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PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 O N 
 
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 Bv DON J. ARNOLD. 
 
 BKOWNVILLE, NEB.: 
 
 Advertiser Book and Job Print. 
 
 1874. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the veai 1874, 
 •^ By DON J. ARNOLD, 
 
 in the olfice of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 O N 
 
 mm ■ iliiitt 
 
 
 By DON J. ARNOLD. 
 
 BKOWNVILLE, NEB.: 
 
 Advertiskr Book avd Job Pbint. 
 
 1874. 
 
■ Ant. 
 
 
 

 HISTORY OF THE BEE. 
 
 The Creator gave to man the sovereignty 
 over all the creatures that dwell on the face 
 of the earth, and many of them seem in- 
 stinctively to prefer his society and his service. 
 
 Least of them all is the " Little Busy 
 Bee," the patient gatherer of sweets, the 
 frugal storer of the fruit of its toil, and 
 hence the world's accepted symbol of indus- 
 try and thrift. 
 
 It chooses its field of labor in the neigh- 
 borhood of human habitations ; avoiding the 
 unbroken wastes of forests and the trackless 
 desert alike. 
 
 The almost limitless prairies, covered 
 though they be with rich flowers through all 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 the season, nevertheless furnish but httle that 
 invites the coming of the bee. Most civil- 
 ized people are familiar with this exquisite 
 little worker, yet they are familiar only with 
 its general appearance and industrious habits. 
 Much that is of great value respecting its 
 nature, and the condition under which it 
 is m(>st useful to man, the majority of rnen 
 do not seem to know. 
 
 And yet the multitudes who know but 
 little about them, have undertaken to keep 
 bees, and have hoped to gain much profit 
 therefrom. Successful bee culture has, how- 
 ever, been exceedingly rare. And no won- 
 der. It was a most unreasonable expecta- 
 tion, that of successful treatment, where men 
 were ignorant of the wants of the domesti- 
 cated insect and the necessary conditions of 
 its existence. 
 
 Who was the first keeper of bees, history 
 does not say. So useful a servant to man, 
 we conclude, however, must have shared 
 with him the delights of the original garden, 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 where were all manner of fruits, and doubt- 
 less all the honey laden flowers also. More- 
 over, from the singular persistency with which 
 our humble insect friend chooses the sweet 
 and leaves the bitter behind, we judge that 
 it was superior to the flattery that persuaded 
 our first mother to pluck and eat the forbid- 
 den fruit. In the far east, the nativity of 
 our race, we shall, without doubt, locate the 
 nativity of the bee. 
 
 Nor was it because of any evil it had 
 done that the world was destroyed with a 
 flood. And when all the gardens and fields 
 were submerged, we fancy he required only 
 a quiet, snug little chamber, just under the 
 roof of the ark, whence he foraged on the 
 good things that father Noah had stored 
 away for the comfort of his somewhat varied 
 family ; and, when the waters were dried up 
 again, and the flowering plants sprang up, 
 it went forth from Ararat to sweeten the 
 toils of humanity in every land to which 
 toiling men should go. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 The honey bee exists in a community, 
 which we call a swarm, or a colony. Ev- 
 ery swarm contains three kinds of bees. 
 The Queen is the head of the community. 
 No swarm can maintain its existence for 
 any great length of time without a queen. 
 The Drones are the "gentlemen" of the 
 community. To them nature has denied the 
 ability to perform the work of gathering 
 honey, or of secreting wax. The proboscis 
 of the drone is not of sufficient length to be 
 available in extracting the honey from the 
 flowers. No little grooves upon his leg 
 serves as baskets for the pollen. It is the 
 office of the drone to impregnate the queen. 
 
 As the season approaches for swarming, 
 the young drones make their appearance, and 
 sport themselves in the sunshine on pleasant 
 days during the middle of the day. In a 
 large swarm there are 1,500 to 2,000 drones. 
 But by far the most numerous class of bees 
 in every swarm are the workers, which range 
 from 20,000 to 60,000 in a swarm. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 7 
 
 A more particular description of these dif- 
 ferent kinds of bees will be acceptable to 
 those whose interests are involved in their 
 culture. 
 
 THE QUEEN. 
 
 In form, the Queen bee is long and slen- 
 der, compared with the Drone. Her wings 
 are short, covering only about one-half of 
 her body. Her posterior is delicately taper- 
 ing. When on the wing, she carries it 
 curved downward and forward ; and when 
 moving about in the hive, she draws it along 
 on the surface on which she moves. 
 
 The Queen is armed with a sting which 
 she uses only in her combats with a rival 
 Queen, You can handle her without fear, as 
 she was never known to sting a person. 
 
 The Queen is fed by the nurse bees, and 
 my observation has led me to the conclusion 
 that she is fed the same kind of partially di- 
 gested food that is given to the larva. 
 
 The office of the Queen, as before inti- 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 mated, is to keep up the stock of bees. She 
 ONLY LAYS EGGS. She is Capable of laying 
 from two to three thousand eggs in a day. 
 
 The virgin Queen is capable of laying 
 eggs, and these eggs will hatch out drones. 
 Only after she has had conne6tion with a 
 drone can the Queen lay eggs which will 
 produce workers. 
 
 It is a know fa6t, also, that a Queen, af- 
 ter impregnation, is capable of laying eggs 
 from which both workers and drones will be 
 hatched. Moreover, the same egg will pro- 
 duce a worker or a queen. But how ? Some 
 have claimed that when a queen is wanted 
 the worker bees prepare a queen cell in which 
 she lays a queen egg, and this will inevitably 
 produce a queen. Others claim that it de- 
 pends on the food with which the larva is 
 fed after it is hatched, whether it shall be- 
 come a worker or a queen. If the workers 
 choose to make it a queen, they feed it 
 ''royal jelly;" if they choose to make it a 
 worker, they bring it up on ordinary food. 
 
0\ BEE CULTURE. J) 
 
 My opinion is, that a queen comes from the 
 fertilized egg from which the worker comes. 
 The larva is the same, whether it is to be- 
 come a worker or a queen. And I have 
 been unable to detect any dilference in the 
 food given to them respectively. The deter- 
 mination does not, then, depend on the egg 
 nor on the food. I conclude that it depends 
 solely on the cell. The queen is the per- 
 fe6lly developed female. The worker is an 
 imperfectly developed female. The worker 
 is dwarfed, by the smallness of the cell in 
 which it undergoes its transformation from 
 the egg to the larva, from the larva to the 
 winged insect, the matured bee. 
 
 DRONES. 
 
 The Drones are hatched from the unfertil- 
 ized eggs. They occupy the store-cells of 
 the comb, which are considerably larger than 
 the worker brood-cells. It would seem to 
 imply a degree of intelligence on the part of 
 the queen, that she invariably selects these 
 
10 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 larger cells for the eggs of the drones. The 
 drone is much larger and more clumsily 
 formed than the worker -, his jaws are shor- 
 ter, his body thicker, his wings longer and 
 broader, and his posterior extremity is more 
 blunt, and invested with a hairy appendage. 
 Having no sting, they are without defense. 
 
 They begin to appear in April, and will 
 continue to increase for several months, pro- 
 vided the season be favorable for gathering 
 honey, and consequently for multiplying col- 
 onies. 
 
 But in an unfavorable season, the workers 
 seem to become apprehensive of a short sup- 
 ply of food, and they early commence the 
 work of destroying the drones, as an unnec- 
 essary burden on the community. Nor are 
 they, in this, guilty of a mistaken policy, for 
 the drones are enormous consumers of the 
 sweet stores which their little sisters, with 
 much labor, have gathered. The observant 
 bee-keeper may himself find his interest in 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 11 
 
 taking counsel of the workers, and in unit- 
 ing; with them in disposing of the unprofitable 
 drones. 
 
 THE WORKERS. 
 
 The attention of the saunterer is often at- 
 tracted to the behaviour of a bee that has just 
 lit on a flower before him. How briskly she 
 travels over its surface, scenting the deposits 
 of sweetness ; hov/ she plunges her head and 
 shoulders into the central cavity ; how she 
 manipulates the anthers, and appropriates the 
 pollen from them ; and when she has ex- 
 hausted the supply, or has obtained all the 
 lading she can carry, how cheerfully she hies 
 awav to her home. This is one of the 
 workers. You will notice that she is smaller 
 than either queen or drone. Her form is 
 trim and neat ; her wings are slight but 
 strong. Her4iind legs are provided with mi- 
 nute concavities in which she packs away the 
 pollen, employing her feet in the operation. 
 Underneath her abdomen she is furnished 
 
12 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 with six overlapping, scale-like membranes, 
 which form pockets, within which she se- 
 cretes the wax. The wax is produced 
 through digestion of food of the Bee, much 
 as the fat of other animals is produced. 
 
 The honey, as it is gathered, is taken into 
 the honey-bag, which is an oval sack about 
 the size of a grain of wheat, lying in front 
 of the true stomach, with which it also com- 
 municates. The amount of hon^y, there- 
 fore, which a bee can carry home each trip 
 she makes, is but a small drop. Yet, in pro- 
 portion to her size, we must admit that it is 
 somethino; considerable. Let us follow her 
 to the hive. Arriving there, she goes straight 
 to the store-comb, where she empties her 
 honey-sack into one of the cells. 
 
 She is armed with a sting, which nature 
 intended, not so much for her own protection, 
 as for the protedion of th» community of 
 which she is a member. In many cases, and, 
 indeed, in all cases where she inflid:s a 
 wound with her sting on the large animals. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 13 
 
 she sacrifices her own life. The sting itself 
 is connected with a little sack in which a 
 poison fluid is secreted which follows the 
 sting, and causes the intense sufl^ering which 
 most men have at some time experienced. 
 
 As in human society there are various 
 classes, and in every great industrial enter- 
 prise there are various stations and duties as- 
 signed to individuals, so, in the bee commu- 
 nity, there is a division of labor and of 
 responsibility. In every hive there is a de- 
 tachment of workers, whose duty it is to 
 guard the entrance; another detachment, 
 whose duty it is to feed and care for the 
 young ; another detachment is employed in 
 building comb ; but the greater number are 
 engaged in the work of gathei-ing honey and 
 storing it away in the cells. 
 
 Sometimes the comb is situated where it 
 is inconvenient for the heavily laden bee to 
 reach it. She cannot very well fly to it in- 
 side the hive, where so many of her compan- 
 ions are moving about, and ir is not conven- 
 
U PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 lent to reach it by a round-about way. Then 
 the bees make a curious ladder, by suspend- 
 ing one from another, the first one being 
 suspended from a fixed spot at the top. The 
 worker comes home with her load, enters 
 the hive, begins the ascent of the hving lad- 
 der, and reaches her destination successfully, 
 
 COMB BUILDING. 
 
 We have mentioned that the bee's comb 
 ?s a secretion in the bee analogous to that of 
 the fat in other animals But there is this 
 difference: ist. The animal is unconscious 
 of the formation of the fat, while the bee 
 holds the secretion of wax under her control. 
 2nd. The fat of animals is chiefly deposited 
 within ihem, while the wax is accumulated 
 in the little external pockets which have been 
 already described. 
 
 The production of wax renders it neces- 
 sary for the bee to consume more than the 
 usual amount of honey and pollen. Differ- 
 ent authors differ in reference to the quantity 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 15 
 
 of honey consumed in the operation of pro- 
 ducing a pound of comb. Dzierzon says it 
 requires twenty pounds ; Kretchner says 
 thirteen pounds, and Dr. Kirtland savs twen- 
 ty-five founds. 
 
 The materials are passed from the honey- 
 bag into the true stomach, where they are 
 digested. After about twenty-four hours 
 they enter into the blood from which the 
 wax is secreted b) the organs which nature 
 has provided for that purpose. 
 
 In the work of building the comb, each 
 builder is her own hod-carrier, so to speak ; 
 for each comes to the structure with just that 
 amount of material that has been prepared 
 within herself, and put away in her little wax 
 pockets. Now the first thing she does is to 
 seize hold of the little flake of wax contained 
 in one of these pockets, which shecoes with 
 her hind feet ; next, she passes it forward, 
 seizes it in her mandibles, and with her fore 
 feet, her mandibles and proboscis, works and 
 kneads the (lakes together into a consistency 
 
16 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 suited to her use \ and then, beginning at the 
 top, she lays down the adhesive substance on 
 the surface from whicli she wishes to suspend 
 the comb. 
 
 Just here human invention has found one 
 of its golden opportunities to interfere and 
 guide the instinctive operations of the bee, 
 for the profit of man. This it has done bv 
 arranging in the hive the sinple device known 
 as the movable-comb frame. 
 
 Having prepared her " base of operations," 
 she builds downward. The comb consists 
 of a double series of hexagonal or six-sided 
 cells, separated at their bases by a thin parti- 
 tion. These cells are not built opposite each 
 other, but the walls of one cell arise from 
 the centre of the cell which stands on the 
 opposite side of the partition, or floor. As 
 the comb hangs vertically in the hive, the 
 cells are built not exactly horizontally, but 
 slightly curved upward, so that, as they grow, 
 honey can be stored in them without loss. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 USES OF THE CELLS. 
 
 The FIRST use which a new colony of bees 
 makes of its comb, is to store its own provis- 
 ions of honey and pollen. Very soon the 
 Queen commences depositing eggs in the 
 cells, and the larvae appear within three days 
 thereafter. In the early part of the season 
 the bees build brood cells chiefly, in the lat- 
 ter part of the season they build store cells 
 almost exclusively. 
 
 BREEDING. 
 
 A stock of bees can only be kept vig- 
 orous by the breeding of new stock. But 
 the production of young bees depends chiefly 
 on the production of bee-food. No matter 
 how strong the original stock is, if the sea- 
 son is unfavorable, the stock is almost cer- 
 tain to diminish. But if the season be fa- 
 vorable, so that an abundant supply of honey 
 and bee-bread can be provided, then the in- 
 
18 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 stipxt of reproduction will be sure to be 
 active. Abundance of eggs will be deposited, 
 and the workers will give all needed atten- 
 tion to the rearing of the young. 
 
 For this reason it is of importance that the 
 keeper of bees shall see to it that his bees 
 are furnished with sufficient food before the 
 opening of the season, and at any time 
 when, during the season, the natural supply 
 runs short. The movable comb frame is of 
 inestimable advantage for feeding bees, be- 
 cause it can be placed where they, with the 
 least trouble and excitement, can enjoy its 
 use. 
 
 If the food supply be furnished them early, 
 there will be no lack of workers to gather 
 the crop of honey which the first spring 
 flowers offer; but, if the supply of food be 
 suffered to become short, the result will be 
 an enfeebled stock, which will be In danger 
 of remaining feeble and inefficient through 
 the season. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 19 
 
 STAGES OF BEE LIFE. 
 
 We have spoken of the act of the queen 
 in depositing an egg in the bottom of the 
 brood-cell. The egg is attached by its end 
 to the centre of the bottom of the cell, 
 where it remains for three days, when It 
 hatches an active little worm or larva. Now 
 the nurse bees begin the work of feeding. 
 They prepare for the little nursling a milky 
 looking substance, which they furnish in 
 quantities sufficient that it may swim in it. 
 The little grub, having no mouth, is fortun- 
 ately furnished with absorbents over its whole 
 body, by which it takes up its food while it 
 swims. In this condition it remains about 
 five or six days, the nurse-bees carefully pro- 
 viding the needed supply of chyle. Then 
 the cells are capped over, and the larva is left 
 to develop and undergo its transformation. 
 In about twelve days more it has attained to 
 the character of a bee, and it begins to use 
 its mandibles in uncapping its cell, which it 
 prepares to vacate. 
 
20 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 The drone is hatched from the egg in 
 three days, the same as the worker, remains 
 a larva six and a half days, and in about 
 fourteen days more, or on the twenty-fourth 
 day, leaves the cell. 
 
 The cell in which the young queen is 
 reared dilFers from all other cells. It is 
 usually located at or near the edge of the 
 comb. In its external appearance, it strongly 
 resembles a small peanut shell. The walls 
 of the queen cell are thick and strong, its 
 base occupying the room of several ordinary 
 cells, and the body of the cell projecting 
 vertically, so that the head of the young 
 queen is downward. The egg is hatched be- 
 tween the third and fourth day ; the larva 
 state continues about five days, when the 
 cell is closed. Meanwhile, the bees show 
 the royal grub every possible attention. It 
 now remains imprisoned about eight days, 
 when she eats her way out. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the old queen 
 is still in the hive when the time has come 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 21 
 
 for the young queen to come forth from the 
 cell. It is then at her peril that she comes 
 out, for one queen can never endure the 
 presence of another queen, and the young 
 one would be almost certainly killed by the 
 old one. To prevent such an unfortunate 
 occurrence, the worker bees instinctively 
 hold back the young queen from going abroad, 
 and guard her by covering her with their 
 own bodies, in such numbers that the old 
 queen cannot reach her. 
 
 After the young queen leaves her cell, it 
 is cut down till it has the appearance of a 
 small acorn cup. I have known instances 
 in which the same base has been built upon 
 several times, but never one in which the 
 entire cell has been preserved. 
 
 The average life of the workers is about 
 four months. The drones live only at the 
 mercy of the workers, and if the supply of 
 honey is good they are tolerated through 
 most of the season. The queen often lives 
 from three to five years. 
 
22 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 BEE FOOD. 
 
 Whatever the bee gathers and stores is 
 gathered and stored for food. These stores 
 are chiefly of two kinds, which sre known 
 hy the name of honey and bee bread. 
 As it would be injurious and often fatal to 
 subsist a horse on grain only^ so it would 
 seem to be fatal to the bee to eat honey only. 
 A coarser food is needed to enable the di- 
 gestive organs to perform their functions. 
 On the same grounds on which it is neces- 
 sary to give the horse hay, it is necessary 
 that the bee shall have " bread. "^ And na- 
 ture has provided that the flower from which 
 she extracts the mo-e concentrated food — - 
 the honey — shall also aflx)rd her the coarser 
 food. Hence, while her proboscis reaches- 
 for the sweetness, the legs may be brushing 
 against the anthers of the flowers, and catch- 
 ing the pollen as it falls. 
 
 Indirectly the bee, in this busy life of hers, 
 gathering food for herself, performs another 
 service for the benefit of man ; for she car- 
 
t)>;' BEE CULITIRE. 2S 
 
 ries from the anthers of one flower to the 
 pistil of another, the fertilising dust, with- 
 out which the season of fruiting would never 
 come. 
 
 We have spoken of the larva swimming of 
 floating in a milky looking fiuic^ in the celL 
 As to the nature of this fluid, we remark, 
 that inasmuch as it is supplied to the cells by 
 the worker bees, we suppose it to be of the 
 nature of chyle, which they have the ability 
 to raise out of their stomachs and to deposit 
 in the cell. 
 
 ENEMIES OF THE BEE. 
 
 One of the most destructive enemies of 
 the honey bee is the moth, or miller. It 
 usually makes its appearance in July, and 
 attacks weak swarms. Strong, vigorous 
 swarms are comparatively free from danger 
 from the attacks of the miller. The egg of 
 the miller is often deposited on the board 
 over which the bee is obliged to pass in en- 
 tering the hive, and it becomes attached to 
 
24 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 her legs and carried in; and it finds a lodg- 
 ment in the comb on which she is working. 
 Some have suggested that the moth may lay 
 its eggs in the flowers where the bee gathers 
 honey and pollen, and thus it may be intro- 
 duced into the hive. But it is certain, also, 
 that the miller sometimes enters the hive, 
 when the stock of bees is weak, and depos- 
 its its eggs directly in the comb. 
 
 It is the moth larva, not the miller, that is 
 so destructive to the bees. Hatching out in 
 the hive, the little grub begins to eat its way 
 through the comb, choosing that part of the 
 comb which is most safe from the attack of 
 the bees. Hence it will often be found to 
 have entirely consumed a large portion of 
 the cell floor, by which it splits the comb 
 througout much of its extent, while the ex- 
 ternal portion of the comb is apparently un- 
 injured. In its progress it often cuts away 
 the walls of the brood cells, while the young, 
 immature bees are yet in them, thus destroy- 
 ing large quantities of the brood. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 How can this enemy of the bee be met 
 and most successfully resisted ? Many de- 
 vices have been invented, and some of them 
 have been patented. 
 
 It is certain that all moth traps are worth- 
 less. The eggs that are carried into the 
 hive by the bees themselves are probably 
 more numerous than those that the miller 
 itself deposits there. My experience has 
 produced the conviction that the first great 
 requisite is to keep the stocks strong. It is 
 needful, in the next place, that the bee keep- 
 er be able frequently to examine every part 
 of the hive, so that if any moth eggs hatch 
 there, he can immediately remove the infect- 
 ed comb out of the hive. This can be 
 done only with the movable comb hive. 
 
 The king bird is also an enemy of the 
 bee. You may see him perched on the limb 
 of a tree, watching. Whenever a bee comes 
 in, overburdened with honey, flying slowly 
 because of her load, he will dart out sud • 
 
26 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 denly and devour her. The best remedy for 
 the king bird is the shot gun. 
 
 Ants are sometimes very troublesome ene- 
 mies of the honey bee. I have noticed that 
 the bee fears the ant. He marches boldly 
 into the hive, and takes his fill of honey. 
 Ants, in great numbers, make raids on the 
 same hive, generally choosing the night sea- 
 son for their marauding;. There should be 
 no harbor for ants near a hive. No old 
 boards, or chips, or sticks of wood, should 
 be left lying around loose. If ants are de- 
 tected in the work of foraging on the bees, 
 find their homes, and sprinkle a little flour 
 MIXED WITH CALOMEL ovcr them, which will 
 destroy them. I have tried many things, but 
 nothing equals this. 
 
 Toads should be excluded from the vicin- 
 ity of bee stands, for toads love bees, and are 
 very expert in taking them, especially when 
 they alight for a moment on the ground near 
 them. 
 
ON BKE CULTURE 27 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
 
 The object of keeping bees is profit. If 
 we are not to derive any profit from it, we 
 do not wish to have the trouble of it. Hives 
 cost money. A stock to start with costs 
 money. Time is money. The ground they 
 occupy is worth money. If there is no 
 money to be made by keeping bees, then we 
 do not care to keep them. This, at least, is 
 the GENERAL feeling. And it is right. Bu^ 
 it should be understood that there is no profit 
 in bad management, and certainly there is 
 none in the bad management of bees. 
 
 In the management of bees, the first great 
 
 DISIDERATUM is a COMFORTABLE hoUSC foT 
 
 the bee to live in. When left to themselves 
 thev seldom fail to find such a house in the 
 hollow of a forest tree, and sometimes even 
 in the cavities of rocks. In a domestic state, 
 they are quite contented and happy in the 
 sections of such hollow trees which men 
 have boarded over for their use : in old style 
 
28 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 Straw hives ; in the plainest kinds of boxes, 
 etc. In Tact, it is not a difficult task to satis- 
 fy the taste of the bee, in the matter of a 
 dwelling. She does not demand a great 
 house, with all the modern improvements ; 
 with carpeted halls and parlors, and 
 with folding doors. She is more intent on 
 the geometry of comb-building, than the 
 splendid architecture of the hive. 
 
 The whole, or nearly the whole, import- 
 ance that attaches to the dillerences in hives, 
 therefore, relates simply to their adaptation 
 
 to SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT. In Other 
 
 words, one hive is better than another hive, 
 just in proportion to its convenience in the 
 bee-keeper's treatment of his bees. 
 
 We assume that everybody knows how to 
 build an old-fashioned box hive. And, if all 
 you want is to catch the swarm and hive it, 
 and let it fill the hive with honey, and then 
 kill the bees and get the honey, then that old 
 fashioned hive is good enough. But, if you 
 wish to keep the bees over ; if you wish to 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 29 
 
 guard them against the ravages of the bee 
 moth -, if you wish to encourage them to 
 store more honey than they themselves can 
 consume, and to store it, unmixed with bee- 
 bread and brood, where you can remove it 
 when you choose; if you wish to have some 
 convenience for feeding them when they get 
 short of provisions, and yet do not wish to 
 subject them to too great exposure, then the 
 old box hive is not sufficient. It is possible 
 to meet all these contingencies by combining 
 various devices in the construction of a hive. 
 In the next place, the proper management 
 of bees requires a suitable location for their 
 dwellings. One bee hive should not be too 
 near another. The keeper should be able to 
 attend to one hive without disturbing the 
 quiet of a whole neighborhood of hives. 
 And the individual colonies should not be in 
 ir-itable proximitv to other colonies. The 
 location of a hive should not be too elevated. 
 A high, naked hill, or spur of a hill, over 
 which the high winds of the spring sweep 
 
80 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 mercilessly, is very unfit for the residence of 
 bees. Thus exposed, multitudes are des- 
 troyed while returning laden with honey to 
 their homes. A shady, sheltered spot, is 
 necessary. Then the extremes of heat and 
 cold will not imperil the stock. 
 
 It is a great folly to let hives stand in the 
 sun and rain. The rain swells the wood, 
 the sun contracts it, producing cracks and 
 warping it out of shape, making openings 
 when there should be tight joints ; giving to 
 the moth an entrance or a cozy place to lay 
 its eggs. 
 
 When bees swarm, it is important that 
 the manager be in attendance, and ready„ 
 He should previously have deciced where his 
 next colony shall be placed He may have 
 no trouble in hiving them. If they alight in a 
 convenient place, he must go to work, as soon 
 as they have settled down in compact shape, 
 and very quietly and very gently cut the 
 twig on which they rest, and carry it to the 
 place where the hive i> waiting, and shake 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 31 
 
 them off at the entrance of the hive. They 
 will generally enter it and make themselves 
 at home. Sometimes the bees alight on a 
 high limb. Mr. Ouinby recommends the 
 use of a basket attached to a pole, in this 
 case. By holding the basket directly under 
 the swarm, and suddenly jarring the limb 
 they fall into the basket and can be carried 
 to the hive. Set the basket down by the 
 hive, and the bees will find the entrance and 
 go in. Sometimes they alight on the heavier 
 limbs, or • in the crotch of the tree, and it 
 may be necessary to brush them ofF, with a 
 wing into a pan or basket. 
 
 It may also happen that they have made 
 their arrangements to go away. Many ex- 
 pedients, such as rattling pans, ringing bells, 
 throwing sand among them, showering them 
 with water, flashing the sunlight upon them 
 by mirrors, etc., etc., have been recommen- 
 ded to keep bees from leaving. I have no 
 faith in any of these performances. I know 
 of but one preventative. By .means of the 
 
32 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 movable comb hive they may be artificially 
 swarmed, or divided, a little in advance of 
 the time when they whould swarm naturally, 
 and thus they will be contented to remain in 
 their quarters. And I remark, also, that this 
 is the ONLY TIME when artificial swarming 
 should be practiced, because, at this time the 
 bees are prepared for the work of fitting up 
 their new abode. They have an extraordi- 
 nary stock of wax in their wax pouches, and 
 they are holding their store of honey in their 
 honey bags, for their use while settling down 
 in their ^ew home. To divide a swarm at 
 any other time is to put the new colony, and 
 generally both, at a great disadvantage in the 
 outset of their separate existence. If the 
 season is very favorable, they may do well ; 
 but if not, they will be very likely to do verv 
 poorly. The chances are against them. In 
 the management of bees, the next important 
 item is this — the keeper must visit and 
 
 CAREFULLY OBSERVE THEM FREQUENTLY. 
 
 He must study their habits. He will soon be 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 33 
 
 able to tell when they are doing well. He 
 will see if they go out and in as if they were 
 intent on regular business, or if they are 
 restless, distracted, or inactive. Their con- 
 duct will soon inform him whether they are 
 able to reach good pasturage or not -, and 
 whether they are suffering any annoyance or 
 not. If he see signs of discontent or distress, 
 he should suspect the presence of some ene- 
 my of the bee. Then he should carry his 
 examination to the inside of the hive, care- 
 fully lifting out the comb frames, and noting 
 if any foe has gained an entrance. 
 
 In good seasons, the bees will gather a sur- 
 plus of honey, and the keeper will wish to 
 remove it. For this purpose hives, are con- 
 structed with separate chambers, or recepta- 
 cles, for storing the surplus. In these boxes, 
 the bees will store nothing but the pure 
 honey. In the body of the hive, the comb 
 will be found to contain honey, bee-bread and 
 brood. 
 
 When the little boxes are filled, you re^ 
 
34 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 move them, and put empty ones in their 
 places. When a box is removed, it will 
 generally be found that a number of bees 
 remain in it, and when it is set away from 
 the hive for the bees to leave, others will 
 come and commence the work of carrying 
 oir the contents of the hqx. A good plan is 
 to set the boxes reversed in a tub, and spread 
 a sheet over the tub. The bees will leave 
 the boxes, and outsiders cannot enter. When 
 all are out, remove the sheet, shake or brush 
 the bees off. When the honey box is to be 
 put in its place, it is an excellent plan to take 
 a piece of clean, empty comb, cut its upper 
 side straight, warm it, and then attach it to 
 the roof of the box, in the direction you 
 wish the comb to be built. The bees will 
 commence working in the box much sooner 
 than they otherwise would. 
 
 Bees should be protected against the ex- 
 treme cold and sudden changes of the winter. 
 For this purpose a dry, airy cellar, where the 
 temperature can be kept near the freezing 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 35 
 
 point, is recommended. But if they are left 
 out doors, they should be carefuUv watched 
 to prevent accumulation of snow or dust 
 about the openings, and to keep up the nec- 
 essary ventillation 
 
 Before putting bees into winter quarters, 
 the supplies of food should be so equalized 
 that there shall be no lack in any hive. This 
 can be done by removing comb -frames, with 
 the honey, from those that are well supplied 
 to those that lack. 
 
 Honey boxes that contain comb, or honey, 
 should be removed, and empty ones put in 
 their places. 
 
 BEE PASTURE. 
 
 The flowers of most forest and fruit trees, 
 and shrubs, as well as those of many herbs, 
 yield either honey or pollen, or both, to the 
 industry of the bee. It is an advantage to 
 the bee-keeper, however, to be in the neigh- 
 borhood oi' timber, because much of the 
 earliest supply is found in the tree flowers. 
 
8G PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 But there are limes in the seasons when 
 the natural supply becomes scant, and it is 
 important that provision be made in anticipa- 
 tion of such times. One of the very best 
 plants to be cultivated for this purpose is the 
 white clover ; both because it continues so 
 long in bloom, and because it yields the pur- 
 est and finest honey. It can be grown, also, 
 in places that would otherwise be waste. 
 The Alsike clover is nearly as valuable as 
 the white. Some persons esteem it even 
 more highly. 
 
 WORKING AMONG BEES. 
 
 When coming near a hive, avoid all hasty 
 movements. Do everything deliberately. If 
 you wish to work about the hive, carry a 
 little bunch of cotton rags on fire with you, 
 and blow some of its smoke into the hive. 
 The startled bees will immediately fill them- 
 selves with honey; and after this they will 
 be amiable enough. You can do what you 
 wish with them without danger of being stung. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 PROFITS OF BEE CULTURE. 
 
 It is a source of great pleasure to one 
 whose time is not occupied with other and 
 severer labors, to observe the habits, and give 
 the benefit of his care to the industrious 
 community of bees, whose whole life is spent 
 in gathering and storing away sweetness. 
 
 Many a man would live longer if he 
 would relax the mental strain which his bus- 
 iness has wrought up to such fearful tension, 
 that a slight increase must cause it to snap ; 
 and I know of no employment better suited 
 to such needful relaxation than the culture of 
 bees. 
 
 It is also decidedly pleasant to be able to 
 place a nice comb of clear, white honey be- 
 fore a guest ; and it does not detract from 
 the pleasure, to be able to show him the 
 chamber in which the little workers are stor- 
 ing away an additional store of the same 
 sort. 
 
 Manv persons, probablv, keep bees for no 
 
3S PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 Other profit than such as I have named. 
 The opinion has extensively prevailed that a 
 large number of swarms could not be profit- 
 able kept on the same ground. It is true 
 that ground may be over-crowded with hives. 
 It is not best to place hives too near together. 
 But an ordinary town lot would accomodate 
 several. 
 
 The LIMIT of profitable bee culture is 
 exactly the same as the limit of any other 
 profitable business — i. e., it is limited bv the 
 CAPABILITY and DiLLiGENCE of him who is 
 eno;ao;ed in it. Whenever a man undertakes 
 so much in any busii^ess as to be obliged to 
 slight some part of it, he is sure to loose 
 money. When he does just the amount of 
 business that he can do well, he trjakes it 
 pay. 
 
 Bee keeping, on a moderate scale, requires 
 but little time. It is simply recreation. And 
 it may be made profitable as such.. And 
 while it makes but slight draft on one's time, 
 it will be financially profitable. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 39 
 
 The keeper of a few colonies of bees 
 ought to get at least one new colony from 
 each of the olc ones, everv year. Some- 
 times he will get two or more new colonies 
 from each old one. Now, in addition this 
 increase of stock, he will have the surplus 
 honev, which will range from forty to one 
 hundred and twenty pounds in ordinary 
 years, from swarms of good average strength. 
 It will be seen that several hundred per cent, 
 of profit is almost a certainty. Bur, do not 
 
 FORGET THAT EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON 
 MANAGEMENT. 
 
 REQUSITES OF BEE HIVES. 
 
 Capacity. — The homestead of the hive 
 should be of the capacity of a little over a 
 bushel. The inside measures which I prefer 
 are — 14J inches length, 14J breadth, and 12 
 inches depth. Above the homestead there 
 should be a chamber of two-thirds the capac- 
 ity of the homestead, in which the honey 
 boxes, or surplus comb-frames are to be 
 
40 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 placed. Movable-comb frames should be 
 used in the homestead. 
 
 Convenience. — Convenience is a prime 
 quality in the residence of man, and in the 
 hive of the bee. It should not be too far 
 from the entrance to the living room, or to 
 the place of labor. When a bee arrives at 
 the door of her hive, she does not want to 
 make a long, tiresome journey to reach the 
 cell where her burden of honey is to be un- 
 loaded. Now, for this reason, the hive 
 must not be too high or too long. But, be- 
 sides this, the convenience of management 
 requires that a hive shall not be too compli- 
 cated. It should be such that all the inter- 
 nal arrangement may be laid open to view, 
 when necessary, without much delay, or 
 jar, or friction of parts so as to cause no 
 unnecessary alarm among the community. 
 Every part should be within easy reach, and 
 so related to other parts, that changes that 
 are necessary for the good of the stock, may 
 readily be made. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 41 
 
 Cheapness is another prime quality. A 
 very expensive hive is sure to be an unprofit- 
 able one. The more complicated the con- 
 struction of the hive, the more expensive it 
 must be. Still, there is no advantage gained 
 in making a hive of poor material, because 
 it is cheap ; nor in hiring it made by a poor 
 workman, because he will work cheaply. The 
 hive should be well made, of good lumber, 
 and well painted, to keep the weather from 
 destroying it. In the Missouri Valley a good 
 hive ought not to cost more than five dollars. 
 In the east, where lumber is cheaper, it 
 should not cost so much. A good hive will 
 not have unnecessary openings through which 
 the bee moth can enter, to lay its egg. For 
 this reason it should have but one entrance, 
 and that should not be too large. 
 
 A hive with a homestead the size described 
 is sufficiently large to accommodate a swarm 
 of bees, with plenty of room to store their 
 supplies for winter. All honey deposited in 
 the surplus honey boxes can be removed. 
 
42 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ARNOLD'S 
 IMPROVED MOVABLE COMB HIVE. 
 
 PATENTEE) SEPTEMBER. 24, 1873. 
 
 It is believed that this hive possesses all 
 the qualities requsite to a good hive, in a 
 larger degree than any other. Certainly 
 those who have given it the longest trial, in 
 competition with all other hives, have been 
 the most enthusiastic in its praise. 
 
 The following cuts show the character of 
 Arnold's hive. The first cut presents nearly 
 a front view of the hive as it appears open, 
 with its movable frames edgwise to the ob- 
 server. The second cut shows the hive 
 closed, with the rear part of the floor dropped 
 to facilitate the cleaning of the floor, and also 
 showing the mode of hiving a new swarm. 
 In the first cut the hood is shown on the 
 hive ; in the second cut it is left off, and the 
 honey boxes are exposed to view. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 43 
 
 DESCRIPTON. 
 
 The following description is taken from 
 the Official Gazette of the United States 
 Pa*-ent Office, oi' September 24th, 1872: 
 
 '^ The frames are based in niches cut \ii 
 the bills at opposite inner sides of the outer 
 case i.ear the floor, and kept equidistant from 
 
44 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 each other at the top by intermediate pins. 
 A flat thin top to the case is slotted in coin- 
 cidence with slots in the bottoms of honey- 
 boxes resting thereon. A hood fits snugly 
 over these boxes, and a flange from it de- 
 
 lirr- 
 
 scends outside the case to cover the joint. 
 The outer case is divided upon a line from 
 near the top of the rear, where it is hinged, 
 to near the bottom of the front, and an in- 
 clined piece fixed on the inner angle of each 
 side of the top part presses the frames to- 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 45 
 
 ward each other in the act of closing. The 
 case may be opened, carrying the hood and 
 honey-boxes with the moving part, or these 
 may be first removed." 
 
 ADVANTAGES. 
 
 1 have been led to the construction of this 
 hive, by my efforts to secure a combination 
 of advantages with the least possible compli- 
 cation. 
 
 EiRST. — I wish a hive, every part of which 
 is readily accessible ; so that either the purest 
 honey comb, the brood chamber, or the bees 
 themselves, may be reached and handled. If 
 we wish to remove an old comb, and put 
 another comb in its place ; if we wish to re- 
 move a full comb, and put an empty frame 
 in its place ; if we wish to transfer a brood 
 comb with its young brood, together with a 
 queen cell and a quantity of bees, to a new 
 location, it is of great advantage to have just 
 such accessibility of the parts as this hive 
 affords. 
 
46 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 In my experience I have never found any 
 other device that possessed this important 
 feature — convenience — in so great a degree; 
 and my neighbors, and many others who 
 have made a trial of it, assure me that it 
 more than meets their expectations, i have 
 found that bees are addicted to the practice 
 of waxing over everv spot in the upper part 
 of the hive, where joints are made by pieces 
 of wood in contact. Thus, when movable 
 comb frames are suspended from supports 
 in the upper part of the hive, they are often so 
 firmly fastened by the bees that it requires 
 considerable exertion to get tliem out. Hence 
 the comb is often bruised, or otherwise in- 
 jured. Moreover, I have often wished to 
 examine the different combs as the frames 
 were suspended, but could not do it success- 
 fully, without removing one or more, because 
 they were fixed at the top. I have, for 
 these reasons, arranged my comb-frames so 
 that they stand in semi-circular niches at the 
 bottom, and when I wish to examine the 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 47 
 
 condition of a comb, I open the hive as seen 
 in the first cut ; the frames can then be sep- 
 arated at the top sufficiently so that in a min- 
 ute I can make a thorough search of the en- 
 tire homestead. Now, suppose I suspect 
 the presence of the moth ; by dropping the 
 floor of the hive behind, I ascertain if they 
 have made any litter thereon. Nou^, closing 
 the bottom, and turning back the upper half 
 of the hive upon its hinges, I can lay the 
 combs open so as to observe them, one after 
 another. If I deem it necessary to remove 
 a frame, it is already loose, and I remove it 
 without trouble. In all these operations I 
 have not found it necessary to remove the 
 hood, or to disturb the honey boxes. I re- 
 place the frame, or substitute an empty one, 
 close the hive, and the entire process has 
 occupied so brief a time that the bees have 
 suffered the least possible annoyance. I have 
 observed, that when I remove a honey box 
 in which the bees are working, they immedi- 
 ately fill themselves with honev and leave, 
 
48 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 but when I turn back the upper portion 
 of my hive, without disturbing the honey 
 boxes, the bees that are working therein 
 remain quietly, and when the hive is closed, 
 and the boxes are brought into their usual 
 position, the bees resume their work as if 
 nothing had happened. This I regard as a 
 very great advantage. 
 
 Secondly. — I wish a hive that I can re- 
 move from place to place without diiliculty, 
 and without endangering the comb, or the 
 bees. If my comb frames are suspended, as 
 they usually are, they are free to swing. If 
 the hive, in its removal, be not kept level, 
 the suspended frames are liable to swing, and 
 the comb is liable to be injured, and the bees 
 to be killed. I avoid all this danger by the 
 sockets in which the frames stand at the 
 bottom, and the pins and wedges by which 
 they are held in place at the top. 
 
 Thirdly. — Whatever excellencies a hive 
 may have, it must not be so expensive as to 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 49 
 
 eat up all the profits of bee keeping. Hence, 
 many people still adhere to the old box hive. 
 I find it possible to secure all the advantages 
 of which I have spoken, at a reasonable cost. 
 In the construction of my hive I use about 
 sixteen feet of inch lumber, (or dressed |,) 
 which includes strips for frames. For honey 
 boxes I use about five feet of thin lumber, 
 such as is used for backs to pictures and mir- 
 rors, which is sufficient for four boxes. I 
 use glass ends. I usually make two hives in 
 a day, which is not a hard day's work This 
 does not include painting. Any one can 
 estimate the cost of such a hive for his own 
 locality, knowing the price of lumber and 
 mechanic's labor. 
 
 I will sell a limited number of hives at 
 $4,50 apiece, to persons wishing to first test 
 them before purchasing farm or territorial 
 rights. On application, I will forward cir- 
 culars, stating prices of territory, terms, cct. 
 Adcress, DON J. ARNOLD, 
 
 Brownville, Nebraska. 
 
50 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 THE ITALIAN HONEY BEE. 
 
 Much interest has been taken in the efforts 
 to introduce the Itahan bee into this country, 
 and considerable success has attended the 
 effort, with excellent results. The Italian 
 bee is undoubtedly stronger, more active, and 
 more hardy, than the common bee. It is 
 also a more successful gatherer of honev. 
 
 The Italian Qtieen is more prolific than 
 the native Queen, and the svi'arms are ac- 
 cordingly stronger. 
 
 If any one shall get the Italian, thinking 
 to have a more amiable bee, one that will 
 not sting, etc., he will probably be disap- 
 pointed. They are lively fellows in the 
 maintanence of their rights, and they use the 
 sting as violently as other bees. 
 
ON BEE CULTURE. 
 
 CERTIFICATES. 
 
 The following certificates are from as re- 
 liable men as we have in this - country, and 
 who are successful bee-keepers : 
 
 Brownville, Neb , March 14th, 1874. 
 
 Don J. Arnold : 
 
 Dear Sir — I am delighted with the work- 
 ing of your Improved iMovable-Comb Bee 
 Hive. After proving it, I am convinced 
 that it is all that can be desired in the shape 
 of a hive, Hiram Alderman. 
 
 Brownville, March 6th, 1874. 
 
 This is to certify that I have used several 
 kinds of Bee Hives, and my preference is 
 decidedly in favor of Arnold's, and I will 
 rely upon it entirely in the future, as it gives 
 much better satisfaction than any other I 
 have tried. S. Cochran. 
 
 AspiNvvALL, Neb., March 9th, 1874. 
 
 D. J. Arnold : 
 
 Dear Sir — I am using the Arnold Bee 
 Hive, and find it fills every requirement that 
 
52 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 is necessary for a good hive ; and would also 
 recommend every one who wants a bee hive 
 for convenience, to try them and see for 
 themselves. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 F. H. D. Hunt. 
 
 Missouri Bottom, March I4tli, 1874. 
 
 Don J. Arnold : 
 
 Sir — I have kept bees for over thirty years, 
 and during that time have tried from the hol- 
 low log gum to the Langstroth hive, but 1 
 find the Arnold Improved Movable-Comb 
 Hive to be superior to any of them in con- 
 venience for handling bees or honey. 
 
 R. BUCKHAM. 
 
 Phelps City, Mo., February 2>oth, 1874. 
 
 I have been a bee keeper for thirty years, and 
 have tried nearly all the patent hives that 
 have been brought out, with variable success, 
 and have come to the conclusion that Ar- 
 nold's Hive has more good points for practi- 
 cal bee keeping than any other hive now in 
 use. Yours, Jas. Carnes. 
 
JOHN CRADDOCK. W. F. CRADDOCK. 
 
 CRADDOCK Sl SON, 
 
 Dealers in 
 
 BREE€H-LO ADII¥G 
 
 SHOT OTJn^S, 
 
 RIFLES, CARBINES, AMMUNITION, 
 AND SPORTING GOODS. 
 
 No. 11 MAIN STREET, 
 
 BROWN VILLE, NEB BASRA. 
 
 Guns made to order. Repairing neatly done. 
 
 JI\0. S^. STULL, 
 
 ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW, 
 
 BROWNVILLE, NEBRASKA. 
 
 m Honi 
 
 S3IITHP. TVTTLJE, 
 
 PROPRIETOR, 
 BROWNVIl>L,E, NEB. 
 
 Good Stabling connected with the House, and all the con- 
 veniences usually attaching to a first-class hotel. 
 
 JOSEPH SHUTZ, 
 
 Clocks, Watches and Jewelry. 
 
 BROWNVILLE NEBRASKA. 
 
 Repairing neatly and promptly done. All work, warranted. 
 
We keep constantly on hand a full assort- 
 ment of Nebraska grown 
 
 Persons wishing to purchase will do well by 
 sending for our prices before purchasing else- 
 where. 
 
 FURNAS, 803. & McCORMKK, 
 Brownville, Nebraska. 
 
 p I © ir w m B s . 
 
 J. 11, SHliOFF, 
 
 J^ T o w TL^r ill Q ^ Nebraska, 
 
 Invites one and all to come and see his 
 specimens of Photography. He is making 
 all the latest styles of pictures, on reasonable 
 terms. Special attention given to 
 
 COT^O^TN Gr. 
 
 OLD PIGTURES COPIED AND ENLARGED. 
 
HUMBOLBT 
 
 This Machine is of simple construction, 
 and challenges an equal trial with any other 
 machine in use, as hundreds who are usino- it 
 can testify. ^ 
 
 Call on or address, 
 
 KINSEV & PARKER, 
 Manufacturers, 
 BROWIWILI.E. .NEBRASKA. 
 
 |tntrd llntoii Igrrnilturrst. 
 
 THE AGRICULTURIST is a monthly publication of 
 32 pages, devoted to the interest of Agriculture, Horticul- 
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 become the leading agricultural paper in the State It has an 
 extensive correspondence, which alone is worth the subscrip- 
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 jects. It is published at the low rate of $1,50 per annum. 
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 And a copy gratis to the person who sends 20 subscribers. 
 Send 2 cts. for sample copy. Address JEREIVJI AH BEHM* 
 Editor and Publisher, Omaha, Neb. 
 
SIXTEENTH YEAR. 
 
 Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN, 
 
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 To whom it may concern we say : 1, If you are already 
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 do without it. 
 
 Subscription, $2 per annum in advance. Six months lor 
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 An unusually large proportion of the reading matter is orig- 
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 each volume (rendering it a complete Encyclopedia of Hor- 
 ticulture) would make this Magazine cheap at $3. 
 
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 Ten copies (and one extra copy to club at any address), mak- 
 ing Eleven copies for $15. 
 
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 Publisher, 
 811 Cliestnut St., P»»4latl«ll»*»*»' 
 
LOUIS LOWMAN, 
 
 DEALER IN 
 
 cLOTHiisra, 
 
 HATS, CAPS, BOOTS, SHOES, 
 
 I'^AXCY GOODS & NOTIONS. 
 
 Mm% if M®lm ®tp#©t 
 
 BROWNVILLE, NEBRASKA. 
 
ARNOLD'S 
 
 ©)■■ HIVB* 
 
 Patented Septeinbei- ^4, 1M7:^ 
 
 Awarded First Premium at the State Fair, 
 held at Brownvillc, Nebraska ; also large 
 Silver Medal at the Industrial Exposition, 
 held at St. Joseph, Mo. It has received the 
 First Premium at every Fair where it has 
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