1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



59 



iiig six iilants. This was lallicr dose work, 

 but 1 liopod to oVL'ivomc it l)y tlic plan of cul- 

 tivation I had in view. Tlu' [ilauts witc of 

 the Tropliij varii'ty, and wt'io purL-hascd on 

 market of Mr. (norfjc AV. Scliroycr, of this 

 city. They soon took root and jjriw rapidly, 

 and ere lonfj re([uired additional support: this 

 I all'orded tlicni in the shape of props four feet 

 hiflh, to which tliey were tied near the ground, 

 aud asain mar the head of the jilant, and 

 sometimes a third and fourth tinii^ before they 

 were ashij^h as the siistainiii}; jioles. 



As soon as the Rrowiu^ vines manifested a 

 disposition to llower, I beLjan to remove with 

 a sharp knife all the leavis from the jrrouud 

 al)out halfway up the stalks, and to this plan 

 I rigidly adhen'd from first to last. Two or 

 three of tlie n ost thrifty shoots sent out from 

 the main stem were permitted to grow, but 

 these also were constantly freed from all un- 

 necessary foliage in the shape of leaves. 

 Branches of fruit would form at intervals, 

 and while these, in all instances, were left, the 

 leaves l)oth above and below tliem were re- 

 moved as often as the occasion seemed to de- 

 mand it. It was continually a matter of sur- 

 prise to me how rapidly the leaves grew. I 

 think I am within boimds when I say that in 

 the height of the season a large ai-uiful of 

 leaves was cut from these eighteen phints re- 

 gularly once a week. 



When the vines were as high .as their sup- 

 ports, quite narrow stripsof board were nailed 

 on the hitter the entire length of the rows, and 

 transversely across them other strips of the 

 same kind were laid, whereon not only the 

 vines might rest when they grew higher than 

 their supports ami bent over, but likewise to 

 sustain the branches of fruit when too heavy 

 to be sujiporfed by the .stalks themselves. On 

 the top of this lattice-w(uk, as 1 may call it, 

 the process of leaf pruning went on, even to 

 the end of the season. Bunches of fine toma- 

 toes in every stage of maturity adorned the 

 plants from within a foot of the ground to 

 their outer extremity. 



Meanwhile the ground beneath was tho- 

 roughly cultivated: every few days the rake 

 was passed through it, loosening the soil, de- 

 stroying the weeds, and ])re venting it from 

 baking around the roots of the plants. In dry 

 weather they were regularly watered by hand, 

 and were not allowetl to suffer for want of 

 moisture. As the lowest and first formed fruit 

 I'ipened and was removed, the few leaves that 

 had been permitted to remain on theljranches 

 were also taken off, until finally hardly any 

 foliage was to be seen within three feet of the 

 ground, and the sun had free access to the 

 roots of the growing, bearing vines. This I 

 regard as a great advantage, and which could 

 not have been secured had the useless foliage 

 been permitted to remain and cover the 

 ground with its dense shade. 



By this plan I obtained from twenty to 

 thirty-five tomatoes from every plant : the 

 average, I suppose, was about twenty-five. I 

 presume this, when the quality of the fruit is 

 considered, to be .a fair yield; at any rate, I 

 was satisfied with it, and I saw very little on 

 market that equaled it, either in firmness or 

 fleshiness. Although the spring .set in very 

 late, my tomatoes began to ripen not long 

 after the southern article came into market, 

 and before any of my neighbors could indulge 

 in the home-grown article. It was with some 

 pride, (pardonalile, I trust,) that I called the 

 attention of chance callers to the handsome 

 clusters of every shade, from a delicate green 

 to darkest red, that were everywhere visible. 

 It is true that before they began to ripen, the 

 absence of foliage seenud at first sight to con- 

 vey the idea that the vines were more thrifty 

 than prolific, and my attention was called to 

 this fact often enough, liut I invariably asked 

 the critic to count the nundjer on a single vine, 

 when he, too, came to the conclusion that 

 twenty-live tomatoes was, jierhaps, as large a 

 yield as was usually realized from vines that 

 were permitted to grow up without support, 

 only to tumble down and cover three or four 

 square yards of garden ground planted with 

 Other vegetables. 



I do not think the foregoing was a fair test 

 of this plan. My ground is not favorably loca- 

 ted. Its eastern boundry isa high board fence, 

 winch prevents the sun from reaching the 

 plants at that end at an early hour, while on 

 the western side is a stable which obstructs 

 the sun after two o'clock in the afternoon. 

 With all these drawbacks, one plant attained 

 a length often feet, and bore several clusters 

 of line fruit within twelve (U' fifteen inches of 

 the top. The severest i)ruuing did not appear 

 to interfere with the growth, either of the 

 vines or fruit. I feid assured that had the en- 

 tire foliage been left on them, the result would 

 have liicu nuich inferior tomatoes, as well as 

 much lalrr ones. The free access of sunlight 

 to the soil stimulated the growthof the plants, 

 and its access to the growing fruit was equally 

 influential in giving color and flavor to it. In 

 a more favorable locality au<l better soil, muidi 

 better results nnghl rea.sonable be expected. — 

 F. li. U., Ldncaster, Pa. 



For T»F. I.ANCARTEH FARMCB. 



BEES AND BEE HIVES. 



Your Faumer is always a welcome visitor — 

 full of information of a useful character, if 

 liropcrly applied. Several corresiiondeufs have 

 given tlH-ir views on 15ec Culture, and I ask a 

 small jilacc in yom- colunms for a few words 

 on the same subject. I have studied the nature 

 of Bees for many years. It re(iuires time and 

 l)atience, but now 1 think I have Ix-eii ftdly 

 l)aid for all my trouble. 



First, then, as to size and shape of hive, also 

 surplus honey-ho.x. I find natural swarming 

 to be the best, as nature never madc^ a mistake 

 in her work. The hives should be made of 

 pine, one inch thick, clear of knots, ten and a 

 lialf inches s(ptare on the inside, and fifteen 

 inches high. In this size the Bees will build 

 nine straight combs, and in the fall they will 

 contain thirty pounds of honey. Twenty 

 pounds will feed the largest stock during seven 

 nu)ik,ths of winter. This amount can be, and 

 is gathered in from ten to fifteen days during 

 the white clover harvest, and I waul the 

 balance as a surplus. This I get from one box 

 on the top of the hive, which holds fifty 

 pounds, and I seldom fail to get them full. I 

 remove them in .September, therefore the bees 

 are ann<iycd only once; but when small boxes, 

 containing oidy five or six pounds are used, 

 they are required to be removed as soon as 

 full, which will be every five or six days. 

 Then there is as much time lost in getting the 

 boxes cleaned and all the corners puttied, 

 ready for work, as it takes to fill them. Count 

 this lost time of the bees and you will find 

 yourself minus at least twenty pounds of 

 iioney, besides the frequent disturbing and 

 annoyance you cause them. 



My hives are plain, with four cross sticks to 

 support the combs. The boxescontain movable 

 frames, one inch and three-sixteenths wide, 

 and a ipiarter of an inch space between for 

 room for travel. Now, with a little melted 

 Ijeeswax on the end of a stiff feather, draw a 

 line along the middle of the toji and two ends 

 of each frame, and the bees will wall on to this 

 and fill each frame with a straight worked 

 comb, and each frame can be removed with- 

 out disturbing the others. 



I learned this in the year 1840, in Valpa- 

 raiso, Chili, on board a (ierman sliii), which 

 carried fifty stock on board, bound for San 

 Francisco. I took down the model in my 

 diary, and on my return home adopted the 

 jilan, and have never desired a change. ' In 

 the winter I always put on the boxes, leaving 

 the passage way open, so that the sweat from 

 the bees niay pass ui)and evaporate, otherwi.se 

 it would drop to the bottom and form ice, and 

 in time freeze thein. AVhen new pollen is to 

 be had I shut them off from the box by ii;iss- 

 inga ]iiece of tin between the hive and the 

 box, until the first swarm comes off. I then re- 

 move the tin that they may go up and fill with 

 Iioney. believing it to be worth more than the 

 .second swarming, as this is a preventive, 

 having space for Ih'cs and room for work. 



I have received many solicitations to pur- 



chase Italian queens, or entire hives. I once 

 did i)ureliase a hive at a big figuif, and had it 

 two years, and I never got either a swarm or 

 any surplus honey ; but In-fore killing them I 

 hybridized my American black bee, whicli I 

 think is an improvement. I came to the con- 

 clusion that the Italian Ih'cs are like the 

 " natives ;" so long as they have a dollar they 

 will not work to accunndate a .store, and after 

 the hive is full they will not gather any sur- 

 plus.— M'm. I. Pijlc, Wcsl Clicster, March 

 lllh, 187G. 



For The I.ancartku Fauhcb. 

 THE HUMMING BIRD. 



On reading the interesting article on the 

 nature of the lliunming bird, in TlIK Fahmku 

 for this month, I notice dilfereiil opinions in 

 regard to their mode of living, breeding anil 

 the size of the bird. I think their foinl is in- 

 sects taken from the flowers and sonirtinics 

 from spider webs. In confirmation of this 1 

 send you a tVather taken from the tail of a 

 Humming bird, which 1 extracted from a 

 spider's web in ('hili. South America, twenty- 

 four years ago. The bird had been caught in 

 tlie web just as I came to a llower liusli in full 

 bloom, and in the bush was the spider's wel). 

 The spider was throwing his coils around tlio 

 bird, which was struggling hard to free itself. 

 With a stick I set the spider off and relea.st-il 

 the bird. I then knocked the insect on Iho 

 grouuil. It "hissed" at me and swelled up 

 as large as .a toad. It wa,s as black as coal, 

 except its legs, which were brown and very 

 long. I think it could stand at least four inches 

 from the ground. I killed it, aud then relieved 

 the bird of its netting, which was ahnosl a.s 

 strong as thread. I then drew the only llirec 

 feallu'i-s which composed its lieaiiliful tail. 

 The middle one was stiff and of a browncolor ; 

 the other two (one of whidi I send you,) were 

 of a snowy white, although, as 1 liave had 

 them since ls."):i, they have become somewhat 

 discolored. The one I send you was a little 

 longer (the length of the barnd) say a quarter 

 of an inch. The bird was a chocolate color in 

 the shade, with blue neck and green liead ; in 

 the sun it would change colors or shades. After 

 the tail was out there was not much of it— not 

 much larger than a small humlile liee. It is 

 called (iu((iiiaiiiliirnra,i<Vii rare variety of the 

 Iluinming bird. As I brought this feather 

 from a foreign country, procuring it from 

 the tail of the smallest meml)er of the feathered 

 tribe, and have preserved it since 18.")2, 1 

 thought you might consider it something of a 

 curiosity. — Wm. I. Pyle, Wtsl Clttster, March 

 2U«/i, 1870. 



« 



For The Lahcakteb FABMKn. 

 TRANSPLANTING HARDY TREES, &c. 



April is the chosen month of spring for 

 transplanting hardy trees, shrubs, lierbaceou.s 

 llowers and iiereunial vegetables, such its 

 roots of rhubarb, asjiaragiis, hoi-se radish, 

 &c.; lieavy loams sliould be well stirred .iml 

 finely broken to put about the roots in tran.s- 

 planting. The holes should be larger than the 

 extent of the roots, so that they will all be 

 spread out in their natural positions. If the 

 farmers of Lancaster county could ])erceivo 

 how much they are favored with good soil, 

 good clinrite, and tlu- line rolling lay of their 

 lands for the cultureof liirdy tree fruits, tliey 

 woulil soon make themselves and their county 

 famous for choice fruits. The farnu-rs of ( 'lies- 

 ter and Delaware counties are more advanced 

 in fruit culture, though less favored in soil, 

 climate, &e. It is not too late now to Ix-giii. 



In plaiiliiig ornamental triH'sand .shrublHTy, 

 the deciduous species should lie .set out first, 

 and as soon as frosts are over and soil fit to 

 dig in. Kver-rreens can be transplanted later; 

 yes, in May. Hardy herbaceous llowei-s .should 

 be planted early, and the more tendiT species 

 can be set out in May and .June. — IIorluMUi. 



Ask Toi'n NEiniiiioR to otiliscrllK" for Tun L*y- 

 CASTKii KviiMKii. It ih wiirtti tell ttmcs the ro8l to 

 any farmer, ijanleiior, <ir fruit irrower. Tills Is lliu 

 teslinioiiy uf some of tliu best practical mcu is Ibo 

 couulry. 



