C*> fected. During the winter and spring most 
jjuitn tmsmtubrn. of the animals in the new lierd iost their 
rV ^ ” calves, and thus a double loss was entailed 
___l!__ upon the farmer. When a part ©Tlbc whole 
x. a. wili.ajid, a. m., editoh, of a herd lose their calves and are to be 
or l.imi falm, H«tKiMKr. cncKTr, Ntw you*. disposed of, the safer course, it, would seem, 
~ — — ~ ■ ~ is to purchase stock in the spring. The cost, 
ABORTION IN COWS. it is true, may he more than it would be it 
- the purchase was made early in winter, but 
We hear of much complaint ibis season as there is no risk in the spring purchase, 
among dairymen on account of abortion in Ibis must, be taken into account, 
cows. A number of cases occurring in Her- There is probably hothing connected with 
kimer county were reported to ns last month, the dairy business so vexatious and dishcart- 
and from what wo bear of the disease this cning as a herd affected with this had habit, 
month it promises lolie exceedingly virulent Those who have had no experience with 
during the winter. In one herd of thirty* the trouble can scarcely appreciate the nn- 
four, twenty have already lost their calves, noyance of having a lot of diseased animals 
or prove farrow. We hear of a good many on their hands—unsalable at anything like 
farrow cows in the country Hub fall, and their value—and to see the best, cows of the 
most of t hese we presume have aborted herd dropping l heir calves prematurely, thus 
some time during the summer or fall. There breaking up the herd, while you are. power- 
are a great many cases of this kind that pass less to check or save from the malady. It 
unobserved by dairymen, especially where is by no means pleasant, to say the least, 
the disease first makes its appearance on the But the worst, feature of the case is, that this 
farm, condition of tilings is not to he wound up in 
A farmer in Lewis county informed us last a single season, but may continue for years, 
year that some of his cows had aborted in We can point to instances where the annual 
the umnier while at pasture, the fetus being loss in turning abortive stock and replacing 
so small that it would weigh only a few with sound animals, has consumed all the 
ounces, and at first it was only by chance profits of the farm fur several years in sueees- 
that he discovered it. There can lie little sion. As there must, he a cause for this dis- 
douht that many cases occur every year in ease the time will come, we hope, when the 
the affected districts that are not suspected mystery will be solved. 
at the time by dairymen, and the cows prove - *-++ - 
farrow in the fail. The Commissioners ap- VERMONT STATE DAIRYMEN’S 
pointed by the N. Y. State Agricultural So- ASSOCIATION. 
ciety to investigate, the causes of this disease - 
have made two elaborate reports on the sub- Tite New England Fanner gives the 
jeet bill we hear of no practical benefit grow- following summary of proceedings at t lie re¬ 
ingout of these reports, at least so far as cent meeting of Vermont dairymen for the 
prevention of t he disease is concerned. purpose of originating a State Dairymen’s 
We arc in hopes, however, that some plan Association: 
will yet be discovered for mitigating this Wo lcftrn h .V U,c State Journal that an as- 
scourgo of the. dairy interest which seems to sociation of 1,115 dairymen of Vermont was 
be extending every year into new districts formcd a1 !l meeting of farmers at Montpelier, 
without, any prospect of abating where it. ^ k, Gctobcr 2o Hon. II. J. Saxe of Sliel- 
originally made its appearance. <lon » ’ vvaa Chairman, and O. S. Buss oi 
A few years since a farmer in Herkimer Gcor S ia > Secretary. The following const.it.u- 
counl.y claimed that he was acquainted with tion > re P orled by a committee, consisting of 
a remedy or specific for preventing abortion G. Bliss of (teorgia, E. I). .Mahon of 
in cows, and which lie. offered to oommuni- Richmond, and (,t. L. Chandler oi Mont- 
eate to the public for the modest sum of I )e,,er * waa adopted : 
$10,000. No one being willing to invest Constitution. 
.... Suction I, This oiganluation shall be called the 
tii.il sum the .ecrct remained loi a time **vernumt. imirymeii’a AaBocintion.” 
lookoil im SBC. 3. its object flutll ho to improve* the Dairy in¬ 
i' tort-sW i>f Vermont,unit nil *nb«laiarY intorost.s. 
Last, snrlntr ouile a number nf d-iin-men Hkc - 8 - 1 ll,s A sDomtion sliiill consist of such per- 
e" 11 " U'O'-e .1 Hum DU OI dairymen, SOW!. „» Shull signify their desire to become aiomtierei 
WC understand, agreed to make a test, of the '"ill pay the sum Of two dollars, and alike sum an- 
. ° . Dually 1 hrmait-oj', and or lioiiortiry ami ^urresponrt- 
preventive, contracting to pay for the same >>w member*. 
... & 1 •’ .. . SKC. i, The payment of flvn dollars stinll constitute 
•it a ceil am rate per cow, on condition that a lid* Memi-rr 
;i i. . A , Spc, The olTics-rs nf the Association stuill hr-a 
it pio\i u ilii< ii nt hi icmoving the disease President, unco vice-president*, (one from each 
from llieir lw,l-ila VV7» Cotutnwirtoiml Dlstrvn.l and a Hocieiart, who shall 
1 O'KIR. Ht .Ilf, not llltolmed as t-onittlliili' lljn l.vootltiv.• OOuiHnilieu. and have the 
to all the details of lids snerifie hnt one nf vnernl oversight oi all the affair- Of the AsbouIu- 
i 'coins * >i mm spec me, mu one 01 Moil. also a Treasurer and fourteen Trustee#, who 
n dm mg the month of May. From what. '“'Lv K l,n “ r ' 1 Appeal* on all cunstions , 
, . . . • , of dtfforence that may arise between the Executive lUilCie by eiiurnmg llie WliolO milk, but it 
vehave teamed concerning the method, we commute©anaany n/erubt-i-. , nnr .. .im^odt n,o„ 
tilth- f.iitl, in It ,-ni ..... ...... i „ SBC- 0. The annual nit-ellng for tho Elrction of lS ,norc lUtllCUlt tliail to lliakC flOlU tllO 
i.u lit IK l.ulli in it, yet \\(. .in .iSHUlcd l»y Ofilocvs (tnd ihetrausaoil'm oi im: -noso shall ho hold cream - and hence for a choice article of 
Ml(> nr Iwn nmnns wlm tint -ulm-.tr>,1 it tl.n on the cec-und Weiliioaday thr snc.nd Thurg- ’ u n 0 101 a cuolce hiUCK , 01 
j eisons v\Jio liau adopteel it tlte iu octohur in em it j-rur. at such place us the Ex- fine color full of aroma and of lone keeoimr 
,-ear nrevious that tho nlun sumresled l.-is <a'uUve Cmumiuee Klufil appoint! there ahull also 11 uui ui aiouiu anu 01 tong Keeping 
1 . ’ 1 ' !s, feK-.l.d 108 i>c heJu dufiuK tmeit trtntor, ni soon thenand pineu n# qualities, we should advise setting the milk 
some merit. As t ic test, has been nnnlied dm wxneutiv.: tj<inimiti(m may desiituait*. a mcotinu ° 
IJLU1 .ijtjim-u p, r rntdrossp,, lin o ai.r,.» hIoms. 10 uonttauc at, innst and churning the cream. 
Ills season m a number ol herds, we shall three, davs, whieuipc.-i.nur< 1 |iainjnt>phu mnll mom- , Tr , n r «i««t rn ™ . rm. 
. . her* of the Association. tit- A temperature ol about 05, or a little 
irobably know more concerning its merits sice. 7 it »imii i.e th<- .n,ty of the suerotary to pre- almv „ • sald in , f , ini . nil .„ 
,i ti.« n „,i paroiih Anituat IleporLni tTietrimsactionsof the As- auove, is saiu 10 lie the nest 101 chuinuig 
d lUGClld or me season. fur u«y «!.nrrMit s«*r.euihrECin« «u«b m. i*Uie whole mill.- ” if sweet, lml. the nsn.nl 
the main features in it, is, that tile cows must, 
not, be allowed to calve until the last,of Ai)rii 
or during the month of May. From what, 
we have learned concerning the method, we 
have little faith in it, yet we are assured by 
one or t wo persons who had adopted it the 
year previous, that the plan suggested has 
some merit. As the test, lias been applied 
this season in a number of herds, we shall 
probably know more concerning its merits 
al the end of the season. 
Cows that abort during the early part of 
winter are difficult to lie “milked up” aud 
do not generally amount, to much iu the 
dairy if kept over—still cases not unfrequenb 
]y occur where they are made to yield a tol¬ 
erably good moss of milk. With extra, cows 
it is usually considered an object to try the ex¬ 
periment of “ milking them up,” and when 
such a course is resolved upon, the aborting 
cow should have extra care, with generous 
feed—bran and ground oats and a mess of 
roots daily, in addition to all the hay she will 
cat. Bbc should have a warm stable and 
particular attention must he given to keep¬ 
ing her from lining exposed to storms of snow, 
sleet , or rain, ns well ns cold bleak winds, if 
she is of good milking habit and Is properly 
cared for, she may sometimes be made to 
yield qpough milk to pay for her keep and 
care during the season and something more, 
while for the next season she may escape the 
malady and do well. 
Cows aborting toward spring, or near the 
time of their regular period of calving, are 
quite frequently “ milked up ” and made to 
yield nearly as much ns they would had the 
accident not happened; but in such cases 
great attention must he given to their care 
ami feed. They must not be suffered to run 
down,hut be kept in a good, thrifty condition 
up to the time of turning to grass. Where 
poor or medium cows abort, it is hardly 
worth while hi attempt to “ milk them up.” 
It will be better to get rid of them as early 
as convenient and supply their places with 
sound stock. Some advise, that, when abor¬ 
tion makes its appearance on a farm, the 
whole herd should lie sold off and fresh ani¬ 
mals brought, in to supply its place. This 
is hardly good policy, especially if the old 
hem is a good one, for there will he no eer- 
tainity that the new herd will remain sound. 
We know of an instance where an aborting 
herd was disposed of in the fall and early 
winter and a new herd purchased, the selec¬ 
tion being made from stock supposed to be 
sound, or which had not previously been af- 
uliall In; OllfU'Hf-iI ivlMlltl»;lill,('r(-.-t»01 tin* AHB-loiilMon 
In tlielr respective uuanUn«,u ml cohhUui to a inert Inin 
of bc-twnon tin? Ex.-cutlvc-(.'-iviinll 1 ee 
Will the resilient iimml-r-r-. ot t in- AhnOrlnlRiIl. Tln-v 
state that when accepting the invitation 
to speak, the time of holding the Convention 
waa not fixed. A notice of the time being 
sent by telegraph, when we were absent 
I from home, was not received in season to 
| make the journey to Montpelier to meet, with 
our Vermont friends as they had advertised. 
This was a source of regret on our part, but 
was unavoidable. 
A recent letter from Secretary Bliss in¬ 
forms us that the Association aud its doings 
promise to he a success, and that .a large at¬ 
tendance at the winter meeting is anticipated. 
- +++ - 
CHURNING THE CREAM OR THE 
MILK. 
Hon. X. A. Willard —Dear Sir:' I wish to 
know which is the host, met hod of making but¬ 
ter, to churn the cream or the whole of'the milk? 
If the milk, how long should it stand and at 
what temperature should It he churned? Is it. 
any more work to churn the milk than the 
cream? I wish to make calculations for about, 
six cows. 1 am satisfied that we do not got all 
the hut tor from the milk in very hot, sultry 
weather, and I thought, perhaps, that, could l»o 
remedied by churning the milk. Please answer 
in t ho Hchai. Nkw-V<iiikkii, - Charles H. Bith- 
WELL, JtrlkvUk, IPto., Nm\ MA, HKJlh 
Remarks. —1. In butter making our pre¬ 
ference is to set the milk, and get. the butter 
from the cream skimmed off. When milk is 
properly set and the cream taken off’ and 
churned in a proper manner, there is more 
probability of obtaining sweet, nice-flavored 
butter, and securing good color, than when 
the butter is made from chumiug the whole 
milk. 
Wo like to have the cream raised quickly, 
and to have it taken off before the milk be¬ 
comes sour. When cream is left, standing 
on the milk unt il it is thick and tough “ like 
a leather apron,” and the milk becomes old 
and decomposed, it will be difficult to make 
fine butter from it. Cream should be re¬ 
moved from the milk while it is sweet, and 
before it lias formed a tough pellicle or skin 
on the surface. If the milk lias been properly 
set and the cream raised quickly, it should 
be taken oil' by some dipping utensil. Dip 
off carefully until you reach the milk, which 
is easily distinguished from the thin cream 
by its blue color. Thin cream cannot well 
be skimmed with the old-fashioned perfor¬ 
ated tin skimmer. 
II. Tl is claimed, and with somo reason, 
that churning “ the whole milk ” makes more 
butter than to set the milk and churn the 
cream. In setting the milk there is always 
a small portion of cream remaining in the 
milk after skimming; and again, in churn¬ 
ing “ the whole milk.” there are more shells 
of easeino mixed *i&#i tho butter. This 
cheesy matter increases the weight, but 
diiuiuisbcs the quality of the butler. The 
shells of cascinc also give a whitish appear¬ 
ance to the butter, injuring its color. Wc 
do not say but that wry good butter may be 
ntowologiciri. 
[Qc**tjowr to itfi Anmrerftd In tbi* Department, n-ben accompanied 
by specimens, should be sent directly to C. V. Kilkv, 221 North 
Main Street, St. Mo.) 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
Tho Rnffitlc-back Cntorpillar.—I send you to¬ 
day by mail a specimen found upon a lilac bush, 
but I found quite a number of the same on a 
cherry tree. Please inform me through the 
Rural New-Yorker, it tht3 is anything rare, 
whnf it. is. Jt may he common to you, but it is 
the first ever scon In this vicinity. I inclose it 
in a paper box, and trust it may arrive alive. It 
was beautiful in colors.—A. W. Baker, Van 
Wert , O. 
Inclosed are specimens found on Indian corn 
stalks, Tho blades were eaten ; silks also. Please 
give name, habits, ihrough Rural New- 
Yorker, and oblige an old subscriber.—G eo. T. 
Cost, Falrflcld, O. 
Tins answers to the above two letters have 
been unavoidably delayed. Tbe specimen 
sent, in both cases was tbe Saddle-hack Cater¬ 
pillar, an insect which lias obtained its Eng¬ 
lish name from the curious brown saddle- 
like patch over the middle of its green back. 
to some extent an enigma. It is very evi¬ 
dent, however, that it docs not belong to our 
Entomological Department, and wc can only 
express the opinion that it. is the segment ot 
some Tama (tape-worm) which was voided 
by some unknown animal. The fact, that 
three of them were at. first linked together 
strengthens this opinion, for it is well known 
that the different segments of a tape-worm 
are easily separated, and that each segment, 
by a peculiar budding process, is capable of 
producing a new individual. 
lie ^ph 
Apiarian. 
pors.iiriglnut ami sulucmd, n* mu) be approved by 
tlu rlxo-'-nltv,; Ci-nunli.te-c, Olid unnt>(* the- sunn 1 to hr 
pphlmhort sdU dRtrlbitujcl to the members ol the As¬ 
sociation 
Sec. 8. Tho Treasurer shall keep tho funds of tlio 
Association and dlahiir.se them of) tho order of the 
President or !1 Vice President, countersigned by the 
Socrotnry, nnrt million rpportof tho receipts ondex- 
pondUiive* to tho Annual Meeting In ile.tobor. 
HltC, It Tuts C'uJiatUUtlun may he amended tit, nny 
A ntviinl Meeting by u uvo-thirds vote at nil the mem¬ 
bers present. 
Mr Mason, of Richmond, was called up¬ 
on for a statement relative to the Dairy¬ 
men’s Association in New York, who gave 
a favorable report of its operations, showing 
that the superior quant ity and quality of the 
cheese produced, resulted in a great, degree, 
from the operations of this organization. Mr. 
Mason believed that Vermonters, with equal¬ 
ly good past m age and a better climate, could 
place their cheese at the head of the list, with 
the same skill in manufacturing. ITe believ¬ 
ed an organization or association among 
farmers would help to accomplish such a re¬ 
sult in Vermont. 
Mr. Bliss explained to the meeting the un¬ 
avoidable absence of Hon. X. A. Willard, 
of Little Falls, N. Y., dairy editor of Die 
Rural New-Yorker, who bad been adver¬ 
tised to be present and deliver an address. 
“ liic whole milk,” if sweet, but the usual 
temperature employed is from GO 0 to G5\ 
The process of mailing butter by chinn¬ 
ing the viUh and cream together is practiced 
to some extent in Holland. In the Dutch 
process the milk is put into deep jars in a 
cool place, each meal, or portion milked at 
one time, being kept separate. As soon as 
there is the least appearance of acidity , the 
whole is placed in an upright claim to be 
churned. When the butter begins to form 
in small kernels, the contents of the churn 
are emptied on a sieve that lets the butter¬ 
milk pass through. The butter is then 
formed into a mass. 
In some of the dairy districts of Scotland 
the process is somewhat, similar. The milk 
when it is drawn from the cow is placed 
from six to twelve boms in a cooler. When 
completely cooled, the whole meal is emptied 
into a large wooden tub or vat,. If the vat 
is sufficiently capacious, and a second meal 
of milk has become cold before the first ex¬ 
hibits any acidity, the two may be mixed to¬ 
gether. A lid or cover is then put over the 
vat, which is allowed to stand undisturbed 
A committee consisting of Mr. Mason, of until the milk has soured and become lop- 
Itielimoml, Mr. Hall, of Burke, and Mr, 1 )CI ' C(:1 or coagulated. When it has arrived 
Bliss, of Georgia, was appointed to report at 1,158 8ta1e 5t 19 t0 be churned. It is put 
at an adjourned meeting, officers for this or- in the churn and agitated a lew minutes 
ganizalion, aisosolieit members for the same, merely to break tbe coagulum of the milk. 
At an adjourned meeting, Oct, 28th this Ttl ° maS9 18 then brought to a temperature 
committee submitted the following report, °f or a little more, and churned, 
which was accepted and adoptedIn some sections the milk is churned 
rmidmt-E. n. m ason, niriimond. sweet, either a few hours after milking or the 
n. sufford, Hartford; li .i. s.ixe, siieidou. night s aud mornings mess of milk mingled 
Treasurer— G. c. chandler, 'Montpelier. together and churned in the afternoon. 
County Trustees. IV. It, is more work to churn the milk 
tbn " ,1,c «"“»• When it -a desired to turn 
Barnun?' m vuon Burke - milk to most account or profit it should be set 
Em '.r-E. s. Fruonmn. GuiiuhBii. for cream, and this being removed, the skim 
a,-min isir Alien k. Manning. Aiburgh. milk may then be made into “skim cheese. 
qwm«^-F*rn Der'ilv WKe ’ Small skim cheeses well made meet with 
nXafmd- A^D.8ronb&n\Vy. r1dg0 ’ ready sale, and at a fair price. The whey 
resulting from the manufacture of the slum 
Windham—Peieg winBiovr, Putney. cheese, when mixed with meal, is turned to 
In regard to our absence from tbe meeting good account as a feed for hogs, and in this 
as above referred to, it may be proper to way nothing is wasted. 
Coi-ons— Orem, lyroum mat cream-color. 
In the above figures we give a back view (a) 
and a side view (A) of this curious caterpillar, 
which views will enable the reader to recog¬ 
nize it at a glance. It belongs to a somewhat 
anomalous group of caterpillars technically 
called onimfonn or eonchflo-pOdiforrn larvic, 
and popularly known as Slug-Worms, in 
reference to their slug-like appearance and 
movements. Tito larva in this group are 
principally characterized by the absence of 
prolegs or false legs which enable other 
caterpillars to cling so tenaciously to the ob¬ 
jects on whiGh they happen to be. They 
are enabled, however, to adhere to their food 
plants, with sufficient tenacity, by the tint., 
soft and adhesive nature of their bellies. 
Our Saddle-back feeds on pear, apple, 
plum, rose, currant, and a variety of plants, 
besides tbe Indian corn and lilac mentioned 
by our correspondents. It has the power of 
stinging with the prickles on its tubercles, 
and some persons are quite seriously affected 
by its venom. The thicker portions of the 
skin, such as the palm of the hand, are 
scarcely affected by it, however, and we have 
often purposely stung ourselves on the more 
tender portions of the band, and afterwards 
easily allayed all irritation or pain by an ap¬ 
plication ofsaleratus water. 
This caterpillar spins a tough, round and 
neat brown cocoon, which is protected on 
the outside by a looser covering of silk, which 
lias the appearance and color of glue. In 
this cocoon it passes the winter, and finally 
changes to the chrysalis which gives forth 
t he perfect mot h in the spring. The moth is 
nearly of a uniform reddish-brown color, 
with two small white spots on the front 
wings. The late Dr. B, Ci.icmens gave the 
scientific name Empvetia stitunica to this 
species, in reference, no doubt, to the sting¬ 
ing properties of the larva, for the first term 
is derived from a Greek word which means 
“ to burn,” and the second from a Latin word 
which signifies “a goad.” This insect lias 
not hitherto become sufficiently common to 
do serious harm. 
The following item, clipped from a recent 
report of the doings of the New York Farm¬ 
ers’ Club, refers, beyond all doubt, to this 
same Saddlc-back caterpillar: 
A Com Caterpillar. — J. IT. Wood, Sussex Co., 
N. J., sent, some time since, specimens of worms 
Infesting and eating oom foliage. He writes: 
“ They get upon our hands and cause Die flesh to 
rise up m blotches; their effect upon the flesh is 
similar to t hat produced by nolUes, and cannot 
be got rid of for some days. The species is new 
to us, nnd we would like to have tbe opinion of 
tho Club about thorn, whether they are poison¬ 
ous to cattle or not-” The Now Jersey Ento¬ 
mologist said he had been able to determine Die 
species, but he did not say what it- was. Ilesnid, 
however, It was not new. It is not poisonous to 
the hands any more than the nettle. Tho “barbs" 
or hairs of the caterpillar produce upon tbeskln 
the same sensation as the nettle. The idea that 
the caterpillar injures stock was new nnd im¬ 
probable. 
An Enigma.—C. V. Riley— Dear Sir: We are 
directed in tho “Entomological Department of 
Moore's Rural New-Yorker, to direct ques¬ 
tions, accompanied by specimens, to you. In¬ 
closed please find a specimen of something fou nd 
in Goodland township of Northern Michigan. IL 
was handed me by a friend to ascertain wbat it 
is. There were two more like it, and the three 
were connected at the ends so as to be but one 
when found, and separated about two weeks 
after being found. A description of the speci¬ 
men, wit h name, in the Rural, will oblige others 
as weil as—Du. A. B. Mason, Waterloo, Iowa. 
The specimen sent, which hat’ tbe appear¬ 
ance of a thin piece of wax, one-fifth of an 
inch wide, aud five times as long as wide, is 
BEE KEEPING: 
Fovty Years Ago nnd Now.— II. 
I have been thinking, since writing my 
first article on this subject, how some of our 
old-time bee keepers would stare at what is 
now done. Let us not Imagine that the race 
is extinct. A few miles into the country, 
almost anywhere, will reveal some remain¬ 
ing representatives who still keep bees in 
the old style, holding it a sacred duty to 
acquaint them with every important change 
in the family circle, as if they were endowed 
willi human intelligence. All through the 
summer months there stands the weather¬ 
beaten log, or old square box, which uo 
audacious bund may overturn. As an old 
neighbor once said, who had caught a swarm, 
and whose wife would presume to examine 
it,—“ Everybody knows it’s enough to kill a 
swarm of bees to turn it over." Even as 
great a man as Daniel S. Dickinson could 
talk of tbe queen bee as an “ exploded myth.” 
When sueli men arc brought face to face 
willi the summary proceedings of to-day, it 
is not strange that an odd mixture of sur¬ 
prise and awe should come over them. 
Where once men sat indolently watching for 
! swarms, day after day as the summer went 
I on, is now seen the quick making of arti¬ 
ficial swarms. The operator has no tune to 
spare. Thirty swarms a day is a small num¬ 
ber. Off go cover and top. The old hive is 
moved a couple of foot to the right, a tempo¬ 
rary stand receives it, a new hive is set up 
in the old one’s place, open and ready for 
the swarm. Now tin: combs arc lifted out. 
Over each in succession goes a quick, sharp 
glance, speedily detecting the long, high- 
colored, Italian queen, the comb bearing her 
with another or two is placed iu the new 
hive, the vacant spaces filled with empty 
frames, the honey-boards and covers are re¬ 
placed, the old hive is removed a dozen feet 
or more, and the operator is ready for the 
next. No lime is lost. There is no lying in 
the shade, lazily whiling away the day, read¬ 
ing a novel or gazing listlessly down the long 
rows of hives, waiting till the spirit of colo¬ 
nization sliail inspire some insect brain and 
call you to action; hut with quick step, 
eager eye, and skillful hand, you do more in 
an hour, than once in twenty-four. 
Or perhaps you do not care to increase 
your stock. Every energy is to be turned to 
surplus honey. Then you open the hive, 
find the queen, and clip her wing. You 
rapidly glance at the combs, and destroy 
every cradle of royalty begun. Bees will 
not swarm until a safe succession is morally 
certain. Now, give plenty of room, and 
your yield of box honey will astonish the 
old fogies. 
Or lake the comb - emptying machine. 
Every night the collected treasures of the 
day are poured into the waiting receptacle. 
Bees will gather ten times as much where 
the comb is furnished. This is why the bee 
keeping fraternity are waiting to hail some 
happy inventor of artificial comb with such 
loud acclaim. And I am convinced that 
when lioney so perfectly pnre as can he ob¬ 
tained by this process shall become known, 
it tv ill command nearly or quite as high a 
price as that in the comb. 
The movable comb is the grand “ open 
sesame” of modern bee keeping. To re¬ 
count, its advantages would fill a volume. 
This it is more than anyotlier one thing that 
enables us so to distance our predecessors. 
I have mentioned artificial swarming, but 
we see in this but one of its many advan¬ 
tages. In preparing stocks for whiter it is 
invaluable. They may be united, the strong 
made to strengthen the weak, three or four 
even to combine. Ilieir resources, and the 
destitute to he supplied. Even if, as in the 
present nnpropitious lime, when a universal 
scarcity threatens onr entire stock with fam¬ 
ine, feeding, as described in a late number of 
the Rerae, may he so much more expedi¬ 
tiously performed, that in large apiaries long 
and tedious operations may he brought 
within the compass of a day. But let us 
not hastily conclude trial we have seen and 
availed ourselves of all the movable frame 
has to offer. When experience shall fully 
develop its resources, and invention sliail 
furnish, ns I confidently expect, an artificial 
comb that worms will not be able to destroy, 
who shall have the audacity to hint at a 
limit beyond which the bee keeping interest 
of our country and the world cannot go? 
If forty years* which Becm so Bhori to me, 
have wrought such changes in this branch 
of human industry, who can tell what the 
next half century shall reveal?— M. Qotnby. 
