360 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLHi>AL. 



May 19, 1904. 



honey is not flowing, and should have a good frame full 

 when winter comes on. The best way to feed, as far as 

 I know, is to have a shelf about flush with the entrance, on 

 which a tumbler of feed inverted on a piece of glass or in a 

 shallow dish can be set. Put a pin under the edge of the 

 tumbler for air-vent. This is a safe way to feed, and can 

 be practiced at any hour of the day with practically no dan- 

 ger from robber-bees. It is well to throw over the hive sev- 

 eral thicknesses of cloth to conserve heat. 



No bee-keeper should be without one or two of these 

 hives. He will learn many things which he has never ob- 

 served, and will find undoubtedly that he did not know so 

 much about bees as he thought he did. 



New London Co., Conn. 



[ Our Bee-HcepinS Sisters ] 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



From Cold to Hot — Queenless Colonies in Early 

 Spring-. 



A week ago the complaint was, " Such cold weather." 

 Well, this week we have suddenly jumped into summer 

 weather, the thermometer standing at 70 and 80 degrees, 

 and one day at 85 degrees. That weather clerk is really 

 trying to make up. Dandelions are blooming freely, and 

 plum blossoms are out. 



For some reason — whether on account of the late, cold 

 spring or the unusually severe winter — there seems to be, 

 judging from reports, an unusual number of queenless colo- 

 nies this spring. Now the question is. What is best to do 

 with these colonies ? Is it best to let them rear a queen ? 



Last spring we had two queenless colonies that were 

 remarkably strong. I suspect that they had had an acces- 

 sion of bees that did not belong to them, which probably 

 accounted for their being queenless. They were such 

 strong colonies that I could not bear to have them broken 

 up, so plead their cause and begged that they be supplied 

 with combs of young brood or eggs from time to time to 

 keep up their strength, and allowed to rear a queen. In 

 both cases the queens reared so early were poor, worthless 

 affairs, and the colonies had to be requeened later. 



It would have been much better had those bees been 

 taken to strengthen up weaker colonies, queenless bees 

 being the best kind of material for that purpose, as they 

 will mostly stay where they are put, and not endanger the 

 life of the queen even if the colony is very weak to which 

 they are given ; and sometimes a good queen may be saved 

 by giving bees to a very weak colony. 



I have had my lesson, and am convinced that there is 

 no use trying to rea.t good queens too early in the season. 



Small Loss in Wintering — Chickens as Drone- 

 Catchers. 



Dear Miss Wilson : — I feel like entering the circle 

 again, and after making my best bow tell you that after 

 being confined to my room for almost three months I am 

 able once more to visit my bee-yard. I find all the colonies, 

 with the exception of 2, just as busy as they can be carrying 

 in pollen, while the young bees out playing are making 

 almost as much noise as during the swarming season. 



I rapped on the 2 hives where no bees were seen going 

 or coming, and as there was no response I judge they are 

 all dead. But if those 2 colonies, out of 34, will cover my loss 

 I will think they wintered remarkably well. 



I have enjoyed reading Dr. Miller's " Forty Years 

 Among the Bees " while I was confined to the house, and I 

 hope I will soon be able to look after the wants of mine. 



I would to say to Sister Wainwright, she would better go 

 slow with her late invention, a "drone-catching cage," for 

 if she had watched pretty closely she would find that those 

 chicks were not very choice whether it was a drone or a 

 worker bee they enjoyed as a morsel, for we had the same 

 experience in our own bee-yard, and had to kill off all those 

 chicks that watched the hive-entrances (after satisfying 

 ourselves they were picking up bees that were heavily 



laden with pollen). So we thereby enjoyed some sweet 

 morsels ourselves in the way of fried chickens. 



Well, for fear this will not meet with the same success 

 as my other in missing the waste-basket, I will give space 

 for some other sister bee-keeper who can write a more inter- 

 esting letter. With best wishes for the success of the 

 American Bee Journal, and especially the sisters' corner, 

 which is presided over so nobly by our faithful "Queen," 

 I will close by wishing all the sisters a prosperous year. 



Adams Co., Ohio, April 25. Mrs. Mary A. Ray. 



Indeed, you may well think that losing only 2 out of 34 

 colonies very good for outdoor wintering the past very 

 severe winter. If you had saved only 2 out of 34 instead of 

 losing 2, you would have done as well as a good many 

 others. 



8-Frame Super on a 10-Frame Hive. 



I am using the 10-frame hive and do not want to go to 

 the expense of changing hives, but would like a smaller 

 super. Do you think I could conveniently use the 24-section 

 T super on the 10-frame hive ? If I could, it would be so 

 much lighter to handle. Mrs. H. C. Holmes. 



Jefferson Co., 111. 



Yes, you can use them nicely. We used them for some 

 time on 10-frame hives before we changed to the 8-frame 

 hive. 



Place the T super on the hive just so the outside edge 

 of the super at one side will rest on the inside edge of the 

 hive (not flush with the outside edge), then there will be a 

 small space on the other side of the super which can be 

 easily covered by laying on a small strip of wood, such as a 

 piece of lath. 



Last Year's Experience with Bees. 



As I see no report from any neighboring bee-keepers 

 from this part of the State, I will give a brief sketch of 

 what the bees did for me during the spring and summer of 

 1903. 



I had 25 colonies, spring count, in good condition, 

 which gave me a surplus of 3250 pounds of salable honey, 

 all of which sold for 10 to 12!i cents per pound. And I in- 

 creased, by natural swarming, to S3 colonies, all in good 

 shape for winter, and with plenty of honey to winter on. 



From white clover we got our honey, which was as 

 good as the best honey season we have ever had in this 

 locality. The white clover seems all right this spring ; it 

 is starting up about the same as last spring, according to 

 the season, which is about two weeks later than the average. 

 The past winter has been a hard one on the bees wintered 

 on the summer stands. 



So far the weather has been very unfavorable for the 

 bees, as it had been freezing every two or three nights until 

 April 20. Consequently colonies that have come through 

 so far are very weak compared with other seasons at this 

 time of year. 



I lost some colonies, and had some weak ones which I 

 united, and have at present 40 in fairly good condition out 

 of the S3 of last fall. This is the first winter loss I have 

 had for several years. 



Neighbors, let us hear from you through the good old 

 Bee Journal. I am not much of a writer, and this may not 

 be very interesting, but I am a good reader, and I enjoy 

 reading reports from all. Luna ISlmore. 



Jefferson Co., Iowa, April 2S. 



" The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song — words by Hon- 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a " hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



■« • > 



Please send us Names of Bee-Keepers who do not now 



get the American Bee Journal, and we will send them sam- 

 ple copies. Then you can very likely afterward get them 

 subscriptions, for which work we offer valuable premiums 

 in nearly every number of this journal. You can aid much 

 by sending in the names and addresses when writing us on 

 other matters. 



