AFB3L 43 
attach the piece by a clevis and ring to the 
plow clevis, the longest end up. Then hitch 
the middle horse to the top and tho two out¬ 
side horses to the bottom or short end of 
this equal liter, using a double tree for the 
two outside horses long enough to let Ilia 
middle horse work well. This is a simple 
inode and brings the team nearer the plow 
beam. Wo are bound to say, however, that 
it is claimed that there is a patent on this 
device. If there is wo do not know it. 
There is uo rule as to tho length a three- 
horse eveuer should be, except that it should 
be no longer than will permit three horses 
to work abreast comfortably. The hole in 
the long arm of the evener should be two- 
thirds and tho short arm one-third the 
length of tho ovener. 
food, as at that season they add very little 
to their store in hive. * 
The only remedy seems to be to Increase 
the supply of grapes and peaches, so that 
owners and bees shall have enough for both. 
Besides, bees are no more destructive to 
these fruits than wasps, hoructB or birds, 
that make you no return In miy shape, 
whilst bees change your perishable fruits 
into a delicious article of food lit for princes, 
and that will remain pure for yea rs. 
Let all fruit growers, thou, allow these 
workers a pittance of their fruits without 
grudging, and consider tho product of their 
labor as a fair compensation. Ex- 
Galliopolis, O. 
VALUE OF “FRAME” HIVES 
A WESTERN NEW YORK HARROW 
“ Daily Rural Life ” is evidently out 
of his element when he attempts bee-cul¬ 
ture. Were 1, who kuow little or nothing 
of Floriculture, to undertake the manage¬ 
ment of a green-house, with all the moduru 
impi’ovomonts, and fail to make it work to 
my satisfaction, say that my plants must 
bo too old-fashioned to thrive in this “ new¬ 
fangled ” glass-house, he could, perhaps, 
understand my reason for saying so; and 
yet, it would not necessarily bo the fault 
of the green-houso that i failed. 
Lt is just as Consistent for him, who knows 
nothing of the management of bees and 
hives, to lay all the blame, in ease of failure, 
at tho door of tho “patont bec-hive man,” 
as it would be for a man who know nothing 
of the dairy business to buy a lot of patent 
churns, put the milk in them, and expect 
them to turn out butter ready for market, 
without, any further care or attention ou 
his part. Does "Daily Rural Lifo ” pur¬ 
chase a tree or plant from a nursery-man, 
put it iuto the ground, and expect it to 
thrive aud become “a thing of beauty” 
Without attention? aud, in case he is disap¬ 
pointed, does ho attach all tho blame to tho 
nursery-man ? 
In order that he will not say that this is 
from some "patent bee-hive man,” I will 
say that I am not particularly Interested, 
directly or indirectly, in any one movable 
frame hive more than another; but I aui an 
apiarian, and can number my hives by 
scores; have also had experience with both 
the box hive aud the movable frame hive. 
And L can honestly say that without tho 
movable frame hive, bee keeping would 
never become anything more than a pastime, 
or the pro At therefrom would entirely de¬ 
pend upon " luck.” 
Now let me give the product of one small 
district in the State of New York, controll¬ 
ed by one nf our intelligent apiarians, who 
knows howto use the muck-abused “ frame” 
hives. The district controlled by his apiary 
is not, perhaps, twenty-live square miles in 
extent; that is, his bees in their flight for 
fonigt not cover a greater area than t hat. 
ft is a district, too, confessedly not the best 
in the State for the purpose. But Look at 
tho figures:—Last year ho sold 25,000 pounds 
of honey at an average of thirty cents per 
pound, giving him an income of $7,500, lie 
speaks well of the frame hive. 
I do not profess to bo one of the great 
lights in bee culture but will, at "Daily Ru¬ 
ral Life's ” suggestion, go back to ancient 
times for instructions in making hives; and 
tile first hive on record is " the carcass of a 
dead lion”—-a frame hive—the ribs consti¬ 
tuting the original comb guides. I regret, 
for the sake of accuracy, that 1 cannot, with 
any degree of confidence, assort, that the 
bees followed the guides strictly, as they 
evidently hud about tho same care ami at¬ 
tention as " Daily Rural .Life's,” and were 
doubtless "old-fashioned” bees. 
Brentwood, Tenn. \V. E. Ladd. 
Seeing in the Rural New'-Yorker of 
Jan. 27th a cut of a harrow which I think 
would not stand a theoretical or practical 
test, as it cannot follow the course indicated 
BEE N0TE8 AND QUERIES 
Extracting Honey —At tho Iowa Bee- 
Keepers’Convention, Mrs TtJPPlfitt said:— 
“1 have used the extractor on comb not a 
week old, and no comb broke down. Do 
not extract from comb containing brood, 
believing the brood to be far more valuable 
than the honey. Took from six hives 420 
pouuds of honey in a week, and at a favor¬ 
able time believe this can be repeated every 
week. Cun bettor afford to sell extracted 
honey at ten cents per pound than comb 
honey at. 25 cents. Ocnnb is of so high a value 
that wo cannot afford to sell 11 at an ordi¬ 
nary price. Some have objected to the ex¬ 
tracted honey, but. as people become ac¬ 
quainted with it they Lm.v it readily. Sells 
all she has t o sell readily, and the demuud 
is increasing.” 
Alsike Clover for an Orchard, —A. 
Wither writes:—" 1 have a small plot of 
ground, planted to trees live years ago, 
which lias been cultivated with hoed crops 
every year since planting. Last fall I 
sowed it to wheat, it being well-manured 
clay loam soil. Is i t ad visablo to sow Alsike 
clover ? I have a few boos.” In your local¬ 
ity (Niagara Co., N. Y.,) aud on your soil, 
we should think Alsike clover would do 
very well. If bee pasture is an object to 
you, and if you t hink it necessary to seed 
your young orchard, we should advise Alsike 
clover. But we would not advise you to 
take tho growth from the soil if you wuut to 
derive profit from your trees. Cut it just 
before the seed is mature, and let it lie on 
the ground. It will pay. 
by the evener, connected as it is with it, l 
herewith inclose a plan for examination 
which I think will bo readily understood. 
Tho dotted line, from the middle of the 
evener back, indicates the line of draft. 
Fig. 2 shows the coupling of the halves. Tho 
eye of tho rod, through which tho clevis 
Hisses, should fill one. and a-quarter 
ulevis. The clevis should be three 
i in length. Harrows of this descrip- 
well mado and painted, cost, here, 
$1(J. — R. L. Cubbing, Niagara Co., 
Farmers’ Heating Furnace.—In the 
Rural New-Yoricer of Feb. 17th. Joseph 
Aliien inquires flow much wood the above 
furnace (described |>y me, page 35) consumes 
per month. I cannot give any positive an¬ 
swer, because uo account has been kept; 
but I am satisfied that the amount is less 
than would be used in a common fire-place, 
and does not exceed the quantity used in 
the cook-stove, although three rooms, on 
the average, are kept at the required heat 
by it.—N. O. B., Fairfax C. 11., I 'a. 
MARKING GROUND FOR CORN 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES 
In tlie Rural New-Yorker, March 23d, 
appears an article from W. II. C., entitled 
“Making Corn Without Hoeing.” L agree 
wit h W. H. C. in tho manner of preparing 
the ground for marking; but, from experi¬ 
ence and observation, I must beg leave to 
differ with him in regard to marking. I 
think that, unless the soil is very poor, that 
four feet is quite fur enough apart for the 
rows, and 3 feet 10 inches is the most com¬ 
mon distance of marking here in Stephen¬ 
son Co., 111. As for planting corn in drills 
so as to admit of plowing but one way, 1 go 
against it, every time. 1 planted a narrow 
strip to corn, last year, and thought 1 would 
only mark one waj r , to avoid turning so 
much on short rows; but, notwithstanding 
the dry season, the weeds would grow. T 
used a live-tooth cultivator, aud double¬ 
shovel plow, to cultivate with. 
As to his method of marking, it will do 
well in a dry spring, when it is desirable to 
mark deep, in order to get the seed iuto 
moist earth; but, at any other time, it has 
two serious objections: First, where the 
marks are made so wide, if the corn is 
dropped by baud, it is very apt to be 
dropped on one side of tho center of the 
mark, thus making the rows zig-zag and 
difficult to work close to. Second, the corn 
being dropped four inches below the sur¬ 
face, does not admit of as early culture as 
when planted more shallow, as tho cultiva¬ 
tor throws the soil into the furrow, and is 
apt to cover the youug plant so deep that it 
will not again make its appearance above 
ground. 
My method of planting and cultivating 
corn, as near as circumstances will admit, is 
us follows: If on a heavy clay soil, put on 
all the manure I can in the full, whethor 
coarse or lino, and plow under at least eight 
or ten inches deep; then, in the spring, 
after sowing, go over it with a two-horse 
cultivator, and tear up the hard ground, 
and kill all the weeds that have started; 
thou cross it with the drag, and thoroughly 
pulverize—the finer the better; then mark 
both ways, if the ground is not too dry, 
with a marker, making three rows at a time, 
about two or three inches wide aud deep; 
drop Die corn exactly in the check, aud cover 
11 j inches. As soon as I can soo the rows, 1 
start the cultivator, and keep it going us 
long as the corn will admit. A. L. s. 
Winslow, 111. 
Lady Birds and Aphides. — I orna¬ 
mented the soil about my Linigtnansla 
with some dry lichens, and in a few days 
saw a family of " strangers ” among my 
Lady Birds. I fumigated the plant with 
tobacco, and this settled the domicil ques¬ 
tion for tho green ily, or Aphis, but seemed 
to be “mother's milk” to the others, as 
they increased in size and agility. I cap¬ 
tured a few, which 1 Inclose, and would like 
to know what they are. I fancied they 
were allies of the Lady Birds, from some 
observations l made, and have saved a few 
to vvatoh their habits more closely, while 
awaiting your reply, which will be lifo or 
death to them.—M rs. N. O, 
Tub strangers found among the Lady 
Birds are merely the same insect in its 
larva state. By watching Closely, you will 
soon find them putting on a different coat 
and becoming Lady Birds. They are fully 
as beneficial In destroying Aphis while in 
tho larva statu as in the imago. 
ARE CHESTER WHITES THOROUGH 
BRED 1” 
Mr. Babbitt’s example, in which he had 
an excess of white pigs in a eross-of Chester 
White and China-Poland, and which he 
claims, On account of such excess, proves 
the Chester White to be thorough-bred, 
would prove, by the same logic, that the 
China-Poland is not thorough-broil. By the 
same reasoning, in my case, in a cross of 
Chester White and Berkshire, where all of 
the pigs prove to be white, the Chester 
White must be t horough - bred and the 
Berkshire not. I do not assert that tho 
Chester Whit* is not thorough-bred (with 
some breeders I believe it is), but I do assert 
that the results of the crosses cited do not 
prove it. Mr. Babhitt'h reference (<> the 
fact that Messrs. Wood, IIicioion, Young 
and others breed Chester White pigs with 
lopped ears, only proves that they do, aud 
does not prove that no other family' exists, 
or did exist, as- 1 stated. 1 suppose the 
" Magie ” hog lias been improved since Mr. 
Harris wrote liis work, and that ho saw at 
Chicago better specimens than he bad seen 
when " Harris on Pig ” was issued. I have 
seen some very mean " Magic” hogs within 
a year — unfit to breed from — and I have 
seen some very neat ones. F. D. Curtis. 
Kirby- Homestead. 
Scale insects ou Plants.—Please give, 
if you can, the name and how to destroy 
the insect inclosed. 1 first found it on my 
red monthly rose, which I four it has de¬ 
stroyed entirely. It liaR also got on my 
Oleander and Ivy, talcing the under side of 
the leaves of these last; hut it. ia on llie 
branches and stalks of rose.— Mrs. L. II. 
Tykiiell, Iiroome Co. 
The plants are infested with what are 
called “ scale,” which is nothing more (lain 
a minute species of insect—Cocci. Syringe 
the plants with warm soapsuds—not boiling 
hot, but warm as you can bear upon your 
hands. If you can get carbolic soap, use it 
in preference to the common bar or soft 
soap; but either will do, if applied thor¬ 
oughly. It may be necessary to repeat tho 
apidloation two or three times. On Olean¬ 
ders, and such coarse plants, 1 he insects 
may Lie removed by washing the leaves and 
stems with warm soapsuds, applied with a 
soft brush. 
BEES AND GRAPES, 
In a recent number a correspondent com¬ 
plains of the destruction of his grapes by 
bees, at which you express surprise, and call 
for information. For three years past tho 
loss to fruit growers la this section, especial¬ 
ly on grapes and peaches, has been serious, 
and those who do not themselves keep bees 
are disposed to have some legislation on the 
subject, though in what shape is not clearly 
defined. Bees are a kind of stock not 
readily captured when thus trespassing, and 
it. might prove dangerous sport to attempt it. 
My crop of grapes for three years past 
lias been seriously lessened by my bees; but 
the value of honey they yield, I consider a 
full equivalent, and acquiesce with as good 
grace us possible. Early peaches suffer 
greatly from their ravages, and during last 
season I frequently observed from ten to 
fifteen bees at. work on one peach, most of 
them inside the rind, which they had per¬ 
forated in a bruised or ripe spot. As they 
work only on tho ripest and most luscious 
specimens, it becomes the more vexatious. 
Tho Catawba and Isabella seem more 
particularly adapted to this insect’s rava¬ 
ges. The Ives Seedling, and Concord from 
some cause, are not attacked, if the former 
varieties are found in the same vicinity. 
The months of August and September, in 
which our grapes and poaches ripen, are, in 
this latitude, very hot, and. as a conse¬ 
quence, " bee pasture ” scarce. Fall flowers 
yield little or no honey, clover and other 
grasses killed by the heat, leaving fruits as 
the only resource for their daily supply of 
Apple-Twig Borer.— J wish to know, 
through ( lie Rural New-Yorkfr. what it 
is that, is boring the limbs iff my- apple trees. 
I set them last spring, and they have made 
a good growth. Some insect has attacked 
thorn and is likely to ruin my orchard. If 
you know a remedy it would be thankfully 
received. I send you two of the rascals in 
a piece of limb.— M. M. Noyes, Osage Co., 
Kansas. 
The insect la the well known Apple-twig 
Borer (liastriehua bicuudatus of Say.) It 
attacks the young twigs just above tho 
buds, boring inward to the pith and thence 
downward. They evidently bore these 
holes for food, as we are not aware of any 
one fin ding the eggs or larva in the burrows. 
Wo do not know of any better remedy than 
to examine tho trees, cuttiug off all infested 
twigs, and killiug the insects found. 
Swine in tho Country.—The monthly 
Statistical Report of the Department of 
Agriculture shows that there has been a 
decrease in the number of swine in the 
Eastern States, Maryland, Louisiana and 
California, while tho Southern States ap¬ 
pear to be giving mure attention to the pro¬ 
duction of pork, and a marked increase of 
numbers is manifest in the Western States. 
This Increase is thus distributed: Nebras¬ 
ka, 35 per cent; Kansas, 25; Iowa, 16; 
Missouri, 15; Illinois, 7; Indiana, G; Ken¬ 
tucky, 6. The value of hogs has decreased. 
The average value in the pork producing 
States for 1872, as compared with 1871, is as 
follow?: Kentucky, 1872, 33.55o5.71; 1871, 
$3.65a 8.30. Ohio, 1872, $3.93a9.07; 1871,80.20 
a 12.97. Michigan, 1872, ?3.54n*8.06; 1871, 
$5.39a 13.31. Indiana, 1872, 82.98a6.79; 1871, 
*t.72a10.01. Illinois, 1872. $3.78a7.48; 1871, 
85.79a 12.71. Wisconsin, 1872, S3.51u7.ll; 1871, 
SG.28a 12.91. Minnesota. 1873, $4.040 8,04; 1871, 
85.05a 11.29. Iowa, 1872, 83.71a7.9l; 1871, 
85.28al2.79. Missouri, 1872, *2.1«a4.7»; 1S7I, 
83.37ft7.28. Kansas, 1872, *4.27a7.25; 1871, 
S6.93a 14.73. The minimum ligures each year 
are for hogs under, and the maximum for 
those over, one year old. 
ECONOMICAL NOTES, 
Borers in Hin-Oak.—I herewith fiend 
you two borers which 1 obtained from a 
small pin-oak, about four inches in diame¬ 
ter. Are they both of the same species, and 
the common borer that is so destructive to 
our apple trees?—M. Hunger, Xenia , III. 
The borers are the larvae of a much larger 
beetle than either of the two most com¬ 
monly found infesting apple trees. As 
neither of the borers were fully grown, it 
would be difficult to name them, although 
both are evidently the same species. There 
are hundreds of different species of wood- 
borers. Some infest one species of tree, aud 
some another, while a few attack trees be¬ 
longing to widely different genera. 
Three - Ilorso Evener,—Can some of 
your readers tell me what length to make 
a three-liorse evener, and what distance to 
bore the holes apart so that each horse shall 
do an equal amount of work?— R. Hall. 
One of the best cheap devices for hitching 
three horses abreast wo have ever seeu is 
this:—Take a piece of two by four or two 
by live scantling and bore a hole near each 
end, as for a double tree. The piece need 
not be over nine to twelve inches long. 
Then bore a hole one-third tho length from 
one end and two-thirds from tho other and 
