854 
DEC 28 
ittle gaixion while they were young, their 
knowledge would have expanded as they grew 
older, and they would have earned money 
at the same time, and learned something that 
would have proven a benefit. The man after¬ 
ward failed in business, and, moving to one of 
the Territories, lived to see the day when it 
would have beeu wort h a good deal to hi m 
if his boys had possessed a practical knowl¬ 
edge of gardening. 
Now the point I would make is this: There 
is a great deal of time that boys when not in 
school could improve very profitably iu the 
garden, both as regards learning something, 
and earuiug a few dollars. If they have a 
garden of their own, they will feel an interest 
it: their work, will try to do it well, and will 
l>e sure to learn a great deal more and a great 
deal faster than if they are set to carrying 
water or running little errauds that may be a 
matter of convenience, but not of much im¬ 
portance. 
I know of another instunce in which a man 
who had failed iu business moved to Colorado. 
He had beeu raised on a farm himself, and 
had always owned a little land wherever he 
lived. Now, although he had spent thirty 
years of his life on a farm, he couldn’t tell a 
Dutch flowering bull, from a Drumhead 
Savoy. WLeu he reached Colorado he con¬ 
cluded to go to raising vegetables. He fooled 
away two years iu learning something about 
the business. He didn’t make money even to 
buy his groceries. One of his nearest neigh¬ 
bors engaged in the same business was a bank¬ 
rupt farmer from Nebraska. He knew just 
as much about gardening as t he other <>ue 
did. Each bad a family of buys. Now, sup¬ 
posing these men, in their more prosperous 
days, when they had the land and the means, 
and the opportunity, had taught their boys 
tu make gardcus. Don’t you see what a bless¬ 
ing it would have proved? Even if it had 
beeu but au immature garden—just a toy 
affair vVhen the boys ha i realized the situ- 
tion. see how they could have turned then- 
knowledge to account, and what, an amount 
Of energv aud enthusiasm they could have 
brought to bear upou the subject. 
Rcjssia..v Winter Melons.— The Rural re. 
port as to the musk and water-melons pro¬ 
cured by Prof. J. L. Budd during his late visit 
to Russia is before our friends. 'Idle follow, 
mg note has since beeu received from Prof. 
Rudd: 
“If you have not already done so, please do 
not throw away the seeds of your Persian 
melons. I should have told you that this 
variety is known on the Volga as the Winter 
Melon. After getting its color denoting time 
for picking, it is packed away iu a dry place 
in straw, where it softens, and becomes the 
most delicious melon I have eaten iu any 
country. True, it may not reach the same 
perfection in our country, but ir should iu 
some sections, It is worthy of farther trial. 
The Round Melon is also worthy of farther 
trial. It needs much Summer heat to sweeten 
it. Our past Summer has been too cool East 
and West. Thanks for your good words for 
Sallx laurifolia. It proves hardy in the far 
Northwest.’’ 
CABBAGE WORM REMEDY. 
1 once tried equal parts of lime, salt, and 
ashes dusted over cabbage, and it eifectually 
destroyed the green worm, and as 1 have not 
had occasion to try it since I don’t know whe¬ 
ther it is an infallible remedy, but it is worth 
trying. J. H. 
B } c Sjiimmt. 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF BEFS DUR¬ 
ING WINTER. 
The honey-harvest being now over, it will 
be necessary to prepare the stock-hives of the 
bees for passing the Winter in safety. For 
this purpose certain preliminary precautions 
are requisite, and none more so than to guard 
against pillage. After the process of separat. 
ing the honey from the wax, it is usual and 
economical to carry out to the apiary the ves 
sels and implements employed in the opera, 
tion, and the bees will readily avail themselves 
of whatever honey may adhere to them, and 
clean them effectually. Pieces of refuse 
comb also should be presented to them, and 
in a very short time the industrious insects 
will rifle them of every particle of saccharine 
matter. Having exhausted these sources, the 
b8es are tempted often by the more than 
usually strong odor exhaled from the hives 
in consequence of their recent luxurious feast¬ 
ing to rob their neighbors of their share of 
the booty, aud a scene of pillage ensues, which 
sometimes ends in the total destruction of the 
besieged hives. If the colony attacked be 
pretty strong in population, the evil may be 
put a stop to, perhaps, by contracting the en¬ 
trance. Every proper door has one or two 
small holes at the bottom (which luay be 
opened or shut, as occasion requires), just 
large enough to admit the passing Of a single 
bee. This contracted eutrance greatly assists 
a besieged colouy;but the doorsare generally 
so thin tbat the robbers often effect an en¬ 
trance by adroitly slipping past the sentinel 
on watch An improvement, and a very 
Simple one. in the formation of the doors, will 
increase the difficulty of eluding the vigilance 
of the guard—make them one-and-a-half 
inch thick; the small apertures will then la* to 
the bees, in fact, long, narrow passages, along 
which they will be unable to make their way 
in the face of the opposing sentinel. Doors o» 
this kind should remain on the hives during 
the whole Winter. If the precaution abov e 
recommended fails, the hive attacked mns t 
be removed for a few days, till quiet is in some 
degree restored to the apiary: aud, iu the 
meantime, to amuse and bailie the assailants, 
an empty hive may occupy the station. No 
stock-hive ought at this season to require feed¬ 
ing. Still, circumstances may occur, as in 
the case of long-continued bad weather during 
the end of Autumn, which may render some 
supply beneficial audeveu necessary. In such 
eases the best mode of adminislevii.g it, is to 
raise the hive which is to be assisted, on a 
round or square frame ol’ wood, t wo or three 
inches deep, and place in the vacuum thus pro¬ 
duced. t wo or three pieces of full comb ou 
edge, audio their natural position. The bees 
will soon drain them, storing the couteuts in 
the upper region of their domicile, after which 
the frame and empty comb may be removed. 
In default of comb, sirup can besupplied, but 
this doesuotsuit ns well. 
It is almost needless to say that feeding 
during Winter is out. of the question, even 
though the season should be mild It is un¬ 
necessary, aud would prove injurious, tempt¬ 
ing the insects to leave the comparatively 
warm atmosphere of the center of the hive 
where they aro congregated in dense clusters, 
and to expose themselves to the colder temper¬ 
ature below which chills and ultimately de¬ 
stroys them. At the same time I must not be 
understood as recommending the shutting of 
them up altogether, so that they cannot take 
the advantage of an occasional interval of 
sunshine. Leave the narrow apertures free, 
both iu order to admit the fresh air, and to 
afford the bees an opportunity of coming 
abroad when they can do so in safety. Abso. 
lute confinement is extremely prejudicial to 
them. The practice which prevails iu some 
places of removing the hives into the dwell¬ 
ing-house, by way of preserving them from 
the cold, is by no means to be recommended, 
and, in fact, is often followed by fatal effects. 
The increased temperature of the j/iace to 
which they have been removed, keeps them in 
such a state of animation and excitement that 
they continue to eat during the whole period 
of their confinement, and not being at liberty 
to go abroad and evacuate, their bodies lie- 
come swollen and diseased by the retention of 
tbeir faeces, for they are most unwilling to soil 
the interior of their dwelling, and great num¬ 
bers of them are thus cut off: and when in 
Spring the hive is brought into the open air,the 
few inhabitants that remain are too feeble to 
hear the sudden change of temperature, and 
gradually dwindle away, or are plundered and 
deetrojoMl by the more vigorous and healthy. 
While snow is on the ground, a gleam of 
sunshine will cast such a glare of light into 
the interior of the hives, that the bees are often 
induced to venture abroad, and, soon chilled 
by the cold, they fall in hundreds on the 
snow, and, if they are not timely succored 
will ultimately perish. This evil may be pro- 
vented in some degree by turning the hives 
round on their stands, as soon as Winter has 
set fairly in, so that the entrance may face 
the north. If this precaution has not been 
taken In time, and the unfortunate wanderers 
are already prostrate on the snow, let them 
be instantly gathered, placed in a vessel, (a 
dinner-dish cover, for example), having a 
piece of thin tuuslin spread over its mouth 
and let them be held within a yard of the fire. 
When they recover, which they will do in a 
few minutes, let them be tnkeu out to the 
apiary, and the muslin removed, and they 
will speedily regain their respective habita¬ 
tions. Once or twice duriug the Winter, the 
hives ought to be lifted from their stools, and 
carefully inspected; all cobwebs should he 
swept off, the floor-board thoroughly cleaned, 
and the outer covers or sur touts, repaired 
and adjusted, so that the rain or snow may not 
gain admittance; the snow, especially, assoon 
as fallen,should be cleared away. With these 
few and simple directions a stock of bees can 
be kept through the Winter, with a certaiuty 
of their Becoming profitable in the following 
Spring. H. p. 
(Tl)c 
STOCK NOTES FROM NEBRASKA. 
In a recent number of the Rural a corres¬ 
pondent criticises the hog cholera Commis¬ 
sion, and perhaps I might agree with him in 
most of what he says; but not when be says 
that cholera can’t be stopped. Nebraska has 
the finest crop of hogs ever grown in the West, 
which are now coming forward to her pack¬ 
ing-houses and being sought after by Eastern 
buyers. Only a few years ago hogs were i n 
demand which would weigh 400 pounds or over. 
Now a well-built hog, a cross of a Berkshire 
boar ou a Polaud-China sow, which at, 12 
months will weigh 200 to 250 pounds is called 
for. Well-cut hams aud choice breakfast bacon 
are asked for both for city trade aud export 
The farmer can market, his hog at an earlier 
age. and the packer furnish the article the 
world wants. Hog cholera is not spoken of 
in Nebraska this year, aud in answer to the 
inquiry, why uot. this answer is given: As 
soot as the young pig can eat, he is given all 
he wants of milk, the cream of which has 
been sent to the creamery, with ground rye 
or oats mixed, and perhaps a small mixture 
of corn-meal, Rye is always preferred. The 
rye sown in the later days of August of the 
previous year is ready for early Spring pas¬ 
ture, and n piece of oats is sown to follow. 
After this, sowed sweet corn till corn is ready, 
furnishes cheap aud abundant green food, 
which has produced a large growth of bone 
and muscle, to be followed by corn feeding 
which fattens this large frame for the butcher. 
The abundance of healthy food during the 
Summer prevents disease, aud this year’s meat 
from this section cannot be excelled iu 1 lit* 
world. 
The cattle shipping is alwmt closed, with sat¬ 
isfactory returns to the stockmen of the 
ranges. Eight thousand head of fat cattle 
have beeu shipped this season from the corn 
lands of Eastern Nebraska, and these brought 
the best prices iu Chicago, both for butchers 
and export demand. There are now 12,000 
steers feeding in the Platte A’alley, which 
were fat when they left the grass to com¬ 
mence eating corn: 60 bushels, the product 
of an acre, costing three dollars for the labor 
to produce it, will put a three-year-old steer 
in prime condition for export, There have 
been large importations this season of good 
grade cows, thoroughbred bulls, Short-horns, 
Herefords, Holsteius and car-loads of young 
heifers. The increase in the number of cream¬ 
eries makes a demand for cream, giving the 
farmer $25 to $30 per year from each cow, 
and the milk raises the calf and a pig. This 
rich grass country, where the essentials to 
produce meat and milk can be grow n at such 
a small expense, demands the attention of 
Eastern dairymen. The near future will show 
smaller areas owned by individuals, farms of 
160 to 1420 acres, a better grade of cattle for 
meat and milk combined, more soiling w ith 
green food, four to six tons of whic h can be 
grown on un acre; protection of stock iu 
Winter; the feediug of the graiu grown 
on the farm, thus turning it into meat 
which the consumers, who aro in excess of 
producers, demand. That is why meat is 
high. From Nebraska [joints along the Union 
Pacific Railroad there have been shipped this 
season of cattle. and of sheep, 13,000. 
The w hole shipments for the season from the 
West which have passed eastward over the 
Missouri at this point, are over 100,000 head. 
Omaha. Neb. J. T. a. 
farm (Topics. 
POTATO STARCH. 
Having recently investigated to some ex¬ 
tent the manufacture of potato starch, a brief 
mention of what l learned aljout it may be of 
interest to some readers of the Rural. 
The sketch given in the Rural of June fi is 
substantially correct, and represents, except 
in the style of grater, the machinery which 
I saw. The apparatus is very simple—a 
washer, grater, shaker, settling and stirring- 
tanks, lots of water, pumps, drv-kiln and 
power—that is all. But it is considerable, 
nevertheless, and plainly was uot perfected 
wi.houfc much study, and an attempt to put 
up a starch factory from description merely, 
without exact specifications and detailed 
drawings, would be about as practicable as 
building a flouring mill from a pen-and-ink 
sketch. And wheu the factory was ill run¬ 
ning order, a man acquainted with the busi¬ 
ness would be as necessary to run it as a 
miller is necessary to mil a mill. Especially 
in mild weather the starch-water is apt to 
sour; and, in short, the whole process needs 
an expert to conduct it profitably. 
The locality I visited once had a number of 
starch factories running to their full capacity 
during the season, but for several years they 
have stood idle, rotting down. Their time of 
prosperity was before the advent of railroads 
and Colorado beetles. The diminished crops 
rescued from the “ten-liners” aro worth more 
to ship than the starch-men can afford to 
pay, and so, except iu the back counties, their 
occupation appears to be gone. 
I was told that200 bushels of potatoes would 
ordinarily make one ton of starch, aud that 
eight dollars per ton was about the cost of 
uiakiug it. At the present quotations for po¬ 
tato starch, 5)^ cents per pound, after de¬ 
ducting the expense of manufacture and the 
freight and commission on the starch, there 
would be left, according to my information, 
a very good price for the potatoes used, 
especially for the small aud unsalable, e. t. 
Edwardsville, Kan. 
.SHEEP FAIRS IN ENGLAND. 
The word “fair” is used iu a different sense 
in England from that which it bears in 
America. There it means an assemblage of 
all kinds of animals, aud. at the same time, of 
anything else farmers aud others have for 
sale. With us it is used solely for an exhibi¬ 
tion of domestic auimuls, etc. This in Eng¬ 
land is called a “show,” simply, or a “horse." 
or “cat tle,” or “fat stoek show.” as the case 
may lie, which 1 think a ranch more proper 
word than ■■fair,” and 1 regret it lias not 
been in use instead. So much for au explana¬ 
tion. 
In Great Britain and Ireland they often 
hold very large sheep fairs, beginning in the 
Summer and continuing to Winter. At these 
tlic numbers assembled are occasionally as 
high as 15,000 to 30,000 head. These are for 
sale to those farmers who want them for fat¬ 
tening, or as a fresh stoek for breeding. 
Prizes aro occasionally given there to a few 
choice ones, for the purpose of encouraging 
their breeders in rearing superior auiuials 
among the various sorts. 
At a late fair at Dorchester, 20,000 sheep 
were on the ground, principally of the 
homed (the Dorset breed), but there were also 
some South Dowus. as these are also bred to 
a limited extent iu Dorsetshire. The former 
is the celebrated breed from which the Eng¬ 
lish get their early lambs chiefly. As the 
Winter is very mild in South Englund. these 
lambs can be dropped in Autumn, and so 
grown up in Winter and early Spriug for 
market. The South Downs are beginning to 
be used for the same purpose now to a consid¬ 
erable extent, aud with a little pains can be 
made to breed as early lambs as the Dorsets, 
and I believe of equal, if not of superior, qual¬ 
ity. A. B. A 
EMPIRE STATE GRAPE. 
Recently I have noticed several notes on 
this grape, aud now submit to Rural readers 
my opiuiou of its merits for public favor. 
I was fortunate in seeing and tasting the 
fruit the first and each .succeeding year, until 
it was removed from its original place on 
Mr. Ricketts’s grounds. I was delighted 
with the tine appearance of vine and fruit, 
pleased with the taste and flavor of the grape, 
and extremely anxious to become the possessor 
of a vine, Fast Spring T received two from 
the Geo, A. Stone Company, of Rochester, 
and planted them at the same time, and iu a 
continuous row with 12 of the new varieties 
of grapes recently introduced. The soil was 
a mellow loam, twice plowed. The vines 
were carefully set and staked, one quart of 
ground bone having been thoroughly mixed 
with the soil, and four quarts of wood ashes 
sprinkled ou the surface for each vine. 
Although the Empire State was the last; 
to start, yet if excelled all the other varieties 
in length of well-ripened wood. 
I anticipate the coming fruit with much 
pleasure, and from what 1 have known of 
the parent viue, 1 believe it will prove au 
excellent early grape. w. c. hart. 
Orange County, N. Y. 
-*♦«- 
THE CHAMPION GRAPE. 
The American Fomological Society reports 
(ou page 677 of Rural) the Champion Grupe 
“as not fit. to eat, but good to sell.” How can 
any fruit be good to sell when it'eanuot be 
eaten by the buyer' Are all cousuineiu idi¬ 
ots? Suppose the buyer at present ignorant 
as to the quality of the Champion, is it rea¬ 
sonable tofeuppose that he will never be any 
