OOBE’S BUBAL fJEW-YOBKEB 
FARMER GARRULOUS TALKS. 
How to Plow Peep.—The other night I 
heard that learned farmer. Horace Gree¬ 
ley, talking to a group of clod-hoppers, like 
myself, about deep plowing. We stood with 
our mouths open and our hands thrust deep 
into our pockets, absorbing his wisdom 
much as wc inhale air, without stopping to 
think whether there is any “ piaon ” in it or 
not. He is going in for steam plows now, 
strong, and as long as he lives, he says. lie 
had seen them turning up the stiff clay and 
alluvium, below New Orleans, two feet 
deep; and that turned-up soil produces ex¬ 
traordinary crops the same season. 
“ Why, sir. I can take one of those steam 
plows right out on to the prairies—on new 
prairie, where, they think land must not be 
broken more than three inches deep at first 
—and turn it up two feet, and grow good 
crops on it every time.’’ 
That Is what Farmer Greeley said. I 
mildly asked what time of year he would 
plow to get a good crop the first season. 
“ Auy time,” was his laconic reply. 
I suggested that he couldn't get a good 
crop if he tickled and rolled over that virgin 
prairie soil two feet deep in the spring and 
seeded it. 
But Farmer Greeley said he could; and 
1 replied that I had seen a little of that sort 
of spring plowing done on the virgin prai¬ 
ries, and the first crop rarely paid for Uur- 
vestiug—that the cold subsoil turned to the 
surface in spriug, saturated with water, iin- 
aerated, sour, uncivilized, would not furnish 
a seed-bed in which soeds would germinate 
and plants grow successfully the first sea¬ 
son. I hud seen it done twelve inches deep 
on the Illinois river bottom lands, and on 
the banks of the Mississippi, and on the 
clays of Du Page and Cook counties, III., and 
even on the tighter lands found in some 
parts of Kenosha Co., Wis., but it would 
not do. If plowed deep any time from J uly 
to November, and allowed exposure to rain 
and frost during winter, it would produce 
very well the season following, and still bet¬ 
ter the second season. I seriously thought, 
though 1 did not say, that my fellow farmer 
Greeley’s talk was not as wise as it ought 
to be. I did humbly suggest, however, that 
while 1 was an earnest advocate of deep 
plowing, 1 felt sure that the time and man¬ 
ner of plowing deep, as well as the kind of 
soil t reated, had much to do with the imme¬ 
diate results to follow. 
“ But,” said my friend, “how do you ac¬ 
count for the increase of crops the first sea¬ 
son, on lands plowed two feet deep, in Lou¬ 
isiana?” 
" Easy enough," 1 replied, growing some¬ 
what bolder; “ those lands lie under a trop¬ 
ical sun, are of a more uniform tempera¬ 
ture the year rouud. do not get filled with 
frost, nor sodden and soured with water; 
even if they do, the action of the sun upon 
them, when turned to tin- surface, is intense, 
and seed planted quickens under its influ¬ 
ence as it will not in more temperate cli¬ 
mates. There is no parallel in the condi¬ 
tions." 
I was glad to hear that jolly farmer, 
Quinn, tell a little Story, illustrating the 
impregnability of my position, at this point. 
He said a good Quaker farmer wrote to the 
late Prof. Mapes, one spring, asking his ad¬ 
vice, for his son, as to how deep he should 
plow his 15-acre field for corn. Prof. Mapes 
replied, ''as deep as you can get the plow 
in.” In the fall the Professor received an 
indignant note from the Quaker, which be¬ 
gan, ” Thee ought to be burned; we followed 
thy directions and our crop is a failure.” 
Prof. Mapes said, in reply, that his Quaker 
friend would apologize for his intemperate 
language within two years; and sure enough 
he did; for the second and third years the 
reward of deep plowing came,and the Mapes 
stock went up in the Quaker’s family. 
Ho you see, Mr. Editor, that if one can 
wait one season or two, turning over the 
soil deep in spring will pay; but suppose 
one cannot wait? Then turn a surface fur¬ 
row three to six inches deep and follow 
with a subsoil plow in the same furrow, let¬ 
ting it run in as deep as the teams can draw 
it. Then all the good and none of the ill 
effects of deep turning will be realized the 
first season, for it is not always wise to in¬ 
vert the subsoil. Of course it depends upon 
the character and texture of the surface 
soil. 
I ventured to say to my friend Greeley, 
that a vast amount Of disgust to farmers, and 
loss to the aggregate production of the 
country, had resulted from recommending 
deep plowing unqualifiedly and without ac¬ 
companying such recommendation with 
suggestions as to the time, mode and man¬ 
ner in which it should be done at different 
seasons and in different soils—that a steam 
engine is a good thing; but that if a man 
does not know how to use it, it may result 
in thoburning or blowing up of himself or his 
buildings, or both; and that I hoped that 
great Public Teachers, like himself, would 
be as discriminating in their agricultural 
as in their political teachings. 
Farmer Garrulous. 
id J lanan. 
Jhtimt (Ltd no inn. 
COOKING FOOD FOR STOCK. 
ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES. 
In reading t he Rural New-Yorker I 
have noticed, under the head of Apiary, in¬ 
quiries by different persons about the care 
of bees and their general management. 
Having had considerable experience in the 
management of bees, 1 feel prepared to an¬ 
swer some of the questions asked therein. 
Building a Bee-House. —S. T. J., Au¬ 
burn, Indiana, asks with regard to building 
a bee-house: what size to build for three 
or four swarms. My auwer is, don’t build 
auy at all; they are a nuisance-a harbor 
for moths, a plaoo for spiders. Any bee 
that happens to fall into their webs (which 
occupy every corner). Is lost beyond re¬ 
demption. For the common or box hive, I 
would make my stand for each hive by 
itself, elevated from the ground not more 
than three inches; do not crowd your laves 
together—the great cause of loss of young 
queens when they make their bridal tours. 
For shade try to get them in the range of 
some tree. In the spring, when the swarm 
is light, give it all the sunlight you can; it 
helps mature tin: brood; as the days get 
warmer, draw your swarm iu a direct line 
into the shade of your tree; do uot move to 
the right or left. 
When to Extract Honey.—Mr. Head, 
Paris, N. Y„ Nov. 25,1871, say s in answer to 
P. V. C., Lebanon, Pa., as to how long after 
honey is deposited in the comb by the bees, 
is it best to extract it, “I would let it be 
until capped over by the bees." lie doubt¬ 
less extracted his honey iu the after part of 
the day, before, as Mr. H. claims, it has 
boon refined by the drone. 1 claim that it 
is not necessary to wait until it is all capped 
over. Simply let it remain in the hive over 
night. The watery matter is evaporated by 
the bees themselves, and not by the drone*, 
as Mr. 11. claims. 1 had hives last season 
that did not rear a drone; still they per¬ 
fected their honey as well as those bees that 
were allowed to rear drones. I cut out all 
drone comb from certain hives, for the pur¬ 
pose of experimenting; the result was a 
larger yield of honey, of just as good a quali¬ 
ty. The drones that Mr. II. saw in his honey- 
box were young drones. The young work¬ 
ers will also ascend to the chamber of the 
hive. 1 used the Mel-Extraotor the past 
season, to empty over 1,200 pounds of honey, 
iu all stages, from t he same hour that it was 
gathered, until It was capped over, and none 
soui'od. 
Browuhelm, O. 
--- 
BEE NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Winter Feed and Italian Bees. — In 
Rural New-Yorker of Jan. 13th, I find 
an inquiry for t he “ best winter feed for 
bees." Take half pint of water to one pound 
“A” coffee sugar; boil not more than live 
minutes; cool and skim. It should be fed 
in October, with feeder set on frames. If 
this has been neglected, move the hive to a 
warm room, take out a comb, fill, and re¬ 
place among the bees. If combs cannot be 
removed, boil until the sirup will crystallize 
when cooled off; then pour into a shallow 
pan; when cold out into narrow strips; in¬ 
vert the hive and place the strips between 
the combs among the bees. I also notice 
the inquiry whether Italian bees arc longer 
lived than common bees. Having kept 
Italian bees ten years, I find them a hardier 
and stronger bee than the native or black 
bee. Your correspondent can, in the fol¬ 
lowing manner, determine whether they are 
longer lived: Take a hive of Italians and a 
hive of natives or black bees, of about equal 
strength in bees and brood, and exchange 
queens, and he will see which variety en¬ 
tirely supersedes the other first.—J. E. 
Moore, Rochester , Pa. 
Noticing in the Rural New-Yorker a 
lengthy article upon the cooking of food for 
stock, in answer to an inquiry from a 
dairyman, whether it will pay, I take the 
liberty of giving my views and experience 
upon the subject. I find many valuable 
suggestions in your article, and am fully 
satisfied that circumstances alone can de¬ 
termine the pract icability of its use. Loca¬ 
tion, which fixes the value of food to be fed, 
is of the most importance iu arriving at a 
conclusion; next, the quantity of stock to 
be fed. A farmer living iu a district remote 
from market, where fodder is only worth 
fifty per cent, of the values near market, 
aud feeding less than forty head, in my 
judgment will find it will not pay to make 
the necessary outlay. But iu case a like or 
larger amount arc fed, near market, where 
fodder is comparatively high, there is no 
better investment. 
As to my own experience, I am cooking 
feed. This is the second winter. 1 have a 
careful, observing farmer; in his judgment 
we saved forty percent, of food last winter, 
aud the stock wintered hi much better con¬ 
dition than the old way. This winter, with 
improved quarters for them, the result is 
more satisfactory; their condition improved 
from the day they were put up, and no ob¬ 
jections upp< ar, us your English authority 
suggests. The process is, perhaps, more 
satisfactory to dairymen than any other; 
for cows will, with this process of feeding, 
give nearly twice the amount of milk they 
will from dry food. 
Now as to the economy. If you will visit 
tile farmer who feeds di*y or natural food, 
you will find, first, that in the fall he spreads 
out iu his yard his crop of cornstalks; his 
stock will eat the leaves and tips, if well 
cured; hut tin- stalk, containing 75 per cent, 
of the nutriment, is left to be trampled in 
the mud or snow, and lost; for if you de¬ 
pend upon results from manure, before it 
lias decomposed for such use, 75 per cent, of 
the manure is washed away or passed off iu 
evaporation. So put it down as 75 per cent, 
of corn fodder lost. 
Next coiuos the imperfectly made straw 
stacks, back of the barn. Set up as a target, 
it becomes the objective point of the hungry' 
herd. This is to furnish shelter as well as 
food, and its sides are soon made into holes 
for shelter from the storms. Next come 
the winds, and the lull stack topples over, 
and it becomes trodden under foot, and 
again we have ’>0 to 75 per cent. loss. Hay, 
in many cases, receives like treatment. But 
in most oases it is husbanded and fed iu 
barns. 
Now, the cooking process saves all this 
loss. You cannot find iu my yards a pound 
of straw or corn fodder} all is cut by steam 
power, mixed witli water and shorts, and 
cooked by steam, and every ounce eaten up 
by the stock, and the manure always ready, 
for use, cared for. 
1 can safely say I am saving fully' 40 per 
cent, of food, and my stock is in much finer 
condition than by’ the old way. During the 
extreme cold weather, early in the month, 
our water pipes, convoying water to the 
boiler, froze up, and the cooking process 
was stopped about, two weeks. Our stock 
became mourners, and hung their heads 
when dry food was offered them, and posi¬ 
tively' lost, with our best, efforts to prevent, 
10 percent, iu condition, while eating 40 per 
cent, more fodder. This statement may ap¬ 
pear questionable to many of your readers; 
but I only ask a trial, as evidence of its 
truth. And while 1 do not wish to influence 
any one into its use by my own experience 
or views, l can but be an advocate of its 
utility where circumstances demand econ¬ 
omy; and 1 would advise, to all inquiring 
minds, a personal investigation, if possible. 
At some future time., when opportunity 
offers, 1 will be ghul to lay before your read¬ 
ers a plan of my buildings, machinery, and 
process of preparing food for stock. This 
being my first, and a hasty effort in recom¬ 
mending improvements to your readers, I 
will write no rnoro at present. n. w. n. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
—--> 
implement be Immediately returned to its 
place after using, no matter how incon¬ 
venient this may be, instead of throwing it 
on the ground till forgotten, with the in¬ 
tention of replacing it when a suitable mo¬ 
ment occurs to do so. Now, if any one is 
unprepared to do so, we would recommend 
the following experiments, in order to test 
its merits by figures:—Let him keep an ac¬ 
curate record of all the time, lost in ono 
year by hunting for lost tools ill times of 
emergency, adding in the losses occasioned 
by keeping other persons or teams in wall¬ 
ing while the search is in progress; also, 
adding the waste occasioned by exposure of 
such tools to the weather, or by finally 
losing them, not forgetting to estimate the 
detriment to his crops and farming opera¬ 
tions generally by the delays thus frequent¬ 
ly occasioned. He may, likewise, if ho 
chooses, keep an account current of the 
amount of vexation caused by these atiuoy- 
uuocs, unless he is so far gone that disorder 
and delay are matters of indifference to 
him. We have no doubt that such uu ex¬ 
periment as this, faithfully followed oul, 
would greatly surprise him at the end of tho 
year, aud furnish satisfactory proof of the 
immense superiority of the plan first pro¬ 
posed by us. Who will be willing to give 
both ways a full trial? M. Y. 
Rensselaer . file, N. Y. 
-- 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Effect of Ground Bone upon Lands. 
—Upham, Shaw & Co., in their circular 
with reference to the action and value of 
the Brighton Bone Phosphate, say:—“To 
bo of any' value whatever, ground bono must 
be placed where it will undergo decompo¬ 
sition. It will uot rot under the inllucuoo 
of heat alone. Both heat and moisture 
are required. Its ofiiciency is greater or 
less in proportion to tho greater or less 
rapidity with which it decomposes. Plaood 
in a dry soil, iu a dry season, its effect s will 
scarcely be perceptible; whereas, in a moist 
soil, having suflioient warmth, its influence 
upon any crop will be strongly marked. 
Fur intermixture witli sour soils, no other 
material is superior. It neutralizes tho 
acids, and warms and decomposes all tho 
vegetable matter. Tho only way wo shall 
recommend for using the Brighton phos¬ 
phate upon dry, sandy fields, is tho applica¬ 
tion of it with muck and barnyard manure, 
or in a compost of these articles. These 
manures will hold water in the soil, and 
hasten tho decay of the bone. In the vicin¬ 
ity of Hatfield the most gratifying results 
were obtained from sandy fields by this 
process. To be lit for use in tho spring, 
muck should be hauled out to freeze now.” 
Relative Value of Italian, Hybrid 
and Black Booh as Honey Producers. 
—Mrs. Tuppeu Gnds that the Italians fill 
comb faster than the hybrids, aud these 
faster than the common black bee. Consid¬ 
ers the hybrid nearly equal to the Italian 
as honey gatherers, aud sees no sufficient 
cause for having them pure bred wheu to 
be used as workers only. 
A PROPOSED EXPERIMENT. 
There has been no saying of toner repeat¬ 
ed, and none more worthy of repetition, so 
far as Farm Economy is concerned, than 
“A place for everything, and everything in 
its place." (>ne of the best modes for every 
farmer to apply this rule in practice, is to 
make a complete list of his farm implements 
from his wagons, carts and plows, down to 
awls, gimlets and screw-drivers; let every 
Gas Lime and Wire-Worms. — A cor¬ 
respondent of tho London Field says? — “ I 
have had some experience ou three-quarters 
of an acre of garden ground made from old 
turf land, aud 1 feel sure the remedy which 
i adopted will answer the end on my laud. 
The first and second years 1 was dreadfully 
pestfid with wire-worm; my potatoes, tur¬ 
nips, carrots, and other roots were pierced 
through and through with this post. A 
thought struck me that the application of 
spent gas lime would settle my enemies; so 
I gent for two cartloads from the Duuby 
Gas Works, and 1 had it mixed with six 
times as much good soil and manure, equal 
quantities; the manure was chiefly sawdust 
upon which pigs had run. This wus spread 
on the ground in November, aiul dug iu a 
spade deep; then in the spring 1 put early 
and other potatoes and the general crop, 
with some light stable manure. 1 had excel¬ 
lent crops that year and afterwards, but 
not a single wire-worm could 1 detect 
after that dressing. It is very important 
not to overdose with the gas lime; dilute it 
well with soil and manure, and it will de¬ 
stroy grubs as well.” 
Sowing Clover Seed. — Farmers who 
grow clover seed are recommended, by a 
writer iu the Rural World, to sow the seeds 
in the chaff without hulling, since it is actu¬ 
ally worth more and will bring a better crop 
than the same quant ity of seed will if hulled. 
He says many of the seeds are injured by 
hulling, and the chuff Is a protection to the 
young and tender plants. 
Clearing Land. —I saw an inquiry in 
the Rural New-Yorker with regard to 
clearing land. Got an ax, grub-hoe, cross¬ 
cut saw, beetle and iron wedge, then go to 
work. You will get posted in the theory of 
improving a farm, and never ask as simple a 
question again.— Subscriber, Eaton, Mich. 
Corn Cob Meal. — A writer in a rural 
paper says of the value of cob meal for 
stock, that he would as Soon have ashes as 
the meal. 
