1877.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



75 



U6C half a ton to the acre. In answer to questions 

 he said tliat the uultivation of toliacco had not in his 

 observation exliausted I lie soil ; he look good care to 

 keep the fjround in good eondition by applying tlie 

 proper f.-rtilizers. 



Mil. KKNiiiii said that in resard to the guano, it 

 Rives a i;ood healthy start lotohaeeo, but at the time 

 of euttine saw uo d'ill'erenee. We must learn to ease 

 tobaeeo ; we lietler learn to eulllvate it, however, be- 

 fore we undertake to ease it. A man shouhl not ease 

 it unless he has a pretty fjood qiianlity. It Is not 

 worth while to bepn with a few eases. 



Mr. Siiii-i-NBii said that in the use of Peruvian 

 guano lie had not observed any dlHerence from the 

 use of manure. 



Tobacco Houses. 



The (luestlon of the conBtrucliou of tobacco houses 

 was then diseussed. 



.Mit. IloovEK said it was a very imiiortant thingto 

 think about. All tobaeeo houses, he thought, should 

 have a good cellar under the whole house. A great 

 mistake is often made in stripping an<l preparing to- 

 liacco for market. Tobacco of a ecrlain grade should 

 he classed by Itself. This was not exactly on the 

 subject, huthe would throw out this liint anyway. 

 You might construct houses in a profitable way by 

 constructing them for grain bouses as well as for 

 tobaeeo houses. He would not use it for these two 

 puriMises at the same time. It could be constructed 

 ill such a way that all the timbers could be |;enioved, 

 with few exceptions. You could use your cellar for 

 storini: turnips, potatoes, &c. 



Mh. Kendio would prefer for the site of a tobacco 

 house a southeru slope. He would partition off the 

 Btripping and storing room convenient to each other. 

 He would avoid as much as jiossible all cross beams, 

 so that you can walk without stooping. There is an 

 advantage in having the doors hor.zontal instead of 

 vertical. 



Mii. M.vTEit said he had cellar under only part of 

 hisliouse; experience taught him to have a cellar 

 under the entire building. A cellar should be no less 

 than U feet deep. If we want a building for tobacco 

 we must construct it for that purix>se alone. If you 

 keep the tobacco in the dark, it will cure dark. 

 Splitting the stock in drying, he thought, should be 

 avoided . 



Referred Questions. 



The following questions were then referred : 



" What are the best methods for destroying cut 

 worms !" 



"What are the best methods for setting out to- 

 bacco plants !'' 



The former was referred to Harry Mayer, and the 

 latter to Jacob Frantz. 



Proceedings of the Bee Keepers' Association. 

 The regular meeting of the Lancaster County Bee 

 Keepers' Society was held at 2 o'clock on Saturday, 

 May 5th — Peter S. Keist, President, in the chair. 



The minutes of last meeting were read by the Sec- 

 retary, H. H. Myers, and adopted. 

 The following reports were then delivered : 

 Mk. a. H. ScilocH made a statement that he bad 

 very poor success in wintering his swarms, having 

 lost six out of eighteen. They were, however, the 

 weakest hives. 



J. T. HrBsiiEY reported that although he gave his 

 hives all the attention possible, be lust fifty out of 

 one hundred swarms. He .attribuled the trouble to 

 living in a low situation on the Conestoga, but per- 

 haps the cold weather was to blame principally for 

 the great los.s. His bees are well wintered, covered 

 and sheltered. 



E. Hersuey reported a better state of things. 

 Out of thirty-four he lost but one swarm. Kept 

 them ou a sunimer stand. Had plenty of honey, 

 and are all strong now. 



L. Fleckensteis lost four out of sixteen. Were 

 kept on summer stand, without unusual shelter, on 

 the north side of the house. 



H. Hi'BER started into the winter with seven hives, 

 and still has them all. Tliey are strong, and were so 

 in the fall. Keeps them on a summer stand. They 

 are now busy laying up their usual store. 



D. KuioEK has five stands — the same number he 

 had in the fall. They are strong, but he has fed 

 them all winter. A swarm that came late iu the fall 

 eat 20 [xiunds of sugar. 



Mr. G. E. Mextzer related that he has one hun- 

 dred and twenty swarms iu Fulton county, which 

 have all stood the winter remarkably well. In 

 August he transferred ten swarms and lost them all. 

 He is not in thehabitof sheltering his hives in winter. 

 Being blooilless he does not believe bees freeze so 

 soon as is generally supposed. This gentleman had 

 a patent hive for exhibition, which was carefully ex- 

 amined by the members present. 



A discussion followed this gentleman's remarks on 

 bees freezing. It was held by several members that 

 It was common for bees to become so numb by ex- 

 posure, that although the hives were full of honey 

 they virtually starved from not being able to reach 

 their food. Some held that bees were easily frozen 

 to death, while others believed the contrary. 



John Dk kki. reported his single hive as having 

 wintered well in the garret. 

 Mr. H. H. Mters, the Secretary, reported his 



hives as having done reasonably well, as he lost two 

 out of twelve. He fed them abundantly during the 

 cold weather. 



Mr. Heist, the President, said he bad finyswarnis 

 in the fall, but lost ten swarms, which he attriliutcd 

 more to neglect than anything else. His bees were 

 flying about on nearly every fair day during the cold 

 season. 



W. H. Detweii.er's success was not very good- 

 he having lost about 40 per cent, of his swarms, but 

 he hopes to builil tlieni up If the year is favorable. 

 Keferred iiucstioiis were called up. The first was : 

 " What are the advantages of the movable comb 

 hive over the box liive^' 



Mr. H(!Beii gave a number of reasons why the 

 former were superior. The Secretary had both kinds; 

 he had one box hive, and the swarm that lives in it is 

 the vcrv best he owns. 



The next question was, " What is the advantage 

 of the Italian over the Black bees ?" 



Mr. Fi.eikknstein eonld not see much difference 

 between the two, except that the former are more 

 peaceable. 



Mil. Myers was entirely in favor of the Italians — 

 was in favor of getting rid of the black ones by ban- 

 ishmtMit. 



Mu. E. Hkrsiiky thought the only advantage of 

 the Italians was their ability to extract honey from 

 red cliiver blossoms. 



.Mii. .1. F. Hersiiev said mist.akes were often made 

 in coiilbuiiding pure and hybrid queens. Italians 

 stored honey faster than the others— often the for- 

 mer gathered a large surplus while the others lould 

 not gather enough to sustain themselves. The Ital- 

 ians were, besides, cleaner than the blacks and could 

 whip them. 

 The third cpiestion was, " Can bees bear?" 

 On this point Mr. Hershey gave an atllrmative 

 opinion, founded on certain noises made by the queen 

 at certaiu times. If the (lueeii is laid ajiart from the 

 hive the peculiar humming made by her is at ouce 

 noticed, and they seek her. 



Mr. Myers also believed bees hear; if a bee is 

 taken up in the hanii and held, (its wings being al- 

 lowed to vibrate,) it at once attracts the attention of 

 the rest. 



.Mr. Fleokenstein was also of this opinion, which 

 he sujiported by various arguments. 



The Iburth question was, " Which is the quickest 

 and best way to hive a natural swarm of bees?" 



Mr. Fleckenstein and others participated in the 

 discussion. 



Mr. Hobkr was of the opinion that the bees should 

 be emptied in front of the hive and allowed to go into 

 it themselves. If put into the hive they often come 

 out again. 



Mk. J. F. Hershey described several modes of 

 securing natural swarms. 



Mr. Mextzer thought natural swarming was a 

 humbug. He believed in the artificial process ; you 

 can in this way produce artificial swarming or pre- 

 vent swarming altogether. 



Mr. Hershey wished to know whether, if a hive 

 swarmed naturally, we were to let them go! Some- 

 times a hive will swarm while it has ample room aud 

 ventilation. 



Mr. Fleckenstein also believed there was no 

 way to prevent swarming. 



The President interrupted the regular course of 

 business by calling upon Mr. .Mculzer to give his 

 views on tiie question of bees attacking fruit. The 

 latter gentleman related how he h.id walcheil bees in 

 their visits to vineyards and graperies, but found that 

 thev invariably went to Iruit which had already liecn 

 attacked, but never did any damage to perfect fruit. 

 .\lR. J. F. Hershey coniirmed .Mr. .Mentzer's \icvi . 

 Never knew bees (o attack sound fruit — they always 

 go to such as is already injured. 



Mr. Huber agreed with the above ; his experience 

 was similar. 



Mr. Fi.eckexstein has grapes all around his 

 bees, but the bees have never injured them; the 

 bunches hang all around the hives. 



E. Hersuey also spoke in favor of the bees; in 



fact, the opinion of the members was unanimous in 



rejecting the the theory of bees attacking sound fruit. 



The 5th question was, "Which is the best way to 



introduce a strange queeu nto a colony of bees i" 



Mr. .1. F. Hershey gave his experience on this in- 

 teresting question at length. His plan is to put the 

 stranger queen into a wire cage and hang it into the 

 hive lor several days until she acijuircs the scent 

 cominou to the bees in the hive, when she may be 

 liberated. If honey is plenty the danger to the 

 queen is not so great; but i( it is scarce this is not 

 the ease, and the (lucen is likely to lie stung. 



Qnestion (Itli and last was, "Which is the best way 

 to transfer from box to luovalilc frame hives i" 



Mr. J. F. IlERsnEV gave an elaborate description 

 of his method, which was very interesting, but too 

 technical for any reporter to follow or to attempt to 

 report correctly. 



Mr. Fleckensteik also- related his experience, 

 which agreed in most particulars with that of the 

 last speaker. 



The question whether brood can be successfully 

 produced in March was also taken up. J. F. 

 Hershey's opinion was that occasionally it could be 

 done, but succesa was exceptional. 



A special question was taken up. 



"How near the ground ought a hive to be placed 

 during the summer?" 



Mr. Hershky thought the hives ought to be ele- 

 vated very little above the ground; in this way the 

 bees are removed from the higher currents of air, 

 and reach their hives more easily. 



Mr. .Myers thought they should he nearly If not 

 quite on the ground. He means so to place his hives 

 iic.vt spring. Wlien too near the ground the bees 

 furnish toads with many hearty meals. 



The President suggested to the members that they 

 observe the comparative elfei'ts of natural and arti- 

 ficial swarming, to find out which process gives the- 

 bcst results. 



There lieing no other business before the society, 

 it adjourned until the second Monday In October. 



The Linnxan Society. 



The Linii'.i'an Soeietv held their stated meeting on 

 Saturday, April '^s, Isfr. President, Itcv. . I. S. Stahr, 

 in the chair, and nine mcmliers present. The pre- 

 liminary business heingaltciided to, the few donations 

 to the museum were found to consist of a fine mount- 

 ed specimen of the coot or nunl-hen ( FuUra Atncri- 

 cum,) shot on the 'Jlst iiisl., by Mr. II. 11. Kohrer, 

 near Paradise, in this countv, who left It In the care 

 of S. S. P.athvon. Mr. K. fearing it might spoil if 

 longer ke)it, had it skinned and mounted at a cost of 

 $J.50, without consulting Mr. Uohrcr, supfiosing 11 

 was intended for the society, and so paiil for it. A 

 specimen of oxide of iron fouml by .Mr. .Julius Shu- 

 nian, near the borough of Washington, who talks of 

 sinking a shaft, that possibly an out-crop of the 

 Chestuut Hill ore bank might" be unearthed in that 

 place. A charred "bracket," rescued from the fire 

 that consumed the Market street bridge, of Phlladel- 

 pliia, a short time ago, per Mr. Andrew Meixel. 

 This bracket a hundred years hence of the renowned 

 structure called the "permanent bridge" may be- 

 come valuable as a historical relic. To the historical 

 section wen' added, also, two envelopes containing 

 27 clippings from papers per S. S. Kathvon. Our 

 library was improved by having liU volumes Ixiund of 

 various works received in numbers. Through the 

 kindness of .Mr. Stone, librarian of the Pennsylvania 

 Historical Society, we received 14 numbers, a series 

 of reports of the regents of the New York university 

 of natural history. Also, from Mr. Win. Saunders, 

 editor of the r'anadian KiiUiiiiolngint, No. 12, of the 

 volume for ISTfi, containing an illustrated list and de- 

 scription of the Canthariilir. On motion a vote of 

 thanks was given to both gentlemen for their dona- 

 tions. Catalogues of publishing houses and book 

 notices were also received, and the April number of 

 The Laxi aster Farmer. 



Papers were then read from corresponding mem- 

 bers. No. .504, on the albinism found in various 

 species ami genera of birds that came under the 

 notice of W.J. Hoffman, M. D., of Keading, who 

 describes the abnormal appearance in plumage such 

 as white or partially white blackbirds, itows, robins, 

 itc, both interesting and curious to the naturalist. 

 No. .5fi5, written by Mr. A. F. Kirlin, of Heading, 

 was a highly interesting document on archneological 

 research an*l dis^-overias made. The members pres- 

 ent express their thanks to their worthy correspond- 

 ents of Keading, and assun- them that their conimu- 

 nieatioiis were gratefully received. This being chiefly 

 a business meeting, the secretary reiiorted that in 

 compliance with the request of the society at the 

 meetings previous, he had 11)0 circulars printed and 

 tilled out, enclosed in envelopes, addressed to delin- 

 quent members ami queried as to getting them dis- 

 tributed. When the following resolutions were 

 otfered and adopted : 



Jlemlved, That the secretary be authorized to send 

 them to the parties addressed by mail, at the expense 

 of the society, and that those who receive them will 

 please call and pay the same to the treasurer of the 

 society, S. S. Hathvon, 101 .\orth Queeu street, who 

 is authorized to receive the same. 



Hrxolfnl, That as the funds of the treasury are 

 more than exhausted, in the necessity of meeting bills 

 due, for binding many valuable volumes, as ordered 

 by the society to improve their library, it is hoped 

 that the members will feel it a pleasure, as well as 

 their duly, to respond prom[itly and make payment. 

 Mrs. Zell laid on the table tlie early saxifrage and 

 tooth wart, culled in the vicinity. The Saiifraga 

 riri/lniensis, so naineil by Micheaux, is common on 

 exposed rocks. JThe other is the Denlaria, first 

 found aud described by our fellow-citizen of Njtanlc 

 fame, Ur. .Muhlenberg", as the D. laciniata, grows in 

 rich soil. Under scicutifle gossip, various topics 

 were discussed. Mr. A. F. Hostetter suggested the 

 propriety of Inciting the address of .Mr. Bear on the 

 Pennsylvania Germans, and a sketch lately publish- 

 ed in reference to Ephrata, to file away among our 

 historical archives. After some pleasant interchange 

 of thought and opinions, the bills for binding books 

 J25.14, for printing blanks $1.15, and j»stage ;10 

 cents, were presented and ordered to be paid. A 

 motion to adjourn, and make room for the bound 

 books, was then made, and a lock and key ordered 

 to be provided, when the society adjourned to meet 

 on Saturday, the :i6th day of May, 1877. 



