SChc |lpi;u’ian. 
BEE NOTES AND QUERIES. 
In h recent issue of the Rural New- 
Yorker was an article on honey-producing 
plants. Being an apiarian, to a limited ex¬ 
tent, and having produced many plants of 
different varieties for my bees to gather 
honey from, and having eagerly watched 
the busy w'brkers in their meanderings in 
search of honey, I am led to give the read¬ 
ers of the Apiarian Department the results 
of my observation and experiments. 
The first food in the year carried into the 
hive is unbolted rye Hour, or wheat flour 
makes a pretty good equivalent, if mixed 
with sawdust to prevent the bees getting 
buried in it. This stimulates early breed¬ 
ing. After the Hour the bees work, some 
on willows and maples, and collect cement 
from the balm of Gilead, but comparatively 
no work is done until t he apple trees burst 
their fruit buds and expand their blossoms. 
It is then t hat the gatherer* of the liquid 
sweets display their most prominent char¬ 
acteristic to I he best advant age; and for tho 
past three years this has been the principal 
honey season nf the year. During June and 
July a largo amount of honey is obtained 
from white clover; but during the last two 
seasons the severe and protracted drouths 
have cut very short t his source of food for 
the models of industry. When oiroum- 
st ancon are auspicious this is the main honey 
season. 
After the llowers of white clover change 
from pink to chalky whit eness, thence to a 
dull brown, the main dependence is sweet 
mignonette, and I have found this to bo the 
only variety of plants worthy of cultivation 
for the secretion of honey. My somewhat 
extended experience convincingly proves to 
me that buckwheat is of no value t<> hoes in 
this vicinity, and the same is true of catnip, 
mustard and gulden rod. Sweet alyssum 
takes rank next to mignonette, and is pref¬ 
erable to the three plants next previously 
mentioned. 
The bloom of apple troes has been very 
full and of long duration, similar to that of 
1870; consequently the store of honey has 
largely increased for the past three weeks, 
and, with a favorable season, the crop of 
apples, and honey from their blooms, will 
nearly equal that of 1870, a. rt. d, 
Pittsfield, N. H„ .June 5. 
Fertilizing Italian Queens.—An On¬ 
ondaga Co, N. Y., apiarian says.—“ I have 
tried many different ways to get my Queens 
fertilized by Italian drones, and 1 can say 
1 have had good success in one way, and 
never failed when I have tried it in a full 
stock of bees. I select a stock with plenty 
of the best drones and fifteen or twenty 
rods from any other stock and as soon as 
the queen hatches, J clip one wing, raise a 
bed of sawdust three or four feet square, lay 
on a good broad bottom board, and set my 
hive on so that she can crawl back when she 
comes out. I have tried queens in this way 
for three seasons and have never lost one in 
full stocks, and the queens were all fertil¬ 
ized and lay first rate. A queen bee can be 
introduced from any stock and thus pre¬ 
vent in-and-in breeding.” 
Transferring Bees.— B. C. French in 
Bee Journal says:—“Here is my plan of 
transferring. Blow smoke in the entrance 
—invert the hive—place a thin cloth over it, 
to prevent the bees coming out, and rap on 
the hive for two or three minutes. The 
bees will fill themselves and gather at one 
corner of the cloth. Now take off one side 
of the hive and remove one card of brood, 
fit it in a frame and hang it in the new hive. 
Take the blanket with the bees that have 
gathered and cover the new hive; then 
turn the old hive down so the entrances of 
the two hives come together, rap on the old 
hive, and the bees will travel on the double- 
quick. I transferred tweuty-four stocks 
this summer without the loss of a queen. 
Reports OH the Condition of Bees.— 
A correspondent suggests that our corres¬ 
pondents who keep bees will benefit each 
other if they furnish the Rural a statement 
of the condition of the bees, and the 
probable honey produced in their respect¬ 
ive neighborhoods. All right; we will 
print them if you send them on. 
To Cure Bee Stings.—B. R. Hudson 
S ays: “Take leaves of cross-weed, green; 
beat up fine—put in a kettle of water and 
soda, so as to form a soft poultice. Apply 
HONEY-PRODUCING PLANTS. 
to the wound and it will cure it in a short 
tune.” 
How to Distinguish Drone Comb.— 
Will some Bee-man tell me, through the 
Rural, how I may know the drone comb 
from the comb containing the woi’king 
bees?— Robert S. Gardner. 
Book on Bees.—Please toll me the name 
of a reliable and practical book on the man¬ 
agement of bees and bee hives.—R aleigh. 
Quinby’s Beekeeper’s Guide. 
Book List. 
See our 
IThc illinenarcl. 
THE COMING VINTAGE OF CALIFORNIA. 
Some weeks since it was believed that t he 
late and unusually severe frosts had seri¬ 
ously damaged the grape crop over a large 
portion of the State, reducing the estima¬ 
ted vintage by thirty to forty per cent. 
Reoent investigation, made by a leading 
4;u;m (irqoivomu. 
SAWING DOWN TREES. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of June Tilth 
Frank Batchelor of Michigan asks how 
to saw down trees without injuring them. 
T have had considerable experience in saw¬ 
ing down white ash and hickory timber in 
the old Bay State, and this was my way of 
doing it:--First, ascertain which way the 
tree leans, or is likely to fall, and commence 
sawing on that side; as soon as the saw is 
in sufficient depth to allow it, drive a wedge, 
to prevent pinching, ami continue tho saw¬ 
ing until tho t ree is cut a litt le more than 
half off; then drive a wedge on each sido as 
near tho saw as possible, and takeout the 
first wedge; the tree can then be cut off be¬ 
fore fulling, and Urns prevent splitting up 
and wastiug tho timber. 
If tho tree should lean considerably, it 
might bo necessary to let, the first wedgo re¬ 
main in until t he tree falls, Imt if it stands 
nearly erect, it should not be. allowed to re¬ 
main, as it might throw it over the wrong 
way. I once sawed down a tree that was so 
well balanced that it was neocssary to push 
it over after taking out the saw; think if it 
had stood mi the prairie the wind would 
have done that part of the job. A. If all, 
Waterloo, Iowa. 
I notice an article in the Rural of June 
”9, from F. Batchelor, asking information 
about sawing down timber for saw logs, so 
as not t<> split the timber. Now, Mr. Ed¬ 
itor, 1 should have thought that tho results 
of the first attempt of Mr. Batchelor 
would have taught him how to have avoided 
splitting in tho second attempt. Wo will 
select our tree and decide the way we wish 
to fall it (being certain it will fall that way, 
but that it does not lean too heavy); thon 
go on the under Hide, and saw in from fi to 10 
inches, owing to size of tree; then drive a 
wedge in the saw surf; then go around on 
the upper side of the tree, and commence 
from 4 to 10 inches higher up, and saw until 
the tree falls. With a little experience you 
will avoid waste of timber.—N oah Mille- 
son. 
In answer to Frank Batchelor, about 
sawing down timber, 1 would say he must 
be very green in the business. 1 have sawed 
down a great many hundred thousand feet 
of timber, both pine and oak, and never had 
but oue tree split, 1 think. F. B. must have 
used his wedges too freely. I have never 
found it necessary to use wedges on more 
than one tree in one hundred. Tf F. B. 
would come out hero in old Steuben Co., I 
would show him how to saw down timber 
with a great saving of time and timber— 
much better than I can explain on paper, 
for I am no writer; but twenty years’ expe¬ 
rience has taught me how to saw down tim¬ 
ber.— G. D. Rood, Painted Post,, N. Y. 
CompoBting Sorghum Bagasse.—We 
have made good manure from sorghum ba¬ 
gasse by laying a thick layer of muck ( or 
even loam will auswer, but muck or leaves, 
is best) over the space upon which the com¬ 
post is to be piled, then a layer of bagasse, 
then add quicklime in quantity sufficient to 
incorporate the bagasse, thoroughly with it, 
thou a thick layer of muck and so alterna¬ 
ting muck, bagasse and lime, covering tho 
whole with muck, decayed wood, chip ma¬ 
nure, or oven clayey loam. In about four 
weeks pitch it over, beginning at one side 
and mixing it thoroughly. “It will quickly 
decompose and make excellent manure. 
The muck will absorb the gases which es¬ 
cape from the decomposing bagasse, tho de¬ 
composition being hastened by the quick¬ 
lime. This answers the question of our Au¬ 
gusta, Ga., correspondent. 
Ox-Yokes,— F. H. Winiker asks some 
one to give him directions for making ox- 
yokes for 1, 2 and 3 year old oxen. What 
should be the length, breadth, etc., to make 
them fit properly. He also asks for direc¬ 
tions for breaking oxen. 
D INNER-TABLE Fr.oWKIt VASE.—[Sen pllgo47.) 
firm engaged in the wine business in this 
city, made It almost certain that the vin¬ 
tage—though somewhat reduced by the 
frosts in particular localities—will be con¬ 
siderably greater than that of 1871, and will 
probably foot up 8,1)00,001) gallons, not tak¬ 
ing into account t he amount of grapes con¬ 
sumed in brandy manufacture, which will 
be considerable in spite of the burdensome 
taxes Imposed upon tho business by the 
government. With increased facilities for 
handling the wine, more thorough knowl¬ 
edge of the business, and more comploto 
system in all its details, t here is, year by 
year, a marked improvement in the quality 
of our wines, and a. steady increase in the 
demand, both at home and abroad, and as a 
matter of course an increase in the prices 
realized by the producers. The vintage of 
1872 will undoubtedly be the largest, yet 
produced in California, and will bring more 
than a proportionately large sum of money 
into the State. The demand for pure Cali¬ 
fornia wines is increasing more rapidly in 
the States of the Mississippi Valley than in 
those on the Atlantic seaboard, and our 
Basket with Fern—[S ee page 41.] 
wine dealers are enjoying quite a profitable 
trade with the West .—San Francisco Bul¬ 
letin. 
-♦-*-*- 
VINEYARD NOTES. 
Summer Layering of Grapes. — The 
Rural World says: — Summer layers are 
always questionable in view of health and 
profit. To gain any important point, it 
should now be done. Although we believe 
it is paying dourly for tho plants, still it. 
may, under circumstances, be necessary. 
Of course the canes have been selected long 
ago; the shoots have now pushed; a nico 
trench is made, with pins to peg down the 
eanps; a wire should be tightly turned be¬ 
tween every shoot; this will cause the cane 
to throw out, roots, and more and better 
furnished plants will lie the result. Have a 
clean, nice, firm trench ; lay in the cane with 
shoots; peg down or lay on rooks; pinch out 
the point of shoot, and cover thinly but 
firmly with good soil. What is made in 
plants, is taken from the fruit or vitality of 
the parent plant. 
Rabbits in Vineyards.—Last Spring 1 
planted out about one hundred grape vines 
—the greater part of them eight or ten rods 
from the house. During last Winter they 
were all out off by those pests of farmers 
ami gardeners in this section—t he rabbits. 
Will you, or some of your correspondents, 
please inform mo what to do to prevent a 
a repetition of their depredations. Ru- 
RA LIST.” 
Plant some sweet corn near your vine¬ 
yard, and next fall oat it up and leave it in 
the stack whore grown. The rabbits will 
eat. the corn in preference to tho grapes, 
and if you feel disposed to catch them in 
traps or shoot, the rascals, you will know 
where t hey are to be found. 
Vines near Ht. Helena, Cal.—St. Hele¬ 
na is about 58 miles from San Francisco—a 
beautiful little village. Right about it are 
vineyards which, according to a statement 
in a recent California paper, contain 082,000 
vines ranging from one to ten yours old— 
most of them being over three years. The 
varieties of grapes best adapted to the lo¬ 
cality' are named (in the order or excellence) 
as JohannIaberg and Franklin of the Rol¬ 
ling variety; Black Malvoiso and Zinflndel 
for red wine; Muscatel and the varieties of 
the Chas^plas. Catawbas are being planted 
for wine-making purposes. 
Summer Pruning.— Geo. Husman of 
Missouri says:—“In Hummer pruning we 
take little stock; close pruning in the Win¬ 
ter is bad, but Hummer pruning, or what is 
practiced in its stead, foliage murdering— 
is an absolute iniquity. Give pleuty of 
scope to tho vine; use no unnatural checks, 
and health, fruitfulness and longevity will 
lie the. result.” 
Material for Tying Vines.—The Rural 
World says“ Willow is admirable for first 
or old wood ties; also, gunny sack thread, 
rye straw (with grave doubts), the yucca 
.filamentOHO, seem to do well. Pawpaw and 
linn bark are-excellent, but only adapted to 
some localities.” 
®he (Burden. 
GARDENERS’ NOTES. 
Fruit on Melon Vines.—As to the can- 
telope variety of melons, cucumbers, squash, 
and particularly water melon, do the lateral 
branches of t he vines bear the fruit, or is it 
only the main stem of the vine? Does it 
keep the vines bearing longer and make the 
fruit larger and better to cover the main 
stems of the vines about, two feet from the 
root, so that they mav take root again ?—Ax 
Agent, Hickman, ity. 
The vines named produce fruit on the 
lateral as well as main stem. Where the 
s'easoti is quite extended there is an advan¬ 
tage to be gained by layering the main stem, 
as its tendency is to extend the bearing 
season. At the North, where tlm seasons 
are short, we find that checking the growth 
by pinching off the ends of tho vines to be 
an advantage, as it hastens the maturity of 
the fruit. In your climate, and further 
South, an opposite plan may be preferable. 
Groundsel.—Will some of your many 
readers be so kind as to inform mo what 
Groundsel is ? I have tried to find out with¬ 
out success.— Dollje. 
It is an imported weed, the botanical 
name of which is Seneein vttUjarls. The 
name i« from tho Latin Sene.e, an old man, 
the pappus succeeding tho (lowers resem¬ 
bling a beard or hair. The old botanist De 
Candolle says that it follows Europeans, 
and wherever they remain long enough to 
oultivatothe earth, t hen t he Groundsel soon 
appears. _ 
A Well-Preserved Squash.—I send you 
a Turban Squash. I have also Hubbard 
squashes yet perfectly sound. I find no 
trouble in keeping either tho Hubbard or 
Turban all Winter.— Mark Wilson, Oil 
City. Pa., June, 1872. 
The squash arrived in good condition and 
sound as when first picked from tho vine. 
Tho Turban must either bo a good keeper 
or you have an excellent plan for keeping; 
perhaps both ; please give us tho particulars 
for the benefit of our many readers, who 
would like to know how it is done. 
