68 



inji liil,rsll,«Jli£i i^AKMJliK. 



Our friend W. T., of Clifford (Pa.), is informed that to 

 mix sulijhur w ith salt, is perhaps the easiest and best way 

 to drive Jiee off cattle. One-third sulphur and two-thirds 

 salt eatea bj neat stock, will so medicate the blood and 

 excretions from tlie skin, as to either kill all lice and ticks, 

 or cause them to drop off. He wishes to know where 

 Chase's Patent Ox Yokes can be bought, and the price 

 per dozen. Who can give the information ? Such articles 

 should be advertised. 



Mk. Caleb R, Hobbie wishes to learn through the 

 medium of this journal, whether he is to expect smutty 

 •wheat at his harvest, if smut is mixed with his seed when 

 sown in autumn. What say the wheat growers who read 

 tlie Genesee Farmer ? 



Bee Moth. — I have purposely delayed answering the 

 inquiry of Mr. Mishleb, of Ohio {Genesee Farmer, July, 

 1853), unlU. the season of ojieratious has arrived. Now, 

 when the bees are inactive, raise the hive gently, cut away 

 the comb two inches, cleanse the lower edges of the liive, 

 and hew or scrape away all filth from the bench. Early in 

 March renew the operation of cleansing and destroying 

 worms, which continue until the warmth brings the bees 

 down to cover the comb, and the danger is usually over till 

 fell. With a lighted candle visit the hives during the warm 

 evenings of summer and destroy the millers, which are 

 busily employed in depositing eggs in every crevice about 

 the hive. Nearly all the swarms that have been destroyed 

 by worms have been occasioned by the want of an oppor- 

 tunity for a bfguini.ig in the lower part of the comb, when 

 the bees are crowded to the upper part of the hive during 

 cold weather. The propriety of keeping the comb shortened 

 will be obcious. 



When the moths have formed a nest in the comb, the 

 ©nly safe remedy is to take them out. Raise gently one side 

 of »<ie hive, and blow into it tobacco smoke, which will quiet 

 the bees. The hive can then be taken to any convenient 

 place, and the affected comb taken away. Bees are easily 

 quieted by blowing tobacco smoke upon them gently — too 

 much will injure them. The operation must be performed 

 in warm weatlier, during tlie fore part of the day — never 

 meddle with bees at night, unless you wish to be "pierced 

 with many sorrows." 



The best hives for protection against the moth are those 

 tliat have the fewest crevices : a narrow, long hive, for those 

 n )t familiar with tlieir management. Those who are, may 

 dabble with the patent humbugs of the day to their heart's 

 content, about nine-tenths of which have been invented by 

 persons ignorant of the nature and wants of bees, to please 

 the fancy and gull the unwary. But few improvements 

 have been made upon Mr. Week's patent, or Mr. Miner's, 

 for those who are practical apiarists are exceptions. The 

 great points to be observed are — 1st, a hive that affords free 

 circulation of air at all seasons ; 2d, protection from ex- 

 treme inclemency ; and 3d, dense sl;ade. No hive has, or 

 ever can be, invented to keep out the moth. 



I have kept from three to twenty swarms for twenty-five 

 years, and never lost a swarm by moths while subject to 

 my directions or personal care. Owkn T. Hobbs. — Ran- 

 dolvh, Crawford county, Pa. - 



HORTICULTURAL. 



OsAUE Orange. (S. C, Centertown, Pa.) The seeds 

 can be had of D. McAvoy, seedsman, Cincinnati, Ohio, at 

 $30 per bushel, — perhaps at a less rate. But very little 

 attention is required to grow the plant. As soon as warm 

 weather approaches in the spring, the seed should be sown 

 in good mellow ground, in drills, as one would any kind of 

 garden seeds, covering them about an inch. Make the 

 rows or drills from 12 to 18 inches apart. The seeds will 

 soon vegetate, and all that is then required to make them 

 fine plants, fit for planting them in hedges by autumn, is 

 to keep the ground about them free from weeds. 



Disease of the Plum Tree. (M., Lewiston, N. Y.) 

 It is quite doubtful among Pomologists as to the cause of 

 the black knot on Plum trees. ]Many opinions have been 

 given, arriving at about as many conclusions. The best 

 that can be done with a tree attacked with it, is to cut off 

 the infected limb or limbs, some distance below where the 

 disease seems to have extended, immediately upon its ap- 

 pearance, and destroy them. The tree may then assume 

 its accustomed vigor ; if left uncared for, it will soon be 

 BO completely covered with the wart as to be worthless. 



Apple Trees — Root Grafting. (A. G. M., Chesh- 

 er's Store, Ky.) No one succeeds by grafting Apple scions 

 npon pieces of roots of old Apple trees, as the roots are 

 succulent, and destitute of those fibers which are necessary 

 to form good plants. They should not be used while 

 Apple seedlings can be obtained at such a trifling cost. 

 It is impossible for us to give space in this journal for the 

 details of root grafting, but we commend to your attention 

 77i« Fruit Culturist, by J. J. Thomas. 



Stocks for Fruit Trees. (J. M., Pittsfield, 111.) — 

 Apples grafted upon your native Crab Apples, would un- 

 doubtedly be much more checked in their growth than if 

 worked on the free stock ; but they could not make very 

 dwarf trees or bushes, unless you root-pruned them. The 

 finer sorts of Plums do well upon the " Wild," or Native 

 Plum, but they require to be grafted at or below the sur- 

 face of the ground, as the scion of some varieties grows 

 more rapidly than the stock, 



Peahs for Market. (P. B., East Aurora, N. Y.) The 

 following sorts we recommend as the most profitable for 

 orchard culture upon the Quince stock : Bartlett, a sum- 

 mer pear; Beurre Diel, Doyenne White ( Virgalieu), 

 Duckesse d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne de Jersey, autumn 

 varieties ; and for winter. Vicar of Winkfield. If cultivated 

 upon the Pear stock, we would add the Flemish Beauty, 

 an autumn kind, and the Lawrence, a winter sort. 



Dwarf Peae Trees. (H. L. F., Willoughby, O.)— 

 Pears on Quince Stock will do well upon new rich land of 

 black sandy loam mixed with yellow sand, being dry enough 

 for wheat or corn. • ^ 



Apples. (D. B., Chili, N. Y.) The apple you left with"'* 

 us for examination was the Baldwin. 



