506 



TH^ JSMSMICMK mmm JQUmURI^. 



quality of honey, will not his taste thus 

 educated, be a pretty good safeguard 

 against the purchase of an adulterated 

 article ? I do not think I can tell by 

 the taste whether a sample of honey is 

 pure or not, can you ? But I can tell 

 whether it is a real good article, and 

 so can you. Can you not distinguish 

 between an adulterated and a pure 

 article, provided the latter is of the 

 very best quality ? And suppose all 

 your customers are as well educated 

 as you, how much bogus stuff will they 

 buy in the presence of A 1 pure honey P 



Now how much of the extracted 

 honej' that is sold is jnst as good as 

 can be secured ? Have not you, and 

 you, and you, sold extracted honey 

 that was more or less sour ? I venture 

 the guess that more than half the ex- 

 tracted honey on the market is more 

 or less sour. 



If I am correct, then there would be 

 at least a heavy blow given the bogus 

 business, by seeing that every drop of 

 honey put on the market is thoroughly 

 ripened, and if any of it is a little " off" 

 in flavor, let it be graded accordingly, 

 and not sold for table use. 



Mai'engo, Ills. 



UNITING. 



How to l^nile Weak Colonies- 

 Pasturage for Bees. 



Written for the Iowa Homestead 



BY WM. H. GRAVES. 



I always try to keep a record of the 

 qualities and age of queens. As a rule, 

 I don't think it pays to keep a queen 

 after she is two years old. If 1 have 

 any preference, I destroy the poorest 

 and cage the one I want for a day or 

 two. It is generally unnecessarj* to do 

 this when the colonies to be united are 

 all or both weak. I sometimes unite 

 three in one. By taking an empty 

 hive and alternating the frames, there 

 will be no fighting. Weak colonies 

 are particularly subject to attack from 

 robbers. 



In overhauling the colonies, it is 

 best to mark the ones strongest in 

 stores, so that if any should need feed- 

 ing, a frame of honey, or as many as 

 they need, can be given them from 

 those that can spare it. Nothing is 

 better, but if honey can't be spared, 

 sugar syrup is the next best. 



It is best to feed in the evening, if 

 there should be any disposition to rob. 

 The practice of feeding sugar is only 

 resorted to in cases of emergency. It 

 is far better than to let them starve to 

 death. It is also a good plan to clip 

 one wing of the queen, although I am 

 aware that some leading apiarists arc 

 strongly opposed to it. After having 



lost several valuable swarms by their 

 going to the timber, I am fully con- 

 vinced that it is far better to lose a 

 queen once in a while, which is one of 

 the principal objections urged against 

 the practice than to lose a whole colony. 



I have been clipping the queens' 

 wings for about 15 years, and think 

 that I have not lost a half dozen queens 

 in that time. At this time the hive is 

 not so crowded with bees, and it is not 

 as difficult to find a queen as one 

 might think, especially if Italians are 

 kept? A black queen is harder to find, 

 as they are more s)iy. 



After having tried several honey- 

 producing plants, I am of the opinion 

 that land is becoming too valuable to 

 devote to any plant that cannot be of 

 some benefit aside from honey-produc- 

 tion, of which Alsike clover undoubt- 

 edly stands at the head of the list for 

 this localit}'. Perhajjs buckwheat might 

 be mentioned next, .although I have 

 discontinued the practice of sowing it 

 for the past few jears, for the follow- 

 ing reason : It is an uncertain yielder, 

 and I am located adjacent to a river- 

 bottom where there is an abundance 

 of black-heart, or heart's-ease (as it is 

 sometimes called), which makes a finer 

 and a far better grade of honey than 

 buckwheat, although it belongs to the 

 same family of plants. 



Duncan, Ills. 



VISITING. 



The Wonders Seen by a Yisitor 

 to an Apiary. 



Written for flie Farm, Field and Stockman 



BY S. E. MILLER. 



For the sake of a name we will call 

 him Mr. Shaw. As we drive up to the 

 house we see in front of it a well-kept 

 lawn studded with evergreens, and on 

 one side is a pretty flower garden con- 

 taining roses and beautiful shrubs. 

 While on the opposite side of the house 

 is an ample vegetable garden wherein 

 may be found a bed of strawberries, 

 as well as many other delicious fruits. 

 But let us proceed to the apiary. 

 Here we see hives all of one size, shape 

 and color (white), nicely arranged in 

 groups, or set separately at fixed dis- 

 tances on four bricks or pieces of two 

 by three scantling all on a pretty lawn 

 with an occasional shade-tree spread- 

 ing its branches about the hives, and 

 near by is a neat little . house. " Oh ! 

 what a cute little house ! What is it 

 for, Mr. Shaw ?" 



"That is my honej'-house ; in it I do 

 the extracting, remove filled sections 

 from the supers, scrape, assort and 

 pack the same for market, as well as 

 a great amount of other work. In it 



also I keep my implements used in the 

 apiary. 



" What is extracting, Mr. Shaw ?" 

 In answer to this Mr. Shaw proceeds 

 to open a hive. 



" Oh ! please don't Mr. Shaw, they 

 will sting us to death." 



"Never mind, just keep quiet, and 

 don't get nervous; if they come around 

 your face don't strike at them." 



Mr. Shaw then raised out two frames 

 of comb containing honey, and after 

 shaking off the bees in front of the 

 hive, he said, "Come with me to the 

 honey-house." 



In the house he took one of the 

 frames in his left hand, holding it over 

 the uncapping can; in his right hand 

 he took a honey-knife and shaved oft" 

 the cappings on both sides, then he 

 lowered it into the revolving frame of 

 the extractor. After treating the other 

 comb the same waj', he put it in the 

 opposite side of the frame. He then 

 gave several rapid turns to the crank, 

 and the honey was thrown out against 

 the side of the extractor, where it ran 

 down and was drawn oft" at a gate below. 



"Well, I declare! Oh! just look at 

 the comb honey !" 



"How do you make it so straight, 

 Mr. Shaw ?" 



" I do not make it; the bees build 

 the comb, gather the honey, store it in 

 the comb, and cap it over. Come, and 

 and I will show you." 



Mr. Shaw led us to a hive in which 

 the bees were devoted to building 

 comb honey. He raised the upper 

 story, which exposed to our view a 

 case with glass on both sides ; this 

 contained seven rows of one-pound 

 sections, four in a row, with a tin sep- 

 arator between each row ; here were 

 combs of various sizes, from those just 

 commenced to those completeh' filling 

 the little boxes and nicely capped over. 



"Well, did I ever! I have often 

 seen just such in the stores, but I 

 always thought it was manufactured ; 

 and what pretty bees and how gentle. 

 Why, Mr. Jones' were black, and 

 wanted to sting us. What kind of 

 bees do you call these, Mr. Shaw ?" 



"These are gentle Italians, and are 

 accustomed to being handled." 



" Some of your bees are in the sun ; 

 is it not too hot for them ?" 



"My hives are all painted white, 

 therefore the sun does not aftect them 

 much. Were the hives of a darker 

 color there would be danger of the 

 combs melting in hot weather." 



" Well, Mr. Shaw, this has been to 

 us a very interesting and profitable 

 visit. We are much interested in the 

 little workers, and are ever so much 

 obliged to you for what you have 

 taught us to-day." 



" Not at all. Good day." 



Bluft'ton, Mo. 



