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THE MMERICMH BEE J©^MHMI*. 



fi«ii»>«»»« 



as did the other in the lower tem- 

 perature. 



We must recognize the same distinc- 

 tion between strong, healthj' colonies 

 of bees and those weak in numbers 

 and vitality, While I say this, I do 

 not thinlc there is anything to fear 

 from the moisture of any ordinarj' at- 

 mosphere. There is no danger from 

 moisture in the dampest of cellars, 

 only it will not answer to arrange the 

 hives and their trappings so as to col- 

 lect the moisture. If there is much 

 moisture, the temperature must be un- 

 der control and kept well up ; and the 

 hives so arranged as to favor the ex- 

 pulsion of the moisture. All that is 

 necessai-y in order to guard against 

 any ill-effects, even from a saturated 

 atmosphere, is well-fed colonies of fair 

 slrengtli, in well ventilated hives, kept 

 in a temperature of from 45^ to 50^^. 



A cellar can scarcely be so dry that 

 moisture will not drip down the inside 

 of the hive if the temperature be low ; 

 and while this indicates too little 

 warmth, it is not necessarily injurious. 

 The important point is to keep the 

 moisture out of the cluster ; hence it 

 follows that the fact that the moisture 

 is so great that mold gathers on the 

 comb is not in itself any proof that the 

 conditions are unfavorable to the well- 

 being of the bees. 



Having had considerable experience 

 with both damp and dry cellars, I am 

 firm in the belief that there is nothing 

 to fear from the effects of any atmos- 

 l^heric moisture, if one only bears in 

 mind the principles above hinted at — 

 providing the conditions indicated 

 which will enable the bees to drive 

 that moisture away from the cluster. 



Lapeer, Mich. 



LESSONS. 



Some Lessons Taught by the 

 Past Season. 



Written for the Country Gentleman 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



The past season has been the most 

 ■discouraging one for bee-keepers in 

 the memory of man. This seems to be 

 true, not of one State only, or even of 

 one country alone. Every State in 

 our country, Canada, England, Ger- 

 many — in fact all Europe — are chant- 

 ing the same dirge. It would be in- 

 teresting to know just the cause of this 

 universal honey drouth. It is probable 

 that the cause is not one-and-the-same 

 in all the localities. In the North and 

 Northwest of the United States, it is 

 plainlj', two ; yes, even three, succes- 

 sive seasons of unparalleled drouth. 

 Such continuous drouth not only dries 

 up the nectar-fountains of the flowers, 



but it also kills or dwai'fs the very 

 plants that bear the flowers. 



No Adulteration. 



Discouraging as has been this drouth 

 of nectar, and consequent ill-success 

 of honey-producers, the season has not 

 been without its valuable lessons. One 

 of the most baneful influences that has 

 worked against bee-keepers for several 

 3"ears, is the quite general impression 

 that honey is largely adulterated. 

 Many like lioney, and would use it, 

 except for tliis wide-spread fear — bug- 

 bear, I maj' sa}' — of adulteration. 



The truth is that comb honey has 

 never been adulterated, and extracted 

 honey never hj the producers. Some 

 years ago when honey was very high- 

 priced, extracted honey was widely 

 adulterated. Now it is so low-priced 

 that such adulteration does not paj', 

 and so is discontinued. It was hard 

 to convince people of this truth. The 

 past two seasons of scarcity, however, 

 have shown that this cry is wholly 

 baseless. I have made a very careful 

 investigation, and I feel quite sure that 

 honey is not at present adulterated 

 even b}' dealers. In showing that this 

 accusation is false, the past seasons 

 have conferred a veiy substantial 

 benefit on the bee-keeping industry. 



Bee-Keeping as a Pursuit. 



Another lesson is that bee-keeping 

 serves best as a supplementary pursuit, 

 and not as an exclusive business. I 

 know of farmers who have, in past 

 seasons, secured hundreds of dollars 

 from bees, and yet carried on their 

 regular business with no special diffi- 

 culty. In several cases, and for sev- 

 eral successive years, the proceeds of 

 the apiar3' have exceeded those of a 

 good farm. 



For physicians and ministers, bee- 

 keeping serves even better than for 

 farmers. Here it not only supplements 

 the earnings, but gives exercise that 

 often conserves the health. In every 

 case the liee-keeping breaks the rou- 

 tine, and so serves as a recreation. 

 Indeed, few industries aftbrd more 

 pleasure to, or awaken more studious 

 interest in, those who wisely engage in 

 it, than does bee-keeping. 



While the past two years are very 

 discouraging to the bee-keeping speci- 

 alist who has all his "industrial eggs" 

 in one basket, they are not at all so to 

 the person who has other means of 

 support. While he has secured little 

 or no returns, he has been to very 

 little expense, and he knows that he 

 has a good net spread to "catch the 

 game " when it comes. While, then, 

 two such unfortunate seasons are 

 severely trying to those whose only 

 means of support are tied up in bees, 

 they are only disappointing, not disas- 



trous, to him who has apiculture as 

 only one of the excellent strings to his 

 industrial bow. 



The past season then pronounces 

 with emphasis that bee-keeping is not 

 for the specialist, but for him who 

 would add to other pursuits one that 

 combines profit with pleasure, and, if 

 his life is sendentary, with wholesome 

 recreation as well. While bee-keeping 

 has done well for the specialist, it 

 serves better as a supplemental pur- 

 suit. 



migratory Bee-Keeping. 



The third lesson of the season to the 

 bee-keeper is the importance of honey- 

 plants, hitherto not sufficiently appre- 

 ciated. Mr. R. L. Taylor, of Lapeer 

 county, Mich., a large and successful 

 bee-keeper, secured only enough honey 

 for his bees, while neighboring bee- 

 keepers, near a large marsh, secured a 

 remunerative harvest. So moving bees 

 a short distance, in such years, may 

 transform what would otherwise prove 

 to be a failure and discouragement, 

 into gratifj-ing success. Henceforth . 

 bee-keepers will be on the lookout to 

 discover how, by migratory bee-keep- 

 ing, they may bridge over the disaster 

 occasioned by unpropitious seasons. 



Neiv Houer Sources. 



Again, it has been discovered this 

 year that other than generally recog- 

 nized sources of honey may come to 

 the rescue in such years. Thus the 

 cucumber plantations in certain parts 

 of Illiimis have not only paid the 

 growers a good profit, but have fur- 

 nished nectar, so that the bees have 

 gathered a good harvest. Bee-keepers 

 thus learn that it may pay a double 

 profit to secure a pickle factory in 

 their neighborhoods. 



In Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, etc., a 

 large crop of honey — fine honey — has 

 been secured from Polygonum, P. 

 Pennsylvanicnm, which grows sponta- 

 neously in the corn-fields. This plant 

 belongs to the same family as do buck- 

 wheat and smart-weed. The flowers, 

 however, are a ^•ery bright pink, and 

 the leaves and stems have not the 

 pungent character that is possessed by 

 those of the smart-weed. It grows, 

 too, on upland, and not in low places. 

 The bee-keepers all over the country 

 call this heart's-ease. This certainly 

 is a very appropriate name, and may 

 well be transferred from pansies to 

 this pol3-gonum in all our botanies. 



Special Planting for Bees. 



The fact that some plants furnish 

 nectar, even if the seasons are dry and 

 unproductive, makes it important to 

 test the matter of special planting for 

 bees. Is it possible to cultivate a 

 plant that will keep the bees busy, in- 

 dependent of the weather ? If so, 



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