1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR]MER. 



439 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING. 



At jilate vif^it to the apiary of Mr. John J. Goukl, 

 of Wcnham, Mass., I saw and heard so much that 

 was interesting to me, that I think a brief notice 

 will interest the readers of the Faumeu. Though 

 engaged in the business of manufacturing, Mr. 

 Gould finds time to manage an apiary of some 85 

 swar.ns, and having kept bees for some 35 years, 

 his practices and suggestions may be safely re- 

 ceived as practical. He uses the Langstroth hive, 

 but with an improvement of his own, which he 

 calls the "doul)le hive," on which he can put four- 

 teen l)oxes of a .-ize to contain three and a quarter 

 pounds each of honey. He has also developed and 

 made more practical than has ever l)een clone be 

 fore, an idea suggested by Mr. Langstroth. He 

 has a sort of drawer, about three inches deep, filled 

 with two rows of corn cobs — this drawer has only 

 light slats for a bottom, just sufflcient to keep the 

 cobs in place. The honey board is removed and 

 this drawer put in its place. The bees will attach 

 themselves to these cobs, which serve the double 

 purpo-e of keeping them warm and carrying off 

 the m()i-;ture. With this simple arrangement the 

 hives remain upon the stand all winter, with safe- 

 ty, without any other protection. 



From forty-five of his hives, Mr. Gould has 

 already taken this season one ton of honey ! But 

 last year, although he expended some $200 upon 

 his bees, tliey laid up no surplus honey. This 

 year he expects to realize at least one thousand 

 dollars. We had the pleasure of seeing about two 

 hundred of these i)0xes in a finishing room, where 

 two interesting young ladies were labelling them 

 for market. Cannot the Farmer send a photo- 

 grapher to Wcnham and give us astocct pi ture, — 

 one that will induce others to engage in bee-keep- 

 ing? 



Mr. Gould has the Italian Queens and has been 

 very successful in rearing and transferring them. 



w. 



[ 



SWELLING AFTER SCRATCHES. 



Can any one tell me through the Farmer what 

 will cure a swelling on a horse caused liy scratches. 

 I have a vahialjle horse that has one of thes^e 

 swellings. He had the scratches some eight or 

 ten weeks ago, when his leg was as large as a 

 common stove pipe, but the swelling is noAv con- 

 siderably 1 educed. Is there any cure ? 



Jones Kingsland. 



Ferrisbimjh, Vt., July 27, 1867. 



Remarks. — In the treatment of diseases it is 

 very important to know the cau^e and nature of 

 the disease, and we think the following somewhat 

 leng.liy remarks by Mr. Youatt on the subject of 

 Grease, or Scratches, will interest not only our 

 coriesiiondent, Ijut all who have the management 

 of horses, especially those troubled with this filthy 

 disorder, which we believe is far less common in 

 this country than in England, where Mr. Youatt 

 wrote. 



In explaining the cause of Scratches, or Grease 

 as it is called in England, he says, "there is a pe- 

 culiarity about the skin of the heel of the horse. 

 In its healthy state there is a secretion of greasy 

 matter from it, in order to prevent excoriation and 

 chapping, and the skin is soft and pliable. Too 

 of:en, ho>vevcr, from liad management, the secre- 

 tion of this greasy matter is stopped or altered, 

 and the skin of the heel becomes red, and dry, 

 and scurfy. The joint still continuing to be ex.- 



tended and flexed, cracks of the skin begin to ap- 

 pear, and these, if neglected, rapidly extend, and 

 the heel becomes a mass of soreness and ulcera- 

 tion. 



The distance of the heel from the centre of cir- 

 culation, and the position of the hind limbs, ren- 

 der the return of blood slow and difficult. There 

 is also more variation of temperature here than in 

 any other part of the frame. As the horse stands 

 in the closed stable, the heat of this part is too 

 often increased by its being imbedded in straw. 

 When the stable door is open the heels are nearest 

 to it, and receive first, and most powerfully, the 

 cold current of air. When he is taken from his 

 stable to work, the heels are frequently covered 

 with mire and wet, and they are oftenest and most 

 intensely chilled by the long and slow process of 

 evaporation which is taking place from them. 

 Everything that has a tendency to excite inflam- 

 mation in the skin of the heel is a cause of grease. 

 No one, then, can wonder at the frequency with 

 which the heels, especially the hind ones, are .it- 

 tackcd by inflammation, and the difficulty there is 

 in subduing it." 



Nor need we wonder that after the chaps or 

 cracks have healed, that the legs should continue 

 swelled. The horse may be benefited by gentle 

 purgatives, or a few weeks at pasture. The local 

 applications should be directed to the abatement 

 of inflammation. Mr. Youatt recommends highly 

 a poultice of carrots boiled soft and mashed, 

 "diligently used night and day," also a flannel 

 bandage evenly applied over the whole of the 

 swelled part. 



AVHAT SHALL I DO "WITH THE BIRDS ? 



This is a question on which I have bestowed 

 mu(h thought. They took my early peas, and 

 then my cherries and early fruits to such an extent 

 that I began to fear that I sro(jd a very small 

 chance for a tithing of the crop. They were so 

 very cool about the matter, too, that it seemed to 

 me they supposed the title was vested in them, 

 and I had no rights to cither vegetalile or fruits, 

 which liirds were bound to respect. Be thi.-^ as it 

 may, one thing is sure, they were bound to have 

 the' first chanc'e, fur however early I might appear 

 upon the ground I was sure to find tluy had the 

 start of me. I must confess to ha\ ing my patience 

 seven ly tried, and my taith shaken in the theory 

 of their destruction of in ects lacing a compensa- 

 tion to 77ie for the loss 1 knew I was sustaining, 

 fliese los;es were incontrovcrtiblj fa ts; tlieir 

 murderous work on insects and other foes to vege- 

 tation, an open quesiion, so f.ir at least as some of 

 them are concerned — the robin, cat-bird, oriole and 

 wren, for instance. 1 own to making UKiuiry of 

 my son one e vening re.'-pccting powder, and shot 

 and gun, with malice aforethought towards them 

 in my heart ; but the night's sleep so far modified 

 my purpose that I gave it up for the present. I 

 have ever defended the ungrateful rogues, and 

 begged the boys to spare them, contending that 

 they paid in song for all the fruit they took, on the 

 principle that the honking of a neighbor's wild 

 gander paid for his keeping ! If a person happens 

 to be located where not much fruit is cultivated, 

 and tries to raise some himself he will find he is a 

 serious sufferer, and will be likely to suspect 

 that the birds located their nests just around him 



