86 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Reuovaaiu^ a Poor iFiefid. — "J.," a 
Michigan farmer, writes: " I have a eeventeen-acre field 
that is considerably run down, and I have undertaken to 
bring; it back to its original state of fertility. I seeded it 
down with a large kind of red clover in 1SGT. Last year 
took off a crop of seed, 2!i bushels per acre. This spring 
I propose to sow on some lime and pasture the Held until 
some time in June, and then let tho clover go to seed and 
plow it under, and sow wheat and again seed to clover. 
Is my plan a good one ''"—Clover sometimes does not 
take well immediately after clover. A better plan would 
have been to pasture it the first year, instead of taking 
off a crop of seed. Then this spring either let the clover 
grow until June, orpasture it and then plow it up and sum- 
mer-fallow. If it is a heavy soil, plow it three times and 
reduce it as fine as possible. You might then expect fair 
wheat and a good catch of clover. If a lighter loam, 
once plowing with repeated harrowing and " cultivator- 
in«r," to keep down the weeds, will be sufficient. Apply 
the lime on the fallow, rather than on the grass. 
Corm, Oats, WBie:at, seeded with Timo- 
thy and Clover. Such is the rotation adopted by one of 
our correspondents in Virginia, and he adds, 4i Our system 
of farming in this section is very defective and barely 
self-sustaining.'" We supposed that corn was off in time 
to sow wheat. If so, it would, we think, be better to 
give up the oat crop and sow the corn stubble to wheat 
and seed down with clover. Less oats and more clover 
would make the laud richer and give better wheat. 
HJew Ijaud for Settlers is every year 
opened up by the network of railroads which is so rapid- 
ly spreading itself over Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, and 
other comparatively new States. The settlers who rush 
in upon them are generally those from other Western 
States, who are dissatisfied with their homes, so they 
often leave good houses and "improvements,'" that is, 
fences, sheds, and perhaps barns, roads, and, very likely, 
churches and school-houses ready built. These deserted 
houses, if in healthy localities, arc much cheaper for 
Eastern farmers than the wild land further west. 
Raisiiag" the B*riee of JFarnfiis. — "J. 
G. S.," Worcester, Mass.— The best thing that can be 
done is, to apply more capital and skill to the soil. Im- 
proved husbandly, in any district, raises the price of 
lands quite rapidly. In Germany, since the introduction 
of a new system of agriculture, the population lias in- 
creased, and the land risen in value 159 percent. Ger- 
many has instituted schools for instruction in fanning, 
in which all the specialties of agriculture, the cul- 
tivation of the vineyard, and all other branches, are 
taught by professors devoted to the subjects. This 
great painstaking to teach both the science and art 
of husbandry in schools has resulted iu an extraordi- 
nary increase in the production, and in the wealth 
of the country. Better farmers will inevitably make 
more valuable farms. 
'.Top-dressing; JFaHl WBaeat in the 
Spring.— A New Jersey subscriber of the Agriculturist 
asks if it will pay to apply bone-dust or superphosphate 
to winter wheat in the spring. The increase of the 
wheat crop alone would probably not pay for the manure, 
but bone-dust would benefit the land so much that in the 
end he would much more than get the money back. 
For immediate effect on the wheat, sow a mixture of Pe- 
ruvian guano and superphosphate, 150 lbs. each, per acre. 
Sow it as early in the spring as possible. Sift the guano, 
to get out all the lumps; then break them up and pass 
them through the sifter. There should no lumps be sown 
larger than a marrowfat pea. If wheat brings $2.50 per 
bushel, the money expended, and probably more, will be 
returned from the increase in the first crop, and the clover 
will show a great improvement; while the extra straw 
and clover will enable him to go on enriching the land. 
What's the Price of Wool ?— Wool 
growers will admit by and by that the persistent advo- 
cacy of the long and middle-wool breeds of sheep by the 
Agriculturist was wise. This has never been exclusive. 
There is great use for the fine-wool breeds, if they pro- 
duce wool m those sections where sheep cannot receive 
much care and shelter, winter or summer, and where the 
distance from market is such that mutton bears a low 
price. Over a great part of the Union now the long-wools, 
especially Cotswolds and Leicestcrs, and middle-wools, 
particularly Southdowns, may be profitably raised, both 
for wool and mutton. The amount of combing wool 
used in this country is vastly in excess of the supply. 
The growing demand for lustrous wools, of the character 
of Leicester and C'otswold wool, is for tho manufacture 
of worsted goods, Listings, delaines, bereges, Italian 
Cloths, bunting, furniture damask and reps, cords, and 
tassels, etc., etc. It is stated that 12,000,000 pounds were 
consumed by twenty-five manufacturing firms last year, 
which is an increase of 9,000,000 pounds since 1861. Tho 
short supply seriously checks the manufacture, and though 
fashions may change, and the demand for fine wools in- 
crease, as we hope it will, yet the great advantage which 
the raiser of combing wool has over the fine-wool producer, 
viz., that Ins mut'oii will always be in demand, will re- 
main ; and for many years we presume whatever he gets 
for his wool may be counted as clear gain. Common 
long combing wool sells at G~ cts. to 72 cts. per pound, 
while choice Saxony brings but 05 cts., and common to 
fine grades of Merino 45 cts. to 50 cts. 
S*olato Koj Again. — Dr. Moody G. Free- 
man, Marshall Co., III., writes : li Iu the fall of 1S54, and 
at different times since, I have preserved my potatoes 
from the rot by applying two quarts of common salt to 
three bushels of potatoes, sprinkling the heap, containing 
the number of bushels which I wished to preserve, with 
a little water, and covering them with dry straw and suf- 
ficient earth to keep from freezing. My success induces 
me to believe that it will always preserve them when 
rightly applied, and even stop the progress of decay after 
it has commenced. Lst the farmers try it." 
Cheap Lands in Florida. — The rea- 
son why the land is offered so very cheap to settlers, as 
it appears from the experience of a friend, who says he 
was " Yankee enough not to be caught,'" is, that the rail- 
road company mean to get their money back in transpor- 
tation charges. The land cost $2.50 per acre for wood 
land, and $5 for cleared land. The charge for one barrel 
of produce from Cedar Keys to Fernandiua, about 150 
miles, was $5. 
Irrigation in Winter* — "J. M.," Gro- 
ton, Ct., asks: l *Have you any experience with irri- 
gating grass lands in winter? Does it kill the grass?"— 
We have noticed but one instance in which the grass was 
injured by winter flowing, and that was near Brattleboro, 
Yt., and we presume this was owing to very severe freez- 
ing, and to the smothering of the grass. In most cases 
where the water is allowed to flow freely all winter, tho 
ground is protected by the covering of ice, and does not 
freeze at all. This we judge to be safer than to have tho 
■water upon soil already frozen solid. The best results 
follow from abundant irrigation of all naturally dry or 
well-drained soils, both in summer and winter. Not only 
is the grass crop increased, but the subsequent hoed 
crops, when tho sod is broken, show that the land has 
been permanently enriched. 
Preparing- Manure for Wheat* — 
A young Virginia farmer asks how to make a compost to 
put on his wheat next fall. Material on hand, manure 
from the stable and cowyard, some long straw, and leaves 
from the woods. — Make the heap ten feet wide, put a 
layer of the straw at tho bottom, then a layer of horse 
manure, then a layer of leaves, and then a layer of cow 
manure. Then another layer of straw, horse manure, 
and so on as before, until the heap is of the desired hight, 
say five or six feet. Then cover tho whole with some 
old decomposed sods or soil. The work should be done 
early in the spring, when the manure is wet. And if any 
liquid runs from the heap, throw up the soil around the 
heap to absorb it. Then as soon as the heap has fer- 
mented, turn it all over and mix with it the soil that has 
absorbed the liquid. When done, cover with a few inches 
of soil as before. On some wet day during the summer 
turn the heap again and cover as before. In this way 
you will have a pile of well-rotted manure ready to spread 
on tho soil and harrowed in after the land is plowed for 
wheat. If there is much straw, the manure will not be as 
rich as is desirable, neither will the heap ferment readi- 
ly. If you could put in half a bushel of bone-dust to 
each ton of manure, it wnnld be a great improvement. 
Scatter it on each layer of the material as you are making 
the heap. It will promote fermentation of the manure, 
and the fermentation will react on tho bone-dust and de- 
compose it, so that it will act more immediately than 
when sown alone. Any animal matter, such as hair, 
hide, wool, blood, bone sawings, etc., will be a very valu- 
able addition to the heap. The value of a compost de- 
pends on the materials of which it is composed. Tho 
object of piling, turning, etc.. is to decompose them aud 
render them more available as food for plants. 
Greasing- Wagon Wheels.— "A. N.," 
Fort Wayne. — "What is the best article for greasing 
axles, and how often should it be applied ?"— Mutton or 
beef tallow is a good article for wooden axles, and cas- 
tor oil is, perhaps, the best cheap oil for iron or steel. 
14 Little and often " is the ride for greasing. Hubs are 
often injured by too much oil, as it tends to loosen tho 
spokes and boxes. Rancid castor oil can frequently bo 
had very cheap, and it is quite aB good as tho bc?t for a 
lubricator. A teaspoonful of oil applied to an axle is 
just as efficacious as a quart, and would be much cheaper. 
Bee Items.— By 2f. Quinby. 
I^oss of ISees.— B. W. Cox, Willow Gate, 
Ind., writes: " Within the last three weeks 75 stands of 
bees have died in this county. There was plenty of 
honey in the gums. Would like something on the sub- 
ject."— This shows that the malady spoken of last mouth 
still continues. Flowers have not yielded honey since 
October last, which is about the time previous reports 
were made. The trouble is doubtless in the honey, and 
as the bees could not have collected itfrom flowers, with- 
in the last two months, the probability is, they have rob- 
bed some hive or hives that have died earlier in tho 
season, in consequence of a disease or poison, caused 
by the unusual product referred to in a former article. 
Nothing is more common with careless bee keepers, 
than robbing on some fine day in November or December. 
Should this be correct, it would be imponant that every 
hive without bees he immediately removed and the con- 
tents put out of the way, otherwise I fear we shall hear 
further disastrons reports. Yet should there be a tree in 
the woods, in reach of healthy bees, where poisoned 
honey has been left, I see no escape from the malady until 
such honey is used up. It would be interesting to know 
how far this has already spread from the starting-point ; 
and also if some one at that place had not been experi- 
menting with some noxious compound as a cheap food 
for his bees. All the facts would be thankfully receiv- 
ed, if faithfully reported Siuco 
wr'.iingthe foregoing I see in the 
N. Y. Tribune, further complaints 
of this malady, and a reply from 
Mrs. Ellen S. Tapper, a distin- 
guished apiarian, who also at- 
tributes these sad effects to 
poisonous honey; and suggests 
further, that the cause might bo 
too much honey, and too few 
bees, for cold weather. Had she 
known that this malady commenced in October, whilo 
the weather was jet comparatively warm, the last sug- 
gestion would probably not have been offered. A friend, 
with much alarm, says: "I sec they have the bee 
malady, also, in Maryland. - " This is an error in printing 
ou page 47, American Agriculturist — u Clark Co., Mel.," 
instead of Clark Co., Intl., which it should have been. 
Artificial Queens* — In addition to what 
was said last month, relative to the 
dwarfing of the queen on account of 
size of cell, I will here introduce two 
cells, to illustrate the surplus room of 
the royal apartments. Figure 1 shows j 
the royal larva in a cell just built, wi 
the original worker cell, or that part ' 
entirely filled with royal jelly. The 
other, figure 2, shows a finished cell, 
with the side cut off, to exhibit the 
full-sized queen in a state of repose, just 
at maturity ; showing that such queen 
would find ample room in a cell half the 
Biz-s. This figure is taken from Mr. Lang 
Bee Plants,— " M.," Claytoa, N. Y.,says: 
" Can you inform me which is the best plant for honey r 
I have tried Buckwheat, which is not as good as clover, 
but we cannot always obtain that. I want something 
that will be the most profitable. Is borage as good or 
better? What kind of soil is required?" — The question 
most frequently asked is, " Will it pay to sow any thing 
especially for bees ?" This one asks what is best. Mother- 
wort, Borage, and Catnip yield abundantly. The first 
named will last but a short time, while the other two will 
sometimes produce honey continuously for three months. 
If I should cultivate any plant exclusively for honey, it 
would be the catnip. When we come to the question, Will 
it pay? I should answer no, when laud is more than $10 
per acre. To talk about cultivating plants for the honey 
they produce is simply a waste of breath. When we 
contemplate the thousands of tons of honey grown annu- 
ally, even in this State, only to be "wasted on the desert 
air " for want of bees and skill in aiding them to collect 
it, it would seem like better pay to cultivate bees. In tho 
00,000 lbs. of honey sent to market in 1SG8 from a small 
part of the Mohawk Valley, less than one-sixth was ob- 
tained from Buckwheat. Rather than raise more honey, 
we can more profitably take care of what already grows 
spontaneously. When one field is occupied with the 
bees necessary to collect its sweets, take 50 or 100 stocks 
to another, three or four miles away ; and still another, 
and another, until all the country is filled, and all the honey 
gathered. Then will be time to talk about raising more. 
In the new system of management, one man will take the 
necessary care of hundreds, with very much better 
chances of profit aud success than ever before. 
