1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



675 



over the jar so as to reflect the heat on the jar, and in this 

 way I have saved the lives of many of my bees. 



Mr. Abbott — I do my chickens a service. I don't water 

 my bees — I turn them in with the chiclsens. Perhaps some 

 here do not know that chickens drink — I know they do. I use 

 wooden boxes about 2 inches deep and 12 inches square; 

 these boxes were made for bee-feeders, as they had been 

 coated with beeswax. I set the boxes 6 or 8 inches from the 

 ground, then put a raised cover on the top so the chickens 

 cannot (?et up and soil the water; in this way both bees and 

 chickens can drink. 



A member asked: "How do the chickens like their 

 associates '?" 



Mr. Abbott — The chickens don't care. Chickens have 

 more sense than some people. 



Do they drink together all right? 



Mr. Abbott — Yes. 



Do you let them roost together ? 



Mr. Abbott — No, sir; I do not. (Laughter.) This is a 

 very convenient way to water bees, and as I think more of my 

 chickens than I do of my bees, of course I use this method. 



Dr. A. B. Mason, of Toledo, Ohio — I water my bees with 

 gallon Jars, and salt the water to keep it pure, and put in 

 corncobs or pieces of wood to keep the bees from being 

 drowned. 



Following this discussion Mr. L. D. Stilson read a paper on 



Some of (lie Condilions of 9febra$ka. 



To some of you it may seem strange that we should have 

 conditions here which are not found elsewhere ; surroundings 

 make new conditions. As you will readily observe by looking 

 at the map, we occupy a central location in tne United States. 

 This, of itself, would not create conditions different from 

 other States or localities. But look further and spe our beau- 

 tiful State lying just at the foot of the mighty Rockies, and 

 only a little ways from our western border is the line of eter- 

 nal snow. Then look to the north, the east, the south, and 

 find us in the midst of the greatest garden-spot in the world, 

 and you begin to realize some of the possibilities the future 

 has in store for us. Here seems to be a central meeting-place 

 for widely-varied conditions. 



The pioneer bee-keeper, like the pioneer farmer, on these 

 broad, fertile prairies had to begin his experimental work all 

 over again ; he was met by conditions which were untried and 

 of which he knew nothing. The honey-flow was new to him, 

 thousands of acres, rich in flowers, but not a tree or bush in 

 sight, was not at 8rst sight an inviting field for the apiarist. 

 Wild bees were to be found along the Missouri river, along 

 our eastern border. As the settler moved westward he tonk 

 with him the few hives of bees. These increased equally well, 

 whether located along some stream or whether placed along 

 the high tablelands in the central part of the State. A little 

 study on ihe part of the master, soon taught him that the 

 flora of the State was a rich field for the honey-gleaners ; and 

 that the wind and waters had brought down from the peaks 

 of the western mountains, plants of such hardy nature that 

 ere the frosts of winter had left the ground at their roots, the 

 tops were furnishing honey and pollen for the hoiiey-bfe, 

 while species of the same families brought to us from the 

 South or East would be 10 or 20 days later, thus extending 

 the honey-harvest. In this way we find the red cedar, wild 

 plums, wild grapes and wild cherries; these, with many of 

 the small plants, are valuable in furnishing food for building 

 up early in the spring. 



When the missionaries first went to a certain race of 

 heathen they found each man had, or was making for hiiu- 

 self, an idol. Among the articles carried by the missionaries 

 were some eocoanuts ; these the natives soon seized upon as 

 gods ready-made. When we, as pioneers, first came to Nebras- 

 ka, we did not have to hew out farms from the timber, as In 

 the Eastern States, but we found farms ready-made. But 

 ready-made as they were, like the idolator, we knew not how 

 to grow crops to the best advantage, and to some of us, at 

 least, it is a study yet. We plowed too much land, we sowed 

 too much grain, we planted too much corn, and as a conse- 

 quence, weeds infested the land, and for several years past 

 the great bulk of our honey has been produced from " heart's- 

 ease" — a plant something like the smartweed of the East. It 

 grows in every waste place, it springs up in every stubble 

 field, and no matter whether it is dwarfed by drouth to a tiny 



plant of a few Inches, or whether watered by copious showers 

 and grows to the height of a man, it always blossoms full, and 

 is always laden with honey. 



It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Ne- 

 cessity is only putting a man where he is obliged to think and 

 act for himself. Necessity is only putting a man upon his 

 own individual manhood. 



Here in Nebraska necessity has put a good many of us 

 where we are obliged to do some good, hard thinking for our- 

 selves, and as bee-keepers it has done us good. Instead of 

 moving our apiaries, as some of our Eastern friends advise, so 

 as to keep near the virgin forests, we continue to plant and to 

 hoe, to reap and to mow, but in our planting we look to a 

 double harvest, learning by study and experience that the tree 

 or plant richest in honey is also richest in fruit, grain or for- 

 age, so that not only do we plant for grain or fruit, but for 

 honey as well. We are learning that the best forage clovers 

 make better beef and butter when they are the richest in 

 honey. The fruit-blossoms rich in honey, produce as rich or 

 richer fruits than those which produce none. 



Nebraska is to-day a land of groves, planted by the pioneer 

 farmer. Many of these groves were planted with a treble end 

 in view — first a wind-break or screen, second for fuel, and 

 third for their fruits or honey. It costs no more to set trees 

 which serve these three purposes, and the wide-awake tree- 

 planter was not slow to catch the idea. 



The climate of our State is such that plants secrete very 

 rich nectar, so that the bee can gather it and after storing in 

 the hive it can at once be sealed over, retaining to a great ex- 

 tent the aroma of the flower from which it was gathered. A 

 few years ago we extracted from one super clean, returning 

 the combs, and in four days we extracted 50 pounds again, 

 nearly all sealed, and weighing 15 pounds to the measured 

 gallon. This was pure heart's-ease, and samples have never 

 shown granulation. 



In bee-keeping, as in all other branches of agriculture, 

 we have made serious mistakes. We have profited by some of 

 these, but of others we are still at sea, the compass broken, 

 and the log-book lost. 



The winter problem is to us one of great interest. Some 

 seasons our bees will go through the winter with little or no 

 loss, then again under seemingly the same conditions, a single 

 day of wind, dust, and snow will wipe the apiary out of exist- 

 ence. How to avoid these losses we have no certain rule. 



Mr. L. D. Stilson, York, Nebr. 



Tell us, ye wise men, how to avoid these winter losses, and ye 

 shall be held in grateful rememhrance. 



A< a rule, the bee-keepers of the State have had hut little 

 diffii'ulty in disposing of their honey crops at fairly good 

 prices. True, at such centers as Lincoln and Omaha the 

 shipment of Southern and California honey keeps the prices 

 lower than In the interior of the State, and he who forces his 

 honey, be it ever so good, onto an overstocked market, loses 

 by the operation. But the wide-awake, practical bee-keeper 

 who puts up his honey in fine shape and courts the home mar- 

 ket of his nearest town, invariably receives good returns for 



