ITH® f£MBRICIEIf BE® J©^KH»lLr. 



249 



As a rule. I believe that bees should 

 form a part of the surroundings of 

 everj- ideal rural home ; not only be- 

 cause it adds to the beauty of the land- 

 scape, but because in the economy of 

 nature, bees are necessary to the per- 

 fect fertilization of the vegetable king- 

 dom. And tlien, you can take your 

 enjoyment as j'ougo — mixed, it is true, 

 with pain and toil, but still a life of 

 enjoyment. 



You have one important advantage 

 over the merchant: Your out-door 

 life gives you a physical vigor which 

 he cannot enjoy ; j-ou have better food 

 than he, even if he eats from the same 

 dish, for he has not the same hunger to 

 spice it. The man who eats his food 

 with a thorough relish is the better 

 man for it physically and mentally, and 

 perhaps morally and spiritually. 



Let not one suppose that bee-keeping 

 connected with farming is a pleasant 

 pastime which lazy and incompetent 

 people can take up with success ; for 

 the lazy and incompetent, there is no 

 success ; for the lazy and incompetent, 

 there is no place anywhere. It would 

 be well for them to die at once, if they 

 were tit to die. But any man or 

 woman who will learn the business and 

 begin wisely, can find in bee-keeping 

 with farming, a healthful pursuit. 



If farming were conducted in a bet- 

 ter way than it usually is, and a few 

 colonies of bees kept in connection 

 with it, the two pursuits would be 

 found to harmonize. As a rule, farm- 

 ers attempt to woi-k too much land, 

 and the consequence is a low grade of 

 farming, poor crops, their crops of 

 both grain and fruit are inferior, and 

 if there is a Ijee-keeper near, they are 

 apt to try to make themselves believe 

 that the bees are the cause of the poor 

 crops. If instead of trying to farm 

 200 acres, they would put the same 

 amount of labor on 80, and keep about 

 50 colonies of bees, sowing Alsike 

 clover, buckwheat, etc., the investment 

 would be much less, and I think that 

 the results would be more satisfactory ; 

 and then, at times, if the farmer was 

 not well balanced, he would almost go 

 crazy with so much to see to. 



Perhaps this question might be 

 asked : What branch of farming would 

 be best to unite with beekeeping ? I 

 wouldadvi.se stock and poultry raising. 

 Whatever branch the farmer maj- take 

 up, he must expect to forsake all for 

 that branch. 



" Wben the loud clear notes of the dinner-horn 

 Are heard hy the fsirmer while plowing the corn. 

 With the day just bejiiin on a flne summer morn. 



To him it was warning 



That tlie hees are swarming. 

 And the interest ip equal to a new baby born. 

 Old Doll is left standing alone in the row. 

 In the spot where the dinner-horn prompted the 



'whoa,' 

 And off 10 the house, in a sweat he must go. 



For when bees go a-f rollicking 



Like bobolinks rollicking. 

 No time must be Inst in delays, you know." 



Fremont, Mich 



BASSWOOD 



Iloncy a$ h ^Icdicine — Planting 

 Linden Trees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY n. O. KKUSCHKK. 



I have recently been examining my 

 apiary, and the bees have wintered 

 splendidly. 



Sore Eyes an«1 Erysipelas. 



About two years ago my neighbor, 

 Wm. Megow, had the misfortune to 

 have one of his eyes put out. He re- 

 ceived remedies from our best doctors, 

 but they gave him no relief. Having 

 heard that honey was good for sore 

 ej'es, he sent his son to me after some. 

 I sent him extracted honey, which gave 

 him immediate relief. He diluted it 

 with water and dropped it into the eye. 



Mrs. Esther Worden, of Necedah, 

 Wis., was suftering with erysipelas ; 

 she was advised to bathe the aflected 

 or broken-out places with diluted 

 honey. She did so, and was cured in 

 a very short time. 



Plantiiisr UassM'oodl Xrees. 



I attended our State Bee-Keepers' 

 Society meeting at Madison, in Feb- 

 ruary. It was as good as any meeting 

 that I have ever read reports of — that 

 is not saying mucli, however. Very 

 little was done of practical value to 

 •bee-keepers, aside from becoming ac- 

 quainted with some members of the 

 "sweet" fraternity. The onlj' thing 

 having real benefit to bee-keepers in 

 view, was a resolution, requesting cit}' 

 and town authorities to include the 

 basswood in their shade-tree selections. 



I would like to see something better 

 inaugurated regarding basswood. It 

 is planted so sparingly as compared 

 with elms or soft maples. It is cer- 

 tainly as beautiful as these, and by far 

 more useful, and no tree is hardier or 

 more easily grown. 



What I am thinking of is this : The 

 State should grow linden trees for 

 gratuitous distribution. Bee-keepers 

 could then take them, and plant them 

 along the streets, ro3.ds, and in parks ; 

 and the authorities should look after 

 such trees when planted. Bee-keepers 

 would not be asking too much, for fish 

 are hatched for our sportsmen, and 

 also game wardens are kept. Money 

 is distributed to liorticultural and agri- 

 cultural societies, stock-breeders' and 

 wool-growers' societies, and to State 

 and County fairs, etc. We would only 

 be very modest in our request, and I 

 am sure that we would meet with little 

 difliculty in obtaining it. 



The nicest lane I have seen for a 

 long time, is the one leading from our 

 State University (at Madison) grounds 



to the Kxperimental Fann. It is neai'ly 

 half a mile long, and is lined with 

 linden trees on either side the whole 

 length. Bee-keepers, wake up ! Favors 

 are granted to those who ask for them. 

 I would like to hear from others re- 

 garding my ideas of planting linden 

 trees. 



Duester, Wis. 



BEE-SUPPLIES. 



Some Good Sug^gestionii to tiiose 

 Wtao Vse Bee-Supplies. 



Read at the New York Convention 



BY C. W. COSTELLOW. 



In these days of sharp competition, 

 an}' business, to be succes.sful, must be 

 conducted with great economy, even to 

 (and I think that I ought to say es- 

 pecially in) the smallest details. Bee- 

 culture, in all its branches, is no ex- 

 ception to this rule. To the older bee- 

 keepers, I hardly think that I can give 

 any new advice, but to those compara- 

 tively young in the business, I may be 

 able to ofier some points which will 

 be profitable for them to consider. 



First, I find that we can reduce our 

 expenses in two ways — by a saving on 

 the first cost of the supplies, and by 

 getting the most value, or use, out of 

 those supplies. 



Nearly all of the dealers in bee-keep- 

 ers' supplies offer discounts for goods 

 purchased during the winter months, 

 and one of the easiest ways to save, is 

 to take advantage of these discounts. 

 Dealers like to do this, for several rea- 

 sons, viz : Without these discounts 

 there would be comparatively nothing 

 done in the supply trade in the winter ; 

 and then, they like to have these early 

 orders, to relieve the crowd and rush 

 of business during the honey season. 

 It also keeps the business moving, and 

 furnishes the cash with which to run it 

 through the dull season. 



The bee-keeper should include in 

 one order, all that he will be likely to 

 need throughout the season ; by this 

 means, he has the advantage of whole- 

 sale-rates. Here we also get another 

 advantage, namely, on transportation. 



Exjircssage on transportation of 

 heavy goods is always expensive. K 

 the goods are shipped by freight, the 

 greater the weight, the lower is the 

 freight, up to 100 pounds. For illus- 

 tration, the rate on' supplies from 

 wliere I live in Maine, to Boston, Mass., 

 is, for a package weighing 5 pounds, 

 25 cents ; on a package, or several, 

 weio'hing 100 pounds, it is 25 cents ; 

 and on a package, or several, weigh- 

 ino' 200 pounds, it is only 30 cents. So 

 you see that a great deal can be saved 

 by ordering the supplies all at once. 



