616 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



that tile draining has nothing to 

 do with it. 



I have many times this summer 

 talked with a certain theorist on this 

 subject, who believed that tile-drain- 

 ing is a cause of drouth. I said to 

 him, "Your argument must be based 

 upon the theory that local rainfall 

 depends upon local evaporation." 

 " Yes." " Then will you please, at 

 your leisure, tell me how many gal- 

 lons of water it will require to cover 

 Iowa one inch deep V And since we 

 get an average rainfall of about 35 

 inches annually, where does the 

 water come from, as there is not 

 water enough in all our rivers, lakes, 

 creeks and sloughs to cover the State 

 one inch deep ?" He has not yet an- 

 swered that question. If that theory 

 were correct, then Minnesota with 

 her thousands of lakes, the British 

 Isles surrounded by water, and va- 

 rious other localities that might be 

 named, ought never to want for rain. 



Another peculiar feature of this 

 dry summer has been the precipita- 

 tion of moisture west of what is con- 

 sidered the rain- belt. Parts of Da- 

 kota that usually get a much less 

 rainfall than Iowa, have this year 

 been blessed with enough for crops— 

 and that, too. where the country is so 

 dry as never to need draining. 



So I infer that the great " cycle of 

 the years" will again swing round, 

 and we shall again have all the rain 

 we need— if not more — notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that a few farmers are 

 trying to drain the malaria- breeding 

 districts in which they are compelled 

 to live. Let us possess our souls in 

 patience. Drain your farms if they 

 are wet in ordinary years. We shall 

 again have the "early and latter" 

 rains. Indeed, while I am writing, 

 the " windows of heaven " are open, 

 and we shall have several inches of 

 rainfall at this one down-pour. 



Forest City, 5 Iowa. 



Farmers' Advocate. 



Honey— Marleting and Winter Care, 



A. B. STINGER. 



The same general rules which guide 

 us in marketing extracted honey are 

 applicable in the case of comb honey. 

 It should be made attractive to the 

 eye, and satisfying to the taste ; and 

 should bear the name of the producer 

 upon each package of this kind, how- 

 ever small. 



The greatest care should be taken 

 to prevent the surface of the comb 

 being soiled or broken. If so dis- 

 figured it should not be put upon the 

 market unless it can be sold without 

 the producer's name. The sections 

 themselves should be scraped and 

 sandpapered till they shine, and the 

 crates should be either white and 

 clean, or nicely stained or painted. 

 Each package should " set off " its 

 contents. 



Honey should not be sent to market 

 in the half stories or cases of the 

 hives, but in nice white crates made 

 for the purpose, with glass at one 

 side, at least. Tliere is a great deal 

 in a show of honey, and so the more 



of these crates piled up in a window 

 the better, because the honey is made 

 more attractive, and also more con- 

 spicuous. 



The winter care of honey is im- 

 portant. Extracted honey, if not 

 kept in a constantly warm place, will 

 granulate, that is, will become hard 

 and white, and appear much like lard. 

 Many people think this change in 

 honey a sure sign of adulteration, 

 and begin to talk of sugar. (Such 

 poor creatures do really deserve our 

 pity; but we must overcome a just 

 contempt on our part before we can 

 bestow such a sympathy.) The gran- 

 ulation of honey is the best test of its 

 purity ; if adulterated with glucose, 

 honey will not become solid ; or if 

 with granulated sugar, it will become 

 caky, and have crystals through it, 

 and likely a hard crust on top. 



To re-liquify honey, it is only neces- 

 sary to warm it slowly and thor- 

 oughly. Proceed as follows : 



Take a tin or iron vessel of suffi- 

 cient size and place inside of it a 

 wooden block or light iron -grating of 

 some kind about half an inch high, 

 and large enough to support the ves- 

 sel containing the honey. Place this 

 latter vessel upon its support, and fill 

 the outer one with lukewarm water as 

 high as possible without covering 

 the honey. Remove the lid from the 

 honey and place the whole affair over 

 a slow tire ; keep the water just under 

 the boiling-point till the honey is all 

 melted. Seal it up again while warm. 



Honey (in the comb) should be kept 

 where it is dark, dry and warm. The 

 light will spoil the color of the cap- 

 ping ; dampness will burst the cells 

 and sour the honey; and cold will 

 granulate it. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Season— An Olfl-Fogy Bee-Keener. 



E. W. WALES. 



I began the season of 1887 with 27 

 colonies of bees in an average con- 

 dition, and obtained 175 pounds of 

 comb honey, and 75 pounds of ex- 

 tracted, in all 250 pounds. I increased 

 my apiary to 58 colonies. The combs 

 of one colony melted down in August, 

 and one was robbed, leaving me 56 

 colonies for winter. Taking the sea- 

 son through, I must say that it is the 

 poorest I have known in the 15 years 

 of my beekeeping. 



I had a conversation with Mr. R. 

 O. Lintz, of this place, who is a very 

 intelligent and successful bee-keeper. 

 He said that the present season was 

 the poorest he has ever known, and if 

 the outlook for next season was not 

 good, for good prices for honey, he 

 would feel almost discouraged. His 

 advice is to stick to it, hoping that 

 we may blessed in the future. Like 

 mine, his crop was not one-fourth of 

 what it ought to be. We have had an 

 almost unparalleled drouth. 



I recently talked with an old-fogy 

 bee-keeper living several miles f ro n 

 me. The first question he asked me 

 was, " Have you any bees on hand V" 

 I informed him that I had 56 colonies. 



I then asked him the same question, 

 and his answer was "No." 



Seven years ago last .lanuary I 

 visited his apiary ; it consisted of 44 

 colonies of bees. There the hives 

 stood, some looking like the famous 

 " leaning towers," and others nearly 

 perpendicular; but all were the pict- 

 ure of squalid poverty and woe. The 

 sun had just arisen, and was casting 

 its light over the snow-manteled hills 

 and valleys. I took a survey of the 

 surroundings, and it was easy to see 

 the key to the position. The hills 

 and cliffs were covered with bass- 

 wood (linden trees), while willow and 

 soft maple were everywhere to be 

 seen. The fields furnished white 

 clover, and the river bottoms gave a 

 perpetual bloom. All this was what 

 supported these bees, in spite of utter 

 dilapidation. 



While I stood there, my friend no- 

 ticed that I was interested in an old, 

 old sycamore-log " gum " about 3 feet 

 high, which was split open on both 

 sides, from top to bottom, and bound 

 together with an old rusty chain. 

 Coming to where I was, he said: 

 " That ' gum ' of bees is 30 years old." 

 I attempted to explain by saying, 

 " You mean that you have had bees 

 in that log for that length of time." 

 He replied. " I say that them bees are 

 30 years old." I gave it up ; he ought 

 to know. 



Some of his " gums " had glass 

 through which you could see the bees 

 at work. While others had great, 

 clumsy drawers, holding from 4 to 6 

 quarts. He said that there was a 

 good " king " in that gum, for he had 

 always worked well for him. Just 

 think of a "king honey- bee" reigning 

 30 years over subjects 30 years old, all 

 the while in that old split log ! 



I made a bargain with him for 6 

 season ; I to 

 furnish the hives, and he to hive the 

 first 6 swarms that issued the follow- 

 ing summer. As the time nearly 

 arrived, according to agreement, I 

 appeared with the hives (the Sim- 

 plicity pattern), and it was laughable 

 to see him examine them— some of 

 the frames were filled with founda- 

 tion, while others had merely starters. 

 He asked questions by the hour, and 

 declared that the bees would eat out 

 and drag from the hive such stuff as 

 that foundation was ! 



Now as to the results : He had 

 only one swarm issue, which he put 

 into one of my hives. The rest of his 

 bees laid out for weeks at a time, and 

 there were no more swarms that sea- 

 sou, and only 150 pounds of honey 

 from 44 colonies. He said that the 

 bees would die in such a " Yankee 

 trap of a concern " as the. Simplicity 

 hive w is. 



I leit my swarm with him, as the 

 wealher was extremely hot, and in 

 due time put on 40 one-pound sec- 

 tions. In the fall I went after it. I 

 took the sections off, all nicely filled 

 with basswood honey. I explained 

 to him what he might have done with 

 his bees in proper hives; at which he 

 called me a "yearling," and looked 

 upon me with pity and commisera- 

 tion. He said that I was going con- 

 trary to " natur," and had turned 



