356 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



any bees that are outside the hives is 

 found tlirough the open door. 



Tliere is plenty of space to work the 

 extractor in the center of the build- 

 ing. On inquiring if there was an ap- 

 parent difference in the prosperity of 

 the colonies facing the different as- 

 pects, Mr. Schlosser said that those 

 exposed to the afternoon and evening 

 sun, which induced the bees to fly 

 out again, are placed in the most un- 

 favorable position ; but as long as the 

 entrances are not exposed to the di- 

 rect rays of the sun it makes no differ- 

 ence whether they face nortli, south, 

 east or west, and the only drawback 

 which he finds to his " pavilion " is, 

 that when quite filled, the colonies 

 are placed in too close proximity, 

 whicli causes the loss of many queens 

 in their return from their wedding 

 flight. 



Fairs and their Advantages.— The 



Capitul, Topeka, Kansas, makes the 

 following remarks on this subject : 



The inception of an agricultural 

 fair puts in motion the best elements 

 of farm life. It stimulates a laudable 

 ambition with reference to the local- 

 ity interested. If it is a township 

 fair, the township at once has a repu- 

 tation at stake ; if it is a county fair, 

 then the county comes in to be sus- 

 tained ; if it is a state fair, the whole 

 state is to be represented ; and, in 

 every case, all individuals interested 

 in the good name of the township, 

 county or state feel concerned about 

 the success of the fair. It has the 

 effect to organize the working powers 

 of every community. 



A fair is an advertisement for the 

 community interested, and for every 

 individual person who participates. 

 If the general display is good, it gives 

 a good reputation to the people rep- 

 resented ; and in detail, every single 

 exhibitor has opportunities for show- 

 ing his own skill and success in his 

 specialty if he have any. Every ex- 

 hibitor meets hundreds of new ac- 

 quaintances, and he learns to talk to 

 ttiem. He becomes a public man for 

 the time being. 



This assocuition with his fellow 

 men, and in connection with his own 

 vocation, affords to the farmer many 

 opportunities tor improving hiuiself 

 socially, and for acquiring informa- 

 tion that would never come if there 

 were no fairs. Their educating ad- 

 vantages are seen on every hand. 

 Not only the farmer himself, but his 

 family and friends are benefltted. 

 Tliey become partners in his gains, 

 and share in his success. 



Fairs operate to make men and 

 women better, larger hearted, more 

 liberal ; they give men larger and bet- 

 ter views of life and labor; and better 

 than all, they educate farmers and 

 their sons and daughters to regard 

 farm life more favorably. Many 

 fanners look upon their calling as 

 common, and witliout attractions. 

 This is a fatal error with some. Fairs 

 correct this evil. They elevate the 

 standard of labor, and help make 

 farming appear to be what it really is, 

 the most independent, manly and 

 honorable of callings. 



Bees Injuring Fmit.— A late num- 

 ber of the Western Rural, has an 

 amusing burlesque on the subject of 

 bees injuring fruit. Of course, there 

 could have been no more conclusive 

 evidence presented to the Dutchman's 

 mind that bees did really injure his 

 fruit, than to have a swarm attempt 

 to cluster in his apple tree. So, too, 

 with many Who most positively assert 

 that bees destroy their grapes ; they 

 have found the grapes punctured or 

 the skins cracked open, and have dis- 

 covered bees in large numbers sipping 

 the juice, and this is sufficient ground 

 with them upon which to base the as- 

 sertion that bees do injure fruit, and 

 to petition their condemnation* as a 

 nuisance. Following is the squib : 



We once told a Dutchman of our ac- 

 quaintance that bees did not injure 

 fruit in the least, when he .said that 

 he knew better and gave the follow- 

 ing argument to prove that bees do 

 inj ure fruit : " Vonce a long vile ago 

 I vent into mine abble orchard to 

 glime a bare dree to kit some beaches 

 to make mine vrow a blum budding 

 mit; und vent I kits away up on de 

 toppermost limbs, a hole lot of pees, 

 pees vat come for honey gitten, two, 

 tree, five dousand hundred of em 

 game, ven I vos on de highermost 

 pranches, und tey schting me all over 

 so pad as never vas, und right before 

 mine vace too, und I not know vere 

 I am, so I vail town so high up, mit 

 one leg on both sides of de bicket 

 vence, und like to stove my outsides 

 in. Viis you say, hey I Peas no steal 

 de fruit, ven 1 ketch 'em at it?" 



Swarming and Dividing for Increase. 



—The Indiana Farmer gives the fol- 

 lowing on the above subject : 



There are no certain signs as to 

 just when a colony will swarm, so far 

 as outside indications will show, more 

 than the clustering of bees on the out- 

 side of the hive, and the hanging of 

 pollen gatherers with the cluster out- 

 side instead of entering tlieir hive, 

 but by examining tlie frame fre- 

 quently, watching the progress, one 

 can soon tell when they are about 

 ready to cast a swarm, and as soon as 

 the queen cells are about ready to cap 

 over is the best time to divide. Prob- 

 ably the safest and easiest way to 

 divide, is as soon as they are ready, 

 lift out the frame, bees, brood and all 

 on which the queen is found ; place 

 this frame in the new hive, filling out 

 with frames of comb or foundation, 

 or if you do not have either, fill out 

 with empty frames. Now place the 

 new hive, containing the old queen 

 on the old stand, moving the old hive 

 to a new location. By this plan you 

 throw nearly all the working bees 

 where the most work is to be done in 

 the new hive, and they will proceed 

 to work the same as though they had 

 swarmed naturally. But if the old 

 bees had made up their mind to swarm 

 and you had left a queen cell on the 



frames you had placed in the new hive, 

 they will sometimes swarm anyhow, 

 so you will notice to tear them down, 

 if any exist before closing them up. 

 The brood in the old hive hatching 

 out very rapidly will soon make a 

 good colony. The space in the old 

 hive from where you removed the 

 frame should be filled with comb, or 

 foundation, for if an empty frame be 

 placed there the bees will fill it with 

 drone comb as they seldom make any- 

 thing else while without a laying 

 queen. In eight or nine days after 

 dividing, all the queen cells except 

 one should be taken out, so as not to 

 cause after swarms. 



For tlie American Bee JournaL 



Florida as a Bee Country. 



W. S. HART. 



On page 233 of the Bee Joubnai. 

 Mr. T. S. Roys cruelly sweeps Florida 

 clear out of the bee-keeping world 

 with a few graceful turns of his pen. 

 He also kindly shows the " great 

 guns " the folly of their theories, and 

 sets them right (?) "as to the cause 

 of dysentery, diarrhea, etc." Ac- 

 cording to his statement and the date 

 of his letter, he liad been in this State 

 nearly three winter months. 



He says : " My observations have 

 only extended to the peninsular por- 

 tion of the State, and from what I 

 know of that, would say, don't come 

 here to go into the bee business. I 

 am somewhat of a beeasticus myself, 

 and know whereof I speak." If he 

 has been to the peninsular portion of 

 the State, he evidently has not been 

 over it. He must have gone down a 

 pine ridge and returned the way he 

 came. 



Tlie writer did not feel competent 

 to give a decided opinion of the honey 

 resources of Florida until he had been 

 here as many years as Mr. Roys had 

 months and been clear around and 

 pretty well over the " peninsular por- 

 tion of the State." My opinion was 

 then so well founded that I have as 

 yet, after being here seven years, seen 

 no cause to change it. However, I 

 perfectly agree with Mr. R. in advis- 

 ing " all to look before they leap " 

 into this or any new country for a 

 permanent stay. Among the hun- 

 dreds of letters that I have written in 

 reply to enquiring bee-keepers, I do • 

 not think one cah be found wherein I 

 have advised selling a home in the 

 North to come South, without first 

 coming here to see how the country 

 suits. 



This is a peculiar country to the 

 Northerner. It has more advantages 

 and disadvantages than any State 

 that I am acquainted with. Some 

 people it will suit well, others it will 

 not ; but whoever comes here with a 

 determination to stay, backed by 



