1309.' 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
445 
has become a very common method of summer-fallowing 
for wheat. What "Walks and Talks" calls " Fall Fallow- 
ing," is plowing a piece of sod land in July or August, 
harrowing and working it as you would if it were to he 
sown with winter wheat, and then not sowing it; hut 
continue to cultivate or plow it in the fall, and theu sow 
it to barley, or wheat, or oats, in the spring. The ad- 
vantages he claims for the plan are, that you work the 
land quite as well as if it was summer-fallowed, that it 
is exposed for a much longer time to the ameliorating in- 
fluences of the sun, air, and frost, and that you lose no 
crop except grass in the fall. 
Bitter Butter.— "G. W. S.," of De Kalb 
Co., 111., writes: "I have just finished churning for my 
wife, and the butter churned is quite bitter; the cream 
was bitter as well as the butter. She keeps the milk in 
the cellar. When the cream is skimmed it is sweet. She 
has to set it by the stove in order to become sour, and as 
it becomes sour it also becomes bitter. Can you tell the 
cause and remedy ?" In all probability the cream stood 
too long before it was churned. At this season it is not 
worth while to keep milk in cold cellars. The cream 
rises much better if moderately warm ; a temperature of 
60° is about right. Keep the cream-pot covered with a 
towel, and at about the same temperature. Stir the cream 
as often as new is added. Keep both milk and cream 
where they will not absorb kitchen or other odors, espe- 
cially smoke of wood fires or of burning grease, and 
churn as often as once a week. Sec that the cows have 
salt and do not eat decayed turnips, turnip leaves, or cab- 
bages. Sound turnips and cabbages impart very little 
flavor, especially if fed at milking time. 
Asking- Qucsfiioi&s.— " J. H. R.," writes: 
"I see you answered some questions in 'Walks and 
Talks,' and so I thought I would ask a few. I suppose 
you will laugh at the idea of a boy fifteen years old writ- 
ing to you. 11 — Laugh at yon ! Why should wc ? A ques- 
tion, asked in a respectful manner, and with a sincere de- 
sire for information, is always complimentary. Xothiug 
pleases us better than to be asked questions, even from 
the old folks ; but it is our delight to answer a boy. His 
questions arc answered elsewhere. 
HIe«li£E3!c;' si si it BIedg*iEBg IPlsiHats in the 
Southern States, by Thomas Affleck. This little work 
was prepared by Mr. Affleck just before his death, and is 
now published by E. II. Cashing, Houston, Texas. It. is 
mainly devoted to a discussion of those plants which 
are peculiarly adapted to Texas and other Southern 
States, and while it will prove useful to those who live in 
those warm regions, it contains but little that is appli- 
cable to severer climates. The Cherokee Rose is the 
author's favorite hedge plant, of which be gives a 
fuller account than we have seen elsewhere. 
Vermont Dairyman^ Association. 
— This Society announces its annual meeting for about 
the third week in January. Dr. Loring and Mr. X. A 
Willard will, of course, be there. Particulars may bo 
learned from Mr. O. S. Bliss, the corresponding secretary, 
whose address is Georgia, Vt. 
A Work on l*eacla Culture* — The 
United States is the great peach country of the world, 
and yet we have no good treatise on the cultivation of the 
peach. We are gratified to announce that we shall soon 
issue a very complete Peach Culturist, by an experienced 
planter in the peach regions of Delaware. The work is 
remarkably full in all the details of peach orcharding, and 
gives all the instructions for its successful prosecution 
that can be conveyed in a book form. 
Hfew York State Poultry Society. 
—This Society holds its second exhibition at the Empire 
Skating Kink in New York City from the 1st to the 9th 
of December. D. E. Gavitt, of New York, is Secretary. 
The first show was the finest ever held in America, aud 
we expect much from the second. 
Steel Plows. — A correspondent asks 
"What is the difference between the common metal 
plow and the cast-steel plow spoken of in the 'Walks 
and Talks? 1 " The only difference is, that the one is 
made of cast-iron, and the other of castrated. The Rem- 
ington plows are made of rolled cast-steel. The Collins' 
plows are also made of cast-steel, but the metal is poured 
into a mould in the same way that ordinary cast-iron 
plows are made, and hence they are called " cast cast- 
steel " plows. Cast-steel is malleable, cast-iron is not, 
hence one of the advantages of the steel plow is, that the 
points can be sharpened by a blacksmith. 
ESaills in E5;srness. — Our article last 
month on working bulls occupied so much space, that 
we could not give such credit as we wished, to corre- 
spondents who have kindly furnished us with facts. Mr. 
A. T. Davis, of Maine, wrote thus: "I have a good- 
sized Ayrshire bull which I work in harness daily, using 
a single yoke instead of a collar, I have my work har- 
ness made to work double or single. I use for the hull 
one of the saddles from my harness. This holds up the 
shafls of the cart, and enables the bull to hold back go- 
ing down hill. The chain-traces attached to the yoke 
instead of to the harness, as in the case of a horse. The 
reins pass under the yoke, aud attached to a ring iu his 
nose. By this arrangement I am enabled to use him in 
an ordinary horse cart, without change. I can use the bull 
or a horse at option, either in cart or sled. The shafts 
project forward, under the yoke, a short distance, so as 
not to catch between the bow aud his neck. In fact, I 
use him about the same as you would a horse, except 
that he works iu a yoke instead of a collar. 11 The head- 
yoke illustrated was copied from a sketch sent by John 
Joeckel, of Orangeville, Iowa, a German subscriber, who 
gave a description of it, and his method of using it. 
Claeese. — A $100 Premium. — The 
American Dairymen's Association offers a premium of 
$100.00 for the best original essay upon " The claims of 'cheese 
as a wholesome, nutritious and economical article of food,' 1 '' 
Competing essays must be sent to the Secretary, Gard- 
ner B. Weeks, Syracuse, by the 20th of December. The 
award will be made at the Annual Meeting of the Asso- 
ciation, January 12th and 13th, at Utica, N". Y. 
A sues ara^l Potashes, — The disappear- 
ance of potashes and of ashes, both leached and uu- 
leached, from the common market, and of potasheries 
from the land, was the subject of a " Basket item " last 
Sept., in which we quoted our friend Titus Oaks, Esq., 
whom we regard as high authority upon a large range 
of practical subjects, a little inaccurately. This has 
elicited the following letter from him: "In get- 
ting information from Titus Oaks in regard to the 
strength and weight of house or wood-ashes, you mis- 
took him in regard to the last potash factory being given 
up ; and as you sometimes quote him as authority, please 
make a correction. lie intended to be understood that 
the last one with which he had had dealings in this State 
was given up. There are some half dozen very small mak- 
ers left in the State, some of which purchase ashf s and 
lench out the potash chiefly for the sake of the leached 
ashes for manure. Why will not some of you scientific 
men tell us what there is in leached wood ashes so valua- 
ble in comparison with unleached? Perhaps a substi- 
tute may be found. Wood-ashes, and potash from them, 
will be almost unknown as articles of commerce in a 
few years. There is only about one-eighth (i' Q ) as much 
sold iu New York as there was twenty-five years ago, 
and only 1-500 part as much produced in this State. (Mr. 
Clement Guion, who has been in the New York Potash 
Inspection office for the last twenty-five years, thinks 
only 1-1000 as much in the State.) Almost any close ob- 
server will tell you that leached ashes have a value far 
beyond what agricultural chemists prize them at. 
Barl»erries.— N. C. Neice, Tama Co., Iowa. 
The specimens sent are both European Barberries, but 
one is the purple-leaved variety. The common Barberry 
used for hedges is of foreign origin. There is a native 
species in the Southern Mountains, but we have never 
seen it in cultivation. The Barberry makes a beautiful 
hedge, but we have never seen one that we thought 
cattle-proof in the western sense. As to the effect on 
grain, it is suspected that the shrub nourishes one form 
of the smut that affects grain, but this is not proven. 
Scnppernong; CSrsipe. — Messrs. Tbigpen 
& Dancy sent us a box of the Scuppcrnong grapes which 
reached us in better order than any we have heretofore 
had. We are asked for an opinion on its merits. Were 
it a question between grapes aud no grapes, we should 
say, give us plenty of the Scuppcrnong, but it cannot 
compare, in our judgment, with the Delaware, Iona, Ett- 
mclan, Salem, Diana, and many others. Were we to see 
it as it ripened upon the vines, we might place a higher 
estimate upon it. The productiveness of the variety 
is remarkable. The specimens came from two vines 
which yielded 2400 lbs. Southern horticulturists, whose 
opinion we respect, consider the Scuppcrnong of greater 
value to the South than any other variety. 
Good. 5*uy may be realized by many thou- 
sands of persons this month by making up lists of sub- 
scribers for our premiums. This has been done for many 
years— by many more last year than ever before ; and the 
number may be largely increased this year. The people 
all need this journal, and they will take it, if some one 
will show it and explain its value, and our premiums will 
pay those who take this little trouble. We want more 
Boys and Girls employed in this work. It will give them 
business tact of even more value than the premium they 
get. Canvassing is appropriate work for ladies, and many 
of them are among our best and most successful can- 
vassers. Our premiums are legitimate pay offered for 
services rendered. Most publishers, who formerly gave 
money commissions, are now adopting our premium 
plans. With large experience, we have reduced this to a 
system, and can give better pay in this form than others. 
Bee Notes.— By M. Quirioy. 
Apiary for December.— Let the bees stand out 
as long as there is any probability of fine weather. Move 
ou a oid day as they will be far more quiet than on a 
warm one. If bees are expected to winter in the open 
air, the stocks must bo in prime order— such as would 
do well almost anywhere. Contract the passages to keep 
out mice, leaving room only for a single bee. I am 
convinced of the utility of Mr. Coe's method of venti- 
lation. Make a hole through the bottom-board, say two 
inches square, directly under the centre of the hive, aud 
cover it on the under side with wire-cloth so bent as to 
make a sort of dish under the hole. This will keep out 
mice and prevent the passage from filling up with dead 
bees. To secure a slight draft through the hive, open 
several holes in the top, fill the super or cover with hay 
or straw, and set it over the holes. The hay will absorb 
the greater part of the moisture and prevent the animal 
heat from passing off too freely. There should also be 
two or three inch holes in the side of the cover to let off 
any accumulation of vapor. But if second or third-rate 
stocks are to be wintered, it must be with some kind of 
protection. Housing is perhaps best. Fifty or sixty hives 
HIVES ARRANGED TOR WINTER. 
in one room of suitable size will generate sufficient heat to 
carry colonies through safely, that would have perished 
iu the open air. Besides, they consume less honey. A 
farmer knows well enough that a horse or ox warmly 
housed will eat enough less to pay for stabling, and it is 
quite as true of bees as cattle. It is doubtful, however, if 
a room that freezes with the bees in it, is any better than 
the open air. If the hives are stored in a cellar it must 
be dry. If a hundred stocks are together, and the temper- 
ature, which should be about 40 degrees, gets too high, 
snow may be carried in to advantage. Box hives in the 
house should have holes open in the top— ten or a dozen 
inch holes are none too many— be turned over on a couple 
of strips of wood, an inch by ten to keep the hive from the 
shelf on which they stand, aud secure a circulation of air. 
The cut represents hives on a shelf, bottom up as de- 
scribed, and arranged for winter. The room should be 
warm and perfectly dark. If the faintest ray of light en- 
ters, anywhere, the bees will either be found scattered an 
inch deep and dead on the floor, or gone, having escaped 
through the aperture and become lost. Darkness ia 
cheap, and where it is so necessary, better have enough 
of it. A few hives maybe buried to advantage. Dig a 
trench 8 or 10 inches deep, strew the bottom with straw to 
the depth of -1 inches, lay dowu a couple of pieces of scant- 
ling, and on these set the hives right side up, 3 inches 
apart, with the holes in the top open. Then pack closely 
with plenty of straw, and cover entirely with earth. But if 
more than eight are thus buried together, an opening 
must be left for ventilation. The great value of straw as 
an absorbent of moisture may be utilized by making 
straw hives. Such need no opening in the top to allow 
moisture to escape, and thus the great advantage of re- 
taining all the heat is secured. It is not yet too late to 
make them this fall, and transfer into them for out- 
door wintering. Hives made of straw may be entirely 
closed without harm, but if a box hive is so shut up, the 
moisture will accumulate on the inside and mn down and 
freeze at the openings until they are all closed and the 
bees smothered. I once thought that flags would do as 
well as straw, but find that they shrink too much. Wood 
covered with straw, is much better than wood alone. If 
bees are to be transferred to them, do it in a dark room— 
or as dark as may be, and leave light enough to work, as 
they will fly less. If any need feeding yet, let it be done 
in a warm dark room. A little maybe given by turning 
the hive over and laying combs containing honey or pure 
rock candy syrup across the combs. We have recently 
learned the interesting and remarkable fact that the 
principal food of "southern bees, during the winter is 
pollen ; but our northern bees must have honey or 
syrup." Feeding is so easy, aud the loss from starvation 
is certain to be so great this winter, that I hope no 
bee-keeper will let his stock die through carelessness. 
