4 = 4 L8 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
Mie Crop. —A report from 214 points 
in the chief pork producing States, states that in 159 
places hogs are fewer than last year, in 27 places about 
the same as last year, and in 28 places more than last 
year. Of corn the same report states, that in 100 places 
there is less, in 79 more, and in 35 about the same 
as last year. The quality of hogs is reported as uneven. 
Crop Prospects. —As regards the pros¬ 
pects of the newly sown wheat crop, both here and in 
Europe, there has rarely ever been a better promise. The 
weather has been remarkably favorable for seeding and 
the growth of the plant. So favorable has the season 
been at the East, that so late as on the 5th of November, 
more than one farmer of our acquaintance has sown 
wheat. From all parts of Europe a similar condition 
of the weather is reported. Of course this has a de¬ 
pressing influence upon the market, the extent of which 
it is impossible to forecast. One thing at least is cer¬ 
tain, that the favorable condition in which the fall wheat 
crop meets the winter season, can only tend to affect the 
market unfavorably for sellers. 
The Pxliibition at IVew SoatSi 
Wales.—The Journal of the Agricultural Society of 
New South Wales contains the programme for the Me¬ 
tropolitan Inter-colonial Exhibition, to open at Sydney, 
April 6, 1875, In which a very full list of prizes is offered 
in both the agricultural and non-agricultural divisions. 
At the request of the Secretary, we cheerfully call the at¬ 
tention of our inventors and manufacturers of farm im¬ 
plements and machinery to the liberal prizes that are 
offered, and to the fact that competition is open to 
exhibitors from abroad. The Secretary thinks that a 
large market would he found for our machines, were they 
only known in the colonies, and states that all articles 
may be sold after the exhibition. By way of San Fran¬ 
cisco, Australia is now much nearer to us than to the 
mother country : our letters now come to hand in forty 
days from their date, and as their agriculture is more like 
ours than that of England, the colonists find our imple¬ 
ments and our papers better suited to their needs, than 
those of that country. We notice by the journal of the 
Society that steps have been taken to insure a repre¬ 
sentation of the Australian colonies at Philadelphia, in 
1876. The Secretary of the Society is Mr. Jules Joubert, 
Sydney, N. S. Wales. 
Poultry ami Market Gardening. 
—“ S. W. L.” Although you send stamp for a reply by 
mail, wo cannot answer by letter, as we do not know 
where you live. You omit to state your residence, and 
the post-mark has not a distinguishable letter. Poultry 
can not be successfully kept upon a large scale, unless 
the fowls have a wide range. There can be nothing more 
destructive in a market or any other garden, than a flock 
of fowls—even a small one. Unless the birds can be 
kept out of the garden, one or the other must be given 
up. Market-gardeners near New-York have all they can 
do to attend to gardening only, and then work more 
horns.in the day than do most other people. We never 
give advice upon buying land, or the price to pay for it. 
See Page 4159. 
Bee Notes. 
BY M. QUINBY. 
A friend in New Orleans, says: “ Will you be so kind 
as to give through the American Agriculturist , your 
way of putting glass boxes on the side of combs.” Of 
course the most convenient way to do this, is with 
movable combs. The comb well fastened in frames, 
should stand qji the bottom board, independent of the 
outside, as described in the Agriculturist for June, 1S73. 
Have the mdes of the hive out of the way, until the 
boxes are placed. My Cherry Valley friend has furnished 
lor market over 40,000 lbs. of honey the present season, 
most of it in glass boxes, that hold a little over 4 lbs. 
The depth of the boxes is about 5 inches, length G, 
width, 4 inches. Top and bottom are of wood, the sides 
of glass. The glass in the end that comes next the comb, 
reaches only about two-thirds of the way across the end 
of the box, leaving three-fourths of an inch on each side 
for the bees to enter. Imagine a comb standing upright 
of itself, all yon have to do, is to set the box by its side, 
with the narrow glass towards it, so that the bees can 
enter. If the frames are 16 inches long, four boxes 4 
inches wide, will just fill it out, and if 10 inches deep, 
two courses high will be just even with the top, eight 
more can be set on the other side, and eight on the top 
of the frame. These top boxes have holes through the 
bottom for the bees to enter. All of them may have 
inch holes without detriment, and then the boxes maybe 
changed from side to top as required. Just these sizes 
of box and frame, are not used in all cases, but the 
principle can not probably be bettered. Have the size 
of frames and boxes to correspond, and all alike for 
every hive in the yard, so that any box will fit any hive, 
and any frame of comb will fit any place. There is time 
now to think what hive is best to start with in the 
spring. Study the principle, and get ready now, or at 
least before spring. 
At the discussion at the N. Y. Central Fair, at Utica, it 
was stated that some bee-keepers had furnished honey 
for market by the car load, the question was asked, how 
was it obtained ? The answer was by cultivating bees. 
Then came the question, “ What is meant by cultivating 
bees ? ” A partial explanation gave rise to questions 
innumerable, as “ what is an improved hive ? ” “ Why 
do you get more honey than we used to?” “What do 
you mean by raising queens?” “What by movable 
combs, and what is gained by them ? ” “ What about 
Italians, are they better? ” “How do you tell one kind 
of egg from another ? ” “ How do you tell when they are 
going to swarm ? ” “ How do you make artificial swarms, 
are they as good ? ” “ How do you extract, when was it 
found out, how long have you done it ? ” Of course these 
questions, and others growing out of them, could not all 
be answered for want of time. How to prevent getting 
stung, seemed to bo the main one. The fear of stings 
seemed to operate more than all else against beginning 
to keep bees. After it was explained that we work by 
quietly using smoke, and avoiding harshness, and that 
we need not get stung; it was announced that Mr. 
Quinby had a hive of live bees on the fair ground, and 
would illustrate the manner of handling at such an hour 
the next day. lie attended, and went through with many 
manipulations, such as taking out the combs — without 
protection for face or hands. He exhibited every bee, 
and sealed and unsealed honey; he then found the 
queen — which a great many had never seen before, never 
daring to look so close to so many bees. The quantity 
of honey necessary for winter, was pointed out, etc. 
The combs were returned to the hive, and not a bee was 
made angry, nor was any one stung. No smoke was 
applied further than to show how easily it could be used 
in case they had been angered by an unlucky jar. or a 
bee pinched a little. It was claimed that any one, that 
could operate carefully, and especially without fear, 
would be equally successful. But few besides those hav¬ 
ing some experience with bees ventured to attend. On 
this point we need different training. TYe must disabuse 
the growing mind of this awful fear. It is the duty of the 
agricultural press generally, and of farmers who wish to 
save half of the immense honey waste of the country, to 
do something. Change the teaching. If a boy can be 
taught to risk his life at the cannons’ mouth, to accom¬ 
plish and bring about a wished for event, it ought to 
be easy to learn him to brave a bee sting, for the ac¬ 
complishment of a great work. 
Ogden Farm Papers.—No. 58. 
As before intimated, I visited the St. Louis 
Fair, and, incidentally, saw a good deal of 
Western agriculture. The fair is entitled to all 
the encomiums it has received on the score of 
“ bigness.” The extent of the exhibition, and 
of the crowd gathered together, is quite as great 
as has been claimed for it. The quality of the 
exhibition, too, is of great interest, though in 
most departments there was a lack of orderly 
arrangement, and an absence of systematic la¬ 
beling, which detracted very much from its 
value to one who for the short time allowed de¬ 
sired to examine it carefully, and compare dif¬ 
ferent articles of the same class with each 
other. The cattle of the different breeds were 
not separated, and in looking over the Jerseys, 
for instance, one had to skip about among 
stalls occupied by animals of half-a-dozen 
breeds. The implements and machinery were 
placed very much at random, and it was some¬ 
times difficult to learn anything about particu¬ 
lar entries, and always troublesome to compare 
them with their competitors. The $11,000 of¬ 
fered as premiums for cotton attracted a won¬ 
derfully fine show from all the potton-growing 
States at the Southwest. 
I have been told that the St. Louis Fair was 
mainly a horse fair, and that its agricultural 
features were comparatively insignificant. This 
I did not find the case. There was a great deal 
of trotting and running, and an interested 
throng looking on, but there was only a half- 
mile track; there were no very noted horses, 
and this feature of the exhibition seemed rather 
a subordinate one. In position and prominence 
it was much less conspicuous than the show of 
implements and machinery in motion, and on 
the whole the exhibition was not at all open to 
the criticism of being a “ horse-trot” under the 
name of an “agricultural fair.” Indeed, it is 
not especially an agricultural, but rather a gen¬ 
eral industrial exhibition, the agricultural fea¬ 
tures of which are prominent. It serves its in¬ 
dustrial purposes remarkably well; but as a 
fair, as a means for attracting an immense con¬ 
gregation of holiday visitors, I have never seen 
its equal. On the principal day there were 
over 100,000 visitors to the grounds, and a more 
orderly, happy, interested, and cheerful gather¬ 
ing one could hardly hope to find. 
Aside from the homed cattle, the feature 
which most interested me was the good display 
of windmills. Many of these were excellent, 
and some of my old friends among them seemed 
to hold the prominent position they deserved, 
but I was especially taken with a new-comer, 
the “ Enterprise,” which, for simplicity, effici¬ 
ency, and I should say for durability, seemed 
to have advantages over all I had yet seen. It 
has the merit of being cheaper in first cost 
than any other of like character, and I shall 
pursue my investigation with a practical trial 
of its ability to turn our seaside winds to prof¬ 
itable account, and to withstand their tempes¬ 
tuous attacks. 
AN ILLINOIS BUTTER DAIRY. 
One leading object that me to the West 
was the butter dairy of I. Boies & Son, Maren¬ 
go, Ill., concerning which I have several times 
written in these papers. My visit here was en¬ 
tirely satisfactory. The dairy-building describ¬ 
ed in a previous number has not yet been con¬ 
structed, but in all other respects I found The 
accounts to be not at all overdrawn. There 
are now on hand about 100 milking cows, 60 of 
these had come in since August, and the others 
were expected to calve shortly. The cows are 
natives—or rather, they are such cattle of mixed 
races as are kept throughout northwestern Illi¬ 
nois, where dairying is the prominent industry 
over a very wide area. I can best describe 
their quality by saying that I have never seen 
twenty natives together that would average 
nearly so good as the whole hundred in this 
herd, which has been built up by a system of 
careful selection. Mr. Boies says he generally 
finds that he can buy a dairyman’s best cow for 
five dollars more than the market value, and it 
is his practice to drive frequently about the 
country buying all the remarkably good cows 
he can find, and selling the poorest ones of his 
own herd. He has had the skill to carry on 
this system until he must have collected on his 
place most of the best cows within bis reach. 
The amount of butter made, per cow, has 
thus far been only estimated, but careful ac¬ 
counts are now being kept, and will be carried 
on throughout the year, so that we shall know 
pretty nearly what the possibilities of such a 
herd are. The method of feeding has been 
sufficiently described in my previous articles; 
the principle on which it is based is, that a milk¬ 
ing cow should eat all that she can possibly be 
induced to eat. Mr. Boies is very strongly of 
the opinion that it is impossible to get the full¬ 
est profit from a butter dairy, or from any 
other, without having the cows come in in the 
