THE CULTIVATOR. 
153 
called the queen. I have heard many people pretend to 
describe the king bee, as it used to be called, but no two 
agreed respecting him. One says he is larger than the 
other, another that he is smaller; one says he is one 
color, and another that he is of a still different color.” 
Mr. P.’s opinion respecting the domestic polity of the 
hive, is as follows: “ I believe that bees are so consti¬ 
tuted by the Almighty, that one rules as much as ano¬ 
ther ; and that every one works as long as there is any 
thing to be done without compulsion. I believe there 
is not an idler in the hive ; and I furthermore believe, 
that what we call drones are the breeding bees, for this 
reason, that when they want no more young, we see 
them destroying the drones, sparing only just enough to 
begin the next year.” 
We have room only to remark, that although we are 
aware opinions which owe their existence “ to a life of 
seventy years,” as Mr. Palmer speaks of his, are rarely 
changed ; yet if he will procure some of the latest prac¬ 
tical works on this useful insect, such as Weeks, or 
Wilson, we presume he will find reason, if not to change, 
at least to materially modify some of the positions here 
advanced, particularly those respecting the queen bee, 
and the character and use of the drones. 
The Grasses—Wheat. 
Our correspondent “ J. D.” of Napoleon, Mich, is in¬ 
formed that the specimen of new grass he forwarded to 
us, appears to be the species called in England Poa, 
and of the variety Poa pratensis , although owing to its 
condition there may be a mistake in the variety. 
Orchard grass, or Dactylis glomerata, respecting 
which he inquires, is one of our most valuable grasses 
either for mowing or for pasture ; and particularly so 
for shaded grounds. Some farmers have complained of 
its growing too large and coarse ; and if sown thin, on 
rich ground, such will be its character ; but xvlien mix¬ 
ed with other seeds, such as timothy and clover, or rye 
grass, it grows thick and fine, is fed by all animals with 
avidity, and springs after mowing or feeding with great¬ 
er quickness and rapidity than any grass with which 
we are acquainted. We may remark here, there are 
several kinds of grass known among farmers in differ¬ 
ent parts of the country, as orchard grass, but widely 
differing in their qualities from the dactylis, or true 
grass. 
J. D. asks the process of converting winter into spring 
wheat. To do this, nothing more is necessary than that 
the winter wheat should be allowed to germinate slight¬ 
ly in the fall or winter, but kept from vegetation by a 
low temperature or freezing, URtil it can be sown in the 
spring. This is usually done by soaking and sprouting 
the seed, and freezing it while in this state and keeping 
it frozen, until the season for spring sowing arrives. 
Only two things seem requisite, germination and freez¬ 
ing. ^ Thus it is probable, that winter wheat sown in 
the fall, so late as only to germinate in the earth, with¬ 
out coming up, would produce a grain which would be 
a spring wheat if sown in April, instead of September. 
English spring wheats are here winter wheats, that is 
they are there sown so much earlier than it is possible 
to sow here, that put into the earth with our spring 
wheats, they do not come to maturity. We have for 
two or three years grown a spring wheat produced by 
the above process, from the autumn or winter flint 
wheat, and consider it a very good variety. 
Thorn Hedges. 
S. D. Phaser, of Fowlerville, has forwarded the fol¬ 
lowing queries, relating to the subject of hedging: 
“ 1. Is the natix-e or exotic thorn, all things consider¬ 
ed, best adapted to our soils, and to Avithstand the frosts 
of winter? 
“ 2. Is the seed planted on the line intended for the 
fence? 
“ 3. How is the seed gathered and prepared 
“ 4. Would a mound two feet high and four feet broad, 
afford nourishment to the plants, and tend to protect 
them from the mice?” 
As Mr. Fraser states that the native thorn thrives 
well on his lands, it is probable it Avould succeed as Avell 
or better than the English Hawthorn, or any variety of 
foreign thorn. The much greater heat and dryness of 
our summers, has appeared unfavorable to hedges of 
foreign thorns; as they rarely, for any time, have that 
freshness and vigor so common to hedges in Britain. 
The value of our several native thorns for hedges, is 
yet to be determined by experiment ; but Ave are confi¬ 
dent, if hedging is ever introduced into this country to 
any extent, we must rely on our native trees, instead 
of imported varieties. The common thorn, honey lo¬ 
cust, and buckthorn, appear at present the most likely 
to succeed at the north; the osage orange promises 
much for the south. 
The seed is never soAvn on the line of the fence. It 
is first cultivated in beds, and either alioAved to stand 
where the seed is soAvn till the trees are large enough 
to set for fence, or transplanted into nurseries from the 
seed bed, for cultivation. The trees, if Avell cultivated 
grow rapidly, and it Avill be found better usually to let 
them attain the diameter of half an inch, two feet from 
the ground, before they are set for hedges. 
The seeds of the thorn vegetate Avith some difficulty. 
Mr. Wheeler directs that they be gathered, buried in the 
ground and suffered to remain until the second spring 
when they may be taken up and soAvn in drills. Other 
cultivators of the thorn have mixed tAvo parts of earth 
with one of seed, laid them in a ridge upon the surface 
in a garden or some secure place, and covered them 
with about tliree inches of mould. Overhaul once 
in the summer, and replace and recover the seeds. In 
the autumn following they will usually be found to have 
germinated, and may be sown in drills or beds. 
The thorns set on such a mound as is mentioned 
Avould be more apt to escape the mice, and would doubt¬ 
less receive sufficient nourishment; but hedges in this 
country suffer more from heat and drouth than other 
causes, and too high a mound might be injurious in that 
respect. Mice rarely attack trees or hedges which are 
kept clean from Aveedsand grass; and hedges must be 
kept free from such things or a failure must be expect¬ 
ed. Beech, it is not probable, could be used successful¬ 
ly as a hedge, as Mr. F. seems to suppose; it would 
not give a thick bottom, 
Mr. Fraser will find all necessary directions for plant¬ 
ing and cultivating hedges in the previous volumes of 
the Cultivator, to Avhich our limits compel us to refer 
him. — 
Singular Worm. 
H. C. Beards1.ee of Montville, near NeAv London, re¬ 
quests some inf ormation respecting the habits of a Avorm 
described by him as making sad ravages with the foli¬ 
age of apple trees. It is unquestionably the larvas of 
some one of the numerous family of Phaleena or moths, 
and like the ordinary caterpillar, is produced from eggs 
deposited by the moth on trees or plants suitable for its 
food. Such worms are always more successfully at¬ 
tacked while young, and clustered together, than Avhen 
older and scattered in all directions in pursuit of food. 
If any of our entomological friends, from the description 
given below by Mr. B.'should recognize the kind of 
Avorm, and Avill furnish us some account of its transfor¬ 
mations and habits, it will doubtless be Avelcome to 
many. 
“ Length of the body two inches ; thickly set in every 
part Avith white hairs. Color very dark olive green, 
with eleven longitudinal stripes of bright yelloAV. Feet 
seven pairs; three pairs fonvard, small, black, and 
pointed; four pairs about the middle, short, thick, yel- 
loAvish broAvn. These last are its means of locomotion. 
Head black. When irritated it turns up its tail at right 
angles to the body, and then throws the fore part of its 
body over, until it is parallel Avith and nearly touches 
the back. Its excrement is as large as a kernel of rye 
cut transversely, and is marked Avith six deep longitudi¬ 
nal grooves.” — 
The Great West. 
We have received an interesting, and in some respects, 
amusing communication from the Avell knoAvn Pioneer 
of the West, Thomas S. Hinde, at Mount Carmel, Illi¬ 
nois. Its great length and miscellaneous nature pre¬ 
cludes its insertion entire, but avc must present a feAv 
extracts to show what he, Avho knows it Avell, deems the 
Great West to be. Of himself, he says : 
“ This is the 43d year of my pilgrimage in thexvilder- 
ness of the Great West; having been three times a cit¬ 
izen of Kentucky, tAvice a citizen of Ohio, tAvice a citi¬ 
zen of Illinois, and hax-e ranged through the Avest pret¬ 
ty generally^. I saw Daniel Boon, the first settler of 
Kentucky, taking up his line of march from his Boons- 
borough on the Kentucky river, to the then neAV region 
°f Upper Louisiana (noxx r Missouri) in 1797, accompani¬ 
ed by liis venerable spouse, and traveling in the old 
style with pack horses and bells, to his new region of 
loneliness and buffaloes.” 
When the west, in 1832, celebrated their first anniver¬ 
sary of 50 years from the first settlement Avest of the 
mountains, General Kenton, the associate of Boon, AA'as 
chiel, and Mr. Hinde as Pioneer junior, acted as adju¬ 
tant. Mr. Hinde, xvho Ave believe is a preacher of the 
Baptist order, Avas instrumental in establishing the first 
Religious Magazine and nexvspaper, west of The moun¬ 
tains. After a gloAving eulogium on the agricultural ca¬ 
pabilities of the west, Mr. Hinde says : 
“ As a pioneer of the Avest, for my residence in the de¬ 
cline of life, and x\ r ith a x r ie\i' of liaxfing my family in a 
desirable part of the Avest, I chose the central part of 
the great Ohio and Mississippi Valley as the most desi¬ 
rable part; connecting the advantages of health, climate, 
soil, agriculture and commerce, together Avith manufac¬ 
turing, looking some 20 or 30 years ahead, as experien¬ 
ced farmers usually do. While during this period the 
Avhole western empire has been overrun and settled,itAvas 
not until Avithin a very short time past that the pioneer’s 
choice began to be duly appreciated. The object of this 
letter is therefore to inform you, and northern and south- 
ern emigrants generally, Avho can live Avithout slave la¬ 
bor, that Ave haA r e, 1st, the best tobacco and hemp region 
Avest of the mountains ; our tobacco bears tAvo per cent 
premium in the NeAV Orleans market, over all other to¬ 
bacco. 2d, we have the best grain and grass country 
combined, to be found in all the west. 3d. Ave have an 
excellent fruit country ; also well calculated for the rai¬ 
sing the mulberry, and in some degree, the vine; our 
Avild gi apes are abundant, and the best I have eA T er seen 
I have pears groAving here (the Bergamot,) brought orb 
ginally from England by my grandfather, some 120 or 
130 years since. We Avant men of business and enter¬ 
prise, and since business of all kinds has been called to 
a grand halt, to those who Avould seek a region Avhere 
speculation has never raged, Avhere the people are pru¬ 
dent and industrious, where they can find an asylum 
uom the fluctuations of the times, our country at the 
southern termination of the grand prairies, furnishes 
one of the most desirable places in the west; and to 
those Avho think of removing, I Avould say, ‘ come and 
Let no one who reads the following extract, doubt 
hereafter of the fertility of the Wabash Valley; taken 
in connection with the statements of the Cincinnati cen¬ 
sus-taker, it almost establishes the doctrine of spontane¬ 
ous production. In any event, Mr. Hinde’s country 
must be the very Eldorado of the childless, and where 
the heart of the once barren sings for joy, 
“ I feel,” says Mr. Hi, “ some degree of hesitancy in 
detailing some very singular facts, but as they are true 
I am hot ashamed of doing so. You need not call aloud 
for emigrants [we presume Mr. H. means foreigners,] 
to come, for of all regions for the bearing of children, 
this may safely be said to excel. TAvinsare quite com- 
mon, sometimes three at a birth; and Avliat is passing 
strange, old ladies on removing to this region, reneAV 
their vigor, and begin again ; some whose youngest were 
7,8, or 10 years old, on arriving here, have added to 
their family ; this is quite common. * * * L agt 
year, a gentleman and lady Avho had been married nine 
long years, and had no offspring, visited the lady’s Da- 
rents in this place. The visiters resided in Philadelphia 
and in nine months from the time they left this place, to 
return to that city, the lady Avas blessed Avith a fine 
son!” 
We are pleased to learn from Mr. Hinde’s letter, that 
strenuous efforts are making to furnish this rapidly in¬ 
creasing population with a good education. The great 
west cannot avoid being a rich country; nature has made 
it such j the bringing out of its resources must depend 
on its inhabitants, and the character of these Avill be 
governed by the education they receive. Teachers are 
at present much Avanted in that region, and competent 
ones, Avill find constant employ. Mr. Hinde himself is 
about to open a “ Log Cabin” college on the manual la¬ 
bor system, for the purpose of giving farmers’ bovs an 
education, such as will be useful to them in any station 
of life. His plan of an agricultural school or college is 
Avell conceived, and Ave trust will succeed ; let him “ go- 
ahead.” We trust Mr. H. Avill fulfil his intention of al- 
loAving us to hear from him again. 
The Mulberry—Hessian Fly. 
The folloAving queries Ave have received from R. 
French, Esq. of Sherman, St. Joseph’s Co. Mich-— 
“ lst - w hat the best method of keeping the common 
Aviate mulberry during the Avinter, after they have been 
taken out of the ground in the fall. The trees are of 
two summer’s growth, and the object of taking them up 
is to secure them from the frost, for planting out in the 
spring, where they are to stand hereafter ?—2d. What 
can the Multicaulis be purchased for, per hundred at 
the nurseries in the vicinity of Albany; say trees of one 
summer’s groAVth ?” 
Reply.— To preserve the Avhite mulberry, nothing 
more is necessary than to pack the trees in a cellar with 
sand or earth. A friend of ours purchased in the fall 
some 5,000 trees, removed them to his cellar, packed 
them m this Avay, planted them out in the spring, and 
every tree grexv. The multicaulis is kept in the same 
Avay, Avithout the least danger or difficulty. Themulti- 
caulis is not cultivated to any extent in the vicinity of 
this city. We have seen nothing indicating the prices 
at which the plants are sold at this time. ’ 
The grain insect Avhich has been so destructive to 
wheat crops in some parts of Michigan the past year, 
is unquestionably the Hessian fiy ; no other depredator 
on Avheat, Avith Avhich Ave are acquainted, answering to 
the description gi ve n by Mr. French. The fly Avill pro¬ 
bably run its course there, and cease its ravages as it 
has m other parts of the country; and as the’grain 
Avorm has already partially dene in this state. The ad¬ 
vance of agricultural knowledge, and a more skilful 
cultivation, may enable us to prevent their recurrence 
see 
Mr. Hates’ Short Horns. 
Mr. Joseph Cope of East Bradford, Chester Co. Pa 
informs us that, wishing to procure some of the best 
Short Horns, he Avent to England in the summer of 1839 
for that purpose. After traveling through several coun¬ 
ties, he attended the Oxford Meeting of the English 
Agricultural Society, and was presenfat the public sale 
of stock Avhich closed that splendid spectacle. Thus 
far he had pot been able to procure stock to his liking 
On visiting Kirkleavington, however, he found his ex¬ 
pectations fully realized in the herd of Mr. Bates Avho 
received four prizes for that number of animals taken 
by him to Oxford. He purchased a hull calf, Yorkshire 
man, eleven months old, of Mr. Bates, for which he naid 
, him of ^PP^, $100—freight $50, ma- 
king$675. Yorkshireman was sired by Short-tail, grand- 
sire Bel vid ere, who was sire of the famous Duke of 
Northumberland. S. and D. were both from Dutchess’ 
ti°Ti i 1 v th f C ' Grtlficale °' iven hy Mr. Bates, he states 
that had Yorkshireman been taken to Oxford, he would 
have won the prize, as he surpassed the one that took 
it, more than either of his four surpassed those shoivn 
against them, lo shoxv the estimate placed on this 
stock, Mr. Cope states that three fine heifers (one of 
W ^a h - D T S ^ igmatly from the herd of our correspond- 
f" 1 R ' °f Butternutts,) belonging to Mr. Collins and 
the Messrs. Lathrops of Springfield, Mass, recently ar¬ 
rived at his farm to be put to Yorkshireman. ' 1 
South Downs.— During the same tpur, Mr Copf 
purchased and brought hpme with him, seven South 
DoAvns—one buck, for Avhich he paid $i50, and Iavo 
ewes from the Hock of Mr. JohnEllman, and four eAves 
from Mr. S. Grantham, stexvard tq ih ft Earl of Liver- 
popl. 
