and to see how plainly he shows that it is not 
because of any bad qualities in grape or vine, 
but because he does not like the way iu which 
it is heing put before the public. If he does 
not like the plan adopted by the owners, he 
has a right to criticise it and also to exercise 
the right of all free Americans and “let it 
alone;’’ but when he attempts to prejudice 
people against it, he does what he surely has 
no right to do over the signature of “Secre¬ 
tary ’’ and what can only be accounted for 
by remembering the story of the fox and the 
sour grapes. J. S. Woodward. 
Secretary Niagara Grape Co. 
THE TKUTH ABOUT IT. 
LTitk object of articles under this heading Is not so 
much to deal with "humbugs" as with the many un¬ 
conscious errors that creep Into the methods of dally 
country routine life.— Eds.1 
IS BEE-KEEPING PROFITABLE. 
G. M. DOOLITTLE. 
As much error and prejudice exist in the 
minds of many as regards bee-keeping as a 
profitable business, I will give the readers 
of the Rural some facts in my own exper¬ 
ience, and wbat I believe to be the truth in 
the matter. 
My crop of honey produced during the sea¬ 
son of 1881 was, most of it, sent to commission 
merchants, as I was not able to find a sale 
for it at prices which I thought it ought to 
sell for, hence the present time finds me bear¬ 
ing from the last lot which closes out my 
entire crop. The most of my cr«p was ship¬ 
ped in lots of about 300 pounds each to differ¬ 
ent commission men in New York. Boston, 
Philadelphia, etc., and sold quickly at 20and 
22c per pound, while the lot just closed out, 
which was shipped to a large dealer, together 
with a large consignment of my neighbors’ 
on the co operative plan recommended by 
some, brought from 12 cents per pound up to 
20, thus proving that the co operative plan is 
not alw'uys the best. 
After placing the amount of this last sale on 
my ledger, it wus but natural that I should 
look over the debit and credit columns to see 
what my b.’es bad paid me lor rny season’s 
labor. After footing up the whole receipts, 
and deducting therefrom the expenses incur¬ 
red by t he bees, 1 find I have an average profit 
of 120.08 for each colony 1 had in the Spring. 
Thus, it w ill he seen, il a person can care for 
100 colonies of bees (and it is done by many 
of our practical apiarists), it will give an in¬ 
come of $2,003, a year. But to be on the 
safe side, suppose we call it 00 colonies, these 
will give a salary of $1481,50. 1 will admit 
that the season of 1881 was better than an 
average one for honey in this locality, and 
therefore to be 6ure and not get our figures 
too high, we will take off $481.50 from the 
above, when w e have left $1000 as an average 
yearly income for one person. As proof that 
the above is not overdrawn, I will say that I 
have cleared, on an uverage, over $1000 from 
my bees each year for the past nine years 
with an average of less than 50 colonies each 
year. 
That bee keeping will compare favorably 
with any other pursuit in life I firmly believe, 
and the cause w hy so many fail in it is that 
they do not properly attend to it. Men w ill 
givu their cattle and horses the best of care, 
but, when it comes to the bees, they let them 
take care of themselves, with the exception of 
hiving swarms and putting on and taking 
off boxes. What would they expect from 
their cows if treated in that way 1 The keep¬ 
ing of cows means milking twice a day tor at 
least 210 days out of the year, and feeding 
them three times a day for 180 days to say 
nothing about cleaning stables and other work 
necessary to carry on a dairy. When men 
are willing to thus care for bees, they will 
find they will give a greater profit than can 
be obtained from cows, or any other branch 
of rural industry. Beekeeping means work, 
energetic work, “a place for everything and 
everything in its place,” and to know how to 
do things just at the right time and iu the 
right place, If we would make it profitable. 
We f Iso want the best bees, the best bee¬ 
hive, and all the modern appliances, just as 
our enterprising dairymen would have the 
best breed of cows and the best utensils to 
care for the milk. Also, a man must have a 
liking for the busiuess. No man will ever 
make bee keeping profitable who had rather 
lounge about a country store or tavern than 
lie at work in hfsapiary. In fact, a person will 
not succeed in any business unless he has 
enough love for his calling in life to induce 
him to be diligent and faithful thereto. 
“Seest thou a man diligent in his business, 
he shall stand before kings ” was what King 
Solomon said to bis son, and the saying is as 
true to-day as it ever was. If a person is not 
willing to spend time on his bees which they 
require, he had better keep out of the busi¬ 
ness; for sooner or later he will become dis¬ 
gusted with it, if it is undertaken with the 
idea that “ bees work for notbiug and Board 
themselves.” 
Borodino, N. Y. 
A Hand Sheaf-binder, 
Having some time since read in the Rural 
an article on the waste of grain from making 
bands of the straw, I was led to think w hether 
an improvement could not be made on this 
mode of binding grain by hand. I therefore 
hit upon a plan of binding with a string and 
a piece of inch board three inches square. On 
trial I found that I could bind a bundle in 
less than half the time the old mode of binding 
STANCHIONS. 
It is both pleasing and profitable to read 
the experiem e and suggestions of Col. Curtis, 
but in a late Rural he seems to crowd pretty 
hard against the stanchion. I fear, if he were 
a cow, he would break his neck. 
The stanchion certainly has good points 
enough to merit a championship. Cattle are 
not the particular, sensitive beings they are 
sometimes supposed to be. Give them their 
bellyful of respectable food, and little care 
they whether “ school keeps ” or uot. They 
will often stand out in the mud half-knee deep 
amid a blinding sno tv or pelting rain when 
there is a dry shed within two feet of them. 
This indicates, I think, in some degree at least, 
that whatever loss arises from such treatment 
is caused by the wear and tear of the elements 
outside and uot from any inward irritation, 
or mental uneasiness. 
But to return: I do not claim that the 
stanchion is the very best fastening for cows; 
but, properly constructed, it is the best that the 
average farmer or dairyman can devise. 
1st. It is by far the most economical. The 
premises that I purchased here n year ago 
contained stable room for five cows. I fitted 
it with stanchions with little outlay, and it 
accommodates twelve with ample room for 
feeding aud milking, thus saving the expense 
of a new barn or shed. 
2d. There is much time saved, as they can 
be fastened and unfastened so much more 
quickly and the work can be left to a boy or 
woman if the “boss” is absent. This would 
be of great importance in case of a fire. Of 
course, we do not expect to burn up, but we 
may, and in such a case the suaps or knots 
would be sure to be out of order, aud the 
jacknife in the other pants' pocket in the closet 
up-s* airs. 
3d. They are economical of feed. Cattle 
w T ill eat almost anything placed before them 
in stanchions, much of which they would pull 
under their feet if fed in common mangers. 
4th. They are economical as to bedding. 
Cows can be kept cleau without any bedding 
if necessary; but I prefer to give them plenty. 
5th. They are neat and clean. In them, 
cows can be kept without a particle of filth 
attaching to them—a point of great import¬ 
ance to the dairyman. 
’ 0th. They are complete cow tamers. Last 
Summer I bought two cows that were so wild 
and vicious that their owners were letting 
their calves run with them. They were too 
took. There is therefore a great advantage 
iu binding by this new mode. A set of these 
binders would last a long time and the expense 
would be but a trifle. The sketch, Fig. 135. 
shows that the grain can be unbound as quickly 
as the ordinary band can be cut with a knife. 
The thing is lot patented. John Burdltt. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
[A knot holds the cord in the hole made by 
an augur, at any desired length.—E ds.] 
5Lvbotiat 
Ultra l. 
EXOCHORDA GRANDIFLORA. 
Horticola’s remarks on Exochorda grand- 
iflora, in a late Rural, are in the right direc¬ 
tion to help bring this beautiful shrub into 
notice, and it is deserving of all the praise that 
may be bestowed upon it. It is of good habit, 
and the plant itself is quite attractive, but 
when laden with its beautiful flowers in early 
Summer it is indeed exquisitely beautiful, and 
its equal is seldom seen among hardy shrubs. 
The propagation is not as easy as in case of 
most shrubs, still it is not difficult if under¬ 
stood; certainly not enough so to justify 
growers in asking the prices of the present 
day. The easiest method is by the whip-graft¬ 
ing on a piece of the root, the same as working 
apples. The best time is in the latter part of 
Winter; then pot at once and place in a house 
where the temperature is about 50 deg. at 
night and 00 deg. in the day, and shade from 
the sun’s rays so as not to start the tops too 
soon. As soon as growth has commenced the 
plants should have a warmer position and the 
shading should be dispensed with. Propaga¬ 
tors will know about when this should be done. 
J urns; ton Harvester Co.’s. Automaho Twink Bivder.—Fig. 136. 
wild to milk. After a few days’ rebellion in 
stanchions, they quietly settled down to the 
true life business of the cow. 
7th. In stanchions cows possess a feeling 
of safety no where else found. It is pleasing 
to see this manifested when some ugly-tem- 
pered one slams her head around to strike her 
neighbor, but cannot quite hit her. 
8th. Cattle grow and fatten well In them. 
A cousin who keeps all his cattle in stanchions, 
lately sold a heifer, two years old past, for 
beef, for $70. and the buyer cleared seven 
dollars on her then. 
Now r if cows as completely fulfill their mis¬ 
sion with health and vigor while in stan¬ 
chions as elsewhore, and if they do not know' 
but what they are jus happy as the King of 
Dahomey, or the Prince of Asbantee, why 
uot let them indulge the blissful illusion 
Washtenaw Co. F Mich. W. F. Bird. 
When all danger of frost is over, plant out in 
a good piece of ground and cultivate often 
through the Summer. There should be fine 
salable plants in one year, at least as large as 
two-year-old plants of ordinary stock from 
cuttings, so by this method one year is saved, 
which, I think, nearly balances the difficulty 
in propagation. 
Fail* Haven, N. J. f. mcm. 
-*-M-- 
la It Hardy? 
Several trees of Purple Fringe have been 
growing iu my front yard, uninjured, for 
ten years, but a row- not more than a hun¬ 
dred fpet away, and on ground lower by six 
or eight feet, is killed to the ground by every 
cold Winter. So I call Purple Fringe hardy. 
Retinisporas, Irish aud Swedish Junipers, 
Japan Quince, all the climbing and Hybrid 
Perpetual Roses, .Althea, Tamarix, Clethora, 
and many other shrubs which are recommend¬ 
ed for this latitude, are either killed or badly 
injured by every cold Winter, ouhigh or low 
ground, and these I should class as tender in 
this locality. We must draw the line some¬ 
where, and why not make those plants which 
are apparently uninjured in our ordinary 
cold Winters, without protection, “ hardy,' 
and such as require protection to secure per¬ 
fection of growth in ordinary seasous, “ ten¬ 
der i" While an extremely cold Winter may 
injure the Suyder Blackberry, and nearly all 
the raspberries, yet they will recover and can 
gejierallybe relied upon for a crop; but Rog¬ 
ers's Hybrid Grapes, Lawton Blackberry, and 
Brinckle's Orange Raspberry, are “ tender” 
because it would require an exceptionally 
mild Winter to secure a crop of fruit from 
them without protection. Now, if I had 
known what plants and trees were hardy by 
this rule, ten years ago, as well as I do now , 
1 could have saved several hundred dollars 
which I have lost in experimenting with 
those which are classed as “ hardy.” G. w. 
Rock Falls, Ill. 
poultnj Bart). 
Raising Geese. —In my experience in rais¬ 
ing geese I find that it is best to let the goose 
take care of her eggs, not remove them from 
the nest; nearly every egg is sure to hatch in 
spite of the old theory that thunder and light¬ 
ning will kill the goslings in the shell. I man¬ 
age by prudent feeding to keep the geese from 
laying until all danger of the eggs chilling by 
leaving them in the nest is passed. I consider 
geese the most profitable in the poultry line, 
and the most easily raised. H. J. w. 
Millerton, N. Y. 
-- 
Fattening Poultry. —In fattening chick¬ 
ens and fowls I shut them in a dark, warm 
room, so arranged as to give them light long 
enough to eat twice a day, and feed them corn 
meal all they can eat and no water. In 12 
days they are nice and fat. Turkeys, I let 
run through the fields and feed them corn. I 
think they do better on Western corn than on 
State. If any reader of the Rural has any 
better mode of fattening poultry quickly I 
would very much like to hear it. j. H. H. 
Alder Creek, N. Y. 
- ♦ ■ » ♦ - 
To Prevent Chicken Cholera.— Keep the 
drinking water for fowls in old, rusty iron 
vessels and occasionally throw a small quan¬ 
tity of sulphur and quick lime into the vessels, 
and do not let them get filthy, but wash them 
out every few days. I have practiced this 
plan for 25 years, and have not lost 25 fowls 
with the disease in all that time. H. M. G, 
Clark Co,, Ark. 
3m.}iU'mcnts. &c. 
JOHNSTON HARVESTER CO.’S AUTO¬ 
MATIC HARVESTER AND TWINE 
BINDER. 
This binder is in all respects self-operating, 
seizing its own bundle and making a perfect 
separation. Although only in its third year, 
like all the machines put out by the Johnston 
Harvester Co., Brockport, N. Y„ it has al¬ 
ready made a good reputation for itself both 
at home and abroad. At the trial of the Eng¬ 
lish Royal Agricultural Society at Thulston 
near Derby, August 6—10,1881, the binder did 
the quickest work of any of the competing ma¬ 
chines. Its third plot, consisting of 2a. Or 
lip. of tangled oats was cut and bound in one 
hour 39 minutes, and its fourth plot, consist¬ 
ing of half an acre of wheat, in twenty-four 
minutes. In the first, second and fourth plots 
allotted to this machine it did not miss a 
single 3 heaf, and where any sheaves were 
missed in the other plots it was found to arise 
from defects in the string, the knotting appa¬ 
ratus in every case doing its work with unva¬ 
rying perfection. Only one knife was used 
throughout the trials, and it was not the best 
adapted to that country, being a serrated one; 
had a smooth one been used the machine 
would have done even much better than it 
did. The machine cut and bound every piece 
allotted to it by the judges; it left none unfin¬ 
ished, and had uot a single breakage from be- 
NOTES FROM ARKANSAS. 
My attention has just been called to a com¬ 
munication from this point dated January 29, 
1882, signed “A. P.,” and published in the 
Rural of February 35th. While many of 
the statements therein made are true, they are 
calculated to mislead the reader and do great 
injustice to this section. One would suppose, 
from a perusal of the letter signed A. P., 
