TtlJjJ AMJliKiUAiN 15±!i£i JUUitiNAii. 



able for bee-keeping. AVe believe 

 there are few farms on Aviiicli bees, 

 IH'operly managed, cannot be kept with 

 some profit, bnt there are neighbor- 

 hoods, and mnltitndes of them, pccnli- 

 arly suited to bees, wliere i)crhaps 

 hardly any hives are kept. What we 

 contend for is, that bee-keeping de- 

 serves to rank side by side with the 

 other economies of the farm ; and we 

 maintain that while "enormous profits" 

 are not to be expected nor cases of fail- 

 ure prevented, there are few invest- 

 ments of time, trouble and outlay that 

 "will pay better, if indeed so well, as 

 those connected with a rightly manag- 

 ed apiary. C. 



Timely Suggestions. 



The cold nights of this month should 

 remind bee keepers that rugs, mats or 

 quilts are ueeded on all colonies. Even 

 the strongest are the better for this 

 comfortable provision, and the safety 

 of the weak ones absolutely depends on 

 it. Examine and be sure that no hives 

 liave combs of sealed honey in the cen- 

 ter. If there are any,an exchange may 

 be profitably made between the empty 

 combs of one colony and the full ones 

 of another. The entrances of all hives 

 may be contracted and mice absolutely 

 shut out. Though the danger is less 

 now than in the spring, fjtill it is best 

 to prevent it. 



All necessary feeding must be done 

 now, and enough may be given in two 

 or three days to any colony to prevent 

 starvation. We have taken a hive fill- 

 ed "with combs without one ounce of 

 lioney, put in a good swarm of bees feed 

 them 20 pounds of sugar syrup in three 

 days, had it all taken into the combs and 

 i^ sealed over, and no colony could win- 

 ter better under any circumstances than 

 did this one. AVe do not advise this 

 way, as best by any means ; but sug- 

 gest it as possible to those who liave 

 colonies that will starve in their present 

 condition. 



If a colony has too few bees, it is use- 

 less to feed it unless it be kejit in a 



warm place and fed regularly a small 

 quantity at a time to keep it increasing 

 in number. This involves trouble, and 

 may not pay, but it can be done. 



Be sure that yuu have a queen in each 

 hive. It is not well to disturb bees 

 in this month, except when they are 

 flying Ireely on their own accord. Al- 

 ways select such days to open hives, 

 and do it quickly as i)Ossible. The less 

 they are disturbed, the better, after the 

 working season is over. T. 



Premiums at County Pairs. 



The manner of offering and awarding 

 premiums for bees, queens, honey, etc., 

 etc., at some of our County Fairs is 

 amusing to those acquainted with the 

 business. Look at the following, for 

 instance, which we cut from a premium 

 list. 

 Best Italian queen bee, caged. . .$10 00 



2d best 5 00 



Best black queen bee, caged. ... 8 00 



2d best 4 00 



Best collection Italian drones, 



caged 4 00 



Best collection black drones, 



caged 2 00 



Best collection Italian workers. . 6 00 

 Best collection black workers. .. . 3 00 



How much the judges can tell about 

 a queen bee bv looking at her caged, 

 any bee man or Avoman can tell you. 

 She may or may not be prolific, she 

 may be a drone layer, (the very best 

 looking queen we ever saw never pro- 

 duced a worker bee 1) How are the 

 judges to decide by her looks whether 

 she is worth the $10.00 premium or is 

 one of the kind which NoAuce describes 

 as dear if sold three for five cents. We 

 have little doubt that one of the 

 Avorthless ones would look better to the 

 judges than a pure prolific imported 

 queen. 



It is often the case that a beautiful 

 bright queen raised from a pure moth- 

 er is fertilized by a black or hybrid 

 drone, yet this does not etfect her looks 

 in the least. 



Can our judges decide this matter by 

 looking at her in a cage? 



We think further comment on this 



