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the: AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



LC-t the bees out of, when full; and wlien 

 the honey seuson is over 1 join those tilled 

 nnd sealed ones together into full cases, and 

 extract the honey from those partially tilled, 

 find they arc worth pounds of honey the 

 next season in starting tlie tees to work 

 early on surplus, and thereby also })revent 

 .^warming. By having one full siz.ed comb 

 in the middle of the case, and small combs 

 •or pieces warmed and stucli fast to the 

 frames I secure straight combs and a comb 

 to eacli frame every time. 



"Do bees injure fruit V" I see is now up 

 for debate. I say, no ! I have grapes hang- 

 ing over and all around them, and so have 

 also my neighbors. I have watched them 

 closely and though I frequently see them on 

 the ground at the broken and fallen grapes 

 and occasionally a defective one on the 

 vine I have never yet seen them open a 

 sound grape. I have observed that tliey 

 act in "the presence of, or in going over 

 sound grapes as if tliey liad no idea of 

 sweets being in their neighborliood, but 

 break one open and they then soon go for it. 

 Three years ago one of my neighbors did 

 complain about my bees eating all his 

 grapes, and lie said lie would not get any, 

 tlie latter was really true, for he got very 

 few, but it was because they Avere diseased, 

 as he soon discovered, and nearly all fell 

 off or rotted on the vine. 



"Do king-birds eat worker bees?" is an- 

 other question whicli has been disputed, but 

 I say from personal knowledge that they 

 do, and a great many of them too; while I 

 am writing, I hear tliem up in tlie air on the 

 top of some large maple trees which sur- 

 rounds my neighbor's house. They are af- 

 ter bees, for I have shot a number of them 

 and sometimes their craws were stuffed with 

 bees, and on careful examination I found 

 most of them to be worker bees. I have 

 also watched them in the park, (which is 

 full of them, as they are not allowed to be 

 shot.) They are very tame there, and there- 

 fore I could get close to them. I have seen 

 them leave a small twig of some ornamen- 

 tal shrub and dart doAvn among the white 

 clover, take a bee, and return to the twig, 

 iirst beat the bee to death holding it in its 

 ))ill, and then swallow it, and in a few min- 

 utes, go for another, I can assure you I felt 

 very much like going gunning for king- 

 birds about that time. 



Artificial combs have been talked of in 

 Conventions and in the Journal. Has any 

 one succeeded in getting bees to work and 

 raise brood in them ? If so, can any one 

 inform me wdiere to send for one, as I 

 would like to see and try them. I have an 

 idea that they might be made of vulcanite, 

 such as is used in making artifiicial teeth, 

 as it is put to almost every use now. 



At the Centei-.nial Fair to be held in Phil- 

 .-idclphia in l.S7() almost every' interest that 

 can be mentioned except bee-keeping' has 



been referred to an appropriate committee. 

 Why is this? There are several org inized 

 bodies of bee-keepers in the United States. 

 I thought I would call attention to it through 

 the Journal, though I know there is some 

 objection to having bees Avhere there will 

 be such a lage number of people and horses. 



Philadelphia, Pa., J. R. "Wells. 



P. S. I wish those who advertise would 

 state price, and not wind up w'ith send for 

 circular, for bee-keeping time is often 

 precious, queen raisers I fear sometimes 

 forget that in filling orders. W. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Fruit and Forest Culture in Nebraska. 



At this time there is great interest at- 

 tached to the subject of tree-planting on the 

 prairies. It is a Avell settled point that the 

 forests of the country — vast as these are — 

 will not forever bear the enormous demands 

 now made upon them. As trees grow rap- 

 idly in prairie soil, it is beyond doubt that 

 the great plains Vtill aflbrd sites for some of 

 the forests of the future. Not forests 

 where for hundreds of miles there is noth- 

 ing but trees ; but forests, after the fashion 

 of the old world — except that the main in- 

 cident in their creation will not be to afford 

 coverts for game — where woodland, arable 

 and pasture alternate Avith each other. In 

 Nebraska, the settler has special induce- 

 ments to plant trees. The law of the State 

 gives a bounty in the shape of remission of 

 taxation for tree-planting; and, in four or 

 five years, tiie farmer begins to reap Iiis ad- 

 vantage in fuel groAvn upon his land, and 

 in the fruit ripening in his orchard. The 

 new timber hxAV, also, will stimulate forest 

 culture. This laAV, as amended by Con- 

 gress during its present session, gives 160 

 acres of land to Avhosoever will plant forty 

 acres to trees, and cultivate the same for 

 eight years; and this Avithout any condition 

 as to residence, so that a homesteader or 

 buyer of railroad land can, when there is 

 Government land in his vicinity, have 160 

 acres as a gift, if he will plant one-quarter 

 to one of the most profitable crops that can 

 be put into the ground. Some time ago 

 your correspondent was favored on this 

 matter of tree-growing, Avith the experience 

 of Mr. V. C. Uttley, of Nursery Hill, Otoe 

 county, Nebraska, Avho has resided eleven 

 years on a Nebraska farm, and Avho, be- 

 fore that, Avas a farmer in Ohio. He says 

 that the fruit grower need have no fear in 

 planting on the open prairie. Apple trees 

 tlourish on the highest blulls, care being 

 taken, by the planting of cottouAvood as a 

 wind- break, to shelter the orchard from the 

 liighest Avinds. ]\Ir. Uttley has also found 

 the black Avalnut adapted to Nebraska soil ; 

 and indeed, it is naturally adapted inasmuch 

 as on' the banks of our rivers and creeks 



