VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND , OOT. 13, 1894.
NO. 41.
%Wz ^piavg.
Beekeeping is an important adjunct to
horti and flori-culture; far more so than is
generally realized.
Bees, when understood, are as harmless
in manipulation as so many flies. It is
not difficult to learn their "ways," and it
is strange that popular prejudice is so
strong against them—marvelously strange.
Again, the beekeeper soon becomes so inoculated with the formic aiid of the sting
that it ceases to irritate or trouble him.
Written for the Indiana Farmtr.
Winter Protection for Bees.
CHAS.  F. MUTH.
This much-discussed subject will remain before the bee-keeping fraternity as
long as there are bee-keepers, and new recruits are enlisted. The matter is simple,
but many erroneous theories persistently
kept up by some zealous brethren, confound the ideas of many, and consequently winter losses still remain a serious
drawback to bee-culture.
Tha only requisites to the safe wintering
of befs, in our latitude, are: An abundant
supply of food within easy reach of the
cluster, a dry habitation, and, at least, a
good medium colony of bees. We need
no cellars, nor doubled-walled nor chaff
hives. Single-walled hives of 1 inch or 7.
boards, are all that is necessary.
It is immaterial whether their winter
stores are clover, basswood, or fall-honey,
or even honey-dew, or whether the bees
have had access to cider mills or not. It
makes no difference even if most of their
combs are capped or not.
Each comb may have its share of pollen-
Pollen has injured a colony of bees in winter no more than "Pillsbury's best" has
injured the human family. However, if
we permit the best wheat flour to get
moldy or sour before it is baked into
bread, or afterwards, it will be poison to
us. Why should bees not get diarrhea if
we permit their honey or pollen to get
sour in their combs? Who ever saw diarrhea without moldy combs? Keep their
food in a healthy condition, then no diarrhea need be feared.
We have all read and heard long arguments on the subject of wintering. I will,
therefore, not tire you with scientific
speculations but, I will tell you my manner of wintering, and if I can prove to you
that I have had no bees winter-killed by
any disease for many years, it should be
satisfactory evidence in favor of my argument.
I am aware of the fact that hives about
10 or 12 inches square, with frames 12, 14
or 16 inches deep, without a bottom, are
best for wintering. The deeper the hives
the better, because by the time winter approaches, almost two-thirds of the upper
parts of their combs are filled with honey.
The bees cluster below, and move gradually upward as the honey around their
cluster is consumed. They can still keep
moving upward, even if the winter should
last a month longer than usual. The lower
parts of their combs being exposed to the
air, they keep dry, the food healthy, and
the cluster is snugly hid among the combs.
They will not suffer by the oold, even if
the thermometer keeps at 20° below zero
for two weeks in succession. Deep hives
approach the loggum, and answer the purpose better for rearing bees than honey.
But as the profit of the apiary is the object we are after, we use shallow hives,
with a large surface, for the honey chamber. We know that we can winter bees in
the Langstroth hives as successfully as in
any other hives, and their preparations
for winter gives us no more trouble than
others.
About October or November the inside
upper story (the honey chamber) is taken
off, and two combs, of which one-third or
more is filled with honey, are placed In
the middle of the brood chamber; next to
these are placed the heaviest combs; and
lighter ones towards the sides of the hives.
The end ones may be empty. I use 10-
frame hives only, and need no division-
boards during winter. Every comb has a
winter passage through the middle. The
bees may fill three, four, five or six spaces,
between combs, on a cold day. The brood
chamber is covered up with three third-
covers, or with one board, as you please.
Now, the outside upper story is put on,
and into it, on top of the three third-covers, a straw mat is placed. The roof of the
hives turns the rain. I consider no hive
complete unless its honey chamber is an
independent arrangement.
At any time, during a oold day, I can
raise the straw mat, and letting my hand
glide over the wooden cover, T can feel the
spot below where the duster rests comfortably.
Tbe hives stand at a slant of about two
Inches from rear to front, and the entrance
is left open its full width. The bottom
boards remain dry, and what few old bees
fall down have disappeared by the time
that spring approaches. The cleaning out
of my hives ln spring is the exception
with me, and not the rule.
When the oold weather ia over, about
March, and it is time for the bees to breed
up, the entrance of their hives are contracted to about an inch. Spring is the
time to look over their stores, and to supply those that may need it. I have discarded, as of no value, all stimulative
feeding. A comb of honey, or several
combs partly filled, answers the purpose
best.
If your hives stand level during winter,
you will be surprised at the amount of
water running out, when you raise the
back ends on a warm day following a cold
spell. If this water remains in the hives,
it is absorbed by the hooey and pollen.
The air being warm about the cluster, the
combs become moldy, and the honey and
pollen sour in the immediate neighborhood of the bees. I have seen such pollen
In a state of fermenation that had made it
raise over the rims of the cells, and the
smell of the sour honey was unmistakable
If, under such circumstances, bees die of
diarrhea, we should not accuse the quality
of the honey, nor the pollen, but the beekeeper. Let us, therefore, be as particular in preventing moldy walls in our beehives, as we are in preventing the same in
our own dwellings; then the wintering
problem will trouble us no more.
Cincinnati, O.
something near $2,000, in a stove. His
wife, not knowing of the presence of the
money, built a fire in the stove, consuming it.
While Lawrence Showe and friends
were 'coon hunting in the vicinity of
Newcastle, the dogs started a supposed
'coon, which they trailed for four miles
before it was run to a stand. It proved to
be a large sized wildcat, which was only
killed after a hard fight.
Mrs. James Stokes, of Elwood, was
alarmed by the cries of her ohild, playing
in the dooryard, and sbe found the little
one trying to fight off an infuriated cat
The child's face and breast were terribly
scratched, and its clothing was torn. Almost instantly after the attack the cat
died. There is fear that the animal was
seized of hydiophobia.
There is a man at Frank ton who, twenty
years ago, determined to build himself a
house. He has been working on the
structure at intervals ever since, doing the
work unaided, and it is not half completed. He also finds that, through exposure to the elements, the sills are rotting away, so it is probable the structure
never will be finished.
g>\\%\t i^exns.
The Brooklyn schools are closed because
of measles.
The Clay City schools have closed because of the diphtheria.
Walter Keys, of Frankfort, had a lively
experience, mistaking ammonia for cough
medicine and swallowing a heavy dose.
Frank Oldham, a farmer near Pendleton, was kick squarely in the face by his
horse, who planted both heels on that
mark. Mr. Oldman's nose was broken,
his teeth were knocked out, and he was
terribly scarred.
C. H. Buckley shot the valuable horse
belonging to him that kicked his father,
H. C. Buckley, to death, last week. The
revengeful son arrived home from the funeral in Sullivan oounty, and is now satisfied, having seen the horse cooked in the
city garbage furnace.
Westly Adamson, a prosperous farmer
living near Harmony, being afraid of all
banks, hid a roll  of  money,   containing
(&ZUZVI%1 IpttJS.
A. Oardonden, near Decatur, was fatally
gored by the same bull whioh killed
George Spangler two weeks ago.
Snow fell in 30 counties of northern
Minnesota one day last week amounting
in some places to a depth of three inches.
Mrs. Belva Lockwood has been finally
admitted to the bar of Virginia. She is
the first woman thus honored by the State.
At Marietta, O., Clarence Judea and
Byron Wilson, two boys, while asleep on
the track, were run over by an electric car
and killed.
Moses H. Katzenberger, a wealthy Memphis Hebrew who recently died, left instructions for the burial with him of his
fishing tackle.
At a fire in Detroit the walls fell and 16
firemen were caught and when taken out
six were dead and the others more or less
injured.
Three hundred Detroit Poles, disappointed in procuring work, attacked an
engine house, but were repulsed with a
hose by the firemen.
The Kreutz Beltung's correspondent at
St. Petersburg declares that the Czar's
condition is so bad that the end may be
expected in a few weeks.
Baron Albert de Rothschild has just
given $250,000 to build and equip a pavilion in the Empress Elizabeth Hospital at
Vienna for women suffering from cancer.
The money constitutes a "Bettina" fund,
called after the Baron's late wife, who
died after terrible suflerings from this disease.
Christian Rothenbush, of Hamilton. O.,
formerly secretary of the Butler County
Fair Association died at the residence of
his sisters in Hamilton, O., Friday morning at 2 o'clock. Mr. Rothenbush was one
of the most popular secretaries in his State,
always courteous to all visitors and accommodating to all exhibitors.
The famous potato-patch scheme of
Mayor Pingree, of Detroit, by which several hundred acres of unimproved property in the suburbs were planted with potatoes, the crop from which, It was hoped,
would help feed the citizens poor and unemployed during the coming winter, is
already an assured success. A rough estimate of the total crop made from digging
up a small part of the land planted shows
that it will aggregate fully 15,000 bushels.
Labor vs. Capital.
Editobs Indiana Farmkk:
I certainly think there is a great wrong
done to the wealthy and best citizens of
our oountry by the constant howling
about capital crushing labor. Capital Is
not hurting labor. Labor Is simply committing suicide. L*?ss than 12 months
ago, according to the statements in the papers, 200,000 people were being fed in Chicago alone, and all able bodied men. Certainly it was the wealthy people that fed
them. The howl then was no work. As
soon as work opened In the spring every
one almost, went od; a strike, certainly
with the expectation of still being fed at
the expense of the tax payers. We have
some of the same class here in this connty.
The much abused Pullman that J. N.
Griffith speaks of in the Farmkr of September 22, is worth, in brain and talent
alone to this nation more than 10,000 of
the average men who wentput on a strike.
The very poor man is or should be the
last man to kick. When he is sick a doctor Is furnished; when hungry he is fed;
if he has children they have school books.
If he steals or murders and is arrested he
is furnished with counsel, all at the expense of the taxpayers. If there is no
duty on what he eats or wears, he pays
nothing to keep up this great government
in which he enjoys so much at the expense of the taxpayers. Of what good are
suoh men to this or any other nation?
Why should the good industrious people
be imposed upon to keep up such a class.
I am no millionaire, only a farmer, ln
moderate circumstances. I worked in
the sixties for 66 cents a day and boarded
myself, and paid eight dollars a barrel for
flour, and 11 oents a pound for meat. Some
one asks if I made any money at it. Well
I kept mself and family from the county
and charity of the people.
Thanks to President Cleveland for the
noble part that he took in breaking up the
great strike. What we want are laws to
encourage men to get a higher place in life.
The ground floor is already overrun. We
need no laws to encourage paupers and
vagrancy. J. S. B.
 . »  i	
Tbe Fairs.
The annual fair of the Butler county
Ohio Agricultural Society was held on
their beautiful and commodious grounds
near the city of Hamilton. Although the
weather was cool and rainy the attendance
was all that could be asked. The exhibits
in all departments excelled former years.
Especially may this be said in the live
stock department. Sec. W. C. Shephard,
one of the most accommodating men in
Ohio, had a full force of clerks in his office and the books were all posted Thursday night, so that exhibitors from a distance could get their premiums on Friday
the last day of the fair. This one feature
makes exhibitors feel kindly towards the
association and they always welcome the
time when the Butler county fair, "the
biggest fair on earth" comes off.
The eight months' old child of Albert
Thomas, of Martinsville, bled to death
from a slight cut In its mouth on the 27th
ult. This is the fourth child of the family
tn die of heonophilia, with which the
family Is affected, the second within 10
days.
 . ♦ .
Big Four section men at Markleville
captured a rattlesnake and a Norway rat,
putting them in the same box and urging
ing them to fight. ;A battle royal followed,
the rat dying of poison and the snake of
injuries received.
 .  —  ■
While Amos Luther, of Taswell, was
playing with his infant child and a game
cock, swinging the child at and away from
the cock, the latter burled his spurs in the
child's face, destroying one eye.