90° in il»e shade, with a hot wind from the 
south, makes vegetation of all kinds droop 
fearfully. Strawberries are not more than 
half their usual size, and their numbers fear¬ 
fully small. Even the weeds are dying for 
want of moisture, and this is a consolation to 
those who have to wofk under a broiling 
sun and in dusty soil. 
errsenutn 
APPLE AND PEACJH BORERS; 
Method of Prevention their Huvaues. 
Tub inquiry of F. Suepard of Missouri, 
and the reply thereto in the Rural Nkw- 
Yorkeb of May 6, induce me to add a few 
remarks on apple and peach borers and 
their prevention, which 1 think will he oi 
service to many orchavdists: 
in the first place. J would remark that the 
apple tree borer found the most injurious in 
the Southwestern States, and doubtless the 
one referred to by Mr. Suepakd, is not the 
insect known by litis name in the Eastern 
and Northern sections of the country, and 
described in most, of the books and periodi¬ 
cals—the Saperda bivittata— but one of the 
ftiipwti8 family, named (Jhrysobothm femo¬ 
ral". The larva of this insect differs from 
that of the Saperda in its form, being more 
flattened and its bead mueh larger, so that 
it is commonly called the Hammer-headed 
grub or borer—see articles on this subject 
iu tin- Frq^tieal Entomologist, Vol. 2 ; also, 
figures and descriptions by Mr. Hath von, 
In’ Patent Office Report for 1801. 
In my residence of twenty-live years in 
Central Ohio, and frequent visits to adjoin¬ 
ing States, my attention was often called to 
the. ravages of these borers, and 1 very sel¬ 
dom found specimens of the Saperda west, 
pwriittt 
HOW TO DISTINGUISH A QUEEN BEE 
M. Cole asks how he may find the queen 
bee in artificial sw arming—her size and color. 
His hives are not movable. How shall be 
know when the queen is in anew hive when 
not found ? There are three classes of bees 
in every hive—the queen, drones and not It¬ 
ers. The queen(sceillustra- . _ 
tion) is not so bulky as (lie X / 
drone, but lias a longer body 
and of a more tapering, or NJjSy' 
sugar-loaf form than that of 
a worker bee. She has a / \ 
wasp-like appearance. Her J mf \ 
wings arc much shorter, in Hr 
proportion, Iban those of the queen bee. 
drone or worker. The under part of bet 
body is of a golden color, and the upper part 
is usually darker than that ol other bees. 
Her motions arc generally slow, though she 
can, and does, when she. pleases, move with 
quickness. So much as to size and color. 
The Drone Bees (see illustration) are re¬ 
garded as the males. They arc much larger 
and shorter than either the queen or the 
bmiss for horses as well as cows. \ia> 
few persons appear to know the value ot 
cornstalks, or the number of tons of excel¬ 
lent fodder that can be grown on an acre. 
Corn, when grown thickly, makes quite dif¬ 
ferent fodder than when planted in hill, not, 
being so coarse and woody, and as a supply 
can be produced e.veu after the hay crop 
fails, there is really no excuse for a short 
supply next winter. 
May 25—The first ripe strawberries pick¬ 
ed to-day. Nicanor is first among the newer 
sorts, although the Wilson was a little ahead 
when in bloom, hut has dropped behind in 
ripening. The Nicanor this year is lully op 
to the little Jersey scarlet, which has hereto¬ 
fore been ahead of a dozen other sorts which 
are considered very early. 
May 20—This long term of dry weather has 
waked up the insect world, and butterflies, 
moths and beetles are out in full force. This 
evening I opened the'door of my office and 
placed a light upon the table, as an invita¬ 
tion to all the night-flying mollis and beetles 
j to give me a call. They accepted it, and lot 
portsnuw 
A CHEAP TRAP, 
In a late Rural New-Yorker, not now 
by me, you gave a drawing of a trap | We 
rc-produCe it from Rural, Nov. o, 18i 0.- 
Ens.] some of the boys sent you. Now, I 
am rather an old boy, hut still have a hoy s 
bean, and as 1 think of the many little fel¬ 
lows who will hanker after that trap, and 
yet cannot procure the means ot buying that 
useless steel spring; or if they have the 
of a ituraUst 
DAILY EURAL LIFE. 
means, may live too remote from the black¬ 
smith’s shop, or perhaps would rather sub¬ 
scribe for the Rural, I will tell them to 
make the box as described, only have a slide 
door in one end, made by cutting a groove 
for it, to run in, or nailing on elects to an¬ 
swer the same purpose; place a small post 
on the top of the trap, with a deep notch in 
the upper end; attach a lever to the upper 
end of the trap door; with a string pass it 
over the little post on top, and let the oilier 
end catch in the ratchet, as in the trap be- 
qneen the last ot .imy or msi 
the bees died with old age. When bees die 
with old age, and flip weather will permit, 
they always leave the hive, before they perish. 
A second or third swarm frequently have 
from two to seven queens; but they are all 
hut one disposed of before any me teitilizcd. 
There is only one fertile queen tolerated inn 
hive, unless the workers are about to super¬ 
sede their old one; then sometim es the old 
one is left till after the young one begins to 
M. Doolittle, Borodino, JS. i., 
April, 1871. 
TiauixlVirinK Bees. 
Noticing an article in the Rural Neav- 
Yorkek. page 298, on changing bees Iroin 
