I907-] THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 217 



Bright's disease of the kidneys. No stays at home, as a rule, for about 

 such change is needed in honey; it two weeks, and helps to do the house- 

 is already converted, so as to be ready work of the hive, removing dead bees 

 for immediate assimilation. _ and foreign matter, attending the 



The craving for sweets is natural queen and feeding her, secreting wax, 

 to a child and it is better to satisfy building comb, caring for the larvae 

 it with wholesome honey than with and ventilating the hive, 

 poisonous candy. Ask him whether When first hatched the bee appears 

 he prefers the honey or the butter, to have no desire to collect honey; 

 and see what he will say. And yet, she must first serve her apprentice- 

 a pound of honey will cost only half ship in the hive, before the desire 

 as much as a pound of butter, and will awakens to go forth to the honey 

 go as far. fields. When older she either joins 



So it would be well if we should the field force and collects honey or is 

 get back to the old fashion of having detailed to do sentinel duty at the en- 

 a few colonies of bees on every farm, trance of the hive to prevent any in- 

 especially if there are no other bees trusion from other colonies, 

 near. In one case only is it not ad- Worker bees never sting a queen, 

 visable to keep bees. If someone When they desire to dispense with a 

 within two miles makes a business royal personage, they politely but 

 of producing honey, keeping 50 or fatally cluster about her so closely 

 100 colonies of bees, then you have that she is smothered to death, 

 no need of other bees to fertilize your When a swarm is put into a new 

 blossoms, and it is the kind thing for hive their first care is to build comb, 

 you to leave to him the pasturage for W,hen leaving their old home each 

 his bees, out of which he may have bee filles her honey sac so as to be 

 his bread and butter. provided for the journey. 



There is a great difference as to When the cells are finished and 

 pasturage for bees in different local- nearly filled with honey, they are al- 

 ities. In the north, white clover is lowed to remain open a few days that 

 perhaps the chief source, but some the extra water may evaporate and 

 seasons it may bloom profusely and the honey be properly cured. They 

 yield little or no nectar. The same are then sealed or capped over with 

 thing is true of most honey plants, wax and the work is done. The won- 

 Although there is seldom any sur- derful regularity of the honeycomb 

 plus honey obtained from fruit bloom, jg a beautiful tribute to the skill of 

 it IS of prime importance, because the tiny worker, while its slight ir- 

 used to rear the thousands of winged regularities show it to be the work of 

 gatherers to work on the future har- intelligence rather than of an unrea- 

 vest. So of dandelions. Linden, or soning machine. ■ 



basswood, yields more rapidly than Besides these there is one more 

 any other northern plant, and is in cargo which the bees carry— it is call- 

 some places the chief dependence, ed propolis. This is sticky— a resin- 

 Buckwheat, especially m some sea- ous matter— and is used for the pur- 

 sons and some localities, yields, late pose of gluing shut all cracks and 

 in the season, large quantities of dark, crevices in the hive. When bees can- 

 inferior honey-^although preferred not remove obstructions in the hive, 

 by many. Many other plants yield they often cover them over with pro- 

 honey, and the greater the variety in polis. 



one place, the better.— Home and The habits of the workers account 



l'^'""^- for the cleanliness in the hive and for 



■ ' ~" the exquisite purity of the honeycomb. 



SOME FACTS ABOUT BEES. —Selected from the Epitomist. 



The honey bees are a brilliant illus- 



tration of the blessings bestowed by 



labor. It is their ability and willing- The Chinese claim to be the origi- 

 ness to work which makes them an nators of the newspaper. The Imper- 

 example to everyone. ial Gazette of Pekin is said to have 



The young bee, as she issues from been published for over 1,500 years, 

 her cell, is a babylike creature but in at the side of which modern papers 

 a few days she is at the height of are mere infants and bee papers, oh 

 her strength and usefulness. She where are they? 



