600 
against assault by having its hive made 
secure and the entrance such a narrow 
pass as to enable a few workers to re- 
pel attack there. 
Should robbers get well started before 
being observed, the entrance of the hive 
should be narrowed at once, and wet grass 
or weeds may be thrown loosely over it, 
or a pane of glass may be stood against 
the front of the hive in a slanting man- 
ner to confuse the intruders. In ex- 
treme cases the attacked colonies may be 
removed to a cellar for a few days, plenty 
of ventilation being given during con- 
finement, and a new location, apart from 
other colonies, selected, on which they 
are to be placed just at nightfall; or, in- 
stead of putting them in the cellar, they 
may be taken a mile or more away and 
returned only when the danger has passed. 
With these precautions, little loss is to be 
feared on this score. 
In general, the intelligent owner who 
gives careful attention to certain impor- 
tant points in bee management finds that 
he very rarely has disease to contend 
with, and that the reduction of profits 
through the depredations of bee enemies 
is not, in most parts of the Union, a seri- 
ous discouragement. Altogether it seems 
to the writer that the risks in these di- 
rections are even less in bee keeping than 
those usually met in the keeping of other 
animals, which, like bees, are legitimate- 
ly made to contribute to the wealth of 
the individual and of the nation. 
Journals Treating of Apiculture 
As a matter of general information, the 
following list of journals relating to api- 
culture is given. It comprises all those 
published in this country at the present 
time. 
The American Bee Journal, Chicago, I11. 
Gleanings in Bee Culture, Medina, Ohio. 
The Bee Keepers’ Review, Flint, Mich. 
The American Bee Keeper, Falconer, 
N.Y. 
The Progressive Bee Keeper, Higgins- 
Ville, Mo. 
Western Bee Journal, Kingsburg, Cal. 
The Rural Bee Keeper, River Falls, Wis. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Beets 
The beet is used as a garden vegetable, 
for feeding stock, and making sugar. 
There are about 40 varieties of the beet 
in cultivation in the United States rang- 
ing in color from deep red to white, 
The Sugar Beet 
The cultivation of the sugar beet in the 
United States, for the manufacture of 
sugar, is one of the important industries, 
The variety grown for this purpose, is 
generally the Beta maritima, In the 
earlier manufacture of beet sugar in 
Tiurope, the beet only yielded about 4.5 
per cent sugar for the red variety, and 
6.2 per cent for the white. At the pres- 
ent time, the varieties have been so im- 
proved by the selection of seed, by 
manuring and the careful selection of 
soil, that they now yield from 10 per 
cent, to 18 per cent sugar. In some 
parts of the country, the average weight 
of beets per acre, has been as high as 
26 tons, and the average percentage of 
sugar in the juice, as high as 16 per 
cent. After the sugar is extracted, it is 
common to use the pulp as food for stock. 
Garden Beets 
Among the varieties of garden beets are 
the following: 
Eclipse.—A. very early, dark-red, turnip 
shaped variety, of good quality, a favor- 
ite with market gardeners, may be plant- 
ed early in spring, and at almost any 
time during the later season. 
Early Turnip Beet, Baastions—A valu- 
able early variety, sweet, tender, and one 
of the best for early and late planting. 
Egyptian—A good variety for early 
spring sowing. 
Dewing’s Improved Blood Turnip Beet. 
—A first class beet, for winter or sum- 
mer use. 
Stock Beets 
These varieties are very prolific, yield 
heavily per acre, and require a rich deep 
soil. 
Planting 
The seed may be sown in hot beds for 
early planting, or it may be sown in the 
open ground and the plants removed to 
