May 23, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



333 



I took oil some very uice well-capped sections 

 on May Kith, and expect to do as well this 

 year. 



1 have had some experience with bees sting- 

 ing chickens, which I think will be of benetit 

 to the readers of the Bee Journal : Two years 

 ago I was transferring a colony of bees to 

 another hive. There were some chickens 

 (barred Plymouth Rocks, and, of course, 

 black) about two weeks old feedinj^ in a pen 

 near by. and also some white Pekia ducklings 

 about one week old. The bees went for those 

 chickens and stung them to death, but the 

 ducklings were not stung at all. I think the 

 reason why the ducklings escaped was be- 

 cause they were white, or light-colored ; and to 

 prove stiil further that bees hate black chick- 

 ens, this year I had a hen with 14 chickens 

 about two weeks old — 13 were black and the 

 other one white. The bees went for that 

 brood of chicks and stung all but the white 

 one. Five of the black ones lived, even 

 though they were stung, but they were 

 dumpy for a couple of days. But " Mr. 

 White "was as happy as it is possible for a 

 chick to be. The bees had no provocation to 

 anger whatever that I could see. The hen 

 was on the ground with the chicks about 8 or 

 10 feet away from the front of the hive, and 

 the hive was 3'., feet from the ground. 



I have been a reader of the American Bee 

 Journal for two years, and would not be 

 without it. Geo. G. Craine. 



Whatcom Co., Wash., May 6. 



Bees Expelling Water from Nectar. 



I notice there has l.ieen quite a controversy 

 in the American Bee Journal, among some 

 of the correspondents, as to whether or not 

 bees expel water from nectar on the way to 

 the hives. A bee-hunter, and a very success- 

 ful one, too, says that after a bee has secured 

 its load and starts in a direct line to the tree, 

 it always sends off a mist, but never until it 

 has turned in a direct line for the tree. 



I haven't had any swarms yet, though my 

 bees are in fine condition. We don't expect 

 to get any surplus until July, or until the 

 cotton begins to bloom. J. R. .Scott. 



Lamar Co., Tex., May 6. 



Bees in Good Condition. 



Bees are in good condition now. Also the 

 weather is good at present. 



Joseph Creech. 

 Ontario, Canada, May 8. 



Keeping Bees for Pleasure. 



I have only 6 colonies of bees, keeping them 

 foi' an interesting pastime. All wintered well 

 in the house basement, which is dry and airy. 

 They used but very little stores dm-ing the 

 winter. I moved them outdoors the last of 

 March, and they have been very busy gather- 

 ing pollen for the past three weeks. 



I have taken the American Bee Journal for 

 over two years, and must say that it is a wide- 

 awake, up-to-date bee-journal. 



Thos. L. McRitchie, M. D. 



Ontario, Canada, May 9. 



Marketing Honey— Selling Too 

 Cheap. 



I have never sold much honey, bee-keeping 

 being a side-issue with me, as iny ministerial 

 duties and my berry-farm claim the most of 

 my attention. I have kept a few bees for 

 about 10 years, and now have 17 colonies, and 

 have taken the American Bee Journal for a 

 number of years. 



There are a good many bees kept in this 

 county, but mostly by farmers. One man has 

 50 colonies and another has over 100, but 

 neither of them takes a bee-paper. 



But little, if any, honey is shipped out of the 

 county, and there is no co-operatifm among 

 the bee-keepers in marketing the honey crop, 

 but it is " every man for himself," and as a 

 result prices are low. 



As I had only B colonies last spring, and 

 the most of them were weak, and as I cared 

 more for increase than for honey. 1 had very 

 little more than we needed for our own use. 

 However, last week I took 25 pounds of first- 



A Home ill Colorado SALE 



I have ii Hue iMiiii-Iiaiieh of 14 acres licrc at 

 Kruita, all set to fine fruit, principally winter 

 apples, with plenty of small fruits, peaches, 

 I>ears, plums, cherries, apricots, prunes, and 

 about 700 grajjes; 100 colonies of bees, mostly 

 lliiliaiis. and about Ino fine Belgian hares that 

 1 will sell with the place. The orchard is in 

 line bearing, being aljout 10 years old. and is 

 clean and free from weeds. The house is a 

 good 7-room one. nearly new. with bath and 

 water: a good new barn for two horses and 

 two cows; good brick hen-house and two gitod 

 cellars, good lawn and shade. I have a jiaid- 

 up water-right with the place, with an abun- 

 dance of water at all times for irrigation. I 

 am liesirous of making a change in my occu- 

 pation, and will sell the place at a bargain. 

 With the proper party the yield from the place 

 this year will be about §2,000. It joins up to 

 within 20 rods of the town site of Fruita, 

 where we have fine of the best high schools in 

 the State, employing 7 teachers. It is only '.,- 

 mile to the depot, churches, school and post- 

 office, and has telephone connections with all 

 parts of the State. This is a good, healthy cli- 

 mate, and good society. 

 Address for terms .lad further particulars, 



J, C. CARNAHAN, 



Box 64, FRUITA, MESft Co.. COLO. 



Please mention Bee Journal "when "writing 



BiacK Queens 



5UBl 



for sale — 



50c each, 



RIVER FOREST APIARY, 



[\"EK FoKEST, Cook Co., III. 



Italian Queens 



reared from the old reliable Leather-Colored 

 Stock by the best methods. I keep 100 colonies 

 of Italians to select my breeders from, and I 

 breed from none but the very best houey-fifath- 

 erers. Untested, 5Sc each; 1 "dozen, $(..00. Safe 

 arrival. Send for price-list. Address, 



W, J. FOREHAND, 



fDtf FORT DEPOSIT, ALA. 



Please mention Bee journal "when "writing. 



GOOD WHEELS 



THE 



are ^;nc^i wheels and they make _ .. _, 



Jast indefinitely. They are made high or 

 Jow, any \vidth of tire, to fit any ekein. 

 They «-nn*t|ret looRe^ rot or brenk 

 down. Theylaetalwaya-Catalogfree. 



Electric Wheel Co.. Boy I6 Qoincy, Ills. 



.^MANUFACTURER GFi=^ 



BEE-HIVES 



Sections, Shipping-Cases— Everything used bv 

 bee-keepers. Orders filled promptly. We have 

 the best shipplag facilities in the world. You 

 will save money by sending for our Price-List. 

 Address, Minn. Bee-Keepers' Supply Mfg. Co., 

 Nicollet Island Power Bldg., 

 16Atf MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. 



Please mention Bee Journal -when -writine. 



1901— Bee-Keepers' Supplies I 



We can furnish you with The A. I. Root Co's 

 goods at wiioiesale or ret:iil at their prices. We can 

 save you freight, and ship promptly. Market price 

 paid lor beeswax. Send for our 1901 catalog. 

 M. H. UUNT & SON, Bell Branch, Wayne Co., Mich 



EXCURSIONS TO BUFFALO EXPO- 

 SITION— via Nickel Plate Road, 



On May 7th, 14tfi, 21st and 28tli, re- 

 spectively, at rate of S13.00 for the 

 round-trip from Cliicago : good return- 

 ing S days from date of sale. Three 

 through trains daily, with vestitiuled 

 sleeping-cars and tirst-class dining-car 

 service. For particulars and Pan- 

 American folder, write John Y. Cala- 

 han, General Agent, 111 Adams Street, 

 Chicago. Depot: \'an Buren St. and 

 Pacific Av., Chicago, on Elevated Loop. 

 No. 8— 20A2t 



class lioiiey to our oouuty-seat, and all I could 

 fret for it was 10 cents in cash, ur 11 cents in 

 trade. They were retailing it at I.t cents. I 

 took the 1 1 cents in trade, but told the mer- 

 chant to wliom I sold it that I did not see 

 what the bee-keepers were thinking about to 

 sell at such prices when it was quoted at l(i 

 and 1? cents wholesale in ail the large cities 

 I have been told that the prevailing price made 

 here Ijy the bee-keepers to the merchants is 10 

 cents per pound for clover andbasswood comb 

 honey, and some of them have peddled it at 

 that price, though they selected the sections 

 that were not well tilled. Such prices do not 

 inspire one with very much zeal to engage in 

 bee-keeping. j. Ridley. 



Winneshiek Co.. Iowa, March 11. 



Heasuring Bees' Tongues. 



All that is required to measure bees" 

 tongues is a steel rule with hundredths of an 

 inch marked off on one side : a glass ma"ni- 

 f.ving live or ten diameters; a pair of tweezers 

 and a darning-needle, and a dime's worth of 

 chloroform. Put up aljout a dozen bees of 

 mature age in a common mailing-age. Avoid 

 taking young ones, as the tongues of such 

 are not quite as long as those that are able to 

 go to the tields. Pour a few drops of chloro- 

 form on a handkerchief and lav this over the 

 bees. In about a minute the" bees will be 

 sufficiently stupetied so they can be handled 

 and the tongues will, from suffocation be 

 protruded almost their whole length. ' 



Pick up a Ijee and decapitate it. Lay the 

 head and tongue on the steel rule just above 

 the graduations of hundredths, fac'e upward 

 With one hand exert a gentle pressure on the 

 head of the bee, and, "n'ith the other, comb 

 the tongue out straight, using needles or 

 tweezers in either case. The pressure on 

 the face is to cause the tongue to protrude its 

 full length. 



Now, while the tongue is carefully combed 

 out, take the glass, focus it on the tongue. 

 ;iiid count olfifhe hundredths, beginning froni 

 tlie cuds of the mandibles or jaws, and ending 

 Willi the end of the tongue. Proceed thus 

 wilh all the Isees in the cage, putting down on 

 paper the exact results after each measure- 

 ment. Strike a general average, and this 

 average gives the measurement by which we 

 go. 



As a rule I find there is but very little varia- 

 tion in the tongue-reach of the bees in anv 

 one colony. Sometimes they are all alike"; 

 Ijut in the case of some individual bees it 

 is more diflicult to get the tongue combed 

 out its full length.— E. R. Root, in Gleanino-s 

 in Bee-Culture. 



Thick vs. Thin Top-Bars. 



S. T. Pettit, in Gleanings in Bee-Culture, 

 says the idea that thick top-bars are desir- 

 al)le for any other reason than to prevent sao-- 

 ging is a delusion. The width is the impor- 

 tant thing, and a top-bar i>,-iuch thick would 

 be better than one thicker if it had the proper 

 rigidity ; but for rigidity he is obliged to have 

 ■.,-thickness. A top-bar K thick is wasteful. 

 That extra ij inch, besides making bees more 

 slow to enter sections, amounts to a loss of 

 l,tiOO to 3,000 or more cells in a hive. Dr. 

 Miller replies as follows: 



The mistake is in counting that the same 

 number of bees are occupied brooding those 

 sticks as would be occupied in lirooding '.- 

 inch depth of comix The space between the 

 top-liars is '.,-inch, and that Iielwecn lu"<>oil- 

 coiubsaliimt i,_,-inch, thus knocking oul lialf 

 this iilijcction at a clip. But even Ihal half of 

 tlic objection will not stand. Wlicu the 

 weatlicr is hot, as it generally is when supers 

 are over the top-bars, there is no trouble 

 about keeping uii the heat; and at anytime 



