612 



Tmrn MMEmiC'Mf* MMM JO^KSfMI,. 



xUiicIi ot the Initii-j' done to fruit is Preparing Bees for ■%Viiiter.— In 



charged ujj to the bees by those who do not his annual report ot the Colorado Experi- 



take the trouble to think or reason the ment Station, Prof. C. Max Brose writes as 



matter to a natural conclusion. But over- follows : 



ripe fruit will crack open, bees or no bees, 

 and then it is useless for the market. All 

 that can be charged against the bees, is the 

 fact that when the skin of the fruit has 

 been punctured by birds, wasps, etc., or | 

 has cracked open, then the bees will carry 

 off the juices to their own detriment. 



Almost every one has noticed that juicy 

 fruits, such as plums, peaches, grapes, to- 

 matoes, etc., will be cracked by a rain. 



In the New Orleans, La., Times-Demo- 

 crat, a correspondent who signs himself as 

 " H. J.," gives the following as his opinion 

 concerning the cause of the cracking of 

 fruit ■ 



This cracking has been explained in va- 

 rious ways, but we think it is properly at- 

 tributed by Bossingault to osmose- 

 It a bladder tilled with syrup be immersed 

 in a vessel of water, the water will, after 

 awhile become sweet ; the syrup passes 

 through the membrane of the bladder into 

 the water, and correspondingly the water 

 passes into the interior of the bladder. 



But this interchange is not an equal one ; 

 the lighter liquid— the water— passes in 

 many times more rapidly than the heavier 

 liquid, the syrup, passes out. The conse- 

 quence will be that the bladder will be dis- 

 tended to its utmost, and at length burst. 

 A ripe tomato or plum may be considered 

 in the condition of the bladder of syrup. 

 The rich juices of the fruit correspond to 

 the syrup, and the thin membrane which 

 forms the skin of the fruit represents the 

 bladder. 



When the ripe fruit is kept constantly 

 wet by a rain, osmose takes place, and the 

 water passing through into the fruit dis- 

 tends the skin, which, not being very 

 strong, is soon ruptured. If the fruit were 

 to be surrounded by a liquid denser than 

 its juices, it would, instead of expanding 

 and breaking, shrink, and the skin become 

 shriveled, 



When strawberries or blackberries are 

 sprinkled with sugar,a syrup Is soon formed 

 by some of the juice of the fruit, and this 

 being considerably denser than the juices 

 of the berries, they are soon very flabby 

 and shriveled. 



Xlie Kaspbei-i-y, among all the trees 

 and shrubs which are cultivated generally 

 throughout the United States by fruit- 

 growers, is commonly conceded to possess 

 more value to bee-keepers than any other, 

 says Prof. N. W. McLain, of the Minnesota 

 Experiment Station. A quarter of a mile 

 from this Station a market-gardener has 

 four acres of raspberries. These bushes 

 continued to bloom for ten days, and dur- 

 ing that time, with the exception of two or 

 three rainy daj-s, a continuous procession 

 of bees could be observed going and re- 

 turning to and from the apiary, and a fine 

 showing of honey was made in the hives, 

 and the honey was of superior quality. 



^Veak Colonies should be doubled up 

 until they are strong, when preparing the 

 bees for winter. Do not endeavor to win- 

 ter small colonies, as it almost invariably 

 results in loss. 



The successful wintering of bees is of 

 the greatest importance to the bee-keeper. 

 On it, depends his success or failure for the 

 following summer : and, in order that every 

 colony may be strong in the spring, eager 

 to start the summer campaign of gathering 

 stores for themselves and their owner, the 

 following points are of greatest importance 

 to the apiarist : 



The colonies should go into winter quar- 

 ters with plenty of young bees — at least 

 four frames should be well covered with 

 them — and 35 pounds of sealed honey. 

 They should be kept at an even tempera- 

 ture — 45 to 50 degrees — and never be un- 

 necessarily disturbed. The hive should be 

 in such a condition as to absorb all the 

 moisture generated by the bees during the 

 winter. 



Before cold weather sets in, all the colo- 

 nies should be examined, and if either 

 stores or bees are lacking, they should be 

 supplied during warm weather. In this 

 region, we advise examining all the hives 

 by the first of September. One of the 

 greatest errors that the novice in bee-cul- 

 ture will make, is in the wintering ot weak 

 colonies. These should be united until 

 they are strong enough to well cover at 

 least four Langstroth frames. 



The space in the hives should be closed 

 to at least four frames by chaff division- 

 boards, and enlarged as the colony gains in 

 strength, and needs more room. Every 

 night they should be fed about one-half 

 pint of syrup made from granulated sugar. 

 The bees will go to work as eagerly as if 

 it were In the month of June. The queen 

 will lay, and by the time your four or five 

 frames are full of brood and sugar syrup, 

 and the space closed down to the size of 

 the colony by chaff division boards, a chaff 

 cushion over them, they are safer to winter. 



Bees in a warm climate need no protec- 

 tion during the winter, but where the win- 

 ters are severe, they must be protected 

 from cold and damp weather. 



The chaft' hive .solves the problem of suc- 

 cessful wintering. 



1. It keeps the air dry, and at as even a 

 temperature as possible, below and above 

 the inside body of the hive being packed 

 with chaff. It absorbs all the moisture gen- 

 erated by the bees during cold weather, 

 and, being also a non-conductor, it re- 

 sponds slowly to the sudden changes of the 

 weather. 



3. Bees are kept undisturbed and quiet, 

 allowing them a chance to take a flight, so 

 necessary during a warm spell, without the 

 undue excitement caused by the carrying 

 from and to the cellar. 



3. Being warm at all times in a chaff 

 hive, it will give the bees a run to all jiarts 

 of the interior, even duringwinter weather. 



4. It is the most natural way for bees to 

 winter. 



The Texas Slftings compliments the 

 bee on its good sense and business ability, 

 and says : 



" How doth the busy little bee 

 Improve each shining hour ? . 



It gets a hustle on itself 

 And works the early flower." 



The bee also teaches the foolishness of 

 working and laying by more than is needed 

 for some one else to come along and make 

 merry over, as the man who so kindly pro- 

 vides them with a nice little hive takes the 

 lion's share of the honey. Alas ! in this 

 world it is often the case that the man who 

 lives in the nice house is working for the 

 benefit of the mortgagee.- £.i'cha7iyc. 



Xlie Color of llie Honey produced 

 very often has much to do with its prompt 

 sale upon the market, whether it be honey 

 in the comb or extracted. In regard to this 

 subject, Annie C. Webster writes thus in 

 the Am.eriean CuUiimtor ; 



As a rule a dry season is less favorable 

 to bee-keepers than a wet one ; but. on the 

 other hand, too wet a season is not desir- 

 able. In very wet seasons the plants pro- 

 duce honey so rapidly that it is coarse in 

 flavor, and the honey, when prepared for 

 market, is not as fine in flavor and taste. 

 The plants are unduly forced in their 

 growth by the stimulating powers of the 

 moisture, and their products are not as 

 fine and as well matured as those of slower 

 growth. The bees sometimes change the 

 color and quality of the honey, if they are 

 in good condition physically, but. as a rule, 

 the honey that is placed on the table is not 

 much altered from that taken directly from 

 the plants. 



There seems to be a general prejudice 

 against dark honey, and it never sells until 

 all of the white honey is disposed of. The 

 clear amber probably sells better than 

 either one. Dark honey gathered from 

 buckwheat is inferior in quality, but dark 

 chestnut honey is of superior flavor. But 

 appearances go a long way towards selling 

 an article, and bee-keepers should remem- 

 ber that good dark honey will not bring its 

 fair price. In planting for bees, it is just 

 as well, then, to plant only such crops that 

 produce the light or amber colored honey 

 of commerce 



Buckwheat may also be sown, but too 

 much of this gives a decidedly dark color 

 to the honey, and an inferior quality. One 

 should have the ambition to make the 

 honey product of the farm as well known 

 for its quality as the fruits, for in this way 

 a better price can in time be obtained for 

 it. 



There are so many compounds called 

 " honey " in the market, that the genuine 

 article becomes swamped, and no fancy 

 price will be paid for it unless the pur- 

 chaser is assured that it comes from a cer- 

 tain apiary, noted for its fine honey-pro- 

 duction. A name of sending nothing but 

 the best of honey to market, is worth 

 something to the apiarist. 



Bees I>ie from S»ins»nK-— That 

 bees are not killed by the act of stinging, is 

 maintained by a prominent apicultural 

 student and writer, who says that a bee 

 which stung him and lost its sting lived for 

 weeks— or for a ." week or two." Prof. A. 

 J. Cook, in the N. Y. Tribune, says that on 

 the contrary his students have tried this 

 experiment repeatedly, and have invaria- 

 bly come to just the opposite conclusion. 

 In their tests they " take several bees that 

 have sacrificed their stings by use, and 

 place them in a cage with feed. In another 

 cage, precisely similar, sound bees are 

 placed. Invariably the lacerated bees die 

 first, and usually very soon. We have but 

 to remember that the barbs on the lancets 

 of the sting take fast hold and pull the 

 sting from the bee that is brave enough to 

 use it. Now the injury from stinging may 

 be greater or less, depending upon firmness 

 of the hold, and we understand how the 

 wounded bee may live for some days ; but 

 when we compare them with healthy bees, 

 then we see a striking difference." 



