THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



389 



E>X|>liiiia(or> . 'I'Ih' ll^^Mii-rs iti:i'<iKi': tin; 

 imincH indicutc I.ho nuiuIicroC yuurH tliat. tin; 

 pfsrHon huH k(^|)t hc(!H. Thoso after, rIiow 

 I.ho nuT;ilicr of colonifH tho writer hud ill tlic 

 prnviotiH HpriuK hihI I'uli, or full uiid spring, 

 UH tho tirni! ol' tlio your may rccpliro. 



This murk © ImlloiitcH llmt tho apiiiriBt is 

 located Hour tlio contro of tho Stato named: 

 6 noi'tli of the centre ; $ Houtli ; O* oast ; 

 ♦Owost; and (his 6 northeiiHt; ^Onoiihwost; 

 o- southeast; and P southwest of the centre 

 of the State mentioned. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Sheep-Bees Lawsuit, etc. 



.S. I. J-KEEBOKN. 



Since tlie publication of my article 

 on page 340— relating to the bee and 

 sheep suit — many want to know the 

 particulars; some .suggest that jier- 

 haps I have (jiiarrcled with my neigh- 

 bor. They slioiild not be expected to 

 expend any greatamoiintof sympatliy 

 until tliey are assured that tliey are 

 not wasting it on one who is un- 

 worthy, (|viarrel.some, or a bad neigh- 

 bor. 



Terbaps the readers of the Hep: 

 Journal will bear with me if I give 

 a little personal history. My practical 

 experience with bees dates back 80 

 years. I have lived in this place 28 

 years, and brought 20 colonies with 

 me when I came. I have never had 

 less tlian 20 colonies but once, and 

 then they decreased from 230 to 19. So 

 much for the box-hive period. 



My stock for several years past has 

 run from 200 to 300 colonies. I was 

 tlie pioneer in the business in this 

 county — that is, as a specialist — and 

 was always referred to as the bee- 

 man, the honey-man, etc. Many 

 thought that 1 had a good thing in 

 bees, and they have exaggerated as to 

 my profits. Mo.st of my neighbors 

 have, at one time or atiotlier, tried 

 tlieir skill at bee-keeping, but with 

 few exceptions they have quit in dis- 

 gust. A great many think that I am 

 in some way to blame for their fail- 

 ures, and say that I monopolize the 

 business. They credit me with greater 

 attainments than 1 credit myself v/ith, 

 for I have not been very successful in 

 wintering bees, and I was asliamed to 

 make so poor a report of wintering as 

 I was obliged to give for the past 

 winter. 



In relation to this suit between my 

 neighbor, Mr. A. J. Powers, the plain- 

 tiff, and myself, the defendant, 1 will 

 say that I have had no quarrel with 

 him, except in this matter, and I have 

 fought shy of this suit, and told him 

 that I did not wish to waste any 

 money on it. I ottered to leave it to 

 refferees, telling him that we might 

 get some disinterested parties and let 

 them investigate and decide for us. 

 But he would not ; he said that he 

 wanted it decided whether I or he 

 owned the farm on which he lives. If 



I owned it he would move off and let 

 me take possession ; if lie owned it lie 

 wanted tlie use of it. This is no new 

 thing as far as theory or threats are 

 concerned ; it has been threatened for 

 years, and more suits of the same 

 nature arc talked of, if this one goes 

 to please llie phiiiitilf. 



1 do not want thi! readers of the 

 I'.KE .loniiNAi. to infer from tlie fore- 

 going that I am poor, friendless or 

 forlorn, and in a heathen laud ; for we 

 have good people here, and a fair 

 share of intelligence. I have many 

 friends, and I can give as reference 

 many of thi^ best men in <iur county. 

 If any one wishes for conlirmation of 

 what I have written, I am not afraid 

 to have them write to Mr. J'owers, 

 himself, asking him whether I am a 

 man of peaces and truth. 



In conclusion I will say that I have 

 supposed that Mr. I'ovvers has had 

 some instigators, and was encouraged 

 to comnienci^ this suit. Ilis lawyers 

 have told him that beesare stock, and 

 that we would be obliged to restrain 

 thern as such. They know full well 

 that if we are obliged to do this, it 

 will be the deatli-lilow to bee-keeping. 

 I liad resolved to light this matter to 

 the best of my ability, and I told my 

 opponents that they could rest assured 

 that it would he well contested 

 through the courts of the State, if 

 necessary, I feel that it is a case 

 that every beekeeper in Ameriiia is 

 interested in, and I think it not beg- 

 ging to ask Ihem to assist in the 

 defen.se, as Mr. lleddon suggests in 

 his plan, which meets my entire appro- 

 bation, and would, had I no suit of 

 the kind on hand. 



DISASTROUS REStTLTS OK THE WINTER. 



The past winter has proved one of 

 great disaster and loss to the bee- 

 keepers of this county ; probably one- 

 half of the bees are dead, and those 

 that are left make a poor average. 

 My stock last fall consisted of three 

 lots aggregating 3)0 colonies, 100 at 

 my " Home Ajjiary," 1-50 at the " Sex- 

 tonville Apiary " (about.'j miles south), 

 and !)0 at tlie "Neptune Apiary" 

 (2 miles north). The colonies of the 

 " Home " and " Sextonville " apiaries 

 were chaff -pacrked, and the "Nep- 

 tune " lot were wintered in a cellar. 

 Of the " Home " lot, IK ))oor ones are 

 left; of the "Sextonville," 60 fair 

 ones remain ; and of the " Neptune " 

 lot, Oti are alive, and I think can be 

 made strong for basswood harvest. 



This would tieera to indicate that 

 cellar wintering is preferable to chaff- 

 packing ; it has certainly proved so 

 here during the past winter. In pre- 

 paring those for cellar-wintering, we 

 removed the honey-boards and placed 

 burlap covers over the frames. Those 

 to be chaff packed were covered in 

 the same way, excepting a few which 

 we covered with quilts. I think that 

 the difference was in favor of tlie 

 thicker (piilts. 



Having but 140 weak colonies left, 

 and about •'i.OOO frames of comb, I 

 have recently obtained 40 more colo- 

 nies. My force now is 180. I am 

 particular to give the niimljer. as Dr. 

 C. C. Miller and others desire to 

 know what we are doing, and I, too. 



like the idea. It is easy to explain 

 the reason for the great mortality of 

 bees during the past winter, for our 

 bees stoie<l no surplus honey after 

 basswood hlooin. and wei(; light in 

 bees ; till! winter was one of extreme 

 severity, anil was followed by a spring 

 reiiiarkal)le for cold and windy 

 weather, anil far advanced before 

 weak colonii^s could build up. 

 Ithaca,? Wis. 



I'upulur Science Monthly. 



Apiculture. 



ALLEN PBINOLE. 



Among the ireent iniluslries of rapid 

 growlli In tills conntry, Ijee-ciilture stands 

 pioiiiim^nt. Of coiiise, as a homely art, 

 l)ee-kee|iiiig is no niodeni hiihislry, being 

 as olil as lii-itoiy ; but in its seientitic 

 ilcvelopmeiits, it is of recent growth. In 

 these tiiiie.<, when seieiiee is properly 

 taking its plaee at the behn in all ilepart- 

 inc'iits of hiiinan Inilnstry anil aetivity, it 

 is not strange that il is promptly assuming 

 tlie guidance of bee-culture. Tiiis is a 

 utilitaiiaii as well as scientific age ; and 

 lliis is why liee-eiilliire is being so rapidly 

 ilevelopeil, for its extraordinary growth is 

 only in the ratio of its utility. Though 

 known to conuneree for a,.500 years, hither- 

 to It has been followed anil known, in this 

 i-oiiiitry at least, principally as a local 

 industry. lint bee-culture, from the 

 soundest eeiinoniie considerations, ouybt 

 niidoiibteilly to beeonie a great national 

 inilnstry lu'stered and proteeted by the 

 .State. Aiiieullure is naturally a .part of, 

 and closely allied with, aijricultiire, inas- 

 much as the nectar gathered by the one is 

 immediately derived from the same fields 

 and forests that yield tlieabiinilant iimatli- 

 erings of the other. Indeeil, the bulk of 

 the lioiiey crop of this eountry (which is, 

 ill ronnirnuinbers, about lU0,()0(l,0l)O|iounils 

 annually) comes from the Dec-keeping 

 whicli is in connection, more or less, witli 

 tanning. 



15iittliis is not the principal reason why 

 bee-cnlture must take rank as an impor- 

 tant national industry. The postulate is 

 fully warranted by the followiiiL' fact or 

 facts: When the agriculliirist takes his 

 grain to market, be takes with it iiioiv or 

 less of the, fertility of the soil ; when he 

 takes his stoek anil dairy products to the 

 market, he does the same thing, only, per- 

 lia|is, in a less degree, ISut, wlieii betakes 

 his honey to market, be does nothing of 

 tliis kinil— lie takes none of the fertile 

 elements of Ilis soil along with il. When 

 tlie skilled ajiiarist, guided by science, so 

 controls, direets, and manipulates his bees 

 that they gather the rich nectar in tons 

 from a (iiven area, representing hundreds 

 and even thousands of dollars, lie impov- 

 erishes neitlier Ills own land nor that of 

 his nciybbor ; lie simply secures that 

 which, if not gathered, " wastes its sweet- 

 ness on the desert air." Likewise, when 

 a country exports its suridus grain or 

 stock, it also inevitably paits with more 

 or less of its fundarnental agricultural re- 

 sources ; but its exported honey surplus 

 represents no corresponding impoverish- 

 ment of .soil. It would therefore seem 

 clear that, from economic considerations 

 alone, bee-culture ought to and must take 

 its iilace among the most successful and 

 iinjiortant national industries. 



There is also an jestlietic and hygienic 

 side to apiculture, though in this praetical 

 and materialistic age mere sentiment must 

 be subordinate tf) utility. But the more 

 advanced scientific bee-kee|)ing of today 

 may. witiiout assuming much license or 

 latitude, be called "one of the fine arts." 

 To the cultured and iesthetic devotee of 

 art proper in the recesses of his own 



