312 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



tlie frames over the top, and being 

 enabled to form a compact mass in 

 the warmest part of the hive, save 

 food and the wear and tear conse- 

 quent upon its consumption in or- 

 der to make the necessary heat. 



3. Limited apace. The size of 

 the hive shouUl be regulated ac- 

 cording to the size of the colony, 

 by removing extra frames and con- 

 tracting the space with a division- 

 board, so that the bees will be 

 rather crowded for room, and so 

 have less space to keep warm. 

 The combs should be spread a 

 little farther apart for winter than 

 for brood-rearing in the spring and 

 summer, sa}^ If inches from centre 

 to centre, instead of 1 1 inches as is 

 usual, by that means allowing more 

 of the bees to cluster together be- 

 tween them. 



4. Good ventilation at the bottom 

 of the hive; that is, the entrance 

 should be kept clear and open, but 

 no ttjnvard ventilation, except so 

 much as may pass through three or 

 four inches of chaff or sawdust 

 packing, which maybe placed over 

 the bees to keep down the heat. 

 Where openings are left above the 

 bees, either from a misplaced mat 

 or ill-fitting cover, it causes a 

 draught of air through the hive, 

 and consequentl}' great loss of heat, 

 which should- be particularly 

 guarded against. 



Galena, Md. 



Weatern Ploughman. 



THE RESTORATION OF 

 PAYING PRICES. 



C. H. DiBBERN. 



One advantage that beekeepers 

 will secure by the very small crop 

 will be the restoring of prices to a 

 pa3'ing basis. It remains to be 

 seen whether they will allow com- 



petition, or a lack of proper dis- 

 tribution, to again force ruinous 

 prices on them, as soon as a rea- 

 sonably fair crop is produced. 



I do not think that the ver}' low 

 prices, prevailing for the past few 

 years, were caused by over-produc- 

 tion, but rather a 



LACK OF JUDICIOUS DISTRIBUTION. 



Here is a case in point : A few 

 daj's ago, while passing a store, 

 ni}' notice was attracted to some 

 small baskets of what appeared to 

 be very fine peaches. They were 

 packed in nice new baskets with 

 skeleton covers of alternately^ white 

 and red colored wood, and the 

 fruit itself was further covered with 

 salmon-covered mosquito netting, 

 giving to it a hazy and very pleas- 

 ing etfect. Upon inquiring the 

 price, I was somewhat surprised 

 to find it $1.00 per basket, holding 

 not more than one-half peck. I 

 remarked that it was pretty high ; 

 but the dealer produced his bill 

 from a commission merchant show- 

 ing that they cost him 90 cents. 

 Thinking that only a very reason- 

 able prolit, I bought a basket and 

 took them home for Sunday. What 

 was my disappointment upon 

 opening the basket to find the fine 

 peaches onl}' on top, about a dozen 

 of them, the rest being small, half 

 ripe, fit only for cooking. Here I 

 was pa\'ing $8.00 per bushel for a 

 very inferior fruit. I happened to 

 know that in the adjoining state of 

 Missouri, better peaches could be 

 bought for 15 cents per bushel. 

 Of course I want no more such 

 peaches at those prices. The nice 

 packages were all right, and added 

 greatly to their selling value. It 

 is also valuable to put the best on 

 top, just as we put the whitest 

 comb honey next to the glass ; but 

 it is dovvnright dishonesty to put 

 an entire!}' inferior grade where it 

 cannot be seen. 



There is also something radically 



