the many good things th9,t were said by Mr. C. 

 and the gentlemen present. All, however, felt 

 happy that so many ladies graced and honored 

 the festival by their presence ; while the ladies, 

 in turn, evinced equal pleasure in listening to the 

 spirited and important discussions on rural topics 

 appropriate to the occasion, carried on with ani- 

 mation, and in the most amiable temper. There 

 was no wine or other intoxicating beverage ] re- 

 sent; and we are confident there was none the 

 less wit on that account. That better and purer 

 spirit than alcohol in any of its forms — the 

 spirit of good feeling and good will among 

 farmers and all others, is what we desire to com- 

 mend, and thank the men of Massachnsetta for 

 their labors to cultivate. 



Pbovincial Fair of Canada "West. — ^Tliis Fair 

 took place at Hamilton October 5th, 6th, 7th, and 

 8th. There were not so many entries as at To- 

 ronto last year, yet, on the whole, it was the best 

 Fair the Society has ever had. The show of 

 Durham and Ayrshire cattle, Leicester sheep, and 

 Yorkshire hogs, was uncommonly large and good. 

 The show of fruit and vegetables was remarkably 

 good, and they were arranged in admirable taste. 

 In implements the show was good, especially of 

 Canadian manufacture. There were many Eng- 

 lish and Scotch implements, particularly scarifiers, 

 grubbers, subsoil plows, and cultivators. J. Rap- 

 AUE & Co., of Rochester, exhibited a very large 

 number of Yankee implements, fzom thermome- 

 ter churns to reaping machines. The attendance 

 was unusually large ; 20,000 shilling tickets were 

 sold on Thursday. 



The crop of wheat has been unusually good in 

 Canada this year, and it is now nearly as high as 

 with us ; so that the farmei"S are enjoying un- 

 wonted prosperity, and spent their money during 

 the Fair like princes. 



The ScrE-NOfi of Bek-Cultuee. — ^The culture of 

 bees, and the economical production of honey, 

 are objects of considerable interest to many of 

 our readers. To manage bees successfully, one 

 needs an intimate acquaintance with their wants, 

 habits, capabilities, and natural enemies. They suf- 

 fer mainly from a deficiency of suitable food, from 

 bad hives that subject the colony to all extremes 

 of heat in summer, and cold in winter, and from 

 the depredations of moths, mice, and robber-bees. 

 Independently of the value of pure honey which 

 may be obtained in any desirable quantities, bees 

 deserve our care and study as objects illustrative 

 of industry, fragality, and foresight, in providing 



a rich store of delicious food long in advance of 

 its needful consumption. 



Mr. Langstroth, of Greenfield, Mass., whose 

 apiary we recently yisited, is the most scientific 

 and successful cultivator of this valuable insect 

 we have ever seen. A clergyman of sufficient 

 leisure to make extensive observations, a gentle- 

 man of education, and familiar with the best 

 works of Eur' pean and American authors, he 

 has brought to the task all the devotion, single- 

 ness of purpose, and enthusiasm of the genuine 

 naturalist; and, consequently, has produced a 

 Manual on this branch of rural economy alike 

 distinguisned for originality of thought and re- 

 search, and the directness and simplicity of all 

 its teachings. Our numerous duties have not 

 permitted us to study Mr. L.'s book of 384 pages 

 devoted to the elucidation of the natural history 

 of the honey-bee, and the best methods of treat- 

 ing them for profit, as we intend to study it ; but 

 we have read enough to warrant us in pronounc- 

 ing it worthy of a place in every farmer's and gar- 

 dener's library in the United States. Our oppor- 

 tunities for seeing patent bee hives during four 

 years employment in the Patent oifice and else- 

 where have been ample, and we do not hesitate 

 to give the preference to. that of the Rev. Mr. 

 Langstroth over all others. "Without ciitting or 

 breaking the comb in the least, each comb can be 

 taken out of the hive at any time and not serious- 

 ly disturb the bees, or afifect in the least the 

 honey that remains. Tumblers and larger glass 

 vessels, as we have before seen elsewhere, are 

 filled with honey by the bees by placing them 

 over holes in the tops of the hives, and covering 

 the whole with an outside case. Mr. K uses 

 double hives — a great advantage, for in winter 

 the space between the two is filled with fine 

 straw, chaflj or rowen hay, which greatly pro- 

 tects the colony from extreme cold. The sides 

 of the inner hive are mostly of glass, which costs 

 only twenty-five cents a hive. By having glass 

 on the top and four sides of the inner hive, one 

 can see the condition of the bees at any time by 

 simply removing the outer box, on all sides ex- 

 cept the bottom. Mr. L., however, exhibited to 

 us a curious "observing hive," invented and used 

 by him to study the domestic economy of beee, 

 in which only one piece of comb is formed, and 

 that is extended between two plates of glass, so 

 that the cells in which the common workers, the 

 drones, and queen bees, and the development of 

 these several members of the family, may be wit- 

 nessed with the utmost satisfaction. 



The queen outlives several generations of her 

 offspring, and what is still more remarkable, a 

 single impregnation made at her first maturity 



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