249 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
1870.] 
$16@$20; Lath per 100, 2Sc.@33c.; Doors, 1x214 ft.xlki 
inches, $2.50@$3.00; Doors, 1x2%ff. Xli4 inches, molded 
on both sides, $3.50@fi4.00.—Hardware; Nails, $4.50® 
$4.15 per 100 lbs. ; Ventilators, $1.10@$l.(i0 ; Porcelain 
knobs with plated shanks, per doz. $4.50@$5.00; Porce¬ 
lain knobs, japanned shanks, per doz. $1.15@$2.00; 
Locks, per doz. $4@$6.00; Tin for roofing, etc., good char¬ 
coal, per 100 feet, $S.50@$9.50 ; Slating, good, laid with 
double felting, per 100 feet, $12.50@$13.50. Gas piping 
per foot, put in, 14c.- Brick, per 1,000, hard, $1@$S; soft, 
$G.50@$1. Lath and Plastering per yard, two-coat work, 
30c.@35c. ; do., hard finish, 40c.®50c. Blinds per foot, 
(unpainted), 3114c.@40c. Sash, (glazed, 2d quality French 
glass, and primed), $3.50@$4 for above houses. Sash 
weights per 100 lbs., $2.15@$3. Sash cord per lb., best, 
30c.®35c. We intend to give a talk on the kinds, quali¬ 
ties, etc., of the above articles, with hints on selection, 
or best kinds to use. 
Sicstitf Csraiifi on —Not¬ 
withstanding the excellence of our steel-toothed rakes 
there is considerable scattered grain and heads left on 
our wheat, barley, and oat stubbles. The former is 
usually seeded down with clover, and as there is no neces¬ 
sity for plowing them, the wheat stubbles may be reserv¬ 
ed until the last. But where barley or oat stubbles are to be 
sown with wheat, wo can better afford to lose the scatter¬ 
ed grain than to postpone working the land. Sheep will 
glean the-stubbles as well as pigs, but they should not, at 
first, be allowed to remain in the field more than half an 
hour the first day and perhaps an hour the second, length¬ 
ening the time as they have to travel farther in search of 
the grain. And sec to it that the sheep have free access 
to water, and are regularly salted. 
'WEalttcwasIs.,—The following is sent out Tty 
the Light-house Board of the Treasury Department: 
“ The following recipe for whitewashing has been found 
by experience to answer on wood, brick, and stone, 
nearly as well as oil paint, and is much cheaper-Slake 
half a bushel of unslaked lime with boiling water, keep¬ 
ing it covered during the process. Strain it and add a 
peck of salt, dissolved in warm water; three pounds of 
ground rice put in boiling water, and boiled to a thin 
paste; half a pound of powdered Spanish whiting, and 
a pound of clear glue, dissolved in warm water; mix 
these well together, and let the mixture stand for several 
days. Keep the wash thus prepared in a kettle or porta¬ 
ble furnace, and when used put it on as hot as possible, 
with painters’ or whitewash brushes.” 
CesaaeBst-Was'Ea.—The following are the di¬ 
rections of the Light-house Board: “Take of fresh 
Rosendale cement three parts, clear sand one part, and 
mix them thoroughly with fresh water. This will give n 
gray or granite color, dark or light, according to the color 
of the cement. If a brick color is desired, add enough 
Venetian red to the mixture to produce that color. The 
cement, sand, and coloring matter must be mixed togeth¬ 
er. If white is desired, the walls, when new, should re¬ 
ceive two coats of cement-wash, and then whitewash. 
After the work has received the first coat, a single coat 
every three or four years will be sufficient. It is best to 
thoroughly dampen the wall with clean, fresh water, and 
follow immediately after with the cement-wash. This 
course will prevent the bricks from absorbing the water 
from the wash too quickly, and will give time for the ce¬ 
ment to set. Caro must be taken to keep all the ingredi¬ 
ents of the cement-wash well stirred during the applica¬ 
tion of it. The mixture must be made as thick as it can 
be conveniently put on with a whitewash brush.” 
TroutS. BBreodarag.—About the first of June 
we had the pleasure of visiting the trout ponds and 
breeding race of Mr. William II. Furman, of Maspeth, 
Queens County, Long Island, to witness the results 
of some novel and valuable experiments in raising trout.. 
Mr. Furman practised for several years the “artificial 
method” of obtaining eggs from trout, fertilizing them, 
and hatching them under daily inspection and more or 
less handling. This was so essentially artificial and so 
repugnant to his feelings, that for several years he has de¬ 
voted time and money in conducting experiments with a 
view to have the eggs laid and hatched in a perfectly nat¬ 
ural way, and at the Same time to obtain the highest good 
results as to the health of the fry and the number hatched. 
He has put in use a race with a floor of slats ; and upon the 
filats a layer of gravel of the size preferred by the fish for 
spawning ground. The water is admitted from a power¬ 
ful spring “ piped ” to the spot, (and from other springs 
iu the bottom,) beneath the floor of slats, and wells up 
with great uniformity through the entire mass of gravel, 
so that everywhere there is an upward rising, yet very 
gentle, current. This race is 291 feet in length, varying 
.from 4 to 8 feet in width ; the water standing from 12 to 
13 inches deep over the gravel, and having a very percep¬ 
tible flow at the outlet where the race is widest. Below 
the race is the nursery, a low building, 100 feet in 
length by 10 in width, made of rough boards, and entire¬ 
ly occupied by the water-course and a narrow walk. 
From the nursery the water flows through “ the brook,” 
a boarded, roofed, and gravelled channel, 500 feet long, to 
its outlet into the main pond. This is a beautiful sheet 
of the purest water, long and narrow, doubling upon itself, 
and filled with breeding trout, some of which are of very 
large size. The parent trout seek the race of their own ac¬ 
cord and make hardly any nests in this beautifully clean 
and well-prepared bed,but lay indiscriminately anywhere. 
The eggs disappear among tho gravel, and arc not touch¬ 
ed. The old fish return to the pond, and, after the laying 
season, arc shut off. This spring, after the hatchlings 
could take care of themselves pretty well, the gravel was 
all overhauled to look for dead eggs, etc , and it was 
found so clean and so few dead eggs were there, that Mr. 
F. says he shall not disturb the bed another year. The 
race is roofed its entire length, the roof being movable, 
and not entirely excluding the light. It is located near 
salt marshes, and, occasionally, eels are seen on wet 
nights following up surface ditches in close proximity to 
the race ; hence, in order to exclude these and anything 
else that might harm the fry, wire screens are nailed 
across the sections of the race at exposed points. The 
feeding of the fry takes place at certain spots in the race, 
and here the largest quantity of excrement accumulates. 
The upward flowing water makes it easy to collect and re¬ 
move this, but the fry are chiefly fed in tho nursery. The 
number of fry this year exceeded the capacity of the race 
and feeding-house ; and so previous to our visit Mr. F. 
had opened the connections with the main pond and let 
the fry go freely out and in. This had somewhat reduced 
their numbers, but the majority still kept near the feed¬ 
ing places, and wherever we looked the water seemed 
alive with them. Mr. F. is fortunate in being able to ob¬ 
tain the roc of the horsefoot, or king-crab, in abundance, 
and an unlimited supply of beautiful, fat maggots of tho 
flesh-fly. Many, of this year’s fry were over 3 inches, 
and some, wo judge, 4 inches in length, and had a 
remarkably lively, healthy look. We saw very few 
dead ones. This race is patented; but ns wc deem it 
desirable that several should bo in operation, Mr. F. 
authorizes us to say he will make very liberal terms to 
those who will put them up in time for use this year. 
The fish begin to enter the race about October 1st. 
We cannot but regard Mr. Furman’s results as exceed¬ 
ingly important and successful. lie simply protects 
eggs, laid in a natural way, from all natural enemies ; at 
least that is the aim. This plan differs from the Ains¬ 
worth race inasmuch as that involves a removal of the 
eggs, which fall though the coarse gravel and wire screen 
upon a set of movable screens below, and are subject to 
more or less manipulation and other than natural sur¬ 
roundings during the hatching period. 
- -■ ■a -Q- c ■ *—<*»- 
Harvesting- Barley. 
When the straw is long enough, the best way to harvest 
barley is to bind it up as we do wheat. But, good crops of 
barley this season will be few and far between. Much of 
it will be too short to bind, and some of it will be so poor 
that it will be difficult even to cut it with a reaper. It will 
have to be cradled or mown with a scythe. It is discour¬ 
aging work—but there is no remedy except in better 
farming. Barley requires to be cut just at the right time. 
If cut too early, the grain shrivels up, and if it is allowed 
to stand a few days too long, it “ crinkles down ” and the 
heads drop off in reaping and are lost. We know of no 
better test than to squeeze tho grain between the thumb 
and finger, and if there is tho least appearance of milk, 
the crop should be allowed to stand longer. The real 
difficulty, however, is in the uneven ripeness of the crop. 
Some portions will bo dead ripe, while others are still 
green, and it requires considerable experience and a 
sound judgment to decide whether wc shall lose most by 
cutting before it is all ripe, or by letting a portion of it 
get so ripe that there is danger of the heads hilling oft 1 . 
Much depends on the weather. If we could be sure of 
curing the crop without exposing i t to rain or heavy dews, 
we would cut early, because what is lost in tho grain is 
made up in the increased value of the straw for fodder. 
But as barley that is stained in harvesting or in the mow 
will not bring as much by 10c. or 15c. per bushel as a 
bright sample, it is usually better to shorten the period of 
curing as much as possible by allowing it to stand until 
pretty ripe. In this as in many other farming operations 
we must calculate our chances, and not be discouraged if 
we sometimes miss the mark. When barley is clean and 
the weather favorable, there is perhaps no better,—cer¬ 
tainly no cheaper,—way of curing it, than to allow it to 
remain in the gavels as thrown off from the platform of the 
reaper. They may be turned or stirred to facilitate the 
drying, but otherwise may remain as left by the reaper 
until ready to draw in. By moving one or two swaths to 
make room for the team, two men with barley forks can 
pick up the gavels of three or four swaths on each side of 
the wagon, and place them on the load. In this way 
scarcely any of the barley will be scattered on the land. 
But if there are weeds or grass in the barley, or tho 
weather is threatening, it will be necessary to turn the 
gavels, and towards night put them into small cocks, 
which will have to be turned or opened the next day and 
recocked again at evening, if not sufficiently cured to 
draw in. It should be borne in mind that barley is very 
frequently stained in the stack or mow, from being 
drawn in too soon, or with dew on it. Barley should 
be either thrashed as drawn from the field, or not until 
it has done “sweating” in the stack or mow. If the 
former, it will be necessary to watch the grain in the bin 
and turn it occasionally, or it will heat and become dis¬ 
colored. The rakings should be kept separate, as tho 
grain is frequently stained, and if mixed with the rest 
may reduce the price of the whole several cents per bush¬ 
el. Better feed them out to the pigs. 
Bee Hotes .—By Jf. Quinby. 
Tho Apiary In July. —Boxes should never re¬ 
main on after they are full. Tire bees soon soil the 
combs, and it is more important that tho comb should bo 
clean, than that every cell next to the glass should be 
sealed up. If there arc more boxes on a hive than will 
be likely to be finished, remove some or all, if you can, 
to stronger stocks to be completed. It may be necessary 
to change them from hive to hive several times. Ono 
finished box is worth two unfinished ones. Never let 
bees lie outside of the hive for want of room in the boxes. 
Put on a second tier of boxes if the strength of the stock 
will warrant it, by making holes in the top of the lower 
ones; those partly full may be raised, and empty ones 
put under. This, perhaps, is the best way. In movable 
comb-hives, when all the boxes tho hive will accommo¬ 
date have been put on and there arc bees still unemploy¬ 
ed, take out some full combs—alternate combs, if more 
than one arc to be removed—and put empty ones in then- 
places. Full combs with brood may be given to weak 
stocks—having brushed off tho bees, of course. In this 
way stocks may be made strong and valuable, which 
would otherwise be worthless. Stocks often overswarm 
and become too weak to protect the combs. If they can¬ 
not be strengthened, break up the hives and secure tho 
honey and wax before the worms destroy them and a 
swarm of moths is bred. If queens are not raised arti¬ 
ficially, it is well to hive a small swarm or two, and thus 
keep queens for supplying those that become destitute. 
Flags do not prove to be as good a material for hives as 
straw. Secure straw now from the harvest field. Select 
by handfuls, make even, shake out short ones, cut off 
heads, and put away to make hives with on some rainy 
day in December. 
Aiboiil Queens.— B. F. Rosenberry, Alliance, Ohio, 
writes: “ On the Sth of April a small swarm of bees is¬ 
sued from one of my colonies, flew around awhile and 
went back again. Seven days after, they swarmed again, 
and we hived them in a hive with a few frames and some 
honey. They are doing well and breeding, both the old 
and new. 'Where were tho two queens all winter? as a 
new queen could not have been raised as early as the 
15th of April.”—It is not at all strange to have new 
queens as early as the middle of April, (I have known 
them hatched ill midwinter,) and allowing this, it is nob 
difficult to answer his question. As queens grow old, 
they frequently become feeble, barren, or lay only drone 
eggs, and it is common for the bees to prepare queen cells 
to supersede them, and in such cases the young queen 
usually destroys the old one. I should infer that in this 
instance there was an intention to supersede tho old 
queen, but she was yet strong enough to resent it and led 
out the first isfeue ; but she being lost, the bees returned 
to the hive. When the young queens began to hatch, 
another swarm issued as in the swarming season, and if 
the old queen had become a drone-layer, there would bet 
drones to securG the fertilization of the new queens thus 
early in the season. 
Ants on<I ESeos.—D. S. Landis, Litiz, Pa., writes 
for advice as to the best method of keeping ants and. 
worms away from beehives. The prevalent idea is that 
these arc often the cause of weakness and thriftlessness 
in a colony, whereas they will only be found in a hiva 
when it is already weakened from other causes. Keep 
your colonies in good condition , and there will never be 
room inside a hive for a strong family of bees and a nest 
of ants, ora brood of worms. Ants will sometimes gather 
on the top or near a strong hive for the sake of warmth 
they find there, but not within it. Ants and vermin gener¬ 
ally will distnrb a hive of bees only when it is too weak 
to repel them ; just as debility of the human system rend¬ 
ers it defenceless against, the attacks of acute diseases, 
which a strong constitution would resist successfully 
