414 



TMW Mm^Wmi^MM MMM JQIBMNMIU. 



work on it move or less every season. 

 I would not say that it yielded bounti- 

 fully every season — no honey-plant 

 will yield honey every season. White 

 ■clover and bassvvood will fail, and 

 would it be fair to come out boldlj" and 

 say, " I do not think that there was 

 ■one ounce of clover or basswood honey 

 ever gathered ?" No ; nor is it fair to 

 make this assertion about golden-rod. 



One of the members remarked that 

 ■" all the members present should care- 

 fully observe it this season, and then 

 see for themselves as to whether it did 

 yield or not." As he is not far distant 

 from me, he made the remark that he 

 had passed by my locality, and could 

 not see a bee on golden-rod ; yet he 

 would not allow me to verify my state- 

 ment. Locality ma)- liave some effect 

 on it (but all about him, on all sides, 

 it did yield, the past season) ; but is it 

 fair to condemn it just because of one 

 locality not yielding nectar ? 



I could not help making the remark 

 that he would not believe me (or us) 

 one bit more, by our carefully observ- 

 ing it another season, to be again con- 

 tradicted, and probably be continued 

 for another year's careful observing. 



The party also claimed that what 

 bees he did see on golden-rod, felt 

 ashamed for being there, claiming 

 that thej' would crawl about so slowly, 

 as if the)- were almost frozen in a 

 warm autumn day. Now, I would like 

 to ask, which bee gathers the most 

 honey, the one that stays on one blos- 

 som and finds emploj'uient for one 

 minute there, or the other one that 

 runs rapidly over the flowers and visits 

 25 in a minute ? Most emphatically, 

 the one that holds its proboscis in the 

 nectaries several seconds. 



When I see a bee running rapidly 

 over a clover blossom, I calculate that 

 it is not finding much. I have j'et to 

 see a bee ashamed in any of its under- 

 takings — at least mine have never 

 showed anythinglike being "ashamed." 



INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



I hardly approve of Mr. Bunch's 

 way of introducing queens, as given on 

 page 383. I could hardly advise any 

 one to not look into their hives for 3 

 or 4 dajs, or even a week. Contrar)- 

 to the advice of others, I alwaj's ex- 

 amine my colony as soon as I think 

 that the queen has been released, and 

 I have never had any fatal luck with 

 them. I have never lost but one 

 queen, and I think that this was on 

 account of untimely assistance. Of 

 course, I always go armed, for fear 

 that I might find her balled. 



I would like to ask those who advo- 

 cate letting the bees alone for several 

 days, Are you sure that balling was 

 caused by opening the hive too soon ? 

 If you had cattle in a field in which 



there was a miry spot, and one of 

 them did not appear, would you trust 

 to Providence to help it out ? or would 

 you render aid ? Now we will liken 

 a colony of bees to the cattle — balling 

 to be the dreaded spot. Could you 

 leave a valuable bee for 3 or 4 days, 

 when she might be in a ball of bees ? 

 I believe in rendering aid if I can, and 

 at the earliest date, too. 



Now in regard to introducing : I 

 think that the old " Peet process " of 

 letting the bees gnaw the queen out, is 

 the best, as in my experience the bees 

 release the queen too soon with the 

 "candy" plan. The only bad luck 

 that I had with queens, was with the 

 "candy" plan, where in 10 hours 

 (probably less) I found the queen dead 

 on the bottom-board. Would leaving 

 the colony alone for 3 or 4 days have 

 brought her to life again ? 



I will saj- that if the apiarist knows 

 his business, and will be very careful, 

 there is but little risk to run ; and I 

 would further say that it might be well 

 to be prepared with smoke to get the 

 queen out of the ball, if necessary. At 

 least, this is 7)ii/ opinion of them, and 

 my ways of handling them. 



Grand Ledge, Mich. 



BEE-KEEPING. 



Is it Practicable or Desirable 

 for tlie Average Fanner i 



Read at a Nebraslia Farmers' Institute 



BY MRS. J. N. HEATER. 



Upon receiving the request for an 

 essay on this subject, I was somewhat 

 surprised that it should be considered 

 a question, as to whether the keeping 

 of bees is practicable or desirable for 

 the average farmer, since bee-keeping 

 is strictly an agricultural pursuit, and 

 of the utmost importance to the farmer, 

 if the honey consideration were not 

 taken into account at all. 



Man, in his selfishness, fosters those 

 pursuits which give promise of profit 

 or pleasure to himself, and according 

 to Samantha Allen, must be reasoned 

 with by way of his stomach ; so, with 

 visions of quantities of honey, he 

 makes his investment in bees, not 

 knowing he is to receive another and 

 perhaps greater reward. To be a bee- 

 keeper it does not follow that one 

 must be a master or specialist, any 

 more than he must be a fancier in 

 order to raise his own fowls. 



In my opinion there is no more fit- 

 ting place on earth for the keeping of 

 bees, than on the farm ; providing, of 

 course, that the farmer — or his wife — 

 has the time and inclination to give 

 them proper attention. One gentle- 

 man living near town, bought a single 

 swarm, and in one year's time found 



himself the possessor of 4 colonies of 

 bees and 40 pounds of surplus honey. 

 Another farmer bought one colony, 

 and at the end of 3 years, had 11 colo- 

 nies of bees, and an abundant supply 

 of honey during the whole time, for a 

 large family. These are not cited as 

 extraordinary cases, bj" any means, 

 but simply to show what ordinary 

 farmers in our midst are doing, who 

 make no pretensions to giving their 

 bees special care. I might refer you 

 to others, who are giving more time 

 and attention to this branch of their 

 work, and making a grand success 

 of it. 



Let no one suppose, however, that 

 bee-keeping is a pleasant pastime, 

 which lazy and incompetent people 

 can take up with success. The man 

 who always drives poor horses and 

 finds winter storage for his farm ma- 

 chinery in the open field, has no busi- 

 ness with bees ; but any man or woman 

 who will learn the business and begin 

 wisely, can find in bee-keeping with 

 farming, a healthful pursuit ; and sup- 

 ply their own tables at least, with a 

 pure, delicious article of food to take 

 the place of the adulterated sweets 

 which they are forced to receive at the 

 stores. 



This, however, is only an individual 

 benefit, except as the possessor may 

 choose to share the spoil with his fellow 

 man, but there is another benefit which 

 the neighbor shares equally with the 

 owner, for our little pets, though sel- 

 dom accorded the compliment, are 

 direct benefactors to the florist, horti- 

 culturist and farmer — in fact, to any 

 one who wishes to produce fruit, grain 

 or vegetables, by their constant visits 

 from blossom to blossom, carrying the 

 pollen from the anthers of one to the 

 stigmas of another of the same kind ; 

 and any one with the most meagre 

 knowledge of botany will understand 

 that this is the plan of the Creator, for 

 the reproduction of the vegetable 

 kingdom ; else, why would flowers de- 

 pending on insect fertilization be so 

 cunningly constructed that, in order to 

 reach the honey, the insect must forci- 

 bly brush against the pollen, thus 

 dusting itself in one flower and carry- 

 ing it to another, where the process is 

 repeated ? 



In this connection we plainly see 

 wisdom in the instinct with which the 

 honey-bee is endowed,' to visit the 

 same species of plant or flower until a 

 full load of honey is obtained. Other 

 insects do, indeed, play some part in 

 this important work, but no other 

 honey and pollen gathering insect 

 increases with such rapidity in the 

 spring, before fruit trees and small 

 fruits blossom. 



An excellent authority places the 

 number of colonies of bees in the 



