April, mM! 



( ; I . I : \ \ 1 N ( ; 



(' r r. T T' i; k 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



ally warm, but rarely hot. One can wear 

 a light coat with comfort all thru the sum- 

 mer. The nights are usually cool and 5.om(>- 

 times quite cohl. For tliis reason the writei- 

 docs not exjiect that this region will become 

 famous in the jjroduction of comb honey. 

 Light frosts are expected in some parts dur- 

 ing each month of the summer. These frosts, 

 however, are not usually so severe as to 

 interfere with nectar secretion. 



The soil on which the neetar-seereting 

 flowers giow is chiefly clay, much of this be- 

 ing of a reddish color. The glaciers, which 

 once covered this region, left numerous de- 

 posits of clay se}>arated by plains of sand. 

 The sand plains are of no value to the bee- 

 keeper. There are several ridges of high 

 and rocky hills, and in this territory it is 

 not believed that commercial honey produc- 

 tion would be profitable. Most of the soil, 

 however, lies in level or gently rolling areas. 



The rural population is such as would 

 naturally be found in a new country. Farm 

 homes are generally few and scattered, as 

 one recedes from the larger cities. Around 

 the cities the poi)ulation is as dense and the 

 land as well tilled as in our older com- 



Bee-yard locaKid in a youii^- Urcharil in Chippewa 

 County. 



munities. The peojjle have gone there not 

 only from all parts of the United States, but 

 a large jjroportion were born in foreign 

 countries, including Norway, Sweden, Rus- 

 sia, Germany, and other parts of Europe. 

 Good schools and churches are available and 

 the peojile are in many ways more enterpris- 

 ing than in older communities. 



Bees are wintered in the same manner as 

 in southern Michigan. Some use single-wall 

 hives and allow the bees to remain on their 

 summer stands thruout the winter. Others 

 use double-wall hives, some use special pack- 

 ing cases and some winter in the cellar. Bees 

 winter more successfully without protection 

 than they do in central and southern Michi- 

 gan. This is because the snows come early 

 before the ground has had an opportunity 

 to freeze. One snow follows another until 

 the hives may be buried under from four 

 to eight feet of snow. There is sufficient air 



Volunteer alsike on cut-over land. 



in the loose snow to furnish oxygen for the 

 needs of the bees. Howev^er, there comes 

 an occasional winter when there is very lit- 

 tle snow and when the temperature may go 

 even to 3.5 below zero and then few bees 

 survive. Judging from what could be learn- 

 ed from the beekeepers regarding their ex- 

 perience, the wintering of bees in a properly 

 constructed cellar or in tenement pacKing 

 cases brings results that are entirely satis- 

 factory. 



The roads between the various cities are 

 generally good. There are hundreds of 

 miles of the finest macadam and pavement. 

 Within a very short time it will be possible 

 to travel between all of the county-seat 

 towns on some of the finest roads in Ameri- 

 ca. 



The markets for honey naturally are very 

 good, as up to the present time not sufficient 

 honey has been produced to satisfy local 

 demands. 



Anyone interested in this territory should 

 write to the county agricultural agents 

 whose addresses are as follows: For Chip- 

 pewa County, County Agrl. Agent, Sault 

 Ste. Marie, Mich.; for Luce County, County 

 Agrl. Agent, Newberry, Mich.; for Dicken- 

 son County, County Agrl. Agent, Iron Moun- 

 tain, Mich.; Ontonagon County, County 

 Agrl. Agent, Ontonagon, Mich.; for Hough- 

 ton County, County Agrl. Agent, Houghton, 



Field of Firewei 



