154 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
ed with timothy. In the spring following 
it is seeded with clover. The amount ot 
wheat sometimes reaches, but I believe sel¬ 
dom exceeds, twenty-five bushels per acre. 
Lime is freely used, mostly applied on the 
young grass after the wheat is taken oil, at 
the rate of about thirty bushels (unslacked) 
per acre. The land is .kept in grass from 
two to three years, and pastured or mowed, 
as suits the proprietor best. The mowing 
machine is coming into general use, which, 
with the revolving rake and the unloading 
fork, make short work in hay-making, if 
the weather is good. 
I have penned the foregoing remarks, not 
with the intention of publication, but if thou 
can’st select anything from them, worth 
giving to the public, thee may do so, by with¬ 
holding my name. I was educated at the 
plow-tail, not receiving as much school 
learning as the peorest may now receive, 
without price. What knowledge I have, has 
been derived principally from reading and 
observation—a large portion from the latter 
source.” 
For the American Agriculturist. 
BEES. 
ERRORS IN THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE VOLUME OF 
TRANSACTIONS. 
I have just been looking into the volume 
of “ Transactions of the American Institute 
for 1854.” I find on pages 346-7 and 8 ex¬ 
tracts from “ Bee keepers Guide, by M. De- 
beauvoys, member of many learned societies, 
Paris, 1851,” on “ the Physiology of bees.” 
This being a subject on which I felt some¬ 
what at home, several glaring errors brought 
up the questions—Can this book be reliable 
on subjects with which I am not acquainted, 
and must I bring my own experience to aid 
me before I can decide, pro. or con 1 
As the book (Bee-Keepers Guide) is re¬ 
commended by the club as “ interesting and 
useful,” I propose to make a few remarks. 
The Secretary (Mr. Meigs) was either very 
unfortunate in his translation, or the book 
affords but little that is reliable. The ex¬ 
tracts are intended, no doubt, to give us an 
insight into the natural history of Bees. 
Now it appears to me that this matter, to be 
useful, should be true. For want of time I 
must pass over most of there extracts, only 
noticing by the way, that error and truth are 
pretty well incorporated, and the reader 
must exercise much close observation to 
separate them ; also, that the remarks rela¬ 
tive to the queen changing size, color, &c., 
have but little foundation in reality, and are 
calculated to confuse and perplex the inex¬ 
perienced, with regard to her identity. I will 
notice more particularly the lasttwo sections, 
as the matter of these can be tested by any 
bee keeper, who no longer need take the as¬ 
sertion oiany man, but may easily verify the 
facts himself. The following is very like an 
inconsistency. “ It is an old queen that al¬ 
ways goes off in swarming.” Taking this 
as it reads we must infer that a stock swarms 
but once in a season, (it is well known that 
we often have more,) or, that more than one 
queen had been wintered—which no one 
will contend for—inirder to have them old. 
A moment’s reflection shows that all queens 
issuing with swarms can not be old. We will 
now see what is said about, “ Her song.” 
“ Some days before her departure she sings a 
a song quite like the grasshoppers. She re¬ 
peats it frequently at intervals, while pro¬ 
found silence is kept in the hfVe. Some bee 
raisers say that she sings only on the de¬ 
parture of a second swarm. Others say it 
is owing to young queens, who are prison¬ 
ers, demanding leave to quit their cells.” 
Here we find an assertion first, then a doubt 
expressed relative to a part of it. It no doubt 
refers to the piping of the young queens, with 
which all apiarians of much experience are 
familiar. But as many are pot familiar with 
this matter and will be likely to get errone¬ 
ous impressions, I would say the “ profound 
silence ” will most likely be found to consist 
of a pretty brisk humming, just the safne as 
at all other times in hot weather, in popu¬ 
lous stocks. Also we might expect to hear 
the old queen piping previous to the first 
swarm. Now during an experience of twenty- 
five years, I never heard an old queen “ pip¬ 
ing.” In fact no criterion can be give for 
predicting a first swarm from all we can hear, 
or see, outside the liive. It is only young 
queens that give us any notice when to ex¬ 
pect a swarm, and this is usually from eight 
to thirteen days after the old one has left. 
Her piping is easily heard by applying the 
ear to the side of the hive, any time, morn¬ 
ing or evening, previous to any swarm after 
the first. 
With respect to the queen laying the two 
kinds of eggs ; that is, for males and work¬ 
ers, he says. “ During the first eleven 
months she lays none but workingmen’s eggs, 
about sixty thousand a year. At the end of 
the eleven months she begins to lay eggs of 
males, and continues it for twenty or thirty 
days, and during this period she does not 
lay one worker’s egg, but every three or four 
days she deposits a queen egg in a royal cell.’’ 
Facts will be found materially at variance 
with these statements. For instance, a stock 
will send out a swarm in June—it will be ad¬ 
mitted that the old queen left with it; also, 
that a young one takes her place in this old 
stock—now during the yield of buckwheat 
honey in August, when a numerous family 
is left, a brood of drones or males is raised. 
It is difficult to make this queen that depos¬ 
ited the eggs for them, older than two 
months. Second swarms when large enough, 
raise a brood of drones at the same time— 
such always have young queens. But the 
assertion that she lays male eggs exclusive- 
1 y for twenty or thirty days, is very extrava 
gant, and calls for refutation, if not censure. 
A few personal examinations, will demon¬ 
strate the fact, that eggs are in the worker 
cells at all times in good stocks, from March 
until the first swarm leaves ; and thousands 
of males may have matured during the time. 
All eggs deposited by the queen, hatch into 
worms or larva, in about three days. Con¬ 
sequently no period longer than this, can 
elapse without the laying of worker eggs. 
I will add an opinion, that both kinds are 
frequently deposited in one day. The time 
has arrived when guess-work in some 
points of natural history is no longer called 
for. It appears that error has been in this 
instance, promulgated by vvliat ought to be 
good authority, and those who have no bet¬ 
ter will imagine they have the fact. Let the 
thing be tested. 
1 would really like to know about that “ fish 
story ” on page 320 of this volume of Trans¬ 
actions.—M. Quinby, Si. Johnsville, N. Y.— 
(Author of “ Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained.”) 
For the American Agriculturist. 
THE OX—“WASTE EOT, WANT EOT;” 
OR MAKING THE MOST OF A BEEF ANIMAL. 
To make the most and best of everything, 
is a Christian duty as well as the dictate of 
frugality. Wastefulness in the article of 
food is more common in America than in 
almost any other nation. By it, the rich 
wrong the poor, and the poor wrong them¬ 
selves. Let us see how we can turn a butch¬ 
ered ox to the best account. Here is the 
result of an actual experiment foryour read¬ 
ers to improve upon if possible. 
The hide, horns and tail are together sold 
to the tanner and currier. The liver, lights 
and heart, are cooked for food in such man¬ 
ner as is most agreeable. The gall bladder 
is emptied into a phial and the liquid pre¬ 
served for bathing bruises and sores. The 
other bladder is blown and hung up until 
needed. The “melt” is cut up for the cat or 
dog. The tripe after its contents have been 
thrown on the manure-heap is cleaned, boiled, 
and seasoned with vinegar—a most palat¬ 
able dish. The other entrails'are given to 
the hogs, which they will greedily devour. 
The lower jaw makes excellent mince-meat, 
as also the neck’pieces if desired. The brains 
are quite good when fried. The upper part 
of the head may be boiled and eaten, and the 
bony portion put with the other bones. The 
feet and legs should be boiled, skimining off 
the neat foot oil for shoes and harness, and 
eating the softer parts, than which no epi¬ 
cures dish was ever more richly delicate. The 
hoof may be skinned or knocked off after 
scalding with hot water, and thrown among 
the bones. The tongue must be put with 
the pieces selected for smoking and drying. 
All the rough tallow and that upon the kid¬ 
neys may be tried over the fire and convert¬ 
ed into candles. The scraps left after try¬ 
ing are good for soap-fat. As the bones are 
obtained, by cooking from time to time, let 
them be thrown together, to be convertecLby 
grinding or some other process, into manure. 
The meat your readers know howto dispose 
of whether fresh or salted, whether cooked 
by roasting, broiling, frying or boiling. 
There is not one part of an ox which may 
not be made useful. Try it. Mercer. 
Pennington, N. J., Feb. 22, 1856. 
Deu Tell. —There is a village in Alichigan, 
where the church bell is rung every day at 
twelve o’clock, for the people to take their 
quinine, as they have the chills and fever all 
around. __ 
Precisely So. —He was a sensible man 
who used to say to his wife, “ It is useless 
quarrelling, my dear, for you know we must 
make it up again.” 
