272 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
APRIL 23 
But a heavy rain came three days aftei ; it 
tamed cold and remained so for ten days. In 
some places I do not think over a quarter of 
the reed came np. Harvest gave tie 40 bushels 
per acre ; we should have had 70 at least, as 
we harvested over that amount on the adjoin¬ 
ing field the previous year. The extreme mel¬ 
lowness of the soil permitted the drill to de¬ 
posit the seed too deeply. Had it been broad¬ 
casted the yield would have been far greater; 
and in addition, had the sowiDg been deferred 
ten days the yield would, without doubt, have 
exceeded that of the previous year. I got 
mneb consolation from the culture of that field 
—though the yield disappoint* d me—when I 
think how much 1 learned and how nicely that 
old clay field has behaved since. For the next 
year we harvested 37 bushels and a few 
pounds of wheat per acre from it, and late in 
the Fall of the same year, it was cut with a 
reaper, leaving the clover stubble about 
four inches high—sufficient clover hrd been 
cured to make about a ton of bay per acre. 
So far the experiments in thick and thin 
seeding have been conducted ou moderately 
poor land ; in the future our best land will be 
selected and in a tew years we shall have data 
fora double comparison. In an article on 
mangels to follow this, the effect and value of 
commercial fertilizers will be discussed. It 
will therefore be unnecessary to treat of them 
now with reference to the oat crop. 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 
ONION CULTURE. 
Onions have never proved a very satisfac¬ 
tory crop with me until the past season when 
I had a splenoid crop which I raised in the 
following wey: The soil was a deep, sandy 
loam, fine and mellow and free from weeds. I 
used at out 10 pounds of phosphate (Crocker’s) 
and a bushel of wood ashes ou each square rod 
of ground and raked in. An essential thing in 
raising onions is to have the ground rich near 
the surface. 1 then marked off the ground 
and sowed the seed so thick, treading it in 
with my feet, that when the onions were afoot 
high they were all matted together in the row. 
They were then about the size of my little 
finger. I then thinned them out, leaving them 
about three inches apart, taking care to pull 
all that had the appearance of making scul¬ 
lions, which can easily be discerned at this 
time by their long, thick necks. When the 
onions were tninned, they dropped over flat 
on the ground ; in fact. 1 had to be very care¬ 
ful in thinning them or I would have pulled 
them all up, hut they soon straightened up and 
made a very fine crop. The onions that I 
pulled I tied up in bunches and sold, so that 
1 lost nothing by using plenty of seed. The 
seed was the Yellow Danvers sown as early as 
I could work the ground. This I consider 
necessaiy as the crop, to keep well, must ripen 
in hot weather. For early onions I plant the 
English Multipliers. One little one makes a 
big one. and a large one makes a cluster of 
small ones. These are a very profitable crop, 
as they are sold in buuches and bring about a 
cent apiece; and as about 100,000 cbu be grown 
upon an acre, and as they do not interfere 
with a crop of cucumbers that may follow 
them, the profit is large. I prepare the ground 
the same as for the black seed onions. I tread 
these in also after setting them out. 
Oneida Co., N- Y. Adklbbkt Wakefield. 
AMERICAN CANARY GRASS.—Phalaris 
intermedia — (see page 271.) 
There are twenty or more species of this 
grass, most of which grow iu Central Asia. The 
seed of one species is the annual and well- 
known canary-seed. The stems of the species 
now under consideration are from six to 
twelve inches high ; leaves Bhort; spike of 
flowers thick, an inch and a-halt long, all of 
which are accurately shown in the illustration. 
It grows in sandy places along the coast in 
Florida, the Carolinas, Texas, California and 
other States. It is an anuual which has at¬ 
tracted considerable attention in the warmer 
parts of the United States. Some consider it 
excellent for Winter pasture. Iu California its 
reputation is not so good. It should receive 
careful study and be the sui ject for definite 
experiments. In this way we shall, no daub* 
find some grasses which are better for certain 
purposes and localities than any we now pos- 
eess. Professor W. J. Beal. 
-- 
TURNIPS. 
TtJKNirs will grow and flourish on soil that 
is moderately rich, and produce a better crop 
than when sown on too rich land. In the latter 
case the growth is apt to be at the top instead 
of at the root. For a garden crop turnip seed 
should be sown in drills aboot 14 inches apart 
and the plants be thiuued out to about five 
inches iu ihe drills. To prevent the roots from 
becoming wormy, dig away the earth to the 
depth of a half inch or more from the top of 
the roots and give them a light dressing of 
wood ashes. In old gardens turnips are al¬ 
most certain to grow wormy if the earth is al¬ 
lowed to remain upon them. 
For the first crop turnips should be sown as 
early as the ground can be got in order and 
has become warm, and for the late or main 
crop sow from the middle cf July to the last of 
August, Ground from which early potatoes 
have been taken makes a good seed-bed for 
turnips. Turnips in the field are generally 
sown broadcast, and then the farmer has 
no work to do to care for them, and often the 
yields per acre are as high as 150 to 180 bush¬ 
els. When we consider the value of ibis root 
for feeding purposes we wonder wly it is not 
more extensively grown. Stock will be very 
grateful in Winter for a root “ dessert” of this 
kind, and will do well on it. 
LONG WHITE FRENCH TURNIP—FIG 216 
Among our best varieties may be mentioned 
Red-Top Strap-Leaf, White Strap-Leaf Flat, 
White Egg, Early Purple-Top Munich, White 
French, and Laing’s Rutabaga. Among nov¬ 
elties in foreign markets is the Pari6 Market or 
Long White French, which the accompanying 
engraving (one-half natural size) represents. 
It is of quick growth, very tender, sweet and 
juicy. It sells at a high figure in PariB mar¬ 
kets, and will probably be offered by our seeds¬ 
men another year. 
A Good Suggestion. —A friend writes us 
from Janesville, Wisconsin, that if the Rural 
Sorghum takes kindly to the Western soil and 
climate it will be a great thing for that State 
whose dairy interest is last stepping to a front 
place, necessitating a good fodder crop for 
soiling iu July and August. He suggests that 
those who grow the sorghum should weigh the 
product as it is cut and report the result. We 
are thankful for this suggestion which we 
submit to our readers. Those who cut twice 
or thrice would have to weigh as many times. 
We take this occasion again to urge it upon 
our readers to sow this seed on clean land, and 
not to neglect the yonng plants, which for 
several weeks will impress anybody cultivat¬ 
ing them for the first time as out-and-out 
failures—so slow are they to start into luxuri¬ 
ous growth. 
Lancaster Red Wheat —In answer to an 
inquiry with regard to this wheat in a late 
Rural, a correspondent writes us from Adrian, 
Michigan, that it is a beautiful red variety, 
with a Jong, plump berry. When growing and 
in good health the straw has a bluish cast, 
which sometimes gives it the name of Blue 
Stem. The straw is soft, so that the wheat is 
liable to fall or lodge, which is its worst fault. 
It is a good yielder thereabouts, but is being 
superseded by Fultz and Osborn on account of 
its tendency to lodge. 
■ ■♦♦♦- 
White Russian Wheat and Oats.—A 
friend writes us from Cuna, N, Y., that he 
has raised the above wheat for four years, 
having obtained the seed originally Horn Wis¬ 
consin, and that it is in every way a superior 
variety and fast takipg the place of all other 
Spring wheats in that section. He has also 
a couple of bushels of the above oats pro¬ 
duced from a small packet obtained from 
Buffalo two years ago. He considers it a 
tip-top variety and says it neither rusts uor 
lodges. It stools out well and has very long 
heads. 
iurtiniltural. 
THE TELEPHONE PEA. 
I have not noticed any report from any of 
your subscribers iu regard to the Telephone 
peas included in your Free Seed Distribution. 
I am somewhat surprised, for if they have 
generally proved as productive as mine did, 
considering the treatment they received, 1 
think the pea well worthy of comment. 
Right here allow me to say a word in com¬ 
mendation of the Rural’s course in dissemin¬ 
ating new and choice varieties of flowers and 
vegetables among the farmers of our country. 
I believe that these seed distributions in con¬ 
nection with the reports from the Rural Ex¬ 
periment Grounds are proving of great value 
to the agricultural interests of the country. 
But for the report:—I received a packet con¬ 
taining 17 peas, three of them badly weevil- 
eaten, the rest to outward appearance beiDg 
all of them Bound and likely togrow. I Bowed 
them rather late in good ordinary garden soil, 
not very highly manured and without giving 
them any extra fertilizer besides what the whole 
garden received. Neither of the weevil-eaten 
ones came up, and one of the others failed, so 
there were only 13 that ever started up, and 
after they were about six inches in hight one 
of these was accidentally broken off just below 
the surface of the ground, leaving only 12 to 
mature seed. From these, besides several 
pods which were picked off by children while 
green—some half a dozen pods or more, to 
my knowledge—I gathered 708 perfect peas, 
making by measurement three-fourths of a 
pint or a little more. Most of the pods con¬ 
tained from sir to eight large, perfect peas, 
and a number of them had as many as ten and 
were a cause of wonder to a'l who saw them, 
being so closely crowded together it hardly 
seemed as if the pods could bold them. If this 
pea proves equal in quality to what it is in 
productiveness it is surely ft great acquisition. 
One thing that is greatly iu its favor with me 
is that, although a strong grower, the vine 
does not grow nearly as tall as the Champion 
of Eugland. Though this is an excellent pea, 
it requires such tall brush for support that 
this requirement is a great objection to it. 
Delaware Co., N. J. E. J. Brownell. 
A Good Suggestion.— In sowing the new 
asparagus seed, or any other seed hard to ger¬ 
minate, it is a good plan to sow a few radish 
seeds among it. They come up soon, are good 
tomaik the rows before the tardy seeds are 
ready to come up, and the roots are off tha 
ground before they become troublesome. 
Annie L Jack. 
Cjjf g^iarait, 
TEMPERATURE FOR BROOD - REARING. 
G. M. DOOLITTLE. 
In order to rear brood successfully the tem¬ 
perature inside the cluster of bees muBt be at 
least 80 deg. Supposing we have a cluster of 
bees that on a cool morning in the fore part of 
May occupies three or four spaces between the 
combs in a lull hive containing 2,000 cubic 
inches, we will usually find brood on two 
combs only, and hut a small amount at that. 
If these two combs of brood are Bet close to 
one side of the hive and by means of the divis¬ 
ion-board all the bees are shut on these two 
frames, the queen can and will eccupy with 
eggs two or three times the space that would 
be occupied in the center of the full-sized hive, 
and the same Dumber of bees will rear them 
into brood. As this has been called “SpriDg 
fussing ” by some, and has been lightly spoken 
of by others, we have made some experiments 
in regard to it and will give one of them as an 
example. 
We selected two stocks as nearlv equal as 
possible, both being clustered between six 
ranges of comb, and we shut one on three 
combs while the other had the whole hive. 
Both were treated as nearly alike as possible, 
sndths result was that the one shut on the 
three frames had each frame full of brood, 
while at the same time the other had brood in 
only four frames, to the amount of not over 
one frame.ful, or one-third of what the other 
had. Now, it will be seen that if we put an 
empty comb in the brood-nest of the hive with 
three combs, the queen will fill it with brood in 
a very short time, while if we attempt to in¬ 
crease the brood by the same means with the 
other, we shall be likely to ruin more or less 
of the brotd already in it. As soon as the bees 
become crowded for room, the division-board 
is moved along and einply comb is placed in 
the center, and this is repeated as fast as the 
queen fills the combs with brood till the hive is 
full, which will be long before the one left to 
itself approaches that condition. This is wbat 
is called *' building up’’in the Spring, or a ju¬ 
dicious spreading of the brood. Never spread 
brood until the bees are crowded for room, for 
it is only a waste of time, brood and heat. By 
the above plan double the number of bees will 
be ready for the honey harvest that would have 
been if the bees had been left to themselves. 
This is one of the Becrets of successful bee cul¬ 
ture. * 
Another thing to be considered is the size 
of the frame used. Take, for instance, the 
large Qainby frame and the Gallup ; let a prac 
tical bee-keeper manage both aud it will soon 
be found that with the same quantity of bees, 
and with queens of equal fertility the frame 
first mentioned cannot be managed so as to 
have every cell occupied with brood, while the 
other can. Furthermore, the hive with the 
small frames can be managed bo that double 
the quantity of bees can go into the fields, while 
with the large frame they have to stay at home 
to keep up the necessary heat for brood reai- 
ing. With the large frame the bees are spread 
over too large a surface, while with the small 
one they are in a more compact and natural 
form. To illustrate more fully :—Suppose we 
hive a good swarm in a box nine or ten inches 
square and five feet high; if the yield of honey 
is good they will fill it the first season, and if 
they winter well, so as to consume but little of 
their stores, we shall find that the bees and 
brood will be at the bottom while the heat is at 
the top, and but few bees go to the fields ; cut 
off the top and bring the size of the hive down 
to 12 inches deep, and double the quantity of 
bi'ood will be reared and double the number of 
bees will go into the fields to labor. Again, in 
the Spring we often want to strengthen a weak 
colony by inserting a frame of brood from a 
strong swarm without injuring it, and have the 
weak stock protect the brood given them. This 
we can readily do with the small frame, while 
with the large frame it is much moie difficult. 
If we have a very small swarm we take a frame 
in which we can Bee a few young bees gnawing 
out of the cells ; shake all the bees iu the email 
stock on to it, adjust the division-board to the 
one frame, and iu a few days the colony will 
be 6troDg enough to take an empty frame. 
This is for ordinary Spring weather, and not 
when the mercury is 95 deg. iu the shade. 
Borodino, N. Y. 
-- 
* BEES IN APRIL. 
April is a test month for bees, as they are 
apt to suffer for want of food. The hives 
which have been in the cellar during the Winter 
may now be set outon the Summer stands; but 
the bees should not be allowed to fly much 
until there are flowers or blossoms of some 
kind from which they may gather honey. 
Bees, at this time of the year, consnme more 
honey than Is generally supposed, In rearing 
the brood, hence it is well to fetd them, while 
they cannot aid themselves, by inserting combs 
fllltji with honey, which they will gladly re¬ 
move and the empty cells will be appropriated 
for brood-rearing. Rye and oat meal should 
also be supplied as long as the bees will feed 
upon it. 
When the hives are first set out in the Spring 
it is advisable to take an inventory of each 
one to see what condition the bees are in, how 
the new brood is coining on, whether there is 
aDy loss of queens, etc., etc. During this ex¬ 
amination the weak swarms should be rein¬ 
forced from the strong, which may he done by 
inserting.In those which are weak brood-combs 
from the strong colonies. By having one spare 
hive to begin with, the entire number may be 
passed under observation, and the colonies be 
put in a condition for work. The apiarist 
