will be needed on the part of the inmates, or 
the robbers will carry away their hard-earned 
stores. If a comb is exposed, even for a few 
minutes, it is covered with bees eager to trans¬ 
fer its contents to their own combs. If a hive 
is opened, a crowd of robbers is soon on baud 
trying to force their way into the uncovered 
hive. At the close of the basswood honey har¬ 
vest, robbers are usually the most trouble¬ 
some. At this time, especially if the bees 
have become aroused by a taste of ill-gotten 
gains, it seems as though they would almost 
force their way through an inch board. 
That, “an ounce of prevention, is better than 
a pound of cure,” was never tinier than when 
applied to the robbing of bees. A taste of 
honey seems to arouse an almost demoniacal 
nature in them. If peace and order are desired, 
let not a drop of honey be exposed. Contract 
the entrance to all hives containing weak or 
queenless colonies. If necessary, the entrance 
may be made so small that only one bee can 
pass at a time. Queeuless colonies should be 
given a queen, or some unsealed brood. If 
there is any colony that will make a weak de¬ 
fense, it is a colony with neither queen nor 
brood. 
If a comb of honey should happen to be ex¬ 
posed for some little time uutil its honey is 
partly carried away, the most natural thing 
to do when it is discovered would be, of course, 
to remove it. St range as it may appear, this 
is the worst thing that could be done. If left 
where itis, the bees will keep at work crawling 
over and examining the comb long after the 
honey is gone; finally they will gradually leave 
it, and are much more likely to go about their 
business than they would be were the honey 
removed. Then they seem to think they have 
made a mistake as to the spot where the honey 
was, and do not feel satisfied until they have 
forced their way into the nearest weak colony, 
or many bees have been slaughtered in the at¬ 
tempt. A weak colony that has been attacked 
and is succumbing, can sometimes be removed 
to a new location, and a hive with a little 
honey should be set in its place. The bees will 
soon clean out the honey, hang about the 
house for several hours until, concluding that 
that job is done, they will finally leave. Per¬ 
haps the best thing that can be done when a 
colony of bees is attacked and shows symptoms 
of being overpowered, is to wet several hand¬ 
fuls of straw or hay and place it in front of the 
entrance. The robbers, in trying to get into 
the hive, become wet, and this takes the fight 
out of them. One dry bee can “whip” half-a- 
dozen wet ones. For use when robbers are 
troublesome, a small tent, that can be set over 
the hive when handling the bees, is a great 
convenience. A light wooden frame-work, 
covered with mosquito netting, answers every 
purpose. 
Genesee Co., Mich. 
MAKING AND PRESERVING PERMA¬ 
NENT MEADOWS. 
HENRY STEWART. 
Condition of meadow essential before seed¬ 
ing; general method of solving grass seed; 
quantity of seed; Orchard Grass; lied 
Top; Blue Grass; seed .for moist ground; 
seed for damp, rich land; seed for dry, 
sandy and gravelly soil. 
When the land intended fora permanent 
meadow, or indeed, for any meadow ut all, is 
ready for the seed, it should present a level, 
smooth surface free from furrows or marks of 
any kind. When harrow marks are left on 
the surface, the seed will gather in these and 
the grass will come up in the lines of them, 
leaving these too thickly sown, and bare lines 
between them. This is especially objection¬ 
able when Orchard Grass is sown, for the 
habit of this grass being to grow in bunches, 
anything tending to increase the effect of this 
habit, is to be avoided. 
The sowing is to be done with the object of 
getting a perfectly even and regular distribu¬ 
tion of tlie seed. This is effected by double¬ 
sowing as well as by careful scattering of the 
seed. It is better to take narrow strips and to 
be sure to leave no vacant lines between them. 
It is best to sow heavy and light seed separ¬ 
ately, as the heavier seed will be east further 
than the light. Moreover, the direction of 
the wind must be considered. It is best to 
sow across the wind. A broadcast seeder is 
very useful for sowing grass seed; but whether 
the seed is sowed with a machine or by hand, 
I would sow it double—one sowung across the 
other—and the clover seed should be sown 
alone. 
My method is to use the first two lingers 
and thumb, and take up as much seed as can 
be held in that way for one cast, and to make 
a cast at every step. The steps are made by 
first advancing the left foot an ordinary pace, 
then bringing up the right foot on the line of i 
the left, and as the right foot is moved to i 
make the cast, throwing the seed up high and : 
with a circular motion of the arm and a twist 
of the wrist, by which at the end of the cast 
and just as the seed is let go, the back of the 
hand is brought uppermost. This throws the 
seed in a level, broad sheet, which falls evenly 
from three to four feet on each side of the 
sower. A cast six feet wide is quite enough 
to make, aud with the quantity of seed taken 
will use up a peek, or 16 pounds of clover seed 
aud is pounds of Timothy, to the acre, which 
is the quantity I prefer to use, thinking some 
seed in excess is better than having too little. 
If less is sown, the pinch of seed may be made 
smaller and less taken at each cast. A very 
short experience will teach this part of the 
business to any man who can figure a little. 
A cast six feet wide will cover one acre in 
2,420 yards, aud exactly 11 casts across n 10- 
acre square field; or 22 casts across a square 
five-acre field 20 rods wide and long. Each 
pinch having one-fifteenth part of an ounce, 
or half a teaspoonful, will make up precisely 
15 pounds of clover seed, and the same bulk at 
each pinch will expend 12 pounds of Tim¬ 
othy. 
In sowing Orchard Grass seed, the quantity 
used is much larger, as two bushels per acre is 
the least quantity that should be sown This 
will give as much as can be taken in a haud- 
ful with the third and fourth, fingers kept 
always closed, and the seed grasped between 
the two first fingers and thumb and the palm 
of the baud. This will make a full tablespoon¬ 
ful to a cast. Red Top and Blue Grass are 
sown at the same rate, unless in a mixture 
with other kinds. 
The choice of seed depends upon the kind of 
soil. Low, moist ground, that is overflowed 
at any time for a short period, is most suitable 
to Red Top (Agrostis vulgaris), Creeping Bent 
(Agrostis stolouifera), Fowl Meadow Gruss 
(Poa serotina), Rough-stalked Meadow' Grass 
(Poa trivialis), and Perennial Rye Grass (Lo- 
lium perenne), all of which do well on moist 
ground, and will not suffer from occasional 
flooding. Timothy will also do well on such 
land, and maybe added to these in equal quan¬ 
tity; viz., an even proportion to make up two 
bushels by measure, or about 28 or 30 pounds 
to the acre. Orchard Gross does exceedingly 
well in damp, rich ground; but suffers from 
flooding. I have seeded a newly-cleared 
and drained swamp meadow with the above 
grasses, using six pounds of each to the acre, 
and it turned out very well, making an early 
and late crop of hay, and yielding fully three 
tons to the acre the first year, aud before the 
grass had become firmly established. White 
Clover came into the drier part of this field 
naturally as soon as the draius had dried the 
land, aud grew luxuriantly, making a thick, 
close bottom which helped the bulk of the 
crop considerably aud improved the pasture 
afterwards. These grasses are in their prime 
from May to July, and the earlier ones are 
green again late in the Summer and in the 
Fall. 
For drier land and sandy and gravelly soils, 
there is no better grass than Orchard Grass, 
and it is not improved by any mixture with 
others. It has a habit of stooling, or growing 
iu bunches, but this is not particularly object¬ 
ionable so long as the quantity of hay and 
pasture is satisfactory, and I have not yet 
known au instance in which any complaint of 
this kind has been made, it is no use fighting 
against Nature, and when the land is well pre¬ 
pared, the seed is sown as well as possible and 
Covered evenly, and the grass will grow in 
bunches, it is foolish to make a fuss ubout it 
if w'e get the gross. Orchard Grass is ready 
for cutting—that is, in full blossom—at the 
same time as Red Clover, and if anything is 
sown With either of these it should be the 
other. But for a permanent grass I know of 
none better than Orchard Grass for hay or for 
soiling; and none for pasture, except Ken¬ 
tucky Blue Grass iu those places only, how- 
over, where the latter thrives the best, as iu 
Lhe West and Southern mountains. Elsewhere 
Blue Grass will not afford as much pasture as 
Orchard Grass. 
♦»» — 
RYE. 
A rye crop removed increases instead of de¬ 
creasing the fertility of the land; on rich 
ground; excellent feed for horses; as pas¬ 
ture in Ball and Spring; as green manure 
—how lo use it; the straw for binding; in 
a rotation. 
Farmers do not give this crop the attention 
it deserves. As a general rule, it does not 
yield a« much per acre as wheat, and sells lor 
two-thirds to three-fourths as much j>er bush¬ 
el. The reason it does not yield as much is 
because it is usually sown upon ground too 
poor for wheat; but it yields a tolerable crop 
w'here wheat would yield next to nothing. 
Many of the old Dutch farmers who have long 
been in the habit of raising it, assert that a 
crop of rye taken off a piece of ground, instead c 
of taking from, adds to the fertility of the f 
soil. They argue that in seeding down with 1 
wheat, they often fail to secure a “catch” of I 
gross; but by plowing down the wheat stub- 1 
ble to follow with a crop of rye, and seeding < 
to grass with this, they invariably secure a i 
good “catch” of grass, as well as a good crop < 
of rye, and the ground is in better condition < 
than it was before the rye was sown. Wheth- « 
er there is anything in this theory or not, I 1 
do not say, and yet the practice of such farm- i 
ers would seem to confirm the faith that is in i 
them. 
Rye sown upon ground rich enough for 
wheat yields as much grain as wheat, and 
nearly double os much straw. Rye bread, 
when properly baked, is very wholesome aud 
nutritious, aud mauy people are very fond of 
it. Among the Dutch farmers in the eastern 
part of Poun., it is mostly used as chop to 
make cut feed for their horses, either pure or 
mixed, and chopped with other grains. The 
straw is run through a cutting-box, and about 
half a bushel of this cut straw wetted, and 
mixed with two or three quarts of rye “chop,” 
fed to a horse three times a day, gives bettor 
satisfaction, and answers every purpose of 
both oats and hay. Especially is this the best 
kind of feed for a horse troubled with heaves. 
A pint of boiled rye fed twice a day is unsur¬ 
passed for putting a horse iu condition, also 
calves, and cattle that have become hide¬ 
bound. 
Then for tying up corn-fodder, it is almost 
impossible to get along without rye straw. 
Of course the crop must be thrashed out with 
a flail if the straw is intended to be used for 
this purpose. 
As a green crop to plow under I find iu it, per¬ 
haps, Its greatest value. In this country, 
buckwheat is a standard ci - op iu our rotation. 
After the corn is off, I sow rye [os it will do to 
sow it quite late even on the snow, and not 
harrow], to be plowed under about the middle 
Of June; pack it down tight with a roller after 
it is plowed, theu about June 20 sow buck¬ 
wheat. This comes off so the ground eau be 
ready to be sowed to wheat about September 
20. Then I plow it again before sowing wheat, 
aud roll; thus the rye that has becu turned un¬ 
der in June, (quite a furrowful) comes on top, 
like well rotted manure,to top-dress the wheat. 
By fastening one end of a log-chain to the 
doubletree, aud the other end around the 
beam of the plow, letting the chain drag in the 
furrow, every stalk can be covered out of 
sight; in fact, it makes it very pleasant work. 
Last Summer I raised 120 bushels of buck¬ 
wheat off three and oue-haif acres, where rye 
had been turned under in June. It was all 
ripe before September frost, and buckwheat 
was buckwheat. 
It will make good pasture for the calves this 
Fall, aud I expect it will again next Spring. 
I may use a pnrt of it for soiling purposes, and 
turn under for buckwheat, to be followed by 
wheat. 
Some agricultural papers recommend the 
sowing of rye with a view of plowing under 
for corn. I do not hold very much on that 
line. Unless it is sowed very early, it will not 
amount to very much in time to plow under 
for corn, and you cannot get any suitable 
ground for corn on which to sow it early, ex¬ 
cept sod after harvest. If that 6od were 
simply let alone, the grass that would grow 
up and rot dowu iu the Kali and grow up 
again in the Spring before plowing for corn, 
would need far less work, and amount to more 
than the rye would by the time to plow for 
corn, as it is after that time rye makes its 
most rapid growth. Upon any other than 
sod ground, of course the benefit will be iu 
proportion to the amount of growth secured 
by the time it is plowed under for corn. 
Venango Co., Fa. t. s. strohecker. 
M1X.L.ET. 
Millet will produce from two to four tons 
of cured hay on an acre of well-manured laud. 
The common or Golden Millut is the best vari¬ 
ety. It grows taller and with a finer stem 
than the German which looks like diminutive 
corn, and is two weeks later iu maturing. 
Millet is better for stock than corn-stalks, 
when not allowed to get too ripe. It is a su¬ 
perior food for milch cows Seed is cheap, 
sold by all seedsmen. It is a good fowl for 
poultry, particularly for young chicks. From 
10 to 12 quarts of seed per acre are ample 
on rich land. More seed will prevent too 
coarse a growth of stems. For sheep, the 
ground should be thickly seeded so as to make 
the hay finer. Seed should be covered 
slightly. Rolling will do the work well. 
Goiden Millet will mature in two-and-ono- 
half months. Always cut before a frost. 
Saratoga Co., N. Y, v. c. 
-- 
alsike. 
It is well known that Alsike Clover, a 
1 hybrid between White aud Red Clover, is 
one of our most desirable houey plants. By 
feeding in Spring, it can be made to blossom 
late, and it furnishes most excellent honey in 
great quantities. It is excellent for hay, 
being finer and of better quality than Red 
Clover. The blossom is pink, and in beauty 
aud delicacy of perfume a field of Alsike 
Clover in blossom is bal'd to excel. Col. F. D. 
Curtis, in a late Country Gentleman, adds an¬ 
other virtue, lie says the Alsike lasts much 
longer than Red Clover. As bees work on Al¬ 
sike, the first crop of seeds develops which self¬ 
seeds the laud, and continues the plants, which 
is not true of Red Clover. A. J. cook. 
SOCIETY NOTES. 
The aunual meeting of the American Horti¬ 
cultural Society, for 1886, will convene in the 
city of Cleveland, Ohio, September ~, next, 
and continue three or four days, i his is ex¬ 
pected to be one of the most important meet¬ 
ings of the kiud ever held in this country. V . 
H. Ragan, Greencastlo, [ml., Secretary. 
The uext annual meeting of the American 
Forestry Congress will he hold at Denver, 
Colorado, Sept. 16-18. A better place for 
holding the convention could hardly have 
been selected. The members of the congress 
will both instruct and bo instructed. If any 
portion of America stands m need of trees it 
is the “Great American Desert,” and yet iu 
the cities and towns where irrigation is prac¬ 
ticed the trees are almost unapproachable for 
beauty. The question of preserving the for¬ 
ests of the Rocky Mountains is also of great 
importance. B. F. Fernow, oshingtou, 
D. C., is secretary of the congress. 
The Kansas City Fat Stock Show will be 
held this year Oct. 23-30. Entries of fat stock 
promise to be large. The various cattle bleed¬ 
ers’ associations of the country have voted to 
duplicate all awards made at the exhibition, 
so that nn animal winning a prize here will 
bring its owner a good sum of money. Many 
manufacturers have also offered implements 
to bo giveu to the owners of winning cattle, 
both thoroughbreds and grades. 1 he prac¬ 
tice of offering prizes for graded cattle is a 
good one. The grade, is the “farm breed” at 
present and deserves more encouragement. 
This fat stock show has heretofore been weak 
in its display of hogs aud sheep. We hope to 
sec a better representation of these animals 
this year. J. W. Sanborn, Columbia, Mo., is 
secretary of the association. 
The Society of American Florists will meet 
this year iu Philadelphia, Fa., Aug. 18, ID aud 
20. The meeting well be very attractive to 
those who love flowers—and who does not? 
E. G. Hill, Secretary, Richmond, Ind. 
TnE Teachers of Agriculture met in con¬ 
vention at Perdue University, La layette, 
Ind., lost month. Teachers and directors of 
Western experiment stations were present. 
These conventions arc in the lino of social 
talks. The object is to meet and exchange 
views in an informal way, make suggestions 
and criticisms, and to endeavor to arrange 
something of a uniformity in experimental 
■work. A great deal of good has been done, in 
h quiet way, by this organization, and it would 
be well if our Eastern agricultural teachers 
could unite with those at the West, and thus 
make the society more national in character. 
The great object of the authorities of an agri¬ 
cultural college is to enlist the sympathies of 
the farmers. Without this sympathy the} 
lose the best part of their work; with it the} 
cannot fuil. This question was discussed at 
the convention at La Fayette. 1 he holding 
of Fanners’ Institutes in different, parts of the 
States was considered a most effective way of 
advertising the colleges. The institutes foi 
the first year may not be largely attended, but 
by perseverance they eau be made popular. 
Experimental work was also commended, pui 
ticularly for the newer States, where there are 
fewer agricultural facts on record. Laud iu 
many parts of the country has gone through 
the various stages of decline aud restoration 
of fertility. Iu many parts of the West this 
change has not been made, aud it is the great 
duty of experiment stations to collect and 
digest facts from all sources, anti present, their 
results in a plain and readable form. Several 
speakers said that a college iarni must be 
made to pay as u business venture before ft 
certain class ot farmers could bo induced to 
scud their sons to the college. The idea seemed 
general that more actual good could be aceoui 
plished by running the farm for experiment 
rather than for profit, but that the prevailing 
spirit among many farmers rendered it neces¬ 
sary to conduct most college farms ou a dol- 
; lar-aud-cent basis. 
