both wings and one leg would not injure the 
queen’s capacity. 
Mr. Alexander said he had no doubt that 
the bees perceived the deformat ion, and were 
led to supersede her. He thought, also, that 
continued clipping might, after generations, 
affect the insect. He thought there were 
sensations located in the wings, that bees 
communicated by the noise made by them ; 
but convenience calls for clipping, nev¬ 
ertheless. 
Mr. Doolittle thought he could prove the 
ability of clipped queens. He had clipped off 
Plumb’s Cider, concerning which there was 
inquiry for information, the reports nearly 
all being very favorable. Westfield Seek-no- 
further, to which some objected, and Ben 
Davis, about which there was a long discus¬ 
sion and many unfavorable reports, some of 
them very emphatic. It was admitted by a 
small majority. 
Five, Hardiest Varieties.— Tetofski, Duch¬ 
ess of Oldenburg, Haas, Plumb’s Cider, 
Fameuse. 
General List. —Tetofski, Duchess of Olden¬ 
burg, Haas, Plumb’s Cider, Fameuse, Wal- 
FERNS FOR HANGING BASKETS, 
FRUITS FOR KANSAS 
Please give me the names of the best 
ferus for basket culture—1 mo leaf, trailing 
sorts 3 How high does the tree fern, Somario 
Gibb a grow, and what is the form of the 
plant 3—A., Greenville, Pa. 
Most of the Adianlums and Pterin ; gome 
of the HavaJUdS are low-growing, but cannot 
be really considered trailing species. Take, 
for instance, the Niphiolipsis exalt atm for 
the center ; Lycopodium scandius to climb 
over the handles and hang down, and dwarf 
Lycopodiums to form a bed or carpet among 
these, will furnish a hanging basket most 
elegantly. Lomurta Gibba is a tree fern, but 
not so graceful as some of the Dic.ksunias , 
Cyathcas and Alaophilas , but, is a fine spe¬ 
cies, well worth cultivating. The fronds are 
rather stiff—not feathery, but pinn ate. We 
do not know how tall this fern grows in its 
native country, but the largest specimen we 
have seen is not. two feet high. 
Tn the spring lam going to set out about 
500 apple trees, about 100 pear, also cherry, 
peach and plum—about 1,000 in all. What 
varieties and in what proportion would you 
advise ? I also want to set out grape 
vines, currants, raspberries and strawber¬ 
ries. What are the best varieties ? 
Fort Scott. Kansas. J. 5. EMMERT. 
We may not be able to give you any better 
advice than the nurserymen and orchardists 
of your own State ; in fact, we shall rely 
mainly upon their experience in replying to 
the questions asked. As to the number of 
each variety you should be the best judge, 
for we neither know your individual taste nor 
for what particular purpose the fruit is to be 
produced. If it is to be grown for market, 
then you may have to consider profits in¬ 
stead of your own taste in the matter. One 
person will give more for a sweet apple than 
an acid one, while another thinks none of 
the sweet sorts worth cultivating. Then, 
again, we may be compelled to plant those 
varieties which will succeed, leaving our own 
taste out of the question. Avoid the fax 
too common error of planting too many 
trees and too great a variety. Put out only 
as many trees and fruit-bearing plants as you 
are certain of being able to take care of in 
years to come, remembering that the pur¬ 
chasing and planting is only the beginning of 
the great battle to be waged agaiust weeds 
and insects. 
The following twenty varieties of apples 
are known to succeed to Kansas and adjoin¬ 
ing States: Autumn Bough, Ben Davis, 
Bethlehemito, Danvers, Winter Sweet, Cogs¬ 
well, Duchess of Oldeuburgb, Early Red 
Margaret, Early Joe, Early Pennoek, Fall 
Pippin, Fall Wine. Fameuse, Gilpin, Golden 
Russett, Gravenstein, Hawthornden, Lowell, 
McAfTee'.- Nonsuch, Pryor's Red, Rawle’s 
Janet. Of course there are many other good 
sorts which might be added to the above list, 
but we should be satisfied to have plenty of 
those named. 
01 Pours there are innumerable varieties— 
hundreds, in fact, that are really excellent; 
but for a hundred trees we would name the 
following : Bartlett, Beurre d’Anjou, Doy¬ 
enne Boussock, Duchess d’Angouleme, Flem¬ 
ish Beauty, Howell, Lawrence, Seekel, Shel¬ 
don, and one or two trees of Vicar of Wink- 
field, for cooking or eating, iu case of failure 
of the other late sorts. 
In regard to Peaches we have our doubts 
as to whether they will be a success in your 
locality or not; but you might try the fol¬ 
lowing : Crawford’s Early, Crawford’s Late, 
Columbia, Early Tillotson, George the 4th, 
Gros Migtioune, Hale’s Early; also, try a 
few seedlings, as they are occasionally more 
hardy tban the improved sorts. 
Probably you will experience very little 
difficulty in growing Plum trees, and, until 
the plum cui 'ullo reaches your locality, none 
in regard to fruit. The following half dozen 
are superb sorts : Blceolcer’s Gage, Colum¬ 
bia, Duane’s Purple, General Hand, Jefferson, 
Prince’s Yellow Gage. 
Of Cherries, the Dukes and Morellos will 
be far more likely to succeed with you than 
the Bigarreaus ; therefore we name varieties 
of these two classes: Archduke, Belle de 
Choisy, Early Richmond, May Duke, Com¬ 
mon Morello. 
With Raspberries it is more difficult to 
make a selection for Kansas, but almost any 
of the Black Caps will doubtless succeed if 
well mulched in summer to prevent injury 
from droutlis. Philadelphia and old Purple 
Cane are very good sorts, with dark, reddisn, 
purple fruit. We should place more reliance 
upon these than any of the foreign varie¬ 
ties. or American seedlings raised therefrom. 
Cumberland and Turner's seedling are very 
good native red varieties, quite hardy and 
prolific. Kirtland is also a variety worthy of 
trial in localities where the more popular 
large sorts do not succeed. 
Wilson's Albany, Charles Downing, Green 
Prolific, and Seth Boyden Strawberries are 
sorts that ought to satisfy any reasonable 
man, and where they will not succeed there 
will be little use of trying any others. 
ABOUT SPORTING GERANIUMS 
An acquaintance and myself have made a 
bet respecting tricolored geraniums, which 
wc put to you for a decision Whether or 
not, when bedded out, the plants will revert, 
to plain green leaves—such, for instance, as 
the leaves of a Mad. Lemoine, fl. pi. By the 
tricolors wo would mention Pollock and 
Italia TJnita as samples.— E. s. C. 
We have submitted your question to one 
of our most experienced and intelligent flor¬ 
ists, who replies ns follows Pelargoniam 
bicolor and tricolor are distinct species from 
the Cape of Good Hope. The first was im¬ 
ported into England iu 1773 and the latter in 
1791. But the Golden-variegated (so called 
G. tricolor) are descended from the old Pe¬ 
largonium Zonalo, through Cerese Unique 
and Commander-In-Chief. The Silver Varie¬ 
gated (so called Silver Tricolor) are descended 
from the old Pelargonium inqilinltns through 
Kinghorn’s attraction. I have never seen 
the leaves of Mrs. Pollock turn green when 
bedded out, but when fully exposed to the 
sim it turns a sickly yellow, losing all its 
beauty. The same may be suid of Silver 
Variegated sorts. I have also noticed that 
these varieties, when planted out, are much 
disposed to throw up snoots from the base, 
and t hese shoots ore, in nine cases out of ten, 
plain green. Pelargonium Zonal© is really 
•the old-fashioned Horseshoe geranium ; and 
Pelargonium Inquinans ia the oldest variety 
of which we have any account with white on 
its leaves.” 
went, with the swarm. lie then clipped off 
every wing entirely. He had ninety queens 
now without a vestige of a wing, and he could 
say do not be afraid to clip off the wings. 
Mr. Heatherington was certain that no 
queen with a wing clipped could light with a 
swarm upou a tree. 
Mr. Doolittle had known of cases like that 
instanced by Mr. Bettsinger. 
Mr. Nellis thought even a little of the wing 
would retard the flight; he could not compre¬ 
hend how a queen with a whole wing gone 
could go with a swarm. 
Mr. Quinby told of a case in winch a swarm 
went out with a young queen, and left the 
clipped queen in the hive. Perhaps some of 
the contradictions may be accounted for by 
the fact of new queens. 
Mr. Doolittle said a queen after ridding 
herself of her eggs—became as slim as a 
working bee—could fly with one wing gone. 
Mr. El wood claimed that clipping off all 
the wings subjected them to hazard in fall¬ 
ing, as a queen with part of a wing gone 
could not fall as hard as one with all gone. 
He thought clipping one wing on each side 
of the body might balance tlic insect and 
enable it to fly. 
Mr. Heatherington thought a clipped queen 
most likely to drop from a cluster in moving. 
Mr. Bettsinger remarked that black bees 
were more liable to drop than the Italians, 
Italians cling closely to the comb. He ex¬ 
periments continually and has tried to see 
whether the clipping injured the queen. The 
wings are to bear the body through the air. 
They can not see them in the hive. They 
eanuot make a noise with them; they can¬ 
not do anything with wiugs but go through 
the air. The queen’s business is in the hive, 
wings are of no Use there. 
HOW I MADE BARREN CHERRY TREES 
FRUITFUL. 
In the Rural New-Yorker for Jan. 3d, I 
saw an article headed “Barren Cherry 
Trees.” I have taken the liberty to reply, 
relating a little incident in my own expe¬ 
rience. Four years ago my husband bought 
a farm about four miles from the village. It 
was an old farm, and most of the fruit trees 
were very old, particularly the cherry trees. 
The first two seasons wc lived there we had 
no cherries j the trees would blossom very 
full and there would be penty of green cher¬ 
ries ; but these would keep dropping off until 
there would be but few left, on the trees, 
scarcely enough to make a pie, anil these 
would be so small und so wormy as to not be 
worth the picking, whilst there would be 
more Cherry Birds and Robins than cherries 
on the trees. 
The third spring I went one day, near the 
last of March, to my pickle barrel in the cel¬ 
lar to get some cueii mber pickles to freshen. 
A long winter’s using had lowered my pick¬ 
les, leaving a large quantity of brine in the 
barrel. I wished to get rid of the superfluous 
brine, but did not like to throw it away. The 
outside cellar door opened upou that portion 
of the grounds where the cherry trees wore, 
and it occurred to my mind to throw it on 
the trees ; knowing they were worthless as 
they were, I thought if it killed them it was 
no matter. I carried out panful after panful 
of the brine and threw it on the trunks and 
around the roots of the cherry trees. 
The result was, that season we had an 
abundance of very nice large cherries—pulpy 
and luscious—all we wanted for our own use, 
and we gave away a large quantity. We 
would pick over a patent pailful at a lime, 
without finding a wormy one umong then:. 
Our neighbors wondered why we should have 
such an abundance of fine cherries when 
theirs were so wormy and so few. Their 
trees were thronged with birds, whilst cur 
trees were unmolested. From this cureless 
experiment I learned two facts :—First, that 
salt is good for cherry trees, destroying the 
cherry posts and imparting vitality to the 
roots. Second, that birds, which some look 
upon as robbers, only visit cherry trees in 
search of the worms they find in cherries. 
Last spring we sold the farm und came back 
to the village, so 1 do not know whether the 
cheny trees were as productive the past sea¬ 
son os the season previous or not. 
Foiestvllld, Chant. Co., N. Y. Mrs, E. E. B. 
CLIPPING THE WINGS OF QUEENS 
The Northeastern Bee Keepers’ Association 
recently discussed the question “ Doe3 the 
clipping the wings of the queen injure her 
capacity for usefulness ?” 
P. H. Elwood had never observed that 
clipping properly done had injured the queen. 
If the clipping is too close he had known the 
workers to kill her. 
Secretary Nellis asked how short to clip. 
Dir. Elwood thought one wing two-thirds 
off was best. 
Mr. Quinby stated the object of clipping 
was to prevent her from flying when the 
swarm comes from the hive, and without 
the queen the swarm will not depart. The 
question ia, Is the queen rendered less fertile 
by the clipping ? 
Mr. Nellis said in the Louisville meeting 
a member said that several of the powers of 
the bee were concentrated in the wing, such 
as breathing, &e. Mr. Nellis thought the 
position not well taken, for he had forty 
stocks with clipped wings in his yard, and 
they had been serviceable as usual. 
Mr. Doolittle of Onondaga asked how 
wings were clipped, and what with ? 
Dir. Nellis had cut off both wings and not 
injured the insect; that he had cut the four 
wings, two on each. These he clipped with 
a small pair of lady’s scissors. 
Dir. Vandervoot l had dipped queens for 
fifteen years, and never saw that there was 
injury by it, except where he had cut too 
short, so as to cut the bone. 
Captain Heatherington has practiced clip- Taming Bees. —J. Carroll, in the Queens- 
ping some time. He has had three and four lander for Sept. 13, says, in answer to an iu- 
hundred clipped queens at once. Clipped j quiry, that it is the fault of the queen bee 
queens are move likely to be superseded. He that some colonies are crosser than others, 
thought this was done because the queen was “ Whenever we find a stock that is at all in- 
regarded as a cripple by the other bees. But clinod to be vicious, we just take out the 
he should practice clipping, nevertheless. queen, pinch her head, and supply her place 
Mr. Doolittle was certain that clipping of with one from a mild colon}-.” 
WISCONSIN FRUIT LIST 
The Wisconsin State Hort. Society at its 
recent meeting adapted the following lists 
of fruit, which we find in the Western Farm¬ 
er, which says :—From lack of time no action 
was taken concerning lists c f Poui-s, Cherries 
or Plums. Iu the first list of apples, hardiness 
was the only point considered. In the Gen¬ 
eral List the varieties adopted were admitted 
with little question except in the case of 
