queens never was practiced, and never can be. 
Another system of management that he recom¬ 
mended was to re-qnoen all hives every season, 
saying, “ If we can buy these queens that we 
need at $1 or $1.50 each, we had better do it.” 
Jlis reason forre-qnooning was that when queens 
are “ driven under high pressure," they will not 
be sufficiently fertile the second year. The rule 
is, that queens live about four years, and are 
more or less fertile during that time. In most 
cases, we claim, they are as fertile the second 
and third years as the first; and it will be a long 
time, we think, before our bee-keepers adopt 
Mr. Hasbrouck's theory. 
Mr. 8. M. Locke spoke on “Introducing 
Queens.” He said that bees generally refuse to 
receivo a strange queen, because she is of a dif¬ 
ferent scent; and his system lies in smoking the 
bees that are queenless with tobacco, also the 
queen to be introduced; then immediately put 
her into the lnve, and sho will bo well received. 
At the close of the Convention, the question 
was asked :—“ Are patents on hives and imple¬ 
ments for the apiary, detrimental to progress in 
bee culture ?” 
Mr. Kino replied that many persons bad been 
humbugged by worthless patent hives, and other 
articles ; yet, on the whole, ho thought they had 
been beneficial, and that the advanced state of 
bee-keeping is largely owing to the fact that 
pioneers in the business were protected in the 
use and sale of their patents. 
Tho question was now askod:—“Was Mr 
Langstroth the inventor of the movable 
frames ?” 
Mr. Kino Baid he was not—that they were 
originally invontod in Europe. Mr. Kino is well 
posted on this subject, as Mr. Lanostuotu sued 
his brother for an alleged infringement of his 
patent; they had a trial that was most thorough, 
and Mr. King beat him, and from that time tho 
Lanostuotu patent has boon free to the public, 
the Court deciding that it was not valid. 
-- 
DUTIES OF AN APIARIST. 
Reply to T. 8. Miner. 
BY O, M. DOOLITTLE. 
In Rural for Oct. 27th, Mr. Miner seems to 
lay great stress upon hives, and says that it 
looks suspiciously likely that the object of our 
report, given in a former number of the Rural, 
was to sell hives. Such, however, was not the 
case, as we do not manufacture hives for sale ; 
for we find it much more profitable to Bpend our 
time upon our boos, than we could possibly make 
it manufacturing hives for sale. Mr. Minkii also 
gays—speaking of our report as “ fabulouB.”— 
“ These statements are generally so written that 
any one not experienced in boe-kooping, is apt 
to think that all he has to do, is lo Inly 25 or 50 
hives to make a fortune.” This we wore well 
aware of, and to overcome this very objection to 
large reports, we said in conclusion, that if any 
one could not spoud on bees the amount of 
time required, he had better keep out of 
tho business. Wo know of no business that a 
man can make profitable while simply folding 
his hands and sitting idly* 
by. We work from early 
morn till late at night, av- ( 
eraging 15 hours’ work ev¬ 
ery day, the year round— 
Sunday excepted—bee-keep¬ 
ing being our only business. 
Mr. Miner says “ since 
18G8, no improvements have J|p| 
been marie in hives to 
change the result materially 
as regards box honey." This 
we are willing to admit, as m 
far as the body of tho hive 
is concerned; but the ar¬ 
rangement of section boxes 
and the present mode of 
management of bees to se~ | 
cure largo yields, are far in 
advance of what they were | 
in 1868. 
In order to give the read¬ 
ers of the Rural a little 
insight into tho present 
management of bees, we 
will give a brief sketch of a 
part of the duties of an api¬ 
arist. Of course, it is under¬ 
stood we have a movable 
frame hive of some kind; 
the best of which are those 
of Langstroth, Quinby and 
Gallup. We prefer the Gal¬ 
lup frame to auy other. 
Spring opens; our bees are 
all examined by lifting the 
frames of each hive, and if 
the stocks are weak, the 
bees are shut to one side of 
the hive by means of a divis¬ 
ion board, so as to keep up 
the necessary heat for brood 
rearing. A queen will lay about 700,000 
eggs during her life-time, and usually lives 
out full ouos and putting empty ones in their 
places as long as the honey season lasts. Queens 
from four to five years; but under the present are kept constantly on hand, so that no swarm 
system of management, we coax the queens to is allowed to go queonleBs from any cause, as wo 
lay all these eggs in two or three years. The have shown that tho queen is, iu fact, the pro- 
A NEW DOU13to Bj VIOLKT,-(Be« puge 3-33.) 
readors all know that bees gather houey, and 
that, those eggs laid by the queen produce boos ; 
consequently the more eggs the queen lays tho 
more bees we got, and the more bees wo have, 
tho more honey they gather. Therefore it will 
be seen that wo got as much honey from a stock 
of bees now In ono year, as was gotten in 1868 In 
two or three years. But to return, an soon as 
the queen, with her eggs, has filled tho combs 
that we gave her when contracting the hive by 
means of tho division board, wo spread them 
apart, inserting an empty comb between those 
occupied with brood, aud, iu a few days’time, 
the queen will fill this ono also ; and so we keep 
on till every available cell is occupied with brood 
or young hoes. Whou this is accomplished, we 
ducer of tho houoy. In short, do things at the 
right time and in the right place, leaving no 
stoue unturned that will produce one pound 
more honey. 
Thus Mr. Miner will see that it iB not “ the 
hive we use" which produces these “fabulous" 
yields of honey, but a thorough knowledge of 
the inside of a beehive at all times, and an un¬ 
tiring energy in the prosecution of our business. 
As wo said before, wo use the Gallup frame and 
prefer it to all others, aud in connection with 
the Uetsiuger section box, wo do not think it can 
bo excelled. The Gallup frame is KW, by IllJJj 
inches, inside measure, and wo use nine sm. li 
frames to each hive. We use thirty boxes to 
each hive, eight on each side and fourteen on 
top. Thoso boxes hold lbs. when well filled. 
For tho benefit of Mr. Miner and the readers 
of the Hu u.u. we will say this much: Wo com. 
taken from one of my apple trees. Auy infor¬ 
mation in regard to it will bo roceivod with 
pleasure. 
REPLY BY MISS EMMA A. SMITH. 
Tub cocoon sent me, fouud upon the Applo 
tree, is that of one of our most beautiful moths. 
During tho latter part of May or the first of 
.Inna the moth emerges, and, when expanded, 
measures from five inches ami tlneo-qiiarters to 
six Inches and a half. "The hind wings are 
rounded and not tailed. Tho ground-color of 
the wings is of a grizzled, dusky brown, with 
t.he hinder margins elay-colorcd ; near the mid¬ 
dle of each of tho wings there is an opaque, kid¬ 
ney-shaped. dull-red spot, having a white center 
and a narrow black edging; and beyond the spot 
a wavy, dull-red baud, bordered internally with 
white; the fore wings, naxt to the shoulders, 
are dull red, with a curved white hand ; and 
near tho tips of the same is an eye-liko black 
spot, within a bluish-white crescent; t he upper 
side of the body and the legs are dull-red ; tho 
fore pavt of the thorax and tho hinder edges of 
tho rings of tho abdomen are white; and the 
belly is checkered with red aud wbito."— Harris. 
The eggs are deposited by the female moth on 
the food-plant upon which the larva; will sub¬ 
sist. These, when full-grown, measure over four 
Inches in length, and are thicker around than a 
man’s thumb. When occurring iu numbers, they 
can defoliate a small tree in a short ti ne, and 
would ilo serious damage wuro they not checked 
by parasites, which live In the body of the cater¬ 
pillar, and eventually destroy its life. Birds, 
too, are fond of them, and greedily devour them. 
Tho larva is of a light-green oolu^. When full- 
grown, on the top of the second ring are two 
huge, globular, coral red warts, beset with about, 
fourteen very short,, black bristles; the two 
warts on tho top of the third ring are like those 
on tho second, lint rather larger ; on the top of 
the seven following tings there are two very 
long, egg-shaped, yellow warts, bristled at the 
end, ami a single wart of larger size on the 
eleventh ring ; on each side of Urn body there 
arc two longitudinal rows of long, light-blue 
warts, bristled at the end, aud an additional 
short row below them, along tho first five rings. 
During the month of September tho larva at¬ 
taches itself to the tree or shrub, and spins a 
silken web, inside which it, changes to tho chrys¬ 
alis. About two wicks aro required from the 
time the worm commences to spin, for the com¬ 
pletion of the chrysalis. The winter months oro 
passed in this form, when they limy be gathered, 
and, if inclosed In a box, the moth can be se¬ 
cured in the following spring. They arc seldom 
soon, since they are nocturnal In their (light. 
The cocoons have been found attached to tho 
Apple, Cherry, Currant. Barberry, llwzel, Plum, 
Hickory, Blackberry, Elderberry, Elder, Elm, 
l.ilac, Hod-root, Maple, Willow, Hooey-locust, 
I’ear and Plum. 
LEAF OF DBAO.KNA GOLDXKANA. 
put on boxes, and it will be seen that if any 
houoy is gathered, it must be put in the boxes, 
as there is no room elsewhere to place it. Each 
box has a small piece of comb attached to tho 
top, as a start, so tho bees will work more read¬ 
ily In tho boxes, while the center tier of hoxos 
is full of comb left over from the previous year. 
Our new swarms are all furnishod with empty 
cornb, if possible, in tho body of tho hive, aud 
tho boxes are put on as soon as the bees are 
hived. As soon as tho first four or five boxes 
are filled, they aro taken off while snow-white, 
and empty ones put in their places, thereby 
causing tho bees to work with renewed vigor, 
to fill up tho vacant space left where tho full 
onoB wore taken out. Aud so we keep on taking 
meucod koepiug bees in 186!) by buying two 
swarms, and have increased said two swarms to 
our present number, losing more than one- 
half our colonics durir g the winters of 1872-3 
and 1874 5. We confess we do not know how to 
winter bees. Last winter swept off four-fifths 
of all tho boos in this county. 
Borodino, N. J. 
THE CECROPIA SILK-WORM, 
(Plalysamia cecropia, Linn.) 
W. L. WMlehurst .—The inclosed insect was 
DRACAENA HOUSE 13. S. WILIHAMS NURSERIES, I -ONDON. 
BRIEFLETS. 
Feeding-Boxes instead of Hacks for Horses 
may ho made equally convenient, aud possess 
several advantages. HorscB do not naturally 
gather their food from trees; why, then, should 
they be compelled iu winter to take it from a 
rack overhead ? in doing so, every mouthful re¬ 
quires the animal to assume an unnatural position 
which, especially in the case of young horses, is 
likely to interfere with the proper development 
of tho muscles of the neck and with the graceful 
carriage of the head. Not improbably the awk¬ 
ward manner in which some 
horses thrust their heads 
forward and upward, is duo 
to the force of habit acquir¬ 
ed in feeding from a rack. 
Moreover, there is danger of 
Heed, dust, etc., falling into 
the eves of the animals. All 
tie effluvia of the'stable, 
too, tho vapors from liquid 
aud solid excrements, the 
exhalations from skin and 
lungs, pass upward, and are, 
to Borne extent, absorbed by 
the hay — an addition nei¬ 
ther savory nor healthful. 
The feed-box is open to none 
of these objections. 
Lime as food for plants 
should bo applied in very 
small doses, but frequently. 
When wanted for manure, 
shell lime is better than 
stone liinu. When required, 
not for plant-food, but to de¬ 
compose other materials in 
the soil, such as inert inor¬ 
ganic matter, then a more 
liberal application may be 
made, but it should never bo 
mixed with any manure of 
a nitrogenous kind—such 
as night soil, phosphates, 
guano, or barnyard manure. 
Lime may he mixed with 
salt, or sour muck or any 
organic matter not readily 
decomposable. Never apply 
lime to soil within a day or 
two of the time when man¬ 
ure has boon applied. 
855 
THE RURAL ME 
ER. 
