AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
35 
1861.] 
flowers, to hasten their blooming period, and to 
start the various cuttings. Many plants will 
strike in a moderately heated hot-bed which could 
not be made to grow in the open ground. 
GreeBB-ISoMses. 
Little need be added to the directions of last 
month. Care will be required to maintain a tem¬ 
perature above the freezing point, but not higher 
than 50° unless it is desired to induce growth of 
the plants. 
Keep a careful eye upon the insects, and apply 
the proper antidotes upon their first appearance. 
Cuttings of many of the woody plants should now 
be made and potted. They will strike better if 
taken to the hot-house. 
Prune into 6hape any plants needing it, and re¬ 
move all decaying branches, dead leaves, weeds, and 
moss, keeping every thing neat and clean, with an 
atmosphere free from impurities. 
Repotting will claim a full share of the manager’s 
Bam e this month, if the collection is large. Many of 
the plants may now be carried to the forcing apart¬ 
ments to hasten the blooming period. 
Water—Increase the amount as the plants push 
into growth, but avoid an excess. Keep the drain¬ 
age good. 
Hof-House and Conservatory. 
Many of the directions of last month are still sea¬ 
sonable. The frequency of change in the weather 
makes great watchfulness necessary to regulate the 
fires. From 70° to 80° of heat should be maintained. 
If snow falls, the roof should be cleared to admit 
the light which the rapidly growing plants now re¬ 
quire. If from want of proper ventilation the con¬ 
densed moisture gathers and drops upon the plants 
below, tin conductors should be suspended to col¬ 
lect and carry it off. Air must be given the plants 
frequently, but much care will be needed to pre¬ 
vent chilling drafts from striking directly upon the 
plants. Only the upper ventilators should be open¬ 
ed, and but slightly during severe weather. During 
mild days a general airing may be given. 
Azaleas, now in bloom, should be watered freely. 
Moderate syringings will do them good, but the 
flowers will sooner decay if they are wet often. 
Bedding Plants—Insert, cuttings and make layers 
for a good stock of Petunias, Pelargoniums, Verbe¬ 
nas, Dianthus, Candytuft, Pansies, Dicentras, Dais¬ 
ies, Salvias, etc., for early planting in the open 
border. The beauty of the flower garden is greatly 
increased by a good stock of bedding plants taken 
to the beds in full bloom at the opening of spring. 
Bulbs—The early forcings should now be in bloom, 
and others in a good degree of forwardness. The 
full, regular bloom, and sweet odor of the hyacinths 
now show their worth as house plants. Bring a 
fresh collection from the cooler green-house, every 
two weeks, to keep up a succession of bloom. 
Camellias—Syringe once or twice a week, but 
keep the water from falling on the flowers as it 
hastens their decay. Examine the foliage for traces 
of the red spider which injures many collections. 
If plants are affected, wash each leaf with a sponge 
and soft water, and syringe three or four times a 
week. 
Cuttings—Make and insert a good supply for a 
Spring stock. If delayed much longer, they will 
not become sufficiently rooted and of suitable size 
"to plant out early. 
Grapes—Continue the directions of last month 
according to the degree of forcing they have had. 
Insects are now troublesome, unless they have 
seen kept in check by following the directions al¬ 
ready given. Fumigating with tobacco will destroy 
any which have established themselves. 
Repotting—Many rapid growing plants require 
jots of a larger size. Keep potting soil at all times 
in readiness. 
Seeds of many of the out-door annuals may now 
be sown in pots. They will form good sized plants 
ifor decorating the border early in the season. 
.Byringing often, will maintain a humid atmos¬ 
phere, which is requisite at this season. Dampen¬ 
ing the walls and floors has a similar effect. 
Water—Give judiciously according to the wants 
of growing plants. Excess is quite as injurious as 
too little. Twice a week will usually be sufficient. 
Evaporating pans filled with water, and placed in 
different parts of the houses or rooms will be bene¬ 
ficial. The water used on plants should be taken 
from tanks or cisterns in the houses, so as to be of 
the same temperature as the atmosphere. 
Apiaryin February. 
BY M. QUINBY. 
There will probably bo a few days, in this month, 
warm enough for the bees to fly out. They should 
be prevented from issuing when there is newly 
fallen snow on the ground. But if the snow is some¬ 
what hard, having settled or thawed a little, there is 
no harm in letting them fly. A few may fall 
and perish, but these will mostly be feeble ones, 
that would very likely be lost even if the ground 
were entirely bare. Keep the air passages open. 
Sweep out dead bees and filth during the turns of 
moderate weather. 
If any change is to be made in the bee yard, let it 
be attended to this month, that each hive may occu¬ 
py its summer stand before the bees fly out in 
Spring. As each bee marks its locality when first 
leaving, the hive can not be moved afterward with¬ 
out loss of bees, unless taken a mile or more. Ar¬ 
range the stands four or six feet apart, if there be 
room. Bees enough will be saved by it to pay, 
even if it be done at some inconvenience. 
If you intend purchasing bees this season, there 
will not be a better time for it than now, except 
where they are housed, in which case it is better 
not to disturb them until a suitable day to put them 
out. Stocks that have been out through the Winter 
so far, and are now in good condition , may be con¬ 
sidered safe. For moving them, use a wagon with 
springs, unless you can take them on sleighs. If 
any that are out doors, must be fed, it will not do to 
risk their finding food on the top of the hive; the 
weather may not be warm enough at all times for 
them to go there for it when they need it. It is 
quite necessary to take them to a dark warm room. 
Be sure that they find the honey; it may be neces¬ 
sary sometimes to invert the hive, and pour a small 
quantity of liquid honey directly among the bees to 
save them. When they are to be fed many times, a 
good way is, to invert the hive, and cut out a little 
place in the combs for a saucer, into which the 
honey may be given as they need it. Honey in the 
combs may be given by simply introducing it in¬ 
stead of the saucer. The bees will be very likely 
to wax the saucer or comb fast when laid on their 
combs in this way; but no harm is done by break¬ 
ing it loose when the feeding is finished. 
Mulching Wheat with Buckwheat. 
Dr. C. Harlan of Wilmington, Del., advocates 
sowing buckwheat with wheat in the fall. He says 
the buckwheat will often grow two feet high before 
the frost kills it. It will prevent the winds from 
sweeping the earth away from the tender roots, and 
will assist in preventing the frost from throwing 
out the crop; and when spring returns, it will rot 
down and assist to nourish the young plant when 
it most needs it. Something in this idea. Has it 
been tried by other readers of the American Agri¬ 
culturist. 
Trying Seed Corn. —A Correspondent of the 
Nebraska Farmer, after describing his method of 
selecting seed corn in the field in Autumn, and 
keeping it in a moderately warm dry place in win¬ 
ter, says that in the spring he tests it as follows: 
He rolls or wraps each ear in paper; twists the lit¬ 
tle end, and shears off the paper at the big end, 
down even with the ear. He then draws out the 
ear carefully, and shells it. If the shelled corn of 
any ear does not fill the paper, it is rejected. In this 
way he sorts out the heavy kemeled and small cob 
grades, and is improving his crop. 
Sleighs on Bridges.— The difficulty oi 
crossing bridges, especially covered ones, with 
sleighs, is appreciated by all. No matter how- 
good the sleighing, if a long bridge is to be 
crossed, not more than half a load can be taken. 
We remember to have been obliged to take off 
and put on a load of wheat, in bags, and make 
three trips across a bridge. This difficulty is 
admirably obviated at a bridge crossing the 
Kennebec river in Augusta, Me. In one of the 
carriage passages a railway is laid down, and a 
large low platform car so arranged that heavy 
loaded sleighs can be driven upon it at either 
end, and pushed over with ease. This plan is 
worthy of imitation. Any one having occasion 
to cross a long bridge with a sleigh, would glad¬ 
ly pay a moderate toll for such a convenience. 
Decay of Buildings. —A writer in the Lon¬ 
don Chemical News, says that the new houses 
of Parliament, which are built of Magnesian 
limestone, are already crumbling into decay. 
He also states that the rain which falls in cities 
is more destructive to buildings than that fall¬ 
ing in the country, owing to the solvent prop • 
erties of the impurities which are washed out of 
city air by rain. 
Stick a Pin Here! 
WHAT KIND OF CULTURE PAYS BEST ? 
To illustrate the truth we would impress upon 
every reader of the American Agriculturist , let us 
take two fields, side by side—one of 20 acres, 
and one of 10 acres, both sown to wheat last 
year; market price of the land is $30 per acre. 
first field (20 acres). Dr. 
To Plowing 20 acres, at $1.50.$30 
• • 30 bushels of seed, at $1.00.. 30 
• • Sowing and harrowing 20 acres, at 50 c. 10 
■' Harvesting 20 acres, at $1.25. 25 
• • Threshing and marketing 240 bushels, at 10c. 24 
■ Interest on cost of land. 42 
• ■ Taxes on assessed value. 4 
• ■ Repairs and interest on first cost of fencing. 4 
• Gathering stones, and sundry expenses. 4 
$173 
Credit by 240 bushels of wheat, at $1.$240 
Net profit..$67 
second field (10 acres). Dr. 
To plowing 10 acres, at $1.50.$15 
■ ■ 15 bushels seed, at $1. 15 
• • Sowing and harrowing 10 acres, at 50c. 5 
• • Harvesting 10 acres, at $1.30. 13 
• • Threshing and marketing 170 bushels, at 10c. 17 
■ ■ Interest on cost of land. 21 
• ■ Taxes on 10 acres, assessed at $20 . 2 
• • Repairs and interest on cost of fencing. 3 
•' Gathering stones and incidentals... 2 
"$93 
Credit by 170 bushels of wheat, at $1.$170 
Net profit on 10 acres..$77 
The above figures are worth studying. By 
raising the yield from 12 to 17 bushels per 
acre, we get $10 more profit from 10 acres than 
from 20. The several items, cost of land, ex¬ 
penses of collecting etc., are put at a fair, moder¬ 
ate rate—too low if anything—and they are the 
same in each case. If we increase these ex¬ 
penses, it will increase the net profit in favor of 
the smaller field. The same estimates will answer 
for corn, oats, potatoes, etc, (see Experiments 
with potatoes, page 43.) Now for the lesson 
taught. Does any one doubt that it would be 
easy to increase the yield 5 bushels per acre 
by taking one half of the first field and culti¬ 
vating it thoroughly, plowing it deep, subsoil- 
ing and draining when necessary, and manur¬ 
ing—in short, treating it as you would if try¬ 
ing to obtain a premium from an Agricultural 
Society ? Would it cost over $20 per acre to 
put it .in a condition to yield this increased 
crop every year? Certainly not. Then why 
not sell off ten acres, and expend two-thirda 
