1SC9.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
167 
Pine Straw. — The old leaves oc needles 
of the pine fall every summer as soon as the new growth 
is made. This material throughout the Southern country 
is known as pine straw, and more or less use is made of 
it as bedding and manure. Mr. Frank Heiderhoft, of Bay 
St. Lonis, Miss., sends us an analysis, the name of the 
analyst not being given. This represents the whole 
amount of ash as 2'£ per cent ; and as it contains 4>^ per 
cent of alumina, we conclude the straw contained more 
or less soil gathered with it. The ash contains, according 
to this analysis, about 5 1 i per cent of potash, a little soda, 
13 per cent of lime, and more than one percent of phos- 
phoric acid. This indicates but a slight value, so far as 
ash ingredients are concerned, the most valuable ingre- 
dient, potash, amounting to less than 3 pounds to the 
ton. However, the amount of nitrogen, which is not 
stated, may be. and probably is, considerable. Mr. H. rec- 
ommends composting pine straw with muck, marsh mud, 
or calcareous marls... Mr. Win. E. nammoud, of Tyrrell 
Co., N. C, writes that he draws the straw front the woods 
every two or three weeks, uses it as bedding for stock, 
and then throws it into the hog-pen. Then he scatters 
"ditch-bank" muck over it, and when the ditch-bank is 
used up, has the men mix it in the hog-pen. In January 
it is gotten out, and lies under cover until spring. 
Smaart Hcn« in Vermont. — A corres- 
pondent calls our attention to the following clipping 
from a country paper, and asks what we think of it. 
" Mr. Martin Leonard, of Pittsford, Vermont, from eight 
hens raised last year 45 chickens, and sold 710 dozen eggs 
for $lG2,besides using 110 dozen in his family. Mr. L. says 
his hens arc a greater source of profit to him than his 
Bheep." "We think we will not try to match the Down 
Easters telling stories. Let us count: 45 and 8,5-20 and 
1,320 make 0.S85. That is the number of eggs that eight 
hens laid in one year, which is more than an average of 
three and one-third apiece for every day, allowing no 
time for hens to sit and take care of their broods 1 
TToo Fat. — "S. W. II.," of Kansas, -writes: 
" My neighbors tell me my marcs are too fat for their 
colts to do well when foaled. What effect will the con- 
dition of the mare have on the foal?" — The mare ought 
not to be very fat, for excessive fatness is accompanied 
by a diseased condition of the system. Still, they ought 
to be in good condition, even moderately fat. In such 
case the mare will probably get on well, have an abund- 
ance of milk, and the foal will be finer, both at foaling 
and afterwards, until it is weaned, if not for life. 
EBaw to Eilaisc a, Calf withont 
Millt.— "R. S.," of Richmond, Ind., writes that he is 
trying to raise a calf without milk, and is feeding it a 
mash of wheat middlings and Indian meal, but is in 
doubt whether this is the best way. We have had no 
experience, but have known of calves being raised with 
very little if any milk. They were given for drink tea, 
made by steeping and boiling good sweet hay, thickened 
with boiled fine Indian meal and wheat flour. Tenden- 
cies to constipation were checked by feeding a thin por- 
ridge of wheat bran and oil-cake, and the scours was 
stopped by boiled milk, thickened with fine wheat flour. 
Norfolk: Co., (SJass.) Ag-rJcssStiiral 
Society. — At the recent annual meeting of this Society, 
the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, who had been President 
ever since its organization, (twenty years,) took his leave 
of the office in a most interesting and touching address. 
The Norfolk Society is one of the most influential among 
the many Agricultural Societies in Massachusetts, and 
has always been foremost in promoting agricultural im- 
provement in that State. Hon. John S. Eldridge suc- 
ceeds Col. Wilder, who is made Honorary President. 
Bee Items.— By M. Quinby. 
The Bee BfialatSy.— Since our last report, 
letters have been received from Clay Village and Carlisle, 
Ky., and Circleville and Rising Sun, Ohio, relating to the 
bee malady, but presenting no new feature. In suggest- 
ing probable causes, two or three describe the weather 
as far back as last May. " Cold, drenching rains, etc." 
One says they " froze to death ;" another that " there was 
no pollen ;" another that " there was plenty," and that 
" the honey was good ;" another that "it was bad." And 
another, that " it could not have been poisoned honey, 
and carried from one hive to another in December — it 
was too cold." His commenced dying at that time, and 
were still dying up to March 15th. One correspondent 
says, " Maple and Willow were in bloom in February in 
Indiana." There must have been many days warm 
enough for bees to rob— especially deserted hives— before 
these blossoms appeared. Hence the fatality to this late 
day may be accounted for on the theory first suggested. 
I see no hope of saving a single colony, not even of those 
shipped there from other States, until every particle of 
this honey is beyond their reach. Notwithstanding the 
impossibility of printing all the views and solutions 
offered, I hope those who have observed any thing un- 
usual will report further. 
Italian asitl EBlacls: ISees. — J. Scholl, 
Lyons Station, Ind., asks: " Will air. Quinby please in- 
form your readers, whether he keeps Italian bees only, or 
if he has both Italians and black? Do not the Italians 
degenerate ?" — Mr. Quinby keeps both Italian and black 
bees, has several yards, and manages in this way : In 
spring, when summer arrangements are completed, the 
home yard consists of about a dozen good Italian stocks, 
seventy-five uativc ones, and one hundred queen-rearing 
boxes. Box hives, if any, are transferred to movable 
combs. One or two of the strongest are fed, to induce 
early breeding of drones. A few of the native queens 
arc destroyed, six or eight at first, and replaced by Italian 
queens from the full stocks. The Italians, deprived of 
their queen, will construct a score or two of queen cells. 
Remove more of the black queens, the day before these 
hatch out, then cut out all cells but one, and give one to 
each of the black hives, last deprived of its queen. 
These hatching, supply the hive with a pure queen, 
and Italian drones only being out, their purity is insured. 
This must all be done before black drones have made 
their appearance, or even before eggs for them are de- 
posited. Otherwise, the combs with scaled drone brood 
must be lifted out and every larva or chrysalis cut in 
two, or destroyed in some other way. Long before the 
close of the season, all these colonies, as well as the in- 
crease — beside very many in other yards — arc changed to 
Italian, and are sold off to reduce the stock to the original 
number by the next season. 
Stralg'lat Comil»s. — John W. Shaw, Mary- 
land, asks : " How can straight, single combs be secured 
in movable comb hives always, or a great majority of 
times ? If this can not he done, the new system is noth- 
ing. I have failed with the Harbison and Langstroth 
hive. I would be glad if it could be answered satisfac- 
torily and immediately." — After several years 1 experi- 
ence, I find that this subject, like most others, demands 
labor and care, if we would accomplish what we wish. 
I have learned that if the under sides of the tops of the 
frames, as a guide, are acute angles, made very smooth, 
and they are placed at the right distances apart, and 
one end of the hive elevated about thirty degrees, the 
other way perfectly plumb, and this done at once, 
on hiving the bees, nine-tenths of the swarms will 
build their combs straight. Should the adjustment of 
frames and raising one end bo put off until next morning, 
I can readily comprehend why the simple act of elevating 
would throw the combs across from one to the other. A 
part will follow the guide perfectly until almost across 
the whole length of a long frame, and then cross over to 
the next. The cause seems to be in the greater thick- 
ness of store combs, which they build near one end. Yet 
any one determined to have straight combs may succeed. 
Open the hive three days after hiving, and see that they 
start straight. There is the most danger when they are 
nearly across. Every second day is as long as it is safe 
to leave them. When any comb is being made crooked, 
get some heavy tin or zinc, or even thin shingle, three or 
four inches wide, and long enough to reach the bottom. 
With a carving knife, or a piece of shingle, this soft, 
new comb may be turned back in a line with the frame. 
Blow in some smoke to drive the bees away, to prevent 
crushing, and put in the tin to hold it until secured by 
the bees. Should a little honey be pressed out in the 
operation, no harm will be done. Repeat it, if they again 
go crooked. I have bought a great many bees, and fur- 
nished hives to pnt thorn in; often I did not see them until 
October, and when I found any combs crossing badly, I 
would leave them until the next spring, when I would 
take out all in one body, if necessary, and make the 
crooked part straight, and hold them until fastened by 
small strips of wood, as shown in " Bee-keeping Ex- 
plained." I often break up a box hive, and transfer the 
contents to frames, and hold them in the same way until 
fastened. It is the fault of the operator if the combs are 
not made straight in these cases. It can bo done. "M. 
Quinby" never intended to say that bees died of 
" buckwheat honey." 
Corn Cultivation in Iowa. 
We have an interesting statement from Mr. 
John Molony, Jr., Dubuque Co., Iowa, giving bis 
experience in trying the American Agriculiur- 
ut plan of raising corn. He made one mistake, 
and soon found it out. Clayey or loamy land must 
neither be worked nor even gone upon while 
it is too wet to plow. There is no objection to 
low, fiat hills, but they will not hold the corn 
up. It will usually stand better in flat culture 
than if much hilled. Mr. M. writes as follows : 
" My crops for 18G8 were pretty good, — I be- 
lieve better than usual. I thank the Agricul- 
turist for it, and go in for Cook Farming ; but 
my neighbors don't. In the fall of 1867 I com- 
menced hauling out manure on a field of oat 
stubble for corn. The field being near the road, 
every one saw the manure, and thought I was 
crazy. My friends came into the field and told 
me that I was manuring twice too thick, and 
that I would have no corn, but all weed3 ; but 
I bad read somewhere in the paper that corn 
ground could not be too rich, so I let them talk 
away. It being late in the season I could not fin- 
ish the hauling out, and the ground was frozen so 
hard that I gave it up, leaving about an acre unfin- 
ished. In the spring I got at it again ; every day 
that was not fit to plow I was hauling manure. I 
hauled what stable manure I made during the 
winter, then I got at the hog-peus. Some day3 
were wet and the ground was so soft that I could 
hardly drive through the field, but I got the 
acre manured, and I left it so, in heaps, until I 
had the small grain in. I spread the manure in 
lands, and as soon as I had a rod or so spread, 
I plowed it down about ten inches deep, Mid 
worked in that way until I had it all plowed and 
harrowed,, both ways. It was in good order, ex- 
cept what I manured in the spring, and every 
lump on that was as big as my head; the reason 
of which was driving over it so many times with 
team and wagon when wet, there being more 
clay in that side of the field. About the 18th 
of May I "listed" it both ways, with a marker, 
four feet each way; on the 19th, I planted it with 
Yellow Dent orllackberry corn. I went through 
it three times eacli way, using the cultivator all 
the time, and any weeds that remained after the 
cultivator I pulled out, as I was trying flat cul- 
tivation. The neighbors said it would he great 
corn if I would plow to it with the one-horse 
plow ; they said i f I did not the wind would blow 
it down. I told them I would risk it. Haying 
and harvesting came on sooner than I expected, 
and I had to give up tho corn. About the time it 
was earing out, we had a heavy rain with high 
wind : it blew down a good deal of my corn, 
and some of the neighbors', too, but more 
of mine than of theirs ; of course they laughed, 
and said it was because I had not plowed to it. 
The land was manured, and the corn from eight 
to twelve feet high, and I suppose that made it 
blow down. This year I think I will use the 
plow for the last time, keeping about midway of 
the row, plowing rather shallow, throwing the 
soil two or three inches upon the stalk, leaving 
a flat hill, instead of the usual sharp ridge. Tho 
plan here is to run the plow close to the hill and 
throw the dirt from six to eight inches np on 
the stalks, scalding them, and cutting off the 
roots also. They say they want to smother 
the grass and weeds. They might smother 
some gras3, but not many weeds, because the 
weeds are nearly as high as the corn. 
Tho best way to get weeds and grass out of 
the hills is to pull them out by hand, and it 
pays to do it. I had about ten acres last season 
not in the manured field, but on pretty good 
land, only nine years in use. Harvest came on 
before I could finish weeding, and I had to let 
about forty rows go, and it wasn't very weedy; 
but when picking time came, there was a differ- 
ence. Four rows of the clean corn filled 
the wagon box, while it took five rows of the 
weedy corn, and then it was small and a good 
deal of it soft. I will make it a rule from this 
time to plant no more corn than I can take care 
of. Although the wind blew down a [rood deal 
