MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 323 
THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES-AGAIN. 
} lx No. 32 of present volume of tlie Rural, over 
| the signature of E. Russell, is an article on the 
' management of- the honey bee, in which the writer 
) complains of a heavy loss in wintering bees—of 
< nearly the amount of his increase. Last season, 
' when my bees had finished swarming, I had 73 
swarms; this season they were reduced to forty- 
three swarms, notwithstanding I saved every 
■ swarm I could, feeding the light one?. It must 
> be a favorable season ior bees to gather honey, 
> and to winter over, when one-third will cover the 
; loss in any large apiary. But why is this, when 
' frequently, it is the heaviest swarms that fail ? 
! I will give my opinion as to the cause of failure. 
' The honey bee is a short lived insect, as near as I 
can judge, seldom living through two seasons. 
Put a large early swarm into a hive the 15th of 
June, they will raise about as many more young 
bees by the first of November, and the next spring 
! there will be less bees in the hive than was put 
into it at first. The queen bee is the only bee in 
a swarm, that lays eggs for increase, and they are 
as subject to death as the laboring bees. No 
\ swarm has more than one queen bee until a 
( short time before it sends out a young swarm. If 
this has more than one queen—all but one will be 
destroyed in a few hours after they leave the pa- 
' rent hive. When a swarm looses their queen there 
> is much uneasiness for a few days after among the 
> laboring bees. 
( I have frequently had them loose their queem 
) in July and August, and never had but one such 
) swarm, that had live bees the next spring suffi¬ 
cient to defend their honey—and that one, the 
robber bees got into in a few days after the com¬ 
mencement of the season. In most cases the rob- 
{ bers will get into them before winter, if not, they 
| will be found before spring with only about half 
a pint of dead bees in a bunch in the breeding 
comb, just as they perished with the cold. 
' Frequently the last queen will go from the pa- 
} rent hive, with the young swarm, leaving only a 
• few laboring bees to defend the honey. And 
! sometimes the young bees die in the breeding 
l comb before they hatch, and the bees never clear 
> them out, thus hindering farther increase. Swarms 
) arc frequently suffocated in winter, where hives 
< are not ventilated a few inches above the bottom 
) board. 
The above are what I consider the principal 
reasons why so many swarms fail that have a good 
■ supply of honey. Every man should depend on 
\ boxes and such hives as fail for honey. But if 
; you design to destroy part of your bees, save all 
l of your heavy young swarms, and then select from 
) your old swarms those that destroy their drone 
• bees before the first of September. These liives 
that have drone bees left October, and those 
that the robbers arc the most numerous about, are 
the ones to fail. 
| When robbers commence carrying honey from 
a hive the honey and wax is all that can be 
> good by removing, as robbers seldom gain an 
{ entrance to a healthy swarm. Alvin Wilcox. 
’ West Bloomfield, Sept. 2, 1851. 
DOMESTICATION OF FISH. 
Among the many curious and interest¬ 
ing objects shown at the State Fair, which 
did not exactly come within the duties of 
' any particular committee, was the exhibi¬ 
tion of a lot of fine Brook Trout in a glass 
vase, by Mr. G. W. Goodhue, a farmer of 
Wheatland, in this county. Mr. G. has 
reduced the raising of that delicious fish to 
a system, and produces them with as much 
ease and certainty, as he can chickens and 
' fowls. They come to his call, and feed 
from his hand, and will allow handling as 
freely as kittens. 
He has a large spring on his farm where 
he breeds them, and conveniences for keep- 
, ing the old ones from devouring the spawn 
when in the young stage. Mr. G.’s exhibi- 
, tion and description of his fish and proces- 
) ses, interested a vast crowd of people, and 
> he is entitled to much credit, not only for 
a splendid dish of the beauties which he 
furnished for the President’s dinner, but for 
patience and politeness to the mass of in¬ 
quirers and lookers on. , 
Devon Stock. — In our State Fair Pic- 
/ torial, we gave a portrait of Mr. Stevens’ 
\ splendid Devon Cow, which took the first 
; premium at Syracuse in 1849. She was 
on the ground at Rochester daring the 
whole of the Fair, and greatly admired by 
the thousands who saw her, for uniting size 
and beauty in a remarkable degree, and 
was well worthy a close examination as ex¬ 
hibiting the beauty and perfection of the 
Devon stock We understand she was bred 
) by Beck, of Sheldon, Wyoming Co., from 
Garbutt’s Devon stock. Her dam, Victo¬ 
ria, was bred by Wm. Garbutt, Esq., of 
, Wheatland, this county, from the Hon 
Rufus King’s imported Devons. 
Union Fair at Arcade, Wyoming Co. 
’ —Six towns of Wyoming, two of Cattarau¬ 
gus, and one of Erie County, held a Union 
Fair and cattle show at Arcade on the 26 
ult The weather was pleasant and the 
show large and creditable. The Wyoming 
/ Co. Mirror says the exhibition was superior 
to that of Wyoming County. 
FRUIT CULTURE IN WISCONSIN. 
Some time since I saw an inquiry in the 
Rural for the experience of Western peo¬ 
ple in cultivating fruit trees—so I send you 
a few notes on the subject. I located here 
eight years ago on a low, rich piece of land 
partly covered with wild plum, cherry and 
crab apple trees,—some of the latter we 
grafted, but they grew only a year or two 
and then died. Choice fruit trees were 
soon brought in from New York and Ohio, 
and the agents of the nurserymen prom¬ 
ised fruit from them the second year, but 
on land that grows fifty bushels of corn 
per acre, and with the same cultivation, 
they but just begin to bear. Orchards that 
have been planted twelve years produce a 
a fair supply for family use. 
I have planted Black Heart, and Tartar¬ 
ian cherries, peach, apricot, and choice pear 
trees, but they were too tender for my lo¬ 
cation and died. The May Duke and some 
seedling cherries do well. Plums and har¬ 
dy apple trees do well; also currants, goose¬ 
berries and strawberries. One of my 
neighbors has quite a nursery of choice 
fruit trees. In the Spring of 1850, he set 
fifty cherry trees of the choicest varieties 
on a hill well adapted to fruit. If a person 
wishes to select the location least liable to 
frost, let him come here in October—he 
will find corn and potatoes cut by frost on 
the bottom lands and on some of the hills, 
while others will still be green. On these 
corn can be planted twenty days later and 
yet have time to ripen. 
Several thousands of the choicest fruit 
trees are annually planted in Waukesha 
county, and if they are well taken care of 
must soon not only supply the home mar¬ 
ket, but furnish fruit for exportation. 
J. A. Carpenter. 
Waukesha, Wis., 1851. 
The huge screw press, and the humble 
cog mill, with auld Robin threading his 
muddy round, are nearly numbered with 
the things that were. The ingenuity of 
the present day has furnished a mill where¬ 
with to express the pumiced juice, less 
cumbersome, though not perhaps less effi¬ 
cient. Our cut represents one for hand 
power which both grinds and presses and 
will be found satisfactory for private use. 
Horse power machines of the same pat¬ 
tern, are manufactured. Either size may 
be procured at the principal Agricultural 
Warehouses in Rochester and other towns. 
The Potato Onion.— Will some one 
experienced inform your readers of the best 
method of keeping the English Potato on¬ 
ion through the winter? From two or three 
bushels put carefully in the cellar in au¬ 
tumn I have never been able to sort out 
one in the spring. Will setting out in the 
fall answer? A Subscriber. 
Druid Hill Peach. —We have received 
a basket of the “ Druid Hill Peaches” from 
J. J. Thomas. They are the best fall peach 
we have seen. The buds were brought 
from Maryland. We recommend the most 
extensive culture of this kind, for good fall 
peaches are a rare thing. j. h. w. 
Perpetual Bearing Raspberry Bush. 
—Early last spring, says the Providence 
Post, Mr. Perry B. Philips, of Cranston, saw 
in the woods a thrifty raspberry bush, which 
he transplanted to his own garden. The 
bush put forth blossoms in good time and 
yielded a handsome crop of Raspberries.— 
Immediately it blossomed again, and two 
days ago we ate some of the fruit. The 
berries were large and delicious. What 
adds more to the wonder is, that the bush 
has blossomed again, and a third crop is 
nearly half grown. 
DISCUSSION ON FRUITS. 
[ Concluded. ] 
the “Norton’s melon.” 
Mr. Barry regarded the “Norton’s Melon” 
as the best of all apples. He had taken 
specimens to Europe, and on all bands it 
had been received with great favor. Many 
who grew extensively said they did not 
know that an apple of such tenderness and 
fine texture existed. The tree is a poor 
grower, but a good bearer. It keeps well 
till the first of May, and may be eaten all 
winter. As to the soil best adapted for it, 
he could not say; but considered it to be 
best grown upon a substantial day loam. 
Mr. Smith, of Macedon, from some con¬ 
siderable acquaintance with it, was prepar¬ 
ed to endorse all Mr. Barry had said. Its 
great beauty and other desirable qualities 
should give it a place in every orchard. It 
is so delicate, however, that it is apt to be 
injured in gathering, so as to prevent its 
long keeping. 
Mr. Allen thought it miedit be recom- 
mended as a good apple for family use, as 
far as tested, to which Mr. B«rry assented. 
After some discussion it was recommend¬ 
ed as a first rate apple as respects flavor and 
general good qualities, and that it is an ex¬ 
cellent fruit for family use. 
the early joe. 
Mr. Langworthy’s opinion of this apple 
was that it was one of the first rate Septem¬ 
ber apples. It ripens in the peach season, 
and was therefore not valuable. It is a 
fair apple in all respects, and a good bearer. 
Its name came from the incident that for a 
long time a servant of a gentleman in whose 
orchard it was originally found, always 
picked and ate them before his master 
could get them. For richness and delieacy 
he regarded it excellent. 
Mr. Thomas spoke well of the fruit. In 
its prime it was very excellent, but it must 
be eaten by the chronometer, from the tree. 
Mr, Bissell recommended every one to have 
one or two trees of this apple. Mr. Hodge 
regarded it as a very good apple, and coin- 
ceded with what had been said of it. 
Mr. Langworthy moved that it be recom¬ 
mended as a good apple for limited culti¬ 
vation and family use. Agreed to. 
THE PEAR BLIGHT. 
J. J. Thomas, of Macedon, being called 
upon said, that he had not had much ex¬ 
perience in the treatment of the disease 
called Pear blight. The remedy he had 
applied successfully was the knife—remov¬ 
ing the diseased part. He regarded the 
disease contagious, and believed it regarded 
so generally. 
A. G. Hooker, of Rochester, next spoke 
on the subject. He, like Mr. Thomas, ap¬ 
plied the knife; and further remarked, that 
he did not regard the disease as being caus¬ 
ed by an insect. The disease spread from 
the pear trees to the apple trees located 
near the former. He deemed some vari¬ 
eties of the apple more liable to the dis¬ 
ease than others, and so of the pear. 
J. J. Thomas also remarked that he did 
not regard the disease as caused by insects. 
P. Barry remarked that he had much 
experience and of a very sad kind. He 
came to the conclusion at one time that 
the disease under consideration, was caus¬ 
ed by insects, but from very close observa¬ 
tion by day and by night, he had been un¬ 
able to satisfy himself whether it be caus¬ 
ed by insects or not. He had not lost 
more trees on sandy than on clay soil.— 
His impression, notwithstanding he had 
been unable to discover insects is still that 
this disease is the work of insects. One 
strong evidence of this, is, that not only 
the pear, but the quince, medlar and thorn 
were alike attacked by the “blight.” The 
knife he remarked was and is the best rem¬ 
edy yet known. 
Dr. Warder, of Cincinnati, remarked that 
the disease attakes the tree near the surface 
of the ground and even below the surface. 
What avail then will the knife be ? The 
Pas Colmon and Seckel are less liable to 
the blight than other varieties. 
S. H. Ainsworth, of West Bloomfield, said 
his experience was in harmeny with the 
above remarks. 
P. Barry offered the following resolution: 
Resolved, That we look with favor upon 
the “theory” that the “ Pear blight” is the 
work of an insect—5 ayes; 16 noes. 
THE CURCUUO. 
R. G. Pardee, of Palmyra, remarked that 
the remedy he had found a successful pre¬ 
vention was the whitewashing of the fruit 
A. G. Hooker remarked that jarring the 
tree with a sheet or canvass spread under¬ 
neath the tree was a very effectual remedy. 
S. H. Ainsworth’s experience was simi¬ 
lar. He was careful also to remove all the 
fruit that falls prematurely. 
J. J. Thomas remarked that in jarring the 
tree, the best way is to saw off a small limb 
and then strike the end with a hammer in 
order to loosen the hold of the insects. 
Remarks by the President He regard¬ 
ed the “jaring” as being well established. 
Also, that poultry and pigs were good pre¬ 
ventions. 
P. Barry remarked in favor of planting 
plums and other smooth skinned fruits so 
that pigs and other animals may have ac¬ 
cess to the trees, so as not to injure them. 
LIST OF PATENT CLAIMS 
ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 
For the week ending Sept. 23, 1851. 
To G. B. Clarke, of Leonardsville, N. Y., for 
improvement in churns. 
To O. W. Grimes, of Puducah, Ky., for im¬ 
provements in machines for scutching and hack¬ 
ling hemp and flax. 
To L. D. Grosvenor, of South Groton, Mass., 
for improvement in machines for stripping seed 
from broom corn. 
To Wm. Ylerrell, of Randolph, O., for improve¬ 
ment in lath machines. 
To Patrick O’Neil, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for im¬ 
provement in easy chairs for invalids, etc. 
To A. J. Sexton, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Wm. 
Ennis, of New York, N. Y., for improvement in 
ventilating ships. 
To T. J. Sloan, of New York, N. Y., for im¬ 
provement in machinery for threading wood screws 
and feed apparatus therefor. 
To Wm. Mt. Storm, of New York, N. Y., for 
engine, in which compressed air or other gas, 
heated and expanded by admixture therewith of a 
heated fluid, is used as a motive agent 
To Isaac Banister, of Newark, N. J., for im¬ 
provement in shoe latchets. 
To Asa Willard, of Boston, Mass., for improve¬ 
ment in the churn and butter worker. 
To L. II. Browne, of Boston, Mass., for im¬ 
provement in piano fortes. 
To Benj. Chambers, of Washington, D. C., for 
improvement in letter stamps. 
To J. II. Manny, of Waddam’s Grove, Ill., for 
improvement in attaching cutter bars to harvesters. 
To Jacob Worms, of Paris, France, (assignor 
to Jacob Phalen, of New York, N. Y., patented 
in France, (in part,) May 19, 1849, and (in part,) 
September 27, 1849, for improvement in printing 
presses. 
To Washburn Race, of Seneca Falls, N. Y., for 
blind or shutter fasteners. 
To S. P. Ruggles, of Boston, Mass., for im¬ 
provement in hand stamps. 
STEAM IN A BRICK YARD. 
That stout old giant, but terrible burster 
called Steam-ingin, has gone into the brick 
business, in Lewiston, and the way he crum¬ 
bles the clay, and then flats it out into the 
smoothest, shiniest, hard pressed brick, is a 
caution to the workers of clay porridge by 
hand or horse power. 
We had an opportunity of examing its 
operation, last week. The machine is the 
invention of Woodworth & Mower, of Bos¬ 
ton, patented by them in 1849, and is driven 
by an elegant 25 horse power steam engine, 
from the works of Adams & Co., South 
Boston. 
It is located on a clay ridge, and the clay 
is picked up from the bank in pieces near 
the size of your fist, and allowed to dry 
somewhat. It is then wheeled into the up¬ 
per loft and tipped into the grinders, where 
it becomes pulverized, and, passing down, 
is taken into elevators like those in a flour 
mill, and delivered into the moulds, where 
it is subject to an immense pressure, and 
passed out in the form of a smooth pressed, 
beautifully polished brick. The clay, in its 
transition from powdered clay to hard 
pressed bricks, is subjected to three severe 
pressures, to the amount of GOO tons to each 
brick. The machine can turn out three 
thousand in an hour, and will average say 
from twenty-five to thirty thousand per day. 
In this operation there is not much dry¬ 
ing of clay, no mixing with sand, no carry¬ 
ing out on to a yard, no turning over to the 
sun, no haking up, no losses by rains. The 
clay, from the time it is dumped into the 
hopper, passes “ right straight along ” into 
the kiln, being taken from the moulds of 
the machine and set into the kiln for burn¬ 
ing, whence, after passing through the “fiery 
furnace ,” they come out bright, smooth, 
and- “ cherry red.” 
We were assured that these bricks stand 
the test of all the uses ever required of 
brick in the best possible manner. We 
were much pleased with the operation of 
the establishment, and much obliged to the 
civil attentions of our friend and the opera¬ 
tives, while there. We didn’t get a brick 
in our hat, but we brought away a couple 
iu our hands, a green one and a baked one, 
which may be seen at our office by all who 
feel an interest in Brickology. — Maine 
Farmer. 
METALLIC PAINT. 
A quantity of ground zinc stone has 
been shipped to Richmond, as an article of 
commerce. The mineral was recently dis¬ 
covered in Rockbridge county, Virginia, 
and is transported to market by way of 
James River and Kanahwa CanaL This 
curious stone has the remarkable quality, 
when finely pulverized, mixed with flaxseed 
oil, and spread on any surface, of reforming 
itself into stone, by a reunion of its rock 
particles; thus constituting a firm and hard 
rock covering, or coat of mail—impervious 
to water and proof against fire. Its value 
has been well and satisfactorily tested, and 
if found to succeed as well hereafter, as 
formerly, for roofs, &c., it will, to a certain 
extent, supersede slate, tin, sheet iron, and 
kindred appliances. 
PROFITS ON INDIA RUBBER SHOES. 
Since the important and elegant im¬ 
provement of Goodyear in the manufac¬ 
ture of India Rubber goods, it is surprising 
to observe how largely that article is used 
in various forms of apparel, &c. Coats, 
vests, pants, hats, boots and shoes, beds and 
bedcurtains, tablecovers, hosiery and gloves, 
and an almost numberless variety of arti¬ 
cles are now made wholly or in part of In¬ 
dia rubber; the manufacture of these arti¬ 
cles is very profitable. We give below that 
upon shoes, which is less even than on some 
other articles: 
The first cozt to manufacture ladies’ shoes 
is about 22 cents per pair, and the retail 
price is one dollar. The first cost of those 
for men’s wear is from 33 to 38 cents per 
pair, and the retail price about one and a 
quarter to one and a half dollars per pair. 
The daily product in the United States is 
above 15,000 pair. The process by which 
these shoes are made has thus far been 
kept a secret. This art is of great value 
and importance, and has not yet been dis¬ 
covered in Europe. The profits on this 
business will reach almost two millions of 
dollars in the year, and the present manu¬ 
factories cannot supply the demand. Shoes 
which weigh nine ounces per pair have only 
about three and a half ounces of rubber, 
the other materials being worth only from 
one to six cents per pound. One girl can 
make some twenty pair per day, for which 
her wages are two to three cents per pair. 
The expense of curing or heating twelve 
hundred pair does not reach three dollars. 
ARTIFICIAL LEATHER. 
A correspondent has recently visited Ab- 
ington, Mass., informs us that in going into 
a shop a few days ago, he witnessed another 
triumph of art aided and guided by science. 
A steam engine of six or eight-horse power 
is erected for grinding up the chips and 
shavings of leather which are cut off by the 
boot and shoe makers, and which have 
heretofore been thrown away. These are 
ground to a powder resembling coarse snuff, 
and this powder is then mixed with certain 
gums and other substances, so thoroughly 
that the whole mass becomes a kind of 
melted leather. In a short time this dries 
a little, and is rolled out to the desired 
thickness, perhaps one-twenty-fourth of an 
inch. It is now quite solid, and is said to 
be entirely water-proof. On putting the 
question whether it was strong, the manu¬ 
facturer cut several strips a foot long and 
half an inch wide, which our informant en¬ 
deavored in vain to break. 
This new fashioned leather will make 
good middle soles for shoes, and perhaps 
inner soles; and would be very durable 
round the shafts of a carriage, or in any 
place where mere chafing is all the wear 
desired. It is supposed it would wear very 
well as bands for some kinds of machinery, 
and will doubtless be used for many other 
purposes. A patent has been secured, and 
the article will soon be in the marke t and 
in use.— Portsmouth Journal. 
WOOD ENGRAVINGS—ITS EXPEN 
We are often interrogated on th : s sub¬ 
ject by persons who have occasion to em¬ 
ploy draftsmen and engravers. The cost 
for drawing and engraving such views of 
buildings as are frequently published 
in this Journal, is from twenty to thirty 
dollars—the difference in cost depending 
on the size, fineness, and quality of the 
work. 
Portraits of the usual size, such as are 
published in books and newspapers, cost ten, 
fifteen, twenty, thirty, and sometimes forty 
dollars ; while those the size of life, done in 
fine style, cost from one huudred to one 
hundred and fifty dollars. The cheap or 
low-priced wood engravings are usually 
done by boys—new beginners—or “ turn¬ 
ed out” by machinery. Such engravings 
as are used for anatomical or physiological 
illustrations cost from $5 to $10 each. 
Steel engravings are more expensive 
than wood. A single “ Fashion plate” 
costs from one to two hundred dollars; but 
the wood engraving is fast superceding the 
more costly steel. We regard the improve¬ 
ments which have been made in wood en¬ 
graving, during the past few years, as 
among the most interesting and useful of 
the arts.— Water Cure Journal. 
Machine for Making Blinds. — Mr. 
Daniel H. Thompson, of Springfield, Mass., 
has taken measures to secure a good im¬ 
provement in machinery for manufacturing 
blinds for windows, &c., whereby the differ¬ 
ent operations required upon the several 
parts composing the blind are conducted at 
the same time. This is done by platforms, 
the m'otion being communicated to them by 
cranks which operate the boring bits, the 
cutters for forming the tennons, the points 
for pricking wire holes, all of which are 
done so systematically, that we may expect 
a considerable reduction in the price of 
blinds by this invention; it is a useful im¬ 
provement.— Scientific American. 
The human body can be brought to en¬ 
dure a heat of 280 degrees Fahrenheit.— 
The experiment was tried successfully in 
Switzerland. 
