58 



California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



lel rows, eight feet apart, with hives six 

 feet apart in rows, fifty iu a row, twenty- 

 five each side of the door to the honey 

 house. My intention is to have an arbor 

 of grape vines for each double row of 

 hives, the rows of posts for trellis eight, 

 and vines six feet ajjart in each row and 

 each double row, or arbor, to be ten feet 

 apart, the rows running north and south, 

 and hives sitting just under the edge of 

 the arbor, with openings outward, or, 

 the hives on the east side opening to the 

 west. Then I can go under the arbor 

 and between the rows of hives, and be 

 behind each while I work with it. This 

 I like better than any other arrangement 

 for I am always under shade and away 

 from the bees. 



I have this season had a temporary 

 shed made by throwing brush overhead, 

 but I intend that the vines shall take the 

 place of brush. My intention is to pro- 

 vide for 500 swarms. This, you see, 

 will take five double rows with 100 hives 

 in each, or fifty hives iu each arbor on 

 each side of the avenue leading to the 

 door of the honey house. Thus, you 

 see, I have an apiary of COO hives in a 

 space of 300x90 feet. The apiary being 

 on higher ground than the front part of 

 the lower room of the building. I am 

 not troubled by the bees in driving a team 

 up to the door to load or unload. My 

 intention is to keep not over 500 colonies 

 in one place. 



I expect to go ahead of this year's re- 

 turns next season. This has been a very 

 poor season, they say, and I suppose it 

 has been much worse than usual, but I 

 will be satisfied if all average with this. 

 I have a little idea in my head by which 

 I expect to go far ahead of anything I 

 have ever done with bees. But I will 

 wait until another season is over before I 

 tell it, and if I make more honey per 

 colony next year than any other man in 

 the United States — well, what then? And 

 this 13 exactly what I intend to do. I 

 will commence next year with 200 col- 

 onies (as bees I handled this year were 

 not all my own). I do not make any 

 calculation on wintering, as bees gather 

 honey the year round. 



Can you suggest any plan by which we 

 Californians can realize more than ten 

 cents per pound for nice sage honey? It 

 is better than the white clover honey of 

 the East, and it is a shame that we do 

 not get more than ten cents for it. Our 

 second rate honey is about like the gold- 

 en rod or smart weed honey of the East, 

 and we get seven cents for it. I have 

 now about 12,000 pounds of nice honey 

 that I would take twelve and a half cents 

 for, and deliver at the depot. 



FiLLiNci THE Hive. —A writer on the 

 subject of how the bees fill their hive, 

 says: 



As soon as the central cell is one- 

 eighth of an inch deep, the queen lays 

 an egg iu it. She then goes around on 

 the opposite side and lays eggs in the 

 three cells that are built from the base of 

 the central one. She then returns and 

 deposits eggs in the six cells surrounding 

 the first one, and continues to keep the 

 cell on both sides filled with eggs, as fast 

 as they are ready to receive them, thus 

 estiiblishiug the center of her brooding 

 nest at the center of the comb structure, 

 and when the comb on each side of the 

 first is brought opposite the center she 

 embraces them in her circuit, thus giving 

 lu-r l)rood-nest a globular form. 



The honey-storing bees keep the store 



cells above filled with honey down to the 



^ brood. As the sheets of comb are wid- 



icned they come down lower, and as each 

 additional cond) sheet is built they occu- 

 I>y more of it, thus storing the honey in 

 an arch or dome over the brood. 



The work must progress and will con- 

 tinue in the same order for twenty-one 

 days, if the sijace be large enough; at 

 which time the brood nest attains its full 

 size, for at the expiration of that time, 

 the cells in the center, first filled with 

 eggs, are vacated by the maturing bees, 

 and the queen returns to the center to 

 refill them with eggs; and as they are 

 emptied in the same rotation in which 

 they are filled, she continues to follow 

 them up, going over the same ground 

 every twenty-one days. 



The completion of the brood nest does 

 not stop the comb-building. That con- 

 tinues as rapidly as ever, but as it is not 

 filled with eggs by the queen the honey- 

 gatherers keep it filled with honey, thus 

 surrounding the brood with honey. 



Around the brood on every side, and 

 below, there is found a border of cells 

 that are neither filled with brood nor 

 honey, but are partly filled with bee- 

 bread. 



Age of Bees. — The queen passes the 

 period of about three days in the egg 

 and five as a worm; the workers then 

 close her cell, and she immediately be- 

 gins to spin her cocoon, which takes her 

 from twenty to twenty-four hours. On 

 the tenth and eleventh days, and perbajos 

 a part of the twelfth day, she seems to 

 be exhausted by her hard labor. She 

 now remains in almost complete repose; 

 she then passes four or five days as a 

 nympha, and on the fifteenth or sixteenth 

 day a jierfect queen is attained. Much 

 depends upon the strength of the colony 

 and the heat of the season, which will 

 vary it from one to two days. 



The drone jiasses three days in the 

 egg and about six in, the worm, and 

 changes into a perfect insect on the 

 twenty-fourth day after the egg is laid. 

 Much depends on the strength and heat 

 of the colony, which should be about 70 

 degrees Fah., for their speedy develop- 

 ment. They lay in rather a dilatory 

 state for several days after they hatch 

 before taking wing. 



The worker spins its cocoon iu thirty- 

 six hours. After passing three days in 

 the egg in this state of preparation for a 

 new life, it gradually undergoes a great 

 change, and becomes armed with a firmer 

 body, with scales of a brownish color, 

 and somewhat fringed with light hairs. 

 On its belly it has six rings or scales. 

 After it has reached the twenty-first day 

 of existence — reckoning from the egg — it 

 comes forth from the cell on the twenty- 

 first or twenty-second day a perfect in- 

 sect, and is termed an image. — I'radkal 

 Farmer. 



How TO Fill Empty Comb. — A corres- 

 pondent having asked Mrs. Tupper the 

 following question, "How can we best 

 fill a number of hives of empty combs 

 with bees? Wehaveten living colonies, 

 healthy, though weak, and twenty-nine 

 hives full of comb," she replies through 

 the Iowa Ilonedmd a,s ioWows: The best 

 way to fill up your comb is to watch the 

 bees when warm weather comes, and every 

 few days put one empty comb between 

 two that the queen has filled with brood. 

 In this way you will soon have any 

 hive full of brood, if honey is plenty; if 

 not, you must feed quite liberally with 

 sugar syrup. There will Ijc no trouble 

 in getting your hives all full of bees again 

 if you manage in this way. If the season 

 is good, it may be necessai'y for you to 

 extract honey fre(jueutly from the comb, 

 to give the queens room. I have follow- 

 ed the above plan successfully for a num- 

 ber of years, and can therefore recom- 

 mend it. 



C.n.iFOBNiA HoNEV. --Among other nu- 

 merous products for which California 



seems destined to become famous, honey 

 ranks as by no means the least valuable 

 item. It has already found its way into 

 the eastern markets, though so far in 

 limited supply, and is much admired for 

 its purity and delicacy of flavor. Its 

 production is not limited to any part of 

 the State, but at jiresent it is chiefly 

 made a specialty in San Diego county, 

 near the Mexican border. The honey 

 crop of that county for ISC'? was 119,000 

 jjounds, and it is expected that it will 

 this year reach 200,000 pounds. The 

 bees commence working iu that county 

 about the 1st of February, and the sea- 

 son for storing honey lasts from June to 

 September. The finest honey is made 

 from the flowers of the sage, which 

 grows there in such abundance. This is 

 the true sage plant, and must not be con- 

 founded with the "sage brush" of Ne- 

 vada and the northern counties. The 

 flat top or "buckwheat greasewood" also 

 affords excellent honey. The bloom of 

 this plant closely resembles that of buck- 

 wheat, hence the name. The flower of 

 the sumac is another source, and the ice- 

 plant, which covers so much of the coun- 

 try, is likewise much sought by the 

 bees. — Farmers' Union. 



Honey. — The Ventura S'uiiial of Janu- 

 ary 25th says: The production of honey 

 has in the past, in this county, proved 

 quite remunerative, and we are pleased 

 to observe that our bee men are taking 

 gi-eat pains to place their honey iu the 

 market in the best possible shape, and 

 will thus make still more from it. It is 

 a source of revenue which increases in 

 importance each year. It is impossible 

 to flood ihe market with such honey as is 

 produced where the white sage abounds. 



W. H. Seward's Energy. — Judge S. 

 gave his son $1000 and told him to go to 

 college and graduate. The son returned 

 at the end of the Freshman year without 

 a dollar and with several ugly habits. 

 About the close of vacation the judge 

 said to his son, "Well, William, are you 

 going to college this year?" "Have no 

 money, father." "Very well, my son, I 

 gave you all I could afl'ord to give you. 

 You can't stay here; you must now pay 

 your own way through the worUL" A 

 new light broke in upon the vision of 

 the young man. He accommodated him- 

 self to the situation; left home, made his 

 way through college, graduated at the 

 head of his class, studied law and became 

 Governor of the State of New York; en- 

 tered the cabinet of the President of the 

 United States, and made a record for 

 himself. 



TiciAL OF Fakm Implements. — Mowers, 

 rakes, reapers, tedders and horse forks 

 were last season publicly tested at Elmi- 

 ra, N. y., under the auspices of the 

 Farmer's Club of that place. Twelve 

 mowing machines were entered, includ- 

 ing the Wood, Union, and Sprague. The 

 Countri/ (lenllernan says the committee on 

 mowers, five in number, found on com- 

 paring preferences that each had voted for 

 a different machine, and hence no agree- 

 ment as to the best was reached. On 

 rakes, the ijreference was awarded to the 

 Coatcs; on reapers, to Hubbard's Meadow 

 Lark; and on tedders to the Bnllard. 



Implement Trial at tue Centennial. 

 The Centennial managers have secured 

 the use of nearly fifty acres of good land 

 on the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad 

 near Schenck station, which they pi-o- 

 pose to devote to an iuternational trial 

 of agricultural im))lements of all kinds. 

 The Centennial Agricultural l!\ireau has 

 already had this tract plowed so as to be 

 n readiness for next year. 



The Parmer's Daughter 



BY ANNIE L. JACK. 



She lives within a quiet home. 



No model of ttie graces. 

 Unknown to culture's higher walks. 



Or fashion's giddy places: 

 A thoughful girl, so sweet, so wise, 

 With earnest face and loving eyes — 



The farmer's gentle daughter. 



From morn till eve the little maid 



Is bu.sy at her labor; 

 She sweeps and dusts the old farm bouse 



And helps a poorer neighbor. 

 No gossips will slie listen to 

 (A merit rare, I own you). 



So lives the farmer's daughter. 



On baking days her tiny hands 



Are busy at the making; 

 No bread more lighi; and sweet than hers 



Was ever made by baking. 

 She churns the butter golden, sweet. 

 And keeps the dairy white and neat — 



The farmer's useful daughter. 



Her garden is an Eden fair, 



A-bloom with pinks and roses- 

 She knows the name of every flower, 

 And makes some gorgeous posies — 

 Grows peas, and radishes, and cress, 

 And corn, and f-quash, and herbs to press- 

 The farmer's happy daughter. 



Long may she bravely smile on us — 

 Our da'-ling household fairy. 



The queen of garden, house and lot, 

 And princess of the dairy— 



To teach us by her pleasant way 



To love the things of every day- 

 God bless the farmer's daughter. 



OPEN LETTERS TO WOSWEN— 

 NO I. 



BY CHARLOTTE. 

 I^rj A.MERIUAN SOCIETY AND ITS ISSUES. 



^EAK EDITOR: It is difficult to fairly 

 reach the varied interests of our 

 sex, so much has been said and 



(F^. 



'ij'h written i^rejudicial, not only 

 "iSl to us especially, but to human 



not only only 

 anity in 

 general. It is through both masculine 

 and feminine influence upon coming 

 generations that humanity is to be per- 

 fected and completed, thereby fulfilling 

 the Creative Mind's purpose in making 

 a world and peopling it with men and 

 women. 



In Miss Emily Faithful's thoughts, 

 there is much of truth, strength and 

 practicality. What is true in England, 

 is also true iu America of women as a 

 class to-day. But Miss Faithful got at 

 the right way of remedying past and 

 present evils, conditions and circum- 

 stances over which heretofore we have 

 had no control. Our country and our 

 time demands that we unite, laboring 

 from her standpoint, and iu her depart- 

 ment of the great work, education and 

 elevation for women, or woman's "real 

 needs," as she expressed it. 



And now, as we have introduced our- 

 self, we want to ask the close attention 

 of all our sisters to whom this may come, 

 simply as earnest talks about ourselves 

 and our association in the various econ- 

 omies of life, in which drama we are such 

 importaut actors. We wish to speak 

 strongly and feelingly, and tr\ist that oiir 

 language will be plain and pointed. 



Phrenologists tell ns that man ;we use 

 the word gciieric;dly) "is a social anim- 

 al." And tndy it would seeui, when hu- 

 man tliought, I'xpression and action are 

 viewed metaphisically — taken together 

 with all its consequences for good or ill 

 — that sometimes the word "animal" is 

 indeed befitting. But we seek not to be 

 sarcastic. The mind grows upon what it 

 feeds, therefore we cannot tolerate Dean 

 Swift's odious carricatures, nor with him 

 believe that to hold up, or keep before 

 the public, vice, immorality and coarse- 



