Dec. 29, 1904. 



THfc AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



871 



smoke at the entrance. If he is a fearless operator, on-; 

 whom the bees do not molest, he will very probably open the 

 hive without any smoke whatever. This method will do very 

 well if there is no one near whom bees would readily attack. 

 I have a friend in a neighboring city, who has been in the 

 habit of handling his bees without smoke. Bees do not sting 

 him. probably because he is not afraid of them, and because 

 he is very quiet and deliberate in his movements. Hut he 

 has a neighbor next door who was often stung, and who 

 accused his bees of being a nuisance. While I visited him 

 once he was telling me that he must sell his bees because 

 they annoyed the neighbors. "Yes," said he, "they never 

 sting me." 



We went to the apiary together and he opened a hive, 

 without using any smoke. The bees did not sting him, but 

 two or three angry ones flew into my face. They were 

 aroused and seeking. whom they could punish for the annoy- 

 ance caused them by their owner. I suggested to him then 

 that he was probably the cause of his neighbor's protests. 

 I advised him to use smoke at the entrance whenever he 

 handled his bees, so as to avoid their flying into the next 

 yard and stinging the neighbors. My advice was followed 

 and there was no further trouble. 



Personally, I am not a sting-proof bee-keeper. When I 

 was a boy, my father used to laugh at me because I could 

 not come near the hives without getting stung. He was a 

 born bee-keeper; I was not, and I had to be trained. I have 

 always found it advisable to use smoke at the entrance when 

 opening a hive, early or late in the day, or during a dearth 

 of honey. I would advise all beginners to practice smoking 

 the entrance before opening a hive, until they become so 

 accustomed to handling bees that they may feel sure of know- 

 ing before hand how they are going to behave. 



Our leading bee-keepers are not always careful, neither 

 are they alwavs successful in handling bees without stings, 

 but they usually care little about stings. Not long ago, I 

 was visiting at the home of one of our best honey-producers 

 in California. We visited together one of his apiaries, out 

 in the wilderness, and he told me that he had had a horse 

 killed by the bees accidentally. The apiary was located on 

 the east side of a hill covered with white sage. He was in 

 the habit of tying his horse on the opposite slope of the same 

 hill, only a short distance from the apiary, but out of sight of 



the hives. One day, after handling bees for several hours, 

 and finding them unusually cross, he discovered that his horse 

 had been stung to death by them. He warned me that the 

 bees were not to be relied upon at that apiary. As I was 

 traveling and did not care to have my face swollen out of 

 shape by stings, I asked him to let me handle the smoker, 

 during our stay there. I carefully smoked each hive at the 

 entrance before opening it, and not a single bee molested 

 us, although we were there for several hours. 



' The old bees are always cross when the hive is disturbed. 

 If the weather is fine, they leave the hive in search of honey 

 and at midday there is less need of smoke than at any other 

 time. If the blossoms yield honey, the bees are so intent 

 on honey-gathering that very little smoke is needed, and. 

 sometimes, in the busy part of the day, hives may be handled 

 without the use of smoke. But when the bees are all at 

 home, young and old, morning and evening, it is never a 

 good plan to open the hive without first smoking the bees 

 that guard the entrance. Experience dictates whether we 

 should give much or little smoke, but when in doubt it is 

 best to give enough. Too much will confuse the bees, and 

 will cause them to rush about and even to desert the hive 

 and this would be very inconvenient. However, it may be 

 asserted that there is more trouble caused by too little smoke 

 than by zn overdose. When the weather is cool and the bees 

 are all in the hive, more is needed. When it is warm and 

 some bees are flying, a few puffs just enough to frighten the 

 few guards, will prove sufficient. 



In very good honey-producing seasons, there is need of 

 but little smoke. A hive may be opened with so little dis- 

 turbance, that many of the bees will not pay attention to the 

 intrusion. I have seen bees start out for the field through 

 the opening made by the operator in removing the cover. It 

 is very easy to notice, as the working bee darts out, in a bee- 

 line, for the field, while the disturbed workers hover around 

 after taking wing, probably wondering what is to become of 

 their home. The bee that has been harvesting honey, and 

 knows where more of it is to be found, seems to pay atten- 

 tion to nothing else, and she flies out straight for another 

 load as soon as her load is off. 



It is therefore worth a beginner's while to become ac- 

 quainted with the conditions. But a Httle smoke at the en- 

 trance will never do any harm, and, whenever in doubt, it 

 is well to use it. Hancock Co., 111. 



(Dur SecKccping Sisters 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



# 



■^ ?»r 



# New Year's Greeting. # 



— * — t 



"A Happy, Happy New Year " to all the 15? 



^f sisters ! How I would like to be able to look into ^Jf 



i&. all your faces and say that — not merely write it. d.*^ 



j^ I would like to take you by the hand and thank ^iv 



^ you personally for all the kind, helpful words I 'Jjli 



^' have received the past year, for the cordial co- '♦" 



■^ operation you have so heartily given in making ?»T 



^? our corner the success it is. I know it is appre- ^jT 



^^ ciated and enjoyed by many, for they have per- ill 



j*t sonally told me so. iii 



vfe Don't forget that it is your letter, your .^j^ 



^^ question, your bit of experience, your helpful 'jj^' 



** suggestion — in short, your help, that makes this Tt? 



Department a success. ^1P 





Most cordially yours, 



Emma M. Wilson. 





Starting in the Bee-Business. 



The following appears in the Chicago Daily News, in the 

 department conducted by Marion Harland : 



"I would like to know what capital and what experience 

 would be necessary, and your good advice, for keeping bees. 

 Would it be profitable as a livelihood? — P. J. K." 



A woman who had kept bees successfully in the immediate 

 neighborhood of New York city, told me that the business 

 paid better than any other that she knew of. She invested 

 $25 in bees and hives and at the end of the first year har- 

 vested 1,500 pounds of honey. She is a truthful woman, 

 whose name would be recognized by many readers were I 

 to give it. I repeat the story as I got it. Two small books 

 — "the A B C of Bee-Culture and "The Blessed Bees" — are 

 recommended to beginners. Marian Harland. 



Marion Harland is well known as a very able writer, and 

 thousand are indebted to her for information received, but 

 she is evidently not in her element w-hen upon the subject of 

 bees. An investment of $25 in bees and hives might result 

 in harvesting 1500 pounds of honey at the end of the year, 

 but such a thing would be greatly exceptional. Let's figure 

 a little. 



Suppose she paid $5 a colony for her bees, which is not 

 a very big estimate. That would give her 5 colonies. Now 

 if she harvested 1500 pounds of honey that would be an 

 average of 300 pounds to the colony. This amount has been 

 reached, and in some cases exceeded, but it can hardly be 



