THU misammicmn bseu journri,. 



281 



custom ; and in these was a mass of 

 dead, moldy bees, clogging the en- 

 trance and obstructing the passage- 

 ways between the combs. lu a reposi- 

 tory so warm as mine was, it would, 

 unquestionably, be better to have am- 

 ple ventilation below, at least. 

 Forest City, Iowa, April 20, 1889. 



PREMIUMS. 



Illinois State Fair Still Bcliiiid 

 the Times. 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY .MES. L. HABRISOX. 



The Illinois State Board of Agricul- 

 ture met in Peoria a short time ago to 

 make arrangements for the coming 

 State Fair. I embraced the oppor- 

 tunity of going before this body to 

 speak a good word for the busy bees. 



I was cordially received, especially 

 by Mr. Skeavington, superintendent of 

 farm-products and pantry-stores. He 

 said that it was an industry that ought 

 to be encouraged, but that many mem- 

 bers of the board were so interested in 

 horses that they could not see it. He 

 said that one of his neighbors, a sickly 

 woman, was told by her physician that 

 she must exercise in the open air a 

 great deal, so she engaged in bee-cul- 

 ture, and from her small apiary of 25 

 colonies, one year she realized over 

 $800. It was too late now, however, 

 to make any changes in the premium 

 list, as it was in the hands of the prin- 

 ter, but they would try to do more for 

 us another year. 



Mr. Skeavington seemed to think 

 that it was an industry especially 

 adapted to women, as they needed ex- 

 erci.se in the open air to keep them in 

 good health, and said his wife was 

 quite interested in it. 



One year I wrote to the Secretary of 

 the State Board, complaining of the 

 small favors to bee-keepers, and he 

 said, " It is your own fault. Why don't 

 you come to Springfield, lay in jour 

 claims, and represent your interests to 

 the Board while in session ?" This is 

 no doubt true, and we should not 

 grumble when we neglect our own in- 

 terests. I shall do my level best this 

 year to " lobby " for the busy bee, and 

 with what success, time alone will tell. 

 Illinois is far in the rear with her honey 

 exhibits in comparison with some other 

 States, while she is second, if not first, 

 in honej'-production. Let us arouse 

 from our lethargy, gird on our armor, 

 and show to the world what the great 

 State of Illinois is capable of produc- 

 ing in choicest sweet. With this end 

 in view, let one and all work with a 

 will, and assist our busy workers in 

 eveiy possible way. 



Those who expect to win the blue in 

 the fall, in this Stale or any other, 

 should be up and doing. If the pre- 

 mium lists are notalreadj'in the hands 

 of the printer, see liou- they read. The 

 premium list for the Illinoi." State fair 

 of last year reads : "Largest and best 

 display of comb honey, iS.OO." Tell it 

 not in Gath, neither in the streets of 

 Askelon, lest the l)uckeyes, badgeis 

 and wolverines of the neighboring 

 States rejoice. The premium should 

 be, rather, on the best honej", t» the 

 best marketable shape. 



Years ago, when the State Fair met 

 at Pcori.a, the first premium on comb 

 honej- was awarded to a large glass 

 vessel of comb honey, that had taken 

 the bees two years to fill ; conse- 

 quently much of it was tough and dis- 

 colored. I suppose it was given the 

 blue on account of its novelt}-. Choice 

 comb honey in sections, in the best 

 inarketdble shape, could not be seen, 

 whilst it was in the foreground. The 

 first premium on extracted honey was 

 given to a two-quart jar of strained 

 honey. The woman who exhibited it, 

 said, " I don't know what makes it 

 look so cloud}- ; it was nice honey be- 

 fore I strained it through the cloth." 

 In competition with this jai'' was a 

 gross of Mutli's one-pound honey-jars, 

 filled with the choicest white clover 

 honey, tin-foiled and labeled. 



Who should lie a judge of honey, 

 bees, or supplies ? Should he be a 

 breeder of Normans, Holsteins, Essex 

 pigs. South Downs, or of Bronze tur- 

 keys, pigeons, dogs or ferrets ; or 

 one whose bread and butter depends 

 upon the little busy bee's work ? Pro- 

 ducers of honey, and dealers in the 

 same, ought to know something of that 

 commodity. A carpenter would be a 

 poor judge of a bee-hive, though he 

 could tell which was made the best. 



I have seen hives at fairs which 

 drew large crowds — and their glib ex- 

 hibitor claimed tliat they were one of 

 the greatest inventions of the nine- 

 teenth century — that an intelligent 

 bee-keeper would not tolerate in his 

 yard ; hives with cunning little drawers 

 — and how the glib exhibitor pulled 

 them in and out, showing them to his 

 delighted audience. A bee-keeper 

 would know at first glance that when 

 the hive was occupied with bees, those 

 cute little drawers would be propolized 

 so tightly that no power could get them 

 out,except chopping the hive to pieces. 



A judge of be<is ought to be some 

 one who has reared winged stock. 

 How would the breeders of horses and 

 cattle like Mrs. Harrison for a judge 

 of their stock ? They would soon say 

 that she might be a good judge of 

 babies, bread, pickles, and sauerkraut, 

 but what could she know of the good 

 points of a horse ? 



WINTERING. 



Allcntlins College and to Bcc» 

 at the Same Time. 



TFrittCTi/or the Avie>-lcan Bee Journal 



BV ALLEN LATHAM. 



All the past winter I was intending 

 to write some articles stating some of 

 my ideas on wintering, fall honey, 

 pollen, etc , b>it 1 neverfound the time 

 to do so. Perhaps some one would 

 ask, " How can you attend College and 

 take care of 30 colonies of bees at the 

 same time?" Tliat was a problem 

 which I had to settle, and I believe 

 tliat I have settled it. I think, by 

 using a non-swarming plan, and a few 

 d.ays out of mj- college hours, I can 

 run the apiary also, when college is 

 out, by June 20, which enables me to 

 keep the busj- colonies straight. 



Xlie Wintering Problem. 



So man}' bee-keepers are still speak- 

 ing about the " wintering problem," 

 but I left that three years ago. It may 

 look presumptuous in me to say that 1 

 have mastered the problem, but until I 

 lose a few colonies, I shall still claim 

 to have done so. I settled on a plan 

 of wintering bees four years ago, and 

 I have not lost a colony in wintering 

 since that time. One of my neighbors 

 adopted my plan, and has lost 3 colo- 

 nies ; but each case was one of starvcv- 

 tion, and so must be ruled out. 



Last fall I put my 20 colonies of bees 

 into winter quarters, and left them, to 

 go to my studies. The past week, 

 when I was at home, they were 

 " booming" — not a colony having been 

 lost. I h(q)e, before next fall, to put 

 my method before the eyes of Ameri- 

 can bee-keepers in other words in the 

 columns of the Amekican Bee Jour- 

 nal ; and tlius let it be tried. I claim 

 tliat there is no more need of losing 

 bees in the winter, than of losing a. 

 hoi-se — nor, indeed, so much need. 



Combs FilleU M-itb Pollen. 



About combs getting filled with pol- 

 len : When I began bee-keeping, I 

 used to lament about having the combs 

 tilled with pollen ; but now, when I 

 find a comb packed with pollen, I say t 

 ■• Won't that be a fine start for some; 

 weak colony next spring ?"' 



The Amount of 'Winter Stores.^ 



Mr. Pond, on page 250, says that a 

 ten-frame hive is none too large when 

 the colony is expected to store its win- 

 ter food. In Lancaster, where I keep 

 my bees, asters and golden-rod fnrnisli 

 the winter food for the bees, and at 

 tliat time of the year, I do not want 

 more than four frames of bi-ood. No 

 colony ought to eat more than 5 pounds 



