410 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[XOTEITCER, 
Am ©laio IKog-l B en. — An enterprising 
Ohio farmer writes us that lie purposes building a hog- 
pen "having a floor 2'^ feet from the ground, supported 
on pillars. All the stable manure made during the time 
the hogs are feeding, I wish to haul on one Eide of it ; 
then clean the hog-house every day and all will be mixed 
together. As fast as it accumulates to the level of the 
floor, haul it away to make a ' mixen.' "— "We suppose 
the chief object is to have the horse manure absorb all 
the liquid from the pig-pens, and that the floor is so con- 
structed that the liquid will run on to the horse manure. 
Could not the liquid be carried to the mixen by a 
drain, and the manure from the pig-pens and from the 
stables be conveyed at once, daily, to. the mixen? It 
may be a good plan, but we do not see why, when the 
pig-pen is cleaned out every day, the manure could not 
be put into a large wheelbarrow and taken to the mixen 
at once. The horse and cow manure should also be taken 
to the mixen everyday. "We think this would be less 
work (and being done daily, would be leas likely to be 
neglected) than hauling the horse manure to the pig-pens. 
^Ylsent growls!:? in "^Taies-. — ""W. 
T.," of Tennessee, sends us a head of Tappahannock 
wheat " out of one hundred that grew in the bottom of 
a ditch 3 feet deep, with a running stream of water, half 
an inch deep, from about the time it was sown until the 
middle of May, when the water failed in the ditch." 
It was a fine head of wheat. There were 54 kernels in 
the head, and all of them except two were very plump 
and of good length. They were remarkably white for 
red wheat— whiter than the average samples of amber 
wheat. The fact that it grew in running water for sever- 
al months proves what we have often asserted, that it is 
merely stagnant water that is so injurious to wheat dur- 
ing the winter and spring months. No matter how 
much water there is in the soil, if it is only frequently 
changed so that the roots of the plants can get oxygen. 
" Can TTinsiotlay "be sown in llac 
Spring and a crop obtained the first year ?" — No. But 
if sown in August or September, on rich, well-prepared 
land, a fine crop of hay may be obtained the next sum- 
mer. When sown in the fall, without any other crop, it 
Bhould be mown, not pastured, the first season. 
Bee Notes — By M. Quinby. 
ITSie Apiary in November. — Bees that have 
been properly cared for will need but little attention this 
mouth, but any neglected duty should be remembered 
now. Store away unfilled boxe3 for future use. If any 
contain dry comb, it may remain in them another year, 
provided it be kept cold enough this winter to destroy 
the eggs of the moth. Of course, it must be protected 
from the mice. Honey to be strained will need to be 
warmed, unless just taken from the bees. If anycolonies 
lack stores, take up or feed as prudence dictates. If they 
have combs enough to hold it, Southern honey or syrup 
of sugar and water may be profitably fed. No one need 
expect to feed with profit at this season of the year, if 
the comb to store it in has to be built. If straw hives 
have been prepared for winter, bees and combs can be 
transferred to them now as well as later. The progres- 
sive bee-keeper will see the necessity of having movable 
frames of some kind. Hives may be painted now with- 
out damage to the bees in them. Hives intended for 
swarms another year should be painted. Some light 
color is preferable. Two or more colors should alternate 
in the row where the hives are at all crowded, so that 
the bees of each hive can recognize their own without 
difficulty. 
Elivjiiig Sees. — "J. H. P.," describes a method of 
hiving bees successfully. But as progressive bee cultur- 
ists will lessen the number of natural s\varms to be hived 
annually, they will be more interested in the means of 
preventing swarms from issuing at all He also de- 
scribes a " smoker" which consists of an old tin teapot, 
in which he puts a piece of newspaper that has been sat- 
urated with solution of saltpetre, and dried, and then 
ignites and blows the smoke among the bees to quiet 
them. This is doubtless good ; but it would answer well 
made into a roll, and used without the teapot. As rotten 
wood is equally effectual, more convenient, and more 
economical, I would use it. Hard wonld should be se- 
lected. Have found Apple-tree very good, not so decayed 
but it will hold together. Saw into strips an inch square, of 
any length, and make dry. Set fire to one end, and with 
a small pipe of wood or tin, held by the teeth, the smoke 
can be directed to any part of tho hive among the bees. 
This smoking weapon is one of the bee keeper's chief 
aids. "With it, he can go into the interior of the hive, 
examine every cell and bee unmolested. No one can 
fully appreciate the charms in natural history that this 
subject presents, who is in constant fear of stings. One 
of the first lessons in improved bee culture is, to get rid 
of fear. 
Progress in Bee Culture.— Predictions made 
not long since, have been more than realized. Eecent 
experiments have demonstrated that if the room in our 
hives for surplus boxes is quadrupled, that the amount 
of honey stored will be increased proportionally. It fur- 
ther demonstrates that if the extra room in the hive is 
filled with clean, empty combs, and emptied with a ma- 
chine as soon as stored with honey, this amount is 
doubled. To state particularly. In the old system of 
box-hives and caps, it required good apiaries and good 
seasons to give an average of 30 lbs. box surplus to the 
hive. With the next improvement 150 lbs. was realized. 
With the facility for emptying combs — the next step — we 
have 350 lbs. of the purest quality. When a crop of 
wheat can be doubled by any new method of culture and 
no more expense, and farmers become assured that there 
is no humbng about it, enough are ready to adopt it. 
Where the crop of honey collected can be increased ten- 
fold by a certain method there ought to be enough inter- 
ested to collect the millions of pounds now wasted in this 
State alone. I am not without vouchers for these state- 
ments. The space allotted to the Apiary in the Agricul- 
turist shall be devoted to instructions tending to these 
results. They are within the reach of all that have the 
ability and energy to adapt means to ends. 
A Rabbit Park and Rabbit Keeping. 
e 
"A Farmer's Boy" finds rabbits profitable 
and gives a sketch and description of his en- 
closure for keeping them. It was intended for 
the Boys and Girls' columns, but as it will be 
likely to interest older persons too, we give it 
here. Though written by a boy wo find his ac- 
count more explicit than those we sometimes 
receive from much older people: "My park is 
20 yards square. I have pickets sawed 2 inches 
thick, from 7 to 11 inches broad, and 8 feet long. 
These, I set, three feet in the ground, thus leav- 
ing five feet above ground. It is in four divis- 
ions, as shown in the accompanying diagram : 
first, there is a main yard or court (1) for the 
rabbits to stay in generally; 2, is a room 
for the young; 3, 3, are breeding rooms; 4, 4, 
are boxes, these are entered by a small hole 3 or 
4 inches from the ground. If the}' are hot pro- 
vided with boxes they will dig holes in the 
ground. When I expect a litter I put the fe- 
male in a room by herself as the male will some- 
times destroy the young before they get old 
enough to keep out of danger, which is when 
they are three to five days old. I, however, 
keep them separated for two or three weeks. 
The females should be well supplied with food. 
Rabbits will eat almost any vegetable; they are 
very fond of sweet apples, cabbages, salads, and 
1 Shu En] 
i 
4\ 4\4 
should hare at least a small park of domestic 
rabbits, they are no trouble to keep, and much 
pleasure and profit can be derived by them." 
Hew to make the Boys good Farmers. 
Induce them to take an interest in the farm, 
in the implements, in the stock ; tell them all 
your plans, your successes and failures; give 
them a history of your own life, and what you 
did and how you lived when a boy; but do not 
harp too much on the degenerate character of 
the young men of the present age ; praise litem 
■when you can, and encourage them to do still 
better. Let them dress up for the evening, instead 
of sitting down in their dirt}- clothes in a dingy 
room. Provide plenty of light; thanks to ker- 
osene, our country homes can be as brilliantly 
and as cheaply lighted as the gas-lit houses in 
the city. Encourage the neighbors to drop in 
evenings. Talk agriculture rather than politics ; 
speak more of the importance of large crops, of 
good stock, of liberal feeding, and of the advan- 
tages of making animals comfortable,rather than 
of the hard times, low prices and high wages. 
Above all, encourage the boys to read good, ag- 
ricultural booJcs. Papers are all well enough, 
but an intelligent boy wants something more 
and better. Get him some good agricultural 
book to study. Read it with him, and give him 
the benefit of your experience and criticism. 
When he has mastered this, buy him another. 
In our own case, we owe our love for farming 
principally to the fact that our father talked to 
us of every thing that was doing on the farm; 
answering all our questions and encouraging, 
rather than refusing, our childlike desire of help- 
ing him to plow, to chop, to let off water, and 
fire the brush heap. 
PLAN OF A EAB3IT PARK. 
purslane. Plantain is not very good for them, 
as it puts their bowels out of order. Fresh wa- 
ter should be kept by them at all times. In 
winter they will eat dry hay like sheep. They 
are very fond of sugar, and it is amusing to 
see them take a lump in their paws and sit 
upon their hind legs and devour it. Rabbits 
are great scratchers, and if a cat should get into 
a pen of grown rabbits it will seldom get out 
alive unless assisted. Every country residence 
Ogden Farm Papers— Ho. 11. 
I can now report the apparent results on the 
different parts of my cornfield, as described in 
the April number. There has not been much 
difference in the growth over the whole field, 
and that the necessity for ''topping" most of 
the crop to get food for the cows has, to a cer- 
tain extent, vitiated the experiments, so much 
so that it is not worth while to measure the 
product of the different portions. 
After a careful examination, however, I am 
confident that the largest growth, the best ear- 
ing, and the greatest freedom from weeds, are 
observable on the narrow strip that was ma- 
nured in September (on grass.) plowed in No- 
vember, and only harrowed in the spring just 
before planting. That which la}' in sod until 
May, and had a strong growth of grass, induced 
by the fall manuring, was next best, even after 
making due allowance for the earlier planting 
of this side of the field. The land on which 
rye was grown hist year did hardly so well as 
that which produced corn fodder at the same 
time (and roots the year before.) The lye had 
been manured with fish guano, and the corn 
fodder with manure from the cellar. 
The whole field had been very heavily ma- 
nured, and the whole has produced a very good 
crop. It is not yet husked, but may safely be 
estimated at 70 bushels of shelled corn to the 
acre, or 665 bushels on the 9'| 3 acres. This 
would be worth, at present prices here foi 
Northern corn, over $S00, besides the consider- 
able value of the fodder. Still, I do not think 
the corn crop pays so well as other things 
would, and every thing cannot be grown by a 
farmer who has only a limited supply of labor 
