THE APIARY. 359 



SMOKEE. 



During the year avo have purchased a Quuiby smoker, which works admirably, 

 aud is a very desirable article for the apiarist to possess. 



LAYING OUT GKOUKDS. 



This year, owing to a press of other work, and the cutting up of our grounds 

 by the drive to the college, little has been done, except to set out some tulip 

 trees on the apiary grounds. JText year it is expected that the grounds will be 

 tastefully laid out, many more honey trees, shrubs, and annuals planted, and 

 the whole apiary set in order. 



STATE FAIE. 



I took i)ains to exhibit at the State Fair such articles and inventions as I 

 thought would interest and profit the bee-keepers. These articles were studied 

 very closely, and were noticed at length in reports of the fair given by the press 

 and by the committees. 



EXPERIMENTS. 



In constructing our bee-house last year, I filled in between the partitions half 

 and half with perfectly dry saw-dust and muck, each substance filling half 

 of each side. This fall, upon removing these substances, it was found that the 

 boards next the saw-dust were little injured, while those next the muck were 

 very badly decayed. 



During the first two weeks of August there was a cessation of li'ouey gather- 

 ing for about two weeks, during which time half of our colonies were sparingly 

 fed, while others were left without feeding. The diifereuce in brood rearing, 

 in favor of those fed, was very perceptible. 



The first of October all our colonies were examined for the last time. All had 

 brood, and all were contracted by means of division boards. Three of these had 

 all their honey taken from them, and were fed during the first half of October 

 sufficient coffee A. sugar to winter them. Three others were given nearly 

 enough honey for winter, and sparingly fed with sugar for the same period as 

 the above. The remaining colonies were given enough honey for winter, and 

 have remained undisturbed. The object of these experiments is to determine 

 whether sugar is preferable to honey as food, and whether late fall feeding, thus 

 stimulating to late brood rearing, is any advantage. 



One colony has been kept from rearing young bees since the first of August, 

 while it was kept strong in old bees that we may determine whether late breed- 

 ing is necessary. 



A. J. COOK. 



