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tection (because natural) thaa a 

 dummy. 



Take it all in all, however, I only- 

 state my own views. Mr. Robbins 

 states his. The question itself will 

 probably never be settled. One thing 

 is sure, however, viz : the 10-frame 

 Langstroth hive leads, so far as tlie 

 one from which the best yield as yet 

 has been obtained. 



North Attleboro, Mass. 



ITALIANIZING. 



How to Secure Pure Italian 

 Colonics of Bees. 



Written for the Indiana Farmer 



BY J. M. HICKS. 



How can we successfully and with 

 certainty rear pure Italian queens, is 

 a question we have often been asked. 

 We answer, just procure a pure tested 

 queen (two are better) early in the 

 season, and introduce her into a full 

 colony after taking the old queen 

 away ; then stimulate the colony with 

 some sweetened water (evening is 

 best), in order to prevent robbing. 

 This will start early breeding. 



As soon as you have combs contain- 

 ing drone-brood, you can make a few 

 queenless colonies, and at the end of 

 eight days cut out all queen-cells you 

 find, and interchange a frame of brood 

 from the Italians to the queenless ones, 

 and they will again make more queen- 

 cells from the fresh eggs given them. 



Then is also a good time to kill a 

 few more black or impure queens, and 

 insert one or two cells taken from the 

 abundance of those you first gave 

 Italian brood, which will hatch in 

 ample time to head off any that might 

 be made from anj- impure colonies. 

 By this time you will have plenty of 

 pure Italian di'ones for all practical 

 purposes. 



This plan of rearing queens in strong 

 full colonies I think will give better 

 satisfaction than the nucleus method, 

 giving stronger and more vigorous 

 queens. My idea for using two queens 

 in starting is very obvious, that of 

 having drones from two different 

 mothers. 



It would be well for all practical 

 bee-keepers to remember that in order 

 to succeed with bees and make them 

 profitable, we must provide pasturage 

 for them, such as Alsike clover, buck- 

 wheat, mustard, etc. These and many 

 other farm crops are very valuable for 

 honey. 



I feel impressed with the importance 

 of having at least a few acres of 

 Alsike clover, as it is the best crop for 

 having a fine quality of honey ; per- 



haps it is the best flavored of all 

 others. 



As to quantity or number of pounds 

 per acre, it is not excelled by any 

 other clover, often producing 500 to 

 800 pounds. I now have a nice sam- 

 ple of Alsike clover honey 20 years 

 old, as nice iiavored to-day as it was 

 when extracted in 1869. 



Indianapolis, Ind. 



IN CLiOTER. 



Written for Tick's nivstraUd Magazine 



BY EBEN E. REXFORD. 



Let me lie down in the Clover, 

 Where the Daisies scatter snow, 



And the yellow bees fly over 

 As my fancies come and go. 



Dwellers in a royal palace 

 Have not softer couch than mine ; 



And, lo, here's a lily chalice. 

 Brimming with the morning's wine. 



Yonder brooli sings low and softly ; 



But I cannot catch its words. 

 As they blend in silvery music 



With the notes of breeze and birds. 



In this sweet, still summer weather 



It is easy to forget 

 That our life has toil or trouble — 



Has a cloud, a jar or fret. 



Why should we try to remember ? 



It is well to dream and rest. 

 And forget that we grow weary. 



Though our dreams are dreams at best. 



Happy he who puts away 

 Thoughts of daily life and strife. 



Who is deaf to din and discord 

 Jarring through the chords of life. 



Let me lie thus in the Clover, 

 As a child on mother's breast. 



And, awhile the hours fly over. 

 Dream sweet dreams of peace and rest. 



OUR RIGHTS. 



Bee.Kcepcrg Have Rights that 

 must be Respected. 



Written for the Colorado Farmer 



BY GEO. A. STOCKWELL. 



Animal and insect life contributing 

 to man's welfare is entitled to consid- 

 eration and support. Of all insects 

 bees are tlie most useful. Other in- 

 sects distribute pollen and fertilize 

 flowers, but only for their own use. If 

 all insect life should perish, a great 

 shrinkage in the products of the fields 

 would result. The flowers of some 

 plants are so constructed that they 

 cannot fertilize themselves — the pollen 

 must be distributed by insects. The 

 bee is the servant of man, even if it 

 gathers honey for its own use only. 



In some cities and towns, bees have 

 been sought to be banished beyond the 

 limits. It is believed that, in all cases, 

 this action of the authorities has re- 

 sulted from spite on the part of those 

 who made complaint, or from misap- 

 prehension of bee-nature. 



If a person unacquainted with bees 

 be stung by a wasp, then the colony of 

 bees in the neighborhood is condemn- 

 ed. Bees mind their own business, 

 and molest none unless they are dis- 

 turbed. In a lai'ge city, witliin twenty 

 feet of the sidewalk of a great thor- 

 oughfare, bees, sometimes 4 or 5 colo- 

 nies, have had their head-quarters for 

 25 years. As the bees' houses cannot 

 be seen from the street, probably the 

 neighbors, unless old residents, or ac- 

 quainted with the owner of the bees, 

 do not know that thousands of bees 

 dwell within a stone's throw. 



The bees' pasture is the world at 

 large, unhemmed, or not hemmed by 

 board or barb-wire fences. Thou- 

 sands of bees come and go in every 

 garden, and no one is the wiser, but 

 every garden-holder is richer. One 

 man, out of spite, sued his neighbor 

 for damage done by bees. As there 

 were many bees in the place, the bees 

 complained of might belong to bee- 

 keepers other than the neighbor pros- 

 ecuted. 



[A high-board fence should be main- 

 tained between the apiary and the 

 sidewalk, for safety as well as for 

 privacy. It would save apprehension. 

 —Ed. 



QUEENS. 



Their Improvement means Bet- 

 ter Bees and more Honey. 



Written for the Western Farmer 



BY DR. J. W. VANCE. 



As so much depends on the quality 

 of our queens, it is very essential that 

 we should be posted in the best 

 methods of producing queens of the 

 highest grade. A good deal has been 

 written on the subject during the past 

 ten j'ears. Many have turned their 

 attention to it, and developed a regu- 

 lar business of producing queens for 

 the market, shipping them to all parts 

 of the world through the mails. 



No doubt apiculture has been greatly 

 benfited by it, for there has been un- 

 doubtedly a steady improvement in the 

 quality of bees, in gentleness, in activ- 

 ity, and capacity for work. There has 

 been a looking forward for the " com- 

 ing bee," and occasionally some en- 

 thusiastic bee-keeper has shouted 

 " Eureka !" as he beheld the bee that 

 his careful and persevering eftbrts have 

 developed. But the end is not yet. 

 Perfection is yet in the future. Per- 

 haps improved methods, and a clearer 

 understanding of the nature and 

 physiology of this most wonderful in- 

 sect, may enable us to reach the result 

 sought. 



