TMm jtMEKicMis; mmm jowMnRi^. 



727 



here -we" find the lirst, tlie genesis 

 of corn-gi'owing, and all other things 

 likened to it — ha ? 



Botanists inform us that ■•corn" is 

 a native of North America, and all the 

 ditierent species lirst grew, not from 

 seed corn, but grew spontaneous. New 

 plants have appeared springing up of 

 well-known plants where no seed of 

 the species has been sown. What 

 prompts spontaneous growth is a prob- 

 lem, and what causes the seed to ger- 

 minate ? What verif3ing inlluenoe 

 puts vegetable growth into action ? 

 The only answer mortals can give is, 

 the genial atmosphere, rendered life- 

 giving by the rays of light which are 

 absorbed. Not a particle of the 

 ••land" enters into the growth of corn 

 or of trees. Even the ash, by being 

 made liquid, is taken up in a re- 

 growth, or eventually returns from 

 whence it came— the atmosphere. The 

 corn germs consists only of the ele- 

 ments of the atmosphere. The •• very 

 best of land" only acts mechanically 

 in the growth of all vegetation — a 

 medium for the elements, atmosphere 

 and water. The fertilizing matter in 

 soils is all composed of elements de- 

 rived from the atmosphere. 



The editor's reference to corn as a 

 comparison, is speaking after the man- 

 ner of prophets of old. but the likening 

 of that which strictly pertains to the 

 vegetable kingdom, with such as be- 

 long to the animal kingdom, is a sort 

 of logic susceptible, perhaps, of a 

 patent. Surely it has no pertinency in 

 the issue they make in countering my 

 claim, which is endorsed by the 

 bulletin. 



I concede that the able editors of 

 Gleanings are esteemed high authority 

 in bee-matters, but I do not concede 

 that their conclusions are facts. 



The fact that foul brood originates 

 under certain circumstances from un- 

 cared-for dead brood, is a very im- 

 portant matter, for the due considera- 

 tion of bee-keepers, especially those 

 in cold climates. Scribes who are of 

 no importance may teach that it mat- 

 ters not about flne-spun theory and 

 hair-splinting science — ■•we have to 

 deal with foul brood, and it is not 

 important to us, anything concerning 

 its origin." Such apiarists, bj' neg- 

 lecting to care about the subject, and 

 not caring for dead brood, are momen- 

 tously liable to suflcr by foul brood. 

 The neglect to care for dead brood is 

 all-important, because it is the prelude 

 to foul brood — the seed-bed of the 

 disease. 



Richford, N. Y. 



Those tVIio Have any honey to 

 dispose of should use the Honey Almanac 

 as a salesman. We have a few left for this 

 year, and offer them at half price. See 

 page 73.5 of this paper. 



A VISIT. 



Difrorciit Uiiidx of lloiioy — Cave 

 Cellar, elf. 



Written for the Western PLowmun 



BY C. H. DIBBERN. 



While wife and I were returning 

 from a visit to Eastern Illinois, we 

 found that we had a couple of hours to 

 spare at Peoria. The thought .soon 

 suggested itself, why not call on Mrs. 

 L. Harrison, that matchless lady bee- 

 keeper, and able writer on bee-cul- 

 ture. 



The street cars soon landed us with- 

 in a block of her residence, in the 

 suburb of the city. We were soon at- 

 tracted by the long rows of hives, and 

 we almost involuntarily exclaimed. 

 •• That is evident!}' the liome of Mrs. 

 Harrison !" 



We found Mr. Harrison in the apiary 

 with a scj'the, cutting down the weeds 

 in front of the hives, but as soon as we 

 entered the gate he came to greet us. 

 ^V'e found him a very agreeable gen- 

 tleman, of middle age. and familiar 

 with many subjects besides bee-keep- 

 ing. 



We were shown into the parlor 

 by a young lady from Missouri visiting 

 there, and Mrs. Harrison and their 

 daughter Kate soon appeared. Alto- 

 gether, we fcnind the Harrisons as we 

 had expected, to be bright and charm- 

 ing people. 



Of course we had a short ■ • bee-con- 

 vention." A question from Mrs. Har- 

 rison convinced me instantl}" that she 

 is a deep thinker, if indeed I had ever 

 heard a doubt of that before. It was 

 this: -'Whyis it that an egg. that 

 would have produced only a worker- 

 bee, will produce a perfect queen 

 when placed in a queen-eell ?" I an- 

 swered as best I could, that I presumed 

 it was on account of the size and shape 

 of the cell, and the i-oyal food placed 

 there by the bees. T?his seemed to 

 satisfy Mrs. H., but I must own that I 

 felt that I would rather not tr}' to an- 

 swer any more difficult questions, or 

 my reputation as a bee-master might 

 come to grief. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF HONEY. 



To most people •'honey is honey," 

 and this idea seems to prevail among 

 store-keepers, when they fix an arbi- 

 trarj' price on this product. The fact 

 is, however, that there are as many 

 kinds of honey as there are of apples, 

 or of any other fruit. The quality is 

 determined almost entirely by the 

 bloom from which it is gathered, and 

 varies greatly. While it is difficult to 

 get the honey from one variety of 

 blossoms separate, yet the prevailing 

 kind generally regulates the quality. 



The atnio.spheric conditions al.so have 

 much t(j do with the quality, as it is 

 well known that the honey gathered in 

 a reasonably dry time, is much super- 

 ior in flavor, richness and thickness, 

 to that produced in wet weather. 

 Wheu this great difl'erence in quality 

 is once understood, why should there 

 not bo a corresponding difl'erence in 

 price ? As it is, however, dealers gen- 

 erally make very little difl'erence, and 

 the advantage is alwa3's in favor of the 

 poorer article. 



I well remember trying to sell some 

 very fine honey, that was faultless!}' 

 white, bnilt in neat whitewood pound 

 sections, and crated nicely in new 

 crates. I was told, "Your honey is 

 very nice, and we would like to buy 

 some of it. but your price. 15 cents per 

 pound, is entirely too high. Why. we 

 are selling honey at 10 cents." Wheu 

 I asked to see some of this honey, the 

 store-keeper brought out a jar of 

 broken stuft'. that had probably been 

 cut out of some box-hive after the bees 

 had died. Now, why should not a fine 

 article of honey sell as readily for a 

 good price as a bushel of nice apples, 

 or any other superior article ? What 

 inducement is there for us to go to 

 considerable extra expense to have our 

 honey as fine as it is possible to get it. 

 if we are to get nothing for our extra 

 trouble ? 



A CAVE CELLAR FOR BBES. 



We have just completed a cave cel- 

 lar for our Blill Creek Apiary. I have 

 often thought I should like such a place 

 for wintering bees, and I have now got 

 it to my entire liking. 



The apiary is situated on a high 

 knoll, surrounded on three sides by 

 the creek. The bank on the east side 

 is quite steep, and into this we dug the 

 bee-cellar. We made the size 14x1(3 

 feet, and (i feet high. The ground was 

 somewhat higher than the top of the 

 cellar on the upper side, and the lower 

 side was on a level with the floor. The 

 lower side was built up by making a 

 3-foot wall of boards and filling in with 

 the clay removed from the cellar. The 

 sides are also boarded up from the 

 floor, and the roof is also of boards, 

 supported by props. The roof is cov- 

 ered by about one foot of dirt, and a 

 second roof is put on this, to shed the 

 water. 



This second roof is also a great pro- 

 tection against the sun. for contrary to 

 general belief, the difficulty of success- 

 ful wintering does not depend so much 

 on keeping the bees warm enough in 

 wintei". as to keeping them cool enough 

 in early spring. Judging from all my 

 experiences in wintering, the bees 

 should winter perfectly in this cave, 

 and I will report the result later. 



Milan. Ills. 



