THif mmmmioKjfi wmm journsi,. 



441 



^Aimikmk a^^* 



cost. Of course, two one-pound sec- 

 tions cost a little more than one two- 

 pound section, but as the.y are sold 

 with the honey, they will weigh a little 

 more, too. I think th.-it the bees will 

 store just as much in one size as the 

 other, and I thinlc that the one-pound 

 sections make the best-sized eases to 

 put on the hives. They are also a 

 little the nicest to handle in every way. 



Tlie one-piece basswood sections I do 

 not like so well, although they are 

 more quickly put together. They are 

 never so white, and are often inclined 

 to be "woolly" and rough. The 

 naughty corner is also liable to spoil 

 some adjoining comb, if not carefully 

 handled. 



Milan, Ills. 



MICHIGAN. 



Its Xorllicrii Resource!* for the 

 Production of Honey. 



Written for the Michigan Farmer 



BY GEO. E. HILTON. 



As several have written me, asking 

 if I thought their locality adapted to 

 bee-keeping, I have prepared the fol- 

 lowing, hoping it will aid many in 

 judging for themselves. 



If one takes the time to observe, 

 and the trouble to enumerate them, he 

 will be astonished at the almost endless 

 variety of honey-yielding plants within 

 the State. It would require a skilled 

 botanist to name them all. The all- 

 wise Father has provided nearly all 

 trees and plants with either honey or 

 pollen to attract the insect world. He 

 i spreads a continual feast for the bee, 

 ' that the important object of perfect 

 fertilization may be more easily at- 

 tained. 



The bee that sips from flower to 

 flower, i-ollicking in the golden dust 

 among the newborn anthers, playing 

 "hide and seek" in the opening corol- 

 las, is performing a work of untold 

 value in the wise economy of nature. 



The honey secreted in the blossom is 

 for the purpose of inviting ci-oss-fertili- 

 zation, and to prevent in-and-in breed- 

 ing. If no insect is there to utilize the 

 drop of nectar, it is evaporated and 

 scattered to the four winds of heaven. 

 No one is richer for the ungathered 

 sweets ; and no one is jjoorer whose 

 fields are searched by the tireless little 

 workers, who,se instinct leads it to 

 g.arner the evanescent riches which, of 

 a truth, take to themselves wings and 

 fly away. 



From the trailing arbutus, that peeps 

 out of the snow on some hillside, to 

 the last frost flower in autumn, there 

 is almost a continual succession of 

 honey-producing flowers, whose wealth 



of nectar ought to be utilized as one of 

 the resources of this grand State. 



California may occasionally astonish 

 us with her magnificent honej- crop, 

 but in Michigan, where "the early and 

 latter rains " are not only promised 

 but sent, we are always confident of a 

 reasonable surplus. 



The pastures and roadsides are cov- 

 ered with white clover, which yields 

 the finest honey in the world. The 

 rivers and lakes are generally skirted 

 with basswood timber, one of the best 

 lioney-producing trees in America, 

 yielding a nectar that is prized for its 

 beautiful amber color and aromatic 

 flavor. 



Every fence corner and neglected 

 field is planted by the hand of Nature, 

 as though she were trying in some way 

 to counteract man's shiftlessness. by 

 making the earth bring forth abun- 

 dantly some of the good things of life. 

 It is of importance to bee-keepers to 

 know just when this succession of 

 bloom occurs, that tlie}- may have their 

 bees in the best possible condition to 

 secure the nectar. So far as my ob- 

 sevation and knowledge extends I will 

 briefly enumerate tliem : 



About the first pollen comes from 

 willow and soft maple, usually about 

 the middle of April, varying with the 

 season. In the earlj- part of May 

 comes the hard or sugar maple, and 

 this tree deserves more than a passing 

 notice ; it produces both hwiey and 

 pollen in large quantities, and I some- 

 times feel that were our bees in the 

 same condition they are at the ap- 

 proach of basswood bloom, we would 

 receive nearly the same results. 



Fortunately, my bees three years ago 

 were ver}' strong early, and manj- of 

 them stored considerable honey from 

 this source, and it being followed 

 closely by the raspberry and black- 

 berry bloom (with which this country 

 abounds), I securred at least a thou- 

 sand pounds of surplus previous to the 

 opening of white clover bloom, from 

 60 colonies in my home apiary. 



White clover opens from the 1st to 

 the 15th of June, and in my 12 years 

 of bee-keeping, has but once failed to 

 give us a fair surplus. 



There is no gap between clover and 

 basswood in this latitude ; in wet sea- 

 sons the clover often continues until 

 after basswood ceases. The basswood 

 opens from the 4th to the 20th of July, 

 according to seasons, but cannot be 

 depended on in this latitude ; it is more 

 sensitive and mure dependent on at- 

 mospheric conditions than any other 

 bloom. In this latitude we usually 

 get one or two da3s however, and once 

 I remember that ten days it secreted 

 honey during the bloom. I find it 

 does better along rivers an'd lake 

 shores than on the uplands. 



After this there is a gap in tlie 

 honey-flow until the buckwheat, fire- 

 weed, goldeii-rod, asters and boneset 

 come into bloom, in which, asitle from 

 buckwheat, this country al)ounds : it 

 usually alVords us some surplus, but the 

 greater part goi^s to the brood-nest fin- 

 winter stores ; in fact I liave never had 

 to resort to sugar for winter stores, 

 and I hope I never shall. 



There are many more annuals and 

 shrubs that go to make up the honey 

 flora of northern Michigan, and we 

 have some disadvantages our Southern 

 brethren do not have, but taking all in 

 all, I think the northern half of the 

 lower peninsula better adapted to the 

 pursuit of bee-keeping, and that the 

 honey is of better quality than in the 

 southern half. 



Fremont, Mich. 



Z. A. CLARK. 



Bee-Keeping Declared Xot a 

 Nuisance. 



A Condensed Histcyry of tlie Case, 



DEFENDED BY THE UNION. 



In May, 1887, the Arkadelphia City 

 Council, Ark., passed an Ordinance, 

 which, with its preamble, re.ad thus : 



The preamble states that, "Whereas, a 

 petition from many citizens of Arkadelphia, 

 having been previously presented to this 

 Council, setting forth tliat the raising of 

 bees or keeping them In the City of Arka- 

 delphia was injurious and destructive to 

 property, such as early fruit, and dangerous 

 to citizens when riding in vehicles or on 

 horseback upon the streets, and a pest in 

 many of the liouses in said city, having 

 stung many persons, and especially chil- 

 dren, while walking the streets and side- 

 walks." 



The ordinance as adopted is substantially 

 as follows : 



" Be it ordained by the City Council of the 

 City of Arkadelphia, That it shall be un- 

 lawful for any person or persons to own, 

 keep or raise bees in the City of Arkadel- 

 phia, the same having been declared a 

 nuisance. 



"That any person or persons keeping or 

 owning bees in the City of Arkadelphia are 

 hereby notified to remove the same from 

 the corporate limits of the City of Arkadel- 

 phia within thirty days from date hereof." 



Section 3 provides a penalty of not less 

 than S5.00 or more than Sas.OOfor a violation 

 of the ordinance. 



The cause for this action was the 

 fact that Mr. Z. A. Clark, who has 

 kept bees in that city, wjis not in politi- 

 cal harmony with those in power, and 

 the latter sought to punish him and 

 get rid of his presence, by prohibiting 

 the keeping of bees within the cor- 

 porate limits of the city. 



Some of the more ignorant ones de- 

 clared that his bees were " eating up 

 the peaches !" and others, that they 

 were "eating up the young ducks!" 

 Preposterous as it may appear to those 

 who are better informed concerning 



