138 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 3 



plnnla as mignioctte nnd white clover, to yield iliem 

 pasturage — they would impro?o liieir condition as 

 men, add greatly to their own wealth, and save an- 

 nually to the country some millions of dollars that are 

 now lost. » » » 



The certain deitruction occasioned by the moth, if 

 it eflbcts a lodgement, is the principil «]id most «ri- 

 oua bar to succcosfui hee-breeding in this region at 

 the present day. 



Numerous plans have been f ublished for their pre 

 vention, some of which were good — others worthless. 

 The only ones that hare been succefgful, are those 

 that have had for iheir object the «nii re exclusion of 

 the moth; and the keeping each hiTe in a strong, henl- 

 thy condition, in a box or hive proponioiied to their 

 strength, so that they were enabled to defend them- 

 eelves from all invaders. • » • 



In adopting a plan for the keeping and manage- 

 ineat of bees, several important points must be con- 

 sidered. It must combine simplicity with conveni- 

 ence; and cheapness with durabihty. It must allow 

 ot the inmates proceeding in their own natural wny; 

 of the proprietor removing honey when it c«n be spar- 

 ed, v/ithout disturbing or injuring the bees. It mnst 

 afTjrd tbem; during winter, a warm and dry habita- 

 tion; and in summer a cool and airy one. Its en- 

 trances must be so arranged, as to allow ths bees a 

 free passage, and yet enable them to defend them- 

 selves from enemies. It must aflbrd, with t renson- 

 nble degree of care, complete protection against the 

 moth; and facilities for putting two or more weak 

 swarms together, where they come olf late in the sea- 

 son. And it ought to gife the proprietor control over 

 his bees, as perfect as the nature ot the insect will 

 admit of 



All thia «nd more e«n be attained by the u»c of the 



SUDTENnEll HIVE. 



It is a simple and economical plan; of easy man- 

 agement; and one within the means of any farmer 

 who can handle a saw, a plane and a hammer. 



The boxes of which it is compoeod, are formed of 

 good, wcll-soasonedpineplank— if possible, free from 

 knots and wind-shakes. It ought to be at least one 

 inch thick. The boxes may be ten, eleven or twelve 

 inches square, in the clear. Let the plank be dress- 

 ed on each side, and jointed on the edges, so ns to Ct 

 dose, without being tongued and grooved. Before 

 nailing them together at the sides, lay a thin strip of 

 thick white lead paint on the edge to be nailed, which 

 will render it impervious to the ovipositor of tlie moth. 

 In the top cut two semicircular holes at the iVoiit, nnd 

 two Rt the back, of one inch an a half in diameter — 

 the straight side being in a line with the back and 

 front of the box, so that the bees may have a straight 

 road in their way from one story to the other. Put 

 the top on without any layer of paint, using eight 

 etout screw nails, that it miy be taken off to facilitate 

 the removal of the honey. Give the outside of the 

 box two coats of white lead paint, all except the top; 

 nnd let it be done so long before it is necessary to use 

 it, as that the smell in.-iy bo disciipatcd, as it is very 

 offensive to the bcee. Pour a little melted iv^cs-wax, 

 while pretty hot, over the inside of the top, which 

 will enable the bees to attach their comb much more 

 firmly. Let three-quarters of an inch of the thickness 

 of the lower edges of the box in the inside be bevel- 

 led olT, 80 as to leave but about one-fourth of an inch 

 of surftce to rest upon the stand — this will alford less 

 shelter for the eggs of the moth. 



We will suppose the boxes, thus made, to be a cube 

 of twelve inches inside. In that c.nse, the tunnel 

 stand will bo made thna. Take a piece of two inch 

 plank, free from knots and shakes — what carpenter's 

 term claii stuff; length 26, and breadth 18 inches. 

 Ten inches from one end, and two from the other and 

 from each side, is marked a square of fourteen inch- 

 es. From the outside of this square, the board is 

 dressed off, with an even ilope, until its thickness ot 

 the front edge is reduced to half an inch, and at the 

 other three edges to about &n inch. The square is 

 then reduced to twelve inches, in the centre of which 

 is bored an inch auger hole; to this hole, the inner 

 square is also gradually sloped to the depth of an 

 inch; thus eecnring the bees from any possibility of 

 wet lodging ab mt their hive, and affording them free 

 ventillation. There will then bo a level, SMiooth Btiip 

 of one inch in width, surrounding the square of li 

 inches, on which to set the box or hive. Two inch-s 

 from the front edge of the stniv), commence euttiu" a 

 cnannc; tw^ inches in width, end of such a dcp'.h°as 

 to carry it out, on an even slope, half way between 

 the inner edge of ths hive, and the ventillnting hole 

 in the centre. Over this, St in a strip of wood as 

 neatly as poaaihie, dressing it down even with the 

 elope of the stand, eo as to leave a tunnel two inches 



in width by a quarter of an inch in depth. Under the 

 centre hole, and over the outlet of the tunnel, hang 

 emuU wire grates, the one to prevent the entrance of 

 other insects; and the oiher to be thrown back to per- 

 mit the exit of the bee?, or fastened down to keep 

 them at home in clear, snn-shining days in winter. 

 For feet to the stand, use four or five inch screw- 

 nails, screwed in, trom below, far enough to be firm 

 The lower side ought also to be planed smooth; and 

 the whole should have two coats of white paint some 

 lime before it is wanted. » • » 



^^Habcns sie kcins scliolen?^ 

 was hie significant rejoinder 



? (Jus 



(Have you no schoolij (jid 

 -Prof. Stowe. ^ 



Rotation of Crops. 



This is a subject of grcot interest to the Farmer: 

 And yet few points in AgricultHre are less understood. 

 The importance of the systemotic rotation in crops is 

 nowhere set forth in briefer or clearer terms, than in 

 one •f the Agricultural lectures of Dr.- Daubeney, 

 Professor of Rural Economy in ihe University of 0.x- 

 ford. (By the bye, why are our American Colleges 

 so destitute of instruction in that branch of know- 

 ledge ?) Annexed is an extract frem that discourse; 

 an extract which, if properly appreciated by our far- 

 ming readers, will alone be worth more than the 

 cost of the New Genesee Farmer for an ordinerylife- 

 tiir.e. — Read it, my frend — reflect on it — and guide 

 your operations by the important principles which it 

 devclopes: 



" Those plants ought to succeed each other which 

 contain different chemical ingredients," says the in- 

 telligent Professor, "so that the qnanlitios of cDch 

 which the soil at any given time contains may 

 be absorbed in an ejualj ratio. Thus a productive 

 crop of corn could not be obtained without the phos- 

 phates of lime and magnesia, which are preesent in 

 the grain, nor without the silicate of potass, which 

 gives stability to the stalks. It would be injudicious 

 therefore, to sow any plant that required much of anv 

 of the above ingredients, immediately after having dt- 



iiinished the amount of them present in the soil by a 

 crop of wheat or of any other kind of corn. But on 

 the other hand, leguminous plants, such at beans, are 

 well calculated to succeed to crops of corn, because 

 they contai'i no free alkilis, and less than one per 



ent. of the phosphaies. They thrive, therefore, ev- 



n where those ingredients have been withdrawn, 

 and during their growth alTord time for the ground to 



btain n Iresh supply of them by a further disiniegra- 

 iion of the subjacent roek. For the same reason, 

 wheat and tobacco may sometimes be reared in suc- 

 cession in a soil rich in potass, because the loiter 

 plant requires none of those phosphoric salts which 

 are present in wheat. In order, hov.'ever, to proceed 

 upon certain data, it wo. Id be roquisitc that an analy- 

 sis of the plants most useful to man should be accom- 

 pliohod in die different singes of their growth, a lab- 

 or which has hitherto been only portially undertaken. 

 It is n curious fact thot the same plant differs in con- 

 stitution when grown in different climates. Thus, in 

 iho beet root, nitre takes the place of sugar when this 

 plant is cultivated in the warmer parts of Fronce. — 

 The explanation of this difference is probably os fol- 

 lows: Beet root contains, ns on essential ingredient, 

 not luily saccharine mailer but also nitrogen; and it 

 is probable that the two are mutually so connected to- 

 gether in the vegetable tlifiac that the one cannot ex- 

 ist without the other. The nitnigen being derived 

 from the decomposition of ammonia, must be effected 

 by ony cause which diminiahca the supply of the lat- 

 ter; and in proportion as this ingredient is wanting, 

 the secretion of sugar will likewise fail off. Now1t 

 has been shown by Liebig that the forinalinn of niiric 

 acid is owing to the decomiiosition of ammonia; and 

 it is conceived by him that the last products of the de- 

 composition of animal bodies present themselves in 

 the form of ammonia in cold climates, and in that of 

 nilricacid in warm ones. Jlenee m proporiion to 

 ihe amount of nitric acid formed, and of nitre absorb- 

 ed by the plant, that of the nitrogen, and consequent 

 ly that of the saccharine matter present in it may be 

 diminished. 



By order ef G.ivernmcnt, the roads in Prussia are 

 lined on each side with frn:t trees. Noticing that 

 somsof them had a wisp of straw attached to them, I 

 enquired of the coachman what it meant. He replied 

 that the straw was intended as a notice to the public 

 mt to take fruit from those trees without special jicr- 

 mijeion. "I fear," said I, "that such a notice in my 

 country, weuld but bo tin iiivitatioa to attack them." 



1 01 



Fri>m the Nctc England Fnrmer, \ 



Early Suppers. • 



By late suppers I do not mean a fourth meal, eucl^ f'^i 

 as is often taken in fashionable life, for I have seldori '."j 

 known our plain agricultural families addicted to thii 

 practice. They leave it chiefly to the inhabitants oi f i 

 large towns and cities, to go to the closet at 9 or 10 f 

 o'clock in the evening, when they ought to go to bed .], 

 and take a meil of cold Aum or tongue, and bread *'! 

 and butter, or something else quite as difficult of di« "j'' 

 ge=tion. : ''^ 



But by late suppers among our farmers, I mean th« " 

 usual third meal, deferred to an unreasonable hour— •"' ■ 

 to 7 or 8 o'clock, or even later. I have known ma 

 ny a farmer who made it his constant practice at a',i 

 seasons, to work as long as he could see, nnd not tc 

 take supper till his work was 6nishcd; consequently 

 his hnnr of supper, during a part of the season, woiilSt,' 

 be from 8 to 9 o'clock — never earlier than 8, and ot 

 ten when the fields were but a little distance from th» 

 house, ns late as nine. 



The best and most thriving farmers I have ever 

 known, however, take supper at pre ciEcty 6 o'clock, 

 even in haying and harvesting. I know thtt a thou- 

 sand objections moy be brought to such early hour, 

 especiolly in the month of June, July and August; bul 

 I know too, they can be met. 



Some years since, having finished our haying, (I 

 resided then in New Coventry, Conn.,) I took myi 

 scythe and went into the employ, for a short time, ol Im 

 David H. Warner, in Liichficld county, whose grass, ife, 

 was rather later than oujs, and coesequently was not 

 yet all cut. At that time I had not known of anyi 

 other woy than to work till dark and eat supper whew * 

 we could. 



^ But Mr. Warner had supper uniformly, at eixi 

 o'clock. Whatever the weather might be, ond how- 

 over pressing the v/ork might seem to bo, he requir- 

 ed lis all, at six, to suspend work and " come to tea," 

 as it was called. This consisted of a light repast;, 

 holesome and perhaps rather too solid, or I mighti 

 say heavy, but not luxurious. When this meal waai 

 finished, vv'hich occupied, including a little convcrsa- 

 lion, about hall an hour, we were permitted to go tO" 

 work again if we choose. In general, however, alii 

 we did was to grind our scythes and get ready for the 

 next day. 



I do not soy that when, by some unforscen occur- 

 rence — an accident or a phower — a very pressing ne- 

 cessity seemed to exist of deferring supper half on 

 hour to got in a load of boy or oats, it was never done; 

 for I believe it was so; though I saw nothing of the' 

 kind while I w-as there. It lakes no longer to grind 

 scythes at evening than it does in the morning; ond 

 Mr. W.'e workmen were ready to go to mowing in 

 the morning, in the cool nf the day, and while ^he 

 grass cuts easily, instead of being compelled to spend 

 a part of the best of the morning in makiug prepara- 

 tions which ought to have been made the night be- ^, 

 fore. And having began betimes and got ahead of 

 their day's work, they were net obliged to mow so "' 

 late in the forenoon in the great heat. As soon as 

 the ground and swath were dry enough to spread, 

 their mowing was finished for the day, and they were 

 ready to attend to it. And thus by being an hour ot 

 two earlier in the morning, and by keeping berore 

 their work, they found it as eosy to get through at 

 six, as others at eight. 



But there are other ond numerous odvantages which 

 ore enjoyed by those who take supper at six. 



1. Tbey are not quite so apt as others are to over- 

 eot. Our farmers— especially those who do not take any 

 luncheon in the afternoon — ond there are some who 

 do not — and who t.i not get ready to sit down to sup- 

 per till 8 or 9 o'clock, are very opt to cat too much. 

 Some, it is true, lose their appetite, instead of having 

 it increased, but these cases are not very numerous, 

 and are diminished somewhat by the custom of taking 

 something to give on appetite. My old friend, Levi 

 Atkins, used to defend the practice of taking a little 

 spirit before supper, to give on appetite — Init thi s tea- 

 befortt^ic, teinftrance rcfoTtn cotmntncii}. ^ 



2. They do not so oflcn go to bed with o load on 

 their s!omacb,5. He who eats at six, besides ooting 

 less in quontily, is not eo apt to go to bed till nine,* 

 by which hour the digesiion is'portly through. Where-: 

 as he who takes his supper at eight or nine, ond goee- 

 immediately to bed, is apt to have a mass of food in 

 his stomach either undigested or but half digested, 

 for a considerable time; and is opt to toss in bed and- B" 

 dream a good deid, or else sleep too soundly. 



3. And what isa n.itural coneoquenco ofthia over 

 loading the stomach, he who sups late, gets up with « 



Vf' 



& 



