648 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



and the course of the blood from the right i 

 side of the heart through the lunj^^s, and back 

 to the h'ft side of the lieart, is called the lesser 

 or jmlmonani circulation. 



'J'he heart uf a man in middle life, whose 

 blood avorajxes al)()ut twenty-eight poiuids, j 

 empties itself of two ounces at each contrac- 1 

 tion, with a proj)elling power of about four 

 and one quarter pounds ; and the heart of 

 such a ])erson contracts about seventy-five 

 times in each minute, so tiiat in every three 

 minutes, twenty-eight pounds and two ounces 

 of blood pass through the heart, — a quantity 

 equal to the weight of all the blood in the 

 body. It is also estimated that in man, the 

 blood completes its entire circuit through the 

 heart, lungs, arteries, capillaries, and veins, 

 in less than one minute. This estimate is 

 based on the rapidity with which poisons are 

 transmitted from one part of the system to 

 another ; but many physiologists suppose the 

 time to be about three miimtes, in most per- 

 sons, and in ordinary circumstances. 



The phenomenon known under the name of 

 *'yw/.s'f," is the motion caused by the pressure 

 of the blood against tlie coats of the arteries 

 at each contra<-tion of the ventricles, so that 

 the pulse and the action of the heart corres- 

 pond, except in some rare instances. The 

 frequency of the pulse, and of the heart's mo- 

 tions, vary at different periods of life, and in 

 different circumstances. During infancy and 

 ciiildhood, the pulse is from one hundred and 

 fifty, to ninety, or less : in middle life, it is 

 from seventy-eight, to seventy ; and in old 

 age, it is from sixty-five to fifty. 



The pulse is quicker in women than in men. 

 It is also quicker after, than before eating ; 

 and slower during sleep, th^in when awake ; 

 in the evening, than in the morning ; in the 

 sitting, than in the standing posture. Fear, 

 anger, and the stronger passions, move the 

 heart to violent action, and accelerate the 

 pulse ', while sorrow and melancholy retard 

 them, both in frequency and in force. 



J. H. Stedman. 

 West Braitleboro, Vt., Oct., 1871. 



FOUL BEE BROOD. 



Mr. E. Rood, of Detroit, read a paper at 

 the late Bee-keepers' Convention, at Kalama- 

 zoo, Mich., in which he said lie had ])repared 

 a paper, making it of respectable length and 

 having some regard to details, but that in re- 

 ality he knew little about the subject, though, 

 ])erhaps, he was as well posted as any one, as 

 he had watched the disease for many years 

 and had lost a great many colonies by foul 

 brood. He described the disease at consider- 

 able length, showing an intimate knowledge 

 of the little industrious insect, but was unable 

 to clearly determine the cause of the disease 

 or give any remedy. It was contagious and 

 would go through an apiary as cholera or 

 suiall-pox would a human hive of people. He 



used disinfectants to prevent its spread and 

 was very carefid to destroy bees and honey 

 after a hive had been attacked. He thinks 

 nothing can save a hive of bees after foul 

 brood appears, but something may be done in 

 preventing its spread. He hoped that an ef- 

 fectual preventive or remedy woidd be dis- 

 covered, but he knew of none, nor of any- 

 body who did. 



When he had concluded, a discussion took 

 place in which a great number of speakers 

 took part, but there was nothing elicited that 

 solved the proposition in the paper. 



Keport on Hives. 

 The committee to whom was referred the 

 resolution concerning the requisites of a bee- 

 hive, submitted the following report : — 



1 . For out-door wintering, we recommend 

 a hive not exceeding twelve inches in depth, 

 nor less than ten inside of the breeding cham- 

 ber, for use in northern latitudes. 



2. For inside wintering, we consider that a 

 hive may be as shallow in depth as five inches 

 in the breeding department. 



3. We believe the breeding chamber should 

 not contain less than 2U00 cubic inches actual 

 breeding space, nor more than 2500 ; the same 

 to be so constructed as to admit of upward 

 ventilation at pleasure, and the entrance to be 

 contracted so as to admit not more than one or 

 two bees to pass or repass at the same time 

 during the winter ; believing that a very heavy 

 current of air being allowed to pass through 

 the center of the hive at this season of the 

 year will serve as a cause of disease. 



4. We believe that a hive to be cheap in 

 cost to the bee keeper, and at the same time 

 adapted to procuring hone}- in the comb, or by 

 the use of the melex tractor, should be so 

 constructed as to admit of boxes, of shallow 

 frames, or of frames equal in size with those 

 of the breeding chamber. This we regard as 

 a hive well adapted to general as well as spe- 

 cial purposes. 



5. We would not under any circumstances 

 recommend or encourage the use of any but 

 the movable comb hives, feeling well convinced 

 that no other method will enable the bee- 

 keeper to make his profession successful or 

 profitable. 



Value of Muck. — In a discussion before 

 the Little Falls Club, Mr. A. L. Fish stated 

 that twelve years ago he drew out oOOO loads 

 of muck, and applied it at the rate of fiftj 

 loads to the acre, pulverizing and mixing it 

 with the soil. The result was good crops with- 

 out further cultivation. Two years later he 

 drew out 4000 loads, and applied it at tiie rate 

 of 100 loads to the acres, spread with a plank 

 to which was attached a tongue to hitch the 

 team. The land was planted to corn. After 

 taking two crops from the land it was put 

 down in meadow, and it has produced at the 

 rate of two tons of hay per acre ever since, 



