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how many acres \vould be required to 

 suppl}' 100 colonies of bees ? Tliese 

 are questions that I have undertaken 

 to solve, under the auspices of our 

 Experimental Station. 



I have just sowed eight acres of 

 Cleome inlegrifolia, or the famous 

 Rocky Mountain bee-plant. This beau- 

 tiful flower blossoms from early August 

 till frost. In Colorado it grows on tbe 

 dry fields with no irrigation. It fur- 

 nishes there much excellent honey. I 

 have grown it here for several years in 

 small beds, and find that bees are al- 

 ways working upon the tlowers in 

 their season. I have hope that it will 

 prove a great blessing to bee-keepers. 



I am also trying three other promis- 

 ing plants, and expect to show that it 

 will pay, or else that it will not, in 

 which latter case I will save private 

 expenditure in similar experiments. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



MARKETING. 



IliTe§ and Surplus Comb Honey 

 Receptacles. 



Read at the Central Ills. Convention 

 BY JOS. M. HAMBAUGH. 



The hive we want is the one that 

 will bring us the most honey, and the 

 one easiest manipulated for the rapid 

 storing of honey in its most marketable 

 form. 



There is, however, some prime fac- 

 tors to be understood for the obtaining 

 of the necessary force to reap the very 

 first results, for without a strong force 

 of bees at the time of bloom, and when 

 the elements yield up the precious 

 nectar, our eft'orts will come to naught. 

 Then I maintain now, as in the past, 

 that we must cater to the needs of the 

 queen as regards Iier power of repro- 

 duction, in order to obtain the very 

 best results numerically from our colo- 

 nies, which is a prime factor in obtain- 

 ing an abundant harvest of honey ; and 

 any device, wlicreljy the queen is hin- 

 dered in rapid depositing of eggs in 

 the projjer season, is a detriment to 

 the apiarist, and costs him many 

 pounds of honcj-. 



The hives, to be non-swarming, 

 must be capable of expanding, to meet 

 the needs of an extensive army of 

 workers, and at the same time we 

 should be able to quickly contract 

 them to any small-sized nucleus ; bj- 

 this means we have increase practi- 

 callj- at our command, if we will be 

 awake and attend to the bees in their 

 sea.soD. 



As the markets call for honey in 

 comb form, in one and two pound sec- 

 tions, of course our receptacles must 

 be put up to accommodate this size of 



package, and if we can persuade our 

 bees to build the sections marketal)Iy 

 without separators, I would advocate 

 their abolishment ; Init this is a debat- 

 able question, and one not fully set- 

 tled in my own mind. 



Tlio Preventlou or Increase. 



There is another question of more 

 vital importance to the apiarist than 

 the use, or non-use, of separators, in 

 working for comb honey, and one 

 which we believe to be more difficult 

 of solution, viz : the prevention of in- 

 crease, and how to induce the bees to 

 work in the sections. A practical 

 method that will solve this problem, 

 will be a boon to the apiarist, and we 

 will listen with interest to all argu- 

 ments in that direction. 



It has always appeared to me that 

 combs the size of one pound sections 

 were contraiy to the laws governing 

 the household economy of the bee ; 

 and when they occupy them it is with 

 reluctance, and only under force of 

 circumstances ; their brood-chamber 

 must be filled to its utmost capacity, 

 with brood, pollen and hone}', and 

 then only for pastime will they cluster 

 in the sections, and gradually deposit 

 a small amount of honey therein, until 

 sufficient " steam " is raised to engen- 

 der the swarming fever, when out go 

 the bees, and the sections are left as 

 empty and void of workers as a church- 

 house garret. 



It is the swarming nuisance that is 

 a menace to the comb-honey producer, 

 and any surplus receptacle that will 

 overcome this difficulty, will be a boon 

 to the bee-man, as well as to the con- 

 sumer. 



I also believe that a skeleton break- 

 joint or zinc honey-board used in the 

 center of the hive is a detriment to the 

 progress of the bees, more or less, and 

 should be excluded. In manipulating 

 for extracted honey, the case is (piite 

 diB'erent. Combs put up more in ac- 

 cordance with their natural instincts, 

 can be placed aljove the brood-cham- 

 ber, and with little or no ceremony 

 they are quickly occupied, and the 

 apiarist can expand the size of the sur- 

 plus department to accommodate the 

 size of the colony, by adding more 

 combs and cases ; and the force and 

 attention of the bees being turned to 

 honey-gathering, the swarming im- 

 pulse is almost wholly overcome. 



To sum up : 1. Let us see that the 

 hives and combs are put up in a way 

 that will give the queen a chance to 

 develop her slrcngtli. 2. See that the 

 surplus receptacles are arrangeil so 

 that they can be accommodated to the 

 needs of the colony, be it strong or 

 weak, :ind abolish as much as possible 

 all complicated features. Let all 

 frames, hives and surplus receptacles 



be made by a pattern, and use no other 

 throughout the entire yard. Let all 

 hive-stands, bodies, covers, brood- 

 frames, etc., be interchangeable with 

 any hive in the yard, and you will be 

 prepared to combine pleasure with 

 profit in your bee-keeping. 

 Spring, Ills. 



BEE-CELLAR. 



M'hcn and How to Put Bees 

 into Bee-Cellars. 



Written' for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MKS. L. HARRISON. 



What is the l)est time to put bees in 

 the cellar ? October, November or 

 December ? Surely, you have me now, 

 and I can only say, I don't know. I 

 used to be as wise as an owl on this 

 subject, and recommended putting 

 tliem in late, thinking that there is 

 generall}' a warm spell in the forepart 

 of December, and that it would be bet- 

 ter for the bees to have a cleansing 

 flight during this time, before they re- 

 tired for their long rest. They clean 

 house during this mild spell, and carry 

 out many dead bees, and I thought 

 that they would die in the cellar, and 

 had better be left out-of-doors. These 

 bees that die might live much longer 

 in the cellar, and might or might not 

 be a benefit. If there are plenty of 

 bees without them, then there would 

 be no profit in feeding them longer. 



A successful bee-keeper of northern 

 Vermont told me that he always 

 housed his bees when dampness gath- 

 ered on the glass of his observing- 

 hive. Now a thoughtful person will 

 readily see that the right condition for 

 housing bees will not occur in central 

 Illinois at the same time as in Michi- 

 gan, Vermont, or Iowa. I am now of 

 the opinion that the best time to house 

 bees in any locality, is when they hi- 

 bernate, or in other words, are com- 

 pactly clustered. Reports favored the 

 putting of bees away as soon as Octo- 

 ber, at the late convention, but in this 

 count}-, up to date (Nov. 15), there 

 have been but few days when the bees 

 were not upon the wing. 



The Best Time to ITIove Bees. 



It is during daylight, of course; " for 

 the night cometh, when no man can 

 work." In the morning, when the 

 person who carries them is fresh, and 

 has nerves stead}' — that is the best 

 time of all. 



Hives should be dry, and the en- 

 trances closed ; then any person of 

 sufficient strength can carry them with- 

 out fear. Most inexperienced persons 

 are afraid of bees, and if the liive-en- 

 trances arc open, and the hive in tran- 



