320 
COST OF LIGHT.-MANAGEMENT OF HONEY °BEES.—NO. 13. 
are two or three other small plains of about a mile 
square, which are no small benefit to those Towns 
which enjoy them.” The grass abovh referred to, 
was doubtless the forked beard-grass ( Andropogon 
furcatus), also sometimes called Indian grass, which 
is common in many parts of the United States, par¬ 
ticularly where the soil is sandy, and is sparingly 
produced on these plains at the present day. We 
have seen specimens of it growing there of a height 
of four or five feet, and have been informed, that, in 
its green, succulent state, it is eagerly sought after 
by cattle, and affords a nourishing bite. From the 
circumstance that it will grow upon the poorer 
class of soils, and being a tender, juicy plant, of a 
rapid growth, its culture is worthy of a trial for 
soiling cows. 
The Rev. A. Burnaby, who travelled through the 
Middle Colonies in 1759, describes these prairies 
as “ between twenty and thirty miles long, and four 
or five broadand says there was not a tree then 
growing upon them, “ and it is asserted,” says he, 
“ that there never were any.”* 
In progressing eastward from these plains to near 
the head of Peconic Bay, a vast tract of land is 
passed through, principally overgrown with bear 
or scrub-oak ( Quercus ilicifolia), dwarf chestnut- 
oak ( Quercus prinu-s chinquapin), and black or 
pitch-pine (Firms rigida). The former abounds 
in the Middle and Northern States, and is usually 
found in particular districts where the soil is very 
thin, growing in compact masses, which are tra¬ 
versed with difficulty, though no higher than the 
waist. It does not ordinarily exceed a height of 
three or four feet ; but in favorable situations, 
where the soil is more deep and fertile, it fre¬ 
quently attains double these dimensions. It is 
seldom found insulated, or mingled with other trees 
or shrubs in a dense forest; but generally in tracts 
of many hundred acres in extent, which it covers 
almost exclusively, its uniformity being broken 
only by a few specimens of low wbortle-berries, 
dwarf chestnut-oaks, and scrubby pitch-pines. Its 
presence, heretofore, has been considered as a sure 
indication of a barren soil, composed of dry sand 
commingled with gravel, and incapable of profita¬ 
ble culture. More recent observations and experi¬ 
ments, however, have proved this to be incorrect, as 
some of the best lauds the island affords, in the 
towns of Southold and River-Head, produce this 
shrub of a larger growth, and even in places where it 
grows no more than two or three feet high, crops 
have been raised with a remunerating profit. 
In our next number we propose to give an ac¬ 
count of the geology of the island, with some ob¬ 
servations on the formation and chemical nature of 
its soils. 
COST OF LIGHT. 
Your quaint and amusing friend Reviewer 
expresses a wish, that somebody would give you a 
table, showing the most economical light at given 
prices of tallow, lard, oil, and other substances. I 
have collected a few facts, and submit them as an 
approach to the desired information. 
Having some knowledge of the mechanical or 
carcel-lamp much used in the city of New York, 
* See Notes to Go wans’ edition of Denton, by Furman. 
and the -well known Argand lamp, they are adapted 
as the basis of comparison. .Assuming the mean in¬ 
tensity of light for seven hours emitted by the 
mechanical lamp as 100—the ratio by the Argand 
is 85 : as, however, the light of the mechanical 
lamp, though intense, is fluctuating and flickering, 
we will fall back on the Argand and take it as our 
standard, say 100—then by experiment, the follow¬ 
ing table has been constructed. 
No. to a Pound. | 
Duration of a 
Candle. 
Weight in Grains. 
Grains consumed 
per hour. 
Proportion of Light.J 
Candles equal to 
one Argand. | 
Mould candles • • • 
10 
5 h. 
9 min. 
682 
132 
m 
5.7 
Dipped candles • - 
10 
4 “ 
36 “ 
672 
150 
13 
5.25 
Mould do 
8 
6 “ 
31 “ 
' 856 
132 
10i 
6.6 
do do 
6 
7 “ 
2£ “ 
1160 
163 
14| 
5.0 
do do 
4 
9 “ 
36 “ 
1707 
186 
201 
3.5 
Argand oil-flume- 
512 
69 
From the foregoing table it will be seen thai jive 
mould candles of six to the pound are equivalent to 
the light of an Argand lamp ; but a good Argand 
lamp consumes per hour, in oil, about one-seventh 
the weight of tallow in candles of six to the 
pound; hence it appears that about two pounds 
of oil are equivalent to three pounds of tallow can¬ 
dles, the cost of each depending on the market of 
the day, which every inquirer can readily ascertain. 
Though a youngster, 1 take pleasure in such re¬ 
searches, and if Reviewer wishes for the comparison 
between tallow', stearine, wax, &c., I can readily 
produce them. C. D. 
MANAGEMENT oFhONEY-BEES.--No. 13, 
That w T ay of managing old stocks, which pro¬ 
duces the greatest number of swarms, must in the 
end be the most profitable. 
Now, by supering, in Mr. Allen’s plan, we get 
but one good swarm at the end of the season, even 
allowing his plan to operate well. So also w r e get 
but one sw r arm on the principle of driving from the 
old to a new hive, as it is generally done, or I may 
say always done. My mode produces two good 
swarms from the old stock the first season ; or 
rather one prime swarm and the old stock itself re¬ 
generated by being divested of half its old comb, 
which enables the bees to prosper for a few years, 
nearly as well as natural swarms. 
I manage thus. As soon as the drones show T 
themselves in any one of my hives, I prepare a 
clean, empty hive with a piece of comb containing 
the young bees, to form an artificial swarm as be¬ 
fore described. If the old stock is well filled with 
bees, or as full as may be expected during the early 
part of the swarming season, on a pleasant morning 
I invert the old hive upon a table or bench, and 
quickly place the new hive, with the piece of 
comb attached upon it. I then wind a cloth around 
the junction of the two hives to exclude the light, 
and with a small rod, I rap the sides of the old hive 
about ten or fifteen minutes, at which time I sup- 
ose that half the bees are driven up into the new 
ive. This is just wha.t I want. 1 then remove 
I the new hive to the location of the old one. which 
