482 
AMERICAS AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
“Ennobling” of Grade Stock. 
BY COL. M. C. WELD. 
In the use of the word “ennobling:,” I give an 
English equivalent of a well-known German ex¬ 
pression as applied to the improvement which 
breeding produces in both plants and animals. As 
our Herd-books are conducted, no amount of cross¬ 
ing with recorded sires will wipe out the stains of 
plebeian blood. We can point to Grade Jerseys 
which are known to have only an hundred and 
twenty-eighth of common blood, and yet are grades, 
and must continue to be ; and their progeny can not 
be recorded. This is the seventh generation from 
the scrub or common cow. It is quite likely that 
there may be a few grades of even higher blood 
than this. The eighth cross represents only one two 
hundred and fifty-sixth of common blood. Thus : 
The 1st cross is '/a pure, and Va common blood. 
The 2d cross is 3 / 4 pure, and 1 /., common blood. 
The 3d cross is 7 /« pure, and Vs common blood. 
The 4th cross is 1 “/ 16 pure, and Via common blood. 
The 5th cross is 31 / 3!! pure, and V 32 common blood. 
The 6th cross is 63 / B4 pure, and V 64 common blood. 
The 7th cross is > 37 / 12B pure, and Visa common blood. 
The 8th cross is “Vsse pure, and V 256 common blood. 
Such an animal is for all useful purposes pure- 
blooded, and if the blood be really good, the sires 
well selected, and the dams good, it will be better 
to breed from—a better type of the breed, what¬ 
ever that may be, than the common run of perfect¬ 
ly pure animals raised away from the natural home 
of the breed.—The English Shorthorn Herd-book 
records any cow which shows in her pedigree five 
crosses of recorded bulls. In such a case every 
sire for five generations must be given, with name 
and number, and we presume the breeder must be 
able and ready to exhibit his private herd Agister 
in which the dates of service and birth are kept, 
with descriptions of the marks or distinguishing 
features of the animals. The starting point, how¬ 
ever, among English Shorthorn breeders can not 
well be a scrub or mongrel of mixed blood, as it 
might be with us, for the breeding starts with a 
well-bred “common cow”—a cow without a pedi¬ 
gree, but with all the evidences of blood that a high 
grade has with us, and in fact she would be of 
just as good, or perhaps even better blood than the 
foundation stock from which sprung, by good 
breeding, the Shorthorns, or “Improved Short¬ 
horns,” as they used to be called. Hence it fol¬ 
lows that, should we in this country admit such 
high grade animals to record, and regard them as 
to all intents and purposes pure, it would be neces¬ 
sary to add several generations to the number 
deemed sufficient in breeding up from “common 
cows” in England. 
This whole subject was thoroughly discussed by 
the Shorthorn breeders several years ago, and, if 
I remember rightly, considerable acrimony (per¬ 
haps it might be called frictional electricity) was 
developed. So far as we know, the subject has 
hardly been discussed by the breeders of other 
kinds of cattle, and though a few years ago it 
seemed as if it might for several reasons be really 
worth while to record such animals, times have 
now changed, and it seems the rather preferable 
to devise some way of excluding from the records 
many animals of undoubted purity of blood, but 
of individual inferiority. 
The facts which argue in favor of opening the 
records to high grades are : 1st, that by so doing 
many breeders who are now without hope of ever 
getting their herds recorded, would begin at once 
to breed with care, and to keep accurate pedigrees. 
2d, it would cause a demand for bull calves, and 
a much more general use of thoroughbred sires. 
The more people study pedigrees, the more they 
see the worthlessness of many, and the great value 
of a few; and yet, for us with grade cows, the 
poorest, healthy, thoroughbred bull is likely, nay 
almost certain, to produce better results than any 
grade, for one is not likely to find grades of m /i 2 sth, 
or even of the fifth generation, ( 31 /s 2 ds.) The talk 
among Shorthorn men about “17s” and “Ameri¬ 
can Woods,” and all that, indicates that “short 
pedigrees,” or long ones originating in this country, 
though in the Herd-book, would find no favor here, 
either in this or other breeds. I firmly believe that 
the life of a breed, away from its birth place, is 
comparatively short, and to maintain strong race 
characteristics, it is necessary to refresh the blood 
by occasional strains from the fountain head. 
The Bag-Worm or Basket-Worm. 
One of the most interesting of the injurious in¬ 
sects of the farm and garden, is the Bag-worm 
(Thyridopteryx ephemerceformis). The engraving 
shows this pest in the various stages of develop¬ 
ment. The methods by which insects protect 
themselves are numerous. Some form large webs 
under which many “worms ” live together, others 
live in the interior of vegetable substances, and the 
skin of the fruit, or the cuticle of the leaf serves as 
a protection. Silk is the most common material 
used, and is spun into many forms. The bags of 
the Bag-worm are most conspicuous in the winter, 
when the foliage is not upon the trees. Many of 
these bags are empty, while others contain a num¬ 
ber of soft yellow eggs. The empty bags are of 
the male insects, those with eggs were made by the 
females. A female bag is shown at e, with the 
cluster of eggs in the center. The eggs hatch in 
early summer, and produce brown worms, which 
at once surround themselves with a covering, or 
rock will depend upon the ease with which it may 
be quarried and converted into building stone. If 
in solid masses, like granite, its application will be 
limited. As it takes a fine polish, it will be useful 
for table-tops, mantel-pieces, monuments, etc. 
Our friend is in high glee over the crops, especially 
the potatoes, which, he says, is the largest ever- 
raised. They fairly crack open the ground, and will 
yield from 200 to 300 bushels to the acre. 
DIFFERENT STATES OF THE BAG-WORM. 
“ bag ” as it is termed, as at.^. As the worms grow, 
the bags grow heavy and hang downward; when 
full-grown, they have the size, position, and gen¬ 
eral appearance as shown at /. Should the worm 
be pulled from its casement, it would appear as at 
o, the protected part of the body being reddish and 
soft, while the exposed portion is hard and dark- 
colored. The worms close their bags, and stop 
feeding for a few days, at four different times, for 
the purpose of casting their skins. At the close of 
the feeding season, they fasten their bags to 
twigs by a strong silken band, afterwards cover the 
interior with soft silk, turn with their heads towards 
the lower end, and become chrysalids. The form 
of the insect in this inactive state is shown at 6. 
Three weeks after, the skin of the male chrysalis 
breaks, and the moth, d, escapes. The female, c, 
has no wings, and never leaves the shell until after 
depositing her eggs, when she drops exhausted to 
the ground. The bag-worm feeds upon many ever¬ 
green and deciduous trees. It is particularly fond 
of the Arbor Vitae, and many complaints have 
come from its destructive work upon hedges of 
this evergreen. From a knowledge of the habits 
of this insect, it is obvious that by picking off and 
burning the bags in winter, the pest can be de¬ 
stroyed. This is quick work when the bags are 
few. The worms are so perfectly encased, that birds 
are not tempted to eat them, and the application of 
poison to trees and hedges, is not an easy matter. 
Dakota Rocks and Crops.—" M. W. P.,” 
Sioux Falls, sends us a specimen of Jasper Rock, 
the discovery of which excites much interest in the 
locality. The stone is known to geologists as “Jas¬ 
per Rock,” and is really a coarse kind of that red 
form of quartz, called Jasper. The value of the 
Bee Notes for November. 
A subscriber asks if sugar can be safely fed to 
bees in winter. There is no other food so good for 
bees as pure sugar. The granulated form is best. 
All bee-keepers that have fed this sugar for winter 
stores are agreed that it is even superior to honey 
for bees. This is owing, doubtless, to its composi¬ 
tion, as it contains more cane sugar, and also to 
the absence of pollen, which is to be found in all 
honey. While pollen generally does no harm to 
bees, in winter, it is not good in some cases and 
may be the cause of fatal dysentery. Dissolve the 
sugar for feeding in an equal bulk of water, and 
heat until it boils, and when cold it is ready to feed. 
Bees in Winter Quarters. 
It will be remembered that many bees were lost. 
during the winter of 1880-81, from 
neglect. They were caught by the ex¬ 
ceptionally early season. They need 
at least 30 pounds of good food per 
hive, and they should be crowded upon 
just enough frames to contain them, by 
usiDg division boards. If the bees are 
to be packed, this should be done as 
early as October 1st, and if chaff hives 
are used, the packing above and at the 
ends of the frames should be added at 
the same time. It is always best to 
have the fine chaff or sawdust in sacks. 
However we winter, whether in chaff 
hives, or in the common hives with chaff" 
packing, or in cellars, it will always pay 
to pack above and at the sides of the 
frames. The hives should be put into 
the cellar as early as November 1st,, 
before the severe weather sets in. The 
hives should be dry when set in, and, in 
the removal, disturb the bees as little as possible- 
When in the cellar, remove the tops of the hives,, 
but not the chaff pillow. The entrance should 
be left open. 
Shipping Queens. 
It will be remembered that the shipping of queen 
bees by mail was prohibited by the Postal authori¬ 
ties until two years ago, when it was allowed, to 
the great advantage of bee-keepers. Thousands of 
queens are now yearly sent by mail, and at very 
small cost. A queen may be sent from Maine to 
California for two cents. In granting the request, 
two conditions were required. First, the food must 
be candy, or some substance that could not possibly 
soil the mail, and second, the cages should be so 
made that no mail agent could be stung. The last 
requisite is easily met in the double faced cages- 
now universally used. The former was found more 
difficult. Candy is so dry that, if the bees are sent, 
far, they are very apt to die. Small tin vials of 
water have been added, with a very small hole from 
which the bees can sip. This did not violate the 
spirit of the law, as there were but a few drops of 
water in the vial, and this could not leak out of the 
small hole. But this method was not wholly satis¬ 
factory. Too often the queens died, if sent long^ 
distances. Within the last year a food has been 
made that is every way satisfactory. Granulated 
6ugar is covered with extracted honey and, after 
draining for two days, the sugar is packed into a 
hole in the cage. This does not soil the bees, is. 
moist, and serves for the bees for many days, so 
that often, after a long journey by mail, there will 
not be a single worker bee dead in the cage. 
The Surplus Koney. 
Let all remember to keep their honey, whether 
extracted or comb, in a dry warm room. It is best. 
