Among The Bees

When swanning time is at hand it is important to have everything ready. Many swarins are lost every yeai, and in most cases ou account of carelessness on the part of the beekeeper. To be successful we must not be caught "napping," but "be up and dressed," and when a swarm issues be prepared to hive it iinïnediately. Ui ves and trastea sinmld b in readiness, and at least one fixed on tha 6tand where you want the new swarm placed, and carrj1 the swarm to the hive. Many times bees light high, or or fruit or ornamental trees that we do not wish to injure by cntting the limb off. In snch a case some kind of a swarming apparatus is very convenient. The one here reprodnced from Ohio Farmer is made from a long f orked stick. Bend the f orks together in the shape of a hoop, and just large enongh to go in a large coffee Back (or other open material that vrill not smother the bees), then fasten it in the month of the sack. Bend the stick near the fork. For convenience ent the stick in two near the fork, and fasten the two parts together again, bo they can be easily taken apart. This makes a very good swarming arrangement. It is very cheap, and convenient, says the authority quoted. Shake the bees from the limb in to the 8ack, turn it over, and no bees can escape; carry them to the hive; take tho cover off and gently lay the sack on top of the frames, so the bees can crawl out of the sack down into the hive. Sometimes a swarm will leave their new home. To make a 6ure thing of their staving, give them a eouib containing brood and honey from the parent hive. I have never had a swarm to leave when thus treated. In hiving a swarm on empty frames ■we do not mean that they are strictly empty, but frames that liave a "starter" in]them , which is a narrow strip of foundation about an inch wide, fastenedin the center of the underside of the top bar, and on the same principie that foundation is fastened in section boxes. This serves as a comb guide, and we get the combs built just where we want them. s The Losse in Corn Fodder. From experiments made at the Wisconsin station to ascertain the comparative loss in corn fodder when preserved in the silo or by the ordinary method of curing in the field, the results of ten trials during a period of three years appear to be narrowed down to this: The loss of food materials in either system is very considerable, and shows that fodders cannot be preserved by any method now known without their deteriorating in value. In the fodder corn as it is cut in the fall there is a certain quantity of food elements that may be preserved in a succulent state in the silo. or cured and fed to cattle as dry fodder In either case an equal quantity of the food materials is destroyed, on an average about onefifth. This loss being equal in either ( case, the question of which method of preserving fodder corn to adopt becomes one of conveniencs and economy of feed. The value of these feeding stuffs was about the same for milk and butter production, henee it is concluded the adoption or non-adoption of the silo must be decided on the score of convenience. In 6ome localities the conditlons may be more favorable to the field curing system, while in others the uncertainty of weather, the cheapness of lumber or the eeverity of winter may epeak strongly in favor of the system of 'ensiling the fodder corn.