THE CULTIVATOR. 
208 
Kentucky Bee-House. 
Pleasant Hill, November 30, 1838. 
Mr. J. Buel —Dear Sir—As I have sufficient room in 
this letter, I will give you a description of my father’s 
Bee-House, which I think preferable to any I have seen, 
on account of its cheapness and convenience, and if 
you think it worthy of a place in your excellent periodi¬ 
cal, it is perfectly at your disposal. The building is 
twelve feet long, eight wide, and seven feet high from 
the floor to the plate or ceiling, (the floor being eigh¬ 
teen inches from the ground,) and consists of four posts 
eleven feet six inches long, let in the ground three feet, 
which is weather-boarded round, and covered in, so as 
to prevent the bees from getting in the house, they be¬ 
ing confined in six boxes, three on either side of the 
house, placed fifteen inches one above another. This 
drawing (Fig. No. 68,) represents one side of the house, 
viewed from the outside. 
[Fig. No. 68.] [Fig- No. 69.] 
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Fig. 68, 
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are kept filled with water, to prevent ants or other in¬ 
sects from getting in the house. No. 2,3 and 4 are tubes 
eight inches wide, one-eighth of an inch deep, to convey 
the bees through the wall into the long boxes, and en¬ 
tering them at bottom, there being three to each long 
box. 
The drawing, Fig. 69, represents one side of the house, 
viewed from the inside. No. 1,2 and 3 are long boxes, 
eighteen inches wide and twelve deep, extending the 
whole length of the house, with eight holes, four inches 
square, in each box, upon which is set two gallon caps, 
with two half inch holes in each, one near the top, the 
other about the centre of the cap, in which the smoke 
of a burning rag is blown to drive the bees from the 
cap into the long box, which can be known by striking 
the caps. When they are all in the long box, a knife 
or wire should be drawn under the bottom of the cap, 
to separate the comb from the box, when the cap of ho¬ 
ney may be removed, and an empty one put in its place. 
No. 4 and 5 are tubes three inches square, to convey the 
bees from one box to another, that one swarm of bees 
may do the whole, or if one or more swarms be put in 
each box, that they may become as one, as they will 
not permit more than one king when put together, by 
which they are prevented from destroying themselves 
by fighting. 
A house of this description, when the long boxes are 
filled, will afford, at a moderate calculation, ninety-six 
gallons of honey in the comb annually. 
F. S FISHER. 
Matters of General Interest. 
Hartford, Dec. 27, 1838. 
My Dear Sir —Minutes, hours, months and years, 
seem to me much shorter than they once were; former¬ 
ly, I had leisure enough, or at least thought so, for I 
have wasted many an hour impatiently waiting for the 
coming time, and now all my industry avails me little; 
my good intentions unperformed accumulate from day 
to day, till nothing short of an expunging process can 
set me free. I however took good care to wipe away 
no part of my debt to you, as it involved too much of in¬ 
terest to myself to be otherwise cancelled than by a letter. 
It is scarce necessary I should express my regret at not 
meeting you—my endeavours to do so will best testify on 
that point; that pleasure must now be deferred till Fe¬ 
bruary, when I have made my arrangements to be pre¬ 
sent at the State Agricultural meeting, together with 
one or two gentlemen from this state. This reminds 
me of your half promised circular which I have expect¬ 
ed with some impatience—I hope you do not feel dis¬ 
couraged, but that an Agricultural School will, ere long, 
be established; it seems to me the next step to be taken 
in the path of improvement—its effect will be most bene¬ 
ficial and enduring; and if it be slow it will be silentas well 
as irresistible in its influences, for they will flow through 
channels that are less jealously watched and freer 
from suspicion than any legislative act; for what can 
be done for the man who cries out “ I will die and no¬ 
body shall help me”—a blunder, I allow; but not a 
greater or more fatal one than the Farmer’s, when he 
declares, “ I will be ignorant and no one shall instruct 
me;” and then becomes vociferous about rich and poor, 
aristocracy anddemocracy, until the question of his own 
improvement is dragged into the political arena and be¬ 
comes a question for the people ; a field in which igno¬ 
rance and prejudice can out-number, and therefore suc¬ 
cessfully array itself against intelligence and science; 
then comes the damning cry of, u taxing the many to 
gratify the few,” &c. &c.—What profound ignorance! 
what deep cause of regret, that so important and so large 
a part of our community are so much below the standard 
of intelligence, found throughout every other portion of 
the American people. And it does seem to me that the 
evil cannot be reached through any of the agricultural 
periodicals; I continually regret that the excellent es¬ 
says I there find come under the eye of those only who 
do not require them, for whom they are not intended; 
while the ignorant and prejudiced never see them, 
scarcely ever hear of them. Now it does strike me 
that some more certain and direct way might be found 
of addressing these truths to those who most stand in 
need of them, for it is not the readers of the Cultivator 
who require to be taught the value of its contents, nor 
the necessity of such modes of interchanging intelligence, 
in order to advance the general science and improved 
practice of agriculture. Enough then, perhaps, has been 
written at (for I cannot say to) the farmer who “ don’t 
believe in reading.” And I would now rather see some 
inquiry made, and some suggestions offered, as to the 
duty of those who do see the columns of your valuable 
paper, whether we are doing our endeavour, each ac¬ 
cording to his individual capacity, to elevate the agri¬ 
cultural character by a friendly and frequent intercourse 
with our farming neighbors, however widely they may 
differ from us in opinion, however much they may despise 
our book-knowledge I Are we promoting, all in ow 
power, exhibitions, meetings, clubs, and other social occa¬ 
sions friendly to that frequent interchange of opinions and 
views so necessary to progress ? Do we make ourselves 
useful by examples of good culture, by liberal inter¬ 
changes, and by permitting to others the free use and tri¬ 
al of such means, implements, and animals as we our¬ 
selves are employing for the improvement of our lands, 
our labor and our stock?—and very much else I would, 
ask if we do, that lays fully within the compass of eve¬ 
ry individual. Or, do we pursue our own way in ma¬ 
nifest disgust at the ignorance around us, feeling as 
though we had nothing in common with them, and ma¬ 
king no effort to break down the partition walls of pre¬ 
judice and contempt that they are every where building 
up? A quantum suffieit of zeal, with a little liberality 
towards the necessary funds of societies you wish 
should prosper will do much towards the desired end. 
I often observe comparisons made between the agri¬ 
cultural spirit of this country and England; but to me 
they seem unfair, in as much as there is an important 
link not found in this country which in that connects 
the practical farmer with the very sources of science ; 
I allude, of course, to the large landed proprietor of 
highly cultivated estates under the management of a 
numerous tenantry, on whose successful farming and im¬ 
provements their income depends; there, there is a foster¬ 
ing, andtho’ perhaps a selfish, care continually extended 
towards the cultivator of the English soil, unremitting 
in its assiduity, and highly influential in its character, 
the landlord and tenant having one and the same inter¬ 
est. Not that I covet, by any means, the same state of 
things here; I would merely draw your attention to the 
unfairness of comparison, and inquire how far we may 
obtain the same results by different and more desirable 
means. Take from them this powerful link, and let 
them drop off from the great chain, and become as the 
American farmers are, a part and portion by themselves, 
and you would soon find them even behind us as a com¬ 
munity ; for it is within my knowledge, that the then 
called intelligent farmers in England, who were preju¬ 
diced against the short horns, held and promulgated the 
opinion that crosses of the short horns on other breeds 
produced animals as incapable of breeding as the mule! 
&c. &c. 
Thus you see I would extend, as far as may be possi¬ 
ble, to the American farmer, all the advantages and 
kindly feelings of an English landlord, without subject¬ 
ing him or his lands to any of his claims. Should you 
see with me in this matter, you may perhaps be 
induced to address those who do read the Cultivator, 
and by exciting them to greater activity in their respec¬ 
tive spheres, at length obtain a reading from those who 
now despise book-farming; and I am strongly disposed 
to think, that if a farmer will once read, prejudice will 
give way. 
I attach much consequence to the manuals of farming 
for which premiums have been offered, and I sincerely 
hope they may be what they ought to be, and if so, that 
such a fund may be raised as will afford them very 
cheap to the farmer; and from my observation, and I 
may almost say, intimate knowledge of the unreading 
farmer, they should be written in that simple plain style 
that will remove as much as possible all difficulty in 
reading. 
When arranging our premiums, I suggested offering 
some of our agricultural periodicals as rewards, which 
was at once acceded to by the society, and I think no 
less than 20 copies of the Cultivator and Genesee Far¬ 
mer, were included in the list; but I was sorry to find, 
that though we had no less than eighty well filled pens, 
yet there were not claimants for the lower premiums of 
many of the classes, consequently but three copies of 
the Cultivator for 1839 were claimed. We preferred 
awarding a current volume, because it would then be re¬ 
ceived in parts, be more certainly read, and more surely 
missed at the end of the year. Farmers have but little 
time to read, and often find that little reading difficult, 
and a volume would be laid aside while a paper would 
be read by snatches and at odd times. F. 
Remarks —Although the above is extracted from a 
private letter, not designed for publication, we never¬ 
theless feel justified, after suppressing the writer’s name, 
in applying it to public uses. We will only remark, that 
it admonishes our great men—be they statesmen or land¬ 
lords— 0 f the importance of giving their attention to the 
improvement of our agriculture—as a means both of 
promoting their individual and the public interest—and 
it shows the importance of having, in our common 
school libraries, books upon agriculture, as the best 
means of eradicating prejudice against useful improve¬ 
ment, and of laying the foundation of substantial use¬ 
fulness in the the rising generation.— Con. Cult. 
The Advantages of Capital on worn-out Lands. 
Greene county, Va. 17th Dec. 1838. 
To get rich, is to enrichen my land. 
The above, Mr. Buel, is my motto. Instill this in the 
minds of the farmers, and the work is half done. And 
to the present period my motto is pretty well developed. 
Nine years ago, I came in possesion of my farm by pur¬ 
chase, which is situated at the base of the Blue Ridge. 
The then state of it was most chilling, but the situation 
much to my taste; the place, for then it could not be 
called a farm, no way the eye could be turned, but 
presented galls, gullies, broomsedge, briers, bushes, and 
some forty acres of wet land. The latter first engaged 
my attention. Within the first two years I expended 
$400 in ditching, and about the same amount since, 
which has fully come up to my expectations—having 
put the land in a high state of production. Secret ditch¬ 
es I mostly use in draining, leaving no more open than 
necessary, which is governed by the length of the ditch, 
and the quantity of water to be conveyed : if too long— 
and they should get choked about the source, the work 
will be all to do over—but this I have never had to do yet. 
At all times a secret ditch should convey the water; 
for when all of the chinks of the ditch become full, 
the water will spout to the surface, and drown the crop, 
which sometim es happen in long wet spells. My mode of 
secret ditching, is with rock. All other ways, such as with 
poles, brush, &c. are ineffectual or but temporary ; but I 
have not yet done draining; the want of means only 
has retarded this improvement as well as others on my 
farm. Within the first four or five years of mymaiden 
farming, the expense considerably exceeded the income, 
so much so, that about the end of that period I had 
sunk about $1200, more than half of the prime cost of 
my farm, which is 400 acres. At this time I was 
much dejected—I endeavoured to make sale, but no bo¬ 
dy was willing to add the improvements to the first cost, 
and the consequence was of course no sale. By this 
movement not a link in the chain was broke. I renew¬ 
ed my efforts, and have the pleasure to say, the sunk 
fund is all discharged, as well as some eight or ten hun¬ 
dred dollars worth of property acquired besides. 
No person that knew my farm at the time I purchas¬ 
ed it, but will now agree it is worth four times as much 
as the prime cost, and I think six times. The galls, 
gullies, bushes, briers, broomsedge, have all disappeared; 
also the rock taken off, and put into fencing and secret 
ditches. Not a spot, of 200 acres in cultivation, but 
what will produce a good crop of corn or wheat, and a 
good portion that was literally exhausted, will produce 
a good crop of tobacco; but that plant I have not yet cul¬ 
tivated, but notwithstanding, I am well satisfied I have 
increased my property much faster than the largest to¬ 
bacco growers within my knowledge, m proportion to 
capital employed. The improvement of my farm now, 
is much more rapid than a few years past, and under 
the same management, of course, will annually increase, 
as well as the profits. This year it clears me about 
$700, from three hands ; you no doubt from the above, 
and a self made farmer, will think it is coming on very 
well—and besides I will add, this farm was located up¬ 
wards of a hundred years previous; of this, there is no 
doubt—for on a chimney I pulled down, the date of 
1746 was marked upon it; and this chimney as tradition 
tells it, was put up by the second or third settler, and 
since the builder of that chimney sold it, it has passed 
through several owners, and all have been compelled to 
abandon it; and notwithstanding it has been located 
such a period, not an individual as yet has died the 
owner of it. 
With these few preliminaries I stop and refer to your 
decision. If they prove fit for your valuable paper, 
more anon—if not, I will no more mix a goose quill with 
my ploughing, manuring and clovering, for upon these 
three things rest my life. Your obedient ser’t. 
T. G. GARTH. 
Experiment in planting corn—Alternation of crops 
—Mode of applying Gypsum—of fattening Hogs. 
Rockingham county, Va. Dec. 25,1838. 
Sir —A friend of mine, last spring, planted a part of 
his corn at the depth that corn is usually planted in this 
part of the country, and in another part of his field, he 
run his planting furrows unusually deep. The land was 
of uniform quality, and the corn in both parts covered 
with the common quantity of earth, so that the only diffe¬ 
rence in planting, consisted in the different depths of 
the planting furrows. In the early part of the summer, 
the corn planted in the shallow furrows, grew the best, 
and promised to make the best crop, but in the latter 
part of the summer, the season became dry, (the drought 
was severe,) and then the shallow planted corn began to 
wither, whilst the deep planted corn kept green, and 
continued to grow after the other was almost killed by 
drought, and made in the end greatly more corn. These 
facts have brought to my attention the question, whe¬ 
ther corn should be planted deep or shallow? And by 
the question, let it be understood, that it is not a ques¬ 
tion about the depth of earth with which corn shall be 
covered ; but a question about the depth of the furrow. 
And to this question, I would invite the attention of agri 
culturists, and request the communication of facts 
from all who have had any experience in the two modes 
of planting ; as it is by a comparison of many facts on¬ 
ly, that we can come to any safe conclusion in agricultu¬ 
ral affairs. I have understood, that it is settled, that 
•n the sandy lands and warm climate of South Carolina, 
