Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-09-28
AgrltnitnraI.
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Bees Storing PoiIen-The Honey sea

VI
made IN the honey boxes, and evervthin,
was favorable for large Yield of heney
At about this time the drouth began y
tell upon the flowers; honey was scarce
brood less abundant-until when the lst o
July came, some, in fact most of The hive,
had bat very little brood. The bees seemed
to be gradually growing less in numbers
Buckwheat began to Bloom about the FIRST
of August, when l expected a GOOD WELD
of honey but instead, the bees gradually
left the boxes and seemed to be doing but
little. This was the case particularly with
my artificial swarms, but my natural
swarms were doing pretty well and a few
of the earliest were storing honey rapidly.
During the dry weather Ihad noticed the
bees seemed to be storing large quantities
of pollen; and few days ago it occurred to
me that the combs might be filled with pol
len so as to interfere with the rearing of
brood. | gave my hives thorough over
| hauling, and found that my Artificial
swarms-whieh were made by filling an
empty hive with frames of brood-were
suffering, as L conjeotured-nia frames
of comb being almost entirely filed with
pollen, weighing six or seven pounds, with
probably one pound Of honey but that the
natural swarms Were not suffering from the
same cause. h~l
| tried various plans to remove the pollen
without success. / then took the framos
out entirely, one or two at time, froniza
hive, placing empty ones in their pieces;
| and found upon examination, lately, that
the bees ore filling the .1Fan1es will, conib
and brood, ard am i14-4fvJus tiatsS s.s sv
will recover SO as to so through the wirfsrr
well, but L do not expectany surplns honey
from them this season.
Cannot there be some way devised TO re-
move the pollen from comb, for it is pity
to destroy so much straight worker comb,
but at present see no other alternative.
VIII not some one who has a honey ex-
tractor see if the pollen cannot be softened
by some means, so that IL can be thrown
out in the extractor? at
| attribute the cause of the above trouble
with my artificial swarms to be that the
frames of comb used in making them con-
tanned considerable pollen. and the swarm
being supplied with queen cell instead of
fertile queen, several days elapsed before
they had laying queen, during which time
the bees stored some pollen in most of the
cells But little brood being raised the
pollen was not consumed, but gradually
accumulated. Had fertile queen been
given the swarms when made. and care
taken to reject comb containing much pol
len, believe the result would have been
better. slar4t
Also, believe I should have taken ont
all frames, early in the season, that had too
much pollen, and in their place would
have had frames filed with brood weeks
ago. should be pleased to hear from
some experienced apiarian who has been
troubled in q similar manner, B.
MONROE Co., Wis, Aug p, 1870.
ARE OUR SOILS DETER1oRAT1NG PA. b.
Arnold read paper on this subject before
the Ithica Farmers Club at late meeting.
He said that the first settlers pursue 4 the
policy of taking from the soil all they could
get, and returning as little as they could
help. This policy has been commenced
at the East and was now vigorously pros
ecuted at the West. But the Eastern farm
ers, after running their farms nearly out,
saw the necessity of improving them, and
went to work to that end. This improve
ment also was going on from East TO West.
The question for US is, on which sirfs of
that line of improvement are we?, By q
to the census-tabies for 1915 and
those for 1865, Mr.. Arnold show
ed that. in every crop except oats
there was gratifying advance in the av-
erage amount per acre yielded In 1865,
as compared with 1916. The decrease in
the oat crop he attributed to the dryness
Of the census year 1864. SO our Soil is
improving. There are two
sources of improvement: ]. Barnyard ma
nure. 2. Green crops. We can not doubt
that our improvement is due almost en-
tirely to the latter, and mainly to clover.
In order to keep up the fertility of our soil,
we need to return It as much as we take
from it. Now, we do not return, in barn
yard manure, one quarter of what the crops
take off. But rotation in which clover
holds q prominent place bas q wonderful
power of improving worn-out land. VAL
ious instances were given in support OF
this theory. Twenty years ago a farm was
bought for S12 per acre; it was gravelly,
poor. and thoroughly worn out. The
owners now get frst-rate crops 'FRONT.' and
would not take S100 per acre for it now.
This has been accomplished by clover.
ALs1KE CLOVER. Canada Farmer
says: ba
The quantity of seed required per acre
is five pounds, when sown clear; and about
half that amount when sown with tim
othy. r.
1t should be sown in spring with wheat
Or barley, in precisely the same manner as
red clover. f-r
When allowed to ripen its seed, it tcannot
be cut more than once in season, as 1t
bears it's seed with the first blossom in
each year; but if it is grown for a hay crop,
it can be cut again in the fall, and viii
yield nice lot of fine hay for calves and
sheep. 3ia
Its effect on the ground is nearly the
same as that Of ordinary red clover, and
PERI APPS is still more paralleled by tho
small white clover. .oft
The most prominent advantages of tho
Alsike clover over the common red variety,
are that it does not heaye out of the ground
in the spring with the frost, and conse-
quently it can be sown on damp ground
with good results. 1t makes finer and bet
ter hay, for the stalks are not so thick and
woody as those of red clover. It yields
about one-third more seed TO the Gcre, and
when threshea the hay makes excellent
feed for calves and sheep. Among its dis
advantages may be reckoned its rank
growth, rendering it liable to be lodged.
AN ANCIENT REAPEE. &C. W. Marsh
writes the Chicago Post from Allenburg,
Hungary, describing an agricultural school
there. Among other things he saw there
he thus describes an old reaping machine
There is o sort of museum, in the Atad-
emy, OF agricultural curiosities. The most
interesting to me was model of a reaper
said to have been used by o colony of Car
thagehians along the Danube, over 1000
years ago. The Professor assured me that
it was genuine, having been copied from
relies existing in this country as well as of
Carthage. I know not how correct he may
be, bet this is a model of genuine and in
genious reaper. Through gearing attached
to and propelled by two ground wheels,
motion is given by Q perpendicular drum,
placed just behind and supported from the
main axel. The diameter of the drum is
equal to the length of the axle1that is,
equal to the distance between the wheels.
AS the machine was drawn or pushed along,
the grain was cut by a sicisle-edged knife,
encircling like bard the lower end Of the
drum, and was thrown to one side by its
revolution, aided by little serratlons made
in the band around the top. If remem-
Der, Wendell Phillips speaks of this in his
lectnra on sThe Lost Arts" ;"