so 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 4, 1904. 



dodge the question, and four give answers not readily ad- 

 justable with the rest. Of the 22 that remain, two are for 

 7, eight are for 8, two are for 9, nine are for 10, and one is 

 for 12. In other words, ten go for more than 9, and ten for 

 less. Thought be-sure I should show up lonesome when I 

 sent in my number 7, and, lo, 1 have such strong company 

 as P. H. Elwood. Page 804. 



Our Bee"Meepin§ Sisters j 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Getting Extpacting-Combs Cleaned. 



If I should write a word in reply to Mr. Dadant's com- 

 ments will it be set down to a woman's desire for the last 

 word, or will it be said that I am following scriptural advice, 

 " Agree with thine adversary quickly ?" We are not adver- 

 saries, however. Both Miss Wilson and myself expressly 

 said that to haVe the combs cleaned on the hives is the best 

 way, when it can be so done. Probably it can be always so 

 managed in an apiary like his, where everything is done 

 "decently and in order " at the proper time. In the West 

 we get the name of being somewhat slip-shod in our meth- 

 ods, and I must admit that in my own case removing the 

 honey and subsequent operations have to be done when and 

 bow I can — always a little by little, and so I find myself 

 sometimes where I must, as it were, choose between evils, 

 and it was thinking of others in the same boat that led me 

 to give my choice in the case in point as, "Get the combs 

 cleaned up in the open air rather than store them as they 

 are." 



I find I have practiced "the Taylor way "and "the 

 Miller way," too, to a limited extent, all unwitting that I 

 was in such good company. 



Mr. Dadant's objections hold good, however. The 

 combs are not repaired. Neither can I see that they are 

 appreciably damaged. 



Circumstances alter cases. My apiary is small, and at 

 the last inspection there was not a weak colony in it. 

 Neither is there a neighbor's bee within flying distance. " I 

 am monarch of all I survey." 



While I am at it I would like to give Mr. Dadant a word 

 of appreciation. I am always ready to accord respectful 

 attention to anything he writes, and have not the least 

 desire to cross swords with him in anything, even although 

 it would then be mine " the stern joy that warriors feel in 

 foemen worthy of their steel." (Mrs.) A. L. Amos. 



Custer Co., Nebr., Jan. 12. 



Women as Rural Mail-Carriers. 



Mr. H. E. Hathaway, of the carrier division of the Post- 

 OfSce Department of Washington, says : 



" It has been the experience of the Department that women car- 

 riers take extraordinary pains to serve their routes efficiently under the 

 most adverse circumstances, and seem to take a pride in overcoming: 

 obstacles which would daunt the strongest man." 



A woman may not lift as heavy a hive as a man, but in 

 some cases she will stick to her work when a man would be 

 discouraged. 



A Sister's Experience With Bees. 



I thought I would accept your kind invitation and write 

 a few lines to tell you how much I enjoy the Sister's depart- 

 ment in the American Bee Journal ; and also tell you of 

 some of my successful failures in bee-keeping. 



I commenced handling bees in 1897. My brother, W. 

 D. Phillips, bought 5 colonies of Italian bees that spring, 

 got " A B C of Bee-Culture," and subscribed for two bee- 

 papers. My brother being in very poor health at the time, 

 he did the brain-work and I attended to handling the bees 

 and looked after swarms, and, as he had promised me I 

 could have every swarm I hived by myself, I attended 

 strictly to business ; when the swarming season was over I 

 had 5 colonies of my own, and a prouder person would have 

 been hard to find." 



We did not secure very much surplus honey that year, 

 but the bees went into winter quarters in fine condition. 

 We wintered them on the summer stands with chaff-trays 

 over them. So we read our bee-books all winter and were 

 ready when spring opened to commence work again, as the 

 bee-fever had not abated the least bit. So he ordered more 

 supplies, and that year we had splendid success. We sold 

 over 400 pounds of white comb honey. 



Well, my brother's health kept failing so fast that by 

 the next spring he was scarcely able to go into the bee- 

 yard, but as long as he was able to walk he would come out 

 and sit under the grape-arbor and watch the bees. So I 

 took sole charge of them myself, and would report to him, 

 but I could not give them the proper care they needed, for 

 I had my housework to look after and to wait upon him ; 

 but I did the best I could. Things remained in this condi- 

 tion until the spring of 1902, when he died, and left me with 

 25 colonies of bees to look after all alone. I now have 35 

 colonies in good shape, and have never had any disease 

 among my bees. Last year I sold over 300 pounds of sec- 

 tion honey and 100 pounds of bulk honey. 



I love to work with the bees, and very seldom get stung 

 now, although I have had some picnics with them ; but I 

 manage to come out ahead, always. I use the Alley queen- 

 trap during the swarming season, and very few swarms 

 get away. 



I have never tried introducing new queens, but have 

 just let the bees attend to that themselves, and this I con- 

 sider one of my failures. I am going to get Dr. Miller's 

 " Forty Years Among the Bees," and study it this winter 

 before I conclude to quit the bee-business entirely. I am 56 

 years old, and am bothered with sciatic rheumatism, so I 

 don't know but what I will quit if I can dispose of my bees. 



This is a poorly written letter, but I have enjoyed the 

 Sister's department so much that I felt it my duty to con- 

 tribute a few lines, although I expect they will get no 

 farther than your waste-basket. 



I wish you and all the sister bee-keepers all the success 

 in the New Year that you may have wished for in the past. 



Adams Co., Ohio, Jan. 11. Mrs. Mary A. Ray. 



Don't worry ; such interesting letters as yours do not 

 find their way into the waste-basket. Please write again. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Moving Bees a Long Distance. 



The letter of Charles W. Sager, page 92, is of interest 

 because it relates just how a considerable number of colo- 

 nies were successfully taken in a car a long distance. Not 

 every one would think of its making any practical differ- 

 ence whether bees were loaded in the front or the back end 

 of a car, but a little thinking will satisfy one of the sound- 

 ness of his advice, to fasten the bees in the front end ; then 

 when severe bumping occurs hives can bump against the 

 front end of the car without fear of breaking loose the fast- 

 enings at the center of the car. C. C. M. 



Perforated-Tin Separators. 



In " Some Expert Opinion," page 10, after looking the 

 answers over, it does seem to me that a separator that is 

 made of tin with perforated holes, like the Root-Tinker zinc, 

 with holes '4 of an inch in width, and of the same length as 

 used in the zinc, might be used, as it would make a good 

 ladder with the holes in them ; and for 4'+ x4'4 use separa- 

 tors 4 inches wide. Now, I mean j4^-inch holes in width, 

 as the tin separators could be cleaned by boiling in soap 

 and water. Ilijnois. 



Answer. — Such a separator would work very well if 

 one did not care for the expense. It must Oe remembered, too, 

 that tin does not work very well where loose separators are 

 desired, as there will be more or less bending or curving 

 lengthwise. With a surplus arrangement that allows the 

 separators to be nailed on, tin is all right. 



