ff|f Jlfiaratt. 
HINTS TO INEXPEKIENCED BEE-KEEP¬ 
ERS, 
0. 0. GEORGESON. 
The honey-gathering season is past, and the 
surplus honey sold or stored away for future 
use. So far the inexperienced bee-keeper may 
have met with but few difficulties in the man¬ 
agement of his Btock, and encountered little or 
no loss. 
The most perplexing problem that now pre¬ 
sents itself to him for solution is how safely to 
winter his bees, so that in the spring they may 
oome ont healthy and strong, ready for another 
season's work. This is a question that often 
proves a stumbling-block to the inexperienced, 
and one in whiob a mistake will be most severe¬ 
ly felt. Yet, it is not at all a difficult matter if 
a few necessary precautions are observed, and 
of these I will first mention the necessity of 
keeping the colonies strong. 
Strong oolonies are to be preferred at all 
times, in the honey season as well as during the 
winter. It is from these that a good yield of 
honey is expected, and, other circumstances 
being equal, they endure best the inroads of 
robbers, disease and injudicious treatment. 
Weak colonies etaud but a small chance of pass¬ 
ing safely through a severe winter The bees 
are few in number, and if the temperature 
should sink rather low, they are more likely to 
suffer than those in a strong colony, especially 
if they have not been breeding as late as the be¬ 
ginning of October. Late breeding is of impor¬ 
tance ; it not only indicates the prolificness of 
the queen and the general vigor of the col¬ 
ony, but as bees live but from three to seven or 
eight months, according to the season, it sup¬ 
plies the colony with active bees for spring 
work. 
If for any reason there should be several weak 
colonies in the apiary, it iB better to unite two 
or more into one colony, before preparing them 
for winter, than to run the risk of loBiDg all be¬ 
fore spring. This may be safely accomplished 
by daily bringing the hives a few feet nearer to 
each other, till they stand side by side. Then, 
on a pleasant day, find the queens of both hives, 
remove the poorest one, and empty her bees 
into the other hive by taking each frame and 
holding it over the colony whose strength it is de¬ 
sired to increase ; give it a sharp jerk so that the 
bees fall off, and with a brush remove the few 
that still adhere to the comb. They may per¬ 
haps fight a little at first, but by smoking them 
with rags or roiteu wood, with a few pieces of 
onion added to the fuel in the smoker, the hos¬ 
tility will soon subside. 
In preparing for winter, which may be done 
now on any pleasant day during October, give to 
each colony thirty pounds of good capped honey; 
on a less amount they will be in danger of starva¬ 
tion, while more thau this will he superfluous. 
Pack the frames rather close together in the 
hive, and to facilitate communication from 
frame to frame, make a hole of about half an 
inch in diameter in the middle of eaoh comb. 
Put a division-board next to the frames; cover 
with a piece of quilt or thick cloth, ready for 
the purpose, and fill the vacant space in the 
hive, if any, with clean straw. Thus prepared 
the hives can remain at their places till cold 
weather sets in, when they snould be brought to 
their winter-quarters. 
Any dark, quiet room or cellar, free from 
dampness, and where a temperature of between 
35° and 45° to 50° can be maintained, forms 
suitable winter quaiters. It may not always be 
possible to command such a room, but the nearer 
these conditions can be approached, the better. 
Here, store the oolonies as closely together as 
convenient, and if they continue healthy through 
the winter, let them remain undisturbed till the 
warm days of spring again call them into activi¬ 
ty. Do not let the temperature rise above 50® F. 
if possible to prevent it. Above this tempera¬ 
ture the bees become restless, eat more than 
they otherwise would, aud are very liable to get 
dysentery. The presence of this disease may be 
known by a contiuual loud hum and noise in the 
hive, and, after a while (mostly when it is too 
far gone to be cured), a repugnant smell on 
opening the hive. If this disease should set in, 
choose the first warm aud pleasant day in which 
to remove them to their old places in the apiary, 
that they may enjoy a cleansing flight, and of 
course, bring them back again at night. On the 
other hand, if the temperature should sink much 
below freezing, ice may be formed on the comb 
and prevent the bees from getting to the honey, 
and they may die from the oombined cold and 
starvation. 
In lieu of such a wintering place as that above- 
mentioned, other methods may be resorted to. 
Each hive may remain at its place, and a box, 
about two feet longer each way than the hive, 
nailed together of rough boards and supplied 
with a movable, slanting cover, may be placed 
around it Tbeu pack the Bpace between the 
hive and box with chaff or straw, and seouro 
the cover from blowing off. To permit flight 
when desired, let a wooden tube lead from the 
entrance of the hive to the outside. This method 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
NOV. 2 
has been successfully employed here at the col¬ 
lege ; and if the colonies are strong and the place 
somewhat sheltered from the fierce winds, as the 
apiary always should be, such covering will be 
sufficient in all ordinary winters. 
Another method, which has also been success¬ 
fully tried here, is to bnry them in the ground. 
To this end. dig a hole in a dry, sandy spot, about 
three feet deep, and of such lateral dimensions 
as the case may require. Put some straw in the 
bottom, on which place the hives close together, 
and pack with clean Btraw all around the Bides 
and top. For the admittance of air, let a small 
tile lead from the hives to the top of the heap. 
Cover all with a layer of dirt sufficiently thick to 
exclude the frost, and they will remain safe till 
spring. For obvious reasons it is of importance 
that the place should be dry and the ground 
sandy, so as to allow free passage to any moist¬ 
ure that might gather from atmospherio precipi¬ 
tations. The hives should not reach above the 
level of the ground, nor should they be placed 
on top of each other, as the bees in the upper 
ones may get too warm, suffer from dysentery, 
aud die. 
During the winter, mice are sometimes trouble¬ 
some guests in the apiary, especially if the hives 
are surrounded by straw in which they can harbor. 
The best preventive is to have the hives so tight 
that they can gain no admittance. For the sake 
of ventilation, it is not well, however, to have the 
entrance closed air-tight. Therefore, fasten a 
piece of wire gauze over the entrance of the hives 
that may be in the cellar or that are buried in the 
ground; this will exclude mice and admit air; 
and over the entrance of hives, that are covered 
with boxes, as mentioned above, fasten a piece of 
tin about a quarter of an inch above the bottom 
board, so that the bees can just pass under the 
edge of it, while the mice are excluded. The 
ordinary dangers, then, to which bees are ex¬ 
posed during the winter, are starvation, mice, 
too rnuoh cold, too much warmth, or, as in the 
case of weak colonies, they may die a natural 
death, and from sheer lack of young bees the 
hives may in the spring be void of life. But if 
the inexperienced bee-keeper will follow the 
above hints, he need not despair of wintering his 
bees successfully. 
Michigan State Agricultural College. 
calf diaikn. 
CALIFORNIA SMALL FRUIT REPORT. 
THE STRAWBERRY. 
Of all the small fruits none is more popular 
with the masses in California than the straw¬ 
berry. The season just passed has been a beau¬ 
tiful one and very productive. The crop of 
strawberries was nnusually large, and at all 
times brought remunerative prices. 
In the strawberry there have been more im¬ 
provements made perhaps both in regard to 
quality and size than in any other kind of 
fruit. Onr growers are beginning to realize 
this, and during the past season have more or 
less extensively experimented with the newer 
and greatly improved varieties. These experi¬ 
ments have pointed out most distinctly that va¬ 
rieties which are most successful in one locality 
are entirely worthless in another, mailing an im¬ 
perative necessity for local selections. Another 
lesson which the observing grower has learned 
is, that varieties from one locality do much bet¬ 
ter than the same varieties from another section; 
thuB, a plant of Monarch of the West from 
Southern Ohio, will grow more luxuriantly and 
bear earlier and more abundantly than a plant 
of the same variety from northern or middle 
New York. It would be well for intending 
growers to experiment in this way in order to 
learn from what section to get their supplies. 
As to 
VARIETIES, 
I can only report those which have proved 
worthy of culture in El Dorado County. 
The Prolific is the standard variety 
throughout the State. Where irrigated and 
well cultivated, it produces abundance of large, 
rich fruit. In my grounds it commenced ripen¬ 
ing in May. 
The Monarch of the West is one of the most 
promising varieties here. It bearB large, rich 
fruit in abunda ce ; bears for a long season, not 
as constant as Prolific. 
The Pbouty’s Seedling will doubtless be 
in a few years a leading variety. It produces 
well, bearing abundantly large, rich berries. 
When irrigated, it bears from May to Novem¬ 
ber. The fruit is a bright red, delicious in fla¬ 
vor, of good size and a flue shipper. One thing 
that is absolutely necessary in a good straw¬ 
berry is, that it should be firm aud sound in or¬ 
der to insure good shipping. This quality the 
variety under consideration seemB to possess in 
a high degree. 
Bovden No. 30 is a very fine variety, bear¬ 
ing abundantly, but not as constantly as Pronty’s. 
The fruit is of good color, size and shape, mod¬ 
erately firm and a tolerable shipper. We have 
many other varieties, including the Oolonel 
Cheney, Great American, and other highly re¬ 
commended sorts, bat I cannot aB yet speak of 
their desirability for our section. If I were 
planting an acre of Strawberries, two-thirds 
would be occupied with Prolifio and Prouty’s 
Seedling. 
% poultry £arfi. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
For the past eleven years I have been inter¬ 
ested in everything I have seen printed about 
poultry, as I have been anxious to learn the best 
method of keeping fowlB, and whether a farmer 
could make any profit from a stock of 100 or 200 
hens. I have come to the conclusion that, ac¬ 
cording to the noarly unanimous verdict of 
different writers, there aro few things from 
which a farmer can derive so large a profit with 
so small an outlay, as from a flock of fowls of 
the right breed, properly treated. 1 have kept 
from 25 to 60 birds in order to ascertain by ex¬ 
periment wbiob breed was the best aud would 
yield the largest profit. My conclusion is that 
farmers can do much better with good common 
hens, w T ith soma good-blooded cock, than with a 
flock of fancy fowls. A good cross among poul¬ 
try is as valuable as among stock One of the 
most profitable kinds for a farmer is a cross be¬ 
tween the Leghorn hen and a Poland or Brah¬ 
ma cock. Their progeny are good layers, nice 
for the table aud profitable for market. The 
White Leghorn is the most profitable breed for 
eggs; they need a little more care thau some 
other sorts, bat care of poultry pays. 
In order to Becure a profit from fowls, how¬ 
ever, a few conditions aro essential. First, every 
farmer who keeps hens should build a hennery 
for them, so arranged that it can easily be kept 
clean and well ventilated. In winter the tem¬ 
perature in it should be warm enough to prevent 
it from freezing—say from 45 to CO Fah, A 
supply of fresh water therein is of great impor¬ 
tance; hens drink often if they can get water. 
Ground feed is beBt whon eggs are wanted. 
Corn and wheat middlings form an excellent 
combination for food ; but meat Bbould be given 
them, by way of a chauge, once or twice a week, 
if not oftenor. With a large flock of fowls this 
is essential. Nests should be made of bright 
straw instead of hay. Hens are pleased with a 
neat place for depositing their eggs, and appre¬ 
ciate good care. Hens receiving proper atten¬ 
tion will give a net profit of $1.50 to $2.00 a year 
each until they are four years old. Clam shells 
are excellent for making egg shells. They 
should be burnt, pulverized aud kept iu the hen¬ 
nery at all times, especially in winter. 
Broome Co., N. Y. D. 8. Hoyt. 
itisffUaitfous. 
GARDEN TALKS AND WALKS. 
RENOCLAF. 
The Beeches, Mass., Oct. 14th, 18T8. 
COLD-FRAMES. 
Most people know what these are aud how 
easily and cheaply they oan be made, how 
readily they may be moved about as desired, and 
the many precious plants we cau wiuter in them 
better than elsewhere. Plante suitable for cold- 
frames should be planted out rather than kept 
in pots, and in this way they will grow more 
stocky and robust, flower longer, aud need less 
care as regards watering and covering up. 
Sashes should be used to cover the frames, and 
in the event of severe weather, Russia mats, 
straw mats, wooden shutters, or loose straw 
may be plaoed over the sashes as additional pro¬ 
tection. Snow is a first-rate protection, but 
should never be left on the sashes after it begins 
to thaw. 
WHAT TO PLANT IN FRAMES 
is now in order. First throw out some of the 
old soil, and fill up to within ten inches or a foot 
from the sashes with fresn loam, some very old 
manure, aud leaf soil, if to be had ; aud if that 
be not free and open enough, add some sharp 
sauo. Then plant PauBies, Violets aud Daisies 
to blossom in winter aud spring, Christmas 
Roses for January, Alpine Cyclamens for Feb¬ 
ruary, Anemones and Polyanthuses for spring, 
and such other early-flowering beauties as we 
can conveniently get aud find room for. Be¬ 
sides, we want frame wiuter protection for a 
number of biennials for next Hummer’s flower 
gar-den : for instance, Snapdragons, Wallflowers, 
Canterbury Bells, Ceutranthus ruber, eto. And, 
again, there is a number of unreliably hardy 
perennials that are better wintered iu frames 
aud transposed to the open garden in spring: 
for example, Plumbago Larpentm, Verbena 
venoBa, Liatris elegaus, Vemonia Lindhoimera, 
and many others. True, in many places these 
are quite hardy, too, and iu some seasons aud 
under Borne circumstances they may survive the 
winters unscathed in localities where, were they 
growing under different circumstances, they 
would be winter-killed- Many hardy plants, as 
Winter Aconites, Jonqnils, Blue Squills, aud 
the like, are often grown in frames, but when 
these are perfectly hardy out-of-doors, I cannot 
Bee the economy of such tender nursing. How 
to take 
CARE OF PLANTS IN FRAMES 
is of great importance. Do not let heavy rains 
and snow fall on your Pansies, Violets and other 
plants you have set out for spring-blooming, but 
at the same time be careful to ventilate freely, 
day and night, on fine weather; remove the 
sashes altogether in fine days, replacing and 
tilting them up at night. As regards the an¬ 
nuals, biennials, aud perennials planted in 
frames merely to carry them through the winter, 
let them have a good deal of rough weather and 
frost from now till Christmas. Protect them 
from heavy rains, but at the same time tilt up 
the sashes or cover at back and front. Do not 
proteot them from slight frostH, either by day or 
night; iu faot, for a couple of mouths to come 
they may remain perfectly exposed, unless a 
severe frosty snap or two will come, when, of 
course, protection should be given. 
LEAVENWORTH’S ERYN00. 
Talking of grasses aud everlastings for winter 
bouquets, in a late number of the Rural. I see 
there is no mention of this beautiful plant It 
is a Texas annual. We treat it like stocks or 
Aster-t, aud uow, when almost all other hardy 
plants have done blooming, its branches are 
laden with brilliant deep-purple flower-heads 
aud involucral bracts, and the stems, too, have 
changed to the same color. But their great 
merit is their “everlasting" nature. Out now, 
they retaiu their beautiful coloring all winter 
long, and their branchy habit and odd-like 
flowers beiug so distinct from the ordinary 
winter-bouquet stuff, they are quite a deside¬ 
ratum. Besidos, like rosy cheeks, they are 
nature's coloring, that no dye can imitate. I do 
dislike dyed grasses or flowers. They are de¬ 
ceit. Give us uature and purity. 
[We are in hopes to be able to offer this as one 
of the varieties of our Free Seed Distribution to 
be announced next week.— Eds.] 
C00KIN0. 
MrB. V. F. K., p. 656, Oct. 12, asks some of 
the Rural ladies to furnish a good reliable re¬ 
cipe for Boston Brown Bread. Well, I am not a 
lady, but for the love I bear the blessed crea¬ 
tures, perhaps they will pardon me if I report 
from headquarters. Every Sunday morning, in 
true Boston style, we have brown bread and 
baked beans; we cook them at home, and as 
follows is just how we make our 
BOSTON BROWN BREAD. 
Dse one quart of Indiau meal, half quart rye 
meal, and quarter quart of wheaten flour; add a 
little salt, and barely a cupful of molasses. 
Raise it over night with yeast. Mix it soft with 
warm water in cool weather and cold water in 
summer time. Add a little salaratus in the 
morning before balling. Bake iu an earthen 
pot or tin pan—most people use the earthen 
pots. Bake slowly. 
Our womeu folks say you will not be likely to 
succeed well till after two or three attempts. I 
never cared much for brown bread, but I do like 
what we call 
FRENCH TOAST. 
Cat some white bread into one-half or one- 
third inch slices, then beat up some eggs with a 
little milk and sugar added, dip both sides of the 
bread in this, and dust on some powdered cin¬ 
namon. Then fry the slices till slightly browned’ 
taking care to have the frying-pan hot aud well 
larded before putting the bread iuto it. 
These are not book recipes, but written to 
practical dictation. 
-- 
THE TRUTH ABOUT IT. 
[Under this heading, a number of articles 
have been prepared by able writers. These will 
appear from time to time. Their object is uot 
at all to deal with “humbugs”—but with the 
many unconscious errors that creep into the 
methods of daily country routiue life.— Eds.] 
POPULAR ERROR ABOUT CHESS OR 
CHEAT. 
There is rarely a generally popular delusion 
that has not Home truth at the bottom of it, or 
some truth has been the seed from which it has 
sprung. One of the most popular delusions of 
the agricultural mind is that wheat or other 
small grains change their character under some 
circumstances, the former producing chess or 
cheat; aud oats, araoug the latter, producing bar¬ 
ley. Recently, as might have been expected 
from the constant wheat-growing in California, 
chess has begun to abound everywhere, and this 
weed is so prevalent as to give occasion to con¬ 
siderable popular excitement. The old idea has 
revived, aud has gained such strength that men 
who seem to bo otherwise well-iuformed, are 
insisting that the prevalent cheBs is degenerated 
wheat. Now, it is useless to argue with men 
who will believe that one plant, by reason of un¬ 
toward oirenmstanoos, will change iuto another 
as different from it in Its structure as au apple 
tree from a rosebush or a blackberry; or as 
different in character as a sheep and a goat. 
But the idea haB become fixed iu men’s minds 
because the growth of a plant from a seed is 
something that is invisible to them in some 
caseB, and they do not realize that no living 
thing exists that has not been derived from a 
seed, an egg, or some other similar source of 
