196 
AMERTOA^r AGRIOULTURIST, 
[May, 
Bee Notes. 
Removikg Bees from "Winter Quarters.— 
Like many others, bee-keepers are often deluded by 
a few first warm days into the idea that spring has 
really come, and they proceed to remove the bees 
from the winter repository to the summer stands. 
Even should warm weather continue a week or 
two, so much the worse for the bees, as they spread 
•out and commence rearing large quantities of 
brood. When the usual “cold snap” follows, the 
bees are driven into a compact cluster in the cen¬ 
ter of the hive, and all brood outside of the cluster 
—brood reared at the expense of many an old 
worker’s life—is chilled to death. Leave the bees 
in their winter quarters until sure that warm weath¬ 
er has really come to stay, which, in this latitude 
(Genesee Co., Mich.,) is usually about May 1st.— 
The laborious task of carrying bees to or from the 
Fig. 1.— A HIVE CARRIER, 
cellar, and the swaying about of the combs can be 
greatly lessened by two persons carrying the hives 
on a sort of hand barrow, like figure 1. Strips of 
some light, tough wood are bolted together, the 
legs extending several inches above the side rails, 
to prevent the hives sliding off when going up or 
down the cellar stairs. With this two men can 
carry four colonies with more ease and comfort to 
both themselves and the bees, than one man alone 
can carry a single colony. 
Getting Ready for the Bust Season.—Now is 
the time to get everything ready lor the busy sea¬ 
son. This advice is not superfluous, lor not only 
farmers who keep a few bees, but some of the 
“ professionals,” are prone to delay getting hives 
and other fixtures until swarms are actually hang- 
' Fig. 2.— wire comb foundation. 
ing in the bushes ; and supply dealers are weeks 
behind in filling orders. Let the hives be made, 
painted and stacked up all ready for those swarms 
that are always coming “ before they were ex¬ 
pected.”—Also put together the section honey 
boxes, supplied with comb foundation “ starters,” 
and place them into cases ; then no honey will be 
lost when the white clover harvest comes. The 
edge of foundation where fastened to the box must 
be warm and soft.—For this, purpose place the lace 
of a hot flat iron near a pile of “ starters,” and 
when one iron becomes cool replace it with an¬ 
other hot one. 
Wired Comb Foundation. —The large sheets 
necessaly to fill the brood frames have given much 
trouble by stretching, warping and breaking down. 
To remedy these difficulties pierce the top and bot¬ 
tom bars of the frame with small holes, through 
which stretch and fasten fine wire drawn taut (fig¬ 
ure 2) and imbed these in the foundation sheet 
warmed until it is soft. To imbed the wires many 
bee-keepers use a lady’s shoe button hook, with a 
small groove filed in the back side. The groove is 
passed back and forth on a wire, applying some 
pressure. With a press the foundation can be 
manufactured directly into these wired frames. 
The wires, being at the bottom of the cells, do not 
in the least interfere with brood raising. 
The “ one piece” section boxes, now so largely 
used, are necessarily made from basswood that will 
bend into shape ; but thiS'Soft wood absorbs every 
drop of honey coming in contact with it and leaves 
a discoloration. Another objection to the one- 
piece section is, that the openings between both 
the bottom and top bar do not extend their whole 
length, and the shoulders left cause much trouble 
by contact with adjoining combs. The dovetailed 
sections made of white poplar are fully as white as 
basswood, do not absorb honey, and do not have 
the mischievous projecting corners. The one-piece 
sections can be put together a trifle quicker. 
Cultivating Sorghum in the West. 
The rapid increase in the amount of sorghum 
planted from year to year, has stimulated ingenuity 
to discover ways and means of doing the entire 
cultivation by horse-power. Sorghum is a feeble 
plant and grows slowly at first, and unless the land 
is freshly turned up, weeds are apt to get up faster 
than the crop. The following seems to be the 
most successful plan : the land is plowed immedi¬ 
ately before planting, or if done earlier, or in the 
preceding fall, the entire surface is cultivated with 
a two-horse corn cultivator before planting. The 
seed is planted quite thickly in drills, by using a 
two-row corn planter with small holes, moving the 
dropping lever quite fast, so as to drop the seed in 
an almost continuous stream. Those planters, that 
have a drilling attachment, are very convenient for 
doing this. At least twice as much seed is planted 
as is expected to grow, about six or seven pounds 
per acre is not too mueh. The most common mis¬ 
take is to plant too deep, and much care is needed 
when a horse-planter is used, to avoid this difficulty. 
If the ground is moist, half an inch is deep enough, 
or even less will do. As soon as it is safe to do so 
without covering the young plants, go through the 
field with a straddle-row cultivator, taking care to 
have the inside shovels turned so as to throw the 
soil away from the plants. By setting them in this 
way, you can go much closer to the row than other¬ 
wise. Enough soil in any ease will be thrown to¬ 
wards the plant, while you will stir the soil close to 
the young plants. After cultivation is completed, 
cross-harrow with any good harrow, going over the 
ground twice. This vvill destroy a good many gf 
the plants, but as they were planted thick with 
reference to this treatment, no harm occurs, while 
those which are left are thoroughly hoed, and the 
soil mellowed. The whole surfaee ridged by the 
corn plow, is leveled down and put in fine con¬ 
dition for the next plowing. Should the cross-har¬ 
rowing not thin the plants enough, the land may 
be harrowed the same way as the rows run. In 
ordinary seasons and on moderateiy clear land, 
this method of treatment will usually enable a 
grower to raise a crop without resorting to the hoe. 
Seeding, Propagation, Covering. 
The most carefully seeded meadow is the most 
productive. Grass seed should be sown with win¬ 
ter grains, because they grow thinner on the ground 
than spring grain ; the young plants are less shad¬ 
ed, and the growth forms with stronger roots, and 
is better able to withstand the hot sun and dry 
weather. After harvesting the grain, the seeding 
is often destroyed, because the roots of clover and 
timothy are so near the surface that they dry up. 
The ground is erusty for want of cultivation and 
weight of snow alter the grain is sown. The 
remedy is simple, hut rarely used. The grain 
should be harrowed into the ground alter it has 
settled, and is dry enough to mellow under the 
harrow. Winter grain is improved by harrowing, 
affording a lighter soil for the spread and growth 
of the roots, covering the field with stronger 
growth, consequently increasing the yield. This 
process insures the certainty of grass-seeding ; as I 
seed is expensive, farmers cannot afford its loss, or | 
“ trust to luck.” Two crops cannot grow in the i 
same place simultaneously. Filling the ground j 
with all it ean support of spring grain, and sowing ( 
grass-seed at the same time, expecting to produce 
a tine meadow after the grain, results in a feeble ^ 
produet and after harvesting the grain, the weak 
plants shrivel and die. Spring grain must be sown 
thinner when sown with grass—then what is lost in ] 
grain, is gained in thickness of the clover or grass 
crop. Thinly sown grain generally produces i 
heavier, larger heads and more stems, consequently 
the crop is not lessened. Grass is as important to 
farmers as grain, and should not be sacrificed for | 
the chances on the latter. It should be made the I 
primary crop, for the soil is renewed by it while it ' 
is exhausted by grain. 
Surface manuring and thorough tillage are ab¬ 
solutely necessary—the more mellow the land, the • 
surer and better the crop. The seed should be 
sown after the grain is harrowed in, and levelled i 
by a roller, which smooths and settles the sur- | 
face, insuring quicker germination. When winter 
grain is harrowed, the teeth do not penetrate sufii- ', 
ciently to cover too deeply the grass seed. More > 
care in this preliminary work will save the loss of , 
seed and secure better crops. Dragging brush 
over a stumpy or rough field is a good method for 
covering grass-seed. Four quarts of timothy is 
sufficient to seed an acre of land prepared in this ' 
way ; five quarts of clover upon same conditions. 
Double these quantities are sown because farmers I 
expect losses that occur by careless preparation. 
Better expend in careful tillage the cost of seed i 
wasted, and reap the benefit, than he burdened i 
with a poor crop and an impoverished ground. 
Draining Suggestions, 
In laying drains, especially if tile-drains in 
quicksand, begin at the upper end and work down. 
Earth, silt, and settling mud would be likely to 
A WOODEN SJLT BASIN. j, 
collect behind the workers if commencing at the ; 
lower end. In laying tile without collars, and even i 
with them, it is important to cover the joints at II 
least with straw, hay, spent tan, or inverted sods, i 
lest sand work in, and by collecting in chance de- , 
pressions caused by uneven settling, choke the ! 
passage. A silt basin is important in drains sub- I 
ject to much sand and clay. This may be a simple , 
box of double boards or plank, nailed to two by 
four-inch scantling, its interior one by two feet, and ' 
high enough to extend from the ground surface, <| 
to a foot below the bottom of the tiles. The cover jt 
maybe fastened on with hinges and a pad-lock, Ij 
if likely to be disturbed by boys. This is set near :l 
the outlet or other point needed, with the entrance J 
pipe a little above the outlet one. The sand and 
mud will collect in the space below, and may be ,1 
lifted out with a hoe, after heavy showers or a jl 
strong flow of water in spring. To keep mice from I 
nesting in drains in a dry season, cover the outlet 
with a screen of galvanized wire; or drive iron 
rods in front; or attach to the tile a short piece ■ 
of pump-log, and drive nails or spikes inward 
toward the center, thickly enough to exclude toads, 
moles, and mice, and all small vermin. 
