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277 



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Apiary of Walter llariiier. 



The illustration on this page presents 

 a view of the apiary of Mr. Walter 

 Harmer, of Manistee, Mich., together 

 with his small-fruit garden and poultrj-- 

 yard, of which he has sent us a descrip- 

 tion, reading as follows : 



Seven years ago my brother and I 

 bought two acres of land in the suburbs 

 of the cit)-, and which was not fenced 

 or cultivated, but covered with stumps 

 and logs. The view looks south, away 

 from the city, and the enclosure shows 

 about two-thirds of one of the two 

 acres mentioned above. All the build- 

 ings in sight (but two) have been 

 built lately. The picture was taken 

 by my brother last August, from the 

 top of the fence on Eighth street.which 



and were put out as follows : One red, 

 one white, one blue ; one white, one 

 red, one white, etc., one-half of them 

 being white. 



When I was putting the hives out in 

 the spring, I tliouglit, " What a nice 

 name, ' Red, White and Blue' would 

 he for an apiary ;" and in a day or two 

 afterwards I was handed a card witli 

 the name, "The Red, White and Blue 

 Apiar}' ;" and also on it the name of 

 Geo. E. Hilton. Of course I gave up 

 the idea of using that name, but I 

 like it just as mucli, and I know that 

 Mr. Hilton is capable of doing justice 

 to any thing, or name, that he adopts. 



I keep a brick on each hive, which 

 helps to insure the bees against dam- 

 age by wind. 



Next will be seen a strawberry-patch, 

 which I intend planting to raspberries, 

 for I find that they pay me better in 



smooth, SI) it will be seen that this part 

 of the building is exceedingly useful. 



The windows work on a pivot in the 

 centre, whicli makes them very con- 

 venient for letting out bees. There is 

 a Root cliali'-hivo standing under the 

 window, between the two balsam-trees. 

 Tlicre was a great deal of ripe fruit on 

 llie bnslies when the view was taken, 

 and the writer is supposed to be busy 

 gathering it, but in reality he is having 

 his picture taken. 



Tlie little building at the rear of the 

 bee-house is in size 13x20 feet, and will 

 accommodate about 30 head of poultry; 

 tlie main building is 23x50 feet, (not 

 shown in tlie picture, being on the 

 right hand side) and will accommodate 

 150 head more, which I think is 

 enough to have on one acre. I have 

 about one-fifth of the ground in grass, 

 where the poultry must be contented 



Apiary of Mr. Walter Earmer. 



runs east and west — west to Lake 

 Michigan about 1} miles. 



My a])iary is on the left, as will be 

 seen. Mr. A. I. Root, when on a visit 

 here in the winter of 1887-88, pro- 

 nounced my 38 colonies of bees in ex- 

 cellent condition. I believe that his 

 words were, "I never saw bees in 

 nicer condition in a cellar." They 

 wintered well, but the following Au- 

 gust (the time this picture was taken) 

 found my apiary dwindled down to 18 

 colonies. I had sold only one that 

 spring, but the season was the coldest 

 and latest that I ever knew. In the 

 fall I doubled 2 colonies back, making 

 16, which are in good condition to-d.ay 

 — April 3. I can sympathize with those 

 bee-keepers who secured no increase 

 and very little honey last season. 



It will be seen that there are 40 8- 

 frame Heddon-Langstroth hives out, 

 for I had empty hives placed for the 

 increase (that did not come), and are 

 all sloping toward, and facing the east, 

 but set with a spirit level, crosswise. 

 They are painted red, white and blue. 



connection w\th poultry and bees, than 

 do the strawberries. 



The three rows of bushes directly in 

 front of the house are currants, the 

 rows being about 90 feet long, and 

 yielded 252 quarts of fruit last season. 

 If what experience I have had is worth 

 anything, I can strongly recommend 

 the gi'owing of currants, as well as 

 raspberries, in connection with the 

 keeping of bees and poultrj'. Every 

 season's work seems to throw light in 

 the direction of showing the numerous 

 advantages in connecting these three 

 branches of indnstr}'. 



The bee-house, as I call it, is 12x24 

 feet, and the cellar will hold 100 colo- 

 nies. The first floor consists of two 

 rooms, one 8x12 feet, for a honej*- 

 room, or for anything to be kept from 

 dust; the rest is a work-shop, store- 

 house, etc. The upstairs part gives a 

 great deal of room for storing every- 

 thing not in use at certain times of the 

 year ; there is plenty of room to walk 

 upright in it, the roof being steep ; and 

 the rafters and roof-boards are dressed 



for a week or two, while the fruit is 

 being gathered. 



I am rather discouraged in this 

 localit)' for bee-keeping — mj' chosen 

 pursuit. I can alwaj-s get a good crop 

 of fruit and eggs, as I have a sprinkler 

 in connection with the Cit}' Water 

 Works ; but for the production of honey 

 we want a more genial climate, where 

 a cold wind is not likely to blow from 

 the large Northern Lakes (like Lake 

 Michigan) for nine months in the year. 



The Rev. Robert Collyer has given 

 to Cornell University the factory bell 

 which called him to work at ti a. m. 

 and sped him home at 8 p.m., when 

 between 1831 and 1838, he was a fac- 

 tory operative in Fewston, Yorkshire, 

 England. In his letter to President 

 Adams, he says : " It will be pleasant 

 to think of it as born again, converted 

 and regenerate, now while the ages of 

 Cornell endure, calling people to nobler 

 occupations, and so much more welcome 

 — a sweet bell, I hope ; not jangled out 

 of tune and harsh." 



