healthy, sound horse, at maturity, has become the 
the exception instead of the general role. 
Now would it not be well for ub to follow the 
example of the Green Mountain boys and levy a 
tax upon every horse kept for stock, and Bee if 
other States, as well as Vermont, cannot become 
noted for their fine horses? A Breeder. 
Borodino, N. Y., Sept,, 1600. 
they not issued. Mr. F. does not state whether 
they were again hived the next morniDg previous 
to their leaving at “half past 1 o’clock.” I 
“ guess,” however, they were. The reason why 
they clustered again, "about a quarter of a mile,” 
was on account of the queen bring fatigued, and 
hence unable to fly much further without becom¬ 
ing rested. Swarms accompanied by old queens, 
are very liable to re alight after iiyipg u long 
distance, on account of the queen being over¬ 
burdened with eggs; also because she iB not 
accustomed to fly—the Bamc as a bird after hav¬ 
ing been “caged” for a long time. Mr. F. also 
states that the queen in swarm No. 1 was “small," 
while the queen in swarm No. 2 was “large;” 
and yet, both “second” swarmB,' This maybe 
true, that one queen was “small” and the other 
“large,” but It is not bo likely to be true that 
both were “second” Bwarms. There Is a percep¬ 
tible difference in the size of queens. QuecnB in 
flrBt swarmB are generally what 1 term “large," 
while those that accompany “second” swarms 
are invariably what 1 term “small.” Now, as Mr, 
F. may understand the terms “ large" and “small” 
when applied to the size of queens. In a different 
sense than I do, he may possibly be correct. It 
is, however, immaterial why the swarms again 
re-alighted about ft “quarter of a mile” distant, 
unless to satisfy an inquisitive mind. The prin¬ 
cipal causes I have given, and unless a person is 
positive relative to the swarm—whether it be a 
first or an after swarm—no truly correct answer 
can be given. The instance recorded by Mr. F. 
is not very “ common,” as very few bee-keepers 
lake the precaution to return after swarms to the 
parent stocks. Every bee-keeper that uses the 
common hive, and relies entirely upon natural 
swarming, should return to the parent stocks all 
swarms after the second. Had Mr. F. been a 
little more explicit, I might perhaps have solved 
the “mysteries” a little more satisfactory. 
M. M. Baldridge. 
Middleport, Niagara Co., N. Y., Aug. 9, 1800. 
PLAN FOR A PIG PEN. 
none for sale, nor have I ever offered them for 
sale, though the effect of my success with them 
haB led to their general introduction, and they 
are gradually superseding all other breeds in my 
neighborhood, where the farmers are noted for 
their practicality and aversion to all humbugs. 
Native Cattle. 
We have a breed of cattle in the Northern 
States which pass under the appellation of “native 
cattle,” but there appears to be a stock in Texas 
better entitled to the name. A Tcxub paper says: 
We are informed by those most familiar with the 
facts, that these cattle were of uniform color, as 
much so as buffaloes—a black brown, approach¬ 
ing black; Bhort, glossy hair, beautiful turned 
horns, large in size, with broad chest and bodicp, 
well-rounded quarters, and generally exhibiting 
excellent forms for beef and draft. The half- 
breed fully sustains this description, and is not 
only a valuable workox, but, when fat, would 
rank aa a first-class beef. One object in alludiug 
to the subject, ib to invite inquiry as to whether, 
if not too late, otir common stock of cattle may 
not be improved by preserving this wild breed 
and crossing it. It is probable there are some 
still in this country in a domestic state. Auother 
point of considerable interest, and one that we 
have on various occasions heard discussed with¬ 
out any satisfactory result, is, whence came this 
distinctive family of cattle, all of the same color 
and general exterior, which make them entirely 
different from the domestic stock of the United 
States, Mexico, and the Creoles of Louisiana, all 
of which are new to Texas. 
milking Often. 
Wk find the following item “going the 
ronnds” without any mark of paternity, and 
give it that Rural farmers may reflect and ex¬ 
periment upon it, if they think “it will pay:” 
I have never practiced milking more than twice 
a day, because in spring and summer other farm 
work was too pressing to allow of it; but there 
is no doubt that, for some weeks after calving, 
and in the height of the flow, the cows ought, if 
possible, to be milked regularly three timcB a 
day—at early morning, noon, and night. Every 
practical dairyman knows that cows thus milked 
give a larger quantity of milk than if milked 
only twice, though It may not be quite so rich; 
and in young cows, no doubt, it has a tendency 
to promote the development of the odder and 
milk veins. Frequent milking stimulates an in¬ 
creased secretion, and therefore ought never 
to be neglected in the milk dairy, either in the 
case of young cows or large milkers, at the height 
of the flow, which will ordinarily bo for two and 
three months after calving. 
The charge of this branch of the dairy should 
generally be intrusted to women. They are more 
gentle and winning than mem The same person 
Agricultural iitisrellang 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —Although you may 
not in me recognize one of your “numerous cor¬ 
respondent*,” alluded to by M., who asks for a 
“plan of a pen sufficient to accommodate five to 
eight hogs;” yet, as J have one In some respects 
better thun most, I presume to forward an account 
thereof for the use of farmers. 
The body of the pen, 12 by 24 feet, iB of field 
stone, laid lu solid masonry; the end walls raised 
7 feet lu height; rear and half the front side walls 
are 41 feet; the balance of the^ront wall about 3 
feet, with a board fitted firmly in the wall at the 
ends, uud aslant, so as to form the spout over 
which the swill Is poured, uuder which is a shal¬ 
low trough extending from the end of the pen 
to the partition for the bedding apartment. The 
corners of the wall are turned, to strengthen the 
top of end walls. Nix feet of the back end of the 
pen is partitioned off—by a sleeper and joist laid 
in the wall, studded and boarded,—for the bed¬ 
ding room, with door near the rear wall. Floor 
of bedding room, pluDk; floor of feeding room, 
stone. The rear half is large flagging stone; the 
front half is paved with large field Btone, so laid 
and wedged that the hogs cannot root them out. 
The- flagged part is a trifle lower than the paved, 
and all 4 to C inches lower than the plunk bed¬ 
ding. As the whole slightly descends to the rear, 
all the litter tends there, and the flagged bottom 
makes it convenient shoveling. To perfect the 
enclosure, over the swill spout is placed a plank 
Bet in the wall at the ends, the upper edge raised 
as high us the side walls, leaving u space undei 
for passage of swill to the trough, along the entirf 
length of which are slats C inches wide, about 1C 
to 12 inches apart, to prevent swine getting their 
feet in. 
Agricultural Fairs —Below w@ give a list of the 
principal National, State, and New York County, Union 
Town Fairs to be held after this date : 
NATIONAL FAIRS. 
United States, Cincinnati ..Sept. 12—20 
Canada Wt-at, Hamilton...Sept. IS—21 
Hor>-e Show, AugURtn. Maine..Sept. IS—21 
American Institute, New Yoik.Sept, 25—2 w’ks 
STATR FAIRS. 
Alabama. Montgomery.Oct. 29—Nov. 2 
California. Sacramento........Sept 19—28 
Gts6rg1&, Atlanta. ...Oct. 23—28 
Georgia, (Cotton Planters.) Macon City..D.c, 3-3 weeks 
Georgia, (Lower.) Savannah___Nov 22 
Indiana, Indianapolis___Oct 16-20 
Iowa. Iowa Cnv .....Oct. 2-6 
Kentucky, Bowling Green...Sept 18—22 
Kentucky, Northeast, Ashland___Sept. 18—20 
Maine. PortlHod...Sept. 26—28 
Mnrylaud, Baltimore..Oct. 30—Nov. 3 
Michigan, Detroit. . Oct 2—5 
Minnesota, Fort SnelliDg_ .Sept, 27—29 
Missouri, St l.onis....Sept. 24—2T 
Mississippi, Holly Spring*.....Oct. 18 
Nebruxkit, Omaha__Sept 19—21 
New Hampshire. Manchester_Oct, 2—4 
New York, Klutira.Oct, 2—6 
Ohio, Dayton ...Sept. 26—28 
Oregon... Oct. 2 
Peooxylfatila, Wyoming_ Sept 24—27 
St. Louis Ag ami Mech'i Asa., St. Lonlg..Sept. 21—27 
South Carolina, Columbia.. Nov. 13—16 
Tronfwyt, Middle Division. Franklin....Sept 24—28 
Virginia, Central, Richmond...Oct. 22—28 
Wiaoonsin, Ma<lj«on. _......._Sept. 24_29 
North Carolina, Raleigh.Oct. 16—20 
Connecticut, no Exhibition.."... 
COUNTY FAIRS.-NEW YORK 
Albany, Albany..Sept. 18—22 
Chenango, Norwich.. Sept 18—20 
Delaware, tiohart.. .....Sept, 26, 27 
Erie, Buffalo ..Sept. 26-27 
Ewex, Elizabethtown.Sept. 26, 27 
Genesee, Batavia.Sept. 18, 19 
Jefferson. Watertown. Sept. 19,20 
Lewis, Turin...Sept 26—27 
Livingston, Geneseo_ Hept, 26—28 
Monroe, Rochester...Sept 19-21 
Oneida, Utica. Sept. 26—27 
Ontario, Caoandafgua.... Sept. 26—28 
Oljegn, Cnoperstowu. ..l"Sept 26.27 
Putnam, Brewsters__Sept. 26—27 
Seneca. Waterloo_ Sept 26. 27 
Schuyler. Watkins........ .Si.pt 18—20 
Thru “Itcc Frolic.” 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:—I read in your 
iBBtre rtf the 4th inst., a communication from J. 
Heron Foster, Jr., setting fourth some “facts 
about bees,” which he styles a "bee frolic,” inti¬ 
mating that what he saw wax something out of 
the ordinary course of things, or a divergence 
from the natural instinct of the bee. In this, 
however, he Is mistaken. 
He presents the case of two colonies of bees, 
each Bonding forth a swarm, one on the 24 th, the 
other on the 25th of J udc. The swarm issuing on 
the 25th was successfully returned to the parent 
stock, by depriving them first of their queen. An 
effort was then made to return the swarm issuing 
on the 24th, they having been absent from the 
parent stock 24 hours. Their queen was found 
and also taken from them, but instead of return¬ 
ing to their former hive, they instinctively followed 
the sound of the other swarm which bad but just 
entered their old home, and entered after them, 
their parent stock being at the time settled and 
quiet. It is a fact which has l*een observed by 
very many extensive aprarians, where two or more 
swarms issue at or near the same time, that, at¬ 
tracted by “the peculiar hum,” they will almost 
invariably, or at least quite often, all cluster to¬ 
gether . Such was undoubtedly the case of the 
“ bee frolic ” alluded to by your correspondent. 
Had he waited patiently till the first swarm had 
become nettled, und the “hum” peculiar to bees 
swarmiug bad ceased, the other swarm would as 
Instinctively and kindly returned to their parent 
stock, aa did the first 
It seems that the reason 
for returning the issuing swarms to their parent 
stocks, was the fact that ho regarded them too 
weak to bear the division. In this he was un¬ 
doubtedly correct. But, if he was in the use of 
the Langstroth Hive, to which allusion was made, 
be should have known this fact previous to the 
swarming, thus saving himself all this trouble 
and final disappointment. This lie could have 
known by removing the frames, and ascertaining 
the strength of their stocks, and at the same time 
removing the queen cells, which would have pre¬ 
cluded all possibility of swarming. 
Kenosha, Wis., August, 1860. R. c. Otis. 
swarms of bees ar e to he put. This is found to 
be quite un improvement The bees find their 
new quarters already partly filled with unfinished 
comb, and they soon finish it up and fill it with 
honey. Thus both time and labor are saved to 
the bee, and he Is made to return honey in less 
time than if such a start had not been given him. 
We learn from a paragraph in the Ohio Farmer, 
communicated to that paper by Prof. Kihtlakd, 
that u Mr. J. N. Hoag, in California, has success¬ 
fully manufactured this species of comb, and 
introduced it to his bees, with manifest advantage. 
It is done by melting down pure beeswax, which 
is thon run into molds to make it thin and smooth 
like window glass. When cooled, it is stamped 
or embossed into the exact shape of the partition 
which separates the double rows of cells in the 
comb. He does not make the entire comb, but 
merely the ground work, and it is done in such 
perfection that when placed in the hive, the bees 
accept it as their own work, and erect their six- 
sided cellB upon it with the utmost alacrity. 
Union, Broi'kport_ 
Wayne. Palmyra .. 
Camden, Camden__ 
Vienna, North Bay. 
Far. sort Much. Ass. Canastatu 
Coveutry, Coventry. 
Harper»villp, Hsrpersville. 
Winfield, Went Winfield_ 
Union, Mamilion__ 
Chautauqua Union, Fredonia.. 
Essex Union, Essex.. 
Palmyra Union, Palmyra. 
Aurora Union. Aurora ... 
Hkaneateler. Skaneatelcs 
Union, Kunhviiie_ 
New York Statu Fair — Preparation of buildings, 
fi-e,—One of the Superintendent® writes ns from Elmira, 
(Sept, 8,) relative to the progress making Id prcparinj 
the grounds and fixtures, fee , for the State Fair, from 
which we Infer that ampin arrangeraenents will he com¬ 
pleted in due season. Our correspondent states that 
“ the fence, ten feet high, around the Fair Grounds,is 
finished—twenty acreB being enclosed. The Ticket and 
Business offices are completed; Fforal Ball up and floor 
laid; Domestic Hall, frame up and floor laid; Machinery 
and Mechanical Hall two-thirdg completed; Dairy and 
Poultry Halls finished; Speaker’s and Judges’stands half 
done; 250 horse stalls nearly finished, and sixteen rows 
of Cattle Sheds nearly ready. The track Is enclosed by 
a circular fence Work yet to be done:—Three wells to 
excavate; the track to plow, harrow, grade, Ac.; gates to 
be made and hung, Ac." 
— We are requested to say that Mr. Edward P. Chkh- 
VKR, Sup't of Poultry at the State Fair, will properly 
provide for and feed all fowls sent to his care at Elmira; 
and, if for sale, he will attend to the matter for a fair 
com mission. 
Bees in California. 
We have been favored with the perusal of a 
letter from California, from which we make the 
following extract, Bhowing the success of a Cali¬ 
fornia Apiarian:—“My bees are doingexceedingly 
well. I have 200 stocks, and shall have at least 500 
by the 1st of October. One of my brothers who 
started in with 17 stocks,has now 70; and another 
brother who had 15 two months ago, has now 
nearly aa many, I think bees will he worth 
about $25 a swarm this fall.” 
llee House Wanted. 
Wax you please give a plan for a bee house large 
enough to accommodate thirty swarms of bees? Any 
light on this subject will be very acceptable?—Wit. J. 
Edwards, Piles, Mich,, 1860. 
Another New Plow— Some days ago we witnessed 
the trial of a new plow, which apparently possesses suf¬ 
ficient novelty and merit to be pronounced an improve¬ 
ment. It was invented audrecently patented by Gilbert 
H MooRe, of this city. The improvement is in the 
mould-board, which is so shaped and constructed as to 
turn a very handsome furrow—especially in sward or 
atubble, for which it is more particularly designed—with 
less draft than is required in the use of ordinary plows 
It worked admirably in a sward, with clay subsoil, giving 
satisfaction to several farmers and mechanics who were 
in attendance. A plow which received the first premium 
at our last State Fair was tried at the same time—but 
when turning a farrow of equal width and depth, Its draft 
was 20 percent, greater than that of the Moork Plow, as 
tested by the dynamometer. The farrow turned by the 
new plow was also superior. We shall watch this inven¬ 
tion with interest, aa it evidently embodies a valuable 
improvement. Meantime we commend it to the attention 
of farmers and others interested. 
Chester County Ilogs. 
Mr. Aug. Shuiver, a respectable planter of 
Maryland, thns speaks in the American Farmer 
of this excellent breed of hogs: 
You say “you would like to know from farmers 
who have had this stock for several years, how 
they compare with other breeds?” In answer 
thereto, I propose giving the result of my own 
I have had the Chester 
from which they had issued “twenty-four hours 
before.” Such a conclusion maybe arrived at 
by the following test: llivo a swarm any time 
during the day, let it remain where hived “twen¬ 
ty-four hours,” then jar them out upon a sheet* 
secure and remove the queen, and report whether 
they return to the parent stock; that is, if five 
or more similar in appearance are sitting near 
each other. .Should there be but one, they would 
very probably return to it, which would be no 
test whatever. They will not leave for the woods 
unless accompanied by the queen. Second, 
swarm No. 1 would have gone into hive No. 1, 
had it been returned before swarm No. 2 was 
returned to stock No. 2, Bees make a peculiar 
sound when hiving them, or when shaken out 
and made to enter a hive, termed “calling.” 
This peculiar sound has been known to induce a 
swarm just issuing to enter a hive into which a 
few minutes before a swaim hud been hived 
Sometimes this sound may be heard fifteen or 
twenty minutes, or even longer, after tho bees 
have entered a hive, and become, at a distance, 
apparently quiet. The “calling” was doubtless 
the cause of swarm No. 1 uniting with swarm 
and stock No. 2. Evc-n if swarm No. 1 had not 
experience with them, 
County breed for about nine years, and have had 
many opportunities of comparing them with the 
ordinary stock, and also the old Berkshires, and 
have found them in all cases, under the same 
treatment, to maintain their superiority in an 
eminent degree. I am no fancy farmer, and do 
not keep any stock for ornament or exhibition, 
but bring it down to the practical point of dol¬ 
lars and cents. It is therefore enough for me to 
say, that I consider the Chester County breed as 
the most profitable under all circumstances, both 
as a pen hog and as a grazer, of all the different 
breeds that I have ever owned. 
They possess in an eminent degree the very 
desirable qualities of early maturity and fatten¬ 
ing at an early age, which latter quality with me 
is the most important, as I am thereby enabled 
to put my spring pigs into the market at nine or 
ten months old, weighing at that age from two 
to two hundred and fifty pounds. This weight is 
produced, of course, by good feeding and proper 
attention. My fall litters, which I keep over 
winter, are turned out early in the epriug on 
clover, and seldom receive any other food than 
the run of the wheat stubble until they are put 
up for fattening, when I usually have them to 
weigh from three to four hundred pounds at 
about fourteen or fifteen months old. A friend 
of mine has now a lot of six which he is keeping 
in high condition, which he expects to make 
average five huudred pounds at eighteen months 
old, and I have no doubt they will do it. 
I wish it understood that in giving my views 
of the above hogs, I am disinterested, having , 
BREEDING HORSES—REFORM NEEDED. 
Eds. Rural Nkw-Yokkek 
•As this is an age of 
reform and improvement, would it not be well to 
give some attention to the improvement of our 
horses, not in a few instances only, but a general, 
radical reform? This may surprise some, but if 
they will consider the number and class of horses 
kept for stock at the present time, they cannot but 
think there is great need of improvement 
For a few years past, if a breeder chance to 
have bred an ordinary-looking horse colt the 
first thought that entered his mind was to save it 
for a stock horse, and thus they have been saved 
until their name is legion. This would be well 
enough if they were of the right kind, as it would 
only subject breeders to a little more teasing, 
which perhaps might serve as a lesson of patience. 
But when we examine them as a class we find 
some are spavined, some ring-honed, some in the 
last stages of consumption, and, in fact, all the ails 
of which horse flesh is heir to can be found 
A Great Old Team,— One of the-chief attractions at 
the Springfield Horse Show, last week, was a fonr-horse 
team, which aggregate 107 yeara! “This team,” says a 
correspondent, “ trotted their mile iueide of four min¬ 
utes, Thursday; trotted last year in 3:15, and can repeat 
It to-day. One of the leaders, whose age is thirty-five 
years, was at one time turned out by his owner to die. 
This statement I have from the owner, Mr. I,. B, Brows. 
He says this same horse can go his hundred miles with 
greater ease and speed than the majority of roadsters." 
Iowa Cobx.— We have received of Mr. 3. IV, Morris, 
of this city—who has just returned from Iowa—several 
splendid ears of Yellow Dent Corn, grown in the Des 
Moines Valley. It was gathered on the 3d inst , (at 
which time the farmers were generally harvesting corn,) 
and is fully ripe. Most of the ears have from 18 to 20 
rows each, and are large, long, and well filled—indicating, 
if a fair sample, a large crop in the proverbially “ great 
country for corn " 
Curb for Gapes j.v Cuicicexs.— In a late number of 
the Rcral. - A Farmer® Wife, Treuton, N, Y.," say* k er 
cure is curd and meal mixed. It is not with me a “sure 
cure," unless s little pepper or warm curd be given cold 
mornings and vret days, to destroy a small worm, not 
unlike an angle worm, varying from half an inch to over 
an inch in length. Usually three or four may be found 
in the windpipe, frem the lungs up, and as they increase 
in size, strangle their victim.—A. W., H'estlcyville, Pa. 
passing near a hive similar to No. 2, would hear 
the 9omid, which would then almost instantane¬ 
ously he communicated to the others. Their 
hearing is surprisingly acute, and even if none 
-had taken wing, they might have heard the 
sound that distance. 
The re-issuing of the swarms the next morning, 
is nothing more than might have been expected; 
and yet, I would not in the least be surprised had 
among 
them. And, worst of all, these blemished and 
broken-down animals are patronized to the same, 
or greater extent than the host, for the reason of 
a present saving of a dollar or two in price, and 
the convenience of their coming to your 6table. 
The natural and inevitable results of this, is a 
race of blemished, diseased horses, so that a 
