The National tribune., 1882-12-21
RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.

is said to be admirably adapted to many KINDS
Of finishing work. barrels, table and counter
tops doors and ornamental work and that II
can be produced at less than half the price of
walnut 1t is practically fire and water proof
being manufactured under 500 degrees Of heat.
Its tensile strength is greater than that OF wal
nut or oak and weight about one-titth greater
than the former when dry. 1t Is made from
any kind of straw, including hemp and fax
fher-in fact from any material that viii pulp
and ton of straw will produce 1000 feet OF
boards. The pulp is rolled into thin sheets. q
number of which, corresponding with the
thickness of the lumber desired, are placed to-
eether with peculiar cement which is claimed
TO be waterproof, and are then rolled under
pressure sufficient 10 amalgamate them into
solid mass, which may be worked with plane
if desired If it takes fifty years TO grow
10000 feet of lumber on an acre OF land, we
can appreciate the value of a process by which
5000 feet can be produced from acre yearly,
and for an indefinite number Of years.
WATER FOR BEES IN WINTER.
F.A. Thomas. in the american Bee Journal,
lavs: Several years ago had three or four col
onies of bees get very uneasy in the cellar dur
ing the latter part of the winter. i tried to
Quiet them by giving them more ventilation,
but il was of no use; they continued 10 grow
more and more uneasy toward spring. The
weather was too cold to put them out, and l
had about given them up for lost, when l con-
Cluded to try an experiment. | made holes
through my chaff mats and inserted bottles Of
water with cotton cloth tied over the nose, let
ting the bottle come close down to the cluster
of bees. The effect was almost magical: they
became perfectly quiet, and renamed so until
taken out of the cellar These colonies had a
large amount of brood. and were Matching bees
quite rapidly when taken out i'll the spring.
The next winter, about the first of February, L
commenced giving water TO half my bees Soon
after. as an experiment, took the water-bottIe
away from the strongest colony. They soon man
ifested their disapproval by making an uproar
and boiling out of the hive. / put the bottle
back and they quieted down and remained so.
When taken out in spring / found that the
colonies had given water had plenty of hatch
ing bees, and from two TO four frames of brood
while the others had little sealed brood, and
some of them none at all.
PALMS AS HOUSE PLANTS.
To keep plants Towering in the house win
dows during winter is a difficult task unless
some special provision is made TO isolate them
from the very dry atmosphere of dwelling
rooms, and the plants are seldom possessed of
much beauty when not bearing their blossoms,
and present a ragged appearance, for which
even promise of flowers in the future will not
compensate. Many lovers of plants now prefer
specimens having elegant foliage and graceful
outline TO those whose only interest depends
upon a few flowers, and among the most desir-
able we may include some of the hardest
species of palms. Scarce palms are highly val
ned and difficult TO procure, but any one who
eats dates, may, by planting the seeds in their
door-yard, procure window and balcony plants
of much beauty and easy culture. II the seeds
are planted in the spring they Will form plants
six to eight inches in height by the end of
summer, when they can be transferred to pots
and kept in the house during winter They
r,,o f,F.,,
five years growth, but if planted in the garden
in good soil and properly supplied with water
they Will grow apace. Among other desirable
palms are LatdRiG b0rbOnjcd, Cham8F0Ds AuniJiS
Eentid E8rStertdRd, and the Chinese species,
ChdmsTOpS e1ceISd, which will stand twenty
degrees of frost without hurt. Palms require
plenty of water as rule.
BRIEF sEAsoNABLE HINTS.
AS soon as asparagus stems are ripe cut them
of and cover the plants with a heavy dressing
of stable-manure. Salt is recommended by
most people as good dressing for asparagus.
If the soil is sandy the advice is good, but on
stiff or strong soil it had better be omitted
An early cutting of rhubarb may be had by
lifting few roots placing them in box with
soil and setting them in a cellar If the cellar is
warm and dark the plants will start all the
sooner, and the stalks be more tender. Rhu-
barb plantations require heavy manurings to
produce fine stalks, but avoid deep working of
the soil about the roots. There are MANY
methods of storing and keeping celery for win
ter use but for domestic purposes it is best to
allow il to remain where it has been grown
covering it up with leaves, or litter to keep
the frost out of the SOIL so that it can be lifted
as required. 1t always keeps well in this way
and becomes more tender and crisp as the
winter progresses. 1t is otherwise with plants
that are lifted and kept in cellars and pits: at
least in the majority of cases. 1t requires
much care and no little Of experience to manage
this vegetable if lifted in bulk and packed for
winter use.
ANTS AND INSECTS.
We are frequently asked if ants iniure plants.
and whether they are insect destroyers When
ants are observed running up and down the
stems Of plants it indicates that the plant is
infested with insects Of some kind; not that
the ants feed upon the insects, or assist in de-
stroying them, as it is well-known that they
foster instead of destroy such insects rs the
green-fy, mealy-bug, and scale insects Of vari-
Gus kinds The ant feeds upon the eXcreta of
these insects and it is difficult to keep collec-
ton Of plants clear of them where ants abound
they will carry them from one plant TO
another. We have seen ants employed in trans
ferTing mealybug from one plant to another
and 1t Is a well-knOwn fact in their history that
they carry the aphs, or plant lice as they are
usually called, and place them Oh plants which
are clean, Just as a farmer Will take his cows
from a bare, worn-out pasture, and place them
in fresh field of luxuriant herbage Ants do
no harm to plants except above, but their
presence on plants show that insects of some
hind present, and if the insects are DESTROYED
the ants will disappear.
RETAILING ENsILAGE.
In view Of the fact which seems TO be suffi-
ciently well-authenticated, that cnsiage is of
great value as a portion of the food of nlilch
COWS in winter, ii may be suggested that it
would be profitable for farmers in the neigh.
b0rhood Of cities To furnish cnsilage to those
who feed cows There are always numbers of
COWS kept in city suburbs for which all the food
they consume is purchased and mostly consists
Of dry fodder and ground meal from various
kinds of grains. The average cost for growing
cutting, and storing ensilage is not more than
three dollars per ton, and an average crop is not
less than twenty tons per acre. For feeding to
mich COWS. good ensilage is worth from seven
10 eight dollars per ton, 50 that it would appear
70 be a profitable crop 10 grow; indeed, much
more profitable than growing hay for market.
DESCRIPTION OF STOCK
The Farmers Re1ieU, of Chicago, has a valu-
able illustrated article in the number for Nov.
10th, describing the peculiarities of horses,
cattle and sheep. The Pereheron, Clydesdale
Norman and Cleveland Bay are faithfully illus
trated and infinitely described. The Hereford
Short-HOrn, Devon, Holstein, jersey and
Guernsey cattle are similarly treated and