405 
Zjfye RURAL NEW-YORKER 
HarvestiiiE! the Potato Crop. Fif;. 203. See page -403 
The First Cultivation. 1". 2C I. See pa 'C 1().{ 
Sanding a New Jersey Hotbed to Keep the Weeds Down. Fig. 205 
ch'ivowa.v whero horses frequently pass, or near to 
!t walk much used l)y the family. I'here tire times 
when bees are cross and it is better to keep away 
from tliem until they liave forgotten their real or 
fancied injuries. Shade is not essential. Imt :in old 
ajtple tree in tiie backyard makes an idea! site for 
a couitle of colonies. 
rreparinic tbe hive jind super: 'Die liiw. if new, 
should be ]»aiiited. and you can decorate it with ;ill 
tbe colors of tin* raiid)ow, if yon like. If an old 
hive, it should Ite thorou.tjhly cleanefi np. 'File frames 
which i( ei.utains must havr* fidl sheets of wa.v 
foiindatiiui t'nr the bees to ite.iiin \\ (U'k upoti, or striiis 
of this foundation, called sttirter striiis. d'lie bitter are 
cheaper, of course, and etisier to install. I'he bees. 
be.lrinnin^r work upon this foundation, build their 
comlis \vhere >3)U Wiint them and in orderly man¬ 
ner. It is thi> fact that makes it possible to rmnov(“ 
Combs from tiie hive :iud Inindle the bees without 
destroyini' either, d’ho suiau-s :ir(' fitted iqi with 
the sipi.are boxes for comb honey, called scetions. 
each of Avhich has a simil! pie<‘e of "starter" fasteiu'il 
at the centtM- of one side to induce the bees to build 
evenly in them. This wax foundation must lu' pur¬ 
chased in .sheets of the supply hou.ses. 
Extra hives: If .vou start with a i\t‘w swarm, or 
Helping the Honey Bee Help Hoover 
The Beginner and His Homemade Sweets 
T fTERE will be renewed interest in bee-keepiuy' 
this year, both because of tbe need for food 
of all kinds that we can ]iroduce and of the siiecial 
lu'ed for sjiving su.ixar for our .allies. While honey 
will not take the jdace of sugar for all juirposes. it 
will help to siitisfy our craving for swecds, and 
will. }it the .same tinux ;idd materiall.v to the; food 
K'sources of our l.anhu’s. tn projiortiou to the pos- 
>iliilit.v of conserving it, there are i)rob;ibly few 
foods as little utilized as the honey 
(>f otir woods and fields. It would 
be interesting fo know wh.it jiaid of 
th(> nectar annually sem-etod by tbo 
blossoms of oui' liaa's. .slirubs. .and 
metidows is storod within reach of 
man. Only a vfuy small jiart, ccr- 
1.a inly. 
r.ee-ki'eidn.g on a barge sc.ab' will 
interest mdy tins .sjaaaalist. for it 
is a work requlnn.g skill and time, 
but it'is tpiite within tin- range of al¬ 
most .any family's re.sources to care 
for one or two coloni<>s. .and this num¬ 
ber. ill an average season, will sup¬ 
ply tbe family table with a ilelicious 
sweet in a variety <d’ coloi-s and 
flavors. Any strong boy or girl oviu- 
Id. and man.v wlm are younger, 
sbould be able to fake full ebar.-.' 
of the home apiar.\- (if. say, two 
colonies, and find profitable lavrea- 
fion in the work. For the sake of 
any who ma.v wish to fry it tliis 
coming Spring, T will try to give a 
brief outline of tbe way to go 
about it. 
Comb v.s. extiacted hone.v: 'Tlu' 
siiecialists are iiow finding tbe |iro- 
diulion of (‘xtract(“d hone.v more 
prolitable than that in combs, but for 
fandly usix and for the amateur, 
tbe latter is ladter. 
Eqiiiimient: Standard movable 
frame hives should be us('d. M'he ten 
frame is probably Imst for all piir- 
]»o.se.s. Sat i.sfactor.v \\<irk can be 
done with the old-fashioned box bive. 
These, fully eipiiiiiied with franuxs. 
section boxes for Hie bomyv, and 
comb starters, cost about (>ach 
vhen bought from flu* mtiniifactiirers. 
With a factory-made hive for a 
Jiiodel, a hoy handy with tools should 
b(‘ able to imike his own. Hovidail- 
ing is not neco.ssar.v, but dimensions 
should lie accurate. The above ]irice 
includes one sujier, or iqitier story 
for surplus hon<\v, fitted for use. 
Tools mmded: A smoki'r, ti b(“e 
veil, and a jiair of gloves coinjilete 
the essential etpiipnient, .aside from 
fbe hives and their accessoritxs. A 
smoker costs hO cents; :i veil from 
40 cents uj), and ti p.air of gloves T.'I 
cents, if you buy them. 
Kind of bees: Tlie (terman, or 
common black Ixaxs have laam dis 
placed liy Italians in all good ajiiaries. 
It ma.v lie easier to gid bl.ick liees 
to start ■with, how(*ver. and they ar<‘ 
easily Italianizi'd l»y rmnoving the 
i|U(>en and vsiibstitiiting an Italian 
qu(*en piirehasi^d from some (pu'cn 
iii'eeder. 
Whei'c to gel fhein : I'eidiaps tbe 
easi(‘st Avay is to lit iiji a hiv(‘ and 
take it to a iK'ighboring b(*('-k('ep('r 
wbo ■will install one -of his "fii-sl 
swarms" in it for you. .V swarm of 
black bees should not cost (wer ,$2: 
1 have ]iurch;is(‘d them for 
'I'be hivt*s can be closed and tlu' bees 
iiroiight home after tiuw have* beconii' setiled in 
Ilnur new (piarttu’s. A lar.gt' trad(‘ in Ikh's by tin' 
pound has been (hwelopml within the last few years. 
The.v are shi])])ed long distamu's by exiiress. A 
]iound of Italians, enough for a start, ma.v be 
boiyght at from .$2 U]), and a (pu'en to accomiiany 
tlnuu, at from .$1 up. according to tbe siuisou and 
the brcH'der. I’urcha.sed in .Tiiinx the.v should till 
the hive, and perhaps make some .surplus hone.v, b.v 
Fall. Thei'e is considerably more risk for the 
amateur in this imdliod of starting, however, and T 
would advi.se purchasing swarms at home, if possilile. 
T.oeation of hives: Place them an.vwhere con- 
'■ ■■'oec (if oversight, but don’t .get them close to a 
with a pound jiaeka.gt' of bees, .voii won't neml an.v 
extra hives the first season, and .voii an* not likel.v 
to need more than one siiiiei' for ('.-ich bive. The fol¬ 
lowing siuison, how('vt‘r. .\ou will want to be preparc'd 
to take can* of new swarms of .voiir own. 
Transferrin.g: \’ou ma.v be able to bu.\ an old 
box hive, be(*s and all, fimm om* of .vour nei.ghbors. 
d'lie bees can be transfern'd to .\dur new hn^i*. but 
that is too long a story to tell bore. 
Wlien to start: A swarm of beixs in yiay is worth 
a load of liay, you know, and abmit .us hard to lind. 
'I'he earlier in .lime you can gel your bees settU'd 
down to work tbe better, thou.gb a 
start (.-in la* made an.v time during 
tbe Summer. 
Ke.-iding about the Ik'o.s : You can't 
imagine what woiidei'ful creatures 
iie(‘s ;ire until you begin to read about 
them, and. if you can't have more 
than one book, let me suggi'st "The 
A P. G and X Y Z of P.ee Ciiltun*'’ 
by the Hoots; (.sg.r.P from this otlice). 
'i'his !>ook tells .\ou just how to h;in- 
dle bees and is written in a style 
that will kt'ep you reading after you 
ha\(* tinislu'd what you were look¬ 
ing up. 
Stings? Certainly, you'll get .vour 
sliari*: but bees without stin.gers 
Would be ]ik(* aiiple pii* ^vitboiit 
chei'se. entirely lacking in zi'st. You 
lU'edii't get stung ofti'ii. however, and, 
if .\ou are vi'r.v careful, perhaps you 
won't get stung at all. m. n. n. 
Miller, Dealer and Wheat 
Bran at $52 per Ton 
Xot long a.go I read an aidicle in Tiir, 
Ki |{.\I. _ Nkw-Yoi!kI-:i: eoucernin.g the 
nrice of wile,at bran. As I reniemlx'r 
die jirieo was set at the .sanu* time as 
that of wlieat and at :ii28 per ton. I 
ma.v be out the wa.v on the price of tlie 
bran, hut I am sure you said tliat a 
definite pri(?e bad been fixed as a maxi¬ 
mum. Last week I was visiting in 
W'e.sl.M'M iV(‘w York and tlie farmer I 
was visiting told me tliat they were siin- 
posfd to get hraii at p. r ton. Yes- 
terda.v I went to Scoti.i tu got. bi’an. 
1_ bought a half ton. 'i’he price was 
jier ton. I would have I’cfiised it. 
blit a.s tlie roads were likei,\' to be bad 
sofui I took it, as we w(‘i'e iie.arl.v out. 
Did tliia dealer have any right to charge 
me such a price for the wheat bran'i' 
If it was ju.st tin; liaif ton it wouliln't 
make so much (lifference, but many tons 
of this and other fi'cd are sold around 
licre 1)V tiie same dealer. If lie is clnirg- 
iiig this price unlawfully either the 
fanners sliould get more for tlieir wheat 
or else thus dealer as well as otliers 
like him sliould be prosecuted. 1 will 
do this if tliere is any cause for such 
action. I know tlie farmer -woiild be 
held to tiie la.st if he disobeyed the 
price fixing and why not make life 
miseraible for the.se peojile wiio are onl.\ 
parasites on decmit law-abiding citizens? 
VVe are with yon in .vniir political or¬ 
ganization of the fanners. c. <;. w. 
Scotia, N. Y. 
Y ou read on page .'k>7 what the IL 
S. (train Corporatloii promise to 
do tc miller.s who charge for bran more 
Mian .>s per cent of tlie jtriee of 
wiieat: Their license will be taken 
away from thcni and tlie.v cannot 
.grind. There seems to lie no law 
or rule to n‘,gulMli‘ tlic (/< (//cz-.v, ami 
the lilgh pric(*s for Inaii seem en 
tirei.v due to ftie iiiiddlemeii. lea.-t 
if itiere is any oilier reasiui no oi.c 
lias come forward wirl. it. We s< e 
no lea.soii wli.v tlie (toveriiuieiit sliould 
not treat tlie dtsilers as they llireaten 
to treat tlie "iirollieers" in sugar and 
,groe(*rii>s. If tlu* ri'lailers iliar.ge too 
niiicli tlieir lieeiisi* will be laki'ii from 
tl eiii. if small r(*siaiirants in New 
Yolk sell meat on "nieatb'.ss” days 
the (U'.aU'i's wbo si'll meat to tlu*m an* 
ibreateiied w irb loss of their licmise I 
Wli.v not handle millers and feed dealers in tbe 
same wa,\ ? 
On February 2 1 went to our ueari'st millitig town 
ami tliis is wliat 1 found: I’.ran. .^t.") jier ton: iiiid- 
dliiigs $.■)(>. \vliole wiieat dour l> cents ]H*r pound, 
'riit* mills will not .grind your wheat for you. but 
will exfbauge. giving all Hour or ]iart tloiir ami 
part feed jusi as you dt'sire. 'i'his cuts out the old 
rule of oiie-teiitli for griiidin.g and givt*s tlu* miller a 
chance to lakt* as iiiiicb as he likes, and you caii- 
iiot belli yourself. For iiistaiice. I take 10 bu.sliels 
of wheat to tin* mill, and I want to get it .ground, 
that is I want to get every bit that i take ami will 
jiay the miller for the work, ^^'llat do I get? For 
