n 
264 
ORE’S  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
^arm  €011011131. 
HOW  SHALL  WE  INCREASE  THE  MA¬ 
NURE  PILE. 
This  is  a  question  of  vital  iniportanco  to  tlte 
fanner  and  to  many  others.  Last  year  1  h»ul  iny 
boys  cultivate  about  an  acre  of  corn,  and  afkir 
feeding  all  the  cow  would  eat  I  found  tho  stalhs 
a  nuisance,  and  the  question  arose  how  to  dispose 
of  them.  With  cow  tiiunurc  alone  it  will  take  a 
year  to  rot  thorn  ho  us  to  ho  suitable  for  grass 
land.  Is  there  a  ohoinical  process  whereby  ma¬ 
nure  can  he  quickly  and  clieaply  made  from  corn 
stalks,  weeds  and  refuse,  hay,  etc  ?  Our  western 
country  is  full  of  large  weeds.  I  often  see  hun- 
di'cds  of  acres  in  a  day's  travel  where  tho  weeds 
stand  up  four  and  five  feet  high.  If  these  were 
flut  before  seeding  time  and  piled  up,  and  could 
be  easily  made  to  decay,  what  a  valuable  work 
would  ho  accomplished.  Will  you,  or  some  of 
your  oorroHpondents,  kindly  favor  tho  reader  of 
your  vulunhlc  paper  with  the  desired  informa- 
tion.—CanviN,  WebsUr  Grovi^,  Mo, 
It  is  very  diftlcult  handling  manure  mixed  with 
coarse  com  Btover,  The  letter  plan  is  to  cut 
the  stalks  with  a  horse-power  cutting  machine, 
which  will  cut  off  several  acres  of  stalks  pei-  day 
at  trifling  expense.  Besides,  being  better  for 
stock,  the  advantage  in  making  the  uneaten 
staLks  work  up  woU  in  the  manure  pile  is  alone 
wortii  the  cost  of  cutting.  It  is  too  kite,  how¬ 
ever,  for  our  correspondent  to  try  this  plan.  Jlis 
corn  fodder  is  already  mixed  with  manure.  If 
he  can  get  it  into  heaps,  cover  with  a  little  earth 
and  keep  uioist,  the  Ijcapawill  he  rotten  hy  fall. 
A  little  Uine  will  greatly  jisslsl  decomposition,  aiul 
if  the  lioap  is  covered  oven  slightly  with  earth, 
little  anunonm  will  be  lost.  Unless  cover  ed  with 
earth,  (tlilck  sods  are  best)  tlie  corn  stallts  >vi]l 
hold  tlio  heaji  open  to  the  air,  and  not  oven  lime 
will  cause  it  to  rot.  Mixing  eome  manure  from 
horses  with  tho  cow  manure  will  cause  it  to  he.at 
more  rapidly  and  be  better  for  both,  as  horse 
manure  alone  is  apt  to  Ihe-fang. 
The  woods  in  the  wostcro  country  and  every¬ 
where  else  should  he  ent  down  and  destroyed  be¬ 
fore  seoding.  tVe  don't  think  much  of  the  plan 
of  “  piling  them  up  to  docay,''  It  won't  pay.  A 
large  quantity  of  green  succulent  weeds,  when 
thoroughly  rotted,  will  otdy  make  a  small 
amount  of  vcgetahlo  mold,  and  tliat  not  very  rich 
in  fertilizing  material,  it  is  far  better'  to  leave 
the  weeds  where  they  fall.  They  are  worth  more 
as  a  mulch  for  most  crops  before  decaying  than 
ns  a  manure  al’terward.  Besides,  gr  een  weeds 
decay  readily,  luid  their  remains  are  wort.h  us 
much  where  they  lie  as  if  rotted  somewhei'e  else 
and  then  brought  back.  Of  course,  if  the  weeds 
are  full  of  seeds  this  plan  Is  imin'oeticahle,  and 
in  that  case  tliey  had  better  be  dried  and  burned 
than  tlrrown  into  a  lieair  to  decay. 
The  value  of  weeds,  straw  aud  other  like  refuse 
as  manure  is  greatly  overrated  in  the  mind  of 
many  youug  farmers.  Wheu  thoroughly  decayed 
such  manm’es  have  little  except  carbonaceous 
matter,  of  which  most  soils,  and  especially  west¬ 
ern  soils,  have  no  lack.  Our  coiTeapoudent 
should  uot  regar  d  the  size  of  the  mauuro  pile  as 
of  the  chief  importance.  It  is  not  likely  that  his 
land  is  deticleut  in  vegetable  matter  •,  but  its  lack 
of  fertility  is  far  more  likely  to  be  due  to  a  defi¬ 
ciency  in  phosjrhate,  potash  or  aramorria.  Let 
him  expeiimout  with  fertilizers  containing  these 
elements,  and  when  ho  discovers  wlrich  does 
most  good  at  the  smallost  expense,  let  him  sup¬ 
plement  his  maume  pile  with  that.  If  his  soil  is 
lacking  in  vegetable  matter,  ho  can  most  easily 
recuperate  it  by  growing  clover  witii  gj'psum 
aud  plowing  under.  Clover,  also,  is  excellent  for 
increasing  tire  supply  of  available  nitrogerr,  phos¬ 
phates  aud  potash.  Of  course  it  caimot  increase 
the  amouirt  of  rmueral  ferliUzers  in  tho  soil,  but 
its  deep-reaching  roots  will  bruig  fertility  from 
the  subsoil  and  make  it  available  for  roots  of 
wheat,  com  aud  other  crops. 
.  .♦ » »  ■  - 
ECONOMIZING  IN  UNDERDRAINING. 
Tuh  most  essential  point  in  persuading  farmers 
to  make  needed  impi'ovements  is  to  show  how 
they  can  bo  made  with  loss  expense  than  has 
been  supposed  to  be  needed.  Want  of  money 
stands  in  tho  way  of  manuriug,  underdraiuing 
and  other  Improvements,  hut  musl  of  all  of  un- 
derdi'aining.  the  expense  of  which  is  often  exag¬ 
gerated  and  often  really  made  much  more  than  it 
should  bo.  So  far  as  possible  the  work  of  digging 
should  be  done  with  team  aud  plow.  This  will 
often  save  one-half  the  exju'insc  of  this  heaviest 
item. 
By  laying  out  nnderdi’ains  to  cut  off  tho  ovei- 
flow  from  high  ground,  a  much  smaller  number 
of  drains  will  be  needed  on  low,  level  laud.  Very 
often  this  low  land  is  flooded  by  springs  which 
start  Out  of  side  hills  audw'hioh  are  nut  supposed 
to  need  underdi'aining  because  they  are  “high.” 
Where  tho  spring  or  surface  water  from  above 
is  cut  off,  one  or  two  drains  properly  laid  will  re¬ 
move  surplus  water  from  a  Avide  piece  of  Ioa  e 
land.  Plow  in  lands  across  the  underdrains  and 
leave  the  dead  fiuroAvs  oixoi  to  conduct  water  to 
them.  In  this  way  the  efliciency  of  undordraiua 
is  more  than  doubled.  This  is  not  jKTfect  un- 
dordraining,  but  it  is  lAOSslhle  and  AsilJ  pay  for 
thousands  of  fanners  who  would  not  dare  think 
of  laying  out  their  farms  in  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  feet  wide  «trip»  with  an  nnderdrain  between 
each  one.  It  is  hotter  to  have  some  <lea4l  fur¬ 
rows  evouAvhen  land  is  thoroughly  underdrained. 
When  tho  ground  is  frozen  in  winter,  water  Avill 
often  stand  on  the  surface  and  settle  ird-u  hollows, 
unable  to  reach  the  drains,  and  killing  out  Avheat 
if  it  should  hapiien  to  freeze  solid  before  the 
ground  heneatli  h,ad  opened  aud  let  the  Avater 
out. 
Pinally,  hy  growing  clover,  which  lias  a  long 
tap  root,  forming  a  natiual  uudordrain,  tho  effi¬ 
ciency  of  all  natural  undcrdraiim  may  be  more 
than  douhkH;].  In  other  words,  one-half  the  mi- 
dcrdraiiiing  will  answer  if  clover  is  grown,  that 
Avou Id  he  needed  if  tho  soilAvere  not  treated  bj 
this  crop.  With  the  ground  full  of  clover  roots, 
soil  that  Is  not  tramped  and  poached  hy  cattle 
wiU  absorb  an  immense  amount  of  water  Avith 
usually  little  appai'ent  injury. 
- - - 
NEW  VARIETIES  OF  CORN. 
Mb.  D.  a.  Compton  of  JlaAvley,  Pa.,  AA-riting 
about  the  Centennial  Corn  excitement,  says : 
I  originated  last  season  about  500  varieties  of 
field  corn,  some  of  which  grew  ten  feet  in  higbt. 
aud  rj))ou(id  oxti’a  largo  oars  in  seventy-five  days 
from  planting.  It  docs  not  appear  to  he  gener¬ 
ally  known  that  seed  from  the  branched,  exposed 
small  eai’R,  groAving  on  tliCTery  tops  of  the  corn 
stalks,  AAill  jjroduec  new  varieties  of  com  in 
every  Avay  distinct  from  th(!  old  sorts. 
I  shall  send  several  varietios,  stalks  and  all,  to 
the  Centennial  Exposition  the  thiy  they  ripen. 
An  extra-sized  early  field  corn  would  be  Avorth 
miUiouB  to  tho  farmers  of  the  North  in  a  few 
years.  Much  is  noAV  lost  by  eai-ly  frosts. 
BLACK  KNOTS  ON  PLUM  TREES. 
In  many  soils  aud  localities  the  iflum  as  Avell 
as  the  Morello  cherry  trees  ai-e  subject  to  a  fun¬ 
goid  disease  knoAvn  hy  the  common  name  of 
Black  Knot.  Tliis  disease  has  been  known  lor  a 
long  time,  hut  the  cause  or  origin  remains  as 
much  a  mystery  as  ever,  although  maui^Aories 
have  been  from  time  to  lime  atlvouced  hy  our 
pomologists  iu  regard  to  the  same.  It  Avas  once 
claimed  to  ho  prevalent  only  on  heavy  clay  or 
Avet  soils,  but  its  appearance  and  spread  upon 
Uie  sandy  soils  of  Ncav  J<!rsoy  and  Long  Island 
showed  that  moisture  at  the  I’oots  of  the  ti’ees 
was  uot  at  tho  Ijottom  of  the  disease,  altliongh  a 
well-drained  soil  is  probably  preferable  to  one  of 
an  ojijxisite  character.  .Anything  Avhich  tends  to. 
Aveaken  the  vihality  of  the  tree,  such  as  exhaus¬ 
tion  of  the  soil,  too  mucli  m  Iaao  little  moisture, 
everbearing  aud  neglcet,  generally  seems  to 
hasten  the  appearance  and  spread  of  this  dis¬ 
ease.  We  have  always  noticed  that  MoroUo 
cherry  tjces  of  the  different  varieties,  when  left 
to  themselves,  AAith  roots  choked  Avitli  grass  and 
weeds,  were  far  more  liable  to  sliow  black  knots 
than  those  given  good  cultivation,  and  the  same 
is  doubtless  time  Avith  ifiuni  ticos. 
Frait  trees  seem  to  he  amenable  to  the  same 
laws  as  animals,  neglect  being  generally  followed 
by  tlie  attack  of  parasitic  diseases  or  insects. 
aoniei.imee,  hOAVever,  a  contrary  com'se  prodnees 
similar  results,  as  over-feeding  and  stimulating 
also  causes  disease.  But  as  it  is  now  almost 
universally  admitled  that  the  black  knots  on  our 
plmn  and  cherry  trees  ai-o  tho  result  of  a  fungoid 
disease,  and  that  the  minute  fungns  penetrates 
tlie  soft  tissues  of  the  tender  branches,  iuter- 
ruiiting  the  flow  of  K.ap,  and  probably  draAvhig  a 
portion  of  its  sustenance  therefrom,  avc  must 
look  for  au  antidote  iu  some  stimulating  fertilizer 
applied  to  the  roots,  or  an  onW-fungoid  solntion 
ajjpliGd  to  the  branches.  Common  salt,  lime, 
sulphur  and  sulphm-ic}  acid  are  aU  of  this  na¬ 
ture,  and  when  ajAplied  to  the  soil  about  the 
tieesi  act  as  a  stimulant,  and  some  of  them  as  a 
direct  manure ;  heuce  it  AA-ould  lie  avcU  to  try  ex- 
Iierimenta  with  tlie  different  substances  named 
upon  trees  affected  with  this  disease.  In  apply¬ 
ing  diluted  sulplmric  acid  or  common  salt  to  the 
Soil  about  trees  it  Avill  be  nece88ai7  to  use  some 
caution,  as  an  over-dose  would  be  dangerous. 
Of  course  the  pruuing-kiiife  should  be  employed 
in  removing  all  diseased  hrauches  as  soon  as  dis- 
coA'ered,  for  all  such  fungi  spread  more  or  less 
rapidly  Avheu  they  once  become  attached  to  a 
branch  and  healtliy  tissues  are  soon  affected, 
even  if  not  apparent  to  the  eye. 
INSECTS  IN  BLACK  KNOTS. 
If  the  knots  on  plmu  and  cheiTy  ti'ees  are  ex¬ 
amined  during  the  summer,  grubs  of  considera¬ 
ble  size  will  be  found  therein.  This  fact  has  led 
many  not  very  scientific  persons  to  suppose  that 
the  knots  were  caused  by  insects,  and  we  once 
heard  a  gentleman  who  lias  figiucd  somewhat  as 
an  entomologist  declare  that  tho  presence  of 
grubs  in  the  knots  Avas  a  direct  and  incontro¬ 
vertible  proof  of  this.  But  it  probably  never 
occurred  to.  liim  or  others  AA'ho  haA'o  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  that  tho  sauio  train  of  reasoning 
would  lead  us  to  attribute  the  origin  of  CA'ery 
Avormy  cherry  or  plum  to  the  same  cause. 
All  the  mystciw,  however,  which  at  one  time 
surrounded  these  grubs  in  the  black  knots  has 
been  dispelled,  for  it  is  now  knoAni  that  the 
plum  om'culio,  which  is  so  destrnctive  to  the 
fruit,  broods  in  these  knots  on  tho  branches. 
The  female  beetle  will  deposit  her  eggs  in  the 
soft,  sijoiigy  tissnoH  of  a  noAvly-fonned  knot,  and 
the  larvie  seem  to  thrive  there  as  avoH  as  in  the 
fruit,  consequently  we  are  not  likely  to  rid  oiu- 
BolvcH  of  tills  pest  even  should  wo  abandon  plum 
trees  altogether,  for  where  there  are  none  of 
these  it  wilJ  go  to  the  cherry  trees,  Avild  or  culti¬ 
vated,  and  it  also  breeds  in  the  wild  thorn-apples, 
criib-nppk^s  and  soA'eral  other  kinds  of  fruit. 
But  ithose  Avlio  Avould  snccesHfnlly  combat  the 
spreatl  of  black  knots  on  their  plum  aud  cherry 
trees  should  look  for  remedies  elsewhere  than  in 
fighting  insects. 
- - — 
CULTIVATING  AND  CROPPING  ORCHARDS. 
The  horticultural  editor  of  the  Michigan  Far¬ 
mer  recently  advised  tlie  cultivation  and  crop¬ 
ping  of  old  orchards.  This  iierfectly  reasonable 
advice  has  occasioned  some  criticism  ;  but  a  cor-  i 
respondent,  Mr.  J.  M'KUAt.BR  Childs  of  i'psl-  | 
lanti,  indorses  it  aud  relates  his  exiierience  in 
corroboration  as  follows  i 
I  iiave  an  apple  orchard  of  seven  and  a  quar¬ 
ter  at^res  that  has  been  set  seventeen  years  aud 
is  most  of  it  in  \'ery  fine,  licalLhy  condition,  aud 
I  have  plowed  and  cultivated  it  every  year,  1 
think,  lint  two  since  it  aVss  planted  ;  those  Iavo  it 
was  seeslctd  to  clov'cr  and  tiinotliy,  and  yielded 
tAVO  good  crops  of  hay  cacli  of  the  two  years. 
'I'lie  trees  have  noAv  liocome  so  large  that  the 
crops  MOAved  or  planted  in  tlie  orchard  do  not 
amount  to  very  much,  buL  taking  the  time  from 
tho  first  planting  of  the  trees,  I  think  1  have 
raised  as  large  au  amount  of  crops  on  tho  land 
occupied  by  the  orchard  as  on  any  equal  number 
of  acres  of  my  farai — duo  to  the  fact,  no  doubt, 
that  I  h.avo  manured  that  oftener  aud  cultivated 
it  better.  J  know  much  has  been  said  against 
CTopping  an  orehaid,  but  I  tliiuk  no  harm  re¬ 
sults  from  so  doing  if  it  is  kept  so  .thoroughly 
manured  Uiat  Ui«  trees  never  lack  for  food  suili- 
eieiit  to  make  a  vigorous  groAA'th  aud  mature  an 
abundant  crop  of  fruit. 
If  I  liad  not  the  moans  of  sufficiently  manuring 
an  orchard,  I  Avould  still  cultivate  it,  but  without 
l.mtting  in  any  crops.  J  have  used  some  ashes 
upon  my  orchard,  aud  consider  them  very  valua¬ 
ble  indecsl  for  that  purinise.  but  my  principal 
fertilizer  has  been  barnyard  inamiro  liberally 
applied  about  everj’  second  year. 
From  the  first  I  liavo  ploAved  A'ery  shalloAV  near 
the  trees,  aud  since  they  have  liecome  of  eon- 
siderable  size  Ave  endeavor  to  liaA'o  no  pai't  of  tlie 
orchard  plowed  more  than  .four  or  live  inches 
deep.  I  much  prefer  hood  crops,  esiieeially  for 
orchards,  and  in  no  case  Avould  I  sow  an  orchard 
to  winter  grain,  for  1  think  it  desii’able  uot  to 
stir  tlis  soil  much,  if  any,  after  about  the  first  of 
August.  But  tho  oftenor  the  Kurfivce  of  the 
ground  is  stirred  from  May  until  August  the 
better  in  my  judgment,  esiieeially  if  it  be  a  dry 
season ;  but  continued  later,  as  iu  plowing  and 
cultivating  for  fall  soAving,  a  groAvth  is  stimu¬ 
lated,  when  the  ti'oos  need  tho  time  to  matiu'o 
the  early  growth  preparatory  for  winter. 
My  trees  are  headed  pretty  low,  though  uot  as 
loAV  as  I  would  have  them  if  1  were  to  raise  an¬ 
other  orchard.  I  think  an  orchard  should  be 
trimmed  mure  or  less  every  year,  at  least  until  it 
is  tAventy  years  old,  for  by  so  doing,  if  the  grower 
has  from  tlic  start  an  idea  of  hoAV  he  desires  his 
orchard  to  look  when  grown,  he  may  not  only 
give  the  trees  tho  general  form  that  lie  desii'es, 
but  nill  avoid  the  necessity  of  cutting  large 
limbs,  Avhich  should  never  be  done  unless  abso- 
Intoly  ueeeasai'y. 
I  do  not  suppose  that  there  is  only  one  good 
Avay  to  manage  au  orchai-d,  but  I  know  that  there 
are  a  great  many  that  are  very  badly  managed, 
aud  consequently  pay  but  very  small  profits,  if 
any  at  all.  WoU  managed,  in  a  good  localit.r, 
there  is  in  Miehigaii  no  more  profitable  branch 
of  farming.  At  any  rate,  mine  has  paid  me 
better  by  far  than  auy  other  part  of  my  farming. 
Some  of  my  trees  have  home  only  every  other 
year,  but,  tjikiiig  the  orchai'd  together,  aa-o  never 
have  failed  to  get  a  faircroji  since  tiie  trees  com¬ 
menced  to  boar,  seveial  times  portions  of  the 
orchard  yielding  as  high  as  one  hundred  barrels 
of  fine  packing  fruit  to  the  aero,  aud  last  yeai- 
from  the  seven  and  one  quai-ter  acres  we  packed 
eight  hundi'cd  haiTcls,  Avhich  I  sold  ot  $2.ii5  per 
baiTel  for  the  fruit. 
The  Wealthy  Apple  is  as  hardy  as  a  crab, 
aud  increasingly  popular’  in  the  Northwest. 
f  [jf  gijjiitriira. 
FEEDING  BEES  IN  THE  SPRING. 
In  a  communication  to  the  Bee  "World,  for 
January,  D.  Staples,  of  Columbia,  Teim.,  gives 
the  following  instructions  upon  this  point,  iu 
connection  Avith  stimulating  queens  to  greater 
actiA'ity,  and  the  hoes  to  the  building  of  new 
combs.  He  says  it  is  knoAvn  by  all  good 
apiiu’i.'ins  that  Avhen  honey  is  coming  into  the 
liivo  regularly  the  queen  is  stimulated  to  lay  a 
vast  amount  more  eggs  than  Avhero  there  is  no 
honey  coming  in,  although  there  may  Ixj  an 
abundance  of  scaled  honey  in  tlie  hive.  Hence 
the  philosophy  of  feesling  a  little*  honey  every 
day  in  oarly  spring  ;  also,  if  ymu’  bees  arc  desti¬ 
tute  of  a  sufficiency  of  bee  bread,  you  can  feed  a 
Uttlo  rye  flour  or  corn  meal,  put  in  iJie  snnshino 
and  out  of  the  way  of  tlio  wind,  Avith  a  good 
effect,  in  order  to  have  a  strong  stock  of  workers 
on  hand  on  the  early  appearance  of  tho  harvest, 
that  they  may  Avado  in  and  take  of  tlio  first  fruits 
of  tho  land ;  and  should  tho  harvest  linger  you 
need  not  fear  the  lalxirers  will  tire,  for  AAheu 
there  is  work  to  do  tho  little  busy  bee  is  always 
reatly. 
If  you  Avish  your  bees  to  use  your  feed  for  tho 
purpose  of  raising  bees  or  building  of  ucav  combs 
you  will  need  to  dilute  your  honey  or  syrup  Avith 
Avatcr,  but  uot  so  much  that  it  Avill  not  be  snffi- 
cieully  HAveet  for  the  boos  to  partake  of  it  freely  ; 
and  in  order  that  they  may  not  store  it  in  the 
combs  it  will  he  nocessai’y  to  aoiilify  it  a  little  liy 
using  acetic  add,  older  vinegar,  or  lemon  juice, 
for  the  boos  very  well  Iiiioav  that  if  they  store 
such  in  their  combs  it  avUI  be  au  injury,  Ihere- 
fore  they  aa-III  not  do  it ;  but  being  avaricious 
little  fellows  they  will  eat  of  it  and  feed  it  to 
their  young  until  all  become  fat  witli  a  soore- 
tion  of  wax,  when  if  .you  place  an  empty  frame 
in  tho  centre  ot  the  brood  nest,  you  AvUl  be  sur¬ 
prised  with  what  rapidly  it  will  be  filled  with  new 
combs. 
- - - 
HOW  TO  PLACE  HIVES. 
Where  Ixics  are  wintered  in  the  cellar  a  ques¬ 
tion  arises  whether  in  replacing  them  on  then- 
Biunmer  stands  it  is  necessarry  to  put  them  in 
tho  same  locality  they  occupied  last  season.  On 
this  point  the  editor  of  tho  American  Bee 
Journal  says ; 
In  om'  OAvn  practice,  wo  have  not  gcnci’ally 
placed  tho  hives  upon  tho  same  stands  Avluch 
they  occuiiiod  the  previous  season,  and  think  avc 
have  met  iiu  serious  loss  iu  consequence ;  Imt 
are  (luilc  sure  that  in  some  cases  the  In^es  have 
at  least  taken  a  look  at  the  old  spot  Avhich  Avas 
home  the  previous  year.  But  our  bees  have 
usually  been  confined  a  long  time  in  tho  cellar — 
four  mouths  or  more.  If  they  Avere  earyied  out 
for  a  lly  every  warm  spell,  avq  should  expect 
them  to  shOAV  a  bettor  memoiy  of  the  old  spot. 
Moreover,  being  confined  for  so  long  a  period  in 
tho  same  collar,  they  seem  in  some  Avay  to  lose 
their  distinguishing  scent,  so  that  iimncdiately 
on  first  being  taken  out  of  the  cellar  Iaa'o  colonies 
may  be  united  AA-ithout  any  preparation  Avhat- 
ever,  mid  Avithout  any  quarreling.  Bo  in  such 
case,  if  a  bee  should  go  to  tho  Avroug  hive,  it 
would  bo  kindly  received.  Our  bees,  at  some 
time  (luring  tho  wintci,  generally  undergo  a 
temper atme  at,  cr  near,  tho  freeziug  point. 
May  uot  the  degree  of  cold  they  have  suffered 
have  something  to  do  with  the  matter  under  dis¬ 
cussion  ?  It  is  at  least,  safe  to  put  them  on  the 
old  stands,  if  the  precaution  has  been  taken  to 
note  where  the  old  stands  are. 
RAPE  AS  A  HONEY  PLANT. 
K.  O.  Kbusche,  BerUn,  Wis.,  AVi’ites  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Bee  Joiu’nal — “  As  a  honey-producing  plant 
the  rape  is  scarcely  second  to  the  Unden,  pro¬ 
ducing  a  beautiful  golden  honey  of  good  flavor, 
and  is  iu  blossom  Avhen  nearly  cverj-thing  else  is 
out  of  blossom,  commencing  about  August  15, 
aud  continuing  a  couple  of  weeks.  As  a  farm 
crop  it  is  as  good  if  uot  better  than  Avheat.  Tlte 
time  for  sowing  it  is  from  tlie  middle  to  the  end 
of  June.  This  gives  time  to  prepare  the  soil 
after  other  crops  are  iu ;  or  if  wheat  or  corn 
should  fail  iu  coming  up,  rape  cun  be  sown  in 
their  places.  It  is  harv'ested  from  the  middle  to 
the  last  of  September,  after  all  other  grain  is 
harveeted.  It  docs  not  impoverish  the  soil,  but 
benefits  it.  From  five  to  eight  bushels  more  per 
acre  of  wheat  are  raised  on  ground  Avhich  had 
rape  tJie  previous  year.  It  Jets  no  weeds  grow 
after  it  is  fairly  .■itarted,  growing  very  dense,  and 
its  leaves  completely  shiule  the  ground,  thwefore 
it  does  not  suffer  from  tlrouth  like  other  graiiM. 
The  seed  has  a  good  cash  market  at  Fun  dn  Lac, 
Wis.,  AVheru  oil  IS  extracted  from  it.  arid  brings 
from  ii'1.50  to  1*52  per  bushel.  From  ten  to 
eighteen  bushels  are  generally  produced  per  acre, 
but  it  is  oftener  over  than  imder  this  estimate. 
Taa’o  quarts  ave  sufficient  to  sow  an  acre.  Thou¬ 
sands  ot  bushels  are  aimuaUy  raised  in  Calumet 
county,  and  it  is  just  as  staple  a  crop  as  wheat. 
'Those  doubting  my  statement  1  refer  to  report  of 
‘  agriculture  for  1870. 
