Omaha daily bee., 1905-10-15
IMPETUS IN BEE INDUSTRY
Number Of Omaha People Attracted to il
BY Carnival Exhibition
SERGEANT COOK PIONEER At BUSINESS
Police Omcer Gives some Timely
Tips on How TO Conduct an
Apiary So as to
Pay.

The recent bee exhibit Of the Douglas
County Agricultural society shown at the
Kings Highway attracted considerable at
tention and resulted in interesting quite a
number Of people I'm bee culture. Not few
Omaha citizens living In the outer portions
OF the city have expressed intentions Of
going into the bee business on a small scale
next spring.
One of the most interested persons in the
bee exhibit on the Highway was Sergeant
Of Police Harry Cook. who won six pre-
miums and one diploma with his bees and
honey Mr. Cook has an up-to-date little
apiary at his home on Military avenue and
says his FIRST experience with bees was two
years ago. when a swarm settled on one Of
the trees in front Of the police station.
Bee culture is one Of the most interest
ing and profitable things in which one can
engage his spare time" says Sergeant Cook.
THE more one studies the bee the more is
he impressed with the wonderful workings
OF the tiny creature. Many OF the actions
Of the bee appear to be inspired by a mem
tally of some kind. There is purpose and
system I'm everything the bee does When
hive becomes over-populated the queen
will gather her old associates about her,
give the younger generation a deed to the
hive and leave for new place. When a
bee has outlived it's usefulness it will crawl
away somewhere and die in the weeds, thus
saving it's friends burial expenses.
Easy Pickin' for DrOnes.
1.-THE drones do not have to draw the
water nor hew the wood; they have access
to any hive without password, while the
other bees would be thrown down the stairs
IL they entered any but their own hive.
Whenever a queen gets old she is executed
IN be N,y- IL al,
lives, however. the queen is zealously
guarded by the entire swarm at all times
If an intruder enters the hive the bees
gather around the queen in the form of a
ball. Unless the bees be young they will
pine and die II they lose their queen
through some untoward incident
"One of the most interesting features Of
the life of worker bee is the way 1t first
serves an apprenticeship for three weeks
feeding the Matching bees. drying out and
storing honey, cleaning up the hive, sealing
up cracks and crevices and protecting the
hive; then 1t is mustered into the field to
gather honey for three weeks, which is the
average time for bee to work in the sum-
mer season. In the working season the
average life of the working bee is six
weeks after which its wings are worn out
flying miles and miles after the nectar. AS
a rule the bee gathers honey within a
radius of three miles from the hive al
though it has been recorded that bees have
travelled fifteen miles for honey The bees
that have earned their working cards bring
| the honey in in watery condition to the
hive and the apprentices dry the honey by
blowing 1t with their wings.
zone may start in the bee business for so
and with attention may reap neat return
on the investment, to say nothing of the in
teresting study afforded by the little busy
bee"