©EC 18 
e 
used to save the Cochins from extinction and 
to restore them to their early characteristics is 
correct, how can the two possibly be, or have 
been, entirely distinct in formation, plumage, 
etc., etc? Now it i« said by some, and it is 
even admitted in the 1 Controversy,” ibat the 
Langshan is the parent of the Cochin; that 
these northern birds were brought to the 
South and there originated the Black Cochin; 
and that the only difference between the two 
varieties now is that the legs of the one are of 
a dark slaty color and those of the other are 
yellow shaded with black or nearly black, as 
described in the Standard, but in reality they 
area dark slaty color or nearly black without 
any yellow in the majority of specimens 
I am perfectly disinterested in this matter, 
I am notin the Langf-ban ring,nor am 1 breed¬ 
ing this variety for sale; although 1 have had 
them for some years; nor the other either at 
the present: but in the pursuit of knowledge 
I have carefully examiued this question at 
issue and cannot find anything to distinguish 
one variety from the other, nor could I tell 
“ which is which,” unless the owners were 
there to inform me; and, further, I do not 
know any who can, unless it be the breeders 
of Lang>haas and these are of course inter¬ 
ested in supporting their new breed. There¬ 
fore I quite agree with the Rubal that these 
two varieties are really one; but I confess I 
also agree with the writer of “ the Langshan 
Controversy” when be says if there is any 
difference, the Langshan is an improved 
Cochin, has been badly abused of late years 
by breeders, while the Laii'/shsn has received 
Horse-mint. Monarda punctata.— 
Fig, 470. 
a good deal of attention snd care, and I pro¬ 
fess to be A Judge of Poultry 
Sipiarimi. 
HONEY PLANTS. 
PROFESSOR A. J. COOK. 
Mr D. A. Jones, whose enterprise and 
success as a bee-keeper are recognized the 
world over, stated at the American Bee-keep¬ 
ers’ meeting in 1880, that he questioned, judg¬ 
ing from his large experience, whether a good 
locality could oe overstocked with bees. Now 
Mr. Jones is separating his bees into numer¬ 
ous apiaries, four or five miles apart. He 
keeps from 150 to 850 colonies in each place. 
Mr. Jones has farther given practical evidence 
of his changed opinion by a most liberal plant¬ 
ing of well known honey plants and trees, 
such as Bokhara Clover, Alsike Clover, Bass¬ 
wood, Viper’s Bugloss—tne so-called Blue 
Thistle of bee-keepers, a plant closely related 
to the common borage—Sweet Clover, etc. 
Upon a recent visit to Mr. Jones’s apiary, I 
was interested in seeing a railroad station 
agent, not far from Beeton, the home of Mr, 
Jones, busily engaged in digging up sweet 
Clover plants which were hugging the rails 
too closely to please said official. 1 thought 
friend Jones, if he were not cautious, might 
have the railroad monopolies after him. 
There is probably nosubjectm which the 
bee-keepers of to-day should take a deeper 
interest than this one. Honey plants are ca¬ 
pricious, and .-.niy give up the precious nectar 
at such times as dame Nature’s mood is agree¬ 
able to them. Let it be too wet, too dry, or 
too cold, and the flowers yield not one drop 
of the coveted sweets. We see, then, that a 
constant succession of honey plants, from the 
time of the opening of the willows and maples 
in April, till the frost licks up the last honied 
secretion from the asters and the Holden 
Rods, will not only yield greater profits every 
year, but often, as during the past season, 
such a succession is absolutely essential to 
any success. The past season the severe cold 
froze up the nectar glands of the early flowers 
at the time of White Clover bloom. For the 
Dr. Brown also exhibited the cow pea 
(Fig 473). This is cultivated in the South, 
where it is valued as a fertilizing plant, as 
Red Clover is in the North The peculiarity 
of this plant is that it yields extra-floral 
THE NEW HANSELL RASPBERRY, 
Magnolia glauca—The Sweet-bay.— Fig. 471. 
same reason bass-wood gave a limited yield, 
while in many parts of the country the yield 
from Fall flowers was most excellent. During 
the coming Winter every apiarist should 
plan for a succession of honey plants. 
At the recent meeting of the North Ameri¬ 
can Bee-keepers’ Association, at Cincinnati, 
special attention was called to three excel¬ 
lent honey plants which I am glad to illus¬ 
trate for the benefit of the readers of the 
Rural. 
Dr. J. P. H. Brown, of Augusta, Georgia, 
spoke in highest praise of the magnolia (Fig. 
471). This is not only a most beautiful tree, 
nectar, which is secreted by enlarged glands 
(a, a, Fig 473 ) The flower b and the pod c 
show that this belongs to the pulse family. 
Cotton and many other plants furnish this 
nectar from other parts of the plant than the 
flowers. Such nectar may well be called 
honey dew. 
Another plant which called out much dis¬ 
cussion was the Horse-mint (Fig. 470) of Texas. 
The honey from this mint is very peculiar in 
flavor. The amount of honey furnished by it 
in favorable seasons is astonishing. Mr. Car- 
roll, of Texas, has taken over 800 pounds of 
honey the past season from a single colony. 
Dr. Farley, of the same State, has taken over 
1,300 pounds from a single colony and its 
increase of 10 colonies. The cash value of 
this product is $150. This seems incredible, 
yet in basswood season I often get from 10 to 
15 pounds a day. A continuous yield would 
soon briDg the above. 
Surely bee keepers of the North will lack 
enterprise if they do not try this Horse-mint 
in their colder latitudes. 
Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. 
-- 
The editors of the Rural New-Yorker are 
practical farmers, fruit-growers and gard- 
In the Rural of August 2(3, 1882, a fancy 
sketch of this new applicant for public favor 
was presented. It was sent to us by the in¬ 
troducer. We now present an engraving of 
our own drawn from a fruiting spray sent to 
this office, and very accurate as to size. That 
the Hansell is a firm, early raspberry, of at 
least fair quality, there need be little doubt. 
That it is hardy and that it is the earliest 
raspberry known remain to be ascertained by 
general trials. It will be remembered that 
the originator of the Marlboro Raspberry of¬ 
fered a wager of $50 that, tested side by side 
at the Rural Grounds, it would prove as early 
as the Hansell, the money to be expended by 
disinterested judges in subscriptions to agri¬ 
cultural papers to be donated to poor and 
worthy ppople. We expressed the hope that 
the wager would be accepted since the results 
would prove interesting to.all, while at least 
25 poor people in quest of rural information 
would receive some farm paper for one year. 
The Marlboro was planted at the Rural 
Grounds by the originator, with great care 
during the severe drought of last August. 
But the introducer of the Hansell, for some 
reason, declined to accept the wager. The 
two berries cannot well be compared together 
as to value. The Marlboro in the place of its 
origin is perfectly hardy, of remarkable vigor 
The New Hansell Raspberry.—From Nature.—Fig. '472. 
but, like its near relative the Tulip Tree— 
called poplar by many bee-keepers—it is an 
excellent honey plant. The one here illus¬ 
trated is Magnolia glauca,the Small Magnolia 
or Sweet Bay, which thrives even in parts of 
the more Northern States. There are many 
species of the magnolia in the South. 
eners. They write from experience and from 
experience only and they give the results of 
their tests and experiments fearlessly without 
the least regard to individual interests. 
This journal is conceded by the best authori¬ 
ties of the land to have well earned its posi¬ 
tion as the leading rural journal of the world. 
Cow Pea,— Fig. 473. 
—the canes often growing eight feet high— 
while it is a marvel of productiveness and the 
berries are very large and of the first quality, 
though, possibly, not quite so Arm as those of 
the Hansell. The Hansell may be just as 
hardy as or hardier than the Marlboro—this 
is merely a problem to be solved—but it is 
not thought to be very productive and the 
fruit is of but medium size. Its great claim 
is that it is the earliest berry known which, 
if proven to be true by experience, will, with 
its splendid carrying qualities, establish it as 
a valuable Requisition But if it proves to be 
no earlier than the Marlboro, supposing both 
to be equally hardy and well suited to a wide 
range of country, then it will scarcely prove 
of any special value as compared with the 
Marlboro. 
We now hear of another uew raspberry 
soon to be offered for sale, viz., the Crimson 
Beauty, which is said to be as early as either. 
Time alone will tell. 
The Captain Jack as a Late Berry. 
Charles A. Green in not the only person 
who has had ripe strawberries in October. I 
have about one-fourth of an acre of the Cap¬ 
tain Jack variety that was picked for the first 
time this Summer. Last November they were 
covered with straw, which was not removed. 
As soon as the picking season was over they 
were well cultivated. New plants were soon 
grown, and these blossomed quite freely. Fine 
ripe berries could be picked at any time dur¬ 
ing the month of October, and until the Gtb of 
November, when a hard freeze destroyed fruit 
and blossoms. 1 picked enough for iny own 
table on October 6, and 23 and November 5. 
I am not sure but that a Fall crop can be 
grown sufficient to pay, if one will set the 
Captaiu Jack on very rich, moist soil,and keep 
the patch well tilled. 1 shall make an at¬ 
tempt in this direction another year, and if I 
succeed will report. Sixteeu years ago, when 
the Agriculturist was in fashion, it produced 
a few berries in September, but failed to yield 
sufficient to be of any profit. 
Whether the Captain Jack can be made to 
