1879.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



191 



cutter,) and the greener the hay the better. Cut 

 the hay as short as oats, or shorter, ami mix with 

 bran shorts or middllnEs and feed as other food. 

 Hogs soon learn to lilte it, and if soaked in swill, as 

 other slop food, is highly relished by them. In 

 winter use lor the hogs the same hay as you leed to 

 your horses, and you will find that while it saves 

 bran, shorts or other food, it puts on flesh as rapidly 

 as anything that can be given them. The use of hay 

 can be commenced as early as the grass will do to 

 cut, and when run through the cutting box can be 

 used to advantage by simply soaking in fresh water 

 until it sours." 



Cracked Heels. 

 Exposure to wet and mud, scarcely avoidable in 

 autumn, will surely produce cracked heels in horses, 

 unless precautions arc used. When the cracks are 

 once formed, they arc ditlicult to heal, because at 

 every motion of the foot they are opened and the 

 granulations are disturbed. Prevention consists in 

 frequent cleansing of the feet by washing with clear 

 water and wiping dry at once with a cloth or towel 

 kept for the purpose. The dryine of water upon 

 the skin is injurious, and should be carefully avoided. 

 A little of the veterinary cosmoline, or even crude 

 petroleum, which is the basis of the cosmoline, 

 applied in the morning before the horses are taken 

 out, will prevent mischief, and the same remedy, 

 with regular cleansing with soap and water, will 

 cure cracks very rapidly. If the cracks are severe, 

 from neglect or otherwise, the pastern should be 

 protected by wrapping a bandage around it. 



Wnhorning Calves. 

 The horns of cows seem to be neither ornamental 

 nor useful. As a means of warfare they can have 

 consideration, but warfare and goring is precisely 

 what we desire to keep away from the barnyard. 

 English farmers, where herds are probably more 

 precious and closer confined than in America, have 

 introduced the practice of unhorning cattle by clip- 

 ping the short projections in calves, when half an 

 inch long, using simply a strong pair of shears. It 

 is true it hurts the calves somewhat. There will be 

 a little bleeding, but that will stop in an hour or two, 

 and the calves will soon resume eating. 



Apiary. 



Dysentery as a Bee Disease. 



At the late meeting of the National Bee Keepers' 

 association at Chicago, Mr. E. Rood read an essay 

 on this subject, which we give somewhat condensed: 

 Foul-brood I believe has often been conquered, and 

 the bees, hives, combs and honey saved, but it is 

 not one-thousandth part as destructive as dysentery. 

 Let us endeavor to find the cause and cure of the 

 latter disease. It is true that in the northern states 

 there has been a coiueidenee with the extreme cold 

 winters and the dysentery; but has this disease never 

 made its appearance in mild winters or milder lati- 

 tudes? Has it not been fully as destructive in 

 scientifically protected apiaries as those on their 

 summer stands without protection ? Few will doubt 

 that bees properly protected in winter are far more 

 exempt from ordinary casualties. Many know that 

 the best of atmospheric protection will not ward oil' 

 this disease. If the extreme cold causes it, we must 

 suppose that Maine, Vermont, Poland, Northern 

 Russia and Siberia, must import fresh colonies every 

 Spring, for those states have as long and continu- 

 ously cold a winter every year as New York, Michi- 

 gan and many other localities in similar thermal 

 latitudes had last winter, and the winters that the 

 disease visited us some few years since with such 

 fatal and wide spread results. 



Again, the disease has been charged to the juice 

 of the apple ; but is it not a fact that the disease 

 prevailed in many apiaries out of the reach of cider 

 mills ? It has been supposed and asserted that it 

 was caused by late-gat lieri'd thin honey, and that 

 this soured before it was sufficiently evaporated to 

 be capped over. With the splendid dry autumns in 

 this latitude (especially that of last fall), is such a 

 cause possible ? I do not think so ; but for the sake 

 of the argument, suppose some honey of that kind 

 is gathered. Is it not probable that every drop was 

 consumed between the first killing frost and the time 

 the weather was too cold for them to.take purifying 

 flights ? Two other obstacles are presented to the 

 theory and reasoning of the beneflts of purifying 

 flights, and capped or thick honey. We know, and 

 assert without fear of successful contradiction, that 

 they died as rapidly when being fed exclusively upon 

 thick, capped honey, gathered in the preceding June 

 and July, and with the purifying flights of from 

 once in two weeks to every day, from the middle of 

 March to the time of fruit bloom. I am giving facts 

 that occurred under my own observation, at a cost 

 of twenty colonies, strong, well packed with chaff, 

 with proper ventilation, and on their summerstands. 



We, as well as many others, have lost as large a 

 proportion of our bees from dysentery, when housed 

 in perfectly constructed and ventilated depositories, 

 as when left on their summerstands. You, nodoubt, 



expected me to give some preventive or remedy for 

 this fearful disease. I know of none. I can guess 

 that to extract all of their honey in the fall and feed 

 them sufllcieut of sugar syrup they would winter 

 well on it alone, or upon sugar candy, into which a 

 proper proportion of rye meal, or some other substi- 

 tute for pollen, was subsiltuted ; that they will live 

 for at least six weeks upon plain sugar candy, placed 

 ill close contact and at the top of the cluster, I 

 know ; that all the liiincy gathered in the summer 

 months, which is thick and capped over, is not good 

 to prevent dysentery, I know ; that the disease is 

 caused by honey-dew, I suspect; that it maybe 

 caused by a condition of the at3iosphei'c,l8 |>os8ible. 



How Far Bees Will go for Honey. 



The precise distance that bees will lly in search of 

 forage I am unable to stale. Some consider three 

 miles the extreme limit, while others place It as 

 high as twelve. The most satisfactory results may 

 be expected if abundant stores can be found within 

 two miles, ft is evident that they will work more 

 freely ui>on blossoms at some little distance from 

 the apiary than uix)n those close by. If I were to 

 sow anything with a view to a supply of honey, 1 

 would prefer that it should not be in the immediate 

 vicinity of the hives. Their flights arc evidently 

 modlfled by local conditions. During the large yield 

 from basswood in 18T4, as the blossoms failed in the 

 valley, the bees continued bringing in the same 

 quality of honey, following the basswood day by day, 

 as it opened on the hills, until the first week In 

 August, when they still came in heavily loaded but 

 very tired from a long flight. I drove to the hills, 

 six miles distant, and found that basswood was just 

 there coming in bloom. I iininediately moved 48 

 swarms to this location, and in the following week 

 these 48 colonies gave me one ton of surplus honey, 

 while the 71 swarms left at home did not secure 

 one-half that amount, yet they continued working 

 on the same ground during the entire period. This 

 is a flue illustration of the advantage of obtaining 

 forage within a reasonably short distance. I have 

 never had direct pronf lu the ellVc-.t (yet there is 

 ground for the bclict ) ilui ii Imiiry could not be 

 found nearer the li.i-u,,i;M m! lly the di.stance 

 named without bein- ^ijlii, I, i, 1..! ainngby newly- 

 opening blossoms, a^ in tin' ■ a-ic mentioned. — 

 Quiitby's Xriit Bee-Keepinr/. 



Profitable Bees. 



A well-known bee-keeper gives in the American 

 Bee Journal a report of his profits from bee-keeping 

 for the past seven years. He says : 



"Our average yield for each colony in the spring 

 of 187:5, was t^O pounds; in 1^74, a fraction of a pound 

 less than a hundred; in 187.5, a little over lOii; in 

 l,s76, just 50; in 1877, a little less than lfi7; 1878, 71; 

 and in 187il— the present season — .5S pounds, making 

 an average yield of a little over 00 pounds per colony 

 for the term of mvi-m years. By looking over our 

 diary we asci rtain thai, nur honey was sold at an 

 average pricL- nt :.■! > , iinis per pound, the highest 

 price havinir l"iii ohiairn-.i (28',.ic.) in 1874, and the 

 lowest (10;<4C.) ill 1S7>;. 



"From past experience, we believe a thorough 

 practical workingman can do all the work required 

 to be done with 100 colonies of bees, and from the 

 above he should obtain for an average term of years 

 (>,000 pounds annually, which at '^I'/ic. per pound 

 would bring him a yearly income of $1,912,50. 

 Although the average yield per colony for seven 

 years to come may be increased, yet the price during 

 that time is likely to be lower, as the high prices 

 caused by the war' are passed, and unless we have 

 some unforseen event to raise the price of honey; it 

 will probably never bring 28 cents per pound again. 

 Still, with a much lower price for honey than that 

 averaged for the last seven years beekeeping ranks 

 favorably with almost any other pursuit." 



Wonderful Feats with Bees. 

 The Prince of Wales, who manifested so much in- 

 terest in the honey recently exhibited in the Kilburn 

 Show, has been presented with an American beehive. 

 To Mr. Hodge, who explained the method of operat- 

 ing the hive, the Prince expressed an opinion that 

 the stories recoi-ded of Mr. Wildman's command 

 over bees must, to a great extent, have been mythi- 

 cal ; but Mr. Hodge assured his Koyal Highness that 

 he could demonstrate to him that they were quite 

 possible, and, acting upon his assertion, he moved 

 his hand about for a little while among the sw^irm 

 of live bees which he had with him, when they began 

 to cluster about his right hand, assuming the shape 

 and appearance of a huge bunch of grapes. He 

 then worked amongst the bees with his left hand, 

 and at the word of command they began to shift 

 and settle upon it, then placing a little tube, madcof 

 wire guuz, between his teeth, the bees began to ac- 

 cumulate about his face and hang like a long beard 

 from his chin. He next coaxed the bees back into 

 the hive. Mr. Thurber, the honey merchant, says 

 that the secret of Mr. Hodge's and also Mr. Wild- 

 man's control over their bees, lies in securing the 

 queen bee, which in Mr. Hodge's case was confined 

 in a wire lube, which all the bees followed from one 

 place to another. 



Poultry. 



Fattening Turkeys. 

 It is a goodly sight, as the summer days wane, to 

 see the flocks ol^ turkeys coming home from the 

 woods and pastures at nightfall with full crops. If 

 the farm has not been overstocked with these birds, 

 they have very largely made their living upon grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, worms and other small fi;y. The 

 regular food they have had has been rather to keep 

 them wonted than to supply any lack of forage. As 

 the cool nights come on and the supply of insects 

 declines, the business of fattening projieriy coa- 

 menccB. It should be remembered that plump, well- 

 dressed turkeys not only bring a higher price in mar- 

 ket, but enhance the reputation of the producer, and 

 make his market sure for future years. The turkey 

 Is one of the fluished products of the farm and one 

 of the greatest luxuries in the market. The farmer 

 should do his best in preparing his flock for the 

 shambles. The main business now is to lay on fat, 

 and the bird should have every night and morning a 

 full supply of nutritious and fattening food. In- 

 stinctively the turkey follows his feed, and if the 

 supply Is abundant at the farm yard he will not stroll 

 far from home. Boiled |K>tatoe!i, mashed and mixed 

 with meal, and fed moilerately warm, is a very ex- 

 cellent feed both to promote growth and to fatten. 

 If the pigs can be robbed of a part of the hot pota- 

 toes and meal, it will very much improve the dish. 

 It is very desirable to supply the place of insects 

 with some kind of animal food, iin i butchers' 

 scraps is one of the cheapest and lu ■' desirable 

 forms of food for poultry. tJraIn should be given at 

 least once a day with the soft and warm feed. 

 Nothing is better than sound corn. The Northern 

 corn is thought to contain more oil than that of 

 Southern growth. Old corn should always be used 

 for this purpose. The new corn keeps them too 

 loose. In feeding only so much corn should be 

 thrown out as the birds will eat up clean. Take a 

 little time to feed them, and study icsthetics as you 

 watch the iridescent hues upon the glossy plumage. 

 There is nothing more charming u|K>n the farm In 

 the whole circle of the year than a hundred or two 

 of these richly-bronzed turkeys feeding near the corn 

 crib. You can afford to enjoy the disappearance of 

 corn while the turkeys are increasing in weight. 



Poultry Interests of America. 



In speaking of the poultry interests, I refer princi- 

 pally to the breeding of pure bred stock for pleasure 

 or profit. A glance at a few simple statistics will 

 surprise even those who have heretofore considered 

 themselves posted. .Mark the change in a few years. 

 Ten years ago not a paper in the country was pub- 

 lished in the interests of poultry; to-day there are 

 more than a dozen, with a combined circulation of 

 upwards of thirty thousand subscribers. We can 

 add to this nearly a hundred agricultural papers 

 which devote a department to this now important 

 branch of farm industry. A few years ago there 

 might have been found a breeder here and there in 

 the Eastern States; now they may be found in every 

 part of the country, and are numbered by the tens 

 of thousands. Tlien not an exhibition was made; 

 to-day there already over forty advertised to be hclil 

 in various parts of the country, and as many more 

 will be held later on. Even Oregon holds its State 

 exhibition. In every New England state there will 

 be from two to half-a-dozen exhibitions, and in New 

 York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana, there will 

 be six to ten each, and sixteen states are represented 

 in some way. The cash premiums alone at these 

 exhibitions will exceed one hundred thousand 

 dollars. 



That this interest at the present time is growing 

 more rapidly than ever before is apparent upon 

 every side. With the improvement that is now 

 taking place in business circles in every part of the 

 country, the interest in fine stock, including poultry, 

 will also secure a flrmer hold. The good prices of 

 the past will be fully maintained in the future, and 

 really extra choice specimens will yet And purchasers 

 at the figures obtained in England, where the "gold 

 cup" prize Black Red Game cockerel at the Crystal 

 Palace exhibition in 1877 sold for £100 lOs, (nearly 

 ?500.) Within two months, 8l(iO has been offered 

 in New England for single birds of this season's 

 breeding.— 3". F. F. 



Poultry Breeding. 



Within the past few years public attention has 

 been repeatedly called to the question of poultry 

 breeding, and great surprise has been manifested at 

 the flgures given by those who speak with authority. 



Every village and hamlet in our country has been 

 reached by the "fancy," and the story Is being 

 everywhere told of flue feathers, large size, high 

 scoring pedigree birds. To have claimed a pedigree 

 for a hen ten years ago would have entitled a man to 

 a certi^cate of admission to an Insane asylum ; yet 

 to-day we flnd that among our most reliable breeders 

 are those who keep an authentic pedigree of their 

 stock. 



