THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



knowledge gleaned from the field at 

 large, and also based largely upon my 

 experiments, may not prove to be of 

 very great importance to the fraternity, 

 or as interesting to the public as the 

 article going the rounds, and published 

 in a number of western newspapers, 

 entitled, "Why Cats do not Grow Fat." 

 Madison^ Neb. A. C. Tyrrel. 



SH-ALL WE EMIGRATE? 

 From our observations upon the 

 honey resources of our country, it is 

 evident that there must be a radical 

 change in methods, or a change in bees 

 to increase the yield, or beekeeping as 

 a business will be among the things of 

 the past. This applies especially to the 

 eastern states, or in localities either 

 east or west, where a high state of culti- 

 vation exists. Where the country is 

 comparatively new, an abundance of 

 wild flowers aid in the general yield. 

 Basswood, sumach and millions of rasp- 

 berries, of themselves, give an excellent 

 yield. But the destruction of all of 

 these, and the substitution of fruit and 

 clover, makes the yield too unreliable 

 for the patience of the average Amer- 

 ican. We discover in our Rambles 

 that good localities where the yield has 

 been one hundred pounds, have fallen 

 to forty, and in some instances to only 

 an average of twenty pounds per colony. 

 Where our yields are so light we nat- 

 urally turn our eyes to a more certain 

 field, and just now the Alfalfa fields of 

 the far west have a charm for beekeep- 

 ers. For what greater charms can there 

 be than a steady flow, an equitable 

 climate, and a ready sale for the pro- 

 duct. 



The beekeeper of the east, however, 

 should not despair, for he has around 

 him a plant that would rival the Altalfa 

 in quality and quantity for the time it 

 is in bloom. Red clover is a forage 

 plant that takes the lead in all highly 

 cultivated districts and the honey flow 

 in the flower is permanent, for in the 

 dryest weather and the most unfavor- 

 able season honey is found in the little 

 follicle at the base of the long flower 



tube. It was hoped for a time that 

 Alsike clover had come to supplant the 

 red, but the red has qualities of soil 

 regeneration that the Alsike can never 

 attain to. And, even if it could, the 

 structure of the flower is such -that it 

 would never equal the red in its yield 

 of nectar. 



With the end in view to reach this 

 vast field of resource, we should never 

 discourage the improvement in the bee 

 and that bee whether Italian or Carni- 

 olan, or any other race that will gather 

 this honey, will be the American bee 

 or the future. The object of this arti- 

 cle is to keep this fact in view, that we 

 have an unworked bonanza before us, 

 and we have either got to develop it or 

 emigrate — which shall it be ? — The 

 Rambler. 



WINTER PLANNING. 



MICE IN HIVES— MANAGKMENr Ol«' BKES AT 

 SWAKMING TIME. 



Oh ! but won't the old wise beekeep- 

 ers turn up their noses when I rise 

 among them to explain my new half- 

 hatched plans ; well, anyhow new to me. 



Perhaps it is because I do not read 

 enough, though I take and read about 

 all the bee-papers, or else, it may be, 

 that you adepts are so busy discussing 

 advanced points that you never have 

 time for instruction to beginners, but I 

 seem to find out my troubles first, and 

 then read something on the subject much 

 later. For instance, last winter we put 

 the bees on the brick floor of the cel- 

 lar. There was not a rat or mouse hole 

 anywhere, but after a little the rats dug 

 through the plaster, and— just what they 

 did, I shall never know. 



Of course, they let the mice in, but 

 I had never read a word about mice in 

 hives, did not know they liked honey, 

 and had no idea a mouse could go in at 

 an entrance, so I rested in peaceful ig- 

 norance. 



There were no bees about the cellar 

 bottom, but I noticed that sometimes 

 when I went into the bee-ceUar, that 

 some one hive would seem to be hold- 

 ing high jinks of some sort, the bees 



