ence with the Mayflower. It is as good as Liv¬ 
ingston’s Perfection, and, in fact, so nearly 
like it that it is hard to determine one 
from the other.— Eds ] My plan of grow¬ 
ing them in the garden is to set 
poles about eight feet long firmly in the 
ground, three feet apart each way. A tomato 
plant is alotted to each pole, with an old fruit 
can with both ends cut out set in the ground 
near each plant, in which to pour water when 
needed. Cut out all laterals, and tie up the 
main vine to the pole as it grows This per 
mits the use of rich soil and insures much ear¬ 
lier, larger, sweeter and more abundant 
fruit, besides keeping it clean and rendering it 
less liable to rot. w. p. Woodworth. 
* * * 
[We are much obliged to Mr. Woodworth 
for the above communication. Agricultural 
journals are prone to tell too much of the fa¬ 
vorable side of things in general. As regards 
the 8uckering habit of the Rural Dent 
Corn, there is some mistake. With us it rare¬ 
ly suckers. The Rural Flint Corn is the best 
variety for fodder we have ever seen, because 
it suckers so remarkably that there is really 
no main stalk. Now the leaves are long and 
wide; the stalks comparatively slender. As 
to its productiveness, our reports will tell the 
story. It is, as we believe, a very distinct va¬ 
riety in many respects, otherwise it would not 
have been raised in the Rural family for 
over 40 successive years, and we think it is 
destined to hold a permanent place in the 
future corn crops of this country.—E ds.] 
-- 
CHIEF CAUSE OF SAND IN COTTON. 
In the Rural of October 21, under the 
heading “Reformation Needed,” a charge is 
made upon cotton growers, which should not 
pass unnoticed- In the interest of fair play, 
which so prominently characterizes your val¬ 
uable journal, you will perhaps allow me a few 
lines in vindication. 
The drought of last season—1881—was with¬ 
out precedent and covered the whole cotton 
section. Its effect upon the cotton plant was 
to open the bolls prematurely, the cotton to a 
large extent falling to the ground of its own 
weight. Usually the lint with seed inclosed, 
adheres to the bur for some weeks unless 
knocked out by rains, wind or otherwise. 
Owing to this natural falling out therefore, a 
much greater i >erceutage of this crop of ’81, 
thau is usual, was picked from the ground, 
with, of course, sand adhering. The common 
cotton gin does not separate much of this 
sand from the cotton, but passes it into the 
lint room. Hence its presence in the ball does 
not argue fraud, but the necessity for the 
general use of cleaners, or the feeder and con¬ 
denser. I venture the prediction that statis¬ 
tics of these losses, from the crop now being 
gathered, will in their improvement over 
those of ’81, show that instead of a sudden in¬ 
crease of fraud among us, the season only has 
been at fault. A Cotton Planter. 
Remark —In speaking of the adulterations 
which are now acknowledged on all hands, 
we said, ‘Some adulterations were owing, of 
cour.-e, to accident or carelessness, but those 
'of a fraudulent sort were mainly due to the 
ginuers of cotton,” etc It will, therefore, be 
seen that we made no charge of fraud against 
cotton growers. The “sanding” of cotton de¬ 
scribed oy our friend, evidently comes under 
what we called adulteration by accident or 
carelessness. We are not at all surprised that 
Southern planters should feel “touchy" on 
this matter, for honest dealing has for gener¬ 
ations been a rule with them, and their very 
sensitiveness on this matter is the best safe¬ 
guard against a recurrence of the evil. Eds.] 
CLIk Stpinrimi. 
BEE-HIVES. 
Five Designs of Bee-hives which are 
Public Property a ltd Free to 
be Made and Used by 
Any one. 
F. B. BROCK. 
August 28, 1860, E. 8. Bacon of New 
York, devised a hive the object of which was 
to provide a central Bpace that would admit 
of the bees remaining in a compact state 
within the hive during the W inter, and still 
have access to all parts of the hive without 
materially spreading themselves or becoming 
detached from a general mass. Bees, as is 
well known, keep themselves warm in Win 
ter by assembling together in a close mass or 
body, the animal heat keeping the hive at a 
sufficiently high temperature. They also re¬ 
main in pretty close contact to defend them- 
elves and honey against the attacks of the 
moth. The inventor asserts that the square 
hive does not admit of bees acting as their 
instinct dictates, as the angles of the hive are 
more remote from its center than the other 
parts, and the bees in feeding are obliged to 
In 1863 J. H. Andrus obtained the protec¬ 
tion of the United States for a beehive theeb- 
ject of which was, by a simple manipulation, 
to admit of colonies of bees being increased 
without permitting them to swarm, the hive 
separate at times, thereby reducing the tem¬ 
perature and rendering themselves less com¬ 
petent to resist the depredations of intruders. 
The body A B. Fig. 480, is constructed of 
staveB, the binge a j dning the two parts. 
below it, when the front side, which is 
attached by screws, is removed and the old 
comb taken out. The sides of the hive are 
slightly inclined in order that one hive may 
fit within another. 
The points of novelty which Mr. T. F. 
Bingham claimed for his hive, which he con¬ 
structed in 1864, were the comb frames 1+ (see 
Fig. 486) having beveled upper bars H, the 
side bars being formed of slats kk, Fig. 487. 
He described as new, also, the removable ven¬ 
tilating frames B C C, provided with wire 
gauze and strips or stoppers C. G. G. and F. 
G are the comb frames which are composed 
each of a top bar H of lozenge form in its 
transverse section. Bingham states the ad¬ 
vantages derived from his arrangement of 
the comb frames to be thorough ventilation, 
and a suitable support for the spare boxes D 
on the upper edges of the bais h, thus secur¬ 
ing ready access, close proximity to, and 
warmth of, the boxes, inducing early occupa¬ 
tion and facilitating the building of the comb. 
By this construction, during the honey-making 
season, the spare boxes D are kept at a proper 
degree of warmth, which would not be the 
case were a partition floor used betweeu 
them and the comb frames. 
Ransom Bullard claimed several advantages 
for bis honey comb frame which te patented 
June 4, 1861. His hive, Fig 488, consisted of a 
box, A, having a top B, hinged atone edge to 
enable it to be raised, and secured by a hasp 
and staple e, on the back. The front of the 
box projects at the bottom, b, to afford the 
bees a place to alight before entering the pas¬ 
sage d, which communicates with the brood 
Chamber. The back A is hinged so that it 
may be thrown open when the top is raised 
te» expose the interior. The comb frames E, Fig. 
488. are of rectangular form and of a size 
nearly equal to the interior dimensions of the 
hive, though somewhat shorter so as to leave a 
space above them, which may be filled with 
removable honey boxes during tbo working 
season. The interior face of the frames E, 
are semicircular in cross-section with a V 
groove cut therein as shown at Fig. 489, 
The advantages of a semicircular face to the 
comb frames is well known to apiarists, as it 
enables the sections of comb to be more firmly 
secured than on a plane surface, but it fails 
to ensure regularity in the direction in which 
the combs are built, which is the object of the 
V groove i. This arrangement (so says the 
inventor), has been found in a great num¬ 
ber of experiments to induce the bees to 
build their comb perfectly regular in relation 
to the frames. The well known custom of rub¬ 
bing wi rm beeswax on the parts to w hich the 
combs are to be attached, may here be follow¬ 
ed by rubbing it over the groove i and after¬ 
wards scraping the surface so as to leave the 
groove filled with wax. 
The comb frames E are each provided with 
two pivots e e upon which they are suspended 
Fig. 490. On the front and back of the hive 
cleats, f /, are provided with notches e which 
receive the pivots. A cap cleat g covers each 
cleat /. The notches c, Fig. 485, are so 
arranged in number and position as to receive 
a greater or less number of frames, as may 
be required at different times, and keep them 
at about equal distances apart. Young 
swarms that are large will always, when the 
harvest is bountiful, construct their combs 
thicker than when the harvest is light. If 
six frames are put into the hive, they are 
placed with their pivots in notches numbered 
1; If there be eight, in notches 2; if 10, the 
notches 3 adjust them properly. 
The frames E being pivoted will stand ver¬ 
tically whether the hive stands level or not. 
A glass door affording opportunity for ob¬ 
servation is biuged at the top so that it 
may be opened for the removal of dead 
bees and filth. 
Washington, D C. 
_fl orl o diitml. _ 
GREENHOUSE SPRINKLINGS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
The greenhouse in December gives a gleam 
of brightness to everything when the sun at 
rare intervals shines in, and the Ikw. era open 
their hearts to the cheering rays. One would 
scarcely imagine so much pleasure could be 
found in two plants of morning-glory, but 
their familiar-looking flowers have a charm 
that is not found in the rarer exotics, and the 
children know and love them. Planted all 
together we have a batch of Torenia Four- 
nerii bearing a profusion of graceful, purple, 
velvety flowers of rich beauty. This pretty 
flower is too little knowu, but it must be kept 
warm, as it droops if suffering either a chill 
or from drought. I am often asked what are 
the sprays of white flowers in corymbs, that 
keep in bloom all the time. It is a Laurestinus, 
and requires the opposite treatment to Tore¬ 
nia; for it must be kept at a low temperature. 
The roses bloom by fits and starts, and I fear 
