The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-12-27
AGRICULTURAL.
Naming Cows.

Naming Cows.
The practical dairyman may boast that he
has no foolishness about him, and that nam
ing cows is one of the things he does not
bother himself about, but we think in this
he is little mistaken. For instance, John.
his son or hired man, comes in with the
news that one of the cows has a caked udder
that should be attended to. Which one is
it? He does not know how to describe her.
as there are four or five of the anne color in
the herd. After some talk and much guess
work it is decided to be old Roan's third
heifer by Squire Jones' bull. Ed, who is 60
ing to the stable, is ordered to turn all the
others out. This he does, when it is discoy-
cred that the wrong COW was kept in and all
the others are mile away, with the cold
wind doing great damage to that udder. Ii
the owner would only take the trouble to
settle upon some name, as getting the little
girls to name them when calves, he would
save himself a world of trouble in the end.
This much we may say in relation to COM
mon cattle that usually pick up name in
some way among the hands on the farm
With blooded cattle, they usually suffer with
too much name-names as long as the NOR
al law-and many of them as inappropriate
as dull imagination can make them In
the last list of transfers of Jerseys we notice
one named Horse Shoe," "fyer," we sup
probably three -masted acknowledged
yacht. Then our Dutch Fri nds, the Hollan-
ders, what names they have! Many of them
are abbreviated, because there are not letters
enough in the alphabet to finish them. With
the imported animals we suppose this can
not be helped, as they are named on the 9TH
er side of the water, but with their offspring
we can see no sense in following up the i'm
possible Dutch names. They are of no earth
lV use in this a No
nounce them. A name is intended to dis
tinguish one animal from another, but if we
are unable to call the name, then Of what
use is 1t? Besides, familiar name goes
long way in spreading the reputation of a
good animal. To make a name familiar it
should be little odd, striking and appropri-
ate. There is vast deal in name well
chosen, and especially with purchasers who
make their selections from catalogues alone
For this reason breeders OF fancy stock
should make study of the matter of Names
The great error OF horsemen aud breeders
Short horns should be avoided of calling
each one by the name of the sire or dam.
with some slight appellation to distinguish it.
The Hambetonians and Dutchesses have
been overdone, and the JERSEY breeders bid
fair now to overdo the Aphea and Belle of
Scituates to the same degree. To name an
imals after the home farm is good plan,
preceding it with some one of the every day
names for handle in the hands of the men
who milk them, and have to answer cues
lions about them.-American Dairyman.
Italian Bees.
At this quiet season, so far as regards the
operations of the apiary, it is proper for
those who have not introduced the Italians
into their hives, as well as those who are
about to commence Bookkeeping, to consld-
er the claims made for superiority
OF the Italians over ordinary, or
black bees. In the first place,
the Italian bees are much more beautiful
than the black, point not to be overlooked
In the choice of anything, even if all the
other qualities are equal. They are more
prolific; the queens deposiiing mere eggs
than the native. The expert bee-keeper can
distinguish the Italian eggs by the compact
ness with which they are stored in the 1
combs. The Italians are more hardy than
the natives, venturing out in colder wealth
er, and doing the work while the common
bees remain at home. They, therefore,
swarm earlier, an important factor in bee
culture-the hives become populous earlier
in the season, thus securing large working
force by the time the flowers are ready for
them. As natural result from what has
Just been said, the Italians gather more
honey than the natives. Again, they work
upon plants that the blacks do not visit.
which, OF course, gives them wider range
for honey gathering. Cases are known
where Italians were gathering white honey
exclusively, while the common bees we're
working only on the buckwheat. The Ital-
ians are notably fond of the red clover, and
will gather much more honey from this
plant than the natives, which derive but lit
tie from it.
AS they are more vigorous than the ma
tves, they are better able to protect them
selves and to defend their stores, being
more watchful and swift to discern the en-
envy. II harshly treated the italian is worse
to handle than the native. This naturally
follows from its superior vigor and more
active disposition, but when treated kindly
experience has shown them to be docile,
and more pleasant to manage than the 9TH
ers. The honey-comb made by the Italians
is more compact, and presents finer ap-
pearance than ordinary comb, the difference
being so marked that experts claim that
they can tell the kind of bee that produced
given box Of honey. Lastly, the Italians
are much longer-lived than the ordinary
bees. This has been proved in many cases
and is strong characteristic in favor of the
foreign bee.-American Agriculturist
Keeping Cider Sweet.
When apples are likely to be plentiful a
considerable quantity will be made into CT
dor