CORE’S  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
^l)c  gipiiuian. 
WINTERING  BEES  IN  THE  NORTH, 
!^Ie.  John  Voioht,  of  Brown  Co.,  Wis.,  ^vritG8 
to  the  Bee  Keeper’s  Magazine,  of  liis  plan  for 
wintering  in  the  cold  latitude  of  Northern  Wis¬ 
consin:  “  I  had  no  straw  handy,  for  I  am  not  a 
farmer,  but  I  had  aomo  very  drj-  hay.  I  put  one 
foot  of  this  hay  on  the  floor  of  niy  bee-house,  sot 
my  hives  ono  foot  from  tlio  wall  and  about  eight 
inches  apart ;  the  holes  in  the  honey  boards  I 
loft  ojxn.  I  filled  the  caps  with  hay  and  put 
them  on  again,  leaving  the  entrances  w  ide  open. 
I  then  packed  hay  behind  and  between  the  hives, 
and  at  last  I  put  about  one  foot  of  hay  on  top  of 
all  of  them,  so  that  nothing  hut  tho  front  could 
be  seeiL  .\t*  every  one  IcnioVB.  wro  had  aner/reme- 
ly  cold  winb'r,  and  for  a  time  I  lost  all  hope  of 
over  seeing  my  hoi^s  fly  in  tho  yard  again. 
'•  .\a  my  lioe-houso  was  very  tight.  I  gave  it  a 
little  ventilation  on  top,  and  when  the  first  mild 
night  iu  spring  came,  say  about  zero,  I  opened 
the  door  for  a  fow  minutes  and  lf»t  in  some  frosh 
air,  for  the  hay  had  Iwgim  to  smell  veiy  strong. 
“  I  give  yon  the  temperature  of  some  of  the 
coldest  days  at  this  place  last  winter : — Doc,  31, 
*74,  22  deg.  below  zero;  Jan.  5, 1875.  22;  Jan. 
9,  35;  Jan.  14,  23:  Jan.  19,  20:  Jan.  31,  30; 
Feb.  6.  20 ;  Feh.  7.  32 ;  Feb.  8,  24 ;  Feb.  9,  44 ; 
Feb.  12,34:  Feb.  13,  22;  Feb.  It,  20;  Feb.  15, 
25 ;  Fob.  16,  24 ;  also  some  days  in  Novomber 
tho  mercury  went  30  degs.  below  zero,  and  iu 
March  from  tho  17  to  the  20th,  9  to  11  below 
zero. 
“I  had  lost  all  hope.  I  thought  my  bees 
would  bo  a  solid  mass  of  ico,  but  when  in  the 
latter  part  of  March  1  went  into  tho  bee-houso, 
very  slow  and  listening,  behold!  all  my  bees 
wero  humming  very  strong  and  vigorously.  Then 
I  got  new  holies,  I  took  the  hives  out  alxmt  tho 
middle  of  April,  and  found  the  hay  in  the  caps 
next  to  tho  honoy  boards  dry ;  but  that  on  Uie 
top  moulded,  and  to  my  surpiriHc  all  my  bees 
strong  and  in  tho  best  possible  condition.  In  a 
few  hives  1  found  some  molded  combs,  but  not 
enough  to  sjioak  of.  5Iy  neighbors  lost  all  their 
iHics.  Along  the  Oreen  Bay  and  Minnesota  R.  K. 
the  farmers  lost  heavily;  and  everybody  was 
astonished  that  I  had  saved  all  of  mine.” 
The  Magazine  adds  tlioso  comments  on  the 
above  :■  ’‘The  report  is  valuable  as  showing  that 
with  projK'r  care  bocs  may  be,  and  are,  safely 
vvint»  rt>d  no  matter  how  cold  the  climate.  Tlie 
discriminating  reader  will  notice  that  in  all  these 
reports  of  sucoeagful  wintering,  whether  in  bee- 
houses,  cellars,  or  on  summer  stand,  the  same 
principle  is  kept  in  view— a  moderately  warm  tom- 
peral  ure,  a  small  but  constant  supply  of  good  air, 
and  snflU'ient  of  goixl  absorbing  material  to  keep 
the  bees  iierfoctly  dry.  Had  ^^r.  V.  closed  up 
the  holes  iu  the  honey  board,  instead  of  leaving 
them  oiH-n,  tho  result  would  moat  probably  have 
been  duud  bees  in  a  mass  of  moldy  comba,  and 
had  he  failed  to  pack  tho  dry  hay  on  the  honey 
boards,  and  all  over  the  hives,  his  bees  would 
have  frozen.  A  little  free  ventilation  below',  and 
none,  except  through  tho  absorbents  above, 
seems  to  be  the  real  secret  of  success. 
- - - 
TRANSFERRING  BEES. 
Mn.  W.  F.  Lewis  of  Baldwj'n,  Miss.,  gives  us 
his  experience  iu  the  Bee  World: — Like  most 
Southern  bee-keeiiers,  I  am  a  begiuuer.  Last 
spring,  a  year  ago.  I  had  six  colonies  black  bees 
in  box  hives.  I  transferred  them  in  movable 
comb  hives,  Italianized  half  of  them,  and  in¬ 
creased  ifj  twelve,  and  took  alx)ut  two  hundred 
or  three  hundred  pounds  comb  honey.  A  swarm 
issued  from  one  of  tho  Italian  hives  about  the 
first  of  September,  filled  np  its  hive,  and  came 
through  the  winter  in  as  good  condition  as  any. 
During  the  fall  and  whiter  I  bought  about  tliirty 
stocks,  in  boxes  and  round  gums.  These  I  trans¬ 
ferred  at  various  times  along  through  the  fall 
and  winter,  except  a  few  of  the  strongest  wliich 
went  till  spring.  From  tiiis  exiieiience  I  would 
not  transfer  good  strong  stocks  in  winter,  but 
if  scarce  of  stores  I  would  do  so  in  order  to  feed 
them  successfully.  I  only  lost  one  or  two  weak 
ones,  and  I  think  they  lost  theh  queens,  as  they 
swarmed  out  and  went  into  other  hives,  leaving 
honey  plenty.  I  have  increased  to  seventy,  about 
one-half  Italians. 
Tho  yield  of  honey  has  not  been  as  good  as  I 
expect^ ;  only  about  1,000  lbs.  from  twenty  of 
the  strongest. 
I  made  my  own  extractor.  I  don’t  see  why 
any  ono  should  send  off  and  pay  $15.00  or  $18.00 
for  on  extractor,  when  one  can  be  made  at  home 
in  a  few  hours  that  will  answer  just  as  well.  I 
use  a  brandy  barrel,  sawed  off  the  right  length, 
and  waxed,  for  can.  The  revoBiug  frame  is 
composed  of  a  small  iron  rod  and  sundiy  pieces 
of  hoop-iron  bent  so  as  to  make  the  frame  of  tho 
size  and  shape  wanted,  and  soldered  to  the  rod. 
Tho  gearing  is  that  of  au  old  Common  .Sen.se 
Sewing  Machine,  (can  be  had  for  nothing  in  this 
cmmtiy,)  and  is  just  the  thing  wanted,  .\bout 
two  square  feet  of  wii-e  cloth  is  all  the  material 
-P 
l _ _ _ 
that  need  bo  purchased,  and  it  costs  hut  a  trifle. 
I  have  a  little  circular  saw  for  making  hives.  It 
costs  but  a  small  amount,  and  is  a  great  help  in 
hive  making.  .\t  first  I  had  trouble  to  get  suita¬ 
ble  frame  material,  and  had  to  send  to  Mobile 
for  it.  I  now  And  it  can  be  sawed  at  any  of  the 
country  saw  millb  out  of  poplar  or  cypress  that 
will  do  as  well  as  any. 
fk  (Tcntcinuiil . 
RAILROADS  AND  THE  CENTENNIAL. 
We  don’t  know  whether  the  long-headed  men 
who  manage  railway  affairs  appreciate  the  intor- 
MANUFACTURING  MEAT  AND  WOOL. 
InstEjU)  of  selling  wheat,  corn  and  hay  from 
farms  not  in  tho  vicinity  of  the  best  markets  and 
where  manure  can  be  had  at  a  very  loiv  price, 
if  meat  and  wool  was  made  for  sale  instead  of 
robbing  tho  soil  year  after  year  it  would  most 
aasiwedly  pay  very  much  better  and  improve  the 
fertility  of  tJie  land  till  thi.s  kind  of  farming 
would  double  the  income,  because  tho  quantity 
of  rich  mamire  resulting  from  the  consumption 
of  corn  and  grain  would  increase  the  yield  per 
aero,  till  there  would  bo  a  corresponding  augmou- 
A  DTJOK  TiiiMa’  1-10  u an:. 
est  which  people  in  all  parts  of  tlie  country  take 
in  the  Centennial.  Fanners  and  their  wives  in 
far-distant  States,  who  have  never  before  been 
E.ast,  talk  of  coming  to  see  the  great  show,  and 
most  of  them  also  intend  to  risit  tho  Metropolis 
on  their  way  there  or  returning.  Wo  expect  in 
this  way  to  moot  many  correspondents,  agents 
and  other  friends  of  tlie  Rubai,  dming  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  year,  and  ivUl  bo  "at  homo”  to  all  who 
call.  A  good  many  of  our  Westerti  friends  are 
from  Now  York  or  other  Eastom  State,  and  all 
have  many  frieiuhs  or  acquaintances  here.  Tho 
scenes  of  boyhood  and  girlhood  will  bo  revisited, 
and  haiipy  are  those  whoso  parents  live  to  ex- 
hind  cordial  grccluig  to  children  who  years  ago 
loft  the  parental  roof  to  '‘Oo  West!”  All  this 
will  make  a  busy  year  for  railroads  as  well  as  for 
many  other  enterprises,  and  as  people  can’t  well 
circulate  without  circulating  money  as  woU,  it  is 
fair  to  presume  that  the  "hard  tmics"  which 
have  prevailed  dming  the  past  two  years  will  ixr- 
ceptibly  ease.  It  is  well  ttiat  railroad  managers 
should  understand  these  facts  and  make  ample 
preparations  for  tho  approaching  'TUah.”  Out¬ 
side  of  Philadelphia  wo  houestly  believe  verj'  few 
people  have  an  adequate  conception  of  how  great 
will  be  the  occasion. 
SIAM  AT  OUR  CENTEMNIAL. 
iNFOBJf.vTioN  has  been  received  tiirough  United 
States  Consul  Partridge  that  the  Kingdom  of  Si¬ 
am  will  participate  in  the  Centennial.  ,Iohn  H. 
Chandler,  an  American  citizen,  has  been  appoint¬ 
ed  Commissioner  to  represent  that  country,  and 
about  $100,000  will  he  exiiendcd  to  display  its 
products  and  Industries,  Mr.  Chandler  was  to 
leave  Bangkok  some  time  iu  December  with  goods 
for  tho  Exposition.  It  was  iutendeil  at  first  tliat 
a  prince  and  several  noblemen  would  bo  present 
at  the  Centennial.  It  has  finally  been  decided 
that  no  nobles  will  accompany  Mr.  Chandler, 
into  whose  hands  all  the  arrangements  have  been 
placed. 
- . . 
Spain  and  the  Centenniae. — A  dispatch  from 
Madrifl,  dated  Jan.  6,  says : — A  royal  decree  has 
been  issued  emanating  from  a  Commission 
charged  with  installing  the  exhibits  from  the 
Spanish  colonies  at  the  Philudtiphia  Exhibition. 
The  Commissioa  will  draw  up  a  memorandum 
relative  to  the  exhibition.  1110  Crovemors  of 
most  favorable  conditions  for  selling  when  tho 
time  comes,  I  shall  make  a  great  deal  more 
money,  dollar  for  dollar,  on  the  money  I  have  in¬ 
vested  in  sheep,  than  I  shall  make  on  tho  capital 
invested  in  cattle.  I  have  about  six  liundiod 
sheep,  running  without  any  particular  attenUon 
or  care,  aud  have  sold  one  tJionsand  four  hun¬ 
dred  dollars'  worth  of  wool  of  thl.s  year’s  clip,  and 
have  two  hundred  and  fifty  lambs  hesidos.  1  do 
not  think  it  possible  to  have  done  so  well  on  any 
equal  amount  of  cajitul  invested  in  cattle.  Ono 
groat  advantage  sheep  have  over  other  stock  is, 
they  never  die  of  tho  contagious  diseases  wliich 
they  contract.  They  get  tho  scab  or  foot-rot,  or 
Horaotbiiig  else,  and  if  unchecked,  it  gets  them 
in  badcondlUoii,  and  would  ultimately,  iievhaps, 
kill  them.  But  tho  very  worst  oontagious  dis¬ 
eases  to  which  sheep  are  subject,  give  the  owner 
ample  lime  to  treat  the  affected  animals,  and  tho 
diseases  ore  generally  of  a  character  which  jiold 
readily  to  treatment. 
tatloii  in  the  quantity  of  meat  and  wool.  Dairy 
produce,  cheese  and  butter,  if  of  tho  best  quahty, 
would  also  pay  proportionally  better  than  selling 
tho  food  niauufuctured  into  milk. 
Of  eoursG  if  it  paj’s  the  English  faniiorfl  to  buy 
corn  after  the  freight  has  been  added  to  the 
price  In  tho  United  States  and  make  it  into  moat 
and  wool,  it  must  answer  better  to  bring  the 
crops  into  meatd^c.,  while  no  expeii.so  has  added 
to  the  price  of  the  food.  In  sending  meat  to 
England  it  w'ould  be  the  same  as  in  exporting 
cheese ;  the  quality  must  bo  such  as  will  suit  tho 
demand,  for  it  must  he  ripe  and  of  course  eqtml 
to  the  best  there,  and  when  this  trade  is  establish¬ 
ed  and  tlio  country  is  awake  to  tho  importance 
of  fattening  cattlo  and  sheep  there  will  be  bitter 
repeiila  ico  for  plowing  np  tho  fine  natural 
pastures  Nvhicb  follow  on  tho  cleared  land  in 
Kontucky  and  several  other  States.  For  although 
some  nowbi'apers  with  inexperienced  winters  toll 
their  readers  pemanent  grass  land  would  not  pay, 
yet  tho  facts  i  if  hundreds  of  thousands  of  grass  fed 
beeves  stare  them  in  the  face  as  they  arrive  from 
Uio  aud  tho  buffaloos,  deer,  Ac.,  which 
fatten  on  tho  old  prairies  prove  what  wretchodly 
poor  weak  minded  men  they  must  ho  who  say  it 
is  best  to  sacriflofi  all  the  rich  old  sod  to  the 
rotnorselesH  plow.  It  is  not  twenty  years  since 
advocates  for  having  the  grass  all  m  seed  licfore 
it  was  mowed  for  hay  were  ns  plentiful  as  black- 
borrioH,  aud  in  Duchess  County,  New  York,  not 
more  than  ten  yearn  since  I  have  argued  with 
men  who  thought  tlieuiselves  smart  wlio  would 
not  coinmence  mowing  till  the  grass  was  all 
dying. 
A  New  Jersey  famirr,  whose  naiiie  bognu  ivith 
K.  tl  forgot  the  name)  was  veiy  seven;  on  mo  for 
advising  the  cutting  of  green  grass  to  make  hay, 
iiitimatiug,  1  must  ho  as  green  as  tho  grass. 
Well !  that  man  has  lived  to  see  his  ideas  super¬ 
seded,  hut  there  wo  scores  in  every  country  up¬ 
holding  fallacies  ns  great  and  editors  of  papers 
wild  snpiiort  their  ixirresixnidcnts.as  for  instance 
lately,  an  Englisliniiin  who  must  have  come  from 
some  town  and  who  never  saw  a  grass  field 
excepting  as  passing  hy  on  a  Railway,  said  grass 
as  a  natural  and  permanent  established  sward 
was  out  of  flic  question  on  this  continent,  to 
which  the  editors  added,  tliis  writer  being 
acquainted  with  England  aud  the  United  States, 
knows  all  alxjut  tho  stibjcct,  therefore  it  is 
sclUtxl— natural  grass  will  never  pay,  &c.  Of 
(Xuirso  tJiCy  will  deny  that  buffaloes  and  deer 
TURKEY  HOUSE  AKU  KEST. 
Cuba,  Porto  Rice  and  the  Philippine  Islands  will  ever  get  fat  on  permanent  pastures  or  that  in 
appoint  members.  Kentucky  or  Texas,  &c.,  cattle  or  sheep  become 
^  - -  beef  and  mutton.  A  Wohkino  Farmer. 
Italy  and  the  Centennial. — \  recent  dis-  —  - 
patch  from  Rome  announces  that  the  Pi'esident  '•  SHEEP  PAY  BEST. 
of  the  Italian  Executive  Cornniitteo  on  the  Phil-  - 
adelphia  Exhibition  will  leave  for  America  in  In  "  Some  Sheep  Talk,”  in  the  National  Live 
AprU,  to  take  the  direction  of  the  Italian  section.  Stock  Journal,  an  experienced  stock  keeper 
- - says  : 
There  wiUlo)  a  grand  exhibition  of  the  mineral  I  have  been  feeding  some  three  hundred  head 
resources  ot  Canada  at  our  Ceutcmiial,  of  cuttle,  aud  I  am  satisfied  that,  even  with  the 
TURKEY  HOUSE  AND  NEST. 
To  save  tlic  trouble,  says  the  Hand-Book  of 
Poultry,  of  constantly  watching  turkeyea  whilo 
they  are  seeking  their  nests,  tliero  should  be  a 
yard  inclosing  an  eighth  of  an  aero  for  every 
fifteen  birds,  where  nothing  else  is  allowed  to  go. 
Eight  foot  long  pickets,  witli  a  white  birch  or 
any  other  bnishy  bush  woven  in  along  tho  top, 
will  make  the  most  secure  inclnsiiro.  As  early 
as  tho  first  of  April  nests  should  bo  mado  in  this 
yard. 
Tho  best  arrangemeuta  for  nests  are  small 
houses,  about  three  feet  by  three,  gablo-shapcd, 
(as  shown  by  engraving,)  and  tlureo  feet  high  in 
tho  center.  These  should  bo  scattered  about  tho 
yard,  and,  if  couvonieiit,  lie  partly  liidden  by  an 
over-covering  of  brush  or  something  made  avail¬ 
able.  If  two  or  throe  turkeys  incline  to  one 
nest,  set  another  house  at  right  angles  with  that 
which  contains  tho  one  they  covet,  and  place 
several  eggs  in  this  now  nest,  and  the  probability 
is,  that  this  will  end  the  trouble ;  or  let  tliem  all 
lay  together  till  one  begins  to  sit,  and  then  shut 
her  in,  which  will  oblige  tho  others  to  provide 
for  themselves,  elsewhere. 
—  -■  -■-■♦♦♦ - - 
DUCK  HOUSE. 
A  PLAN  of  a  very  cheap  and  pretty  duck  house 
18  given  in  the  American  Poulterer’s  Companion, 
to  bo  constructed  after  tlie  style  of  tlie  engravhig 
hercwitli  given.  It  should  ho  placed  on  tho  bank 
of  a  pond  or  small  island  of  an  onnancntul  sheet 
of  water.  It  may  bo  constructed  of  rough  hoards 
thatched  with  straw,  and  jiai'tly  covered  with 
running  vinos  and  slirubbeiy,  which  would  not 
only  bo  oniamontal  but  make  a  very  pretty  and 
chea])  house  for  aquatic  fowls.  Tlio  interior 
I  arrangement  of  the  house  may  vary  according  to 
tho  means  aud  taste  of  the  porprietor,  only  pro¬ 
viding  tho  ducks  with  nest  boxes,  in  order  tliat 
they  may  lay  and  incubate  undisturbed,  and 
affording  jiroper  protection  for  their  young. 
'  The  Ruu.vi,  will  will  he  glad  to  receive  plans  of 
I  unproved  1x1111117  houses,  etc. 
A  NE'W  WAY  TO  KELL  PHYLLOXERA, 
In  one  of  our  foreign  exchango.s  wo  find  tho 
following  on  Pbylhjxera  -—Among  the  thousand 
and  one  remedies  proixised  for  tho  extirpation  of 
the  Phylloxera  is  one  hy  M3I.  Balbiani  and 
Boit'Ot,  and  which  has  heeii  brought  under  our 
notice  by  M.  Sisley.  Tht;  plan  proposed  is  to 
remove  tho  hark  from  the  stocks  of  tho  vino 
during  tho  winter  ivhoii  tho  winfiir  eggs  of  tlio 
creature  described  by  31.  Balbiani,  and  which 
are  deposited  in  and  under  tho  bark,  may  be 
destroyed  by  an  insecticide,  or  by  tlio  appheation 
of  Ixiiliug  water.  Wo  arc  afraid  that  on  tho 
large  scale  thesu  jiroposed  remedies  woiifl  bo 
found  impracticable. 
The  above,  like  many  suggoations  occasionally 
seen  going  tho  roiuids  of  the  press,  tliow  that 
tho  author  hwi  very  slight  knowledge  of  the  in¬ 
sect  ho  scoka  to  destroy  or  of  its  habits.  The 
riiylloxora  whilo  in  its  root-inhabiting  form 
attacks  the  minute  fibers  or  nxitlets,  usually  far 
away  from  tho  main  stem  above  or  lielow  ground ; 
it  there  becomes  enclosed  in  a  minute  gall  of  cel¬ 
lular  matter  of  a  soft,  spongy  nature,  not  unlike 
the  galls  fomid  upon  the  leaves  of  oaks  and  hick¬ 
ories  iu  summer.  This  insect  while  inclosed  iu 
the  gall  is  pretty  safe  from  solutions  which  may 
be  apph’od  to  the  soil,  and  much  more  so  from 
any  application  to  the  stems  as  proposeti  by 
Messrs.  Balbiani  and  Boitot.  It  is  qnito  likely 
that  tliese  gentlemen  have  found  tho  eggs  of 
some  minute  species  ot  msect  under  the  rough 
bark  of  gi  upc  v  ines  and  mistaken  them  for  those 
oMhe  Phylloxera, 
