182 



THE ILLi:NrOIS FA-HMER. 



selves, and accustom them to labor; but 

 what of all is of the greatest value; he 

 will have them away from village com- 

 pany. 



In November, we have less to do than 

 in the preceding month, but still there 

 will be much to do. The bright plow- 

 share must not be laid aside until the last 

 furrow is turned or the land lies locked 

 in frost. Continue to plant trees this 

 month, or if you do not wish to plant, 

 bury them on some dry spot. Trees from 

 the East should not be set out but put in 

 deep trenches on dry ground ; set them 

 slanting and cover them well with earth. 

 Tho change of climate is too much for 

 them, but after one season they will do 

 much better. If the potatoes are left 

 in the field, see that they have an extra 

 covering this month. 



All farm tools should be carefully 

 housed, so soon as the season for their 

 use is over. The present system of 

 cribbing corn is a bad one, when it is to 

 stand out over winter; it may do for pres- 

 ent use, but to put up corn in cribs ten 

 feet wide without cover, is presuming too 

 much, in Providence and dry weather. 

 Farmers living some distance from the 

 timber will find that sawed timber and 

 strips will make them a cheap crib, and 

 those near the timber raay use rails if 



they choose, but should cover with 

 boards; but if they cannot afford this, 

 basswood bark peeled in summer and 

 pressed out will do quite well. Corn in 

 this part of the State is damaged at 

 least five per cent, by exposure, take 

 one year with another, and in wet sea- 

 sons at least twenty-five per cent., and 

 small farmers with but little capital can- 

 not aflbrdthis loss. Cribs should be put 

 up at least two feet from the ground. 

 Common fence boards will do for the 

 sides and ends, either boarded horizon- 

 tal or vertical, and the cover of common 

 boards by running a small groove at 

 the edges over Vrhich put a narrow bat- 

 tan, this will make an almost water 

 tight roof. We use two cribs set ten 

 feet apart, with double roof, under which 

 we put our wagon and tools, this is the 

 most economical way for the two pur- 

 poses, and the corn is at the same time 

 equally well aired. 



We hope the era of farm barns is not 

 far off, we need them very much for our 

 winter fodder and stock, and for pur- 

 poses too numerous to mention. A 

 farmer without a barn, is like a house 

 without a kitchen, not half finished. 



Bres. 



Editor Illinois Farmer: — I have 

 been highly gratified to see tho spirit of 

 inquiry on the bee culture, exhibited 

 through the columns of your valuable 

 paper, together with the advocacy of 

 the claims of the different hives in use. 

 This is as it should be. There is no 

 subject in which the farmer is so much 

 interested that is so little understood as 

 that of the management of bees. No 

 investment pays as large a per cent, to 

 the farmer, as the few dollars he invests 

 in bees. But he says, "I don't know 

 anything about taking care of them, if 

 I did I should be glad to invest some- 

 thing." The idea of destroying your 

 stock once in two or three years, after 

 the old plan, for the sake of a little 

 honey, seems to him, foolish, as it is in 

 truth ; whereas, if he fully understood 

 their management, habits, the best hive 

 to use, and the best manner of taking 

 surplus honey, he could at once make it 

 a profitable business. 



Yet, after all this demand for infor- 

 mation on this subject, the agricultural 

 journals are almost silent, in many cases 

 absolutely refusing to publish articles, 

 because as it would seem they are afraid 

 of advertising, for somebody, because 

 the writer advises the u^e of some par- 

 ticular hive. Why not reject an article 

 on plowing because the writer uses this 

 or that plow — on reaping or mowing, 

 because this or that reaper or mower is 

 used by the writer. I am very happy 

 to see, however, that your journal is not 

 circumscribed by any such narrow limits. 

 If any invention possesses merits, let us 

 know it — if not, there is no better meth- 

 od of exposing it than to su"bmit it to 

 the scrutiny of an intelligent, discerning 

 public. I trust now you will pardon me 

 if I intrude in a little criticism. Since 

 I have given you credit for fairness in 

 publishing articles on this subject, calcu- 

 lated to elicit discussion, it may not be 

 presumptions for me to notice those arti- 

 cles together with the "editoral re- 

 marks.'' 



In your last issue, I notice an article 

 credited to the School Visitor. I had 

 the pleasure of seeing the article as it 

 originally appeared in the Visitor ^ and 

 by reference to it, I find jou-have omit- 

 ted that portion of it which speaks of 

 the kind of hive used or referred to in 

 the article. Could it be because it hap- 

 pened to be a " Langstroth Hive?" 

 Could it be because *' R. C. Otis took 

 from their stand in our yard seven colo- 

 nies of bees, and in a few hours increased 

 them to fourteen ?" Perhaps you read 

 the article published by the liural New 

 Yorker. If so, will you now publish 

 the balance of the article ? If it was 

 an intentional omission, will you be kind 

 enough to present to your readers the 

 reasons you have for such a course ? I 



do not harbor the idea for one moment 

 that this was intendedj for I find in 

 your "editorial remark'' especial ref- 

 erence made to the " Phelp's Hive ;" 

 and further you call the especial atten- 

 tion of your readers to the article of II. 

 B. G. devoted to the advocacy of the 

 "Phelp's Hive." 



This is as it should be. Now all I 

 desire is, the same privilege to present 

 the claims of the " Langstroth Hive," 

 in which I am interested, leaving the 

 public to judge of the merits of both. 

 I enclose a copy or the School Visitor 

 containing the article referred to, and 

 also a subsequent number containing 

 some criticisms by *' Inquirer" elicited 

 by seeing the article as it appeared in 

 the Bural New Yorker, together with 

 the reply of the editor of the Visitor 

 trusting you will do in the premises as 

 may seem just and courteous to all inte- 

 rested. 



You will please indulge me still fur- 

 ther in referring to your " editorial re- 

 marks'' following the article of H. B. 

 G. It seems to me after your very favor- 

 able notice, and high recommendation 

 of the " Phelp's Hive," and your state- 

 ment that you have in use both Lang- 

 stroth and Phelp's Hive, that your very 

 sweeping condemnation of patents is 

 rather designed as a thrust at Mr. Lang- 

 stroth. I may be mistaken — I desire to 

 know that I am. 



You say of the " movable frames" 

 that they *' have been in use over twenty 

 years in the South and West, and of 

 course, these can bo no patents that 

 would stand a moment's investigation." 

 I should be glad to know your authority 

 for such a statement. I trust you will 

 pardon me for differing from you in 

 this matter. I simply believe you to 

 have been misinformed, not as design- 

 ing to give a wrong impression. The 

 " movable frames" were never used in 

 a hive until invented and introduced 

 by Rev. L. L. Langstroth. What I 

 complain of is, not that you may prefer 

 this or that bee-hive, but, that after 

 speaking thus highly of a hive involv- 

 ing every important principle of the 

 Langstroth hive, and as useless as a 

 mere box, divested of what is stolen 

 from Langstroth a hive vended by a man 

 who is indebted for all that entitles his 

 hive lo the least consideration, you should 

 thus virtually class with ** patent-right 

 men who seek to swindle the public," 

 such a man as Rev. L. L. Langstroth, 

 who has devoted a whole life to the sci- 

 entific investigation of a subject of so 

 much practical importance to the world, 

 the result of whose labors has been to 

 give to tno world the best system of bee 

 culture and the best hive ever intro- 

 duced. 



As an evidence of the merits of the 

 Langstroth Hive I have only to refer 



