AMERICAN BEE JOUHNAU 



599 



many stings about the head and neck. 

 There is much in knowing how to han- 

 dle bees to avoid stings, but any person 

 who undertakes to handle them should 

 bear in mind that stings are a part of 

 the business. 



KEEPING DOWN GRASS IN AN APIARY. 



At the beginning of the swarming 

 season the bee-keeper will realize that 

 the grass is growing rapidly and becom- 

 ing a great hindrance to all operations 

 in the yard. How to get rid of grass in 

 the bee-yard is a problem that has been 

 much discussed from time to time in 

 bee-periodicals. Every bee-keeper who 

 has tried the scythe among bee-hives 

 knows that he soon heard something be- 

 sides the swish of the scythe. Some ad- 

 vocate the use of a lawn-mower. I have 

 solved the problem by the introduction 

 of a sheep into the bee-yard. My yard 

 is about five rods square, and one sheep 

 keeps the grass down in the flush of the 

 season._ If a larger yard is required put 

 in two sheep. A sheep will eat early 

 and late, and during the heat of the day 

 retreat to the shady side of the yard 

 away from the bees. 



This early and late feeding when the 

 dew is on, accounts for the fact that 

 sheep will thrive in a dry season without 

 water. A sheep will eat ofif the grass at 

 the entrances of the hives if nowhere 

 else. I can see two reasons for this — 

 the grass becomes sweetened by the bees 

 passing over it with the sweets they 

 have gathered, and it also becomes 

 richer and more tender by reason of the 

 cleanings of the hive. 



I have dwelt at some length upon 

 this subject, for I feel that a sheep once 

 in the bee-yard will not be discarded. 



HARVESTING THE HONEY CROP. 



Inexperienced bee-keepers dread the 

 work of removing the surplus honey 

 from the hive. When a large quantity 

 of honey is produced, a complete honey- 

 house is necessary. I take off honey at 

 the break of day, and place the cases or 

 boxes where the first rays of the morn- 

 ing sun will strike directly upon them. 

 By the time I get ray cows milked most 

 of the bees have left the cases and re- 

 turned to the home nest. Be careful 

 not to wait until the bees get to coming 

 from the hives, as there would be seri- 

 ous trouble. When the bees threaten to 

 come from the hives, remove the cases 

 to a shady place where the bees remain- 

 ing may be removed without much diffi- 

 culty. 



In taking off the cases or boxes from 



the hives, I light my smoker, pry up the 

 case or box a little, blow a few puffs of 

 smoke in the opening, and then remove 

 the case without difficulty. 



After much experience I have settled 

 upon rotten wood as the best thing to 

 use in the smoker. This can be found 

 in old stumps by a little search. The 

 wood must not be too ^much decayed — it 

 should be firm enough to stand quite a 

 pressure between the fingers. Honey 

 should be stored in a warm, dry place, 

 and never in the cellar. 



Enormous yields of honey are some- 

 times realized, but it is well for the bee- 

 keeper to remember that 50 pounds per 

 colony is a fair yield. 



The last three years have been crush- 

 ing on the bee-keeping industry in most 

 parts of the world. Were honey a neces- 

 sary article of consumption, and no adul- 

 teration practiced, it would command 

 30 cents per pound to-day. Comb honey 

 is more than twice the price of extracted, 

 and simply because the consumer places 

 reliance upon the comb as proof that it 

 is floral honey. 



But once some bee-masters virtually 

 lent sanction to the practice of feeding 

 sugar for the production of comb honey ; 

 all under the plea that sugar-honey is 

 the same, chemically considered, as 

 floral honey, and that the consumer, at 

 any rate, will not know the difference. 

 It is a matter of deep regret that such 

 leading lights in the bee-world lent a 

 helping hand in bringing a pure floral 

 hon ey into disrepute. Right here I 

 have to hold myself from drifting into 

 politics, but remembering the heading 

 of this essay, I will simply say that com- 

 bination, Baisrepresentation, and adul- 

 teration are running rampant in the 

 United States, and consumers must be 

 on the alert, and arm themselves with 

 sharp and well-directed javelins of law. 



Cresco, Iowa. 



A J^eiif" Edition of " The Bee-Keepers' 

 Guide; or Manual of the Apiary," by Prof. 

 A. J. Cook, has just been issued by the 

 publishers of the Bee Journal. Sixteen 

 thousand copies of this excellent and com- 

 plete bee-work have already been sold, and 

 it is to-day as standard as ever — Plain — 

 Practical — Scientific. It contains over 450 

 pages, is beautifully printed, neatly and 

 substantially bound in cloth, and is sent 

 postpaid for $1.25 per copy; or clubbed 

 with the Beh Journal for one year — both 

 for $1.65. 



Farmer's Ne^v Ciriiide — see page 579. 



