1910. 
THE RURAL N E W-YORKER 
1053 
TEXT-BOOK'S IN RURAL SCHOOLS. 
E. P. F., Delaware Co., N. Y .—In the 
country schools there is a variety of test 
books used, so that it is a hard task for 
a teacher to iind books enough alike to 
manage the classes in the given time. The 
State authorities tell us what books certain 
grades must have to meet the requirements 
of this State Board of Education. I think if 
the Board of Education is going to toll us 
what books we must have the State should 
furnish the books; then the same books 
would be used in all schools and save lots 
of bother. 
Ans. —E. P. F. is under some misap¬ 
prehension when he says that “the State 
authorities tell us what books certain 
grades must have to meet the require¬ 
ments of this State Board of Education.’’ 
Local school authorities are altogether 
free to make such courses of study for 
the schools under their charge, as they 
think well, provided, of course, that they 
cover the essentials of an ordinary Eng¬ 
lish education; and they are likewise free 
to adopt such text books for the use of 
the schools as they think well, provided 
they observe the provisions of the statute 
against frequent changes. It is true that 
the Education Department issues, once 
in five years, a syllabus for the guidance 
and help of both the elementary and 
secondary schools, and it is likewise true 
that it frequently sets forth a list of text 
books from which the local school au¬ 
thorities may choose if they see fit to do 
so; but the local boards of education or 
trustees may do tfs they think well about 
following the syllabus. I suppose that 
ordinarily they do follow it, because it 
is made by very experienced teachers 
and must certainly be of assistance to 
them. The Education Department, how¬ 
ever, has never done anything to compel 
the schools to use a particular text 
book, and it would be obviously im¬ 
proper for it to do so, unless the cir¬ 
cumstances were altogether exceptional 
and such as I do not suppose exist any¬ 
where. E. P. F. also complains of the 
variety of text books used in the schools, 
and I suspect his complaint in this re¬ 
gard is justified. In the country schools 
it often happens that text books are 
handed down from one member of a 
family to another, or even transmitted 
from one family to another, and the 
teachers and trustees are often disposed 
to acquiesce in this rather than require 
the purchase of additional books. The 
result is a variety of text books. There 
are some disadvantages perhaps about 
this, and possibly there are some ad¬ 
vantages. It is rather a difficult matter 
to deal with, and I am free to say that I 
do not know just what it would be well 
to do. It would certainly be impossible 
to get people to agree about the remedy. 
A. S. DRAPER. 
N. Y. Commissioner of Education. 
FEEDING BEES FOR WINTER. 
H. L. O., Custer, Wash .—I have two 
hives of bees that will need feeding this 
Winter. 1 have eight quarts of honey, but 
do not know how to feed it to them. Would 
oatmeal and brown sugar be all right? 
Ans. —Bees should go into Winter 
with at least 25 pounds of stores, if 
wintered out of doors, to insure their 
having sufficient to carry them through 
the Winter and Spring, until the new 
crop begins to come in. If they fail to 
store that amount in the brood nest they 
should be fed until they have it. It is 
always best to feed early in the Fall, if 
possible, during warm weather, so that 
they can arrange their stores as they 
want them, and cap or seal up some of 
the stores, as there is some danger of 
syrup souring in the combs if not sealed. 
However, if we find them short late in 
the season they must be fed, and we 
must take our own chances. The eight 
quarts of honey, if of good quality, 
should weigh 24 pounds, and would be 
a perfectly safe feed to use, but if you 
wish to keep the honey to use, you can 
feed a mixture of best quality, granu¬ 
lated cane sugar and water, two parts 
sugar to one of water by measure. Put 
the sugar and water together and stir 
over the fire until thoroughly dissolved, 
add about five per cent, of honey, and 
you have about the safest bee stores 
that can be obtained. Feed while warm. 
If you prefer to feed the honey you 
will need to dilute it with from one- 
fourth to one-third its bulk of water, to 
get it in condition so that the bees can 
take it up readily. This should also 
be fed warm. There are several good 
bee feeders on the market, and their use 
is really the best and handiest way to 
feed bees, but in the absence of any 
such thing, a very good way to feed is 
to take a shallow pan that will set in¬ 
side of a super, put in some syrup, and 
spread a piece of cheesecloth over all, 
loosely, so that it can sag to the bottom 
of the pan as the bees take up the feed. 
I have sometimes fed in pans in this way 
by filling the pan with grass, putting the 
grass into the syrup. The point is to 
get something that the bees can crawl 
on and keep out of the feed, as they will 
otherwise crowd over each other and 
drown by the quart. The way to use 
this feeder is to take off the hive cover 
or quilt, set on an empty super, and set 
the pan directly on top of the frames. 
It is also well to draw a little of the 
feed down the edge of the cloth to get 
them started to the feed. Feeding must 
be done when it is warm enough for the 
bees to leave the cluster in large num¬ 
bers, preferably towards night, when 
they are flying freely. Another good 
way to feed is to put the syrup into 
glass fruit cans, put a small square of 
cheesecloth over the top. tie on tight or 
screw the ring over it, and invert over 
the frames as many cans as arc needed; 
the bees will take up the feed as fast 
as it will go through the cloth. Now, 
whichever way you use, be sure to put 
the cover on the hives so tight that it 
is absolutely impossible for a bee to 
get in around the top, or you will have j 
a case of robbing that will not be pleas¬ 
ant. It is also well to close the entrance 
to the hive nearly up; this is also to 
prevent robbing. Either of these plans 
will work all right, so anyone can have 
their choice. Oatmeal and brown sugar 
is certainly all right, with a little butter 
or cream, for breakfast, but not for a 
Winter feed for bees. Brown sugar may 
be fed in Summer while bees are flying | 
freely, for brood rearing or stimulation, 
but contains too much foreign substance 
for wintering, and will cause distension 
or dysentery. j. a. crane. 
Paris Green For Seed Corn. 
It seems that a number of our people 
have tried the plan of using tar and Paris 
green on seed corn. The “green” is used j 
to kill wireworms. Various reports are ■ 
made—some giving record of good results; i 
others reporting failure. Prof. H. T. Fer- 
nald, of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, sums up the results as follows: 
‘‘I have observed several notes this season 
with reference to protecting seed corn from , 
wireworms by covering it with tar and 
then with Paris green, where those report¬ 
ing have stated that the corn failed to 
come up. As this result would, of course, J 
make the treatment worthless, I have taken 
some pains to investigate the matter, and ' 
in every case where I can obtain full infor¬ 
mation, it seems that the directions for 
applying the Paris green were not properly | 
carried out. The directions were to mix 
Paris green with One road dust, in such 
proportions that the material would have 
only a faint green color. In at least one j 
case where this method was severely crit- ! 
Icised, the Paris green was applied without 
any mixture with road dust. Under these 
circumstances, I would suggest that before 
condemning this method, it be given further 
tests, according to the directions originally 
printed, and outlined above.” 
II. T. FERNALD. 
Tar and Cement Hoof.—L ast Spring I 
tried an experiment which so far seems to 
lie good. I will give it to you for the 
benefit of your readers. One year ago I 
built a new building and covered the roof 
with cheap three-ply tar paper. Last 
April I took a spray pump and sprayed the 
roof with gas tar, then I covered the tar 
with cement (dry) about a half inch deep, 
then again I sprayed the surface over with 
gas tar. It dried and got hard and I 
think will make a lasting roof. 
H. z. MAST. 
Maryland. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
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