1870. J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
209 
instead of boxes. A large box, which is joined at the 
corners with hooks, encloses the whole, and can be read¬ 
ily opened at any time. The space devoted to boxes in 
summer can be filled with dry hay or straw, and the hives 
remain safely on the summer stand during winter. Those 
who prefer to increase their colonies by natural or arti¬ 
ficial swarming, to securing large amounts of surplus 
honey, can use these frames to advantage by omitting the 
extra space designed for boxes, and enclosing with a 
box just largo enough to accommodate the frames, leav¬ 
ing sufficient room to prevent the bees from waxing the 
outside combs fast to the hive. 
Bees and IPrsnit.—J. M. Brooks, Colum¬ 
bus, Ind., asks “ If bees can be kept on a fruit farm 
profitably, or will they sting and injure the grapes ?”- 
1 have raised more or less fruit, and especially grapes, 
during all my years of bee-keeping, and do not find the 
two incompatible. On the contrary, I have always main¬ 
tained that they could be very advantageously combined, 
for several reasons, which I have not space to enumerate 
at present. I have never found bees destructive to grapes, 
although they are sometimes found upon them, particu¬ 
larly in such seasons as the last, when honey was 
not to be found, and the bees were actually starving. 
€3ra.ip>e <$aaer5es.—J. C. Bayler, Ky. We 
cannot say what buds you should rub off from your vine 
without knowing in what manner you wish to train it. 
Recollect that each bud will produce a shoot which in 
autumn will ripen into a cane, and rub out accordingly 
....The Eumelan and Hartford Prolific are among the 
earliest sorts.The vine which blossoms but does 
not bear, is probably a seedling with undeveloped pis¬ 
tils. Such often occur, especially among wild grapes. 
The best thing to do with it is to graft it over. 
drimsliiag' Scyttecs, etc.— Y/e are ap¬ 
proaching the time when the grindstone will be in pretty 
constant use. A good grindstone should have both a 
crank and a treadle. If the stone be well hung and oiled, 
light work can all bo done by one man ; but for heavier 
work like scythe and ax grinding, the holder needs some 
one to turn. We have often experienced the difficulty 
which has annoyed our correspondent, Geo. Kuntz, of 
Peoria Co., Ill.; namely, of the person turning, being in 
the way of the scythe or set of mowing machine knives. 
Mr. Kuntz has the stone turned by a boy moving a rod 
attached by a slot and pin to the treadle-crank. Put¬ 
ting the suggestion to a practical test, the writer was 
much pleased with the convenience and ease with which 
the stone was turned, and we illustrate it in the ac¬ 
companying engraving. The hand crank should be 
taken off and the stone run at a higher speed than 
nsual. A medium sized stone is best, and our cor¬ 
respondent says that he finds very small stones run in 
this way, serviceable. At any rate, with this appliance 
there is no raising up and down of the whole body, but 
the work is done at the best advantage by the arms ;— 
besides there is no danger of cutting the hands or head 
as in turning by the crank. 
Cooltisig- Foal ties*.—“ L. F.,” Ogle Co., Ill., 
asks : 1. How much more fuel does it take to cook fodder 
for cattle with steam than the common way of cooking? 
2. What machinery is needed to do it carefully ? 3. Wont 
it do as well to shell the corn before cooking as to cook 
it in the ear?_(1.) Practically not much. Theoretically 
the amount of water in the boiler has to be heated to 
the boiling point, and this much heat is wasted. But 
this is a small affair when compared with the extra labor 
required in boiling fodder. The great advantage of steam 
is, that it is so perfectly manageable_(2.) A cutting- 
machine for hay, etc., a trough in which to wet the hay 
and mix it with bran or meal, a box or chamber in which 
to confine it while being steamed, and some sort of a 
steam-boiler which shall he safe to generate steam in_ 
(3.) The labor of shelling would be lost, and probably a 
longer time would be required before complete cooking 
would be effected. The best way is to put ears of corn 
into a barrel, put in water enough to cover them, and 
then introduce the steam through a pipe reaching to the 
bottom of the barrel, and fire up until the water boils. 
Then withdraw the pipe, cover the barrel, and leave it 
from G to 12 hours before using. 
Stcamliag - Coral for IPIg-s.—George A. 
True, of Ill., fed new corn from Sept. 2Gth to Dec. 1st. 
He fed TO bushels per week, which made an average of 
724 lbs. per week. He asks what lie can gain by steam¬ 
ing. We know of no experiments among our own ac¬ 
quaintance that furnish a definite answer to this question. 
In fact so much would depend upon the condition of 
the corn that no single experiment would have much 
value. The softer the corn, the less the relative benefit 
from cooking. We have seen reliable statements in 
agricultural papers to the effect that twice as much pork 
was made by a bushel of corn when ground and cooked, 
as when fed whole. This would probably he too much 
benefit to hope for, under any ordinary circumstances. 
We have practised cooking for hogs during the past win¬ 
ter, and arc satisfied that it is profitable ; but have made 
no accurate weighings to determine the exact result. 
SSsittcr IPsttclsisag- — Correction.—On 
page 219, in the paragraph on Packing and Marketing, 
after “ Firkin, Tub, or Pail, as the case may be ”—read 
(which should have been previously soaked in brine.) 
Mow BSaisay EBea-aas to Sow to tla© 
Acre.—There are four kinds of field beans; viz., The 
Pea bean, of which 4,400 are contained in a quart; the 
Blue-pod bean, of which 2,TOO are in a quart; the White 
Marrow, of which 1,300 make a quart, and the White 
Kidney, 1,200 of which make a quart. If the hills are 2 
feet apart each way and G to S beans are put in a hill, it 
will require IS quarts of the Pea beans; 1 bushel of Blue- 
pods ; T pecks of the White Marrows, and 2 bushels of 
White Kidneys. 
TSae CHE*Jtasi Crop.—The Report of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture for May, gives very full reports 
of the condition of winter grain. The results are summed 
up ns follows: “ They picture a small and slow growth, 
thinned in places by winter-killing, weak and unthrifty 
in spots from loss of vitality by long exposure under ice 
or to freezing winds; hut, with these exceptions, vigor¬ 
ous, of good color, and ready to start, under the influence 
of a genial spring, into luxuriant and healthful growth. 
These blemishes are neither general nor very marked in 
localities where they appear, with occasional exceptions 
of severe freezing. While the appearance of wheat is by 
no means as promising as it was last year, the difference 
is due, more to the backwardness of growth, caused by 
late planting followed by an early winter, which allowed 
of little more than germination before cold weather set 
in, than to injuries from freezing. The mild weather and 
light snows of the winter-wheat region were accompa¬ 
nied with few sudden changes in. the earlier winter 
months; while the colder and rougher weather of later 
winter was attended with heavier snows, which furnished 
valuable protection at a critical season. The regular re¬ 
turns were prepared about the first of April. The tenor 
of later information gives assurance of a general and rapid 
amelioration, which may yet result, the season favoring, 
in a fine crop of winter wheat.” 
Maple Ssig-ai*.—The articles in February 
and Marcli have called out several valuable suggestions, 
for which wc thank the writers. They came too late to 
be of use this season, but like other good things, they 
will keep. In April, Mr. Chamberlain, the author of the 
articles referred to, convinces us that he practises what 
he teaches, by sending specimens of his sugar and syrup 
—the last remarkably fine. 
Tla© IFirst Blools of llofsuaay, designed 
to cultivate the Observing Power of Children, by Eliza 
A. Yomnans. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Miss 
Youmans has evidently given much thought to mental 
growth in children. Convinced that there was nothing 
in the ordinary circle of school studies that cultivated 
the powers of observation, she, in seeking for some study 
that should teach a child to use its eyes and record its 
observations, fixed upon botany as best suited to her pur¬ 
pose. In the present work she takes the different parts 
of a plant, and teaches the child their names and the dif¬ 
ferent shapes the parts assume. It only claims to pre¬ 
sent the merest rudiments—to show the difference be¬ 
tween leaf, stem, etc., and to teach the child to state what 
a part is, and to describe its shape. We must confess to a 
hearty sympathy with the objects of this work. IIow far 
it will accomplish the anlhor’s aims, can only bo told by 
actual trial. The subject as presented by Miss Youmans 
is worthy the consideration of teachers and all who have 
the education of young children. The obstacles to the 
introduction of any new studies into our schools do not 
lay so much with those who are taught, as with those 
who teach ; and we fear that the average “ school inarm” 
will not qualify herself to teach even these simple lessons. 
BEiiising Ebtaclcs.—Mrs. “S. A. P.,” who 
had very poor luck with her ducks last year, asks how 
to raise them. We have had good success with the fol¬ 
lowing method: The eggs are hatched under hens; 
when they come out, we coniine them with the lien for 
several days by placing boards to make a little yard 
around the hen-coop, as in the engraving. The coop is 
set on a board so that the hen cannot scratch, and water 
and food are placed where she can reach them. The 
ducks must always be called when fed; and at first allow¬ 
ed to get a little hungry before feeding, food should not 
be left before them. They will soon learn the call of the 
hen. When they do so and run quickly to her, and when 
they run to the coop for safety and when hungry, the 
boards arc pulled up and the ducks let run. They have 
to he watched at first and driven hack, when they wan¬ 
der far. Soon they may be trusted anywhere hut in a 
brook or pond. If they get wet while in the down, and 
before two or three weeks old, they arc in danger of be¬ 
ing chilled. A heavy thunder shower often proves fatal 
from this cause, if they are caught by it far from home. 
After they are several weeks old they are in danger of 
being washed away and lost by the sudden rising of a 
brook or stream in which they may be allowed to forage. 
They need water only to drink, and to wash in, and a 
shallow trough or tub will hold enough. If rapid growth 
and large size are desired, ducks must be fed very fre¬ 
quently—as often as they will come and call for feed, is 
our rule—say once in three hours, and must have a range. 
MocSfi-Woa-lc.—“0.,” Holly, N. J. Rook- 
work is best made of large stones laid up so as to repre¬ 
sent a natural out-cropping of the rock. In arranging 
the stones, irregular spaces or ^pockets ” must be left to 
hold earth. Another way is to build up a structure of 
medium sized, irregular stones, using cement (water 
lime mortar) to hold them together ; and afterwards paint 
the whole over with awash of water lime to give it a 
uniform color. 
W2a® .SBsnys mi Assici-icasa Watt©!!! ? 
—Half a million watches have been made by the Ameri¬ 
can Watch Co., at Waltham—No. 500,000 was finished a 
few weeks since. 
CrsssiUteirs’y Csilfuii*©.—A work upon the 
culture of the Cranberry, which should give the present 
approved methods of culture in a practical manner, lias 
for a long time been needed. The publishers of the 
American Agriculturist are glad to announce a work of 
this kind, which is now in press and will shortly be 
ready. The author is J. J. White, Juliustown, N. J., a suc¬ 
cessful grower of cranberries on a large scale. There 
have been so many loose statements with regard to cran¬ 
berry growing, and so much rash speculation in the busi¬ 
ness, that a well considered work like this will he timely. 
TBae American has 
changed its title to that of “ Entomologist and Botanist.” 
The botanical editor is Dr. George Vasey of Illinois, long 
known as one of the leading botanists of the West. Mr. 
Riley will continue to look after the “ bugs.” A popular 
botanical journal has long been wanted, and we shall be 
glad if the present one fill the gap. R. P. Shedley & Co., 
St. Louis Mo., Publishers, $2 per annum. 
Salt Sjasme Mixture.—Thos. Ford, 
Miss. Experiments indicate that there is a gain in mix¬ 
ing these substances, that is, in slaking quicklime with 
brine. The chemical reaction which takes place is not 
so definite as might be supposed. Lime is oxygen and 
calcium ; salt is chlorine and sodium ; an interchange of 
bases would convert lime and salt into chloride of calci¬ 
um and soda. This action probably takes place, but to a 
very limited extent, depending upon the heat of the 
mass. The value of the article is probably chiefly due 
to the intimate mixture effected. 
Oiocoliate Com. —“ J. A. S.” —this is a 
variety of Sorghum milgare , and is also called Durra corn 
and Indian Millet. We do not find it in the catalogues. 
