484 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
MAR -24 
vho undertakes to keep them for winter lay¬ 
ing must give them time and attention, or 
forego his design. It is not, that with this 
attention.they will not pay for the care given 
them: but how many farmers can give poul¬ 
try extra care? Most of them have something 
else to do, and if White Leghorns are neg¬ 
lected in Winter, their large comb? are liable 
to be frozen, and laying is suspended. Dor¬ 
kings come under the same head, but are an 
improvement on the former, as they batch 
and rear their own broods, which neither the 
Leghorns nor most of the ordinary-sized 
breeds, do, This is a great source of 
trouble to farmers; to obtain a lot of White 
Leghorn pullets, they must either buy them or 
breed them. To do the latter they must have 
some of the heus penned up to hatch the 
chicks, and this care comes at a time when 
farmers are very busy. Another drawback 
to Leghorns, Haroburgs and poultry of that 
size, is their small size, to say nothing of their 
poor color, for the table or market. The old- 
fashioned Dominique used to be considered a 
fairly profitable fowl; but was small and not 
a good layer compared with other breeds. 
When the Asiatics were introduced, hardiness 
was obtained through them, and they lay 
fairly in Winter aud can stand the cold well, 
their combs being small and double, but their 
eggs are small when compared with the size 
of the hens, and the farmer finds he must 
keep his corn-crib doer shut, if he wants to 
balance the value of his eggs against the 
corn. 
Now came the time when many poultry 
breeders saw what a good tbiug it would be if 
a breed of fowls could be made, that would 
retain the hardiness ot the Rrahma, and the 
leyiugqualities of the smaller breeds, aDd at 
the same time be without the heavy, useless 
feathering on the legs, and retain the small, 
close combs of the Asiatics. The Dominiques 
were selected as the birds to be crossed on the 
Asiatics, and how far this cross succeeded is 
now exemplified in the result—the Plymouth 
Rock. The breeding was, so far as color is 
concerned, up-bill work, but the trouble here 
is now entirely overcome; the size is right, the 
combs are small and tight (o the head; the legs 
are dean, and the constitution is hardy: but 
with all these requisites, the one thing need¬ 
ful—good layingqualities—is deficient. I know 
that many people speak and write of them as 
excellent layers. I kept them six years, at the 
same time I bad White and Brown Leghorns, 
Andalusians, Minorcas, Dorking?, Polish and 
Hambuigs. I found the Plymouth Rocks be¬ 
hind them all for eggs, after getting as much 
care as any r of the others; noram 1 altne in 
this experience. I found many breeders who 
came to the same conclusion, so many, indeed, 
that there is no doubt as to the verdict. The 
mistake in the make up of the breed was that 
one of the better laying, non-sitting breeds 
should have been selected instead of the 
Dominique. This would secure all the qual¬ 
ities that the Plymouth Rocks have, reduce 
the sitiiug fever that is so common among 
Asiatics, and improve their laying qualities. 
This defect was observed by intelligent 
breeders some years ago, and many have been 
the attempts to overcome it during the last 
ten or twelve years, during which time birds 
in which it did not appear have been exhibit 
ed under different names, though they were 
mostly crossed with Hamburgs and Asiatics. 
The breed at last took a definite character in 
color, with white feathers edged with black, 
giving the birds a dark appearance when well 
marked, very much the shape of Plymouth 
Rocks at first; but those we now breed are more 
compact in body, with tight feathers, without 
much fluff, small, fiat combs, clean legs, square 
bodies, not very deep on back, but giving the 
body a plump shape, and yellow legs. They 
are active in disposition, very hardy when 
chicks, stand the cold in Winter, and lay as 
well as the Asiatics, with much less food than 
it takes to keep the latter. After casting 
about fora name for several years, they were 
called American Sebr.'ghts. This was a mis¬ 
nomer in every sense, and at the last meeting 
of the American Poultry Association, they 
were brought up for admission to the Ameri¬ 
can Standard of Excellence, and were admit¬ 
ted under the new name of Wyandottes, This 
is a good change of name, so far as to prevent 
any confusion with other breeds, I have bred 
them for two years, aud have found, for once, 
that this is a variety that seems to merit all 
that is claimed for it. Pullets batched in 
April laid in the early part of September, and 
one was clucking to sit on the tirst of October. 
They do not seem to be persistent sitters out of 
season; but soon go to laying again. I have 
had more eggs from them than from any 
other breed, taking the percentage of eggs to 
hens. One peculiarity with the chicks, is 
that they did not grow a frame of bones, and 
afterwards lay on flesh, but when half grown 
they were as plump as a full-grown fowl, 
making excellent broilers, This peculiarity 
has been noticed by other breeders. I should 
say that, taking it all together, this breed is 
one that will supplant the Plymouth Rocks 
and I am much mistaken if it is not soon rec¬ 
ognized as the farmer's fowl of the Northern 
States. 
&l )c &piariatt. 
MOVABLE FRAME HIVES. 
I have just read Mr. Doolittle's article on 
frames, and approve every word of it. I 
have used no other hives for a long time. But 
it might as well be known that unless frames 
are properly used, they are a little worse than 
the ordinary box hive, and it is a fact that a 
large number of farmers never look at them. 
They buy a good hive, but never read any¬ 
thing on the subject of bee-keeping; never 
buy any of the indispensable “bee goods,” such 
as foundation, smoker, etc., etc. Now, it 
ought to be known that such men would do 
better to have box hives. A box hive which 
will have no air-space all around, like a 
frame hive, will winter a little better than 
the latter. Let no one say, now, that I ad¬ 
vise box hives in preference to frame hives. 
I do not: for I am sure the frame-hive sys¬ 
tem is altogether the best for the 11 reasons 
given by Mr D. But if you take the whole 
country over, you will find not one farmer in 
ten who uses the frames as they are intended 
to be used. Indeed, they could not use them 
to much advantage without possessing many 
implements and contrivances which they have 
no knowledge of, J. h. Creighton. 
Fairfield Co., O. 
BEE-KEEING PROFITABLE ON A FARM. 
Wk often hear that ouly specialists should 
keep bees; that bee-keeping is no business for 
a farmer or any person with any other busi¬ 
ness. Mr. E J. Cook. Owasso, Michigan, is 
one of the best farmers in the Sta te. His crops 
are always among the best in the connty 
where he lives. A few years ago be purchased 
a few colonies of bees, more to interest his 
boys than to make money. He winters them 
in a good cellar, and has never lost any. In 
1883 his colonies reached 50; last year, 60. In 
1883 his profits from his bees exceeded by a 
considerable sum those from his farm. Last 
year the excess was even greater. Either of 
bis boys—one 10, the other H— is capable of 
entirely managing the bees; the apiary has 
been a source of most valuable thought and 
study to all; and the constant profits have 
brought no small satisfaction. Mr. Cook and 
his boys have spared no pains to secure in¬ 
struction. and never refuse needed attention 
to the bees. They say they had better neglect 
the farm. prof. a. j cook. 
PROF. A. j. COOKE. 
1 need not state to any reader of the Rural 
that the past season has been remarkable for 
the abundance of plant lice I Aphidae) and 
bark lice (Coccida?). In the devastating 
abundance of bark lice, the past year is whol¬ 
ly unprecedented. Many lindens, maples, 
white ashes, hickories, etc have received from 
these their death blow; many othersshow a 
death-like languor. From all over the North¬ 
ern States, I received specimens of these scale 
lice, which were reported as doing irreparable 
damage to the maples. These maple scale lice 
have attracted much attention from the con¬ 
spicuous cottony moss which always pushes the 
scale partially away from the branch to which 
it is attached. This fibrous ball is but a nidus 
for the hundreds of eggs which the louse de 
posits. I experimented the past season, as far 
as my college duties would permit, with the 
view’ of ascertaining how these lice could bo 
killed, I found that pyrethruui or buhaeb 
would kill both plant lice and very young 
bark lice; but it required several applications 
to make the destruction complete. 1 found 
the Wood&son bellows a very convenient in¬ 
strument in making the application. The 
spray bellows and cyclone nozzle are specially 
to be commended. 
I also used the kerosene mixture. Oue ap¬ 
plication of this, if thorough, seems to destroy 
all plant lice aud all scale lice. On the large 
scale lice referred to above, the kerosene mix¬ 
ture is effective at any time from the hatch¬ 
ing in June till the migration from the leaves 
in September; yet I find that more pains are 
required to make it thoroughly effective, if 
we wait till August or September before we 
apply it. I also used the milk and the soap 
mixture, trying both thoroughly. The results 
speak loudly in favor of the soap mixture. It 
is more easily prepared, remains mixed better, 
and can be used with no injury to the plants. 
The milk and kerosene seems to injure many 
kinds of foliage. 
To make the soap mixture, l put oue quart of 
soft soap with one gallon of water into a kettle 
and heated it to the boiling point, and while 
still boiliug hot I stirred in thoroughly one 
pint of kerosene oil. Hard soap or whale-oil 
soap would do, 1 think, equally well, I found 
the preparation would kill with less soap, but 
this large proportion of soap seemed to make 
the mixture more effective, and the miscibil¬ 
ity of the oil aud the soap solution was in¬ 
creased, as I thought, by the large amount of 
soap. 
SOAl 3 AND KEROSENE FOR ANTHOMIAXS. 
In many cases, the past season, the bisul¬ 
phide of carbon, which I have found so ser¬ 
viceable to kill the cabbage maggots—which 
are becoming almost as much of a pest In 
some comities of Michigan and Ohio as the 
radish maggot—has been reported to injure 
the cabbage plants. And it is reported, as 
not so efficient in some soils as in others. The 
past season, I with others have found the 
soap and kerosene mixture a safe and very 
efficient, specific against these very destructive 
maggots. This can be used in large quanti¬ 
ties safely', and one of our graduates, Mr. L. 
A. Buell, writes me that he thinks this liquid 
serves to push the growth and vigor of the 
plants, besides being sure death to the de¬ 
vouring maggots. 
Feeling that some better method of making 
the application ought to be devised, I set to 
work and invented an instrument which can 
be used as easily and rapidly as we use a hand 
corn planter. It is shown at Fig. 1 IS. 
The instrument is simple, easily made aud 
I —-—-\ works admirably. A piece of 
IK inch gas pipe,b, nine inches 
- long, is sharpened at one end, 
and at the opposite end 
united to a piece of inch gas- 
pipe, c, which Ls about one foot 
nine inches long. The pro¬ 
portions in the figure are not 
C accurate. Near the point 
of the larger pipe, a, a hole is 
made,and just above the point, 
b, is another hole into which 
is screwed a inch gas pipe, 
H On the opposite side a small 
piece of gas pipe, g, is screwed 
on for a foot-rest. A piston, 
e, with a rod, f, works as 
shown in the figure. A tin 
can, d, is strapped on to the 
side of the smaller pipe, c. 
This can has an opening on 
top with a screw cover, and 
below connects with the pipe 
H. The liquid is put into the 
can d, when the piston e is 
pushed down, as seen in the 
figure, closing the opening at 
b. In use, we push the instrument into the earth 
by the hand on the piston rod and the foot on 
the rest g, then quickly raise the piston, when 
the liquid runs into the point. The piston is at 
once pushed down; this closes the opening b, 
and forces the liquid out at a, in case any 
earth has prevented it running freely out. 
I find that by use of this 1 can apply auy 
liquid beneath the earth almost as rapidly as 
one can plant corn by use of the common 
hand planter. By aid of such au instrument 
we can apply the kerosene aud soap mixture 
to destroy the cabbage maggot, the peach 
borer, subterraneau lice, radish maggots; in 
fact, any harmful insects which work beneath 
the soil, providing we know just where they 
are at work. 
Agr’l Col., Lansing, Mich. 
Fig. 113. 
farm Sap ic$. 
SELECTING AND STORING SEED 
POTATOES. 
Here is my mode of selecting and preserv¬ 
ing my potatoes for seed. In the first place, I 
dig the tubers before they are perfectly ripe, 
and while there is a little greenness in the 
vines. Sometimes I can rub up the skin a 
little on the seed end. I have been working at 
this idea for two or three years, and tbiuk 
that the practice is one reason why I keep my 
potatoes up to the standard. In the second 
place, I pick out the best from hills which 
have the largest number of good specimens in 
them—those which have nonubby ones, or the 
least number of small ones. I think seed po¬ 
tatoes should always be picked out and sepa¬ 
rated from the main crop before they are 
stored for the Winter. Even if there is not 
time to pick them out of the hills, when they 
are dug, they can be picked out of the rows 
and the best taken. None should ever be used 
for this purpose that have been injured in the 
least by the hoe or other instalment used in 
digging. I store my seed potatoes in the barn 
cellar where it is so cold that they would freeze 
if they were not covered with hay. I put 
them in small boxes, like a soap-box, as I do 
not think they keep so well in larger quanti¬ 
ties. 
I like the Rural’s way of growing potatoes 
and corn; that is, with level culture. The 
system is perfectly reasonable, but 1 find that 
some varieties of potatoes are very apt to stick 
their noses (or eyes) out of the ground. This 
is a particularly bad characteristic of the 
Beauty of Hebron; and then it is awfully hard 
work to dig potatoes out of level ground, if it 
is inclined to be at all heavy'. Corn I have 
grown this way for several years, but find it 
is apt to get blown over if in an exposed posi¬ 
tion. .TAMES HUNTER. 
Glendale, Mass. 
--- 
A CAUTION AB OUT JO HNSON GRASS. 
Go slow on Johnson Grass! Readers should 
know that there are hundreds—yes, thousands 
—of farms in this and the adjoining States,that 
have more or less “Johnson” or “ Means’” 
Grass on them, and I doubt if there is oue in a 
hundred that makes auy use of the grass as 
forage. It seems to take only in very irregu¬ 
lar plats or spots. I have never seen an even¬ 
ly set lot of it, though it is a fine grasg for hay, 
but not good for pasture. A farm near me 
has passed through the hands of seveD differ¬ 
ent farmers in tb' lost 25 years. Each of them 
has waged a steady warfare against this grass; 
hut all in turn liavebadto surrender to it in a 
field that is now irregularly set with the pest. 
All efforts to thickly set or destroy tbe grass 
on this field have failed. I am quite sure it 
would cost the full value of any ordinary plat 
of laud to rid it of this grass once set iu even 
irregular patches. s. c. stribling. 
farm Craaoimj. 
A CHEAP FARM GATE. 
Good farm gates are luxuries that few 
farmers have enough of. They are commonly 
considered too expensive if properly construct¬ 
ed, and a badly made and hung gate is a nui¬ 
sance. But the time lost,in one year, opening 
and shutting bars, and. worse yet, gaps in rail 
fences, would, on mauy farms pay the expense 
of supplying gates. A good and cheap one, 
such as we show at Fig. 112, can be made by 
nailing or bolting together a strong, light 
panel of four boards, with the end cleats on 
opposite sides, and about one foot from the 
ends, with one or more braces uear the mid¬ 
dle. Set two posts a little nearer together 
than the length of the gate. At the proper 
bight for the bottom of the second board from 
the top, bore a hole corner wise through each 
post, and insert hooks made of half-inch iron 
on which to baug the gate. Be sure to set the 
posts iu such a position that the fence will not 
interfere when swinging the gate either way, 
and also the hooks at the proper angles so 
that the gate will open at right angles and* 
not bind. I have over a dozeu on my farm 
and liud them very bandy both iu Summer 
and Winter. Wheu the snow is deep the gate 
can be hung by tbe next lower board, or the 
hooks can be raised higher in tbe posts. 
The sketch shows the shape of hooks and the 
manner of constructing aud hanging a left- 
handed gate. For a right-handed one, put the 
hooks through the posts iu the opposite direc¬ 
tion and hang the gate bottom side np, on the 
other side of the posts. Some of tbe advant¬ 
ages of this gate are that it is very cheap and 
simple; it eau be adjusted for deep snow, and 
it opens both ways. By lifting one end off the 
hook, it opens oue way and by lifting the 
other end it opens the other. e. w. m. 
Cuba, N. Y. 
A CLOD CRUSHER. 
I have an implement which I prefer to a 
roller for crushing lumps and covering small 
seeds, such as millet, clover and grass seed. 
To make it, bolt a heuvy plank, eight or ten 
feet long and one foot or more wide, to the 
bottom of the rear end of a pole, brace it 
firmly, and attach u mowing machine seat. 
If not heavy enough, it can bo weighted. It 
leaves the ground smooth and even for the 
reaper, packs the under soil yet leaves the 
surface very fine and loose, and is muc ^ 
easier for a team than a roller. Iu propor 
