226 
AMERICAN AGBICULTURIST. 
[May, 
to enjoy rural life. But the Crow ! He is to all 
such discussions what the roast beef is to the din¬ 
ner, the piece de resistance. It is only within a few 
years that speakers at the various meetings had the 
courage to say a word for the crow, but now it is 
-admitted that his character is not so uniformly 
black as his plumage. In Northern gardens, the 
■wliite-grub is, on the whole, the most injurious 
insect, when we consider the great variety of 
plants it attacks, ranging from grass to nursery 
trees, and that its work, being beneath the sur¬ 
face, is not suspected until the injury is done. 
The crow has a keenness of sense that allows him 
to detect the unseen presence of the white-grub, 
and a fondness for a fat morsel that induces him to 
capture it. A few years ago, we had a chance to 
watch the operations of an assemblage of crows on 
a grub-infested lawn. Their skill in finding and 
dislodging the grub should have been witnessed by 
•all opponents of the crow. 
Boys on the farm can do good service and find 
much to interest them in making careful observa¬ 
tions of the relations of different birds to insect life. 
The Usefulness of Ice. 
Ice in the summer is still a novelty in most rural 
districts. In cities and villages ice has become a ne¬ 
cessity, and almost every family keeps a refriger¬ 
ator, and has the daily or bi-weekly visits of the 
ice-man. It is not quite so convenient to have ice 
in the country, but' it is entirely feasible, either by 
the association of near neighbors, or by every far¬ 
mer providing for himself an ice-house. A half 
dozen farmers living near a good pond or stream 
might combine and build a union ice-house, say 
sixty tons, which might be filled in a single day, 
and which would afford an abundant supply for 
the six families. 
Ice is considered a necessity where it is once 
used. It is among the greatest luxuries in hot 
• weather, slakes thirst better than any other drink, 
and, if it coukl be universal, would be a strong 
rival force to the saloon and the grog shop. Ice is 
a good help in the dairy business, saving milk, 
■cream, and butter. Packed with ice in the cooler, 
butter goes to market in the best condition and 
secures a better price. Ice saves a multitude of 
perishable articles of food that would otherwise be 
lost. It not only saves strawberries and other 
small fruits, but the lower temperature makes them 
much more palatable. The good housewife has no j 
fear of losing her beefsteaks, mutton chops, or j 
veal cutlets. On the ice, they arc safe for a week 
after the purchase. Cooked meats are kept in good 
•condition until they are consumed. If pater fa- 
Tnilias could only follow the little daily wastes that 
go from his table, his pantry, and his dining-room, 
for the lack of ice, as his wife is obliged to, he 
would no longer delay the ice-house and the re¬ 
frigerator. The time and timber to construct them 
are within his reach. It requires but little mechani¬ 
cal skill to make them. The back numbers of the 
American Agriculturist will furnish illustrations of 
cheap and effective structures that almost any one 
•can follow. 
If horses, cattle, and sheep could have salt for 
them to lick or nibble at all times as they de¬ 
sired, while in stable, yard, or pasture, they would 
escape various diseases and be more thrifty and 
useful than when deprived of it, or even given ir¬ 
regularly. Swine and poultry are better for having 
a little pure brine mixed up with their food. Since 
we have made this a regular practice, we have 
never lost an animal from disease of any kind, and 
•only a few fowls, and these latter would not have 
become sick, had they not unfortunately got at an 
uncovered sink-hole, where they picked out bits of 
■decomposing bread and vegetables, a small quantity 
•of which had got there from the dish-water. 
The rock salt that comes in large lumps, and may 
be bought at low rates by the ton, is excellent for 
live stock. Boxes for this salt may be arranged by 
The sides of the mangers and in the pasture. 
'They will need filling at distant intervals. 
May is a busy month in the apiary. If in good 
condition, the brood ought now to be abundant, 
and the growing hives will show that rapid prepara¬ 
tion is underway for the coming harvest of white 
clover and raspberry honey. If any colony is 
weak, it should either be united with another col¬ 
ony, or built up by adding combs of sealed brood 
from hives strong enough to spare it. Unsealed 
brood is likely to chill, if given to a weak colony, 
and be lost. As the colony grows stronger, more 
brood may be given it. Poor queens should be su¬ 
perseded as soon as possible by those that are 
redundant in eggs. When hives are united, the 
most prolific queen should always be retained. 
Queens of the best quality are so easily and cheaply 
secured, that it never pays to tolerate a poor one. 
Colonies may be easily, quickly, and safely 
united. Move the two hives a little day by day— 
three or four feet—until they are side by side. If 
moved too far at first, the bees will go back to 
their old stand, and, not finding the old home, will 
be lost, or attempt to enter some strange hive and 
be killed. When the hives are close, side by side, 
smqke the bees thoroughly in both hives, that they 
may fill themselves with honey. Bees, like men, 
are better natured when the stomach is well filled, 
and usually meet a kind reception from their mates 
when they come ladened with honey. Destroy the 
poorest queen, and separate the combs containing 
brood in the hive where she has previously reigned, 
and fill in with the brood combs containing brood, 
bees, queen and all from the other hive. Thus the 
frames from the two hives will alternate in their 
new position. Confine the combs with the division 
board, cover all warmly, and add frames of comb 
or “ foundation ” as needed by the growing colony. 
It will not be surprising if, after the present se¬ 
vere winter, in which the bees had no chance to 
fly from early in November until in March, many 
bees are lost. Already we have heard of serious 
mortality in unprotected colonies. The most of 
our bees are in the cellar, where they have been 
since the middle of November. All these seem at 
this date (March 22,) to be in good condition. A 
few colonies were left on their summer stands, and 
one is dead. All of these were packed snugly in 
ehatf hives. This winter will give us important 
statistics on wintering, and will enable us to de¬ 
cide more wisely between wintering in a cellar or 
proper bee-house, and in ehatf hives. 
From the losses this winter, maiiy will wish to 
buy bees, and tranfer them into their empty hives. 
First turn the old hive bottom up, after smoking 
the bees sufficient to quiet them. This work 
should be done at noon on a warm day when the 
bees are active. Place above the hive a box, and so 
wrap the line of junction with a sheet that no 
bees can escape. Rap on the hive (with a hammer 
or stick) for fifteen minutes. The bees in this time 
will fill with honey and cluster in the box above 
the hive. Set the new hive filled either with 
frames of comb, or wired “ foundation” on the old 
stand, where the box-hive stood, and shake the 
bees in front of it. They will quickly enter and 
take possession. The box-hive is set aside for 
three or four weeks, when all the brood will have 
hatched out. The bees may now be drummed out 
as before and added to the others. Unless the bees 
can gather food, the bees in the new hive must be 
given combs containing honey or fed, until there 
there is opportunity for them to gather sufficient 
stores for their needs. If it should turn cold the 
old box-hive must be put into a warm room, else 
the brood will become chilled, and fail to hatch. 
If it is warm, and there are no flowers from which 
the bees can gather, the old box-hive must be 
closed, or robbers may enter and carry off honey. 
After all the bees are removed the second time 
from the old hive, it is knocked to pieces, the 
combs cut out, melted into wax, and sold or 
worked up into “foundation.” 
In case a queen has been reared in the box- 
hive, where the brood has been hatching, by the 
young bees, she may be killed, if seen, or left to 
the old queen, who will destroy her. 
A Pump Feeder. 
Mr. N. C. Weeden, Vernon Co., Wis., writes us : 
I put my pumps down four years ago, and have 
had no trouble with them since. The curb or well 
should be about seven feet deep, the bottom of 
the cylinder being 16 inches above the bottom of 
the well. The waste-pipe should go in the pail as 
near the bottom as possible. I used a common 
water pail for a “ feeder } inch is large enough 
for waste-pipe ; it should be screwed into the large 
pipe. Make a hole in the pail Vie inch smaller than 
waste-pipe. File the waste-pipe a little tapering at 
the outer end and drive the bail on with a hammer ; 
then put a strong wire around the pipe and pail to 
keep it in place. The cheapest curb is brick laid 
in cement. The well should be three feet at the 
bottom with two inch offsets. I found the sand 
would get under the lower valve and then the water 
would run down and the pump needed to be primed, 
but with this feeder the quantity of water prevents 
the pump from “running down,” and the sucker 
will last three times as long. 
The Bread Question Again, 
Perplexed house-keepers will find no trouble 
with the bread sponge not rising during the night, 
by using the following method. At breakfast-time, 
mix two tablespoonfuls of flour, one of sugar, and 
one of salt, and scald with one pint of boiling 
water; when cool, add a yeast cake, or its equiva¬ 
lent in yeast, and set to rise until noon. When put¬ 
ting on the dinner potatoes, add about ten extra 
ones, and, when boiled and peeled, mash them 
fine, and scald with three quarts of water. When 
cool, add to the first mixture, and set to rise until 
night. It is then ready for use, and should be kept 
in a crock, not too tightly closed, in a compara¬ 
tively warm place. This will make six loaves of 
bread, and leave enough to raise the next mixture. 
In making the bread, use a pint of the mixture to 
each loaf, sifting in the requisite amount of flour, 
and kneading to taste, no other ingredients being 
necessary. Mold at once, and place in the baking 
pan. Set to rise near the stove, or over a kettle of 
warm water if in great haste, and it will be ready 
to bake in three or four hours. A. S. D. 
