* 
Saugatuck is the next port as we go north. I 
Wo have, so far, been unable to obtain a state¬ 
ment of the shipments from this port: and from 
thobest information at hand, we estimate them 
at about the amount shipped from South Haven, 
as given above, viz • 195,000 pecks. 
We are indebted to C. A. Dutton, of Holland, 
for a statement of the shipments from that port 
as follows, viz: 
Peaches, in pecli baskets. 13.827 
Grapes “ “ ... 6.72fi 
Pears “ . ™ 
(.'rat: apples " “ .• j8 
Apples, til barrels, 2,522, or.. — h -' 8 
12,-107 
These give a total of ascertained shipments, 
(with the exception of the estimate for Bauga- 
tuck,) amounting to 1,955,251 pecks of fruit. 
The shipments, especially of grapes and small 
fruits, from the port of Grand Haven have 
doubtless been quite large ; but we have been, 
so far, unable to secure any reliable statement 
of tbo amounts. The same is true of the still 
more northerly ports of Muskegon, Whitehall, 
Peutwater. Lndington, Frankfort and Grand 
Traverse Bay ; at nearly ali of which, important 
fruit interests are known to exist, although 
much of the country is yet comparatively new. 
We are beyond doubt well within the truth, iu 
estimating the total shipments of the ports from 
Grand Haven, northward, at 1,000,000 pecks ; 
which gives the sum of 2,955,251 pecks, or 738,- 
813 bushels as the total of the shipments from 
the Michigan “ Fruit Bolt" during the season 
now just expired. 
This doubtles may he regarded as an extraor¬ 
dinary result, when we consider that the busi¬ 
ness has almost wholly grown up within the 
last twelve or fifteen years ; and such growth 
must, no doubt, be mainly attributed to the con¬ 
fidence that our great equalizer of temperatures 
—lake Michigan—can by no possibility fail us. 
But that, while broad regious of country may, 
or do become arid and frosty from the reckless 
destruction of timber ; these broad, restless, 
unfrozen waters must ever contribute, as now, 
to the mellowing of the frosts of winter, as well 
as to tbo tempering of the fervid heats of sum¬ 
mer ; their changeless character constituting a 
sure guarantee that, iu the future, as now, the 
devotee of Pomology shall find, upon theso 
shores, a home alike fur himself and his cher¬ 
ished specialty. 
The plauting of fruits along the entire shore 
is proceeding at accelerated rates ; and when we 
consider that, with the exception of berries, 
nearly the entire shipments above enumerated 
may the said to be the product of orchards as yet 
only partially in bearing, it will be readily con- 
> reived that the increase is likely to he at least 
1 fully maintained, for some years to come. 
Doubilesa one of the most encouraging cir¬ 
cumstances connected with the growing of fruits 
1 along this shore of the Lake is the fact that 
f even the most delicate and perishable fruits can 
■ be left upon the plants tilL fully ripo—put on 
3 board steamers at night, and be laid down in any 
r of the cities upon the Lake, iu the oarly rnorn- 
1 ing, as fresh as when gathered, instead of being 
subjected to t'ao necessity of being gathered bo- 
1 fore maturity to enable them to Lear the jar and 
y jolt of a ear over hundreds of miles of railroad 
s before they can reach the consumer. 
f South Haven, Dec. 31, ’77. 
The reason why there are so many different 
views and theories about it, that bee-keepers 
take it for granted, in many oases, that a thing 
is bo because some noted apiarist has said it is 
so; and thereafter a hundred pens may bo used 
to uphold a fallacy. Now, where is the record 
of any experiments made to tost the claim that 
the extractor should be used to remove honey 
from combs to securo t he bees wintering Bafely ? 
Who has tried the two systems thoroughly, 
side by side, for a series of years, and given the 
result to the world? Nobody, as far as I can 
learn, but, Mr. Betsingkr, whose statements Mr. 
Boot opposes as grossly erroneous ; and he (Mr. 
B.) says, that his bees that had honey extracted 
died, while those that had none extracted w in¬ 
tered Bafely. Mr. Boor says that ho believes 
his theory “ corresponds with the opinion of 
every practical bee-keeper, unless it bo Mr. Bet- 
hinder.” Now, suppose the question wore put 
to “every” practical bee-keeper in the United 
States, Mr. Boot would, undoubtedly, be sur¬ 
prised to find that nine in ton never heard 
of such a question before, as but a small portion 
of the bee-keepers of this country are readers 
of our journals ; and. consequently, the most of 
them are not informed on what professional 
erate one ; .it is now wortii ana ndii ui 
more gone to market. Corn was not very good , 
it is worth 40c.; oats, extra good, worth 25c.; 
pork, 4; .C., and dull; cattle and all kinds of 
stock very low and hard to sell at any 
price. D. H. Williams. 
Rural Grounds, Jan. 5. 
The ground, for the first time this season, is 
quite well frozen, and the Bural Lake skimmed 
over with ice. But the freezing duriug tho two 
or three uights past, thaws before noon, and 
only serves to render tho roads aud walks slip¬ 
pery with mud. Wo havo already said that this 
section of the country has never known so pleas- 
aut a summer and fall. It seems now as i f win¬ 
ter might be added, to make tho anomaly ex¬ 
tend through three-quarters of tho year. 
OUTAGAMIE (JO. WlH, Dec. 33, '77. 
We have had tea days, from tho 18th to the 
28th of Dec., without froBt, and still it rains 
and is warm. Regular Florida weather up here 
in northern Wisconsin. The mud is awfully 
deep aud farmers are obliged to abide under 
their own vine aud fig tree, or rather roof tiee. 
E. Nye. 
redeeming qualities. His brilliant plumage, 
modest note aud unassuming manners, are at¬ 
tractive qualities which reconcile us to the little 
mischief he is said to be guilty of, and he can 
make a meal of what the robins would discard. 
Of all tho insectivorous birds, none have to my 
knowledge been reported that will devour the 
hairy caterpillar, to which there seems to be an 
instinctive aversion by both bird and fowl. Borne 
years since, when caterpillars were plentiful, I 
observed from the window of tho room I daily 
occupy, an oriole which seemed to bo feeding 
upon something on an apple trto directly in 
front of tho window, which caused me to take 
particular notice of his movements, and the pro¬ 
cess was as follows:—He first caught the worm, 
and placing lus foot upon it, seized it by the 
head, and by a dexterous movement drew it 
from it s coat-of-mail and swallowed the contents, 
leaving the hairy pelt upon tho tree; this waB 
repeated several times before ho loft the tree. 
If any of [your correspondents has witnessed a 
similar operation, it would serve to strengthen 
the testimony iu favor of the oriole. The birds 
should have a fair hearing before judgement is 
pronounced against them; and a close observa¬ 
tion of their habits is the only means of coming 
to a just decision as to their respective merits. 
A Budscriber. 
Prince William Co., va., Jan. 1, 1878. 
We have no cause to complain of the past sea¬ 
son hereabouts. Tho weather lias been line for 
our dock. Young cattle, sheep, etc., are yet in 
grass and looking well, and we are still working 
out-of-doors, plowing, teaming, etc. 
MY BEES AGAIN 
Last year I wrote you about my bees. This 
year I report again. Last spring I had seven 
swarms, aud sold two of thorn for 512. Tlie 
other five swarms I hired a man, who kuew 
more about bees than I did, to transfer into 
patent frame hivos of his own invention, paying 
him $5 for his patent right, aud for the hiveB 
which I used during tho summer, amounting, in 
all, to $27. My live swarms increased to elevejn, 
two of which I sold this fall for £12. Now tho 
account stands thus: 
THE GREAT LAKES AND FRUIT CULTURE 
Elkhorn, Wls., Dec. 31, 187T. 
No frosts for two weeks, but plenty of rain and 
mud. _ A - D - “• 
Hudson, N. Y., Jan. 3. 
First severe cold weather iu this region. 
T. T. LYON. 
In the continuation of our remarks on this 
subject, from page 322 of your last volume, we 
are not left to adduce the recent discovery of 
tho capacity of our climate for tho purpose, as 
tho sole reason for so sudden and rapid a devel- 
oneuient of this interest hero. Very' much is 
By sale of 180 lbs. box honey, at 20 cts 
2 swarms bees sold, at tO.. . 
9 swarms bees on hand, at $b. 
Du. 
To 5 swarms In the spring, worth $fi... .?30 00 
Transferring, patent right aud 
jjtves....27 09— 51 W) 
Balance profit. 30 
Also: 
DR. 
To time and care . ? 
Cr. 
By honey used In the family...$ 
This, I think, would run the total product of 
honey up to about 250 lbs. 
Our honey was extra good this year, being 
made in the oarly part of the season, from tho 
white clover aud basswood. My stockB are all 
strong and in good order this fall, and 1 still 
think it pays to keep boes. John Rustiucs. 
Wls., Dec,, 1 - 877 . 
WINTERING BEES 
T. D. MINER. 
INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS 
every garden affords, Btich as strawberries, cher¬ 
ries, grapes, and other fruits ; and the question 
at issue seems to bo, whether the birds shall he 
destroyed, or allowed to monopolize the early 
l’ruits of tho season. Birds are always welcome 
visitors. We listen for the first modest note of 
tho bluebird to assure us that spring has corno, 
aud as the season advances, one songster after 
another niingleB its notes aud joins iu tho gene¬ 
ral chorus. Tho various tints of their plumage 
attract the eye, aud their different habits are 
studies of interest to the close observer. All 
this is in favor of the birds, and should they 
taka to their wings and leave us birdloss, our 
fields aud forests would lose much of their at¬ 
traction. 
Among the birds named as mischievous is the 
robin, aud he seems to be guilty of the charges 
brought, against him, tor ho is bold, saucy, vora¬ 
cious i 
CHEAP TURNIPS. 
Having cleared a piece of new land this sum¬ 
mer, for winter wheat, I selected about an acre 
from one end of the piece, shovel-plowed it 
thoroughly and harrowed it, then sowed it to 
turnips. For plowing new land we use a strong 
shovel-plow made for the purpose with a round 
pointed coulter attached to the point of tho 
shovel, so that when it strikes a root it will pass 
over and not catch. The soil was loam, and 
somewhat dry, being a beech aud maple ridge. 
Tho seed was sown about the middle of J une 
broadcast, and harrowed in among the stumps, 
receiving no further e&ro until pulling time. 
A neighbor harvested the crop on shares, I 
furnishing man and team to haul it into the 
cellar. My share measured fourteen two-horse 
wagon-loads, which we called 350 bushels ; his 
share was about three loads. 
Now for tho cost which would stand about 
thus: To three days work, man and team, 
plowing, harrowiug, and hauling, £6.00. By 
350 bushels turnips, worth how much ? After 
harvesting the turnips the land was shovel- 
plowed, aud is ready to sow tp spring wheat, so, 
although I fail to get winter wheat on that part 
of my field, I shall, however, got a crop of 
spring wheat worth just as much and harvested 
at tho same time as the winter wheat which was 
on tho rest of the field. J. b. 
that thus stored to enable them to winter safely, 
if they are otherwise in good condition. 
2. That strong families of bees, if the queen 
is prolific, and has continued to breed freely up 
to November, as all should do, will winter safely, 
without the removal of any honey from the 
combs where the Lues cluster. 
3. That tho bees must havo a supply of lioney 
on the same combs on which they cluster, or 
they will perish, if the weather bo so cold that 
they cannot leave the cluster as often as onoo a 
week, or perhaps ten days. 
3. That the removal of the honey in the cen¬ 
tral combs by an extractor iu the fall, arter the 
honey-harvest is passed, endangers the safely of 
the bees, uulcss they be wintered in a place 
so warm, that they can pass from one comb to 
another often enough to supply themselves with 
food. 
But it is to be expected that apiarists will dif¬ 
fer in their opinions on many questions pertain¬ 
ing to bees, as men do who are engaged in other 
pursuits; and 1 think I am safe in saying, that 
there is no man living who understands the 
nature aud management of bees perfectly. That 
is, so perfectly that he can learn nothiug more. 
and insistent, ne preys upou the choicest 
fruits of tho season, and a fair trial of the robin 
for his uiisdomoanors would doubtless result in 
a verdict of banishment for lifo. It is true that 
we should miss his cheerful notes at early morn 
during the summer months, but a rich dish of 
strawberries or cherries would compensate for 
his absence, for ho generally secures his own 
breakfast before he gives notice that ho is stir¬ 
ring. I noticed, the present season, after I had 
gathered all my grapes except one vino of a small 
late kind, that the robins, after reconnoiteriug 
tho garden and finding their occupation gone, 
sought out theungatherod vine and before I was 
aware of it, every grapo had disappeared. 
The writer iucludes the Oriolo as one of the 
marauders that infest the garden; but he is 
From Clapp’s pier, (formerly Marks) : 
Peaches, in baskets of one peck each....... ....... 
•• boxes, (supposed to be half bushels, 
BerricsIm'h'aVf bushel crates, UK), or. 
Apples, in barrels, 718, or. 
sown 
Freedom AVIs, 
