566 



AiMERICAN BEE IOUi?NAL 



Sept. 5, 1'" 1 



bubbles had risen to the surface, which they will do in a 

 few minutes with hot honey. If the honey is then sealed, 

 and either dipped or corks sunk, and any kind of good seal- 

 ing-wax poured on, thus effecting a hermetical sealing, the 

 honey contracts when it gets cold, thus causing the much- 

 talked-of vacuum, especially if a tinfoil cap is properly 

 applied, making it absolutely air-tight. 



I found, only the other day [February], 2-pound Muth 

 jars which had been waxed, that candied, while others on 

 the same shelf, sold to the grocer the same day (Oct. 5, 

 1900), were nice and clear on account of the tinfoil cap. I 

 find that if, after sealing, the jars are left in a warm room, 

 thus preventing the too sudden cooling of the wax on the 

 corks, we shall have no cracks. If one-half paraffine is 

 added to the wax it will not crack nearly as easily, besides 

 being much cheaper. 



WASHING THE BOTTLES WITH SHOT. 



In regard to the washing of bottles, I had a good laugh 

 oyer the little boy punching the little pieces of glass out of 

 the bottles, especially new ones. I used to do the same 

 thing. But how much nicer, and far more easy, and 

 quicker, to take about 3 or 4 oz. of No. 6 shot, and the bottle 

 half full of warm soft water I A few shakes, turn the 

 bottle, then pass to helper, who rinses in clean cold water, 

 and we have a clear sparkling jar which is then set upside 

 down in a large tray to drain. 



If using jars like the No. 25 and the No. 100, where 

 it is impossible to cover the top with wax, I now pour into 

 each a large tablespoonful of beeswax and paraffine, right 

 on top of the heated honey, which, when cooled, effects the 

 air-tight sealing. This is an additional inducement to ray 

 patrons, as they thus secure a nice piece of wax to slick up 

 their irons for laundry work ; while, if put on the cork, it 

 prevents the cork from breaking to pieces while being 

 drawn out the first time. 



If I am compelled to reliquefy any bottles of honey 

 (which is very rare) I always .set the jars in vats of water 

 deep enough to come up to the necks, as I have seen honey 

 scorch in the lower half of a jar while the upper half was 

 yet candied. 



I would say in conclusion to those readers who have no 

 honey to bottle, better order a few cans of extracted, and a 

 barrel of the No. 100 or No. 25 jars, and canvass your near- 

 est town. You will be surprised how easy it is to sell a 

 barrel put up in this neat, useful, and attractive package. 

 It pays to work up a trade in a bad season, for. if you sell 

 no honey in a bad season, how can you expect to sell three 

 or four tons when you have not previously worked up a 

 foundation for the disposal of your coming crop ?— Glean- 

 ings in Bee Culture. 



along the east side of the clearing, up close to the brush, 

 leaving a space near the middle of the rows for a honey- 

 house. I built the house so that I can pass through it with 

 the wheelbarrow, and all the time be in between the rows of 

 hives and at the back end of them, as one row fronts east 

 and one west. 



The hives are of the lock-corner 10-frame style, some 

 having flat and some gable covers ; 70 colonies are on 

 the north of the honey-house and 30 on the south, and 60 of 

 the 70 melted, and I lost 30 of them, while only eight fell of 

 the 30, and I lost four of them, making a loss of 40 colo- 

 nies, except that I hived the largest swarm I ever saw. 



Most of the summer breeze here is from the southeast, 

 so the brush and honey-house kept it from the ones north of 

 the house. 



I watered the bees in the yard by letting the water drip 

 from a barrel into a flat trough. The barrel would take 

 about two days to leak dry. I left the apiary July 2, to 

 spend the " 4th " in town ; I know the bees would be out of 

 water before I returned, but thought it would make no dif- 

 ference, as they had nothing else to do but carry water from 

 the old apiary, which is about 11+ miles on a line from the 

 new one. 



I returned July 8, to see a sight I had never dreamed of 

 seeing; the trouble was easily seen. I walked into the 

 honey-house, lit the smoker and put on my veil, and then 

 took a good look before venturing out. The air was so full 

 of bees I could hardly see across the yard. I expected 

 they would drive me off the place, but I stepped out and 

 walked boldly along between the rows. Looking over in 

 front I could see where the little lakes of honey had been 

 the day before. I began to count the wet spots in front, 

 but when I counted ten in succession I concluded all was 

 lost. I looked all about, not knowing what to do. Well, 

 what could I do ? To my surprise, the bees offered no 

 objections to my presence, in fact, they did not seem to 

 know I was there. There was a great honey-flow on, and 

 they did not care what I did with them. But what could I 

 do but let them alone ? 



I looked into four or five hives where the most bees 

 were going in and out ; they were so nearly cleaned out that 

 I let them finish the job. Near by I saw about an ordinary 

 wash-tub full of bees settled on a bush near the ground. I 

 thought to hive them, so I went at it just as in swarming- 

 time, only I prepared three boxes instead of one. I put 

 nine combs each in two of them, and an empty one on top 

 for air, and room. They hived nicely. I shaded them well, 

 and left them until the next day, when I gave them about 

 ten pounds of honey in the top box. They seem to be con- 

 tented now (July 27). That was all I did in that yard for 

 10 days, when I started in to do my part of the cleaning up. 



I was surprised to find honey in some of the robbed 



Da Bees Use Water to Cool the 

 Hive? 



BY J. A. GERELDS. 



JULY 6 Wi 

 I I Countv, 



was the hot day in Uvalde 

 Texas — 106 degrees in 



the shade— and I had a heavy 

 loss of bees on that day by the 

 combs melting, the honey drowning 

 many bees and causing them to be 

 robbed. I have heard of no other 

 loss in the country, and some of the 

 best bee-men have told me it was 

 for the want of water. 



I would like to state the partic- 

 ulars of the case in the American 

 Bee Journal, and have the opinion 

 of others on the subject. 



I had been running about 200 

 colonies in one yard until last win- 

 ter, when I concluded they would do 

 better divided into two apiaries, so, 

 finding a suitable location about 

 2 miles from the old yard, I cleared 

 the brush off of a piece of ground 

 150x200 feet. The brush is thick all 

 around, and six or eiglit feet high. 

 I drilled a well and found water. 

 Then I moved 100 colonies and 

 placed them in two rows, seven feet 

 apart, running north and south 



FUi. 3. — LABEI.IM. AMI TISFOILING WITH 



il'TIXU sTKAl' (TI-NFi'II 



