THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the spindling, wiry, sickly and yellow-looking 
suckers, that arc thrown out ahout the forkB 
and along the main limbs of the tree affected 
with the yellows, have in no single instance, to 
nay knowledge, shown themselves on trees 
the roots erf which were infested by the aphis. 
Hcitber have I any fear that the aphis will ever 
•cause any serious trouble uorth of Maryland, 
:as my observations respecting the effects of 
frost upon the insects while on the roots, con¬ 
vinces me that no great destruction to trees 
•either in the orchard or nursery, need be an¬ 
ticipated on this account iu Pennsylvania and 
farther north ; though I am aware that the in¬ 
sect, does occasionally appear in southern 
Pennsylvania, and that it lias killed some trees 
in New Jersey in times past. 
I have experimented considerably in trying 
to find an effectual remedy for these pests, 
when blackening by their immense numbers 
whole blocks of buds just starting to grow in 
the nursery, ranging from the bursting bud to 
those three or four inches in length; but all 
my researches have been useless, as I could 
not find anything that would destroy the lice 
and leave the buds uninjured. So, upon the 
advice of Prof. 0. V. Riley, given in the New 
York Tribune in 1874, I have lately left them 
to the Lady-bugs and other foes, giving pro¬ 
tection to the latter as far as practicable. 
Caroline Co., Ind, J. W. Kerr. 
The situation of the apiary is also of import¬ 
ance. A place sheltered from the high winds, 
and partially, though not densely, shaded by 
trees and bushes, is preferable. Next to a 
sheltered orchard, a grove of evergreens, 
which may be kept low and spreading by prun¬ 
ing them back, is perhaps the best. Place the 
hives on the north side of these so that they 
may be shaded from the hot noonday-sun, and 
let them face the east, to protect the entrance 
from the fierce westerly winds. The hives 
being about the hight of the eaves of the barn* 
In Fig. 1, a, a, a, a, is level ground; b, b, b, b, 
is a steep descent of 30 feet, curving around the 
flat on which the barn is to stand ; and f, f, is 
level ground 30 feet lower than a, a, a, a; c, 
d, e, are the three bays of the barn, and run 
from ground to roof: g ancl g are bridges (see 
also Fig. 2) on which hay is drawn in above 
the big beams, the top of the load reaching so 
high as to give the pitcher just room enough 
to stand beneath the ridge of the barn as he 
pitched off before the dew is off in the morn¬ 
ing. 
When the bays are filled, one after the other 
from the east towards the west, and haying is 
over, the barn floor can be need for the storage 
of mowers, horse rakes and other snrnmer ma¬ 
chines, implements and tools till the next sum¬ 
mer. 
As before remarked, the barn is intended for 
the storage of hay for sale. In my case it is 
drawn to market loose, tut the barn could 
easily be adapted to bailing, the machine and 
power standing at first under a shed, at the 
west end. from which they could be moved 
on to the west barn floor or bay as soon as the 
hay is out of that, and finally into the second 
or middle space. But for loading the hay loose, 
the wagon at first stands at the west end and 
the hay is pitched out and down from the small 
doors. When the first bay is empty, the wagon 
stands there and loads from the second, and 
finally stands on the second and loads from the 
third or east bay. Thus neither in storing nor 
in loading for sale is the hay pitched up. If 
the ground on which the bam stands is slop¬ 
ing, say towards the east, the loading for sale 
might be made easier by making each bay two 
feet lower than the one next west of it, and so 
one might begiu tbe sale of hay from the east 
end, and then the bottom of each bay would be 
two feet above tbe bottom of the wheels of the 
wagon on which it must be loaded. But even 
as the barn stands in the figure, it is no worse 
pitching on to the load than in the level field, 
and far better till the hay is nearly out of each 
bay, 
Such a barn, 45x45, with posts 35 feet high, 
may be built, as here indicated, for less than 
$400, rough, uupainted and without cornice, 
or for less than $500, with cornice and paint. 
The barn does not support the bay, and there¬ 
fore does not require heavy timbers. It will 
store 100 tons of hay. The interest, at 6 per 
cent, on the cost, would be 30 cts. per ton for 
the storage of hay each year. It will save this, 
above stacking, in tbe labor of storage. It 
saves it again in the labor and convenience of 
loadiug for market, and it saves it twice over 
in the value of the hay for market. And with 
an abrupt desceut of ground, even 10 or 15 feet 
high, a team can draw the hay In above the 
big beams as well as on tbe level of the ground 
below, to be pitched up. And most farms, ex¬ 
cept on prairie land, have such descents for at 
least one end of the barn, and one bridge. 
Summit Co., O. 
OUR BEE HINTS 
Figure 
begins to pitch off bis load. The hay will go 
down 30 feet by its oum weight, but if it were on 
the ground, it would take a sight of muscle, 
either of man or horse, to lift it to the top of 
the barn by forkfuls. H. h, are doors used in 
removing the hay for sale. 
Fig. 3 shows the barn in perspective, and 
shows the curve of the hill, the general form 
of the barn aud one of the bridges. The barn 
hides the other bridge, which slopes slightly 
from the other end, in the same manner as the 
one seen in tbe figure, and permits the team 
and wagon to drive through and out at the 
other end when the load is off. Where there 
is no hill at the other end, the team must, of 
course, back out the wagon or he unhitched 
and the wagon be run out by hand. 
The baru is 45 feet square and 35 feet from 
ground to eaves, and will easily store 100 tons 
of hay below tbe eaves. The barn floor is 
above the big beams, under the “ ridge-pole,” 
aud betweeu the two rows of posts thut sup¬ 
port the purline plates. A “ girth.” or heavy 
railing, rnns along ou each side to prevent the 
possibility of man’s or horse’s stepping or buck¬ 
ing off. The two west bays have barn floors 
laid on timbers resting on the grouud and not 
framed to the sills, so that the grouud. and not 
the barn, supports the hundred tons of hay. 
(These bays also have doors; see Fig. 2.) Now 
for the storage of the barn. Suppose it empty 
at the beginning of baying. The lower doors 
are all shut and firmly fastened. The large 
doors above the bridge (see Fig. 3.) are opened, 
and the load of hay is driven up the slight 
ascent of the bridge, into the barn, and along 
the elevated barn floor above the big beams, to 
should not be more than four or five inches 
from the ground, and a piece of board, on 
which the. bees cau alight, should be put slant¬ 
ing up to the entrance. The old practice of 
raising the hive two or two and a half feet from 
the ground has no advantage that we are aware 
of, and it has the positive disadvantage that 
bees coming home chilled, or weary and heav¬ 
ily laden, often fail to strike the entrance, aud 
falling to tbe ground below the hive, there 
perish, being unable to rise again. 
Realizing the important position this branch 
of industry' occupies among the rural pursuits, 
and believing that every farmer, he his farm 
large or small, ought to keep a few hives of 
bees, we shall in future have more to say ou 
apiarian matters than we have had heretofore. 
The time for active work in the apiary is 
=again near at hand. Indeed, iu the more south- 
•ern latitudes vegetation has already begun, aud 
with the coming month of March the swclliug 
buds will develop into tender sprigs of green 
•and opeu their inviting blossoms to the busy 
bee that will eagerly search them for fresh 
food after the loug winter's rest. It may be 
well briefly to consider a few points of interest 
in connection with the opening of spring work 
and bee keeping in general, aud especially 
would wo recommend such consideration to 
amateurs who have, as yet, but little experi¬ 
ence, as w'ell as to those who contemplate start¬ 
ing in this pursuit in the near future. 
There are two classes of persons that will, 
;and profitably may, engage in bee keeping— 
those who begiu the work with a view to make 
it their busiuess, who make it their only or, at 
least, their main occupation, and those who 
begin it, not so much for the profits as for the 
sake of the recreation and pleasure it affords. 
This latter class is by far tbe larger of the two, 
embracing tbe majority of our farmers and 
many professional men. We may add a third 
•class : those who have beard of the protits re¬ 
alized from the business, aud, thinking it a 
•most excellent way to get rich without auy 
•outlay', study or work, madly rush into it with 
•the idea that all they have to do is to market 
•the honey and pocket the money. For these 
we write not, however; they had better never 
begin. 
The first step one should take iu this direc¬ 
tion is to study the bee literature. Study the 
physiology of the bee. Acquaint yourself with 
wliat others have done aud arc doiug. Learn 
which are the most difficult points, such as 
Italianizing, queen raising, artificial swarm¬ 
ing and the like, and master them. By having 
all this clear iu the mind, you cau begin with 
•confidence and work intelligently. There will 
then be nothing mysterious about it, which, 
because not understood, you must leave to 
•chance aud guesswork. 
Next study the facilities you have for bee 
keepiug, your locality, your honey-producing 
plants, y our market, aud see what difficulties 
you will be likely to encounter. When all this 
is clear, you cau start; but do uot begin on too 
extensive a scale ; half a dozen stocks arc suf¬ 
ficient to begiu with. If the enthusiasm is 
kepi up and all goes well, their number can be 
readily increased. 
ibu time to remove the bees from their win¬ 
ter-quarters to their place in the apiurv will 
vary with the latitude and the season. In 
muuy of the Northern .States it is well to wait 
t until the beginning of May. At any rate, if 
hey are uot diseased aud have a sufficient sup¬ 
ply of food, it is best to let them reruaiu in 
winter-quarters till there are spring flowers 
A FEW AXIOMS IN BARN-BUILDING.—3 
WHEN TO SOW TOMATO SEEDS 
W. I. CHAMBERLAIN 
We sow r tomato seeds in the house about the 
middle of February and they yield ten days 
earlier than those sown in the hot-bed in 
March. Old tin fruit-cans answer excellently 
to sow seeds in. Our method is to unsolder 
the cans so that the sides cau be lapped, and 
they are. kept in place by strong strings tied 
tightly around them. These cyliuder-shaped 
cans are much more convenient than clay pots 
and do uot dry so soon, and the rust seems to 
act as a tonic to the plants. 
Set the cans in earthen saucers aud fill with 
earth; sow a seed in the center of each ; place 
them in different parts of the house to see 
which do best. We keep some in the south 
wiudow of the kitchen, others are in the east 
window and a few among the house plants. 
When the weather is sufficiently settled— 
which in our climate is usually in May—so that 
transplanting to the open ground may be safely 
done, the plants cau easily be slipped from the 
cans without injury to the roots. They should 
be covered at first to protect them against chiU- 
iug winds at night and from the sun during a 
portion of the day. Iu setting them out it is 
best not to put them all out at one time, but to 
take out some at intervals of a few days, as 
otherwise a sudden change in the weather 
might destroy the whole. For covers we U6e 
large drain-tile with thin cloth tied over the 
top. They are easy to handle and can be re¬ 
moved in a moment. The varieties of tomatoes 
are so many, and most of them are so highly 
recommended, that we hardly know which to 
choose. Whenever we try “novelties” we 
also sow a few seeds of the old “ Smooth Red ” 
as a safe resort if the new kinds fail. 
Lyons, Iowa. m. g. b. 
One of the axioms already given is, that we 
should make the force of gravitation help and 
not hinder us. Iu no case will gravitation help 
us more than in the storage of hay for sale, 
especially if there is a steep slope, at the foot 
of which the barn can stand. Near the middle 
of a forty-acre field on my own farm, is a sharp 
descent of 20 feet, which curves on three sides 
around a space large enough to place a barn 
45 feet square. The ground is level above the 
slope and again below it. The place was dug 
Some of our readei s ask us to give- illustra¬ 
tions and articles upon hot-beds, cold-frames, 
etc. Now tbe Rural has placed before its 
readers such illustrations and articles for the 
past twenty-five years, and we do not propose 
to fill our columns with such old news again, 
unless it be to illustrate new plans or labor- 
saving designs as they become known to us 
from time to time. The information asked is 
given with all needed detail in half of the cata¬ 
logues we have beeu noticing for weeks past. 
Send for them, if there are no old tiles of Ru- 
rals at hand. 
Figure 1 
out in past ages by the wash of a brook which 
is now dry, except in very wet weather. The 
formation ot the land has suggested to me the 
building of a barn ou the plan indicated iu 
Figs. 1 aud 2. Fig. 1 gives the curve of the 
hill aud the ground-plan of the barn which I 
hope to build. Fig. 2 is the perspective view, 
taken from the southwest, the beholder’s eye 
the east end, and the east bay is filled to the 
roof, except the space occupied by the barn 
floor. Every forkful of hay goes below the 
hand of the man that throws it off. and is 
easily moved away, even by a boy. This floor 
is 14 feet wide iu the clear, and 45 feet long, 
and each night two large loads of hay can be 
left ou it, standing on the wagons, ready to be 
Beauty of Hebron.— Mr. Hugh L. Wysoe, 
of Pulaski Co., Va., writes us that he received 
Beauty of Hebron from the Agricultural De¬ 
partment last spring, and can say that it yields 
more and is ten days earlier than Early Rose. 
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