256 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
fjlJLIf, 
evidently honest and sincere in his statement, and went 
off somewhat offended that we did not admit his claims. 
He left with us a circular setting forth the virtues of his 
“Improved Mineral Manure,’’ which is about the funni¬ 
est thing we have seen of late. He says of his “ manure ” 
that it is “ A perfect renovator and purifier of soil, * * * 
cleansing soils from cut worms. Peach, Apple, Cabbage, 
Potato worms, and tree borers, creating new energy in 
earth, air, water, animal, vegetable, and yard manures. 
Generating a new distillation of tree, fruit, plant, grass, 
vegetable food.’’—Was there ever such a farrago of non¬ 
sense! But there is more of it. We are informed by 
this circular some astounding facts: “ There is mineral 
in our blood, in all plants, trees, fruits, grains, grass, 
vegetable, wool, cotton, milk, beef, pork, butter.” More 
yet, “Mineral aids soils, animal and vegetable manures 
to generate food for plants, and cleanses soils from 
worms and insects.” Just what high old “ mineral ” it 
is that does all these we are not told. But all this non¬ 
sense has the one thing needed to complete it. The 
author quotes the “Farmers’ Club, American Institute,” 
as indorsing his ridiculous claims. It is just such 
stuff as the Farmers’ Club would indorse—and no other 
body on the face of the earth would or could. The man 
is evidently honest, according to his knowledge, and the 
Club indorses, according to its knowledge. 
(Basket Items continued on page 279.) 
Bee Notes for July. 
BY X.. C. ROOT, MOHAWK, N. Y. 
In sections where the Basswood or Linden tree abounds, 
the choicest honey will be gathered this month. In Cen¬ 
tral New York it usually blossoms about the 15th of the 
month. I have known some very strong stocks to gath¬ 
er as much as 24 lbs. in a single day when Basswood was 
at its best. Of course, such results are attained only un¬ 
der the most favorable circumstances. I speak of the 
abundant yield of this honey to indicate the desirability 
of observing all the necessary requirements for securing 
it. I think that in quality, Basswood honey is not sur¬ 
passed by that from any other source. It is very light 
in color, and its peculiarly minty flavor is very superior. 
Yet in many sections, White Clover and Raspberry yield 
honey in profusion, and of fine color and quality. These 
blossom a little before Basswood. Where Basswood 
trees are abundant, full sets of boxes may usually be 
filled. Boxes should be removed promptly aa fast as 
filled. Where a yield from other sources does not fol¬ 
low that from Basswood, do not add empty boxes too 
late in the season, as they will be but partly filled. 
When surplus honey is taken with the Honey Extrac¬ 
tor, instead of in boxes, I would advise extracting all the 
early gathered honey from the hives at the time that the 
yield of fine, white honey commences, so that this qual¬ 
ity may be secured by itself. The ability to keep each 
quality of honey by itself is one of the especial advan¬ 
tages of the Extractor. The benefits to be derived from 
Fig. 1.— THE HONEY EXTRACTOR. 
an intelligent use of the Extractor, should command the 
attention of all enterprising bee-keepers. I am of the 
opinion that there would be a more general adoption of 
this method of securing honey were it not that the oper¬ 
ation is thought to be very difficult. But with ample 
experience I may confidently assert that it may be more 
satisfactorily practised than the process of boxing. To 
make the operation clearer, I give (fig. 1) an engraving 
of the Extractor. Within the can is a reel with four 
sides, covered with coarse wire-cloth. The combs to be 
extracted are placed against the wire-cloth on the inside, 
and the reel revolved by means of a suitable gearing. 
When the reel re¬ 
volves with sufficient 
rapidity, the honey 
is, by centrifugal 
force, thrown out of 
the cells against the 
sides of the can. The 
reel removed from 
the can is shown at 
a in figure 2. At b 
is a comb-basket to 
hold small pieces of 
comb, from which it 
is desired to remove 
the honey; this is 
placed in the reel 
just as a whole 
frame. If the honey 
in the combs is seal¬ 
ed the capping is 
first removed by 
means of a knife for 
the purpose, shown 
in figure 3. The hive 
containing combs to 
be extracted should he removed to the rear of its 
stand, and its place supplied with an empty one. Take 
out the combs and shake or brush the bees from them in 
front of the empty hive. A little practice is necessary 
to determine the speed requisite to throw out the honey, 
and not dislodge the brood in such combs as contain 
portions of it. After the honey is thrown from one side 
of the comb, reverse it, and empty the other side. The 
combs may then be 
replaced in the 
hive, and the bees 
returned to them. 
One of the marked 
advantages of this 
process is, in the fact that the bees are saved the labor 
and expense of being required to build the combs in 
which to store their honey, as they are obliged to do in 
boxes. Honey may be thrown out by the use of the Ex¬ 
tractor any number of times without harming the combs. 
Fig. 2.- 
-REEL AND COMB 
BASKET. 
Fig. 3. —HONEY KNIFE. 
Concerning a Few Common Plants. 
BY PROF. ASA GRAY. 
This is the title of a couple of primers (6x4 inches), 
of 30 pages apiece, written by Prof. Goodale, for the use 
of teachers, and issued by the Boston Natural History 
Society. The edition sold out at once, and a new edi¬ 
tion is ordered. The thing came to pass in this wise: 
1. The Boston School Committee ordered that all school¬ 
teachers in the Public Schools should give an object 
lesson , once a week or once a month, to their schol¬ 
ars—should teach them how to observe and look 
into plants and stones, fish, flesh, and fowl. 2. Now, 
taking the teachers as they run, it was found that 
only about one in a hundred knew anything about 
objects—knew what an object was when they saw 
it, or knew what to do with it when they happened 
to know what it was. They knew how to hear lessons 
out of a book ; but here the rule was that no book what¬ 
ever w'as to be used. 3. So some good people—mostly 
ladies (if that does not go without saying)—got up a 
course of teaching for the teachers, at the Boston Natur¬ 
al History Society, and got such men as Mr. Scudder, 
and Prof. Hyatt, and Prof. Goodale—men who know 
what objects are, and what to do with them—to play the 
part of teacher, while the teachers played the part of 
children learning how to see things, and were shown 
how the mind of a child or a larger boy or girl was to be 
brought to bear on common objects—not to be told very 
much about them, but made to see for themselves, and 
to take a real part in finding out for themselves all about 
the growth and structure of a plant or animal, or the 
formation and qualities of a stone, the making of snow 
and ice, and the like.—These object-lectures being free, 
the teachers came by hundreds; and the wise after¬ 
thought of demanding a small entrance fee for the 
course, so that it need not be swamped by over-crowding, 
did not prevent the filling of a large lecture-room. 
The first lesson was given by Prof. Hyatt, and was 
about Pebbles. Several were given by Prof. Goodale, 
and they were about Common Plants. 
The first rule of the course was: No talking about the 
absent. Everything taught was seen and handled—not 
merely seen on the lecture-table, and a specimen or two 
passed round, to be inspected for an instant when the 
lecturer was talking about something else ; but every 
one of four or five hundred teacher-learners had a tray 
given him or her. containing every object that came into 
the discourse. Beans and peas were the first dishes of 
the course, and these were served round bountifully. 
When the rule is to “proceed from the known to the 
unknown,” with what so well as beans could a Down- 
East lecturer begin the botanical education of an audi¬ 
ence “to the manner born?” So every partaker was 
served with two or three beans, au naturel, as they say in 
Franco (and they were what they call in England, French 
beans), that is, dry and in their skins, also with a soaked 
one ready to be slipped out of its skin, another just be¬ 
ginning to start in germination, another fairly started, 
and one that had set the first pair of green leaves, and 
perhaps the third leaf, of three leaflets. What’s the 
difference here, and how has it come to pass ? The teach¬ 
er has to ask a few questions to guide the observation 
and enquiries of the pupils ; and the pupils must answer, 
or be led to answer the questions for themselves, by an 
examination of the objects. Then comes the pea, served 
up in the same style and variety. Then, step by step, 
and part by part, the pea is compared with the bean, the 
differences as well as the likeness noted, and the reasons 
why, are got out of the objects and out of the processes 
in a good degree by the exercise of the pupil’s own 
mind. And so this goes on, until a fair amount of 
really good elementary knowledge is fed to (not poured 
into) the pupils’ minds in such a way that they can as¬ 
similate it, as the seedlings assimilate water and air, and 
make it their own.—Now, these primers showing how it 
is done, contain an abstract of the instruction. They 
are not intended for the pupils, but for the teachers 
who heard the lectures—and for teachers all over the 
country, who would have heard them if they could. We 
will try to give the young readers of the American Agri¬ 
culturist some specimens of these primers. 
The Plum Curculio. 
“ L. W. S.,” Swanton, Vt., writes: “ Please inform us 
what the Curculio is, or how it looks, and in what manner 
it destroys the plum, etc.” Several years ago we gave a 
very full account of this troublesome insect, and illus¬ 
trated it. One of the difficulties with a journal like ours 
is, that new readers are constantly added to the list, to 
whom matters that we have already thoroughly discussed 
are quite new, and we have frequent requests to treat 
subjects that have already been given in full. In some 
cases we advise the inquirer to procure a back number 
which contains an nccount of the subject of his ques¬ 
tion ; in other cases, as in the present, where a number 
have asked about the Curculio, we reproduce an engrav¬ 
ing with a brief account. The engraving was drawn for 
us from life, in 1864, and is one of the best representa¬ 
tions of the Curculio we have seen. The insect is shown 
of its real size and much enlarged. It is of a dark, 
blackish gray, with lighter markings. It comes out of 
its hiding place in the ground or elsewhere in early 
spring, and is around until July or later; it flies or climbs 
up the trees, and so soon as the fruit is set, begins to lay 
its eggs. It makes, with its proboscis, a cresent-shaped 
cut, in which it lays an egg. The larva, hatching from 
this, feeds upon the fruit, and in time the fruit drops to 
the ground, and the full grown larva leaves the fruit and 
enters the ground to complete its changes. When 
the plum curculio (Natural size and enlarged). 
alarmed the insect curls up its legs and feigns death. 
This affords the best, ana only practicable method of de¬ 
stroying it, sheets or other cloths are spread upon the 
ground or held under the tree, while the body of the tree 
is given a sudden jar or thump; the insects fall, and are 
gathered and killed. No applications to drive away the 
Curculio have been found to be of any value. If the 
ground is kept clean and smooth around the trees, and 
shingles, pieces of board, etc., are laid here and there, 
some of the insects will hide under these and. if they 
are examined daily, many may be caught; this is only 
useful ns an accessory to the thumping method. 
