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the apiarians in convention. 
At a supposed meeting of the friends of im¬ 
provement in Bee Culture, held on the 5tli day of 
February, 1859,—Present, E. Kirby and others—• 
on motion, A. S. Wadsworth was elected Chair¬ 
man, and J. A. Gillett, Secretary. 
Communications were read from the following 
gentlemen, viz., 
Milo Walton, of Amity, Maine. 
C. A. IIowe, of Homer, N. Y. 
C. C. Wilson, of Niagara Co., N. Y. 
M. Qhinby of St. Johnsville, N. Y. 
M. Quinby in one of his printed articles proposes 
that ns soon as there is no further prospect of 
pleasant weather, in which the bees will fly out of 
their hives again for the season, the hives should 
be removed to a dry , dark, ivarm, and close room, 
into which too much air must not be admitted, as 
a very little will be sufiicient, and there placed in 
such a manner that the hive will be reversed from 
its natural position, that is, standing on the top, 
leaving the bottom of the hive uppermost, and un¬ 
protected by the bottom board, to remain in this 
position till the warm weather of the following 
season. 
E. Kirby, in reply to the communication, stated 
in behalf of the bees, that an All-wise Creator had 
endowed the bee with certain instincts which di¬ 
rected their operations, lie has taught them in 
the pleasant weather of summer, to provide food 
and nourishment for themselves during such cold 
weather as would follow and confine them to their 
hives. The same Being has also taught them to 
deposit their honey at the top of their hives, and 
the bread and brood comb at the bottom. Conse¬ 
quently we find that during the winter, in a 
hive that stands in its usual position, the bees, 
after the cold weather sets in, collect in the upper 
part of the hive, where they have previously pro¬ 
vided and placed their food, and during the winter 
all the chippings which they make, together with 
the bodies of their dead, and all other substances 
of an offensive nature, drop to the bottom of the 
hive, so that in the spring they will be prepared to 
have their houses swept and garnished. 
The gentleman from St. Johnsville has done the 
subject of bee culture serious injustice by publish¬ 
ing so extensively his theories, advising all to treat 
their bees in so unfeeling and shameful a manner. 
To take them from the light of the sjm, and con¬ 
sign them to a dark cell for six months or more of 
each year, perverting the laws of God, which he 
has in his goodness made for them — inverting 
their dwelling place, compelling them to go down¬ 
wards for their food instead of going upwards, thus 
thwarting the laws which God has given them,— 
compelling them to drop the chippings of their 
comb and the dead bodies of their companions, to 
fall into that which in its natural position would be 
the top of the hive, among the honey. These chip¬ 
pings by dampness arc thus soon caused to mould 
and sour, and with the dead bodies of the bees, to 
send up the effluvia which the bees are hardly able 
to endure, being confined contrary to the laws of 
health and the wisdom of God. After having been 
confined for a few months their distress becomes 
intolerable. At the least ray of light with suffi¬ 
cient warmth, the teachings of nature induce them 
to rush to the top of the hive, and not having suffi¬ 
cient light to leave the hive, are compelled, in 
order to find relief, to besmear themselves and 
comb, rendering their habitation more filthy than 
the hbld of a slave ship filled with victims from the 
coast of Africa. Far better for them had they 
supplied themselves with a natural home, even as 
far north as where the mercury congeals in the 
winter, for under these circumstances even, cases 
are on record where they have been known to 
prosper. 
C. C. Wilson, of Niagara Co., N. Y., has pub¬ 
lished a communication, on the subject of moisture 
and frost which lie discovers during the cold 
weather in his hives, and asks “what is to be 
done?”—and in order to remedy this supposed 
difficulty, he proposes to bore holes in the top of 
the hive, that an equilibrium may become estab¬ 
lished between the atmosphere and the air in the 
hive, thereby dispelling either moisture or frost. 
To these propositions from Mr. Wilson, Mr. 
Kirby replies:— God is the teacher of the bee, and 
Ilis wisdom cannot err. He has taught the bees, 
on the approach of winter, to close every opening 
in their hive, except one at the bottom for ingress 
and egress. Why is this ? In order that the heat 
generated by the natural warmth of their bodies 
should not escape but should remain in the upper 
part of the hive, to furnish them with warmth 
sufficient for their comfort and convenience. But 
by boring holes near the top of the hive, this de¬ 
sign of the Creator is frustrated. The warm air 
by its lightness rises to the top of the hive, and 
escaping through the holes, leaves the interior of 
the hive nearly as cold as the external air, and thus 
the ingenuity of man deprives the bees in a great 
measure of that genial warmth which the wisdom 
of their Maker had provided for them. 
Mr. Wilson speaks of the frost accumulating in 
the hive. This, as he correctly observes, is the 
frozen vapor arising from their bodies, and from 
this they obtain, during the winter, a supply of 
drink. But the current of air occasioned by bor¬ 
ing holes in or near the top of the hive, carries off 
a large portion of this moisture, and thus deprives 
the bees of another source of health, which their 
kind Creator had intended for them. Now, in the 
language of Mr. Wilson, “ what shall be done?” 
Locate your hives in such a place that they will be 
protected by buildings, high fences, or something 
of the kind from the north and west winds, and 
let them also front the south-east. Leave the 
hives through the winter in the open air. Take 
long straw and stand it up all around the hive; 
bind it around the bottom and bind the ends over 
Ihe top, forming a thatch of straw four inches in 
thickness, leaving only a small opening for the 
i passage of the bees at the bottom of the hive, and 
' 'his opening you must be particularly careful to 
f ^ ee P clear during the winter, and then there will 
> be no danger but that they will stand the cold of 
$ our severest winters. 
p Mr. Qiiinby rocommends that the hive be venti¬ 
lated by raising it one-fourth of an inch from the 
bottom board, and that holes be bored in the top, 
and a box placed above to receive the moisture. — 
But while the God of Nature has taught the bee to 
close up all holes, except the small place of ingress 
and egress, in order that the requisite warmth and 
moisture may remain in the hive, do we not thwart 
both these purposes by raising the hive up and 
opening the holes in the top ? Of what use to the 
bee will be the warmth generated in the hive, or the 
moisture there collected, to relieve its thirst, when 
both warmth and moisture have passed into the 
box above. 
The Author of Nature has taken good care to de¬ 
fend all animals that are intended for cold climates 
against the severity of the winter. To the sheep 
he has given a thick fleece of wool — to animals of 
the Polar regions he has given a warm coat of soft 
fur—to the whale, the seal, and the walrus, an 
abundant supply of blubber; all orders of 
creatures, from the greatest to the least, arc the 
objects of Ilis care, and all receive from their kind 
Creator every provision which is necessary for 
their well being. Many of these He has so formed 
that man can render them subservient to his use. 
In our efforts to convert to our own use, any of the 
lower ranks of creatures we must first learn, and 
then obey the laws by which the Creator governs 
and sustains those creatures. If we act in accord¬ 
ance with Ilis laws, all will be well. But God is 
unchangeable, and His laws are as unchangeable 
as their Author. So far as we go counter to these 
laws in our treatment of the animal creation, just 
so far we inflict misery upon those creatures, and 
just so far also will our attempts to render them 
subservient to our use prove a failure. 
A communication from Mr. Walton, of Amity, 
Aroostook Co., Maine, stated that in the spring, 
after the first winter of his residence in that cold 
region — a winter during which, in one instance, 
the mercury in the thermometer was actually fro¬ 
zen—he traced some bees to their home in a large 
hollow pine tree which they had evidently occu¬ 
pied for some years. Several hundred pounds of 
honey were found, and notwithstanding the sever¬ 
ity of the winters, the bees were numerous, healthy, 
and in the best condition. They had chosen their 
home without the direction of man, and could not 
have found a better one. The warm, thick walls 
of the hollow pine defended them well from the 
cold, and they neither had, nor did they need any 
ventilating holes in the top of their hive. 
The communication from C. A. IIowe, of Homer, 
N. Y., did not differ essentially from those first 
mentioned. 
On a review of the various errors committed in 
the management of these useful little creatures, 
we arc reminded of the words of Holy Writ—“Lo 
this have I found, that Thou madest man upright, 
but they have sought out many inventions.” 
On motion, it was resolved that a copy of the 
proceedings he forwarded to the Rural New- 
Yorker, for publication, and that the Convention 
stand adjourned “ sine die.” 
J. A. Gillett, Sec’y 
TECIE FALCON. 
WHO INVESTS IN THE TJ. S. FUNDS I 
Harper’s Weekly contains an elaborate account 
of the Sub-Treasury in New York. We quote a 
passage which will be read with interest by the 
general reader: 
Not the least curious desk in the sub-treasury is 
that of the clerk who pays the interest on the pub¬ 
lic debt. The coupons and interest on about 
seven-eighths of the debt of the United States are 
paid out of the sub-treasury in New York. The 
balance is in the shape of an inscribed debt, on 
which the interest is payable to the parties whose 
names are entered on the great rolls at Washing¬ 
ton. Every six months the names of the parties 
arc written out in a book at Washington and sent 
here to serve as a guide to the sub-treasurer. 
These books are a curious study. Many of the 
names which they contain are household words. 
Some are the names of Europeans; others of West 
Indians, and even Asiatics. Barely a third of the 
public debt is held in this country. The bulk of 
it, we imagine, is held in continental Europe. 
One is not surprised to find the names of John J. 
Astor, Win. IL Astor, Jacob Little, George Pea¬ 
body, and such men, in a list of creditors of the 
United States; but they and their countrymen are 
in a minority. The heaviest foreign creditor we 
noticed is Lord Overstone, (the famous Jones 
Loyd,) who has let this country no less than $350,- 
000. A Spanish lady, Merced de Layseca, is our 
creditor to the tune of $200,000, and a noble friend 
of hers, the Count Casa Montalvoy Castillo, draws 
six per cent, on $100,000. Several persons con¬ 
nected with the royal families of Europe are credi¬ 
tors of ours. The brother of the King of Naples 
took $50,000 some years ago, and instructed his 
agent to invest the dividends, as they accrued, in 
the same security, lie now owns over $75,000. Ilis 
niece, the daughter of Bomba, is registered as a 
creditor for over $50,000. These wise people have 
been looking out for a rainy day. Another noble 
personage, the late Duchess of Orleans, has enough 
in the United States sixes to save the Count of 
Paris from being compelled to follow his grand¬ 
father’s example and keep school; several of the 
Saxe Coburg Gotlias have also invested in the same 
security. 
The Count Rossi saw enough of this country, 
while he was here, to invest a few thousands in the 
famous name of Sontag; and little Paul Julien 
has a trifle—enough to keep him when his violin 
fails. One can readily account for the appearance 
of the name of the Rothchilds, both of London 
and Paris; but it is curious to note that the famous 
publisher, l’anckouke, of Paris, is a creditor of the 
United States; and that the dramatic author, 
Scribe, has also invested enough to give him near¬ 
ly 10,000 francs a year. A careful study of De¬ 
mocracy in America appears to have persuaded 
Tiik Falcon was a.bird much honored in the 
days of chivalry, but in these latter times of utili¬ 
tarianism and gunpowder, has been degraded from 
its honorable position, and made to take its true 
place among the feathered tribe, lie is, in fact, 
only a hawk,—a blood-thisty, rapacious, unscrupu¬ 
lous robber, the hated enemy of all the feathered 
tribe, and the legitimate aim of every old shot-gun, 
in the hands of man or boy, that can be fired off 
without the danger of bursting. 
There are a great many branches of the hawk 
family, but like many aristocratic families among 
men, they have all sunk very low in public estima¬ 
tion, the unenviable characteristics of the tribe 
rendering them unfit associates in a well-ordered 
and peaceful community. The rearing and em¬ 
ployment of the falcon in the sports of the field was 
essentially an aristocratic prerogative, and could 
only be maintained in those times when the iron 
rule of despotism rendered the mass of men mere 
tools and machines to minister to the wants and 
caprices of the few. The march of civilization, and 
the invention of artificial means whereby the fea¬ 
thered tribes are made to fall before death-dealing 
fire-arms, have rendered the services of the falcon as 
useless as they certainly arc cruel. Fine ladies do 
not now indulge in the cruel sport of sending a 
rapacious hawk in pursuit of a poor fugitive song¬ 
ster of the forest, and clap tlipir L-uids otor the 
successful seizure of the pray. ~ 
Falconry is a very old amusei'nent in Europe and 
Asia. In the middle ages it was the favorite sport 
of princes and nobles; and as ladies could engage 
in it, it became very prevalent, as a gentle kind of 
hunting, in which wives, daughters and lady-loves 
could engage equally with their husbands, fathers 
and lovers. The falcon was trained with the great¬ 
est care, taught to pursue the bird, as soon as 
released from the hand, and return with it to its 
keeper. The falcon was generally blinded until 
the game appeared in sight, by having- the head 
covered with a leather hood. This hood was 
removed when the game appeared in sight, and the 
bird which was taught to perch upon the wrist was 
immediately released to commence the chase, while 
the spectators looked on in the greatest excitement, 
cheering the falcon by various well known signals. 
In the East, this pastime is still to some extent, 
pursued, and the Persians are particularly skilful in 
training falcons. They hawk after all kinds ofbirds, 
and even after gazelles. The falcons arc taught to fas- 
Monsieur de Tocqueville to lodge some of his sav¬ 
ings in the hands of our government; and Lord 
Macaulay, who began with a bagatelle, of some 
$5,000, has since increased his venture to nearly 
$30,000. But we should never end if we attempt 
to enumerate all the people who think their money 
well placed in United States securities. Here 
are Lord Dundonable, the great sailor, who has a 
large sum for a son of Neptune; the Prince de 
Beauveau, the Count de Narbonne, Sir John Balyey, 
the Marquis of Champagne, Baring Brothers, 
Count de Beaumont, Gen. ltermoloff, and a host of 
other titled people, who, perhaps, depend on the 
honesty and solvency of the United States govern¬ 
ment for a living. Lord Elgin saw enough of us 
to leave $17,500 of his savings in our six per cent.; 
and the famous Russian, Alexandre Herzen, has a 
bagatelle of $80,000 in the same security. There 
is another creditol- whose name is a curiosity. It 
runs thus: Baron Louis Numa Epaminondas Jus¬ 
tinian Artstides Decius Salis llaldenstein Lichten¬ 
stein Grotenstein. Fancy a man with such a name 
drawing twenty-six dollars and fifty cents from the 
United States. 
WHAT PEOPLE EAT. 
Tnis is the heading of an article in the Indiana 
American. We copy it below : 
“I suppose, you have heard that ‘Jack Sprat 
could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean.’— 
Come along with me, and let us take dinner to-day 
in one nation, to-morrow in another, until we go 
all over the world, and we will find that there are 
worse people than Jack Sprat and his wife, so far 
as regards likes and dislikes. 
We take dinner to-day with the Frenchman, and 
find prepared for our entertainment a piping dish 
of fried frogs. You must not look disgusted at 
your dinner, for frogs are as nice an animal in their 
habits as many things we eat at home. Another 
day we sit at meat with the Chinaman. Here we 
have the most refined cookery the world knows. 
Shark’s fins are before you. Soups made ofbirds 
nests, invite the appetite with relishes of salted 
fishing worms, grubs, moths, etc. If you are not 
ten themselves on the heads of these creatures, and 
peck at their eyes, which checks them until the 
hounds come up to dispatch them. This sport is 
also popular in Palestine. Dr. Thompson, in his 
travels, says:—“The eineers and feudal chiefs of 
the country hunt the partridge and other birds 
with the hawk, and keep up, with great pride, the 
ancient sport of falconry. The falcons are of two 
kinds, a large one for woodcock and red-legged 
partridges, and a smaller for the quail. The Beg 
at the castle of Tibnin, always keeps several of : 
these large falcons on their perches in his grand 
reception-hall, where they are tended with the i 
utmost care. I have been out on the mountains to 
see them hunt, and it is a most exciting scene. 
The emeers sit on their horses, holding the birds 
on their wrists, and the woods are filled with their 
retainers, beating about and shouting, to start up 
and drive towards them the poor partridges.— 
When near enough, the falcon is launched from 
the hand, and swoops down upon his victim like 
an eagle hasting to the prey. After he has struck 
his quarry, the falcon flies a short distance, and 
lights on the ground, amid the redoubled shouts 
of the sportsmen. The keeper darts forward, se¬ 
cures both, cuts the throat of the partridge, and 
allows his captor to suck its blood. This is his re¬ 
ward. Notwithstanding the exhilaration of the 
sport, I could never endure the falcon himself. 
There is something almost sutauic in his eye, and 
in the ferocity with which he drinks the warm life¬ 
blood of his innocent victim. I once saw some 
men of Tortosa catching the Syrian quail with a 
small hawk. This was done on foot, each sports¬ 
man carrying his bird on the right wrist, and beat¬ 
ing the bushes with a stick held in his left hand. 
These quails are less than the American; are 
migratory, coming here in early spring, and passing 
on to the north. They hide under the bushes, and 
will not rise on the wing unless forced to do so by 
a dog, or by the hunter himself. I was surprised 
to see how quickly and surely the little hawk seized 
his game. His reward, also, was merely the blood 
of the bird. I do not know whether or not the 
Jews in ancient days were acquainted with fal¬ 
conry, but David complains that Saul hunted for his 
blood as one doth limit for a partridge in the 
mountains; and this hunting of the same bird on 
these mountains, and giving their blood to the 
hawk, reminds one of the sad complaint of the 
persecuted son of Jesse.” 
satisfied with these delicacies, you will find conve¬ 
nient a cut of roast dog, cat or rat. Do you not 
still be disgusted, for none of these look worse than 
the slimy lump of inert matter, called oyster, which, 
should you offer it to a Chinaman, would be re¬ 
jected as unfit for food. 
The Romans feasted on garmum, which is a 
pickle made of fishes’ blood and gills, while they 
were forbidden by law to eat poultry. 
Look at the Esquimaux family at supper, and 
perhaps you, and I too, would be disgusted at 
the manner of sopping their bread in whale’s oil, 
which is our stinking tanner’s oil; and the little 
oil eater would be equally disgusted with you if he 
saw you eating sugar. 
The South American hunter, wishing to give us 
the best entertainment in his power, provides for 
us a roast monkey, and is astonished that we can¬ 
not relish the feast with him. 
In Central America, the greatest delicacy is 
cooked monkey and boiled water lizards. I have 
myself seen the Gautemalean shoot the lizard as it 
lay upon the bush overhanging the water, and as 
the victim fell and sank in the water he would dive 
for if, and bring it up as it entwined itself about 
his arm in its dying agonies. With this boiled in 
a pot of plantain, he had a most delicious feast. 
We, too, eat many things that are not eaten by 
others. The hog is regarded as unfit for food by 
the Jews.” 
Mental Independence.— Every man and woman 
is brought up from the cradle with a bias. The 
mind is never sent out into the world’s life un¬ 
fettered. It carries with it always the heavy chain 
of habit. The politics of the father; the politics 
of the son; the religious character of the house¬ 
hold is the seed of many more households of like 
faith. It is a strong and admirable mind indeed, 
which, nursed in error, has the courage and hero¬ 
ism to begin its own emancipation. It requires 
more courage to think differently from the multi¬ 
tude than it does to fight them. The first hero, 
therefore, was not he who made the first conquest, 
, but he uttered the first doubt. 
“HOE OUT YOUR ROW.” 
Dear Rural: —Inclosed please find a few lines 
which I would like to have your many ten thou¬ 
sands of readers persue, if you think them worthy 
of a place in the Young Ruralist. If you ever 
hoed corn when a boy, in the long hot days of 
June, you know how to appreciate the first verse. 
A Friend and Subscriber. 
Onh lazy day a farmer’s boy 
Was hoeing out the com, 
And moodily had listened long 
To hear the dinner horn. 
The welcome blast was heard at last. 
And down he dropped his hoe ; 
But the good man shouted in his ear, 
“ My boy, hoe out your row !” 
Although a “ hard one ” was the row, 
To use a plowman’s phrase, 
And the lad, as sailors have it, 
’ Beginning well to “ haze ”— 
“I can,” said he, and manfully 
lie seized again his hoe; 
And the good man smiled to see 
The boy hoc out his row. 
The lad the text remembered, 
And proved the moral well, 
That perseverance to the end 
At last will nobly tell. 
Take courage, man, resolve you can. 
And strike a vigorous blow ; 
In life’s great field of varied toil 
Always boo out your row. 
COUNTRY AND CITY BOYS. 
Messrs. Eds. :—In the last number of the Rural, 
under the heading which I have chosen for this 
article, “Urbs” describes, and very justly lashes, 
“ a loafish class of boys” to be found in every city, 
and to some extent also in every country village. I 
have nothing to say in defence of the conduct 
spoken of—on the contrary, I am glad to see the 
perpetrators shown up, and I hope many of them 
will look at their own portraits as drawn by Urbs, 
until they are heartily ashamed of themselves, and 
resolve upon a thorough reformation. The boy, it 
has been said, is “ the father of the man,” and if 
the boy is vulgar, rowdyish and dishonest, what 
will the man be ? Boys are traveling on the road 
to manhood, but they are going in very different 
directions, and in consequence will arrive at very 
different ends, unless some of them consider, stop 
and turn from their evil ways, — unless, in the 
language of Scripture, they “ cease to do evil and 
learn to do well.” Some are going as fast as time 
and their own evil conduct can take them, to the 
Jail and State Prison,— others with less disposition 
to evil, but lazy and careless, are very likely to find 
a home in die Poor-House,— still others, jovial, 
fond of fun and frolicksome company, and learning 
to tipple, are marching in a direct line to the drunk¬ 
ard’s grave. A few, alas, too few, are studious, 
active, honest, respected and loved by all who know 
them—they will make what has been said to be the 
noblest work of God — honest men. They are trav¬ 
eling in the high road to honor — they will make 
respectable, useful men, in whose prosperity and 
advancement all good people will delight. 
But “Urbs” seems to wish us to think that bad 
boys are confined to cities. Should lie live in a 
city, or visit one ou the 4th of July, or on any holi¬ 
day, he would be very quickly undeceived. He 
would then find the most noisy and ill-bred young 
men—those who made the most noise and drank 
the most poison—would be from the country. At 
the same time I have no doubt many of the “ loaf¬ 
ish class” of city boys might be found at the 
country taverns. When persons, (boys or men,) 
do things that they are ashamed of, they like to get 
where they are not known. 
There are mean boys both in the country and in 
the city. Cannot something be done to show them 
the folly of their course, and induce them to walk 
in “wisdom’s ways?” City Bar. 
THE TWO FOOLS. 
When quite a small boy, like most other youths, 
I had a great inclination to attend all the shows, 
circuses, negro-dances, concerts, etc., that came 
along. On one occasion I was very much amused 
at the wit of the clown, who was convulsing the 
crowd by his grotesque appearance and witty say¬ 
ings. After a while he said something the crowd 
did not consider very “ funny,” and at which no 
one laughed, when a drunken man, no longer able 
to hold his tongue, cried out, “ You’re a fool.” 
“ True,” responded the clown, “ and so are you ; 
the only difference between us is, I am a fool for 
money, and you are a fool for nothing.” 
Now whenever I see large placards stuck up, 
announcing the arrival of a “strange animal,” 
“unrivaled circus,” “a wonderful attraction,” etc., 
I invariably think of the saying of the clown, “ I 
am a fool for money, and you are a fool for no¬ 
thing,” and stay away. There is generally but one 
clown, but a great many of the others. 
When I see advertised in the papers, “ splendid 
lottery schemes,” “ sixty thousand dollar prizes,” 
“ great inducements to buy,” “ almost certain of a 
prize,” etc., I think of the clown’s “two fools,” 
and how many buy and but one sells, and oxcuse 
myself from buying a ticket. “ One is a fool for 
money,” the other is “ a fool for nothing.” 
When I pass a splendid saloon, with decanters 
of sparkling wines and brandies set around in the 
most inviting manner, with smiling clerks ready 
to hand you “ a glass,” I am sure to think “ there 
is a fool for money,” and, as the deluded wretches 
crowd around the counter, “ these are fools for 
nothing.” 
When I hear of some “ divine” woman going 
! about singing Italian songs, and men paying from 
ten to four hundred dollars a night for seats to 
’ hear, aud when they cannot understand one word 
’ of it, I think of the “two fools,” and keep my 
i money in my pocket. 
In short, Sir, whenever any “ unusual attrac¬ 
tion,” any “ rare chances for speculation,” offer, 
I suspect at once, that if I take hold of it, there 
will be another fool at the other end, and so let it 
alone. 
