1883.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
319 
Bee Notes for July. 
Apiarists are now in the midst of the honey 
harvest. The white clover is hardly gone, the in¬ 
comparable sweet clover is yet in bloom, and the 
basswood flowers are opening stores of enticing 
uectar. Beekeepers who are working for comb 
honey should furnish abundant sections, that the 
bees will not lack room. Crowding at this season 
means swarming and loss. If the finest honey is 
desired, the sections must be removed as soon as 
filled, and capped over. If extracted honey is the 
aim, it should be extracted frequently. In no case 
should this be deferred longer than when the bees 
begin to cap over the honey. Extracted honey 
should always be kept in a dry, warm atmosphere, 
and then even thin honey will ripen and be equal 
10 that which was capped over by the bees. The 
different grades of extracted honey should be kept 
separate. Clover, raspberry, and basswood honey 
are all so much alike that, to mix them, will do 
no harm ; but never should the dark nectar of 
autumn be mixed with the light honey of summer. 
Higher prices will be obtained by keeping each 
kind of honey by itself. 
THOUGI-.TS ON WINTERING. 
The wise apiarist meditates even in summer on 
the best plans ai d practices for winter. On the 
5th of last October all our bees were ready for win¬ 
ter. Each cclony was crowded upon eight Gallup 
frames; given 30 lbs. of good capped honey, and 
was surrounded above and at the ends by saw¬ 
dust cushions All not intended for the cellar 
were put into chaff hives. One hive intended for 
the cellar was only given frames containing pollen, 
though in addition there was abundant honey. 
On November 14th, all the hives were weighed, 
and ten single walled, and three chaff hives were 
removed to the cellar. Four colonies in chaff 
hives were left on the summer stands. The tem¬ 
perature in the cellar ranged from 38° F. to 42°. 
On April 5th they were examined, and those in 
the cellar were removed to the summer stands. 
The four colonies out-of-doors had consumed 58 lbs. 
of honey, or 141 lbs. each. One of these was dead ; 
having “starved,” as a bystander remarked, “ in 
the midst of plenty.” The combs on which the 
cluster was gathered were entirely empty, while 
those to the right had abundance of honey in them. 
The other three colonies wintered out-of-doors had 
lost a great many bees, so that few were left. 
These have done well since and are now very strong. 
Of the thirteen colonies in the cellar one had 
starved. We suppose it had been robbed of its 
honey before it was placed in the cellar. All its 
honey was gone. The colony given the combs 
containing pollen, were nearly all gone with dys¬ 
entery, the only one of all thus affected. No 
other had any pollen. The other colonies from 
the cellar were all strong, with very few dead bees, 
and had eaten 41 lbs. to the colony. The cellar 
had water running through it, was dark, uniform 
in temperature, and well ventilated. There has 
been no spring dwindling, since the colonies were 
set out of the cellar. 
We can see no difference between the colonies in 
the chaff hives from the cellar and the others. 
Some of the very best are in the single-walled 
hives. All in such hives are well covered above 
and at the ends of the brood chamber with saw¬ 
dust cushions, and are confined by use of a division 
board to only as many frames as they will cover. 
Last spring I sowed cabbage seeds of two varie¬ 
ties, Early York and Late Drumhead, in the place 
where they were to grow. They grew and flour¬ 
ished, being ready to gather long before any frost 
appeared. Still they were late, from the market gar¬ 
dener’s point of view. I also planted Tomato seed 
in the same way. They grew rapidly, and had no 
set back whatever, until the fruit matured ; while 
transplanted ones were at a stand still for some 
time until they became rooted in the new place, and 
many of them died. But the fruit of the former 
matured much later than of those started in the 
house. The conclusion is drawn, from these facts, 
that planting in the garden is to be preferred, for late 
maturing, of both cabbages and tomatoes. L. G. 
Duck Raising 1 . 
Ducks are suspected of being the least re¬ 
munerative of all varieties of poultry. The gen¬ 
eral impression among farmers is, that a pond 
or brook is essential to the raising of ducks, or 
other water fowls. They may be raised, however, 
for the supply of the table without more water 
than the common dunghill fowls. Ducklings want 
water to drink just as chickens do, and probably 
enjoy larger liceuse for swimming, but it is not 
essential to their health while growing. A well 
grown duck of any of the larger varieties, Pekin, 
Rouen, Aylesbury, or Cayuga, is one of the greatest 
delicacies that comes to our table, and we could 
not consent to be without it, at any reasonable 
cost. Roast turkey is an epicurean delight, but we 
do not want it every week. Chicken pie is good 
enough in its place, but a change to roast duck 
after the holidays is appetizing. Every country 
gentleman who means to live generously, and enter¬ 
tain his friends wiLh the best the rural districts 
afford, should patronize ducks. We have raised 
them with entire success in a village yard, and they 
can be made a paying crop wherever hens will 
flourish. We place the Pekins at the head of the 
popular varieties, considering their hardiness, the 
delicacy of flesh, and their great laying qualities. 
The first bird imported of this variety, laid over 
two hundred eggs in a year, and it is not unusual to 
have the ducklings commence laying in the fall— 
instead of waiting until the following spring— 
as is the general rule with other varieties. The 
Rouen, Aylesbury, and Cayugas are fine breeds, and 
under favorable conditions give fair returns for 
the labor and food spent on them. Ducks can be 
raised unquestionably with most profit near water, 
swarming with fish. Persons located upon tide 
water coves, have the best facilities for raising- 
water fowls. These coves are frequented by fish 
for the purpose of spawning, and the young fry 
linger through the spring and summer in the shoal 
water to gather their food. Every tide brings in 
fresh supplies of food for the ducks, and after the 
first mouth of confinement in the yard, the keeping 
of the ducklings costs very little, until they are 
four or five mouths old, when they generally bring 
their highest prices in the districts that supply the 
city markets. Ducks are not without their aesthetic 
value. The Cayuga drake has brilliant plumage, 
and the male of the wood duck, though small, is 
among the finest water fowls that have ever been 
domesticated. The Pekins and Aylesburys are the 
most desirable to raise, where there is a large range 
for them in tide waters and lakes, as their white 
color distinguishes them from the wild ducks, and 
guards them against the shot of the sportsman. 
They are pleasing objects upon any small body of 
water in private grounds, and add to the variety 
and profit of the poultry yard. 
- —i i - 
A Prize Clydesdale. 
The engraving herewith presented is from a pho¬ 
tograph of the famous Clydesdale stallion “Spark,” 
first-prize winner at the late Horse Show at Isling¬ 
ton, England. The efforts, which have been sys¬ 
tematically and patiently conducted for many 
years, tending to the “ennoblement ” of the “old 
English draft horse,” without a decrease of size, 
are bearing fruit in the production of families of 
extraordinary size and merit. The normal color of 
the race is black, and the “ blacks ” have been 
greatly improved of late ; but there is a family of 
big “grays ” in the “midland ” districts which are 
regarded as distinct from the horses of the eastern 
coast. To this family “Spark” belongs. The 
standard color will probably develop with his years, 
and may be expected to prevail more or less in his 
get, but that is of small moment. No one objects 
to the Percherons because they are gray. What is 
wanted in a draft horse is a combination of power, 
willingness, activity, soundness, and constitution. 
We gain power as we secure size and weight, pro¬ 
vided we have good form and willingness to exer¬ 
cise it. Hence those characteristics dependent 
upon the nervous, and, so to speak, moral qualities, 
are most important. The improvement of the 
great English draft horse has been steadily tending 
in this direction, as well as to greater compactness 
of frame, and, in every way to that superior 
form, well shown in the portrait given. 
