1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
109 
latch, which drops into a catch, in the jamb, or 
door post. When the door is opened and 
swung back to the side of the barn, the latch 
drops into a similar catch fastened to the -weath¬ 
er-boards, which holds it firmly. It will cost 
but a few cents to fasten doors in this way. I 
find this simple contrivance of very great ser¬ 
vice, as it enables stock to go in and out in safety. 
Athens Co., O. FARMER. 
Administering Medicine to Horses. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I consider the usual method of giving medi¬ 
cine to horses by drenching, as it is called, high¬ 
ly objectionable. In this process, the horse’s 
head is raised and held up, a bottle introduced 
into his mouth, his tongue pulled out and the 
liquid poured down. In his struggle, some of 
the medicine is quite likely to be drawn into his 
wind pipe and lungs, and inflammation and fa¬ 
tal results sometimes follow. A better way i#to 
mix the medicine with meal, or rye bran; make 
it into balls; pull out the horse’s tongue, and 
place a ball as far back in his mouth as possible; 
then release his tongue, and he will almost cer¬ 
tainly swallow the ball. Or the dose may be 
mixed with meal and honey, or other substance 
that will form a kind of jelly, placed upon a 
small wooden blade made of a shingle, and 
thrust into the back part of his mouth, when he 
will very easily swallow it. George Be> /er. 
Perry Co., Pa. 
Enforce the Bird Laws. 
The Legislatures of several States have enact¬ 
ed stringent game laws for the protection of 
animals, birds, and fish, and it becomes farmers 
particularly to see that they are strictly enforced 
as far as pertains to birds. Scientific men of 
high authority very generally agree that the 
alarming increase of destructive insects, which 
cause the loss of so much grain and fruit, is 
mainly in consequence of the wholesale 
slaughter of their natural enemies, the birds, 
that had previously kept them in due bounds. 
Let every cultivator post conspicuous notices 
upon his farm, forbidding all persons to enter 
the fields with a gun, under penalty for tres¬ 
pass. This may be done, and the offenders pun¬ 
ished, where no game laws exist. Let every 
bird murderer be dealt with rigorously. In this 
State, the law imposes a penalty of 50 cents for 
each bird of the following species killed, or 
trapped, between the 1st of Februaiy and the 
1st of October, viz.: the robin, bobolink, night¬ 
ingale, night hawk, blue bird, Baltimore oriole, 
finch (yellow bird), thrush, lark, sparrow, wren, 
martin, swallow, wood-pecker, or other harmless 
bird. 
A Word for Straw Hives. 
Fifteen years of successful experience with 
straw hives, certainly entitle their advocates to 
a hearing, which is therefore cheerfully accord¬ 
ed to Mr. I. L. Scribner, of Washington Co., Vt.; 
who writes that during the above period, his 
bees kept in this manner, have sustained no in¬ 
jury from the moth, nor has he lost a swarm in 
any way by which it could be attributed to a 
fault in the hive. 
His hive, on which there is no patent, is made 
thus. Square sticks, say an inch in diameter, 
are planed smooth and nailed together, forming 
a frame 12 by 13 inches, and 13 inches high, the 
lower girts being 1) inches above the bottom of 
the uprights. A flat board roof, nailed or screw¬ 
ed on, projects 2 inches over each side. Holes 
are bored in the roof to admit bees to boxes 
placed above for the reception of honey. The 
frame is covered with clean rye straw, properly 
sewed together. A hoop, made of strips of 
board, 1 inch thick, and 2 inches wide, sur¬ 
rounds the bottom of the frame. In this hoop 
is cut a notch, 2£ inches long, and £ inch high, 
for the passage of the bees. 
The advantages claimed for this hive are, dry¬ 
ness and even temperature. Straw absorbs the 
moisture emitted from the breath of the bees, 
and it passes off without requiring large apertures 
for ventilation which are needed where wood 
is used. Straw being a poorer conductor of heat 
than wood, the hive remains cooler in Summer 
and warmer in Winter. In damp, chilly weath¬ 
er, which is often experienced in the breeding 
season, the bees will, it is said, breed faster than 
in wooden hives, and also gather more honey. 
The latter statement is accounted for on the 
supposition that they come out stronger in 
Spring, and that the young brood matures 
faster, hence there is a larger working force. 
Such are the views of Mr. Scribner, and he 
shows his faith in them by his works, discarding 
every other form of hive, and using only straw. 
-—--—--- 
Sundry Notes on Bees—The Italian Bee. 
Bee-keeping, intelligently conducted, is a 
pleasurable, instructive, and profitable pursuit, 
and the practical study of the science requires 
less outlay than the investigation of any other 
subject of equal interest. Considering its 
claims, comparatively few are interested in it, 
and without doubt very many are deterred from 
entering upon it by fear of being stung. This 
apprehension is so general, that there are bee- 
books, even of recent date, which show their 
authors have no small dread of the insect they 
would familiarize us with. But with our pres¬ 
ent knowledge, the risk of being stung is reduced 
to almost nothing. Bees can be artificially 
swarmed and deprived of their stores, with the 
same safety and certainty of success attending 
the raising of chickens. A dealer has lately en¬ 
deavored to take advantage of the dread of this 
insect, by stating in his advertisement that the 
Italian bee will not sting—this is false, although 
it is the case that they are apparently of more 
peaceable disposition than the common variety. 
This, however, appears to be due to their great¬ 
er eagerness to accumulate stores; for as noticed 
below, when bees are busy gathering honey they 
seldom sting. On chilly days, when they can 
not wqrk, they are as vindictive as the others. 
But we would advise those entering upon bee¬ 
keeping merely as a study, to begin with the 
common bee, and thus avoid unnecessary out¬ 
lay. Both require the same treatment. 
As the Italian bee is attracting much attention, 
a few remarks upon it will not be out of place. 
The engraving given herewith, is an accurate 
representation of an Italian worker, sketched 
from a living bee by the writer. It is enlarged 
so as to better show its features. A portion of 
the first and second rings of the abdomen is 
orange color. The rings of the abdomen are 
thickly fringed with hair of a light yellow color. 
The abdomen is longer, which makes them ap¬ 
pear more slender than the common bee. Prac¬ 
tical men will be more interested in some other 
features attributed to them by German Apiari¬ 
ans, and confirmed (so far as one season’s experi¬ 
ence can justify a conclusion,) by several noted 
apiarians at different points in the United States, 
viz: a greater disposition to labor, not being de¬ 
terred from their excursions by mist, moderate 
showers, cold and high winds, which would suf¬ 
fice to nearly or quite suspend the labors of the 
common bee; individual strength greater; 
queens larger and more prolific; more inclined 
to rob, and less apt to sting. 
Bees are more easily excited to anger before 
and after hours of labor; in cold or inclement 
weather, which prevents them going out to seek 
food; when the honey harvest is poor; when 
rich in stores and hanging idly about the hive. 
The safest time to handle bees (danger of 
inducing robbing excepted,) is in the middle 
of the day, when gathering honey freely, 
and many of the foraging bees are away. 
The foragers in the hive are laden and 
intent upon depositing their stores, and 
are not inclined to sting or to fly from 
the combs, if gently handled. Bees under 
ten days old have no disposition to fly— 
Proof: remove a range of comb, covered 
with bees, from a hive of common bees, 
in which an Italian queen has been intro¬ 
duced, while her brood are under ten 
days old—there may be a majority ol 
young Italians on the comb, but not 
one will leave it. Watch the entrance for 
hours, and you will see only black bees going in 
or out. In walking about the hives, be gentle 
in all movements, avoid quick motions, avoid 
any jar. In your first operations, wear a veil, or 
a wire hat. Protection for the hands is unnec¬ 
essary at any time; if fearful, however, wear in¬ 
dia-rubber gloves; woolen gloves excite, from 
their likeness to the hair of animals. By the 
use of smoke timely given, and repeated as 
needed, bees may be kept in a state of quiet for 
any length of time, but if aroused by gross 
mismanagement, it is difficult to subdue them. 
In one instance, under serious provocation, I 
knew this anger to last for several days. The 
two most convenient and effectual ways to ren¬ 
der bees harmless during operations, are: 1st, 
by blowing into the hive smoke from rotten 
wood; 2d, for a more lasting and decided effect 
by which you may be sure of tranquilizing every 
bee, light a pipe partially filled with tobacco, 
place the bowl of the pipe in your mouth, 
and blow the smoke in the hive. If a movable 
comb hive be used, raise the cover just enough 
to admit the pipe stem; in a few seconds the 
bees are thoroughly alarmed, and begin filling 
themselves with honey; at this moment there is 
no danger in removing the cover altogether. 
Now direct a little smoke between each range 
of combs, and you may proceed to perform any 
operation. If you wish to find the queen, the 
less smoke used the better; when but partially 
stupefied and crawling slowly over the combs, 
the queen is more readily found. In this man¬ 
ner honey boxes may be removed. Use more or 
less smoke according to necessity. E. P. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
