1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
399 
Camp Tip-Top. 
You can have an “outing” without going far 
from home. The city practice of seeking in the 
summer months an exchange of air and surround¬ 
ings is so rapidly extending, that both village and 
rural dwellers are now coming to conform to it— 
and wisely too, for it promotes both health and 
happiness. Very many who live on farms can 
secure this change from the humdrum of every¬ 
day-life at little expense, and without going far 
from home. Build upon the 
wooded hill on your farm a 
.little rustic house, where your 
family can “ put up ” for a 
few weeks every summer. The 
-change will be a novelty as 
well as an enjoyment for your¬ 
self and your family. The 
■engraving illustrates such a 
dwelling which the proprie¬ 
tor of “ Houghton Farm ” has 
built on the mountain side, 
-overlooking the main resi¬ 
dence. The air is very invigor¬ 
ating, the nights are cool, the 
view is very commanding and 
beautiful, the family go to 
and fro, housekeeping is easy, 
and life is far more enjoyable 
than at a crowded resort. Here 
you can have your city friends 
■come and visit you, living on 
your plain fare, sleeping on 
the extemporized beds. 
Far up the side of Shawan- 
gunk Mountain, overlooking 
the rich agricultural regions 
of the Ulster Valley, an eu- 
terprizing citizen of Ellen- 
ville has constructed several 
cheap board cabins. They 
are in active demand by the 
people below, who report that 
they find just as cool air, and 
just as much enjoyment there, 
as though they went a hun¬ 
dred miles or more away from 
home. You can construct such 
a cottage or hamlet at a tri¬ 
fling cost. Camp Tip-Top went 
up almost in a day. The sides 
of the room consist of swing¬ 
ing boards, which can be fast¬ 
ened up at night time, thus 
permitting the air to sweep 
through both floors. Several 
farmers living in the neighborhood of a wooded 
hill or mountain, might club together and erect 
their cabins in close proximity, thereby forming a 
pleasant company to spend a short vacation most 
enjoyably—where they will have a little romance 
anda great deal of enjoyment thrown into their rural 
lives, at a very little expense. Now in the autumn 
is a good time, when you have leisure, to construct 
such a home retreat for next summer. Select a 
■site near a spring, and if you do not feel able to 
■employ a carpenter, you can, with a few tools 
and some timber, readily construct your own cabin. 
Advice about Planting Pears. 
“G. K.,” Green Co., Pa., writes us : “I intend to 
set out an acre in dwarf pears this fall and I wish 
your advice in selecting the varieties, as this is a 
matter in which I am not posted. Please name a 
few of the most advisable for all purposes and 
oblige, etc.” Our response to this would be like 
the advice of Punch to those about to marry : 
“Don’t.” We assume that our friend has an acre 
that he wishes to devote to pear culture ; he has 
read that dwarf pears can be planted closely, will 
yield largely, and that he can get more from an 
acre in dwarfs than from one in standards. If he 
wishes to get the largest possible number of vari¬ 
eties from an acre for his own amusement and in- 
■struction in pear culture, then he can plant dwarfs. 
If, as we suppose, he has profit in view, he should 
be shy of them. He wishes to make a pear- 
orchard ; then his first question should be : “Where 
is the fruit to be marketed?” If to be supplied 
to a market near by, then let him inquire of the 
leading dealers, the kinds most in demand. Not 
long ago a prominent nurseryman gave it as his 
opinion that “ of every 100 pear-trees planted in 
this country, 90 were Bartletts.” This may be 
somewhat extravagant, but it is not far from the 
truth. If our friend has determined to plant 
dwarf trees, we can say that experience has shown 
that but one variety can be profitably cultivated as 
a dwarf, the Duchesse d’Angouleme, generally 
known in the markets as “ The Duchess.” All 
others are more profitable upon pear roots. For 
the varieties to plant on our friend’s acre, the de¬ 
mands of the market should be consulted. Bart¬ 
lett sells everywhere, because every one knows it. 
Beurre Clairgeau, the showiest of pears, comes 
later, as does the Seckel, which is also generally 
known, and the Duchesse d’Angouleme is of the 
same season. The popular later varieties are: 
Lawrence, Beurre d’Anjou, Winter Nelis and Vicar 
of Winkfield. The list might he greatly extended, 
but with pears, as with all other products, it is 
best before planting to consult the market. 
“Plaster of Paris.” —“ C. C.,” Washington, 
Iowa, asks us about “Plaster of Paris” as a fertil¬ 
izer. He, of course, refers to Plaster, which is 
often incorrectly called Piaster of Paris. The 
Plaster used upon land is native Sulphate of Lime, 
or Gypsum. This, as taken from the quarry, con¬ 
tains about one-fourth its weight of water. When 
heated, this water is driven off, and it becomes 
Plaster of Paris, which, when mixed with water, 
“ sets,” or becomes hard, and is used for hard finish 
and for making moulds, etc. Plaster of Paris, 
which has been heated, is never used as a fertilizer. 
The crude rock merely ground fine, and known as 
Plaster, Land Plaster, and Gypsum, is the material 
employed. Plaster is usually sold by the dealers in 
agricultural implements. It is a fertilizer that is 
often of considerable value, especially upon clover. 
Bee Notes for October. 
Requisites to Safe Wintering. 
There is no subject which is of more interest to 
the bee-keeper than that of wintering. About 
once in four or five years there 
is general and wide-spread 
mortality among the bees of 
ourNorthern States, and every 
year more or less loss. Bees, 
to winter safely, must not be 
subjected to very long con¬ 
tinued cold. The air about 
the hive should be at around 
45° Fahrenheit. Each colony 
should also have a good pro¬ 
portion of young bees, and at 
least 30 pounds of food. This 
iast may be capped honey or 
syrup made of the best sugar. 
Too much care can not be 
taken to have the air in the 
hive kept sweet and whole¬ 
some. There are several meth¬ 
ods used to secure uniform 
temperature. Some persons 
use Chaff hives, which differ 
from the common hive in be¬ 
ing double-tvalled, and having 
a space of four or five inches 
filled in with fine chaff or fine 
dry saw-dust. These are in 
great favor with some of our 
best bee-keepers. The objec¬ 
tions to them are their cost; 
they are heavy and awktvard 
to move, and the fact that in, 
very cold winters, like those 
of 1880 and 1881, they have 
failed in many cases. Another 
method is to surround the 
common hive with a box, and 
fill the space, which may be 
as wide as desired, with chaff 
or sawdust. In this case we 
must so arrange that the bees 
can fly whenever the heat im¬ 
pels them to do so. Packing 
also fails in very severe win¬ 
ters. Another method which 
finds favor with some, usually 
those that have a limited experience, is to bury the 
Dees, surrounding the hives with 6traw, and arrang¬ 
ing for ventilation as iu burying fruit. This method 
works well in most cases. If, however, the bees be¬ 
come overheated, or the field mice or moles fill the 
entrance to the hive, the apiarist knows nothing 
of the trouble. On the whole, burying is not to be 
recommended to all, though in very careful hands 
it may generally succeed. The best method, and 
one that we may rely upon as certain of success, 
if rightly managed, is that of wintering in a cellar. 
IIow to Make a Good Bee Cellar. 
The room for the bees should be separate from 
the rest of the cellar, unaffected by odors from 
vegetables or heat from the rest of the cellar. 
From near the bottom of this room run a five-inch 
drain-tile through the ground for 80 feet, and then 
bring it to the surface. This tile should be at 
least six feet below the surface of the ground. 
Somewhere within the room, from near the bot¬ 
tom, a four-inch pipe of tin or iron should pass up 
and connect with a pipe from a stove that is in 
constant use. Thus each day, as there is a fire in 
the stove, the air is drawn from the room, and is 
supplied by the drain-tile. Thus the air is kept 
constantly sweet and of a proper temperature. 
As the bees are put into the cellar, remove the 
cover of the hives slightly, leaving the cloth cover 
on, and the entrance open. The cedar should be 
mice-proof, and the outer end of the pipe ventilator 
CAMP TIP-TOP. — Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
