Farmer, 

 1 am induced to resume my long continued usage. 

 It is not extraordinary that men, cooped up in the 

 city, should be desirous of knowing what are the 

 prospects of fruit and vegetables for the ensuing 

 year — and there are some philosophical farmers, 

 who are desirous of recording the variations of dif- 

 ferent seasons. 



Let me premise, that the past winter was in 

 some respects very extraordinary — so much so, as 

 to stand alone, when compared with the winters 

 of the last twenty five years. No frost entered 

 the ground to the depth of tliree inches, before 

 the first great snow, which covered the earth like 

 a warm blanket. There was no moment during the 

 winter in which you could carry heavy loads over 



wet meadows. — The effect of this coverin 

 snow was very curious. Plants which are kill») 

 in ordinary seasons, survived in perfect vigflj 

 The effixt upon grasses of all descriptions \n 

 favorable, and I presume equally so upon wints 

 grain. The result was, that the moment the sno* ft 

 was removed, the grass starteil with imdiminislid 

 vigor, and although the months of April and Ma !. 

 have been cold, yet the grass is more forward tht 

 ever I have known it to be at this season. Ti 

 same causes have been favorable to the early ascel 

 of the saj) of fruit trees. The small fibrous rootC" 

 I'.avc not been bound in frost, and the season ' 

 very favorable to fruits, as the following compajB s, 

 isoii \vill show. 





First blossoming of Cherries. 



In 181 3, 

 1S1.5, 

 181G, 

 18-22, 

 1823, 

 1825, 



In 1826, 

 1827, 

 1828, 

 1829, 

 1830, 

 1831, 



May 4, 

 April 21. 



May 1. 



May 9. 

 April 28. 

 April 23. 



Pears opening their blossoms. 



1823, May 3d— 1824, May 4tli — 1825, *ApriI 30tb 



—1829, May 14th— 1831, May 1st. 



Apples opening Blossoms. 



1823, May 19lh— 1824, May 13th — 1825,May 8* 



— 1829, May 15th — 1831, May 6lh. 



1 have not extended my comparison in this [uibli- 

 cation as far as I have sometimes done, though) 7 

 have done enough to show that it is one of the ' 

 earliest seasons, and I can add that it is earlier (OD 

 the ivhote) than any season for seventeen years. 



I will merely add, for the satisfaction of th«i 

 lovers of fine fruits, that the Peaches have surviv-- 

 ed the winter, hut they suffered from the two I 

 years' over abundant crops. Yet there are hlossOL^^ 

 enough on them, auil the iVuit, if the season shouBij. 

 be warm, will probably be as much superior in |l( 

 quality as it will be deficient in quantity. 



I have never known a more universal and vigd 

 ous bloom in the Pears. 



The Apples cannot be so well ascertained, 

 as the crop last year was superabundant, it il 

 almost certain that it will be very moderate this 

 year. 



Cherries, Raspberries, Strawberries, and all 

 smaller fruits, promise most abundant harvests. 

 A RoxBURY Farmer. 



Exhibition of Flowers at Horticultural Hall, on Sat- 

 urday, May 1-ith, 1831. 

 A splendid specuuen of Musa coccinea, or scarlet 

 flowering plantain ivee. 



Cactus speciosa, Amarillis foriiiosissima, Kerria japon-' 

 ica, Asclespias curassavila, with many oilier fine speci- 

 mens of native and exotic plants, from John Lowell, Esq. 



Rhododendron ponticuni, several fine varieties of Gfr 

 laniums. Tulips and other flowers, from I\IrJolin Lemist. 



28 varieties of Tulips, Double flowering Chinese Alj» 

 pie, Cornus Florida, and other flowers, from H. A. iS. 

 Dearborn. 



25 varieties of Geraniums, Calceolaria rugosa, freni 

 David Haa;gerstO!i. 



Fine Tulips, and other flowers, from J. Joy, JohD 

 Prince, Rufus Howe and N. Davenport. 



JVotice. 



The Standing Committee of the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society on Flowers, Shrubs, &c, hereby give no- 

 tice, that tliey have fixed upon Saturday next, for «d" 

 iudging the premium on Tulips. Those members who 

 intend otTering for the premium, are requested to haW 

 the flowers at the Ilall bcfc^e 10 o'clock, in order that | 

 they may be examined by the Conuniltee before exhibi- 

 tion. Per order, R. L. EMMONS, Chairman. 



May 15. 



