538 



^HU MMERicsr* mmm j©^rks:iu. 



tions, and if their be a good yield of 

 bright honey, you will be apt to have 

 something fit fur market. When jou 

 have the hone}* nicely filled with sec- 

 tions, you will require nice shipping- 

 crates to hold from 6 to 18 sections. 

 Before putting the sections into the 

 shipping-crates, the propolis will have 

 to be again looked after and scraped, 

 and it is always better to have the 

 manilla-paper dish in the bottom to 

 hold any leakage that there may be. 



In regard to the size of section to 

 use, I believe a section that holds a 

 pound of honey, or as near it as pos- 

 sible, is the best. I know there are 

 many bee-keepers that use a section to 

 hold an ounce or two less than a 

 pound, but the objection I find to this 

 is that it is sometimes used to deceive 

 buyers. Sometimes the grocer is de- 

 ceived, and sometimes he is the de- 

 ceiver. I believe the grocer often 

 buys sections of honey for a pound, 

 and they are short, and the bee-keeper 

 may sell him those sections at a cent 

 or so less than his neighbor sells his 

 sections, but the section that costs the 

 most may he the cheapest. I know 

 all bee-keepers do not sell sections by 

 the piece, and I believe it to be gen- 

 erally unfair to do so. 



I have no doubt many bee-keepers 

 have had grocers ask them for sections 

 weighing an oimce or so less thau a 

 pound, as they can sell them for about 

 the same as one that weighs a pound ; 

 but they want to buy the honey bj' 

 weight from the bee-keepers, all the 

 same, and no doubt there are bee- 

 keepers who get sections cut so that 

 they can sell them for a cent or so less 

 than their neighbors, who have them 

 weigh a pound. 



My best customers ai'e men that 

 wish sections that weigh a pound, or 

 as near it as possible, and they buy by 

 the pound and sell by the pound. Arc 

 not these men deserving of confidence 

 much more than the man who asks 

 3-ou for a section less than a pound to 

 sell by the piece for a pound ? I pre- 

 fer to deal with the man that wishes 

 to sell liy the pound. 



It would perhaps be well to give you 

 an account of a purchase made last 

 ■winter, as an example. Not having 

 enough comb honey to snppl}' the de- 

 mand, I wrote to a gentleman that 

 I heard of having comb honey for sale 

 at a certain price, and I sent him an 

 order for so many pounds of first-class 

 honey at a certain price. Well, the 

 honey did not come as ordered, it was 

 not lirst-class, it was dark, the comb 

 soiled, the sections not cleaned of the 

 propolis, shipped in a grocery-box, 

 some sections broken, and all generally 

 daubed, and the weight short l)y 

 about an ounce and a lialf per section, 

 although the invoice was by tlie sec- 



tion for the. amount I offered by the 

 pound. 



In closing this article, I would ask 

 all to endeavor to have their comb 

 honey done up as neatly as possible, 

 and of good sample, for if done up as 

 the above lot, you need not expect a 

 good price for your honey, and you 

 will demoralize the trade to a certain 

 extent, and not only be injured your- 

 self, but you would be the cause of 

 injuring others ; jou would only be 

 able to sell to a man once, and when 

 you had made one sale to each of the 

 grocers or bee-keepers in your neigh- 

 borhood, you would have to look for 

 new customers further away, or eat 

 the honey yourself. 



Streetsville, Out. 



CARNIOLANS. 



Experience 'willi llicse Bees for 

 Five \'ear§. 



BEE-CULTURE. 



Management of the Apiary so ; 

 to make it Pay. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY C. L. FISHER. 



I think that the article on page 488, 

 by Mr. S. A. Shuck, demands atten- 

 tion. He condemns the Carniolan 

 bees without trial, which at least shows 

 malice. 



He says he purchased one select 

 tested Carniolan queen (which it seems 

 the bees considered almost old enough 

 to die) from which he reared 35 

 queens, which he says were all mis- 

 mated, making the working stock 

 hybrids, of coui'se. Then he tells how 

 they behave — like the worst hybrids 

 he ever saw, by thieving, mutilating 

 cappings, etc, • 



Next he acknowledges himself be- 

 hind the times, by allowing his bees 

 to follow their natural impulses, and 

 swarm whenever they take a notion to 

 do so. Then he compares his hybrids 

 with his Italians, calling the hybrids 

 Carniolans, and he closes by guessing 

 that he shall be a certain number of 

 pounds of honey short, by having a 

 streak of Carniolan blood in his apiary. 

 " Consistency thou area jewel "^but 

 wanting hei'e. 



Now I have had five years' experi- 

 ence with the Carniolan bees, and 

 three years of the time I have had 

 from 50 to 100 or more colonies. I 

 have also had Italians in the same 

 yard during all that time, and in no 

 instance have my best Italians in honey 

 gathering or breeding, equaled my 

 best Carniolans. 



I procured queens of both races from 

 breeders of note, besides rearing many. 



My motive in writing this is simply 

 to see justice done the best I'ace of 

 bees (and their breeders) that I have 

 any knowledge of. 

 South Deerfield, Mass. 



Written for the Prdirie Farmer 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



The drouth was broken on July 12 

 by a fine rain, and the weather has 

 been exceedingly warm since, and the 

 bees have been working industriously 

 on the sweet clover. Souie plants 

 yield honey only a few hours each day 

 — awhile in the morning or during the 

 heat of the day ; but bees are now 

 working upon sweet clover, '-from 

 early morn to dewy eve." The yield 

 from this source is not large, but con- 

 tinuous, during a time when there is 

 little or none from any other source, 

 and is sufficient to keep up brood-rear- 

 ing, thus providing for workers to 

 gather the fall harvest. 



A neighbor bee-keeper came into 

 our apiary lately, and used Bible words 

 out of place, denouncing bees as a de- 

 lusion and a snare. Now this is ve^y 

 silly, for all business has its ups and 

 downs, and those who hold on, with a 

 grip like a bull-dog. are the ones who 

 " get there." 



Some benevolently disposed pei-sons 

 in the city of New York, at ime time, 

 made an investigation to ascertain the 

 cause of poverty, and ascertained that 

 it was not owing to the lack of ability 

 to do many things well, but because 

 they flitted from one thing to another. 

 I have known farmers, who became 

 discouraged owing to the failure of 

 crops, and moved into towns and 

 cities, where the_y were known as 

 laborers and teamsters, and in a short 

 time were beseiging the overseer of 

 the poor, and the benevolent societies 

 for assistance, and their household 

 goods set into the streets for non-pay- 

 ment of rent. It is impossible for a 

 man to support a large family by day 

 lalior, and if they had stuck lo tlie 

 farm, and worked it, they would have 

 had plenty to eat, and their children 

 would be producers instead of con- 

 sumers only. 



Bee-keepers, stick to your hives, and 

 have your colonies strong, to be ready 

 in case of a flow of hone}', which may 

 come upon us for harvesting unawares. 

 If you sit grumbling, your dishes may 

 all be upside down when the shower 

 comes, and you will not get a drop. 

 The same applies to liorlicnlturists, 

 gardeners, atnl farmers ; and it would 

 be well for all to follow the advice of 

 Cromwell, " Trust in God, and keep 

 your powder diy." 



"Keep all colonies strong" is 

 Oettl's "Golden Rule," and the last 

 words to be found in " Langstroth's 

 Revised." Whoever succeeds in doing 



