3Q8 
AMERICAN ; AGRICULTURIST. 
HINTS ON WINTERING BEES. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
for a cart path.) If there be no great pres¬ 
sure from tide, a bank and ditch may be suffi¬ 
cient. The ditch will furnish material, and 
cut sods from the marsh, built like mason 
work, will hold it together. Sloping on each 
side may be sufficient. I tried this twice 
and the tides washed it away. I then built 
of stone. 
“ Culvert and Tide Gate." —Let a mill¬ 
wright build it well, so as to let the water 
run out, by forcing the gate open—and the 
tide returning, to keep the gate shut by 
pressure. Size depends upon the quantity 
of water to be discharged. 
“ The Ditches ."—Digno more ditches than 
will drain the water into the brook (if one) 
or the main ditch. Leave these till you 
find how much water stands on the meadow. 
Remember you Will cut the grass hy a ma¬ 
chine , and all interruptions must be avoided. 
“ Breaking up." —Never plow it at all. 
If plowed at first the sod will be many years 
in rotting. (I tried this and caused myself 
much expense in levelling again with dirt.) 
“ Upland Grasses 6fc." —The dyked marsh 
will double the quantity of salt hay, the first 
year. Keep sowing seed, as soon as the 
weeds begin to grow, and time will cover the 
whole, Nothing will grow but grass, worth 
having, for you must not plow for years if 
ever. 
“ Results, ^ I have cultivated—or rath¬ 
er taken a crop of two or more tons per acre 
of best English hay from my marsh, for 
years, and the pasture holds out late. I 
know not much of fresh water swamps, but 
my experience on salt marsh is entirely 
satisfactory. It is sorrowfully true that 
very little is written on this subject. Yet 
there are enough worthless salt marshes on 
our sea-board to feed thousands of cattle, 
that may be reclaimed at very small expense. 
Even while the marsh remains salt, the 
double supply of ameliorated hay will well 
repay the labor in many places, and by de¬ 
grees and constant sowing, the best gras¬ 
ses will gradually root out the old covering. 
I had my marsh turfed the first year one 
to two inches deep, by a knife made for the 
purpose. This was heaped up and dried, 
then burned. A small spot sown with clo¬ 
ver where the ashes were spread, produced 
a fabulous crop. The alkali corrected the 
sourness of the land; and as the clipping 
was all fibre, the ashes were abundant. 
This cost about $25 per acre, by the job. It 
may be too much expense, but it worked 
well. I now occasionally manure the land 
as I would other land, and consider it the 
cheapest meadow I have. I prefer stable 
manure, yet I have used guano with suc¬ 
cess. Experience. 
In Prussia, for every time a child is absent 
from the public schools without a reason¬ 
able excuse, the parents are fined half a 
dollar. This law, after a number of years 
experience, is found to have the most bene¬ 
ficial effect. 
A Good Place for Cattle. —“ It is said” 
that the cattle live so long out in Iowa that 
they have to put sticks on the end of their 
horiw for the rings to run out on! 
In response to your request, I will offer a 
few suggestions on keeping bees during 
Winter, without stopping to give all the rea¬ 
sons for the positions assumed. 
To ensure success, the first thing to be 
attended to is, to see that you begin the 
Winter with none but good stocks. It will 
not do to consider a stock good because it 
has thrown off swarms, stored surplus honey, 
&c.; but it is important to know its condi¬ 
tion now. This must be learned by close 
inspection. Turn the hive over on a cool 
morning, so carefully as not to arouse the 
bees. Should they chance to be disturbed 
they may be quieted by tobacco smoke 
blown among them. The best stocks will 
show bees between nearly all the combs, 
unless the number of combs exceeds a doz¬ 
en. Where they are found only between 
three or four combs, the most favorable cir¬ 
cumstances will be required to get them 
through the Winter. Without superior ac¬ 
commodations such should be taken up, and 
thus save further trouble and vexation. 
The brood combs of old stocks should 
also be examined, to see that they contain 
no foul or diseased brood. Such old stocks, 
when healthy, are just as good as young 
swarms, and will stand the cold even better. 
As soon as the sunny days of Autuuin are 
past, so that there is no danger of the bees 
being tempted out, the hives intended for 
Winter should be moved to their quarters, 
unless they already stand in a suitable 
place. 
When but few are kept, it is generally ad¬ 
visable to winter in the open air. Choose a 
warm place in the sun, yes, in the sun, 
where it can strike the hive an hour or two 
each day. 
Many people are alarmed at seeing a few 
bees lying dead upon the snow during Win¬ 
ter, and there is a prevalent idea that they 
get “ snow-blind,” and fall down to perish. 
This is an error, for a close examination 
will show that just as many perish upon the 
bare ground, only that they are not so readi¬ 
ly seen as when on snow. I have frequent¬ 
ly taken them out from their winter quar¬ 
ters in the house, when the snow covered 
the ground, in many places two feet in depth, 
and yet lost a less number than at many 
other times when the ground was bare. 
A light snow, newly fallen, is somewhat 
fatal, should the next day or two be still and 
pleasant to tempt them out. If they settle 
on such snow, it will not support their 
weight,—they sink below reach of the sun, 
get chilled and perish. A hard crust or 
melting snow is “ terra firma ” to a bee. In 
case of alight snow put up a board to shade 
the hive, and should the air be sufficiently 
mild for them to leave when thus shaded, it 
will generally do to remove the board and 
allow them to fly—the majority will return. 
The entrance should be secured against 
mice, and yet allow sufficient ventilation, a 
greater amount of which is required than is 
usually supposed. Small pieces or strips of 
wire cloth, partially covering the entrance, 
are just the things. These should be fast¬ 
ened with carpet tacks in such a manner 
that the bees may pass, and still the mice not 
be admitted. 
To get rid of the vapor that is continually 
passing off from the bees, which often moulds 
the combs and spoils the honey, make half- 
a-dozen or more inch holes through the top, 
and cover with an empty box, in such a way 
as to keep out rain, snow and mice. 
When fully ventilated and secured from 
the mice, they may be covered two feet 
with snow and no harm will be done. A 
little snow only around the bottom, is not 
so well. 
Where fifty or more stocks are kept, I 
would recommend a small, dark, warm 
room, or dry cellar. A much less number 
will not be likely to keep the temperature 
sufficiently high. Very little air admitted is 
sufficient. To get rid of the moisture, the 
hives should be turned bottom upward upon 
shelves, with little blocks under to raise 
them an inch from the shelf—the holes in 
the top being left open to allow free circula¬ 
tion of air. By having several tiers of 
shelves, one above another, a great many 
may be packed in one room; I have fre¬ 
quently put in two hundred on three tiers of 
shelves, in a room twelve by eighteen feet. 
That number will keep such a room above 
the freezing point at most times. But if the 
room cannot be kept uniformly warm by the 
number of stocks, or by other means, I pre¬ 
fer leaving bees out of doors, though hous¬ 
ing is preferable with a large number. 
M. Quinby. 
St. Johnsville, N. Y., Oct. 1856. 
FARMING IN HALLOWELL, MAINE. 
JAVA WHEAT—THE APPLE CROP, ETC. 
[The following extracts from a lengthy 
letter, are all we have space for.— Ed.] 
Hallowell, Me., Oct. 8, 1856. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
* * * Being young, and a new hand 
at writing, you will not expect from me 
great accuracy. * * The farmers herea¬ 
bouts do not trouble themselves much about 
the nature or necessities of the soil, but are 
satisfied if they raise enough for their own 
consumption, and a little to sell. It is gen¬ 
erally rocky, with a soil of red, or dark 
loam, and some fields of elay and sandy 
loam. But our soil is as good as any in the 
State, (except way “ down east ” in Aroos¬ 
took County,) and had we a little more in¬ 
terest awakened among farmers, we might 
raise as great crops, and tell as large stories, 
as anybody. * * Much hay and grain 
was spoiled by the unusually wet season, 
but still the yield was above an average one. 
Oats and barley are most largely grown. 
* * Farmers fear the rust and weavil 
(Midge 1) too much, to grow wheat exten¬ 
sively. Of the principal kinds of wheat 
grown here, the red-beard, the Canada, the 
Illinois, and the Java or Egyptian, the last 
named has done the best. Mr. Moses Ta¬ 
ber, of Vassalboro, harvested 28 bushels of 
it to the acre. Others have raised 15 bush¬ 
els to one of seed, and others less. * * 
The apple crop is the most profitable one 
here. We have a medium yield, and as 
they are scarce in many places, we are get¬ 
ting $2 25 to $2 50 per barrel. * * 
s W. P. A. 
