376 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
vantages to be gained were apparent, and practical bee¬ 
keepers everywhere soon availed themselves of them. 
Side-boxing hives were also devised, where the boxes 
aottld be arranged at the sides of the combs, with only 
the thickness of a piece of glass between, giving very 
free access to them (see fig. 3). Then followed the sec¬ 
tion boxes, the popular form of which is made with the 
top and bottom inch narrower than the sides, and 
nailed together, as shown in figure 5 It will be seen 
that if two or more of these boxes are placed together, 
there will be an opening between them of % inch the 
entire length, figure 6. Each section is supplied with a 
piece of white comb, to attract the bees, and secure 
straight comhs. This is the size of entrance that is used 
by the majority of bee-keepers, but, after testing different 
sizes in thousands of instances, I find % inch yet too 
small. In experimenting in this direction, P. H. Elwood 
and myself made our boxes by cutting a slot in both sides 
of each end-piece, in addition to the \ inch, as shown in 
Fig. 6.—BOXES PLACED TOGETHER. 
figure 7. and after testing it largely by the side of the I»- 
inch entrance without the slot, found the larger passage to 
be much preferable. But the extra work in preparing the 
honey for market made this undesirable. Captain Ileth- 
erington, one of the most extensive and practical bee¬ 
keepers in the world, makes the top and bottom of his 
box but one inch wide, so that when 
placed together, there is a space of 
one inch between the boxes the entire 
length. I am at present using an en¬ 
trance 716 inch wide, and would pre¬ 
fer it. larger rather than smaller. I am 
aware that the queen will occasionally enter the boxes 
and deposit some eggs, but in the practical workings of 
an apiary, this disadvantage is hardly worthy of mention, 
when the advantage of the larger entrance is estimated. 
I have tested these different methods in so many ways, 
and on so large a scale, and noted the results so carefully, 
that I feel justified in pronouncing the a / 16 inch entrance 
referred to, to be entirely impracticable and undesirable, 
if the best results are to be attained. 
The “Grape Vine” Raspberry. 
In a notice, in May last, of a Raspberry to which 
Mr. Win, Holland, Plymouth, Ind., had sent out as 
“A New Raspberry,” under the name of “Grape 
Vine,” we quoted “The Evergreen,” a Nursery 
paper published at Green Bay,Wis., as to its origin. 
“The Evergreen” stated that Mr. Holland pur¬ 
chased the plants he offered as the “ Grape Vine 
Raspberry,” of Phinney & Co., at Green Bay, Wis. 
This statement of the “Evergreen,” Mr. Holland 
denies in toto, and with emphasis. He gives in full 
detail the manner in which he obtained the plants 
in question, which is in brief, as follows: Having 
had specimens of leaves and fruit of a raspberry he 
had never seen before, brought to him from the 
garden of Mr. John German, of Donaldson, Mar¬ 
shall Co., Ind., and learning that said German 
would trade these plants for apple trees, he, Holland, 
sent the required apple trees by his grandfather, 
who returned with the raspberry plants. As this 
account is given with reference to persons and 
dates so minutely, we have no doubt that this is the 
history of the method by which Mr. Holland came 
into possesion of the plant, to which he gave the 
name of “Grape Vine Raspberry.” 
Cleaning Up.— The season being practically 
ended, and the harvesting being finished, it will be 
a useful work to rake up the debris of the harvest 
fields, gather the rubbish in heaps, and burn it, to¬ 
gether with the insects and seeds of weeds which it 
will contain. Potato-stalks thus disposed of, may 
take with them a part of the last brood of the Col¬ 
orado beetle ; and the rakings of wheat and corn 
fields will gather with them myriads of Hessian flies, 
Chinch bugs, flea beetles, and other insects, besides 
the spores of rust and the like. The cleaning up of 
fence rows will remove much rubbish that harbors 
vermin. A few bundles of corn-stalks, laid about 
the orchard, will attract mice, which may then be 
destroyed by means of poisoned corn-meal or grain 
steeped in a solution of Sugar of Lead. Cleaning 
around the trees will also prevent the harboring of 
mice and future damage, when the snow covers the 
ground. It is impossible to refer particularly to 
every thing that may be done, but it may be enough 
to suggest that much useful work in this way will 
be found during this month, if it is only looked for. 
When to Apply Manure. 
The common practice among farmers is to make 
a general clearing of the yards and barn cellars 
once a year, either in the spring or fall. Either 
practice makes a heavy draft upon the teams, and 
has its disadvantages. If this work is done in the 
spring, it is when the ground is soft, and other 
work is exceedingly pressing. If the manure is 
drawn out in the fall, and dropped in heaps upon 
the field to be cultivated next season, there is more 
or less waste by leaching and by evaporation. There 
is a growing disposition among our intelligent far¬ 
mers to apply manure directly to growing crops, or 
as near the time of planting and sowing as possible. 
It is felt that the sooner manure is put within reach 
of the roots of plants, the better for the crops and 
their owner. Manure is so much capital invested, 
and bears interest only as it is consumed in the soil. 
The barn-cellar may be so managed as to manu¬ 
facture and turn out fertilizers every month in the 
year, so that the farmer may suit his convenience 
in applying them to the soil. When manure is not 
wanted for cultivated crops, it is always safe to 
apply it to the grass crop, either in pastures or upon 
meadows after mowing. Top-dressing is growing 
in favor with our intelligent farmers. Grass pays 
better than almost any farm crop in the older States, 
and the spreading of compost, saves the necessity 
of frequent plowing and seeding. By top-dressing 
at any convenient season of the year, fields may be 
kept profitably in grass for an indefinite time. 
The Golden Eagle.— (See First Page.) 
“It measured seven feet four inches from tip to 
tip of its wing,” is read of less frequently now than 
formerly in the local papers, where the description 
of the shooting of a “ Golden Eagle, by our fel¬ 
low citizen, William Noakes, Esquire,” is recorded. 
To be sure it was after all only “Bill Noakes” who 
shot the eagle. Why should he shoot him ? Had 
he no eye for the beauty of his broad sweeps ? had 
he no sense of the grandeur with which the bird 
soared, with scarce the movement of a wing, as he 
was filling the station for which he was created far 
better than the other biped, who, with one move¬ 
ment of his useless finger, sent the ball, and down 
came our grandest bird, a blood-draggled, lifeless 
and useless thing—but then “ its wings spread over 
seven feet. ” Why should he shoot him ? Why is 
it that everything that flies, no matter how rare, 
how grand, or how full of interest the creature when 
alive, or how worthless when dead, it must die. 
We say that the notices of eagle-shooting appear 
less frequently, for the good reason that eagles are 
less rarely shot. They are disappearing year by 
year, so that in time we shall only know of them, 
as we know of the Dodo, from stuffed species, and 
when these arc destroyed, by pictures and a bone 
or two. Even now the Golden Eagle is seldom seen 
east of the Rocky Mountains and is rare every¬ 
where. Its length is a little over 3 feet, its spread 
of wings about 7 feet. Its general color is dark- 
brown with a purplish gloss, while the neck and 
hinder part of the head are light brownish yellow, 
from which it gets its name of “ golden.” The tail 
consists of 12 broad feathers which the Indians 
prize very highly as personal ornaments, and who, 
before they had fire arms, could only procure these 
feathers with great difficulty and danger. This 
Eagle is remarkable for its long-sustained flight, 
moving for hours at a great height in grand circles 
without apparent effort. It darts from its lofty 
place with great precision and pounces upon its 
Fig. 7. 
prey with unerring aim. Fawns, hares, and other 
small quadrupeds, with wild turkeys and other 
large birds are its chief food. It takes its own 
prey and does not, like the Bald Eagle, lay in wait 
to rob the more industrious Fish-hawk of its food, 
for which reason and others, Franklin is said to 
have regretted that this cowardly bird should 
have been chosen for the national emblem instead 
of the Golden Eagle. As this is found also in Eu¬ 
rope, where it is called the Royal Eagle, it is proba¬ 
ble that nothing “ royal ” could be tolerated by our 
patriotic forefathers. Whether sweeping through 
the upper air or standing upon some isolated peak 
it is a truly majestic bird. Our artist has represented 
him in this last-named position, in the picture which 
he calls the “ Eagle’s Throne.” As hereseen he may 
well be called the “ King of Birds,” and his air of 
majesty should be a sufficient safe-guard with all 
right minded persons ; there should be a law to 
protect him from those lazy worthless fellows who 
disgrace the name of sportsman by shooting at 
everything living that wears fur or feathers. 
Editorial Correspondence. — Items from 
Notes by the Way. 
Dairying: in Wisconsin. 
Beloit , Wis .—The remarkable display of butter 
and cheese from Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, 
at the International Dairy Fair in N. Y., last De¬ 
cember, was a surprise to many Eastern people, es¬ 
pecially to some residents of the leading N. Y. 
dairy counties, whose products had long held the 
highest rank. It is safe to say that Northern Illinois 
and Southern and Eastern Wisconsin have the pas¬ 
turage and other facilities for successfully compet¬ 
ing with the entire dairy region of New York and 
Vermont. I came from Madison to this point by 
invitation of Mr. Clinton Babbitt, proprietor of 
the Hemdoka Stock Farm, and he and Mr. S. J. 
Goodwin aided me greatly in visiting sundry farms, 
etc. Mr. Goodwin now sells the milk of his own 
herd, delivering it to the consumers in Beloit, at 3 
cts. per qt., up to Sept. 1st, and he finds this more 
profitable than making butter or cheese at the pres¬ 
ent prices. As he formerly took first premiums for 
the best butter, at St. Louis and elsewhere, and was 
called upon to address the State Convention, I give 
some notes gathered in conversation with him dur¬ 
ing our twenty miles ride about the country. 
S. J. Goodwin's Experience in Butter-Making:. 
His cows are mostly grade Jerseys, with some 
mixture of Shorthorn. The milk-room, a little be¬ 
low the ground surface, has the ice-house along the 
northern side. Against this, a lower space 28inches 
high is constructed, with slats above for holding 
ice. In this space, the milk is placed in cans 20 
inches high and 8 inches in diameter. These are set 
in galvanized iron pans, 4 inches deep. The melt¬ 
ing ice drops down upon the covers and runs down 
over the sides into the pans,running over into drains 
when the pans are full. This keeps the tempera¬ 
ture at about 50°, and the cream is 36 to 48 hours 
in rising. After churning, and working out the 
butter-milk thoroughly, he salts with I ounce of 
salt to the pound for early use, and 1 ounce to the 
pound for butter to be kept to autumn and winter. 
BUTTER A GREAT ABSORBENT OF ODORS. 
Mr. Goodwin lays much stress upon keeping every 
thing neat about and in the vicinity of the butter 
and cream rooms. The hand is not allowed to come 
in contact with the butter during making, working, 
or packing. When his butter was selling in St. 
Louis, as “ A No. 1,” report came that a couple of 
firkins had fallen below the standard, owing to a 
little bad flavor. After considerable investigation, 
it was found that the cover to the wooden conduit 
or pipe that carried the buttermilk to the swine at a 
distance, did not fit quite tight, and the odor from 
some of the milk that had soured along the pipe, 
came into the milk-room, though so sliarhtly as not 
to be perceived ordinarily. Attention to this, re¬ 
stored his butter to its accustomed rank. At another 
time, a light puff of smoke got into the milk- 
room, and deteriorated a batch of butter. In short. 
