1S<I-.' 



(;ij:.\nix(!s in i{ki<: cTii/ruifK. 



u 



tiiul iliiii ;.Mc;il id-olii will result tlicn't'ioni. insi (■(luiitry. iirid then' arc biil IVw clcvatioiis 



'Pill' llainlilfr hits very close at (his matter in that rise to the dij^'iiitvdf hills, ami an Kast.ei'ii 



his answer to iim'iy I'.iT. where he says. " 1 want travelei- limls a Join iiey monotonous: and our 



eirK-liiyliifi lo iio o\\ hrisUly when there is u friemJ. w ho had heeti hei-(( for several moiilhs. 



prospei't of t hose ejoriis hali-liins hees that will missed his native hills. In the evening we i>aid 



srather honey." In other words, if these e}X}is our respects to I'rof. C'ooU, wiio. after t he ardii- 



won't haleli iiees that will y:alher honey, don't ous hihoi's of the day. was resting in I lie coolin^r 



allow tin' e^irs to he deiiosited. Mr. France also shades of llie veranda, 

 comes ri;:ht. to th(> |ioiiit where lie says. " If we 



should introdnce a laying ip"'''" nfter tiie s(^a- 

 son was so far advancd, bees hatched from her 

 esu"^ woidd never fiat her any surplus honey for 

 US. as the season wdnld he over before tliey 

 would hatch out. I would much rather not 

 feed hrood at that time." 



Reader, here is somethin.tr worth carefully 

 thiiiKiiiir over, for by such thinking along these 

 lines inticii prolit may come to you. 



Horodino. X. V.. Dec. 17. C. Nl. Dooi.trTT.F. 



[Your points, as usual, are well taken. Lo- 

 cation, no doubt, does iiavi' a strong bearing 

 ui)on the question. Right liere may we sug- 

 gest tliat this is one of tlie reasons why some 

 of the large honi'y - producers remove their 

 (pteens during the honey season?- priiriarily, of 

 course, to sto^j swarming for the time being, 

 and. secondarily, reduce the working force of 

 bees at a time of year when th(M'e is no honey to 

 be liad. Hee-keepers should study well their 

 locality. They should manage somehow to 

 have a strong working force of the right age 

 when they do havi- a honey-flow, and as light a 

 force as possible when tliere is no honey to be 

 had. and when tlie bees tliat remain ari' simply 

 consumers.! 



RAMBLE NO. 50. 



MKHKiAX AGKICTLTIKAI- C()I,I,K(;E. 



""ITS— I ,^ 



■y>.. 



Lansing, the capital of Michigan, is another 

 name made familiar to a considerable class of 

 people through the name of one man. and that 

 is A. J. Cook. Professor of F^ntomology in the 

 Agricultural College. His wide range of writ- 

 ings, and his valuable hook on bee culture, have 

 made his name familiar to all progressive bee- 

 keepers. Recently calling to his aid my old- 

 time friend J. H. Larrabee. of Vermont, the col- 

 lege had a sort of magnetic influence over the 

 Rambler. We had together tramped the hills 

 of Vermont and New York: rowed and fished 

 for i)ickerel on their lakes, and can you wonder 

 tliat. late one afternoon. I was in Lansing, 

 hunting for the stage that would take me out 

 to the College, three miles distant ? At 4 o'clock 

 the stag<» started from the postoftice. and. with 

 a load of students, a keg of |)ickles, and some 

 other groci'fies. we started. The road was ex- 

 cell(>nt. but somehow the horses had a discour- 

 aged gait, and it was a relief to arrive upon 

 th'^ college grounds and have sometliing else to 

 look at. I soon found the apiary, and. antici- 

 pating that I would immediately see my friend 

 fjarrabee. I was astonished when a young uuiii 

 came to the door, his face lathered for a shave, 

 and. speaking Frenchly. he was -sdus xkjurtit: 

 but he evidently didn't "care a darn." and told 

 me to sit down. ^Vhen he linished his toilet hi' 

 blossomed out into a g(jod-looking young man. 

 and I will intiodiiceyou to Fred, Hro. Larrabee's 

 chum, studying engineering. If I remember 

 right, he informed me that Mr. Larrabee was 

 in the college kitchen experimenting in gas- 

 tronomy. Our friend soon came in: and from 

 his flushed ajjpearance, his labors must have 

 been arduous. We placed ourselves in a vis-a- 

 vis position, and conv(>rsed on eastern themes, 

 and particularly of the lakes and grand hills of 

 Vermont. This portion of Michigan is a roll- 





PHOF. COOK AND HIS f'L.iVSS IX AI'IC'UI.TURE. 



Th(> Michigan Agricultural College was es- 

 tablished in 1857, and is one of the oldest in the 

 country. It has a farm of (100 acres, all under 

 culture, and nicely located on a good stream of 

 water. The many buildings scattered here and 

 there among the trees remind one of those 

 pretty summer-resort villages in Northern New 

 York, Near the center is a campus, or play- 

 ground, of several acres, where the students are 

 put through military drill, and are taught to 

 handle not only the musket but the big guns on 

 the far side of the campus. Base ball and other 

 athletic games are indulged in. It is an inter- 

 esting and long journey to go through all of the 

 departments and over the farm. I sptjnt several 

 days at the college, and found something new 

 to study every day. A portion of the farm is 

 devoted to experimental crops. In one section 



.MK HIGA.N AUKICLI/rURAL C'OLLECtK AIMARV. 



were a large number of varieties of wheat: in 

 another, oats, and so with all seeds that will 

 grow in this climate, all tested as to yield, arid 

 effect of ditlerent fertilizers, etc. Three hun- 

 dred young men are hei'i' i)reparing themselves 

 for future usefulness. The plan piu'sued is to 

 give the theoretical or scientific education, and 

 then put in the practical — study in th(! class- 



