THU SMERICSPf BE15 J@^Rr«ffilL,. 



745 



Clouds and Sunsliiuc. 



>»^»-^->'^^^^^ 



BY M. B. GLEA90N. 



In their onward pmjrreea frlidlng. 



Come and go successive years, 

 Freitrhifd wan me joys and sorrows 



That beget our smiles and tears. 



Borne on rapid, tireless pinions. 



Sweep they down through boundless space, 

 Leaxnng now a belt of sunshine 



And anon a darijened place. 



Light has ever foil of shadow. 

 So does pleasure mate with pain. 



And our joy is twin to sadness. 

 But our loss is linked with gain. 



Life's most patient, helpful lessons 



Are with wise, unerring care. 

 Given through trials that beset us. 



Or In burdens that we bear. 



-Our Rest. 



CANADA. 



Keeping Bec§ in the Hive in 

 UnfaTorable ^Veatlicr. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY S. T. PETTIT. 



The weather here, almost all the 

 time for the last five weeks, lias been 

 cool and cloudy, with a considerable 

 amount of rain. I believe that this 

 state of the weather at thi.s time of the 

 j-ear, in this latitude, is better for bees 

 than if it were warm and sunshiny. 

 When the weather is warm and clear, 

 at this time of the year, bees wear 

 themselves out sucking around cider- 

 mills, and working upon decaying 

 apples in neighboring orchards. 



I have thought a good deal over the 

 matter, and tried to devise some cheap 

 and effective scheme or device, where- 

 by bees could be kept comfortable, 

 happj' and (juiet at home, when sur- 

 rounding conditions were just right to 

 tempt them abroad to their own de- 

 struction. If any one can tell ns how 

 to do it, I am persuaded that tlie 

 majority will vote him a great dis- 

 coverer and benefactor. 



To me it is a painful trial to look on 

 helplessly, and see my bees storing 

 large quantities of "death," in the 

 shape of poor honey-dew, and fre- 

 quently many colonies perish from this 

 cause. Now would it not be a great 

 boon to us, if we could make them 

 " hibernate " a few hours ever3' day, 

 or whenever we should find it neces- 

 sary to do so, until the trouble be 

 past ? 



In my locality the worst kind of 

 honej--dew is brought in only in the 

 forenoon. Again, the time is appar- 

 entl}' at hand, when Paris green and 

 other poisons will be largely used upon 

 fruit-trees ; and it may be found neces- 

 sary for the safetj' of bees, and for 

 best results, to have it done at certain 

 fixed times, or rather, when tlie blo.s- 

 soms are in a certain stage of advance- 

 ment ; and when this time arrives, the 

 bee-keeper should be notified, who 



then sh(nild be in a position to keep 

 his bees at home in that quiet state 

 without worry that will do them no 

 harm. 



The pertinent question is, who will 

 make the discovery ? Who will tell 

 us how to do it ? The want is a felt 

 one, and the remedy, I trust, will be 

 forthcoming. 



Experiments fur Next Season. 



The plan upon which I contemplate 

 ex])erimenting next season, is about as 

 follows : 



For each hive I will make a box out 

 of wire-cloth, whose length shall be 

 equal to the width of the hive, about 2 

 inches high and 3 inches wide, with 

 bottom and one side out. Place this 

 upon the alighting-board, and against 

 the front of the hive, so that the bees 

 can come out into this cage, but can- 

 not escape or get out. Then place 

 pieces of ice upon the box or cage, 

 and shade the hive, particularly the 

 front. 



The ice will cause a current of cold 

 air to fall constantly upon the alight- 

 ing-board at the entrance, with fre- 

 quent drops of ice-water. If the day 

 is very hot, I will elevate the front of 

 the hive so that both the ice-water and 

 the cold air will fiow down into the 

 hive. 



Now 1 fancy every bee that may 

 spend a few seconds in this cold apart- 

 ment, will return and report the day 

 rather cloudy, cool and wet for out- 

 door operations. What do bee-keepers 

 think about it ? I would add that 

 "lots" of ventilation is a great factor 

 in keeping bees quiet in hot days. 



Belmont, Ont., Oct. 25, 1888. 



BEES AS DOCTORS. 



Incidents in the Apiary Occur- 

 ring tliiisi Fall. 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MRS. L. HAKRISON. 



The weather has been cut off from 

 the best piece lately, and I have en- 

 joj'ed exceedingly to be out among the 

 rustling, falling, fragrant leaves, bot- 

 tling up sunshine to uncork during 

 zero-time. I am like the Yankee seek- 

 ing work who was hired to pound on 

 the side of a log with an axe. In 

 a short time he threw it down in dis- 

 gust, saying: " I can't do it; I must 

 see the chips lly." When told by a 

 l)hysician that I must walk and drive 

 in the open air a great deal, I said : 

 " I can't ilo it unless I have some ob- 

 ject." He looked at me in disgust, 

 saying: "Isn't liealth an object 

 enough ?" No, it was not. I needed 

 something to do that would cause nje 

 to forget self, pains and aches ; and 



bee-keeping fills the bill. It is good 

 medicffie to be taken well-shaken, but 

 not in too large doses. 



Doctors prescribe the bee's sting as 

 a remedj- for some ailments, and a 

 powerful one it is, too, and thej' had 

 better let the bee administer it. It 

 can drop it out from its bottle with 

 more precision than it can from the 

 apotliecary's. I have no doubt that 

 rheumatism, dropsy and kidney dis- 

 orders are greatly benefited by work- 

 ing with bees. 



I used to tell a little girl, when put- 

 ting on my shoes for me during win- 

 ter, tliat when the weather got warm, 

 and I worked out with the bees and 

 got stung, she would not have to do it 

 any more ; and she never did, for I 

 could do it nij'self. 



I was once verj- favorablj' impressed 

 with the life-giving qualities of bees. 

 I had been very sick a long time, and 

 was barely able to walk, when I went 

 to a hive containing a large colony of 

 bees, uncovered them and sat down by 

 them, breathing in their effluvia. It 

 had a wonderfully exhilarating, re- 

 juvenating effect upon me. Whj', I 

 was " born again." It was during the 

 working season of bees, when they are 

 visiting thousands of flowers and 

 bringing home with them their medici- 

 nal virtues. 



Fall IVork. 



This is the time of year when it pays 

 to work in the apiaiy, and do it well. 

 Promising to do better another year, 

 will not answer. " Now is the ac- 

 cepted time : now is the day of salva- 

 tion." Come with me, and we will 

 take a look at the apiar}". Do you see 

 anything different in that large colony 

 of bees sunning themselves in the por- 

 tico, from the others ? Yes, drones ; 

 there are none to be seen elsewhere. 

 How fat and sleek, jollj' and con- 

 tented ; happy as a clam. Why have 

 they not been able to walk the plank ? 

 The ladies need them no doubt ; so 

 tolerate their company. Let us ex- 

 amine them and see if they are nyt 

 queenless. How heavy this frame is, 

 sealed clear lo the bottom ! 



We will remove each frame and 

 look it over carefully, and see what we 

 can find. Not a bit of brood — but this 

 is not strange. There is little in any 

 of tlic colonies now ; they iisuall}' have 

 a little patch, which is a wise provi- 

 sion of nature, against the lo.ss of the 

 queen ; for, as long as they have an 

 egi', tliey can rear another one. But 

 if not, alas ! they must perish ; they 

 cannot make something from nothing. 



See ! tliis explains it — a que(;n-cell. 

 She has just come ont apparently ; if 

 it had been long, the bees would have 

 cut it down like an acorn-cup. I do 

 not like to say the queen has hatched, 

 for how can the bee's egg hatch, and 



