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827 



that made the noise ; it must be a sig- 

 nal of distress, so I (juiekly separated 

 the large Qiiinby frames, and found 

 her enveloped in a ball of bees as 

 large as my tist. 



Now, talk about niagnilieent bravery, 

 for I had abandoned mittens and net- 

 ting, and thrust my hand down and 

 scooped up the whole ball, and Hung 

 them on the alighting board, liberated 

 the queen, and re-caged her. Then 

 with ray handkerchief I wiped the 

 perspiration from my brow, for the 

 horse that carried Pliil Sheridan to 

 Winchester, never perspired more than 

 did I, after performing that difficult 

 apieultural sleight-of-hand feat. 



No, that was not the cause of her 

 peeping. After giving the subject 

 careful consideration, 1 came to this 

 conclusion : The perfume being of an 

 agreeable odor, the bees liked to smell 

 of her, and she liked to smell of them. 



The peeping noise was not the signal 

 of distress, but was her way of signify- 

 ing her entire satisfaction with her 

 surroundings. Acting on this hypoth- 

 esis, I again released her, and not 

 hearing from her again, I concluded 

 she was all right, as she proved to be. 



But this operation was destined to 

 terminate in an accident to myself. It 

 was a time when tight pants were in 

 vogue, and one of the disappointed 

 thousand, that I flung on tlie alighting 

 board, managed to crawl up niy pant- 

 aloon's leg, and after reaching a con- 

 venient point of my anatom}', just as I 

 was stooping to pick up a tool that I 

 had been using, the little rascal put in 

 a plea of self-defense with such em- 

 phasis that my attention was at once 

 attracted to its mode of operations. In 

 fact, no member of the animal king- 

 dom ever made a loftier ascension, 

 unless it was the cow that jumped 

 over the moon. To have dismantled 

 in that thickly settled neighborhood, 

 would have been held as inexcusable, 

 even after a deliberate consideration 

 of the circumstances, and therefore, 

 like a plucky fellow, I shook him down 

 on to the ground, and bore the pain 

 without a murmur, not even asking 

 the sympathy or tender ministrations 

 of my wife. 



Allen's Hill, N. Y. 



THE PLACE. 



What is the Best Location for 

 an Apiary? 



Read at the S. W. Wisconsin Convention 



BY C. V. MAIN. 



As I have been assigned the subject 

 of Location, I will give you my idea of 

 what I would consider a good locality. 



I would locate an apiary in llic 

 shade, but not so dense as to hinder 

 the bees in their flight, yet just enough 

 to prevent th(^ direct rays of the sun 

 from shining on the hives, wlii(^h 

 should also be protected from th(! 

 north and west winds in the Spring. 

 I would suggest that the grountl be 

 slightly slojnng to the south or east, 

 where the hives could have the sun in 

 the early morning. 



But before locating an apiary, we 

 must look to the natural honey-pro- 

 ducing plants, shrubs, or trees. If 

 possible, locate near an ample clover- 

 field, as it will greatly benefit your 

 honey-crop ; and if you are fortunate 

 enough to establish your apiary in 

 close proximity to a buckwheat field, 

 it will help out the Autumn honey-flow. 



If I were looking for a place to 

 locate, I would note the early pollen 

 sources, as it is very important that 

 the bees have plenty of pollen (and 

 that early) to stimulate brood-rearing. 

 No time in the j'ear is so important 

 as in the early Spring. It starts the 

 bees to work, stops dwindling, keeps 

 them busy, anil prevents their robbing 

 other hives, 



Tiie following trees are named as 

 some of the most desirable from which 

 to obtain pollen : Soft-maple, willow, 

 ebn, witch-hazel, alder and poplar, 

 while there are a number of flowers 

 that also furnish earlj' pollen. If it 

 can be done, I would settle near plenty 

 of basswood, say within a mile. 



Let me caution everyone to exercise 

 care and judgment in selecting a 

 location. Misfortunes aud small crops 

 may come to you. but with a little 

 forethought, these may be somewhat 

 averted. 



Marietta, Wis. 



STORING HONEY. 



Where to Keep Honey in the 

 Best Condition. 



IT'riftCTi/or the Pacific Riiral Press 



BY S. L. WATKINS. 



Too much cannot be said of the im- 

 portance of proper caring for honey 

 after it is taken from the hives. I am 

 afraid that a great many producers do 

 not give their surplus honey the atten- 

 tion that it requires, by proper ripen- 

 ing, and the grading and selection of 

 packages for both comb and extracted 

 hone3^ 



One of the greatest secrets in the 

 honey business is to have it thoroughly 

 ripened before placing it upon the 

 market. It does not pay to use sec- 

 ond-hand pails and cans for packing 

 and shipping extracted honey. The 

 man who has his honey put up in new 

 cans, with a bright, attractive label. 



will make .'j sales — wlierc tlie man who 

 has used old cans will make one. 



All extracted honey should be 

 graded. In our part of the State we 

 have 8 ditterent grades — the white, 

 amber and dark — ranging in price 

 from 1 to 5 C(uits per pound. Comb 

 honey should also be graded into 2 or 

 3 diflerent grades. After grailing and 

 scraping the propolis from the sec- 

 tions, it should be put in section or 

 shipping-crates, and kept in a warm 

 honey-house. 



Never, ' under any consideration, 

 keep honey in a cellar, or even in a 

 room where the temperature changes 

 so much as to cause dampness to set- 

 tle on the surface of anything. If you 

 do, the aroma and exquisite taste of 

 the honey is destroyed. 



An old man once asked me why the 

 honey obtained from bee-trees in the 

 winter-time, was always superior to- 

 any honey he ever bought or had taken 

 from hives. I told him the reason 

 probably was, that the honey he 

 bought in the stores, and that he had 

 taken from the hives, was not as well- 

 ripened as that taken from the bee- 

 trees. 



The most essential retjuisites for 

 ripening honey are warmth and dry- 

 ness ; and this is especially necessary 

 from the time the honey is stored in 

 the hive, until it is fully ripened. 



In Southern California they I'ipen 

 their extracted honey in large tanks, 

 holding from one to several thousand 

 gallons, aud in most cases the honey is 

 ripened in the open air. A screen of 

 some kind is fastened on the top to 

 keep out bees and insects, and if I am 

 correctl}- informed, they leave the 

 honey in those tanks from 2 weeks ta 

 2 months. 



To an apiarist of small means, who 

 has only a few colonies, and wishes to 

 ripen his extracted honey. I would ad- 

 vise the purchase of a few stone crocks 

 or jars, for they answer the purpose 

 well. In storing comb-honey in a 

 honey-house, be sure to keep it .several 

 inches above the floor, because in rainy 

 and cold weather the honey seems to 

 draw moisture, and the hone}' becomes 

 thin and wateiy. and sometimes 

 acquires a sour taste. 



When you have finished canning all 

 the extracted honey, have it so placed 

 that the sun may shine on it as much 

 as possible. 



(Jrizzly Flat, Calif. 



i^cw' Siil»!'Ofibers can have the Bee 

 Journal and the Illustuated Home Jouk- 

 NAL from now until the end of 1891 for 

 S;l.35. This is a rare opportunity for club- 

 bing two valuable periodicals for a slight 

 advance upon the price of one, and getting 

 the rest of this year free. 



