The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-27


 covered coHcerning what l. essential in form. but ns must not forget thst dairy performance 10 not form but function and 1t is Infinitely easier to hequeath form than function. While the law ot i function is not we'll understood 1t IS difficult to see why function should not be 2 quality transmissible as well as form. color, temperament. The breeder of dairy cattle should be a man of much thought much patience, much persist | ence, much courage. He should be i stern critic and fnexorable executioner. His problems are most difncult. but IT successfully solved his reward is pro- portionaIiy great. He may become a benefactor 10 the human race or he may produce animals that will in the worst sense be robbers, bringing ruip to their trusting purchasers. Dse Keeping.
 Frank Benton in Farm and Ranch. II may be safely said that any place where farming, gardening, or fruit raising can be successfully followed is l adapted 70 the profitable keeping of bees--in 6 limited way at least. if not extensixely. This pursuit may also be | followed in or near towns and, to a limited extent, in large cities. It even 1 happens in some instances that bees In cities or towns find more abundant pasturage than in country locations which are considered fair.
 Although apicpiture is extremely fasctnahting to most people who have 1 taste for the study of nature. requir- ing. as 1t does. out-of-door life. with enough exercise to be of beneft to one whose main occupation is sedentary. the income to be derived from 1t when rightly followed is a consideration which generally has some weight and is often the chief factor in leading ono to undertake the care of bees Cer- tainly. where large apiaries are pian- ned. the prime object is the material profit. for they require much hard la- bor and great watchfulness. and the performance of the work at stated times isIimperative, so that in this case there tsi less opportunity than where but flaw colonies are kept to mako a. leisurelyt study of the natural history and hapfts of these interesting insects becausef f-unless the keeper IS willing to foresfo considerable portion of his profits-this time must necessarily be almost Wholly taken up In attending to the Host ,apparent wants of his charges.
 A moderate estimate for a fairly good locality would be thirty to thirty five pounds of extracted honey, CT | twenty pounds of comb honey per col ony. This pre-supposes good winter ing and an average season. When two or more of the important honey-yield- ing plants are present in abundance and are fairly supplemented by minor | miscellaneous honey plants the local ity may be considered excellent, and an expectation of realizing more than the yield mentioned above may be en- | tertained. With extracted honey of good quality at wholesale price of 6 to cents per pound and comb honey at 12 to IS cents, each hive should under favorable circumstances give a gross annual return of S2.so to S3. From this about one-third is to be deducted to cover expenses other than the item of labor. These will include the purr chase of comb foundation and sections. repairs, eventually replacing of A.ves and implements. and the interest on the capitol invested. By locating in some section particularly favorable to api- 1 oulture-that is. near large linden for l ssts, with clover fields within range. Supplemented by buekwheat, or in l section where alfalfa is raised for seed; I where mesquite. California cages and l wild buckwheat abound; where man {, grove. palmettoes and tit; or where | sourwood, tulip tree. and asters are | i ed may frequently be doubled CT | trebled. -% | Any person with fairly steady nerves and some patience and courage can easily learn to control and manipulats bees. There are. 1t is true. a few ax- ceptional individuals whose systems are particularly susceptible to the poison injected by the bee, so much SO that serious effects follow s single sting. Such cases are, however, very rare. In most instances where care is not taken to avoid all stings the sys- tenn eventually becomes accustomed to the poison, so that beyond momentary pain sting causes no inconvenience. To certain extent the belief exists that bees have. without apparent cause. a violent dislike for some people. while others, without any effort are received into theiP favor The latter part of this proposition has a better Foundation than the first part. for it is the actions rather than any peculiar ity of the individual himself. that an- ger the bees
 Bees prefer, of course, not to be dis turbod, hence they usually keep guards on the lookout for intruders. When visitors approach the hives these guards are very apt to fly toward them as If to inquire whether harm is in- tended or not, and should the visitor not inspire them with fear by using smoke or some similar means, but should himself show fear and nervous 1 ness, he will be very likely to arouse their suspicious still further, or even to anger them should he strike at them or endeavor to dodge their approach. It may be a movement of but an inch or two, but perhaps a quick jerk. and being noticed by the suspicious guard IS resented; sting follows, and yet the recipient declares that he did noth- ing to, cause the attack. but that bees merely hate him and always sting him
 when he approaches them
 How to Avoid stings.
 First. by having gentle bees. If no other point of superiority over the eomon brown or black bee, than that of gentleness could be fairly claimed for some of the races introduced, and some of the strains developed in re- cent years, it would still be worth while to get them on this account
 alone. When the fact of superiority
 in several other important points Is considered also, there should be no further question as to the advisabil,
 ity of procuring them In preference to the common variety. The beginner Is advised never to think of doing other wise. As race, Carniolans are the
 gentlest; some strains of Italians equal
 in this respect average Carniolians.
 but the race native to Italy is by no
 means as gentle as that found in