310 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August. 
Bee Notes for August. 
BY L. C. BOOT. 
These Notes are prepared about a month in ad¬ 
vance of their appearance. In writing near the 
end of June, while I endeavor as far as possible to 
give directions suitable to the month, it is necessary 
to bear in mind the causes which may affect present 
conditions. It is conceded that bees generally 
were in very poor condition in early spring, as a 
result of the severe winter. I have urged that 
those who had been partially successful in winter¬ 
ing should make extra efforts to give their bees 
excellent care, as such attention was quite likely to 
be rewarded with ample returns. 
In this locality the warm weather of the last of 
May and early June was very favorable to breed¬ 
ing, and a marked advance was made in securing 
an increase of bees. I think I can safely affirm 
that we have never been better able to increase the 
strength of our colonies, than during the past 
spring. The past week has been, here, very cold 
and unfavorable, as much so, that had it not been 
for our success in increasing early, the condition of 
our bees might have been very serious. I antici¬ 
pate that those who are keeping bees in box-hives, 
after the old method, will in many instances suffer 
disastrously. I again repeat that the possibil¬ 
ities of bee-keeping are not fully comprehended, 
even by some of our active bee-keepers. I do this 
to encourage a more thorough investigation of the 
best methods, which will so surely lead to results 
almost incredible to those unacquainted with 
modern bee-keeping. 
Kate at which Honey Is Gathered. 
I shall commence here to give, as I have done 
heretofore, the weight of honey taken from a 
selected hive at different dates. We have chosen 
for this purpose one of our best Italian colonies, 
and have given it every advantage. The queen was 
very prolific, and choicest combs have been fur¬ 
nished so that she has been able to deposit eggs to 
her utmost capacity. The weather has been favor¬ 
able to rapid increase. The bees are in a two-story 
large Quinby hive, which has been supplied with 
thirty-two combs, from which the honey is to be 
taken with a honey extractor. I shall not only give 
the weight of the honey as it is taken out from 
time to time, but also give the gain at intervals of 
a few hours, on different days, which will prove of 
interest to the reader. 
The first honey was extracted June 25th, when 
it was all removed from the entire number of 
combs. The amount was 96 lbs. June 26th was 
the first warm, fair day for over a week, and duriug 
the day they gathered over 20 lbs. In sections 
where fall pasturage is not abundant, I would cau¬ 
tion bee-keepers to not add boxes too late in the 
season, as well as to use care in extracting too late. 
Many who are inexperienced may extend this so 
far, as to fail to leave sufficient stores for winter. 
King Birds Again. 
A correspondent from Delaware expresses an 
opinion, that the king birds kill only the drones. I 
am satisfied that they do eat the worker bees as 
they return to the hives with honey. Yet, as I 
have heretofore said, I do not advise killing them. 
Bees and Cider. 
Another correspondent suggests that the losses 
in bees during this past winter were largely due to 
the fact, that from the great abundance of apples, 
bees appropriated cider quite extensively during 
the fall. It is unquestionable that the juice from 
such quantities of decaying fruit, as well as the 
cider gathered in the vicinity of cider mills, would 
have a deleterious effect upon bees. While this 
can hardly be considered as the main cause of our 
heavy losses, all will agree that all conditions must 
be most favorable during such severe weather, if 
success is to be attained. Good, well cured, and 
sealed honey is essential,and where cider is gathered 
in abundance late in the fall, this condition can 
hardly be secured. 
Ginseng and Its Culture.— The root of our 
native Ginseng (Aralia quinquefolia) is so much in 
appearance, taste, etc., like the Ginseng so highly 
esteemed by the Chinese, that it is often exported 
and sold to the Orientals at a high price. As 
it is probable that our Ginseng root is equally 
harmless with the Asiatic, there is no harm done by 
substituting the one for the other, as both are 
probably inert so far as any real medicinal qualities 
are concerned. A number of years ago our exports 
of Ginseng were large and profitable, but of late 
the plant, never very abundant, has become very 
scarce. This falling off of the wild supply has 
caused several to ask about its culture, and where 
seeds may be obtained. We doub if cultivation of 
the plant under ordinary conditions, can be at¬ 
tended with success. In the wild state, Ginseng is 
only found growing in deep, rich woods, and never 
any where very abundant. That a plant with such 
a natural preference for shade, can be cultivated to 
a profitable extent, is very doubtful. While little 
is known about it, the roots show that it requires 
several years to bring them to a proper size for 
commerce, and from our knowledge of other plants 
belonging to similar localities, we are quite sure 
that its successful culture in the open field is not 
practicable. In some unusual location, as between 
rows of nursery trees, it might succeed after a 
fashion, but in a general way it may be said that, 
so far as our present knowledge goes, its culture 
on a large scale is not very promising. 
Coverlets from Silkweed Down. 
BY DK. J. CKEtTZE. 
The Milkweed or Silkweed, Asclepias Syriaca, A. 
Carnuti , etc., is so common as to be looked upon by 
many as a weed. At the same time, for various 
reasons, it attracts more attention than perhaps any 
other widely disseminated plant. The fragrance of 
its flowers, the shape of its leaves, its milky juice, 
its strange pod and silky down, cannot fail to 
render the plant conspicuous. Several times efforts 
have been made to find some use for it, but if I am 
well informed, so far without success. More than 
Once it has been proposed to spin the down or silk, 
but it lacks the toughness necessary for a textile 
material. In the country the silk is occasionally 
employed for filling pillows or mattresses, but it is 
too unelastic, and too prone to “felt” to last any 
length of time. In 1875, at the meeting of the 
American Pharmaceutical Association in Boston, 
Mr. William Saunders, of London, Canada, spoke 
of efforts then made to extract rubber from the 
plant. That it contains much caoutchouc is un¬ 
doubted, but the process of extraction—percolation 
with bisulphate of carbon—has probably proved too 
expensive, as the project appears to have been 
abandoned. Last summer, being in the countryat 
the season when the pods become ripe, I put into 
execution a project that I had formed some time 
before, but had not been able to bring to a conclu¬ 
sion. This was to collect the silk to make a bed 
coverlet for the winter, to replace eider down. As 
my experiment proved successful, I will describe 
my process for the benefit of the readers of the 
American Agriculturist. It is as follows : 
Near the end of August, or the beginning of 
September, when the pods are nearly ripe, and 
some of the silk is seen floating in the fields, collect 
a good batch of the pods, and spread them in the 
shade for a day or two. This has the effect of dry¬ 
ing up the sap, so that on shelling the pods no 
milky juice escapes to stain the hands and clothes. 
As soon as the green shells are removed, the seeds 
should be scraped off with a blunt knife. This is 
another important point, for if the inside of the 
pod is allowed to dry it is almost impossible to 
separate the seeds without having the silk flying 
all over the room, while the green seeds are 
scraped off very easily and rapidly. This being 
done, the bundles of silk—for such is their appear¬ 
ance—are spread on shelves, or in any convenient 
place, and left to become almost dry. Finally the 
cores are removed from the center, and the silk is 
put into bed ticking of the proper shape, and 
sewed up. On drying completely, the silk swells 
considerably, and thus makes an extremely warm 
and light coverlet. When freshly made, it com¬ 
pares favorably with real eiderdown. But, remem¬ 
ber it must always be used over the body, not under 
it. Its principal advantage is its remarkable light¬ 
ness. Spread over the feet, it keeps them very 
warm, and yet scarcely any weight is noticed. Be¬ 
fore ending, I must say that, owing to the great 
liability of the silk to “felt,” the milkweed cover¬ 
let is in really good condition for only one winter. 
Mine has been found very comfortable during the 
past unusually cold season, and I propose to make 
another this summer. When not in use the down 
will keep intact for a long while. I had some in a 
paper bag for eight years, that remained as good as 
ever; worms do not attack it. One more word ; 
on handling the pods, it is difficult to avoid some 
stains from the milky juice. On drying, this leaves 
a black spot. As the stain consists of caoutchouc, 
pure and simple, it can be removed by its most 
common solvents, namely, grease or butter. First 
rub the spots with any sort of grease, until the 
black substance is dissolved, then wash your hands 
with soap and water. 
The Bicycle—Its Utility, etc. 
There is much general interest now in this means 
of locomotion, in our own country, and still more 
in England. The long-time Editor of one of our 
leading religious journals, himself a Doctor of 
Divinity, recently crossed the Atlantic, with his 
son, with the intention of travelling through Scot¬ 
land and England, and part of the Continent, upon 
their bicycles, which they have used for some time 
at home. In England, and occasionally in this 
country, journeys of hundreds of miles are made 
with the bicycle. Some go in this way daily from 
their country residences to their city business. 
Some clergymen, especially in England, visit their 
parishioners, and physicians their patients, in the 
same way. In the latter case a special advantage 
is claimed, in the fact that this sort of steed is 
always ready at the door to respond instantly to 
any call; also, that there is no expense for feed, 
for harness, or saddles, or blankets, or for vehi¬ 
cles, and no time lost in hitching. 
An enthusiastic reader of the American Agricul¬ 
turist sends us a long communication (for which 
we have not room), strongly commending the 
bicycle for farmers’ use in going to and from their 
work, going to town, etc. We will not now discuss 
its use on the farm further than to say that it may 
often be convenient, when the distances are long, 
and the roads, paths, or ground to be travelled 
over is sufficiently hard and smooth. Many of our 
publie roads are adapted to its use during a large 
part of the year. Nearly all the public highways 
in Great Britain, and on most of the Continent, 
which have been a thousand years in use, are as 
hard as stone, and are very smooth ; and our edi¬ 
torial friends will journey with all the ease of 
travelling on a barn floor. 
The Bicyclists give us some interesting state¬ 
ments. In the letter before us, it is claimed, for 
example, that to walk a mile requires the expen¬ 
diture of just about seven times as much force as 
to ride and propel a good bicycle the same distance 
—that is, on a smooth, level surface, we suppose. 
The saving of time is also claimed to be an import¬ 
ant feature, as one can travel two to five,times as 
fast on the bicycle as on foot. We have reports 
of a speed in this country of one mile in 2 minutes 
47 seconds ; ten miles in 371 minutes; fifty miles 
in 3 1 /* hours; and one hundred miles in 7 hours. 
Another correspondent thinks that the bicycle is 
to be a promoter of social intercourse and friend¬ 
ship, since, with it, far less time and expense will 
be required to call upon relatives and friends 
twenty, fifty, or more miles away. Also, that as 
soon as farmers have the bicycle in general use, they 
will make much more frequent visits to neighbor¬ 
ing farms, even those quite distant, to see, ob¬ 
serve, and learn. Also, that “ knowledge will be 
more widely diffused, since those who gather 
clubs of subscribers for your journal can, with the 
bicycle, get around more rapidly and take iu a 
much wider circle.” (For this last, as well as other 
reasons, we shall advise our Publishers to put good 
bicycles iu their next Premium List.) 
