1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



537 



of bee-bread, and others do not. His bees must 

 leave off breeding very early in tlie summer, to 

 have them die of old age. Bees hatched in Sep- 

 tember can be found in the hive in April, and May, 

 often. This any bee-keeper can vouch for, who 

 has had an Italian queen introduced in the month 

 of September. 



Broods cannot be found in any hive which has 

 not been fed, later than October 1.5, and in most 

 hives after October 1st. I do not want my bees 

 to commence breeding earlier than the first of 

 March, and then, if we have a few warm days, I 

 give them a substitute for bee-bread, which they 

 will can y in enough of, in one hour, to last them 

 two or three weeks. I mix wheat flour with rye 

 meal, and they will carry in as much of it in one 

 hour, as thc.y will of rye meal in six. 



If "F.," or any other bee-keeper, will put some 

 rye meal in a warm place in the spring, and after 

 the bees are well at work, put in some flour with 

 the meal, he will soon see ten bees where there 

 was only one before. I have used flour for a num- 

 ber of years, and I never knew or heard that any 

 other bee-keeper in the country used it. If "F." 

 will come to Wenham, I will show him fifty-one 

 stocks of bees, which did not have in September, 

 1866, one ]iound o!' honey to a hive ; and now those 

 fifty-one stocks have increased to eighty-five, and 

 have stored one ton of svrphis honey. 



The colonies which carry in rye meal first, and 

 seem to work in it most, always prove to be the 

 ones which swarm first, and store the most honey. 

 We have lost bees in the same way in which "F." 

 has ; but we know that they starved with plenty 

 of honey in the combs. There was no winter pas- 

 sage through the combs. Out of thirty Lang- 

 stroth's hives, which one bee-keeper wintered bees 

 in last winter, only one was lost; and in this one 

 he failed to make the winter passages through the 

 combs. H. Alley. 



Wenham, Mass., 1867. 



APPLE BLOSSOM — aUERY. 



Why is it that the apple trees which flowered so 

 abundantlv last spring, have so little fruit on tht-ni ? 

 Because the vitaliiy of the trees was so far exhaust' din 

 maturir.g so many flowers that they were unable to car- 

 ry out fruit —Farmington, Me., Chronicle 



Think so ? Nature at fault ! Did you ever 

 know a good apple crop when there was a scarcit}^ 

 of flowers ? Rather, there is a defect in the flow- 

 ers thcni>elves,or there is some unfavorable influ- 

 ence which acts upon the flowers to destroy their 

 vitality, to be looked for, than a superabundance. 



"We cannot conceive that it much more seriously 

 exhausts a tree to produce a crop of flowers than 

 a crop of leaves. It is the fruit which calls for 

 and must be supplied with material or food that 

 exhausts. 



There is sometimes a disparity in the relative 

 proportion of the sexes, observable in the flowers 

 of the apple tree, as well as in other fruit flowers, 

 well knowu to horticulturists as a cause of ste- 

 rility. 



Climatic changes will be shown, probably before 

 many years, from careful observations, now being 

 made in this State and Massachusetts, to account 

 forniuch of the disappointment which we occasion- 

 ally experience when our orchards are seen to be 

 in full bloom, and we confidently expect an apple 

 crop. 



Just how hot, or just how cold it has to be to 

 destroy the Iflossoms is not, as yet, ascertained, as 

 far as I am aware ; but it is found that there is 

 moie danger from heat than from cold, at the sea- 

 son of rtowerage. 



An extreme hot afternoon with a clear sun- 

 shine, the glory and beauty of the day and of the 

 season, and in one to three days look at your 



beautifully full blown apple trees and, behold, 

 where are those delicately variegated flowers, in 

 which, but as yesterday, the hum of a thousand 

 voices might be heard ? They are withered, 

 scorched, dried up and falling otf, by a kiss from 

 old Sol, as he came forth in liis glory, to bid the 

 earth awake and bring forth her fruit in due sea- 

 son. O. W. True. 

 Farmington, Me., Sept. 27, 1867. 



CATTLE STANCHIOXS. 



In your last issue 1 notice a communication 

 from "A. L. W.," Hope, Me., informing us that he 

 uses a "kind of stanchion for cattle that are as easy 

 as chains, while they are more safe, convenient, 

 and much better every way ;" but he neglected to 

 tell us how they are constructed. 



As I feel much interest for the comfort of all 

 dumb beasts, and especially in keeping cows neat 

 and clean, as well as safe and comfortaijlc, I would 

 be obliged to him if he would inform us through 

 the columns of the Farmer, how to construct 

 the stanchion he uses. 



HARVESTIXG WHEAT. 



Why will not farmers learn to cut their wheat 

 while the kernel is soft ? By doing so they would 

 get more and much better iiour, than they do to 

 let it stand till it is fully ripe, and also avoid much 

 of the risk of rain storms during the harvest, as 

 it will bear more wet without injury than when 

 ripe. L. D. Corliss. 



Oxford, N. H., Aug. 21, 1867. 



CURES for CATARRH. 



I see an inquiry for a cure for chronic catarrh, 

 in your paper, which I think I can answer satisfac- 

 torily, though I am not an M. D., nor the son of 

 an M. D. If "C. A. M." will smoke a pipeful of 

 smoking tobacco, three times a day, in an ordinary 

 pipe and swallow the smoke, then hreathe it out of 

 the nostrils, and continue it faithfully for two 

 months I am confident the catarrh will leave him 

 as it did me after being afflicted two years. 



Ripon, Vt., Sept. 28, 1867. RusTiCUS. 



Remarks. — We think if the catarrh didn't leave 

 after such treatment it must be a pretty tough 

 customer. While our hand is in, we may as well 

 give another "cure," and save somebody a doctor's 

 hill. Take a teaspoonful each of sulphur and of 

 tar, and after mixing them well together set fire to 

 the compound and inhale the smoke; having first 

 cleared the nose and head by the use of snuff, or 

 salt and water. 



COAL TAR FOR A ROOF. 



I wish for the necessary information as to time 

 and manner of applying coal tar to the roof of a 

 barn whi. h was built the present season, and cov- 

 ered with sawed fir shingles. The size of the 

 building is 25x40. Roof rather steep. About 

 what quantity will it need ? 



Stephen Chandler. 



Fryeburg, Me., Sept. 23, 1867. 



Remarks. — We cannot answer these questions. 

 Our impression is that it would he better to employ 

 an experienced workman, than to attempt to do 

 the job yourself. 



cure and prevention of botts. 



Take of mullein roots (or roots and leaves, or 



leaves or the top in blossom) tliree quarts, dry or 



green ; boil in two or three quarts of water, down to 



one quart, which will be black likecotfee. Diench 



