664 



'rmm mimmmicmn ®b® j®^Kf«:KiLr. 



The bees are not slow to correct this 

 state of things, and glue the orack up. 

 but these lioles. bored I care not how 

 or when, are too large for them to fill 

 up, and the natural laws of the hive 

 are interfered with. It is follj' to 

 argue that bees stop these crevices out 

 of fear of enemies. Cold air is their 

 greatest enemy, winter or summer. 

 Bees in a state of nature alwaj-s seek 

 sufficient protection from the sun. and 

 no heat is likely to come near them 

 that they cannot displace. 



It ought not to be necessary to make 

 a diagram to explain what I have as- 

 serted. I only marvel that men like 

 Mr. Doolittle. Mr. Root, and others, 

 have not come out in a flat-footed way 

 on this subject. 



Now. if I take an empty hive, light 

 a candle and put it inside, have a 

 small entrance below, and the hive 

 with no ventilating cracks or holes 

 above, the heat, I grant, would be- 

 come very great, and as heat ascends 

 these two holes bored up in the ends 

 would allow it to pass out, and cool 

 air would come in below, establishing 

 air currents or ventilation; but this is 

 not the condition of a bee-hive when 

 filled with bees and comb, and the 

 fatal mistake is in believing it so. 



I herebv- maintain, as far as I know 

 for the first time in print, that any 

 opening in a hive except at the en- 

 trance is folly, and the pei'son who 

 would attempt it, ought to Ijuy shoes 

 and stockings for their ducks and 

 geese, for thej- need them about as 

 much as bees need holes, craclts and 

 big air-spaces. 



Washington. D. C. 



NEBRASKA. 



Honey Exhibit and Prciniunis 

 at the Slate Fair. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY ,1. N. HEATER. 



The honey exhibit at the State Fair 

 held at Lincoln. Nebr., was a fine one 

 and Superintendent E. Whiteomb, of 

 Friend, Nebr., is to be congratulated 

 for getting up so good an exhibit with 

 so light a crop. Our large Bee and 

 Honey Hall was reasonably well filled, 

 and the different exhibits were beauti- 

 fully arranged, and called forth mucli 

 praise from the crowds of visitors wlio 

 thi'onged the hall from early morn till 

 late at evening. 



The following is a list of premiums 

 received : 



Best and largest display of bees, 

 comb and extracted honey, and api- 

 arian supplies, Mrs. J. N. Heater ; sec- 

 ond best. M. Tower. 



Best comb honey, basswood or white 

 c'over. Mrs. J. M. Young ; second best. 

 Mr. Lee. 



Best extracted honey, basswood or 

 white clover, August Davidson. 



Best fall honey. Mrs. J. N. Heater ; 

 second best fall honey, August David- 

 son. 



Best fall extracted honey, August 

 Davidson ; second best, A. C. Tyrrel. 



Best granulated honey, August 

 Davidson ; second best granidated, 

 Mrs. E. Whiteomb. 



Best exhilDit of brood-chamber and 

 surplus comb foundation, full to partly 

 drawn, Mrs. J. N. Heater ; second 

 best, M. Tower. 



Best exhibit of apiarian supplies and 

 implements. Mrs. J. N. Heater ; second 

 best. M. Tower. 



Best display of honey in marketable 

 shape. Mrs. J. N. Heater ; second best. 

 August Davidson. 



Best display of candy and sweets, J. 

 P. Antill ; second best, Larsh Bros. 



Best lioney-vinegar, Mrs. J. N. 

 Heater. 



Best display of bees and queens, 

 Mrs. J. N. Healer, second best. August 

 Davidson. 



Best exhil)it of extracted honey. 

 Mrs. J. N. Heater ; second best. Miss 

 Lillian Trester. 



Best honey-extractor, actual test. 

 Mrs. J. N. Heater ; second best, M. 

 Tower. 



Best all-purpose single-walled hive, 

 M. Tower; second best, Mrs. J. N. 

 Heater. 



Best all-purpose chaff hive. Mrs. 

 J. N. Heater. 



Best bee-smoker. M. Tower. 



Best and largest Nebraska display 

 of bees, honey and supplies, Mrs. J. N. 

 Heater ; second best, M. Tower. 



On the evening of Sept. 10, the St.ate 

 Bee-Keepers' Association met in con- 

 vention at the Bee and Honey Hall on 

 the Fair Ground, with President Muir 

 in the chair, and a full attendance of 

 officers of the Association, and over 40 

 members present. 



Reports from 32 different localities, 

 covering the entire State, showed that 

 bees did poorly until about Aug. 15, 

 since which time enough honey has 

 been gathered to supply the l)ees until 

 honey comes next year. A few report 

 a little surplus from basswood and 

 white clover, and nearly all a light 

 crop of fall honey. Probably the en- 

 tire crop will not exceed 10 pounds per 

 colony, spring count. 



Secretary J. N. Heater and A. C. 

 Tyrrel were selected as a committee to 

 make arrangements for a display of i 

 honey in connection with our State I 

 display, at the World's Fair, in Chi- 1 

 cage, 1893. I 



J. N. Heater, Sec. I 



QRAPES. 



The Raisin Crop of California, 

 and Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY E. F. KABEL. 



Since so much has been said about 

 the bees interfering with the i-aisin 

 crop in California, it will be interes- 

 ting to the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal to know more about the 

 vineyards of that region of our fair 

 countr}'. 



The bees were there first, and had 

 the right of precedence ; the raisins 

 followed, and the growers conspix-ed 

 to expel the bees, but failed to carry 

 their point. 



There is no reason why both pur- 

 suits should not work harmoniouslj'.by 

 each being carefully conducted. 



I will now give some of the partic- 

 ulars about the vineyards, and the crop 

 for the present season. 



Just now there is a great bustle and an 

 imusual activity among the vineyards of 

 southern California devoted to the grow- 

 ing of the grape for raisins. The white 

 clusters of plump fruit, rich in sacchar- 

 ine matter, are being picked. 



CULTIVATING A VINEYARD. 



In the east the product is seen, tempt- 

 ing in its brown wealth of delicious 

 sweetness, nestling enticingly in a bed 

 of laced and embellished paper; but at 

 the vineyard the interest attaches mainly 

 to the progress of tlie grape toward per- 

 fection and the garnering and packing 

 of the fruit. 



Almost every visitor from the "efEete 

 east," as the acclimated and often re- 

 cently imported Califomian is pleased to 

 call the sections beyond the "Father of 

 Waters," accustomed as he is to the stakes 

 and trellis work of home fields, against 

 which the vines are carefully trained, is 

 struck by the peculiarity of the Califor- 

 nia vineyards. There are no vines climb- 

 ing skyward, or disporting in fanciful 

 designs against arbors and lattices. All 

 are cut low, rising not over four or five 

 feet above the ground. 



