1873 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
169 
Farmers and Railroads. 
The enormous taxes levied on farmers by railroad com¬ 
panies in the shape of excessive freights, have at last be¬ 
come heavier than can be borne. The value of produce 
in the barns and granaries of farmers in the Western 
States has become so reduced that it is with difficulty the 
producers can support themselves. The low prices [rul- 
in°- during the present season have brought the matter to 
a crisis, and the farmers of Illinois have met in Conven¬ 
tion to discuss the means for providing a substantial 
remedy. A State Farmers’ Association has been formed 
which met on the 2d of April at Springfield ; delegates 
from all parts of .the State being present. A series of 
resolutions were presented and adopted, to the effect that 
railroads should be considered public highways, and as 
such should be brought under the control of the legisla¬ 
ture, and made to serve the public convenience : that a 
general railroad law should be enacted by the legislature 
regulating the carriage of freights and passengers at rea¬ 
sonable rates, and that no unjust increase of the nominal 
capital of the railroad companies should be allowed: that 
railroad companies should be compelled to receive and 
forward all the freights on cars which may be offered to 
them either at stations on their roads, or at crossings 
made by other roads, with some other similar provisions. 
It was evident from the tone of the speeches made at the 
meeting that farmers are thoroughly aroused to the nec¬ 
essity of battlingfor their interests, if not for their posi¬ 
tive existence, against the exorbitant demands of the 
railroad companies, and it is likely that this movement 
in Illinois will be seconded by a general one throughout 
the West. Of course, the railroad men deny a large share 
of the charges made against them. Wo hope that the 
matter may now be thoroughly ventilated, and the blame 
for the present depressed condition of agriculture fixed 
where it belongs; then such legal remedies should be ap¬ 
plied as will meet the case. The few injudicious persons 
who threaten a resort to violence only injure their cause. 
--o . — — *t ——— - 
To Boys and Girls. 
Children, there is trouble in our menagerie. The ani¬ 
mals have not got to fighting, but what is about as bad, 
some are in the wrong cages. Never mind now whose 
fault it is—it is not mine—but just turn to pages 187 and 
188 and make these corrections. The Common Seal is 
the lower left hand animal. The Sea-Elephant is in the 
upper right hand corner, and at the right of the Harp- 
Seal instead of the left as stated in the description. The 
Sea-Leopard is directly under the Sea-Elephant, and the 
Sea-Lion is at the upper left hand corner. What a both¬ 
er these slippery fellows are 1 but if you will note these 
changes you will have them all right. Don’t forget the 
Menagerie prizes. By the way, here is something for 
young gardeners that was crowded out of the regular 
pagee, and as it will be of no use another month, we will 
take a little space from the old folks and pnt it here. 
The Doctor. 
A Hint for losing- (Lsi-dcners. 
In the spring almost every boy and girl likes to make 
a garden. Some are content with making it and seeing 
the seeds come up, and then care nothing more about it, 
while others will stick to it all summer. Moat young 
gardeners if asked what they would best like to grow 
will say “melons.” A very good choice, we think, for 
melons are excellent, and none taste so good as those we 
EARTII-IIOCSE. 
grow ourselves. Mr. J. L. Hyde, of Connecticut, who 
sent you a bird-house last year, sends now an account of 
what he calls a “ dirt-house.” He says : 
“ Any boy can make it that knows how to cover Ilia 
feet with earth and make houses in this way. Tou may 
call it a liot-bed, forcing-frame, or anything else that you 
choose. The first thing to do is to dig a cellar abont 
10 x 12 inches across and six inches deep, and fill it 
with manure and earth well mixed. Now take a box 
without top or bottom, about- 8 X 10 inches across and 
sir inches high; place it over the cellar or foundation 
for the house, and bank the sides with damp earth ; spat 
it down firm, and then carefully remove the box by lift¬ 
ing it out so as to leave the earth-walls standing, and 
make as many more as you choose in the same way. 
“ If you are careful, you will have the house all finished 
except the roof; but before you put that on yon should 
plant some melon seeds, or any other seeds yon choose. 
Now lay on a 10 X 12 glass for the roof—fix it on tight, 
so no air can get in. When the seeds make their appear¬ 
ance above ground, give them some air by removing a 
part of the south side of your house, or make a door and 
window in the back. Make your house in a warm part | 
of the garden about the first of May. Let your plants 
have air as soon as you can sec them. If you need to 
shade the plants, it can be done by sprinkling some earth 
upon the glass. In this way the plants will be kept from 
the attacks of ‘ bugs ’ while young, and being kept warm 
in cool nights will get such a start that they will be far 
ahead of those from seeds planted in the open ground.” 
Bee Notes—Advice to Beginners. 
BY Jt. Q1TINBY. 
Bees should bo looked at once a week from April let to 
June 15th to ascertain the quantity of sealed honey on 
hand. It will now have to be guessed at. Thrifty pros¬ 
perous stocks, should not at this time, (May 1st.) have 
more than 10 lbs, nor less than 0. Should they, at any 
time, have more or less and all unsealed, it would pay to 
feed at once a few ounces every day. And if out of honey 
they must be fed, or they will starve. The cheapest feed 
that we have found is a syrup made of 3 lbs of white coffee 
sugar, and one quart of water. The most convenient and 
safest feeder is patented. It can be set over a hole in the 
top or on the frames, and the feed is taken from the bot¬ 
tom of it without exposure to outside bees. When fed 
by a vessel open at the top, it should be set on the top of 
the hive, and holes open for communication. After 
syrup is in the dish, sprinkle on it a thin coating of cut 
straw or fine shavings, to keep the bees from drowning 
or sticking fast. Honey can be used instead. Scatter a 
few drops outside the dish and down through the hole, to 
show the bee 3 the way. Pieces of comb containing honey 
may be simply laid on the top of the 'hive. Over the 
whole set a box to cover all perfectly tight, to prevent 
any outside bees from getting a particle or even smelling 
it. Bees scent hon'ey farther than syrup, and will try 
harder to get it. .. 
To ascertain if a box-hive has sealed honey, it is 
necessary to turn it over in the morning—do it carefully 
without a jar—blow in smoke till the bees run out of the 
way, and should there be any sealed, it may be best seen 
when the sun shines clearly. For this purpose—looking 
inside—and many others, the movable comb-hive has so 
many advantages over the box-hive, that I hope every 
one having the box-hive is ready and willing to under¬ 
take transferring. April and early in May usually are the 
best times. Other seasons may do. It is hoped that 
every one having bees, good or bad, who expects to get 
anything from them, has looked closely enough to be¬ 
come acquainted, and lose the horrid dread of stings, and 
get the habit of doing things at the right time. Movable 
comb-hives should be made so as to accommodate the 
swarm, large or small, and hold surplus boxes for one or 
two hundred lbs; or if disposed to extract the honey, 
double the usual amount of combs may be inserted. The 
frames for transferring should be flat on the under side of 
top instead of having an angle as where comb is to be built. 
Get the empty hive ready in every particular. The 
frames should have a piece across the bottom, that will 
be one fourth inch from the bottom board. Measure the 
depth of frame. If it is 12 inches, get out splints I 2 V 2 
inches long, one fourth inch or less, by one fourth or a 
little more. 
Fifty or more will be wanted for one hive. Get a dish 
of water for washing oft' any honey that may stick to the' 
j hands, and wetting any knife that you use. Look over 
the whole ground in imagination, and get everything that 
you may possibly need before commencing. Go over the 
w'hole thing two or three times, when to do it, and how 
it is to be done, what tools are wanted, and how they are 
to be used. This will prevent hurrying unduly, as well 
as loslug time to procure the conveniences to work with 
at the time. Saw or notch a quarter inch from the end of 
the splints, so that a bit of twine that is to tie the ends 
together, will not slip oft’. The twine should be four or 
five inches long. Tie one end of the splint firmly, one 
inch from it tic another knot, then lay in another splint 
and tic another knot over it, and they will be just one 
inch apart. Tie a twine on one of the splints at the other- 
end to have it ready for the second knot when the comb 
is put in. Very fine annealed wire is preferable to twine, 
when it can be procured. Simply twisting it holds bet¬ 
ter than a knot, and is quicker done. If but one hive is 
to be transferred and no neighboring bees are near to in¬ 
terfere by robbing, do it out of door right by the stand, 
near the middle of the day, or when warm enough not to 
chill the brood; or if more than one, when the day is 
likely to be warm enough for them to fly, it should be 
done in a room made warm enough to prevent chilling 
the brood. Exclude the light, except from one window. 
The hive to receive the bees should set directly under it. 
The hive to be transferred should be closed and brought 
in before they fly in the morning. Those with straight 
combs are most easily worked. Turn the hive bottom 
up, open the entrance, and blow in some smoke. The 
bees run among the combs and fill themselves with 
honey. Take off the bottom, shake the bees on the 
combs, and smoke them a little more. By this time they 
lose all disposition to sting, and are perfectly bewildered. 
You can do many things in the house that they would not 
allow you to do out of doors. There is really less danger 
of stings in the house in doing it than in hiving bees 
when they swarm. We use no veil, and pay no attention 
to the bees themselves except to keep from mashing or 
pinohing. They gather in little bunches, and a few may 
fly and get on the window. If need be, put on the veil. 
Set over the hive an empty one or a box, that has been 
made comfortably warm inside. Drive out the bees by 
pounding the lower hive lightly and rapidly ton minutes 
with a stick or light hammer, when most of the bees will 
be in the upper hive. Set it off. The few scattering bees 
left will not make the first attempt to sting. The next 
thing is to cut the combs loose from the side of the hive. 
For "this you want a thin, long knifean inch or more in 
width, and two feet long. As it does not require the best 
tempered edge, a piece of hoop iron will make it. Grind 
off the end like a carpenter's chisel. Crowd this down 
between the edge of the comb and side of the hive; the 
straight, flat side next the hive, the beveled side next tho 
comb, which will crowd it close the whole length. Saw 
off the ci'oss sticks. Now take off the side by prying or 
drawing the nails, or splitting it in piccc6 with an axe or 
chisel. Take off two sides or more if necessary to make 
WUe w •" 
FASTENING COMB INTO FRAMES. 
