42 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Wa¥BlEts o! Nbws. 



Ice-bound is the brooklet now, 



The hills ai-e clad in snow. 

 The sleigh bells jingle merrilj'. 



And past the sliaters go. 



The birds have left the cheerless woods. 

 The boug-hs are leafless now. 



Cold winds are blowing mournfully. 

 Above the glistening snow. 



Bees Stinging- Hens. 



When there has been a good flow of 

 honey, and it suddenly ceases, bees are 

 excited over it, and sometimes are ready 

 to sting anybody and anything that 

 comes In their way. Last year, at the 

 close of the bass wood harvest, mine 

 attacked a coop of broody hens. Seeing 

 a commotion among these ■ cackling 

 aspirants for motherhood, I divined 

 the cause, and opened the door, when 

 the hens made a "bee-line" for the 

 protection of the raspberry bushes. The 

 cat made frantic leaps into the air, with 

 his tail somewhat resembling a rolling- 

 pin. When bees are cross it is folly to 

 open a hive. — Prairie Farmer. 



Honey Imparts Strength. 



The effete stomachs of this generation 

 do not relish honey. In the days when 

 men had physiques, and women were 

 Dianas, honey was an acceptable food. 

 Milk and honey made a concord ordained 

 by Nature. Honey is pure ; nutritious ; 

 rich. No perverting cook intervenes to 

 spoil it. Fresh from Nature's hand it 

 comes to us, served in the natural comb 

 which surpasses China in delicacy, and 

 of a consistency and color unattained by 

 any wine. — Western Apiarian. 



Candy for Bees in Winter. 



It often occurs that Winter overtakes 

 us with colonies that lack food. In such 

 cases we cannot possibly use syrup for 

 food, as the weather is too cold for the 

 bees to seal it over, and unsealed stores 

 will not serve properly for Winter. The 

 moisture which always arises from the 

 bees in cold weather, enters the unsealed 

 honey and dilutes it, making it very 

 unwholesome. Our only resort, therefore, 

 for feeding in cold weather, is to make 

 candy and use it. This is a very good 

 and healthful food, if properly made and 

 administered. 



It is made from granulated sugar by 

 melting it, adding a little water — no 

 more than will thoroughly melt the 

 sugar — when it is boiled a few minutes 

 and poured out into cakes or slates of 3 

 or 4 pounds each. When cool this 

 becomes very hard, almost like rock- 

 candy. 



In feeding this, it is placed on frames 

 just over the cluster of bees, where they 

 can have access to it at all times. When 

 in this position it receives the heat 

 arising from the bees and they remain 

 on it all the time. It is so hard, that it 

 will last them a long while. This candy 

 may be given to the bees at intervals 

 during the Winter, and colonies may be 

 brought through in good condition which 

 would have otherwise perished. 



This, or any other work that is neces- 

 sary to do with bees in Winter, should 

 be done on warm days. It will not do to 

 molest them on a cold day, but it should 

 always be done on days wiien the bees 

 are flying. — American Agriculturist. 



Bees in the Greenhouse. 



A writQr, on "raising plants under 

 glass," says that the plants must be 

 jarred when in bloom to insure fertiliza- 

 tion. Has he never heard of the natural 

 fertilizers of flowers — bees ? 



The jarring of plants does not assist 

 their growth nor increase their produc- 

 tiveness. Fertilization by hand is un- 

 natural, and always unsatisfactory. 

 There is a better and surer way. Let 

 bees be the fertilizers of flowers, if a full 

 crop is desired. The bees will do this 

 under glass, as well as in the open air. 



Since cultivation under glass became 

 general, and an increased demand for 

 early cucumbers and tomatoes sprung 

 up, there has been a demand for bees 

 solely for the purpose of fertilization of 

 flowers. 



Every greenhouse is open at least once 

 a day in early, cold Spring, for ventila- 

 tion. At this time, when there is still a 

 sharp edge to the wind, when there are 

 few if any flowers in the fields, the bees 

 will enjoy the Summer warmth of the 

 greenhouse, and go to it and spend all 

 the time in it, if there be a place to enter 

 and the weather is favorable. 



They frolic in the sunshine, and 

 perching on leaves, sip the water left by 

 the sprinkler, and attend to their regu- 

 lar duties, namely, collecting pollen for 

 the young bees, fed to them mixed with 

 honey. 



This gathering of pollen from the 

 greenhouse flowers causes the fertiliza- 

 tion. It is complete and thorough, for 



